upgrade, please

It all started with a dish-towel.

I brought a micro-fiber towel home from the 'mart and fell in love with it instantly as it not only cleaned my counters and glass-top stove but shined them, too. I thought, as I was admiring my handiwork of shininess, why have I not forked over the five bucks to get these towels earlier?

Then, a few days later as I was folding laundry I realized that the smell was not quite all the way out of the boy's clothes--you may know the smell that I am referring to--the smell that accompanies small boys no matter how many times you bathe them? So I remembered my dish-towel experience and knew it was time for an upgrade in laundry detergent.

BOY! If I thought I knew what happiness was before washing clothes in nice laundry soap I was surely mistaken. Every shirt, pant and sock met my nose in wonder before being folded and put away.

You may be asking, what's the big deal? I'm sure many people do not hesitate to fork over the extra dollars to get the premiums but I'm cheap, you see. Get over it.

So then I started thinking. What else can I buy? This is fun. And then I realized my biggest foe staring at me right in the face, er rather, feet. My carpet. It wasn't even two years old and already I had fantasies of replacing it. No matter how many times I vacuumed it never looked clean. Of course, I blamed it on my vacuum for sucking, or not sucking, or whatever, instead of the four children and two adults that inhabit the house. It's not our fault. It had to be the vacuum.

I started investigating. What kind of vacuum to buy? How much did I really want to spend? It turned out that vacuums can cost a lot of money. Gulp. But I'm cheap. Could I do it? I wasn't sure.

Eventually I caved, justifying the purchase to a business expense (hey, I work. . .I just don't get paid any money) and we came home with a pretty nice vacuum. Immediately we set to work vacuuming every nook and cranny we could get our hose on. And when we finished we stood back and gaped at the miracle. Our dingy crusty carpet had vanished! In its place lay a beautiful, fluffy, soft carpet that made you think of little lambs jumping through a meadow....well, you get my point. I couldn't believe it!

So, I guess the moral of this story is that sometimes it's okay to be cheap. But sometimes it's not. And also, vacuuming really makes a difference!

pretty boy

Just another Tuesday night in the Davis house. . .

smile

I watch Holland and excitedly anticipate all of the milestones that she will be experiencing in the next coming months: first tooth, first meal, first step, among many others. All of these are important steps that help her blossom into maturity.

Recently, at only three months, she has discovered her gift of laughter. But even before that came the first magical smile. I remember it well. It was news to relate to her dad, grandparents and whomever else would care to listen. Before that smile it was all work and no play--diapers, feedings, and naps over and over again. But when she smiled for the first time, the work mindset diminished and transformed into service unto a fellow being.

Because I smiled back. And then I laughed.

I find it very interesting that the very first skill we all learn as human beings is the simple act of smiling. And yet, it is probably one of the most important skills we will ever have. She can't walk, talk, roll over or even eat on her own and yet she still smiles. She is a happy girl. When I have an especially down day, I count my blessings and am grateful to my little babe to remind me that a
smile can make all the difference.

the perfect day

Yesterday was just a wonderful day. I love Sundays, especially if there is a long lazy afternoon attached to it.
Brooklyn and Roman sang in their Primary Program and then we enjoyed a delicious, slowly cooked pot roast after church. Then I made cinnamon rolls and the kids helped deliver some to our neighbors. To top everything off we all played hide and go seek as a family before bedtime. (In which we learned that Roman is a very creative hider.) Even Holland played, pretending at one point to be a doll for camouflage.

hallo-weeee!

Well, Halloween is over. Costumes have been worn and children worn out. Pumpkin buckets have been filled and (already!) emptied. The children's blood sugar level is to an all-time high with all the candy they've consumed in the last 24 hours.

Let the vegetables and withdrawals begin.

my ghouls

In honor of All Hallow's Eve, I have bunkered down and written a list of my ghouls for next year. It's a tradition I look forward to doing every year, as I am a ghoulish type of person.

Here is what made the list this year:

1. Climb Mt. Borah. (This one is a repeat, but I had to take a minor detour this year. And she is super cute.)

2. Read more of the classics. (This one makes me cheery.)

3. Get my garden in super-model shape. (I fill you in on the details of this one later.)

4. Run a half-marathon. (Imagine somewhat of a scared but determined look on my face.)

There you go. Bring it on, 2010.

sneaky

So it turns out that the mouse we saw in the living room isn't the only pest living in our home. Our two boys, you may have heard of them--Roman and Greggs? have been known to have a bit of a scavenger side to them.

To illustrate:

Instead of an alarm clock, I know that every morning I will be woken up to the screeching sound of chairs being moved around in the kitchen. Unfortunately, it's not my dear husband making me breakfast in bed, it's my two little rascals looking for food. Normally, it's not a problem, this exploring and rummaging, I consider it a lesson in not only self-preservation but independence. But since they don't exactly have a craving for frozen broccoli or the spaghetti squash that's been sitting in my "help yourself bowl!" it's always the sweets that invariably get attacked first. And since I consider myself a decent mother that requires a desire to have my children to eat something besides chocolate cake for breakfast, this poses as a bit of a predicament.

And lately they've gotten a bit more aggressive in their hunting and gathering efforts. If there is not food in plain sight on the counters then they will climb on top of the counters to investigate in the cupboard. It's always the fantasy of finding the last chocolate chip in the cupboard that motivates this behavior. Sometimes they'll get lucky and find candy that even I didn't know we had.

This just fuels the fire as you can see.

So what to do in this situation? Well, I've learned to put food that I want them to eat directly on the counter, sometimes making it even easier for them by leaving a trail of crumbs from their bedrooms directly to the "prize". But mostly, I've learned that if I don't want my kids to eat a certain something then I just can't have it in the house. At all.

Oh yes, I've mourned for the lost dreams of having chocolate candy bowls sprinkled throughout my house, but I realize that with kids, you can't have everything.

So after only a few minutes of internal debate, the boys have it. They can stay. I'll just save the chocolate candy bowls for the grandkids.