Comfort Food

Sometimes, cookies and milk are the only way to get through the day. Oreos, how we love thee.

Review 2010

When you have 6 and 3 year olds, the alphabet is a frequent subject. I could see no better way to review our year than with the alphabet.

A- This year was our 10th anniversary and we spent it in Hawaii. It was a wonderful trip and an even better 10 years.

B- Birthdays were lots of fun this year. Carter had a spongebob party, Spike's was construction, and we spent Jeff's birthday in Yellowstone while tagging along on a work trip to Montana. Jeff and I also had a great vacation in Boston with good friends.

C-You all know about the acquisition of the cat. Grrr. Spike also experienced his first cavity. Carter took climbing classes through parks and rec and make progress in bravery.

D-DIGGERS! There is really nothing more to say, diggers take up 90% of Spike's time. He also spend a good portion of Jan-April doing dinosaur breathing (AKA-neutralizer with a dinosaur mask) after a nasty case of pneumonia.

E-This year, one of Carter's catch phrases is Easy Peasy. My fingers are crossed he can keep this positive, can-do attitude throughout his life.

F-Friska. Jeff and Carter love the stupid cat. I don't. Enough said. Fishing-Carter caught a monster 9lb cutthroat with Grandpa Bryce in the spring. I don't know that fishing will ever measure up after that monster. He also caught his very first fish all by himself, a perch at Mantua. Grandpa left him in the boat while he went to get the trailer and Carter caught a fish!

G- We worked really hard on our garden this year and it was a hit! I'm sort of falling in love with gardening.

H- Jeff and Carter have been reading the Harry Potter series this year.

I- Two little boys have a lot of great ideas. Spike also says, "I do not know" all the the time and it drives Carter and I Insane!

J- Whether it is hippity hop balls, off the boat, into the pool, on the trampoline, or on the furniture, these boys love to jump!

K-Carter is doing great in Karate and Mrs. Kohler's Kindergarten class. Spike loves to give kisses to everyone he loves. Carter is on record as hating kisses.

L- We had a great time with Grandma Cindy in Legoland in August. It was pretty much a yuppie mom paradise. Giant sand boxes, creative play, very few gift shops and healthy food. I was kind of the white trash mom there, but it was cool and we loved it.

M-We had a huge step forward in life. I took both boys by myself to Despicable Me and we made it through! No longer does it take 2 parents and a million trips in and out to see a movie.

N- Every day, the kids want fewer naps and Jeff and I want more. Carter is done with naps. Spike, well, he wants to be done but I refuse to give up.

O- Spike dreams of being an operator on a construction site.

P- Spike started neighborhood preschool and potty training finally stuck. Carter has started piano and is doing an great job with it.

Q-We have a million questions a day. I know the answers to very, very few. Honestly, I know it is good they are curious, but I just long for quiet some days.

R-Carter has turned into a great reader. It has been so fun to watch the world open up more to him each and every day as he reads new things. Jeff and I also did the Ragnar Relay this year. I trained for months, Jeff trained zero. We both had a good time (I think anyway...I think the experience is like childbirth, you forget how bad it was). Both Gil and Cindy retired from Deer Valley this year. Carter is convinced the decision was made solely to spend more time with him. Who knows, maybe it was?

S- we skied a lot with carter. Carter learned to love it for the first time and I remembered that it was fun again. We also spent a day in Sea World where we learned that Jeff's mom is the master packer of plastic animals. Also, sea world staff will give you a free churro if your child falls of out of the rental stroller while you are trying to pay.

T- Carter finally got the Two-Wheeler. I had lost hope that the child would ever have any desire to ride a bike. (3 years of failed attempts will do that to you) Little did I know it would take one week of watching his friends ride bikes to school while he walked. He hopped on the bike and didn't look back! He also lost his first two teeth.

U- Can I tell you how great it is to wash cute little boy underwear and not change diapers? One question though, will my bathroom ever be the same again?

V-Victory The Bears are in the playoffs and "the BYU" had a losing season. The boys at this house couldn't be happier.

W- The highlight of our summer was Ashley and Mike's wedding. What a wonderful day! If there ever was a time when the world stopped for an evening and everything was perfect, that was it. I know the day was about Ash and Mike, but I will forever be grateful for that night, when everything was right with the world.

X-X is Spike's favorite letter. I have no idea why.

Y-Yelling. All members of our family are trying to have less of this in our lives next year.

Z- Carter loves playing Zombiee Farm with Cindy. In other news, old Zoiee turned 10. The poor thing is starting to get "dogheimerz" as Jeff calls it. Her face is going gray and she has lost a lot of spunk. For as much as that dog has driven me crazy over the years, I love her so much and it makes me sad to see her getting old. Thankfully, she'll still fight to the death with scorpion and bark if anyone walks on the road. She still has some zest for life in her yet.

So now we know the ABC's-let's all have a great year in 2011. Happy New Year!

Cat Lady Part 2

Minutes after arriving on scene, Jeff correctly assessed that the situation was nearing def con 5. He suggested that we drive to the Humane Society and pick up a cat. The desire to avoid my meltdown gave Jeff vigor to secure a cat. We made the journey, put on our happy faces and started over.

The Humane Society was much more, well, humane, than the county shelter. The barking and pee were minimal. It wasn't scary. That said, you have to to be a special kind of person to work at, and apparently, frequent shelters. It is just a different world. Did you know that in order to touch a cat you have to turn in your driver's license? Apparently, people just bust in there and steal animals? Who knows. Insanity.

After turning in my license and promising to purell my hands between touching each cat (for the cat's sake, not mine,) we began the process. We read all the cautions. We selected a cat that had short hair and was good with kids and dogs. He was allowed to have his paws touch the ground. He wasn't the Garfield looking cat Spike wanted, but he seemed cool. Here is the kicker...you can meet the cats, but only one at a time. The area set aside for you to meet the cat is a 4X4 cement cell with peeling paint and no fresh air. I'm not kidding. Picture it, the whole Drury family and a big a** cat in the 4X4 cell. After about 15 minutes, we'd had enough of the cell and figured the cat was a go.

I got in line to sign up for the cat..FINALLY we were getting a cat! The lady asked how long we'd spent with the cat. I lied and said 25 minutes. She gave me a worried look and said we needed to spend another 10 minutes. Back to the cell we went. This time Jeff was out. He'd had all the cat hair he could take, so he began to fill out the adoption papers. We put in the extra 10 minutes. I couldn't wait to pay my $15 and be out of there with a cat. Guess what? DENIED AGAIN!! This time, not because of me, but because apparently the cat has a history of biting. I had to wait to talk to the shelter director who informed me that she wouldn't feel good sending him home with kids. Are you kidding me? Why did his paper say, "good with kids"?!!! Better yet, when you sent me back with the cat for additional time, were you just waiting for us to get bit? 30 minutes shot! I explained to the kids that our new cat would eat them and so we had to start over.

Now I was desperate. I told the lady I just wanted a cat that could go outside, hang with the kids, and deal with a crazy old beagle. What cat could I have?? She selected a tabby named "Misty." Misty didn't strike me. I heard some story about how Misty used to be "Loraine's cat" and they are so sad she has to give her away. I don't care about Loraine or her personal problems. I want a cat. I don't really want Misty, but I realized she was my last chance. Back to the cell the kids and I Misty went.....for another 30 minutes. During those 30 minutes, the cat laid on the floor. Spike jumped off the concrete bench (that took up 2 feet of the 4 foot room). Carter whined and told me stories about Sponge Bob. I tried not to lose my mind. Jeff would peek in with worried eyes. When our time was up, I dragged the cat to the front to get out of the place.

It looked like a go! Jeff and Carter left. Spike and I stayed to finish the paper work. I handed in the paperwork (4 pages no less!) and we were told to wait. Forty-five minutes later, Spike had pointed out all poo in all cages, barked at a dog, worn a caution cone on his head and wallowed in filth. We watched our fist choice cat bite a woman. There were numerous announcements about the Humane Society closing. Another family came and went with a new dog. We were still waiting. If you are counting, we were now over 3 hours into the process, Things were awesome. I kind of lost my mind. That's all I'm saying about that.

Finally, they realized they had "misplaced" my paperwork. Um, okay, there are 3 people there, how do you lose it? We went through all the paperwork. Jeff and Carter came back to see if we were still alive. I paid them my $15 and I thought we were out the door. Jeff took out the kids and I just had to get the cat in the box. The shelter people said tearful goodbye's to Lorraine's cat. Just as I was out the door, the worker decided the cat needed all of her claws trimmed. AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! I waited another 10 minutes to have the cat's nails trimmed. How will she kill voles with trimmed nails? The shelter lady then informed me that that cat required special "hairball formula" food. So help me.....

Four hours after we began the quest, we finally loaded the cat in the car and drove away. I prayed the whole time the cat wouldn't die in the back of the car on the way home. She made it. No worries though, if she dies within 10 days, through no fault of mine, I can get a new cat for free. I just have to take her dead body back to the shelter for proof. Promise...I had to sign a paper.

P.S-Carter renamed the cat Friska. She is anything but frisky. She has lived here for a week and her paws touched grass for the first time today. Meet Friska. Sorry for the quality. Friska hates me, so I can't get a good picture.

Cat Lady Rant Part 1

In the not so distant past, I had a real fear of becoming a cat lady. If you knew me then, you know why I feared this and you probably feared for me as well. If you didn't know me then, well, the memories are too terrible to revisit. For the last 10+ years, I've been cat-less. Sure, we've talked about cats, even looked at them, but I could never commit. Until now. Spike loves kitties and the voles pushed me over the edge.

We determined that last Monday was the day we'd get a cat. The kids and I scoped out available cats on the Salt Lake County Animal Shelter website and headed to SLC. (We'd already checked out the Heber shelter. They offered a cat with one eye and another that wouldn't be touched. Also, fun fact, you have to walk past the gas chamber and incinerator to view the animals there.)


When we walked in the SLC shelter, I feared we were in the wrong place. It was a cross between a homeless shelter and a parole hearing. The place was horrible. I'm talking animal pee, barking dogs, crying babies, and really, I'm just going to say it, the lowest forms of human life. Not people who have had bad luck or people who haven't had opportunity for success or even people who have made bad choices. I'm talking about prison hair, gold teeth, tattoos on the face kind of people. There were signs all over indicating that you had to have proof of address to adopt an animal. The primary animal on the arms of most patrons was a pitbull. The place was packed with them. I'm not against pitbulls, but they do make me nervous. Especially given the caliber of people were the "masters" of them.

We got in a line to wait in another line. We listened to fights and watched a couple make out. Carter clung to my leg. Spike buried his head in my shoulder. I tried to remain strong. We finally found the cat room. We tapped on cages, imagined names, smiled and talked to the cats. After much deliberation on the part of the boys and I, we selected three cats we wanted to meet and stood in two more lines to get helped. We were GETTING A CAT!!!

And then it happened. The super mean worker mentioned that our first choice cat had been declawed. I told her we'd skip that cat because I didn't want a declawed cat. "What do you mean?" the super mean employee asked. Note: at this point I took a step forward, as I could feel the breath of the woman with a mullet, 5 inch long nails and blue eye shadow, standing behind me. Her boobs were literally touching my back. The worker paused to tell my shadow AKA-crazy woman, to please step back in line and quit touching me. I explained to the worker that because the cat would go in the back yard that I wanted it to have claws. The worker lost her mind. She in no uncertain terms informed me that it was strictly prohibited to allow cats to go outside. EVER. She went on to explain that people letting cat's paws touch grass are solely responsible for all homeless pets and it is completely irresponsible. She was getting madder by the minute. Where could this be heading?

I backtracked. I said that the cat would be inside 90% of the time (lie...I didn't want it in the house, only the garage). I praised the virtue of our fence and the large field behind the house. I got nowhere. Never mind that the cat would be loved and cared for. Never mind that it would come in the house occasionally and live in a warm garage. Hell, forget the fact that I am a member of society that has never had parole? Forget all of that. I WAS DENIED FOR CAT ADOPTION!! Not only was I denied, but she threw some paper at me and told me to look into a feral cat facility if that was how I was going to take care of the cat. Cats from her shelter only go to, "good homes." Are you kidding me?!!!!!!

The kids sobbed as I drug them, empty handed, out of the shelter. I thought only the worst possible swear words. OK, I said most of them. I told the kids that the shelter woman was horrible and mean and wanted us to be sad. I said a lot of bad things. Jeff arrived, (thinking he was going to meet our new cat) and got an earful of me saying even more bad things. Things were at an all time low. The cat lady was denied a cat. At that moment, I saw two thugs walk out with their new pit bulls.

To be continued......

Signs...

Sunscreen. Flip flops. Yard work. Dirty kids. The absence of coats, hats, and gloves. Running outside. Zoiee stretched out asleep on the lawn. Hot dogs on the grill. Birds in the field. Water running in the culverts. The threat of rain. Feeling like I've had a thousand pounds lifted off my shoulders when I breathe in the warm air. Ahhhh yes, SPRING IS HERE!!!

It's a good thing to, because this is what is happening inside the house

Yep, that is just what you think it is....Spike, in underwear only, jumping on his hippity hop ball on the mini trampoline.

In unrelated news...voles. I went golfing with Jeff yesterday at Soldier Hollow. Apparently, they have had a severe infestation. There were dead vole bodies all over the course! AWESOME. Jeff golfed, I hunted for bodies. A great time was had by all.

Sick Days

Here is something else I'm thankful for...NOT THROWING UP! I was sick yesterday and it totally sucked. Why don't mom's get sick days? Honestly. I needed a sick day WAY more yesterday than I ever did when I worked. As I look around the house I see two giant 7-up spills on the floor (cleaned up by Carter...I'll leave the rest to your imagination), every one of my purses dumped out, as well as every toy or piece of clothing the kids have used or worn in the last 48 hours. In addition, I'd started decorating for Christmas before the bug hit, so the Christmas bins are filling up every inch of floor not covered by toys and clothing and mail. (Why do we get so much crappy mail?!! I am so sick of magazines, ads, and general pieces of paper that I have to deal with!) That said, Carter was dream yesterday. He helped Spike while I bossed orders from the couch or the bathroom. He tried his very best to clean up messes. He didn't whine, cry or fight. He was awesome. And that, my friends, is why when I crawled back to bed at 9:00 last night, Carter was still up playing Lego Star Wars with Jeff and I didn't even care.

Good Morning

This morning is one of those mornings when, well, I'm just happy. I woke up to Carter's coughing and general misery about 5:30 and while it is a bummer that he is sick, it was such a comforting feeling to know that I could be home with him all day. I don't have to try to decide if he is too sick for daycare or try to drug him to get him through the morning so I could work a half day. I haven't always had that blessing and I don't know that I always will, but I appreciate it this morning.

I took all week off from exercise and healthy eating last week, and I'm back on the wagon this morning. My body is screaming, but it felt fantastic to get out for a run this morning. It was cold felt like fall....which would be nice if it was fall, but since it isn't (or shouldn't be anyway) I really noticed my surroundings. That is code for, "I looked like crazy for any sign of impending doom...I mean winter". I didn't see any real signs of winter, but I noticed a lot of other things. I noticed a beautiful hot air balloon high above me as the sun broke over the mountains. I watched three sandhill cranes take flight from the field and cruise right over my head. I appreciated the carefully landscaped mountain yards that line the quiet roads. I heard the water running in the irrigation ditches. I smelled alfalfa and horses. I saw a mother hen scooting her chicks across the street. Then I walked into my house and heard the sweet breaths of my babies. My babies who just turned 2 and 5 and who are growing up much faster than I would like. I heard Jeff in the shower getting ready to work all day to take care of our family. The house is quiet now and I have a moment to myself to do whatever I want. I think I'll go snuggle my boys.

Ewwww

What a week. It began with our washer having a meltdown. Suffice to say there was a flood, some swearing, a call to the repair place (who couldn't fit me into their schedule for 2.5 days...WHAT!!!), more swearing, and then Jeff came home. Thank goodness for Jeff, who insisted on working on it until late that night and getting it fixed. THANK GOODNESS...because at 5:30AM the next morning I heard the sound all parents dread, the sound of your child vomiting. I'm not going into the details, but let's just say it was bad...really, really bad. I washed everything we own on the sanitary cycle. I sprayed Lysol everywhere, multiple times. We washed and "Germ X'd" our hands until they were raw. Carter recovered and we all seemed well. We saw the much anticipated Monsters vs. Aliens. We visited friends and family. It seemed we had stopped the spread of the disease. Nope, it was not to be. Six days later Spike and I and woke up feeling, let's say, less than ideal. Cindy called, she was sick and praying for her death. Gil had to come home from work to help the lot of us. What a mess. The laundry/lysol/cleaning continues...Apparently though, there is a silver lining. Jeff told me to be thankful, I "got a cleanse that people pay hundreds of dollars for for free." I will remind him of that if, and when he gets sick.

The Wheels of Time

I turned 30 last week and I felt old. It wasn't the wrinkles or the softer body, no it was the feeling that life is going too fast. A week used to last forever. A month was an eternity and anything beyond that was unthinkable. Now, I have suddenly reached a point where I have any overwhelming desire for everything to SLOW DOWN. I love this time in my life. I love having my children small and in my arms. I love arguing about who loves who the most. Last night, Carter told me he loved me more than the solar system....what is better than that? Our support network is strong. Gone are the days of having parents that don't know anything. Suddenly, our parents are our friends, mentors and accomplices. They are planted firmly by our sides in raising our children and surviving life's adventures. We have good friends that have seen us through the best and the worst. Jeff and I are at a point in our marriage where we love each other not only for our strengths, but for our weaknesses. We are a formidable team. Together we believe that our dreams are possible. The future is ours to have. We are healthy and strong. Often I am struck by the realization that this life is better than I ever dreamed it could be. I may not be able to slow down time, but I can make the time count.

wheew.....

I am back! We have had a crazy month. Have you ever seen people moving everything they own in the middle of a snowstorm and you think to yourself, "Who in their right mind would do that?" Well, I have the answer, me. We began moving on the first real snow day of winter. Special thanks to Ash who braved Parley's canyon to help us, Kevin who sacrificed his body when he fell/slid down the snow/ice covered trailer door carrying our couch, Gil and Cindy who watched the kids, and my mom and dad who came down the week before and helped us pack, mom who came down the next week to help me clean the old house. We are "mostly" moved in. What that means is, the stuff we use is unpacked. The boxes we have moved with us for the last 8.5 years are, well, still in boxes.

I had planned on getting out Christmas cards with our new address, but that was a dream that didn't happen. If I had your email address, I sent you a dorky picture and the new address. If I didn't, here is the picture anyway. Send me your email address at audrey.drury@gmail.com and I'll send you our contact info.