The Binky Fairy

Now that Eliza has reached the ripe old age of 3 and her attachment to the binky did not seem to be waning, we decided it was time to go cold turkey.  I had planned on taking her to the store and letting her pick out something fun that she could trade me for the binky, but we still anticipated that it was going to be a struggle.  Probably something along the lines of WWIII + a string of sleepless nights.  I mourned that it would probably be the end of naptime.  But my brilliant aunt Glynis told me about the "binky fairy" -- an idea from the Super Nanny herself.  The gist is this: the kid gathers up all their binkies and puts them in a jar, and then the Binky Fairy comes to get them and give them to the babies who need binkies, leaving a surprise in their place.  I didn't know if Eliza would really understand this storyline, but she was all over it.  I really shouldn't have been surprised -- two of her favorite things right now are fairies and babies.  So she was immediately on board with anything to help babies and completely enchanted by the idea of the Binky Fairy.

Much to our surprise, she felt asleep quickly (after a few more reassurances that the Binky Fairy was indeed going to give her binkies to the poor little babies that didn't have any binkies) and slept almost entirely through the night.  She did wake up about a half-hour before the usual time, crying for her binky. We went in and reminded her about the binky fairy scenario and she reluctantly fell back asleep.  A little later we could hear her crying it her room and it sure sounded like she was saying "Why? Whyyyyyyy?!"

But when she was finally ready to wake up and she saw that the Binky Fairy had replaced her binkies with a jar full of candy (pink Whoppers, to be exact) and a Princess Tiana doll, she was ecstatic.  And she has done terrific ever since.  So yay for the Binky Fairy!

That leads, however, to what I think is the funniest part of the whole story. Early Saturday morning, before she had come down to find her treats, Sammy and I were in the kitchen.  The following is our conversation:

Sam (hesistantly): "Mom, I don't think there's a Binky Fairy."
Me: "You're right."
Sam:  "It's just you, huh?"
Me: "Yup, I just went to Walmart last night after you guys went to bed."
--pause--
Sam: "Is it the same with the tooth fairy?"
Me: "What do you think?"
Sam: "I think it's just you... is that right?"
Me: "Do you want to know?"
--pause--
Sam: "Not until I'm done losing teeth."

He IS a smart kid. :)

Overheard in the garden...

Joshy: "Mom, one time I saw a praying mantis!"
Me: "Really?  Those are cool!"
Joshy: "And I even heard it talking!"
Me: "Wow, what was it saying?"
Joshy: "Heavenly Father..." 

--

Overheard in the car:
Me: "We just need to stop at Payless and see if we can exchange Sam's sandal that broke."
Sam: "Well, you're going to get two sandals, right Mom?"
Me: "Of course!  One sandal wouldn't do anybody much good."
Sam: "It would for someone who only had one foot..."

Recently overheard in the Hill family...

Sam: "Do any people live in the jungle?"
Mom: "Sure! There are whole groups of people who live in the jungle their whole lives."
Sam: "Well, I sure hope they don't have any golf courses."
Mom: "Why?"
Sam: "Because monkeys live in the jungle, and you know what they say -- NEVER play golf with a monkey!"

--

Josh: "I have lots of different kinds of super eyes... telescope eyes, microscope eyes, seeing-around-corners eyes..."
Sam: "My super power is being able to see other people's super powers!"
Mom: "If I was a superhero, what do you think my powers would be?"
Sam: "You'd be Super Scrapbooker! If people couldn't do scrapbooking, you could do it for them!"
Mom (thinking): I'd like to have time just to do it for US, but okay...
Josh: "And you'd have super strength, so you could carry around a whole desk full of that stuff!"

--

(Quick intro note: Joshy HATES helping around the house, and it's usually like pulling teeth to get him to do anything. Last night I was cleaning up in the kitchen at my mom and dad's after Sunday dinner and he spontaneously came in and started helping me.)
Mom: "Thanks for being such an awesome helper! It makes me feel so happy inside when you're such a good helper! Does it make you feel happy inside?"
Josh: "YES! I feel the Holy Ghost!"

Sammy gives a talk...

Saturday afternoon the Primary secretary called and said, "I just wanted to double-check with you about Sammy's talk tomorrow..." And I said, "Sammy's supposed to give a talk tomorrow?!" Apparently his teacher was supposed to bring over the little assignment slip -- oops. But no worries, Sammy was totally excited for it. The topic he was given was "Mothers nurture the family," so he got a pen and paper and started brainstorming. We looked up the meaning of "nurture" (to take care of and to teach), and then he made a list of how his mom does those things:



I have to admit, the ones about being like Jesus and reading the Book of Mormon required a little coaching from Dad. It would have been extremely gratifying had he said, "My mom teaches me to believe in Heavenly Father and to have faith and love others and..." (insert all the other things I really am trying to teach him), but I guess not picking your nose is important, too. I just keep telling myself that he is learning all those things, even if he can't quite put his finger on it. Of course, I had to wonder when I asked, "What about the plan of salvation?" And he replied, "Never heard of it." Sigh.

But I digress. Sammy did an amazing job with his talk. I took the ideas from his brainstorm and put it into talk form, mostly because we ran out of time for him to finish it up himself. He was so excited to sit in the "TALK" chair at the front of the Primary room, and jumped right up to the mike when it was his turn. We had him give his talk for the family at Sunday dinner so I could record it for the benefit of all y'all. This is pretty much exactly how he delivered his talk in Primary, to the great amusement of the teachers, especially.



Here's the text of the talk, just in case there are any parts that are hard to understand:

Heavenly Father gave mothers a special job. That job is to nurture the family. To nurture means to take care of and to teach. My mom takes care of us by feeding us and making us take a nap after lunch. She teaches us important things, too, like how to eat, how to draw, to share, and to not pick our noses. She also teaches us about Heavenly Father, and to try to be like Jesus, and to say our prayers.

In the Book of Mormon there is a great story about how mothers nurture the family. The Lamanites were attacking the Nephites, and 2,000 young men from the people of Ammon made an army to protect their families. The prophet Helaman was their leader. Their mother’s had taught them that if they trusted in the Lord, he would protect them. After the battle, none of them had been killed. It was a miracle! The young warriors had been very brave, and they said it was because they believed the words of their mothers.

It is important for us to believe the words of our mothers, too. They teach us important things that help us be happy and healthy and stay close to Heavenly Father.

(Bear your testimony)

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Ah, Christmas!

We have had the most wonderful and exhausting couple of days! I love, love, love Christmas, and all our family traditions are what make it so special. On Christmas Eve we went out for Chinese food, of course. Sammy was very brave and tried some shrimp, but Joshy mostly ate those little fried sugar roll things (thanks, Aunt Amy!). His favorite part was spearing them with chopsticks. Afterward we went back to my parents' house for a new tradition -- everyone brought Christmas cookies and a Christmas story to share, and we sang Christmas songs to go with each one. (Apparently our old tradition of acting out the nativity scene had become a little too farcical for my mom's taste. There was admittedly a lot of snickering involved...) Sammy and I had made dee-licious gingerbread boys, and Sammy read "Beyond Bethlehem" (a book about what was happening at the time of Christ's birth in the Book of Mormon) to the family. He did a great job!



That night Dan and I continued our own tradtion, enjoying each others' company while watching "A Christmas Story" and "helping" Santa get ready for Christmas morning.

Sammy was bursting at the seams to get downstairs and see what Santa brought, but we literally had to drag Joshy out of bed. For some reason that kid just does not like opening presents, or really have any attention focused on him. But we got him downstairs, and Sammy was overjoyed to see that Santa had gotten him the coolest bike EXACTLY like the one he'd seen in Walmart!

We told Joshy Santa had left us a note saying his present was downstairs, but he refused to go down and look at it. Dan picked him up and carried him, but all reluctance vanished when he saw his present: his very own trampoline!

It's very gratifying when your cranky, non-present-excited child is bouncing up and down saying "This -- trampoline -- is -- the -- best -- present -- EVER!" And follows that up with a "You -- are -- so -- jealous!" to his big brother. Well, that part was more funny than gratifying, and in Josh's defense, he's very generous in sharing his cool toy with Sam. After we were finished opening the mountain of presents from very generous grandparents, aunts, and uncles, we got dressed and headed over to my parents' house again for more Christmas fun.

I admit I got a little carried away with Eliza's Christmas outfit. I couldn't find anything that really appealed to me at the store, so I decided to make her a tu-tu that would match her cute polka dot sweater my mom brought from England. The leg warmers from Aunt Sarah were PERFECT with it, and I couldn't resist adding curly ribbon to her pigtails as the finishing touch. What a cute little sugar plum fairy!




We had a wonderful day with our family. We had invited a few of our new Bhutanese friends to our Christmas dinner, but because of the weather -- total whiteout blizzard conditions -- we had to call and cancel. An hour or two later, however, the weather cleared enough for Amy and Dan P. to brave the roads and they were able to come after all! I think that was really a miracle. Mom and my sisters and I spent most of the day in the kitchen getting all ready for dinner, and we had such a fun time together. Because the Dulals (the families that joined our Christmas dinner) are Hindu and therefore vegetarian, we had to get a little creative with our dinner planning. I made minestrone, which turned out delicious, Emily made yummy stuffed peppers, and we had lots of fruits and veggies. It was probably the healthiest Christmas dinner we ever had, which was a good thing because we had all spent most of the day eating fistfuls of chocolate...





After dinner my dad dressed up in the Santa suit and we taught them about a few of our Christmas traditions. Everyone got to open presents, and it was really fun. Sammy and Joshy had used all of their birthday money to buy presents for Tila and Hari, the boys who are just their ages. Sammy was SO excited for Tila and Hari to open their presents. It was a great experience for them.

You can see lots and lots of pictures in the Facebook album I just created by clicking here.

This Christmas was not without its challenges. The weather was a big one -- we got stuck in the snow trying to leave my parents' house Christmas Eve, and then in the same place Christmas morning. The roads were just awful and we hadn't noticed how bare my tires are. We made it to the end of my parents' street and got totally stuck, but luckily my dad and sister drove by just then on the way to pick up my other sister. They got us unstuck momentarily, but then we slid deeper in. Luckily (again!) my brother's best friend happened by in an SUV with a tow rope and towed us into my parents' driveway. Yay for small towns where everyone who drives by is someone you know! :) We had chains in the back of the van, so we made it home safely in the evening. I have to say, though, it never entered my mind for a moment to stay home -- I love Christmas with my family WAY too much!

Poor Dan is also so sick -- he has nasty bronchitis that has just been getting worse and worse, but he was a real trooper. Eliza's also really congested and fussy (for her, anyway, but really not too much), but she had lots of people to love her and take care of her yesterday.




But despite these challenges, this Christmas made me so grateful for my family, and for all our blessings. We always have enough and to spare, even when we're struggling -- warm homes and clothes, food to eat, and so much more. We are blessed to live in a land of peace and security. We have the gospel, and the promise of being together forever. I really missed Carissa this Christmas -- she loved everything about the season -- but I know we will be with her again. What greater blessing could you ask for?

All about Sam

Sammy is officially 5 years old! He's been trying to get away with telling people he's 5 for a couple of weeks, but now he can officially claim it! Sammy was so excited to have his birthday and all the fun that went with it. We started the day with the traditional "Happy Birthday" wake up, even though he was wide awake and just dying to get out of bed, then had a really huge birthday party for him and Josh. Just for future reference, self: 20 kids is too many for a birthday party! It's my own fault, I'll admit -- I just didn't know where to leave off inviting people. But it was really fun and Sammy especially loved it. (Josh started getting violently ill in the middle of it and was not a happy camper.) I was especially grateful to my mom and Toby who helped out and really saved the day for me.

Shortly after the party Sammy started to feel sick, too, so we spent the rest of the weekend home with sick kids. We had to miss the ward party, so the boys and I had our own hot chocolate, cookies, and a Christmas movie at home. On Sunday evening we headed over to Nana and Bapa's house for a wonderful birthday dinner for Sam, where we all got to say what we loved about Sammy and he serenaded us with "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer." Good times.

Ah, what can I say about Sam? He is one amazing kid. Most everyone who knows him already knows he's a total genius. He reads on a 2nd or 3rd grade level and constantly amazes us with how analytical his mind is. He really thinks about things in depth. He loves to write emails to family members and post on our blog. But if you ask him what he loves doing the most, his answer is always "being an artist!" He loves to draw and "paint" on the computer, and he's done some pretty cool stuff! He also loves to write stories to go along with his drawings. He loves going to preschool and playing with all his little friends. He and Joshy are always coming up with imaginative games to play. Soccer is his favorite sport, and he can't wait for spring to come so he can play on the team again.

Sammy has such a generous, tender heart. At preschool the kids earn "achievement dollars" for good behavior and then use them to buy little toys and goodies from the teacher's "store" at the end of the week. Sammy always buys two of whatever he gets so that he can bring one home for Josh. A few days ago he did something that really touched my heart. We were heading to the grocery store and checked the mail, and there was a birthday card for him in the mail with $5 inside. He was so excited to take it to the store with us to buy something special. When we got to the store he saw the man ringing the Salvation Army bell and he shouted, "Mom, Mom, give me my $5! I know just what I want to do with it! I want to give it to that man!" I said, "What will he do with it?" He looked at me with the happiest face and said, "Mom, it's for poor people!" He ran right over and put that whole $5 in, just as happy as could be. He has so much love in his heart -- what a great example. I almost asked him if he maybe just wanted to put in a little bit, but that just goes to show the kinds of lessons we learn from our kids. He was happy to give everything he had.

He is also such a tender big brother, especially to Eliza. His whole world revolves around her. He'll happily entertain her for as long as he can, and he always wants to make sure she's happy and well. He has to give her a hug and kiss before he can do anything else or before she goes anywhere, and he gets really worried if she cries for more than one second.

I love my little man Sam. I can't believe he's getting so big and grown up. He's a great helper and a friend to everyone, and I'm so proud of him. I'm sure I'll think of other things to add, but in the mean time, here is a slideshow of all the birthday fun:

Little milestones...

Well, I'm a few days late with this entry, but life has -- as always -- been a little crazy. On Monday our sweet baby Eliza was two months old! I can hardly believe that she's so big, but I can also hardly believe there was a time we didn't have her! She is such a sweet little thing. She has the cutest little smile that we see more and more. She's sleeping through the night and is usually just as happy as can be. She's been cranky the past few days, but I'm sure she'll get over that pretty quick. Her big brothers both just adore her. Sammy especially hates to see her unhappy ever. Today he asked "But Mommy, why is baby Eliza fussing?" "Honey, all babies cry sometimes -- she's just fine." "I wish she was born the same age as me; then she'd never cry!" He said this with such sincere concern. It was very sweet.

Here's our little sweetie on her two-month birthday!


I went down to Cedar City on Monday with Joshy and Eliza, my parents, Ange, and Grandpa and Grandma Tarbet for our dear friend Barbara Adams' funeral. She is my aunt Glynis' mother and such a wonderful lady. I was really glad we could go down and support all their family. And it was fun to hang out with everyone who went down -- being cooped up together in the car all day leads to lots of fun conversations. Joshy and Eliza were amazingly good. Eliza slept pretty much all the time we were in the car, and Joshy was pretty happy watching movies on our portable dvd player. How did anyone haul kids on long trips without those things?! :) Joshy felt pretty special getting to be with Nana and Bapa and Grandpa and Grandma and Ange all day. Bapa had him laughing so hard while we were at lunch -- Joshy kept lifting up his shirt to be tickled again and again!



Sammy's first day of preschool with his new teacher was Monday, and he didn't want to miss it, so he got to have his first-ever friend sleepover! His good little buddy Boyd is in his class, and his mom -- my wonderful friend Katie -- graciously invited Sammy to sleep over and spend the day at their house. Sammy was SO excited. He talked all weekend about all the fun things he was going to do with Boyd, and Sunday evening he couldn't wait to leave Nana and Bapa's house to get to Boyd's. As soon as we turned onto Boyd's street, however, he started to freak out: "I'll miss you guys too much, I'm too scared, I don't think it will be like home..." and so on. I pulled into Boyd's driveway and got out to talk to Sammy. I told him I understood he was scared, but I thought if he just went inside he'd remember how excited he was and how much fun he'd have. But Sammy was not interested, and the more I tried to persuade him the more he resisted. So I said, "It's okay, honey -- I know it's a little scary. We can try a sleepover another time -- I'll just run up to the door and tell Boyd's mom you're not coming." But that made him even more upset, because he didn't want to hurt Boyd's feelings! He's such a tender little heart. So we went back and forth like this for several minutes, and a couple times he even got out of the car, but as soon as I started to close his door he jumped back in and clung to his carseat like a life preserver. I'm not gonna lie to ya -- I was getting a little frustrated. Finally I just grabbed Eliza (Joshy was at home with Dan) and walked up to the front door without him. He hid by the garage. As soon as I knocked on the door, Boyd came bursting out, so excited to see Sammy. Katie and I finally talked Sammy into coming inside, just to see Boyd's room. The turning point was when I told him Eliza reeeeally wanted to see Boyd's room, and could we please go in just for a second? Sammy cautiously crept into the house, looking like he was sure a monster was going to jump out from every corner. Within about two minutes he announced: "I decided I'm going to stay, Mom, you can go now," and he never had another moment's trouble. Katie said he was cracking them up at dinner the next night, when he told them he'd been a little "skittish" about coming to their house...

Oh, and just another funny little note:
Last night as we were going to bed and Sammy was dawdling downstairs, I called down "Sammy, get your buns up here!" To which Joshy, in a voice of great patience, replied, "Mommy, Sammy only has one bum..."

Anyhoo, I'd better get a move on -- I've got Halloween costumes to work on, treats to make, and decorations for Glynis' baby shower to finish up, not to mention a sink full of dishes. Never a dull moment!

Mental Gymnastics (life with a very curious 4 1/2 year old)

And don't forget that he's 4 1/2 -- he'll be sure to correct you.

Here are the highlights of our conversation at lunch yesterday. Beware -- this may disillusion you as to how good I am thinking on my feet. The conversation turned, as it frequently does since Carissa passed away, to the whys and wherefors of it all.

Sammy: How did Carissa die?
Mommy: She was very, very sick, honey.
Sammy: But HOW did she get veryvery sick?
Mommy: Hmmm... I don't really know. We don't know how she got so sick. I think Heavenly Father just really needed her back in Heaven.

which led to talking about some of the other people we know who are in Heaven, like Grandma and Grandpa Pearce and Grandpa Neves.

Sammy: I bet Nana wants her dad back, huh?
Mommy: Well, Nana does miss Grandpa Neves very much. But you know, Grandpa Tarbet is her dad, too, and he's still here. Grandpa Neves was Nana's stepdad. She loves them both very much.
Sammy: Who's MY stepdad?
Mommy: You don't have one, sweetie.
Sammy: But what if Dad dies and you marry someone else? Then HE'LL be my stepdad.
Mommy: I don't think that's something you need to worry about, honey. (He's been really curious about step-parents lately -- the day before he had asked who his step-mom was and the conversation went pretty much the same way.) Daddy and I are married in the temple, which means that even if one of us dies our family will still be together forever. I'd still be your mommy and Daddy would still be your daddy.
Sammy: But what if you're really really OLD and Dad dies? Then if you get married again will he still be my step-dad?
Mommy: Yes, I suppose so.

Somehow this segued into the following conversation:
Sammy: I have infinity super powers, you know, and I'm NOT using my imagination. (The super powers thing is another big interest right now.)
Mommy: I know, it's amazing!
Sammy: I have the power to make people who are in Heaven come back to Earth!
Mommy (who knows where this is headed, because Sammy's greatest wish is for Carissa to come back right now): Sweetheart, only Heavenly Father can decide who is on Earth and who is in Heaven. Heavenly Father has a different plan for each person, and He knows where they need to be.
Sammy: But I really do have that power.
Mommy: I don't think so, honey -- only Heavenly Father does.
Sammy: Okay, I'll give that superpower back to him.
Mommy: I think that's a good idea.

Sammy: So, Heavenly Father knows EVERYTHING, right?
Mommy: Yes, He does.
Sammy: Does Jesus know everything?
Mommy: Yep, Jesus knows everything too.
Sammy: But HOW did Jesus get to know everything?
Mommy (trying to figure out how to explain the godhead to a 4 1/2 year old): Because Heavenly Father and Jesus work together, kind of like they're on a team. Jesus is Heavenly Father's Son.
Sammy: Oh, Jesus is Heavenly Father's SON!
Mommy: Yep.
Sammy: And Mary was Jesus's mommy right?
Mommy: Right.
Sammy: So, were Mary and Heavenly Father married?
Mommy: ... No.
Sammy: So, how did Heavenly Father MAKE Jesus?
Mommy: (wondering how to explain immaculate conception to a 4 1/2 year old): I don't know exactly how, buddy. It was a miracle... (or something along those lines, I can't remember exactly what brilliant answer I came up with) Mary's husband was Joseph. He wasn't Jesus' dad, but he took care of Jesus while he was growing up.
Sammy: But then he died, and Mary married Heavenly Father, and then Heavenly Father was Jesus's stepdad!
Mommy: My brain hurts.

Okay, I didn't really say that, but I was thinking it! I did go on to try to explain things better, so here's hoping it got through and that Sammy wasn't left with an image of Heavenly Father as an all-knowing superhero stepdad. Oy.

One thing's for sure -- this boy keeps me on my toes!