Bad Timing

The morning that Mr. Pirate had to have surgery because he accidently fell forward while chewing on the 'stick of death' (see below), Pretty Girl woke up VERY ill.

Pretty Girl kind of got the bad end of the deal.

We couldn't have Mr. Pirate around her because we didn't want him picking up her virus.

So while we were all taking turns holding Mr. Pirate, giving him his meds, rocking him and feeding him, poor Pretty Girl sat alone downstairs in front of the TV on a make-shift bed and covers with a bucket next to her.

For 3 days...

On the third day, we realized what was happening and Greg decided to devote a few hours to her. He grabbed his pillows and cuddled up next to her while they watched Max & Ruby. He scratched her back and asked her -

"Do you like it when I'm with you?"

"Yes. Dad, will you marry me?"

"But I already married Mom."

"Oh."

Greg said it was the sweetest proposal he's ever gotten.

Some days are just harder than others...

Our Heroes

Our Big Guy chose his Great Grandpa Carver for his Heroes Report at school last month. I think he chose him because his mother constantly tells stories about ancestors while driving in the car, making dinner, bedtime stories, etc.

He's wild about the World War II stories.

Grandpa was a Major in the 320th Medical Batallion in the 95th Infantry Division. He landed on the Beaches of Normandy 1 day post D-Day. He was at Metz, the Battle of the Bulge, crossed the Moselle, Saar and the Rhine, was promoted to Colonel, saw the ravages of Berlin and the concentration camps.

He once told me the coldest he had ever been in his life was during the winter his division advanced into Germany.

Our Big Guy is particularly fond of two stories - both of which he included in his report.

#1 - During the Battle of the Bulge, Grandpa was franticaly trying to evacuate his medical tent. The wounded had already been moved and Grandpa and his driver were left behind to pack up medicine, supplies, etc. Grandpa could hear the cannons and see the outline of German tanks in the distance. It was Christmas day and the enemy was about 1 mile away. At last everything was packed and Grandpa and his driver jumped into the two trucks - only to find the trucks would not start. The disel engines had frozen due to the sub-zero temperatures.

They quickly searched for anything dry and brittle around them on the snow-packed ground. They set up two small piles of kindling and started fires under each disel engine.

(We like to emphasize to our children at this point in the story how incredibly dangerous this is and you should NEVER start a fire under a car.)

After about five minutes, the engines defrosted enough that Grandpa was able to start the trucks, and they got out just before the enemy arrived.

#2 - Grandpa's unit eventually started to overtake the German army before the enemy could pull back. One late night Grandpa and his driver drove into the city of Wuppertal (my father and brother would later serve LDS missions in the same town). The streets were deserted and sitting on the railroad tracks in the middle of town stood a very impressive-looking German canon/gun. They parked their truck and went up to investigate. After about 10 minute of climbing around the cannon, they started to hear, tick tick tick tick...

Grandpa looked at his driver and the two of them ran back to the truck and drove away as fast as they could. The next morning they returned to Wuppertal and found the city center completely destroyed. The Germans perfered to bomb amunition and military supplies instead of letting it fall into Allied hands. (not a bad move - but horrible for post-war clean up)

Aside from his written report, our Big Guy drew a picture of grandpa and dressed up like an army guy (with a medical band on his arm to indicate an MD) and gave his report to his class.

He got an A.

San Diego 2012

Family vacations always seem to create the lasting memories that live on in your children for generations to come. Can't you just feel that lovely pressure bearing down on you right now? Fortunately, it's not so much where you GO together. It's much more in what you SAY and DO together.

Like the following phrases...

Our Sweetie - Mom, are we just the BEST kids ever?

Pretty Girl in the car - "I want one. I WANT ONE!! AHHHHHH!!!!!" (great line to use in a professional setting, I might add)

On the drive to Disneyland, after we pulled into the carpool lane and saved hours and hours passing morning traffic - Greg rolled down his window and yelled, "THIS IS WHY WE HAD KIDS!!!"

Mr. Pirate has loads of nonsense to say. But the only thing we can understand is his non-stop chant, "Da-ddy, Da-ddy, Da-ddy, Da-ddy."

Our Big Guy borrowed our camera at Sea World for less than 5 minutes. 5 minutes!! - hardly time to set the focus. And now we have literally hundreds of shots of Shamu on our computer. Most of them are blurry and there are at least 30 of just his eyeball.

At La Jolla, I told the kids we could grab one of the seals off the beach and take him home, but we'd have to leave Bubbs (Pirate) behind. The kids vehemently, passionately refused, saying they would NEVER give up their baby brother. And then Pretty Girl piped up very quietly in the back and confessed, "Well, okay."

We should have taken more photos...

Observations That Make Life Rich

Farewell, Whitney

My Dad brought your album home in 1985. I was in 5th grade. I thought you looked stunning on the album cover. And "How Will I Know" had me mesmerized by the first few opening chords.

And then I found out you were tall, had curly hair, and my family loved you. You were suddenly like the bigger sister I'd always wanted.

I spent the next five years of my life singing and dancing around my house to your music. Your tape a constant in my walkman. Your voice a household staple. Even today, it reminds me of sweet, fun times.

I lost touch with you around your whole The Bodyguard phase - your piece "I Will Always Love You" wasn't for me. I moved on - and unfortunately, so did you.

Your death hit me hard this week. You felt like an old friend passing away.

You were a rich part of my childhood, Whitney.

PS - I will confess only to you that whenever "How Will I Know" comes floating over my speakers, I almost always start singing - and if my kids aren't watching, my hips start swinging.

A Man's Road

Last summer, Greg joined a 4x4 club at his work. It's a dangerous group. We're talking about 10-15 highly advanced, fanatical mechanical engineers. Men half crazed with power to disassemble anything they can get their hands on.

Buckle up.

Last weekend was their annual trek into the bitterly cold western wastelands of Utah and Nevada. Did I go? Heavens, no. But the boys were nearly packed and loaded in the car three days before they had to leave.

Walkie talkies, deli sandwiches, a ghost town, a bag of Mom's fresh chocolate chip cookies for the road, an abandoned mine, extreme man-stuff activities.

Who wouldn't want to go?

Me.

Daily Ethical Battles

Keeping in mind how sensitive older brothers are about their toothbrushes...

Do I tell them where it's been today??

Greg's Smashed Sin

Greg has a few great weaknesses.

This is one of them.

It's Smash Burger's Sin City Burger - and it's deadly.

Yep - that's a fried egg right there in the middle. And while the taste alone is close to committing gluttony, I can only manage 1 or 2 bites.

Greg on the other hand...he eats the entire thing. The whole tomato.

And then, without fail, he's sick for 2 days. Aching stomach, flu-like symptoms - a total 'Man's Cold' victim.

But when next month rolls around - he's ready for another one.

My Happiness Project

This month I finished reading Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project.

She talked about being a mother of wonderful children, married to a fantastic husband, settled in a home, busy with career and routine and suddenly realizing she was NOT appreciating her life like she should. She was remarkably blessed and lucky, and yet she wondered why she wasn't blissfully happy on a daily basis.

This really resonated with me.

I adore my kids, head-over-heels for my husband. I love my faith. We live in a good country with food on the table and a little left over for activities. We're all healthy, etc. etc. etc. But I get so lost in the routine, the rush and the spit-up that I am lacking a daily awareness of my own happiness. This needs to change.

I don't want to look back at this time in my life 10 years from now and wish I had appreciated it more.

So here's My Happiness Project.

Borrowing some ideas from Gretchen, I decided to make a list of the things that make me the most happy. The caveat is these must be action items that only I am responsible for. For example, I am extremely happy when my kids love each other and get along. But I have learned I do not have total control over whether this happens or not.

So here is my list of Actions That Make Me Happy...

1. Super-squeeze hugs and kisses with my children.
2. Sleeping. Naps. More sleep in general.
3. Kissing and talking with my husband.
4. Making my kids laugh.
5. Accomplishing something visible. (cleaning a room, organizing a shelf, etc.)
6. Swimming or road biking.
7. A good conversation with a friend.
8. Reflecting on the sacred aspects of life.
9. Working in a line from Bill Cosby, Brian Regan or Homer Simpson into my daily thought process. ("Remember as far as anyone knows, we're a nice, normal family.")
10. Writing.
11. Going to a museum.
12. Hiking with my family.

My goal over the next month is to incorporate some of these items on a daily basis.  Obviously I can't do all of them in one day, and some are more realistic during certain times of the year. But if I can get in at least 2 or 3 - I'm hoping for a more realized awareness of the happiness in me.

See you at the end of February...

Loving the Chub

I love baby chub. And I have a special weakness for it in the arms and wrists - it makes me want to nibble away at them. It's the sweetest thing in the world.

And they lose it fast.

Big Guy lost his around age 3.

Sweetie's was pretty much gone by 2.

Pretty Girl lost hers this past year.

And Pirate is already ahead of his siblings.

I will always miss my chubby little ones...

The Odd Duck

My Pretty Girl is doomed.

She will have to endure a mother who isn't into the cutesy, fairy, purse-shopping, perfect decorating, flawless appearance kind of thing. I don't fault women who are. I'll freely admit to envy. But I am failing in this "girly" area.

Failing because...there's a lot of reasons. Good reasons.

Case in point - yesterday Pretty Girl attended a birthday party for a little girl in her preschool class. When we got there, I realized with stark awareness that my daughter was the only one NOT wearing a tutu dress, she was the only one NOT with perfectly matched bows in her hair (and not a single strand out of place), she wore no glitter, no make-up and wasn't wearing jewelry.

Then there were the moms. After twenty minutes of non-stop talk of shopping locations, scarf accessorizing, fake eyelash extensions, and creative 5 minute make-at-home-crafts that for me would take hours, I wanted to crawl into a hole and hide.

You can't fault Pretty Girl.

Her mother's idea of accessorizing is a wedding ring, a watch and a pair of earings.

And doesn't anyone want to talk about the repercussions of France's credit rating drop this past week?

Plus, I'm not really crazy about make up on a 4yr old.

Like I said...Pretty Girl is doomed.

#83 of the Bad Mom's List

Have you seen this stuff?

It's primo, liquid chocolate heaven!

My blessed, blessed parents had 3 canisters left over from "neighborhood gifts" and subsequently (as an afterthought) gave one to me and my brothers for Christmas.

They had no idea I'd been secretly salivating every week at Costco as I walked by the display. Deep down I really really really wanted one - but could never justify the price. Really.

And now I hoard it as my own secret stash and I cant let my kids see it! On cold days, I'm pulling out the Great Value hot chocolate tub while hiding the attractive, silver Starbucks canister in the back.

What's that cool-looking can Mom?

"Oh...that? Um...I think it's flour. The wheat kind. The kind you don't like."

Oh, yeah. That was awful. Never make that bread again Mom.

"You got it."

Christmas Wrap Up 2011

In the overall grand scheme of your life, you guys probably wont remember most of the 2011 Christmas details.

Like your piano recitals.

Or how Mom made you do homework over the Christmas break.

The long, exhaustive car ride to St. George and back.

Or which gift you got from whom and when and how.

But I hope you'll remember the knitted hats from Grandma Carver more than the foosball table. And the late, late, late night games with cousins on New Years Eve. Your Aunt Laurel who has the best heart of anyone I know. And how excited you were to go mountain biking with Dad for your first time ever.

Most of all, try to remember the feelings on Christmas Eve with just our family - those peaceful, happy moments when our focus is Jesus Christ.