5 blogs for the price of 1

1. An interesting chain of events

Mortgage companies lower credit requirements to allow subprime loans for those who otherwise wouldn't qualify.

Housing bubble is created.

Bubble pops.

Economy goes into a tailspin.

Auto industry fails.

Auto industry gets bailout money.

GMAC, who has been enacting more stringent loan criteria gets $1 billion.

GMAC decides to loosen its criteria to enable people with subprime credit to buy cars.

History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme
-Mark Twain

2. Pants

The central point of our New Years resolutions, to be completed in the first half of the year:

-James will keep his clean and dry without diapers.

-Dan and I will fit into ours.

Did you know weight loss is the most popular New Years resolution? You probably could have guessed. In ancient Babylonia it was to return borrowed farm equipment. Did you know that?

I do have other, less cliche, goals. I try to evaluate my life in its different segments (personal, physical, intellectual, spiritual, wife, mother, etc) and think of goals for each area. Most of my goals are ongoing, but New Years is a good time for me to reflect and reevaluate my progress and priorities.

3. Who, me?

No fewer than 3 people have commented recently on how "GQ" James always looks at church.

Several people have also asked where I get my hair done because they think its cute. (Chi-Wah Aveda, by the way. That's right, I'm so grown up, I have a set salon I go to)

Dan and I have both been taken aback a little by this external approval of our fashion sense, something we both have long associated with feelings of inadequacy (ok, maybe me more than Dan). When our aforementioned "pants" goal is achieved, we will finally use birthday and Christmas money we've been saving and hopefully our wardrobes will improve to be as good as James' :)

4. If I could talk to the animals...
Ruthie discovering yet another inch of space she couldn't see yesterday. I can only imagine what it must be like to have your world (by way of visual field) expanding everyday even when staying in the same environment.

She hit the parrot several times, then she smiled. Emerging intention?
5. I've gotta start reading the weather forecast!If I would have read the forecast...

I would have known to wake up Ruth from her nap yesterday instead of postponing our shopping trip for today.

I would have driven on snow-free roads past snow-free landscape on my way to Wal-Mart.

I would have had sparkling cider for New Years and ingredients to make Oreo Truffles for the party we will hopefully be able to drive to tonight.

I would be free from the worry of running out of toilet paper and having to walk all the way next door to borrow some.

All the would-a, could-a, should-a's...right, Linda?

Christmas 08

Twas the night before Christmas

and all through our home
we began new traditions
for the years to come

Our kitchen was covered with sweet foods galore
from the party we hosted the night before


We ate pizza with family
watched movies, played games
read the first Christmas story
more books and we sang


Then with kids in their jammies
cookies out on a plate
we stuffed gifts under the tree
and went to bed late!


When James woke the next morning
there's no way he could know
all the excitement that waited below
yummy food to eat
lots of gifts to unwrap
is it any surprise
he stayed up through his nap?


another great holiday meal was fed
and he finally made his way up to bed

Our first Christmas at home-
so much fun and cheer
we hope yours was as great
-and Happy New Year!

Change of Address

Ruthie can now be found at:

Crib in JJ and Ruth's room

The office will be closed tonight for cleaning and remodeling (furniture exchange). Grampy and Grammy have committed to a one night lease for Christmas Eve after which the guest room status will be reinstated for any potential visitors!

May I recommend waiting for Spring? 1 degree windchill is not fun...especially if you don't like chapped hands and face.

ok, that's enough of that.

Ruth slept in her crib for all her naps yesterday and for 7 straight hours last night. Sounds like a successful transition to me!

Snow and Sickness

For someone who overall lacks motherly intuiton, I sure called it when I took the kids' Christmas pictures last Sunday. James has had some bowel issues this weekend. Friday night he woke up 4 times screaming for a diaper change. Of all the timing, it was the night before Dan's big final. The night after, when Dan agreed to take James if I took Ruth? James woke up once asking for a drink of water, no stinky bottom wiping necessary.

So instead of the cute kids in red together like last week, here is the "matching" picture from this Sunday (not posed, JJ was very upset that I would be taking pictures when he wanted help getting up to avoid hurting his bottom). Dan had meetings/practices at 8, 10, 11:30, and 12 and sang in Sacrament Meeting while I watched the kids at home. Then he came home and I went to church to teach my primary class.


So anyway, other than Friday night the whole thing wouldn't be so bad. Even in the picture below, James' red face is not due to fever or any other symptoms, just a recent nose-picking episode. So it woudn't be so bad except James got a bad case of what Dan calls, "the fire butt". AKA, relentless flaming diaper rash. He won't sit or hardly walk at times and definitely won't hold still for a diaper change. We consider ourselves very lucky that he sat on Santa's lap for a picture at the mall Saturday night. I would post a copy of it if I was willing to pay $24 dollars for a CD with the picture on it but without the rights to reprint. I insist on keeping at least 3 out of my 4 limbs and I already paid one of my arms to get hard copies for the kids' grandparents, aunts, and uncles. I'll probably scan the picture in later.

Here is our neighborhood Saturday after Friday's 12-15" snow deposit.

Pirated from Shelly's blog. I think her camera better captures the contrast in this all white terrain.

Constant plowing makes some awesome snow banks for sledding. Last year the kids built tunnels through them too.

Can't wait for Christmas!

Dedicated to James Tartal

Since you liked this type of footage so much last year.

At the risk of sounding like an Arizona resident and talking about the weather in every conversation :)...
It is currently 26 degrees in Rochester and feels like 11 with the wind. Our weekend snowstorm is just getting started and could dump between 8 and 12 inches on us. Here's what it looks like, although it appears more intimidating in person:


Looks like our holiday meal shopping will have to wait until at least tomorrow (exactly why we have food storage in our basement!). Won't that be exciting? Walmart on a Saturday and on the last Saturday before Christmas! Drive safely Vornehms and other friends traveling out this weekend!

Carolling

Because most of you live too far for us to come to your door, and those who do live close enough...well...now we don't have to come to your door :)

He only consented to do this for the camera because I was letting him postpone his nap as long as he continued singing. Therefore he's tired so its not his best singing and its a little, well, mobile.




And some primary songs.

Equations for Happiness

Ruth's Equation:
Nap
+ (tummy full of milk - air bubble)
+ empty large intestine
- full diaper
________________________
= lots of big grins like the one captured above.


JJ's Equation

Strong Museum +/- little sister = happiness

(first joint trip yesterday. Still fun)

Mom's Equation

JJ + Ruth - wind injuries = relief

that neither was injured in yesterday's windstorm. In the middle of the parking lot the stroller started to blow over...not away...over. When I let go of JJ's hand to hold the stroller down with both, he started stumbling/blowing away. Good thing the car coming saw and stopped while I held on to my two kiddos, steeled myself against the gust, and waited in the middle of the road for it to die down before being able to safely continue.

Dad's Equation

Too many equations in his life already, but I'll ask the next time I see him. That will probably be Saturday when the semester and finals are finally over!

Stench, tantrums, pretty dress, and more

STENCH
Maybe there's a reason Dan doesn't clean often. Yesterday he cleaned and took out all the trash in the house. This morning we woke up to the most putrid smell we've ever had in our house (which is saying something since our house seems prone to funny smells). It is completely contained on the main floor and smells either like yucky yeast or old milk depending on which of us you ask. We CANNOT find the source!!!

TANTRUMS
James seems to accompany every request these days with tears and any denied request with very passionate and irrational tears. I don't know if its being 2 or if he's learning his sister's best tactics at getting her way. I'm trying to put less pressure on him to always be helping or hurrying. I don't think it accounts for all of his behavior change, but things have been a little more frazzled and high strung around here recently. Ah, the holidays.

"I don't want my picture taken!"

BARRETTES
I haven't made/bought any red head bands for Ruth yet and with all the Christmas festivities going on, we've needed them. Instead, her little clips/barrettes have made their debut. So cute.
CHRISTMAS OUTFITS
I found this dress for Ruth yesterday 60% off at Carters and couldn't resist. Unfortunately, the matching red cardigan was only available in 9 months (the dress is sleeveless).

I've decided to dress the kids in Christmas clothes for the next 3 weeks of church to help us feel more festive and to give myself 3 chances at getting good pictures of them all dressed up. Here are some shots from our first attempt:
(by the way, I did learn my lesson last week and took these before church. Good thing since Ruth pooped on her dress on the way home.)

My antics were meant to capture JJ's attention, but seemed to amuse Ruth too.
SINGING
Oh how he loves to sing. If only he would do it for the camera more. A little bribery got this much out of him, but its more speaking than singing.

Another reason I love where we live

Any evening Dan is gone, there is bound to be at least one other mom home alone too. I spent Friday night with Shelly and Amy whose husbands are both med students. We decided we should do that more often, and thanks to Shelly it actually happened. Last night two moms and their girls came over for a few hours and one stayed for dinner. Tonight we all went to my neighbor Haley's house (her husband is a resident). We added 2 kids whose parents were doing other things and ended up with 4 moms and 9 kids eating a yummy waffle dinner. I contributed the paper towels. With 9 kids there, we definitely used them!

It is so much easier having Dan gone when friends are around to pass the time and keep JJ more entertained! This will definitely have to be a Winter tradition. Thanks girls!

PS. Any other Rochester moms want in on it? Let me know and I'll make sure to call you when we're getting together. Or just tell me when you could use a girl's night and chances are Dan would be glad to have some extra time on campus!

In other news:
Ruth slept 7 hours last night! Today she looked like a sweet little Christmas present (see pic). We have been spending more time at home because Ruth will be 6 weeks old on Saturday and I am still not completely recovered physically. The nurses at my Dr.'s office recommended decreased physical activity, especially stairs. I figure carrying Ruth in her car seat and hauling them both in and out of the car is probably not helpful either. It has actually been good for Ruth's schedule and thus her morale. Gotta love these smiles!

HaHa

What do you think Nicole? Should Santa bring you one of these? This is hilarious and oh so American.

*Nicole is my sister-in-law who is expecting.
**Thanks Chrissie for the link!

Cold Feet

Today we played in the snow while Ruth was sleeping.

First...

We made a snow man. The experience was reminiscent of building towers with James. He kept knocking it down before we finished. When I went in to get the camera, he knocked the head off. We recreated the head just long enough for a picture, then it came off again.

Then...

I decided to stop resisting and we pelted the snowman with snowballs until the middle part fell apart.

Then...

We made the bottom into a mountain by piling more snow on.

Then...

We added Mickey ears. And that is how we ended up with this:
Then...

We went down the snow-covered slides next to each other and landed simultaneously on our bottoms...it was fast. We also played on the swings.

Finally...

James refused to stand or take another step because his "foot hurt". He denied my suspicions that his feet were cold, but it turns out that was exactly it. I guess its a new feeling for him. I'd been asking all day if he was cold anywhere, but he kept saying, "no". Maybe now he knows what really cold feels like...it hurts! No big surprise, but apparently his big rubber rain boots are not sufficient for an hour in the snow! I heard a rumor Santa is bringing snow boots this year :)

Tonight for FHE

Family Home Evening

We learned our first "scene" in the nativity story. This is "Mary" on the donkey knocking on the Inn door in Bethlehem. James mostly played the innkeeper, but eventually asked to play Mary. I guess being a pregnant woman is worth getting to ride the horse.

Our annual tradition of making an ornament to represent the year. Here they are from all 4 Christmases we've been married (only 4? Wow!).

2005: Glass to represent our wedding holding shells we collected on our cruise.
2006: James' hospital anklet. Written inside: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given"
2007: Graduation tassle since we both graduated. Me with my master's, Dan with his bachelor's.
2008: A wire 08. The 0 is covered by Ruthie's hospital anklet with ribbon around it. The 8 is lined with shells from a lei we got at a luau in Hawaii.

The Stink Eye
(just for Dan)

"Beary Christmas" (words on her shirt) and Happy Bunny Slippers!

Updates

Doesn't she look cute? You should have seen her in the adorable dress my mom got her that she wore to church today. I should have taken a picture of her in it before we went to church and before she covered the back of it in bright green poop. *sigh*. On December 7th in Ruthie's baby calendar, her first major up-the-back blowout is now recorded.


I never took/posted a picture of this cute pumpkin hat. Shame on me. Thanks, Katie!

My apologies for the lack of pictures of JJ. He currently has a huge red semicircle under his mouth from constantly biting his lip. Poor chap. Ooooh, its punny.

James' newfound independence:

He is becoming more confident in leaving our sides out in public which has led to several interesting episodes.

1. At the doctor's office last Monday while I was waiting to schedule a follow-up appointment for Ruth, James ran out into the waiting room and then out of the office into the building lobby. We had a serious talk about being able to see Mommy to prevent someone taking him away. Then we practiced sitting and waiting for Mommy in the doctor's office.

2. Playing in the gym after singing time on Wednesday, I noticed I hadn't seen James for a few minutes. I found him in the storage closet where they keep all the balls, calling, "Mommy come back!". All the kids go in and out, but this time the lights were out and the door had closed behind him.

3. Before church this morning, James started out toward the car on his own. I looked out and couldn't see him and was concerned that he'd already gotten around the corner. In fact, he'd either slipped or been hit by our screen door which blows fast and hard in the wind and had fallen off the side of the doorstep into the dead flowers. He was laying there face down crying. Sad!

4. We were just barely on time (= late) to church today. James followed Dan while he helped get the sacrament ready, but Dan didn't notice. In the meantime, I ran to get a picture for my primary lesson. When I came into the chapel, James was missing. It took us what felt like a long time to find him. Eventually a friend of ours found JJ playing with "Old McDonald" (a farm set) in a coat room area. Oh James.

Auditory Conflict

So Dan and I are a couple that complement each other more than carbon copy each other. Although we have similar dispositions, we often enjoy very different things.

Let's look at music, for instance. If you were to open each of our CD players the day we met, mine would have had a country album (probably Brad Paisley since I had just bought it) and Dan's would have had a rap album (edited, naturally, he was a returned missionary :)).

Even now when we have both become so boring as to mostly listen to the news and books on CD, we have very different ideas of what is worthy of our time, particularly when it comes to books on tape. I love pretty much anything that has an interesting story line while Dan almost exclusively reads/listens to nonfiction books. For roadtrips we meet in the middle with what I call-for lack of a more accurate term- "social commentary" books such as "Freakonomics" and "Traffic". They are entertaining enough for my small mind and relevant enough to reality for Dan's pragmatic one.

The most recent example of this auditory conflict, however, may be the most irreconcilable one yet. When watching YouTube with James, Dan loves the Elephant Song and hates Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. I, however, have wanted to bang my head against the wall for all 3+ minutes of the former ever since the 2nd time I've heard it and I find the latter to be a quite entertaining rendition of an old favorite. *Sigh* I guess we'll just have to listen to the Lion Sleeps Tonight.

Weekly Pictures (Early)

Putting up the tree.



















James' ornaments minus the ones I moved to another area of the tree.

Crazy hair, crazy eyes, cute sweater and boots!

What happens when I use red eye reduction. Deer in the headlights.
Thanks, Joe and Lauren for the sweater and Kim for making the boots!























James at around the same age, except we had to style his hair to do this. It usually stayed plastered to his head.

(In these pictures I think the 2 kids look a like, but I'm surprised looking through JJ's old pictures how different they actually look.)


Christmas Traditions

Dan's family advent calendar. Passing on one of his family traditions to his son. Thanks, Mom C for passing your calendar down!






















Rub a dub dub!

She may not get baths in a mixing bowl. (Pic of JJ)




Or get to hang out in a drying rack afterward. (This pic of JJ was a joke)
























But she does get to go in the "big bathtub" with her big brother!

Ruth's 2nd bath in the "big bathtub". The 1st was when Dan was a night when Dan got home late, so this will have to work. Picture cropped for censoring purposes.






















and she gets to hang out with the clean laundry while JJ gets out of the tub! (not a joke)