Return to the Living

So we're finally well. The swines have left us. I think the whole thing lasted about 12 days. In order to avoid a repeat performance, the boys received vaccinations for both the seasonal flu and the H1N1 while at Noel's well-child check. It was an experience to remember. The boys wailed and flailed and screamed as though we were stabbing them with 1000 daggers. In their defense, since I was there on my own with the three kids, it meant that one of them had to watch while the other was vaccinated and writhing in supposed intense pain, and then get vaccinated themselves.

After we were flu-free, Jonah lost his second tooth. Boy is the tooth fairy a disappointment. Josh blogged about our close-call with the first tooth. This time, we totally forgot. Jonah's heartbroken cry woke me up in the early morning: "Mom, the tooth fairy didn't come!" I panicked and tried to think quickly. The best I could do was tell him the tooth fairy is a very busy lady, pay him $3.00 in hush money, and talk him into making a sign for that evening. Here is his sign, which is an almost exact replica of the one that I made, with a few words out of order:
While Jonah was losing his teeth, Lila was growing some. Here are her two new teeth:
And here she is in a hat that seemed like a better idea when I ordered it from etsy. Strangely, the too-tight, flesh-colored hat made her look like her dad.
A much better hat. She looks a little Blossom-esque in this picture, doesn't she? And why do I feel such a compulsion to put a hat on my bald little baby?
In other, non-Lila related news, Noel recently performed in his Thanksgiving recital at school in a turkey costume he had made. Who doesn't look adorable in a turkey costume? Here he is wishing us a Happy Thanksgiving. Are you noticing something unusual about this picture? Is it the fact that the other children come up to Noel's knees? What a sweet, slightly crazy giant.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Feel free to celebrate in your own turkey costume.

Swine Flu 2009: Day 11

This little one has it now. I mean, really? Is there no justice in the world?

17 Minutes

Lately, it seems like everything I read on blogs these days is about how someone has just finished a marathon. Or has 32 years of food storage. Or just whipped up a 7-course meal from organic produce. But how many people can write about something that I consider supremely important -- TV??

I've thought a lot about the purpose of my blog. Besides posting photos for the grandparents who miss their grandkids terribly, this is an online journal. And shortly we'll be printing it so that all of my posterity can read it for years to come. And while they may find the anecdote about the tooth fairy amusing, wouldn't you rather read a journal about what your mother/grandmother watched on television? I know I would. I wish my pioneer ancestors would have kept better track of their TV log.

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you know that Josh and I watch a lot of TV. We've had our Tivo since it's inception, when our great friends gave it to us as a wedding gift over 6 years ago. We mourn the end of season, store up for the drought that is the summer, and rejoice when the new season arrives. It's almost like food storage, but much more pointless.

Lately, though, I've been delighted with the state of television comedies. I haven't figured out why, but TV comedies go through peaks and valleys. We had the "must-see TV" days of Friends and Seinfeld, and of course the unbeatable night of The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Cheers and Night Court before that. But since then, the TV comedy has been a little bit lacking (17 seasons of According to Jim, anyone?). Sure, there are notable exceptions like Arrested Development, but the quality ones were few and far between.

So do yourself a favor and start watching yourself some comedies. You'll laugh. I promise. Obviously, unless you're some sort of masochist, you won't want to deny yourself the 30 Rock and The Office. But hey, while you're at it, you should watch Parks and Recreation too. It was mildly humorous last year, but laugh-out-loud hilarious this year, especially if you like Amy Poehler and funny stuff. Also, don't forget the Monday night combo of The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother. I've been a fan of the super-clever HIMYM for awhile now, and have only recently tuned in for The Big Bang Theory. You should tune in as well, if only to appreciate the deep-vee/turtleneck combinations of Howard Wolowitz.

And don't forget about the newcomers. We love Community and Modern Family, even if I can't take Joel McHale (The Soup) seriously as the super-suave popular guy. And I even recommend The New Adventures of Old Christine, which isn't new per se, but new to me and also worth the half hour. But really, if you indeed live under a rock and haven't already, get yourself a Tivo and you can knock these out in about 17 minutes. And who doesn't have 17 minutes?

I know what you're thinking. How do you find time to watch so much TV? Well, I'll save you the trouble of wondering. Here are some things that I don't do: talk on the phone (save a bi-weekly call to my mother); go shopping for fun; go out with friends; scrapbook; run marathons; bake; do member missionary work; etc. It's all about priorities, I suppose. And while I just made myself sound like a super-unsociable loser, I do manage to get a lot done. And still watch TV. And folks, this is just the beginning. Stay tuned for my blogs about TV dramas, reality TV, and TV's guilty pleasures.

This is going to be the most awesome journal FULL of dated TV references! You're welcome, posterity!

Oh, and even though this says it was posted by Josh, it wasn't. It's all me. Though I imagine he would've posted the same thing, if he wasn't busy with a "job" and stuff.

Hallowed Out

If we had entered a Most Awesome Halloween contest this year, we would have lost. Horribly. We really, really tried but we ran out of steam before the big day and barely made it through. Next year, I promise, we will be much spookier, much more evil and much quicker to fulfill the wishes of the devil. Let me walk you through how Halloween tried to happen...and failed.

We started out strong. Another trip to Bagstow's Pumpkin farm for pumpkin picking and hay rides.

And hay mazes.
The day was perfect. I was able to duck out of work early one day so it wasn't crowded and it was sunny and nice. Lila loves any outing where she can ride in the bjorn.
Does it surprise you when you see a picture of me how little hair I have? It surprises me...EVERY TIME. Denial, anyone?

Amy and I always laugh that the pumpkin patch is not a patch at all. It isn't like you are climbing through the vines and cutting your fresh pumpkin free. They drive you out to a field where they have evenly spaced out a gajillion pumpkins that are all nearly identical. Is this how they grow in nature?
Despite the stepford pumpkins, Noel took a long time trying to find the right one. Mostly he wanted one that he could carry, which we eventually found.

So far so good. Halloween celebrations were off to a festive start. A week or so later, we did some carving. Jonah drew a picture of how he wanted his pumpkin to look and I had to carve to match. Here is the drawing:
Seems a little tricky, no? I also had to scoop out every single pumpkin gut. My children are apparently wusses when it comes to pumpkin gutting. When I was a kid, I don't remember not gutting your own pumpkin even being an option. My kids are spoiled.
Here is how the pumpkins turned out. Pretty awesome, I thought. We don't believe in fancy pumpkin templates at our house so that our pumpkins can have Marilyn Monroe on them. We like straight up faces. Can you figure out who's is who's?
So far, so spooky, right? Well, this is when things started going down hill. Jonah's school was having a "carnival" one night and the kids were stoked, so we put costumes on and headed out. Just as a matter of note, Jonah's costume has been picked out for weeks and Noel decided about 7 minutes before we left.
There was a lovely photo-op as we came through the door...and that was about it. There were a couple of crafts, which took about 4 minutes to do. And I think there was some trick or treating, but it didn't start for about an hour and there wasn't enough to keep three hyper kids occupied. But the kids were so excited...and were REALLY mad that we were leaving, even though they were complaining that they were bored. So we bribed them in the car with powdered donuts.
"Don't worry," we told them. "There are several more parties and festivities this week leading up to the big day!" And then the swine flu hit...Jonah first...and then Noel...and we skipped all the parties and festivities.

By the appointed night, Jonah had gotten though the worst of it and was ready for trunk or treat and additional trick or treating as well. He was going to be a ninja turtle (in a much too small costume) for Trunk or Treat and then come home and change into his Darth Vader costume for Trick or Treat. Noel, who was in the Valley between Ibuprofen doses, was adamant that he would not be going.

So Jonah and I hit Trunk or Treat, (is it just me, or is Trunk or Treat kind of annoying because the same kids come by your car about 30 times?) and then headed home to change. Jonah decided not to change, and Noel, who's medication had finally kicked in, rallied and decided to come. So we threw a costume on him, and we were off.
Things to note: Noel is wearing pajamas (which he had been wearing all day,) shoes on the wrong feet, no socks and looks a bit like the living dead. Jonah's pants are a bit tight and stop about 5 inches above the ground. And they were much more excited than this picture implies.

We hit quite a few houses in the neighborhood and were duly impressed. THREE houses (3!!!) gave out full size candy bars! That did not happen when I was a kid! Fantastic. The kids thought it was the greatest night ever, and only wanted to trick or treat at houses with decorations. (Make note.) We made it home and hour or so later, with fevers creeping back up and exhausted, but happy kids and lots and lots of quality candy (which Amy and I have eaten much of.)

And to wrap it all up, Noel slept a total of about 45 min last night. Back to reality.

Here We Go Again

Jonah w/ swine flu + Noel, Lila and I w/ colds - Josh in Idaho eating at the Cheesecake Factory = New Blog Posts!

Here are some of the proofs from our latest family photo attempt. Some good ones. . .







And some not so good ones. . .

The Daily Grind

Here's what my baby girl looks like when I'm sitting at the computer, writing a blog. Is it any wonder that I haven't written a blog for a month? Who can resist, instead, spending every spare second enjoying her cuteness? But here's a few things we've been up to at the Bingham house.

I've been teaching the baby how to eat. If there's a stage worse than the baby-food stage, I'd like to know it.
I think school is the best thing ever, and luckily both of my boys seem to think so too. That blessed five minutes between dropping Jonah off at the bus for school and picking up Noel from preschool is so quiet and peaceful. In between facilitating homework, looking for seeds around the neighborhood for the latest school assignment and spraying my son's hair blue for "Crazy Hair Day," I even found time to buy this fantastic Peg Perego high chair off of Craigslist for $55, which may be a tad bit big for her at this point.

Josh has been working. And helping me when he's not working. But in between all of that fun, he has managed to do some canning. Aren't these bread and butter pickles pretty? And I a little bit make fun of him, but man are they delicious. And his strawberry jam is heavenly, too.
Noel's had a birthday (for another post) and has stopped chewing on his shirts, which I consider a victory for the whole family. He has yet to pick up another strange tick, but I'll let you know when it happens.

Jonah's become an adult. I don't know if you know this, but when you're 5, you don't need adult guidance anymore. He has decided he's old enough to ride his scooter around the skate park,


and learn how to ride a bike without training wheels. Strangely, he never really took to riding a bike WITH training wheels, but is doing pretty great. He now wants to be one of those really awesome, disturbingly middle-aged BMX-bikers with way too small skinny jeans that he sees at the skate park. We bought him some Vans, but we draw the line on the skinny jeans.

Lila's been busy, busy busy. She's been watching a seriously inspiring General Conference:
drinking some Diet Coke with her Papa:
Growing a mustache:

And discovering her tongue:
In short, she's spending a lot of time being really stinkin' cute. And I can't get enough of her. If you don't hear from me for another few weeks, you know what I'll be doing.

Bear Lake 2009

Bear Lake has been a favorite vacation destination of mine for as long as I can remember. I've gone every summer at least once since I was born. It's a fantastic vacation for kids as well as adults. The kids play in a calm, shallow lake and the adults enjoy some stress-free reading and relaxing. Okay, it's not that stress-free. There are kids to take care of, but we love spending time with our family and we look forward to it every year. Here are some things that made this trip ultra-special. Most importantly, Josh was only able to accompany us on the vacation for our 2 day, 14 hour drive there, and the 2 day, 14 hour drive back. He had to fly home to work in between. If you think that's bad, read the account of said drive home below.

Jonah loves Bear Lake. He spends all day, every day on the beach, building sandcastles, playing in the raft, riding on the boat, bobbing around in the water, or participating in any other beach-centric activity. Here he is about 30 minutes after we arrive at the lake.

And no, we do not dress him in shorty-shorts. He's just wading in the freezing cold water on a windy, cold evening. Kids are weird.

Further emphasizing his weirdness, even though he's deathly afraid of his swimming lessons, we can't get him out of the water.
Noel, on the other hand, spent most of the trip whining about not wanting to go the beach, and then, after much coaxing, sitting on the beach and eating BBQ potato chips.

And capri sun: (p.s. Doesn't he look like a wax figurine in this photo?)
And whining some more about how he wants to go golfing. And then, after golfing, whining about how he wants to go golfing again.


Strangely, the boat rides were whine-free.
And here's Lila, who's an angel wherever she is. Also, she's wearing a swimming suit, cover-up, sun hat, legwarmers and a life jacket so that she can. . .what? Swim?
We missed Josh but had an amazing time. Thanks, mom and dad! It was almost worth it when, on the drive home, our tire exploded off of our car. . .1.5 hours from home. . .when the kids were finally sleeping after the drive from hell. . .and we had just breathed a sigh of relief that we were really going to make it. But we put on the spare and drove really slowly for the rest of the drive, and now it will just become one of the days of which we will never speak. After I write about it on this blog, that is.