The New Bloggy Woggy

The art of exciting what can be utterly mundane.

Yes, I am talking about my bloggy woggy.

And yes, I am talking about my life too.

As a Mom it has become important for me to establish ROUTINE, and I have to tell ya, it gets nice and comfy all up here in our ol' routine. I am someone who has a hard time dealing with change, so having kids was apparently JUST THE TICKET because we do A LOT of the same things. EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.

Sometimes a girl has gotta throw in some CHANGE. (which is why I have started dance/exercise time every day immediately following lunch)......oh wait, I guess that means it's now a part of our routine. There is no escaping it. Every new day is a lot like the one that came before it. The trick is making it fun-times no matter what, right?

I have been reading a fantastic book by Stephen King called On Writing. I have never read anything else by Stephen King, but I am LOVING this book so much because (and here's some skuttlebutt for ya) I have been interested in sharpening my writing skills. I don't want to write books or anything, but I've wanted to find something I LOVE to do, and I wanted it to include creativity on some level. And because I am NO GOOD at drumming up something out of nothing (i.e. my pool of talents), I had to look into what I LIKE to do. And I do. I like to write. 

I have loads of things to say, but I am not organized enough to put all my thoughts out there. It is actually a lot harder than it seems. There are all sorts of fears and insecurities that can come up when one decides to write down ones true feelings even on a simple writing exercise. There are little voices that come into your head that say "are you sure you should write that down?" or "how would writing this down help anything, it's lame" or "do I need to put a comma there or is it a semi-colon?" There is so much to it, and I intend to learn about it. Mostly because it is something I enjoy. And one needs to fill ones life with things they enjoy.

Speaking of.....I enjoy my kids. Sometimes that enjoyment entails the scratching out of ones eyeballs with the nearest fireplace poker, but STILL. You gotta LOVE em' cause they got your DNA just coursin' right through em. (or in Dutch's case, just Kris's DNA, he doesn't look a thing like me).

As always, we will start with Sennah Joy.

Latest obsession: BUGS (even Spacemen has taken backseat to any creepy-crawly that comes her way). She LOVES potato bugs and snails. She LOVES to smash spiders and wasps. She LOVES to ask me about a hundred times a day about why bees die and where they sleep and if they have noses and why they don't wear shoes and the list goes on. There is something about bees that is absolutely fascinating to her, and I think it stems from an episode of The Kratt Brothers on PBS, but I am not entirely sure.

She even has a little collection she loves to lay out on her art easel tray to admire.

She would want you all to know that Pickles, her fly with the glowy wings, is not pictured here. When I showed her that I took a couple pics of her bugs on my camera, she immediately walked over to the tray and said "Hey, where's Pickles?"--lo and behold, Dutch had taken Pickles over to the coffee table. I can NOT begin to tell you how quick Sennah was to telling Dutch he was NOT allowed to play with her bugs. "They will make you choke and die Dutch" 

Sennah has a hard-time coping with the loss of anything she deems HERS. I have attached this video of her coming to terms (or not) with the death of the six potato bugs she collected and kept in a jar for a few weeks. 

 

I would like to say this video was shot first thing in the morning and that's why we're all lookin' so great, but it was actually shot on a Saturday afternoon. Nothing better than leisuring it up for an entire Saturday....or any other day of the week in my case.

DUTCH is doing swell. I took him to his one-year appointment today (a couple weeks after the fact but oh well). I was shocked to find that he is in the 13th percentile for weight. Just a light lil guy at 20.5 lbs. He feels heavy, but then I remembered I am just really wimpy.

There is so much to love about Dutch, but today I would like to focus on his hands and feet. To me, his hands are the bees-knees of baby hands and his feet are SOOOOOO Jimmy and Dean but SOOOO funny and cute in a way only a mother could love.

He does have toenails, you'd just never know it cause they always curl under in this really awkward sort of way. His second toe is actually longer than his big toe. See what I mean about a mothers love??

Here's a fun video thrown in for good measure. Oh the disheveldness of my little ones! 

  

Love ma' kids. Love ma' mundane life. How could I not?

To wrap things up, I have decided to post a few pics of my hair.

Did you know back in 1979 my parents were almost certain I would be born a boy? It's true. They had my name all picked out too. Tyler Bradford Powell. If I had been a boy I would have looked just like this, I suppose. Hopefully a little stockier. (note Dutch's feet--toenail proof is all)

I thought the bathroom light would be better....boy was I mistaken....but it gives a better side-shot.

Trying to get my camera out of the shot....can't win!

 

Hey, I'm no Michelle Williams but you can go ahead and call me Tyler Bradford.

KRIS is fantastic by the way! Always dreaming up something new and then googling all the information he possibly can about whatever that "something" is at the moment. Ya gotta love him. I know, I do.

Good day to ya!

It ain't my first rodeo.

A post about my son, Dutch Lavon Powell, and his 1st Birthday.

(photo taken Dec 2011--to date this is my favorite photo of him)

Apologies in advance...this post contains a LOT of pictures, but I wanted to make sure we had everything documented to the hilt. 

A little background to begin:

Sometimes I like to boss Kris.

When I boss him with directions for things he has done a million times, such as, "Kris will you lay Dutch down for the night and make sure you turn on the noise and give him his little elephant and cover him up really good?" He will kindly turn to me and say, "It ain't my first rodeo T."

And so we begin.

April 21, 2012, at 8:00 a.m., I crack out the camera for the traditional birthday morning video....didn't turn out exactly as I'd hoped. (It's super dark, I apologize) 

 

Upon waking, Sennah immediately asks for and donns her party hat. An absolute nessessity for getting the festivities started! Dutch seems ELATED with all the buzz.

Birthdeeeeee breakfast is fun when dangley crepe paper, a homemade sign, and creative streamer-on-chair decor is involved. Fantastic job there Mom!! (The sad fact is you have work with what ya got in the creativity department) 

I went all gourmet on him with the blackberries, eggs, and toast--he usually gets a kids Cliff bar and a tray full of Cheerios. Get used to getting the special treatment for your b-day lil' budski.

Wait....hold-up...yer forgettin' a birthday essential! The homemade party hat!!!

Did I mention how it ain't my first rodeo on this 1st birthday party plannin'??.. had it in THE BAG! 

And as you can see....he's thrilled about it!

What this birthday needed next was a little jaunt to Cat Tales--Spokanes finest Zoological Park and Training Center.

Please note I use the word finest very loosely.

The birthday-celebratin' Powells were ready and rearin' to be WOWED by Cat Tales. Just look at us....excited as all get out.

We definitely saw us some CATS!! A lot of big, scary cats. You could even pay extra to feed them giant chunks of meat on the end of a plastic poker. We didn't.

We also saw one smallish-bobcat, which Kris was OBSESSED with, and a blobby black bear.

I didn't snap any pics of the bobcat and while scrolling through the camera afterward Kris was crestfallen to find there wasn't a documented memory of his favorite one at the place. My reply? What in the world was so cool about that bobcat? Him: His short tail. 

HIS.SHORT.TAIL!!!!!

Moving on.

Big Cats.

Blobby black bear

So how did Cat Tales fare in the WOW department when all was said and done??

Kris? Wowed by the bobcat, of course, as well as the size of the white tigers teeth but that was about it for him.

Sennah? Wowed by the stray, mangey house cat that was wandering around the place. Kept beggin me to let her pet it until she saw it hiss and scratch at a little boy who was softly petting its' ears. After that she kept requesting to see the snakes....which there weren't any cause the place only has CATS and the blobby bear. Fun times!

And Dutch? Well you can see his wow in the pic below as we were exiting the finest zoological park and training facility.

 

I feel like if he could have talked through his feelings about CAT TALES, he would have let me know that we didn't have to go there again.

We were in and out of there in about 35 minutes, and it would have been even faster if Kris hadn't insisted on reading and what I feel could be classified as, full-on, PONDERING at the info plaque in front of the bobcat cage!

Also, at one of the tiger cages he lingered for SO long asking the employee (who was a MAJOR cat enthusiast) all sorts of questions about the tigers' diet, the tigers' weight, the tigers' this, that, and the other.....oh my word!!!...Sen and I were just about to blow our tops off.

What drives me crazy about him is what, all too often, is SO extremely endearing about him. He is seriously THE BEST dad! (Love ya Honey!)

After CAT TALES and the lethargy that ensued for poor lil Dutch...

we needed to go home, and do cake and ice cream. Really shake things up.

And because it ain't my first, first-birthday rodeo--it turned out exactly as I hoped it would.

Sennah was SOOOO impatient to get eating the cake.

You should have seen the fit she threw when we tried to put the cake up to Dutch with the candle lit...this is him looking at her having a melt down about it...

She was not ABOUT ready to stand by and watch us put that flame anywhere near him.

OH THE JOYS!!!!

When Sen turned one, I could barely get her to lick the frosting.

Dutch was a different story.

It was awesome! He dove right in and didn't stop. I was ecstatic--I really wanted a successful cake smash. 

Can I just tell you how much I love my son? Cause I do. I really, really do. It hardly seems sufficient to say it like that, but oh well. I can't find better words....other than those.

I.LOVE.HIM

(taken April 2012, my second favorite photo)

Happy Birthday Dutch!  Thank you for allowing us a 2nd rodeo--you make our lives sweeter.

A certain kind of sweetness.

I feel like there is SO much to tell. I don't even know where to begin.

Those of you who are regulars here at the bloggy woggy know that my Mom came for one whole week. It felt like two days, tops. It FLEW by. It was cold and rainy almost the whole time she was here, so we decided next year we are going to go somewhere warm to enjoy SPRINGTIME for Spring break--cause Spring in Spokane is NOT Spring. It's BLAH....sorry Spokane, but it's true.

Conference and Easter came and went. We LOVED both. That Uchdorf, man, he really knows how to deliver a great talk. I have listened to it a few times since and it keeps getting better and better.

Kind of a sad but true story......

I really wanted to drive-home the TRUE meaning of Easter to Sen this year, so I got on YOUTUBE, of course! I thought it would be nice to find an animated Easter story and have her watch it and then talk about it afterward. Cause that's what ya do, right? Naturally turn to YOUTUBE?

Anyway, I found one that seemed really great and left her to watch (it was eight minutes long). I went up to the kitchen to sweep and clean counters. (This is where I could punch myself in the face for thinking I need to go get something done all the time--I really bug!) Well, time got away from me, and before I knew it she was just clicking around on good ol' YOUTUBE. 

Mother of the Year--go ahead and pin the ribbon on me right now because this is what I found her watching. 

I am a horrible mother

p.s. If you don't dare to click on the link, I will tell you it's basically clips from The Passion of the Christ set to music. 

I don't want to post the actual video for fear of what picture will show up....just know it was AWFUL for a three year old to see. She kept telling people at church that Jesus was all red and he died and that there were mean guys. I felt SO bad.

When I showed Kris the video he was horrified and said..."turn it off, turn it off NOW."

I don't think Sen will EVER forget why we celebrate Easter--poor child! Point-driven!

Lesson-learned:  STAY seated by kids while you rely on YOUTUBE to teach them something YOU should teach them yourself! 

(If you are judging me right now...think of Uchdorf's talk and just go ahead and STOP IT!)

We are excitedly preparing for Dutch's first birthday. I can't believe it is only five days away!

I have been getting very sentimental every time I look at him--he is getting SO big. He looks little boyish now--NO BABY BOY there anymore. Some of it may have to do with his giant teeth, though, he has got some choppers.

He took his first steps last week. They were sweet and shaky. Arms were out. Smiles were HUGE. My sister got a video on her phone. I was so proud of him. We hadn't worked with him at all on walking cause he hasn't seemed interested. And then he just did it on his own. Surprised the heck outta me and made me so happy and so sad...and SO happy again! He hasn't tried it again since.

I did get my hair cut. It is super short. Just like I wanted, right?

Well I keep having to reassure myself that the person looking back at me in the mirror is ME...not the twelve year old boy (with highlights) I think it is. I guess I didn't I pull it off like I hoped I would. 

One of these days I will post a pic if I have a really great hair day...AND I have make-up on AND I have earrings in....the likelihood of all these things happening at once is really SLIM though, so don't get hopes up and flying.

Here are some of my favorite pics from Easter Sunday. I could kick myself cause I didn't get any of the kids with my MOM....I'M LAME SAUCE!!

Sennah's basket was just what you'd expect: chuck-full of the finest junk toys that Target had to offer us. 

We don't know Dutch's toy preferences as well cause he is content playing with the bottle of childrens Tylenol in one hand and clutching a bouncy ball in the other hand, so we decided to go with a phone that has music-ey buttons to push (he is obsessed with remotes, so I knew he would love the buttons). 

Both kids were tickled as can be with what the Easter Bunny had picked out--I told Sennah he must know Target like the back of his hand cause he got her EVERYTHING she had been eyeing for weeks.

I like that when he holds it up to his ear he says "HA"

I really LOVE this picture even though Sen is just trying to butter Dutch up to get him to let her play with his new phone....it still looks sweet though. That right hand of hers is just seconds away from tearing it out of his hot little hands.

My sister, who is a holiday do-er extraordinaire, got my kids their Easter outfits this year. They were matchy-matchy with the ones she got for her kids, so we decided to have a little photoshoot. Thank You Stef, for being SO great and wanting everyone to feel the magic of every holiday under the sun.

(And, yes, Megs there still isn't a day goes by I don't long for your hair-do skills--I can clip a barrette like nobody's business though--see below)

No hair-do skills necessary for this handsome little feller. We BOTH got lucky there.

All the kids in their Easter outfitted glory...ya gotta love this time of year!

The sweetest part of this Easter wasn't the candy, though, it was being with these yay-hoots and knowing how blessed I am to be a part of their lives in such an enormously gratifying way.

Hope your Easter was a delight as well. 

Good day to ya!

The Otis Skuttlebutt

A bit of history for ya.

For a semester in college I worked for a dentist named Dr. Jones. He used to come into the office each morning and cheerily shout to the staff, "Hellooooo Ladies, what's the skuttlebutt?" I would quickly scamper back to the comforts of a tiny file room to which I was confined for the four hours I spent there during the day to avoid having to say an answer to Dr. J. 

It took me exactly three weeks to work up the courage to ask what the word "skuttlebutt" meant.

And, of course, I will always remember his terse response, "Gossip, good news, general goings on.".....DERRRRRR, so it wasn't some sort of dental health term I hadn't heard of before then??

Since I abhor not being in "the know" when working in a close knit office I was thrilled to now know and freely answer his morning scuttlebutt questionings. As you can tell those were riveting times for me.

End of history, now on to present day.

Sometimes I'll say to Sen, "Hey you, what's the skuttlebutt?" I like that she responds with her universal response to everything, "Feel good". Cause what is skuttlebutt if it isn't 'feel good' right?

If Dr. Jones were to drive up here to Otis and waltz into our home cheerily asking what the skuttlebutt was, here's a little of what I would tell him.

I am getting my haircut like this girl Dr. Jones.

The question of whether or not I can pull it off is still up in the air (and since Dr. Jones was really diggin' the asian girls with long, flowey, black hair I think he would shrug his shoulders indifferently).

Oh, Dr Jones!

Kris is still losing weight like crazy. He is reading a new book right now and is convinced he still has like 20 more pounds to lose, so I am pretty much planning on him looking like this by June.

Don't worry Dr. Jones, I am teasing. A little.

One other thing about Kris. He is having a HEY-DAY trying to shoot all the returning marmots with his blow-dart gun. Even Sen is in on it and bids him good luck before he heads out saying, "Make sure you shoot em' Dad." I don't think we're grooming a future animal rights activist here Dr. J.

I'd like you to meet my daughter Dr. Jones. She likes chocolate milk and junk toys. Two weeks ago I enrolled her in the Kiwi Crate kit of the month deal thingy. Yesterday we got our first box of projects in the mail.

It was a real hit. We learned about wind power and constructed wind cars. And I didn't have to use an ounce of creativity I don't possess anyway. ACES!!...absolute aces, Dr J.

The second project is making a wind sock with really pretty ribbons that they supplied us with! Don't you just love pretty ribbons, Dr Jones?

My son is Dutch, Dr. J. He likes being held and likes screaming when he isn't being held. But LOOK, just LOOK at his new thing. 

 

Does he melt you too, Dr. Jones? 

Oh, the breast pump in the background? Yes, I still pump. While I am not high on creativity, I do have breast milk up the yin-yang. It basically evens out. Not really though.

Aren't you glad I am now in "the know" about what skuttlebutt means?

I know these kids are.

 Good day to ya! 

Just felt like sharing.

Last night Kris and I watched the documentary Being Elmo.

I loved it. I was SO inspired by Kevin Clash. The passion. The perseverence to do what you love.

Well....and it kind of pulls at the heartstrings.

 

Tomorrow Dutch turns 11 months old. My baby boy is almost one. Is it strange that my heart kinda aches over it? It's just that time passes by so fast and sometimes I just don't feel ready for my kids to get older.....and then sometimes when they wake up in the middle of the night for no apparent reason and refuse to go back to sleep I kinda do feel ready for them to be older. Is that bad?

A couple years ago I posted a Coca Cola commercial that I just loved entitled We are here to be happy. I went searching for it again the other day and came upon a new one that I thought worth sharing.

 

Warms the heart and makes you thankful for all the people in life that add depth and richness. I wish my grandpa's were still alive, I'd really love Sen & Dutch to meet them and love them the way I did.

My Dad tells the story of how my Grandpa Rex (his father) was living with us during the time he was going through chemotherapy. I was two. He was sick and weak and always tired. I would go to his bedside and beg him to play with me and my Baby Beans. He would ALWAYS oblige, no matter how crappy he was feeling. He spent time with me. I remember holding his hand. And I remember he would cover his legs with an orange blanket. I miss that. I wish he could hold Sen's hand.

Today starts the ten day countdown to my Mom's arrival. Can NOT wait to have her here and share conversation and have her hold my kids and show them love. Plus, I enjoy having something to look forward to. We are all going to see The Hunger Games while she is here. Kris just completed it and has finally joined the band-wagon. YAHOO! I hope it lives up to all our expectations.

One last inspiring video I found on YouTube a while back. I just love it. I just do.

 

Hope you liked it too. You can't go wrong with Josh Groban. If a Josh song doesn't tug at the heartstrings then you must be have a heart of stone.

Good day to ya!

 

Hung: Version 2.0

Sometimes I get dramatic.

Like this past weekend.

Dutch was SUPER fussy. He was waking up during the night a lot. And he did get a slight fever too.

So in creeps the Powell Paranoia. Of course I tried to control it. If my kids so much as sneeze I want to jump on the horn to the Dr's office and make them an appointment as soon as they can be fit in. I DON'T actually do it....but I WANT TO. 

Let's rewind a little bit to my late teens and early adulthood, so you can better understand the story I am trying to tell.

I have been humiliated so many times by visiting the Dr. absolutely convinced that something is wrong with me (health wise!!!!--not mental health wise) only to be told that I must just have a virus and that it will pass soon.

My brother says I have "the curse of the Hung".  

It all began about 16 years ago when our family started visiting a new family Dr.. I can't remember the actual name of the Dr. we were supposed to see because we never actually saw that Dr. We were always directed to see the interning Dr, whose name was?? You guessed it, Dr. Hung Gee.   (Gee pronounced J-ee)

I swear on all that is good and holy this man must have been convinced that I had some secret, stalker-like, teenage crush on him. And in my defense....I didn't. 

Why would Dr. Hung think that I might have had a crush??  

Well because I had this nasty little habit (called paranoia) of visiting the Dr. when I felt sick even when it was just a little sick. I liked to know what the problem was and be able to fix it as soon as possible. My Dad is the same way-it must have trickled down.

Incidentally this led to a lot of appointments where Hung had to pass along his, 95% of the time consisent, diagnosis: A virus.

That's what I always had. 

Jay, my little brother, used to tease me after my Dr. appointments asking me if I felt I needed to, "HUNG my head in shame" for taking up his time when there were actually sick people that needed to be seen.  

Jay also liked to call my walk from the Dr.'s office to the car..."the HUNG of shame." Because nothing was EVER wrong with me, but I could have sworn there was! That's the thing...I could have sworn.

Anyway, yesterday I took Dutch to the Dr. CONVINCED he had an ear infection. He had even developed a rash on Sunday....OH.MY.WORD...this boy needed a Dr. visit like nobody's business!!!

And in walks Dr. Shen. I give her the entire shpeel. She checks him out. I sit there and prepare myself for THE WORST!!! Double ear infection? Blisters on the throat?? 

Just tell me straight up Dr Shen, what's the diagnosis?

Ears are FINE. Throat looks good. Rash....probably caused by a slight fever and will pass soon!!!

It's HUNG GEE all over again but with my kids. The old Hung = New Shen.

So Dutch and I walked from the office to the car "HUNGING our heads in SHEN"

I just looked at him, forlornly, and said, "Sorry little buddy cause you, me, and SHEN have a LOT of years ahead of us."

Horse house

The other night we were getting the kids ready for bed and Sennah was being an insuufferable spaz just a little too close to Dutch. He got bugged and started to cry, OF COURSE!

And that's when Kris impatiently shouted at her, "Sennah! No! Stop, horse-house....ing around him!"

A mix of horsing-around and ruff-housing.

It was really funny. I laughed and laughed. And then Sennah thought it was okay to turn on the SPAZ even higher, which then led to me shouting about how we are serious about her being more careful, which led to Sennah bursting out in tears and then Dutch seeing that she was crying and breaking down himself.

YAY ME!! A teaching moment isn't complete until everyone is crying about something, right?

But the word horse-housing??? even though it was an accidental word....It's funny, right?

Or is it that have I reached a certain level of my particularly introverted experience in motherhood where I'm unable to connect to genuine humor because I continually have the theme song of Spongebob Squarepants running through my head? 

Horse-house.....it's funny. 

I can't tell you how excited I am that March is here. My Mom comes for a visit at the end of the month. My sister has us all scheduled for 80-minute massages and a full-blown girls day when she gets here, so I am pretty-much counting down the seconds.

Here is a little update on our recent horse-housing....(it's a funny yet multi-purpose word as well)

Kris:

Has lost 19 lbs on Isagenix. He eats salad now and enjoys it...even with NO RANCH!! His recent obsession is looking for new cars online and talking about the impending death of my white 1999 Nissan Sentra--LIMITED EDITION (I threw that in for you Dad--I know how you like me to include that in the description). **Its not going to die, though, as bad as he wants it to, it won't and I kind of love that about it.**

He has a renewed love for hooded sweatshirts. Bummed that church basketball is over *Hoorays all around from me*....Loves to talk about all the camping we're going to do this summer but then not follow up with actually booking reservations for all that camping....so we'll see how it goes.

We both have a new found love for shows about food. Pitmasters is our favorite one right now. Kris even made his own marinade concoction and everything. I love a good T.V. phase.

Little ol' me:

I am still just loads of fun....full of charming personality....winning the hearts of all those I come in contact with.

Just kidding.

Still a battle-axe who has a hard time showering on days I know I won't be going out. I brush my teeth regardless, though, so dental hygiene is obviously something I take very serious. 

We've still got a couple more days on Isagenix but I've lost 10 lbs so far and I think that is where I'll stay. I'm exercising more due to the recent purchase of a treadmill and t.v. mounted on the wall right in front of it....so, all thanks go to Gossip Girl for keeping me walking for 42 whole minutes a day....(and cursing under my breath about how unrealistic the storylines are and how annoying and whiny Serena can be). But still I exercise....I strap on my tenny's and sports bra and I slowly walk up that incline and THAT IS PROGRESS for me!

I like to talk about our summer trip to Utah and how I have hopes and dreams of seeing old friends and spending quality time with family while simultaneously visiting all the places we miss seeing, eating at, going to, etc. I don't talk about or plan for the summer camping trips as much....cause we all know that's not really my cup of tea.

Still slowly pluggin' on the old BofM....oh, 2nd Nephi....why are you so close to the beginning???

Sennah Joy & Doozy Roozy:

Doing fantastic.

Sennah loves gymnastics and Sunbeams so much. I think its because she finally gets to socialize with someone other than me. (But, why? I am so fun)

She never stops talking, pretending, or finding joy and entertainment in the crappiest of crap toys....so that saves us a LOT of money. Why buy her a $15 Tangled doll when the lizards she won at Chuck e Cheese six months ago will keep her happy for at least a week until she cycles back to some old Happy Meal toys. I kid you not this child has NO CLUE about the fun toys she misses out on.

Dutch is getting his top teeth. I feel like they are the hardest and most painful because, just like Sennahs', Dutchs' teeth are HUGE. Kris and I have huge teeth....it's all our fault really.

I don't have a lot of positive things to say about teething. I will say that Dutch is champion at still being a good sport even though you can tell he's had better days.

I've started this new tradition that Dutch likes a lot. After we all eat lunch we have "exercise time" where I turn on the Kidz Bop station on Pandora and we dance around and pretend to be animals and basically run amok in an effort to get tuckered out for afternoon nap. He loves when I hold him and dance around doing a lot of spins.....I love it because he holds me so tight and his little hands just white-knuckle grip my shirt.  He laughs and laughs, and there is nothing better than hearing your own kids laugh. Am I right or am I right?

He eats and eats and eats. He loves pastel marshamallows (just like me) and cheerios and all other snack items you can think of. He also loves mac n cheese and grilled cheese sandwiches dipped in tomato soup. He will eat anything that is cut up and set in front of him. A mini Kris...only Dutch would eat tomato's.

He bonks his head a lot. He is always thinking he can do more than he can do. I can't tell you how much I love having a boy. I just do. There is something SO great about having a tough-little brute around to bulldoze his big sister.

It has been snowing a lot lately. Not my favorite. But it's fun for Sen to beg me to get her dressed for playing in the snow, only to come back inside after 4-5 minutes complaining of cold hands.

She and I went out to play a couple weeks back.

Kris was there to document the facts before him: My wife can be fun. My wife can be spontaneous.

Even Sennah is shocked.

That's right--your seeing my brief stint with spontanaity...throwing snowballs even!

And it doesn't end there folks. Because what came next shocked even me.

That's right....a SNOWMAN!! And I was wearing jeans my friends--the whole time! They were soaking wet at the end too. I never cease to amaze me.

This snowman & Sennah were witness to the TyAnna Lee Powell "excitement toward a goal" life-cycle, from its happy as a clam beginnings to its cold, bitter ending where Sennah stomped up the front steps in tears telling me how I was no longer her friend.

But do you want to know who was my friend? This guy!

Sennah felt left out so she came back to the worksite and said "Let's be friends again Mom"

We both agreed that SLEE-SLAW (the snowman) was owed a sincere apology from her for repeatedly knocking his head off....which led to me shouting....which led to her stomping off....which led to the fizzling out of my goal for building the perfect snowman. 

Before heading in for hot chocolate Sennah decided to pass along some words of wisdom to SLEE SLAW. I wasn't close enough to hear the deets, but I do know that she was rattling on and she did mention Spongebob.

We were friends just in time for hot cocoa too. *Sidenote to Megs* Sennah still loves your dark chocolate-peppermint stirring sticks as you can see.

Let's end with a lil' love from the Roozy and his adorable cousin Nolan.......oh, and Sen couldn't bear to be left out of a single thing.

  

 

Hazy Days & Hunger Pangs

I feel bad about this, but I have never particularly cared for the month of February.

Oh sure, back in the olden days if/when I had a boyfriend and February 14th rolled around it was always fun to "celebrate love" and do something really sweet that maybe involved writing a rhymey-poem about all the little quirks that made me want him to be my boyfriend in the first place, but those days are long gone.

I'm an old battle-axe now.

February is cold. It is grey. As the mother of two little ones it means LONG days filled with PBS kids and scraping the bottom of my creativity barrel for inside activities that don't make me want to poke my eyeballs out with assorted colors of pipecleaner.

We do a LOT of pretending. Sennah insists on different voices for each of the different characters that she assigns Dutch or I to be. This morning I was assigned to be the Good Fairy that comes down and turns Little Bunny Foo-Foo into a goon.....only she wanted to be a baby bird named Too-Too and she wanted the field mice to be worms and then she wanted me to pretend to have a pirates patch over my eye and talk in the pirate voice while singing that she isn't to pick up the ground-worms and bopp' em on the head.

What I am trying to say is that I am dangerously close to getting into the craft cupboard and using that entire wad of pipecleaner just to repeatedly poke at my eyeballs. I NEED A WARM, SUNNY DAY! I need to visit Utah. I miss it.

Let's review what keeps me muddling through these hazy winter days.

*Season 2 - Downton Abbey. LOVE it SO much.

*Season 3 & 4 - Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory--love Rob Dyrdek to bits and pieces. If someone ever asks me, "If you could spend the day with any famous person, who would it be?" --My answer will definitely always be, "Rob Dyrdek, of course"....and if he is busy and can't see me, then Ellen Degeneres is next.

One of my favorite episodes. Warning: contains a couple of swear bleeps 

    

*My hopes and dreams of walking (eventually slowly jogging) on our new treadmill!!

(This is basically what it will be like when I actually start exercising again...only no Dr. will be present to keep me from keeling over).

*My hopes and dreams of Isagenix making me feel fantastic. At present I am on Day 3 and currently longing for and salivating at every piece of processed, fattening, unhealty food I lay my eyes upon.

(my mouth just watered upon posting this image)

*Reading the weekly Bachelor recaps on this blog Ihategreenbeans. She makes me laugh and laugh.

Ben has really taken a turn for the douche (Megs) this season....and I had such high hopes for him. When will I ever learn?

*Whenever Kris gets home from work. It's one of the brightest moments of my day. Really kicks my muddling in to high gear. Love him so much.

*Whenever I can get both kids down for naps at the same time. It's so rare and so wonderful. And so rare.

When it actually happens it is so awesome I hardly know what to do first (today I chose blogging)....did I mention it was rare?

*Reading the BofM--even though I am at a pretty draggy part I continue to plow forth. This image pretty much describes how reading it has been for me some days.

And last, but not least, MY KIDS! They are the #1 reason I keep a really consistent day to day muddling going on. 

Of course I am going to include some favorite recent pics-did you even have to wonder?

One day I felt like being a "fun" mom, so I decided to let Sen paint with the paints we got her for Christmas....she really LOVED every second of it. I just held my breath and prayed for semi-easy clean-up.

 

I take a lot of pictures of Dutch eating--because that is pretty much his favorite thing to do right now.

He eats by the fistful....yet remains fiercely loyal to gripping that ball and looking exactly like his Dad.

Loves crawling up and down the stairs.

He is such a handsome boy....even with his whine-face. 

When we were little my Mom always used to wipe our faces and say "I love your mug"--I say it to my kids now whenever they have really messy faces.

(Sen's old bib on Dutch--he has a pink one that says Biker Chick too).

How could you not love these mugs, right Mom?

To conclude this post I want to dedicate this poem to Kris....because even though I am an old battle-axey wife, I can still write a poem to beat the band....

You like to buy socks and basketball shorts--I like to buy shirts and shoes.

You call me every day around noon to give me your latest work news.

You always choose The Office to watch and I always start to complain.

Then I end up watching with you, just grateful you keep me sane.

You asked for my hand at the local carwash, it always makes me smile.

To think of you down on one knee in the cold, I really liked your style.

We are coming upon our 7th year, and it feels just like the first.

You are still as hot as can be, while my looks are at their worst.

But that is what's really great about you, you love me through it all.

Even though (sometimes) it looks like from under a mossy, stinky rock I've crawled.

So this is my heartfelt ode to you....Kristopher Lavon.

Laugh with me til' the end of time at things like Big Black's man-pon.

Happy Valentines Day Honey!

Love, 

Your mossy battle-axe

 

I really should hop in the shower.

But I just can't bring myself to do it.

It's snowing today. My sister and her kids and MY MOM are on vacation in Hawaii. 

OF COURSE I am happy for them.....I just wish they were all here with us in the icy-cold of Spokane. 

This post is going to be random, spotty, here and there, it might not make sense.  I've decided to just type what comes to mind.

Dutch is crawling. His knees are always red. He is pretty pleased with himself.

I have recently taken an interest in the art of LETTERPRESS. Yesterday I decided to myself, "I am going to start researching LETTERPRESS, so I can buy one and make my own notecards, stationary, invites, etc."....I went straight to GOOGLE in hopes of making my dream a reality.

Then I got overwhelmed and decided to have Kris do all the research for me. Then I felt depressed because I really want to LOVE something SO MUCH that I become really good at it and can feel pride in my ability to do something other than change a bum and put in pigtails. 

And then it took all of about ten minutes for me to feel excited and inspired by LETTERPRESS straight to, "ehhh, maybe Kris can look into it for me...i need to go put the whites in the washer and sweep the kitchen floor."

I want to know how some MOMS can do it all. Clean house. Prepare dinner. Care for kids. Take time to nuture passions and hobbies. Read books. Run errands. Pay Bills. Run their own businesses and/or have jobs. 

My goal each day? HOP IN THE SHOWER. My sights are obviously set about a mile below the bar.

I think sometimes I just want something that is mine. Something I do that I can do on my own and get good at on my own. I want to make things that are lovely. But I haven't the time. 

And then I think of this quote I saw a while back.

You just have to DO the damn thing!!! Sorry for the curse, but it makes me SO irritated at myself. 

Speaking of me. I am going to do ISAGENIX. The nutritional cleanse. I have been going back and forth about it for MONTHS and MONTHS. But I decided recently that I am going to start in February.

I have actually been listening to podcasts every night and really psyching myself out about it. I even ordered this to put by my bed.

I saw this on a friends blog and LOVED it.

I lack confidence in my ability to NOT eat junkfood, thus the need to try and psych myself up for this nutritional cleanse. 

My lack of confidence mixed with my lack of motivation for exercising is what has kept me from doing it. Plus, its kind of expensive and I want to make sure if we're spending the money that I am 100% committed to seeing it through.

Anyway.....this has turned into babbling. But sometimes I just have to babble to the blog.

Also, I have actually been sticking to my new years goal to read the BofM. I have that. I should be happy that I have that.

Sennah is SO obsessed with SpongeBob and its not cute anymore.  Everything is Squidward this and Mr.Krabs that.....and Sandy, and Gary...and "Mom who is your favorite on Spongebob?"....to which she replies before I even get a chance to speak, "My favorite is Patrick, but I like Spongebob too, and I like Sandy cause she's a girl and can I watch Spongebob Mom?"

At times I feel like I might highly dislike Spongebob.

Something positive now......Sennah has started sharing a lot more with Dutch. She is taking him under her really possessive wing and showing him all sorts of attention and its sweet.  

Kris is GREAT. As always. He will be cleansing with me....a sort of support system, I suppose. 

Wish us luck. Seriously. We need it. 

Dutch got a haircut last Sunday. I kinda love it even though, to me, he looks like such a big boy now. Which kind of makes me feel sad and long-ey for the new baby days again. Love his dopey little right ear (he got that from me--sennah gets my crooked pinkies and dutch, my dopey ear....these kids hit the gene-pool jackpot, wouldn't you say?)

My kids look alike. This picture certainly proves that point.

Sennah continues with her mildly OCD tendencies. She is consistent, if nothing else.

She took this picture of Dutch and I love it.

And to end this incredibly boring rant....I leave you with a quote I wish I had come up with I found on the blog of a friend. It is so true.

We just gotta keep walking--hopefully we have some really cute galoshes though.

 

 

The assessment.

Every New Year it comes around like clockwork.

There is something about January 1st that makes me reflect on EVERYTHING in my life that needs improvement or that has needed improvement since I was in the 8th grade rather...

My body. My sleep. My spirit. My mind. My attitude. My words. It all needs work.

It's very overwhelming how inadequate the assessment can leave me feeling about the job I do. I could work until I am blue in the face and it seems that I am NEVER happy with how I do it. 

But this year I was resolved to look at things differently.

Do I want to be skinny and fit? Yes I do. Very much. Do I want to get more sleep and wake up singing happy tunes and whistling while I work? You bet.

I want it all. I want happiness and health and wealth and the whole kit n' kaboodle. I could drown in it, I want it so bad.

But 2012 has me wanting one thing more than anything else. I want to be a patient mom.

I want to really dial it up in the motherly-patience skills department.

To do this, I realized I needed one very specific presence--GOD.

So this year I am going to make a concious effort to invite him into my life every single day.

And that is it.

Pray daily to ask for help. Read the Book of Mormon daily. 

It seems like I should have already been doing this, I know. But I wasn't doing it at all. 

And now I am excited at the prospect of having the additional comfort I believe it will provide me. I haven't read the Book of Mormon in over ten years and I really thought I didn't need to...I thought that it wasn't a necessary thing for me to do.

I am pretty certain I was wrong. 

It is simple. It is satisfying. And I believe at next years assessment I will have some smiling to do.

Here are some recent favorite pictures of mine. Hope you like them too.

I have been waiting for the day when they could finally get in the tub together--makes life a little easier.

"Look Mom--S, like SENNAH JOY POWELL"--she loves to say her full name.

He loves his Clifford dog...especially when Sen is not tearing it out of his hands and saying its hers.

Playing with my camera in Dutch's room-I got this shot and loved the lighting....her chappy lips and too-long bangs make me smile.

Kris took this picture of Dutch and I love it. The remnants of yogurt still on his face and the longing little look in his eye....when he is 25 years old and I think of him as a baby...this is exactly how I will remember him, I think.

She's got loads of love....boat loads and loads of love for him. He just needs it in smaller doses most of the time.

Here's a good one...

This last one is a real favorite of mine. Sen loves to line everything up. From the food she eats to every last junk toy she has...they all end up in a line at some point.  

For Christmas she got two more monkeys to complete her happy family. I will find them lined up like this ALL OVER THE HOUSE...in the funniest places.

And just in case you were wondering??? Spaceman is their Dad....and sometimes their Grand-Dad.

Always makes me laugh.

Love this quote too.

"If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered around the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will - to your surprise - miss them profoundly."

- President Thomas S. Monson