Clouds of glory

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:

The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star,

Hath had elsewhere its setting,

And cometh from afar:

Not in entire forgetfulness,

And not in utter nakedness,

But trailing clouds of glory do we come

From God, who is our home:

Heaven lies about us in our infancy!

--William Wordsworth from his poem

Ode: Intimations on Immortality

I was reminded of this poem this afternoon. I had been in the bathroom, really the only time during the day when I can be alone, and I had been reading.  I might have spent a bit more time in the bathroom than was actually required because I was enjoying what I was reading, but not that much extra.  I came out of the bathroom to this:

It is the stuffing from two couch cushions.  

Brandt and Blythe had emptied the cushions and were leaping off the couch into the fluff.

As is evident, it was everywhere.  

My two have come trailing clouds of glory.

Fluffy glory today.

And I do feel that Heaven lies about them in their infancy, 

even when they seem hell-bent on destruction.

They look so angelic.

But don't be fooled.

Look Mom! No hands!

Brandt has a recorder stuck in one end of the vacuum attachment

which he then stuck down his diaper.

Now he can play and he doesn't even have to use his hands.

Very creative instrumentation.

Looks uncomfortable to me.

Are you wondering when a big boy like Brandt is going to stop wearing diapers?

Me too.

"Me first!"

Brandt has keenly felt Blythe's presence as a second person demanding my attention since she joined our family. He almost never had to take turns or wait for me to help someone else until she came along.  Naturally, this has led to some competition and to what has become my least favorite saying of the moment: "Me first!"  Brandt, being older and bigger, feels like he should be the first to do just about everything--get in the car, have a drink, be served food, have his diaper changed, get his shoes on.

Blythe, however, is no dummy.  She very quickly recognized that she was playing second fiddle all the time and began to assert herself, chiming in with her own, "Me first."  And because she still can't say everything she wants, "Me first," serves all sorts of purposes, like when she wants something you have or to do something you don't necessarily want her to do.

So, in an effort to curb the constant "Me first"-ing, I recently read the children a Shel Silverstein poem I have always liked called "Ladies First."  I shall share it here.

Pamela Purse yelled, "Ladies first,"
Pushing in front of the ice cream line.
Pamela Purse yelled, "Ladies first,"
Grabbing the ketchup at dinnertime.
Climbing on the morning bus
She'd shove right by all of us
And there'd be a tiff or a fight or a fuss
When Pamela Purse yelled, "Ladies first."

Pamela Purse screamed, "Ladies first,"
When we went off on our jungle trip.
Pamela Purse said her thirst was worse
And guzzled our water, every sip.
And when we got grabbed by that wild savage band,
Who tied us together and made us all stand
In a long line in front of the King of the land--
A cannibal known as Fry-'Em-Up-Dan,
Who sat on his throne in a bib so grand
With a lick on his lips and a fork in his hand,
As he tried to decide who'd be first in the pan--
From the back of the line, in that shrill voice of hers,
Pamela Purse yelled, "Ladies first."

Certainly anyone can see that the lesson I was trying to teach with the reading of this poem was that we should not demand, "Me first."  Unfortunately, the recitation had just the opposite effect.  Blythe will now frequently say, "Ladies first," in place of "Me first," and Brandt will pipe up, "No, boys first."  Yesterday Kent tried, "First the worst; second the same; last the best of all the game," but Brandt just looked at Kent and said, "Nuh-uh."

If it keeps up, it will be me first to the loony bin.

The Jumper

This morning I was awakened by a strange sound.  In my sleep-haze, I thought it was the washing machine out of kilter, like when you have too many towels in and during the spin cycle they all end up on one side of the bucket.  It was a rhythmic "thump thump thump" that I just couldn't identify.  It wasn't really very loud, but steady and consistent.  After a few minutes (maybe, it is hard to tell when you are just waking up), Kent asked, "Is that Blythe jumping?"

Aha!  It was Blythe.  She loves to jump and has since she was little.  She jumps when she is excited, she jumps when she is happy, and when she is in her bed and awake, she jumps whether she is happy or sad (like when she is having a time-out and needs to be contained).  We heard her through the monitor, but it was soft so not immediately evident it was her.

When I went down to get her up, she was jumping so high her bum was even with the crib railing.  I thought she was going to launch herself out of bed headfirst, swan-diving onto the floor.  I am also somewhat worried she is going to damage the structural integrity of the springs and cause a collapse.  Blythe is so pleasant and cheerful.  I should follow her example and jump on the bed first thing in the morning too.

An evening's activity

It is just after 8:00pm.

Now that the children are in bed, I have a mammoth task awaiting my attention.

This is eight loads of laundry.

I have diligently washed and dried and mounded them on my bed throughout the day.

Now I get to sit and watch TV.

I think I will indulge in two hours of Mystery we have TiVo-ed.

Guilt-free.

A fire fighter's happy day

2006 was a bumper crop year for the DeMartini family.  Brandt and two first cousins were born that year and are turning four this year.  Cousin Luke is the first and we celebrated his birthday on Saturday.  It was a fire fighter/fire engine themed party and Aunt Sharae went all out with fun activities.

Fire Fighter Luke

First, all the cousins gathered to make fire engines.  

Here is Brandt with his.  Blythe was not interested in making one.

Then the kids played stick the balloon on the fire truck.  

Blythe took a turn, but Brandt would not.  He didn't want to wear the mask and have people watching him.  Blythe hated the mask, but I managed to get her to wear it long enough to stick her balloon on.

We all went outside to play in the water.  Each child got a fireman's hat.

Here they are yelling "Fire!"

Brandt is sporting his hat backwards.  

Wearing their hats, they were then able to spray Coke cans with the hose, just like real fire fighters.

Uncle Christopher kept encouraging the children to spray the adults--

from the safety of the kitchen.

While waiting for their turn, the children not spraying jumped on the tramp.

Here is Ava with electric hair.

And here is our little fire fighter Brandt spraying away.  

He took Christopher's suggestion to heart--

I got sprayed.

Twice.

Next the children did a pinata.  

Brandt was again unwilling to participate with everyone watching him, but Blythe took a turn.  

Nothing came out of the fire engine when she whacked.

Her form wasn't terrific.

It took Blake's strength to break open the pinata.

Everyone was super excited about the candy.  

Blythe snatched at suckers like mad white chomping on an Air Head.

And then, as if we hadn't had enough fun already, we got to have cake!

Fire engine cake!

Sharae said it took her hours to make this, but isn't it so cute?

And doesn't Luke look so pleased?

(I took the picture before the fire hydrant candles were added.  Again, so cute!)

We had a great time celebrating Luke's happy day.  

Don't they look ready for action?

Spring cleaning

While Blythe napped today, I cleaned the garage and Brandt played in the yard and car.  

At one point, he asked me to remove his shoes, which I did.

A minute later, Brandt stuck his head out the sunroof and hailed me.

He was naked.  

When I asked why he had taken off all this clothes, he said, "It very stuffy in car, Mom."

"But do you need to be naked?" I asked.

"Yes," he said, "I feel better naked."

I didn't let him out of the car until he let me get him dressed again.

Which took some time.

And because I took his picture, he had to take mine.

Here I am, taking a short break from the garage cleaning.

In all my clothes.

Built in babysitting

Yesterday morning the TV died.  We had sound, but a black screen with one thin line of light across the middle. We were very busy yesterday, running errands and going to lunch, then post nap doing grocery shopping, so we didn't really miss the TV.  Brandt and I played games and did puzzles while Blythe slept, and although I did find the TV on several times, obviously no one was sitting in front of it staring at blankness.

Today, however, was a slightly different story.  I realized I use the TV to babysit my children more than is probably good.  This morning we went to story time at the library and then to lunch at McDonald's with cousins, so again, the morning without TV was not an issue.  In fact, it was all quite nice.  Then, however, I had a presidency meeting while Blythe napped.  Brandt had to entertain himself which would normally be by watching Sesame Street.  But no TV.  He played with his train and pulled sheets and towels out of the bathroom linen cupboard looking for some sort of gun (I couldn't quite understand what sort of gun he wanted).  He called down for me to come change his diaper at one point, and then put on a CD to dance to.  When I finished my meeting I came upstairs so we could play or read and found Brandt asleep on the couch, wrapped up naked in a blanket.  I put a diaper on him and put him in bed.  I sat down to read in the quiet, but that lasted a whopping 12 minutes before Blythe woke up and began yelling at me from her room.

The children were wild the rest of the afternoon.  I tried to keep them occupied.  We sang songs together at the piano, I built a large and fairly spiffy cave for them to hang out in, and we read stories.  But the minute I left a room or answered the phone, or tried to get a little something done--like make dinner--chaos would erupt.  Towels got thrown in the tub and then soaked in water, the cave was caved in, a "project" Brandt was creating ("It have carrots and water and water and water and water") got dumped out on the blankets in the collapsed cave, two bananas were unpeeled and partially eaten, and book shelves were emptied of their contents.  I just wanted Brandt and Blythe to go sit in front of the TV and give me 20 minutes' peace.

When Kent returned home from work bearing a brand new TV, Brandt kissed the box in excitement and I kissed it in gratitude.  It has been nice to not have a TV on and creating noise and I am going to work harder at making sure it doesn't stay on as long as it has sometimes, but I certainly am glad the children will sit and watch PBS so I can get something--anything--done around the house.

The spiffy cave I constructed for the children.

I knew those big heavy art books would come in handy one day.

Blythe and Brandt poking out of the cave.

They look so harmless, but don't be fooled!

Jace's baptism

Today Brandt's favorite cousin Jace Brinkerhoff was baptized.  It was a sweet experience.  Jace looked so handsome in his white clothing and seemed so pleased to be making this important step.  It is great to have such good examples for our children being set by some of their favorite people.  Cousins Tess, Jace, and Lydia sang "I Know That My Savior Loves Me."  This is a new song that the Primary children have been taught to sing for the Primary program later in the year.  I love it!  It is incredibly tender and when the children sing it, bearing their testimonies through the words, I am so touched.  Brandt has learned it quite well, and I cry every time he sings it.  I am grateful he is learning the gospel and the Primary songs which teach gospel truths so simply and yet profoundly.  

And speaking of singing Primary songs.  In the car on the way home from the baptism, a CD of Primary songs was playing and "Follow the Prophet" was on.  Brandt was singing, "Follow the prophet.  Follow the prophet on his motorcycle."  He didn't elaborate on where we should follow the prophet to as he was on his motorcycle, but I suppose that isn't really important.  He is getting the gist of the song.  

Here is "I Know That My Savior Loves Me."

Spring is in the air!

We have had two gloriously beautiful days in a row.  We can hardly stand to be inside, so we haven't been.  Yesterday, after playing and playing outside and struggling to get the children in the house, I gave up and suggested we go have our first picnic of the season.  We walked across the street and ate a somewhat haphazard dinner of sausages, deviled eggs, crunchies, and strawberries (I need to go to the grocery store) under a cloudless blue sky.  It was warmthing.  It was also cut short by a diapering emergency on Blythe's part.  She walked home like a bowlegged cowboy, poor thing.

Brandt, sporting Kent's hat

Then this morning we got word that Blythe's Aunt Alisa's horse had foaled in the wee hours of the morning and we had to go ogle the new little colt.  Today just happens to be Aunt Alisa's birthday.  She got a pony for her birthday--how spoiled it that?  And he is too cute! 

Here is Charlie

The children were delighted to see him, although Blythe wanted to watch him from a safe distance.  Charlie's mom Duchess made her a bit nervous.  Brandt, on the other hand, proudly fed her carrots all by himself.  Baby mammals are just too sweet.  

Here is Charlie again

And this is Twinkie, another colt born about three weeks ago.  

See!  Darling baby mammals.

Here I am with my darling baby animals.

I mean children.

Brandt petting another horse.  

Blythe wouldn't touch them, but Brandt would because, in his words, 

"I brave."

Blythe with Aunt Keyaira--safely on the far side of the horse.  

While the horses were a big draw, Brandt was more interested in all the farm equipment. 

How can you keep a boy away from a backhoe?

Or a tractor?

And of course, anything Brandt does, Blythe wants to do too.

Who says girls can't operate backhoes?

My very own Handy Manny

I was downstairs this morning working on the dishes.  From upstairs, I heard a crash--the sound of breaking glass!
I called up to Brandt, "What was that?  Did something just break?"
He replied, "Yes."
I went up and found this:

It is the glass door of the entertainment center.  Brandt had very adeptly unscrewed the hinges that hold it in place, and it had crashed to the floor, shattering.  When I asked Brandt what he was doing, he explained,

"I working on my project.  I need to put this door over there, by TV."    

Brandt is very competent with the screwdrivers.  He likes to take things apart, mostly the light switch cover plates.  However, today he was a bit more ambitious.  He stood on the chair for a better angle, so fortunately he was not cut by the glass.  But he did make a mess.  I asked him to ask me to help the next time he was involved in a project, and I suppose I can hope he will do that in the future.  But he said, "I help myself," so perhaps I shouldn't put much confidence in his willingness to involve me in his projects.

Easter weekend

It was a lovely weekend.  Spring is such a wonderful time of year, and although the weather this spring has been very teasing (we woke to six inches of snow Easter morning), there is rebirth and renewal in the air.  I find myself much more motivated to make change and improvement, to turn over a new leaf as it were, when there are new leaves bursting out all over, rather than at the beginning of the calendar year when everything is still so dead.  I want to do personal spring cleaning at the same time the world is greening up and coming alive again.  The past two days have been full of family and fun as we have been fed both physically and spiritually as we listened to General Conference.

Kent's business partner, Dal, has a pet chicken (not very manly if you ask me).  Goldie, the chicken, had a brood of five chicks last week, so we went to see the new little birds on Saturday.  I knew the children would love an up close encounter with a hen and her babies, and I was not mistaken.  Both Brandt and Blythe thought the birds (big and small) were wonderful.    

Goldie with her chicks at her feet.  

Brandt petting a chick.  

Blythe and Brandt both eye to eye with a chick

Does it look like I'm trying to squeeze this chicken to death?

I'm not.  It was just trying to escape, and I didn't want it to.

Can you see Brandt's broad grin?  Goldie just pooped and Brandt thought it was hilarious.

"Bird poop!" he shrieked after she made her deposit.  

Goldie is a handsome hen.

I do find chickens inherently silly creatures.  I just can't take them seriously.

We also saw baby lambs on the way home.  I love little creatures.

I asked Kent if we could take one home for our very own.

He said no.

Blythe said, "Sheep! Sheep! Baaaaa."

We made Easter sugar cookies for both the Barrus and DeMartini family get-togethers.  Brandt helped decorate, sort of.  He is so anxious to help but not very patient about the process.  He did slather each color frosting on two cookies, generously sprinkled them, and then promptly ate both.  Blythe's contribution was to deem them "tas-ee" (that's tasty), and also eat two.  I think they turned out both colorful and delicious.

 

Does it look like a plate of Martha Stewart cookies?

Not hardly, but that didn't stop them from being eaten.

Every last one.

There are flowers (little purple pansies touched with yellow gold, and orange tulips), eggs, butterflies, sheep, and pigs.  When I was growing up it was always the Easter pig who brought treats to our house, not the Easter Bunny.  I'm not sure why.  But because of that, I make pink pigs on Easter.

We colored some eggs on Sunday.  Brandt and Blythe both found the whole process tactilely stimulating.  They turned the eggs with their fingers and Blythe wanted a spoon to taste the vinegar mixture we were dying the eggs in.  It was a huge mess.

Brandt with his "Brandt" egg in green, his favorite color.

Notice his hands covered in dye?

Blythe with her yellow "Blythe" egg.  

She is squeezing it to the point of cracking open, even though it is hard boiled.

Notice her hands too?

 

The aftermath.  I had to scour the counter top to get the dye off.

We had two egg hunts, one on Saturday with Barrus cousins, and one on Sunday with DeMartini cousins.  Brandt really got into the hunt this year.  At Grandma and Grandpa B's house, Brandt and Blythe got to go out into the yard first to collect eggs because they are the littlest.  Brandt collected so enthusiastically I wasn't sure there were going to be any eggs left over for anyone else.  He probably had close to 30 eggs.  Blythe was excited about putting eggs into her basket until an egg popped open and she realized there was candy inside.  Candy!  She squatted down immediately and began eating the contents, happy with the three eggs she had as long as they call contained candy.

Madly collecting

And the big haul.  Could another egg possibly fit in this basket?

And could someone please comb this poor boy's hair?

No more hunting--only eating.  There's candy in here!

Jonathan, Jace, Tess, Annie, Brandt, Lydia, Brianne, Micah, and Blythe

Brandt and Blythe both ran around at Grandma and Grandpa D's house too, but they had to fight it out with the other cousins because everyone (well almost everyone--Blake is not so small) is little there.  It was pandemonium at the DeMartinis as everyone ran around wildly shrieking.  

Makenna, Blythe, Blake, Luke, Brandt, Ava, and Crew wearing their bunny ears.

Griffin is missing because he would neither wear his bunny ears nor sit by Crew for the picture.

Lyla is missing because she is too small to sit or wear bunny ears.  At least she was home.

Brandt, Kent, and Blythe, post hunt

My wheat grass filled baskets.  

The grass got very long and very full.  

I probably should have given it a trim before trying to put eggs in the baskets, but they were well hidden.

I did a short Easter lesson with the children on Sunday morning.  We looked at a picture of Jesus and Mary near the garden tomb.  We talked about Jesus who had died, been put in the tomb, and the big rock that was rolled across the door.  Then we read about how the angels rolled the stone away and Jesus was alive again--resurrected.  We sang two Primary songs we have been working on during singing time, and Brandt sang along with me.  It is so sweet to hear him sing, "Did Jesus Really Live Again?"  He was even able to retell the story to Kent using a cut out of Jesus, the tomb, and the rock.  We rejoice in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and the knowledge that our familial relationships are eternal.  We had a wonderful Easter weekend.