Brennen was just cooing away in the bathtub this morning. I looked at him and he was staring at his reflection in the drain handle. It was so cute. He had a whole conversation with himself.
I asked Ella and Preston to snap the ends off the green beans we were having for dinner last night. While they were working on that, I busied myself with the rest of dinner. I eventually turned around to see how the green beans were going. I saw Preston pick up a green bean and snap the ends off by biting and eating the middle of the green bean. Ella had a nice pile of snapped green beans and Preston had a pile of green bean ends with no middles!
Ella: Dad you better not go play basketball at the church tonight!
Phil: Okay Ella I won’t (wink, wink). Go to bed!
{Ella is tucked in bed and lights are turned out}
{Phil leaves to go play basketball}
Ella: DAAAAAD! (screaming from her room)
{Mindy stomping up the stairs to yell at Ella}
Mindy: What do you want Ella!
{Ella is hiding under her covers}
Ella: I want dad.
Mindy: He’s in the bathroom (hoping Ella doesn’t realize he’s left to go play basketball).
{Ella pops out from under her covers with marker all over her face}
Ella: But I wanted to scare daddy.
Mindy: What have you done? You just had a bath! What is all over your face?
Ella: It’s marker and I wanted to scare daddy with it.
Mindy: That is not funny!
Ella: Then why are you laughing?
Ella is quickly learning to read in Kindergarten. She has always loved books. Right now she enjoys reading chapter books. We’ll read a couple chapters each night before bed. She likes the Junie B. Jones series of books. They are about a sassy little girl who has lots to say about everything. Some of the things she does and says in the books are pretty funny. Ella and I laugh together as we read. I really enjoy that she understands humor now. We have a good time laughing together because she understands that it is funny. We are all the time laughing at Preston too because he will say or do something off the wall and she understands that it is funny. I used to laugh at her and all the funny things she did. I enjoyed that, but now I enjoy laughing with her.
Dinner time is always very hectic in our household. Starting around 4:00 things go crazy! Preston is ready for Phil and Ella to come home, Brennen is STARVING, Ella is coming home from school, I’m trying to get dinner started etc. You get the idea. I find myself telling Preston to be quiet while pulling Brennen off my pant leg as I’m trying to walk around the kitchen making dinner and watching for Ella to get off the bus. Ella has helped me out a few times by feeding Brennen his dinner while I fix everyone else’s. It keeps Brennen quiet and off my pant leg and gives Ella something to do when she comes in from school. I think she gets more food on his face and in his lap than she does in his mouth; but, two of the three kids are quiet for a short amount of time while I cook. You can’t beat that!
This is the sweet face I see every day when Brennen wakes up from his nap. What else can I say other than it’s great to be a mom! Notice how he only has one sock on. He always loses one of his socks. I have several socks with no matches!
If you look back to a June post you will see where Ella handed me a beautiful bouquet of flowers she picked from our walk. Preston recently presented me with a bouquet of suckers. At first I thought it was really cute because his Grandma Debbie told him he could have a sucker and instead he took a handful. I had to think for a moment which bouquet I liked better-Ella’s flowers or Preston’s suckers. I reached out for Preston’s sucker bouquet and he grabbed them back away from me unwilling to share. So, I guess I like the flowers better because Ella shares them with me!
I love my Grandma’s hands. I have loved them for as long as I can remember. As A child I would run my finger along her long, bumpy, blue veins. I would trace them along their paths and wonder if my hands would someday look like hers. As I stare at this photo I think of all the things she had done for me with her hands.
–She bathed me many times as a child. Whenever I smell Ivory soap or vinegar I think of her bathtub. (I’m still not sure why she put vinegar in our bath water!)
–She scratched my back as I laid in her lap. (This one was my favorite)
–She drew us tons of silly cartoons. She is a great artist but loved to draw funny cartoons for us. There was never a tv guide in her house that didn’t have mustaches and blacked out teeth drawn on all the celebrity’s faces. When the disgusting “Garbage Pail Kids” cards were popular, she drew us her own version. (I wish I still had copies of them!)
–She played the “Boogie Woogie” and other fun songs on the piano. She plays by ear and played any song we wanted.
–She baked cookies with us. The fun part about this one is that she let us make up our own recipes-even if they included applesauce and ritz crackers and cheddar cheese and candy pieces!
I could go on all day, but the most important thing she did for me with her hands was take care of my Grandpa. She set the most wonderful example for me as to what a marriage is all about. It is about serving and loving each other. My Grandpa was not in the best of health, especially during his last few years. My favorite memory is watching her put his socks and shoes on him because he couldn’t do it himself.
I love all my grandparents but I have a special place in my heart for my Grandma’s hands.
Ella’s first day of kindergarten.
I can’t believe she’s old enough for school! It’s exciting to see her grow and start new things but it’s also a little sad because it’s going by so fast. When Ella got on the school bus this morning Preston started crying because he didn’t want her to go. It was very cute. She had a great day. Some of her highlights of the day included: sitting by our neighbor on the school bus and playing with her at recess, eating mini corndogs for lunch, going to different stations in her classroom and completing activities, and slipping and sliding in gym class.
Preston’s first black eye.
I can’t believe this is Preston’s first real injury with as rough and clumsy as he is. If there’s a wall nearby-he walks into it. If there’s a counter ledge that sticks out-he bumps his head on it. If he runs-he falls. You get the picture. Today he fell at grandma’s house and got his first black eye. I saw him a few hours after he fell and he acted like it was no big deal.
This is what thirty looks like!
Phil brought home dinner and a cake for my birthday. He insisted on putting all thirty candles on the cake!
Here’s a list of thirty things I love:
My family
My home (especially when it’s clean)
Spending time with Phil
My education
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
Snow days when you can’t leave your house
Organizing
Being creative
When my kids tell me thank you
My craft area
My laptop
When I try a new recipe and it tastes really good
Backrubs
Being barefoot
Reading
Laying by the pool on very hot days
Being able to stay home with my kids six days a week
Being able to get out and work one day a week
When I have an empty calendar and am able to stay home all week
When all the kids are in bed for the night
When the kids sleep in until 7:00am (very rare but nice)
Cooking
Vegetables
Wearing comfy clothes
Daisies
Listening to books on tape or the Ensign on my mp3 player
My minivan
My backyard
Eating Sunday dinner at my parent’s house
My life!