Late St. Patty's Post

So i know it's a little after St. Patty's Day, but I thought others might like it too. Ryan made a Leprachan face in pre-school and it was just on the fridge when sam picked it up an started doing his little jig. Made me laugh. Then of course Ryan mimicked Sam and again sort of made me smile. So Happy be-lated st. patty's day.

Ryanisms

So the other day i was at target getting some groceries with Ryan. As we turned down one isle, there was a tall black man. He was a vendor innocently taking inventory. Ryan saw him and just watched him for a minute and then of course just as we are getting within ear shot of this man, Ryan says with great clarity in his voice "Mom, what color is he?!" I smile as we pass the man as he looked over his shoulder smiling (thank goodness). And I said to him "kids say the darndest things, eh?" To my great relief he sort of chuckled.

Saturday Ryan had a birthday party for a girl in his preschool class. As he was getting ready to walk out the door i handed him the wrapped present and reminded him that this was for Makinley, not him. Especially as of late, well as of his birthday back in December, he tells people all the time that it's his birthday, today. And like most kids (at least my kids) they like getting presents and opening them. So I kindly reminded him "now when you get to the party you give this to makinley and tell her happy birthday, this is for her." to which he replied "ok, i'll give it to him." Since he is still only 4 and only sort of understands the whole he/she, him/her thing i corrected him and said "her, you need to give it to her." he just as quick as before with a smile on his face said "ok, i'll give it to him."

At least i tried.

The Tunnel of LOVE!

Yesterday the boys were looking over the sunday comics that granma had saved for them. After finishing the favored ritual, both Ethan and Sam made comments about the tunnel of love. Sam's comment was something like "i want to take Aliah (his "girl friend" of the last 2 years) in the tunnel of love mom. i really love her." This comment was of course accompanied by a big smile and twinkling eyes.

I really liked what Ethan said about it. He said "Mom, when i am older i want to take a girl i'm really on a date with through the tunnel of love." I said "what do you mean 'really on a date with?" He said "like when she's really on a date with me and i'm really on a date with her. you know?" I said well no, i'm still trying to understand what you mean. He then explained "like when you really like that girl and she really likes you too."

I love the way the boys understand things. Just kinda makes me smile.

Being Manly

As Sam was getting his backpack and coat on this morning he said to me "Mom, being manly isn't fun." To which i had to really hold back a good laugh, but thought twice to keep it in. Once that was undercontrol, i then turned to him and asked "why?" He said "Being manly isn't always, like jorgon von strangle (a cartoon character on Fairly Odd Parents) he is a good guy, but he is sometimes too rough, and he has to make string into rope for him." Now for all you un-cartooned famililes Jorgon is a very muscular tough guy who is mocking Arnold Schwarzenegger. He is on the good guys team, but he can be a little thick headed and mean too. Anyway, in my mind this is somewhat a break through for sam because he has what we call the "superhero mentality." He wants to save everyone and if that means that he has to fight someone else he might do it. He's had a few run in's over the year, but has seemed to be doing better at handeling the situations better (ie: less fighting and more working things out). Either way, his comment this morning will bring a smile to my face for quite some time. "Mom, being manly isn't fun."

We're still here....

Ok so for the last month i can use the excuse that Blake's been out of town. Well for at least the last 6 weeks he's been in New York, Orlando, Phoenix, Toronto, LA, and thankfully his trip to Calgary was canceled. (thankfully so he didn't have to go, not thankfully that he missed out on seeing my parents. Besides i wanted to go to Calgary too.) Anyway, we survived all the trips and even the boys and I took one of our own to St. George to see Mike and Kim and Grandma and Grandpa Murdock. It was way more difficult to do a road trip with only one set of hands to drive the car, set the movies, calm the kids, and reach the snacks.

I really did appreciate Blake before all these trips but I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY appreciate him now. Blake has always been an amazing father, husband, friend, etc. He's always been helpful around the house with not just cooking, but cleaning too. I don't admit this all the time, but i haven't cleaned the bathrooms more than a few times in the last 10 years. But before you get totally grossed out, it's because Blake does it (and he does a good job at it too--for this I truly thanks his mother!) Our routine is generally based on Blake's schedule, so when he is gone the schedule seems to suffer too. I found myself on a few of the days just wanting the day to end a little faster so i would find myself thinking of ways to convince the boys that going to bed at 5:00 was ok. It never did happen, but i wanted to a few times. Being as spoiled as i am by my sweet husband i found that i don't sleep as well at night while he's gone because he's not here to get up with the boys so i have too. (That one is really his fault, he started it back when Ethan was a baby, he would get up with him at night bring him into me and i would feed him and change his diaper and Blake would take him back into his crib). Other little things that seemed to not flow as well was also dinner time. Instead of two parents encouraging their children to eat, it was now down to one and one just isn't as effective as two most of the time. Reading just before bed was always a toss up. Ethan most of the time will read his book and one of us would read with Sam and the other with Ryan. Some nights Ryan would be happy to listen to Sam reading to me and then we'd have time to read one together. Other nights all three boys would want me to read with them only and i really still have not figured out how to split myself into three. I would try and appease all three one way or the other but i would feel guilty at some point that i wasn't making them all happy. Then it's off to bed. Some nights again smoother than others. After getting after one or all of the boys a time or two they would finally go to sleep and i would sit there all by myself thinking how much i hate being alone. And how much i really am glad that Blake was just on a trip and really just a phone call away.

So here i am at the end of a very very busy month, just a couple days after Blake's birthday still thinking about how much i love him and appreciate all that he does for me and the boys. He spoils me and he loves me in ways that words can't explain. He works hard at his job and in his calling, he sets an example for me and the boys and for others that he serves so willing. He cooks and cleans like no other husband in the world, nay i say universe. And i know this may been a little cheese to you all, but I figured i needed to take a spot on this blog and let him know how deeply i love him. He leaves for Texas next week, but only for a couple days, and then we might have some time together for a whole month, before he has another trip! THANKS HON! You're the greatest! I love you, more, most, +1! OH and Happy Birthday too!

IT'S ANOTHER BOY!!!!!

So Blake and I have talked alot off and on about getting a pet. It's been a while, since blake didn't want to get a rabbit, and I didn't want to get a ferret. We have only a few things to choose from and there are stipulations that go with whatever we get. It has to be "somewhat" outdoors. Cause we have some family that have allergies. Not too messy, since this isn't our house. And somewhat quiet since we already have noisy boys. Oh and it really can't smell bad when it is in the house. Some friends of our got a guinea pig last spring and we had the opportunity to watch it a few times when they were gone for a weekend or such. The boys absolutly loved having a pet around to love and watch and smoother. I loved that they had something to entertain them that didn't plug in to something or need new batteries, etc. Blake started to think that a "rodent" wouldn't be so bad since Penelope (the guinea pig) seemed to love him. But again it wasn't something we had decided on or even talked about in a while. Today Blake had some time on his hands though. So he went online to KSL's classifieds (which many friends and family have recommended for us locals looking for stuff). Found a few rabbits that he thought would work, read a few things on the internet about different breeds and then made a call. An hour later we have a mini-lop/lion head mix rabbit in our kitchen. Ryan went with blake to go pick it up and was so excited about it. His first comment to me was "oh, it's so cute!" When we asked him what he wanted to name the rabbit he with out hessitation said "Toby!" Toby is his stuffed puppy's name. So now we have another boy here in the house. They say you can litter box train a rabbit, so we're going to give it a go. Don't worry mom, the rabbit is in a big tote in the kitchen (not on the carpet or out of the box much). It's too cold to put him outside by himself just yet, so we're going to start looking for hutches and put him outside in the spring. We are all excited to have Toby here, even Blake!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

This winter has been like no other that i can remember. I will fully admit that my memory isn't what it used to be either, but it seems like we've had a lot more snow than we have for years. It seems that generally speaking there is one maybe two big storms a year that dump enough snow in the valley's to really play in and enjoy. But this year there have easily been 8. So i know i've already posted some pictures from past snow days and the fun we've had in them, but since we have another storm or two or three since then i figured i'd post a few other pictures. And these are just the amounts from one storm. I was a little worried the branches on the tree would snap from the weight of the snow. They didn't, but you can see how heavy this particular snow was.
Ryan came out and helped me shovel the walk after ethan and sam went off to school. It was still snowing so you can only partially see that i had shoveled the driveway. I know, i know, the saying goes: "shoveling the walk like it's still snowing, is like cleaning your house while you're kids are still growing." It's just easier to shovel small amounts 2 or 3 times rather than 4-7 inches all at once.