Off to a good start...a whole lot of not a whole lot

This month has seemed to fly by. It started off with a bang...well, lots of them actually...just at the end of our cul-de-sac. (translation - - drunken punks setting off ridiculously loud and out of control fireworks, waking up my children and scaring me to no end...I'm sorry, I missed the part where I apparently moved to the beach in Mexico) It was enough to drag me away from rockband with JC, out to my front yard, ready to single-handedly take on a whole troup of impaired cowboys sputtering phrases such as "dude, that was bad-a**" when one shot under a car on my street. (translation - - I stood on the front porch glaring really really hard toward the end of my street with the baby monitor in my hand while JC walked down the street with his cell phone in hand, making his presence known and reported the activity to the cops to settle me down) I don't like drunk people. I REALLY don't like fireworks. And I REALLY REALLY don't like things waking my kids up out of a peaceful sleep in what is, essentially, the middle of the night for them. So...that was the beginning of the new year for me. :) Bless JC for, in the middle of my hissy fit, still kissing me at midnight.

But, really, the year has started off rather quietly. We're just up to...well...see for yourself...

Here's a sight that hasn't been seen in a while...me, with a newborn baby! Hey! That's a familiar sight! But, oh, this time it's not actually my newborn baby. (As you can probably tell by the lack of circles under my eyes...well, at least MAJOR circles) But it is my sweet new nephew, 

Shawn Michael Ballard.

JC's brother, Chris, and his wife, Becca, had this gorgeous little guy on January 5th (the actual due date! Unheard of.)

Just in case anyone is wondering, I love newborn babies.

Two Ballard Men. One of them is super cute and tiny. The other one is...super cute.

No matter what part of the year it is, there is a really good chance there are a few days here and there that, for one reason or another, my kids eat a meal in front of the TV. Yeah, I'm totally on board with keeping the screen time at bay but on some days I just remind myself that the atonement can even apply to small instances like this and perhaps my efforts will be blessed and tropical smoothie cafe wraps and sunchips in front of Barney will not create lasting negative effects.

Plus, they are really really happy and really really cute.

We've also, apparently, been getting lots of rest. DEFINITELY something we could all use this year. It is, after all, one of the most basic rules of our existence, yes? That means it gets attention this year. :)

I was unaware of this picture being taken but I forgive JC because it's a little blurry. How much of that is actually my b-hind and how much is just fuzzy blurriness? Guess we'll never know.

Anyway, we are headed down the hallway for bedtime. You can see Bethany's room there on the left, glaring pink out into the hallway. She wouldn't have it any other way.

I don't know if this was the same night as the above picture but JC found this in Bethany's room.  An elk, tucked in for bed. With not one but TWO blankets. Cracked us up.

(That is actually just a magnet of an elk head. JC got it for me as a joke because I told him that he was never allowed to buy me a gift at Sportsmans or any other outdoors-y place. I love the outdoors but anything they have as far as jewelry or home decor in those places makes me yak. So, one day he came home with this magnet for my fridge. To punish him, I use it as a signal when I am having a grumpy day. If he comes home and the elk is on the fridge...let the fear be struck into his heart.)

I think we have a nurturer on our hands.

And here, Scout is getting plenty of rest, just like his distant cousin, the Elk. (Oh, come on, we're all related somehow, right?) I will forever envy cats for the complete abandon with which they nap. Ben seems to want to join him. Probably because Bethany and James don't nap anymore (heaven help me) and he sometimes gets woken up prematurely from his own slumber-time. Makes for a tired guy some days.

Oh, and the baby doll is sleeping just inches away.

I feel the need to explain myself.

JC was out running an errand some Friday evening. By Friday evening, I am practically qualifying for admittance into a facility of sorts. Anyway, the kids were eating bananas as a pre-cursor to dinner and playing on the floor in the playroom. I found the moment right for a moment to breathe deeply and laid out on the couch.  

Tried to breathe deeply but Ben kept smacking me in the face, laughing and saying "Mama!"

So I covered my face with my hand.

Tried again, but he kept grabbing my hand, moving it and saying "Boo!"

I tried talking to him through my hand and trying to relax at the same time. Apparently it worked fine because I dozed off and he showed his disinterest in my disinterest by choosing me as the resting place for his banana peel.

Then, of course, JC came home and found me like this and our children semi-unsupervised.

I'm fired. And I smell like banana.

But at least I got some rest like the rest of them!

I don't know how grateful Bethany will be for this picture in the future but when she is a mom someday she will understand the need to share unnecessarily embarrassing pictures of your children.

The kids have also gotten more comfortable letting themselves into the pantry and helping themselves to snacks when Mom and Dad are working on something in the next room. Here, we have a party involving raisins.

Ben walked all over that party.

Another exciting thing that happened this month was that Bethany moved up to Primary! She is officially a sunbeam! I feel like having a party for her...and she actually is very excited. But, like unto her mom, depending on her mood, she will completely ignore something she is excited about if it means too much attention on her. So, she didn't want to take pictures in the crown she made on her first Sunday.

But Ben is always willing.

But, anyway, YAY FOR BETHANY! Our very own Sunbeam! (I missed having three kids in nursery at the same time by less than two months!)

She is doing great and loves her teacher and her classmates.  The two kids that moved up with her, Hannah and Spencer, were her two best nursery buddies (apparently, for a while, Spencer and Bethany were the talk of the town in nurseryland, displaying such behavior as holding hands and even playing together even though they are of opposing sides in the cootie war) and her teacher is a super nice lady I was in the primary presidency with not too long ago, so she is pretty comfortable.  

So...our January is moving comfortably along. The kids aren't the only ones having fun...JC and I went to a Suns game (he won tickets in a pool tournament at a company Christmas party. Yay honey!) and that was a fun treat. (Thanks to my mom for babysitting!) We also checked out local theater for the first time at Hale Theatre.  We saw a comedy titled "Lend Me a Tenor" and I LOVED it. I will most definitely frequent Hale from here on out. (Thanks to JC's mom for the tickets and for babysitting!)

I also got my hair colored on Friday. I know I said no more hair appointments but I am now once more a proud brunette...no more rock star streaks. It was my first effort in getting more basic. Let's all be proud of Mandy now for supressing her haircolor dependency issues.

On a more somber note, I also attended a funeral on Friday. My sister in law, Kristi's (Mason's brother's wife) sister, Traci, and her family (sorry, I know that sounds confusing) were in a car accident on the 9th. Their two boys, CJ (11) and Nolan (6) died at the scene. Traci and Franky, as well as a family friend, are recovering from their injuries.  The funeral was hard for everybody but I could see the family holding strong to each other and to the belief that they will be with the boys again someday.  It was beautiful to hear everyone's memories of the boys and see the chuckles and smiles they continue to bring to their loved ones.  I pray for Traci and Franky and their family every time they cross my mind...which is a lot, lately. If you would, please do so as well.  They need a lot of strength and comfort. They are really good people and I know they can pull through with the help of lots of prayers. 

So, anyway, here's to moving through the rest of the month and cherishing every bit of . . . 

this.