Crazy December

Well, December is almost over so I thought I'd make an effort to make at least one post this month. Really we've been busy playing, working, shopping and Jon's been out of town quite a bit. He even went back to our home in North Carolina, without me....ah hem! His excuse for going back was to work on our home there to get it ready for the terrible realestate market. What he really did was visit all our beloved friends and call me 20 times a day to tell me how great it was out there while I was sitting in our tiny apartment whilst it snowed for 2 days straight! It did give me a chance to reflect on the past year and I realized we've been in a huge holding pattern ever since we left our green home on the east coast. I guess it was meant to be that I get pregnant to force us to stop looking back and start looking forward. I know come March I won't be able to pine over Greensboro any more. I will be able to look back on it and our friends fondly though as I wipe up spit up with these cute burps that Kelly sent home with Jon.

On another, less whiny more Christmas cheer note...We are really excited for Christmas. Silvia has already been so excited these last few weeks. She knows who Santa is and that he likes hot cocoa, she can sing "Jingle Bells" and keeps asking for presents. I have had a hard time keeping myself grounded and have tried to restrain from buying everything that I think Silvia needs/wants. The last few months I haven't been purchasing any toys thinking that I'd wait for Christmas. Luckily I have a limited budget and a hubby who tells me when I've over done it. So, in the true spirit of Christmas and the american consumer, I am taking a bunch of stuff back tomorrow. I promise!

Enough revelations from my overly active concious. Here a few shots from the last few weeks.

Silvia's puppy that she asked me to take a picture of. How could I resist. I ran as fast as I could to find the camera!The picture I probably should have used for Christmas cards but I editted it and couldn't figure out how to get the color picture back. Argh! I need to take a class.

Signing off with a performance of Jingle Bells. Get aload of the socks and shoes. Dress up gone nerdy!

It doesn't get better than this

Really. A holiday focused on food. What more could a girl want! I woke up like a little kid on Christmas. Ok, ok, it's not just the food. Any excuse to get family and friends gathered together makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. I live for these things. I can already tell you next week is going to be the pits as I come down from my Thanksgiving high. I know, Christmas is just around the corner and although we have managed to drag the holiday out for a whole month I always feel like everyone is in a hurry to be somewhere else. At least at Thanksgiving everyone is in a turkey coma and unable to leave! Man I'm a control freak!

The Audacity of Hope

Politics aside...I am so inspired by our president elect. The vision that he has of a unified nation, of people stepping up their involvement in their community and government, and for moving this country forward has increased my patriotism ten fold.
I look forward to what is to come and I know that I we all will have a role in it. Its not about one man. Its about what we can all do together.
YES WE CAN.

The Big Day.

Halloween. Finally. What is it about these holidays where they just work up for ever. Then you finally get there, enjoy, and then the let down. Nothing left to look forward. Until the next holiday. We are looking forward to Thanksgiving and already menu planning but now I can see why people start the Christmas shopping so early. They just need something to occupy that holiday void.

Any whooo.... Here are a few shots of our fun Halloween day/night. Silv was a trooper (not litterally) and was all about Trick or Treating (i.e. going door to door grabbing candy from strangers. What a weird tradition!) Silv has a friend whose birthday is on Halloween so we went up to this great farm for her party. We saw animals, went on a hay ride into the fields, picked our own pumpkins, ran around a hay maze, and my girls favorite, the cow train.

Trick or Treating.

The only picture I could get of her with her hat on. It's kind of a funny sassy face. All day she would run around saying "I'm a witch. ha ha ha." I was surprised at how into it she got.

All in all it was a lot of fun and even hubby who isn't shy about his distaste for the holiday had a good time.

Wild and Wacky October

A few shots of what we've been up to this month... Utah State University homecoming game. Don't ask hubby about the game. He was a bit depressed.

Crappy picture of me and my friend and fellow Kappa Delta, Laura. BTW, she's 2 weeks more pregnant than me and has absolutely no belly! No Fair!

Witches night out with Silvi's buddy, Rita.

Painting pumpkins with cousins. pumkins with cousins, say that a few times fast.

Pony ride at Witches Night Out, an annual chaotic event at some local shops.

The STASH! Don't worry, it only lasted one day. I actually liked it but hubby couldn't handle it.

Making sandwhiches at the childrens museum. I think this picture was right before she pee'd all over the floor. Kind of ruins the sandwhich...

A trip to St. George with cousins to see the newest addition, Maren.

Wanting to be one of the big kids and play soccer.

Painting. The new, fav activity around our house. Sometimes wish I had never introduced it!

Our new fav accessory. Anytime I mention its cold out she insists on wearing her hat.

The best gift

In the last 6 days I have seen my hubby a total of 45 minutes. Following a week of work away from home and then a crazy weekend our paths crossed for a brief moment tonight before he was off again. But in that moment he reminded me why I love him so much. First, we pull up to our place and we find him out on the side walk waiting for us. Baby girl was so excited, "Daddy, my Daddy!" she hollered. While he scooped her up I managed to bring in our pathetic Taco Bell dinner (like I said, we've had an insane weekend). I enter our place to find daddy and daughter snuggling on the couch until dad tells her he has a surprise, a present. We'll I didn't know she had a concept of this yet but then I saw her face light up. He brings out a book he found for her and she is bouncing up and down on the couch with excitement. Then he proceeds to read it to her and watch as they make the most of their brief time together.
I have to say I was beaming with love. Because of the time he had taken to spend with our daughter I felt his love for me. I know we only said like 5 things to each other but don't actions speak so much louder than words! Hubby, I know you don't read this blog, but I love you! ( and your knarly beard too!)

In case you didn't hear...

Here is our first preview of Baby Olson.

yep... so, anyway....awkward....

p.s. it's a boy

My snuggler.

My energetic toddler is sitting on my lap snuggling while I blog surf. She just took my face in her hands and snuggled her head into my neck nook.

My heart is melting!!!

A for effort, right..right...

I've been trying, really trying to be crafty. The thing is, I was not born with that right part of my brain (is that the creative side?) Come to think of it maybe I'm missing more than just the right part...I digress...

So, last week I got a little too inspired and took on a few projects:

First there were these creepy little things:

Silvi did enjoy the psycho monkey and called it her "baby sock" for a day. She even took it potty. Although I think she thought they were better purposed for wearing.

Then in an effort to thwart genetics (my mother always starts projects then packs them away for years never to be finished) I focused on finishing some clips for you know who (no, not me).

My last project came a few days later when I picked up my new favorite book from the good Ol' library. (sorry cover your ears kids)"Stich and Bitch" (not pictured below) was very helpful in teaching me how to bind off my knitting project that was close to becoming the never ending scarf and I even started a second scarf.

I have restarted the second scarf 5 or 6 times...but I am knitting my way right past un finished projects and into a hobby. Who knew.... Honestly, we'll see how long it lasts. I just hope it keeps up so I have a snuggly scarf this winter. Nothing like selfish desires to motivate.......

I knew I recognized her!

Every Chorus is Your Name

a trip on my time machine.

Take the Pledge!

I read this today and wanted to cry!

Did you know that making bottles to meet Americans’ demand for bottled water requires more than 1.5 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel some 100,000 cars for a year? With gas prices so high (though bottled water is even more expensive at up to $6 a gallon*), why pour oil and money down the drain when you can get your own reusable bottle and fill'er up at home?
The current energy crunch illustrates the importance of conserving all our natural resources, yet for each gallon of water that is bottled, an additional two gallons of water are used in processing.

It’s time to take a real stand and pledge to Break Your Bottled Water Habit for good. So far over 3,900 of you have pledged to give up bottled water for a year, reducing 159,936 pounds of carbon emissions in the process. We can do better than that. Take the pledge, encourage your friends to do the same, and reduce your carbon footprint by 40.8 pounds this year for each person.** Imagine if 20,000 of you make that same pledge.
From now through October 30, take the pledge to Break the Bottled Water Habit, and encourage your friends and family to do the same.

Need more reasons to Break the Bottled Water Habit? Check out our top five reasons to break the habit, and then our top five ways to do so.

Taken from newdream.org

Do you smell something?

That is how every fall begins at my house. Sitting in the car the other day hubby starts sniffing the air.

Hubby: Do you smell something?

Me: No (with a scowl)

Hubby: It's football

Me: Oh boy (mock enthusiasm)

Yep, it's football season and my Saturdays and Sundays, oh yeah and mondays have already taken a hit. Not to worry, I'm pretty sure they've implemented Thursday night and Friday night games as well.

As if it's bad enough that my hubby becomes a couch potatoe for the next four months, but I also have to deal with the ridiculous sports fan behavior. For example, hubby tried to walk out of my house wearing a football jersey to work.

Me: whar are you wearing?

Hubby: My bronco's jersey! (happy as a little school boy)

Me: No, no you are not

Hubby: But it is casual friday!

Me: No way!. Jerseys are reserved for use at home of if you actually play for the team and it is the assigned uniform.

Hubby: (dejected) Fine....

So thank you college football. Thanks NFL. You have not only turned my 30 year old hubby into a 14 year old boy who wears sports gear as clothing but you have also monopolized my TV set and roped me into driving up to Logan to watch the worst ranked team in college football play in freazing conditions! Go Aggies!

Musical evolution

Last week I stepped out of my shell and went to a concert. Not that big a deal, I know, but I was so close to not going and then I would have never known the joy that is The Avett Brothers. My lovely friend Jason aka. Soffe, had sent me a sample of their music and I knew I liked it from the start. But the concert, the concert was such an awesome experience. I usually enjoy concerts if I can sit in the back and if they are over by 9:30. (I'm old beyond my years, I know). Not so at the Avett Brothers. When they finished at 10:30 I was sad and wanted more. It was so much fun and what a bunch of entertainers! They were crazy! The two brothers make up the heart of the band and they have a stand up bass and a whack a doodle cellist that plays his cello like a guitar. Loved it.
Maybe it was the nostalga since they hail from North Carolina. Maybe it was the songs lyrics filled with feeling and love. Maybe it was a night out.... Whatever it was I loved it. So much so that I encouraged Jon to drive to Boise two nights later so he could see for himself. His fan status has now much surpassed mine!



The concert fun continued when I met my friend last night for a Bonnie Raitt concert. I didn't even know who she was really but really enjoyed the concert. The concert was at Red Butte Gardens and it was so beautiful and even chilly once the sun went down. Silvi came along and danced the night away (i think she thought the crowd was gathered to see her moves).

Now that I have shocked the old fuddy duddy out of my system I think I am ready for more. We've already got tickets to Weezer and ColdPlay. Weezer gives me a little heart burn because we are on the floor and I'm not too keen on moshing with 14 year olds. Whatever, I guess I need to give everything a try right? That is the moral of this post...right, right!

Did I teach you the alphabet??

Tonight in the tub Silvi asked for her foam letters, as she calls them "her a,b,c's". Obligingly I dumped all 26 into the tub then looked on in amazement as she started pulling out letters and calling them by name. "O", "E", "R" were just blurted out. Did I miss something? Was there a sesame street episode that my daughter watched that I am unaware of (note: we don't watch sesame street). I know I didn't sit down and go over her letters with her, although I am planning on doing more learning activities since I've discover the true meaning of "a child's mind is like a sponge."

Needless to say, I was very proud, quite shocked, and a little embarassed that my daughter is picking up on her ABC's without much help from me. I thought the ABC song was something to work on....

This blog post was brought to you by the letter "O". (Silvia's favorite)

Spoiled but not rotten...yet

Miss Silvia turned two last week. Wow, I never envisioned my life raising a two year old but so far it is going better than expected. We ended up having a cookout/party for her even though I had planned on only doing cake with the family. I got a little guilt trip from my mom because "we were in North Carolina for her first birthday."

So we had a few friends come over and it was a lot of fun. Silvia and her mini friends ran around the yard and were making a game out of climbing up the steps and rolling a ball down them, then repeating that a few more times.



Then it was on to presents and cakes. Here is where the spoiling really went into over-drive. Jon did a pretty good job of restraining me, but no one could restrain my mom and sister.















Just from them she got a play kitchen (out with the old cardboard one I guess!) and a baby doll with tons of accessories! Now I'm not complaining because since she received this showering of gifts she has been pleasently occupied in her play room. It was just a bit overwhelming.

Jon and my gift to her was a trike. It turned out to be the hit of the party with all the girls taking turns on it.




















Needless to say, we all had a great time. We ended the night with some cupcakes and ice cream which some how avoided melting to pieces in the heat.

















Luckily (for my waist line and silvia's attitude) birthdays only come along once a year!

blog block

I know it's been awhile. Silvi's birthday has come and gone and so has most of this summer. I was really planning on blogging this week but alas my apartment swamp cooler is broken and I can't think straight. It is a constant 86 degrees in here! I don't know what I did to deserve this bad treatment by my landlord but I'm dying! Five going on six days is too long to go without a cooling system. I'm irrate and too self consumed to write about anything else.

I guess I'm going to have to summon my inner witch so we can get it fixed. No wonder I can't sleep!

A look back

Browsing through pictures today (when I should have been working) I couldn't believe the difference a year makes in the looks of a kid.

Example:

June 07

June 08

then and now....

Dang you Jane Eyre!

My night is ruined. I have an overwhelming amount of reading and work that needs to be done but all I can do is day dream about a Mr. Rochester and a governess, Jane Eyre. Dang it! I knew I wouldn't be able to resist when I saw the netflix envelope on my counter top. I had watched the Masterpiece Theater version (Disc 1) a week or so ago and wanted to cry when I realized that it was a two disc deal. Disc 2 came amid a crazy work schedule and a looming deadline. I put it off as long as I could. I got off today early, Silvi was taking a nap and I had dutifully completed an hours work. After that there was no stopping me. I had to watch Disc 2 and now I'm ruined!
I am an impatient person by nature and my impatience increases when I have the opportunity to step into english romance novels. I can't get enough of them! It gets really pathetic. I'm in a stooper for a day or so after finishing a book or watching a movie. My stooper is complete now. I'm listening to love songs and snuggling with my puppy (since my baby is asleep and my hubby is far away.) I'm sure I'll wake up tomorrow rational, cynical and level headed but for now I'll just wallow in dreams of meeting Mr. Rochester and/or Mr. Darcy (I'm not too picky as long as he has an english accent) in a green field where he wisks (yes, I said "wisks") me away to his mansion on the hill.....

I don't even know what is going on...

Has it really been a month since my last post. Boy, how quickly life can change. You'd think I would have learned that lesson by now, but every time life takes a left turn I'm always a little thrown off course. What am I talking about, nothing serious. Just I started nannying full time for a family of 4 in May as their existing nanny went on bedrest for her pregnancy leaving them nanny-less. I stepped in thinking it would be a great way to supplement my measly budget and the biggest bonus is that I can bring Silvia along. Swell! Not too many jobs out there that allow you to bring your kid along.
The family is nice and really I've only been watching the two youngest as the older boys were off at school. So I have Silv, a 2 year old and a 4 year old. They play pretty well together and it has given me a pretty good glimpse at what motherhood will be further on down the line.
Also, they offered me the nanny position for the fall too so my month job has now turned into full time work. I figure I can do this for a year then let life take me other places. But who would have every thought that I would turn out to be a nanny. I never, NEVER, babysat when I was a kid. Even until I had my own kid I didn't really care for kids much. I know, that is terrible to say but my patience was seriously lacking!
Anyway, I now need to leave my blogging diversion and get back to work. I am also working on facilitating a meeting for my old organization and only have a week to prepare! I'm a bit stressed to say the least.
I miss the blogging world. Hopefully I'll get to re-acquaint my self soon.

Devil inside

My daughter is a performer. I don't know where she got it (honestly). Maybe from her dad who has been known to sing Karaoke on occasion or enter a yoddling contest here or there. It doesn't matter I suppose. I am just reconciling myself to the fact that I will be paying dearly to enroll her in all sorts of dance, theater, etc lessons as she won't be able to suppress her will to show off.

Case in point: We went to a dance competition of my niece's and only after a few dances Silvia decided to take the floor. This is just one of the many video's that we took of her that day.

Make Every day Earth day

Tomorrow is Earth Day, however I don't think it gets much attention outside of the grade school classes that go out for a nature center field trip.
Here is to working toward being a better steward of the earth...today and tomorrow...even if it means I can no longer idle my car in the parking lot while eating my hormon-injected fast food out of the styrafoam container!

Yoga....not for big boned girls!

The other day I had the bright idea of going and checking out the free class at the local rec center. I was super excited and was even willing to pay $5/hour for daycare just to go the the free class (go figure) I guess I was expecting aerobics or something but was pleasantly surprised when the instructor showed up and said we were going to be doing yoga. Sweet, I can tell myself I worked out without having had to break too much of a sweat. Wrong. I'm significantly bigger since the last time I did yoga. In college I had this fantastic yoga tape that I would do and really loved it. I think that was the last time I did yoga in fact!
Needless to say it wasn't long before I was loosing my balance and feeling over-exerted from just coming up from downward dog. The funniest part was when I actually attempted balancing my body on my hands by squatting down, twisting my arms around to the outside of my legs in order to balance my weight on my hands. (can't recall the name of the position) Let's call that position "Bottom Blossum" as my a@#! was presented in all it's glory as my face was ever so gracefully smashed on the stinky mat!
I'm reverting to the yoga tape so I can maintain some shred of positive self image. There is a reason they don't make yoga pants in size 16!

Playhouse

So, one night after seeing Silvia enjoy a little girls play kitchen I decided she should have one too. Only problem is that I didn't want to drop $100 plus bucks on something I wasn't sure she would play with, not to mention I don't have $100...anyway. As I was browsing through a toddler activity book I came across the idea to make a house out of cardboard boxes. Sweet. I have plenty of those! So my journey began. First was the stove. I found some cute retro wrapping paper at the craft store that I used to cover it. I just had to wait until Silvi went to bed so I could Mod Podge it on.

next was the kitchen sink which is a work in progress...

Then, the other day as I was about to throw out a big box, I found Silvi playing in it. So rather than throw it out I decided to turn it into a playhouse. Disclaimer: I am juvenile and got hours of enjoyment out of putting this together (well not a lot of hours, maybe just 2 or 3) but I also knew that it was very likely anything I created could just as easily be destroyed by little hands! So I didn't work too hard on it.

So far Silvia seems to be enjoying it. Now my only problem is not having room for all these boxes lying around the house!

Goofy

A few days ago Silvi received a goody bag from a birthday party. In it were all sorts of items that I was sure were trouble for a one and a half year old. So I put it up on her dresser and made plans to hide it away for a few years. Well, yesterday morning came and we were goofing around in her room and she got ahold of the goody bag. Immediately she pulled out the two ring pops and wanted me to open them.

"Uh oh" I thought. But then again she hasn't had too many treats and she loves suckers so I thought I would let her give it a try. I gave in to my girls request and this is what I got:

After I laughed my head off I grabbed the camera. I thought it important to document the time that my daughter didn't know what to do with candy. I don't think she even knew it was candy and who am I to correct the innocent and cavity saving error.... goofy kid!

Easter Happenings

HAPPY EASTER

Easter was a lot of fun this year. Silvi didn't need any help on the egg hunt or eating the candy. Yikes!!!!

Cousins came over on Saturday and helped us celebrate.

Sunday we enjoyed going to church (well, I enjoyed church) then we journeyed up north to have a fabulous Easter dinner at Aunt Janna's house.

Silvia really enjoyed all the toys and cousins.

The count down

Today I have found myself counting down the hours until 10pm when Sex and the City comes on TBS. Where did this new found interest come from I ask myself? In the past I've surfed right past the show without much interest, but now I make sure to be in front of the TV just in time for the show intro (The theme music seriously lifts my spirits.) I've come to appreciate the editted version of the show as well (more giggles, less blushing). Maybe it's because I started watching again when the whole Aidan and Carrie love story was going on. Man that is good stuff and that Aidan is sooooo cute. I also have a bit of a crush on Mr. Big (whom now stars on a Law and Order series... double bonus!) Now the final season is showing and I'm already dreading that it is coming to an end. I guess this is all good preparation for the release of the Sex and the City movie this summer. I think this could be the movie I wait in line opening night for. do do do...dah do do da do dah....

I think I'm a single mom...

I don't even know how long it has been since I've had my hubby around. He has been in Montana for what seems like an eternity for work. Yes, he's come home for the weekends but it is hard to see any bright spots when I know I'm not going to see him for another 2 weeks.

Not really sure how things will work when he does get home. Once I figure out that life has to go on whether I have help or not I just get to work and seem to manage pretty well. Wait, don't let me fool you, if I had to go out into the workforce and manage the kiddo and house, etc... I'm sure I wouldn't be tooting my horn right now. In fact I was thinking today what a true blessing it is to be home with my little girl. I had been talking with a friend of a friend trying to determine if I could babysit for her. In the end it didn't work out and my heart was breaking when she talked about how hard it was to drop her daughter off every day. I just about started crying. So, where do I get off complaining about being bored, right! No more murmurring from me, mark my words.

Well, maybe just a little more murmurring.

I miss having my husband around....mostly. It is nice to only have to pick up after me and my little tornado. I don't really have to cook either because I'm fine with eating leftovers for days or microwaving a burrito. My laundry loads aren't quite as weighty. The brightest side of being on my own....not having to share the TV. I can watch the Oxygen channel to my hearts content and there is no one there to moan about how lame it is. Actually, come to think of it, it has been a bit of a curse. Usually I don't watch much tv at night and I get to bed at a reasonable hour. Since my unrestrained TV access I get way overstimulated and stay up till...12:14 am. Yikes. I really need Jon to get home. It is not good for (wo)man to be alone!

To wrap up my lonesome rant. Today Silvi said "Daddy, Daddy." I looked around and she was pointing to this picture that I have on the computer desktop. She definitely hasn't forgotten about him.



We miss you Jonny!

Murder Mystery

So for my long time BFF's birthday party everyone went to a local murder mystery thingy. I knew it would be a lot of fun when we got the characters a week ahead of time. I was Wanda Wilmington, a sports fanatic from Fargo North Dakota. Needless to say I've been running through scenes from Fargo all week trying to get my accent down, don'tcha know. Well, I'm not sure if all my hard work paid off because in the process of gathering clues and interviewing the suspects I kept absorbing the other accents going around. One minute I'm Wanda the next minute I'm a scottsman or a thug. I just thought it was funny to watch everyone assume their roles and a lot of people really got into it (seriously, some people came prepared with note books to conduct their interviews).

To anyone looking for something new and fun to do I recommend trying out a murder mystery theater. Just don't forget your notebook!

In moms shoes

Are all little girls born with this, i don't know....innate sense of femininity? First it was slinging anything with a handle over her shoulder like a purse. Then the other day as I was unpacking shoes she picked my only pair of heels and started shuffling around the house. Hilarious and scary. I am not what you would call a girly girl, but from all indicators my daughter is. Too bad I can't blame this one on her dad.

New location, New look

I was becoming too envious of everyone elses snazzy looking blogs so I thought it was time to move on over to the world of Blogger. I think now I will be more prone to post....maybe.