Doing grown-up things

In honor of black friday, Craig and I went shopping. Not at 5 in the morning, more like 5 at night. We've been wanting to get a van for a while and have been debating when the right time to get it would be. We've been saving for a down payment on a house and wanted to get that first, but after trying to squeeze 3 carseats in the back of our 97 Corolla, we decided it was time. And I am soooooooo glad we did. We started looking in Hemet (trying to spend our dollars in town, like a good citizen) but had no luck. They either had brand spankin' new ones and one really overpriced one. We had done a ton of research that morning and had found a 2009 Toyota Sienna down in Carlsbad, so we decided to take a trip down there and look at it. Let me tell you, it is AWESOME!! We were amazed at how smooth and quiet it was. I guess anything is after you drive a 13 year old car with bad shocks that only runs on 3 cylinders. We are in love with all the extra room and with the fact that the car runs like it should. I must say, I feel a little weird actually having a nice car. Most nice things I have are either destroyed or lost within a year. Lets hope that is not the case here. Anyhow, I'm really excited about the deal we got, because we only financed about 60% of the purchase price and at 2.9% at that!! The dealer had even knocked off $5000 off the purchase price. I feel pretty good about this investment. I think car shopping is my kind of black Friday shopping. And I didn't even have to get up at a ridiculous hour.

My political rant

I woke up at 5:30 this morning thinking about that lady that was just released from her home as a prisoner is Myanmar. She had been held as a prisoner in her own home for 7 years because of her pro-democracy views. I think I might have had a dream about her too. That's kind of weird, but it got me thinking. I had recently read an article about a man in China who had spoken out against the government and he was imprisoned also. People have such a warped view of freedom these days, and what it actually mean to live in this country. Freedom does not mean you are entitled to free stuff and the government's job is not to provide for you, but to protect you from any outside sources that threaten to take away your freedoms.

I'll cite one example. There was a man in Tennessee (I think) that lived in a rural area that had no fire protection available. A neighboring city offered the residents to protect their home in case of fire for something like $70 a year to help cover their costs. This man chose not to participate and later, his house caught on fire and burned to the ground because the fire dept of this neighboring city would not protect his home. While this is incredibly sad, and I feel bad for this man that just lost his home and everything in it, I do not believe he was entitled to the firefighters protection. The firefighters are paid through the taxes of the neighboring city and the cost of sending the trucks to outlying areas out of that city had to be covered someway. I know my belief, in this situation is an unpopular one. I don't think people are entitled to this kind of thing. Although it is very nice to have and we have grown accustomed to it, it does not mean that it is our basic right to have it. The woman in Myanmar is proof of my point. Her only crime was speaking in favor of democracy. The great thing about our country, is that I have the freedom to rant about what I think real freedom is and not worry about being imprisoned for it. Our basic rights are that we can speak our mind without fear and we can live our lives as we see fit.

The problem with government today, is that they are worrying about things that don't effect our freedom. I'm mostly thinking about healthcare when I say this. I don't believe it's the government's job to provide healthcare for everyone. If you really want healthcare, then you have to make sacrifices to get it. I am proof of that point. Here is my story. Since I've been married, we have been pretty dirt poor, up until about the last year. While Craig has been going to school, I have been the breadwinner for the family, working part time from home, so I could take care of my child. I was fortunate to be able to take part of the Medi-cal program during this time. I did not feel it was my RIGHT to have it, I just felt fortunate it was available. Soon after our first child was born, I was no longer eligible for the program, so I bought private insurance, with maternity coverage, because I knew there was a chance I would get pregnant again. We sacrificed a lot of things to pay for this coverage. We didn't buy new clothes, we cut back on our groceries. We only spent money on our basic needs. One of my biggest beefs with being on Medi-cal was going into the office for something and seeing the other participants with $100 cell phone and $100 shoes and yet saying that they need help from the government. This was so frustrating to me, because a lot of people felt they were entitled to this free healthcare coverage and did not make it a priority to take care of it themselves. I feel I can sit on my ivory tower of judgment because I have been in the same situation as these people.

I feel strongly that people are confusing what the governments job is. They are trying to replace their family with the government. Your family is who should be providing for your physical needs, including extended family. They are the ones who should be reaching out to help in times of need. If you have no family, I would hope that you had friends who would be willing to help. The government should be turned to as a last resort. The duty of family is being transferred to the duty of the government.

I'm sorry you had to be subject to this long political rant of mine, but I couldn't sleep anymore and thinking about it was getting me all worked up. I had to write it down and get it out of my system. Now, I think I'll go take a shower. (What?? A shower before 7am?? This is crazy!!)

What pie are you eating?

I should learn to trust my blog polls more. They are always right. And now it is time for me to eat my humble pie. I had my ultrasound and we are very much having a boy. No mistakes about it. I was so sure that I was having a girl, too. What's really embarrassing, is that I was talking to some people and saying I thought it was a girl and they were all saying: "You're probably right. I knew with all of mine. A mother just knows." Ha! I haven't known with any of mine. Well, I suspected Rex was a boy, just because I was sicker (more on that later) but I though Abby was a boy. I guess I am just not gifted with that kind of knowledge.

Craig and I have come up with a theory about sickness and pregnancy. We think, at least in my case, that how sick you are during your pregnancy is directly related to how strong and in shape you are. Here has been my experience. 1st pregnancy: mildly sick, threw up a couple times, mostly during the 1st trimester. I had been biking and running a lot, but not eating the best. 2nd pregnancy: More sick. One day of throwing up all day long. This lasted mostly during the 1st trimester. I started this pregnancy about 5 lbs heavier than with Abby. I had just done a triathlon, but had not done any strength training. 3rd pregnancy: Hardly sick at all. Was being trained by Craig, both strength training and running. Started the pregnancy 10 lb less than when I got pregnant with Abby. Other then being tired, I've felt pretty good and have continued to work out during the pregnancy.

Now I'm sure this isn't true for everybody, but for me, how in shape I am and how strong I am seems to be directly related to how my pregnancy's go.

Craig is really excited to have a boy. He is excited to build up our family football team. During the ultrasound, he insisted that this baby was really muscular and that he was going to be born with a six pack. I'm not so sure about that.

Now, I turn the time over to you for the "I told you so's." :)

How old were you?

Do you remember how old you were when you realized that your parents didn't know everything? I think, for me, it was when I had kids. I think I asked my mom a kid-related question and she didn't know. I was flabbergasted. After 6 kids you don't know?? Then I realized that most moms don't know anything, they just do the best they can.

When I was growing up, I had these idealistic views of adults that I knew and I thought they could do no wrong. As I grew up and returned to my hometown and saw these same people as adults, I realized that they were not, in fact, perfect and had their own flaws. It was an eye-opening experience, and one for the better for me. I realized that I didn't have to be perfect. Whew. And now I find it easier to accept people that don't see things the way I do.

I guess you never stop growing up.

We've got a runner!

Rex has decided that he really likes to run away from me. The last few weeks, when I take him out of the car, he takes off and starts running down the street. He probably thinks it's funny to watch me run, because watching pregnant ladies run is funny. Fortunately, he's smart enough to not run out into the street. (Of course, now that I said that, that's what he'll do next time.) The other day, after I dropped Abby off at school, I walked in our back gate. Rex stopped at the gate, closed it, waved and said, "Bye-Bye" with a big, wicked grin and took off running. That little stinker! I was able to catch up to him before he reached the sidewalk, though, because I am an awesome and very fast runner. (I did a 5k once!) I could probably beat my 1 year old son in a race any time of day.

Oh, and today, when I picked up a few groceries from the store, I made the mistake of not securing him in the basket. I had him carry some of the groceries, but after he gave them to the checker, he bolted and took off for the front door! I had to run and catch him while the lady was scanning my items. He even tasted fresh air that time. He almost made his escape. He should know better than to race me...

Jack-o-Lantern

One tradition we have in our family is to carve Jack-o-Lanterns on the Monday before Halloween. Usually we invite friends and family over and have a contest where the winner gets a creepy Halloween cake. It came up so fast this year that we didn't do that. Instead we just carved our pumpkins as a family. Rex and Craig did one and Abby and I did one. I think ours turned out pretty good. Abby drew the face and I carved. Rex helped clean out the seeds and I think he liked that. Above is the result of all our hard labor.



Rex was pretty excited to be allowed on the table for this. It was some good family fun. Also, I never realized how awesome those little pumpkin carving tools are. All these years I've been too cheap to buy them because I thought, we already have knives and spoons to do it, why do we need those? Um yeah. I pretty much carved my pumpkin in about 5 minutes. I'm sure if I had been using my old archaic tools it would have been more like 5 hours. Amazing stuff we have these days.

Cinderella

I dust off the old sewing machine about once a year around Halloween. I prefer to make my kids' costumes because I hate the majority of costumes they sell at the stores. They're always cheap and they fall apart and I think they look pretty crappy too. Last year, I was a little ambitious with lederhosens. Not really smart for your first project. This year, Abby wanted to be Cinderella. I'll tell you one thing, I wasn't about to go out and buy one of those cheap princess dresses, so I decided to make it myself. I found the actual Disney pattern to get the actual princess dress and you can see the result above. I made everything on that costume except for the gloves. (I made 3 attempts, but each one failed) I'm really proud of this dress and I think it will be one we keep forever. I'll probably give to Abby when she has her own kids.
Here is my princess and my frog. I found the frog costume at a store, because by the time I was done with Abby's dress, I had no more patience left to make a costume for Rex. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the costume and it's also pretty dang cute. I just wish I would have had more time and energy to make cool costumes for Craig and I. Ah, well, there's always next year.

Pro/Con

What's it like to be married to a registered dietitian who also happens to be getting his masters in exercise physiology? I've heard people ask me before if I feel super stressed about making dinner or if I'm really careful about what I eat around him. You would think that our house would be filled with only fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, right?? Well, that's mostly true, just because I cannot have any kind of junk food in the house, especially while I'm pregnant, or I'd eat it all in one sitting. I'm also too lazy to make a trip to the store if I have a craving. But that's besides the point.

The fact of the matter is that Craig eats just like any other person. He gets excited to eat fatty concoctions. In fact, I think his new favorite place to eat is Ramsey Burgers in Banning. And the kitchens he supervises pretty much will make him anything he wants at any time. Anyway, there are pros and cons to this situation.

Pros:
Lots of super healthy recipes
Live-in dietary counseling
Live-in personal trainer

Cons:
Lots of super healthy recipes
Live-in dietary counseling
Live-in personal trainer

Huh. Well, that's interesting. Don't get me wrong. I love the 24 hour access to all these services and more. The good/bad about it is that when I don't feel like working out (which is pretty much every day since I've been pregnant) Craig will push me or convince me to anyway. I'm always glad after I do, because I feel so much better and it helps me control my weight gain a little better. I suppose I have a love/hate situation with the whole thing, but I wouldn't have it any other way. It makes me take care of myself so I can take care of my kids. Not to mention that they'll eat just about anything. Did I mention that Rex loves eggplant and asparagus and Abby loves salad and carrots? I think that would only happen in this house. :)

Beautiful Oak Glen

Last Saturday we took the family to Oak Glen. It is apple-picking season, but we decided against picking our own apples because it cost $10 for a tiny bag. I have a hard time paying that much when I'm doing the labor. If anything, they should be cheaper than at the grocery store, but, I digress. We ended up walking the trails up there. It was so nice to be outside and walking around, especially with how beautiful it was up there. My favorite part of the trip was when a friend we were with was really hungry and started foraging for food. He managed to work his way past the thorns to get some wild blackberries that were growing along the trail. You would have had to be there to truly appreciate the humor.

You would think this would have been a great day, just based on this, but no...it gets better! On our way home Craig starts driving to his parents house instead of home. I suspected something might be going on because Craig insisted that we be home by 1pm for no reason other than he didn't want to spend all day in Oak Glen. He arranged for his parents to watch our kids OVERNIGHT! I don't think I have had a night like that ever since the kids were born. He and his friend (yes, the same one who was foraging) had planned a secret outing for us girls. They took us in the car and wouldn't tell us where we were going. We ended up all the way in Santa Monica and got to hang out on the pier for a while. We rode the ferris wheel and Craig unsuccessfully tried to climb a rope ladder to win a big prize. The plan was to watch the sunset, but unfortunately it was cloudy. But an A+ to Craig for this wonderful surprise. We did get to eat at Bubba Gumps Shrimp something or other and that was good too. You know you'll get good seafood at a place that's right on the ocean.

Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures of Santa Monica. If I would have had the camera, I would have posted the map to the "Homes of the Stars and Crime Scenes" and the giant noodle sculpture. I doubt I would have been able to post them anyway, since we got an awesome new camera that takes super high quality pictures and I haven't learned how to shrink the size yet. But again, I digress. It was an awesome day and a wonderful night not having to get kids to bed or getting woken up in the middle of the night for motherly duties. I think every parent should have a day like that once in a while.

Cool Beans

I've been on a huge bean binge lately. I just can not get enough of them. I discovered how to make my own re-fried beans super yummy. I learned that when you cook the beans to add chicken bouillon! So easy and it makes such a difference in flavor. In fact, Abby and Rex gobble them up every time I make them, so I can't complain about that. Here's what I do. I throw a 1/2lb of beans in the crock pot with a bunch of water. I have been using pinto beans, but black beans are good too. I'll add about half a bulb of minced garlic, some pepper, and about 5 teaspoons of chicken bouillon. I get this done in the late morning and by dinner, the beans are ready. My other secret to great beans is to re-fry them in cast iron. I use a dutch oven, but a skillet could work just as well. I put just a small spoonful of lard in, because I like the fat in it, but you don't really need it. I let the bean water reduce and I mash the beans up. I like my beans nice and runny so it doesn't take very long, but if you like thicker beans it might take a little longer. I've been making these every week. I love dipping tortilla chips into them. I don't think I can ever go back to the canned re-fried beans from the store ever again! I tried once and was a little grossed out by them. Beans really are the magical fruit!

Boys are dominating...

My brother and sister-in-law just had their ultrasound the other day and found out they are having a boy. I could've sworn it was going to be a girl. This is the way it works in our family. All of the siblings kids usually round each other out in the boy/girl category. In the beginning, the boys dominated until Tad decided to have a bunch of girls and it evened out a bit. Now the boys are starting to dominate again, which leads me to believe that mine HAS to be a girl. If it is not, then the universe is not in alignment. That would leave the score Boys: 9 Girls: 5. It's not even and frankly, it's just not right. I need a girl to even the score to Boys: 8 Girls: 6 and then my other sisters-in-law are going to have to get cracking on making some girls. What do YOU think it will be? I have included a poll on the side for your convenience. Make sure you vote for girl, otherwise you are going to be so embarrassed when we find out. :)

'Roid Rage

This pregnancy has been an interesting one. Other than feeling tired, I haven't been sick. I haven't even thrown up once! However, my emotions have been all over the place. Now, I like to consider myself as un-emotional. I think of myself as very logical and controlled, preferring humor to any other emotion. Lately, however, a new emotion has begun to take the limelight for humor. Anger. Now this is what worries me. With the slightest provocation, I can feel my blood start to boil and I start to get violent. My poor kids have taken the brunt of this problem. In fact, the other day at dinner, Abby went to get a knife from the drawer instead of sitting in her seat so we could say a prayer. At this, I started to get so mad. How ridiculous is that?? Let the poor girl get a knife. Let's just say we were lucky that Craig was there. I feel like the incredible hulk - the smallest thing just sets me off and I turn into a crazy woman. I think Rex was actually afraid of me at one point. Craig thinks I might have 'roid rage. Thanks for the input, Craig.

Craig recently bought a punching bag for our garage/gym. I've used it once and felt pretty good, but I'm afraid if I use it everytime I get angry I will 1)Be out in the garage for most of the day and 2)one day I might slip and punch one of the kids instead. That would be undesirable.

To combat this new trend, I decided to take a religious approach. I prayed for help in controlling my anger and read my scriptures and also my patriarchal blessing. Today has been a good day so far. No violent episodes and the kids were actually pretty happy most of the day. It's still early, so I'm not relaxing just yet, but I think I just might get a grip on these crazy emotions. Has anyone else dealt with this kind of thing? I am in unfamiliar territory here. I've never even gotten PMS or anything like it. Maybe I'll start using Abby's "mad" pillow. I'm sure she'll get a kick out of that.

The rumors are all true!

Well, maybe not ALL of them. But the one about me being pregnant sure is! I finally went to see the doctor today and I am 9 1/2 weeks along with a due date of March 26. I'm glad I finally know now, because since I found out, I've been insisting to Craig that it must be twins or I'm really far along because my belly popped out almost instantly. Craig's theory is that since I've lost weight, it just shows more. (I'm happy to say that at my 1st weigh-in, I actually weighed about 10 lbs less than my 1st weigh-in with Abby! I'm pretty happy about that!) But, I digress...

This one has been interesting from the start. I was still nursing Rex until about a month ago and I had never gotten my period back. The only reason I knew was that one day I was playing with Rex and Abby on the floor and fell asleep for about an hour, WHILE they were climbing all over me. If that's not a sure sign of being pregnant, I don't know what is. So I took the test and it was very much positive. Since I have Kaiser, it took about a million years to get my first appointment, and finally I have all the stats.

The cool part is that Kaiser always does an ultrasound for the 1st appointment. With Rex, I was only 7 weeks along, so I couldn't really see anything except a blob on the screen, but this time, I actually saw the baby's little legs and feet kicking. I think I instantly fell in love with the little bean. :) The heartbeat was nice and strong. It looks like, so far, we've got a nice and healthy baby. It must be a strong baby, to have survived the battle I had with food poisoning a while back.

I haven't felt too sick this time around. Just tired and a little queasy. And now, my story is told.

Earthquakes

This morning I had a new and exciting experience. It was the first time I felt an earthquake while I was peeing! My normal protocol for earthquakes is panicking and pushing down my kids as I head for a doorway. This morning, however, I had to change that. I had to stop mid-pee (which is quite a feat in itself) and I started to head for a doorway, but this one was just a quick jerk and then it was over, so I didn't have time to get to the doorway.

Back in the 90s, after the Northridge/Landers quake, I was terrified of being on the toilet or in the shower during an earthquake. In the aftermath of those quakes, I would take showers at lightning speed and go to the bathroom as fast as I could. Now, after having experienced it, I guess it's not the worst thing that could happen, right?

Glazalicious Salmon

We Just tried a new salmon recipe and I think I am in LOVE with it. Probably because it has a really sweet glaze on top, and you can't go wrong with any kind of glaze. So here's the recipe if you're daring enough to try...

3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
4 teaspoons dijon mustard
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
4 (6 oz) salmon fillets (about 1 inch thick)
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 425. Combine 1st 4 ingredients in a saucepan, bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Place fish on a foil-lined baking dish coated with cooking spray, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 425 for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Preheat broiler. Brush sugar mixture over fish, broil 3 inches from heat 3 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness.

I wanted to lick my plate and the pan, the glaze is so good, but I couldn't because we had guests. Enjoy!

Abby's Birthday

Abby's awesome panda bear cake.

I realized today that I am a bad mom. I was going to go through the pictures and video of Abby's birthday and realized that I had only a couple pictures of her cake and only a video of her (and by her, I mean me) blowing out the candles. She really did have a fun birthday with friends and loved all of her presents. Next year I hope I will do a better job, although I've never been a good picture taker.



...and the kids sneaking some cake the next day.

Oops. My bad.

Today, while I was going for my morning run, I spotted a van leaving our street and turning down the street a block away. I filed it away as a little weird, but kept running. Then I saw it down another street and another, all along my jogging route. The guy in the van even looked at me at one point. I was starting to get a little creeped out by the whole situation. As I turned to run toward the fire station, I see it come down yet another side street. I'm thinking to myself, "What is this guy doing? Trolling for victims??" I am now at this point regretting, not having my cell phone with me. I had only the protection of Samson. What a fierce fighter! So, as I pass the fire station, I decided to go in and see if I can use their phone to call the police. It was pretty early, and I think I woke the poor fireman up when I rang the doorbell. So I called 911 and put in a report about a suspicious looking van driving around and they said they would send the Sheriff's out to check it out. Feeling better, I go back out to finish my run, when what to my surprise!!! The van is there again!!! It was turning into another neighborhood. So I start to pick up the pace so I can get home. Samson, keeps stopping the entire time because he has to poop, but he won't go because he is to embarrassed to go in front of me. At this point I am pretty much dragging the poor dog behind me. Then I see the Sheriff and flag him down and tell him where I saw the van. He tells me to wait at the fire station and he'll check it out. He doesn't end up finding the van, but tells me that if I see it again to call. So I pretty much race back home and get inside. I think I've watched one too many Law and Order's or CSI as I am becoming overly dramatic about the whole situation.

Later, I'm talking with some friends about it and they tell me that they've seen that van before and one girl's husband followed it one time and guess who it was??! The paper boy. Yup, on the morning route delivering papers. Which explains the van going up and down all those streets. So, yeah, I pretty much called the cops on the paperboy. I guess I'm glad they didn't find him. Poor guy gets pulled over and he's like, "I'm just trying to do my job!"

What I'm wondering, is why don't these paper companies give their drivers a magnet with the logo for their car so they don't get the cops called on them??

While I do feel better, I do feel a little foolish. I know they say to call if you see anything suspicious, and in light of all the crime around here lately I took that very seriously. Hmmph. I guess better safe than sorry, right?

Rex turns 1

Rex just turned 1 and we had a fun party with family and friends. My favorite part is when you get to let the kids have at the birthday cake. Rex didn't quite know what to do with his cake, although all the other kids were happy to show him what to do. Abby, on the other hand, HATED her 1st birthday cake.




1st birthdays are the best!!

For my dad

My dad requested some videos of Rex toddling around, and here they are. This was on Sunday. He's wearing his brand new church clothes. Thanks Grandma Marsha and Grandpa Gordon!!



...And walking on his birthday. He's so cute. (Not that I'm biased or anything...)

Take that, 5k!!

This morning was the Idyllwild 5k. I really like this race, because it is really laid back and it's close. This year I got to run with both Katie and Taylor, which I was super-excited about. This year was the best I've done yet with a time of 31 minutes and some seconds (I don't remember how many). I shaved off 6 minutes from the last 5k I ran and I have to grudgingly admit that it was largely in part due to Craig's grueling workouts. In the past, the hills were always what killed me, but this time, they didn't seem so bad. I guess when you compare that to jumping on huge boxes or jumping over hurdles, the hills are a breeze! It also helped that I loaded my ipod with new songs, so I was smiling and just enjoying the run. What a great day!

Beefcake

I told Abby the other day that I was going to make a chocolate beet cake. When I made it today, she asked if I was making beefcake.

If you are ever trying to sneak in vegetables to your kids, this is a good way. I have a recipe for chocolate beet cake that Craig got from one of his cooking classes in college. It uses 1 1/2 cups of beets! I made it today and was pleasantly surprised how non-beet it tasted, although it was a little earthy. It looks really rich, but doesn't taste too chocolaty. I had to add a generous amount of chocolate frosting for it to meet my chocolate needs. If you are feeling adventurous, try this out:

1 1/2 c sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 c vegetable oil
1 1/2 c cooked and grated beets
1/2 c water
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 3/4 c all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350, grease 9x13 pan. Combine sugar, egg, vanilla, and oil. Beat well in a mixer. Add beets and cocoa powder. Beat again. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt together, add to the batter along with water. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake 35 min. (makes 8 to 10 servings)

Tour of California

My trophy from the Tour of California -- Keep reading for the explanation...
This last week was the Tour of California. For those of you not in "the know," this is the biggest cycling race in the United States. All the major players were there, including Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer, and George Hincapie. These are HUGE names in the cycling world -- the same guys that race in the Tour de France. So Friday's leg of the race was from Lancaster to Big Bear. We decided to watch the race from the road that day and here are a few photos from our adventure. *Note* cycling fans are crazy. Dressing up in costumes and running alongside the riders is normal :) The picture above is Craig's brother, Steven. This picture made it into The Californian and the Amgen Tour of California website.
This is the peleton, the main pack of riders. We were on a hill so they were going slow enough for us to run alongside, sort of. (They're actually pretty fast...)
Craig dusted off the lederhosen for the occasion. He got a few laughs from the riders as well as the people in the team cars. There were a lot of photos taken of our sorry group.
This picture is priceless. The man at the front is Andy Schleck. He is one of the contenders to win this race, and also the Tour de France. He is a ridiculously good rider.
This is the whole group before the race came to us. I dressed up in my bike shorts and jersey - not photo worthy - but these guys were.
This is where we hung out until the race came. It was so exciting seeing the race! I think we are going to make it a yearly thing. Oh, and the best part - the riders are always throwing their water bottles on the side of the road and it's pretty cool if you get one...AND I GOT ONE!!!!! My story is that Leviepheimer, of team Radio Shack, threw his bottle right to me (probably not the case, but I can live in my little fantasy...) This is the team of Lance Armstrong, who unfortunately crashed out of the race before Friday's stage. Boo! I was hoping to see him race. It was and AWESOME experience though. Someday, we're going to RV it to every stage. :)

My take on Twilight

I finally broke down and read Twilight. I did it because A. I had some spare time and didn't want to watch tv and B. I wanted to know why everyone is so obsessed with the series. Here's what I came away with:

The book in itself isn't necessarily a bad book. I enjoyed reading it for the most part. It wasn't a huge page turner for me, not like the DaVinci Code was, anyway. But it was a nice easy read. Here's my beef with people's reaction to the book. I didn't find Bella or Edward particularly endearing. They both seemed super-moody and overly dramatic. I have a low tolerance for this kind of thing. I didn't like how, in practically the entire book they kept saying: "I don't want you to get hurt." "No, I don't want YOU to get hurt." "I love you." "I love you more." Blah. Too cheesy for my taste.

I think the thing that was most off-putting was at the end of the book, it had a preview of the next book, which I, of course, read. I didn't like how the whole section was just back and forth about how Bella wanted to be a vampire and Edward wouldn't let her. And the worst part, was the teaser - when Bella gets a paper cut at the Cullens and they all go crazy trying to get her. I couldn't help but roll my eyes. It seemed a little too predictable. It probably doesn't help that I am not a big fan of fantasy novels or that I had just read a really good love story right before reading this. ("Evenings at the Argentine Club" by Julia Amante)

The last thing that I didn't like about Twilight was Bella's and Edwards so called "love." It didn't come across as real to me. It seemed like puppy love more than "eternal love." Maybe because I'm 30 now I just don't get it. I'm just too dang old to be reading stories about kids in high school. Having said that, I think I will eventually read the other two books, as my sister said they're better than the first one, I just am not sure how quickly I will be getting to that. And that, my friends, is why I don't see what all the fuss is about.

Boom.

If you can't see the video, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikp47BCb2ZA

Newport Beach

Last week Abby, Rex, and I got a chance to hang out with my parents at their timeshare in Newport Beach. This is the view from their room. Can you say AWESOME?!?! We had a great time soaking up the sun and playing with the kids. The resort surprisingly had a lot of fun things for kids to do.

They had a sandbox for Abby and Rex to play in, sand toys included! Abby really liked it and I only allowed Rex to play in it for a few minutes. I wasn't to keen on him eating the sand. So we sent him over to the...
putting green! He really like eating the balls and sticking his hand in the holes.
We also took a stroll to the beach. The pathway was lined with these amazing wildflowers. It was beautiful.
Rex was trying to escape the stroller. Good thing they had those safety straps.
More sand! We bought Abby a bucket of sand toys and she had been dying to use them since we got them. She could have played here all day.
This was the beach. Not a great swimming beach on account of the rocks, but beautiful. It was whale watching season while we were there and we were hoping to see some whales. No luck there.
The day we left. Abby decided to take a dip in the pool. We didn't bring any floaties for her so she just stayed on the steps. he resort also had a kids story time and Abby got to feed the fish in their Koi pond. It was a fun trip. :)

Our Easter

We had the usual egg dying. This year, Abby won the deluxe egg coloring kit at the tot hop, wich included the shrink wrap thingies. It was the first time I've used those.
We went to the valley-wide Easter egg hunt, with the bunny there and all. Abby actually improved from last year. She actually picked up one egg herself before running back to me crying. The year before, I couldn't even get her to go in. We're making progress!
On Easter morning, Abby was more interested in Rex's basket then her own, even though hers had all the candy in it. We enjoyed the rest of our Easter day at Grandma and Pop-pops house watching conference and eating lots of candy. :)

Pine Cone Pals

My friend Kalli told me about a fun craft to do with pine cones a while back. While we were at my parents house in Utah, I decided to try it out. They have a pine tree in their back yard and Abby and I found 2 pine cones on the grass. We took them inside and soaked them in water for a couple days and they closed up. Then we painted them pink and left them out to dry. After a few days they opened up and viola! Looks pretty cool. I think next time I would like to add some glitter.

...in one piece...

We finally made it home after a whirlwind week in Utah. Our trip home was quite eventful. We made our way to the airport with the help of my dad, carrying all of our crap. We check in , go through security, blah, blah, blah. The real excitement was about 30 min before we were supposed to leave, we hear an announcement that, because of strong winds, our plane was unable to land and went to Denver to get some fuel. That meant that we had to wait in the airport for 3 hours until it could get back. So we go get something to eat at the airport. There was a little Mexican place right there, so we fork out $11 for a quesedilla and burrito and then go to the kids area so we can eat it while we watch cartoons. After we eat, Abby decides that she needs to poop in her diaper so we all head to the bathroom with out millions of carry-on items. I have to put Rex and Abby on the changing table together and somehow manage to change them both without them falling off. (Although Rex managed to break off a piece of it.) After I went (which was a struggle in itself) we head back to the kids area. Abby decides to use Rex's blanket as a table cloth and starts setting it with their sippy cups and let me know that "dinner was ready." She then decided to do some somersaults and push-ups to get the blood flowing. Finally, after 3 hours of wasting time, we get to line up to board. There was another girl with 2 young kids by herself, so I stood next to her. Abby and her little boy became fast friends. On the plane, we sat behind them and Abby would yell out: "Little Boy! Look at me!" And then they would talk about the clouds that they saw out the window and what their favorite sucker color was. I was practically hearing wedding bells. We get to Phoenix and most of the people get off and a few get on. Luckily, the flight to San Diego was practically empty, so we could spread out. Amazingly enough, neither kid fell asleep during the whole flight. We did enjoy a humorous explanation of how to use all the safety equipment. That always makes the flight better.

I was a little worried about how I was going to get all of my crap back to my car once I got off the plane. Here's what I had to carry: Rex, 2 car seats, 2 carry-on bags, and my huge suitcase. Luckily, when I got off, a nice couple offered to help me carry everything. As it turns out, they were parked in the same long-term parking as me, so they helped me get to the shuttle and the shuttle driver drove me right to my car and even put my suitcase in the trunk for me. I think Heavenly Father knew I would have my hands full, so he sent those people to help me. Both Abby and Rex fell asleep before I even left the parking lot and I tried not to fall asleep driving home. I ended up getting home just a little before midnight. All in all, a fun trip and I'm glad I made it home in one piece.

There are still good people out there

Recently, I've become a little overwhelmed by all the bad things out there. A lot of it has to do with the rise of crime in our area and having young kids. I had some experiences yesterday that reminded me that there still are a lot of good people out there.

This is also a little plug for southwest airlines. On Monday, I decided to buy a plane ticket to fly up to Utah for my brother's wedding. I was originally going to drive, but our cars are in such bad shape, we weren't sure we would make the trip without breaking down. I definately did not want to get stranded in the desert by myself with 2 kids. So on Monday I start looking online to see if I can get a last minute deal for a flight. I find a deal on Delta, but just as I get ready to pay, suddenly, the tickets are $700 a piece. LAME. So I went on southwest and got a pretty good deal. So anyways, we get packed and leave the next day. I park in long term parking at the airport and a super-nice shuttle driver pulls up right next to my car and loads up my 2 carseats and luggage for me. When Abby becomes scared of the shuttle he tries to comfort her. It was sweet. He drops me off right in front of Southwest and unloads everything for me, so I only have to carry everything a short distance. I get ushered to the check-in desk right away. I love southwest, because they don't charge you to check your luggage. Well, my suitcase was over the weight limit, so the person behind the counter found a box that I could put some of my stuff in, so I wouldn't be charged more. That is awesome!! Even going through security every one was super nice. After Abby went through the metal detector the guy gave her a high five. I had to go to the bathroom and wasn't sure how that was going to work out. A nice lady offered to hold Rex for me so I could wash my hands. We boarded the plane right away, because it had come in early. The flight attendants were really nice and because the plane was half empty, we got a whole row to ourselves. Abby was terrified of the takeoff and landing, but got over it eventually. Both she and Rex fell asleep. Overall, the experience was much better than I had anticipated. I expected it to be horrible and the kids to cry the whole time, but they were great. It restored my faith in people to see so many people willing to help me with my 2 kids, although, I think I will think twice about traveling with my kids by myself again.

Hippedy Hop

Today was the bunny hop. It was a beautiful day for a run. I ran the 5k and Abby ran the Tot Hop. Lucky for you, we have exciting footage of Abby running her race. She was very excited to be there, as you can see...




Abby ended up placing 3rd in her division and won a cool flexible bunny and an egg dying kit. She was a lot happier taking home her prize than she was running the race. I ended up doing the 5k in about 37:45. A personal triumph for me is that I ran the whole way, which is impressive, because I did zero training for it. Today, Abby and I will sport our Bunny Hop T-shirts with pride!

(Happy Birthday Katie!)

A Taste of Heaven

I went to Costco today and bought a ridiculous amount of fruit. It was probably because it was such a nice day and I love spring and good fruit is finally coming back into season. The only way I know how to eat that much fruit is to make a giant fruit salad and snack on it all day long. To me, this is a little piece of heaven.

Simple Solutions

Well...that's one way to keep him from peeing on everything...:)

Paradigm Shift

I experienced a paradigm shift today. I was reading a book about how our bodies are temples, which makes them holy. While I was reading, I began to ponder about our pre-mortal life and that those who chose to follow God's plan were able to come to earth and receive a body, meaning that everyone we meet was righteous at one time. It made me think of the homeless man I see walking on the street all the time and even the kids (or even grown ups for that matter) that are crude and ignorant. When I thought about how we were all on the same side at one point, but then, due to some poor choices or a lack of knowledge everyone went their own way once they came to earth. It helps me look at people that annoy me or people that I instantly judge with a little more compassion and understanding, which I have always had a hard time with. Everyone is a child of God, no matter the circumstance, and maybe I can start treating people as such.

Green Soup

We like to be adventurous when we eat sometimes. As many of you know, I am an avid reader of Parents magazine. This last month, they had a recipe for Shamrock soup made primarily of spinach and peas in honor of St. Patricks day. I thought it would be fun to try and it would be a nice healthy meal. It was a beautiful green color, but when Craig sat down to try it and was a little hesitant to eat it, I was a little worried. He will try anything and usually likes it. We did end up eating it, although I couldn't finish my bowl. It didn't taste bad, but it wasn't particularly appetizing either. We ended up dipping our Swaari bread (a Nepali flat bread) into it and it tasted a little better after that.

The video you see here is of Abby trying the soup. At the end she kind of looks like a zombie with that face. You'll see what I'm talking about...


Oh, and as a side note...Abby's favorite color is green. :)

My funny Valentine

How can you not love a man that gives you this sweet little boy?

Or a man who loves to cuddle with his 2 kids?











A man who voluntarily wears a lederhosen, even when it's not Halloween anymore...


















A man who gives you this cute litte girl...












More importantly, how can you not love a man that video tapes himself doing pull-ups?




Or doing a "hollow back?"




My hero....*sigh*


Happy Valentine's Day Craig! I love you!

Where my girls at??

I decided that it's high time to start up girls night out again. I need some ice cream. Who's with me??

Good boy, Rex!

Rex isn't even 8 months old yet. He must be very advanced. :)
Please do not judge us on our very messy floor...

It's all a conspiracy...

I'm pretty sure that my kids are conspiring against me. On the rare occasion that Rex actually sleeps 6 hours straight, Abby decides to wake up screaming in the middle of the night. Here's what I think is their conversation:

Rex: "Hey, Abby. I'm really tired tonight. Can you take over for me?
Abby: "I'd love to. I haven't woken up mommy in a long time. It'll be fun."

Is this a little paranoid? Maybe. But you are also looking at a girl who hasn't had more than 3 or 4 hours straight of sleep in probably a year. It messes with your mind.

Ask and ye shall receive...

Some of you asked for a picture of my haircut without the watermark. I don't know why you didn't like the other picture. I guess I'll just have to post one of me after I'm all done up. But before I do that, I have to post this picture of Abby. She fell asleep in her pigtails and when she woke up they were straight up, like little horns.















Ok, now here's the real picture. Aaaaah, the joys of newly cut hair....

I don't mean to brag...

Abby is pretty much the most awesome toddler I know. Yesterday we went for a 2.5 mile walk and she walked the whole way and even ran some of it. No strollers for her. :) Oh, and yes, she slept VERY well last night.

Doing the Bunny Hop!

So I got my Valley Wide mailer the other day and what is on the cover?? The Bunny Hop is back! My family used to participate in this 5k as well as the turkey trot in November and I have fond memories of it. My favorite was the time when Cam cut corners on the course and my mom turned him in and got him disqualified. Any thoughts on this mom? I assume it was a lesson in honesty?

Anyhow, every year we did it, I was sure that I would win for my age group and get one of those cool gift baskets as a prize, but for some reason, I never won. Maybe it was the lack of training, maybe by mile 3 I didn't care any more, I don't know, but I looked forward to it every time.

Now as an adult, I know I probably won't win, because lets face it, I had a baby 7 months ago who doesn't like for me to sleep and I haven't exercised since I've had him. Plus the fact that I'm a slow runner. What I'm really excited about is that they have a tot hop for little kids. Abby will be participating in this and she better win! (We have kids so we can live vicariously through them, right?) So we are going to have a fun family day on March 20, racing our little hearts out. Anyone want to come with us?

New Years Resolutions

Oh no, you say. Not another blog about New Years Resolutions. Well, I learned a long time ago, that if you want to keep your resolutions, you need to be realistic and do one thing at a time. For example, last year, my resolution was to be cleaner. If you ever came to my house regularly, you would know why. So I decided that for 2009, I would deep clean one room a day, dusting mopping, the works. I was able to do that and keep doing it for the whole year. My whole house wasn't always clean, but at least one room was - and with a 2 year old and an infant I think that's pretty good. This year, in addition to keeping my house clean, my resolution is to do my visiting teaching 100%. I am so bad, that last year I was at 0%. So this year, I'm going to do it! It's my only resolution so I know it will happen. (It better. Maybe I should have just put 50%. hmmmmmm I'll have to think about that one.) Happy New Year!

Life Saver

So, a long time ago, I posted on Facebook about how Craig saved a life. Here's the story:

Craig teaches a class a couple times a week. During one of his classes, one of his patients started choking on some pieces of candy cane she was eating. She stood up and was choking. Craig asked her if she was choking and she nodded her head "yes." Then he slapped her on the back and it didn't do anything, so he gave her the Heimlich Maneuver and those candy canes shot right out of her mouth. After this the whole class applauded Craig. I never thought I would hear so many cool stories from Craig when he comes home from work. A dietitian's work is never done...

New Year, New Do

Like it? I chose to chop off all my hair last week, due to certain babies always pulling it out. I had Craig take this picture of me this morning when I woke up. ( Just in case you are wondering, it is DEFINATELY not a picture I found off the internet with a girl that just happens to look just like me ;) Man, it takes forever to cover up that watermark on my neck every morning.)

My sister-in-law Brook cut it for me and I think it looks pretty darn good, as you can see from the photo. The best part is I don't have to do much and it still looks better than my best efforts with long hair. Thanks Brook!

Oh, and if you're interested, Brook is available to do YOUR hair. If you would like her number, let me know and I can get that to you.

Christmas Vacation

In no particular order....













Ice skating. Craig is good at it. Robyn can do it without falling. Abby hates it.










Temple square. This is the only picture we got because it was snowing, cold and Abby was very unhappy with the cold. The lights were pretty though.











Craig now believes in snow and snowmen as it snowed for 2 days while we were there. Our 1st snowman together. I thought it turned out pretty good.











Tad gets to shovel snow. I'm laughing as it's warm and sunny outside down here. HA!












When the rest of the family saw our AWESOME snowman, they wanted in on the action.











I like the unibrow on that one.














Thanks for the ornaments Grandma Faye Lee!













Before we left for Utah. We watched the Christmas parade. Needless to say, Abby was very happy with the amount of broken candy canes she got.













Right before we left for Utah, Abby decided it would be fun to color on her and Rex's faces.













Notice how she used highlighter on her face and permanent marker on Rex's face. That is a smart girl.












Borrowing some cute snowpants from her cousins to go sledding, which she did not like. I think she is a true California girl.












Josef helped with our snowman. Wow, these pictures are really out of order.













Meeting new cousins. Abby had a blast getting to know all of her cousins and we were sad to leave. It was by far one of the best vacations we've had.