I Blinked...

I blinked, and this guy...

...got on the bus to go to Jr. High today.


True, he looks more like this now...

...but I didn't cry when I sent him off to pre-school for the first time at the ripe old age of 3. No tears when he went to Kindergarten. Dry eyes for 1st through 6th grades. But this morning? Saying the family prayer and pleading for God to watch over my son on his new adventure, I struggled to compose myself. I love this kid.

Out with the ... and in with the ...

Out with the old machine of torture...

 ...and in with the new torture contraption:

We sold our trusty (dusty, super heavy, hated/loved) treadmill to a young couple and bought a Concept 2 Indoor Rowing machine. It takes up a minimal amount of space, weighs 70 lbs., and is my new loved/hated thing. Rowing 10,000 meters one day did a few things: 1) impressed my husband so much (he's never rowed that much at one time) that he told his coworkers and now they're more scared of me than ever  2) made my bum cheeks exceedingly sore  3) gave me blisters  4) made me think that I could eat many many snickerdoodles. But seriously, very cool machine of torture. Since I went to the podiatrist and found out that my previously mis-diagnosed stress-fracture is actually posterior tibialis tendonitis, I'm in need of a low-impact cardio workout until I can get back on my feet again. The Concept 2 does just that. After the dreaded intervals I rowed this morning, my abdominals, back, shoulders, and arms are sore. And it feels good!

Out (but not really out -- more like up, as in upstairs) with the Clavinova that J bought me my first birthday after we got married...

 

 ...and in with the new (older, much older) piano that J learned how to play on, complete with the piano bench cover that his Grandma Squire stitched.

 

 The keys are cracked and it needs plenty of loving care, but the kids love it already! They have been begging for months for a real piano. We knew we wouldn't be able to afford one for years, but luck was with us. J's step-brother and his wife, who inherited the piano when J's mom moved, are moving to Canada and couldn't take the piano. Just like that -- ta! da! We have a real piano. I'm going to put a jar on the piano for us to save up to get it fixed. The Clavinova we moved up to the play room.

Out with the lo-o-o-o-ong hair that stays in a pony tail two seasons out of the year...

...

...and in with the short and sassy (or, as my kids have called it "Bruce Lee hair" or "Lego hair")

Phase 1 of the haircut took 20" off and had more of a punk-mullety look to it. When I told my friend/hairstylist that it looked a little too "Pat Benatar," she didn't know who I meant. It must mean that I am old, so maybe this lopping off of the hair is a mid-life crisis thing. Better than climbing a 20,000' mountain in 40 degrees below 0 weather though. Right, J? :)

A few updates

Halloween: http://mymonkeyboys.blogspot.com/2012/11/halloween.html

O Turns 8!

O woke up on his 8th birthday to the customary birthday cookies...

...a gift from G & G Kim (Magformers)...

 ...and scriptures from J and me.

 The day was busy, as our Wednesdays usually are (school, swimming, scouts), so we saved the celebrating for the following Saturday.

We began with his baptism:

O put the program together all by himself. S played the piano, I gave the talk on baptism, and O's 1st grade teacher gave the talk on the Holy Ghost. J baptized and confirmed our little O, who was calm and content throughout.

After coming home for a light lunch with our baptism participants, O changed into his play-clothes and got ready to...DANCE!

 A friend lent me her disco ball, we cranked up the music, and let the cousins, brothers, and three of O's friends go at it!

 They danced almost the whole time,

 pausing only to watch O open his gifts (two nerf guns and an angry birds stuffed animal),

 and decorate their own cupcakes. (Can we say holy mess, Batman!)

Our middle child ("the Jan") arrived 8 years ago, weighing in at 8lbs., 10oz. with a bush of hair on his head. He slept like a dream and was the happiest baby we'd ever met. Today he still has some great hair, a darling crooked smile, and is still such a happy boy. O is so thoughtful -- thinking of others' needs above his own, willing to share anything he has with his best friend brothers, and giving me the sweetest hugs when I've had a bad day. In every prayer he asks for help to be a better person. He loves Legos, Star Wars, The Hobbit, swimming, and reading. Recently he won 1st place in the 25-yd backstroke event at a swim meet. He has a 6-pack and rippling back muscles, which he will show you at a moment's notice -- mostly at the dinner table. He's tough and strong while being so sweet and gentle. We love this boy!

A Little Demo...

...Demolition, that is...

We lived in our first home happily for 7 years, not doing much work on it except for paint, until the last two years when we finished the basement, redid the kitchen, and put a deck in the back, not to mention the brand new furnace and central air that we had installed. And then we moved. Well, we've been in this home for 5 years. Aside from tearing apart the front yard to impress the neighbors ;), painting the outside of the house, painting a little here and there inside, and redoing the least-used bathroom, we haven't done very much. Until now *dun, dun, duuun*

Until this:

 Helper Monkey #1

 Helper Monkey #2

 Helper Monkey #3

And there's more! But you'll have to wait for the pictures until it's done. I'm excited for it. But now that we're finally doing some work on our home, does that mean we'll be moving in a few years? Hmmm...

I can feel it coming...

...the mass blog update. I know I've been terribly lax in updating, but I'm pretty sure it's just around the corner. Wait for it -- it won't be long...

And to give you a little taste of what our family's been up to...

Edible Food-like Subtances

A Sonnet by S. Judd

Corn syrup comes in lots of different kinds, 

Like "white," "high fructose," "regular" and more,

This doesn't make a difference how it finds

A way to turn your good health into poor.

Though sugar is all right once in a while, 

Too much will make your body big and fat!

So don't go running down the candy aisle

On ev're trip to grocery stores -- that's that!

Away from artificial you must stay, 

Made out of chemicals and man-made stuff.

So throw away the colors now, today!

Preservatives and flavors -- that's enough!

I'm sure there's more, and in this modern time, 

The fast food numbers are subject to climb.

You're welcome. :)

Halloween

S went to a Halloween party at a friend's house dressed as...

me:

(I'm using this picture as evidence for J that, when I want to chop my hair off and go with the pixie cut, I will totally rock it.)

 S went to school on Halloween dressed like this:

(He was amazed when he won the prize for most original costume: it was thrown together in about 5 minutes the morning of Halloween.)

 O was a dentist:

 H was Yoda:

That night we had our own family party. We all took a trip to the grocery store -- J with dog ears and a painted-on black nose, me in my jammies, bathrobe, and pigtails, and our kids in their costumes -- for a bag of treats each, root beer extract, and dry ice. Then home to hang a sign on the door (Out of Candy), concoct the root beer...

...and introduce our kids to the new Doctor Who. (Christopher Eccleston, you were a good one. And Rose! How we miss Rose!) We skipped the ward Trunk or Treat and neighborhood trick-or-treating, but I don't think my kids missed either one bit. I feel a tradition in the making...