Bananas

I was sitting on the toilet this morning (okay- before you get all grossed out- I was sitting on the lid- the toilet was shut) blow drying my hair. Ryan wandered in started helping me. He does this every time I dry my hair- he'll either run his fingers through my hair or "help" me hold the blow dryer. It's kind of cute and it's just a moment for the two of us- so I always let him help me. This morning, he was running his fingers through my hair. I followed suit.

After a while though- I couldn't figure out why my hair was so sticky. It was only in a few places though- so I flipped my hair up and looked in the mirror. There was something stuck in my hair. I looked closer and I couldn't figure out what it was. I was thinking to myself..."Did I remember to rinse the conditioner out?" Then I happened to look down at Ryan. Who was holding a banana (Yeah... you know where this is going don't you).

Apparently just before I started drying my hair, Ryan had helped himself to a banana that was sitting on the counter in the kitchen. I don't really mind, since it was a good snack. But Ryan (being two) does not eat bananas neatly. He kind of squishes them. And he took his banana-y hands and ran them so sweetly through my clean hair.

I know that there are many ordinary household items that can double as something else. Like baking soda can be used as toothpaste, and avocado can be used for a face mask. I will share something with you. Bananas CANNOT be used as a hair gel. I promise.

As told to me by Ty's preschool teacher...

Ty's preschool class is working on their parent's names. The teachers want them to know who their parents are in case of an emergency. Pretty smart.

When it was Ty's turn, his teacher quickly got Shaun's name from him, but he just couldn't remember mine. He sat there and sat there, continuing to tell his teacher that he just didn't know. Finally Miss Jody asked him what dad calls mom. Ty perks right up and says, "Pookie"!

December Traditions

My kid's are scared.

Maybe scared is not the right word... they have a healthy respect for the power that is Santa. What they ARE scared of is the possibility that Santa won't bring them presents on Christmas. That's fear in it's most primal form.

As a parent, I have learned how to take their "fear" and harness it into ways that will benefit me. The origins of my Santa manipulation are rather innocent, only over the years have they evolved into something slightly more self-serving.

Let me break the scenario down: A random day in December 2010. A 2 and 5 year old fighting over the noise-making-toy-of-the-day. Mama pleasantly asks them to knock it off. Fighting obviously continues. Mama threatens time-outs, no desserts and corporal punishment in the form of push-ups. Fighting obviously continues. Mama about to have a nervous breakdown because of the screaming and noise making. Fighting has turned to crying. A worn down mama looking around for help and/or inspiration.

A-ha! Santa! Santa won't come to little boys that are fighting.

5 year old smart alack asks how Santa knows if they have been good or bad? Mama goes blank because kid's fighting kills brain cells. It's true.

But then Mama has a moment of inspiration. "The Elf on the Shelf."

My mom bought us this book and we had yet to try it out. The Elf on the Shelf is a book. And an elf. The elf sits on the shelf and watches what happens throughout the day, and then flies through the night to the North Pole where he tells Santa what he has witnessed. Then the elf flies back and sits in a different part of the house to watch the next day. The 5 year old totally didn't believe me. So I put Ernie (you have to name your elf) in the Christmas tree... and the next morning- he was sitting on a picture frame across the room. The fear healthy respect was then born, and every morning Ty and Ryan frantically search the house for where Ernie is watching that day. It's awesome.

I also put up my Nativity this week. I really want the kids to recognize the holiday for what it is- the time that we celebrate Christ's birth, even though Santa is fun. So, I grit my teeth and put my beautiful nativity set down where they could see it. Right under the TV. I told them the story of Christ's birth, and used the nativity pieces to act it out. The boys loved it. Though... I set the angel down for a second and Ryan scooped it up and started flying it around the room going "Buzzzzzzzz." Apparently something was lost in translation. The angel is NOT a bug. I went back over that part.

The funny part- I threatened the boys with mayhem if they touched the nativity. But every day something is moved to a different position. I never catch them at it... but I can tell that they are watching and thinking. I suspect that it is Ryan that moves all the lambs to crowd around baby Jesus, because during the story- he wanted to make sure that EVERYONE saw the baby Jesus. And I suspect that it was Ty that put the angel on the DVD player, because he pointed out that angels have to be up high so they can see when they need to sing. Though the jury is out on who added the Transformer to the scene in the stable...

They are such funny little boys. I love them so much. It's always more than a little overwhelming to me when I think about all the things that I need to teach them and that they need to know to get them through this life. But they are smart. And I think they'll do alright.

What Large Teeth You Have...

All three kids are teething at my house. How lucky am I? Ty's new permenant teeth are on their way up. Ryan is getting his two-year molars and Kate's front teeth finally pushed through the other day. It makes her look so old it throws me off.

Since I've already showed you Ty's teeth, and it's really hard to get Ryan to open up wide enough to see his molars- I'm only going to show you Kate's new teeth. Because of the way she plays with her tongue- I literally had to hold her mouth open and push her tongue aside so that we could get a picture of them.

A Little Snaky Lick...

Kate is part snake. She is so funny with her tongue. When she starts playing with it- you can't help but laugh. She sticks it way out to her chin. Then it goes skinny and sticks straight out. Then she'll leave it all in but the tip and wiggle it up and down. And she'll try to mimic you if you stick your tongue out at her. It's so cute. Hard to capture in a picture... but here it is!

Go Utes!

I don't know how many of you out there care about the BYU-Utah football game that was on last week- but we obviously didn't miss it. Shaun debated about actually going- but when we saw what the temperature was going to be (mid-20's)- he thought he could probably get by just fine watching it on TV. It was a pretty awful game. Up until the last minute- when Utah blocked a field goal that would have won the game for BYU. At the time Shaun was holding Kate- when the Utes blocked the kick- he leaped into the air and started shouting... It scared the CRAP out of poor little Kate. She started crying and wouldn't look at Shaun for a full minute. It was kind of funny... poor kid.

These poor kids don't stand a chance though- we started brain washing them early. Ty and Ryan's favorite color is red. Ty even went through a phase in preschool last year where he would ONLY paint with red, and if given the choice- he would only wear red shirts. Ryan is proving to be just as opinionated. Kate probably doesn't care, but she gets all the boy's hand me downs... so she's a Ute by default! Dad and Grandpa JB couldn't be prouder though!

Thanksgiving

I am grateful for a lot of things. Especially this year. When I think of how incredibly lucky I am- I am often reminded of the Grinch (stay with me for a second). Remember how his heart was too small? And when his heart grew two sizes, it broke the little x-ray machine that was looking in at his heart. That's how I feel each year, as I look back on all the things that I have been blessed with. I feel like my heart is near to bursting.

My life is so rich and full and shimmery (yes I said shimmery- I recently read that on a blog and I like it) with my family in it. Even amidst the emptying of the dishwasher, the picking up of the toys, the disaster areas in the kitchen, the constant rumply quilts on our trampoline bed, I still know we are living the days–the golden days–which we'll remember with fondness. When I step back, I truly realize how important my role is. What a glorious gift it is to be alive. I say that with all the zeal I can muster. I love that I am a wife and a mom. I also love that I'm a daughter, a daughter-in-law and a sister too.

We have definitely had our share of trials and hardships this year, but the end was truly more than any of us could have hoped for. We are happy and healthy.

This year, Ty's preschool had a Thanksgiving Feast! Ty was cast in the role of an Indian- which he was really excited for. He thought the Pilgrim hats were funny looking. He and Ryan have been running around the house in various parts of the costume- it's pretty cute.

Anyway- we spent this Thanksgiving at Shaun's parent's house. Jacki always makes us feel so welcome and fixes a great dinner for everyone- she never lets us help. Maybe one day my sister-in-laws and I will wear her down! Jacki even got us a Gingerbread house to put together one evening. The boys loved it- though I think they ate more candy than they actually put on the house.

Yes. I Put My Christmas Tree Up in November

I like Christmas. But December is BUSY!! It seems like I never have enough time to enjoy the season or get the things done that I really want to get done. So, the last two years, I have put my tree up in November- right around the middle of the month. And it's worked out really well for us.

My kids took a little vacation just after my birthday down to Grandma Janet's house (I told her back in June when I had Kate to start preparing for this little vacation), and I scrubbed the house until it literally shone! I hardly recognized it. The best part... it stayed clean for longer than twenty minutes!! And I pulled out the Christmas stuff. Shaun helped me put the tree up- but we left it un-decorated so that we could wait for the kids.

I pulled the ornaments out and just left them in a box by the tree. When the boys got home and saw them- they immediately started putting the ornaments on the tree. I was smart enough this year to NOT pull out the glass ornaments- so nothing that they were touching could get hurt or break (I'm getting smarter!!). And those two little stinkers decorated the entire tree themselves! How cool is that? Ty even pulled up a stool and put snowflakes on the upper branches. It looks pretty darn good if I say so myself. And the boys are so proud of it!