Merry Christmas 2010

Yo, yo. It's that time of the year again.

Our Christmas letter's gonna GLISten.

You'll love that it's another TOP Ten. . .

Just kidding. I have neither the energy nor the creative skills to come up with an entire rhyming Christmas rap. (Yes, that was a rap, people.) So instead, I'll treat you to the Bradshaw Family Top Ten of 2010. It seems to be my Christmas letter standby, so you'll have to get used to it. And it's easy. For me. You still have to read the whole thing so I won't guarantee it being easy for you. Enjoy the recap of our year.

10—Me: Kye, what can you do to be more like Captain Moroni?
Kye: Uhhhhh, fight Isaac more?
So not what I was going for there. . .

9—A typical FHE in our home:
Isaac leads the music like he's landing an airplane. Lucy goes from the piano bench to the ottoman to the couch over and over to get away from whatever brother feels like he must be within touching distance of his favorite sister. Adam runs around like a recently freed jail bird singing at the top of his lungs. Kye and Isaac (when he's done landing the airplane) lay on the couch like their spines have been surgically removed from their bodies. Zach sprawls on the big chair (hmmmm, must be where the boys get it), welcoming everyone to FHE. I sit wherever there's an opening, hoping we make it through another night alive. And, somehow, we do. And we learn and grow and love each other and look forward to our next FHE together.


8—Me: Isaac, when I speak to you, what do you hear?
I: Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.
I KNEW it!

7—Me: What should we do for dad for his birthday?
Kye: I think we should hit him in the head with a rolling pin.

6—The 2 year olds hone their creative skills: while in AZ, Adam had ample opportunity to hang with a posse of other 2 year olds. They had so much fun chasing each other, and eating snacks, and watching movies, and drawing. On my car. With rocks. We discovered the masterpieces on 3 sides of our car after we gave it a good wash to get rid of all the dirt from our drive home. All I have to say is that one of them better darn well be the next Michelangelo with the sacrifice we made to stimulate their creativity.

5—I'm pretty sure I've heard "Mom, it hurts when I do this" (while kid does some inane thing like poking pinkie with a screw) about a million times. And I have responded "Then don't do that" about a million times. Isaac, however, opened my eyes to the lengths kids will go . . . . Coming out of his bedroom one quiet evening, he said, "Mom, I have to show you something." He then proceeded to lay on his back and rock his feet up over his head repeatedly. He said (with an incredibly worried look on his face,) "When I do this," (rock, rock, rock), "I feel a little sick . . . " I couldn't help it. I laughed till the tears came.

4—Lucy: If there was a piece of dynamite under the trampoline and you were jumping on it and the dynamite exploded, would you die?  (Thank you "Mythbusters."  It has inspired destructive hypotheses galore from my kids, but at least they've never actually tried out what they want to know.  Unlike a certain nephew who wanted to know if you can pull a bathroom mirror off the wall with a plunger.  You can, by the way.)

3—Isaac: Adam, if you don't get buckled, you might go further than you want . . . like to heaven.

2—Adam's acquisition of the evil laugh, "Mwahahahaha!" We hear it every time he's feeling mischievous, which means it is an almost constant refrain around here.

1—Joy. The joy of living and laughing and loving. The joy of watching a 5 year old discover his first loose tooth, of listening to a 3 year old make his life a musical, of watching our oldest child turn 10, of celebrating our 14^th anniversary, of trying to convince our children we are really and truly expecting another baby, of seeing their reactions to finding out said baby is another boy, of experiencing Disneyland, of gratitude for our many blessings, most especially for the celebration of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. May you find peace and joy in your own lives as you reach out to Him and celebrate His life this season.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Wherein I Play Catch Up: Episode II

Right now on my counter, I have:

• caramel nut trail mix
• a bag of licorice (variety of flavors)
• sugar cookies made with each of our names on it (delivered last night with Joy to the World sung in harmony!)
• Monkey Munch
• a dozen Raspberry rolls and 2 pull apart cinnamon breads from Shirley's Bakery
• frosted chocolate cake
• fruit bread
• banana bread
• a toffee crunch Belgian chocolate bar
• shortbread cookies
• a rice crispy treat from Funky Chunky
• sparkling apple cider
• sour Santa gummies
• hot chocolate
• cinnamon honey butter. 

Yesterday there were also 6 beyond-delicious white chocolate/peppermint cupcakes that disappeared after dinner.  I kid you not--the best cupcakes I have ever had. Thanks neighbors, coworkers and friends for all the gifts.  In an attempt to distract myself from all the sugary deliciousness calling my name, I'll play a little more catch-up and post our Top Ten for October/November. 

10--Announcement of impending birth of baby #5 is met with complete and utter disbelief.  As in, Kye scoffed and said, "Yeah, right, dad!"  Lucy said, "Nuh-uh," a dozen times like we were trying to pull her leg.   I'll be the first to admit that Zach might be a bit of a tease with the kids, but I was still a little surprised at their reactions.  It took 10 minutes of convincing and the showing of the ultrasound picture before they believed us.

9--Overheard while the kids were playing "super-powers":
K: Boom!  Tornado Power!
L: Boom! Hurricane Power!
K: Boom!  Fire Power!
I: These are the BEST ones--Boom!  Scripture Power!  Boom!  Priesthood Power!

8--L: I don't know who played on the computer downstairs.
A: I did.  I was checking out my email. 

7--We are a family of readers.  I pretty much think that's undisputed.  I grew up in a family of readers.  I remember distinctly the uncontained excitement of getting home from the library with a new bag of books to read.  I remember rushing through chores so I could sit lengthwise on the bottom stair and pull out a new book and throw myself into another world.  (My other favorite reading spot was lying on the couch facing the back of it with my leg thrown up over the top, but I digress.)  Anyway, I laughed out loud at this conversation with my niece, Hannah.
H: Where are your books?  Are you not an avid reader, like me and my mom?
M: I'm trying to read less this month so I get more done.  I'm doing it on purpose.
H: (thoughtfully) Yeah . . . I'm trying to read less, too.  I'm limiting myself to one book a day.

6--A: (yelling through the door) Mom, are you in my bathroom?
M: No, I'm in my bathroom.
A: It's MY bathroom now . . . and you can't pee in my bathroom!  Mwahahahaha!

5--Palm-reading abounds:
I: Mom, is this "M" in my hand here because I'm Mormon?
(You'd better check your palm lines, people.  If there's an "M" it means you should be a Mormon, too!)

4--I happen to be fond of idioms and proverbs.  This is something my kids know (and don't love) about me.  I remember hearing them all the time from my grandma.  "Loose lips sink ships" and "It was the dishwiper who didn't get half the dirt" and the like.  Zach doesn't believe that most of these proverbs actually exist.  He thinks I make them up.  I totally don't. One of my faves: "If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride.  If wishes were fishes we'd all have a fry.  If wishes were horse poop, then no one would die." Observe:
K:  Oh, I wish . . .
M: If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride.  If wishes were fishes . . .
K: We'd all have a fry.
M: If wishes were horse poop . . .
K: Then everything would stink!  Hahahahaha!
True dat, funny man.

3--Disneyland!!  Our first trip there in 7 years, so like a brand new experience for all involved.  Already blogged about.  Still memorable enough to mention here.

2--After watching "Hook," which was a little more intense than I remembered, what with the hook-shaped hole through all of the walls, kidnapping of children, crocodiles, scary music and the like, little A shared his feelings.
A: Oh!  That was so scawy!
M: Which part was scary?
A: Oh!  It was so scawy when da mommy frew away da daddy's cell phone out da window into da snow.
(I choose to ignore all implications that might be derived from this comment.)

1--Momnesia returns.  I know it never really leaves once you start having kids, but it certainly intensifies during pregnancy.  I have trouble remember common words like "cupboard" and "flour" (but interestingly never things like "chocolate" and "cookies."  Hm.)  And worst of all, my idioms get all mixed up.  Case in point:
Me: Maybe we shouldn't get one with all the bells and jingles yet.
Zach: (Snort) Ummmmm, do you mean "whistles"?
Me: Yes, whistles.

Sigh.  My brain will come back, right?  Remind me often that it will, people!

And that concludes our combined Oct/Nov top ten.  And that means I have officially caught up.  Yeehawzers!  We were going to make our traditional Christmas treats today (BandJ-killer cookies and fudge) but I'm thinking we don't need one more ounce of sugar in this house.  We'll see--maybe we'll go sledding instead.  (I mean the outside kind . . . not just sledding down the basement stairs in sleeping bags, which the children are doing as I speak write.)

It's a Wonderful Life and We Know It (subtitled)

Enjoy this delightful video done by my sis and her family. Classic.

Wherein I Play Catch-Up: Episode I

Bradshaw Top Six (I’ll take what I can get)—September 2010

As I am feeling much better these days, I tend to notice the world around me again. There were a few months there where I was concerned only with my proximity to the nearest bathroom thanks to morning, noon, and night sickness. Of course, waiting so long to tell people meant I had to pretend that I didn’t feel sick and I was actually able to keep more down because of it. Some prego women obviously don’t have that luxury, but it worked for me.

Hmmm, the whole point of that was supposed to be that I am now ready again to write our top tens, or top sixes. I jotted some notes down here and there from the last few months, so I’ll see if I can throw something together. Without further ado (and that WAS quite an ado over nothing), here are the top things heard, seen and done on the home front in September.

6— Isaac’s newly-acquired problem-solving skills. He’s a bit of a spiller. Always been one. Kind of reminds me of myself, actually. One night after dinner, I noticed he had ketchup all over the back of his shirt. Literally—ALL OVER! When asked why, he said, “I had my shirt on backwards during dinner so I wouldn’t mess up the front.” Well, huh. Good thinking.

5—Having a few extra months to use up our Flex spending account, Zach and I only had to use up $200 on a medical spending spree. Believe me, I’m thankful we haven’t had to use our entire FSA every year. That means we’ve been pretty healthy, but $200 equals a lot of band aids, folks. Not that they haven’t come in handy. (Stocking stuffers, anyone?) And a shopping spree is a shopping spree. Always a little fun.

4—Mischief, mischief everywhere. I delight in writing others’ stories as well as recording my own. Like the story of my nephew, who drew glasses, a moustache and a beard on his sister’s face with marker the day before their family pictures. Luckily it was washable marker, but still!

3—(overheard) Isaac’s self pep talk: I can do this, yes I can. I can do this! I can! Okay, maybe I can’t. No, I can! Maybe . . . (The occasion? Trying to hold it long enough to make it home from school before going potty. Luckily, the pep talk worked.)

2—Adam’s life as a musical: though “I’m not wearing any pants” may perhaps be my favorite, we’ve also enjoyed Adam’s musical renditions of his everyday life experiences.
• “I like Catie, Catie, Catie, Catie, Catie, Catie. Oh yes I do! Oh yes, I do do do do do do doooooooooo!
• “Aaaaaaaaaaaaah! The sun, the sun, the sun! Ugh—it’s ‘nnoying me.”

1— Isaac: Adam, if you don’t get buckled, you might go further than you want . . . like to heaven.

Spanksgiving 2010

I use "spanksgiving" in a very literal sense here.  We drove down to Gpa and Gma D's in Arizona for our holiday.  Gpa D is known as the spanking gpa.  (Or as "goofy gwape gwampa," a la Adam).  The kids love to run from Gpa when he tries to give them spankings.

We left the day the "Storm of the Century" was supposed to hit, and as we were headed south, we weren't too worried about it.  (Turns out we didn't need to worry about it anyway, as it barely left a skiff of snow on the ground at our house.)  We had a great time.  Good food, good family, good times, and no early morning black Friday shopping.  All the necessesaries for a great Thanksgiving holiday.

Zach with his mom, and sisters Alisa and Katie, working on the giant crossword puzzle.  When they get together, it's either a crossword or a puzzle with these four.

Adam's favorite thing to do was watch his cousin Darin play his phone.  Darin was kind enough to oblige.

A's turkey hat from playgroup.  After I instisted we take a picture with him wearing it, he was done with it forever.  Goodbye, cute turkey hat that took way too much work for a playgroup project.

Whatever time wasn't spent outside (it was cold for AZ, but it sure beat the single digits Utah was having), the kids spent in Gma's guest room watching Toy Story 3.  My kids can now watch it without running in terror from the incinerator scene.  Baby steps, people.

I:

 K:

 L, with her usual picture perma-grin:

Zach and I got to go on a date (HP 7), and we took the kids to see Tangled.  I laughed so hard at Rapunzel's mood swings from complete and utter joy to devestating guilt at leaving.  If you've seen it, you'll know what I'm talking about.  They captured the typical woman's guilt issues pretty well, if you ask me.  We left Sunday morning and hit stormy weather just past St. George.  The nail-biting, head-banging 10 miles-per-hour drive to Cedar City left us a little anxious about just how long it would take us to get home.  13 hours compared to the normal 10, but with the blessing of a safe trip.  We were so thankful.  Still, when Lucy asked me if we'd be going down again this winter approximately 15 minutes after we got home, I told her she'd need to give my rear-ierre a little time to recover from the trip before I'd even consider it.  (AZ in February is very tempting, however, so who knows?)

Wherein the Kids Find Out the Gender of Baby #5

It gets a little quiet there at the end, so out of the goodness of my heart, I will provide a transcription for you.

M: Mom found out what she's having today.
Z (in background): A baby.
M: A baby!
A: (trying desperately to get my attention and being completely ignored)
M: What do you think it is?
I: A boy?
M (to Kye): What do you think it is?
K: I don't know.
L: It's a girl.
M: It's a boy.
L: Nooooooooooooooooo!
M: Boy #4 coming to. . . . coming soon.  What do you think Luc?
L: (Pause, pause, pause.)  I'm mad.

I may or may not have felt just the tiniest bit the same when I first heard.  Because that's 12 straight years of Cub Scouts folks.  12 straight years!  But you didn't hear it from me.

Fortunately, we've all gotten over it and are super excited for this new little man to join the family.

p.s. I think it's ridiculous to apologize for the state of my house during this video.  Because life can be crazy at times.  And it really shouldn't matter.  But we were within minutes of leaving on a trip and our stuff was still in the house instead of in the car.  I'm just saying. 
p.p.s.  Did I mention the 12 straight years of Cub Scouts?  I know, wah, wah.  :)