O.K. Melissa- not a huge fan :) But I'll humor you!
Two names you go by: Mom and Tan, or my favorite- Baby
Two things you're wearing right now: slippers and jeans- everyday its jeans
Two things you'd want or have in a relationship: trust and understanding
Two of your favorite things to do: read a good book or sew- even better with some good snacks
Two things you want very badly right now: a vacation with Cody, but I'd settle for a home remodel :)
Two things you did last night: played Blokus with the kids, tried to watch Meet the Robinsons, but was too tired and went to bed early
Two things you ate yesterday: homemade bread and beef stew- only I pick out the beef :)
(Not the new organic beef we got- but using up the old stuff)
Two things you did today: went to the library and looked at paint-not at the library- at Walmart
Two longest car rides: from Moscow to Bancroft Idaho with our 6 month old twins-we nearly turned around. California to Idaho with the twins-4 years old, a much more enjoyable trip!
Two favorite Holidays: Christmas, Thanksgiving
Two favorite beverages: herbal teas and Silk Chocolate soymilk- I'm a plain Jane!
Two things about me: I ask my kids to keep their plastic spoons from their lunches and I wash and reuse my huge Ziploc bags :) I'm a hippie at heart! I hate having the inside of my car dirty-not so worried about the outside though!
Two jobs I've had in my life: Worked as a seamstress altering and constructing clothing, and my personal favorite- piano accompanist and teacher
Two places I've lived:San Diego and Denali Park Alaska
Two of my favorite foods: Cobb salads and Italian food
Two places I'd rather be right now: the masseuse, or hiking on the coast of sunny California
tag...I'm it
a not so manic Monday...
For all the toys my kids have received throughout the years, I have to say that the dress up box has gotten the most use out of them all. This huge overflowing tote with anything and everything- ready to transform you into anything from a pirate, a princess, a pioneer, and yes- a tiger. I bought these Tigger costumes on Halloween clearance about 4 years ago and here you see Lauren still squeezing into it. I couldn't believe that Noah fit it as well! He was thrilled to be able to be a tiger next to his sister this morning. And yes, Lauren went straight to school after this fun picture. She had a bad headache last night and complained this morning of it hurting as well. Then she said, "Mom, I think I'm ready to go to school." Yes, definitely, when she's growling like a tiger and chasing around the house. I guess as mom I feel a little bit of sympathy. Sometimes it's nice just to have a morning to relax and get your bearings, and as long as my children are doing well in their classes, I guess that I cave and allow them some down time occasionally at home. I know there were days that I just needed a break from the hustle and bustle of public school, so maybe they have a little bit of me in them.
On a different note, I was saddened to hear of our dear prophet, President Hinckley's passing last night. However, what a glorious reunion and sight to behold in heaven about now. I truly loved him and stand in awe at all he accomplished and how he represented our church. He will be missed and remembered fondly I am sure. What a blessing to always have a prophet here on earth though!
thoughts from the day...
Noah has discovered his new best friend-the chair. Portable, pushable, and enabling him to reach any unreachable place. His favorite spot of late is the kitchen sink. He used to come up to me and say "see, see," so I would pick him up to see-I don't know-the dirty dishes? The bubbles? It must be the bubbles, he loves water and baths and will strip down to nothing but a smile if a bath is mentioned. Last night though, it was actually helpful for me, I got so much done in the way of dinner prep and kitchen chores while he stood happily playing in the water, occasionally telling me it was "hot Mom!" Such as big helper, maybe I'll have him trained to do dishes soon. A girl can always hope right?!
Here's a couple more pics of Lauren with Boozer-his official name- we can't change it since the girls always call him that. I'm pretty sure my next project will be a soft fleece bed for this little guy-the broken laundry basket isn't holding up and isn't very cute either. Not sure why his eyes look electric blue, but they truly are black. It's going to be an interesting summer, the two neighbors behind us have dogs, and one to the side has two small dogs. And on the other side-well she despises dogs. Already a lot of territorial barking going on. On a happy note, our cat finally came home yesterday, I gave in and let her hide out in the garage. I hope in time he and Boozer will become friendly with each other. I really relate to this cat, he's a bit more high strung than other cats I've known. He's not one to tolerate kids toting him around and being pushed around in the doll strollers-found that out the hard way. He likes his space and is independent, coming and going as he pleases. Anyway, we were all glad to see him come back. I felt a little guilty though taking in a dog and our poor kitty is freezing outside. (Oh-is it cold enough for everyone?) Hope he still loves us back!
So today as I was coming in through the front door there was a pile of DVD's in the planter poking out of the snow. I was hoping maybe it was a gift from our mailman or something fun, but upon closer examination there were a few other odd items in the mix- a ball, a Spiderman figure, a truck, and my favorite- three dirty socks. I knew Noah was the guilty party- too much randomness for L or C. And sure enough, tonight I heard the mail slot banging shut and had to retrieve some more toys from outside. Just glad I found them all before our R.S. Presidency Meeting tonight, a fun little welcome for guests :) Ah, all in a day's work!
Boozer, Dozer, Booger, or something like that...
Yes folks, you can pick up your jaws from off the hair covered floor-this is a real live dog standing in my kitchen- OUR real live dog! Meet Boozer, according to one paper, the other two papers he came with said his name was Dozer. So the only guy who knows can't even tell us what his true name is. I'm not especially fond of either name, and with L & C it's been coming out Booger, Doozer, or something not quite right :) So, he's going by many names lately.
Anyway, this little friend entered our lives suddenly and unexpectedly. Cody was searching on Petfinder-which I think had become a regular occurence- and he spotted a Boston Terrier at our Humane Society. We both had thought that this breed would be a good fit for our family. And it seems this breed, maybe purebreds in general are not too common at the shelters. Cody immediately went into panic mode as he called to see if he was still available and rounded everyone up for the trip there. And no way were we going to think about it overnight- "what if he's gone tomorrow?" I guess somewhere inside I knew that if we went he would be coming home with us. He was pretty excited to see us, a little more reserved with men in general it seems. He's proven to be a good little guy so far. I really appreciate that he is already house trained and had only one small problem at night. Plus, he's past that annoying puppy stage with the chewing and hyperactivity. He's done very well with L & C, in Chloe's words- "Today is the best day of my whole life!" Who am I to deny her of the best day in seven years??? I guess that's what I came to realize-that life is too short to not sometimes take a chance and to stress about hair on the floor. Heck, just the five of us leave plenty of that lying around. I kept telling Cody there was a dog out there for me and I think he thought it was just a lame cop out or excuse, but I did mean it, and I think we've found him. The craziest thing of all is that here I am-a bit anti-dog, leery, cautious, clean freak- and this dog has totally attached itself to me. Dare I say, I am his favorite Hansen? I think so. He followed me around the whole day, everywhere. Flattering, the girls are a close second, he was sad to see them head off to school this morning. I think he will warm up more to Cody eventually, it's only been a day. It always makes you wonder what happened in his life before you to make him react certain ways. He and Noah are doing best just avoiding each other almost. Noah can't physically take his excitement when he jumps or licks so I played referee and toted Noah around a lot. But in just one day he's mellowed quite a bit.
I had to laugh- as I was filing away his papers and shot records today the brochure stated- "A pet is for life." Wow, am I up to it? I think so, I hope so, because reading that seemed pretty final. Somehow, seeing my husband and kids enjoying him- and shhh- even me a little- it will make those extra vacuum sessions worth it. He is cute don't you think?
temples...
This morning I took the kids to the Rexburg temple open house. Cody had training at the last minute as wasn't able to go unfortunately. I felt just a teeny bit of guilt for taking L & C out of school, but it really was educational- with the exception of lunch at Pizza Hut I guess. So I did have them go until 9 am, then we headed out, had to stop twice for bathroom breaks. Twice! Rexburg is only 25 miles away, but when I complained I was told, "Mom, the school bathrooms in halls A and B were closed, we could only go in hall C!" We made it there with no time to spare. We met my brother Loren and his wife Carrie and went through with them. I think I enjoyed it so much since Loren carried Noah through the whole tour. (thank you thank you Loren :) I told him to pass him back when his arms started burning. Sweet little guy, he's going to be this huge toddler that still wants me to pack him around. He generally would rather be carried around most of the time. The tour wasn't totally lost on him, he spotted one picture and said his version of "Jesus." The temple was beautiful, but I didn't expect anything less. I especially loved the sealing rooms, they had these crystal sconces on the walls that matched the chandeliers, very nice. L & C had been to the Newport Beach temple open house, but they were four, so this one will probably be a bit more memorable. Much warmer that day, I had to post a picture. Lauren put it best when she said she felt spoiled to live here :) I too feel spoiled to live in such a wonderful place so close to two temples, how lucky we are!
three piles-trash, storage, D.I.....
Anybody else feel like turning their house upside down, shaking out the contents and then putting it back together?! One room at a time right? Something about the new year bringing out my neat freak side.
I haven't been feeling like blogging lately, just other things I'd rather or have to be doing. It feels like we've been getting so much snow, maybe it's just not melting fast enough for me. Another good thing I loved about the Pacific northwest, the snow usually melts the day it falls. So it really cheered me up this morning to walk into my kitchen and see my geranium had flowered in January. Amazing little plants, I think I'll keep them indoors every winter. Chloe and I decided we were ready for spring, could be a long rest of the winter. I just finished another project, my temple garment bag. It turned out just how I wanted, but the fabric was thick and kind of a pain to work on. My goal for this year is to go to a Saturday morning session every week. As the sad story goes, I lost my clothes somewhere in our move from California and have missed them immensely. It is wonderful to live so close and be able to get there in 5 minutes, what a huge blessing for me!
I've been de-junking and organizing. It seems like a constant process with kids and when I get in the groove I tend to throw out a lot of stuff. I have learned the hard way with toys, so I just box them up rather than ship them off to D.I. I am happy to see the Littlest Pet Shop toys littering the floor every day because they have gladly taken the place of the teeny tiny other dolls and toys L& C played with. I have some scrapbook projects to do and I finally spent an entire evening organizing and donating a bunch of out-dated paper and things I would probably never use. Certainly not my ribbon though, can't get enough of that :) I think it will motivate me to get in there and get things done, until it gets cluttered again. Such is life...I have been rather busy with my new calling as R.S. secretary, but a good kind of busy, I like getting to know the sweet older sisters and visiting the new ones. It makes me wonder what I'll be like as an older lady, probably a lot the same, just a bit more wrinkly around the edges. Until next time...
happy holidays...
Oh, yes, they were happy! We spent Christmas Eve and morning at our home and then went to Bancroft to visit our families. Noah is here spending time with what seemed to be his two favorite people-next to me of course :) His beautiful Aunt Lina and Grandpa. No one can make the truck sounds like him! He loves to go see "pa pa." There was a bunch of snow everywhere. The girls got several chances to use their new sleds at my parents and at Cody's family's cabin, out in the middle of nowhere. Does anyone else notice how we always get dumped on the week before Christmas, I love it, just makes for harder roads to drive on, but we made it.
Cody and I spent most of Christmas Eve assembling an arcade-style basketball game that was from Santa. Now, you all know who that gift was REALLY for right?! It has been a hit though, you can't walk past it and not just play a quick game. At 11:30 I was taking comfort in the fact that there were probably a lot of other parents out there squinting at directions and wishing they were snug in their beds. But the girls let us sleep until 6:30, can't complain about that.
I have to admit I was ready to take down the Christmas decor today, it's always good to get on with the new year. I'm excited for a fresh start with some new goals and changes. I always start off the year fired up, we'll see how long it lasts! :) 
