Category: Nem Nem Niamh

Love, A Building on Fire

Alex / / Alex, Mago Elf Liam, Nem Nem Niamh, Songs

I don’t know how I missed this Talking Heads song. It’s hard to imagine I never heard it (even for my crowded, unorganized, largely unrecognized collection). One day it just lit me up–even while I’m not entirely certain I understand it.

When my love stands next to your love/I can’t define love/when it’s not love/which is my face/which is a building/which is on fire!

I played it and sang it to the kids and Tia. The kids especially cracked up.

(I later learned that Mago thought I wrote and recorded this song. I wish.)

Just now I had this conversation with Nem when I played the song:

Nem: Sing it!
Me: No, I want to eat.
Nem (cries and pouts) Nooo, *you* sing it!
Me: I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to break your heart!
Nem: Okay, I’ll get ready to laugh.

Children and Toys

Alex / / Alex, Nem Nem Niamh

As I carried Nem-nem on my shoulders recently, on a walk:

Nem-nem: “All children have toys.”
Me: “No, not all children do. I’m sad about that. And some children have sad things in thier lives. Even so sad that some people don’t want to talk about them.”
Nem: “Like they don’t have computers? . . . Or thier parents don’t have computers?”

Your life is more good than you know, Nem. I’m grateful.

Getting out into nature

Tia / / Critters, Mago Elf Liam, Nem Nem Niamh, Tia, Uncategorized


We hiked to Stuart Falls on the 4th of July with cousins, mostly for the beauty of nature but also in order to deny the existence of any parade. Friday, we went to Provo Falls in the Uintahs and it was so pretty. I remembered my Camera but forgot my memory card. Still trying hard to be outside with my kids, I took them to float on pool rafts in Deer Creek Reservoir. They were excited to do this, but when we got there they didn’t like the dirty water or the rocky beach. Still we got an hour of entertainment out of our $10 parking fee …sheesh. Afterward Mago said, ” I want to just throw this whole lake in the dump!” and Nem nem said, “Yeah, or the graveyard!” They did say they would like to go out on it in a boat, though.

Nemmy’s canopy drape over her bed is a caniky, and a bikini is a vikini. A few days ago she found an earwig climbing her caniky when she woke up and now she keeps waking me up at night with imagined bugs.

In our backyard this evening I saw three baby deer drinking milk from their mama. I ran for my camera but missed it. My neighbor said he saw 8 babies all together one morning recently. I need to spend more time out there.

Vegetable Wars

Alex / / Nem Nem Niamh, Tia

Every day is a battle to get vegetables into Nem’s tummy. (Nem is four years old at this writing.)

This evening:

Tia: Nem, come here and get some veggies in your tummy…
Nem: Actually, I don’t very much eat those.

I chuckle.

Nem: What? What’s funny?
Me: You are.
Nem: No I’m not.
Me: I think you’re being very silly.
Nem: No, that’s not silly!

Later, I could’nt recall how she phrased her reply (to write this), so I asked her.

Me: Nem, what did you say about vegetables?
Nem: I said I don’t very much eat those…And it’s not funny. At all.

Sleep talking

Alex / / Nem Nem Niamh

In her sleep, Nem says:

But mom, my tummy says to eat one more snack.

I go to her room and whisper:

I think you’re OK.

She starts to protest, then breaks off grinning, half laughing (still in her sleep):

No wait, I was just dreaming it.

I start to chuckle, and impulsively, still in her sleep, she puts her arms around me and turns my head to kiss me on the cheek. I start laughing but try to stay quiet, and – still in her sleep! – she asks:

Why are you laughing?

(why would I not laugh?)

I don’t explain, and she kisses me and continues sleeping.

Bargain

Alex / / Nem Nem Niamh

[Tia apparently sent this from her phone via email a few days ago (too long to send via twitter?)]

subject: can’t twitter this

I promised Nemnem that if she ate a whole banana, I would buy her a beautiful sparkly wand. It wasn’t enough so I added a princess dress and she added a doughnut and icecream.  She cried through the whole process of chewing and swallowing one bite, then cried, “Just buy those things!”

Final NASA shuttle flight ~4 AM MST 2011-06-03

Alex / / Alex, Mago Elf Liam, Media, Nem Nem Niamh, Tia, Video

Last Friday we woke the kids up early and drove to a view down the street to watch the final space shuttle flight, which we learned would be visible over the west-northwest horizon.  It was, and I videotaped it.  This video features this and the kids, as well as repeated misuse of the term “rocket” where “shuttle” was meant.  The video player isn’t displaying high-definition popups at full resolution (a longstanding problem I’ve found no solution for, and no acceptable alternative player either), so downloading and playing it from the link will have to do.  Sorry, no medium-resolution version of this.

What sweeter fruit than this?

Alex / / Alex, Mago Elf Liam, Nem Nem Niamh, Songs

Reading in bed, I heard Nem-Nem and Mago in the kitchen arguing over apple slices.  After a while Nem came in and sat on the bed.

Dad, Mago didn’t let me have all the apples.

What happened?

Mago wasn’t sharing, and I wasn’t sharing.

How many apples are there?

Three.

What can you do?

She pauses, then says unhappily:

Share.

How?

I have three apples, and Mago have one.

Nem fills her mouth with an apple slice and starts chewing.  I ask:

But how does that work?

I hold up three fingers.

If there are three apples, and you have three apples,

– I put back down the three fingers

– there aren’t any left for Mago. What can you do next time?

After a long pause, then frowning, Nem says:

Mago have three apples, and I have one.

I hope there would be enough for you both.  But what can you do now?

After another long pause she says:

Hugs.  Kisses.

I have tasted the fruit of a tree which is sweeter above all.

The tree of life my soul hath seen
Laden with fruit and always green
The fruits of nature fruitless be
Compared with Christ the Appletree

This beauty doth all things excel
By faith I know but ne’er can tell
The glory which I now can see
In Jesus Christ the apple tree

For happiness I long have sought
And pleasure dearly have I bought
I missed of all but now I see
‘Tis found in Christ the Appletree

I’m weary’d with my former toil
Here I will sit and rest awhile
Under the shadow I will be
Of Jesus Christ the Appletree

This fruit doth make my soul to thrive
It keeps my dying faith alive
Which makes my soul in haste to be
With Jesus Christ the Appletree

From the Mouth of Babes

Alex / / Alex, Mago Elf Liam, Nem Nem Niamh

Me: Well, you guys did it!
Mago: Did what?
Me: You made a long, hard hike and saw a beautiful, rare arch.
Mago: Rare?
Me: It’s the only one like it in the world.* And I think God made it beautiful, so that we could see it.
Nem: Yeah, Heavenly Father and Jesus are beautiful, because they make everything beautiful.

*This is a safe generalization, as it may technically be true, but is probably generally false.

Princess shoes, Bakugan search

Alex / / Alex, Mago Elf Liam, Nem Nem Niamh

Recently, Nem-nem was very delighted to have me take her shoe shopping when I thought (mistakenly, I now learn) we were looking at all of her shoes and she didn’t have the shoes she needs. (But she’s outgrowing what she has quickly.)

At the store, she lit up, running from shoe to shoe, saying “Oh, look at this one!” – and settled with assorted “princess” (deliberately so branded) shoes.

On the way, Mago spotted a Bakugan he came to want, and was disappointed I wasn’t buying it.

He’s kept it in mind since, and decided today that he wanted to go buy it with money he earned. But the day grew too late with other activities before we could get to the store. I told him maybe I could go buy it with his money after bed time. The problem is.. while he clearly remembers the specific one among many, I’m not sure I do.

So, as we headed in to the house for bed time, I asked him to remind me what the Bakugan looks like. He says:

“I can’t actually demonstrate to you what it looks like. Unless I show you on paper”.

Mago couldn’t draw the Bakugan, so we tried a web search and found it. Says he, looking at a product search result for the Bakugan:

“According to someone, it’s four stars. According to me, it’s thirty-eight stars.”