skip to main |
skip to sidebar
August 29, 2010
For all the grumbling that Jeff does about having kids, he sure is a good sport. Not only did we all survive church together, but after he made a Play-doh pie with Pearl. Seriously, it looked like a real pie, well minus the purple crust. He used a pie tin and the inside was "banana." I had no idea of his mad Play-doh skills. Then he "watched" a movie with Pearl... she doesn't mind his snoring. After his "movie" I took Pearl and Cole on a walk. Jeff said I made him feel guilty for not coming and ended up surprising us at the park a few minutes after we left home. When we got home, he then spent a good hour playing with Pearl in the back yard blowing bubbles and kicking the bouncy ball around (well, he kicked it out from under Pearl who was trying to sit on it but she found it hilarious). All before giving both kids a bath and listening to me ramble on and on about something that was bothering me. I love this man!
August 28, 2010
We decided that rather than spend Saturday like last week, attempting to not kill each other, we would do something fun. It was between going to see airplanes or big trucks. The airplanes won and we headed up to the Hill Air Force Base Museum. Pearl zipped through both hangers of airplanes while I was shouting at her to wait for us and not touch anything. Apparently WWI and WWII era planes are for display only. I thought our fun adventure might not last very long with a bored toddler until we discovered the educational center where everything was hands-on and climbable. Pearl had a blast! So did Cole. No, really. I think he might have had more fun than the rest of us. He looked around at everything while I carried him in the pack and was happy as could be. Pearl suited up as "Buzz Light Year the Astronaut" and enjoyed every second playing in the flight simulators. I didn't notice until we got home what her helmet said... Top Gun. Seriously, how could I have missed that with a bunch of airplanes around! It's too bad she will probably never know this classic, that, or laugh at her old-fart parents for thinking it's such a cool movie by the time she's old enough to see it.
August 27, 2010
Art class has seemed to become a regular occurrence on Fridays. Only this week I couldn't avoid the "Mom, can we paint... PLEASE!!!?" any longer. Pearl was a good sport and did the normal art projects this morning - cutting yarn, gluing tiny pieces of paper on things, and coloring with markers - but eventually I gave in and we headed to the store to find some paints. We came home with new paints, stickers, markers, and a storage container (which Pearl has dubbed her "art box") to put everything in. And once I found a couple of rocks for Pearl to paint as yard decorations, she was in heaven! I'm just hoping she remembers our "art box rule" and I don't find paint or markers all over her room like last weekend when we found red juice all over her floor from her, unbeknownst to us, tea party.
August 26, 2010
This is apparently what a "super hero princess" looks like. A mix between what reminded me of Mary if we were acting out the Nativity and a 50's housewife with the dress and pearl necklace. Oh and let's not forget the sweet friendship bracelet either. I have no clue where she came up with this idea but it made me laugh!
August 25, 2010
A friend in our neighborhood asked if she could take pictures of Cole for her photography portfolio so of course I agreed. Cole looked like a rock star! Seriously, that kid is to die for!!! But since this blog is technically supposed to be pictures that I take, I decided to not cheat and post something that I took.
You'll just have to go here to see the real "Eye Candy" pictures!
August 24, 2010
I should never have checked out this book about the three kittens who lost their mittens. In the story the kittens say, "Oh Mother Dear" a lot. So much that it is now a common phrase in our household... such as was the case tonight. I could hear Jeff and Pearl squealing with delight over something and when the "Oh Mother Dear" followed by we need a towel (I knew this was probably accurate since Cole was also in the tub) was said, I reluctantly obeyed orders. I should have just stayed far, far away from the bathroom. Because once I opened the door I was at the mercy of a giggling three-year-old and her Dad, both equipped with squirt guns. In a matter of seconds it looked (and felt) like I had peed my pants. My only chance of getting out of the situation was to hide behind the camera. It didn't work... but at least Pearl, Jeff, and Cole had a good laugh.
August 23, 2010
The slight nip in the air signaling the eventual end of summer :( didn't deter us from enjoying one last sno cone from the best sno cone place on earth. Pearl was pumped when she figured out where we were going on our little walk. And I was even more pumped to capture this cute little face on camera, blue tongue and all!
August 22, 2010
For the first time in six years of home ownership our back door finally works. It actually closes and has the potential to lock. I know, scary huh? But it wasn't the thought of getting robbed or mugged that finally convinced Jeff to fix the door. It was the crazy winds! We've had winds like this before but the door kept blowing open because the garage door was up. I guess Jeff didn't want to "let all the paid for air out" and got out his tools. I'll remind him that this happened three years ago in the middle of the night when I was nursing Pearl and about gave me a heart attack because I was certain someone had broken into our house to kill us. I could just "feel" something different... like the pressure in the house had changed suddenly. I crept around the corner and could see our curtains blowing and nearly screamed! But being the brave mom I was, wielding a knife in one hand, I walked slowly down the hallway (which seemed to get longer and longer with every step) only to find the door was open and the winds were howling. I swear it was one of the freakiest moments in my entire life! So I'm glad Jeff finally gave this 100 year old door (original to the house... got to give it a break with how crappy and worn out it looks in this picture) some attention! The only problem now is I still want to just pull it open instead of actually turning the knob. And we are totally paranoid that someone is going to accidentally lock it... because no one has a key to unlock it!
August 21, 2010
Yum, yum, yum is all I can say about dinner tonight! Fresh corn-on-the-cob and garlic roasted veggies over bowtie pasta. I love summer time with all it's fresh veggies. Ok, so just the corn was fresh, the rest were frozen but still they were delicious. And don't be getting any crazy ideas that I actually am a wonderful cook who prepares the utmost healthy meals for my family. Although with our weekly Bountiful Basket purchases we are making a much more concerted effort to eat fresh produce every day. Jeff grilled the corn. And the rest of the meal was a simple combination of Lipton's garlic roasted herb packets and olive oil over frozen veggies. So simple and so yummy!
August 20, 2010
I had a hard time deciding what to post for today's picture. We went to the library, Cole rolled over from his tummy to his back, Pearl made me a supper of strawberry milk and carrots, and my sister came over for a visit. But I don't get many pictures of Cole and Pearl together - mainly because we can't ever get both of them to cooperate or look and smile at the camera at the same time. So you get an imperfect shot of a big sister who was thrilled when I told her to take her little brother down the slide for the first time (supervised of course). Maybe next year Cole will look a bit more happy to have his big sister toting him around the playground. But Pearl didn't seem to mind Cole's hesitation to go down the slide again. In her words, and which she repeats nearly 500 times a day, "Cole sure likes me!" Yes, Pearl, Cole sure does like you!
August 19, 2010
Cole is just starting to get the whole peek-a-boo thing. Today he was playing peek-a-boo with himself in the swing at daycare. He loves that swing. Probably because we don't have one. And he loves his udder cover. The combination of which made for some fun entertainment for not only Cole, but his teachers too. He kept pulling it up around his face then slamming his arms down and smiling. It was so cute! And we are oh so close to hearing real giggles from him when he does this. I can't wait... baby giggles are the best!
August 18, 2010
Working means I miss out on all the little day-to-day things that my kids do. Stuff that to everyone else isn't that special. Honestly, working makes life boring. We get up, get ready, go to work, come home, fix dinner, have a bath, and go to bed. There's not much time to get pictures in there of something cute, funny, or memorable. It sucks.
So when we came home I tried to take some pictures of Cole. He just looked so handsome today that I couldn't pass up a photo or two or twenty. But neither of us were really in the photo taking mood. And so I leave you with this shot... Cole looking more than annoyed I've got the camera out again.
August 17, 2010
Ok, so maybe it's not that dramatic as hell freezing over (that would be if it was the "other" blue in the state), but pretty darn near close... for Jeff. My friend Celsa told me the moment she found out I was pregnant with Cole that she was buying our kid some red gear. She knows Jeff would freak out if he came home in something bearing the emblem of another school not USU. Well today I came into work to find this little number on my chair and a note saying "Go Utes!" I laughed. It reminded me of the time we gave some friends who bleed red an Aggie onesie for their new baby "My mom and dad are true Aggies"... classic. To which they replied, "we can use it to wipe his butt." Celsa laughed when Jeff told her thanks for the butt wipe. He was generous enough (considering I do hold a degree from the U) to say he'd allow Cole to wear this in the house but he'd never, ever take him anywhere in it.
August 16, 2010
Pearl has been patiently waiting for someone to take her to "her girls" to get a haircut for months.... the girls at Cookie Cutters. She'd go every week if she could. I'm certain the whole getting to sit in a pink car, watching a movie, and coming home with a free balloon has something to do with that than the actual haircut itself. What I don't get is how she can come home as happy as can be about the new do (short, just how she likes it... something about less snarls and fights with her mother to get it combed) and minutes later throwing a royal tantrum about nothing! I was lucky to get some pictures of her smiling since the previous hour we'd all been fighting, crying, and yelling at each other! But for all the heartache this little spitfire can cause me, she sure melts my heart!
August 15, 2010
We had a funny moment on Sunday. At least it was funny for me and Jeff. We were in our bedroom changing out of our church clothes when Pearl walked in with a drink in her hand, happy as can be but like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Jeff takes a glance over to her and with this puzzled look on his face asks where she got it. To which Pearl happily replied, "From the fridge! I do it all by myself!" (like DUH dad!). Um, since when can Pearl open the fridge by herself? Is our baby really big enough to help herself to not only everything in the cupboards but now the fridge? Now nothing is safe from her grasp.
August 14, 2010
We have heard so many good things about Bountiful Baskets that we decided to give it a try this week. It's a food co-op that brings fresh produce to communities throughout Utah (and a whole bunch of other states) for really cheap. Today, Jeff brought home a laundry basket full of goodies:
- 1 head of lettuce
- 1 cantaloupe
- 1 lb. carrots
- 2-3 lbs. grapes
- 1 egg plant
- 1 lb. strawberries
- 2 lbs. bananas
- 6 Roma tomatoes
- 8 pears
- 8 nectarines
- 7 ears of corn
- 9 cucumbers
If you're thinking that's a ton of fresh fruits and veggies, you're right! I'm not sure how we are going to eat all of it this week! It was definitely worth the $15... especially when you consider that the grapes, strawberries, and nectarines alone would cost at least $10 in the grocery store. Despite having a really confusing website, I think we're hooked and will be doing this at least every other week. Maybe it will help counter my Oreo binge.
August 13, 2010
Dear Nabisco,
Please, please stop making Oreos.
Please.
You see, I have no willpower. Whatsoever! I can't even muster up enough willpower to stop my husband and daughter from stowing away a pack of delicious Double Stuf Oreos at the grocery store when I know full well I'm going to be the one who ends up eating them all. Every last one.
It really is cruel to have invented such a delicious, fat-ridden cookie especially when one is breastfeeding and feels the right/need to consume high caloric goodies throughout the day. I'm a human cow and must graze continually. It's also cruel to stock shelf after shelf of your cookies at the store because as a granddaughter to one of your retired salesmen, I can't help but find a package that needs a good home. It brings back memories of getting all the "broken" packages of your cookies, crackers, and other treats as a kid. Plus, your packing is MUCH too easy to get in to now. Had you keep it the way it was years ago, when you had to pull out the entire tray of cookies, I would probably get deterred in my grazing before realizing that I have consumed all but one lonely cookie. Which only lasted long enough for me to take a picture of my sin as proof that I need help.
So please, for the sake of my post-babies body, stop making Oreos.
August 12, 2010
It was a good thing we had our staff retreat the week I went back to work because I'm not sure I could have taken another day away from my baby boy. Every summer we do something fun and our entire family is invited to participate. Jeff usually has to work but this year he took the day off because I told him there was no way I could handle two kids alone at Cherry Hills. And for everyone who thinks all state workers are lazy bums, well we did break up the swimming with some team building activities and an awards ceremony. So technically we did work!
Last year I got the "Red Neck" award for never being able to hide my true emotions. If you know me, you'll know I break out in a red, splotchy rash when I get really nervous, embarrassed, or upset. But this is my favorite award by far... the Surfer Baby Maker award for making the cutest surfer of the ocean and the most beautiful Pearl in the sea!
August 11, 2010
Meet Alex, Cole's new friend at daycare. He was born a month after Cole (in the back of an ambulance!). I'm pretty sure Cole has him by at least three pounds and three inches of hair. Alex is actually Benny-boy's little brother. It works our beautifully considering Pearl thinks she is going to marry Benny-boy someday. So they might as well get used to it and get along now. They were having so much fun together grabbing at each other's clothes and fingers... ok so it was just Cole who was trying to eat Alex... that Cole started to cry when I picked him up to go home. It made me laugh. I guess there are some advantages of daycare - friends.
August 10, 2010
The last remnants of our weekend at Bear Lake were washed away tonight. And boy was there a lot of mud to get off the 4 wheelers. If you're wondering, yes, I said 4 wheelers - plural. But no, Jeff didn't go out and buy another toy. Although he'd like to. We pulled Nick's 4 wheeler up with ours (on our new trailer). Everyone had a lot of fun on them. My dad kept telling us he better go for another little ride. And Jeff had a blast running into trees, nearly missing a deer, and wheeling my hot blond cousin up and down the beach. Two is definitely better than one, even if you have to spend the entire evening scrubbing them clean.
August 9, 2010
I went back to work today. It sucked. A lot.
I've been crying about this for weeks. I cried this morning as I was getting Cole dressed. Then I went "numb" when I walked in my office. It was the only way I could make it through the day. It sounds horrible but I pretend I don't have kids at all when I'm at work. Otherwise they'd be the only things I thought about. And the tears wouldn't stop if I thought about them all day.
Everyone was happy to see me. They kept asking me if I was glad to be back. I just stared at them with this dumb look on my face... uh, DUH NO! What kind of question is that? Thanks for the reminder that I am leaving my precious baby and not at home where I really want to be. It was hard. I hated it.
Cole didn't eat good at all. Too much going on... new voices, sounds, and way too much to look at. I was soaking wet from my shoulders to my belly button because of it. That and I had run out of disposable nursing pads while we were at Bear Lake and didn't have time to get to the store. It sucked. A lot. Did I mention that already? But his teacher said he was super good. I'm not sure I believe it because as soon as I walked through the door to feed him, his bottom lip started quivering. He won't look at me or talk to me. He must be mad at me. It was heart wrenching to not see his little face and hear his coos all day.
But on the bright side, Cole did take two really good naps. Something I can't seem to get him to do at home. And my expensive, air-conditioned, ergonomic, plush chair was still in my office. Had this baby been stolen while I was on maternity leave, I would have had a complete meltdown.
August 8, 2010
Every kid has one. A woobie. A blankie. A binkie. A damn duckie (ask my sister about that one). Some sort of comfort item that gets them through lightning storms, colds, and all the scary "firsts." Me, I had a blankie. Still do... it's been loved nearly to death but every once in awhile I'll pull it out of the cedar chest and wrap the corners around my fingers. It makes me smile. But enough about me.
Cole has a nursing cover. An udder cover to be exact. I'm sure at some point he will be totally appalled that I'd even share this but I think it's so funny! If I'm not around it's the next best thing. He grabs at it, mouth open, and then proceeds to shove it in his face. He loves to suck on it... it must smell like milk. Even my sister and grandma will put it on to get him to calm down if I'm not there. And it works. He settles right down if they've got it on while they're holding him. For a while anyway, until he figures out that they aren't producing what he really want.
I guess at some point I'll have to turn it into a pillow case or something less embarrassing than a nursing cover.
August 7, 2010
Of course we head over to Bear Lake for Raspberry Days and Pearl gets sick. She wouldn't eat. She had a fever. She was grouchy. She didn't sleep. She was dehydrated. Basically she refused to do anything that would help her get feeling better, including taking some Tylenol. Out of sheer desperation to stop the whining and try and get her feeling better, we attempted to trick her into taking them with a shake. She's smarter than we thought. She ate all the ice cream around the stupid pill then spit it out. Next, we tried dissolving them in some juice. She is more stubborn than we thought. Even with three of us holding her down and dumping the juice down her throat, it didn't work. She spit, she gagged, she gargled until I feared we would drown her. We had to strip her down to her panties at this point because she was soaking wet. Finally, we took her inside, shoved two pills in her mouth and proceeded to yell over her screaming as we chomped her teeth together. It wasn't fun. It wasn't pretty. She peed all over me and the floor because she was screaming so much. Jeff yelled. Pearl yelled. And I yelled. It was embarrassing. And hopelessly discouraging knowing your kid doesn't trust you enough to take two purple pills so she'll get feeling better. But it worked. An hour later Pearl was happy as a calm. Eating.... goldfish crackers but still it was something. Drinking. Playing. And ready for the beach. Too bad it almost 11 pm and time for bed. At least she slept good and was happy as can be the next day. Here's praying we never have to endure that again.
August 6, 2010
Since most babies are bald, a regular hat is just fine. But if you've got some serious "game hair" as we like to call it, then you need a visor. After all, why would you hide a gorgeous head of hair underneath a hat? The problem is, you can't find baby visors anywhere. So Jeff took matters into his own hands and cut the top off of one of Cole's hats. I wasn't too sure about the idea at first but after walking around the craft fair at Raspberry Days and finding a booth that was selling visors with fake hair on them (that looked just like Cole's real hair) for an obscene amount of money, I knew Jeff was on to something.
August 5, 2010
It was scary waking up to this face today. Talk about some serious bed head. I don't get how Pearl's hair can go from nicely combed at night to this - a ragged, snarled, frizzy mess. She must twirl it around with her fingers in her sleep. At any rate, it wasn't pretty. But she was was perfectly content with her new do, probably because she screams every morning when I tell her it's time to get it combed. I told her it was crazy to which she replied it wasn't and to leave her alone. With cartoons on my side, I was able to distract her long enough to comb through this mess. Even then it was still frizzy. But a screaming three year old quickly quelled my idea of trying to make it look cute. A few minutes later though Pearl came running up to me saying, "Mom, my hair is crazy! Fix it!" I'm not sure what came over her... maybe she took a glance at herself in the bathroom mirror, but at least she let me put in a few ponytails to hide the fact that she looked like an orphan today!
August 4, 2010
I shouldn't let more than a couple days go by without updating this thing. I'm old. I'm breastfeeding. I'm tired. And now I can't remember a darn thing that happened today. Must have been an exciting day trying to clean do the laundry. The only pictures I have are of Cole in the tub. And seeing as how I'm too lazy to figure out how to blur a certain part of the picture so as not to embarrass Cole for the rest of his life, I decided to show off his curls. Yes, underneath all that wild, standing straight up, platinum blond hair are curls. Lots of cute, wavy curls. They don't last long though. As soon as his hair starts to dry, up it goes!
August 3, 2010
We had art class today... at least that's what Pearl told me after I broke out some Fruit Loops, string, clue, and markers. I was thinking it was just a way to keep us from fighting all day because she was bored. But Pearl's imagination and jabbering about art class, painting, and all sorts of other made up school fun keep us both entertained for a good hour. It made the day so much sweeter having spent some time with just Pearl letting her be creative and messy. Until I told her it was time for lunch and that we weren't going to have painting class that day. I actually felt like I could handle being a stay-at-home-mom if I could come up with ideas like this at least a few times a week. We made Fruit Loop bracelets. I made a Fruit Loop flower (Pearl wasn't impressed). And she, well I'm not sure what she made. Glue, string, and cereal... hmmm. She loved the glue. A little too much if you can't already tell from the globs of it on her paper. It took almost 12 hours to dry. And a good scrubbing by me to get it off the table and chair. The next time we have art class I'm going to invest in a glue stick instead.
August 2, 2010
Pearl loves tea parties. It drives me bonkers sometimes. Water gets everywhere. She insists on me participating - drinking the gross floaties and all despite my efforts to sanitize her tea cups. We have to use every cup she owns. She won't smile for a picture. I yell at her to look at the camera... with her eyes. She whines. She cries. She yells. I yell some more. And Cole looks happily at both of us, glad for some entertainment.
August 1, 2010
I know it's just a cream soda but every time I see one of these bottles in Jeff's hands I have to remind myself that we haven't driven him to drink... yet.
July 31, 2010
My sister is a nut. This afternoon she found me at Kohl's desperately trying to find some new clothes that fit my huge post-baby belly, boobs, and butt. I figured if I have to go back to work next week I better be wearing something other than a tee shirt and capris. It's going to suck. I hate shopping... hated it before but even more so now that nothing fits. I'm so out of the fashion loop I feel like I need to buy an entire wardrobe just to look nice. It's overwhelming and almost brought me to tears in the store. It was nice to my sister there. Not so much on my pocket book though because I walked out of there with a lot more than I had planned on.
My sister is a nut. When we got home she decided to make cupcakes with Pearl. I didn't feel I had needed to do any supervising until Kimmy started saying "Oh my gosh!" over and over again when she checked on them baking in the oven. I guess we have different ideas of what 2/3 full means because Kimmy's were expanding at an enormous rate, with two minutes left to go. And Pearl's were bright purple and rock hard when they got out of the oven. It made me laugh.
My sister is a nut. She showed me a picture of what she says is the ugliest baby she has ever seen. It wasn't a cute baby I have to admit. Then she made me promise that I'd tell her if her kids are ugly. It made me laugh. And it was a nice reminder from someone that yes, in fact I do have the cutest baby ever!
My sister is a nut. She decided to go to Costco 10 minutes before they closed last night. She had money to burn but then her card didn't work. She came back fuming. I would have left the entire cart of groceries had it been me. But she's a nut!
August 29, 2010
