Say Chee----Hey! Get Back Here!

The photo at left is what resulted from Tuesday's "Maren is 10 Months Old Today" photo shoot. Sadly, it is the most representative photo of the day--Maren streaking out of the frame at full-speed. I foolishly thought I could handle both baby-wrangling and camera duties at the same time. You can see for yourself that I was sadly mistaken.

It is not coincidental that the number of photos I've taken of Maren has decreased inversely proportionate to how mobile she's gotten. Nowadays, everything's just one big blur. How the heck do those Kiddie Kandids folks do it?

Insult to Injury

So, the Broncos lost the big game on Sunday. I think the above photo of Maren accurately sums up the general sentiment around here on THAT subject.

To really pour salt in the wound, however, my Grandpa (who holds the season tickets that my brothers used for the game on Sunday) received a letter on Monday from the Broncos, stating that he'd been chosen in the lottery such that if the Broncos had won their game on Sunday, he'd have the option of buying 2 tickets TO THE SUPERBOWL.

Oh, that just sucks.

You're in Bronco Country

There's definitely some Bronco Fever going on at my house in preparation for the big game today! My brothers flew in from Salt Lake yesterday to go to the game, and it's so much fun to have them here visiting. Sadly for us, the game is at the exact same time we have church. I was thinking that maybe we could say we're going to learn about the Eternal Struggle Between Good and Evil, and as an object lesson, we could watch the game. I doubt that will happen, though, so I'm hoping someone can at least give us score updates throughout Sunday School.




GO BRONCOS!!!!!!

Last night we had breakfast for dinner, so Maren got her first taste of pancake, and she loved it! She snarfed that and the scrambled egg down without hesitation. I love having breakfast for dinner--it seems so cozy, which was perfect for yesterday since it was snowy and cold all day. I made pancakes on my big griddle and fried bacon in my big cast iron skillet, then scrambled the eggs in the bacon grease. YUM! I love how it makes the house smell when I cook breakfast, specifically the bacon. It smells like Denny's, only without the additional and markedly less appetizing aromas of stale cigarettes and burnt coffee.

Tonight I'm tired and so I've just called in to order a pizza. We checked out a DVD from the library that is due back tomorrow, so we'll have a pizza and movie night. The movie is "The Great Raid", which is based on an event that happened in WWII when Rangers were called in to rescue American POWs from Cabanatuan in the Philippenes. The story is pretty amazing, so I hope the movie does it justice. If nothing else, it has Joseph Fiennes in it, and he's yummy.

In the clink

This is a sight I saw far, far too many times last week. Maren shocked us all by learning to crawl up the stairs on Christmas Day at my parents' house. She just crawled over to them and headed up like she'd done it a million times before. Since we've been home, she's been up our stairs many times each day. If it got at all quiet, the first place I checked was the stairs, and 9 times out of 10, I found a sight much like these pictures. She hasn't fallen once, and she's very confident and fast, but I worried that she might get distracted and fall--and it's a long way down with a hardwood floor to land on, and I was tired of chasing her up the stairs. So this is the sight I see now:

Oh, that's just sad, isn't it? Poor Bronco has to suffer too, and he didn't even do anything wrong! Even though it makes me feel a little guilty to cage my kid, it's been so nice not to have to worry about her going up (or more specifically, down) the stairs. It's also made loading the dishwasher much easier as well, since I'm not fighting Maren for the silverware. I do half wonder if one of these days, she'll plot with Bronco, and he'll lift her up and over the wall to freedom. I'll be keeping an eye on those two....

Love and a wet pink nose

One year ago this weekend, Bronco came to live with us. Quin had made two appointments for us for Saturday to meet 2 labs. I still wasn't 100% on board with the whole getting a dog (and a big one, at that) thing, but I went along anyway and tried to have an open mind.

The first lab we met had a body more like a greyhound--long legs, skinny hindquarters--and long hair. We spent a couple of hours on that unusually warm and sunny January day walking around the park with him and his foster dad, but I knew I didn't like him. Didn't like the long hair and didn't think he looked "labbish" enough. I knew he wasn't the dog for us.

The next interview was at a doggie day care place across town. We drove over and told the girl at the desk that we were there to see Santos, and she disappeared into the back to retrieve him. She opened the Dutch door that separated the waiting area from the doggie area, and out he ran, going full-speed. He sniffed and snorted his way around the tiny room while we filled out the paperwork that would allow us to take him home for a trial weekend.

It was a little surreal, driving back home with a big, strange dog in the backseat. He was almost white, with a pale pink nose and the square head I associate with labradors. He looked exactly like what I thought a lab should look like.

I will admit it. I loved him immediately.

It didn't take the full weekend for us to figure out that he was the dog we wanted. In fact, on the way home with him we stopped at PetSmart and bought food, bowls, and a leash--that was how fast we knew! He just fit. From the minute we brought him home and let him out to explore, he acted like it was his house, and he'd known it all along. The people that fostered him had named him Santos, but we gave him a new name--Bronco.

We honestly couldn't have asked for a better dog. Bronco ended up at Safe Harbor Lab Rescue because he was picked up by Animal Control and put in the pound. He didn't have any tags, and his owners never came for him, so Safe Harbor took him. He came to us already house-trained, which was SUCH a blessing. I was 7 months pregnant and in no mood to have a dog peeing all over the house. He didn't chew, dig, or bark--three bad habits labs are notorious for having. He was healthy and friendly with the neighbor kids. We took him to obedience classes and he learned quickly. We were a little nervous about how he'd react to a new baby, but once he figured out she was here to stay he adjusted quickly and painlessly.

Now, Bronco and Maren are buddies. He is so patient and easy-going with her. She climbs all over him, pulls his whiskers, and generally mauls him, and he doesn't seem to care. The other night he was on the floor sleeping and Maren was using her two hands to pry apart his lips and poke at his teeth and gums, and he never even twitched. Maren loves to play Tug with him and I know that as she gets bigger and learns to walk and to run and throw a ball, they'll become the best of friends.

We love Bronco--he's part of the family now, and I'm so thankful that we were blessed to find him. I hope he lives a long and happy life, and that our kids will have fond memories of him when they are grown.

And now, I think it's time someone had a little Happy Anniversary Milk Bone! (No, not me. I prefer Beggin' Strips, anyway.)

UFO sightings

I killed two UFOs today. UFO in this instance stands for UnFinished Object, or more specifically, any of the seemingly zillions of unfinished projects I've got hanging around, weighing down my To Do lists. I've been feeling really energized by the new year, and have been trying hard to tackle some of the things I've had hanging over my head for a while now. Today I completed two UFOs, and I am proud! Feels so good to accomplish something--I should try it more often! This afternoon I finally hung the hook rail I ordered back in oh, Novemberish. I also hung the paper lantern (that I can't even remember when I bought) in Maren's room. Both of these things were really very easy, when it got down to it. Makes me wonder why I let them sit for so long!

The next big project I'm going to tackle from my UFO list is fixing my duvet cover. Now that I finally got my sewing machine out and wound a bobbin of the correct color of thread, I just have to actually DO IT. It will be trickier than today's projects, but I know that it will feel SO good to have it done and actually be able to use my duvet cover and really make my bed with matching pillows and everything, which will in turn make my whole bedroom look better.

Because I am a compulsive list-maker, I made a list for every single room in this house with the UFOs and yet-to-be-starteds for each. I'm going to try to cross a lot of them off in the next couple of months. Will 2006 be The Year I Stop Procrastinating? We'll see.

Ten Things I Like About Me

I fear that lately I've been spending too much time concentrating on the things I'm not so thrilled with about myself, so I thought it might be a good idea to balance out all that negativity by taking Sophia's challenge and post 10 things I like about myself. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. I have pretty hair
2. I'm organized
3. I'm a good cook
4. I'm creative
5. I have a good memory
6. I'm even-tempered
7. I'm positive
8. I'm tall
9. I'm dependable
10. I have a fun sense of humor

Too Much Information

You were warned.

If you've ever bought baby formula, then you know that it is unbelievably expensive. Honestly, the only drawback so far to weaning Maren has been the expense. In an effort to save a little moola, we decided to try the generic brand of formula sold at the BX (the military store), but the only kind they had at the time was the soy formula. I don't know if it's the soy or if it's the brand of formula itself, but I'm telling you, it gives Maren THE STINKIEST diapers. Now, I'm not saying that baby poop smells like roses to begin with, but seriously--the stank off these diapers could strip the paint off the walls of Hell, it's so bad. It's astonishing that such a vile stench could come out of a little creature who doesn't even weigh 16 lbs and whose diet consists almost entirely of fruits, veggies, and Cheerios.

You get what you pay for, indeed. It's back to shelling out the big bucks for Enfamil for us. The Diaper Champ can only take so much, and wearing Quin's protective gear while changing Maren's diapers is getting a bit unwieldy.

'Zat you, Santy Claus?

Everybody now:
"Awwwwwwwww"

Picture taken at our church Christmas party a couple of weeks ago. Maren's first encounter with Santa, and she was fascinated. I love the look on her face here--in true Maren fashion, she seems intrigued, but not a bit fearful. Cheeky little monkey.

Thrifting on the road

This past week Q got to go to Steamboat Springs for 'work' and Maren and I joined him for a couple of days. The weather was snowy and cold, but otherwise it is a cute little town. Tuesday we went downtown to go to a store that Q had his eye on, and I noticed a thrift store across the street. I'm telling you, I can positively sniff them out at this point, I'm so trained. Unfortunately, most of it was junk, but I did find this cute fabric for a buck. The colors are quite bright and the graphics are fun--various storybook types of illustrations. There's not quite a yard, but I thought I could make a cute pillow or something. Or, I could just stuff it into my closet for about 10 years until I figure out what to do with it. I'm guessing the latter is probably what will happen. Couldn't pass it up, though!