New Car Please

Is there anyone who'd be willing to BUY us a new car? We could sure use it. Ha ha ha. (But seriously... We COULD!)

I honestly don't know where to begin with my complaining today. The blinker on our car has been freaking out for the last few days and today it was totally crazy and the steering coulomb started to smoke! I was almost home when it started and made it home safely into the house with the kids.

After have a massive freak out melt down, I called a friend and asked for some help. Her husband is a really calm and cool headed guy who helped me to know that it wasn't the end of the world (or the car) and told me what to go unplug so I could take the car safely to someone to look at it further.

After they took it apart there was no melted anything or burnt signs in the wiring at all. (Guy probably thought I was crazy!) There is a part that still needs to be replaced and until that happens it's roll down the window and stick out your arm to make turn signals. So much fun!

I'm still a little freaked out because it's yet another repair to the car that I don't want to pay for. Yet, I know that somehow everything will be ok.

Birds Gone Wild!

The Western Tanager that I saw in the back yard vs the Scarlet Tanager that I grew up seeing in Michigan from time to time. Pretty big difference in color, but basically the same bird.

I seriously wish that I'd taken these pictures, but thanks to the world wide web I was able to find brilliant examples of each bird. Bird watching in something that I enjoy (which is funny to say that after years of being dragged around to bird sanctuaries and aviaries that I wasn't so thrilled about as a kid). Now, my girls will have to suffer as I once did and in many years I might be in the same position as my Dad reading a post about how they are actually glad that they suffered too!

Brooke's Obsession

Brooke has a special obsession. She LOVES to smell laundry!!!!! She attacks me at the dryer to get the freshest clothes, she drags blankets around to catch a whiff, and she pulls all of Mike's socks out of the basket and sniffs them all to find the best ones and then gives them to me.

I am glad that she only likes to smell the clean socks! Eryn liked to smell feet at this stage, so I am also relieved that Brooke has taken to something that is more socially acceptable to focus her little nose on.

Oh, the funny things that children do never stop bringing a smile to my face.

Bird Watching

A little while ago Mike and I saw a yellow bird out at his parents' house and couldn't figure out what it was. It was really far away and high up in a tree so I couldn't catch a picture of it. I figured it was a one and done deal and I'd missed it.

Then, out in our back yard I noticed this guy! There was really no missing him. Bright yellow and an orange red crown. He wasn't as big as the robins, but pretty good sized. I'm beside myself. I'm usually pretty good at identify the bird, but not this one. I'm pretty sure I've never seen this bird before. The orange color is probably a breeding color and not a normal for the bird and that makes it even more interesting to me!

It was fun trying to take pictures through the glass. Forgive the lack of clarity and the fact that the top one was cropped way down to see the bird the best. One Day National Geographic will come calling... Ha ha. Today I'm just a back yard hobbyist photographer/birdwatcher.

Western Tanager! Hooray he has a name. Thanks Dad!

Rain Rain, Really?

After dinner yesterday we decided to go for a walk as a family. It's lighter longer and warmer, so it should have been a great day to start. The only problem was that it started to sprinkle just after we left the house.

Sprinkles don't stop us! We kept going. The sprinkles stopped. It took us nearly 20 minutes to get to the turn around point that I have previously designated. Just then it really started raining. We hurried back much faster. It started pouring just before we made it back home and all 4 of us were totally soaked! We made it back in only 10 min! It's amazing how getting cold and wet made Eryn go much faster on the return trip.

Lessons learned from this:
1.) Be prepared- layers of clothes, hats, and maybe an umbrella
2.) Eryn can in fact walk fast when properly motivated!
3.) Our family can do something besides sit on the couch and watch TV after dinner.

Hopefully we will be able to make this more of a habit and the weather will improve to reward us more for our efforts.

Andrew's Farewell

My Brother-In-Law Andrew is getting ready to go on his mission for our church and gave his farewell talk on Sunday to a full chapel and a bunch of friends and family. (He still has a couple of weeks before he leaves!) There will be more on the family blog later in the day. I figured I'd just give a little preview!

Eryn enjoyed her evening outside playing in the dirt and chasing bugs!

Andrew's x-girlfriends and a guy who heard that there were going to be a bunch of girls in one spot so he'd try his luck! Ha ha. Andrew is really good at collecting friends so I wasn't surprised that there were so many of them at the meeting.

Mike's unofficial big brother Andy came from Texas to surprise us. He kept his secret and just showed up on Saturday and hung around for church on Sunday. Andy's good at causing trouble and bringing out the kid in the McCorristins. Especially since he remembers them when they were little! He just made the weekend that much better.

Hanging Out At Home

We've been just hanging out at home a lot lately. Some people would think that was boring, but I think that it's been pretty wonderful! We've had lots of fun and there have been many smiles and laughs from the little ones. Honestly, that's all that I need to make my day great!

Brooke drags little purses and things around with her everywhere!

The evil smile when I told her she could use the hand mixer all by herself! (Oh yeah that lasted about 5 seconds!)

Brooke wanted to stand on the step stool too!

Don't say, "Smile." Brooke is screaming just out of frame and Eryn... Well, it's cute but sure not pretty! Only a look a Mother could love.

They were having fun playing and coloring under the table.

For as crazy as Eryn is in public and any sort of social opportunity you'd never think that she really likes to sit and read books. When everything is calmed down and quiet at home she'll read for almost half an hour all by herself. That's after I read to her for half an hour or so. Best hour of my day by far!

Brooke won't use the cute baby sippie cup that I bought special for her. Instead she likes Eryn's with the straw. Hey, if that's the only way I can get her to drink juice Eryn can suffer with a different cup.

Not Political But...

I'm not a big political person, but I couldn't stop thinking that I knew this Elena Kagan (the new Surpeme Court Nominee) from somewhere.


Then last night it dawned on me. She looks a lot like Kevin James! The guy from King of Queens and terrible movies like, "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry."



Tell me you see it!!!!!!!!!!

The Mother's Day Post

I know that everyone will post their smushy "I love my Mommy!" posts to celebrate Mother's Day. I'd like to try mine in a little different way. Not that the mothers in my life aren't wonderful, but it's me and I figured I'd be different.

Once upon a time I thought that being a mother was all about keeping the kids entertained until they fell asleep, keeping the house clean, and making sure that there is food ready to eat when the troops return from a rough day at the office. This is all true, but there is so much more.

Being a mother isn't just about child care or house work. It's not even about the dinner that you prepare or the take out that you order! Being a mother is something much more.

Cleaning up unspeakable things from the floor, the bathroom, in the bed, and occasionally all over the entire child happens too. Putting band-aids on boo boos and checking the closet to make sure that the bad guy "Randal" isn't in there are pretty frequent events. Making sure that we read books for as long as we watch TV (or at least close to it!) is a far greater task than I had anticipated. Many sore throats have been caused from the avid movie watcher in our household!

Being a mother is a learning experience. I learn what I say often as it is repeated back to me over and over throughout the day. I learn how I walk and what I do with my hands when I talk as I watch the girls imitated me exactly. I learn how to love each and everyday.

A little while ago Brooke was into something she shouldn't have been and in my frustration I sighed and said, "Ok, do you want to go to timeout?" with a stern cold tone of voice. (Not that I would ever put a baby in the dreaded "timeout" but I was really wearing thin at that moment and it felt good to threaten!)

Eryn leaps up from what she was doing and in tears she pleaded at my feet and saying, "Mommy no! Don't put my baby sister in timeout. I go to timeout. Not Brooke!!!!!! She's too tiny. Mommy please no!!!!!!"

Eryn (who has had her fair share of timeouts) was volunteering to go to timeout for her sister! I almost started to cry. She knew that her baby sister didn't understand what she was doing wrong. She knew that she wanted to make Mommy happy, but didn't know why I was upset with her. Eryn jumped in the middle and begged for forgiveness for her sister and offered herself to take the punishment for the innocent one who didn't know any better.

That pure love that she has for her sister is the love that our Savior has for each of us. He begged and pleaded for forgiveness for us. He offered himself as a sacrifice so that we could stay free from sin if we chose to do so.

In all of my time thinking about what it meant to be a mother, I never realized that being a mother is the opportunity to see the love our Father in Heaven and our Savior has for us from one of the purest sources.

Catch Up Post

Things have been a little crazy around here, so this is a catch up post! Sorry to all the Grandmas who depend on this for adorable pictures of their posterity. I think that there are a couple in here that will make up for my delay though.

It happened! Brooke was finally standing up in her crib when I went to get her from her nap the other day. She's certainly not lacking in personality! That tongue is in almost every picture.

Standing up and walking along the couch has been interesting. She might look like her Dad, but she's got Mommy's stumpy little legs. Poor girl!

The tooth count is at 5 and about to shoot up really fast!

Mike was less than enthused to have his picture taken.

Eryn wanted her hair curled like her cousin Allie did in her pictures. She sat really still and let me curl it with the curling iron. Then, she ran around all day saying that she was a pretty princess and begging for her Sunday dresses. (Where did she come from?)

Eryn enjoys reading stories to Brooke. Brooke likes playing with toys and pretending to be interested in what Eryn's reading from time to time.

Every mom will appreciate this one. I said, "Stop jumping on the couch!!!!!!!" Then, I walked away to go do something else. When I heard the jumping again this is what I found. Technically they weren't jumping on the couch. How does a 3 yr old figure out stuff like that?

My brother Sam has been working 12 hr shifts of patrolling in Iraq and is able to call home and use the Internet so we can stay connected and up to date with him far more than we had first thought.

Mike's Dad had his appendix out yesterday and is doing well. (One of his younger brothers had his out either last month or the month before.) Needless to say, it's been difficult on his Mom and whole family with people in and out of the hospital. His 2 sisters are due to have their babies very soon also. Andrew is preparing for his mission and will be leaving at the end of June.