Keepin Busy

In case you were wondering what our favorite things to do at home during the day to keep mom very very busy, we posted some pictures for you to see. Love- JaCk and MaRIaN


Last week dad forgot to take the lunch that mom packed for him so when mom wasn't looking I opened it up ate it for him. At least I shared the chips with Marian -JAck




We LOVE to empty out the cupboards! I take everything out and Jack puts his toys in the pans and then hides them in obscure places around the house so mom can't find them....it's really fun. When I drop the pans on the floor, the louder the sound the better! -MariAN



Marian LOVES to play in the bathroom! Mom keeps all the bathroom doors closed so Marian won't make messes but i know how much Marian loves the toilet so i open the doors for her and let her in. It makes her so happy. I'm such a good big brother -JaCk




This is our new favorite thing to do together...except for when Jack tips me out! -Marian

We hope you enjoyed our post! There's more fun and mischief to be had so that's all for now!
Love, JAck and MARian

Poor Max Hall

Jack, Marian, and the introducing the adorable Regina Englund all dressed up to cheer on the cougars...to no avail. At least the kids looked cute for the game!  And thanks to everyone who called to express their concern and support, Chad is recovering nicely and should be 100% in the next day or two.

Marianstein

She's walking...sort of! It's a little like Frankenstein but it is still adorable! The only footage I have to show right now is footage I took alone without Chad's help so it's pretty rough. I tried to have Jack help me, but that really didn't go well. I'll try to get some video when Chad is home to help, but until then...enjoy!
p.s. the last video which I like to call Marian's revenge, is more for the Grandparents to be able to see the kids in action than anything else.

Why do I give this child Spagetti?

What this picture doesn't show is the sitcom-like kitchen walls covered with spagetti noodles. At least she got some of it in her mouth...apparently.

Mommy's little helper

Jack LOVES to help me in the kitchen. And he's getting to the point where he is actually helpful most of the time. Other times he gets a little too helpful and when that happens, muffin cups (is that even what they are called?) have become my new best friend. Sorting them and putting them in the tins kept Jack very focused and very busy for at least four minutes.

Ode to the Cansolidator

Chad is a pretty even keel kind of guy. He rarely gets really excited about things (BYU football and politics aside). Especially not material things. He's not into fancy electronics or the newest fad...except when it comes to food storage. Chad could...and perhaps would do an infomercial for Shelf Reliance's "can-solidator". In fact he was the one who (half jokingly) suggested I blog about it. And so...here is my ode the cansolidator...in two parts.

Part 1.

1 can of black beans 89 cents
1 jar of Jiff peanut butter (I'm a choosy mom) $1.25 ish
12 cans of peaches at Costco $7.99
5 racks of Shelf Reliance "cansolidators" about $100
The look of sheer pleasure on Chad's face after he successfully put all of our canned food storage in the cansolidator...PRICELESS


Part 2

3, 4, 10, 40, 6, and 2

3: The number of times I was asked to watch this commercial...what's with the creepy guy?


4: The number of times Chad had me call Shelf Reliance to explain to them that their website was misleading and that the cansolidators should be 25% off the posted price

10: the percentage that the price was reduced after my persistent calling on Chad's behalf

40: the number of minutes it takes for us to set up 5 racks of the cansolidator and put all of our 126 cans in...with Jack and Marian helping of course!

6: The number of times Chad had to set up the cansolidator because something wasn't right

2: the number of cans Jack snuck into his church bag while we were setting up the cansolidator. We were suprised to see 2 cans of mandarin oranges sitting in Jack's lap during Sacrament meeting.

Let's just say it was more food storage fun in one weekend than a family can handle

Jack, the therapist

So today I drove the kids to Costco (Jack's favorite store...and mine...and Chad's) and on the way there I have to merge onto the freeway and get across 5 lanes of traffic and then take the very next exit. Chad laughs at this but it stresses me out JUST a little. So just for fun, I often have Jack give me a little pep talk as I'm merging. I tell him to say, "you can do it mommy" and he usually does just that and we go on our way. I don't know if it's becuase it was raining or what, but this time Jack was really into his pep talk. It went something like this.

"Okay mommy just belax (relax). You can do this. Belax belax.

Chill out mom, just chill out. You okay mommy you okay.

Cool down. Take deep breath. No, deep like this (he demonstrates).

Good now belax and blow out like this. There see, just chill out. You can do it.

You are great mommy. Don't worry."

I have no idea where he got all those relaxation phrases and techniques...but I will say this, the merge went very smoothly and I was very belaxed.

Taken

To be honest, we forgot that we hadn't heard whether or not Chad had passed the bar. But we got the official letter this week letting us know that Chad is now an official member of the Massachusetts Bar Association...at least he will be after his swearing in ceremony. That sounds exciting. So at the risk of embarrassing you, this post is dedicated to you babes! Way to go!







This is a typical scene when Chad leaves for work in the morning. Except Marian is usually crying. Chad basically has to get dressed, eat, and pack up with Marian clinging to him like a Koala bear in the mornings. She LOVES her daddy. I have to distract her with shiny objects to get her to let go so Chad can go to work. The cutest part is how much Chad eats it up.

Big Shot Boston lawyer. Amazing mashed potato maker. Great singer. Wonderful dad. Thoughful husband. Sorry ladies, he is taken. What a Hottie! I'm so proud of you babes!

Never been to Boston in the Fall?

My sister Megan had "never been to Boston in the Fall" so she came to visit and we had the BEST time! She was a great trooper to put up with sightseeing around Boston toddler style! I think Jack used every public restroom (and a few trees I might add) along the Freedom Trail! It was so great to have my sister come to visit and I never get enough of seeing the sights around Boston! Such a great town!

I LOVE Little Women, perhaps my favorite Book/movie/soundtrack so we of course went to Orchard house where Louisa May Alcott wrote the famous book.
We made a mandatory stop at Mike's Pastry shop in little Italy..Marian got the chocolate gelato. Great choice!

This is from a tower in the Mount Auburn Cemetery. One of my FAVORITE sights in the area.




Jack LOVED running around the paths at Walden Pond...that's right, THE Walden Pond. If you come visit us we'll take you here and you can have deep thoughts just like Mr. Thoreau


The Fam at the Pond


A Lovely view of the colors surrounding the pond



Jack, in deep thought. This is actually on a bridge just a five minute walk from our house. Come on, you know you want to come visit! We are currently taking reservations for the 2009 Fall season.

Yabba Dabba Doo!

Fred, Wilma, Pebbles and Bamm Bamm at the ward Party

The adorable Pebbles was a hit! She even kept the bone in her hair MOST of the night

!
Out trick-or Treating in the afternoon. Jack REALLY got the hang of the whole begging for candy thing!

All bundled up for a night of sugar!
Trick-or-treaters aren't all that common in our neighborhood, so at every house they told Jack to take a HANDFUL instead of just 1! Great. Just great. Every moms dream! After 30 minutes Jack ended up with more candy than I did after three hours of serious trick-or-treating as teenager!

My daughter the control freak

It takes AT LEAST 4 spoons to feed Marian. One for each of her hands, one for her to steal from you, and one for you to pull out of your back pocket to finish the meal.

Almost like Michelangelo's "David"..almost

The contrappasto curve of the torso, (yeah, I was an art history junkie in college) the distant expression on the face, the representation of youthful strength...really I think this could pass as the toddler version of the David...with of course the addition of the mismatched socks, and the "Cars" underwear. I'm happy to report that we are 7 days and counting potty accident free! In my new book "How to potty train your child in one day or less" I share my secret of ignoring your child's requests to go to bathroom while at the grocery store untill they wet their pants. After that they'll apparently never have an accident again.

Survivor

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and it means a lot to me because my mom is a Breast Cancer Survivor. She is now in remission but I still am in awe of her courage and faith during those difficult months. She had gone in for a mammogram just before helping Chad and I move to Boston with then, 5 week old Jack. While she was slaving away helping me unpack boxes, organize our tiny apartment, learn the ropes of motherhood, and figuring out how to get around in Boston, my dad called my mom to let her know that she'd received a letter or a call...or something from her doctor letting her know that they might have found something in her mammogram. She never said a word to me. It wasn't until a few weeks after she'd gone back home that she called to tell me she had breast cancer. Except for a few weeks for Christmas I was in Boston during most of mom's treatments. When I arrived home for Christmas that year the strong, hard working, copper haired mother that had helped me so much in Boston greeted me, looking so frail but with a beautiful smile and baseball cap on her head. While I was there I had the chance to go with her for one of her chemo treatments and I was in awe of the way she talked about all the other patients who were also having chemo. She knew their stories and she cared about them and offered them words of encouragement, never complaining about her own situation. When we walked in she mentioned to me that the nurse she really liked (the one who could always get the needle in the first time) wasn't there that day and that meant that she'd probably have to get poked a few times. Her hand was already unbelievably bruised from all the treatments she'd received and I watched as she quietly winced as the nurse took a few tries to finally get the needle in the weak veins. I don't know if I could have done what my mom did. At least not with the amount of courage and grace with which she did it. All the needles, terrible pain, numbness, uncertainty. I am amazed and proud. Enough of the sad stuff! Three years later my mom is at full strength, making beautiful quilts, tending a garden that is the envy of all neighbors, enduring a 12 year old beginner Saxophone player, and adoring and taking care of 5.5 beautiful grandchildren who adore her! She is a survivor! To hear her letter about cancer being read on NPR's "Talk of the Nation" (they got her name backwards but it's her) Click Here (After the short commercial/ad, her letter starts at 1:33) You can also click HERE to have $9 donated to Breast Cancer research. All you have to do is post a comment on Cass's blog.

Mom: Before



DURING


And After: ...Beautiful

When we're helping we're happy!

And they're off!

Jack is thrilled to have a live in racing partner for the hallway/racetrack.

Clean up Aisle 6: Notes from a rookie potty trainer

Nudity has become commonplace in the Pugh household the past two weeks. After changing 1,000 too many diapers I decided it was time to enter the world of potty training...and what a world it is! Chad and I decided that the best way to train Jack was to just let the kid run free and naked and then take it from there (hence the naked bum in the picture...Note to future guests, don't worry we've cleaned the chairs!) So the first few days went great. Jack was totally on-board and his rewards of fruit snacks and calls to his favorite characters (Thomas the Tank Engine and Lightening McQueen) seemed to do the trick. I thought to myself, this potty training isn't as bad as I thought it would be. After 3 days I thought it was a done deal and figured we were done. Big Mistake #1 Never get cocky. Before going to the grocery store this week I tried to get Jack to take care of business before we left but he said he didn't need to go. Big Mistake #2 don't leave the house if you know they need to go...even if they say they don't. So of course Jack had to go the minute we got there. After 10 minutes of hanging out in the grocery store bathroom (so gross) Jack decided he didn't really need to go so we went back to shopping. Big Mistake #3: If a child says they need to go potty...and try for 10 minutes then say they don't need to go...don't believe them! Three aisles later Jack starts dancing around so I ask him if he needed to go potty, he said no...with a little too much intensity. I wanted to finish shopping and the idea of hanging out in the grocery bathroom again trying to prop Jack up on the big toilet with one hand while keeping Marian from touching anything with the other sounded terrible so I believed him. Big Mistake #4: When a child starts doing the potty dance and says they don't need to go...don't believe them. One aisle later Jack yells out, "Mom I 'm going potty" In sheer desparation I grabbed him and ran for the bathroom then realized I'd forgotten Marian in the cart and dashed back to grab her when it happend, right next to the cake mixes and spices of aisle 6. "Clean up aisle 6" So, we left our half filled grocery cart, told the ladies at the customer service desk what happened (although they new what had happened before I even opened my mouth) and went straight to the car. While making our way through the parking lot, Jack, who could sense that something pretty bad had happend and figured that it would be in his best interest to cheer me up said, "don't worry mommy, it's okay, those girls will clean it up." On the drive home I tried very hard to stay positive for Jack's sake. I tried to stay positive while I peeled off his very wet pants and underwear. I tried to stay positive while I started the 10th potty training accident induced load of laundry in 3 days. And I tried to stay positive while I gave him his second "potty-accident bath" that day. I'm not sure I did the positive thing very well because Jack looked me in the eye and said, "Mommy, are you happy at me?" Now how can you be mad after a sweet question like that? It reminded me of President Monson's quote from general conference where he said something along the lines of, "never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person needing to be loved." I told Jack that even though I was unhappy that he'd wet his pants ...again, I was happy with him because he was trying and I was proud of him and knew he could do it. After that Jack gave me the biggest hug he has ever given me. I'm happy to report that we've had three accident free days since the grocery store incident! Way to go Jack!

Happy Birthday Marian Rose Pugh!

Marian turned 1 last Sunday and as cliche as it is to say...I can't believe how fast time has gone! It is hard to believe that a year ago we brought home a tiny 4 pound 7 ounce helpless little baby girl, and now we have a beautiful, energetic, little 1 year old!
At the ripe old age of 1 she has mastered the ability to:

1. climb onto toilets
2. empty cupboards
3. eat sand
4. say Duck, mama, and dada
5. remove her own clothes (Jack can't even do that)
6. steal toys from Jack and get away wit it
7. eat steak, french fries, and whole apples
8. launch toys from her crib
9. knock over floor lamps
10. and win the hearts of everyone she meets!

Happy birthday Mares! We love you!

A year in the life of Marian Rose

If you click on the little quote box at the bottom of the slide show you can read some captions

How to camp...Lindsay women style

Step 1: Set up proper shelter (or be sure Kate is with you because she's the only one who actually knew how to do it...way to go Skates!)

Step 2: "Sqwa! Gett'em fire wood" Mom was very skilled at getting the kindling. She and "fire Kate" had the fire roaring in no time.

Step 3. Enjoy a DELICIOUS tinfoil dinner in a fine dining atmosphere. Notice the floral table cloth and glass salt and pepper shakers.

Step 4: Be sure to bring a 2-3 man tent so that all 4 women can really enjoy being together...closer than they ever imagined (my bad) IT wasn't so bad was it?

Step 5: Have a FABULOUS time with mom and sisters and prove to Chad that yes, women can camp, and camp well. Seriously you should have seen his face when I told him I was planning this trip. These are perhaps two of the things I miss most about living outside of Utah, my girls and my mountains!

My "Fictitious" Father

Just look at my dad...is he cute or what? He looks SO happy in this picture because he was recording his stories for a CD that was just released called "The Hometown Weekly". His fictional stories are about people who live in a small town in Utah called "Parley Grove". If you know Garrison Keillor, it's like Lake Woebegone...small town Utah style. Apparently my dad has been writing these stories for years...without anyone knowing it. I guess my mom must have known...but no one...not even my mom had read or heard the stories until just a few years ago. Biased I may be, but the stories are great! Funny...very funny and sentimental too. If you get the chance, my favorite story is "Beautiful Women". It's a story about this woman who as a young girl started out beautiful charming and adored...but then she grew into a very plain, and unattractive girl. Her mother died when she was young so she had to work hard to take care of her brothers and father. When she finally is able to move away on her own she works as a hotel clerk during WWII and nobody pays attention to her. But one day she meets this soldier...just passing through who notices her, and seems to like her, even takes her to the movies. She is elated! He leaves for war the next day but leaves her his address and tells her to write. She does, and then waits and waits and waits...and (SPOILER ALERT) she never hears anything! And you never find out why...Dad, I'll be honest I love your stories...but tell me, why didn't the soldier ever write? Was he playing her? Did he die? Anyway, I've already asked my dad, he says he "doesn't know" I hate that answer. Anyway the stories are fabulous and I'm super proud of my dad for following his dream.

Go Cougs

 

Marian was busy making her own calls during the game

 

Does this guys look happy or what?

 

Future Cougars Taede, Jack, Talmage, and Truman

 

I really did make more than 2 cookies, but by the time I got out my camera, this is all that was left.

Being the great football wife that I am (notice the hand decorated sugar cookies), I've decided that before I blog about our 6 week vacation, I would pay tribute to the BYU Cougars who beat UCLA 59 to 0 yesterday. That's right, a shut out! Chad was a happy happy man! Our friends the Stuki's were kind enough to let us invite ourselves over (since we didn't get the channel that carried the game). We all had a great time, particularly Jack. He had a blast wrestling with the three Stuki boys, Taede, Talmage, and Truman. By the end of the night I'm pretty sure he wished he was a Stuki...or at the very least wished that Marian was a boy! All in all it was a great afternoon. Thank you Bronco!

Happy Birthday Jack!

I typed this up on Jack's actual birthday (the 28th) but haven't had a chance to get it posted until now. I'm feeling very sentimental about my 1st baby turning three (I know...if I'm feeling like this at age three I'm doomed when he goes to school/college/on a mission). So humor me as I pay this little Jack tribute. I LOVE my Jack! He has been a blessing in my life from the moment I knew I was having a baby. We chose the name Jack because it means "Gift from God" and that describes Jack perfectly. Jack radiates love and he already has the ability and the desire to comfort and cheer others. Even my friends say to me they love having Jack over because THEY feel happier when Jack is around. I am so grateful for Jack's example. More and more I see the wisdom in the Savior's counsel to become like a little child. I love being Jack's mom! What a privilege and a blessing. Happy Birthday Jack! Be sure and check out the Jack slideshow in the top right corner.