Bedtime

Sometimes I think I would prefer rubbing my eyeballs with onions to putting my children to bed. If I had a freshly cut onion this evening I would have taken that option.
This is how tonight went:

6:00 - 7:00 Brooks fussed non-stop. I love to cuddle the little bug, but you should have seen my house and especially kitchen...it looked like every cupboard, closet, and drawer had the stomach flu. Alas, it was a balancing act and I did my best. I finally started nursing the poor boy at around 6:50. Feeding him can be a challenge. He nurses like a champ but his little arms get all wound up, and once his mouth is working, his arms are "let go" and start whipping around like crazy. Unfortunately, they never stop.
Also, he has many much teeth and likes to bite...nuff said.

7:30 - Scriptures and Prayers with Carson and Drake. I am pretty sure Dave was reading but all I remember was the brouhaha in the family room in the form of wild little boys.

7:40-8:00 - Dave got the boys down while I mumbled incoherently lying lifeless on the couch.

8:00 - 9:30 - A small herd of elephants was drinking at the water trough which must have been in the boys room...there is NO way those two tiny bodies were making THAT much noise...

Rather than sleep, my little boys frequently pound fiercely on the door and scream our names until we come see what the terrible matter is. In the time the boys were supposed to be sleeping there were multiple door banging episodes with various excuses as to why they were still up. Here they are in chronological order:

1) Nothing! (No reason, just banging on the door and yelling "mommy!" because it seemed like fun)
2) "I need a sucker!"
3) "I need a cough drop"
4) "My penis hurts"
5) "I was spitting on Carson"
6) "I need to go potty"

And last but not least; my very favorite...

7) "I'm tired"

Alas, these little imps are the most blessed things in our lives. No doubt, tonight when we check on them, their peaceful, innocent, perfect little sleeping faces will melt our hearts all over again and give us just the oomph we need to do it all again tomorrow. What a wonderful life!

January 18, 2006

On January 18, 2006 I asked this beautiful woman to marry me...



... she said yes!

Thank you Mel for making mine a wonderful life.

Please note: That is a big gun in the background. The picture was taken by Mel's little sister Katie, who hid up in a tree during the live proposal, then screamed for us to wait when we started walking away, and came down and took pictures.

My Little Quirklings

Carson - is a hoarder. Not really; except under his pillow. The boy loves to organize and clean and straighten, but he has enough junk under his pillow to open a small pawn shop. He gets these little attachments and then sleeps with them in his clutches. Currently there:
His Prayer Rock (he has had it for over a year now)
A Pipe cleaner snake
A letter from my mom
Chapstick
A folded up paper fan
Bracelets made from plastic beads and pipe cleaner
The Cat in the Hat Comes Back (his current favorite)
Various Christmas gifts
(not to mention he sleep with four stuffed animals)

Drake - also has an obsession with his pillow. Like a lot of babies, he liked the tags on his blankets...he still does. He cannot sleep unless the tag side of his pillow is the one exposed. He has played the tag on his pillow sooooo much that it's a thread bare string with a nasty, gnarly ball on the end of it. It honestly looks like a thick spider web/string with a dead fly wrapped up in the end of it. He fondles and plays with that little gross ball until he falls asleep. He will shove it in his nose, rub it on his lips, roll it in his fingers, caress his face with it. You get the idea.
It makes me gag just thinking about it. To top it off, Drake removes his pillowcase EVERY time he wakes up. I don't know why, and it drives me bonkers having to put in on two to three times a day. It is incredibly awkward trying to put the pillow case on without touching the nasty string ball on the end of the pillow, and yet, I have done it hundreds of times.

Brooks - my little "poopsie". Brooks only poops every couple of days. I don't know why his little system does what it does, but it is EXHAUSTING! Because of the delays, I always feed him prune juice with his rice cereal instead of using water. I just don't want him to get stopped up. So far, there is certainly not a problem with that. Even though he is runnin' like a river, he stores up everything his little system can hold (colon, small intestine, large intestine, stomach, and maybe even the food I haven't fed him yet), and blasts the living daylight out of his diaper, onesie, sleeper or outfit, and usually his blanket too. It is always an astronomical mess accompanied with lots of groaning, gagging, and giggling by the onlookers.

Who Stole All My Time??

and may I have it back please!

My only goal

I have a lot on my plate. I feel like I do a pretty good job handling it all, and I try to live a well balanced and rounded life. That said, my ONLY goal for 2012 is to read scriptures each and EVERY day. Not 363 or 364 days, but a full 365 days.

*nevermind that it's leap year :)

Top 11 of '11...

...in no particular order (except #1)

1. The birth of our wonderful, sweet, Brooks
2. The vacation we took for Brooks' blessing. It was our only vacation this year, and it was wonderful
3. Paying off the periodontist portion of the implant bill. *Barf (you should see how cute Dave is. He brushes his pearly whites EVERY morning and night now)
4. Losing all the baby weight (one week before my goal deadline)
5. The slap in the face that changed my life. I'd be happy to tell you about it, but you'll have to ask
6. Carson starting preschool and LOVING it
7. Getting a new air conditioner *Barf again. Have I mentioned that I HATE money...or the lack thereof
8. Going to NY to see Wicked. It was a highlight in my life. Thanks AGAIN dad and mom!!
9. Seeing Lion King with my sweetheart
10. Drake starting nursery
11. Completing four quilts for Christmas