The Stage Is Good....

Asher and I were at a local frozen yogurt shop the other day and were sitting next to a couple of high school girls in the next booth.  Their conversation was centered on a girl they knew and were somewhat friends with.  They were discussing how mean the girls friends were to her because she was "fat."  They talked about how the girl wouldn't go to any activities like swimming or boating or sitting in a hot tub because she wouldn't be seen in a swimming suit.  They said how unhappy and miserable she was and that they should try and be friends with her because they didn't care if she was a size 0 and that even if she was a size 4, they could still be friends.  SIZE 4?!?!  Her "friends" were telling her she was fat because she was a size 4!?!?!  I was dying inside...

Then I had a new appreciation for my stage of life.  Please don't ever make me re-live high school again.  I thought it was tough for me then, I can't imagine what it's like now.  I'm grateful to have sons and not have to deal with all the body-image issues that girls do today.  I'm so happy being the overweight housewife who puts on a swimming suit no matter whose around because I just really don't care what anyone thinks anymore.

Oh, the joy to be the overweight housewife with a house full of boys.  My life is just perfect....

Protection From Cartoon Characters...

There is a popular cartoon character named Diego that the boys used to like watching when they were younger.

They have recently decided that they are too old for Diego and like to make fun of him and say he is for babies to watch.  Scott likes to tease them and tell them that Diego comes with him on his overnights for work and hangs out with him at his hotel.  Scott makes up big elaborate stories about all the things that he and Diego do, which gets the boys all riled up and it leads to a lot of bantering between them.  One night Asher got all mad at Scott and was telling him he hated Diego and that he didn't believe he was real.  Scott told him he would find out just how real he was because Diego was going to come and beat him up that night. (How quickly a parent drops to the maturing level of their children...)

That night, when Scott was checking on the boys before we went to sleep, he noticed that Asher had a knife next to his pillow.  Our guess is he took it to bed to defend himself against the all-powerful cartoon character Diego.

Scott felt bad he had upset Asher that much that he felt like he needed to take a weapon to bed with him.  He had to come clean and the boys now know Dad does not have Diego to hang out with on his overnights.

Generosity...

Today when Scott picked Asher up for kindergarten he told him, "I know you're kinda mean, but you still get a Father's Day present I made for you."

Fashion Police...

"Alright, I'll wear that shirt.  But when I get thrown in jail for wearing something so ugly, it will be all your fault!" Asher emphatically declared when I asked him why he wasn't wearing the shirt I set out for him.  I didn't know the Fashion Police had arresting privileges.

If anyone is still out there...

The reason I keep this blog is for our family history... but if there is anyone out there still reading, I am getting caught up (from April of last year :) ) and will be post-dating my entries.  So if you are interested, you can scroll back and find the entries.  I'm going to close my eyes to other things that should be getting done and get this blog caught up so I can get it published in a book.

Brotherly Love...

I think the six year old summed up true brotherly love best in this letter he typed up and printed off to give to the older brother he adores...

A Basic Recipe...

It doesn't seem to take many ingredients to create a Apathetic Dormant Listless Mom.  This winter seems to have brought together the perfect mixture.  While I've been contemplating why it is that I don't want to get out of bed every day and why it is I have to force myself to do even the most menial of tasks, I've compiled the following list:

1.  It's January (need I say more?  February = same thing)
2. It's unbelievably cold this year - way colder than usual
3. It just keeps snowing and snowing and snowing.  Now I do like snow- but this year has exceeded my "like" level.
4. Turning 40.  I have had serious anxiety about turning 40 since I turned 36, so the anxiety has been building for quite some time.  Yes, I'm about to spontaneously combust.  Why such anxiety?  I do not know. 30 did not even phase me, seemed like any other birthday.  40 seems completely unbearable.  I need to analyze this further.  But since I'm in such a despondent state, I'm lacking much perspective. 
5. Someone has abducted my darling cherubs and replaced them with cantankerous battling warmongering offspring.  I feel like I am living in an episode of "Super Nanny" and find myself anxiously staring at the door waiting for Jo Frost to make her grand entrance and save us all!  I think the extra cold winter and not having ample time to get outside and use up what seems to be an endless supply of energy in boys may be a contributing factor in their level of naughtiness.  But because of my current state of mind (see above items) I just totally blame them and find myself angry and upset at them far more often than I should be.
6.  Taking a fabulous vacation for twelve days during single digit temperatures should have lifted my spirits. While on the vacation, I felt like my old self.  Surrounded by twenty of the people I love most in the world; temperatures in the 80's; rest, relaxation, and fun were all that were on the daily agenda; and seeing beautiful sites and eating yummy food = a utopian existence.  I was blinking back tears as we "walked the plank" off the ship.  I LOVED the vacation, but the "high" that it was made my reality seem that much lower.

Well, here we are.  Now what?  I think the guilt of, "So what do you have to complain about?" is also a major contributor.  I'm "living the dream."  I tell Scott all of the time that I am absolutely living the dream I had my entire girlhood- married to Prince Charming and being able to stay at home full time to take care of my Castle and it's inhabitants.  I would like to think I'm beginning to at least lift my eyes from staring at the bottom of this hole I've been in.  There are a few upcoming events that seem to be providing the needed remedies.

1.  Tiffany convinced me last year that I should sign up for Ragnar with her team.(Ragnar is the overnight running relay race that makes testing your limits a team sport.  A Team is made up of 6-12 individuals; each individual runs 3 legs.  The legs of the race vary in difficulty and distance, from 3-8 miles, allowing elite and novice runners to run together.  Over 2 days and 1 night, teams run across 200 miles of the country's most scenic terrain.  Pair that with crazy costumes, inside jokes, a great finish line party and unforgettable stories.  Some call it a slumber party without sleep, pillows or deodorant.  We call it Ragnar.) Of course it seemed like an easy commitment a year ago.  Once February popped up on the calendar, June seemed unbearably close.  I've decided I need to get serious about preparing for the race.  I've started a training program I like and should have me in decent shape for the race.  My exercise program has taken a significant nose dive since November.  Getting back on the exercise track seems to be helpful also. In January I was cursing myself for signing up for the race, now I'm so thankful Tiffany talked me into it.  It gave me the kick in the pants I needed.

2.  Emily and I will be visiting Europe April 10th-18th!  It's a dream come true!  I will be standing in the Crawley Chapel and see the structure that I've heard all the miracle stories about from Grandpa Moore.  I'm overwhelmed with just that aspect of the trip.  Emily's parents are currently serving as missionaries in Brighton, where the Crawley Chapel is located, and we will be able to spend a few days with them.  We will start our adventure in Paris for a few days and then on to England.  I've been wanting to see Europe, anything or anywhere in Europe, my entire life.  I guess it took turning 40 to make it happen.  Maybe it will be worth it... maybe... and what a wonderful traveling companion Emily will be.

3.  I will be going to visit Ellen James in Washington DC April 24th-29th with two other friends.  Cedar Hills has just not been the same since my darling friend has moved to DC.  She is having wonderful adventures and amazing experiences with her family as she works for Senator Mike Lee.  She is taking absolutely every opportunity she is provided and making the most of her time there, but I miss her so very much.  She is such a real friend and I still miss her a lot.  With all of her "connections"  she's going to take us to see some really great places.  But most of all I can't wait to just be in her presence and be around her loving energy.

4.  Scott is working on some surprise for my BIG BIRTHDAY.  I know he would like to take me on a cruise somewhere in the Mediterranean.  With the boys, it will make things easier if we go the week after my birthday since it's their spring break and they will be out of school.  We'll see what he comes up with... he never disappoints....

Everybody Wants to Be a Beeson Boy...

Colt was talking with Lucas and telling him it was time to get in the car so they could get to Grandma's for dinner.  When Lucas was less than cooperative, Colt was telling him that "the Beeson Boys will be there."  To which Lucas responded, "I a Beeson Boy."  When Colt tried explaining to him he was a Fotheringham Boy, Lucas broke down and sobbed over and over again, "But I want to be a Beeson Boy! I want to be a Beeson Boy!"

We couldn't love you any more than we do, Lucas Buddy, but this Beeson family has taken on all the boys that it can.  You make a Fabulous Fotheringham Boy and we are all THRILLED with the news that there will be a THIRD Fotheringham Boy joining your ranks in June.

The Gift That Keeps On Giving...

Thoughtful Eli came through once again this Christmas.  After I opened Eli's gift, Scott told me how explicit Eli had been about buying me a "glass bird" this year.  They had spent quite a bit of time online trying to find exactly what he was looking for.  When they found this figurine, Eli immediately exclaimed this was the one.  Why he wanted to specifically give me a glass bird, he couldn't really explain.  But I will keep this figure of a mother and child glass bird on my dresser as long as I live.

In An Old Notebook...

I came across an old notebook while I was cleaning out my nightstand which contained some notes Scott and I had written about some of the funny incidents with the boys.  They made me chuckle and I decided to get them recorded in a more permanent location.

1. When Oakley was four years old, he was riding in the car with Grandpa Fotheringham.  When they drove past the Mt. Timpanogos temple, Grandpa asked him, "Who is that on top of the temple?" When Oakley responded Angel Moroni, Grandpa then asked, "What is that he holding in his hand?" Oakley exclaimed, "A gun!"

2. Oakley, still age four, after receiving a much-deserved talking to from Mom, puffed up his chest and said, "I'm going to call Grandma Lee Ann and tell her you're not keeping the commandments!"

3. Oakley, age three, could not sleep without his special blanket.  The blanket was nowhere to be found and Mom was out of patience.  Dad took over the blanket-finding mission.  The first thing Dad and Oakley did was to say a prayer.  Mom was downstairs and heard Oakley come running down the stairs, holding his blanket, and saying, "The Holy Ghost found my blanket!"  Right after finishing their prayer, Dad was inspired to dump out a box of toys, which the blanket was in the bottom of.  There is no way the blanket would have been found without the prompting of the Holy Ghost.  Oakley was right, the Holy Ghost found his blanket.

4. When Eli was a year and a half old, Scott told him not to eat the can of Pringles.  When Scott came in the room later and the Pringles were gone, he asked Eli if he had eaten them.  Eli said, "No, I drinked them." (and showed how he tilted the can up and 'drank' the chips.)

5. When two year old Eli climbed into Mom and Dad's bed, Dad asked him why he was up.  Eli said, "Because Oakley went (and proceeded to make loud snoring noises)"

6.  Eli (age 2) slipped and fell as he was getting out of the Suburban and took a bad fall.  When Mom asked if he was okay, he said, "I'm not dead, but I need a doctor."

7.  When Oakley was having some Academic and Intelligence testing done when he was five years old, the woman asked Oakley what made him angry.  He replied, "When my Mom and Dad play with my toys. She asked him when did his parents play with his toys and said, "In 2001."  When she said he hadn't even been born yet, he exclaimed, "But I could see them with my binoculars!"

Later she asked him what made him scared and he stated, "Being up in the air without an airplane around me."

8.  When Mom and Oakley (age 5) were on their date night at Pizza Factory, he said, "Why must the sun set on such a beautiful day?"

9. Two year old started chasing Mom down the driveway and when she stopped and rolled down the window, he exclaimed in his 2 year old out of breath voice, "Mom, I love you so much!" and then raced back up the driveway.

I'm so glad I glanced in that notebook before throwing it away!