Samuel turned 8 earlier this month, and today he was baptized. It was a really nice day. He asked if Jeff would be the one to baptize him, which was neat. I played the piano, and Marie led the music, Dad gave a talk, Grandpa L. confirmed him, and Morgan said the closing prayer. The whole family was in on the act! This is cool because I wasn't there for Marie's or Rheanna's baptisms, and everyone else's was too long ago and I don't remember them, except I vaguely remember my own. Anyway, it was very simple, and very beautiful.
After the program, we headed over to our house for food prep and dinner. We had so much yummy food! Mom did a pork roast with barbecue sauce, cooked until it was so tender it fell apart and Morgan mashed it up with a spoon. We served that on my homemade hamburger buns. I made them smaller this time and it was the perfect size. We also had a tossed salad, potato salad, and fruit salad with real whipped cream instead of Cool Whip, and lemonade made with citric acid instead of lemon juice. So good!! For dessert Michelle made red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and shaved chocolate/coconut cream filling. I ate three. My mouth was happy; my tummy was not. Oh well, they sure tasted good!!
Then we sat and visited for a good long time. I love getting together with family and talking about anything and everything. For a while, Mom and Michelle and I just sat on the couch and talked. The kids were running in and out, jumping on the trampoline, fighting over toys, and doing all those things that kids do when they get together; the dads were overseeing the chaos; the teens were doing whatever teens do (I think mostly they were playing with the kids or on the trampoline). And we were just talking. I love that.
Anyway, we stayed a good long time; I wanted to make sure that Zaylee was good and fussy before we left. What's the point of having a visit if the kids are happy and cooperative when you leave? The biggest benefit of staying so late is that the kids were soooo tired that they both went right to sleep when we put them down.
Tomorrow I'll be busy. I'm playing the organ again for Sacrament meeting. It went well last week, so I have no reason to believe it won't go well again this week. But I still get a bit nervous. We need to make sure we're there about half and hour early so I can practice. I had to go through this evening and pack all our bags and stuff, because we have to be there so early (Church starts at 9). After Sacrament Meeting I'll head down to Primary, where I'm standing in as Primary Chorister this week. I'm especially nervous about that. I wasn't given much information to go off of, so I'm not sure if I prepared well enough, or overprepared (unlikely!), or what all will be entailed and expected of me. So it's kind of shooting in the dark and hoping I hit somewhere near the target. Jeff will have Thomas during this time, and he's teaching the lesson in Elder's Quorum. I wonder how he'll handle that, but I'm sure he'll do fine. Then tomorrow evening is choir practice. The pianist is out of town and I'll be taking over playing the piano for the choir practice (the choir pianist is actually the ward organist as well, so I'm subbing for both of her duties).
Yes, I'll be glad when this weekend is over, and I can be relieved of at least some of my stress.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
How a Child Can Ruin Your Day, or Brighten It
By the time I crawled out of bed this morning (it was only about 8 or so), Thomas had already been screaming for about half an hour. I hate mornings when the kids scream. And I knew that Zaylee had climbed into the crib with him because I could hear her jumping around in there. She knows she's not supposed to be in the crib, and she knows she's not supposed to jump in the crib. I was mad. And groggy/tired. And I'm not a morning person.
So I dragged unhappily out of bed and slumped down the hall to the kids' bedroom. When I opened the door, Zaylee called out a cheerful "Good morning Mommy!" But when she saw the look on my face she grew a bit apprehensive. As I got closer, she asked nervously, but still smiling a little, "You sleep good, Mommy?" When I got to the crib, with that Glare of Death on my face, she carefully took my cheeks in her hands, pulled my face close, and gave me a kiss.
Silence.
I looked at her, contemplating.
Then I gave up and kissed her back, and helped her gently out of the crib.
For the rest of the morning, if I felt myself thinking about saying something angry or mean, I would just not say anything at all. I only allowed myself to speak if what I had to say was cheerful or neutral, or absolutely necessary.
It worked. By the time we left for Mom's house to do the laundry, I was calm and relatively cheerful.
If you can't say somethin' nice, don't say nothin' at all. :-)
So I dragged unhappily out of bed and slumped down the hall to the kids' bedroom. When I opened the door, Zaylee called out a cheerful "Good morning Mommy!" But when she saw the look on my face she grew a bit apprehensive. As I got closer, she asked nervously, but still smiling a little, "You sleep good, Mommy?" When I got to the crib, with that Glare of Death on my face, she carefully took my cheeks in her hands, pulled my face close, and gave me a kiss.
Silence.
I looked at her, contemplating.
Then I gave up and kissed her back, and helped her gently out of the crib.
For the rest of the morning, if I felt myself thinking about saying something angry or mean, I would just not say anything at all. I only allowed myself to speak if what I had to say was cheerful or neutral, or absolutely necessary.
It worked. By the time we left for Mom's house to do the laundry, I was calm and relatively cheerful.
If you can't say somethin' nice, don't say nothin' at all. :-)
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Our Plants
Jeff just blogged about our plants, so I thought I'd post some pics I took earlier today, of the various little successes in our garden.
My flowers:
The parsley:
The bean plant:
The pea plant:
The flowering tomato plant:
The parsley:
The bean plant:
The pea plant:
The flowering tomato plant:
What do Me, Mosquitoes and Dracula have in common?
I'm drawing blood from people at work now. I drew blood from two ladies today and tomorrow when we go on rounds in the morning on the upper floors (patient's rooms) I'll be drawing sick patients too. Oh, this is Jeff by the way.
Yesterday was a pretty weird day for me. In the morning I was in the hospital, in the evening I was working with Ken on their Subaru, and last night I was also at the church orchard thinning apricots. I'd say that those three things qualify as being very different.
Last night I didn't get to sleep until 10:30 thanks to the thunder storm and me worrying that the alarm clock was going to lose power. I guess when I'm half asleep little things like that tend to make me worry more. So I got up and Stephanie set the kitchen timer for 6 1/2 hours, then I slept. Then I woke up in the morning. Then I slept. Then I woke up again and went out and turned off the kitchen timer. Then I sat down on the couch again. Then I slept. Then I woke up and got ready in like two minutes because I was almost late and still in my pajamas! I better get to bed on time tonight. I think my biggest downfall was that I set out my clothes and packed my lunch and had everything ready for work so because I had extra time I thought that it would be okay to relax a little. What I didn't take into account was that I'd fall asleep and there wasn't a third alarm to save me.
On a different note our tomatoes are putting out flowers and our green beans and peas are putting up shoots and our squash is growing like crazy. If only the beets would grow, those are my favorites.
With a little demonstration of my skills as a phlebotimist and some luck this time next week they'll be hiring me as a phlebotomist and I'll be earning some money again. That'll be nice.
Yesterday was a pretty weird day for me. In the morning I was in the hospital, in the evening I was working with Ken on their Subaru, and last night I was also at the church orchard thinning apricots. I'd say that those three things qualify as being very different.
Last night I didn't get to sleep until 10:30 thanks to the thunder storm and me worrying that the alarm clock was going to lose power. I guess when I'm half asleep little things like that tend to make me worry more. So I got up and Stephanie set the kitchen timer for 6 1/2 hours, then I slept. Then I woke up in the morning. Then I slept. Then I woke up again and went out and turned off the kitchen timer. Then I sat down on the couch again. Then I slept. Then I woke up and got ready in like two minutes because I was almost late and still in my pajamas! I better get to bed on time tonight. I think my biggest downfall was that I set out my clothes and packed my lunch and had everything ready for work so because I had extra time I thought that it would be okay to relax a little. What I didn't take into account was that I'd fall asleep and there wasn't a third alarm to save me.
On a different note our tomatoes are putting out flowers and our green beans and peas are putting up shoots and our squash is growing like crazy. If only the beets would grow, those are my favorites.
With a little demonstration of my skills as a phlebotimist and some luck this time next week they'll be hiring me as a phlebotomist and I'll be earning some money again. That'll be nice.
An Old Friend
Yesterday evening I found myself in the company of an old friend. This friend has been absent for a while, but decided to show up last night and we had a great time together.
My friend? The absolute tuning out of everything around me while wrapped up in a good book.
I used to read all the time, and once I picked up a book, it was very hard to pry me away until the book had been read cover to cover. But I haven't read any books for a while. Well, I've read some Russian novels, which are great, but they don't grip me the way some books do.
Last night's culprit?
The newly-released fifth book in a series that I started reading at my parents' house. The series is "The Great and Terrible" by Chris Stewart, about "The Epic Conflict of the Last Days." I read the first four while living with Mom and Dad, and was anxiously awaiting the fifth. When we went over yesterday to do an emergency load of laundry (Zaylee had nearly run out of clean underwear and pants), I found that they had bought the fifth book, and Dad offered to let me borrow it.
So I took the book home, and stayed up reading it until it was completely finished - it took until 2 in the morning! I just couldn't put it down. My old friend had returned; I was caught reading this book to the exclusion of attention to any physical needs. I was sleepy, I had to use the bathroom, my muscles were cramping from sitting in one position too long, I was getting hungry, but I couldn't put it down!
It was fun!
Anyway, that's why I didn't post anything last night, or comment on anyone's blog. I was busy with a friend!
So here's the post I should have done last night, with lots of fun pictures I took yesterday.
I made homemade hamburger buns yesterday. This was a really simple recipe, and they turned out perfect for the sloppy joes we had last night, as well as the burger Mom made when she got home from class. We hadn't left her enough sloppy joe meat to make a full sandwich, so she cooked up a burger and topped it with the small amount of s.j. The verdict from everyone - great hamburger buns! I'll be making these again for sure, and posted the recipe on my recipe blog.
Marie has been working on making a quilt for her Young Women Personal Progress. She's supposed to make something for her future home, and she chose to make a really cute purple and yellow quilt. She finished the top yesterday while we were there, and I got some great pictures. Thomas really liked it when Marie spread the quilt top out, he would crawl up on it, and Marie would wrap him up in it. He was having a blast!
And Zaylee found these tiny little books that were just the right size for her little hands. She really enjoyed looking at the little pictures.
Anyway, all in all, it was a pretty nice day. I'll be really tired today because of my late night reading, but I'm in a pretty good mood, so hopefully the fact that my eyes don't want to stay open won't keep me from enjoying today as much as I enjoyed yesterday.
My friend? The absolute tuning out of everything around me while wrapped up in a good book.
I used to read all the time, and once I picked up a book, it was very hard to pry me away until the book had been read cover to cover. But I haven't read any books for a while. Well, I've read some Russian novels, which are great, but they don't grip me the way some books do.
Last night's culprit?
The newly-released fifth book in a series that I started reading at my parents' house. The series is "The Great and Terrible" by Chris Stewart, about "The Epic Conflict of the Last Days." I read the first four while living with Mom and Dad, and was anxiously awaiting the fifth. When we went over yesterday to do an emergency load of laundry (Zaylee had nearly run out of clean underwear and pants), I found that they had bought the fifth book, and Dad offered to let me borrow it.So I took the book home, and stayed up reading it until it was completely finished - it took until 2 in the morning! I just couldn't put it down. My old friend had returned; I was caught reading this book to the exclusion of attention to any physical needs. I was sleepy, I had to use the bathroom, my muscles were cramping from sitting in one position too long, I was getting hungry, but I couldn't put it down!
It was fun!
Anyway, that's why I didn't post anything last night, or comment on anyone's blog. I was busy with a friend!
So here's the post I should have done last night, with lots of fun pictures I took yesterday.
I made homemade hamburger buns yesterday. This was a really simple recipe, and they turned out perfect for the sloppy joes we had last night, as well as the burger Mom made when she got home from class. We hadn't left her enough sloppy joe meat to make a full sandwich, so she cooked up a burger and topped it with the small amount of s.j. The verdict from everyone - great hamburger buns! I'll be making these again for sure, and posted the recipe on my recipe blog.
Marie has been working on making a quilt for her Young Women Personal Progress. She's supposed to make something for her future home, and she chose to make a really cute purple and yellow quilt. She finished the top yesterday while we were there, and I got some great pictures. Thomas really liked it when Marie spread the quilt top out, he would crawl up on it, and Marie would wrap him up in it. He was having a blast!
And Zaylee found these tiny little books that were just the right size for her little hands. She really enjoyed looking at the little pictures.
Anyway, all in all, it was a pretty nice day. I'll be really tired today because of my late night reading, but I'm in a pretty good mood, so hopefully the fact that my eyes don't want to stay open won't keep me from enjoying today as much as I enjoyed yesterday.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
A Little Bit of Heart-Warming
Zaylee has those little plastic letters with magnets that you can stick to the fridge to spell words. She never puts them on the fridge, she usually just puts them in a container and totes them around. Just now they were spread out on the living room floor, and she was in the process of gathering them up and putting them in a box. Thomas started grabbing them, one at a time, and putting them in the box too! Hooray, he's learning to clean up!
Monday, May 26, 2008
Mission Accomplished
The apartment is back to its "as-close-to-clean-as-it-gets" state, after working on it off and on all day. The living room and dining room floor are no longer covered in toys, all the Zaylee clothes and books are cleared out of the bathroom, the laundry is put away, and the dishes are done. Okay, there's a pan or two soaking in the sink still, but they're at least under control. The dining room and kitchen floors have been swept, and the living room, hallway, and bedrooms were vacuumed. I even scrubbed out the bathroom sink. Tomorrow I'll probably work a bit on cleaning the stove and counters in the kitchen, and the dining room table. We didn't really get to them today.
I wonder how long we'll be able to keep the apartment like this. Especially with the dishes. That's one of our major problem areas. I've had phases where I can keep the dishes done every day for weeks at a time. But more often, we just don't do them. I really wish we had a dishwasher! But for now, we just need to work on getting into the habit of washing those dishes every day!
So much for a nice, relaxed Memorial Day. I'm actually surprised at myself - while we ate good today, I didn't really do anything special for the holiday. Just regular food, and no real celebration or anything. Oh well, it was a nice day anyway.
I wonder how long we'll be able to keep the apartment like this. Especially with the dishes. That's one of our major problem areas. I've had phases where I can keep the dishes done every day for weeks at a time. But more often, we just don't do them. I really wish we had a dishwasher! But for now, we just need to work on getting into the habit of washing those dishes every day!
So much for a nice, relaxed Memorial Day. I'm actually surprised at myself - while we ate good today, I didn't really do anything special for the holiday. Just regular food, and no real celebration or anything. Oh well, it was a nice day anyway.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Messy Mess
My apartment is a pigsty. We've been rather lax on housekeeping, and have let clutter build up in the living room and bedrooms, and dishes build up in the sink and on the counters and on the stove and on the table, and foodstuff build up on the dining room floor (especially around Thomas' highchair). There are toys all over the floor of the living room, dining room, and kitchen. And there's clutter built up on the computer desk, so that there's really no place to set anything down. I think tomorrow we really need to spend the day getting the apartment looking nice again. Time to do some heavy-duty cleaning and get this pigsty picked up and taken care of. It's just so much easier to feel good and calm and happy when one's home is clean and well-organized. And no, I won't post "before" and "after" pictures. The "before" is simply too horrific to post on this otherwise clean website.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Poopy Training
I'm getting a little frustrated with Zaylee's proclivity towards pooping in her pants with no warning, and sometimes not letting us know about it afterward. Yesterday when she soiled her pants I thought I'd try the thing where you just leave the poopy pants on, so she'd realize how uncomfortable it is and start pooping in the potty. When I found her, she was in the bathroom putting the poop in the toilet. With her hand. She had pulled her pants down, grabbed the poop, and then pulled her pants back up. Yeah, I had fun cleaning that mess up.
Today we realized she was poopy when, as I walked past the kitchen, I smelled that all-too-familiar and none-too-pleasant bowel movement smell. When I walked into the kitchen, she had her pants down and they were full of poop. Luckily she hadn't gone so far as to get poop on anything besides her clothes. I quickly volunteered to clean Zaylee if Jeff would clean the undies. We both feel we got the worse end of the deal.
Except for the pooping though, Zaylee is doing really well with potty training. She rarely has a pee accident, and will frequently tell us she needs to go, or just run into the bathroom and go by herself. At the very least, she's willing to sit on the potty when we tell her to, if it's been a little while and we think she probably needs to go.
I just wish she'd do a bit better about telling us she needs to poop, so we could encourage her to use the potty. Sigh.
Today we realized she was poopy when, as I walked past the kitchen, I smelled that all-too-familiar and none-too-pleasant bowel movement smell. When I walked into the kitchen, she had her pants down and they were full of poop. Luckily she hadn't gone so far as to get poop on anything besides her clothes. I quickly volunteered to clean Zaylee if Jeff would clean the undies. We both feel we got the worse end of the deal.
Except for the pooping though, Zaylee is doing really well with potty training. She rarely has a pee accident, and will frequently tell us she needs to go, or just run into the bathroom and go by herself. At the very least, she's willing to sit on the potty when we tell her to, if it's been a little while and we think she probably needs to go.
I just wish she'd do a bit better about telling us she needs to poop, so we could encourage her to use the potty. Sigh.
Donuts!
Another fun blogthing. Which donut am I?
Which donut is Jeff?
You Are a Powdered Devil's Food Donut |
 A total sweetheart on the outside, you love to fool people with your innocent image. On the inside you're a little darker, richer, and more complex. You're a hedonist who demands more than one pleasure at a time. Decadent and daring, you test the limits of human indulgence. |
Which donut is Jeff?
You Are a Jelly Donut |
 So you're a little rounder than most folks - but it's only in the right places! You maintain a clean exterior, even if you're all messy on the inside. You think you're the best, and that's mostly true... But remember, you're just an empty shell without your jelly! |
Then there were two. . .
Stephanie set me up as a contributor to the blog. How cool is that? She also found a way to edit the HTML on the page so that we now have 'wide screen' going on. Go on, look at your own blog then come back here. You may notice that we have a more wide text area than before. If you don't then measure it.
So, it's been a pretty crazy week for me here. I've been doing the 5:30 am to 2:00 shift at the hospital. We go into patients rooms early and wake them up to take their blood. Then we go back to the lab and run tests on their blood to see what their problem is. It's really cool! Soon I'll get to start sticking needles in peoples arms to get blood. The majority of the day is working in the lab and trying to figure out ways not to be in the way.
I've been watering our garden but so far nothing has sprouted yet but weeds which I regularly pick. I wish they were edible because it seems like there's no end to them! The tomatoes and squash plants we bought are doing good however and I'm sure that we'll have vegetables coming up out of the ground soon.
Well, that's all from me for now. See you later.
So, it's been a pretty crazy week for me here. I've been doing the 5:30 am to 2:00 shift at the hospital. We go into patients rooms early and wake them up to take their blood. Then we go back to the lab and run tests on their blood to see what their problem is. It's really cool! Soon I'll get to start sticking needles in peoples arms to get blood. The majority of the day is working in the lab and trying to figure out ways not to be in the way.
I've been watering our garden but so far nothing has sprouted yet but weeds which I regularly pick. I wish they were edible because it seems like there's no end to them! The tomatoes and squash plants we bought are doing good however and I'm sure that we'll have vegetables coming up out of the ground soon.
Well, that's all from me for now. See you later.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Update
Sorry I haven't posted as much as usual. I think I'm going through a bit of a down time, and just haven't seen much of interest in my life to post about. Or if I have, I haven't been motivated to actually post it! I'll try to rectify that, though.
Jeff started his internship (clinicals) on Wednesday. Yesterday and today he went in from 5:30 a.m. until 2:00p.m. This is good and bad at the same time. He enjoys getting there early to go on the phlebotomy rounds, and meet the patients. And he loves being able to get home before 3 in the afternoon, and spend the rest of the day with me and the kids. But at that time in the morning it's too dark to ride his bike, so he has to drive. It's not far, but part of the reason we were so glad his internship was here in town was because we thought he wouldn't have to drive - we save gas and I get the car if I need it. Oh well. I think he only has the early shift some days, but other days it's something like 8 to 4.
Because of the whole sanitary hospital thing, Jeff comes home smelling like rubber gloves and soap. Well, if it bothers me I can just remember that Rachel's husband would come home from class smelling like cadavers, and that cheers me right up! :)
We went to the park this evening, and it felt good to get out and exercise a bit. Zaylee, as usual, had a huge blast going down the big slide over and over again. She even went potty at the restroom when we got there before she started playing (I insisted). She really loves going to the playground. I don't think she stopped smiling and giggling the whole time we were there.
I turn 24 1/2 today. In six months I will be a quarter of a century old. Hmm.
Jeff started his internship (clinicals) on Wednesday. Yesterday and today he went in from 5:30 a.m. until 2:00p.m. This is good and bad at the same time. He enjoys getting there early to go on the phlebotomy rounds, and meet the patients. And he loves being able to get home before 3 in the afternoon, and spend the rest of the day with me and the kids. But at that time in the morning it's too dark to ride his bike, so he has to drive. It's not far, but part of the reason we were so glad his internship was here in town was because we thought he wouldn't have to drive - we save gas and I get the car if I need it. Oh well. I think he only has the early shift some days, but other days it's something like 8 to 4.
Because of the whole sanitary hospital thing, Jeff comes home smelling like rubber gloves and soap. Well, if it bothers me I can just remember that Rachel's husband would come home from class smelling like cadavers, and that cheers me right up! :)
We went to the park this evening, and it felt good to get out and exercise a bit. Zaylee, as usual, had a huge blast going down the big slide over and over again. She even went potty at the restroom when we got there before she started playing (I insisted). She really loves going to the playground. I don't think she stopped smiling and giggling the whole time we were there.
I turn 24 1/2 today. In six months I will be a quarter of a century old. Hmm.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Gross Picture of the Day
Yes. This is a toothbrush. In the toilet.Zaylee has been playing in the toilet lately, and it's been really irritating! So when I came in to the bathroom and found the toothbrush in the toilet and Zaylee reaching in after it, I was really mad! I decided that in an attempt to get her to not want to play in the toilet any more, I would make her reach in and get the toothbrush herself (plus, I really didn't want to do it myself). She grabbed it, and pulled, and started crying.
It was stuck. You can see in the picture that the end of the toothbrush is stuck in that little hole.
Well, she was pulling and pulling, and getting more and more frustrated, and all of a sudden through my irritation I realized how hilarious this whole situation was. Or maybe it wasn't all that hilarious but something in me snapped. Anyway, I started laughing uncontrollably, and sent Jeff off to run and grab the camera. I snapped a picture, then put Zaylee out of her suffering by reaching in and freeing the toothbrush myself.
I then threw away the toothbrush and spent the next five minutes scrubbing my hands with anti-microbial soap. Jeff gave Zaylee (who was covered in toilet water) a bath.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Nothin' Much Happening
Wow, there really is nothing happening! After writing the title I've just been sitting here for several minutes just trying to think of what to post!
...serious pondering...wow, I must be tired...gotta think of something...
So, Zaylee's doing pretty good with the whole potty thing. More and more, she'll tell us that she needs to go and then run to the bathroom. Or she'll just go in without telling us. She still has accidents, mostly if she's distracted with playing or watching a movie and I don't remind her frequently enough. But I think it's all starting to sink in. She still hasn't pooped in the potty yet. I hope she does soon, because I hate scrubbing out poopy panties, and we're way too cheap (money is way tight right now) to buy pull-ups! Plus, she doesn't tell me when she needs to poop, she just does it. So it wouldn't help to put her in a pull-up for pooping anyway - I wouldn't know when to put the pull-up on.
It's been raining today. We finally got our tomato plants staked this afternoon ("we" is a loose term that, at the moment, means "Jeff"), which is good because they might have had a hard time with all the rain and wind this evening. I looked out the bedroom window and noticed that the overhang of the roof makes the water drip really hard all along one of our garden rows. I don't know which veggie is planted there, but I hope it likes water!
I have been craving sweets lately. I go foodie blog hopping, and see all these posts about cakes and cookies and cupcakes and breads, and it just makes me so hungry! I have to keep reminding myself that we still have a loaf of nut bread, and some chocolate chip cookies. I also have to remind myself that I'm still on my diet and really don't need some fancy creamy peanut butter and chocolate torte or raspberry-filled chocolate-frosted marbled cupcakes or banana chocolate chip bread with pecans and caramel coconut glaze. Wistful sigh.
Speaking of my diet, I'm doing really well! I'm down to 135, which means I've only got 5 more pounds to go before I'm at my ideal weight! That's so exciting for me! I need to get out my tape measure and see how many inches I've lost. I measured myself back when I got started, and it will be really neat to see how much smaller I've gotten. Right now I'm wearing a pair of capris that I bought back in 2004, when Jeff and I got engaged. They fit great!
Jeff starts his internship (clinical rotations) tomorrow. He has orientation, then he'll probably get to work right away doing all that clinical internship stuff. He's pretty excited. He's going to ride his bike and we're really looking forward to all the gas we'll save with him not driving really far every day.
...serious pondering...wow, I must be tired...gotta think of something...
So, Zaylee's doing pretty good with the whole potty thing. More and more, she'll tell us that she needs to go and then run to the bathroom. Or she'll just go in without telling us. She still has accidents, mostly if she's distracted with playing or watching a movie and I don't remind her frequently enough. But I think it's all starting to sink in. She still hasn't pooped in the potty yet. I hope she does soon, because I hate scrubbing out poopy panties, and we're way too cheap (money is way tight right now) to buy pull-ups! Plus, she doesn't tell me when she needs to poop, she just does it. So it wouldn't help to put her in a pull-up for pooping anyway - I wouldn't know when to put the pull-up on.
It's been raining today. We finally got our tomato plants staked this afternoon ("we" is a loose term that, at the moment, means "Jeff"), which is good because they might have had a hard time with all the rain and wind this evening. I looked out the bedroom window and noticed that the overhang of the roof makes the water drip really hard all along one of our garden rows. I don't know which veggie is planted there, but I hope it likes water!
I have been craving sweets lately. I go foodie blog hopping, and see all these posts about cakes and cookies and cupcakes and breads, and it just makes me so hungry! I have to keep reminding myself that we still have a loaf of nut bread, and some chocolate chip cookies. I also have to remind myself that I'm still on my diet and really don't need some fancy creamy peanut butter and chocolate torte or raspberry-filled chocolate-frosted marbled cupcakes or banana chocolate chip bread with pecans and caramel coconut glaze. Wistful sigh.
Speaking of my diet, I'm doing really well! I'm down to 135, which means I've only got 5 more pounds to go before I'm at my ideal weight! That's so exciting for me! I need to get out my tape measure and see how many inches I've lost. I measured myself back when I got started, and it will be really neat to see how much smaller I've gotten. Right now I'm wearing a pair of capris that I bought back in 2004, when Jeff and I got engaged. They fit great!
Jeff starts his internship (clinical rotations) tomorrow. He has orientation, then he'll probably get to work right away doing all that clinical internship stuff. He's pretty excited. He's going to ride his bike and we're really looking forward to all the gas we'll save with him not driving really far every day.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Potty Training at Church
I took Michelle's advice from my previous post. I had asked how to handle potty training at church, and she said to warn the teacher, and go take Zaylee to the potty every 20 to 30 minutes during nursery. She ended up soiling her panties during the first hour of nursery, and wetting them during the second hour. Luckily I had brought, like, four extra pairs so I was well prepared. I think, though it was kind of messy and disappointing to have to change her underwear during church, that I will continue to do it this way. I want her to learn right off the bat that she is expected to keep her undies clean and dry during church just the same as at home. I think it will be an uphill battle, but we will come off victorious sooner or later! Hopefully sooner...
The ward organist is going on vacation for the next three weeks and has asked me to sub for her during Sacrament Meeting. I'm so glad we have Grandma's organ for me to practice on! It will be neat to be playing for church again. I was ward organist at our student ward up at BYU-I the year I met Jeff, and it is so neat! I look forward to the having an excuse to play a pipe organ again. I love pipe organs! And I'm passing my love of the organ on to little Zaylee. I let her play on the organ this afternoon (making sure she was very gentle, of course!) and she really enjoyed being able to make all that sound come out!
Anyway, it's late and I'm tired, so I'll just keep this post short by ending it right.....
....NOW!
The ward organist is going on vacation for the next three weeks and has asked me to sub for her during Sacrament Meeting. I'm so glad we have Grandma's organ for me to practice on! It will be neat to be playing for church again. I was ward organist at our student ward up at BYU-I the year I met Jeff, and it is so neat! I look forward to the having an excuse to play a pipe organ again. I love pipe organs! And I'm passing my love of the organ on to little Zaylee. I let her play on the organ this afternoon (making sure she was very gentle, of course!) and she really enjoyed being able to make all that sound come out!
Anyway, it's late and I'm tired, so I'll just keep this post short by ending it right.....
....NOW!
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Another Day at the Park
We went down to the nearby park again this morning. This time we put the kids in the double stroller and walked. It was a pretty long walk, but I'm okay with that, since it was a great workout.
By the time we got there, Thomas was asleep, so we let him stay in the stroller (fully supervised!) while Zaylee headed straight for the slides. I planned on taking some pictures, but after getting the camera ready to go and packed in the diaper bag, we left the diaper bag at home! That's okay, any pictures would have just been repeats from last time we went - Thomas on the swing (after he woke up) and Zaylee on the slide.
At one point Zaylee managed to sneak past our parent radar and try to climb up the slide, which we kept telling her not to do. She slipped and smacked her mouth, cutting both her top and bottom lip. She bled for a bit, but we just wiped it off, got her a drink of water at the fountain, and she was back to playing, no worse for the wear.
I already posted this on the weight loss blog, but I'll put it here too 'cuz I'm excited about it. On the way home from the park, I suddenly noticed that my thighs weren't brushing together when I walked! Only the very tops were brushing, but the rest had space between, and I was absolutely thrilled! It's been a very long time since I've been able to walk without my legs brushing together, so this is a big thing for me. I love seeing the results of my diet!
Zaylee has been doing pretty good with the potty training. She still wet several times today, but I think we made some real progress. She peed in the potty nine times today! And one of those times, without me asking or prompting her in any way, she suddenly stopped playing and said, "I need to go potty!" Then she ran to the bathroom and started pulling down her pants. I helped her get situated, and she went potty. I was so proud of her! So, today was a bit easier on me, emotionally, than yesterday. I think just venting about it last night really helped me to feel better. I haven't felt nearly as anxious today. Now, going to church tomorrow could be a different story entirely... I'm not sure if she's ready to go to 2 hours of nursery in panties. I could warn her teacher that she's training and needs to be reminded, but I don't know how effective that would be. The teacher does have several other kids to take care of, after all. There is always the option of volunteering in the nursery this week, so I would be able to remind Zaylee myself, and take care of any accidents right away. I could put a plastic diaper cover over her panties like I do for naps and bedtime, I suppose. I'm just not sure how to handle potty training during church. Those of you who've been through this: any ideas?
By the time we got there, Thomas was asleep, so we let him stay in the stroller (fully supervised!) while Zaylee headed straight for the slides. I planned on taking some pictures, but after getting the camera ready to go and packed in the diaper bag, we left the diaper bag at home! That's okay, any pictures would have just been repeats from last time we went - Thomas on the swing (after he woke up) and Zaylee on the slide.
At one point Zaylee managed to sneak past our parent radar and try to climb up the slide, which we kept telling her not to do. She slipped and smacked her mouth, cutting both her top and bottom lip. She bled for a bit, but we just wiped it off, got her a drink of water at the fountain, and she was back to playing, no worse for the wear.
I already posted this on the weight loss blog, but I'll put it here too 'cuz I'm excited about it. On the way home from the park, I suddenly noticed that my thighs weren't brushing together when I walked! Only the very tops were brushing, but the rest had space between, and I was absolutely thrilled! It's been a very long time since I've been able to walk without my legs brushing together, so this is a big thing for me. I love seeing the results of my diet!
Zaylee has been doing pretty good with the potty training. She still wet several times today, but I think we made some real progress. She peed in the potty nine times today! And one of those times, without me asking or prompting her in any way, she suddenly stopped playing and said, "I need to go potty!" Then she ran to the bathroom and started pulling down her pants. I helped her get situated, and she went potty. I was so proud of her! So, today was a bit easier on me, emotionally, than yesterday. I think just venting about it last night really helped me to feel better. I haven't felt nearly as anxious today. Now, going to church tomorrow could be a different story entirely... I'm not sure if she's ready to go to 2 hours of nursery in panties. I could warn her teacher that she's training and needs to be reminded, but I don't know how effective that would be. The teacher does have several other kids to take care of, after all. There is always the option of volunteering in the nursery this week, so I would be able to remind Zaylee myself, and take care of any accidents right away. I could put a plastic diaper cover over her panties like I do for naps and bedtime, I suppose. I'm just not sure how to handle potty training during church. Those of you who've been through this: any ideas?
Friday, May 16, 2008
Which Jane Austin Heroine Are You?
You are Elinor Dashwood of Sense & Sensibility! You are practical, circumspect, and discreet. Though you are tremendously sensible and allow your head to rule, you have a deep, emotional side that few people often see.
Stressed and Exhausted
Okay, so potty training is stressful! I have been on edge all day, wondering if Zaylee will keep this pair of undies clean or if she will have an accident. Does she need to pee? Will she let me know she needs to, or will she just pee in her pants? "Do you need to pee? Tell me when you need to go, okay?" Five minutes later she's wet. Sit on the potty, change the undies, sometimes she goes in the potty, sometimes she doesn't, sometimes she tells me she needs to go, sometimes I just have to watch her face, sometimes she runs to the potty but won't sit down, one pair of panties after another after another, hour after hour, minute after minute, constantly watching and wondering and stressing and - AAARRGH! I have just felt so agitated and nervous and anxious all day! Zaylee did pretty well this morning, but by evening time I think she had had enough and she started having more accidents. By the time we put her to bed I think I would have had a panic attack if someone did anything startling, like knocking on the door or talking when it was quiet.
Earnest potty training is stressful! It's a huge change for both Zaylee and I, requiring a lot more responsibility from both of us. It's already wearing me out! And I have to do it all over again tomorrow!
I'm not saying she's doing terrible or anything. She did about the same as yesterday - about five wet undies and one soiled. She went potty six times today, got a sticker each time and was really excited about it (I think I exaggerated yesterday when I said she peed in the potty 10 or 15 times. It was a guess, but it doesn't seem right now that I look back. I have stickers on a chart today to prove how many potty-pees she had). So she did well, for her second day. It's just that it's hard! And stressful! and exhausting! and agitating! and stressful! and hard! and I don't want to do it any more but I have to!
Poopy. (no pun intended)
Earnest potty training is stressful! It's a huge change for both Zaylee and I, requiring a lot more responsibility from both of us. It's already wearing me out! And I have to do it all over again tomorrow!
I'm not saying she's doing terrible or anything. She did about the same as yesterday - about five wet undies and one soiled. She went potty six times today, got a sticker each time and was really excited about it (I think I exaggerated yesterday when I said she peed in the potty 10 or 15 times. It was a guess, but it doesn't seem right now that I look back. I have stickers on a chart today to prove how many potty-pees she had). So she did well, for her second day. It's just that it's hard! And stressful! and exhausting! and agitating! and stressful! and hard! and I don't want to do it any more but I have to!
Poopy. (no pun intended)
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Random Pictures and Why I Took Them
This is a picture of Thomas' owie from earlier today. Before I got him all cleaned up, I was really worried that he might have lost a tooth or something, because of where the blood was coming from. I was relieved it was just his lip, though I felt guilty enough as it was!
These are some of Zaylee's new panties. We bought two packages of 12 today. I have finally gotten tired of my lax approach to potty training. Up to now, I've kept Zaylee in diapers full-time, and had her sit on the potty one or two times a day hoping that she would pee. Today, I bit the bullet and put her in underpants all day long. She wet five pairs and soiled one, but the number of times she peed in the potty (I was constantly reminding her) very much outnumbered the times she peed in her underpants.I fast learned today that using jelly beans as a reward for every time she pees in the potty, while it has been okay up to now, isn't that great of an idea. She probably ate about 10 to 15 jelly beans today, one for every time she peed in the potty. Too much sugar! So when we went to the store to buy more underpants this evening (we only had six pairs, that wouldn't last long!) we bought some stickers to use instead. I think we'll do a chart - for every five stickers, she'll get a small handful of peanuts. They're healthier than jelly beans, and she really likes them.
Hopefully it won't take too long for her to learn that it's no longer acceptable to pee in her pants, now that she's not wearing a diaper. She did pretty good today, for it being her first day. I hope she continues to do well, and improves quickly!
This lamp doesn't have a bulb in it. Here's the story: As I was sitting in the bathroom with Zaylee today, I suddenly heard a crash and the tinkle of broken glass. I told Zaylee to stay put and go potty, then rushed out to the living room to find that Thomas had finally accomplished what he's been trying to do for months - he pulled the lamp off the coffee table by the cord. The pricey, energy-efficient light bulb was shattered.I buckled Thomas into Zaylee's booster seat (it was closer than his) to keep him away from the mess, and got to work sweeping up the broken glass. When I glanced at Thomas to make sure he was alright, he had wiggled out of the buckle, and was standing in the seat, ready to topple over onto the hard floor at any second.
Panic! Down goes the broom, and I run to the rescue!
I got him buckled into his own seat, with a tighter belt, and was about to start sweeping again when I heard Zaylee pouring her pee into the big toilet. So I ran in to help her clean up (rinse out her potty bowl, help her get her underpants up, help her wash her hands, etc.). When that was done, I came back out to the living room to finish sweeping. This time Zaylee was out with me, and I had to keep yelling at her to stay back, because she really wanted to see what the fuss was about, and kept trying to walk on the area with the broken glass!
Anyway, it took a few tries, but I was finally able to get the glass cleaned up and thrown away, and no one got hurt!
These next few pictures are some cool free things that Jeff got from the Red Cross stuff he did yesterday and today.
First up is the biggest calculator I've ever seen! I have it next to a regular calculator, with my hand, so the size is obvious. It's huge, and awesome!
We also got this great mouse pad. The back is sticky, so it doesn't slide around, and it has the gel wrist rest to prevent carpal tunnel. The illustration on it is the Coagulation Cascade (whatever that is, some medical thing).
This one is really neat - it's a microscope slide with a digital clock inside! Way cool!Tomorrow Jeff has a workshop at a big hospital in the area. There are several times during the workshop where there will be vendors, which means more free medical-type stuff. Awesome! I don't know why I get so excited about this stuff, it's kind of silly, but I think it's fun to get free stuff. I mean, a microscope slide with a clock in it? Where else would you get something like that?!
Major Mommy Guilt!!!
I took the kids on a walk today in the double stroller. By the time we got home, Thomas had fallen asleep. Rather than risk waking him up to move him to his crib, I just wheeled the stroller into the kids' room to let him finish his nap.
Fast forward to a few minutes ago. Thomas woke up and started crying. I was out watering the tomato plants, so finished that up before going in to get Thomas up. When I opened the door to his room, it ran into him - yes, he had somehow gotten out of the stroller, and was crying right in front of the door. Upon examining the stroller I realized he must have fallen out while squirming - oh, poor thing! Well, no harm done...
...or so I thought...
Immediately after letting Thomas out of his room, I realized Zaylee had peed in her underpants and rushed to get her onto the potty. As we were sitting in the bathroom, in crawls Thomas - with his face covered in blood! Oh no! I hadn't really examined him when I let him out, but apparently he hit his lip on something pretty hard, and had cut it, and it had bled all over his face!
So now Thomas has a swollen lip, and it will probably hurt him to eat for a little while - no fun! And he's demanding lots of extra cuddles, which I am guiltily administering.
What have I learned? 1) If Thomas falls asleep in the stroller, I will definitely risk waking him up to move him to the safety of his crib. 2) If Thomas is on the floor when I expected him to be somewhere higher, I will examine him for boo-boos immediately! And 3) Zaylee will pee in her pants when it is most inconvenient, and there's nothin' I can do about it!
Such is life!
Fast forward to a few minutes ago. Thomas woke up and started crying. I was out watering the tomato plants, so finished that up before going in to get Thomas up. When I opened the door to his room, it ran into him - yes, he had somehow gotten out of the stroller, and was crying right in front of the door. Upon examining the stroller I realized he must have fallen out while squirming - oh, poor thing! Well, no harm done...
...or so I thought...
Immediately after letting Thomas out of his room, I realized Zaylee had peed in her underpants and rushed to get her onto the potty. As we were sitting in the bathroom, in crawls Thomas - with his face covered in blood! Oh no! I hadn't really examined him when I let him out, but apparently he hit his lip on something pretty hard, and had cut it, and it had bled all over his face!
So now Thomas has a swollen lip, and it will probably hurt him to eat for a little while - no fun! And he's demanding lots of extra cuddles, which I am guiltily administering.
What have I learned? 1) If Thomas falls asleep in the stroller, I will definitely risk waking him up to move him to the safety of his crib. 2) If Thomas is on the floor when I expected him to be somewhere higher, I will examine him for boo-boos immediately! And 3) Zaylee will pee in her pants when it is most inconvenient, and there's nothin' I can do about it!
Such is life!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
A Day Early
We did our laundry a day early this week. Jeff is doing a Red Cross workshop thing that he had to do today and again tomorrow, which requires the use of the car all day. Mom picked up me and the kids and we went over and spent the day there. Since it was after 11 when we got there, I did up some lunch (I like to cook while I'm there, and Mom has no objections!). Today's specialty was Sloppy Joe's a la King. There's no special recipe for this; it's just sloppy joe meat served over biscuits instead of bread or buns. They were really good! And Mom and I did up a quick coleslaw to serve with them. It was Mom's first experience with homemade coleslaw (and therefore, everyone else's too, except mine). It went over really well, considering that the great majority of my siblings don't care for uncooked cabbage or new and unusual flavors. Also no real recipe, it was chopped cabbage with a sauce made from mayo, vinegar, sugar, and celery salt.
Grandma's dog Muffin was over with my family today, while Grandma is visiting with Aunt Alice. My family loves Muffin, and she loves being there. Zaylee and Thomas always get a real kick out of her. Zaylee pets her and crawls around pretending to be a dog; and Thomas thinks it's really funny when Muffin licks his face! He crawls after her, or crawls away and checks to see if she's following him. I'm glad she's such a gentle dog, and she's really good with the young kids.
After putting the kids to bed this evening, I set a personal best record for putting laundry away - the day it was washed! I used to be pretty good about that, but lately the laundry seems to sit around in the baskets until the next laundry day. But today I put all the clothes away (Jeff helped a bit too after he did the dishes - lovin' that Mother's Day gift!). Speaking of Jeff's gift, he's still doing the dishes regularly and willingly, but has mentioned that next year he should just give me some flowers. Apparently doing all the dishes every day gets a bit monotonous and un-fun. But he keeps right on doing them - I love my hubby!
Anyway, I don't think I have much more to blog about this evening. So goodnight all, and have a great day tomorrow!
Grandma's dog Muffin was over with my family today, while Grandma is visiting with Aunt Alice. My family loves Muffin, and she loves being there. Zaylee and Thomas always get a real kick out of her. Zaylee pets her and crawls around pretending to be a dog; and Thomas thinks it's really funny when Muffin licks his face! He crawls after her, or crawls away and checks to see if she's following him. I'm glad she's such a gentle dog, and she's really good with the young kids.
After putting the kids to bed this evening, I set a personal best record for putting laundry away - the day it was washed! I used to be pretty good about that, but lately the laundry seems to sit around in the baskets until the next laundry day. But today I put all the clothes away (Jeff helped a bit too after he did the dishes - lovin' that Mother's Day gift!). Speaking of Jeff's gift, he's still doing the dishes regularly and willingly, but has mentioned that next year he should just give me some flowers. Apparently doing all the dishes every day gets a bit monotonous and un-fun. But he keeps right on doing them - I love my hubby!
Anyway, I don't think I have much more to blog about this evening. So goodnight all, and have a great day tomorrow!
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Perfect Day for Going to the Park
This morning the weather was gorgeous, so we went to a park that we recently discovered close to our apartment. We took the car today, but on realizing it's only a mile away, decided that next time we'll just put the kids in the stroller and walk. Zaylee definitely enjoyed being outside and playing on the equipment. She loved the biggest slide, and went down over and over again! But the picture I got of her on that one didn't turn out too great, so here's one of her on a different slide:
They had some playground equipment that looked like cars of a train, and Zaylee enjoyed climbing in and out of the cars. They had little windows, and she liked to peek out at me through the window. Look at those blue eyes!
Thomas got to sit in a swing for the first time, and really had a blast being pushed gently back and forth! He looked so cute in the little kiddie swing, with his legs just hanging there!
Isn't he a cutie!!
The only thing I wasn't too thrilled about with our outing was the fact that I had just showered, but didn't have time to do anything with my hair. It was drying all frizzy and crazy, and really looked terrible! This wouldn't have mattered to me so much if other parents hadn't started showing up with their kids shortly after we got to the park. I felt really silly, but tried to just focus on having a good time with the kids, instead of wondering what the other parents were thinking about the crazy mop-haired momma running around. :)
They had some playground equipment that looked like cars of a train, and Zaylee enjoyed climbing in and out of the cars. They had little windows, and she liked to peek out at me through the window. Look at those blue eyes!
Thomas got to sit in a swing for the first time, and really had a blast being pushed gently back and forth! He looked so cute in the little kiddie swing, with his legs just hanging there!
Isn't he a cutie!!The only thing I wasn't too thrilled about with our outing was the fact that I had just showered, but didn't have time to do anything with my hair. It was drying all frizzy and crazy, and really looked terrible! This wouldn't have mattered to me so much if other parents hadn't started showing up with their kids shortly after we got to the park. I felt really silly, but tried to just focus on having a good time with the kids, instead of wondering what the other parents were thinking about the crazy mop-haired momma running around. :)
A Book Tag
I was blog surfing and came across this kinda fun-looking tag, and thought I'd get it started in our little group. Here goes:
1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag three people, and acknowledge who tagged you.
The nearest book to me is (oh man, this is real exciting) Microsoft Office: Excel 2003. It's a textbook. Hooray.
The fifth sentence on page 123 is: " 5. Click the Modify button to open the Format Cells dialog box, and then click the Patterns tab."
The next three sentences are: "6. Click the Yellow square (fourth row, third column from the left) in the color palette, and then click the OK button to close the Format Cells dialog box and redisplay the Style dialog box. If you click the OK button in the Style dialog box, the style definition changes and is applied to the active cell and the Style dialog box closes. If you click the Add button in the dialog box, the style change is saved and applied, but the Style dialog box remains open for further style changes."
Holy cow, that was boring and un-understandable! If I ever do this again, I'll try to find a more interesting book! The blog I got this tag from did a cookbook.
I tag: Michelle, Esther, and LaNita. Have fun!
1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag three people, and acknowledge who tagged you.
The nearest book to me is (oh man, this is real exciting) Microsoft Office: Excel 2003. It's a textbook. Hooray.
The fifth sentence on page 123 is: " 5. Click the Modify button to open the Format Cells dialog box, and then click the Patterns tab."
The next three sentences are: "6. Click the Yellow square (fourth row, third column from the left) in the color palette, and then click the OK button to close the Format Cells dialog box and redisplay the Style dialog box. If you click the OK button in the Style dialog box, the style definition changes and is applied to the active cell and the Style dialog box closes. If you click the Add button in the dialog box, the style change is saved and applied, but the Style dialog box remains open for further style changes."
Holy cow, that was boring and un-understandable! If I ever do this again, I'll try to find a more interesting book! The blog I got this tag from did a cookbook.
I tag: Michelle, Esther, and LaNita. Have fun!
Monday, May 12, 2008
Hooray! My 200th Post!
In honor of my 200th post, I present to you...
...pretty much a regular post, but with a celebrating-like title.
Today we did lots of garden-type stuff. A few days ago Jeff turned the weedy jungle that was our front yard into a barren field. That's funny talk for he hoed and raked and weeded like crazy, and got rid of all the big huge weeds that were covering our yard. Today we bought some cute plastic fencing to put around the yard (the local kids like to hang out in our yard, and we're thinking that's gotta stop). Here's the two sections of yard with the fencing. We're going to put garden vegetables in.
If you look closely, you can see that the fence sections don't link together. They're supposed to, but we had so much trouble trying to get the darn things to work! So we decided not to worry about linking them together, and just put them in close enough to each other that we still pretty much have the desired effect. The fence was supposed to go all the way up the sidewalk to the door, but we miscalculated how much we needed. That's okay, more fence would have meant more money.
We also bought some tomato plants and a squash plant, and put those in the ground this afternoon. I didn't get a picture of them after we planted them, but I did before:
(As a little side note here, my kids are driving me crazy! It's a quarter past nine, and they just aren't going to sleep! Grrr...)
Anyway. I transplanted my little Mother's Day flower into a pot this morning. I really hope it lives and grows and provides lots of beauty! Here it is, along with another couple plants that Mom planted and gave me yesterday. The purple one is the one I got in church.
Here's to a day full of digging in the dirt, planting flowers and vegetables, and hoping that the local kids will leave our garden alone and let it grow!
...pretty much a regular post, but with a celebrating-like title.
Today we did lots of garden-type stuff. A few days ago Jeff turned the weedy jungle that was our front yard into a barren field. That's funny talk for he hoed and raked and weeded like crazy, and got rid of all the big huge weeds that were covering our yard. Today we bought some cute plastic fencing to put around the yard (the local kids like to hang out in our yard, and we're thinking that's gotta stop). Here's the two sections of yard with the fencing. We're going to put garden vegetables in.
If you look closely, you can see that the fence sections don't link together. They're supposed to, but we had so much trouble trying to get the darn things to work! So we decided not to worry about linking them together, and just put them in close enough to each other that we still pretty much have the desired effect. The fence was supposed to go all the way up the sidewalk to the door, but we miscalculated how much we needed. That's okay, more fence would have meant more money.We also bought some tomato plants and a squash plant, and put those in the ground this afternoon. I didn't get a picture of them after we planted them, but I did before:
(As a little side note here, my kids are driving me crazy! It's a quarter past nine, and they just aren't going to sleep! Grrr...)Anyway. I transplanted my little Mother's Day flower into a pot this morning. I really hope it lives and grows and provides lots of beauty! Here it is, along with another couple plants that Mom planted and gave me yesterday. The purple one is the one I got in church.
Here's to a day full of digging in the dirt, planting flowers and vegetables, and hoping that the local kids will leave our garden alone and let it grow!
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Just a Nice Calm Day
There weren't any spectacular mishaps or fantastic wonders today. It's just been a nice, relaxed day. We did get to Church a little late this morning, because I wanted to look extra nice. I actually (gasp!) pulled out the straightening iron and styled my hair, completely shaved my legs instead of just trimming them with my electric razor (it has two settings, and I usually just do the trim setting and wear nylons - not today!), and applied tinted moisturizer to even my skin tone. I tried on about five shirts with my new skirt to find the best match, and wore cute sandals and earrings to match the skirt. The total effect was way cute and I felt great!
At the end of Church, each woman was given a fresh flower, one of the ones that are actually still alive and in a cup of soil. They expect us to keep said flower alive and thriving, apparently, otherwise we would have been given flowers with cut stems. Well, I'm up for the challenge! We still have potting soil and fertilizer from when we planted our herbs, and I got a pot from Mom. I will rise to the challenge put forth to me, and I will keep this flower alive!
After Church, I made some pretty sugar cookies, then we went over to Mom and Dad's house so I could give her the cookies and the gift I got for her. It was a really pretty wind chime. My mom loves wind chimes and has several. This one was beautiful, with blues and purples, and the chimes were different lengths to create different tones (some have chimes that are all the same length). She was really happy with the wind chime and hung it in the living room to enjoy for a few days before finding a place for it outside. And she really liked the cookies, as did everyone else. They were a big hit, as cookies always are at Mom and Dad's house!
While we were there, Jeff and I both got to take a nap, which is really neat! With so many aunts and uncles running around eager to do her bidding, Zaylee was more than willing to let her parents have a rest. And Thomas was napping too. I love having family so close!
Janelle took Thomas outside to sit in the grass for a while. I took the opportunity to get some cute pictures.
He got hold of this one weed and just didn't want to let it go! He still had it later when we brought him inside. Since we live in a somewhat rural area, I took the opportunity to take a picture of my little "farmer boy."
Later, after we got home, I got right to work putting some potatoes in the oven to bake, since Jeff was going to choir practice and couldn't make dinner for me (side note: apparently they canceled the practice because he came home after only a few minutes, but I'd already started dinner, so it didn't really matter. The potatoes were good anyway). As I worked on piercing the potatoes with a fork and putting them in the oven, I remembered that I hadn't taken Thomas out of his seat. When I went to check on him and let him out, I realized Zaylee had gotten to him first:
He didn't seem to mind the fact that his car seat was overturned, because Zaylee had provided him with some toys to play with in the meantime! It was pretty funny.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, Jeff's wonderful Mother's Day gift for me is clean dishes for a whole week! So far he's kept his promise, and I gotta say, it is so nice not to have to worry about doing the dishes! I think I'll still need to clean up the living room; his gift apparently doesn't extend quite that far... :) But I love him so much for being so thoughtful!
At the end of Church, each woman was given a fresh flower, one of the ones that are actually still alive and in a cup of soil. They expect us to keep said flower alive and thriving, apparently, otherwise we would have been given flowers with cut stems. Well, I'm up for the challenge! We still have potting soil and fertilizer from when we planted our herbs, and I got a pot from Mom. I will rise to the challenge put forth to me, and I will keep this flower alive!
After Church, I made some pretty sugar cookies, then we went over to Mom and Dad's house so I could give her the cookies and the gift I got for her. It was a really pretty wind chime. My mom loves wind chimes and has several. This one was beautiful, with blues and purples, and the chimes were different lengths to create different tones (some have chimes that are all the same length). She was really happy with the wind chime and hung it in the living room to enjoy for a few days before finding a place for it outside. And she really liked the cookies, as did everyone else. They were a big hit, as cookies always are at Mom and Dad's house!
While we were there, Jeff and I both got to take a nap, which is really neat! With so many aunts and uncles running around eager to do her bidding, Zaylee was more than willing to let her parents have a rest. And Thomas was napping too. I love having family so close!Janelle took Thomas outside to sit in the grass for a while. I took the opportunity to get some cute pictures.
He got hold of this one weed and just didn't want to let it go! He still had it later when we brought him inside. Since we live in a somewhat rural area, I took the opportunity to take a picture of my little "farmer boy."
Later, after we got home, I got right to work putting some potatoes in the oven to bake, since Jeff was going to choir practice and couldn't make dinner for me (side note: apparently they canceled the practice because he came home after only a few minutes, but I'd already started dinner, so it didn't really matter. The potatoes were good anyway). As I worked on piercing the potatoes with a fork and putting them in the oven, I remembered that I hadn't taken Thomas out of his seat. When I went to check on him and let him out, I realized Zaylee had gotten to him first:
He didn't seem to mind the fact that his car seat was overturned, because Zaylee had provided him with some toys to play with in the meantime! It was pretty funny.As I mentioned in an earlier post, Jeff's wonderful Mother's Day gift for me is clean dishes for a whole week! So far he's kept his promise, and I gotta say, it is so nice not to have to worry about doing the dishes! I think I'll still need to clean up the living room; his gift apparently doesn't extend quite that far... :) But I love him so much for being so thoughtful!
Saturday, May 10, 2008
The AWESOME ME Challenge
On Rachel's blog there is an awesome post about this week's challenge on The Ponytail Challenge. Basically, we're supposed to come up with five things that are wonderful about ourselves, and remember them all week, anytime we feel down on ourselves or want to compare ourselves with other women. I thought it would be a great thing for me to do, so here are my five things.
1. I am very smart. I graduated valedictorian from my high school. In college I took a Genetics class - it was a class that everyone either failed or got a C. The really smart people got a B. I got an A.
2. I have clear blue eyes that are very pretty.
3. I am really good at baking. I make really pretty pies, after having taught myself how to make a great pie crust.
4. I can stick to my diet. When my first baby was 7 months old, I started counting calories and lost 30 pounds in one summer. Now I'm working on getting to my ideal weight after baby number two. I already weigh less than I did when I got married, and am fully confident that I will reach my ideal weight by my baby's first birthday in July.
5. I'm very musically talented. I sing well, both soprano and alto. And I play the piano, the organ, and the penny whistle.
You know, that actually wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I guess for me the challenge will be continuing to think positive for a whole week. I have very definite ups and downs, and I guess right now I'm up! What a great challenge.
1. I am very smart. I graduated valedictorian from my high school. In college I took a Genetics class - it was a class that everyone either failed or got a C. The really smart people got a B. I got an A.
2. I have clear blue eyes that are very pretty.
3. I am really good at baking. I make really pretty pies, after having taught myself how to make a great pie crust.
4. I can stick to my diet. When my first baby was 7 months old, I started counting calories and lost 30 pounds in one summer. Now I'm working on getting to my ideal weight after baby number two. I already weigh less than I did when I got married, and am fully confident that I will reach my ideal weight by my baby's first birthday in July.
5. I'm very musically talented. I sing well, both soprano and alto. And I play the piano, the organ, and the penny whistle.
You know, that actually wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I guess for me the challenge will be continuing to think positive for a whole week. I have very definite ups and downs, and I guess right now I'm up! What a great challenge.
I've been better today. Hopefully this episode is over and I can be okay for a nice long time. It's been so nice to enjoy my kids today - I've played with them and been cheerful and smiley. It's a welcome change.
Today we got to get out of the house and do some shopping. We used two carts, one kids per cart, to do our grocery shopping and it worked well. Zaylee got impatient a few times, wanting to get down, but I stuck to my guns; she stayed in the cart. I'm grateful she hasn't yet learned to unclip those seatbelt buckles.
I haven't posted any pictures lately, so here's a few.
These were taken at Mom and Dad's house on Thursday. I took Zaylee out to the trampoline and took tons of pictures. These were some of the cutest. She really loves being on the trampoline, bouncing and jumping and running around, and just having a great time! She had picked a couple small flowers before we got to the trampoline, and insisted on holding them while she jumped.
Later Marie asked if she could take Zaylee out to the little kiddie pool. I said it would be alright if she could find something for Zaylee to wear; she doesn't have a swimsuit, and even if she did we wouldn't have had it with us. Anyway, they pieced together an outfit for her with Samuel's old swim trunks that are getting too small for him, and one of Rheanna's little shirts. It worked, but I think I need to get her an actual swimsuit if we're going to take her swimming any more this spring/summer!
And finally, one of Thomas. He likes to put things in his mouth and hold them there. Then he grins like he knows he's doing something cute and clever.
Anyway, that's been my day (well, none of the pictures were from today, but whatever). Hope everyone has a nice Mother's Day. Jeff decided to give me a wonderful gift - every day this week, after every meal, he's going to wash all the dishes. Now that's a great gift - thoughtful, free, and something I really wanted! What a great guy!
He's also great because he had a really neat idea for dinner tonight. He made lots of beef and bean burritos, and the ones we didn't eat tonight he froze. So they're just like the ones you get frozen at the store, but much more cost effective, and more flavorful too. He seasoned the meat with some leftover Southwest Rub, and it tasted so good! What a great make-ahead dinner idea! I love my guy!
Today we got to get out of the house and do some shopping. We used two carts, one kids per cart, to do our grocery shopping and it worked well. Zaylee got impatient a few times, wanting to get down, but I stuck to my guns; she stayed in the cart. I'm grateful she hasn't yet learned to unclip those seatbelt buckles.
I haven't posted any pictures lately, so here's a few.
These were taken at Mom and Dad's house on Thursday. I took Zaylee out to the trampoline and took tons of pictures. These were some of the cutest. She really loves being on the trampoline, bouncing and jumping and running around, and just having a great time! She had picked a couple small flowers before we got to the trampoline, and insisted on holding them while she jumped.
Later Marie asked if she could take Zaylee out to the little kiddie pool. I said it would be alright if she could find something for Zaylee to wear; she doesn't have a swimsuit, and even if she did we wouldn't have had it with us. Anyway, they pieced together an outfit for her with Samuel's old swim trunks that are getting too small for him, and one of Rheanna's little shirts. It worked, but I think I need to get her an actual swimsuit if we're going to take her swimming any more this spring/summer!
And finally, one of Thomas. He likes to put things in his mouth and hold them there. Then he grins like he knows he's doing something cute and clever.
Anyway, that's been my day (well, none of the pictures were from today, but whatever). Hope everyone has a nice Mother's Day. Jeff decided to give me a wonderful gift - every day this week, after every meal, he's going to wash all the dishes. Now that's a great gift - thoughtful, free, and something I really wanted! What a great guy!
He's also great because he had a really neat idea for dinner tonight. He made lots of beef and bean burritos, and the ones we didn't eat tonight he froze. So they're just like the ones you get frozen at the store, but much more cost effective, and more flavorful too. He seasoned the meat with some leftover Southwest Rub, and it tasted so good! What a great make-ahead dinner idea! I love my guy!
Friday, May 9, 2008
Who Loves Mama?
Though today was pretty difficult for me, there were some nice moments. This morning as I was in my room getting ready and Jeff was feeding the kids breakfast, I heard the sweetest little conversation. It went something like this:
Thomas (babbling): A yah mama! (It sounded like "I love Mama")
Jeff: You love Mama?
Zaylee: I love Mama too!
It was very cute, and gave me warm fuzzies!
Thomas (babbling): A yah mama! (It sounded like "I love Mama")
Jeff: You love Mama?
Zaylee: I love Mama too!
It was very cute, and gave me warm fuzzies!
Today was another one of those days. I'll spare the details, but suffice it to say that this was even worse than last time.
On a positive note, Jeff made some really good cookies this evening, the recipe for which I posted on my food blog, here.
Here's hoping for a night full of sleep, and a day full of happy thoughts and feelings.
On a positive note, Jeff made some really good cookies this evening, the recipe for which I posted on my food blog, here.
Here's hoping for a night full of sleep, and a day full of happy thoughts and feelings.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
A Disjointed, But Cheerful, Post
I'm feeling much better today. Thanks everyone for your concern and kind comments, they really helped to lift me up.
Today was laundry day, and we spent all day at Mom and Dad's house. Normally we leave when the laundry is done, but it was almost dinner time, we had nothing planned to eat, and the dirty dishes all over my sinks and counters were haunting my thoughts, so I asked Mom if we could stay for dinner, providing I made something really yummy. She readily agreed, so I made turnovers with taco meat and pepper jack cheese. They turned out really good.
It's actually good that I made something so yummy, because tonight I met my sister Janelle's boyfriend Lloyd for the first time, and was able to impress him with my skills in the kitchen. If he's going to be hanging around a lot, I don't want him thinking his girl's sister is a loser or anything. :) Anyway, he seemed really nice - a friendly, respectful kind of guy, so I guess he can stick around.
Jeff has been keeping his bike at my parents' house because we didn't have much room for it here, and he had no need for it. His classes were too far away for him to ride his bike there, and he was too busy studying to ride it for pleasure. But now that he'll be starting his clinicals later this month, we decided to bring the bike over to our place. Which meant we had to bring out...the bike rack!
We got this rack for free from some friends and had really no idea how to use it. When we moved here from Rexburg the guys were able to work it out well enough to get the bike onto the car and get it here safely. But we couldn't figure out how to fold it up, so we ended up taking the whole thing apart so we could store it. When we got it out today, we must have spent about an hour or so trying to piece it back together again. We had no instructions, no real clue as to how it all worked, except for our own intuition and mechanical intelligence. That's why it took so long. But eventually, with the two of us working together, we were finally able to get it up and working mostly the way it's supposed to. So we were able to get the bike home this evening in one piece. We actually even got the rack put together properly to allow it to fold up for storage, so we won't have to take it apart again - yay!
Speaking of the bike, something momentous occurred this evening - Jeff actually convinced me to ride his bike. I haven't ridden a bike in years, and it had been years before that time too. I haven't ever been a bike person since I was a child - I was turned off by the fact that I was nearly hit by a car while riding a bike - twice! But Jeff convinced me to give it a try on the dirt road that runs by my parents' place. It really is true what they say, you don't forget how to ride a bike. It was awkward at first, because it's been so very long, but I pretty much had the hang of it, and it was almost kind of fun, too. I'm not about to go buy myself a bike and helmet and ride everywhere though. The thought of riding anywhere besides that dirt road where no one ever drives is just too frightening for me. But it was kinda fun anyway.
This is a really random post, full of just all the stuff that happened today, in no particular order. For instance, earlier this afternoon, Marie and I brought out Janelle's new dance workout video and did a grueling workout. This one is hip hop, and though it was a lot of fun, it was a lot of work too! I burned so many calories doing all those new moves, and I bet I looked pretty funny doing it too! Learning the moves on a dance video is always a bit of a challenge, but it was fun. Anyway, despite the fact that I probably ate a bit too much today (they had cake balls and cookies, what was I supposed to do?!), with that major workout, I'm not too concerned!
Anyway, it's really late and I'm pretty tired, so I guess this is goodnight.
Today was laundry day, and we spent all day at Mom and Dad's house. Normally we leave when the laundry is done, but it was almost dinner time, we had nothing planned to eat, and the dirty dishes all over my sinks and counters were haunting my thoughts, so I asked Mom if we could stay for dinner, providing I made something really yummy. She readily agreed, so I made turnovers with taco meat and pepper jack cheese. They turned out really good.
It's actually good that I made something so yummy, because tonight I met my sister Janelle's boyfriend Lloyd for the first time, and was able to impress him with my skills in the kitchen. If he's going to be hanging around a lot, I don't want him thinking his girl's sister is a loser or anything. :) Anyway, he seemed really nice - a friendly, respectful kind of guy, so I guess he can stick around.
Jeff has been keeping his bike at my parents' house because we didn't have much room for it here, and he had no need for it. His classes were too far away for him to ride his bike there, and he was too busy studying to ride it for pleasure. But now that he'll be starting his clinicals later this month, we decided to bring the bike over to our place. Which meant we had to bring out...the bike rack!
We got this rack for free from some friends and had really no idea how to use it. When we moved here from Rexburg the guys were able to work it out well enough to get the bike onto the car and get it here safely. But we couldn't figure out how to fold it up, so we ended up taking the whole thing apart so we could store it. When we got it out today, we must have spent about an hour or so trying to piece it back together again. We had no instructions, no real clue as to how it all worked, except for our own intuition and mechanical intelligence. That's why it took so long. But eventually, with the two of us working together, we were finally able to get it up and working mostly the way it's supposed to. So we were able to get the bike home this evening in one piece. We actually even got the rack put together properly to allow it to fold up for storage, so we won't have to take it apart again - yay!
Speaking of the bike, something momentous occurred this evening - Jeff actually convinced me to ride his bike. I haven't ridden a bike in years, and it had been years before that time too. I haven't ever been a bike person since I was a child - I was turned off by the fact that I was nearly hit by a car while riding a bike - twice! But Jeff convinced me to give it a try on the dirt road that runs by my parents' place. It really is true what they say, you don't forget how to ride a bike. It was awkward at first, because it's been so very long, but I pretty much had the hang of it, and it was almost kind of fun, too. I'm not about to go buy myself a bike and helmet and ride everywhere though. The thought of riding anywhere besides that dirt road where no one ever drives is just too frightening for me. But it was kinda fun anyway.
This is a really random post, full of just all the stuff that happened today, in no particular order. For instance, earlier this afternoon, Marie and I brought out Janelle's new dance workout video and did a grueling workout. This one is hip hop, and though it was a lot of fun, it was a lot of work too! I burned so many calories doing all those new moves, and I bet I looked pretty funny doing it too! Learning the moves on a dance video is always a bit of a challenge, but it was fun. Anyway, despite the fact that I probably ate a bit too much today (they had cake balls and cookies, what was I supposed to do?!), with that major workout, I'm not too concerned!
Anyway, it's really late and I'm pretty tired, so I guess this is goodnight.
Family and Friends Tag
Rules of this Tag:
1. Answer the questions about the list of friends and/or family on your blog.
2. If you don’t have 18 names answer the question about the next name that you have not had a question for on your list.
3. Tag 5 people.
When did you first meet the first person on your list?
I guess I met Abby, my way cute cousin, when she was just a little baby. I don't remember the circumstances, but it was probably sometime when our family went to visit their family.
What do you like about the third person on your list's blog?
Calista's blog - I love the bright colors! It's a very cheerful blog. Also, Madison is about the same age as Zaylee, and it's fun to see how similar, yet different they are.
What do you like best about the fifth and sixth people on your list?
Esther has always been fun to hang out with. When I was staying with their family for a while, she would do my hair in fun, adventurous ways, and we went to the movies together and just hung out a lot. I enjoyed spending time with her.
The sixth person on my list is Grandma! I don't know how I can choose one thing I like best - there's so many! I like that Grandma is always interested in her family - she likes to know how we're doing and what's going on in our lives, and she likes to share her life with us. It's nice that she's so involved.
How long have you known the ninth person on your list?
I've known LaNita almost all my life. As my cousin, ever since she was born we've seen each other at family reunions and visits throughout the years. She's lots of fun!
What impresses you about the eleventh and twelfth people on your list?
Melinda has always had a great sense of humor. I admire humor in people. I also have always thought that Melinda is very beautiful (yes, Melinda, it's true!!)
And Michelle - what can I say about my big sister?! I admire Michelle's people skills. She is much more outgoing than I ever was. But unlike some other "talkers" Michelle is also a good listener. She's got a great balance of friendship skills.
What is a memory you have with the sixteenth person on your list?
This is a kind of funny memory I have of Rachel. When my family lived in Florida (I was only about 8 years old, maybe less), we had a family reunion there or something. I had two very favorite My Little Ponies that I loved very much. I found Rachel playing with one of them and threw a fit! I took it away and yelled at her and hid under my bed so she couldn't find me and take it back! She was pretty upset about it. What a little stinker I was!
Say something nice about the eighteenth person on your list.
I don't have eighteen people, so I'll go with Sarah, as number seventeen. Sarah is very sweet and pretty. And she makes a way cute pregnant mommy!
I TAG:
Michelle
CissaLynn
Jackie
Melinda
Esther
1. Answer the questions about the list of friends and/or family on your blog.
2. If you don’t have 18 names answer the question about the next name that you have not had a question for on your list.
3. Tag 5 people.
When did you first meet the first person on your list?
I guess I met Abby, my way cute cousin, when she was just a little baby. I don't remember the circumstances, but it was probably sometime when our family went to visit their family.
What do you like about the third person on your list's blog?
Calista's blog - I love the bright colors! It's a very cheerful blog. Also, Madison is about the same age as Zaylee, and it's fun to see how similar, yet different they are.
What do you like best about the fifth and sixth people on your list?
Esther has always been fun to hang out with. When I was staying with their family for a while, she would do my hair in fun, adventurous ways, and we went to the movies together and just hung out a lot. I enjoyed spending time with her.
The sixth person on my list is Grandma! I don't know how I can choose one thing I like best - there's so many! I like that Grandma is always interested in her family - she likes to know how we're doing and what's going on in our lives, and she likes to share her life with us. It's nice that she's so involved.
How long have you known the ninth person on your list?
I've known LaNita almost all my life. As my cousin, ever since she was born we've seen each other at family reunions and visits throughout the years. She's lots of fun!
What impresses you about the eleventh and twelfth people on your list?
Melinda has always had a great sense of humor. I admire humor in people. I also have always thought that Melinda is very beautiful (yes, Melinda, it's true!!)
And Michelle - what can I say about my big sister?! I admire Michelle's people skills. She is much more outgoing than I ever was. But unlike some other "talkers" Michelle is also a good listener. She's got a great balance of friendship skills.
What is a memory you have with the sixteenth person on your list?
This is a kind of funny memory I have of Rachel. When my family lived in Florida (I was only about 8 years old, maybe less), we had a family reunion there or something. I had two very favorite My Little Ponies that I loved very much. I found Rachel playing with one of them and threw a fit! I took it away and yelled at her and hid under my bed so she couldn't find me and take it back! She was pretty upset about it. What a little stinker I was!
Say something nice about the eighteenth person on your list.
I don't have eighteen people, so I'll go with Sarah, as number seventeen. Sarah is very sweet and pretty. And she makes a way cute pregnant mommy!
I TAG:
Michelle
CissaLynn
Jackie
Melinda
Esther
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Hard Day
So this hasn't been diagnosed or anything, because I just don't ever go to the doctor because it costs an arm and a leg, but I am fully convinced that I suffer from depression. I think it's postpartum depression. I got it after Zaylee, and now again, much worse, after Thomas. I often have days, even weeks, that it is just hard to live.
Today was one of those days.
Nothing in particular happened to make it a difficult day. I have just felt completely awful all day. I neglected the kids - what little attention I paid them was scolding them for things that wouldn't have irritated me on a normal day. I've been short-tempered with Jeff. I can barely look at myself in the mirror. My facial expressions today have ranged from blank stare to grimace to scowl.
It's just been a really hard day.
Today was one of those days.
Nothing in particular happened to make it a difficult day. I have just felt completely awful all day. I neglected the kids - what little attention I paid them was scolding them for things that wouldn't have irritated me on a normal day. I've been short-tempered with Jeff. I can barely look at myself in the mirror. My facial expressions today have ranged from blank stare to grimace to scowl.
It's just been a really hard day.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Hittin' the Mall
I wanted to get out today and try out the double stroller. I actually wanted to use the stroller on Monday to take a walk while Jeff was taking his lab final, but we had forgotten to take it out of the car so Jeff had it with him. Anyway, we decided to go to the mall and hang out. We ended up shopping for 3 hours and bought $50 worth of stuff, though we only actually spent $15. We bought a mother's day gift for Mom that was on sale (but I'm not telling what it is yet!), plus a way cute skirt that I found at the Macy's Clearance Center. I was very proud of us for not spending much money.
I wasn't too pleased, however, when I decided to try shopping for a swimsuit. I have a confession - I own two swimsuits, and I have had both of them since early high school. And I haven't worn either of them in public since the summer I got engaged to Jeff.
I thought that since I'm losing so much weight, and will actually be somewhat slender this summer, it would be a good occasion to buy myself a cute new swimsuit. But now that I've given it a try, I think maybe I'll just swear off swimming for another couple of years.
Do you realize how expensive swimsuits can be? I checked at several stores and was appalled. Plus, one-pieces are apparently very hard to come by, and that's the only kind I'll wear. The few almost-decently-priced one-piece swimsuits I found were either really ugly, or just DIDN'T FIT RIGHT! I apparently bulge in all the wrong places. It's my opinion that I just wasn't built for wearing a swimsuit.
Who's idea was it, anyway, for women to have to squeeze into tiny stretchy skimpy things that accentuate all the wrong curves in order to go swimming? Obviously a man...
Anyway, despite my ill-fated search for a wearable swimsuit, we all had a good time. The stroller was absolutely wonderful - I loved being able to have both kids in the stroller at the same time. And it handles really well for being so big. Thank you so much Michelle! And I got that cute skirt, and also got a workout from strolling around stores for 3 hours.
I wasn't too pleased, however, when I decided to try shopping for a swimsuit. I have a confession - I own two swimsuits, and I have had both of them since early high school. And I haven't worn either of them in public since the summer I got engaged to Jeff.
I thought that since I'm losing so much weight, and will actually be somewhat slender this summer, it would be a good occasion to buy myself a cute new swimsuit. But now that I've given it a try, I think maybe I'll just swear off swimming for another couple of years.
Do you realize how expensive swimsuits can be? I checked at several stores and was appalled. Plus, one-pieces are apparently very hard to come by, and that's the only kind I'll wear. The few almost-decently-priced one-piece swimsuits I found were either really ugly, or just DIDN'T FIT RIGHT! I apparently bulge in all the wrong places. It's my opinion that I just wasn't built for wearing a swimsuit.
Who's idea was it, anyway, for women to have to squeeze into tiny stretchy skimpy things that accentuate all the wrong curves in order to go swimming? Obviously a man...
Anyway, despite my ill-fated search for a wearable swimsuit, we all had a good time. The stroller was absolutely wonderful - I loved being able to have both kids in the stroller at the same time. And it handles really well for being so big. Thank you so much Michelle! And I got that cute skirt, and also got a workout from strolling around stores for 3 hours.
Pic of the Day #53
Jeff and I went shopping at the mall today. I bought this skirt at the Macy's Clearance Center. It originally cost $40, but I got it for $10! The Macy's Clearance Center is one of my favorite stores at our mall - everything is 75% off!
Monday, May 5, 2008
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Jeff and I have this fun tradition, where we celebrate holidays that don't necessarily apply to us, by preparing lots of yummy food. Not every year, every holiday, of course. But if we notice a holiday coming up, especially one from a different country or ethnicity, we enjoy planning and preparing foods to go with it.
Once for Chinese New Year we made stir-fry, egg-drop soup, fried rice, fortune cookies, and other delicious Chinese foods, and invited another (Caucasian) couple to dine with us. The Chinese lady upstairs from us celebrated with pizza.
This year for Cinco de Mayo, I planned a delicious Mexican meal that included an appetizer (polenta), main dish (soft tacos), side dish (Spanish rice), and dessert (leche quemada). I made salsa and dressing this afternoon to go with the tacos, did my own seasoning for the taco meat, and tried a deliciously caramely rich dessert I'd never even heard of before. Here's a few pictures of our feast:
The recipes are all posted here on my recipe blog.
Once again we've been letting our dishes build up. It seems we're in a rut - do all the dishes, get tired of doing dishes, let them build up for a few days, get tired of having no clean dishes, do the whole routine all over again. Today I did several loads of dishes, but in the meantime, I dirtied about as many as I washed, because of all the food I was preparing. I have sweetly asked Jeff to do some dishes tonight. Hopefully he follows through and does lots! I'll probably help him.
And then, somehow, we need to break out of this routine and get back to washing the dishes every day!
Jeff did his lab final today. It took him hours! But it's finally done! Now all he has left are three online exams. His grades are such that even if he does terribly on the exams, he'll still pass all his classes. So he's not too stressed or worried about them. Of course he'll do his best, but he's pretty confident that he's going to do fine.
He found out today that he gets to do his Clinical Rotations here at the hospital in town. We've been hoping for that. Also, though Rotations normally take a student to various hospitals throughout the summer, he gets to do the whole thing here. He won't have to drive out to the ones further away, in the neighboring towns. The one here is only about a mile and a half from our apartment, and he can ride his bike every day. That will be a major help in saving gas money! So we're really excited about that. He'll start later this month.
Let's see, besides food, dishes, finals, and Rotations, I don't think anything too extraordinary happened today. So I guess this post is over. Toodles!
Once for Chinese New Year we made stir-fry, egg-drop soup, fried rice, fortune cookies, and other delicious Chinese foods, and invited another (Caucasian) couple to dine with us. The Chinese lady upstairs from us celebrated with pizza.
This year for Cinco de Mayo, I planned a delicious Mexican meal that included an appetizer (polenta), main dish (soft tacos), side dish (Spanish rice), and dessert (leche quemada). I made salsa and dressing this afternoon to go with the tacos, did my own seasoning for the taco meat, and tried a deliciously caramely rich dessert I'd never even heard of before. Here's a few pictures of our feast:
The chile onion polenta:
The tacos and rice:
The salsa:
The French Italian dressing:
The leche quemada:
The recipes are all posted here on my recipe blog.
Once again we've been letting our dishes build up. It seems we're in a rut - do all the dishes, get tired of doing dishes, let them build up for a few days, get tired of having no clean dishes, do the whole routine all over again. Today I did several loads of dishes, but in the meantime, I dirtied about as many as I washed, because of all the food I was preparing. I have sweetly asked Jeff to do some dishes tonight. Hopefully he follows through and does lots! I'll probably help him.
And then, somehow, we need to break out of this routine and get back to washing the dishes every day!
Jeff did his lab final today. It took him hours! But it's finally done! Now all he has left are three online exams. His grades are such that even if he does terribly on the exams, he'll still pass all his classes. So he's not too stressed or worried about them. Of course he'll do his best, but he's pretty confident that he's going to do fine.
He found out today that he gets to do his Clinical Rotations here at the hospital in town. We've been hoping for that. Also, though Rotations normally take a student to various hospitals throughout the summer, he gets to do the whole thing here. He won't have to drive out to the ones further away, in the neighboring towns. The one here is only about a mile and a half from our apartment, and he can ride his bike every day. That will be a major help in saving gas money! So we're really excited about that. He'll start later this month.
Let's see, besides food, dishes, finals, and Rotations, I don't think anything too extraordinary happened today. So I guess this post is over. Toodles!
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