Tater Tot

Tater Tot is one of my sons.  It's not his actual name.  But it is a fairly obvious nickname choice since he was born in Idaho where the potato reigns supreme.  My Dad thought it would be funny.  And it's stuck.  We'll see for how long.

I've actually talked about him quite a bit on here.  He is the one who broke his leg and managed to ignore pain and lack of mobility to overcome any and all obstacles in his way.  He is the one who refuses to say more than a few words and rarely any with consistency although we are up to 15 words now with only 8 understandable to others.  He is also my almost two year old who just celebrate his 2nd birthday.  It was Elmo themed; as if there would be any doubt.

What you don't know about him is that he refused to wear shoes until this past winter and only conceded because his toes would get too cold.  Now, he's obsessed!  Not only does he insist that he has shoes on at all times when he's outside but he parades around the house in any pair of shoes that he can get a hold of.  Why is it that little boys are amazing at walking around in oversized high heels?  

He also LOVES being outside!  The moment he discovered it was warm enough to not completely freeze his fingers off, all he wanted to do was be outside.  He spends every minute I allow him outside and has to be dragged in against his will.  

And I can safely say that he does not like strangers.  My sister moved in with us a year ago and it took him 3 months to allow her to hold him for a short time.  He still avoids her if she tries to touch him.  It took 18 months and much licorice for him to allow my Dad to hold him occassionally.  There is a man at our church who has made it his mission to get my son to look at him for more than 1 minute.  It hasn't happened yet.

He also terrorizes his older sister, Sweet Cheeks.  It's so funny because she would terrorize Teeny and now it's come back to bite her in the butt, sometimes literally.  He chases her around while growling and yelling at her.  If she hits him (the same way she would hit Teeny), he slugs her right back.  If she takes away his toy, he bites her; for which I don't approve.  But he also adores her.  If she gets dressed up in her tutu and dances around the living room, he borrows a tutu so he can join in the fun.  He follows her around trying to do everything that she does.  And when he gets caught being less-than-nice to her, he always gives her a kiss and hug to say sorry.

So this is my not-so little Tater Tot.  (The doctor just said that he's all set to be as big as a linebacker when he grows up.)  He's loves to laugh, is an amazing cuddler and doesn't allow small things to get in his way.  He loves shoes, getting dirty outside and ignoring everyone but family.  And if you see him with his sippy cup, take a step back and leave him alone; it's his sacred time. 

Ella


© Ella's Place

Spring Break

Spring break is next week!  I think that I'm more excited than my kids.  No homework.  No waking up way too early in the morning.  (I am not a morning person!!!)  No lunches to make.  No making sure my kids are dressed appropriately for the day.  It's pajamas all day long! 

We'll have to get dressed part of the time because we're heading out this Saturday to visit family in Utah.  It won't be a super busy visit.  We'll hang out with my Grandma Donna.  I love my Grandma.  She is one of the most loving people I know.  She still has board games, puzzles and coloring books that used to be my Dad's.  She's a bit of a hoarder but so are most kids of the Depression.  But it's worked in my favor.  My children love playing with the older toys just as much as I did when I was their age.  She has a game from the 60's, Husker Du, that is my favorite game! 

We'll stay with my Dad and step-Mom.  My Dad is the best Popa.  He gets down on his hands and knees to play with them and makes sure to give each of them his attention.  He doesn't spoil them except when it comes to licorice.  He always has Red Vines licorice.  He manages to go through a whole bag of the family mix when we're there.  He has been known to try and sneak my kids a piece when they are as young as 9 months.  He says that he has to teach them what good licorice tastes like. 

We plan on visiting the Museum of Ancient Life while we're there.  They have the world's largest display of mounted dinosaurs.  The best part is that you get to touch them.  They want you to touch the fossils.  My children love dinosaurs and to be able to touch real dinosaur bones is amazing to them.  It's amazing to me too.  Most places you only get to look.  Needless to say, this is a very kid-friendly museum and we're super excited to visit.

We also have to stop by JC Penney.  Sweet Cheeks starts kindergarten this fall.  She registered last week and is so very excited.  She's already requested a striped backpack.  Do you know how hard it is to find a striped backpack?  There are no striped backpacks up here so I went to the internet and found one down in Utah.  So we are going make a quick visit to the store to pick it up.  The things we do for our children......

And amidst all of this fun, I might be lucky enough to go on a date with my husband.

But don't worry, we'll be back in time to indulge in our "all day pajama fest" by Wednesday!  Yay for lazy days!!!



************************************************Update*****************************************************

We had SO much fun.  The Museum of Ancient life was amazing!  It's not too big that you're walking non-stop but it's packed with so much interactive stuff.  Not only did we get to touch some of the fossils,

My almost 2 year old comparing his foot with a Brachiosaurus foot.

but they got to dig up buried fossils in a sand pit. 

 My soon to be 7 year old gently brushing away sand to get to the elusive dinosaur bones.

My 8 year old blowing the sand out the dinosaurs eye socket.

It was perfect.  We will most definitely be going again.  We also got to spend some quality time with family.  And I finally convinced my Grandma to go to the doctor about an open wound on her foot that's been there since November.  I've tried to convince her that she needed to see a doctor about it but she kept delaying.  This time I made the appointment and even drove her there.  

All in all, it was a good trip.  Sadly, school has started back up and I no longer get to sleep in.   

Ella

© Ella's Place

Jamba Juice

Have you ever had something that you needed to do but kept putting it off?  And because you have been putting it off, you start to avoid it because of the guilt that is building up inside of you? 

Well, that's me.  Right now.  And I'm sorry.  I planned on writing last week.  I planned on writing on Monday and pretty much ever day after.  I feel horribly guilty.  Will you forgive me?

To make it up to you, I thought I'd introduce you to another member of our family.

I'm pretty sure our dog is related to Houdini.  He has amazing skills when it comes to escaping not only his dog run but our yard that has a 6 foot high wood fence.  But that's not all.  I think his neck is double jointed because he can take name tags off all by himself.  His name tag disposing talent is expensive so he's now the proud new owner of a chip.  I'm pretty sure he won't be able to lose it.  (I couldn't watch when the doctor put it in.  It was one of those big hollow needles.)

Although our dog acts like Houdini, his name is Jamba.  Yes, he was named after the smoothie shop, Jamba Juice.  Our children were young when he joined our family and couldn't say many words but they all could say Jamba.  They love smoothies.  So I'm pretty sure that you can guess his nickname.  Yup.  We ofter refer to him as "the Juice" when we're not talking to him.

Jamba is the friendliest dog you'll ever meet.  I don't think he's met an enemy in his life.  Everyone is his friend.  He won't bite but he may lick you to death.  And he loves to cuddle; with me.  My husband finds it very frustrating.  We'll all be outside and Jamba will refuse to run and play.  All he wants to do is cuddle. 

Jamba also loves zucchini and carrots.  He enjoys long walks.  And is currently single.  If you know of any cute girl dogs out here in Idaho let me know.  We'll set them up on a date. 

Ella


© Ella's Place

Sweet Cheeks

Have you ever written a word and realized that it just looks wrong?  You think it's spelled write but you're not quite sure so you end up looking it up in the dictionary or using spell check.  This happens to me all of the time.  I wrote down the word "cheek" and it just doesn't seem right; especially if the "c" is capitalized.  Cheek.  Doesn't that just seem wrong?  Am I the only one?

Sorry for that tangent.  Now on to more Hanson family introductions.  By all rights, I should introduce you to my first born but I'm not.  Not that I don't love him 'cause I do.  I'm starting with my 5 year old little girl.  I have the feeling I should warn you in the off chance she decides to take over the world when I'm not looking.  That's right, I said take over the world.  I'm 75% sure that my 5 year is going to rule the world someday and I just think you should be prepared.

Before I tell you why you will one day bow down to her, you should know that you're going to need to buy stripes, lots of stripes.  She loves wearing striped clothes!  I let her pick out the clothes for her little brother the other day and she picked out a striped polo shirt paired with striped pajama pants.  Don't ask me why or how but they worked.  She has that talent.  She can mix & match any clothes with stripes and make it work.  I am frequently awed by this talent as I have no clue about clothes myself.

You will also need mustard.  This is an essential ingredient for any sandwich she makes.  She doesn't just have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches; she has peanut butter, jelly and mustard.  Peanut butter and honey usually has lettuce and mustard to enhance the flavors.  She's also been known to eat a peanut butter, cheese and mustard sandwich.  Or mustard, honey and jam.  There are endless combinations of sandwich fixings that she'll eat but only if it includes mustard.  I try not to judge....

But back to taking over the world.  It's really hard to describe and I'm pretty sure you're not going to fully understand.  She says things like, ".... in the evil clutches of my hands!" and then throws her head back while bringing her hands curved like a bear claw up to shoulder height in front of her and does an evil laugh.  It sounds awkward but she does it so naturally.  It reminds me of that Tiny Toons cartoon "Pinky & the Brain" except she's never seen it.  So I can only assume that this is just a natural part of her personality. 

That's not all.  If she is rough housing with her older brother and gets hurt, she may shed a few tears but she gets up, growls several times and then proceeds to go all wildcat on him.  She very rarely admits defeat.

Just in case you're worried that she'll make a bad "Dictator of the World," you should know that she is geniunely loving and kind.  She loves babies, ponies and Jesus.  And once she looks at you with her gorgeous green eyes and strawberry blonde hair; you're lost. 

So this is my smart, sweet and sassy daughter who will one day rule the world.  She prefers to be called Sweet Cheeks or as you will one day know her: President-Princess Sweet Cheeks.  Don't say that I didn't warn you!

Ella


© Ella's Place

Mr. Ella Hanson

I follow a few blogs and often find myself wondering what their family is like.  You get bits and pieces every once in a while but somehow it just doesn't fulfill my curiousity.  Since I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one either, I thought that I would introduce my family to you.  That way you can combine what you learn here with the other bits and pieces I talk about to put together a more rounded image. 

I thought that I'd start with my husband; while he's not perfect, he's pretty much one of the best husbands ever.  I'm not kidding.  I can even prove it.

He cleans.   In fact, I haven't had to do dishes in almost a decade.  For that reason alone, he should be inducted into the "Husband Hall of Fame."  He does more than just dishes too.  He does the laundry everyday including folding and putting it all away.  I can count the times I've had to take the trash out since we've been married on one hand.  I could go on about what he cleans but the best part is that he organizes and supervises the children and their cleaning endeavors.  This includes their bedrooms, weekly jobs and outside jobs.  I've had friends who've said that they're going to send their kids to live with us so that my husband can whip them into shape.

He loves children and enjoys being a father.  He is also a fully participating dad.  By that I mean he changes all the diapers whenever he's home, does night duty with our babies, volunteers at school, does homework and attends all sporting & school events. 

He's willing to play card and board games with me even though he almost always loses just so he can spend time with me.  That might not sound like much but we are both fiercely competitive and hate to lose.  Imagine playing scrabble with someone once a week for a year and only winning 2 times while being that competitve.  That is true love.

He has been trying to figure out how he could buy me a Kitchenaid stand mixer for years.  This Christmas he finally figured it out.  He contacted everyone who would give him a Christmas gift and asked them to give him money instead.  He then took that money and bought me a stand mixer.  The only gifts he got for Christmas were from me.  Everytime I use that mixer he gets a smile on his face.

And if all of the other reasons aren't enough, he tells me that my "mommy belly"  (the extra skin on your lower abdomen that doesn't go away after you have children) is sexy.  You might think he's just trying to make me feel better but he truly means it.  He thinks it's sexy because it was created by my willingness to have his children. 

I told you he was one of the best husbands ever. 

And unfortunately for everyone else, he has no brothers.

Ella


© Ella's Place