Let the Countdown Begin

Today I starting counting down. Okay, so I have been counting down since the day Brigham left but can it be a countdown when I only had a vague ideal of when Brigham might return, sometime at the end of February beginning of March, and the dreaded possibility that the powers that be in the their very finite wisdom decide to extend his deployment? But now I know when he will return or at least a generally ideal, nothing is for sure in the military until it actually happens. Today the unit that is replacing Brigham's arrived. Tomorrow he starts training his replacement. Bags and trunks are being packed. Soon he will have to shave his beard and cut his hair and then home he comes. For those who might be wondering what Brigham looks like with a beard here's a picture:

Some important things to notice about the picture: the beard, the job he does for the military encourages him to grow one and he has been asked if he is Afghanie; he is wearing about 100 pounds of body armor and other equipment (good, I like to know my favorite body is well protected); skull cap (bad, I can't see how long his hair grown supposedly it is longer than I have ever seen it), M-16 slung casually at his side (good but I am glad that it does not come home with him), and most important, the wedding ring prominently displayed on the hand holding the helmet (I point this out because I am glad he is holding the helmet, he looks really funny wearing it since it is too small for his head, and I'm very possessive I am glad to see that my property.... umm, I mean husband.. is clearly tagged with ownership). In about 4 weeks I reclaim my dishwasher from the army!

Dress Up

So I finally dressed James in the Afghanie outfit Brigham bought him and took him to church. I think he looks dashing in his silver vest.

Mascara

In addition to loving lotion, James also loves makeup. Yes, makeup. This adds another level of difficulty for me to get ready in the morning. As soon as he hears me unzip the makeup bag, he is at my side trying to grab whatever he can from the bag. His personal favorite is mascara. He is also surprisingly good at snitching the mascara despite my best efforts and then I have to chase him around the house to get it back. Then he screams and cries at the top of his lungs until he can steal the mascara again! Now, if he just wanted the mascara to hold I would not have a problem with his taking it but he wants to unscrew the top and try to put it on.

This was James' first attempt at applying makeup. Being the good mother than I am I cleaned him up and then tried to teach him how to apply makeup properly.


James was a good sport but James refused to hold still so this was the best I could do. For a while I thought his "make over" cured him of this obsession with my makeup since he left it alone.



Over Christmas James rediscovered his love of makeup when he learned that lipstick, in addition to being face paint, makes an excellent medium to practice drawing. Luckily he contains his artistic expressions to the bathroom tile. Since returning from California James redoubled his efforts to get into the makeup. I have to hang my makeup from the dresser mirror to keep it out of his reach and today I found him trying to maneuver a chair up to the dresser. Luckily, his chair was too low to allow him to climb up. Unfortunately, he now throws full out tantrums when I take the mascara away from him or keep it out of his reach while getting ready. My solution: I bought him his own makeup! Just some clear lip gloss which I keep with my makeup and hand him when I get ready in the morning. Since I don't have to chase him around the house it now only takes me 5 minutes to ready instead of 30! And lip gloss is much easier to wash off.


I had forgotten, however, that I had a bottle of mascara in my gym bag which James found this morning while Anna and I dozed. I guess I should be happy that he did not poke his eye out or try applying the mascara to another surface. But it was waterproof mascara and I had just run out of eye makeup remover. Sigh. But he does have beautiful eyes.

Should I laugh or cry

James likes lotion. He likes having it rubbed onto his skin and he especially likes getting a dab of lotion on his own hands to rub together. He likes it so much that I have to keep all the lotion bottles as high up as I possibly can because if he does get his hands on a bottle he immediately twists off the top and starts pouring the lotion into his hands and onto the floor.

Today, when I went to get James up from his nap I noticed a very strong smell coming from his bedroom. Opening the door I found this:

That white substance is not lotion nor is it powder...it is Desitin (diaper rash ointment) which has a very strong odor. James apparently thought was lotion. I don't want to know how he got it so thoroughly all over himself .

Now Desitin's main purpose is to keep moisture away from the skin which means it does not wash off easily. In fact this stuff is near IMPOSSIBLE to remove. After TWO baths, washing his hair SIX times, and scrubbing his face and body with a wet washcloth and a dry one several times I finally got most of the Desitin off him. However, there is still a white film on his face and a residue in his hair making it very stiff.

Then there is the matter of his clothes. The jeans, thankfully, were Desitin-free after one wash. But his shirt, his cute new hoodie that his Aunt Lizzie gave him for Christmas and wore for the first time today, was still permeated with the ointment after three washes. It is now soaking in the sink overnight but I fear the hoodie is irretrievably ruined. The skin and clothes were not the only things that got lathered in Desitin. He also got it all over his sheets, several stuffed animals, and this...

Yup, that's right the carpet. Do you know how long I scrubbed at that carpet!? Did I mention that this stuff is IMPOSSIBLE to remove? I scrubbed and scrubbed and still it remains. Oh, and the primary ingredient is zinc oxide which apparently bleaches. We are definitely not getting our deposit back. But the worst part is that entire house still smells like Desitin.

On the bright side, Anna is still absolutely adorable

And James tried hard to make me feel better.
I do have to admit, when I first saw James walk out of the bedroom covered in white I had to laugh.

Chocolate Fast

A few years ago my sister, Liz, and I went on a chocolate fast for 6 weeks. Liz and I were roommates at the time and we thought it would be a good idea to help us kick our chocolate addiction. Of course we also planned to end our chocolate fast with a chocolate feast! The feast was amazing! We invited several friends to join us in our feast. Since our table was pathetic we moved it out of the way, put a tablecloth on the floor and had a picnic in the living room. The menu included chocolate fondue with fruit, cheesecake, cookie dough, cinnamon bears and more goodies to dip, we had a peanut soup and salad to help cleanse the palate and we finished off with a Skor cake it all its ooey, gooey goodness.

Now 3 1/2 later, I am going back on a chocolate fast because I definitely have a major chocolate addiction that sabotages my efforts to lose the rest of the baby weight. So from the time I get back to Utah on Friday until Brigham comes home I will be abstaining from chocolate. My reward should I succeed in this momentous undertaking is the pasta maker attachment for my kitchenaid, and if Brigham's return flight stops over in the right location, some European chocolates.

A few of my favorite things

For the last several years I have not bothered to set New Year’s resolutions. Since I have never accomplished one resolution that I have set to date, I see no reason to continue making resolutions that I know I will never fulfill. Oh, I have things that I want to accomplish like losing the rest of the baby weight, eating better, updating James’ baby book and starting one for Anna, running a half-marathon, learning how to make homemade raviolis and learning how to sew but these seem to be the resolutions I set every year. So this year I am only setting one resolution and I think I will accomplish it: to enjoy a few of my favorite things more.

Reading: Okay, so I really don’t need any encouragement to enjoy reading more but lately I have been feeling unsatisfied with my reading choices. Since I worked so hard for a master’s in Children’s Literature I try to stay abreast what is new and what books are considered the top contenders for the various awards and medals in young adult and children’s literature. Young adult novels are my favorite type of books to read. Before I had kids I used to go on a “search” through bookstores where I spent an hour or two wandering through the young adult section to find books that interested me. After writing down the titles I would try to find them at the library. But with two kids (one who loves to run through the bookstore tearing books off the shelves) searching for new books to read in this manner has not been a viable option so I rely on book reviews and book suggestions from a Children’s literature listserv. While many of the books I read this last year were great, unfortunately, I read too many in a row that I just did not like and now I am burned out on young adult novels. So I am recouping by reading a genre I have neglected until now: mystery. Since I am a newbie to mystery novels I started with the premiere mystery writer, Agatha Christie. So far I am enjoying her books greatly. After reading my fill of mystery novels I think I shall revisit some favorite classic novels and read a few new ones. And I will return to young adult novels with a new test to apply to books I find through book reviews and suggestions: if it is not a book I would normally chose during a “search” at a bookstore, don’t read it!

Running: I enjoy running and not only because it helps me stay (or return to being) fit. It does not matter how fast I run (or in my case, how slow), it does not matter if someone passes me, or how many miles I run. All that matters is that I do run and do the best I can on each run. There is also something gratifying about rhythm of running; the even strides hitting the pavement, the swing of the arms moving in pace to the legs, amazement that my body can actually run that far and most of all, the backdrop of the run, outside. I did not like running until I moved to Boston. As I ran along the Charles River and through the various parks, trails, and neighborhoods I fell in love with running through that city. I remember dragging myself out of bed too early on freezing Saturday mornings to meet Heidi at Harvard Square for our weekly long run along the Charles over the salt and pepper bridge through the Commons and Public Garden and back to Harvard on the other side of the river. I loved running down the Emerald Necklace or up the massive hill at Tufts to drop down through the quite streets of Medford. And I loved watching the seasons gradually change on my runs from the cold, barren winter, to the sudden blossoming of spring which hurriedly turned into a lush summer then transform into a vibrant autumn. I miss running Boston.

When I moved to Monterey, one of the first things I wanted to find was a new running partner and I was surprised how quickly I found one. While I missed running with Heidi (I still do), I loved this running partner so much that we agreed to be running partners for the rest of our lives. Running is how Brigham and I started dating. We had been on a date or two before we actually started running together but it was running that really got things moving. He would come to my apartment early on Saturday (I lived two blocks from the beach) and we would run along trail that followed the shoreline through Cannery Row, passed the aquarium to Lover’s Point and on to Asilomar State Park. Since I was trying hard to impress Brigham and he me, neither of us would admit that we were tired or wanted to stop so that 10 or 12 or even 15 miles would pass by before we arrived back at my apartment. Our mileage dropped drastically after we got engaged. In Boston and Monterey there was no such thing as a bad run, the run itself might not be good but the scenery was beautiful. I miss that running in Utah. The mountains are beautiful but I am not running through them; they just loom over there in the east usually not in my line of sight as I run through uniform blocks as I try to stay alert to oblivious drivers in my vicinity. So this year I want to find places to run with good scenery in Provo.

Cooking: I like reading cook books and cooking magazines. I like planning menus and making shopping lists. I even like going to the grocery store with two kids in tow. I love making and cooking new dishes especially complicated ones and I love eating them! I really want to learn how to make homemade pasta but after the back hurting work I experienced last year making raviolis I think I will wait on that until I can afford to buy the pasta maker attachment to my Kitchenaid. Since pasta making is on hold this year I think I will focus on learning how to cook authentic Middle Eastern food. I love the aromas of the spices and the bold flavors of this cuisine. A few days ago while I was running I remembered a Persian dish of baked apples stuffed with meat and herbs that I made a few years ago. Ohhh was it good! I need to find the recipe so I can make it again. It is so worth all the work and the expensive saffron.

James and Anna:



If I could, I would bottle the sound of James’ mischievous laugh mixed with the patter of his feet as his runs away that turns into a squeal of delight as I give chase because he has made off with my cell phone once again. I have tried recording it. I have tried videoing it. But nothing completely captures the sheer glee of it.


And next to that bottle of James’ laugh I would put Anna’s gurgling laugh and her sweet babble as she tries to tell me what she is thinking. Even at 3 months she has a lot to say. Then twenty years from now when my babies have left to start living their lives apart from me I will take down my jars and listen to the sound of pure unadulterated joy and remember why I love being their mother.

Brigham:


Brigham is definately my favorite husband, which is good since he is the only one I plan on having. This year I want to just enjoy being with Brigham. That should not be hard since he will actually be around this year! What I like most about being married to Brigham is that he makes my other favorite things even more pleasurable. I am looking forward to reading books with him and telling him about the books I am reading. I will get to fall in love with running with him all over again as we try to find running trails with good scenery (to be honest I am also soooo excited to have him push the double running stroller. James and Anna are heavy!) I want to make the stuffed apples for Brigham. I want to try to cook new recipes and old favorites for Brigham. I love cooking but it so much nicer to cook for someone who will appreciate my efforts instead of just throwing the food on the floor because he thinks its funny (toddlers!). And I will actually get to have a conversation with an adult during dinner. What a novel idea! Most of all, my favorite time of day will return. Around 4:30 or 5, James will start looking out the window, then laugh in delight when he sees his daddy turn onto our street. Then, while I cook dinner Brigham will play with James and Anna and once more I will hear the “daddy laugh” in my home. This is what I call James’ laugh when he is playing with his daddy. I would bottle several gallons of this laugh if I could. James’ mischievous laugh is delightful and joyous but it does not hold a candle to the daddy laugh. I also have a feeling that James’ daddy laugh will soon be mingled with Anna’s. Then when dinner is in the oven or simmering on the stove I will stand quietly in the doorway and just watch my darling children play with their equally darling daddy.