Didn't Quite Make It

(I just realized that title makes it sound like I will be blogging about bathroom mishaps...no worries, that is not the case).

Last New Years I decided that one of my goals would be to read 52 books in the coming year, one per week (books with at least two chapters since we read a plethora of picture books, but they don't count). I only got to 45 (although I may finish one more this afternoon, we'll see how it goes). Seven books in one afternoon is a little beyond my abilities (I really am a pretty slow reader...my dad and Josh love to tease me about that). Oh well, guess I have a ready made goal for this next year. Try, try again, right. I do LOOOOOOVE reading! This is a goal I love to try to meet.

P.S. Happy New Years Everyone!!!

An Incredible Christmas

What a fabulous holiday!! We feel so blessed this year and are so grateful to family and friends who has made this season incredible! We attended some great parties, visited with people we love, ate fabulous food including an amazing ham (thank you so very much), met Santa and Mrs. Claus, and just had a wonderful Christmas. We created a decadent gingerbread house,
Celebrated Parker's birthday,Goofed off (we do a lot of that in life!!!)



Got a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus....SUPER FUN!!!

And mostly, just enjoyed the kids. Christmas is amazing with children. We work hard to remember why we are celebrating, and help our children come to know our Savior and try to be like Him. We are so grateful for His birth, His example and His sacrifice for us.
Hope everyone had a very
Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

We love you all and hope that you have the best holiday ever.

Love,

The DeMoux Family

P.S. One of my family's favorite things about Christmas (or any time)...singing!! Check out my family totally rocking on vocals on my Dad's blog. Ok, we're not the Osmonds, but we do like to sing together.

Two Year Olds....the sequel

Boy, I am a blog-a-holic this month. This one is for you, Dad. Today I made chocolate drizzled pretzels for our neighbor treat. Gavin and Logan wanted to help me. Ok, sounds like fun. I went to retrieve the previously purchased pretzel rods from the basement storage room only to find that someone had thrown them all on the floor, presumably looking for something else in the storage room. Now, they are more broken than they were after the oh so careful Walmart employees shoved them onto the shelf. Oh well. I'll just have to cut back on how many we give people (sorry people). I brought them upstairs and started to sort them into trays of "not broken pretzel rods" and "broken but maybe still usable" pieces of pretzel. I had to leave to feed Ellie so I put both trays on the kitchen counter, away from the two year old. No dice. Said stealthy two year old managed to quietly drag a chair over and came to find me while munching on two heretofore non broken pretzel rods (why couldn't he eat the already broken ones).

So, I put wax paper on a bunch of cookie sheets and turned to the stove to monitor the melting chocolate. I turned back around to find Logan (the two year old) licking two separate sheets of wax paper. What??? Does it taste good? I wouldn't think so. Ok, new wax paper, and put the trays away from where Logan is sitting.

Next I lay the pretzels out and bring over the chocolate and drizzle it over them. Milk chocolate and then white chocolate, they look great (if I do say so myself)!! The kids helped me sprinkle sprinkles over the wet chocolate, and we all had a great time. I turned around to get more chocolate and when I turned back Logan is now running his tongue across an entire tray of chocolate pretzels. THIS CHILD!!!

Fine, I threw those away (no one wants to get slobbery, tongue impressions in their chocolate) and decided I'd just dip a bunch of the broken ones to give to people...not as pretty, but more chocolaty so everyone wins.

After the chocolate sets up, I had the boys help me put them in bags to get ready to deliver. Logan was in charge of handing me the bags, but somehow he managed to get his hands all over the chocolate remnants on a piece of wax paper and he was a mess, and so was the table. I sent him to the bathroom to wash his hands while I wiped the table. By the time I was done, he still hadn't come back so I went to check it out. Yup, chocolate covered bathroom counter top and the soap pump was on the toilet seat with (I swear) 40 pumps of liquid soap all over the toilet and Logan trying to clean the whole thing up with one (that's right, one) square of toilet paper.

That was enough. I put it all away (with my sanity) until Logan was down for a nap. Good thing I love this little guy so much. He may be a monster sometimes, but he's MY little monster.

P.S. Gavin told me Logan was a pill today.

That's 'Cause We Have a Two Year Old

Yup, that is butter spread all over the kitchen rug. Despite what you may think, floor coverings don't taste any better with butter than without (not that I know from personal experience). Such is life with a two year old in the house.

P.S. Josh shaved....HOORAY!!! I love that face!!

My Amish (looking) Husband

Occasionally, Josh likes to grow a beard. I HATE IT!!!! That is why he only does it occasionally. However, it is his face, so I don't really feel like I can complain too much. I just expect him to keep it away from me most of the time. This month has been one of those times (yuck). Last night he decided he is starting to get ready to remove said nasty hair from his cute face, but he has decided to do it in phases. I am sure his school kids will bet a kick out of it. This is what he shaved last night (I have to admit, it is much more pleasant to kiss him now, even without all of it gone).
As a historical side note, Josh had a goatee when I first met him (on a blind date that was one of the worst dates of my life). He quickly discerned that I was not a fan of facial hair and made the ridiculous statement "So, if I want to get my face close to yours I'm going to have to shave, huh?" What a dork (love you honey), I thought. "Like THAT is ever going to happen." Guess he was right after all.

Christmas Concert

Last night, Aubrey sang with her elementary, multi-school concert at Cyprus High School. She loves to sing, guess she takes after her parents. We were blessed that Ellie slept contently in her carseat the entire time, the three older boys sat quitely and weren't trouble, and Logan only threw the paper airplane I made him once, kicked the people in front and behind us twice each and sang Jingle Bells at the top of his lungs for just a few minutes. He also found Santa (wearing a neon green t-shirt and denim shorts) sitting a few rows away from us. Still, it was a good night for Aubrey. I was glad she had such a good time.

Also, I want to brag about my fabulous husband who gets up at 5:30 am to leave for school about 6:30 am, and always takes time to shovel the whole driveway and sidewalk as well as cleaning off my car so that I won't have to do it when it snows. He is wonderful and I am very grateful to have him. He's my best friend and I am so glad that I'm stuck with him!!

(p.s. I HATE shoveling snow!!!...but so does Josh, which makes him all the nicer)

G

Earlier this week (say, Tuesday) I had a rough day. The kids were wild and no one cleaned their room that morning and life was a mess. The kids got home from school and I was not my chipper, loving self. We sat down to do homework together when the kids started fighting and I got upset, and really got after them. Gavin looked up at me with a sympathetic look and said, "Mom, you are being a pill. We're all a pill sometimes."
.

It made me laugh, and take a minute to breathe. Thanks, G, for the reality check. I told Josh about this when he got home and he got a kick out of it.

Then, last night as we were driving home from my parent's house (after Joel opened his mission call...Ventura, California here he comes), Josh and I were teasing each other about something and Josh turned to me and said, "You are being a pill!!" We both laughed and then Gavin piped up from the back seat, scolding his father, "Dad, Mom is NOT being a pill today. You be nice!" Josh and I both burst out laughing. What a sweetheart.

It's a good thing I have these little guys to keep me grounded. I might get all full of myself otherwise. They are amazing little people.

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On a more serious note, I was playing with Ellie yesterday, trying to get her to smile. She smiles so easily. However, it reminded me that when playing with an infant, if you want them to acknowledge you, you HAVE to look in their eyes. You can coo and smile all you want at them, but if you don't look in their eyes, then they don't really respond. They seem to know, even at that young age that you aren't really seeing them. I was thinking about how the Savior really SEES each of us, not just what we look like, but what we are, and was thinking I want to make sure that I really SEE the people in my life, not just what they do, but who they are. It is so easy to gloss over with a "How are you?"..."I'm fine, thanks, and you?" but that doesn't really get to the heart of it all. I hope we can all take the time, especially this season when the Savior seems to be closer than many other times in life, to really SEE the people around us and let them know they are seen too. It is something for me to think about.

That's How You Know They're Boys

I came in to the bathroom to witness two boys (four and five years old) who were supposed to be taking a bath, but instead were having "sword fights" by the toilet using their urine streams. I had to shake my head and laugh. At least they were aiming into the bowl.

This kind of thing doesn't happen with girls. Josh assures me this is completely normal male behavior, at least for that age...I hope he has outgrown it.