The Proof is in the Puddin'

Although no pudding was actually involved in this post.

Look who's 6 months old and thriving!

Book Club

I just finished reading this book.  It's excellent.  I started Wednesday.  It was a quick read.  But an authentic read.  The author, Mitch Albom, was asked to give the eulogy of his Rabbi, Albert Lewis...and he spent the next 8 years getting to know this man of God at a more personal level.  What he didn't expect, was this was a journey of him discovering his own faith.  Do I recommend it?  Certainly.  To anyone, of any faith. 

It is unifying.  It opened my heart to all faiths, for whatever we call it, we're speaking of the same thing.  It opened my heart to all people, rich or poor, sheltered or homeless, for we are all children of God.  It made me ache to help the homeless.  It calls me to reach out to everyone, regardless of their proclaimed faith.  It makes me wish I could make a difference.  It teaches me to believe in people; allow them to change.  The end is not here, so neither is their destiny.  I'm on a process of trying to become better, and so is everyone else...let's believe in the better.  And it made me yearn for deep connections with others, to know WHY they do what they do, WHY they believe what they believe.  Sometimes I give others the benefit of the doubt, in that "That's just the way they are", but instead, I want to start learning WHY they are the way they are.  This process of discovery is a beautiful thing, and creates stronger bonds.  You can always get to know someone better, deeper.

    I enjoyed many things from the book.  Ironically, one of my favorite parts was on the last page.  Mitch asks the Rabbi if he hypothetically had one minute left with God, what would he ask.  After outlining the good things he did in life, Albert would ask 

"So, Heavenly Father, for all this, what is my reward?" 

And what do you think God will say?

He smiled.
"He'll say, 'Reward?  What Reward? That's what you were supposed to do!'"  

That made me laugh.  And oh, how true.

While reading I thought, I wish I knew Albert.  An old religious man who is kind, gentle, loving, knows with certainty the truthfulness of God, sees the best in people and in all situations, and even SINGS out of the blue, be it his thoughts or tying in the lyrics from old songs or broadway shows.  And I realized, I do.  My Grandpa G. 

I love him.  I miss him, living 3000 miles away.  With a beautiful operatic voice (which I did not inherit) he would happily sing you Good Morning, with his head bopping along in the rhythm.  I'm not sure he knows how to sing quietly, or reserved, for the music is all in him, and he always sings with 110%.  As proof, at 87 years old, Grandpa was asked to sing the National Anthem at the Manti Pageant in Utah.

He's incredible.  I wish you knew him.  He even gives out business cards that entitles you to "One Free Smile."  He is all about making others happy, feeling the joy he feels inside!

The book also made me think of my Grandpa H.  Another AMAZING man, who also was like the Rabbi in many ways.  And I remembered the quiet moments that I sat with him during his last few days of life.  The private night of me at his hospital bed, singing songs to comfort him, and feeling as though we were somewhere between earth and heaven, that I was singing along with those who had already passed on, waiting to greet him on the other side.  But I was there, the one to hold his hand.  The rainy day when I watched him take his last breath, after holding him myself, giving him hugs while no one was in the room.  He and I had a deep connection, too.  When he died, I didn't wish I knew him better, because we'd made good use of my time in college living nearby to see each others' goodness.  

How sad it would feel to wish I knew someone better when they passed on, to feel like I didn't make the most out of our time together.

Forgive me if I start asking you lots of questions.  Just feel flattered that I want to get to know you better.

Did you read this book?  Are you planning to?  Book club is March 25th.  Let me know if you want details.

This was a long post...how many of you actually got to the end?

Come to the Zoo!

Confession:  Life has changed for the kids and me as a mother of 3.  There's less time.  There's more to do.  There's less energy, but more demands.  There's less sleep.  Overall, it seems, there's less accomplished.  There are more needs, more people, and still only one mom (with two hands).  How am I supposed to do it all? 

But that's not what this post is about.  It just sets the stage for me to talk about one of our successes.  Yesterday, poor Addison was so sick :(  102.8 fever, the moans and groans, the tears, the body aches, and yes, some throw up.  Poor guy :(  But, this led to a morning nap from 8:30-12. 

Overlapping with Alana's morning nap, I had some great quality one-on-one timr with Carter.    One of the activities we chose to do was build a zoo.  We did this a year ago (see post), so it was really neat to see how his growth has contributed to the quality of learning and play. 

He sorted the 63 animals with equivalent ease, but this time built the cages more strategically...sharing blocks between cages "to make the most of our building materials" {yes, his words}, being cautious not to put animals next to each other that might get eaten, making an aquarium for the water animals {poor dolphin had to share with the alligator}, and carefully putting animals close together that were similar {the giraffe made him think of the zebra, then the tiger because it had stripes, then the lion because it's a jungle cat, then the leopard, for the same reason, which made him think of the elephant, that's big like a horse, which looks like a moose--I mean a reindeer, etc.}.  After building the zoo, then we had to make a MAP for the visitors.  This is what we came up with:

Next, came Master Carter and Miss Kerri, the zookeepers, who had to count all the animals to make sure none of them escaped.  This proved to be helpful when a panda somehow wondered into the giraffes' cage and a sheep was in the kitchen drinking apple juice during naptime.  An Addison Godzilla was to blame.  After completing the zoo with a sidewalk and a road {the parking lot in the middle is ONLY for CARS cars}, we looked at our creation and called it good.

For the Locals...or within 150 miles

You go to the temple...you wish there was a place to go out for dinner or ice cream afterwards to finalize the date.  Your choices?  Wendys.  Baskin Robbins.  There has to be more, you tell yourself, but where?

Steve & Kerri, Daniel & Heidi. 

Yes, Daniel's tie color coordinated with Heidi's shirt, as Steve's does with mine...something we did not plan.

Do you want in on our little secret?  We go for the best Gelato around.  So good, in fact, we met a lady in line who had just come from Sicily and came HERE for the Gelato that best resembled that in Italy.  It's REALLY good!  The answer:  The Dominicks only a few miles down the street.  Amazing, but true.  Going to the temple now has its additional perks because you must try this Gelato!

Do you have a secret place you can tell us about?  Enlighten us.

Oops..I'm in trouble.

I accidentally just made this Chocolate Truffle Pie.  When the kids fell asleep for their naps, I realized, "My family needs extra love right now" and somehow that translated into a desparate need to bake chocolate.  By the time I'd melted the 10 ounces of chocolate it was too late to turn back and waste all that perfectly good yumminess.  So I kept going.  Then I licked the beaters...then the bowl...then the spatula...then I dipped my finger in the batter that's waiting to go in the oven.  I didn't mean for this to happen; I mean, doesn't Valentines Day teach us that Love=Chocolate?

Family of Friends

You know you have something special when your family is just enough.

Our Weekend Away--Just to be together

Just after all the birthday hoo-haa at our home, we took a family trip to Key Lime Cove, an indoor waterpark resort. WOW! What a place! It was perfect for our family and the kids' ages. The "adult" slides were rather lame, so there was nothing to distract us from just bonding with our kids. It was so exhilarating to see Addison's courage as he warmed up going down some of the slides, and Carter's overall responsiblity as an {almost} 4 year old. And I drank up every "Oh, she's so cute!" compliment that came Alana's way. They loved the slides & the lazy river, the wave pool, the kids club; even the bunk beds made the "Top Attractions" List. Carter quickly earned a reputation for himself in the kids club when he won the privilege to have one of his jokes up on the board for all to see. "What do you hear when cows sing?...MOOsic".

One of the coolest parts of all was that our wrist band was our room key and charge card--so we NEVER had to worry about where to put our key/wallet etc. Totally accessible. A *DUH* idea for all other resorts.


What do you do when you share a hotel room with 3 kids who go to sleep at 7 PM? How boring to just call it a night, so Steve and I hooked up our baby monitor, pulled out monopoly, and set up camp in the lobby just next door to our room. Worked like a charm, and Steve and I had a GREAT time...Him more than me, since I couldn't afford his Boardwalk Hotel!

Mommy Magic

It was magic. It was inspired. It was necessary.

Addison was begging to go out and play in the snow. He couldn't understand WHY I was saying no, though my reasons were many: (I'm making lunch, it takes soo long to put on all the snow gear, it's too cold and windy, you have a terrible cold and I'm not that crazy, Alana's crying and I just need to focus on keeping the sanity here, so, no, you can't go outside). Just before I lost all my patience over this, a flash of an idea came to me. He can't go outside to the snow, but that doesn't mean he can't play in it. And that's how the indoor snow day was born.

And it ended up helping me because "wash the kitchen floor" was on my to-do list, and now I didn't have to waste any tap-water to do so...I felt one with the earth using snow water to clean.

This was such a good idea, I wish I could patent it...but then again, it wasn't my idea to begin with. It was a stroke of the magical inspiration that comes to the most desparate moms.

Last Days, Anyone?

OK....4:00 AM....was that an earthquake? Did you feel it? Steve and I both did...and we heard NO trucks/plows going by that would have caused even our dresser handles to rattle for 10 seconds.

7:35--HOORAY! I'm NOT crazy! It WAS an earthquake! Did you feel it?

That's 2 earthquakes in 2 years in a seemingly non-fault zone...hmm.

A Momentous Moment

We've all done it, but it's always a sweet moment to start the solid foods. And then the panic of "Really? Add ONE more thing to my routine?"

I started a little by accident, a little out of necessity. Alana was just SO SAD when she should have been sleeping, and my heart was telling me that she was hungry. As the milk supply was low, I had to come up with an option. Not planning on starting solids today, I didn't have baby cereal on hand. So, I ground up oats, quickly cooked them, thinned them out, and Voila! We had a happy girl!

I wasn't planning on taking a picture. Therefore, not my favorite outfit, no bow, even a boring bib. The moral of the story is, always look your best, because you never know when the paparazzi will arrive.

Happy Birthday, Addison

HOORAY for Addison, who just turned 2!

We had a blast celebrating and LOVE seeing this sweet little guy growing up! He is such a
gentle, forgiving, tender-hearted boy who loves to
snuggle, give kisses, and hugs.
He can change a frown upside down in no time.
Even at his young age, we can see his compassion
and how he thinks of others to help them be happy.
I am so grateful for Addison and his sweet role in our family.
Sure, he's testing his independence a little more now, but the "terrible twos" just doesn't seem to fit with him...even when he gives an emphatic "NO!" it's usually followed by a sweet smile with a shrugged shoulder, implying, "Just kidding, I just wanted to see what that felt like."
With such an amazing boy, we had lots of reasons to celebrate.

Day 1: Balloon Party at home Our plans to celebrate at the childrens museum were foiled since Carter had a stomach bug the night before :( So, we celebrated at home and had a WONDERFUL day. I determined to do NO chores or anything that would take me away from playing with Addison (hey, being in labor for 29 hours qualifies ME for a day of rest, too!) I was impressed how many birthday games I could come up with playing with balloons {his favorite thing right now}.

In the middle of the night, we stocked Addison's room with over 40 balloons...

What an EXCITING way to wake up, and the party had just begun!

Everyone needs a special Birthday Breakfast!

And even though his real party was the next day, we STILL had brownies and ice cream for a birthday dessert. Addison and I share a real chocolate bond!

Day 2: Family Party...Supplies needed for a successful Addison party:

• balloons, blankets, a parachute,
• and 6 grown ups not afraid to act like kids.

Activities included swinging in blankets

Balloons in the parachute

At first it was fun to just watch, But he joined in on the fun in no time!

And the classic Run Under the Parachute games

What's a party without a dino cake?

Day 3: Grandparents all came over again. More food! More Games!
Day 4: Gpa M came over for dinner, playing, and cake since he had to work and the day of the party. That's ok, because a day with Gpa M is a party in and of itself (this is where Steve gets it)!

Day 5, 6, and 7: Went to an indoor waterpark...but that's my next post.

We had such a great time, I recommend you take a break to celebrate Addison, too!

Your email to me

Dear Kerri,

WAY TO GO!!! You survived a day of throw up! You were thrown up on, you caught throw up with your bare hands, you cleaned the carpets, scrubbed the bath tub (twice), did LOADS of laundry, held a sick child for 5 and a half hours, nursed a baby, got said baby to sleep, and fed your preschooler dinner (albeit cereal). You are my role model...granted, I taught you everything you needed to know, by word and example. Glad I could help.

Hint: Maybe next time don't promise your kids you are going to the museum and MAYBE they won't throw up.

Love,
{sign your name here}

Two Kinds of Smiles

One is heart warming...

The other makes you laugh right out loud.