A couple of weeks ago Rhett and I went to the Crafty Bastards show again. This year was interesting because we had a big rainstorm the night before and the show took place on a dirt parking lot. So, um, it was a bit muddy. Had we known (I knew parking lot, but I figured asphalt), we would have not worn leather clogs and breathable sneakers. But we didn't know. And had we known we parked in a private lot and had to nearly beg the concierge to let us out of the parking lot, we would have picked a different place to park. But we didn't know. Regardless, we had a good time. Hopefully next year will be better. Here's what we saw:
These super cute wire art pieces from The Colorful Berry. They are wire covered in crochet!
I loved these pretty little pouches from Leah Quilts.
This interesting style of art from Brian Gubicza. So geometric! And they're similar to this fun sticker-by-number book Rhett won at church (don't ask).
I find that I'm frequently asked, and that I frequently ask, the question, "So, what's new?" The problem is my answer is almost always, "Nothing." Because it's the truth. We still live in the same house, I still have two boys and the same husband, the adults still have the same jobs. But I think I found my new alternative to asking that question. Instead I'm going to ask, "So, what's keeping you busy?" It just feels different enough.
Here's how I would have answered that for December. For me, it was choir and Ollie's school. I joined the stake choir in addition to ward choir, which meant performing at Stake Conference, a local performance highlighting different denominations in our area, a stake Christmas performance, and then the regular ward Christmas program. It was a lot. And then there's the work I've been doing at Ollie's school. After the move to the new building, one of the book storage rooms is in dire need of some organization. I offered to help the Reading Specialist there with this task. And whoa. It's intense. First was doing a complete inventory, next was applying all appropriate labels (genre and reading level, mostly), then will be the sorting and actual organizing. I'm still working on the inventory, but also doing some of step 2 at the same time. But I'll be honest: I kind of LOVE this task. It's spreadsheets, organizing, and, oh yeah, helping the school. Wins all around!
Oh, here are some pictures I haven't already posted from the week. These are Christmas Eve morning in our fancy clothes.
This kid. He is such his own little person. Most of the stuff he does comes out of nowhere. For example, he put on seven shirts and five pants during pre-bed reading time. Why? Because he's six. And weird. Mostly the latter.
But he's just so cute, right? Omy. I love him so much.
So what's he up to these days? School. He says he hates it, and I believe he does sometimes, but thankfully this hatred doesn't translate into problems getting him out of the door in the morning. It only manifests itself during writing and then he writes stuff like "School is a prison." Nice. Things are going much better this year. His teacher is great and he's had no trips to the vice principal's office...yet. We got in trouble for doing his entire October homework at once so now we're back to doing it weekly. (We also got in trouble for bringing Bruno to school drop-off in the morning. Ha.)
At home it's a bunch of mood swings. He can be this happy, fun, silly boy but then ask him to do chores and WATCH OUT. ("WHY? Why do we always have to do chores?!?!?!") But then wait a couple minutes, and he just does them and happily reports when he's done. He still does this annoying baby talk thing which everyone in the house hates. ("Me want kindle.")
He loves his kindle, but he also loves riding his bike and jumping on the tramp. Sadly, no one wants to do those things nearly as much as he does. He is still reading really well and it's so nice to not have to read to him all the time. Like his brother, he says he likes to wear only polo shirts (although he does wear t-shirts too). Unlike his brother, he matches these polos with basketball shorts. It's quite the look. And of course, Piggie is still his favorite.
I used to borrow Chuck's sweatshirts. There's something about being only 5' 1" tall and wearing an XL sweatshirt. So when he asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I told him my own XL sweatshirt. And that's what I got. But then I made it better. You see, most XL sweatshirts are meant for tall people with long arms, one thing I am not and the other I have not. I found a tutorial online that helped me hem the sleeves. And check it out: AMAZING. It's my "cozy clothes" outfit. Come to my house any time after 7:00 most nights (or pre- or post-church on Sundays) and this is what I'll be wearing.
You know how people start book clubs so they can read books and then discuss them in a social forum? I'm in one. It's fun. But I want to start a TV club. The first assignment would be to watch the O.J. Simpson show on Netflix. I must discuss this with someone!
I want to go to New York City for my birthday this year (it's kind of a big one), just me and Chuck (anyone want to watch my kids?!). If we do, I would LOVE to do this. I'm pretty sure Chuck would not be on board, however.
I'm now convinced there is no tiring my boys. None. No matter what we do, they will always be moving. Want them to sit still for conference? Try a 3.5-mile morning Billy Goat Hike! That doesn't work? Between sessions add a 4.5-mile bike ride with a playground intermission. That doesn't work? Just fall asleep (because you're old and those activities successfully wore you out) and then you won't know how crazy they are.
Separately, Chuck and I recently came up with something we each thought was pretty clever. Of course, now we disagree on whose was more clever. So you get to decide. (And by "you," I mean "emily" unless anyone wants to come out of the shadows and comment.) Obviously, this will be a blind study and each clever-ism will be presented anonymously.
1. A family in our ward with the last name of Cranney had a baby. One of us named the baby, "Cranbaby."
2. A youth from our newly-married days named Rae is getting married to a man named Brandon. One of us named the couple, "Rae-bran."
Two years ago I bought a heated mattress pad for our bed. At the time, we had a down comforter. The two together totally made me sweat at night, so I would use the mattress pad to preheat my side of the bed and then I'd turn it off when I got in. Perfect. But this year, I bought a new quilt for the bed. (I'm so over duvet covers.) And guess what? I am learning just how much heat the down comforter captured. Because now I have to keep that mattress pad going all night long...on a THREE. It should be noted Chuck turns his side up to a six or seven.
I know how late I am to this, but that's just like me. Anyway, I've been listening to Hamilton pretty much non-stop for the past six weeks. When everyone is home, I keep Christmas music on, but otherwise, it's this. And if I have to admit it, sometimes I even listen to Hamilton when the little boys are home. Rhett likes to follow the story. Maybe I'll make him read the biography.
I find Christmas gifts as an adult really hard. Whatever I don't want to buy (new dishwasher, updated closet doors), I have to do it. Which leaves very little for things I actually want. If I knew what I wanted, that is.
Ollie. Sigh. In the interest of not oversharing Ollie's troubles, I won't. But just know that we are REALLY struggling with this boy. And I mean really.
Did you know that Inauguration Day is a federal holiday in the D.C. area? I'm guessing it's largely due to the traffic. In 2009 when Obama was first inaugurated, Metro set a record for ridership (more than 1.1 million trips were taken, smashing the previous record of 867,000). It just makes it hard for employees to get to work when the metro is that packed (not sure why schools are closed, however). So we don't work. Sorry (but not really). Before you get too mad, the next one that actually affects me (you know, an inauguration on a Tuesday or a Thursday) isn't until 2033, so I'm not benefiting from it anytime soon. ANYWAY, there's no way we'll be going downtown for the Inauguration. But if Hillary Clinton wins, I imagine the mall will be similarly packed and hotels will be filled (you know, first woman president and all). Sooo, do we rent out our house on Airbnb and get out of town for the weekend?
We're in the middle of another huge (yuge?) rainstorm. The rain started Wednesday night and isn't supposed to stop until today, maybe tomorrow. And rain totals for us should be around 4"-6". LAME. The last time we got this much rain, a tree fell on my Dad's car. Although, this storm also delivered some flooding two years ago, but maybe that's because the ground was already saturated. It'll be interesting to see what happens to our creek's water level with this storm.
The other day I was talking with a friend who lives in Japan. Where she is, sunrise is at 5:30 a.m. I was flabbergasted! Our sunrise doesn't come for another 1.5 hours. It made me do some investigating into these time zones and what would produce such varying sunrise/sunset times. It's crazy how varying sunrise times can be, given your location within a time zone and the shape of the time zone itself.
Oh, on Wednesday did I say I can swim 200 meters? Hahaha. Nope. 100 meters. But I do a couple of those (among other things), so that counts for something, right?
This post is less "random thoughts" and more just things that are happening to me. It's all very boring; I promise.
For the fourth time since June, I found adult shoes that fit my feet. This is definitely some kind of miracle. These I found at DSW for only $18, so I'm pretty pleased with myself. Except that it finally decided to become fall here, so sandal season is going to be over pretty soon. Like in December. (Or never, if you're my sister.)
The boys used to eat only cereal for breakfast on the days that I'm home. But because it's only cereal, they were hungry about an hour later. This was terribly inconvenient. So at the beginning of the school year, I instituted a new rule that says they have to eat something else before the cereal. The something else is either some sausage, yogurt with granola, oatmeal, or eggs. THEN they can have that bowl of cereal. I think it's been working. Related: because my boys eat breakfast around 6:30 and don't eat lunch until after 1, they're hungry at school. So right as we're leaving for the bus, I give them one of these energy bites. They LOVE them. Ollie asks me every day if it's a bus day. Thanks Emily! Oh, our most-recent batch was made with butterscotch chips instead of chocolate. Delicious.
Speaking of food, I made this salsa Saturday. Well, mostly the boys made it. But man, this stuff is so just good. I had to buy more chips so it wouldn't go to waste. I prefer this kind of salsa over the chunky, corn-y one preferred by others (cough, cough, my MOM). My boys also love it so score.
Speaking of my mom, my parents got their release date! They'll be home at the end of November. They're excited.
Finally, I'm swimming! Every Friday morning after I watch the boys go to school on the bus, I hope in the car and go to the pool. I had a little routine that I like doing and can feel myself getting better at it already. I still can't swim longer than 200 meters at a time (swimming is freakin' hard!), but it's coming. I'm happy with it. And so happy the boys are in school all day, making this possible.
Oh, and I got another calling, but we'll discuss that after I'm sustained.
Before trips, I like to clean the house. There's something amazing about coming home, tired from vacation, to a clean house. But cleaning before this trip was imperative because shortly after we come back, my sister and her crew arrive! So not only are we cleaning, but we're organizing too. We're getting rid of junk and even selling some stuff. I am so excited about the state of my house, I can barely stand it. However, the boys are a bit frustrated because as we clean each part of the house it then becomes off-limits. Ha. (Hence the bathrooms getting done the last minute possible.) But it's so worth it. If only we can keep it clean for those two days after we get back and before Emily comes. I think so. I anticipate that jet lag will leave us too tired to actually do anything!
I am obsessed with watching the progress of deconstruction/reconstruction of the boys' school. Most of what was happening was inside...until last week. These pictures were taken only ONE week apart. Crazy.
Saturday night Chuck had a stake YM thing to go to around 4:45 p.m. Loathe to spend 2.5 hours alone...with my boys...when we're all at our worsts, I devised a plan. What if, instead of waiting until 2 a.m., I reset the clocks when he leaves? He walks out and suddenly it's 5:45--time for dinner, boys! Time for pajamas and time for bedtime! While 2.5 hours seemed like a long time, 1.5 hours--I could handle that!
And that's just what I did. The boys fell asleep fairly easily and then, even easier than falling asleep, was waking up at the regular eastern daylight time. Which was admittedly painful on a Sunday morning, but with 8:30 a.m. church, ain't nobody sleeping in.
1. Updates on everyone
2. New things to whistle at my boys
3. A post soliciting help planning a baptism and a birthday party
4. My hatred for February
5. My desire to plan a dinner worthy of Leap Day (you know, a meal you should only eat every four years)
6. Why I only feel cute in my clothes for about six weeks of the year
Done. I'm so done. School is out again today, making it six weekdays that the kids haven't been in school. The boys are still having fun and are behaving no worse/no better than regular, but still. I crave our regular routine and my sanity.
Monday. They're back in school on Monday. What do people do whose spouses don't get off when the kids do?!
P.S. Snowshoeing was awesome! It was hard because the snow was super powdery then, but it was gorgeous. I saw deer tracks, duck tracks, bunny tracks, and cross-country skier tracks. Cool!
P.P.S. We're staring down some serious intense snow melt starting on Sunday. Temperatures in the 50s through Wednesday. I can't imagine what's going to happen to these snow piles!
P.P.P.S. Unlike other storms, people in my neighborhood are actually shoveling their walks. On my run Wednesday morning, I estimated 1 in 7 houses hadn't shoveled. And this is only a couple days after the historic-sized event. Way to go, neighbors!
I know you've seen how people re-create pictures from their youth. How awesome would Emily and I be if we re-created this gem? How awesome if our mom had kept those pajamas so Emily could dress her girls in them? How awesome if our mom had kept those pajamas so I could dress my boys in them?
P.S. Rachael, if you're reading, this picture was taken in your house!
Of course there are a million real things for which I'm grateful. But those posts aren't fun. So I present to you: my dumbest gratitude post ever.
The other day when Chuck and I were cleaning out kitchen shelves because of little bugs we like to keep up on household maintenance, we found a pan that we didn't even know we had. Sure, my mom bought me this set when I finished grad school and bought my condo in Orem. Sure this pan was part of the set. But apparently it sat underneath other pans, completely forgotten for at least seven years. And guess what? This pan is perfect. For everything. We've used it thrice already in the ten days since discovery. It's like a tall saute pan, or a short stock pot, or a really wide sauce pan. I'm sure it's got a name. For now, it's just miracle pot.
So on this Thanksgiving Eve, I am grateful for miracle pot, one that's truly changing my kitchen life.
P.S. The picture above shows a sweet potato apple soup. Me. Vegetables. Cooking. Changing my life I tell you.
When you get on an escalator, do you just step on the first step and stop, or take a couple steps and then stop (assuming you're not going to walk the whole thing)?
At what point do I ditch kid plates, cups, utensils? I'm so over the disaster that is the cabinet filled with colorful plastic.
How do you pronounce "syrup:" seer-up or sir-up?
A friend and I had an idea that would revolutionize missionary work for the Church. Find out what accents certain countries love (e.g., Americans love British accents). Then over-sample British hopeful missionaries to serve in the U.S. Brilliant, right?
On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays when I walk Rhett to school, walk Ollie to school, walk to pick up Ollie, walk to pick up Rhett, I add an additional TWO miles to my exercise total for the day. TWO MILES.
UGH. After a month or so of our east coast drought (which is nothing compared to west coast drought), we are making up for lost time. Rain rain rain all weekend and into next week too. Now I not only have to worry about my basement flooding, but the Scamp flooding too (not that the latter is a rational fear, mind you).
My friend Sharon introduced me to these bad boys last year. They now rank at the top of my "favorite foods that I make" list. I've tried other rolls but haven't been that successful. These, however, consistently are perfect for me. So I love them. Here's the recipe:
2 c. warm water
2/3 c. nonfat dry milk
2 T. yeast
1/4 c. sugar
2 t. salt
1/3 c. butter
1 egg
5 - 5.5 c. flour
In your mixer, combine water and dry milk. Stir until dissolved. Add yeast, sugar, salt, butter, egg, and two cups flour. Mix on low speed until ingredients are wet, then for two minutes on medium speed. Add two more cups of flour, and mix on low until ingredients are wet, and two minutes on medium speed. Add remaining flour, one-half cup at a time, until it pulls away from the bowl. Once combined, knead by hand or in your machine. Place dough in an oiled bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about an hour.
Place dough on floured surface. Roll out dough into 18"x8" rectangle and brush with melted butter. Cut into eighteen 2"x4" portions and roll each up beginning with the short side (so that the butter is inside). Place rolls upon a greased baking sheet so they look like snails, not cinnamon rolls. Let rise in warm place until rolls are again doubled in size. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until browned. Brush with melted butter while still hot.
I do these on Sundays and do the first rise before church, shape them, put in fridge, pull out of fridge when I get home from church and finish rising until I go to bake them. They are heavenly.
Obviously I'm going to put my touch on the inside of the Scamp, but how, exactly? Curtains, sure. But what else? If the camper was old, we'd paint the cabinet fronts. But as it's new, we're just not ready for that. I was thinking I'd hang a fun banner, but other than that, I just don't know. (The fabrics for the curtains arrived yesterday. They're ADORABLE.)
I saw this suntan lotion on a blog somewhere and, um, I want it. Does that make me crazy vain? I figure I can get a browner color without all the horrible sun rays, right? Although, I'm not 100% comfortable with artificial skin dyers. The orange skin color of the 90s keeps me from buying it. Well, that and Chuck.
When your whole family is driving somewhere, who drives? I pretty much always do, especially on long trips. Chuck is just such a better passenger. With his super-long arms, he's able to help the boys in ways I'm not.
I really want some white jeans. They just look so summery, right?
Of the two adults in my household, two ways to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches exist. Method 1: peanut butter on one slice of bread, jelly on the other. Smash together. Method 2: peanut butter on one slice, jelly on top of the peanut butter. Smash together. Clearly one is wrong. But which one? (And then there's this CRAZY alternative: peanut butter and jelly on BOTH slices of bread. Who does this?!)
My parents HAVE to go to Denmark next week for missionary work (some YSA activity for Scandinavians). Aren't their lives just terrible? I mean, Denmark, in July. Blech. You couldn't pay me money to do that. /endsarcasmfont
Meanwhile back in disgusting Maryland...Chuck and I set a big goal recently, a totally meaningful, important goal: watch the entire Seinfeld series from episode 1 to the end. It'll be hard, but with dedication, I know we can do it. We can do hard things!
Did you like the "Wacky Wednesday" book as a child? I did. Do you now dislike the "Wacky Wednesday" book because reading it to your kids takes FOREVER? I do. Either way, it isn't part of our home library (which means I've never seen it at our local thrift store) so I checked it out recently for "Mom and Ollie" preschool's W day. How was I to know that not just a couple of weeks later, I would have my own truly Wacky Wednesday?!
Can you find four things wrong in this picture? Click to enlarge. (Of course I didn't see these things all in my family room exactly, but the fact that I saw them at all was pretty WACKY!)
Answers:
1. Vegetables! Ones that I might actually eat! There is an amazing grocery store that is sadly too far north for regular grocery shopping. But for grocery shopping while the kids are at already-too-far-north vacation Bible school, it's perfect! And their produce is incredible.
2. Three helicopters! I even saw them cross over me three or four times while out and about. I guess they were doing some training exercise. And no, they weren't the ones my dad flew, but of course I had to use his in the image.
3. The SWAT team! Again, thankfully not in my family room, but I saw police and an FBI SWAT team approach a house (and bang on its door!) while I was running that morning. Despite multiple google searches, I still have no idea what they were doing.
4. Star Crunch! These snacks are the northern white rhinos of the Little Debbie world: super rare. But my genius husband found out that they are for sale at a grocery store at which we never shop. Until now.
P.S. My missionary parents started another mission blog from exotic Frankfurt, Germany. Check it out here. Go parents!
I honestly believe it's the privilege of grandparents to give their grandchildren gifts that parents would NEVER give them. And I'm happy to say that my boys' grandparents are no different. However, I think this is the worst one yet. And by worst, I mean my worst. And by worst, I mean Ollie's favorite. Watch the video; it'll be obvious why.
