Thanksgiving

So my sister called me on Thanksgiving to remind me of this funny story from when I was first married. Andy's sister-in-law Marni and I had volunteered to bring all of the pies for the big day. At this point in my life (and now) I had very little experience in the kitchen but was under the impression that pie making was as simple as following a recipe. So I made my three pies - I was pretty proud of myself - they all looked edible enough. Then Marni comes in...now I should mention that Marni has that touch...I swear everything she touches turns out beautifully - she is just very gifted in the domestic arts - Well, she walks in with her three pies and I felt like a halo was shining down on her pies...they were so beautiful. It was so funny I wish I had a picture of the contrast between the two sets of pies - I think they all tasted good but I wasn't taking any credit for the pies I made :) I think I just let everyone think I had as much to do with the impressive ones and the "not-so-impressive" ones. I had completely forgotten about it until my sister called to tell me she was laughing about it as she made her pies this year.

At any rate, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We missed our family but filled the day with friends and fun traditions. We had 5 families over for a big feast -we all brought something and it was almost easy! Andy had bought a 21 pound Turkey and I felt like I was wrestling a heavy-weight most of the time but it turned out tasty all the same. We are so grateful this year for all we have been given. I've decided that this year I am going to try to apply President Monson's advice to find "Joy in the Journey" - we have so much to be thankful for!

Didn't Andy do a great job with the table. This is our before shot!

The beastly bird :)

This is our group!

The kids table...we borrowed this little table from the nursery :)

Andy with his eggnog - he loves this stuff!!

Calvin and Ethan trying to absorb all the noise...

From their dads who played RockBand on the Wii into the night :)

Go Utes!

This is how we went to church on Sunday morning. Nope, it's not because it's Christmas. If you need a hint: check out the prop in the picture. If you still don't know why...nevermind :)

Hannah Montana??

So I took the kids to McDonalds for lunchon Wednesday. As they were playing in the play area Tal walked up to a little girl and asked her, "Why do you have Hannah Montana on your shirt?" This may seem like a rather innocuous question but....HOW DOES MY FOUR-YEAR OLD KNOW WHO HANNAH MONTANA IS? Apparently, not only does he know who she is...but he is familiar enough to recognize her picture on a T-Shirt!!

This followed up a visit to Target on Tuesday where he excitedly exclaimed, "Look Sissy, it's the Dreamer Design Dollhouse!!" So this has to be commercialism at it's finest! I mean seriously either he is some sort of genius who can read packaging perfectly OR we watch WAYYY too much Nickelodeon. My sister blocked Nick from her TV because she was tired of hearing her son ask for things from their commercials...her decision is making a lot more sense to me now...and everytime I hear a chorus of "I want that!"

Ten for Texas

Two of my friends and I ran a 10 mile race a couple weekends ago. I was coming out of recovery from being injured and then sick for a few weeks...and let's just say it wasn't my finest hour! At mile two I started to question whether I would be able to complete the entire 10 - I was really feeling cruddy :) Anyway, the race photographer emailed us some pics and I thought I would share them...just so you can really appreciate how "great" I was feeling that day...

...the good news is that we did a 20 mile training run this Saturday and it felt much better...and I can still walk :)

The Incredibles!

So for Halloween I had this great idea that we would dress up as the Incredibles (you know - from the Disney Movie) since our family had all the characters covered. About three days before Halloween I realized that I hadn't figured out how I was going to do this yet. Luckily, I was in Utah where my mom and sister helped me scour the shelves of Target for all the right pieces. It turned out pretty cute (Andy did wonder about my sanity when I took the kids trick-or-treating in leggings and a swim-suit bottom! [I forgot Spencer was here too - so he probably thought I was really crazy]) and it was fun. I couldn't get Andy to commit to the full-tights and gloves outfit but he did wear an Incredibles shirt under his suit - kind of like Superman :)

We flew home from Utah on Halloween and I let the kids wear their costumes on the plane - I think it earned us a few bonus points with the crew and they were easy to spot as the raced through the airport!



All the kids at a neighborhood Halloween Party!


Naomi (aka Violet) and Tal (aka Dash) - this picture doesn't really do the costumes justice - they really looked very cute :)



Andy didn't tell me my shirt was see-through. Thanks hon!

Don't we look like serious crime fighters? Interesting that I'm the only one smiling...hmmm

Tal's Birthday

His expressions says it all!


Yep that's right - it's reversible!!



I have been promising I would post so - here I go. Tal had his fourth birthday in October! It was great fun - he has been asking for a "Batman, Superman and Spiderman" birthday party since his birthday last year so I scoured the internet and found some great ideas for a superhero training camp birthday party (thank you Google!). We had the kids start with a moon-bounce moonlighting as an anti-gravitational chamber. Next, they used super soakers to shoot "bad-guys" (aka Mc-Donalds toys) off of the deck balcony. Then, with Andy's help they had to pass fitness training - this was an obstacle course Andy set up - they slid down a slide, under a rope, through a tunnel and up a ladder to rescue one of Naomi's dolls - it was a huge hit. Finally, they graduated - they each got a super-hero cape (it started out as a great idea but Tal's was the only one I got completely finished) and a can of silly-string. Why the silly-string you ask? Because "Monster Daddy" (aka Andy) was coming and all the super-hero's had to use their weapons to stop him! Andy was a pretty good sport. Anyway, it was fun - probably the last "fun" party I throw for a while - so I hope Tal enjoyed it :)

Setting up for target practice - these water guns were bigger than most of the kids :)

Part of the obstacle course. I tried it and couldn't get through that tunnel :)

Okay so not the most creative cake ever. Basically we just through some superhero toys on top!

Silly String!

Isn't she the cutest superhero?

I told you Andy was a good sport - these guys were serious :)

All the newly graduated super-heros!!

This is hard work!



Presents! Tal really liked this part!

He's here...

Yeah! So happy this is going to be over!

I told you he looked like E.T. (I mean that in the most loving motherly way :))

Well after nine (long) months Calvin Glen Law has arrived! Sunday night I went to bed with a sharp pain in my side so Monday morning I went to the hospital to check it out and make sure everything was going okay...I was dilated to a 3 and completely effaced so they decided to induce me (hooray!!) Calvin was born at 2:05 Monday afternoon after about 5 hours of pain-free labor (I LOVE epidurals). He hit a speed bump coming out and got a little bruised in the face, their was meconium in the amniotic fluid and the cord was wrapped so tightly around his neck that they had to cut it off - but even with those few hitches the birth was quick and (relatively) easy. I am absolutely smitten by this little guy - he is so sweet and LITTLE! I can't believe how little they come - even though at 8 lbs 3 oz he is by far our biggest baby. Andy has been wonderful and is being the full-time Mr. Mom at the moment. We are so grateful for our family - a little overwhelmed at times but grateful still. Tal and Naomi love their brother! Naomi couldn't stop laughing when she first saw him. Tal promptly told Calvin he was going to teach him to play football :) I will post more pictures as soon as I find my camera cord but here are a couple to hold you over :)

Warning: Extensive babbling follows...

I was reading my sisters blog and she was posting about simplification - it started me thinking...I could stand a little simplification in my life. I think I see that need especially with my kids - it is so easy to fill their lives with toys, activities and cartoons that they never have a chance to just be kids. You know, spend time imagining the tub is a boat, or pretending to be pirates and princesses. I am really trying to shut off the TV and just let my kids be kids. It's interesting, I think in a way it scares me to take all of the distraction out of their lives because then (gasp!) they might want to play with me, and sometimes (I know it sounds ridiculous) that just seems overwhelming. But what I am finding is that they have wonderful imaginations and are great at playing and creating themselves. Sometimes they want to play - but that's okay it's good for momma too! I am so grateful I was a kid in Idaho - in a lot of ways it was such a different world - sort of a Leave It to Beaver life, but it taught me some really good life lessons like the importance of imagination, spending time outside, and interacting with other kids. Some days are better than others - but I hope in the end my kids get enough time to play and pretend and that in some small way it can contribute to a fuller life for them.

I LOVE YOU!!!

Naomi has this habit of picking up on phrases and then repeating them over and over and over again (read: slighty annoyed yet strangely amused). Her latest phrase is I love you. It always starts out as a sweet I wuv you. However, be warned: if you do not repsond with a prompt "I love you too" it quickly escalates until she is screaming at the top of her lungs "I WUV YOU!" This is not cute (it can be funny) because her scream sounds more like a growl and anyone who has heard her growl can attest to the fact that she can sound amazingly demonic/possesed at times :)

Tal and I were eating lunch a couple of days ago and he asked me what Calvin was going to eat. I told him, trying to keep in simple, that since Calvin is in my belly he eats what I eat. He thought about that for a minute and then asked quite straight-faced, "Mom, does Calvin have a kitchen in there?" It was pretty funny.

NAPS

(just imagine that in my head I am screaming this) OKAY. SO IGUESS TAL IS DONE TAKING NAPS. I AM HAVING A HARD TIME WITH THIS. IT'S NOT THAT HE WON'T STAY IN HIS ROOM FOR THE HOUR LONG "QUIET TIME" OH YES, HE DOES THAT VERY WELL(HE'S BEEN THREATENED WITH A COLD SHOWER). what is making me mad is that ... HE NEEDS A NAP. NOT JUST BECAUSE HE'S CRANKY AND FALLS ASLEEP IN THE CAR WHEN HE DOESN'T GET ONE. but also, because HE'S TIRED! DOESN'T HE KNOW THAT I AM HIS MOM AND I KNOW WHAT IS BEST FOR HIM???? when i say go to sleep i mean GO TO SLEEP NOW!!!

okay, I feel a little better. I suppose I will just give up a little control here - ah it begins :)

P.S. I just told Tal to come out of his room - I made him stay two hours today trying to force the issue to no avail (can you believe he will play in his room quietly for two hours) as soon as I said (in a surrendering voice) "Okay Tal you can come down" I hear this sigh from his room as he says "Thanks mom!" What a sweet kid.

Loser

Okay so I am the only loser in my family not to have posted in the last month. Sorry. I've just been in one of those funks where sitting down for five minutes to write seems overwhelming. For example as I sit here writing Talmage is crying upstairs (he's supposed to be going to bed - but is mad because he can't find spiderman) and I am trying to talk myself out of a rage blackout (or throwing him in the cold shower) and trying to talk myself into being a good mom and going to comfort him. Does anyone else experience these supreme internal battles?
For all of those who haven't heard it is definitley a boy! Yeah! We think it will be little Calvin and every morning Tal will get up and say really loudly (at my belly) "GOOD MORNING CALVIN! HOW ARE YOU?" then Naomi will start hollering in the general direction of my belly "GOO MOOING CAW... MA MA WO WA" It's pretty hilarious.
Tal is surprising me with his spontaneous good behavior lately. For example today we went to the park. He, as usual, got stuck on this climbing wall thing so I went over and started talking him down. When he was just about on solid ground he looked over at me and said, "Thank you for teaching me how to get down Mom." Kids are hilarious.

Okay, I've got to go comfort my screaming child now.