Happy Halloween!

Big J as THE KING OF DIAMONDS

Little J as a GHOST (like the special effects?)

Little Man as ROBIN HOOD

Halloween 2007

The first one to guess what I am correctly, wins a prize. (Ok, the prize is the glory of being the first to guess correctly, but it will be fun, nonetheless). *Since you can't read the triangle on my chest, I will tell you what it says: "Concentrate and ask again."

MIA

I've been a little MIA for the last couple of weeks. We went down to Texas to visit my family and see my younger brother Walker. We haven't seen him for 2 years because he has been serving a full-time voluntary mission for our church. But he is home now and getting back into "normal" life. It was good to see him. He looked exactly the same to me, except filled out a little more. He can still talk the paint off the wall. Him and Little J have a lot in common...

I've also been busy with the annual Primary program, which was performed today. As is usually the case, God had mercy on us and it turned out wonderful! The kids were so sweet and sang so well. The Spirit was really strong. I love all the "meaty" songs they sing now. When I was growing up I remember singing " 'Give' Said the Little Stream" and "The Primary Colors". Now they sing things like "I'll Follow Him in Faith" and "I Want to Live the Gospel." The songs, and the way the kids sing them, truly are little nuggets of testimony.

This afternoon I overheard Little J (who, by the way, opted against participating in the program today even though he knew his line, etc. He actually gave me an ultimatum that he get one of the built-in soft chairs on the stage instead of the regular chair he was assigned to with the rest of his class or he wasn't going up there. Well, too bad, Mr. Special. But I digress... ) I overheard him singing to himself "This Is My Beloved Son". I think that's so awesome that even a 4-year-old can be taught gospel truths through music. I firmly believe that it is the music in Primary that teaches the gospel to the children.

This week we will be doing Halloween crazy. Trunk-or-Treat and party after party. I'm the room coordinator for Big J's classroom this year. It's actually pretty easy - just remind everyone what they signed up for and have some type of a plan to proceed by. Little J is being a ghost this year. Big J is being a playing card. Yes, you read that correctly. You'll just have to wait for the pics. And Little Man is wearing the Robin Hood costume his abuela made for Little J a few years back for Big J's Robin Hood birthday party. I'm not sure what I am being yet. Something tacky, I'm sure...

The Innocence of Youth

Question from Little J:

"Mama, are there really mermaids that can talk?" *

*I guess the existence of mermaids is an undisputed fact.

I'm a 3

JC and the boys (excluding Little Man) went to the annual father/son church campout last night. Thankfully, they all came back alive despite the severe thunderstorms that decided to descend upon them during the night. There was tons of thunder and lightning and it poured on them for a total of 2 3/4 inches and winds got up to 40 mph. At that point, they ended up moving into the van. But the boys thought it was a grand adventure and had a blast.

So what fun and exciting adventure did I have while I basically had the night to myself, you ask? Did I go and get a mani or a pedi? Did I call up all my girlfriends and say "come on over!" for a girls' night? Did I get a babysitter and head out shopping? Well, let's see.... I did catch up on all that laundry-folding that needed to be done. Oh, and I almost finished all the cue cards for the Primary program coming up in 2 weeks. I was multi-tasking while doing these things and managed to watch the movie Deja Vu on TV. Par-tay.

That is why I say I am a 3. On the Great Scale of Fun, with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest, I am a 3. I actually should probably be more like a 2 or 1 1/2 since it DIDN'T EVEN OCCUR TO ME to do any of those fun things until way after the fact. But, I do feel like I at least possess a certain array of social skills - however under utilized they may be - so that bumps me up to a 3.

I've always kind of been a homebody. I mean, I really do enjoy getting together with people, but I also don't feel like I have an innate need to spend my time that way. Lucky for me, my husband is much more social than I am and so I have social interactions by default. Otherwise, I'd probably be more anti-social than I already am.

So, here's to a night of "freedom" spent in my pjs eating M&Ms and fulfilling my obligations. Cheers!

This post is brought to you by the letter Pp

Each week in Little J's preschool class they have been working on a different letter. Their "homework" is to identify the letter of the week in written print and to bring in pictures of things that start with that letter. This week's letter is P. This is the conversation we had this morning:

Me: We need to find some pictures that start with the letter P. Can you think of some words that start with P?


Litte J: Oh! I know! Like pee?


Me: Uh, yes. But I don't think we should bring a picture of pee. I think your teacher might not appreciate that and think it's kind of gross.


Little J: Ok. What about penis?

Needless to say, we did not bring in pictures of his suggestions. We settled on a nice plate, piano and penguin instead.

Little Man is UNO!

So I am feeling like a lame mom, because this is the second birthday in the last couple of weeks that I am late posting about. I guess it is better late than never. My baby baby is now one!


I cannot believe how quickly the past year has flown by. My memories of the day he was born, and the weeks after he came home, are so fresh in my mind. It is surreal to realize it all took place over a year ago. I have never had as clear of memories about the birth of my other kids and the days following as I do with him. When he was born, I cried. I had never cried before while giving birth. And I wasn't crying because he was 9 lbs. 4 oz., either! I was crying because it was such a spiritual experience for me. I had never had that happen before. I knew he was special.

We had a simple, small birthday celebration with just us on Thursday, and plan to have a bigger one in a couple of weeks when we are down in Texas. That one will have a "I Dig Being 1" theme with trucks and diggers and all kinds of boy things. For this one, the boys made him homemade birthday signs and Little J made him a special birthday hat:


We gave him a cute little wooden chair with a back that looks like a bear face and a puzzle that makes sounds with all the bug characters from Eric Carle's books. (I'm very much about less is more). And of course we had cupcakes. He was determined to grab the candle, so I had to hold it away from him while we sang and then quickly blow it out. At first he wasn't sure what to do with all the frosting and cake on his hands, but after sticking it in his ear and hair a few times, he finally decided he could eat it.

Everyone in our family ADORES Little Man. He is pure sunshine. He is such a sweet, fun, easy-go-lucky baby and has been such a joy to have in our home.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LITTLE MAN!!

I LOVE YOU!!

Saved by the Skin of My Teeth

Is that a real saying? I'm not sure, but that's what I thought of this morning when this occurred.

**WARNING: If you still believe in the Tooth Fairy, STOP READING NOW. Spoilers ahead.***

Big J lost his third tooth yesterday at school. This was a totally strategic tooth loss, because if you lose your teeth at school you get a little plastic treasure chest to put it in. So he would wiggle away while he was there, and not touch it while he was at home. Anyway, it finally came out during lunch. He got a green treasure chest. He put it under his pillow. And the sorry Tooth Fairy forgot all about it!!

I had a dream about having to sneak into Big J's room and try to do the tooth/money swap without him knowing, even though it was already morning. This dream jolted me into reality at 7:04 a.m. as I realized I had forgotten to perform my Tooth Fairy duties. You know your day is off to a rough start when the first words out of your mouth are "OH CRAP!!!!"

Big J is an early riser. He is normally awake well before 7:00, and then lays there as he observes the rule of "don't get out of your bed until at least 7:00". I was praying that by some miracle he was still asleep. I peaked in there and he was. I snuck downstairs to scrounge for some money (what's the going rate for teeth these days anyway?) I find a few quarters and sneak back up the stairs to stealthily make the swap...I tip-toe to his bed...

His eyes pop open.

"Hi, Mama!"

OH. CRAP.

I then start praying that he hasn't remembered to check under his pillow yet and quickly slide in next to him, apologizing for waking him up as I was "just coming in to cover him up." The way I was laying, it was impossible to slide the money under and make the swap, so my brain was working overtime. I used to watch Alias - what would Sydney do?

All these ways of getting my hand under his pillow and getting the tooth out without him noticing are going through my head, while I'm trying to keep up some type of conversation to delay the inevitable. I finally resort to the tried and true "I'm gonna yawn and put my arm around you" sweet move being done by boys for centuries. I get the money under. Now, how to get the tooth out?

In one deft move I roll over and stick my hands under his pillow, all the while acting like I'm just laying there carrying on a conversation. I feel under for the treasure chest. I can't find it. I keep feeling for it. I find it, open it, subtly shake it upside down. No tooth. It was stuck!!!!

I finally was able to get it out and into my hand, while the quarters are making a jingling sound every time I move. Once I had the tooth firmly stowed in the waistband of my basketball shorts (yes, I sleep in sexy pajamas) I say in a kind of annoyed voice, "What keeps making that noise?!"

Big J listens for a second and then goes, "Maybe it's money from the Tooth Fairy!"

I go, "Oh yeah! Let's see!"

So, the crisis was diverted. The Tooth Fairy came through after all. One more slip up like this, though, and I'm going to have to insist she be replaced.