Handedness

I am right handed. Matt is left handed. He is slightly disappointed that Dean is right handed. (He claims that left handed people are more intelligent...)

The other day it somehow came up that Matt is right footed. He claimed that it was normal to be opposite footed than handed. I disagreed.

I personally am right handed and right footed. I am left eye dominant.

So, I am quite curious to see who is "right". Is it more normal for people to be opposite footed or same footed as handed?

Please take my poll in my side bar and help me out! (Come on over you google readers...it will only take a sec!)

*UPDATE: When I say "footed", I'm generally referring to what foot you'd kick with.*

What's the meaning of this?: A svithe

Today we had one of the best church lessons I've heard in years. The person who taught it is (I believe) an English professor by trade, and he had such a fresh perspective.

For instance:

"I'd like to bear my testimony..."

What does that really mean? To bear your testimony? There are 33 definitions for the word bear. Not all of them are applicable, but goodness, there were a lot that were. Here are a few of my favorite:

1. To hold up; support
2. To give birth to
3. Endure (maybe we should say, "I'd like you to bear my testimony" hahahahahaha)
   
4. To be fit for or worthy of
5. To carry in the mind or heart
6. To give
7. To accept or have, as an obligation
8. To possess as a quality or characteristic
9. To move in a course or direction

These give that phrase new life, now don't they?

Here are some other highlights of the lesson:

"Having a testimony is vital. But of even greater importance is being valiant in our testimony." (Ezra Taft Benson, Valient in the Testimony of Jesus," Tambuli, Jun 1987, 2)

The phrase "I have a testimony" is a little misleading. A testimony is not an object of permanence like your keys. It's not something you put in your pocket when you leave the house. A testimony is something you are.

"We bear testimony not only through our words but also through our lives." (James E. Faust, "The Importance of Bearing Testimony," Ensign, Mar 1997, 2)

There are two ways to teach truth. One is through our words. The other is through our lives. At some point we will have to possess the truth as a quality or characteristic and not just give or say what we know to be truth.

When Nephi speaks truth (or bears his testimony to his brothers), they have a hard time accepting it.

"Thou hast declared unto us hard things, more than we are able to bear...I said unto them that I knew that I had spoken hard things against the wicked, according to the truth...the guilty taketh the truth to be hard." (1 Neohi 16:1-3)

They couldn't endure his words. Sometimes the truth is hard to hear, accept, or obey. That doesn't make it any less true. We each have different challenges, and we are all sinners. We may each have times that we take the truth to be hard. The question is are we willing to give up our pride, our necessity to be "right" in order to have the Truth? We have to give up the lies we are living, the excuses we are making. We often deceive ourselves; we hold onto self-justifications and excuses for why we are exempt from particular commandments and prophetic counsel, but have to give them up to truly know God, and have a testimony of his truth and of his Atonement.

"[If we are] enlightened by the Spirit of truth, we will then be able to pray for the increased ability to endure truth and not to be made angry by it...Gone are the little lies of self-defense. In the depths of such a prayer, we may finally be led to that lonesome place where we suddenly see ourselves naked in all soberness. We are shocked to see our many deficiencies, our lack of gratitude for the smallest things. We are now at that sacred place that seemingly only a few have courage to enter, because this is that horrible place of unquenchable pain in fire and burning...This is the place where suddenly the atonement of Christ is understood and embraced...We will never be happy anymore just by being ourselves or living our own lives. We will not be satisfied until we have surrendered our lives into the arms of the loving Christ..." (F. Enxio Busche, "Truth is the Issue," Ensign, Nov. 1993, 25-26)

We have to give up (sacrifice) our pride. We need to give up our anger of our own accord.

"Therefore, blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble; or rather, in other words, blessed is he that believeth in the word of God, and is baptized without stubbornness of heart..." (Alma 32:16)

This scripture is a good definition of faith. To believe in the word of God = action (humility) without compulsion, without stubbornness.

Breakthrough!

Dean's top right front tooth has been so close to popping through for the past month, but it has been a slow process! About two weeks ago a little corner of the tooth broke the skin; yesterday he was really rubbing his gums and gnawing on everything within reach like crazy. Today I finally saw the whole bottom of the tooth had broken through. I can't imagine what molars will be like!

He loves, loves, loves to eat the little teething tablets that instantly dissolve in his mouth. I don' t know if they help at all, but he sure loves them. I wish all kid medicine came in that form. He HATES! all liquid medicine. He closes his lips tightly and refuses to let the dropper in when he smells it. I can occasionally get him to take Tylenol (grape) but the Motrin (berry) is pure torture for him. Weird.

So at the beginning of his 8th month, he now has had 3 teeth to break through.

On Safari

It was a dangerous journey.

The alligator and giraffe didn't stand a chance. He decided to save the turtle for dessert and kept the lion as a pet.

Happy little hunter.

I'll take it

About two years ago I bought 2 new pairs of shorts since it was just too hot here for pants. Luckily long shorts were in, so I was able to find modest and cute shorts. Prior to that I hadn't bought non-workout shorts since...1994 or 95. (I still have those shorts in my closet. I wore them yesterday out of desperation.) Crazy, I know, but "cute" shorts were just too short for a looong time.

2 pairs of shorts don't cut it in the summer here with a messy baby. I can't wear clothes quite as many times as I used to before needing to wash them. My two pairs of "new" shorts were dirty, and after wearing my dated 1990's shorts yesterday and wearing pants today, I made an impromptu shopping trip for shorts. (I know, I could have just done laundry, but what fun is that?)

Long story short, I went to Target and found notta-one-thing I even wanted to try on. So I pressed forward to Ross. I almost left without trying anything on since they didn't have ANYTHING in my "normal" Ross size. I decided to try on 5 pairs two sizes smaller. Two were ridiculously too small. But two happened to fit quite nicely. (Yes, they were all the same "size," but the styles were different.)

So, today I added two more pairs of shorts to my collection (up to 5 total now-4 "un-embarrassingly wearable") for $15 total. (I love Ross.) I feel good because they are significantly smaller than the shorts I bought before I got pregnant. And since I'm blabbing all my size secrets (ok, not all), I'm actually weighing in about 5-6 lbs. less than pre-preg. and actually slightly less than my senior year of high school.

I'll take it.

So you think...

Ok. Sorry to alienate all you people who don't care for SYTYCD, but I wanted put in my 2 cents. I know how you feel since I felt the same way when people blogged about American Idol. (I always think, "who cares?" haha.)

First off, Matt hates this type of show. Every time he walked through the living room when I had it on he'd make a comment on how silly they looked etc. I finally told him that I needed him to not say negative things about it since I'm an impressionable person. I haven't been as fired up about this season as last, and I think it's partially because of his negativity. So now he walks through and makes "positive" comments (jovially). While I know he's being sarcastic, it actually has helped and I'm not as bugged.

People who need to be kicked off in order:

• Mark, Chelsea (I just haven't been impressed with either of them. Boring. Not finalist material.)
  
• Chris (Good dancer, just not confident enough in himself. The judges are too harsh on him, though), Jessica (cute but CHEERLEADER)
• Thayne, and this is where it gets harder for the girls.
  

Boys I think will be in the finals:

• I think Twitch and Will have the best chance. Great personalities and I just haven't seen either of them do much wrong, even on dances outside their genre.
  
• Joshua may sneak in there. He had great Latin hips going tonight. That surprised me a bit.

Matt is by far the best technician, but I don't think it will get him there unless he loosens up. I felt bad for them tonight. It really should have been their night since they had their genre. The dance was just a bit odd and I think Nigel was right on when he said it would be hard for the audience to connect to it. They did their dance great, but the choreography didn't do it for me.

I really like Gev, but I don't know if he has enough confidence to make it all the way. Who knows though?

Girls I think will be in the finals:

• Kherrington and Courtney are my guesses for the top 2, but...
• Katee and Comfort may sneak in there.

I think Kourtni will be too tall once partners split up and she goes with someone else.

Chelsie is just soooo young looking. While she danced well tonight, I almost thought she looked more believable as her partner's daughter than wife/girlfriend. Personality wise, she doesn't do much for me, and I just don't think she'll hold up to the end.I totally muted the TV every time the guest judge spoke tonight. That guy bugs me A LOT.

So what was up with the half dresses? While I thought it was very flattering on Courtney, I didn't think it was good for Katee. Plus it was a bit distracting in my opinion (for both).

Tonight I voted for: Gev and Courtney

Svithing FHE

I know that some families can't figure out how to make FHE work for them, but growing up it was probably my favorite time of the week! We got to play games, sing songs, eat treats, etc. I loved it.

Matt and I are pretty good about doing Family Home Evening together, but it's quite different with just the two of us. We start with a hymn (a capella), the one not giving the lesson says the opening prayer, one gives a lesson, we read scriptures, sing a closing hymn, and the lesson giver says a closing/night time family prayer. We have no games and no official treat. I'm sure it will change when Dean's old enough to stay up later than 6 pm and join in! But for now that's our routine.

I had the lesson last night and took it from one of this month's Ensign articles, Making Time to be Holy. (I've not been good about reading the Ensign cover to cover the last few years, but I am making more of an effort now. All of the articles I read on Sunday were applicable and helpful in my life.) Anyway, here are the things I found most applicable in my lesson last night:

• If I have time for [blogging, TV, etc.], I have time for scriptures. No ifs, ands, or buts about it!
• "I can't say I want to be more patient but then do nothing. If I believe Him and have faith in Him, I can become more like Him." This reminded me of something I heard somewhere (way to cite my source, right?) that if you ask God for help with being patient, He's not going to just grant you an abundance of patience. He'll grant you ample opportunities to practice patience.
• Just as Christ told the man in the New Testament that to enter the Kingdom of Heaven that he had to give up his riches and follow Him, we have to make sacrifices also. That can include: free/leisure time, talents, and everything we have/are. Sacrifice isn't easy. That's why it's called sacrifice. (One of the definitions of sacrifice is: the surrender or destruction of something prized or desirable for the sake of something considered as having a higher or more pressing claim.)
• And finally: "We would receive more blessings if we were more willing to obey."
  

So, here's my little application:

Last night Dean woke up just about 1 1/2 hours after I put him down. That's very unusual, but his sleeping has been so unpredictable lately. Normally we let him cry about 15 min.-1/2 hour, go check and make sure his diaper's not dirty, and then let him cry himself back to sleep. This may sound cruel, but we've tried many methods and this is the only one that has worked for him.

This is very hard on me. VERY hard on me. I was getting so frustrated when he would scream bloody murder, quiet down, and (just when I thought he was asleep again) start screaming and crying again. This lasted probably an hour last night. I was getting so angry and frustrated. I kept saying (not to him since he was in his room and I wasn't) "Just shut up already and go back to sleep!!!" And then of course I'd feel bad since "shut up" is not something I should be in the habit of saying, even if Dean's not present. I definitely was not practicing patience last night.

His mood has been quite irritable today and his sleep has been off. I guess this is that opportunity the Lord is giving me to practice patience. So far my mood has been more stable today even though his has been all across the board. Now to just keep it up...

Swimming Adventures

Dean experienced both the joys and frustrations of the public swimming pool for the first time today. I bought a very wonderful and clever flotation device for him a couple of weeks ago and decided that this was the perfect opportunity to use it.

His afternoon nap was interrupted by a poopy diaper and he wasn't looking like he'd go down again, so we lathered up, donned our suits and headed off to the pool.

There are only two public pools here. One is a regular pool with no bells and whistles. The other is more of a "kids pool" that has a big water slide and multiple fountains; the deepest location is around 4'. I drove by the regular pool first since it was closer and I thought there'd be less people. When I got there, I discovered it was TINY and packed. I swear most HOA pools are this size or bigger! (At least that's what it looked like from my car.)

So we continued on to the other pool. Just as I pulled into the parking lot, I noticed Dean had fallen asleep. Dang. I decided that if he woke up when I turned off the car we'd go in. If he didn't wake up, I'd turn it back on and go home. He woke up, so we ventured in. Surprisingly, it was busy, but not packed.

After paying our $2 I sat Dean down on a lounge chair while I got out his ladybug flotation and blew it up. When we first went into the pool Dean started crying. I think the pool temperature was his main displeasure. I set him up in his floaty and got him calmed down enough.

After we'd been in the water about 5 min. and he was finally enjoying himself, one of the lifeguards came over and said, "Excuse me. You're not allowed to use that flotation here. It's not approved by the coast guard." By the coast guard??? "I don't know if any of our life jackets are small enough for him, but would you like me to try and find one?" So now you're saying a life jacket that is too big for an infant is safer than this flotation that will obviously keep him above the water? Or that me holding him will be safer? Give me a break. "No. I'll just hold him."

So my cute little flotation was set up on that lounge chair and I just held him the whole hour. We still had fun. He enjoyed bouncing up and down, in and out of the water, and he figured out how to splash me. I got him to lay on his back, though he kept his head cocked up out of the water.

Oh how I wish we had $20K for a pool. We have ample room in our backyard. Or if we just had an HOA pool. What am I paying them for anyway?! We have no perks to show for the money we give them every year.

We will go back though. It was much better than the little frog pool in our back yard.

I am Celia, a.k.a Silly, Cel, CC Marie

My friend Brooke did this one and I really liked it so I took it. Enjoy.

i am: tired a lot. I don't get enough sleep.
i think: I'd like to go swimming today.
i know: Jesus is the Christ, our Messiah, and that He gives our lives purpose and meaning.
i want: new furniture. It's very difficult to find exactly what we want.
i have: new Reebok running shoes. YES! (And for 20% off with my AAA membership.)
i wish: I was more of a planner and less of a winger.
i miss: my old college roommates from The Riv #90
i fear: rejection.
i hear: the hum of the computer.
i smell: my new deodorant. I don't think I'm a fan.
i crave: physical affection.
i search: for new recipes all the time.
i wonder: what people think about me.
i regret: eating as much sugar as I did this weekend. OVERLOAD!
i love: to mow the lawn.
i care: about keeping in touch with people.
i always: forget to water plants.
i am not: big on jewelry. I've worn the same earrings since the fall of 2000, a CTR ring I got in 7th grade, my wedding ring, and a watch. I rarely wear necklaces and never wear bracelets.
i believe: it's important to read to your children.
i dance: a mean Samba. Ok, I was a pretty decent beginner, but I do love to Samba. I got to the finals in my division (you know, the beginner's division) of DanceSport back in the day at BYU.
i sing: to Dean throughout the day.
i don’t always: remember to take my pre-natal vitamins. Bad, bad Celia.
i fight: sleep when I'm reading my scriptures. I need to figure out how to study better (or go to sleep earlier!).
i write: partially to keep a record of my life, and partially to keep friends and family updated on my life.
i lose: almost every game I play with Matt. Except word games.
i win: occasionally while playing Settlers of Catan
i never: proofread my posts. Sorry to all you editors out there! I'll sign you up as a contributor to my blog if my mistakes bother you enough to want to correct them.
i listen: for my baby crying in the middle of the night.
i can usually be found: with Dean in tow.
i am scared: of falling asleep while driving long distances.
i need: to get my long term food supply in order pronto.
i am happy about: our up coming family reunion in Snowflake.

Would you like cloth or plastic?

I haven't found any disposables I actually like. Huggies Supreme seem plush, but overall the shape isn't working for Dean anymore. Huggies Snug and Dry were not plush and STUNK of chemicals. I've long since written off Pampers. Luvs were probably the worst in leakage I've tried, plus they STINK of baby perfuminess. Costco Kirtland were ok, but you have to buy in such large quantities I'm not a fan. Plus they seemed to run a little small when I tried them. I haven't tried Wal-mart or Target brands.

After seeing these bumgenius diapers on a friend's blog, I've been contemplating using cloth diapers for a couple months now, but the idea of it is really intimidating. It seems like it will be difficult, gross, initially pricey (especially if you get the all-in-one diapers so you don't need diaper covers), time consuming with wash etc. Plus, there are so many kinds I don't want to just throw money down on one type and hope that they work well. (I mean, just think of the Pampers/Huggies competition. Some people love one and hate the other and visa versa.) I really wish that regular stores carried good cloth diapers (not the gerber pre-folds I use as burp rags) so I could look at them up close, compare them, see how the inserts work, see how it all fits together, etc. I hate shopping online because it seems like everything I get is not what I envisioned.

While I was searching this tonight, I found that you can do cloth trials for $10-$20. They send you an assortment of clean (but used) cloth diapers. You put down a deposit of around $100. You keep them for about 2-3 weeks, after which you can either keep them for the deposit price, or send them back and they refund your deposit minus the price to "rent" (the $10-$20).

I also really want to buy a cloth swim diaper since I feel swim diapers are such a waste of money.

Any thoughts on this? Do you think it's gross to use clean, used cloth diapers? Am I crazy for even thinking of switching? If you use cloth, what do you swear by?

Tricks caught video: Kinesthetic series

Viewer Beware!!
Some of these videos feature a frustrated protagonist, so unless you want to hear a slightly whiny baby, turn down your sound!

Dean is learning new tricks every day it seems. I took these at the end of last week and decided I needed to post them quick since they'll be outdated soon! He knows what he wants to do, but he gets very frustrated when it doesn't goes as planned. He has great hand-eye coordination and I've been searching for a good, grip-able ball for him. His favorite toy right now seems to be the Learn and Groove Music Table (thanks Audrie!). The main thing that frustrates him about it, though, is there is only one page to turn on the "book" in the middle of the table.

Here is a list of new tricks gained around his 7 month mark (for journaling purposes):

1. Pull to stand, both with people and things. Mainly people still, though.
   
2. Standing on his own holding onto something other than mom
   
3. Rolling over from back to front (he still is frustrated on his tummy, but he ends up there all the time now!)
   
4. Grabby, grabby! I might have to start wearing contacts again!! He sees things he wants and goes after them with a vengeance. He also loves to stroke my hair when he's nursing.
   
5. From a sitting position he walks forward with his hands till he ends up on his stomach
   
6. Scrunches up his face when he's unhappy (wrinkles his nose and purses his lips)
   
7. Occasionally waves hi and bye (though he often gets confused and claps instead)
8. So close to crawling. Or at least it seems like it. I know he wants to, but he just can't quite get his body off the ground.
9. Circular reactions (has a toy, chews it, throws it, gets the toy, chews it, throws it, etc.)
10. He's a little dare devil. He loves when I jump him up and down (Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam is a hit song right now), and he kicks and lifts his legs while he's up in the air. He goes crazy in his jumperoo, and he's quite coordinated with his little feet. He loves swinging high at the play ground. He loves hanging upside down. And he LOVES sitting on my shoulders (I think he likes that one so much because he likes to eat my hair...).
11. He can walk in a forward direction while holding our fingers. He used to only go backward.
12. I never find him in the same place in his crib as I left him.
13. We have to be really careful with him up in high places. If he's on our laps, the changing table, couches, chairs, etc., he is so intent on reaching for things that catch his eye he'll just "jump" right off!
    

Pull to stand

Bounce and kick. My new arm workout.

Trying to crawl

Learnin' and Groovin'

Jump, jump, jumperoo!

Baby Scheduling Do-si-do

It goes like this: One step forward, two steps back.

Remember when I said I could put Dean down by the clock for naps and that nighttime sleeping was super-de-duper?

Well, ever since his surgery naps have been battles and he's been waking up more frequently at night. Boo.

My theory is that it's worsened because he stopped sucking his fingers. He stopped sucking because his mouth hurt so badly I think. Now that it's healed, he's forgotten about those nice little resources on his hand.

So, we've had to do some more sleep training, but mainly we're having a hard time deciding when he really needs me. Before I was only going in at 4-5 AM because he wasn't waking up before then. Now that he's waking up earlier (sometimes as early as 10:30), he seems hungry when/if I go in then. He actually eats. He doesn't just want to play. If I let him cry himself back to sleep, he goes much longer now and is much more desperate. He used to put himself back to sleep in min. with his fingers. It can take over an hour now.

So, I feel like we're digressing and it's frustrating.

The "Kids R Fun" Mother

I started this post way back around mother's day and am just now getting around to posting it. I took one of those little quizzes (seriously, I think there were only 4 questions) that tell you what kind of mother you are.

My mothering type: The "Kids R Fun" Mother

"Whatever I enjoy-playing tag or singing in the car-I can do it with kids around. And it's totally legitimate!"

• Playful and energetic, the ENFP mother finds her children to be good company and enjoys being with children because it justifies her own "being a kid again." And children say she's fun to be with--spontaneous, hearty and imaginative.
• Naturally drawn to introducing her children to the joys of life, the ENFP is something of a free spirit. She is less concerned with rules, routines, and schedules and more inclined to give her children plenty of free time to play, explore on their own or with her, and have fun together.
• Tuned in to her children, the ENFP mother enthusiastically encourages each one's individuality and unique potential through a great variety of experiences. She is also quick to identify with others' feelings and thoughts, making her an empathetic supporter of her children, not to mention her mate and many, many friends.

Although it was only 4 questions, I would have to agree with the majority of it.

The Fathers in my Life

Most of my Snowflake readers know my dad well and love him to pieces. He's such an exuberant and fun loving guy, how could you not?

As a teacher, he made History fun and come alive. (Can you say Beatles vinyl albums?)

As a coach, he pushed us hard, pepped us up, and cheered us on.

As a school dance chaperon, he loved to get down and boogie with the best of us. (My favorite move being the vulture.) I loved this.

As a story teller, he does all the voices and can captivate his audiences. No wonder he's such a great speech and debate coach!

As a speaker in church, he conveys his message and emotions well.

As a dad he is the best!

I love you Dad!!

This was Matt's first Father's day as a father. (This picture was taken back in March, though.)

He is getting better and better at this gig.

I love watching him play with Dean.

I love watching Dean's excitement when he first sees daddy in the morning and when he gets home from work.

I love hearing him pray for Dean and give him blessings when he's not well.

It's cute to see Dean sitting on his daddy's lap, exploring his surroundings (usually at the computer...where else?).

He's devilishly handsome and has helped me create one of the cutest kids around.

There's no one I'd rather do this with than him!

I love you Matt!!

Celebrating the best way I know

As you may know, one of my favorite ways of celebrating holidays is with food; I guess it stems from my mom making us our favorite breakfast, (some times lunch), dinner, and cake for our birthdays. We don't generally get each other presents except on Christmas and birthdays, so I like to do something special with my culinary skillz.

So for this Day for Fathers this is how we celebrated:

Chinese food always creates more dishes than I would care for.

Once dishes were done we finished off our celebratory dinner with:

It all turned out lovely.

To Fathers!

(Recipes will be posted on my food blog later today or tomorrow.)

May Page in a Bag

This is my last month of ineligibility to win. I'm glad I can still participate even though I can't win. There were some good things in this bag! Items I had to use: blue paper, pink striped paper, pink swirl paper, love rub on transfers, brad, and the ugly gem flower. The flower was the only thing I wasn't too fond of this time around.

Calling all Software Engineers!!

Are you (or someone you know) a software engineer looking for a new job?

I'm sorry to recruit on my blog, but this is just TOO GOOD not to post. Matt got an email at work saying Raytheon's software business is growing and they're in need of more software engineers.

Through the end of September Raytheon employees (i.e. Matt) will get a sweet cash bonus (and I'm talking sweeeeet) for referrals hired. Not only that, we'll also be entered for a chance to win other great prizes.

What's in if for you?

A JOB OF COURSE! Not only that, a job with good benefits and flexible hours (Matt goes in at 8 and comes home around 4 since he works through his lunch hour. You can also work 8-5 everyday and then take every other Friday off.). Don't you want a full week or more of paid vacation time (not dipping into your PTO) at Christmas? Well you get it with Raytheon!

Any software engineers considering applying to Raytheon, tell us and we'll give you a referral!! I would imagine that people referred by employees will be looked at before random applicants through their website and what not. I don't know that for sure, but it can't hurt to have a referral.

The only restriction:
You can't have received your bachelor's degree in the last 18 mo.

Tricks caught on video: High Chair Series

I can feed myself. Kind of.

I like this food. I think I'll do a little dance.

No peas for me please!

Yay! We're done!!

Locked Out

I locked myself out of the house today. We changed our locks about 2 months ago. These new locks are much more secure, but you can open the door from the inside and it will remain locked if you shut it again.

While Dean was taking his nap I decided to go thin the plants in our garden. When I was done and heading back in, the door was still locked. DOH! It was close to Dean's wake up time, so I was a little worried. I went and knocked on 4 neighbors' doors to see if I could use someone's phone to get Matt home. No one. Then the guys installing our neighbor's pool drove up. I asked if I could borrow a cell phone (first in English). Blank stares.

"Necesito un telefono mobil para llamar a mi esposo. No tengo una llave a mi casa y mi nino esta adentro."

Still no one said anything, but one guy pulled out his phone and let me use it. And then I felt stupid because I didn't know how his phone opened. (I swear I'm totally cell phone illiterate since we just have a pre-paid-no-bells-and-whistles-cell phone.) He opened his phone for me, and I called Matt. Luckily he wasn't in the lab and was at his desk. Luckily he only works 1.5 miles from home. Luckily he could easily come and rescue me. And luckily Dean was still asleep by the time I got back inside. Phew.

The only thing one worker said to me when I finished with the call was "Todo bueno?" my response, "Si."

Piano performance

Hallelujah and Amen brothers and sisters! Our spring recital is over!!

Overall it went really well. The students I was most worried about did really well! A few of the students I wasn't worried about at all had some troubles, but they did well too once they found their correct starting hand position. I was really pleased since this was the first recital for more than half of my students! (It was actually my first recital as a teacher!--without my mom that is.)

I actually performed as well. I figured that most of my students (and parents) had never heard me play. I played Le Cavalier Fantastique by Benjamin Godard. I have to admit that I actually played it for the Miss Navajo County Pageant 9 years ago! I practically had to relearn the whole thing since it's been so long; I did learn new parts of the song since I had to shorten it for the pageant. I am glad my audience was full of very beginning pianists! I did fine, but honestly it was not where I wanted it to be. The very worst thing was I hit the wrong last chord! The chord itself sounded ok, but was NOT an ending chord. So I hit a few more chords and ended on one that had enough resolution to it! (I did this the last time I played in front of an audience--3 years ago--at a Stake Conference! What is my problem?!) The kids were totally unaware. I think a few parents may have suspected. Ah well. Such is life.

I really wanted the kids to be able to recognize their (and everyone else's) songs, so I arranged 5 of the 11 songs since I couldn't find pieces I wanted in the level I wanted. I arranged 2 more songs (the theme from Beethoven's 5th and Eine, Kleine Nachtmusik by Mozart), but those students were unable to attend. Here was the program:

Classical Program

Johann Sebastien Bach: 1685-1750
Cami.....Minuet #4
Lia....Minuet #7
Haley....Solfeggieto

George Fredrick Handel: 1685-1759
Jake....Hallelujah chorus

Joseph Haydn: 1732-1809
Mason....Surprise Symphony

Wolfgang Mozart: 1756-1791
Rachel....Alla Turka

Ludwig van Beethoven: 1770-1827
Kalee....Ode to Joy
Madison....Fur Elise

Franz Schubert: 1797-1828
Jake....March Militaire

Jacque Offenbach: 1819-1880
Lexie....The Can-can

George Bizet: 1838-1875
Drue....Toreador

Benjamin Godard: 1849-1895
Celia....Le Cavalier Fantastique

Poopin' post-its

Well, we have arrived at the phase where I will find random things in Dean's diaper if I don't watch him like a hawk. Last night I had him on my lap while I was at my computer. I had a red post-it by the computer with a piano parent's number. I saw him grab it, but didn't think to stop him in time. The next time I looked down I didn't see any of the post-it! I did a sweep of his mouth and got out what appeared to be half of it. Oh great. Well, I found the rest of it this morning when I changed his diaper!

He's not even crawling yet! What am I in for??

The hard-hearted harbinger of haggis

Since I alluded to So I Married an Axe Murderer in my last post, I thought I might as well carry on the theme.

I ate haggis. Matt wanted to try it since he'd never had it; I just had to try it as well so I could say "I ate haggis." It wasn't as disgusting as I envisioned.
Today I also ate Scottish Meat Pies, deep fried Mars bars, and shortbread. (Fried Mars bars really are big in Scotland.) The Mars bars were probably the best of the "food". Way better than normal Mars bars. The meat pies were good, but OH SO PRICEY! (As was everything else we bought at the Scottish Games today.) Man you have to pay through the nose for limited-time specialty items.
Dean was so good the whole day! He even fell asleep while we were listening to a Scottish rock band playing really loudly. He must have been reeeeaaaally tired.

We browsed the tents, listened to good Scottish music (though we sadly missed the bag pipe competition since it was in the evening), sat through a presentation on Scottish castles, and watched a few games. And we can't forget the aforementioned food. We were disappointed that they didn't have any cool imported candies like they do at other Scottish Game venues.

I like the night life,

I like to watch movies. (You thought I was going to say "I like to boogie", didn't you? Well, I do, but I doubt I'd EVER be able to talk Matt into that again...)

Matt and I were supposed to go to a movie for my birthday back in April, but that fell through because show times were horrible for the night we had a babysitter. That night we just ended up going out to dinner. Yummy but a little boring.

Tonight went much better in the way of entertainment.

Remember when I arranged the piece of music for the Young Women for camp? Well, they were super nice, and as a thank you they gave us a free night out. They got us movie tickets, a gift certificate to a good restaurant, and free babysitting! We actually opted to take the movie and babysitting tonight and just do the food later. Everything worked out nicely. Dean went to bed when he was supposed to (and slept the whole time). (Surprisingly since it was the worst day ever for napping!!) Our babysitter was awesome (one of my piano moms)!

We saw Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian, AND THE MOVIE WAS GREAT!!!! I seriously loved it. They really couldn't have casted the movie better. The girls were perfect. I would have TOTALLY had a crush on both the boys (Edmund and Peter. The Prince was ok, but not my type.) if I was a teenager again. The battle scenes were well done. The humor was funny. I need to read the books again. What a great thank you gift!

A real gas

Dean was going crazy for Matt pretending to "burp" the other day. We only caught a little snippet of it on video.

Post Op and Piano

We went in for Dean's post op. appointment to make sure he was healing fine. The Dr. said all was looking good. He's still a total drool pot, but he's mostly back to himself. He's been waking up 2-3 at night, though, and that's no fun. He's also had a harder time going down for naps since the surgery. Two nights ago he was in his normal routine of down by 6:30, up at 4:30 to eat and then up at 7:30 for the day. I just wish it would have lasted...I'm sure we'll get there soon enough.

I was nodding off during one of my piano lessons today. Dean woke up at 6:00 this morning, and I do not go to bed early enough to do that! Plus we had a nice long 4+ mi. run in the wind today. And we went "swimming" (in the little blow up pool out back) in the hot 90's. So I was a bit worn out by lesson time. (4 students today.)

And speaking of lessons, it looks like I'll have 16 students for the summer. During the school year I only have 12, so it will be a bit of a change. Summer's sporadic enough that I think it will work out ok though. I hope.

I decided to cancel my recital dress rehearsal that was supposed to take place on Saturday. One of my students was hospitalized all last week and this week (crazy story behind it!), and that family has 3 students. Then a couple of the other families' schedules looked really tight with it. I figured I'd just do a mini-rehearsal with each of them at their lessons this week. I'd announce them and sit in the "audience". I made them walk up, sit down nicely, play, bow and smile, and walk back to their seats. It really seemed to give a different feel for the students. Hopefully we'll pull it off on Monday!

Because I canceled the dress rehearsal, we will be able to go to the TEXAS SCOTTISH FESTIVAL! I'm excited. I hope it's not too hot and that Dean will be able to handle a messed up schedule!

Here's a post op video taken yesterday.

New blog

FYI, I'm starting a recipe blog. It's mostly for my own benefit (cataloging my recipes and remembering what I did and liked since I do it a little differently every time), but if it helps you out, great!

Happy eating.

Mexican Madness

My ward is trying to put together a farmers market co-op where we buy in bulk for discounts and then split the goods 12 ways. Yesterday was a trial run. We will hopefully eat everything that came back before it goes bad, but we ended up with more of some things than I usually buy at once.

I told Matt we'd probably have Mexican food more than normal this week since we have a lot of onions, avocados and lettuce.

His response: "So we're going to have it every night instead of every other night? I mean, I'm not complaining, I like it. I'm just saying."


HAHAHA. Touché!

So Mexican food is my fall back. It's true. We probably eat some form of Mexican food 2-3 times a week regularly. Don't let my "loose menu" fool you. If one of my meals falls through, it's a Mexican dish that takes its place. What's your fall back?