Overheard over ramen

Ta-da! You thought this blog was out to pasture, didn't you?! Thought I'd dust off the keyboard and see if anyone still checks it.

Sitting here watching Eli dare Liam to slurp a ramen noodle up his nose. No, I didn't stop him. What can it hurt? The two of them got up to leave, and Nathan, who "hates" Liam was still laughing.

Me: Liam's funny, huh?
Nathan: [while laughing] YEAH!
Me: Aren't you glad he's in our family?
Nathan: [no longer laughing] No.

Ding dong the drugs are here

Things my kids said today:

Liam [upon hearing the doorbell ring]: "Mommy, your medicine is here!"
(Jenny just refilled all her meds and received two or three visits by the doorbell-ringing UPS guy this week. I suppose he thinks now everytime the doorbell rings it means mommy's drugs are here.)

Eli [in the car talking telling us that he got an S+ (the 21st century equivalent of an A+) on his spelling test]: "I don't know what S+ means, but I think it's good."

What's your name again?

Listen very closely to me singing (I'm the one singing in a high pitch like a woman) and keep in mind it's Nathan's birthday. I obviously don't know my children's names as well as I should. But the fact that we are a harmonious family cannot be disputed. Move over, Osmonds!

Sorry Nathan. His wish was to always be five, and to never turn into a grown up. I think deep down he wished his dad would remember his name and that his mom would try out for the cheerleading squad - what's up with the "Go Nathan, Go Nathan, Yeah!" stuff?

The world's best husband

This post is primarily to show my brother-in-law Tom why my wife (his wife's sister) thinks I'm the perfect husband. My wife went out visit teaching tonight. I was left with the chillin's. I hurried to put them to bed so I could watch TV. As I changed the channels, I noticed that PBS was playing the Jane Austen film Persuasion. The third sister in the family had gotten Jenny a Jane Austen book (it's so big I think we could use it as a coffee table), and I knew Jenny would like to watch the program. So I (reluctantly) put in a tape and hit RECORD. This prevented me from watching anything else. And that's why I'm the world's best husband.

And Tom, I'll take the little tab thingy off the tape so we can't record over it. That way, next time we're together you can watch it, er, I mean ask Emily if it's something she wants to watch while you're out huntin' muskrats in your socks.

UPDATE: so Jenny got home, and I was so excited to see her reaction. This was it: "oh, I can get those on DVD at the library." I think in her heart, though, she is still excited at the thought of Tom maybe watching it someday.

laser tag

We took the youth to play laser tag tonight and the Bishop told us we should bring the boys along. They had a blast, especially Special Agent Eli who, unfortunately, didn't get in the picture. Here's Nathan and Liam all geared up and ready to go. Nathan held his own, as well.















Here's a picture of the youth we took. My favorite part of the picture is the Young Women's President in the lower left. Poor Norma, I think she was up past her bedtime.

It's the thought that counts

Jenny and I in our not-yet-ending search for financial independence from student-loan debt wish every Christmas that we could afford to buy each other a boatload of gifts, things we don't really need but would be wicked cool to have. This Christmas we started a new tradition. We're calling it the "It's the thought that counts Christmas exchange."

Here's how it works, the sky's the limit. We "buy" each other whatever we want regardless of the cost. Anything and everything we think the other one would like or wouldn't buy themself. Then we wrap it up and put it under the tree for Christmas Day. We had so much fun "shopping" and even more fun watching each other's faces this morning as we unwrapped our gifts. This way we get all the satisfaction that comes with giving and making the other's day but without the cost.

This is what Jenny got me this year:

Fantasy Football for Dummies: this is the topic of most male conversations at work which means I end up swapping cleaning tips with the ladies because I have no idea what Fantasy Football is. I was invited to join a while back, but I didn't know what it was.

Destination trip to the 2008 Tokyo Marathon: This is on my list of marathons to run someday, and Jenny thought '08 should be the year.

and finally,

wait for it....

A 7-night Exotic Eastern Caribbean cruise on the John Tesh Radio Show Cruise! Jenny listens to John Tesh on the radio at work and I always make fun. I think they listen because it's safe that they're not going to hear something nasty unlike other radio shows at night. If she knows what's good for her, she'll bring me one of those leash things people put on their kids at airports because after a couple hours at sea with John Tesh, I may be tempted to jump overboard.

And now for what I "bought" her.

- A new roof and a bathroom remodel

- A KU hoodie (was actually going to get her one for her birthday, but couldn't find the kind she wanted

- A haircut and spa treatment. And not at Great Clips, either.

- A trip for two to NYC for New Year's Eve complete with a cruise of the Hudson and accomodations at the Hilton Time Square

- A $4,000 camcorder since ours is broken, and what's $4,000 when it's a fake gift anyway?

I can't wait to see what she fake gives me for President's Day!!!!

Santa's on His Way

Eli said he felt left out because we'd posted a video of Nathan "brushing" his teeth and one of Liam shaking his booty, but none of him. So he auditioned a cast and produced a re-creation of Santa's flight in painstaking detail. So without further ado, here is "Santa's on His Way" by Eli.

Merry Christmas!

Sunday art workshop

I stayed home from church today due to a bout of flu (head and stomach) and the kids stayed home with me. Eli was asking if he could do some drawings, so I pulled out one of my "pieces" from high school for him to look at. See below.





















That was mine. Below is Eli's.

Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas

Jenny and I have been talking about how obnoxious it has gotten that people say everything BUT Merry Christmas anymore. People are so paranoid to mention anything relating to Christ for fear of either offending someone or being criticized. I've had enough of the Season's Greetings and Happy Holidays, and feeling like I'm walking on eggshells of political correctness. So from now on, if I'm going to greet someone, I'm going to acknowledge what it is I believe.

Here are two examples of people taking a stand that really inspired me today.

1. Boot shop in Tennessee (I tried to find this on YouTube to embed, but all I could get was this link - hope it stays up on the site long-term). They offer a discount for customers that say Merry Christmas. I'm not crazy about the idea of the discount itself, but I appreciate the message they're trying to send.
http://www.kmbc.com/video/14872149/index.html?taf=kc1

2. Mike Huckabee campaign ad. I'm leaning toward Mitt Romney based not on religion, but on his record in education, business, and leadership. However, I was very excited when I saw this ad from Huckabee. Talk about standing for what you believe in without fear. Pretty bold in the midst of a presidential campaign, but high-five to him for doing it.



So Merry CHRISTmas to everyone!

Welcome, Welcome, Sabbath Morning

Saturday, 9:47 pm: the Bishop calls saying that church is cancelled because of the ice storm.

Sunday, 8:04 am: the monsters awake and come asking if there's church today because they just looked outside and it looks slippery

Sunday, 8:23 am: the phone starts ringing because the phone tree has kicked into full gear. Rumor has it that the singles ward doesn't use a phone tree, but rather everyone texts one another. Kids and their technology.

Sunday, 9:12 am: find that Liam busted into the candy meant for some Christmas projects today and needs to be bathed because the sugar has already liquefied and been rubbed into his hair.

Sunday, 9:20 am: conditions are deteriorating rapidly. The monsters have already exhausted every imaginary game they know and have started wrestling. I've discovered we can watch Music and the Spoken Word live because of our high-speed internet when it comes on in an hour. In the meantime, I've tuned into BYU streaming radio.

Sunday, 9:31 am: as "Love at Home" plays, Nathan is wailing because Eli pushed him down, Liam just threw a container of Jenny's sewing pins up in the air and the floor is now like downtown Baghdad with it's land mines, and I'm enjoying the angelic voices coming from my new Dell Dimension PC, oblivious to my surroundings.