Thank Goodness for the Philodendron

When we moved into our house my mother-in-law gave me this beautiful philodendron plant. She didn't have space for it. I was hesitant to take it at the time--not only do I not have a green thumb, it seems I've been cursed with a black one. Most... dare I say all plants which come under my care are doomed. All except this wonderfully gracious and forgiving philodendron. I remember someone telling me at the time that it is almost impossible to kill one. Something like, "Just give it a little water every once in awhile and it will be fine. They're pretty hearty." Thankfully, this has proven to be true which deepens my appreciation for the plant itself, almost giving me a relationship with it. For me, it has come to symbolize everything in my life that does not get the deserved attention and still survives. Things like the shower walls and the ironing.... and my blog, of course. The job of homemaking leaves plenty of room to feel guilty and overwhelmed. I think I'm better off realizing that some things are going to be okay if they're put off until tomorrow, or many tomorrows, or until my kids are grown up. (Hopefully I'll scrub out my shower at least a few times between now and then.) Anyway, that's what I think of when I look at this plant. Then I remember that I should probably water it.

Head Shoulders Knees and Toes

I've tried to post this cute video of Monica several times but have only just succeeded due to some spotty internet and other technical difficulties. Anyway, this is from our family reunion this last July. Hope you enjoy our cute Monica.

The Hot Tamamas! Running the Ragnar

I know this is just what you've all been waiting for: pictures of the Ragnar Relay trip. It was so much fun, though it was definitely the hardest thing I've done.

Thursday Night

Decorating the Vans and put-luck dinner with the team.

Then the ladies in van 1 and spent the night in a hotel to be there for a 7:30 AM starting time.

Check out Katrina's the pepper-wrapping skills. I was impressed.

This is Tristalene writing "Sweet and Spicy" on our windows, and

Christine is in the background busting out more decorative streamers and ribbons.

This is me painting flames on the bottom of the van.

Friday morning

We woke up and met with the other Van 2ers. We drove about 2 hours north and met up with the first 1/2 of the team around 12:30. Then we all ran our respective legs! I was runner 8, so this is me running my first leg of 3.4 miles.

This is our whole van after Tristalene, runner 12, finished her leg. We were so excited! A third of the way done.

(Notice the pepper strapped to the top of the van.)

Friday Night

After we finished the first legs we went and got Subway sandwiches and drove to our next big exchange where we would meet van 1 again. It was about 9:30 and we were expecting them around 11:30 so we unrolled our sleeping bags on the grass at the high school. There were people sprawled out everywhere and vans coming and going, plus we were still excited and wanting to be ready when our other van got there... needless to say, we didn't get any sleep. But they arrived at 11:30 and Dana took off on our first night run. We didn't take any good pics of our night runs because they wouldn't turn out very well. But we all had to wear reflective vests and head lamps and tail lights. It also got very cold. But we did it! Tristalene finished her run right around 5:00 in the morning, just as the sun was coming up. It was pretty inspiring and crazy. Then we drove to our next big exchange and rolled our sleeping bags out on the gym floor at that high school. I was very glad it was inside this time! I have never been so grateful for an hour and a half of sleep in my life! We all woke up around 6:45 and prepared for our last stretch of the race.

Saturday Morning

This is us that morning after we all put our team t-shirts on.

We were super sore but anxious to get going again.

This is me after I ran my last leg and snapped the snap bracelet on Elizabeth.

This is all 12 of us after we crossed the finish line!

We had just collectively run 188 miles. Whew! Go Hot Tamamas!

Teefers!

Here is one cute baby girl

And here are her new teeth in all their splendor!

Don't let the adorable smile lure you into sticking your finger in there...

Mr. Smarty Pants

A couple of vignettes about Cally-wag. You probably won't think they're as funny as I do, but as his mother I feel compelled to share the joy.

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This morning we made fruit smoothies with our breakfast. It was just funny listening to a four-and-a-half year old explain to a two-and-a-half year old what a brain freeze is. It sounded something like, "No, Monica-- a brain freeze! Like, my BRAIN is FREEZING!"

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Two nights ago in the car Cal started intently pounding out a rhythm on his booster seat and asked me to guess what song it was. I listened a couple of times. "Is it from a movie?" "No, it's from church." Hmmmm. I started going through all the recent primary songs in my mind, to no avail. Jeff couldn't figure it out either. Finally after about 3 or 4 more times I said, "I don't know. Do you want me to keep guessing or do you want to just tell me?" "It's Death Shall Not Conquer, Mom." Jeff and I looked at each other. We were both pretty sure there's not a hymn called "Death Shall Not Conquer." "I wish there was a hymn called that," Jeff joked under his breath to me. Then after a couple of minutes he (Jeff) started humming "Praise to the Man." We all sort of had it on our brains because the choir had just sung it in Sacrament Meeting, but Jeff had made some subconscious connection that "Praise to the Man" has a line that says, "Death shall not conquer the hero again." Aha! And sure enough, the rhythm fit.

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We live by this open space that is populated by some kind of cotton tree variety. On a summer afternoon the wind picks up and tufts of cotton blow through the streets. Sometimes it looks like it's snowing. Yesterday we were driving somewhere and saw some fluff floating around and Cal said, "Mom! Guess what! Cotton candy is a kind of pink fluff.... that you can eat!! It's like you think you can't eat it, but you CAN! It's weird!"

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On the return trip I noticed that a crayon that had been sitting in the sun in our car was a little squishy. I thought the kids would get a kick out of it, so I showed them how I could bend it and tried to explain that that's what wax does when it's warm. Cal wanted to try to bend a couple of the crayons on the way home. When we did arrive home and get out of the car, his whole face lit up and he said something like, "Mom, I have a GREAT idea! I'm going to put these crayons in hot water and bend them, and then put them in cold water and bring them back to life!" He then turned our upstairs bathroom into a crayon-bending factory, with hot water in one sink and cold water in the other. Now he calls them rainbow crayons, so if you want any let me know. I know someone who would love to make some for you. :)

Ouchie

Three days ago Monica woke up with a random puffy, red eyelid. It's stuck around this whole time and finally today the swelling started to go down. She hasn't complained about it too much... I think it looks more painful than it is. Jeff finally figured it's a chalazion, which is sort of like a sty on the inside of the eyelid. Poor sweetie. She looks a little like she got in a street fight, but I still think she's super cute.

Uhh... My Kid Eats Rocks.

Should I be concerned?

The funniest part was watching her look at me when I'd take a rock away, quickly deciding it wasn't worth throwing a fit or trying to get it back.

Better to go for another one.

Chatfield Charger Cake

April, these pics are for you. This is the graduation cake I made for my sister-in-law Megan. Her high school mascot is (was) the Chatfield Chargers, with colors burgundy and silver.

Love you, Megan. Wilton, I love you too.

Cal's Preschool Program

Here's a short clip from Cal's Preschool's "Spring Sing."

You can really hear him singing his little heart out.

We love you, Miss Patti!

Jayne-Jayne's Sucker

This afternoon I was upstairs putting Natalie down for her nap when I heard some disconcerting wailing from downstairs. Though not exactly surprised, since this frequently happens when I leave Cal and Monica in a room together, I tried to figure out who's voice it was and what was being said. Monica. Something about the sucker she had gotten from our trip to the bank and had been working on the whole way home. "MY SUCKER IS asoifh ;falshf;aihfjae!" It was very sad and seemingly important to a 2 1/2 year old, whatever it was. I couldn't do anything about it until I went down there since I had a half-asleep baby in my arms... I just figured either Cal had taken the sucker away or she had dropped it in the dirt or something. Finally Nat's bottle was gone. I put her down and hurried downstairs. "What did you say, Monica? WHAT's wrong with your sucker?"

"My sucker is getting smaller!!!"

She was seriously so convinced there was something wrong. I just thought it was pretty funny and cute.

Heh heh heh...

I acknowledge that I have really been having a hard time blogging lately and so have probably lost credibility with most of you, my esteemed readers. However, that being said, I just wanted to post a link to my brother-in-law's blog because it is so funny. I just finished reading through some of his posts and I wanted to share them with you. If you like reading funny things and you spend any significant time on the computer, this will definitely give you something to add to your google reader. He updates it regularly and each of his posts are hilarious. (No, this is not the same brother-in-law that wrote the novel... I have a lot of brothers-in-law.) Anyway, if you like it, I'm sure it would be fine if you add it to your link list.

Go to his blog here: Chaka's World

He also is a personal trainer by profession and has a health blog

he keeps up on, if you're interested.

Visit his health blog here: Healthy Chaka

What Is This Man Doing?

I know it just looks like he's ice skating, but what he's really doing is ROCKING the Residency/Elder's Quorum world! I just want to say that he carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. It ain't easy, but he's carrying it so well. He truly amazes me more day by day. And yet he still makes me feel so important, and makes time for our kids. I don't understand how it's possible but I feel so grateful to him and for him in my life.

Yummy Creamy Mushroom Peas

Yesterday I had a yummy main course planned for dinner and I was trying to come up with worthy sides. I didn't quite make it to the store like I had planned and I was basically out of fresh vegetables, besides the ones we'd had the night before. At this point, I usually resort to the can, but yesterday I realized I was sick of non-appealing vegetable dishes that you eat purely out of guilt! I wanted something yummy! (And something I already had all the ingredients for.) So I went to allrecipes.com and this is what I found. Yum! Here's the link if you want...

Creamy Mushroom Peas

Ingredients

• 2 cups frozen green peas
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 small chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 cup light cream
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg

Directions

1. Fill a small saucepan with one inch of water. Bring to a boil, add peas, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add mushrooms and onions, and cook for a few minutes, or until tender. Sprinkle flour over the mushrooms, and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in cream, and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Cook, stirring until smooth and thick. Stir in peas, and remove from heat. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Our Kids

I've been seriously suffering from blogger's block for a long time! But this evening my sister-in-law told me to post some pictures of my kids which I haven't done forever. I'll also tell you a bit about what they've been up to lately.

Natalie

a.k.a. Nat-nats, Raye-raye, Squirmy-Wormy, Stinkah Number 3

Started rolling around about a month ago. Just started getting good at sitting up. This week she learned how to push up off her chest. (See video below.) She looks ready to take off crawling at any moment. Got a contagious smile. Doesn't care too much for jarred baby food, but has to eat it anyway. Her hair is coming in a little funny on top but it makes a great comb-over. She loooooooves her big brother and sister!

Monica

a.k.a. Jane-stah, Jayne Jayne, Stinkah Number 2

Seriously, almost everything that comes out of her mouth makes me think, "Are you for real? Could there possibly be any cuter 2 year old?!?" This evening she asked me if Heavenly Father was our bishop. And at dinner, in response to a mysterious noise from the basement she said, "Dat's dust the dump-a-pump (Translation: that's just the sump pump). It's not a monster." Phew.

Had a little run-in with the mascara. Just trying to be like mom.

Callahan

a.k.a. Cally-wag, Wags, Stinkah Number 1

Rocking the Pre-school world. Was asked to sing a solo in the primary program. He is so creative, it often blows me away! He's the king of building with legos and taking pictures of random objects. He can be so sweet and practical when I take time to listen to him and make sure that we're not too busy and running around.

Love you, kiddos!

A Cool Song by Keane

Over the last few months I've been getting more into this band called Keane. I wanted to share this first song on the playlist because to me it sort of depicts marriage, and specifically the aspect of marriage that is not easy.

I especially love the bridge when it says,

"Lay down your arms and I will lay down mine,

Rip back the time that we've been wasting."

Isn't it true that sometimes we fight over petty things that are SUCH a waste of time! If we could just remember that we're really on the same team. It's just not always easy. So what do you do? You Try Again.

(This is in no way supposed to be interpreted as a complaint against my totally awesome husband...! It's just that these are things that I've learned and felt that have made my relationship with him even more meaningful and sweet.)

Anyway, the lyrics are below. I hope you like it.

(The other songs are good too...)

I fell asleep on a late night train
I missed my stop and I went round again
Why would I wanna see you now?
To fix it up, make it up somehow

Baby I'll try again, try again
Baby I die every night, every time

What I was isn't what I am
I'd change back but I don't know if I can

Still I'll try, try again, try again
Baby I die every night, every time

But I was made the way I am
I'm not a stone; I'm just a man
Lay down your arms and I will lay down mine
Rip back the time that we've been wasting

God I wish you could see me now
You'd pick me up and you'd sort me out

Baby I'll try again, try again
Baby I die every night, every time

Serve, Serve, Serve!

I was listening to Mosiah Chapter 2 today on my ipod while I was doing dishes and it gave me a nice chance to think about how critical the commandment to serve is!... I was thinking about how service is truly more for the benefit of the servant than the person being served. I certainly don't act on all the promptings to serve that I should, but I've been so grateful for the joy that comes from the times that I have acted on those promptings.

Then I saw this video this evening and thought I'd post it since it's so easy and I've had zero desire to post anything lately. Anyway, I hope this gives you something to think about. I for one am definitely guilty of getting "caught up in the thick of thin things" and putting things off.

For example, there was a really nice single mom of four that lived across the street and I'd had several great conversations with her. We both like to scrapbook, so I kept meaning to befriend her and get together to scrapbook, or just get to know her better and see if I could help with anything. And tragically, I don't think she lives there anymore! Lately I've seen several moving trucks in front of that house and a lot of new people and not very much of her family. It really has been a humbling lesson to me NOT to put things off until tomorrow. So if you have anyone in your life that you've been meaning to do something nice for, I encourage you to go and do it...to stop making excuses and do it as soon as possible. You never know who needs a friend or how you're going to influence someone's life for the better. And just like President Monson says, that's the work of the Savior Jesus Christ that you're doing.