The Red Headed Step Child

My friend Heidi, and I chat as we clean.  I think I've written about it before...we say that the cleaning fairy comes to clean as we chat because we get chatting and do things that we didn't remember doing.  Then, later,  when you walk into a room and find that the bed is made and things look tidy, it's a pleasant surprise from the cleaning fairy!  

Anyway, this means that we often chat about random things.  As we empty the dishwasher, we chat about dishes and get frustrated with dish detergent that leaves a film on the dishes.  We used to spend big chunks of time chatting about how to fix that problem.

As we think about what to make for dinner, we chat about recipes that we have tried or want to try. 

As we sort laundry, we talk about what slobs our kids can be.  We vent about clothes that wind up in the laundry that are still clean...the slob kids just didn't want to put them away. 

As we clean bathrooms, we lament over disgusting boys that can't seem to aim well. 

As we clean out cupboards, we talk about all the stuff crammed in them.

Recently, we talked about the red headed step child that lives in Heidi's house.

Heidi is a name brand dish girl.  She likes dishes, but they really have to be the brands that she likes, or they don't get a place at her table.  She likes white dishes, but she is particular about the shade of white.  It has to be white.  Not white with a gray tint...

It's pretty funny and we've discussed things like this as we clean.

Heidi was cleaning out a cupboard as we were on the phone and she came across her Cuisinart dutch oven.  She started laughing as she talked about how she needs to just get rid of it because she'll never use it.  Why?  Because it isn't Le Creuset.  It's the red headed step child of her dutch oven collection.  We laughed and laughed about it and we talked about how she loves the red, and Le Creuset only has an hombre finish on their reds, so it did have color going for it...but it's still Cuisinart.  :)

Anyway, a few weeks later, I saw a recipe for some overnight artisan bread that is cooked in a dutch oven.  I wanted to try the recipe, but I don't have a dutch oven.  I remembered our conversation, and I asked Heidi if I could borrow the red headed step child.  

She jumped at the chance to re-home the child.  I insisted that I only wanted to borrow, and then we argued over the point until we had to hang up because I was driving the girls to dance.  

Lily came out to the car carrying the bright red beauty and told me there was a note inside.  I opened it up and laughed...

 After more arguments and cajoling, I decided to adopt this beauty.  I have no qualms about making her a full fledged member of our family.  :)

I have yet to try the artisan bread.  I'll have to let you know how it goes.
Thanks Heidi!

A Circus

Every once in a while, the circus comes to our house.  All sorts of acrobatic feats are performed.

It's a bit dangerous.  Sometimes there are tears...

But the audience always walks away impressed and grateful for the show.

Another One Bites the Dust

Nate ended up getting the same thing that Jason had.  I'm not really sure how.  I can't imagine that it's because they sat next to each other at the movie, shared drinks, and then later bathed/showered together...Ugh.  The movie thing can't be helped, but I did tell Nate to leave Jason to shower alone that night when we got home.  Next thing I know, they're in there "swimming" together.  I had said no baths, but swimming doesn't count.  Right?  So, I wasn't surprised when I woke up to find Nate barfing, with a fever and complaining of a bad headache.  He got to stay home from school.  Luckily, it was just a one time barf thing, and the tylenol kept the fever down.  

 Mid-morning, I found him laying in the sunshine with Charlie.

 It wasn't long before he was asleep...

 So, I brought him out a pillow and blanket and he didn't even wake up as I made him a little bed.  Poor kid...He was better the next day, so that's good.

Nice of Charlie to keep watch though.

Conversation in the Car

I feel like I spend a whole lot of time in the car these days.  It's crazy how quiet the house is after Jason goes to school, and then once 3:15 hits, the chaos begins and it doesn't stop until my head hits the pillow at night.

Allie goes to dance 3 days a week now.  I share carpool duty with Heidi, so I drive the girls to dance and she picks them up.  I like that schedule and it's nice to have a few minutes a day chatting with those cute girls about what is going on in their lives.

Allie has been pretty bummed about losing the 7-11 by our house.  It's not like she went there all that often, but knowing that the possibility of riding her bike down there for a Slurpee is out, has been quite a blow.  It seems like every time we drive by the closed down and depressing store front, she wonders what will be there in its place.  For a while, she hoped it would become a Maverik.
When we recently heard that the bank across the street would be closing, she hoped that it would become a 7-11 instead.  I told her that it wouldn't happen.  If they wanted a 7-11 there, they would have just left ours open. 

As we were driving to dance the other day, we stopped at a light and saw that they were changing the gas station on one of the corners in Logan into a Maverik.  It's crazy to me.  It feels like we have 7 or 8 just in Logan, but that might be one or two more than reality. 

Anyway, Allie saw the new Maverik sign going up and said "Maverik and Disneyland are taking over the world.  I wouldn't be surprised if there were a Maverik in Disneyland." 

I laughed and laughed. I don't know why I thought that was so funny, but I did.  Obviously, I found it funny enough to write a whole pointless story about it.  :)

Victory For Me

The littles love to play with Jake.  Sometimes, all the stars align and we are able to talk Jake into hanging out with the brothers doing what they want to do.  This was one of those times.

 It was Nasty Nate, The Hunter, and General Jake going on a mission...

I don't mind them singing the victory song if they'll sing it together. 

A Cozy Spot

By this point in the winter, we can all feel a bit starved for sunshine.  We've had some really cold days lately, but when the sun shines through, the wood floor in front of the sliding glass door is the place to be.  

It's one of Charlie's favorite places to be.

 I came home from a meeting on Sunday to find Allie and Charlie all snuggled up and enjoying the sunshine.  I guess he had gotten some honey on him and she had given him a bath.  Charlie is especially fun to snuggle after a bath. 

 Sunshine just adds the perfect element to it all...

Hair Cut

I took Charlie in to get groomed.  

It was a first for both of us.  I didn't really know what I was saying when I told them how short to go.  His hair is pretty short.  His face looked super cute, but we're all still trying to get used to his body :)
I brought him home just after Jake got home from school.  He was shocked, and prefers a fluffier Charlie, but he didn't complain about it.  Allie hated it.  Nate and Jason didn't really care.  They just love him anyway.

It's only hair.  It'll grow back, but it's something to get used to for sure.

Provo Beach

We usually go to Provo Beach with the Johnsons over the Christmas break, but we didn't end up doing it this year.  The boys have been asking non stop since November about when we'd go.  My brother and his family were going to be in town, so we went down.  

 The kids all loved the ropes course.

And we had fun with cousins...

Laser tag was for sure the most looked forward to attraction. 

Especially for Jason.  Unfortunately, he got a fever and was feeling pretty gross.  He didn't even want to play laser tag, and that's saying something. 

I convinced him to go into the room anyway and sit on a barrel and shoot.
He ended up having a great time doing that.

Jake took first place over all.  I guess all those hours logged on playing video games are worth something... :)

We went from Provo Beach over to watch the Lego Movie 2.  It was a really cute show.  Being a Lego fan, I loved it.  So did Jason.  He loved it so much that when he barfed, he didn't want to leave.  I was glad Mike was sitting next to him and was able to catch the puke in a cup.  Ugh.  Everything was not awesome (watch the movie :))

We didn't want to infect everyone any more than we probably had so far, so we left and went back home rather than spend a puke filled night at Mom's house with the cousins.  We probably would have been fine because he didn't puke again, but you never know. 
It was a fun quick trip.  We'll have to find a way to get with the cousins again soon.  We never get enough time. 

Conversation With Nate

I had an interesting conversation with Nathan the other day (I'm still trying to get used to the fact that he prefers to be called Nathan).  Here's how it went...

Nathan:  If Jason were born before the Civil War, would he be a slave?

Me: (completely taken off guard)  What?

Nathan:  If Jason was born before the Civil War and before Abraham Lincoln said there couldn't be slaves anymore, would he have had to be a slave?

Me:  Um, no.

Nathan:  Are you sure?  Because he's really tan.

Me:  (seeing where he was going with this)  Yeah, no.  He's not that tan.

Nathan:  Oh, you have to be really tan, like almost black to be a slave?

Me:  Yeah, kind of.  It gets complicated doesn't it.  

Nathan:  I guess.

We were not in a place where we could have a big discussion, but it has stuck with me.  I remember reading Uncle Tom's Cabin and studying about abolition and always wondering how in the world, and why in the world the color of skin would and could matter so much.  Unfortunately, it still does.  

It raises all sorts of talking points about inequality and opportunities that some people have not had purely because of the color of their skin, religion, economic situation, or a myriad of other reasons.  

The kids have come home talking about Martin Luther King Jr. and Presidents Washington and Lincoln, just because of the time of year and the days that we remember them. 

Jason told me (with complete incredulity) that some kids had to drink at different water fountains because of the color of their skin.   I guess some of this has been swimming around in Nathan's mind and he asked some questions.  It is a sad part of our history and a sad part of what we still see today.  I just hope we keep seeing progress and that we remember that we are all God's children.   

Valentine's Day

We had a nice Valentine's day at our house.  Jason and Mike brought some flowers home for Allie and me, so we had some pretty flowers to look at on the table.

I gave each of the kiddos a small treat in their Valentine mail boxes.

Jason came home with the cute mail pouch that they get in Kindergarten.  I think those pouches are so cute. 

We also had a nice dinner.

Jason is always playing with his food...
"I mustache you a question"

We had grilled chicken and dutch oven potatoes with lots of veggies and some fun pink drinks.

The kids were happy and didn't complain about dinner for once, so that's a win!
I love this family of mine!

Assembly

 A whole load of packages showed up on our porch of desks that had to be assembled for Mike to take and show to a customer.  He enlisted the help of Jake, but we were all doing our best to either get in the way or help...

Allie was in the "get in the way" camp...

 Nate was in the "I really want to help, but it takes more time for you to 'help' me help" camp...

Jason was in the "I don't really work, so I'm just going to lay here and drive RC cars around you" camp.

Jake is actually a big help, so we were grateful to have him...

After running around, getting in the way and being shooed out of there, Charlie found a cozy spot to wait out the chaos.

I didn't get any after pictures, but the desks are cool and I hope Mike wins the bid.  :)

A Crazy Storm

We had a crazy storm the other day.  I haven't seen many like it.  The littles discovered it when they went over to the neighbor's house for their daily treat.  They came back in the house covered in snow and exclaiming that there was a blizzard.  The wind was so strong that it whipped the snow all over.

 Of course, they all had to put boots on and run around the house.

They recruited Allie and Jake and when they were out there, I thought it would be funny to lock them out.  They pounded on the doors and I didn't let them in.  They finally took refuge in the garage and I laughed and laughed as they yelled for me to open up.  :)  Bad mom?  I don't think so!

It blew and stormed all night.  The tracks that the kids made around the house disappeared after just a few minutes because the wind blew new snow over them.  The doors and windows were hard to see out of because the snow had blown on them and then stuck.  It was wild.  I was glad we weren't out there driving in it.  Or trying to walk in it like some poor pioneer.  Our house was warm and cozy and we were grateful for it.