Rainy day

I just got out of time-out.  And I wonder why my kids (even Thomas) slam the door when they go into their room angrily.  Now I know. :)  I wouldn't say I slam it per se, just close it loudly.  The good news is Sam seems to have perked up, Thomas has a pacifier, and I just had a little chocolate.  And the best news is that Dave just got home.

Regular life

Last week was pretty regular. Monday-music makers. Tuesday we went to the zoo. Wednesday-preschool at out house, and watched Leah. Thomas and Leah were trouble-makers for the first hour, but then it got better. We watched Landon that day too for a little bit. Thursday-Library and Target. Thursday night-enrichment. Friday-no preschool (Isaac was sick), cleaned the fridge and kitchen floor. Friday night, Dave and I went on a date to Target (to buy Easter treats) and Barnes and Noble (just because). It was nice even though we hadn't planned much.

Saturday-Easter party in the village, and egg hunt with the ward at a park. Only Dave and Sam went to the latter b/c it was during nap time. Sam had soccer and he had fun there. Choir practice Saturday night. Worked on taxes....ug. Sunday-went to church early for choir practice. Had a good Easter program with great talks and music. I was distracted by trying to hand off my kids so I could join the choir. Sam was unwilling at first until I offered to let him go sit with Spencer. Thank-you Beasleys and Bigelows for taking our kids. Had a delicious dinner with the Simmons and Lymans. The kids had a lot of fun and binged on candy from the little egg hunt we did after dinner in their back yard. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera! I wish I would have run back home to get it. So no Easter pictures. :(

Here are a few pics from the week.

Sam eats red peppers like an apple. I should really buy these more often.

This is what Thomas looked like after playing with sidewalk chalk the other day.
Sam and Thomas brushing their teeth. I just thought they looked cute!
These two pictures below are supposed to be of the kids pretending to sleep. I love the look on Thomas' face in the second one. He kept doing that too. Poor Lucy just wants her space I'm afraid. And Sam is just interested in some baby toy he found. :)

Some funny things Sam said last week were:

"All the pictures with Grandma B are cute!"

I told him that a friend said she wasn't feeling well and Sam said, "Maybe she feels how you feel?" I said, "Tired?" Sam said, "No, lumpy, bumpy."

"Oh my gracious! My room gets so dirty!"

Spring Break

This video records what typically happens when we listen to this song by Lex de Azevedo.

Lately Thomas has been really... unpredictable and stubborn. For example, on Sunday we were loading the car up to go to church. We put the church bags in the back hatch. Often when I put groceries in the car I let the kids climb in the back hatch first and climb over the seats into their car seats. This time, though, we were in a hurry so we didn't want Thomas go in the back and climb over. Boy was he ANGRY. He cried, screamed, and wiggled his way nearly out of his car seat on the way to church. (He knows how to get his arms out.) I climbed in back to get him secured properly, but he just screamed and fought it the whole way (13 minutes maybe). Then when we got out of the car and started walking toward the church he tried to run back to the car, presumably so he could climb in the back and over the seat. Well, again we were trying to get to church on time (and not give in to our fit-throwing child), so the answer was no. I picked him up and carried him, writhing and kicking and screaming (him, not me). A guy at the other end of the block looked back at us.

When we got to church I took him into the mother's room, which is really a lounge area leading to the women's restroom. He just kept going for the door, so then I was trying to hold him to keep him from escaping and disturbing all those peaceful worshipers. And from going back to the car which I'm pretty sure he would have. After a few minutes a lady came in, with the guise of going to the bathroom, but I think she really just heard Thomas and came to see who was being tortured in the church mother's room. She had some advice to offer, which was moderately helpful, but mostly her presence was helpful. She was standing by the door talking to me and Thomas was scared of her, so he didn't run for the door anymore. In fact, he crawled under a bench and kept crying there. It was actually kind of funny, even in the middle of it. She left after a while, feeling much more sorry for me than I think she should have. But I appreciated her kindness, and her presence!

Thomas finally calmed down enough that he let me hold him, after he ran for the door and I didn't let him to it. I made it to the hallway just in time for the sacrament. What a tantrum! He's had some other lovely ones, but that was the most dramatic-about 30 minutes. I think it may have to do with a molar coming in, and approaching the 2 year mark.

Last week was Dave's spring break. He worked from home last week and we took time to go do a few things around here. We almost made a trip to southern California, but decided in the end to stay around here.

Monday we went on a BART trip just for the sake of riding on the train. The kids loved it. It was fun just to get out and spend a little time together. We rode mostly above ground which was nice.

Tuesday we went to the Jelly Belly Factory. Sam is in a constant state of pining for jelly bellies. In fact, on the way home he came up with a great idea. "How about if I stay in my bed at night we can go to the jelly belly factory the next day!" That statement reflects how often he stays in his bed at night, as well as his love for jelly bellies. I told him I didn't want to go back for a while. I started to say that he would probably get sick of going there, but I decided that's not true. The line there was huge-apparently we weren't the only spring breakers. But we stuck it out, taking turns waiting in line and walking around with the kids. So we got our free jelly beans, and Sam even bought a couple of his own 99 cent boxes.

Tuesday night we all went to watch Dave play basketball since it was a 7:00 game (as opposed to 8 or 9). It was a fun game to watch. At first it looked like the other team wouldn't be too tough (they probably thought the same thing). But then in walked the 7-foot man. But it turns out they still weren't too tough. We were winning for quite a while. And then number 30 showed up. He was just too good. So they lost, but it was close and it was fun, and Dave scored 21 points. Not bad! Right before the buzzer he made a lovely 3-pointer which always makes a person feel good.

Wednesday we did pre-school. Wednesday evening we went to food trucks for dinner. We haven't done it before, but it was fun. Unfortunately I forgot my phone so we didn't get to meet up with the Lymans, who are regulars. Hopefully next time.

Thursday we went to the temple.

Friday was pre-school again. Friday night I went to a baby shower for Anne Lowman. I'm so happy for her. She's my visiting teacher and she is great. She is thoughtful and checks in on me in simple ways-often via email. I appreciate her.

Saturday was General Conference. I wasn't as prepared as I wanted to be with things to keep the kids engaged. Next time.... But I enjoyed it nonetheless. I love the spirit of general conference. We watched it at home, which I have mixed feelings about. It takes more discipline to pay attention at home I think, but then I'd be taking the kids into the hallway if we watched it at church anyway. So maybe it's not so different.

This wasn't planned, but yesterday the boys made a home-made ball pit.

Something funny Sam said this week was, "Thomas, do you want to play with my feet?" Thomas was in time-out in the crib. Sam was in his room sticking his feet through the bars into the crib. Just trying to help his brother out. Funny boy.

I'm reaching for the gum...

The other day Sam and I were playing "Sorry" the board game (thank you Rachel!). We play this almost daily during Thomas's nap time.

This particular time, however, I was a little sleepy and I was falling asleep on the ground. Before I fell asleep Sam told me, "I'm not going to get the gum while you sleep." This is bubble-yum gum. He bought it w/his own money and he loves it, but he wasn't supposed to have any more that day. Anyway, I fell asleep.

And then I woke up to Sam saying, "I'm reaching for the gum." Pause. "I'm reaching for the gum." So I sleepily said, "No gum," and went back to sleep. I don't know if I slept for 5 minutes or 15. Anyway, later after I woke up Sam told me, "I didn't eat the gum when you said no gum." I just love that his little honest heart prodded him to confess what he was doing in the act. (That doesn't always happen...) Anyway, I just like to record the cute little things he says. The end. :)

A Big Owie

This week is kind of a blur.  Sam is still enjoying the 2-kid preschool, and I'm enjoying it too.  Above is a picture from preschool.  Spencer and Sam are wearing M hats that smell good-mmmmm they smell yummy. (Get it?  M makes the mmm sound.)


 The most notable thing that happened this week was on Tuesday.  He and Spencer were playing with a measuring tape (you know, the kind from your tool kit, not your sewing supplies) and they pulled it all the way out.  After a little while Sam came and wanted to be held.  That's unusual but I take the hugs when I can get them.  Then after a few moments he held up his hand and both of us saw that it was bloody.  He burst into tears when he saw the blood.  We quickly rinsed it and stopped the bleeding, and then he just sat sullenly on the couch.  It was pretty big and between his thumb and forefinger on the web part.  Spencer's mom said she recently had a cut there that needed stitches because it's hard to keep from re-opening a wound in that spot.  So we took him to the doctor.

Sam was really nervous about stitches, and more nervous about the shot to numb him up.  Fortunately he didn't need any.  It was a 3 cm horizontal slice.  So he just had it taped together and kept it wrapped up for a few days.  Three of his fingers also got cut, but we just have kept bandaids on them.

Apparently if you pull the measuring tape all the way out there is a sharper part that is usually inside, and I think that is how he sliced his hand.

There he is after we got home from the doctor.  He was very brave and didn't cry the whole time we were at the doctor.

On Wednesday night Dave had a 7:00 basketball game, so we all went to watch.  It was fun.  Of course it's harder to watch with kids, but I saw him makes a few shots. 

Also during the week Brooke and I did visiting teaching.  Sam got to play with friends during the week.  This is a picture from a couple of weeks ago, but it needs to be posted.  This is Sam's friend Jack.  I think they're watching "How the Grinch Stole Christmas".  I just love how they are so close on the big couch.  

 And here's Thomas and Teddy.

Thursday night I got to go to book group.  It was a fun discussion on Cinderella Ate My Daughter.  I wasn't able to get the book in time to read it, but I did a little reading up on articles by the author, and apparently I didn't miss much.  But it sparked an interesting discussion.  The question is, why do we feel like looking good is SO important? And not just looking good, but looking perfect even?  And why does it seem to be more strong, not less, in Mormon culture?  Hopefully I'm not being too negative, but I really wonder about that.

Last night we got to watch this little cutie:  Lucy the Goosie as Sam likes to call her.

It's been a pretty good week.  It's seemed kind of long because I've been looking forward to next week because it's Spring break.  Yay!

I don't know what it is, but sometimes I'm just grumpy on Saturdays.  I've got to figure that one out.  I think I'm not busy enough and maybe need to manage my expectations better.

Busy week

This last week had some rough spots. The combination of day-light savings, a rainy week, trouble falling asleep, and Sam coming to sleep in our room every night in the middle of the night made for some frustration and lack of patience. But it seemed to get better as the week went on. So the good news is, I think we're adjusted to day light saving time, it didn't rain yesterday or today, I fell asleep normally last night, and Sam stayed in his bed last night. I'm not counting on Sam staying in his bed again tonight, but it was nice last night.

Last week also felt busy. On Monday night we went to make dinner at the men's shelter with the Dullums. That's always a lot of work, but I'm glad we do it. I was just reading President Uchtdorf's talk from last conference (I'm behind) on Providing in the Lord's Way. He really emphasized taking care of the poor in the Lord's way and I felt that it confirmed to me that making meals at the men's shelter is good.

Tuesday night we picked Dave up at school and he gave blood. Sam was quite interested and concerned about that idea, but I think he felt better about it when Dave seemed ok afterwards.

Wednesday morning Thomas had a doctor's appt. He finally stopped coughing up/throwing up mucus after 15 days of it. But this was just a regular well-check. Now he doesn't have to go back until 3! Wednesday morning Sam also started pre-school. It's just him and one other kid that a mom and I are taking turns teaching. My turn teaching was on Friday. It was fun! Sam is so excited.

Wednesday evening Dave had a basketball game. They lost, but it's still fun for him. It's always fun to hear people react to Dave's mad skills because they don't expect him to be that good. Thursday morning I dropped the kids off with the Yeates and went to a RS presidency meeting. I think we might have stayed home Thursday night. Friday night we took the kids to the Bigelows and went on a date. It was really nice. We walked in the rain to get nachos at our favorite restaurant and went to Target to get a couple of things.

After out date Dave went with the scouts to the airport to take a tour big, cool airplanes. Other than a couple of kids cancelling at the last minute, it sounds like it was a success and the kids enjoyed it. It's nice for them to have something good to do on a Friday night I think. Dave got back late, but I was still awake due to the aforementioned trouble falling asleep.

Yesterday morning Dave woke up early and made green hash browns. Sam took every chance he could to pinch. Then Dave played basketball at the church-just practice. Then we dropped our kids off at the Bair's and went to the temple. It was a FULL session! But it was nice. There were about 120 people in the session, and only about 20 men. I think it was a stake RS activity (not ours). The woman behind me joked that this is what the women to men ratio will be like in the celestial kingdom. That's a little harsh, but it made me laugh.

Dave took Sam to soccer yesterday but apparently it was cancelled. They played around for a while though and Sam still got all the bribery we promised him if he went to soccer. He was reluctant, but with the promise of brownies and ice cream, and with writing down the plan of how he could get them, he went.

Church today was nice. Happy 170th birthday RS.

This is the soccer video I was trying to put on my last post. It's Sam's first soccer class. In this video he is the last one to get his tail pulled off. That's my boy!

The next video is just about Sam putting the dishes away for us in the early morning before we dragged ourselves out of bed.

Strong Thomas

I've been re-reading this book:

and enjoying it. And it has made me think about the value in having a record of the normal happenings of life. And it's pretty amusing at times. Take this excerpt for example:

"When we got home I had left a pan of spaghetti with hamburger boiling away on the stove. The house was full of thick air and pungent smell. I was feeling terrible about the whole thing when I opened the garage door from the kitchen and found that Dad [i.e.President Hinckley] had pulled the hose inside with the spray sprinkler on and had absent-mindedly turned on the tap. Water was hitting the ceiling and spraying from wall to wall to wall. I simply cracked up. We looked at each other in total disbelief and wondered whatever was going to become of us." (I added the brackets.))

Doesn't that just make you smile? I always enjoy the journal entries my dad sends too, even though they are similarly about regular life with nothing too outstanding going on. Anyway, so some of you (the nebulous you-I don't know if you're even out there...:) may be less than pleased about this, but I'm going to try to make my blog a little more of a weekly journal. Sorry if you don't like this, but I'm doing it for myself, not you. :) And you can always just skip to the pictures! So here goes.

Last week I taught RS. I chose Grace as my subject. I felt like it went much better than the last time I taught on covenants. I can think of a few reasons why that last lesson didn't go as well, and the more time that passes, the less miserable I feel about it. Anyway, I've been studying grace on my own a lot, especially the aspect of what is required of us. I think sometimes in the church we (especially women) get pretty discouraged, and I think we don't completely understand what is required of us.

These are some of my favorite quotes:

We are saved from our sins (see Hel. 5:10) by a weekly renewal of our repentance and cleansing through the grace of God and His blessed plan of salvation (see 3 Ne. 9:20–22). -Dallin H. Oaks

“It is present salvation and the present influence of the Holy Ghost that we need every day to keep us on saving ground. …
“I want present salvation. … Life is for us, and it is for us to receive it today, and not wait for the Millennium. Let us take a course to be saved today” -Elder Oaks quoting Brigham Young.

3 Nephi 9: 20-22 And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost...Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of God. Behold, for such I have laid down my life, and have taken it up again; therefore repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth and be saved.

Elder Oaks also said that what is require of us is "continuing repentance, faithfulness, service, and enduring to the end."

The main point that I felt like I needed to learn is that Heavenly Father doesn't expect me to keep the commandments perfectly. He's not shocked and dismayed every time I do something I regret. What is required is a broken heart and a contrite spirit, a repentant attitude, and continued service and faithfulness to the end." So in short, I don't need to feel discouraged when I fall short again and again. Sorry-yes, but I think not discouraged.

Last Saturday Sam started a soccer class. He loved it. Although yesterday he actually fell asleep before soccer and he is not pleasant when he wakes up. We should have woken him up earlier. Anyway, we went and watched soccer, but no participation yesterday. I can't get the video from the first week to upload, but hopefully I'll figure that out another time.

Also, my parents got their mission call! They are going to England London South with a primary assignment to work with the Center for Young Adults. I'm really excited for them, and they are "delighted". They'll be spending 18 months in this lovely city (and thereabouts):

Oh also, last Monday at 5:30 a.m. we awoke to some loud rumbling and then a big jolt. It felt exactly like what is happening-like two pieces of the ground beneath you crashed into each other with great force. I can't imagine what an earthquake that does damage would feel like. No damage or falling objects in our house, though I did hear of some others who had a few falling objects. I have to say, I feel much more at peace because our 72 hour kit is ready. Although it made me think about some things I might want to add if we need it in the middle of the night. And it made me think about what I wear to bed.

We're trying to plan a camping trip for spring break. It's hard to find somewhere that's warm enough at night. I hope we can come up with something.

Also, tonight Sam was singing "The Wise Man and the Foolish Man" and he sings it like so: "The rains came down and the flowers came up. The rains came down and the flowers came up." It's kind of a hopeful message isn't it?

Also, a few times this week we have woken up after Sam and he has put away all the dishes for us that were in the drying rack. What a gem! (Maybe he's motivated in part by stars for being helpful which add up to receiving a dollar.)

And I'm going to include a video of Strong Thomas. I'm hoping I can get the one of Sam's soccer to work later....