The Pulsipher Family

Pumpkins

2011-11-07T12:52:00.001-08:00

I've been wanting to try this pumpkin soup I saw in a book Craig brought home years ago. I never got around to buying an extra pumpkin at Halloween. This year, I decided I wanted to try it. The cool thing about it is you fill up the pumpkin and cook the whole thing in the oven. It seemed really fancy. So I filled this pumpkin up with a ridiculous amount of cream, Gruyere cheese, and toasted french bread slices with some thyme and cooked the whole thing for 2 hours. Then I scraped the wall of the pumpkin and mixed it with the rest of the filling. It wasn't too bad either. (probably because I love Gruyere cheese) You couldn't even really taste the pumpkin though, which for me, was a good thing. I'm not a huge pumpkin fan.

Above was the end result. Yummy and cheesy. I think I even ate 2 bowls of it. I'd like to find other ways to use pumpkin other then pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread. I made a pumpkin pie with Abby's pumpkin patch pumpkin from school and it was ok. I don't know if it was good because I don't really like pumpkin pie. I want to grown my own pumpkins nest year for Halloween and I need some good pumpkin recipes so I can cook whatever we don't carve. Any one have any favorite recipes?

Grandma Ney

2011-08-21T14:09:00.001-07:00

This morning I found out that my last living grandparent had passed away. I got a call right in the middle of church (how embarrassing - I didn't turn off my cell phone) It was my mom who had left a message for me to call her. I didn't even check the message until after I had come home. I was nursing Charlie and the thought came to me that it was probably about my Grandma. My mom is not usually one to call on a Sunday morning. She died in her sleep early this morning and it was really a blessing. I think that's the way I would want to go. She suffered from dementia and alzheimers, so although we are sad, we are happy that her suffering has ended. I'm sure there is great rejoicing in heaven today and I think she is mostly happy to be back with my grandpa again.

Here are my favorite Grandma memories:

I remember her always having red hair until one time we came to visit and it was grey. I almost didn't recognize her. She said she just stopped dying it. I was shocked because it never occurred to me that old people dyed their hair.

She loved to cook eggs in bacon grease or butter. yummmmmmmmm

She had a bunch of Hummel figurines stacked on her tv and she had a record player too.

When we'd go visit her as kids, right after we got there she would send us downstairs to get a soda or juice. For us this was quite a treat.

She always kept a candy jar in her dining room, which we helped ourselves to quite often.

She could never sit still and had to be reminded to sit down and quit working.

Finally, the last time we were able to see her was last Christmas. She was pretty coherent that day. She really opened up when she saw babies. My favorite comments from her that day:
She told Dan he had a nice neck and my mom started talking about Mr. Potato Head and she interrupted and said she didn't care. Too funny. The picture above was taken during this visit.

I'll miss my Grandma, but I'm glad she's back home with her Heavenly Father and my grandpa.
She was 88 years old. A good life lived.

Feelin' Thrifty

2011-08-15T14:50:00.001-07:00

Today, I'm feeling pretty thrifty and pretty dang proud of myself. Last week, I roasted a whole chicken and we ate it for dinner. Later that week, I used the leftover meat to make chicken enchiladas. Today I used the bones and gizzards to make some chicken stock and then I canned it for later use. Talk about stretching out $5!! I try not to waste anything, so this was perfect! I used every part of that chicken. Booyah!

Earthquakes

2011-07-15T13:07:00.000-07:00

A couple nights ago Craig bolted up in bed while I was changing Charlie's diaper and said, "Was that an earthquake?" I calmly told him no while I called him a freak under my breath. He was half asleep and didn't remember it the next morning. The next night he asked again but was joking. And last night, or morning, I should say there really was an earthquake!! A 3.5 right here in town. What are the odds?? Craig must be psychic. Maybe I should put Samson in a bag so he won't suffocate like he told me in his sleep when we first got married.

Rice Krispy glue?

2011-07-06T12:30:00.000-07:00

Is it just me, or does any one else think that rice krispies are made out of glue? I give them to my kids and they, of course, spill all over the table. If I'm feeling particularly lazy and don't clean it up right away, it hardens and sticks to the table. I think last time I had to scrape it off with a knife. Come on, Snap, Crackle, and Pop-I expect more from you.

A trip down memory lane

2011-06-28T15:01:00.001-07:00

When I'm nursing my baby, my mind usually wanders all over the place. Sometimes I remember things I need to do. Sometimes I think about how fast my kids are growing up. And then I usually fall asleep or become very drowsy. This afternoon, as I was about to drift off to dreamland I remembered something from a long time ago:

Do you remember Reese's peanut butter?? I remember when it first came out and I was so excited. Why so excited about peanut butter, besides the fact that it is so yummy and delicious? You see, I expected it to taste like the peanut butter in this:

I was sorely disappointed. It just tasted like normal peanut butter and not the candy peanut butter I had come to love. I mean, how good would that be in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?? Reese's, I'm still waiting for my jar of candy peanut butter.

Foxy Roxy

2011-06-02T13:52:00.001-07:00

This is Roxy. She is our new puppy. Here's the story. A friend from Craig's work found this dog in the street about to get run over by a car. She saved her and brought her home, but couldn't keep her because her pit bull was trying to eat her. So she asked Craig if we wanted it. We were thinking about getting a boxer pretty soon anyway, for whenever we end up buying a house. This dog is a boxer mix and is so well-tempered that we went ahead and took her. This is the best looking stray I've ever seen. She is so good with the kids and she loves to cuddle. Yay for free dogs!!

Mud Run

2011-05-15T14:02:00.001-07:00

Craig and I have been talking about doing a lot of things this summer so we can cross things off our bucket list. For years I've wanted to do a mud run, but the ones I knew of sold out so fast or I was pregnant when they were happening. This year, Valley Wide hosted their 1st annual mud run and I couldn't pass the opportunity up. You see, I had a baby just under 8 weeks ago. I started to train at 5 weeks post partum but only got to run for about a week and a half before A) Craig had to be at work at 6am and B) I just was too tired to get up and run. I figured, hey, a 5k is a piece of cake, I don't need to train. Ha! I'm feeling the pain today. I am sore and stiff like the old lady that I am. The good news is that I didn't finish last and got a decent time of 44:06 which I think is pretty good considering the circumstances. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

There were a lot of obstacles but unfortunately we couldn't get pictures of them. Now, onto the next adventures! I'll give you a hint of what the next one will be: it involves airplanes and me flying one. :)

Charlie's photos

2011-04-13T14:27:00.000-07:00

Thanks Shandee, for some amazing pictures. :)

The Story of Baby Charlie

2011-03-31T14:01:00.001-07:00

Some of you may be wondering how the labor and delivery went with baby Charlie. Did I make it to the hospital? I sure did! Here's what happened:

On Monday night I started to have some contractions - about 10 minutes apart. I had 3 of them and they were strong enough to make me groan a little bit, so I thought this might be it. The next one was 7 minutes later. I decided to wake up Craig. He got up and was casually calling our friend Taylor to come over and watch our kids so we could go to the hospital. At this point, I'm starting to panic a little because the contractions are starting to come faster and stronger. I told him we needed to go and we were going to Moreno Valley hospital, not Riverside - I wasn't sure I would make it all that way. While Craig was piddling around doing who knows what, I told him I would be waiting in the car. After taking his sweet time to get to the car, he opens the car door and whacks his head on it and gets a huge goose egg. Then, in the car, he starts complaining to me about how much it hurts and how big the goose egg is, etc. I told him I didn't care about his dang head and to just drive and get me to the hospital. I mean, really, comparing a little bump to labor?? Bad move Craig.

So the drive wasn't too bad. I actually got some breaks in between my contractions, so I was excited about that. I think Craig got me there in about 30 minutes. Impressive. So we pull up to the emergency entrance and I barely waited for the car to stop before I bolted out of the car and into the hospital. A security guard knew that I was in labor immediately and they checked me in super-fast and got me up to labor and delivery. The first thing I told them was that I wanted an epidural NOW. (A little backstory - I had been so sick for the previous 3 weeks that I could barely get out of bed. At this point I didn't want to feel anything.) So the nurses are slowly getting the IV's hooked up and the antibiotics going. I'm thinking, you people don't understand!! If I don't get the epidural NOW it will be too late!! So they check me and I'm between a 4 and 5. The contractions are coming superfast now and I started to freak out a little. Ok, so maybe a lot. It had been about 15 minutes and they checked me again - 8 cm!!! About 2 contractions later, I started to feel the urge to push, but they wouldn't let me because the doctor wasn't there. Lame. At this point I'm screaming bloody murder and the nurse is saying to me "calm down." I'm thinking "YOU calm down!! Why don't you trade me places!" So anyway, the doctor finally gets there and they have me start pushing. Here's the worst part: they have me lie flat on my back to push! What?? That makes no sense at all. I told them I needed to sit up and they wouldn't let me. I was thinking, "I've done this before. I know how to do it and pushing on my back is the wrong way!" So because of this, it was a lot harder to push him out than it should have been. Even so, my labor was about 2 hours from start to finish. At least Charlie gave me an extra 45 minutes to get to a hospital.

Because I was strep positive, I had to stay in the hospital an extra day, since I had only gotten about 30 minutes of antibiotics during labor. They needed to run some blood and urine cultures on Charlie to make sure he was ok, which he was. He's a strong little baby. He can already hold his head pretty steady and can roll to his side. Oh, and he was 7lbs 1 oz and 19 1/2 inches long. Welcome baby Charlie!

Update

2011-03-21T13:27:00.000-07:00

I had my 39 week appointment today. The result? STILL 3cm dilated. I've been that way for about 2 weeks now. So my doctor decided to give me a "vigorous" pelvic exam to get things going, or in other words, she stripped my membranes. Oh, and I'm not being induced, by the way. I decided against it, unless, of course, the baby decides to stay in too long. Anyhow, I am now taking bets on if I'll make it to my due date or not. Let the fun begin!

To be or not to be...

2011-02-28T14:14:00.000-08:00

I've recently had a conversation on facebook about religion. It has basically been a discussion between those that are religious versus those that aren't. It started with one person saying she was baffled by educated people who were religious. Now, I consider myself to be educated. I have a bachelor's degree. I keep up with current events (mostly). It surprises me to hear a comment like this, because I would think an educated person would not be devoted to a religion without going through a trial period to see if they believed that it was a true religion. To assume that someone educated would choose against religion, I believe, is ignorant.

Here is why I am for religion, not necessarily any particular faith, but religion in general:

George Washington best stated it in his farewell address of September 19, 1796. (This is long, but so good)

"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of the religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice. And let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.

'Tis substantially true, that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule indeed extends with more or less force to every species of free government. Who that is a sincere friend to it, can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric?...

Observe good faith and justice toward all Nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all. Religion and morality enjoin this conduct; and can it be that good policy does not equally enjoin it? It will be worthy of a free, enlightened, and at no distant period, a great nation to give to mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a people always guided by an exalted justice and benevolence. Who can doubt that in the course of time and things the fruit of such a plan would richly replay any temporary advantages which might be lost by a steady adherence to it? Can it be, that Providence has not connected the permanent felicity of a nation with its virtue? The experiment, at least, is recommended by every sentiment which ennobles human nature. Alas! is it rendered impossible by its vices?"

The quote is a little lengthy and wordy, but it does have a valid point. In a religious society, there is a moral obligation to a higher power, which guides moral conduct. Without this sense of accountability, society starts to degrade. The current social state of our country is a prime example. Values that were once considered essential have now been pushed to the way-side as people abandon religion and are left to figure out how to live on their own. Families are disintegrating, more and more children are being born into broken homes, and morality among all ages is rapidly decreasing. If there is no consequence, beyond the laws of the land, to our actions, why try to be a good person? There's no law against being a jerk and being selfish, so there's no consequence. But if you believe in the existence of an afterlife, where there are consequences to your actions, you tend to be a lot more careful about what you do. You try to help others, you try to be compassionate, you try to be a good person. Without religion, you take away morality, and that, my friends, is why I believe religion is vital.

My Amish quest

2011-02-23T12:15:00.000-08:00

For the past couple of years, I have found myself becoming more and more Amish. It started when I decided to make my own jam. I would get these delicious strawberries from a stand and make it into the best strawberry jam ever. So much better than store bought. Then Craig bought a 10 lb box of peaches from a farmer in Beaumont and there was no way we would be able to eat those before they went bad, so I canned them. They, also, were way better than the store bought canned peaches. Then, people with apricot trees and pear trees let me pick a ton of fruit from their trees to take home and I canned those also. Way better then store bought. Well, maybe not the pears. I still need to perfect my canning methods for those. All this got me wanting to have everything fresh right in my own back yard. I bought an apricot, peach, and avocado tree and was given a pomegranate tree. All are still small and not really producing yet, but they will. I'm dying for a new house where I can plant all the things I want and can hopefully get the majority of my produce from my own home.

All of this slowly turned into me not wanting to have any processed food in the house. I started making everything from scratch, including bread, so we could have fresh, home cooked meals. Don't worry, I haven't gone completely overboard, yet. I still buy goldfish and granola bars and all the kid snack stuff, but slowly, I am weeding out all the junk that you can buy in stores. Someday, I hope to make my own cheese. I'm thinking this is the best kind of food storage you can get because it is self sustaining. You don't have to rely on someone else for your food. So there you have it. I am slowly turning Amish. Well, except for the internet. I think it would take a lot for me to become unplugged.

Decisions, Decisions...

2011-02-08T21:26:00.000-08:00

Right now I am 33 weeks pregnant, which has got me thinking a lot about how I am going to deliver. My doctor has been talking about inducing me early, on account of my last very fast labor, but I'm not sure how I feel about that. I was induced with Abby and I think she could have been cooked a little longer, given how small she was when she was born, which makes me anti-induction. Then I think of my experience with Rex...do I really want that again?? I don't want to be soiling our awesome new van. But I'm also strep-positive this pregnancy, which means that they want to run IV antibiotics during labor. If I'm not induced, the worst that will happen is that they'll keep us in the hospital longer to make sure the new baby isn't sick. So I'm kinda torn between the two. While I would love to have a fast labor again, I would not love to have the baby in the car again, especially because it takes a million years to get a birth certificate and social security card that way. But with being induced, I can plan for everything in advance, like who's going to watch my kids, etc. What do you guys think?

Cauliflower Alfredo sauce

2011-01-24T12:38:00.000-08:00

So I was over at a friends house yesterday, and she made some yummy Alfredo sauce. But here's the kicker...she added a whole head of pureed cauliflower to it!! What an added nutritional bonus! It made the sauce nice and creamy and cut out a ton of fat. Add some chicken, broccoli and pasta and you've actually got a pretty healthy meal! Next time I make Alfredo, I'm doing it this way. Thanks, Taylor!

1 head of Cauliflower (pureed makes about 3-4cups)

1 small oinion

2 cloves of garlic

3-4 tbs butter

3-4 tbs flour

1 cup half and half
1 cup Chicken broth
1/2-1 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
salt and pepper to taste.

Cut up cauliflower cook in water with a little bit of salt and pepper for about 10 mins or until soft with the lid on. Then cook with lid off until the water is almost gone. While the cauliflower is cooking I sauteed the onions and garlic in a little butter until soft. Once the cauliflower is done I put in a blender or you can use a hand blender add the onions and garlic to the cauliflower then blend until creamy.

Now in a sauce pan create a Rue by melting the butter then add the flour and whisk it. let the flour cook for a min to cook out the flour taste. Then whisk in the cauliflower mixture, half and half, and chicken broth. I also added some salt and pepper. Once it has thickened then add the cheese and salt again to taste.

You can add in chicken and broccoli too like I did.

This recipe feeds 5-7 people.

New Years Resolutions

2011-01-06T13:37:00.000-08:00

Well, the new year is here. It's that time to revisit old goals, blah, blah, blah. My trick with resolutions is to only make one a year that I can actually stick to. Last year, it was to do my visiting teaching and I must say, I failed miserably. I started out good, but then I just slacked off. I was thinking about doing it again this year, until I could actually do it for the whole year, but then realized that probably won't happen. Since I'm expecting baby #3 in March, I figure there will be at least one month I don't do it, so I'm going to make my resolution one that is attainable. So here it is...........(drum roll please!)

No More White Trash Yard!!!!!!!!!!

I know what you're thinking. You live in a mobile home. That's impossible. But I beg to differ. About a month ago I was trimming trees and blowing some leafs off the rocks and one of our neighbors gave me the thumbs up. I then realized that we are the house on the street that the neighbors are embarrassed of.

We have a so-called easy care yard. Let me tell you something. They are liars. Every time it rains, those stinking weeds start growing up through the rocks with a vengeance. It's not like I can just mow them up like I would on a normal lawn. I have to either pull them up individually or blast them with weed killer, which is hard to do when you have a 3 year old and 1 year old following you around.

So my goal is to take one section of yard to work on each Saturday. If I can do this, maybe by spring it will look good and I can plant some bushes or something where the weeds usually get the worst. We'll see how that goes.

So Happy New Year to you all and may all your resolutions be attainable!

Doing grown-up things

2010-11-27T21:28:00.001-08:00

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

2010-11-15T05:58:00.000-08:00

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?

2010-11-05T14:34:00.000-07:00

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?

2010-11-03T12:48:00.001-07:00

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!

2010-10-29T12:45:00.001-07:00

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

2010-10-28T13:46:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-27T12:28:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-21T14:36:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-19T20:56:00.001-07:00

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

2010-10-14T16:49:00.000-07:00

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...

2010-10-13T13:11:00.001-07:00

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

2010-09-03T13:24:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-08-25T13:31:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-21T12:44:00.001-07:00

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

2010-08-20T19:16:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-06T20:52:00.000-07:00

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.

2010-06-17T12:52:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-14T13:23:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-14T13:16:00.000-07:00

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!!

2010-06-05T11:20:00.001-07:00

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

2010-06-03T20:18:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-24T13:34:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-18T20:54:00.000-07:00

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.

2010-05-02T21:37:00.000-07:00

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

Newport Beach

2010-04-20T13:45:00.001-07:00

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

2010-04-19T13:49:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-01T13:27:00.000-07:00

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...

2010-03-31T13:54:00.001-07:00

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

2010-03-24T09:05:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-20T13:50:00.001-07:00

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

2010-03-16T18:39:00.001-07:00

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

2010-03-04T20:27:00.000-08:00

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

Paradigm Shift

2010-03-03T21:32:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-26T14:30:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-17T12:53:00.000-08:00

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??

2010-02-12T12:54:00.001-08:00

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!

2010-02-09T13:42:00.000-08:00

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...

2010-01-29T13:30:00.000-08:00

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...

2010-01-25T14:33:00.000-08:00

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...

2010-01-24T07:59:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-01-20T12:19:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-19T20:49:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-16T12:26:00.001-08:00

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

2010-01-15T15:57:00.001-08:00

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

2010-01-06T14:49:00.001-08:00

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.

We Found Him!!!!!!!!!!

2009-12-29T18:15:00.000-08:00

The ongoing saga that is Samson has been resolved! Here's the scoop: Samson probably squeezed out of our gate (which will be promptly fixed) and was wandering the streets. A man that lives a street down took him and kept him in his yard. A lady that lives down our street saw him back there and thought he might be our dog. She then saw the signs that Derek and his family posted for us and gave me a call. Annie and her sisters and Craig's dad all headed out to our house and let us know where he was. Mike went over and confronted the man and was able to get him back. It seemed as though Samson had conveniently "lost" his collar. So now, Samson is safely at Derek's house. Whew! We are so glad he didn't get picked up by a coyote and that we are able to keep him with us. He's getting walked every day now and we will definately not take him for granted (even though he pees on all our stuff) Here's to a Happy New Year and to prayers being answered!

Samson is lost!!!!!!!!!

2009-12-28T21:41:00.000-08:00

We cannot find Samson anywhere! Please, please keep an eye out for him. Call Craig or Robyn and let us know if you see him. In case you forgot what an awesome dog he is, you can be reminded by looking at this awesome video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZrNeF66fWQ

He is a boston terrier, black and white with a little brindle, a white marking that looks like a "3" on the top of his head, and about 18 lbs. Please help us find him! :(

Nutcracking

2009-12-15T13:24:00.000-08:00

Get your minds out of the gutter!

On Saturday I got a nice surprise from Craig. He had bought tickets for the Nutcracker Ballet down at the Spreckles Theater in San Diego to celebrate our 4th anniversary. It was an unexpected surprise because a) I forgot that our anniversary was coming up and b) I had given up on the nutcracker this year because we've been so busy. We had a wonderful time and I can only describe it as magical. We had great seats and enjoyed walking around downtown San Diego. We even contemplated going ice skating. After that, we enjoyed a tasty meal at Chicago on the Bun.

The performers were AMAZING. The kids were adorable. It was the first real ballet I've seen and the first time I've been able to see the Nutcracker. I loved every minute of it! Thanks Craig!

Some Randomness

2009-11-07T11:13:00.000-08:00

Here's some random fun - First is a picture of Rex next to a photo of Craig's dad when he was a baby. Quite a resemblance, don't you think? Then we took Abby and Rex on their 1st bike ride together. We rode about half way up Bautista Canyon and they did great together. No crying at all! It was a miracle.

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-07T11:07:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd finally get around to posting our Halloween pics. I'm really proud of these costumes this year because I made them myself, well, except Craig's. It was my first real sewing project and it was tough, but I think they turned out great. I think next year we'll be vikings!

Sassy

2009-11-03T11:19:00.001-08:00

Abby: Where's Grandpa?
Me: He's at the other church.
Abby: The black church?

Me: Abby, do you need a spanking?
Abby: Right here. (pointing to her buns)

Good times...

Abby eating raspberries

2009-10-23T17:05:00.000-07:00

This is Craig posting. I taped this sweet video of Abby eating raspberries. At the beginning of the video she is finishing off a cookie. As you can see, it is not a good idea to follow cookies with raspberries!

A letter to my children

2009-09-09T12:20:00.000-07:00

My dear, sweet, darling children,

I wanted to write you a letter to help you learn the things you should do and the things you should NOT do.

First, my sweet, sweet Abby. You are my first born. I love that you love to help take care of your brother, but there are some things you should know about him. The only milk he drinks is mommy's milk. He is not ready for cow's milk yet, but I am glad that you wanted to share. Next time let's not put your sippy cup full of milk directly in his mouth and let the milk come out. He also does not eat dog food. I know you enjoy a little dog food now and then, but dog food is only for the doggies. I thought we learned that lesson last year. But Rex especially should not eat it. He does not know how to eat solid food like that and he could choke. Next time you want to put a piece of dog food in his mouth when mommy is not looking, remember that he is still a little baby and does not eat people food, let alone dog food.

Which brings us to you Rex. While you are such a joy to have, your constant spitting up needs to end. I know you like to share your meal with the dogs by letting everything you just ate to spill on the floor, but the doggies have their own food. You are also not supposed to be getting your canine teeth. Babies are supposed to get their canines when they are much older than 3 months old. Abby was almost 1 when she started getting teeth, but I know you are very impatient, as you showed me when you were born. So I guess 3 months is a good time to start getting teeth for you. Please keep the drooling to a minimum.

I love you both very much and I hope this letter will clear a few things up.

Love always,

Mommy

Things I've learned over the summer...

2009-08-25T13:35:00.000-07:00

This summer I learned a lot of new things. Here they are in no particular order:

1. Always plan to have your babies before it gets really hot. Otherwise, you will be miserable.
2. When you have a baby in the summer and that baby wants to be held all the time and spits up a lot, you will never look or smell good.
3. Making jam and canning peaches makes you hot, and by hot I mean sweaty hot, not good-looking hot.
4. Cars are best used as a means of transportation, not as an ambulance. Trust me, it is better for all parties involved.
5. Having good insurance really does make a difference.
6. It IS possible to lose all your baby weight.
7. Making your kids take naps at the same time will make you a much happier person.
8. Eating 5 fruits and vegetables a day makes you feel good.
9. Watching educational DVD's with your 2 year old is good for them, but not necessarily good for you when you get the songs stuck in your head. (Dang you Mr. Websley and your talking letters!)
10. Macs are awesome and make even more awesome videos.
11. Having an income is better than not having one.
12. It's amazing how you learn to conserve everything when you have almost nothing.
13. Hard work pays off in the end.
14. Don't ever get a long-haired dog, unless you want to vacuum up dog hair on a daily basis.
15. You get what you pay for when you buy a vacuum.
16. You can't stay mad at a kid when they are so stinkin' cute.
17. When your newborn starts laughing, it melts your heart and you remember why you had kids.

It's amazing how much you can learn in so short a time!

2009-08-13T19:29:00.000-07:00

We just got a new Mac, and I made this video on iMovies.
Be prepared to see the most awesome thing you have ever seen!

If you can't see it then go here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZrNeF66fWQ

Silly Abby

2009-07-24T13:05:00.001-07:00

Rex hates his car seat. He cries anytime we go anywhere. We usually just let him cry and he runs out of steam after about 5 minutes. Last night, when we were driving home, he started crying and then quickly ran out of steam. When we were almost home, he started crying again and Abby yelled, "No, baby Reck, No cry!" She was just saying what we all were thinking...

Abby vs. Rex

2009-07-20T21:37:00.001-07:00

Ever since Abby was born, we've always said she was super-advanced...practically a genius. So now that Rex is here, we're wondering if he is super advanced as well. Today we got our answer. We were trying to get Abby to pee in her little potty and she was not interested at all. So we told her Rex was going to take a turn on the potty. Of course, at this she screamed "NOOOOO, Abby's turn!" So she sat down. Of course, there were no results from this. So Abby and Rex took turns sitting on the potty and when it was Rex's turn, HE WENT PEE!!! IN THE POTTY!!!! How advanced is that!! Abby can't even do that yet. Score...Abby 0 Rex 1...until a few hours later we overheard Abby "reading" one of her books and she counted to 9 all by herself!! Abby 1 Rex 1.

Busy Busy Busy

2009-07-07T16:04:00.000-07:00

We had a very busy couple of weeks. First, Abby celebrated her 2nd birthday with some family. Then Tad and his family and Dan came down to visit for the fourth of July weekend. We went to the beach on the 3rd, swam on the 4th, and we had Rex's baby blessing on the 5th. And to top it off, Craig had to take his RD exam on the 7th...today. He just called me and told me that he passed, which means he is now officially a registered dietician and can start working!! Woohoo!! What a crazy couple of weeks. And tomorrow, his brother, Kevin, comes home from his mission in Russia. Whew!

Rex just chillin' at the beach. He slept pretty much the entire time we were there.

Abby playing in the sand. She wasn't too excited about getting in the water - it was a little cold.

Abby dancing with her cousins.

Showing of some dress-up earrings she got for her birthday.

When I asked Abby what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday, she said "Samson cake." What my baby wants, my baby gets. I made this out of cupcakes and sugar cookies. I thought it was a pretty good likeness.

Baby to go, please

2009-06-12T17:55:00.001-07:00

Alright everybody, here is the whole story. It is going to get very graphic, so be prepared. It all started around 12:30am on Thursday. I woke up with contractions about 4 minutes apart. I got some water and laid down, thinking it was probably false labor. When they didn't stop I got up and walked around a little and got the number for the hospital to call to see if I should come in. At this point they started coming faster and harder so they said come on in. We raced over to Craig's parents house to drop off Abby, who I'm sure was scared by all my groaning in the car. As we were leaving Craig's mom tossed a few towels into the car, thank goodness, because we sure needed them. I'm not sure she's going to want those back.

So next we start racing to the hospital. My contractions were getting so close I almost had no break in between them. Craig was driving about 90 mph the whole way there and ran a few red lights. The pain was getting so intense that I started screaming, and I'm not a screamer, if that tells you how much it hurts. By the time we got to Van Buren I started feeling the urge to push. I tried not to, but eventually I just did a little push to relieve the pressure and his little head just popped out. At this point, I had taken off my pants and seatbelt and was squatting in the front seat. Just then my water broke and he slid out the rest of the way. I caught him like a fly ball and then held him close. He gave a little cry and then was quiet, but his color was good and we figured he would be okay until we got to the hospital, since I hadn't delivered the placenta. I wrapped one of the towels around him. We were about 10 or 15 minutes away from the hospital in Riverside. When we got there, Craig ran into the ER and yelled, "MY wife just had a baby in the car" and 4 people came running out to help. They clamped the cord outside and gave us warm blankets. I had to walk from the car to the gurney, which was quite a feat because Rex was still attached to me. I climbed onto the gurney and they wheeled me into the ER.

Once we got inside, they cut the cord, checked Rex's vitals and whisked him away to the NICU, oh and that was because he was covered in meconium. I guess he had a little accident while he was in my belly. I delivered the placenta in the ER and then after a while I went up to labor and delivery, where I got stitched up and then went to the recovery room. It happened all so fast. I had even told Craig before we left for the hospital that I thought Rex was going to come fast and furious and he did. Thankfully, we were both in good shape and we are both doing well. Rex was 8 lbs even and 21 inches long - a big boy! I feel totally hardcore for having gone through this experience. I feel like a triathlon is a piece of cake now. I could probably do one right now. :)

I turn my back for 1 minute...

2009-06-09T13:18:00.001-07:00

I turn my back for one minute, and what happens? Abby finds my eyeliner, takes off the cap and tries to do her own makeup. Not a bad job, I might add. I really like how she connected her two eyes together with that nice straight line. At least she didn't poke her eyes out...

Yay for Craig!!!

2009-05-29T13:25:00.000-07:00

Last night was Craig's internship graduation. Finally!! His days of slavery are over! Now he gets to take a month off to study for the RD exam and then hopefully start working at an awesome hospital and bringing home some bacon. I started having contractions on the way to the graduation, but it turned out that they were just triggered by my full bladder. We are hoping for a baby this weekend to cap off a wonderful week! Thanks for all your hard work Craig!

The wonderous spaghetti squash

2009-05-11T20:28:00.000-07:00

We tried spaghetti squash for the first time today. It was pretty much the most awesome thing ever. We made it so it would be just like spaghetti. It was not that different, just a little different texture. And I felt cool because practically the whole meal was made of vegetables. Yes, that's right. We get really excited over vegetables here. Does that make us nerds? Well, we do go to bed around 8 or 9, so probably...

Bye Bye "Ba Ba"

2009-05-06T11:08:00.001-07:00

It has been a great week here at the Pulsiphers. On Monday we told Abby to get her pacifier and throw it in the trash. So what did she do? She ran into her room and got her pacifier and slam dunked it into the trash. We had a little celebration and then she went to bed without it. She has had 2 pacifier-free nights now!!! Woohoo!!!! It's about time she let go of that thing. Although she dug her "ba ba" out of the trash the next morning, we just took it away and said that we were all done with it and that seemed acceptable to her. Now, if I can just get her potty trained she will officially be a big girl!

Easter fun

2009-04-11T11:59:00.000-07:00

We've had a fun-filled easter weekend so far and it isn't even easter yet! Abby already went to 2 easter egg hunts, got to see the easter bunny and got to color eggs. Will the fun never end?!

Giving the easter bunny a hug. I'm surprised she wasn't scared. Maybe because it has fur...?

The egg hunt at valley wide. I think they have a wide selection of eggs in this little patch.

Abby getting ready for the hunt. She was a little unsure about this. All she wanted was a snack. When I told her the snacks were in the eggs she was a little more willing to go.

The chaos that was the hunt. Abby wouldn't go in to get easter eggs.

The results: 3 eggs - 1 that someone inside the hunt put in her basket, and 2 that a little girl gave her because she felt bad that Abby had only 1 egg in her basket. It's good to see there are still nice people out there.

No worries, though. Abby got her own private egg hunt at Grandma and Grandpa's. She made out like a bandit there.

On to coloring eggs. She's all about anything that involves food.

Throwing the eggs in the dye. She hasn't quite mastered the gentle toss yet.

It's fun when your kid is actually old enough to do fun kid stuff!

Is it possible?

2009-04-04T08:28:00.000-07:00

I was looking at my enormous belly the other day and complaining about how my back hurt and how I was grumpy from cleaning up pee all day long and I noticed that only half of my belly button popped out. Is that normal? Does this mean Rex is only half-cooked? I would post a picture, but I don't think anyone really wants to see that.

Fishing for...jerky?

2009-04-02T21:35:00.001-07:00

We went down to San Diego on Wednesday to go fishing at Otay Lake with Craig's Grandpa. There's an Olympic training facility there so we always get to see some kayakers racing.

Yes, Abby is not wearing a life jacket. We had one on her but she could reach her hand to her mouth with it on, so we took it off. You know how Abby gets when she can't have her snack. Does that make us bad parents? Probably, but our baby will never go hungry.

Chomping on some jerky. I think for Abby this was her favorite part. We didn't catch any fish, but she ate her share of the jerky!

Adventures in zooland

2009-04-02T21:25:00.001-07:00

We took Abby to the zoo for the first time on Monday. She loved it so much that we stayed for a full four hours - well into her nap time. She especially loved the petting zoo.

No, Dan, she is NOT milking the goat, she's just giving it a hug. A very weird and awkward hug.

Giving her new stuffed elephant a great big hug.

Checking out the pandas with daddy.

The pink slip

2009-03-27T12:21:00.000-07:00

I got the ax today. :( I never thought I would become a victim of layoffs, because at the last quarterly meeting they said the company was still profitable and doing well. They told me they were "restructuring" the sites I work at and that my job has been eliminated, today being my last day. At least they were nice enough to give me a severance package. But still, I think it's kinda harsh to lay off someone who is two months away from having a baby, whose husband is working for free. Plus, who's going to hire someone that's pregnant? I guess it's off to the unemployment office for me. On the plus side, I get to spend more time with my daughter now and get to enjoy spring break with Craig next week. (Plus, I wasn't planning on coming back to work after my maternity leave anyway) I guess it all works out in the end, just not the way I expected.

Fun with pressure cookers

2009-03-16T14:08:00.000-07:00

We got a pressure cooker for Christmas and we used it for the first time to cook our Sunday dinner. We decided to cook a whole turkey inside it. It was the most magnificent thing I have ever seen. Not only did it cook for just a little over an hour, but the meat was practically, no, literally falling off the bone. When we opened the cooker, we saw 2 turkey leg bones sticking out with the meat falling off. It was the most delicious and juicy turkey I have ever had. We get really excited about food over here, just ask Abby. Anyone that has been in nursery with her knows that girl can eat. I wonder where she gets it from?

Nascar madness!

2009-03-02T14:13:00.000-08:00

OK, so we're not rednecks, I promise!! We got our hands on some free Nascar tickets for Saturday's race and decided to head on over to Vegas to check out the action. We really liked looking at all the rednecks, some great car crashes, foot-long corn dogs, and onion blossoms. The lady next to me was enjoying her turkey leg. Here are a few of the highlights!

Craig posing at Dale Earnhardt's trailer. He actually got a compliment on his shirt from some real rednecks! He bought it on his mission in South Carolina in a rebel shop.

A redneck flag that says redneck on it! Where else could you find that??

If you can't tell, this is a teenager wearing a beer helmet with no beer in it.

A grown man wearing overalls. Need I say more?

We were pretty sure this guy had a mullet. Classic Nascar fan.

Harley man with a doo-rag. Craig liked him a lot.

Cut off sleeves baby!!

How do you like them radishes???

2009-02-25T11:07:00.001-08:00

We started a winter garden in December at Craig's brother's house (because our house has only rocks). We planted peas, carrots, radishes, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, and lettuce. As you can see it has been pretty successful so far. That radish is HUGE. Plus, it motivates us to eat our vegetables, which has helped me not gain a bazillion pounds this pregnancy. I can't wait for summer to get some good melons and other fruit going...

Man, can that girl eat!

2009-02-17T15:30:00.000-08:00

Abby is definately feeling better. And her appetite is back with a vengeance. Here is a log of what she ate yesterday. (remember that she is only 19 months old) I gave her a adult size bowl of cereal for breakfast, which she ate the entire thing. About 30 min later I gave her a bag of grapes, which she downed over the next hour. Then she helped herself to some crackers out of the cupboard while I did some Yoga. By the time I was finished with that, it was time for lunch, where she ate half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, some more grapes, some blueberries, and a mixed fruit cup. Then she took a nap and when she woke up she was ready for more. She ate some more crackers and then at dinner she ate 2 adult slices of pizza, some salad and some more grapes and then washed it all down with a cookie. She would have ate all night if we had let her. Craig gave her a slice of orange right before bed and then she went to sleep. She ate probably as much as I did, and I'm pregnant!! I'm glad to see she is feeling much, much, better, even though she eats like a teenage boy.

Update

2009-02-11T17:55:00.000-08:00

Okay, so here's the update. After we took Abby in on Friday she did pretty well until Saturday afternoon. Then she started throwing up again, even water. Sunday it only got worse. My breaking point was when she was crying in her crib with this weak, soft cry, and didn't have the strength to sit or stand up. So we called the nurse advice line on her insurance card and they said to take her back into the ER. So we did. Interestingly enough, we saw the Bradshaws there, because their mom was in the hospital. I'm so glad they were there because they helped me get my mind off the situation for a little bit. I hope Erin is doing ok.

So once we got a bed in the ER, the hooked poor Abby up to an IV because she was soooooooooo dehydrated and gave her some antibiotics because she also had an ear infection. (not to mention the two teeth that were coming in also) She hated that IV and tried to bite it off. They took a blood sample to make sure nothing else was wrong with her and then decided to admit her to the hospital.

We have spent everyday in the hospital since Sunday night until today, taking turns spending the night over there. The poor girl couldn't keep anything down until Tuesday. She lost 3 pounds over the course of 4 days!!! Not good.

Fortunately, she almost back to her old self, minus the appetite and is improving every day. This was one of the most scary situations I've ever had to deal with, thinking the absolute worst would happen. We were in Hemet hospital and they actually took really good care of us. Amazing, right?

Now who will flex with me in the mirror?

2009-02-07T09:29:00.000-08:00

I never thought the day would come...Katie's gone...*sniff* My exercise buddy (sort of not right now) and dinner buddy moved to Utah. Who's going to do triathlons with me and help me lose all my baby weight? More importantly, now where am I gonna get a home cooked meal on Thursdays??

Speaking of home cooked meals, we need a replacement for the Bodells, and fast! Anyone want to do dinners with us? We cook on Tuesday and you can cook on Thursday. That way, you are guaranteed to have a home cooked meal at least twice a week!

Oh, and have a safe trip Katie! We'll miss you! (see you in March?)

Warning! This is extremely gross...

2009-01-27T20:09:00.000-08:00

There's going to be a little TMI here, so if you are sensitive to bodily fluids, stop reading here.

I went to the doctor for my monthly checkup and as anyone who has had a baby knows, you get the priveledge of peeing in a cup every time you go. After I did my duty, I set the cup down and turned around for only a second and my daughter, who was in the bathroom with me, picks up the cup and spills the contents down the front of her shirt. Of course, I don't have a change of clothes for her, because she's 1 1/2 and we are about an hour from home. So the poor girl has to wear the nasty shirt until we get home. Luckily, we were in and out of there in about 15 minutes, but still... GROSS.

The results are in!!!

2009-01-23T15:44:00.000-08:00

I had my Ultrasound today, and it's amazing how accurate these polls are!! We are having a boy and are super excited. We found out that girls don't make me sick when I'm pregnant, but boys do. Our little man will be making his first appearance in June. We're thinking his name is going to be Rex. It is a family name on Craig's side. We're waiting for you little Rexy!

Cupcakes

2009-01-20T20:56:00.000-08:00

I had to change the background because I'm craving sweets like crazy!! It always starts when I go over to my in-laws because they always have cookies or something like that over there. Steven made an apple pie, so I had to have 2nds of that. Then I go to the dutch-oven cookout and have 2 helpings of pineapple upside down cake, plus some cherry cobbler and ice cream on top of that. I just can't get enough. The worst was today when I woke up and my belly had popped all the way out. Seriously, Craig would not be proud. Does anybody have any fortune cookies? Geez, talk about the ramblings of a pregnant woman...

Craig's awesome sports blog

2009-01-19T13:56:00.001-08:00

Craig just started a new blog for sports nutrition and fitness. This guy knows what he's talking about. With his help I lost over 30 pounds after I had Abby. Go check it out and ask any questions you want!! He'll help you with any of your fitness and health goals (because I'm sure that's on every one's new year resolution list). Enjoy! cpulsipherrd.blogspot.com

The Ultrasound

2009-01-14T15:21:00.000-08:00

So, I get to find out what I'm having on the 23rd. The best part is that since I have real people insurance now I've already gotten to have 2 ultrasounds! That's one more then last time and I get to have another one next week. So, what do you think it's gonna be? A boy or girl? I'm thinking boy...

We did it!!!

2008-12-22T15:15:00.000-08:00

Okay, so we finally succombed to the peer pressure to start a blog. Apparantly, every one has one except us. So hopefully we'll figure this thing out and it will be soooooo cool.

2008-12-21T16:19:00.000-08:00

Hey, look at me! I'm blogged.