Flowers & Freedom

Aren't I lucky? These are the beautiful flowers that Quin got me for our anniversary yesterday. Back when we were first dating, Quin secretly asked my roommates what my favorite flower was so that he could surprise me. I have always loved Gerbera daisies, and nearly every year since then, I have gotten a beautiful arrangement of them for one occasion or another. They make me smile every time I see them!

Tonight we've arranged for a baby sitter for Maren for a couple of hours so that we can go out by ourselves for the evening! This week she's been very Mom-clingy. If I leave the room or go out of her line of sight, she cries. She's not normally like this so I'm sure it's the discomfort of the teething, but I'm a little worried about how she'll behave for the sitter. If Maren is naughty, I may have to pay the sitter extra for Pain & Suffering.

Four Wonderful Years

Happy Anniversary, Sweetie! I love you!!

It all comes out in the wash

So, the Sears repairman came and fixed my washing machine to the tune of $192. Ouch. It was an easy fix, took approximately 5 minutes for him to install the new pump, for which I was charged something like $60. Man, I am SO in the wrong business. Even though it cost $192, if I'd decided to just get a new washer altogether, I would have been looking at $65 service fee+$399 new washer+8.1% sales tax+the time it takes to research washers, find one I like, buy it, have it delivered and installed+not be able to do laundry for who knows how long. In light of all this, I still feel like I came out ahead.

Bad night again for Maren last night. She was up 3 times and would fall asleep in my arms but wake up the moment I set her down. I just let her cry. Poor kiddo, I wish there was something more I could do for her. Darn little tooth.



Here's Maren yesterday with her new haircut and a new outfit. The jeans are from Baby Gap and they are supposed to be capris, but on Maren they go all the way down! They are 12-18 months, but they have this nifty adjustable waistband system so they actually fit her. They were expensive for baby clothes--$24.00, and I don't even think my jeans cost that much--but because they are adjustable and supposed to be capris, I think she'll be able to wear them all spring and summer and into the fall, so they were worth it. Plus they are just so darned cute!

Maren's First Haircut, and our trip to the Other Side

Maren has recently developed an aversion to wearing anything in her hair, resulting in the 'sheepdog' look for her most of the time. Her hair has gotten so long that it just hung in her face and drove me nuts! Yesterday Quin and I took her to get a haircut for the first time and she did just great--no tears or anything. We went to a place that specializes only in children's haircuts, so Maren got to sit in a cute little car while she was getting worked on. I had the stylist even up the sides and cut bangs on top to alleviate the sheepdog thing, and I thought it turned out pretty cute! With bangs and a 'hairdo' she looks so much more grown-up. I know she's almost 1, but she really is looking less and less like a baby. Walking, a mouth full of teeth, and a real haircut--yup, she's almost a toddler! It all looks a little incongruous, though, as she's still so tiny.

Happy to report that last night was much better than the night before. I still think Maren is teething, and today I caught a glimpse of what I think is the culprit for all this mess. Hope it pushes its way up quickly so we can be done with it.

Yesterday we had temperatures in the 70s...in February...in Colorado, not California! Amazing, when you consider it's still technically winter here for another month. After we got Maren's hair cut, we drove up to Boulder to visit an outdoor store Quin was interested in. The weather was warm, if a little windy, and it was nice to be outside.

Boulder has this downtown shopping area called Pearl Street that is blocked off for pedestrians and there are lots of shops and restaurants and homeless people hanging about. When they call it 'the People's Republic of Boulder'...folks, they aren't joking. It was seriously like being in another country! We were joking on the way up that we were venturing behind enemy lines--we are pretty much everything typical Boulder-ites are against: we drive an SUV, Quin works for the government and enjoys shooting things, we believe in God (and that God is a He, not a She), we do not advocate the use of mind-altering substances, etc. Quin said if approached by strange people, we should just yell "Free Tibet!" and run, and they'll never know we're imposters. I didn't think it would be all that different from Denver, but I was shocked that it really was. Maybe I was just hyper-aware or something, but it honestly was weird there.

Now I'm waiting around for the washing machine repair man to show up. I purposely scheduled the appointment between 8 am and noon because I know that during that time we don't go anywhere because that's when Maren and I get ready and then she goes down for a nap around 11. However, we came home yesterday to find a message that we got pushed back to the afternoon slot--12 to 3 pm. Boo. I have plenty of things to do around here, but it's just annoying. Hopefully, the washer will be easy to fix and won't be expensive. It's been leaking water for a while now, and I confess I've just been doing my laundry anyway and putting a towl around the base to soak up the water. My washer--a Kenmore--is such that you can't get the back off without first removing the top, front and sides, so I wasn't able to check the hoses myself to see if it was an easy fix. I'm out $65 for the service call no matter what, so hopefully it won't be a whole lot more than that--otherwise, we'll be getting a new washer. Ah, the joys of homeownership.

Sleepless nights

Bad night last night.

We noticed yesterday at church that Maren's cheeks were really flushed--like bright red--and her nose was a little runny. I worried that she might be getting sick, as there's a hacking cough going around. Anyway, last night Maren awoke at 1 something, so I fed her most of her bottle and she went back to sleep.

She woke up again at about 3:45 am. I could hear her playing in her crib for a little while, then the crying began. I got up again, but this time she was wide awake. I fed her the rest of the bottle (only about 2 oz) but when I put her back in her crib, she cried. So I sat in the rocker and held her on my chest for a while. She was so tired, but very restless and couldn't relax or keep still. Each time I thought she'd finally calmed down and I was safe to put her in her crib, she cried. So at that point, I took her into my bed and laid down with her on my chest. She still thrashed around, and woke Quin up. By this time it was about 4:30 am, and she was wide awake. I could tell her nose was runny, so Quin went to the bathroom and got a whole roll of TP so I could wipe her nose. Maren loves TP, so she happily went about shredding it, in the middle of our bed, at 4:30 in the morning.

Quin eventually went to put her (and the roll of TP) back in her crib, but she wouldn't have it, so he took her downstairs. He fed her and let her play while he laid on the couch and tried to rest. I was able to fall asleep for a little while, but she was cranky and cried a lot, so it kept me awake. Finally at 6 something I got up because she was crying and crying. I have to admit that I grabbed her, plunked her in her crib, shut the door, and just let her cry while Quin and I tried to sleep on the couch downstairs with the TV on to drown out the screaming. We were able to sleep for a couple more hours, but it was restless and unsatisfying.

So, now it's almost 10:00 pm and I'm actually dreading going to bed--afraid that tonight will turn out to be much like last night. We're not so sure Maren is sick--we think she might actually be teething again. This is just what happened when her first two teeth came in. It didn't happen with the top four, and I can't really see any more teeth on the bottom, but it's so similar to what happened last time. I just put Maren in her crib and although I know she is very tired, she's crying, so I think maybe she needs a hit of baby Motrin. I think I might need a hit of something myself.

More random stuff about me...

4 Jobs You Have Had in Your Life:
Bookseller, Secretary/Receptionist, Scrapbook store employee, office temp

4 Movies You Could Watch Over & Over:
The Goonies, The Breakfast Club, The Emperor's New Groove, Newsies

4 Places You Have Lived:
Utah, Savannah, El Paso, Denver

4 TV Shows You Love to Watch:
Arrested Development, Battlestar Galactica (current version), Gilmore Girls, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

4 Places You Have Been On Vacation:
Disney World, Hawaii, the Bahamas, California

4 Websites You Visit Daily:
www.twopeasinabucket.com, the Cooking Light bulletin board, www.lileks.com, www.gofugyourself.com

4 of Your Favorite Foods:
Tempura shrimp rolls at Sonoda's, masaman curry, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Fritos

4 Places You’d Rather be Right Now:
Savannah or Charleston, On a beach anywhere, London, visting with my family

It's the little things that make me happy #401

An entire washload of PINK baby clothes. :)

Mommy's Little Rastafarian

My brother Kristjan is the consummate Bob Marley fan. When Maren was born he sent us this hilarious onesie with Bob's face adorning the front. It's still a little big for Maren, but I know Kristjan has been waiting a long time to see her in it, so we put it on the other morning and took a few snaps. Not sure what Maren is doing in the top picture--I know she wasn't crying; she was actually quite happy. Perhaps she's Getting Down With Her Bad Self, or doing some sort of Bob Marley wail. Couldn't tell you, really.

"CAN" I wish you a Happy Valentine's Day?

These are the little goodies I made for the ladies I Visit Teach. It's kind of hard to tell from the photo, but they are actually made from those little cans that mandarin oranges come in; the kind with the pull-tab lid. But these cans contain Hershey's Kisses and Hugs, not fruit! Clever, no?

The trick is that you open them from the bottom using one of those can openers that removes the entire lid, not just cuts out the top. Put the treats inside, decorate the outside, and then glue the bottom back on. I'd be tickled to get something like this, but then I'm easily amused! Anyway, hope my VT ladies are equally pleased.

Hostess ain't got nuthin' on me

This, my friends, is heaven in a cupcake. Yellow cake (from a mix ), homemade chocolate buttercream frosting, filling, and holiday-appropriate sprinkles, of course.

I've had to use every ounce of restraint I possess to keep from gobbling these little beauties like they're going out of style.

Thrift store finds: last Friday

Found a few fun things this week:

Another vintage Christmas tablecloth. Unusual, since they put the Christmas stuff away until next year. Somehow this one escaped, and I'm glad for it! It does have a few spots, but it will be fine in a stack. Someday I will find a brilliant and clever way to display all of my tablecloths. I'm still working on that. For now, they're in a drawer.





I'd never seen these trays before until I started thrifting here in Colorado, but apparently they must have been a popular souvenir at some point, because I've seen them for nearly every state in the Union. At one point I thought maybe I should start collecting them, and bought a Minnesota tray on a whim. Then I realized that I was crazy, and what on earth would I ever do with a collection of these trays, and I haven't bought another since. Until Friday! I only bought it because it was a Utah tray, and I've been collecting Utah-themed souvenirs for a little while. I'll put this one with the rest of my Utah stuff in the guest room.










A cute (maybe vintage) crocheted potholder. It's in great shape, and the colors are fun and bright--yellow, red, and green--with the cutest crocheted rose on the front. Maybe I'll eBay this one.

Some random things about Me

This is in response to a journaling/blogging challenge posted by scrapladyb on Two Peas:

1. Where were you born?
I was born in Provo, Utah. My parents were students at Brigham Young University at the time. That's also where I went to school and where I met my husband.
2. Name something you've always wanted to do.
I've always wished I could do the splits! Sometimes I even have dreams that I can do the splits.
3. What do you want to be when you grow up?
I want to be the kind of person who makes you feel good when you talk to them. Not sure if I'm explaining myself well, but I knew a person like that once and I always came away from our conversations feeling better about myself.
4. What's the number one problem we face in the world today?
People refusing to take personal responsibility for their actions.
5. If you could change the world, what would you do?
Get rid of scorpions, cockroaches and mosquitos, in that order. Make it just as easy and fun to lose weight as gain weight. Oh, and World Peace.
6. What's the most dangerous thing you've ever done?
Thawing meat on the counter instead of in the fridge? I don't know, I'm a pretty big wimp! Not much of a risk-taker, this one.
7. Favorite word?
Loquacious.

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