Not a creature was stirring... except at the Poulsons

The night before Christmas Eve, I was on the phone (so not like me!) talking to my Dad and suddenly I see a brown furry something running across the floor from Liam's room. I scream "Nate, it's a mouse. Get it!" to which he replies, "with what?" Me: "I don't know, get the broom, but don't kill it, I'm in the Christmas mood and so he gets to live..." Nate: "How exactly am I going to get the mouse out of the house without killing it?" Me: Can't you play a magic flute and lure him out onto the deck and then it's up to him how he gets down?" Nate: "NO." Me: "Fine then let's corner him and...wait he just ran back into Liam's room." we both run in to see if we can find it, but with NO luck. Me: "Sorry little mouse, I gave you a chance, but you are not welcome to bunk with my baby, so the trap it is." (Bah Hum Bug!) We pull a sleeping Liam from his bed, put him in our bed and then set a trap and leave it in Liam's room with the door shut, along with a few extra precautions: (Yes it makes me feel better to stuff towels under the doors.) The next Morning, there it is, in the trap, (what is it about peanut butter that attracts EVERYTHING?) Sorry little mouse but you are gross and carry diseases and chew on things that shouldn't be chewed on.

I thought to myself, how did the little guy get in here in the first place? We live on the top floor and our house is new so I don't see holes for him to get in???
I go about my business as usual. Then New years, I go to put a plastic bag under my sink and almost touch mouse #2 to which I SCREAM, slam the door shut and Yell "NATE there's another one!!" Nate: "No way." Me: "yep!" So we don't waste anytime and put a trap inside the cupboard and again find a mouse surprise the next morning. I'm starting to worry now cause I don't like this one bit!

The following day we have a friend over to watch the U of U bowl game and I just finish telling him about our extra house guest and he says, "Hmmm, well you got another one, I just saw it run under your fridge." Me: "Ahhhh" Nate: "You can't be serious?" He goes and sets trap #3, we catch mouse #3. Then started Operation Find and Destroy.

To make this Tail (ha)shorter, we've caught 6 mice total. The most impressive part is that #4 & #5 we got in the same trap at the same time. That's got to be some record right? We haven't caught any for a week now, so I'm hoping that we got them all or they moved next door, (Sorry neighbors, your turn?) or my real fear, they are getting too smart for the traps and have seen their numbers diminishing in a hurry?

Because of this, I have been scouring my entire house. I've accidentally bleached two shirts that I like (why you might ask did I wear them to clean? Good question.)
This is reason I haven't been out of my house, blogged, or responded to emails in awhile.

I am still freaking out and can't sleep at night cause I sit and listen for any sound that might mean there is another one in my house. Nate is so annoyed with me that I can't even talk about it with him anymore. Liam Screams like a girl every time he walks into the laundry room (that's where we caught tweddle dee and tweedle dum) then says "I scream like Mama. That's Funny." Then Owen joins in screaming for fun of it. Needless to say I am ready to go crazy. Please leave any comments on how to get rid of these pests, and how to know you got them all. Or I'd be happy to take your cat off your hands for awhile.

Leaving that subject to a much more enjoyable one: Christmas!
We had a wonderful Christmas. We stayed in Hershey again this year and had a fun "Christmas around the world" dinner with some friends. (Thanks McCullough's!)It was really fun, and the food was fantastic! You should definitely try this one year. We each brought a main dish from the country of our choice and then did a short presentation on how that country celebrates Christmas.

Then the kids helped put on the Nativity. But we quickly noticed we were short on males, Liam was outnumbered 6-1 (not including Owen who was the star (The North star) Hence the reason Joseph is wearing a crown and cape.

Then we got home and told Liam if Santa got to Hershey before he was asleep that he wouldn't leave him his word world toys. I have NEVER seen him fall asleep so fast. Seriously like 5 minutes. Too bad the "Santa Claus won't bring you any toys if you do this or that" threat has been put away with the decorations. It was amazing how well it worked.

Santa came through BIG time! Liam got his word world toys, Dada got his guitar, drums and microphone (Rock Band) and Owen got an awesome ball popping toy that he is thrilled about. I'm getting a massage (one that is longer than five seconds and actually feels like a massage. Thanks Babe! Can't wait.)
Here are some pictures of the day. And a video or two.

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Quick story about the bike Liam got for Christmas. Well a few months ago, I was driving to church and stopped by our dumpster to throw away some diapers. As I pulled up, I noticed someone had left some used but still could use some love toys, next to the dumpsters (but inside the fence.) I got really excited, cause there was a big wheel and a little play gym for Owen.
As I got out of the car to put the garbage in the dumpster, I noticed a little farther back was a boys BIKE with training wheels!!! I looked all summer long for a bike for Liam last year, but the only ones I found were for girls, had no training wheels, or was I fooled by what I thought was a boys scooter. (here is that post!)
I looked around me thinking, "Is this a trap?, Hmm no one's around. Quick, grab it and run before the person who realized they threw a great bike away changes their mind and it's back to riding the pink and blue scooter for the summer."

So I grab only the bike throw it in the car, and drive off. I get to church and want to take a closer look at the bike. With further inspection. I find that this just isn't a boys bike with training wheels, this is a BRAND NEW BIKE with the protective cardboard still around some of the framework. My first thought now is, why would anyone throw away a brand new bike? Maybe they were teaching their son a lesson and said they were going to throw it away and took it over to the dumpster to teach him why hitting his sister is not OK. And while explaining this, I drove up and took it! Well lesson learned I guess. For both parties. He'll believe his parent's next time they threaten to throw something away, and his parent's learned not to throw a brand new bike in the dumpster.

Or maybe the it's because the tires are flat and they didn't realize that you can pump them up.

Or MAYBE Santa decided that since I searched so diligently all summer that my efforts should be rewarded and Christmas came a little early.

I decided it was #3. Then thought to myself, Why didn't I take the big wheel and the gym? Darn. That was dumb! but don't worry, to my relief they were still there after church and I took the other two toys home to. Gave them all a good wipe down with clorox. Hid the bike in Nate's trunk for three months, and Voila! Merry Christmas Poulsons.

Very Merry...

We just wanted to wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas, Hanukkah and a Bright New Year. It seems like the years just keep going by faster and faster. Sometimes that's a good thing, and sometimes it not. (Like that fact that my not so much a baby anymore is going to be turning ONE next month. Where did that year go???)
We love you all!
The Poulsons

Crisis Averted

Despite the influence of Dora the Explorer (curse her multicultural cuteness), a recent crisis was barely averted in the Poulson household. A recent Dora episode brought her do gooding to the North Pole. See, Santa had lost his bag, and his lack of bag was preventing him from delivering his toys for good girls and boys. Luckily there was a plucky Hispanic youth in the proximity who had a knack for solving problems (by the way, out of the context of a kid show, wouldn't you lock Dora up in a mental institution? Her "best friend" is a monkey who wears boots, which is problematic in and of itself. Then she is always asking these questions followed by long pauses that she answers herself. I have talked to psychiatric inpatients who had less convoluted stories). Anyway, the bag was located and the day was saved ( I vow here and now that should I ever meet the person who wrote the "I'm the Map" jingle I will eat his still beating heart after I rip it out of his chest. I think that's fitting for writing the most annoying, pointless, yet catchy bit of music created. If I hear it once it haunts me for at least 48 hours afterwords.)

Some friends of ours let us a package to increase our Christmas spirit. In this package was a story about Santa's bag, as well as a replica of said bag. We thought this was very sweet of them and brought it up to our room.

The next day that bag caused a panic...

Liam came rushing out of our room dragging the bag along with him.

"MAMA! MAMA! Santa forgot his bag! Santa forgot his bag! We have to get it back to him hurry Mama hurry! If we don't get it back to him he can't bring me my Word World toys!" (Insert panicked crying here)

Now, you can't be the mom of a 3 year old without learning to think on your feet.

"Umm.... Santa got a new bag and gave us his old bag so you can dress up like Santa. He will use his new bag to bring you your Word World Toys (What is Word World you ask? See Here)

A thoughtful expression on Liam's face tells you he is not sure if he is buying what you are selling.

"....Ok Mama Ok. Tell him to come get his bag so I can get my word world toys and Dada can get guitar, drums and microphone." (Liam wants Rock Band for our Wii about as much as I do).

Crisis averted and Christmas saved. It might have been easier if Jen was a spunky Hispanic youth who hung out with a talking purple monkey who wore boots.

Nothing better than a 3 year olds Christmas program!

It is times like these when I think how lucky I am to be a mother of two beautiful boys. It has been so fun to watch Liam grow and find a little of who he will be one day. Another Josh Groban? Probably not. But in my eyes, the cutest 3 year old EVER!
(I just clipped these so you didn't have to watch the WHOLE performance. And a special thanks to "ollie" for being our Hershey family. You are the best!)

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The Tree!

Last year we went to a local nursery and found our perfect tree. This year we opted for our 4 ft. Fake tree that we could put up on the end table so a little someone would have a harder time destroying it. I found this quote that fit perfectly: “Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall.”
Owen was really into trying to rip off all the ornaments the first week, but now it's lost its luster, or maybe it's because there are no decorations on the bottom foot of the tree any longer???

Liam did a great job as you will see! I can't believe how big he's getting.

I was sad that it wasn't going to be the smell of pine throughout my house this year, not as sad that I wasn't going to have to vacuum up the needles every day and thinking we saved ourselves some serious carpet cleaning since I know Owen would have figured out there was water in the base; currently his favorite thing to do is find a toilet seat that has been left open and go swimming with his hands up to his shoulders at ANY chance he gets.
SO I think we'll stick to this tree for the next few years till Captain Destructo finds it a little less intriguing.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Liam and his singing!

Best Buy Blues

The Poulson blog has been left dormant for quite some time. This is due to the fact that being the OCD person that I am, I made Nate take our computer in to Best Buy two weeks ago because one of our drives wasn't working properly and it's under warranty until January.
So off He and Liam went and were told it would take an hour and they could stick around for it to be done. (Not the worst place for two guys to be stuck for an hour. I can think of a lot worse!)
An hour goes by and they are told it's not fixed yet and they need some more time and to come back that evening to pick it up.
We call that evening and they say that they have to install a new disc drive and that it won't be ready until the following day...5 days later I get it back, bring it home to find that they have pretty much restored it to the factory settings and we were going to have to re-install all the programs again.
I decided to let Nate do this. He gets home and starts this "little" project. 2 hours later our computer has crashed and the screen is now black. (*%#@)
So back to best buy Nate goes this time it's 9pm. He gets back an hour later empty handed with no diagnosis and no ETA.
3 days later, I call to get the status to which I'm told they can't figure out what happened and that they are going to have to really Factory restore it. PROBLEM we didn't get it backed-up before we took it in. (BAD IDEA!!!)
So I ask him what my options are to save our data and pictures and basically there are two.
1-do nothing and lose it all.
2-let them back it up for a small charge of $159.99. (@%*!)
to which I reply that ludicrous and I don't think I should have to pay $160 bones because they screwed up my computer.
He calmly states, well you signed that you knew you hadn't backed up your computer before bringing it to us and that this is company policy...but, he understands my frustration and will speak with an advisor and call me back with an answer in an hour.
3 hours later Nate calls to get an "update" and is told that the supervisor wanted to look at it first and found that when they restored our computer the first time, they has removed our virus protection and in the time we set up the computer, to the time it crashed, we got a virus.
A VIRUS??? we kept telling Liam that the computer was sick, but now it has a virus. Why would anybody want to give my computer a virus. That is so lame.
Good NEWS though, Best Buy said since it was "technically" their fault they fix it and wouldn't have to delete any of our programs.
We got it back. Two hours later were up and running and are now back to normal, except for Nate's itunes, (that's going to take awhile.)
We were able to get our laptop to access the Internet, but all my pictures were on the PC so hence the reason for no posting.

To re-cap the past month,
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with some friends the Banzhaf's and the Morgans. There were 8 kids under the age of 3. But they seemed to really enjoy themselves.

We had Liam Thanksgiving program at school.

Decorated our tree, and the house.


Went to Hershey Park to visit with Santa and to see his reindeer. To which we were told that Rudolph's nose only glows Christmas Eve.

Here are some of the pictures from these events.



Here are some of the pictures from these events.

Where's his reindeer???

I took the boys out today for a "quick trip" to Michael's and Joann's to get a few crafting supplies. As we were walking out "Santa" in street clothes drives past us and parks next to us. As I'm buckling Owen in, Santa gets out of his van and walks past Liam; who stops him and says, "where are your weindeer?"

I flash a look at Santa, not certain what he will say, to which he looks at Liam and reply's: "they're back at home taking a nap so they're ready for their big day."

THANK YOU SANTA in street clothes, and (Ms. Claus who also passed!)

To which Liam says "Oh!" Santa drives a car too?
Me: "Sure he does, there's no where to park reindeer at the mall."

Satisfied...

Disclaimer: This is not the guy we saw, but he was Merry like this guy.

Dr. we need you STAT!

Nate and I were in charge of the Turkey this year and Nate really wanted to do an injectable marinade. Here is a video of him prepping the pt.
We hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving. We are so thankful to have you all as friends or family.
Love, Jenn, Nate Liam and Owen

A liitle Somethin on the side

A friend of mine got the cutest little necklace a few years ago and after coveting it and wanting one for myself, I decided that I'd learn to make some myself. I made a couple and got such good feedback that I opened a store on Etsy. (Just click on Magnolia Vali and it will take you there.)
I named it Magnolia Vali (Magnolia for a New Orleans memento and Vali is Val and Ali together, for my Mom and Sis.)
It just opened this week and I have had a lot of fun with it especially with the Twilight movie opening.

Here are a few that I have made so far. They are really fun and inexpensive they make for great stocking stuffers, girlfriend gifts, babysitter gifts....

These are the "Non Twilight" themed pendants



These are the Twilight themed pendnats

Where did November Go?

Lets start back to the tenth.
While Marie was still campaigning she had planned to get out of UT ASAP after the election, Win or Lose. She called and told me they were also going to take a detour and ride the train down to see us as well.
It just so happened that it was going to fall 2 days before Nate's 30Th birthday. I decided that it would be more fun to surprise him so I kept it a secret for months. (Not an easy thing for me since I can't buy any of his Christmas presents until the week before. I get too excited and try and coerce him into opening them.)
I finally told Liam a few days before that they were coming, thinking "oh he won't understand my secrets safe with him..."
The night before they came in, I was getting him ready for bed and he says, "Mama my Nana and Bompa come tomorrow to sleep in my bed and surprise dada?" I quickly cover his mouth and reiterate that it's a surprise and not to say ANYTHING to Dada. (luckily Nate was on the phone with his attending and missed the whole conversation.
The next evening we picked them up at the station and I called Nate to tell him I "didn't want to cook dinner tonight so did he want to meet me somewhere." He bit! Any reason to not have to do dishes (that's his job and he's wonderful at it!) is a good enough excuse for him!
I got a table with the boys and after he came in and sat down, his parents came walking through the door. He said to himself, "Hmmm those people look really familiar" (the lighting was dark) then he thought "WAIT isn't that my parents? Are we in UT? (Looks down,) NO still in scrubs and can see the hospital from here. Looks at me and I'm recording it (but it was too dark to see:(
I say HAPPY BIRTHDAY and Liam Screams Surprise Dada!

Liam was so excited to have visitors all for himself. They brought him a Disney/Pixar sticker book and that is how he and Dan spent most of the time when we were at the house. However, since Dan wears glasses, Liam had to too! All we had were sunglasses bu tit did the trick.


Nate worked the next day, but we took the kids up to Lancaster to ride the train. Liam was in heaven. And it was the perfect thing to do on a cold day.


I had talked Nate into getting his birthday off before his parents came out. He was a little confused as to why I'd want him to get a weekday off and not a weekend, but nonetheless did it for me. Now he understood why.
We went to breakfast at our favorite place here in Hershey. I salivate just thinking about it. Then HAD to do a quick ride at Chocolate World to get our free chocolate.

Then Marie took me to get a birthmark off my hand.
I've always had my "chocolate mark" on the palm of my hand, but after two babies, it's no longer flat and smooth, so we decided to get it off just to be safe.
In high school I had 15 moles taken off at one time. This was going to be a cake walk compared to that. (yes I have that many moles, and more. The Liddell's are basically one big mole with a little skin on the side.) When I went in for my pre-OP appointment (which I thought was weird, Just take the thing off in clinic already. You know it's hard to find a babysitter during the day.) They said it was an "out Pt. procedure done at the O.P. surgical center...WHAT, for a MOLE???
They asked if I wanted a little general anesthesia and I laughed out loud and seriously thought they'd all gone cuckoo. And told them local would be just fine.
BAD MISTAKE! First off I had to strip down to a gown and wasn't prepared to have to do this, then they took me into an O.R. and they were all in surgical garb. The whole set up. Then he starts to inject my hand. In the past they just numbed the mole itself and then a little snip snip and stitch stitch and I was done.
NOPE, they had to get my WHOLE hand numb and that seriously hurts big time. Where was that propophal when I needed it??
Anyways. Now it's gone and to tell you the truth, I'm a little sad about it. It's been there my whole life and just like that POOF it's no more.
I don't recommend getting hand surgery when you have a child that can't walk it makes for some serious pain. Good thing Nate's parent's were here to help me! (THANKS!)



I was full of surprises for this 30th birthday. Nate has been wanting a Wii so bad for a few years, but even more once they released Rock band. It's been out of our price range and was always a "wish but never gonna happen item."
Not only that but good luck finding one. Oh but I did, back in JULY. That's right I bought it in July for his November birthday. It sat under our bed for 4 months. He never had a clue. This is the longest I've gone without telling him what i got him for his birthday. And trust me, there were times that I almost caved and said guess what you're getting for your birthday...Let's open it and play:)
He was so surprised and that made it totally worth it. The funny thing is, he told me he couldn't decide if he was happy or depressed that he got the one thing he really wanted for his 30th birthday, which was the same thing he wanted for his 10th. A video game.
He didn't get rock band yet. That will have wait for Christmas. But until then we will all have sore arms from playing tennis.

That night the P's took us to a great Mediterranean place for dinner and to see Eagle eye (which we didn't know anything about and were pleasantly surprised. It was actually entertaining, although completely not probable.) I almost fell asleep from the percocet, but pulled through to the end.

The next day Nate was on call so we took take out to him so he didn't have to eat in the cafeteria AGAIN. Liam loves doing this and was really excited to take Nana and Bompa to Dada's house the hos- i- pal.


And then they were gone, just like that. Back on the train and flying home to UT. Liam cried for a straight hour after they left. It's in those moments that I really want to end up back in UT after residency.

Then a few days later it was my birthday and I was just happy that I was still a year younger than Nate:)

The Votes are in!

After deciding to run as the democratic candidate for the Utah State house of Representatives in District 46. Nate's mom; Marie Poulson, the rest of her family, friends, neighbors and volunteers, can hang up their campaign shoes. The long months of campaigning are finally over and maybe Marie will get some sleep, but only until January when Marie will take her seat at the House.
That's right folks:

SHE WON!!!

We are so proud of Marie and all her hard work. She has never been in politics before, what an accomplishment! We know that she will do a great job for district 46 and we wanted to tell her

congratulations.

We look forward to this new endeavor and can't wait to support her in her "new job!"

We love you Nana! You always have our vote. And thanks to all my friends and family who helped with her campaign; and obviously thanks for voting for her, even though some of you have never voted for a democrat before. That was a big leap for some of you, and I wanted you to know we appreciate it. We know she's the right lady for the job!

A few minutes of retrospection

A few years ago I remember sitting in a tiny room in a crowded house on the outskirts of Hanau Germany. Sitting across from me was a young man who I had gotten to know on the streets of Hanau. He lived tiny room that he shared with another person. He was from the Sudan, and we spent a few afternoons talking about what it was to live in a country torn by civil war. For the last decade a large group of Muslims have aggressively attempted to oust Sudanese Christians from many areas in the Sudan. These are the type of stories you read about in the newspaper while you are eating breakfast and shake your head, "Tsk tsk, that's terrible," you think to yourself, and then go about your daily business. But this was not the case for my friend.

He told me how Muslim rebels broke into his house late one night when he was 14 years old. He slept in the same room as his parents, and they screamed for him to run. As his mother was crying out, telling her how much she loved him, she was struck in the head by gun fire. His father was also mortally wounded. He described to me how he ran as fast as he could for miles, and spent the early hours of the morning weeping as he scrubbed his mother's blood and grey matter out of his clothing. He fled to Germany, and was living on government assistance, and was terrified that he might be extradited, because he knew what was waiting for him back home. He had brothers and sisters, but he had no idea where they were or whether they were alive.

Another woman I met was from El Salvador. One afternoon, while we were talking about where we were from and what it was like for us when we were kids, she asked to see my passport. When I lived in Germany I carried it around with me all the time, so I had it on me. I passed it across the table, and she sat there holding it, staring at it silently. Then she looked up at me. "Do you have any idea how bad so many people I know want one of these? I love where I grew up, but I would trade places with you in a second and never look back. You should feel lucky every day that you have one of these. Because of it, you have opportunities that very few people in the world enjoy."

Today when I finished with work I stopped at a local fire station. Multiple members of my community, who gave their time without compensation, greeted me there. I showed them my ID and they showed me a booth. I went inside and drew the curtains, and, in the culmination of a few months of thinking and forming my opinion, I got to choose who I would trust to help form the construct of my future. I made my mark and left the booth. The people I voted for may win or lose, but I got to give my say.

Tomorrow, we will have a new president elect. We will new representatives in every level of government. I am keeping my fingers crossed here, but I think there will be no coup, no violent uprising, no gunmen in the streets. This will happen because of the system of government that we have, and the millions of men and women who agree to uphold that system.

There are plenty of imperfections, plenty of annoyances and injustices. There are failures and incongruities and mishaps. All of these things frustrate us, anger us, and over time they steal our hope. I hope all of us will take minute to remember, especially on days like today, that in spite of all the bad things that we focus on, the end result is still, by the standards of the rest of the world, nothing short if miraculous.

By the way.... I wrote in President Palmer. Yes, I know the probability is low that a fictional character will win the presidency, but I am still keeping my fingers crossed.

All things Halloween

Hershey truly is one of the best cities to live in if you enjoy Halloween (Or the Fall harvest for that matter.)

There is always something to do Fall or Halloween related the entire month, so that's exactly what we did. Here are some of the photos we took of all the festivities.

We went to many a Halloween party, Hershey Park in the dark, the Hershey Parade (it wasn't any Mardi Gras parade, but fun all the same), pumpkin picking, Maize going, retirement home visiting, trunk O treating, and we even got the bragging rights for best pumpkin. (although it was my brothers family's idea and won them the same title last year. The reproduction was just as impressive! Thanks J, D, Joss, Cami and Tess.)

My favorite sayings from these events were:

"oh a Knight and a Dragon; now I get it. Cute"

"I'm so cold mama, lets go home and get toasty warm."

"I'm a Knight and Owen's a Dragon Raaarrrr"

"He said he likes-A my Costune" (imagine an Italian accent)

"I'm Buzz Lightyear...To infinity and beyond." (all this while wearing his costume inside the store. And running through the store flying"

"Mama, I'm hungry. I need, I need, Chocolate."

"No Mama Knights don't wear those shoes, they wear Crocs."

"That Granma took my candy bag. (No Liam we made them for the Grandmas and Grandpas.)"

And I wish so bad I had it on video when we went to one of the houses where the bowl had a hand that flipped down on yours when you reached in.
Liam unsuspecting reaches in, it snaps down he screams, runs, and grabs some random guys leg and screams, "It's too scary, it got me." (and we get to hear the story from him every couple of hours.)


All that being said, I am happy to have the month over with. I'm worn out, pumkin'd out, putting my kids in a costume everyday out, (liam ended up being, a Knight, Buzz lightyear and a cowboy. He will be sad to see it go and not have an excuse to wear a costume everywhere we go.) and last but certainly not least, I don't think my thighs can take anymore candy.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO ALL!

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Marie Poulson

For anyone who hasn't heard, my very Brave mother-in-law is running as a state representative in Utah. She has never been in politics before, but has been an educator for the last 16 years and recently retired as a high school English and History teacher.
Marie decided that she really wanted to try and make a difference especially with the current Education system they have in her district.

She has spent the last few months out knocking on EVERY door in her district, some more than once to meet the people in her district and let them know a little more about her and what she hopes to accomplish.

A local news station ran a story on her and her opponent last night since they are both running for the first time.

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

Please feel free to watch the video and post a comment.

We are so proud of her and hope that all her efforts pay off!

If you live in her district (cottonwood heights) or know someone who does, please tell them to vote for her on November 4th.
We love you Nana!

Perfect Pumpkin Pancakes

We have a tradition of making pancakes Saturday mornings. But today I decided to try something a little different.
I made some great pumpkin pancakes from a new cook book Corinne sent me. (thanks nannie)
Here is the recipe if you want to try them too! Happy Halloween.

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 T. brown Sugar, packed
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. ground ginger
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 1/2 cups milk
1 egg lightly beaten
2 T. oil

Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and spices in a large bowl; set aside. Combine remaining ingredients in a separate bowl: mix well. Stir pumpkin mixture into flour, pouring just enough to moisten the mixture. (you will have some of the liquid leftover.)
Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a lightly hot, greased griddle. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface; turn onto other side and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, until golden brown. (makes 16 small pancakes.)
Optional:
Add 1/4 Cup semi sweet chocolate chips
Use chocolate chips to make pumpkin faces and any green sweet for the stem.
(recipe by Joyce LaMure)
ENJOY!

(Next week is going to be Caramel French Toast!)

If only we could get Freddy Kreuger to kill with mistletoe...

When I got home from work today my wife made me sit down and read her previous post, and as much as I respect her valiant effort to repent of her sins by confessing them to the known world, before I get characterized as a Scrooge for my current ruling on Christmas music let me make some qualifying statements.

Now, I love Christmas as much as anyone, and I do like Christmas music (however I despise the canned Christmas Muzak that annoyingly plays in every department store starting sometime in August). My position against early Christmas music is actually about increasing the enjoyment of Christmas. Let me explain.


Our years are broken into specific segments and seasons. Those
seasons all have their things (except March and February, which I think we can all agree are the most useless of all months. Yes, I am looking at you Valentine's Day. You know you only bring pain and suffering into the world. Your cherubic mascot does not fool me). Because they are divided, they help us pass the time, and possibly heighten the enjoyment of that specific season. Now, you can look at the two pictures above, and tell that one of these things is not like the other. This specific time of year we celebrate the pagan new year by hoping that some film can literally scare us to the point that we lose bladder control, and celebrate children in association with tooth decay. That's what make October tolerable.

But Christmas is not just about toleration; it literally is the best time of the year. I mean it's got it all. You get off from work. You get together with family (unless you are a repressed anesthesia resident, but even then you get to be with immediate family). The food is awesome, everybody is generally happy, and to top it off you get presents. I mean come on man, how could it possibly be any better than that? It is freaking awesome, no doubt about it. I love Christmas. That's why I am arguing against its dilution.

See, if you play Christmas music all the time, then you are trying to convince yourself that today is the most wonderful time of the year. It is not possible for every day to be the most wonderful time of the year. I mean take April 15th for example. That day sucks. It's the day that Uncle Sam robs you blind and you have to bend over and take it. That is clearly not a wonderful day, so why should we lie to ourselves?

So please friends, don't dilute Christmas. Let it maintain its purity. If you don't it ends up looking like this.




And no one wants that

Confession

I got Caught...
As long as I can remember I have always LOVED Christmas music. I don't know, I guess there is nothing better to get you into that spirit of giving, the spirit of being nice to people (even if they are from New York and decide to stop in the middle of the road causing you to slam on your breaks and then looking at their map while you wait, oh so patiently.)

When I was a kid it seemed like there was limited Christmas music played on the radio during the holiday season.
My Mom would put up the 2 page newspaper calendar of all the Christmas shows up on the fridge and we'd highlight our favorites: Rudolph, Frosty, Miracle on 34Th street...
But I couldn't wait for the "100 hours" of Christmas music on "Light FM 100 Soft Hits...Less Talk." They would start a few days before Christmas and play all your favorite non-stop Christmas music. Then, just like it came, it was gone the day after and they were back to playing Dan Folgelberg and Love songs after dark.

But now things have changed. They start to play Christmas songs earlier and earlier. In fact you can't wait to hear something other than Christmas songs, (Or an Adam Sandler lets celebrate Hanukkah.) By the time Christmas gets here.

This being said, there is a "rule" in the Nate Poulson household that there will be "NO playing of Christmas music until Thanksgiving day." That's fair right?
Well the other day I had just talked to my family in Utah and heard it had snowed then I saw that they are putting up the Christmas lights display for "Sweet Lights" and I just couldn't help myself.
I popped in Jewels Christmas CD and had fun teaching Liam Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer while I sang the Harmony.

I had totally forgotten about this "infraction" and went about my business as usual. That is until we all got into the car and as soon as the car turns on, you hear Oh Little town of Bethlehem blaring from the speakers and Liam screaming "It's Christmas moosic Dada it's Christmas Moosic Shhhh don't tell Dada..."

BUSTED!

I of course pleaded the fifth and pretend that Liam had asked for it, and explained to him how disgusted I was that someone would be listening to Christmas music mid-October. The NERVE!

The problem is I can't get it out of my system. It's like the constant smell of chocolate has made me all loopy and all I think about is Hot Chocolate and chestnuts roasting on an open fire. (has anyone really roasted Chestnuts? Or is that a family tradition I was robbed of?)


(And yes this picture is straight out of the 80's with that awesome hair-do my mom is sporting and my awesome perm!
And yes we matched on purpose. I won't even go into detail about the time I wore our tree skirt as an actual skirt...)


So if you happen to pull along side me and hear Garth singing Christmas in country or Jewel yodeling Rudolph or the angelic opera sound of Josh Groban and O Holy Night...Just turn the other way or better yet sing right along with me.





Just to help you all get in the mood a little early. ENJOY!

(I had to remove the music box cause it was driving Nate and a few others crazy!)

9 Month Comparison

So here is a picture for Flash back Friday, (except that it's Saturday...)
I found these pictures of the boys, wearing the same outfit. (one of my very favorites. Thanks again Aunt Amy. A second time around!)
Maybe they gave me the wrong baby at the hospital? Or maybe because I am with them all I time and they are so different, they look different to me?
Anyways here are my beautiful little guys.

What would you do for a klondike bar???

So, Nate was so lucky and got the whole weekend off. Something that doesn't happen all too often especially lately.
I took full advantage of this and crammed in a bunch of my "TO DO's". Much to Nate's chagrin I'm sure, but he put on a brave face. He might have even enjoyed some of it!
First on the list: Family pictures. They turned out awesome! Thanks Annie. But you won't get to see it until I send out my Christmas card.
Second: Take pictures of my favorite row of tree's in the Fall. (check)
I'd promised to get some last year and the next thing I knew, a rain storm came through and in an instant they had all fallen off the tree's and my window of opportunity had closed until this year. These pictures don't do them justice so plan a trip to Hershey next year to see them in person. Totally worth it!




Third: Go to a local Orchard for Apple/pumpkin picking with the Banzhafs. (check)
The Banzhaf's asked if we wanted to join them on their traditional Paulus Orchard run. I of course said YES!

We got a little lost and happened to park in front of a good Samaritan, who took us to the Orchard personally. (Shame on me for thinking his true intentions were to take us to a remote location, kill us and take the boys...Ha who in their right mind would want 3 three years olds, a 9 month old and a 5 month old. Two of which are still nursing.)

The kids had an awesome time, but to tell you the truth, I think Nate and Mike enjoyed it the most.
They really wanted some of the Golden Delicious apples which had been really picked over, except for the tippy tops. So here is a clip of our "BIG" geniuses getting those apples...



Poor Owen. I think most of his pictures have the same background. (The green stroller) Sorry Kid! But he really enjoyed gumming this Cameo. Mmmmm





Liam on the other hand caught on and went right to work. Those apples are screwed on pretty tight!

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Here are some of the other photos from the days activities. We had a great time. And the Apples are delicious. I'd make a pie, but I'm a weirdo and I hate cooked fruit. Yuck!

Owen 8 months and counting...

So Owen has hit a few more milestones as of late. He got in his lower incisors, and the uppers seem to be coming in right behind. He still won't eat baby food, but any table food he can get his hands on, makes him extremely happy.

He also learned to drink from a straw. Both he and Liam learned this little trick at 8 months. It's so funny to see someone this small drinking from a straw. It makes it nice for transitioning purposes though.

But most importantly, he has started to Crawl, well more like commando crawl, where he drags himself across the floor with his elbows. He's actually pretty quick at it and we've had to start the baby proofing. The stairs are now blocked by the gate, and the doors to all the bathrooms must be closed at all times.
Like I said before, the time has seemed to fly by with this little guy. It makes me a little sad that he is getting big so fast, but at the same time I love how fun he is getting. He loves to play with Liam and Nate and wants to be doing whatever Liam is doing.

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