Sockgate Part II

So I posted earlier today about how Grant couldn't keep his socks on. When I gave the little stinker (quite literally) a bath tonight, he wouldn't take them off.

I have a cold, and can't smell a thing. Grant had just had his diaper changed, so it didn't occur to me--or my nose--that he could be dirty . . . again. So I stripped him down to his socks and diaper. To my surprise, Grant had a dirty.

I ignored the socks still on his feet and rushed to clean his bottom. While I was disposing of the wipes, he climbed right into the tub. Socks and all.

The Sock Monster

Grant has been loosing socks. Granted, his socks are small, so we thought that perhaps they were getting stuck in the dryer, or hiding in someone's shirt sleeve.

Yesterday Jenny put a fully socked Grant down for an afternoon nap. When she returned, he didn't have socks on (but he did have a smile). She jerked the sheets a few times to hopefully toss out the socks. Nothing.

"Granty, where are your socks?"

The devil pointed to the back of his crib. Jenny pulled the crib back a foot, and lo and behold, Jenny didn't just find Grant's socks. She found a whole hive of socks.

Happy Thanksgiving

Sorry that we don't update the blog very often. Jenny insists there's little going on in our lives worth posting about. She's probably right.

But this Thanksgiving we made it out to Jenny's family in PA. As you long-time readers of our blog will remember, I absolutely love the beauty of western Pennsylvania, and enjoy our trips out there. Highlights this year included:

1. Jenny's brother and sister each brought their fiancees home (both couples are getting married towards the end of the year). That was an interesting experience.

2. We shot guns. As noted elsewhere, I'm a little concerned that my father-in-law is teaching my wife to aim a gun. She does, though, look pretty sexy when aiming a shotgun. Just saying . . . .




3. There was tons of stuffing at the Thanksgiving dinner. And unlike my family, there were no rice and beans beside the Turkey.

4. New Moon. The entire family went to see the audition to determine if we would join Team R-Patz or Team Jacob. For both Jenny and I, it was clearly Jacob.

Some Halloween Fun

On Halloween night Logan and I utilized our Coldstone Creamery birthday passes.




Some dudes in Cleveland spent the last year assembling these replicas of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. Logan is way into Transformers, so we had to drive out and see.

Hot Stuff

On our way back from our latest foray into the wilderness (to visit Jenny's family), we passed this:

The Get Up Kids

On October 23, I finally got to see probably my favorite band, The Get Up Kids, play at Cleveland's House of Blues. I enjoy their swift blend of punk/hardcore melodies. To me, they were the last band of an entire genre. The modern day "emo" scene is disgraceful.

My mother-in-law forced me to go.

The first few songs playing on this blog are TGUK. Check 'em out.

Joe's Question of the Day

Anyone else think ....sorry, this has been edited.

Joe, a little inappropriate, don't you think? But thanks for the compliment.


EDIT: Jenny, I can't see why it was inappropriate. Just an honest question.

DOUBLE EDIT: Joe, you win. Maybe I wrongly classified the question. But it made me blush. I love you.

Triple EDIT: Jenny, You're hot.

FINAL EDIT
SO . . . . many are probably wondering what this is all about. Originally I posted the simple question:

"Does anyone else think my wife is hot?"

Within minutes Jenny changed it. Too bad.

Question of the Day

My brother and sister announced last week that they are getting married. (Not to each other!) My sister has planned her wedding right before Christmas, and my brother is planning his wedding right after the New Year. In different states. No one in my family lives in either of the states. The holidays will be right in the middle. We're kind of not in the best financial spot right now. Maybe we could make it to one wedding... but definitely not both. And we can't choose sides--we'd start a family feud (they are already upset about each others' wedding dates).

SO... Here's the Question:

Have you ever not gone to a sibling's wedding? Was anyone upset? Did they get over it? Did you get over it? Is it really that big of a deal? 

We need some advice!!

What I didn't do today:

There were 3 classes at the stake enrichment activity I attended today, and in one of them we talked about stress. Boy, my life has been stressful lately. Anyway, someone made a comment about how blogs were so stressful because we only read all the great things people are doing and it makes us feel bad. The teacher, Jessica Peterson, made this great comment that I CAN'T get out of my head. She said something like, "Yeah, when we tell people how many things we got done that day, they say 'good job' or 'you're amazing!' If I were to tell people I had dirty dishes in my sink, they might be like, (in a quiet voice) 'that's nice.'" So I'm going to brag about what I did not get done today:

• The kids' rooms are a mess. Madison's dresser drawer broke, so there are clothes all over her room.
• I did not fix the drawer. It requires nails. 
• I have dirty dishes in my sink.
• I let my kids watch a movie.
• I have a basket full of clothes to put away. 
• I'm sure there are more things, but I'm starting to feel uncomfortable telling you this.
• Please share with me something YOU did not get done today!

Education

Logan started his first official year of education this year. Only 16 more to go. At least. For now: he loves it. (And in case you were wondering. Yes, we are still in Ohio. Maybe more details later.)

Madison started preschool. She, too, loves it. 

I really love Robert Fulghum's book Everything I Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. So while Logan and Madison are learning to sit quietly, walk in lines, and carry conversations at the lunch table, I have been thinking about everything I have learned these past few years. 

1. It's better to be late for church than to ruin everyone's morning by yelling at kids to eat faster, get dressed faster, etc. 

2. I'm not a girly-girl, and that's ok. I've actually only just begun to come to terms with this. 

3.  Having money is really nice.

4. Not having money is really hard. 

5. Money isn't everything. We are so blessed; we need to count our blessings and trust that we will continue to receive blessings. 

6. Raising kids is harder than it looks (really? seriously? does it look that easy?). Don't judge me and I won't judge you.

7. It doesn't matter if my house is clean when people come over. It will be messier when they leave. Life is WAY more fun when there are toys on the floor-- fun has been had, and mom didn't freak out.

8. Kids get dirty. Clothes get ruined. And faces are not always wiped clean. There are worse things in life. 

9. You don't really know/love a person until you live with that person and go through trials with him/her. 

10. If I have an expectation, I better voice it. Otherwise, I have no one to blame but myself. 

11. It's all about attitude. If I look at any given situation as an adventure (or pretend), my kids think it is fun. If I grumble, they grumble. (My grandmother was a great example of this. Also, read Terry Ryan's The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio: How my Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less.)

So here's to learning and education: may we always learn from our experiences and the lives of others. CHEERS!

Camping in the Wilderness

When asked where she's from, Jenny often quips, "I'm from the middle of nowhere." She may be right. Jenny's family sports over 100 acres, over 80 of which are heavily wooded, of prime Pennsylvania wilderness. Church is half an hour away, her neighbors still drive horses to work, and they just got the Internet this summer. But we love it, and we finally decided to take full advantage of the land's beauty and tranquility.

Earlier this month we and two other families--the Russells and the Yearsleys--decided to camp in the wooded acres. Jenny's family has developed a campsite for local stake functions. It was particularly nice that we had to set up no tents, didn't have to fetch water, bathrooms were nearby, and yet no one was in crying baby distance.

The next morning we loaded up some canoes and took a nice leisurely trip down the Allegheny River.



Speaking of the crying baby. Grant thought it would be a good idea to not sleep. That's our tent in the background.


Logan getting ready to embark. This is his "vato" look. We work on it.


Madison.


Unfortunately, we gave the leaky canoe to the Russells. Yes, that's Jon Russell bailing water with his hands.


Jenny's mother, Connie, made a scrumptious chicken pot pie for dinner, and brought down the tent with her famous earthquake cake.


The whole crew ready to launch.


I told Jenny to paddle at least once, just for the camera.

That's the Yearsleys in the background.

Report from Texas

In 12 hours I fly out of DFW back to Cleveland. I've been here in Texas for about two months. Here's a brief summary of what I did, and what I've seen.

1. Took the Texas bar. I can't say whether I passed or not. I can say it was about twice as difficult as Ohio--something I wasn't expecting.

2. Visited my home ward. I haven't visited the ward since my mission homecoming (I think) because my family now attends a Spanish branch, and my home ward is actually now 2 wards. So many new faces, it's hard to feel at home there.

3. Salado, my hometown, has also grown a ton. It felt good, however, to see one of my neighbors with a full-size batting cage in their back yard. You have to appreciate Texas values.

4. My cousins are incredible. My cousin Chris and his wife Whitney invited me to stay in their spare bedroom while I studied for the bar. They were amazing hosts.

5. Texas is hot.

6. Got to spend some quality time with my partner Bryan, I got to meet some people that have offered to refer us work, and we picked up our first client.

7. Every hour is rush hour in Dallas. There so tons of people, but there are also tons of members of the Church there as well. I don't think they drive any better than the next car, though.

8. I got to visit about a dozen different wards while I was ward-shopping. It's amazing to see the differences between how wards greet a visitor. It varied from a lonely and silent spectator in Frisco, to getting mobbed by a ward in Richardson. Even the primary kids were telling why their ward was the best, and why I should m0ve into the area.

9. Finding somewhere to rent is difficult. In Dallas, I would find a house on the MLS, I'd visit it the next day, call to ask for a lease, and then learn that it got leased out that very afternoon. It was frustrating. I spent a ton of time in the process, and I came away empty handed.

10. My wife is amazing. I'm not sure how she did it, but Jenny survived with three kids alone. It was incredibly tough on her, and Jenny is the type of person to endure her pain in silence (unless she's talking to me, of course).

Fortunately, we had some very caring friends that noticed her suffering and served her. It has taught me a lot: Don't ever miss another month of home teaching, always follow up with someone whose spouse is out of town, and find ways to serve in silence. Our friends have reminded us of the true meaning of religion, and how it's practiced in its purest sense. Thanks.

Being away from my family was a terrible experience, but hopefully good will come out of it. Thanks for all the support and prayers.

jlm