tidbits...

Not been great on the blogging front lately. This last month has been a whirlwind of life, really. Every day seems to be packed to the max, and maybe it's because I've got a little less gusto than usual to manage it! However, my 13th week has begun, and just like that, I'm feeling marvelous!

Here's a little bit of what we've been up to lately:

T-Ball, T-Ball, T-Ball. This, I know, is the beginning of a great, long saga in our family's existence. Hopefully, it'll get a little more, (how can we put this politely?), "skilled," as the games continue. Nevertheless, Grant is in seventh heaven. I'll vehemently deny it in later years, so don't quote me, but T-Ball for Grant and his teammates currently consists of: chewing on one's mitt in the outfield while watching airplanes in the sky, fighting over who got the ball first(meanwhile, the other guy's running all the bases), high-fiving the first baseman as one safely reaches first base, and grabbing one's crotch as one stops on each base (no bathrooms, just a bush.) However, to his credit, this kid's got a mean, fast hit, and is a pretty great little runner too. And, he absolutely loves every minute of it.

you can see that Jack would like to participate


The phenomenon of balance. Grant has decided it's time for the training wheels to come off, and is determined to get it, no matter how many falls. He's a perseverant little guy, and despite lots of tumbles and my aching back as I hunch over to help him steady himself, he's making progress. Any tips? Meanwhile, Jack's decided his "baby trike" just won't do, so we got him a little "real" bike with training wheels. It's pretty teeny. He thinks it's the bomb.

Sleepless nights, er days, er...? Nate recently completed several weeks of night float. I've got to hand it to this guy...he can function on hardly anything! He works SO hard. I know that someday, some patient on the operating table will be grateful for his life spared due to Nate's rigorous training. Some rotations are obviously harder than others, and having gone through two traumas gigs (vicariously), I can now claim truthfully that we fly a flag of victory after getting through them. I truly felt pity for poor Nate when he rolled into church last week after (no exaggeration) six hours of sleep in the previous 72, and tried mightily to lift his eyeballs into even a semi-open state. He was pretty much comatose, but I admire his commitment and what that says to our kids by being there.

Ah, New York. Saturday was a great day. My sisters Sarah and Laura and I participated in a Run/Walk for women's cancers together. The cause is great, but so much more meaningful because of Sarah's fight with breast cancer. It was emotional to be in Times Square with 50,000 other women who all wore signs of "in support of" or "in memory of" on their backs. Thank you, Sarah and Laura, for an amazing opportunity. I hope we can do it again.

And of course, a couple of pictures of enjoying the city with the kids. My heart nearly burst with joy when Grant said, "Mom, the whole time I was in your tummy and you and Dad lived here, I was just busting to get out! I love this place!" That's my boy.

crossing the Brooklyn Bridge... becoming a tradition

ah, hem...

All right, people.... let the truth be known....

We've got a

and if that's not clear enough, let's just say that there's a

roaming around our house these days!

I'm due on Grant's birthday, November 15, which makes me about 10 weeks pregnant. I know this is still pretty early on, but we just can't keep this a secret for much longer! Actually, Grant let the cat out of the bag several weeks ago when he was asked to give the closing prayer in Primary. He said, "Heavenly Father, please help me to keep my mommy's secret, and only tell the people she told me I could tell." (So, we probably shouldn't have told him so soon, but he has been begging and praying and scheming and dreaming about a new baby for months and months and months! The fact that I'm due on his 6th birthday has been a source of utter joy and excitement for him.)

The bottom line is...wish us luck!

a solicitous, somewhat desperate plea

Yup, you guessed it. This post addresses one of my all-time favorite featurettes in the story of motherhood: potty training. I'm writing with sort of a guilty, nagging sense of shame. You see, Jack is nearly 3, and is dead set on NOT becoming toilet trained. By writing this, I am allowing myself to become quite vulnerable and open to mocking and jeering by all you fabulous moms who wiped your hands of the process (literally!) in a matter of days when your kids were, oh, maybe 15 months...

But now in my utter meekness, I am seeking your advice. I've tried bribes. I've made the chart with the most amazing stickers as a reward (that's what did it for Grant.) I've bought the cool underwear. I've begged, praised, cajoled, and the other day declared with gusto that our house was going to become a "poop free zone!" (Grant was slightly concerned about that, but really I meant "poop-in-the-diaper" free zone.) We've practiced sword fighting (well, I haven't. But we've watched Grant demonstrate.) We've read books and watched movies. What am I missing here?

Lately, Jack will say, "Mom, don't worry, I'll go on Thursday." "Saturday." "Tuesday." But, to no avail. The problem is, the kid is 40 lbs. He looks like he's 4. He doesn't FIT in diapers, and good heavens, he poops man-poops! (Sorry for the frank language.) I took him to Target and had him try all the little potty seats, and his cute, big bum can't even squeeze on any of them! We've got a little seat that fits over the big toilet, and that's going to have to cut it.

Should I just drop it and leave the poor guy alone, or can anyone give me some pointers?

a little sojourn down south

One of the handful of good things about Nate's residency (I'll list the not-so-good sometime when I need sympathy) is his four weeks off every year. I've mentioned in an earlier post that I have dubbed them the "keep-me-sane weeks," which is exactly what they are.

This past one was spent on a meandering, spontaneous vacation through Virginia and down into Charlotte, North Carolina to see our great friends, Harland and Heather Hayes. Although we spent close to 24 hours in the car, it was so, so great to just be together as a family. We flew by the seat of our pants: no real set itinerary (right down to calling motel after motel in Roanoke to see if anyone had availability! Not exactly my uptight, control-freak style, but very refreshing...) no commitments, no obligations. It was bliss. Here's a few pics of our adventures.

good buddies: Grant and Cannon

the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Va (a detour for Nate the history buff)

inside the Luray Caverns (amazing....)

our freezing hike in the leafless Shenandoah National Park (we'll be back in the fall!)


we couldn't resist the 1960's roadside feature: Dinosaur Land!

Jack conjuring up a scared face for that frightening papier-mache creature

if that's not authentic, I'll eat my foot

good times.

Bravo! Encore!

Friday was Grant's first piano recital. Way to go, Granter!

waxing sentimental

A wise woman reminded me this week how important it is to slow down and enjoy the moment: little ones won't be little for long. So often my gears are whirring like mad: get that load of laundry in, make that grocery list, call that student, pick up the sitter, plan YW, wash that floor, clean up those toys that have barely been out, get that dinner on, go, go, go. But this week, I've been trying a little harder to heed the profound advice.

I am a lucky girl. Today, a cozy, rainy Friday with no piano students to teach and no pressing commitments to occupy me, I got to experience the little world of my boys that sometimes passes by me as I zip around. I got to be an Allosaurus until my voice is hoarse. I had my hair brushed tenderly on several occasions by Jack. I got to give and receive backrubs, read about 25 library books, watch Sword in the Stone after dinner while eating ice cream (yes, this is the same day as my Cadbury post... I'm on a roll), and engage in animated discussions about knights, Star Wars, amphibians, egg-eating dinosaurs, and good Lamanites with my little people.

There are so many of you out there who I look up to as mothers. I only hope to learn from you and make more days like today, because I know that Grant and Jack won't always want me to be an audience and an active participant in their every moment forever.

a question

Why is it that it only takes me twenty minutes to go from doing this:

to nibbling this?

Darn that Canadian chocolate that appears only once a year! Why does it have to be so good?