Thank goodness for Grandma

Max and Joe just spent the last week hanging out with Grandma and they loved very second of it. In fact, Max would wake up every morning and start calling "Gree-ma, where are you?". Even though the call started around 6:30 am(he was just so excited to see her he couldn't sleep a second longer), I thought it was precious. My mom's visit also gave me the chance to prop my feet up, relax, and not do one single thing all week long. Literally. It would have been paradise expect for the pain in my feet. You see,fair readers, I had surgery on both feet on Monday and was on doctor ordered bed rest for the week. My dear mother, being the kind soul she is, came out here to watch the boys whilst I convalesced. Carl took one day off work but he hasn't accrued enough sick leave/vacation time to take off the whole week. So while I was quite literally stuck on the couch, my mom cooked,cleaned, entertained the boys, and attended to all my needs. She's the best. I had a follow up visit with my podiatrist on Friday and it looks like everything is heeling well. I am able to move around more and my pain level has significantly decreased. I am really grateful for my mom and her willingness to drop everything to help out. PS-while at my first post-op visit, I almost passed out when the doctor removed the dressings from my incisions. I had no idea I was so squeamish. Anyway, my mom took that opportunity to take a few pictures of my feet because she said I would want pictures later. I didn't post them since I still get light headed when I look at them but they may make an appearance on this blog one day.

Genetically Blessed

That is how Carl and I refer to gorgeous people.  They aren't just pretty, cute, adorable, easy on the eyes, man candy(that would be David Borneaz)...they are genetically blessed.  I happened to have 5 roommates in college(how did we all fit in that tiny apartment with all of my stuff?) who were all genetically blessed.  As I reminisced about shared bathrooms, group dates, the Vermonster and a million other memories, I  decided to have a peek at all of their blogs and the occasional Facebook pages for those who don't blog today and I just have to say...WOWZERS!  All of their children are beautiful.  Truly, they are all lovely looking children who are also angels.  I loved reading about family adventures and everyday moments because it revealed lives rich with love and contentment.  Happily, these snippets of my dear friends lives also showed their commitment to the Gospel and their unique ways of helping their kids and others around them to feel their love for the Savior.  It looks like my dear roomies and their children have truly been blessed, genetically and otherwise.

The forecast for today is...

snow.  And lots of it.  Today we woke up to a light dusting of snow.  It was actually quite lovely.  Carl decided to check the weather channel to see how much of the powdery stuff we could expect.  The answer we received was somewhat disconcerting:  1 to 20 inches of snow before nightfall.  How does one come up with a range like that?  Usually it's something like 6 to 12 inches but 1"-20"?  Couldn't the weatherman narrow it down a little? 

So far we have probably gotten about 12" inches or so of snow.  It took poor Carl an hour to shovel our driveway and by the time he finished, the front half was covered again.  Since I have a killer cold, we plan on staying in, drinking choffy, and watching movies.

HELP!!!

In our lovely little branch everyone has at least 2 callings.  No, seriously.  Actually, that is one of the thing I love most about being in a branch; everyone is needed.  Right now I need a little help from my long distance friends in order to fulfill my favorite calling, which is Primary chorister.  If you have never had this calling, you are missing out.  I love singing with the kids each week and watching them as the music touches their hearts and teaches them truth.  It is amazing.  I have witnessed some amazing things during singing time and so I try my best to make each week a fun learning opportunity. Actually, it's kind of ironic that this is my favorite calling since I actually strongly dislike singing in front of people.  Ask my college roommates.  One time we had to sing during sacrament meeting(all 6 of us and I think everyone else was truly musically gifted so all I had to do was stand up there and pretend to sing) and I cried a lot beforehand and thought I was going to either pass out or throw up from nerves.  In case you are wondering, I didn't actually do either but it was close. Back to the point at hand...I just can't think of anything to help teach the kiddos Choose the Right this month.  I know some of you creative ladies have some great singing time ideas you can share.  Please e-mail me some singing time creativity.  Pretty Please.  Thanks in advance.

The first of many things

Max's birthday

Max turned three in January!  I can't believe how fast the years have flown by.  Each day with Max brings a new adventure and tons of surprises.  I can honestly day that he keeps me on my toes and I am grateful for him and his soft(yet mischievous) heart.  Right now Max loves Cars(the movie), puzzles, playing with friends, reading, and dancing.  He does not love eating.  In fact, we have to find ways to coax or just plain trick him into eating most days.  Except chocolate.  Max, much live his papa bear, loves all things chocolaty.  I have considered coating meatballs in chocolate (hello, Princess Bride) but we haven't got that desperate yet.  To celebrate his birthday, we first went to BounceU with a few friends and bounced for a while.  Max loved it.  This is a picture of Max and one of his best buddies, Alex.  At first, Alex was not sure if he liked the giant inflatables but with a little encouragement from Max, he ended up loving it.  I think my favorite part of the morning was hearing Max scream to Alex as he would run by: "Come on, Alex!"  It was just darling. 

We also had a birthday dinner with a few more friends.  We went for simple and grilled hamburgers and hot dogs and of course, I made a cake.  This is my first attempt at a carved cake and I think it turned out pretty well.  I will admit that I royally missed one up and had to throw it away but I rallied and made this one.  It's not perfect but I actually pleased with it.  Max requested sparkle cake, Funfetti to the rest of us, and strawberry and so it was.  Oddly enough, that is exactly what Carl requested for his birthday last year.  Carl and Max are so similar it is almost spooky.

This year we also achieved a birthday milestone:  Max blew out his birthday candles!  Last year he was a little too shy to do it but this year he found it quite thrilling.  All in all, Max's birthday week was filled with lots of fun, love, and laughter.  Just like him.

To the Lady at the Craft Store

Dear Cashier:

I didn't need your snide comment to clue me into the fact that my child has his hat on backwards.  He put it on by himself and I counted that as a victory.  He's wearing his hat and I didn't have to put it on.  Win/win.  But thanks for your concern.

Ash

So many things

So many things have happened since November, all of which prevented me from sitting down to write about them.  The most important event occurred during the first week of December.  Carl graduated from Creighton and was offered a job all on the same day.  He now works at Streck so it looks like we are staying in Omaha for the long haul.  Other major events have also transpired but I will get to that later.  Joe is on day 3 of his nap strike and is currently screaming like a banshee and so I must rescue him from his crib.  I wish he would just take a nap but he is even more stubborn than Max(I didn't think that was possible) so I know he will not go to sleep on principle.  As a bonus for this hard-working mama, if Joe doesn't sleep, Max doesn't sleep either.  I think it has something to do with the ear shattering volume and unnervingly high pitches Joseph employs in his screaming arsenal.  And so I am off to brave another day with two very tired boys.