Whimsy Through Others . . . Needed Today

"Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties."  Erich Fromm

"Those who shun the whimsy of things will experience rigor mortis before death."  Tom Robbins

If you were to do a word tally of what has come out of my mouth today, the most common words with those most frequently said first:

Merritt

*gentle*

you're hungry?  again?

go play

what happened?

give that back

leave him alone

please, stop

no . . .

I think I need a moment.

A good dose of whimsy is needed ASAP!

I need one of these, always have.

Whimsy whistling is what I think  . . . .

Chills and Thrills

We've been having a great time!  We keep busy, but it wasn't insane last week, which was awesome.

Erik's work has reached a huge completion point, which always means more work to get it implemented, but he has been working for almost two years on this initiative and we are excited for him and this run-on sentence. 

Most of our talk this week was around mattresses, cause we are buying a couple.

Sheila is well.  She went to the doctor today and came home overwhelmed, but no new news.  She is just as neurotic and genius as ever.  He-he!  (pays to be the one to write this)  She had a great time at her ward's Super Saturday learning from some cooks in the ward.  No limit to good ideas out there! 

Evy is 4 going on 16.  We've got a behavior chart going and that is working well.  We are in awe at how busy and smart he is. 

Merritt evades all measures taken to keep his clothes on, except duct tape.  That has proven to work well.  Whenever we are sitting on the couch, he loves to run over and sit in our laps, even if just for a few seconds.  Quite a cuddler!

Both boys spent some time with their baby cousin this past week and were so gentle and nice to her.  I was proud of them!

Evy's recent self-portrait:

A element that I just finished on the mural:

Sometimes, I'm Left Without Words

A store right by my fave Target:

The State Fair of Texas

I have always enjoyed the State Fair of Texas, whether while a little girl with my family or as an undergrad going to the football game.

This year, Erik took off on a Friday and we went as a family.

We started with the dog show.  awesome.

Then, Merritt found the petting zoo.  personal heaven.

He hugged and kissed every single animal mug that he could get his hands on.

This child loves animals and isn't fazed by the ugliest ones there.

We did so much . . . corny dogs, story hour, funnel cakes, walked forever across the park, and crawled all over the cars at the car show.

There was this one four horned goat that we didn't get a picture of, but wow, have never seen the likes of him.

Here, Merritt is getting ready for  . . . my favorite at the fair . . . cotton candy!

One of the last shows we saw was a Russian Trio . . . who managed to entertain us even though they had to do it without music.  They were hysterical and extremely talented.  One gentleman from the audience whipped out his harmonica and played a tune for one of the routines.  We really enjoyed everything that we saw and did there.

Everett's Chocolate Birthday Party

Evy is 4!

He is a great kid.

We had a great time as a family on his birthday in October.  He wanted Chick-fil-a for this birthday dinner and chocolate cake.

Wanted: Chocolate with Friends

He simply wanted chocolate cake with candles and fire for his party.

We drummed up lots and lots of chocolate, some friends to help us eat it, and games (some included chocolate).

One of the best parts of the party came when we played:  Clean Your Room.  HYSTERICAL!

Weather cleared up just in time for the beginning of the party and the tornado held off until the party was over.  Couldn't have been better.

CHOCOLATE!

Chocolate fountain. 

I thought I was pushing it with the preschool crowd (and Merritt) with this thing, but it was fabulous!

CLEAN YOUR ROOM

We played a round of "boys against girls" and all the adults joined in . . . will be a favorite game to repeat at our next big get together.

Cake and Decorating Car Cupcakes (chocolate of course)

Merritt was amazed at the whole concept of opening presents.  You tear off this pretty paper and there is something COOL inside!  He was pretty fascinated with this set of cars.  Carried around as long as he could.

Everett had a great time!  We were glad that Grandma and Papa were able to come.

Evy was in charge of his party, gave input on everything, picked out what he wanted, and invited who he wanted to invite.  He put together goody bags that had "rotten" glowing teeth (cause of all the candy) and toothbrushes.  When it came time to write thank you notes, he was very specific on what kind of stickers to put on the cards (he knew which friends liked trains vs cars vs animals)--surprised me.  He is really growing up!

Today's Haute "Toddler" Couture

Maybe it should be classified as an accessory?

Merritt has several skills in his repertoire for getting out of his clothes and gaining access to his diaper.  Undo the snaps, crawl through the head-hole of the onesie, or try the arm openings.  Success is ever close at hand, and able to be had within seconds, no matter how secure the onesie, how tight the pants, or how zippered the hoodie.

The danger of a naked Merritt, pee and other bodily byproducts.

Thus, enters in the latest in Mother Desperation Haute "Toddler" Couture:

Duct Tape

today's version in hot pink

don't be too jealous

what. a. charmer

Supposed to be Quiet Time

It is Quiet/Nap time right now.  Merritt is busy in his room playing with his toys instead of napping.  There is intermittent pounding on the door, but I'm not too concerned because I can still ignore it, for now.

Evy's quiet time, today, means he is running between his room and my room.  Supposedly doing some water play in my bathroom.  But, uh, he just ran from his room to my room carrying his saw, saying to himself," . . . this should do the trick."  hhhhmmmmm . . . .  Nah, I'm going to ignore it.

Lovely, lovely day outside.  Took Dad to lunch as a treat.  Played outside in the backyard.  Planned some gardening, perused cookbooks looking for inspiration, excellent day!

{just heard a big pipe-ish noise from the bathroom}  I believe Everett is rerouting the plumbing.  He has been hankering for an indoor pool.  If his work turns out to be good, I'll let you hire him.  Not too soon to save for college.

Whimsy Wall: First Strokes

"Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson

The guy at Home Depot ended up having to match the color paint by eye and it was amazing! 

I began the journey, clad in my navy cotton painting pants and my t-shirt that says (get ready to groan) "Baroque (adj):  When you are out of Monet."  Sadly, I giggle at it, still.

I have a deeper respect for those that paint murals, especially those that paint on brick.  Holy Crayola did I struggle with the orange peel texture! 

I am painting this is in Four Phases.  Looks like I've got Phase One started.  The lighting was too dark because it is raining today; so, I'll have to eyeball it when there is sun streaming through the skylight above it.

I took the picture while the paint was still wet so you get some sense.  The color will darken as it dries (don't have a heart attack yet, Erik, I love you!).

Though I have a marginal talent for it, I love to paint. My nana is an artist and an art teacher, and her home always smelled of crayons and clay.  My mom is a pretty good artist herself.  Now, we'll see if my raw, untrained talent can actually bring fruition to the plans ahead. 

I had an EXCELLENT time doing this.  Experimenting with different brushes and different strokes trying to get the paint on the awkward texture just right.  Remembering how my physics teacher could draw a perfect circle in two seconds.

And, I figured out what part Everett should paint . . . cause who can *watch* someone paint, we all should get right in there, too.

The Campout Continued: Did You Toot?

Per Evy's request, we had a campout tonight.

We didn't put out the big tent, just used Evy's *little* tent, and jumped right into campout mode as soon as Merritt was asleep.

We ate chocolate, read a book, made shadowpictures, and had deep discussions about: how to see stars better, where bugs go to sleep, the rabbit that visits our backyard, and glowing eyes.  For over an hour, we told stories about "Evy who can talk to animals."  And, of course, thanks to Dad, we had a mix of potty humor in the middle (right in the middle of trying to get Evy to describe why he has glowing eyes).  Though, there is nothing funnier than toots or smells, right?

Evy ended up falling asleep right outside the tent, on the ground, beside his dad.

They are both sound asleep right now.  I'll wake them in a bit.

Evy snuggled under the sleeping bag with Dad.



Today

Campouts

Octopus vs Octopus

Pumpkin Muffins

Surprise treats to Dad

Cleaning vs Not Cleaning

Anti-Napping with wall kicking

Cars, cars, cars

Chase

Sneaking off the countertops

Chills and Thrills

Painful week that ended awesomely in Glen Rose (a small town in Texas, not a psych ward). 

We are hanging in there, getting better everyday.  Thanks to all those that have offered help, prayers, and sacrificed time and resources to help us!  It has made a huge difference.

Of course we did the whole dress-up for Halloween and got some great candy!  Evy prefers chocolate.  Merritt prefers to eat as he goes.

Merritt can now say:  "TASTY" and add some chomping noises along with it. 

Evy is into planning everything (have NO idea where he gets that).  He wants to know the itinerary for the next day when he goes to bed at night.  He wants to know what we are doing, who we are doing it with, will Dad be there, where we are doing it, and will gladly apply and offer his suggestions along the way.

This week is ICE HOCKEY!  And, we will try and find Evy a big boy bed.

Repetition for Emphasis

Painting by Heinrich Hofmann

A couple of weeks ago, Evy participated in the Primary Program.  We had practised his part several times.  It only took one practice for him to learn it.  It includes someone he likes to talk about, Jesus.  And, we talked about what it meant and he thought his part was very cool.

After the practice for the program, many Primary workers said that Everett did well, had his part down cold.

I asked him how it went and he said,"I didn't sing the songs so good."

The Primary Program Sunday came a week later.  Grandma and Papa were there to see him and he sat with his class during all of Sacrament. There were plenty of waving HI sessions to our pew, popping up and down from behind the divider wall his class would stand behind during the songs, waving his harms and doing a little dance in time to the songs, and then . . . his part came.

He stood on the stool, leaned into the microphone, and said,"I can do good things for others like Jesus did.  I can do good things for others like Jesus did."

He thought it was really important to repeat this very important message to make sure we all got it.

And, sure enough, people got it!  Great job, Evy!

Happy Halloween!

Just wanted to post a couple of pictures.  just a couple.

Evy wanted to brandish his sword to show his pirating skills.  Merritt just wanted to DANCE, oh, and eat Tootsie Roll Pops.