BOOKS!

I love a good book. It’s like a friend—you spend time with it, you laugh with it, you are inspired by it, and you feel sad when it’s gone [aka when the book ends].  One of my life-quests is to collect all of my favorite books.

However, on the budget totem pole, book buying is usually at the bottom these days. The limited library availability in the past two towns we’ve lived in has made reading books I don’t own difficult, to say the least.

So when Rose was born and my Mom brought me a pile of her old, GOOD paperbacks, I was overjoyed! I have been working my way through the stack slowly, savoring each chapter. [I’m also reading them slowly because of limited quiet time, of course, but still—you get the idea].

These are some of my favorite books! I could (and I do) read these ones over and over and over and over and never get tired of them. I like each book or series for a different reason. For example, I only enjoy the Twilight books if 1. It’s Halloween and I want to read about vampires, or 2. I am going crazy with impatience, irritation, etc, and I need an easy, mind-numbing/distracting read. (I find that I identify with those characters best when I feel slightly insane myself).

I like some books because of the language or writing style they use (like the Sammy Keyes series). Other books are good because of the profound, inspiring themes woven into the story (like Les Miserables, A Little Princess, and Uncle Tom’s Cabin). Some books are enjoyable because the author paints such a perfect picture of the TIME period (like Little House books and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society). Other books represent some of my ideals. I like to DEVOUR some books all at once, and nibble at others little by little over time. Some make me feel all warm and cozy inside, and others make me laugh out loud! All of my faves have one thing in common, though: they are  interesting, uplifting stories!

While I am almost always re-reading at least one favorite book, I am also always in search of quality NEW READING MATERIAL! When I’m all caught up on my responsibilities and I have a quiet moment to sit down, it’s comforting to have a good book that allows me to take a break from my cares and enter another world.

and that’s how I feel about my books.

The BEST way to eat oatmeal

1 T brown sugar
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 T heavy cream
a dash of milk
a small handful of raisins
5-10 pecan halves, crumbled up

Put all of THAT good stuff on top of your plain ole oatmeal, and your taste buds will be transported into how-can-this-be-healthy heaven!

This loaded oatmeal tastes good and feels good once it’s in my tummy too! I have experimented with oatmeal toppings for years, and I’ve never found anything that I like better than plain ole brown sugar and milk. Until this week, that is! The star of one of my favorite kid-book series, Sammy Keyes, gave me the idea. She puts walnuts, maple syrup, brown sugar, and milk on her oatmeal every day. Walnuts make my mouth itch, so I tried pecans. Then on a whim, I added raisins and cinnamon, and it all just came together. I love having chewy and crunchy textures in normally-mushy oatmeal. This is my new favorite breakfast!

Drool-Manchu

 

Instead of drooling, Rose often froths at the mouth. Fu-Manchu-style.

Looking out

Jay loves being outside. And if he isn’t outside, he loves to LOOK outside! It has finally gotten warm enough so I can just leave the back door open and let Jay come in and out. He loves it. I love it. We’re all happy.

 
In his window

Can you find Jay?

Easter!

FIRST THINGS FIRST: the real purpose of Easter is the best part! Every spring it is so good to re-read and “re-ponder” the story of the atonement and resurrection from the scriptures. That event is so wonderful that I think the best way to express my feelings is with MUSIC. We didn’t sing any Easter hymns at church for some reason, but I heard another ward singing “I Know that My Redeemer Lives,” which I’ve never thought of as an Easter song until now. One line from that hymn kind of sums it all up: “Oh, sweet, the joy this sentence gives—I know that my Redeemer lives!” 

And now, on to the other festivities! When I was growing up, we never did much with Easter egg hunts and candy and baskets and that stuff, so I wasn’t really planning on doing much either. But all the fun things people did FOR us were so great that I want to do a little more with Easter in the future, when mis hijos are older. We had a weekend full of springy, Easter-y activities. The weather was warm and lovely, and it finally truly felt like spring for the first time all year!

Saturday, there was a ward Easter egg hunt. Jay found 3 eggs! (with a little parental guidance) When he discovered that the jelly beans inside were edible, he chowed down. He probably didn’t eat more than 10 jelly beans, but I think they made him a little crazy. 3 days later, he’s finally back to his good happy self. Whew!

We are LOADED with sweet Easter treats, and I didn’t even make a single one! Aren’t these bunny cakes CUTE? I had to put a picture of them even though I didn’t make them (thanks again, Ashleigh!) Another fun family “egged” us—they covertly put Easter eggs filled with treats and Easter scriptures on our porch (thanks Alisha and co!) When Jay and Rose are older, I want to do fun little activities like these with them!

Our Easter treats kind of took over the fruit basket…oops! That big lovely Peanut Butter Meltaway Egg in front is a White family tradition that I have JOYFULLY been a part of even before I married Jeff. YUM. These 1 pound sweet melty peanut butter-filled chocolate eggs are from Jeff’s home town in Tyrone, PA. Every Easter, the Whites order these beauties, and they’re shipped across the country straight to our watering mouths (thanks to Steph!)

We had Easter dinner with our local family members, at the Whites’ house. I love ham. Dan and Leslie (Jay’s grandparentals) did a little egg hunt for Jay. He has been carrying his basket around the house ever since (we sneakily emptied the jelly beans out of the eggs). He got a ball with a bunny on it, and he loves toting around the ball in the basket, saying ba-ball, just like basketball.

Uncle Sam was in town! (He’s Jeff’s brother) Rose has now met all of her aunts and uncles except my brother Brad and his fiancee, Dani. [That will all change in less than 2 months at the wedding!]

Easter Rose.

And another—I love little girls in dresses and bows.

Jay’s current Sunday clothes aren’t Eastery, so I didn’t get a picture of him (the main reason, though is that he was NOT in the picture-taking mood on Sunday. I’ll blame the jelly beans.). So here’s one from this morning instead. I may be crazy, but I like the profusion of dandelions in our front yard (for now, until they get tall, fuzzy, and white, that is). I just like the cheery yellow polk-a-dots in the green grass.

I also like it when Jeff takes Jay to the park. Even though I’m tall enough, I’m not quite strong enough to get Jay this close to the hoop.

Another like: Rose’s giant flower acts like a visor and shields her eyes from the sun when we’re outside at the park. Perfecto.

That’s the sky today. Heaven! (too bad I couldn’t avoid the ugly power lines)

Have I mentioned how much I love living around the corner from el parque?

Hee hee, how about those funny leg warmers? Em made them for Rose. I love them—they are so convenient because you don’t have to take off any pants to change a diaper! (if you haven’t noticed by now, 99% of Roses’ cute accessories were made by my sister Em).

Since I’m on a roll, here’s one more picture of our happy little squishy-armed, round-cheeked, cherub girl

Ok, I’m done. But really, I could just eat her up!

Happy Easter!

Ba-Ball!

I know I already posted something today, but I couldn’t resist doing just one more. This is the first thing that Jay did after his bath tonight:

When I caught up to Jay after he left the bathroom, I found his bare little body playing basketball. It cracked me up. I know, so punny.  [pardon the bare bum, by the way—I hope it’s ok…?]

and here’s some [fully-clothed] footage:

Happy Sounds

Rose has the sweetest little voice! She’s really started using it this past week. I have had a tricky time getting a video of it because usually she just stops cooing and stares at the light on the camera. So I had to hold it to the side, and it is kind of a funny baby-cheek-enhancing angle. Just thought I’d share the joy:

Just another day

Some recent happenings around the house:

Being this cute does have its hazards.

The other day it was cloudy, chilly, and rainy. I moped around waiting for it to clear up so I could go on a run with the jogging stroller. It didn’t clear up. Suddenly, I had an epiphany—I can create my own rain covers for the stroller! (you can buy a raincoat for your stroller for the same price as the stroller—yeah right!) I just tied 2 raincoats over my children, and they stayed dry while I huffed and puffed along behind them through the steady drizzle.

because I never get tired of that face! (the hat is another Em-creation. You rock, Em!)

Ever since I started doing my “post-par-tummy” ab exercises a few weeks ago, Jay has been fascinated by them. He just loves it when I lay down on the floor. He attacks my hair and tries to climb all  over me. It can get quite stressful at times, and my hair looks awesome afterwards.

This is my favorite dress of Rose’s.

I love walking into the computer room and finding this. Jeff is pretty good at holding both of his cuties—they love watching Fraggle Rock together (for a few minutes at a time).

I wonder what she’s thinking.

And finally, Jay is getting more and more interested in Rose. If I ask him to go get her pacifier, he knows what it is and where it is hidden. He also likes to try and play peek a boo with her or give her “knucks.” Both of these can be rather dangerous for Rose because Jay often hits her eyes in his enthusiasm for peek a boo and he often punches her while giving her knucks. She’s still alive, I promise!

We love nature!

Springtime means OUTSIDE time after a winter cooped up indoors. The air is so refreshing at this time of year! Since we don’t exactly live in the glorious Appalachian Mountains or anything, we had to drive for a while (an hour) to find a nice nature-y place to drink in the springtime. Jeff did an online search, and found a place called Twin Sisters. 

Those are the Twin Sisters. The sign told a legend about a Cayuse Indian who used his magic powers to change 2 of his wives into big rocks so he could always keep an eye on them because he was jealous of them. (?) It didn’t really make sense to me. (he turned his 3rd wife into a cave, by the way—we didn’t see it, though)

There’s this little pull-off parking area, and the little Twin Sisters park is fenced off with very…jagged barbed wire. The only way through the barbed wire was to climb this little ladder thingy. We didn’t notice that until after I had Rose all strapped in underneath Jeff’s roomy jacket. Let me just say it was slightly awkward climbing up and over with a baby on me. It was probably easier than it would’ve been if there was a baby INSIDE me, though!

Ummm ow. Rose basically just slept through our whole little excursion, even if the ride was a tad bouncy and jiggly at times.

Looks like 2 sets of siamese twins if you ask me

It was pretty rough terrain for Jay, but he loved it, even if he did trip about every other step.

There was a nice view of the Columbia River. Didn’t Jeff do a good job with these pictures?

Proof that Rose really WAS hiding in there. It wasn’t that cold out, but the wind was whipping around all over the place, so I kept Rose snuggled up under the jacket.

We decided that it was kind of like Rohan from Lord or the Rings out there.

That cute little speck is Jay. It was nice to just let him roam. This place was like a giant sand box! He loved it.

Jay had a fun time climbing this steep sand bank and running down the other side over and over. He got pretty dirty, but it was cute to see his enthusiasm!

 
Jeff and Jay between the twin sisters. [Jay got wet sand all over Jeff’s shirt and head]

I wanted to hold Rose up like the Lion King on Pride Rock, but it was just too chilly and windy.

The wind was rippling and whipping through the grass like crazy! It sounded so lonely and peaceful. At one point, a flock of birds flew right over our heads, and we could hear their wings swooshing and cutting through that whistling strong wind. It was a COOL sound!

These hills were steep! I felt so small in the middle of those huge sweeping hills. There were big rocks hiding in all that tufty grass. Jay got pretty tired after about an hour of stumbling around out there. When I was trying to help him up this big hill, it was so funny how he couldn’t even go forward—his steps were tiny and he kept stepping back to keep his balance. Jeff had to come carry him up. Meanwhile, I lugged Rose up. It’s amazing how heavy a mere 11 1/2 pounds can feel after an hour and a half!

It was so refreshing to be out in the fresh spring air in a beautiful corner of Nature.

Time flies…

…when you’re having fun!

It was super windy the other day, but it wasn’t cold, so I put Jay in shorts and a t-shirt. All winter whenever the wind blew, I would say “burrrrr!” and Jay now associates wind blowing with cold, even if it doesn’t feel cold. I got back from my run and found THIS little cutie waiting for me on the porch. Jeff said when Jay felt the wind blowing, he went and found his hat and mittens and asked Jeff to put ‘em on. I made that hat out of a scrap of fleece last winter, and it’s too big. But Jay LOVES it—he won’t wear any other hat! My loyal little boy.

Jay’s monster-bruise is healing so fast! We were trying to get a smiley picture of Rose this morning, and Jay was showing her how it’s done. Next time I get the camera out, I think I’ll also get out a tissue…

And as for THIS little cutie, she had her 2 month check-up on Monday, complete with 3 painful shots. I hate baby shots. It’s so sad! Rose was sad all day after her shots—she wailed and cried, and her little thighs were all red and tender. Thankfully, Tylenol came to the rescue and she’s all better now. ANYWAYS, if you’re interested, Rose weighs 11 lbs 10 oz and is one inch shy of being 2 feet tall! She’s a good little eater and sleeper, and usually only wakes up once during the night for food these days. Which means I am starting to get slightly more coherent and able to think straight again. I just can’t believe Rose is already 2 months old!

One guess on who made that cute headband. (hint—not me!!) Rose is getting so sociable. It’s getting easier and easier to coax smiles out of her little lips (but still hard to capture them on camera). That makes me SO happy. Especially since she’s also getting better and better at pooping! Yesterday was a new record: neon babypoo all the way up to her NECK!! Impromptu bathtime.

Last night I was feeling kind of grumpy. Rose was just drifting off to sleep after her bedtime milk—eyes drooping, head lolling—when she used her last bit of strength to open her eyes and smile right at me. Then she fell asleep almost instantly. My grumpiness melted away. It felt like Rose was saying “Thanks, for everything, Mama!” 

Sigh of motherly happiness.

5 days, 4 girls, 3 boys, 2 ice cream cones, 1 fun week

That’s our week in a nutshell! Last Monday (April 4th), my Mom, my sister Mel, Jay, Rose, and I flew from Seattle to St. Louis. We visited my older sister Em there for Spring Break! Mel is the only one of us who’s in school to even have a spring break, but it was a fun break from the daily “grind” for all of us. We had a nonstop 4 hour flight both ways, and Jay and Rose were so GOOD! Rose slept the whole way, and Jay sat happily on Mel’s lap. He also learned a new word: a-pane! (airplane)

It was so fun to spend quality sister-mom-time! We ate mucho good food, made yummy desserts, did crafts, and played with the sometimes-crazy kids (ages: Steve-3, Jay-almost 2, Dan-1 1/2, Rose-2 months). We took well over 200 pictures, so I’ll do my best to pick the best ones for you…

We went to Purina Farms and patted the animals and saw a dog show. Poor Mel had a broken arm, but she still was a Super-Aunt and played with her nephews anyways!

I love horses! This calm draft horse reminded me of Biscuit, the dear old horse of my childhood. Jay liked to pet the big head, but Dan wasn’t so sure.

Jay and Steve playing in a corn box in the barn at Purina Farms. Check out that concentration.

While Jay samples the wood fence, Dan looks at the lambs.

Even the kitties were popular

There was a fun dog show involving flying frisbees and crazy canines. And a big pool of water. Check out those TEETH!

At the dog show

Cute cousins

Creepy Easter Bunny. Jay walked up, touched his hand quickly, and then he was done.

Another thing we did a lot of: baby pictures! Em kept putting Rose in this basket to take pictures of her. hee hee hee, it was cute.

My happy little fuzz-top

and not-so-happy

Rose liked being a “hood ornament” on Grama’s knees.

We visited my Grandma and Grandpa Brown—Rose’s Great Grandparents! Rose is their 8th great grandbaby.

Dan loved Rose. I like Em’s face in this picture. Once, I heard Rose start crying, and discovered that Dan was sitting on her! Good thing Rose is durable.

I got Jay to kiss Rose for a picture. Well, he kissed the air next to her. What a boy!

Jay likes snuggling with Grama and a ball. (and a blanket with balls on it)

When we Browns get together, we enjoy lots of good FOOD. We went out to eat lots of times—Chick-fil-a was our favorite choice—and Em made us a tasty salad for lunch one day. And I made that cute little centerpiece. (ok, Jeff helped a little…)

We went out to a yummy frozen custard place, and they gave the kids free little baby ice cream cones! Jay loved it.

Things got really messy, really fast…

…like I said.

This calls for a boy bath!

Rose got her own bath. She was glad.

Backyard fun!

One-armed Aunt Mel patiently played with her “nephs” out there every day.

She played with Rose too. Good looking girls run in the family, don’t you think?

We made MORE bows for Rose. Then we branched out and made headbands for ourselves! Em is a genius. We bought colorful knee socks at Target, cut them up, sewed a small seam, added a cute flower, and VOILA, HEADBAND:

Yes, I’m the tall one.

We tried and tried to get a good, cute sister picture, but I am so not in a photogenic phase right now, so I kept messing them up. So I like the goofy ones better than the “serious” ones.

We’re wearing socks on our heads! At some point, Em and I started mourning over our “motherhood pooches” (stomachs), and cracking jokes about them. I wonder if Mel will ever have kids after spending a week with her… “well-rounded” sisters!

Even though Jay had a good time with his cousins, it was a rough week for him. He didn’t get nearly enough sleep, and he kept INJURING himself! He rode a bike down the hardwood stairs in Em’s house and got a ginormous goose egg on his forehead plus a big ole bruise on his shin. A few hours later, he tripped and fell on the concrete and got a scraped knee and face. By the end of the week, he was battered, bruised, and exhausted!

The cousin picture! We tortured the little boys with numerous photo-shoots. Rose didn’t mind too much—life is easy when you can just sleep through the unpleasant parts, I guess!

The “posterity picture:”  Grama and all 4 of her grandkids!

Girls! Or as Jay would say, dirrrruurrrl!

One kid per lap. Perfecto!

And then the week ended. I let Rose exercise a little at the airport before our long flight home.

Jay loved the airplanes!

and meanwhile, back at the ranch…

…Jeff constructed a “command center” out of all his pieces of technology: the computer, the computer screen, the TV screen, and even the Wii. I think he missed us!

It’s hard having family scattered far and wide because you’re always missing someone! Now I’m home with my dear husband, but I miss my sisters!! It was a fun, refreshing mother-daughter-sister week. Even though I could post about a zillion more pictures of it, I think you get the picture.