New Thing

Thanks to my MIL (who credited her daughter, my SIL), she alerted me to a fantastic quote (see above post). So now I am going to do a "quote of the week." I will post them as side-bars. But since I want to also archive/save these quotes, I will post the quote as a separate post each week (make any sense?).

Cowboy Take Me Away

During college my favorite lyrics/song was the Dixie Chicks' Cowboy Take Me Away. I wanted that life sung about in the song; my daydreams were patterned after the song. So I thought it would be fun to revisit the lyrics and see how close I'm living my "dream life."

• I said I wanna touch the earth (I have played in lots and lots of dirt with my three boys)



• I wanna break it in my hands (I have helped hoe and weed our 4 gardens)



• I wanna grow something wild and unruly (Miles and Jonas can definitely fit here)



• I wanna sleep on the hard ground (camping trips. . .)



• In the comfort of your arms On a pillow of bluebonnets In a blanket made of stars (our homes in NY and here have a plentiful blanket of stars due to lack of real city lights)

(chorus)

• Oh it sounds good to me I said



• Cowboy take me away (Ben has TWO pair of cowboy boots)



• Fly this girl as high as you can Into the wild blue (We've flown to NY and then back west)



• Set me free oh I pray Closer to heaven above (we live at about 5600 feet elevation)



• and Closer to you closer to you

• I wanna walk and not run (whoops, i run 5-6 days/week)



• I wanna skip and not fall (well i did slip and fall on some black ice on my morning run the other day. . .)



• I wanna look at the horizon and not see a building standing tall (uh, yeah. where we live there are no tall buildings. none.)



• I wanna be the only one for miles and miles (i am the only mom for Miles)



• Except for maybe you and your simple smile

(repeats chorus and first verse)

Huh. Who woulda thought marrying Ben and having 3 kiddos would help me in living close to my dream life?

That's right. Me.

A Little Bit of This and A Little Bit of That

Just some random pictures showing some random things:

This is how Emmy sleeps always. I put her down every time in the middle of the bed, but against the bumper pad (ever since she was a newborn she had to snuggle up against something). So somehow every time she manages to scoot to the top of the crib and kink her neck just so. Every time.

Okay, so who's naptime do you think it was? Riiiight, not Ben's. Ben got real sleepy after reading Miles his books and decided to nap. Miles, on the other hand, decided not to nap but instead to drop books on his sleeping dad. Pretty funny to me. (Per Ben: he knew the book-dropping business was occurring, but was too tired to do anything about it.)

Saturday's sledding trip. I just have to say I think it so funny that Jonas looks so chubby when dressed in his snow-gear. He always does. And he's probably the skinniest one of us all.

Ummmmm, all dressed for bed? Pajamas and mom and dad's boots.

Eternity Bread

This is what this bread will be called in our house forever more. Ben baked it and got the recipe from his Scandanavian Cookbook that he got for his birthday. The books calls it "Danish Country Egg Bread." But, alas, in our house it shall henceforth be called Eternity Bread. For two reasons. The first reason because, before we sliced it and started eating it, it was in a lovely braided circle. And whenever we discuss "eternal" things with Miles and Jonas (like eternal love, families, etc.), we use the example of a circle and how there is no beginning and no end.

The second reason is because from this bread I understood perhaps another reason why we get married for eternity. Let me explain. . .

So, Ben got home from work and this was our discussion:

Me: "Ohhhhh, I've been waiting to slice and eat your bread for dinner" (to go along with our yummy Baked Oatmeal). "I'm excited."

Ben: "Really, you really like it?"

Me: "Yes! It's really good."

Ben: "Huh, that surprises me."

Me: "Why?" (I was trying to give him a chance to prove that he actually did know something about me that perhaps I didn't or had just fogotten. But that was not to be. . . )

Ben: "Because it's just plain."

Exactly.

I love plain things. Yes, I am the girl who ate a plain, Rich's whole-wheat bagel just about every day for lunch for 2 or so years. Not toasted, sliced, heated, or topped. Yes, I am the girl who ate whole-wheat cereal for breakfast just about every day for 2 or so years as well. Yes, I am even the girl who likes to eat your Johnny Cakes - which are so plain. I love plain things.

So maybe, just maybe, we are married for eternity so that the closer we get to eternity Man might understand Woman. Might.

But I won't be holding my breath.

Busy Bee Preschool

The "mommy 'n me" school is officially and technically called Busy Bee Preschool. I get the lessons and craft ideas, etc. from the Busy Bee Preschool website. My sister's sister-in-law recommended it to me and I have enjoyed it - as well as my student, Miles. For $8/month you get 2 lessons a week all laid out, along with print-outs and craft ideas. The lessons can be adapted for just one kid, several, or a whole little preschool. I usually do less than 1/2 the stuff in each lesson - as the lesson would probably take at least 1/2 a day. But I think it's great because the lessons are really simple (based a lot on President Hinckley's B's), and I would never come up with them on my own. So they are really helpful to me.


Our latest lesson was on Washing Our Hands (the theme for January is "I can BEE healthy). I adapted and changed some stuff, but all the ideas came from Busy Bee stuff. We started out by doing our numbers. I have pre-cutted numbers, 1-20, on snowflake paper. Today I use a rectangle old cracker box for a telescope. Miles would close his eye as I stuck up a "number-star" on the door (i.e, the "sky"). Then Miles would put his telescope over his eyes, open his eyes, and search for the star - and then have to tell me what number it was. He liked that.





Then we reviewed our past lessons for the month (eating good food and exercising) and then discussed this lesson. I had drawn an ugly germ on one hand and a "pretty lady" on the other. Then the germ talked (real ugly like) and the pretty lady talked about how to get rid of the germ. Miles really didn't like the germ at all and was totally excited when it was time to wash the germ off! Luckily the permanent marker I used (duh) srubbed/scratched off - it would not have been a good lesson otherwise. Miles wanted me to keep the pretty lady on.



Then we did our craft: blow art. Miles really, really enjoyed this! I didn't have a straw and so we improvised by rolling up a piece of paper - it worked great except it kept getting soggy so I just taped the top of it and that seemed to really help. I just love how Miles thinks everything is fun and neat. (When you watch the video it was Miles who came up with what each design looked like - except for the lion, that was me.)


After that we read our "new" book - from the library. The lessons all have a least one book listed to go along with the lesson and so that is always a huge highlight for Miles - he loves having a new book read to him.


We both really enjoy it. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Updated Stats and More, A Lot More

Emmy and Jonas had their well-child check-ups yesterday - Emmy for her 4-month and Jonas for his 2-year. It went as expected with 3 kids - crazy, but fine. Here is the stats and an update on each:

EMMY:

She is in the 5th percentile for weight, 14th for head circumference, and 26th for height. Not bad for my child. Although she is "tall and skinny," she really doesn't look it and even has chubby thigh-rolls! My first kid to have rolls. I was so excited to see them the other day. :) So cute. Let's just hope she doesn't continue to have the "Galbraith thighs" as she gets older. She started "blowing raspberries" a few days ago and it is one of the cutest things I've seen. My other kids never really did that. She gabs a lot - especially to doctors! For her 2 and 4-month visits she just "talked" up a storm with the docs - it was adorable. She's adorable. She went to town rolling over at the doc's, too. We had a huge room (perhaps they saw me with my 3 kids) and so I put her on the ground and I think since it was flat (as opposed to our house!) it was a bit easier for her. She continues to wake up every 3-4 hours during the night to feed. I know it's not necessary and the doc also told me that, so sometime in the near future we'll start weaning her from one of her night-time feedings. She doesn't cry at night - she just squeaks and squeals and squirms. She is adored and adores her brothers.

JONAS:

He is in the 5th percentile for weight (Yea! He finally got back on the curve!) and 13th for height. Again, not surprising for my child. He was really, really opposed to having the doctor look in his mouth. In fact, he refused it. "Don't like it." She (the doc) never really got a look in his mouth. The doc barely got a peek in his ears as well. Whatever. He is really into "peeing" in the toilet. Oftentimes he'll take off his pants and diaper and runs to the bathroom. He's never actual peed, though, but it's a start. Once he wanted to sit on the toilet and was quite frightened of it and as I was bear-holding him he kept telling me, "Don't let me fall, mom." I didn't let him down. He had a phase that I am hoping is over - that of taking off his clothes while in his crib, at the beginning of his nap time. Once I went in there and found him stark naked. It was funny, but I had to act like it wasn't. Crazy kid. He still adores Emmy but as she is getting more into toys I can see him getting more "upset" with her. "No, Emmy, don't take that toy." But he still calls her Cutie and smothers her with kisses.

MILES:

I'll take him for his 4-year (WHAT?!?!) check-up in 2 months. When asked what he wants for his birthday he told me he wants ME to make him a really big Track Excavator (ummm, no, Miles, I really don't think you'd want what I could make you!). He's really trying to be nice to people and compliment them often. At my parents' home he'd tell my mom, "I really like how you have that there" (some decoration thing). He always tells Ben, "Daddy, I really like your beard." He tells me how he likes my hair barrets, my shirts, etc. (Yes, even once he said, "Mom, I really like your boobs.") He is so sweet and tries to say nice things to us. He loves it when we do "school" and thanked me the other do for doing it, "Thanks, Mom, for doing school with me." Awwww, how precious. He's really into the letter M and whenever he sees it he exclaims, "There's MY M!" He can write out his name fairly well. When asked how you spell his name he will say, "M I E L S."

The boys have enjoyed all of the snow we've been getting. One of their favorite things is to eat a bowl full of snow with syrup poured over it. I did that as a kid in Virginia (do you remember that, Erin?) and have now passed on that lovely tradition to my kids. When we were out playing Monday morning Miles reminded me that I needed to get them some snowy-syrup treat before going inside. RightEO. (It's also good for Ben since I'm using that Lite-Syrup he bought and hates - the kids don't mind it.)

And Wilson. We decided to give him a work-out today and hooked him up to the avalanche to pull the kids! He did it once. Then he was done pretty much. Ben had to coax him to do it again. The last time I got a piece of meat and we dropped that on the sidewalk and so Wilson went after that! Hehe. The boys thought it was pretty funny!

And that's that.

Hats off, It's a Three-Way Tie. . .

between Emmy, Jonas, and Miles for being Our Cutest Kid.

Goodbye 2007, It was a great year. . .

Since this (i.e., my blog) is also my journal and scrapbook, I am going to paste in my Christmas letter for the year 2007 (you can read the letter if you click on the bottom picture as well). If you got one, no need to read it again; if you didn't, enjoy:

Emmy, also known as "you Cutie," is the newest member of our little family; she was born on August 27th. She began sleeping through the night at 1-week of age. She is already sitting up on her own. No socks have ever come off her little feet. She has never had the tiniest of spit-up. She even came complete with a Book of Instructions.

Jonas will be turning two in a couple of weeks. "Terrible Twos" wouldn't describe him - not even remotely. More like "Terrific Twos." He's never said "no," has never thrown a fit or tantrum, and always says "please" and "thank-you ." He chooses to eat broccoli over candy. He even does all the dishes after every meal.

Miles (3 3/4) can count to "100" without making a mistake. He can already read books - he will even read Jonas his bedtime stories if we (mom and dad) are too tired to do so. He loves to share, even his favorite toys, with Jonas - he says that sharing makes him "tingle" inside. I only have to ask him to do something once and it is done - perfectly.

Ben and I will be moving into a new house in a few months - a 3000 sq. ft. home with 3 acres, complete with a little farm. Ben loves everything about his job; I have never, not once, complained about being a stay-at-home mom. I finished my first triathlon 2 months after Emmy was born. Ben finished the entire collection of books (30 books in al) he got for Christmas last year. I was able to smile and laugh the entire time of my labor with Emmy.

Okay, we can dream right?

While Emmy is the most beautiful little gal we've seen, she's yet to consistently sleep through the night. Not only have I gotten spit-up on me, I have also gotten quite a bit of "snot-smear" on my shirts as she has had to deal with several colds already. And not only did she not come with a Book of Instructions, she is far different than my two boys. But we love her all the same.

Jonas is adorable, but does know how to say "No!" very well. And he doesn't just say "No!" he

also throws his right arm out at the same time - for added effect, I'm guessing. He eats well all day long until dinner - then hardly eats. Unless we have some "treat" afterwards - then he usually eats it all up. He's a silly, fun boy and we love him all the same, too.

Miles can count. . . to 14. He can't read yet, but does adore books. Although lately he's been getting only one book at bedtime since he takes forever to get his PJs on - even though we've asked him over and over and over to get them on. While he has moments of sharing, he has an uncanny ability to be in a completely different room playing with something, yet still know the exact instant when Jonas touches a toy - any toy. Miles is on Jonas in a millisecond to give him back his "favorite toy." We love his inquisitive and quest-for-knowledge personality - we love him all the same, too, of course.

We still live in our 1000 sq. ft. home that magically gets smaller and smaller. While we like our home, "someday" we hope to have something a little bigger. Ben really does have a great job, but he still constantly dreams of other things to do "when he grows up." He is kept very busy with his work, church callings, and being a great husband and father that he barely has time for leisurely activities. While I wouldn't trade being a stay-at-home mom for anything, it is a challenge for me - I never thought a stay-at-home mom would actually "stay-at-home" so much! I do run every morning, but am no where near condition to enter a triathlon. And I definitely did not laugh nor smile during labor - I probably got mad at Ben if he even cracked a small smile.

But, even without our "dream" life, we are so happy to be where we are and who we are with. We love each other and love our kids. We love the Gospel and the happiness it inspires in our every-day lives. We love this season and the happiness that is found in it - and believe this happiness is due to the Spirit of Christ and His goodness that is so alive and active at this time of year. May you enjoy the Christmas Spirit this season as well.

Fun at the Folks' House

Here are loads of pictures showing the loads of fun we had over our Christmas vacation:

Sledding with the Avalanche, of course.

And just some good ol' snow-playing. There was plenty of snow when we got there and even more while we were there. Yea!

Piggy-backing with Grandpa G. Soooooo fun.

Playing air-hockey with Grandma Dixie. I'd like to add that Ben and I got some good playing time, too. And I usually (all except once) WON. Yea for me! I also beat my dad, but he's old so that's a given. :) But his reflexes were surprisingly way better than I would have guessed!

Dressing up as Santa Claus. "Ho, Ho," as Jonas would say.

Playing bowling with Auntie. Notice the bowling ball is in the air.

One of Jonas' favorite activities was turning on and off the fan and light in the office. He really and truly loved it.

The boys also had fun taking pictures with the camera. Jonas' picture is the first, and Miles' the second. (I really put these in to show Cutie).

Ben and I had a fun cross-country skiing date. How wonderful - the sweet company, the fresh snow, the beautiful area, and, yes, the childlessness. It was great!

Of course on the 6-hour drive home (of which there was only a 20-minute span of time where there were no whines, screams, or cries) I wondered if it was worth it.

Definitely. Definitely. Definitely.

Christmas Drive

We had a change of plans on Christmas Eve and decided to head up to my parents' new home the next day. We were in the middle of a great snow-storm at our home and were a little weary about heading out on Christmas Day (but wanted to beat a storm that was to come Wednesday at my parents' home - it never really came). But 10 minutes north of our home there was not a speck of new snow. Lucky us.

The post-Christmas nap - in the car, of course.

Emmy and her binky - she liked it for like 10 minutes. It was a nice 10 minutes, though.

I'll post more pictures later of our fun time here at my parents' home.

We hope all our friends and family had a wonderful Christmas - we love and miss all those we didn't see.