Five Brown Kids

can buy a lot of positive attention. (Here's a blog entry I wrote last spring and never posted - it reminded me of a quote that Tyrone used today that I wanted to share: ….[the poor] are not hungry for bread; they are hungry for love. - Mother Teresa) A few weeks ago I took Scotia in for a well baby checkup. The NP and I oohed and awwed over how much she's grown, how cute she is. How she tells everyone she doesn't like, especially Drs/nurses "bye,bye". Then we discussed her eating -which is fine, her sleeping - which is great and her talking, which is a bit behind but catching up. In the middle of it all I thought how lucky I was to spend time with someone who just cared about my baby's health and happiness and would spend all this time with me and Scotia making sure everything was okay. There's not a parent in the world who doesn't wish for that kind of postive attention for their child once a twice a year. Then later I was at my son's preschool ...

Someday Taye will be up for the job of a lifetime and they will google his name and see this post and it will all be over.... but I've got to say it. My kids are terrorists. Sure they look all sweet and good and behave nicely in public forums. But at home they are torturing me by depriving me of sleep ( Scotia is sick and can't breathe) and smearing makeup all over my beautiful master bed shams ( Scotia likes to get into my stuff), sucking up all of Dad's extra time and attention and just generally wreaking havoc in my attempt at an orderly life. The boys have been playing in the stream all week so every pair of jeans is coated in dirt and slime, their jackets and sweaters have to be washed each day, and every time they eat a snack the kitchen goes from clean to disaster in 30 seconds. Aargh! What I would really like is a day off where I wake on my own accord and spend the day as I so desire - just 5,840 days to go til my very own vacation. I am also thankful for two v...

We had a very pleasant Thanksgiving day. The boys all played football in the morning, and then we joined the Cleverlys and Greenes for supper (they haven't deserted us yet fortunately ). Thanks for the fun and the delicious food! Note from Taye that he wrote at school: Dear Mom, You are the beast mom ever. I love your scrumshish food! You do a tarific gob at cleaning. Thank you for taking care of me and leting me got to school. Thank you for leting me play whit my friends. Love Taye

This is a healthy treat we make all the time. Last week Taye made these for his second grade business expo and they were a big hit. Berry Smoothie 1 1/2 cups frozen berries (that big bag from Costco ) 1 ripe banana 1 cup berry yogurt 1 cup orange juice Mix in a blender until smooth. No ice needed if the berries are frozen. You can mix and match the ingredients as needed and double or triple. Serve with a yummy turkey sandwich today!

Monday afternoon I hit a wall. Either exhuastion or caught whatever had Scotia throwing up Sun aft. I laid down on the couch and didn't get up much for the rest of the day. At one point I asked Scotia to please get me the phone from the kitchen. She knew exactly what I meant and went out and got it off the counter - which was amazing! When the boys came home from playing with their friends I told Taye he would have to make supper for Scotia and Jaxon. He made scrambled eggs, warmed up some leftover spagetti and toasted some frozen waffles (thanks ricks!) and put it on all the table, and made a little plate for me which he put on the coffee table. Such nice kids!

Saturday morning I woke up bright and early to drive to Pinehurst with my friends for two glorious hours of torture. This was my third half marathon and my best one yet. I managed to stay warm and had Courtney to keep me company and pace me the whole time. We talked for the first nine miles and then popped on our ipods and busted out the last four. Well the last 3.5; by 12.5 miles I just wanted to sit on the curb and cry which is pretty typical running behavior for me. But I did it! I am a WOMAN! See me run! Later in the day we gathered some friends together for one last party before the Ricks flew off to new adventures. Here we are at Champs eating good food and watching the BYU/Utah game. Half of us were sad with the results and half were happy. After dinner we met at our house and played cards and drank serious ginger ale (Ripple style) till the wee hours of the morning. Sometimes it pays to lose...