Rare Occurence

It's been snowing all day here in Southern Utah.  I think this is the third time in 3 years that we have had any snow stick to the ground in our neighborhood.  G-man was none too happy about the white stuff falling out of the sky.  He climbed out the dog door only to get all wet once he hit the back patio.  His face looked kind of like it did in my last post when I set him on the slide.

The dogs aren't happy about the cold weather, either.  Necia starts shaking whenever we take her sweater off.  Max thinks he wants to go outside, but I don't think he realizes that it's going to be just as cold if we take him out the front door as it is out the back door.  At least it's not raining, though.  If it rains, they usually save themselves the trouble of going out in the cold to pee and find an inconspicuous spot inside.  

I like the snow, though.  As long as I only see it a couple of times a year, I'm good.

Playground Torture

Okay, so I'm no photographer, but last Friday I thought I'd try to go get some pictures of G-man at the playground near our house.  This is the first face I got when I set him on the slide. 

I then decided I'd better just let him do his own thing and not force him to play.

I didn't get any smiles until I tortured them out of him by hanging him upside down.

I guess the whole day wasn't completely a bust :)

Run, Fat Boy, Run!

We rented the movie "Run, Fat Boy, Run" and were so inspired by it that we ran a 5K as a family.

Jared has been encouraging me to sign up for an event for some time now and finally he just signed me up for one without asking me.  It went better than I thought it would.  I am not a runner.  My sister, Abby, convinced me one year in high school to run cross country and then I got my friend Cristina to do it, too.  We had a great time, but I was never the strongest teammate.  In fact, it took me the whole season to get to the point where I could run the whole 5K without stopping once to walk.  I think my best time was about 28 minutes.  I don't think I've ever gotten to the point where I've enjoyed running, but I suppose that could change.  After all, Cristina was about as fast as I was in high school and probably enjoyed running as much as I did, and she ran the Salt Lake marathon a few years ago.  

Saturday's race was actually pretty fun.  It was very cold in the morning.  We bundled up G-man and strapped him in the stroller we borrowed from friends (thanks Jess & Rob!).  Jared didn't realize that the tires were a little flat until just before the race, so we got a late start, but I did better than I thought I would.  I thought it would take me about 45 minutes, but I did it in under 38!  So, we are going to do it again in February, and run the Dam Race, except that race will be 5 miles, not 3.2.  

Decorating for Christmas

So I guess I haven't offended all you guys with my sarcasm.  I really shouldn't write late at night, but it seems to be the only time I have these days.  G-man's hands are too quick and I have a hard time typing and keeping him away from the laptop at the same time.  I tend to get a little mouthy when I'm tired :)

We put up the Christmas tree this weekend.  I was a little disappointed to find that the pre-lit tree I bought in April was a multi-colored light tree.  I prefer the white lights, but now that it's been up a few days, it's starting to grow on me.  Jared says that since we have a multi-colored family we should have a multi-colored tree, too.  He is ever the racially sensitive one isn't he?  Anyway, I finished decorating it today and I think I really like it, but here are the pics of G-man and I feathering out the branches.

Thankful

This Thanksgiving I'm making a list of things that I am thankful for as an American in these uncertain economic times.  We may not all have reliable jobs, or be able to pay our over extended mortgages, but here in the great United States of America, we still have many blessings.

1. First, I am thankful for commercials.  Life would be really dull without commercials, in fact, it was very dull without commercials.  When my family lived overseas, we watched AFN (the Armed Forces Network).  Unfortunately foreign governments don't like Americans promoting their own products, so commercials were not broadcasted during program breaks.  Instead, we were encouraged to "Be, All That You Can Be" over and over and over in any form or branch of the military you can think of.  It got very old very fast, and I think that the subliminal messages contained in those ads have done weird things to my brain (that could have been the origin of the seizures I had as a child).  Really, I would think that those foreign governments would rather us buy our own brand of dish detergent than have a young generation of children indoctrinated by military commercials.  Who made that decision?  

So, if you can put aside your fears of debt for the good of our consumerist nation, I would really appreciate it.  Just run up the credit cards enough so that companies can continue to buy advertisement time.  I'd really hate to start having seizures again.

2.  I am thankful for the internet.  It kind of feels like a big summer camp for all those grown up women out there where we get together for only $50 a month and compare kids' pictures and learn from each other and brag about our awesome husbands and awesome lives and etc, etc.

I am saving so much money by blogging.  Just think what I could be spending on therapy.  I love that I can contribute to our family saving money.

3.  I am thankful for nuts.  Specifically the ones in our family tree.  Is it a bad sign that Jared and I both think that we got the most normal person out of each other's family?  Seriously, though, we love all our family, even the nuts.  I'll bet many of you love your nuts, too.

4. I am thankful for freedom of religion.  Where would we be without freedom of religion in this country?  I am thankful for all those Wyckens, Hari Krishnas, Satanists, Polygamists, Fundamentalists and such that have pushed Mormonism into mainstream religion.  I like being mainstream.  I understand it's much better than being burned alive as a witch or being hunted down by angry mobs.  

*Disclaimer-  I intend no disrespect towards any of the aforementioned religions or creeds.  Just wait a few years and something weirder will come along and push you all into mainstream religion.  That's the beauty of Freedom.*

5.  Now this one is for real.  I am grateful for my son.  Even though he has temporarily kept me away from the blogging community for the last little while.  His energy and resourcefulness are astounding.  I have started taking naps when he does just so I can keep up with him when he is awake.  He learns so quickly that it is getting harder to trick him any more.   He doesn't believe that chocolate is nasty.  He is starting to talk, but not to us- to the dogs.  His only words are Bwarf, Woof, and Boarf.  We keep hoping that he will start communicating with us soon.  He has also learned that the little red light on the camera means that the flash is coming, so he has started squinting in preparation. 

We just happened to get lucky with this shot. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Private Schmivate

This in defiance to KSL and their dirty little segment about stupid bloggers who didn't expect to have their pictures stolen off their blog. Really, who is going to remember that kid was hitler boy on the email when he's twenty? And if I start getting nasty comments from someone who amazingly still has access to my blog if I do go private? I totally know it was you (insert your name here). So in complete defiance of all those naysayers who think blogging is just opening yourself up to the world for criticism, here are pictures from the cutest boy in the world's birthday party, which happened recently, but I'm not revealing which day, so you can't steal his identity.

The G-man snuggling with Grampa Claude

My Cake (I baked it and put the brown frosting on, but Abby took over the rest of the decorating).

G-man was not sure how he felt about the cake, especially after it was beheaded.

I opened gifts, while Cristina broke up the brawl in the corner.

G-money and his tummy momma, without whom this day would not be possible.

Thanks, Michaelene!

Siegfried and Roy came to visit on Friday.  It was quite a shock to me; what with Roy all bloodied up from a new tiger attack and all.  I wasn't sure I wanted a tiger in my house, but they assured me that he was only dangerous to Roy (I think the tiger has a thing with soul patches).  

They seemed to be quite happy, even with the bloody mess.  Maybe that's because Siegfried is finally getting his sex change op.  Check out those ta-tas!  

We invited their tiger along with us to the neighborhood trunk or treat.  He did an excellent job guarding our candy from passers by, but I think Little Bo Peep got some.  Under all that fluff she had some mad ninja skills.  I didn't get a pic because we were so surprised.

While we were at the trunk or treat, we also learned the true characters of some of our neighbors.  Kim was there with a bat stuck to her face, her very scary undead husband and young Dracula with his pet skunk.  I really had no idea that Mary has very long thick black hair under that short 'do that she usually wears and her freaky boyfriend with the hockey mask was creeping me out.  I can think of a few boiler rooms that I wouldn't want to meet him in.  It was a good thing she had the Hulk there to protect her and Thomas the Tank Engine in case they needed a quick get away!  How about this for a shocker- our 70+ year old bishop is really a woman!  And she's pregnant!  I know a few of their kids were adopted; but really, seriously?  I would have given up trying years ago.  No kids after 50 for me...

We were so sad that Dave and Mindy couldn't make it.  Apparently little nurse has stepped up the therapy sessions because they're just not making enough progress.  When we stopped by Dave was in a straightjacket getting ready for shock therapy.  And Mindy, I think you're looking a little pale these days- some chocolate might help.  If you don't feel like eating it, just smear some on your face- anything would be an improvement ;o)!  

This all just makes me sad that we can't have halloween every day.  Wouldn't that be the best?  Just one day out of the year we could all be normal instead.  I could handle being normal for one day ;o)!

Couldn't Wait!!!!

Sorry Gillie, but I couldn't wait to post this little clip of the boy (23 seconds)... G-man has been putting a few steps together over the last few weeks that could be considered "walking" in some sense. Then tonight he just started walking around the room toward me...so as any good father would do, I grabbed the video camera and made him chase me across the room several times to get a good clip for the Blog. Nothing like baiting your child into being cute for the net!!!

Sunday Night Concert

So I'm going to back track a little. But I have good reason. On Sunday after the concert my emotions were just a little too involved, so I had to mellow out for a few days. Our little Families Supporting Adoption chapter here in town asked Michael McLean to do a concert for us to celebrate national adoption month. We've been planning this for months and it came together this past Sunday evening. Prior to the concert we had a reception for some birthmothers in the area that have placed children in the past. Brother McLean was really personable and seemed genuinely interested as he conversed with the birthmothers and their families. After the reception, we went over to the Tabernacle which you can see was filled to capacity and then some. Brother McLean was very engaging and entertaining. He told some of the stories behind the songs that he has written about adoption. Especially touching were the songs "Something Perfect" and "Hardest for Me." Unfortunately I couldn't find a link to those, but here is "From God's Arms, To My Arms, To Yours."

Halloween FHE

G-man's first Pumpkin carving experience! Fun was had by all. Necia ate a little pumpkin gunk and G tried to as well. It turned out okay, no real work of art or anything, but I guess it's good enough to sit outside and rot on my doorstep :o)!

Check out the giveaways these guys are doing and their fun layouts!

Happy Halloween!

Would you believe how hard it is to find a real pumpkin patch around here? I drove all over on Thursday and couldn't find one. The local farm was definitely not open. So I headed over to the local nursery where they had some pumpkins and some haybales and got some pics. Here are my favorites. Enjoy!

Suicidal

My Kitchenaid tried to commit suicide today.  I think she heard all my talk of Bosch mixers.  I used to adore Kitty.  She was like a gleaming white statue giving evidence to my skills as a homemaker.  I displayed her proudly on my countertop and my single friends would envy my obvious prowess in the baking arts.  I secretly think that when Jared saw Kitty he knew he had to have me- mad kitchen skills and all.  

She even helped us sell our first home!  Our shark of a real estate agent wanted everything off the counters.  Everything, except Kitty.  "Kitty is a work of art!" she said.  So, she sat on the counter surrounded by fake greenery and enticed would be buyers into a deal.  I know the young woman of the couple that bought our house envisioned herself baking fresh cookies for her new husband with my Kitchenaid.  That couple put an offer on our house the day it was put on the market.   

We tried to sell our house this past spring and our agent wanted me to put her away.  I know she grumbled as she went into the closet.  "Doesn't he know my value?" she thought.  "I am a work of art!"  Our house didn't sell.  Some may say it was a slow market, but Kitty and I know the truth.  A buyer can't envision herself in an empty kitchen.  

The first time I tried to make bread with her was when a little of her glitter shook off.  I was so excited to make bread with her because I had just found out that I could let her do all the kneading.  My mom had always done it by hand and had been an excellent baker.  So I called my stepmom to get her recipe.  Poor Kitty had an awful time with those five loaves.  She sputtered and coughed white smoke.  Try as she might, she just couldn't do it.  The dough seemed to have a life of its own and came up out of the bowl, engulfing the hook and trying to suffocate her.  I saved her just in the nick of time.  When I cleaned her off, she looked at me woefully,"I just don't think I was made for that.  I'm so sorry, I thought it would eat me.  I just couldn't do it."  

Come to find out that the Kitchenaid Classic was NOT made for such things.  Since that moment I have been lusting after a Bosch mixer.  They are not as sexy as Kitty is.  No one will ever mistake the Bosch for a piece of art.  But if I can make yummy fluffy whole wheat bread for our family, it will be worth it, right?  

Kitty never really made it out of the closet after we took our home off the market.  I use her for cookies and things like that, but I don't think she ever really recovered from the dough incident.  Today I thought maybe she could redeem herself.  I used a recommended recipe from works for me wednesday for one loaf of bread.  Things were going well.  Kitty worked really hard at kneading the dough "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can."  She was a little wobbly at the higher speed, so I turned her down and things seemed to be okay.  I then left the kitchen to go get dressed and that's when it happened.  She jumped off the counter and tried to hang herself.  My heart sank when I heard the crash.  NOOOOOoooo!  Oh Kitty, did you really mean to do that?  Her power cord had been ripped right out of the back of her neck.  Such a waste.  I just hope Jared will be able to fix her.  

** Notice the bent plug and extricated cord**

The first Solo Climb into the Great Know.

Here's a little video shot of the G-man climbing the stairs.  He did this for the first time today, although this is his 3rd assent on this same "pitch."  First the stairs, next will come our front yard of rocks, then up to Zions for some trad rock climbing...I'll help him set the gear the first time! Climb climb climb...Up up up!!

Procrastination

This morning I have no excuses anymore.  I must confess.  We can't find the camera.  Make that- I can't find the camera.  I guess I lost it; those kinds of things are usually my fault.  I personally think that there are little elves in my house that steal things from me just so I can look dumb in front of Jared.  (A note to my sisters: Stand Down.  The elves are just stealing from me, not talking to me or giving me revelation or telling me I'm the Queen of England.  I'm allowed to have a delusion every once in a while if it doesn't hurt anyone :).)  I think when your kids get older, the elves give them the job of messing with your mind.  That way you can continue to think you're sane even when you've lost your grip on reality.  I look forward to such times.  

Meanwhile, even though you can't see a picture of him, G-man continues to be as cute as ever.  Mornings he is especially charming (as if to say "You know you want to get up and play with me even though it is only 6:30 am").  He is amazingly easy going about eating.  He tries new things all the time without any fuss at all.  This morning I found some oatmeal in the cupboard.  Hallelujah, it wasn't expired!  A little cinnamon and some applesauce and he ate it right up.  I don't know if you believe in Karma, but by all indications of me while growing up, I should have gotten the child who refuses to eat anything.  We are so lucky.  His teeth are continuing to emerge.  Most of the time, they don't bug him too much.  He also is learning to prefer upright motion to just crawling.  He will take a couple of steps while falling towards the object of his desires instead of dropping to his knees immediately.  

I promise that more pictures will be coming soon.  Scout's honor and all that.  Jared just bought one that he likes off ebay last night.  It may not be all that I want, but it is at least a newer model than our old one, so maybe it will take pictures faster. 

WFMW: a smattering of small tips

Tip#1:  Vinegar in the dishwasher

We have REALLY hard water in our area. We thought at first that the dishwasher that came with the house just sucked, but then we bought a Kitchenaid and even when we put a ton of Jet dry in, the dishwasher didn't really do its job.  A friend at work said she just puts vinegar in before starting the dishwasher.  It really works.  I always end up with clean dishes, no spots, and sometimes I don't even pre-rinse (shameful, I know!).  So there you go.  A little vinegar with your detergent goes a long way.  

Tip #2 Venus razors

I used to think all razors were basically equal, but then I pulled out one that I got from Santa a year or two ago in my stocking (thanks Abby!).  For a disposable it did a great job and I didn't nick myself at all.  And I have found that even when my leg hair is as long as the African Safari grasslands this razor takes it all in stride.  If you don't want to spend a lot of money on the starter pack, you can yank the top off of a disposable venus razor and use the replacement heads on it.

Tip #3

Scrubbing Bubbles toilet bowl gel stamper

I read this tip from someone else a few weeks ago and I love this product!  Not only does it keep your bathroom smelling fresh, I don't have hard water rings that I have to scrub away!  I don't know about you, but I don't treasure time spent with my head close to the toilet bowl, so anything that helps me do less of that is a great product.

As much as I love getting hits from people I don't know all over the world, I would love for some tips from friends close to home, too!  So even if you don't participate through Rocks in my Dryer, share something you've learned with me in the comments or on your blog!

Dad's first contribution!

Okay, so its been nearly 5 months AND I FINALY HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY!  Not really, I just wanted to add G-man's 11 month old picture, and since I took the picture with my phone...I was told to add it to the Blog.  This is my "2 year old" shot of him.... Amazing what a little lighting can do.  Unfortunately I'm not nearly as funny as my sweet wife, so this will have to do!

Thank you

I thought I'd post our little addition to the book we are giving Michael McLean as a thank you for doing a free fireside concert at the end of this month for our FSA November celebration.  His concert will celebrate adoption and is taken from this book and music CD.

Dear Michael McLean, My husband and I never thought we would have first hand experience with adoption.  After many years of infertility treatments however, it became clear that our family would have to start another way.  We started the adoption process in October of 2006.  It felt a little like a popularity contest for a while.  I would spend hours online looking at all the profiles of people that were waiting to adopt and cry because I wanted every couple to have the child they dreamed of.  I felt like I would be taking someone else's child if I adopted.  How would I know that the child we adopted was meant for our home and not someone else's?  Despite my doubts, we plowed ahead with the paperwork.  We became active with LDS family services in April 2007.  And we waited. 

 

That summer we attended the Families Supporting Adoption national conference in Salt Lake at my husband's insistence.  We were blessed to hear the experiences of many adoptive couples and birthparents and especially Glenn and Tania Beck.  Because of that conference, our eyes were opened to the vision of adoption.  We made some changes in our profile and our life and were contacted by several birthmothers via the internet.  Despite one especially promising relationship, I began to feel very depressed.  We decided not to pursue continued communication with her and prayed that Heavenly Father would lead our birthmother to us. 

Within two weeks we were contacted by our agency who told us a birthmother had chosen us.  Her reasons for choosing us resonated within our hearts and we felt the love that our Heavenly Father feels for her.  Our son was born the same day we met his birthmother.  Her expectations of having time with him in the hospital were cut short when the nurse discovered that he had a heart murmur.  Because of my experience as a NICU nurse, I was able to travel with him and be at his bedside until his birthmother was able to be there as well.  We were able to develop our relationship as we sat next to him in the hospital.  

He is now almost a year old and is currently in good health.  When I consider the events of the last two years, I see God's hand in every event.  I am especially grateful to our son's birthmother who had faith that He would lead her to her son's parents.  She sent us a copy of your book and CD, "From God's arms, to my arms, to yours".  Adoption truly is about love and your music captures that for us.  Our son is truly a gift of love from our Heavenly Father through the loving arms of his birthmother.  

One Small Step for G-man

G-man took his first step today!  Then he fell.  But I have witnessed at least one step forward without his holding onto anything.  He took his first step towards my friend Kim's little boy, who is about 6 1/2 months old (he's the other boy in the picture).  I took a picture after the fact and I have a few others of him cruising around the furniture upstairs.  One step today, a whole lifetime of steps to go... 

Ice Packs for Injuries

Okay so I'm not really organized and this week's Works for me Wednesday is about kitchen organization.  But at least my tip is stored in the kitchen-

This tip was given to my stepmom by her physical therapist.  To make an ice pack that will stay really cold and is moldable to any place on your body that you can injure, use equal parts water and rubbing alcohol in a heavy duty plastic bag.  It will not freeze solid even if left in the freezer, though it may get slushy.  

This has saved me more than once.  I slipped coming down the stairs just the other week and I was able to make a couple of these ice packs and keep ice on my shoulder (which felt like it had been ripped out of its socket) for 12 hours almost straight.  The next day there was no swelling and it felt TONS better.  

Go over to Rocks in my Dryer and check out all the organization tips from every one else!

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

I just thought I'd share with you how I know Jared and I were meant for each other. 

 As you can see from the picture, I sorted out all the marshmallows so I can eat the cereal.  The marshmallows go back in the bag.  He would eat the marshmallows straight, while I can't really take that much sugar.  

We are a match made in heaven.

How to offend people

For those of you that know me, you know I like to offend people- A LOT.  If I've never offended you, lucky you, but that doesn't mean I may not try in the future.  Seriously, it runs in my family.  My dad, bless his heart, rarely thinks before he speaks and regularly says hurtful things to everyone around him.  In fact, a good day growing up was when I didn't hear a comment about my weight or my acne.  Not just from my dad, but also my mom.  Even the days when they said my skin looked great (rarely), I knew it wasn't a compliment but more of a bewildered question (i.e. Your skin looks great!  What did you do differently?  Did you actually wash your face?).  No, tact was not necessarily taught well in our home.  But I don't TRY to offend people, it just comes out that way.  Like today.  I finally posted to the FSA blog only to find out that the people I wrote about were not the couple that actually shared their adoption experience.  I had written the wrong names down in my notes.  Maybe someone else should be writing that blog..... Anyone? Please?

Works for me Wednesday

I found this recipe on the internet for pancake mix and thought I'd share for Works for me Wednesday (sponsored by Rocks in my Dryer).  I've been really disappointed with whole wheat pancake mixes from the store because they're all so gritty and heavy.  Jared won't eat pancakes unless they're light and fluffy.  So, I used whole wheat from my food storage and ground it in my mom's wheat grinder on the finest setting.  I also added powdered eggs from our food storage.  You probably can substitute dry nonfat milk for the buttermilk powder, too.  They turned out EXCELLENT.  Jared didn't realize they were whole wheat (not a speck of white flour).  I keep the mix in the freezer and it's ready to go whenever I want pancakes.

* Exported from MasterCook *
BUTTERMILK PANCAKE MIX
Serving Size : 10
-----MIX INGREDIENTS-----
2 c Buttermilk powder
8 c whole wheat Flour
1/2 c Sugar, granulated
8 ts Baking powder
4 ts Baking soda
2 ts Salt
-----PANCAKE INGREDIENTS-----
1 Egg, beaten
2 tb Vegetable oil
1 1/2 c Pancake mix
1 c Water, or more -as needed
MAKE PANCAKE MIX:
Sift the ingredients together well.
Store in a container with a tight-fitting lid. 

(or in a freezer bag in the freezer)
MAKE 10 PANCAKES: Mix ingredients until blended together. Let it stand five minutes. Cook some pancakes. Eat and enjoy.
NOTES: * A make-it-yourself mix for buttermilk pancakes -- This recipe comes from the “More Make-a-mix Cookery” cookbook put out by HP Books. The premise of this book and its predecessor, Make-a-mix Cookery is that you can save time and money by making your own mixes for every stage of dinner planning. It seems to work.
Yield: 10 cups of mix of mix.
* Use the mix within 6 months of when you make it.
* The pancakes made from this mix aren't as sweet as those made from Aunt Jemima mix, but they are good. You can always add sugar, of course.
* Although we haven't tried this (yet), you could probably vary the recipe by using a different type of flour to make, for example, your own buckwheat pancakes.

I didn't mind that it's not a super sweet pancake, just because we always use syrup.  I also love putting blueberries or chocolate chips in.  If you're feeling adventurous, Jared's dad always used Kool-Aid in their pancakes when he was growing up.  That sounds gross to me, but I bet kids would love it!  Have fun making pancakes!

Blue Bunny Bathroom Twilight Zone

I just realized what I wanted to blog about today.  I started surfing blogs earlier this morning and have come across some really funny women out there in the blogosphere.  I was really feeling like I didn't have anything to add to everyone's lives, but then I remembered Saturday.  

Saturday we had nothing we HAD to do.  Sure there is always cleaning and other things to do around the house, but we decided not to do that and instead go window shopping.  We started the day at the big furniture store in town where they give out free popcorn and have massage chairs out on display.  Can I say that that is the one thing I really miss from our early days of marriage, living downtown near Trolley Square and The Sharper Image store?  The massage chair always made for a great cheap date.  G-man got a kick out of watching me get all jostled by the kneading and pounding settings.  (sorry for the visual, I know- tmi).

We then headed over to Target and roamed around for a while, but the real excitement happened downtown.  Apparently they have started a yearly cultural festival in town.  Culture here in southern Utah = belly dancers.  Scary, huh?  It gets better.  We stopped into the Blue Bunny ice cream store for a treat and I knew I needed a potty right away.  I am wary of the potties at the Blue Bunny ice cream store for good reason, though.  The last time I ventured into that bathroom, I was sitting on the pot and all of a sudden I became aware of a conversation happening in the stall adjacent to mine between a mother and her little girl.  

"Do you know what to do if you get in the stall and there's no TP?" she says.  

"No, Mommy, what?

"You just ask your neighbor if they can spare a square.  Do you want to try that?"

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!

All of a sudden I was Elaine from Seinfeld.  NO! I CANNOT SPARE A SQUARE!  Seriously?  Who does that?  That's why you carry Kleenex or baby wipes in your purse.  I just about lost it when I saw a hand appear under the stall wall.  I shoved a wad at the hand and got out of the bathroom as fast as I could.

Thus the reason I am wary of the blue bunny bathroom.  But I had to go, so I found my way around the corner and pushed open the door to a stall.  Everything went without a hitch until I came out to wash my hands.  One of the belly dancers had come into the bathroom to change her outfit.  I guess more outfits when it comes to belly dancing = more culture.  

Now, I respect the fact that most people probably don't have the same needs as I do, when I comes to modesty, but she was quite a large belly dancer, so I was a bit uncomfortable washing my hands next to a naked belly dancer with only inches between us.  Nevertheless, I waved my hands under the sensor, soaped up and began scrubbing my hands as she babbled away beside me.  Why do those sensor thingys never work when you need them to?  When I tried to rinse, the water wouldn't come back on.  I stepped away, waved my hands, got close up, everything I could think of, but it wouldn't work.  WHY couldn't I get out of the twilight zone with the naked, overly friendly bellydancer?  She leaned over and got the sensor to turn the water on and I went on my way.  

I will NOT be returning to the Blue Bunny Bathroom Twilight Zone again.  

Thanks Michaelene

Before things get out of hand today, I thought I'd post some pics especially for G-man's birthmother, Michaelene.  I just wanted to show you how much he loves the cute blanket you made him.  

Potting, Canning, and Not My Kind of Oral Hygiene

So last week started out with some fall repotting of plants.  G-man was kind enough to get me started.

I think we may need to work on the remorse a little.

The remainder of the week, I worked on fulfilling my role as a stay at home mom.  Because I've started being involved in our finances again and keeping track of the budget, it's become very clear to me that I need activities that will contribute to the saving of money, rather than the spending of it (canning, food storage, etc. instead of shopping).  You can see that it's going well.  Judy and I went to the dry pack cannery and canned our hearts out for two hours.  And that didn't even satisfy me because when we went up to Provo, we stopped at a roadside farmer's stand and bought five bushels of tomatoes and a bushel of pears.  So now Judy and I have 25 quarts of tomatoes each and I have another 10 quarts of pears.  Yummy!  Maybe next year I will plant a garden again.  The only problem with that is that our soil is so poor.  Last year we put 5 bags of manure down in the garden and we had great tomatoes- the first batch anyway.  After that first batch, there was almost no taste to them.  So, I think I may just go back to the farmer's market again for tomatoes.  It's so much easier to deal with canning for one day instead of continually through the hot summer.  

Today I recouped after a long weekend at work.  We had twenty some babies in the nicu last week, so I picked up Saturday night after working Thurs. and Fri.  I promise that I am not trying to neglect G-man, but this afternoon something happened that may indicate that I need to pay better attention.  He pulled himself up to the edge of the couch right in front of our little dog Necia and opened his mouth for her to kiss him.  She obligingly licked out the inside of his mouth.  EWWW!  I wish I'd gotten a picture.  THAT might keep the girls away from him.  

Sometimes the Answer is No

The G-man is starting to 'talk' a lot more.  He basically just crawls around saying da-da-da-da-da-da all the time, but it is definitely more pronounced and almost conversational these days.  I made a comment the other day that it can get a little frustrating to talk all day to someone who really has no comprehension of language.  There is one word he gets, though.  Almost the first time I had to tell him No- he got it.  Maybe it was the tone in my voice, but he immediately stopped what he was doing, looked at me, and then his face just crumpled.  My heart broke.  I immediately wished that I would never have to tell him no again.  But that's just not realistic.  He needs to hear No.  We all need to hear No.  Whether or not we choose to hear it, God has to tell us No, too.  Sometimes its to keep us safe, sometimes our actions will hurt others, and then sometimes He just knows more about our situation and the consequences of our actions than we do.  Luckily for us, I think he's better at saying yes than most parents, too.  And lucky for G-man, some words don't really need words to be communicated.  I've been telling him how much I love him for months now and I think he understands.

Since coming back from vacation, We're going naked and gonna give peas a chance

Sorry about the long pause between posts.  We've been away from home and internet access, and I've been lazy.  Much fun has been had in the last two weeks.  We left for Salt Lake two weeks ago and spent a couple of days with Gramma and Grampa.  Up in SLC we stopped in to see the Declaration of Independence at the capitol building.

We would have gotten closer, but the wait was over an hour long.  G-man was fascinated by the all the frescoes in the capitol and it's dome.  The next morning we went downtown for the farmer's market.  

I picked up a Mei Tai which is what you see G-man being carried in on my back.  It works well, but soon he will be way to heavy to carry around in it, so I think it will be used more with our second child.  

That afternoon we left for Steamboat Springs, Colorado.  Unfortunately for Jared most of the time we spent there, he was in meetings.  His company scheduled them from 7:30 am to 8 or 9 pm every day we were there.  G-man and I had a lot of fun, though.

G-man made himself right at home in the hotel room as soon as we unpacked.  We spent our days shopping, swimming, and watching the olympics. 

  

One afternoon we took the gondola up to the top of the mountain and took the stroller four-wheeling on a hiking path.  It was beautiful up there and it reminded me of why I loved living in Salt Lake.  The mountains are so peaceful with such clear air.  I miss living so close to the mountains. 

  On our last day there, G-man and I took advantage of the lovely weather with temps in the high 70's to relax in the park.  

Instead of heading home from Steamboat, we picked up the dogs and met up with friends Dave and Mandy and their two girls at a cabin in Fish Lake.  

Here I am at the edge of the lake as the boys were fishing.  Jared says I don't post pictures of myself, but I did on this post, so HA!  Jared and Dave supposedly caught loads of fish one afternoon, but I'm not sure I believe them since we all went fishing together two other times and nobody caught anything while I was around.  Maybe I'm fish repellent.  Do you think that can be bottled?  

So since we've been back I'm doing the south beach diet again.  It's not as easy as it was in May because now I have to make real food for G-man since he doesn't just eat baby food anymore.  Thank goodness for Easy Mac.  He loves mac-n-cheese and that's definitely a no-no for me.  Today we had Naked Nuggets (okay for south beach cause there's no breadding), peas and Easy Mac.  So far his system has done okay with the peas.  *crossing my fingers*