Family History Wall

I've had my filled out fan chart matted and framed for a while now, but I wanted to get new frames and more old and new family pictures up before I posted this. That is taking so long I figured I'd just post it as is. I may not be able to do tons of Temple work for ancestors right now, but I can at least give them a place in my home!

It was fun to do this. I bought the fan chart for $10 online, filled it out in pencil, traced over it in a zig pen, bought a pre-made frame at Michaels (for about $25 with a half-off coupon), and got it custom matted there as well ($30 something I think). It took a long time to fill out and get up (a year maybe since I didn't work on it all the time?), but I'm really happy with the results. I put Dean's name in the starting circle and left room to put other children in under him. That way I could get both of our families on there. Right now I have a few family pics and a pair of Matt's baby shoes. I need to get pics of Matt's family printed up and framed soon since I have those now.

BB: 20 Weeks, Maternity Skirts, and Ultrasound Results

This post is tri-fold as you can tell by the title. Oh, and I guess I'm sporting my new haircut that I got last week. I love getting my haircut. Too bad I only do it once or twice a year. (I last got it cut April 2008.)

Reminder of 20 weeks my last pregnancy:

20 weeks this time around (sporting my 2 newly made-by-me maternity skirts): Interesting. I look more pregnant in the tan shirt than I do in the white even though they're the same exact shirt (old regular small shade shirts) in different colors. Maybe it's because the blue skirt has elastic and the green doesn't...
I made the green skirt a long time ago (with a pattern) but never really wore it because a) it was a little too big and b) it was a drawstring waist and bunched up in the front at the waist. So I chopped it at the top, took it in 1 inch on the side, and added some jersey knit for a waistband. I am pleased with the results and think it will be worn a lot more as a maternity skirt.

I made the blue skirt this past week or so by drafting my own pattern (thanks to the book Sew What! Skirts) and referring occasionally to See Mommy Sew's instructions. Just a very simple, lined, A-line skirt. I like the feel of the elastic better, but 3-in. elastic is nearly impossible to find. I stole the elastic I used from an old pair of maternity pants I inherited but will never wear.

Here are some front shots of the skirts and the belly bands:

Now, onto our ultrasound results. Since we had an ultrasound at 13 weeks, we had a good idea it was probably a boy, and today that was confirmed. Yes, our second child is a boy. He was not shy one bit about it. He was extremely wiggly and kept burying himself up by my placenta sack, so we couldn't get a good 3-D picture, but overall things are looking just great. The one 3-D picture she snapped made him look like a smiling crazed zombie. We were all busting up at it.

Boo-de-hoo--hoo

As Matt and I were driving home from my Dr.'s apt. today we thought we'd just swing by Taco Bell to grab a quick bite before Matt headed into work. To our shock and horror it was gone. GONE. Not closed. It was totally demolished and gone. An empty lot. It hasn't been more than a couple of weeks since we ate there, and it was always busy. ALWAYS. I just can't figure it out. Awhile back we heard that there was supposed to be a new one built close to us, but apparently that has changed. The new one is being built WAY further away. There's one that's close to our church building that shares with a KFC, but the food there is junk. The tortillas are always hard and they don't have the one item I order every time. (Bean burrito with green sauce.)

I'm so unhappy! It's the only fast food we eat really.

Happy St. Patty's and the Ultimate (though unintended) food insult

Well, as most of you probably know by now, I don't do a whole lot in the way of decorating for holidays as of yet. I do, however, try and do something great in the way of food. This year I had hoped to make fresh spinach pasta for st. patty's, but yesterday was too hectic to get the pasta started. So, instead I made Tilapia and Emerald Green Risotto tonight. I generally don't make risotto because it takes so long to soak in all the broth, but I had all the ingredients (well, I did substitute asparagus for the green beans) and it sounded better than my alternate veggie fried rice. I think it's only my second time in making it at home. I thought it was good. When I asked Matt if he liked it he said, "Yeah. It just reminded me of Rice-a-Roni though."

What???? That was an unintended slap in the face. I told him I would never, ever make risotto again if it really made him think of rice-a-roni. I used fresh veggies, feta and fresh Parmesan cheese, short grain rice, good broth, fresh parsley, fresh garlic, etc. Surely it had to be better than a $1 box of rice-a roni. Grrrr....

(I have to insert here, I am incredibly proud of my cooking efforts lately. I've actually cooked things that take some extra effort and thought. It's been awhile since I've done that because of pregnancy woes and exhaustion. Last week I made homemade hamburger and hotdog buns. Yesterday I made Mediterranean grilled chicken salad with a homemade feta dressing and homemade naan. And then of course I've already told you about my dinner tonight.)

Anyway, I started the spinach pasta this afternoon and didn't get around to rolling it until about 9 pm. Remind me to never, ever attempt to roll pasta again without a pasta roller machine! It took me an hour and a half and I am beat! My feet are killing me. Plus I don't know if I really got it as thin as it should be. I tried my darnedest though. It looks pretty, but I hope it dries properly and tastes good! I want my effort to be worth it dang it. Here is all my pasta:


Dean and I went to a new park (for us) today (the aviation park) for a "Mom and Me" church group. It was by far the best park I've been to here. It had a good mix of things that appealed to little and big kids. It was easy to supervise without being right by his side. And there were planes taking off right next to the park. Dean loved it! We had a lot of fun there. It's a quite a bit further than our normal park, but I think it's worth a little drive for some variety.

Here he is giving you an Irish kiss (17 seconds):

Maternity shopping online

Ok. Well, I got my Shade shirts today in the mail. Super fast (and it better be since it cost nearly $8 for shipping! I missed out on the free shipping for orders over $50 that they're doing now.). I have a really hard time ordering stuff online because it NEVER is quite what I expect it to be. I was also worried because I couldn't try the stuff on and they didn't have a sizing chart or anything, so I just had to guess. I bought 2 mediums and 1 large, thinking I'd just use the large at the end.

The medium fits fine through the body and I'll be able to wear it the rest of my pregnancy, but holy crap are they long! I am 5'3" petite person and the medium comes down to mid-thigh! And I definitely have a baby bump already in the equation (updated picture to come this week). The large was ridiculously too long for me and maybe a little too big through the top/shoulders. So, I guess I'll try and sell it on craigslist or ebay or something. Any tall pregnant friends interested in a large white maternity baby tee? They're normally $24.50 but I'm going to be selling it for $18 since I got the "buy 3 get them for $18/shirt" deal. Brand spanking new.

Now that I know kind of know what I'm looking at, I'm going to now try a couple shirts from Down East Basics. This time I'm going to go for the small!!

Also, I finished sewing one maternity skirt and am close to finishing a second. When I finish the second I'll post pictures of both. I'm also going to try and make a "mini undershirt" like this mini-molly. I often need an undershirt for low cut necklines, but I don't want a full undershirt because it just creates too many hot layers, especially during the hot summers here. If knit proves too difficult to sew without a serger, I may just buy that mini-molly.

Ah-ee

Well, Dean has learned another new word. Sorry (pronounced ah-ee). He says it was a pitifully remorseful tone of voice.

He has been one busy boy this week, and I have prompted him to say that word often! The destroyer phase has commenced.

This week he had a lot of time indoors to be destructive because it rained every day. It seems like every time I turned around he was doing one of the following:

• dumping something out (try cleaning up an entire Tupperware full of yeast! Even sweeping, vacuuming, and mopping didn't quite get it all.)
• pulling down daddy's paints off his desk
• climbing up chairs to get to the candy, water, pens, etc. on Matt's computer desk
  
• climbing up on the kitchen table and removing CD's from the player (or eating fruit out of the bowl)
• pulling out the plug stoppers in order to plug in the waffle iron and a curling iron
• opening our tv stand and pulling out the DVDs and opening all the cases he could before I stopped him
  
• sitting in our wet floored shower pulling out the drain thing
• "cleaning" his ears with Q-tips he's taken out of the drawer
• ripping toilet paper into little pieces and putting them in the toilet one by one
• applying/eating chap stick
• pulling things out of the trashcan while saying uh-oh (I will say "No Dean. That is not an uh-oh. That is a no-no because you KNOW you're not supposed to do it!")
  
• ripping the dogs or bears out of his pop-up books (he felt very "ah-ee" for this one and still laments over the missing dog)
  
• ripping open any box he finds (cereal, mac n' cheese, pasta, Indian food mixes)
• opening doors and drawers and cupboards at my doctor's apt. and pulling out chemicals, tampons, air fresheners, etc.
• avoiding and fighting any attempt I made to change or put on his clothes, diapers, or shoes
  

He has been doing some very fun things too:

• kissing everything--me, stuffed animals, a picture of his great-great grandma (he really likes that particular picture on my mantle), animals in books, and daddy on the lips (though Matt won't let him), etc.
  
• saying "hi" to everyone he passes in a store, even if they're not paying him a bit of attention
  
• ripping off my glasses (not good) while squinting his eyes (funny)
• saying "sorry" very remorsefully
• "tricking" me by offering me something and running off when I reach out for it
• pulling his little wooden pull-along-dog all over the house
• fake laughing. I guess I do this a lot.
• not that this is good, but Matt has really bad mucous problems so he often hauks up thick junk and spits it into the trash. Every time he does this Dean follows him to the trash and makes a spitting sound over the trash can. It's really funny, but I probably shouldn't laugh!
• says "cookie" so well and clearly (almost like the cookie monster with the audible hyphen) that I just can't resist making some with him! He likes the dough much better than the actual cookies though.

(These oatmeal-almond-chocolate chip cookies were REALLY good. They were thin and chewy, just like Matt likes cookies. Find the recipe here. Mine didn't quite look like those pictured on the site, but they still tasted delicious!)

He's really a good kid and fun to be with, but he's just so incredibly curious and busy, busy, busy! Constant vigilance! (As Mad-eye Moody would say.) Boy what I wouldn't give for a magical eye that can see every which way.

He went to nursery for the first time today and it was disastrous even though Matt was there. He did ok at first while he was right by Matt, but at one point they split the kids into two groups. While one group ate lunch, the other group played. Then they switched kids. Well, Matt was with the lunch kids and Dean was absolutely terrified of one of the nursery leaders in the play area. (He's a man, tall/big and loud...triple whammy in Dean's book of terrifying things.) He cried so hard he started convulsing and shaking all over. Matt said he's never seen him cry that hard. Someone opened the partition for something and Dean made a mad dash for Matt. I can't imagine what it would have been like if Matt hadn't been in there at all! He didn't really stop crying after that until he saw me after church. He clung to me, laid his head on my shoulder, and patted my back (like he was comforting me. haha) when he saw me. A serious mama's boy.

There is Music in my Soul Today

Last week in church a sister mentioned that a Handel's Messiah Choir was meeting again to get ready for an Easter performance. The practices are from 8:30-10:30 Saturday mornings and the performance will be Easter Sunday, April 12th at 7pm.

While I have sung in a few Stake and ward choirs in the past 10 years, I have not really sung under a professional conductor with really challenging music (don't get me wrong, some of my BYU choristers were really great music majors) since I graduated High School in '99. I have felt much regret over this. My soul has missed being part of a full choir, missed singing, missed warm-ups, missed harmonizing, missed performing. I decided that I was going to sing this year and that Matt was going to support me and watch Dean while I was at practice. Sure he'd have to get up early on Saturday for a month, but I NEEDED it. That night I came home and told Matt. He was really good and just said, "Ok."

I know how much he despises getting up early on Saturday, so I suggested that I take the Neon (though it's not gone further than a mile from our home in over a year) so he could take Dean in the Rav to get donuts. He was hesitant (slightly afraid that I'd be killed in the Neon since it's not so safe and kind of a junky car), but he took me up on the offer.

The music is challenging. I've only ever sung one selection from Handel's Messiah, and that was 11 years ago. I was happy that I have mad sight reading skills and that block and contrapuntal was one of my strengths! There were only a few times the conductor actually broke down the parts and played them individually. It was so much fun! I believe the conductor is a Presbyterian Minister of Music, and he was literally (and I really do mean literally) sweating from his 2 hours of vigorous conducting. The majority of the choir is LDS, but there were a few Methodists there today. I hope more people of more faiths come. What a great opportunity to come together and sing praises of the Messiah. I feel very blessed. (Local friends, there is still a great need for more men, so if your hubby sings, get him there! We only had 4 tenors and 6 basses.)

When I got home I found a very happy Dean with a face covered in chocolate glaze. He happily helped me eat a donut. He also wanted one with his lunch, though I told him no.

Random Thoughts on a Rainy Day

Some mornings I wish babies had snooze buttons. (Though I can't complain since he got up after 7:30.)

I wish eggs weren't so stinky when cooking them. I do like to eat them, but I don't like how they make the house smell.

I'm very happy I've been feeling the baby move a little. It's just a nice reassurance between Dr.'s visits that they're still alive.

I can't for the life of me figure out why every white shirt I have found recently is made of the sheerest material possible. What's up with that?!

My "normal" clothes don't really fit anymore. I have a couple pair of pants and shorts that still work, but my shirts and garment tops are right on the edge of not covering my belly. The few maternity shirts I have are just way too big still. I have a couple transition shirts from last time, but not enough.

Maternity shopping is not nearly as fun as exercising. (I told Matt that I was tired of my shirts not fitting so I was going to look for some new clothes. He said, "Maybe you should just work out instead." Haha. If only that would work.) Maternity wear is soooo limited and just not very flattering (and more expensive than regular clothes). So once again I bought a couple loose fitting shirts in the Jr.'s section at Kohls. Glad that style's still in since that's what I had to do last time too.

I generally hate shopping online, but I ended up buying 3 shade maternity shirts today because I was getting desperate. I hope they fit ok. They're normally $24.50/shirt, but if you buy 3 they're only $18/shirt. Much cheaper than most maternity wear that I can find.

It's nice when all your appointments get cancelled on a rainy day. No pest control. No piano lessons. I had dinner cooked, eaten, and cleaned up before Dean went down for bed! I think that's a first!

And speaking of food, I think that Millionaire Chicken is one of my favorite chicken dishes ever. That's what we had tonight. Yum. I also discovered that you get really, really tender shredded chicken by cooking it in gingerale in the crockpot.

Callings and Kisses: A Sunday Svithe

Matt has a new calling at church. He's in the nursery. When he got the calling I had mixed feelings. It will make Dean's nursery transition much, much easier, so that is a plus. However, I was kind of looking forward to him getting used to not being with one of us. He's never had a babysitter during awake time (well, once, but it was grandma and grandpa), and I thought it would be a good thing for him to learn. I'm glad I'm not the one in there though. I don't think he'll be quite so demanding or clingy or possessive with daddy. Another added bonus? Starting next week Dean will be going to nursery full time (a month and a half early)! I was so happy to hear that after having him by myself today during both Sunday School and Relief Society. He was such a handful! I was starving, exhausted, and nearly in tears by the end of church. I think he will enjoy all the fun toys (and hopefully kids) in nursery.

During Sacrament meeting today Dean was "playing" with a little boy about two months older than him. Out of the blue Dean goes up to the kid and tries to give him a hug and a kiss on the lips! He knocked the kid down in the process, and I was laughing so hard I had tears come to my eyes. After they got up Dean tried to (successfully) kiss him on the lips again. (He's NEVER tried to kiss anyone on the lips other than me and his stuffed animals.) A couple minutes later the little boy kissed Dean on the cheek. Matt was perfectly mortified that his son was giving a little boy kisses (on the lips nonetheless!) and leaned over to me and said, "See what you taught him?" (He does not approve of parents kissing their kids on the lips, but I don't think it's a big deal and occasionally do anyway.) After all, he was just following Paul's advice to "greet one another with an holy kiss".

Oh, and as a side note, I am once again reminded why I HATE Day Light Savings! At 7:40PM the older kids in the neighborhood are still running around screaming, and Dean is still making noise 1/2 hour after putting him in bed (we put him him in bed at 7:15 and normally it's no later than 7. But 7:15 is still 6:15 to his little body!) We need to petition Obama to completely cut day light savings while he's on his CHANGE streak. I mean, they did conclude last year that the extended DST actually created more energy usage rather than lessening it. I'm sure we could pose it as an environmental threat and get it attached to some ridiculous bill that's going to get passed in the next couple months here, right?

Sometimes it pays to be nice

Last week my mouse started shorting out and then died. I was a bit miffed because it is a brand new mouse (within the last month), but we didn't have the receipt or box for it any more. I tried plugging it into the back and front USB ports, but to no avail. It was dead.

Or so I thought.

I went and bought another one. I took it out of the box, plugged it in and it didn't work! Ack. So, I tried it on Matt's computer (what I should have done with mine in the first place!) and it worked. That meant my USB ports were just plain toast. My computer is falling apart piece by piece. Partially because it's old. Partially because of Dean playing with it. Luckily we just have to get a new case, a few parts and rebuild one of Matt's old computers which will end up being better than mine anyway. So I repacked the mouse and took it back that same day. (Matt got my mouse to work using the adapter and the PS2 plug in. Unfortunately, however, I can't access any pictures from my camera until we get my new computer.)

That cashier must have been fairly new because as he scanned it he said, "Oh, we can't put the money back on your card the same day. We'll have to give you a gift card." I didn't want a gift card so I said I'll come back another day.

That day was today.

Upon arriving at the store, the cashier returning it said, "Oh, we only do exchanges on opened electrical stuff. That's our policy." I had Dean on my hip (who was snuggling right into my shoulder) and I said something like, "Oh man. I took it out of the box once and realized it was my USB port that was the problem, not the mouse. I tried to return it that same day, but there was some confusion. That's really too bad." I think he felt sorry for this pregnant little mama and he said, "Well, we could call a manager and see if there's anything we can do." I kind of hesitated because I didn't want to be one of those annoying customers, but it was over $20 so I figured I'd just see if there was anything that could be done.

He called the manager and I hear, "Yes I explained the policy. She just wants to see if anything can be done." and then he moved away a little and said something else. The manager came over and looked at the box, made sure everything was there, explained the policy and said, "Well, the box still looks new and nothing is wrong with the merchandise. I can still sell this, so I will go ahead and take it back this once. Just know that our policy is blah, blah, blah for future reference." Woohoo! And just like that. $20 back on my card.

As the cashier was finishing up he said, "You know, I wouldn't have called the manager if you hadn't been so nice and understanding in the first place. I told him that everyone needs a break sometimes." Haha.

Well, here's to not cussing out the cashier when things don't go your way!

My uncanny gift

You know, I have this gift of offending people unintentionally. I have a tendency to say what I'm thinking, be very passionate, and not take offense very easily. All of those things combine every so often (i.e. far too frequently) and I end up saying something that others might perceive as mean, lackadaisical, offhanded, rude, controversial, and yes, offensive. In my mind I would not take offense to what is coming out of my mouth, but the passion with which I say them, and the words that I use sometimes seem harsh and abrasive. Matt has more than once called this gift to my attention. Sometimes I know in the back of my mind that people might take offense, but I say things anyway thinking that people just need to get over it [whatever it may be] and lighten up. (And I really do think that that is the case sometimes.) Sometimes I am totally clueless to my lack of sensitivity and am shocked when I'm called out on it. The truth of the matter is that I probably ought to stop and think more. Bridle my tongue more maybe. While it might be surprising, I do actually sensor some of what I say and write. I don't want to just use my open personality as an excuse for rudeness, saying, "Well, that's me, take me or leave me." But I also don't want to have a major personality overhaul because mostly, I really like who I am. Somehow, though, I need to find a better balance of openness and sensitivity.

So, in short, I'm honestly sorry if I offended anyone with my graphic language, my passion, my openness of information (way TMI for some, I know), or my sometimes shocking and abrasive nature both on my blog and in real life. I am aware of it and am working on it.

That's Life

Yesterday as I was getting ready for church I heard the all too familiar sound of cereal being dumped out. Dean dumped the entire NEW box of Cinnamon Life on the floor. We'd had it for breakfast and I put the box in the middle of the table. Well, he's getting tall enough to reach almost anything, and getting good enough at climbing to reach most of the rest. He just wanted a snack.

Another day I was taking a shower and he didn't come into the bathroom once which is unusual. I figured he was getting into trouble somewhere. We'd just eaten, so I didn't think it was food he was after. When I got out i found that he'd taken the liberty of getting himself a banana, biting into the peel, peeling what he could, and eating about half of it. Independent little guy!

He'll now say please at my prompting (he says "geeee" with a hard g), more (it started as "ma" but has changed to "mo" and yesterday he even said more with the r), and again.

In the last two days he's started throwing LOUD screaming/shrieking fits when he doesn't get what he wants. Matt started implementing time outs yesterday because of it. I have continued it for other things like biting me. It's only 1 min. at a time right now. I mean, he isn't even a year-and-a half yet.

Let's talk about sex

Well, I wasn't sure if I'd attempt to tackle such a thing on my blog. My brother-in-law has had a series of lds-eros posts on his blog about how Mormonism and sexual thought/experience/discussion/doctrine intersect (or fail to in some instances); on a recent post I began to leave a comment, but it turned out to be an epistle, so I deleted it and decided I'd just write a post here and link it. So here we go. If you're squeamish about such subjects, please don't feel obligated to continue reading.

First off, a little background. I never once have felt like the LDS church teaches sex as dirty, bad, or wrong, but that it is something precious and sacred to be reserved for marriage and marriage only. So, I am glad I never had the "sex is bad" notion floating in my brain. However, beyond that it was all a mystery.

By Jr. High I knew it was sperm from men and eggs from women that created babies, but I couldn't figure out how the sperm got into the woman. All I knew about penises was that they were kind of floppy and that boys peed with them, so I didn't understand how it physically worked. I didn't know about erections or ejaculation. Even in High School I was a little hazy on the subject. Clear up through college I felt ignorant and embarrassed at my ignorance about sex. I found, however, that many of my LDS friends were in the same boat.

Some of my best learning experiences came from TAing for Child Development in college. We didn't discuss sex in that class, per se, but I did have to explain menstruation to many men over the course of 4 years, and I realized that other people were just as clueless as I about some things. I also learned to talk openly and unashamedly of "taboo topics". I'm very much an advocate for talking about sex openly because I felt so...in the dark. I resolved that once I knew something from my own experience, I would answer any questions ever asked me in a straightforward manner without shame, hush hush, or embarrassment. I'd give as much information as I could give without delving into too personal or sacred information.

So, on Th.'s blog, an anonymous commenter (Male, RM, BYUer, single) voiced a lot of legitimate concerns about sex, personal cleanliness, etc. His comment ended up being the meat of the most recent lds-eros post on Theric's blog. It was to some of his concerns that I was responding in my epistle of a response. His comments I am addressing are in italics.

I'm not an "expert". I was a virgin when I was married. I've only been married 6 years. However, I do feel like I have a satisfying and healthy love life. This is just my take on the subject. Feel free to ask questions, disagree, etc., but please do your best to do so without venom. I'm directing this to an LDS audience as well as those who believe in chastity before and after marriage.

"...what good is sex if i'm the only one enjoying it. "

It is a common and sad generalization that all women hate sex. It almost seems expected of women. I think some virgin women fear sex just because they've heard others complain about how it's all about the man. I just want to publicly state that not all women hate sex or only participate because it is their "duty" or merely to reproduce. While I know women who kind of dread sex, I also know plenty o' Mormon (and otherwise) women who enjoy it. It is a gift from God to help unite (literally and figuratively) a couple. It was instituted for both people, not just one. Does it sometimes take work, love, understanding, forgiveness, compassion, and time to enjoy? OF COURSE!

Is sex always as comfortable, as satisfying, or as enjoyable for both partners? No. Shared experiences rarely are. Sometimes I enjoy it more; sometimes he enjoys it more. But even if it's occasionally uncomfortable physically (for what ever reason), it can bring closeness and completeness to our relationship.

"if i can't pleasure my own woman i could just stay single and masturbate and feel like trash and go to hell."

Don't place your worth on the amount of pleasure she has during sex. Good heavens, each time we have intercourse is such a different experience with different feelings. Sometimes I don't feel like gettin' it on, but do anyway because I want to do what it takes to help him feel appreciated, loved and pleasured. I'm totally ok with that. He doesn't always feel like giving me back rubs or snuggling with me, but does it when I need that from him.

Masturbation will never leave a person feeling satisfied, content or happy. Pleasured, sure, but I don't know if anyone could convince me it was satisfying or that it makes them feel "whole" or "complete". It takes two people to achieve that feeling of wholeness. There will be ups and downs and happy moments and sad moments, but in the end if you both try to help make the other person happy, you'll end up achieving unity and love.

"give me your thoughts. speak to us singles. what is it we ought to know."
For singles not engaged nor close to engaged:
I'd just suggest being very direct and asking someone (or multiple someones since everyone has a different perspective and outlook on it) unruffled by such topics the specific questions that concern or mystify you. It's good to not feel ignorant. There are lots of people who have questions and are too embarrassed to ask. It's not just you. And just know, there are things you honestly can't know without experiencing, so you'll just have to be patient for some answers. Also, I strongly suggest not pushing the purity line (i.e. how close can you get to sex without actually having sex). I was somewhat of a temptress and was darn lucky I had a strong man who held boundaries.

For people engaged (even some marrieds need to do this):
Before you get married, talk with each other openly and honestly about your idea of what sex will/should be like. Talk about what makes you feel uncomfortable to imagine, scared or unsure. Talk about what you imagine is ok/not bedroom behavior (are you ok with oral sex? etc.) and foreplay. (I didn't really understand foreplay, so I was really glad we talked about it before we were married. I'd never really considered that touching and rubbing genitals could be kosher. I guess because I always thought that was "petting" and thus wrong. I was glad to get that notion out of my head.) Talk about your expectations for "the first time" so there is nothing majorly shocking. Talk about your feelings on lingerie. A sexual relationship is so personal that each couple has to know what their partner is thinking, worrying about, etc. Everyone has their own opinions and worries connected to sex.

Once you're married:
My advice here is this: do what is pleasurable for her and not what you think should be pleasurable (and hopefully she will do the same). That means to ask sincerely, listen, love, reassure, compliment, and then do what she finds pleasurable, even if it's something other than sex. Trust me, the way a woman is treated outside of intercourse can have a big influence on how she feels during intercourse.

While I can't speak for all women, I would have to say that sex is a lot more of an emotional experience for me than my husband, and when I feel appreciated and wanted, I enjoy sex a whole lot more. I think a lot of people's displeasure during sex stems from feeling inadequate, unloved, uncomfortable with their own bodies, etc. Be sensitive and loving and help your spouse overcome personal issues and it will eventually spill into that area of your relationship.

Specific things I want to address:

1. The first time a woman has sex it can be bloody. Very bloody. In the book The Act of Marriage it addressed this, but they said that there was like 2 Tbsp of blood or something. I didn't find that to be an accurate or adequate warning. Have a towel or two underneath so you don't stain the sheets or bed. It's not like that for everyone, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared.
2. Have a wash cloth or Kleenex close so you can easily wipe your hands after using lubricant.
3. Sex can be fairly awkward for two virgins who don't know what they're doing. It can take a little while to get used to each other's movements, bodies, etc., so don't feel like you're failing. Just take it as a chance to experiment and experience.
4. You can read books about sex/intimacy together if you feel you need some direction. There are some LDS books, but there are other books as well. My sister gave us an explicit book called The Magic of Sex that talked about (and had pictures of) different positions. It was helpful to have some reference in the beginning. I wouldn't, however, recommend reading a book like that (especially illustrated) until after you're married because of the possible porn and arousal factor. Read those books together as a learning tool.

Eeewwww...people really do that??

We were at the park yesterday when a young mom and her 3 kids (all under the age of 4 by the looks of it) walked up and started to play. They didn't have any strollers or baby carriers (though the littlest was, I'm guessing, younger than Dean), so I figure they must live pretty close. Not more than five minutes after arriving, I hear the sound of boy pee hitting the ground. The mom had taken oldest (approx. age 4) underneath the "climbing rock wall" that was connected to the slide area and had him go pee under there. SICK. I mean, I understand that there are no bathrooms there, and that she had 2 other kids, but is this normal/acceptable behavior? Would you have done the same? (If yes, I seriously want to know and you can leave an anonymous reply.) I guess I could be over reacting, but it just seemed so...gross. It's very plausible that kids walk and play under there.

On a similar note, it seems like I've been finding lots of dog poo and broken glass bottles recently on our walks. I am very, very anti dog poo. I mean, how would people like it if I let my baby poop on the ground without cleaning it up? Some dog poo is grosser and more plentiful than Dean's poo. And littering is just plain wrong to begin with, but when it's a dangerous item like glass I just want to spank someone's bottom and give them a stern talking to. Even if (especially if) they're adults.

Zombified

This past week I have felt exhausted (and continuously nauseous all day) beyond anything I've felt before, including late night studying/paper writing/college etc.. My body just crashes about 7:30 or 8 (even if I've taken a nap during Dean's nap, but especially if I don't) and I can't get anything productive done. I have so much fabric and a number of projects just waiting to be started. I often just go in and out of consciousness on the couch while I wait for "bedtime" to roll around. And why is it that I'm writing this at 10:53 pm when I should be in bed? Because I have this silly problem that I have a really hard time falling asleep in bed, no matter how tired, if Matt home and not in bed with me.

I need more sleep...

But to end on a positive note, the weather this afternoon and evening was fabulous. I love the 70's.

Our first duet

Dean has always loved listening and dancing to music, but he's never shown interest in singing with me until this week. For some reason he really took to the "eieio" in Old MacDonald. It's not always discernible to untrained ears, but I can tell what he's "singing". Sometimes he'll insert his eieio into other songs as well now. Also, he's discovered head phones and think they're great. He'll (with my help) plug my headphones into my computer speakers, put them up to his ears, lay down on the floor, and shake his head and/or body to the music. He also loves clapping rhythms (not necessarily on rhythm) with me during piano lessons.

I tried to catch Old Mac today on video, but it's so hard to get a good video when he's so enthralled with the player.

Finding Happiness Today

Our Relief Society lesson was on President Monson's talk Finding Joy in the Journey from this past General Conference. Matt took Dean so I actually got to listen, and it was quite nice.

Tips for enjoying the present:

• Change is constant. Accept it and adapt to it.
• Don't live in the past or future. Learn from the past, look to the future, but live today in the moment. Do what you can now to create pleasant memories for the future.
• "Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved."
• Focus on our abundance rather than what we're lacking. Don't let handicaps (emotional, physical) keep you from living. Don't postpone your joy.
• When we cultivate an attitude of gratitude, we are better able to appreciate our blessings, learn from our trials, and live a rich and happy life.
• Let Christ into our lives and our homes.

Some days with Dean can be really challenging. You know, the "he just got out on the wrong side of the crib" kind of days. The days where the whining commences the moment he wakes up and doesn't seem to end until the minute he goes down for bed. I don't do well with constant whining. I allow it to get to me and I can get pretty snappy. Especially during piano lessons. I know it doesn't help the situation, but I haven't figured out how to break the cycle and let it roll off of me. I know it is something I need to change.

So, continuing this theme I came home and read Elder Wirthlin's talk Come what May and Love it.

More tips for finding happiness:

• Learn to laugh and mean it. (Don't just "smother unpleasant truths beneath a cloak of pretended happiness.") Laughing makes life a whole lot more enjoyable for you than swearing, mumbling, taking offence, yelling, etc. Notice, he said learn to laugh. It may not be our intuitive response to unpleasant or annoying circumstances, but we choose how we perceive life. We can choose to laugh and mean it. We are not victims of circumstance.
  
• Realise that "the dial on the wheel of sorrow eventually points to each of us. At one time or another, everyone must experience sorrow. No one is exempt." That will help us from getting the "why me??" blues.
  
• Recognize the Lord's compensation plan. "While it may not come at the time we desire, the faithful will know that every tear today will eventually be returned a hundredfold with tears of rejoicing and gratitude."
• Trust in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, even if your afflictions don't disappear in the time you would like. "Trust in the Lord, do your best, then leave the rest to Him."
  

Hop along

Well, I definitely had high hopes for Dean's quick foot recovery. I thought he'd be walking normally by last Sunday or Monday, but it turns out he wouldn't walk AT ALL on his own until this past Wednesday, a week after his accident. I guess he knew what his body needed to recover and he wouldn't allow me to push him too fast. Each day since he's walked a little more confidently. Today he was walking quite a bit, but he still has a noticeable limp and occasionally falls because he favors his right too much. Life is so much nicer (though he can get in a lot more mischief) when he is mobile! He's happier. I'm happier. And my arm doesn't feel like it's going to fall off.

I must mention that even after all of this he still begs to go on "waaahks" (i.e. walk to the park) all the time. We end up at the park usually once or twice a day if it's good enough weather (I prefer not going when it's colder than the 50's!). I ran some errands today during his nap and got home about an hour after he woke up. When I walked in, he was sitting in his stroller in the computer room! He had been begging Matt to take him on a walk, but Matt didn't want to go out (it was pretty chilly), so he strolled him around the house awhile and then just let him hang out in the stroller. haha.

Belly Beautiful: 16 weeks

I don't have pictures of 16 weeks last pregnancy, so I'll show the pics. from 20 weeks last time so you can appreciate how much bigger I am this time around! Holy Smokes! What does 40 weeks have in store for me???

It once was lost but now is found

I don't know what happened exactly, but to my delight our correct furniture showed up today! It seemed so gigantic after having an empty living room, but I got used to it and it's nice. I'm not exactly sure what we're going to do with our other stuff. It all just seems small now. We need a bigger bookcase (can't fit our books and it looks too small) and coffee table to make it look proportionate, but they'll have to wait a little bit. No hurry I guess. I don't know what to do about our drapes either. I'll make or buy a few accent pillows as well.

Picture tag

I've put off doing this tag because it just doesn't work out right going to my 4th photo file and 4th picture like "you're supposed to". That file is for my blog banners and a lot of them are not in the right format. So, I decided to do the 3rd folder and 3rd picture.

Dean 2 weeks old

My he's changed.

Happy Furniture Day...or not

I was super excited when the Freed's truck pulled up this morning. We had our carpets cleaned yesterday so everything was nice and clean and ready for some furniture.

As they started bringing it in the house I noticed under the plastic that it looked rather like red. The deliver guy said something like, "Yeah, a new red couch is gonna look great in here!" and I responded, "Ummmm....we ordered green."

They stopped dead in their tracks. The delivery guy looked at the invoice and it didn't specify an actual color name (it said, "London", like that is a proper name for a color!) so he had to call the store. They headed out to their next delivery and said they'd give us a call when they knew more.

So, when they called they said something like, "We have someone locating your correct merchandise. Can we deliver it tomorrow?" I sure hope our correct merchandise is waiting somewhere all ready to be delivered, because I really don't want to go another 6 weeks without living room furniture! (Especially since we already got rid of our old stuff!)

Some days just flop, and that's ok

Yesterday was quite the difficult day. I carried Dean pretty much the entire day because he couldn't even crawl much. I was exhausted. An exploratory toddler who weighs 23 lbs. is quite different to lug around than an 8 lb newborn. I had a horrible headache by the end of the day. I was feeling sick and by 5:30 both Dean and I were bawling. Matt helped get dinner together (thank heavens my menu item was something he's better at anyway!) while I got Dean ready for bed.

I had grand plans for my valentine's day treats (we don't do gifts, so the food is pretty important to me) and I needed to start by making my traditional cheesecake last night. I tried to rush it so I could be done by my bedtime, so I didn't let my cream cheese come to room temp. before mixing Big mistake. It made my batter lumpy, I ended up over beating it to compensate, and it didn't cook quite right because of it. I didn't try the cheesecake until today. It tastes ok and will actually work for it's part in the V-day treats (it's going in the ice cream), but it is (in the brutally honest words of Matt after trying) "by far the worst cheesecake [I've] ever made." The consistency is kind of gritty rather than silky smooth like it should be. It is my 6th or 7th year making cheesecake, so it was really disappointing to have it turn out sub par. By bedtime I was beyond exhausted, but what do you know, I couldn't fall asleep. That was the second night in a row I had to move to the couch around 1 am to get to sleep.

I was so happy that today was a new day! Dean was in a much better mood and he was able to crawl from the get go. He actually woke up happy after his nap. I think that's the first time since we switched to 1 nap. He was in such a funny mood and we pretty much just laughed at each other for being silly about 40 min.! By the late afternoon I coaxed him into trying to walk while holding my hands, and he was able to walk a little with just a slight limp. I'm thinking he should be walking normally by Sunday or Monday. I also felt better despite not having as much sleep as I would have liked, so that was good. Not only that, we got the long awaited call that our furniture was in and ready to be delivered. Hooray! I posted our living room furniture on Craigslist's free stuff section and sent and email to my ward and had 5 responses within the first half hour. A battered women's shelter picked it up tonight, so we don't have much in the way of seating until next Tuesday. (I hope I don't have insamnia between now and then!) Either tomorrow or Monday I will clean our carpets and then sometime on Tuesday we will have a new look.

It's so exciting. Today was a good day. Hopefully that means the strawberry custard ice cream I'm making tonight will turn out better than my cheesecake last night! (Here's to hoping, right?)

Funnies

Yesterday Matt said, "Wow! Your belly looks huge in that shirt. You're going to be gigantic this time!" I did not take offense one bit. My belly, at 15 weeks, is (or at least seems) as big as it was at 20 weeks last time. However, the rest of my body is smaller than last time. I'm still just under my starting weight with Dean. In addition to our 2 trips to doctors for Dean today I went to my monthly check up. Up to 133. So, 2 lbs this past month. Not bad considering my belly seems to have tripled in size. (I'll post a picture next week to keep it on my "every 4 weeks" schedule.)

Dean sometimes calls for Matt by name. If we are in another room and he wants his dad, he will yell "Matt! Matt! Matt!" I guess I do call for Matt a lot by name when we are in other rooms.

Dean has an impeccable sense of direction. When we leave our house in the car, he is quite unhappy when we turn right rather than left. The park is left, you see. I think he could find his way to the park a 1/2 mile away all by himself! That wouldn't ever happen, though, because he won't set foot out our door without someone else. He doesn't like playing without an audience. He doesn't always need us to actually play with him, but he does need someone to pay attention to him. (And folding laundry or reading a book do not count as paying attention to him!)

Yesterday after Dean's nap he was crying inconsolably for about 10 min. I couldn't figure out what was wrong. I thought he was just not feeling well because of a new tooth that poked through. Maybe that was part of it. However, after about 10 min. he walked over to the stroller and started patting it and waving. I said, "Do you want to get in the stroller?" and he broke out into a huge grin. It was raining on and off all day yesterday, so he was lucky enough that it just stopped. I asked, "Do you want to go to the park?" and he started laughing and nodding his head. I put him in the stroller while I got my shoes on, but I decided it would be best to drive because of the possible rain. We had about 10 min. of swing time before the rain hit hard again.

We'll see if he loves the park as much as he did before he hurt his foot. When he went to bed tonight he still couldn't put much pressure on it. He was able to stand holding onto something for a little bit. He would stand on his right leg and hover his left just off the ground. He kept trying to walk, but cried every time he set pressure on. I still feel so bad. I hope it's much better tomorrow morning after having all night to rest it.

3 hours and $40 later...

...we know that I did not, in fact, break Dean's foot going down the slide this morning! Since it rained last night I had him in his rubber soled shoes rather than his slipper like shoes. As we went down the slide together (it's kind of tall for him by himself, and there are no short slides there), his shoe caught on the slide and kind of torqued. I didn't think it was that bad, but he was crying uncontrollably. We made our way home; I called Matt and he said to get him to the Dr. since he couldn't put any pressure on it. I didn't see much swelling and he could move his toes, so I didn't think it was broken, but I figured better safe than sorry. So to our Pediatrician's we went. We saw a nurse practitioner we haven't seen before and Dean did not like her touching him one bit. The lolipop wouldn't even console him.

She didn't think it was broken since she could touch it without him writhing in pain and pulling it away, but since he couldn't put any pressure on it and cried every time he tried to stand up or move with it, we decided to go ahead and get an x-ray. So off we went to the hospital. I felt super sad when I couldn't be in the room with him while he was getting his x-ray (since I'm pregnant). I hate listening to him cry any time, but it's so much worse when I can't do anything for him! He was falling asleep on the way home so I just popped him in his bed without giving him any medicine. Hope he can sleep ok. Poor kid.

Gift set: check

I've really been trying to finish one project before I start another project. I learned over Christmas that I really need to be interested/invested in the project to begin with, and I need to pick projects that take less than a month. My latest finished project is a baby gift set for my sister who's due in the beginning of March. The wrap blanket, tag blanket, and 2 burp rags. (I'll them in the mail tomorrow J.)

It seemed like a good idea

Yesterday when I was cleaning up the kitchen I found an old hamburger bun on top of the fridge. Rather than go to our dinky little park near us, I thought it would be a fun change to go to Town Lake Park and feed the ducks.

In theory, Dean likes ducks. He knows what they're called and what they say. He likes the "5 little ducks book" we own.

In real life, not so much. Nor does he like any bird within hearing range apparently.

There aren't many mature trees in our neighborhood, so there aren't a lot of birds close by. Town Lake is surrounded by big trees filled with noisy birds. Dean was worried from the moment we got out of the car. He clung to me as we tried to feed the ducks. They weren't even at our feet; they were in the water a little removed from us. Scared him silly. I couldn't even get through half of one side of the bun before an all out melt down.

Guess I'll stick with the good ol' swings and slides near us for awhile yet. At least I can walk to our park. That's a plus.

The worst thing about our park, however, is the group of 20 or so Jr. High kids that swarm the swings and play area when their school lets out. They're the first school to let out so they're almost always there when we go. Yeah, the last time we were there a couple of kids set off 2 bombs of some sort with shrapnel. I'm guessing a dry ice bomb, but I'm not sure since I only heard it. The two kids initiating it got their hands all cut up (didn't stop them though, since they did it again about 30 min. later). One of the ring leaders was an old piano student of mine. I'm pretty sure I saw a fleeting moment of panic when he noticed me there. The stoicism quickly returned, however. He declined the water I offered for him to wash off his bleeding hands.
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On a very unrelated topic, Dean now asks for "guacguac" in his "mik". That would be chocolate Isagenix. hahaha. Love it.

Roll your arms

Apparently I can't laugh and sing on key at the same time, so sorry about that. We were getting Dean undressed/dressed for bed when he very obviously wanted to sing this song instead. It was the first time he figured out how to really roll his arms on his own. It was just cracking us up!

Nausea in the morning, nausea at night

My official statement on how I'm feeling this pregnancy:

"I have nausea in the mornings, nausea at night, and I have a throw up session every other day (or night). I'm still pretty exhausted in the morning. If I actually get a lot done in the morning, I almost always have to take a nap when Dean naps. Pregnancy is harder than I thought. I get heart burn occasionally and drinking water makes me feel nauseous, so I haven't been drinking as much as I should."

When I was pregnant with Dean, I had a total of 1-2 weeks of very minor nausea. I only threw up once (and that was after eating orange roughy. I think I'd throw up after eating orange roughy even when I wasn't pregnant. That's some fishy fish.) I didn't actually feel pregnant until about 2 weeks before he was born. Compare that to today: I threw up this morning, and here I am feeling nauseous again at night. Blech.

I had hoped that I was going to be the perfect pregnancy person like my sister Julie who has been pregnant 4 times now with little to no sickness. Guess it just depends on the pregnancy.

Evaluation of Resolution

One of my resolutions was to do 1 month of menu planning and evaluate at the end of the month. My goal with this was to lessen stress at meal times, cut down the number of late meals by prepping earlier, and to go to the grocery store only once or twice a week (hopefully resulting in spending less money).

I originally thought I'd do a menu for the whole month in one sit down, but I quickly found that was not going to work for me. So, I ended up making a fairly comprehensive list of items we eat pretty regularly, or at least enjoy eating. The list really helped me in planning meals for the week. Most of the time I planned on Monday during Dean's nap and went shopping after he woke up.

My master list: (Sorry it's messed up, I had to transfer it over to paint to turn the table into a picture. Click on it to get a readable view.)



I was able to keep my shopping to 1-2 trips per week which is fairly amazing for me. It also did help lessen stress over meals, especially when I didn't particularly feel like thinking about food. We ate out a little less. By the weekends I normally am burned out thinking about food so we end up getting at least one meal out, usually just taco bell or something. I don't know if it really saved me money, but it probably did. The first two weeks I felt like I spent a lot (but it's kinda hard to tell when you have diapers and other non-food junk mixed in), so the third week I did a "make only what you have" menu. I think I spent about $10 that week on milk and produce I didn't have. I'd make a menu for the week and shop for that specific menu. I did end up trading around meals within the week, but I did pretty well at sticking to the items on the menu. When I changed the menu in real life, I changed it on the print out so I could see what seemed to work from day to day for us, and so I could have an accurate picture or what we really do eat.

January's Menu:

Lots of new recipes up

I've put of a lot of new recipes on my cooking blog. I have been horrible about posting regularly, so I thought I'd just put up some of my favorite and most used recipes.

My friend LeAnne at Everyday Celebrations had a super amazing suggestion for reducing kitchen clutter. The quote from her site is, "Basically, put the recipes you consistently use on a sheet of cardstock and attach it to the side of your fridge. (Only include the ingredients and basic instructions, since you make them often you should remember the process.)" Genius! I am one of those people who often has post its with recipes floating around. I always have to look up recipes again and try and figure out where I got them from. This has really helped with that problem. She has a sample of how it's done on that link above. I've made up a double sided sheet. One side has breakfast recipes and the other has breads and dinner recipes. I really need to laminate it though. Most of these recipes are on my breakfast side.

Today's additions on my blog include:

• Biscuits
• Peanut Butter Granola
• Puffy Oven Pancakes
• Basic Granola
• Buttermilk Pancakes
• Chicken Taco Soup
• Easy Beans and Rice
• Easy Black Bean salsa

Un-paper bag #2

The first bag I ever made was for my SIL for Christmas. When I bought the material for hers, I also got some more fabrics from the Metro Green Goes Blue by Michael Miller. I thought they'd work together nicely as a bag. I finally got around to making the bag last week and finished putting on the handles tonight. I am hoping to use this as a church bag since I can't ever seem to fit everything I need in my little diaper bag. I used the un-paper bag tutorial from Purl Bee again, but I modified it slightly so I could have the chocolate vinyl bottom. (Thanks again Erin for the great big piece of of it!)

Next I think I want to try making a real diaper bag with this free pattern.

The emergence of two word sentences

I just thought I'd make a note saying that Dean's been using a few two word sentences the last few weeks. "Get up." "Hi Dad." and "Hi Dean." (in the mirror). His vocab is definitely increasing as well (both understood and spoken).

He doesn't have a ton of nonsensical babble, but he seems to be very deliberate in his speech. He thinks it's pretty funny when I try and teach him new sounds and words.

Things he can say (or tries to say and I know what he means because he's usually mimicking me), not including the old things he already knew:

• Walk (WWWWWAAH)
• Watch (WA) (Always wants to play with mine)
  
• Rock (WAAc) haha. Yeah, they're mostly the same word, but he uses them contextually. Rock refers to the rocking chair or ottoman when he wants to "Ge' up" and "WAA."
• Grape (Gway)
• Book
• Duck
• Quack
• Hoohoo haha (monkey sound)
  
• Vacuum (Wac)
• Nonononono (The few times he's said this, it's been to tell himself he shouldn't be doing what he's doing!)
• Hi (he used to say it "ha", but now it has a very clear dipthong.) The other day at the grocery store he was on my hip with his head on my shoulder since he was tired. The cashier said, "Hi, how are you today?" Immediately Dean whipped around and clearly said, "HI!" It was very cute.
• Truck (Guck) This term is used for most vehicals, but he gets extremely excited and repeats it over and over when he sees semi-trucks and school buses.
  

Almost every time I ask him a question with recognizable voice inflections, he'll shake his head no, even if the real answer is yes. He's answered "yes" once or twice, but not often.

We've been working on body parts since Christmas, and he almost always points to the following correctly (though he can't say them):

• Eyes (usually shuts them)
  
• Head
• Toes
• Ears
• Nose
  
• Tongue (He's been really into his tongue lately. Sometimes I'll catch him looking in mirrors or windows or reflective metal just sticking his tongue out. This actually makes me happy because he didn't even try to stick his tongue out after his z-plasty for nearly 6 months!)
  
• Belly button (he loves to try and find my belly button as well)

When I ask him to give me a kiss, he turns his cheek for me to kiss it. haha.

Also, he loves to point at airplanes overhead. There are lots of them since we're so close to DFW.

And lastly, when I was in Snowflake for Christmas I decided to keep one of my old teddy bears. I am usually not sentimental about things, but for some reason I wanted to have this one. I have been sleeping with it at night (it fits nicely under my new little belly). Dean LOVES it. It's nearly as big as he is. He gives it a hug nearly every morning when I set him on our bed to say hi to daddy.

PS. I nearly forgot. Ok I did forget. One of his favorite games right now is ring around the rosie. He'll spin in circles while I sing until he's so dizzy he falls over. If I don't notice he's started twirling and start singing he'll make it known! On a similar note (literally!), he thinks it's super funny for me to start singing a high note when he throws his head backward. When he puts it upright I stop. He loves that game. He also loves swinging and is very sad when we drive by the park and don't stop!

The foods I'm loving

When I was pregnant with Dean I never really felt like I had cravings. The closest I came was eggs in most forms, but I didn't crave them. They just always sounded good.

I have definitely had cravings this time; not "I have to go get some right now or I'm going to die" type cravings, but cravings nonetheless. The two things I've craved are more general categories rather than specific items.

Salty:
Anything tasty and salty. Chips, fries, crackers, seasoned bread sticks, jerky, plain old salt, etc.. (Yes, I will admit I have recently put salt on my finger and licked it.) Now, I've always had a weakness for salt. I'm sure I've admitted here before that when I was a child my siblings teased me by saying things like "It looks like it snowed on your plate!" or "Would you like some food with your salt?". But upon marrying Matt and just getting older, I've reduced my salt intake dramatically and definitely upped my other spice intake, especially pepper. This has gone by the wayside the last little bit, and the salt has made a comeback.

On a related topic, after 3 years in TX I finally, FINALLY purchased some DELICIOUS PINK GRAPEFRUIT! I tell you what, ruby red is NO substitute. Blech. I've also had some bad pink and yellow grapefruits here, so I was hesitant to try again. But oh divinity. And then to sprinkle some salt on the beloved and I am in heaven. It reminds me of going to my grandparents' in Mesa and picking fresh grapefruit off their trees. My grandparents ate it with salt, and as far as I can remember, all the kids did too. It just offsets the sour so nicely. My sister recently told me that all of her kids and all of another sister's kids eat them with sugar! A travesty! I let Dean try the grapefruit. He spit the first bite out, but he came back for another try. He ate two small bites, but he was funniest when I was squeezing the grapefruit half into my mouth at the end. He really wanted some of the action. So I squeezed it in and he loved it. Every time he got some juice he made the "aakhhh" sound after he swallowed. He's such a crack up.

Sour:
I have always love sour things as well, so it's no surprise to me that my desire for it has increased. Sour patch kids, sour starbursts, citrus fruits, homemade pickles (yes, it's so funny!), warheads, a cranberry topped shortbread I made (I'll post the recipe sometime) etc. Mostly at night too. I couldn't care less for most baked goods or chocolate right now. Just give me something sour. yuuum.
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Since I'm on the food topic, I thought I'd throw it out there that I bought some delicious natural ham at the Target deli the other day. It's not cured and has no nitrates. It was so good. Dean loves it too. He also loved the natural turkey that was being sampled. He's never been into meat, so you better believe that I'll be buying some deli meats so long as he's willing to eat them! He's not loving beans at the moment, so it's nice to have a non-dairy protein he's willing to eat. Oh, and Target has Gruyere cheese on sale (at least here) for 4.99/lb. It's normally $11/lb!! I already had some other swiss, but I bought some anyway!! If nothing else it makes delicious fondue and really makes Chicken Cordon Bleu extra tasty.

And for my own record, Dean's appetite made a comeback today! He ate quite a bit of dry homemade granola, half a yogurt, and about half a nectarine for breakfast. He ate a handful of grapes for a snack, and at lunch he ate 3-4 slices of the deli ham, 2/3 of a cheddar cheese stick, 3 crackers, half a banana, and attempted to eat a carrot stick but didn't like it much. He also had a little apple, but those are also slightly too hard and cold for him to chew well. So, remember Celia, babies' appetites wax and wane! Just remember to offer small portions of a variety of foods and go from there.

Terrific little Tuesday

Well, today has been just as terrific (for Dean and me) as Sunday was sad! We were stuck inside all day with the fear of getting stuck outside when the freezing rain decided to hit. I was worried we were going to go stir crazy, so to help break up the toy play we did a whole house pick up and vacuum. I rarely get all rooms clean in the same day. It was kind of nice because 1. My house looked better. 2. The vacuum kind of intrigues/terrifies Dean, so he was very occupied and content on my hip while it was on, and he enjoyed playing in different rooms while it was off and I was picking up. and 3. It kept me from laying on the couch feeling pregnant while I let Dean play and get bored.

He ate all meals (small, but substantial enough that I would call it a successful meal) and two (or three?) snacks! Woohoo.

During his nap I finally got around to cleaning up my pukey (literally) toilet. It needed it after the last couple puke days.

After his nap we cleaned up the kitchen, and inspired by the Montessori stuff I was reading earlier, I let him help me unload the dishwasher. I've never attempted it before, and he did quite well! He pretty much just took all of the dishes in the lower level out and set them on the ground.

With a clean kitchen I decided to make rice crispy treats with some leftover marshmallows and cereal we had from our Christmas treats. Dean LOVED it. I let him try a marshmallow before we melted them and he was a little distraught when they started disappearing, but once we finished, he delightfully partook of the goodies.

It is getting increasingly difficult to hold him while I cook. I tried putting him on a kitchen chair so he could see, but he ended up falling off sideways. Luckily I caught him before he hit anything too hard. After looking into safe step stools, I all but decided to buy the Little Partners Learning Tower. While it's expensive, I would buy it in a heart beat if it were just up to me. Matt is not sold on it. He thinks it's too expensive and too big for our already crowded kitchen (our rather large table's in there since we have no dining room). Valid arguments. But all I hear all day long is "Ge' up. Ge' up." He is not content being down and out of the loop. Chairs are not safe. The stool we have is not safe. There is only one other option that is comparable to the learning tower in safety and height. It can fold up, but reviews say it's not built as sturdy and doesn't wear as well. Plus it's still pretty expensive.

Anyway, off of my tangent and on with my day. One of my lessons canceled because she was afraid of freezing rain, so I ended up with 2 instead of 3. Dean is so much more manageable with only 2! He did pretty well during lessons, and thank heavens since Matt was stuck at work with a time sensitive project!

I didn't really have to do much for dinner since I did another crockpot dinner. Twice in one week is unheard of for me! I only have a handful of crockpot recipes that I consider delicious, and I just can't bring myself to eat or make un-delicious food! But the swiss chicken hit the spot tonight. (Thanks again for the recipe Pam--if you're reading this!) Dean even ate it. Well, he ate the stuffing and one small bite of chicken. And like 5 helpings of green beans.

Poor Matt. He was at work from 8AM-7:15PM. There was freezing rain when he got out of work. He has the neon which is not so great at heating up quickly. Luckily he has our 1 ice scraper in his car and got the ice scraped off, but by the time he got out of the parking lot it was totally iced over again! He scraped it again at the stop light going out of the parking lot. He drove to the next stop light with his head half hanging out the window to see and pulled over again to scrape it. It's a good thing we live only a mile from his work or he would have never made it home! Luckily I had a hot dinner and rice crispy treats waiting for him when he got here. Dean was asleep when he got home, but that's how it goes sometimes.

I even got one load of laundry folded as I watched The Biggest Loser. I swear tears come to my eyes every episode! I feel very productive and happy with the day's outcome.

Re-educating myself

My BS is in Marriage, Family, and Human Development. I had a lot of good and interesting classes on how kids develop, but honestly, I think I've forgotten a lot of what I learned. Additionally, I think that some of what should have been taught in that major was not offered.

I have been interested in the Montessori Method since my sister told me about how much it helped her son. I haven't done a whole lot of research on it, but I've taken a heightened interest in it since Dean's more aware of his surroundings. You know you have a boring home when your kid starts crying when you turn onto your street after running errands! (That happened twice yesterday!) So, I'm trying to find more meaningful activities to do with him.

I started reading some of this e-book on the Montessori Method for ages 0-3, and it's very helpful. It has reminded me of a lot of information I've already learned, plus it's introduced a few concepts I never thought of. (Teaching a small child to use and respect beautiful and breakable items. Keeping only toys that are played with and have purpose. Keeping only as many toys as you can keep orderly. Storing toys in small baskets on a shelf rather than in a large toy box they have to dig through. )

Some things I already do, but there is much I do that can be improved upon. I need to keep reading and start practicing!