When Thomas Wears His Tie

Thomas wore his tie today, it is a business tie. It may look cute, but it makes him very serious about everything! Since he can’t verbalize his feelings at his tender age of 7 months, he bosses me around with his cries. Sometimes I have to remind him I am the boss. I just tell him what I told his mother, “Because I said so, that’s why!”

Today Thomas cried because:
He was sleepy
I took too long warming his bottle
I laid him down for a minute
He was playing and having fun, but saw me and well, you know…cried
I didn’t let him play with a plastic bag
I washed his face
I left him to go wash my hands after I changed his diaper (repeated four times)
I “made” him play in his exersaucer
He dropped his toy
Oh, did I mention he was sleepy again?
Etc…etc…etc.

After one too many cries, I put his pacifier in his mouth, snuggled him in my arms, settled into the rocking chair and asked him, “Why are you crying? Are you tired? Do you need me to hold you?” And with that he snuggled right down and fell asleep as we blissfully rocked some time away.

Later when I, oh so quietly snuck in the room to check on him, he was sleeping as sweetly as only a baby can. I was having one of those "tender" moments savoring how sweet he looked, when much to my horror his eyes popped open locking with mine. Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, all the "isn't that sweet" feeling was gone! In great haste I tried to “sneak” out before he “really” saw me, but he didn't play fair and used his very bossy tie cry... and with a sigh, I turned back around. In a voice of resignation I asked, “Thomas, why do I need to pick you up?”

He said, “Because I said so, that’s why.” So I did.

widdle baby thomas

dear gwranma

i'm just a widdle baby

i know bums are to sit on
but i haven't sat on mine enough to make it flat

so i am a widdle wolly poly
those fluffy pillows are just what a widdle guy wike me needs

i wike the way you wock me when i am sweepy, it makes my widdle eyes cwose and i snuggle wight down to sweep

well, what more can a widdle baby wike me say
except i wove you so much

if you will hold me i'm weady to go to sweep now

thanks gwranma

wove thomas

Shhh, Quiet

it is 11:21 p.m. and it is very quiet at my house. it sounds so good. i am reading all my loved one's blogs and enjoying each post. i like peeking into your lives just for a minute and see you "seizing the moment"...our lives are good. shane left early this morning to go to ireland and germany, so it really is very quiet. i love the sound of nothing, just a house being a home. very soon i will turn off all the lights, say my prayers and go to bed, letting the night enfold me. happy that the day is done. good night everyone, i love you!

Lessons Learned

1. Don't terrorize the baby by turning on the wheat grinder when he is in the same room.

1a. Don't make bread when you are talking on the phone.

2. If you can't remember whether or not you put yeast in...don't play the odds and put more yeast in.

3. Don't add more water than the recipe calls for.

4. Don't add more flour than the recipe calls for because you added to much water.

5. You know something is up when the dough rises to the top of the pan in less then 20 minutes, because according to the recipe, "let the dough rise for 1 hour; it won't fill the pan."

6. Don't put it in the oven to see if it will turn out anyway.



It doesn't!

The Loco-Motion

Shane installed a new sound card in our computer. I knew he had succeeded when I heard music while I was ironing. A few minutes later I was putting some clothes in the dryer when the song, The Lover's Waltz, started to play. He said, "I love this song. Isn't it the one you want me to play for you..." I said, "yes, at my funeral." (That's not morbid, its a beautiful song and Shane can play it on his violin).

Anyway, back to my ironing. I went to put a load of clothes in the washer and when I walked by the den, there was my "Walter Mitty" waltzing around the room by himself singing along with Patsy Cline's, Sweet Dreams..."Sweet dreams of you every night"...we just smiled at each other, I thought, "how sweet." I know he was dreaming about me as he waltzed! O.K., back to my ironing. I heard him singing, "Come Monday, it'll be alright, come Monday I'll be holding you tight..." Um Jimmy Buffet, nice. I ironed and listened as he sang along to some of his other favorites.

I couldn't resist, I walked very quietly into the kitchen and peaked around the door into the den and caught him enjoying his music. There was a lot of laughter as he made his way toward me...



So we did a little free stylin together, our version of the jitter bug, the pony...just some fun dancing. We ended with, "Everybody's doin a brand new dance now, c'mon baby do the locomotion...do the locomotion with me!" Our heart's went pitter patter. We laughed and smiled at each other. He said something about some dance classes and then he listen to a few more tune's while I finished ironing.

Some how, it's not the same...

Katie always looks so cute when she washes her face, with her headband on, to keep her hair back. Last time she was home we were washing our faces together and she said, "Mom, you need a headband!" We laughed and joked, hug and kissed each other, said I love you and went to bed. After she left to go home I found this is my drawer...





But some how, it's not the same...

My Man Shane

Thirty four years sounds like a long time.

It's longer then I lived at home.

It's longer then our children lived with us.

It's the longest thing I have ever done.

But it has only deepened my love for Shane.

It has only helped me discover who my true love is.

He is constant in his love for me.

He is steadfast in his love of the Lord.

He is diligent in working on the success of our family.

He is always there.

Always.

I know my life is good because of him.

He is handsome.

Sometimes I call him Walter (Walter Mitty).

Sometimes I call him Gator or Teasy Weezy.

I tell him to stop a lot, but he doesn't.

He says, and I quote, "You know you like it."

"Why do you get to decide what teasing is?"

"Kay, come here."

"How much do you love me?"

I say, "A bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck."

Each night as we drift off to sleep his last words are,

"You mean everything to me, I love you so much."

Every night.

Then we quietly go off to sleep.

The sun comes up bringing a new day.

Another day of love.

With my one and only.


Happy Anniversary Shane!

Tom...the cat

See what I mean,



he stares at me all the time!

The Next Hobby

As my family knows, I am a hobbyholic. That means that every 6 months to a year I feel the urge to start a new hobby. So far my hobbies include:

1. guns
2. motorcycles
3. camping
4. canoeing
5. backpacking
6. hiking
7. gps/ geo caching
8. iPhones
9. biking both street and mountain
10. jogging
11. violin
12. civil war
13. blogging

Other hobbies that are on my list to do someday are as well as places to see are:

1. riding horses
2. snow ski
3. triathlon
4. bike in New York City
5. see the Grand Canyon
6. drive across the US including route 66
7. woring a dude cattle ranch
8. scuba diving
9. visit Alaska
10. see South America
11. climb Mt. Ranier
12. go to Australia and New Zealand
13. visit the South Seas

I think that I get bored easily. The family has an informal pool going that pays the winner a prize when they predict when I will tire of one hobby and start another. Maybe I should join the pool!

Speaking of pools maybe I should swim the English Channel........

Tom and Bear

this is tom...tom the cat.

he doesn't really live here and we don't particularly like him.

he has a brother named bear and we don't really like him either.

they are kevin's cat's, but kevin moved to arizona, california and now texas,

and they, the cats, moved here.

we don't like to feed them, but we do.

we don't like the way they sit in the kitchen window and stare at us, but when they aren't in the window, we wonder where they are.

we don't like the way they run back and forth from their food bowl to the door whenever we go outside.

we just don't like them much!

the temperature was in the teen's the other night and shane found tom and bear huddled by the front door when he opened it to see how cold it was outside. shane asked, "what are WE going to do about the cat's?" i said, "NOTHING." he said, "it's too cold for them, they need to be somewhere warm." i looked at him and he looked at me. i thought, "they are NOT sleeping in this house!" i dug around and found an old blanket. shane walked all the way out to the shed in the darkness of a freezing cold night and dug out a heating lamp we have. i made a bed, shane turned on the light and WE kept peeking out the window until they snuggled in for the night...well

really...we don't like them much.

I Love the Scriptures

I read a talk by Elder Bednar entitled Understanding the Importance of Scripture Study. He asked, "Why is studying the scriptures so important?" And then gave three reasons:

1. Because of the covenants we have made.
2. Because of the direction we need in our lives.
3. Because scripture study is a preparation for and prerequisite to receiving personal revelation.

He stated, "Covenants, direction, and revelation are three doctrinal reasons why studying the scriptures is so important."

Elder Bednar said, "I want to draw your attention to the second covenantal obligation to "always remember him." I do not know of a better way to always remember him than to daily study the scriptures. That covenant is not an abstract notion. It can be honored in meaningful, personal prayer every morning and night and in diligent study of the scriptures."

His last two General Conference addresses on prayer go hand in hand with this talk.

I love the scriptures and the tender times when the Spirit is teaching me and revealing to me pure knowledge. What a choice blessing it is to be tutored by the Spirit. I know that I have received personal revelation and enlightenment concerning the doctrines and principles of the Church. I have also received personal revelation for myself, about my concerns for our children and loved ones ,as well as for countless life experiences. I know how the Spirit speaks to me because I have study the scriptures.

I love the simplicity of Elder Bednar's statement, "I do not know of a better way to always remember him then to daily study the scriptures."

Snow Day

We had the most beautiful, falling snow today. It started with big fluffy flakes, you could almost hear them hit the ground they were so big and wet. There were so many of them they were falling all over themselves. My day started out very industrious, but the snow soon caught my attention and before I knew it I fell into lazy day mode. I dreamed about a big pot of pinto beans and cornbread and had every intention of making them, but somehow I settled on a new recipe for a loaf of 100 percent whole wheat bread. It took almost all day to make because I meandered through the recipe book reading all the tips for making a WONDERFUL loaf of bread, and oh my, I did, it was good!

Mandy popped in and I had a lazy day visit with her too.

I only got the kitchen floor mopped, one load of laundry done, a loaf of bread made, but it was so relaxing to spend the day with the snow.

P/S
Here are two new, tried and true by me today, whole wheat bread tips:

Orange juice tempers the strong taste of wheat in whole wheat bread without adding any orange flavor of its own. Use 2 ounces of orange juice in place of 2 ounce of the liquid in your recipes. It worked!

Don't add extra flour to whole grain yeast bread dough in an attempt to make it as smooth and supple as white bread dough. The bran and germ in the whole grain will keep the dough somewhat sticky. If you're having difficulty handling it, lightly oil your hands, rather than adding more flour; additional flour will make your bread dry and heavy.