Forever Family Time

I was thrilled when Bob and Valerie and Parker called and said they were visiting Utah, and would we like to have breakfast with them? Heck, yeah!


Bob is a gifted and talented hunter of wild beasts and sad fawns, but I like him anyway. Valerie can do anything, including bowhunting giant elk, if she wanted to, I'll bet, but usually she just makes amazing birthday cakes and handcrafted cards and if you saw her house, you would swear that a professional had painted it. And you'd scream like a little girl because the wild boar on the wall is kind of scary.

Nate and I had a great time with them at breakfast, and it felt so nice to sit and talk with good friends who are also really good people. The Forever Family didn't know, though, that the night they called was a night that I was feeling downright blue, and it felt great to hear Bob's voice, and so nice that I would get to see good friends the next morning, and I loved being with them.

Snow Day, Our Way

You may remember the snow day we had in Texas, where there were just a few inches of snow, and school was canceled, and the kids had to scrounge and scrounge just to build a snowman? Not here! Fortunately for us, our snow day this week was on MLK day, and there was no school anyway.

The boys and I stayed inside all day, and had a great time staying warm and having fun!

Here's our backyard. You can see that Charlie had been running around chasing squirrels and burying bones in the snow.

We kept the fire going all day! Nate took all his trucks and bulldozers in front of the fire and loved being cozy with his toys.

Oh, yeah. And he figured out how to figure out his favorite game: Mouse Trap. I have a hard time assembling that game, but he did it all by himself.

Kida, our fat cat, hasn't left her bed very often since I unpacked it on Saturday. If I were a really nice mom, I'd move her food dish on the shelf next to her, but then she might not get any exercise at all.

Nate's poor Jeep got totally blanketed. Nate dug it out on Tuesday, though, and when he was done, he said, "That was hard work! But it was worth it."

These two work pretty well together these days! I know, I know -- when will my astonishment cease? Give me a year or two and ask me then. They didn't need much help from me to get this little shelf done.

The snow is really gorgeous and fluffy, but I'm not enjoying the cold aftermath. When I checked the temperature on the Internet this morning, it was a whopping nine degrees.

Only floss the teeth you want to keep

I am sure you have been waiting anxiously to hear how much the tooth fairy brought Ro for the four teeth he pulled out on Christmas Day. The going rate, it seems, is four bucks per tooth. In addition to those four, he had one more that was barely slightly sort of just a little tiny bit wiggly, and he simply Would. Not. Stop. trying to pull it out.

He had to see our dentist, Evan Perry, who also happens to be the world's best dentist, for a few minor fillings. I asked Dr. Perry if he would be so kind as to pull out the remaining barely loose tooth, and he kindly did so. Christopher, who was under the influence of nitrous oxide and Cartoon Network at the time, yelled, "Will you pull out this tooth!?!" Nitrous is very amusing and makes one look and feel funny, but it is an amazing miracle tool for kids (and adults) who have a hard time at the dentist. And even if you don't even mind going to the dentist, you should sign up for nitrous oxide just for fun. But I digress.

Dr. Perry yanked out that tooth so quickly that Ro didn't even know it was done, and he received another four dollars. Dr. Perry told Christopher to give up on the wiggling for at least another nine months, because that's when the next batch of baby teeth should start wiggling.

Next stop: the orthodontist.

It was, like, a miracle or something

Recently, an odd thing has been happening. The boys have been doing very little complaining about going to church. In fact, last Sunday, Christopher got dressed by himself and reminded me that it was time for me to get ready. Their teachers, our neighbors, and the leaders in our ward are incredibly kind and patient with all of us, and have been unbelievably welcoming and accommodating to our small family. I could go on and on about our neighbors and this ward and how much I love them, but then it would feel like mytestimony.blogspot.com.

On Sunday, I was happy to accept two callings: Ward Website Administrator, and Stake Center Building Scheduler. I spent the middle hour discussing the processes with a few different people, and I was so deep into my thrilling conversation about web design and scheduling procedures that I didn't realize Primary had ended and sacrament meeting had started.

I panicked. I imagined my boys screaming as they tore through the halls. Or maybe running up to the stand and singing into the microphone in the chapel. Perhaps they broke into the meetinghouse library to try and hook up and play video games? Or what if they just up and left the building, having decided that walking home was a better option than attending church?

I frantically headed towards the chapel, and you won't believe what I saw there. Two perfectly dressed boys, looking mighty handsome. Sitting on a bench together. Kindly and quietly. Patiently. This was a very proud moment for this mom, my friends, and if you know my boys' history at church, you will understand.

It was, like, a miracle or something.

Things I Have Assembled Recently

When you think about the possibility of divorce (take my advice here: don't even think about it. It stinks), you may not consider all the things a single parent has to do by herself. For many years, I've admired parents who parent alone, and often uttered the phrase, "I don't know how they do it." Friends, they do it because they have to. And fortunately, I've found out that I don't always have to parent alone, and I have major support from family, friends, and neighbors, and for that support, I am forever grateful.

Still, I am getting stronger, including physically, because again, I have had to! Consider the case of the bargain chairs I recently picked up at Market Square. George (that's the world's best hairdresser) bought them for his waiting room, and assured me that the odd smell would go away shortly. He also cautioned me that it is definitely a "two-person job" to assemble them. But what if you're just one person? I did it myself. And it took muscle and willpower. And the strength to resist expressing myself in a foul-mouthed manner in front of my boys.

Here are a few more things I have assembled recently:

• Two desks, one for a lefty and one for a righty
  
• One Shake & Go Crash-Ups Speedway
• Bunk beds
• Many large pictures and frames
  
• Four Market Square chairs
  
• A big bathroom cabinet
• One new artificial Christmas tree
• Two Ikea nightstands

I feel just a tiny bit proud of myself. I am also glad that Tyler lets me borrow his cordless drill.

Inexperienced Slave Labor

One of the delightful activities in which we participate quite often now that we're back in Utah is the shoveling of the driveway. We didn't anticipate needing a snow blower, as everyone assured us that "it really doesn't snow all that often." Ha!

The novelty has worn off for this gal, friends. Fortunately, on Saturday, I had an 11 year-old son who was highly motivated to a) be returned his computer privileges, which had been lost for several days, and b) to be excused from attending "Alvin and the Chipmunks" with Nate, Ben, James, and me.

So I offered up this proposal: "If you shovel the entire driveway before it's time to go to the movie, you may skip the movie and play Maplestory instead.

Christopher was outside for about two minutes when he returned and announced, "It's just waaaaay too cold." I suggested that perhaps it wouldn't be so cold if he would put on a coat and possibly consider snow shoveling with shoes instead of barefoot. And would you believe it? Not 20 minutes later the task was done, he was rewarded with screen time, I was enduring the chipmunk movie, and we had a clean driveway.

How I Gained Five Pounds in December

Please don't tell the kids I ate all of their chocolate frogs James and Mardee gave them. These are not your everyday chocolate frogs, though; these are spectacularly delicious chocolate frogs that my children clearly would not appreciate in the same manner I did.

Next year, I'm going to make icky food for the neighbors. Like maybe chocolate-dipped brussels sprouts, or wheatgrass cookies.

Chex Mix. I follow the classic recipe with minor variations whose addictive properties make it too dangerous to list here.

Kickin' jelly really isn't that bad for you, except for all that sugar, and the fact that it's usually paired with brie or cream cheese and bread or crackers. In large quantities. We'll be selling it again at the farmers' market in the spring!

And lest I forget: please also blame Brent's amazing shortbread cookies, Kathy's addictive toffee, and Nate's million dollar potatoes.

Check back in 30 days to see how I shed those five pounds.

No, really!