To My Mama

Sixty years ago today, a miracle happened. A woman who was told over a decade before that she would be unable to bear any more children, gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. She named this little miracle Elaine Marie.

Not only was she joyful of this event, but her husband, too...

...and their teenage son. Little did he know that later this little girl would become his little shadow.

So the cute little girl grew...

...and turned into a beautiful young lady.

She developed many talents in music, the arts, academics, and so on. Among other amazing accomplishments, this young woman set out to form her own family.

And the family grew...

...and grew...

...and grew...
and GREW...

and is still growing! (grandkids not in picture: Evan, Jozen, Nicole, Joshua, and little #12)

Mama, Happy Birthday!

Thanks for being such great woman, great mom...

....great "Grandma-mama,"...

...and overall just a great person! We love you!

Morning of fluids

So, we've had an interesting morning. It started off with Vanessa peeing on the floor not long after her bath. She's been potty training with panties (oh, sorry, Matt prefers "underwear." I think the other term embarrasses him). She has actually been doing extremely well so far. Well, against my better judgement, I put pants on her. Sure enough, it made her forget she wasn't wearing a diaper and she peed. So we hunted out where she was when it happened (that's the trickiest part), and started cleaning up.

As I was in the middle of cleaning, Vanessa came running over, slipped on the cleaning solution I had just put on the floor and started crying. I scooped her up, then Matt wanted to hold her so I had just passed her off....when she puked over both of them. Matt went running to the sink with her, unknowingly leaving a trail. So I started cleaning that up and took Vanessa up for the second bath of the day when...

Nicole woke up (in our bed since we both passed at the last feeding of the night) with poop all over her and our sheets! So we gave two girls a bath. After that Vanessa just wanted to watch movies. I used that time to feed and dress Nicole, then attempted to start stain-treating when...

Vanessa threw up a second time. She was feeling a little better and had been entertaining Nicole. Suddenly she started crying, so I look over to see her covered in puke. My second glance was over to Nicole. She was spared, thankfully, but we did dispose of a toy! I cleaned Vanessa again and covered the couch so she could lay down and told her to stay put! (I tried to hold her, but she didn't seem to want that as much today).

Thankfully, both girls are napping now, and Matt helped with most the chaos before he had to study. I just hope the afternoon goes better!

Girl's Night Out

Last Friday, Lisa went to a sleep-over with the girls from my cohort at school. Among other things, they made this music video:



It was much needed break for Lisa, as you might have guessed from the video. I'm glad she got to be a little "crazy" with the girls.

(Smile)

I have so much to say, and yet I don't know what to say. I love lingering in the sweet moments of life. I am just amazed that the Lord loves me so much!

Anyone Need Flower Girls?

Here are just a few pictures we took one random morning (hence the poor lighting!) when Vanessa wanted to wear her "pretty dress." We (Vanessa and I) decided Nicole needed her "pretty dress" too!



Still more pics to come!

A Great Week

Nicole:
*Only 6 more weeks of wearing braces all the time...she'll then only wear them for sleep!
*Rolls over from back to tummy! It's not an automatic success every time, but even attempts are cute.
*Has figured out how to wiggle and kick to turn in a circle or move a few feet. It takes her a while, but she's pretty pleased with her efforts.
*Sleeping better through the night...She goes to bed around the same time as Vanessa, and only wakes up twice! Yay!

Vanessa:
*Trying (and succeeding) in pooping and peeing in the potty when she recognizes it...she likes to be alone when she does it. Ariel panties and chocolate are good incentives. The test? Is Mommy ready for full-time potty-training?!
*Big helper around the house. She "set" the table the other day, and regularly helps me change and burp Nicole, as well as helps with laundry. Don't worry, I'm not running a sweatshop!
*Starting to learn letters. We went to the library, and she found an "F" on the floor, picked it up and said, "It's an 'F'." The funny thing is, I haven't really been teaching her!

Other good news:
Matt and I are getting more quality hang-out time, and I think we're addicted! We don't always actually do anything, but even that's fun!

Stayed tuned for pictures...

Pee Wee's Big Freakin' Disappointment

Alright, so those who are not members of the immediate Brown family might not understand the significance of this tape. So, let me give some background. This was THE first video tape we ever owned. At the time, we were all obsessed with Pee Wee's Big Adventure, so naturally, it was the first movie we taped with our brand new VCR. My dad messed up a little on the title, and that has been a running joke amongst the kids. You can imagine my excitement when I came across this tape during our last visit home. I quickly claimed it (which wasn't hard since we were the only ones there, and Megan already wore out her claims to sentimental home objects about a year ago--Jason will attest to that as well).

Anyways, the other night I popped this classic into our VCR. I was horrified to see that Pee Wee was no where to be seen. Instead, I was watching an old episode of "Sisters" (Mom was definitely the culprit). About 5 minutes later, it switched to "Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken"! I was freaking out. It didn't end there...up next was "A League of Their Own", followed by "Big". I couldn't figure out how such a family classic could be stomped on by all these "other films" that were in no way comparable to the Large Marge scene, Francis bath tub struggle, dancing on the table at the Satan's Helpers Club, and "come one Simone, let's talk about your big butt".

There was still some glimpse of happiness. Just as I was about to abandon all hope, I heard, "don't you hear no evil, don't you see know evil, you're gonna burn in hell!". The crazy chase scene through Warner Brothers Studio highlighted by long-haired, falsetto-singing guys piled on top of a moving Cadillac was still preserved. It was sweet, but still didn't make up for all the rest.

The worst part of it all, the tape was so dirty that we had to run the VCR cleaner through 19 cycles to get our VCR to work again. So long, Pee Wee.

While our guy is away, we girls will play...

Last night I decided to create a new General Conference* tradition. Since 3/4 of our family has a few hours to hang out while Matt is at Priesthood session and eating ice cream with mission buddies, I decided the girls and I should have a "Girls Only Party." I decided the main idea of our party is just to have fun doing things girls like to do! This is what our evening consisted of:
+dress-up (like princesses of course)
+balloons
+popcorn
+chocolate (a must)
+chick movies (in this case, our favorite clips from the princess movies)
+silly dancing (with and without balloons)
+comfy pajamas
+make-up
+story-time
+freedom from braces (just a short while)
+lots of giggling
+fun mommy-daughter time

Check out a few of our picture (forgive my photography skills...I was having too much fun to stay behind the camera long):

The three musketeers!


Dancing and kicking balloons...Vanessa had so much fun, I couldn't get a good still shot! Nicole even got to kick a few!

Check out my foot-loose cutie!
Post make-up...it was a quick makeover job. I know my expression is quite embarassing, but Vanessa's look was too cute not to share...I couldn't get her to look at the camera!

I can't wait for the next Conference!

*For those who aren't familiar, General Conference is a bi-yearly conference for all members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints around the world (and really for any non-members who care to attend/watch). It is held in Salt Lake City, Utah (Church headquarters), but is broadcast worldwide. We get to hear from our beloved prophet, President Hinckley, and other leaders, and they encourage us to become better people and to pattern our lives after Jesus Christ in all we do. There are 4 general sessions (2 on Saturday, and 2 on Sunday), and then there is a Priesthood session Saturday evening (for all males 12 and up), as well as a yearly Relief Society session (women 18 and up), and a yearly Young Women session (women 12-18, their leaders, and their mothers). These other sessions simply address topics similar to the general sessions, but are tailored to the specific groups and their needs and responsibilities.

Little Night-Owl, Miss Independent, and the Saint

So, it's time for an update. Life is busy, as usual, and full of good things.

Nicole is enjoying being able to move and do more. She finds her hands and mine fascinating, and loves to pull her binky out to study it. She fits in the Bumbo now, too, looking quite grown up. She hasn't quite yet mastered rolling over back to front, but I think it's only a matter of time. She hates to sit still!

Her most recent habit is to stay up as late as she can hold out. There have been a few nights I've been hopeful that she'll get to bed before 10pm, but she finds a way to wake up or stay awake (sometimes 'til midnight). I think she holds out for Daddy, hoping to get her treasured one-on-one time with him!

Vanessa is way into princesses. I mean, WAY! She can spot them from a mile away on any packaging, and loves to put on "pretty dresses." In fact, we've discovered if we refer to other things as pretty ("let's brush your teeth so you can have pretty teeth to go with your pretty dress/nightgown"), we are able to side-step the often frustrating, 2-year-old demand for independence. Or at least we hear less "no's." Vanessa has also already picked her Halloween costume. I leave you in suspense as to which princess it is...

One of Vanessa's habits lately is getting into the fridge. She wanted juice one day while I was feeding Nicole, and since I was glued to the couch, I suggested she get it out of the fridge herself, thinking it would distract her and buy me time (Not a nice trick, I know. I get desperate!) Well, she goes and comes right back with her sippy cup and the fridge door closed. I thought it was great...that is, until she discovered the egg carton, and I discovered her, 6-eggs-crushed later! Needless to say, we have a latch on now, and I'm back to teaching the concept of patience.

Matt is well into school now, and mid-terms. He loves it, but as he puts it, "the honeymoon phase is over!" I love hearing about his different classes and what he's learning and reading. Although he has so much going on, Matt has been incredible. I have days where, despite how much I love our two cuties, I am ready to bolt out the door for alone time as soon as he gets home. He is so good to not only give me regular breaks, but he is just so stinkin' cute with both girls, it's no wonder they miss him all day! He also has become my "therapist," checking up on me to be sure I'm doing okay and getting enough intellectual stimulation.

As for me, I am just trying to figure out a balance. I keep relearning that there's always going to be housework, that I need playtime just as much as my girls, that hanging out with my hubbie can be my "fountain of youth," and that spiritual time doesn't always happen on its own. Life doesn't slow down, it speeds up! Still, as long as I am doing what really counts and finding joy, I keep up with it. Life is great!

"We're naked!"

Don't worry, the video is not at all racey...just watch, and it will make sense!

Brian Regan

Some people in my cohort at school showed me this guy. Finally, a clean, funny comedian.