Lately

So I've been thinking that this here blog needs a fresh post after that preachy one. Sometimes something comes over me and I have this need to write things I'm thinking about and it comes out sounding like a talk over the pulpit. I'm afraid that people might start thinking things - like maybe things are nice and orderly around here. That maybe we're walking around all grateful for each other and our delicious dinners that Mommy made. Just in case you might be in that delusional state, I'm here to clear things up for you. And to point out that you must not have read the profound things my kids are grateful for. Webkinz. Water. Ears. Streatch? I'm pretty sure the goal was to see who could write the MOST feathers the fastest.

Every night, we check on Grace repeatedly to make sure she has her clothes on. Because she mostly doesn't. When we tuck her in, we say "goodnight, Grace. I love you. KEEP YOUR JAMMIES ON!" She says okay and then strips down after we leave. She covers herself up with a blanket and we just put them back on to keep her from freezing in the middle of the night. But on at least half a dozen occasions, she's reverted completely to her birthday suit. One priceless nap I wished I'd snapped a picture of that little bum up in the air and her diaper tossed rebelliously to the floor, but you'll have to make do with her desperate attempts to reclothe herself after waking up. Grace also talks nonstop, repeating and repeating until we answer her. And even then, sometimes she doesn't stop.

Carver's into leaves. And a strict avoidance of peanuts. Except for his daily PB&J. :) He's always checking with us to see if something has peanuts in it. But really, Carver's big thing lately is helping with his strong muscles. Nothing makes this kid's day like helping out. It's not always quite what I had in mind, but we'll get there. The other day, Grace was reminding us that she's afraid of worms and Carver chimed in with "I'm not afraid worms. Worms friends. Worms tickle me." Very cute. OH! And Carver says he's going to be a football player when he grows up so he can tackle people. Grace has been echoing this dream and adding that when she grows up to play football, "boys tackle me!"


Lydia's soccer season wrapped up a couple weekends ago. Their team started so strong, but the games got tougher and tougher as the season went by. Lydia was a trooper, playing in rain and thunder and running harder and longer than she ever thought she could. She's still playing soccer at ALL her recesses! She loved playing goalie, but it sure stressed me. I'm not one to sign up for that kind of pressure.


Some of us are less enthusiastic about the sport. This is Ellie's 3rd season as a faithful fan and I think she's ready to retire. What do you think? But in her defense... BRRR.... some of those games were COLD!! Ellie's braving a whole new world in January and playing basketball. I'm excited to see how it goes! At least it's inside, right?


Whew. I feel better already. Much more normal around here.

more than THANK-YOU

Monday was my night to teach a lesson in Family Home Evening and the perfect time for the thankful turkey to make an appearance this year. It's become a family tradition.

This year, I wanted to talk about what it means and feels like to be grateful. I think I got a lot more out of the conversation than the kiddos, but they cooperated nicely. :)

When you're grateful...
you cherish what you have and treat it kindly
you aren't jealous of what other people have
you aren't thinking as much about yourself
you don't complain
you remember who your blessings are from
you feel happy, content, peaceful, patient

I've been thinking all week about how gratitude changes behavior and how, more than anything, this year I have gratitude goals. I could list my blessings, but I want gratitude to change me.

I want to act grateful to be a MOTHER. I want to cherish my children more, treat them with love and respect and tenderness. I want to complain less about diapers and laundry and dishes. I want to be grateful for my kids' individuals strengths and abilities and not try to mold them into anything else.

I want to act more grateful for my HOUSE. It's not fancy, it's not big, but it's our first. And I sure want to give it my best. I want to keep it more organized, decorated and homey. I want to feel content with what I've got. And not whine when it's time to mop the floor again.

I want to be more grateful for the SAVIOR this season. I want to remember all He gave to us and give to others around me in return. I want to be more like Him, even when it's hard and I get selfish with my time and energy. I want to be grateful for forgiveness and repentance, so grateful that I take advantage of it more often.

I want to find new things to be grateful for every day.

Like wheels on grocery carts.
And Carver's strong muscles to carry in groceries.
For a little bit of rain instead of a lot of rain.
Cleaner closets.
Christmas wrapping paper.
Hot chocolate.
Kids who played nicely together - some of the day.
Friends.
Family.
Derek.
Date nights.
Great books.
Christmas shopping almost done!

Isn't Thanksgiving the PERFECT way to get Christmas underway?!

Howell-oween 2009

I like Halloween less every year. It's about a 4 out of 10 this year. I LOVE pumpkins and cute costumes and even the candy. But I don't love spooky or scary or gruesome and there is more of that every year. There is a house in the neighborhood with all the yucky violent decorations you can imagine and my sweet Ellie is afraid to check the mail or walk home from the bus stop on that side of the street. When did Halloween turn into a walking horror flick? Ick.

On THAT happy note :) .... here's my best Halloween moment:

Carver wanted to stay home and pass out candy with me after our church "trunk-or-treat." I was skeptical since he has a hard time when I gave away zucchini last summer and he doesn't even LIKE zuccini. He must think of Halloween as an exception.

He stood on our porch and yelled, hands cupped around his mouth, in his costume and socks:

COME PEOPLE!!
Come to my house!
Lots of candy!
Trick or treating!

I laughed and laughed and couldn't get it on video. It was the funniest thing ever. AND he loved handing out the candy, too. What a breakthrough!

Carver ASKED to be a ghost! He thought of it himself, asked for it and that was that. Another cool milestone.

Then Grace wanted to be whatever Carver was. For awhile it was going to be a "princess ghost," but in the end we were lucky she wore the ghost sheet as much as she did. She was a serious grump that whole week.

Lydia wanted to be a witch this year.

So you guessed it - Ellie did, too. :)

And continuing with the theme. Here's Ellie in her halloween T-shirt, posing as she always does.

And Carver copied her! TOO funny.

So that's that. One holiday down, 3 more to go this year. Stay tuned to see if I get around to adding a funny video of pumpking carving... Don't hold your breath, though. :)

Carver's happy day!

Carver's 4th birthday started with a sprinkled donut.

Grandpa & Grandma Eucker and Auntie Lyssa came that morning, too. Carver got to ride in Grandpa's "silver car" to go get ice cream for his party. It is really Grandma's car, but Carver's world is pretty much Grandpa-centric these days. He LOVES that car. Nevermind our super cool van is silver, too. Clearly it's not the same as a silver Acura - even in the mind of a 4 year old. Grandpa pushed Carver on the swings and played with him, too. My dad is a saint. Really and truly!

Carver wanted cupcakes for his birthday - darn! I don't care much for cake myself and I'm always trying to offer more tasty choices. Apple turnovers anyone? Pie? Giant cookies or brownies? Not for this boy. Just a classic cupcake for him.

Carver had FRIENDS come to a little party at our house - just 1 hour, with lunch and cupcakes.... how hard could that be? Let's just say I overestimate myself sometimes. It's a REALLY good thing my parents came to help! All the kids were super well behaved, but they just flew through our little painting craft and bean bag toss. We had to throw in a few classic stand-bys... Duck, Duck Goose - London Bridges - Musical Pillows. And the kids had a great time. They ate their pizza and their cupcakes and Carver had a great time. Whew! Success.

We had sweet-n-sour meatballs, rice and rolls for dinner. One of Carver's favorites. And more cupcakes - what else? What a happy day for our little boy. The best part was when he'd climbed in my bed in the morning and said, "Carver's birthday? Almost?" YES! It's finally here, bud. The girls climbed in bed, too, and sang happy birthday to him, too. We sure love Carveroni!

My Birthday (aka "An October Family Holiday")

DISCLAIMER: Derek despises all these pictures of himself and requests that I make it clear that any and all goofy faces were intended as a joke. He does not actually consider himself GQ when we eat out as a family.


I love my birthday, even if was the big 3-0 this year. Because it's a family holiday around here! We play all day and the kids look forward to it as much as I do. This year we had a 9 am soccer game to kick things off, followed by a fabulous birthday run with Derek on the trails behind our house. It was so refreshing to run outside, talk together and feel strong on my birthday. It was the best part of the day, hands down. Somehow the endorphins from the run overshadowed my normal mother thoughts because we forgot to give the kids lunch. Oops! That's important because it contributes to the rest of the afternoon.

Early afternoon we headed up to my favorite pumpkin patch near our old stomping grounds up in the more affluent Eastside. Wowee. It was CROWDED and I'll tell you, what - one of these Dodge Grand Caravans just didn't belong in the sea of European vehicles. But that's okay. We can pay for overpriced pumpkins with the best of them.

But it was cold and windy and our kids were starving (from that skipped meal - oops again). So first off, I tried to buy overpriced chips. The line was so slow, the card machine was broken, I gave up and we had to wait. We did the hay maze upstairs, which was more fun in years past without a dozen adults clogging the entrance and at least that many little people clogging the maze. Then we got our turn on the hayride out to the pumpkins.



It was pulled by a tractor and soon enough, we joined the crowds in the trampled field. Somehow I hadn't remembered so many PEOPLE last time. It really loses it's charm when it has the same feel as a long line at Wal-mart. Well, not Wal-mart exactly. More like Trader Joe's or REI with this crowd. But imagine an interminable line at Wal-mart in one of those stores. Just one shot of all the people, but what a beautiful day! No wonder everyone wanted to be at the pumpkin patch.

Anyway, we found a couple pumpkins.

(Lydia took this one for us!)

We weighed the bumpy lumpy orange prizes and I finally bought the overpriced chips we'd been hoping for. They were stale, probably from being on that shelf in the barn for several years. But stale chips are better than no chips on a day like this. The only other food choices were organic veggies in a very raw state and ice cream bars, which would've been insanity. I doled out chips, Derek went for the van and the kids played on the old tractors. It would've been more fun if they weren't cold and hungry and tired at this point.


All this pumpkin patch fun made us good and ready for dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. Yum!

After recharging with a tasty meal at a favorite place, we headed to the mall where the child torture could resume. It was a frustrating attempt to find new jeans. Derek sat on the benches outside each store so I could zip in with only one in a stroller at a time. I was as frazzled as anyone by the end, though, since I left pretty much empty handed. Such a disappointment. We barely made it home without kids falling asleep in the car to eat my Baskin Robbins ice cream for a treat. Whew! What a long day. Happy birthday to me! One year older and wiser, too. Because next year I won't forget to feed the monkeys before taking them on a the birthday marathon.

Running

The kids are finally in bed, I'm aching for my fleece pjs, some fiction and my side of the bed. I don't want to run tonight. It sounds terrible, sweaty and exhausting after a long Mommy day. And then I'd need to shower and I hate going to bed with wet hair. Still, I cave to Derek's offer to let me run first tonight. I was hoping to procrastinate. Grumbling, I find my clothes and shoes and remind myself that my evenings are packed this week, it'll be days before I even have the option to run again. Step after endless step on the treadmill, I wonder (for the millionth time) about the brand of drywall printed on the garage wall. I study the cup hooks and extension cords hung there. I look at my 30 mile goal for the month, 30 miles for every year I've been alive. It's more than half filled. I thank the treadmill for not stopping, curse it for never slowing down. Running is a terrible thing. Sometimes it takes nearly 2 miles for me to get over the fact that I'm out of breath and sweating and that's OKAY! In fact, I'm pretty sure that's the point. I remind myself that I don't hurt. My side ache is gone, my lungs are filling easily with air, my legs are only tired - not in pain. There is no reason to stop. I look at the 30 mile chart and push myself to go beyond what I've done before. I remember how wonderful it feels to run long and hard, to find that perfect moment when exhaustion changes to exhilaration. Tonight I'm going for faster than I've run before, not longer. I'm my own worst competition, never satisfied. I wish I could run to General Conference talks, books on tape, quiet meditative music. But I depend on a strong beat, turning up the volume to overpower the thoughts of stopping, the doubt that I can do something so hard. I think of Derek, running beside me on Saturday on my glorious birthday girl run. He told me I was strong and I believed him then, I should believe it now. I think of my heart, pumping stronger with every step. I try not to look at the time, the distance I've come and calculate how slowly the time is passing. Because the whole point is that I'm doing it, not with grace or speed or records, but with determination. I think I might even learn to like running someday.

30 reasons that I'm still YOUNG

1. I don't have a cell phone yet

2. My hair is still long, often in a pony tail

3. I regularly hit snooze on my alarm without even waking up

4. I eat cookies for breakfast

5. I love young adult fiction

6. My bed is often unmade

7. Birthdays are still exciting

8. I have a great flip flop tan

9. I still wonder what I'll be when I grow up

10. I beg for candy at the register

11. My pants are frayed at the hem

12. I love going to the pumpkin patch

13. I'm told that I look too young to have 4 kids

14. I love low rise jeans

15. School supplies get me all excited

16. I like the Barbie movies,
especially 12 Dancing Princesses and the Princess and the Pauper

17. Chocolate milk is my favorite lunchtime beverage

18. I can't sleep on Christmas Eve

19. People still call us a "young family"

20. I don't use wrinkle cream

21. I'd rather not wear nylons if I can help it

22. Sometimes I still think "it's not fair!"

23. I'm still taller & run faster than all my kids

24. I still don't know what the heck I'm doing as a parent

25. My high school years aren't "retro" yet

26. I love the beach

27. I'm afraid of the dark

28. I get to hang out with 16-17 year olds at church now

29. I'm definitely not as OLD as Derek... :)

30. I'm still in my TWENTIES... at least for 1o more days.

Dang, that was a hard list to come up with. On the other hand, listing all the reasons I feel OLD.... that would be EASY! But that wouldn't help me deal with my big 3-0 next week, now would it?