california kids in 25-degree weather...

last less than half an hour.

it's christmas time, so we decided to "go see snow." i know, it sounds ridiculous. and it kind of was. but anyway, here we have reed in the same snow clothes he wore two years ago when we went to utah for christmas. they were a bit snug. i couldn't stop laughing whenever i looked at him. max and dean are on the left in the back.

this picture is rather deceptive. brynn looks almost happy in this shot. she was most displeased that we would bring her outside in such appalling temperatures.

see my hand? i don't think i could feel it. also, be glad you cannot hear brynn.

max the snow ninja

this is how reed spent most of his time. he had a really hard time moving in his snow pants that were made for an 18-month-old. while he was down, he would usually snack on a little snow. then, "mom, help!"

the adventurers. max wrote a book about it after we got home.

again, be glad there is no sound with these pictures. by now about 15 minutes have elapsed since we got everybody dressed for the snow, and reed and brynn (and mommy) are done.

"m-mom, it's t-too c-coooooold!"
"my hot chocolate spilled in the snooooooooooow"

okay, boys. say, "i'm warm!" (turns out our car has a heating function that magically changes the mood of our children!)

then troy turned on us.

and so did dean.

but we were safe in the car. best snowball fight ever.

oh, you rascals. :)

so. let's take stock of how we spent our time today.
driving to the snow: 120 minutes
donning gear: 15 minutes
actually playing outside in the snow: 20 minutes
weeping and wailing about the cold: at least 15 minutes
removing gear: 10 minutes
driving home from the snow: 140 minutes (there was traffic)

i'm not saying it wasn't worth it. and dean has really toughened up. last time we went to the snow he was the first to break down, i think. and once everybody was warm, they reported a really awesome time in the snow. also, the drive down the mountain sounded like a roller coaster ride! we'll probably do it again next year. :) 

the best part was that i got a NAP when we got home! troy is the best husband ever. he even fed brynn a bottle so he wouldn't have to disturb me. 

merry christmas!

butterfly reserve and the sticks

here's how we spent the second half of our day in santa barbara. see? i told you linda was there! here we are before taking the trail to the butterfly reserve.

isn't the sunlight glorious? that's max on the left. he found his stick. it will figure prominently later.

the boys are looking up at the butterflies. troy told them it was best to look straight up.

and here is what they were looking at. those dark clumps are all monarch butterflies, hanging out here for the winter.

you can see better that they are butterflies as opposed to dead leaves here.

this one was all by itself, and right next to you on the trail. we walked right by it at first. i love the sun shining through its wings. good shot, troy!

say, "butterflies!"

here's dean, looking epic.

max requested that troy take a picture of his stick.

and then, so did dean.

here's max looking epic. with his stick.

reed didn't want to be left out.

dean tried to drive home. maybe when your feet can touch the pedals, pal. :)

santa barbara mission

https://picasaweb.google.com/107208655884324651674/SantaBarbaraMission?authkey=Gv1sRgCOfG-siN9onICg

we finally made it to santa barbara to visit troy's aunt linda (who, for some reason, is not included in the pictures, but she really was there--see next post about the butterflies). we met linda at the mission, and then everybody waited around so i could feed the baby (hence the Heroic Entrance of Mom picture).

there was a lovely creche outside the mission on the lawn with live animals--and no baby Jesus. linda said they don't leave him out in the manger because he has disappeared in times past.

the cactus are in the courtyard inside the mission. aren't they beautiful? :)

i've been on a mission kick lately. i have seen signs for historic missions on the freeway for years and we're finally going to see them. we went to see the san gabriel mission a couple weeks ago (but forgot the camera). turns out "mission style" architecture is pretty faithful to actual missions. the cool thing about the missions we've seen so far is that they are currently functioning churches. it's fun to see california history. :)

Dean and Max worked together to build a "Concert" one day last week. 

A diverse crowd including off-duty clone troopers, robots, and a short-legged dude.

That's Dean at the guitar.

We had to lift the roof to get a good look at Max's drums and Reed on the cello.

I love crowded events!

I went to Dean's school concert today. Each grade sang a holiday song. I got there maybe 3 minutes before it was set to start, and this was my view. Can you see anything? Me neither. It made it feel really necessary to leave right after you watched your kid perform, so you could make room for other parents to see theirs. Awesome.

After many excuse-mes, someone to hold my baby, and one eye on Reed who was trying to escape, I found where Dean was sitting.

It's time for the second-graders to take the stage! I'm close enough! Surely he will see me! I'm yelling his name by now. But no.

See that girl in the red-and-green striped hat? She finally tapped Dean on the shoulder and said, "your mom is waving to you!" Thanks, Dean's friend! This shot makes the whole trip worth it.

And there he is on stage (sort of). They sang a variation on "I know an old lady who swallowed a fly," called, "I know an old lady who swallowed a bell." There were groups of kids holding things like bells, bows, gifts, a sack, a sleigh, and they would hold them up at the appropriate time. And then the principal, wearing a Santa hat, appeared and said, "ho, ho, ho!" but I kind of lost the words at the end. The kids were in charge of the song by then. (I'll have to get the words and post them. I'm curious now.)

(At Dean's old school, the kids perform for each other on one day as kind of a dress rehearsal. Then they perform for the parents, and the kids just come in when it's their turn, perform, and then head back to class. Sometimes that makes for a longish wait between acts, but at least the parents have a place to sit. I said something to that effect to the lady next to me and she suggested I chair the event next year!)

That is how I spent my morning. Also, I parked in a permit-only zone out of desperation. But wouldn't you know it? No ticket! It was a Christmas miracle! So the whole venture cost less that $65! (yes, I know the amount you get fined for parking in a no-parking zone. That is all I will say about that.)

I wonder what the third-graders did...

our christmas tree!

Here are my precious little gifts under our newly decorated Christmas tree. Yes, it was this week--December 12--that we finally had it up, straight, and decorated. We had things going on!

Dean, and his newly perfected "I'm-getting-my-picture-taken" smile.

Max dubbed one ornament "planet Max." You can't see which one he's holding, but I think that is what is going on here. He found it on the floor and had to have it just so.

This is an ornament Dean made in school, "so long ago," according to him. I love seven-year-old nostalgia. :)

Merry Christmas, everyone!

the tally

number of items i found actually in the laundry basket: 5
number of items i found on the floor or in the closet of dean's room: 15
number of items i found full of *poop that had molded, necessitating their removal from our house: 3

i love laundry day.

*this poopy group of items was hidden in the laundry basket, not by my almost-five-year-old, who gets my wrath every time he poops in the wrong place, but by my seven-year-old, who is going to hear it from me when he gets home from school today. hope he's saving up for a new pair of shorts.

airing of grievances

dear person in charge of mandating lo-flow toilets:

is it really more environmentally responsible to make people flush FIVE TIMES and STILL have poop stuck in the toilet? why are we gently cajoling our waste to the sewer and letting it stay if it doesn't want to go right now? i'm not worried about the self-esteem of the lump of waste that is making itself comfortable in my toilet right now.

i thought part of the point of having indoor plumbing was making the gross stuff disappear--on the first flush--so the bathroom doesn't smell. and not attracting flies. and being all sanitary and stuff.

i just wanted you to know that, thanks to you, i'm "saving the environment," one gratuitous flush at a time.

poopocalypse

lest ye think that everything is peaches and cream around here all the time, let me tell you about my night. dean and i were on our way back to the car after piano lessons. i called troy to find out how things were going at home, to gauge whether we could afford a little trip to mcd's. troy said, roughly, "there's been a disaster. max exploded. and i don't have the constitution to clean it up. i need your help." he had stayed home from work today because his constitution was compromised.

our trip to mcdonald's became a drive-thru visit, and we got home as quickly as we could. i told dean to stay outside with his ice cream so his brothers wouldn't be jealous, said hi to troy, and then headed upstairs to assess the damage. i don't have pictures to post of this event (you're welcome), but it was a doozy. as my pile of wipes began to grow, i re-vowed to myself that i will never, EVER have a dog in the house.

max was in the bathtub, directing my efforts, and making observations like, "mom, when i make a toot in the bathtub, it makes a bubble!" and, "i made a poop trail." how i love raising boys.

strength training

since giving birth for the fourth time, my body has shown signs of weakness (go figure). my back goes out with the slightest provocation. one morning i had to ask for assistance putting my pants on--too much bending and twisting, i guess. anyway, the pain finally prompted troy to find me some back exercises. they have helped tremendously even in the short time since that morning i couldn't get dressed by myself.

well i don't have them all memorized yet, so i needed someone to read through them for me the other day. troy was gone, so dean was my only choice if i didn't want to read them myself. i got the website i wanted and handed my laptop to dean. max was on the floor with me--he wanted to do them too.

watching max attempt to pull his legs onto his chest was quite hilarious. he kept grunting, and had a hard time reaching under his legs for some reason. by the time we were pulling both legs up, we were both laughing so hard that i could hardly do it myself.

then we came to the exercise where you lift up your backside to make a straight line from your knees to you shoulders. i had to hold the position for three deep breaths, then relax and do it again. well it was just too tempting: before i knew it, i had two boys dive rolling under me while i tried to take three deep breaths. so relaxing. i counted my breaths aloud so they knew when the drawbridge was closing. it was the source of much drama. ("max! hurry! the bridge is coming down!" "dean! i can't make it!")

then dean got creative with his reading. he started editorializing on the descriptions of the cat stretch: "Position yourself on your hands and knees. Very slowly, act like a baby." dean and max were overcome with giggles. max ended up under me as i did the "cat stretch," which involves sagging one's back and then arching it like a cat's. i sagged enough that my tummy touched him every time. another wave of giggles ensued.

it was quite the event. i don't know how much actual stretching or strengthening went on, but we sure had fun. it's refreshing to just be silly with my boys sometimes.

sweet children

there are things i don't want to remember about this time in my life. most of those stories are starring a recurring character called Monster Mom, who steps in when Well Rested Mom or Patient Mom takes a break. the thing is, i will remember those stories with great clarity. i just don't want to share them.
but there are some things i do want to remember, and i know i will forget them if i don't record them somewhere. and rather than try to keep them all in my head and write a big long post, i've decided to just write down whatever i remember right now and post it. there's a better chance that i'll post something this way.
so here's one that comes to mind:

the other day, i went into max and reed's room while brynn was sleeping to see what they were up to. i ended up lying down on the vacant bunk bed.

reed: mom, are you taking a nap?
me: yes, i'm taking a nap. i'm very tired.

max climbs up to his bed, throws down his quilt, climbs down, and puts his quilt on top of me.

max: mom, do you need a blanket?
me: thank you max! you got me your blanket from your bed?
max: yeah. i just want to make sure you're warm for your nap.

reed sits next to me on the bed with a book.

reed: mommy, do you want me to read you a story?
me: yes please.
reed: once upon a time, there was a good knight. and he went to the park, and played on the slide, and the swings, and he went to church, and went to primary. the end.

at this point, i had to look at what book had such a similar plot to his life. it was a book about a motorcycle policeman named max. go figure.

me: thanks for reading to me, reed. do you want to read me another book?
reed, in his best mom voice: no, not right now. you go to sleep, mommy.

they take such good care of me. :)
and then they left me alone!
i think i got to sleep for a good 20 minutes before we had to go pick up dean from school.

birthday boys

 

 

very funny, dad! i think i can handle a bigger piece than that!

 

 

happy birthday, troy and dean! hope you like your biggest present this year--the baby. :)