Life Lessons

When was the last time you played the game of Life?  Until today, my answer to that question was something like 25 years.  This afternoon, Ellie and I set up her new board game and got to work.  As you may recall, there is one significant choice you have to make right on your first turn:  whether to go to college or choose a career immediately.  Ellie said she wanted to work right away.  Lovely, I thought.  We'll have a little life lesson right here, because I'm going to choose to go to college first and that gives me increased earning potential.  Here's how the game played out:

Ellie's career card was "salesperson," with an starting annual income of $20,000, maximum salary of $50,000, and taxes of $5,000.

I had to borrow $100,000 to start college.  I didn't land on the $20,000 scholarship, nor did I land on part-time job.  I did, however, get a semester in London.  Upon graduation, my career card was "doctor," initial income of $100,000 with no maximum.  Taxes?  $45,000.  Steep, but you don't pay them unless you land on the "pay taxes" box.  I felt pretty confident.

Ellie didn't land on "rent apartment," but she managed to hit "Inheritance!" and collect $20,000.  Then she collected a Share The Wealth card that required me to give her half of any unexpected payout from the bank I might encounter.  Then she won a race:  collect $10,000.  She got married, but managed to avoid the $20,000 wedding reception.  She got a pay raise and flew right past "taxes due" without stopping.  Then it was time to buy a starter home.  She chose the most expensive one in the deck:  a $160,000 Cape Cod beauty.  It was the one I was secretly eyeing, but she got there before I did.  She had exactly $160,000 in cash, and I asked her pointedly if she was sure she wanted to spend all of her money on a house.  She did.

Meanwhile, I accumulated a pay raise but landed on "pay taxes."  Net loss.  On the heels of forking over $45,000 to the bank for taxes, I chose the less stylish but also less expensive ranch rambler for my starter home.  On the very next spin, I lost my job.  Unnerving, but no matter - I went to school. Surely there must be other well-paying professions in that stack.  I got computer designer, with a base salary of $50,000 and a maximum salary of $80,000.  

Ellie won the Ultimate Idol TV show and collected $100,000.  I had twins.

Ellie sued me for $100,000.  I paid up, and then lost my job again.  My new career card was teacher, a noble college-degree-required profession paying $40,000, with a maximum income of $70,000.  Taxes, which of course I was forced to pay, were $15,000.

Now another choice came:  return to school or continue on.  Ellie continued on, but then her house flooded:  $40,000.  Okay, one setback, but she easily had the money after that big Ultimate Idol win.  She shrugged her shoulders and didn't care.  When I put the money in the bank, she said, "Is my house okay now?"

Ellie lost her job.  She got a new one as a hair stylist, with base salary of $30,000 and maximum salary of $60,000.   Net gain.  After her pay raise, which she quickly acquired, she and I were making the same salary, only I had $100,000 in school debt and baby twins.

Ellie sued me again for $100,000.  I had a baby boy.

Ellie took a family cruise vacation.  She only had to pay $25,000 because she didn't have any children.  "Ooh, a cruise vacation!  That will be fun!" she said as she forked over the cash.

I sued Ellie for $100,000.  Finally, a break!  No matter; she won a TV game show and collected $100,000.  Meanwhile, I landed on "Buy an SUV:  $40,000."  I guess I needed it, with all those kids.

Ellie won a TV dance show and collected $100,000.  My kids decided they all wanted to go to college: I sighed and gave the bank $150,000.

Lonely with just her husband in the car, Ellie opted for the "family path," and had a baby girl.  She got another pay raise and managed to avoid family physicals.  Then she found buried treasure to the tune of $500,000.

My teaching career paid off, apparently, and I wrote a best-selling book ($200,000) and won a Nobel Prize ($100,000).  Ellie had just sold her Cape Cod for a profit and bought a luxury mountain retreat, handing over the $600,000 as if it were pocket change.  With my newfound success, I thought about upgrading from my ranch-style to something befitting a Nobel Prize laureate.  But it was not to be:  my ranch-style (which I purchased for $140,000) got hit by a tornado, and the damage amounted to $125,000.

Ellie was way ahead of me at this point, almost to the Millionaire Retirement Estates.  Her spins always landed on 8 or 9 or 10 or some ridiculous number that advanced her at super speed through the board.  She got a tax refund and then became a grandparent, sliding into Millionaire Estates in style.

Ellie danced around the room shouting, "I won!  I won!"  I spun again and again, always moving 1-3 spaces each turn.  Along the way, I sponsored a public arts exhibit ($125,000) and spent $65,000 on a maid & butler service (for my ranch-style starter home).  Blessedly, I avoided the life-saving operation and managed to skip having a family website designed.  But I also skipped being a grandparent (which gives you a LIFE card, which in turn gives you more money, not that grandparenthood is only about money).

Final tally?

Ellie, the saleswoman turned hair stylist:  a cool $1.5 million, no debt

Me, the college educated doctor turned computer designer turned teacher:  $895,000, after paying my school loan back with interest.

I told her we have to play again tomorrow.

'Tis My Season

Last week Lizzie sent me a picture of some holly for sale at 96th and Lex and lamented that she couldn't buy me some.

This week, lo and behold, I found holly for sale right here in the suburbs of middle America - at Costco!  Isn't it just the most beautiful plant you've ever seen?  Ah, yes, my season is here once again.  Deck those halls!

Here is Matt placing our New York taxi cab ornament carefully on the tree.  I still can't get enough of that hilarious boy.

 Ellie had her first preschool Christmas program.  She wore her special Nutcracker sweater and sang her heart out on the front row.

Yesterday, Ellie and I succeeded in making a gingerbread house - all the walls and even the roof stayed up!  We only ate a little bit of the candy, but we did dip gingerbread cookies in the extra icing.  I love having a big girl!

This week Tessa started rolling over.  I love watching her grow, but I'm glad she's still small enough to cuddle and swaddle and wear in a sling.

We also were lucky enough to have another Jonathan Gibson photo shoot.  You can see the whole slide show here, and below is a sneak peak.

Merry Christmas!

Chuck vs. the Obsession

Have I mentioned our obsession with obsessions?  Sometimes we get obsessed with things.  A few years ago, we saw a commercial for a new show called Chuck on NBC - it looked like a quirky spy comedy, and we decided to tune in for the pilot.  We liked it, and went back for a second week.  Then we were hooked.  I'm proud to say we've watched every episode since, and we own the past three seasons on DVD.

Last night was the season four premiere of Chuck.  We've been looking forward to this since the season 3 finale some months ago.  When you're obsessed with something and it's taken away from you, there's a certain withdrawal.  After the season finale, I started planning our season 4 premiere party.  It took some months, but last night I pulled it off as a surprise for Rob.

Ty Nant water, as seen in Chuck vs. the Honeymooners:  check

Cheese balls, as seen in Chuck vs. the Pink Slip:  check

Subway-style sandwiches, as featured many episodes:  check

Specifically, turkey and munster cheese sandwiches, as featured in Chuck vs. the Truth:  check

But here's the best part.  Since last May, I've been scouring various stores and websites for good deals on Converse sneakers.  I can think of only one scene in the last three season where Chuck has not been wearing high top black Converse.  (Shout-out to all Chuck fans out there:  can you name the scene?)  Last night I presented Rob with Converse shoes for every member of our family.  We all put them on immediately.

And then with kids in bed, Rob and I snuggled on the sofa for the hour we've been anticipating for the last three months.  We were not disappointed.  Aces, Charles.

Baby's First Photo Shoot

Last week, our dear friend Jon Gibson kindly came over to take pictures of the kids.  Jon is an art professor at Xavier University, and a very accomplished artist in many mediums.  That much will be quite obvious to you when you see the results of the photo shoot!

Click HERE to see the slideshow set to music and HERE to see the photos all on the same page.  For a few more cute pictures of Matt and Ellie, check out Jon's post with a slideshow of a trip to the zoo we made last week with Gibsons and some visiting friends.

For more on Jon's work, explore his photography website and his portfolio website

More Tessa Pictures

Here are some cute ones from the last few days.  We can't get enough snuggling from this girl.  Right now, she's fast asleep in Rob's arms.  I think he's been holding her for almost two hours.  So far, she's a dream baby.  Of course, we haven't hit that 2 week mark when things really get fussy!  For now, we'll just continue soaking up her sweetness.

And Baby Makes Five

She is here at last!  On Tuesday, July 27th at 1:48 p.m. our Tessa Charlotte was born.  She weighed in at 7 pounds 8 ounces and 20 3/4 inches long.  Everything went wonderfully, and we're all doing well.  I took advantage of the full 48 hours insurance allows you to be in the hospital, and just enjoyed the quiet time holding Tess.  With Ellie and Matt in the house, there won't be enough of those quiet hours to just hold a newborn.  I loved it.

Here are some pictures taken a few hours after she was born:

We're completely in love with this girl.  Ellie and Matt beg to hold her and can't get enough of their Baby Tess.  Ellie looked up at me with a smile yesterday and said, "Now we have two chicas in our family!"  Today while looking at Tess sleeping she said, "She's OUR baby and we get to keep her in our family forever!"  Smile.

Wanna Go Nana's!

A few days ago, Matt came to me holding a swim diaper and said, "Wanna go Nana's!"  Smart kid.  I immediately called Nana and arranged a pool day.  The kids have recently taken to jumping into the pool from the top of the hot tub, and for some reason yesterday I asked if they were brave enough to try the diving board.  They were, and we spent an hour there before I was too exhausted (er, pregnant) to chase them around the deep end of the pool.  They were exhausted enough for good naps, and I got to spend some much needed time alone poolside.  Whew.  Thanks for taking such good care of us Nan!  We love you - not just your pool!

Believe the Hype, Part II

Today we went to the park

Then we ate popsicles

They were messy!

Oh my!

Something Unavoidable Came Up: Summer

Today I was scheduled to see my OB at 2:15 p.m.  But also today, it was 85 degrees and sunny.  Today Dani Jensen and Camie Christensen are in town with their kids.  The next two days are supposed to be cloudy and rainy.  Today was the perfect pool day.

So I called my OB this morning, put on my best kind apologetic voice, and explained, "I'm just so sorry to have to cancel, but something, um, unavoidable has come up and I can't make my appointment this afternoon."  Then as soon as preschool was over we changed into swimsuits and headed to Nana's for the afternoon.  On the way, Ellie declared, "Mom, I made it to summer!"  My thoughts exactly.

We swam and talked and ate and then swam and talked and ate some more.  All seven kids had a blast splashing and squirting water guns and giggling.  I loved catching up with Dani and Camie, both of whom live way too far away from me for my liking.  I'm sure Nana agrees.

My OB is going out of town and can't get me in for an appointment until June 7th.  Totally worth it.  I now have a bad sunburn on my back, and it hurts to carry my purse on my shoulders.  Also totally worth it.

In other news, today was Ellie's last day of preschool for the year.  They took a class picture, handed out awards, and then played and ate snacks.  The moms proudly took pictures.  We adore her teacher, and are so grateful for all she's done this year.  And I'm proud of Ellie for being a big preschool girl!  She's a champ!  Here's a picture of her big smile during today's final playtime.

Confession:  today was not actually our first day at Nana's pool.  Yesterday was sunny and warm, too, and we swam all afternoon with Nana, Camie, my friend/her sister-in-law Liz, and all our kids.  Dani was on a plane headed to Cinci.  Rob is out of town, so I was in no rush to get home and cook dinner.  But then Nan started prepping dinner and must have noticed me salivating as she sliced the fresh fruit and salted the gorgeous fresh tomatoes.  She knew I had chicken nuggets waiting for our dinner at home, and took pity on us.  Thanks, Nan, for letting us stay through scrumptious dinner and all the way to bedtime!

Second confession:  Now that summer has officially arrived, there's little chance of me posting blogs.  Maybe I'll post something when our baby girl is born in July.  Then again, maybe I'll just take her straight from the hospital to the pool.  I made it to summer!

"Mom, what's your name today?"

Here's our Eleanor Elizabeth, almost four years old.  I love this picture because it captures all of her energy and personality.  She's quite a chica these days!

I love the way she takes care of Matt.  When this tired Momma is fighting the battle of the bedsheets in the early morning, I can sometimes hear Miss Ellie over the monitor in Matt's room, reading him stories and talking to him until I get there to bring the kiddos down for breakfast.  Sometimes she even helps herself to the Cheerios in the pantry and carries them up the stairs for a pre-breakfast snack.

Lately, she's big on pseudonyms.  She generally chooses Meredith or Akrisa (?) or, simply Big Sister.  Then I have to choose Holly or Kathleen or Ellie.  Sometimes she uses my pseudonym, sometimes she just calls me "my dear" or "sweetheart."  Then she pretends that we are taking naps, going to the parade, visiting relatives, or making food.  Sometimes her imaginary friends and sisters come along:  Daney,  Riley, Laney, and a few others I can't figure out how to pronounce or spell.

Here are some other things she likes:

Working on her computer alongside Rob

Being Doctor Princess Ellie.  I am a very good patient.

Wearing her heart-shaped pink sunglasses. She earned all the money for them by potty-training.  The Family Home Evening where we counted her pennies and quarters and turned over the sunglasses was, in her words, "The Best!"  By the way, Rob subsequently took the bag of change to work for his afternoon soda fund, and thought that was The Best.

Riding her bike.  She's learning to pedal and is quite proud of herself when she can do two pedals in a row.  She informed me yesterday that she needed a helmet to be safe.  Hard to argue with that one, so off we went to Wal-Mart to find one.  Amazingly, they had one with all her favorite princesses on it!  Whew.

A few other things:

• She will only wear twirly dresses to church
• She has all kinds of t-shirts with flowers, turtles, and other cutenesses (including my personal favorite - a white t-shirt with a map of the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens on it).  But everyday she wants to wear a plain brown short-sleeved t-shirt that I bought at a consignment store for $3.
• As soon as she walks in the door from anywhere, she immediately takes off her shoes and puts on a pair of purple and gold dress-up slippers.
• She told me recently that her three favorite songs are "You Make Me Feel So Young," by Frank Sinatra, "Human," by The Killers ("Except I don't like their scary name"), and "You're Not From Texas," by Lyle Lovett.  I'd say that's a pretty good cross-section.
• She loves the feel of the wind in her hair when we drive in the Jeep with the sunroof and windows open.  My thoughts exactly, babe.

Here she is overlooking the Ohio River and feeling the wind in her hair.  We love this chica!

Believe the Hype

I'm not usually one for kids' clothing with phrases, but I couldn't resist this one in the Gap outlet yesterday:

BELIEVE THE HYPE

It's exactly how I feel about my little boy!  I just can't get enough of him.  Those big blue eyes, just like his Dad.  That light hair, the giggle, the way he signs "more" and "milk."  The way he pats the sofa and pulls out books and invites me to read to him.  The way he chases Ellie around the house.  How he wants to wear his aviator sunglasses and sit on Ellie's little potty.  How he climbs up the climbing wall and slides down the slide on our backyard swingset.  The way he swings his blow-up plastic baseball bat at the blow-up plastic baseball and claps his hands when he hits it.  How he looks up at me intently at bedtime when I talk about all we've done that day and all we're going to do tomorrow, nodding his head and saying "Yep" at each thing I say.  Yes, indeed, believe the hype.

I put him in his new shirt first thing this morning.  He spilled his lunchtime apple juice all over it and we had to change clothes before naptime.  Oh well.  Rob is worried that the shirt is in University of Michigan colors and, combined with its enthusiastic statement, implies that we're rooting for the Wolverines.  I assured him Matt wouldn't wear it on any game day.

Believe the hype, everyone.

Our Matthew Bryant is something incredible.

My Loofah Attacked Me, and Other Tales

Once, several years ago, I went to three different stores with my father to find the exact brand of shower loofah he preferred.  I was amazed that my low-maintenance Dad was particular on this matter, while his high-maintenance daughter bought her shower loofahs for a dollar at the grocery store.


My current loofah is large and pink and round (nothing like Dad's), pretty basic Target variety.  The pink loofah generally does its job adequately.  But one morning last week I felt something uncomfortable while loofah-ing.  Something sharp.  Loofah?  Later, in the mirror, I noticed a very long pink scratch all the way down my arm.  Loofah!  A few hours later it started hurting.  A day or so after that, during the healing process, it started itching.  Yes, my loofah has betrayed me.  It's still sitting in my shower, but I usually just give it an angry stare before moving on to the bar soap.  I'm looking for a loofah that won't betray me.  Any ideas?


A few other things that have been going on lately:

• This morning for breakfast I ate half of a Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookie.  My friend Monica can recreate them perfectly.  Baking is a two day process.  Eating can take as long as a minute.
• Rob and I set a goal to watch every episode of Chuck before it comes back from a three week hiatus.  We finished season 2 last night.  Just 13 episodes of season 3 to go before Monday night at 8:00.
• I finished reading Mark Kurlansky's wonderful book about the world history of Salt this week.  I insist that I am not obsessed with salt, but Rob counters that during the several weeks it's taken me to read this book, I've purchased numerous jars of "gourmet" salts as well as a salt cellar. We now have 4 varieties of salt in the house, including a pink-ish Himalayan salt that you have to hand grate.  But that's not enough to count as an obsession, is it?
• Rob and I took an Operation Strengthen Marriage/Recover from Winter vacation last month. We spent three days on a cruise ship through the Bahamas.  We highly recommend it.  Maybe I'll blog about it sometime.
• Ellie is potty-trained.  She's three and a half, so it was beyond time.  I also realize that it's not exactly the sort of glamorous news one shouts from the rooftops, but it feels like a major accomplishment in my life (and hers, obviously), and I just can't stop talking about it.
• Sleeping in and leaving Ellie in charge of Matt is seldom worth it, because it takes longer to clean up the mess they made while unsupervised than the time I lingered in bed.
• Leaving Ellie and Matt in the bath for 45 minutes while I do laundry and vacuuming is almost always a good idea.

I'll sign off with a few confessions:

• I take an afternoon nap almost every day.  Recently, a guest blogger on Apron Stage wrote about the joys of naps.  My favorite comment came from a woman wrote that all the women in her neighborhood take naps.  I want to move there.
• After 6 and a half years of folding Rob's dress socks, I still can't tell the navy from the black
• Sometimes, like today, I don't get dressed until noon.
• Ellie watches Project Runway with us and can pick the designers that are going to be In or Out.  I justify it as a lesson in what qualifies as modest clothing and what does not.
• I can't remember the last time I bought a new pair of shoes.  That's a major accomplishment in my life.  Perhaps some obsessions can be overcome?

Barcelona!

Christmas in Barcelona:  mostly sunny, some rain, 50-60 degrees, minimal or no coats.  Now THAT's Christmas weather!  Remember - there was no snow in Bethlehem.  White Christmas was the mission obtaining its goal of 400 baptisms this year - a true miracle!  Mom and Dad are amazing.  Where do they get all that energy?  We went everywhere, with and without them.  They took us to their favorite Tapas and hot chocolate restaurants, favorite stores, and favorite sites.  They took an entire day and drove us to the Costa Brava and their favorite beach resort town Tossa de Mar.  Gorgeous.

We went with Mom and Dad and Spencer all over La Rambla (fun shopping/restaurant district), the Maritime Museum (the medieval shipyards!), Sagrada Familia (the Gaudi designed cathedral, still under construction after 150 years), Parc Guell (the Gaudi designed park - you feel sort of like you've stepped into a Dr. Seuss book), the Columbus statue overlooking the sea, the Montjuic 16th century fortress overlooking the sea (where Mom and Dad take all incoming missionaries to give them an overwhelming view of their new home), and so many other places.

I spent an incredible hour in the National Museum of Catalon Art, soaking in the collection of 12th century frescos.  Absolutely incredible.  It is touted as perhaps the best collection of medieval art in Europe, and I certainly agree.  It took me awhile to really be able to process all that I had seen.  The rest of the museum is incredible, I'm sure.  I just spent so much time in the medieval section that I didn't have time to get to the rest of it!

We loved spending time getting to know the missionaries.  Ellie wanted to spend all her time in the mission office following the elders around.  It was cute.  I could go on and on with stories, but I'll let some of these pictures say a thousand words.  We're saving our pennies to go back!

SIX!

January 2, 2004

Happy Anniversary!

We had a low-key day today, mostly trying to get unpacked and recover from sleep deficit after our grand Christmas vacation in Barcelona.  Another post coming with that report.  Today I want to list SIX of the hundreds of things I love about being married to Rob:

1.  teamlesan.org.  Rob is a computer geek, and our home runs without any technological hiccups.  I hear about other people (even in my own family, gasp!) who have periods where computers are broken, data is lost, Internet is down.  Not so chezLesan!  For our first Valentine's Day after we got married, Rob bought the "teamlesan.org" domain name for us.  Awwww, how romantic.

2.  We bought hiking and backpacking equipment at REI with some of our wedding money as an investment in a sport we both enjoy.  We've loved using it in scenic places!  For last year's anniversary, we opted to spend some hiking time in Zion Canyon.

3.  When Rob knows he's facing a busy day at work, he goes in early rather than risk staying late.  He is sometimes at his desk by 5:30 am just so that he can get home at his usual hour (6:45 pm) to spend time with me and the kids.  He doesn't even complain that I am totally incoherent during morning prayers on those days, and I love that he would rather sacrifice sleep than time with me.

4.  When Rob walks in the door after work, the kids go running to him.  Matt points and giggles and squirms away from me to get to Rob as fast as possible.  Ellie yells, "Daddy!" and hugs his legs.  Sometimes she likes to hide somewhere and then jump out when he walks through the door.

5.  Rob is the funniest person I know, and he keeps me laughing all the time.  It was one of the reasons I loved spending time with him right from the start!

6.  Rob loves the gospel and makes gospel living and serving in the Church a priority in his life and in our home.  Even in our very first conversations together, I felt the depth of his testimony.  I'd never met anyone who I connected with so closely on that level.

Sometimes life feels crazy with two active kiddos, and things don't always run perfectly.  Good days or crazy days, I'm so glad I get to share them with my husband!  I love you RCLIII!