Little Project

I finally did a little project I have been planning for a while. I think they turned out very cute.

May 28th

Hi All--

Allergy testing yesterday was not exactly fun, but it was informative. I am apparently allergic to all of the trees, grasses, and weeds in our area. This at least explains why I looked like I had pink eye and why my nose was so SO runny. Apparently the grass has started to diminish, so I am feeling better right now. The doctor gave me a prescription (which I can't use since I am nursing even though I TOLD him that he said it was fine prescribed it anyway--I called the pediatrician who said no way) and I am starting allergy shots in June. Actually, as I think of this, I should probably start them after our mammoth vacation, which is getting closer and closer!

In other news, we went to Modesto Sunday after church to visit the Johnsons who decided to make a last minute trip to California. We are glad they set aside some time to see us while they were here. The kids did really well in the car and Jens and Mati played together so well--they clearly remembered each other from our last Utah trip. It was fun to see them being so happy together--no fights this time! Little Emilyn is still tiny, although she has grown, obviously. But compared with Sylvie she still is very small. And of course we enjoyed visiting with Matt and Kristin. We are lucky to have such nice friends!

Monday we were going to go to a cook out to celebrate Memorial Day, but we were wiped out after camping and Modesto. We'd spent several hours each day in the car and decided we just wanted to stay home. We did and enjoyed it. We all took naps Monday afternoon, which was very refreshing and had a family movie night. Sylvie wore pjs all day long. It was a good holiday.

Yesterday Jens rediscovered the sprinkler. He ran through it for probably an hour, the first half with clothes on, the second half sans. He was very happy and loved every minute of it. He announced that he wanted to run through the sprinklers every day. We also had dinner with friends at La Fiesta and afterwords my treadmill got exchanged! Yay for helpful friends. I got to use the new one today and so far so good. We'll see if it is still working tomorrow.

A few pictures to satisfy your need to see my cute children:

Sylvie is still digging her thumb. Usually it is the left hand, and like her brother, she likes to hold something in her hand while sucking her thumb. She also likes to have her fingers spread out.

I was letting Miss S. air out after a diaper change and lo and behold, she started doing some crazy tricks. What is my tiny new baby doing pushing up on her hands and knees?

And of course, Jens was happy to be there and entertain her (read: squeeze her arm discreetly as hard as he could until I noticed and made him stop).

Today Jens had his friend Harrison down for one last play. He and his family are moving to Washington this weekend. We will miss them--Chelan and I have been good friends ever since I was her visiting teacher so long ago. Jens and Harrison made the most of their time together and got out every toy they could think of, and now Jens is getting out the few that they didn't notice just to make the rubble a little worse. I don't know why I try to clean anything ever, sometimes. I am going to ignore the mess and make bbq chicken for dinner.

Have a good week, everyone!

"Can't read my,
Can't read my
We don't poke people in the faces"

Jens's version of "Pokerface"

I have decided that I need to add a disclaimer to this. Jens doesn't listen to Lady Gaga on a regular basis. In fact, he heard the chorus of the song once--just once--and wandered around singing his own version.

Big Trees

We went camping! It was only for one night, but our car was filled to over flowing and we had such a good time. JP and Natalie got a reservation at Big Trees State Park, home of some Giant Sequoias.

Four adults to our two kids turned out to be a perfect ratio, plus Jens loves JP and Natalie so much his behavior around them tends to be more cheerful. The one downer was the group of crazies who were across from us in the camp ground--they stayed up all night making obscene amounts of noise and pulled out at 6 am, just as quiet hours were ending and before anyone could complain about them to the rangers.

The kids were great. Jens loved every minute and got unbelievably filthy. He also consumed an amazing number of marshmallows, which he loved, but NOT toasted.

In this picture he is just setting the marshmallow on fire and letting it burn into oblivion, which we were okay with because it amused him and he wasn't actually eating any. He also refused to try a s'more, preferring instead to eat each component separately. He slept pretty well, although he woke up at 5:40 am (to the noise of our neighbors) and wouldn't go back to sleep. We played a lot of "red light/green light," which might be his new favorite game. We also discovered a fuzzy caterpillar in our camp site and read him The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Jens did point out that he was NOT green and red. He was a trooper on the hike, which was a little over a mile.

We had to stop and fuel him up a few times, and he fell down a bunch, but he thought the big trees were pretty cool, especially the one with a tunnel. He learned some new lingo from JP on this trip--he refers to going potty now as "Dropping a deuce" which is charming.

Sylvie was an amazing little camper. She was cheerful and interested in looking around the whole time. She obligingly fell asleep whenever and wherever she could, which was nice.

She did get pretty cold during the night even though she had blankets. I clearly didn't bring enough for her. Next time I will know better! She also awoke at 5:40 am thanks to her brother, but snuggled down with me and warmed up and fell back to sleep for another hour.

We enjoyed our humongous tent, which housed all 4 adults, a pack and play, Jens, and a dog. We weren't cramped for space, either. It really is like having a traveling hotel room. If only it had a running water and a bathroom!

The trees were very amazing and unusual. They are HUGE, but sort of stumpy at top--they go up and up and then just kind of stop, and they have funny, asymmetrical branches. They are very different from the coastal redwoods!

It was kind of sad to stand on this big stump--it was once the "Discovery Tree"--the biggest tree in the grove. Prospectors thought it was so cool that they built scaffolding around it and systematically removed all of the bark from the bottom 50 feet of the tree, numbering each piece. They took all of the pieces to San Fransisco and reassembled them to show people how big the tree was. Sadly (and obviously) the tree died without its bark. Don't worry, they made the best of it by chopping it down, turning the stump into a dance hall, and using the trunk as a foundation for a bar and bowling alley. Aren't people stupid sometimes? It made me wonder what we are destroying right now that people 100 years from now are going to shake their heads about in disbelief. Jens kept asking over and over why they killed the tree. It is a hard question to answer.

Anyway. Fortunately, some forward thinkers set out to save the remaining stand and now it is a State Park. That didn't keep them from doing dumb stuff (carving a tunnel out of a living tree to compete with Yosemite--it is barely still alive now--it has one sad, straggly green branch left)

but it is an amazing place to walk around and appreciate the beautiful world. We came home with a new resolve to go camping more often in spite of the mountains of laundry we had to face when we got home.

May 22nd

Well. I think we now have another baby blue jay on the ground. I have seen at least five birds flapping around.

The first two babies have been taking little practice flights across the yard and now there is a new fluffy one hopping around squawking to be fed.

Last Friday was the father and son camp out. Mike and Jens went together, and Jens was so excited. He loved helping me pack his clothes and finding the flashlights. When Mike got home from work, Jens ran around the house showing Mike all we had done to get ready. He couldn't sit still. From the report, it sounds like the camp out was a success. Jens learned how to light fires (not from Mike) and stayed up until midnight. He had a 4 am accident and while he and Mike were outside in the cold air (he was soaked) peeing on a tree together, he looked up and said in a shaky, cold voice "Dad, I love camping."

Yes, that humongous tent is ours. It is big enough that Mike can stand up in it. After having 3 chicken nuggets, hot chocolate, and marshmallows for dinner and two tortillas for breakfast, there is little surprise that he had a huge melt down 5 minutes before they pulled into the drive way, but over all it was a great success. So much so that we are all going camping tonight to Big Trees with JP and Natalie. I am going this time so the food will be better :)

This week I continue to feel sick. I am going in for allergy testing and hopefully that will explain the past 2-3 weeks of feeling lousy. Sadly, Sylvie seems to have a cold now, too. Don't worry, it isn't affecting her mood.

She is starting to get better at eating solids now. She actually swallows them and seems to really like them, especially carrots. I have noticed that starting a baby on solids tends to give them a crusty, patinaed look. Don't worry, that look isn't taking away from her cuteness. She is getting more and more vocal and has finally figured out how to roll from back to front, although she doesn't like doing it and complains the whole time. She would much rather have me do that for her, or, even better, for me to just come and sit her up or hold her.

Highlights from the week include our Music Makers Performance for all of the dads.

The kids were really cute and some of them really sang, although Jens sat and made explosion noises instead. I don't think he sang one word. After words we had a picnic at the park with all the families. It was really fun.

Tuesday Mike spent the day paint balling for work.

His job can be pretty rough sometimes! While he was gone, Jens's friend Sarah came over and they played boat.

It required a lot of toys to be dumped out and all of the cushions to be pulled off the couch, but they sure had fun.

Wednesday was book club--I always enjoy a night to talk with the girls.

Yesterday Jens's school went on a field trip to the Sacramento Zoo. He loved it and came home very excited about the giraffes, ostrich, and zebras. I feel bad that we haven't taken him before, and I am sure we will go back soon. Apparently he did get lost once--wandered off to the bathrooms, but was quickly recovered and thereafter held Ms. Anna's hand.

And tonight, off to camp. Wish us luck! Have a good long weekend, everyone!

Blue Jay Family

We have enjoyed having some blue jays in our yard lately. We apparently have a nest somewhere in our yard. Two days ago I spotted a "baby" (pre-teen?) on the ground hiding by the trees. She can't seem to figure out how to fly because she is still out there hopping around the yard. Her parents are taking good care of her and I have seen a brother blue jay flying experimentally around the yard. She is pretty lucky to have our back yard to stay safe in! 3 days on the ground almost anywhere else would mean certain death. It is amazing to see how, in just three days, her feathers have changed. She is getting much bluer and less fuzzy and grey. Now if she would just figure out how to fly so I could stop worrying about her!

Summer Haircut

The time has come for a summer haircut for Jens. On the 3rd day of 90 degree temperatures and noticing he was looking extra shaggy, I decided the time had come.

He's cute either way.

May 16th

Hi everyone.

I have been slow this week because I feel so crummy! I hate being sick. For a while I thought I was experiencing sudden allergy symptoms, but I have decided I really have a very rotten cold.

Good thing the kids seem to be feeling okay. Jens discovered Sylvie's hair bands and wanted to try them out. Aren't they a cute little pair?

Jens was very helpful a few times this week, which can be very rare. He was so excited to help me paint a book shelf for Sylvie's room. Somehow he got onto the back and spent the whole time painting it with the primer. It worked out so well--he got to work happily the whole time and the back of the bookshelf was liberally coated.

I love this picture because the pose captures him mid-motion, sort of dancing around and painting at the same time. He has some of the best arm gestures and jump moves I have ever seen. He has also followed directions the first time I have asked at least 3 times this week, which is unheard of. Yay Jens! I hope he can keep it up.

We had the Harrison kids over on Monday to pick up rocks out of the front yard. They worked pretty hard. Jens actually filled up 5 buckets himself, which surprised me. I was paying them 10 cents a bucket, and they filled up a lot of buckets. Sadly it is going to take at least 5000 more bucket loads. Maybe some day our house will be presentable.

Also this week we spent some time at the park--it has been warm and sunny. In spite of that, Jens has insisted on wearing long pants and long sleeved shirts every day. I have tried many times to talk him in to short sleeves and he flat out refuses.

Sylvie continues to be a doll. She actually laughed once this week. It was too brief, but it was so cute. She is just the sweetest little thing. Today I went in to get her from a nap and she was in her bed, thumb in mouth, rubbing her silky blanket. It was a serious Jens flashback moment!

At church on Sunday she was so good--sitting happily on her blanket all through Sacrament Meeting and most of Sunday School, taking a brief break to snooze and eat, then back to the blanket for Relief Society. I couldn't have asked for (or even custom ordered) a better baby. Today she has been very chatty, which is a departure from the norm. Lots of happy squeaks and squeals.

For Mother's Day this year I got a treadmill. I used it Monday and it was so nice! I loved being able to exercise so easily at home while Sylvie was sleeping. It has an ipod dock, which made things very fun. Sadly, on Tuesday it started jerking under my feet, and although we tried adjusting the belt, nothing is solving the problem. We are going to have to take it back, and let me just tell you, it is very heavy and difficult to move. We are going to look at other options tonight. Also this week I learned a little hula dancing, went to a ladies only dinner to celebrate Sophia's birthday, attended an enrichment class on the pelvic floor, attended the Cultural Fair as a family at Jens's school (his classroom represented Asia), and went to dinner with Natalie while Jens and Mike were at Fathers/Sons camp out (pictures and details next week). It feels like it has been a busy week!

Yesterday we were driving in the car and Jens did something he considers to be very funny. (So funny I don't remember what it even was). I responded by saying he was a funny guy.

"Yeah, me and Dad are funny. You and Sylvie aren't funny. Just the dudes."

I told him I thought I was funny sometimes, but he firmly reiterated that I was not, and neither was Sylvie. Only the dudes in our family are allowed to be funny, I guess.

* * * *
Yesterday one of the legs on our kitchen table fell off (it has been threatening to do so for a while). I moved it, planning on moving the table so it could be fixed, so the table was balancing on three legs for a minute. Of course, in that minute, Sylvie, who was sitting in her highchair, kicked the table and it tipped over. Jens has been in awe of her strength ever since, talking about how strong she is and how she kicked the table over all by herself.

* * * *
Last night we were eating dinner and Jens decided he needed to salt his own food. Our salt shaker pours out very quickly, but he was sure he could do it himself. He turned it over his food and held it there, long enough for me to say "Stop! Stop! That's enough!" When he stopped pouring it, there was a little mountain of salt on top of his noodles. He speared a big bite and put it in his mouth. "Mmm. Good," he choked out. Then he couldn't take it and made the funniest face and started spitting. It must have tasted pretty bad--it would have been like a bite of straight salt. Live and learn, I say.

Mother's Day Present

Today was Mother's Day, of course. It was a lovely day--we spent time together as a family and I enjoyed it. I've got the cutest kids and nicest husband ever.

And in case any of you are wondering, yes I cut my hair--about 6 inches gone, but it still looks plenty long!

My beautiful and tasty Mother's Day present from Jens. He was very excited about it, especially the candies.

Mother's Day Past

Every year we have taken a "Mother's Day" picture--it has been fun to look through and remember each year of motherhood.

2005

2006

2007

2008

Tag

Laura tagged me a while ago and while both kids are resting, I am finally going to fill it in:

5 things I was doing 5 years ago:

1. Living in Florida
2. Counting down to the end of the school year because I was teaching 8th grade
3. Preparing for a tremendous 6 week road trip up the east coast with Mike
4. Grading papers
5. Working out regularly (unlike now)

5 things on my to-do list for today:

1. Clean out the cabinet under the sink--it stinks
2. AC inspection and tune up
3. Paint book case for Sylvie's room
4. Get the rest of the laundry put away (it was washed on Monday--yikes!)
5. Sort and put away all of the toys littering the downstairs

5 things I would do with a million dollars:

1. Pay off our house
2. Pay off student loans
3. Pay off car
4. Invest
5. Landscape the yard, paint the house, put in the wood floors I desperately desire, and buy new furniture. Boy. That money would go fast.

5 places I have lived:

1. Cincinnati, Ohio
2. Provo, Utah
3. Ft. Worth, Texas (but only for a summer)
4. Gainesville, Florida
5. Sacramento, California

5 jobs I've held:

1. Math tutor (what?)
2. Lifeguard
3. Laundry worker
4. Teacher
5. Mother

5 years from now:

1. I will be in good shape
2. Jens will be almost 9!!!
3. We will have taken an amazing sabbatical vacation
4. The house will look decent (ex. no more dirt/rock/weed front yard)
5. Another baby?? (Just kidding, Mike)

I tag:

Alissa
Kristin
Logan (just giving you some ideas for another post . . .)
Natasha
Tiffany

May 8th

Hi All

After a gloomy, rainy weekend, we are enjoying true California sunshine today!

Aside from finishing the bathroom, events of this week have included:

Family movie night with Laura. We had picnic food, a fire, and a movie. She and I somehow realized a common youthful love of The Gnome Mobile--a true Disney classic from the 6os.

And yes, it is as awesome as the cover suggests. Sadly the library doesn't own it, but now I do--I will gladly bring it to the beach if anyone else is anxious to view it! It has the Banks children in it and I laughed and laughed. Mike even watched it without complaining. Jens was the best, though--he was so transfixed that I don't think he blinked. He couldn't even pause to eat his delicious BYU mint brownie, he was so enthralled. This week we have had lots of gnome mobile singing, and Jens has been heard to correct Mike on the lyrics. Does Cars have competition at last?

Mike has been working hard both at Intel and on his biking--he is sticking faithfully to his training plan, even on days when he has to ride for two (or more) hours. I am worried that his calorie intake isn't going to keep up with his output. I wish I could contribute some of mine to him.

My African Violets are blooming.

Lots of pants wetting. Jens has been potty trained for over a year and suddenly it is like we are back at stage one, except worse than stage one ever was because he never had so many accidents, even when he was just learning. The thing that is rough is that he doesn't care and has no desire to change his clothes after words. Ahh!

In Jens happy news, he has been very excited to play dinosaurs and wolves and dragons with me. He wants me to be whatever scary creature he chooses and chase him around, but then he wants to switch and use his "stingy claws" to get me. He tells me "You're just a mom now. RAAAR!" He thinks it is hilarious and loves it so much. It wears me out after about 15 minutes, though, which is never long enough for him.

Playing at the park. We went to the park twice yesterday. Once for a picnic lunch and then again last night for pizza at the park with the Harrisons. It was great--the kids ate and then ran around and we sat and visited and didn't do anything. Much easier than eating at a restaurant. Much.

Sylvie is the best baby in the world!

Mike and I were talking about her yesterday and realized there is nothing, not one thing, that we would change about her. She is practically perfect in ever way. Her one downfall is that she doesn't really laugh out loud. Rough.

She is still loving to sit up and look around. She loves the johnny jump up and will bounce happily while we are getting ready in the mornings. She smiles and coos at me when I go in to get her up from her bed. She can happily entertain herself with toys. She loves Jens and smiles and coos at him to get his attention, although I don't know why--she thinks he is awesome even though he squeezes her, takes her toys, knocks her over, and tries to scare her with monster sounds. Tuesday he put a bucket on her head--I feel like my job is to protect her from her sibling and that she is in constant peril!

Also, today I couldn't resist and bought hair bands. She is rockin' the pigtail.

I know, I know. You look at her and just want to squeeze her! (Not like Jens with his "stingy claws, though, I hope). And look at those big blue eyes. Man, she is cute! I just look at her picture and smile. Feel free to use her picture as your desktop . . .

Downstairs Bathroom

It is done at last! Okay, except for a curtain. But mostly done. Done enough. It is different than I originally pictured in my head, but I am really happy with it. Thanks to everyone who helped me.