A Full-filling Weekend

I don’t know about you, but at about 8:15pm on a Friday night, my mind starts racing. I start thinking about all the things I want to do/accomplish on Saturday. It drives Brian a little crazy, because my list is far longer than the hours of the day can accommodate. It’s our one day of the week where we can be productive or have any kind of substantial outing. We had a packed, event-filled weekend. And even though we didn’t get everything done I wanted (Samantha’s room is still unpainted and the family room wall is still not sanded), I still had a sense of accomplishment.

Saturday:
8:30am- I take off for a morning run. Given how much we had to do that day, I decided it would be most efficient to run the 2 ½ miles to the grocery store, pick up the few ingredients I needed for a dessert I needed to make and then run home. You know how it goes, you always see additional things you need at the store. So I packed an additional 6 pounds on my back for the 2 ½ mile run home. Good training strategy, right? Next time, I’ll forgo the bananas—they don’t travel so well.

10-am our home teacher (friend from our church who pops in once a month to make sure we’re doing well) visits before he jets off to Hawaii tomorrow.

11am- Brian and Ella go birthday shopping for my birthday festivities on Sunday. I make dessert for Ward Halloween party, Sam goes down for a nap.

1pm- I leave for a baby shower

3:30pm- We prepare for Halloween party. Ella dons nail polish, lip gloss and blush. She is floating.

5pm- Ward Halloween party. We were a little bummed because the party is traditionally held on a farm in Potomac, owned by a family in the ward. It got rained out and moved to the church. However, it was complete with costume parade (we contributed the ballerina and the flower)

and piñata breaking.

All the kids were darling, well-behaved and had a great time.

Sunday:

Ella starred in the Primary program at church and we celebrated my 31st (!!!???)birthday. Brian treated us to a fabulous dinner of broiled salmon, feta/tomato pasta, steamed carrots and apple cider. My parents, grandma and friends Kimberlee (visiting my Mom from CA) and Leslie also joined us. It also happened to be Leslie’s birthday, too! I insisted she blow out the candles with me. My Mom came through with the PERFECT cake. It’s the only type of birthday cake I’ve ever had since childhood. Chocolate cake, chocolate frosting and mellowcreme pumpkins. My only requirements for cake. Yes, I know, those pumpkins are disgusting, but it’s all about tradition.

I was spoiled with gifts—two lovely tablecloths from my Grandmother (I’ve been in desperate need for a long time and have never done anything about it--see sad looking tablecloth above), a new outfit from my parents, jewelry hand-picked by Ella

and an iTunes giftcard and iPod sensor to track my mileage while I run. I'll be looking like this woman on the back of the package in no time!

All the right things to take me into my next year!

PS- Thanks, Gary and Rhonda for the wonderful bulbs--Ella and I got them in the ground on Friday! I'm excited for my Fritillaria next spring!

For Sale

One sister for sale! One sister for sale!


One crying and spying young sister for sale!

I'm really not kidding, So who'll start the bidding? Do I hear a dollar? A nickel? A penny?

Oh, isn't there, isn't there, isn't there any One kid who will buy this old sister for sale,This crying and spying young sister for sale?

You're a good sport, Ella.

Betcha Didn't Know...

Last week my friend Denise “tagged” me to supply a list of quirks. I will admit, I rolled my eyes and thought, really who wants to hear about my own mundane quirkiness? We all have it, I know. And actually, Denise’s was quite amusing. But why sum it all up in one post? I mean I’d feel better about it surfacing gradually.

And then as I was out for my morning run today, I was thinking about how one of my quirks is that I was probably personally responsible for the abrupt end of dozens of "chain" letters throughout my childhood. I disliked them, didn't believe they'd work (because I knew there were others like me). I was almost always the weak link. I think tagging is a lot like electronic chain letters--and I will stay true to form and probably not tag anyone further. However, during my run, I did come up with some random tidbits of my life. It’s a little more interesting and not so self-incriminating.

SO…betcha didn’t know:

-I took the MCAT (medical school entrance exam) in college, but never opened my scores. Seriously. Didn’t even peek. It drives Brian bonkers.

-I know how to implant human tumor into the epaxial muscle of mice. I have a lot of rodents in heaven waiting for me.

-I have had dinner with a US Supreme Court Justice. As in, I sat right next to him.

-I have climbed Mt. Sinai with a camel literally breathing down my neck. They are so gross.

-I swore a hundred times that I’d never marry a boy from Utah.

-I was once pulled over and ticketed for violating three traffic laws at once. (My 16-year old brazen self took it to court and got off because the police officer didn’t show up.)

-I once washed a load of white clothes with a dead bat. Lots of Clorox followed.

The End.

Neighborly Demolition

I went for a run the other morning and saw something unusual. A man walked out of the front door of his home, carrying a houseplant in each arm. It was at first a common scene--a man carrying out the last of his belongings before moving.

But on the other side of the house, waiting for him to leave was this:


Two minutes after he walked off the premises, this piece of equipment tore off the roof. Neighbors came out of their homes to witness the demolition. According to Brian it was the topic of discussion at the bus stop. Given that the land was valued more than the house, it was being torn down to build something like this:

I headed home so Brian could get to work and thought I would come and check on the progress in a couple of hours. For sure, it would take them all day to knock that house down. When I returned two hours later, this was the condition of the house:

If you enlarge the picture, you’ll see that only the chimney is left standing as well as the far wall of the house (with blinds hanging off the window). And I couldn’t stop thinking about this poor house all day. I felt kind of sad about it. Tearing down older, smaller homes to build big, new ones is a common occurrence in our neighborhood, but seeing the house come down struck me. A 50+ year old house, full of almost a lifetime of memories was obliterated in a couple of hours. Perhaps children were raised there or a couple grew old there together. Why is it that destruction comes so easily—that it can be done in a tiny fraction of the time it takes to build? It seems unfair. In the meantime, we'll watch the progress of the new home being built--a sign of birth or rejuvenation, right? Something like that.

Eight Years!

It’s funny how on your wedding day you just don’t think you could be ANY happier. And then eight years later you look back on that joyous day and realize that that was merely scratching the surface. Marriage does get better with age. Happy Anniversary, Bri. I love you.

Birthday Celebration-Stage 2

The party is officially over. I think we have adequately celebrated Ella turning 5. Saturday we had beautiful weather and entertained 12 children for two hours in Halloween costumes. I think I would have cried if it had rained and we had been confined indoors.

After yesterday's festivities, I decided there are two things only required for a successful party. The decorations don't matter. The games don't matter. The crafts don't matter. In fact my not-so-brilliant find-the-spider activity of following yarn strung around bushes, around trees fell apart. Kids were in tears, frustrated, wandering aimlessly around the yard, tied up in knots.

Next year, we're streamlining. Simplifying. Major party overhaul. The two things that seemed to work well this year:

Playing on the play set

And birthday cake

That's all we're doing next year. Two things. Live and learn.

A Five-Year Lesson

The other day I was at my parents’ home in Kensington, looking at a large family picture consisting of my parents, their seven children along with accompanying spouses and children. The picture was taken 7 years ago, following my Grandfather’s funeral in Bountiful, Utah. Recognizing that Ella and Samantha were not with us in the picture, I thought for a split second, “wonder what we did with our kids that day—who was watching them?” Obviously, it didn’t take long for it to occur to me that that photo was taken before Ella and Samantha were born. After that fleeting thought, I realized that although Brian and I have only been parenting for five years, it seems so strange to think of life before them. Rearing children is such an intense experience that our minds become cemented around our time with them, blurring earlier parts of our lives.

When Ella was first born, we of course received a number of heartfelt gifts and cards to welcome our new daughter. My Grandpa Munk, my stepdad’s father in Montpelier, Idaho, who has since passed away, sent us a sweet, two-sided, hand-written letter. I don’t think I’ve read the letter since that time, but I clearly remember his congratulations and his remark that “now your life has really begun.” I didn’t really know how that could be the case at the time. All I knew then was sleep in two-hour increments, sore breasts and black stretch pants. It sure didn’t feel like a new beginning to me.

And yesterday as we celebrated Ella’s fifth birthday, I saw the wisdom in his remark. I glow with pride over this happy, smart, witty, five year old. And Ella herself is only a piece of the new life of which my Grandfather spoke. I now know what it means to truly sacrifice for others—my children and my husband. I know how rearing children makes you fall in love with your spouse in a whole new way. And I know what it means to work hard every day alongside your spouse for a greater good—an eternal family. So I guess you could say I get it now. Or at least that’s what I’ve picked up so far.


That said—here is stage 1 of the 5-year old’s birthday celebration. Stage 2 comes on Saturday when she has her party with her friends (wich is really what she’s been anticipating).

1- Permission was granted for her to open her sweet birthday package from Grandma and Grandpa Bowcut first thing in the morning. With two new cute dresses included, it sure made her decision of what to wear for the day easy.



2- Heart-shaped waffles before school


3- Sporting a crown and birthday vest all day at school (supplied by her teacher).

4- Enjoying ice cream sandwiches with her classmates and passing out party favors.

5- Dinner and birthday celebration with Grandma and Grandpa Munk, Great-Grandma Spring and Aunt Miriam.

There would have been a picture of a very exhausted Mom, but I was too exhausted. Happy Birthday, Ella Bella. You are a true joy.