A Tribute to my Mothers

"A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie."--Tenneva Jordan

My mom, and Nana to Max and 15 others

"I remember my mother's prayers, and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life."--Abraham Lincoln JoAnn, the greatest mother-in-law in the world and Grandma to Max

"The future destiny of a child is always the work of its mother."--NapoleonMy adorable Gram, and Max's Great Gram

"Why did God make mothers? To teach us how to love Him. To teach us how to love."--Larissa Carrick The ultimate party thrower-Grandma J. & Max's Great Grandma J.

"The successful mother, the mother who does her part in rearing and training aright the boys and girls who are to be the men and women of the next generation, is of greater use to the community....She is more important by far than the successful statesman or businessman or artist or scientist." Theodore Roosevelt

i am a Mother

"I think my life began with waking up and loving my mother's face." --George Eliot

I Am Amazed

I've always known that my mother was amazing, not in the cliche sense of the word, but in it's truest, purest meaning. She amazed the world by bringing 8 children to it for starters. She amazed my father by the ease that she cared for them with. Meals were made, the home was kept clean, the children always looked nice when they needed to and dirty when they didn't need to--you know, just the way children should look. She amazed Dad even more that she could do all this on hand-me-downs and a farmer's budget. She amazed a West Texas community with her dedication to our minority faith. A 50 mile trip, one way, was just part of keeping that faith. She had that suburban on auto pilot. It knew how to get her to Primary and Relief Society presidency meetings, Sunday worship, mutual, and WalMart. It also knew to stop at Albertson's on Saturday nights for a dozen glazed donuts for the trip home. She amazed the little league by getting 4 to 7 kids uniformed and in pigtails, while simultaneously, running the concessions for the entire league, all while cheering for every base run, point scored, and out thrown. She amazed me by her ability to see everything I was doing, and everything I was doing wrong. I still don't know how she always knew. Were there not 7 other children to be minding to? The fact that she ran a household of 10 with only one bathroom is amazing in and of itself.

When she became a single mother at age 40, moved her family to AZ on her own, reentered the workplace, then became a full-time student again after 20+ years, my amazement of her seemed as if it had peaked; through it all she was still mothering her children through cheer, basketball, dance, fights, break-ups, breakdowns, college, marriage, and playing Nana to 16 grandchildren.

That is until I had my own son, and became a mother myself. It's one thing to watch a mother, appreciate a mother, recognize a mother for her life of selfless service. But it is when you experience being a mother that your amazement becomes awe and then quiet and reverent respect. It is now that I truly know what a mother's love is. That depth only humbles me more, for now I know just how amazing my mother really is.

Happy Mother's Day Mom. I Love You...and no, I won't remove this post, and you can't do anything about it.

Stop That or I'll Take You to the Car Wash!

There is a cry that every parent comes to know. It's different from any other cry. The cry of true and sincere fear is very distinguishable. There have only been two things that have caused our little Max to emit such a cry. Early on and now when caught off guard, the vacuum cleaner has been the suspect. The other is a new suspect; the car wash. We took the jeep through the car wash on two different occasions a few weeks ago and Max freaked out. He is not a fan of a dark enclosed space with a big machine shooting gallons of water and soap at him, followed by the deep roar of a gigantic dryer caressing the car. Today we took the 4-runner through a quick wash. It was confirmed that all the memory functions are working right on cue. The jets hadn't even started up yet and he was already shaking. I felt so bad. After a few short minutes we we're out and the horror of the $4 Express Wash was over.

We drove over to a little boutique to pick up a few mother's day presents, and as we tried to put Max back in his car seat he started throwing a fit (a common occurrence these days). In a very "I'm going to be as collected and firm as a push over Daddy can be" voice, these were the words that came out of my husband's mouth: "You had better stop that or I'm going back to the car wash."

Some people threaten their children with time-out, others with going to their room, and good parents probably don't use threats. Well, the Loveless' have the car wash, and Daddy's not afraid to use it.

Licensed to Drive

Questions:

How long do you have to signal before changing lanes?

What is the leading cause of death in America for the age group 1-24?

If you drive for two consecutive years without any traffic violations, how many points are removed from your driving record?

How long must a person under the age of 18 drive with a permit before being eligible for a license?

What are the four criteria for using a roundabout?

...just a few of the questions I was asked today...by the DMV computer...as I was testing...for a new license...since mine expired...in 2006. Thank you Mr. Macy's Department Store man for bringing it to my attention. Unlike AZ license (which is good for like 25 years), in UT your license is only good for five years. And apparently those 5 years don't start over just because you got a new license when you got married and changed your name. It's been 14 years since I took Driver's Ed. Today I am grateful that the state of Utah allows those of us who might occasionally experience a lapse in memory function the use of the driver's manual...and also for Larry, the very nice man at the DMV that humored rather than humiliated me.

BIG NEWS!

We've added to our family! (You thought we were pregnant, didn't you?)

We said goodbye to the Jeep and got this little beauty on Tuesday (after much searching). We love our new 4-Runner. And while we are not pregnant, we did think it was wise to purchase a vehicle that we could "grow" in for a while. So we opted for the 3rd row; while it is small, it will accomodate a child or two, so we shouldn't have to upgrade for a while. Ryan is feeling at home again with a Toyota. When we got rid of his baby, the black Toyota Tacoma, and got the Jeep a little part of him died I think. While it isn't a truck, I think his heart is mending with this addition to our family.

That's Mommy's Word

max has found his opinion. and it is a strong one. very strong. my mother always said that i deserved to have a "little sasser" one day as payback. well, mother...i hope you're happy because i have a feeling i am going to get mine. generally speaking, max is a happy kid. unless he wants to stand on the dishwasher door, or dig through the trash, or live outside. then my sweet, happy, little boy yells, yes yells, at me. i have no idea what he is yelling, but the message is quite clear. also, he has learned to say "no". i keep telling him that is mommy's word, but he is fighting me for it. i think we just entered real parenting.

MAX meets the Tulips

My little Max met the tulips for the first time today. Did I tell anyone how happy it makes me that our tulips are up and that my little boy can enjoy the outdoors for a few days? It doesn't make me happy that Max wants to pick all the tulips; I guess that's something we have to work on. Ryan got out this weekend and today and got the fertalizer down, the sprinklers turned on, the garden tilled, the lawn mowed...oh, what a glorious day. Forecast: 80 degrees tomorrow with wind gusts...the warm before the storm. Typical.

In A NEW YORK Minute

One of my dreams has come true. I've always wanted to go to NYC and to go to a Broadway show. About a month ago, my mom pitched the idea of going to NYC with her if the non-profit group she is a part of got an appointment with Glen Beck set up. I was so excited and immediately started looking for tickets (as soon as Ryan agreed, which didn't take long). Sadly I was disappointed a few times as she called and said that it probably wasn't going to happen. I finally put it at the back of my mind, telling myself that someday, someway I would make it to the Big Apple and see Wicked on Broadway. Well, just about a week and a half ago, she called me and said that they got the appointment with Glen Beck at CNN and we were for sure going. After two days of scouring for tickets and hotels, we landed some great airfare, my old roommate Lyndee offered her pad to us for two nights, and mom and I were off on our New York adventure. Oh, wait. Nothing is that easy. As I was packing last Tuesday (our flight left Wed at 6 am), I got a call from Jolea saying her water had just broke and her husband was an hour away. I dropped the cleaning, the packing, the organizing, and rushed her to the hospital and 41/2 hours later, little Cole was born. So, at midnight I resumed my packing and cleaning and with 1 1/2 hours of sleep under my belt, we headed off to NYC! We were only there for 2 short days, but we had an amazing time. Not only was the meeting with Glen Beck amazing and productive for the few minutes he had to squeeze us in, he had us come back that afternoon and watch an entire taping of his show in the TIME WARNER building. The highlight for me of course was seeing WICKED! We stood in line for 3 hours to get the cancellation tickets and we landed seats somewhere in the 12-15th row area! The night before we saw CURTAINS with David Hyde Pierce (Miles from Frazier) which was incredible as well. We somehow figured out the Subway (well, at least for our purposes), we ate lunch in CENTRAL PARK, we did TIMES SQUARE, RADIO CITY HALL and ROCKEFELLAR PLAZA. Being there with Mom was so fun and catching up with Lyndee was a little piece of heaven. I am already planning my return!

Introducing Cole Beatty

A new little member of our family came last night at about 10:23 pm; after about 5 hours of laboring, Jolea gave birth to this little beauty about 2 1/2 weeks early.He was 7lb 12 oz, 19 inches long. He's got some of his sister's red hair, maybe not quite as red but definately a tint.

One proud Aunt!

JOEY VISITS

A few weeks ago, Max's cousin Joey came all the way from Nebraska to visit. Uncle Steve let Joey spend a day at our house and we had all kinds of fun. Max and Joey share a special love for the Wiggles and for bathtime!Uncle Mark steals a moment with Joey.
I think I almost have an album of pics of Jeff reading to the neices and nephews. Here's another one! What a good Uncle he is! We can't wait until we see you in August Joey!

Refrigerator School

When I was yet a wee little thing, I seemed to have a fascination with all things imaginary (so I'm told), particularly, things that had to do with the life I so badly wanted to be living, but that I was still too young for.

When I was about 3, it was the life of my older brother and sisters that I coveted. They all had what I wanted. They were the privileged. They got to go to school. Not only did they get to go to school, but they got to get there by bus. And to top it all off, they got to have friends, a desk, a pencil box, sack lunches, and field trips (I'm not quite sure where they went; we literally lived miles from the rest of civilization).

Determined not to be outdone, I formed my own school...in the refrigerator. For as long as my mother would let me (and as long as the milk would stay cold), I would pull up my desk in the open fridge, and so began my early tutelage.

As we gathered for dinner, my sisters and brothers would all begin to expound on the happenings of their day at school, only to be outdone by my school day. While they had to settle everyday for a yellow school bus, it was not uncommon for me to ride a black, purple, or pink bus to school. While they had the same teacher and friends everyday, I had a myriad of choices; some days Mr. Catsup was my teacher; other days it was Mrs. Milk. I was always selective about the friends I let sit by me, apples and oranges. Unless of course we were on the outs, then lettuce was my playmate.

I had forgotten all about my refrigerator school days until the other day when I saw Max doing the following.

Although it seems that for the time at hand, Max is mostly interested in consuming what is in the fridge rather than reading and spelling with all of them, I am already having happy thoughts of saving hundreds on preschool.

Like Father, Like Son

DISCLAIMER: Ryan told me that if I posted any of these pics of him running (I couldn't resist; the XANGO headband was just too much) that he would black mail me. But he has no idea how to blog so I'm not too worried, except for the fact that he will see this.

On occasion Ryan will bring home all kinds of useless Xango swag from work. But a few weeks ago he seemed particulary excited about this little item, so much so that he brought home 4 of them--the XANGO sweat headband.

Ever since he saw his daddy wearing them to run, Max has taken a particular interest in wearing headbands. He will bring them to me when he finds them and have me put them on his head and he wears them around all day.
I suppose there are worse things my boy could want to wear. He seems pretty happy about this particular new trend in our home. Maybe Mom will jump on the headband wagon!

BLOGGING SHORTCOMINGS

After perusing blogs and hence the personal lives of both people I know, and some I don't (you've all done it), it is apparent that what you're currently reading, listening to, doing, working on and loving are all vital blogging information. My apologies for shorting my blogging audience of such obvious and essential information.

Currently reading:
Currently Listening To:Doing This:Working on This:

Loving This:

FOOLED

April 1 made a fool out of someone in our home yesterday...my husband would say that fool was me because anyone who participates in such a lame tradition is a fool in his mind. I say that is only because people with such sour attitudes are the ones who end up getting fooled! Our family loves pranks...thanks to my mother. One time she went out back in our alley way in TX and left one of those fake bloody appendages that you get at Halloween sticking out of the bottom of the dumpster...and I'm not even sure that it was April Fools Day. Yes, my mother is to blame for all of our insanely ridiculous but rather amusing antics. My husband happens to hate all things ridiculous or even remotely surprising so it is especially fun to fool him. Yesterday I called him at work and this is how I made a fool out of him...

Me:"What is Max's happiness worth to you?"

Ryan:"It's worth a whole lot."

Me:"Then you won't care what I got him today."

Ryan:"What?...More clothes?...Because that doesn't make him happy, that makes you happy."

Me:"Nope. I was at WalMart and this cute little family was selling these adorable puppies for $20. They have floppy ears and Max went nuts over them."

Ryan (after a long pause):"Tell me you didn't buy a dog."

Me:"Oh honey but it's papered and has it's shots and everything and Max just loves it."

Ryan:"You bought a dog. You really bought a dog."

This conversation went on for about 10 minutes with Ryan getting ever more silent and me explaining how much it would mean to Max. Anyone who knows my husband knows that the purchase of any pet, including fish, would constitute the need for serious conversation...of which would consist of his rationale of all reasons why we shouldn't have pets followed by negotiations of taking Max to the Zoo or Aunt Jolea's if he needs to be with animals.

Yes, there was no better way to fool my husband. Just as he was no doubt searching for the appropriate way to tell me to take the floppy eared mutt back to the WalMart parking lot, I reminded him of what a gullable fool he was on April Fool's Day. He didn't even care. He just said "Oh good. At least there's no dog." Today however he has reminded me more than once just how lame April Fool's is. Which makes it all the more fun for the fooler...