Tree of Thanks

A new tradition in our home is the Tree of Thanks. One family home evening before Thanksgiving we all tell what we are thankful for and form our tree. I will save the leaves each year for memories sake, and to watch how the our gratitude has grown.

Black and blue Friday

This was the first year I attempted the black Friday crowds in the wee hours of the morning. I left at 3:30 am and headed for Kohl's. The line to get in the door was at least a quarter mile long. Then when I finally got inside and found the few things that were left that were on my list,

I headed to the front of the store to get in line.

Then I headed toward the back of the store to get in line.

Then I headed to the back wall and wrapped around a few loops to get in line. I stood at the back of line for about 15 minutes, picked up all of my things, set them on a nearby display and went home to go back to sleep. Around 9:30 Jason and I packed up the kids and headed back out to Kohl's. I found most everything on my list, it wasn't nearly as crowded, I had make-up on this time, and was well rested. My good friend Laurie thrives on this kind of adventure. It must be her competitive side. Ü She braved Walmart and picked a few things up for me this morning. Thanks Laurie!

Thanksgiving weekend

This thanksgiving was a pretty quiet one for us. We spent Thanksgiving Day at Grammy and Poppy's. Mom always uses grandma's china, a crisp festive tablecloth, and an incredible feast.

A few years ago Grammy started a tradition that I am assuming was derived from flipping ice cream and sometimes cool whip from a spoon at one another. Marshmallows is cleaner. The kids loved it. Although Jared was found in the middle of the battlefield holding an umbrella to ward off an incoming attack.

And in lieu is pie, we made apple crisp together. I think we all enjoyed the making part almost as much as the dessert itself. Yet another grand holiday at the Osmun home.

Turkey trotting

Ah, there was no trotting done this day with the exception maybe of Rhett. I ran my very first (yes, there will be more) 10K! 6.2 miles and it was awesome. There is nothing like running shoulder to shoulder with a few thousand people and feeling the adrenaline all around you. Thank you Laurie and Glade for the invite to join your family in this event! I will say I did better than I anticipated, coming in 555th out 2,141 people. Thanks Laurie for posting all the times on your blog... Saved some time! Here are the times of those who ran from our ward. Holy cow Jake.

Jake - 47:06

Rhett - 1:01:05

Julia - 1:01:32

Nick - 1:02:28

Glade - 1:03:16

Laurie - 1:10:35

Stephen - 1:16:50

Sammy - 1:17:16

Brett - 1:23:19

I found Rhett (10 years old) around mile 3, and we stayed somewhat near one another for the remainder of the race. This kid was part of the reason I kept the pace I did. Weaving in and out of the orange cones together, running backwards, and just having a friendly face to keep me going. He would sprint ahead a few hundred yards and then walk and when he saw me catching up he would take off again. There was a moment around mile number 5, when I looked up between the sweat, and saw Rhett skipping along the sidewalk, and just as I saw him, a man who had to be at least 95 came 'trotting' along in his blue sweat suit and sweat band, right past me. So off I went again!

Singin' in the rain

We were pulling to onto our dirt road this morning and usually I let Lainy jump up into my lap and help drive home. It had been raining and I told her no this time. She asked why.

M: Because, Lain, it was rainin'
L: 'ing' mom
M: What?
L: Rain-ING. Say it with me. Raaain-in-g.

Nice. Thanks Lainy.

Happy birthday Lainy!

It was Lainy's and my birthday this week!
Lainy turned 4 and she makes sure everyone knows it.

"I'm fow now."

"what?"

"I'm fouuwwwrrrr."

She tells me that some days she feels four, and others she still feels 3.

Thank you Grammy for her beautiful Christmas outfit, and of course her boots!

Here's Lainy's version of a Barbie drive in. I found most of it on Craigslist and bought new clothes for all the dolls. Can you tell she was excited?

All the kids played barbies most of the evening. Jayce has been regularly asking for 'the boy ones' since then. I had the hardest time finding anything modest for these dolls...

Thank you grammy and Meg for dinner and my white cake, (I LOVE white cake). And thank you mother for my...

JET STREAM OVEN!! This thing is so cool. Fast like a microwave, but oh so much better! Meg, you were right, pizza IS better in the jet stream.

Happy Birthday Lainybug!

Silly songs

Thank you Kathy for this CD. It has been a lot of fun. The song 'everywhere that we go' is a favorite of my kids. It has about a dozen different places that they are from. (Sidney, Phoenix,Paris etc) Here is how I heard Jayce singing the Hong Kong verse:

Everywhere that we go
people always ask us
who we are
and where do we come from
and so we tell them
we're from 'honk honk'

Little man

After a night of elephant sized nightmares (see Zoo post) , and Jared kicking me in the back most of the night, I wondered tonight how I was going to get him to sleep. I didn't have to. Jayce took on that role tonight. My little Jayce grew up a little today. While I was doing hair earlier this afternoon Jayce brought Jared in fully clothed (diapers are his fashion choice these days) and casually said that Jared had a poopy diaper and he had changed it and got him dressed. What?? I checked, the diaper was put on correct enough to do the job. Tonight Jayce crawled down onto Jared's bed and laid there for a good 45 minutes until Jared fell asleep. I came in to check on them and Jayce was still awake. He never had fallen asleep because Jared fell asleep on his arm and he didn't want to move so as not to wake him. He is a great big brother and such a help to me. Love you Jayce.

Get a grip

I was reading Codie's blog about her son chewing on a tampon. And I forgot I needed to blog about Jared's encounter with a tampon at the zoo, which in turn reminded me of my sister Shelley's unconventional use of pads.

Ew. I should begin with ew. I took the kids into the zoo bathroom to pee, and Jared just sort of hung out in stall and followed me over to the sink while washing hands. I looked down and saw he had found a treasure. Tampon! Ew ew ew. I grabbed and threw it as far from us as I could, realizing I could have used the trash can didn't occur to me. Needless to say, we washed and rewashed hands.

When we were kids, mom used to keep all the extra 'girl' stuff in the garage cupboards. Shell was too young to know what it all was, and one day realizing how uncomfortable her handlebars on her bike were, decided to take action to remedy that. When mom found her she had pads stuck all over the bike. Handlebars included. She was so proud and comfy to be riding such a padded bike.

Zoo

We hit the zoo today. 4 moms and 11 kids. It was quite fun. Meg had zoo passes and allowed the kids and I free admission! Thanks Meg! Here are some highlights:

I just really like this shot of my good friend Laurie and her tall dark and spotted friends.

Lainy wanted to be holding one of these two boys hands at all times. Looks like her lucky day.

I loved seeing these very cool spider monkeys up close and personal. They have this exhibit where you can actually go in and get close enough to touch them, although we were prohibited from doing so since they bite. They jumped into the trees right over our heads. I was afraid to get pooped on.

I think it will be a while before I take my kids to see an elephant up close and personal again. I didn't think much of it as Jared spotted this giant hairy creature, and took a few very slow deliberate steps backward. He mentioned the 'ew-fent' a few times throughout the day, and it took me 2 hours to get him to bed tonight, since every time I closed the door I heard blood curdling screams and the word 'ew-fent' intermixed. Poor kid. He stayed pretty close to the stroller and had a very mellow zoo trip.

Toy tactics

Here's what I've learned about getting free time when you need it.

Always pack and put away at least half of your kids toys. Put them in reasonably small boxes. A few months pass by and you find yourself in desperate need of some free time. Pull out one of those boxes and your children will feel like it's Christmas. I like to put them with the box in a bedroom where you can shut the door so the kids aren't distracted by you having your alone time.

Tactic #2- Tell the children that certain things are off limits. For me it's my hair supplies. That room is off limits. It remains locked. Once in a while when I need quiet time, I pull something spectacular from my forbidden room. For some reason, they love whatever they aren't usually allowed to have. I make sure to let them know just how lucky they are to be playing with whatever it is.

Not dead yet

I just ran 4 miles without stopping. Yeah baby.

Celebrating the 80's

We are nearing full winter in AZ and it's not anywhere near a winter wonderland! For 7 years I have complained my way through 6 months of scorching summer weather and vowed to leave this desolate place the next time an unbeatable job offer came around. (ha!) But each November, as I pack up the swimsuits for a few months, and think about what I am thankful for the WEATHER always come to mind! I stop complaining that I want to move, and enjoy the days of children playing outside all day. I love being able to go running anytime of the day, and it be comfortable. I love that my kids asked what earmuffs and mittens were. I love that I get to wear my slippers around the house and that my kids say I sound like Grammy when she walks in her slippers. I love that when I drink my hot cocoa, it actually warms me. (I drink hot cocoa year round) I love taking a hot shower and not feeling like I am sweating while I do. And as much as snow on Christmas would be nice, I love Christmas in a t shirt and jeans, and my kids being able to go ride the new bike they got without bundling up and shoveling the driveway first.

Share and share a bite

This is a common sight in our house, Dad eating ice cream out of the carton with a fork and three small children waiting for their turn to have a bite.

All we need now are three wagging tails.

Simple civility

"It is in the home that our behavior is the most significant. It is the place where our actions have the greatest impact, for good or ill. Sometimes we are so much 'at home' that we no longer guard or words. We forget simple civility. If we are not on guard, we can fall into the habit of criticizing one another, losing our tempers, or behaving selfishly. Because they love us, our spouses and children may be quick to forgive, but they often carry away in silence unseen injuries and unspoken heartache... When we feel anger or contention in our homes, we should immediately recognise what power has taken control of our lives and what Satan is endeavoring to accomplish. Solomon provided us with this wise formula: ' A soft answer turneth away wrath; but grievous words stir up anger.' (Prov. 15:1) Our home should be a refuge where each member feels safe, secure, loved, and insulated from harsh criticism and contention that we so often encounter in the world."

I have no idea where I got this from, but I found it in my 'keepsakes' file and want my children to know how important it is to work on creating harmony in our homes and our lives. I have learned from experience in watching the atmosphere in my home change dramatically as I paid attention to what I was saying and how I was saying it, to my children. I am so sorry to them for the times I didn't work hard enough to choose my actions and words more carefully. I pray that our home will always be a safe, secure and loving home.

January 2006

Grammy has a very short list of things she hates in life and bananas might very well top that list. Jayce does not have a wide array of food choices, but I am always trying. So, imagine my surprise when today, as I cut up a bananas for Lainy I asked Jayce if he wanted a bite and he happily answered 'sure mom'. I was a bit startled but went with it, and stuck it in his mouth. I have never seen a banana shoot out of someones mouth with such force and so fast. It must have hit the floor 4 or 5 feet in front of him. I laughed of course, and then he started to spit. And spit and spit until he gagged. He gagged, I am assuming until he was sufficiently satisfied that every morsel was gone. Your Grammy would be so proud.

Playing in pecans

Shelli and I headed to a nearby park today to get the kids out of the house and out of energy. It was in a beautiful neighborhood surrounded by pecan trees. We got to walk through one of the houses Matt was working on, and I will forever remember it as the castle house. Doors disguised as bookshelves, a washer and dryer for every bedroom, a butler's pantry, a whole back wall that slides open to the backyard, not to mention all of the cabinetry and crown moulding...

The park was fun, the boys played a little football, the little ones did a little flirting, and Shelli and I got in an adult conversation!

Thanks Shelli!

Voices in my head

A few weeks ago...

Lainy: "Dad? How come my voice is copying me?"

Today...

Lainy: "Mom, watch me while I talk in my head"

Adult owie

I had this on a scrap of paper and wanted to make sure it was documented properly.

2/16/06

Well, you know Jayce and his little comments- today's was especially humorous. He had been out back with Jason this evening while he burned some weeds. Jayce got scared and ran inside complaining he had an 'owie' which of course, he did not. In effort to explain just what an owie was, I leaned over to show him a pimple on my face, before I could explain that it was my owie, Jayce got a terrified look on his face and said "Mom!! Your-your-your face! Your face is breaking off!" I had to laugh.

Crayola at it's best

Themed costumes have become an obsession with me the last couple of years. I ran out of time to paint the wagon like a crayola box... Thanks Heather for the great idea of the birthday hats wrapped in fabric!!

Still holding tight in first place in my love of costumes is the patriotism we had last year...