Friday, October 31, 2008
First Half of Halloween
Of course, the day after writing that my child will never, ever, ever, ever fall asleep away from home or in my arms . . . I apparently just needed to wear her out with lots of office trick or treating!
. . . gone!
This was one tired baby!
A very Happy Phantom with her Grandma.
Here's Ellie.
Going . . .
. . . going . . .
Going . . .
. . . going . . .
. . . gone!This was one tired baby!
I love that second picture of Ellie, where she can. barely. stay. a. wake.
Annie had so much fun trick or treating at Aunt Star's work. She easily filled almost her entire Elmo basket. It was slow going though, since she stopped every other cubicle to take out, unwrap and eat yet another piece of candy. I'm expecting her to come crashing down from her sugar high anytime now.
Annie had so much fun trick or treating at Aunt Star's work. She easily filled almost her entire Elmo basket. It was slow going though, since she stopped every other cubicle to take out, unwrap and eat yet another piece of candy. I'm expecting her to come crashing down from her sugar high anytime now.
After Aunt Star's work, we went to Grandma Ruth's work.
Here's Grandma & the girls . . .
Here's Grandma & the girls . . .
A very Happy Phantom with her Grandma.
The four of us in front of this adorable background. Greg's Mom is a ridiculously talented artist, and actually painted this whole thing. I'm really hoping the art genes get passed on to my kids, 'cause it's well known that I can barely draw a stick figure. (Although, need me to morph your ex-boyfriend's picture into a picture of Gollum in Photoshop, I'm all over that.)
Good Mom/Bad Mom
You know what makes you feel like a bad Mom? Let's say you'd accidentally dropped a big ol' forkful of spaghetti on your five month old's head during dinner. Hypothetically. Then you wiped off her bald little head with a wipe. Only to notice the next day while out with your kids trick or treating at your sister's work that she has a large patch of red-stained skin on her head. Good hygiene there.
You know what makes you feel like a good Mom? Watching your two year old singing softly to her baby doll and cooing, "It's OK, I'm right here, don't cry, I'm here. I love you."
You know what makes it look like your two year old is a freakin' genius? When you're out on a walk around the neighborhood and you stop for a little bit to talk with the Primary President, and some ducks land in the driveway of the house next door and your two year old calls out, "Hola patos." Of course, it's the one and only animal she could've named in Spanish, but having her say it like that sure made her look like a bilingual prodigy.
You know what are the moments you'll never forget? Driving home from Grandma Ruth's office after some daytime trick or treating, and listening to the nonstop 15 minute conversation Annie had with herself, that included stuff like this stream of Annie thoughts . . .
"I like trick and treating. It's fun. Do you like it? Yeah, me too. I'm a pumpkin. I like pumpkins, so does Ellie. Ellie is an orange pumpkin. But not right now, now she's a ghost. My hands are sticky. Are your hands sticky? Yeah, mine too. It's sucker. How about you, do you like suckers? Yeah, so does Doh-doo (her imaginary friend). Doh-doo, you like yellow suckers. And that song. 'Four and twenty blackbirds baked into a pie.' Manahmana. Yeah, I love that book. Stop dogs, it's a red light. Stop, dogs, stop. Look, it's a green light now, go, dogs, go. Oh and "Pizza Pat," I like that book, all the mice eat Pat's Pizza. Poor Pat. Dumbo likes mice, look Dumbo, your friend is a mouse! I like mice, like Pinky and the Brain. MOM! I want to listen to Pinky and the Brain!"
You know what makes you feel like a good Mom? Watching your two year old singing softly to her baby doll and cooing, "It's OK, I'm right here, don't cry, I'm here. I love you."
You know what makes it look like your two year old is a freakin' genius? When you're out on a walk around the neighborhood and you stop for a little bit to talk with the Primary President, and some ducks land in the driveway of the house next door and your two year old calls out, "Hola patos." Of course, it's the one and only animal she could've named in Spanish, but having her say it like that sure made her look like a bilingual prodigy.
You know what are the moments you'll never forget? Driving home from Grandma Ruth's office after some daytime trick or treating, and listening to the nonstop 15 minute conversation Annie had with herself, that included stuff like this stream of Annie thoughts . . .
"I like trick and treating. It's fun. Do you like it? Yeah, me too. I'm a pumpkin. I like pumpkins, so does Ellie. Ellie is an orange pumpkin. But not right now, now she's a ghost. My hands are sticky. Are your hands sticky? Yeah, mine too. It's sucker. How about you, do you like suckers? Yeah, so does Doh-doo (her imaginary friend). Doh-doo, you like yellow suckers. And that song. 'Four and twenty blackbirds baked into a pie.' Manahmana. Yeah, I love that book. Stop dogs, it's a red light. Stop, dogs, stop. Look, it's a green light now, go, dogs, go. Oh and "Pizza Pat," I like that book, all the mice eat Pat's Pizza. Poor Pat. Dumbo likes mice, look Dumbo, your friend is a mouse! I like mice, like Pinky and the Brain. MOM! I want to listen to Pinky and the Brain!"
Gotta Go Shopping!
Yeah, I have no idea where she gets this from!
OK, so maybe we do our fair share of shopping, but I always bring my babies!
"A" is for Annie
Annie's pretty much obsessed with letters most of the time. She saw an "M" the other day and was all, "M! Mommy! Mmmm. Mmmm. M." I love that she's so well trained she sounds like a Sesame Street short. We try to play the game with lots of different words for each letter, since "M" is almost always for Mommy, "C" is for Cody (and sometimes Connor), "D" is for Daddy, "E" is for Ellie, and so on. So we play games where we all list as many words as we can think of starting with a certain letter. Aunt Talina and Daddy are banned from playing at the same time though, 'cause they start trying to compete with scientific words. I'm all, "M is for Mouse," and Talina is all, "M is for mononucleosis," then Greg says some equally nerdy word that starts with "M" and is all engineery. Geeks.
But, of course, "A" is always for "Annie." Well sometimes "Annie's Alligator" or "Annie's Apple." But always "Annie." Last night as she was spelling out her name with beads for a necklace, "A is for Annie! Two Ns! An I for Insect! And a E!" as she laid out all the letters. Then as she started putting the necklace together, and was sliding the "A" bead on, she suddenly exclaimed excitedly, "A for Annie and Aunt Andrea!" She's actually learning to share her "A" with others now. I'm so proud.
We're pretty excited about the whole Halloween thing today. Annie's even been practicing yelling "Trick or Treat" anytime we walk up to someone's door. My Mom was telling her last night that people were going to give her candy when she walked up to their doors and her eyes got huge and her mouth flew open in shock and excitement. Turns out I'd actually left out the part about getting candy for saying "Trick or Treat," she'd just been excited to knock on people's doors and yell stuff.
But, of course, "A" is always for "Annie." Well sometimes "Annie's Alligator" or "Annie's Apple." But always "Annie." Last night as she was spelling out her name with beads for a necklace, "A is for Annie! Two Ns! An I for Insect! And a E!" as she laid out all the letters. Then as she started putting the necklace together, and was sliding the "A" bead on, she suddenly exclaimed excitedly, "A for Annie and Aunt Andrea!" She's actually learning to share her "A" with others now. I'm so proud.
We're pretty excited about the whole Halloween thing today. Annie's even been practicing yelling "Trick or Treat" anytime we walk up to someone's door. My Mom was telling her last night that people were going to give her candy when she walked up to their doors and her eyes got huge and her mouth flew open in shock and excitement. Turns out I'd actually left out the part about getting candy for saying "Trick or Treat," she'd just been excited to knock on people's doors and yell stuff.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Sleep? What's Sleep?
Ya know, Ellie gave me such high hopes when she was born. From the time she was born she had her nights and days straight. She slept all night, only waking up long enough to eat, then crashing again. During the day she'd fall asleep anywhere, heck, even strapped to that bililight table. It's like I'd died and gone to baby-sleeping heaven. By like two weeks old she was sleeping a six hour stretch at night. Annie wasn't doing that at 8 months old. I thought for sure that God was rewarding me for all my patience and hard work and lack of sleep with Annie with a nice, calm, sleepy baby. (You saw how much Annie loves sleep in that last video.)
Yeah, that didn't turn out to be the case at all. Turns out she just got my hopes up, and pretty soon became her older sister's sleeping clone. Ellie, much like Annie, can scream for a straight 30 minutes, at nap time, in a moving car, and still not fall asleep. She can't fall asleep unless tightly swaddled, and rarely falls asleep (even swaddled and rocked) if we're away from home. And she's slept almost every nap, every night, in a moving swing (and even that only gets us 3-4 hour stretches now at night days). Plus, lately she's been randomly waking up (once a week or so) around 4 or 5AM and just stays up for an hour or so. I keep the lights off, don't talk or interact with her, and yet, she sits there chattering and giggling, so very happily awake. Last night I think she spent more time in bed with me than in her swing . . . and in the middle of the night, she did what we thought was impossible. She flipped herself over, fully swaddled, onto her stomach in her swing. Yes, I know, I'm a bad Mom . . . she's slept in her swing since birth without ever being strapped in. She can barely move in her swaddle, and although we know she is way too big and too mobile to be in there non-strapped during the day when she's not swaddled, we thought we had a little while longer before this became an issue. I mean, she can't even roll over from her back to her stomach on the floor, how she did it fully swaddled in a little form fitting bassinet type device is beyond me. But however she did it, the days (and nights) of her sleeping in her swing are over. This just about makes me want to cry. I expect the next several nights are gonna be kinda hellish as we transition our baby, who was already waking up 4 times a night with this stupid cold, full time into a crib she's only slept in a dozen times or so. I know, I know, I've been told it's my own fault for letting her sleep in the swing this long anyway, but when you had a kid like Annie, who slept so awfully, no matter what you did, you fear being that tired again above all else. I was more afraid of becoming that sleep deprived zombie again more than I was afraid of adding a second child to the mix, giving birth, or any other thing relating to a new baby.
I guess it's time to pay the piper though . . . 'cause we're to that point. Letting my baby cry it out. (Technically, we've let her 'cry it out' for months for almost each and every nap, since my children don't seem to be capable of falling asleep during the day without screaming bloody murder, but at night we haven't had to face it yet. Getting her to sleep at first is usually with great difficulty and lots of screaming at the beginning of the night, but during the night we've always been able to just feed her, put her back into the swing, and she just falls back asleep. No swing = night time crying it out. Annie is well known for weeks of screaming for long, long, long periods of time during the night . . . and to this day still 'cries it out' to go to bed for the night, so I don't really have much faith in the 'cry it out' method, it's just the only option, 'cause they do eventually have to sleep, and this seems to be the only way. We've tried everything else, Annie has a great bedtime routine and all that, it just always ends in screaming for a long time, and always has.) With Ellie I was hoping not to have to face this, that she'd just eventually start sleeping through the night, rather than her sleep intervals getting shorter and shorter than they once were (like when she was two freakin' weeks old). I'm so not ready for this.
Yeah, that didn't turn out to be the case at all. Turns out she just got my hopes up, and pretty soon became her older sister's sleeping clone. Ellie, much like Annie, can scream for a straight 30 minutes, at nap time, in a moving car, and still not fall asleep. She can't fall asleep unless tightly swaddled, and rarely falls asleep (even swaddled and rocked) if we're away from home. And she's slept almost every nap, every night, in a moving swing (and even that only gets us 3-4 hour stretches now at night days). Plus, lately she's been randomly waking up (once a week or so) around 4 or 5AM and just stays up for an hour or so. I keep the lights off, don't talk or interact with her, and yet, she sits there chattering and giggling, so very happily awake. Last night I think she spent more time in bed with me than in her swing . . . and in the middle of the night, she did what we thought was impossible. She flipped herself over, fully swaddled, onto her stomach in her swing. Yes, I know, I'm a bad Mom . . . she's slept in her swing since birth without ever being strapped in. She can barely move in her swaddle, and although we know she is way too big and too mobile to be in there non-strapped during the day when she's not swaddled, we thought we had a little while longer before this became an issue. I mean, she can't even roll over from her back to her stomach on the floor, how she did it fully swaddled in a little form fitting bassinet type device is beyond me. But however she did it, the days (and nights) of her sleeping in her swing are over. This just about makes me want to cry. I expect the next several nights are gonna be kinda hellish as we transition our baby, who was already waking up 4 times a night with this stupid cold, full time into a crib she's only slept in a dozen times or so. I know, I know, I've been told it's my own fault for letting her sleep in the swing this long anyway, but when you had a kid like Annie, who slept so awfully, no matter what you did, you fear being that tired again above all else. I was more afraid of becoming that sleep deprived zombie again more than I was afraid of adding a second child to the mix, giving birth, or any other thing relating to a new baby.
I guess it's time to pay the piper though . . . 'cause we're to that point. Letting my baby cry it out. (Technically, we've let her 'cry it out' for months for almost each and every nap, since my children don't seem to be capable of falling asleep during the day without screaming bloody murder, but at night we haven't had to face it yet. Getting her to sleep at first is usually with great difficulty and lots of screaming at the beginning of the night, but during the night we've always been able to just feed her, put her back into the swing, and she just falls back asleep. No swing = night time crying it out. Annie is well known for weeks of screaming for long, long, long periods of time during the night . . . and to this day still 'cries it out' to go to bed for the night, so I don't really have much faith in the 'cry it out' method, it's just the only option, 'cause they do eventually have to sleep, and this seems to be the only way. We've tried everything else, Annie has a great bedtime routine and all that, it just always ends in screaming for a long time, and always has.) With Ellie I was hoping not to have to face this, that she'd just eventually start sleeping through the night, rather than her sleep intervals getting shorter and shorter than they once were (like when she was two freakin' weeks old). I'm so not ready for this.
How can you let this happy, smiling face cry?
This is why she has her Dad & I wrapped around her little finger.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Another Video
There's been a lot of email requests for more Annie video. This one is just to give you an idea of how my sweet little two year old reacts to being put in bed (naps or bedtime). This isn't an exception, this is the rule. Every single day. Not even kidding. And Ellie's not shaping up to be much better. Feel free to pity me, immensely. (Or, feel free to think I'm evil for video taping this tantrum rather than handling it a more loving, sympathetic way . . . just remember, this happens EVERY day in our house.)
Oh, and if you think you didn't understand the kid when she's singing, wait 'til you see her screaming! Expect to understand nothing, except maybe the word "jammies!" being shrieked over and over. (I have serious issues about hearing my own voice on a recording, so I'm kind of surprised I'd even post this with me talking so much.)
Oh, and if you think you didn't understand the kid when she's singing, wait 'til you see her screaming! Expect to understand nothing, except maybe the word "jammies!" being shrieked over and over. (I have serious issues about hearing my own voice on a recording, so I'm kind of surprised I'd even post this with me talking so much.)
Is This Bad?
I'm trying to figure out if there's going to be any eternal ramifications for my actions yesterday. Is it bad to kick your husband while he's saying the prayer? What if, let's say, it's a meal time prayer, and he's still praying for, I don't know, orphans in Africa or something, and you're noticing through your one opened eye that your two year old is staring at her garlic bread with a look that says she is two seconds from eschewing all organized religion so she can just eat already. Then is it okay to kick him? I ere on the side of 'yes', but that's just me.
Preparing dinner as a family last night was a lot of fun. We were cutting up squash and onions for our spaghetti sauce, when Annie starting stealing pieces of squash to eat. She hasn't really eaten a lot of raw squash before, so this was a pleasant surprise, but not too much of one, 'cause this kid does tend to chow down on stuff like raw peppers like they're candy (don't give me too much credit, she also likes to chow down on candy like it's candy . . . in fact, candy is all she's asked for for breakfast the last two days. Stupid Halloween candy. Everywhere.) But what really surprised us is when she served herself up a little bowl of the raw onions and just went to town. Greg will eat raw onions, but to me, this is the weirdest freaking thing I've ever seen. Of course, I was like 24 before I'd even eat cooked onions if they were the littlest bit recognizable in a recipe. And I'm no where near being able to eat them raw. Same with peppers. (I now really enjoy cooked or sauteed peppers on onions in meals, but it was a long time coming, and I credit my marriage to Greg for the change.) Good thing there's a bit of 'do as I say and not as I do' that you can get away with in parenthood!
Preparing dinner as a family last night was a lot of fun. We were cutting up squash and onions for our spaghetti sauce, when Annie starting stealing pieces of squash to eat. She hasn't really eaten a lot of raw squash before, so this was a pleasant surprise, but not too much of one, 'cause this kid does tend to chow down on stuff like raw peppers like they're candy (don't give me too much credit, she also likes to chow down on candy like it's candy . . . in fact, candy is all she's asked for for breakfast the last two days. Stupid Halloween candy. Everywhere.) But what really surprised us is when she served herself up a little bowl of the raw onions and just went to town. Greg will eat raw onions, but to me, this is the weirdest freaking thing I've ever seen. Of course, I was like 24 before I'd even eat cooked onions if they were the littlest bit recognizable in a recipe. And I'm no where near being able to eat them raw. Same with peppers. (I now really enjoy cooked or sauteed peppers on onions in meals, but it was a long time coming, and I credit my marriage to Greg for the change.) Good thing there's a bit of 'do as I say and not as I do' that you can get away with in parenthood!
Quirky Me
Fig, an excellent blogger who can be read here, recently posted a tag about quirks. It took me over 24 hours to be able to come up with a list of six quirks, but I finally did, so here y'all go. (This was hard for me! Not that I don't have quirks, just that I'm not all that aware of them, I guess!)
1. The first one I came up with was Greg's answer to, "Do I have any quirks?" He reminded me, almost immediately, how I always keep my toes pointed. (He may have used the word 'freakish' in his description.) Like, my relaxed state of my feet are pointed straight down. "Like ridiculously crazy pointed, from your knees to your toes making a straight line kinda pointed," were his words. (It doesn't matter if I'm sitting, laying down, legs crossed, legs in front of me, whatever, my toes are pointed.) Not sure why mine are that way, but I'm baffled by other people's feet with their ninety-degree (or nearly) angles. When our Lamaze coach would tell us to relax our whole bodies, she got after me for my feet being 'flexed', but to bring my toes back up to a 'normal' position takes concentration and effort on my part. My foot almost looks like Barbie's (except that my toes are pointed down too, not suddenly sticking out straight ahead), like they're always in six inch heels. The odd thing about that, since having kids, I've mainly gone to all flats. Weird.
2. I absolutely have to be in the 'correct' lane while driving in traffic. If I'm gonna turn right sometime in the next several miles, I like to be in the right lane (assuming lanes of traffic are all flowing well, I won't stay in a 'bad' lane or not pass people, I just have to get into the right lane as soon as possible.) And, if I'm in the car, and let's say Greg is being stubborn and won't move into the lane we should be in, even though there's an opening and it's bad traffic and who knows when it'll be that easy to move over again, and we're going to be turning in say, a mile anyway, I start to get fidgety and nervous. And sometimes can't help it and just bark, "Just change lanes please!!" It's really quite amazing Greg agrees to drive anywhere with me. If I were him, I'd make me drive, just to avoid being annoyed . . . and 'cause I'm the superior driver who uses actual forethought.
3. I was reminded of this one by Fig's spooky Halloween posts, except that mine doesn't involve any kind of actual haunting, just my own 'chicken-ness'. I moved into the bedroom downstairs at our house when I was eight years old. I was the oldest kid, so I was the first and only one down there for awhile. I was mildly afraid of the basement. I could hang out in my room no problem, even in the family/playroom that made up the majority of the basement. What freaked me out were the stairs and the unfinished laundry room right by the stairs. My sisters and I made up a story about a family of ghosts who were trapped under the stairs, and could only be released from their cramped prison when someone stepped on the bottom step of the stairs on their way upstairs. You then had to get to the top stair and through the upstairs door before they 'got' you, then they were stuck again under the stairs until the next person started up the stairs. I always booked it up those stairs. On some level, I think this has stuck with me, 'cause despite my belief that my parent's home isn't haunted in the least, everytime I hit that bottom step, I pick it up a little and get up the stairs tout de suite, you know, just in case.
And, it kinda stresses me out a little that it takes so long to get Annie to walk up those stairs, it takes a lot of self control for me not to just pick her up and power walk up the stairs with her.
4. I have to read while soaking in the bathtub. If I'm not currently reading a book or a magazine, I will search the house over for anything, Greg's "Popular Mechanics", a newsletter sent by our insurance company or the mortgage lender we used two years ago, anything to read. Being a Mom of two little ones, I don't usually get to take long baths, so I only read a page or two a lot of times, but if I don't read at least something, I feel like I was cheated and take no joy from those few minutes that were supposed to be relaxing. Of course, I come from a family who brings a duffle bag of books to Lake Powell on vacation, so this shouldn't be a huge surprise. In my family, reading is important. Reading while in water is a must.
5. I create math problems in my head with digital readouts. Let's say I look at the VCR to see what time it is . . . I immediately start to think "2:24 . . . 2 times 2 is four, four divided by two is two, two plus two is four, four minus two is two, two to the second power is four, negative two times negative two is . . . " and so it goes until I can't think of any more. And it REALLY bugs me if I can't come up with one, and my self esteem in the immediacy comes directly from how many equations I can come up with and how creative they were . (This was obviously an easy example). I do this all the time. I think it's all the story problems us kids did on the drive to California for vacations. (And no, I'm not a math person.)
6. I giggle uncontrollably anytime Greg, while reading aloud to me from the scriptures at night, says the word, "unawares." What? It sounds kinda like 'underwears.' I often will refer to underwear as 'unawares', and I can't wait 'til Annie's wearing panties so I have more of an excuse. (It doesn't happen that often, it's only in the scriptures a few times, but I swear we've happened upon it more often than we possibly should have . . . maybe Greg does it on purpose just to see his wife giggle like a twelve year old.) 'Cause I'm just that mature.
Also, in a related scriptural vein, if Greg compliments something I'm wearing, I usually say it's 'cause I'm "workin' the fine twined linens." And then crack up. 'Cause I'm that mature and cool.
Woo hoo! I did it, it took me half the night tossing and turning trying to think of my quirks, but I did it! All six. Plus I realized, I will try to get away with being barefoot as often as possible, like compulsively (I used to get in trouble at work for leaving my shoes in my cubicle all day and getting caught being barefoot throughout the building), and I don't like to eat only one kind of M&M (when I break down and buy them, I will buy the Peanut, Almond, Peanut Butter and Plain, and mix them in a big container and snack on that for weeks. And I like to microwave them to make them all warm and gooey. Greg likes his frozen. Freak.)
Now that I feel like a certified weirdo, I'm stealing another idea from Fig, if you'd like to play, list six of your own quirks on your blog, and/or leave one here in my comments! Consider yourself tagged, even if it is just to leave a quirky comment!
Six (of what I'm sure are dozens) of my quirks.
1. The first one I came up with was Greg's answer to, "Do I have any quirks?" He reminded me, almost immediately, how I always keep my toes pointed. (He may have used the word 'freakish' in his description.) Like, my relaxed state of my feet are pointed straight down. "Like ridiculously crazy pointed, from your knees to your toes making a straight line kinda pointed," were his words. (It doesn't matter if I'm sitting, laying down, legs crossed, legs in front of me, whatever, my toes are pointed.) Not sure why mine are that way, but I'm baffled by other people's feet with their ninety-degree (or nearly) angles. When our Lamaze coach would tell us to relax our whole bodies, she got after me for my feet being 'flexed', but to bring my toes back up to a 'normal' position takes concentration and effort on my part. My foot almost looks like Barbie's (except that my toes are pointed down too, not suddenly sticking out straight ahead), like they're always in six inch heels. The odd thing about that, since having kids, I've mainly gone to all flats. Weird.
2. I absolutely have to be in the 'correct' lane while driving in traffic. If I'm gonna turn right sometime in the next several miles, I like to be in the right lane (assuming lanes of traffic are all flowing well, I won't stay in a 'bad' lane or not pass people, I just have to get into the right lane as soon as possible.) And, if I'm in the car, and let's say Greg is being stubborn and won't move into the lane we should be in, even though there's an opening and it's bad traffic and who knows when it'll be that easy to move over again, and we're going to be turning in say, a mile anyway, I start to get fidgety and nervous. And sometimes can't help it and just bark, "Just change lanes please!!" It's really quite amazing Greg agrees to drive anywhere with me. If I were him, I'd make me drive, just to avoid being annoyed . . . and 'cause I'm the superior driver who uses actual forethought.
3. I was reminded of this one by Fig's spooky Halloween posts, except that mine doesn't involve any kind of actual haunting, just my own 'chicken-ness'. I moved into the bedroom downstairs at our house when I was eight years old. I was the oldest kid, so I was the first and only one down there for awhile. I was mildly afraid of the basement. I could hang out in my room no problem, even in the family/playroom that made up the majority of the basement. What freaked me out were the stairs and the unfinished laundry room right by the stairs. My sisters and I made up a story about a family of ghosts who were trapped under the stairs, and could only be released from their cramped prison when someone stepped on the bottom step of the stairs on their way upstairs. You then had to get to the top stair and through the upstairs door before they 'got' you, then they were stuck again under the stairs until the next person started up the stairs. I always booked it up those stairs. On some level, I think this has stuck with me, 'cause despite my belief that my parent's home isn't haunted in the least, everytime I hit that bottom step, I pick it up a little and get up the stairs tout de suite, you know, just in case.
And, it kinda stresses me out a little that it takes so long to get Annie to walk up those stairs, it takes a lot of self control for me not to just pick her up and power walk up the stairs with her.
4. I have to read while soaking in the bathtub. If I'm not currently reading a book or a magazine, I will search the house over for anything, Greg's "Popular Mechanics", a newsletter sent by our insurance company or the mortgage lender we used two years ago, anything to read. Being a Mom of two little ones, I don't usually get to take long baths, so I only read a page or two a lot of times, but if I don't read at least something, I feel like I was cheated and take no joy from those few minutes that were supposed to be relaxing. Of course, I come from a family who brings a duffle bag of books to Lake Powell on vacation, so this shouldn't be a huge surprise. In my family, reading is important. Reading while in water is a must.
5. I create math problems in my head with digital readouts. Let's say I look at the VCR to see what time it is . . . I immediately start to think "2:24 . . . 2 times 2 is four, four divided by two is two, two plus two is four, four minus two is two, two to the second power is four, negative two times negative two is . . . " and so it goes until I can't think of any more. And it REALLY bugs me if I can't come up with one, and my self esteem in the immediacy comes directly from how many equations I can come up with and how creative they were . (This was obviously an easy example). I do this all the time. I think it's all the story problems us kids did on the drive to California for vacations. (And no, I'm not a math person.)
6. I giggle uncontrollably anytime Greg, while reading aloud to me from the scriptures at night, says the word, "unawares." What? It sounds kinda like 'underwears.' I often will refer to underwear as 'unawares', and I can't wait 'til Annie's wearing panties so I have more of an excuse. (It doesn't happen that often, it's only in the scriptures a few times, but I swear we've happened upon it more often than we possibly should have . . . maybe Greg does it on purpose just to see his wife giggle like a twelve year old.) 'Cause I'm just that mature.
Also, in a related scriptural vein, if Greg compliments something I'm wearing, I usually say it's 'cause I'm "workin' the fine twined linens." And then crack up. 'Cause I'm that mature and cool.
Woo hoo! I did it, it took me half the night tossing and turning trying to think of my quirks, but I did it! All six. Plus I realized, I will try to get away with being barefoot as often as possible, like compulsively (I used to get in trouble at work for leaving my shoes in my cubicle all day and getting caught being barefoot throughout the building), and I don't like to eat only one kind of M&M (when I break down and buy them, I will buy the Peanut, Almond, Peanut Butter and Plain, and mix them in a big container and snack on that for weeks. And I like to microwave them to make them all warm and gooey. Greg likes his frozen. Freak.)
Now that I feel like a certified weirdo, I'm stealing another idea from Fig, if you'd like to play, list six of your own quirks on your blog, and/or leave one here in my comments! Consider yourself tagged, even if it is just to leave a quirky comment!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Everybody Else Is Doing It . . .
'Cause I'm apparently easily influenced by the latest trends (and both my girls are sleeping/playing with puzzles, and I have no housework to do since I finished it this morning before the realtor was bringing someone over), here's my yearbookyourself.com pictures.
1958 - This one looks frighteningly like my Mother dressing up as her Mother for Halloween.
1964 - Again, I have no idea how one even does their hair like this. Or wants to.
1966 - If it weren't for the fact all my hair has fallen out postpartum and is going to be thin and stringy soon, I could totally pull this look off.
1968 - Wow, my nose looks huge on a head this narrow.
1974 - This is exactly the kinda hair my Mom wanted in high school . . . but like her, my hair will never grow that long, and is nowhere near that straight. Although, it kinda makes me look like a man in drag.
1976 - This is the year my Mom graduated from High School, and dead serious, if an old classmate came across this picture they'd totally be like, "Hey, look, it's Karine from Kearns High!"
1980 - This is pretty much what my hair looks like with a perm and if I let it air dry.
1984 - This really makes me want VH1 to play more "I Love the 80's" episodes!
1986 - I think I had this perm in the '80's! Unfortunately for me (not that it was any easier on anyone else who had it), I was like 7 years old.
1994 - I had these bangs. Oh, the damage I did to the ozone layer. Foolishness of youth.
1996 - My head never looked this little. Nor was my hair ever this straight at any point before 2003, when someone actually taught me how to do my hair. I did have that denim vest though.
Hilary throughout the years . . .
1952 - I'm convinced I would've just had frizzy ugly hair had I been born at a time without good blow dryers, lots of products and Chi straighteners. How does one even do this to their hair?!
And this picture makes my eye tooth look like a fang.
1952 - I'm convinced I would've just had frizzy ugly hair had I been born at a time without good blow dryers, lots of products and Chi straighteners. How does one even do this to their hair?!
And this picture makes my eye tooth look like a fang.
1958 - This one looks frighteningly like my Mother dressing up as her Mother for Halloween.
1964 - Again, I have no idea how one even does their hair like this. Or wants to.
1966 - If it weren't for the fact all my hair has fallen out postpartum and is going to be thin and stringy soon, I could totally pull this look off.
1968 - Wow, my nose looks huge on a head this narrow.
1974 - This is exactly the kinda hair my Mom wanted in high school . . . but like her, my hair will never grow that long, and is nowhere near that straight. Although, it kinda makes me look like a man in drag.
1976 - This is the year my Mom graduated from High School, and dead serious, if an old classmate came across this picture they'd totally be like, "Hey, look, it's Karine from Kearns High!"
1980 - This is pretty much what my hair looks like with a perm and if I let it air dry.
1984 - This really makes me want VH1 to play more "I Love the 80's" episodes!
1986 - I think I had this perm in the '80's! Unfortunately for me (not that it was any easier on anyone else who had it), I was like 7 years old.
1994 - I had these bangs. Oh, the damage I did to the ozone layer. Foolishness of youth.
1996 - My head never looked this little. Nor was my hair ever this straight at any point before 2003, when someone actually taught me how to do my hair. I did have that denim vest though.
Can Santa Fit This in His Sleigh?
So, we really want to get Annie a play kitchen for Christmas. (Some of you have already been harassed in this decision-making process, but now I'm opening up to all those who read my blog.) There's a few different 'levels' of kitchens out there available for purchase. Any of which would be great, and she'd love with her whole little heart. But dude, that third one is just COOL! Any opinions?
Number 1 is adorable and has pretty much everything we'd need.
Greg really likes the grill side on the #2 kitchen.
OK, number 3 just rocks. I love it. But necessary? Um, no. Do I want it? Yes!
Number 1 is adorable and has pretty much everything we'd need.
Greg really likes the grill side on the #2 kitchen.
OK, number 3 just rocks. I love it. But necessary? Um, no. Do I want it? Yes!The Five Musketeers
I had to pull this picture out for someone yesterday, and I decided to post it, 'cause it is one of my all time favorite pictures from my wedding.
Lacy, Star, Cody, Me, Talina
Cody looks like 8 years old (he was like 12 or 13). And now he's nearly an adult!
Lacy, Star, Cody, Me, Talina
Cody looks like 8 years old (he was like 12 or 13). And now he's nearly an adult!Edited to add: I said 'one' of my favorites. The rest of my favorites, of course, include my adorable husband. :-) Is that better, Honey?
Monday, October 27, 2008
Little Helper
Being the responsible mother that I am, around 3PM today, as we were coming back from shopping, I realized neither Annie or I had eaten lunch yet. So I, obviously, picked up a Little Caesar's pizza on the drive home. 'Cause this is what one does in this situation. If that one is me, at least. Little Caesar's is a little too convenient for me and my times of poor planning.
Anyway, once we got home, Annie and I had both consumed two slices of pizza on the drive, and before I got Ellie out of the carseat I opened the refrigerator door to put the leftover pizza in the fridge. Before I got the box to it though, and while holding Ellie's carseat, the fridge door started to shut. Annie, noticing this, gasped, "Oh no!" and ran across the kitchen as fast as her little legs could carry her and caught the door just before it closed and proudly opened it and said, "You can put the pizza in Mom." "Thanks, Annie." "Oh, Mom, if you need more pizza, just call me and I can come and help you. Okay?" "Okay Annie, thanks." "Just call me if you need more pizza, I can help. Or if I need more pizza, just call me and I can come and help."
Before shopping today, I was getting both girls loaded up into the car. Annie is all about climbing in by herself now, and getting into her carseat without any assistance (and watch yourself, anyone who dare try to help her, you will incur her fiery two year old wrath.) "I love getting in the car all by myself Mom, I can do it," she told me not once, but twice today. I'm blaming the headcold that's leaving me a little foggy and out of it, but just a few houses down our street into our drive it suddenly hits me, I'd never actually strapped her into her carseat. Crap. Bad Mom. So, I get out and go around to her side and am starting to get her strapped in, all the while she's giving me this look of 'poor pathetic Mom', and she says (I swear it was even with a sad little sympathetic head nod), "You forgot, ninn't you Mom? You forgot to strap me in to my carseat." "Yeah, sorry about that Bananie . . . make sure Mom doesn't forget that from now on, okay?" "Okay Mom, you have to strap Annie into her carseat. Tight. For safety."
Anyway, once we got home, Annie and I had both consumed two slices of pizza on the drive, and before I got Ellie out of the carseat I opened the refrigerator door to put the leftover pizza in the fridge. Before I got the box to it though, and while holding Ellie's carseat, the fridge door started to shut. Annie, noticing this, gasped, "Oh no!" and ran across the kitchen as fast as her little legs could carry her and caught the door just before it closed and proudly opened it and said, "You can put the pizza in Mom." "Thanks, Annie." "Oh, Mom, if you need more pizza, just call me and I can come and help you. Okay?" "Okay Annie, thanks." "Just call me if you need more pizza, I can help. Or if I need more pizza, just call me and I can come and help."
Before shopping today, I was getting both girls loaded up into the car. Annie is all about climbing in by herself now, and getting into her carseat without any assistance (and watch yourself, anyone who dare try to help her, you will incur her fiery two year old wrath.) "I love getting in the car all by myself Mom, I can do it," she told me not once, but twice today. I'm blaming the headcold that's leaving me a little foggy and out of it, but just a few houses down our street into our drive it suddenly hits me, I'd never actually strapped her into her carseat. Crap. Bad Mom. So, I get out and go around to her side and am starting to get her strapped in, all the while she's giving me this look of 'poor pathetic Mom', and she says (I swear it was even with a sad little sympathetic head nod), "You forgot, ninn't you Mom? You forgot to strap me in to my carseat." "Yeah, sorry about that Bananie . . . make sure Mom doesn't forget that from now on, okay?" "Okay Mom, you have to strap Annie into her carseat. Tight. For safety."
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Video Evidence
For anyone who thought I could be exaggerating Annie's singing, um, talent . . . here you go!
Boo at the Zoo
I don't even want to guess at my daughter's blood sugar levels are at this last couple days! We've had multiple Halloween parties and events, and candy has been (obviously) a big part of that. My kid even became one of those children at the Zoo this Saturday to whom candy became more important than the animals, even though the animals were super active, the tiger walked right up to the fence where we were, and the elephants we just chillin' within feet of where we were standing. As we left the zoo yesterday, I asked her, "What was your favorite part of the zoo?" Expecting something about the silly fighting meerkats, the wrestling black bears or the tiger show we went to. She responded, "Um, the Reeses M&Ms (reese's pieces) and the suckers." Great.
Here's Ellie, the happy pumpkin, with Uncle David. Annie picked out the matching pumpkin costumes, very excited her and her sister could be the same thing for Halloween.
Aunt Talina with Ellie.
The sun came out long enough to uncover our pumpkin's head. But still not warm enough to take her out of the two layers of shirts, two layers of pants, and the fleece costume.
Mommy & Ellie cuddling. Probably for warmth.
Daddy and our little phantom. My Mom bought Ellie this Halloween shirt, and despite it being just a simple, fairly plain, long sleeve onesie, she looks freakishly adorable in it!
Our little Phantom giggling upside down.
The fairy princess' wand in action. We have many, many pictures of this star shaped wand blocking the lens, the flash, etc.
Here she is with her Uncle David (going to the zoo was part of his birthday celebration . . . Happy Birthday David!) right after we got inside the zoo. I should mention, the zoo in late October, at nine in the morning, is like bitterly cold!
Here's Ellie, the happy pumpkin, with Uncle David. Annie picked out the matching pumpkin costumes, very excited her and her sister could be the same thing for Halloween.
Aunt Talina with Ellie.
The sun came out long enough to uncover our pumpkin's head. But still not warm enough to take her out of the two layers of shirts, two layers of pants, and the fleece costume.
Our larger pumpkin refused to wear her pumpkin hoodie for long, despite the nearly frozen ears.
Here she is on Daddy's shoulders.
Here she is on Daddy's shoulders.
Mommy & Ellie cuddling. Probably for warmth.
Daddy and our little phantom. My Mom bought Ellie this Halloween shirt, and despite it being just a simple, fairly plain, long sleeve onesie, she looks freakishly adorable in it!
Our little Phantom giggling upside down.
Annie getting to wear her fairy princess costume for an indoor party.
She would run around the house yelling, "I flying! I flying! Like Spiderman!"
Someone needs to explain her superheroes to her a little more thoroughly.
I feel that falls squarely on Greg's geeky shoulders.
She would run around the house yelling, "I flying! I flying! Like Spiderman!"
Someone needs to explain her superheroes to her a little more thoroughly.
I feel that falls squarely on Greg's geeky shoulders.
Ellie in Halloween shirt #2. She'd spit up on her phantom shirt at this point.
With G-Bob. (Grandpa Robert's preferred nom de plume . . . he apparently wants us to sound really white trash).
With G-Bob. (Grandpa Robert's preferred nom de plume . . . he apparently wants us to sound really white trash).
The fairy princess' wand in action. We have many, many pictures of this star shaped wand blocking the lens, the flash, etc.
Each of the girls only have a few costumes left to get into before Halloween!
We're running out of time . . .
Can you tell my Mom does lots of clearance costume shopping in November?
We're running out of time . . .
Can you tell my Mom does lots of clearance costume shopping in November?
Time for Church
Last night we went to our Neighborhood Halloween Carnival at our Stake Center, in the gym. Annie had a blast, and after we got home last night was showing off her new found carnie skills when she was asked to throw a diaper in the trash. She stood a few feet from it, called out, "Toss!" Followed by a, "Miss!" She ran up and grabbed it again, stepped back a few feet, and yelled, "Toss!" again. Eventually Aunt Star just picked up the diaper and threw it in the trash, since the calls of "Miss!" were reverberating throughout the house. This angered Annie greatly. She didn't make it and she didn't even get a tootsie roll or a small plastic toy for her effort!
Anyway, this morning, at breakfast I told Annie we were getting ready for Church. She looked at me, kind of confused, and said, "Big Church or little Church?" Um, I didn't know what that meant. We went to another ward a few weeks ago with hundreds of people, and our ward usually only has about 90 attending. Is that what she was thinking? I worried Church today might be a bit of a let down after a carnival, where she won tons of candy, toys and got to jump in the bouncy house and wear a fairy princess costume. I followed up, "Today, we're gonna be going to Sacrament meeting first, then you get to go to Nursery." She grinned from ear to ear and said with obvious relief, "Oh, real Church, not basketball church."
Oh, on a side note, at the carnival last night, my creamy potato soup won "Best Rib-Sticker" in the cook-off. Probably had something to do with the half and half, and the two bags of cheddar cheese.
Anyway, this morning, at breakfast I told Annie we were getting ready for Church. She looked at me, kind of confused, and said, "Big Church or little Church?" Um, I didn't know what that meant. We went to another ward a few weeks ago with hundreds of people, and our ward usually only has about 90 attending. Is that what she was thinking? I worried Church today might be a bit of a let down after a carnival, where she won tons of candy, toys and got to jump in the bouncy house and wear a fairy princess costume. I followed up, "Today, we're gonna be going to Sacrament meeting first, then you get to go to Nursery." She grinned from ear to ear and said with obvious relief, "Oh, real Church, not basketball church."
Oh, on a side note, at the carnival last night, my creamy potato soup won "Best Rib-Sticker" in the cook-off. Probably had something to do with the half and half, and the two bags of cheddar cheese.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Good Friends & Good Deals
My very kind, sweet, amazing, thoughtful, friend Steph dropped by with an out-of-the-blue present for me today. Lorna Doone snack packs! I've mentioned before my new found obsession with Lorna Doone cookies since hoarding them while in the hospital for Ellie's birth. Turns out, these 'crisps' are even better than the regular cookies. And far fewer calories! Thanks Steph!
Thanks to all of you who posted on my budget/money post . . . and if anyone else has anything to add, it's always appreciated. Last night, while grocery shopping, I ended up making two seperate trips up to the customer service counter at Albertson's getting refunds. Reminding me of my number one grocery savings tip. Always, always, always, pay attention as they're ringing you up at the grocery store (any store, really.) For me this means having all coupons, shoppers cards and money/credit cards ready to go, and Ellie usually back into her carseat, so that I can pay attention. I race to get everything up on the belt before they are actually checking me out, 'cause I like to be watching the check out process from the beginning. No exaggeration, I think I catch a mistake at least one out of every three shopping trips. (Especially if you go the first night of a sale . . . you're more likely to be able to get the items you want and not need a raincheck for the super cool deals, but they haven't worked all of the bugs out of the system). Last night's mistakes at Albertsons totaled fifteen dollars. In one transaction. Had I not been watching or paying attention to what I was buying, and what the offers were, I would have been out all that money. And for me, that's a chunk of the grocery budget I can't spare. One of my purchases tonight was a chunk of money off if you bought ten of one item. Which I did. But, apparently, one variety of the product that I bought wasn't coming up in the system as part of the same promotion (even though it should have been), so when the sale totalled, it didn't take the discount off any of the items. The other 'mistake' I came across tonight was on Albertson's buy two, get two promotion. I'd bought my four items, and it wasn't until I got out to the car that I realized the purchase price of two of those items hadn't been taken off. So, I went back inside to have it fixed. I was informed that those items weren't listed in the ad. I walked the service desk lady to the display where the item was not only marked with the promotion, but the sign had a picture of the actual item on it. She still seemed wary of giving me the deal, saying again, "Well, it's not supposed to be on sale, it's not on the ad." To which I responded sweetly, "Yeah, but it is on this sign. You can take the sign down so you guys don't run into this again, but it's pretty obvious what's being advertised here, so I'd like my refund on these two items." Sometimes you have to nicely tell them what you expect from them. Usually, they'll see things your way. If not, a manager will. As long as you're being polite and reasonable.
Make a mental note of what things should cost, especially clearance items. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten something like a lipstick that was marked down to like two bucks on the shelf, and it rang it at regular price at the checkstand. If you're not watching these things (or at least checking your receipt closely when you get back to your car), you're just throwing money away (and if you're me, probably ending up with a lipstick that you would've never paid full price for . . . what is it about something being marked two bucks that makes me think I can pull off 'pink stardust' lipgloss).
So, anyway, long story short (too late), paying attention at the checkstand, knowing what you're buying and what it should cost, can save you a ton of money in the long run.
And speaking of saving money, right now at Albertson's they're running a pretty cool deal. We don't drink much soda at our house, but for the occassional root beer floats or for parties, we like to keep a couple two liter A&Ws around. Well, this week at Albertson's, buy ten 7-Up, A&W Root Beer or Sunkist two liters for ten dollars, and they'll print a ten dollar rebate form for you at the checkstand. Yep, making ten bottles of soda completely free. Not necessarily the healthiest food storage items around, but can't beat free!
Thanks to all of you who posted on my budget/money post . . . and if anyone else has anything to add, it's always appreciated. Last night, while grocery shopping, I ended up making two seperate trips up to the customer service counter at Albertson's getting refunds. Reminding me of my number one grocery savings tip. Always, always, always, pay attention as they're ringing you up at the grocery store (any store, really.) For me this means having all coupons, shoppers cards and money/credit cards ready to go, and Ellie usually back into her carseat, so that I can pay attention. I race to get everything up on the belt before they are actually checking me out, 'cause I like to be watching the check out process from the beginning. No exaggeration, I think I catch a mistake at least one out of every three shopping trips. (Especially if you go the first night of a sale . . . you're more likely to be able to get the items you want and not need a raincheck for the super cool deals, but they haven't worked all of the bugs out of the system). Last night's mistakes at Albertsons totaled fifteen dollars. In one transaction. Had I not been watching or paying attention to what I was buying, and what the offers were, I would have been out all that money. And for me, that's a chunk of the grocery budget I can't spare. One of my purchases tonight was a chunk of money off if you bought ten of one item. Which I did. But, apparently, one variety of the product that I bought wasn't coming up in the system as part of the same promotion (even though it should have been), so when the sale totalled, it didn't take the discount off any of the items. The other 'mistake' I came across tonight was on Albertson's buy two, get two promotion. I'd bought my four items, and it wasn't until I got out to the car that I realized the purchase price of two of those items hadn't been taken off. So, I went back inside to have it fixed. I was informed that those items weren't listed in the ad. I walked the service desk lady to the display where the item was not only marked with the promotion, but the sign had a picture of the actual item on it. She still seemed wary of giving me the deal, saying again, "Well, it's not supposed to be on sale, it's not on the ad." To which I responded sweetly, "Yeah, but it is on this sign. You can take the sign down so you guys don't run into this again, but it's pretty obvious what's being advertised here, so I'd like my refund on these two items." Sometimes you have to nicely tell them what you expect from them. Usually, they'll see things your way. If not, a manager will. As long as you're being polite and reasonable.
Make a mental note of what things should cost, especially clearance items. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten something like a lipstick that was marked down to like two bucks on the shelf, and it rang it at regular price at the checkstand. If you're not watching these things (or at least checking your receipt closely when you get back to your car), you're just throwing money away (and if you're me, probably ending up with a lipstick that you would've never paid full price for . . . what is it about something being marked two bucks that makes me think I can pull off 'pink stardust' lipgloss).
So, anyway, long story short (too late), paying attention at the checkstand, knowing what you're buying and what it should cost, can save you a ton of money in the long run.
And speaking of saving money, right now at Albertson's they're running a pretty cool deal. We don't drink much soda at our house, but for the occassional root beer floats or for parties, we like to keep a couple two liter A&Ws around. Well, this week at Albertson's, buy ten 7-Up, A&W Root Beer or Sunkist two liters for ten dollars, and they'll print a ten dollar rebate form for you at the checkstand. Yep, making ten bottles of soda completely free. Not necessarily the healthiest food storage items around, but can't beat free!
Tagged
My sister-in-law Liz tagged me. Here's a bunch of random info about me.
4 RANDOM THINGS I LIKE ABOUT MY HUSBAND:
1. Nicest guy I've ever met. Seriously. No exaggeration.
2. Loves me and the kids above everything else. Me, especially. :-)
3. Super smart and talented. Like anything he tries, he's ridiculously good at. Do you know that on top of being an engineer, the guy has made me gorgeous ceramic vases, dishes, plates and serving pieces (wheel thrown pottery), and jewelry boxes, cups and hand crafted pens on his wood lathe.
4. I have never met someone I laugh so much with. We put the girls down to bed and sometimes don't get to sleep for hours and hours after we'd planned 'cause we just end up talking and laughing well into the night. It adds to my sleep deprivation, but I wouldn't change it for the world.
4 JOBS I'VE HAD:
1. Mom. That's the best one.
2. Graphic Designer at a few different places.
3. ShopKo Customer Service. Star & Talina followed in my red smock wearing footsteps, as did my cousin Marissa. It's our lame family tradition. (Even found out Greg had worked there when he was younger!)
4. Worked one winter at Deer Valley Ski Resort. Had an interesting conversation with David Hyde Pierce about the book "Grapes of Wrath."
4 MOVIES I'VE WATCHED MORE THAN ONCE:
1. Arsenic & Old Lace One of the many movies that bring me back to my childhood. Making caramel corn and all going into Mom & Dad's room and piling on the bed or the floor and watching old movies. Good times.
2. Court Jester Um, yeah, I think we're definitely going for the nostalgia thing, yet another childhood favorite. "The pellet with the poison's in the vessel with the pestle, the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true." And young Angela Lansbury. Really young.
3. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers Childhood memories, yet again. I own all of these movies by the way, they give me warm fuzzies every time I watch them. (Greg had seen none of the above three movies before we met . . . he'd seen them all by the time we got married. These, and Labyrinth. How does one make it that far in life without having seen all of these fine films?! (And believe it or not Jessi, Bowie is a man.))
4. This is much harder than it should be. I'm just not a movie person. I enjoy movies, I own movies, I go to movies, but I've never had 'favorites' really, or even ones I watch too often. I'll go with Liz here though and say Disney movies. Any of them. And I can't get my kid to watch any of them either (except Dumbo! Yay! One hour and six minutes of distraction. I'm a good Mom.)
4 TV SHOWS I WATCH:
1. Not on anymore, but I love Sports Night. I own the DVDs.
2. Also not on anymore, but Pretender was awesome. Also own on DVDs. Had a bit of a crush on Jarod.
3. Daily Show with Jon Stewart. This should surprise nobody who reads my blog.
4. Don't tell Greg, but I'm really starting to like Good Eats. For those of you who haven't watched it, it's what would happen if Bill Nye the Science Guy had a cooking show. The host, Alton Brown, doesn't just tell you to add a tsp. of baking soda . . . he tells you why to add it, when to add it, how it works, why it works, what it works with, and all the science behind it.
4 PEOPLE WHO EMAIL ME REGULARLY:
1. Facebook. Me & Facebook are tight. I'd say 30% of my daily emails are from Facebook.
2. Talina. Who is obviously the sister who loves me the most. I'll remember that at Christmas.
3. Dad. Who sends a lot of forwards, and updates on which library books are due like right now.
4. Clients. Most of my recent emails seem to be from people I'm doing graphics jobs for. I'm reasonably priced and super quick . . . keep me in mind for all your graphics needs!
4 OF MY FAVORITE FOODS:
1. Double vanilla ice cream with fresh raspberries. Oh, sooooo good! Greg and I are recently obsessed with this, and if raspberries are in season, and on sale ('cause I'm cheap), then we tend to eat this almost every other night or so as soon as the girls are asleep.
2. Hawaiian haystacks.
3. Tater tot Casserole. Don't mock it 'til you try it. Haven't found anyone who hasn't liked it, only people who wouldn't give it a chance!
4. Chicken fajitas, with peppers and onions. In a fresh tortilla. Yum!
4 PLACES I WOULD LIKE TO VISIT:
1. Europe. Um, all of it, then I don't have to waste all four spots on European countries. Anywhere of cool historical or cultural significance & amazing architecture.
2. Washington D.C. I could spend all day at museums, and fortunately married someone just as geeky. I've been there before, but Greg hasn't yet, so I'm dying to go there together.
3. SeaWorld. My whole goal in life right now is to take my two year old to SeaWorld. So she'll discover the amazingness of aquatic mammals and want to be a marine biologist all throughout her childhood. Just like me and all of my sisters. (My family would choose SeaWorld way over Disneyland for family vacations as kids.)
4. China. Or Russia. Or India. I wanna go see everything we ever discussed in my 11th grade 'World Cultures' class.
4 THINGS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO IN THE COMING YEAR:
1. Ellie learning to crawl, walk, talk, etc. Of course, this is also what I fear in the coming year. It's already going too fast.
2. Hopefully a trip to SeaWorld. In April. Or September.
3. Possibly buying the house of our dreams and moving. Also, one of my great fears again.
4. Annie turning three and being able to take dance classes, tumbling & go to preschool. She is so going to love it!
If you have any desire to do this little survey yourself, consider yourself tagged!
4 RANDOM THINGS I LIKE ABOUT MY HUSBAND:
1. Nicest guy I've ever met. Seriously. No exaggeration.
2. Loves me and the kids above everything else. Me, especially. :-)
3. Super smart and talented. Like anything he tries, he's ridiculously good at. Do you know that on top of being an engineer, the guy has made me gorgeous ceramic vases, dishes, plates and serving pieces (wheel thrown pottery), and jewelry boxes, cups and hand crafted pens on his wood lathe.
4. I have never met someone I laugh so much with. We put the girls down to bed and sometimes don't get to sleep for hours and hours after we'd planned 'cause we just end up talking and laughing well into the night. It adds to my sleep deprivation, but I wouldn't change it for the world.
4 JOBS I'VE HAD:
1. Mom. That's the best one.
2. Graphic Designer at a few different places.
3. ShopKo Customer Service. Star & Talina followed in my red smock wearing footsteps, as did my cousin Marissa. It's our lame family tradition. (Even found out Greg had worked there when he was younger!)
4. Worked one winter at Deer Valley Ski Resort. Had an interesting conversation with David Hyde Pierce about the book "Grapes of Wrath."
4 MOVIES I'VE WATCHED MORE THAN ONCE:
1. Arsenic & Old Lace One of the many movies that bring me back to my childhood. Making caramel corn and all going into Mom & Dad's room and piling on the bed or the floor and watching old movies. Good times.
2. Court Jester Um, yeah, I think we're definitely going for the nostalgia thing, yet another childhood favorite. "The pellet with the poison's in the vessel with the pestle, the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true." And young Angela Lansbury. Really young.
3. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers Childhood memories, yet again. I own all of these movies by the way, they give me warm fuzzies every time I watch them. (Greg had seen none of the above three movies before we met . . . he'd seen them all by the time we got married. These, and Labyrinth. How does one make it that far in life without having seen all of these fine films?! (And believe it or not Jessi, Bowie is a man.))
4. This is much harder than it should be. I'm just not a movie person. I enjoy movies, I own movies, I go to movies, but I've never had 'favorites' really, or even ones I watch too often. I'll go with Liz here though and say Disney movies. Any of them. And I can't get my kid to watch any of them either (except Dumbo! Yay! One hour and six minutes of distraction. I'm a good Mom.)
4 TV SHOWS I WATCH:
1. Not on anymore, but I love Sports Night. I own the DVDs.
2. Also not on anymore, but Pretender was awesome. Also own on DVDs. Had a bit of a crush on Jarod.
3. Daily Show with Jon Stewart. This should surprise nobody who reads my blog.
4. Don't tell Greg, but I'm really starting to like Good Eats. For those of you who haven't watched it, it's what would happen if Bill Nye the Science Guy had a cooking show. The host, Alton Brown, doesn't just tell you to add a tsp. of baking soda . . . he tells you why to add it, when to add it, how it works, why it works, what it works with, and all the science behind it.
4 PEOPLE WHO EMAIL ME REGULARLY:
1. Facebook. Me & Facebook are tight. I'd say 30% of my daily emails are from Facebook.
2. Talina. Who is obviously the sister who loves me the most. I'll remember that at Christmas.
3. Dad. Who sends a lot of forwards, and updates on which library books are due like right now.
4. Clients. Most of my recent emails seem to be from people I'm doing graphics jobs for. I'm reasonably priced and super quick . . . keep me in mind for all your graphics needs!
4 OF MY FAVORITE FOODS:
1. Double vanilla ice cream with fresh raspberries. Oh, sooooo good! Greg and I are recently obsessed with this, and if raspberries are in season, and on sale ('cause I'm cheap), then we tend to eat this almost every other night or so as soon as the girls are asleep.
2. Hawaiian haystacks.
3. Tater tot Casserole. Don't mock it 'til you try it. Haven't found anyone who hasn't liked it, only people who wouldn't give it a chance!
4. Chicken fajitas, with peppers and onions. In a fresh tortilla. Yum!
4 PLACES I WOULD LIKE TO VISIT:
1. Europe. Um, all of it, then I don't have to waste all four spots on European countries. Anywhere of cool historical or cultural significance & amazing architecture.
2. Washington D.C. I could spend all day at museums, and fortunately married someone just as geeky. I've been there before, but Greg hasn't yet, so I'm dying to go there together.
3. SeaWorld. My whole goal in life right now is to take my two year old to SeaWorld. So she'll discover the amazingness of aquatic mammals and want to be a marine biologist all throughout her childhood. Just like me and all of my sisters. (My family would choose SeaWorld way over Disneyland for family vacations as kids.)
4. China. Or Russia. Or India. I wanna go see everything we ever discussed in my 11th grade 'World Cultures' class.
4 THINGS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO IN THE COMING YEAR:
1. Ellie learning to crawl, walk, talk, etc. Of course, this is also what I fear in the coming year. It's already going too fast.
2. Hopefully a trip to SeaWorld. In April. Or September.
3. Possibly buying the house of our dreams and moving. Also, one of my great fears again.
4. Annie turning three and being able to take dance classes, tumbling & go to preschool. She is so going to love it!
If you have any desire to do this little survey yourself, consider yourself tagged!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Look Ma, No Hands!
Now that is a good, tight swaddle.
(Click on the picture to see it bigger, to get more of the effect).
This is what happens when Greg stays home sick from work.
Look how pleased they are with themselves.
(Click on the picture to see it bigger, to get more of the effect).
This is what happens when Greg stays home sick from work.Look how pleased they are with themselves.
Manahmana
Warning: this will get stuck in your head. Just reading my post will get the song stuck in your head, even without watching the video (although, hopefully my own unique version of it! I'd like for it to spread across the land.) You've been warned.
We sing this song with Annie a lot. She walks around the house going, "Do do do doo do. Manahmana. Do doo do do." But, I've turned it into a new little song, where I sing to Annie, "Who loves the Annie? DaMamaDoes. Who loves the Ellie? DaMamaDoes. Who loves the Annie, and the Ellie and the Daddy, the whole family? DaMamaDoes."
This morning Annie was walking around singing, "Who loves the Annie? The Mommy Does." One and only time her pronunciation kicks my pronunciations trash.
I suggest you immediately take this song, make it your own, and sing it constantly until it is so stuck in your head only a hole in the skull could get it out! It's fun. Who says so? Da Mama Does.
While searching for the muppets video clip, I found this one too. Beaker always was my favorite:
We sing this song with Annie a lot. She walks around the house going, "Do do do doo do. Manahmana. Do doo do do." But, I've turned it into a new little song, where I sing to Annie, "Who loves the Annie? DaMamaDoes. Who loves the Ellie? DaMamaDoes. Who loves the Annie, and the Ellie and the Daddy, the whole family? DaMamaDoes."
This morning Annie was walking around singing, "Who loves the Annie? The Mommy Does." One and only time her pronunciation kicks my pronunciations trash.
I suggest you immediately take this song, make it your own, and sing it constantly until it is so stuck in your head only a hole in the skull could get it out! It's fun. Who says so? Da Mama Does.
While searching for the muppets video clip, I found this one too. Beaker always was my favorite:
Tell Me About It
As I was bringing Annie into my room this morning, after her earlier rising than I would have preferred. She looked at my window and said, "Mom, it's kinda dark outside." "Yeah Annie, it's still a little early, you should probably still be asleep." "Yeah," she said, pausing to think, "I non't know how to sleep good." I know, trust me kid, I know.
She also had copious amounts of green snot coming from her sickly nose, and after the initial blowing of her nose on a tissue ("I need a tissue Mom, not blow my nose on the blanket anymore."), she sat in my bed, breathing heavily in and out, all sniffly and congested. She suddenly got this huge smile and turned and looked at me and said, "My nose makes lots of noises Mom!"
She also had copious amounts of green snot coming from her sickly nose, and after the initial blowing of her nose on a tissue ("I need a tissue Mom, not blow my nose on the blanket anymore."), she sat in my bed, breathing heavily in and out, all sniffly and congested. She suddenly got this huge smile and turned and looked at me and said, "My nose makes lots of noises Mom!"
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Money, Money, Money
Since I'm grounded from watching financial news (it's now a self-imposed grounding, I get too worked up, it ain't good for me.) I've turned to my friend the internet to help me plan for the possibly-bleak financial days ahead. Mainly, I'm looking at budgeting. But then I've just found there's sooooo many sites with so many different plans, and I get bored easily . . . so I decided to just ask you guys your opinion.
I have some things I know are important to me: no credit card or other debts, make more than our recommended mortgage payment, keep spending to a minimum and keep saving money, especially in our mutual funds/401Ks, 'cause we're getting KILLER deals right now in this market.
But I know I could be doing better. Earlier this year I attempted my first 'budget'. I know, I know, as a homeowner for the past 9 years I should probably have had a budget before this year, but I didn't. And I've never used a check registry. My Mom's pretty convinced she somehow went horribly wrong in her raising of me. But this year I really wrote it down, figured out what our actual bills are each month (shocking, I know), and made a plan. Our bills are all taken out of our checking account on certain days, gas is just put on the debit card and I just keep track of how much we're spending there, and everything else is done in cash. Each month I get a certain amount of cash from our checking account, and divide that cash up into my multi-pocketed purse. There's a pocket for groceries, a pocket for the girls (diapers, wipes, clothes), a pocket for spending money and a pocket for date money.
I'm really loving the cash system, since I've never been so aware of where my money is going. (I'm spending less than I used to . . . Greg loves it, 'cause with cash handed to him each and every month, he's spending more than he ever has before. It's like Christmas every month now for him.) The problem is the 'miscellaneous.' We leave an extra amount of money in the checking account to use, but I find when I end up putting 'extra' stuff on the debit card (like where does a new humidifier come from in the budget?!), I might just pick up some new mascara and some tortillas at the same time I buy that humidifier with our miscellaneous debit monies. I guess I need to keep myself more honest. I also tend to be a little too liberal with the grocery budget, 'cause if I run outta grocery money I know I'll just use the debit card; if I run out of my 'fun' money, I can't bring myself to charge a meal at Chick-fil-A, since that's obviously against our financial plan. So, I end up eating up our grocery budget too early in the month by grabbing a new pair of jeans for Annie and baby wipes or something while grocery shopping.
Oh, and the single smartest financial decision I've made? We direct deposit the least possible amount we can live off of, plus one hundred dollars, into our checking account each month. The rest goes automatically into a savings account. At a whole 'nother bank. I have a tendency to spend whatever is available, so no available money works out best for me. Plus, if I run out of money by the end of the month, even for a legitimate reason, it's a big deal to transfer money from one bank to another, making me think twice. Whereas any money in the our savings account at the same bank as our checking just gets transferred and spent before I even stop to think about it.
So, what are your guys' suggestions for financial bliss? Sure fire budgeting software? Any budgeting tips or financial words of wisdom to share with those of us less money-wise?
Edited to add: Thanks for the advice so far! Keep it coming! I forgot to mention this, another financial tip on my end is I actually have all of our tithing and fast offerings automatically deposited to an account other than our main checking account, so that that money never makes it into the 'budget', but is set aside from the get go. I tend to be more of a 'once a month or so' type of tithing payer, so to have the money sitting in our checking account for an extra few weeks would send me into a unconscious spending spree. So, it never factors into our regular budget, making it easier for me to make sure I've never spent the money when it sits there for awhile.
I have some things I know are important to me: no credit card or other debts, make more than our recommended mortgage payment, keep spending to a minimum and keep saving money, especially in our mutual funds/401Ks, 'cause we're getting KILLER deals right now in this market.
But I know I could be doing better. Earlier this year I attempted my first 'budget'. I know, I know, as a homeowner for the past 9 years I should probably have had a budget before this year, but I didn't. And I've never used a check registry. My Mom's pretty convinced she somehow went horribly wrong in her raising of me. But this year I really wrote it down, figured out what our actual bills are each month (shocking, I know), and made a plan. Our bills are all taken out of our checking account on certain days, gas is just put on the debit card and I just keep track of how much we're spending there, and everything else is done in cash. Each month I get a certain amount of cash from our checking account, and divide that cash up into my multi-pocketed purse. There's a pocket for groceries, a pocket for the girls (diapers, wipes, clothes), a pocket for spending money and a pocket for date money.
I'm really loving the cash system, since I've never been so aware of where my money is going. (I'm spending less than I used to . . . Greg loves it, 'cause with cash handed to him each and every month, he's spending more than he ever has before. It's like Christmas every month now for him.) The problem is the 'miscellaneous.' We leave an extra amount of money in the checking account to use, but I find when I end up putting 'extra' stuff on the debit card (like where does a new humidifier come from in the budget?!), I might just pick up some new mascara and some tortillas at the same time I buy that humidifier with our miscellaneous debit monies. I guess I need to keep myself more honest. I also tend to be a little too liberal with the grocery budget, 'cause if I run outta grocery money I know I'll just use the debit card; if I run out of my 'fun' money, I can't bring myself to charge a meal at Chick-fil-A, since that's obviously against our financial plan. So, I end up eating up our grocery budget too early in the month by grabbing a new pair of jeans for Annie and baby wipes or something while grocery shopping.
Oh, and the single smartest financial decision I've made? We direct deposit the least possible amount we can live off of, plus one hundred dollars, into our checking account each month. The rest goes automatically into a savings account. At a whole 'nother bank. I have a tendency to spend whatever is available, so no available money works out best for me. Plus, if I run out of money by the end of the month, even for a legitimate reason, it's a big deal to transfer money from one bank to another, making me think twice. Whereas any money in the our savings account at the same bank as our checking just gets transferred and spent before I even stop to think about it.
So, what are your guys' suggestions for financial bliss? Sure fire budgeting software? Any budgeting tips or financial words of wisdom to share with those of us less money-wise?
Edited to add: Thanks for the advice so far! Keep it coming! I forgot to mention this, another financial tip on my end is I actually have all of our tithing and fast offerings automatically deposited to an account other than our main checking account, so that that money never makes it into the 'budget', but is set aside from the get go. I tend to be more of a 'once a month or so' type of tithing payer, so to have the money sitting in our checking account for an extra few weeks would send me into a unconscious spending spree. So, it never factors into our regular budget, making it easier for me to make sure I've never spent the money when it sits there for awhile.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Sittin' Pretty
Ellie turned five months old now (as of yesterday). A celebration of pictures is in order.
Here's another comparison of my two girls.
They may not look like clones (per my family's usual), but they look like sisters.
Here's Ellie showing off her five month old skills. Sitting up, tall & proud, all on her own!
Whoa! Starting to tip . . .
Over correcting the other way . . .
Losing it . . .
That was cool Mom.
Here's another picture of her, just chillin' on my bed.
Here's Annie & Ellie. Annie trying to be grumpy looking 'cause I'd just changed her diaper. Ellie showing off her flexibility by flossing her nonexistent teeth with her toenails (and she hasn't even hung out with Aunt Lacy too much!)
Here's another comparison of my two girls.
They may not look like clones (per my family's usual), but they look like sisters.
Here's Ellie showing off her five month old skills. Sitting up, tall & proud, all on her own!
Whoa! Starting to tip . . .
Over correcting the other way . . .
Losing it . . .
That was cool Mom.
Here's another picture of her, just chillin' on my bed.
Here's Annie & Ellie. Annie trying to be grumpy looking 'cause I'd just changed her diaper. Ellie showing off her flexibility by flossing her nonexistent teeth with her toenails (and she hasn't even hung out with Aunt Lacy too much!)
I Need a Milkshake
So, have you guys read this new study about milkshakes and obesity? (And no, it wasn't an obvious cause and effect study.)
Apparently, when a thin person sips a milkshake, they get more pleasure from the experience of eating than the heavier counterpart. Am I the only one that seems really unfair too?! :-)
They did MRIs on a bunch of young women and teens while they sipped small amounts of chocolate milkshakes. When a thin person drank the shake, the dopamine releasing center of their brain lit up like a Christmas tree and flooded their body with pleasure-inducing hormones. When an overweight woman drank the same shake, the dorsal striatum (the dopamine drip of the human brain) showed less activity than in the thinner test subjects. And for those heavier people with a gene called TaqlA1, the decreased response was even more pronounced. Can you imagine being in that study . . . you'd totally feel like they kept just piling it on, "Well, you're already overweight, and apparently our MRI shows you don't really enjoy eating food as much as that 19 year old cheerleader sitting out in the waiting room, and your genetic tests show an obesity gene is also apparent. Um, have a nice day. You can the rest of that shake if you want . . . just don't expect to enjoy it all that much."
Apparently, when a thin person sips a milkshake, they get more pleasure from the experience of eating than the heavier counterpart. Am I the only one that seems really unfair too?! :-)
They did MRIs on a bunch of young women and teens while they sipped small amounts of chocolate milkshakes. When a thin person drank the shake, the dopamine releasing center of their brain lit up like a Christmas tree and flooded their body with pleasure-inducing hormones. When an overweight woman drank the same shake, the dorsal striatum (the dopamine drip of the human brain) showed less activity than in the thinner test subjects. And for those heavier people with a gene called TaqlA1, the decreased response was even more pronounced. Can you imagine being in that study . . . you'd totally feel like they kept just piling it on, "Well, you're already overweight, and apparently our MRI shows you don't really enjoy eating food as much as that 19 year old cheerleader sitting out in the waiting room, and your genetic tests show an obesity gene is also apparent. Um, have a nice day. You can the rest of that shake if you want . . . just don't expect to enjoy it all that much."
This was kind of depressing . . . I was gonna go eat ice cream or something in response, but now I know that's just a moot point.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)