Baby Jesus

So, if you've read my face book post, you know I put up our Christmas decor last night. I have two nativities, one I picked out myself our first Christmas together and goes on top of the mantel, the other is a little broken already from being put up at Time Out a few years, so it goes on the end table and the kids can play with it. Grace LOVES babies right now, so she went straight for baby Jesus. After briefly telling the kids the Christmas Story, I let them play. A few minutes later, Grace called me over to look. They had arranged all the people (even Mary) in a circle around the Baby and informed me that Jesus was getting his Baby Blessing. It was so cute!

My Kids

I know its been awhile since I blogged, I have no excuse. I wanted to take a minute to brag about my kids. Last night I had one of those moments where I was just so grateful to my Heavenly Father for these miracles he has trusted me with.

Hunter is getting so smart! He is learning a ton at his preschool. He surprised us yesterday by reciting all the months. I had no idea he even knew what month we are in now, let alone all 12 months names! He is beginning to read two letter sounds (i.e. ta, te, ti, to, and tu) and we have even noticed his speech getting better! He is such a good boy and strives to be better. When you tell him he is being bad, he reacts by being worse, but when you tell him that the way he's acting makes you sad, he wants to make you happy so he will try hard to be good. He has memorized his part for the children's sacrament program, and knows most of the words to the songs. He always wants to help at home and is so good at putting away the silverware, that he likes to take the ones that are already in the drawer out, then match them all! He loves to have me come in to check his room once he's cleaned it and gets very excited! I love this boy so much!

Grace loves Hunter so much. This September was very hard on her when Hunter started school. She would cry any time ANY of us left her, either with my mother in law, a babysitter, or at the childcare center. She has never been clingy, but she's always had Hunter... She has gotten used to him being gone in the mornings now, and Chris has switched shifts to swings, so he's home in the morning with her. The mornings have allowed Chris and Grace to bond with each other. Grace is very tough physically, most likely from being the youngest, and getting bullied by her brother, but has a very tender spirit. She cried in church last month when I was holding her. "I'm happy, tecause I love you so much, that's why I'm crying." she tearfully told me when I asked her why she was sad. She also will start crying if anyone else is crying, and is very good to give comforting hugs. She is learning so much as well, she knows all of Hunter's letter flashcards and has memorized her sacrament meeting part, too. She loves to put all her babies asleep at various times during the day, and will come out whispering for us to be quiet. I'm so lucky to have such a sweet little girl!

What do you want to be when you grow up?

So we went out to Chinese with Chris' Dad and sister who are up to visit. When it came time to open fortunes, Hunter's said he will go far in the medical profession. I looked at Chris and said "Yes, our son's going to be a doctor!" Hunter tilted his head and asked "Am I really going to be a doctor?" So I gave him the parental pep talk of "you can be anything you want". He thought about that for a while, then exclaimed "OK, I'm going to be a Sir!" and put his finger on top of his lip like a mustache. I'm not sure where he came up with that, but it was pretty cute.

Smoking or Non?

So I had to share a cute story about Hunter. Well, cute might be the wrong word, let's just say that it's cute now, but at the time it was just embarrassing. Hunter has started to notice when people smoke around him, and we've been teaching him that it will make you sick, and is bad. So the other day we were coming out of Costco, and it was obvious that someone had just put out a cigarette. Hunter said "Mommy, some one's smoking out here! They're going to get sick." I nodded, and kept walking toward our car. A few spaces from where we were parked, Hunter saw a lady smoking in her car with the windows rolled down. He pointed at her and said loudly (I'm sure loud enough for the lady to hear, however I didn't look back to see) "Look Mommy, there she is, that's the lady that's been smoking!!!" I pretty much threw the groceries in the car and booked it outta there.

Poison Hunter

In May, Hunter got in to Poison Something. We still aren't completely sure what it was. The doctor put him on steroids and gave us some cream to put on. He told us the steroids would make him hungry, grumpy, and not want to sleep. He was on them for seven of the longest days of my life. He would burst in to tears because Grace looked at him wrong, and refused to go to bed until after ten every night (which might not seem that late, but he normally goes to bed at eight). It's been a couple months now, and he still has a slight scar on both cheeks. Here's some pictures of the worst of it.

HuJo

I have always been a nickname girl, so when Chris told me our first son's name would be Hunter Joseph, I racked my brain for a nickname. When Hunter was few months old, Chris and I came up with HuJo (pronounced Hoo-Joe) for HUnter JOseph. We called him that for awhile, then it kinda faded, but lately we've started using it again. The other day, I was talking to him about something, and I called him Hunter. He looked at me and said "Mo-om, call me HuJo". So, I guess that means he likes it.... ;)

Up

I took the kids to see Up last Thursday. It's the first time Grace has been to the theater. It was a lot of fun. The movie was great! Perfect for a 3 and 4 year old, so there wasn't too many scary parts! I admit, I cried a few times, but I dare you to see it and not tear up. I had a really good time, it reminded me of going to the Garland with my mom when I was little. We got a large popcorn and pop to share, and I brought little brown bags so they could hold their own popcorn. I love that my kids are getting old enough to do these kind of things, now. The only bad thing was the price, but we went to the matinee, which helped a little. It was worth the $25, though.

Gracie May, What can I say?

Once upon a time, on a Monday long, long, ago (or just last Monday), I decided to mow the lawn. We had a Root Beer tasting party (totally fun group fhe idea) to go to that evening, so I started about 3 to give me plenty of time to shower and get the kids ready after I was done. About one round into it, Hunter comes running over to me, Grace close behind, with a worried look on his face. I stop and ask if everything is OK, and he says "No, Grace locked us out of the house". Grace immediately says "sorry I do that Mama". I think, OK the back door is unlocked, and the garage door is probably unlocked as well. I go check them out, and surprise, surprise, she, in fact, locked all of them. On to the windows I go. All are locked except (look for the irony) Grace's. I pop out her screen, slide open her window, and shove Hunter through to be our hero and unlock the doors. I start to head around front, when I hear his panicked "Mommy!!" I run back over to the window and he proceeds to tell me that Grace's door is locked from the hallway (we have latches to keep them out or in depending on the crime). At this point, I give up hope of making the party, and start wondering how I can hitch a ride with my 2 kids (without car seats) (or money) into town to pick up Chris' keys. I ask to borrow our neighbor's phone, and make the call to Chris. He asks one of his co workers who gets off at 4:30 if she would mind bringing me the key. She said that would be fine, so I decided to finish mowing the lawn while I waited. The only problem was, I was upset and used less caution than normal and ran over part of a stump, which bent my blade. I have no clue about lawn mowers, so I thought I had broken the whole thing. So now I'm close to tears, sweaty, with a 4 yr old asking how come I broke the lawn mower and a 3 yr old saying she's sorry she locked us out. Enter neighbor: He asks if there's anything he can do, and I'm about to ask for either a shot of whisky or a shot in the head, but his son chimes in and says how he's locked his parents out lots of times, and his dad is an expert on taking off hinges. So in goes Justin (my neighbor) into Grace's (messy) room. He takes off the hinges, and Hunter squeezes through the crack (because the door can't come completely off due to the hook on the outside), and unlocks the front door for us. Justin also informs me that you can buy replacement blades for the lawn mower, and that I'm more than welcome to use theirs to finish the job. And we also made the party. The end.

Something Tony Alluded To....

So after reading one of Tony's blogs, I realized something I miss about the climates of places I used to live. I miss being able to take good weather for granted. If I wanted to waste a beautiful day inside, or had to work, or catch up on housework, it didn't matter. Tomorrow was just as likely to be nice. But here, if it's sunny, I feel like I have to drop everything and go outside. If I'm at work, it's worse, because I can't go outside, I just have to stare at the sunshine out the window and wish... Last Monday was my day off, my "day off" actually means my "laundry day". But, it was nice, so I had to go outside or die from lack of sunshine. Did the laundry get done? Well, what's your definition of done? Clean? yes. Folded and put away? no.

Preschool

We registered Hunter for preschool the other day. It's in a private Christian school K-12. Hunter is so excited, he asks me every day if it's time to go to his new school, yet. I'm not sure how I feel. On one hand, I'm ready to see Hunter blossom and grow. On the other hand (and, by the way, there could be six or seven hands), I WANT MY BABIES BACK. I haven't reached the point where I want to run down the street, chasing the bus, but I'm getting there. We'll see how I feel in the fall...

Imagine That!

Ok, I don't have enough to write about under the other name, so I'm switching gears. We finally had another "first" in our parenting. Hunter got really scared last night. I was in our bedroom reading when I heard him let out a screech. He ran in crying and said something scary had "poked" him in the back and made him sit up. I had just checked in on him 10 minutes before that and he was sound asleep, so I knew it must have been a very vivid dream. I hugged him and let him come lay in bed with me until he fell back asleep, then I went and put him back to bed. I can't believe that I'm the adult now. Instead of being comforted, I'm the one comforting. It looks like Hunter must have gotten my vivid imagination. From the stories Grace tells, she's got it, too. Poor Chris!

My Children's "Shoebox"

I have a shoebox on top of my closet that I've had for 12 years and at least 10 moves. It's full of old letters that my friends wrote to me at various times in my youth. Every now and then,I'll be feeling sentimental, and I'll drag that box off the corner top shelf, and reread them. They show me a little bit of what I was like back then. Since I am not the writer, only the receiver, of these letters, I also see what my friends were like. Some of the letters I remember. I remember what I was doing when I read them. There is one from my childhood best friend that I remember reading in the kitchen when I lived in Arizona. I remember it because it filled me with disappointment in the choices she was making, and made me realize we were drifting apart. Another is from my "cousin". I remember reading it sitting in my room in Washington. She is a few years older that me, so I remember feeling somewhat honored that she, a mature high school student, would be associating with me, a lowly 8th grader! There was email when I received these letters, but we weren't quite comfortable using it. There were cell phones, but we didn't own them. These letters are a snapshot of my youth, a piece that I would've forgotten over time if not for them. I've had my current email address for over five years, but not one of my saved emails is older that a year. Does this mean that when I hit 50, I won't remember, nor have any way of remembering, little pieces of my life? And what of my children? They will probably never hand write a letter to any of their friends. Sure, they can save their emails and texts, but will they? What will be my children's "shoebox"?

Valentine's Day

Ahh, Valentine's day! How different we view you as we get older. When you're a child, it's a day you get chocolate and sweetheart candy! You also have to pass out Valentines to all the kids in your class... even the ones you don't like! Then, when you're a teenager, it's the day you try to act nonchalant if you don't have a date... "oh, is it Valentine's day? I hadn't noticed with my busy schedule and all..." As a married adult, though, it takes on a whole new meaning, especially if you've been married for a few years, have kids, and are broke! To me, it means (sticks thumbs in ears, wiggles fingers, and chants) "I'm gonna get some, I'm gonna get some, nananabooboo"

The Host

Warning: SPOILERS


Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away.
Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity has succumbed.
When Melanie, one of the few remaining "wild" humans is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.
Wanderer probes Melanie's thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer's mind with visions of the man Melanie loves—Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love.


OK, so I guess my first blog is going to be about Stephanie Meyer's "The Host". All who know me, know that I love romance. Arrogant macho men undone by love and misunderstood vampires having human emotions. So this was a weird book choice for me, I probably would not have read it if I hadn't loved the "Twilight" saga. Stephanie Meyer's style of writing seems to suck you right in. I started reading "The Host" during my lunch hour at work. The first few days it was easy enough to go back to work and leave the fictional world behind for another 24 hours. But on Wednesday, chapter 7 hit, and the book became addicting. I couldn't stop thinking about it as I returned to work. On the drive home. While making dinner. 8:00, the magic bedtime number for my kids, couldn't come fast enough, and once it hit, I was sunk. I emerged briefly around 2 am to my husband's confused question "why are you still up?" as he grabbed a glass of water. I mumbled something unintelligible without looking up so I wouldn't lose my place. 4:30 came, and with it, the end of the book.

Could I go to sleep after that? Yes, but it took awhile as I contemplated body snatchers, the meaning of the word "human", and inter-species love. The last was something I've thought about before, as vampires have become sort of an addiction to me (as a lot of the female reader population have, it seems. What is it about a guy with fangs that makes us want to wear a T-shirt claiming "Willing Blood Donor"?) But never in the sense of aliens, so it was an interesting thought train.

I love Melanie's character. The word I would use to describe her is "fierce". She hates fiercely and loves fiercely. She has such strong emotions, which is why she won't disappear in the first place. She is definitely someone you want in your corner. I had some laugh out loud moments with her. Her smart mouth is a source of constant turmoil for Wanderer. The developing friendship between the two girls is well written. They come together by chance, but once they learn to work with instead of against each other to survive, they find their emotions becoming one. They come to rely on each other for advice, sometimes arguing, sometime agreeing on the best course of action.

I admit to being one of the "Twilight" fans that was a tad disappointed at the end of "Breaking Dawn", so I was wary as the book came to a close. Perhaps because I was setting myself up for disappointment, or maybe because I was a little sleep-deprived, but most likely because it was easier for Stephanie to give the HEA with this book, I was pleasantly surprised when the last page turned, and I shut the book. The ending left me filled with contentment. Although I hope and pray there will be a sequel, I wasn't left hanging with "what now?"

I would definitely rate this book an A. Any book that I stay up to the wee hours of the morning for deserves an A.