Four years of bliss.

Last Thursday Erik and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary.

Four really, really good years.

We celebrated big time this year because of the generosity of my parents coming to watch our little ones so that we could have a getaway.

We got-a-way about 45 minutes north and stayed at an amazing resort called Avila Village Inn. It was heaven. Originally, we planned to go to San Francisco, but we didn't want to spend four hours travelling when heaven on earth is less than an hour away.

We had a lot of fun walking, talking, farmer's marketing, kayaking, and just being together.

Erik got a skimboard and had fun figuring out how to use the darn thing.

He got the hang of it pretty quickly, and he looks dang hot while he's at it. Even if he and I were the two whitest people at the beach that day. True business.
On Saturday we rented a kayak and did a cave tour. This was my first time kayaking, and sea kayaking is a little different from lake kayaking, I imagine. At times it got a bit (a lot) over my comfort level, but I think I would enjoy it even more the next time, and more the time after that. As always, Erik was pretty much awesome at it.
All of those pictures show us (the team both in purple helmets) along the tour. Click on them to get a bigger picture if you want to see my "I think I'm having fun, but I'm not quite sure about it" face.

Sensibly Styled!

You are going to be so in the know!

Okay, so my awesome sister-in-law Natalie (actually, I have 5 awesome sisters-in-law...but today we're talking about the one named Natalie), started the coolest website.

It's called Sensibly Styled, and here's the concept:

Have you ever gone to the mall, looking for a new dress/top/skirt/jeans...whatever...and ended up leaving your shopping excursion so frustrated because you couldn't find anything cute that wasn't too low cut/too tight/too short/too revealing? I totally have.

Natalie put this site together as a way to find all the cute modest clothes in one place. So say you, like me, are looking for a cute dress for a wedding this summer. Just go to Sensibly Styled and see tons of examples of cute dresses, from your favorite brands, that are all long enough, all with sleeves, and all fashion forward.

Crazy awesome, right?

And as if the site wasn't cool enough, she's getting all kinds of publicity out there in the blog world. Design Mom (yes, the Design Mom) posted about the site as well as the blog Tangled and True.

So, check it out! Make sure to comment, and let us know what you'd like to see more of. I'm sort of helping (you'll see a post every now and then by "Emily", I'm that Emily).

you'll thank me.

Oh, this is going to make your day. I promise. Whenever I see something like this, something wacky that happens out of the blue, I think "where was I? why does this stuff never happen when I'm around?"

keep a lookout for extra funny moments:

a girl running in fear (0:26)

an old dude in a suit and a sweat band (0:53)

a juicy girl shakin' her thang (1:00)

And then, have you heard of Zee Avi? She's great. You're going to love this video. She has the warmest, most casual lullaby voice. It's perfect. I love singers that sing so effortlessly. Like they could be sitting on the couch next to you singing so gracefully like that. I think that's why I like singer-songwriters so much. It's the effortlessness. As opposed to the American Idol type singers that try to sing their heads off. And yours.

But back to the point, Zee Avi is great. Matt, if you read this, I think you'll like her.

If you're like, "dang, there are a lot of posts lately..."

There's a reason for that. When I'm feeling trapped in the house with lots of cranky kids (see previous post) my escape is the computer. I've become quite efficient in finding something fun to watch, or a cute outfit to pretend to buy, or a new (to me) blog to read. And reading blogs is fast, too. It's like speed dating. I can look at a blog and know in the first 5 seconds if it's a blog I'll read again. And if it's a match with my interests and stuff, then I bookmark it. I'm a big bookmarker.

So, there are some tips for all you out there that feel my pain and have those moments in the day when you need an instant pick-me-up. Something beautiful to look at in between poopy diaper changes. Or a funny video to watch in the 90 seconds when miraculously all three children are content.

Or you could just come here. I'll try to keep the instant gratification coming.

somebody save us.

We've got three sick kiddos around here. I'm on the recovering end, but the boys are all still in the middle of a pretty nasty cold. That makes for three cranky kids.

Here, Reid is demonstrating that for you. He's protesting getting dressed. If you could hear him, this picture would sound like this, "No clothes, momma! No clothes!"

(notice the super shaggy hair)

Which brings us to now. Three boys, all down in their beds to rest.

Sad Alec.
Sad Dane.
And not very sad Reid because he gets to watch his Curious George DVD in bed. He's actually pretty jazzed right now.
Check out Reid's new haircut. I may have gone a little short, but I was getting tired of his hair always looking like Don King, or Krusty the clown. Your pick. (remember the picture from yesterday of him with gubs on, and his post-nap hair?)

He sure looks cute, but I miss his shaggy hair. Even though it was always full of yogurt, sand, boogies, milk, you name it.

Oh well. In 6 weeks we'll be back to super shag again. At least this way he's got a decent haircut as it grows out. Erik and I are his barbers, and we're not very good. Once, when I was pregnant with the twins and going to the OB all the time, I brought Reid to one of my appointments and one of the nurses was like, "um...who cuts his hair?", with a very concerned voice. Oh well.

So, while things are cranky and crazy around here, I'm still counting my blessings. Remember how a few weeks ago Erik and I got a lovely, violent stomach flu? Miraculously, none of the children caught that one. How about that for a tender mercy? Colds, runny noses, cranky babies, coughing, etc...I can handle. Three little ones with a stomach flu? No thanks.

Oh, Mandi, I remember when your boys were sick when Jonathan was gone. You are super-mommy, I swear.

meet our new pet, the triple jogger

Check out some cute (and gross, sorry) pictures of the last week.

Apparently Alec likes to look out the window, too.

Some friends in the ward handed down some Sunday ties for Reid. He loved them. Here he is modeling one and making a strange face.
Alec was hanging out in one of the baby seats (I like to give them 10 or 15 minutes post bottle in the hopes that food will settle a little and result in less spit-up. Not sure if it's working.) and when I came over to him after putting the finished bottle in the sink, I found this.

A special present for me. Look at the smug look on his cute little face.
We bought a triple jogging stroller so that I could get out of the house with all three kids. I call it "freedom on wheels". It takes up the entire sidewalk, can't fit through doors or aisles, but folds up nicely and isn't very heavy. So, great for walking/jogging, which is what I was wishing for. Erik took the kids out the other day and snapped this cute picture. (Reid had already escaped his seat, Alec on left, Dane on right)
Reid loves playing outside in the dirt. Hopefully soon we'll have some grass that he can play in, but first Erik is fixing our sprinkler system and Reid is helping.


On Thursday, after a nap (thus the cah-razy hair), Reid woke up to Erik coming home from running errands on his motorcycle. So Reid put on dad's "gubs", his sunglasses, and his own beads. Nice.
Erik caught this cute moment yesterday. The babies had rolled over to the window and Reid thought he'd join in on the fun. Cute brothers.

just Me, Myself, and I

The last few months or so my body started to give up. Well, not as in give up the ghost, but give up nursing (if you're uncomfortable with this story already, then scroll down to the boring post underneath this about music I like).

I had been beating myself up trying to make enough milk. Taking fenugreek pills...two pills, three times a day. Drinking Mother's Milk tea...three times a day. Drinking a million glasses of water a day. Nursing both babies one of the feedings for the day and then pumping for the rest of the 4 feedings, trying to stay a feeding or two ahead of the schedule. Just in case.

It was crazy. And my body knew it. I had been pregnant and/or nursing since late July '06, when Reid started growing in my belly. So, two weeks ago my body and I had a pow-wow and we decided to call over 6 months of nursing good and to just let it go.

It was a really hard decision. Though I'm a little bummed about it, I can feel a little spark coming back to me already. I think that in a few weeks, I'll feel more like myself than I have in years, and that is so exciting. It's amazing to just take care of your own body and not to ask your body to sustain anyone else's.

Which means, I've officially stopped eating meat. I tried to before, but again, cutting back on anything reduced my milk supply, and I desperately needed to eat meat while I was pregnant with the boys.

But now, I have my chance. It's nice to be able to do what you want to do. You know?

Oh, here's a little something. A few months ago I came up with a system to make meal planning/shopping easier and to prevent having potatoes 3 nights in a row, or whatever. It goes like this:

Sunday - pasta

Monday - rice

Tuesday - soup

Wednesday - beans

Thursday - potatoes

Friday - pizza

Saturday - leftovers or eat out

Erik and I sit down and make a month's dinner menu at a time. We usually do one category at a time, like pasta for example, and pick four pasta dishes that sound good. Then on to the next category. When they're all done I rearrange a little to make sure that there aren't 3 chicken dishes in a row, for example, and then it's all done. A month of dinners. Just like that. Now that I don't eat meat, meat becomes like a topping for the dish for Erik and Reid.

Example: last night I made one of our favorites, Thai Peanut Chicken (if that sounds good to you, too, then comment and I'll make an effort to post the recipe). I made a peanut satay sauce (Julie's awesome recipe, what would I do without you, Julie?), sauteed chicken, steamed rice and steamed broccoli. Then for my plate I just put down rice and topped it with broccoli and sauce, and Erik and Reid had chicken with theirs, too. Not that different from before when I would mix the sauce and chicken and broccoli all together and then we'd put it on top of rice. This no-meat-for-Emily-thing is going to work out.

These are dinner categories that we like, but it would be easy to modify for your family. We really like homemade pizza, and that's become our weekend food. Very fun and celebratory for a Friday night. I saw on ali loves curtis (a super rad blog) a link to a pizza place that looks delicious. Just how pizza should be. Not all Pizza Hut-ish. Yuck.

I have a type.

Sometimes I'm a little slow.

The other day I finally realized that when it comes to music, most of my favorite artists have a LOT in common:

solo artist

female

great hair

usually plays the piano

moody

Here are a few examples.

If you're into moody chicks, too, then give them a try.

If you don't limit your interest in moody singers to just girls, then give The Weepies a try. (a moody boy and girl. Also, I should mention, that while I'm not quite prepared to say that the Weepies are my favorite band, theirs are definitely the CDs I listen to more than any other. Probably by double.)

If you like your female moody singers to be backed with a more full-bodied sound (not just a moody piano), then try Hem. (I've mentioned them before, but they're amazing and you should probably just buy a CD of theirs right this minute. Doesn't matter which one. They're all completely wonderful.)

What's your type?

speaking his language.

This post is mostly for me, so I don't forget all of the wonderful things that little Reid says. But, I figured you may enjoy it, too.

Although, I should warn you, "Reid speak" is just about cute enough to make you double over in cuteness pain.

"Gubs" = dad's motorcycle gloves
"uh-MUSsa-dach" - the mustache for his Mr. Potato Head
"BE-bop...bop......bop.........bop" = Baby Bop. He kind of fades out saying multiple bops.
"tarsh" = stars (sometimes, especially with s sounds, he'll focus so much on the first sound that he puts it at the end)
"bah-YOONs!" = balloons, usually said with excitement

I need to keep my wits about me so I can catch more funny things when he says them. It's just all so good, and I don't want to forget it. So, hopefully, there will be more "Reid speak" posts in the future.

How did I forget this?

Yesterday, when I was all talking about Jane Austen and stuff, I should have mentioned something. I don't know how it slipped my mind.

The BBC is making a new Emma.

Holy crap. I mean, holy cow.

It's going to be in four parts, and I'm so excited. I like the Gwyneth Paltrow version, a lot actually. But I'm excited for a less Hollywood-ish movie, and I'm excited for the new take on it. Have you seen the old BBC version? I haven't either. I tried the super old version (not super super old, the one with Laurence Olivier) of P&P and I couldn't take it, so I haven't tried this one either. It was like a bad stage play and someone just set up a camera and pressed record. Not even I can sit through that.

But how about the A&E version with Kate Beckinsale?

It's okay. I love that Andrew Davies wrote the screenplay (he also wrote the screenplay for the P&P (the good one) and for the version of S&S that I praised yesterday). I love his screenplays. He does a great job. I trust him with the story, unlike whoever wrote the Keira Knightley version of P&P. I don't think they "get" it. Anywho...

Kate Beckinsale as Emma Woodhouse is...eh...okay.

Harriet Smith is perfectly naive.

Mr. Woodhouse is kind of forgettable.

but, Mr. Knightley is perfect. Very masculine, which I think he would be. Sometimes, the gentlemen in Jane Austen's novels are a little too gentle. Not quite manly enough. This Mr. Knightley gets it right. As does the Colonel Brandon in the S&S I mentioned yesterday. You can see why Marianne would fall for him, as opposed to Kate Winslet falling for Alan Rickman. It just feels icky.

I'm excited for the casting in this new Emma. Here's the lineup:

Romola Garai as Emma Woodhouse.

I love her. Have you seen the embarrassing to admit to watching, but delightful Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights? Julie, I know you have, at least, because I watched it with you. And I'm willing to bet that Annie has seen it since she went to see Ice Princess. By herself.

I know.

Romola has been in a lot of period films since, and I think she's going to be great.

Michael Gambon as Mr. Woodhouse. Perfect. I only recognized him from Cranford, and Wives and Daughters (Where he has the best line of the whole movie, "I'm not saying that she was being very silly. But one of us was being silly, and it wasn't me.")

But when I looked him up there were a bunch of pictures of him as a wizard. So I guess he's in Harry Potter. So, for all you nerds out there, you'll know him from that. I hope the Harry Potter mania is officially over. Now I just have to endure this vampire mania, and then I'll be safe. Until whatever comes next. Aliens? Trolls? Leprechauns?
And lastly, Johnny Lee Miller as Mr. Knightley. I'm kind of concerned about this one. He seems a little too pretty boy for me. A little too Frank Churchill and not enough Mr. Knightley. If you know what I mean. And if you've read to this point, then you must take Jane Austen to heart as much as I do, so you probably DO know what I mean. But, I saw an episode of Eli Stone once, and I liked him in it. So, I'm willing to give him a chance.
And there you go. Oh, and the writer for this series is some lady (don't want to look it up again) who also wrote the screenplay for North and South. For those Austen fans out there, are you also into Elizabeth Gaskell? If you haven't seen any of her books-into-movies, start with Cranford. Then give me a call. We'll talk.

blasphemy.

I can't even believe I'm about to say this. Uh, type this.

Have I talked about how much I love the book Pride and Prejudice? Or Jane Austen in general? (minus Mansfield Park. I kind of hate that one.) And I love Jane Austen movies.

The A&E version of Pride and Prejudice is just so good. Like it's in a class all of its own.

Until now.

The PBS Masterpiece Classic version of Sense and Sensibility is at least as good. I promise.

I've rented it from Netflix a few times now, and this last time sealed the deal. I'm ready to put it on the same level as P&P.

And I may even like it more.

If you're thinking, "I've already watched the Emma Thompson version of Sense and Sensibility, why would I watch this one, too?", here's a few good reasons:

1. I love me some Emma Thompson. As an actress, I really like her and all of her wackiness (I need to rent Stranger than Fiction again). I like that she wrote the screenplay for her version of S&S, and I think she did a really wonderful job. I just think she was a good 10 years too old to play Elinor. It shows. Elinor is like 19 or something, and I'll bet that Emma Thompson was in her mid to upper thirties. Not that that's a bad age, just not right for a 19 year old character. The new version's Elinor is much more fitting.

2. Another mis-cast in the 1995 version is of Colonel Brandon. He's played by Creepy McCreepers, Alan Rickman. Who is also too old for his character. The new version's Brandon is much, MUCH better.

3. The setting of Barton Cottage is pure magic. I would die to live in that cottage by the sea. Seriously, it's worth renting just for the scenes of green rolling hills by the rocky sea.

4. You still get all of your favorite wacky characters. Sir John Middleton is great, as is Mrs. Jennings. The guy who plays Edward Ferrars is no Hugh Grant, but still very likable as Edward. Oh, and Fanny is even better in this version. She was great in the older one, but even better this time around. Deliciously nasty.

So have I convinced you? It's worth it, I promise. Even for those of you who detest these kind of period films. Matt.

And while you're at it, watch some P&P, too. Because, why not?

we're that family.

You know, that family.

The family that manages, by the end of Sacrament Meeting, to all be out in the foyer. Trying to be quiet. Unsuccessfully.

The family that inspires people to talk to us like this (with concerned faces), "How are you doing?"

and we're the family that is so deep in the depths of little children-ness that a lady in the ward saw these comics and thought of me and so she saved them for me. (one strip was featured each day in the week and she saved them all, compiled them, and then made a copy for me. Which she put in a page protector. I inspire that kind of dedication. I love it.)

The funniest part? It's so true. All of it. The day before she gave this too me, Reid was in the bathroom with me and dropped my deodorant in the toilet. Luckily there was only water in there at the time, but still. It's toilet water. And not the french perfumey kind. What did I do? I fished it out, washed it off, washed my hands...and back to normal. Gross? Yeah, probably. But, eh. What are you going to do?

How about you? I know you've got stories like the ones in the cartoon.

(click on it to get a larger picture)

Two very gross stories.

Okay, I really want to make sure that you understand that these stories are very gross.

I mean it.

Gross.

If you're not into that, then click out of here, fast!

Because here goes...

2nd place gross:

Erik and I were sick this week and I got it first. On Monday I pretty much puked my guts out. It was really bad. I haven't been sick like that in a long time. It was violent. The peak of the puking violence came when the babies were in bed napping (a tender mercy), but Reid wasn't. Unfortunately. He was happily playing while I was in the bathroom, puking, and then came in to see what I was up to. The poor thing came in to see me retching into the toilet and started exclaiming, "Momma! Doing? Momma! Doing?"

His way of saying, "mom, what the heck are you doing?, and stop it right now!"

So cute.

Then, when that round was finished and I was kind of cleaning up in the sink, he stood up on the toilet seat next to the sink and put his hand on my shoulder and as I was rinsing and wiping my mouth said, "Okay now momma? Okay now? Momma, okay now?"

He is such a treasure.

And I hate throwing up.

1st place gross:

Dane has trouble pooping sometimes. Every now and then he'll go a few days without a decent poop and I can tell he gets uncomfortable, and that's when it's time to give him a suppository.

I know, this is gross. But I warned you. You still have time to get out now if you need to.

A few days ago I gave him a suppository. Usually what happens is he first poops a "plug" kind of poop and then once that's out he's able to poop the rest like normal. That's what happened this time also, except that when the firmer poop came out he pooped it out with such force that it flew out! No lie. It was like in the movies when someone pops a bottle of Champagne or something and it goes flying. Like on Dumb and Dumber when Lloyd kills the owl. I literally saw poop fly through the air, then land on my carpet.

It was completely disgusting, and so surprising that I didn't quite know what to do. Dane was still on the changing table, finishing his business, and I now had poop on the floor. Crazy.

Okay, so I know that story was really gross, but I hope the funniness of it makes up for the grossness.

And that is my life. I never my life could be filled with so much poop.

And so many sweet babies.

I just can't take it.

Okay, for real, it's not like I'm trying to be braggy.

I know that I'm always like, "my boys are so cute", and...well, they are...but I'm not trying to brag or act like I'm the magic that made them so wonderful.

They are their own magic. They are pure heaven.

I'm just trying to report on the cuteness and send some your way.

See, I'm not being braggy. I'm sharing, and that's nice. So, you're welcome.

This is Reid's favorite hide-out spot and he'll giggle and giggle and wait for me to say, "where did Reid go? I just saw him around here somewhere..."

Then he pops out and says, "Hi Momma!"

Over and over again.

He's so into this particular cupboard that he kind of gets ticked when I ask him to move so that I can get a pot out or put one back in. Like I'm crimping his style.

Blurry action shot.
Oh, I love this dog. Or, Reid calls it his "goggy".

We got it in a little baby boutique back in Fairbanks and when he was about a year old and as I was browsing the store he was walking about checking out the scooters and toys. Then he came up to me holding this dog and chewing on the dog's nose. He loved it so much, and he had put it in his mouth, so I figured we'd better buy it. Even though it is a poodle with pink bows on the ears. He still loves it and the other day he came up to me and lifted up the dog's tail, sniffed the bum area, and said "oooh, goggy poopy. Goggy diaper." I found a leftover size one diaper and we put it on the dog. Reid was satisfied.

He is so funny these days. I love that little Reid.
And the Oscar for Best Pooping Performance by a Lead Male goes to....

Alec!

On Tuesday the group and I went to Costco (we now have a Costco membership. I'm still kind of weirded out by it. It's just too...grown-up for me) and when we were all done and loading the group back into the car, Alec was a little distraught. After some investigating we discovered that he had completely pooped out of his clothes. Poop was everywhere. It was the kind of blow-out where you look at the clothes with poop all over them and you're like, "no way, it's not even worth trying to keep these." I seriously just threw them away. Like an idiot, I didn't have any extra clothes with me so Alec got to ride home in the buff. He did have a nice, snuggly blanket on him, though.

Some poop encounters are just too overwhelming at the beginning and it takes me a full thirty seconds just to figure out what to do.

This was one of those times.
Cute pictures of the babies. Dane is on the left and Alec is on the right.
Alec.
Dane. I love his bright eyes.
Check out Alec on the left. He almost always has this face like, "Hey! Where's the party?!"

Such a spunky kid. I love that little Alec.
The boys are all over each other lately. They wiggle over and then clobber each other.
They must have bumped heads because Alec has a little red mark on his forehead.

Dane grabbing Alec's face.


Dane can grab his foot and steam roll his brother at the same time.
Alec doesn't seem to mind.
I saved my favorite for last. You know how I told you that Dane likes to roll over to the window and look out to the backyard? Look how I found him the other day.
Isn't that the most precious thing you've ever seen? Oh, I just love this picture so much. I love that little Dane.