Things heard around our house

Nicholas brought me an empty glass and said, "I so thirsty mama. Make me happy!"

Josh was explaining to Sam how roller coasters work. He ended by saying something like, "So the force prevents you from falling out." Benjamin, who had been half listening, suddenly shouted, "YES! I knew the force was real!"

And here's a little ditty we made up to go with this face:

Eliana Joy White
You are putting up quite a fight.
Just be quiet and say good night.
Eliana, sleep tight!

(to be honest, the song does nothing for her, but it lets me pass the time with a smile)

And finally -- cake. I recently had a piece of GIANT chocolate cake at Cheddars. I knew that I had to take the boys there because no one can appreciate a foot long piece of chocolate cake like three boys. Of course, it was a hit. And after they had devoured every last bite, the only word out of their mouths was "MORE!"

A 3000 Word Essay on Beauty.

Enough said!!

A Failed Attempt

Here's what happens when you try an impromptu photo shoot with children who would rather be engaged elsewhere . . .


Not bad so far, but here's where the fun REALLY begins.

Me: Say Cheese

Nicholas: I not say cheese.

Nicholas: I don't like it pictures. Pictures stupid!

Nicholas: I not gonna have pictures.

Here's the story of how it happened . . .

Late one night, a mother sat comfortably at the computer. Here brief moment of silence was interrupted when her blonde six year old came in softly crying.
"What is the matter?" She asked as she tenderly lifted him onto her lap.
"My tooth hurts," he sobbed. The mother looked at the boy's tooth. It was indeed very loose. "Well," she began. "You can pull it out now or you can wait until the morning and see what happens."
"I'm convinced it needs to come out," said the boy. "But I'm afraid to pull it out."
"Would you like daddy and I to help?" The mother asked.
The young boy nodded his head yes, and began to cry even harder in anticipation. The mother called in the father to help relieve the boy's pain. The father wiggled the tooth and pronounced it ready to be removed. So the mother held the boy, while the father reached his hand into the boy's mouth . . .

"I CHANGED MY MIND!" The boy began to scream. "STOP!! I DON'T WANT YOU TO DO IT! STOP RIGHT NOW!" The boy was now thrashing his body around, pinching his mother with his free hand and trying desperately to move his mouth away from his father's hand. But this did not stop the tooth removal already in progress.

A sudden loud shriek let the mother know that the tooth was out, and she relaxed her grip on the screaming boy (to which he responded with a swift, hard kick). He was full out sobbing now and he turned to both of his loving parents and said, "I TOLD YOU TO STOP! I DIDN'T WANT MY TOOTH TO COME OUT! LEAVE ME ALONE!" And with that he ran into the bathroom to rinse out the blood.

The parents tried to console him with hugs and praise of how brave he was. The boy would not listen. He stomped off to bed.

The next morning, he showed off his new look to his older brother. The older brother asked if it hurt. The young, now toothless, boy responded, "No it wasn't so bad."
Hearing this, the mother asked if he would like his other loose tooth removed.
"No way!" exclaimed the boy. " I'm not letting you do that again. I've learned my lesson!"

Happy Half Birthday!

Eliana is 6 months old today. I can't believe she's been here for half a year! She is delightful and we love her so much . . . we've even come to accept the fact that she is a powerful screamer. The demand for ear plugs has increased exponentially since August 7, 2007 -- just ask anyone who attends Sunday church with little miss Ellie.

Seriously, though, have you ever seen a cuter baby?

OK -- so even the beautiful people have an off day. It reminds us that they're only human.

Motherly Pride

Dear Nicholas,

You are growing up so fast! You are becoming such a little man, so sure of yourself. Why, just today you showed me how you could set a goal for yourself then go about trying to achieve it. You saw Sammy's Valentine candy and wanted it. No matter how many times I said no, you kept right on asking. And then you took matters into your own hands. You pulled a serrated knife out of the drawer and started sawing the box open. Such persistence from one so young!

Or what about last week with the candle? Every time dad lit a fire in the fireplace, you asked to help. But dad always said no because he thought you were too young. You had faith in your abilities and a desire to stretch yourself. So you waited until you were alone, found a box of matches and lit the candle. Sam is almost eight, and just learned how to light a match -- but you, young Nicholas, knew you could do it -- and you did!

I admire so much your love of freedom -- your desire to run carefree outside. Nature seems to call you no matter where we are. If you are at church with dad, nature beckons you to run out the door into the full parking lot. At the doctor's office, nature invites you to make a break for it when the door opens. At home, nature entices you to sneak out the garage by opening a locked door, then quietly closing it and quickly opening the outside garage door. Yes, every time an opportunity to commune with the outdoors presents itself, you embrace it with open arms (and the fastest feet of any two year old I know).

But today, what I am most impressed with is the fact that when you say no, you mean it. At the table, I asked you to eat dinner and you said no. I said please, and you said no. I offered a bribe and you said no. I said that you would sit there until everyone was done, and you said no and dumped your entire plate of food on the floor. Yes, you know what you want and will not allow yourself to go against those convictions.

So, my dear Nicholas, it is with great motherly pride that I tell you -- keep being you! I can say with all honesty that you are one of a kind!!

Love, your frazzled mother

p.s. if we both make it to your third birthday, I will know that miracles really do happen!

What is wrong with this picture?

Half the fun of living in Texas is being able to brag about the perfect winter temperatures.
24 degrees? 24 Degrees!!
All bragging rights are lost with today's temperature!

A Great Man

I have many memories of President Hinckley. I had the privilege of being in the tabernacle when he was sustained as President of the Church. I camped out many, MANY times at BYU when he came to speak for a fireside or devotional. But perhaps one of the strongest memories I have of this great man was when he came to a regional conference in Alaska. It was almost 13 years ago, and he had been scheduled to come speak at our regional conference for some time. However, when he became the prophet, everyone said that they would send someone else to the conference -- no prophet had ever come to Alaska. But he came. I remember the minute he walked into the room, and instantly thousands of people became silent and stood. It was then that I knew Gordon B. Hinckley was a prophet of God.

One more memory -- Josh and his dad were able to go to the last dedication session for the San Antonio temple. Sam and Benjamin and I waited outside. We were the only people there for quite some time. It was beautiful and peaceful. About 10 minutes before the session was over, people started coming. And they started crowding. And before I knew it, we were behind a large mass of people. I found myself getting very angry. After all, we had been there for so long! I tried to get Sam to the front of the crowd because I really wanted him to see the prophet. But try as I might, I couldn't squeeze past the middle of the herd of people. I told him to stretch really hard and try to see, even though I knew it would be impossible. But someone turned around and said, "let the little boy through" (sounds like something you'd hear in a corny movie, but it's true!), and somehow Sam was right at the front. President Hinckley shook as many hands as possible as he made his way to the car. He saw little Sam standing by himself, stopped and patted him on the head, and then moved on. And I felt a powerful love for that man that he would take a moment to make my son feel like the most important person in the world. I will forever be grateful for that one small moment in time.

"Believe in yourselves. Believe in your capacity to do some good in this world. God sent us here for a purpose, and that was to improve the world in which we live. The wonderful thing is that we can do it." -President Gordon B. Hinckley

Number Four

Question: How can you tell for sure that you are baby number 4?

Answer: You make a major milestone step going from this

to this for the first time

with no one watching.

And if that wasn't bad enough -- then you go back to this

and still no one is there! Poor Eliana!

How is it that she is already five and a half months old? Where have I been?

Benjamin

(Not the best picture, but he was so uncooperative!)

Today Benjamin turns 6. I can't believe he is 6!! (That means that we've lived in Texas for 6 years.) In honor of Benjamin's birthday, here are six things I love about him.
1. He's the only one in our family with blonde hair.
2. He loves to use big words. When he was about 18 months old, we were in the grocery store and something scared him. He turned tome and said, "Oh, goodness, that startled me." Since then, he always wants to know the meaning of words and loves to use new words.
3. He is very kind and empathetic. He can't stand to see someone hurt. He loves everyone completely.
4. He's obsessed with gadgets. He loves anything electronic. And, he always has to have some small something in his hand.
5. He's shy, but at the same time, makes friends very easily.
6. He's got a talent for music. We used to play guess that tune with him when he was really small. And he got it every time. Now, he likes to sit at the piano and pick out a tune. Last night, he was playing the beginning of a song he didn't even know -- until I played it for him on the I-pod. He's got skills!

Happy Birthday Benjamin! We love you!

Sleep Help!!

We moved Nicholas to his new bed, finally! And he goes to sleep pretty well. But at night, he gets up four or five times and just wanders the house. Sometimes we'll hear him playing games or trying to turn on the TV. One morning we woke up to a pile of chocolate wrappers on the living room floor. We always hear him and take him back to bed, but who knows how long he's been playing around before we wake up! I'm sure I've mentioned before his need for adventure, so I can only imagine what catastrophe awaits us if we don't get him to stay in bed.

Neither Sam or Benjamin did anything like this. We need help . . . and sleep!!

What do we do?

Star Wars, Nothing but Star Wars

Josh and I nicknamed this Christmas the "Star Wars Year." Without meaning to, we kind of theme shopped and 85% of the presents under the tree had something to do with Star Wars. Which is fine, because all the boys (Nicholas and Josh included) love the movies -- and everything that goes along with it.

So for Family Movie Night on Friday, we decided to do something a little different. I told the boys that we were having a Star Wars night and the details were going to be a surprise. I must have been asked a million times what we were having for dinner. I'm not sure they were asking because they were excited, or because they didn't want to be surprised by the food. Josh picked up Uncle Dan's BBQ on the way home from work. And we cleverly stuck new labels on all the food: Brisket became Boba Fett Brisket, Turkey was Tie Fighter Turkey, Sausage was Yoda Yummies, Green beans were Kit Fisto greens and Baked beans were Ewok Pebbles. For dessert we had Wookie Cookies (giant chocolate chip cookies). Sam and Benjamin got a good laugh out of it, especially when Josh concocted a tale of how he flew his X-wing fighter to Dexter's Diner to get our special order of Jedi food.

After dinner we had a star wars video game tournament. Josh, of course, won. . . But we divided his score by three, so Sam came out the winner. And we ended the evening with an exclusive showing of Star Wars II (for the 4th time since Christmas!)

It was a really fun way to end Christmas Vacation. Which, by the way, I am so glad is over! :) I love my kids, but I've got to tell you -- Sam and Benjamin can create a mess in less than a minute flat! I hate it, but at the same time I marvel at the ability. Now if I could only find some way to channel this force of nature for good . . .

Brotherly Love

Tonight, Josh took Sam to the movies. Benjamin didn't go because Benjamin doesn't like going to the movies. Getting ready for bed was easy, but going to sleep proved to be a bit harder. As Benjamin climbed into bed, the tears started to flow.

M: Benj, what's wrong.
B: I can't sleep without Sam.
M: But you are always saying you want your own room, now's your chance.
B: I don't think I can do it.
M: Just close your eyes and go to sleep.
B: Sam's a really good brother and I can't be happy when he's not here. I miss Sam.

Brothers and friends -- what more could a mom ask for?

Resume of a Two Year Old

Name: Nicholas White
Life Skills:

• Climbs Anything
• Finds a permanent marker anywhere in the house
• Uses said permanent marker to draw on the table and the windowsill
• Throws plastic toys into the hot oven
• Can tell the second the door is open and always makes a run for it
• Can undress in a matter of seconds
• Uses words like "My favorite!" to get what he wants
• Says things are "pretty cool" when he's trying to down play excitement
• Loves to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, but doesn't like others to join in
• Favorite foods are gum, candy, chocolate, fruit roll-ups and chips (yum . . . )
• Has favorite episodes of Blue's Clues that he watches over and OVER
• Loves to color, and although he knows to only color on paper, he regards walls, furniture and clothing as paper
  
• Dumps out entire containers of crickets, cricket food and gecko vitamins for Sam's pet gecko (not all at once, thank goodness -- but not only once either!)
• Can make anyone laugh!
  
  
  
  There seems to be very little Nicholas can't do -- but here are a few things:
  Can't climb out of his bed
  Can't keep his pajamas on at night
  Can't keep his hands off cell phones
  Can't stop being so adorable despite the fact that he makes me absolutely crazy!!
  
  Happy 2nd birthday Nicholas! We love you!!!
  
  

A stroke of luck

On a whim, I decided to give the boys a small something every day leading up to Christmas. I raided the dollar bin at Target and decided to call my little endeavor the "Christmas Elf."

Day one -- Saturday, I left some candy on the counter in the bathroom with a note from the Christmas Elf. The boys went CRAZY! Sam, clever as always, left me a note in my bathroom with a picture. It said, "To mom. Merry Christmas from the Christmas Elf." I excitedly told the boys that the Christmas Elf had left me something too. Sam seemed perplexed about my excitement. He thought his note would be a way to let me know that he knew I was the culprit. No luck!

Day two -- The Christmas elf left something on the kitchen counter for the boys. My elf in turn made some ornaments out of pipe cleaners for me, which I quickly stuck on the tree. (the boys glowed with pride at this gesture.) Benjamin wrote a thank-you note to the Christmas elf.

Day three -- I decided to mix things up a bit and do a service instead of give a treat. Luckily for me, the boys are slobs! So their room became my target. When I was finished, I stuck this poem to their door:

Sam and Benjamin

I went to your room to leave a surprise,
but when I saw the mess, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

Toys and blankets, books and more,
all thrown about, tossed down on the floor.

So I decided to do you a favor,
And when you see why, you can thank me later.

It’s hard for Santa to leave more toys
In a house with a couple of messy boys.

Santa likes to see boys who take care of their stuff,
But I know cleaning can sometimes be tough.

So I cleaned up your room as your surprise for the day,
I made your beds and put your toys away.

I hope this will help you keep everything clean.
Cause Santa’s coming soon (and you know what that means!)

If you want to have some new toys under the tree,
see what I did and learn a lesson from me.

Keep your room clean, keep it tidy and neat,
And I promise that Santa will bring an extra special Christmas treat!

Love,
The Christmas Elf
22 days to go!

When the boys got home from school, they were a little disappointed to not find a treat. However, they were quick to point out the last line about the extra special treat. And I got a drawing of some Christmas stockings from my little elves.

Day four -- on the way home from school, Sam asked what the Christmas elf left. I told him I didn't think there was anything yet. He said, "AHA! I knew it was you!" I told him I didn't know what he was talking about. While they were playing outside, I left a little treat on their beds with a note that said, "Thanks for keeping your room clean. Love, the Christmas Elf" We went to run a quick errand, and when we came back Sam found the treat. He came running out of his room screaming (no kidding, screaming) "The Christmas elf is REAL!" I didn't get anything from my elf today -- but their room is still clean, so that is gift enough.

It's only been 4 days, and Sam and Benjamin talk like we've been doing this for years! It's fun to surprise them, I think I may continue it for years.

Thanks to an idea from the Sprague Lab Blog, we also started doing nightly family activities. I typed up a list of Christmas activities and put it in a jar. Each night we draw an idea from the jar. We made microwave s'mores, watched a Christmas movie, and tomorrow night we are going to plan a family vacation. Benjamin asked if we can do this all year. Maybe not nightly, but weekly isn't bad. . . .

Did I mention that I love Christmas?