Fairy of Christmas Cheer

When I was growing up, our family would go "fairy" other families.  Many do it: basically leave a treat or gift on someone's doorstep, ring the bell, and high-tail it outta there before they see you.

We got fairy-ed tonight.  Boys were in bed, Nathan was playing on the Wii, and I was in the kitchen babying a second batch of lemon cheese through the thickening process.  Nathan came in and said, "Someone wearing a Santa hat is doing something on our porch, and they're using a lot of tape.  I can hear it going wren-tschh, wren-tschh."  (yeah, yeah, laugh it up.  Just imagine the sound of scotch tape being pulled and torn over and over)  Then the doorbell rang and he very sweetly offered to stir the lemon cheese so I could go check out our surprise.  I guess I should note that the only outward sign of Christmas on our house is a wreath on our door.  Here's what I found:

Also taped to the door were three packs of Icy Breeze Breath Mints and a note that read:

Merry Christmas!

Yo,

Don't take down this door that's been frosted

'Cause you don't know how much it cost'd

But it's all worth it, if you feel loved

Just consider it a gift from abov'd!

Well my anonymous friend (and yes, your Santa hat maintained your anonymity), it was very worth it.  For reasons I do not know or understand, I was feeling pretty cheerless most of today.  Downright bummed, even.  The song "Where Are You, Christmas?" kept running through my head and felt very applicable.  Your gift totally brought a smile and many appreciative tears to my glum Christmas Eve's eve.  I feel very loved, both by you, whoever you are, and by our Father in Heaven, who notices not only when sparrows fall, but also when one of His daughters has an aching heart.  Thank you so so much for answering an un-uttered prayer!  

Merry Christmas!

Let the Games Begin

The boys were cracking us up last night.  We didn't get any pictures or video, but they sure were funny.  

David and Daniel were racing each other around the house.  David was an absolute machine, running  'round and 'round and 'round.  Daniel would back himself up against the back door and holler at us ("Daaaaa!  Daaaa!  Daaaa!") until he was sure we were watching and we chanted "Go Daniel, go!".  Then he'd take off--literally, running with his arms cocked behind him like wings.  He'd get as far as the next room, then stop, walk backwards to the door, and start over.  

After a bit David sat on the floor to play with something.  Daniel wandered over and started pushing against David with his tummy.  David often does this to Daniel, crowding him into a corner or something, so it was amusing to watch Daniel reciprocate.  Daniel would crowd David for a bit, then David would just lightly bump against Daniel and make him plop on his bum, then Daniel would get back up and crowd David some more, bump/plop, crowd, bump/plop...  it was all we could do not to laugh out loud.

THEN--David handed Daniel a stuffed hippo.  Daniel immediately turned around and started chasing David with it, saying, "Nom Nom Nom!"  David was a good sport and played along, grinning ear to ear while feigning fear of the hippo.

The next 14 years are going to be a lot of fun.  :P

Blah Blah Blah

So I'm feeling major guilt that I haven't posted much news lately, but I draw a total blank when I think about what to post.  We haven't had any major catastrophes, injuries, news, or breakthroughs.  Kinda nice, actually.  We're just doin' our thing, one day at a time.

Daniel has started expanding his vocabulary and says "go" when I announce it's time to go somewhere and "out" when he wants to get out of his highchair.  "Go" is also applicable to shoes and socks, and anything that goes, like toy cars and trains.  He is fascinated with the Christmas tree and loves to pull (nonbreakable) ornaments off the tree and carry them around.  His favorite one is a jingle bell.  Both the boys love that one, so I bought them each a jingle bell necklace.  I have been debating whether to put those in their stockings or just hand them over.

David is all go-go-go.  He loves puzzles and games and is teeming with braininess.  

I'm still digging myself out of my Christmas-gift-crafting chasm and feeling very exhausted, but happy with all that I've accomplished so far.  This week I substituted as Primary Chorister at church.  It was fun to be back in the saddle again, but I'm happy that's not my regular calling at the moment!

I made some Lemon Cheese this week, and derived great satisfaction from it.  For those who don't know, Lemon Cheese (aka Lemon Curd) is a traditional British recipe something like lemon marmalade.  My grandma used to send us some every Christmas, and now I like to make it for my Dad since she passed away.  I even used her double boiler, which was my Great Grandma Hewitt's.  Even though I have my own double boiler, which probably conducts heat more efficiently, it just seems like Grandma's recipe needs to be done in Grandma's pan.

My parents came through town this past weekend on their way to Salt Lake City for Christmas.  We did presents with them and enjoyed a relaxed visit.  They gave Daniel a remote-controlled Thomas the Tank Engine which delights him to no end, and David got some more trains for his existing set.  He played with it all day yesterday after school.  It's rather fun to have some Christmas gifts spread out so they get appreciated more individually.  I can hardly believe Christmas is in a week!

Merry Christmas to all!

Validation

This is an awesome movie. A little long, but worth it!

Thanksgiving in Connecticut

Daniel, the little rascal, keeps getting into the cat food!

For Thanksgiving this year we went up to my brother Sean's house in Connecticut.  I thought it was very fitting to celebrate Thanksgiving in New England, in the heart of the area where the colonists experienced harsh winters and abundant blessings.

Nathan had the entire week off, so we decided to head up on Tuesday.  My parents drove up from South Carolina Monday afternoon and we caravanned up together.  Aside from needing to make a gazillion pit stops for David in the first three hours, the trip went pretty smoothly...until we got to New York City.  We hit it at 4 pm, took the upper level of the George Washington bridge which has all the commercial traffic (read: lots of big trucks), and got lost in Harlem of all places, during rush hour.  By the time we got straightened out, we'd missed our exit for the parkway to take us to Connecticut, so we ended up staying on I-95 for a long time.  Meanwhile, my parents got off on the right exit, but got on the next parkway going the wrong way, so we were both lost in different places.  Somehow we still managed to pull up in front of Sean's at the same time they did, albeit about and hour and a half later than we'd planned.

The next morning we took the kids to Stepping Stones Children's Museum.  They had a blast, especially with the water room.  That afternoon Sean and Nathan made the pumpkin pie.  Mmm.  Well done, boys!

David getting outfitted with a water apron

David and Anne Elyse

Clockwise: Daniel, Anne Elyse, random girl, David

Daniel in his water apron

Daniel and Anne Elyse

Thanksgiving itself was wonderful, of course.  Kudos to Jenny for planning and executing a beautiful spread.  Daniel and Anne Elyse napped during dinner, so we had a relatively calm meal.  That night we sat around the piano and sang songs with the kids.  David, our "sing 10 songs with me" kid, was beside himself with glee.

David and Annie hanging out on the couch...

Mom and Dad left early Friday morning to be back in SC in time for some meetings Saturday evening.  Nathan and Sean braved the Black Friday mobs so Nathan could get a Wii.  Around lunch time we went Duckpin Bowling.

I've never Duckpin bowled before.  Duckpin balls are just a little bit bigger than a grapefruit, and the pins are squattier.  It was really fun, and I must say, preferable to 10-pin bowling, a sport which Sean teases that the ball bowls me, not the other way around.  *sigh*  He's quite right, unfortunately.  lol.  

Sean and Nathan bowling

Jenny, Sean, and Nathan

Even David could manage these balls!

After one game the little kids were quite ready for lunch and naps, so we swung by Star Pizza in Hamden and got some very, very tasty pizza for lunch.  It's a good thing Star Pizza is NOT within a 15 mile radius of us, because we would patronize it far too frequently!   That evening Sean and Jenny battled Nathan on the Wii.  It was very amusing to watch petite Jenny take on Nathan in a virtual boxing match.  

We left early Saturday morning and had a very smooth and fast trip home.  I noticed on the way that Daniel's right ear was draining goop again (second infection this month. good grief!), and we all had bad colds so we decided to spare our ward and stayed home from church Sunday.  It was very nice to just hang out and recover from our long travels, as well.  

Thanks for having us, Sean and Jenny!  It was a real slice.

High Time!

I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hope I don't jinx my luck by announcing that David is finally potty trained!  Wahoo!  He's been staying dry for almost a year now, but for a very long time I couldn't convince him to even sit down for #2.  When we did get him to sit, he wouldn't stay long enough for anything to happen.

About four weeks ago I was having a frustrating morning and told him he had to sit there until something came out.  I brought in a TV table and his laptop and he played computer games while he waited.  He'd call out to me and said he'd gone poo-poo, I'd come check and say "Not yet, keep trying!"  We repeated that about 5 times, and then voila!  Success.  I was very delighted, and had him call Nathan at work to announce the big news.  Then I gave him the oft-promised whole bar of Hershey chocolate, and took him to Target to pick out a special toy for going poo-poo in the toilet.  There was no way I was going to let this get overlooked.  I wanted him to know it was a big deal, and a very good thing to keep doing!!

A couple days later, a special toilet seat that I had ordered arrived and I made a big fuss about his special seat and installed it in his bathroom that night.  (The seat is called The Family Seat and has a built in child ring and adult ring so you don't have a clunky potty chair or insertable ring kicking around the bathroom.  Read more about it on my Rants and Raves Blog).  The next morning, at 5:45, David called out to me from his new throne that he'd just gone poo-poo in the toilet.  We gave him very bleary-eyed praise, amazed that a kid would wake up so early to do business.  I guess he likes his seat.  :)

We decided he was going consistently enough to be ready for big boy underpants, and told him when his pack of pull-ups was all gone, it was time to start wearing underwear.  We held our breath sending him to school in undies, and the real test was driving for 10 hours to my brother's house in Connecticut for Thanksgiving and spending a week out of David's normal routine.  He passed with flying colors, and we're super delighted!!

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Yesterday afternoon I treated Nathan to an early Christmas present:  a Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) concert here in Raleigh.  It was quite a show!  He discovered them a couple years ago when the video of a house with a super Christmas Light display was circulating.  He liked the song so much, he immediately bought all four of the group's (Christmas) albums, and listened to them year-round for the first year.  

TSO toured in Seattle two years ago when we still lived there, and I considered buying tickets but didn't.  I was kicking myself all year for not jumping on something I knew Nathan would love.  Then last year they were in Raleigh, but we were visiting Seattle (d'oh!), so when I heard they were coming to town again this year, I was buying tickets on Ticketmaster within minutes after they went on sale.  I did NOT want a third year of guilt!!

I really liked their song "Wizards of Winter" right off the bat (that was the soundtrack for the aforementioned video). The rest of their albums took a couple years for me to get used to. A TV show host (sorry, don't know who) described them as "Pink Floyd meets A White Christmas." I normally am not crazy about screaming electric guitars, but they very creatively integrate a small string orchestra (members of local symphonies. How cool is that?!) with electric guitars and have a rockin' good time playing classical music and traditional carols. I was very amused watching long-haired guys headbanging in tuxes with tails.

One thing I was not prepared for was the amazing lighting effects of their performance. I should have brought sunglasses into the arena! Here are some videos I gleaned from YouTube to give you a taste of the concert last night:

"Christmas Eve in Sarajevo" (God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen):


Wizards of Winter:

Flight of the Bumblebee:  I hadn't heard this one before last night.  I really liked it!  The lighting is pretty close to what our concert was like...

Flattery

The other day, I told David that the next day would be my birthday.  He got wide eyed and said,

"Are you going to be ONE HUNDRED?"

Natals Rants and Raves

I've tried a variety of products lately that have my friends and family asking, "How do you like 

it?" or "Does it work?"   So, I figured I'd post my experiences for all the world (how vain!) or just to get it out of my head (more likely). 

Thus, I'm pleased to introduce a new blog where I review products and services I've had the opportunity (or misfortune) to experience:  

http://natalsrantsandraves.blogspot.com/

Please feel free to add your own comments and experiences on the things I post about, and as always, I love feedback about how to improve my blogs.

Happy Reading!

Daniel Strings Alea Along

When Marianne and Bethany were in town, Bethany showed David how to get Alea to chase a length of yarn. For the next week, we often heard David running around downstairs pulling the string for Alea. Daniel found the yarn one day while David was a school...

 

If you can't view this video, click here to view it in Google Video

Google Video Triumphs (Second Attempt)

I got lots of responses that my YouTube videos were not available, so here they are again in Google Video. This has been a good process. I've learned a bit about my video editing software and publishing options.

Here's the baseball video:

And Daniel tooting his own horn:

 

Click here if this video isn't working.  It's been giving me trouble.

And our bumbling little bee (he got rave reviews trick-or-treating):

 

Thanks, everyone, for your patience and feedback!

Video Killed the Radio Star

Yes my friends, we have video to share!!  I tried two different formats, YouTube and Google Video.  Playing with options here.  Let me know if you prefer one over the other.  (I stopped using the Itsagoodday.org option since people said they didn't like how the movies started automatically).

This one was taken October 14.  Nathan got David a plastic baseball and bat, plus a real baseball and lefty glove.  Here they are playing catch:

Meanwhile inside, Daniel was tooting his own horn from a toilet paper tube:



Daniel has his very own job: putting his dirty diapers in the trash can. He absolutely loves doing it!! As soon as I finish changing him he asks for the diaper and does this cute little trot into the bathroom. I'm always amazed as I follow him down the hall at how tiny he really is.



And last but not least: Daniel's Halloween. The conversation in this video was random and irrelevant, so I had a little fun with the audio. Enjoy!

Leaves are Falling All Around...

We had a lot of leaves in our yard, and this is just half of the tree's worth!  About half of what was left in the tree fell down that night after I raked.  Figures!

Here are some more pictures that Marianne took:

 

Halloween and Grandma Nash

I had so many pictures I decided it would be better to break things up into several posts.

Just before Halloween, Marianne and Bethany flew out to visit for a week.  The boys were in heaven having two extra adults to pay attention to them.  Bethany even brought a costume to wear while she took the boys trick-or-treating.  David was a dinosaur, and Daniel was a bumblebee.  Once again, I wish I had video capability, because we have a cute clip of Daniel bumbling around.  I'll get it up eventually.  

David was a lollypop fiend this year!

Dinosaurs!! and other fun

I know, I'm behind... here are some photos of our trip to the NC Museum of Life and Science (something like that).  One of the things I really liked about this museum is that it focused on flora and fauna found in NC.  Get a load of some of the bones found here!

Not 5 minutes after getting into the van to go home, both boys fell asleep.  I knew they wouldn't nap at home if I woke them up, so I went for an impromptu scenic drive around Raleigh until they woke up.  It was such a gorgeous drive!  The sun was shining, leaves were turning, and all combined to a breathtaking, illuminated landscape like something out of a poem or painting.  Fall is my absolute favorite time of year, so I was in heaven taking it all in.

After we got home we raked up some leaves to play in:

I've got some cute videos to post but for some reason Blogger video rejects every single one.  I'm working on uploading them to YouTube, but it's slow going at the moment.  Keep an eye out for them!

Tag!

I got tagged by Rebecca

10 Years Ago I...
-Was a summer exchange student in Germany and visited Latvia (beautiful countries!)
-Was a Junior in high school. Yep, Class of 2000.
-felt on top of the world. Except AP Biology.
-developed migraines
-couldn't imagine myself in 10 years


5 Things on tomorrow's to-do list
-put away laundry
-watch a friend's kids while they go to the temple
-work on Christmas presents
-get to know my new iPod Touch (early birthday present. I'm so excited!)
-vote my absentee ballot.  I still need to figure out all the local election nonsense


5 Things I would do if I were a millionaire
-Pay off mortgages
-Beef up retirement funds, then college for the kids
-Get Nathan a new car
-Have a lot of fun personalizing our house (windows, paint, carpet, fixtures) and yard
-Build Nathan a state-of-the-art theater room


5 Places I have lived
-Aiken, SC
-Provo, UT
-Anacortes, WA
-Edmonds/Lynnwood, WA
-Raleigh, NC


5 jobs I have had
-Lab Assistant at Savannah River Ecology Lab
-BYU Physical Facilities Carpet Cleaning Crew
-BYU Geography Dept TA for Map Analysis, and unofficially for several GIS classes
-Private Tutor
-Apartment Manager

Just about everyone I tagged last time got a gazillion tags, so I'm going to follow the trend of not tagging anyone. You're welcome to play along though! Leave a comment to let me know if you choose to do it and I'll go read yours. :)

Human Slinky

Sport's Illustrated's Extra Mustard called this "so bizarre, yet so cool." I have to agree.

               

Is there an Entomologist in the house?

We saw this bug on our deck last night.  We have NO idea what it is.  It is about two inches long, has this spiny crest on its thorax, and the mouth part looks kind of like a probiscus.  Does anyone know what it is?

David Learning to Write

Each morning at David's preschool, they practice writing their name while they wait for all the kids to arrive.  I've been trying to get David to do it at home, and tonight he obliged me:

I praised him effusively, but reminded him that his name has an i in it.  (He totally knows how to spell his name. Every time someone asks his name he recites, "D-A-V-I-D, that's my name.") So he wrote his name again:

Silly David!  

PIctures

Here are a variety of pictures that I wanted to share but haven't really fit into any of my updates:

First:  A response 

...to my friend Christy's "Ode to a Self-Portrait."  On her blog, Christy pointed out that a lot of her friends post pictures of their families on the blog but rarely get on the other side of the camera.  She challenged her blogging friends, some (me) by name, to get dolled up and get our photos taken!  So Christy, here ya go!  I realize I got carried away with PhotoBooth, but I couldn't decide which to post.

Second: Animalia 

David loves hauling Alea around.  We have a picture of Nathan holding his cat Sammy in a similar way, so we thought a parallel picture would be appropriate.  

I had  to laugh when Alea climbed up on top of the playset and then had to think really hard about how to get down again...

And I've never seen a squirrel so relaxed...

Third: David is getting so big!

Fourth: I've been Crafting!!

Fall always gives me a crafty itch that I just have to scratch.  I can't help it!  

Many moons ago I found a link to a site that has patterns to knit and crochet Chemo Caps.  Having not been especially successful crocheting hats before, I was excited to try this new pattern and learn several new stitches and techniques in the process.  I made this in August, and promised a friend on Facebook that I'd post a picture of my end result.  Ta-da!

And my next craft I finished last night after posting the "6 Quirks Tag" where I said I hate having multiple projects at once and realized I had three going.  That won't do!  So I sat down and finished this.  I must say, I'm super excited about this one.  If I weren't so young and ambitious (ha) I might have called it my magnus opus.

My friend Jennifer called me Martha Stewart when I started making this at her house Thursday night.  Not simply because I glued some silk flowers on a vine wreath, noooo... but because I made the vine wreath!  That's right.  While I was visiting my parents last weekend, I went out and harvested some of the South's most beautiful and fragrant noxious weed from their back yard--wisteria.  Then I came home and soaked the vines and wove them into a wreath, and then wrapped a (pre-made, I confess) berry garland around it and used my trusty (more like "rusty") floral design education to arrange some silk decorations on it.  I was delighted last night when Nathan genuinely complimented my work without any fishing or prodding.  

I was hoping to hang it on my front door, but alas, I cannot find a wreath hanger to fit our door, and still be able to shut the door.  I'm hoping I'll have better luck when Christmas decorations are more easily found in stores.

Conceptualizing and planning the wreath made me want to generally improve our curb appeal, so I did some quick pick-me-ups and seasonal touches:

The process of doing all that was so invigorating, and held some delightful surprises for me.  First, I was talking to my neighbor outside about cleaning up the yard a bit, and she offered to let me borrow her edger.  Nice tool!  I finished with that and then started the very tedious and back-breaking job of sweeping our driveway with a push broom.  Every  time I attempt it I wish to myself that we had a blower so I could just blow everything off the driveway.  My neighbor had some tree guys starting their own cleanup after hauling a dead tree out of her back yard, and then without saying a word, they came over with their blower and did it for me.  How nice!

6 Quirks Tag

I wrote this a while ago but was saving it while I contemplated the answers more.  Haven't come up with anything new, so I guess this is it!

My friend Leslie tagged me

The Rules:

Link the Person who Tagged you.

Mention rules on your blog.

Tell about 6 quirks of yours.

Tag 6 fellow bloggers to do the same.

Leave a comment to let them know.

1.  I'm very conscious of how someone would visualize me based on the state of my abode.  For instance, when I was still living at home, I'd think to myself, "If someone (I usually pictured a burgler) came in my bedroom while I'm at school, what would they think of me based on what they saw?" and consequently made sure my bed was made, clothes put away, everything in its place.  That came in handy when I managed apartments in Seattle, because my living room was wholly visible from the manager's office.

2. I don't like to have unfinished projects, in general and more pointedly when it comes to crafts.  I have a rule to finish a current project before beginning anything else.

3.  I eat my cold cereal dry.  Tried it multiple times with milk; just don't like the combination.  But I always have a tall glass of milk with my cereal.

4.  If my bed didn't get made during the day, I make it right before I go to bed.  You're probably thinking right now that I've taken "neat freak" to a dangerous level.  Whenever Nathan shakes his head about it (see?  I know it's weird), I tell him that I don't like twisted sheets or unevenly distributed blankets.  The easiest way to fix that is to just make the bed.

5.  I have to have window coverings at night.  Dark windows freak me out, thanks to one of my brothers teasing me about red eyes looking in the window at me one night when I was somewhere around the age of 7. 

6.  I have no problem holding a snake, but don't ask me to touch a worm. I've been squeamish around worms since that lucky age of 7- or 8-ish when I saw a low-budget, made-for-TV horror show about flesh-eating nightcrawlers that coincidentally could also eat through walls of homes and roofs of cars.

Ok, now the last part:  I tag Jenny, Christy, Leah, Dorothy, Rozemary, and Michelle

Esau's Solution

Tonight I read David the Bible story of Esau trading Jacob his birthright for some pottage.  David wanted to help me read, and so I'd read a phrase and he'd repeat it after me.  At the end of the story (we were reading children's picture scriptures), the text said that Esau was sad because he no longer had the birthright blessing.  David couldn't get past the part where Esau was sad, however.  He said, "Esau was sad because he didn't have any more pottage!  We should go to the apple [grocery] store and get him some more pottage."

David's Career Choice

Our local grocery store often has free balloons for the kids, which David always looks forward to.  This summer, however, he had a run of "life isn't fair" when he lost several balloons in a row.  A couple got released in the parking lot, and then the next one he held very tightly but didn't get it into the van before starting the automatic door and the balloon got caught.  That one was partly my fault.  He had a tight hold on the string, but the balloon was still waving freely in the breeze well outside the van.  I saw his door closing and told him to hurry and pull the balloon in.  Unfortunately he stopped to think about what I was saying, and I didn't think to push the button to stop the door.  Pop!  

The other day we went to the store and both David and Daniel were very excited to each get a balloon.  David had a manic grip on his string.  There was no way that balloon was going anywhere.  He clutched it tightly in the parking lot and got into the van with the balloon safely embraced against his chest.  He was thrilled.  As we were driving away, David said, "Mommy, when I get bigger, I can get all the balloons out of the sky, and that will make boys and girls happy."

Awe Struck

We were forecast for thunder storms last night, and boy did we ever get one.  I woke up to a very noisy storm at about 3:30 AM.  It was a regular light show, even through our room-darkening curtains.  Nathan was already awake and enjoying the show.  The poor cat was just beside herself, running around in a frenzy.  I tried to roll over and go back to sleep, but decided I'd better make a potty run before attempting it.  While I was up, I glanced downstairs at Nathan in time for a HUMONGOUS clap of thunder and simultaneous flash of lightning.  I thought to myself, "that was pretty close," and tried to figure out the siren or alarm or something that started ringing right after that.  I didn't try too hard, though.  I just crawled back in bed.  In the morning as I was driving David to preschool, I noticed a pine tree that had a fresh lightning "tatoo".  Here it is:  (the orange stripe spiraling down the trunk is where the current traveled to the ground)

And here it is again, in the middle of the photo.  Why post this picture, you ask?

Because it was taken from my driveway!  

That fire hydrant marks the end of our yard.  Talk about a close call...

"Why, Mommy? Why?"

One of David's most frequent words nowadays is "why?"

Can I just tear my hair out now and scream?  It takes me back to the endless "I know you are but what am I?" battles of elementary school.  I want to encourage his curiosity, but sometimes there are only so many answers I can give.  And sometimes his "why" doesn't even make sense.  Example:

David:  "Where are we going, Mommy?"

Me: "We're going to the bank."

David: "Why are we going to the bank, Mommy?" 

Me: "[blah blah blah abc xyz]..."

David: "Is the bank really far away?"

Me: "No, the bank is close."

David: "Why is the bank close?"

Me: "...Ummm.  Because it's not far away." (within a mile, in fact)

David: "Why is it not far away?"

Me: "Ummm..."

How do you answer that?  I know!  Let's say "Because it is less than 5,280 feet away" and blow his little 4-year-old mind.  I actually tried that once and got another "why?"

One day in frustration (I think it was a headache day) I said, "David, I've given you enough Why's.  Don't ask any more!"  And even as the words came out, I realized that

WHY'S = WISE

OK, it's corny, but it was a moment for me.  The other day David and I had another "why?" marathon.  After my recent epiphany, I wanted to answer him as best I could.  The outcome was pretty funny, so indulge me on a play-by-play.

David: "Mommy, are my teeth white?" (he recently had his first visit to the dentist)

Me: "Yep, your teeth are white."

David: "Why are my teeth white?"

Me: "Because they're clean, and [realizing an opportunity to teach a gospel principle] because Heavenly Father made them that way."

David: "Why did Heavenly Father make them that way?  Why, Mom?  Why?"

Me: "Because he made us to look like Him, and He has white teeth."

David: "Why did He make us to look like Him?"

Me: "Because we're His children."

David: "Why are we His children?"

Me: "Because He made us."

David: "Why did He make us?"

Me: "Because He loves us."

David: "Why does He love us?"

Me: "Because we're His children."

David: "Why are we His children?"

Me: "Because he made us."

David: "Mo-o-om! Stop saying that!"

Mua-Hahaha!  Cyclical Logic wins!  Should I be ashamed that I felt a little smug after that?

Another teaching opportunity arose when David got a few dollars in birthday cards, and we decided to teach David about paying tithing and earning money by being Mommy's Special Helper.  We made a chart with the days of the week heading the columns and his simple jobs heading the rows. 

We told him at the end of the week we'd give him a dollar for each day he did his special jobs (pick up toys, empty diaper pails, or set the table.  In case you're wondering, the "clean the bathroom" sticker is actually for going poop in the potty.  We don't pay him for that but we're hoping the sticker chart will offer a little more incentive to that battle).  We started the chart mid-week, so pay day came quickly.  I gave David three dollars, which he was very excited to hold and stuff into his little bank with "treats" on it.

Time out to tell about the bank!  I remember as a kid getting Tootsie Rolls in a little tin with a slot in the lid to serve as piggy bank when the candy got eaten.  When I saw similar tins of candy in the bargain bins at Target many months ago, I couldn't resist getting one. They didn't have Tootsie Roll tins, so I ended up getting a Now & Later one.  I thought the title was somewhat appropriate for a coin bank.  Anyway, back to David...

Shortly after receiving his dollars, he asked to play with pennies, too.  He LOVES to play with coins.  I told him I'd give him ten dimes if he gave me one dollar, and then he could give three dimes to Jesus (not my preferred way to phrase it, but that was how he was understanding it, so we'll ride that wave for now) and put seven dimes in his bank.  He watched me fill out the tithing slip and then helped seal his three dimes in the envelope.  Then he put his other seven dimes one by one in the slot of his bank, pointed the the treats painted on the side, and said something to the effect of "I give three dimes to Jesus and then He'll give me candy!"

Red Eyes and Goose Eggs

Thursday was a remarkable day. I think it easily lines up with Alexander’s Terrible Horrible, No-good, Very Bad Day, except that it was so ridiculous that I had to laugh even as it was all happening.

I was expecting my friend Christy to come over with her two little girls (ages 2 and 1) to use my scanner for some old family slides. While we were waiting for her to arrive, David asked to play with his beans. He has a Rubbermaid bin that I dumped a #10 can of dried pinto beans into, and he likes to stir and shovel them and dump them into funnels and containers. I put Daniel down for his morning nap, but he was having a hard time settling down. Meanwhile, another friend called, and we chatted while David played away. After a bit, David came in and said, “Mommy, stop talking to her; I have a bean up my nose!” Surprised, I looked up his nose but didn’t see anything. I guess I thought he was just being funny and didn’t think much of it. I walked into the other room, still talking on the phone, when I heard him sniffing air out of his nose, and decided he really did have something up there and needed to take a second look. I ended my phone conversation and called him over. Looking harder, and in different light, I could see that sure enough, there was a pinto bean up his nose! I plugged his other nostril and told him to farmer blow. Out launched the bean. Catastrophe averted; on with the day.

David has his very first dentist appointment scheduled for the late morning. He has been excited about getting “bugs” off his teeth and was eager to experience that. We talked about different kind of bugs: ants, ladybugs, grasshoppers, butterflies... I took a moment to have the usual conversation with him about making sure he listened to the dentist and did as he was asked. He was very compliant. Then I forewarned him that he would need to sit still for a while so they could get the bugs off his teeth. I should have kept that part to myself, because he suddenly protested, “I don’t want to go to the dentist!” I tried to reassure him that the dentist would be fun, hoping they had, at the very least, toys in the waiting room.

Christy and the girls arrived, and I visited with Christy while she scanned and the kids “played” in the other room. David was not particularly willing to share that day, and he and Ella, the 2-year-old, were having it out. I hauled him upstairs to have a conversation about sharing and being nice to friends. In the middle of that I got another dental protest. Daniel was still complaining in his crib after an hour of non-nap (you keep thinking they’ll settle down in a couple minutes….), so I brought him down.

Pretty soon it was time to go to the dentist, so I packed up my boys and left Christy to keep scanning. The dentist appointment actually went very well (yay!), but there were no toys in the waiting room (boooo!), which David was very quick to point out to me. At least we didn’t have to wait long.

When I came home, first off I was greeted by the oh-so-lovely smell of the dead squirrel in our chimney. Then I made my way into the house and found that all the toy bins had been discovered and dumped out in a pile. Not a big deal; toys are made to be played with, but it was a really big pile! I put our stuff down and went in the dining room to tell Christy about how David’s first appointment went. Kids and toys migrated to our vicinity.

Pretty soon Daniel started crying, and it took a second to register what was wrong. Christy said, “Looks like his face is wet,” and then I realized that I’d heard David climb on top of the washing machine, and he’d gotten the stain remover spray and sprayed it in Daniel’s face! I jumped up and grabbed Daniel and ran his face and eyes under the kitchen faucet for as long as I could. Daniel was fit to be tied, and very wet by the time I got finished. Christy grabbed paper towels and started wiping up spray, but then her kids started fussing. After I thought Daniel would herniate, I toweled him off a bit and then sat David down to talk about what had just happened. (I don’t think he meant to get Daniel; his mischief just covered a broad surface area and Daniel was in the middle of it). Daniel rubbed his eyes a couple times and I decided he probably needed them flushed again. This time Christy helped me, and it went much better. Then we remembered that there was still spray all over the walls and floor, and started mopping that up. We had all the kids milling around in the middle of the mess, and I (nicely) banished everyone under the age of 5 into the family room with the toys so we could get things cleaned up.

Just as we finished, David and Ella started having it out again. Ella knocked over a TV tray/side table, and the ensuing vibrations knocked down several buildings from my wooden village on top of the doorframe. One building, the biggest of the collection, fell down and the corner hit David square on the head (Nathan called it karma for the Daniel-eye incident). So I’m sitting on the floor with a crying child in each arm; one with red eyes and the other with a goose egg. And all I could do was laugh. It was barely lunch time; how could so many things go wrong in such a short period of time?!

I wondered aloud if I should call poison control, even though Daniel didn't ingest anything.  Christy said the back of the stain-remover bottle instructed to flush eyes for 15 minutes (how on earth do you subject a 13-month-old to that?) and consult a doctor. I decided it would be prudent to give Daniel one more round of rinsing, and then called the nurse hotline. Naturally, it was their lunch hour, so I had to wait over an hour before they called back. They said to call poison control to get the product-specific instructions (gee, thanks). After telling the poison control person what happened, she said if he wasn’t rubbing his eyes anymore and could tolerate bright light then I got it rinsed well enough. Both held true, so we got very, very lucky.

I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I put the boys in bed and headed out for some big-girl time.  But I'm still laughing!

Unwelcome Tenant

Nathan often tells me I have the nose of a bloodhound. All I can say is that I'm sensitive about how things smell. Unfortunately, our family room is rather malodorous at the moment. If any of you come to my house, I promise that I change poopy diapers, bathe my children, empty the garbage, and run my in-sink-erator. The problem is an unwelcome tenant in our chimney.

So, last Wednesday as I was getting David ready for his first day of preschool, we suddenly heard some noise in the fireplace. I'm thinking to myself, "Great. A squirrel in the chimney and I have to leave in 5 minutes to take David to school." Daniel clung to me as the rattling continued, and David begged me for a flashlight so he could check it out. What a goof. As you may recall, I have my fireplace covered with insulating foam to prevent drafts. I pulled the insulation away to make sure the squirrel was not actually in the fireplace (true), and then put everything back in place, let the cat in the house, and left for the morning, hoping everything worked out in some way or another without having a carcass on my beige area rug when I got home.

When I returned in the afternoon, our tenant was still rattling away above the fireplace. I blocked off exits with baby gates, secured the kids out of the room, brought the cat into the room, opened the back door (cat promptly exited when she heard him rattle), and opened the flue, ready for a frantic squirrel to burst into my family room. Nothing. I think there's a grate or mesh or something to prevent critters from entering the fireplace through the chimney. How considerate, until I need to get one out!

I next did an internet search on how to get squirrels out of chimneys. The solution is actually pretty simple: lower a rope down the chimney so the squirrel could climb out. We had just two problems--no ladder to get up there, and no rope even if we did have a ladder. Going out and buying those things for a squirrel really was not a financial option this month. We called Pest Control to see if they could retrieve the squirrel. Yes they could, for a modest fee of $230, plus an additional $140 for this that and the other. Definitely not a fiscal option for a squirrel! After hearing that price tag, Nathan said the squirrel could stay there and enjoy his Darwin award for falling down the chimney in the first place.


And he did.

The rattling stopped during the night.

It was 90 degrees outside the past three days.

And he smells.


I caught my first whiffs of him this afternoon. I moved my ionic breeze air purifier over by the fireplace, sprayed air freshener in the room, burned a cinnamon spice candle, and incense to give my sensitive nostrils something else to think about. I hope he stops being noticeable soon!

Preschool, Hanna, and Birthdays

Our latest news all happened within four days. Can you believe that? Preschool, Hanna, and birthdays.

After some deliberation, Nathan and I decided to start David at preschool this year instead of doing Little Gym. He started on Sept 3, and was very excited to go to school. He has not been disappointed, and is beaming every time I pick him up.

My big boy ready for his first day of Preschool, and one excited Momma!

David ushered into the school by the Preschool Director.  He went so willingly!

Nathan was very disappointed in Hanna. He loves big storms and had been excitedly anticipating hurricane season, hoping to really get some action. We got a lot of rain from Hanna, but that was it. He said we’ve had thunderstorms more exciting that that. Poor guy, but I must say I’m relieved to still be on the map.

Saturday was Nathan and David’s birthday. David was really excited for his birthday this year. Nathan was less than thrilled to bid his twenties farewell (yep, the big 3-0) and so gladly gave David the limelight. Two weeks before their birthday, when I told David he would be four soon, I started hearing him sing “Happy Birthday” to himself while he was playing. It was super cute. We tried getting video of it, but he heard us turn on the camera and stopped singing to investigate. He also kept asking me if Grandma Taylor was coming and bringing him Happy Birthday cake. He was very excited.


So, after Hanna blew through, my parents drove up to do birthday with us. I made a train cake for David since he’s really been interested in Thomas the Tank Engine lately. We ate cake and ice cream sandwiches—another recent favorite item—while David opened one present, played with it for a little while, then opened another present and played with it…really drawing out the party process.


David has really enjoyed the cat this past month. The other day he picked her up and gave her a big hug and a kiss and said, “I love you Alea.” Daniel has started clucking his tongue at her like he’s heard us do when we’re calling her. He’s also started imitating David, which is quite amusing. He’ll shake his head and act silly, or do monkey jumps around the living room floor. Yesterday he repeated “Oh Wow” after David. Gotta love it.

Daniel is still not quite ready to walk full-time. He prefers to take up to 5 steps and then just crawl wherever it is he wants to go. However, he loves playing with David’s cars and trains and scoots them along the floor like every natural boy. They must come pre-programmed.

The only medical trauma to report (this one’s for you, Nerissa), is that Daniel has had an occasional, inexplicable rash on his face and hands. The first time was shortly after we came home from a walk. He started rubbing his face a lot and soon his face got all red. He was eating at the time the rash emerged, but he wasn’t eating anything new, so I don’t think it was a food allergy. I hurried and washed his hands with soap, rinsed his face off, and gave him benadryl. Things cleared up within a few minutes after I washed him off. I chalked it up to “odd things of note” and carried on.

Daniel's first rash.  Weird, Weird, Weird.

Yesterday however, again while he was eating, he started to break out into a rash again. This time it was redness and little bumps. We caught it pretty quickly and hurried and washed his hands and face. His hands cleared up, but although his face rash didn’t spread, it still hasn’t gone away. I’m not quite sure what to make of that. I guess we’ll just have to keep an eye on what he’s been doing and eating when the rash emerges. Neither of us or David has allergies; this is a whole new field for us.

I’m finally seeing the end of the photo scanning project. There will still be some work to get all the pictures dated, but WA-HOO! I’ve really enjoyed seeing my family’s history through these photos. As the youngest of 8 kids, there was a lot happening long before I was even a twinkle in my mom’s eye. As fun as it has been, I’m glad to be almost finished so I can move on to other projects waiting in the wings.

Well, the calm the boys afforded me will probably be over in a few minutes, so I’d better wrap things up. We love and miss you all!

The (Other) Other Nashes
Nathan, Natalie, David, Daniel