chariots of snow

from 3pm-1am brennan was puking yesterday.

it was awful.

no one was sleeping.

max was up coughing.

chase was up, i don't know why.

we were up holding the puke bowl for brennan.

the poor little guy thought he was doing something wrong.

we tried to explain that you can't help it when you spew.

he just kept saying sorry, and that he would try harder to not puke.

so sad!!!

finally at midnight we gave him half of a zofran {miracle anti-puking drug}, 

followed by a few ounces of apple juice that he finally kept down for the first time in 9 hours,

and i curled up with him in the spare bed.

he tossed and turned all night long.

mumbled weird things that made me laugh.

i can't remember what.

i think i got an hour here and there.

maybe.

but i'm always amazed at how little sleep i can function off of.

especially if i get to wake up to fresh snow.

and we're not talking a few inches,

we are talking 10 INCHES!!!!

it was as if the weather knew i needed not just some snow,

but a lot of snow to wake me up after a night like last night.

i stepped out onto my front porch at 6:34am, 

and it looked like something straight out of a movie.

brennan right by my side.

every tree was perfectly flocked with white powder.

all of the colorful fall leaves peaking through the beautifully perfect bright white glow.

like a painting put there on purpose.

not just by miraculous chance.

the tramp in the backyard was so weighed down with snow that it bulged down, 

as if it were trying to rest on the grass. 

the long green grass thick underneath it.

the swings and chairs were chariots of snow.

not a footprint anywhere in sight.

the thick snowflakes were still falling down heavily 

and

oh

my

word

it was quiet.

the most wonderful quiet you'll ever hear.

quiet blankets of snow on everything you can see.

so we spent the morning watching cartoons,

and running out to measure how fast the snow was falling.

i even gave in and turned on the christmas music.

at one point i heard chase crying and found brennan shoving snow down the back of chase's jammies.

naughty brennan!

i blame sean completely. 

i had to send max back three times to get dressed b/c she kept coming out in skirts and shirts.

finally she settled on pink tights and a pink long sleeved shirt to wear under all of her snow gear.

except in the end, 

she ended up taking off all of her snow gear {after i had put it on three times, brennan's too}, 

and played in the snow in her tights with brennan's old fireman rain boots and a pink hat.

the sun came out,

all of the neighborhood kids were throwing snowballs and building snow forts.

sean came home from work and shoveled our driveway and walks.

we drank hot chocolate with whipped cream in the garage.

in white paper cups.

and i thought about how i didn't feel like i had been up the entire night with brennan puking.

3 loads of laundry later,

and i feel confident that we are as germ free as we can be.

and you'll never believe this,

but brennan didn't puke one drop of puke anywhere except in the good ol' bowl.

such a gem.

bless him.

i hope that is the first and last of it.

but not the snow.

more of that please.

glory be.

it was a snowed-IN day:)

now i feel tired.

goodnight:)

buckets-O-snow!

"mom, it's snowing!!! christmas is tomorrow!!!" -brennan

...................

buckets of snow are falling on both sides of my house.

like blankets of white covering all of our windows.

HEAVEN!

my furnace just came on,

our snowy day book is out,

and our mugs are ready to be filled with chocolaty warm.

this may even call for some christmas music.

despite my vow to wait until after thanksgiving.

glory be,

it's a snow day:)

speaking southern

{drinking juice boxes and watching the school bus unload all of the neighborhood kids.}

it's hard to believe that it will be 30* and snowing tomorrow,

when we are in flip flops, short sleeves, and shorts today.

................

i've been talking to myself in a southern accent lately.

and i'm not talking about talking to myself out loud.

i'm talking about talking in my head.

i've been reading the Divine Secrets of the YA-YA Sisterhood,
and it's got me speaking southern up in my head.

it's relaxing.

i absolutely ADORE saying baby man in my head in my southern accent.

i haven't tried speaking southern out loud,

b/c i'm scared it will ruin the southern party i'm currently having up in my head.
in fact right this very minute,
as i'm typing to you,
i'm typing in my southern accent up in my head.

if i had it my way i'd eat butter cookies dipped in chocolate
 and read a book on my lounger chair every day,
every afternoon.

lately, it is my favorite thing to do if i ever have a minute to sit down.

when i was nursing chase this afternoon i looked down at his blonde eyelashes and his blue eyes,
and i was taken away in his baby man charm.

these are the moments when i'm so glad i'm still nursing.

the times when the big gibbies are causing a stir 

{that is one of my new southern phrases i've taken on--causing a stir},

fighting,

pouring cereal all over my kitchen floor,

or barging in and jumping on the bed,
making it impossible for chase to ever focus on drinking milk EVER AGAIN from my boob.

those are the times i want to quit.

but these little moments in the afternoon,

when my house in quiet and still,

and those little blonde eyelashes and blue eyes are looking up at me,

i'm in the dreamiest of dream lands,

with my southern accent writing the script of it all up in my head.

and then baby man starts his happy squawk {i had to spell check that}.

not annoying in the least,

just the most darling little squawk you've ever heard.

where he fluctuates to so many levels of baby talking pitch,
that he leaves you smiling in adoration b/c you know you have the most genius baby to have ever lived, talking to you right at that moment.

and then he'll turn to me during his squawk,

with his bright eyes all lit up,

and then his dimples will start to set in where his cheeks begin,

and all i can do is breathe in the most euphoric moment of my entire day.

nursing baby man chase ray,
with a southern accent up in my head,
and the sweetest little talking baby squawk you ever did hear.

raining leaves.

 the same great sidewalk, 

lined with the same great trees,

with the same great kids 

playing 

in 

the 

  leaves. 

i'm so sad

MITT

didn't win.

pity.

doing.

doing my civic duty.

GO MITT!!!
i'm proud to be an american.
for at least i know i'm free.

sunflower patch

 max came down the stairs this morning with a pair of underwear in her hands.

"i'm ready mom!"

in her high pitch, happy voice.

big smile on her face.

i tried to talk her out of it,
{really, i did. i was not ready.}

but she insisted.

and i figured,

we might as well give it a go before we clean the carpets again.
{and for sure i thought she'd give up after a few hours.}
it was not so.
she's stickin' with it.

i hate potty training.

dun, dun, dun. 

but i do love how cute they are the first time they wear underwear.

so far we're 0-5.

the underwear is losing.

poor chaps.

............

in other news...

i have an entire garden patch of sunflowers growing.

like me,

they have no idea was season it is right now.

I LOVE IT!!!

whoever heard of November temperature highs in Utah in the 70's?!

so very

LOVELY:)

i give you,

my sunflower patch...

{don't mind the weeds}

snow this weekend.
goodbye sunflower patch.
hello warm, cozy, snow fall.
and warm, cozy fall.
i am happy to announce that our brand new furnace was installed last week.
just in time for this upcoming weekend's temperatures.

OUT WITH THE OLD...
{check out all of the rust from the dang leaky AC--BOO!!!}

 IN WITH THE NEW...!!!

feels so fancy i can hardly contain myself.
we haven't really needed to use it with our glamorous summer weather we've been having,
but sometimes in the morning i turn it on just for fun to warm us up a few degrees.
it's the simple things,
like warm bums and noses.
:):):)
JOY!

letters to Emily/Beth {Halloween Huffa-Ba-loo}

{"smile, or nobody gets to go trick or treating." -emily}

....................................

Dearest Emily,

Ummm.....THANK YOU FOR THIS PICTURE!! It probably gave me a side ache... it has a lot to do with the story you told me behind the picture, fabulous!!! Oh Sean as a Merman!! LOVE IT!!! You and the kids look awesome... so fun. You are such a fun mommy. I will write more later, I have got to feed Smithy.

Love,

Beth

...................................

Dear Beth,

Oh the joy of Skyping with you this morning! I'll have you know I did eventually nurse Chase and change out of my pajamas. I don't believe that happened before noon, but it did indeed happen. WIN! Here is another picture of Sean's costume. This one was "Internet approved.":):):) He made such a cute King Triton. My Ursula skirt ended up being quite the load to carry around. I wore my wedding dress puffy thing under it, but the purple tentacles were STILL too long under all of that puff, so it dragged a lot. I ended up picking it up from the front and carrying it around most of the night. Hard work I tell ya. I wore my flip flops the entire time. So did Max. The newsman said it was the warmest Halloween night in over thirty years, or something crazy and extreme like that. We had a high of 76*. AMAZING!!! We stayed out with the kids for two hours, at which point Sean had to give me the "i'm done" face and "the kids are done face." I just love trick or treating, and could have stayed out for at least another hour. It is so fun walking around with my husband and kids, chatting to neighbors, and enjoying the Halloween spirit. I loved every minute of it! The smell of candles burning in freshly carved pumpkins is still my favorite Halloween smell. DELISH. Did you trick or treat? Do they do that in Germany??? I forgot to ask on Skype. We finally turned the lights off at 9:30 at night b/c the kids were falling asleep, and let's be honest, I didn't want to get up off of the couch anymore to go to the front door. I most definitely pushed sean to his limit this year with his costume. He has sworn to me that it will be the last theme he's doing. I'm not giving up that easy though. I have big plans for next year already!!! I have vowed to make it up to him, AND i blame the kids for this year. Max completely. It was their idea that he should be King Triton. I voted for him to go as Flounder. Not sure if that would have been much better...

I am almost ready to give up nursing. I cannot believe I am saying that, but it has just been so challenging this time. I know that I should be proud of myself for making it 7 months with three kids, but I was just so set on making it the full year. I can't decide if it's my pride that doesn't want to let it go, being able to claim that I did it for the third time, or if it's me not wanting to be done with that phase of his babyhood. After a good day I vow to keep going. After a bad day, when I'm tired, and all dried up from milk, I think that maybe it would be better to just throw in the towel. You know me though, I must think this one through for awhile before I finally decide. My body is just having a hard time keeping up with how much he wants, and part of me wonders if he would be sleeping better if he had formula all day to keep him more full through the night. I fed him egg casserole for lunch today and bites of my whole wheat pizza last night. He ate it like a champ, and even held and drank his own sippy cup full of juice. I am so excited to be entering the phase of him feeding himself. JOY!!! 

The weather is so warm here right now. Unseasonably warm. It is absolute heaven. We cut back the rest of the bushes and trees today for the big bulk removal on Tuesday, which also happens to be Election Day. I cannot wait to cast my ballot, and I was NOT kidding about making stickers to read 

"I VOTED FOR MITT." 

How many is too obscene to wear at one time? 10 too many??? Kidding...maybe. Okay, okay, just the one. I hope I don't have to take all three of my kids to the poles with me. It just wouldn't be pretty. Will take pictures if I have to drag them all, as it will be the only way to get through the pain of gathering them all while i fill in the bubbles. I can hardly wait to hear the outcomes of all of the local and national runnings. There are so many local politics I am interested in this year that I all antsy to find out if "my person" wins. Sean and I watched this amazing show on PBS last night about Obama and Mitt. I think it was Frontline. Anyway, it went back and talked about their life histories and where they were throughout their lives and political en devours. Very interesting and frightening all at once. There were so many things about each candidate that I never knew. See if you can watch it online. If not, I'll save it for you on the DVR.

I absolutely CANNOT WAIT for you to be here. It will be so fun to see Megs as a MARRIED WOMAN! and visit with your entire family. I have lots of food planned for us to eat while you stay with us {choc covered strawberries rolled in the peanut butter cups, candied apples with while choc, caramel, and crushed oreos, homemade hash browns, BACON, i found these mini-dr peppers that i'm in love with, Lord of the Rings to watch, but just mainly the Shire scenes b/c I always lose interest after that anyway.} 

The time changes tonight. I guess the only good thing about "fall-ing back" with kids is that we will for sure be up and ready for church on time. I like the SPRINGing forward business better with little kids, but I guess a little change is good. We've been putting the kids to be earlier. OH HAPPY DAY! 

Love and kisses,

See you soon!!!

XOXO,

Emiline Harris

P.S.

i had about 5 people tell me they LOVED me with short platinum hair. i told sean, PLEASE when we are old and gray DON'T EVER let me have short platinum hair and let it be crazy. ESPECIALLY not with purple streaks. i do not want to be the 92 year old lady with dementia with the crazy hair. fun for halloween, but it can't be crazy hair in the nursing home. it must be at least styled a bit. i don't like my hair short though. that is all.:)

 ........................

all 10 of them were gone in three days.

note: granny smith, not fuji. 

{for furture reference.}

there is a reason.

sour is better with the sweet.

the end.