A Long Overdue Letter to Ellis.

Dear Ellis-

Hey!  I have not written you a letter in a long time and I have been thinking about writing lots. Maybe it has been less because mommy is burnt out on letter writing. Maybe it is because mommy is tired all the time and very pregnant. Whatever the reason, do know that I am still loving being your mom. Sure, you are now two and have lots of opinions and get frustrated and tantrum at times, but no matter what, no matter how tired and worn out I am, deep down I still love you so much. I cannot even describe how much I really love you because it just isn't something that is measurable. 

You will soon be a big brother. That sometimes seems weird and really makes me excited to see how you will react to our family growing. I worry that you will have a hard time and feel a bit jealous. Once when I was holding a friend's baby, you dropped all the fun you were having playing with the big brother of said baby and wanted me to hold you. That was interesting. Maybe it will be different when it is our baby. You always talk about her and you love to go through all the new clothes she has gotten from people. You even showed Papa every single thing and were so proud. I just know you are going to be a great big brother because you love all kids and want to be friends with every kid at the park. You always say "hello" and try to convince them to play with you. It really irritates mommy that kids often try to ignore you and have even been rude to you. What happened to all kids liking all other kids? I am already worrying about you going to school and how kids will treat you and that is a couple years away still!

You are so wonderful and fun. I am thankful every day that I get to play with you. Today we built some Play Doh airplanes like we often do and I had a blast watching you play. You are starting to build quite an imagination and are playing like you never have before. It's fun to watch you grow and change.  I also love to hear you say that the airplanes are going to Wisconsin to see Andi and Grandma. You sure do love them so much. We have been skype visiting with them more lately and that is so fun. We even spent Mother's Day with Andi out on her patio while she and Jeff enjoyed a spring night's fire. Special memories. 

You love puddles and bubbles. Many spring adventures lately have been to "your puddle" which is on the basketball court of our condos. The other day you even had to be barefoot to fully enjoy that puddle and to climb the big slide. How your feet aren't bothered by wood chips, I will never know.  Silly boy!

You also are still a lover of slides and parks. Just last night you made your very pregnant mommy walk and walk and walk all around one of your favorite parks. There were rocks to throw, ramps to climb, doors of school classrooms to be knocked on(you trick or treat at most doors these days), hills to climb and slides to go down. It is often hard to get you to leave but I was thankful last night that the bribery of chocolate balls(Sixlets) got you calmly in the car and buckled in your car seat. I also have a new trick where I set the time on my phone. You know when the ducks quack that it is time to go. You even say: "Ducks quack, time go!"  I also love hearing you say: "see you soon," "thank you so much," "yea, you did it," "come see you(to be held," and all the fun things you come up with. 

Lately, you sometimes get pretty mad in these situations or other times where you don't get exactly what you thought you would get! Daddy and I are learning how to best help you manage the anger that you seem to have inherited from mommy. You spend lots of time on time out in your crib but you do always eventually calm down and still need mommy to rock and cuddle you. Sometimes you get a spank in the bum and you will laugh, so I'm not sure that parenting method is going to ever work. 

Getting to know you better and finding new ways to help you is one of the toughest yet most rewarding things about this whole mommy gig. You are such a cool little guy and I love everyday I get to spend with you. No matter how tough it can be, I always at the end of the day am so grateful that I get to be your mom and tackle this whole life thing together. You're my little buddy and I love seeing you grow and learn. And how could I ever be sad to see this at the end of the day?

I love you sweet Ellis. Always remember that, no matter what. 

W,

Mommy

Birthday a bit Late!

I usually hate when people post things in hindsight, but my birthday was awesome and I never told you all about it.

The best part was having the day off to spend with my cute little family. Such a good relaxation.

We first bought a car. Soon the little Nissan just won't fit two car seats comfortably. We went with a Honda Pilot. It has lots of bells and whistles including my favorite the sunroof and Ellis' future favorite, a DVD

We then headed to lunch and I ate a delicious cheeseburger. Then it was off to the aquarium in salt lake. We all had a great time there. And Ellis didn't want to leave. And the coolest part was it being free because of a really nice family offering us to be their guests in their membership that day.

Crossing the rope bridge..

                                                                 I love the smiles on stingrays.

Funny turtle.

 We were there for the penguin feeding.

                                                                            Huge river fish.

A few friends also stopped by for ice cream and cake, later that evening. A perfect end to a perfect day!  Only one more year until I face 40!

A Few Haikus

I wrote many, many haikus during testing this week at school.  Here are a few of the best ones:

Zombie Testing

Standardized testing

Like a room full of zombies

But eating own brains.

The Zombie Walk

Zombies walk to school

Slowly, slowly, slow they go.

Too Late, school's over.

If Zombies Took Test

Zombies taking tests

With much different standards

Brains and flesh eating.

Zombie Baseball

Zombies play baseball

Hitting eyeballs with leg bones

No crack of bat; splat.

Zombie Billiards

Zombies shooting pool

Nine-ball would be nine eyeballs.

Sticks would be Femurs.

Viva Las Vegas!

We needed a vacation.  So we set sail to Vegas.  I learned that 2 year olds do not enjoy car rides, just sayin'.  The weekend could have been dubbed "The Lamentations of Ellis," but we still managed to have some fun.

View from our hotel room.  It was warm and sunny while there.

What Ellis and I did during the Gold Prospecter's Show.  Reub had a blast.  I walked a lot of steps.

We took Ellis to the Nevada Southern Railroad Museum in Boulder City, NV.  He liked it for the most part.  He loves trains, just not riding them.

Train Ride Pics.

Ellis finally calmed down after screaming most of the first half of the ride.  Poor kid was tired and hungry.

Ellis selfie from the road trip.

We squeezed lots of stuff in.  We did the gold show, the train, and Fremont street for just being there for the weekend.  It was an adventure and a good get away.  

Memories Drenched in Bacon Grease

I got the chance to go to a little writing group that is hosted by one of the women in my church. The group gathers together every month to share stories about their families for their family history. This month's subject was food so I concentrated on this little memory from my childhood:

Memories Drenched in Bacon Grease 

So many of my memories involve food. It seems like good food always is included in good times. But really it isn’t the food so much that is important but the people who gather together both to prepare and partake of the food.

My grandma Alice was an amazing cook. Yet again,I don't remember specifically what always ate, but I do remember her working away in her kitchen. She was always perched on a worn out orange stool.  I can still see all the brown scratches on the round seat and down the legs.  That stool had seen lots, probably even many of my Dad’s activities as a youngster.  Grandma’s glasses were often balancing on the tip of her nose, but I do also remember the shiny gold chain that was attached to both sides by a little plastic ring and how on occasion the glasses would hang round her neck secured by that old gold chain.  The kitchen was often a hot, muggy place, which made sense for her to always be wearing a house dress.  I remember one in particular that was gray and had pink flowers all over it. Her hair matched that shade of gray and was often slicked back with sweat as she slaved away over the stove.  

I can still hear the sizzle of the bacon in the pan and the eggs popping as she fried them.  My love of sunnyside up eggs started in that little farmhouse kitchen.  Toast would be jump from the toaster and the grandkids’ job would be to slather them in butter.  That crisp buttery toast was a perfect pair to the perfectly warmed yolks of those perfectly fried eggs. The special ingredient to any breakfast at Grandma’s house was a little hint of bacon from the grease she would use in the pan.  That bacon would sizzle and sizzle, grease popping. Not a drop of the grease would ever be wasted.  Grandma kept a large can next to the stove that she would gently pour the leftover grease into.  It would harden overnight and then be scooped again onto the egg pan.  Yum.

Breakfast was always special while visiting the farm.  But really it wasn’t the toast, eggs and bacon but  the woman who was behind that great meal that was important.  The woman who was a writer, a lover of poetry and nature, the woman who taught me so much and  even if the memories have faded just like the smells in that kitchen faded slowly each morning, I hold them dear, faded yet drenched in bacon grease.  Grease that keeps on giving just as these memories keep on giving me comfort and smiles for years to come.  

Unfortunately, I tried to read the story to the ladies from my phone and it wouldn't load from google docs. I had to improvise and it wasn't nearly as good. It was still fun to gather and share stories. These older ladies sure have seen lots of change in our work, even when it comes to food!!! What a fun little outing.