It's Contagious

Monday night it snowed. Jeff plum didn't have time to shovel the driveway because he was busy taking care of Chase and I, running a tight ship. The next day, as Chase and I were walking home from preschool, Chase stopped quickly in the snow-filled driveway and said, in a very grown up voice, "Man, I gotta come out and plow the snow." I thought it was pretty cute, but not sure where this new found responsibility had come from. He rushed through lunch, I mean more than he usually does. He disappeared in the laundry room, came out bundled in his coat, dangling a scarf. "A little help, Mom, please", (okay, maybe the editor added the please!) while shaking the scarf for me to tie around his nose and face. I had completely missed his serious intentions to go out and "plow" the snow. I was so ignorant of his impending service that I even asked him, "Where ya going, sport?" He said, in his serious and mature voice, "I have worked to do outside. I'll be back in a minute, 'k?" Seriously, who is this kid?


I had to sneek out and capture a picture of this incredible boy. He worked for a very, very long time, even by adult standards. He was intent on removing any build up of snow. I heard a clang, thunk, rattle-rattle bang in the garage a while later. He simply felt that Dad's dirt shovel would be more effective. This boy did the entire driveway, and then even down the sidewalk. I fought tears watching this beautiful boy doing this incredible service. Turns out, when Chase has been talking to his dad on the phone lately, his dad has been asking him to take care of Mom. Wow. All this time Jeff has been gone in California, I have still had a man in the house. How lucky can one Mom be? I sure love my boys.



I love the randomness of most of his swipes.

My Sweetie

I have just realized that I have about three pages worth of posting I could do on Jeff and never have! I think it's about time I brag that man up!

I have been having horrible, horrible migraines for the last week and a half. I usually get them here or there, and quite infrequently at that. But lately, I have had them everyday, all day. I have been pretty miserable. Jeff has really taken one for the team.

Sunday, I almost missed church because of my headache. It hurt so bad it actually made me cry...and that's a first! But, I prayed and prayed and made it to our meetings. When I got home, Jeff sent me to bed. This may not seem like that big of an act of love to any of you. A little fact about Jeff...he worships his Sunday, after meetins' nap! So, to send me to bed, instead of him, was an incredible gesture. He fed Chase and got busy making cookies for me to take to choir practice that evening. He swept the floor, put dinner in, did the dishes, played legos with Chase. By the time Chase went to bed that night and Jeff and I could sit and visit, we were both in awe of each other...me for what that man stepped up and did all day, and Jeff for what I manage to get done each day without complaining. And it was only a Sunday! That impressed him more! The role reversal was hilarious. He was frustrated with having to "deal" with Chase all day, tired of messes on the floor and could we please take our dishes to the sink. You know, all of the tired comments that come flinging out of our mouths at the end of the day!? He said, "kudos to you for all that you do! I can't believe you not totally exhausted at the end of the day!" Am I really that great of an actress or does Jeff have that short of a memory?

Yesterday, Monday, Jeff came home early from work to check on me. He found me on our bed with the curtains drawn, Chase set up with a snack and a movie next to me. He came in for a few minutes to find out how we were, then disappeared. I thought he was at his usual after-work post, relaxing in front of the TV. A few minutes later, he came in and rifled around in some drawers. I painfully lifted my head, but couldn't glimpse what he was doing. A few minutes later, he stuck his head in to ask me what setting to wash the whites on. That man was doing laundry! He folded and put away and washed and dried! He asked Chase to come in his room and help him know where to put his clothes. I heard Chase say, "You folded clothes, Dad? You better tell Mom. She's going to be really happy!" And that I was Chase, that I was!

So, at the end of the day, with the lingering smell of dinner that I didn't even have to make, the sounds of a running dishwasher and washing machine and dryer of dishes and clothes that I didn't even have to wash, and the gentle snoring of a child that I didn't have to put to bed, that man invited me out of my cave. He asked me to come sit by him, covered me with a blanket, gave me some ibuprophen and a glass of water and asked, "You wanna watch "24" with me?"

Man, I love this guy. What a sweetheart. For all the times I complain that I don't get enough help, kudos to you, Jeff, for knowing when I really do. Thank you for all the help you are to me, without complaint. I love you, Jeff!

Pictures of Said Event

The helicopter with the life-like sounds. This was
a HUGE favorite!!


making your own animation and movies



the horse



the store

the water toy

A Little Bit of a Mean Streak

This morning, Chase dropped his toast. You know, the kind of accident where it literally looks like they just let go and let it fall. The kind of accident whose end frustration hinges souly on the item being dropped. I am sitting next to Chase and I all can see is the back of his head. He looks down and gasps and makes some inaudible sounds like, "Wha, it landed, oh uh the wha, how, that's......." He climbs back on the stool, displaying what could possibly be the cutest grin ever painted on a child. He turns to me to show me the incredible feat of his toast landing jam side up, knocks his hand into his glass of watered down cranberry juice, sending it sailing. Short lived victory. What kind of day is it going to be when it starts out with a juicy explosion all over the floor, the bar, his breakfast plate and the five year old? Hopefully, a great one!

I have been in the need of a good laugh. A good roll-on-the-floor, pants-wetting, side-splitting and tear-filled laugh lately. Enough of the sadness, I am ready to laugh!

Yesterday, my sister-in-law and I went to Salt Lake, half for errands for the hubbies and half for us to play. Our last stop was the Children's Discovery Museum at the Gateway Mall. As I sat there watching Chase and his cousins playing, I found great delight at the expense of others. I have a little bit of a mean streak.

First incident: a small child comes skipping across the room with a huge armful of plastic carrots, heading towards the farm to go feed the huge plastic horse, misjudges the distance of the huge wooden tree branch, smacks it, pings off, turns around, runs wailing to mom, still holding the armful of carrots. Saw him later, huge goose egg...still funny.

Second incident: Chase and cousins on museum roof, playing in the real, but fake helicopter. Big red button pushed, sounds of starting helicopter and rumbling engine, three children with panic on faces come spilling out of three different helicopter doors. Mom is no comfort...she is doubled over laughing, trying to not wet her pants.

Third incident: back inside at the ever popular water activity. A tall, Girl Scout chaperone standing near by, dressed to the nines, oozing make-up and piercings, turns to take a step, the heel of her Stiletto stuck in the rubber, water-proof mat. Arms and legs flailing every where as she tries to steady herself. Gets control, looks around cooly to see if any one saw her acting so unperfect, smiles at Mom as she gracefully glides past, Mom sweetly smiling back, proving she does have some scruples...waits to explode in a hysterical fit of giggle after she is around the corner and out of earshot.

So, thank you, world, for making my day. Thank you for giving me something to laugh at. I needed it. I have had even more laughs now because I have laughed while typing them. They are still funny to me! And just so you don't think I am a monster, I do have a rule about laughing at people's unfortunate mishaps. First, you check for broken bones and blood. If there is none, go ahead and laugh. I did. And it felt great!

I think I paid too much for the chicken wings

I gave Chase a quick itinerary for our errands as we ran out the door,

"Blah blah blah, and blah blah blah, and we need to run to Walmart to get chicken wings for Dad who wants them for dinner."

Sounds easy enough for a 5 year old. He did not, however, see the shopping list in my purse for the very needed groceries and such I would be purchasing while at Walmart.

One and a half hours and $200 later (unfortunately, that is not a typo. Nope, no stuck zero on the keyboard, just the insane price we pay for not going to the store for several weeks) we were finally pulling out of Walmart, one of my least favorite places to go. I am unfortunately held hostage by the fact that they are the only ones that carry the chicken wings that we like. In facilitating my need to only have to go to one grocery store today, Walmart won. Sheesh. Anyway, as we were pulling out of the parking lot after our marathon shopping trip, I swiped my fingers across my forehead and said,

"Whew! We made it! That was one LONG shopping trip, wasn't it?! "

To which Chase replied,

"Yeah, I know! And we just went in for chicken wings!"

If it's any consolation, we loved our $2oo chicken wings for dinner tonight. We have a killer recipe if any of you get a craving.

The Art of the Compromise

Yesterday, I sent Chase to his room to get dressed. Chase looked out the window and saw sun, a cold winter sun, but a sun nonetheless. He came into my bathroom wearing sport shorts and a short-sleeved Harley Davidson shirt. I, being the overprotective mother, wanted him to wear something a little warmer. I sent him back to his room to try again, and this is what he came up with:



Did I make him go change again...Heck No! This outfit symbolizes a lot!

Show Me The Money!

We started a mission jar for Chase to save his money in after my mom had shared an experience she had with a childhood friend. I loved the idea and all of the good that it represented. At the end of the year, we have gather all of the change from his jar and from all over the house. After three years of rolling change, we have ended up with a substantial amount for his mission account. We went to the bank on Friday to officially open his account. It was really fun! The lady made a big to-do about it for him. She had him sign his name on all of the documents, which was so stinkin' cute. While the lady was away from her desk processing information, I mentioned to Chase the amount that we were depositing and talked to him about how awesome this was and what a blessing it was for his mission, which I am sure will come way toooooo fast. On the way out to the car afterwards, Chase, while holding my hand and skipping, exclaimed,

"Oh, I am so glad that I am not poor anymore! I used to be poor, but now I'm not! I'm so glad!"

Really, if life were this simple, we would be a happier people!

A Child's Prayer

Ah, to have the simple faith and logic of a five-year old. Life would be so much easier if we could all think like a little kid.

Chase has overly developed his fear of the dark. At bedtime, we go through the sad routine of reminding him that he is safe, that we are near, that everything is okay. He had a few nights last week where he would wake up screaming about a bad dream. Now he was really scared to sleep! One night, I did the obvious...I said a prayer with him. He's been hooked ever since. Last night, he called me back, reminding me that I had forgotten to say our "special" prayer. After kneeling by his bed and saying our special prayer, he asked if he could have a turn also. His prayer was one that I wish I could have written down. It was beautiful. But, my favorite part was:

"I am thankful for everything that I have, except for bad dreams."

I am so thankful for faith promoting experiences for small children!

Little Drummer Boys

Chase received the cutest drum set I have ever seen for Christmas. He has been showing an interest in the drums for some time now. I have had several people tell me that I am insane for letting a 5 year old have a set of drums. I think it's the music teacher in me that loves it. I will admit to all of you who think I really am crazy...they have been moved to the basement. BUT! I am still loving the great noise that is getting more and more rhythmic as we go.

Chase has said that his goal is to "learn the drums SOOOO good that I can get a real sized set and then I can give this set to DI". It's good to have goals...even ones so specific.

The first video was Chase's debut on the drums. Funny note...watch Clark in the background. The second video is of a more seasoned drummer. We enjoyed hearing Gpa on the drums. It's been a while. Jeff had never heard him play before and was literally in awe. In due time, we will have our own professional drummer banging away on his own set of full-sized drums. We will just hear him a little less. We will have some hearing loss.

Christmas Blues

Yes, I am one of "those" people. I whimper and lament the entire time I take Christmas down. Did I get to enjoy Christmas...did I even look at the tree...did we play enough music...did we get all of the use out of our decorations? If it weren't completely wrong, I would probably leave our stuff out until February.

Chase just happened to be spending the night with cousins in Ogden last night, so I woke up this morning and bit the bullet...I put away Christmas, with all of the post Christmas lamentations. But, it's down.

We have a tradition of taking Chase's picture in front of the tree in his "too fancy and chinzy to wear anywhere or anytime other than Christmas Sunday" outfit. This year was no exception. This year, we took his picture on the Sunday before Christmas. Now, Chase is going through a phase where he wants to be just like Mom...unfortunately, bad crap and all. From the time I was a little girl, I have worn my Sunday clothes all day on Sunday. Chase wants to do that, too. With little boys, you try to get them out of nice clothes as fast as possible, especially nice white shirts. Chase has decided it is important to be careful in his Sunday clothes so he gets to keep them on, all Sunday. These pictures represent what he looked like as I was taking his traditional picture in front of the tree, and making a compromise to save the white shirt, while still keeping the integrity of getting to wear Sunday clothes all Sunday long.

Man, do I love this boy!!

Our Christmas

I figure one week after Christmas is a great time to finally get my hiney in gear to post about Christmas, right

We had a great one this year. We went up to my parents in Washington and had a great time. The ride up there was a little hairy. A ten hour trip turned into FIFTEEN because of the roads and delays with accidents. Chase was an absolute champion. We were pretty glad to get there...to say the least. it was just a sisters Christmas this year, with the exception of little brother Clark. We filled out time with great traditions...gingerbread house making, a reading of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by my dad, movies, football, food-food-food, games, and days of literally not changing out of pjays. It was a great time. Chase burst into tears when he realized that we were actually serious about coming home on Sunday. He loves Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Chase has been asking Santa for a remote control speedboat for quite some time. Wno knows where he got the idea about such a toy, but he was delirious with excitement at the prostpect of getting one. He was thrilled to find one waiting for him by the piano on Christmas morning. It 's going to end up being a summer time activity, however. It's a short trip for that boat in the tub.

There were some perks and some downfalls about being the only kid there for Christmas. But one thing did not change. It doesn't matter how old you are, you wait your turn to open presents. Chase did a great job waiting...a tough thing for a kid on Christmas! Chase disappeared a few times durning the present opening festivities to eat a snack...a growing 5 year old still gets hungry, even on Christmas morning! Anywho...here are some picutres. Enjoy!