Leap Day

In honor of leap day I put up this post about nothing in particular. I just want to post on this day that will not happen for four more years.

At the Houston Zoo they are having a big Year of the Frog in honor of Leap Year. Looks fun and exciting. The boys and I will be visiting the zoo soon to check out some frogs.

Turns out Utah gives me a blog block. Word.

Must Blog

Ahhhh...*sigh*

I just finished catching up on y'alls post. And am finally, finally putting up a post of my own. I have had some major withdrawals, and will probably continue as I have a hard time using others' computers. My computer is my buddy and I like working with him.

Utah is going about the same as usual...meaning everyone has been sick and Matthias is still sick. I would much rather play while in Utah and take care of sick kids at home, but this is turning into a trend. Maybe next time we come out everyone will stay healthy and sleep and want to play with someone besides me. Maybe.

Other than that we went swimming with Grandma Urie and had the great aunts come visit. Matthias was so ornery if someone so much as looked at him or spoke his name he began pitching a fit, flailing arms and all. About an hour after the aunts left he was all smiles, of course.

James is loving playing with "the girls" his aunts. He kept asking, "Where did those girls go? Are they hiding in the basement?" Nope, just had to go to school.

We are planning a trip to this museum exhibit, but have yet to make it due to the illnesses. Hopefully tomorrow. I am really excited about it. Currently we are with the Harvey grandparents and having a blast.

Might see one more post before we head back to Utah, might not. I will survive a week with limited blogging and email checking and Internet searching...who knows, maybe it will be good for me. Maybe it will just drive me crazy.

Book of Mormon mix up

(All takes place while James is standing on the back of the couch.)

James: Throw stuff at me and be a bad Lamanite.
Mom: Are you Samuel the Lamanite? Then I am the wicked Nephites.
James: And I am going to get the plates from the wicked king.
Mom: That's Nephi.
James: No, the king that is trying to kill the prophet.
Mom: Are you talking about King Laban or King Noah?
James: King Noah. I am going to get the plates from him and Matt is climbing my wall.

James also has recently fallen in love with "Follow the Prophet" and his favorite verse is the Samuel verse. He really likes the "in the tabernacle" and "answered, 'Here I am!'" parts. He is so cute singing along, especially on the chorus.

Last night he started memorizing the first Article of Faith. I will post a video of that soon.

Vote

Hopefully we will all exercise our civic duty this year. In Texas you can do early voting or regular voting. Below are links to research our candidates in Montgomery County.

Visit the Montgomery County Republican page or go straight to the candidates on the ballot.

For democratic information visit this site and for candidates on the ballot here.

Happy Voting!

P.S. If you would like to see Texas become an independent nation again, make sure you vote for Larry Kilgore.

Milkshakes and Peanut Butter Sandwiches

The boys and I having a yummy lunch today!! Matthias didn't make any of the pictures because he kept sitting down in front of James and me.

As a side note, James just managed to pee in his own mouth and on my arm while sitting on the toilet. Be grateful all of you who have girls.

Mmm, cookies

(Scene set up...Mom is in her bedroom. James is in the kitchen)

Mom: Where did you get that cookie?

James: From the cookie jar.

Mom: Why didn't you ask?

James: Because you weren't there, so I couldn't ask.

Dad: Good logic.

(Matthias learned to sign cookies this afternoon and has been continuously asking for one. He also just received 25-30 fire ant bites. He is a tough kid.)

Odds and Ends

Turns out I still don't like shopping, but especially grocery shopping, at Wal-mart. I tried it again today and was once again left wanting. I don't find they really have that much better prices than HEB on groceries. Target is worth 12 cents more an item for toiletries. And it's big and I have a moral issue with using their restrooms. Hopefully I will remember this next time I think it will be good to kill two birds with one stone. A second trip to HEB would leave me much happier. Enough said.

James received the "Digger guy" today for successfully learning to use the big boy toilet. He is a champ. I vow to always wait until my kids are ready, this was easy as pie! Dry for over a week now.

Also, James is currently napping. A luxury I haven't experienced since February 8...coincidentally the day James received Ace. Now with the acquiring of the "Digger guy" James is sleeping...weird? Strange.

Oh, and the hair is still not a color like my hair has been since it turned from blond to "not a color" when I was about 9. James was disappointed. But the cut is hecka cute for anyone wondering.

Hair Cut

So I am getting my hair cut tonight and I was just looking at different styles...although I am sure I will just have it cut like I always have for years. But James suggests this:


Mandy, do you have red dye?

"Is the doctor going to fix Matt up? Or me?"

As soon as James found out we were heading to the doctor this morning, he began peppering me with questions...

Is the doctor going to look in my ears? Yes or no?
Yes or no will the doctor look in my mouth?
Is I getting a shot? If they poke me I will laugh.

James HATES having his ears checked. I cannot emphasize the word "HATE" enough in reference to this activity and James. It generally takes two people to hold him down while he kicks and squirms.

When we arrived at the doctor James said, "If he looks in my ears I will struggle and cry. If he looks in my mouth I will struggle and scream!" Last time the doctor looked in James mouth, James clenched his jaw so hard he ended up with a bleeding tongue by the time Dr. Fershtman got his mouth open.

I would like to say...I am extremely proud of James!! He started to freak when the doctor was laying him down (bad experience with this in the past) and asked if he could stand. Dr. Fershtman said James could stand only if he held still. James held perfectly still while he had his ears looked at. Then opened his mouth (after Dr. F said he would have to lay down if he didn't). Turns out he actually detests laying down and feeling powerless. Standing up he can take ear looking and mouth viewing. He even laughed for his shot...right up until the needle went in.

I had the nurse also weigh Matthias...my boys come in at 29 lbs (50%) and 26 lbs (75%). Matt should overtake James before the end of the year...

In other news, after two years in Texas I received my first fire ant bite this morning. Yow!

Goblins and Fairies

Turns out I know my son well. James does love The Spiderwick Chronicles. We bought ours at Borders with a 40% off coupon Taylor got.

Taylor and James started reading tonight, but it was bedtime after only 15 minutes. James was very upset, but we finally convinced him it would take all night to finish the rest of the pages and we would read more in the morning. He is really excited about what will happen next and kept telling me all the stuff he read about tonight.

Books are such a joy!!

Day of Love

On Valentine's Day we had a yummy family dinner of Spinach Artichoke-Stuffed Mushrooms, Orange Roughy with rice, and for dessert Coconut Pistachio Pie. All from my Taste of Home magazine from Taylor's mom.



Everything was very delicious!

James also picked out some Valentines for a few of his friends we saw that day. And both the boys made cards for Taylor. Taylor brought me some Cala Lilies, of course.



On Saturday night Taylor and I went out for V-day and because we usually go out once a week anyway. We had dinner at Uni Sushi which was delicious. Taylor got some sushi and I had tuna. Right when our waiter walked by I was trying some of Taylor's nasty sushi and making a face like I was going to toss it (because I might have), so the waiter asked if the tuna was all right. It was pretty funny. Then we went to the yummy chocolate place at Market Street. We finished the night by going to see The Spiderwick Chronicles, which was a really fun movie! I am excited to buy the books because I think James will LOVE them!! He will sit through an entire Magic Treehouse book which take about 40 minutes, so we will probably have to read the Spiderwick ones over a day or two, but I think he will really enjoy them.

Our Valentine's Day was a ton of fun! Hope yours was too!

Only 1 hour later...

I did it!!

This site (while hard to read) is the reason for my success!

Happy template changing fellow bloggers!!

(P.S. Yes, I did notice we have a slightly orange tint about us...I think it is the actual template and not my amazing XHTML coping and pasting skills.)

Too much fat? Not enough fat?

The results are in and according to Mayo Clinic HRA I am a moderate risk level...because I don't own a fire extinguisher, I don't wear sunscreen, I eat too much fat, and I am underweight. Even Taylor came in as a low risk. Honestly.

Turns out being underweight may "may weaken your immune system and put you at greater risk of osteoporosis". (Good thing I drink milk like it's going out of style.)

So I am to " talk to [my] doctor to determine what [I] can do to achieve a healthier weight."

(I am ONE pound "underweight")


Some amusing questions from the survey that could have received sassy answers are the following...

In the past year how many work days have you missed due to injury, illness, etc? (Can I do this? Sign me up!...seriously, I am grateful and blessed to have good enough health to care for my kids.)

How many work days in 2007 did you miss due to either a physical or mental health issue you were experiencing? (Mental health issues probably incapacitate me about once a week...)

How many work days in 2007 did you miss due to either a physical or mental health issue a family member was experiencing? (Hmm...isn't this part of my job??)

How would you rate your stress level? (Before or after James refused to pee in the toilet and then immediately walked in the other room and peed on my carpet?)

How would you rate your quality of sleep? (Ha, ha)

Do you sleep through the night without waking? (Once again, ha, ha)

How many minutes a day do you spend doing light activity? (Approximately 783)

James Speak

Referring to his glass of 100% white grape juice...

James: Is this my cup of tea?
Kristi: It isn't tea, but it is your cup.
James: Is Heavenly Father not want us to drink tea?
Kristi: Yes.
James: What is coffee?
Kristi: It is like dirt in water.
James: I want some coffee.

James Speak

"I don't want a baby any more. Make him go back in your tummy."

My love

How long have you been together? Met end of August 2000, started dating January 29, 2001. So 7 years almost exactly...if you don't count the two year break at the beginning...
How long did you date? Just over 3 months before his mission, 15 days after his mission. Engaged for 7 1/2 weeks.
How old is he? Taylor is 25
Who eats more? We can both pack away a lot...


Who said "I love you" first? Um, Taylor wrote I love you on my back with his finger...but then we probably discussed at great length our mutual love for one another.
Who is taller? Taylor is the perfect height taller-one stair step.
Who sings better? We are both excellent singers...in large groups.
Who is smarter? We are both equally brilliant despite not being breastfed. Go formula!!
Who does the laundry? Mostly me.
Who does the dishes? Me during the day, shared at night.


Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Taylor, but I (like Mary Karlee) sleep closest to the bathroom.
Who pays the bills? Depends on which bill.
Who mows the lawn? Mostly Taylor, but I can mow a lawn while six or more months pregnant. No I am not currently six or any other amount of months pregnant.
Who cooks dinner? Mostly me.
Who is more stubborn? Probably me.


Who kissed who first? Taylor kissed me because I told him I wouldn't kiss him. At all, ever. So he took the liberty of doing it anyway. On my bridge.
Who asked who out? I guess you could say me, but we really just had another DTR and my mom said, "just date the kid." So I went with it.
Who proposed? Taylor in a very Taylorish and loving way. =] He gets so excited about giving me stuff that he usually gives away all of my presents before I get them. On this occasion as soon as I opened the front door he knelt down in the entry behind the couch and proposed. It was perfect!


Who is more sensitive? Me?
Who has more friends? Don't we have the same friends?
Who has more siblings? I've got six, he's got four
Who wears the pants in the relationship? James

Why you do the things you do

This, folks, is why I do what I do. Where else can you spend your day chasing two small boys around in their underwear? Totally worth every minute!



That and when I tell Matthias it is time to eat he won't sit at the table until he has set out a place mat for both him and James. It is hilarious! And I wouldn't want to miss it.

I love these boys!

Ah, ha!

For those of you who find the longevity of my previous post somewhat daunting, you can just read my latest insight...

James has not napped since Friday

Or rephrased...

James has not napped since this event took place.

Coincidence?

I think not.

Tagged

I have been tagged, but I must warn you that my Valentine's Day post is already set to be another survey...but I different, more romantic survey. =]

Here we go:
A. The rules are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 3 people by posting their names; then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged.

10 years ago I was:
A sophomore in high school...scary, but true. I was a few months from my first kiss, spending all my time with "The Five", enjoying life and probably driving my mom crazy. Nothing all that interesting.

Snacks I enjoy:
grapes, crackers, milk? I don't know that I snack all that much unless you count ice cream

Five things on my to-do list today:
1. Plan a quilt I am starting
2. Ask Mandy to cut my hair
3. Grocery shop (done)
4. Visit Home Depot
5. Put the boys to bed

Things I would do if I were suddenly made a billionaire:
1. Pay tithing
2. Pay off the house and cars
3. Finish planning our trip to Hawaii
4. Buy new clothes and a screen door
5. Save the rest

Three of my bad habits:
1. Biting my fingernails
2. Giving up on potty training
3. Allowing binkies

Five places I have lived:
1. My parents' home
2. Russia
3. Various apartments throughout Provo
4. An apartment in Texas
5. My own home in Texas

Jobs I have had:
1. Papergirl (had 7 routes at a time once)
2. Usher at Hale Center Theatre
3. Dish room worker
4. Subway sandwich artist and bread maker
5. L&T
6. Insurance sales person
7. Assistant to Closeout Department, MVM
8. Wife
9. Mother

Things people don't know about me:
I already planned what my boys will wear on the airplane to Utah next week (about three weeks ago)
I check my email 43 times per day
I love vacuuming my house
I can shower in 3 minutes (plus dress, apply makeup, and blow dry my hair in just 7 more)

I am tagging:
1. Kim
2. Lesley
3. Mandy

Inspiration and purpose in life

For those of you who know what I am talking about, I suggest you go and read your patriarchal blessing right now...

Done?

Some years ago I had a professor suggest we should read our patriarchal blessing weekly, picking one day to do so each week. I picked Mondays. This was some time before Taylor and I were married. I have now read my patriarchal blessing hundreds of times. It teaches me, inspires me, gives me purpose and focus. I love each week as I take the time to read mine and have been very blessed by my professor's suggestion.

Hey, I don't like having my head hit. So would you rather drum on the steps or on the floor?"

In an effort to get better responses and be a nicer person, I am attempting to move beyond threats and seek alternatives to threats.

I don't know how well this will work, but I do know one thing...threats do not work. Ever. And besides I am too big of a push over that threats don't really work out for me either. I never actually want to take away something James is enjoying or turn around and go home right now, so I think this may work for me.

Although, I already get a kick out of "After I put you to bed, I expect you to stay there." (as opposed to "If you get out of bed one more time, I'll scream.") The screaming is definitely more accurate. My expectations aren't nearly that naive.

"I'm so happy. I got the guy I wanted!!"

Previously in the Harvey Household we have put all of James' birthday money into savings. This year he saw a "robot" he really wanted in a magazine mailer, so we decided he could use his birthday money to buy it (good job Fisher Price advertising department!).

First we taught him the law of tithing and then we took him to Walmart (where else) to make his first real purchase. James has officially joined the American economy...well I guess savings does count...

He looked through all of the Planet Heroes that he wanted. After much deliberation (and a no, you cannot buy the bad guy..."but he's the coolest!") James settled on Ace. (He did not cost $29.99, we all know everything is cheaper at Walmart). He proudly walked up to the cashier, stood in line, handed over his toy and then his money (the kid knows how this works). He carried Ace and his receipt without even complaining it was too heavy.

Thanks Great Grandparents for this fun experience!!

A little culture for your day

James really wanted to hear Beethoven's 5th Symphony, so I Google searched it and came up with this...



James kept insisting it was Bach no matter how many times I told him it was actually a song of Beethoven. I guess we'll have to work on our classical music repertoire a little more.

He listened to the 1st movement twice and then requested the 4th movement. I have only posted the 1st movement. You will have to visit youtube for yourself to listen to the other movements.

Matthias' Words and Ways

Matthias is now saying four words consistently...dad, mom, doctor, and thank you. James also claims he can say, "Aye, aye captain." Matt is also doing well with his signs. He uses thank you, night-night, bath, hungry, milk, and eat often. He is an avid waver and loves to kiss!!

This kid is totally into routines and wants everything done the same each night when he goes to bed. As soon as we say, time for night-night he goes to the "binkie cupboard" and stands beneath it whining until we get him one. Then he proceeds around the room to kiss everybody. He then needs a story and will turn out the light himself.

O is for Octopus

Go buy this DVD right now for your child. Do it, trust me. (Well, unless this is my mom and your kids already know the alphabet...but then you could buy it for your grandkids...)

Seriously for any with a kid age 2 or up, Leap Frog Letter Factory will teach them phonics. Nannette told me how great it was and let me borrow it. She said I would want to buy my own, it is like magic. Now after about 3 or 4 viewings, James came to me and said "O, like Octopus."

What??!!?

So I began to quiz him. He already knows the sounds of several letters...a, b, q, s, z are his most consistent. He asks me if he can watch this video. He loves it. I promise he would not love me grilling phonics sounds into him. It is magic. This combined with Teach Your Baby to Read and James will be a regular little Einstein.

To Cruise or not to Cruise

Taylor and I will be celebrating our 5 year anniversary this year. We want to do something fun and exciting, so we are looking for suggestions from all of our blog readers. Below is a list we've brainstormed. Please feel free to comment on our ideas or contribute some of your own...

Florida Keys

Redwood Forest

Oregon Coast

Grand Canyon

Yellowstone/Jackson Hole

Washington D.C.

Europe...ha, ha

Cruise

I want something romantic...only it seems like to qualify for "romantic" it must be tropical and you have to have nothing to do but sit on the beach all day. Although Sierra pointed out that anywhere without our kids is bound to be romantic.

We also want something beautiful, fun, and relaxing. (Again, I think by definition a get away from kids would be relaxing...) Anyway, if nothing else enjoy these beautful pictures of places I may or may not see!!

Utah or Texas?

28°F or 76°F?

Are we choosing this



or this?





Texas has Blue Bell and lots of green, beautiful trees, and a beach!

I think I am sold on Texas today folks.

Ask me again in September.

Why wait for sunrise?

Matthias decided to capitalize on our one on one time we've been blessed with lately and get started at 5:30am. Why wait? We started our morning with a rousing game of climb on the sleeping mom. We considered taking turns, but Matthias is such a great climber and I am an excellent sleeping mom. Next Matthias had a bath to remove the dirt and marshmellow.

Then we moved on to breakfast. We threw a roast in the crockpot and started some rolls. Matthias then proceeded to take laps around the room (for those of you familiar with our home you can picture this, for those of you not it is basically a small track with a counter and couch in the middle instead of a football field). Most of the time he was pulling his wooden wagon from dad with his animals in it. But sometimes he would leave the wagon behind and just run. Every now and then he paused to wave as he ran by and occasionally he would stop to give me a kiss and then keep moving. He did this for 30 minutes! It was hilarious.

By this time it was 9:00 and we needed to play doctor and nurse again. So we took medicine and food to our patients. It was such a fun morning bonding with my little Matt.

Campfires and Dirt

Matthias and I were able to take a holiday from our medical duties this evening and attend a great, big bonfire at the Frost's property up north. They recently bought a half acre on a lake and even have part ownership of the island in the middle of the lake.

Taylor opted not to come because not being able to blow his nose for the next month thought it best not to fill it up with dirt and ash. James opted not to come because I am not crazy.

We had a great time eating dutch oven dinner, roasting marshmellows, and playing in the dirt. If you look closely at the pictures in the slideshow you can see on the left side of Matthias' head where he rubbed dirt and marshmellow in his hair. The atmosphere was so relaxed and wonderful, the view beautiful and serene. I love the smell of campfire. Ahhh, almost like being on top of a mountain. Sigh.

You put the lime in the coconut

Matthias and I are lucky to get to play doctor and nurse this weekend. Taylor and James are not lucky to be in our care. Turns out Matthias is too rambunctious to be a doctor and I am too mean and quesy to be a nurse. But we do what we can and hopefully our patients will come out okay. =]

Taylor had surgery to correct his deviated septum. (In his case it is due to a congenital disorder and not a blow to the face.) He is doing well, just bleeding all over and grossing me out. I had to leave the room for a minute while he removed his packing this morning and then he blacked out. Some help I am!


James has croup, a staff infection, and a yeast infection.

I am not kidding.

He is currently on three antibiotics and another cream.

Better get to bed, should be an exciting weekend at the Harvey household!