Jon's Journey Through Dad-dum

A photo story.
































Last Father's Day













It's been a good couple of years! Thanks for being such a great Dad!

Thanks to both of our dad's as well. We were talking today about the things that we love about each of our dad's and I told Jon that I didn't think that I would have seen the same qualities in my dad before having my own child that I do now. Thanks for being so great Dad and for being such a good example of things I want in my own family. I couldn't have asked for a better dad. Alex thinks both of his grandpas are pretty great too! We love you!

Alex can wear the same shoes as mommy!

I LOVE my reef flip flops. I've had my black pair for about 5 years now. So after Jon misplaced his flip flops, I told him that he needed to get a pair of reefs because I love mine so much.

So when we were up at the outlet today, Jon found some brown ones (he put them on and said that they were scratchy between his toes. I hope that's just because he hasn't worn flip flops in a while. And they should wear and soften a bit anyway). I got a pair of brown ones very much like my black ones because black just doesn't go with everything. And I almost got Alex a pair of black ones just like mine. Yes. They have Reef flip flops for kids. I think they even have them in as small of a size as 2/3 (Alex is in a 6/7 right now).
I think maybe next summer he can have some, but we just got him a couple of pairs of flip flops which should hold up through the summer.

We could have been a whole family of Reef flip flops. How cute!

This also reminded me of the shoes I will be purchasing for Jen and Chandler's future baby, whenever they should decide to have one of those things.

I know, I'm totally ruining the surprise .
I saw these about a year ago and knew that's what I would be getting Jen one day. So Jen, there you go. I expect you to be just as thrilled about them when I actually give them to you and no, you cannot go out and buy them yourself before I do. Sorry.

However, I know you'll be wanting those Reefs for your kid too, so I will let you purchase those yourself.

Diaper Deal!

I embarrassed my poor husband tonight at Target. In my defense, I was going to go without him, but we ended up meeting up and going there before dinner. It wouldn't have been as embarrassing if they had more lanes open, and I felt bad for holding up the line, but we did get through it all pretty fast. Jon was just embarrassed to be standing there while I did my coupons and 10 separate transactions.

So right now there are 2 Target coupons out, each for $5 off (one in the form of a $5 gift card) of a pack of Pampers diapers/trainers and a pack of wipes (180 count or more is specified on one coupon, but not the other). To sweeten this deal, I paid $5 on ebay and got 20 $2 off of 2 pampers products manufacturers coupons.

I did separate transactions with a pack of diapers and wipes each, used the gift card coupon FIRST, then the other 2 coupons. Sometimes the gift card coupon wouldn't pop out a gift card and the cashier would just take the $5 off of the transaction, leaving my total to $3.77. Original price was $15.48. If the gift card does pop out, I would pay $8 something and then use that $5 gift card on my next purchase. It all works out in the end.

I have 10 coupons left to use and I'll be going back probably later this week to get some more diapers and wipes. I'm wondering if there is any way that I could take my excessive amounts of wipes (180x10!) to a store and exchange them for packs of diapers... hmm...

And another happy note is that we then went up to the outlets to exchange some shoes we got for Alex (his feet decided to outgrow the 5's I just got for him in April) and I got some sweet deals at GUESS. They had 50% off of already marked down stuff, so that was great. The funniest thing though was finding bermuda shorts that fit me in the girls section. They were actually a little big (the 16's) because they had a TON of stretch to them and I probably should have tried on the 14's, but it was 9 and Alex and Jon were done.
I also finally found me a cute pair of denim capris. I have the hardest time finding cute capris and even bermudas. My huge problem with capris is that since I have really short calfs, they always end up at a weird length on me. So I was really happy to find cute ones (I did have to try on about 10 pairs though). They are a bit tight, but I'm hoping they do the same thing that most jeans do and stretch. I'm just going to have some skin tight jeans on for a couple of months.

By the way, Papaya is a GREAT place to shop for denim capris! They had 10-15 different styles which is more than I have seen anywhere! They have a really crappy return policy though. You only have 14 days to exchange them and they don't do cash or CREDIT CARD returns. It was the strangest thing I had ever seen. Basically, if you spend money at Papaya, the money is there permanently as you will only get store credit for anything that you return. So I did have one other pair that I wasn't totally decided on and was going to get, but didn't because of their lovely return policy. And maybe it's just the outlet that has that return policy, but it was really weird to have such an extreme policy.

It was a fun night out with the fam and good thing I had fruit snacks or we would have had an interesting time with Alex. I'm so glad I have Jon to go shopping with... it's great to have him entertain Alex for me. Alex greatly takes after his dad and HATES shopping. I'm pretty sure that I've mentioned before that if I even wander into the clothing section at Target Alex immediately gets upset. He knows.

Oh, we also decided that Alex would like to try out one of those little mall rides that they have. I guess we should have found one that people were already using so that he could see what was going to happen because when we put the money in and the voice came on saying to stay with your child, it freaked him out. He wanted out of that thing ASAP! We tried to show him that it was fun to ride and he would have nothing to do with it. Oh well. I'm sure in a year he'll begging to go on the things.

Why I love white clothing

one word. BLEACH!!!
I have the hardest time getting stains out of his other clothes. Of course, they are all food stains. I use a stain cleaner called Totally Toddler, scrub with a toothbrush on stains, then let it soak in detergent and Biz, wash and they are still there. I currently have 3 shirts that I have washed about 4 times following this process and there are still stains on them.
As for the white shirts that had stains on them, I dabbed bleach on the trouble spots and 1 wash later they were gone. I LOVE that!

This brings me to another thing I don't understand. Fabric bibs. Why do they even make them? We got a ton as gifts and when we don't have a clean plastic bib handy, we grab one of the fabric ones. I now have 3 bibs that I have washed over and over following the usual stain cleaning ritual (I even spray right after taking the bib off) and they are still gross and stained.

My conclusion last night was that the fabric bibs are for the sole purpose of wearing constantly and catching drool/spit up. My experience was that all of the bibs were too big when we had our reflux/spit up issues going on (these fabric bibs are really just now fitting him at 19 months. But then, Alex has always had a bit of a chicken neck) and most of the time the spit up landed further down on the belly and not directly under the chin. And for some strange reason, I always felt like it was an accessory similar to a bandanna tied around a dog's neck which was just weird for me.

Maybe with the next baby I'll give the constant bib thing another shot seeing as how when I went back to rebox some of Alex's smaller clothes there were some prominent yellow stains from the spit up that the heat had brought out, even though they were clean and pretty when I put them in the box. I am not looking forward to having to rewash baby clothes and trying to get all those yellow stains out. Ugh. Is that a good enough reason to avoid having another baby for a while? Maybe not. But Six Flags is!

One more way to make mommy laugh

Be standing naked in your crib when she comes to get you up from your nap.

and let her take pictures of you

and repeatedly, with much excitement, point out and say penis (just pronounced pee at this point) while thoughtfully looking out the window

and when you're sick of it, make a good face to get mom to stop taking pictures

oh and other good news... I found the 4th season of The O.C. to download, so I'll all set!

The O.C.

Yes. I've been watching The O.C.
Does that group me into the teenager group? I feel a little weird knowing that my sister watched that show religiously in high school, and here I am, a 25 year old enjoying The O.C.
Is it any surprise that my sister got me started on One Tree Hill too? Another high school based drama show that the 25 year old me actually really enjoys. And watches religiously.
So I just finished season 3 of The O.C. today. And I can't find any torrents of season 4 that will work. Yes. I download tv shows illegally. I have netflix though, so if I wanted the DVDs, I could get them... but I just don't have that much time to wait for DVDs of a TV show when I have so many other movies on my list to catch up on. (It's been a long time since we made any effort to see movies and we are on the cheapest 1 at a time plan at Netflix).
So maybe this is a far cry, but if any of you random people in Austin own or know someone that owns The O.C. season 4, PLEASE hook me up! Now if that didn't sound desperate...
You know how it is though. The season finale of your favorite show just ended and there are so many dramatic things going on and you are faced with the prospect of waiting all summer agonizing until the premire. This is like that excpet that I shouldn't have to wait all summer. The show is already out on DVD, but I can't find a way to get it.
I just want to watch it and be done, but don't want to rent 3 seperate discs in order to watch it. I'm cheap and lazy.
And apparently, quite desperate and pathetic. Ahh... what watching The O.C. will do to a person...

umm... potty training?

I just got Alex up from his nap. He's usually wet after his nap, so I went to change his diaper. Well he was dry, so I thought hey may as well try taking him to the potty (Alex loves to sit on the potty and wipe. He thinks it's one of the greatest things ever). I decided to mix things up and have him try standing and going potty like Daddy, so I got him a stool and stood him up there and he actually peed in the potty! I was so amazed! I think he was a little amazed as well.
It probably was a by chance thing, but I do think that it at least helped him realize that he can pee in the toilet.

Fish Sticks

Alex does not take after his dad in the area of fish sticks. Jon detests the things. Alex devours them.
Today for lunch I made him six fish sticks and they were gone in about ten minutes. I upped it to six today since he easily ate five the last time I made them.
I love that they are easy to make, which is a must for lunch time around our house. And this is about the only way he gets his omega-3's since the kid spits out both avocados and tuna fish, which, oddly enough, are both things that Jon loves. (Okay, he doesn't love the tuna fish, but he does eat it for lunch every day.)

Really though, I'm just glad that I have a kid that isn't terribly picky about what he eats. We did the picky/not eating at all thing for a while and it drove me crazy, so I'm VERY happy that he eats so much now. I can even get him to eat green beans these days which he was VERY opposed to for MONTHS.
Don't ask me how I do it. The kid sways with the breeze. I will say this though... anything with dip is our friend (fish sticks have dip!). Even though some meals (like the bbq chicken for lunch on Thursday) he ends up just eating the dip. Hey, ketchup is nutritious right?

After 8 days, my ears are finally unplugged!

There is hope in the world after all! I was thinking that the draining thing would take a month (that's what a website I read said). I was so relieved today when I was blowing my nose and heard some pretty strange noises in my one remaining ear that was plugged. I can't quite describe the noise... it was kind of like a loud, high pitched gurgly/bubbly sound. Remember yelling at your friends underwater at the pool? I would say that it was somewhat similar sounding to that.
The good news is that with that sound, my ear became unplugged and I could FINALLY hear again. I was so sick of feeling like I was under water and having a hard time hearing people and gauging how loud I was talking.
So I guess my sinus blockage is clearing, which is a wonderful thing. I am still loading up on decongestants/expectorants and drinking a lot of water because my nose is very stuffy and I have a lot of mucus to thin and get out, but I already feel TONS better than I have been.
Eight days was a LONG time, but I'm glad that it wasn't three weeks!

Twin Packs

As in food packaging.
Here is what drives me crazy about it. On the boxes they say there are 12 of something, but really, you're only getting 6. You have to either just know, or look carefully at the bottom of the box where it says, "six twin packs".
Who opens a twin pack of something and doesn't eat both of them? Isn't the 12 thing a little misleading? You're only going to eat the stuff 6 times, not 12. Don't claim there are 12, just say that there are 6 twin packs.
Pop tarts and swiss rolls (ho-hos) are the two that I have had encounters with in the past week. There's also those Nature Valley granola bars (the crunchy ones) and cupcakes. The cupcakes are really obvious that you are getting 2 though. I'm sure there are others that I am missing.

So the twin pack thing got me thinking about twin pops popsicles. You can break the thing in half and share, or save the other half in the freezer. There are 2 sticks after all.
So do they label the popsicles as the full amount of halves or the amount of actual popsicles before they are broken apart? Does the bag focus on there being 12 actual popsicles or do they focus on there being "technically" 24 popsicles?
I may have to do some investigating on my next trip to the store.

My favorite words from The Boy

I just added a new one to my list yesterday.
You've all heard Alex say newt, which cracks me up every time (check out the video a couple of weeks ago if you haven't already).

I also LOVE it when he says honey. And this kid loves honey. Every time I make him a sandwich he says honey over and over and over again. It's adorable!

My latest favorite is tackle. We were playing with the football yesterday and I grabbed Alex and tackled him and said tackle! He thought it was great fun and now says "taa toe". It's very cute.

And here's an endearing story from today sharing one of the other words he says that's cute. He just barely learned to say daddy instead of dada a few weeks ago and I love it. So today we were playing upstairs when Jon came home and as soon as Alex heard the front door open, he started yelling with much excitement, "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" and was so happy when he saw him! It's little moments like those that are the sweetest.

I guess he had his heart set on it...

Alex had a nice bowl of oranges today before his nap and made a huge mess. He only had pj bottoms on and the whole tops of the thighs on them were orange (hopefully my stain cleaner does it's job well!). Of course, it was all over his chest and hands, but those were easily wiped. I did tell Alex what a mess he was though and took off his pants and then proceeded to take him upstairs, telling him that we were going to go have a nap.
I guess the mess and removal of the pants got him thinking that he really needed (and was possibly getting) a bath. He was saying baa, baa, baa (bath, bath bath) on the way up the stairs. When I realized he wanted a bath, I told him no and that we were going to take a nap.
Two hours later he wakes up and I go up to get him. I walk in his room to see one side of his diaper undone and him working on the other. The second he sees me he says, "baa, baa, baa!"
How could I not put him in the tub?
I guess he really had his heart set on taking a bath today.

A new haircut and the organization of the toys

On Sunday I pulled out the clippers, snapped on the 4, and went to work on Alex's hair. It ended up being a little short, but it's not bad. We fed him sour gummy worms to keep him distracted and I went really fast. He didn't care at all and hopefully it will be a little while before we need to do another one.






I'm a little sad that he doesn't have the blond curls that Jon had when he was little, but I guess I'll get over it. I hope at least one of our kids will get the blond curls!






If you couldn't tell, Alex loves balls. Here he is with his latest discovery... Daddy's football.
And with his pink football. Yes, he has a pink football. I couldn't help it... that was the only color they had in the set I got him. Jon calls them doggy toys, but they are just easy grip balls. Alex loves the football because it bounces all crazy, especially down the stairs.




And, in my effort to organize my house more (since we plan on moving next year, I'm slowly working on getting everything organized and nice looking so that 1)-I don't have to do it all last minute and thus, 2)-enjoy the organization myself for a longer amount of time), I got a toy bin organizer for Alex.

Before, all of the toys were piled in (and out of) a single laundry basket in the closet under the stairs. It was a big mess in there! Now they are all in little bins and I try to keep things that go together, together (hint hint Jon: those toys all have certain places when you clean them up). Alex was so excited yesterday discovering toys that have been sitting at the bottom of the laundry basket that he hasn't seen in MONTHS. Now he can see all of his toys and will go in the closet, take a toy out, show me and tell me what it is with much excitement, and then go back in and repeat. The picture is of him doing exactly that (he ended up bringing out the Mr. Potato Head glasses). You can see how excited he is! Turns out it's a really good picture of his hair cut as well.

And here's a shot of the closet without the boy in it. Hooray for being able to see all the toys! It makes it much easier to send Alex in there to find something to play with without me don't having to be right there going, "oh! Look at this! Cool!" to get him to play with something.
I think I'm going to label the buckets so that we all know where things go and I don't have to reorganize after Jon is nice and cleans up for me.

Stake Conference

Getting ready for church: 10 minutes

Getting kid ready for church: 20 minutes

Realizing it was stake conference today as you're pulling out of the driveway and you've already missed it: timeless

There are some things money can't buy, for everything else there's Forgetfulness.

Plugged Ears and a BBQ

My ears are still plugged. It sounds like I am under water and it's really hard to gauge how loud I'm talking along with hearing other people. Sounds like a lot of fun at a BBQ with people you don't know right?
Sure was! We had Jon's team of guys he works with over for a BBQ. It was really fun! It would have been funner if my ears weren't plugged up, but what can you do. It was nice to have the excuse of having a child to watch/entertain so that I didn't have to interact as much.
I think the funniest thing for me tonight was having to walk over to one of the girls here so that I could hear what she was saying. I'm sure she thought it was really weird. I probably should have told them that I'm recovering from a major sinus infection and that my ears are plugged. Or Jon should have. Oh well though, I guess they can all think I'm a fairly unsocial, weird talking, hard of hearing girl.
I plan on redeeming myself for the next BBQ. We have such a great time at these that they are almost becoming a monthly thing (people were already talking about having one in July). It's fun to get to know new people. I love meeting new girls and having stuff in common with them. One of the guys' wife shares my love of One Tree Hill... pretty much the geekiest/weirdest thing about me!
It is late and I've stayed awake far too long watching The O.C. Yes. The O.C. Cindy would be proud! But it was almost a natural evolution to go from One Tree Hill to The O.C. I mean I just can't get enough of those high school drama shows. Any good ideas on what to watch once I finish the 6 (right?) seasons of The O.C?
I was thinking of watching ALL of E.R. That should get me through a while. I'm guessing Amy will be having me watch Gilmore Girls. Sure! I'll add that to my list. I mean, I'm a stay at home mom... what else am I going to do during nap time? Certainly not work on my list of projects.
Hey, a drama-less woman has to get her girly drama in somehow!

Verdict is: Sinus Infection

I am a FAN of MinuteClinic in CVS. I randomly found out about it on a website I was looking at for a Dr. to go see tomorrow. I got there at 7:45, entered my info in, the nurse got my insurance info and then checked me out. Ears: yup... fluid filled. Nose: oh ya... definitely infected. Throat: yup. Sinus infection. She printed out and signed my prescriptions for some Amoxicillan and Nasonex and I was out the door at 8:05. I walked over to the pharmacy and had the prescriptions filled and was out of CVS at 8:20.

I loved not having to call for an appointment, walking in and being seen right away. And it was really convenient to have the pharmacy right there.

HIGHLY recommended! So if you have a common illness (strep throat, bronchitis and ear, eye and sinus infections), go to MinuteClinic. 7 days a week. 8am-8pm (at least on the weekdays).

And an interesting thought that Jon brought up is that places like this could be what it takes to change the future of the medical industry. I'll let him write a little bit about it.

(enter Jon, stage left)

Hello friends! Lend me your ears and bask in the Readers' Digest condensed version of how our health care system is broken and how it will be fixed by, of all places, Wal-Mart.

47 million people in the US do not have health insurance. 47 million. Recent surveys have shown that the greatest fear of many people isn't losing their job, its losing their health insurance.

Let's say you want to go to a doctor and you don't have health insurance. What do you do? Well, if you walk into a doctor's office you will now pay some astronomical figure instead of a $25 co-pay because the billing rates have been jacked up because insurers are the ones paying it.

So you don't go to a doctor for a few weeks. Now you wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night, heart pounding, feeling like you're on the verge of death. Where do you go? The ER.

Are you refused care at the ER? No. They don't turn anyone away. Thus, if you need medical assistance in this country you go to the ER.

In the meantime, my kid falls on the coffee table and splits open his eyelid. Where do I go? The ER. Who gets priority, my kid or the guy who's about to die? Obviously they're going to save our comrades' life before bothering to give my kid four stitches.

So I end up waiting for FIVE HOURS before my kid can get sewn up (which takes about 15 minutes for the skilled professionals to do, thanks to that Asian doctor who's name I don't remember) and out the door.

This is about the worst way to deliver medical services that I could possibly imagine.

So instead, what if Joe Schmoe without insurance could go to a local clinic and see a doctor for $45 even if he doesn't have health insurance? That way he gets the preventative care he needs to get better and not end up in the ER and when I go for real emergencies I don't have to wait FOREVER and watch the dozens of other 'low-priority' emergencies wait as the line fills up with our comrades without health insurance using the ER as a primary care provider.

Sounds great, eh? Well, Wal-Mart just put in clinics like this in Atlanta, Dallas and Little Rock. They already operate 80 clinics in other stores throughout the country as part of joint venture with local hospitals. Their goal is 400 clinics by 2010.

Obviously they aren't going to save the health care system by themselves. But Target, CVS, Walgreens, etc. are going to be following suit in order to prevent a 'Clinic Gap' (thank you Dr. Strangelove.)

Now people without insurance have a way of seeing a physician without losing an arm and a leg. This isn't going to solve all problems of course (they still would be unable to get advanced care without insurance such as MRI, surgery, etc.) but maybe this would be the catalyst that changes health insurance into what it should actually be: insurance for major medical events. I don't need auto insurance to take my car into a shop. But I need auto insurance to cover the massive costs of a catastrophe (i.e. a major accident.) This is what health insurance should be about.

The inspiration for Jon's wisdom on the matter comes from the great Jim Jubak. His column on this subject is a must-read.

As much as you may loathe the evil empire, they may end up saving our health care system.

Wal-Mart for the win!

Just some pictures

check out our sweet new umbrella! A great improvement over our last!




And our cute boy!

Hooray for throw yourself on the floor tantrums!

Alex was a little tired tonight. So when I told him to put his ball in his house, he was a little upset and, for the first time ever, laid flat on the ground and did a couple of tiny kicks. Usually he just sits or kneels on the floor and hangs his head. I know that tantrums shouldn't be funny, but they always are. I just get a kick out of him saying no. It makes me laugh 90% of the time.
Today at lunch he was actually practicing his no's. He was saying no over and over just for the heck of it in all sorts of tones and variations. He does this often and randomly.
I guess it's a good thing it's still making me laugh most of the time. I'm sure in a few months I'll be blogging about how sick I am of hearing no. I am hoping though that his tantrums stay mild and don't escalate into full blown kicking and screaming. Even then, I'm not sure I'll really mind them. I'm pretty good about ignoring them. I'm just afraid for dealing with it when we go out. If he's currently whining when we enter any aisles (especially ones filled with clothes), I'm afraid of what my shopping with Alex future holds. I do have to say though, that the 99 cent popcorn and soda at Target are my new BEST friends!

Memorial Day when you don't have graves to see

Sorry Mom, another year without us in your annual headstone pictures. Hey, at least we got Jon in them 1 of the 3 years.
It's so different not to be spending Memorial Day with our families. In my family, we would always go up to the cabin in Bear Lake, ride 4-wheelers, and then go to see the many graves of our loved ones. And of course, always taking the time to visit Great Grandma as well.

Who would have thought that I would miss doing that with my family? I remember whining about going when I was a teenager. And now, even though we poke fun, I even miss the headstone pictures where you don't know if you should be smiling or not.

Today I sat around some more, drugged up and sucking on lozenges. Jon finished up our patio. And we went to Chick-fil-et to use our free milkshake coupons and then went to get a big new umbrella for our table that is not sitting on our patio instead of out in the grass. It was a good day and we enjoyed spending time together, but it just wasn't the same not being able to stop by the places where the people we love are buried.

We do miss those that we no longer have and I was able to give them some thought today about how meaningful each person that we have lost meant. It was nice to take a moment to actually think about them and their life and realize how much they really did mean to me and to so many others. How great is it that we have a whole day set aside nationally for people to stop a think about those people that have died. I think it's awesome that our country has and honors such a sacred day. And maybe it's used more for sales and shopping, but I know for me, the highlight was being able to be home with my family.

Probably not allergies

The sinus medicine is doing nothing for me. The acetaminophen in it makes my throat feel better for a bit. I probably should just take the acetaminophen plain and forget the decongestant, which I don't need.
So I skipped church today. Ever try to find a sub on memorial day weekend? It's a blast! I finally found someone and I'm happy that I didn't have to expose people to whatever it is I have (which it could be strep). Alex stayed home with me and he was SO good and happy today. He even took 2, 2 hour naps. He must know that I'm tired and needed some napping myself.
I'm hoping that if I have something he doesn't catch it. I wouldn't wish this painful of a throat on anyone.
And with that I am off to take some more medication and crawl into my bed for a hopefully a good night's sleep. I'm really hoping that I don't have strep and that this goes away tomorrow so that I don't have to wait until Tuesday to go into the Dr. Anyone have a good general practice Dr. for me? Can you believe that? We've been here for almost 2 years and never needed to go to the Dr..
My pillow is calling my name. 'Night!

Scary spiders and a completed patio!

Yesterday evening we went out for a walk and over to the park with Alex.

There was a dead spider in my garage. It was black and furry and actually had GREEN EYES! Creepy! So I had some fun doing some spider identifying. Thank heaven for the internet! I remember catching bugs and freezing them (I look forward to those years with bugs in containers in my freezer) and using them for some science project where we had to identify them. These were in the days when the internet was limited. CRAZY! I KNOW!

So the spider I saw yesterday, from what I can tell, is a Grass Spider. We actually see a lot of spiders like this around here. Oh and they do have a venomous bite, but thankfully of low risk to humans.

The garage spider is this guy. I know, a little creepy huh?
I'm glad he was dead!


Did I also mention that we've been seeing fairly large wasps flying around our patio area recently? Uhh... that's where we go and sit and let Alex play and it was a little freaky going out there. Can you tell that I have a slight bug phobia?
Someone Jon works with informed him that they are probably Cicada Killer Wasps.
Here's a link to a wiki article about them.
I guess it's good that they kill cicada's (which eat young trees and shrubs), but it's too bad that they have a painful sting. So at the risk of my trees and shrubs, we put out a wasp killer. Goodbye Cicada Killer Wasps.
Jon actually saw one the other day carrying what he said was a spider. So maybe ours have expanded their appetites?













Back to things less buggy...
Alex had a great time at the playground. He played solely with the little rocks and wasn't really interested in going down the slides or anything. I guess we need to have a rock box instead of a sandbox. I wouldn't be entirely opposed to that idea whereas the thought of having him in a sandbox and cleaning him off afterward is NOT a happy thought for me.

Jon also put many hard hours into the patio today and got it finished while I was inside lounging around and taking a nap. I haven't been feeling at the top of my game and have one of the worst sore throats I can ever remember. I think it's coming from sinus blockage/pressure since I had been having mild headaches in the evening a couple of days before the sore throat started. So I'm taking some sinus stuff and hoping that the sore throat and generally yucky feeling goes away soon. Thank you allergies.

The patio looks fabulous though. Thanks to Billy for letting Jon use his saw to cut through the pavers. DeWalt rocks! ;)
On Monday we're going to get a big new umbrella for our table so we can have some shade and a nice place to sit over there. Hopefully without too many spiders and bugs :)

pictures!

First off, the lovely shelves we put in our garage. This was all just stacked on the floor before. Moving that big box up onto a top shelf really gave us a lot of space to put stuff. Oh and that blue box by the bike trailer went in the recycling yesterday.





This is the big scary spider that crawled out of the strawberries as I was pulling the grass away from them. Ahh!




Here's Jon working on our patio!




and me!




and Alex!







And the patio ALMOST done!



And here are some good Alex pictures for you!



diaper wedgie




booger sucking (yes, he loves this thing and loves it when I suck out his boogers. Weirdo!)


and playing outside last night

Israel

As I was perusing the internets this fine evening (thanks for another late night, dear!) I happened across a post on the Bloggernacle talking about Israel.

For some reason this reminded me of what the word 'israel' means in its native Hebrew. (Sidenote: I wish I could read Hebrew, Arabic, Greek, Latin and a whole host of near-eastern languages. Portuguese and Spanish will have to suffice for the present.)

'Israel' in Hebrew roughly means 'one who struggles with God' or 'wrestled with God.'

What does it mean for someone to wrestle or struggle with God? How often should we wrestle with Him? What are outcomes of such an action?

I don't profess to have all the answers but improving my relationship with God is something I've been pondering recently. I've also been thinking about how one goes about teaching children and my Primary kids about attaining a greater faith in God.

Seeing how the first principle of righteous action in men is faith in Deity, what are ways to help others build faith? I'm sure these are things that most religious leaders think about on regular occasions. Its also something I thought about for a couple years. It hasn't been until recently that I've had this desire rekindle inside me; not only how to increase one's faith but also how to help others do so.

Enos wrestled with God through mighty prayer. Jacob wrestled with an angel. Moses wrestled an entire nation from the hands of Egypt. Brother Brigham (I love that name) wrestled with mobs in Nauvoo and later struggled across 1500 miles of wilderness. Others struggle with different challenges.

Health, money, shelter, food, clothing, addiction, depression.

I don't myself struggling with much at the moment. Is that the reason I find myself not wrestling with God? Probably. The times in my life where its been the hardest are the times I turn to the Lord. The scriptures frequently talk about how slow men are to turn to the Lord except in their times of need. Why do we wait for extraordinary situations to call on the help of God?

I believe that developing a deep, personal relationship with God is a fundamental aspect to this life. Doctrines, practices, beliefs, dogmas, etc. are far secondary to building this relationship. Comprehending His will for us by doing unto others as we would have done unto us comes by understanding who He is. By loving God we come to understand why is it so important to love and serve our neighbor. It is through us that He accomplishes His work.

"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."
-Mother Teresa

Thanks for letting me share some thoughts with all y'all (thank you, Texas.)

Have a marvelous and safe Memorial Day weekend!

Nope. Didn't clean my house.

You can thank Amy for that.
I'm not quite sure what the original reason for coming over was... something about her doing laundry?
It evolved into me bringing my valances to work on. And I got 2 of the 4 done! Yay! And they look fabulous! Amy was a little confused that I was bringing a piece of a 2x4 in to her house, but you've gotta do what you've gotta do.

And I just have to add that in the ways of season finales, Grey's Anatomy was GREAT tonight and The Office was AWESOME last week!

I also wanted to post a great recipe I got from my friend Lauren.

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 tbsp. butter or margarine
2/3 c. honey
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. mustard

Place the chicken in a greased 9x9 inch baking pan. Bake, uncovered, at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the butter, honey, salt, and mustard. Cook and stir over low heat until well mixed and heated through. Pour the sauce over chicken, then bake, uncovered for 30-35 minutes more, occasionally basting chicken with sauce. Serve chicken with remaining sauce.


My modification is to poor the sauce over the chicken from the beginning and cook for about 40-45ish minutes, with a bit of basting. You can also add some brown sugar or bbq sauce to the sauce. We made this last week and I kept the left over sauce and made it again tonight, but added bbq sauce. It was very similar to Chick-fil-et's honey mustard bbq sauce, so if you like that, you'll like this.
I still have some sauce left, so I'm going to cube the chicken and cook it like that so the sauce further permeates the chicken. I've also considered coating cubed chicken in cornstarch and frying and then serving the sauce on top (it would be like saucy chinese styles of chicken).
I love that I only had to make the sauce once (I did make a little more than the recipe called for) and we get to eat it three times!

So there you have my rave about a yummy easy recipe you should all try. Thanks Lauren!

The nature of the beast

Whenever I full on clean my house (as in vacuum and all), it's a mess the next day. Seriously, what's up with that?
I guess I can only blame myself (and probably my husband and child) for not staying on top of it and picking up the little things.
Tomorrow= more cleaning. Surprise surprise.

On a happy note, I had a mostly successful day at Kohl's. I found myself 2 lightweight "sweat" cut off pants. One even in bright pink. I can't wait to pull them on tomorrow. Oh wait... visiting teaching. Maybe not the best fashion statement to make when going to visit.
But they will be fabulous for wearing to the pool. Or outside working on the yard. Or, my favorite, hanging out at home in. I can hardly wait.

I only say mostly because I was also looking for some new denim capris/bermudas. The capris I currently have actually still fit me when I was about 7 months pregnant with Alex. Needless to say, I wear a belt with them. ;)
I found a really cute pair of bermudas at Kohl's in the misses section and was really mad when the 4's were too big. Seriously. I wanted them to fit. And they should have. I even got a pair of plaid capris made by the same company that the 4's were slightly tight on me. I was so mad because I have a hard time finding bermudas/capris that look good on me (pants shopping is not a good kind of shopping for me) and these looked great except for being slightly too big when they shouldn't have been that big! And do they make 2's in misses? I don't think so. GRRR.
Thus the mostly successful.
And the saddest part? I have to put more time and effort into finding a cute pair of denim capris/bermudas. I was thinking about getting some from mimi maternity, but I'm still trying to decide if the they are worth the $88. Nearly every part of me says YES because they are ADORABLE. And I could still wear them while pregnant. BUT I don't want to spend $90 on maternity shorts and then have them not fit me while not pregnant. I know... why should they fit me if I'm not pregnant? Well, they have this super long belly panel that stretches with your belly. Or so I tell myself. DaNae? Courtney? How do you think they'd work for non pregnant me?



Anyway...
thanks for letting me tell you about following through with lounge pants and cleaning plans. And sorry I'm not more exciting. I need to mix things up here a little more. Jon?

jeans are over rated

Every day I put on my jeans, or even just my casual cargo capris I wonder why I even wear them. All I want to wear are my capri sweats.
But I only have one pair.
So I think it's time to add more cute cut off sweats to my wardrobe. Just think of all of the advantages! I can wear my hair up and people will just think it goes with the outfit. When I do go out in them, they are normal enough to be considered okay to go out in public with, they are cooler (temperature wise) than wearing jeans, and so much easier to move around in!
Aeropostale, here I come!

You always left me happy and satisfied

... that's what she said.
Ahh... one of our favorite things from The Office.

Which reminds me, while in Utah I did pretty much the best that's what she said of all time, thanks to a nice set up from Ryan. If you want to read it, it will be at the end of the blog. Obviously, it's not G or really even PG rated since it's "that's what she said". Read at your own will/risk.

But the reason for the title is that I am ending my day happy and satisfied. I accomplished so much today and when I actually do stuff it always makes me feel so good!

I recently copied one of my friends and stole her weekly cleaning list broken down into days. I love crossing things off of lists. I decided to go above my usual, "get dressed, eat breakfast, put alex down for a nap, make bed, general pick up" list and added bathrooms, vacuuming, window cleaning, mopping, and weekly room cleaning to the list. Today was family room day and I cleaned my windows and vacuumed! I also went above and beyond my goal of just doing laundry and actually folded the laundry on the same day I did it (I have the folding and put away scheduled for Tuesday's on my list, so that was one less thing I have to do tomorrow!). I also dusted my blinds and wiped down my window sills.

And to top the day off, I made a delicious turkey dinner in about ten minutes. I had cooked the turkey last night and put it in a container, so it just had to be reheated. And then 5 minute stuffing, potato pearls, thickening gravy, and frozen veggie zapping! It was so delicious and super easy. We'll probably be having the same thing later this week and I plan on freezing a couple of turkey broccoli casseroles. Ahh... the joys of cooking a whole turkey!

Jon was also wonderful and gave Alex a bath and put him to bed for me. And that was after he helped me empty the dishwasher! He's the best!
While he put the boy to bed, I went out and planted a couple of lilies I got from a lady in our ward (I almost killed one of them!) and I am excited to see them grow (and hopefully the one makes a good recovery).

It's only 9:30 now, so since I now have the correct color of thread to make my window treatments I may head upstairs to work on those for a little while. My fabric is ironed and waiting for me!



and FINALLY... the that's what she said quote.
(Ryan, talking about his tight pants) "you'd have to grease yourself up pretty good to get in these pants".....

that's what she said.

The amazing speed of learning!

I read in my little toddler packet this week from the pediatician (oops! I forgot to share the stats!)
that toddlers can learn new words at the amazing rate of something like 2 words per hour.
I just found THIS ARTICLE which was actually really interesting.
Another little thing I remember reading is that the toddler/child's mind is at it's peak and as parts (synapses maybe? I don't remember...) aren't used, they go away. What a great time to teach your child.
So I need to be better at teaching Alex new words and I think now would be a great time for Jon to teach Alex more Portuguese (come on honey! How fun for you would it be to be able to carry on conversations with your son in Portuguese?!).

Today Alex totally surprised me by saying Hi completely on his own. He had never said it before, even with much prompting and tonight he was all about it. It was very entertaining!
Yesterday we taught him brick and now I'm excited to see if he can actually recall it the next time we go outside.
I know that I constantly am teaching Alex new words (like newt...) and have him try to say words when we see pictures in a book, but I never know if he's actually learned them because he is slow to use them, if that makes sense. He knows the word but doesn't always point it out and say the new ones. Guess I need more repetition! Haha... the story of life with a toddler. Repeat, repeat, and repeat some more.

I'm hoping to get some projects pumped out and shown off this week! My downstairs is clean, so I'm set up for success. At the very least, I plan on having clean windows, bathrooms, and bedrooms (all of which are hit and miss for me most days besides the daily making of the bed).

Oh ya, and Alex cried in nursery today. BUT he did sit with another of the mom's in there and did okay when she was holding him. I think he just likes to have someone to stake his claim on that will give him attention and comfort in a situation he still isn't too sure of.

Another day working on the patio

I was going to sew my valances today, but by the time I figured out how much fabric to use, un-picked a wide hem, sewed a new hem and realized that I needed to use a green thread instead of white, I was done. So I went out and helped Jon move the pavers into the backyard and then we proceeded to lay them. Most of them are lain now, but with the pattern we did, we have square spaces where we need to cut a block in half. So now we have to figure out how to cut concrete paver blocks in half. We're hoping that our lovely Home Depot down the road will be of some help.
After getting those last little buggers in, we'll just have to top with sand and do some more tamping (using a big metal plate on a stick to forcefully set the pavers in place). It looks awesome and Alex has loved playing on the bricks and digging in the sand with Daddy.
The best thing about working today as compared to last Saturday: about 10 degrees cooler. It was a WONDERFUL day to work outside!

Sadly, we didn't get our beadboard up because we were focusing on the patio since it was such a nice day out. So maybe next weekend we can do the beadboard. Hopefully.

Pictures to come later (of both the patio and the nice clean garage I posted about earlier this week).
Also, be sure to check out the movie on my previous post that I finally got up and going!

We didn't die!

We didn't even get the golf ball sized hail. And it wasn't even a very rainy or windy storm. I think the worst hit just to the north of us. We were a bit disappointed though.

Alex has a new word to share with you. We were at Half Price Books the other day and we were reading a book that had a newt in it. So I asked Alex to say newt and he said it really well! And he just says it so cute that it makes me laugh.

I also finally got him to say mommy and daddy, which is an accomplishment. As you will see in the video, he reverts back to mama and dadda even when I ask him to say mommy/daddy.
The other fun thing he does is sing. But not just the yayaya's that he's done before. I'm teaching him "Let it Be". He's not the "Hey Jude" youtube kid yet, but give him a year or so! After doing the video, he was over playing and would randomly sing "let it beeeee", so I guess he likes it!

Also on the video is him saying no since he said it differently just a couple of weeks ago. I really like his new no... very pronounced.

enjoy!

Tornados On The Way!

Speaking of moving both cars into the garage, we're under a tornado watch with winds up to 90 MPH. Its looking like it'll be here in about 19 minutes with up to baseball sized hail.

So I just moved the miscellaneous things in our garage so that both cars are now snugly fit. The storm is currently over our friend Kenn and Amy's neighborhood. Carrie just called to warn them and they had no idea it was coming.

They are also currently sounding tornado sirens to the city directly north of us...

Here's to dangerous Texas weather.

Workin' on getting both cars back in the garage

Today Alex helped me put together the plastic shelf we got on saturday. It's pretty much pvc-ish tubes that slide into holes in thick plastic shelves. Probably not the MOST durable, but it serves it's purpose. Alex was so funny helping me. He's really into copying lately and so as I was grunting and uhh-ing, so was he. And he was so serious about doing just what I was doing. It made me laugh and I (of course) wish I could have gotten it on video.

It works perfectly in our garage. There are a few more things that need to be cleaned up in there, and the pavers all have to be moved out and then we should be able to park both cars in. I am really annoyed at having to keep our garbage can in the garage. It wouldn't be a problem is our garage was big enough, but even with nothing else in there, Jon still had to do a tricky little maneuver to park in there. We now have it situated on the small ledge that I put the shelf on right by the door in hopes that the tricky maneuver could be avoided. It could go between our 2 cars if the door into our house wasn't right there.
We also have the problem of a bike trailer. I'll probably end up keeping it folded when we aren't using it. A little more work to get it hooked up to go, but hey... 2 cars will be able to fit in our garage again if it stays folded.
Note for next house: get an extended garage or 3 car garage to hold all the "stuff" which I imagine only multiplies as children grow and more children are added.

Tomorrow: pictures of the pavers and the garage shelving. Lucky you!

And now for something completely different

You may be asking yourself, "Self, isn't this a joint blog? Where is Jon these days?"

Funny you should ask that. I've decided to be more of a participitatoror instead of a bystanderer in this whole blogging business so here we go.

At work the last week I've had four or five people ask me if I've lost weight. Why yes! I have! So what you need to know is that Jon has been getting into tip-top physical shape and is willing to let you in on his amazing, phenominal, incredible weight-loss secrets! (For the low monthly rate of $19.95!!!)

Since I decided to stop being fat I've gone from around 210 to the ultra-thin and lean weight of 191 lbs. After a vacation of a few weeks enjoying the blessings of having family in town and visiting Babylon, I'm back on the plan with another 15 or so lbs to go!

Without further ado, Jon's Amazing Weight-Loss Secrets (or How I Lost 20 Pounds By Drinking A Lot Of Diet Coke):

1. Buy a used stationary bike. I don't care if you think you're going to bike to work if you got a real bike instead and enjoy Mother Nature's gifts. The primary benefit of a stationary bike is that it allows you bike at any time of the day you happen to be at home. It also enables you to enjoy semi-Mother Nature-ish gifts like artificial lighting, television, the internets, mp3 players (do NOT say iPods, we don't appreciate profanity like that in our home), ceiling fans and air conditioning. Biking outside means I actually have to avoid real dangers like potential stalkers and the paparazzi.

Why a used exercise bike? Because if breaks you'll be glad you didn't by a broken new one.

2. Eat cereal. By 'cereal' I mean quality stuff like Kashi and Frosted Mini-Wheats. Trix, Corn Flakes, Cinnamon Toast Crush are not going to cut it- high-quality, fiber-rich cereals only! Eat as much as you like of this quality product in the morning. Yes, any milk over 1% is a sin.

3. Tuna, mustard and whole wheat bread for lunch + Diet Coke. Diet beverages are a wonderful blessing that should be enjoyed as much as possible (i.e. three times a day.)

Aspartame is your friend. Diet drinks seem to be getting a bad rap these days with "studies" by "scientists" doing "research" about how they increase appetite, blah blah blah. Well, you know what I do to avoid increasing my appetite after a Diet Coke?

I eat lunch.

1/2 can of tuna (don't reach for the soaking-in-oil tuna!) with a nice dose of mustard in between two slices of fiber-rich whole wheat, washed down with a fresh, crisp, clean Diet Coke! Mmm, mmm, mmm!

4. 3 0'clock snack = BBQ Baked Lays and another Diet Coke. Did I mention that diet sodas have zero calories? What a marvelous blessing! (and soon they may actually use a natural super-sweetener instead of aspartame! But until then, enjoy the formaldehyde!)

Baked Lays are terrible. Do not eat them. On the other hand, BBQ Baked Lays are absolutely delicious! You do have a 20 chip limit at this table. Do not exceed it.

5. For dinner, eat whatever your wife makes. If she makes something you think might be unhealthy, just eat it. She'll make something heathier tomorrow.

6. Remember that exercise bike? Yeah, USE IT! 40-45 minutes every night. By every night I mean at least 5 nights a week. This is why they televise sporting events- in order for you to watch them while riding a stationary bike!

For those of you who are really serious, run in the morning on an empty stomache. (Good luck with that one...)

6a. Wait an hour after eating before you bike and only drink water afterwards. But if you feel like some Milky Ways or Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream right about an hour before you run, eat them!

7. If you feel like lifting weights, DO IT. Otherwise, do it tomorrow.

8. Voila, watch the pounds come off!

Obviously I'm being triteful about all this but in reality that's about all I've done. Burn more calories than you consume. Also worrying about every little thing you eat at night isn't a big deal. You know you're going to eat that snack so just do it and stop feeling guilty.

But you may want to run an extra 5 minutes if you do ;)

For info on which I based my amazing, phenominal, incredible regimen go to johnstonefitness.com for actual tips from people who know what they're doing. I've customized their super-incredible advice for me, myself and I. Don't even think about trying this at home without consulting your own doctor, yadda yadda yadda, don't sue me.

Have a great day and go lose some weight!

And make those three MOLARS!

Amazed at 3 teeth at once, I was feeling them a bit more and they are indeed molars. Remember the gummy gap? That's where his canines will come in. And next to the canines? MOLARS! So hooray for Alex for getting his 1st year molars in at the ripe age of 18 months!
Here's a little diagram for you!

Make that THREE teeth

Today I felt Alex's one tooth that I knew came in yesterday, but then decided to feel the other corners of his mouth. I found that he didn't have just one tooth come in, but THREE! So in addition to his little rows of four on the top and bottom front he now has one in every side of his mouth except for the lower right. Whats funny is that they didn't come in right next to the existing teeth. Each of them skipped at least one space, so now he's going to have gummy gaps as if he were missing teeth. Hopefully he's not too funny looking, but even if he is, I guess I could still love him.

Alex also recently (as in 4 days ago) changed how he says no. He no longer says "na" he actually does an "oh" sound.
He also loves calling for me whenever he can't see me. It's all very cute and grown up.

Sonicare vs. Crest ProClean

or in other words, $80 vs. $8.
Plus the replacement head cost. $30 for 2 vs. $8 for 3.

The dentist said get the the Sonicare. My wallet said get the Crest.
Which did I listen to? My wallet.
I know... the Crest probably doesn't do as good of a job as the Sonicare. BUT it does do a better job than just a manual brush. And I'm combining it with ProClean toothpaste and still doing multiple brushings. I'm just trying to get good motion on my gums to help with improving the little bit of gingivitis I have left. Plus, when I went to the dentist last I didn't even have much build up, so the manual brush was doing the job.

So if you can give me a good reason why having a Sonicare would be essential, let me know and maybe I'll end up with one eventually. I just can't justify spending that much on a toothbrush!

Another Mother's day post

I wanted to include a tribute to my mom, but didn't want to lump it into one big post about my day.
Things I love about my mom:

-Always there for important stuff! She seriously never misses anything. Choir concerts, sports games, YW/YM stuff, graduations and on and on. I know that my mom will do anything to be there for the important things in her kid's lives. Sure she misses some stuff, but it's rare.

-I love (and hate sometimes) her tornado like abilities. Really annoying when she'd throw away a homework assignment and I'd have to dig through the black can for it. But it was awesome for getting me to get rid of the clutter that would build up in my room. And she was great in helping me get packed for our move to Texas.

-She's very organized. She doesn't like to keep unused stuff around and everything has a place.

-She keeps a very clean house. She is always very good at getting all the little things picked up every day and staying on top of laundry, dishes etc. Her bed is made every day. Did I mention that she worked full time (and still does) for the majority of my life?

-My mom is an amazing cook and always has something in mind that is easy and delicious. Man... I need to get more of her recipes! Now that I cook and have to have a dinner ready I am amazed at her ability to think of things and then prepare them in the window of time between getting home from work at 4 until 6ish when we would eat.

-We always have something to talk about. I love that we can sit and have discussions about things with deeper meaning now. It's so nice to talk as adult friends with your mom! It's been fun to exchange opinions and thoughts that neither of us knew that the other had before.

-She loves her grandbabies. She is always so eager and willing to see and play with Alex. And it's not just because we live far away, she's the same way with Aubrey. It's one of my favorite things to see her and Alex interact. Alex loves his 'ma.

-Her concern for those she cares about. So it may have driven me crazy a few years back, but now that I have a child and a husband, I understand. Amazing what kind of insight becoming a mother gives you. My mom is always very concerned about each member of her family. I love how much she cares for each of us. She also cares very much about the other people close to her... her coworkers, friends, and neighbors and ward members.

-And all the funny little things that make me smile. When she just stops telling a story or has a long drawn out pause. Or when she fast forwards time (Brent, it really was quarter to 7 when she was telling you it was 5 to 7). Crying during most movies. And tv shows. I smile when I think about her infamous exercise video (wash your windows!). The fast breaks to the potty. I know there are countless others, but these are the ones that stand out in my head right now.

I love you Mom and love trying to be like you. You truely are a huge role model to me and I try every day to become more like you (yes, I even throw away stuff on my own instead of letting it collect!). I wish that we lived closer so that I could spend more time with you, because I honestly love every minute of it. Thanks Mom for being such a great mom! I love you!

Mother's Day

How my Mother's Day has been thus far:
-Alex was awake, but happy in his crib until 10:30.
-When I went in to get him, he had a poopy diaper, so I changed it. (Jon was in the shower)
-We had cereal for breakfast... as usual.
-Alex has a mama need going on, so he wanted me pretty much all morning. Actually, make that all day. This made getting ready for church really fun.
-Jon got Alex all dressed and ready for church.
-On the way to church, I discovered I have the biggest blister I have ever had on the inside part of my thumb thanks to the paint roller.
-Once at church, I got to take out the screaming Alex while the sacrament was being passed (the mama need thing).
-I told Alex to give his slimy banana to daddy during sacrament meeting (he always tries to give me whatever he's put in his mouth and taken back out) so that Jon got to have a mommy moment. That was one of the highlights of my day.
-Jon took Alex to nursery and for the first time ever, he didn't cry!
-All I had to do for my class today was make copies! (for 3rd hour, the men/YW took over so the women could go to relief society)
-My sunbeam class was really good in sharing time today. Maybe it was having one of the girl's mom's as a sub for the past 3 weeks that did the trick. Or maybe they just liked doing a craft instead of sitting in their chairs. Or maybe the excitement of seeing their mom's favorite shirt being held up front. Whatever it was, it was a good day without as much tickling and roaming around the front.
-I got a big ol' cookie, just for being a woman/mom!
-I actually got to learn something today by going to relief society!
-And it was pretty much the best relief society EVER. Besides having a great lesson, we were also served cream puffs, mini eclairs, a piece of dark chocolate, a stawberry, and sprite. I know... you can all be jealous now. Really though, just being in relief society was nice enough.
-Alex was happy the whole time in nursery AND came running out to me to give me a little poem with his handprint on it. I think I almost cried it was so cute.
-Alex woke up an hour into his nap and I discovered he has a new little tooth poking through. That was exciting, the waking up crying and being ornery... not so much.
-But he then happily wanted to go back to sleep.

The day isn't over yet, but it has been full of the regular highlights and not-so-highlights but still a very good Mother's Day. After all, being a mother is what Mother's Day is all about. And I am thankful that I am a mother.

Talk about projects!

Today was a project day.
Since we had funds to use, we decided to get some of our bigger house projects done. It's nice that our Home Depot just opened on Thursday and it's only 5 minutes away.

We did go to Lowe's first though because we had a $10 off of $50 coupon. So we got a new filter for our fridge, a shelf thing to go in our garage, and a tool hanging rack for the garage.
Obviously, organizing the garage is on my list of things to do.

Then to Home Depot.
We got bead board kits to go on the kitchen island (I still need to pick a paint color to go on it. Black or dark brown? What do you think?) and in the bathroom upstairs, some paint supplies to paint the bathroom upstairs, some landscaping fabric, and some crushed granite.
We came home, put the boy down for a nap and went our separate ways.

Jon headed outside to work on our extended patio, which we are constructing out of pavers. This project has been in the works for about a year. It didn't help things that it was exceptionally rainy most of the summer last year. So Jon got the rest of the grass dug out, the ground mostly level, and spread the crushed granite that we had out.

I went upstairs and mixed up the green and blue paint that we had leftover from Alex's room and then added some off white (a gallon of oops paint that we got for $6! yay!). When I got the right tone, I started painting. Good thing it's a small room. It's not quite done, but as soon as I'm done with this I'm heading up there to finish it off.
The beadboard still needs to be put up, but we should be able to do that next week.


The biggest adventure of the day was going back to The Home Depot to pick out our pavers. We found some that we thing will look really nice. I would show you a picture, but they don't have them on their website. So are you asking why the big adventure? I think I can sum it up by saying that we only have a car and we needed to get 152 12"x6" pavers back to our house. Each of those guys weighed about 12-15 lbs (according to how one felt in comparison to how Alex feels since I carry him a LOT). We ended up taking 3 trips. Did I say how glad we are that our new Home Depot is only 5 minutes away?

So now we have pavers, some more crushed granite, and some sand so we can finish our patio. We're going to have a bbq with the guys on Jon's team at work here in June, so we want to have it done by then.

It's nice to have good productive days. I remember working every Saturday with my parents and I hope to do the same thing with my kids. I know that we hated it, but it taught us a lot and I'm sure my parent's appreciated have the extra hands ;).

We're Home!

Wow. Talk about a day at the airport.
It all started out okay. Well mostly okay. As we were standing in line to go through security, Alex decided to throw a fit about being in the sling. I hate it when he does that. It always seems to be at the most inopportune times (in line at the store, in a store that he absolutely cannot walk in, etc...)
We got through and had to get Alex's shoes and each of our hands swiped. Can anyone tell me why they do that swipey thing? LOL... we should have said "Swiper, no swiping" (that has to be one of my favorite lines from Dora the Explorer).
After security we went right to the gate and got right on. We got seated and there was a seat between us and the guy next to us, so Alex was happy he had a little space. At 9:00 am we pull out from the gate. at 9:05 am they told us that we were grounded for an unknown amount of time because there was a storm in Colorado so they grounded all traffic from nearby airports. GREAT.
The flight is 55 minutes and my flight to Austin would be leaving at 10:55.

We left at about 10:15 and got there at 11:25.
Next flight to Austin: 3:20.
GREAT.

So Alex and I got to hang out in the airport for, oh... 4 hours. During his nap time.
We did a LOT of walking.
The happy news is that he fell asleep within 5 minutes of take off and stayed asleep until about 10 minutes from landing. So I got to take a nice nap as well.

It's nice to be home and see Jon again. We've missed him!
And he happens to be a wonderful husband and cleaned up the whole downstairs for me! He even washed the sheets on the guest bed and put them on. How great is he?
He also cut Alex's pizza up for him, played with him when we got him, changed his diaper and put him to bed, changed his poopy diaper a few hours after he went to bed, and got him up this morning. Alex cried when he left for work. He must love his daddy.

And have I mentioned how nice the weather is in Texas? It's pretty warm already and getting humid. I missed the best weather while I was gone and now the best weather in Utah is starting. Good timing.

We had so much fun in Utah with our family and friends! Thanks everyone for making this trip so fun just by being there and doing stuff with us!

The Last Days...

...in Utah. Our flight leaves tomorrow at 9 am. Alex only took a 1.5 hour nap today and also went to bed late-ish. We'll be up and leaving at about 7/7:30 and I plan on drugging him after our experience last time. Especially since I don't have Jon there to assist or rescue me if I get stabbed in the eye by crayons. I would rather hold a non wiggly sleeping little boy. Wish me luck!

I've had fun the past few days. It's funny how at the end it's suddenly a cram to get all the last minute stuff in. I got a couple of aprons made and I also made an awesome sling for my friend, Marie (Go UTES!). Yesterday I helped my mom spend her Pottery Barn gift card, but I didn't get a chance to help her put it together. Sorry mom! We also didn't hang the mirrors in the guest room that we put off every time I am here. Sorry again mom!
I got to go to a fun playdate with my internet mom friends today (hehe... such a nerd) and it was really fun!
After that, I got my ring dipped and polished. It's been about 2 years since that has happened. We don't live near a Shane Co. and always forget or put it off and then run out of time while we are here. Now I have a pretty, sparkly shiny, no longer yellow tinted ring! Hooray!

We finished the day off by going swimming at the rec center. I took Alex down the big curly slide a couple times (the first time he was pretty anxious and the 2nd he just screamed a little as we got to the end and we were going pretty fast {he doesn't like fast crazy stuff like that... he screams when I spin him in a circle and he gets dizzy}). He eventually got used to getting water in his face (so did I... it wasn't that bad! But I still don't like water in my face.) and he loved chasing me, grandma, aubrey, mathis, and melanie around in the lazy river. His favorite thing was probably the little jet sprays coming up out of the ground on the toy. He thought they were great! He also really liked going down the little slide all by himself and getting caught at the end.

When we got home and bathed, Grandpa pulled out the camera for some last minute pictures and The Boy finally rolled into bed (Aunt Cindy read him a story and put him down) it was pretty late. I hope the swimming, short nap, and late bed time/early rise works tomorrow!

Speaking of which, I need to get to sleep myself. If I'm going to have a stressful day, I'm going to need some rest!

Go Jazz!

I'm not an avid fan, but it's always exciting to get through at least ONE round of playoffs. So good for the Jazz and I hope they continue to do well. I'm also glad that Tim gets to keep his fan status.