I was going through old pictures while moving them from one computer to the other and found these videos. I had to post them for the Grandmas so my apologies to everyone else who probably doesn't think my kids the cutest things ever, especially with Will's receding hair line.
In an effort to find the self discipline to accomplish these tasks, I am giving you, dear readers, my project list for the week. Because there's nothing like having to answer to some ethereal, unseen, internet blogging buddies to light a fire under you. Ha ha, you actually all hold a powerful sway over my life and I would hate to disappoint. Here it is:
I'm done with the pull-ups. We are going real underwear or nakedness and that's it. Why the big push? Am I fed up with ripping off wet pull-ups, dragging extra ones around in the car/store/back pack? Not really. No, I want the money. I have ideas. The pull-ups have got to go. Now, you may question my causing uncomfortableness and anxiety for the children just so I can have something I want BUT let me tell you a quick little story from my childhood.
OR RATHER SICK WEEKEND. Friday morning I woke up with a headache. Not too bad, but within an hour or so it was really pounding behind my left eye. Chris took all three boys and went to get some breakfast for them and his two buddies that were staying with us while I took a rest. But before I could rest this headache cranked itself up to warp speed. Very rarely I get migraines. The last one was actually about two years ago but when they come it is bad news for me and this one jumped me from behind. I took some Tylenol but threw it up about 10 minutes later. Chris got back from breakfast to find me lying in the bed with a cold washcloth on my forehead. One of my most attractive looks to be sure. I say all this to explain the absolute hero worship I had for Chris on Friday. Luckily he had taken the day off so he didn't have to go into work BUT the reason he had taken the day off was because his two buddies where in town. Visiting friends aside, he got me a little water, grabbed the three boys and his friends, and kept them all outside of the house and busy until nap time when he brought them home and put the boys to bed. He stopped in off and on throughout the morning to check on me and once I woke up to find half a crusty bagel Will had left on my pillow in case I was hungry. With Chris' care I slept until almost 3:00 in the afternoon and was able to kick this headache in a day which is some kind of record. Thank you thank you! And thanks to his friends--luckily they are both dads and didn't mind the little ones tagging along with them (or if they did they were too polite to show it).Anyway, I got over my headache but Matthew came down with a sore throat By Saturday afternoon I had pretty much decided on staying home from church since Matthew wasn't well and Joseph had the runs. Will sealed the deal by jumping off the couch (protecting his Kangaroo fort), crashing into the floor, and biting a nice little hole in his tongue. It wasn't that bad and I guess tongues heal very quickly but it required a liquid and soft food diet for a day so by that time church was out. Sunday morning Chris left for his speaking assignment (with his two buddies in tow--I had to laugh since he was visiting a different ward and looked like he was bringing his own personal entourage) and we got to sit calmly and eat breakfast as slow as we pleased. Just as I was thinking what a pleasant morning it had been without the rush to get out the door Joseph, standing flat on the floor, not running, not climbing, leaned a little too hard on the back of a kid sized wooden chair, the chair flipped, he went down with it, and got a nasty cut right along the corner of his eye. Ahhh! It bled like crazy and it took me a minute to get some rags pressed on it and see how deep it was. Not bad enough for stitches but Chris was welcomed home by a still bleeding gash and black eye. I'm thinking we would have been better off at church.
It's been a tuff two days with the boys. You know those days when you have a bazillions tasks to accomplish and errands to run and you just need the little ones to quietly obey and stare blindly out the sides of the shopping cart without moving BUT because of the bazillion tasks the little ones are slightly neglected have NO intention of staring blindly out the shopping cart on a good day let alone on a day they are seeking extra attention due to afore mentioned neglect. I just finished two of those days. We've made it past. Past Will climbing up the employee ladder in Bed Bath and Beyond, past Matthew tucking himself in between 50 huge house plants in very breakable pots at the garden store, past Joseph screaming down one isle after another and throwing umpteen paci's on the ground. We've. Made. It. Past.
A little while back I was tagged by my friend Gremhog. Never been tagged like this before so here goes.
Yesterday was Matthew's birthday. He is 5 years old. I remember when he was born and my friend Stie's kids were 5 years old. I coudn't imagine having a kid that old. And now look at him. 
All grown up and wearing Birthday Crowns and playing with others. (Don't worry, that baby girl Chris is holding is a friend!) I wish I could post a baby picture of him, he was a gorgeous baby, but unfortunately Little Moo was born before we had a digital camera and I have yet to take all those negatives to be put onto CD's. At the time I was convinced I would have an ugly baby. All the kids in my family were funny looking until we got a little older. We were the squashed, pale, bald babies (but very cute toddlers). My friend Julie Bleak was expecting a baby at the same time. She had four other children and they were all BEAUTIFUL. Girls with long blond hair, boys with dark eyelashes that practically fell to their noses. I knew I would have to go to church with my funny looking kid and sit next to her with her new beautiful baby. As it turns out, she did have a beautiful baby, but wonder of wonders, so did I! (At least I thought I did.) He was olive skinned, had almost black hair, dark eyes, long eyelashes, a little dimple in his chin, and the most precious puckered lips I ever saw. His fingers were a bit stubby at first but that was easily overlooked for the rest of his exquisite little self. I couldn't believe my luck. Not only was he not ugly, but just looking at him sent a little shiver of awe down my spine. I had a beautiful baby. 
And now he's all grown up and 5 years old. He wanted a cake with a diesel train on it. I can't draw worth beans but googled "how to draw a steam engine" and came up with some pretty good instructions. 
He was pretending to be "Light" the Steamlighter that day, hence the Happy Birthday Light! (You can see the kids already got to it a little bit.) We hit a milestone this birthday. I don't know how to categorize it appropriately but it is a big milestone. The LEGO milestone. Now it begins. Matthew received a sort of starter kit bucket of Lego's and then Daddy found several little kits that each build 3 things. Matthew has remained happily entertained ever since. I love to see him entranced in his building and creating but am not looking forward to picking up Lego pieces in every nook and cranny and big floor area for the next 15 years. Here's to maybe keeping them organized! For at least a day or two.
I'm back. I was out west for Christmas at my parents. In most ways it's like visiting Amish country which is why I had no posts during this trip. I guess it's a little more advanced than the Amish but not by much. They do have running water but it's only hot if you're the first or second one in the shower. And they do have heat. They've had it for a few months now. It's not as if my parents are against technology so much as they aren't really interested in it and therefore don't know how to fix any sort of technological thingies that might exist in the house. The heat, for instance. The heat is coupled with the air conditioning and while you might be able to do without heat in southern Utah you CANNOT do without air conditioning. So, obviously, when they bought the house it had working heat and cool air; however, a few years ago the heat went out and most of the air conditioning. My mother is an Oregon native and likes the house kept at 65 or below so you would think the whole temperature regulatory unit got replaced right away. Unfortunately the one section of the house that still had cool air was the master bedroom. No need to replace anything. My mom had her cool bedroom and several trips there during the day staved off the heat in the rest of the house. My dad couldn't be happier. He is always cold. Cold enough that when the rest of us where sweating our eyeballs out in swimsuits sitting on the Caribbean beaches Dad lounged comfortably in his hooded sweatshirt sporting a big CAYMAN ISLANDS logo emblazoned across the front. I didn't even know the SOLD sweatshirts down there. Anyway, so--no need to have heat. The units finally got replaced over the summer when the boys and I stayed with them over a month and mom realized that such an extended stay deserved night time air in lower than 100 degrees. Thanks mom! Besides the heat, we used to have a toaster growing up but it broke and was never replaced. My aunt gave us a microwave once and it was nice until one of the kids used it as a timer and the thing cooked itself into oblivion (I think it was me). They did get a new microwave a few years ago when Phil was still living at home and got tired of heating up his dinner on the stove in a little pan with a bit of water in the bottom. All this is to say--That's why I didn't post on vacation. My parents did get a new computer for Christmas though. Chris set it all up for them and one of Mom's best friends teaches computers so they should be in good hands.
Now, away from my stream-of-consciousness writing and on to what I really meant to fill this post. I wanted to post this before the end of the year but couldn't (explained above) so I'm pretending it's still 2007 and am going to finally take on my friends challenge to write two Christmas card messages. The 1st: the real sappy kind the dwells on all the wonderful things about your family, and the 2nd: reality. Here goes. #1 Musso Year in Review 2007 2007 has been a fabulous year for our family and we couldn't be happier. Here are a few highlights . . . Matthew: Matthew is almost 5 and absolutely brilliant. He is doing fantastic in preschool and loves learning new things in primary at church. Both his teachers are always eager to talk about him. William: William is 3 and Matthew's little shadow. Matthew has taught Will everything he knows and William is a very astute and quick learner. He learned to use the toilet and never has an accident. Joseph: Joseph started walking at 9 months and is now running at a pretty stable clip. He has 8 teeth and is just starting to get his molars in. He is learning sign language and adores playing with his older brothers. Emily: Along with all the normal mothering tasks, I took on several home improvement projects this year. With Chris' help, we tiled the back splash in the kitchen, the boys bathroom, and our master bathroom. Even though this was my first time working with tile everything has come out perfect and looks fabulous! Chris: Our Daddy loves his job and has visited many exotic places this year. He gets lots and lots of air miles with all his traveling. He loves to use these to take our family on nice trips without having to pay lots and lots for them. We hope your 2008 turns out half as nice as our 2007. Merry Christmas! #2 Musso Year in Review 2007 Matthew: Matthew is almost 5 and enjoys preschool and church. His preschool teacher loves to talk about him and just pulled me aside the other day to discuss his aversion to following directions and very strong streak of independence. Church is going well but he did have that biting incident. Aside from the biting he is learning lots of things he likes to tell me about in awkward settings such as the black-hole-like quiet of a college ward sacrament meeting. Example: "Mom, the bread 'presents his body and the water 'presents his blood. And then they KILLED HIM!" William: William is 3 and Matthew's little shadow. He has learned all kinds of things from his older brother like how to unlock the dead bolt and get past the kid-safe door knob on the pantry. He is potty trained and never has an accident as long as you leave him completely naked. Joseph: Joseph started walking at 9 months and is now running. Running away from Mom every time he has a stinky diaper or sticky hands or some other issue. He as 8 teeth and is just starting to get his molars in. This makes him grumpy and he screams most of the time. I'm trying to teach him some sign language in hopes of calming the screaming but all he has now is the sign for "more" which he uses with great pleasure. He loves to play with his brothers and his favorite game is whacking them on the head with hard objects. Emily: Along with all the normal mothering tasks, I took on several home improvement projects this year. With Chris' help, we tiled the back splash in the kitchen, the boys bathroom, and our master bathroom. Because this was my first time doing this I royally screwed up the boys bathroom floor and that room was out of commission for two months while I drilled out every bit of grout with a rotary bit and Chris drill. Chris: Our Daddy actually is pretty perfect and he really did do a fabulous job this year at home and work. There is one thing I guess. One of his conferences was in California and we decided to make it a family trip since his company would pay for the hotel and rental car. We booked our flights and made reservations at a superb hotel in La Jolla. Unfortunately, 2 days before we were to leave Chris wondered why he had yet to receive any kind of itinerary for his conference and upon further inspection, realized he had the dates of the conference wrong. Whoops. No company tab on this trip. We down graded our hotel and car, but still had a great time visiting old friends! We hope your 2008 is merry and bright! Happy new year to you all.
