2 Weeks Without Television and Counting

Jess and I are not big TV watchers. We average 1-2 hours a week. Our kids on the other hand LOVE the television. We do not subscribe to cable, therefore they are only interested in PBS programming which isn't too bad. When I was "bed-ridden," the TV saved me. The kids watched it ALL day long while I remained in the fetal position. But, during Christmas break I snapped. I couldn't take any more of the TV. I had Jess remove our bulky, old 32 inch- screened television from the toy room. For the past two weeks we have gone without the TV. And, you know what?--- My kids are imaginative and creative and actually love playing with their toys and reading their books and putting together their puzzles. No longer do I wake up to Arthur or Martha Speaks. I usually am awakened by the sounds of pirates and fairies and race cars and whatever else they happen to be playing with. During Christmas break, Simon and I each took a turn reading one paragraph at a time from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We have since finished it and have moved onto Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. Yesterday, I found Ava thumbing through all of the pages of her Beatrix Potter books and silently reading them to herself.

As a youth, I adored the TV. In fact, people who have food addictions describe their love of eating as "comforting." I found this to be true with the television. It was comforting to watch Full House or Saturday morning infomercials or celebrity news shows or Made-for-TV-movies. Anything that could be watched, I watched it. I've since changed my ways and have shunned the TV for various reasons.

Anyway, I didn't mean for this blog entry to become preachy or self-righteous. The majority of moms out there are much more savvy when it comes to setting rules and scheduling their kids' days around productive activities. I, on the other hand, have a problem as a parent controlling the amount of television watched by my 3 young children. The solution right now has been to confiscate all signs of the TV. We'll see how long that lasts. I hope it is forever. But, I highly doubt that with the way Jess has been eye-ing all of the flat screen TV's at Costco lately. I thought it would be appropriate to end this post with a chant sung by the Oompa Loompa's (in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) in response to the naughty boy, Mike Teavee:

So please, oh please, we beg, we pray,

Go throw your TV set away,

And in its place you can install

A lovely bookshelf on the wall.

Then fill the shelves with lots of books,

Ignoring all the dirty looks,

The screams and yells, the bites and kicks,

And children hitting you with sticks-

Fear not, because we promise you

That, in about a week or two

Of having nothing else to do,

They'll now begin to feel the need

Of having something good to read.

And once they start -oh boy, oh boy!

You watch the slowly growing joy

That fills their hearts. They'll grow so keen

They'll wonder what they'd ever seen

In that ridiculous machine,

That nauseating, foul unclean,

Repulsive television screen!

And later, each and every kid

Will love you more for what you did.

--Roald Dahl

Back from the Dead

I am starting to feel slightly normal again, so I thought that I would give a recap of the Warren family Christmas. I am thankful to all of our friends who invited us over for dinner, for a movie, for a social gathering, and even for Christmas Eve. I felt so blessed at a time when I have been physically and emotionally unstable. Your generosity and kindness lifted my spirit!

Because of the state that I found myself in this month, Jess and I decided that Santa would bring the kids a trip to Disneyland for Christmas. I could not do a lot of shopping this year, because I was too sick to move most days. I did manage to buy them a few things that they could open up on Christmas morning including books, clothing, and other smaller items. And of course, they had plenty of presents to unwrap from their grandparents. Our Disneyland vacation will take place at the end of this month which has given the kids something to look forward to even with Christmas being said and done.

Jess asked me what I wanted for Christmas this year, and without hesitation I told him that I wanted my house cleaned "Mandy-style." No surface cleaning. No stacking. No neat piles. I wanted everything to be deep cleaned including base boards vacuumed, blinds dusted, and all hard floors washed. Jess spent his entire week off working on a different set of rooms while furiously throwing in loads of laundry and taking care of the needs of the kids. I couldn't have asked for a better gift.

On December 31st, we invited 2 families over to ring in the New Year with. The kids played and had a merry time while the adults socialized, munched on snacks, and played games.

I love the holidays starting with Halloween and ending with New Year's. But I do have to admit, I am glad that we are now entering into the month of January. I am excited about getting over morning sickness, and I am even more excited about our trip at the end of the month!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all our friends and family!

There were never such devoted sisters

What do post-war America, Vermont, Technicolor and the Haynes sisters have in common?

White Christmas.

Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera Ellen. Does Christmas get anymore tweed than that? This 1954 classic was a staple growing up in the Hanks home. And since we were mostly a household of sisters (6 to 1), our favorite song was undoubtedly, “Sisters.” This act was a tough one to follow. Betty and Judy. Feathers and sequins. Girdles and hoop skirts. Wallace and Davis. Any girl who has a sister understands how anthematic this song is:

Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters.
Never had to have a chaperone, no sir, I'm here to keep my eye on her.
Caring Sharing, every little thing that we are wearing
When a certain gentleman arrived from Rome, she wore the dress and I stayed home.
All kinds of weather, we stick together, the same in the rain or sun.
Two different faces but in tight places we sing and we act as one, aha.
Those who've seen us know that not a thing can come between us.
Many men have tried to split us up but no one can.
Lord, help the Mister, who comes between me and my sister.
And Lord, help the sister, who comes between me and my man!

Some of my fondest memories growing up revolve around my sisters. I was fortunate enough to have developed a special relationship with Mandy when we were both newlyweds and next door neighbors some 9 years ago in Provo Utah. And like this film, those years were filled with nostalgia. I'm so fortunate to have such a great friend in my sister.











Posted by Rachel

Giving Thanks

Warning: I had Jess proofread this before I published it and his comment was, "People are going to be grossed out by our love fest."

I have a lot to be thankful for this season. But I want to recognize someone who I am the most thankful for-- my husband. Every night when he arrives home from work, he usually finds me on my death bed. After trying to console me, he'll begin making some sort of specific dinner that I am currently craving. He does the day's dishes, throws in a load of laundry, picks up the family room, and sweeps up all the crumbs that have accumulated on the kitchen floor. At night, he has taken on the responsibility of brushing our kids' teeth, reading to them, and tucking them into bed. He even sits in my son's room until Brahm has safely been lulled to sleep.

For Thanksgiving, he made the entire meal and washed all of the dinner dishes. He even persuaded me to get out of the house and go to the movie theater with the family. Promises of popcorn, soda, and candy to ease my nausea were kept, so I could sit through the 2 hour feature.

On Sundays he is usually busy with morning meetings, but somehow manages to make pancakes for the kids, dress them for church, and have a fresh loaf of herb bread waiting for us to devour when we arrive home from our 3 hour block.

He does this all without complaining and without giving me a hard time. Tonight he encouraged me to write on my blog, all the while, he is giving the kids their evening bath.

Jess makes me laugh and dispels any sort of pain that I am feeling. I love him dearly and I don't know what I would do without him.

Happy Birthday Mandy!!

She's the one on the right

The hot one on the far left

On the red raft


The cute little baby

We love you Mandy! In your tradition, here are some random things about you that I love.

Love, Jess


--Mandy is an avid Scuba Diver. She has been to Honduras and the Cayman Islands among other exotic places (like Lake Mead).

--She is 6th of 8 children (5 of 7 living).

--She is a licensed cosmetologist in Utah and Nevada.

--Mandy and I have known each other for more than half of our lives (since we were both 14 years old.

--Mandy is an accomplished violin and piano player.

--She had Brahm without an epidural; not because she wanted to, but because it happened so fast. Her average labor and delivery has been around 3 hours each time. Brahm was born within 30 minutes of when we walked through the doors of the hospital (and we left the house after her first contraction)!

--Mandy ran track in high school and played volleyball. She is quite the closet athlete.

--She can flare her nose at lightening quick speed; you should ask her to do it sometime—it is pretty impressive!

--Mandy makes the best food. She naturally is a great cook and loves to try new recipes (hint- hint to all of you recipe sharers out there). One of her best dishes is a savory zucchini pie—yummmmm!

--Mandy had an illustrious modeling career during her college years. She has been on anything from billboards to book covers and everything in between. More than 10 years after the pictures were taken, her likeness can still be found on hair dye boxes at many local dollar stores.

--Mandy is a certified chocoholic. She HAS to have something sweet after dinner, and it better be chocolate something or someone is gonna get it!

--Mandy’s favorite era is the 50’s. She wishes she could go back to those glamorous yet innocent days and go to a “mocktail” party.

--She also loves a classic black and white or foreign film. She cannot stand your average summer blockbuster.

--Mandy grew up with 5 sisters. Somehow her one brother (the youngest) came out with at least some masculinity intact. It could have something to do with her dad simulating natural disasters with the Barbie motor home (i.e. earthquakes, falling off a cliff, etc).

--Mandy was born and raised in Las Vegas in the same house her whole life.

--Her parents spent two full years on a mission to Cameroon, Africa.

--Not only has Mandy never sworn, but she does not even use fake swear words. There are certain words that “we do not say in our home.” Anything that could be a replacement swear word and a few others that she does just not like the way that they sound are taboo in the Warren household. She is especially sensitive to what words we can use when describing bodily functions.

--She has had a very tough time with morning sickness when pregnant. This time around, not only is she having a hard time with scents, but certain visual things as well. Do not mention digital SLR cameras or her blog around her or she will start gagging. Some other strange scents have been bothering her this time around as well; like her own body, whether freshly showered or not (of course, she has never stunk a day in her life).

--Like most mothers, Mandy’s number one priority is her children. Her life revolves around them. It is like pulling teeth to even get her on a date night without them.

--Mandy is a little OCD. She checks the stove, lights, garage door, etc multiple times before leaving to go somewhere to make sure everything is off/shut/locked. She asks me EVERY night if I have brushed Brahm’s teeth or said my prayers (99 times out of 100 times after I have already done it). Many times we will be 2 miles away from our house going somewhere and she will say, “wait, did we shut the garage?!!”

--She spent some time working in day spas and salons during her life. As a result, she LOVES a good pampering and is a bit of a product snob (she insists that only the salon quality hair and skin products will not make you bald and shriveled).

--She has always had quite the eye for photography. She has no formal training and has never had top of the line equipment, but as you can see from some of her blog posts, she does a great job.

--She is the most thoughtful, loyal, and wonderful person you could ever meet! Anyone lucky enough to know her can attest to her kind heart and loving nature.

Brahm's Birthday

Lest you all begin to scrutinize and criticize the quality of this post, let me begin by clarifying that this is Jess, the lesser half of the Team Warren executive duo. Although I pride myself in my numchuck, bow hunting, and computer hacking skills, I am definitely lacking in the blogging skills that Mandy has developed. In recent weeks, Mandy has compared the journey of blogging to a trans-oceanic journey. Not so much because of the adventure, learning, or sense of accomplishment. It is mostly the sea-sickness. The whole scrolling up and down thing gets her everytime, so I am stepping in. A designated hitter, if you will (or for the 99% of you reading this that are probably not sports fans, a few similar examples would be a substitute teacher, a guest host, or maybe someone who helps you do your cross-stitching when you are busy doing something else like blogging or whatever you women do).

Anyway, now that I have gotten that out of the way, it’s on to more important things. Brahm just turned two today!! He is the cutest little guy with such a fun personality and we just love him to pieces! I wanted to get some pictures of him up on the blog since Mandy has been so good about doing that with everyone on their birthdays.

The newborn, with his tufts of black hair and killer tan. We used to call him "Mr. St. Tropez."

In his younger (and more plump) days

Brahm has an obsession with hats. Last night he went to bed wearing two. And they always have to be Daddy's big, way oversized hats


Such a cute and happy boy!


Getting ready to blow out the candles


Brahm and Simon after throroughly enjoying some birthday cake. This is his classic "say cheese" face, with one eye half closed and the other completely shut.

Enjoying the spoils. Of course, one of his gifts was a hat, and he could not have been happier!

Happy 2, mi hombrecito!!

You are my Brahmy, my only Brahmy,

You make me happy when skies are gray.

You'll never know how much I love you,

Please don't take my Brahmy away!