This Minivan Life

 So I looked at these photos and I have to admit that these boys could not look more different. Michael has a long skinny face and lots of hair , and Zach is missing his hair has a round face (a very round face). Beyond the dark eyes, olive complexion, and dark hair they couldn't be more different. Their personalities (so far) are also opposite. Michael is a bit... no not a bit, Michael is high strung, high energy, and into everything. Michael doesn't relax ever, he is always looking for the next activity, planning ahead, and super interested in everything. He likes to be the center of attention, loves to perform, and to learn. Zach, well I have less information in Zach because he's new, but he is laid back, willing to just sit and cuddle, he likes to sleep, likes to chill, and just likes to be with us. I love these sweet boys!

I got on facebook this morning (cause I am a time waster) and I came across an article on faith that a high school friend had recently written. We weren’t that close, and honestly we haven’t had any reason to speak, see, message, text each other in almost a decade (yes it has been that long), so we’ve lost touch, I couldn’t for the life of me tell you what they are doing for work, what they majored in, etc but I clicked the article, and the article was great. As I mentioned we weren’t close, maybe I should rephrase that, we were kids, and kids don’t tend to talk about things that matter, so the subject of faith rarely if ever came up over our multi year friendship. I will also admit that my high school years weren’t my best faith years, I struggled to separate the people at church from the doctrine and really didn’t find my own testimony until I left home and was able to see that the Gospel wasn’t just the girls I went to church with that were never going to like me. So the topic of

I wish I had a good picture of the boys together, but I don't. I'm sure I will eventually get one, but as they were sitting together on the couch tonight I had to run and get the camera. They are really sweet together, Michael adores Zach, and Zach spends a good deal of time trying to get his brother's attention. So these photos aren't great, but they show their sweet faces, yes someone's hands are always up, and no one really looks, but that is real life, and if I had zoomed out enough for you to see the room you would have been shocked the pictures looked this calm. I still don't see a resemblance between the two of them beyond the really dark eyes but maybe some day.  This is a fun one, totally candid moment, I would have liked mikey to look at brian or something, but again candid real life moment.

Brian turned 30 yesterday. I can't believe it, at the risk of making him sound old, I have to say I can't believe it. I clearly remember his 22nd birthday (the year we were engaged) and his 25th birthday (the year he graduated), all the others have kinda faded in to the background, but those I remember, and to think they were so long ago! Usually on Brian's birthday we have filet mignons (buy them at costco and cook them ourselves). This year we took a different path. Ok to be honest with you when we were discussing how we would celebrate i had to ask myself more than once if it was Brian's 30th birthday or Michael's 3rd, but that's what he said he wanted to do so we did it. We will have to celebrate again in a few weeks when everyone comes for Zach's blessing, but in the meantime, this is what we did. In the morning we had scrambled eggs (Brian cooked them, that's what happens when you get old) and then we went to look at houses. We are currently re

I don't know whether or not to be grateful that both my kids have latched on to security objects. In fairness, I could probably break Zach of it pretty easily since he is so young, but I'm not sure I want to. Michael is a lost cause, he loves poppy pillow even though it smells, but zach, well there's hope for him. Zach has become attached to a blanket my mom gave him, he likes to have his pacifier and then snuggle his face into the blanket (almost in attempt to suffocate himself). I don't blame him, it is cuddly. today i decided i was going to wash both security objects... bad idea. Michael didn't even notice poppy pillow was gone (he wasn't sleeping so he didn't need it), but zach did (I think) and when he got it back he kept nuzzling his face into it. So not sure whether or not to thank my parents (cause they bought them) but now we have a poppy pillow and a grammy blanket... 

I have to confess that I let Michael eat things with high fructose corn syrup in them. I don't give him a bottle of corn syrup and tell him to go for it, or hand him a bag of skittles and call it breakfast, but on occasion he has candy, ice cream, juice (though this doesn't usually have corn syrup), and a number of other foods that contain "unnatural" ingredients. Sometimes we even go to Chick-fil-A, and yes I will confess on occasion I have taken him to McDonald's and bought him a Happy Meal (that he probably didn't eat). I keep apple juice in the house (not the added sugar kind, but the 100% juice kind probably isn't great either). I let him eat goldfish crackers, and if he wants a cheese stick I give it to him. I feed him scrambled eggs for breakfast (not the free range kind), and we eat meat lots of nights. I give him real sugar, none of this coconut sugar crap. When he is sick I readily give him Motrin (no more tylenol after an episode of this america

I have a tiny problem, well no Zachary has a huge problem- his brother. Michael is a great brother, he is really interested in his brother, we have only had mild jealously issues, and he seems to genuinely care about Zach's needs... but he is rough. Michael really really wants Zach to be big enough to play, big enough to wrestle, and big enough to race. Zach is learning to support his own head, clearly we are a ways away from playing. Michael likes to have Zach nearby while he plays, he shows him toys, wants him there when we read stories at night, etc. He constantly asks if Zach can sleep in his room, which is ok sometimes now, but will be a huge issue someday because one of them likes to sleep and the other doesn't, I can see zach crying because his brother won't let him sleep... oh wait that happens already. He won't let Zach take a nap, i find him him near the crib, on the bed, or whereever else Zach is sleeping, poking, pinching, bouncing him, whatever it takes to

Happy Birthday to my dear Dad. Happy Birthday to a wonderful dad who sat through hours (decades really) of Dr. Queen Medicine Woman, Doug, and Boy Meets World. Happy birthday to a great dad who encouraged me to try harder, push harder, and not give up, even when I was failing miserably. Happy birthday to a dad that encouraged me to read, to follow current events, and to question the status quo. Happy birthday to patient dad who encouraged me to have an opinion and express it even when it meant I was screaming at him. Happy birthday to the dad that let me work things out for myself, but stayed close enough by that I never got into any real trouble. Happy birthday to my dad that taught me to look for answers in the scriptures and trust in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Happy birthday to my dad who always knew I would go to college and graduate. Happy birthday to my dad that didn't seem disappointed when I traded in my business suits and masters degree for a minivan and diaper bag. Happy

I'm going to admit here that I don't listen to music on the radio much these days. Maybe 27 is old, or maybe I am getting conservative in my old age, but I can't bring myself to listen to that junk. I do listen to country occasionally, but not as often as I used to, but pop music, I just can't do it. There is too much sex on the radio, I don't want my two sweet boys to hear that and I don't want to listen to it either. I don't know when this happened, it seems like one day I woke up and I was my mom (sorry mom). I remember when I was a kid she was constantly turning the radio off, telling me to switch the song, or having us listen to NPR. I thought she just wasn't fun, but it turns out she just didn't want us to hear that crap (yes that is an appropriate word to describe some of the stuff out there). I am actually horrified by some of the stuff I have heard recently, some of it is just so explicit that I feel like I need to take a shower after hearin