Single Sunday

I have to begin by expressing my thankfulness for this sweet Sunday.
In frank honesty, I have begun to dread Sundays. When the Doctor has to work and I am left wrangling three kids at church, I want to run screaming into the night.

Today was, in a word, crazy.
It was also good and renewing and uplifting. So, there is hope.

We were able to get ready and walk into church on time. (we won't mention that church starts at 11:30) Pencil had napped before, so he was well rested. (therefore hyper and busy. He also woke about 2 minutes before we left, so he was hungry)
We sat down about 30 seconds before the meeting started. I looked over and Grapes's ponytail looked like a tornado had hit. I began to fix it, and Pencil took his moment to bolt full speed up the aisle to the front of the chapel. Socks, ever the opportunist, bolted after him. My hands were still full of hair, so I watched in horror (and can I say mild entertainment?) as Sockie full-on tackled his baby brother and then looked over to give me a thumbs up.

Excellent.

I humiliatedly walked up to retrieve them, and realized that the man saying the opening prayer is waiting for me to sit before he begins.

Sweet.

After the prayer I pulled out Pencil's peanut butter sandwich so he would stop his hungry whine/keening noise. He then chewed one bite and decided to check gravity's effectiveness at church by letting the gooey bread/jelly/peanut butter combo drop from his mouth onto my lap (and satin skirt).

So cool.

At least he had the goodness to use his new word. "Doh!"
There was a couple sitting behind us. Their own kids are grown and out of the house. She leaned forward at this time and asked if they could hold Pencil for a while. I did not think it would last long. I wished them good luck. But he played and laughed and stayed until almost the end of the meeting.
Grapes and Sock sat and colored quietly.
I got to sit- un-kidded- and listen. The choir was presenting a Christmas program about the 12 witnesses of Christ's birth (I can tell you what Sacrament Meeting was about-- this is

EPIC)

I revelled in the beauty of the music and the spirit and the goodness of the people behind us who MADE my day.

Divine!

Then Sunday School when back to mad-house as usual. Pencil was doing laps in the room full of attentive adults. He stole markers. He payed the piano. He drank some other kid's sippy. He dug through a lady's bag and found her keys. I was his constant shadow; preventing the disasters that were preventable and apologizing for the ones that were not.
In Relief Society Pencil continued to be busy.

(busy- what an insufficient word!)

He discovered the curtains. He wrapped himself in them, then got tangled enough that he fell, but because he was still wrapped in the fabric he swung slightly and bashed into the piano. (of course, the windows and piano are in the front of the room, so it's hard for me to just walk up in the middle of the lesson and grab him. AND it's easy for everyone else to see him.

Brilliant.)

People laughed. He cried. (don't worry, it was the 'I need attention' cry, not the 'I'm hurt' cry)
When church was finally over we ran out the door so we could go home. We discovered a friend of Sock's in the parking lot who had lost his momma. We then trooped back into the building to find his momma and reassure him that he was alright.
Back to the car. Hurry home. Shove food in children's faces. Return to church for tithing settlement. Children are unable to be still.

At all.

Finally.... home.
Can Sunday be done now?



The Doctor gets off work at 7:00 tonight. I hope his day went more smoothly than mine. Although, in the Emergency Department, there is no guarantee...

Winter Wonderland?!

Hello from sunny Arizona!
Now, I know I lived in California in High school, so warm winters should not surprize me this much, but let me tell you... I am in an almost constant state of disbelief. Grapes BEGGED to wear her flip flops to school the last day before Christmas break.
It has been nice enough outside for us to play without long sleeves or jackets. I have enjoyed it, but I am struggling to feel like Christmas is really coming.

We have made 'chocolate' mud cookies.






















Sorted Rocks






















And jumped on the trampoline. All three kids LOVE it. I, however, am getting more and more nervous each time they play. I feel like we're just tempting the fates... and all the more embarrassing because a trip to the Emergency Room is also a trip to see Dad at work.






















These are a few Pencil funnies.
He loves to dunk his face in the bath, but this time he came up as "Bubble Beard"





















This is how I found him in the morning. His fashion sense is delightful, and the asymetrical look is totally fashion forward.
















Just to prove that I really exist, here is a picture of me. (Be kind, I know it's not the most flattering)
















We also had a BYU Bowl Game party yesterday. It was just us, but we grilled Hotdogs and made 7 layer dip and had a great time. Yay for singing the fight song with chips in your mouth and lots of touchdowns to cheer for. :)

Privacy?

So, my beloveds, it has come to my attention that the world is my oyster, and there are people out there who are viewing my blog. Like, in the Netherlands and Japan.
While I am not un-fond of either the Netherlands or any of the Pacific parts of the world I am a bit uncomfortable with my life being quite SO available to strangers.
(yes, I suffer from stranger danger....)
So starting today, we will try to retro-fit this blog with some of that seemingly unattainable (for a mom, anyway) idea.... PRIVACY.
From now on, my sweeheart will be known as 'the doctor'
My kids, Grapes, Sock, and Pencil respectively. (thanks Erin's kids for naming us thus!)

We'll see how it sticks. LOVE you all!

Dangerous Chores and Christmas Prep

We have had a bunch of mini-events this week, and I hope I can convey to you fully the chaos that is this life of ours. Not that I'm complaining... I just wonder, you know, if people really get the whole picture of this residency thing... The fact that The Doctor works the equivalent of two full time jobs (yes, people, 80 hours a week) and I'm the mom at home... often alone.

I finally got myself together and sewed some Christmas stockings and a tree skirt for our annual holiday celebrations. (Don't worry, I've only been meaning to do this for about three years... ok, maybe more than that, but who really needs to be counting these things anyway.) Mission finally accomplished.
















I LOVE them!
Do you like how there are no ornaments below the three foot mark?




















But while I was distracted by sewing, my sweet Sock decided to do his one chore for the day. "Oh bless him!" you think, and rightly so. Except, his one chore is putting the clean silverware away. He got his little stool and climbed up to sort so carefully, and then he pulled the drawer more out instead of putting it back in.

It came crashing to the floor and broke. The front of the drawer came all the way off. (now, in the drawer's defense, the previous owners had beaten it to a woody pulp once before, so the fact that the front was even there is remarkable) SO- we had a broken drawer and a nifty hole where the drawer once was.













Pencil liked the hole. (What is it with little boys and the fascination with finding/making messes and hiding stuff in secret spots?)















My mixer is down there, and when I got it out to make cinnamon rolls, I was STUNNED at how much Pencil had managed to stash away. Little monkey is a raccoon!
(The cinnamon rolls turned out great!)




















The Doctor was able to fix the drawer after a quick trip to the hardware store. He's my hero.


We have also had sick kids this week. Pencil has a horrible cough. He gets so miserable, and he just wants to sit and be held. For an active and busy little boy to want that is unsettling for his momma.
Grapes also was diagnosed with Strep yesterday. Yay. Highlights included a tedious and detailed call to the nurse a the pediatric office because it is Saturday... then getting told to go to the urgent care. Slow urgent care visit with two very busy boys who were fascinated by the stirrups of the exam bed. AND the cabinet under the sink (Pencil climbed inside and got stuck, twice) AND the drawers full of gowns and drapes and swabs. So fun! Sick Grapes just rested on the exam bed in a little ball. Poor, sweet baby. (but he was a great doctor! So, worth the wait, I think...) LONG visit to the pharmacy. (we were the only people in line, and it still took 25 minutes for ammoxicillin after they told us 10-15...) She asked to ride in the cart so she didn't have to walk. It was one of the tiny carts so she didn't really fit. She didn't care. Then she puked in the ladies room while we waited. I asked if they could speed it up at all so she didn't have to puke at the store any more (and so my boys would not ransack anything else) and they still took their merry time. (not impressed, Walgreen's. Happy Holidays to you, too!)
I laughed when she asked me what "barf" meant. I told her it was the same as puke, and she said, "OH. the kids at school said barf and I was confused"
When we got home she asked if she could take a bath. I let her get in and started dinner. I asked if she wanted to come eat her taco so we could give her some medicine. She asked if she could stay in the bath. She needed food for her meds, but I figure, "humor the sickie...right?" So she had tacos in the tub. Oh- you see it coming, she dropped it into the water. "Mom! My taco is floating!" And indeed, it was. Sorry, no pics on that one. Funny girl even when she's sick.
She was pretty sick- but some ibuprofen and antibiotics and I think she'll be ok.



And Finally-
this morning at breakfast I looked over at Sock, and this is what I saw.

Me a book, mom.







I guess Grapes was reading him. This is when they finished.

I love my kids!

Eeeee End!

Pencil Speaks and other weekend videos

Pencil has decided to try communicating with the world. If you listen closely you can hear "Hi", "Cheese", and "Da-yee" (daddy).






Sock's crazy eyebrows

Thankful Weekend

We have enjoyed a delightful Holiday weekend.
Thanksgiving was celebrated on Friday, because the Emergency Room sleeps for no one. But the food turned out VERY tasty, and the family was SO good to be with. On Friday we also invited our neighbors over for pie. It was fun to get to know them a little better. (They have a little boy in the other first-grade class at Grapes's school)

My kids were also very creative this weekend.
We had a giant fort in the family room. It was made of every chair (indoor and outdoor, of course) and every pillow or blanket within reach. It also surrounded the computer for the ultimate convenience.















After the fort became old news, we played Play-dough.















Grapes and Sock made an under the Sea scene.

Things to be Thankful For

Yesterday Grapes's Class had a "Pilgrim Party" to celebrate Thanksgiving. I was lucky enough to be able to go volunteer my help because the Doctor had the morning off and He could stay with our boys. I'm glad I was able to go, because the two other parent volunteers had called in sick that morning, so I was the only one there to Help. We made homemade candles and soup and Johnnycakes, and ate a feast together. SO cute, and SO fun to be back in a classroom again.















Grapes LOVED being dressed up in 'authentic' garb. Yay for cheap fabric at Walmart.



















This is Pencil Enjoying Breakfast yesterday. I do not understand his new found love of Q-Tips... but I am learning how to better hide them.



















We also decided that instead of Turkey this year, we'll just have monkey.

He Loves opening and climbing into the drawer below my Oven. He thinks he's SO funny when he gets in there.











Lest you think I forgot my other baby, here are a few funny faces, A-La-Sock:

Hook and Haircuts

We have begun to have some of the most random, and entertaining conversations at our house. It stems, mostly, from having kids that are finally old enough to participate in an actual conversation....
A few nights ago at dinner we were discussing the imaginary food fight from the movie 'Hook.' (Bang-a-rang!) Grapes and Sock have not seen it, but as the doctor and I explained the basic story line, they got very excited to see it. UNTIL we mentioned that grown-up Peter Pan is married to Wendy. (that's how they have kids to get kidnapped by mean old Captain Hook.)
Sockie was immediately disgusted.
"What?!" he shouted "Married?! Ewww!"
This is a recreation of his immensely funny face. (not as good as the original, but we'll take what we can get)














This is Grapes's Captain Hook face.













I also worked up my nerves to cut the boys hair. I've been very hesitant (read: stubborn) about cutting hair for the boys in my life, because I don't want anyone turning out looking bushwhacked and then blaming me. So, we've spent more money on haircuts than I care to think about. But.... no more ?
I decided that Pencil and Sock won't hate me if they look terrible, so I might as well give it a try and see what I can learn.
I learned that I still have a lot to learn.




He looks cute anyway, so that's what really counts.

Pencil, Fence, Spenito Juarez

My baby is ONE! This little man has grown up so quickly. I remember so well the crazy night that he came into this world. (A labor completely unlike my others. The doctor was out of town, my dear friend Erin took my kids and sweet sister-in-law Megan held my hand. My actual doctor tried to help slow things down, but Pencil was determined to get outta there. There was a scary moment when we learned that his placenta had big fat VEINS in addition to the umbilical cord-- NOT normal and potentially very dangerous-- but he was just fine. And he was perfect-- an Apgar of 9 right off the bat.)

He's walking and babble-talking like no body's business now. In fact, some of his birthday pictures are out of focus because he would walk straight for the camera and smile every time I tried to take a picture.



He opened presents (with a lot of help) and ran around as happy as can be.





We attempted Jell-o cake. A tradition for our kids at 1, but this mom started too late and we didn't have time for the jello. sad day. Instead he got regular cake and frosting. He didn't seem to mind, so I hope I'm forgiven.

Procrastination... thy name is tramp.

When we first moved to Arizona we stayed a few days with my Aunt while the paperwork for our house was getting worked out. She loves to go yard-sale-ing, and when I went with her I found a delightful bookcase and a trampoline.(all for $50)
Fast forward about five months.... we just set said trampoline up in our back yard.

Obviously, the kids are enjoying it. Grapes could barely wait for us to get all the springs attached. She's in love. Sockie isn't much for actually jumping yet, but he loves to play spiderman on the big 'web.' I'm a bit worried about injuries though (I remember jumping with my cousins all too well...) so our next job is to find a net/fence for it.











































I also caught the sweetest moment a few mornings ago. All three kids were on Grapes's bed reading stories to each other. SO cute.

A New Name

I don't know if you've noticed how so many blogs have a clever title... you know the ones that play on the family's last name or where they live.... Well. I have been unable to come up with one. Thankfully, the doctor is brilliant enough to cover for me. We're taking the new "Just Whiting on the Blog" for a spin to see how it fits.

Park Place

We went on a family outing to the cactus park today. Who knew that so many cacti existed? Or that they could be so fun?
We drove the scenic loop- and stopped for a few mini-hikes. The kids loved exploring the rocks and climbing between the bushes and spines.








My favorite parts:
*Grapes spouting random 'facts' about cacti while we drove and explored. Did you know it takes 10 years for the saguaro cactus to grow the first 4 inches? (ok-sure) Did you know each arm takes another 10 years to grow? (possibly) Did you know that the oldest one is 400 years old because when they turn 401 they just die. (really?)
*Sockie having his eyes closed or hand up in EVERY picture.













*Pencil being so happy to be carted abound while we hiked and walked.
*The doctor packed our lunch, and it was so nice to just sit at the picnic area and talk while we munched on peanut butter sammies.
*Pencil also got hold of a granola bar, and he was so hungry he just chewed it open and helped himself.


It was truly a delight of a trip- and only 15 minutes from home.

Costumes

Halloween costumes!
All homemade and fairly inexpensively. Yay!
May I introduce:
Spiderman and his 'mummy'





















the Ghost with the most (cuteness)

Pumpkin Pictures

We finally carved our pumpkin! (don't worry, I washed it off!)
The Doctor Scraped and Scooped
Grapes "Eeeewww"ed and Gooped
I Sorted, Baked, and Shared
Pencil Watched and got slop in his hair
Sockie Danced and Giggled but did not touch a thing
Happy Halloween!!

Mommy Madness!

I apologise in advance if this post seems rushed and less than fully thought out. I'm posting in order not to strangle one of my children.

No- it's not the six-year-old who used sidewalk chalk to 'decorate' our back yard brick wall. (I think it'll wash off, so not a big worry) AND, it is sort-of cute....




















No- not the 11-month-old who has discovered that he can get into all the baskets of STUFF near my fridge. This sight is pretty much permanent at our house right now, regardless of how many times or WHO has cleaned it up. (although, points to Grapes for doing it repeatedly!)

















No-- I'm trying not to kill the THREE-YEAR-OLD today. Yes, that's him looking all cute in his 'unner-pants' Don't be fooled.


We are trying to potty train this one. (and by WE, I mean, ME. He's not even trying!) So we've had juice and straws and promises of cookies all morning. He's been SO excited to wear his unner-pants. But there's been NOTHING in the way of results. He held it like a champ!
Wait? HELD? past tense? Oh, wait for it.
I turned my back for one second. ONE second. Then I heard a bump. When I turned back to look into the kitchen he was standing with one foot on the counter and one on the bar. He was straddling the uncarved pumpkin (we're getting to it...hopefully before Halloween) and he had a look of guilt on his face.

Silly me, I assumed he was appropriately abashed for being on the counter. I reached to lift him down and finally saw Pencil standing next to the dining room chair that helped Sockie get up. Only, Pencil is wet. Like, dripping wet.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen... Sock waited until he was standing over the pumpkin and his brother to finally pee. And pee he did. I didn't actually measure, but a 2 quart of kool-aid made less mess than this.
SERIOUSLY?

Momming is not for the faint of heart.