. . . . . . . Boogerbubbles

Godzilla and the "New" Easter Story

2011-04-22T10:50:00.000-07:00

Lately, Evan has been borderline obsessed with Godzilla. He walks around singing a godzilla song, pretends to be godzilla, and builds godzilla out of everything. Yesterday we had a conversation about godzilla versus the Easter Bunny:
Mom: "Should we ask godzilla to come Saturday and bring treats rather than the Easter Bunny?"

Evan: "No! I want both to come."

Mom: "What kind of treat is godzilla going to bring you?"

Evan with a lot of godzilla like zest: "He's going to bring me MEAT!!"

That's our little carnivore.

And now for an Easter story I wrote last year but forgot to post:

Easter 2010

Family Home Evening (FHE) in our house is a little more '30 second story and a lot of running around' than a true family study of gospel principles. To help in our endeavor to have more quality FHE time (because Evan is getting close to age 3 and should be able to recite the Articles of Faith by now...) we've been inviting friends over to mix it up a bit. Our good friends and next door neighbors graciously accept our invitations to join us for FHE many Monday nights. The girls, collectively known as 'the Ka' by Evan do a great job in providing an example/distraction for a length of time long enough to squeeze in a lesson.

A couple of weeks ago in an attempt to give an Easter lesson Evan might get something out of, I used the little Book of Mormon picture book. 'The Ka' read most of the captions under the pictures out loud and Evan stood by waiting for his turn. After looking at pictures of Christ visiting America talking to all the children, Evan was insistent it was his turn to read. We all chuckled as he started in on his version of the picture with Jesus surrounded by all the kids. In all earnestness, Evan told us that, "Jesus talk to the kids...", then looked up and finished his story with finesse, "and Jesus said, 'BOO'".

We all laughed at how cute him and his story was but then I thought, though he may not have been quoting scripture, I think Evan has a great point. I bet Jesus was great with kids and has a great sense of humor. Kids love Him and kids don't like lame people.

Happy Easter!

Six months of silence and this is all I've got...

2011-04-20T00:17:00.000-07:00

After the third day in a row of my son waking up before me and digging out a breakfast of peppermint patties and Korean junk food that may or may not be older than he is, I finally cracked and decided today was the day I would organize our kitchen corner pantry. And today I would document that I actually finished an organizational project on my own house.

I got a little ahead of myself and forgot to document the true 'before'. All the crap on the counter used to be lovingly shoved in the bottom shelf.

Vitamins and jell-o. Could have been breakfast on day 4.

Wow, that's a lot of crap. Oh, wait I see a cantaloupe in the back proving we do in fact eat more than choco-pies.

Hello, Evan...and wait, is that Santa??

Pez Santa. Not guaranteeing circa Christmas 2010. Not even guaranteeing circa Christmas 2009. Uh-hum.

Hello again, Evan. Did I mention he likes to "help" with projects? (In this instance, "help" means "help himself to all the uncovered goods and squirrel them away all over the house")

Did I also mention he had pez Frosty for breakfast? And when I say breakfast, I mean lunch. Yes, I know he's still jammied. It was either clean out the cabinet or find clothes for Evan. Once 'Mad Cleaner' comes out (term of endearment coined by Todd) everything else becomes secondary.

Back to the pantry. I used the old tissue paper trick to determine the size of turntables I wanted. Thank you internet for finding me reasonably priced 18" turntables at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. A quick trip to B cubed and a large, overly priced kit-kat bribe for Evan (yes, I did get him dressed before we left) and voila! new life for my cabinet.

I'm pretty sure the only really effective option for large corner cabinets are turntables or lazy susans. But I'm really not sure why, why it's taken me SEVEN YEARS to figure this one out. The bottom corner cabinet has a lazy susan. I guess I figured my awesome memory would work just as well. "Don't buy more croutons, Todd, we have a bag of cheesy ones on the first shelf underneath Santa and 3 choco-pies."

Look at the awesomeness. I even broke out the label maker.

"Where do I put the oatmeal, awesome wife?"

"Second shelf turntable next to 'breakfast'" I say as I give the turntable a spin and stop at breakfast.

And what better way to store 'healthy snacks' than in a menacing container warning you to keep out? (Shhhh...The good stuff is on the second shelf in an old vitamin box - that oughtta keep it aging to perfection for at least another seven years)

The world is my sandbox

2010-10-17T00:53:00.000-07:00

I think he would live here if we'ld let him.

If you like sand this is...not for you.

Because, this, my friend(s), is salt.

But it matters little to him, it's salt as far as the eye can see and he got to run, play, scoop and even make salt angels

in his favorite shirt.

Ok, one of his favortie shirts. It's a toss up between 'superhero shirt' and 'shark shirt'. Aunt Wendy only sees him on shark shirt day and has begun offering to buy the poor boy some clothes. Who am I to turn down an offer from a doting aunt??

He REALLY likes alligator shirts.

But she already knows that.

And no one makes alligator shirts for 3 year olds.

We've all checked.

Two Old Men

2010-09-18T11:27:00.000-07:00

Conversation between a 3 year old and an almost 3 year old with translations:

Jaden: We gowin foobaw? (Are we going to Jaxon's football game?)
Evan: No, we go to Jackie Gwandma's house. (No, you fool, we're going to Jackie Grandma's house.)
Jaden: No fooball? (Really, I have to miss the football game again?)
Evan: Nooooo, we're going to Jackie Grandma's house!!! (We're not going to the game - don't you know they don't want to have to chase us around?)
Jaden: Go to Boma's house? (Man, we miss out on everything!)
Evan: NOOOOOO!!!!! JACKIE GWAAAAAAANDMA'S Howwwwse... (Stop calling her Boma, it's Jackie Grandma...)
Jaden: Loo, baby Ewan - Bardabake!!! (Since we're clearly not wanted at the football game - let's go to Cowabunga Bay, man!)
Evan: Beaw Lyake? (Dude, you want to go to Bear Lake?)
Jaden: Bardabake! Loo, let go bardabake!!! (No way, that's too far. Let's go to the new water park it's awesome!!)
Evan: Where Beaw Lyake? I don't see it. (Yeah, right. It's closed and our mom's want to take us some place where they DON'T have to chase us around.)

The only thing missing are the hearing aids...

It smell like clowns.

2010-08-13T22:10:00.000-07:00

Exactly. But that's what I woke up to this morning. Evan jumped in my bed, sniffed around asking "What that smell like?" then confidently announced:

"It smell like clowns."

I laffled all day just thinking about it (I intermittently laughed then paused baffled thinking "wait, what?").

If my room smells like clowns, I should at least get to make up new words.

Since I in no way can convey clown smell in picture form, here are a few other pics from the past few months I love.

Kiss and a Haircut

This was after Aunt Mary Ellen so graciously gave him a haircut. Look at that face!

Practicing 'Scoops'

Airplane Arms

Rocket Ears

And lastly, a new cousin (i.e. "teeny tiny baby" or CJ to the rest of us)

So Sweet

No Explanation Necessary

I love this picture - look at the all around happiness.

A Few Weeks Old

Stay tuned, I'm sure there will certainly be a lot of cousin time and pics to follow. Evan currently balls up his blankey, carries it around, and calls it CJ. He also tells everyone he's going to have a baby sister. And I am NOT pregnant. Try reigning in THAT rumor...

Summertime...and the living is easy

2010-07-21T23:41:00.000-07:00

Perfect weather. Perfect little imperfect "small" family and a pool.

The boy and I end up here at least once a week and because of SwimKids I actually enjoy it. Last year any pool/large body of water time equaled crazy mom frantically running after lightning mc'Evan' as he darted toward any water he could surely drowned in. Then he would jump right in the large body of sure death with no regard to my heart condition. What's a neurotic mom to do who just wants a little pool time?

Search the internet, of course.

Because no one here is willing to teach the 3 and under crowd more than money wasting bubble blowing I had to make a treck to the great metropolis of the state. SwimKids teaches kids as young as FOUR MONTHS how to actually swim in water. Swim, float and survive. Music to my heart. When I informed our fearless toddler of his upcoming lessons and that my goal was for him to swim like a shark he perked up and added, "and I'll eat all the Nemo's!!" then ran around eating 'Nemos' Jaws style.

Well, at least he was excited.

15 minute private lessons, twice a day for a week. We missed a couple so he got about 10 lessons. The kid can now float on his back, roll over from his back and swim to the edge of the pool. He jumps in the pool and swims to me. He can almost swim then roll onto his back into a floating position. He's no Phelps and he's not drowned-proof yet but he does understand that all water is not equal. No running off and jumping into whatever and no nervous breakdowns for mom. (Picture a big band parade marching by). It's freakin' awesome!

As you can tell I'm a little overzealous about this new found swimming deal. So much so that at the ward swim party last week I was so convinced that I needed to convince others of my new found nugget of info that I'm pretty sure I scared any friends I had left far away. So bring up the words 'swim', 'water', 'Nemo', and 'heart condition' at your own risk.

So when your kid hits 4 months, and you're willing to let me drone on for an hour about SwimKids, call me and I'll hook you up. Or you can just google 'SwimKids'. But whatever.

Send in the Birthday Clowns

2010-06-30T08:22:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Evan!!!

The birthday and party are done and over but the memories linger and are going to spill out onto this blog. For the past two years we have had a Saturday swim-party-all-you-can-eat-rib fest but so much was going on in lots of our family's lives that we decided (last minute) to do a simple glutton fest on Sunday instead.

So here's the birthday boy - extremely excited about all the partying going on...

So much so he donned his favorite camo hat.

My mom made the cake, of course, she just threw it together last minute. I can throw nothing together this good last minute. Evan insisted Jackie Grandma was making him a 'moco' cake - which is what he had last year (wow, the kid has a great memory). After much debate of the issue we came to an agreement: grandma would make a clown cake and he could put black truck on it. Turns out he LOVED the clown cake, no need for black truck. Gotta love 3 year olds.

We even had clown ice cream to go along with the theme: vanilla with a hint of clown.

And no party would be complete without a party and loud-make-the-parents-annoyed noise makers. Evan saw someone with a party hat somewhere and insisted he have one for his birthday too. Thank you dollar store.

Besides eating, other party activities included playing in the "sandbox", (you may be asking is that chocolate cake or dirt and the answer is "yes".)

opening gifts from generous family and friends,

It took 3 cousins and a friend to open mom's tape job. Todd and my brother thought my packaging technique was a little tough for a 3 year old but I say why have kids if not for entertainment?

and, lastly, shrub sitting.

And by the way, this is one of the few girls we have approved for Evan to court in 20 years or so.

There's a lot of love in this family, hugs all around! My hug, though, was forced, in the pool last week and taken by myself. (For the love of pete, why, oh why, can I not remember to get a picture with the 3 of us on special occasions!)

Three years have gone by in a blink and we've loved every minute of it! I said 'loved', not 'never got frustrated, annoyed, or cried' - I don't believe they are mutually exclusive.

Maybe next year we'll hire a clown, build a real sandbox, and give everyone more than one meals notice. Either way, SOMEONE please remind me to take a family picture!

It's not just a lemon

2010-06-04T09:04:00.000-07:00

So have you all been keeping the power of lemons a secret from me?? Not only do they make your disposal smell fresh and add a bit of zing to your tall glass of refreshment, they have magical cleaning properties. (Insert your own sound of magical harp music) Hard water bites and cleaning hard water gunk bites even harder. And because I not only hate elbow grease, I hate convincing others (i.e. Todd) to use their elbow grease, I have spent a ridiculous amount of time surfing the web for the perfect miracle cleaner. Lemons! Who knew? Who knew a little squeeze of mr. lemon bottle could get rid of hard water? It's true! I cleaned the rings around my faucets AND it even worked on my colored grout. Who knows what will become of the grout after several uses but hey, it looks nice right now.

Oh, and two other uses for lemons:

1- if you rub it on your nails it supposedly brightens them

and best of all

2- it produces this face after shotglasses (yes, multiple) full are consumed...

Every day is 'Father's Day' around here...

2010-05-07T07:21:00.000-07:00

What happens when a 2 year old doesn't want his best friend to go to work? In this war zone, he demands "daddy not go to work!!!", locks the doors, attempts to take off dad's shoes while he's standing, runs after him in rain, sleet, or snow outside, barefoot and with no coat to catch a last ride in the jeep down the driveway, or this...

I don't know what's stronger: Evan's willpower or imagination.

RockStar?Hedgefundmanager?RockStar?Hedgefundmanager?

2010-05-04T13:22:00.000-07:00

Evan and his friend rocked out at our house last week - after they played in the jungle of course, hence the headlamps. They even have the stance down.

So I was going to get him into swimming lessons this summer but now I may need the name of Corbie's guitar teacher.

Well, it's actually pronounced "goootar". And while we're on the topic, it's "moco" not motorcycle and "lours" not yours. Don't ruin this he'll only be two for two more months...

Creepy or Art?

2010-04-27T09:13:00.000-07:00

Found this on Etsy and while the soap artist is talented it creeps me out a bit...

It comes in this nice little bag...

And you can display them in your bathroom for your guests...

AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO IS A BIT CREEPED OUT???

Crap.

2010-03-31T21:00:00.000-07:00

Retraction

2010-03-30T16:13:00.000-07:00

So I recently posted that Evan was "self potty training" - which is true. He knows exactly WHEN he needs to go "pee-potty" and he knows exactly HOW to do it all but we have been reminded of his age. He's 2. I believe '2' is defining the amount of time he can focus. Wether it be 2 months (the amount of time he was enamored with 'The Incredibles') or 2 weeks (the amount of time he was interested in wearing underwear on and off) or 2 minutes (the amount of time he'll sit with the other kids at "playschool" and attempt crafting) it's surely '2' that defines his focus.

We've pulled out many of the stops. Grandma "baa" embroidered some cute ducks and cars on his underwear. He loves to LOOK at them but when we offer them as an actual article of clothing his reply is "No thank you, I not wear pee-potty pants, I wear diaper." What do you say to such a polite refusal?

A couple of weeks ago I recieved a really, really cheesy free DVD in the mail all about potty training up to and including a grown man singing "The potty dance". He believed in his cause but it was still hard to watch. After trying my best to be excited about the toddler music video, I asked Evan if he wanted to watch it again. His reply? "No thank you, I want to watch diaper video." Again with the politeness - how do you respond to that? I did have to break the news that there was no nor ever will be a "diaper video". He rebounded quickly and ran off to play with his cars.

Even bribery is no match. When I try to offer him coveted toys for wearing underwear he quickly dismisses the offer and no longer even wants the toy. He referrs to the tainted toy when I try to use it as bribery for something else as "pee-potty toy" and wants nothing doing.

Though my grand parenting plans of having a diaperless three year old may not come to fruition, I certainly am not the first to endure such misguided hopes. Well, at least every third day he still wants to be a hedgefund manager when he grows up. (Yesterday it was 'McDonald Clown' and today he wanted to be a 'backhoe'. )

At least we still have control over all other aspects of his life like bedtime and food choice.

(Missing picture description: Evan flanked by parents on comfy couch with feet propped up holding a large bowl of popcorn watching 'Monsters versus Aliens' last night at 9 pm)

A single stitch

2010-03-22T15:49:00.000-07:00

Poor kid, if this keeps up his modeling career will be shot for good!

A mean 'green' train (and yellow, and blue and grey...)

2010-03-19T23:50:00.000-07:00

While Todd was stuck in D.C. during the second week of February in a hotel room all weekend due to the 3rd largest snow storm there in history (his flight was cancelled THREE times), Evan and I stayed at 'Jackie's Bed, Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner'. It's an exclusive stay where you're bound to gain at least 5 pounds in a weekend. After 3 days of cookies, meals I did nothing to prepare, and a wonderful host (aka 'Jackie Grandma' or 'mom'), poor Evan was getting a little stir crazy from all the indoor only activities - and let's face it, I was getting pretty lazy. (Anyone else revert back to age 15 when staying with their mom???)

Soooooo, what do you do when you're 2 and stir crazy?

Answer: Dump out every basket of toys in grandma's basement and repurpose the baskets as train carts... notice the clowns got a ride. The dumping out all the toys seems to be a reoccuring theme in this not very frequently updated blog.

Growth Spurt or Growing up?

2010-01-29T13:24:00.000-08:00

Every kid does this but I still find it funny.

3 things you might not realize about this picture:

1- He's wearing my shoes. Ok, that you get but he's wearing my brand-new-looking-workout shoes-that-really-should-look-worn-by-now-since-I've-had-them-for-over-a-year shoes.

I must now revisit my "new years goals". Maybe I'll go with the trend and make a much simpler and much more vague "word for the year". How about Move. It could mean, "move my butt more", "move toward a sunnier climate", or even "move over marshmallows, ice cream is a much more delicious addition to hot chocolate".

2- He's wearing my socks. He can now put on his own socks. Or even my socks. Heavy sigh. That reminds me, I need to clean out my sock drawer. Long ago I decided my sock drawer could be free and overflowing with unmated socks thus freeing myself 3 minutes when I put away laundry. Conversely, it takes at least 3 minutes every day to find matching socks.

I could Move into a more disciplined mindset and match the socks.

Move Todd's socks to a different location so I have more room for my free spirited socks.

No, I'm thinking: Move to Miami where I won't ever need socks again.

3- He's wearing underwear!!!!!! Quite honestly, he's been potty training himself. He even looks at us like we're crazy when we jump and cheer for him after he pees in the toilet - he doesn't even need cheering on. Todd and I would like to assume it's our great parenting style that moved him to use the toilet by himself but I'm more inclined to believe it's all him. From stories of friends and family with more than one child I'm assuming it's more a fluke than a norm. So we will celebrate and enjoy the self-training-toddler for the next child may not be as eager.

Yay for small miracles! Blond hair, blue eyed, 2 year old boys named Evan to be more specific.

Just to be perfectly clear...

2010-01-27T08:10:00.001-08:00

This is what happens when a 2 year old goes to "sleep" in the same room as all of his toys.

We really need to rethink our parenting strategy.

Living the Good Life

2010-01-11T23:30:00.000-08:00

Happy 2010! Christmas and New Years were great - so were Thanksgiving and Halloween for that matter. Evan was a silly clown for Halloween, we ate a lot for Thanksgiving and spent Christmas Eve with family in Salt Lake thus avoiding any potential 3 hour commute in a blizzard on Christmas morning (our usual "tradition" for the past couple of years). We spent New Years at our home for the first time in, well, I think ever. Friends came over, we ate a lot, played games and were amazed that all our children (all under age 5) lasted until midnight with nary a crisis. The meltdowns started promptly after midnight. In short, we had a pretty nice "holiday season".

So what do I mean by "Living the Good Life"? How much better can it get than to be surrounded by wonderful family, great friends, live in a warm home with a good husband (he insists he's not great yet) and a 2 year old ball of blessing, and am lucky enough to have found some meaning in life. Weekends seem to slip by in a flash but this weekend seemed to last a bit. We woke up to our sweet boy wrapped in his blanket politely letting us know it was morning and time to get up.

Then off to the tracks. Dad put together a fantastic track design and as thanks Evan shared "special blanky" with him. You know you're something when you get bestowed with "special blanky".
And it's never to early to start capturing those special moments. Evan uses my tripod as a camera and excitedly instructs you to "say cheeeeeeeese".

Then of course, after playing with the actual toy he spends more time with the box...

After a nutritious breakfast of strawberry poptarts (with extra fiber - we aren't completely negligent of our son's health) we all don all the clothing we own to brave the outdoors and head to Hardware Ranch for a day of fun in hopes of seeing the sun. This year we decided Evan was old enough to actually enjoy the sleigh ride amidst the elk and ponied up the money for tickets. This is Evan waiting.

and waiting...
Finally on the sleigh!

We had a difficult time convincing him it would NOT be fun to get off the sleigh and go play with the elk. He very reluctantly agreed to just stand by the chain and look at the elk.

Wow, did you see that??? Blue sky!!

After the ride, Evan and Todd took advantage of the hill, snow and Evan's plastic pants.

Todd, Evan and the outdoors. A combination that will no doubt provide many future great memories.
Yes, I was there and I was warm thanks to the new coat (rated -30 to 0 degrees) courtesy of the mom and Christmas combination.
As always, there's an open invitation to come up and join us at Hardware Ranch. We will provide a warm house and hot chocolate afterward as a reward for braving the elements. I hope your 2010 started off as well as ours.

"Mommy's little break" aka "Take your child to work day"

2009-10-02T13:29:00.000-07:00

Little update on the Watterson clan:

1- Todd had a birthday and my mom made the traditional 'Birthday German Chocolate Cake' -yummy!!! Notice there are 2 candles not 30 something. We like everything in our house to be educational and thus the 2 candles (C) represent a math equation. It involves a logarithmic quantification of how much sooner life will end due to an excess of school.

2 - The aforementioned also got a new bike and bike garb and was very excited. The aforementioned's son was also excited until he realized he would not be going on a bike ride with daddy. Evan ran down the street after Todd and cried for 15 minutes. Todd is no longer allowed to ride his bike unless he somehow sneaks out without Evan knowing.

3- Todd, his dad and brother all scaled King's Peak and came back mostly unbroken. Sherpa work for Todd will resume on shorter climbs that don't necessitate oxygen.

4-We went to the local zoo for FHE this week and learned that many animals go to bed (i.e. back in the building where you can't observe them) at dusk and thus we only got pictures of "Doylus Miserabolus". I think it will make the perfect pet for the Horsley family. Wpuld you like that in Christmas or Birthday present form, Tristan?

5- Evan looks cute in a tie.

6- Traffic is pretty congested in the North wing of the Watterson house anywhere between 10 am and 7 pm.

7- Every day he gets a little closer to "blowing this joint".

8-Really, whoever decided today was "take your kid to work day" at Todd's office is going to get something extra special for Christmas. Let's just say I'm not sure who was more excited. ('Most Excited' not pictured)

9- Aah brevity. Her name is fall.

May you all stay warm until June 2010 when the sun will shine warmth on us again. Global warming. What a crock.

Cakey Treat

2009-09-11T09:09:00.000-07:00

My favorite part of pretty much any gathering is the food. I can take or leave ambiance, clever conversation, or entertainment. But food - that's always necessary. So I helped organize a book club a few months back but I really should be honest with myself and admit that the food part of any gathering is my favorite part and organize a food club.

Anyhoo, at the book club a couple of nights ago my friend Becky introduced me to one of my new favorite treats. It's really just cake but it's incredibly simple (2 ingredients), extremely fast to whip up (30 seconds mixing, 2 minutes cooking) and lower fat (unless you count the whip cream, ice cream and frosting I put on it).

What is it you might ask???? We had it last night and Evan gave it a name: Cakey treat. Here's how you make '

Cakey Treat'

1/3 Cup of any cake mix
1/2 Cup water

Mix in a microwave safe cereal bowl and microwave for 2 minutes.

Viola! Cakey treat.

Of course you can amp up the fat and calories by adding the aforementioned toppings. Last night I even added white chocolate chips before "baking". It's perfect for kids - they can make their own and perfect for late night cravings because, really, who craves an apple at midnight.

My vacuum sucks

2009-09-10T12:09:00.000-07:00

Help!!!!! We've finally decided to break down and buy a new vacuum and there are TOO many options!!! Really, anything is an upgrade from the 'black, barely-sucking, so loud we used protective ear wear, we'd be better of sweeping' vacuum. But I did not realize there was a land of vacuums so vast that I would get sucked in and almost lose my mind trying to find the "perfect" vacuum for us. To top it all off, EVERY vacuum has good and bad reviews. A single vacuum could be simultaneously heavy and light, powerful and weak, easily maneuvered and difficult to move, great working attachments and cheap pieces of crap attachments - I could go on and on but you get the idea.

Our requirements are that it is not too heavy and bulky, cleans hardwood as well as carpet, has a hose attached, does not require protective ear wear, and roughly $200 or less (we'd go more if it was a great deal or great vacuum). So please, please, PLEASE if you have any suggestions I'm all ears - or eyes, rather. Mocking comments accepted as well.

Jackson Hole

2009-08-31T13:09:00.000-07:00

Summer is closing quickly and realizing we needed to take advantage of the great weather we fled to Jackson Hole last weekend. Somehow we convinced Todd's sister and husband to squish in our back seat and keep Evan entertained on the trip. They played with him, fed him, catered to his every whim - I'm actually surprised he didn't stow away in their car when they left Logan and blow our joint.

Here's some pics of the beautiful scenery:

Evan's beloved aunt and uncle:

And a pic of our fam - notice we had to strap Evan in a backpack to get him to take a picture with us as opposed to his doting aunt and uncle! :>

And of course we took loads of pictures of Evan. Here's a few of our favorite boy aka 'finder of new objects', 'path taker of the road least traveled', and 'sleeping angel'.

Needless to say we all had a great time. Also, Todd is now available for Sherpa work up most mountains for a small fee.

Girls Weekend!!!!

2009-08-12T10:10:00.000-07:00

So a couple of months ago my sister and I decided we needed a break from mommyville and the daily rut. Our first thought was of course Hawaii, but I've been to Hawaii and I didn't want to come back last time. Why tempt myself?

What's the next best thing to Hawaii?? Park City of course!! Especially Park City in August. Apparently it's the month no one wants to go to Park City because we got a sweet deal at a resort. We left last Friday and stayed until they kicked us out on Monday. The place was beautiful! It had everything but a comfortable bed. It's almost as if the builder completely forgot about mattresses until they ran out of money. "Granite counter tops. Check. $40/yard carpet. Check. Awesome steam room in the shower. Check. Really cool convection oven. Check. There's something missing...MATTRESSES!!! Quick order 1000 of the cheapest mattresses you can find STAT!!!" Or so I imagine it must have happened.

We had a beautiful view of the mountains from out little porch which we enjoyed while sitting in our complimentary white robes on the couch with our laptops. We made dinner - which we got to sit down and enjoy and actually finish eating. We got to watch movies - without interruption. We enjoyed digital scrapbooking - and actually finished some projects. We went out to dinner one night - got to go to a restaurant that didn't have a kid's menu. We stayed up late - by choice and not because a child refused to go to sleep or because we wanted to finish the dishes we've been trying to do all day. We ate treats and left full glasses of juice in low places - and didn't worry about who would find them. The room magically stayed exactly how we left it. I forgot that could happen!

A friend of ours came up Saturday night and we all had so much fun we've decided to do it again at least monthly. Ok, that's unrealistic but I figure if I hit Todd up with monthly first he won't think twice about "just a couple times a year".

Another thing I learned from this weekend: It is medically necessary to install a steam room in my shower. After taking turns 2 or 3 times a day in the steam room/shower, Janet and I decided it would be cheaper for our insurance companies to install one in our bathrooms for prevention purposes since it is almost completely possible that they could prevent most diseases and probably even broken bones.

Sorry there are no pictures, I just didn't want to take any. I think I felt the magical world would disappear if I tried to make a record of it. Thanks to my boys for taking care of each other (i.e. playing all day until they crashed on the bed) and thanks to Chalene who played daycare on Monday until I returned. Thanks to Janet and Treeesh for putting up with me for an entire weekend. And thank you Mr. Steam, a love affair I'm pretty sure Todd wouldn't mind getting in on.

Long live girl's weekends!!!!!

Sad clown, thank you.

2009-07-27T10:46:00.000-07:00

So I admit I'm not a perfect mother and at times use You tube as a babysitter so I can actually finish the dishes or do something really important like post to this blog. While we are determined not to let the TV raise our kids, You tube is perfectly suitable as a substitute parent.

As previously noted, Evan has this crazy fascination with clowns. If any of you have ever tried to find clown related videos or toys that are not scary or creepy, you know it either takes much patience and/or a slight knowledge of opera. While cooking dinner one night, Todd came across this commercial for Coke and Evan was enthralled. He refers to the video as "sad clown, thank you". I'll just go ahead and make the assumption that it's because we're top notch parents Evan recognizes the concept of sharing and adds his own "thank you" when the ungracious clown doesn't offer his own thanks to the boy.

On the flip side, I'll just go ahead and make the assumption that when Evan does something bad it is no reflection on our parenting skills.

I meant what I said, or so I thought...

2009-07-08T10:04:00.000-07:00

So awhile back I promised a book review of sorts in exchange for some book suggestions. Lately, though, my words have not been coming out - orally or written - quite like they sound in my head. I say or write things and realize after the fact the meaning is not at all what I really meant. I usually don't realize this until I get the awkward blank stare or the confused reply in writing. I often start a conversation with my husband only to forget to finish the sentence or question. Words come out that in no way relate to the conversation. My phone calls seem to end a little abruptly and not at all smoothly.

Could it be I am forgetting English? Could it be that spending most of my time with a 2 year old that has an extremely limited vocabulary and one that is adorably wrong sometimes is catching up to me?? Last night while talking to my sister on the phone I was racking my brain for the words "window shopping". All I could think of was "eye shopping" which is a literal translation from Korean for "window shopping". Even now, I sit here thinking, "now what was the point I was trying to make??" and "I think I forgot how to use punctuation".

That said, I'll forge ahead with a mini book review. Feel free to laugh at my incoherent thoughts or correct my bad English out loud.

'History of Love' by Nicole Krauss: I really appreciated all the book suggestions and look forward to reading many of them! I picked this one first because, well, it happened to be actually in the library when I was physically there to find a book. If you want something a little off the wall, different, and is filled with themes about old age, young age, and life in general then read this book. I actually laughed out loud at some points. The story is about a man in the twilight of his years and his struggle to find daily meaning in life. But it's also about a young girl on a quest for answers in a book her mother translated called 'History of Love'. These two peoples lives eventually intertwine. I'm still not sure I picked up on the intricacies of the plot but again I currently have some sort of foggy brain so this is in no way the book's problem.

'The Hiding Place' by Corrie ten Boom: I read this one for my book club - a friend and I who have the same need for intellectual conversation among adults started one a few months back. Really one of the best books I've read. I absolutely love non-fiction. I love reading real stories of real people. Corrie and her family were watch makers from Holland who helped hide Jews during the rise of Hitler. The stories of faith and courage and love are inspiring. Friends of mine raved about the book and I thought that it couldn't be THAT good and inspiring. It really is - the parenting advice alone is worth the read. Also, if you read it and are curious about more of the life of Corrie and her family, she wrote another book titled 'In my Father's House'.

'The Wednesday Letters': This is a great premise for a book. A couple dies leaving behind countless letters written by the husband every Wednesday for their entire married life. The adult kids end up finding them and many a family secret is uncovered as well as family conflicts resolved. It was an easy read but I can't say I loved it. I think the character development was weak and in the end I didn't really care what happened. If you want to read it - I recommend getting the audio version. It's relatively entertaining to listen to while you do housework or something.

'The Count of Monte Cristo': Who doesn't love the Count??? We read this one for the book club and since I've already read the abridged version thanks to (someone help me, was it Gentry or one of the other good English teachers we had???) I decided to read the longer more detailed version. If you've seen the movie, trust me, you can still read the book and be surprised. The movie, though entertaining, was WAY off. (On a side note, don't expect the 'Scarlett Letter' book and movie to correspond either) I love the subtle and not so subtle detail that goes into the characters. When Dantes is in prison, I could picture everything and feel his suffering. The many themes could be talked about extensively. For example, is the sin of omission (in this book, Caderousse allowing Dantes to be taken to prison on false pretenses by doing and saying nothing of his innocence) greater than the sin of commission (in the book, those that purposely manufactured 'evidence' of Dantes guilt)? Anyway, great book.

This month I'll be reading 'Snowlfower and the Secret Fan' by Lisa See. It sounds fascinating so I'm excited to read it. And I accidently ordered 'Peony in Love: a Novel' by the same author so I'll let you know if that's any good as well, oops. Clearly, I'm having trouble with simple tasks such as ordering a book on Amazon as well.

If you have read any good books lately, please don't hesitate to share, I'm always up for recommendations! And please don't hesitate to ask for clarification of anything I say or write - it's entirely possible it sounded better in my head.

Dosa! The NEW San Francisco treat!

2009-06-15T21:16:00.000-07:00

One week ago, Todd and I were fortunate enough to take a little time off from parenting (at least physically) and play for a couple of days in San Francisco! For some reason, I was under the impression that it was "Sunny San Francisco" even after I checked the weather forecast which told me otherwise. But like Tristan forging into spring regardless of the snow, I wore flip-flops and open-toed sandals the entire trip. The best part of the trip? Spending time with my husband (realizing we DO have more to talk about than Evan - though we did talk about him a lot. I guess that never stops!), getting to hang out with a friend of 18 years, wow!, (I can use punctuation haphazardly in a blog, right?), and the FOOD!!!

Hsin was gracious enough to plan and make reservations for dinner both nights and she picked well! If you're ever in San Francisco, try the Slanted Door (Vietnamese cuisine) and Dosa's (delicious Indian food). I've been craving a dosa ever since. Hsin mentioned it was in a "grungy" part of town - but it was worth it! I even caught a little bit of "grungy" town culture when some nice gentleman yelled out a bus window at me "Hey! White girl!!". Ha! We also went to this fun tea place for lunch but I can't remember the name.

For all of you who never believed Hsin could gain weight - here she is with a cute 30 lb belly! Obviously, she's not gained weight anywhere else.

Here's my attempt at scrapbooking the adventure.

And here's the toy motorcycle we bought in case we needed to bribe Evan to come back home with us. Let's just say grandma's (i.e. Dama baa) house is WAY more fun than ours.

Truly a good time. Thanks so much, Hsin, for taking time to hang with us - it was so great to catch up! And thanks so much Dama baa and and the rest of Todd's family for keeping Evan safe and happy while we were away.

Triple pants, clowns, and child labor laws.

2009-06-05T10:25:00.000-07:00

Some of Evans new obsessions:

1- Putting on his own pants.

Let me rephrase that: putting on as MANY pants as he can. if you look closely you'll see THREE pairs of pants.
2. Clowns and motorcycles. Or as he would say "Cowns!!!!" and "Mo'cles!!!" He keeps finding clowns, tiny, tiny clowns in his board books we had no idea were there. Over Memorial Day weekend Evan got to ride "Mo'cles" with dad (thanks to Aunt Wendy and Uncle Chris). Last week we took him to the Harley Davidson store up here and he was stoked! I think Todd actually considered buying one for his boy but the $20,000 plus price tag made us rethink our priorities.

Evan has settled for the "bike" he found next to the treadmill...

3. Water!!! What kid would not live in a pool outside if they could? Evan had a "play date" the other day and was thrilled to wake up from his nap to find kids AND a pool in his backyard!

And who doesn't love Cheetos dipped in pool water...

They had fun until it was time to water the garden...

Thanks a millions kids! Michelle, you and the workers/kids are welcome anytime!! (Note: I decided to try something NEW this year and water my tomato plants more than once or twice a month. I've heard this is one of the keys to a successful garden. Hears hoping!!)

Has it really been 8 years???

2009-05-20T15:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Todd and I both received this:

Just a few minutes before I checked my phone, I heard someone on the radio say it was "May 19th". May 19th, May 19th...that date sounds so familiar...

This was Todd and I 8 years ago yesterday:

This is us last night after we realized at lunch it was our anniversary and quickly planned a trip to one of our favorite places to eat. (Thanks so much Karla for taking Evan on short notice!!! Sorry about the marker on your hardwood floors...)

And this is Todd eight years ago on our honeymoon truly annoyed I interrupted his dining by snapping a picture (Todd claims I was taking pictures at every meal but I don't remember that):
And this is him last night thoroughly annoyed I interrupted his dining to snap a picture:

All right, so he's really NOT annoyed. I made him pose that way. Nothing like a posed picture to capture the moment.

And this is Todd using his keys and a twig to disrupt the hiding place of a wasp to sure up a spot I deemed perfect to double as a tripod...the wasp wouldn't budge so I bravely placed the camera over the wasp in his hiding spot. Anything for the perfect picture...

It's been a crazy, fun, life altering events filled 8 years and I am looking forward to the next 8. Especially year #2 of those next 8 as we have decided we must go back to Costa Rica for our 10 year anniversary.

I made him pose for this too. He is the "world's finest" husband and I hope we're blessed with many more years together.

Get your daily chuckle at the expense of Cleveland.

2009-05-14T21:05:00.000-07:00

I know, I know - 2 posts in one day! I don't even cook twice a day so this is impressive. Todd came upon these clips and I couldn't pass up sharing. Really, I've never been to Cleveland or Detroit but I haven't heard great things about either place so if I'm way off for posting these, please let me know.

I originally viewed these videos here: http://czabe.blogspot.com/2009/05/were-not-detroit.html

So even though almost every post I seemingly complain about my town as being "frigid hell" and more, I guess "at least we're not Detroit!"

Onto a new phase!

2009-05-14T12:39:00.000-07:00

There's a new addition to our family, and Evan is pretty happy about it!

He's finally not the small guy in the house anymore...

He'll have to step up a bit more, pull his weight and learn to be a big kid...

No more fooling around - he'll need to concentrate...

Learn to do some things himself...

Yup, Evan is now the proud owner of a step stool...

We figured it was time after he repeatedly took off his pants and diaper, tipped over the bathroom garbage can, climbed up and tried to pee in the toilet...

Now I just have to buy some pull-ups and not get frustrated when he isn't completely trained after one afternoon of learning to aim for cheerios in the toilet.

ANY ADVICE?!?!?!?

A much needed boost of Vitamin D

2009-05-03T20:50:00.000-07:00

I think if I were not a Christian I would worship the sun. It's a big beautiful, bright, WARM, flaming ball in the sky - what's not to love?

As you've probably surmised from the above picture, we actually left our house. Mr. Sun doesn't present himself in Logan until June so we drove south until we found him. I know Claudia doesn't have my same affinity for the sun since he makes a nuisance of himself in Dallas but here he's sorely missed 9 months out of the year. On our drive to St. George, it was a fierce battle to rid ourselves of rain, hail and heavy winds but we bravely peeled off layer after layer until we were down to shorts and flip-flops. (To be noted, Todd does NOT wear flip-flops. According to him they are not good hiking attire.) Interestingly, the locals were still wearing light jackets. I guess 75 degrees is still considered cool.

Some of the highlights, tips and points to ponder:

1- Magically, our bed was made and fresh towels were folded neatly in the bathroom when we returned each afternoon.

2- I learned Hyenas look wicked creepy up close (picture purposely blurred so as not to scare you too much) and there are way too many kinds of antelope and big horn sheep for me to ever remember. (Just to be clear, this is taken at the Wildlife Museum NOT Zion National Park although Todd says that would be cool.)

3- A cool building with modest lighting filled with the sounds of nature will lull any toddler in a stroller to sleep.
4-The beautiful 'Water Walk' near the LDS Tabernacle in St. George is a great place for tired mom's to sit and boundless balls of energy (aka toddlers) to run through water and tire himself out (yeah, right).

4- The proper term for hiking and climbing is "Up!Up!" and every mountain climbed, no matter how small to others, should be celebrated.

5- We finally took a much needed family picture. This will go right above the fireplace.

6- Buses are all the rage in our house now. Even amidst the beauty of Zion and little critters running past on our hiking paths our almost 2 year old had a one track mind. I believe he's enthralled with buses because it means NO CAR SEAT!
And here's one of the many pictures of Evan pointing to "Da Buses!"
7- God really did create a beautiful place for us to live.

I feel great after our quick trip and I give all the credit to Mr. Sun and the wonderful effects of Vitamin D. No matter how hard anyone tries, you'll never bottle sunshine.

Now I KNOW Todd has done worse than me...

2009-04-23T21:08:00.000-07:00

"What the hell is this?" I hear you asking. It's Todd doing #25 on the list below (I added the "and kissed" part.) I found this list here (I like her digital scrapbook designs) and thought it was fun to go through and see how I fared - everything I've done is in bold. Of course, I did take some liberties. I counted a little girl sitting in the pew behind me at church who drew a "portrait" of me highlighting the huge zit that had grown that morning as my #47 but still counts, right? (Remember that, Friend??) I also added Kevin Bacon to #83 so Corbie could at least get one. Be it noted that I feel I am past the point in my life that I will never do #'s 11, 22, 61, 65 so those will never be in bold - maybe I'll just change those to something I'll try someday like genetically modify a living thing. Wait, that I've attempted - let's just say I wasn't a great scientist.

So, now what? Don't worry, I'm not "tagging" anybody. I'm just double-dog daring the three people who read my blog and anyone else who feels up to the dare to post how you fare. I know you'll do it because double-dog dare's worked on my nephew who did finally eat his brussel sprouts at Sunday dinner. You're welcome, Janet.

Oh, and post a picture of you or someone you love doing one of these. If it's a picture of someone other than you it better be better than my picture!!!

Who's up for Paris??? I want to bold that one someday.

1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland.
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitchhiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held an alligator and kissed it.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a marathon.
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David.
41. Sung karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater.
55. Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class.
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served at a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Got flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten caviar.
72. Been to Canada.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the changing of the guards in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book.
81. Visited the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Seen Bon Jovi (or Kevin Bacon) in concert.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper.
85. Read Gone With The Wind.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had chickenpox.
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a lawsuit.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.
100. Totally copied a post from someone else's blog to your own.

Seriously?

2009-04-15T10:48:00.000-07:00

Really? More snow??

Poor Evan. I think he's about ready to find a family that actually goes outside.

I shut all the blinds, turned on ukulele music and am mixing up the pina coladas.

I live in Maui, not frigid hell.

I live in Maui, not frigid hell.

I live in Maui, not frigid hell.

3 heel clicks and...

Ahhh, much better.

Another day, another bath.

2009-04-02T12:11:00.000-07:00

Now this is not a particularly surprising or unique picture. It could really be any toddler who's naive mother gives him a cup of pudding, a spoon, and the freedom to fling it where he may. One could even argue it's a right of passage. It's beginnings of childhood in which everything is fun, everything is for play, and curiosity is the fuel that spurs all that fun. But as I wipe chocolaty pudding from all surfaces of my kitchen, I started pondering about all the symbolic meaning one can garner from a child eating pudding. The deepest of which being, "What makes for a better picture: chocolate pudding, spaghetti, grape jelly, or mint ice cream?"

Evan, on the other hand, is either pondering the origin of toe jam or checking for puppies outside. Either way, we're a house full of thinkers.

Apparently, you CAN eat spaghetti with a pencil.

2009-03-26T13:20:00.000-07:00

I love spaghetti - especially with meatballs and loads of Parmesan cheese. Who doesn't? I was even served spaghetti a few times in Korea. The dish was always served Korean style with a side of kimchi and a pair of chopsticks - metal chopsticks at that. Believe me, nothing tests your dexterity like eating spaghetti with metal chopsticks. I'll answer your question: yes, spaghetti and kimchi are actually surprisingly delicious together. If you haven't had the opportunity to eat kimchi I will meet you for lunch at your local Korean restaurant and introduce you to the wonderful world of korean food. Lucky for me Todd loves it too. Otherwise, I would end up like my former co-worker who worked tirelessly to keep her smoking habit from her husband. She would hide cigarettes, smoke them when he wasn't around, then wash her hands raw, brush her teeth, gargle with mouthwash and live off breathmints. If you want to eat kimchi in secret you would have to add shower in euakalyptus 3 times afterwards to the list as the garlic permeates your skin. Now if you STILL aren't convinced to eat kimchi, more for me.

So as we were eating spaghetti the other night, I turned to notice my little son's extremely long reach had won him a mechanical pencil which he was using in an attempt to stab his food. I almost reached out to snatch the pencil away saying, "son, you can't eat your spaghetti with a mechanical pencil! Use your spoon, for pete's sake..." but for the first of probably hundreds of times, he proved me wrong. He stabbed a tiny piece of pasta and ate it with triumph. And yes, I meant with triumph - he ate it with a side of triumph.

Then I had one of those proud/bewildered parent moments. How am I going to keep him safe but all the while allow him to try doing things in a new possibly not-so-safe-in-mom's-eyes way? Or will I just stifle his curiosity in the name of safety? Also, how is he going to learn to downhill snow ski or canoe when I refuse to do either??? (Kayak, yes, canoe, NO. Blame it on the White River and lack of matches. Maybe I'll share the story someday when I feel less traumatized.) Our son has already proven himself much more fearless than mommy is comfortable with. He walked right up to one of my in-law's sheep (a buck, mind you) and attempted to stick his finger up the buck's nose. Luckily, my brother-in-law understands that a buck with his ear's back is not a happy buck and whisked my son away. He's also started his own version of "mutton-busting" and run's after the lambs trying to catch them. Again, whisked away from the unhappy mother by his favorite uncle.

I guess that's why there are two parents. When Evan is doing something I would stop him from immediately, Todd is laughing and grabbing the camera. So why I wouldn't suggest it for you or your children, it is possible to eat spaghetti with a pencil - and why not?

Reading rut call for help..

2009-03-11T12:47:00.000-07:00

Hello all my avid reader friends! I've been in a reading rut for way too long and with the never ending snow and cold up here in the north I definitely need an escape and thus a return to reading something besides Parenting magazine...

Sooo, I'm hoping you can give me suggestions - maybe your top three you've read this past year. I'm open to almost anything, though I may skip the whole Twilight thing. I've even decided to start my own book club with a few friends here in the frigid north who also need an excuse to have a girls night out. And speaking of girl's night out type activities I thought this "Ten Club" was a neat idea too.

If any of you have a few moments and a suggestion or two for good reads, please comment, e-mail or post on your blog your top picks. I will be extremely grateful! (Tristan - I'm guessing 'Crush' will be on your suggestion list??) I'll give back by posting commentary on the books I read for my hopefully soon to be formed book club.

And, Claudia, I have not forgotten the pay it forward deal, I LOVED the cards and will be posting shortly - which should also help me forget the snow and cold...

What to be, what to be...

2009-03-04T10:30:00.000-08:00

When Todd and I were first married we joked (well, semi-joked) that we were going to have 4 children and we even went as far as to pick out their careers (yes, you read that right; careers not names): doctor, lawyer, accountant, and mechanic. We weren't so communist as to not let them pick which of these four careers would suit them best - but really only child number one would have all 4 options. After a few years of marriage and deep thought about our future posterity we came to the realization that we were missing one child - we still needed a butcher to complete our family. Now Evan has 5 wonderful careers to choose from.

But what if he desires to be none of these things you might ask? A little power of suggestion mixed with a pinch of brainwashing should do the trick.

Or what if we have fewer than 5 children - will the kid(s) be coerced into picking up more than one career? Most certainly.

Why not add a scientist to the mix? Wouldn't it be great if he followed in his fathers footsteps and went to graduate school? No. No it would not be great and he/she might risk being disowned.

At 20 months - Evan is not yet leaning towards any of these careers. And try as he might, Todd has been unable to convince Evan to throw left-handed. Apparently, we now added a sixth career because "left handed pitchers make-a-hell-of-a-lot of money". Though career choice was stripped from him before birth I do now and then try to put his current interests into a plausible career. So currently these are the things Evan absolutely, positively would do 24/7 if his mean mom wasn't just that: mean.

Be outside! He regularly finds keys - any keys and really puts some effort into working open our front door. I believe rain, snow, wind or hail Evan would live outside if we'd let him.

Run and be chased!!! He tries to coerce anyone who will make eye contact with him to give him a good chase.

Strip to nothing, yup, be NAKED!!! I guess, really, what kid doesn't love to be naked?? He's quite an accomplished nudist though, and can take off his diaper while the onsie is still snapped up.

So what does this all mean? It means my 20 month old has all the makings for a career as a

STREAKER!!!

But life is short. I say choose a career you love. Except my kid(s) of course, they'll either be a doctor, lawyer, accountant, mechanic, butcher, left-handed pitcher or maybe just maybe a streaker at your next sporting event.

(Note: I would have posted one of the many pictures we currently have of him as a streaker but I'm saving those as a surprise for his first date...)

Ahh, Craigslist never disappoints.

2009-02-11T20:45:00.001-08:00

For all of you who need a little chuckle, here you go.

LEAST COMFORTABLE CHAIRS EVER - $399 (Ogden, UT)

Reply to: sale-1022848406@craigslist.org ^[?]
Date: 2009-02-06, 5:34AM MST

Do you want to own a "conversation piece"? These chairs, when put into your living room, will provide a retro ambiance that says, "Hey, I'm stylish! I'm hip! I don't care about lumbar support!" These unique chairs are excellent for drying clothes, storing books and papers, and romantic encounters. They're like new and have only been sat in once.

(To see the actual listing, go to: http://ogden.craigslist.org/fuo/1022848406.html)

Note that the chairs are good for "romantic encounters" - don't forget Valentine's Day is only 3 days away. You could have these babies bought and in your home in less than a day just in time for your romantic encounter on Saturday...wocka, wocka.

Grandma cards

2009-01-28T11:55:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I received the best thing you can get in the mail - a grandma card. My dad's mom died when I was 2 so I never really got to know her and my mom's mom passed away a few years back. But I not only received Birthday cards from my mom's mom but many letters of encouragement while I was on my mission. She was in quite a bit of pain the last few years of her life but was quite an inspiration as she stayed so positive. I remember once I asked when I stayed the night with her if there was anything I could get her. With a twinkle in her eye and a hidden smile she said, "No, you still haven't gotten me the last thing I asked for!" (She had asked for a new back earlier in the day.) She took me for my first bus ride when I was young (she never learned to drive) and always had something cheerful to say. I miss her and all the things grandmas are in your life.
So I am thoroughly elated that both of Todd's grandma's are still around. His maternal grandma is always so excited to see us and gives us great big hugs and kisses. She's deaf but from the expressions on her face I almost always seem to understand what she is saying. Todd's fraternal grandma is sweet and always has a soft, kind word for everyone. I'm so lucky to be included as one of her grandkids because there's nothing like a grandma card to fill your soul with love. I've been included on the grandma card list since the first year Todd and I were married. This year the card included a small note with kind words that made my day. The short quote on the inside of the card rang so true to me that I put it as the quote of the day.

I probably have every grandma card I've ever received in boxes somewhere - I don't think I've even spent many of the crisp bills that have accompanied them and as time goes on I'm sure they'll become even more unspendable.

Growing old doesn't sound fun to me but being the sender of grandma cards makes the idea seem a lot more attractive. I hope you are all so lucky as to have received a grandma card in your life!

Things to do with a Huggies box (an ongoing series)

2009-01-23T09:52:00.000-08:00

Dear Huggies:

Again, I come to you with new ideas on uses for your huggies box. People already buy them - why not give them options of how to recycle, reuse and re purpose the formerly overlooked box? "Go green" if you will. Below you'll find a sampling of new things to do with the box.

Toddler table to hold healthy treats from mom (go mom! I didn't even have to photoshop those in place of M&M's!):

Or maybe a stool to sit on and mock your parents in the kitchen:

Or perhaps a tool to scale the "mighty fort" and gain new found freedom to the rest of your house. (Hear theme music to "Hogan's Heroes").

Crap. He's about 24 hours away from figuring out he can scale our last refuge.

Sincerely,

Mom

p.s. Please make boxes less sturdy so as to decrease chances they will be used as a climbing tool.

Your local fake zoo.

2009-01-19T09:25:00.000-08:00

Last week both Evan and I were going stir crazy. It seemed all of Evan's little friends were either sick or had siblings that were sick and the week before that little Evan was sick. Evan takes after his father and would probably live outside if we'd let him so being trapped indoors is especially not fun for him.
Last Friday it was not as cold as it has been so I decided to brave the less cold weather and actually leave our house. But where to go? We have no Chucky Cheese, no Build-a-Bear (though I'm not sure that would be fun for an 18 month old), no mall with a play area, no sister close by with a huge basement and lots of toys (it would really help me out if you moved here, Janet), and no indoor park (do those exist?). So I took a tip from Parenting magazine on things to do with stir-crazy kids and took Evan to our local free "Zoo".

Yup, your local Petsmart has fish, birds, cats from the local shelter, turtles and geckos. Evan was so excited to be OUT and especially to see some animals that I never could get a shot of his face. I saw a few other parents who were obviously not shopping but getting their stir crazy kids out, ha! But I believe Evan's favorite part of the whole experience was seeing the dogs of customers bringing them in for some grooming.

Little does he know that since his mom isn't a great fan of dogs (as pets for me) and dad really dislikes cats (to put it mildly) this will probably be the closest he gets to having one. I like Tristan's idea: send your kids to your neighbors house who own pets to play with and you'll never have to buy dog food or clean up "dog rice" like poor Claudia. Kudos to Claudia for keeping the dog.

Redneck or Ridiculous?

2009-01-13T15:19:00.000-08:00

I walked out our front door this morning to grab my mail (our mailbox is on our porch since we live in a "historic" neigborhood and all the houses were probably built in the day before mailmen were invented) and took a double take at the baby jumper on our porch. Now having a baby jumper on your porch in the middle of frigid hell is ridiculous - who puts their baby in a jumper outside when it is nearing single digit degrees?? Despite the fact that Evan would scream at us if we put him in there. Unbeknownst to me before I had a kid, they apparently do not like to be confined when they have figured out that they can run, fast.

It wasn't the jumper that made me do the double take - or even the Christmas lights hanging around our windows. It's pretty ridiculous I still have Christmas lights up in the middle of January and even more ridiculous that I turn them on at night. It's not that I love Christmas - though I'm not as big of a grinch as I used to be, it's that January is so dreary and the lights are kind of cheery. Oh, and also I'm a little lazy and the box that stores all our Christmas decor is in our attic. (Notice I said box not boxes, we have ONE box of Christmas decor and it is still too much for me to put away.) But back to the main point, so if it's not the baby jumper or the lights then what is so out of place that it made me do a double take?

If you guess right I'll put extra marshmallows in your hot chocolate if you come up to see the elk.

Who needs a frigde when you have a free 0.1 acre ice chest right outside your door 6 months out of the year? Here's a small clue:

Since I did the double take I obviously did not put it there. Todd asked if I was going to put a picture of the rest of our porch on it. I told him I only wanted people to think he was a redneck not our family slobs.

And the snow keeps coming...

2009-01-05T18:06:00.000-08:00

Todd has been referring to Logan as "frigid Hell" and I really can't say I disagree or wish the snow would stop coming and coming and making things really really cold. I'm sure I just need to lighten up like this guy:

http://logan.craigslist.org/zip/964498288.html

But I probably won't.

But come and visit. Seeing the Elk gathered at Hardware Ranch is a pretty awesome sight and they even have hay rides that take you right amongst the elk.

We'll make hot chocolate for the brave souls that venture up here. With whip cream or marshmallows even.

A project complete. Sort of.

2009-01-01T22:51:00.000-08:00

So my sister makes these really cute scrapbook calendars for my mom every year for Christmas and she loves them! This year she went digital and I decided it would be such a great idea if I made one for my mother-in-law for her birthday. Great idea, huh? What mother/grandmother doesn't love having pictures of her family in calendar form with reminders of all their birthdays to boot? It's even better than a coffee mug. Since I haven't had a real deadline since before Evan was born I'm apparently not good at actually finishing things by real deadlines anymore. You see, my mother-in-law's birthday was December 4th - as in almost one month ago. After December 4th came and passed without any sign of a finished scrapbook calendar I quickly moved my deadline to the following week reasoning that would be better anyway since then I could give it to her in person as we were already planning to go to Salt Lake. Well, I've since reset my deadline another half a dozen times and have reasoned to myself that since no one puts up their calendars on the first day of the year anyway (that couldn't be just me but I didn't want to take a poll on my blog just in case) I'd certainly be timely giving her the calendar on the second day of the year. I am currently at my sister's house using her printer to finish my birthday project since one of the many pitfalls in the whole ordeal has been that my printer sucks at printing calendar quality prints - who knew? And barring a massive strike at all the office supply/copy stores tomorrow I will be binding it and presenting it thusly. Below is a sampling of the calendar. If you too would like a beautiful calendar to present to your loved ones just send me some pictures and I'll get it to you by my next deadline.

"Maybe Christmas", he thought, "doesn't come from a store, maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more." ~ The Grinch

2008-12-12T13:59:00.000-08:00

Since some of you out there have been understandably a bit frustrated with The Christmas Spirit, I thought I would spread a little Christmas cheer - things that have made me actually enjoy this holiday. For the past several years, I have pretty much been a Grinch. I even had the Grinch theme song as my ring tone on my cell phone. I would leave the room when my co-workers loudly played their annoying Christmas music. (ESPECIALLY, that stupid "jingle bell rock" song - I think it had something to do with a bunch of elementary school teachers forcing us to "dance" with icky boys to these lame songs in front of parents and classmates alike.) This year, though, even though life is far from how I pictured it being in my thirties, I am much more enjoying this Christmas.

For starters, I have great neighbors (Corbie, you can borrow one of mine - they're all pretty much like Claudia's Lee). Below is a picture of what I get to look at out my window every day this holiday. (She has equally charming things in her yard for all holidays). I won't post a picture of what this poor woman has to look back at, uh-hum.

Second, I have only spent one evening Christmas shopping outside my home. I made a list, then sat in front of my laptop and shopped online. No ornery employees, no ridiculous lines, no going from store to store because the first, and second, store were out of what you wanted. I would have to say I have done 90% of my shopping online. I know this takes all the fun out of it - especially if you are like my sister and really enjoy all the hustle and bustle and going from store to store. (By the way, sis, I love going with you shopping - I just enjoy it more when I am not shopping for my Christmas stuff! :> ) But for me, I have loved hearing the "thump" and then the big engine of the UPS truck driving off at about 11:30 am and knowing magically my Christmas gifts are here on my front porch. I love the internet.

Thirdly, I have the most wonderful husband. A couple of weeks ago, our ever so curious son saw opportunity and grabbed it like he would grab mommy's camera strap and pull it off the kitchen island. Oh wait - that is exactly what he grabbed and pulled off the kitchen island resulting in a wonderful and loud crash on our tile floor. Yes, my poor camera lens has gone the way of other digital toys when faced with a curious toddler. My husband saw the look of devastation on my face (no anger at my son, of course, I'M the idiot that left such a tantalizing strap hanging over the island) and decided to fix it since that's what men do - they fix things. I got an early Christmas present yesterday. The "thump" on the porch really was for me this time and my husband let me open it early (as in 20 minutes after the package came when he came home for lunch!). I not only got a replacement lens - I got an incredibly upgraded lens! A fancy new lens really wasn't in our Christmas budget this year so my husband used the white envelope that carried his bonuses and extra money he had been saving for a rainy day - or a gun, for my Christmas surprise. "It's just money, I"ll make more", he said. But he's my husband, best friend, and "fixer" of all things needing fixed. I love you, hon, I hope the Old Navy sweater and scarf I got you will somehow make up for that gun you'll have to wait a bit longer for...

Meet John...

2008-11-25T15:19:00.000-08:00

Well, this is it folks. Tagged with a 4X4 I've uncovered this - my fourth folder fourth picture. Meet John - a friend of ours that was in graduate school with Todd. I didn't ask but I don't think he'll mind since that's a pretty decent sized fish for Logan waterways! Unfortunately, he's moved out of state now and we don't get to eat his famous Sausage Sauce Piquant. Maybe if he sees the nice picture of him I posted on my blog he'll be more inclined to share the recipe.

I'm going to make millions!!!

2008-11-24T10:41:00.003-08:00

Dear Huggies,

I'm writing to you with a brilliant new idea for a new toy. It will cost you practically nothing in R&D since you already make them. All you need is your marketing team to put it out there with a beautiful advertisement showing my son enjoying time with his new found toy. I can't take credit - he did find it push it over, climb on it and well, the rest is history. He's actually been doing this for a few months but with Christmas coming I think it's the optimal time to sell these to all those parents who are deciding between Elmo or a digital camera for their toddlers. And let's face it - the kids just play with the box anyway.

Tag, I'm it.

2008-11-20T21:04:00.000-08:00

Since I've been "kindly" reminded of the blogging "rules" I felt "compelled" to end my blogging dry streak. (Are there any rules, Tristan, about using sarcastic quotation marks in the blogging world???)

Since Tristan tagged me, I've been trying to think of 7 things to post about myself that you all may or may not know. It's been a difficult process as I keep thinking, "I think people already know that" or "I don't think people should really learn that about me" or "2 full Thanksgiving feasts this year! Yes! Which pair of sweats are the roomiest?". Now you understand the length of my dry spell. Well, here goes!

1 - I am in love with digital photography. Almost as much as my son and husband - only because if they were not around I would have no constant willing subjects at my disposal. Before the age of digital it was not uncommon for my husband and I to hoard our film until one of us bravely took all 2 dozen roles and our life savings to get them developed. This was only to prove in disappointment and remorse as we usually were only 25% efficient in proper picture taking (i.e. most were blurry, dark, or stupid). I am American through and through and want results NOW and I get it with digital.

2- If you come to my house you will not see any trace of my love for photography. I have about a bazillion picture frames and most of them are empty - along with my walls - except for a few empty but hung frames. I'm a bit of a perfectionist and apparently none of my work meets my expectations for fabulous wall art. That, and I'm a bit lazy and think "tomorrow. tomorrow is the day I will decorate my house with beautiful pictures of my family and Utah landscapes". Sadly, tomorrow comes but I remind myself that I meant a different tomorrow.

3 - Hsin knows this - I drug her to a class once, the poor girl. I was a belly dancer in my former life - before life happened. It was a blast and I got great abs! We performed mainly in Logan at small functions. It can be a great work out but I missed the dancing that made you really sweat and muscles ache everywhere so after I started working in Salt Lake I drifted back over to modern, tried my hand at flamenco (the teacher asked if I'd considered something more along the lines of ballet,ha!) and african style. Now back in Logan I really miss the variety of classes the "big city" had to offer.

4 - I'm really cheap. No really - unless I'm going to get 100% satisfaction out of a good or service I (most of the time) won't get it. When Todd and I got engaged I couldn't fathom spending so much money on a ring that I would mostly not be wearing (diamonds and latex gloves in a chemistry lab do not mix well) and would most likely lose ( I lose most things that aren't attached). So in place of a diamond ring we bought simple bands and spent the money on a fabulous honeymoon to Costa Rica! Yes, it was a blast and I don't regret it since I enjoyed it 100%.

5 - I absolutely love love cleaning and used to stay up really late doing such as a stress reliever and decompressent. But there's a catch to my love of cleaning - I have to be able to clean EVERYTHING in one fell swoop otherwise I don't want to do it at all. Now that Evan has learned to run and climb I feel like Sisyphus uselessly pushing that dumb rock up the hill only to have it fall back down. In short, I don't clean anymore. Heavy sigh.

6 - When I was pregnant, Todd used to tell me I was a boring pregnant chick since I really never craved anything. Well, I craved food but it was food I craved normally. I craved little kid food. I am embarassed to admit I like mac and cheese, lunchables, corn dogs, captain crunch (though I finally swore it off after the last beating the roof of my mouth encountered eating it), peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and most other food a normal 6 year old consumes. Don't get me wrong - I love big people food too and will take a steak and side of mushrooms at Spencer's anytime but there is still a 6 year old living inside me somewhere asking for mac and cheese - Kraft of course.

7 - I can't think of a seventh thing. I used to love organizing and would even help friends organize rooms and closets but again Sisyphus...I hate being cold but I live in Logan so it's really pointless to dwell on it... I used to want to travel the world but now I'm a bit of a coward and like my big comfy American bed and running water...maybe the seventh thing is that I've changed more than I would have hoped and I've realized life is a bit more about sacrificing than achieving or doing or becoming everything on your list. Still worth it though, eh?

FHE and an Epiphany

2008-11-11T18:06:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago a friend of mine came over with her daughter for Family Home Evening. We thought it would be fun to invite another family to join us once in awhile since we get kind of lazy with Evan being so small and usually just read an article from the Ensign while he runs rampant and the TV is on mute so we don't miss anything. The lesson was on prayer and how powerful it can be in lifting us from life's trials. It's difficult sometimes when things are going peachy (maybe more so

when they're not) to just give thanks. After the lesson we sat in our kitchen and each family made a little log of things we are thankful for. As I sat there watching my friend with her daughter, I was just amazed at her ability to persevere in what I think must be a difficult life. She's a single mom with zero extended family to offer the support, love, and advice we all need along with a host of other trials. I looked at what I had almost unconsciously written and thought, "huh, I'm grateful for the internet". But after deep reflection (i.e. it came to me out of the blue today) I've realized why it is that I am thankful for the internet. It has allowed me to stay in touch with friends continents away and it has allowed me to reconnect with friends I didn't think I would really be able to chat with until some reunion we all might or might not attend. Really, it has been a blessing to connect with friends again. Here's to you, blogging pals, for helping me stay sane! Literally.

Halloween 2008

2008-11-03T21:46:00.000-08:00

Halloween is a blast on my street! We have cute little cobblestone lamp posts that line the street and some of my neighbors decorate them every holiday - for Halloween the lamp posts get ghost faces.
Every Halloween we get at least 300 trick-or-treaters and this year it was so warm I just sat on my porch to hand out the candy. Someone in the neighborhood just moved in from California and asked if the 25 candy bars he bought was "enough for Halloween?" I think he got laughed at. Last year was really the first year we didn't have to run to the store at 7 pm to buy more candy! Why not just turn off your porch light and be done with it you might ask? Mainly because there are a lot of hispanic kids that come and I don't think they understand the porch light thing because they keep knocking and yelling "trick-or-treat!". I don't know how to say "we're out of candy" in spanish so we go buy more candy.

Here's a glimpse of Evan's Halloween adventures:

The Chicken Hut Review

2008-10-29T21:49:00.000-07:00

Tonight we traveled to Morgan to pick up 1/4 of a cow that was cut, packed, frozen and ready to fill our freezer with love. My uncles raise cows and we usually buy their beef in the fall - we've bought up to half a cow before! What can I say, we like steak! Now this is where buying in bulk can save some money AND it's really tasty. So if any of you want to buy beef in bulk next year I can probably hook you up.

Anyhoo, after we picked up the beef we dropped in on my Uncle's house to pay him and watch Evan terrorize their house - which is really nice (their house that is, not Evan terrorizing it) and they have an amazing view from most of their windows! Then dropped in on my cousin who lives next door and were about ready to go get dinner and invited us along - to the Chicken Hut.

First off, is that a great name for a small town chicken joint or what? My cousin mentioned that it's good and cheap - my favorite qualities in a chicken joint so off we went to the Chicken Hut! But before we left, my cousin's husband reminded her to call ahead just to "make sure they still have chicken left". It was 6:00 pm. Phew, there was still chicken and 20 fried pieces were reserved for us. Todd asked "What does the Chicken Hut serve if they run out of chicken?" A fair question I think.

On the way to the Chicken Hut...my cousin clued me in that the Chicken Hut is actually run out of a gas station - but they do have a couple of (small) tables we can eat at. Once there, we are served our boxes of chicken almost before we get in the door - which is propped open as soon as we sit down probably in part to give the ambiance of a happening indoor/outdoor club or I think more likely to get us to eat fast and turn their 2 tables over more quickly. The boxes of fried chicken also contained dinner rolls and fried potato wedges - all finger lickin' good. They had run out of plastic forks so the finger lickin' part was not optional. After downing our food, we packed up the leftovers and I was handed a box to take home for lunch tomorrow. I asked what the styriphome plate was for underneath the box and I was told that "sometimes the chicken falls out the bottom". Now the plate makes perfect sense but I am a little worried about my heart.

Really, it was a great time and besides my son offering my cousin's 4 year old girl a masserated potato (i.e. smearing it all over her shirt) I think my cousin and her family enjoyed it as well. The food actually is good and cheap and I recommend it to anyone traveling through Morgan. I hear they also have their own version of Cafe Rio in Morgan if chicken doesn't fancy you.

Thanks Favorite Cousin for a delicious meal and good company! Todd promised her the same great hospitality next time they come to Logan - but with beef. :>

It was a 10 lb weekend...

2008-10-27T14:44:00.000-07:00

This weekend we were in SLC visiting family and my mom out did herself. She had a version of chicken cordon bleu for dinner and was in the process of making cookies when we got there. She was obviously making cookies for Todd and his dad to take on their hunting trip on Saturday but she insisted she just felt like making cookies. Saturday she baked apple pies from scratch (does anyone know where to buy "scratch"??). She obviously baked them for me since I absolutely LOVE apple pie but she insisted she was just in the mood for apple pie. Mom's are great. I think all mom's have their own way of doting on their kids and my mom's is tasty food!

Here's my lunch. I had apple pie for breakfast as well and I'm proud of it. Believe me, the pie is not as good as it looks - it's even better!

And here is what I've eaten since we arrived home yesterday. I think I'll label it "contains mayonnaise" so Todd won't want any. If he asks any of you, apple pie DOES contain mayonnaise...

Treat Night!

2008-10-22T20:08:00.000-07:00

I have a real weakness for treats - but I'm picky they have to be worth the calories, fat, and blah blah blah. I blame my mother. Like I mentioned in an earlier blog she makes amazing treats. Todd, Evan and I usually head to SLC to visit the fam about once a month. We stay at Jackie's Bed, Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner (as we so fittingly named it) and gain 5 lbs each. Well, except Evan of course - he doesn't hold still long enough to gain weight. Then we spend the next 3 or so weeks trying to lose it. My mom usually sends us home with all the leftover treats she made so I guess it's really only 2 weeks we try to shed the treat weight. Thus, I don't make many treats myself because I need the 2 weeks to fit back into my jeans. Anyhow, you get the picture.

So all your talk of Birthday cakes and class treats (you know who you are!) got to my sweet teeth (I have at least 10) so I was forced to make a treat. Luckily one of my roommates from college came over to eat dinner with us so I could send her home with some. (I can't make treats without sharing - I also blame my mom for that). I will share my mom's recipe. If I can make this recipe and it tastes good - anyone can! Plus it's a good way to use up old bananas (the blacker the better, trust me).

Jackie's Banana Bread

(Ok, I'm pretty sure she got it from somewhere but I'm positive she tweaked it somehow to make it better.)

Ok, again...

Jackie's Banana Bread

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Butter (NOT margarine)
1 1/2 cups Sugar
3 Eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 3 bananas)
1/4 cup + 2 Tbs. Milk
1 1/2 tsp. Lemon Juice (I've also used Lime juice)
3 Cups Flour
2 1/4 tsp. Baking Powder
3/4 tsp. Baking Soda
1/4 tsp. Salt

Mixing Instructions:

In a small bowl combine milk and lemon juice, stir and set aside. Preheat oven to 350. In a larger mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, mashed bananas, and milk/lemon juice mixture then mix. Add all dry ingredients and mix until homogeneous. Pour batter into a greased and floured regular bundt pan. Bake 40 - 45 minutes.

Note: I've also added chocolate chips because chocolate chips make almost everything taste better.

Yummy!! I would have posted a picture but there would have to be banana bread left to take the picture in the first place. I suppose I should clear off the treadmill tomorrow...

Evan's first contest

2008-10-20T12:14:00.000-07:00

Evan entered his first contest! There's a baby store (Stork Landing) 3 blocks from our house that holds an annual diaper decorating contest. My mother-in-law kindly helped me with mine - she embroidered some cute fishing emblems on the diaper. Really, the only thing I did was paint over the remaining white on the diaper and add a couple of flies Todd made on the back! My sister brought her baby and my mom which made the event a million times more fun. So here's a brief log of the event:

Here's Evan!

Here's cousin Jaden! Notice how creative his spider costume is - and the cute spiderweb sticker on his cheek!

Waiting for the contest to start we took some pics of our cute contestants. The first picture below is Jaden and my sister. The following pic is me and my one year old who wanted to go play with the kids instead of being held by mommy!

And the contest begins... Evan is lucky number 13!

The judges had to get a closer look. And grandma graciously walked Evan down the runway so mom could take pictures.

Jaden is contestant number 14. He does this really cute army crawl that made his little spider bum swish back and forth giving the appearance of a real spider crawling on the floor!

Now we wait for the results...

And the winners are...

Yay, Evan won the All Star Diaper category and Jaden won the Spookiest!

I would have loved to get a picture of the kids together with the little pumpkin badges but it was already an hour past someone's nap time and I barely got this picture.

My cute little winner got to take a nap at home with dad while we went out to lunch and then shopping! Poor kid, gets paraded in front of a bunch of strangers and doesn't even get to go to lunch - I'll make it up to him by letting him pick a new toy at the store with the $25 gift certificate he won!

For the scrapbooking challenged

2008-10-15T11:58:00.000-07:00

So my sister has been asking me to go scrapbooking with her for years and I've always had some excuse. My excuses have mainly been that I'm too cheap because scrapbooking could cost up to several hundred dollars a page. No really, think about it: expensive paper, cute ribbon, some bling, machines to cut out cute shapes or letters, and of course the hours spent making the perfect page. That being said I decided to finally try it out or at least ease into it by making cards. I have to admit it was really fun and it didn't actually cost me hundreds of dollars. We went to Heartfelt Creations in Sandy and spent the afternoon creating masterpieces for our posterity. My sister is a pro and has all the latest gizmos to make scrapbooking more efficient. Above you will find a sampling of my creations.

Oh, and the best part is she scored me an individual chocolate cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes - mmmm, a little piece of heaven. Thanks, sis, I owe you a treat date!

Hence it begins...

2008-10-08T18:40:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the "holiday season" where many of us will eat too much, possibly spend too much, and make "resolutions" we have little intent in keeping. But sometimes it can actually be fun! Like everything else in life, I've found the string of holidays soon coming are usually more enjoyable when I focus on others. I've been starting a search for ways to give my time and money to those less blessed. I want to find reputable organizations that are fully non-profit and maximize the good that can be done with what I can offer. I know many people want to give but are skeptical of many organizations out there - I know I am.

So here's my request: If you know of such reputable organizations please post it in the comments or e-mail me and I will add it to my list on my blog. Maybe we can network our way into finding good places to give to. (And please don't ask me to give my time to your needy laundry - I believe Corbie's husband has already offered this service.)

First stop - Halloween!!! Yeah candy!

Easy Shmeezy Dinner Idea and a Bridal/Baby shower tip

2008-10-02T22:20:00.000-07:00

For all you out there that don't especially like the whole meal preparation thing here is another great easy one. I got this from a friend when we were doing freezer meals in a group.

Calzones:

Ingredients-
Frozen bread dough (either loaves or rolls - I like Rhodes)
8 oz. bag of pepperoni (ham works great too)
Bag of shredded cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, or both)
Spaghetti Sauce

Preperation-
The night before or morning of the meal place frozen bread dough on sprayed cookie sheet and cover with plastic wrap. At meal prep time, divide each loaf into 6-8 parts. Roll each into a circle. Distribute cheese and pepperoni onto circles. Fold over and pinch shut then place onto sprayed cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. Warm up a bottle of spaghetti sauce for dipping.

Best part about this recipe -
1 - I haven't met anyone who doesn't like these.
2 - If you mess up the Rhodes dough, even if it is your fault, Rhodes will replace your dough for free.
3 - You can make a bunch (kids can help because who cares what they look like) and freeze them in individual sandwich bags. Just put them in the fridge the morning you want them or I've even know people to bake them right out of the freezer.
4 - You could even hide vegetables in there (i.e. mushrooms, broccoli ...) and with all the cheese your kids probably won't notice.

If you try it please let me know what you think!

BABY/BRIDAL SHOWER TIP:::
Oh and here's a great party tip (if you live in Utah - sorry Claudia. :> ) Rhodes has a place in Murray where for a small fee they will help you put on a Bridal or Baby Shower. There is a demonstration of great easy ideas for using frozen dough, then you get to eat from a tasty spread THEY make and THEY clean up, then everyone in your party gets a free bag of frozen dough. They let you stay as long as you want and open gifts etc. then you can box up the leftover treats to take home. You don't have to clean your house and try to find somewhere for your kids and spouse to hide out until it's over. Sweet!!

2008-09-30T20:43:00.000-07:00

So dinner is always foremost in my mind for a number of reasons:

First, I really, really, really love to eat (it's amazing I'm not fat).

Second, it's in my genes. Any of you who have met my mother can attest to that. I grew up listening to my mom plan dinner nights in advance. Again, its a miracle I'm not 300 lbs - my mom's hobby is to perfect cookies, brownies, sweet rolls, etc. She's like a scientist in the kitchen and I've never turned down one of the controls in her experiments.

Third, since I'm at home with my 1 year old all day I feel obliged to at least do something constructive (besides taking care of him of course) like make dinner. As Dave Barry once said,"taking care of children is laughably easy, provided you don't try to do anything else".
Ironically, I have found this to be closer to the truth than my pre-baby self would have ever imagined.

Thus, in my quest to eat tasty food I may share new recipes I've discovered. Tonight we ate Chicken Caprese. Sounds really fancy and hard to make, right? Totally easy and fast - especially if you con your hubby into grilling the chicken. I added sides of red seedless grapes and a dinner roll.

So let's all share the wealth - if you have a tasty, easy dinner idea to give me post it on your blog, my comments, or e-mail me and I promise to comment on your blogs more or at least not post embarrassing pictures of you from high school on my blog. I leave that to Tristan and Corbie.

2008-09-25T15:10:00.000-07:00

What activity takes a cell phone, 2 combs, scissors, and 3 people?

Answer: A haircut for a 1 year old.

This is normal, right?

2008-09-22T20:53:00.000-07:00

Meet Evan.

He had a pretty busy day.

Now before you go judging me you need to know 3 things: the curling iron was not plugged in or hot, he was using it to hit things with, and I put the curler in his hair ONLY because I'm so excited he finally has enough hair to slightly comb!

He helped his dad snap green beans for dinner.

And like any good male with his grandpa's genes he had to sample the food amidst preparation.

Yeah! He's eating vegetables! Well, at least here. He wouldn't touch them at dinner. Maybe if we starting hiding them and telling him NOT to eat them...

And of course like all kids eventually do, he's finally become smarter than us and had to explain some things to dad.

He ended his day with a pacifier.

(Actually he hates pacifiers and has since birth. If you look closely you will see he is actually biting it as if to tear if off.)

And me, you may ask, what did I do today?? Well isn't it obvious I spent my day chasing him around with a camera??

Oh, and I cooked the green beans for dinner.

2008-09-20T00:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Boogerbubbles: A brand spankin' new blog that has no direction and may or may not have any clever content. Due to the early hour I certainly have nothing clever to say and will sign off until I overcome my laziness or cave to peer pressure once again (i.e. Tristan).