Stowaways with Great Hair

It's that time of year for Andrew to jet around to conferences, symposiums and whatever else he's up to these days. Liam decided he would try to hide in Andrew's luggage. I have a similar picture of Colin at that age somewhere. Do you think I can stowaway in Andrew's luggage, too?


For Andrew's recent birthday, Liam insisted on balloons. It just isn't a party without them. He and Eva discovered the rub the balloon against your head and stick it to the wall trick. The result is Eva walked around for a few days with shocked head of hair. Below is a tame version of her hair. Midnight was none too pleased about having his picture taken let alone being strangled like that.

"Letting the Days Go By... You May Ask Yourself, How Did I Get Here?"

Friday the 13th can be a day of eerie, odd and just plain, crazy happenstance. Most of these days come and go, but this one is one to remember. Adria received her permit to drive today. She has now passed the written exam, has a license and will be learning the nuances of driving. It feels eerie, odd and crazy that she's driving. Can she be that old? How did little Applejacks get to this point? I know time flies so I shouldn't be surprised. She has been talking of which colleges to apply to and one would think it would occur to me that she'd be getting a driver's license before that happened. But she's still my little girl who likes to cuddle up with me and tries to sit in my lap.

Snow Days Bring Unexpected Visitor

We have been experiencing our first big snowstorm of the season. Yesterday was ice and sleet which made the roads slick. Last night brought the snow. We've measured about 6 inches of snow in the back yard which for us is a lot. The kids are enjoying the time off from school. Liam keeps grabbing handfuls of snow, throws them in the air and yells, "Snow Fight!" Sadly, no one has taken him up on it yet.


A reminder to me that my beloved summertime is still far away.


We did have one, nice surprise. A Cooper's Hawk landed in our backyard. We quickly googled hawks and were able to easily identify him. No doubt he knew my yard was infested with moles, rabbits and the notorious squirrels. I couldn't get close for a good picture. He was, unfortunately, scared away before helping me with my critter problem by Liam's hawk imitation.

Furnace Blues

We made an important discovery this week. After noticing it was getting cold in the house, we realized our furnace was turning on, then switching off a few minutes later. After calling the best furnace guy on the planet, he let us gently know that it was dead. While we were lamenting the spending of thousands on a new one, he called the manufacturer and "Hip, Hip Hooray" it was still under warranty. Our fifteen year old furnace still had five years left. What could have been like losing a limb turned into a stab in the toe. Painful, but not debilitating. The furnace guy brought by space heaters for the night so we wouldn't freeze in our beds. All and all not a bad experience.

Comedy Central

Liam has begun telling 'knock, knock' jokes. Granted with his speech delay we usually can't understand most of what he says, but it is adorable to hear him. And his jokes are at the typical, three year old's level.

"Knock, knock" "Who's there?" "Apple" "Apple who?" "Apple tree"

We also have variations using bananas, pears, etc. After a while he begins grabbing at random words and phrases he knows. Once in a car ride home from church, he had us laughing so hard no one could speak. We have tried to teach him ones that make sense, but he acts like ours are the nonsense ones. He also has begun saying his name which for him is a huge accomplishment. For days, we would ask him what his name was just to hear, "Weeum Bown".

If You Haven't Found It, Then You Haven't Looked Everywhere

A couple of days ago, Colin asked me to come downstairs and use some of my Mommy Skills. When I asked what he was talking about, he replied that he wanted me to come down and find the remote because he had looked everywhere. Every few days someone asks, "Mom(or Amy for Andrew), I've looked everywhere, where is my______?" Even after telling them where to look, I usually go find it. As Grandma Virginia would say, 'if it was a snake it would have bit them'. So, I suppose that finding objects undetectable to anyone else in the house is one of my mommy skills. Which leads to me to ponder what abilities do I possess that are only highly rated by my family. Being able to find dinner in a pantry full of food when no one else can is one. Another one is checking the tire pressure on the car. When the house is quiet and the basement door shut, I know the kids are up to no good. Adria and Colin are finally figuring out that while I might not literally read their minds, I have a pretty good idea what they are thinking. Eva and Liam still aren't sure how I know they are fibbing or able to detect that the cat's about to go down the laundry shoot or that the glass of water isn't to drink, but going in the Barbie swimming pool which isn't an inside toy.

There are some skills I would like to develop. Unlimited energy and the ability to avoid all cold and flu viruses would be at the top of the list. Those will probably come in the next lifetime. As for Colin, I think he's catching on. He found the remote before I made it downstairs. It was right where I told him it would be.

Winter Cold

I am a warm weather person. I love the spring and summer times of the year. You won't find me venturing out much once the temperatures dip below 30F. This winter we've had periods of windy cold in the teens, rainy cold, snowy cold, temperatures in the 60s one day and 30s the next and anything and everything in between. We even were under a tornado watch two days before icy weather. Enough already! All of this makes it rough for the sinuses. We have been passing a cold around. Just one of those normal, annoying winter colds. With me, it takes longer to get over them and exhaust me. It's only the 5th of January and I'm ready for the warm weather of April and May. At the least, the weather could stabilize and give us a reprieve from all the colds and viruses that come with the winter cold.

Livin' It Up on New Year's Eve

I spent New Year's Eve eating creme puffs and eclairs and watching a CSI marathon with Colin. Andrew was at the New Year's youth dance with Adria. He went as the bishopric presence at the dance, but I think he secretly wanted to see who his fifteen year old daughter was dancing with. Eva was in usual form with, "Mom, it's past my bedtime. I better go to bed!" It's nice to have one kid that doesn't kick and scream her way to sleep. Liam, however, rolled around trying to sit on Colin's head until he finally passed out. It was probably all the sugar since he and Eva discovered that they like eclairs which according to them tastes like they have 'melted ice cream' in the middle. After years of staying up past midnight with sick kids or insomnia or whatever else parenthood and adulthood brings, New Year's Eve has lost its mystique. The days of watching Dick Clark and the shiny, glittery ball drop on Times Square and wishing I were there are gone. Even venerable Dick Clark is on his way out to be replaced, I presume, with faux-DJ Ryan Seacrest who I'm not sure has actually seen or held a vinyl record. New Year's Eve is definitely not my holiday. Now the last day of school: there is day I can still celebrate like a teenager.

Notes from Christmas

Life has been busy, but I thought I'd share a few moments from the past few weeks

*The Nativity Reenactment: We decided to start a new tradition and act out the nativity. Originally, Liam was set to be baby Jesus. At the last minute, he decided to wear an old Harry Potter cape-costume since everyone else was in costume. Then he began making these hawk-like Caah noises and flapping his arms. When asked what he was he said a bat. So a Christmas bat is now part of our nativity scene.

*Santa's Cookies: Eva wanted to leave cookies and milk for Santa and carrots and water for the reindeer. Santa ate all the cookies, but one and drank the milk. One carrot was left with nibble marks out of it. But with no chimney, how did Santa get in? Too many questions and I'm not sure Santa will survive this next year for Eva.

*Casual Christmas Morning: It felt good to have a cosy gift opening and then a lazy Christmas Day. We love our families, but not having to rush around this year was nice. On a different note, we are all sick of ham leftovers.

*Wedding Reception: Adria and I helped man the kitchen for a wedding reception in our ward. It was exhausting and fun. I learned a lot about logistics, organization, food and venues for wedding receptions. It won't be too many years before I have to start thinking about these things. Yikes!

*Crazy Weather: We have had days where the high temp was in the teens and ice or snow on the ground. Then the past few days, weather in the 50s and even 60s with LOTS of rain. Too much of a variation all at once, has our sinuses going crazy.

*Church Zaniness: Our ward rotates starting times with the other wards in the building every year. Starting next week, we will be going at 1pm. I keep telling myself it's better than the 3pm we once had in Virginia. We also had the opportunity to go to tithing settlement with our 'bishop'. One of those odd moments in a long first year as the bishop's family.

*Late Hours: We are a family that naturally likes to stay up late. Over the break, we've been slowly edging back our bed times. Of course, this makes for cranky people and throws off the next days schedule. Last night everyone was ordered to bed early. The kids were great probably due to Christmas vacation exhaustion. Now, if only, I could fall asleep early.

We wish all our friends and families a Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year's and Best Wishes in the upcoming year!

Twas the Night Before Christmas...And We Ate Chinese Food

All of December has been hurling along to this one day, Christmas. Too many activities, too much food and too much shopping. Last night, I decided takeout from our local Chinese restaurant was in order. I had already been in the kitchen preparing for today. The last thing I wanted to do was cook dinner. Of course, no one complained. Give the kids chicken fried rice and their tummys were happy. While I continued to bake pie crusts, we watched A Christmas Story. You've gotta love Ralphie and his quest for the perfect Christmas present.

By 6:30am, we assembled in the living room for presents. Apparently, Eva had been checking the clock every hour since 4am. Adria was ready for her to just get the suspense of "Did Santa come?" over. Sadly, I think this is the last year for the Santa myth to exist for Eva. She's had too many questions and too many naysayer friends. But there is still Liam to keep Santa alive.

Merry Christmas!!

No School Voodoo

Last year Adria and Colin decided that anytime the weather threatened to cancel school they would practice a little voodoo to help Mother Nature along. Somewhere on the internet they found a list of superstitions that are supposed to help increase your luck. With an impending ice storm and finals looming and wanting more time to study, Adria called on her little brother to save the day last night. Colin flushed ice cubes down the toliet, ran around the house six times and performed a few other "good luck" charms, all the time giggling. Andrew teasingly told him to stop it as he needed to go to work today, and Colin needed to stop his "voodoo" practices. I have to wonder who started these superstitions. What person thought flushing ice cubes was good luck? Sounds a bit like something someone who plays the slots would invent. As it turned out, Mother Nature cooperated and glazed the roads with a sheet of ice and sent temperatures in the teens. Now I am at home with rowdy kids eating mac and cheese for lunch. Who knew hanging scissors on the wall would send good luck?

***Note:Writers of this post do not actually practice or subscribe to voodoo :-) Apologies to all voodoo loving people out there.

Have You Seen the Camera?

This has been my mantra for the past few weeks. Not having a camera around discourages blog posts. Eva had her 7th birthday on December 9th and I wasn't able to take pics. We gave her a goldfish which she promptly named Madison. As soon as we can, we'll let everyone know what she looks like(Eva is assuming it is a she, but how can you tell with goldfish?).

The end of the semester is approaching. Andrew has papers to grade and Adria has finals to prepare for. Liam just said his name for the first time. It comes out "We-um Bown". As parents of a child with a speech delay we are excited. He attends a special education preschool and has a speech pathologist to work with. Colin is flying along on the guitar. We were treated to Deck the Halls at our last Family Home Evening. Eva is constantly asking if she can read a book to us.

Cross your fingers and toes and hope we find the camera before Christmas!

O Christmas Tree

Monday night was spent decorating the Christmas tree. I set up the tree with all the lights. The kids took care of the ornaments and I rearranged them later. All and all I think we did a pretty good job. We decided the to use a smaller tree this year, one that we bought not long after being married. Colin provided 'Deck the Halls' on the guitar. It's the first Holiday song he's learned so far.

**I wrote this post last week intending to take a pic of our tree. Alas, I cannot find the camera.

"Tis the Season? Already?"

Can you believe it's only a little over a month until Christmas? This year has gone by too fast. We decided after all the summer travels we would stay home for Christmas. The kids are looking forward to waking in their beds on Christmas Day and opening presents at home. They have also been making "Christmas tradition" requests. Most of the requests involve food like wassail and different cookies. They are also demanding the tree is decorated as soon as possible. I've informed them that right after Thanksgiving is as soon as I'll be setting up the tree. I have to draw the line somewhere and so far no one has requested that I get on the roof and decorate the house with lights. We all know that won't be happening!

Those Kids Were Fast As Lightning

After watching Kung Fu Panda, Eva and Liam decided to bust out some karate moves. Liam's new monkey pjs (which he refuses to take off) add to the visual effect.

Pre-New Year's Resolutions


According to one of my sisters, I have abandoned my blog. Life has been its normal busy with the added delights of colds for everyone in the family. Andrew and I have also been busy with some pre-New Year's resolutions. We decided to give ourselves early Christmas gifts and renew our gym membership. Both of us have a few pounds we'd like to get rid of, and the holiday season is never kind to weight loss seekers. Other than that, life rolls along. Adria is busy with YW, piano, yearbook staff, AP European History, etc. Colin is on the quest for the perfect video game. Eva wants to be able to read every book in the library. And Liam is sailing along with speech therapy and torturing our cat. Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da.

"I'm Amy Brown and I approved this message."


No matter which candidate or issue someone is rooting for, I'm sure you are ready for this election to be over. Living in Missouri, we have received all the phone calls, knocks on the door, and campaign literature. Since Andrew was flying out of town to give a lecture, we decided to hit the poll early. Our polls open at 6am. So at ten minutes to 6am we arrived ready to cast our vote. Unfortunately about 250 other people also had the bright idea ahead of us. Two and a half hours, a stiff back and cold toes later, we had our "I voted! Did you? " stickers. If we drank coffee, Starbucks would have given us a free cup for our efforts. Good thing this election means more than a cup of coffee!

Halloween, St. Louis Style

I wasn't able to get all the kids together for a pic so everyone will have to settle for individual shots. Be warned. Colin's costume this year was an accident victim. We spent the evening in a neighborhood not far from our house. It's a popular trick or treating place for all the local kids including the high school. I think every child in the school district was there. Luckily, the rumor at the high school that the police were closing down the neighborhood at 8:30pm was true. Imagine packs of teenagers knocking on your door after 9pm. Some of the neighborhoods in St. Louis as trick or treaters to tell a joke for their candy. This was once such neighborhood. Here's Eva's joke: What kind of pie does a ghost like best? Boo-berry.

Pumpkin Carving Time

I love to carve pumpkins and part of the pleasure is the reaction of the kids. It feels like I'm "really" doing something as a mom. They love cleaning out and scraping the inside of the pumpkins which is nice since I don't like that part. We have a silly pumpkin, and angry one, a spider and a painted one. Eva wanted the angry and Liam picked out the painted one. The spider was a huge pumpkin I picked up at the grocery store for $5.

Images from the Past Week

Fuji apples are ripe so the boys and I headed across the river to Illinois for apple picking. It was sunny and in the 60s. We rode a wagon to the orchard. Liam didn't like for me to have my arm on the rail. He thought I might fall out.





Eva experienced a first this week. She lost her first tooth. She attended a birthday party with a Halloween theme. During the wrap the mummy game her tooth became caught on the tissue paper, when it was time to unwrap the mummy out came the tooth. She is excited and anxious to spend the tooth fairy money.