Another Funny one from B-

While listening to the presidential debates tonight...
Katie - "Doug, should we be Democrats, because we're poor?"
Ben - "Mom, you're not Dumb-a-crats."

I guess that answers that question...

Epidermis...

Mom - "Ben, are you gonna eat that? You can do it - show me what you're made of!"
B- "Mom, I'm made of skin."

2008 - WHAT?!

And PS - HApPY New YEAR! I'm weirded out that it's 2008.

OMG - First Steps!

My little guy is growing up so fast. Today he took his first steps. He's feeling pretty confident and will go about 3 or four steps. Crazy! I know. How did this happen? His life sure has flown by... Hopefully, 2008 will be slightly slower - or I'll just be scared.
Nerds in training. Isn't it horrible? What's a girl to do?

Golden Oldies???! J/K - Golden Birthday - Doug is 30... Holy Cow!

My SWEET husband turned 30 yesterday... Can you believe it? 30? I don't think he can. So, Happy Birthday babe. I hope you had a good one. We didn't do much, but the night before we went out to dinner - and I surprised Doug with having a few friends at the restaurant when we got there. It was fun. And on his birthday, I just made him one of his favorite meals, and I tried very hard to make him not have to lift a finger. (It didn't totally happen, but I refrained from calling for help with dinner or the boys several times.) It was all pretty low-key.

There are so many reasons that I love Doug. I'm so thankful for him.

Here are just a few:

-He's so helpful. He does so much around the house and helps with many, many things - I'm spoiled.

-He is very righteous. He keeps me on the right track. I know the woman is supposed to be the virtuous one is the relationship - but he's definitely better than me.

-He is such a great father - he loves his boys, and loves to spend QUALITY time with them.

-He's so smart. He knows so many little facts, and is ALWAYS right about details. I'm usually wrong, and that's okay - that's why we're a good team.

-He's so talented. He's really good at everything he does.

-He still thinks I'm cute and sexy - 2 kids later.

-He loves me and takes very good care of me.

-He keeps our life light-hearted. It's easy to be in a good mood around him.

-He's really very clean; he cleans up after himself really well.

Like I said, these are just a few... I could go on and on - but it's late, and I'm so tired. So... I love you Doug!!!! You're so loveable and awesome! Here's to feeling 23 forever...

TMI...

As many of you know, Ben is WAY into dinosaurs right now - and has been since about August. I guess a large part of this obsession is mine and Doug's fault. We have encouraged it because it's so educational - and hey, there are worse things a 3-yr-old could be obsessed with - right? He got LOADS of dinosaur stuff for Christmas! Puzzles, games, books (coloring and reading), toys, etc. I keep thinking that the tide will soon be turning on this phase, and then it will be on to the next big thing - but I'm starting to wonder if I really need to consider being the mom of a very ambitious paleontologist; a Ross, if you will. I'm sure many of you have been through this.

The point is: tonight, Doug was reading Ben a bedtime story (well, one of many of the dinosaur books we've borrowed from the library), and I happened to catch a few facts being read. It got me wondering about some things related to dinosaurs and the current extinction theory and stuff - so I started googling. About a half hour into it, I started thinking, "What am I doing? My Friday nights have amounted to this? Man, I really know a heck of a lot more about dinosaurs than I EVER imagined I would know." Is this completely insane that I am so INto this? I have memorized like, 50 species of dinos, and all their family lines and stuff. It's totally crazy. Perhaps even crazier though, is that Ben knows most this stuff too. He can tell you some of the most complicated dinosaur names - and it's so cute. But am I the only one that this happens to? Do you ever just get TMI about the stuff your kids are into? Holy cow.
That's Christmas morning and the Spinosaurus and Pterodactyl that Ben got from Santa. He wants to tote them around where ever we go. It's pretty cute, but also kinda annoying. Lots of love to the B man. He's one bright little stud.

Merry Christmas to all... and to all - a Good Night!

Ahh... I've had such a great Christmas. I haven't had a ton of time to blog lately - sorry, and I feel like I've been so busy up until now. But seriously, my schedule feels wide open after today! It's so nice. It's been a great couple of days, with a lot of time to hang out with friends and my cute little family. We know we have just SO many blessings! And we sure are grateful that the Lord loves us and takes such good care of us - and we're so grateful that God sent him to this Earth to be born. We have so much! There's nothing like a completely indulgent and over-the-top Christmas morning to help one come to that realization. I am happy. Here are some highlights of the day: We went to JoAnna's (what a kind soul) for dinner and to get together with friends and the missionaries. We had a blast. Oh well, back to life tomorrow - Doug's got to be back at work. Bummer. That's Mayo for ya. But luckily, I've got lots of new toys to keep the boys well-occupied for the day tomorrow - so I can probably take tomorrow off! Ha ha. Wishful thinking is fun. After all, it is Christmas.

Dental Extravaganza!

Today is the day that we've finally got a FIRST TOOTH! (Well, yesterday technically...) YAY! And as early as almost 11 months baby!He's officially joined the ranks of the pioneers before him, also known as 90 percent of other kids his age. We know, we know, he's so late with the whole tooth-thing. But hey, we're just proud he's got 'em in there at all. Ben got his first tooth right at 11 months. So that's on par for us I guess. And that's okay - we're so proud of it. That's why we're posting this. I tried to get a decent pic of his mouth displaying his new pearly white, but he wasn't havin' it. These pics show that at least he's into the important things in life: oreos, the remote, and maybe a little drinky-poo, etc. To go with news on Spence's mouth, this week, he's also had a little thrush. Weird, I know. I thought that only happened to newborns. But I think it's due to the whole antibiotic-thing, from what I've read on it anyway. It seems to be going away with a some acidopilus and yogurt though - so it's all good. Just thought I'd update everyone on this fascinating milestone... Can you believe that kids actually have teeth?!

Let's put him up there with Dickinson!

Ben loves to rhyme and make up silly things. I wrote this down about a month ago and just found the paper today. This is what Ben said to his brother.
“Dear Spencer:
Roses are Red,
You are Cool,
And come home,
And that’s a rule.”

All I’ve got to say is: RANDOM!!!! I don’t even know where he’s heard that poem before, let alone making up his own version of it. A literary prodigy? I’m not ruling it out…

This picture is kinda funny, not only because this is really how they always are, but also because they've both been sick and definitely look it. In fact, Spencer had his first diagnosed ear infection last week, and actually had to be on antibiotic! That's the first time either of my kids have had to do anti's. We've been lucky so far, I know.

What's the deal with Committees? (Read it hearing Jerry Seinfeld's voice in your head - it's better that way.)

I’m on the activities committee in our ward – cool, I know. Can you sense my tone here people? And Saturday night, we held our Christmas party – which I was in charge of. Our committee chair doled out an event for each of us to be in charge of throughout the year, and now I understand why. We did a Christmas Luau, and it turned out great – despite everything that went wrong. But, over the last month, I have worked so hard on it. It has taken up so much of my time and energy. All the work I had to do for it was constantly looming in the back of my mind. Maybe it’s because I’m a stress-case, and maybe because I have never had to plan a party for 250 people before. But part of it, at the very least, is explained by this awesome definition provided by Reader’s Digest about the nature of a committee (given to me by dear JoAnna). It’s the reason why I felt like the burden lay squarely upon my shoulders, and the purpose of this post:

Committee – A group of the unwilling, picked from the unfit, to do the unnecessary.

Why is that so dang true? That pretty much sums up my feelings toward my calling. Not that I am unwilling, but the committee as a whole, kind of is. Isn’t that how every committee you’ve ever been on has been though? I found it poignant. I guess I just wanted to vent on the whole situation. However, since we pulled off the party, I feel pretty good right now – like I have my life back. This huge event is finally out of the corner of my brain. And that is nice. Oh, and being “In Charge” is crappy. Enough said.

Most Un-Fun Snow Day Ever!

We've had a lot of crazy weather lately. Most notably snow and ice. I guess everyone in the country is in the same boat though. There's been some crazy weather lately. Can we say 'it's the end of the world as we know it?' ... or something.... We only ended up with 3 inches this weekend, but are supposed to get 3 or so more tomorrow. Maybe our next time playing out in it will be a little more enjoyable...

The least fun snow ever! Ben played on the deck (where he usually plays in the snow) for a half hour, and he must have fallen 50 times! Above are some of Ben's more graceful moments. It was so crazy icy. He ended up just laying on the ice and licking it for about 15 of those minutes. The icy was so solid that he couldn't shovel at all - his usual favorite for playing in the snow. He wanted to make a snow angel, but as you can see, no angel marks on the ice! Ha Ha!

The roads have been way icy and not plowed well in the neighborhoods. Church was actually postponed Sunday because the parking lot wasn't plowed - it was a big ole' ice rink. They guy who usually plows it slid off the road into a ditch and broke his plow, which was nothing out of the ordinary for people on Saturday, unfortunately. So, we only had sacrament meeting 2 hours later after the snow was removed, but VERY few people were there and willing to brave the roads. That's pretty much how everything has been going lately. :( Why do we live here again? Arrgghhh!

Other Stuff We've Been Up to Lately...

Spence LOVES to splash as much as possible.
Anyone else think of Frida? Sweet Uni- dude...

Christmas Decorating - Check!

Giggle Monkeys!

A Christmas Miracle! AKA: Ben's Hernia Story.

Warning: This is not the short version. If you can't handle rambling blog posts - you better quit while you're ahead. I apologize for my excessive and needless detail. I feel that I’m turning into my mother more and more each day! :) Don't tell her I said that...

So, Ben was supposed to have hernia surgery today. It's a hugely long story, (well, my version anyway.) So, here goes:

About a year or 2 ago, we noticed this little pea-sized rock on Ben’s tummy, right above his belly-button. It was only visible when Ben flexed or coughed. It’s been the same size FOREVER! I was pretty sure it was a hernia, but it was so small – I wasn’t too worried. I finally brought it up at the doctor a couple months ago, and they said we should talk to surgery about it. I half expected them to say that it was so small that we shouldn’t worry about doing anything about it.
But we had the consult 2 months ago, and they told us that we DID need to get it surgically taken care of before he reaches adulthood. We just thought we'd do it now - our deductible is paid up, and we already had a baby this year, so we didn't think we'd have to pay too much, (but still more than we wanted of course). So, Doug went in with Ben to the surgical unit this morning as planned, and they gave him a narcotic to relax him, thinking that he’d be going right in. But he ended up having NO muscle control from it. The doc came in, and had a hard time seeing the hernia. Since it is really only visible when he contracts his tummy muscles, we chalked up its elusiveness to the drugs. – Just as a side note, it relaxed him so much that it seemed like he was drunk! Totally sloshed! His speech was all slurred; he couldn’t hardly walk, sit up, or remember or say anybody’s names. When Doug asked, “What’s my name?” Ben just said, “MMoe!” He actually peed all over Doug because he couldn’t even hold his bladder! (I later asked the nurse what they gave him, and she said it was an amnesia drug… I don’t know if that kind of drug really exists, or if it was some sort of subconscious slip.) So, they had to wait there another 2 hours until it wore off, and probably another hour because the doc had to do another surgery in the meantime. So sad. I think I would have been freaked out to see him that way. I was at home with Spence when this all happened because we were not allowed to bring other children onto the surgical floor. But when he called me and told me all this, I panicked and felt like I had to come. So, I got a sitter for Spencer, and got there after it had worn off.
But anyway, when the surgeon finally came in again (5.5 hours into this), we got him to flex and show where the hernia was. The surgeon said, “Is that as big as it ever is?” And I said, “It’s normally a little bigger, but over the last couple of days, it’s been kinda hard to see.” I noticed this, but just thought I couldn’t get the right angle or something. The doc noticed that he has another condition where the stomach muscles aren’t as close together as they should be, but they’ll grow nearer over the next 2 years and won’t need correction. Anyway, that’s probably all part of it, but we can’t figure out whether the hernia is fixing itself, or what. But it’s hardly there anymore! It looks like there might be something below it now though, and it’s hard to tell what it’s doing because of the muscle wall-thing. The bottom line is that the surgeon said that right now, the hernia is too small to operate on, and the risks would not out-weigh the benefits! (I MEAN BENEFITS NOT OUT-WEIGH THE RISK! OOPS!) We should only need surgery if and/or when it gets bigger, or he complains of it hurting. Once the muscle walls grow closer, we should know what it’s doing. The weird thing is, as the day has gone on, the hernia is even less visible! So, to sum-up: Pretty much the weirdest thing that’s ever happened to us. But it’s probably a miracle, and I shouldn’t say weird, but amazing! He’s seriously been healed. I can’t believe it. The Lord has truly blessed us, probably because we really couldn’t afford extra medical bills. Although it feels a little like a waste of time – ours and the surgeon’s, nurses, etc. – our money, one of Doug’s vacation days, and on and on. But hey, we’ve seriously witnessed a miracle here, and so it’s a small price to pay, I suppose. It would have been a lot more expensive, and for a little guy like that to have to have surgery is not preferable. So, we are blessed - although we feel rather stupid! It's just a crazy story. And now that you know every little detail, I’m sure you’re as fascinated as I am with all that transpired this morning.

This is a pic of the new condition - the abdominal muscle gap that will grow together in a couple years. (oh, and there's writing on Ben's stomach from where the surgeon was gonna cut. The dot nearest his belly-button is where the hernia is/was. And above that, it says BW. His initials... weird. I'm really interested to hear the rationale behind that. Are they seriously worried they might get confused with who it is they just wheeled in, and who they're cutting open? )

Not a Good Sign...

So, I can't believe that it's not even December yet, and I feel like I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off - hence the non-posting as of late. They always say that the holidays are such a busy time, but I've just never really found that to be true for me thus far. Until now. It's weird though, because I honestly don't know what I've been doing that's been so time-consuming. I just know that I've hardly been able to sit at the computer, watch tv, movies or the like over the past week and a half or so. I've been getting all crafty lately, (some voluntarily and some not so self-inflicted projects,) and have been running around buying stuff, making stuff, decorating, shopping for Christmas, not to mention other various errands associated with regular life. With that said, it's not even crunch time yet, but I feel like I must be in for it. The impending snow storm this weekend (we're supposed to get 6-8 inches with sleet and ice) will likely keep me inside more than I'd like due to my completely unreasonable driving-in-bad-weather-psychosis. But, seeing as we really do need front tires on the good ole' Civic, I feel that it is somewhat justified. Rationalization you say? Totally legit excuse for someone who's messed in the head.

Weekend Entertainment...

Just some stuff we've been up to lately:

Our first snow, (well, the first that I saw) occurred on Saturday morning - and I must admit, I wasn't too sad that it was a little pathetic. Don't worry, I'm sure there's more where that came from - unfortunately.
We bought this paint over a year ago, and just haven't gotten around to it until now. When Ben asked, we told him he could help. But then quickly regretted it. But oh well. He loves to paint and/or draw on anything he can get his hands on. A canvas as big as a wall was his dream I'm sure!
Helper extraordinaire! Well, at least he thought so...
Not quite all put-together, but you get the gist of our accomplishment. With 2 rugrats all over the place, it really did feel like something to be proud of. Now if only the rest of the house were painted...
The Happy Spare... Fun with mommy in the kitchen - he loves to be in on the action ...And below, more unsolicited help. He is actually hammering a real nail (which he found because we took the nails out of the wall that we were painting,) into the wall. Arrrgh! I was so ticked, but, at least he was wearing safety glasses (which he kindly removed when he saw I was about to take a picture... ha ha) !

Welcome to the World little Lucy!

UPDATE- I had to add these. Because up until now (12/2), the only picture I had of Lucy was the one below - but Jill wasn't very happy that I had that eyes-half-closed picture on there. So, I had to add these. She's a cutie, and she's changed a lot!

My niece, Jill's baby, was born yesterday - Nov. 16th, (exactly 6 months after my grandma Lucile's birthday for whom she is named.) Her name, btw is Lucile Pearl!

7 pounds 8 ounces.

What a little Snow White doll with all that pitch black hair - How did that come from this (see below)? Congrats Guys! We hope we'll get to meet her soon! Good job Mommy Jill!

Can I change my answer?

I'm sure is what Ben would say had he known the implication of what he said to me tonight. So, we're sitting there at the dinner table, all of us scarfing. I thought, "this is important family time - we should be talking." So, for shear conversation purposes, I asked Ben what his favorite thing to do is. He said, "Putting the silverware in the drawer?" followed by the 'is-that-the-right- answer'-look. Ummm... Exsqueeze me, baking powder? Did he just say his favorite thing to do is his assigned chore that is seriously like pulling teeth to get him to do? Well, if that's how he feels about it - I'm going to try to take advange. So there. Y'know, the sad thing is that he was probably just trying to score some points - and that's just annoying that he understands how to manipulate already. I've been suspecting it for some time now. Tricky little dude.

Duck, Duck - Goose! Oops, I mean - Tag! I'm It! And with WAY more than you'd ever care to know about me for sure.

So, Lichelle - don't be mad at me for taking more than my allotted 7 days to do the tag-thing. I guess I will just have 7 curses upon head. Maybe that's the reason I have spent this weekend struggling to talk and coughing like crazy! Thanks a lot! :) Actually, I know I am SOOOOO lame, but really, I am so boring that it took me a while to think of 7 interesting things about myself. And although I'm not sure how interesting these are after all, (random at the very least,) here goes:

1. After 3 hours of church, I often act a little off the wall. Doug has affectionately named this craziness "post-church hyperactivity hour". Always refreshing, silly and inappropriate. I know it's embarrassing, but I just can't help giddiness after being all cooped up.

2. I have super weak enamel on my teeth - I am a Jewkes after all. I swear I brush everyday and floss pretty often - of course, I'm sure my candy obsession doesn't help much. But seriously, I'm only 25, and have had 3 root canals, and I have 2 crowns - and could possibly be working on 2 more. Let's just say, if I had silver fillings, I'd have some serious bling up in my grill! Last time I was at the dentist, I was expressing my woes, and how I really feel bad that my teeth are falling out of my head, and he said, "well, it's true - you are extremely young to have so many dental needs." How comforting... that's why I pay him the big bucks! Those of you who were blessed with genetically sound teeth will never understand. I guess I tipped the Yin/Yang scale there - maybe my awesome kids make up for it.

3. I totally have an affinity for IPOD commercials - they always choose that coolest, most catchy tunes. You think it would be enough for me to actually buy one, but dude, I'm working on putting food on the table. :) Okay, it's not really that bad, but I aspire to making techonology a priority some day soon.

4. I totally have anxiety about driving in bad weather. Okay, even slightly bad weather. Doug just hates driving with me in a snow storm when I'm all white knuckled and hanging on for dear life. He thinks I'm a major spaz. I know I am- and it's totally irrational, but I can't help it. I've developed a theory that it stems from all my close calls when I used to drive like a maniac in my wild teenage invincibility stage. Or something.

5. When Doug and I played the Newlywed game with some friends the other day, the question was, "Who makes a funnier face?" and I put him- but he said me. I can't believe I got that wrong! Whatever.

6. I want to be uplifting and positive; an optimist if you will. But I've finally come to the realization that I'm a glass-is-half-empty kind of person. To my chagrin, I think it's my natural tendency. My dad is the most optimistic person I know - always a positive spin, in spite of the odds (those of you who know him know that he's lovable in that way). And I thought I was more like him like that - I mean, as far as goofy faces go, I defnitely take after him, but not in the optimistim thing. Oh well - I guess I'm still working on it.

7. There are those who think watching TV is bad. I'm always in awe of those who don't own a tv. I couldn't do it. I love to unwind with a good show. DVR was the best invention ever! Some of my favorites are Heroes, Office, 30 Rock, House, Lost, Scrubs, Malcom in the Middle, Simpsons and Seinfeld. I have to limit myself y'know. Geez.

I don't think I'm qualified to tag anyone, but I still will - just a few. Lichelle said it should be within 7 days. If you don't, maybe you'll get a nasty cold. Jill B. (assuming you haven't had the baby today), Jessica J., and um, Carly L. Yeah, that should be enough. Sorry. Oh, and Sami too, maybe it will force you to make a blog.

PS - 8. I'm super long-winded, and anyone who knows me knows that is true. Sorry again.

Just had to post this...

I know, I have like 20 posts today, but I haven't blogged for a while. I just had to throw this one in. It's adorable.

And Cheesier still...

Lovin' Life - and that's no lie.

Check out this online magazine, brought to you by the talented Brooke, (she created it). It's way uplifting, inspiring and informative.

http://lovelifemagazine.blogspot.com/

I better get crackin'...

Out of the blue:

"Mom, I want you to go to the doctor and get a 'grill' baby so she can grow up and be my sister."

Yikes! He's been saying weird stuff like that, and I was really starting to wonder if he knows something I don't. But, upon further investigation - when I asked him why he wants a sister so bad, he exclaimed, "Because I want to tell nursery I have a sister!" I don't know what they're teaching him in there! :)

But whew! I dodged a bullet!

___________________

And another notable quote from B:

Katie- "Hey baby boy, come over here."

Ben- "I'm not a baby."

K- "Then what are you?"

B- "I'm a groon up kid."

Little goof ball. 3 going on 21, I guess.

Clarification...

No, Spence is not walking - he can just stand on his own now. I thought it was a milestone worth reporting, but I'm sorry for the confusion. The way he is standing does look like he's taking a step - but it's just unintentional camera trickery! :)

Spooky - Scary...? Happy Halloween!

Just posting a little Halloween cheer. As always with me, it's a little late, (and if you know me, you know that's true - sadly.) But I think it's worth the wait - just click on the collage to see it bigger, (for those inexperienced with collages). There are some pictures here from the ward Halloween party, our friends Bridget and Chad's Halloween party, and the actual day of Halloween, trick-or-treating and all. So, yes, we had a busy Halloween, and it sure was fun! Oh, and the clown face is courtesy of a Sunday afternoon with nothing to do - and he asked. "Spencer the girl" was at JoAnna's house on Halloween while making fleece ponchos for the kids, (all it takes is a scrap of fleece folks.) He really does look like a cute little girl.... :) Don't tell Doug I said that ... Well, too bad it's time to take down all the Halloween decorations. Ben was really into the whole thing this year - it was pretty fun. I know I'll have a Ninja Turtle all year though - he loved dressing up.

Ta Da!

Growing up so fast... Where does the time go? For real?

Crispity Crunchity Peanut Buttery Brownies... Or if you're a Minnesota native, you probably just know them as "BARS."

So, my amazing friend Brooke puts recipes on her blog all the time, and takes gorgeous pictures of her food to go with it, (if you know her, you know she is incredible at everything she does!). So, I'm pretty much trying to copy her, but I know that I don't have the skillz - so it's a pretty lame attempt. I'm not a great artsy photographer, and these don't look beautiful, but this recipe is quite tasty, so I thought I'd share. I got it from a lady at Doug's work - and it's super easy. I don't know the name of them, so I named them myself, (Butterfinger and Bart Simpson nostalgia?). When Brooke saw them, she said, "oh, so they're like, 5 pounds in a piece?." I debated on naming them that - but thought I should focus on it's good qualities... :) If you know the real name, please share.

1 brownie mix - Bake as directed in a 9 x 13 pan and let cool. (homemade will work great too.)

Spread a 7 oz. jar of marshmallow creme all over the top

then:

Melt 1-11.5 ounce bag o' milk chocolate chips,

and add 1 c. peanut butter;

stir until well blended - and add 3 cups of rice krispies.

Spread on top of marshmallow creme. Let the chocolate set.

In my opinion, they're actually better the next day, or just stick 'em in the fridge for a while until the melted chocolate gets harder. MMMMMM - delish!