Merry Christmas: 2009 Edition

Am I the only one who, on Christmas Eve, contemplates putting Christmas off for a few days? It's sad to think that all the fun and excitement and suspense will soon be over. And now Christmas has been gone for 4 days. Sad...

It was a good Christmas. All of my brothers and their wives and my parents were in town to celebrate the day. It took a long time to open presents (we go one at a time), so N was getting restless - A and his cousin took their naps. I think they were probably relieved.

DH gave me a Gorillapod. It's a moveable, bendable, twist-around-anything-able, set-up-on-uneven-ground-able tripod. Too bad it's freezing and snowing outside so we can't take a brisk hike and try it out. Soon...

DH is excited for his snowboarding trip. Kind of hard to have one of those in NC and LV, where it only snows once a year.

N and A had a good time. Now we're trying to get back to real life. Trying being the key word. Any tips?

My brothers and I started a new tradition. We take turns choosing a theme for the presents that we give to each other. This year, DH and I chose "Homemade". We gave the brothers homemade jams and jellies. They were received with joy. We received a beautiful braided rug, and bisquick mix (have I ever mentioned how much I love bisquick? This is not just for the benefit of my brother and his wife. I LOVE bisquick. Pancakes, waffles, biscuits, cheeseburger pie - all in a matter of minutes {well, not the cheeseburger pie, [btw, thanks Annie for introducing me to this lovely meal]} with very few ingredients? Okay, that's all. But I really do love it!) Next year's theme, announced on Christmas, is "Camping Wishlist". Wow! I can't wait! Any good ideas to put on our wishlist?

Traditions

Being married is an adventure. I love it! Having young kiddos is another adventure. And I love it! The Christmas season is overflowing with traditions, and merging two people's traditions is part of the fun of being married. Luckily, DH and I are both pretty easy-going people (confession: he's more easy-going than I). Merging traditions hasn't been hard. He brought the tradition of having Eggs Benedict for Christmas Day breakfast. Now we have Eggs Benedict for breakfast on Christmas. I brought the tradition of Ham as the main course for Christmas dinner. Now we have Ham as the main course for Christmas. And we have Christmas dinner on Christmas Day, not Christmas Eve (his). And we wait until after breakfast to open under-the-tree presents (mine)(stockings get opened when everyone is up). See? Easy.

This year, N is older. And more involved. It's been fun to begin making "our" Christmas traditions. Like decorating stockings. Since A didn't have a stocking and we were going to have to buy one anyway, we decided to buy the cheap felt stockings ($1 each, at Walmart) and spend some time decorating them (with buttons, ribbon, bells, fabric paint, etc). We had a great time! And after Christmas we'll throw them out and start fresh next year. To see our stockings, click here.

Name the Movie

Anyone? We watched this movie a couple of nights before heading on our trip to California for Thanksgiving. When we stopped at a rest stop along I-70, I saw this bottle top and HAD to take a picture. Even though I really didn't like the flick. It had it's funny parts, but mainly... not going to be one that I purchase anytime soon. But it was a fun coincidence. So, can you name the movie? Have you seen it? Did you like it?

5 Tips and Tricks to a Successful Bedtime

1. Set a routine!!! My kiddos get a bath before bed. (most nights).

2. Sing bedtime songs. The last song is always the same for us.

3. No lights on. For A, he likes the door closed.

4. Have kiddos snuggle with their blankets and loveys.

5. Snuggle time. After her songs, N likes a few minutes of snuggling.

To check out other bedtime tricks, go here. Also, you may want to take a look at DramaU.

My First...

My First Blog Giveaway...The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me. My choice. For you. (I know...a little scary, but maybe fun, huh?)

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1- I make no guarantees that you will like it .

2- It will be just for you.

3- It'll be done by the end of December.

4- You have no clue what it's going to be.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must re-post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did it will then win a Fabulous homemade something made by me! Ready, Set,....GO!!!

Sorry it took me so long, Lisa!

Ramblings

It never ceases to amaze me how different my kiddos are. When N was a baby, she didn't care about stuffed animals, dolls, or blankets. I made her a special feely blanket and it was old news in less than a day. A, on the other hand, loves stuffed animals, his feely blanket (yeah, N's was inaccessible, so I made him a new one) continues to be a good distraction. N has grown into the blanket loving stage and also loves her Teddy, but that's it. I keep trying to introduce new dolls and animals, but none of them have taken. They are just so different! Which apparently is normal....

I have a hard time finding hair-dressers. And so I'm currently stuck. I can tell on the first cut if it will be a good relationship. I haven't found one here yet. My favorite girl needs to move a bit closer. 5 hours is a bit of a distance for a haircut.

A threw up. It's the first time that one of my children has been throw-up sick. Not that it's a new thing or that it has never happened to anyone else. Because I'm sure it has. And I'm sorry. Because when it's your own child you feel so helpless. So now you all know, even though you probably didn't want to know.

Because of the A's sickness, I went to church today by myself. DH took N to our ward, then came home so that I could attend the next ward. It was strange to be sitting all by myself. I mean, I shared the pew with other people, just not my family. I was definitely able to listen better, which was a nice change, especially since it was a missionary homecoming talk. She got back from Taiwan on Tuesday. She and her brothers spoke and they all had some really good thoughts. I'm glad that something good came out of today.

My neighbor is publishing a book. When I make my bucket list, I think publishing a book will be on there....

DH and I decided that N should start watching movies. She needs to experience new things. Because of Wii Fit, she's very good at doing the hula-hoop (without the actual hoop). And she does it everywhere. So we've starting watching movies. We're currently about half-way through Mary Poppins. And she's seen Chicken Little. She is really enjoying the movies, though she gets caught up in little things (like the first time we paused Mary Poppins, Jane had her eyes closed. Now N can't wait to see Jane with her eyes closed, even though we've watched it at lease twice since then. N's attention span isn't up to an entire movie).

Just "Flew In"

My uncle "flew in" to visit for a couple of days. Literally. How cool is that? He's working on his pilot's license. I've decided that I'll add "Pilot a plane" to my bucket list. Wait a minute... I don't have a bucket list. Maybe I should start one... Does it count if I put things on the list that I've already done? Hmmm...

Halloween

Halloween is not my favorite holiday. When I was little I had fun with it. I enjoyed dressing up, eating candy, making donuts, drinking cider. Then I grew up. And became a teacher. And began disliking the holiday. Chaos in the classroom. Students on a sugar-high. Big mess. Unending parade through the school, in front of all of the parents. AHHHH!!!

Then I had a baby. And she was fun to dress up. And this year she's been able to do some simple halloween crafts. And I started thinking that maybe halloween wasn't so bad. The night before halloween we decorated pumpkins. DH and I carved ours and our daughter used a Mr. Pumpkinhead kit. Isn't it cute? Doesn't it scream, "Some child created me and likes me?" Definitely not an adult pumpkin, right?

SO WHY SMASH IT????

I don't understand the thinking behind smashing jack-o-lanterns. But when I found that they'd smashed my daughters OBVIOUSLY child-decorated pumpkin I was FURIOUS. Luckily, she wasn't as shook up as I thought she would be. And I was able to salvage the pieces (except for the ears. Why would somebody smash a pumpkin and then steal the ears? I tell you, I'm clueless!). BUT STILL!!! Our neighborhood streets were lined with all of the pumpkins that had been smashed. And I realize that after halloween, the jack-o-lanterns aren't good for very much, but they could at least ASK to smash my pumpkin!

Next year I'll have to begin again to start liking halloween...

Wonderment #2

Why do hunters wear camouflage when they still have to wear a bright orange vest? And aren't deer colorblind anyway?

Moose Sighting

This past weekend we visited my Uncle and Aunt. We'd heard stories of the beautiful area where they live, how moose pass their back fence often, deer graze within view daily, the river is a walk away, the voles digging in the backyard. So we decided to see if the stories were all true (besides which, we wanted to visit). My personal hope was to see a moose. So we went.

And it lived up to all the stories. A picturesque (I love that word!) place. It was completely peaceful. The kiddos had a great time, DH and I had a great time visiting with my aunt and uncle, and we saw not one moose, but FOUR! Two cows walking through the trees, and a mama with her calf as we were taking a walk by the river.

This is our first moose sighting. By the time I got the camera out, they were deep into the trees.

It was a five hour trip to get there and five hours back (it would be shorter without kids:) but well worth the time. The kiddos had so much fun that they were exhausted and slept more than halfway back home.

This is the view from their deck. Who would ever want to leave this place?

Next time I'll be more specific and hope to see a Bull Moose...

What?!?!

Dear Readers, Friends,

My daughter has a favorite color. It's PINK. What?!?!

Love,

Me :)

P.S. I've recently come to the point of liking (and admitting that I like) purple. But my toddler daughter insists on everything being pink. Her halloween bucket - a pink pumpkin. Her shirt everyday - pink. Her hair elastics - pink. She loves her shoes because they're pink. And her boots. And the mittens that are too small for her that she found and insists on wearing - because they're pink. Where did I go wrong? What am I going to do?

Cashew Cake, drizzled with white chocolate (instead of the usual brown), is delicious!

I Won!

I recently went to a Taste of Home Cooking show with my mom and sister-in-law. It was a really good show, with a lot of great recipes demonstrated. There were a bunch of companies that set up booths to look at, trying to get you to buy their wares. And yes, I did buy something. Avon had a booth and had some really great earrings for sale at a really great price. They're larger than I usually wear, but I'm excited to try to wear them.

Well, at the end of the show a lot of local companies had donated items to for a giveaway. And I WON!!! I never win door prizes, so I was pretty ecstatic. Almost as amazing - the emcee pronounced my name CORRECTLY. Strangers never do that. First graders do. Adults don't. It was fantabulous!

A Wonderment

From the story of the Ugly Duckling:

How did the swan egg end up in the middle of a duck's nest? Especially without the Mama Duck knowing it had been added? Wouldn't she have realized that there was an extra egg in her nest? And hadn't she ever seen a baby swan before to know that it wasn't really a duckling?

Recap

I'm a huge blogging slacker! Wow! Here's a quick recap:

We went hiking to some falls that are about an hour away. They were GORGEOUS!!! WOW!!! The hike to the falls was short - less than half a mile. But there was a hike up to a lake, with a stop at the "Upper Falls". We thought we'd made it the upper falls, but we found out (from talking with some hikers on our way back down) that we were half a mile short of the upper falls. It was a good hike. We each carried a kiddo on our back and we ate our picnic on a huge rock and we hiked back down. The hike down was much shorter than the hike up. Crazy how that always happens.

We've been harvesting from our garden. We've eaten tomatoes, zucchini, purple beans (that turn green when you cook them. Kind of a disappointment...), and patty pan squash (I'd never heard of it before, and there's really not a lot of taste {similar to zucchini} but they're really cute! I will definitely plant them again).

We're selling my car :( A friend is helping us out and selling it in Utah. So if you or anyone you know is interested in buying a beautiful, blue, 2005 Volkswagen Passet TDI, let me know. We have one available...

Back to School

School is starting again. I haven't had a first day of school for 4 years. It doesn't seem like it. I feel like it was yesterday when I was setting up my classroom, and writing first-day-of-school lesson plans. As I walk down the back-to-school aisles, I get nostalgic. I really enjoyed teaching. I loved the students and I loved learning from them. Amazing lessons...

Arthur taught me that people live up to the expectations set for them. If you believe in them, they will believe in themselves.

Mary taught me that people can overcome what life throws at them.

Sam taught me that learning is important and that even when it's not fun, it's still important to learn.

Alma and Saul taught me to take the time to learn about the individual - their needs, their abilities, their likes and dislikes.

Brent taught me to accept my limits. And that I'm not accountable for the choices of other people.

Peace taught me to look for the humor in things.

Marcus taught me that kids are still kids. And even little boys sometimes need to cry. And it's okay.

I could go on and on (and I only taught for three years!). Each of my students helped me learn to be a better teacher and a better person. And now...

I have 2 little permanent "students" - or should I say "teachers". And even though I'm not setting up my classroom, or making first-day-of-school lesson plans, I'm still in the thick of teaching. I'm still learning something new every day. And I'm loving it!

*names of students have been changed

County Fair

It was a fun, busy week. Animal shows every day - horse, dog, sheep, goat, pig, beef. Extra entertainment for the last 3 days. Fun to be had for all. DH* (look! I really am getting to be a true blogger.) tried to catch the greased pig. It was incredibly large. He didn't catch it. But he had fun trying! We watched the chicken ropin'. Not really entertaining. I entered the watermelon eating contest. I came in second in the adults. Not bad. I entered a bunch of pictures. Nothing like it for help in the humility department. 7 pictures. 2 ribbons - 1 second place and 1 third place. I entered a couple pieces of jewelry. 1 blue ribbon (thanks, Elizabeth! Something good came of that crazy Super Saturday after all!) and 1 red. Some granola - another red. My daughter got blue for both of her entries (one also got Grand Champion!). Out done by a 2 year old. Chalk up some more help for humility. It was a lot of fun! Entertainment in a small town. Terrific!

*DH = Dear Husband

The True Story of the Cat and her Kittens from the Human Perspective

5:15 am - The neighbors dogs are barking. This sounds normal, but it's not. The neighbor's dogs are the best behaved dogs in the world (not an exaggeration). They never bark. One of them is growling.

7:06 am - The neighbors call to apologize for their dogs barking and to say that they were

barking at the fence in the general vicinity of the woodpile.

11:43 am - Two tough guys go outside to check behind the woodpile. Nothing. Hmmm....

The rest of the story isn't as set by time. It happens over the course of several days.

Since nothing was spotted, it's assumed that the cause of the barking has left and there's nothing to worry about. Until after the watering of the garden. The girl is walking back up the hill past the woodpile. She spys a black cat and a black kitten with a white tipped tail. The kitten is scurrying back behind the woodpile. The Mama starts to hiss. The girl excitedly runs inside and tells what she saw. Everyone brainstorms about the best way to rid the woodpile of the feral cat and her kittens. The neighbors are alerted.

The woman sprays the woodpile with water. The wood is drenched but no feline is seen.

The cat is seen at dusk, watching as three kittens romp in the grass. She sees the people watching and the kittens return to the woodpile.

The neighbors offer their live animal trap. Tuna is placed inside andthe trap isset strategically near the woodpile. The tuna is eaten but no cat is caught. The trap is too small to hold the cat. It's returned to the neighbors.

The high-powered water gun is used inthe hopes that the Mama will become uncomfortable and take her kittens elsewhere. But she returns.

The man buys a larger live animal trap and again places tuna inside.

A kitten takes the bait and the trap closes. The kitten is placed in a tall cardboard box. The trap is reset.

Within

the hour another kitten takes the bait. The Mama hisses and flares her tail as she

watches her kitten be carried away.

The final kitten is caught and placed with the others.

The trap is again placed, in the hopes that the Mama will want to join her babies. It takes a little longer, but she too, takes the bait.

The trap, with Mama inside, and the box with three kittens, are loaded onto the back of a truck. The man and the girl drive across the river. They find a secluded place and unload. First cage is placed on the ground, then the kittens are freed. Two stop to see their Mama, the third runs into the brush.

Mama is then freed and follows her kittens into the wild. They are together again, ready to find a new home.

Blogs Re-Visited

This is going to be a rambling post. So if you're looking for something of substance, this is not for you.

For those readers who have continued reading, I am going to re-visit the topic of "Blogs". My very first post was about this and almost two years later, I'm again pondering the topic.

I've become a "blogger". I used to check my emails in the morning (not that I ever got very many). Now I check my blogs.

I love to read blogs:

a) of family (brothers, cousins, uncles, aunts, etc). I love being able to stay up-to-date with their lives. I love being able to see pictures of families as they grow up.

b) of friends. I really like staying in touch with people and blogs allow me to know what's going on with people from my past. I like to know that other mothers my age also have crazy days. I like to know that people do fun things. I like hearing about books that friends have read. I like not having to remember to email/call/write the people, because honestly, I'd forget or procrastinate.

c) of random blogs that I've found when I've been "blogging". This includes the blogs I've found when looking at friends' blogs, clicking on their friend's blog, then their friend's blog, etc. Some of these random blogs are inspirational, others humorous, and still others educational. I love the variety.

But I still wonder about the purpose. I use it to keep people up to date with my life. I think it's kind of strange when people I don't know read it. But I do that with other people's blogs. Am I strange? My kiddos each have a private blog. Their's are to let grandparents, uncles, and aunts see their pictures and hear about their lives. I consider them online scrapbooks/baby books, because I know that I won't get real scrapbooks done past their first year, and then it's only the bare basics. I do, of course, have my photo blog for my favorite pictures. It makes me feel like a professional. Maybe someday...

My big wonderment, though, is about conventions for bloggers. Can anyone explain this to me? I understand conventions for groups of workers (education, dentistry, computers, etc). But blogging? Maybe I don't understand blogging after all...

P.S. Thanks to all who voted in my recent poll! You're all my heros/heroines!

Garden 2009: Take 2

Yes, we have moved to Colorado. Yes, the weather is nice (especially compared to LV). Yes, we left our garden behind (there wasn't room for it in the cars). Yes, we've planted a new garden. Maybe it will have time to give us some food before the frost freezes it all.

PS This was taken on July 4th. It has already grown a lot since then, I have just been a slacker about posting it. Oops!

International Space Station

courtesy of wikipedia.com

This past week the International Space Station was flying over Earth. Okay, I know that it always does that, but this was close. We watched it on Monday night and it was brighter than a lot of the stars in they sky. It moved across the sky, taking +/- 3 minutes to cross over us. It wasn't close enough to see the panels, but it was cool to see it.

I know this picture isn't at all clear, but it's the best that I took. It at least shows the brightness, using my telephoto lens.

Wii Fit

Just a quick plug before the actual reason for this post:  Do you see this poll? Please vote.  It will make me happy.  And you do want me to be happy, right?

Since moving to Colorado, I've been playing this game regularly and I LOVE IT!!!  I know that it doesn't sound like a game, but for me it really is just that.  It's fun to do the exercises and try to beat not only the other people that have played, but also myself.  The yoga portion is great, because the little yellow circle shows me where I should be, which is always the hard part for me in using videos for yoga, because I never know how I'm doing.  The games for balance are incredibly fun, and the aerobics are fun to do!  I have a hard time getting into the weight training, but I still do some.  

Funny story:  Yesterday I woke up and was still tired.  I decided it wouldn't hurt to skip a day, as I'm sitting in the chair wishing I could go back to bed.  Then my toddler says, "Do the hula hoop?".  The hula hoop is her favorite part of Wii Fit - it's pretty high up on my list also :).  So we did the hula hoop, along with a few other exercises.  

We Made It

We made it to Colorado.  The only casualty of the 12+ hour trip is my husband's car.  Our toddler got a little crazy with the milk she had for lunch from Subway and it sprouted a white fuzz on the dropped cherrios/pretzels/raisins/fries/who-knows-what-else.  Ewww, GROSS!!!  The baby, who we thought would be the calm, easy rider, wasn't.  He was pretty tired of his carseat after our trip to California, so being in it again wasn't his idea of fun.  The toddler was a great traveller, according to her dad and grandpa.

We fit everything that we wanted to bring into our 2 cars.  I kept piling things up in the living room, thinking that it would never fit into the cars, but my husband wasn't a bit worried and he did, amazingly, fit it all into the cars.

We've mostly unpacked the cars and gotten settled.  I'm sure it will take a while, but our baby is getting back on his schedule, and our toddler is learning that the rules don't change when we move (isn't that amazing?).  My husband has gotten settled in the office.  

The weather is a lot cooler here, almost to the point of cold (I've never been one for a lot of cold.  Crazy that I grew up in Colorado...).  And it rains.  A lot.  We haven't seen much of that in Las Vegas.  And it hails.  We never saw that in Las Vegas.

I ran to the grocery store today, and was reminded of small town life, as I ran into 3 people that I know, and saw another that I recognized from my hockey team 10 years ago (I couldn't remember his name, so I didn't say hello).  My toddler was with me on the trip to the grocery store, and in the parking lot we saw a saddled horse, along with the rider.  She let us pet the horse (name Osage).  Apparently, she's protesting gas prices and so is riding her horse instead of driving a car.  Gotta love small towns.  I can't imagine anyone riding a horse for errands in Las Vegas.  

Life is good...

"Free"

A few weeks ago I got a call from an in-home portrait company.  They said that I had been "given" a free 5x7 portrait (later I found out it was a referral and the friend didn't have to pay anything for it).  The company would come to my house, bring the needed equipment, take pictures of my kiddos, and then I would get a free 5x7 and not pay the sitting fee.  What could be better?  A free professional portrait.  I instantly agreed and we set up the time.  

The photographer came at the appointed time (well, actually she was 20 minutes early).  She set up her equipment - backdrop, flashes, tripod, camera - and was ready to start shooting.  First she wanted my baby, so I dressed him and she took pictures.  Then she took more of him bare-chested.  Then with hats.  Then with stuffed animals.  Then I changed him into the outfit that matched my toddler's.  The photographer took a few pictures.  Then my toddler got a picture taken.  I asked if I should change her clothes (thinking that she wanted the baby in something different and would want the same for my toddler).  No.  Another picture of my toddler.  Then changing the background and back to the baby.  A couple more of them together and the photographer started taking down the equipment.  She tried to sell me a package (3 sittings for a set amount, supposedly it would save me money later on), but I turned it down.  I askThen she left.  I was a little disturbed that she never asked me what I was looking for in the pictures and only took two of my toddler and a bazillion of the baby.  But, I knew that I was only going to take the free one, so it wasn't a huge deal and I didn't say anything to her.

A week and a half later I get a call, saying that my pictures are ready and there are some great pictures of my baby (no mention that I also have a toddler!).  We set up an appointment.

The salesman came at the appointed time, shook my hand, set up his laptop and we looked at the pictures.  He was nice and friendly.  Then we looked at the pictures again.  There were no good pictures of my baby in all the bazillion that were taken (it was his own fault really.  He was tired at the time they were taken).  However, of the two of my toddler, there was an adorable picture.  There were a couple of them together that were also really good.  Finally, he pulls out the paper that shows the packages.  They ranged from $150-$700.  After explaining all of the packages and specials, he asked what I wanted.  I asked if I could buy pictures without the package (I really wanted the one of my toddler).  He said, "No, but let's see what you want and I'll see what package we can fit it into."  So I came up with four 8x10's and one 5x7.  His price: $100.  I told him I would just take the free 5x7.  His demeanor completely altered.  He was still nice, but no longer friendly and not very good at hiding it.  He quickly put in my order (he upgraded me to an 8x10) and left, without shaking my hand.

Bottom Line:

I think the idea is fantastic!  Photographer comes to your home, takes pictures and leaves, coming back when the pictures are ready.

I wasn't impressed.  The photographer didn't ask for my opinions/wants for pictures that would hang in my home, nor did the salesman act professional when he didn't get a commission.

I think that when you say "free", you have to expect that there will be some who won't fall for the marketing trick and buy more pictures.  Because really, I only wanted the free one!

Feet

They are interesting things, feet.  They are a very important part of life, and yet they get next to no appreciation.  Pedicures are heavenly ... and few and far between (at least for me).  It's weird, I know, but I like to look at people's feet.  I don't know why.  Maybe it's because I've been teased mercilessly(we won't mention by whom, will we my brothers?) about my pinkie toe for as far back as I can remember and I want to see if other people have a disproportionately small pinkie toe.  Could be.  I really do like to look at them.  And photograph them (my kiddo's feet, at least.  We'll see if it continues as they get older).  But I really do NOT like touching anybody's feet but my own.  Ewww!!!  What would you call that?  It's not an oxymoron (though I do love that word!).  I think there must be a word for it ....  Maybe?

The Bellagio

I love the conservatory at the Bellagio.  I also love the fountains.  Yesterday we down one last time before the big move.  It was great!  I liked both of the songs at the fountain, the conservatory was beautiful (though it was missing something.  There weren't any HUGE displays.) and the weather wasn't too bad (low 90's).  The snail was my favorite in the conservatory.

New Website

My husband showed me the coolest website.  Wolfram Alpha is amazing!  You can enter a math problem, elementary to advanced, and it will solve it for you.  Taking it a step further, it will show the work that got to that answer.  It's a teacher's worst nightmare!  You send work home, students get on the computer, plug in each problem, copy the work and the answer, then turn it in.  They didn't learn/practice anything!  

You can enter a city and it will tell you: population, elevation, nearest large city, local time, weather... you get the idea.  All the data you want, is right there (or will be, as the infamous "they" get it entered).  Health, nutrition, sports, education...  The list is  quite long.  It's a ton of fun!  I haven't had to use it yet for an actual purpose, but I think that when I do, it will be very useful.  Until then, it's an incredible way to waste time that should be spent packing, or doing laundry, or mopping (yeah, haven't done that yet.  oops.), or napping (which also sounds like a waste of time to some people, I know, but to others [like me] sometimes it's a necessity), or other productive things.  Check it out!

Deja Vu

We're moving.  Again.  This time to Colorado.  We don't like to stay in one spot for too long, apparently.  No, really, it just makes good business sense for my husband's business right now.  And I'm extremely happy because Colorado has significantly cooler summers than Las Vegas!

There are some good things about moving to CO.  

• Being closer to family (on my side)
• living in a small town
• not traveling 12 hours each way for business every month or so
• cooler weather

There are some not so good things about moving to CO.

• Being further away from family (my husband's)
• not many options for entertainment (Las Vegas has tons of free entertainment!)
• No temple in town
• Packing.  Without packers.  Yikes.

So, I've already started to pack.  Yeah, the thought of packing with 2 kiddos was a little overwhelming.  But since I've started it already seems like I'm making progress.  It gives me hope that it'll all be done in the 4 weeks that we have left.  Luckily, we saved all of the boxes from our last move (thanks to the forethought of my husband) so we don't have to stalk people and businesses for boxes.  We just have to tape them up.  Easy!

Wal-Mart Deals

In my hometown, my mom was at wal-mart and came across some kids sweatshirts for $1 (that is not a typo!).  So she bought a couple for my kiddos (Thanks, Mom!).  Yesterday I had a couple of returns to make to wal-mart and as I was driving into the parking lot I thought, "I wonder if there will be any $1 deals here".  Maybe not those exact words, but the right thought.  Well, as I was looking in the toy department for a 2 year old boy toy (birthday party this week) there was an announcement made that there were racks of clothes for $1 by the infant/toddler section.  By the time I got there, the area was packed.  I managed to find a shirt for me and a shirt for my toddler, and then I headed back to the toys.  However, as I was walking, I saw a shoe display that had a $1 sign above it.  Dress shoes, for toddlers.  Now, some of you may know how expensive kids dress shoes are.  Some of you may not.  And they're especially expensive when you take into account that the kids wear them once a week.  So, I proceeded to fill my cart (not really).  I got at least 1 pair for each of the next 5 sizes my toddler will be in (they're all the same style, though there are some changes in color).  I also took the only pair of boys shoes on the rack (size 4 tennis shoes) for when my baby grows.  Thus my wonderment was answered.  My wal-mart does have $1 deals!

My Garden

I love having a garden.  Okay, truth be told, I love my grandpa having a garden.  His harvest is always delicious and nothing else compares - even my parents garden doesn't hold a candle to it.  When I lived near him, I always enjoyed visiting them and eating their homegrown tomatoes.  Yummy!  Since being married, I've attempted to have a garden each summer.  It has always been in containers.  It usually does okay for a month or so, then it dies.  But I will NOT give up, so we're trying again this year.  Here is a picture of our garden.

We've planted tomatoes and basil from starts, and carrots and cucumbers from seed.  We're keeping our fingers crossed that something will grow that will be yummy to eat!

Timing

On April 8th, I started to potty train my toddler.  On April 9th, I stopped potty training my toddler.  I decided that when your head feels like it's going to explode every time you bend over is a bad time to potty train.  So we stopped.  She missed her "potty toilet" for a few days, then seemed to forget about.  She brought it up again a few days ago, and I thought, "Sure, we can try again.  We'll start with the new week."  (tomorrow)  Well, my baby has a dr's appointment tomorrow, play group is on Wednesday, and I know my toddler would love to go, after being cooped up in the house for nearly 6 weeks (due to both new baby and sickness that would not leave our house), my toddler has a dr's appointment on Friday, and story time at the library is always a favorite Thursday activity, if baby cooperates.  Baby is nearly out of diapers (that one crept up on me!), and I haven't been grocery shopping (with a list) in over a week.  Case being, except for Tuesday, this week really isn't good for potty training.  Then the question arises, which week will be good?  Is there any week when we will have absolutely no obligations? Doubtful.  And like my husband said, "There's no point in dreading it."  

Forgetfulness

There are things that your forget about until they come around again.  Here are a few things that I forgot about babyhood:

1. Babies are fussy.  You comfort them, they still cry and it's okay.  It's normal.
2. Babies sleep A LOT.  We all want to play and cuddle with him, but all he want is sleep.
3. Babies have their own schedule.  There's nothing you can do about it.  
4. Babies use a TON of diapers.  And here I was thinking that one 200+ box would last us all month.  Not a chance!
5. Babies are adorable!  At ALL times.  It probably helps that they can't disobey or talk back.
6. Getting out of the house with a baby is a big job.  Making sure the diaper bag is fully stocked, baby is dressed appropriately and all of the "what if's..." are covered.
7. Your time is not your own.  You must be ready to drop everything at a moments notice.
8. How cute baby clothes are!  And how small!

Life goes on...

I really don't have much to blog about. I'm getting accustomed to 2 kiddos. A little at a time, it's seeming more normal. We haven't left the house much, and now we're all sick, so our plans to get out today were foiled. Maybe tomorrow.... My house isn't as clean as I'd like, but I've decided that some things, mopping for instance, can wait. As long as the kiddos are out of their PJ's by 10am, I feel good. I'm a zombie by 9pm, so I go to bed. Life goes on...

Freezer Meals

In January, my ward did an enrichment activity on freezer meals.  A couple of girls did demonstrations to show how easy they were to put together, and talked about how convenient it would be to have something in the freezer and not need to think about which ingredients you have and how much time it's going to take, etc, etc, etc.  When I left, I called my mom to tell her about how great this was and wouldn't it be perfect for when my baby came?  She looked up the book that the girls had used on Amazon and ordered it for herself, along with a couple of other cookbooks for make and freeze dinners (my mom really enjoys cook books.  She's always buying new ones, and gets emotional when she has to make room on her shelves by getting rid of some.  It's great for me, because she does the legwork and then passes on the good recipes).  After looking through her new books, she decided to order them for me and for my sisters-in-law.  The week before I had my son, I prepared a freezer meal every night.  Because most of the recipes make 2-3 dinners, we would eat one, and put the others in the freezer.  It didn't take any more time, either, to prepare 3 instead of just 1.  All of the ingredients were out anyway.  Add my husband's thoughtfulness of making frozen pizzas (he makes me pizza every week.  I love pizza!  Now we have some on hand for whenever I want one!), and we have enough meals for a good two weeks.  It has been FANTASTIC!  The RS brought in meals, of course, but they can't do that forever.  So having meals in the freezer and not needing to think about preparing anything has been wonderful.  I will get back to cooking one day, but until then, this works.  The freezer meals even taste good after they've been frozen.  And even when I do get back to cooking, I will definitely be preparing 1-2 freezer meals a week, because, really, it's awfully nice to know that you don't have to spend time in the kitchen when you have other things you need/want to do.  

He has arrived!

My baby was born on Wed. March 11 (he has his own blog, so no more details here.  If you would like an invitation and haven't received one, let me know and I'll send you an invite to see his blog).  We're now home and getting accustomed to life as a family of four, instead of three.  So far, so good!

One funny story about the whole experience.  When the nurse decided that I was ready to deliver, she sent word to the dr. and got the delivery room ready.  Halfway to the hospital (his clinic is attached to the hospital) the dr. got a call from the other hospital that he services, saying one of his patients was ready to deliver.  Since she was going  with natural labor, and I was on an epidural, he went to deliver her baby first (I had no problems with that.  Kudos to her for going natural!).  So the nurse then de-prepped for delivery, since she wasn't sure how long it would take the dr. to get back to my hospital.  He delivered the other baby, and made it from one hospital parking lot to the other hospital parking lot in 7 minutes.  I'm not sure which hospital he was at, but I'm pretty sure there are no hospitals within that range, if you stay in the speed limit.  He made it back in time though and then our son was born! 

Countdown

Well, we're down to less than 2 weeks.  The doc said he would induce me on the 11th.  Wow!  That seems a lot closer than the 18th!  People keep asking me if I'm ready, etc, etc, etc.  Are you ever really ready for a change when you're not totally sure what it's all going to entail?  I mean, we have clothes for him, a place for him to sleep, a baby bathtub, etc.  But does that mean we're ready?  I'm don't know.  I think we'll know we're ready for him when he comes home and there's no turning back.  Not that we'd want to turn back.   But we might find we're less prepared than we thought.  Or maybe we'll be amazed at how easy it is to go from one child to two.  My big wonderment is how our toddler is going to take to not being the center of attention.  She's enjoyed two years of stardom.  Being a big sister might not be as much fun as being the one and only.  We've tried to prepare her, but we'll have to see how much she's really been understanding.  

Note:  When he does come, he'll have his own private blog.  If you'd like an invitation, just leave me a note in the comments and I'll be sure to send you an invite.

New Blog

Because of my interest in photography, I've started a new blog, just for my photos. Because I know that all of you are deeply interested in my gorgeous art, I've decided to share the link with all of my loyal readers. I would love to receive feedback (positive and negative) on the photos, so that I can know what non-biased people think (because my husband is definitely biased when he says that every single picture is incredible!  Though having a biased opinion definitely helps my ego!). Enjoy!

changraphics.blogspot.com

Friends

I really like being in the west again. We're so close to so many of our friends! It's been great to be close enough that people can say, "We'll be in town. Let's get together!". Blogging and calling and emailing are all well and good, but there's just something about talking face to face with people that you know and like. It's nice to know also that they like you well enough to tell you that they'll be in town.

It's a bit weird to think that I left home nearly 10 years ago to attend college. But in those 10 years (and while still living at home, of course), I've met some incredible people. They're not all exactly the same as me, we don't necessarily have the same interests, but we're friends. And it's also funny how the same people can cross paths with you so many times. One girl was in a student ward with me, then I graduated and moved, and she showed up again in my singles ward! And that happened more than once! The Lord truly does have a hand in our lives, directing us to the people that we need, that will help us grow and develop.

I'm happy to say that I'm still friends with people from my freshman year of college, and the years since. And now that I've moved across the country and back again, and as my friends have moved literally all over the globe, we're still friends. I'm so grateful for technology that allows easy and convenient ways to keep in touch, because I'm a slacker when it comes to snail mail, even though I love being on the receiving end.

So, to all my friends, if you're going to be in the area, let me know! I'd love to get together! And to those that have already stopped by, thanks and come again anytime!

Civilian Health Care

Having just left the military, I was very much looking forward to civilian health care. I could choose my doctors, make appointments that fit with my schedule, be more than just a number, and have the doctors be real doctors - not nurse practitioners or some such.

And then reality hit...

For my first OB appointment we were in the waiting room for just under an hour - luckily there were toys for my toddler to play with. Like I've already posted, I liked the doctor, he was knowledgeable and listened to my concerns/answered my questions. And the long wait really could be attributed to being a new patient.

Today, my daughter's diaper rash is incredibly worse - for the second time this month. We decided that she ought to be seen, because even applying a thick coat of desitin at each change, it hasn't improved. We got a recommendation of a pediatrician, made an appointment and quickly got ready to go (they asked us to be 30 minutes early to fill out paperwork. No problem). I signed in and was told that i'd be called to get the paperwork. 30 minutes later (at the time of our appointment), they copied our insurance information. 20 minutes later, I was called again to fill out paperwork. An hour and ten minutes after our appointment time, (over an hour and a half of sitting in the waiting room - with no toys, and we were on the Well Child side of the waiting room. There was a wall to separate us from the Sick Child side) the nurse came to get us. She took my daughter's vitals and said the doctor would be right in. 20 minutes later the doctor made it in to check the diaper rash. She said that on a scale of 1-10, the rash was a 2 (may I never see a 10!) She basically told me to keep doing what I was doing, and that the rash should be looking better after the weekend. I asked what would cause such a rash to reappear so soon after the previous bad rash. She said it was caused by irritants in the poop. So why don't all kids always have awful diaper rashes? And why has it only gotten this bad this month and never before? I told her about previous rashes that I linked to my daughter's eating oranges and other citrus fruits. She said that the acid from those would have been digested out and wouldn't have an effect on her bum (like I was crazy for thinking that something she ate could be giving her diaper rash).

What was the point? 2 and 1/2 hours for what?

Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort

We took a field trip today, to the Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort. It's run by the State Parks Division, not by the church, as I'd thought. It was interesting to read about the early history of the city and how it became what it is today. I was surprised to learn that there used to be an oasis somewhere in the area, which is where the city got it's name - Las Vegas meaning "the Meadows". The oasis is long gone, in case you were wondering. At the fort there was an area for demonstrating how to make adobe bricks (at least that's what we think that's what all of the tools, etc were for). There were a couple of old-looking wagons (the bolts were pretty shiny to have lasted so long...), part of the fort walls (not sure if they're original), some old farming tools and a few original adobe bricks.

New Doctor

Yesterday I had my first OB appointment out here. An OB was recommended by a lot of the girls in the ward, so I made an appointment with him. He looked a bit funny in his pictures (the ones with some of the babies he's delivered hanging in his exam room), but after talking with him, I like him. Luckily, because 2 months isn't that long to find a different OB. So he says I'm doing just fine, he gave me a prescription to get rid of the heartburn that is coming more and more often, and he moved my due date up by a week. He could seriously be my new best friend. Instead of 10 weeks to go, I'm down to 8! CRAZY!!!

Fun

For Christmas my husband gave me Aperture 2 (I've written previously about my free trial. Now I have the real thing that never expires). I've been having tons of fun with it and love to just sit and play. I'm nowhere near professional (yet) and I know that there are a thousand things that the program can do that I just haven't found yet. But those that I have found are really, really fun. Here are some of my favorites:




Here are a couple of the originals, so that you can see the difference.