Non-cool things I love.

Here are three things if I were more cool, I wouldn't love, but since I'm not cool, I really do:

Minivans: Boy are they great. My sweet sister sold us one they had outgrown, and I'm loving it. I love the space. I love the sliding doors on both sides. I love that I can access my kids from the driver's seat (when we are stopped). Image? Pshaw. Doesn't hold a candle to convenience.

Jello: Gabe has a weird virus that gives him bumps on his tongue and cheeks, and I've had a sore throat for a month (allergies?). So we've been eating a lot of jello. Smooth and cold, sweet and slippery. I love it. Yes, I know what gelatin is made of. I'm a meat-eating environmentalist, so I'm glad to use the whole animal. Jello is as environmental as recycling.

Radio Dramas: I know I don't need to defend this with most of my family, but I list this for the benefit of those who aren't familiar with the genre. It is fun to listen, rather than to watch. It is not so overwhelming to the senses, and the familiar format is comforting. I was listening to an old radio drama as I fell asleep last night, "Jack Benny." He is so funny, a master of comedic timing. Ironically, the program's sponsor was, yes, Jello.

J-E-L-L-O!
Color: Bright, sunshiny and gay! Flavor,: Extra rich, cool and refreshing. As tempting as the real ripe fruit. Ease and speed: Jello dissolves instantly and sets quickly. Economy: Jello only costs a few cents a package, and a package serves the average family generously. And variety: for Jello offers you dozens and dozens of delicious new dishes. Serve it plain, in a colorful mold of beauty, garnish it with whipped cream, or any seasonal fruits, Use it for salad, for Jello makes swell salads that even the men-folks go for.

Yes sir, one box of Jello is filled with real kitchen magic, the kind that every busy woman appreciates. So ask your grocer tomorrow for Jello! Jello spells a treat!

I almost leaped out of bed to get some. Don't tell me you aren't hungry.

Happy B-day little bro!

Happy happy birthday to my favorite youngest brother! You are one of the best storytellers I know. I still laugh when I think back about some of the stories you have told ... being on the high school bowling team, rolling tires, coming home with giant purloined signs from shoe stores ... I can't wait to hear more! I hope your birthday is an awesome one, just one more year in the young decade! Next year you'll join us old fogies. I would say have fun, but I think you already do. You are awesome!

We are living in a material world

It is funny how easily my kids are swayed by commercials. They are fairly naive to them ... I generally stick to PBS, which is commercial free for the most part. But when we do switch to network channels on the odd Saturday morning, they are completely taken in. "Mom, that car can fly, it really can! Can I get it?" "That dog wags it tail and pees, can I have it?" I am so jaded to commercials, growing up in a consumer world, it is funny to see what commercials are actually supposed to do ... persuade on the most superficial level. I don't want to see my kids get jaded to it, but if they don't, they will live in an impossibly distracting world.

It has been interesting to see Gabe learning more complex concepts as he gets older. He is asking harder and harder questions ... taxes, for instance, how do you explain taxes to a six-year-old? Or the difference between lying and not being rude? A while ago, Gabe asked me why things next to the car move so much faster than the faraway mountains. I started explaining perspective, and how distance changes perceived movement. It was a complicated idea, and after a moment or two, Gabe zoned out. Leo piped up, "Mom, why do you talk when no one listens to you?"

Good question Leo, good question.

I spent a delightful Saturday with my sisters and Mom in Ogden this weekend. The excuse was to pick up a car, but really I just wanted to get together and chat. It was fun and reminded me how much I love my family.

Lava

Jeff and I had a little retreat this weekend to Lava Hot Springs. It was heaven, actually. Sweet cousin Megan babysat the boys overnight. They (the boys) had a blast. "She never got tired of playing," said Gabe. (Unlike Mom and Dad who go kaput after 20 minutes of wrestling.) In response to the question if Megan still wanted to have children at the end of this adventure, she replied, "Not in the near future." She is a trooper and we love her.

The hotel we stayed was family owned and was one of those places that have a lot of personality (mismatched furniture and bathroom down the hall). It had hot springs right outside the front door, which minimized the cold, wet walk on exit. And guess what the thriving metropolis of Lava Hot Springs has now ... yes, a Thai restaurant! My FAVORITE! A Thai restaurant! I Lava Hot Springs IDAHO! It was scrumptious, scallion soup, ginger chicken, curry noodles with egg. Scrumptious.

Leo started preschool this week. He is really enjoying the unlimited access to art supplies. The second day, he came home with nine -- count 'em, nine Giant Pieces of butcher paper covered with his patent smiley face with legs. We spread them out to admire them, and they covered more than half of the family room floor. I'm so proud of him for embracing preschool. He has struggled with other things ... refused to do a soccer class when the coach gently told him to use his feet, not his hands, even with me sitting right there. And he had a hard time going to Primary in church. But something about the preschool (probably the awesome teachers) lets him embrace it fearlessly.

Ben was up half the night Thursday night. I think it was a combination of late-drunk chocolate milk and teething. He is so pleasant, even at his worst. I actually kind of enjoyed snuggling with him on "Nanny's Chair" until 2 a.m. He still can't say anything except "Dis," and "Dat." (This and that), but I'm in no hurry for this little cutie to grow up.

Our digital camera is broken. I hope to replace it soon.

Jan 11

Leo came out of his bedroom at 9 p.m. last night (an hour after bedtime).
Me - "What's wrong buddy?"
Leo - "I don't WANT to get married!"
Me - "Why not?"
Leo - "Because I don't want to be a daddy and have a mommy with kids."
Me - "Being a daddy is fun!"
Leo - "But I don't want to grow up to be a grown up!"
Me - "But when you grow up, you get your own car."
Leo - "A real car?"
Me - "Yes."
Leo - "Okay." He goes back to bed.

The Indiana Jones birthday was a smashing success. Eight six-year-olds in one house for an hour and a half. It was crazy, it was loud, it was chaos, and Gabe loved it. My favorite part was singing happy birthday to the Indiana Jones theme song. Gabe's favorite part was unwrapping presents and the treasure hunt. Leo favorite part was playing pin the hat on Indiana.

I also loved the cake ... it was two layer with an action figure Indiana running down a sloped side with a boulder coming after him, and candy snakes below.

Jeff is down with his mom in the hospital today, we have her in our prayers!

New Year

I heard on the radio this morning one commentator talking to another ... "Did you make any New Year's Resolutions?" The man replied matter-of-factly, "If I come across a way to improve myself during the year, I just do it right then."

I resolve to record more of my life with my family, and a blog seems the best way to do it. Once a week. I've missed some chances to record things because I couldn't find a way to be pithy, or profound, or philosophical. So excuse the brief format. I'm sure I'll get better.

Some things I want to remember:

-Leo saying to me after the time Ben bit me one of the last times I nursed him, "It's a boobie trap!"
-Gabe and Leo decorating Nannie with ribbons on Christmas Eve at the cabin.
-Taking a Christmas Eve snowmobile ride with Jeff through the post-card mountains of Mt. Pleasant, big snowflakes smacking my face.
-Benji struggling out of my arms to go snuggle with Jeff, such a Daddy's boy.
-Gabe staying up late last night because he is "too excited about my birthday!" His eyes just sparkled. We are planning an Indiana Jones party for Tuesday. Anyone have a snake we can borrow?
-Jeff building a wood fire on a freezing Logan afternoon, and the room warming right up.

Benji is croupy and had a rough night last night, but for the most part we are healthy and happy. I'm looking forward to getting back into a more normal schedule now that the holidays are over. It has been fun, but I need a little more rhythm to my life. Gabe's school starts tomorrow. Leo starts campus pre-school next week.

I heard a great essay on NPR in the "This I Believe" series about being the "designated celebrator." Somebody has to go to the work of planning, providing, organizing. And it can me a pain. But that person (as hard as it is) makes it possible for everyone else to celebrate life. Otherwise it wouldn't happen. I want to let the people I love celebrate, so I can be that person for them.

Gabe's Handwritten Birthday card

Sweet to my heart!