This is what a typical morning looks like for me

My sister-in-law did this post a while ago and I set the idea aside, thinking I would use it one day when I had nothing else to post. That day has come. I hope this is somewhat interesting for you. I enjoyed seeing things around her house, so maybe you'll find the same enjoyment. Basically, you take the same pictures I have below of how your house looks right now--no cleaning or fixing up allowed. So, here it is.

First is the closet. I actually just spent a couple days a few weeks ago sorting our clothes that don't fit and reorganizing everything. It looks better. (The stuff on the floor isn't normally there--this morning it suffered from the tornado, Craig.)

Then there's the living room. I guess this one can be labeled my favorite room of the house. I sit here sometimes and read while Craig plays on the floor (his toys are in here). This is also where we watch T.V. sometimes at night. (We are American Idol junkies, I admit.)

Which leads me to the next item. The T.V. Don't look at me--it was Robert's idea. He's been wanting a T.V. like this for a loooooooooong time, so we got it about a year ago. I dread thinking what it's going to be like trying to move it and mount it where ever we go next. (By the way, when we moved in, this corner was just the raised platform bottom where the stove sits. It had really ugly, un-grouted tile. Robert tore out the tile, built the supports and the top, and re-tiled everything. The little T.V. we used to have sat on a table off to the side. It was really awkard looking--bad feng shui. I think this looks really good. I was really impressed he could do it all without a how-to book. :))

Next we have the bathroom. It's small and our only one. Not much else to say about it. (Cape Lookout themed, of course--see poster on far wall.)

Then there's the laundry. I just did a bunch yesterday, so I lucked out on not having to show you overflowing hampers, except the towels. I didn't do those. Oops.

In my sister-in-law's blog she titled this one "The Kids", but since there's still only one, here he is. He's sitting in the doorway of the bedroom, watching me blog stalk.

And there's me. Remember, I couldn't wait until after I showered, dressed, and got cleaned up for the day, so this is what you get.

You also get to see what I have on my feet right now. My cozy pink slippers. I love 'em. I'd wear them everywhere, if I could. They have hard rubber soles, after all.

And my favorite shoes, other than my pink slippers. Ahhhh, slip-ons...a pregnant girl's best friend.And last (and probably least favorite) is the kitchen. I haven't done the dishes yet today. I usually dread them and put them off until sometime in the late morning or early afternoon. I complain about the smell all morning, break down and do them, then spend twenty minutes plugging in air fresheners and spraying room freshener around the house. An over-sensitive nose--not a pregnant girl's best friend.

That's it--I now tag anyone who maybe enjoyed this and doesn't have anything else postworthy. I look forward to seeing you all in your finest moments. :)

Mission Reunion

Just really quickly, I wanted to post this for any NCRM return missionaries out there. The Mabey's are having a reunion next month. Information follows.

2003-2006 NCRM MISSION REUNION

TIME-SENSITIVE INFORMATION: PLEASE READ THROUGH THIS NOW!!
ANY QUESTIONS—CALL PRESIDENT AND SISTER MABEY AT
801-943-9218 OR 801-599-2734

Date: Friday, April 3, 2009

Time: Socializing—6:00 p.m. Dinner & Program—7:00 p.m.
***PLEASE NOTE*** Traffic will be very heavy on this Friday. Allow ½-1 hour extra travel time depending on how far you are traveling.

Place: Sandy Utah Granite South Stake—2126 East Gyrfalcon Drive (10000 South), Sandy UT 84092 (use MapQuest for directions)

Cost: $5.00 per person. The money is helping to cover the cost of dinner. However, we don’t want lack of funds preventing anyone from coming. If you need to make any financial arrangements, please contact us.

Dress: Missionary attire (suit coat optional)

RSVP: Only if you are attending (REALLY, YOU MUST, so we know how much food to plan on) by sending in the form and your money (make checks payable to Dan Mabey) by Friday, March 27th: 10375 South Altavilla Drive, Sandy UT 84092.

We are putting together a “slide show” as part of the program. We would love to have a picture of you (while serving). You may either include a print along with your RSVP (it will be returned to you at the reunion) or email your picture (by Friday, March 27th) to Elder Andrew Child at andrew.child@hotmail.com. If you have emailed a picture previously to Andrew, you don’t need to send another.

Time Change

Last night Robert and I were on our way to bed, then we remembered that we had to move the clocks forward one hour. Then I went to get ready (wash my face, brush my teeth, etc.) and Robert complained about how long it takes me to do it all. It claimed that it takes me under 10 minutes, if that, and that he should time me. When I left the room, the clock said 10:08. When I came back in it said 10:18.

"Alright," I said, "so it takes exactly 10 minutes, but is that so long?"
Robert mumbled something and we went moved on to saying our prayers. Robert said it, and this is part of how it went:

"Please forgive us our shortcomings...and please forgive me. Forgive me for moving the clock ahead 5 minutes while Sherry was in the bathroom."

The moral? It only takes me 5 minutes to go to the bathroom, wash my face, brush my teeth, and put my hair up at night! :) (And Robert's a cheater.)

The Adventures of Craigorio and The Amazing Snow Baby!

Unfortunately, despite the fact that it got above 60 degrees last week, and the fact that we planned a barbecue on Sunday to celebrate spring, it decided to snow two nights ago. The last time it really snowed, Craig was a little too young to appreciate it so I decided that he and I would make the most of this LAST SNOWFALL OF THE WINTER (hint, hint Mother Nature)and that we would make a snowman. I got him all suited up, got myself suited up as well, and out we went. He seemed to be a little interested in the funny white stuff, but also felt bound by his new, puffy marshmallow body and lack of hands. (He kept staring at the blue suit where his hands should have been and turning them over and over--he tried using them too, to push through the snow, as if to say, "I guess this could work...let me see what I can do with these.") I set out trying to make the snowman, but soon discovered the snow was ultra-dry and didn't stick together well. So, I piled it up as best I could, made a mouth and eyes, and put a hat and gloves on it. So, here it is. Craig and his temporary sibling. I was interested to see how he would respond to this other little being (kind of an experiment for the future, if you will). This was his initial reaction.


Well, we still have 5 months or so to work on it.

I love this little guy!

So, this is what I see most mornings when I'm doing my hair and makeup (sometimes I get it all in during his nap). First, I hear a pounding on the bathroom door, I look down and see the little Peeping Tom peering at me through the door crack. Then I poke my head around the door and say "Boo!" and he smiles. :) What a cutie. He loves to watch when I blow dry my hair.



(That's okay Craig, I'm used to people pointing and laughing at me.)

This little video (only 15 seconds) we took yesterday. (I didn't realize I couldn't rotate the videos after I download them--sorry). He's been taking a few stumbling steps now and then. This time he took an almost step, then fell and hit his mouth on my leg. I think his little pout at the end is so cute. :)

Updates

I forgot to update you all on my little chia head man. It took about a week, but he did start growing hair. I was later informed by the mother of one of the Achievement Day girls that if you put them near a fire or in warm place (since it's winter and there isn't much sun) then they grow more hair quicker. Live and learn. So the first picture is before I gave him his most recent hair cut and the second is after. I decided I kind of like the punk look he had going on in the first picture. Maybe I'll let it grow this time.





In other news, my Scentsy experience left much to be desired. In an attempt to not discourage those who may be interested in the future for themselves, I will simply state facts, and try to leave out opinion. Two people showed up to the party on Friday. They came at 11:30 even though it "started" at 10:30. They ordered a total of $28. One girl who couldn't make it (and called beforehand) works at a nursing home and said I could bring the stuff by there, leave it for the weekend, then pick up the orders later. Then she called and said that her boss only wanted me to leave catalogs and not the stuff (liability and all). On Tuesday, two people who couldn't make it on Friday were really interested so I said they could stop by Tuesday night to look it over, but then I realized I had to go with Robert into town anyway, where they live, so I planned to stop by one of their homes instead of them coming here. Then the nursing home girl called and said that they wanted to quickly look through the stuff before they made any purchases, so she asked if I could stop by that night also (Tuesday). I ended up being out with Craig (who had been sick and not sleeping well so was extremely fussy) until well after his bedtime and got $65 more in orders, for a total of $83 and like five hours of calls, parties, and stop by's. (Okay, so I didn't totally leave out opinion.) I'm sure this is a great business for a lot of people and I may be willing to try it again if we move to a bigger area with more opportunities and people willing to spend money.

Current Events

I realized it's been a week since I posted last. I just haven't had anything post-worthy, I guess. So, I decided to just type something about what's going on in my life.

Craig is not gaining weight. In fact, he's even lost some--13 oz. in two months. Is that a lot? He has grown in inches, though, so maybe it's just the crawling and moving around stuff. He's kind of doing more "cruising" too and he's on is second cold in two weeks. So, I guess all of that factors in. I try to stuff him with food. Once I found out he had lost weight, I tried stuffing him full of more food than usual. Up until then he ate A LOT it seemed. Now that I'm trying to feed him more often he has gotten so picky. He won't eat oatmeal and he'll usually eat about 6-8 spoonfuls of whatever I'm feeding him, then begin pulling it out of his mouth and pushing my hand away when I try to give him more. Yesterday at lunch, after trying to feed him 3 different things, I ended up just giving graham cracker piece after graham cracker piece until I got two whole crackers down him. It took about an hour--he can be the slowest eater when he's feeding himself. I called the doctor and they want me to bring him in on Monday. (I already had an appointment scheduled for myself next week anyway.) I think they'll suggest supplementing with formula or something, but another problem is that I'm kind of limited on what I can give him--nothing dairy-based. He's never been able to handle cheese, yogurt, eggs, or beans. I'll keep you updated.

On a more positive note, Robert and I are finally going out tonight for our Valentine's Day! Since he did all the cooking for the thing with the Elders Quorum, we didn't get to spend a lot of time together that night. So tonight we're going to see a movie and have dinner. I'd better start thinking of conversation topics now--it's been a while since we had some time alone to just talk to each other and not have Craig there. :)

I planned a Scentsy candle party at my house this morning at 10:30. I got about five RSVP's, all no's, and as for the others...I have no idea if they're coming or not. So, I find myself in the awkward position of cleaning the house, getting myself prettied up, and setting out the party stuff (and making something since I promised a "treat"), and not knowing if anyone is going to come. Plus, I'm off sugar, so I don't want to make something and have it sitting around here all day. Maybe I'll just make something like banana bread (something Robert will be sure to eat) and herbal tea or something. If I'm going to do that, I'd better hurry. I only have an hour and a half. Or maybe all day. Who knows. Hey, everyone--please RSVP if you're invited somewhere. For the hostess' sake. Thanks.

We FINALLY got Craig a cell phone

I believe that these days, kids need cell phones. I mean, Hannah Montana has one, all the kids on the Nickelodeon shows have one, and all the cool kids in the play group have them, so why not Craig? It doesn't matter that he can't talk yet, he'll look cool, and that's what really matters. I just want him to feel comfortable around (and better than) his peers. Is that wrong?

JUST KIDDING! Robert got a new phone and, since Craig had already destroyed the old one by sucking on it, we gave it to him. It doesn't work (he can't dial out) but he likes to see it light up. Plus it's been so off limits for so long, sometimes he just clings to it in one hand and plays with other toys with the other. So, it is kind of like his first cell phone. :)

Photo shoot

I hadn't done a photo shoot with Craig in a while, and I was beginning to realize that he has grown up a lot recently (a friend pointed it out to me). I looked back at old photos and videos and decided I wanted to get some updated ones. Being so mobile (he took one tiny step without holding on the day before yesterday!) it's hard to keep him still enough to take any good pictures. He's always going after the camera and I have to keep backing up. But I got some pretty good ones, I thought. So, here they are.

This first one is obviously of me. Remember, I'm only 12 weeks along, but I look like I'm at least 16-18 weeks! I am a little embarrassed when people ask me when I'm due and I say September! Since the date is Sept. 1 and Craig was a few days early, I sometimes cheat and say August. I thought the best way to embrace my belly would be to post it on the blog and just get it over with. The funny thing is, I didn't look like this with Craig until at least 20-24 weeks! Well, here we go!

Craig's Valentine's Day

Thanks to Grandma Judy and Grandpa Eric, Craig had a little valentine! I had planned on making sugar cookies yesterday or something, but two weeks ago the doctor took me off sugar (expect for the cake I had last night) so I didn't do anything. He won't remember it anyway. But in the mail came his first little valentine! It was a little card, a fun plastic bag (which he loves), and three little chocolate hearts, which daddy got to eat. But before daddy ate them, Craig had his fun with them, too. He'd stuff one whole heart in his mouth (wrapper on), let it drop, and laugh. It was really cute. So, thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

Valentine's Day

So, this year, the Elder's Quorumn President had a great idea...he wanted to do a dinner for all the elders and their wives at The Springs and to have Robert cook it! And they wanted to do it on Valentine's night, not, like, the next week or something. I had kind of been looking forward to going to a movie and dinner, just the two of us, since we don't get a chance to do that much anymore, but Robert was kind of committed. It turned out really well, though. The food was great (of course), and at my request, Robert made a fabulous chocolate cake for dessert. He's not a huge fan of chocolate so he wanted to do something else, but I persuaded him. Everyone seemed to have a great time and all during church today people kept stopping Robert and I and commenting on the food from last night. So, I'd say it was a hit. They had all the men have cards for their wives at the table and they provided a rose for every wife as well. It was really nice. On top of that, Robert had gotten me some beautiful flowers. They are red mini cala lillies--the same flowers we had at our wedding. So that's what the picture is, the rose that everyone got and the cala lillies. And of course the cards we got each other. We're hoping that next weekend we'll get to go out to our movie and dinner since we didn't get much time together last night. :)

Just a quick one

I was sitting here at the computer, waiting for the video (below) to upload, when Craig let out a frustrated little yelp at my feet. I looked down and it seemed like he had knelt on one of his sleeper feet and tried to crawl, but realized he couldn't move. So I picked him up to help him out, the I realized what he had really done. He had somehow gotten his legs crossed inside his sleeper and down the opposite leg holes. It looked so funny to me that I had to take a picture, but it's hard to tell. I hope you find this a little funny, at least. I thought it was hilarious.

More?

I tried a few months ago to teach Craig the sign language for "more" to little avail. Periodically I'd try again, but I wasn't very persistent. However, he recently has gotten into this bad habit of yelling at me whenever he wants more food. It's quite annoying, but more so when we're in a crowded restaurant and all anyone can hear is the little baby yelling at his parents for food over the noise of thirty other people and little kids. We've taken our food to go in more than one restaurant lately for that fact. (I'm not kidding, he was loud and people were staring--I know I shouldn't care what other people think, but it's nerve racking, and who wants to eat like that?) So, I decided it was time to try the "more" thing again. To my surprise, he picked it up in no time! He's not a pro--he just sort of crosses his hands or slaps them together--but it works! He doesn't yell anymore for food, so I consider that a success. He even does it on his own, without any prompting from me sometimes, like he's really communicating. It's a good feeling.

Just some cute, random things

I know I haven't posted anything in a little while, and no pictures in a little while longer, so here are a couple. This first one was funny to me since until recently, Craig has whined until I came and saved him from predicaments like these. This time, though, I was in the other room and heard a lot of heavy breathing and like he was putting a lot of effort into something. I went into the kitchen and saw this. He wasn't frustrated at all--and he wanted to get out by himself. So, I let him and he did it!



This next picture was just one of those times he was looking extra cute and I happened to have the camera sitting there.

Worst mother of the day award

(Imagine a picture of cheese here with a red circle around it and a line through it.)
(Sometimes I can get pictures off the internet onto my posts, and sometimes I can't seem to manage it.)

Anyway, the whole point of this post is to tell you about Craig and cheese. Or, more broadly, dairy. He's had dairy (cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and cheese) in casseroles before and it didn't bother him one bit. Last night I gave him a half slice (1/2 oz) of cheese on a piece of bread for dinner. He slept for the first couple hours of the night, but woke up screaming like his crib had collapsed on him at 10:30. It seemed that nothing would help him to calm down, although he was very "musical" when I started nursing him. He fell back alseep (only after Robert held him for a while) but for only an hour. He was up, literally, the rest of the night. Sometimes he'd start to doze, then arch his back, pull his little knees up, scream and cry until the cat was dashing around the house like she was on speed, then relax after a little distraction and go through the whole routine again. Periodically he'd burp and I could just feel the heartburn as his eyes would tear up and his little bottom lip would stick out and he'd cry again.

Have you ever felt like the worst mother in the world?

Have you ever cried along with your child because the pain that is causing them to cry was caused by you, and now there's nothing you can do to take it away?

Eventually, it passed, and with it came it the biggest, stinkiest, yuckiest, poopie diaper I have seen since he's started solids. So far today he's taken one three hour nap, another 2 hour one, and now he's been asleep for another hour. Poor little guy--he needs it. Mommy needed it, too. I slept during his first two naps, but I decided I needed to get something done for the day during this next nap. Uh oh, sounds like he's awake.

By the way, Robert has to work something like 12 hours today. I'll have to think of some way to make this up to him. :(

Super Bowl 2009

So, we had a Super Bowl party last night. Originally, we had planned it for Sunday and had invited twice as many people and their kids as can fit in our apartment, but we thought it would work out. We bought lots of food. Let me repeat, we bought lots of food. I recall a couple of conversations going like this:

Sherry: Other people are bringing things, you know.
Robert: I know, but we already have most of the ingredients for this. All I have to buy is ____ (insert ingredients here).
Sherry: But we don't need this much food.
Robert: Honey, there's going to be like fifteen people there, plus kids.
Sherry: (Sigh) Do whatever you want, I guess. (Because I know you will anyway.)

Then Sunday before the Super Bowl, the bishop held one of his firesides that he does periodically. The topic? Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy. And yes, he did specifically mention watching the Super Bowl. (He told us how he hasn't watched a Super Bowl since 1995, but then he admitted it was only because that's when it switched from Fox to NBC and they don't get that channel--at least he's honest.) After the fireside, the Super Bowl party potential attendees gathered to discuss the matter. Most of us were willing to just do it on Sunday anyway, but there was one family (or wife) in particular who was quite persistent about it. So, we talked about it and figured that we could just DVR it, meet at 6:00 (when people got off work) and with skipping commercials, it would only take a couple of hours to watch. Everyone was fine with that, so the next day Robert and I went shopping. We bought a lot of stuff, and the only thing I was able to persuade him not to buy and actually didn't mysteriously end up in the cart anyway was syrups, 7-Up, and ice to make italian sodas.

The week passes, we talk to the friends we've invited and everyone's excited, yadda yadda yadda. Sunday comes around again and we confirm again with one family, they had confirmed with another (the ones who were the most persistent about changing it to Monday) and then we talk to another family and they say, "Sorry, not on a school night." What?! I want to shout. They were coming as a family of 5 and now what are going to do with their share of the food? Why didn't they call?! I glower inside, knowing we shouldn't have bought all that we did. (Side note: my biggest problem with all this food is the effort and time to make it, the dishes I will have to clean up, and all the leftovers being too much for Robert and I to eat and therefore having to waste it and the time and energy put into it.)

So, Monday comes (along with purchasing of a couple last minute things, to which I try to dissuade Robert, but he has his justifications, since two other families are still coming) and we cook, clean, prepare all the day long. 6:00, the doorbell rings, the first family comes in (the one with only one child and a baby not totally on solids yet). We wait for the second family (the one who wanted to change it to Monday, with three kids, and who were coming directly from work so they might be a little late). We start the game, we eat, and we finally call at 8:00 because they haven't shown up yet. They don't answer, so we leave a message. They call back and say "they forgot." Baloney. They confirmed on Sunday, we saw them and talked about it Saturday night, and they were the ones who wouldn't come if we did it on Sunday! I think wifey got home from work, was tired-er than she thought she would be, and backed out. So, as I predicted, there is lots of money worth of food in our fridge, only two of us to eat it, and still dishes in the sink waiting to be done. All I have left to say about it is this: grrrrrrrrrrrrr!

About the game: I can't believe the Cardinals lost their lead in the last 30 seconds! The Steelers were playing dirty, too, and they did not deserve to win this one. I'm guess I'll just be happy that the underdogs nearly ripped it out from under the big, bad Steelers.

We love waffles, apparently

I made waffles this morning for this first time in a looooooooooong time. Craig's never had them, but I think they're his new favorite. He's had a cold this week and his appetite has been a little down. All he'll eat a full meal of is applesauce--everything else he'll take about five bites of, then gag and spit it out on the sixth. (That was really fun when we were at some friends' house on Monday and he spit spaghetti out all over their carpet.) Anywho, he loves his waffles, though. Can you believe this little guy:

ate one whole one of these (with applesauce, of course, and no syrup)?

What a champ, at least I thought so. By the way, if anyone is interested in a really great waffle recipe, I thought I'd include this one. It's my favortie, by far. It's better than any Krustees or Bisquick or anything from scratch I've ever tried. It does require whipping egg whites, which if you don't have an electric mixer or at least a hand beater, I wouldn't recommend. If that's you, sorry. The fluffy egg whites really make this recipe.

1 3/4 cup flour 3 egg yolks
2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 cup veg. oil
2 Tablespoons sugar 1 1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp. salt 3 egg whites, beaten stiff
vanilla and cinnamon, optional to taste

Preheat waffle iron. I start by putting the egg whites into the mixer, turning it on high, and letting it go while I do everything else. They're usually stiff by the time I'm ready to fold them in. (In case you don't know, beaten stiff or stiff peaks means that when you lift the beater out of the egg whites, it leaves a peak.) Measure the dry ingredients into a speparate bowl and blend. Combine egg yolks and milk, then stir into dry ingredients. Stir in cooking oil. Carefully fold in egg whites. Do not overmix. Pour into waffle iron (my waffle iron takes about 1/4 to 1/3 cup batter per square) and bake until waffles stop steaming. Hope they turn out well for you! I make a whole batch (see above picture and add two) then I freeze them in twos and toast when I'm ready to eat them.

Chia-head!

I am the assistant in our ward's Achievement Days and yesterday we had a really cool activity. I loved it so much, I made one! It's a homemade chia-head. The girls had fun decorating theirs with ribbons and buttons and multi-colored paper, but I decided to make mine a boy. Robert thinks I did it to make fun of him, but I tried to tell him that it's going to GROW hair, so it won't always be bald. He still takes it personally. :) I think it's cute. Here are the directions:

Supplies: knee high nylons
1 cup potting soil
Empty (clean) yogurt cup (Yoplait with the narrow mouths works best)
2 tablespoons grass seed
Googley eyes
Permanent marker
Glue gun (not glue stick)
Paper, buttons, ribbons, etc. to decorate "shirts" on the yogurt cups

Directions:
Place grass seed into bottom of knee high
Top with potting soil and form into a ball or "head"
Tie a knot at end of "ball"
Glue on googley eyes and draw mouth with marker
Decorate yogurt cup as desired
Fill up yogurt cup with water (at least1/2 to 3/4 of the way) and check water daily
(the tail of the knee-high soaks up the right amount of water to keep the grass watered as long as you check the water level daily)

I have mine on the window sill and will let you know once it starts growing hair. We have no idea how long it might take, but the other fun part is once it starts to grow, you can trim it, put bows in it, be creative! I thought it was so cute and a great indoor activity for kids, especially home schooling. Or even family home evening--we read Alma 32:28 and related this to planting a seed in your heart, etc. Let me know if any of you do it and how they turn out.

Thppptthhppt!!

We love to blow zerburts (sp?) on Craig's tummy and cheek (as I'm sure most people do to their babies) and he loves it, too. He loves it so much, in fact, that he decided to return the favor. :) The first time he did this, I was rocking him and singing to him, trying to put him down for a nap, when suddenly, I feel his little lips on the inside of my arm.....and then he blew. It was pretty good for the first time and I couldn't help but laugh. Now he does it whenever he wants to be funny. :) This video was last night--I only got him doing it once since he became so distracted by the camera that he lost interest in Robert's arm. That's why the camera goes black a couple of times--he kept noticing it, so I'd try to hide it. Anyway, it's pretty cute, so I hope the video is good enough to see it.

Swagbucks

Have any of you heard of this Swagbucks thing? It's a new way to search online that gives you "swagbucks" every time you search. Use this instead of google, for example, and get gift cards when you've earned enough bucks. It's only a little at a time, but it adds up. There's one lady who says she saved all her bucks for a year and used the gift cards she got to do her Christmas shopping. It's powered by google, so you get the same search results and the only difference is you get points for your searches, which then turn into giftcards of your choice! It's pretty cool and it only takes a second to sign up and begin searching. Click this link and it will take you there, and it will track that it came from my blog so I will get a point for every point you get! Hope you all enjoy it.

This is why I sometimes call him StinkFace

I love this face Craig makes. He does this, then he breathes in and out really hard, like a bull waiting to charge. Silly boy. :)

I was bored yesterday (duh) and decided to take a picture of Craig's hair. (Yeah, I was that bored.) No matter what I do, I cannot get it to stay down. Most people laugh and say it's cute, and I tend to agree, but Robert thinks it looks too messy and always tries to tame it. What does he know, anyway?

P.S. When you're blogging and you suddenly realize that the pitter-patter of little hands and the thump of little knees has stopped, and you can't even hear the bull-waiting-to-charge breathing, go check to make sure that your baby isn't picking the crud off the kitchen floor and eating it. (I know, I should sweep more often.)

Bleak...Boring...Day

What do you do when it looks like this outside, everyday for numerous days in a row, it's too cold to go for walks, you feel like you're on the verge of puking every minute of every day, you have a bored 8 1/2 month old baby hanging on your pant legs, and you have no vehicle to escape the monotony? Me? I call my family and complain, but if anyone else has a better idea, please let me know. (Sorry to be such a downer, but I wanted to post something since I haven't had anything post-worthy happen for the last few days, and this is my life right now.)

It's days like today that make me wish we lived in California, Florida, or someplace with a little Vitamin D in the air. And that we didn't live on the top of hill, and that we had neighbors. Okay, I'm done.

What's that term...Twerd?

I guess that's what I am. In about 14 days I have read almost all four of the Twilight books. (I'm about halfway through the last one now.) And I've seen the movie, so I guess that makes me an official "Twerd." Robert would say that the part that makes me a Twerd is the fact that I read about 16 hours a day and it takes me three days to do a load of laundry and a sink full of dishes. Craig eats and gets his naps, and his diaper gets changed. I eat, usually, and go to the bathroom, whenever absolutely necessary, and I begrudgenly make calls and run errands when I start getting past due notices, but otherwise...I read. On the bright side, I'm almost done and I can't wait to find out what happens to Bella!!! Things have taken a turn I never would have expected. Once I'm done, I will go back to normal life, I promise. Robert thinks this is weird and that I have a problem. Please, those of you out there who can relate to this on any level (whether you got sucked into Twilight or some other addictive book series) please let me know I am not alone so I can prove it to him! However, despite his total lack of understanding in this area (Robert is totally not a reader--he can read, don't get me wrong, but he just doesn't get what the big deal about reading is), he still surprised me last night by coming up with unexpected tip money, again, and offering to watch Craig while a friend of mine (another Twerd) and I went to the see the movie! Thursday was the last night it was playing. I think it's gone today and I totally thought I was going to have to wait until the DVD came out. So, the guys hung out together and watched the kids while we took off to the movies and Coldstone afterward. It was a lot of fun--something neither my friend nor I have done in a LONG time. So, thank you Roberto, for letting me embrace my inner Twerdness! I love you!

What do you do on your day off?

Do you think electricians rewire their house on their day off, just for fun. Probably not.

Do lumberjacks go stack wood on their days off, just for fun. I don't think so.

Do computer programmers play with computers on their days off, just for fun? Probably more often then you'd think.

But what does a chef do on his day off? He says to his wife, "I know what we can do today! Let's make a gourmet meal from whatever we have in the house and invite someone over for dinner!"

And what does a chef's wife think of when she's hears her husband say that? I really don't look forward to a day worth of dishes, since most chefs use every pot, pan, dish, and utensil in the kitchen...twice.

However, we came to a compromise and this is what the menu ended up being:
Shrimp Bisque, steak medallions with marsala and mushroom demi glace, potatoes gratin, french-style green beans, and creme brulee for dessert.

We invited an older couple who have invited us to dinner twice now and we hadn't had them over once yet. It went really well and everything turned out deliciously. I was going to take pictures, but I was so busy keeping up with the dishes I didn't have time. :)

Catching up

Here are some pictures from Christmas. First we emptied our stockings and Craig got lots of little things, like a toy car, a little rubber football, some other stuff, and these cute antlers.

This is all of us with our loot. Robert bought me a new bedding set that's I've been wanting. I got him some dumb little things because I was under the impression that the car was our Christmas present this year and we were going to just get each other stuff from the Dollar Tree to open on Christmas morning. He got a little book of inspirational thoughts, candy, screwdrivers, a red kitchen towel that says "Naughty" (my favorite), a whoopie cushion, and some other stuff. However, I guess he came into some tip money from all the banquets they did in December and spent it all on me. Which was fine with me, expect I wish there was some way for me to get something a little better for him. Oh well. He also got me a collection of Jane Austen movies and some other things I've really been wanting. Craig got some cool toys and books--things that we got him mostly to occupy him for longer periods of time and make our lives a little easier. (That's how we justified it.)

This is how the kitty spent Christmas Day (and practically every day.) She got a new toy for Christmas, too. No, I didn't pose her.

And last but not least, some of you already know our news, but I bet the rest of you can guess! Yep, we're expecting number two! I'm due the beginning of September so I'm only about 6 or 7 weeks along. Craig will be 16 months by then. I was trying to find one of those neat pregnancy tracker things to put on the blog, but I couldn't find one that fit and that I liked. I liked the one that Tammy and Bonnie had on their blogs. Could one of you please tell me where to find it? Thanks.

I'm Back!!!

I have returned from the land of the undead (can you tell I've been reading Twilight?). Or, in other words, the land of the internet-less. I have considered posting a long, detailed harangue of the trials and tribulations we have suffered the last month without internet service, but I think I will keep it short. (Some of you have already heard my complaints anyway.) Let me just say that I have missed you all and I am WAAAAY too dependent on technology. (I bet we can all remember when we didn't even have answering machines, let alone computers.) I greatly look forward to catching up on all your blogs and will be posting Christmas pictures and more soon. See ya tomorrow!

The Snow Shuffle

Waking up to this begets breakfasts with this. It also begins the season of a little something I like to call "The Snow Shuffle." Those of you who have lived in wintery, icy conditions (which is probably all of you) know what I'm talking about. In case there's one person out there who has never tried to walk across the grocery store parking lot when it's snowing or hurried to get to class on time over a three inch layer of ice, let me explain. We all try to avoid this stupid-looking walk the first time we encounter the conditions that make it necessary every year. We all then humiliate ourselves by slipping and falling in front of a full size pickup and busload of school children in said parking lot, or we come close to it, which is almost equally as humiliating. (Imagine yourself slipping in midstep, throwing your arms out to the side and stopping your downward decent just in time to look like a tight-rope walker practicing without a rope.) After that, we succumb to The Shuffle. What is this shuffle, you ask? Basically, you walk very carefully, trying to look as normal as possible but not go too slowly so people don't notice. Instead of walking heal-toe, you just put your whole foot down at once, like Frankenstein. You all know what I'm talking about, right? Well, I caught myself doing this last night as we left the ward Christmas party and went out the car which was covered in about 1/2 inch of snow and was perfectly snow-free when we went inside. It took me what seems to be quite a bit longer than everyone else to perfect this shuffle. I fell quite a few times my first winter in Rexburg, ID. That was my first real encounter with enough snow and ice on a regular basis to necessitate The Shuffle. There are those out there who seemed to be blessed with Sticky Feet. They don't seem to need The Shuffle, they walk quicker than everyone else, and they never seem to fall. My old roommate, Heidi, was one of these. Maybe she did use The Shuffle, but had grown up in a place where the only mode of transportation in the winter was a snow mobile (snow machine, sorry) and had gotten so used to using The Shuffle that she just naturally used it all the time. Or maybe she has another secret that she never shared with the rest of us (half gecko?). So to all of you snowbunnies out there, be safe and don't be afraid to use The Shuffle and run the risk of looking Frankensteinish...it's better than falling flat on your bum, or face, or hip, and having to try to laugh it off as you wince in pain so as to not make others around feel bad for holding back their laughs but can't seem to manage from keeping that smirk off their faces.

Guess what!!

Here's what Craig's been working on and doing now for a few days.

Waiting for some new stuff

I have been trying to get a new video of Craig posted, but have had some trouble. So, in the meantime, here are a couple pictures I don't think I ever posted but are among my favorites.

This one was taken a while ago. I just thought it was so cute. I think he fell over after this was shot.I put rag curlers in my hair one night and it turned out REALLY curly. I was trying to take a picture of it, but Craig was more interested in the camera than I thought anyone would be in my hair, so I decided the keep this picture instead. He was really fighting me to get at that camera.

P.S. I invite all to go to my weatherbug thing on the upper right and click on "forecast". Take a gander at what we'll be looking forward to starting Sunday. Yikes, is all I have to say.

Another silly kitty moment

I was washing the bedding the other day and there was a cat laying on the sheet-less bed. I put the fitted sheet on anyway. (She loves to play under the covers.) I came back an hour later to finish making the bed, and saw this:

That last one is her laying on her side, sound asleep. (She's laying on her right side--that's her left ear sticking out on top.) I wanted to see how long she would stay there so I didn't make the bed and just left her there. I think it was over three hours.

Let it snow, let it snow (pleeeease)

I have been dying to get pictures of Craig in his snowsuit but I wanted to wait until there was some snow (call me crazy). We FINALLY got enough snow for me to justify it. In other words, we finally got some snow that decided to stick, at least for now. We may get more this weekend. We'll see. I live in Montana, for pete's sake. One of the things I really looked forward to when we moved here was that I could finally count on snow every winter and every Christmas. Wrong! (At least about the Christmas part.) Oh well, I guess I should be grateful that we can still navigate our driveway safely. As soon as the snow does come, that becomes a challenge. In the meantime, here's the cute boy looking like a little blue grub.

Check this out

Ever wonder what the number one song was the day you were born? (Or any other day for the last 100 years, for that matter.) Go to www.joshhosler.biz. This guy's got it all. The hit song on the day I was born is "I Love Rock 'n Roll." I guess you could say that's true, but rock 'n roll has changed so much since then. One of my favorite bands from that era is Journey. Another is The Eagles. Do those count as rock 'n roll? Let me know what your songs are!

And the award goes to...

This year, the Golden Pacifier award goes to Mr. Robert S. Leal Jr. for his fantastic work in the daddying department. For the last three months he has been willing to take over the putting-Craig-to-bed routine while I went to stake choir practice every Sunday night for an hour and a half. This may not sound like much to some people, but Mr. Craig is not a happy camper when someone other than Mommy is trying to put him to bed or down for a nap. Despite this obstacle, Robert still took over and let me have this time to participate in our stake Christmas concert without complaint. During this time, there were also numerous occasions (Enrichment night, Pampered Chef party, etc.) when I needed to go somewhere in the evening and leave Craig with Daddy. Robert would continuously accept the responsibility of the fussy evening baby--alone. The real icing on the cake was the night of the Christmas concert. Robert and Craig came that night (even though it was past Craig's bedtime) to support me. The entire time, Robert had to stand up and/or walk to halls with a crying, fussy baby. However, Robert persisted and spent the last 45 minutes of the concert driving Craig around in the car with him wailing in the backseat. To that I say, "Bless your heart, Sweetie." To show my appreciation, I am awarding him with the prestigious Golden Pacifier. Congratulations Robert!

I love this time of year

Here are some things I love about this time of year.

1. Getting up in the middle of the night and seeing the lights of the Christmas tree glowing in the living room.
2. Getting into my robe, having my cup of hot chocolate, and sitting in front of the fire.
   
3. Dressing Craig in all his cute winter clothes. (Still waiting to put him into his awesome snow suit!)
4. The snow, when it gets here.
5. Cold weather and walks in the crisp air.
6. Ice lining the edge of the river banks.
7. Sweaters.
8. The holiday decorations on all the businesses downtown and along main street.
9. The ward Christmas party.
10. Visiting people and seeing their Christmas decorations.
11. Putting up our nativity set.
12. The Christmas Ensign.
13. Planning Christmas gifts (especially stocking stuffers!)
14. Pulling a warm blanket out of the dryer and wrapping myself up.
    
15. Making Christmas cookies.
    

UMT vs. Texas State

We've been trying to get to a UMT game all season and fnally, last week, someone had tickets and couldn't go so they gave them to us!! We were so excited, especially since UMT has been a pretty good team this year. So, off we went, despite the temperature and cloudy skies. Craig was such a trooper. Even when it started to rain, he was happy and awed by all the noise and commotion. We made him a little poncho from a souvenir shop bag. :) He even slept for a little while in the sling. He was all bundled and cozy and snoozing away when it started to snow!! But we hung in there. I just covered his face with the loose end of the sling and he was all toasty warm in there. Despite a rocky start, UMT did end up winning. It was a lot of fun and a great game.

Grandma and Craig

We said goodbye to Grandma Cassie on Friday. We had a fun visit and it was especially nice to have more than just the three of us for the holiday. (Now what are we going to do for Christmas?)