perks of this life

I find myself so often just thinking of the 'days ahead', our 'glorious future'. You know, the days when i can PAINT MY HOUSE, or not wonder where food enough for the week is going to come from, or not stress about finding sitters for our kids while P & I are in classes. Or staying up super late trying to study for a ridiculously extensive essay final. Or ...well, yeah. etc. (and yes, I know every stage has its struggles, etc, etc-)

I so often find myself looking ahead to the days of a 'real job' and moving on to the next step of life, that i struggle to see the perks of 'this life'.

Last night I realized a big one.

We attend a BYU married student ward (our church congregation), and we love it. Last week a gal in our ward called and asked if she and her husband could babysit for us Wednesday (last night), as they had a free night. Totally made my week. This awesome couple came over and thoroughly entertained our kids all evening while Patrick and I were able to catch a delicious dinner (thanks to Magleby's 1979 celebration) and a fabulous show (thanks to Timpview HS Band giving us movie tickets). We came home and the boys were sleeping peacefully. What fantastic sitters.

This made me recollect all the wonderful couples (and even singles) who have so readily watched our kids for us throughout the years. (wow. YEARS?? sick. I feel old. :P)

Never again will we live in an area full of childless, young couples who are happy to babysit weekends, weeknights, for free- b/c they can do it together, as a service to a friend, to get good karma for their future babysitting-needing days, or as practice for their future kiddos.

So here's a shout-out to all those who have watched our kids and given us a much needed break from the stresses of life. Here's to those who eagerly offer to watch our crazies and either call and insist or happily agree when we get up the courage to ask. Thank you for your kindness, your bravery, your amazing parenting skills. (seriously. you people put our kids to sleep better than we can.) Thank you for being Free! Not to mention better sitters than anyone we could pay. :)


Yes. This is something we will truly miss. You good people and the ample number of dates we are able to have because of you.

Thank you!!!

(I have a feeling we'll be preaching to our children the needed service of babysitting, esp. when they get to college. We'll tell them how their parents would not have survived school, and they may not have survived infant/toddlerhood with out nice, fellow-schooling babysitters. We may even threaten to not let them come home for Christmas unless they have sufficiently fulfilled their babysitting quotas for the semester. Who knows. But some how we will pass on the good of you people!)(and by we, I mean me. Patrick is clearly the nicer parent.) :)

Overheard at our house

A few funny things from life with 2 boys...

#1
Warning: the Following may be very inappropriate and completely unsuitable to post publicly on a family-oriented blog:

Background: We are trying to potty-train Christian.
Setting: He's wearing his new big-boy underwear (little briefs. and no, there is NOTHING cuter than a little boy bum in tiny seasame street briefs. I'll have to photo document later.)

He's using his underwear's 'pocket' to store his 'food for his picnic' (all pretend. well, the ''pocket' is real...)

He later offers his daddy a carrot.

C: Daddy, you want to eat a carrot?
P: Oh, yes! Thank you for that carrot! That's a yummy carrot.
C: Daddy, do you want a pee pee?
P: A what?
C: A pee pee, daddy!
P, still unsure of what he's hearing...: What are you saying?
C: A pee pee! Do you want some pee pees?

....

...

P: Oh! You mean PEAS??
C: Yeah! pee pee!
P: The little green balls?
C: Yeah!
P: Those are PEAS, buddy. :)

haha. AWKWARD.
(and no, we don't even use that term..)

#2 Like Father, Like Son.

Background: Patrick is of the school of thought that all forms of wounds require neosporin, which is the Cure-all. (think windex and My Big Fat Greek Wedding)

Today, I started to randomly smell Desitin.

Christian came up to me covered in a clear slime, smelling very strongly of desitin. He proudly informs me he had an Owie on his knee and put 'sunscreen' on it.

Yes. Moments earlier, he had climbed on top of the changing table and emptied an ENTIRE, LARGE tube of A&D ointment (like clear desitin). All over his legs. All over his arms. All over the changing table. All over his hands. And yes, on his nose.

lovely.

#3. Channing today said "Walk" and...

"HEMAN!"


awesome.

Big Stuff. (though not quite Baby Big)

So. I've been wanting to do this for sometime and finally just got everything together.

I am opening my own 'shop'!

I'm pretty darn excited about it. I started making hoodie towels about 3 years ago. I made one for my SIL baby shower and some for my boys and a nephew. After numerous comments and compliments, I decided to open a shop and sell my towels. I also plan on selling other misc. crafts that I put together. Another SIL showed me how to make little girl hair bows (thanks, aly!), and I LOVE it! So fun! I just bought a bunch of ribbon and such for that today and want to start making those.

The picture quality on the site is not the greatest. Another SIL (man- these gals are coming in handy!) is going to take more 'professional' shots of my crafts, so hopefully people will get a better idea of how they really look. Personally, I think they all look much cuter in person. :)

The towels are thick, 100% cotton, quality towels. The hairbows are each attached to an alligator clip to be used directly in hair and also to clip on a headband.

I would love and appreciate it IMMENSELY if any of you spread the word and even linked to me on your blogs.

Also, as this project is in its infancy, please feel free to leave suggestions/comments on things you'd like to see, ways I could improve it, sentences of mine that just sound stupid, etc. I could use the help, people!!


Oh. Hello. The Shop: myredhotdesigns.blogspot.com. Please check it out and let me know your thoughts. (even if they aren't the nicest... but not super mean. I dont want any super-mean thoughts, people... :P)

Blog Updates

So- I have been made aware that several of our faithful readers subscribe to our blog via RSS feed- and thus don't see our ACTUAL blog. (aren't you people just high-tech and fancy).

Anyways. We've undergone some pretty drastic changes. You know- big stuff: New background, new pictures, new side bar info, new links...

A NEW BABY......



....


....



...


yup. It's true. Our 4 will soon be 5. We will soon no longer be a disneyland family pass. (which we never took advantage of anyways being 2 adults and 2 kids...but there's STILL TIME!!! *fingers crossed*)


We are crazy excited and uber happy to welcome this new tyke to our family. Like- ridiculously excited. Seriously. :)

Anyways. Just thought we'd make an official post with our news... As I only had ONE person notice our subtle telling in the sidebar ( Mandy T..uh..forgot the married last name.. you win the observant prize :) )

Hooray!

Overheard at our house

So- Christian is totally Obsessed with He-Man. I found all the episodes on DVD for ridiculously cheap last year and thus gave them to P as a birthday present. Now Christian is totally obsessed with all things He-Man. (I really like the show, too, I must confess...)

Anyways. The other day, as usual, Christian was playing He-Man.

Me: Can Mommy be Teela? (the obvious choice as she the red headed, female character...

Christian: No. You can't be Teela! (said with a little laugh)

Me: Hm. Okay. Can mommy be the Sorceress? (the second most obvious choice as she is the second main female character..)

C: No! You can't be the Sorceress! (again said with a smile)

Me: Then who can mommy be?

C gets very excited: You can be BEASTMAN!!!!



Lovely.


After I relayed the story to Patrick he said, "well, Beast man does have the Most red hair.."

True....


Thanks, anyway, dear... :)

Lovin' the Summer

First- this may be a 'dull' post in that it is lacking in pictures. Our camera is MIA- very sad. I'm very much hoping it's somewhere in the mess that is our apt. (UPDATE: miraculously found the camera- now my phone is missing.. I can HEAR it, but thanks to my deaf ear, I can't locate it anywhere. Thoroughly aggravating..) So- Here comes a picture overload. Probably should have made this multiple posts..oh well..


We have been LOVING this summer!!

A recap of our past 2 weeks:

Monday, we went to 7 peaks (again) with our little family. The kids Love that place!
Thursday: Nate (very generously) watched our kiddos so Patrick and I could have a MUCH needed date. With housesitting, kidsitting, schooling, and desperately seeking employment, we needed a night out. Goodwood BBQ did NOT disappoint. I Love me my Steak and Potatoes. Thanks again, nate!!!
Friday: Patrick had off work. We started the morning off bright and early with the Freedom Fest Balloon..fest. Christian thought the super huge balloons and FIRE were awesome.
Then we drove out to Hogle Zoo- as we haven't been there before. Christian also loved saying hi to all the animals. (We do have pictures of these events, but...they are on our camera still...)




Saturday: EARLY morning to save seats for the 4th of July Parade. Total insanity. Remind me to not live on a parade route... (how's this for an awkward teeth picture? Have no idea how it turned out like that..definitely NOT intentional. :) )


-parade, naps, then the annual G&G Hyde dinner/lunch...dunch? Linner? DE-licious. Then Fireworks at PG. Christian would 'act out' the fireworks. He'd crouch down, the jump up and stomp all around saying "pop! Pop! Pop!". Pretty dang stinking Cute.
Sunday: Nate and Molly's for leftover 4th of July food goodness
Monday: Nate, Molly, Cannon, and Noah over for delicious homemade pizza- then Nate and Cannon joined us for some more 7peaks goodness.
Tuesday: Intramural Ultimate Frisbee.
Wednesday: Up American Fork Canyon to the Cabin w/ the Summerhays family. Christian saw a deer and thought that was pretty spectacular.
Thursday: Picnic with our friends Arianna and Yuko Wolf. Sweet Lubka watched our kiddos so P & I could go enjoy the intense rides at 7 peaks. Such a fun date!!
Friday: CAMPING!!! Christian has been BEGGING to go camping all week. He'll put blankets over his head and pretend he's in a tent. He gets out his little camping chair and sits in various 'tents' and pretends to have a picnic and roast Shmarshmallows. Every day he would head to the door with his camping chair and inform us he was ready to go camping. Finallllly friday came around and we got to go for REAL.
It was such a fun time. Christian thought the tent, the fire, the food, his LQ sleeping bag- everything was just perfect. He cried saturday when we took down the tent. And in the car, begged us to go camping again. Pretty cute. And heart breaking.
Sunday: dinner at mom and dad S. to celebrate Jon's birthday. We made the cake (awesome) and christian finally decided Jon could share it with him. :)

Needless to say, we have been living it up and Loving life. Every day has been so wonderful and fun. Our house is a bit of a mess, but our boys are happy and healthy. :) This time passes too quickly to worry constantly about keeping everything perfectly clean. This I am finally starting to learn.

It's crazy to think summer is already over halfway over! We have a LOT more to do- more adventures to have, more laughs, more excitement, more FUN!

What am I sitting here for?!?

Patrick's Post: A Nervous Father

Christian is a constant source of anxiety for me. Is he going to like the sports that I like? Is he going to be tough enough to stand up to bullies? Is he going to make responsible decisions? Is he going to be obsessed with girls and cars? The answers to these questions have the potential to keep me up at night if not for moments like these:

Scene: Interior bedroom, day

Christian and Channing sit in the tent built by Mommy and Daddy that also doubles as a car (how Christian discovered this dual nature of tent-cars, we will never know). Channing is perched in Christian's blue camping chair. I hear them talking from the other room and peer in.

Christian: OK Channing, now buckle your seat belt!

Channing: Dah! Dodle odle odle. Maaaaaahhh...

Concerned, Christian turns to go for help at which point I am discovered.

Christian: Dad, Channing is in the car. He needs to put on his seat belt. Help him. Help him, Daddy!

Even with Christian's premature fixation with cars, undoubtedly brought on by Pixar, and his desire to have a turn driving WITH keys (he understands their importance in the process unfortunately), it is comforting to know that safety is not forgotten in the foray of automobile hysteria. Ka-chow!

Chan-guy is ONE!!!

Our sweet Guy Smiley turned one on June 11th. We had planned to do a super fun BBQ w/ outdoor games and a kiddie pool, but alas, June was not cooperating. It saw 75% more rainfall than average--lovely.

Thankfully, Patrick's fantastic parents came to the rescue and let us use their house. The party was nothing exciting, but Channing was sure cute. :)

Mama and son (Patrick says: What a hot mama!)

He's really into pointing with his finger, especially when he's excited.

His Grandma and Papa S. gave him this super cute jack-in-the-box. He LOVES it!




G&G Hyde attached helium balloons to their sweet gift and Channing was loving them too.

The cake: definitely NOT as imagined in my brain, but Christian was thrilled with M&M's and Channing was thrilled to be tasting cake and ice-cream for the first time! My boys are what really matter anyway. :)

(Patrick matches the table cloth) :)

Some remembrances of Channing:

-When he was brand-new, every time his eyes were open, I thought he looked like a little woodland critter.
-He was born with LONG red hair that stuck straight up. The nurses LOVED it, and on 2 separate occasions, found an excuse just to wash his hair.
-He has always been SUPER smiley, from a crazy early age too.
-He loves the first 2 fingers on his right-hand . They are his comfort.
-He almost yodels with his voice. He gurgles and babbles, and talks very intensely, Often using grand arm-motions to emphasize his point.
-He is like a mini parrot. He often repeats some odd word you say. 2 examples : Body Odor, and Get up!
-His first word: Dad
-First phrase: Hi Dad! Hi Daddy!
-He LOVES to talk on the phone. He can tell when I'm on the phone with his daddy, even if we're on opposite sides of our apartment. He fusses until i present the phone to him on speaker phone so he can talk to his daddy. Also, he can be super upset/sad/hurt, and the second the phone is handed to him (with daddy on speaker) he IMMEDIATELY stops crying and starts smiling, whilst the tears are rolling down his cheeks.
-He folds his arms for prayers. While Patrick is helping Christian with his prayers, Channing will stand up in his crib, fold his arms, and babble--saying his own prayers.
-He LOVES to 'walk', but only by holding on to your fingers with BOTH hands.
-He loves bath time with his brother.
-He has the cutest laugh and will often laugh hysterically.
-He finds his big brother the most hilarious person on the planet.
-He tries to hang with the 'big guys', Christian and Cannon--one day he'll be able to without getting pushed over...
-He gives fantastic kisses, and does so very willingly.
-His teeth are growing in in an odd order. For the longest time he had the greatest jack-o-lantern grin: two on bottom and just one big one on top. Then came 2 back molars, and THEN the second top front one followed by a third.
-He has an amazing arm. Of which he exercises by throwing miscellaneous objects great distances in sacrament meeting...
-He is SO SMILEY

Channing! We Love having you in our family! We are so excited and grateful to get to be your parents and watch you learn and grow. You have brought so much joy to our lives in the short year you've been with us. You have such a sweet, happy, spirit and can light up a room with your smile as many people have mentioned to us.

We love you so much and are excited to watch you through this next year.

WE LOVE YOU, CHANNING BECKHAM SUMMERHAYS!!!

Day with Daddy

Yesterday while I took Channing to the doctor, Christian got to visit his daddy at work.

The following is Patrick's recollection to me on the morning:

Christian had a great time! We went over to the pond where we had our pictures taken.
When we came to the stream, I suggested to Christian that we follow it and sure enough, it led us to the ducks. We fed the ducks with the old pancakes and Christian would throw the pieces I handed him into the water. I made sure not to give him any more because he wanted to eat the pancakes himself. I had to remind him several times not to touch the ducks because they would walk right up to us expecting a meal (you know how Christian is--"I want to hold them!")

When Christian tired of feeding the ducks, he began throwing rocks in the water. I tried to maintain the border of rocks along the pond and stream by limiting him to throwing smaller rocks only every 10 yards or so. I pointed out the best rocks to throw next, until I accidentally suggested he throw what I thought was a rock, but turned out to be a dead baby duck. Luckily, I stopped him before he got near it. :) In between each throw, Christian would romp and frolic over the grassy hills, laughing all the while. You can imagine the happy feelings that instills in anyone privileged to watch.

Christians incessant pleas for a pancake would not relent, so I revealed to Christian that I had brought a treat to eat instead. Much to his delight, I whipped out a small piece of licorice for him to devour as we walked from the pond to the library. We said hi to "uncle Bard" when we chanced to see him on his way to work. When we got to the library there was a puddle of water out front, so we splashed in a few puddles. This was great fun, but when he started to use his hands it was time to stop.

Once inside the library, we headed to the fourth floor for the juvenile section. Christian got to push the buttons for the elevator and once inside he would cling to my legs and bury his face to ward off the attention of the strangers only inches away. What a shy guy. :) In the stacks, Christian was up and down each aisle of books, climbing on the stools, and hiding from his daddy. I casually followed after him, browsing for books and finding the ones I looked up in the library catalog. My main targets were a potty book and He-man book, but they didn't have He-man and I forgot to look for a potty book.

My attentions were turned away from the books and back to Christian when he started yelling out "Daddy!" and began to be loud in general. Apparently there were too many stacks of books between us for his comfort. What a little turkey. Before leaving, we made sure to get a "Cat in the Hat" book (his latest favorite) and some other Dr. Seuss classics. After a diaper change and checking out the books it was time to meet mommy at the car. On the way out, I offered Christian another licorice and he insisted on "a big one!" His sly daddy gave him the other 2/3's piece left from his first treat and it looked much bigger, thus satisfying his demands. :)

With mommy in sight and being prompted to recount the best part of the outing, Christian recalled "I changed my diaper, Mom!" What a great time. :)

I tell you--he is the greatest dad a kid could hope for. Christian came home with pink
lips, big smiles, and told me all about his day many, many times. He asked several times to go back to visit Daddy.

What a GREAT dad.