Seams Like Life

Some Kind of Crazy

2012-01-27T22:17:00.000-05:00

Let me begin by saying, I love my life. May that color all that follows. Do you know that laugh that bad guys do in comedies when they realize that they can’t succeed, and it’s a sad little, I-am-defeated-and-yet-I’m-laughing kind of laugh? I have been practicing that lately. That, and the I-am-laughing-because-otherwise-I’d-be-screaming kind of laugh. Or maybe a little of both. Together.

You see, there was a time when I had a little girl made of sugar and spice and everything nice, who I could dress up properly, and lead around by the hand, and stroke her hair, and give her little snacks out of a ready-to-go baggie, and talk to with my excited face and she’d get excited, and put things out of sight that I wanted forgotten.

Well, she’s still sugar and spice.

It’s just a lot of spice. Turns out, after that magical toddler age, comes this. Three years old. It’s like we’ve been dropped straight out of an Eloise Wilkins’ number into William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. Children + time + no adult supervision = mind-bending chaos.

(Yes, that is my door on its hinges. Blown off by the wind.)

I mean really. If you come to my house, and I’m dressed like this, it’s because I’ve lost it. Succumbed to the three-year-old’s definition of “normal,” where anything, no matter how big it is, or how far back in the closet it was pushed, can be worn allatonce. And then one must prance.

She already has a few converts:

And so you can imagine, after I’ve turned off the bopsy Sesame Street songs, tamed the 3-foot jumping bean, said some “nighty night nights” and closed the door why I am extremely excited to organize something. Anything. Clean up the learning-to-cut-with-scissors mess, the goldfish-across-the-living-room-carpet mess, the tutus-that-fell-off-of-her-head mess, and so on.

Because heaven knows what happens after naptime (or “quiet time,” as she insists).

Well, this week, “quiet time,” was really, really quiet. So quiet I should have known. As soon as I smelled that minty smell, as I climbed the stairs, I should have known.

Lord. Of. The. Flies. (Am I right?)

ALLOVERMYBED!!!

What the blazes. Cue crazy lady laughs mentioned above.

I just stared at her. Stared. In dumbstruck, slightly maddened amazement. “Stay. Right. There.” I said. Then I bolted for the camera, and took dozens of pictures. More for evidence than for fun, of course. I had to show Jay what actually happens when he’s gone, because you know that I swiped those sheets right off the bed and marched little Miss to the washer to wash them. And then there would be nothing left to show of this I-can’t-believe-this-is-happening moment to husband and, one day, posterity.

Toothpaste.

In my bed.

Sister thought it was funny until she saw my face while taking pictures. Let’s just say she cleaned the rest of the night.

2011: The Christmas Card Runners Up

2012-01-08T21:13:00.000-05:00

We posted our Christmas card a few weeks ago, here. I love Christmas cards because they require reflection and selection—reflection, to think back on the memories accumulated over a year; selection, because only the very finest deserve to make it onto the card.

Now that we’re approaching the new year, I find myself going through the very same motions. Looking back. Taking stock. Tallying, measuring, glossing-over, picking and choosing memories to preserve forever, throwing away the disappointments. There is lots to remember. Lots to sift through.

This year was a huge year for us. Not only in terms of grandiose events—the kind they ask you about in stress tests (baby, moving, marriage, career change, death in the family, etc.)—but in terms of many small changes, written on the heart that, on the outside, may not show at all. We are different. And the same.

Let me explain.

January | Our year began in hibernation, with lots of snow, lots of cold, and lots of cuddling up on the couch. I was in my first, miserable months of pregnancy, and Isabelle was itching to get outside and “make a man,” as she called it. Fortunately, Daddy took her out, because heaven knows Mommy wasn’t going to--this second pregnancy was that bad. I feel like I slept the most part of January through March away on the couch, my feet freezing the whole time.

February | Glory moment of the month: busting out some freezer cookies with pink glaze for Family Home Evening, in the midst of killer morning sickness. This chapter of the year is called, “I love you more than me.”

March | The gloomy clouds of Michigan winters lifted, 60 degree weather rolled in, and I finally realized that I am the mom, and I make the rules. If I want to go to the zoo, we go to the zoo. (And eat slushies, and so forth.)

April-May | Life is tough. So are we.

June – July | After I finished teaching my women’s literature course, we got read for baby. Notably, I completed Isabelle’s second haircut, ever. I was, as she says it, the “salam” lady. Pay no mind to the fact that she’s almost 3 and getting her second cut—we’re like Sampsons around here.

There were also birthdays, and more birthdays: one of Isabelle’s favorite party varieties. We’re 27 and 29 this year. Yikes. This getting old stuff looks like it really might happen to us after all.

Then there was our lovely Montreal vacation. My OB thought I was crazy for venturing out of state while 9 months pregnant, let alone out of country. I was pretty nervous about it, and walking was pretty difficult at the end, there, so we went but sadly had to opt out of continuing on to Quebec City with my family. The postcard I got from my mom was beautiful, though. On the bucket list it goes.

August – One quiet twilight, a baby was born, and our lives changed. Our car got smaller, our house got fuller, our eyes got sleepier, our free time shrank and our hearts grew.

September – I recuperated, and somehow was still surprised by how fast the newborn time went, even though I feel like this time I had my subconscious eyes glued to the second-hand, watching each one slowly tick away. Right in front of our eyes, Isabelle started dance class, and transformed from a shy little girl into a spunky little prima ballerina.

October – My baby turned three somehow, and we tossed a candy shop party, her birthday, and Halloween into a bag, shook them up, and unleashed the resulting pink, glitter and sweetness over the last weekend in October.

November – We were blessed and we gave thanks. I made my first turkey, and it didn’t burn, wasn’t undercooked, and was so. so. yummy. Success.

December – Joy. Time with family. Time to celebrate our Savior’s birth. A slam-banging choir Christmas program. (Who knew I could direct choir?) Lights. Twinkling. Wrapping paper. Bows. Glowing smiles and big, glittery eyes.

This year was no easy year. I think I’ll always remember that. But now that it’s over, 2011, it’s easier to select these good memories, neatly fold them and put them away. The other stuff will fade. It is enough to simply remember that there was other stuff and that here, now, in 2012, we are happy. Safe. Loved. Resolved.

Here’s to a new year.

It’s looking good already.

On Old Books and Marriage

2011-12-30T22:54:00.000-05:00

I am a book person. To me, books really serve as a wild card metaphor for pretty much everything, and, I think, are especially fitting in this case.

Marriage, you see, is a lot like an old book. One of the great reasons I can never fully commit to newfangled contraptions like the Kindle, or the nook, or other such electronic reading devices, is that they deprive the reader of the most important reading experience: layering. Say, for instance, I receive Pride and Prejudice when I am eleven years old, with a bookplate that reads “To Kimberly, from Grandma – Never settle,” I read that book once, underline it, make some notes, and put it away. Years later, I come back to it, make more notes, underline passages that happen to speak to my heart at that moment, all the while both reading the story Austen wrote and remembering how I had read it, years earlier. The more years that go by, the more story my notes, scrawls and highlights add on top of the story. My books are precious to me, not only for what they say, but for what they say about me—about how they have changed me, each time I have read them. Each time I go back to them, I go back as a different person—older, wiser, different, sometimes more temperamental, sometimes more patient—and lay down new tracks; I will never experience the book the same now as I did the first time I read it. It is not just words on a page (or a screen). The book itself is a treasure.

I said I was going to relate this to marriage, and I will. Yesterday was our anniversary (and today was the anniversary of our reception)—the day that we celebrate this, wonderful, simple, life-changing day:

I sat wishing yesterday that I could return to the simplicity of this day. After a while, though, I realized that I am happy, right where I am—in the midst of mothering, cleaning up eternal messes, carrying heavier loads than I think I can carry, and only getting a few moments every day with this man that I love. We can’t return to that day any more than I could recreate my first experience with my most beloved Shakespeare play. We are different. Life has happened, and it’s been good.

When I look back on these pictures, I remember the smells, the sounds, the candles, the rustling satin, the silky flowers, the snap of the camera. I remember the way time stopped, and we floated through our fairytale, suspended at the part where the princess gets her prince. I remember how it felt to be alone but not lonely.

But I also remember our little hole-in-the-wall apartment full of spiders. That first job Jay had that made just enough money to keep us living. Graduating. Buying our first home. Being so excited about our first home that we slept on the hard floor and then a dirty mattress we found next to the dumpster because the hard floor was really hard. I remember his first day of a real job. Birthdays. Anniversaries. Christmases. The birth of our first child. Then our second. I remember tears and fights, and times he drove me so crazy I thought I would explode. But I didn’t. And we changed, together. We are different now—not those two people up there, at all. We’re better.

So, you see, I can never go back to that day. It’s layered with so much that makes us who we are. These photographs are at the bottom of a life beautifully scrawled, layered, lived on top, and I can’t read the story of this day without reading the story of the past six years. We’ve learned so much more of love.

But oh how grateful I am for that clean, crisp, new day, where the spine of our brand new story crackled briskly, and our wide eyes eagerly scanned the empty pages. We are quickly filling them up. One by one. Memory by memory. Joy by joy.

And we are still very much in love.

Merry Christmas, Every One

2011-12-26T20:35:00.000-05:00

Things are merry and bright around here today. We have Christmased. Little bits of paper still poke their noses out of corners and sofa cushions, store boxes are stacked in the corner, stockings slump in the corner, candy papers spill onto the floor. We will clean up soon. Oh yes we will. But now, we rest.

Christ, the Savior, is born. May these glad tidings bring you peace and joy throughout the year. Merry Christmas, my friends. I hope yours was as as lovely as ours. Stay tuned for a cornucopia of glittery photos to come.

Joy to the world, the Lord is come.

Four Big Ones

2011-12-17T22:53:00.000-05:00

My Ashlynn Girl is four months today. We’re royally distracted these days with holiday celebrations, but that doesn’t slow her down. Little babe is progressing at lightening speed.

She now:

-Sleeps through the night from 10pm to 7:30 am (and has for almost two months). Hooray!

-Laughs when we make funny faces, sing Zippidee Doo Da (something about the “zzzz”), tickle her armpits, and keep her up way past her bedtime so she’s loopy.

-Eats at warp speed.

-Reaches out and plays with lots of toys—this has been happening for about a month. She can hold them and try to shove them in her mouth, but often drops them.

-Loves her baby play gym, and especially “spotty cow” who hangs on it. She gets moody if she doesn’t have enough time to play each day. Sometimes she and spotty cow have skirmishes and have to be separated.

-Takes out her paci. Yeah. Fun for a minute. Till she wants to put it back in.

-Rides safely forward-facing in her Baby Bjorn and sits in her Bumbo (ok, so this is really a 3 month one, because she’s been doing this for a while).

-Protesteth much. She’s developing little opinions, and while she’s generally very malleable, she lets us know what she wants.

We’re loving having her around this Christmas. And I’m elated to dress the girls in matching dresses. Bucket list #3578, done.

Happy 4-month, baby girl. Keep up the good growin’. We love you.

My Christmas Babe, in 3 Takes

2011-12-08T10:55:00.001-05:00

She was all dressed up with nowhere to go. So you know I had to bust out the camera.

The drool is artistic, no?

So serious.

Warming up to the camera.

Gotta love ‘er.

Stationery card

2011-12-08T10:47:00.001-05:00

Wishing You Merry Christmas Card

Turn your favorite pictures into personalized Christmas cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Gobble Gobble

2011-11-24T08:54:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. We will be spending our day here with family eating turkey, stuffing, green beans, mashed potatoes, and way, way too much pie. Bring it on. I’m ready.

Baby Blues

2011-11-21T16:58:00.000-05:00

Look at those eyes. We’re going to have to bat the boys away with sticks.

<3 them.

Friends, Friends

2011-11-13T18:00:00.001-05:00

Isabelle busted this song out in the middle of dinner time. It’s what they sing in preschool, and the first song she’s successfully taught to us.

Friends, Friends, 1, 2, 3

By the way, it is awesome that she will let me video her now. Much easier than sneaking up on her.

Blessed

2011-11-06T18:37:00.000-05:00

Our sweet Ashlynn girl was blessed today. It was a special blessing, and said that she would be married in the temple, that she would attract people with her personality, that she would attend seminary, and many other w0nderful things that I am thrilled about.

Ashlynn behaved very well during the blessing and her little outfit was so precious and yummy.

I made that hairbow up there. The dress she’s wearing was mine, and Isabelle wore it, too. I wanted to do something special just for Ashlynn, though, so I made her that hairbow out of silk dupioni. It was super simple. Oh yeah, and I made her a slip. That’s hardly worth mentioning, apart from the fact that it drove me crazy, and I now hate Kohl’s. More than I did before. But let’s not ruin the spirit of the post.

My mom and dad, Jay’s mom and dad, Brett and Jennifer and Raelyn and Adam came up for the afternoon. Pop Pop, Daddy-O, Brett, Adam, Jay and our friend Paul were in the circle. Afterwards, everyone came to our house for a potluck dinner.

So now she’s blessed. And we’re blessed. I’m very grateful to have a worthy priesthood holder in my home who has been able to bless the lives of my two sweet baby girls in this way, and in so many others.

Happy blessing day sweet baby girl!

Happy Hallows E’en to You

2011-11-04T17:04:00.001-04:00

Did you know the day after Halloween is All Saints Day? Well, it is. Apparently, and here comes my expansive encyclopedic knowledge of the topic, souls that died would wander the earth until All Saints Day and All Souls Day (the day after). That means the night preceding these important days of rest, or All Hallows E’en, the wandering souls had to finish up their earthly business. Tie up loose ends, or people, if you will. Naturally, if you made a good target for some vengeful soul, you probably wanted to stay out of his way. And what better way to do that than to wear a disguise.

Then that silly soul would never find you. Problem solved.

Trick or treating, on the other hand, seems to be based off of the medieval practice of souling, where beggars and other penniless people went door-to-door and perhaps said something like, “a penny for a prayer?” In other words: you give me a penny, I say a prayer for your dead mother/father/sister/brother, etc. Guilt squelched.

Well this year, we did some excellent hiding from vengeful souls. Jay was Captain Moroni (Want to know who that is? Check here.), I was a fairy with a little fairy-in-training, and this little miss was a pink lollipop fairy. Yes, I made her outfit, and yes, I love it, thankyouverymuch :)

And it’s a good thing we don’t practice medieval souling anymore, because this little sister would have lots of prayers to say.

Look at all that loot. There’s something about a precious little fairy that makes people want to shovel her the candy by the handful. Thank you, kind sirs, your extra candy bars are going to a good cause. Me.

This little pint missed All Hallows E’en altogether, most likely because we layered her in arctic-level gear and then stuck her in this comfy, wooly cocoon. Goodnight. Appropriately, that hat on her head has been dubbed her “Pope hat” because it’s too big and makes her look like she’s wearing a mitre. How’s that for a technical term? Learning all kinds of new things today.

So for our very first trick-or-treating experience (which, despite the way I’ve colored it, had in reality nothing to do with Roman Catholicism, souls, or praying, despite one particularly scary house that harbored a penniless-looking, dead-feeling man that gave Isabelle a large candy bar) we sucked in the glee and heart-racing adrenaline that surrounds going up to some stranger’s house and having candy piled in your bucket. Really, is there anything better for a little kid? Maybe only a jolly, fat man coming to your house with all of your heart’s desires.

His turn is later.

For now, Isabelle is happily running her little childhood-glee-o-meter off of the bucketloads of sugar she’s collected. She loved her costume, which makes the seamstress happy, and with only one up-in-the-middle-of-the-night tummy ache (which, I suppose, is requisite?), we’re all healthy and doing fine. No vengeful souls, here.

We musta fooled ‘em. :)

Happy Halloween!

Knock, Knock, It’s the Holidays

2011-11-03T21:15:00.000-04:00

Most years, the Christmas season simply knocks me over the head—a store display that has all of a sudden moved from the store’s nether regions to the very front, a song on the regular radio station (not the Christmas one), a neighbor’s wreath put out before mine, an unexpected Christmas party invitation. This year, it was a catalog. I got the mail yesterday, and the Toys R Us “Great Big Book” fell out on the floor. I stared at it, surveyed the Christmas cheer glistering on the front, and had flashbacks to myself as a kid. For me, it was the JC Penny’s catalog. That baby was like 6-inches thick. I’d take a marker, rush to a comfy corner of the house, and go to work circling in big humungous, unmistakable circles each little toy that I wanted. Some years the same things came up over and over again (like Barbies and baby doll cribs), and some years it was the newest shiny fad toy. But it always kicked off Christmas.

And then I was presented with one of those little uncanny moments where I’m staring at my life through the other side of the glass. I’m the mom now, and she’s the little girl, and it’s my job to introduce her to the wonder that is the Christmas catalog.

So I did.

And boy did her eyes open wide.

I gave her a pen and said “Isabelle, sit down right here and circle all of the toys in this catalog that you would like to get for Christmas.” I thought she’d scribble, or circle everything, or drop the pen after a few and move on to reading books.

Oh, no. This was serious business. Just check out how carefully she drew her little circles.

For her birthday, she asked for a train, which she didn’t get, and so I thought it was adorable, and also a little guilt-inducing to see that the first three toys she circled were all trains. Heh. Whoops.

Some of the toys were givens. Like Cookie Monster and Elmo. Of course.

Some were a little strange. Xylophone and play table? Maybe two years ago.

Ok, a lot strange.

And some were purely adorable. See it? She wants this nice green drum. Not the giraffe. The drum.

And the fact that she circled the drum on the next page, too, seals the deal. Anyone know where to find a white and green cartoon drum?

Another humungous doll house...

And the last item: a Home Depot tool bench! Right on, sister girl! My little DIYer in the making. The boy section doesn’t scare her! :)

All in all, I have come to two conclusions after this essential Christmas exercise: One, marking Christmas toys in a catalog is very, very serious business. Even for three year olds. Two, I need to find different catalogs to put in front of my daughter. Is there a Melissa and Doug catalog? A catalog that contains less electronic toys and more educational or timeless ones? It seems like this would be a good idea, considering her whole little toy world is contained within these pages. There’s so much more out there. Maybe I’ll make my own. There’s a good business idea: a make-your-own Christmas catalog service (think Amazon Wish-Lists or MyRegistry!). Ok, so Jay would throw that in the “Kimberly’s Fun But Bankrupt Business Ventures” bin. I digress.

Any way you do it, though, my friends, Christmastime is full steam ahead. Whether you are counting down days and pulling Santa’s reindeer by the horns, or ignoring that there even is such a holiday in attempts to enjoy Thanksgiving, Christmas catalogs are out, carols are rolling on the radio, and the Halloween candy provides just the right amount of “I’m-so-sick-of-this-cheap-nothing-but-manufactured-sugar-candy” to kick start holiday baking. Christmas cookies, anyone?

I now know one of my first holiday to-dos: find toy catalogs. Lots of them. Maybe then she’ll actually circle the things I’m planning on giving her anyway.

Shhhhhhhhh… :)

Feliz Navidad!

A Gray, Chilly Thursday Morning

2011-11-03T10:21:00.000-04:00

Fancy Nancy + Isabelle =

Best friends. It must be by her side. Always. Even while watching TV.

And Ashlynn? She’s here, just chillin.

Today is dance. Until then, we shall simply rest. Big things on the horizon: Ashlynn’s blessing, a huge project I’m stewing over, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. But gray, chilly days call for cuddles, candles, and blankets. House rules.

;)

Happy morning!

Two Months Too Fast

2011-10-31T09:40:00.000-04:00

The blog has featured Isabelle quite a bit lately, and lest we forget that there is another little bitty around the house (how could we forget?), this post is all about our little Ashlynn girl.

Her 2 month celebration came and went rather quickly, I’m afraid, in the wake of Halloween prep, Isabelle’s birthday party planning, and Jay’s mini-deep dive competition for business school. But she is two months nonetheless! She is such a joy to have around the house. She’s very content to lay on her little pillow, or in her swing until I’m done with a chore or while I’m helping Isabelle. When she wants to be picked up, though, she has no problem letting us know. Sometimes after I’ve held her for a while, she cries until I put her down on her pillow, and then she blossoms a huge smile and just stares at me and follows me around the room with her eyes. She just likes a little alone time, that one.

Some things about Ashlynn this month:

-We’ve taken to calling her Ashlynn girl, nummies, and boogs (ok, the last two are just me, haha). She’s just yummy and has to have all kinds of silly cute baby names.

-She weighs 10 pounds! Aaah!

-If I feed her when I go to bed at about 10 or 11, she’ll sleep until about 4 or 5 in the morning. This is awesome.

-She hasn’t laughed yet, but she loves to smile. She studies our faces, sometimes even scowls, and then out of nowhere, a smile literally blossoms all over her little face. I swear there is nothing sweeter in this world than a baby’s innocent smile (everyone together now: “especially MY babies”…ha!) The best smiles are the ones where her mouth is wide open, her eyes are all squinty, and she compulsively tilts her head a little to the side á la “aww, shucks.” Kind of like this smile, but this one’s not nearly squinty or wide enough:

-She poops only once a week. This is sometimes a little nerve-wrecking, but mostly great. Since we’ve changed to cloth diapers for her, I’m actually really loving it. Ha.

-She never spits up. Ever. What’s with this child? I LOVE it!!

-She loves the song “You Are My Sunshine” and smiles every time I get to “you’ll never know dear how much I love you.” It’s adorable. I sing it a lot.

-She loves the side-to-side swinging of her big swing, and falls asleep compulsively, sometimes against her will :)

-She’s starting to see farther, and can spot me walking by while laying on her little pillow. This also allows her to see her little carseat bug (who sadly has no name yet), and the little birds on her swing, which she loves.

-She coos with the best of them. I swear she’s trying to talk. Every time I ask her a question, or get close to her face, she’ll gurgle and coo really soft and match the intonation of my voice. I wonder what she’d say if she could :)

-I love her. I want to squeeze her. I could almost eat her up. Ha. She’s my sweet little bitty girl.

3 Years Old

2011-10-29T18:29:00.000-04:00

Today marks the third anniversary of the arrival of the most sweet little girl.

Three years ago, she was a little tiny sweet thing. She was born just when the weather started to get cold, while I was in the middle of graduate school, and we were so excited. She was exactly 7 pounds, and I was surprised how fast and how much I could love a tiny little person.

She grew fast. This surprised me.

On her first birthday, she learned to walk, and she was so dainty digging her fork into her birthday cake. No messy face for her. She was ready for nursery months before they let her in, and she was elated once it was finally her time to go.

Sometime in there, she learned how to talk, and boy, that has been a much-used skill.

By her second birthday, she was my little friend, walking and talking and carrying on wherever we went. Sometimes I forget what it was like to be by myself, and always when I looked back at an empty carseat in the car, I missed her. I still do.

And now she is three, and she dances, and sings in sacrament meeting, and tells funny jokes, and gets dressed by herself, and goes potty on her own, and has opinions about her hairstyles, and likes fairies and pink and princesses and babies. When I look at her, I think she is huge. But I know that next year, I will look back at that picture up there and marvel at how little she is. These days, car rides are never quiet, the house is always strewn with various contraptions and dress-up clothes and play food, and every morning is spent driving to preschool, or dance, or play dates. But she is darling. She says her prayers, has a testimony, knows who the prophet is, who Jesus is. She has a surprising repertoire of Primary songs under her little belt, wiggles to the beat whenever music comes on, says sorry, plays nicely, shares (most of the time), and has the brightest smile.

I just love her.

Happy birthday to the sweetest little three-year-old girl.

Blog Troubles

2011-10-20T10:47:00.001-04:00

I can’t publish anymore pictures on my blog as of this morning. I am getting a 403 (forbidden) error. So this post is to test whether or not I can post at all from Windows Live Writer. Otherwise it’s back to manipulating html code. Which I love.

Not.

Twinkle Toes

2011-10-19T16:57:00.001-04:00

My Isabelle is in two dance classes at the moment: creative movement through the city, and a ballet/tap combo class with a lady in our ward. To put it simply, she’s in love. With the dance steps, with the teachers, with the outfits, with the music. Everything. We usually get her to perform for us at home by pretending that she’s the dance teacher. She “teaches” us the steps. Girlfriend’s got moves.

This week was watch week for parents in her creative movement’s class. The last 10 minutes of class, Miss Jen called the parents in to watch. Isabelle was psyched, and we talked about how she was going to do the “moves” for all of the parents, etc., etc. Well, she didn’t. Not one step. Ok, maybe one step. I think I saw a plie (read: plee-yay…cannot figure out how to insert accented e…).

She just stood there and twisted her skirt, and smiled at me, and looked in the mirror, and wiggled around, and looked at me some more. And I videoed it. The whole dang thing. And snapped pictures. And I was so proud, even though my little girl was doing absolutely nothing to the hyper-happy, booming music. Because, you see, she’s my little girl, and she could just stand there every day of her life, and I’d still be proud.

What do think little miss did when we got home and I showed her the video of her performance? Every. Single. Step. Perfectly.

She’s a sphinx, that one. Watches every move and registers it, and only busts a move when she’s good and ready.

And that’s perfectly fine with me.

Genealogy, I Am Doing It

2011-10-19T16:35:00.000-04:00

I’ve been feeling the pull of genealogy lately. Have you ever felt that way? Like there are so many stories from years gone by that need to be told, so many ancestors that might have contributed to the way you smile, or to the funny way you like to eat your waffles, who are just waiting for you to remember them? I have. Lost of times. That familiar desire to discover myself. Or, to discover myself through remembering them, and vice versa.

Malachi 4:6 states that in the last days, the “heart of the fathers [shall be turned] to the children, and the heart of the children [shall be turned] to their fathers.” This verse has rightly been applied to genealogy in terms of gathering names to take to the temple. This is certainly vital to the Lord’s work. However, I think there is something to the way it is phrased—the heart of the father turned to the children. This turning, I feel, refers to love. We are to turn our hearts to our ancestors—or come to love them—as well as bind ourselves to them through temple work. It seems that in addition to the monumental service of discovering names and taking them to the temple, a way to more greatly come to love our ancestors is to learn about them—find out who they were, how they thought, what was important to them—and truly turn our hearts and attention to them.

My mother-in-law, who is a genealogy buff, affirmed something along these lines that I appreciated: I am already doing my genealogy. In blogging my family’s stories, I am preserving them for posterity (hence the catchy little subtitle up there on the header). I always knew that, but it helps to be reminded.

So, I may not be combing graveyards or making long trips to England to shuffle through antique birth records (to come, to come), but I am at least contributing to the heart-turning. I am making it possible for someone, someday, just like me, who feels that pull of genealogy to turn their hearts to this person

and this person

and probably a few other little people still to come.

And that is pretty great.

So if you’ll excuse me, I have more genealogy to attend to.

Till next time.

Preschool

2011-10-18T17:17:00.000-04:00

This week, we are learning the letter D. I asked Isabelle what she wanted me to tell you all about her latest preschool activities. She says she wants me to tell you that she loves them. “Berry much.”

Lucas the Baby Elephant

2011-10-08T22:39:00.000-04:00

So, if you remember this post, you’ll remember that our zoo sadly has no elephants. They are Isabelle’s favorite, though, and so we had to go find them somewhere, especially since I’m pretty sure that last visit involved some of that dangerous, quick-promising to the effect of “I’m-so-sorry-sweetie-we’ll-see-elephants-another-time” in order to salvage a tragically melting smile.

Another time. Eventually there is always a great day of reconciliation for all of my “another times,” when Isabelle’s face lights up and says, “We have to go fillintheblank! ‘Member?! You said!” Got me. I said. Usually this happens when we are unnegotiably busy—like during bath time, or bed time, or during church. This day of remembrance obviously came, where she turned to me, hands out matter-of-factly, eyes big and serious, and said, “Mommy! We need to go see the ELAPHINTS!” You said. So, I promised to take her to “Grandma’s Zoo”, because “Grandma’s Zoo” has elephants, but then came the pregnancy exhaustion, and the summer heat, and then the new baby, and, and, and. Finally, though, when the weather got cooler, I made good on my promise.

And there were elephants. A baby elephant, named Lucas.

We even called the “lady” at the zoo to make sure the elephants would be out on exhibit and weren’t sick or somewhere else (wherever else elephants go when they’re not on exhibit), because imagine getting all the way there and not seeing the elephants. Now Isabelle thinks we need to call “the lady” every time we go to the zoo. Just to make sure the animals are not sick.

She got to do lots of things she doesn’t normally get to do at the zoo, like ride the train.

And the carousel. That was a big deal. She was terrified of the carousel just a few days before, but somehow Grandma got her to go, and she loved it. (And look, another elephant. Those things are everywhere.)

The Toledo Zoo is full of fun little things that our zoo doesn’t have. Like these little hanging animal masks. And a little petting zoo funded by Fischer Price Little People complete with a fun tree-house playground. If it weren’t an hour away, I would buy a membership here instead. It’s really nice.

We did the requisite statue-sitting and posing. Not sure why this is so irresistible. Probably because if you can’t sit on a real gorilla, you might as well sit on a metal one?

And the coolest exhibit (besides, of course, the elephants), was this tiger. It was walking around its cage, which was positioned about four feet away from where we were standing. I could almost reach out and touch this dude.

This was especially awesome when he growled and made scary faces like the one below. This “roar” is only seconded in scariness in Isabelle’s mind by the time that the rooster “cock-a-doodle-dooed” at the farm right next to her. Those babies are loud, and so was this tiger.

So we did the zoo, and now Isabelle has seen elephants. And it wasn’t just any elephant. It was Lucas.

Mommy delivers.

On Dancer, On Prancer

2011-09-26T20:50:00.000-04:00

Isabelle has just embarked upon a little girl rite-of-passage: dance class, complete with tutu, ballet shoes, tap shoes, and tights. She absolutely loves it. And I love dressing her up.

Let the dancing and prancing begin!

Five Weeks

2011-09-25T18:09:00.000-04:00

Since we’ve officially passed Ashlynn’s one month mark by one week, I figure there’s no harm in a five-week post instead. The above photo very well illustrates Ashlynn’s little life so far. She loves to sleep, and she loves to sleep on her tummy.

A few things we’ve learned about our little darling:

-She loves her Daddy. So much so that she wakes up every morning precisely at 5am just to spend a couple of hours with him.

-She loves dancing and music just like Isabelle did and enjoys both (as long as she is comfortably swaying in a pair of arms) wide-eyed and almost smiling.

-She is a tough cookie. She’s had a rough babyhood, battling jaundice and thrush, but she’s not fazed.

-She doesn’t like to wake up. This has earned her the nickname “dragon.”

-She and her paci have an on-again-off-again relationship. She only needs him when she’s got no one else.

-She’s a linguist. “Waahhh” must be pronounced with all of its consonants and vowels, and hiccups may only be done by literally saying “hiccup.”

-Cereal bags and silverware drawers make scary noises, but the ceiling fan is magic.

-She is a tiny little sweetheart and has the most adorable smiles.

Sister Love

2011-09-17T17:40:00.000-04:00

L & D, Part II

2011-09-01T21:56:00.000-04:00

Since the last time I wrote, my husband has stayed home a whole week, my mother has come and gone, and I am now sitting by myself, during naptime (insert angelic singing), next to a whole batch of chocolate chip cookies that, dang it, are dwindling before my eyes. Let’s just ignore that part.

Back to my story.

After a long time of sitting around in the delivery room, periodically dropping conversations like a bad cell phone in order to fasten my robot-like meditative gaze on some invisible point, raise the little green ball to my forehead, squeeze and breathe, the nurse finally came in around 3:30 to ask, once more, if I wanted an epidural. Apparently my previous, hesitant “I think so” answers hadn’t convinced her.

Still, I hesitated, and finally, Jay said matter-of-factly, “Yes, she does.” Because the contractions were starting to really hurt, because my doctor had previously said he “definitely” wanted me to get an epidural, and because I thought my husband to be more clear-thinking than I at that moment, I silenced my inner grit-your-teeth-and-bear-it natural-birth advocate that had already decided to forgo an epidural, and said, “Yeah, sure.” The nurse thought I was crazy not to be screaming epidural.

I was a little crazy. The epidural was fabulous. But getting it was the worst experience of the whole delivery. I mean, it is just a teensy weensy (think triple bypass! brain surgery! skin grafts!) procedure that, once done, produces that warm, tingly, restful feeling that takes away the worst pain I’ve ever felt in my life. But nonetheless, the little oxygen nose tube (“Just in case…” Incase what!?), the ugly hair net, the making Jay go out of the room, and the sitting-up-in-bed looking at a strange nurse during hard contractions, is all not fun. Plus there’s the whole risk of paralysis that staunch detractors of epidurals never fail to slip in to discussion boards. Imagine being paralyzed after having a new baby! (If you ask me, the nightmarish images that this “friendly” warning of paralysis produces in an emotional pregnant woman aren’t quite relative to the actual risk involved.) So, I cried. A lot. So much that the anesthesiologist asked if he was hurting me. Ha! And the nurse finally said, “No, she’s just crying because she’s nervous about the epidural.” And at that moment, I loved the woman. Thank you, nurse, for understanding my craziness and speaking the words of my speechless mouth.

And then it was over, and there was the tingly, restful, warm feeling…and no more contractions. Ahhhhhh…

I suppose I should mention that my initial decision against an epidural was fueled by the perenial tearing that had ensued during Isabelle’s delivery. I thought that, perhaps, if I had been able to feel what was going on, I wouldn’t have pushed quite like I did, and been able to avoid a lot of the tearing. However, my doctor mentioned in his office the day before that he wanted me to get an epidural so that things could be “relaxed” and so the baby didn’t come extremely fast. So, I decided to mediate between the two thoughts and asked the anesthesiologist for a low dose of the epidural so that I could still feel what was going on. Both he and the nurse thought I was nuts, I could tell (I presume they most often get asked for higher doses?), but they still appeased me. When it was all said and done, I was extremely happy with this choice, because I could still feel the contractions happening, and at the end, during the pushing, it was relatively painful so I could tell when to push, but not so much that it made me scream or push faster. It was perfect.

But let’s not get to the pushing yet. Jay came back after the epidural, and we turned on the “Lullaby” station on Pandora. It is awesome, by the way, and highly recommended for long drives across the country when your littles are cranky, or, as in this case, in the delivery room. Really, apply to any high-stress situation. We were able to sleep for about an hour from five to six a.m.

At around 6 a.m. my OB came in to check my dilation, found that I was apparently “ready to go,” and broke my water. He made some joke about my lullaby music, but both he and the nurse obviously enjoyed the tranquility that it and the low lights produced. He must not have been very rushed, because he looked at Jay and said, “You wanna deliver the baby?” Jay wasn’t sure what to say, and I wanted to look at him and be like, “You know he’s not a med student, or a resident, right?? He’s just a banker!!” Ha. But I think he knew that. Jay said he was down with it, so the nurses brought him some scrubs, and a very official looking delivery doctor smock, and they posed for a photo op. That picture, sorry to say, will not be posted. It is entirely modest, but still a little weird. Sorry. :)

Eventually, Dr. L let me push. I was a little surprised at how much slower this delivery was going than I expected. It was, all in all, faster still than Isabelle’s, but I guess given the speed and ferocity of hers, I expected this one to be like 30 minutes total. But I spent about 30-45 minutes just pushing. We turned off the lullabies half-way through. Dr. L kept saying, “Come on, get mad!" when I would push, and nobody could really get mad with “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” sliding across the air in the background. Ha.

the sun rose as I was laboring

Little Ashlynn was finally born at 7:16 in the morning, and was delivered by her Daddy. The delivery was extremely tranquil and relaxed, with dimmed lights and only Jay, Dr. L and the nurse in the room. They didn’t even have a “catcher” until one ran in out of breath after the baby was born. A few minutes later, Ashlynn was put on my chest, still covered with white, sticky stuff since she was a couple of weeks early. Then they took her, bathed her, weighed her, and wrapped her up in a blanket.

She weighed a slender 6 pounds 2 ounces. Dr. L was triumphant when he found this out. Because he was so worried about me tearing again, he had said at my last appointment that it would be nice if she’d come out about 6 pounds (Isabelle was 7 exactly). So apparently, I do that size baby pretty well.

They finally handed her back to me all cleaned off and I got to just look at her sweet face. So different than Isabelle’s, but still precious and perfect with a little gaze that says, “love me.”

We spent the rest of the morning taking her in, enjoying her littleness, and trying to get a bit of sleep. After the delivery, I was famished and would have eaten just about anything, so I quickly ordered French toast and it slowly arrived. Other than a slightly stale, cardboardy taste, it was satisfying. And, aside from the super-itchy epidural side effect, I felt great. (The doctor asked me if I wanted Benadryl for the itch. Added drowsiness? I don’t think so.) Great enough, in fact, to walk around periodically throughout the morning and pick up my baby, which, with Isabelle’s delivery, didn’t happen for at least a few days.

It was wonderful to finally meet our little sweetheart, and I just love to study her face to wonder who she is, who she will be, what her voice will sound like, her smile will look like. With Isabelle, I couldn’t take my eyes off her little nose—it was so adorable and petite and perfect—still is. With Ashlynn, it’s her smiles. She’s got so many variations already, and they sneak up on you. One minute she’ll be scowling (another Ashlynn commonplace—I think it makes her look wise), and the next, I’ll look back and a carefully selected smile blossoms on her face. It’s really very endearing. Especially when she’s dreaming.

What can I say? I love the little peanut. The last two weeks have been full of sweet little life-changing moments as our family shifts from three to four.

And, speaking of, we must not forget the beautiful moment when my sweet little girls met each other. But that will have to come later. Now, it’s hurry-get-to-bed-before-she-wakes-up time. :)

Welcome to the world my sweet little Ashlynn.

L & D

2011-08-21T13:30:00.000-04:00

Surprise! Our little Ashlynn came early! She was born on August 17th (Wednesday) at 7:16 a.m., weighed 6 pounds 2 ounces, and measured 20 inches long.

I had been having signs of labor for about a week, but I was still a long way from my due date. On Tuesday morning, I had an appointment with my OB, and he said that I was 4 cm dilated already. Since I was 3 cm with Isabelle for a month, I thought this really meant nothing and was sure that I would go right up to my due date.

Tuesday evening, Jay came home and I forced all of us to go for a walk at the mall with our new stroller because I “felt like it.” I probably even demanded it with my whiny, cranky, pregnancy hormone face. On the way home from the mall, some relatively painful contractions started about 18 minutes apart. 18 minutes is pretty far apart, and they weren’t really regular, so I felt ridiculous logging them in to my little “contraction calculator” (which is, to be honest, quite an obsessive app in and of itself). We came home, did bedtime routine, plopped on the couch (the only activity I had been able to muster for a few days), and then decided to go to bed.

At 11pm, as I kept rolling over to log my contractions in bed, I realized that they were about 8 minutes apart, and seemed to fit the “starts in the back” description of true labor. I got up, walked around, and was determined to make them go away, because, HELLO, I wasn’t going into labor until 40 weeks. I am not one of those lucky ones. Walking around didn’t help, though, and actually pushed them closer together. Eventually they went to about 5 minutes apart, and between 12 and 1 am, they moved between 4 (sometimes even 3) and 5 minutes apart. And they hurt.

So there I was, sitting on my couch downstairs, thinking, “Great. What am I going to do now? Wake up the whole house, take Isabelle to her friend’s house, get to the hospital, and realize that this is all fake?” And to make it worse, I began obsessively searching the internet for things like “4cm dilated, contractions 4 minutes apart.” People’s posts on various ultra-reputable Yahoo discussion boards ranged from “GO TO THE HOSPITAL NOOOOWWWWW!!!” and “I was 9cm dilated and having contractions 2 minutes apart, and the doctors sent me home.” So you can imagine my dilemma, sitting there all by myself at 1am. Was I the first variety, or the second?

Eventually, I woke up Jay. Just to ask his opinion. I really wish I could remember what I said to him, because I’m sure it was hilarious, but I can’t. He got out of bed pretty quickly, though, and it was funny how fast he ran around gathering things up. I already had the carseat and the hospital bag in the car, so we just had to get Isabelle up and pack her “sleep stuff.” I was afraid that when we would wake up Isabelle, she would be totally disturbed and inconsolable. Instead, she just had this funny look on her face and didn’t make a peep. I think she thought she was dreaming.

We dropped off Isabelle at her friend’s house on our way to the hospital, and the whole way there I was like, “They’d better not send me home. They’d better not send me home.” Jay rolled his eyes every time. By the time we got to the hospital, though, I was pretty certain they couldn’t send me home. I couldn’t really walk, or talk, or breathe during a contraction, and really, how much farther is there to go once you’re already 4cm??

We got to the hospital at 2 a.m., they wheelchaired me up to labor and delivery, checked me in (very slowly), and then the nurse showed me back to a room very much like the one that I had for Isabelle’s delivery. The residents and medical students came in first, with slightly hesitant looks on their faces, which I couldn’t translate. Were they thinking “What is this lady doing here?” or “Is this lady going to bite me?” or “She isn’t screaming, is she really in labor?” or, the one I feared the worst, “I am about to tell her she has to go home, and I hope she doesn’t kill me.” Probably they were just nervous residents talking to a crazy pregnant lady who hadn’t slept all night. I guess I’d be hesitant, too.

Finally, someone came to check me, and they decided I was 5cm dilated and having regular contractions. So the nurse announced, “Alright, looks like you’re going to have a baby tonight!” I was very happy and relived. And Jay just laughed because, apparently, there was no way they were going to send me away.

By this point, my contractions were pretty painful, and very regular, and the only way I could get through them was by squeezing that little green ball with both hands in front of my forehead. Yelling and screaming just takes more energy, so I don’t yell :) The ball was Jay’s idea from last time, when I almost squeezed the blood out of his right hand.

And, because I only have so much time to blog these days, we shall leave me there, on the bed, squeezing my little stress ball, until I have more time to post the rest of the story.

To be continued… :)

Happy Summer!

2011-07-22T09:20:00.001-04:00

I am testing out publishing to our blog with my smart phone. Let's see how it goes.

This summer has been an eventful one. We're currently in the middle of vacations and getting ready for baby. I can't really believe I only have 5 more weeks of pregnancy! It's gone by so fast. But I am definitely ready to get this baby out :) She's running out of room.

I posted a picture of Isabelle at the park this summer. She wanted me to sit down on the ground and have a "picnic" with "lemonade" and "peanut butter jelly." It's been so hot out lately, we haven't been to many parks. Of course that could have something to do with being eight months pregnant. :)

Happy summer, everyone!

Tea Party With Grandma and Pop Pop

2011-07-03T21:31:00.000-04:00

A Little Off the Top

2011-06-22T21:57:00.000-04:00

Isabelle went to Mommy’s salon (or, in her words, my “salam”) the other day to get a little trim. She got to watch Bob the Builder while I laboriously cut what seemed like one hair at a time, trying to get it all straight. Eventually, we got it right, and she looks smashing.

She was being a little ham.

And now she looks beautiful. Salam!

StrawBerry Picking

2011-06-22T21:48:00.000-04:00

Little Spa Weekend

2011-05-14T22:20:00.000-04:00

We spent this weekend with Amber and Gelisse at a hotel, playing in the pool, doing our hair, and going to a salon. It was Isabelle’s first time curling her hair and doing nails. I totally would have paid for a manicure for her, because I think it’s adorable, but she wasn’t too excited about it. She just wanted to watch me. But this hair curling at the hotel? She was all about that. Especially when it involved fruit snacks, pizza and TV.

23 Weeks

2011-05-04T22:10:00.000-04:00

Here is a lovely picture of my growing self at about 23 weeks. Why do nice even numbers like 20 weeks or 5 months when you can do cool numbers like 23 weeks and 3 days? I mean, really.

Vitamin Z

2011-03-17T21:14:00.000-04:00

Today was one of those days. One of those days that both tests and reinforces the absolute power of being a mother. One of those days that flies in with the wind, whips through your hair, and informs you (if you pay attention) that this day requires your full attention. Drop everything; clear your schedule, it says. You won’t want to miss this.

For the most part, I glory in schedules—wake up time, breakfast time, cleaning time, shopping time, lunch time, nap time, wait-for-Daddy-to-come-home time, dinner time, bed time, etc. There is also, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, school time. Today was Thursday, so the plan, of course, was already decided.

Though I’m on spring break this week, I particularly didn’t want Isabelle to miss this school day, because this school day was her St. Patrick’s day party. Just the word party makes her squeal. So, I thought, I will drop her off, go down to campus, get some work done (ughhhhh…spring break….don’t…want…to…), and pick her up in the afternoon. Early, of course.

And then I checked the weather. 68 and sunny.

Come again?

68 and sunny?

Rewind back a few weeks to a conversation that Isabelle and I had around the breakfast table. Me: (Looking longingly at the calendar and counting the number of days still left in March) Soon it will be springtime! Isabelle: Springtime? Me: (Trying to infect her with my enthusiasm for non-winter) It will be warm outside during springtime! We can even go to the zoo! Isabelle: (Eyes get big) The zoo? Monkeys? Elephants? (Proceeds to do the sound of every animal she can think of). Me: Do you want to go to the zoo in the springtime? (Did I really have to ask?)

Fast forward. Imagine me, after this conversation, today. This 68 degree, sunny day in MARCH in MICHIGAN. It is springtime. It is warm. It is spring break. It is St. Patrick’s day. And let us not forget the past three frigid, don’t-want-to-move-I’m-so-cold, dark months of winter spent huddled in the house. The adventurous, spontaneous, free-spirited part of my brain (that Jay sometimes swears has the illusiveness of the Loch Ness monster, or Big Foot) almost leapt out the window and ran to the dang zoo.

But there was the school party. And the schedule. And what a good mother would do. And Isabelle’s naptime is 1:00, but the zoo closes at 4, which meant we’d either need to go in the morning (and miss the party), or go in the afternoon and miss the nap. And even if we went in the afternoon, that would mean I’d have to pick her up at 12pm from daycare—a whopping 4 1/2 hours early, and only 2 1/2 hours after I dropped her off. Was I even allowed to do that?

And then the wind whipped, and I smelled the fresh smell of springtime, and gazed at the marble blue sky, and I realized: I am the mom. A good mom. And today, we are going to the zoo.

So we went. You should have seen her face when I picked her up early from school, and said “Guess where we’re going?” Her response (with signature excited face): “Wherrrreeeee? The mallllllllll?” Ha. I may or may not have been brainwashing her to love shopping. Harmless, really. “Not the mall,” I replied, “the ZOO!” Next followed the squeal, then the “Wooowwwiiieeee!” and then an exclamation: “The ZOO!” And then came the elephant noise. She loves elephants.

We got there about 1pm—right about the time we’d be reading books and getting drowsy for naptime at home. But let’s be honest, the fact that we were breaking the holy rules of naptime a little made being at the zoo feel even more special and exciting. Isabelle’s favorite exhibits were the butterflies, the penguins, the monkeys, the polar bear, and the hippo, in that order. After a while, I took off my coat and just wore a long sleeve t-shirt, and was perfectly warm. There was quite the variety of outerwear walking around the zoo today—some optimistic parents had their kids in short sleeves and baseball caps; others, cautiously, bundled their kids in puffy winter coats and hats, as if Jack Frost were about to jump out from behind a tree. It is March in Michigan, after all. I opted for a light spring coat for Isabelle, and none for myself.

We were exhausted by the time we got back to the front gate. We left on a high note: penguins. She kept yelling “Penguins! Waddle, waddle,” as if “waddle” was what a penguin said instead of what it did. Then we hit the gift shop, and I let her pick a souvenir. I put a cork in my little voice that said, muffled, “But gift shops! They’re so expensive! And unnecessary!” Put a sock in it, dude. This is spring break. She picked a little purple camera that shows pictures of animals every time you click the button. Giraffes. Gorillas. Bears. Elephants.

Ironically, those are the only elephants she saw all day. The Detroit Zoo, for some reason, doesn’t have them. We discovered this as soon as we walked in the gate, while Isabelle yelled “elephants!” enthusiastically and I frantically looked for them on the map. She handled the disappointment like a trooper, though, and soon found many other animals to be excited about.

So now as I sit here on the couch, pregnant body aching, about to fall asleep as I type from sheer exhaustion, feet realizing that they haven’t walked that far in a long time, what I am thinking is not how much I missed naptime today. Or how much I wish I had kept Isabelle in daycare today. Nor do I worry that breaking our otherwise reverenced schedule has guiltily revealed some immature spontaneity or maternal irresponsibility.

On the contrary. Today was special because I am responsible, and we do have a reliable schedule. Isabelle knows what to expect day to day, and knows that joy and security comes from the predictable, small things in life.

But sometimes, when the wind blows just right, and the sun shines just enough, and it’s been just so cold outside, being a good mother involves reveling in the vibrancy of life. Taking it in. Putting off everything else just to drink in the blue sky, sunshine, and Vitamin Z (which, by the way, is a positively brilliant way to characterize the absolutely essential childhood memories provided by a zoo trip), and not asking, “Am I allowed to do this?”

Because of course I am. I am the mom.

And the life lesson taught?

Carpe diem, baby. Nice weather, like childhood, doesn’t last forever.

A Belated Announcement

2011-02-28T15:08:00.000-05:00

I am procrastinating. Royally. (Which we all know was the only way this post was ever going to get written. Right?)

I have this paper due that’s not really a full paper, but simply a sub-section of a much longer ordeal, and that’s due by a self-inflicted deadline of today at midnight. I hate self-imposed deadlines. They are so not real.

Thus, I am attempting what has worked for me in the past: blog motivation. Theoretically, I will write this post, and then I will be so high on writing, that I will just dig right in to my actual work.

That’s the idea, and it WILL work!

So, after the Christmas (and anniversary) festivities were over in December, we discovered we are expecting another baby! To be honest, I thought in November that we were expecting another baby, so I really thought my body had just gone into pregnancy-placebo, or something. Turns out, end of the semester paper-writing and paper-grading churns out emotions a lot like pregnancy hormones.

But, we finally got a positive test just before the real symptoms set in. Thank goodness. Can you imagine constant nausea and a feeling I have no term for other than utter death without knowing that you’re pregnant? Uh, no. It started pretty much from week six, and continued full-swing until week eight. By week eight, I was still nauseous all the time, but the burning in my esophagus (i.e. utter death) had stopped, and so I could control the nausea pretty well by eating. Every hour. (And by the way, ever tried eating when you’re nauseous? It sucks. I wanted to throw every cream cheese bagel out the window because I hated it. And then I ate it, and I loved it. I think that partially contributes to the pregnancy bipolar tendencies.)

The next problem, of course, was the fatigue. We’re not just talking “oh, I’m so tired” fatigue. We’re talking, “Am I alive? Did my face just move when I spoke? Peel me off this couch please…” fatigue. In bed by 6:00 p.m. fatigue. That lasted, with the nausea, until about 12 weeks. I think the two-year-old may have had something to do with it. She’s a little engine, that one.

And now, at 14 weeks, I’m starting to feel like a human again.

I had my first doctor appointment in January at about seven weeks. They did an ultrasound, weighed me, asked a whole bunch of questions, etc., and everything looked fine. I went back Feb. 9 at 11 weeks, and it was the shortest appointment of my life. The doctor just checked out my stomach, listened for the heartbeat (which he found! yay!) and sent me on my way. I went back for a surprise 13 week visit because of minor complications, and had another ultrasound. Everything’s great, though! So as of tomorrow, we are home free in the second trimester, where I am very hopeful to regain my energy and stop eating like a vacuum.

Isabelle is handling all of this quite well, though she sometimes wonders why Mommy is falling asleep on the couch at 6:30p.m. We’ve started to introduce her to the idea of having another baby in the house, and she’s absolutely psyched. She goes around calling her baby dolls “Baby Sister,” and one of her favorite activities is shopping for a double stroller with the baby carrier beside her. Of course, she is a little confused on the gender thing, because if asked, she wants a “boy” baby, but it is definitely a “baby sister.” Fortunately, we have 26 more weeks to iron that out.

And Jay, of course, is a superstar; though, I think the severe nausea and fatigue caught him off guard. I really did nothing from week 6 to 10 (nothing), which basically meant that if the house was clean, he’d cleaned it; if the laundry was done, he’d done it. Poor guy. He started to love Wednesdays, because I have a piano student who comes on Wednesdays, and that would always be the one day that the house was clean when he came home.

But all is well, because the second trimester is here, and SPRING IS COMING! Have I mentioned I hate winter? I somehow, every December, convince myself that I like it. No, no I don’t. I hate it. And I can’t wait for spring. Birds chirping! Warm sunshine! Screen doors! Grass! Berry picking! Sandals! No school! Tulips!

Ahhhhhh! I feel more energy already. Happy spring thoughts!

Isabelle’s First Haircut

2010-07-05T20:55:00.000-04:00

Isabelle’s hair was looking a little scruffy last week. Especially with all the summer sweat, and sand, and other miscellaneous things that somehow end up there. (Gross). So, we decided to cut it!

I talked about it with her before hand, so she knew what to expect. Even still, I thought she’d freak out, like she does when I go to the dentist. But she was the best.

The lady sat her in a booster chair, and picked out a cute little smock.

It made her look so tiny just sitting there!

I wish I had taken her paci out for the pictures, but I forgot.

She was so good for the haircut lady! She didn’t cry, didn’t wiggle—she just sat perfectly still, and gave me this sweetie pie look the whole time.

After a while, she wanted to hold my hand, so the haircut lady had to work around it.

But then she was all done, smiley, and not quite so scruffy :)

Such a big girl!

Promises, Promises

2010-06-12T15:47:00.000-04:00

Five years ago, in July, Jay and I decided we were getting married. Getting married meant moving to Utah, moving to Utah meant quitting my job, and quitting my job meant losing my salary. Losing my salary meant I could no longer afford my beautiful, lovely, sweet little grey Ford Escape that I love, love, love, loved.

But I loved Jay more.

So I sold it.

**Sigh**

And after I sold it, all on his own, without any coercing, Jay promised that he would buy me another one someday.

I always laughed and said “sure, whatever.” And I guess I never really thought it would happen—or that we would need a minivan by the time we had enough money, and skip right over the Escape entirely.

But this summer, Jay kept his promise and bought me a little black 2008 Ford Escape.

And I love it. (LOVE it.)

Shame on me for ever doubting his promises :)

He’s a good man.

I Wish We Had A Driveway

2010-06-12T15:33:00.000-04:00

Or a garage. Or a yard. Or a close park. Or anyplace to put a wagon.

Because this girl really, really, really loves them.

Daddy’s Birthday

2010-06-11T14:36:00.000-04:00

Usually I avoid referring to Jay as “Daddy” outside of the context of Isabelle, but since we don’t have a single picture of me during this blessed event, and since, let’s face it, Isabelle was the most excited of all of us, the event was just that: Daddy’s birthday.

We began by decorating the present, which Isabelle did not think really needed to stay wrapped in the first place.

When Daddy got home, Isabelle was all over it.

Daddy needed a lot of help opening his present.

And Isabelle thought it was hilarious that Daddy got her blanket for his birthday.

But wrapped inside her blanket was our laptop! Daddy was very confused.

Until he opened it up, and discovered himself a proud new owner of Adobe Photoshop CS5.

Daddy’s face is a pretty good indicator of his surprise and excitement. Major points for Mommy and stealthy Isabelle, who with her sweet, innocently excited smile never lets on that she really has no idea what Daddy is looking at on that computer screen. But it must be awesome.

Horsey

2010-06-08T14:16:00.000-04:00

Isabelle recently discovered the “horsey” at Meijer. She loves to hold the “money” (a penny) and talks loudly about it all through the checkout line. Then, when she gets there, she is too afraid to put the money in, too afraid to push the “GO” button, but as soon as it starts up, she’s all over it.

I always ask her: “Isabelle, what does a horsey say?” She gives me her standard answer: “Yee haww!”

Duh, mom.

i lost my heart in a blog post

2010-06-07T16:48:00.000-04:00

Let me tell you a story.

Not too long ago, on a pretty day not very different from this one, the birds were singing, the sun was shining, the dishes were clean, the baby was sleeping, the house was sparkling, and I wrote a blog post.

Now this post was not just any post. It was my semester’s chef-d’oeuvre—its magnum opus; it was my debrief-from-grad-school, kick-off to summer post. It was therapy. And victory.

And then it was gone.

Deleted.

Never to be seen again.

I was ~~mad~~ raging. I called my computer a slew of names reserved only for such an occasion, and then, when despite the terrifying picture of malice I must have seemed, my dear computer refused to regurgitate the precious words it gobbled, I sulked. I’ve been sulking now for at least one month.

But I’m happy to say the day has arrived that I am willing to throw off these chains of fearsome vengeance I have borne for my sweet little pile of plastic and microchips and begin anew.

So big of me, I know. An occasion such as this warrants at least six months of sulking and blog sabbatical. However, I’m willing to let bygones be bygones, and have drawn a truce with Mr. Windows Live Writer. It went something like this: “I don’t uninstall you. You don’t delete my posts.” Naturally, he agreed.

And so we are back in business, and I have nothing between me and a terrifyingly large reserve of posts I’ve been storing up in my head.

The major ones:

-the saga of my fall and winter (very interesting stuff)

-Isabelle’s little achievements (complete with pictures of her squeezy face)

-how I love teaching juniors in college (not)

-Valentine’s Day, tulip day, the beginning of summer, etc., etc.

-the A.W.E.S.O.M.E. calendar I made

-what I think of being a mom in grad school (as if it could be reduced to words)

-etc., etc., etc. (all of which is vitally important)

And I have obviously had a talk with bloggy and in a ~~non-~~threatening way, made sure he’s at the top of his game.

We shall see.

A Picnic in the Spring

2010-05-25T23:10:00.000-04:00

Now that I’m out of school, I am enjoying the privilege of doing fun things on the fly. Today we decided to do a picnic for dinner. On a Tuesday night. Out of the blue. Just because we wanted to.

It was pretty much heaven.

And this little girl agreed.

Her new and improved “cheesy” smile.

This is her shriek face. She was shrieking very, very loud while toddler-skipping along the path.

I believe that’s enough to conclude that this spontaneous picnic in the mosquito laden park gained an important little fan.

A New Milestone:

2010-05-14T23:07:00.000-04:00

Getting her own breakfast.

Now if only she could pour milk, I could sleep in.

A Brand New Baby

2010-04-29T23:02:00.000-04:00

We recently had the opportunity to babysit our friends’ boys while they were at the hospital having their third boy. It was a lot of fun to be able to see baby Sean right after he was born. I forgot how little newborns are! So did it make my heart melt? Yes. Absolutely yes. Did it make me want another one? Ehhhhh……

We’ll see :)

Total Failure

2010-04-25T22:53:00.000-04:00

I just tried to turn in my final (i.e. the sum-total assessment of all of my knowledge for the semester), and received a brand new error message.

I’ve heard of Mozilla’s “We’re embarassed” error messages, or “Internet Explorer Cannot Display Webpage,” but “total failure”? It’s hysterically dismal! As if to say “I’m not even going to try anymore, your request is so ridiculous;” or, “Failure is not enough to encapsulate how much we bombed—we’re talking utter failure.”

Here’s to hoping that this error message is not prophetic.

April in my Garden

2010-04-24T13:51:00.000-04:00

A {Tiny} Addiction

2010-04-23T22:39:00.000-04:00

Doesn’t it kind of gross you out? :)

New Clothes

2010-04-22T22:37:00.000-04:00

I was feeling tragically deprived of warm-weather clothes at the beginning of this month, so I took a little trip to Ann Taylor LOFT. Isabelle’s not so keen on these trips, but I can sometimes “stroll” through the store, grabbing everything in sight, and then bribe her with food once I get to the dressing room. She likes looking in the mirror and climbing on the chair. But after a while, she tries to climb out underneath the door. Thank goodness for LOFT and their full length doors.

Once I got home, I put on a fashion show for Jay, who decided to turn it into a photo shoot:

My “artistic pose,” haha.

After getting it all home, I kept everything but the pants. That hole in the knee was so distracting! So I took them back and bought something cleaner instead :)

Eighteen Months

2010-04-19T22:07:00.000-04:00

My little Isabelle is almost 18 months old. Her sweet face brings more joy to my heart each day:

Making a break for it.

Parlez vous…

2010-04-09T13:02:00.001-04:00

I know.

It’s been a while.

But, I am sort of appearing on this blog incognito, hoping none of you will notice that I’m here, because then I would actually have to give you an explanation of my much-too-long absence. And I’m not really planning on remedying that for at least another month. So I’m just sneaking in. Nobody look. I’m not really back yet.

I just wanted to post about Isabelle’s little developing vocabulary. Time passes so fast, and I look at her now and see a little girl instead of a baby. I’ve failed to post about a lot of her developments (i.e. crawling, walking, transitioning to one nap a day, her first words, etc.), and so I wanted to post today while I’ve got the time.

Yesterday we hit two big milestones: recognizable speaking, and her first for-real ponytail.

Yeah!

Before yesterday, when she would say words, she would say them quick and if I noticed it and said “Did you just say ‘car’? Can you say ‘car’ again?” she would look at me sheepishly and not say the word again for a while. Yesterday, though, she started copying the words I was saying, and I caught onto it. So, when she copied ‘car’ or ‘bowl’ or ‘help’ or ‘bath’ (etc, etc), I always said “Yeah, car! You’re right!” just so she knew that she had said it right. This seemed to give her a lot of confidence, and as the day progressed, she did it even more. Now just today she’s copied several words I’ve said! It’s really quite disconcerting to actually recognize the stuff coming out of her mouth! But I’m loving it.

My favorite one by far is when she says “more.” She smushes her little lips together into an “o” (kind of like she’s about to “moo” like a cow) and says “Moooooowe". She does it every time. It’s hilarious. Sometimes I don’t give her more just to hear her say it again. Mean mommy :) I’ll have to get it on video.

And then the ponytail thing was just adorable.

She’s finally graduating from the pixie-pony-on-top hairdo to the real pony with barrettes. Love it. Such a big girlie.

So anyway, there actually is life going on here. And we’re taking pictures, too. Cute ones! I’m just not blogging about it. And I’m not saying sorry (yet), because as I mentioned, I am not planning on coming back to blogging until May.

So pretend you didn’t see me.

I’ll be back in a month :)

Isabelle, the Ann Arbor Hobo

2010-03-19T13:25:00.000-04:00

I think she’d fit in quite well with the homeless folk, don’t you?

Nah.

Too cute.

My {Tiny} Valentine

2010-02-14T13:07:00.000-05:00

So get this. Isabelle wore her Christmas dress again for Valentine’s day this year.

I know! Brilliant!

Why didn’t I think of buying a red dress LAST YEAR so I could use it over again in February, too?!

We shall be doing this every year henceforth: red Christmas dresses to be reused on Valentine’s Day.

Then sending it to the never-ending plastic-bin abyss of “maybe-I’ll-have-another-baby-girl” land won’t feel quite so wasteful.

Breakfasting (c. February)

2010-02-13T12:53:00.000-05:00

Saturday morning. Laziness. Cereal. Pajamas. Glamour magazine.

You’d almost forget it was blizzarding outside.

But then again, it makes being lazy at home that much better.

Snow Day

2010-01-27T17:34:00.000-05:00

It really has been a mild winter around here. It’s already the end of January, and I can only recall one major snowstorm (i.e. super slick roads, accidents all over the place, etc.). Where is all the snow, anyway?

I recall that there has been only one major snowstorm mostly because of how inconvenient it was (are they ever convenient?). It was on the first day of school, and I was driving to class, and one of my students crashed his BMW. But he still showed up to class. That’s dedication. Or fear.

Anyway, a couple of days later, Jay got to spend a snow day with Isabelle, and he took her outside to play.

She really loved it, as you can see, and finally made use of that little snowsuit she got for Christmas.

Photo Editing

2010-01-16T17:10:00.001-05:00

So I have starting playing around with using paint.net to edit photo’s. I call this one Kimberly with Isabelle in the Flower Garden. My wife sure looks beautiful!

Christmas Eve Photo Shoot

2009-12-24T20:14:00.000-05:00

We took some cute pictures after Christmas Eve dinner at my parents’ house, which, as you will later discover, were really our only cute ones of the whole holiday. The rest were all disheveled and morning-hair like.

Isabelle really loved her Uncle Stephen—she was only two months old the last time he saw her, and definitely not as fun.

Check out those eyes!

Here’s Grandma and Isabelle.

Isabelle thinks Grandma is fun.

“Here Grandpa, you be Santa!”

“Merry Christmas, everyone!”

Our Little Christmas Morning

2009-12-24T17:35:00.000-05:00

Can you believe Christmas is over already? I can’t, and ours was dragged on for four whole days!

The first installment of Christmas morning was at our house on Christmas Eve. We had Christmas dinner the night before: ham, green bean casserole, homemade biscuits, etc.

And then on Christmas Eve, Isabelle had one more practice gift (mostly because she had been surrounded by piles of wrapped presents, and we didn’t want to torture her anymore).

It was a Dr. Seuss book: Hop on Pop. She loves Dr. Seuss.

Then, Mommy stayed up till the wee hours wrapping presents, and getting things ready for the next day. It reminded me of school, but was way more fun.

And then, Isabelle woke up at 6:30 as usual, and it was Christmas (Eve) morning!

I made her an egg breakfast (very messy), and she was really excited about the presents under the tree.

She was our little elf. Check out her face in this picture. I only wish I had gotten her straight-on.

She helped us open everything. I got a dust buster! Yay! Can you guess who that’s really for?

And then, of course, once she opened a present, she had to put the wrapping paper where it goes.

On the tree, of course. Why not?

This is how Isabelle felt about Christmas morning:

And I think, based on that face, it was all a success.

Family Pictures 2009

2009-12-19T10:29:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas, everyone! We finally got around to taking family pictures for our Christmas cards only a week before Christmas Day.

Is that bad?

I think they turned out pretty great. We took them outside of our nephew Hunter’s baptism, and then when I got home that day, I created a card at cvs.com, printed them out, and sent them out the next day.

Speedy!

I also played around a little with www.picnik.com—a totally awesome photo editing site. I couldn’t decide whether to make our picture plain, or with snow:

What do you think?

Even though I may be busy during the school year, there are certain non-academic, non-negotiables that I must get done. Christmas cards are one of them.

There were a few people we couldn’t send them to because we didn’t have our address book updated.

So if you were one of those people, let me know what your address is so you’ll be on the list for next year!

And for all of you who read our blog who didn’t get a card: Merry Christmas to you, too!

Avatar = Greatest Movie Ever

2009-12-18T22:51:00.001-05:00

So, Jay and I got a babysitter tonight. To go on a date. We never do that!

Jay wanted to see a movie that just came out (i.e. today) called Avatar, and I was braced for a lame guy movie (which, sometimes I secretly like—see this post).

There’s no easy way to say this.

LOVE.

THIS.

MOVIE.

!!!!!

(Ok, so it was pretty easy).

We saw the movie in 3D, and I thought I was going to get eaten by a monster, and fly, and leap through trees, and get blown up by a robot. I’m pretty sure I almost strangled Jay’s hand squeezing it so hard.

And, now I wish I was an avatar. Because life is so much cooler for them. (Ok, did I just really say that?)

Just see the movie, OK? You’ll see what I’m saying.

It ROCKS.

Sleepyheads

2009-12-17T02:56:00.000-05:00

I’m pretty sure the whole country is sleeping right now.

And I’m awake.

Still writing my paper.

I’m on page 16. (Ok, actually, I’m on page 15, and 16 is blank.)

Just wanted to document that I’m still up at 2:52 a.m., writing my paper.

At least the people in China are up with me.

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells

2009-12-15T10:11:00.000-05:00

We sometimes call Isabelle “Bells” for short. So, needless to say, “Jingle Bells” is her trademark Christmas song. We’ve been singing it a lot lately.

I’m in my last two days of the semester: my big 20 page paper is due tomorrow.

So, get ready for lots of posts from October, November and December that I’ve been slacking on!

Merry Christmas!

Ward Christmas Party 2009

2009-12-12T20:19:00.000-05:00

Every year we have a party at our church building, and we try to take a family picture. This was the product this year. Notice the big huge bruise on Isabelle’s head. That was her falling off of our step in pursuit of my stuffed snowman. Poor cutie.

Before the party, while I was teaching, Jay was out shopping and found this hat. I had told him that I thought he looked cute in hats (meaning, baseball hats), and so he decided to buy one. At first, I thought it was an old man hat, but after a while, it’s grown on me. I think he looks pretty cute in it.

And everyone else at the party seemed to like it.

Especially Isabelle.

So I guess I was outnumbered, anyway :)

Dear Santa,

2009-12-03T08:59:00.000-05:00

I came to see you today.

Mommy got me all ready, and she told me you wore red, and she told me you had white hair, and she told me about the elves. And I dressed up in my favorite Christmas pants, and Mommy put a bow in my hair, and she made me smile in the mirror before we went up to see you.

But she forgot to tell me about your beard.

Santa, why do you have a beard? It is so scary!

That’s why I screamed at you.

And then Mommy said I had to make friends with you, because you make the presents and give them out on Christmas, and you have a naughty girl and nice girl list, and if I’m not nice to you you might not bring me any presents on Christmas!

So Santa, I have two questions.

First, what are presents? And second, can I still be on the nice girl list even though I screamed at you?

I really am a good baby. And, I’m pretty sure that if Mommy is right, and if you come down the chimney while I’m sleeping to deliver the presents, and fly through the air with your reindeer, then there really shouldn’t be any need for us to see each other again. So you won’t need to shave your beard.

What do you think?

Merry Christmas.

Love,

Isabelle

Mommy’s Little Helper

2009-12-03T08:08:00.000-05:00

I’ve been needing some help with my work lately.

So I thought of a unique solution:

I mean, she’ll need some training. But she’s hardworking, loyal, fast-learning, quite inexpensive, and loves computers.

What more could I ask for?

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T20:30:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving was with Jay’s family this year, and it was great! The tablescape was pretty. Isabelle got to play ball with Great Grandma.

My pie was really yummy.

And Isabelle’s paci was possessed.

So all in all it was a big success. I tried to get Jay to express his feelings on camera, but he wasn’t quite ready.

We got a lot of relaxing, laying around time, which is exactly what I needed in the middle of the semester.

And enjoying time with the two people I’m most thankful for was especially special. Don’t you just love this precious face?

We asked her what she was most thankful for, and here’s what she came up with:

1. Paci

2. Lamby

3. Mommy

4. Daddy

5. Paci

6. Fishy

7. Sleepie

8. Paci

And I decided that Isabelle has her own “ie” language. Iffie weie talkied likie thisie, weie wouldie laughie muchie morie!

Happy Thanksgiving, from all of us!

Thanksgiving Baking

2009-11-22T20:13:00.000-05:00

Even though I am super busy with school, I have to make time to procrastinate. Of course. And to enjoy the holidays.

So I’m Thanksgiving baking!

I made an apple pie, and some turkey cookies for my Sunday school class.

The apple pie was awesome—so tasty! I make it every year, and I love it.

The turkey cookies were not so pretty, but definitely tasted yummy. (Isabelle really loved them).

I think next year I’ll actually make feathers with the frosting. The coconut mess just looks like hair, not feathers :)

Anyway, happy holidays! And happy procrastinating!

Ear Infection

2009-11-20T19:53:00.000-05:00

So, today we went to the emergency room.

Don’t worry. We were silly. We definitely didn’t need to go.

Isabelle had been acting lethargic and sick for a little while, and she hadn’t had a wet diaper for long enough that it worried us. So, I called the doctor’s office and talked to the nurse.

Apparently she was alarmed by the no wet diaper thing.

Just a little.

So we had to go to the emergency room.

And it was dumb.

We just sat there for hours, and they gave her medicine, looked in her ears, and made her eat a popsicle (which she didn’t eat). I could have done that at home.

Silly us.

Needless to say, we won’t be going to the emergency room for ear infections again.

But Isabelle sure was sick :( and very cuddly, which was secretly great.

Poor little baby.

Oh my goodness

2009-11-11T14:54:00.001-05:00

I just had to post this picture of Isabelle, because I just love her face!!

Such a silly girl!

Our Little Cupcake’s Party

2009-11-05T16:00:00.000-05:00

They say that for a first birthday party, you shouldn’t go all-out. After all, the baby will cry, she won’t remember it, and Mommy will end up going crazy with the preparation stress.

Well, I didn’t listen to that advice, and good thing I didn’t! We had so much fun.

Preparations began right after I got home from Dallas. I had been saving decorating ideas for quite a while in my “Favorites” folder. One evening, I left Isabelle home with Jay, and I made a trip to Michael’s to get all of the stuff. On the menu of things to make: pom balls, Happy Birthday garland, sign for the punch bowl, pink tablecloths, birthday hat, cookie lollipops, two birthday cakes, and some food.

Isabelle mostly helped me get ready by sitting right here:

On Saturday morning, I had to teach class, so I basically got everything ready to go beforehand, and left a long list of things to clean with Jay and my mom. When I got home, the whole house was decorated perfectly:

Here’s a close-up on some of my big projects—the poms and the birthday hat:

Pretty soon, her guests started to arrive. Grandma and Grandpa Hackett came,

and so did Grandma and Daddy-O Majeske (the lighting in this picture I took is quite bad—anyone have a better one?),

and so did her Aunt Raelyn and her friend Nicholas, and lots of her little cousins, who all apparently evaded my camera. Anyone else have pictures of them?

First order of business at the party was to eat, and while we all ate, Isabelle played. This is her playing “talking on the phone”—only, it’s her hair bow. She’s not picky.

Then it was time for Isabelle’s favorite game: singing time! We sang “Do As I’m Doing” and “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.”

And since we couldn’t do cake before presents (smeared frosting on that new toy, anyone?), Jay thought we needed to sing and let her blow out her candle. I’m not clear on the required order of candles, singing or presents, so I just went with it. This was the little baby block smash cake I made for her.

Daddy had to help blow out candles, of course. Apparently some parents teach their kids beforehand how to “blow.” This never occurred to us, but would have been a smart idea.

With that out of the way, she was free to open presents! Since she already loved paper, ripping, and crumpling, she was a natural at this part.

She got a little Christmas outfit and a puzzle from Grandma and Grandpa Hackett; some new pink boots from Grandma and Daddy-O;

a little red sweater and a bath toy from her Great-Aunt Carolyn; (btw: this picture is cropped badly because I had to tell you about why Jay doesn’t like it. You see how I cropped off his head while I was taking the picture while he is so obviously posing? Yeah. Sorta missed that one. Oops!)

a little ball-spitting train from Mommy and Daddy (doesn’t she look excited?);

and a pink walker stroller thingy. Since she was just starting to walk at the party, this was a big hit. (And apparently I’ll have to post pictures of it later, because this also evaded my camera. For now, the wrapped version will have to do).

Then finally we took off her little dress, velcroed on her gargantuan bib (smock, really), and brought out the cake!

I expected her to plop right into it and fling it all over the house.

Instead, to get her going, I had to give her a fork.

Such a prissy little girl. That’s unfortunately where my pictures of the cake-eating stop (I couldn’t take them, since I was cake-moving). So, please send me yours so I can upload them!!

Because didn’t want everyone else to have to salvage a piece of cake from her smeared highchair tray, I made another cake. This one was made out of cupcakes.

Before everyone left, I had to give them their little lollipop favors. These were supposed to go in little favor bags, but 1) we lost the bags, and 2) the frosting was too soft. So, we just let them carry them home. Most likely, they didn’t make it all the way there. They certainly didn’t last very long around our house!

We’re pretty sure this is why.

We realized after everyone left that we forgot to put on Isabelle’s birthday hat (that took two episodes of Glee to make)! So we made her pose with it.

And then Jay tried it on.

And then later that night, we let her dig into her cake again. This time, she was a little more messy.

And then I wouldn’t give her the camera.

So it was definitely time for bed for the birthday girl. And, since these were the only tears of the day, I think that despite all those warnings I read about first-birthday-meltdowns and why you shouldn’t throw a big party, it was all-in-all a big success.

Trick or Cheep!

2009-11-03T11:48:00.001-05:00

On the 30th (the day after Isabelle’s birthday), our ward had a Trunk-or-Treat party. We were super excited about it, because even though Isabelle isn’t really old enough to warrant real trick-or-treating, she could definitely dress up for this party!

I started looking for costumes in the summertime, but never really decided on one until the end of September or so. When I saw this little costume in Macy’s, I decided it was the cutest ever. Of course, the creative mommy side of me wanted to make one for her, but since sewing is neither cheaper, nor easier than just buying one, I decided to save all that for next year or the one after. You know, one of those years when she points at the TV screen and says “I want to be THAT!” and it’s nowhere to be found in the stores. That’s when I’ll sew.

Anyway, she had a total blast at the party. At one point, all the kids got in the center and were dancing to the Macarena, and she crawled right into the thick of it and started to bop up and down. She does this cute little dance with her little arms out and her hands facing the sky—it’s adorable.

I know this picture is a little blurry, but isn’t she SO cute from the back!? I <3 it!

After a while, she got tired of her little hood. That’s why we chose a hood, though, because a hat would have come off right away! At least the hood was attached :)

After the dancing, we went trunk-or-treating, and she got quite a bit of candy. Of course, she tried to eat it all through the wrapper once she got it, but eventually I let her suck on a little dum-dum sucker. She loved that, and got all sticky.

Now her candy is happily residing on the kitchen table, and mysteriously diminishing for some unexplained reason.

Isabelle’s Birthday

2009-10-29T20:54:00.000-04:00

Since Isabelle’s birthday is on a Thursday night this year, and our family lives about an hour away, we decided to postpone her actual party until Saturday. But we still wanted to do something fun for her real birthday, so we wrapped up a couple of small presents for her to open (the little ones in front—not the big ones in back).

She was really excited about this idea. I wasn’t sure she would have a clue how to open presents, but she totally surprised me!

She got a card from Grandma and Grandpa Hackett, that she opened very neatly and looked at the little animal pictures.

And then for the little presents…

See? She’s so neat about it! (And looking back on these photos, it makes me totally nervous that she’s just sitting on the ledge of that trunk. Just so you know. Apparently it didn’t bother me then…)

She got some church shoes! Also opened this night was her little ABC Dr. Seuss book, which so far has been more fun to open than to read. We’ll see if she warms up to it. It doesn’t quite compare to Mr. Brown Can Moo—a definite favorite.

Happy birthday little one!!

Once Upon A Time

2009-10-29T16:04:00.000-04:00

on a fall day in October, there was a little baby girl.

And the next month,

and the next month,

and the one after that,

she grew up bigger and bigger every day.

In March, she played outside for the first time,

April, she travelled abroad;

May, she went swimming for the very first time;

and in June she got really tall!

She crawled for the first time in July;

stood up in her crib in August;

visited an apple orchard and the zoo in September.

And in October, she did Frankenmuth

and Grandma’s house,

and helped Mommy with some chores.

And then, before we knew it,

the little baby girl turned ONE!

Time sure flies when you’re having fun.

What She’s Really Like

2009-10-27T20:52:00.000-04:00

What does that face say to you?

Homesick

2009-10-24T19:00:00.000-04:00

Being away from Isabelle and Jay stinks. I just read through that last post, and it was way too happy sounding, so I had to write another one. I just finished presenting my paper, and it was a good experience, but I’m so done with it. I just want to go home.

Look at this cute girl that I left home:

She’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen.

I’m never leaving home again.

Flying

2009-10-22T21:29:00.000-04:00

I don’t know about you, but whenever I hear the “fasten seatbelt announcement” on an airplane, I get a little nervous. It makes me wonder what they’re not telling me. I mean, are we in a teensy-turbulence-vibrating-seat kind of situation, or a suck-you-out-of-the-plane deal? There’s sort of a big difference. I guess that’s it, though: the ambiguity of the little seatbelt sign is taunting.

Anyway, I say that because it just happened. I’m on an airplane, on my way to Dallas, TX to present a paper I wrote for the GEMCS (read: Group for Early Modern Cultural Studies…which still probably doesn’t clarify for most of you) conference. Want to know my paper title? “The Visiting Cathayan: Early Modern Hospitality and Conceptions of the Far East Within Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of Windsor.” Yeah. It totally rocks. (I can already feel the blank stares…)

Anyway, I have to shorten it from 20 pages to 5 for the conference and I’m definitely not excited about it. I’m proud of those 20 pages! So I’m procrastinating. But really, that’s actually a good sign. This whole week has been so busy that I haven’t even been able to procrastinate. Since last Wednesday I’ve looked longingly at my November issue of Glamour, my Sunday advertisements, some TV shows, calls I need to make, a few stores I want to shop at, some cleaning I need to do (yuck), and said “next week.” I’m too busy for all that stuff. I guess you could say I’m procrastinating procrastinating. I’ll procrastinate next week.

But I suppose now things have slowed down enough to do it. Of course, that’s excepting that 20 page paper I have to somehow shrink to 5. I need a paper shrinker. Do they sell those on ebay? But fortunately, I have the rest of tonight (which, considering the time change, I’m not sure exactly how long that is), all day tomorrow, and Saturday morning to work on it. (That is, if I don’t want to eat, shower, or talk to my friends). So, really, I’m not sure. I haven’t had that much time sans baby (or husband) to work on only one thing since, well, ever? Have I ever had that much time to do only one thing? (Suddenly contemplating ditching the conference to go shopping, get my hair done, have a mani/pedi, see girly movies, and all of “those” things that I imagined doing with such a vast amount of time alone with girlfriends…too bad I actually like doing conferences. Geekeroni.)

It’s not like it’s easy being away, though. When Jay dropped me off at the airport and I had to say goodbye to baby Isabelle, I almost didn’t go. I couldn’t (still can’t) imagine being away until Sunday without her! Will she remember me? Will bedtime be different when I get back? Will she start walking while I’m gone? What am I thinking! Crazy woman…that’s what I am. Leaving my baby till Sunday…they should send me to the loony bin!

Anyway, I could talk forever (actually, till Sunday), and I still have lots of important topics I haven’t covered—turns out 3 hours alone in a plane makes for really long blog posts. And…unless you all are alone on a plane, too, you probably stopped reading a long time ago. Which just leaves me. And the computer. And the really long paper I have to condense. So, I should probably go do that.

Wish me luck!

Helping on the Road

2009-10-20T09:32:00.005-04:00

I don't know if there is something special about October, but twice this week I have been stuck in heavy traffic because of a disabled vehicle blocking a lane directly in front of a stoplight. Each time spent I an extra 25 to 30 minutes in the car before it became apparent what was slowing down traffic. Both times in the disabled car there was a scared, frustrated women on a cell phone franticly trying to figure out what to do and both times there were cars whizzing around her sometimes honking their horns at the alleged injustice. Both times I got out of my car and helped push the vehicle out of the way and to a safer place.

With the two incidences combined it took less than 10 minutes to help. What I can't understand is why don't more people stop to help? Seriously, one of the ladies said that she had been sitting there for over 30 minutes at the height of rush hour. That might not seem that long to some, but thinking about how many times she had to see the light go from green to red to green again, all the time feeling the frustration of all the cars stuck behind her, it must have felt like hours.

I generally think that people are good natured and will more often than not do the right thing. However, once they get enclosed in a moving steal box it seems people forget that there are real people in the other cars and all sense of compassion and empathy fly out the proverbial window. Now, I can understand road rage (yes, I have actually rolled down my window to yell at a guy trying to cut me off… I know… I know… that night I started a 12 step program by admitting to my wife, “I road raged today.”) but most often with road rage the people getting upset have legitimately been victim of some person’s stupidity… but I digress. So, why don’t people stop to help disabled vehicles? Are drivers just so used to everyone having a cell phone that they figure people should be able to solve the problem themselves? What gives?

Awesome Discovery

2009-10-14T10:46:00.001-04:00

So, there’s this thing. It’s called Windows Live Writer. You write your blog in it. It uploads pictures really fast.

It’s MAGIC.

And I’m not exaggerating. I love it.

And what’s most important, you don’t have to deal with that awful Blogger mess anymore!

It’s going to change my little blogging life.

(Of course, first I need to have a blogging life, which I don’t; but let’s pretend).

So go, make your life easier, too—get this thing!

Baby Dr. Evil

2009-10-11T19:55:00.001-04:00

I just saw a picture of my friend Mike’s baby, Mathew. He is an adorable little boy however I thought this pose was hilarious and had to share it.

Frankenmuth

2009-10-02T10:09:00.000-04:00

Last weekend my while my sister Kaylene was in-town from Seattle with her kids my family took a trip to Frankenmuth and stayed in the Bavarian Inn. It was the first time I (or any of my family members) had really vacationed there. Oh course Kimberly could hardly believe this as Frankenmuth was a frequent vacation stop for her family.

After we checked into the hotel at about 3:00 Isabelle and I went swimming with her cousins while Kimberly checked out some of the shops with my sister Amber and my Mom.

If you notice in the top left of the picture above there are some fountains that shoot out of the water. Jonathan, Lorelei, Grant and I discovered that if you covered 3 of the 4 fountains with someone's foot the remaining fountain will blast water 10 feet into the air! (pretty awesome) Apparently the Bavarian Inn has 5 different pools inside the hotel so it is easy to spend a lot of time playing in the water.

After we got cleaned up from swimming all the kids put on their Michigan cousins shirts for dinner. The girls in my family spent a lot of time making these with the kids. They even made one for Isabelle and Gideon (the other baby pictured below).

As you can see Isabelle has a hard time sharing the spotlight in this picture.

We finished out the night by playing in the basement of the hotel where they have a game room, putt-putt, a giant doll house, and a karaoke stage.

Ryan fighting crime with Spiderman.

Lorelei and Isabelle

“Mom, how do we get out of the candy house!”

The night ended with some awesome karaoke. Dave, Adam, my dad and I sang a song from Queen that while it may not have sounded perfect was very memorable for those who heard us. The kids rocked out on stage to some “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” while Dawn-Marie sounded lovely singing several songs. The highlight of the night was when Kimberly took the stage and blew everyone away.

Unfortunately though, Kimberly had to teach class the next morning in Detroit so she dove back early the next morning and I rode back a few hours later with my parents. It would have been nice to be able to spend Saturday with Kimberly too but is was still a very fun vacation and something that we will definitly have to do again sometime.

Sadly...

2009-09-25T15:52:00.004-04:00

I have no time to blog anymore. I quite frankly feel like I am behind at everything I do. And no, I'm not saying that in a depressive gut spill kind of way--it's just the truth, and I'm ok with it. But that's off the subject.

Let me explain why I have no time to blog.

First, there's the actual remembering to blog part. That usually doesn't happen unless the house is perfectly quiet, and I have time to sit down in front of the computer (like now).

Then, there's pushing all of the other school work out of the way (I started school y the way...yay! I'll blog about that later--probably in May). But that's called procrastination, and I'm not supposed to do it. :) And the thought of actually completing my work before blogging is side-splitting.

Once I've got a perfectly quiet house and have decided to procrastinate, I have to look through the pictures I want to put on the blog and choose the good ones. Often this sidetracks me, and I find myself, an hour later, immersed in the vast world of Photoshop (or, these days, picnik.com). And then Isabelle wakes up and it's all over.

But, if I make it past the photo-selecting stage (which assumes I can actually find both my camera and my cord, plug them in to the computer, and upload the pictures...which is what is currently holding me up), the next part is actually uploading the photos to Blogger. Which takes FOREVER....

...and ever...

...I have so many unfinished posts stuck at this step. Poor little guys.

And then, after that, if I ever make it there, there's the insertion of witty remarks and short stories about our life. Of course, this requires great motivation, inspiration, and a dab of creativity, each of which, by the end of this process, has usually grown impatient and left me.

So there you have it.

Now you know why I haven't posted.

And yes, I do recognize the irony of posting a long post about not posting. But this post's little existence is based upon the fact that my house is clean, that I really don't want to do my school work, and that it won't, no matter how boring it is, sport any pictures.

And Isabelle just woke up. So I have to go.

Just so you know...

2009-09-15T14:33:00.004-04:00

I'm suffering from major lack of blog motivation. So you probably won't be hearing from me for a few days. But I had to post a cute picture of Isabelle just to get that old lady picture (see below) to go away, because it really wasn't supposed to stay there that long. So there you go.

Isn't she so much bigger than this now?!? Time flies.

Which is worse...

2009-09-10T21:25:00.004-04:00

A complete stranger (see below) feeding your baby a Cheerio, or...

your baby feeding this stranger said Cheerio? (!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?)

Both happened.

At the grocery store.

I try not to think about it.

{Shiver}

Why didn't I think of this?

2009-09-09T13:02:00.004-04:00

Seriously. It's genius. A cover for all of the yucky, creepy, disease-laden thingies that might crawl upon our babies at play. Oh, the power of fear and ickyness! (Think dingy playards at hotels that have never been washed....)

I mean, it's only natural. We have covers for high chairs, shopping carts, car seats, pacifiers, changing tables, and yada yada ya...

Now, if only I could cover something icky. I'd be a bazillionaire!

Come on, brain. Think. Think!

Wakey Wakey Sleepy Baby

2009-09-01T14:34:00.003-04:00

I went into Isabelle's room the other day, and this is what I found.

A perfectly happy, perfectly blue-eyed baby girl waiting for me.

I love those naps.

Gelisse, Byron and Gideon

2009-09-01T09:25:00.003-04:00

Jay's sister Amber and her husband Joe visited us with their little Gelisse and Byron back in July. Isabelle loved having Gelisse and Byron around. It makes me think that she'll actually do OK with a baby brother or sister.

She thinks Gelisse is really cool.

See?

Here's the three of them together. Byron is so cute, and loves BYU football. Uncle Jay really encouraged that, of course :)

We also visited the schoolyard so the kids could play. I tried to get a better picture of Gelisse and Jay swinging, but no luck. Those swinging pictures are hard to come by!

Here's Isabelle in her new umbrella stroller. We bought this for the trip to Seattle since we didn't want to lug the Graco one along. (Although, because I'm posting this a month late, I can tell you that it worked out great on the plane, but I did see another family take their Graco stroller, and I imagine that one would have worked fine, too. And it would have had a basket, which this striped one was lacking.)

After Gelisse and Byron's visit, we all went down to Jay's sister Raelyn's house. Isabelle got to spend some quality time with her 5 month old cousin Gideon. And, as I recall, she's only wearing a diaper in these pictures because I fed her watermelon and she drooled. A lot.

She's such a cutie pie!

Although Isabelle really liked to "play" with Gideon, her idea of playing is sort of dangerous. Let me tell you the story:

"Do not grab Gideon's eyes, Isabelle."

"Ok, Daddy."

"Do not grab Gideon's ears, Isabelle."

And so on with various vital facial features.

September?

2009-09-01T09:16:00.002-04:00

Can you believe it's September already? It's crazy! It all of a sudden hit me at breakfast this morning when I put a sweatshirt on Isabelle. I thought it was silly to put a sweatshirt on her in August. But, I realized, it's not August! It's September!

That's much better.

So here I am at the beginning of September, about to start school, and I'm still blogging about July!

This is crazy!

For that reason, I am spending every nap and free moment today blogging. That's right. This lagging behind thing is ending today!

My apologies to those who get e-mail updates everytime I post something. You will be hearing from me a lot today.

À bientot!

Grand Adventures

2009-08-27T19:53:00.006-04:00

Isabelle has been fortunate to spend lots of time with her grandparents this summer, and instead of lots of little posts (since I'm frantically trying to catch up), I'll just stick them all right here!

While her Grandma Majeske was visiting Seattle, Isabelle went to visit Daddy-O. She loved his really cool swing, and spent a good deal of time in it.

She also found out quickly that Daddy-O is the place to go for grown-up food. Her particular favorite was this oatmeal cookie you see smashed to smitherines. It was literally all over her clothes, hair, eyelashes, etc.

And here's proof that it was Daddy-O and not Daddy that did it.

Isabelle also crawled for the very first time during this visit to Daddy-O's, fairly soon after this little "crawling practice". She had been rocking back and forth on her knees for a couple of weeks, but after this (and while Aunt Dawn-Marie was playing some piano), she took a few crawls forward! The disappointing part? I was in the other room!! After all this time and energy spent asserting that I didn't want to work too much because I'd miss my baby's "firsts," she does her first little crawls, in the middle of the summer, when I'm home with her 24/7, in the living room with Daddy-O and Daddy, and I MISS IT! AHHH!!!

Ahem, anyway...becuase said crawling practice was again right in the middle of the smeared cookie, it was time for a bath for Isabelle. Her face fairly well communicates how she felt about the idea.

She really liked the towel part much better, and wonders why we don't just skip right to that next time.

And a brief interlude of Isabelle and Daddy reading the Sunday funnies together:

And next is Grandma Hackett's visit! My aunt also visited this day, but I don't think I have any pictures of her and Isabelle together on my camera......so....if she's reading this and has some, I will be happy to post them (hint hint) :)

Grandma wanted to get a few pictures to post of Isabelle on her Facebook page, so we took lots and lots of pictures. This one was my favorite, though. Just so cute!

We also took a walk to the little schoolyard behind our house. Grandma got to swing with Isabelle, and I tried to take lots of pictures in action, but it mostly just looks like they're falling off the earth (all sideways and funky shaped). So this one is good...you get the idea.

And we got some pictures of Mommy and Isabelle, too. Had to throw these in there...you know.

I was about halfway up the stairs to this slide carrying my 17-pound squirmer when I realized it was sort of a bad idea. It looked a lot shorter than it really was. And then when I got to the top I had visions of flying down super fast and Isabelle shooting out over the side cartoon style. So, I crawled down. It sort of ruined the whole "slide" experience, since we weren't sliding at all....but at least Isabelle stayed in my lap. And at least she thought it was cool. For all she knows, that's just what you do on a slide.

Simplicity Woes

2009-08-23T09:59:00.005-04:00

After the art fair, I had the unfortunate urge to embark upon a sewing project, which usually happens during JoAnn's 99 cent pattern sale, and decided to make a shopping cart cover.

So, I waited for my 40% off coupon, picked out really cute fabrics, marched up to the checkout counter, and was appalled. I had chosen an orange fleece (which was on sale), a seemingly plain hot pink swirly fabric, and a really cool flowery fabric. Voila:

I had intended to use the coupon on the flowery fabric because it was like $9 a yard, and I needed two yards. When I looked at the receipt, though, it had come off of the hot pink not-supposed-to-be-important fabric. Why?

Because it was $17.99 a yard!!!

What?!?

Apparently it was a batik. Whatever that is. I decided immediately that I would take it back, and pick out a plain $2.99/yd hot pink fabric the next day (I would have done it right then, but Isabelle was in her carseat, and it was hot, and I was hungry, and blah, blah, blah...).

Next day: no receipt. Anywhere. Can't find it. Gone forever. (Cue the frustrated stomp through the house...)

So I used it. But I cut very carefully.

Fortunately, it turned out great. And I had enough to make a high-chair cover, too, which sort of mitigated the pain.

This is the high chair cover. I don't have any pictures of the shopping cart cover. Not sure why. Probably because I don't routinely take pictures of shopping carts.

Anyway, word to the wise: don't ever make a shopping cart or shopping cart cover with a Simplicity pattern. It's excruciating and not simple at all. In fact, they were wrong quite a few times. I think they have no idea how to sew. Or I don't. But anyway, their company should be renamed. Once I come up with a good one, I'll let you know.

Art Fair 2009 (and yes, I know, it's August)

2009-08-22T17:18:00.005-04:00

It's been a super long time since I've posted anything about our family! I was really hopeful about posting more often this summer, but obviously that hasn't happened. Looks like I only post regularly when I'm procrastinating school...or cleaning...or writing a talk for church...heh...

I believe the last post I wrote about us was about visiting the zoo on my birthday (more than a month ago!), which is rather hard to discover because of Jay's ridiculously humungous post about High Adventure right above it. No offense to the boys or anything.

So, what have we been doing this summer, you ask?

Well, first we visited the Ann Arbor Art Fair. This was really the culprit in my lagging posts. I've been waiting to get the pictures off my parents' computer before I posted these pictures (because mine are sorta lame), but I never did, and I can't post anything after it, because then it'd be out of order, and so on, and so on... See the problem?

Anyway, I LOVE the art fair. My mom and I dragged Isabelle along, and these are the only good pictures I took on my camera. You'll notice they're all of the few moments that Isabelle is contained and busy doing something else.

Like eating at Noodles & Company...

and trying to get a drink.

Watching the grey statue guy...

and falling fast asleep.

As you can see, I don't have many pictures (and none at all of me), but I just couldn't hold up the blog posts any longer. Once I actually remember to get my mom's pictures, I will post them on this post, too (and I actually have to remember to post them once I get them)...so...

Don't hold your breath :) But go to the art fair next year!!

Seattle: Flying and Swimming

2009-08-19T18:07:00.000-04:00

We wanted to take a trip this summer, and finally decided upon Seattle to visit Jay's sister Kaylene and her family. Originally it was going to be England, but I didn't purchase the tickets in time, and they kept going up and up. I had never been to Seattle, anyway, so it was a great alternative.

I was actually really scared to go, because Isabelle has been a wonderful sleeper, and her schedule was very regular. She went to bed at 7:30p.m., woke up at 6:30 a.m., took a nap from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. and another one from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. I was super scared to subject such a heavenly schedule to a time change.

But for better or for worse, we woke her up at 4:30 a.m., boarded a 6am flight, and headed for Seattle. She was an absolute angel on the way there. We had a connection in Houston, TX (not very direct, if you ask me), and for both legs she cried a total of 30 seconds.

We had bulkhead seats on the way to Houston, but had to sit in the middle of Coach on the longer flight to Seattle. It was very squished. But Isabelle liked eating the plane food (Continental serves great meals, by the way!), and playing with the folding tables.

We arrived in Seattle at 11:30am PST and headed back to Kaylene's house to give Isabelle a proper nap. As I recall, we just rested that day, made a list of the things we wanted to do, and in the evening went with the boy scouts to the community swimming pool.

The swimming pool was a big hit, and we found out that Isabelle was cured of her little water fears. She loved it again. Yay!

Don’t you just love that little cherry swimsuit?

Amazing Cashew Chicken

2009-08-08T20:05:00.004-04:00

This recipe for cashew chicken is one of my absolute favs. I'm a so-so fan of the Martha Stewart Everyday Food cookbook from whence this comes--some recipes are just ok, and some (like this one) are amazing. What's best is that it really doesn't take much fussing. I mean, yeah, you have to cook the chicken in halves (what's up with that, anyway?), and yes, you must use real garlic, not powder :) But really, compared to a lot of things, it's low maintenance.

So here it is:

1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 1-inch cubes
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
6 garlic cloves minced
8 scallions, white and green parts separated, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar (in the Asian food section)
3 Tbsp. hoisin sauce (also found in the Asian food section)
3/4 cup raw cashews
Jasmine rice, for serving (Martha says "optional", but I think necessary!)

1. Spread the cashews on a baking sheet, and toast in a 350 degree F oven until golden and fragrant (about 8-10 minutes).

2. In a medium bowl, toss the chicken with the cornstarch until the chicken is coated; season with 3/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper.

3. In a large nonstick skillet (Martha apparently always uses nonstick, but I never do...so there), heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat. Cook half the chicken, tossing often, until browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

4. Add the remaining oil and chicken to the skillet along with the garlic and the white parts of the scallions. Cook, tossing often, until the chicken is browned, about 3 minutes. Return the first batch of chicken to the pan. (See? Why do the chickens separately? Because the pan isn't big enough or something? Anybody want to phone Martha?) Add the vinegar; cook until evaporated about 30 seconds.

5. Add the hoisin sauce and 1/4 cup of water; cook, tossing, until the chicken is cooked through, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Stir in the scallion greens and cashews*. Serve immediately over jasmine rice.

This recipe serves 4. Yummy!!

*After making this a couple of times and having soggy cashews the next day in my leftovers, I have started to add the cashews to individual portions (or to serve the cashews separately at the table). Otherwise, once you add them to the chicken mixture and put them in the fridge, you will have cashew mush the next day. Blah...

Happy cooking!

Water in the Yard

2009-08-01T18:10:00.000-04:00

This is our attempt at reintroducing our daughter to water. Isabelle's fear of all things wet has become one of the great travesties of this summer. If you'll recall back to Memorial Day, you'll remember that she went swimming in the hotel pool like a little fish and loved it.

But then there was the bath.

She slipped. She got her head wet in the bathtub, and she hated it thenceforth.

Until that point, though, it was only baths she didn't like. We could pretend that swimming pools, lakes, and the like had nothing to do with THAT. Of course, then there was the 4th of July, when Jay carefully waded her into a lake, and seconds later a young man pounded into the water sending a few splashes in Isabelle's direction.

And then she was finished with water as a whole. Baths were completely unfun, and trips to the lake just didn't happen.

So here we found ourselves in the middle of August, attempting, before the summer's end, to show her that water really isn't that bad:

She ate it up, Jay had lots of fun, and it actually worked. She likes baths now! So please excuse me for posting lots of pictures that all look the same. I'm excited about it.

Little Daredevil

2009-07-31T09:08:00.003-04:00

Isabelle discovered a new game yesterday, mostly by mistake. She was getting close to the edge of our bed, and we wanted to see what she'd do. I thought maybe she'd be afraid, or at least look twice.

No.

She just jumped.

Good thing Jay was right there watching her the whole time.

And judging by her reaction, this is now the coolest game of her life. (Her little laugh at the end gets me every time!)

Note to self: cliff-like furniture is now a chaperoned destination.

Slow Recovery

2009-07-30T15:00:00.006-04:00

I suppose I expected a lot of things during pregnancy and after, but one thing that took me completely by surprise was the horrid effect it would have on my wardrobe. Of course, this shouldn't have been surprising. Taking a whole 9 months off of the fashion scene (and instead buying baby fashion!) when I'd normally be picking up one thing here, one thing there, is a recipe for disaster.

Then there's the post-pregnancy slimming-down phase in which no clothes fit, period. And then, when all begins to return to normal (baby sleeping through the night, nursing slows down, baby is more independent) and I can actually style my hair and pick out cute clothes, I realize: I have nothing to wear!

It's a total bummer.

So today while out using a birthday coupon, I made my first major purchase:

Skinny Jeans.

Never thought I'd participate in that trend. These jeans will be making their debut in the cold with some boots such as this:

And maybe a shirt like this

or like this.

And a belt like this.

And of course a coat. But I haven't had time to look for that yet. (See? That's what I'm talking about!) So any suggestions are appreciated :)