I'm back!!!

I thought I'd go back to a few family pictures, with daily updates interspersed as time allows. Wow, I've always had superb fashion sense, haven't I?

Cici's Storytime

I'm lousy at birthday presents.

Well, Gabrielle, so much for posting every day until your birthday. It's Friday evening, dinner is crisping up in the oven (chicken nuggets topped with left-over spaghetti, topped with left-over spaghetti sauce and parmesan cheese--hope it's good!), and Cici is doing her daily digest of the bookshelf (picture uploaded separately). Dave, Joshua, and Polly had been outside on the trampoline, but they've come in just now and Polly fell off the couch, so the house is now filled with loud, melodramatic wails. Poor Polly. Rug burns actually can hurt quite a bit. Do I have three things to share with the world today? Why don't I just transcribe what Polly is kvetching to me right now:

"Can I go back to Grandma Frandsen's house and go to Memorial Park?"
"Mama, I wish I could go back to St. George to get Bambi."
"Mama, I wish I had a pet puppy too. Then after I had a doggy, I wish I could have a cat."

Yes, those are the last three things that Polly said to me. Clearly her life is very fulfilling right now :). If I were to make my own list of end-of-the-day-kvetching-wishes, it would be:

"I wish I could think about something besides gay marriage and language acquisition in speech-delayed toddlers."
"I wish I didn't have so many ants around to highlight my failures as a housekeeper."
"I wish it were somehow healthy to eat as much ice cream as you wanted."

So there you go. Back on the bandwagon--and maybe I'll even have a cheerful post for you tomorrow :).

The Case of the Missing Pants

I have lost one of Dave's pairs of suit pants. Since he only has two suits, this represents a 50% decline in his total Sunday wardrobe. I have no idea where these pants are. I'm too cheap to take them to the drycleaners, so I generally (try to) clean them using a Dryell dryer bag and a wet washcloth. Since I find this onerous, his suits will often hang over my rocking chair in our room for weeks on end, supposedly "just about" to be cleaned, and he will take the least dirty suit off the chair on Sunday morning to wear. Well, a couple of weeks ago there were 4 items of clothing hanging on that chair (2 coats, 2 pants), and then suddenly there were just 3. We have looked under, around, inside the rocking chair, we've looked under the bed, we've gone through both of our closets, we've done an archeological dig through the pack and play--nothing. Generally I blame lost items on Polly, but I really, truly cannot envision a scenario in which she'd take that pair of pants and be able to conceal them someplace that I wouldn't be able to find. Anyway, I launched one last search this morning, very miffed for having gotten myself in this situation to begin with. After looking fruitlessly, I went into the kitchen to find Dave washing the dishes. "Don't wash those dishes," I barked at him. In the perverse logic of my frustration, Dave washing the dishes was yet another proof of my incompetence as the manager of our home, and since that's my only job at the moment, I have a fair amount of emotional weight riding on my performance of it. Dave backed away, knowing an irrationally annoyed wife when he sees one. I stomp around the house, making beds and changing diapers, and finally stomp back to Dave and acknowledge to him what is obvious, that I'm grumpy about having lost his pants. He, since he cares not a whit about missing pants but he cares heaps about a grumpy wife, responds with an inoffensive kiss.

And that's the end of the story. I still haven't found the pants. But tomorrow I'm taking the remaining suit and the orphaned jacket to the drycleaner. And at some point, perhaps when we disassemble everything in the house and load it into a moving truck, I'll find out what happened to those pants. And hopefully by then I'll be past the point of wanting to assign blame.

Blogging on the Go

I just downloaded a Blogger app to my phone, which may make this blog much more dynamic or much more fatuous. This remains to be seen. In the meantime, here's a photo dump...

First up, Wickham Park! An amazing park, aviary, playground, events center, botanical gardens, etc. We went on Friday afternoon, the day before driving back. While nursing Joshua in the Scottish Garden, I just soaked up tranquility for the long ride home. 

Next, dancing with Grandpa. Polly wasn't totally sure about being swept off her feet by an older man.

Last, dancing with Grammy. Sorry, Grandpa, but it looks like Polly found her partner for the night!

Whew!

We're hoooooome! Yipee! We drove in at 6:20 pm this evening to the sight of Dave waiting for us underneath our swing tree and a clean house with grilled cheese sandwishes and orange slices ready on the kitchen table. As I nursed Joshey on the couch, I solemnly promised him that I would NEVER make him ride in a car again. Never, ever believe the promises of a mother after 10+ hours in the car with three kids four and under. Actually, though, the kids did quite well. I love being a mother in the era of the portable DVD player. Although I should point out that I was a kid in the era of no seatbelts and crawling around the car and Mama nursing babies in the front seat, so I suppose it all evens out in the end. In any event, I have renewed my appreciation for rest stops and mother-in-laws who packed our cooler to the gills with food so that I didn't have to feed my kids french fries for the fourth time this week. I did have one scary experience--as I was pulling out of a gas station, I was following a long line of cars turning left, and I assumed that I had a green arrow (there was a big truck in front of me, so I couldn't see the light). As I pulled out, the light turned yellow, and it became apparent that we DIDN'T have an arrow because suddenly there was a Penske truck barreling toward me, trying (just like me) to make it through the yellow light. I floored the gas, somehow avoided hitting the car that was turning in front of me, and cleared the Penske with a few feet to spare. But I pulled myself over and gave myself a talking to nonetheless, because that was way, way, way, way too close for comfort. Never assume when it comes to turning left. I remember Gabrielle telling me that driving is the most dangerous thing we do every day, and that's something that I find myself reflecting on, especially on these longer trips. During the moments when all three kids were crying and I was trying to toss a book to one, a snack to another, and steer with one hand and half an eye, I would have to stop myself and say that the point was to make it home alive. Would it be nice to have a perfect trip with everyone completely happy and their needs met? Yes. But alive is better than perfect, and my first job for today was getting them home alive. Which we did. Whew!

Now we're home to a wonderful man who took the kids and ushered me to the computer to decompress :). And another long day of driving on Thursday when I take Joshua to the Stake Youth Temple trip...

Links with Dave

[Dave]

Naomi challenged me to put something up on the blog so that we wouldn't lose our highly demanding readership. What's more, she asked that I do that after I write down all of my stories from this week in our family letter, which goes out to 99% of our blog readership. A challenge? I accept.

Here is a video that I found funny this week:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/498646

And here is another!

http://www.hulu.com/watch/498533

Boom! Call that copied and pasted. Top that, Naomi!

Dinner Party Saturday

Some good friends in our ward are moving next week, so I prevailed upon them to let us throw them a goodbye party. The date that worked best ended up falling on this, the last day of Dave's absence due to wedding. And you know what? It worked out perfectly. I had some adult company and conversation to look forward to, I had a reason to keep the house in decent condition, AND I got all of the credit for carrying off a party with three kids and no husband to help :). And because it was a potluck with lots of people around to help carry stuff out and then help carry stuff back in, nothing felt overwhelming or chaotic. I will admit that when I was finishing mowing the lawn this morning with Joshey asleep in the sling and Cici hanging on my leg crying, I felt like a husband might come in handy, but it was nothing that a bottle of milk and Sid the Science Kid couldn't fix. And having everyone around, kids jumping on the trampoline, adults talking and laughing, just made me feel like this is what summer and back yards and friends and the good life is all about. Okay, Joshey is done! Time for bed...

Well Wishes for a Newlywed

Today my beautiful sister-in-law Ashlee married Darin Knapp. They are both graduates of the Marriage and Family Therapy masters program at BYU, which bodes well for them, I think. I always thought that Ashlee looked like Reese Witherspoon, but I suspect that her love life will proceed much more happily and peacefully than Reese's. A few weeks ago one of Ashlee's friends wrote around to Dave and his sisters, asking for well wishes to include in a bridal shower present for Ashlee. Dave, being Dave, had the following to offer:

"I wish that your appreciation of all the Knapp puns will never get old.*I wish that none of the wards you move to will require any copious amount of therapy, just dollops.I wish that Darin will always have more hair on his face and less hair on his scalp than Ashlee.I wish that it will not be too long before Darin realizes that, in the tradition of men named Darin, he has unwittingly married into a family of witches.I wish that you will forever diversify your dinner recipe portfolio.I wish to see mommy-daughter Irish step dancing videos going viral on YouTube in ten years, but for good reasons.
I wish that your children, and your children's children, will be Celtics fans. And Celtics players.
I wish that, when you utter the line "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore," it's just because you're traveling by car. Not tornado.
I wish you all the good things that will be wished to you by my wife, who will feel compelled to write serious things.
And lastly,
I hope you daaaaaaaance!
*What do you call a sleeping bag with you in it? Knapp sack! What do you call it when the back of your neck gets really cold? Nippy Knapp Nape! What would you call it if your family moved to Mumbai and went into law enforcement and had a car race as a fundraiser for your squad?The IndianKnappPolice 500!"

I have to admit that I don't totally get the humor behind the "family of witches" wish, but I have confidence that it's very clever (regarding the Kansas one, that's where they're moving for Ph.D programs this fall). Anyway, I gave a lot of thought to what my well wishes would be for Ashlee, but that thought generally took place late at night while nursing a baby and away from a computer. So now, in honor of Ashlee and Darin's 8-hour-old marriage, and because my husband was entirely correct that I would feel compelled to write serious things, here are my wishes for the family's newest bride:

1. I wish that you will always be able to see your husband as Heavenly Father sees him, a soul of infinite worth.

2. I wish that you will take joy in your husband's happiness.

3. I also wish the reverse: that your husband will take joy in your happiness.

4. I wish you many opportunities to work together, and the satisfaction of seeing that you are a good team.

5. I wish that you will take delight in the way your husband lives his life.

6. I wish that you will occasionally but continually find yourself surprised by and admiring of something your husband does, says, or thinks. 

7. I wish for you a husband that doesn't freak out when a baby comes and boots him from the center of your attention.

8. I wish for you a husband who gets ever so slightly emotional when he holds his new baby for the first time.

9. I wish for you a husband who supports you in developing talents and skills outside, as well as inside, the realm of house and children. 

10. Mostly, of course, I wish for you a family of in-laws as awesome as mine.

Congratulations, Ashlee and Darin! And to my love, te iubesc, sotul meu.

Guess what?

At this very moment, 5:50 pm, my girls are in the bathtub and Joshey is bouncing away in his jumperoo hooked to the bathroom door frame, being entertained by the antics of his older sisters. Which means that I have a minute to do my Happy Birthday Gabrielle post. Which is highly unusual, since this is usually the most chaotic time of the day. Which brings me to the following observation:

With all due respect to my wonderful husband, I actually handle evenings better when he is not around. He's in Utah right now at Ashlee's wedding, so it's Mommy and the Kids until Sunday morning, when I'll wake up with him next to me. Last night I was kind of psyching myself up for it, promising myself a trip to Blockbuster and ice cream, that sort of thing. But now I'm remembering something that I learned during the many late nights he had in the lab: I actually have the routine down quite well, and when there's not another adult around to complain to or to expect help from, I can execute the whole dinner-clean-up-bedtime with, dare I say, professional aplomb. But if Dave is around, I'm either grumpy because he's not helping in the way I think he should, or I'm overdramatic because I'm trying to impress upon him how hard I have it.

Now that said, I would still rather have my husband around in the evenings. And my girls certainly do, too. Daddy tells much more interesting scary stories than I do. But when I'm being totally honest with myself, life with these little rascals, even at 5:59 pm, is pretty great.

PS Ha! In the time it took me to upload this photo (from a couple of months ago), Cici inadvertently pulled up the shower knob, Polly leaped to the back of the tub, splashing Joshey in the process, Cici started squealing in terror, and the whole bathroom was in an uproar. Remind me never to use the words "professional aplomb" in reference to my mothering skills again...

No brakes today

Today was kind of a lousy day. I spent much of the girls' daytime awake hours out in public, which meant that I was nipping at their heels and hissing warnings for them to stay close to me, don't do that, don't get into that, stay away from that, etc., etc. During Cici's supposed naptime (no nap was had, another cause for despair), I decided that Polly had watched enough shows (and she had--she was into her second hour at that point). So I told her to "click the red x," and repeated the instructions several times until she did. But then she immediately tried to open up another window, so I tucked her under my arm and unceremoniously escorted her to the bedroom for some "quiet time." Well, it was anything but quiet--throwing things, shrieking, and finally yelling, "I hate Mommy!" Oh. Ow. She's never said that before. That really, really hurt, and I have to admit that I considered just curling up in a fetal position and waiting until it was time for Dave to come home. I guess it's a good thing I don't have the luxury to do that. I knelt down, told Heavenly Father I was sorry, and asked what I could do to make peace in our house. The thought came that I should get down on the floor and be doing something that Polly liked doing so that when she came out of her room--which she would, any minute. So I pulled out a big piece of foam board that we'd been coloring on the day before and that I'd been drawing a little town on, and I started drawing another house. Sure enough, Polly came out, saw me coloring, and I think it broke down the barriers between us. We still need to talk about how to handle things when it's time for shows to be turned off, but I think that conversation will go better than it would have.

Still, it stayed lousy till the end. Dave was going to Scouts and got caught in a speeding trap. Coming off of a major secondary road, turning onto the main thoroughfare, 7:15 pm. The speed limit had been 40 on the secondary road, and it inexplicably switched to 25 on the main road. The police were waiting right there where it switched, on both sides of the road, ready to catch everyone who came through. The police lady who pulled Dave over said that she was going to give him a break because she saw that he had three car seats in the back and thought he could use the money. So instead of writing him up for reckless driving, she just wrote him up for speeding. Thanks, lady. Only $75 instead of $100. Except that if you really had heart, you wouldn't be sitting in a speed trap in the first place.

No breaks today, Dave said when he came home and we were decompressing after everything. Except, being Dave, it was "no brakes."

PS Which REMINDS me, when I took the car in for an oil change this afternoon, we found out that we need new brake pads and roters, to the tune of $375. This, after an $89 oil change (with tire rotations, new air filters, etc., etc.). At least Polly and Cici don't care about this stuff.

Happy Birthday, Gabrielle!

It's actually not Gabrielle's birthday at all--not for another couple of months. But I'm giving her an early birthday present--I'm going to try to blog every day until her birthday. This first post will be done in a Joshua minute (which means that Joshua is fussing on my lap, so I only have a minute), but I thought I'd follow Gabrielle's lead and write three things about our day:

--I saw a baby bunny! It was just as we were leaving for an afternoon errand, and Polly was already carseated in. So sadly I was the only one that saw this adorable, tiny baby bunny nibbling on some clover and then shoot back under the honeysuckle where I presume she is nesting. So cute. I hope I always live in a place where these kinds of things can be normal.

--After dinner, I took the kids down to walk around the creek area that's down the street and through a couple of backyards. My rule has always been that the girls have to stay at the top of the embankment, on the grass, and this rule has worked for the past two years. But last week while we were with some other kids, I let Polly venture about two feet down the slope toward the creek to pick some wildflowers. Guess how long it took her to go the rest of the way down the hill and waist-deep into the creek? Two years of consistent nagging, down the drain.

--I got my hair cut a couple of weeks ago. Love how much quicker getting ready goes.

That's it, folks! Joshua minute over.