A Child's Dream, A Pocket Book's Fantasy

Have you ever looked to buy one of these really nice, sturdy, fancy play kitchens for your kids? They start at about $100 and go up from there! The artist said it cost about $30 to make this whole thing. Head down the DI, maybe Home Depot or Wal-Mart and you've got yourself a customized kitchen. When I have a kid who loves kitchen stuff- I'm totally gonna do this!!

The Cutest Boy (the cutest boy) I Ever Saw (I ever saw) Was...

Hangin out with Papa at the playground by the duck pond- having the time of his life! Thanks Papa!
Refusing to take a nap by me and instead heading over to his table, motorcycle in hand, and crashing there by accident, due to equally extreme amounts of stubbornness and tiredness.
Exploring the deep blue bath water on his belly.

Constantly begging to "drive car" or "drive truck"- so persistently that few can refuse! Also- wearing some of his very own choices- snow boots and a golf hat!!

Showing off his new trick of closing his eyes and opening his mouth at the same time (thanks Uncle Brad!)

Farewell to Hair

So I generally avoid posting pictures of myself because like most women on the planet I'ma bit self conscious about the way I look. (If you're not one of those women- hooray for you. I envy and admire you. And now that we're done talking about you...) Here's my new haircut for the summer! After I had Peewee my hair went dark and curly which made the thickness even more of a mess to handle! It would frizz out look like a haystack if I didn't do something with it.
Goodbye to 15 minute blow drying sessions then 20 minutes of flat ironing. Goodbye to a palmful of shampoo and one of conditioner. Goodbye to ponytails that end up a mess on top of my shoulders. Goodbye to 3 palmfuls of Noodlehead plus one of styling sauce plus harispray for that curly look. Goodbye to hot rollers that take an hour to put in and a half a can of hairspray to make it last. Goodbye to waking up being choked by my hair in the mornings. Goodbye to waiting all day for my hair to dry naturally... Hello to the perfect cut for the pool!

Baby Shower

My neighbor is pregnant! Strangely she is the only person around here that I know that is pregnant! There's usually more this time of year- I know that sounds so Mother Nature of me but it's true! So I decided we needed to throw her a baby shower. I've never done that before but I am having so much fun! Here's the latest gift/decoration made from 84 Pampers Swaddlers (the best diapers for a new baby bum!), lots of rubber bands, an oatmeal can and some ribbon!
The monkey is PW's but he goes so well with the jungle theme I think I'll let him come visit the shower!

Spontaneous Happenings

Well so one day we decided that PW didn't need to wear clothes because we were just going to lounge around the house. So he was running around like a wild goose and pretty soon he comes out of his room like this...



What a stud. And yes- he put that around his neck all by himself!

Jump, Jump, Jump With Me!

First show me your muscles!
Now John Cena style!Now give me a little dance move
Now jump! Jump!

Mommy Down Time

Naps failed all day long so I put on Elmopalooza and ten minutes later I found him like this.
Bath time- it's a jungle in there. Seriously- every animal we own goes swimming at bath time.
The famous show Pingu- he usually watches it on the tv but obviously he's just as content to watch it on the computer!

Blast from the Past

Check out this old photo we found on Mara's memory card- it's from 2007!

Purses and Trust Issues

There's an article on msn.com today about women and their purses. In the beginning it is quite witty and cute- and then streams into this...
"Although a confessed pursaholic, Los Angeles psychotherapist Nancy Irwin says carrying 20 pounds of “necessities” every day may indicate trust issues.“If you don’t have a really good reason to carry around a lot of stuff — like you’re traveling or nursing a baby — then you’re burdening yourself unnecessarily,” she says. “You’re not trusting that what you need will be there in the environment.”
Um hello??!! Did I just read that right? If just a regular woman with my regularly large bag then I have trust issues?
Let me tell you a little story. Last month Jake and I went to a concert. It turned out to be one of the coldest nights of the year so far and the wind was particularly icy. The artist didn't even show because he was sick (remember how I signed up to do Amos Lee karaoke?) so we just sat in the venue and the band gave us a show. We were just sitting there, kinda bummed. I think I even left my coat on for half the night. But...

My purse held several things which I never thought I would touch but took "just in case". A can of hairspray, a brush, all the make-up items I had used to get ready that night, my zune (who needs an mp3 player when you're going to a concert right?), and a whole bunch of other stuff irrelevant to this story. So some people would say that the hairspray. brush and make-up was unnecessary and the zune was silly. Well guess what- I needed those things. I signed up to do karaoke right? So I had to make sure that if I was going on stage I would look ok. The freezing cold wind didn't do wonders for my hair but it was fine for sitting in the dark- but not if I was going to sing in front of 2500 people! Dinner had worn off my lipstick and so a touch up was definitely needed.
Then when I signed up they told me I needed a backup song. So i got out my zune and searched for another song that I really liked!! How was the environment supposed to provide me with my shade of lipstick and an mp3 player with all my Amos Lee music on it?
A wise man told me :) that there are two types of people in this world: those who adapt to their surroundings, and those who adapt their surroundings to them. I believe that when I leave my home I have basically no control over what my surroundings will be like. I cannot hope to change them to conform to my needs. I can only hope to survive in them with what I bring (whatever happens to be in my purse!) So this lady is right- I DON'T trust that the environment will provide what I need. But it's not really a "trust issue". It's just life. It's the way we live.

A List of Strange Things PW Likes to Eat

Steak- wouldn't ya know!
Fish- he can gobble up a couple ounces at one sitting!
Chicken- most often served with rice, lots of rice! (maybe some of these aren't so strange I'm just glad that he actually eats them!)
Spicy things- like the chipotle cheddar pretzel ritz crackers
Sunflower seeds- I buy just the seeds (no shell) for our snack time
Green beans, Broccoli, Cauliflower- again, just glad he will eat these!
Shredded wheat, Quaker Oatmeal Squares, Honey Bunches of Oats, and other hearty cereals
Chicken wraps- they have tons of cabbage in them along with other veggies and a soy sauce dressing. I think they're great but I never thought my baby would like cabbage!!
Rice- he'll eat it all by itself. Yuck.
Chocolate protein shakes- it's like milk is out of the question without it.

And on the list of things he won't touch...I think maybe eggs is the only thing. I love my healthy little eater. :) I bet my next won't touch any of those things :(

Hiding: A game or a cry for seclusion?

This is PW's newest favorite thing. He will go into the bedroom and shut the door. Then he goes into the adjoining bathroom and shuts the door. Then he climbs into the cupboard and shuts the door!

Bowls, Books, Blankets & Beanies

I may have to wash this before I use it again!
Apparently the box of books is the prime spot to eat fruit snacks!
Sometimes I let him run around without a shirt- it's adorable!
He put this on himself and thought he was sooo funny!

Singing Time!

My guy was feeling generous this morning and actually let me tape him singing. Of course after a while he just wanted to hold the camera so you get video of cars but the sound is terrific! He can hum the twinkle twinkle melody all by himself but decided to sing the words this morning. Oh and sorry about the booger nose (we call them MOCOS!)- he's been sick but it didn't stop him from performing!

I'm training a handy man. He loves to help put things together and uses all the tools in the toolbox.
Of course "shows" are important too but must require the football to be nearby.
I'm not sure what this face means but I love it!

Well what can I say for my goofy boy? He knows how to make us laugh! He can now say anything we say- Like dramatic which turns out "matic". I love it. And he sings to himself all day long. He's getting so big and tall! And all the strangers he meets tell me he's going to be a heartbreaker. Don't I know it!

Amos Lee

So we went to the Amos Lee concert last night only to find that he was sick and wouldn't be singing. He'll come back soon though so we gott o save our tickets. In the meantime his opening act performed and his band did some really fun and funky songs!! It was such a unique experience to get to be with them while they just had fun. And they even did a little Amos Lee karaoke! I signed up to sing but I didn't win the lottery!! Oh well.
I was brave enough to wear these skinny jeans! Whoo Cha!

My Very Own List

So Rene posts the most awesome lists- and doesn't copying mean that you like your big sister's idea? But of course. Here's my new list of some things I like this year!
We are currently in the trial period of our new Netflix subscription! We don't have any sort of TV service and so we only get to watch current shows online with HULU (which is another thing I love). But thousands of Netflix movies stream straight to our PS3 and we can watch them in a matter of seconds- just like we had brought home a dvd! And it's like $8 a month. I love it! Oh and we can get the dvd's sent to our home because not all great movies are available for online streaming. Yay for cheap and awesome entertainment!
This is a Bosch blender. I love it because when I get hungry I drop some frozen peaches into this thing with some milk and juice and protein powder and it blends it up like a $6 smoothie! Yummmm!
So my ward is made up of the newly wed and the nearly dead- you're young or you're young at heart! So our Sunday school program has been split into the two age groups. I am one of two teachers in my age group and I absolutely love it! This year we are studying the New Testament and it has already been so great. My first lesson from here was so special and helpful to me and let's just say that is was a lot easier to teach than some of those lessons in the Old Testament! I am so excited to see what I can learn from these scriptures!!
My car is a piece of junk and would most certainly be on my list of "Dislikes" but I decided to put this new car as my "like". With 50 mpg and a price tag under $13,000- it's definitely on my wish list.
Of course the new year has brought realization of my current scale reading and so it's back to eating healthy and trying to change my lifestlye- again. But fruit leather is the perfect thing for me. There's the fruit roll ups brand "Simply fruit" or a box (don't know the brand and I'm too lazy to go to the cupboard and find out) of several different flavors at Costco. I eat one of these in the morning or afternoon for a snack when I'm feeling particularly sugar-hungry!

Candid Candy

Just thought I'd share how cute my little guy is. And so smart too! He can now sing several songs- though he only sings the last word in the phrases, but he hums entires melodies to himself as he tries to go to sleep. It's so adorable because I know which songs he is singing! So it's like this...
Mom: Twinkle twinkle little
PW: Star (right on pitch and everything!)
Mom: How I wonder what you
PW: Are
Well you get the picture. So he can sing Twinkle Twinkle, I am a Child of God (two verses), Itsy Bitsy Spider (in spanish), Happy Birthday (the whole song), ABCs- almost every letter, and A Child's Prayer.
And to make things even sweeter he has been saying nearly everything we say for the past couple of months. Every word is a good candidate for his next favorite word. "Mine" was big for a couple of days and "Get down" comes out every time he climbs onto something he knows he shouldn't be climbing on (like the TV for example!). Things just keep getting better and better and he gets smarter and more clever. And more independent and crazy! He's such a joy to have around! And so darn cute too!