Ashley

When Ashley is hungry she is usually very patient with me and generally will only deeply cry as a last resort. I can always tell when she is hungry because when I walk by her and she sees me, she will burst out in this desperate laugh. Laugh, laugh, laugh, laugh, laugh. And then if I keep going and she doesn't see me anymore, the laughter will sound a little more pained but then she will stop.

It is pretty endearing. Everett never did that. When he wanted to eat, he had to eat, and he had to eat immediately and on his own terms. But I don't think that comes as a surprise to anyone. Matter of fact, he is still like that, only with a lot more hitting and an insane amount of yelling and throwing things.

Today I heard some strange sounds in the bathroom so I went to investigate. When I rounded the hall corner, I looked through the open doorway and saw Everett with his head down into the toilet bowl and his hands grasping the sides.

Fearing the worst--and having unpleasant images of him lapping up the water like a puppy--I rushed over to see what he was really doing.

I have stressed over and over again that we do NOT touch the toilet water. We're still working on the bowl, but I take what I can get these days. (Oh, uh, by "we" I really mean just Everett. So please spare yourself concern for Joel's well-being.)

However, Everett, being the compliant boy that he is (hah), was not touching the water. What then, was he doing?

He was blowing as hard as he possibly could and gleefully watching the resulting ripples.

...and there I was, left wondering not why was he doing this, but how in the world did he figure out that this was a possibility?

I'm confess, I'm still stumped.

Joy

On Sunday in Relief Society we were talking about having joy in your little children. At least, it was mentioned a little. I was out feeding Ashley for the majority of the lesson.

But, it got me thinking. Am I finding enough joy in the state of life I'm in, or am I wishing too much for the days that are not yet here? It is easy to wish my children are older so they can do this or that, but am I finding enough joy in the stages that they are in? I feel like I do have joy for the little people that they are now, not just who they will be, but it is harder to find joy in the day-to-day tasks that accompany mothering small children (even though I only have two).

So I want to ask all of you, whether you have children or not: What do you do (or what would you do) to find joy in your days? What kinds of things help you to remember to have joy, and how do you capture that feeling and hang onto it? What advice would you give other mothers who feel they need to work on having more joy?

Requisite Halloween Pictures

I know it isn't Halloween yet, but since my ward had their Trunk or Treat last night and my kids are too little to go trick-or-treating, I thought I'd better take a picture while the kids were dressed.

Everett was the frog (prince, but you can't really tell), and Ashley was the princess. My sister Maddy came and was the evil fairy who turned the prince into the frog. I was all set to wear a "lady in waiting" sign, but it was pouring while we were setting everything up at the church for the event and the tape wouldn't stick to my wet shirt. This just means that Joel is lucky because I would have made him wear a "lady in waiting's boyfriend" sign, or something silly like that. Really, though, he would have refused and I would have given up so I guess my whole point is moot.


We can never get a good picture of everyone at once. I don't know how people do it with more kids than two. I don't need to post all of these since they're practically the same, but I'm going to anyway.



(Joel was trying to show Everett how to smile in this one. See how well it worked?)



I think the Trunk-or-Treat went well, all things considered. Since it was raining we had to fit our whole ward (sugar-laden children included) in our small building and use only half of our already half-sized gym for everyone to eat in. It was a little tough, but we have a good committee and we had a lot of needed help getting it done. The only really tricky part for me was working the while also juggling a hungry baby...but thankfully a wonderful woman in my ward volunteered to step in for me. My ward is wonderful that way. People are so good about seeing a need and jumping in and helping, even if it isn't their "job." And I was really happy that I didn't have to take home all the centerpieces. It was enough that they had been living on my kitchen table; I didn't need them in my house any more. I think some people took them home but if the majority went in the trash, I won't mind. It's better than trying to figure out what to do with them.

Crazy Eights

I was tagged by my dear friend Natalie, so here I go!

8 Favorite TV shows:
1: Supernanny
2: Monk
3: Eli Stone
4: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
5: Project Runway (I just love seeing their creative process)
6: The Cosby Show
7: Pushing Daisies
8: Any HGTV show

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1: Baja Fresh
2: Zupas (unfortunately not out here)
3: PF Chang's
4: Etete (ok, never been, but it sounds amazing)
5: Anything Indian
6: Any good sushi
7: Kneader's (or any similar place)
8: Anywhere I don't have to cook

8 things that happened yesterday
1: Woke Up
2: Went fall leaf hunting with Everett
3: Fed Ashley
4: Had copies made
5: Went to Walmart
6: Began centerpieces for our ward's Trunk-or-Treat
7: Read too many blogs
8: I was astounded at the amount of carrots Everett gobbled up for dinner.

8 things to look forward to
1: Everett's birthday
2: Thanksgiving
3: Christmas
4: When busy season for Joel will be over for a while
5: My Anniversary (hint, hint to Joel)
6: Joel going to grad school--wait. Being done with Grad school.
7: Getting a house with an actual back yard.
8: Going on a mission with Joel since he scooped me up before I could go by myself.

8 things I love about fall
1: Sweaters!
2: The leafy smells
3: The crisp air
4: Soup and hot chocolate (and homemade bread)
5: The colors changing
6: Preparing for the holidays that are coming up
7: Everett actually talking? (this year) We'll see.
8: General Conference

8 things on my wish list:
1: To be financially worry-free (ha, like that is ever going to happen)
2: For Everett to skip the terrible two's and not yell so much (see above statement)
3: To be smart enough to make Everett's birthday present the way I envision it.
4: A van that magically runs without gas
5: No stretch marks (yeah....)
6: A house that stays clean all the time with no effort.
7: That TV will start to get cleaner, not more vulgar
8: To not have so many impossible wishes

8 people I'm tagging
Mmmm. I don't mind being tagged at all, but I don't like picking and choosing. If this sounds fun, consider yourself tagged!

Washable...

We discovered something a few weeks ago that makes bath time more fun. Ever heard of bathtub crayons? I have, and all I know about them is that they are relatively expensive and that they have gotten some poor reviews (too runny, stains the water, etc.).

I had on hand some washable crayons and Everett sneaked them into the tub one night. I came in and he had drawn on the tub walls, but to my amazement the crayon came off so easily you could almost just splash water to remove the marks. A wet washcloth removed every trace of crayon with no scrubbing, just a gentle wiping.

The colors were bright and colorful and didn't do any damage. The best part was that we had a lot of color options, rather than a pack of a few colors like we'd get with the actual bath crayons. We'll definitely have to use them again. Maybe this will start a new "recreational bath" phase of our lives.

(Even without the bath consideration, this is the only kind of crayon I will ever buy. They wipe off of everything, even walls. No scrubbing! Even a baby wipe takes it off everything.)

Dear Hair,

This is just a quick note to say that I appreciate you. I especially appreciate you when I am pregnant and you flow strongly and securely from my scalp. Then again, I appreciate you anytime you are flowing from my scalp, as long as you are properly conditioned. (Yes, I do know that last matter is completely my responsibility.) I do try to make it a point to ensure your proper care.

Which brings me to my main point: Why do you insist on leaving me en masse? I am having a harder time appreciating you lately, given that any time I try to fix you up you leave the bathroom floor looking like I haven't swept it for twelve years. I also find hundreds of you in my bathtub, wound around my children's stuffed animals and threaded through my washed laundry. Plus, it has taken my every effort to keep you out of our dinners. I understand that it was the pregnancy hormones that kept you sticking around so well, but I am not so unappealing without them, am I? I must be; this is the only reason I can think of to explain a departure of such magnitude.

All I would like is to resolve this matter. If I pledge to keep you clean and cared for, will you kindly discontinue your roving ways?

Sincerely,
The person beneath the scalp