red licorice

How the Science Fair and a Virus Tried to Kill Me

2012-02-09T20:47:00.000-08:00

Or, The Worst Night Ever.

So, the boys have been sick since January 14th. That was when the vomiting began. Also stomach pains and diarrhea. And while it has waxed and waned over the past three weeks, it has never died. Just when I think it has left the building, it starts again.

January was supposed to be dedicated to churning out a science fair project for Bryant. But since I was otherwise occupied (laundry and carpet cleaning--see above), and getting Bryant to take on a project is like forcing tar to move uphill backwards (as Mom says).....it didn't happen.

With only a few days to go, we tackled it hardcore this week. Jake helped him with his paper. Praise the heavens that his teacher let us type and Bryant dictate. (Something about a keyboard shuts that boy up for reals.) Wednesday night we performed his experiment on 20 different neighbors. (Thank you friendly townspeople!) By 8 pm, all we had to do was finish the paper, create the board, and come up with a presentation. Ha. We finally sent Bryant to bed around 10 or 11.

By 2:30 am, Thursday morning, Jake and I called it quits. My darling friend had offered me her Cricut for the labeling the board, and we had finished the last of what we thought we could do without doing the board for Bryant.

2:45 am--Lay down.

2:48 am--Hear noises. Investigate. Benjamin has thrown up. Change sheets. Shower boy. Take out garbage. Put boy to bed.

3:00 am--Lay down.

3:02 am--Hear noises. Investigate. Benjamin has filled his diaper. Lay him down to change. Realize that this is the virus-bug again when diarrhea spills out all. over. the. carpet. Change sheets. Shower boy. Clean up carpet. Take out garbage. Put boy (fully awake at this point) to bed.

3:45 am--Lay down. Oh blessed sleep, how I've missed you!!

5:30 am--Benjamin wakes me up signing for bread (he doesn't talk much). Listen, kid, I realize that your entire digestive tract has been emptied, but SERIOUSLY?!
Put boy to bed. Sleep!!! (for three hours anyway.)

8:45 am--"Mom, can you take me to school? I don't want to be late!" That was Michael. Bryant still had another two hours of work on the science fair project and Henry refused to go to school because he couldn't eat breakfast at the bar (where the science fair board was resting). Whatever. At this point I can't feel much worse about my mothering skills (my kids' procrastination and bad health all trace back to me, I'm sure). Even though the past night has proven that I AM A SAINT.

DO YOU HEAR ME WORLD? I AM A SAINT!!! (Jake is a saint too, I should point out. It was like one elongated date all night long.)

Take that Science Fair! Take that Virus-bug. You got me, but not good enough. (Go away now!!)

Two

2012-02-09T20:43:00.000-08:00

He loves horses especially, animals in general, books and trucks. He can sign a million words, but the only one he verbalizes on a regular basis is "udts" (meaning whatever he needs it to mean). He is the most coordinated baby I've ever had--he throws and kicks like a champ and has done it since he was eight months old. He loves to wrestle and he loves to laugh. Love you, Beni!

Guess who got asked to the Valentine's Dance??!

2012-02-09T20:40:00.000-08:00

If that doesn't put a smile on your face....

I couldn't stop laughing after I found it in our room last evening!

(Using Toffifay for my name was pretty genius. Have you tried those things?! Think Nutella-flavored Snickers Bites. Yum!)

Couldn't have said it better myself....

2012-02-09T16:48:00.000-08:00

via Super Swoon

Big-O Tires

2012-01-31T13:24:00.000-08:00

January 201--we were just coming out of the economic slump that had hit our business. Part of the climb out was this campaign by Big-O Tires. We were thrilled when Jake got it because it would run in the western U.S. and be played during the Super Bowl. It was my first time watching the Super Bowl (ha!) and it was all to see my honey's commercials. In honor of the 2012 Bowl (and since I never shared it the first time), here they are in all their glory!

Dear Me....2012

2012-01-26T14:25:00.000-08:00

In addition the list of great things I did this past year, I wrote a little letter to myself. Kind of an ode to my soul in 2011. I sort of wanted to put it out there in the hopes that maybe I'm not alone. What say you?

Dear Me,
I discovered a lot about myself (this past year). I felt kind of guilty about how many new things I wanted to do--blogging and writing especially, but also starting a business, taking classes, certification! I love learning!!

It's not that I want to make a living. I LOVE what I do. I love being a mom. I love running a household and raising beautiful, bright boys. I recognize that I'm doing the most important job I could ever be doing. So I mean no disrespect to the great task I've undertaken when I say--I want more. Not because being a mom isn't good enough, but because I have so much I want to do in this world! And life is so short. (Motherhood has definitely taught me that.) I love the line from the Mindy Gledhill song:

I wanna hold the whole wide world
Right here in my open hands.
Maybe I'm just a little girl,
A little girl with great big plans.

I'm like Pickles the cat (Firecat). I want to do big things with my paws! I want to make a difference in this world. I want to change lives for the better. A little something on the side. I look at so many stay-at-home moms who are doing it. And yet, all of the ways I can think of to do that are not right for me. I know, because I've fasted and prayed about it.

I'm always telling my kids and my Young Women to Dream Big, Take Risks! But what do you do when the biggest risk you're being asked to take is no risk at all?
Don't do anything.
Focus on the boys.

So, I'm practicing my faith. Trusting that God can do more with me than I can by myself. Trusting that every opportunity, every piece of knowledge, every experience I desire will be mine eventually. Because God knows me.
And He knows my dreams.
Love,
Tiff

Aquarella

2012-01-19T10:28:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned my mom's extreme chemical sensitivities? She has to carry an Epi-pen wherever she goes. Lame. Have I mentioned that I am beginning to develop the same thing?

Lame. To the 7th power.

In honor of being a girl, I recently decided that I want to have paint on my nails. Pretty, you know? However, the chemical thing rules that out since applying nail polish is like sitting over a can of paint and inhaling. Worst at first, but it lingers too.

After a bit of research, I found water-based nail polish (no VOC, if you will). Tried some. No smell, but not the greatest. It doesn't stay put.

And then I found Aquarella. *choirs singing*
No smell, beautiful colors, it actually stays on for longer than 3 hours!

Seriously, I love this stuff. At $16 a bottle, I better love it. But it's all worth it. You can't put a price on feeling pretty. Are you with me?

Happy Birthday 2012!

2012-01-12T10:22:00.000-08:00

This was the best New Year's I've ever had. For the first time, we did a lot of looking back
looking forward.

The Good: we do goal posters every year as a family, and we like to review them to see our progress. The Bad: not everything gets accomplished and the kids feel embarrassed. I've tried to express that progress is what counts, but that's just feeble when you're a little kid.

Then I saw this great post on looking back at what you've done this past year (everything! not just your goals). Make a list. Then feel so empowered that you find yourself twice as motivated on your new goals.

I also saw these New Year's Resolution kits (free download!). What a great little time capsule! You tell a little about yourself (at present), a little of what you want for the new year, and write a note to yourself (this is where we made our list of last year's accomplishments).

January 1, 2013, we will open them up and remember what was on our minds one year ago, see what we were hoping for and what we got.

To top it all off, we watched It's A Wonderful Life. The moral of the day being: life is wonderful, even when things don't work out the way we planned.

We don't give up.

And in the end we realize "I am blessed. I have made a difference in this world."

And here's my list. My 2011 goals, as simple as I tried to make them, were barely touched. But I did do a lot of other great things last year:

--flew to New York to visit my sister before her move to Russia. (First time traveling alone!)
--fulfilled a life long dream of going paragliding.
--chaired the book fair at my boys’ school.
--started learning to play the guitar.
--started teaching my two oldest how to play piano.
--hosted swimming lessons at my home over the summer.
--made some of the closest friends I’ve had since college days. (yay for relationships!)
--went zip lining upside down.
--raised four beautiful boys who love each other, appreciate beauty, and constantly hunger for new knowledge. Learned more than I taught, FOR SURE.

Awkward Couple Pics

2012-01-04T10:38:00.001-08:00

Worst lighting. Fuzzy pics. But nothing beats quality time spent with your honey.

*giggle*

Christmas 2 for 1

2012-01-04T10:36:00.001-08:00

By two, I mean Christmas trees. And by one, I mean room.

I consider myself a lucky girl. Not just because I got two trees this year. But because I have a husband who made it happen. Even though he couldn't understand why we needed two trees. Or where we were going to put two trees. He either loves me very much, or I got him with my super powerful gleam-of-the-eye. Probably both.

We bought the white tree last year so I could have an old-fashioned Christmas tree, complete with antique ornaments from my grandma. It was beautiful. Especially at night. But we didn't have anywhere to put our family ornaments (the boys get a new one each Christmas representing something special about their past year). Also, I missed the smell of pine needles.

This year, I wanted the best of both worlds. Or maybe just both worlds. And both trees resided in our fairly tiny living room. It was a Christmas wonderland!

Not sure how it looked to anybody else. But it was beautiful and yummy smelling and special to us. And that's what counts.

p.s. That's Benedict, our visiting elf, stringing lights on the tree. I couldn't get over how all my kids waved and said thank you to Benedict on his last day with us (Santa picked him up on Christmas Eve). Elves really bring out the best in us....

Beni hearts Warby Parker

2011-11-28T09:02:00.000-08:00

"Just jotting down some thoughts on astrophysics....."

Happy Halloween...

2011-11-22T14:49:00.001-08:00

....from Cheetah Lady and Superdad!

I love the chance to try a new identity once a year.

I got a few rude looks this time around while I was out running my errands (as well as a few people who obviously avoided looking at me). At first I felt self-conscious, then angry, then I just felt like laughing at all the people who can't loosen up for one day a year. Gimme a break folks, I'm wandering around a craft store with a one year old baby. It's Halloween. I'm not a prostitute. Promise!

New York

2011-08-16T12:21:00.000-07:00

I had the most SENSATIONAL time in New York with my sister. (My ticket was Jake's Mother's Day surprise for me.)
We dined at Moosewood,

noshed on vegan ice cream,

walked through the beautiful Sapsucker Woods,

ate deliciously indulgent chocolate cake,

laughed our pants off while watching Modern Family,

(no pic of that one folks.....)

picked blueberries/threw them at each other,

bought matching shirts and made friendship necklaces,

and generally had the best time EVER.

I have always loved my sister, but I had forgotten how much I liked her. ADORED her, really. She's a total gem in every way, and I'm so glad she's my sister.

She's moving to Russia and I'm going to miss the Twinkies out of her. I feel a bit sorry for myself (and my kids) that my siblings (and the cousins) all live so far away from each other. (My awesome bro lives in Texas.) But what can you do? We must all eat and that requires our men to have jobs. *sigh* I wouldn't mind giving up the food gig myself, as far as that goes.

But Celestial Kingdom? Man, we are going to PAINT THE TOWN RED once we get there.

All together, FOREVER. :)

Chinese Checkers with my firstborn

2011-06-22T23:03:00.000-07:00

Bounce House

2011-06-22T23:01:00.000-07:00

My brother is awesome!! He got a bounce house for the kids--all day in my mom and dad's backyard. The children had a ball, of course, but I loved that it was sturdy enough for the adults. It was so fun!!

Best part? The kids were begging my dad to come in and see them. As he crawled through the tiny entrance, all the kids got behind him to push. Ha! Once in a lifetime moment, right there. :)

He ran through a field of grass....

2011-06-21T19:41:00.000-07:00

It seemed like such an innocent, child-like thing to do. Run through grass as tall as your mom and yell and play and hide. Within two minutes he looked like this.

Mental note: grass allergy!

2011-06-21T19:37:00.000-07:00

This kid gets more and more cute with each passing moment. No lie. At almost 18 months, he's already passionate about books, food, and the great outdoors.

I can't wait to see what the future holds for this bundle of energy that I get to call my babe.

Summertime is....

2011-06-06T19:21:00.000-07:00

....watching TV for hours at a time.

Actually, this is not the norm. But isn't it one of the best parts of summer? The freedom to watch TV endlessly? I have such fond memories of watching TV all afternoon in the summer--reruns of I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, Perry Mason, The Andy Griffith Show, Gilligan's Island. And Duck Tales, Chip & Dale: Rescue Rangers, Charles in Charge, Full House.....

I had such a great childhood. I need to thank my mom.

I'm in love....

2011-06-06T10:10:00.000-07:00

Indian food....soooooo good! Happy Birthday to me from Mom and Dad H!

What motherhood looks like....

2011-06-06T09:18:00.000-07:00

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

2011-06-04T09:47:00.000-07:00

Rooftop concert last night ROCKED; Mindy Gledhill & Meaghan Smith were charming. Seriously, find them on iTunes and support these wonderful artists.

Friday Faves--my week in retrospect

2011-03-18T14:29:00.000-07:00

Wow, this song gets my life juice flowing no matter what mood I'm in.

How many years have I been looking for yellow shoes (that don't cause pain, that I can afford)? TWO years, people. My patience has finally been rewarded. There's even a flower thrown in for good measure.

I love mint and green, but for allergy reasons we don't usually do food coloring. A little tip for St. Patty's: drizzle liquid chlorophyll (mint flavored) over vanilla ice cream and kick back and enjoy what a cute AND smart parent you are. I did. (Hulk not included.) The fam LOVED it, except Henry who yelled that he'd mashed the green until it wasn't there any more and eaten plain ice cream!!!! (And I silently went BWAHAHAHA!)

Business retreats that double as mini-vacays. Thank you Corporate Alliance. It's usually only as far as Park City, but the rooms are always so nice that we feel rich. This last week we had a town-house with its own garage for heaven's sake. And that kitchen.....I could live with that kitchen.

Whole Foods. Did you know they have a policy that your kids can pick out an apple or a banana to eat while you shop? Not cookies, an organic apple. Utter brilliance. It's now my kids' favorite grocery store. What can I say? My (not so) inner hippy loves it too.

Click on pics for sources.

BEEEAUTIFUL.

2011-03-12T21:23:00.001-08:00

Friday Faves--my week in retrospect

2011-03-11T11:20:00.000-08:00

Up-inspired Floating House. Seriously?! This is my kind of science. The boys and I are so doing this.....with something heavy but not our house. :)
Hashbrowns with smoked paprika and chopped avocado. Does anyone else love smoked paprika as much as me? It tastes like eating processed food with none of the guilt!
Elizabeth Mitchell channel on Pandora. Kid-tested, mother-approved. Wait, that's Kix. This too, though. I happily take children's music recommendations that will not induce pounding headaches within 30 minutes.... Anyone?
Disassembled objects=art. I thought of Bryant, my little engineer when I saw this. I love that order can make even bits and pieces look beautiful. Also, this just reinforces the principle (for me) that all truth can be circumscribed into one whole--art is science is religion is history, etc.
Hot dogs!! I know I said that our love affair was over, but we're back together! Why did no one ever tell me about eating hot dogs loaded with veggies? Picture: Applegate Farms franks with pickles, onions, sweet peppers, and blackberries on whole seed bread.....weird sounding, but delish. It's the perfect melding of sweet, sour, bitter, and salty.

"Greatest in the Kingdom"

2011-03-09T22:07:00.000-08:00

by J. Kirk Richards
I thought this was a Minerva (Teichert) at first.
Lovely.

"Creativity loves constraints."

2011-03-09T12:17:00.000-08:00

That's a quote. Jake told me.

At FHE last week, in lieu of a prepared treat (what?), we ate chocolate chips and marshmallows.

Eating turned into a combination Pictionary/Charades game.

Wall-E

pig

Mad-Eye Moody

It was hilarious to see what the boys came up with. Two food items and they were making all kinds of objects they might not have tried if they'd had twenty kinds of candy.

Perhaps you let go of expectations when you're working with so little; you let yourself try things that might not work because--what's to lose? And then you strike gold.

The whole experience made me want to trash all of their toys and leave them with a small pile of sticks, and a few bits of string.

p.s. Benjamin's first Bible marshmallow:
If not for skin tone, you'd be hard pressed to know where the marshmallow ends and the baby begins.... YUM.

.....8

2011-03-09T12:07:00.000-08:00

Seriously?! I watched him run into Scouts on Monday--his skinny jeans and tucked-in Scout shirt had him looking like a rail--and I felt a pang of homesickness. He's getting tall. He's getting old. He's getting so independent. And social.

I watched him walk through the door and was proud and sad at the same time that he didn't look back.

Cha Cha

2011-03-09T11:44:00.001-08:00

I asked Jake to the Stake Valentine's dance. In keeping with his health goals, I purchased a bag of baby carrots, a bottle of carrot juice, and a carrot cake (ha!). I tied it all up with a balloon bouquet and a note: "If you 'carrot' all, you'll go to the Valentine's Dance with me."

I had Bryant leave it on Jake's office doorstep, knock, and run.

A few days later during dinner, I heard the alarm on my iPod go off....faraway and muffled. I was annoyed because I thought one of the boys had snuck off with it to play games sans permission. After a little hunting, I found this:Man, I have an awesome husband. I have a thing for vintage toy robots, and Jake remembered.

Oh yeah, and chocolate too.

The dance was awesome. We had dinner with three other couples, then went to the dance together. Had refreshments. Got group pictures. It was a total high school flashback. Except my date was cooler.And we danced. Totally busted some moves. Shattered. All over the dance floor. POW!

I was wearing a green shirtdress with denim jeggings and my argyle tennies. (I conveniently forgot to wear a dress. How can you kick up your heels when your undies might show?)
I mention this because a ward member came up to me and said, "It's so fun to see people at a social function outside of church, to see what they're really like. Like your outfit, that is so YOU!"

Which made me smile and wonder, what is the ME that they are perceiving? I'm interested to know if it's the same me that I'm trying to put out there. Get me?

1 year older and wiser too....

2011-02-28T15:00:00.000-08:00

For both of us, I think.
Happy Birthday, dear Bryant.

A few thoughts on Bryant's birthday...

2011-02-28T14:27:00.000-08:00

YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW. Bryant's first birthday was awful. I mistakenly thought, "He's one. He will remember nothing. Let's make this as simple as possible." Only my simple was more like non-existent. And his birthday felt like the most anti-climatic celebration ever. This year Bryant's birthday was on President's Day holiday (just like the day he was born). So we spent the whole day celebrating Bryant. We went to the Children's Museum, brought a friend, went out to a fancy lunch, played his favorite Wii game, ate favorite foods, desserts, and read favorite books. Best birthday ever.

SORROW AND JOY ARE TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN. On the way home from Wal-Mart on the evening of Bryant's birthday, I passed our local mortuary. The parking lot was full to the brim; the building lit up. It was surreal to think that on this night of celebrating our son and our happiness, someone else was crying and missing a love.

THANK YOU, LORD, FOR MONEY. One year ago this week, I was standing in a Toys R Us, sobbing. Body wracking sobs. I was embarrassed and hoping that no one would notice me. Jake and I were trying to find a birthday present for Bryant. And Michael. And all we had to spend was a gift card someone had given us for Benjamin's birth. It wasn't much to cover two birthdays, but we were lucky to have it. Still, it's hard when you'd like to give your child the world, and you can't even afford the one toy they'd like for their birthday. This year, our money worries have not disappeared, but they have shrunk considerably. We spent a load of money on Bryant's fancy birthday lunch, and while we may have to pinch pennies the rest of the month, at least we had that option this year.

“When sleeping women wake, mountains will move.” --Chinese Proverb

2011-02-28T13:40:00.000-08:00

You better believe it.

THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE

2011-02-28T13:27:00.001-08:00

Even if the whole world doesn't believe in love.....
Even if the whole world doesn't believe in a Savior....
Even if the whole world is pagan....
In a civilized world society, this should never happen. This is barbarism.

I was sad when I saw this picture.
I was ANGRY when I read the caption:
Bieber’s winning picture shows Bibi Aisha, an 18-year-old woman from Oruzgan province in Afghanistan, who fled back to her family home from her husband’s house, complaining of violent treatment. The Taliban arrived one night, demanding Bibi be handed over to face justice. After a Taliban commander pronounced his verdict, Bibi’s brother-in-law held her down and her husband sliced off her ears and then cut off her nose. Bibi was abandoned, but later rescued by aid workers and the American military. After time in a women’s refuge in Kabul, she was taken to America, where she received counseling and reconstructive surgery. Bibi Aisha now lives in the US.

This is why I am raising sons. This is why I'm going to show them a disturbing picture and tell them a sickening story. Because, God-willing, my sons are going to change the world. They will preach the gospel, they will soften hearts, they will use their priesthood. And they will be tools in the hands of the Lord. So that no woman need ever fear again.

We let him eat diapers for lunch.

2011-02-20T20:52:00.000-08:00

Just kidding.

On The Bright Side

2011-02-20T20:36:00.000-08:00

Happy!
I like to watch this and wonder, "How tall was I today?"

To My YW

2011-02-20T20:23:00.000-08:00

Here's a reminder of what we want to be when we put on our clothes each day.
We want to be good, we want to be beautiful, we want to be representatives of our Savior. We DON'T want to be puppets--allowing others to tell us what beautiful has to be.

Beniamino (italian)

2011-02-20T20:09:00.001-08:00

He's not a baby anymore; he's a small boy.
He runs. He laughs maniacally with his brothers. He is ALWAYS hungry. He leaves a path of destruction in his wake. He is fascinated by Legos.
And he's finally passed the mark where he can do no wrong. He has the capacity to drive me crazy.I don't whether to laugh or cry, but I'm thinking I'll try a little of both. Mother-love is complex like that, you know?

For My YW:

2011-02-11T13:20:00.000-08:00

Me too.
Love,
Sister Hoehne

So....

2011-02-11T13:12:00.000-08:00

I know I hardly ever get on here, which means nobody else does either, but as a fair warning, I'm making Red Licorice my virtual scrapbook. I'll post about my handsome family AND things that happify me/I don't want to forget. So for my main reader (Shari), you may have to sift a little more to find pics of my kiddos.
Sorry.
But I still love you, Sis!

k.m.f. day

2010-09-04T12:24:00.000-07:00

We have a saying around here:
Keep Moving Forward.
Actually, we copied that from "Meet the Robinsons", but I'm getting ahead of myself.

(all photos courtesy of K.M.F. Day 2010)

Long, long ago, in a little town called American Fork, Jake and I arrived on Grandma Smith's doorstep with two small children in tow. We were fresh out of graduate school; grateful the Lord had blessed us with a six-week job in Utah before we moved out to D.C. for our real job. The higher-paying, great-insurance, awesome-opportunities one.

I know you feel you've heard this story before, but bear with me.

We worked for six weeks, but that job in D.C. never materialized. Meanwhile, we were stuck in my grandmother's basement, borrowing other people's cars and generosity to go about our daily lives of stay-at-home mothering and working/job-hunting.
Even with the most accommodating of grandmother's, sufficient free-lance work, and the support of family all around us.....
it was brutal.
The ability to be self-reliant, and generous yourself, is a human need that is vastly under-recognized.

When the one year mark of being back in Utah rolled around (August 3rd, 2002), we took the boys out to Red Lobster to celebrate our survival. They were fascinated by the crab claws and delighted with cheesy biscuits.

That small celebration became a yearly ritual for us. Sometimes Red Lobster is too crowded and we've gone somewhere else, but always there has been a feast and pattings on the back for survival of.....life.

When "Meet the Robinsons" came out, it became the movie to watch after the feast. A reminder to keep moving forward, that if we could only glimpse the better things ahead of our dark moments, we would forge on with unbroken courage.

When Grandma died, we changed the date to August 2nd (her birthday) to honor her. As hard as the time living with her was, it opened up so many doorways for us--owning our own business, living life on our terms, even finding our wonderful first home. Not to mention four years of learning at her feet.

This year, we've come full circle in a way. Life is hard again. Or rather, business is SLOW and finances are hard. We find ourselves unable to be completely self-sufficient.

I know that all things are for our experience.
That Jake will be a vastly better businessman because of these experiences (we hope).
That our family will be much stronger--financially and otherwise--because of these experiences (we hope).
But still. It is not easy to wake up and summon new courage every morning, because yesterday's was all used up.
I'm not saying this to fish for pity; I'm saying it because I wanted to get it out.
It's pressing, you know?

Also because we passed August 2nd, and another Keep Moving Forward Day.
We made our own cheesy biscuits and Mississippi Mud bars, and bought frozen shrimp for a cheaper version of Red Lobster.
We watched "Meet the Robinsons".

In a moment truly befitting the day, Benjamin had his first bowl of solid foods (he loved it, by the way) AND his first crawl.
And I cried. I cried watching Lewis despair because life is not what he wanted. I cried when he realizes that better things were in his future, if he could just keep working toward them. And I cried when his better things arrived...better than he even imagined.

I used to think that bittersweet was just two words put together, but I now understand how at times they are inseparable. The past eight months have been really hard, but.....I wouldn't trade them.
What am I talking about?? That is seriously crazy!

Our families and friends have been so generous; the Lord has been so generous. We can barely afford the necessities, and yet, Jake and I get invited to a $150 masquerade ball, or someone gives us their gift certificate they can't use to La Caille.
We have a POOL! I'm still surprised when I look out into my yard.

It feels like Heavenly Father is giving us moments of abundance, to remind us that He knows us, that He is in control, and that He wants us to find joy, even during difficult lessons.
It's a comforting feeling.
I meant what I ended my last post with--life IS sweet.

I hate this lesson (can I say that?), but I still want to thank my Heavenly Father for it.
I have faith in Him.
I have faith in His plan.

I have faith in better things to come.

first day of school

2010-08-26T12:05:00.000-07:00

I can't say the day started well. I mistakenly tried to keep alive the tradition of walking to school on the first day even though time was waning. I figure that a walk on the first morning of a new school year helps with first-day jitters.
Not so much when your kids are mortally afraid that they are late.
That no one else is out on the streets. (Weird, but true. I wondered if it was really the first day of school.)
That they are going to be late.
That we're going too slow.
That they're going to be late. (Can you tell that Jake and I have punctuality issues?)My kids were total stress bags by the time we got to the school.
For the record, WE WERE NOT LATE.

After school was much better.....The night before, I had told the boys "The Legend of the Schultute", a story which I embellished based on scanty information I found on the internet. Heard of them?
In Germany, each first grader (no kindergarten there) comes to their very first day of school with a schultute from their parents. They open them/show them off in class.
They are cones filled with treats and school supplies.
The legend part says that they grow on magical pine trees in the teacher's yard, and when they are ripe, it's time for school to start!Since we couldn't do much school shopping this year, I wanted to do something else fun to mark the occasion of a new school year.
So I made schultutes for the boys and carefully balanced them in our pine tree.
It was totally fun.As an added bonus, schultutes come with built-in dunce caps.

Just kidding, Henry.
We always do a Bonfire Roast to celebrate the end of a great summer and beginning of school. Hot dogs, baked beans, and smores.
FYI: there's nothing like fire and sticks to inspire joy in the hearts of small boys.
Seriously.
And bugs.

My hot and handsome husband, tending the fire.

My (temperature) hot son, after tending the fire.

The highlight of the day was the gourmet smores.
I've never been a fan of smores myself. Just give me the chocolate bar, straight up. No crumbling, sticky-face sandwich for me, thanks.

But this time.....this time was magical.
My faith in marshmallows is restored.
Not the white ones though. Blah. Strawberry marshmallows. Have you tried them yet?
They have changed my world. Normally, I don't buy things with artificial flavors or colors, because we have so many food/chemical sensitivities in the family.
But these marshmallows....I will make an exception for them.
Wow. Delicious roasted, plain, or with a side of milk or white chocolate.
I totally over-sugared yesterday. But it was one of those times where it felt okay.
No guilt, just happy. Good food and the best people.
Life is sweet.

from nub to chub

2010-08-10T18:00:00.000-07:00

After loving Bryant and Michael (the neighborhood heavy-weight champs in the infant division), I thought roly-poly babies were the best. As in, how can anyone get away with calling a scrawny baby cute?

And then I had Henry.
Mr. Bird Legs.
My parents joke every year about getting him suspenders for Christmas because he can't keep his pants up.
And I found that skinny children are infinitely adorable. In fact, chubby babies seemed a little obscene after Henry.

But now I have another Buddha.
So I just want to say: Okay, universe, I get it. Baby charm comes in many flavors. Especially when you're the mom.

More summertime....

2010-08-08T11:23:00.000-07:00

We did this non-literacy(?) activity before we actually watched "Does This Duckbill Make Me Look Fat?". FYI, a girl getting changed into a platypus has nothing to do with feeding the ducks. (In my defense, I think that title is misleading.)
You can see where I meant to be going with that, though, right?
Anyway, it was hilarious: I bought the world's cheapest loaf of bread (88 cents) to feed the ducks AND as a snack (because my children are eternally hungry). Arriving at the duck pond, my boys first ask for a piece of bread for themselves. Sure, I reply. Bryant takes one bite and makes the foulest face. "It....doesn't.....taste good, Mom."
Yes, well, I guess generic Wonderbread is a bit of a change from the $5 loaves we buy at Good Earth. That's why we only buy bread once a month, kiddo. I guess we're bread snobs too.

We decided to visit Weinerschitzel along with our viewing of "The Bully Code". I've never been before.
I can almost guarantee I'll never go again. No offense to hot dog lovers out there--I myself enjoyed hot dogs (expensive ones) not so long ago. But I have finally passed the old age mark. My body physically revolts against the ingestion of meat that processed. Tell me I'm not the only relatively YOUNG person here whose body is getting old.
Good bye hot dogs, I will miss you.
But not the gag reflex you inspire.

We played freerice.com after watching "Tip of the Day". Brain exercise and humanitarian work all in one....my kind of website. (Speaking of which, check out We Give Books on my sidebar; for every digital book you read on their site, they donate a book to a charity of your choice. It's awesome, and they have stories for all ages.) Anyway, Freerice is sweet because you can pick a subject, or a language, from which your words-to-define come from. So we did a round of italian words, since it is the foreign language of choice here in the Hoehne home.

I think my kids are getting a well rounded summer--biology, language, and hot dogs.

The Fast and the Phineas

2010-08-05T17:47:00.000-07:00

I have a cousin who has been doing literacy activities with her kids all summer. I ADORE literacy activities (experiences that tie in with a book you've read).

I was totally going to plan our summer around those, but in January, during yet another Non-Stress test because my babe was TWO WEEKS LATE, I saw an idea in a parenting magazine about three activities to do with your kids revolve around Phineas and Ferb episodes.

Thus, the Phineas & Ferb-tastic Summer 2010 was born. As I dutifully recorded episodes off our dvr during midnight feedings with Benjamin, I came up with activities for each episode. If you're much brighter than me, you'll realize that they are all available on Youtube. No recording necessary....

First up: "The Fast and the Phineas". After which we raced Hot Wheels.
Because my sons have informed me that those are the best. Yes, they actually check the bottoms of their toy cars for the brand name. We're officially car snobs. And of course, we can't have any kind of competition without it dissolving into a fit of yelling and tears.

Disclaimer

2010-08-05T17:10:00.000-07:00

I'm a good mom. Who loves to read blogs. Who sometimes has to remind herself that the mom who is baking organic bread everyday, redecorating her kitchen (retro-style) and throwing elaborate birthday parties for her one-year-old..... Well, there's GOT to be something she's not doing that I am. Because I really am a good mom. And just what my kids need (I have to believe).

So if my posts come across as too braggy, self-righteous, crafty, or put-together, just remember: I'm the girl who folds laundry once every two months (we have a lovely pile in the basement), hates yard work (and it shows), and doesn't believe in bathing children daily (grossed out?). So I need to validate my existence by doing/blogging about the awesome things I do with my boys.

2010-03-24T21:48:00.001-07:00

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."
Charles Dickens

I always thought that was such a trite thing to say.
But I'm beginning to see why it's quoted so often.
It's true.
Benjamin, at 72 hours old, did the same thing Michael did at 72 hours--he started having infantile seizures. I was significantly less freaked out this time around.
"Fourth Day Fits", as they are sometimes called, run in Jake's family.

Knowing what it was should have made it not so bad, but both our boys have gone apneic with the seizures.
It will always freak me out to see my baby struggling (and not succeeding) to breathe.

Our pediatrician told us to take him to Primary Children's.
To be honest, I just wanted to get in somewhere, explain the situation, and get some Phenobarbitol (seizure med).
No such luck.

An afternoon visit turned into a three day ordeal, full of.....
mostly tests.
Horrible tests.
5 unsuccessful spinal taps on my newborn baby.
EKG's.
Blood draws.

And yet, those three days were really special too.
72 hours of just the three of us.

Wearing hospital-provided pajamas.
Eating hospital food.
Talking.

Crying.

And laughing too.
It's hard watching your baby go through something difficult. It's hard to go through something difficult. But oddly, I have really great memories of Primary Children's.

The nurses who were so kind.

The uninterrupted time to dote on a new baby with my best friend.
The stretching of my faith as I tried extra hard to hear the Lord's voice when we had to make important decisions.
I'll be pleased as punch if I never have to do this again.
But if I do, I know we'll get through it.

With flying colors.

2010-03-15T22:35:00.001-07:00

Bryant asked me tonight what time I go to bed.

"Benjamin usually goes to sleep around 2:30 in the morning," I replied.

"Wow," he said, waxing mathematical. "That means you sleep about four hours, then you get up with us and you take us to school, or Dad does. Then you go back to sleep until Henry wakes you up for something, then you go back to sleep. Then you wake up for something else, then you go back to sleep....
It's like you're half nocturnal and half person."

Yes. I'm not sure about the NOCTURNAL part, but having a newborn can definitely make me feel like half a person....

(Don't ask me how long it's been since I showered.)

2010-02-26T01:20:00.000-08:00

Sundays these days.....

I don't go to church, but I do have lovely days of rest.

I bathe little babies. (And they love it, can't you tell?)

Give myself facials. (Green is my color, don't you think?)

Take care of three-year-olds who suddenly refuse to go to Primary......

And photograph freakin' cute babies.

2010-02-25T04:01:00.000-08:00

Here's to my husband, the man who:
-walks his sleep-drunk wife from the couch to her BED every morning at 6 am
-does the whole morning shift by himself so his wife can sleep a few more hours
-continues in sweetness towards his wife (Emotional Zombie-girl)
-among a million other things

Go Hubs!

2010-02-22T18:54:00.000-08:00

Things That Little Dude and I Do At Night:

-record episodes of Phineas & Ferb, so we can finally get rid of cable (and let go of the DVR)

-make tomorrow's breakfast (incl. pancakes on the electric griddle in the basement, so we can record.....see above)

-eat (him--milk, me--simple carbs)

-cry (him more than me)

Oddly, neither of us sleeps much......

2010-01-15T13:44:00.000-08:00

6 More
December Highlights:
1. Santa at the Ward Party
You may remember that I've never said anything to encourage or discourage my kids from believing in Santa. This year, I went the route of ENCOURAGE. As in, I talked about Santa's coming with Henry. The joy that emanates from that kid when talking about Santa made it all worth it.
It's too late for Michael, though. I seem to have created a die-hard cynic out of him. (Although he still wanted to sit on Santa's lap.....)

2. Jacox Family Christmas Party
(Jake's mom's family.)
Grandma Jacox saves her money all year to buy presents for each of her eight children, all of their children (and big families run in the family) and all of THEIR children (this is Bryant's generation).
Bryant and Michael thrill over this party every year.
Early presents!!!!!
The not-so-thrilling part (for my kids) is the traditional acting out of the Nativity story. I'm not sure how (because if you'll remember, my kids HATE being in front of a crowd--which means anything over two people), but Jake's mom roped Bryant into being Joseph.
JOSEPH, people. He's kind of a main character. Poor Bryant looked like he was going to burst into tears at any moment. Especially since the audience kept bursting into laughter (but only because Nativities played by actors under the age of ten ARE kind of funny). Hilarious, actually.
Just look at these little players' faces.
I was proud that my kids stuck with it. It couldn't have had anything to do with Grandma's bribery......

3. Barratt Elementary Christmas Sing
What can I say? My kids are not performers, so I love the chance to see them comfortably get out of their comfort zone. (This means rehearsing as a crowd five thousand times beforehand.)
It's only natural to love this kind of stuff when you really feel that you have the cutest kids in the nation.......

4. Christmas Goodies
I'm not a baker. So as a special Christmas treat, I promised the boys they could each pick a recipe and we'd have a Treat Making Extravaganza!!!!
Michael made Peanut Butter cups, Henry chose Chocolate Coconut Haystacks, and Bryant went with Fudge.
I can verify that their creations were delectable.

5. Henry Lost Another Tooth
What the?! The dentist asked us in for a visit again, found nothing again, reaffirmed that I just seem to have a very unique (read: SUPER SPECIAL!) kid.

6. Made Butter
Really. Kind of amazing. Michael has been itching to make it since Thanksgiving. His school teacher apparently informed the class that pilgrims CRAFTED their own butter, rather than running to Plymouth-Mart.
So we made it in a blender per these instructions, and spread it on fresh bread. And I have to admit, it was kind of fulfilling to CRAFT butter.

2010-01-14T11:11:00.000-08:00

What We Did Over Christmas Break 2009....
Christmas pj's........socks for the prego lady because I'm not buying pj's with three weeks left........made and reveled in Christmas carnage (my favorite part)........built........built........and built some more.....enjoyed the fruits of their labors........played copious amounts of Wii.....
...worked on our nursery renovation (we did the laundry room last Christmas break--is this a new tradition?).....
...and chilled with family (my brother from Texas and my sister from New York).
That was my other favorite part. I love my sibs. And their kids.I had the nicest break. I don't even know the last time I felt so relaxed. I didn't even THINK about my calendar or to-do list for three whole days. And I spent the next few days ignoring those thoughts. We went a week and a half without doing a stitch of laundry.

Of course I paid for that later.

I know you can't live life like Christmas break, but boy, once a year it sure is nice.

2009-12-27T18:25:00.000-08:00

Speaking of letting go (which I was, in the last post), we recently let go of our car. And when I say "ours".....it's a long story.

When we moved to Utah for our "six-week stay" (Gilligan, anyone?) we left our Honda in New York. But then we never left Utah. We needed a car. And even when we retrieved our Honda a year later, Jake used it for work. You know, there comes a point in life when you must become a two car family, or SUFFER.Grandma was kind enough to let us use hers. At first I tried to be sparing. She paid insurance; we paid the gas. I tried not to be embarrassed about driving what was surely the oldest car in American Fork. I was forever explaining, "Oh this is my Grandma's car.Then Grandma died, and it actually became my car.Luckily, I had stopped caring about driving the oldest car in the neighborhood.
I'm a cool person-- even in an '85 Buick LeSabre.
Not too long after I got over my pride, the car stopped working.
So it goes.My Grandpa bought the Buick shortly before he died. It was a happy thing for him. He'd finally arrived--he had a luxury car. We sold it to a metal recycler for $118. It felt a little sad.Happily, I am the proud new owner of a Toyota Sienna, complete with more seats than we have bums to fill and the added advantage of starting every time we turn the key in the ignition!
I could definitely get used to this.

2009-12-12T17:13:00.000-08:00

Why the happy face?

It's called demolition, my dear friends.
This is the play house that once was. I grew up eating picnics up top, imagining elaborate scenarios inside, sliding down the pole, swinging so high that I'd hit the Bridal's Veil bush behind me. My kids, twenty years later, enjoyed the same pleasures.
But even play houses have mortal lives, and this one was at it's end. (The replacement was already sitting in the yard next to it.) It's a sad way to go, but it served us well. We'll happily remember it, and enjoy new good times on a new play house. Long live childhood.
Working outdoors, ripping down small buildings.....these are the things that make boys happy, in case you were wondering.

2009-11-04T20:10:00.000-08:00

Best. Halloween. Ever.

Didn't get all the decorations up. Didn't moderate my sugar intake. But still. Loved it on Saturday--a whole day of Halloween with the funnest people in the world.

We carved pumpkins.

Well, some of us did. Others awaited their chance, then hid in closets and ate stolen Halloween booty.
Bryant discovered something in his pumpkin. A fully germinated seed. Growing. Tiny roots extended into the fleshy seed pulp. It was green. Of course we planted it.

Final products:The back side of Clone Pumpkin was Frankenstein Pumpkin--created by hammering on parts of other pumpkins using a toy hammer and toothpicks. Bryant was in seventh heaven. My little Dr. Frankenstein.
Costumes:
Superman Mafia ManClone Trooper 1Close up (for posterity)Clone Trooper 2
Before Trick-or-Treating, we devoured a hearty meal of Ghost Chili & Bat Biscuits.Afterward, we relished Witch's Brew and Poison Apples while watching spooky Scooby-Doo episodes.
It was perfect.

2009-11-02T19:38:00.000-08:00

Halloween Eve has never been celebrated at our house.

Until this year. Friday morning was the school Halloween parade. Costumes: check. (Gold star for Bryant's teacher, King Titan, who went so far as to bring his own mermaid.) There were class Halloween parties. Crafts and treats: double check. When the boys came home from school, it seemed unfair to have a regular evening.

We opted for a pizza party (a big deal at our house). The stars aligned in our favor. Our pizzas were delivered to another family, so we got their pizzas plus a LARGE order of breadsticks for FREE. And folks, this was Pizza Hut. Thirty bucks saved: check.
I've never had their breadsticks before. Delicious.

I love Pizza Hut. I love their new slogan.

Sure you can get a pizza for five bucks, but then you have to eat it...... I love that I didn't even pay five bucks.

2009-11-01T10:51:00.000-08:00

Never been a big fan of ghost stories......
or horror movies or haunted houses. I like my Halloween scares like my cayenne pepper--mild. But Design Mom's tradition of reading spooky stories by candlelight as a Halloween tradition begged to be adopted. Then, my dear Jen posted a list of great Halloween books, and we were set.It was declared a "Make-again" ritual. Several different nights in October, everyone grabbed pillows and blankets, cozied up on the floor, and listened to Mom read. The trick was having enough candelight to read words by.....but then again, tricks and treats are so ghoulish....

We started with the four Halloween books we actually own:Alfred Hitchcock's Haunted Houseful (collection of stories for older kids)Then we checked out everything that the library had left. Most of the recommended titles were out, but there were a few gems that will shortly be added to the Hoehne Private Library Collection:

2009-10-22T11:43:00.001-07:00

How Children Have Altered My Appearance:

I'll spare you photos of stretch marks, sagginess, or wider hips. Motherhood has taught me to be kind......

2009-10-21T13:37:00.000-07:00

I'm not a big fan of animals in my house, but I think Clifford the Big Red Dog now has a permanent place in my heart. Or at least the man inside him does......
I chaired the Book Fair at Barratt Elementary again this year. Great fun. I was going to be the one wearing red fur since I couldn't find a volunteer to do it, but Jake graciously swept the deed out of my hands. For which I will be forever grateful. I had an extreme allergy attack two days prior involving an old blanket pulled from the closet. I don't think I would have fared well in a suit that spends half the year in storage collecting dust.By the way, I now understand how people can fall madly in love with other people in costumes (that happens at Disneyland, right?) It was so very very dear how happy Clifford/Jake made the children. I almost wanted to cry. Mothers were running up to snap pictures, kids were running over to give hugs and high fives, and there stood my husband, in a suit several sizes too small for him, howling and barking at the kids and making everybody happy.
If you want to fall in love with your husband all over again, I suggest a big, red dog suit.

2009-10-05T15:25:00.000-07:00

Co-ome listen to a prophet's voice....
We love General Conference weekend around here. Why? Let's be honest. I really love to hear prophets' voices, and the boys love to skip church.....skip dressing in church clothes......and of course: (Being even more honest, I kind of like skipping church twice a year myself.)

We've tried many different markers for Conference Bingo (FYI: pennies aren't as motivational as food; raisins/nuts just aren't fun) and have hit upon the favorite: Sundrops. If you haven't hit up a natural food store in Utah lately, Sundrops are fake M&M's. The children like them because they are sugar (see savoring, below), Mommy likes them because they have no artificial coloring and are flavored with molasses (a step up in food social circles from corn syrups).
I'm working on the rest of our family traditions for conference time. We should always have Jake's pasta. And peach cobbler after the Priesthood session (with lots of leftovers for breakfast....). And BINGO. What do you do? I'd love some fresh ideas for April. Yes. I like to plan ahead.P.S. See how General Conference makes Jake shine?

2009-10-01T16:02:00.000-07:00

Jacob.....
My dear darling, in an effort to be more healthy and support me, has gone off sugar and gluten. Which made birthday edibles hard to come up with. Never fear. You only turn 33 once, right? So I told Jake to have whatever he wanted.

"Whatever" ended up being:
Caprese Salad
Roast Beef (my best one to date!)
Potatoes and Carrots
Tiramisu(the best Tiramisu EVER in the WORLD. I've been off sugar and gluten for over a month. Don't know if that had anything to do with how amazing it tasted...)

We gave gifts. They were all things bought at the beginning of the month when there had been a lot of talk about back aches and poor sleep. I returned all my gifts (except the gym membership) the day after the birthday party. I felt sad, but I had learned the truth: giving useful gifts is like giving underwear (plain white briefs) for Christmas; there's no way around the lusterlackedness of practicality.

I gave him an envelope with a lot of money in it instead.
I hope he gets something really great.
Because the best husband in the world deserves it.
Note: I did make him keep the sketchbook. It's for all of his ideas for children's books. He's going to follow his dreams if I have to make him!

2009-09-24T11:12:00.000-07:00

Is this kid supposed to lose teeth?
Yes. In fact, he lost this tooth (bottom, front) and the one next to it just before he started first grade. May I just say that he is adorable toothless. Heck, he's adorable with teeth too.For fun now, though, is this kid supposed to lose teeth?For the uninformed, the answer is NO. And yet, behold. He's missing one of his secondary incisors on the bottom. (By the way, also for the uninformed, these are not the teeth that you lose first.)
Once upon a time (last week), I was reading stories to Henry. He got down from my lap and grinned at me. I grinned back and then stopped grinning. Grabbed his face (with loving concern) and yanked his lip down. "Where's your tooth?" I asked.

Henry didn't know. I followed up with a long line of questioning, the answers of which I hardly know whether to trust because, did I mention?, he's THREE. Not exactly the age for separating fact from fiction.

He showed me where it supposedly came out. But we've searched everywhere and haven't found a tooth. He swears he didn't swallow it. ("We don't eat teeth, Mommy!")

I tried not to freak out, but he's three (did I mention that?). Way too young to be losing teeth when facial trauma by brothers or otherwise is ruled out. And it was.

I looked it up on the internet and pretty much came up with: Your child has been hit in the face or has dental disease. Not what a mother wants to hear. Check out this little document. Definitely not what a mom wants to see. Although, on the bright side, I felt better that Henry's teeth in no way resemble the rottage happening in those little mouths.....

The dentist is as stumped as me. He concurs with me completely--it looks like the normal loss of a tooth in a six year old. Healthy pink gums and all. Except it's in the wrong place and he's the wrong age.

The dentist says he's never seen anything like it. What can I say? My children are exceptional.

2009-09-05T20:16:00.000-07:00

Drum roll, please........ It's a boy! Although I know this announcement disappointed a few people, I'd like to thank everyone who has acted excited (genuine or feigned). I wasn't completely surprised myself (we do specialize in boys), but I find that I am completely excited. It feels just right.

The boys, of course, are thrilled that baby #4 is going to be one of "them". None of my children think a girl would fit in our home. (Just three short weeks ago, I actually had to teach Henry that Mommy is a girl. He had no idea. I was like, "Trust me on this one......")

Guess what?

2009-06-21T21:49:00.001-07:00

Coming January 13th.

2009-05-09T07:01:00.000-07:00

1986
My parents moved here at the beginning of my third grade year.
It was next to this home,which sported:
a boat, an in-ground pool, an in-ground trampoline, a satellite dish, and a dog in a custom run with his own brick house. Inside, there were copper pots hanging in the kitchen, a spiral staircase, a six-foot aquarium, and a 20 ft. wall lined in mirrors where the weight sets were kept.
Keep in mind that I'm young. I bragged to all of my friends about my rich neighbors. I babysat there a couple of times. It was awesome.

1990
A new family moved in next door. A mom, a dad, and a dog.
The parents were busy realtors, so they asked Doug (my brother) to babysit Jerusha (the dog) often. And they offered him the use of the pool when they were gone. He scored an invite for his two sisters as well.....

1993
My GRANDMA moved in next! Can you imagine how cool it is to have your Grandma move into the rich house with the pool? Shari and I came over every Saturday to dust, vacuum tan carpet (which created huge amounts of static) and generally clean. Doug did the lawn and the pool. Grandma paid us and sometimes gave us Schwann's ice cream from her freezer. Mmmmm.

2004
Jake and I (with Bryant and Michael) move in temporarily. Six weeks to be exact. And then we never leave. Within a year, I've come full circle with the house. Instead of amazing and rich, I see firsthand the poor quality workmanship that went into any and all changes made to the house since it was originally built. The floor-plan drives me crazy. The floors squeak. The master bath (I am not exaggerating) looks like you've warped into a 25 year old trailer home.

2008
We start looking for homes. Exciting to begin with, and increasingly frustrating as we find nothing we would pay money to live in. The yards are too small, living quarters ugly, streets busy..... We managed to find one house that mostly fit the bill. We had to make an offer that night or we'd lose it.
So we lost it.
Somehow the house we were already in was still better.

March 4, 2009
We closed (at long last!) on this home!!!! I am officially a partaker of the American dream! Thank you to my dad and aunts for letting this happen!

It's funny to remember the perspectives through which I saw this home over the years. If I didn't know it was the same home, I wouldn't know it was the same home......

For now I see a home full of dancing, loud music, discovering, decorating, remodeling, swim parties, kids who climb like monkeys, soccer in the back yard, and maybe even some horseback riding.

I can't wait to see what comes next.

2009-04-18T20:24:00.001-07:00

Things that make me smile.....

EXHIBIT A

Found these at Target and fell. in. love. I kept going back to look at them. And once, at the Orem Target, I found these $35-per-panel curtains on clearance for a mere $20-per-panel. For the math challenged, that's nearly half off! I bought every panel they had; then crashed the AF Target and bought every panel they had.

You only live once, right? So when you see loud curtains that won't match any of your current decor, but that you love love love, you buy them anyway. Every time I look at them, they make me happy. I don't see the red brick wall, the blue floral print couch, or the stained tan carpet, just my curtains and the leather couch, white wall, and hardwood floors of someday. Yum!

EXHIBIT B

There is the most charming bakery/cafe in AF called Flour Girls and Dough Boys. It's my favorite place to eat out. They have a variety of chandeliers hanging from their ceiling, and the above is my favorite. Imagine my awe when I stopped by Lowe's one afternoon and saw this very chandelier on the SALE table. It was 50% off the lowest marked price. After my good fortune registered, and before I started hyperventilating, I calculated the price.....$80. I have a hard time shopping impulsively on items over $20, so I wrote down all the measurements and drove home as fast as law would allow.

Measured my ceiling. Impossibly low. Even with a shortened chain. Jake verified that it would be a bad buy.

I could have cried right then and there. Except this is where the stubborn streak I get from my mother came in. Where there's a will, there's a way. Am I right?!

So I snuck back to Lowe's to check if the three suspension bars could be unhooked. The sales lady was "pretty sure". Great! When I went to pay it rang up for $52. Joy....disbelief....there was a lower clearance tag on the box that I had missed!

I couldn't fit the box in my car. We had to unpack it and put it in the front seat. I covered it with a Mexican blanket and hoped that no one would steal it while I finished my errands. I checked when I got home, and the chandelier normally retails for $210-420. Sweet.

EXHIBIT C

I've pined for one of these bad boys for years. But there is always something else to buy. A computer, schooling, food..... Last year I started looking for used machines on eBay and KSL classifieds, but I want a particular model (Bernina 830) and apparently a lot of other people do too. It's old (my mom bought hers with her wedding money), but it's the proverbial work horse of the sewing machine world. It sells for more now than it did originally. That's right, the only machine know to man to APPRECIATE over time.

BUT, the truth is, it's still too expensive. I finally talked myself down to "any machine that will function". I put into practice that idea that if I send my dreams out into the universe, and expect an answer, the universe will respond. Meaning, I let people know what I was looking for, and LO! My neighbor called about a machine he'd found at Saver's and tuned up. He charged me the $20 it cost him. The case is ugly, but the machine works, and actually.....I love that 50's blue color.

EXHIBIT D

This green sweater. Do I have to say more? It's so Jackie O.....bridging the classy and the trendy. Yeah, that's me striking a pose on my birthday.

Times like these remind me that Heavenly Father cares about my wants and my needs, and I know that He's thinking of me.

Happy St. Poison's Day!

2009-03-23T09:58:00.000-07:00

I really wanted to be like my sister and recreate Ireland in my home for St. Patty's, but everyone here was sick. (Everyone but Jake.....it's one of the only perks of not being with US all day. :) ) Henry had two serious ear infections and a cold, I got the flu (again!!!), Bryant and Michael had colds. So, traditional food just wasn't going to cut it on GREEN DAY. Lucky Charms is so full of -----, (you know, stuff sick bodies shouldn't have), and neither cabbage nor potatoes seemed like the nutrient dense foods you feed your beloved sickies. Come on, even bread didn't taste good. It was like our bodies wanted the simplest fuel possible. All we had eaten for two days was fruit, juice, and herbal tea. So what to make for dinner.....
We finally settled on: rice, seaweed, steamed brocolli and Odwalla's Superfood green drink. Plus a little teriyaki chicken so that Jake didn't starve to death in our presence. So what if we went Asian on Irish-day? At least it was green.

Speaking of green, I have been sick all but two weeks total since November. I got half-way done with this post and then didn't touch it for a week because just as my flu left, I was incapacitated by two of my own excruciating ear infections.

It's a little discouraging. What's the deal with my immune system?! I actually went to the doctor's on Patrick's green day to see if they had any advice. The woman there was testing me on a bunch of different things when all of a sudden she says:
Um....have you moved to a new house lately?
Noooo.
Huh. Because usually when I see this many yellows (test results are color coded), I wonder if the person is getting poisoned.
Uhhh.....
What do you say to that?
She proceeded to test me on a bunch of things and apparently Radon kept coming up. Her suggestion? Go to Home Depot and get a radon test. You may be wondering (as I did) what one does if she finds radon in her home. Well, you can pay a contractor thousands of dollars to install a "straw" in you home to release the gaseous buildup underneath. Or you can pay less to have someone do "energy work" on it for you. I told the woman I didn't know much about energy work. She seemed surprised. I noticed that she had crystals hanging all over her office.

I came home and realized that while we haven't moved into a new house, we have been doing some fix up. Perhaps we've got lead, or maybe some asbestos in the old linoleum we pulled..... A smorgasbord of poisons to choose from.

I did a lead test on the paint. The instructions read: "Lead is present if test liquid (yellow) turns pink or red." Guess what color mine turned? Orange. Whatever. I suppose our bodies have to age us towards death somehow.

I'm fully looking forward to the resurrection.

Everyone is Beautiful

2009-03-13T09:16:00.001-07:00

Thanks for all the comments on the last post. They made me laugh and think. I've always had a bit of a Peter Pan complex. At this point I just want to stay young at heart. I'm afraid of being too tired to do that. But I want to be the grandma who takes up hang gliding and shakes it when the dance music plays.

I think it's true that a little vanity keeps you out of your jammies all day. I don't get dressed till 11:30 as it is! I don't need to look like I jumped off the High School Musical set, but I want to do what it takes to make myself feel good.

I don't know what it is, (except maybe that you reap what you sow), but for me, a little attention to the outside usually guarantees I'll project the beauty on the inside.

And I gotta tell you:
I'm a BABE on the inside.

2009-03-11T10:16:00.000-07:00

It's official. I'm old. The 30th birthday last year was kind of weird, but it didn't hit me full force until two weeks ago. Why?

1. Gray hairs. Those of you who can see the back of my head up close may have noticed it sooner, but MY awareness is recent. Yes, there have been some mysterious hairs for a few years (gray or BLONDE?) because the beauty of natural hair color is: there are many colors encompassed in your "one" hair color. But now that I've got my very own homage to Stacey London in my bangs, I don't know what to do. I've NEVER dyed my hair. Never wanted to. Had a husband who never wanted me to. He loves the same thing about my hair that I do (is it wrong to love your hair color?): the copper highlights that show up in the sun, or in the right lighting if you're lucky. Once you start dying, you never go back, right? I just don't want to say good-bye forever to my real hair color--be it by dye or gray.

I know you're thinking, Hair coloring today includes highlights......
But they won't be mine. And they'll be FAKE. I can only think of a handful of girls whose hair looks natural enough to wonder if it's real.
Of course, there are even fewer who have any gray. I can think of one (under fifty) that I know who has a few grays . And.....it looks embarrassing. Like when someone walks out of the bathroom with toilet paper trailing from their skirt. You want to gently ask, "Do you realize you have some toilet paper.....on you?" "Do you realize that you have some gray hair showing.....?" And even though I AM old enough to have grays, I really feel like it can't be true. I'M TOO YOUNG!!! People should know that. I should keep my hair pigment-full so there is no question. I'm hip....I'm young. NOT old.

2. Except when I am old and not hip. Like when I realize that I look at many teenagers and wonder if they dressed in the dark, or shopped in a garbage can. Raggy flannel pajama pants under your mini-skirt?! (Saw that the other day.) Isn't there a law about dressing that ugly? Casual has been taken to a new level. When you start complaining about the lack of formality in "kids today", you know you're getting old.

3. I'm wearing these babies. In public. Not in my exercise clothes. My cute pair of jeans should be sported with some ballet flats, or maybe some cute Sketchers, right? Except the cute Sketchers have no support, and ballet flats are like walking on posterboard. So I get dressed up to go out, and if I know I'll be walking much, I'm donning my all-white (except for the dirty scuffs), extra wide width, walking shoes. For comfort. When you start playing the comfort card this OFTEN, you know you're getting old.

The plus side?
a) I'm getting $300 orthodics for my plantar faschia, so I'll be able to wear non-exercise shoes more often. (BTW, that is more than I've ever spent for anything to wear....including my wedding dress.)
b)There are some junior styles that I am happy to imitate still, so I'm not ALL fogey when it comes to teenagers.
And my hair? I don't know. Tell me your dying (or not dying) experiences, so I can feel better......

P.S. Am I disgustingly vain?

2009-02-27T12:08:00.000-08:00

I was so impressed at lunch last week. Michael was creating pictures with his fruit pieces. A sun. Then a boat....with a fishing line....with a fish.
Oh, Michael! I say. You are so creative!
A minute later I realize that peanut butter has joined the little artist's media. All over the counter.
Um, no more peanut butter. Okay, buddy?
At least he still thinks outside of the box, right?

A minute later, this......
One thing I can say for Michael. He has always been the most diligent of my children at cleaning up after himself. I cringe only because I live in a world obsessed with Lysol. But let's be honest. I remember the old counter-licking trick myself; it was quite effective. And I lived to adulthood without catching any crippling diseases. As did the people who lived with me--and even the people who visited for that matter. And it's not like I don't clean the counter. Daily. Meal-y. (?)

So here's to playing with your food and licking the counter when no one is looking. (For the 5 and under set.)

Happy Birthday, Bryant Jacob.

2009-02-24T10:05:00.000-08:00

Nine years ago today, we were in a hospital, anxious and excited. Life changed forever at 11:11 pm. After 21 years, all my childhood dreams had finally come true. I was a mother.

Fast forward nine years. Motherhood is still my dream come true; while, paradoxically, feeling like a bad dream sometimes. Like when you have to plan and execute a birthday party. You know what I mean. But let's be honest......I wouldn't have it any other way. I am strong and wise and patient and loving because of the hard things, not the fun things. But maybe we'll make next year an off year.....

Birthday Break-down:
7:30 -11:30 am--preparations, preparations, preparations

11:45 am--basketball game (the first one I've missed and Bryant makes two baskets! Where's the justice in that?)

1:30 pm--Birthday Party Official. Friends arrive. We play Lego Bingo, Guess How Many Legos, I Spy a Lego (the thimble game), Drop A Lego In A Jar, and Build A Bot Guessing Game. Then we open presents and eat cake (my crowning achievement for this party). All while trying to focus nine nine-year-olds' attention. There's no real way to measure party satisfaction (short of the presence/absence of booing and hissing--we had absence), but since Bryant had fun, it was worth it.
For the rest of the day, we were so exhausted that we did little more than run to Costco for pugliese bread for the birthday dinner. (Also, I didn't have it in me to make a second cake, so I told him to pick something from the frozen dessert section.) Mac & Cheese, blueberries, hot dogs, and pugliese with pesto, topped off with presents and Creamies. I was extremely gratified to find that Bryant showed the most excitement of the day over the gifts from Jake and me. Origami book and paper, and the Klutz Lego Action Contraption book (perfect for boys who like to build or invent). Ahhh, so easy to please.

In honor of the day and the boy, here are a few things I'm proud of from Bryant's past year.

*He learned to ride his bike--through much persistance and feet-dragging of parents.
*He's become perceptive of what others feel. It's sweet to watch him be more compassionate towards his brothers and his parents.

*He's become quite money conscious. As in, he begs to open an account at Zion's Bank (their money market yields a higher interest rate) and saves like crazy. I still do not have the self-discipline he does.
*Speaking of self-discipline, he savors everything. I just barely threw away last year's Valentine's stash because Bryant doesn't like to use it up too fast....

*He's a little tree hugger! (Where did he get that from?) He sometimes lectures me on why the world should use cars less.

*He chose to be baptized.(closing eyes for pictures runs in the family)

*He joined the basketball team. In the past, his shyness has kept him out of activities like this. I'm proud that he didn't let fear keep him from doing something he really wanted.
*And My Favorite:He said his part in the Primary Program last October. Every year the program has involved bribery, coersion, and tears. The Primary stopped giving him speaking parts after his first year (he never gets assigned to do talks either) because it's so hard for him to be in front of people. I was surprised when he brought home a part this year. I doubted he'd do it, but we practiced like crazy so that it would become rote.....just in case. The day before he was angry and refusing to go to church over the whole thing. The day of, he came to the mike, stood there for a small eternity. The silence was palpable, and he then quietly said his part. I think every ward member who knew him was in tears. I wanted to jump up and scream and kneel down and cry. My boy did it. There's nothing like watching someone you love unmeasurably conquer something inside themselves.

2009-02-15T19:44:00.001-08:00

Love Day was just that. I loved it. Probably because you reap what you sow, and this year.....we sowed a lot.

I'll admit it. I have this unexplained crafty streak suddenly. I'm scouring blogs and magazines and downloading an obnoxious amount of templates and tutorials. I'm no Martha Stewart, but I say: Go with it while you feel like it ('cause it will probably wear off soon enough).

So we all made homemade valentines this year. No big for some of you, but we have previously gifted only the store-bought variety. The boys decided on the themes they wanted to pursue, and we did what we could with them. It was actually fun. Really fun.

Henry's

Michael's
Bryant's
mine
Love Day itself was special because we exchanged valentines as a family, ate cran-raspberry pancakes for breakfast, and hosted what I hope will hitherto be known as: The 1rst Annual Hoehne Family Valentine's Day Dance Party. (Or something shorter.)

I was lamenting to my friend the fact that there are no easily accessible avenues for dance once you graduate from high school, when she mentioned family dancing and
ZOOM!
there it was. Brilliant. We made appetizers (for dinner), compiled a Dance Party playlist, decorated with helium balloons, and turned down the lights.
May I just say that everyone should try this. Because it surpasses fun. It's great exercise, it doesn't matter how you dance because your kids couldn't care less, and it involves everybody. To quote Fergie with her ab-cerciser, "What could be better?" Unless it's a slow song. Then it doesn't involve everybody; you just dance with the love of your life and the kids chill on the carpet. Still.....very fun.

I have visions of doing this every year. Maybe our kids will invite their friends.....Maybe invite their girlfriends....Maybe their friends and girlfriends will LOVE it......(Will we have a Book of Mormon spacing rule?)

Of course, maybe I have a rosy imagination and my boys won't want their friends anywhere near Dance-tastic Mom and Dad. For now I'll live in imagined bliss, though, and look forward to Valentine Dance Party 2010!

2009-02-11T04:31:00.000-08:00

Grand and glorious.....I'm about to have a washer and dryer again. In my house. Grandma's washer and dryer went away in September, but we decided not to put ours in until we had done something with the laundry area. Just some tile to replace the age-old CARPET that was there previously....nasty, dusty carpet. But removing the base boards led fragile sheet rock to crumble, leading to patching, leading to sanding, leading to painting. And by paint I mean: sanding, puttying, washing, taping, priming, painting, and clean up. And don't forget the baseboards. (Now THERE'S a place where your math skills come in handy......we'll be mitering the board at half of this obtuse angle.....) Most of you out there have a home that you've done your own fix up work on, so I won't whine about the inconceivable amount of time that that took. Especially the prep work. It's a nook, and it took us 4 1/2 months.
The bright side is: it looks great. And it was a great place for us to learn a bunch of skills (which we hope to put to good use around the rest of the house) because it's in the basement behind appliances, so no one will notice our mistakes. And while there were many times that I vowed to save my pennies and hire professional help for all future projects, in the end.....I'm quite satisfied. It feels good to make something beautiful.
Special thanks 1: to my next-door neighbor/mom, who has let me use her laundry room for months now and never charged me a penny.

Special thanks 2: to Doug and Amy for our lovely washer and dryer. I. Seriously. Love. Them.

Special thanks 3: to any friends/family/ward members who have tactfully kept it to themselves when wondering why my kids are wearing dirty/stinky clothes. These things happen when you have to haul a laundry basket into the great outdoors (with your toddler in tow) in the middle of winter to your neighbors and you have other things to do besides and you can't do it at 10 at night anymore (when you think of it).....

2009-02-03T10:48:00.001-08:00

The boys and I have decided to create a book--

100 YUMS
in which we will detail 100 treats we try, with pictures and reviews and general lipsmacking.

Do you remember the book, "100 Dresses", from your childhood? I loved it. Have you heard about the 100 Dresses Project? It's a challenge that the mom on tollipop.com issued:
Create a hundred somethings this year.

Now before your eyes roll back into your head and you guiltily recall the New Year's Resolutions that you've ALREADY made and haven't done a thing about, STOP.

-Check out the story behind the 100 Dresses Project (click on hundred dresses project on side bar and scroll down a bit) It's bitterweet and full of truth.

-If you don't want the whole story, here's part: As therapy (and I would say in answer to some promptings of the spirit) this woman decided to paint 100 dresses (like the book). Only she put girls in those dresses....and wrote short stories about who they are. And she challenged others to do something similar in their own creative spheres.

-belinda-

Why do I love this idea so much? For the same reason I loved Elder Uchtdorf's talk to the sisters last October. He talked about two characteristics that define God. The first was compassion. Well, obviously. I've heard that since I can remember. God loves us. The second was creativity.....wait, creativity? I mean, I know that God created all things, but I never thought of him as creative. Except maybe last year when we went to the Bean Museum, and I saw some animals that looked..... Have you seen the two-foot tall deer-looking-thing with FANGS? Or this?
Of course God is creative; there are plants and animals, eco-systems and planets enough to show that. So it follows that his children must be too. ....That beyond the stereotypical talents we deem "creative", we unleash divine power in ourselves when we choose to make something out of the matter-unorganized around us. President Uchtdorf encouraged us to create beauty and give love. He cautioned us not to let the fear of failure discourage us. He promised that the more we rely on the Spirit, the more we will be able to create.

In the words of tollipop:
"So just think about it. Your one hundred somethings. One hundred somethings that didn't exist until you created them. The thought alone brings good energy, a light in your mind. You may as well get busy and follow it--there's just no telling where you might go!"
(emphasis added)

What might your 100 somethings be?
(disclaimer: We aren't limiting ourselves to a year...that would be more than two a week and I'm not sure we have it in us to go that hard or eat that much sugar..... And we are making things that have been made before, saving us the strain of originality of thought. So see, you can do it too!)

2009-01-27T11:42:00.000-08:00

"I'm in love, and I don't care who knows it!"
So says the exuberant Buddy in the movie Elf.
So says I.
For all of you with low sap tolerance--tune out now.

February 14th--an all-time favorite holiday.....preceeded (for me) only by Christmas.
"Why?" you ask.

-Because Stuart Reese called me Pig Nose repeatedly in the 3rd grade and made me realize that I wasn't pretty.
-Because Cousin Sydney gasped in shock when I told her that I hadn't "gone" (steady) with anybody by 6th grade but assured me that in junior high things would be different....and they weren't.
-Because my first date was a guy I'd had a crush on for months, and when I found myself hating him because he actually asked me out, I knew I was socially inept.
-Because I never, not once, got asked to Prom.
-Because even when the dating scene improved considerably by my second year of college, I found myself unable to seriously entertain any ideas of true love forever with any guy I knew.

Then I met someone who changed all of that. His name was Jake.
It wasn't love at first sight, or even third date. But with time, effort, and a little intervention by my sis-in-law, I found a person whose soul seemed to be cut out of the same fabric as mine. Someone I could love, be attracted to, work with, and sit with comfortably in silence. Of course, before I met him I had already figured out that a) I wasn't ugly b) I could be socially ept and c) I wasn't the only girl who didn't go to Prom. But somehow Jake magnified all that.
ie. I'm not pretty....I'm BEAUTIFUL. Not because anybody else thinks so, but because Jake taught me to see what my Heavenly Father always saw. That happened with a lot of things.

So every year I try to come up with something special to mark the occasion. I've already used the last of my Christmas iTunes money to buy delicious love songs. Prom is over, but I still like to dance in the living room with my sweetie. Only last night it went something like this:

TIFF: We must dance to this!
JAKE: (grin) Okay.
HENRY: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
JAKE & TIFF: (exercise the fine art of ignoring a child while staring passionately into each other's eyes)
HENRY: (trying to wheedle between legs) WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
JAKE & TIFF: (dance in a circular side-stepping fashion)
HENRY: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
JAKE: (leading me away from Henry) You know that this is why this step was invented?
JAKE: (picks up Henry so we can finish the dance as a peaceful threesome)

As my second-fave holiday fast approaches, I have a favor to ask. Will you please give me your romantic ideas for how to make it special? This is our 10th Valentine's, so I could stand some new material.
But please, for the kiddies in the audience, make it G-rated.

Thanks for the Memories (TFTM)....Part 1

2009-01-22T12:38:00.000-08:00

So.....four years after we moved in,
we're still moving in....
Let's be fair, though. Our stuff was in storage in NY for a year, then the garage. After Grandma passed away, we had to wait for things to be taken out before we could move more in. Some of the closets are still full. My dad and aunts have already had two multi-day sessions of going through things, and there's still stuff left. (Note to self: Burn stuff before you die. Spare your children.)

My dad is going to store what's left at his house, until further Going Through parties.
Unfortunately, Grandma's stuff won't fit at his house, because I have my own stuff stored there. Therefore, I have been bringing home everything I can claim from my beloved room with the purple carpet. Which means I'm having some Going-Through parties of my own.

I used to be afraid to let go of anything--sentimental, I liked to call it. But life has been good to me, and in my abundance, I have realized that I will always have enough.....even of memories.
So I'm letting go of the things that I want to remember, but don't want to save. Maybe they'll make memories for somebody else, or maybe they'll become compost (in two hundred years). But I'm writing about them here so I can remember the stories.

"Teddy". I slept with him forever. I was convinced he had feelings, and that he would sorrow when I stopped paying attention to him. I've had him since I was a baby, when I lovingly bit off his nose. He wore infant pajamas that were my dad's. He had a red felt mouth, a red ribbon around his neck, and brown glass eyes that always seemed to see past my growing up exterior.

Doug won this for me at a carnival he went to with his girl friend in high school. I couldn't believe it at the time. There was a great and spacious span of years when we didn't get along very well, and it meant a lot that he gave this to me in the midst of all that. What a cool brother. And I can say that with great confidence now. We don't hit each other any more.

I had this poster in my room as a preschooler. It was big and I remember loving it, and in my child-like testimony, loving President Kimball. I don't remember recognizing anything he taught or did, I just remember knowing he was the prophet and he was on my wall and I loved him.

I got this poster of Michael J. Fox as a free gift with a book order in 3rd or 4th grade. I doubt I even knew who he was. I just remember walking home and unfolding it to get a good look at it. Disappointment. (I was never the kind of girl who hung up posters of boys.) And then some girls behind me started screaming about how cute the poster was! and could they have it? they'd pay me!
Of course the value of the poster skyrocketed. I denied them all, took it home, and kept it safely folded up in my closet until last week. Mine.

I found this at the store (Benjamin Franklin's?) at the beginning of my freshman year as a college co-ed. Emphasize Your Best Feature. I've always loved frogs. And I felt like a bit of a frog myself. So I liked the reminder that even frogs can have some pretty great features.

New Year's Resolutions

2009-01-13T09:20:00.000-08:00

Every year on January 1, we make Goal Posters. We limit what we put on the posters so it's easier to accomplish our goals. We have four categories: Physical, Spiritual, Mental, and (new this year) Financial. Then we brainstormed ideas for each category so the boys could see how broad they could go with their goals. This should be fun, right? Then we raid old magazines for pictures of what we want to do, because..... What can I say? I'm a visual person.

So here's what the Hoehnes hope to do this year:

Henry
-Learn to pray
-Learn to count to 10 (that was the best we could come up with for financial)
-Learn colors and shapes
-Potty train!

Michael
-Keep a journal
-Save $20 in the bank and $20 to spend
-Play on a soccer team
.....and my favorite--Learn about:
(Do you like the Civil War pic he found? And notice the condition of parental supervision. But for those of you who are worried, we're doing stuff like popcorn, eggs in the microwave, etc. No black powder....)

Bryant
-Go to bed on time
-Read 2 or more Hardy Boys books a month
-Keep a journal
and......Save $100 to buy something off his list. It's probably difficult to see, but everything on the list (except the Nerf gun) is a Lego product. Not the kind that you buy at Wal-Mart. The kind you order through their catalog. The kind that cost between two and four hundred dollars.
At least he still dreams big.

Tiff
I have a real problem with my sleeping habits, and my food budget, so I'm going to:
-Get up at 7 am 5x a week (you have no idea how hard this is for me)
-Attend the temple twice a month
-Make monthly menus and stick to them!!!
-Learn to crochet a monkey and knit stockings

Jake
-Exercise 5x a week
-Learn to play the piano ( and learn 5 Hymns)
-Read all the General Conference talks
-Build a 6 month emergency fund

Our motto this year is:
Gonna shine in 2009!
(Clever, huh?)

Q: What are your New Year's Resolutions?

"What I (we) Did Over Christmas Break....."

2008-12-31T14:50:00.000-08:00

Sheetrock patching and tiling in our soon-to-be new laundry nook.

Made gingerbread houses at Grandma's......and destroyed them.

Chilled with cousins at family parties.

Decorated the tree.....
and the house.

Received our "This Year...." Ornament.
A penguin for Henry, because he LOVES the little penguin he got this summer.Chewbacca for Michael and........C3PO and R2D2 for Bryant.
This year is officially "The Year of Star Wars" (ie. Christmas gifts of action figures, Legos, computer games, Fandex.....plus watching movies and winning the Millenium Falcon earlier this year).

Got silly with the stocking stuffers.....
.....and opened some presents:
For some reason, Michael loves, and is good at, geography puzzles. It probably fits in with his professed career choice of sidewalk maker. Somehow.If Bryant asks you to play charades, just guess "the Calvin and Hobbes book". It will be a scene from it. At least it has been for the past seven days.The bird is only mechanical. My mantra when it comes to pets is: "I deal with enough poop every day, thanks."
Crystals and fossils we got sweet deals on because Unckie Doug is a geologist.
My fourth fitness ball to date. We had a little popping streak with these last year (we meaning the boys); here's to a new year!

Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T21:54:00.000-08:00

Friday, December 19th, 2008

I attended the Barratt Elementary Christmas Sing this morning. I watched with proud eyes and I smiled my heart out at the two stars (for me) of the show. Both Bryant and Michael have some performance anxiety, so I was proud to see them up there with their classes, sharing their songs. What beautiful people they are growing into.....
When I came home, I checked my email and found that I'd gotten a new nephew in the wee hours of the morning--Bruce David Peterson. As any woman who has given birth can attest, seeing a newborn baby and remembering the magnitude of those moments with a new soul can bring a tear or two to your eyes. There is nothing like it.
This afternoon, I received an email from Jake's mom, letting us know that our dear friend, "Grandma Billie", had passed away the night before. Jake was in Billie's ward before we were married.
There is only one word to describe Billie--remarkable. She grew up on the wrong side of the tracks in her town, but she overcame her circumstances. She went to college and was the third woman to join the Women's Air Corp during WWII. Her fiance was killed during the war, and she didn't marry until her seventies--an old friend who had been widowed. She continued to earn degrees, serve her country, and even earned a lifetime scholarship from a local college in her eighties. She never had children, but she fiercely loved a great many people.
It's a shock to think that I won't be seeing her again this Christmas, listening to her stories or sharing dinner.
In the midst of all this, I'm buying gifts and wrapping boxes and gratefully thinking of my Savior. I'm thankful for this time of year when we celebrate His birth and increase our love for others. I'm thankful that He came. I'm thankful for the life He lived and the death He chose. It's what makes the Plan of Salvation possible. Haven't I witnessed that plan in action today? The plan where we can bring spotless babies to the earth, where we can watch them grow and progress through life, and the plan where we can know with assurance that even if one of us leaves this mortal sphere, we will embrace again, in glorious, immortal bodies. I know that Jesus Christ makes these things possible. I know that He lives. I know that He came just as was prophesied, and I know that He will come again. He will keep that promise. I happily anticipate the day when I will kneel at His feet, with my children, my husband, with Bruce, with Billie, and with all of you, my dear, dear friends.

Merry Christmas!
Love, Tiff

Not A Creature Was Stirring.....

2008-12-17T16:06:00.000-08:00

Oh, but wait, there WAS a creature stirring. Several. In my floor boards. In my storage room. Where I store my food.

Who's bright idea was it to pair the words "Christmas" and "mouse"? There's nothing Christmas about mice. There's contamination. Spoilage. Or cannibalism (that's right--right off the trap). I've seen them all since we moved here and started gaining experience (to put it spiritually) with rodents. And just when I thought they couldn't gross me out anymore:

Friday night, as we're putting the boys to bed, Michael tells me to come feel under his pillow. Okay. There are little chunks everywhere and it smells bad. I'm on my second night of the stomach flu (again!), which Bryant, Michael, and Henry all had this week too. I had thought that Michael was over it, but this was his little way of letting me know that he had thrown up the previous night without bothering to tell anybody.

But it gets better. I flee the room for a minute because the smells of his crusty blanket are getting to my already sick stomach. Jake gets paper towels to start cleaning things up. When I walk back into the room, he asks, "Tiff, is this......?" And it is. Mouse droppings. All over in the vomit chunks. And for those of you who don't yet understand the digestive workings of rodents, they poop when they eat. Meaning they were eating yesterday's regurgitated dinner.....under my sons pillow. ON HIS BED!
I gotta tell you, folks, there is nothing Christmas about that!!!!!

Q: Fresh-cut or artificial trees?

Ghosts of Christmas Past......

2008-12-09T10:22:00.000-08:00

And when I say ghosts, of course I mean sweet memories. Like:

2001
We were reading the Old Testament during family scripture study, using the OT Reader to keep the youngest interested. And we learned about idols. And it went over well. Until December when we pulled out the nativity. "Uh....no, Bryant, these are not idols.......yes, that's Jesus, but we don't worship him......I mean, we do worship Jesus, but not this Jesus.....I mean........Jake?"

2002
After watching the holiday favorite "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", Bryant ran around talking about it for weeks. Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a long name to remember, and pronounce, though. So actually, we heard about "Rine-off the Nose Run" the rest of the month.

2003
We were poor grad students eeking out our existence across the country from familial support. We lived off of WIC and Aldi (super cheap grocery store). The cost of hauling had prevented us from bringing almost anything that constituted Christmas. We had a wreath and a Santa cookie jar. But I really wanted a tree. I found one at Family Dollar for $10. It would be a total splurge, but we could live off of cheese and crackers for a week, right? There was a strand of lights for $1 or $2, and a package of mini candy canes for $1, each wrapped so you could use their crooks to hang them. We made a couple of construction paper ornaments and decorated our Christmas tree. It was little and poorly decked, but it was decked with all that we had, and it was OURS. It's one of the most beautiful trees in my memory.

2004
We'd finished grad school in June and were still looking for "the job". We bought craft sticks and duct tape for the kids (it was cheap and they were young). All of our music was in storage with everything else in New York, so Jake surprised me and bought several CD's of my favorite Christmas albums. We played "March of the Toy Soldiers" the night we decorated the tree, and marched around pretending to play various instruments. There's something unburdening about being a kid with your kids.....especially at Christmastime. I remember I felt perfectly happy that night.

2007
A woman in our ward owns a ballet company, so last December she gave us tickets to The Nutcracker. (Just so you know, most of Jake's and my courtship was played out in theaters--ballets, operas, concerts. We've always wanted to share that with our boys, but it's expensive.) I was thrilled. It was a beautiful performance, and we took the boys to a nice, sit-down restaurant afterward to round out the experience. The boys were great. Michael didn't love it, but he sat still; Bryant actually did love it. It cracked me up a few days later, though, when I found them playing ballet with their Bionicles......

And finally, the Santa Claus battle rages on. I loved believing in Santa growing up; I was disappointed when I realized the truth, but not scarred. However, I have this extreme honesty problem, and I can't lie to my kids. I never decided how to approach Santa Claus when Bryant was young, so I just never brought him up. We never talk about Santa Claus coming, about writing him with your wish list, or about being good for him. Everything the boys know is from outside sources. Don't worry, though, there are plenty of those and my kids do believe.
Except last year, we started getting the questions.
"Is Santa Claus real?"
To which I always reply, "Uh, what do you think?"
To my dad (aka The King of Christmas) this is simply unpatriotic. And I haven't even given him the full details of my non-conformity. Oh well. We've come this far and I haven't ruined Christmas yet.......
Here's to Christmas 2008!

Q: What's your favorite--eggnog or hot chocolate?

A Few More Thankfuls....

2008-12-01T10:45:00.000-08:00

Before I leave the season officially behind, I have to say:

I'm thankful for a silly husband, with whom I can take pictures like this and still laugh about it.

I'm thankful for Krispy Kreme donuts. When it first came to town, all of my neighbors at Wymount (those from out of state) went CRAZY happy. "What's the big deal?" I thought. They're donuts. And then I tasted one hot off the conveyor belt. THAT was not a donut. It was a piece of YUM. I believe.

I'm thankful my mom invited me to go to a BYU football game with her. We had fun watching football (can you believe I'm saying that?!), eating good food, and buying BYU paraphenalia at the stadium store afterward. I was really grateful for the girl time with my mom, and I felt my disdain for organized sports lessen considerably. :)

I'm thankful for fall leaves to kick through, rake, and jump in. And I'm thankful my mom has deciduous trees next door so that my kids can grow up loving these things too.

I'm thankful my husband has the time and motivation to do Father-Son interviews and activities each week. He connects with them in a way I can't, and I'm glad he does.

I'm thankful for a perfect Thanksgiving. We slept over at Jake's parent's house the night before, had a lazy breakfast the next day, played, talked, made apple turkeys and lots of good food, and loved. I came away feeling very loved, and very grateful for a family that loves me even when I'm sometimes prickly. THANK YOU, HOEHNE'S!

I'm thankful for Orton the Thankful Turkey, who comes to us nude each season, and leaves with better plumage than a peacock. Somehow Orton always shows me something. Like how proud Michael, my independent child, was to write all of his own feathers this year. Or how eager Henry was to be included, even if it was just stuffing empty feathers under Orton's tush. Or how practical Bryant was, with feathers like: "heater", "stores", "toilets", and "that we can know origami"...... Yeah. Two others were, "that Daddy has a good job" and "that we're not poor". Funny, because Jake and I have been feeling kind of poor lately. We've watched all of our money disappear to purchasing a house, budgeting our Christmas, planning projects on the house, fixing two cars, paying for four dentist appointments in full, and waiting for clients to pay up.

I'm glad Bryant feels secure, but I'm also glad that he reminded us how very rich we are. I have everything I dreamed of growing up--a wonderful husband, sweet children, supportive family and friends, a relationship with my Heavenly Father. I even have some things that I never asked for, like lots of good books, a pool, and an ipod. And now I just can't shake the feeling that I must be the richest girl in the world. Thanks, Orton. And more importantly, thanks to my Heavenly Father.

I'm Thankful for.....

2008-11-13T10:14:00.000-08:00

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I'll be talking about some of the things I'm thankful for this month. (And along with that, a big Thanksgiving shout-out to my friend Jeanne, who was kind enough to check if I was dead--since I claim to be addicted to blogging, but haven't posted for 3 weeks..... I'm going to have to lay the blame on: the stomach flu, family visiting from out of town, being out of town myself, and....being.....a mom? Yeah, I think the stomach flu sounds the best.)

I'm thankful for the Bean Museum (all you BYU alums know what I'm talking about) which provided a fun-filled yet learning-dense "Halloween Creatures" FHE. And I'm going to have to say that this place is better than the zoo. Smaller-yes, but at least the animals are all out of their holes and you can view them at close range. And they don't stink. AND IT'S FREE.

I'm thankful for the BYU Creamery, which provided dessert for us on the aforementioned FHE. Seriously, their ice cream is as good as Cold Stone's.....all chewy and stuff. Where would the world be without "Ernestly Chocolate"? (chocolate with a marshmallow swirl and mini rolos)

I'm thankful that our car didn't explode while we were in it, driving home from the aforementioned FHE. It was smoking like a.....chain smoker......on the inside and the outside of the car and we were telling our boys to unbuckle Henry's carseat as we drove and to jump out as soon as the car came to a complete stop..... But at least it didn't explode. Oh yeah, and I'm thankful we had a blanket to wrap up in while we waited for a ride. Kind of an adventure.

I'm thankful for Halloween. Because who doesn't like to dress up in cool costumes, roam the neighborhood foraging for candy, overdose on sugar, drink homemade apple cider, and watch "Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein"? Although, for the record, I liked watching the chipmunks meet Wolfman better.

P.S. I MADE this costume!!!!!!! I know half of you reading this are amazing seamstresses who whip out costumes, quilts, scripture totes, and dresses like any domestic goddess should, but I'm not quite that domestically divine yet. And I even altered the pattern! And it doesn't look like a factory reject! And I spent three hours working on the boots! (Okay, that sentence doesn't deserve an exclaimation point, because Bryant wouldn't even wear the boots that I spent THREE HOURS making..... Did I mention they took three hours?)
Jedi Man
Sombrero Man
SpidermanPuppy Man...Boy

I'm thankful for Jake, Corporate Alliance, Zermatt, Big-D Construction, and Apple Computers. Why? Because Jake went to a business retreat hosted by Corporate Allianance at Zermatt, this amazing resort in Midway, and we got to come and stay in his beautiful suite and watch movies and have fun all day.
Don't you love beds with all five thousand pillows?
And Big-D Construction sponsored a game at this retreat (meaning they bought the prizes), and Jake's team won, and Jake gave me his prize since he basically has all of it on his iphone, and the prize was an IPOD TOUCH, and even though I'm a stay at home mom who hates wearing headphones and could never justify buying one of these things even though they are totally cool and who wouldn't want one of these things?!?!?! I seriously love it even more than I thought I would. I've got my planner on it, games for the kids....and me, a ton of music, all the phone numbers I never entered onto my cell phone, 26 "They Might Be Giants" podcasts, and my scriptures!!!! Don't worry, though, I won't become one of those people in Gospel Doctrine who brings her ipod instead of the actual scriptures. And sorry if you're one of those people. :)

5 & 9

2008-10-29T15:09:00.000-07:00

Here's my combination of two tags (5 Things and Niner-Niner)

Things I was doing 10 Years Ago:
I was in my first semester at BYU; I'd just held hands for the first time with my future hubby; I was majoring in French; I was planning to send in my mission papers in two months; I was living at home.

TV Shows I Watch:
What Not to Wear; Family Ties; Phineas & Ferb; Everybody Loves Raymond; Phil of the Future; Get Fit With Sharon Mann; All-Star Workouts (do these count?); The Cosby Show; The Suite Life of Zack and Cody (blech, this is by default....)

Things On My To Do List:
finish Bryant's Halloween costume; get mortgage papers turned in; lay tile in the laundry room; research candidates; finish "Tuesdays With Morrie"

Fave Restaurants:
Thai Village; La Dolce Vita; Flour Girls & Dough Boys; Bajio's; PF Chang's; La Carretta; La Vigna; Cafe del Sol (no longer in existence, but it's where I first thought I might marry Jake); "Jake's Crab Shack" (I love it when my hubby cooks!)

Snacks I Enjoy:
rice crackers and hummus; graham crackers and applesauce; bananas with Nutella; turkey jerky; cinnamon-sugar tortillas

Things That Happened Yesterday:
dentist visit (no cavities!); did the Phantom Boo thing for a few people; ripped up linoleum; did laundry; plucked my eyebrows; reviewed some books on Good Reads; got our car towed from where it broke down in a cloud of smoke the night before; did Pilates; ate food

Places I've Lived:
American Fork, Ephraim, and Provo, UT; Syracuse, NY; heaven

Things I'm Looking Forward To:
our Halloween Party; getting new furniture, floors, and paint; buying "The Penguin That Hated the Cold" from Amazon; a NEW vaaaaan!!; money to pay for all of this stuff; the resurrection--no glasses, no food allergies, no more (I'm crossing my fingers here) PMS and its accoutrements!

Jobs I've Had:
Hogi Yogi; french tutor; BYU Bookstore; babysitting various children; cleaning the toilet, washing the dishes, organizing paperwork, paying the bills, dressing children, feeding children, doing laundry, vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, yard work, potty-training, vomit patrol.....is that five?.......I can go on......

Things On My Wish List:
Bosch Kitchen Mixer; yoga certification; investment properties; a book publishing; my own business (someday); more skinny jeans; Bernina sewing machine; a treadmill; the will to cook

Pet Peeves:
people who leave their shopping carts anywhere (WALK 10 STEPS TO THE DESIGNATED RECEPTACLE FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!); toy manufacturers who market violent/sexual video games to little boys and dolls that look like prostitutes to little girls; urine anywhere but in the toilet...... (can you tell I have three little boys?); people who think they are so right that they won't listen for another point of view; people who expect me to fail (ie. be late, not understand, do it wrong---I'M TRYING, PEOPLE!)

Things That Bring Me Joy:
picking up my kids from school; someone who thinks I'm beautiful 24/7 and even wanted to marry me!; trite but true--keeping the commandments; being sealed to my four favorite people; daffodils in the spring and autumn leaves filtering down through the sky

On Pride....

2008-10-24T08:57:00.000-07:00

All I have to say is, what ever scraps of pride are left in a person after the nightmarish years of junior high and the formative years of high school--they are reduced to dust when you become a mother.

It begins with pregnancy--you know, throwing up if front of complete strangers in the grocery store parking lot, stripping from the waist down for every Tom, Dick, and Harriet at every doctor's appointment you have, the conspicuous waddle you get while appearing to smuggle a small (or large, depending on the trimester) watermelon under your shirt. It continues with stretch marks and sagging skin, shirts accessorized by spit up, boogers, or (my fave) breast milk leakage......the advice from everyone that makes you feel like you must be doing something wrong ("If your child is still waking up in the night, it's because you're doing something wrong.")......the tired eyes......the days between showers......the apparent mail bag you have to carry everywhere with all of the "stuff"......the noises that aren't coming from your bowel system, but sure sound like they were to everyone else!......

And then they learn to talk. And you've got you're little boy (or girl) asking you LOUDLY why that man's skin is purple (because your boy's grown up in Utah and has pretty much never seen an African American before). Or he proclaims (again, LOUDLY) that other man (who is 15 feet away) should not be smoking, doesn't he know how bad that is? And why is he smoking?

And then they go to school. And they refuse to talk to or acknowledge the presence of most adults. And the adults feel insulted. Or you drop them off, and they start crying because their line has already gone in and you have to walk them in personally, even though you never planned to step foot out of the car because your hair is heavily greased and due for a shower and you are wearing your skin tight exercise leggings and a sweatshirt the size of a small camping tent, and of course no make-up. (That was two days ago.) Or you drop your kids off, get home, and realize you forgot to give them their money for school pictures. And pictures are RIGHT NOW. So you pack up your little one, realizing as you place him in his car seat that he has completely filled his diaper, and you run to the school in your very dirty coat and the horrible corduroys that you threw on right before you rushed the boys to school, hoping that no one will notice how washed-out you look without make-up and how greasy your hair is (AGAIN)...... And then you wander around the school with your little one whose pants are bearing the marks of diaper leakage, delivering envelops of picture money (and all for a measly class picture!) and hoping no one will notice the small cloud of stink that's hovering around you. (That was today.)

And with all this, I still can't wait to pick them up from school and love them and teach them and kiss their owies and read them books and stroke their hair when they are sleeping and buy them gifts and watch them grow and listen to them laugh and smell their heads after they bathe and spend the rest of eternity with them.

That's motherhood for you.

I need to learn to shower earlier.......

Tag 1

2008-10-17T11:30:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged a couple of times, so I need to get to it. And for those of you who tagged me, I'm just going first tag, first served....

Husband Tag

1-Where did you meet?
Jake's sister, Heather, was my roommate my freshman year at Snow. He was on a mission then, but she told me that her brother would be perfect for me and asked to set me up with him when he got back. She told me all these things about how great and popular he was, which made me think that he would never go for a girl like me. And she sent a picture of me to Jake which was totally offensive to him because A) He was on a mission!!! and B) He though I looked like I was 12.

2-How long did you date before you got married?
I like to give people the long version (so we don't sound like every other couple at BYU). Our first date was December of 1997, and we were married in April of 1999. Technically, though, we actually "dated" for a Semester, and then were engaged for a semester.

3-How long have you been married?
It will be 10 long, beautiful, hard, awesome, amazing years this April. And I only say long because it feels like we've always been together..... How could it be only 10 years?!

4-What's your favorite feature of his?
His smile and his hands. I love seeing him happy. And I love the hands--with the fingers that are uniquely his--and all they have done--cooking dinner, the Burp-a-matic 2000, diaper changing, giving blessings, stroking my hair. I especially love how my hand fits just right in his.

5-What's your favorite quality of his?
He's incredibly humble. He's always the one to come and apologize about contention, even when I'm the one at fault.

6-Does he have a nickname for you?
Sometimes he calls me Sarsparilla or Cute-onanoff (with a Russian accent). :)

7-What is his favorite color?
Blue.

8-What is his favorite food?
Italian. He loves gelato and Insalata Caprese (italian mozarella with fresh basil and tomatoes.

9-What is his favorite sport?
Uh....I have no idea. He likes basketball, football, and soccer.....and if he had a different wife, maybe he'd watch it more. But I don't really care for sports that much, so he does other things with me.

10-When and where was your first kiss?
On the side porch at my house. I have no idea when it was, but we'd been dating a while! I practically had to beg him to kiss me. It was amazing to think that there was a slower mover on this earth than me.

11-What is your favorite thing to do as a couple?
Talking. We love to discuss books or movies or art or business ideas or anything else that will keep us up at night. Poor Jake will probably die early because he can't sleep in like I can, but at least we stay connected!

12-Do you have any children?
For the sake of the post--yes, 3 boys. But I'm sure that if you've ever read my blog, you know all about them.

13-Does he have a hidden talent?
I expect a lifetime of emerging talents from him. That's how life is. And I know he is up to developing every one of them.

14-How old is he?
32.

15-Who said "I love you" first?
I can't remember....but Jake says it was him.

16-What is his favorite type of music?
Silence. Although he will sometimes listen to opera, oldies, or the Jonas Brothers (with us).

17-What do you admire the most about him?
His GOOD heart. Even when things are rough, I know that he is always doing the best he can, because I know he wants nothing more than to do the right thing.

18-Do you think he will read this?
Of course. I'm like a first-grader who is never quite satisfied until they've shown off their work. And Jake is my safe place to show off. :)

19-I tag.....
-Heidi
-Abby
-Buffy
-Chante
-Jeanne
-Eileen
-Mom
-Jen
-Lori
-Jamie
-Sarrah
-Michelle
-Shari
-Amanda
-Nannette
-Sally
-Sarah
-Amy
That's right. You all need to share.......

Book Fair

2008-10-14T10:18:00.000-07:00

Our school librarian called me in September and asked if I would ever.....
possibly.......
be interested.....
in chairing the book fair at our school.
Are you kidding me?!
I had so. much. fun. We set up on Monday, tore down Friday, and in between I drove to Draper twice for book refills, worked two shifts as a cashier, and stayed late two nights to count money. And she wants me to do it next year!!!!
My mind is already spinning with the possibilities.

First of all, I love books. I really love them. And I really really love children's books. It was, as Jake's mom put it, like being in a candy store. I bought more books this year than I have ever bought at a book fair. What can I say? The longer I was there, the more I found. I realized that my dream of working in a bookstore (if it ever came true) would never be lucrative.
Secondly, I love business. The advertising, the counting money, finding employees (okay, volunteers) and doing things to make it a good experience for them, helping customers....

I don't know if I'm crazy, or if I was just born to run a book fair. It's perfect because I get the fun, but it's abbreviated, so I don't go into debt buying books and I don't have the long-term committment of a job.

Here are a couple of the great books I found:A circular story that references a ton of other stories (and includes titles at the top of the page). It's totally fun and a great way to introduce your kids to other books.

A must have. Not because it's the happiest or the cutest, but because none of us should forget. It's a children's picture book about a slave who escapes to freedom by mailing himself (and it's a true story). So there's an aspect of happy. But it's also a book about injustice and pain and hardship. I don't want my kids to ever forget what some of their brothers and sisters have gone through, and to be grateful for the freedoms they enjoy.

This is a novel about the first child born in Buxton, Canada--a settlement of runaway slaves near the American border. Another great book for remembering. And it's won a bunch of awards.

My girl Holly (Jake's sister) and I were both excited about this book. Although, she knew about books one and two, and I just picked up #3 off the shelf. It's full of questions to ask your friends. Jake and Holly and I stayed up till one in the morning after the book fair asking each other questions and laughing together.
I say this is a bonding book.
So I'll be posting questions from it so you can tell me more about yourself. :)

Q:What's the meanest thing you did as a little kid?

For me, my friend and I found a classroom window open at our elementary school. So we crawled inside and threw the papers everywhere. It was a mess. I still feel guilty. I'm not sure where the teacher is now, or I would apologize. He probably doesn't even remember, but that's the price that guilt exacts....
How about you?

P.S. Are any of you on Good Reads that I don't know about?

Happy Birthday, Jake!

2008-10-07T10:02:00.000-07:00

In honor of my sweetie's 32nd year on this planet, I wanted to write about 32 reasons that I love him.

1. He's a better cook than me....which has come in handy during pregnancies and other meal-times of need.
2. He honors his priesthood.
3. He tries to give me a little princess treatment everyday. (Read "Fanny's Dream" for the reference.)
4. He volunteers in the boys' classes.
5. He appreciates beautiful things---like sunsets, snow-capped mountains, poetry, operas, architecture, and art.
6. He picked me!!!
7. His dream was to grow up and be a daddy.
8. He's a perfectionist. (And anytime that gets frustrating, he reminds me that it led him to choose me for a wife. What can I say to that?!)
9. He rubs my feet.
10. He cares about people and wants them to feel remembered. He'll always pick you out of a crowd and stop to say hello.
11. He served a mission.
12. He's very honest.
13. He never indulges in gossip.
14. He's not afraid to make dinner, clean the toilet, change a diaper, or mop up vomit.
15. He likes me to read to him (and I love reading aloud :) ).
16. The Lord comes first, then his family.
17. He's worked hard to learn how to build a business and to do it.
18. He's a very good employer (so say his employees).
19. He always asks me to play piano for him on Sunday.
20. He likes to try new foods, so meals are never boring.
21. He wrestles with the boys.
22. He was always so sweet with Grandma when he came home from work.
23. He was my first kiss and I was his.
24. He lets me go first when I've had a hard day and want to spill it all (even when his day was hard too).
25. He is truly respectful of womanhood. He learned it from his wonderful dad, and he is teaching it to our boys.
26. He ad libs when he reads to the boys.
27. He spoils me on holidays (even Secretary's Day once).
28. We share the same dreams for life.
29. He gets callouses on his knees from praying.
30. He sings italian hymns while he rocks our babies.
31. He has a good heart and I know he is always trying his best.
32. He's mine!

MTWThFSaSu

2008-09-29T15:11:00.000-07:00

Monday---

I think we paid the rent for Kleenex, Inc. this week. I expect a thank you note any day now...... Thankfully, the boys' colds are nearly gone, but I can't help wishing we had had one of these for Michael (a blow-anywhere-anytime-on-anything kinda guy):
Seriously.

Tuesday---
We talked with "Mike" (our mortgage broker) from 8:30-11 pm about mortgages, etc. Very looong, but still exciting! We signed lots of preliminary papers (see pic).
I'm the one in the glasses.

Wednesday---
The Insulation Inspection Man paid a little visit today.... We'll be paying him $840 to add to our paltry attic insulation, so that we don't end up paying more than that in gas bills this winter. The beauty of it all: the gas and electric companies will each be sending us a rebate check of $420. (ie. FREE INSULATION, BABY!!)

Thursday---
Mormon Mythellaneous premiered at the Festival Cinemas in Orem. It was very cool to see Jake's work on the big screen. He and his team did an awesome job. If you're local, be sure to tune in Saturday at 4pm on channel 5 to see a twenty-minute cut. Or, pick up the full-length version at your local Deseret or Seagull book......they make great stocking stuffers! :) Hehe.

Friday---

I was folding laundry that was piled high on the Flower Chair. When the beach towel acted stuck, I assumed it was between the cushion and back of the chair. I pulled harder. Nothing. I pulled super, extremely, gruntingly hard. And this is what I find.

Any one know how to get red silly putty out of fabric?

Saturday---
Went to the General RS Meeting at the Conference Center in Salt Lake with some ward friends. Wow! Security there is unbelievable! (Don't put your ticket away until safely seated in your chair.) Love love loved President Uchtdorf's talk.

Sunday---
Notice there are no pics, because we did nothing picture worthy. Ahhhhhhhh..... Bryant informed me that Sunday is boring because we don't do so much, but that's exactly why
I like it.

my San Salvatore....

2008-09-22T15:22:00.000-07:00

If you've read "Enchanted April" (and you should), you should know that San Salvatore is the name of an Italian castle that four English women escape to for a month. The beauty and magic of the place rejuvenates their souls.

I've decided that The Lodges at Deer Valley are my San Salvatore. This is our third year going up, but our first staying the entire three days with Jake. (And when I say with Jake, I mean that in a purely metaphysical sense.) Jake attends a business retreat--training, building relationships, having fun from 9 am to 9 pm. All he does is sleep in his room--except its not a room. It's a full-blown condo, and nicer than any house we've EVER lived in. So we (his family) might as well use it too, right? I feel like a princess there. Deer Valley is this sweet little nook way up in the mountains of Park City, and The Lodges are right in the bosom of a mountain. It's beyond picturesque. Whenever I go there I wax poetic and want to write about wildflowers and pine trees.... Ironically, I never get any pictures of the outside. I'm too busy soaking it in. But I got a bucket load of other pics, so here goes!

Our dining room, with a little of the living room fireplace, which we kept roaring for three days. Ahhhh. :) The big screen TV is in the cupboard above the fireplace.....hooked to a VCR. What is that about?! (Yeah, I only brought dvd's.)

The kitchen--fully stocked with every appliance or utensil you might possibly need. I don't mind cleaning up a kitchen that nice every night.

The boys slept on this couch (a hide-a-bed) in front of the fireplace, except for Henry, who slept in bed with us. There was plenty of room for once, because it was nice and king size. Yum, what delicious sleep. When you sleep on really nice mattresses that don't dip in the middle, it makes you want to buy a new bed.....

Eating breakfast.

Bryant with the Monopoly board. Every room has a Park City version, with all of the properties being Park City businesses. Bryant was ECSTATIC to play again this year. He was crazy to play against. Here are some of the nuggets I got during our FOUR HOURS of playing. "I like this game.....it makes me feel like a man of......a business man!" And after I landed on one of his expensive properties: "Come on, Mom. Aren't you happy for me? Making progress.....making money.....beating you down in the second game....." He's 8.

We never did finish the game, we just had to pack it up while Jake was checking out. We had that game out for three days. I will not be surprised if Bryant grows up to be a very wealthy man. Because actually, he lives like he plays Monopoly (at least when it comes to money.)

This was also my little experiment in home schooling--which I would love to do, but don't know if I have the guts or self-discipline to do it. There's so much to explore outside of the four walls of a classroom.... Anyway, the boys worked on their homework each day. Outside, we observed how different seeds travel, how ducks root for bugs, what kinds of plants grow in marshy areas, how mud nests are contructed, and how burrs work (and how velcro was patterned after them).
Cattails collected and the burr ball created at the river side.

The boys have never been in a jetted tub. Michael turned it on before the water was high enough, and it started a high powered, freakish spraying that completely scared him and Henry. Once the tub was full enough, though, they thought it was totally cool.

Henry's first pillow fight. And this is the best pic I could get.

So, our tradition is that after we check out, we go down to Park City Main Street and walk around, maybe get breakfast, and ALWAYS get a treat at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. It is beyond my comprehension (it's a chocolate factory!), but the boys have gotten rock candy sticks for the past two years. They love rocks...... Personally, I always get a Snickers Caramel Apple.
So. Good.
Sharing is caring......
Mommy is always happy after a chocolate fix.......
And Daddy is always at work.
(Thanks for the food and house, babe.)
We ate our treats in a pleasant, plant-lined alley. There were some firemen across the street who saw our kids playing, so one ran over and gave them each a play fire hat.

And for the grand finale..... On the last night of the retreat they have a banquet and an auction. Each person is required to bring a item worth over $50, then they earn "money" over the course of the retreat to use at the auction. Jake has brought nostalgic toys the past two years (Star Wars, Indiana Jones). He decided to get a Millenium Falcon this year. It's freaking huge. The boys saw it and totally wanted him to get it. Only, he's tried the past two years to get the toys he's brought and has never been able to. It's an auction. But somehow, this year, he got it! Byrant, especially, could not go to sleep that night because all he could think of was the ship......
Did I mention it's huge? Over two feet across? I don't even know where we're going to put this thing. Or how much they'll actually play with it. But I guess every childhood should have one completely frivolous toy in it, right? And actually, it IS pretty awesome.....

red licorice

How the Science Fair and a Virus Tried to Kill Me

Two

Guess who got asked to the Valentine's Dance??!

Couldn't have said it better myself....

Big-O Tires

Dear Me....2012

Aquarella

Happy Birthday 2012!

Awkward Couple Pics

Christmas 2 for 1

Beni hearts Warby Parker

Happy Halloween...

New York

Chinese Checkers with my firstborn

Bounce House

He ran through a field of grass....

Summertime is....

I'm in love....

What motherhood looks like....

Friday Faves--my week in retrospect

BEEEAUTIFUL.

Friday Faves--my week in retrospect

"Greatest in the Kingdom"

"Creativity loves constraints."

.....8

Cha Cha

1 year older and wiser too....

A few thoughts on Bryant's birthday...

“When sleeping women wake, mountains will move.” --Chinese Proverb

THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE

We let him eat diapers for lunch.

On The Bright Side

To My YW

Beniamino (italian)

For My YW:

So....

k.m.f. day

first day of school

from nub to chub

More summertime....

The Fast and the Phineas

Disclaimer

Guess what?

Happy St. Poison's Day!

Everyone is Beautiful

Happy Birthday, Bryant Jacob.

Thanks for the Memories (TFTM)....Part 1

New Year's Resolutions

"What I (we) Did Over Christmas Break....."

Merry Christmas

Not A Creature Was Stirring.....

Ghosts of Christmas Past......

A Few More Thankfuls....

I'm Thankful for.....

5 & 9

On Pride....

Tag 1

Book Fair

Happy Birthday, Jake!

M*T*W*Th*F*Sa*Su

my San Salvatore....

MTWThFSaSu