I Like To Eat My Hands

...and I won't smile for the camera.

p.s. Those cheeks really are as delicious as they look.

Chopin and Toddlers Juxtaposed

It is cold outside.

The van is in the shop.

We are stuck at home.

Today the boys wandered into the music room which doubles as the baby’s room.  This is a room I usually try to keep them out of for two reasons:

1) so they don’t wake the baby

2) so they don’t destroy my teaching studio.

Not the best policy for encouraging them to play the piano, I know.  

Well, since we have nothing to do except stay home and wait for everyone’s colds to go away, I figured we could kill some time by playing the piano together.

Sitting down to the piano with no specific purpose sparked a memory in me of times in my former life when I was free to play the piano in peace, with no specific purpose, any time I wanted to.  The motor memory in my fingers started to pick out Chopin’s e minor Nocturne from the deepest, darkest recesses of my mind.  The further along I got, the more I realized I probably learned this piece in earnest and entirety once upon a time…and indeed, I might actually have the music in my file somewhere.

I wandered over to my box of music which hasn’t been filed since we moved in.  (Still hoping I won’t have to unpack it before we move again…even though I have to access it occassionally.) Miraculously, the Chopin was right in the C folder where it belonged.

I pulled it out and began to hack away at it.  I was quickly joined at the bench again by two little blond boys, one on either side.  Well, as you may imagine it wasn’t the most glamorous of performances.  The combination of my poor piano skills and the boys “help”: pounding on the keys, holding down the keys I needed, tugging and climbing enthusiastically on me, well let’s just say we wouldn’t be able to release a cd.  Still, we made it through all 4 pages somehow.  The boys picked up on the sad/happy/mad/peaceful aspects of the form, and I enjoyed the nostalgia and sheer genius of Chopin.

Sometimes you just need a really....and I mean REALLY big basket of chocolate.

Santa brought me a really big basket of chocolate.  I can tell you right now that the one you are picturing in your head isn't big enough.  This basket is so big that when all the chocolate is gone I will pack it with a picnic and take it to the park.  

No, it wasn't the 100% Ghirardelli goodness you see pictured.  But allow me to list its contents, as the beautiful person who assembled the basket did for me...and I quote:

RELAX with CHOCOLATE!

Hershey's Dark Chocolate Squares

Hershey's Truffles (Cacao Reserve)

Hershey's Miniature Milky Way Bars

(I think this must be an umbrella term for Milky Way (milk and dark), Twix, and Snickers.  TWO big bags full.)

Hershey's Cocoa

Whitman Sampler  

(Yes.  THE honest-to-goodness box of chocolates that would have been adequate in and of itself)

Valor Dark Chocolate w/Pear Bar

Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Bar

Hershey's Large Milk Chocolate Bar

Hershey's Large Milk Chocolate w/Almonds Bar

Hershey's Large Dark Chocolate Bar

Betty Crocker Dark Chocolate Brownie Mix

Scented Bath Soaps

Scented Tea Lights

Now, prior to Christmas we had received a gift basket catalog amongst the mass of other Christmas advertising and it sat in our magazine spot for perusal with all the other magazines in the "reading room" if you know what I mean.  So when I saw this big basket my first thought was that Santa had spotted it, ordered it, and paid a lot of money for it.  And I was slightly befuddled thinking that's a lot of money to pay for something that there's no way I could ever need or eat by myself.  Really. Could you?  

So imagine my relief when Santa told me he won it in a raffle at work.  And not to worry because he only put one ticket in the chocolate raffle and "more than one" ticket in the Wii raffle.  When pressed for the number he said he'd rather not divulge that information but he assured me that the ratio was more than 10 to 1.

Well, the Whitman Sampler went first, followed by the Truffles.  

Fast forward to now.   One of Weston's "resolutions" is to be more efficient with his study time by going to the library to do his homework without coming home after work.  3 days a week, at least.  Add to that his weekly commitment to Bishopric Mtg which is another guaranteed late night.

Co-incidentally and quite unfortunately, Adam also made a new resolution....not to nap any more.

So I find myself all of a sudden in the throws of 3 kids, my day just got immeasurably longer and now has no break in the middle.  I am tired.

Every now and then I find myself with the kids screaming at me and I'm ready to tear my hair out.  I tell myself, "I will be calm." If possible, walk out of the room.  Head for the basket o' chocolatey goodness.  Snag a piece or two. Take a deep breath, and pray for more patience.  It's that simple.

Christmas Morning and Baby Jesus

Christmas is over but I’m going to blog about it anyway.  Just so I can tell you about our Baby Jesus in the manger.  I can’t claim credit for this as an original idea.  This is a tradition my parents held in our family growing up.  

A few weeks before Christmas, a friend was asking me about our Christmas traditions and I told her about this…. “maybe when the kids are a little older,” I said.  Then I realized that my kids are plenty old enough to grasp it now.  

You start out with an empty manger and a bag of straw.   Each time someone does a good deed, they get to put one piece of straw in the manger.  The idea is to fill the manger with straw by Christmas Eve, so that on Christmas morning there will be enough to make the Baby Jesus comfortable, should he choose to make an appearance.  This was always a good attempt to maintain some focus on Christ on Christmas morning, instead of plunging into our presents without a thought about what we were doing.  And that’s just what it was for us this year.  

An attempt. 

I spent the evening of Dec 23^rd wandering the mall (where there had been a gang fight and shooting 2 hours earlier so there were 6 helicopters circling, police at the entrance, and gunmen on the loose.  But I went anyway) looking for a doll suitable to be cast as the baby Jesus. 

I ended up in the toy aisle at Target.  Stripped bare.  I’m not kidding.

*I will not get on my soapbox about the materialism of Christmas.  No, I won’t*  

There were only 3 dolls remotely close to playing the part and I almost didn’t end up with anything because they were all too long for the manger.  You can see the baby is kind of in a sitting position.  But I actually like it that way.  I think a doll that would fit in the manger from head to toe wouldn’t have been quite as cuddly or interesting.  This baby had been trying to make it as a Bathtime Buddy but somehow I could just see him in my manger.  So I took the risk that he wouldn’t fit and brought him home.  Bathtub, robe, and all.

I used a hot glue gun to secure the swaddling clothes around him (without actually gluing anything to him.)  I was quite pleased, and surprised with how well it turned out.  I chose to leave the hands visible, also to make it more interesting and I really like it that way.

The boys were quite delighted to find the Baby Jesus in their softly-bedded manger on Christmas Day.  But it didn’t take long for them to notice that Jesus wasn’t the only one to pay a visit last night.  I was going to include the video about it but it’s mostly just me and Weston trying to focus their attention on the baby while we get all the way through singing Away In A Manger while they are pointing and saying something about lightsabers.

Well, at least it’s a start, right?  Do I get blessings for trying?  I’m hoping in future years the meaning will sink in a bit, and they will be able to understand more of why we celebrate Christmas.

Happy New Year Tag

This is kind of a cool tag, fitting for New Years...as we are all dutifully assessing what we want to do with our lives.

It's a list of things you're *supposed* to do before you die and you indicate which ones you've done.
The ones I've done are in PURPLE
The ones I haven't done but would like to are in ORANGE
The ones I will probably never do are in BLACK.

Started your own blog
Slept under the stars
Played in a band (I played triangle in the traveling 4th of July morning wake-up band.  We sat in the back of a flatbed truck and went around waking up the neighborhood.  Random.  Now if you'd asked if I'd been in an orchestra, well.....)
Visited Hawaii
Watched a meteor shower
Given more than you can afford to charity
Been to Disneyland
Climbed a mountain (Zions Natn'l park.  I don't remember the name of the mountain but it was the longest hike of my life.)
Held a praying mantis
Sang a solo (Intermuse Choir 2005)
Bungee jumped (No way.)
Visited Paris
Watched a lightning storm at sea
Taught yourself an art from scratch 
Adopted a child
Had food poisoning
Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty 
Grown your own vegetables
Slept on an overnight train (BYU Chamber Orchestra Tour.  Russia 2000)
Had a pillow fight
Hitch hiked
Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (doesn't it count as a sick day when my kids are ill?)
Held a lamb
Gone skinny dipping (can totally say I've done it.  Crazy.)
Run a Marathon
Seen a total eclipse
Watched a sunrise or sunset
Hit a home run
Been on a cruise (Please....Somebody!  Send me on a cruise!)
Seen Niagara Falls in person
Visited the birthplace of your ancestors 
Seen an Amish community
Fired a rifle, shotgun or pistol (yes, but if you ask me which one it was I could't tell you.  What's the difference between a rifle and a shotgun?)
Michelangelo’s David
Sung karaoke (Yes, but for some reason it's never as fun as I want it to be.  Does anyone else have this problem?)
Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt 
Bought a stranger a meal
Visited Africa 
Walked on a beach by moonlight
Been transported in an ambulance (Yes, but it was for Adam.  Not me.  Does that count?)
Had your portrait painted (kind of. My bro did a string quartet painting of me and my sisters.)
Gone deep sea fishing
Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
Kissed in the rain (New Years Eve.  The night we got engaged.  Jefferson Memorial.  Very romantic, if I do say so myself.)
Played in the mud
Gone to a drive-in theater
Visited the Great Wall of China
Started a business
Taken a martial arts class (no, but I came very close when I was contemplating moving to Miami.)
Visited Russia
Served at a soup kitchen (not that I can recall, but I was in Key Club for several years so it seems like I should have....)
Sold Girl Scout Cookies (I was never a girl scout but I think I've bought enough in my lifetime to count for something!)
Gone whale watching 
Got flowers for no reason
Donated blood, platelets or plasma 
Gone sky diving (No way)
Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp (Auschwitz, Mathausen)
Bounced a check
Flown in a helicopter
Saved a favorite childhood toy
Visited the Lincoln Memorial (many times)
Eaten Caviar 
Pieced a quilt (Seems like I should be able to say I've done it but I can't recall when.  Ever.)
Stood in Times Square
Been fired from a job
Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
Been on a speeding motorcycle
Seen the Grand Canyon in person
Published something
Bought a brand new car
Walked in Jerusalem
Visited the White House (After all these years I still haven't been inside.  Capitol bldg several times, though.)
Had chickenpox
Sat on a jury (got de-selected 'cause it was a county crime and my dad was the county assessor at the time so I recognized the names of the prosecuting attorneys. Conveniently.)
Met someone famous
Joined a book club
Lost a loved one
Had a baby
Seen the Alamo in person
Swam in the Ocean
Owned a cell phone
Been stung by a bee
Seen Mount Rushmore in person 
Learned to play an instrument
Held a tarantula
Touched an iceberg
Changed a baby’s diaper (I can't quite recall.... j/k)
Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment (does a funeral count?)
Had a food fight
Had a snowball fight
Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
Ridden a roller coaster
Visited all 50 states
Taken a road-trip
Milked a cow (It almost kicked me.)
Been in a movie (I was an extra on a school bus in the Bewitching of Ben Wagner)
Crashed a party (Wedding reception.  We'd had a hard day.  Didn't know a soul there but the food was good.)
Made cookies from scratch
Gotten a tattoo (no interest)
Rafted the Snake River
Performed on stage 
Been to Las Vegas
Eaten shark
Bought a house (still waiting)
Been in a combat zone
Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
Touched a stingray
Broken a bone 
Ridden a horse
Eaten sushi
Had your picture in the newspaper
Gone back to school
Eaten fried green tomatoes
Killed and prepared an animal for eating (I am totally counting fish)
Dyed your hair
Caused a car accident
Saved someone’s life (hoping I'm never faced with an opportunity for this one.)

Hmm...there are so many of you that I just want to know about.  I tag Sarah M, MEM, Becca, Chaka, Joy, Lizza, Ingrid.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree, I love you so.

[Try singing that post title again. This time to the tune of "Oh, Danny Boy." There. You got it right this time.]

It’s 2008
This is our Christmas Tree.

I Love It.
It has taken 5 years, but I love it.

Now, let me put this all in context for you to fully appreciate what it has taken to get us here.
THIS was our first tree....

2003

No joke.

Well, actually is WAS a joke. A joke of a tree, that is. Plastic and all.
We found it at the dollar store and put it on the table. The stockings and ornaments are all there just to provide perspective.

You can imagine I was a degree or two happier with this:

2004

It was a rosemary bush cut into the shape of a Christmas Tree. Conceptually it was a great idea. The only problem was that it promptly shriveled up and died the day after we bought it. I’m pretty sure I even watered it.

2005. No tree…or at least no picture I could find. I think we must have decided our apartment was too small.

2006. The tree is real, slightly bigger, but still up on the table. I think we were pretending that would help keep the ornaments out of Peter’s reach.

2007 we were in Utah and Colorado. No tree.

So you wanna see 2008 again?

A thing of beauty is a joy forever.

Weston and Peter went on the boys-only outing to a farm and cut it down. For rills. I even had hot cocoa ready for them when they got back. And let me tell ya, that’s the way to go. No sense in bringing the babies (and the mom) out into the cold for no reason.

Anyway, since you already know this blog is my outlet to tell you about all things crafty, I will now take you on a tour of the decorations I made.

The ribbon is burgundy velvet with gold trim. Gorgeous. I followed the instructions on the spool about how to make a “basic bow.” It was so basic it involved cutting six separate pieces and wiring them together.Then I made these little presents. I cut a styrofoam block into eight pieces for the basic form. Then I used a hot-glue gun to wrap the boxes in this beautiful satin red and black two-way fabric I got from Sister Mikkelsen. (By the way, Karen, this is your third appearance on my blog. Clearly you are an integral part of my life.) I topped it off with gold ribbon and really pretty sparkly gold fern.

And here’s the tree skirt. Again, red velvet and gold trim, tied together with ribbons at the back.

Next year we might even put an angel on top.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Utah Review

Hi.

My month-long hiatus from the blogging world has come to an end.
Rest assured that I haven’t neglected you dear readers intentionally. Suffice it to say that I cannot seem to get the mess that is my house under control. I have been trying and trying and trying for a good 3 weeks now, which leaves little time for blogging, as you may imagine.

So, for a quick summary of what we did in Utah…

We had a GREAT time.

Oh, was that a little too quick? Okay. I’ll include some photos.
Our two weeks in Utah were filled with lots of

friends....

cousins....

cousins...

more cousins....

Treats...

This is what I found one day when I went to check to see if Adam was done with his nap. I was hopeful that he would still be asleep. It was oh so quiet in there.

Tweens...

These girls were 6 when I moved out of Utah. I really had a fun time sitting in the kitchen with them and their siblings, listening to them talk about friends, love interests, Twilight, and other things that brought back memories of when I was their age….and I may have told a story or two.

Nostalgia....

My nieces found a box labeled “Emily’s Dolls” in my parents’ attic. So of course we opened it. I was surprised how many times I cooed “o-oh” whenever I would pull out a new one. There are some Madame Alexander dolls, some handmade by my Grandma, and some that were my babies during their glory days. It seems the farther and farther my childhood slips behind me, the more my heart yearns when I find connections like this.

Siblings who I absolutely adore….

L-R: Angie, Dale, Me, Melanie, Kirk, Ellen, Mike, Becky
Front: Mom and Dad

…and one AWESOME surprise.

It was my mom’s 60th birthday on Thanksgiving day. All of my siblings arranged to be there for this surprise party on Monday night. Amazingly, we managed not to give it away before the big day…even though I had a really close call:

We were hiding out at my sister Ellen’s house for the first 5 days of our trip. I offered to stay home and babysit while the older Burnsies all went to see Twilight. Everything was going great until the phone rang and I answered. I heard my mom’s voice on the other end….

Mom: “Ellen?”

Me: It’s mom. Blast! My heart starts racing. Pregnant silence that lasts an eternity. “Yeah?”

Mom: “This is mom.”

Me: “Hi!” This can't be happening to me.

Mom: “Is this Ellen?”

Me: More long hesitation. What do I do? “Yeah, it’s me.” Great. Now I’m committed. I already know I don’t sound anything like Ellen. Wo is me. If only I were pretending to be Angie I could pull it off because my mom can’t tell us apart on the phone.

Mom: “Ellen, it doesn’t sound like you.”

Me: Great. She’s caught me. I am a notoriously bad liar. There is no way I will be able to pull this off. I’m going to have to cave in and tell her the truth. But then, calculating all of the money, effort, and everyone’s time and careful planning that has gone into this one surprise, I can’t give it away. “No, it’s me. What can I do for you?” Blast! I really don’t sound like Ellen. Not only does my voice sound enormously different, I’m saying things she would never say, and I’m on an adrenaline rush so I’m speaking like a ditzy teenager.

Mom: “It really doesn’t sound like you. Are you far away from your phone?”

Me: Ah, she’s provided me with an alibi. Hallelujah! “Yeah, I’m on speaker phone.”
Okay, I’m OBVIOUSLY not on speaker phone. Speaker phone sounds grainy and distant like you’re getting really bad reception on the radio dial. Speaker phone doesn’t magically turn you into someone else and make you sound like a cheerleader.

Mom: “Oh, that must be it.”

Me: “So what’s up?”
She was calling to schedule a family trip to the temple and wanted to find out if the day after Thanksgiving would work for me….er….Ellen.

Me: Without any pretense at consideration for Ellen’s real schedule, “Yup. That’s perfect. I’ll put it on my calendar. Bye.”

So, I was counting on the fact that my being in Utah would be so far out of context for her that she wouldn’t figure out it was me. I was also counting on the fact that she is such a focused person on whatever task is at hand that once she hung up the phone she forgot about it. I was right on both counts.

So, without further ado, here’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for.



The party was a recital for old time’s sake. We played our favorite chamber music, her favorite chamber music, and Dale put together an awesome choir with all the grandkids singing a Bach Cantata. No, I’m not kidding. Bach. Cantata.

I borrowed Melanie’s violin because Weston and I decided that carrying 3 fragile and irreplaceable things with me on the plane was enough. We didn’t want to try to make it 4. But at the moment of the recital I was wishing I had my own. We only had one day to practice together so it wasn’t the best performance we could have given, but we had fun. Afterward my mom stood up on the stage and told a story about how recently she was going through her music files and she started crying because with each piece she realized it represented a victory or success for one of her children. She had us all in tears.

I am getting weepy and sentimental in my old age.