This Family's Got Talent!

From this post and my last one it may seem like our family is always performing but in all honesty these two performances are the grand total of ALL the performances we've done in the last two years.

We previously did this for our Ward Talent show and it was a big hit but we didn't have anyone video tape it. I was really happy when they asked us to do it for the Stake Talent show because then we could get it on video. Rose was fussy right before she "went on" but as soon as she was on stage she was perfect. I think she might have a little bit of Diva in her somewhere! The first time Asher did great but this time he was really shy. I think it is because he didn't know very many people and it was a bigger audience than for our Ward Talent show. Still, it turned out really cute even with him being shy. They got quite the laughs.

A Belated Mother's Day Post

I know I've been posting a plethora of videos lately, but I can't resist sharing this.

If you have in the slightest bit of nerd in you... or have ever taken a biology class... I think you will love this tribute to motherhood. I think this guy looks a little like my brother...



Thanks to Rixa for sharing it.

Babies

In what was a rare "girl's night out" my friend and I went to go see the new movie "Babies" on Friday night. " I've been so excited to see this ever since I saw the trailer several months ago. I don't really know why... maybe because I have a my own little nursling, because I am mildly obsessed with mothers and babies, or because it is just such an incredible idea to follow four babies from different places in the world through their first year of life.

The movie didn't disappoint me... I LOVED it. I loved watching how different each baby was born into the world-- they only showed snippets of labor for two of the babies but had newborn shots for each of them-- and how different their lives were. I think my favorite baby was the Mongolian baby because he was SO incredibly cute and he had a little brother who was about Asher's age. I felt like I could totally relate to the poor Mongolian mother who had these two crazy babies on her hands. At one point there is a clip of the older Mongolian brother whacking his little baby brother with a scarf. After each hit he stops and looks at the camera to see if he will get in trouble. He doesn't so he keeps doing it. I just laughed and thought "Ha, that is just like my house. I guess toddlers aren't much different in other parts of the world."

In fact, that is what I felt the strongest message of this movie was... that no matter where they live in this world-- be it a mud hut or a 30 story skyscraper-- no matter how they are dressed--- be it naked or in expensive designer clothing-- no matter where they learn to crawl-- be it in the dirt or on carpet-- babies are babies and they each have the same divine potential.

I also found myself feeling such a kinship and connection to the mothers who lived in other parts of the world. I felt that even though we wouldn't be able to speak the same language if we were to meet in real life we would be able to relate to each other. Our children would play together and we would be able to laugh and cry over the same milestones, the same mistakes and the same joys. I realized that no matter how a mother is dressed-- be it topless (like the African mother) or in expensive high heels-- no matter what our daily jobs are-- be it working in an office or milking a cow-- no matter where our children are born-- be it in a home or in the intensive care--- mothers are mothers and we each have the same divine potential and responsibility.

The other things that really struck me about the movie was that the Mongolian and the African baby spent most of their lives outside. There wasn't a clear cut line between "inside" and "outside" and their lives naturally followed into one and out of the other. On the other hand the American and the Japanese babies spent most of their time inside and going to the "outside" was always a big adventure complete with stroller, blankets, shoes and sunglasses. I'm not making a judgment call about which was better but it was very interesting and made me want to make sure my kids get more unscheduled time outside to explore and get dirty.

I also was struck by the fact that the Japanese and American babies didn't have siblings. I know this might just be because these were first children, but I still thought it was interesting and felt that it reflected different mentalities and life styles between the four families.

Everything about this movie intrigued me and if you can believe it this movie made me even more passionate about babies and mothers. I could talk about it for hours... so I better stop now and just say that I loved it and think you might too.

You Know You're a Mother When...

Old House Delusion Disease

I just had to share this.

I found it on a house remodeling blog and when I read it I couldn't stop laughing. I read it to my husband and it just got funnier and funnier.

We both DEFINITELY have Old House Delusion Disease (OHDD).

The first time the real estate agent walked us through what is now our house we wondered who in their right mind would ever by such a disgusting house. Then we needed up buying it... even after the inspector's report came back with about 50 things that were wrong with it. Obviously we had (and still have) a bad case of OHDD.







We've definitely improved things but it has been quite the adventure. Our house was built in 1916 and as we've worked on it we've actually discovered some pretty cool things in our walls and basement. Maybe someday I'll do a post showcasing all our artifacts. Anyway, if you've ever bought an old house or done remodeling you will enjoy this.

Home Sickness

by Dave Barry

Old House Delusion Disease

More than once I have had my brain paralyzed by what psychiatrists call Old House Delusion Disease (OHDD). My wife and I bought an old house that had every known old-house problem, including termites, not to mention a grand total of one closet, and an entire room that had no electrical outlets -- a clear indication that the house was not built by or for people with a need for, say, lighting. Were we discouraged?

No! We thought it was quaint!

Here's how delusional we were. We had plumbing problems (of course), and in an effort to fix a leak, some plumbing guys were crawling around under our house. They emerged holding some yellowed, crumbling, rolled-up newspapers, which they'd found wrapped around our pipes, apparently as insulation. We carefully unwrapped one of the newspapers and found that it was a Miami Herald from 1927. It had a story in it about Charles Lindbergh.

So there we were, confronted with stark evidence that our pipes, in addition to leaking, were very old. It's like being aboard a boat in the middle of the Pacific and discovering that not only were you sinking, but also your hull was made entirely of Triscuits.

How did we react to this horrible news? We were thrilled! Charles Lindbergh! It was so charming! The plumbers were also very excited, but in their case it was because they knew we would be putting all their children through Harvard.

Our House Delusion Disease is very powerful. Usually, when you buy an old house, you hire professional house inspectors. These inspectors are very thorough: They spend a whole day crawling around the house, and then they give you a detailed, written report, which says "Do not buy this house, you idiot!"

Love Is Blind

Not in so many words, of course. The report breaks the house down by major defects, then sub-defects. The house, according to the report, consists entirely of defects. You read the report, but because you have OHDD, none of it actually penetrates your brain, even when the inspector goes out of his way to warn you about serious problems:

INSPECTOR: I want to show you something in the living room ...

YOU: Don't you love that room? It has such character! The molding!

INSPECTOR: About the molding -- I wanted you to see this. (The inspector takes a screwdriver and taps it against the molding. The molding disappears in a smokelike puff of wood particles. Then a large part of the wall itself collapses, leaving a gaping hole, through which can be seen, in the gloom, an exposed wire that periodically emits a shower of sparks, illuminating a dripping pipe covered with green slime. A rat darts by, pursued by what seems to be a boa constrictor.)

YOU: Ha ha! These quirky old houses! That can be repaired, right?

INSPECTOR: Well, I suppose it could, if you're willing to ...

YOU: I'm not worried about cosmetic problems, as long as the house is structurally sound. (You stamp your foot on the floor to emphasize this point. Your foot goes through the floor.)

INSPECTOR: Um, that's another thing. Your floor joists have been almost entirely eaten away.

YOU: (retracting your foot) Termites? No biggie! A lot of these old houses have termites! We can just have it treated by ...

INSPECTOR: Actually, it's beavers. They're building a dam in the basement.

YOU: (silence)

INSPECTOR: I've never seen that before.

YOU: (recovering) Well, the kids have been wanting a pet!

At this point the inspector, who has dealt with OHDD before, gives up and edges out of the room, taking care not to put too much weight on any one part of the floor.

You, of course, buy the house. As a true OHDD victim, you would buy this house if it were on fire. Once it's yours, you begin calling what will become a never-ending parade of highly paid craftsmen, who will spend so much time at your house that eventually they will become a part of your family, and invite you to attend all their children's graduations from college.

Urabus

Scene: Heather, Jon and Asher in the car, country music playing, car slowing to stop at stop light behind a Subaru Outback. Heather mildly annoyed (about what...who knows?), Jon overly enthusiastic (like always), and Asher entertained by the handle of the plastic bag (don't you wish you could still get excited about a plastic bag?).

J: Hey (enthusiastically)

H: What (annoyed)

J: What is Subaru backwards?

H: I don't know (annoyed)

J: URABUS (fits of schoolboy laughter) Yeah U-R-A-BUS (more laughter)

H: Laughs because his laughter is contagious, and is ashamed that she was being grumpy. Result is-- that now she can't drive past a URABUS with out laughing.

Do you remember when?

Two of my fellow blogger-etts (Reading Armadillo and P Funks) have posted this game on their blogs and I think it is fun. Here are the game rules:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave a memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember(it can involve the family or even my husband too)!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll be sure to write one about you... either on your blog, in my comment box, or I will email you back!
3. If you can't say something nice, don't say nothin' at all ☺
4. Consider this a Tag: if you've read it, you have to do it!

Two REALLY Funny Videos-- I Promise

How Aware Are You?



Warning: This is Infectious!

Tiny Tonka Truck

Jon and I saw this Semi-Truck on the freeway a few days ago. He wasn't carrying anything but he had this strapped onto his flatbed. It really made us laugh hard!

Jell-O Yum Yum Yum

Okay, so I got WAY too excited about this! On Tuesday night we had the sister missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints over to our house for dinner. They are really nice, one from Dallas and the other from Washington. For dessert I made Jell-O Jigglers, which I hadn't made since I was 10 years old, and we cut them out with cookie cutters! I discovered two things, 1) That we need more cookie cutters (all we had were Valentines Day ones) and 2) that it does my heart and soul good to act like a little kid sometimes! It really is the small happy things that make life rich and rewarding!

My...not so quite... Dream Man

When I was in High School I wrote in my journal that my dream man would be a mix between Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird,

Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice,

and a character name Ari Ben Canaan from Exodus.

As my Dad put it, I was a "hopeful" romantic to the point of being absurd. When we were dating I told Jon about my "dream man" and consequently he watched all the videos (the books were too long :) to "study" up on gentlemanly attributes! He must have studied hard because he passed my test.

Well last night I was telling Jon that I took this quiz on Facebook to find out what Jane Austen character I am most like and that I am Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice. He responded most enthusiastically with... "That's great because I'm Mr. Darcy,


Atticus Finch



and... um.. what's his name... Osama Bin Laden?"



Aggg! No way!
Sorry Jon but that's not quite my dream man.

Charlie Bit Me!

Okay so I swiped this off of a friend's blog (thanks Danica!) and I just wanted to re-post because it made me laugh so hard. My favorite part is Charlie's diabolical laugh after, it reminds me of something from a cartoon.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=_OBlgSz8sSM

Sad and Funny Story

Sad part of the story:

On our way back from Idaho we had some car trouble. We were only about 10 min from home (luckily not on the freeway) and had some problems with our transmnission-- our car wouldn't move and made this awful grinding sound. Luckily the Farrells came and resuced us in their Suburban and towed our car back to our house. That was quite an adventure given that it was snowy and dark. But we made it. Jon has fixed part of the problem but it still makes a funny noise, hopefully he will be able to fix it and we won't have to take it in to the shop!



Funny part of the story:

Because our car doesn't work our next door neighbors, who just bought a new car, let us borrow thier minivan 'till ours is fixed. Last week we drove it to Bountiful to visit the Farrells and as we were pulling into Jon's neighborhood we saw one of Jon's high school friends walking out to his car with his baby. Jon was excited to stop and show him Asher, but just as soon as he started to slow down, he changed his mind and instead sped up past his friend. I looked at him in suprise and he just looked straight ahead and said,
"We can't stop, we are in a minivan. I'm not ready to stop in a minivan yet."

I guess a minivan is a long cry away from the Mustang. We'll give him a few years to break into the "minivan stage" of life.

Oh and just for fun here is a cute picture of Asher dressed up to go out in his snow suit
and sleeping with his mountain man dad.

Buster's First Costume

Jon and I figured that it isn't going to be very often that I will be as big, round and pregnantly luscious as I am now-- and that we should take full advantage of this for a Halloween costume. So this year, Jon went as a newsie (we just watched the movie a few days ago),

I went as a gardener

and Buster went as a pumpkin!

Jon did a WONDERFUL job painting my belly, we cut a hole in an old shirt and lots of people at the ward Halloween party thought it was just painted on my shirt! If you look close you can see my belly button in the middle of the pumpkin's nose. Jon had fun painting it-- especially when Buster started to move and kick while he was trying to do the lines!

We had a really fun Halloween-- the Monday before our next door neighbors came over and had a pumpkin carving party with us. It was really fun and now we have about a GAZILLION pumpkin seeds to eat-- yum yum!

The Apricot Monster!

Grandma Bay gave Jon and I about a thousand apricots from her tree and I have been really busy the past few days trying turning them into culinary masterpieces! So far I've made 17 jar of apricot jam (which turned out to be scrumdiddlyumptious), 8 jars of canned apricots (which were my first attempt at canning ever, so I'm proud of them) and one batch of freezer jam. And then the very best part-- several trays of dried apricots. But I ran into a bit of problem trying to dry the apricots- because the trees by our house are full of birds and I was afraid they would try and eat them. So I created the APRICOT MONSTER to protect them, and so far he has done a wonderful job -- even though I think my neighbors think I am loopy. We still have alot of apricots left that are going to morph into fruit leather and more jam. So if anybody wants some-- let me know-- but you might just have to wrestle the APRICOT MONSTER to get some-- so ask at your own risk :)