ringing in the new year..asleep

I can't remember the last time we stayed up until midnight on New Year's Eve. It's not that we don't ever stay up late. I can think of a few nights over this break we've been up until 1 or later. It just seems that whatever is happening on New Year's Eve wears us out. Right now, I'm considering going to bed. Josh is already asleep next to me on the couch. Jonah, who would absolutely love the celebrations and count downs if he'd ever experienced them, has been asleep for almost 2 hours.

I can tell you one reason we haven't always stayed up. On New Year's Eve three years ago, we were busy.

Someday, I imagine we'll be having New Year's Eve birthday parties with a bunch of hooligans staying up all night. There will be games and music and fireworks. This year, we enjoyed having dinner and cake with some family and tucking the kids in bed. I will miss their little selves when they get bigger. Either way, every New Year's Eve from here on out will be more about this little girl than anything else. Happy birthday, kid!

Here she is about to (in her words), "eat my birthday!"

Dear Dad,

Six months ago this morning, I heard your voice for the last time.

my Christmas memories

Nothing reminds me of Christmas as a child quite like Luke 2 (I read it this morning) and The Carpenter's Christmas Portrait (Pandora is playing it for me right now). I miss you, Dad. I love you, Mom.

Oranges, a Christmas story

One year, my mom decided to fill our home with the lovely scent of citrus and cloves. This was accomplished by poking whole cloves through the skin of oranges in lovely designs. (A quick google search to find a picture and I now know that there is a name for this modern version of a fairly old custom: pomander.)

Now that I'm older and wiser and a homemaker myself, I can see the appeal. As a child, I was appalled. The very idea of these pomanders disgusted me. A perfectly good orange, wasted! Why would anyone EVER do such a thing? We couldn't even eat the orange anymore. Mom, how could you?! (Have I mentioned my love for oranges?)

I'm thinking I might make pomanders one year, after apologizing profusely to my mother, of course. Not this year. This year, I'm still short two stockings. There will be no extra Christmas crafting. I hope it goes without saying that when I do actually get around to it, I will use ornamental oranges. I would still never consider using an edible orange as decoration. The horror!

Dear Dad,

The oranges are good this year. The kids are demolishing bag after bag of those little clementines. To me, they have nothing on navels. But Jonah is so proud that he can peel them by himself. Josh laughs every time I open an orange with my teeth. I laugh too, but with pride. I am my father's daughter after all.  Do you want to come over and have an orange with me? I would love it if you would. 

the Christmas tree, Miriam edition

I just said to Josh the other day, "I think this is the perfect year for the kids to sleep under the tree on Christmas Eve! I think they would settle down and sleep. Last year, I definitely couldn't have trusted Caroline not to run around all night." This is a golden year for Christmas at our house. Jonah is starting to get in to Christmas movies and traditions, Caroline will probably remember this Christmas next year (whereas this year, she still isn't quite sure what the fuss is about), and Miriam can't do too much damage yet. Maybe next year we will have to put the tree up high or in a pack n play or not decorate the bottom third. This year, though, Miriam just loves crawling around underneath the lights. She's just the right age to be fascinated, but not old enough to pull it down on herself. It's magical.

Merry Christmas week!

the sticker residue vs. me

Once upon a time, we were moving out of an apartment. Josh took Jonah (the only child we had at the time...I can't even imagine.) for the day and left me to clean the apartment. It was fabulous. I actually rather enjoy cleaning. It's the picking up and dealing with children while trying to clean that I don't love. Anyway, some sticker residue from a birthday poster remained on our sliding glass door. I had next to nothing to clean it with: no razor blades, no knives, no Goo Be Gone. I did have a laptop and an internet connection, though. It was after eliminating all of the suggestions that required materials I did not have that I tried one rather bizarre hack: peanut butter. I did have a jar of peanut butter and a plastic spoon in the kitchen still.

Imagine my delight (and surprise) when the peanut butter pulled the goo right off. I was very impressed with my resourcefulness.

Now here I am, over four years later. I've been battling with the sticker residue on a new high chair since Friday. Finally, after exhausting all other options (other than going to the store to buy anything, of course. Let's not get carried away.), I pulled out the peanut butter. Would you look at that! It works on plastic, too. Thank you, peanut butter. Since the kids have recently decided to stop eating you, at least you have another use around here.

So has she started solids yet?

In answer to the common question now that Miriam is six months old, I usually say, "sort of." How can a child sort of start solids? I present photographic evidence:

the tale of two Christmas cards

No, strike that. I really don't care to tell the tale. I'm so tired of looking at Christmas card options! I finally found something that I think will work without breaking the bank. What I wanted to do, though, was print this one I designed myself:

For a variety of reasons (sizing, shipping costs, and indecision), it didn't work out that way. We will be sending out a completely different card that I like for completely different reasons. But as I'm cleaning off my desktop, I can't bear to delete this one without anyone seeing it. I worked really hard on it! So here you go, faithful blog readers, the Christmas card that never was. Josh said, "it's awfully...summery isn't it?" Blame that on the fact that it's 75 degrees outside, perhaps. Merry (summery) Christmas card season, folks. If you don't like the new card as well as this one, please don't tell me. I've lost enough sleep over the selection process as it is.

Josh would be proud

Jonah: Mommy? Why does Magic School Bus say food chain but the Wild Kratts say food web?

Miriam's hair, a love story

Miriam was born with awesome hair. The best part about it was that it would stick straight up after a bath. It would lay down a little more each day after being washed, which was a great visual indicator for when she might need another bath (bath-every-night parents we are not).

Well, as baby hair often does, it fell out. It's lightened up some. We watched and waited as it grew back in to see what it would do. 

Well...it's back! Here she is tonight in all her post-bath glory:

Almost six months

Watching football is serious business:

As is eating grass:

As is being generally cheerful and adored:

Caroline, on being sick

Caroline woke up (early!) Wednesday with a cough and a runny nose. In an effort to keep the rest of the house quiet so the other two could sleep (and in an effort to stay in bed myself just a little bit longer), I pulled Caroline in bed with me to watch BBC animal documentaries in bed until the sun came up. With that preface, here are some things Caroline has to say about being sick:

"When I wake up and come to your bed at night, we watch shows!"

(Bringing me the Vick's vapor rub): "This is my medicine! I put it on my chest and it makes me sick!"

(Praying): "Help me to feel sick. Amen."

the girl who loved names

There was once an almost-three-year-old girl who loved names. When reading "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" she would ask her mommy, "What is the bear's name? What is the frog's name? What are all the children's names?" She liked to name the toy cars and dinosaurs she played with. She liked to write names when she drew pictures. But what this little girl loved most of all was to look through picture albums and name her family members. The idea that moms and dads and grandmas have other names made her laugh, and she loved to talk about it.

So one night, I took a video.

and while we're on the subject of football

The SEC West has entirely too many red and white teams. Seriously, guys.

University of Alabama:

University of Arkansas:

Mississippi State:

Texas A&M:

Ole Miss (whose colors are actually blue and red, but they often wear more red and white than anything else):

All that leaves in the division is LSU (purple and gold) and Auburn (orange and blue). For some reason, both LSU and Auburn are the Tigers, so what originality points they gain in colors they lose in mascot choice. I love the conference, but we do need a little more variation, no?

I feel like I've read that before...

So it's not a very big secret that Josh and I came home from Alabama with a love for college football. Often during the week, we will read articles about the previous Saturday or previewing what to expect from the coming games. There has been a lot of talk this season about Georgia's running back Todd Gurley, one of the best running backs in the country. He was suspended and then tore his ACL last week. There is really no debating that he has been an amazing running back. What does seem up for debate, however, is how many "best running backs in the country" are on the football field right now. It's gotten to the point that when we read the words "best running back in the country," we have a little chuckle. Here's a quick sampling (including one variation to "most dangerous"):

"Mississippi State's Josh Robinson overcame a lot on his way to becoming one of the best running backs in the SEC."

"We lose, in my opinion, one of the best running backs in the nation (David Cobb) and Donnell Kirkwood and Rodrick Williams stepped up."

"Tevin Coleman is one of the best running backs in the country.  He dropped 228 yards and three touchdowns on the Buckeyes like it was nothing."

“Duke is one of the best running backs in the country,” London said.

"Saturday's matchup of two of the best running backs in the country did not disappoint, as Melvin Gordon and the No. 20 Wisconsin Badgers beat Ameer Abdullah and the No. 16 Nebraska Cornhuskers 59-24."

“Anthony is one of the best running backs in the country, without a doubt, at any level,” Lake Erie head coach Mark McNellie said."

"He has the best running backs in the country to hand off to (T.J. Yeldon, Derrick Henry, Kenyan Drake), arguably the most talented wideout (Amari Cooper), an obvious breakout candidate at tight end (O.J. Howard) and a solid offensive line that returns three starters." 

"Few UNC freshman have arrived with the fanfare of Hood, who was a five-star prospect ranked among the best running backs in the country."

“He’s transformed himself into one of the most dangerous running backs in the country.”

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/09/03/5147885/unc-freshman-elijah-hood-recaptures.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/college/acc/university-of-miami/article4057691.html#storylink=cpy

Dear Dad,

Do you remember when I went to college and bought plastic hangers at Target? You seemed dismayed that I didn't consider wire hangers good enough. Although I do prefer plastic hangers, it really wasn't the material. I just wanted them all to match. On the other hand, I'm not sure that would have seemed less frivolous to you, considering the mouse incident. Remember when in my second semester of college my mouse broke? You offered me one of the old mouses (mice?) around the house, but I declined. I was planning on buying a new mouse that matched my computer and printer (which were both the same color, if you recall). I remember you saying (mostly in jest...I think), "I hope your fancy new mouse breaks."

Well, I think you'd be pleased with how I've matured over the years. I still like my hangers to match, but I eat leftovers these days...sometimes. I may still have to hold my breath to choke them down, but throwing away perfectly good food is no longer as easy to do as it was 10 of 15 years ago. I even eat the edges of Caroline's sandwiches occasionally (though usually only when she's had Nutella toast). The ultimate crown of my maturity? I ate oatmeal this morning by choice. Oh how I hate oatmeal. But it's cheap and healthy and the kids like it, so I begrudgingly pulled out the oats and a pot of water. I use oats mostly for baking, though, and I buy them from the bulk bins more often than not. So I didn't have a recipe for regular oats. The only container with an oatmeal recipe on it belongs to Josh's quick oats. (Gross, right? Well if he's the one who cooks and eats it, he gets to decide what kind we should have around the house.) Then I remembered Mom's old note in our oats at home: "regular oats following the quick oats recipe." So I made oatmeal your way this morning. It didn't make it taste much better, but I did think you might not have minded sitting at the table with us and eating some too. There was homemade bread and apple butter. I think you would have liked that part, too.

fire sticks

Caroline: I want to do the green fire sticks.
Me: Fire sticks?
Caroline: Yes, on my birthday cake!

just like brother

What happens when Jonah makes a neat Lego design and I ask him to pose for a picture?

Little sister insists that she needs her picture taken too. But what if she's still eating lunch? That is no problem at all. "Take my picture with my pizza, mommy!"

reminiscing

When people find out that I married a boy from my hometown, they often say, "How nice for the holidays!" Yes and no. Birthdays, Christmas, spring breaks...these things are times when it is wonderful to have so much family in the same state. The three days that are tricky are Mother's Day, Father's Day, and Thanksgiving.

Here's the thing about Thanksgiving: it's my favorite holiday. Thanksgiving, to me, should be spent cooking, eating, napping, and playing games. Then, maybe another slice of pie and some more games.* Have you ever tried to do that at more than one location? It doesn't work well. That said, when we agree to just go to one family's Thanksgiving or the other, I feel like I want to just run over and say hi to the other family too. How can we be in town and not just say hello? And thus, Thanksgiving becomes more running around than playing games. Is it worth it to be close to family? Absolutely. Do I sometimes long for Thanksgivings past? Definitely. As I sit here considering what to do this coming Thanksgiving, I'm thinking of four favorite Thanksgivings.

Thanksgiving 2003: If you'd asked at the time, this would not have made my list. I'd flown home from college in September when Quintin came home from Romania and was planning to fly home again for Christmas. A trip home for Thanksgiving just wasn't in the budget. So when my wonderful roommate invited me home to spend it with her family, I was happy to accept. Did I know then, when I'd barely been speaking to her for a month (I had this weird panic about getting to know my roommate, so I said hello and goodbye and not much else from August-October. Did I mention it's a miracle I made friends in college?) that we would become great friends? That her family's open-armed acceptance of me would change my life for the better? I also read East of Eden that vacation. A whole Steinbeck in one weekend! Oh, what I wouldn't give for a Thanksgiving (or weekend) like that every few years.

Thanksgiving 2005 (I think?): It was either 2005 or 2006. Josh and I were newly married, and we, along with Quintin, stayed in Provo for the holiday. The food was fairly disgusting (I will never use pre-made pie crust again. Ugh.) except for the turkey, which was amazing. We'd spent weeks leading up to the holiday watching Food Network specials and compiling recipes. Then we spent the long weekend laying around the apartment and playing games. I don't wish my children away, but I don't foresee three solid days of games in pajamas any time in the next decade.

Thanksgiving 2010: What's 500 miles compared to 2500? Off we went to Ohio for Thanksgiving. We even talked Quintin in to flying out and making the drive with us. Other than the I-need-out-of-this-car-and-where-the-heck-are-we panic of getting lost for an hour at the end there, it was a fabulous trip. Jonah was small enough that we could play games while he napped and slept long nights. Are you noticing a theme here? Plus, I have never had a pecan pie as delicious before or since.

Thanksgiving 2012: I loved our little Alabama life. I definitely wanted to be home with family, but not for a one-day holiday (as explained above). This Thanksgiving was spent with the missionaries, Kaitlyn, and Kaitlyn's dad. We had the following pies: haupia, pecan, banana cream, chocolate cheesecake, and peanut butter. Who needs fruit pies anyway? After the meal, while I wasn't free to read a whole book or play video games all weekend, the kids did run around the backyard while we played croquet. It was wonderful.

As we contemplated what to do this year, we looked at each other and said, "Let's go see Kaitlyn!" Alas, she'll be spending Thanksgiving with her sister in Arkansas, but it was oh, so tempting.

What prompted all this? Perhaps unexpectedly, not the fact that Thanksgiving fast approaches. What prompted the reminiscing was this picture:

I miss you, friend.

*We can still be friends if you are a Black Friday (or earlier) shopper. I know some wonderful people who make it part of their Thanksgiving traditions. I definitely do not. Shopping and crowds are two of my least favorite things, much less at the same time.

hard working man

Jonah was scolding Caroline for something today. 

Me: Don't worry about that, Jonah. That's my job. 

Jonah: What else is your job?

Me: Feeding you. 

Jonah: That's not your only job. 

Me: No, I have to make sure you turn out to be a good person. 

Jonah: And making my fingers bleed from working so hard. You do that too. 

speaking of perspective

What about my friend whose baby just came home from a three-week hospital stint? The one whose days old baby is still in the hospital and refusing formula? The one whose babies both have the same disease and who knows she will watch them slowly get worse until she buries them?

What about the friend who couldn't have a baby, then lost one in her third trimester, and then lost another the same way...and then finally brought home a beautiful baby boy?

I guess we treasure the blessings we have when we have them. No one has them all; that is for sure.

Dear Dad,

I saw a picture of Aunt Sarah a few days ago that made me cry. I guess I never really thought you looked very much alike, but seeing a picture of her standing there...she had some of your body language or your nose or something. I was surprised at how strong my reaction was.

I had a good milestone today, though! Today was the first time I have thought of you (alone) and laughed. Talking about you, especially with family, often brings up the greatest stories. It has not been uncommon to laugh and smile then. But when I remember something I want to say or something like the Aunt Sarah picture happens, I have not been ready to laugh.

Well this afternoon, I made brownies in lieu of a birthday cake. I don't really like cake that much anyway. As I saved a good 1/4 cup of batter, I could hear you saying, "You'd get an extra 3 brownies out of that pan if you cleaned the bowl out" like you always did when I made them as a kid. I'm not that great at scraping bowls. With brownies, though, it's intentional. I sat down after dinner and ate my brownie batter and thought of you.

white tanks hike

I have dreams of being a hiking family: of hiking the Grand Canyon or Arches or just Picacho Peak as a family. I figure something like that doesn't happen by accident, so it's time to start training the kids to carry their own water and not whine the whole way, etc.

Josh was supportive of my plan (hatched and presented at 5:45 this morning) to go for a hike instead of sleeping in, and off we went!

It was cool, slightly breezy, and perfect. I love the desert in the morning. 

And for the record, I got dressed first. Why everyone else decided to wear red is a mystery to me. 

just call me Kebrllee

Today in church, Jonah drew our portraits. We thought he had drawn Josh with his old goatee until my chin was black too. It turns out he was practicing shading. Either that or my chin hair is out of control. 

Halloween, part 1

One thing I'm not great at: taking pictures of the kids in costume. 

On the up side, the ward Halloween party was a whole 6 days before Halloween this year, so this was a dress rehearsal. Unless of course we go to bed early Halloween night (which is high on the list of options).

Where's Miriam? Well isn't Halloween mostly for kids with teeth to rot anyway?

The school bus!!

...as Caroline calls it. These are pictures from our trip (including bus ride from the parking lot) to the Phoenix temple open house. 

more Caroline

(Hearing something noisy from the street): What was that? Probably a car, or a truck, or a storm trooper, or a motorcycle.

(finding one of Josh's dress shirts in the clean laundry pile): Look! It's Daddy's go to work! I looooooove him (emphasized by hugging and kissing the shirt).

Mama? Put water in my gun keez (please)? I need to chase Dixie.

Nonah! Don't yell at me! You keep me safe.

One of her favorite activities is taking all the dry goods out of the pantry and designing cityscapes.  "Look, Mom! A temple!" Now I just need to teach her how to organize the pantry instead...

one-sided

"I need in!"

"Jonah! I need in."

"I know. But I have some foods. Some muffins and toothsticks (toothpicks)."

"I know you right there. You lock this door right now!"

"I lock you door. I will!"

"Mmm-hmmm."

This is all I heard. I can't hear the other side of the conversation, but I can only imagine. 

pilfering photos off of Josh's phone

In no particular order:

As he tells us daily, no one loves Miriam more than Jonah does. 

Showing off a baby lizard that was running around the house for a while. Probably the owner of the lizard skeleton I vacuumed up last week. 

I have yet to get a decent action shot, but here is Jonah preparing to take his turn as goalie.

if babies could talk

This would be what Miriam would have said today:

"Woah! We have a dog?!"

The look on her face when she noticed Dixie for presumably the first time was hilarious.

self-fulfilling prophecies

I spent more time than was socially acceptable last night explaining to my mom the very delicate timing of reading the end of a book. She was kind and listened raptly (as mothers do).

What is that delicate timing, you ask? You must be careful not to finish it too soon, or you will enter that strange state of wanting to start a new book but not being satisfied because what you really want it to spend more time in the world and with the characters of the book you just finished. Unless, of course, you happen to have the sequel sitting next to you, then you must be careful not to finish the first book too soon, or you will end up staying up all night with the sequel. If you save too much to read in the evening, though, you risk staying up too late and being a grump the next day.

Then I went and finished my book a good hour before bedtime. Ugh. Gee thanks, excessive acknowledgments and blank pages.

we have a roller!

She can roll over both ways. She is so pleased with herself...except when it happens at night and she rolls in to the side of the crib. She isn't really pleased when that happens.

just us chickens

A few Caroline quotes for the morning:

(With a finger held up to scold me): Watch me jump! Don't talk!

C: Miriam is the little sister. Caroline is the big sister. Daddy is the big sister.
me: No, Daddy is the daddy.
C: Yes, Daddy is the big person.

(Sitting next to me on the couch): Let's talk. My swimming suits (pronounced: soups) are clean. My swimming soups are soooo pretty.

No, Jonah's with grandpa with camping. When grandpa drop Jonah off at this home (pointing to herself) he'll be HOME!

We need to call grandpa on his phone. Not mommy, not daddy, not Krimby, not Joshwa. Just grandpa.

(Calling from her bed): Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Krimby! Krimby! Where are you, Krimby?

me: Why did you pull all the books off the shelf?*
C: I did.
C: Let's not do that again.

Miriam wants to next by me. (Translation: Miriam wants to sit by me.)

With cousins, looking at worms. I love this picture so much.

On the last day our zoo membership was valid, we really lived it up:
splash pad, snow cones, the works.

*Could be replaced with "pull all the clothes out of your dresser" or "dump cereal all over the table" or "rub peanut butter all over your arm" or "color on Jonah's picture" or "get up in the middle of the night and play with toys," for example.

Dear Dad,

Today I remembered the time I was in Spain and ran out of money. I sent you a frantic email because I had no idea how to stop the cycle of my checking account trying to pay off my credit card and my credit card covering the overdraft fees. You emailed me back later, saying the problem was solved and to please never send my debit card number via email again.

Thank you for not lecturing me.

I probably deserved to work it out on my own, but maybe you could tell I was so mortified and embarrassed that it would never happen again. Or maybe you just saw fit to extend a little grace...like the time(s) you brought my flute to school when I forgot. And the time you teased me about getting a B until I could laugh about it too.

I want so badly to raise responsible children like you did, but maybe I need to remember the way you never made me feel unloved or less than wonderful when I messed up.

Thank you, Dad.

"but you don't know anything!"

Today, we were talking about ancient Egypt. Jonah wanted to see a picture of some things we were discussing, so we looked up drawings and such online. When he couldn't find a real picture of what he wanted, he got frustrated.

"There are no pictures of it, honey," I said. "Cameras didn't exist yet."

He teared up and cried, "But you don't know anything!"

Poor kid. History is hard sometimes.

The high point of my week.

                                                   

At this very moment, Jonah is eating snap peas dipped in ranch dressing.

If you have eaten a meal with my child recently, you will know that this is amazing on multiple counts. 

This hand? This is not Jonah. Here is my evidence: LOTS of dressing, Nutella stains on the arm, veggies mixed around on the plate. Love these kids.


P.S. For dinner tonight, we had Hawaiian haystacks. Jonah declared that he hates them (as he does every time we have them...unluckily for him, I love them). Then, somehow he started eating and announced, "Hey! This is even better all mixed together!" Seriously, where is my child?

P.P.S. I measured incorrectly while making rice pudding and ended up with 7 cups of slightly sweetened milk. At first I was quite upset. Now I'm thinking...chocolate pudding? Hot chocolate? Some kind of custard?

wait, these windows can open?

The windows are all open for the first time since April. The kids are outside shivering and claiming to be cold and loving every minute of it.

Mmm....65 degrees at 8:00. Will the a/c kick back on before noon? Probably, but we'll take what we can get.

nine years

Nine years ago today, our family was born. As Jonah said to Caroline this morning, "Today is our family's birthday!" Happy anniversary to my sweetheart.

In a rare show of romanticism (Josh is the definite romantic of the house), here are words of nine love songs that express how I feel:

Where was I before the day that I first saw your lovely face? Now I see it every day. And I know that I am (I am, I am) the luckiest.

                                      

Remember when the sound of little feet was the music we danced to week to week? Brought back the love, we found trust, vowed we'd never give it up. Remember when?

                                   

You're still the one that I love, the only one I dream of. You're still the one I kiss goodnight. You're still the one.

When you're standing at the crossroads and don't know which path to choose, let me come along. 'Cause even if you're wrong, I'll stand by you.

                                     

Better than I was, more than I am. And all of this happened by taking your hand. 

And the easy silence you create for me. It's okay when there's nothing more to say to me. And the peaceful quiet you create for me. And the way you keep the world at bay for me. The way you keep the world at bay.

 So close no matter how far, couldn't be much more from the heart. Forever trusting who we are, and nothing else matters.

I found a dream that I could speak to, a dream that I can call my own.

Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am home again. Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am whole again. Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am young again. Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am fun again.

Happy birthday, family! We're lucky to have these three yahoos, and we are lucky to have each other.