Grandma

When I was growing up my maternal Grandma was a huge part of my life. We lived just two blocks away from her and we would go there often. My mother is currently working on a biography of my Grandma. As a favor to my Mom I sat down the other day and typed up some of the fun memories I have. Here are just a few of the good memories I have:

Sleepovers

When my sisters and I were young our favorite thing to do was to sleep over at Grandma’s house.  We enjoyed taking turns sleeping with different aunts or sometimes we even got to sleep with Grandma on her huge bed.  The only downside to sleeping in the bed with Grandma is that she had feather pillows which would poke us in the face during the night.  Grandma would also always watch the 10 o’clock news before going to bed.  She was especially interested in the weather report.  

Robbers

Occasionally when we were sleeping over at Grandma’s house we would get scared that robbers were going to come and snatch us during the night.  But Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Jason would always tell us that in Grandma’s patriarchal blessing it said that robbers would never visit her home.  We felt safe and secure with that promise.

Grandma’s Curlers

Grandma used curlers to curl her hair everyday.  I remember her getting out of the shower, grabbing her curler bag, and sitting down under her portable hair dryer.  Trying to talk to Grandma while she was under her hair dryer was impossible.  I suppose she used that as her excuse to get some quite time.  

Daisy
Daisy was Grandma’s silly, spoiled dog.  She would go everywhere with us.  In her older age she got so fat that she couldn’t climb up onto Grandma’s bed anymore.  So, grandma would always bend down and pick daisy up and put her on the bed.  She really was one of the family.

Halloween
Halloween was a favorite holiday because of Grandma’s dress-up box.  Over the years old clothes, hats, and costumes found there way into the dress-up box.  On Halloween, we would go over to Grandma’s and pick our favorite outfit to wear.  I will never forget the year the aunts let me use their makeup and I dressed up as a gypsy.

Grocery Trips - Bananas and Yogurt
Grandma loved going grocery shopping.  Whenever she would say she was going out to get a few groceries, we always knew it would take her at least two hours.  She would always shop at the old Albertson’s on Center Street in Orem.  All the employees knew her and would stop and chat with her while she was doing her shopping.  Without fail Grandma would always bring home boxes of Yoplait yogurt and several bunches of bananas.  That was grandma stand-by snack for anyone that ever came to visit.  It was a privilege to be able to go grocery shopping with Grandma.  She would always buy something extra special for you.  Grandma also used to talk to herself.  Especially when she was driving in the car.  I always wondered why she would talk to herself and I still wonder.

Easter

Easter was a fun holiday at Grandma’s.  Every year she would pull out her large box of construction paper and we would proceed to make Easter baskets.  The goal was to make your Easter basket as different and unique as possible.  One year Uncle Jason even made a toilet seat.  Grandma always loved our creative ideas.  The Easter bunny always filled them with candy on Easter morning.  We also used to decorate hard boiled eggs and then have races rolling them down the hill in the backyard.  

Grandma’s Stuffing
The night before Thanksgiving, Grandma would always be up all night long preparing the food.  One night I was determined to stay up as long as I could to help her.  She would always make her homemade stuffing.  The part that I remember most is ripping the bread into small pieces, cutting the celery, and chopping onions.  Grandma was a master at chopping onions.  I always wondered how she managed not to cry from the strong smell of the onions.

The Wheelchair Ramp

At Grandma’s house there was a wheelchair ramp up to the front door.  Over the years we played on that ramp a lot.  We would take dominoes and make different designs that went all the way down the ramp.  We would play for hours and hours.  We would also send marbles down the ramp and bouncy balls.  When we got older, we laced up our roller skates and blades and go whizzing down the ramp.  When some of the cousins were babies, we found it very convenient to push the strollers up the ramp and into the house.  When giving people directions, it was always convenient to tell them Grandma lived at the house that had the wheelchair ramp.

For Family Night

For Family Home Evening tonight we made Thankful Turkeys. I think Brandon and I had more fun making these, but Peter did enjoy picking out the colors for the tail feathers and playing with the tissue paper. I think they turned out pretty cute - what do you think?

1st Snowman

Peter and I made his first Snowman today! Peter really wanted to put a carrot on him for his nose, but he got too cold and didn't want to play outside anymore. At the last minute Peter decided to just put our gloves on Mister Snowman instead.

Pioneer Peter

Yesterday I dressed Peter up in my brothers old pioneer clothes and took some pictures. It was so much fun and he looked so darling. It made me really miss the time I spent being a historic reenactor. Someday, when my kids are grown and moved out I'm going to get into reenacting again. In the meantime, I'll keep dressing up the kids for as long as they fit these cute clothes.

Peter is 3

Our firstborn turned three this week! Oh my gosh, how quickly time has flown by. All week I've been looking at him and trying to decide where the years went. He loved his b-day and was happy with all the present he received. He also got a special treat-he got to go to Grandpa and Grandma Davis' ward since Aunt Lisa and Uncle Brent blessed baby Benjamin that day. It was a wonderful day.

The morning started out with Peter's favorite breakfast in the entire world - brown sugar muffins. It's one of the only breakfast foods he will actually eat.

Then, we let him open his presents. He was very adept at unwrapping the paper and pulling the gift out. This cowboy set was something he picked out himself with the coupon we had for Toys R Us. His favorite part are the handcuffs. Poor Luke has already been 'captured' more than once.

All his presents. We were hoping to get him interested in potty training with all the potty stuff we gave to him, but I think it's had the opposite effect. Now he is terrified of the toilet. Alas.....

This is one of the presents that Grandpa and Grandma Thomas gave to Peter. I know clothes aren't that exciting, but he sure looks all grown up in this new set of clothes.

Finally, here is his b-day cake. Brandon and I decided that we are going to have a family tradition where Mom makes a basic cake and the kids get to chose how to decorate it. Hence the fruit snacks. Sadly, Peter didn't enjoy the cake. He didn't even eat one bite. However, he did enjoy picking off the fruit snacks and eating them.

Advice for the person I used to be

A few weeks ago a friend wrote a post to her 16 year old self. Her post caused me to do a lot of thinking about myself and the person I've become. This picture of me is when I was 22 years old. At the time I just started attending college again (after a break of 4 years). I was working part-time for UVU and attending part-time classes. I wasn't sure at the time where my life was headed. All I knew was that I wanted to finish my undergraduate degree. I also knew that I wanted to find a great guy to marry. Needless to say, those dreams became a reality for me.

As I look at this picture I can't help but think about how I'm not really the same person I was back then. I've changed in so many ways. For instance, I'm no longer working for a paycheck. Instead I work for the betterment of two little boys. I'm their Mom and my daily challenge is to keep them fed, clothed, and happy. Some days I'm able to fulfill that challenge and other days I don't.

I also think about how I'm not nearly as self centered as I was back then. Goodness knows, most days it's all I can do to get myself showered and dressed. Forget getting my hair done or makeup on (that's a luxury I can only manage to get done on Sunday's for church). The boys keep me too busy to be very self centered.

I also think about how I was always so worried that I'd never find anyone who would love me for the person that I was. Thank goodness, that person somehow stumbled into my life. I honestly don't know how Brandon and I managed to become interested in each other. We were both unlikely candidates for each other and when it comes right down to it, we don't even have that much in common. But, he has been perfect for me. He absolutely refuses to allow me to have emotional meltdowns (last time I had one was when Luke was born 9 months ago) and he puts up with my whims of trying to be crafty.

If I could go back in time and give myself some advice I would first of all tell myself to chill out and enjoy life a little more. Honestly, I was a pretty serious person. I would also have told myself that motherhood was going to be a whole lot harder than I imagined it to be.

Well, there you have it. I've set out to do what I've wanted to do for over a month now.That, dear readers, is what happens when you become a mother. Everything gets pushed to the back burner if it's not a critical thing that has to be done immediately. For that, I think, is the sign of a mother who cares. One who has good intentions, but ends up spending all her time feeding, clothing, and keeping her children happy.

TTFN.

Last year

This is what I looked like last year at this time. Ugh! I'm so glad that part of my life is over.

Hiking the Y

A few weeks ago the Activity Day girls in our ward went on an activity to "Hike the Y". Since I am the Primary counselor that oversees the activity day activities (wow, that's confusing) I followed along and made Brandon come with me (thank you to my sister who watched the boys).

I had dreams of easily hiking up the trail and reveling in the beauty of the valley below. However, my dreams were shattered and I'm literally just glad I made it. It took me almost 1.5 hours to drag my "out of shape" self up this mountain. It was an event that I don't think I'll ever chose to repeat again. However, the girls had a blast and most of them thought it was great. Ah, to be young again....

Sisters

While looking through some old documents the other day I stumbled across this little gem. This is a picture of me and my older sister Amy. In this picture she is 2 years old and I'm just 1. Yep, we really are that close in age. Amy was born in November of '78, and I was born in February of '80. Good times for us - yes. Rough times for our mommy - double yes. I honestly don't know how she survived us, especially because our younger sister came along in April of '82. As a mother I now understand kinda what she must have went though. I don't know how she survived :-)

Fun Times

This cute little guy is being so silly today. He insisted that I take a couple of pictures of him. I think this one turned out pretty cute. At the moment I'm wishing his hair would grow out quicker then it is. I think I like it better long.

I'm also attempting to grow out my hair. Most days it drives me crazy, but I'm determined to get it long again. This is a picture of Luke and I at the nearby park. We went there as a family recently and had a blast.

 

This is also at the same park. Luke loved the swings so much! My blond little bald baby was so happy. Gotta love that.