For the rest of my life . . . very whiney post, beware

I make school lunches at night. It's just one less thing to do in the morning and it helps me sleep a little better. Oh, and did I mention that I'll be making them at night for the next 18 years? I also do laundry every day (don't we all, ladies?) and I remember the moment when I realized that I will be doing laundry almost every day for the rest of my life.

I got married when I was 20 (sheesh, no wonder Neal's brother called me his "highschool bride"). My husband, although he is infinitely more wonderful and gobs more brilliant than I ever thought he could be at that time, doesn't like to pick things up. Or put things away. Or anything like that. So I remember the moment, in our little condo in P-town, when I realized that if it was going to be done, it was ME who would be doing it (at least until my kids are older and I really put them to work, ha ha).

I remember walking by some socks on the floor about 7 years ago and realizing that if I never picked them up, they would be there forever. Nothing against Neal, of course (love you baby), I mean, he would pick them up, but I'd have to ask him to. That's when it hit me: just do it now and get it over with. I said to myself, "Don't walk by those socks without picking them up, you'll just have to come back to do it later."

Neal and I have a good understanding, I think. We both realize that we have separate jobs, mine is in the home, his is out. I don't ever expect him to do housework, just as he doesn't expect me to do root canals to pay the bills. We have our spheres, you know? He'll help me with housework if I ask him to, of course, but I rarely do. He works hard enough as it is.

And so it is. I mean, doing laundry every day could easily beset me (and sometimes, like today, it does). But there are so many other more horrific things going on in the world. Women in Mozambique would kill for my laundry room, right Jooj? Natalie would too. :) I'm just feeling petty today.

Of course, I chose to be a "homemaker," and how grateful I am to my families and my husband that I am able to be one. I wouldn't trade it for an office job, that's for sure. Been there, done that: don't love it. I DO love the smelling-the-baby-lips, hugging-the-kids, staying-in-pajamas-until-noon, meeting-the-kids-for-lunch-at-school, getting-the-mail-as-the-highlight-of-my-day part of my life. DON'T love the sock-picking-up, lunch-making, laundry-folding, bathroom-floor-cleaning parts.

Just so you know. Thanks for listening.

Oh, and my advice: don't ever leave a room empty-handed. You'll just have to come back later . . . you know the rest. Anyway, off to make lunches.

Just some thoughts I had in the middle of the night

From Mormon.org:
"Living prophets
Throughout history, God has chosen prophets, such as Noah, Abraham, Moses, and others, to teach the gospel and direct His Church (Amos 3:7). It is no different today. We all need GodÂ’s guidance in a world that is sometimes confusing. Because God loves His children, He continues to send living prophets. Joseph Smith (1805-–44) was the first prophet of our time. Gordon B. Hinckley is God'’s chosen prophet today. Just as God led the Israelites out of slavery and to a better place through His prophet Moses, He leads His children today into happier, more peaceful lives when they choose to follow His living prophet."

As I was nursing Miles this morning at around three o'clock, I was staring up at the ceiling, feeling my sweet little boy slowly breathing as he drifted back to sleep. I started thinking about the president of our church, Gordon B. Hinckley, whom we believe to be a modern-day prophet. I thought about the fact that he was once a baby, too. I wondered about what he was like growing up. Was he easy to raise? Was he always so pleasant and optimistic as he is now, at 96?

I thought how strange it is that one day I will be the same age as the prophet. That man will have lived his life as a contemporary with me. How amazing that right now, there is a young father somewhere, about my age, who will one day be the prophet to the world. Someone my age is living their life in this often terrible world in such a way that they will one day be called of God to lead His Church and the world through undoubtedly tougher times.

And somewhere, there is a baby who will one day be the prophet. Somewhere there is a mother who is raising a boy who will be worthy enough to have that sacred calling. Am I living that way? Am I raising sons who will be worthy enough? I don't know, but I'm going to try harder.

Babywearing

The more kids I have, the more hands-free time I need; can you relate? Well, the other side of the coin is that I keep having these cute little boys who love to be hugged and cuddled all the time, which is definitely fine by me, except for the hands-free need thing. Sigh.

In other words, Miles likes to be held, surprise surprise, and if it were up to me, I would hold and hug him all day. I never tire of his sweet little smell and adorable little expressions and sounds. I remember when Audrey was a newborn and I could just lay down on the couch with her for every nap. We both got plenty of rest and since I had no other kids and lived in 700 square feet, I didn't have a whole lot else to do! (mothers of one baby, take note. enjoy having one baby. it gets harder. :) )

Well, count my blessings, these days, life is not so simple. Dinner needs making, laundry needs folding, primary needs its chorister back, and other kids need hugging, too.

So I'm in the market for a "sling." I think "babywearing," as it is called, is a wonderful thing. I can't stand to see babies lugged around strapped into their car seats all day, plus my upper body strength is not where I'd like it to be and those things are heavy! Babies are only small for so short a time, and I love baby-to-mommy contact in any form. My friend Kelsey uses these cute slings, but they're a little pricey. Anyone have a good sling they'd recommend?

(Oh, and I'm not into those panels of fabric that are like 8 yards long that you wrap all over yourself like a bandage. I'm not really the organic hippie-type!)

Jealousy Time

This post is in regard to Stephanie's blog today about a show that was on TV once upon a time. Steph and I would steal moments and watch it, and here I am with one of the stars. If you are not interested, please see the post below; it's way cuter. :)


Me with Jared Leto at the Sundance Film Festival in 1997. It was a really fun night. This is, of course, months before I met my wonderful Neal.

*I was on a date with someone else and ran into Jared Leto at the premiere of his movie. I had my date take this picture. :)

My Kids

One day I was blog-surfing through Stephanie's myriad of links and found this really fun one, and I stole an idea from it. hehee. The lady had only asked her kids 6 questions; I added a few because it was so fun! Of course, the older they are, the better, because they'll have more independent ideas, but if your kids can talk, ask them these!


Here's how Audrey (5 1/2) answered:

1. Something I do well - "drawing"
2. Something I'd like to improve on - "cartwheels"
3. My favorite food - "miso soup"
4. Three words that best describe me - "That my favorite color is dark teal, I can ride horsies, I have red hair."
5. My happiest moment - "when I'm riding horsies"
6. The most important thing in my life now - "going to school"
7. My favorite movie - "The Last Unicorn"
8. My favorite book - "Spirit"
9. My favorite person in the whole world - "Callie" (new best friend at school)
10. Instead of going to school, I wish I could - "go swimming every day, and I wish the pool never ever closed."
11. My favorite place to go - "the movie theater"
12. My favorite thing to draw - "unicorns and horses"
13. Something I want for Christmas - "My Little Pony Rainbow Castle"
14. My favorite color is - "dark teal, purple and pink"
15. At recess, I like to play - "unicorn club, because I want everyone to know about unicorns"
16. When it's raining, I like to - "read and draw."
17. My favorite animal is - "birds and horses."

Then to the moms or dads: Were you surprised by any of the answers? Not really; Audrey is pretty predictable these days. I didn't know she wished so much that she could do cartwheels. I think it's great that she likes miso soup so much. My kids love Japanese food! I love how she wants to spread the word about unicorns. Today she came home and said she found another girl during PE that believes in unicorns, so tomorrow she's going to try and find her on the playground so she can join the club, too.


Here's how Parker (3 1/2) answered:

1. Something I do well - "playing the computer"
2. Something I'd like to improve on - "climb up a house"
3. My favorite food - "budgunk " (orange juice)
4. Three words that best describe me - "I'm three, I wish I could be a superhero, I have yellow hair, like you Mommy."
5. My happiest moment - "climbing on the monkey bars"
6. The most important thing in my life now - "my family" (this one took some prompting)
7. My favorite movie - "Batman"
8. My favorite book - "Superman books"
9. My favorite person in the whole world - "You" (his mommy, totally unsolicited, promise :) )
10. Instead of going to school, I wish I could - "play the computer"
11. My favorite place to go - "Superhero school" (at the Nasa Space center)
12. My favorite thing to draw - "Superman"
13. Something I want for Christmas - "a glow-in-the-dark Batman"
14. My favorite color is - "dark blue"
15. At recess, I like to play - "the monkey bars"
16. When it's raining, I like to - "play catch"
17. My favorite animal is - "bats"

Then to the moms or dads: Were you surprised by any of the answers? I didn't know that Parker considers his hair blonde, it's more of a goldeny-peachy color, some call it red. I also didn't know that he liked bats; obviously, that's an homage to Batman. Unfortunately, I did know that he LOVES to play the computer. Shame on me for letting him get so good at it!

Jooj!

My sister Julianne, is really cool. Listen to this.

Well, it's really long, but if you have time, it's worth a listen. Julianne was interviewed on KUCI, a radio station in California, about her experiences in Africa and with the organization Care for Life. Way to go, Jooj!

Our Little Fluff

Miles doesn't really have that much hair, and what little he does have has a blondish-strawberryish tint to it. There's not really enough to tell what color it will be, but Parker, in his sweet little way, calls Miles' hair his "fluff." Actually, Parker calls Miles "my little fluff." When he wants a little hug from the baby, Parker will say, "I just wanna get a little bit of fluff," and he'll gently put his cheek on Miles' head. Now it's just about the sweetest thing ever, so I had to share. And here's what Miles looks like today, 4 weeks old.


Oh, I've also been posting quite a bit of clips to my Vimeo page lately, for safe-keeping, including a little show about the day Miles was born. Check it out here.

remember?

. . . "thine alabaster cities gleam, undimmed by human tears" . . .

I debated on whether or not to blog today, but I just can't let the day go by without recording my memories, mostly just for myself. It was the weirdest day, wasn't it? I remember turning on the Today show that morning while I played with little Audrey on the floor. I saw the second plane hit and watched both towers fall. I called my parents, but they weren't awake yet or they were out of town. I wanted to talk to someone, so I called Neal's mom and we cried together on the phone, looking at our TVs in disbelief. Watching all those people in the streets desperate to find their loved ones, showing pictures to the camera, as if we could help, and knowing deep down that they wouldn't find them. I still can't believe it happened, that both buildings just fell down. I remember Neal calling and I asked him to please come home, I wanted to be close to him, remember that feeling? I had a hard time smiling at my adorable little girl that day, and now I wonder when I'll have to tell her about what those horrible people did. To tell her without scaring her. It's history now, and she'll learn about it, but I want her to know what it was really like to watch it happen and feel so helpless. That's as real as it was for me.

. . . "who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life" . . .

Audrey's on vacation . . .

Audrey just sent us this little postcard. We're not quite sure how she got to India, but there she is! I hope she gets back in time for school tomorrow!

For more information on where she really went, click here.

Travel

When I was little, my parents bought a world map so that they could keep track of all the incredible places they would take us. They would put these little glass-head pins into the map on each city we had visited. I remember looking at that map and thinking about how far away from my house I had been. My parents changed my life and made me who I am by taking me around the world, and I'll never be able to thank them enough for it.

I learned about how huge the world was at a very young age. I saw people in circumstances I never knew existed. I was exposed to the great museums and historical sites of the world and got a feel for foreign cities and international cuisine by the time I was 12. The memories I have with my parents and siblings in exotic places like Fiji, Bermuda and Egypt, New Zealand, Japan and Scotland will last me a lifetime. Here is just one of those memories; it's not a pretty one or even life-changing, but I will never forget it:

The summer of 1986, when I was eight, my parents took us to Europe for six weeks. My suitcase full of clothes and my mom's travel bag with, among other things, her diamond pendant, went missing at the airport in Paris. When we got to our hotel, my mom and dad spent several hours on the phone trying to track down our luggage. Thus, we children were sort of left to our own devices for the afternoon. Elliott and Matthew, being the brilliant young boys they were, thought it would be fun to drop cups of water over our balcony onto innocent bystanders on the sidewalk. Ya, good idea guys.

So, to take my mind of my poor little teddy bear lost somewhere in Paris, I stood next to them at the window. After the cups of water lost their charm, they decided to go for the ice bucket. I don't think at this point they had actually hit anyone with the water, but all that soon changed once the ice bucket was involved. They dumped the bucket full of water directly onto some poor scruffy-looking middle-aged French man, who subsequently looked up at our window and cursed while shaking his fist. I was scared, and became even more scared when I realized that I was the only one at the window. My loving good examples of older brothers had ducked down and were laughing on the floor.

I was completely convinced that this man was on his way up the elevator to hurt me. I tried to think of how I was going to defend myself to him and to my parents. Luckily, he moved on down the sidewalk, muttering curse words about me en Francais.

Now I don't necessarily want my kids to have memories like this one, but I only hope I can provide them with the insight and perspective that my childhood of travelling provided me.

I found this site on my friend Kristen's blog. You can track the countries (and states) you've been to and it will map them out for you. Now let's not make this a contest, because Neal and I missed the big family cruise last year, and so you all have more than we do, and Jooj would clearly win anyway. But what a fun idea!

38 states

26 countries

yummy!

You know those coupons you get in the mail for 20% off at Linens 'n Things? We actually used one the other day and got something Neal and I have wanted for a long time . . .
an Ice Cream maker! Oh yes, something we should have registered for when we got married 8 years ago (then maybe we wouldn't have received so many stinkin' towels!). Anyway, we employed our new machine the other night and made some completely delectable Chocolate Velvet Ice Cream. It worked like a dream and the result was so yummy, I thought I would share the recipe, which originally came from Elliott and Ginger. So if you were smart and registered for an ice cream maker, make this tonight; you'll thank me!

Chocolate Velvet Ice Cream

2/3 c. white sugar
1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
3 egg yolks, beaten
2 2/3 c. heavy cream
1/3 c. semisweet chocolate

In a large bowl, stir together sugar and cocoa. Add egg yolks and blend with electric mixer. Add cream a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Chill mixture in refrigerator. While cream mixture is chilling, grate chocolate chips in blender or food processor. Stir into cream mixture. Freeze in canister of ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.

Do you ever wonder . . .

Do you ever wonder if you're the only one who thinks your kids are cute? I mean, we've all seen babies who aren't, and you know you're biased to your own genes, but my baby really is cute. I promise. Not that I was really worried, and not like it really matters, but it always feels good to be validated! The lady in front of me in line at Kroger today ended her phone conversation just so she could take a picture of Miles with her camera phone. And then she took a picture of Parker. He's pretty cute, too.

So somewhere, tonight, some random lady is showing people pictures of my sweet, CUTE, little boys.

Yawn . . .

I'm tired, too, Miles. I wonder why . . . :)

We're a little sad . . .

Brama and Pa are leaving and we are sad. My mom has been an absolute angel; check out her awesome multi-tasking abilities (above)! I keep saying that if I didn't have her, there's no way I could have babies! With the long c-section recovery and my annoyingly badly-timed illnesses on top of it, I have been pretty much useless except for my lactation capabilities these past few weeks. My mom was able to slip in and take over, taking kids to school, doing all the laundry, shopping, cooking, and cleaning, and basically keeping our lives running smoothly, all in the middle of August in South Texas (not my Mom's favorite place or climate!). It was quite the sacrifice; thank you, Mom! We owe you everything, you've made our lives so easy and we'll miss you more than you know!

My dad joined us last week; now that his "deal" is done, he's been able to hang up the cell phone, put away the computer, and have some fun and relax. He's been swimming with the kids and holding Miles a lot. They're topping it all off with a trip to the Astros game tonight! Oh, and by the way, Pa has also updated his blog!

Pa and Parker playing ball in the front hall. Notice their awesome pj pants!

In other news, Miles had his first real tubby. Of course, he didn't really like it, but it was cute to watch! He's three weeks old tomorrow!

Why Aunts are Cooler than Moms . . .

Aunts are cooler than moms because when they take you to the Children's Museum, they paint your faces to look like real cats.

Moms just paint little tattoo-sized shapes on your arm.

This is a little late, but thanks for coming, Julianne! You made my life so much easier while you were here; the kids adore you and I believe you had a lot to do with Miles not coming a few days earlier! I hope you enjoyed some stimulating conversation with Audrey about religion and international languages and Neal about politics. Now you know just how boring being on bedrest can be and just how wonderful it is to have a new little one arrive in the middle of the night! Love you! Live it up in P-Town!