That's the Doctor!

We were at Church for tithing settlement recently, waiting in the little foyer area where a picture of Joseph Smith Jr. hung.

L: "Ezra, who's that?"
E: "Ummm... the doctor!"
L: "Hmm, not quite..."
F: "Yes it is! It's the Doctor of Covenants!"

Love it. :)

What are Brothers For?

Overheard as we were getting ready to leave for Lifetime Fitness today:

F: "Esra, pretty soon I'm going to go to school"
E: "Yeah! School!"
F: "No, only me. Not you. I'm going to go to school and play, and you're going to stay home and play wif yourself"
E: "Mm hmm!"
F: "But it will be ok, because then I won't hit you while I'm gone"

Yeesh.


They really do get along most of the time!

Oh, and as a note, he's not going into Kindergarten for over another year, though he's reading like a pro and talks eagerly about school every day...

Happy Day

Hooray for finally being able to play outside again! (It's been a looooong winter...)

So Sweet to Me

I love it when Brian is home to put the kids to bed with me. The routine is much more enjoyable, and I'm able to admire not only my cute kids (why are kids twice as cute in jammies?), but also my husband in his father role. Love him!

After changing into pjs, brushing teeth, reading scriptures, and saying family and kids' prayers, we will each take a kid and tuck them in. But for Ezra this means tossing him (with blankie and mouse) into his crib and bidding him adieu--maybe pausing for a toddler smooch before turning off the light.

For Felix, on the other hand, "tucking him in" has come to mean: hearing all about an adventure he had that day with puppy (fav. stuffed animal), the intricate workings of some body part (like the kidneys), and/or his plans for the next morning's breakfast; reading 2 bedtime stories (with 6 questions per page, and corrections if I leave out a word); more pressing life questions as he climbs into bed and requests that his blanket be flattened and pristinely tucked in; and a complex call-and-response style exchange of good-nights/I love yous/sweet dreams/and see you tomorrows.

Incredibly endearing and precious. But a bit time consuming!

So you can guess which kid Brian and I usually vie for.

Well, tonight after prayers, Felix warmed my heart with little conversation:

L: "Felix, who do you want to tuck you in? Mommy or DADDY!!!!"
F: "Mommy!"
L: "Oh, but Daddy is so fun, and he does awesome sound effects when he reads books."
F: "Oh, I want you, Mommy, because you're so sweet to me!"

Smitten!

Busy, Odd Day. Or, The Little Car that Couldn't

I could tell last night when I was folding this week's laundry that I had had a pretty easy week: the only clothes that came through of mine were 3 pairs of pj pants, 3 sweatshirts, and 3 pairs of fuzzy socks. And that's pretty much an accurate snapshot of what I looked like M-Th.

So today is Supermom day: I started off with my first ever yoga class at General Mills at 7am. I am totally converted. I already am totally in love with yoga! Since it wasn't a beginner's class, I was worried I would feel weak and inflexible, but I actually didn't feel too out of place. (Guess my daily grind as a mom keeps me in decent shape...) I was even able to do most of the advanced variations of the poses, like the crow pose!

I am really grateful to Brian who's willing to head in a bit later to work on Fridays for the next few months so that I can bring some balance back into my life, now that I'm not running outside regularly. I am looking forward to stretching, toning, and balancing my way to a better life. :)

Later in the morning, the boys and I braved the -20* (yes, NEG 20, eek) weather to head to Ezra's 2-yr well child exam. Another visit that confirmed I'm raising linebackers with big heads: both my boys are in the 75%ile for weight and head, with Felix in the 10%ile for height, and Ezra in the 25%ile for height. (For the record: Felix: 38 lbs, 38" tall, 20.25" head. Stats from 4-yr check-up a month ago. Ezra: 30 lbs, 33.5" tall, 19.5" head).

But hey, they're happy, healthy, intelligent, active linebackers--and they completely win over my heart every single day. Love my boyzzzz. :D

So this is where my day got odd. I drove out of the parking lot, and was about a block down the road when suddenly I heard my car alarm go off. (This is all the more odd because I barely remembered I had a car alarm. The battery died in my remote like 3 years ago, and after trying unsuccessfully to replace it I just took the remote off my keychain and figured anyone who went to the trouble of stealing my car could just have it. It would help me get a minivan sooner, right? Plus, I think the false alarm rate on car alarms is something like 99.97%, so its probably not the biggest deterrent to a would-be criminal. But I digress.)

Anyhow, so all of the lights in and outside of my car start flashing, so I shut my car off when I reach a stop sign. What's going on??! Then my car won't turn back on, and the engine won't even crank! Ahh! Why didn't we renew AAA this year! I'm stranded! I'm going to die in like 15minutes, it's SO STINKIN' COLD OUT!

So after like 10 minutes of panicking, trying to start my car, and trying to answer Felix's questions without showing my frustration, I finally remember to take a deep breath and say a prayer. I'm at a fairly busy four-way stop, and I'm getting a little annoyed by the dirty looks from other drivers who I guess assume I'm doing this on purpose?! (But it made me think that I'm often guilty too of not having as much empathy as I should for people who I perceive as being "in my way"...)

So just then this kind man and woman pull up and offer to help me push my car around the corner onto the less-busy road. After trying to figure out what to do next, they notice I have two little guys in the backseat, who are now crying because of the cold. They offer to drive me somewhere to call for a tow truck or ride, and then they offer to drive me home if its anywhere nearby. So, generally I wouldn't accept offers like that from total strangers, but... they were an answer to prayer, it was abominably cold out, I got the "trustworthy" vibe from them, and did I mention we opted out of AAA for the first time in our married life? So I didn't really know who to call anyhow.

So Mr. & Ms. Good Samaritan drove us home, and I was so grateful for it!

After getting home, I remembered that I was going to stop at the store and pick up some staples we were out of. So I decided instead to make a batch of whole wheat bread and 2 doz whole wheat tortillas. Now if I only had a cow, some chickens, and an orchard and vegetable garden that produced throughout the winter, I'd be set.

So, the icing on the cake of this busy, odd day is that tonight Brian and I have an appointment with someone that has to do with something I've been excited about for a little while now, but that I'll have to post about later.

How's that for a mind-boggling cliffhanger?

"Exploring his Environment" or "Wreaking Destruction"

The broom and vacuum have been my constant companion this past week, thanks to Ezra's uninhibited curiosity about the pantry. A sampling of his adventures:

• Almonds, cashews, raisins, dried apricots. Felix got a knife and opened up bags of the nuts and fruit from Trader Joe's with Ezra and spread them all over the floor throughout the downstairs. I'm talking a sea of almonds, seriously.

• Oats. He loves dry oats, and if I leave the lazy susan cupboard open for 5 seconds when I'm baking, he's after them like a horse. (I know, whose child is this right?) He's gotten into them too many times to count, at least a dozen, sometimes when I'm out of the room, spilling oats all over the kitchen, dining room, and stairs.
• Sugar. Twice now, stuffing handfuls into his mouth, and spilling all over the floor and into the drawers.
• Butter. That was a few weeks ago, but yeah, eating it like a candybar.
• Rice Crispies. Three times yesterday. All over the floor.
• Rice. Raw. Brown. Dry. By the handful.
  
• Salt. From the canister. I don't get it either.
  
• Water. He pushes over a chair and climbs up to the kitchen sink, or onto the toilet and fills up cups and toys with water, drinking some and pouring the rest on the floor.
• Milk. Just once so far, into the dishwasher (while standing on the door). So at least cleanup was pretty easy.
  
• Diaper wipes. Daily. "How fast can I pull 250 wipes out of a box?"
  
• Oil. He tried to drink from the mega jug of canola oil, but that was at the apartment, so no permanent damage done here at least... (And I guess I cleaned it well enough to save the carpet; no fee when we moved out).

I know, you're thinking, where's his mom? And why hasn't she childproofed those cupboards? And what happens to someone who eats butter and drinks oil?

Well, can't a gal put away a load of laundry? And, I have! (I guess I need to do it better though...) And, baby soft skin and awesome thighs--give it a try.

Oh well, at least my floor has been getting swept and washed more. And I still love the little cutie as much as ever...

How could I not?

Snuggle Time

I love my baby...