Friday Observance of A Thursday Occasion

After what should have been 4.75 hours of driving, we arrived home from Dallas in 8.25 hours!

It was clear last night, that a) alot of people live in Texas and b) most of them were driving home from a delightful Thanksgiving holiday on I-35.


It was the first year I've ever spent Thanksgiving Day eating Black Forest Ham sandwiches on a picnic at the lake. We decided to observe the holiday on Friday because Mimi (my Grandma) was arriving that Thursday afternoon from Kentucky. And we wanted to give Ian (my brother and one of the biggest Thanksgiving-dinner-lovers) an extra day to get over a stomach bug.

So Thursday afternoon we found ourselves at the lake with some Indian and Hispanic families that were not celebrating the holiday that day either.


We met Santiago for the first time on this trip,



Ava idolized her cousin Sofia, insisting that all wardrobe and hair-do's match accordingly. I liked to think of them as the "hair cousins". They both have long flowing locks.


Oliver was there too,

As were Dan and Mom,

Luke,


And Cristina, Ian, and Mimi,


I had a chance to practice my night-time, by-the-fire photoing skills. Most of them didn't turn out so well, but this one worked out okay.


Friday's dinner was a success. The preparation was all-inclusive. Each couple/individual had a couple of dishes assigned to them.

Mimi working on the stuffing,


Ian helped out by getting all the junk out of the inside of the turkey. He's a better man than me. I could never do it. I once broke a pair of tongs inside a raw chicken. I just can't handle that kind of thing.

I was impressed, here he is digging...digging...it's still a little frozen... digging..


and TA-DA!


Before dinner hit the table, we all went and got gussied up. Do you dress up for Thanksgiving? It's totally optional in our family. I even remember a photograph of Thanksgiving past where my brother and I are sitting at the "kids table" together, me in my fancy Sunday dress and he in his clown pajamas.

Dan and I were definitely more casual this year, but Mom helped Ava and Sofia with their make-up




and they were glamorous!



The spread was large:


turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, yams, jello-salad, corn pudding, green bean casserole, rolls, deviled eggs, olives and pickles, cranberry sauce,


as well as apple, pecan, and pumpkin pies.


Nobody held back,



Especially, Oliver




And I think the only things that could have made it better were if the whole family was there and it was all calorie-free.

This, That, and The Other

This week has been a catch-up. I let myself and the house go after my visitors left last week. The dishes, the laundry, the toys just piled up. I gave myself a few days to recoup. Then I started setting some goals and trying to get my household and routine back in order. We've been enjoying our morning walks.


This weekend the kids even had to snuggle under the blanket together.



It's about time, seeing as how it's the end of November.

And then finally, Dan had his Friday off, took the kids away, and I just cleaned my little heart out. I don't know what it is but I really enjoy cleaning and do my best work when I'm alone in the house, and I can turn up the music and just go to town. Okay, maybe I do know what it is. Maybe it's the fact that seeing the house get messed up faster than I can clean it is discouraging.

I find myself following Luke around picking up the trail he left, singing, "Messmaker, messmaker, make me a mess!" to the Fiddler on the Roof tune.

While I was cleaning, Dan took Luke and Ava to get Luke's blood drawn. Earlier in the week we paid a visit to the allergist. The "prick test" did not give us the necessary answers. It showed no allergy to fire ants (which is almost certainly a fact), though we did discover an allergy to dust mites. So a blood test was ordered. Hopefully the answers will be revealed and save my baby from inter-dermal testing.

For now we will keep our epi-pen nearby, give daily doses of Zyrtec, and wash the linens and stuffed animals weekly.

And speaking of Luke, he learned another new trick. This is a bold, new, gravity-defying trick that scares the heck out of me.

A few days ago, the kids were playing in the backyard. I send them out there in the afternoons fairly often, to get a head start on dinner or just get things cleaned up. And usually when they head out, I notice how beautiful the sunlight looks on their smooth little faces and silky hair and before I know it, I'm out there snapping pictures instead of keeping house. And really, how many pictures do I need of the same two children in the exact same location? Thousands, apparently.

Anyway, Luke wandered back into the house and when I peeked in to see where he'd gone, I found him like this.

That is a chair he pulled to the counter from the table, to climb upon to reach this,



And now I am finding him propped up to the counter or the sink on a chair he has dragged out for the occasion. He's just one slip away from stitches and a concussion. This boy cannot be trusted. Where should I keep the kitchen chairs? How do I baby proof this?

This thing

is my friend. It cuts off the crust and turns "just a sandwich" into a


"heart sandwich" in one easy step.


Which makes me and this other friend of mine very happy!


This little friend showed off his tricks for the camera. Here he is blowing a kiss.


He sucks on that chubby hand for a few seconds before pulling it out in a slobbery "pppwwahhh!" sound sending his love.


And here is is ready for prayer. One of his four words is "Par"



And these manly friends like to enjoy a little (or a lot) BYU football together.

Luke actually likes to sit with Dan and watch. Dan could not be happier about that.

And some of my recent sewing escapades includes this little skirt and headband




for a one year birthday present for this blue eyed beauty friend,



She likes to use the lid of the teapot as a paci. Happy belated birthday, Ella!

Times are a changin'

For basically the past 3 years, prior to every plan we've made, trip we've taken, errand we've run, my mother-brain has gone through scenario after scenario of likely outcomes relating to Ava.

She is very unpredictable, but through our time together, I have improved my ability to guess what she's likely to do.

Sometimes, I'll admit, Dan and I place a wager on our predictions. Lots of the time, we actually predict the same thing and we're usually right. Other times we disagree and I'm usually right. That's part of the payoff for the quantity of hours we spend together. Of course there are the rare times that Dan is right and I'm not or neither of us could ever have guessed the outcome.


So, for example, we like to predict who she will and will not like. Food she will or will not like. She is highly discriminatory in every way. For sanity's sake I try to run through every possible scenario of how a trip to the mall, the store, the zoo, a friends' house, will actually go. It is highly scientific and variables like the weather, the mood, the hunger level, the sleep quotient, position of the planets must be considered. You moms know. Or maybe you don't and I'm the only weird one.

If I can think of the likely outcomes then I can plan. You know, because if you are prepared you shall not fear, right? I think of each possible situation, and then in turn, each possible solution, remedy, or course of action on my part.

I can never be sure but I just like to know what's coming. Or to pretend I know what's coming.

But here's where things have gotten tricky lately:

Ava blows our predictions out of the water and has no problems, no fits, no meltdowns. And then little bitty Luke, who I have never had to make an emergency preparedness plan for before, goes bananas!

This is not the case 100% of the time. (What's Ava without a little freak-out now and again?) But more and more of the time, I am "dealing" with Luke instead of Ava. I guess it's true- they're growing up!



So having just arrived home from church I am seeking all advice or recommendations for toys, distractions, activities that you've heard of, tried, swear by, etc. for a little boy of 16 months to utilize during church (especially sacrament meeting).

I am a toy-minimalist at heart. Luke has been an easy-going, hang-out kinda guy until recently. I've never brought much to entertain him. But something's gotta change cause the times sure are.

Suggestions, pretty please?

Ava Stories

Ava often uses a phrase like this, "When I was a wittle (little) baby, I wearned (learned)________"

Fill in the blank with anything she likes.

"When I was a wittle (little) baby, I wearned (learned) to wear this dress"

"When I was a wittle (little) baby, I wearned (learned) to eat this candy"

"When I was a wittle (little) baby, I wearned (learned) to love these jammies"

Sometimes she shakes things up and says something like, "When I was a wittle (little) baby, you wearned (learned) to love this cake"

or "When you were a wittle (little) baby, you wearned (learned) to love this blanket"


I'm not sure where it came from but I think it might stem from the fact that she sleeps with the same blanket I used when I was little. Maybe during the explaining process I used a similar phrase. In any case it's one she has used for a long time and I realized today as she said it for the cazillionth time that I might be sad if I didn't remember it.

****************

This past weekend when we were in Dallas, we were visiting one of the best places on earth, the arboretum. Just as we sat down to a yummy lunch she said she had to go to the bathroom. I asked her if she could hold it. She said yes. 30 seconds later she said she has to go again. Knowing that she is a master-holder, I figure that she must have to go pretty bad for her to ask twice. So I reluctantly leave our lunch and we begin the trek to the bathrooms. They were quite a ways away. I could see her physically concentrating to "hold it" as we walked and she started to say things like "I really gotta go potty, Mom!" As we walked quickly, I kept asking her if she could hold it. She said yes.

Well, we made it to the bathroom, no accidents! But as she was doing her thing I realized, all of a sudden, that I really had to go, too. Before I knew it, I was dancing around a bit. I told Ava that when she was done I needed to go too. She used her sweetest little voice.

"Sure, Mom, you can use my potty when I'm done." And she went on to explain that she needed to go number 2 so it would be a little longer. I am sure she could see me physically concentrating so then she said,

"I will ask you one question, Mom: Can you hold it?"

That made me laugh so hard I thought I might not be able to!

**************

Also last weekend, my mom indulged Ava by letting her "play" with some of her make-up. Nothing of consequence really, and then when they were almost done, my mom handed her a tube of clear lip gloss she doesn't use and told Ava she could try it out. She was thrilled!

Ava is a chapstick fiend. It is a required element for being a princess. So Ava used that entire tube in the 48 hours we were there. She would take a stool into my mom's bathroom and stand in the mirror gazing at herself as she smeared it inches thick across her mouth.

After it had been very quiet for some time I went in and found she had just used "a little" eyeliner.


After taking her picture and telling her to not use anymore she went on her way. We laughed about my poor choice of parenting style-giving her lots of attention for a behavior I didn't want repeated. And my use of positive reinforcement worked perfectly when she returned a few minutes later having used "a little more" eyeliner to look just like a princess.

But you know I had to take a picture.

Big Sigh

I am catching my breath this afternoon.

Halloween came and went and I find myself here on November 11th not knowing what exactly has happened the past week and a half.

Dan went to London for a business trip. He had fun. He even went out by himself and took a tour on his last day there. We were both proud of him because he doesn't often do that type of thing alone. He also got to fly first class and was so spoiled. It will be a stark reminder of reality when he flies with me and the kids to Utah this Christmas. I wanted to go with him so badly. We decided "maybe next time".

Here is is with the kids right before he left. I thought the picture turned out kind of neat. You can see Dan's aura radiating from him.


Once he walked out the door, the kids got on the futon to wave out the front window. Then Luke got "the look" in his eyes and wanted to wrestle. I couldn't resist taking some pictures and after quickly looking at them I realized that Dan's "aura" was really a fingerprint.



Anyway, while he was away my friend Stephanie came from New Hampshire to visit. It has been over 3 and a half years since I've seen her. She brought her little baby along. My parents came down to visit/help and as my mom was helping us get everyone buckled into the van, she commented about how Stephanie and I used to ride around together all the time but did we ever imagine ourselves riding around with all this extra cargo?


No we didn't. I think we have both changed a lot since our days together. I do know that even though I am not the same person I was then, I would not be the person I am now, without the friendship she gave me in high school. I hate to think what I would be like if I hadn't had her in my life.

Dan is home. Stephanie is gone. The kids are calming down. Things will revert to a routine. It's funny how just a little chaos can make you really appreciate the things that seem mundane.

Halloween '08

So Ava was gonna be Dorothy and Luke was going to be a lollipop munchkin this year. I started Ava's dress first. It was an instant hit, she kept saying, "Dorfy's gonna lub it!" She would hardly take it off.






I just winged it, as I tend to do, and I am pleased with how it turned out. Someday I will make something which does not require me to "fix" mistakes. It will just be right the first time. Even if it's only luck, I am confident that that someday will come! I didn't remember to leave extra room for adding in the zipper when I cut so then I needed to add width to the top without adding to the skirt, blah, blah, blah, it all turned out okay!

And then poor Luke. He suffers from Second Child Syndrome. He always seems to be getting the short end of the deal. A couple of days before Halloween I started to wonder if the lollipop munchkin was really the best idea. I began to doubt his ability to hold onto a huge lollipop for any amount of time, and I wanted him to be recognizable with or without "Dorfy".

I found this bear costume on sale and got it "just in case". Then I had some other flighty ideas. Then Thursday day got crazy and realized there would be no way to make any kind of costume for Luke in 15 minutes before our ward Trunk or Treat. So he was a bear. A cute, pudgy, waddly little bear. He ran around with reckless abandon just like he does every Sunday at church.

And something about the squishy tummy of the costume made him like to roll around.

Halloween night was wicked fun! We had a little party with the Marcks.

My homegirl, Val, had such fun food and decorations.






We ate doughnuts off a string.


The bigger kids thought it was so fun.


Then Luke and Lainey had their own round. Lainey jumped right in there. Luke stood around dancing before he wandered off. I guess he doesn't like doughnuts.




I am without pictures for this part, but Dan, Jordan, and I had our own doughnut on a string contest, while Val was out with an injury (sore tooth!). But let's just say I took those boys for a ride! In possibly the closest doughnut eating contest in Halloween history, I came back from near defeat to win! Yeah, me!

Then we popped the kids into their costumes and we were off.



In our group we had Dorothy, The Bear, Lainey the cheerleader,


Jorgie as Pocahontas, Quentin the Ghost,


and Val the witch with her little black kitten, Clara.


Luke rode most of the way in the stroller.



He didn't collect any candy except for the pieces we used to keep him happy and quiet. It was really fun to see Ava run from house to house with all the kids, obviously enjoying herself.



One sweet little story about Ava from the night illustrates her empathy. First you must know that she loves Jorgie. Loves her. She thinks she walks on water. And rightfully so because she is one of the kindest little people around. Ava often says, "I just love Jorgie" or "I just miss Jorgie". Well anyway, the kids ventured up to a particularly spooky house with lots of creepy recorded sounds and cobwebs, etc. Poor little Jorgie got scared and cried. And Ava was not too scared about the noises, only concerned with her friend. She walked along beside her, patting her back and saying, "Oh Jorgie, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry!"

Overall, the kids collected lots of loot and had a great night and so did Dan and I!




And to my doughnut opponents, I'll just say one thing-Maybe next year, Boys. Maybe next year!