Trisha's Blog

This is how we roll

2011-04-13T17:11:00.000-06:00

Today:

We sat outside in the sun and blew bubbles. We used a little bubble blower that has a tiny fan to blow bubbles for you. It worked, blowing big bubbles, but we decided that the bubble wands are just as much fun. James mastered the art of blowing just so, to make bubbles! James and Naomi took turns using both. Then James poured the rest of the lemon-scented bubble solution into his rain boot. Three-year-old reasoning that I just don't understand.

We hunted for slugs and bugs and found a few. James tried to get close to a pair of robins, they weren't very trusting and hopped away. James said he should throw rocks at him. I let him know that wouldn't win any friends for him. The birds flew away. Naomi and James visited our neighbors, a retired couple who like to give them treats. Today they came back with chocolate chip cookies.

James used a stick to pretend it was a sword and tried to cut branches off the trees.

I showed Naomi and James the tiny buds of our tulips and daffodils that are just starting to push up out of the ground in front of our house. And made them promise not to walk on them!

the requested lunch was cheese roll-ups, spaghetti sauce for dip, milk, and grapes. I thought about making something more sophisticated for myself, but didn't.

Naomi went to preschool and James and I took a walk to the playground. He insisted on trying the monkey bars "all by himself". I let him, but saved him before the inevitable fall. He was so close to getting to the next bar. I helped him back and forth about twenty times. Ok, maybe not that many times, but probably about 8 times. After a while the three-year-old reasoning was present again and he was getting shoe-fulls of bark chips to dump down the slide. That was fun until an older girl wanted to use the slide, she was not amused.

We walked home to get snacks and drinks and I decided it was time for a hair cut for James. His blond hair was getting a little long. I have clippers, I've cut it before, how difficult could it be?

It's difficult. Mostly because little boys like to wiggle and itchy hair makes them wiggle more. And trying to re-capture your escaped lady bug makes them wiggle the most.

But it turned out cute! Now that I know better what I'm doing, I can become his official hair-cutter. I've trimmed Naomi's several times, but scissors and clippers are entirely different animals. Lucky for me they both have curly hair, minor mistakes are invisible. And pretty soon I'll be pro, so no mistakes....

After James and I picked up Naomi and her carpool from preschool, Naomi's friend, Jagger got to come back home with us and play for a while.

We got out some dinosaur cards that were mine when I was little. I had a big dinosaur phase. I think everyone does. Stegosaurus is still my favorite. We learned how long, how big, what they ate, and how to say their names.

Now the kids are playing that they are puppies and making forts with blankets and chairs to be their dog houses. Naomi gets to be in charge. Because she just is. She named her puppies "fleabag" and "spider". I have no idea. Both boys willingly and readily comply. It works out well.

Also, the color orange has been highly debated lately at our house. Is it a girl color, or a boy color. James insists it is a BOY color. Naomi holds that is it definitely both. I have to agree with Naomi. In fact it's probably a really good neutral color, better than green (more boy) and yellow (more girl).

These are the important topics around the table these days. Daily requests for orange utensils, plates and cups are the norm. A few weeks ago it was yellow. I'm sure next week it will be green.

Life with kids is so daily, and not glamorous. But it's fun, and funny, and on days like today I really love it.

These are the little things that aren't so important, but I like writing about them, so I can look back and remember all those little details.

Birthday Boy!

2011-03-30T02:36:00.000-06:00

James had a birthday! He is now a big boy! Three years old means you really aren't a baby anymore. Sad, but true. He's thrilled, I'm not. I like him as my little Jamesy-Baby.

James had his first birthday party with friends this year! His little boy cousins all came and had a super-awesome Spiderman party with James.

We played a duck-duck-goose variation, "spiderman, spiderman, green-goblin!" They were SO funny. We played freeze dance like at Naomi's party. The boys were super crazy and loved just running around.

Opening presents was so fun, the boys all crowded around and wanted to help and definitely wanted to help play with the new toys.

We had pizza and creamies and Spiderman Cupcakes! I was happy with how they turned out, the candles made them even better. James loved them and they actually looked like spider webs, phew!

At the end we had a Spiderman pinata, and party bags for all. It was so fun!
I wish I had taken more pictures at the party but the cupcake ones are cute enough.

James playing on his birthday at the playground while we waited for Naomi at ballet.

I like his shades, they are perfect for a party!

James getting ready to blow out the candles!

James is loving and sweet and crazy and tough. He loves to cuddle and give hugs and kisses.

He loves to pretend he's flying in a rocket ship to outer space! Rocks, sticks, whatever he can find, becomes a rocket!

James loves wearing his 'froggy boots' and I love it too, he can get them on by himself.
He usually doesn't care what clothes I help him put on and he really doesn't like getting his hair done. He says he doesn't want to look handsome.

James loves to pretend he is a superhero, or a puppy, or a dinosaur, or dragon, or snake, lizard or Monster. Playing pirates is a favorite game and playing anything with his sister Naomi is fun.

James gets his "feelings hurt" easily if he gets in trouble. I sometimes find it hard to keep a straight face when I'm disciplining him.

He's my blue-eyed blond with kissable cheeks and a round little tummy. He loves to get "raspberries" on his tummy, (when I blow on it).

James's favorite foods are pretzels, olives, hot chocolate, red peppers and mushrooms.
He loves any treat I'll let him have.

The past three years with him have flown by, crazy fast. He was a very happy and easy baby, and so much fun! He would sleep anywhere and loved whatever food I gave him. He was a super chubby little love, with rolls and dimples everywhere. I loved it.

Now he's 3 and learning how to dress himself, and put his shoes on, and hopefully potty train soon, learns and sings songs, can count almost to 20 and is learning to write his name.
James is such a sweet boy and I'm so happy I get to be his mommy!
Happy Birthday (sweet baby) James!

Birthday Girl!

2011-03-30T01:21:00.000-06:00

Naomi had a birthday! She turned 5!!!
It's crazy. I know everyone says that. But it still is.

Naomi had a birthday party on Valentine's Day, it was a Valentine's - Birthday Party! She loved it. I had some family over the next day for cake and ice cream too.
We played freeze dance, duck-duck-goose, made heart crafts (that didn't work out so well, but were fun to do anyway), opened presents, sang, ate cake, ice cream, fruit and veggies too! Played 'Pin the Kiss on the Frog' and just acted like little party animals! I had a fun Valentine's playlist that kept the kids moving and having fun.

playing in the sink with her new color-change Sleeping Beauty

Naomi and James

Happy Birthday Naomi!

Pin the Kiss on the Frog!

It was such a fun party and just a little bit crazy too!

She's so smart and growing up so quickly. I was looking at her today while I was watching her at preschool. Thinking how beautiful she is. I was remembering what a pretty baby she was. She was so bald, but she was just adorable. People used to stop me all the time and comment on how cute she was. And they would nearly always comment on how she has such beautiful skin. It's a mystery where she got her permanent tan, and how she gets so brown in the Summer. I'm thinking she's going to love it as she gets older. That girl never burns. But I do use sunscreen. Promise.

Naomi loves to play make-believe and construct elaborate games with her little brother. They are always rescuing, helping, exploring, fighting, racing.
Everyday, the use of all the throw blankets and pillows is required.

She is sometimes mischievous.
She is a good reasoner and likes to argue her point. She has a strong sense of justice.
She is giving and likes to make her friends and brother happy.

Naomi loves art. She colors, draws, writes notes and letters, paints, glues, cuts, tapes. She does these things every single day. All the time.
I have a wall covered with her drawings and colorings. I take everything down about once a month and it fills up incredibly fast with new art.
I love having her artwork in my house.
Naomi loves to write notes to everybody. It's so sweet and she is a good phonetic speller. She's getting picky and wants me to help her spell everything correctly lately.

Naomi's Grandma Linda had a birthday the other day. I told Naomi it was coming up and at preschool that day she made a pipe cleaner and bead bracelet for her Grandma. She brought it home and showed me, she was SO proud.
She put it in a box, with three jelly beans and a little drawing and taped the box shut. Then she cut and taped as much blue ribbon as she could fine to "wrap" her gift. it was adorable. She beamed with pride as her Grandma opened her gift.
I love her for being so sweet and thoughtful.
I love that she loves her own artwork.
I hope I can encourage her in that.

Naomi's favorite foods are still pickles and olives. She loves frozen peas, not cooked. She loves tuna sandwiches with banana peppers. Chocolate creamies and oreos are favorite treats.

Naomi is a daredevil. She loved the fast, crazy rides at Disneyland. The scarier the better!
It's a magical age. She believes in magic and still loves to be silly, she is getting the hang of knock-knock jokes and how to play rock-paper-scissors.

Naomi loves to choose her own outfits. I let her as long as it's weather-appropriate. It's usually a bit mis-matched but she loves it so I do too.

I love my Naomi girl, it's amazing another year has flown by. She's my first baby and my big girl and my little friend for everything. I am so thankful for my sweet girl and I hope I can be the mommy she needs.

Snow Day

2011-03-30T00:39:00.002-06:00

Snowy fun with my little crazy kids!
Sometime in February here in our beautiful, snowy Cache Valley.

Her "Grandma Great" made for her that darling pink scarf. Naomi loves to wear it

Naomi is wearing my snowsuit from when I was a little girl. I don't know how waterproof it is, but it looks so sweet on her.

You can count on Naomi consuming large quantities of snow. It's just inevitable. So delicious :)

.
James was pretending that his arm was a crane or a tractor scooping and dumping the snow.
He was almost too busy to look at me while I snapped his photo.

My little Valentine's

2011-03-29T12:36:00.011-06:00

Valentine's Day is a fun holiday and we love celebrating it! Naomi and I spent the afternoon the day before cutting out hearts and decorating the house for Valentine's and for her birthday party. Naomi loves decorating for holidays, it's such a big deal to her. We spent lots of time writing on our life-sized conversation hearts we stuck all over the walls.

James and his Dinosaur Valentine's card from mommy.

Putting the stickers back inside.

We heart Valentine's Breakfast!

Pink heart-shaped pancakes actually tasted pretty good.

We had a Happy Valentine's Day.

Saint Patrick's Day was fun too, I didn't put the effort in to decorating, much to Naomi's disappointment. We made sure we all wore green and the kids were shocked to find that those mischievous little leprechauns had turned their milk GREEN! The whole gallon! I love holidays with little kids.

Oh My Blog

2011-03-22T13:53:00.000-06:00

I haven't blogged in a while. I've been busy. I'm always busy. But I've not been spending my extra time blogging. Sometimes it's like that.
Right now I have tests in two classes within this next week. Lots of reading to do. Projects, papers, assignments. Etc.
School is taking up a lot of my free time lately.
And the rest of my time is mostly spent as a mommy!
I remember being a freshmen at Utah State, and I took 15 credits and worked part time and spent a LOT of time socializing. Somehow I managed to get it all done.
Now I'm taking 7 credits and feel swamped all the time! Funny how time changes things. And getting older.
Only about a month left for this semester and then I won't have classes again until this Fall when I can actually start the Professional School Counselor program. Yay! It will be different, busy too, I'm sure. It's confined to one evening a week, and is 6 credits. And the program is two years. That's long. But I'm excited to start it.
It's hard wearing different hats depending on what my responsibilities are at the moment. But being busy and finding balance is rewarding, so that's what I'm striving for.
Not much for today, I have lots of photos that need posting, but they will have to wait.

SAHM

2011-02-23T10:24:00.000-07:00

This post by CJane made me laugh this morning.
I can relate.
I think all moms can relate.
Enjoy!
http://blog.cjanerun.com/2011/02/dual-citizenship.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+CJaneEnjoyIt+(c+jane+enjoy+it)

New Book, On The Fringe

2011-02-08T23:17:00.001-07:00

A friend of mine wrote this book! That's exciting! I would love to have the patience and focus to write a book. Oh, and the creativity.
It's called On The Fringe, by Courtney King Walker.
She is actually my sister Natalie's sister-in-law. Kinda, sorta family. Almost.
Check it out and keep it on your list of books to read.
It will be out October of this year!

Also, if you are on goodreads, be my friend! http://www.goodreads.com/tlow

Getting Ready to Get Ready

2011-02-07T01:02:00.001-07:00

*My links are not showing up unless you hover over the words...I'm working on how to fix that.

I had a really fun weekend doing almost nothing. I love that. And hate that.
But mostly just love it.

I spent most of my time with Mark, and we went to Costco, that's a little something, right? Seriously, who doesn't enjoy a Costco trip?

We had the opportunity to listen to Elder D. Todd Christofferson speak, and that was a good something.

And I met new people, and one gave me a copy of her newest cookbook!
Keeping Up Cookbook
Grace Ivory Rock has published two cookbooks and this is her latest and the newest addition to my kitchen. I already love it, it's cute for starters. And everything in it sounds sooo good.
I am so excited to use this, I made my first today, Garlic-Lemon Spaghettini, It was very good. Her recipes are not intimidating, but are sophisticated enough to be delicious and exciting.

Naomi's birthday is coming up soon! And so is Valentines Day.
She and I decided to make it one big celebration.
We are making birthday party invitations tomorrow!
I'm guessing it won't be many more years where she thinks a Valentines Birthday Party is a fun idea. Personally, I think it's a fantastic theme. You really can't go wrong with pink, purple and red hearts. And Candy and hearts. And more hearts.
And please send any fun party ideas my way!
I'm thinking I need to make a heart-shaped cake.
Maybe something like one of these? Naomi just wants candles to blow out.

I really love chocolate, this recipe is from Joy Of Baking

(sounds good, but maybe too much for a birthday party)

This heart cake tutorial looks so great, and probably very complicated....from I Am Baker

(really, this is my favorite, how fun is this cake!)

Martha Steward never fails

(These would probably be just perfect. Adorable too!)

Or how do you make something like this? Heart shaped molds would be helpful I'm sure. And knowledge of how to use fondant. I watched Ace of Cakes enough, I should be able to handle it I think. Ha, joking of course.

And I just found this image, how to make a heart shaped cake: Not that tricky.

Speaking of Valentines, I saw this valentines idea from Twig and Thistle via Design mom today and It's just the cutest thing ever. Ever. DIY Valentines Fruit Stickers.

Ok, maybe not ever, but it's really fun, right?

We already started this homemade color-theory Valentines from Mer Mag.

This is ours so far:

I think we might have to pair it with the DIY fruit stickers! But I need to locate some sticker paper. I already tried printing them on label paper, not many turned out centered on a label. But it was worth a shot...

And other things? I am keeping up with school work, but it's difficult when there are so many other things I need to do and so very many things I want to do, besides school work.

It is interesting. Psychological Stats is both interesting and time-consuming. Behavior Analysis isn't bad, and I'm learning, or rather, re-learning how human behavior works. It should prove to be an interesting semester.

One of the other things I just want to do is make new pillow covers for my couch pillows. I have the fabric, the sewing machine and the tutorial. Just need the time. I'll probably follow this one from Freshly Picked.

I love all these creative people sharing ideas, it's fantastic.

I also need to make some more bows, clips, ribbons, flowers, etc for Naomi. I really love doing that and it's been a while. I need the fix of starting and finishing a project and she needs new accessories. Win-win.

Oh, and running. I took a break. Now I'm back. I think. I loose my base so quickly that it makes me anxious when I haven't run for a few days. Ok, a week. Back to the gym for another few months until we thaw here.

And lastly, Jamesy fell asleep on the couch. He is so sweet and peaceful when he is sleeping. He got a hair cut too, so cute.

Oh what do you do in the Winter Time?

2011-01-31T07:00:00.001-07:00

We live near Spring Creek and my kids love to go "exploring" down there. Neighborhood boys play there and set up a few bridges over the creek. We always find signs of animals and throwing rocks in the creek is endlessly fun of course.

Ballet Lesson are a once weekly event to keep our spirits high during these cold months here.

Naomi loves her little class and Miss Debbie, her teacher.

James and I play inside while we wait because the playground outside is still covered in snow. And it's just cold.

Waiting for Naomi, playing hide and seek!

What's in your purse?

We also got new rain boots! Fun! We wore them outside to stomp in puddles and splash as much as possible before heading down to the creek to explore.

Saint George Half Marathon! Again.

2011-01-30T19:25:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, a week ago, I ran the Saint George Half Marathon! My good friend Kelly came down with me and we ran the whole race together. It was so great, definitely my best race yet. I took 8 minutes off my last half, the Top of Utah last August. My time was 2 hours 17 minutes, and I felt great at the end!
Kelly and I match pace really well, helps that we are the same size exactly! Running and chatting with a friend just made the miles fly by.
I've been using a good stretch to help with my I T band tightness and it's helped a lot. I didn't feel anything until about mile 11 and it wasn't painful, just getting tight. It feels good to feel good, be healthy.
I love racing, it's amazing how race-day adrenalin gets you going. The weather was perfect as well, it was probably 50's when we started and warmed up to 60's by the end. And it was sunny, I love that. The only thing I didn't love about this race was the trail was washed out from the river flooding a little while ago so we did a double loop, not ideal but fine. It was mostly paved trail running, that is so nice.
Talia watched Naomi and Kelly's baby, Ruthie while we ran, so nice of her. Kelly took off to get back home and I played the rest of the day with Talia and company, we went to lunch and I ate waaaay too much. I felt entitled. I was starving after that race. And then we saw a movie, Gulliver's Travels, very funny and cute!
Erica came down that night and we left for California and Disneyland the next day! I had a really fun weekend and great week!
So now that I have done 3 half marathons can I be a counted as a real runner? I think so.
I might have a race this spring, but for sure my next half is the Top of Utah in August. If you want to register it sells out super fast, March 1st is the day to remember.

Naomi and her cousin Trey at lunch

Me and Naomi

Kelly and Me before the race

Afterwards, we made it!

This is a link to my race photos, that I don't want to pay to purchase! But they are fun to look at!

http://orders.racephotonetwork.com/QPPlus/Images.aspx

Talia, Wes and Dylan at lunch

Next on the list, new running shoes. I'm thinking the Asics Nimbus 12. In white and PINK. Because, why not?

Disneyland!

2011-01-30T17:57:00.001-07:00

We went to Disneyland! I took Naomi down with Erica and her two older boys, Isaac and Dawson. We met Jesse and Brooke in California with their boys Matthew and Drew, they were escaping the cold of Alaska. We went to the beach the first night there, just as the sun was setting, it was beautiful.

We then spent three days at Disneyland and California Adventure!

It was so fun and the weather was absolutely perfect. It was upper 70's the whole time, and sunny. Amazing after mid-twenties and a constant inversion here in Utah.

Naomi didn't have much interest in the princess stuff this time around, so we had a grand time riding the scariest rides she was tall enough for. She's a dare devil and I love it! She claims her favorite rides are Space Mountain and Tower of Terror. That's my girl!

Next time James will get to come for sure, he will love it too. It really is such a fun trip with kids, they just love everything about it and it's so magical. Themed roller coasters? With music the whole ride? Yes please!

The new water and lights show, World Of Color at California Adventure was amazing. Seriously fantastic, they used the water sprays as projector screens and it was probably about 25 minutes long. So cool, and we had front row seats the second night. Yes, we went twice, it was that good.

We also made it to the Aladdin musical at California Adventure, that was fantastic too! Naomi just ate it up, she was mesmerized. I love musicals, yes I know, how typical.

I don't know how soon I'll get back there, but I know that it really is The Happiest Place on Earth, most of the time!

Naomi and Matthew on Mickey's Toon Town Rollercoaster

Waiting to see It's Tough to be a Bug at the Bug's Life theater.

The World of Color show!

Riding Casey Jr. Circus Train

Meeting Mickey Mouse!

Isaac, Matthew, Dawson, Drew and Naomi

Meeting Woody and an Army Guy!

The TEACUPS! Naomi and I LOVE this ride!

Waiting to board Big Thunder Mountain Railroad!

Yay!

Naomi and Dawson on the HUGE Mickey Ferris Wheel. Our car was a roller car, we had a wild ride!

New toys available at a store near you!

Me, Erica and Brooke! And a shot from the Tower of Terror!

Riding the Ladybug Boogie

Meeting Mary Poppins!

She was Practically Perfect in every way.

All the boys trying to set off the dynamite in Toon Town.

Naomi writing a list of rides to go on, and riding The Matterhorn with Erica and Teacups and Autopia with me.

Waiting in line for Toy Story Mania! and Riding the Carousel.

Skiing!

2011-01-16T20:41:00.000-07:00

I've been away from the blog for a while. But I have so many photos to post! I need to write but I just am not feeling it right now.

Naomi and I have season passes to Beaver, it's fantastic! The past few weeks have been very cold and busy so we haven't been up again, but I'm planning on getting her back up there soon. She's pretty good at it, and most importantly, she loves it!

She doesn't complain about the cold much, she wanted to stay much later than me. I bargained with her on the lift one time, "how about this time and twice more?" She countered with "how about this time and 10 times more?!?" And she was serious. I had to drag her off the mountain :)

I'm proud to have a little skier. James is dying to go too, I just don't think I can manage both of them by myself. Naomi needs help carrying her things and getting on and off the lift and just not going into the trees sometimes.

Skiing makes the winters here pretty enjoyable. And it's beautiful up there, usually no inversion like down here in the valley.

I'm back in classes now and have to get ahead so I can play some more, I'm going on a fun little trip down to the Sunshine in a week... I'll be sure to post about that too!

And Christmas, that too.

"like a slice of pizza"

See my season pass guys?

The conveyor belt "magic carpet" is a favorite hangout.

Ski tips up!

Mmmm, give me some of your tots!

Pickleville Playhouse

2010-12-08T22:47:00.000-07:00

So, long time since I've posted! I've been busy, busy with school and a lot of play. And just getting ready for Christmas!

But I wanted to give a quick shout-out to my favorite Local talent and business! Pickleville Playhouse!

Pickleville Playhouse is playing here in LOGAN right now! Every weekend and a few other dates as well.

Their Holiday show, "Santa's Elves: A North Pole Musical" is on through December 23.

I have never seen the Christmas show but I am going this year! Hooray!

I have seen the summer shows and Bandito is hilarious.

So support some GREAT local talent and go see this fantastic show!

I have it on good authority it is so funny, like "laugh until our cheeks hurt" funny.

Happy Holidays!

Here is the link to the website for ticket and showtime information.

www.picklevilleplayhouse.com

Christmas Service Opportunity!

2010-11-19T10:49:00.001-07:00

Some friends of mine have put together a first-ever event for Cache Valley.

This is a Holiday Dinner for Cache Valley Residents on Christmas Day.

Join Global Neighbor and Cache Community Connections for a community celebration of the holiday season. Gather with friends and neighbors for a delicious meal, music, entertainment and activities for children. All ages and faiths welcome.
Donations provided by:
Cache Valley Radio Group, Hamiltons, Tony's Grove, Maceys, Village Inn, Alpha Graphics

To volunteer or donate, contact:

Rachel von Niederhausern at 435.512.4987.

*Additional funds raised will go to support ongoing efforts of Global Neighbor.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=142115759171594
This is a link to the event page on Facebook.

Please help by spread the word!

I hope this event helps everyone to have a very Merry Christmas this year!

Vintage Wanna Bee

2010-11-19T07:40:00.001-07:00

Vintage Wanna Bee
Check out this cute bag giveaway on a very fun blog!
I just learned of this blog, it's a girl I know but had no idea she was so crafty and creative!
Follow the link to check out her blog and enter the giveaway. Or don't, because I want to win ;)

Courage

2010-11-16T09:18:00.000-07:00

Tessa, my childhood friend, is fighting cancer for the second time in her young lifetime.

She is a mother and wife this time around and is so determined and optimistic.

She is amazing, and inspiring and I admire her courage so much.

This is a link to her blog following this battle with cancer.

I think we could all use a little dose of fantastic today.

Please keep Tessa and her little family in your thoughts and prayers!

http://tessascancerjourney2.blogspot.com/

O little town...

2010-11-15T10:57:00.000-07:00

Who left the Camel in charge here?

Black Light Paint Dance

2010-11-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago. Natalee and I went to a Black-Light Paint Dance for USU homecoming week. We are maybe a liiiitle bit old for that stuff. I am anyway. But it was SO fun! We dressed in our grubby jeans and bought sweatshirts because we didn't want to freeze outside. We would have bought white ones, but we couldn't seem to find them anywhere.
We got covered in paint, soaked. It was crazy fun. We danced the night away and did our best to avoid being hit on by freshmen guys.
When we got back to Natalee's she pulled out her black light so we could document the awesomeness.

Pea Soup

2010-11-12T07:00:00.001-07:00

Naomi put this together over the course of several days. It consists of frozen peas, pine cone pieces, paper scraps, leaf pieces, salad supreme seasoning, a red feather.

She played pretend with it for a while, then one day she added water and had James try it.
He loved it.
I was a little late....
She claims he didn't eat any feathers or paper or pine cones. or Leaves.

Happy Birthday Mom!

2010-11-11T07:00:00.003-07:00

My mom had a birthday this week!
She's 29, again. It's going to be awkward next year when we're the same age....

Dad and Mom, looking good you two!

These two love their grandma Stevie.

I pulled James out of a deep slumber for this little party. He was ecstatic.

Me and Mom

Isaac and the Birthday Grandma!

Who wants cake?!

My sisters, and my sister in law Erica and I went to lunch with my Mom for her birthday too, but as usual, we missed having Aimee and Brooke there. Someday we'll all be together again! Soon for Brooke too!!!

Chocolate cake was the treat of choice, my mom made her classic round layer cake with whip cream between the layers.
I love it. Love it.
I wanted to bake her cake for her, but she insisted and she does make that cake the very best.

Erica and Dave and I with all our kids celebrated with my Mom and Dad at their place.
I love birthdays, it's always a fun reason to get together.

Happy Birthday Mom!!!!!
Love You!

Social Media

2010-11-10T16:15:00.000-07:00

October Photos

2010-11-10T08:38:00.001-07:00

One pretty evening Kelly and I took our kids for a bike ride on the Logan River Walk, the kids loved playing in the water most of all.

My cute friend Kelly and me.

Naomi and James by their Jack-o-lanterns! This is before they sat on our front porch and rotted, but the rot was cool in a Halloween-creepy way. James didn't like the slimy insides. Naomi, of course, did.

James and Naomi at the Pumpkin Walk. They are so cute.

This one is just about right....

This is from Lagoon! It was the last really warm Saturday of the year. Perfect weather. Naomi and James LOVED it all. Naomi is a little dare devil. It makes me proud. And James wants to do everything his big sister does.

Aggie Homecoming Parade! Erica and I rode the Spirit Squad float with our kids, we were both cheerleaders at USU.

I was only one semester cheering on the Aggies, but I loved it!

Naomi at the very wet Utah State game. That's a true fan!

Super Heroes, To the Rescue!

2010-11-06T11:11:00.000-06:00

Web slinging and saving the world. Just part of our everyday around here.

Spidey and (her) sidekick, No-Shirt Ninja!

Iron Man and Wonder Girl!

That's Henry, G. Jesse, James and Naomi.
Oops, I mean, Iron Man, Super Baby, Scary Dragon, and Wonder Girl!!!

Painting Pumpkins

2010-10-31T19:28:00.000-06:00

These are a little out of order, but you can get the general idea. I saw my friends pumpkins painted all black with cute orange polka dots all over and I wanted some! It was a trial run, so I learned a few things, but it was fun. Naomi loved doing these, and it's all about the process for her anyway.

I bought:

pumpkins

black and purple spray paint

reinforcer stickers

star stickers

colored dot labeling stickers, small and regular

The large dot stickers did NOT stick well to any of the pumpkins for some reason. So that caused some bleeding with the spray paint leaking under the stickers. But it did look kind of cool messy like that. But not the crisp awesome look I was going for.

Also, I bought a can of matte black paint on accident, shiny is much prettier and showier.

So, maybe try a different brand of stickers next year and WAIT for the paint to dry before taking the stickers off. Like...wait a few hours. Then the paint that seeped under the stickers sometimes came off when it was dry when I pulled the sticker off.

Naomi waited about 3 and a half minutes before she pulled her stickers off. And she was thrilled with the results. She had purple fingers for a while, but it was worth it.

My favorite is the tiny black pumpkin with the shiny paint and small polka dots.

Cute cute cute.

I hope you all had a Happy Halloween!

It was a two-day process for us, so we can see two of Naomi's finer ensembles. She dresses herself and I'm ok with it. The first is a pink leotard and leggings over the top. And the second is "all green and white".

Do In Logan!

2010-10-25T17:13:00.000-06:00

Natalee has an article in the newspaper!

Check it out here:

Site assures student recreation is available - USU Statesman

Honestly

2010-10-20T10:35:00.000-06:00

I don't always have it all together. What? You thought I did?
Ha, I know that is an obvious comment, but sometimes it just needs to be stated.
Blogs lend themselves to either extreme honesty or unbearable plastic-like happiness.
I don't really like either, I try to hit somewhere in the middle.
But tendencies for self-preservation and insecurities have me leaning toward the superficial more often than not.
No, I don't make stuff up. I just omit some of the sad things, and the things that are difficult to talk about, the things that expose me as an imperfect parent. You know what I'm talking about. Probably most of you have done the same at some point on your blog. If you have a blog.
So What I'm saying here is that I want to make an effort to at least occasionally post some real stuff. You know, "how do you really feel?"
Also, I don't want to condemn myself to being such a downer, there is plenty of uplifting "real" topics that I choose not to post about because it is more work.
And there is certainly a lot of room for all the fun too. And interesting projects.
What am I saying? I'm a little lost now myself!

So here's a first attempt, starting with something that I thought about a lot this past weekend.

It's difficult to be a single mom. I'm not drowning (yet!) but I definitely feel the toll of everything every so often.
It's not the physical demands that get to me, it's the emotional drain. I feel alone a lot of the time.
I have wonderful friends and fantastic family, it's not a lack of great people around me, it's just that some things I have to do on my own. And parenting is one of them.
I am not the first one to do this, or the last. And there are hundreds of other mommy's like me right now.
And, I know a lot of my friends have spouses that have very demanding work/church schedules and they are often as much of a single mom as I am.
I guess I don't want to claim special status here, I just want to express how I feel about what I am doing. With every respect to what others do every day too.
I am extremely blessed and lucky to have the things I do in my life.
I am able to stay home with my children, and I am able to go back to school, and I have a house to live in, and my needs are all met. I am truly blessed in so many ways.
Feeling overwhelmed is not exclusive to single parenting, I know.
This is kind of a list of things I need to say, and things I want to be better with.
I feel like I don't spend enough time playing with my kids.
I feel guilty about them having divorced parents.
I need to teach my children more about spiritual things. I need them to know I have a testimony of my Savior.
I don't clean my kitchen floor often enough. Not at all. And I need to vacuum.
I have several loads of laundry waiting to be folded, in fact, Naomi doesn't have clean underwear in her drawer anymore.
I loose my temper more often than I want to admit. I want to be sweet and kind, and sometimes I just get so frustrated. It's humbling to admit it, but I need to be a nicer mommy a lot of the time.
I love my children so much, and I want them to have everything. Not material, but every opportunity in life. I worry about their future.
I need to do more messy art projects with my kids.
We need to get outside and play more.
I feel selfish when I do things for me, but it's needed too. It's a balance that I am trying to figure out.
I want to be a great mom. And I'm trying. So this is just one way I'm committing myself to it, put it writing and admitting it to everyone who reads my blog. I love you all, I really do :)
Overall I am doing really well, I am making things work and my kids actually seem happy.
But I know I could do better, be better.
I don't want to settle for mediocrity.
Wish me luck and I wish you happy days too!

Madsen Bikes!

2010-10-16T00:23:00.000-06:00

A bucket bike!
I really would LOVE one of these bikes. Really, really. Look how cool they are!
I could put both my kids in there and go for rides, fast rides!
It's a lot more appealing than running with my double jogger.
Madsen Bikes. Just one more thing I think is super cool, check them out.
Click the Pic

Mummy Pizza!

2010-10-15T10:10:00.000-06:00

Last night the kids and I made these spooky little snacks for dinner.
They were really a lot of fun to make, the kids loved helping, and they were so excited about eating them too.
We skipped on the the scallions. Because I hate them. And I am unashamedly influencing my children's tastes. Onions are gross.
Naomi found two olive ends so she could have x-ed out eyes for one of her mummys. And James really liked helping to make it but in the end ate mostly just cheese and olives.
For the recipe link, click here.
Happy Haunting!

Logan Logan Logan

2010-10-13T16:03:00.000-06:00

Logan, Utah is a happing place. Just in case you hadn't heard yet.
A friend of mine just started up this website/blog with loads information and ideas about things to do in this town.
Here is the link, check it out and have a look around.
http://nothingtodoinlogan.com/
And of course, if you have something that would fit on that website, let them know!
Have a happy week in L-town!

ROMAN

2010-10-09T22:52:00.000-06:00

My newest little nephew, ROMAN!

He really belongs to Natalie and Paul, he's their first. But I want to steal him I think.

He's so, so sweet. And I want to go see him again, like every day.

Roman was born Wednesday morning at about 11 a.m. and weighed in at 7 lb 11 oz and 20.5 inches long. Ginger and I went to see him Wednesday evening at the hospital. Natalie entertained us with labor stories, and she and Paul just seemed so relaxed about everything. Already pro parents I'm sure.

To me, he looks a whole lot like Natalie and like her newborn pictures. But babies change so fast so we'll give him a couple weeks before we make any final calls.

Isn't he just adorable? Since Natalie doesn't have a blog, yet, I get to do the honors of showing him off.

Moon Dough

2010-10-06T13:25:00.000-06:00

This stuff is totally cool. Kind of messy, but very easy to clean up. It's not wet, so it can't dry out. And it's soooo soft. The texture is almost powdery. When it's packed it feels like marshmallows.

I give it two thumbs up. Something new and fun to try! I bought mine at WalMart.

Things

2010-09-29T15:05:00.001-06:00

Just a few things.

Yesterday evening I ran a 10 mile race. It was the Last Dash Relay. It was an event for USU business week, and proceeds went towards the Huntsman Cancer Institute. I ran it solo, there was the option to relay at 5 miles but I didn't have a running buddy. It was killer the first few miles. That's always the hardest part for some reason, then I just get into a good rhythm. The views from the trail from Green Canyon to the mouth of Logan canyon were beautiful. I did 10 minute miles the whole time! Yeah, I know I talk about running too much, but I am proud of myself! My legs are soooore and tired today though. My mom and dad were great to watch my kids for me.
Oh, and I won a gift card to Al's in the raffle!

James doesn't like to nap anymore. He's 2.5 and naps about every other day, sometimes less. It's ok, as long as I can stave of the 6p.m. meltdowns. He's a sweetie though, I sometimes just let him stay up because he's so cute.

Both of my kids have small feet for their age. And height. James is like a 6 or something? Maybe 6.5 and Naomi is about a 10. Naomi is probably about right, maybe an 11 is average for a 4-5 yr old.
But I think James has tiny feet.

I really dislike figuring out every. single. day. what to make for dinner. It's a chore.

Reading my textbooks for school is interesting, and very informative, and definitely helps my grades. But it's difficult to make myself do. I blog instead....

I got my season pass to Beaver. I've wanted to do this since I can remember. And I got it super cheap because I'm a student. And I got a free pass for Naomi. Awesomeness. Come and ski with us!

Naomi loves, loves LOVES her new preschool. She hops out of the car and waves as she runs inside, "love you mom, BYE!" I'm glad she's not worried about going, but I wish she missed me! Not really. I love my little Miss Independent.

My children are stubborn. More than normal? I don't know. More than I want, that's all I know.

I am stubborn too.

I want these shoes. Who has my name for Christmas this year?

Mini Fashionista

2010-09-26T22:43:00.003-06:00

I was looking at some photos from fashion week today with Naomi at Susan's Freshly Picked blog.

Naomi would look through the set, and almost infallibly pick as her "favorite" the most feminine ensamble. Dresses, twirly, full, ruffles, sparkles, those were the ideal clothing items of choice.

One set of photos had only pants and shorts. She looked for a few seconds and decided that she liked "none of those".

I love that she knows what she likes. And what she hates. She occasionally offered that she hated a few get-ups.

Later this evening I was filling up the bath for my little wild things so I could clean off the days dirt. Actually, it's been longer than that since I put them in the tub. Seriously, probably... a while. But that's beside the point right now.

While I was occupied with getting James into the tub, Naomi was in my closet for a few minutes and walked out and announced;

"Mom! I picked out the perfect clothes for you to wear tomorrow! Come and see, come and see!!! You have to wear it, it will look so beautiful."

I walked into the closed expecting to find maybe a dress or two laid out for me. She does this pretty often, she likes to pick out my outfits.

It's incredibly amusing to me. Especially because when she dresses herself it's a totally different style that what she'd pick for me. Yes it's usually dresses/skirts, but it's a lot more mis-matching and lots of colors and weird accessories for herself. But most of the time I just go with it. Express yourself, right?

For me she generally picks out dresses, shirts she hasn't seen for a while on me, and often these ridiculously high black and silver stiletto sandals. They are super practical for playing in the park and picking up groceries.

I turned the corner and this is what I saw:

Naomi laid it out just like this, I didn't touch it.

She even picked out my favorite pair of skinnies.

She went through each piece, telling me why it's "perfect".

I was so impressed, and the scarf? Nice touch. It has gold threads through it that match the shoes.

I love the outfit and I love my girl.

New York runways better watch out, Naomi's on her way.

Aggie Football

2010-09-20T16:36:00.006-06:00

Naomi, Henry and Dawson with Big Blue!

The Aggie game Saturday night was equal parts fun, tiring, and disappointing.

I took my chicos and met Dave and Erica with their boys at the pre-game tailgate. The kids were excited and got to meet Big Blue! Everyone but James was thrilled to see him.

He actually started crying and clutched me in terror when I tried to put him down by him. Who knew? He always waves to him from afar and looks for him at the games, like they are besties!

James turned out to be a real keeper during this game. Dave, Erica and I all made the executive decision that the kids are not invited next time. That's the BYU game.

We did have a lot of fun most of the time, but between the cannons for the touchdowns and cheering on the Aggies, there was a lot of this:

"sit down", "don't touch that", "leave him/her alone", "stop kicking!" The poor people in front of us... And it gets better.

Erica and her boys got to run out of the tunnel for the first ever Junior Aggies stampede, it was super cute. Naomi and James liked the excitement and the band music and especially the treats.

I got us some chips and salsa, Chili's was selling at the game again. Yum.

Naomi and James wore matchy game-day t-shirts and looked so cute. I don't get to dress them alike often enough.

I ran Naomi to the bathroom at one point and talked James into staying put next to Erica and G. Jesse. When we got back Erica was laughing her head off and James was a bawling mess. He had somehow managed to gag himself, maybe on a skittle? And then threw up. And it got on the people's stuff in front of us. Ooops.

Yeah, that's disgusting. I felt really bad, but what could I do besides clean it off, it wasn't much, and say I was really sorry.

I did some musical shirts with Naomi and James, N had two layers on. Jackets went on and we were as good as new. Whew.

At that point, or sometime in the game around then, Erica turned to me, and talking about the spirit squad, said, "I know what happens in the fourth quarter..." and I interrupted with "yeah, the Aggies loose".

And they did. They just fell apart. It was so disappointing but sadly, really familiar and not much of a surprise. Dang Aggies.

I hate to be a fair-weather fan. But come on Aggies. I'm hoping for the rest of the season to be better. And the BYU game will be huge. Can they do it? Maybe.

It's fun to take my kids to the games, it's a lot of work, but they love it, I love it.

Next time I take them I need to remember to bring lots more treats, snacks, goodies and drinks.

Go Aggies!

Dave and G. Jesse

James eating my creamy, it's all yours baby...

Naomi looking awesome

Go Aggies!

What do you read?

2010-09-19T13:08:00.004-06:00

Blogs, what blogs do you read?

Do you read The Sartorialist? I do. It's interesting and sometimes entertaining. And I don't have to actually do much reading, more like "looking". Just a quick click and see. Here's a link for you. http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/

I also read design mom, I've mentioned that before. I love her blog. LOVE it. And here is her link.

http://www.designmom.com/

I have buttons on my sidebar for a few others I like to read, like SSB. If you don't think she's funny, then something is wrong with you. Ok, maybe not, that's rude. But seriously, you're not offended by her, right? And you know it's satire? Right? http://seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com/

I like The Onion because it's just plain awesome. http://www.theonion.com/

And I read http://freshlypicked.blogspot.com/ and http://www.makeit-loveit.com/ and sometimes I look at http://www.sweet-juniper.com/ especially the "terrifying nixon-era children's books" and good ideas from here http://melissaesplin.com/home/ and not to forget http://thepioneerwoman.com/

So that's it. When I'm clicking around the blogosphere that's where I'm usually headed.

Share with me where you go, maybe I could use a new destination.

Wellsville Mountains

2010-09-15T23:12:00.004-06:00

Last Saturday I went hiking with my parents. It was fun, I felt a little like I was a young again, just me, hanging out with the 'rents.

I invited them to hike the Wellsvilles with me, it had been since I was about 14 since any of us had done that hike. Last time it was Jesse, Me, Natalie and my Mom and Dad. I remember a lot of bugs and the beautiful view from the top.

This time we went late enough in the season to miss the bugs, yay! But we also missed the wildflowers.

We drove to the Cold Water trail head in Mendon after stopping to ask directions. We couldn't remember how to get there, it had been too long. I packed my water, granola bars and some candy and started hiking! We stared out pretty solid, but slowed down once we started gaining elevation quickly. My mom decided she was done about 3/4 of the way and my Dad and I hiked on without her to the top. That last bit was seriously steep and we were kinda tired. But we made it!

It was really a beautiful hike, lots of shade and challenging but not killer. I was not being smart that morning and thought it would be a good idea to wear shorts, so I wouldn't be so hot. My shins are nice and scratched now. I love being so brilliant.

Next time I want to start at Deep Water canyon, also from Mendon, and hike up, and then along the ridge all the way over to the canyon. You have to leave a car at each end and it would be a longer hike, but you would enjoy the views for so much longer. Hiking is awesome, and it saved me from doing a long run that I was feeling super unmotivated for that day.

It is such a spectacular view from the top. Amazing. You can see for what feels like forever from there. Those mountains are the world’s steepest range (as measured by the ratio of width to height).

My Dad, view of Box Elder county- West

About half-way up, this is the Cutler marsh/wetland area in Cache Valley

At the trail head

Baby Shower!

2010-09-13T22:16:00.009-06:00

Natalie, my gorgeous little sister is expecting her first baby. She and Paul are the cutest, they are so excited. Really, Natalie is just ready to be done being pregnant. I remember feeling like that. I wanted nothing more in my life than to just lie down on my stomach and go to sleep. You take stuff like that for granted when you're not pregnant.

So we Low girls threw her a baby shower! Holly graciously hosted. Her house always looks so great. I love it. Natalie was teasing her that it looked like pottery barn. I wish my house did!

It was fun getting together with my sisters and Mom, but we missed Aimee and Brooke. And it was nice to finally meet Paul's sister and sister-in-law's. We really had a good time, lot's of laughs. And some delicious food. What's a party without good eats?

We played a game where we all measured out a piece of string the length we thought was how big around Natalie was. Ginger, who initially said "Oh I cut mine too short!" was almost exactly right on. The rest of us..... way, way overestimated. Sorry Nat!

We also played the game where you guess the baby food. Kinda disgusto. But funny. I actually missed one, I mixed up peas and beans. It's been a while I guess. At least we didn't have to sample them, just smell.

Natalie is now a little better prepared for this little guy, and hopefully he won't keep her waiting too long. Early babies are always welcomed!

Probably this is overkill with the photos, but it's fun, right?

I love these girls.

Ginger and Holly

Erica and Me

Natalie and Me

Erica playing paparazzi

My cupcakes, I am obsessed, I know. I added blue sprinkles too.

Natalie showing off her belly!

This was such a cute present! Our cousin Debbie made this little matchbox car holder. It's cloth and folds into thirds and velcros shut for taking along with you, like to church, in the car, etc. Win. The cars "park" in the tan corduroy slots. I want to make one, has anyone done this before?

My mom holding baby Sophia, This is Holly's baby, and she was the only babe allowed, good thing she's so stinking cute.

Erica and Ginger

Sophia posing for us, she kept getting into this position, it was so funny.

Me and Nat

Doesn't she look great?

Weekender

2010-09-13T21:33:00.005-06:00

Labor Day weekend I took the kids and we made a run for the warm weather down South.

Thursday afternoon we packed it up and drove into the night, we made it to St. George before midnight and the kids were both asleep by that time.

Friday we played at the pool all day with Talia, Wes, Dylan and Trey, and Brooke and Hailey. I love having family there and it's so good to see them more often now. That's such a perk about living back in Utah now, I get to see all my family, a lot.

St George was so nice! We had been having some cold weather up here and going to the pool was just what we needed! My parents so generously let me use their place there, it's wonderful. And I knew that with school starting that things were going to get busy quickly, so one last trip to end the Summer.

Saturday we all headed down to Las Vegas for the Battle of The Bands! Wes's band, (and Mike and Justin's band too) Shallow Day competed in the finals at the Hard Rock Cafe. They rocked the house, it was great. They didn't end up winning but it was such a fun show. Talia and I made iron-on t-shirts for our kids the night before. Whoever said that kind of stuff is fun was a few screws loose. We hate iron-on's now. It was a pain. But they ended up looking super cute! My kids seriously love their "Shallow Day" shirts. They say "Rock On" on the back. I caught a random guy at the show snapping a pic of James from the back while he was wearing his new t-shirt and his noise cancelling headphones. He did look adorable.

After the show was over and the winner announced I headed back to St. George. In and out, Vegas is not my favorite place to play, especially with my little ones.

We had a fun remainder of the weekend just hanging out with family. It involved playing fugitive in the dark on the golf course, cupcakes, good food and Chad running through the screen door. Awesome.

Monday we cleaned up, packed our bags and made it to the pool one last time. The last time for the year too I think.

Afterwards we stopped by Brooke and Mike's to say goodbye. Naomi loves Hailey, they are cute little buddies. She has a pet rat, it's pretty cool. Except that right before we left James came walking into the family room bawling his eyes out with blood all over his hand! He had stuck his hand in the rats cage and got a bite. Poor baby. It wasn't bad at all, but it was bleeding like crazy! He was traumatized, but just temporarily.

Remember when he was bit by a bunny last spring at Baby Animal Days? He must just be delicious.

It was a perfect weekend to end our awesome Summer.

My little bathing beauty

What a cutie. I could just eat him up!

Talia!

Can you see Naomi's sparkles? She was glammed out. And that's Dylan in the background.

Besties! Naomi and Hailey

Rocking out, James, Naomi, and Hailey

The end of the show with Shallow Day's biggest fan's on stage with them :)

New Tradition. 2nd Day.

2010-09-10T10:58:00.004-06:00

I am one of those awesome moms who always remembers everything and does everything perfect and my life is always way fun and I make special first day of school presents for my kids.

Yeah... not so much.

So yesterday was the 2nd say of preschool and the 2nd day of ballet for Naomi. So we are starting a new tradition, we take photos on the 2nd day! This will probably be our tradition until next year. Maybe I'll change it to the first day. Or maybe the 3rd.

Honestly I felt badly about forgetting to take the classic first day photos, I mean really, what kind of a mom am I?? I did take a photo with my phone of Naomi and her buddy Jagger after their first day of preschool. But it's on my phone, so not very high quality.

Naomi started preschool at the USU child development lab this week. I am so happy about it, I love, love, love the atmosphere, curriculum, class size, price, location, time, etc, etc. There is a strong focus on child-directed play. They have self-selected activities for a large portion of preschool time and they focus on social interactions as well. For Naomi this is wonderful. She is smart and has known her letters and sounds for a long time now and is beginning writing and sounding out words with me at home. So for preschool to give the opportunities to do the things we don't do here as much is perfect. She's thrilled about getting to do "whatever I want!"

Naomi also started ballet classes at Cache Valley School of Ballet last week. She goes once a week with a small group of little girls. It is so adorable. Seriously, little girls in pink tights and black leotards and tiny pink shoes is just the sweetest thing. The Whittier Community Center is where she has ballet classes, it is a very old spacious building with a lot of character. The wood floors make it ideal for ballet classes. I took ballet there when I was a little girl and then later as a teenager. I loved ballet and I have always wished I had stayed with it longer. Naomi loves everything about her little class and is excited about going, so far.

James gets to be my little buddy at home for one more year. Except for while I am in class! I have a class on campus Tuesdays and Thursdays and another online. I am ever so grateful for loving and willing Grandma's to help me with my little James! Naomi and I have class at the same time on those days, it's all very convenient.

Naomi and James at Ballet

SECOND day of School!!!!

Happy School Year to everyone!

*Post Edit*

I guess the photos weren't showing up? So I uploaded them again. Hope it works. Ironic isn't it?

Just time for an fyi

2010-09-05T15:42:00.002-06:00

It's probably past due that I post something about this. This blog is not private so I don't really know who all is reading it. But it's a place to put this out there, kind of an fyi for you all.
I am divorced now. It's been final for a little over a month. I am doing really well, the kids are doing just great and everything is ok. It's a healthy situation I am in now and I feel really good about it.
My closest friends and obviously my family are well aware of the events in my life over the past year, but for some of you, my far away friends this is news to you.
Call or email me if you want to talk. I am so grateful for all the love and support I've received. Love you all!
-Trish

Top Of Utah Half Marathon!

2010-09-01T22:45:00.002-06:00

I started this post Saturday afternoon, after the race, here is what I had so far:

"This morning I got up at 5:30 to get dressed and ready for the Top of Utah half marathon.

I was so nervous that I had a hard time eating. I ate some cereal and orange juice and hoped it would be enough!

The finish line is just a few blocks from my house and I needed to be there by 6 to ride a bus up to the start line. The race started up Black Smith Fork canyon at the Hyrum electrical plant and went downhill through the canyon until we turned onto Hollow Road in Nibley. From there we ran out to the highway for a short distance then back into Millville and then South until we made it to the finish line at Zollinger's park in Providence."

This race was awesome. During training for this the furthest I ran was barely over 7 miles. I just have a hard time going any longer. It's a total mind game. So I was positive I would be walking at some point, I just couldn't run 13.1 miles continuously.

My brother in law, Brock ran the race too, and he listened to Harry Potter while he ran. I think he made it to Potions class by the end of the race. I think I might try loading a book on my shuffle for my next long run, what a great diversion. I found Brock at the start line before the race and we started off together but ran separately after a while.

About a mile in I found a friend I had talked to before the race, Makaylee. She's a friend from high school and it had been since highschool since we had seen each other. She said she was only going to listen to her ipod when she really needed a boost to get her going, and I liked that idea. Save it for when you need it. We turned our music off and just talked and caught up on the past 10 years of life. It was nice running without music but talking to a friend made the miles literally just fly by.

By the time I saw a mile marker we were at mile 8. And I was feeling really good. I just couldn't believe I was still going strong, it was an amazing feeling. Race Day Adrenaline was playing a big part I'm sure.

My feet and left calf were feeling sore around mile 11 but I was so close, and they were just achy, not enough to hold me back. I wore my IT band strap to help stabilize my leg so my knee wouldn't hurt. It worked like a charm, I had no pain there at all. I also paid attention to where I was running on the road, totally avoiding the bank on the left side so I wouldn't put extra strain on it.

At mile 10 we decided it was music time and then Makaylee started really going fast! I kept up and we just kept on going. Before I knew it I could see the finish line in the distance, about a mile or so away. I was there!

The last half of a mile was packed with people cheering everyone on. I was feeling a little exhausted but it felt so good. It was so awesome to cross that finish line! I am so proud of myself for running the whole race! I never thought I could really do it, but I did!

I admit that I did have to walk while drinking water or Gatorade at the aid stations for a few seconds, I just haven't mastered drinking-from-a-paper-cup-while-running. I did try, and ended up with a sticky arm. Skills to work on I suppose. There were also orange slices which were awesome. Brock said something like "I have never had oranges that tasted so good. In my life" and that pretty much sums it up.

My final time was 2 hours 23 minutes, that is the chipped time. I crossed the start line about 2 minutes after the start gun so my time on the clock as I passed the finish line was 2:25.

I took about 20 minutes off my last half marathon, that was my first one too. I did the St. George half marathon last January and ended up walking off and on the last half of the race.

The reason I stopped running during that race was because of my knee, it was hurting because of the IT band issues. I didn't know what the problem was. But after I slowed down I got cold and my body was tired. I was also less prepared.

Finishing that race was hard. This race was such a different experience, so much better! I'm looking forward to the St. George half again in January, I'm hoping to run a 2:10 race. It's a colder run and it's not downhill like the TOU half, but I think I can do it.

There were around 2300 runners for this race. It was an impressive sight seeing everybody at 6 a.m. in the cold, dark morning air boarding buses. The start line was an amazing sight too. It's a good feeling to think, we're all in this together. I can do this because they can too.

I love running now. I know I still gripe about it sometimes but it's been such a great hobby/sport/activity for me for the past year. I finally understand why so many people run. It feels so good.

I don't have any photos from race day, just the ones the zazoosh photographers snapped.

Here is a link to a photo of me from the race. I look happy, and I am!

View Photos from Top of Utah Half Marathon

Registration will open up in, I think, April for 2011.

Who's with me next year?!

Except for the part where...

2010-08-25T21:33:00.003-06:00

Last Saturday I went to Gardeners Village with my sister Natalie, it has some fun shops and boutiques that I really liked. The quilt shop had so many lovely, beautiful and fun things.

Delish lunch at the Naborhood Bakery, a little bit like Great Harvest/Old Grist Mill. But some killer pastries. Yum.

Sassy Babies was awesome too, Teeny, tiny little shop but full of goodies. They had some Cake bags that are indeed gorgeous. But. they are so heavy. Cute hair clips, gave me new ideas, and lots of cute girl clothes.

This dress was exquisite. Really it was, it had beading all around the bodice and those tulle flowers were so sweet. I loved it so much I had to take a photo. Especially because I could never afford it, $200 +. Naomi would rock that dress.

Saturday morning I got up early, that's 7 a.m. for me. And picked up my Bountiful Basket. Right now I am swamped with fresh produce. Between the basket and food from my parents garden and the grapes Naomi just had to get at the grocery store today, my fridge is packed. We're eating it as fast as we can!

Tonight for dinner I made meatballs that were super yummy. That word is linked to the recipe. James pounded them. Naomi ate one, kinda. We had them with classic spaghetti and sauce. But then we added cucumbers, squash and beans to our dinner.

And the grapes. And we should have eaten tomatoes too.

And the cantaloupe.

I took this week off from bountiful baskets.

Also because I can't pick up anyway, I have my half marathon is on Saturday!!! Yikes. And Hooray!

I'm running tomorrow morning a good 4 or so miles and that's it until 7 a.m. Saturday. Send me good luck.

Today we made jello, and meatballs, and ran errands, and washed and folded clothes, and made cookie dough, and later cookies, and grocery shopped, and emptied garbages, and the kids got a bath, and now I need to frost some cookies and call it a day! It was a good one. Except for the part where I got mad at Naomi for waking James up from his nap. I was sorry and he went back to sleep anyway. Life with kids really is so great.

Today Naomi lined up on the window sill her Noah's ark turtles and the shrinky dink turtles she made with her Grandma Linda. It was a Turtle Family.

Naomi requested that I take a picture of her butterfly too. She also made this with Grandma Linda, and she keeps moving it all around that window.

Posers, Naomi does a pretty good kissy lips! Her hair in this photo is so awesome. So Naomi.

Random Things.

2010-08-22T16:52:00.012-06:00

even Sick, he's so cute.

Today we were late for church. We all woke up late. James and Naomi are my alarm clock. So, we made it to Primary and Nursery. But James's face crumpled when I dropped him off at nursery. Poor baby. He reportedly pulled it together but just was a little out of sorts and kind of sad. So he was returned to his momma shortly before church was over.

Then during lunch he emptied his stomach. Cantaloupe from breakfast. Apparently he is not well yet. He had two and a half good days since he was sick Thursday morning. So this took me by surprise. He napped and then had some soothing applesauce and water. Yummy huh?

We stick to the B.R.A.T. diet when sick. Bananas, rice, applesauce, toast.

Anyway, a sick boy means simple food for everyone and lots of lounging around on the couch. Definitely no gym tomorrow. I have a race this Saturday, the top of Utah half marathon. I am not as prepared as I hoped to be and this week will prove to stay with the same trend.

Sigh.

I will finish, but not very quickly.

Also, I think I figured out what the problem I have with my knee is when I run long distances. IT band syndrome. Anyone know anything about it? I'm stretching it and paying attention to running on a flat surface and trying not to underpronate when I run. I think it helps a little bit. Also I got a strap to help stabilize my knee while I run. I felt good Saturday after my run so maybe that's a good move too.

The kids have been eating bananas and cheese and crackers while watching Dora, Diego, Word Girl, Dragon Tales, and, my personal favorite, The Electric Company. So I am here at the computer blogging.

I am trying, maybe unsuccessfully, to change my program for school. I was set to start a masters program in Family and Human Development in a week or so. Then I was having second thoughts about school and mostly about my choice of program. It being a bit generic and I want to be sure before I invest time and money (loans) into anything. What I would really like to do is the Professional School Counselor Education Program. So, be a school counselor. It's a two year, through the Summer program. 6 credits per semester and only one night a week. Perfecto. I did a short stint as an intern at my old high school alma mater during my undergraduate final semester. I loved it. I don't know why I didn't figure out that this is what I want to do sooner. But like they say, better late than never. So we'll see how things shake out this next week. Wish me luck. I would have to take a few prerequisites for this program, it's in the psychology department and I am missing a few essentials it seems.

But for other fun stuff. I like to online shop. Online fantasy shop. I have my eye on a new dress, but I question my nerve to actually wear it. To church I mean. Because where else does a girl like me wear a dress anyway?

It's Shabby Apple, what do you think? I am having a strange new liking for animal prints. Sometimes.

And then there's this one too, but maybe it's too... something, probably short. But I really like the look. Could I pull it off? Do I want to?

(I can't seem to copy a larger image of these dresses. So click the link if you need to actually see it, sorry.)

And then there are these. I've coveted a pair of Toms since I first heard about them. But, ya know. It's pricey, but it goes towards a good cause! So maybe eventually I'll get a pair, Christmas maybe? But THEN, they came out with these hot little numbers. Wedges. I heart wedges and peep toes and just heels in general. So these are probably more "essential" than the original Toms. So practical in a Northern Utah winter too, I know, I know.

Are they not so cute? I think I like Ash best.

And just one more thing to polish this off. I have a very favorite cookie recipe. It's from Peggy Cullen's "Got Milk? The Cookie Book" recipe book. I still have a handful of recipes to try, but the classic chocolate chip cookie is just that, a classic. Seems like I've posted this before, but it's worth a repost.

The Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie

4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened. NOT melted, that=flat cookies, fyi.

6 tablespoons granulated sugar

6 tablespoons packed light brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract. Use the real stuff.

1 large egg. At room temperature.

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour. (I add more, usually about 1/4 cup more, every time. It just needs to be the right consistency, not gooey, but not dry.)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup (about 6 ounces) chocolate chunks or chips

1 cup (about 3 1/2 ounces) large pecan or walnut pieces, or any nut you prefer. I usually use about 1/2 cup pecan gems.

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugars, salt, and vanilla until well combined. Beat in the egg. Scrape down the bowl using a rubber spatula, and beat for a few more seconds.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix on low speed just until absorbed. Combine the chocolate chunks and nuts in a small bowl and stir into the cough.

4. Shape the dough into 1 1/2-inch balls and drop them about 3 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. For perfectly uniform cookies, scoop the dough using a 1 1/2-inch-diameter ice-cream scoop, leveling the dough off across the top before dropping onto the baking sheets. Bake for 9 to 12 minutes, or until the edges are golden. Let sit for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

These are always so perfectly yummy.

Bake some cookies and Have a Happy week!

Bear Lake

2010-08-21T22:52:00.004-06:00

A few weekends ago we went to Bear Lake and had a great little vacation! Saturday night Dave and I took our kiddos to Pickleville Playhouse to see Bandito Rides Again. Very funny. It was a fun trip all around. I didn't get any pics of Natalie and Paul but they did come this time!

Dawson just liked to lay on the warm, warm sand.

Joshua, isn't he cute? He's getting so old!

Mom and Dad loving Bear Lake.

Baby G, Henry and Dave hanging out.

Isaac buried at Bear Lake

Naomi and Jonathan trading secrets.

My Sweet Baby James.

What was this bird called again Dad?

Alyssa and Dad negotiating... something.

Isn't that a gorgeous lake?

Annie and Naomi navigating the "warm" water.

Sophia and Naomi with Grandma Stevie with matchy swimsuits! Super cute girls.

Look at Sophia's sweet smile!

James and Naomi all ready to hit the water.

James and Jonathan. Not throwing sand at the moment.

Blogging?

2010-08-09T17:05:00.007-06:00

So I've been absent. This summer has been crazy fun and busy. We've been vacationing and playing and swimming and just having a whole lot of fun.

I'm ready to get back to the blog. Soon ;)

I am thinking about starting a new blog, and closing this one. A new chapter of my life maybe requires a new blog! So, I am taking blog name suggestions! Really. I am.

Just for fun, here's a link I liked that I saw today on designmom.com for a really darling necklace with DIY instructions. Sweet. It's a Easy Peasy Pea Pod Pendant. I heart design mom. And my friend Kelly actually knows her. I want to know amazing people too. Kelly is amazing though ;)

Here's a few photos until I get back to blogging in earnest.

Naomi and James at Lake Powell.

Building towers to knock them down!

Trey's 3rd Birthday! in St George

Last Day of Powell, All the cousins together. So cute!

Boat watching

Naomi, Leia and Annie tearing it up on the tube!

Helping Grandpa drive the boat.

Girls on a boat.

water skiing at Powell!

My mom and a beautiful sunset cruise at Lake Powell.

Holly and me at Lake Powell.

Lavender Fields in central Utah. Young Living Farms. These were so gorgeous.

James playing at the sand dunes in St. George.

Independence Day fireworks in St. George.

Brooke, Me and Talia at boating at Sand Hollow. That day the wind blew the windshield of the boat closed. On my head. It was awesome.

Dylan, Naomi, Trey and James at the Champlin's

From my Front Porch at Sunset Today

2010-06-07T22:59:00.000-06:00

Naomi's Preschool Program

2010-05-31T22:47:00.004-06:00

Naomi had her Preschool Program last week! We had it at the park and the kids got to play on the playground with each other before performing their songs for the parents and families. Naomi was loving it, she was so excited to play with all her friends! Then is was time to sing. This girl does not like being on stage. So much so that it's comical. And if you know her, it seems odd, but that's her thing I guess. I made her stand there but I couldn't make her sing!

Naomi, her cousin Dawson and some other buddies from class!

Everyone

Afterwards, feeling happier with James.

Here's a video of her class singing one of their songs, Naomi looks like she would rather eat dirt! It was really funny.

Sunny Vacation!

2010-05-31T22:05:00.007-06:00

We had the greatest time on our little trip down South! I took the kids and stayed a day in St. George, had a good time at the pool and seeing Talia and the kids! Then we packed up and drove down to California. We stayed with Cassie at her parents home. They were so fantastic to let us visit! We went to the playground, the beach, and of course, (how could I resist), Disneyland! The girls had a blast and we were there on a perfect day. Cassie's wonderful mom took care of all the kids while Cassie and I had a girls lunch and shopping trip and again our little crazy boys all day for us so we could just enjoy The Happiest Place on Earth with our girls.

It was so fun to catch up with Cassie and help our kids remember the coolest friends around! And I love Southern California! It was beautiful. Naomi told me at one point that she wanted "to live in this world" instead of where we call home. The beach was beautiful and Naomi and Abby were great in the water.

Then after all that fun we were back in St. George for the weekend. I don't get to spend enough time with Talia, Wes and Dylan and Trey. It was so fun to see them and relax by the pool, again! I love that Naomi has had so many opportunities to play with her cousins since we've been back in Utah. They are pretty much all boys, but she loves it.

We miss warm, sunny California and St. George too. But we miss our friends and family the most!

-And, I guess I was having so much fun in St. George I forgot to get my camera out!

Sing to me Baby!

2010-05-02T16:15:00.000-06:00

Here's some happy news, James is singing the ABC song. Currently. He's in his crib and has been for at least an hour and a half. He's not sleeping apparently. I put him down for a nap late and he decided that he would rather jump in his crib, and sing, and play than sleep. So I am blogging instead of napping. He just started singing the ABC's in earnest a few days ago. I just got from Naomi's book order, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, finally. And it's a huge hit. That book is interesting. It did something just right. Kids love it. And I'm always just a little surprised at how much. My kids are no exception. We've read it every night all week. At the end of the book (and at the beginning) there is a two page spread of the alphabet. So we sing it together a few times. James unfailingly will clap and say "yay!" when we finish. So cute. Naomi tells James she is "so proud" of him. That's so cute too.

I took a video of him singing other night, it's loud and he's hard to understand but it's pretty adorable. His learning is is so visible and measurable at this age, it's so fun to watch. He is talking and talking and talking. About everything. Naomi told me this the other day; "I'm so glad my baby can talk." So am I.

Update- James is sleeping now, I think. It's 4:04 p.m. Sweet. Nope, scratch that. He's just quieter.

Sarah Sadler Photography

2010-05-01T10:01:00.006-06:00

My friend Sarah took all those awesome photos of my children, and I finally have a link to her brand new photography website! Hooray!

She does beautiful work, And she made it so easy for me. My kids liked her a lot:)

Check out her site, http://sarahsadler.blogspot.com/

And thanks again Sarah!

(the best) Cinnamon French Toast

2010-05-01T07:00:00.000-06:00

Cinnamon French Toast

Ingredients:
Cinnamon Burst bread from Great Harvest (YUM)
Eggs
Milk
Salt
Butter
Syrup
Strawberries

Melt a generous amount of butter on your griddle over medium low heat.
Wisk 1 large egg with about 1/4 cup of milk. Add 1/8 tsp of salt.
Slice 4 slices of Cinnamon Burst bread about 1/2 inch thick.
When butter is melted dip and coat the bread slices in the egg mixture and place on griddle.
Brown lightly on each side, remove from heat.

Serve with warm syrup and sliced strawberries.
It's like heaven.

I know I don't write recipes all that well, but this was too delicious not to share. And I didn't create this, people have been making Cinnamon Burst French toast long before me. Try it, it's awesome!

Please shine down on me

2010-04-30T16:29:00.001-06:00

I have started blogging less and less. I don't know why for sure. I just go with my desire to post, and that ebbs and flows. Apparently.

We had been enjoying some particularly beautiful springtime weather here in the otherwise tundra of Cache Valley. Spring is like that here. Actually, any season is. Except winter. That's always just cold. We were up in the 70's and everybody had come out of hibernation, jogging, biking, walking, playing basketball. I even spied my neighborhood kids dressed in dark clothes last weekend for night games! Remember those, I loved kick the can. What were the other ones we played? Sort of drawing a blank on actual names of games.

But now, this week has been so stinking cold! Rain is fine, I love a good rain storm and thunder, etc. That's awesome. But it's been about 40 degrees. I already put away the winter coats. Tomorrow is May, I mean, come on! It snowed the other day too. Good inch or so. It melted promptly but I was considering pulling the boots out of storage. Naomi's not giving up, she's staying optimistic. Today, before I realized what she was wearing, she made it out the door in flip flops and leggings. Freeze. She insists she is fine.

Life is speeding up. Things just get more complicated and busy. It's inevitable. I feel like I'm watching the last few months of calm I have right now. Summer is always busier than it is lazy. It seems like that to me.
I have a month of bona-fide spring left, if the weather will cooperate! I am planning a little trip next weekend to St George to see Talia and Wes, and their boys! Then I am going farther South (see, if the sun won't come, I'll go to the sun), to visit Cassie and her kids while they are in California at her parents. SO nice of her to let us come visit. It's been a year since I have seen this girl! That is far too long. California here I come. We will hit the beach and probably Disneyland too. It's awesome, I'm a junkie now too. I also have a 5k race with my sister Ginger the weekend I get back from the sun. It's all good stuff, busy, but good.

This summer I have swimming lessons in June for Naomi planned and I'm teaching a Summer Camp group one week that month too. July will bring (my birthday!) family-get-togethers, and a Lake Powell trip. August, I'll be getting ready and starting school again. And Noami will start preschool in September. Me in school will probably be the biggest change for us. More structured mornings, more baby sitters, less mommy. I feel good about going back, I'm starting a graduate program that I am really excited about. But even as easy of a load as I will have, and how consolidated my schedule is, I will feel the time exchange. And I will welcome the change of pace, and scenery and challenges, but I will miss that time with my babies too.
So here's to a Summer of excitement and the beginnings of a new stage in life!

*post edit. One more awesome thing to look forward to this summer, Brook, Jesse and their boys are coming to visit, for a MONTH! hooray!

Naomi, Naomi, Naomi

2010-04-22T07:01:00.002-06:00

Naomi. She is my sweet, helpful, feisty, smart, observant and beautiful four year old!
I love my girl. Her favorite snacks are pickles, banana pepper slices, olives, cheetos, popsicles, jelly beans and gum. She has a thing for band aids, and all sorts of animals. She is curious and daring. I am always reminding her to be careful, not so high, not so fast. But she does it anyway and succeeds. She is also a little bit shy around new people. She loves to draw pictures, write notes and deliver them to our neighbors. She thrives in the outdoors. She smothers her little brother with love and attention, and makes sure he shares! They are two peas in a pod. Naomi is loving and forgiving. She teaches me new things and makes me laugh every day.
These are the darling photos that Sarah took of my little Naomi.

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

2010-04-21T21:38:00.003-06:00

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs over Spaghetti Squash.

(image courtesy of makeitandlove.blogspot.com)

I stumbled across this recipe the today and decided, "what the heck, I can make that!" I was lucky enough to have the ingredients, more or less, on hand. I made due a little, but didn't compromise the integrity of the meal. Seriously. These are great.
The meatball recipe is from Pioneer Woman, click here. And the whole meal idea and squash recipe is from Ashley at Make it and Love it.
I made this for dinner and it was a huge, enormous, wonderful SUCCESS!
Although, I also cooked up some bow tie noodles. Pasta is always, without fail, a hit for the 4 and under crowd at my home. So just to be safe, I added that to the menu.
Total it took one hour to prepare the meal, frozen ground beef to sit down and eat.

I just happened to have a spaghetti squash sitting forlornly in the bottom drawer of my refrigerator. And I keep ground beef on hand, and pasta and sauce too of course, otherwise the kids might starve...
So I had only about one pound of ground beef, instead of the 1 and 1/2 so I adjusted the recipe accordingly. Also, my bread crumbs were of the plain variety. So I added my own spice mixture to make them "Italian." I did a dash and a pinch of each of these; sage, marjoram, rosemary, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, seasoned salt, and fresh chopped basil! Also the recipe called for fresh parsley. I just added some dry. It doesn't taste much, it's just for show and the fresh basil covered that.
Also, I didn't have fresh mozzarella. That's a shame, because I'm pretty sure it would be awesome. So I used what I had. String cheese. Yes, I chopped up two string cheese sticks to use as my meatball centers. They were yummy.
Oh, and one more thing, I didn't have worcestershire sauce. Too bad. They were awesome anyway. It calls for only just a teaspoon anyway. So I fudged there and it was fine. See, you too can make a recipe work without a trip to the grocery store!
The spaghetti squash was surprisingly good, and it's a really low-calorie alternative to pasta. Probably not much less fat with the butter I added while it was baking though. And surprise, pasta sauce is really good on spaghetti squash!
My quash came with a sweet little label with cooking instructions, so I followed those and Ashley's. I sliced my squash in half, put them cut-side down on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (that stuff is awesome) and cooked them for 45 min at 400. Then I flipped them over, added butter to the hollowed out inside and lowered the temp to 350 because I was putting the meatballs in the oven right then too. I cooked both for about 10 minutes and the squash was done the same time as the meatballs. Perfect.
I added some grapes and called it a meal.
Share your favorite not-too-hard recipe with me. I am always looking for new things to make for dinner!

James, James, James

2010-04-21T16:45:00.001-06:00

My good friend Sarah took these seriously cute photos of my kids. She is amazing! I love how they turned out and I wanted to share!
Here's a set of Sweet Baby James. He's 2 years old and such a funny little boy. Stubborn, but mostly silly. All loves and cuddles

Hello Spring (summer)

2010-04-19T21:37:00.000-06:00

We have been having the best weather here. The best, I tell you!
I've been to more playgrounds and parks this past week than is probably good for me. Actually, that's not really possible is it?
Today was bordering downright hot. Naomi was outside frolicking, literally, in a sleeveless sun dress and I put James in a little muscle shirt. He's so cute in anything, I swear.
This morning we went exploring a little bit of our nearby wilderness. Spring Creek runs along the road we live on and it's quite the animal attraction. Last week I saw some deer, several geese, a muskrat and a pheasant, all at close range. Today we were graced with the presence of a funny little muskrat (we think?) that was popping up and down from his burrow. Naomi insisted on giving it a few pieces of the bread she brought for the ducks and geese. She dropped them down his hole and we left it alone. She was tempted to put her hand down, until I told her that the dang thing would probably bite her if she did that. That convinced her.
We eventually gave up on the geese and ducks, they must have been hiding. We packed a lunch to take to first dam, at the mouth of Logan Canyon. There's always a flock of birds hanging out there. We fed all the ducks, geese and gulls and threw sticks in the water until I was too hot to stay any longer. I had to keep my eye on Naomi, she was determined that she wanted to go swimming in there. It's kind of gross. With all the bird poop and all. And it's cold. We did see a duck egg before we left though, almost the highlight of the trip!
We swung by Lowe's and got ourselves outfitted with a hose, watering can, several pots of varying sizes and one plant each of Lavender, Sweet Basil, an Orange Bell Pepper. The tag said that the bell pepper will produce after 70-80 days. I hope we get one little pepper, I'd be happy with that.
And Lavender! How exciting! I'm going to learn how to use it for baths, we could all use some relaxation.
Or course Basil is just awesome. I will have to learn some new recipes, it's just so pretty sitting there, saying "cook with me!" If you have a favorite recipe using fresh basil, let me know, I am always, always on the lookout for new meal ideas.
Naomi helped me pot all these plants and our sad little pansies we bought at the grocery store last week. They were borderline dead. I think they'll be ok though. I assigned Noami as the official Pansy Gardener. No drowning of the plants allowed. She asked me what "drowning" meant. Too much water sweetheart. We got really messy with the potting soil. Naomi helped pour in the soil and was especially helpful with the watering. We made a mess but it was really fun. Activities like that help me to learn patience with Naomi. I mean that I learn to sit back and let her do it, her way. I'm still learning though.
All the while James was supposed to be napping in his crib. He took an hour to fall asleep. All that water foul was pretty exciting! Then when I went to get him after he woke up I found that he had thrown everything from his crib on the ground, had a very messy diaper and had broken one of the crib slats. Seriously...
Nothing a little wood glue won't fix. But something about James is a little bit destructive. He doesn't' know his own strength. The slat was actually first fractured by Naomi, and we tried gluing it but the crack came apart again, and yeah, then we put James in there without really fixing it. Ooopsy. But he went two years without finding the crack until today. then he broke the darn thing clean out. Sheesh. I have a feeling that this is something I had better just resolve to accept as part of parenting a boy.
I was able to go for a run this evening while Zach tackled getting the kids ready for bed. I went too far, and the problem with that is that you still have to get back home. Sigh. So I walked until I felt like I wasn't going to collapse. I've been getting soft running on a tread mill, road running is different, harder, but so much prettier.

So today was a really great day, I love being home with my kids, warmer weather makes all the difference. It's great to be outside so much more. And I know it's part of being a kid, but it still takes me by surprise just how strong the draw to get outside is for Naomi and James.
Welcome Summer!

This photo is not from today, but I love it.

Baby Animal Days!

2010-04-16T13:06:00.001-06:00

Last week My mom came with me and my kids to Baby Animal Days at the American West Heritage Center in Wellsville. We went early so we could spend all day there, letting Naomi and James see all they wanted to. It was so cold when we got there! I had the kids in double layer shirts, jackets and then coats, gloves and hats too. But I forgot sunscreen. I don't remember that I need that, even if it's cold!

We were there all day, by the time we went home it was much warmer, we had peeled off a lot of layers. It was such a fun day there. They really make it into a festival. There were all kinds of activities, a mini rodeo, experts on different animals. Crafts, bug collections from USU, and even the Easter Bunny!

We decided to meet the animals first.

These pygmy goats were pretty funny, they didn't seem to even notice the kids milling around their pen. They just kept looking for stuff to eat.

The ducklings were so sweet. No claws there. The volunteers/workers would hand the animals to the children, instructing them how to hold them to keep them safe and warm. They would switch out the batch of animals every 20 minutes or so to give the babies a break. My children included, the kids were pretty enthusiastic about holding these babies and I'm sure it's stressful on the animals.

Just look at his happy face, James loved these little "duckies".

The baby chicks were pretty cute too, but less snuggly. They were starting to get mature wing and tail feathers too, Naomi thought that was interesting, she wanted to know if they could fly yet and when they would be able to.

Here's my mom handing a little chick to Naomi, they had all colors of animals.

Oh the bunnies! Naomi was so excited to hold one of these, James too, in theory! Naomi just snuggled one right up and asked if we could have pet bunnies. Um, nope.

James was scared of the rabbits and their sharp claws didn't help. He got poked through his jeans and started a panicked cry. I tried to calm him down and keep the bunny calm too. No good. He got down and sat with Grandma, they held a bunny together and then suddenly that little stinker of a rabbit bit both of them on their fingers! James lost it, we got out of there and helped poor James stop crying. Traumatic experience, he's still talking about where the bunny bit him.... sigh.

Pony rides were next. And they were so fun! Naomi was a pro and picked the biggest pony to ride. They had helmets for them to wear. The ponies just walked around a few times and everyone was thrilled.

Happy rider.

Then we went to see the baby bears! Bear World from somewhere in Idaho brought down some black bear cubs. They were seriously the cutest things ever. My photo is grainy but I wanted to show them anyway. They looked like little teddy bears. They would crawl over and climb up on the trainer peoples laps. Awesome.

Choo-choo! This is a mini train that we took a ride on, the conductor plays it up and the kids just sit and wave and wave to everyone we passed. It's kind of like a ride at Disneyland.

Naomi on the mechanical bull! She had a great ride and stayed on for the last "eight seconds" as the operator counted down for her. She says she "won"!

James getting up close and personal with the piglets. They were sleeping so James got down on his tummy to get a closer look, maybe try out the soft hay for himself.

This little calf was sweet and docile. It let the kids just pet and touch her without a problem. I was told it was between 1-2 weeks old.

We made it back to the ducklings for round two. Still in love with them. They were my favorite too. They have the coolest feet! I showed James and he kept telling me back that they had "webbed feet"!

Naomi waiting for her turn at Mutton Bustin'. Seriously, I was nervous for her to do this, but she was determined that she wanted to. They suited the kids up in a protective vest and helmet. Then they helped them onto the back of a sheep, told them to hold on tight and let the sheep go! These kids got tossed and went flying, rolling and a few were even stepped on a little bit. A good handful got up crying. Naomi watched it all and still was game. In the end the cowboy ran with her and caught her for a soft landing. Phew. I was nervous. She was thrilled and loved it. I might put her in the rodeo again this fall! Look at us turning back into country folk. What city?

Here she is, ready to ride!

Beautiful Easter

2010-04-04T15:03:00.003-06:00

Happy Easter!
I love this holiday. Last week I enjoyed so much preparing and teaching my little primary class about Easter. It was so touching to watch them from the beginning of the lesson saying that Easter was about candy, bunnies and eggs, to understanding that it's all about Jesus Christ's resurrection. We did the same hands on lesson with Naomi and James for Family Home Evening the next day. From the manual I had cut outs, similar to a flannel board story and the children just loved it. Visual and tactile materials are exactly what most little ones need to understand a concept.
But not to entirely dismiss the secular side, it is tied together and I think Eggs are the most beautiful example.
We have been busy planning and preparing all kinds of fun for Easter. My favorite "craft" this year is from Megan at Not Martha, her Easter Surprise Eggs are so pretty and fun, and a relatively simple activity. Naomi liked helping to empty the eggs, dye the eggs, fill and then assign name tags to each. Although I admit, I usually like to do it all myself, I like perfection and I have to remind myself to just let it go and let my little girl get in there and do it herself too. We had fun with these. They are filled with candy! Here's the LINK

We also had fun decoupaging hard boiled eggs the kids had dyed with their Grandma Linda earlier. We separated all the tiny paper flowers from my stash, poured some newly purchased Mod Podge and then got messy. James was great at this one. Naomi wasn't sure she really wanted to hold the gooey egg but she got into it finally. Talking to herself about how to get the flowers to stick to the egg, not the brush. So cute.

And finally, Easter Morning goodies from the "Easter Bunny." I like pretending to be all these generous people. Naomi was so excited that she wanted to go to bed an hour early last night.
It's been such a fun day so far, And I love listening to conference, it really is food for the soul.
And we have more fun in store at Grandma and Grandpa's for dinner soon.

Happy Easter, He is Risen!

Those stuffed animals are also banks! I remember receiving a new stuffed animal every year at Easter, a tradition I loved.

The best way to empty an egg...

Snow Bunny

2010-04-01T14:14:00.000-06:00

Happy April Fools Day!

Mother Nature pulled a fast one on us here in Utah with all this snow! But we made the most of it here at my house.
While Naomi was at preschool James and I finished shoveling the driveway and made a snow bunny! James was actually a good helper, packing snow balls and offering me bites of snow to eat.
It will probably melt soon, but it's fun for today anyway! Actually, right now it looks like it's going to tip over.

Also, just for fun,

Naomi is learning to type and read. (she typed that part with my help :) and this next part too on her own)

hhrgjgghhfhgjttuyiuo uylkjhbvxzaq2?guuuyuhhujghgjhoujtghhg
NOTHENG
HHFGFHGJFHFFHHJF G
FUN

Who's that with the LONG hair?

2010-03-31T21:27:00.000-06:00

Naomi always asks me to straighten her hair, "like Mommies!" So today I did.
I put her in the tub and washed and combed out all the tangles.
Then I towel dried it and brushed it out while I dried with the blow dryer. It was an awesome fluffy frizz. I should have taken a photo of that too! Naomi kind of wanted it like that, until I talked her into letting me finish.
Then I used my flat iron and smoothed it out and put a few curls in it. Naomi was kind of upset I did that last part, she wanted it "all just straight!"
I was surprised at how long her hair is! With her tight curls, it just seems so much shorter all the time. She loves it and I think it's pretty on her. But it makes her look so much older.
And that photo from the back, I wouldn't even recognize her.

Sunny Saint George

2010-03-28T16:30:00.000-06:00

We spent the week in St. George a little while ago and it was beautiful!
Naomi flew her first kite and James discovered how awesome sand is.
We played in the pool almost every day, my kids are little fish, they love it so much!

-I've been asked how to make these collages before. I use Google Picasa photo program, it's free to download and there is an application to select photos and make a collage.

Happy Birthday James!

2010-03-28T16:15:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday to my little James.
He turned two a few weeks ago and is growing so fast. He talks so much and sometimes I find myself counting how many word sentences he's making. I think his largest is 6-7.
James is sweet, funny, snugly, giggly, rowdy and just a little bit stubborn. He's a joy, and I love making him laugh and listening to his serious conversations about things. He loves big trucks, anything that goes. It's fascinating to observe James naturally loving all these traditionally "boy" things. I knew preference for those kinds of things can be inherent, but it's so interesting to see first hand. He loves balls so much too. He can't quite catch one yet, but he's not afraid of getting one in the face anyway. But not to forget, he also gets his fair share of barbies, dress up dresses, complete with crown, wand and heels, headbands, tea parties and calling every color "pink" to balance it out. Having an older sister makes for some entertaining play times.
My parents came to visit James for his birthday morning and brought a seriously cool dump truck that talks, makes a back-up beeping noise, and all kinds of truck noises. He also got his new favorite movie, CARS! He's loved Lightning McQueen for some time, and now he has the movie too. Later Zach's family all came over and brought some more fun toys, the highlight being the basketball hoop and a mini golf club set.
James also got from Me and Zach a lightning McQueen matchbox size car, to match his Mater. And new markers, crayons, coloring book. And just because he's so dang cute and we spoil him, he got a Woody doll, and a awesome "automatic" screwdriver. He calls it his "scrubadriver" and it's adorable to hear him say it. He loved to raid the tool bucket and carry the real one around, so Zach went on a mission to get him one of his own.
So, overall the birthday haul was more than enough. Lucky Naomi is enjoying all these additions too. It's nice to add to the "boy" toy collection.
The birthday cake was the only disappointment of the day. I didn't even take a photo it was that bad! It was supposed to be a train cake and I couldn't get the frosting to stick to the edges of the cake where I had cut it. It slowly came together, and with the help of my mother-in-law and Zach with the decorating it turned out ok. James even identified it as a train. Whew. But at least it tasted good!
Happy 2nd Birthday James!

Naomi"s Birthday!

2010-03-11T15:58:00.000-07:00

Naomi successfully turned 4 years old. And yes, I feel like that sounds old. She is old. Three seemed a lot more like a baby. Now she's very much a big girl. She has been for some time, I just like my children to stay as my little babies.

Naomi had quite the Birthday celebration! She celebrated early with her Champlin grandparents before they left for a vacation. The next morning she had a Valentines party as school, and got to pick a present at circle time for her birthday. Then, on her actual birthday Her Low grandparents visited and brought her presents. Later we had a fun little party with Naomi, Mommy, Daddy and James here at home. My friend Andrea let me borrow her cool cake pan to make the chocolate castle cake. It was beyond simple and looked very cool. The photo doesn't show the details very well. I didn't put tons of effort into decorating, but you can't beat frosting and m&m's! We went bowling at the fun park, Naomi, and James, they loved it. It was so funny to watch them barely get their balls rolling hard enough to make it down the lane.

The next day Naomi had her princess birthday party with her girlfriends! It was a blast. Those girls had a royal good time! They played dress-up, danced, colored, played pin-the-jewel-on-the-crown, ate cake and ice cream, decorated crowns, opened presents and just played their little hearts out.

I love how Naomi's castle cake turned out. She didn't even end up eating any of it. She's an ice cream kind of girl. I used cake cones for the pillars, and sugar cones on top. It was fun to make and a huge hit with the little princesses!

Overall it was a great week-long celebration. Lucky girl!

Naomi's already planning her party for next year, and from what it sounds like, it will be a Bat Man party!

Remember how awesome Barbies were?

2010-02-11T15:29:00.001-07:00

A few days ago my parents said that the day had come for me to finally rid them of my old Barbie house and it's paraphernalia.

This house was built by a family friend for his little girl who in turn passed it along to me when she had grown out of it. I loved this Barbie house. It was awesome. My mom indulged my little sister and me and bought all kinds of little things for it. Like a popcorn popper, sewing machine, telephones, clock, washer and dryer, kitchen table, and appliances like a fridge and oven. I even had the most awesome, and very Barbie-pink, Corvette.
I had forgotten all about most of this. It was like being 7 years old again as Naomi and I opened the boxes and sorted things out. I played with Barbies until I was kind of old. I don't know exactly how old, but with a house like this, do you blame me?
Naomi's Princess dolls and my old Barbies are great friends already. Naomi is getting better at dressing them by herself and her fashion sense is hilarious. The old clothes I had were great. But mostly because there are a few Barbies and lots of clothes from my older sisters. From the 70's. These Barbies had straight bangs, California-tanned skin, and long straight blond hair. Mine have the curly-fuzzy look that was hot in the late 80's early 90's. There are aqua-colored unitards, with stirrups. One piece ski suits, with ski's boots and poles to match. Halter style one-piece outfits. Sweet. There seems to be a trend with the one piece. I also have a few pairs of MC Hammer pants for made custom for me by my little neighbor friend, Ashlee. I remember opening that birthday present. They were so cool!
I can't seem to find my Ken doll anywhere. I'll have to go back and look at my mom and dad's. I always made him drive Barbie's pink Corvette. Maybe now I should let her drive instead.
So, here's to a new age of Barbies. I had no idea how fun this girl stuff was going to be.

Anyone want to come and play Barbies with us?

Mr Darcy...

2010-02-10T13:21:00.000-07:00

Mr Darcy... handkerchief.
How romantic!

Create

2010-02-05T16:54:00.000-07:00

I am in the mood to create something. I've been hanging around on design blogs all day, bookmarking, making mental notes of what I could do, what materials I have on hand.
A few things that are looking attractive to me right now:

Skye-O my friend and fantastic sewer made a really cute quit. Using scraps. I have scraps! I can do that! Something about quilts is so beautiful to me. I love them. I want to make them but I never, ever have. So this might be my first attempt. It's so cute, isn't it? She got the idea from here.

IS-LY is a really fun blog. She has cool ideas and often free patterns/tutorial. Like this one. An iPhone case. Not that I have an iPhone. But I'm thinking I can alter it for my little Pixi. And use felt, not leather. Might just work.

Also from her website, these tissue poms as a mobile. It's so pretty, I want to make one right now:)

And, I've pulled out all my hair clip/bow/headband making supplies. Naomi needs some new stuff for her hair and she's been asking for big flowers. So maybe I'll get some fun stuff done tonight. I also bought some little pearl beads, I think I might be able to incorporate those into something. The trick to all this stuff is this: Hot Glue.

And last but not least, Naomi's birthday is coming up, SOON! We looked around online at some castle cakes and picked a few that we liked best. I'm thinking I'll whip one up that's a mix between these three. I really like the sand castle structure. It's cute off-center, and round. Fun stuff ahead!

from Coolest Birthday Cakes

Sand Castle Cake from the Family Fun website.

And this video tutorial from Betty Crocker for their Pink Castle Cake.

Last year I did a Princess Belle cake. It turned out really cute and most importantly, Naomi loved it.

And on a different note, Naomi just informed me that she "needs ear drops!!!" Suddenly her ear hurts and it is 4:52 p.m. on a Friday. Awesome.

Dress Up

2010-02-03T08:44:00.002-07:00

I've been on one of my favorite websites. Not that I've actually purchased anything there. Modcloth.com. I just like their stuff. Just look at all these cute dresses! I want a new dress. No, I don't need one. But let's pretend for a minute I was going to buy one. Or you were, which would you pick?

I envy short girls when it comes to dresses. You can get away with so much more. Probably a lot of these would be at best pushing the limits, if not all together too short. But maybe with leggings?

So What do you think? The blue crazy-collar one is maybe my favorite.

http://modcloth.com/store/ModCloth/Womens/Black+by+Popular+Demand+Dress

http://modcloth.com/store/ModCloth/Additional+Sizes/Golden+Age+of+Hollywood+Dress

http://modcloth.com/store/ModCloth/Womens/Lost+in+Grace+Dress

http://www.modcloth.com/store/ModCloth/Fall+2009/Fall+Coverings/Damask+Rose/Precious+Dress+in+Pearl

http://modcloth.com/store/ModCloth/Womens/Sally+Jane+Dress

http://modcloth.com/store/ModCloth/Womens/Dresses/Under+50/Sci+Fi+Heroine+Dress

http://modcloth.com/store/ModCloth/Womens/Frocks+and+Robbers+Dress

http://modcloth.com/store/ModCloth/Womens/Dresses/Under+50/A+New+Angle+Dress

While overall they seem to have really cute stuff, sometime you run into items like this.

Seriously? Please don't tell me if you actually like this. But I do think that the ruffles are removable.

http://www.modcloth.com/store/ModCloth/Womens/One+Two+Ruffle+My+Shoe

El Bandito.

2010-02-02T23:39:00.000-07:00

From Pickleville Playhouse website:
Warning: Viewers of The Hanging of El Bandito can expect to experience severe fits of laughter, chronic happiness, and an overall increase in quality of life.
No seriously ... we're not kidding.

So here's a shout out to a great show run by even GREATER people!
(and I'm also hoping to win some free tickets:) but if not, I will be a paying customer, cross my heart.)

So, I've been wanting to see this show for what seems like forever. Maybe it was just all last summer. But that's a long time too.
So now it's playing in Logan! Hooray. But only Valentines weekend. Feb 13 and 15.
Here's a link to the webpage, for show and ticket information, and here's a link to the blog for more stuff:)

Happiest Place On Earth!

2010-02-02T23:11:00.001-07:00

Disneyland!
We had a fantastic, magical time. I loved it, maybe as much as Naomi!
I took Naomi with me to St. George on Friday, Saturday I ran my race and had a great time hanging out with Talia, Wes and company. Dylan and Trey are awesome:)
Erica and her two "big" boys met us in St. George Saturday night. Sunday we made it to church. Early too. I was very proud of myself. Something about just one child to get ready must be the trick. Note, Erica still had two. By herself. After church we scarfed down some healthy mac 'n cheese, hot dogs, etc. and made for the state line! We had to make potty breaks more than is normal I think. Naomi probably drank way too much the first half hour of the car ride. And she was just plain excited.
We rolled in to Anaheim at a decent hour and rendezvoused with Jesse, Brooke and their strapping boys, Matthew and Drew. Lots of boys on this trip.
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we were at Disneyland and California Adventure non stop. Naomi was tall enough to hop on almost any ride. Dawson and Drew were sporting their heeled cowboy boots so they could board Space Mountain and other not to miss rides. They were good sports about standing up "straight and tall!" for so many height checks!
We saw princesses and lots of other fun characters. We went on every ride we could. Fantasy land has some kid favorites. Naomi loved Pirates of the Caribbean best. So she says. She liked Dumbo a lot, and Mr. Toads Wild Ride, the Matterhorn, the roller coaster in Toon Town was really fun too. We went on that as many times as we could before the park closed Monday night. There were no lines, there hardly ever were. That made for happy kids and even happier parents! We went on Space Mountain at least twice each morning, and got fast passes for later. Naomi and Dawson were not so sure about that ride. In fact, Naomi complained every time I "made" her go on it. It's my favorite and we decided that it was fair to go on Mommy's favorite ride and then we could go on her favorite ride(s). She wouldn't scream, she would just death-grip my arm and hold on for dear life. The dark makes her nervous, she likes to see where she's going. She talks about it now like it was no big deal. Funny girl.
She wanted to go on the big roller coaster at California Adventure, California Screamin' but she was much too short. She made it on Mulholland Madness though, I took Naomi and Isaac and Matthew a handful of times, they all laughed their heads off on that ride. Tower of Terror was fun too, Naomi was totally scared but informed me afterward that the ghosts are fake. Ok. She didn't have much desire to go on that one again:) She did really like the Haunted Mansion though. You just never know what she's going to love. Usually she's a little morbid. I mean, Pirates? as her Favorite?
Tuesday Naomi and I ran (really, I did, and I was so tired at that point, she was in the stroller.) to Ariel's Grotto for a lunch date with the Princesses. Naomi was honored to help introduce the first princess, Snow White. My silly girl was shy but did stand as they welcomed her in. She's got a stage fright thing going on lately. Or maybe always. Not wanting to be center of attention in big groups. Especially strangers. So much for my Broadway plans. Kidding.
Naomi met Snow White, Ariel, Aurora, Belle, and Cinderella. The food was fantastic, the dessert was especially heavenly. The princesses stopped at each table and met everyone, signed autographs, took photos and chatted with the little princesses. It was darling. Naomi loved it, but she had a hard time eating anything it was all so exciting. Afterward we rushed back out to the rides. I'm not sure which Noami loved best.
We had some rain Tuesday afternoon but it didn't stop us. Well, not at first. Naomi and I gave up and got our wet selves back to the hotel and the hot tub by about 6:30. Jesse came too, with a sleeping Drew. He was covered in a rain poncho asleep in an umbrella stroller. It was so cute!
Erica and Brooke decided that as long as they were wet they would go on Splash Mountain, several times. I think they must have been totally soaked by the time they were through.
Naomi decided to practice her swimming skills she's been honing at preschool swim lessons all year. I have to say I was impressed. I knew she was comfortable with the water now, but she was awesome! She jumped in the deep end and swam (doggy paddled) back to the edge and pulled herself out. She doggy paddled across the deep parts of the hot tub over and over. I was so proud:) I am excited to take her swimming teach her more. Yay for loving the water, finally.
Wednesday the weather was so nice, really except for the rain later Tuesday, we could not have asked for nicer weather. We played all day and squeezed in a few last rides before it was time for me and Erica and our respective children to load up the suburban and head for home. We left California after 8 and made it to St. George in under 6 hours. Not bad. Erica was great driving and I just blabbed in the front seat. The next morning we all headed back up to snowy Cache Valley.
It was a fantastic trip. I missed my baby and felt guilty a few times when I knew he would have loved seeing and riding the toy story rides. But it was a great trip with the "big kids". I'm so glad I could go and take Naomi, it was just magical. She insists the Princesses were real. I think I'll go again when James is just about 4 also, so in two years. I already miss Jesse and Brooke and their boys. It's too long between visits. And Alaska is just really far away! Maybe we'll meet in California again:)
So, how to end an incredibly long post about Disneyland. I don't know, but I'm sure I'll be there again soon enough.

Half

2010-02-02T21:57:00.000-07:00

Well, I did it!

A few Saturdays ago, I "ran" a half marathon. The St. George Half Marathon. More correctly, I completed the half marathon. That is 13.1 miles thank you.

It was great. Actually it was great to finish and the first 7 miles were great! I ended up walking some towards the end but finished that thing running. My knee was giving me trouble past the half way mark.

Talia and Wes were awesome and came down to the finish line to see me there, it was cold but they had bundled up their two boys and Naomi to see my big finish. I was a cold, tired girl when I made it to the end, but the important thing is that I made it! Tal and Wes are so awesome, they took care of, and played with, and fed Naomi all that day while I ran and then recovered (hot bath) and even took a nap. Thanks guys!

A few things to consider before my next half. And I am planning on doing more.

First, maybe I should stick to the warmer weather runs. I like it hot. And I swear I am partially cold-blooded.

Second. I needed to be a little more prepared. I was a little under-trained. But it was ok in the end.

Third. Don't eat Gu, protein bars, etc. They are gross and kind of made me feel sick on the run. I think I'll pack snacks I like. Maybe my favorite peanut butter-chocolate chip granola bars. Something appetizing. And maybe carry a Gatorade flavor I like. Lemon/Lime is yuck.

That's all I think of. I had a good run, I love my NikeFit shirt and capri's they are so comfortable. The shirt is for cold weather, but I was chilly still. My shoes were awesome, new Asics from my in-laws for Christmas. Big thanks for those. I really do love them.

Now I'm taking a little break for a week or so, then back to the gym until this snow melts away!

I think I want to do some shorter races, maybe the Ogden Marathon 5K in May. But my next big run will be the Top of Utah half in August. And I'm recruiting running buddies. I'm not very fast though. Let me know if you want to run with me, or run the races too.

Anaheim

2010-01-26T00:52:00.000-07:00

I'm laying here in my uncomfortable hotel bed and everyone else is sleeping. We had an amazingly fun day at Disneyland today. The weather was cool then warm and sunny and then cool again. The lines were short or at worst very bearable. Even the kids were pretty well behaved. I did loose my temper with Naomi once. I still feel badly, sheepish maybe. The kind of situation where something else is the stressor, you feel frustrated and suddenly, "snap." You (I) bark at your (my) child for somthing minor. I know I'm not the only mom who has done (does) this. But maybe I am the only mom who blogs about it though.
Anyway, that was realitivly minor and an exception to our awesome day here. Let me just get something out on the table. I love Space Mountain. A lot. Naomi was unconvinced that she should like it. it's very dark and terrifyingly thrilling. Dawson and Drew were not big fans either. This little posse consists of me and Naomi, Erica and her boys Isaac and Dawson, and Brooke and Jesse with their boys Matthew and Drew. Lots of boy for my little Naomi to play with! She just finished a mini weekend with her (boy) cousins on the other side, Talia and Wes's kids. it's been fun and so much more than that to spend all this time with family we don'y see as often as we would like.
So, it's late, I'm tired and we have 2 more days here! I have photos and videos that would make you laugh and melt your heart, (yeah, it's that magical here). But I can't post them now.
Also, I have stuff to talk about concerning my race last Saturday. That can come later. I'm tired of "typing" on my phone.
And one more thing. This is blog post 300. Wow.

Okeedokee Artichokee

2010-01-21T07:00:00.004-07:00

We like artichokes at this house. It's a new development, within the last 6 months. I must have presented them in a good light the first time, the kids were actually hungry, or something. Or maybe it's the melted butter. Never underestimate the power of melted butter.

The kids go wild for them. It is, at the very least, comparable to the excitement level of when we have ice cream cones. Seriously.

I know, who knew that kids could be so perplexing?

I guess I should add though, in all fairness, that my kids do like vegetables in general. Broccoli, peas, carrots, corn, peppers, squash, and cucumbers are regular winners. And avacados and mushrooms for James. So there wasn't that bump to get over. And artichokes are fun to eat. And Naomi will try anything once, and James will do anything she does.

So there you have it, a recipe for artichoke lovers.

They are just kinda weird looking.

Naomi asked me the first time, like she does often when a food is only vaguely familer or altogether new, "do I like this mom?" And what do you think the answer invariably is? "Yes, you love it!"

Now don't start worrying that either, 1) I am bragging and exaggerating, or 2) my kids like everything. Neither is true. Well, definitely not the second one.

My kids have plenty of things they do not like. Will not eat. Not one bite. And James is the worst when he decides he is done. He is DONE and will not, no matter the coaxing, bribing, demanding, camaraderie, take one more bite. Not ever. He's better with distraction, like "look, that's a neat __________, eat your _________." And sometimes absent-mindedly while he's looking at said distraction he will take another bite. Not usually though.

So, back to the artichokes. Naomi asks every time we hit the grocery store if we can buy one. I tell her we will check the prices. It's a good introductory to the concept that things cost money, things change price and we don't like to spend too much money. Buy low, eat high. Something like that.

So last shopping I brought home from Macey's not one, but two cool-funky looking artichokes! Oh happy day!

I cooked up the big one, using this recipe page the first time and they have turned out delicious repeatedly.

I set the kids up with their own little cups of melted butter. I reuse applesauce cups for stuff like this. They are perfect.

Naomi danced a happy dance before I finally told her she had to sit down to eat. James has entered the "I DO IT" stage and I supplied him with fresh leaves. He dipped, licked, slurped to his belly's content. I often had to confiscate and replace leaves once he had stripped the edible part off and was trying to see if he should eat the whole thing. Naomi was more precise but I did stop her from sipping the butter at one point. Only to turn to see James's butter cup bottoms up and then him bring it down to the table and ask innocently for "mo butter. pees."

Naomi babbled about the artichoke heart and was just as excited for that part as anything. It's a pain to get clean. You have to cut off or dig out the little thistle things once all the leaves are off. But then it's a big delicious chunk of artichoke. We split it three ways, a satisfying way to end a meal.

So if you haven't tried these before, go check prices next time your are shopping. Supposedly they can get as cheap as a dollar each. You might just love them, and your kids too. Shocking, I know.

First times for James

2010-01-20T21:14:00.000-07:00

James had a day with a few "firsts" in it. He's 22 months and seems to be changing so rapidly right now. He's learning new words and talking more. Learning colors. All that good stuff. So it's sweet when I consciously can catalog a moment that he did something brand new.

Earlier my kiddos were playing in the next room and I heard James come running to find me. He did, hugged my legs and then looked at me and said; "Naomi, hit. Naughty."

He had his first experience tattling. On his sister, of course. I found it to be so sweet that I laughed when I should have shown concern. It was a good moment in an otherwise kind of ornery-mommy day. We talked to Naomi and she was sorry and gave him a hug and a kiss. All better.

This next part wasn't a "first" but it's related to the above incident.

Later he had apparently thrown a (quite heavy) Lightning McQueen at Noami. It hit her head. She came crying to me. It hurt and I could also tell that she was just plain sad that he had hurt her. On purpose, or so it seemed.

We then found him and I told him that we never throw toys at each other, that Noami was hurt, etc, etc. I asked him to say sorry to Noami. Instead of saying anything he just embraced her. He was sorry. Poor thing, he wasn't quite sure what he had done wrong in the first place by that time.

And best of all, today while we were just about ready to eat lunch I asked Naomi if she would ask a blessing for our meal. She, as usual, kinda declined, wanted me to say it. I said that I would help her. Ok then, she consented. I started out and James piped up. He was folding his arms and smiling. He proudly repeated "Hevly Fahder" and so he said the little prayer for us with my help. I told him he did a good job, it was so sweet! Naomi added, "you liked saying the prayer, maybe you can do it again next time!" Meaning, I'm sure, that she is now forever off the hook. What a gal.

He was so proud of himself, and so was I.

This is today, after a mid-morning shower. He busied himself with the squeegee, wiping down the shower door and floor, also trying to avoid the shower spray.

Naomi

2009-12-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

This girl deserves a post all her own. She is energy, attitude, curiosity, generosity, inquisitiveness, brilliance all stuffed in a little 3 year old body.

She never ceases to amaze, surprise, frustrate, and make me laugh out loud.

She has a knack, like most little girls, for putting together some pretty awesome outfits. She also likes to gather together favorite items and stash them away. I'm a forever finding these little treasure troves.

So here are a few I captured on film to share.

Edible Fun

2009-11-23T23:45:00.003-07:00

Yes.

I am getting a little ahead of myself, but Christmas is so much fun!

We decorated our gingerbread house for a family home evening activity tonight.

While watching Dancing With The Stars. (Go Donny!)

It was really fun, I was a little surprised. Best case scenarios played out. For once. How nice!

James helped stick candy on at first and then he just wanted to eat it. We presuaded him to eat non-attached candy rather than roof and window decorations.

Naomi was a pro, she specifically did the roofline, window coverings, front door and window decorations, and the side of the roof that isn't pictured below. It's more artistic than this side.

We all ended up eating a fair amount of sugar.

This was a ready to go kit from our loving WalMart Supercenter. Naomi want's to make another one, and I have a recipe for sturdy gingerbread. I think I'll give a homemade version a try in a few weeks.

Naomi also said she wants to smash it, with her toy hammer. So we'll see how long this lasts.

Nice Smile

2009-11-21T00:29:00.000-07:00

Naomi has mastered the "forced smile" and apparently James is well on his way.
Cute.

Christmas decor

2009-11-19T10:29:00.000-07:00

I pulled out the Christmas boxes last night! Naomi could hardly contain her joy. This was better than the actual presents on Christmas morning.

We love our Little People Nativity. It's really the best. Go out and buy one if you don't have one, you won't regret it.

While I was loading this photo, James found the Styrofoam packaging from a new ornament. He managed to crumble it into thousands of tiny little balls that stick to everything. I mean everything.
Sweet.

Museo de Naomi

2009-11-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

Naomi's room daily. All her drawings, art projects, etc from the past year or so. Daily spread out on her floor for her viewing pleasure. I need storage or display ideas.

Tuesdays with Trisha

2009-11-17T21:49:00.000-07:00

I have busy mornings on Tuesdays. I am an aide at Naomi's preschool.

I trade for a gym membership and a discount on her tuition. I like being involved and in the know about her school. I love having a membership at the gym. I dislike getting up early and for a while felt guilty leaving James with grandma.

I don't anymore, he loves it now. Today when I told him it was time to go home, he told me "no". Stinker.

Tuesdays I get up with my alarm, 7:05. Ok, so I actually get out of bed by 7:20. At the latest!

Naomi is usually up by 7:30 and I get her dressed and seated eating breakfast.

She wears a swimsuit under her clothes because she swims at preschool on Tuesdays. And I have to remember to pack a pair of undies for after swim.

Next, I get ready, get James up and dressed then get breakfast for us.

Sometimes I take mine to eat on the drive, a banana and yogurt. Or something.

We are on the road by 8:15.

Every other Tuesday I drop James off at Grandma Stevie's on the way to pick up Naomi's cousin Dawson. On the other Tuesdays I squeeze three car seats across the back and Grandma Linda meets me at the preschool parking lot to take James with her for the day.

I have to remember to pack diaps and wipes, extra clothing, and naptime lovies to send/leave with Grandma.

(Grandmas are the best ever. THANKS!!!)

We are at preschool by 8:45 and ready for an active day at school.

After preschool Naomi and Dawson go to play at the kid care at the gym after swimming while I finish out my last hour at the preschool. There are two classes, theirs ends at noon and the second at one.

At 1:15, when the last little one has gone home and preschool is straightened up, I retreive Noami and Daws from the kids club, and they inform me they are starving.

I remembered to pack granola bars for them and all is well.

We take Dawson home and join Grandma for a relaxing afternoon while James finishes his nap.

Then I have to remember that the next morning is garbage day.

Today I was on time, and we remembered to bring everything we needed. Overall it was a pretty good Tuesday.

But I left Jame's full sippy sitting on the counter this morning. Yummy warm orange juice.

Foiled.

2009-11-16T10:24:00.003-07:00

That's what I get for making lofty plans;)

Naomi is sick so we are home recouping. Poor thing. She's a good sport though and hopefully she'll feel better by tomorrow.

Yesterday I combed her hair out and then curled with a curling iron. It was so pretty! She kept saying she had hair like "Giselle." Funny girl.

I would have taken a photo to show if off but my little camera is broken. Naomi dropped it on the tile the other day. I've been avoiding thinking about that.

Maybe the day home will be perfect for Christmas decorating.

What's the plan this week?

2009-11-15T21:54:00.003-07:00

Well, best case scenario is that the kids will not wake up before 7 a.m. (Naomi) and I will be patient, creative, and fun. I will get all my miles in this week, no one will be sick (James). I will cook yummy dinners every night and have good hair days. All week.

Also I will get Christmas decoration out and up and the little darlings will leave the tree alone.

I'll keep my hopes up and see how well we do;)

Naomi and James playing "nap time"

Losing Baby Bear

2009-11-14T17:35:00.003-07:00

This is Naomi two years ago. The same age James is now.

Isn't she so cute:) And it still amazes me how much her hair has grown!

That, in her hands is her very favorite "Baby Bear"

It has been misplaced and is yet to be recovered.

We're still looking but I've explored replacement options in the meantime. It's findable online at ebay and the likes for pretty reasonable prices.

Don't you hate losing special toys? Has this happened to you? Did you replace your little one's special lovey or just let them mourn and move on?

They must be related

2009-11-13T14:41:00.000-07:00

Our House

2009-11-12T13:54:00.000-07:00

It's a continually renewing cycle here at our house of breakfasts, snacks, coloring, princesses, dinosaurs, diapers, runny noses, cookies, walks, playgrounds, mittens and hats, baths, jammies, bedtime stories and songs.
It's just all part of the parenthood deal.
Sometimes you find little snippets that make you just giggle, this was one of them.
The other day Naomi was having a hard time staying in her room for a quiet time. But eventually she did stay put, but only after she had tornado-ed her room. She fell asleep with no less than 3 princess dresses on her little body. And there were shoes, wands and crowns all over the floor. She needed to look just right for her beauty sleep!

And this. This is the sippy cup collection I pulled out of the dishwasher today. I don't usually have this many on active duty at one time, but this isn't really too far from the norm. I think it's time to address the situation. Naomi doesn't' need them at all anymore, I'm just lazy and it means less spills. And James does really well with a cup too. But then they have to be at the table.
Regardless, it's time to scale back! And what's with the chewing? Why do they always chew on the straws?

Christmas Gifts

2009-11-11T07:00:00.002-07:00

(this photo will not for the life of me, stay right side up...)

Ferrero Rondnoir would be a delicious gift that's not the ordinary box 'o chocolates for Christmas.

My Brother in law brought a box of these divinities to me from Geneva Switzerland when he visited Utah last month. Thank You Mark!

They are truly heavenly.

The Ferrero website says it best:

"Ferrero Rondnoir dark chocolates, are a unique combination of dark chocolate creme surrounding a "black pearl" of fine dark chocolate, within in a delicate, crisp wafer...topped with crunchy dark chocolate morsels."

Obviously I love dark chocolate.

What's for Lunch?

2009-11-10T08:00:00.001-07:00

Sometimes it's hard to know what to make for lunch (or dinner) that your kids will eat and that will actually be real food for you. Mac 'n Cheese does not a mom meal make. Trust me on that one.

Yesterday I made these, and they were very good. Happy kids and Happy Mom.

Quick Veggie Paninis/"grilled cheesies"

For the kids:

Two slices of bread, lightly buttered with Monterrey Jack cheese slices for the inside. Feeding kids cheese as you slice. That's what happens at my house anyway.

Pull out your old George Foreman or the like. I haven't used mine in years, but for today it was perfect!

Grill until browned and cheese is melty. Done.

Add to plate sliced red peppers, avocado chunks, mushrooms and (very important) Dip. My kids like Kraft Green Goddess. It's very tasty.

For Mom:

Two slices of bread, lightly buttered and Monterrey Jack cheese slices.

Add to sandwich: baby spinach, avocado slices, red pepper slices, mushrooms, and a little bit of your favorite vinaigrette splashed on there. I like Kraft Cesar Vinaigrette with Parmesan.

Grill to perfection and enjoy your yummy veggie Panini!

*Tomatoes would be great on this too, but I didn't have any today.

Extra avocado and peppers for me.

Ok, so I know that there are professional photographers that still can't make food look appetizing, and I realize that my sandwich photo might make you not want to make this. But photos make things more fun. So bear with me will ya?