Random August thoughts

Just what I'm thinking about...

Max is busy. Like SO busy. Like I feel like I am the only parent whose kid would run 50 feet away and wouldn't even turn back to see if I was still there or following. He just wants to roam and run free. It's his fearlessness that scares me the most. No Fear = Trouble. And if you are going to tell me that every kid is like this... they aren't. I just went to my work summer party and there are like 5 women with children around Max's age and the majority are boys, and I was the only one running up the hill to capture my child before he joined the pee-wee footballers or ran into the street. I feel completely exhausted if I take him anywhere. I feel bad sometimes because I feel like I have to conjure enough energy/motivation to take him anywhere. Anyway, I'm exhausted.

Sometimes I feel like I am ready for another baby. Then I have an exhausting day with Max and I can't even fathom ever having any more. The women who have 5 kids under the age of 5 must have really good babies, or are really brave (or CrAzY). I can't even imagine being pregnant/having a newborn with Max the way he is. It makes me tired just thinking about it.

Max is smarter then I realize sometimes. Every night before he goes to bed (between 7:30 and 8:00) he gets a bath. So every night before his bath I do the sign (as in sign language) "bath" as I run his tub. Well last night it was about 7:20 and he comes up to me and does the "bath" sign. I was like, "Oh it's time for your bath!" So I ran his bath. I thought it was so cute. He knows his routine well. He also tells me when he wants to eat and when he wants his milk without any prompts. He just signs. He has also learned the word Dog, Cookie, "What's that?", All done (he also sorta knows the sign), Bubble, Key (for blankie), and he jumps if you tell him to. He loves to jump.

I feel less stress now that Chris is working. The unknown was always hard for me, as well as the pressure to provide the primary income for our family. Especially with my work being slow and them calling off nurses often. I was getting more stressed about money, but I don't feel that pressure as much anymore. While we still have Chris's student loans to worry about, I feel better having both our income's to manage that. And we are working on getting me to 2 days a week.

We, like many other Americans, are stuck where we live. Not that we don't like where we live. It is actually a pretty good place, with a great ward, and a lot of amenities. But we want a house, with a back yard. Alas, if we sold our place now we would probably lose money, money we don't necessarily have. So we are stuck here. We have a little room to grow, but not much more. And I want a yard. A FENCED IN YARD, to keep my adventurous child from wandering into the road, or the Jordan River, or out of my sight.

Chris is enthusiastic about his job. I love that. He is studying hard for a certification test right now. He is getting paid to get certified/educated instead of us paying for it. I like that too. It seems like EMC is a good fit for him and I think he will do well, be happy, and have great opportunities for growth and advancement. It is crazy, in this economy, that this company is doing so well. They are a powerhouse for technology. I'm so grateful this opportunity came to us.

Anyway, life is good. I'm grateful for what we have, for Max (even if he is exhausting), for Chris and his hard work and intelligence, and for my parents and Chris's mom who have been so great at helping us with the transition to 2 full time working parents (for the moment) and being able to watch Max. Instead of being scared of the future, I'm actually excited for it!

Fathers

This is my Dad

He's a pretty important man in my life.

Here's some of the things that make him so great!

1. He would never let us call him Daddy. It was always DAD

\2. He is an avid hiker and has always stayed active.

3. He eats peanut butter nearly every day. Probably where I got my peanut butter eating habit.

4. He takes really good care of his cars. His 1994 Toyota truck is still going strong, and is still in really good condition.

5. He is more of the "Strong, Silent" type, but he has a way of getting a lot of respect. He can keep most anyone "in-line". Even the scouts (teenage boys).

6. He doesn't have any son's. But he loves his girls and wouldn't prefer it any other way.

7. He has taught my sisters and I to be self sufficient and independent. Yet I know I could go to him if I every had any issue/problem or needed some financial assistance.

8. He helped all my sisters and I get a college degree. Something that has such significant value that I become more and more aware each and every day.

9. He is always so caring and concerned whenever we struggle. And emotional, physical, or spiritual battle my sisters or I have to face, I know he loves and supports me and would take it away if he could.

10. I have a deep love and respect for him. He taught me what a man should be like. How to find a man to take good care of me and love and support and respect me. And now that I have my own son, how to raise a man to be.

Thanks Dad,

Happy Fathers Day and

I love you!

Of course I need to mention my Husband.

He is such a loving and compassionate Father. He has the opportunity that not many fathers have of being a part of the day in and day out care of a busy baby and very active toddler. I mean... he spends all day with him while I'm at work. From the moment he wakes up, the diaper changes, the feedings, the entertaining, the clothes changes, the outside walks, the baths, to the moment he falls asleep... he is there. He really understands the work that is put in for a parent that stays at home to raise children.

Watching them together truly lights up my world. They have such a special relationship. They both have infectious laughs, so when one is laughing, usually the other is too. Chris figures out ways to do things that I never think of, and they are usually the better way to do it :). He is very affectionate. He gives lots of kisses to Max (and Me). He gets so concerned when Max is sick or injured. He is a great man. He cares deeply for his son and is a fantastic Dad.

Happy Fathers Day dear!

Momma

There are a lot of important women in my life.

But I want to give a big shout out to my momma!

Thanks for always being there for me Mom! You are an amazing cook, a good listener, a teacher, and one of my best friends. I love that you love to talk about Max as much as I do. You are a fabulous Grandma and have help me so much with him. Thanks for always listening to me, supporting me, giving me advice, being a shoulder to cry on, influencing me, and giving me unconditional love. You are the best, and I LOVE YOU!!

Happy Mothers Day!!

Christmas!

Well. Christmas came and went. I unfortunately got a terrible cold during the week and was feeling AWFUL! The irony of my bah-humbug attitude to get sick the week of Christmas.

I was able to spend Christmas Eve with my family. My entire family (meaning both my out of state sisters!) We hadn't spent Christmas together since 2004. We normally see a movie on Christmas Eve, however the only movie we all wanted to see came out on Christmas Day. And I worked Christmas Day. Plus, having Max puts a damper on any movie going, because I have some respect for other people and would not take a loud child with almost no attention span to a movie. But that's just me.

Here he is on his rocking MOOSE that Grandma gave him!

And here is my family together (from left Chris, Max, Lisa, Dad, Sara, Jill, Beat[pronounced Bay-aught], and Mom)

So Tradition usually has us going to a movie, then coming back for my moms delicious cooking. The feast includes eating Rock Cornish Game Hens with twice baked potatoes, spinach salad, rolls, cheese ball, ribbon jello, and cocktail shrimp. Then we would go for a drive to see all the neighborhood Christmas Lights. Then we would gather in the living room around the tree and put on a Christmas program for our parents. It usually consisted of the story of the birth of Christ followed by a few Christmas songs I would play on my keyboard. Then we would light the hand carved nativity that my Dad brought back from his mission from Germany. Then we open our Christmas Jammie's, and watch A Christmas Story before we go to bed, awaiting Santa's arrival.

This Christmas we did some of those things. Having Max and being ill made things seem a lot more rushed and distracted for me. But it was so much fun to hang out with my family and visit.

Max eating paper as usual.

Opening Presents (Mommy got what she wanted!)

Then I took turns getting a picture with everyone in the room with Max and his Santa Jammie's before we had to leave.

 Grandma

 Aunt Jill and Beat

 Grandpa

 Aunt Sara

And finally a picture of us as a family!

Christmas morning was pretty low key. I was able to be called off for half my shift so I spent Christmas Morning with my boys. Santa just brought Max one gift, but he is a spoiled little boy anyway. Plus, it was just another day to him! He got a Giraffe toy that sings and has a track for balls to go down. Perfect for a 10 month old! 

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

All Smiles!

Last night, Max was wide awake. He kept acting hungry so I kept giving him a little more ounce by ounce. He finally seemed satisfied so I held him for a little bit. Then I placed him in his crib. When I went to check on him, I found him kicking and playing in his crib... in a puddle of his own puke. Guess I fed him too much...oops.

So I placed him sitting up in the recliner with his lovey while I went about cleaning and changing his sheets. He was happy looking around.

And then he smiled at me! And I captured this moment. It was so precious. I just laughed, and smiled, and felt like I was on cloud nine. He melted my heart.

So this is what they meant when they said it is all worth it!

Spoiled Already.

So... my little baby boy is already spoiled.

He is the first Grandchild on my side, and the 2nd on Chris's side. My sister-in-law already spoils our nephew a ton. So she got a jump start with our little guy! When we found out we were having a boy we went to Chris's mom's house to tell her and there was a present already there...

These will be great for those middle of the night diaper changes. No unbuttoning and re-snapping required! (I am terrible with snaps for some reason... and buttons... forget about it!)

There was also this adorable Air Jordan onesie, hat, and booties set. So she sort of kicked off the baby stuff since I hadn't bought a thing yet!

The day after we found out I decided to go to the fabric store and get some flannel to make baby blankets. We have lots of adorable flannel blankets that people have donated at my work. I thought... I could do that. I have minimal sewing skills, but figured I could sew a straight line with my sewing machine. (I bought one a few years ago when I was motivated to sew my own scrubs, but got so frustrated and figured buying them was cheaper anyway.) So I went to the fabric store and found two adorable fabrics. One being:

This adorable golf print was my first gander at the sewing project. I read online how to make simple blankets and followed the instructions. It said to wash the material in the washing machine and then sew the blanket. So that is what I did.

Little did I know that I should have used a delicate cycle. My adorable golf print had lint balls all over it and the edges were all frayed. I was so depressed, but was still able to salvage it enough to make a blanket. It's the thought that counts right?

So the second time around I didn't wash the material first. So I hope it survives it's first washing... But here it is along with the ADORABLE onesie and booties that my little sister got for her first nephew!!

She said, "You got to indoctrinate them early". Ha ha ha ha :) Hope he ends up being a Utah fan! Go Utes!

He is going to be one spoiled little boy!

Utah State Fair

I have never been to the Utah State Fair. (I know, so un-Utahn of me!) So when my sister-in-law invited us, I wanted to go for the experience.

The fair is located in Rose Park/Salt Lake City area on the State Fair Grounds (Surprise!) The only time I have ever been to these grounds was for the many Warped Tours and Big Ass Shows that I have attended in my youth. I have fond memories of the great music, moshing, sweaty bodies, and the time I found blood across my shirt after a fabulous performance by Yellowcard. It wasn't MY blood, by the way (GROSS!!) I know... I was so hardcore!

I learned a lot by going to the State Fair and decided to share my wealth of knowledge to my 9-ish blog readers (the max comments I have ever received is 9 so I am guessing that is about how many read this blog?) This way, all you first time fair goers will know what to expect when you try out the Utah State Fair.

1. It is EXPENSIVE. I am not sure how much tickets cost since my generous mother-in-law bought them for us. But after you get in, the rides cost money, the food cost money, and then there is loads of booths selling anything from scary medieval swords and creepy porcelain dolls. But they got good stuff too. Knock off purses, info-mercial stuff, clothes, jewelery. I ended up walking out with an awesome ring cleaner and a Sham-WOW. My ring does look awesome, by the way! I probably should have ran from the booths with my hands over my ears, because I easily get suckered into buying stuff all the time.

2. The food is crazy! I have heard there are fried peanut butter sandwiches, fried snickers, fried corn dogs, french fries, scones, fried Navajo tacos, funnel cakes. Everything is deep fried. Chris and I shared a funnel cake and all I can say is NEVER AGAIN! I was burping a strong vegetable oil taste the rest of the night which made me SOOO nauseous. Blech! It's like Cafe Rio dressing. So tasty, but you pay for it the rest of the night!

3. Plan on stepping in animal feces. If you go to look at the prize winning animals, it is a given. Poor Chris stepped in a large pile of manure when not looking. He wasn't happy about this... so don't bring it up.

4. If you eat a lot you may end up, at the end of the day, looking like this:

Apparently we visited the pigs during nap time. Only the one the size of a cow was awake.

5. Bring children, if you know any. We had my nephew. You have an excuse for cutting people off when they walk to slow. After all, you are running after a child. You can ride the kiddie rides with them if they are too short. Plus, it is so much more fun to see them get a kick out of a pony ride, then just wondering aimlessly in the heat.

6. There are shows, but I wouldn't bother. Either they are sort of lame (mind reading guy) or you can't see the tigers because the crowd is so large. I'd rather go to the Zoo or the Mirage to see tigers anyway.

7. I remember why I stopped going to Warped Tour. The fair grounds exude heat. It was only supposed to be like 76 degree's, but I was sweltering! Wear as little clothing as possible, or you will be soaked with sweat.

8. It was a great excuse to get out of the house for the day. Oh and have your husband just love hanging out with his adorable nephew!