Celebrate!

Today has been a rather upsetting day...nonetheless, there was reason to celebrate and remember good times, so we'll move forward! Today is my Dad's birthday; he would have been 57 years old today. I found myself, several times today, recalling past birthdays with Dad. We were big on family parties-all the kids would write a card, and as we got older we would scrounge up enough money to buy a little present. I remember one year riding around the neighborhood on my bike searching through garage sales for a gift. I found a little wooden frame for 60 cents. I didn't have that much (I really meant scrounge!). So I went home and ransacked my bedroom for any spare change, and ended up taking a quarter from my Dad's change jar! I bought the little frame, put my school picture in it, and I think to this day, it is still on my Dad's nightstand. I don't think he ever knew he paid for a good portion of that gift! Most other birthdays reaped gifts of gatorade (or was it powerade?), shaving cream, and new button down shirts that were principal worthy. Rather than wrapping gifts each year, we would just put them in bags and have Dad close his eyes and guess what it was using whatever sense he thought might help him. I remember as I got older that when he would read my cards, he would get a little misty eyed. At that point I was coming to the point of truly appreciating and respecting my parents, and I think (and hope) that was apparent in my cards.

When my Dad passed away, I had a hard time figuring out how I could still honor him on his birthday. I decided to continue to buy him a card for his Birthday and write him a birthday note. The first year, I put it by his headstone in the cemetary. But since then, I have kept them in a special place; I reread them frequently, anytime I miss him. They always seem to usher in a sweet spirit, full of fond memories that my dad and I shared. This year I thought it would be nice to have the kids make cards as well. I'll just share Karianna's (above), as she threw Dad a pretty elaborate party-you'll notice Dad is holding the cake sideways, which I thought was a pretty amazing feat! You can click the picture to get a better view. Happy Birthday Dad! I love you and miss you each day, but am comforted to know that I will see you again someday!

Crayons are Yummy

Ever had one of those moments when you really wished you had a video camera trained on the kids at all times?

Tonite Jordan was playing with a pencil box full of crayons. When I glanced down at him, he was sitting cross legged, with both hands in his lap, just smiling from ear to ear, obviously very proud of himself for something. I goo goo-ed at him for a moment when he pulled one fist out of his lap. He was clutching a crayon and immediately put it in his mouth. I gently pulled it out and told him, no eating crayons-that's yucky. He simply smiled his huge smile back at me and very calmly pulled the other fist out of his lap, which was likewise clutching a crayon and immediately put that one in his mouth. Sneaky little fellow! Should have guessed that smile had a ulterior motive!

The Most Relaxed Zoo Trip Ever!

I think I am decided. Our family needs to get an annual pass to the Phoenix Zoo. Apparently, it is not too expensive-a couple of trips a year to the zoo for our whole family would pay it off pretty easily and end up saving us money in the long run.

But the number one reason for getting a pass would be the relaxation factor. Usually the zoo is an all day trip, packed with the intensity associated with seeing every animal before the kids completely lose it; gotta get the most for your buck, you know, especially when that buck is more like 20 per person.

However, I had a completely different zoo experience the other day when a good friend of our invited Karianna and I to the zoo. She has the type of family pass that can be extended to a few visitors as well. So we took her up on the offer and had a blast! We were there for about 2 hours-beautiful weather, no crowds, and a completely relaxed atmosphere. We let the girls dictate where we would go, how long we would stay, and when we would move on. We saw maybe a fourth, if that, of all the animals at the zoo, and ended the outing with a good half hour of play time at the zoo playground.

I left with a couple of conclusions: first, a big thanks to Kristine for letting us piggyback on her family pass! Second, it is so much fun for me to watch Karianna play with friends. Both Savannah and Lilly were there with us, and I loved seeing those three hanging out-sometimes literally, as the pictures below will indicate! Third, the family pass is the key to really enjoying the zoo. 2 hours and a fourth of the animals was great because with a family pass, you could go back anytime you wanted to see what you missed-no worries! Yup, family pass is the way to go. Here's just a few pictures of our time at the zoo-thanks again to Kristine and Jill for making the trip so fun!

Savannah, Lilly, and Karianna

The Hanging Around previously mentioned :) I love the facial expressions!

En Vogue-Strike a Pose Flamingos!

Catching a glimpse of the turtles sunbathing.

FHE Soccer Style

Last night for Family Home Evening we hiked it to the park with pizza and a soccer ball. I had a blast kicking that thing around with the kids (the ball, not the pizza, though that is a funny picture...)! It was so much fun to run around with them and practice dribbling the ball back and forth. I was pretty impressed with the kids-they are really good at soccer, and they weren't afraid to sacrifice their bodies for control of the ball! Another big perk-it felt so good to get out and play a sport. Sounds silly, I know-soccer with a toddler and a preschooler is a sport? Trust me, it is, and as a person who loves to play sports, it just felt so invigorating to get in the game! Good job kiddos-we're definitely going to take advantage of this lovely weather and play soccer more often!

Entitled

Jordan is a mere week and a half away from turning one-how'd that happen?!?! So many things about him still shout out "Baby", but so many other things evidence that he is growing way too big, way too fast. I think he is sensing the coming of age factor and deciding to try a few things. For example:

Almost-one-year-olds get to go swimming in the middle of winter.

Almost-one-year olds get to sit in big boy car seats.

Almost-one-year olds get to do picnics with their siblings-including apple slices, which is a favorite food these days.

Almost one-year-olds get to sleep in toy doll beds because that's just so comfortable.

Almost one-year olds get to be highly mobile in the bathtub with no concern for their own modesty.

Happy Almost-One-Year-Old Day Jordan!

Join the Brainstorm

Jared and I are brainstorming names for his blog, which is fictional as of yet, but real enough to necessitate a name. Here's what we've come up with so far-what's your vote? Or do you have an addition to the list?

1. I Will Go and Blog
2. Search, Ponder, and Blog
3. I Blog by Faith
4. Follow the Blogger
5. The Great and the Terrible Blog
6. You Know What I Mean?
7. LautenBloggerSchlager
8. Lautenblogger
9. Schlaging Blogging
10. Jared the Blogger Schlager
11. Jared Daniel Lotsofschlblogger
12. Schlager Blogger
13. Lots of Slobber Blogger

Can you tell we are feeling a little silly? I'm crying.

Karianna Quirks

After attending a double baptism....

Rachel: So, what was your favorite part about going to a baptism?
Karianna: Eating a cookie (refreshments).
Rachel: (Sigh. So much for having a good learning experience!)

After hearing a mom (who shall remain annoymous) burp...

Karianna: Daddy is big and Mom is little... but Mama burps big and Daddy burps little...that's weird.

SNAP!

Saturday is a special day, its the day we get ready for Sunday....as such, I gave Jared a very specific job to do while I fed Jordan and put him to bed: entice the kids to clean the loft. Now, as a wife, I know Jared doesn't particularly like cleaning the loft (especially when he probably thinks it will just be him cleaning rather than the kids, who are wizards at finding a fun distraction). So rather than just telling him to do that job, I used the oldest trick in the book-"in every job that must be done, there is an element of fun; you find the fun and.....SNAP! The job's a game!" Works for kids and adults apparently! Here's how it went: I told Jared to become the General, and the kids his army cadets. I told him to pass out orders-give Karianna a specific job and Go! Tell JD exactly what to pick up, where to put it and GO! Works every time! Jared seemed to go for it, and SNAP! The job's a game! Gotta love that Mary Poppins, right up there with Super Nanny. As the icing on the cleaning cake, I was reduced to giggles when I heard how Jared began the "game" with the kids: "Come on you maggots! You clean or you sleep in the garage in your underwear! Go go go! Left, left, left, right, left-move it, move it, move it!" Pretty funny! My husband is just awesome! SNAP!



DISCLAIMER: I embellished just a bit on Jared's dialogue, but the "maggots" part was all him!

Privacy Needed

I'll be making the blog officially private Friday evening 1/23, so if you would like an invite, let me know by then at ratchedyann@hotmail.com, or leave a comment with your email! If you already let me know, you're good!

Conversations with Nana

I had a few very interesting converations with Karianna yesterday. The first represented the pinnacle of her obsession with dental hygiene. Before I share this conversation, you have to remember that this is the little girl who was estatic at the idea of getting floss for Christmas. A few days ago one of her teeth was looking a little brown-just one, which was kind of weird. Nonetheless, we got her in the habbit of brushing after each meal and reiterated the importance of keeping her teeth clean. I thought those conversations were pretty upbeat and positive. Guess not, for this is what transpired after lunch yesterday:

Karianna had just finished eating a cookie and had a smear of chocolate on her front tooth. Very jokingly, I told her one of her teeth had turned brown! Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head, and she clapped a hand over her mouth in pure terror. She leaped down from her stool and raced up the stairs, screaming and crying at the top of her lungs-far too traumatized to hear my confused call inquiring what in the world was the matter. I followed her up only to find her frantically brushing her teeth. I asked her what was wrong, and with tears streaming down her cheeks, she told me she was afraid of getting a cavity, and that she didn't want brown teeth-she wanted white teeth. Since that moment, she has brushed her teeth no less than 7 times in the past 24 hours; after each tooth brushing episode, she asked me if her teeth looked white. I'm not sure if we have crossed the line with dental hygiene and ventured into the land of OCD...Needless to say, we had a good conversation with Karianna last night that hopefully relieved some of her concerns. Time will tell!

The second conversation was on a more serious note. We were working on memorizing the first two Articles of Faith and got into a discussion about Heavenly Father and Jesus. We were talking about where they live and when we get to see them. Karianna proceeded to ask some questions that kind of halted me in my tracks-these questions required some serious thought, not because I don't know the answers, but because explaining them to a 4 year old in a way that is comprehnsible is a bit of a quandry. Karianna wanted to know: How do we get to Heaven to see Heavenly Father and Jesus? What if I am too scared to talk to Heavenly Father and Jesus? Am I going to die soon and go back to Heavenly Father and Jesus? Eesh. I figured this could go either way-answers that bring comfort and joy, or answers that bring fear and uncertainty. Thankfully, the answers Jared and I gave her seemd to ease her concern, and there was a very sweet spirit present. It amazes me the things that my 4 year old can understand and believe with perfect faith.

I just finished reading a book series that has caused some major introspection on my part-what I can do to be a better parent and prepare my children for what faces them in the future. When I was young, I was always told by church leaders that my generation was a chosen generation; we had songs about it. :) The world is in a state of chaos, ruled by selfishness, greed, and a complete lack of morals. The Lord needs strong and righteous people to build up His kingdom now and prepare the way for the fullness of His gospel. I always believed that I had a role in this plan, and I do. However, it is different than what I originally thought, because rather than being in the front line of battle, I have been giving the responsibility of raising the warriors who will be in that front line. These conversations with Karianna, and all of my interactions with my children just remind me every day that they are the righteous spirits that have been chosen to come down to this earth at this time, simply because they are the noble and great ones who will usher in the second coming of the Savior. And it is my job along with husband to teach them. Wow. That is very humbling. All from an incident with over-zealous dental hygiene. I am sure grateful for this calling that I have of being a mother; I would not trade it for anything, and I just hope and pray that I will do my part with this chosen generation and teach them well, as the Lord would have me do.

**I apologize for the length of this post-I figured for family journaling purposes, these insights were important for me to record. :)

Going Private

Well, I think I'm at that point where we are going to take our blog private. I blame Carly :) But if that's the worst thing I can blame on her, she's doin' pretty good!

If you are one of my blog readers, please send me an email so I can send you the blog invite. I haven't done so for some of the blogs I used to follow because I thought, yeah, they probably don't remember me and will think I'm crazy if I ask for an invite. I won't think you are crazy. I promise :)

So please don't hesitate, and actually, I will be a little bit sad if I only get emails from my family. There you go-hopefully just enough of a push to send that email so I can send you an invite! Because I know our family's antics just drive your day! Okay, I think I need sleep. But I am serious about making the blog private, so go ahead and send that email or just leave a comment, and you'll be good to go! Emails can go to ratchedyann@hotmail.com ; I'm going to make the official switch next Friday, the 23rd of January.

Movies

I shot a mini video of Jordan last night in the bathtub. Jared was trying to make Jordan smile so I could get a cute pic, and I decided to secretly record Jared's vocal antics. You can hear Jared start to get a little frustrated at me that I wouldn't snap a picture! Hee hee-makes me crack up!

You Cannot Deter Me!

Jordan loves to eat off of the buffet that is the kitchen floor after a normal meal. Thus Jared set up a blockade of sorts so Jordan couldn't go into the kitchen.

Didn't stop Jordan.

Jordan seriously loves his food. I seriously love the fact that he has hair that can be fashioned into a mohawk. Rock on!

For the Love of Goghurt!

Another child falls prey to the attractive lure of the goghurt.

Regrets

I knew I would regret not taking Karianna to Disneyland in December.

I came home today to find that she had meticulously packed a bag for our upcoming trip to Disneyland with all the kids. She had laid out a scarf, her jacket, and a few movies to watch in the hotel room. She just decided her bag is too small for all the things she wants to take to Disneyland, so she is unpacking it and getting ready to search for a bigger bag. She is now scolding Jared for not having packed his bag yet ,and instructing him that he'll need to pack some baby clothes and food for Jordan. She also just told me there is a little fridge in our hotel when we go to Disneyland and so we can bring some hamburger helper to eat. She packed a box of it in her bag, I just realized. The first thing she wants to do at Disneyland is go to the roller coaster mountain where the monster with the red eyes lives; then she wants to find all the princesses (of course).

I am glad she is so excited about the trip...I didn't have the heart to tell her that we have no such trip planned in the immediate future.

Can anyone out there in cyber world cough up the money required to go to Disneyland so I don't have to break the bad news to Karianna?

Stuck Part 2: SIKE!

If I thought Jordan was traumatized the other day by apparently getting stuck on the staircase, I was wrong.


He's not even just hanging out-he's enjoying it! Anybody else think he's mocking me? And just for laughs, I initially spelled "anybody" as "enibudy". Seriously. Without even thinking.


Guess I now know where he learned this stair climbing thing-I love my boys!

I Like Ma' FOOD!

Anyone who knows my kids knows they like their food. Big time. So you think I would have learned by now that it is a bad idea to leave JD alone with a heaping bowl of green beans. I should have bid the green beans farewell before I left the room:


Yes, that bowl was full before I left. At least he's willing to eat a bowl-full of vegtables and not something coated in high fructose corn syrup.

On a slightly different note, Jordan has moved past the novelty of sitting in his own booster seat during meals. He started off being really giddy about it. Then he got serious about it-very carefully eating his food and looking up at the nearest family member for approval. Now, he is just plain old comical. As soon as he gets a bite of food in his mouth, he bobs his head up and down with a very, very clear message: Oh yeah, this is good. Umm. Oh wow. Yeah, gotta get some more of that-good cookin' mom. Pause for the next bite and then repeat. It's pretty funny and a nice compliment to me, until I remember that most of his meals include canned vegtables, fruit, and 2 or 3 vienna sausages. Oh well-at least I can feel good about my ability to cut up said foods in a pleasing manner. :)

Stuck

Jordan sure does love his mom.

I went upstaires in search of some socks earlier this morning. About halfway through my quest, I hear Jordan start to cry. I found him halfway up the stairs just crying his little heart out. I can totally understand why-talk about being torn! I want to find my mommy but I am frozen stiff-why in the world did I decide to climb these stairs in the first place?

Of course, I had to take a picture, but read Super Nanny's mind and took him off the stairs before I located the camera. We recreated the situation on the lower 3 stairs-at that point, he just wanted to dive off the steps and into my arms, so putting him back in the middle of the staircase was not an option. I know. I'm nuts.

Frustration Managed

Today was a little bit of a frustrating day. I had just under a bajillion things to do and not nearly enough time. Maintaining some level of patience was NOT one of the things I managed to get done today. Thus I was a little testy. So in about a ten minute time period, the following things happened; we will dub them "Techniques for Making Mommy Happy Again":

1. Karianna and Jared sang me "We Wish You a Merry Christmas".


2. A spontaneous encore followed of "You Are My Sunshine".


3. Karianna brough me a plate with "I Love Mom" written on it.


4. Under Jared's instructions, Karianna handed me a big bouncy ball and said, "If you are mad at Daddy, you can throw this at him". Karianna threw it at him even though I declined the offer.


5. Karianna then brought the plate back with about 6 dried flower petals on it.


6. She proceeded to "pin" them on my shirt like a corsage.
7. JD and Karianna came over and gave me hugs and kisses.


8. Karianna brought me a star shaped baby cracker and sang "You are like a star shining brightly...."

Okay. Frustration gone-couldn't help it. So in case any distraught husband in wondering how to restore his wife back to her happy, cheerful self, this was the way to do it. Extra guarentee if your daughter throws the big bouncy ball at you for the rest of the night.

Christmas Festivities

Doesn't it seem like Christmas always comes and goes so quickly? I knew it would happen as soon as October rolled around, and sure enough, I can't believe we are at the turn of 2009! The Christmas gifts have all been opened and played with, the garbage is teetering with discarded wrapping paper, and I have started slowly packing up some Christmas decorations so to restore some order in our home. The next big challenge is figuring out where to put new toys and activities! It's always a good time to sort out what can be donated, tossed, or packed away! And in all honesty, that makes an even bigger mess in your home, so I am just ready to toss anything that doesn't have a tupperware home yet!

Regardless of messes, strep throat/bronchitis/laryngitis (or just a cold-I still can't tell), and last minute gifts, we had a great Christmas weekend! We spent Christmas Eve playing together; we all made a sign for Santa, set out the traditional Santa-reindeer snack, and watched "The King Is Born". I spent about an hour ransacking the house for a lost stocking gift, only finding it after both Jared and I said silent prayers about it. That's what I call a Christmas miracle!

Christmas morning was just so much fun! There's not too many things better than watching the joy on your kids' faces as they open their treasures. Jared surprised me with actual gifts, which we were not really planning to do for each other ...I was very grateful for such a considerate husband! Karianna's favorite gift was a new barbie; she was very serious about her gift opening and gave pretty decent reactions. :)



JD's favorite gifts were trains and 1$ stocking stuffer of little plastic horses....should have stuck with that for all his gifts!!!




Jordan's favorite gifts were the bows, though his new activity table was a close second.


The next few days were spent travelling to and from Mesa to visit with both Jared's and my family; we always feel so blessed that our families live within minutes of each other so we can double dip during holidays! My mom gave us a beatiful Christus statue, and we absolutely love it! We have no idea where we are going to put it right now, at least no where worthy of its presence! It was wonderful to see both families and spend so much time together.

Karianna with her cute "cousin friends", Elizabeth and Makayla.

We also took one last trip to the temple to see the Christmas lights; when we stopped by the Christus in the visitors center, Karianna said, "We have a Christus at our house too! Now we don't have to come to the temple to see it!" We stuck around at the temple until it hit 38 degrees, at which point my toes demanded that we take our leave (I need shoes other than flip flops.).

We sure hope everyone had a great Christmas! We loved visiting with our families and ending the year on such a good note. As part of our family tradition, we set aside a special giftbox for the Savior. Each member of our family considers one gift that he or she can give the Savior in the upcoming year-having more patience, treating each other with kindness, showing compassion for our neighbors, or becoming more self-sufficient. Even if you don't pull out all the bells and whistles for such a tradition, we hope everyone can remember the Savior during this time of the year and remember it is His gift of love and mercy that strengthens us and provides us the opportunity to return to Him someday!

Rites of Passage

Everyone celebrates New Year's Day a little differently. Our family went out to breakfast; afterwards, Karianna and I cleaned out the garage in order to make room for the newly packed christmas boxes. Jared took a much needed nap in anticipation of cleaning the carpet later tonite (he doesn't know he's going to be doing that yet). JD shocked us all by being amazingly well-behaved during our hour wait for breakfast. Looks like everyone is turning over a new leaf, eh? Jordan is definitely not exempt! It seems to me that the theme of the last few weeks has been development. Everything Jordan does these days has a pretty obvious purpose-where he crawls, what he says, what he plays with. A few days ago, he spent about half an hour taking each individual bath toy and finging it into the tub. It was very obvious that he appreciated the splashing effect and wanted to know more. That's just the stage he is in and it's great!

So in order to enrich Jordan's new developmental stage, I decided to nix the high chair and strap in the booster seat. Jordan was seriously so delighted that he got to eat dinner with us last night-on the same level, with his own plate, and with zero baby food. As the icing on the cake, he only threw his plate on the floor one time! That's gotta be a record! I remember my other kiddos joining the table crew when they turned 1; Jordan's jumping the gun by a few months, and I don't think there's any going back! What a cool rite of passage-I think babyhood is just about over!