Christmas Card

We decided to send an email Christmas card this year to save a bit of money on postage. We just sent them yesterday. If I overlooked you, I probably don't have a current email address for you (or an email address at all!) If you didn't get one and would like one, just leave me a comment and I will send you one! I will not publish your comment, so the whole world won't have access to your email address.

It's a...

GIRL!! We are so excited!

A Little Mixed Up

Yesterday Jared was singing, "Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer, had a very shiny nose and two eyes made out of corn (coal)." Very cute!

I also found out yesterday that he knows the names of all of Santa's reindeer! I think he's smarter than even I can tell. And I think he's pretty smart. :)

Silent Monks Singing the Hallelujah Chorus

I stole this video idea from my sister-in-law Shell's blog, but I just thought this was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo funny.

Thank You, Christmas...

...for expanding Jared's repertoire of movies that he will watch. In our neighborhood you have to get a basic cable TV package in order to get any TV, even supposedly free TV. Right now we do not get any TV channels in an effort to keep our budget down a little. In addition to the three Elmo movies we have and the three episodes of Sesame Street I taped off the TV before we moved, he will now also watch the following:

• The Grinch ("The Ginch")
• Rudolph, the Red-nosed Reindeer
• Frosty the Snowman
• Elmo Saves Christmas
• Elmo's World: Happy Holidays
• Christmas on Sesame Street

It has been a nice change. I really can take only so much of Elmo's Potty Time.

Christmas To-Do List

In no particular order:

1. Finish shopping--I'm about 2/3 done
2. Go to Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert
3. Watch all the Christmas classics (I could make my own list of this!)
4. Attend Utah Regional Ballet's The Nutcracker (we are finally going together after threatening to for 5 years! Now Alan can hopefully see why I'm so obsessed...)
5. Have a fondue party (doing it tonight!)
6. Make lots of Christmas treats--I have just made fudge so far
7. Attend ward Christmas party and Alan's company party
8. See the lights on Temple Square
9. Attend the Stout white elephant parties--we have an immediate family party and an extended family party
10. Sing in community production of The Messiah
11. Have a very Billy Christmas party with former roommates
12. FIND OUT THE GENDER OF OUR BABY--this is actually happening a few days after Christmas, but it's been on my mind because I've been crocheting a stocking for the future member of our family
13. Roast chestnuts on an open fire (not really)
14. Drink lots of hot chocolate, wassail, and egg nog
15. Not gain too much weight, but it's hard when you are pregnant!!
16. Enjoy lots of time in front of our fire and Christmas tree with my sweetheart
    

Little Tree

little tree
little silent Christmas tree
you are so little
you are more like a flower

who found you in the green forest
and were you very sorry to come away?
see i will comfort you
because you smell so sweetly

i will kiss your cool bark
and hug you safe and tight
just as your mother would,
only don't be afraid

look the spangles
that sleep all the year in a dark box
dreaming of being taken out and allowed to shine,
the balls the chains red and gold the fluffy threads,

put up your little arms
and i'll give them all to you to hold
every finger shall have its ring
and there won't be a single place dark or unhappy

then when you're quite dressed
you'll stand in the window for everyone to see
and how they'll stare!
oh but you'll be very proud

and my little sister and i will take hands
and looking up at our beautiful tree
we'll dance and sing
"Noel Noel"

~e e cummings

Thanksgiving Weekend

Sadly, I was only able to take one picture of our Thanksgiving Day before the batteries died on our camera (and it's not even a very attractive photo!) But we had a wonderful weekend with both of our families. I think mashed potatoes are definitely my favorite Thanksgiving food.

My niece Christina, Jared, and Alan on Thanksgiving

We also put up our Christmas decorations Thanksgiving weekend. It makes me so happy to walk around our house!

On top of my piano

A sampling of my nativities on my mantel. I love having a fireplace!

Anniversary!

image from ldschurchtemples.com

We were able to celebrate our 5th anniversary this weekend with a little getaway to St. George! We did a session in the St. George temple, went out to dinner to Olive Garden (sadly, I was extremely nauseated during dinner so we had to cut it short), and stayed in a hotel with a heated indoor swimming pool (we had the pool all to ourselves!) The next day we attended the marriage and sealing of Alan's cousin Jordan in the St. George temple, so that was a fun way to remember our wedding day as well.

I love this candid shot from our wedding day. Notice the snow!

The best part of the weekend was that we were able to enjoy some time to ourselves without dragging Jared along! My parents were so sweet to watch Jared for us, despite their busy schedules and my dad feeling yucky from chemotherapy. Thanks, Mom and Dad! It was also nice to be gone long enough to have an opportunity to "miss" being with Jared. :) I was really excited to see him when we got home.

ABC's

Alan and I have been joking for a while now that we have a tone-deaf child. I have seen some videos of my blogging friends' children carry tunes when they are 2 years or even 18 months old, so we have laughed at the Buddy's monotone voice. He has been able to "sing" the ABC song for a few months now, but yesterday as I caught it on film we heard Jared's first attempt to actually sing the right melody. Maybe there is hope after all! I think this video is super cute, although I couldn't let him see that I was filming.

Also, here are some more pictures of the Buddy for your enjoyment. I love how I can NEVER get a good picture of Jared's cute smile.

Jared wearing his shhirt and tie that Aunt Amanda gave him

Jared and Daddy playing in a large box

Jared helping Mommy vacuum. Please ignore my large bum.

Jared making a fort/tent/cave in Mommy and Daddy's "lean-in" closet (too small to really be a walk-in closet)

Halloween (Better Late than Never)

We had an eventful Halloween weekend. First we took Jared trick-or-treating at Alan's work, something that only lasted about 15 minutes because of the meltdown Jared had. He wanted to eat all of his candy at the same time. :)

Next we had my family's annual Pumpkin Party, where we carved pumpkins, sang Halloween songs (my family has quite the repertoire), and ate treats and drank cider.

Jared is decorating his pumpkin with stickers

Jared the bat

Jared and all his cousins (minus 2 babies) in their costumes (Note that Jared was the only one not willing to pose for the picture)

All of the pumpkins that my family carved. Jared's finished product is on the chair in the bottom right corner.

We also got together with my former roommates for a Halloween brunch. We ate yummy fondue, cheese balls, sticky rolls, donuts, fruit, and wassail. YUM! We also watched "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," which is actually kind of depressing. Here is a picture of Jared with my roommate's son, Lincoln.


Alan took Jared trick-or-treating around our neighborhood. Jared loved it! Alan even dressed up as Severus Snape.
It is so fun to have a kid that "gets" Halloween. :) Now I'm excited to get Jared all excited about Santa Claus and Christmas!

Funny

A conversation from yesterday:

Me: "What's Mommy's name, Jared?"
Jared: "Mommy!"
Me: "What's Daddy's name?"
Jared: "Uncle Alan!"

Jared is going to be a ...

As at least one of my friends guessed from a subtle (or not-so-subtle) hint I dropped in my last post, we are expecting our 2nd baby next May!

I'm just over 12 weeks along, and our little squirt is about the size of a lime right now (pun intended). I don't have a scanner yet, so here's the best "baby's 1st portrait" you're gonna get:


I haven't been quite as sick as I was with my first pregnancy, but I still feel really crummy in the early morning, the late night, and sometimes in the middle of the night. Yuck! I'm excited for the morning sickness and other unpleasant first trimester symptoms to hopefully disappear soon! (Can we say, less potty stops, please!!)

We are very, very excited for this new change to come about in our lives!!!

Seriously?

This morning I went to my county's health center to get swine flu vaccines for myself and Jared (we are both in the high-risk category right now.) We got there as early as we possibly could, but the line was SOOOOOOO long. Hundreds and hundreds of people snaked around in a covered parking garage; I couldn't even find the end of the line. I bet it was going to be a 3-4 hour wait. Maybe all those other parents in line had angelic children, but I know for sure that MY little 2-year-old wouldn't have had very much fun waiting that long. My question is, "Is it really worth it?"

My husband has been making several phone calls a week to several doctors' clinics to see about swine flu vaccine availability, and they all say that they will get the vaccine in at the end of October or beginning of November, if they get it in at all. At least where I live, it only seems to be available at the County Health Department, and only on certain days.

So, are we all just paranoid about getting swine flu, or is it a real worry?

Stranger Anxiety...Again?

The past two Sundays Jared has decided he hates nursery again. A week ago Alan and I had to take turns staying with him in nursery, but I was just assuming that it was because we had just gotten back from a camping trip and he was exhausted.

Well, yesterday during Sacrament meeting he asked me if he had to go to nursery and I said yes. Then, I swear to you, he started pre-meditating how he would hate nursery. He sat on the floor of the chapel and said to himself, "I don't want to go to nursery. I'm going to want my mommy and daddy. I'm going to cry."

We left him in nursery for a good long time, but finally the nursery leaders had to come get me because he was freaking out. It was so weird!!! He has been going to nursery for 9 months now, and usually he can't wait to go during Sacrament meeting. (He used to say "Go to nursery!" after every single "Amen" in Sacrament meeting.)

I'm wondering if he has stranger anxiety again, or if he is just crying on purpose to get us to stay with him. He also cried when my sister-in-law babysat him a few days ago, something he hasn't done in a long time. Hmm... any advice?

Let's Be Honest...

Everyone lately on their blogs is writing about how much they love the fall and all of its beauties.

I just wanted to state, for the record, that I hate fall.

Reasons:

• It's cold
• Everything outside is dying
• The birds leave, along with their music
• It's back-to-school time, something that always depressed me
• I can't take Jared to the park
• It gets dark early
  
• It rains a lot
• It's cold
• Did I mention that it's cold?

Sure, the leaves are pretty. A few weeks ago we drove up the Alpine Loop to Cascade Springs. It was pretty, although the road was wind-y and I was afraid Jared was going to barf the whole time. He didn't.

In my opinion, the only reason fall exists is to get me excited for Christmas. I have already started listening to Christmas music to wash away the depressing-ness of fall.

Any others agree with me?

Arches!

We just got back from a 3-day camping trip to Arches National Park with one of my brothers and his family of five children. It was our first time taking Jared camping. Wow! I have a lot of admiration for families who take their little kids camping often!! It is tough! Jared woke up one morning around 5:15, and I could not for the life of me convince him that it was still dark outside and everyone was still asleep.

Some of the gang on a lunch stop

These are the remains of Wall Arch, which collapsed just over a year ago. I shed a tear or two as we passed.

Um, I don't remember taking this picture. I must have been trying to get some more shut-eye while the boys took the kids on a morning hike. Is this Skyline Arch???

Yes, I am wearing a maroon hat with a red shirt. Sue me.

My two boys in front of Landscape Arch

Skull Arch in the Fiery Furnace

In front of Kissing Turtles Arch in the Fiery Furnace
(the arch is right in the middle of the picture, but kind of hard to see for Arches amateurs)

My good little hikers--at the Windows section

Eating lunch at Partition Arch in Devils Garden

All tuckered out!

Jared was too big for a hiking backpack, but too little to do much walking. He spent a lot of time either on Alan's shoulders or in my arms. He fell asleep in my arms for about a half hour while I was carrying him on our hike in Devils Garden! I have no idea how he could do that with all that bouncing.

It was lots of fun! We can't wait to do it again sometime.

Why Do These Things Happen at Night?

Last night at about 3:00 I woke up to chirping. And then it happened again. Then again. Yup, one of our smoke detectors was low on its battery. I sent Alan out to see which one it was. It was highest one in our house, the one at the top of our living room's vaulted ceiling. Nice.

Alan suggested I go sleep in a spare room in our basement since hopefully it wouldn't be as loud. But I could still hear it chirping about every 2 minutes. Lame. Needless to say, I did not get much sleep. Alan stayed in our bedroom and even put earplugs in his ears, but he didn't sleep well, either. Fortunately the noise didn't wake Jared up at all.

We don't own a ladder yet. I was worried I was going to have to listen to the ceaseless chirping all day long. But Alan, my hero, said he would go to the store to buy some 9-volt batteries if I would call a friend to borrow her ladder. So we got the batteries replaced and all is well in Zion again today. Except for my fatigue and my mood. :)

I Did It!

With the generous help of one of my neighbors and new friends, Cindy, we made 50 pints of applesauce this week! It was definitely a two-person job. Whew! But it is so satisfying to have all those lovely jars (well, half of them--of course I gave some to Cindy) lined up in my food storage room and to know that the apples all came from my backyard!

First, slice and boil the apples

This is the lovely Kitchen-Aid attachment I borrowed from my mother-in-law. You put the soft apples at the top, and applesauce comes out one end and all the peels and seeds come out the other! Magic!!

Then you add sugar and cinnamon to the applesauce to make it taste even yummier!

After boiling the jars in a regular canner, this is what you get! Lovely, aren't they?

I still have tons of leftover apples. I am planning to make apple crisp this weekend, and then maybe I'll try drying some apples in my oven.

Applesauce

(Image from foodblogga.blogspot.com)

We have an apple tree with green apples that are almost ripe. I'm trying to figure out what to do with them. Anyone know an easy way to make applesauce? I think my mother-in-law has an attachment to a Kitchen-Aid that somehow spits out the seeds of quartered apples, and I'm hoping to borrow it. However, I have never made applesauce before and would appreciate some help or links to helpful websites.

Little Splurge

Last week we did something we (almost) NEVER do. We bought something that we didn't actually need but really wanted. Aaauuggghhh! Part of me still feels guilty about it.

In our bedroom we have a lovely bay window area that up until now has been a big vacant patch of carpet. When we were moving in, several people in my family commented how cute a little bistro table and a couple of chairs would look there. At the time I thought, Yeah, right. Like we'll ever have money for something like that. Anyway, last weekend we drove by a yard sale and saw this fabulous little trio for sale, brand new and still in the box!! (Never mind the fact that the whole reason why we stopped at the yard sale was because we saw bookcases for sale--something we need more and didn't actually end up buying. Ha!) It was just such a fabulous deal that we were quite positive that we were never going to find something we liked better for cheaper. I think that this little set makes such a lovely addition to our bedroom. Don't you?

Jared's Stocking

This will be Jared's third Christmas, and he finally has a stocking!!

Alan and I got beautiful machine-knitted stockings for wedding presents, so I have delayed getting Jared a stocking because I wanted it to semi-match the ones we already have. Since it would have been expensive to order one just like the ones we had (like $50!), I have spent a long time looking for a free crochet pattern online for a stocking. Since I didn't find any that I liked, I finally decided to just make up a pattern myself--something I have never done before!! It is quite obvious below which ones were machine-made and which one was hand-crocheted, but I am still quite pleased with the result.

I even found yarn colors to match, so at least they-re the same color. :)

As I was working on this, I was trying to teach Jared about stockings. I will ask him, "What are stockings for?" and he'll say "Christmas!!" Then I'll say, "Who is going to fill your stocking with presents at Christmas?" and often he'll say "Jesus!" instead of Santa. :)

Trying to catch it on video

Jared does soooooooo many cute things, but of course, the minute I pull out the camera he stops. This is my attempt at getting Jared to sing "I am a Child of God." It is very quiet. Once he sees the camera, he stops the song and says "Cheese" because he thought I was taking a picture.

Oh, well. Maybe I'll have better luck next time.

Finished!

So, if I can't show off on my blog, then where can I do it? Ha ha!

I just finished a blanket that took me months to complete! I honestly wish that I could crochet faster (or just have more time to crochet!) so that I could give more blankets as gifts, but by the time I have put so many hours into a project, I get selfish and want to keep it myself.


In case you can't tell, the alphabet is stitched onto the squares using a popcorn stitch. There is a star in the bottom right corner. It is such a huge, cozy blanket!

Pray this doesn't happen to you, too

Warning: TMI alert!

Today I'm taking the Buddy to the doctor. Here's what has been happening: barf, barf, barf. For the past couple of months, Jared has been barfing in the middle of the night about once a week. He doesn't get a fever, and he really seems to be fine the next day. Well, this past week he has barfed three times. Each time it happens Alan and I are awake for a couple of hours in the middle of the night giving Jared a bath, changing sheets, and rinsing out pj's and stuffed animals and blankets and everything else that got puked on.

Well, last night it happened again and the main thing that Jared barfed up was raspberries from dinner last night. Red, chunky juice all over everything: pj's, socks, hair, stuffed animals, blankets, sheets, mesh crib bumpers, mattress pad, etc. After giving Jared a bath and changing his sheets, we put him back in bed (it was about 2:30 in the morning). THEN we spent the next hour and a half cleaning up. Alan said we should prepare ourselves to have to throw several things away since they were stained so badly, but we decided to try to pour boiling water over everything to see if it would help. We had four pans of water on our stove at a time and poured the water over everything in our bathtub. It was so disgusting. Then we did a load of laundry in the middle of the night. Crazy, I know. Most of the stains seemed to come out. And yes, Jared seems fine today. However, I am going to take him to the doctor to see if he has some kind of acid reflux problem or something. Hopefully it's not something that medicine can't fix!!

Barf from little kids is so, so, so gross. Hope that this never happens to you!

Peaches!

Aah, another post about me working on my domesticity. :) Our new house has a peach tree, and last week the peaches were ripe, so we picked them all for Family Home Evening one night. Jared loved it! He was totally helpful picking them--so we got him his own set of gloves (since Alan and I were wearing them) and his own grocery sack to put them in (so we could sort out the good ones from the bad ones.)

Our peach tree is actually a pathetic-looking little thing, and you can see above that it is being held up by two metal posts.

We have been enjoying fresh peaches on our cereal, fresh peaches for lunch, and fresh peaches in our milkshakes. Yum!

My mom helped me can my peaches. It was such a pain to peel them since most of them were the size of apricots, but I did get 14 quarts for our food storage! It is kind of a satisfying feeling to have canned peaches from our own yard!

Being Replaceable

Today is the first day of school in the school district my kids will someday attend. I used to teach at the nearest high school by my house. As I have driven by this week and seen all the other teachers' cars parked outside the school, I have pondered being replaceable.

When you finish a phase in your life, do you ever wonder how life there will ever go on without you? I remember when I graduated from high school thinking that it was so weird that my teachers would continue to teach the next year without me or my friends there. Choir performances and competitions would go on without me. School dances would continue to be a busy social event, even though I wasn't there.

The same feelings come to me as I have moved a couple of times in my married life. My landlords easily found new tenants, and the bishops of our former wards found new people to fulfill our church callings. Life somehow goes on without me there.

I loved the years I spent teaching, but now I get sort of sad when I think that students come and go every year, and my former coworkers keep right on teaching year after year without sparing a thought for me. (Well, I still keep in touch with a couple of coworkers, and they claim to miss me sometimes. Ha ha.) It is sad to me that I was replaced so easily.

All of this makes me appreciate the roles in my life where I am NOT replaceable: my roles as wife, mother, sister, daughter, and friend.

A Gripe

To Facebook or not to Facebook...

A couple of nights ago I went to a wedding reception for a high school friend and ran into several other high school friends there. I had about four different people ask me why I'm not on Facebook. In fact, a different friend who is getting married soon admitted that he only sent invitations to high school friends who sent him their addresses when he asked for them via a Facebook message or post, or whatever it is called (that's an example of how much I know about Facebook).

Then the last straw hit last night when we found out that Alan's cousin (whom he is very close to) got engaged a WEEK AGO and instead of calling Alan (or anyone else) to tell the good news, he posted the announcement on Facebook. We found out from the grapevine since we do not have Facebook accounts.

Am I really that weird for not wanting to be on Facebook? I think that I already spend enough time blogging, reading other blogs, and looking at other things on the internet that I don't want to add another addicting program to my life. I would only waste even more time! But I really hate how impersonal people have gotten lately because of all this new technology. Is it really that hard to make a personal phone call or send a personal email (or even a mass email!) when something exciting happens in your life? One of Alan's brother's announced his engagement on a family blog and then texted everyone to check the blog. Even his siblings found out this way. (We have all given him a hard time about this.) I mean, come on, people. It's okay to post exciting news on Facebook or a blog to let all of your not-so-close friends find out, but please be more considerate of family members and close friends!

Am I way out in left field, or does anyone agree with me?

Our Little Rascal

Jared certainly keeps us on our toes.

Yesterday I played the organ in church, and Jared came up on the stand to see me when Sacrament Meeting was over and I was just playing postlude.

Well, at the end of church, Alan went to nursery to get Jared (I was still in Relief Society). Alan turned his back on Jared for 10 seconds to talk to someone in the hall, and Jared took off to come find me. Once Alan realized Jared was missing, he went into panic mode and looked everywhere for him: was he outside in the parking lot? Nope. Did he go back to nursery? Nope. Alan finally peeked into another ward's sacrament meeting to see if Jared was there. A couple of people figured that Alan was looking for a lost little boy, so they motioned Alan over to the foyer on the other side of the chapel. Alan shut the door to the chapel and then ran over to the other side of the church. A man was holding Jared and asking him, "Where's your mommy?" When Alan got there, the man told Alan that Jared had wandered into this other ward's sacrament meeting and walked all the way up on the stand by the bishopric before someone scooped him up and took him out to the foyer. We figure that Jared was looking for his mommy up by the organ! Smart kid. I'm so glad that we are new to this area and no one knows who we are and whose little boy that was that was wandering around.

I told this story to my mom this morning, and she said that my oldest brother did the exact same thing when he was about Jared's age. My parents found him sitting on the lap of the bishop of another ward!! Like uncle, like nephew, I guess. . .

Bear Lake

Last week we got back from a vacation to Paris, Idaho, the little town where my sister-in-law grew up. We went up some canyons, visited Minnetonka Cave, toured the Paris Tabernacle, and spent a day at Bear Lake. It was a perfect getaway for our family.

Jared and Grandma venture into the lake

Jared and his cousin

The entire clan at Minnetonka Cave (well, we are actually missing two)

Inside the cave

Jared "playing" Bingo with his cousins. He kept saying "I love Bingo!" although he really had no idea.