Albe-turkey Turkey

Here's a little ditty sung by Asher and Isaiah to put you in the holiday spirit.



As far as I can tell, the words to this song (which the boys learned in preschool) are as follows:

Albuquerque is a turkey
and he's feathered and he's fine
and he wobbles and he gobbles
and he's absolutely mine.

He's the best pet
You can get yet
Better than a dog or cat
He's my Albuquerque turkey
and I'm awfully proud of that.

This has been stuck in everybody in this house's minds since the boys learned it. Because they haven't stopped singing it since they learned it. Seriously.

So happy Thanksgiving!

Time Warp

I am seriously having a hard time believing that it is the end of November. Last thing I knew it was coming up on Summer. What happened to that? And Fall? How is it suddenly Winter (I know it actually isn't technically Winter yet, but I hear it's snowing over half the country today, so it sure feels like Winter has arrived).

Really, I think this is a serious side effect of my four months of bed rest. It really does not seem possible that it's Thanksgiving this week. The thought of Christmas is completely unreal. I feel like maybe some sort of time warp/Star Trek thing happened and I skipped a couple of months.

...Basically I DID skip a couple of months.

I guess what I'm saying is just... it feels like it.

Laundry

What to do when you have mountains of laundry to fold but the baby insists on you being in his sight?
Include him in the laundry process, of course!

Fall Leaves

I finally figured out why my pictures are coming out so washed out. There's a huge slimy fingerprint on the lens! So pardon the quality of these, but I think they're still pretty dang cute.






After 4 Fall's of owning our home, I finally figured out the best way to deal with the Fall leaves in our yard. Play in them one day, then pay somebody else to clean them up the next day. But it drives me crazy that everyone insists on cleaning the leaves up so soon. I want to keep enjoying them for a couple of weeks! They're just so gorgeous. And I feel like they're a farewell to color before the long, colorless Winter. So what's the rush?

Out of Town

Richard has been going out of town a lot lately. Excessively, really. But he's had several great opportunities that he just couldn't pass up, so off he went. When he's going to be out of town for a while, I make arrangements (like when his sister Karen came to stay with us recently and in a couple of weeks my sister and Mom are coming while he's gone). But for most of his trips I just muddle through while he's away. I talk to him on the phone, and the kids Skype with him at night sometimes. On this last trip he even read them bedtime stories over Skype.

When I talk to Richard while he's out of town he's usually sitting alone in a hotel room. Often he has an evening of work ahead of him. And I have an evening of baby-ness ahead of me. And I usually can't help but think how much I'd like to switch places with him. How much I'd like to be the one all alone in a quiet room - even if I had to work while I was there.

So this weekend I get my wish. This weekend I am going "out of town". My ward is having their Super Saturday (a mega-crafty morning) until noon, then I'm just not going home afterward. I think I'll go see a movie, go out to lunch, do some shopping, hit the outlet mall, go out to dinner, then I am going to check into a hotel all alone. And I'll sit in a quiet room by myself (with no work to do!). I figure that by that evening I'll be pretty lonely. And I think that's great! I can't wait to feel lonely! I'll sleep all night with no interruptions. I'll get dressed the next morning without running downstairs three times to break up fights. Then I'll meet my family at church and resume normal life.

...Just thinking about it almost gives me goose bumps I'm so excited for it.

Here's to going "out of town"!

Sleep

Take a minute and think about where you sleep. I assume you're now thinking about your bed. Now think about all the places that you don't sleep. Are you like me in that you can't sleep on an airplane? Too many people around. How about a bus? Or some other public place? It's a little creepy, right? Sleeping when you know other people could be looking at you. I don't even like falling asleep on my own couch during the day if I know Richard is walking around awake in the house. It's just weird.

Now think about babies. They sleep everywhere. Planes, buses, grocery stores, church, the car, whatever. And their favorite place is generally in their Mama's arms. Because that's where they feel safest. Not alone in a bed, but snuggled deep into the arms of the person they love the most.

It sure does feel good to be that person who Sammy loves the most. It feels good to be depended on. It feels good to be loved so unabashedly and publicly and innocently. Even when I'm exhausted from the day and rocking Sammy seems a little like torture in my exhausted state, it still feels so good to be so loved by him.

Sammy's Blessing

Sammy had a special day on Sunday. His blessing day was a beautiful, sunny, crisp Fall day. Richard blessed him in church, with his Dad (Sammy's Grandpa) and brother Kevin (Sammy's Uncle) and several friends from church. Sammy was blessed with love by many people, health, faith, and a desire for good. It was a beautiful blessing.

And he looked absolutely adorable for it in the outfit that his Grandma Ashurst made. Asher and Isaiah wore the same outfit. Sammy is the only one who actually really fit in the hat.





It was mentioned in his blessing how anxiously we waited for Sammy's little spirit to join his body here on Earth. I still feel lucky every day that we pulled off this great feat. Sammy is truly our miracle.

The Breaking Point

I think everybody has a certain point at which they can no longer handle "it". Usually, for me, that point is pretty far away as far as dealing with life as it comes at me. But there's one way that I know is a sure way to have that point be a lot closer to me - not getting enough sleep. When I'm a little short on sleep, I have a very short fuse. I am impatient and frustrated. When I'm a lot short on sleep, I cry. A lot. About everything.

I mean, really, ridiculously a lot. About really, truly any little thing. And as I'm crying I know that it's ridiculous and not worth the energy of the cry - but that doesn't really matter. Knowing that what you're crying about is silly, doesn't really help you stop crying. It does sometimes help me move on more quickly after the crying is done.

So today I exploded into tears several times. And moved on. Knowing that nap time was just around the corner. At nap time I fed the baby, watched the end of a show, and settled in for a nap of my own. I had a glorious hour left to sleep before Naomi got home from school. ... 10 minutes later Sammy started crying. So I picked him up, snuggled him in to my naptime cocoon of blankets on the couch, and drifted back to sleep. ...2 minutes later he started crying again. And wouldn't stop. So I cried. And the more Sammy cried, the more I cried, until finally we were both just laying on the couch sobbing.

And then Richard came to the rescue. He took Sammy away and let me sleep. He greeted Naomi when she got home. He shushed the boys as they came down from nap time. He fed them a snack. And he did it all while holding still-grumpy Sammy.

He's my hero.

So now, after more than an hour's sleep, I can face the rest of the day. My breaking point has scouched a little further away from me. And maybe I won't even cry anymore! (today)

(I'm filing this post under "For Posterity". I know it's kind of a depressing post, but I also think these feelings are such a big part of my life right now, that they should be remembered.)

Halloween 2010

Naomi the fairy
Asher the spider
Isaiah the dalmation
Sammy the frog
Mommy the gypsy
Daddy the pirate

First Asher and Isaiah marched in their preschool parade. Asher was sure that he was too cool to march in the parade this year until his teacher reminded him that they get candy along the parade route.

Isaiah loved the idea of parading around in his costume. Too bad he wouldn't wear his puppy dog ears - most people thought he was dressed as a cow. While he marched in the parade he yelled out to me as he passed, "I love you! I love you! I love you!". It got quite a crowd reaction.Naomi's favorite part of her costume was that I put makeup on her.
I made Sammy's hat! Ribbit!
Here's the big kids at the church trunk or treat. This was actually the only trick or treating we did this year. Richard went out of town Sunday afternoon, and I wasn't about to go door to door with four kids and no help. So on Sunday I just let the kids answer the door. They were just as excited about that as the real trick or treating. There was a complicated system for figuring whose turn it was to open the door and who got to hold the bowl.
Richard put a lot of work into his costume. A hat, an eye patch, and his belt around the outside of his shirt. He had lots of fun "arrrrggghhh"ing at all the other pirates.
What does it say about me and my personal style that I could throw together a gypsy costume out of things in my closet that I really do wear regularly in real life?