Chore Chart

Growing up my mother use to write our chores on a paper plate. It is all I can do to eat off of a paper plate these days without cringing (mom, I'm totally making that up!) We also had the note card system on the fridge where we would sign off on dinner dishes in order for justice and fairness to prevail in our turn taking.

Often times when I would complain about doing the dishes or cleaning the bathrooms my Father, with a twinkle in his eye, would say, "This is why we had kids. . .to do all the work around here." Funny how as a kid I almost believed him. Now as an adult, I finally see the irony in that statement. Can I tell you how much time I spend cleaning up cheerios, washing tiny clothes, and wiping all sorts of something off the walls?

Eric would argue that my mother's OCD for a clean house skips a generation. Luckily her organization skills didn't. . . and I have to say I've bumped it up a notch from the 'ole paper plate routine.


The "BIG" Boys rotate their Morning, Before Dinner, and After Dinner Chores each week.
(dishwasher, setting the table, clearing the table and cleaning the dining room)
(opening the blinds, closing the binds, cleaning the kitchen)
(breakfast dishes, picking up the living room, watching warner while the rest of us our cleaning up dinner)

(putting the silverware away, cleaning up under the barstools, scripture retriever and put-er away-er)



Mom, you'd be proud that Tanner's favorite part of kitchen duty is scouring the sink each night.
Jeanna, thanks for being my inspiration on the B. Dinner and A. Dinner chore idea.

Random Sampler

Hy's Headdress.

Hy got a hold of the camera. . .
Here's Sam soaking away in the tub.

And here's Warner. . . please note the NEW bruise on his forehead. I think cutting molars plays with his equilibrium.

Our new "home gym" compared to our "piled-in-the-corner-of-our-bedroom gym." This fall I have fallen in love with the $35 treadmill we bought at a yard sale. Time flies when I'm running while watching Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Stay tuned for pictures of my bulging muscles (I'm totally kidding).

1 Little Indian

Here's the cutest little Indian I know . . .

Hy is thriving in Preschool. Last week they put on a cute little program for the parents. The children sang songs and shared with us some stew that they had made. The necklace Hy is wearing was from another preschool in the other preschool class (they all made necklaces and shared them with a new friend). Hy's teachers told me today that is their "best rhymer." (a.k.a. a Freak'in Genius at three!)

Birthday Bounty

It was like a mini Christmas last week. Christian and Tanner received several generous gifts from friends and family. Thank you!!! They had so much fun sneaking away to their bedroom and building, building, building.

The Bits & Dad

Here are the Bits and Eric.

Choir Boys

This Fall Tanner & Christian had the opportunity to join the school choir. They LOVE it. I hope that they grow into being amazing singers like their Father. By the time the Christmas Break begins they will have had SEVERAL opportunities to perform. Here they are at a candlelight vigil. Eric said they were incredible (I opted to stay in our warm home with our three little boys).

The other night while half of the family was doing their dinner clean-up, the boys joined me at the piano and began singing while I played. These moments are unpredictable. The boys were laughing and singing. Eric was pitching in the harmony while wiping down the kitchen counters. There was, what felt to be, a tangible sense of family and love.

Simply Fresh Designs

I cannot resist putting in a plug for my dear friend Heather. She has the most AMAZING GIFT at designing classy looking Christmas Cards. Check out her website: http://www.simplyfreshdesigns.com/

Here are a few of her cards:

Whoa, where did that good looking family come from? Heather asked a few friends to send in pictures . . . I see so many familiar faces in her galleries. I especially love everyone's engagement pictures. Where is ours you ask? Do any of you remember the glasses Eric wore when we got married? Yup, the ones that covered half of his face? Unfortunately no amount of photo editing can bring those pictures into the 20th century. But lucky for me the man I married keeps getting better and better looking every year!

Birthday Boys

I cannot believe that my "baby" boys are going to be NINE years old on Sunday. Amazing. I gave them the option of having an Incredible Family Celebration, or a Simply Friends Get Together. Of course, they chose their Friends. Christian and Tanner are so excited and Sam keeps voicing his opinion on the refreshments. I think with sledding, brownies, ice cream, and lots of hot chocolate, we'll have a happy crowd.

Hoarfrost

Hoarfrost: n. Frozen dew that forms a white coating on a surface. Also called white frost.

There are perks to Alaska Winters. For example, last winter when I was too lazy to walk a baby bottle upstairs in the middle of the night, I simply opened our bedroom door leading to the backyard and placed the bottle on the deck where it froze solid.

The biggest perk and most amazing beauty is hoarfrost. It is absolutely incredible.

Today while walking home from school with the boys and a few friends, I overheard them talking about the hoarfrost.

"That stuff is cool," commented a little boy (he just moved here from Tuba City, Arizona).

"Yup, its frosting," replied Hyrum.

And you know what? He's right.

(another funny. I have a drying rack that I pull out in the laundry room at least once a year, usually when I'm geared up to save the planet and conserve energy. My ploy to end global warming for the year began and ended yesterday. Tanner, this morning, was on a quest to find clean jeans and I directed him to the laundry room. A few minutes later I hear him holler, "Are the jeans on the MANGER clean?" Tis the season.)

W.

Sam's Christmas Concert

Don't mind the flute descant, Warner was warming up on the recorder.

Ham

Knowing Eric. . . he'd agree that this this little one is keeping it in the family. . . a little bacon being a little ham.

Permanent Fixture

Yup the box is still around. He is sleeping in it EVERY night. I'm starting to wonder if I'd recognize his bedroom without the box. I did, however, convince him to let me cut out the "foot board" of the box so that 20 years down the road I won't be blamed for stunting his growth.

Joby

Tanner was in his "special spot" writing away tonight. At the end of writing time I went in to hear another one of Tanner's tales. Disney himself would have been proud . . . it was a story that began Once Upon a Time and then immediately lets the reader know that the main characters parents were DEAD. Yup DEAD, even the brothers and sisters. Nothing like a bleeding heart to endear you to a story. A paragraph later Tanner is describing the Aunt with whom the main character is now living, "she was mean and joby."

"Joby?" I ask. This is 3rd grade writing and I've already witnessed several examples of the written word empowered by baconbit phonetics. For example tonight I came across the word "janj" (for change).

"Yeah," Tanner answered, "Joby. Someone who is always giving him jobs."

So tonight along with all my other titles, I have added another: Joby. Because, really, who do you think is the kids inspiration for the Mean and Joby Aunt?

Over Eater?

EVERY night I am amazed when Christian and Tanner out eat Eric. They EACH eat two (YES 2) chicken breasts, salad, rolls, vegetables and when they've managed to lick the bowls clean they want to know if there is anything else? And we aren't talking about dessert, they want more chicken or a quesadilla or pasta. Where does it all go? I mean SERIOUSLY, take a gander, the kid (Tanner, but don't think that Christian looks one iota beefier) appears to be borderline malnourished.

Not only is this rough on the food budget, but it puts kinks in the family vacations. A couple of summers back we went with some dear friends Canyoneering in Zions. A small part of the adventure was swimming through icey cold water. With .00057% body fat, the twins were teetering between hypothermia and freezing to death by the end. Sleeping bags and blasting the HEATER (this is July in Southern Utah) did the trick to defrost them both.

And then there is the ever pleasant comments I get from the Pediatrician or total strangers for that matter. Looking at me. Looking at C&T they deduct, "Oh look how skinny those boys are. They must get that from their father." Thanks a lot.

Not much gets past this kid. Eric and I got a big chuckle while watching him the other day. He was "helping" us with laundry and had found a pair of jeans and a shirt and was trying his hardest to put them on. He would put them on his head or drape them on his shoulders. I won't be long . . .

Written By Tanner

At parent teacher conference, Tanner's Teacher told us that he was the best writer in her class. She said that he is phenomenal writer with spectacular ideas. He has great voice in his writing and well thought out story lines. She encouraged us to nurture this ability, and we've created a little writing workshop space for him under the stairs. Write away little buddy.

Dental Woes

A few weeks ago I took Sam to the dentist because I had noticed that a cavity had fallen out. We made an appointment for dental work to be done next week. Last night, however, he started crying after dinner complaining that it was hurting. I made a quick phone call to the dentist and left a message asking if they could get him in earlier. There is nothing worse than seeing your child in pain.

The receptionist called back and asked us to bring him in at 10.

2 1.2 hours later, we left the Dentist Office. My baby boy, Sam, got a root canal. Don't those words just send shivers down your spine. Here he is, still numb on HIS left side and doing his best to smile.

Techno Boy

This is the reason I don't blog as much as I use to. . . because Warner, our technology loving boy, does this every time he sees the computer and is denied the opportunity to type and pounce and pull up his favorite websites.

Don't feel too bad for him. . . on occasion we give him free reign of the t.v. remote and the telephones.