The Bakers

Sing, Sing, Sing (Or Not)

2011-02-09T18:11:00.000-08:00

A recent conversation I had with Theron (my 12 year old) after he made a phone call to his friend:

Theron:"The reason I went into another room is so Aiden wouldn't hear you singing...no offense. It's just that no one else's mom really sings. Well, I guess except Nancy. She sings sometimes. I mean, not like a hobby or anything. She's not in a choir or anything. She just sings sometimes when she's doing stuff."
Me: "Oh, you mean like I do?"
Theron: "Well, sort of. But she sings way different songs than you."
Me: (curiosity piqued) "What kind of songs?"
Theron: "Well, you know: this-year songs... no offense."

...I've officially become uncool.

Wish List

2010-07-22T18:40:00.000-07:00

Top three items on Vivian's wish list today:

1. A pink diamond
2. A pondo (condo)
3. Some pink silly willy (silly putty)

Eenie Meenie Miney Moe

2010-06-29T21:47:00.000-07:00

Choosing a husband is pretty serious business, and Vivian has clearly been putting some thought into it lately. Her first hopes were dashed recently when she learned she couldn't marry Aunt Beccah - but she did get a picture with the bride as a consolation prize.

This afternoon while riding in the car, she was listing her choices and the boys were shooting her down left and right.

Dad? Nope, already taken. Plus it's illegal. And uncouth.
Hyrum? Nope, he's probably going to marry Mia.
Aiden? Nope, he's a relative. (Although this one actually could be legit, since they're like twentieth cousins or something.)

Exasperatedly sighing and rolling her eyes, she glanced out the window, pointed out a random jogger, and said, "Fine. I'll just marry that guy then."

Ummm...no rush, baby girl. You have plenty of time.

Crafty is Not My Middle Name

2010-06-25T20:32:00.000-07:00

I'm not a natural crafter, but somehow I've found myself in charge of a few craft projects lately so I'm adapting. One thing I will say is that I'm very good at reading instructions. I can assemble a piece of furniture from the most poorly worded/translated directions and wield a keyboard and mouse with expertise.

Being the end of the school year, and having tapped the parents dry already for various school fundraisers and class projects, I needed to come up with a cheap but cool/meaningful end of year gift. I snuck into the school on a day the teacher was sick, snapped photos of the kids, and had each of them write a thank you note. (Some of the girls, inevitably more crafty than I, embellished their notes with rocks, feathers, beads, erasers, and other bits of flotsam they had in their desks. Presented a bit of a challenge in fitting them into an album, but we worked it out.) I planned to cover two pieces of cardboard with cute paper, punch a few holes, and tie it all together with ribbon. At the last minute I decided to go for something cuter, so I bought some felt and embroidery floss, googled instructions for a back stitch and blanket stitch, and came up with this:

I'm not going to admit how much time I spent on it, because that would probably ruin my bragging.

In other news, I signed up to donate three cakes for the school carnival's cake walk. Three didn't seem like a lot at the time I signed up, but on the actual day of the carnival I found myself wondering what I had done. Rather than mess with success, I decided to just make three of my same cake from last year. I even used a little math, calculating the circumference of my cake pans, multiplying by 3 pans, then dividing by the length of a kit kat bar to determine the number of kit kats I needed to buy. See how helpful 6th grade math can be? By the time I was done, my kitchen looked like this:

and the cakes looked like this:

They sold quickly - I guess you can't really go wrong with chocolate frosted chocolate wrapped in chocolate with extra chocolate poured on top. My condolences to the parents of the winners.

Anyway, there's my super crafty week in a nutshell. Thank goodness for google, and thank goodness for summer vacation.

In the Middle

2010-06-15T19:41:00.000-07:00

It's a little bittersweet, watching your kids grow up. I guess Theron is either a big little boy or a little big boy these days. He seems so grown up sometimes, carrying on conversations and such; then when I check on him at night before I go to bed, I'll notice that he still has little boys hands and sleeps burrowed down into a nest of pillows and his childhood blanket. It's an interesting mix, and one I'm guessing won't last too long. Today I offered to pay him to mow the lawn (he's saving up for a keyboard) and he just went right out and did it. He donned the safety glasses that came with a nerf dartgun (see - still my little boy!), got the mower out of the shed, started it up, and went at it all by himself. (I can see this being a very good thing in my life.) His wrists are sticking out of the sleeves of a shirt we bought two weeks ago and he still doesn't care much about brushing his hair before he leaves the house in the morning, but all signs are pointing toward the impending fact that he is growing up. I can't quite decide how I feel about it.

A Few thing I Love (AKA Smells I like)

2010-05-22T18:58:00.000-07:00

For lack of a more exciting subject, and in an attempt to beat my all time blog posts per year record (a lofty goal, I know) I decided to let you all in on a few of my favorite things.

Thing # 1: Baudelaire Essence Sea Loofah

It's french triple milled soap (so it lasts forever) and smells great for guys or gals. Plus it has nice little scrubby bits of seaweed in it that will make your skin soooo soft.

Thing # 2: Restoration Hardware Meyer Lemon Vacuum BBs

You put a little handful of these in your vacuum bag and then every time you vacuum your house smells great. Since vacuuming is my favorite chore, these are right up my alley. They come in lots of yummy scents but the lemon is my favorite.

Thing # 3: Speaking of a delicious, lemony smelling house... Lemon Pledge

Need I say more?

Thing # 4 Aveda Caribbean Therapy Bath Soak

This stuff is apparently going out of production and I don't know why because it is the best bath product ever invented. The smell is so great, it makes me want to buy up all the remaining bottles in the world and horde them. So far, they're still pretty easy to find.

Thing # 5 Wild Violets

For the longest time I tried to find seeds for these and no one seems to have any. After some recent googling, I discovered that most people consider them weeds. Too bad, because they smell so good and it's like finding a perfect little surprise when you come across one. (At least it is for me. I guess it's actually like coming across a minor annoyance for lots of people).

Anyway, there's my ultra exciting post of some of the most delicious smelling things in my life. And the blog keeps chugging along...

Show Them you Love Them

2010-04-20T10:21:00.000-07:00

I found this link on a friend's blog and loved the suggestions of simple ways we can show our kids we love them. Click HERE to read it.

Me with my mom 1983-ish.

Not to Brag or Anything, but...

2010-04-09T18:57:00.000-07:00

I'm sort of proud of these. I signed up to contribute a dessert to the school auction, thinking it would be a bake sale kind of thing. Turns out the desserts are being auctioned off, and I do NOT want to be the person who made the undesirable dessert. "Anyone? Come on folks, it's for a good cause. A dollar? Anybody?"

The pressure! So I racked my brain and came up with these. I think they'll be delish - I haven't actually eaten one yet, but what can be bad about cream cheese, fresh strawberries, and dark chocolate? More important in this situation though is that they're pretty. By the time someone has forked over their money it will be too late. Muahahaha.

What Goes On in the Back Seat

2010-04-07T21:07:00.000-07:00

The boys' conversation on the way home from scouts tonight:

THERON: Did you know if you get hit in the front of the head you can change your whole personality? A girl in my class knows someone who hit her head really hard and her parents were happy because all of a sudden she was a lot more responsible.
SETH: You mean she did her homework when her parents weren't home?
THERON: Yep....But don't hit me in the head, okay Mom?
(pause)
THERON: I've always had a lot of arm hair.
SETH: Well I've always had a lot of armpit hair.
THERON: No you haven't.
SETH: Yes I have, but at least I don't lick my armpits (gives armpit licking demonstration).
(pause)
THERON: What's your dream car?
SETH: (describes his dream car).
THERON: Well what's your dream house?
SETH: My dream car IS my dream house. I can live in my car and be a hobo.

Great. A pit-licking hobo. Regardless, I wouldn't hit the fronts of those two heads for all the world.

A Conversation with Vivian

2010-03-29T19:54:00.000-07:00

ME: Dad tore off the hub cap with his bare hands.
VIVIAN: Dad doesn't have bear hands!
THERON: Bare means no clothes on.
VIVIAN: But bears don't wear clothes.

This reminds me of another little chat we had last summer (back in my non-blogging days).

VIV:do rats live in the dark?
ME: in some places I guess.
VIV: and they fly around?
ME:Do you mean bats?
VIV:that's what I just said.
ME:Oh. Well, yes, bats fly around at night and sleep during the day.
VIV:Do rats eat their breakfast in the sunshine?
ME:You mean bats?
VIV:That's what I just said.
ME:No, bats eat at night.
VIV: Do rats eat their breakfast in the morning?
ME:You mean bats?
VIV:No, I'm talking about rats now. Do they eat their breakfast in the sunshine?
ME:I guess they do.
VIV:And they don't get too hot? ...

That's what goes on ALLLLLLLL day at our house.

Fun with Photo Booth

2010-03-29T09:19:00.001-07:00

Don't I just have the most attractive children?

taking flight

2010-03-26T11:03:00.000-07:00

As the room parent for Seth's second class, and finding myself unsuccessful at rounding up a volunteer to head up this year's PTA auction project, the task ended up on my to do list. For the last few weeks I've spend lots of time in the classroom helping the kids to draw birds with pastels. Then we talked about growing up, what they think life as an adult will be like, how they're different at 7 or 8 than they were at 3 or 4, etc. I had them write down their thoughts and ended up with some pretty cute statements:

"So far I've loved being seven."
"When I grow up I want to be a builder like my dad."
"When I grow up I'm only going to play video games, eat ice cream, and go to bed at 12:00."
"When I'm older I'm going to fix everything up."

After all the kids' contributions were turned in, I scanned, resized, printed, and cut them out then took a stab at painting and decoupaging. The project being due today, I worked into the wee hours this morning, took a break for some chicken pot pie at 1:00 am, and wrapped it up this morning around 2:30.

...

until i woke up this morning and realized I'd completely forgotten to put one of the kids' birds on it. So I added a branch, added a bird, smoothed a little Mod Podge over it, and voila! Now I just have to run it down to the school and clean up my disaster of a house.

"Dear Journal...

2010-03-16T15:31:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I've written, but I'm trying to be a better person. From now on I'm going to write in my journal, say my prayers, read my scriptures, wake up at 6 every morning to exercise, and do a service for someone every day. I'm making a little chart so I can check off the boxes as I go."

6-12 months later:

"Dear Journal,

It's been a long time..."

It's always a little embarrassing to start back up again when the last thing you wrote was that you were starting up again back THEN. My old journals are full of little charts that are faithfully fulfilled for about 3 days. I even made them for my sister and I'm sure she was really grateful.

So, true to form, here I am starting up yet again. In other news, this is what the kids look like these days:

The end. I'll be back again soon (I hope).

A Snowy Day

2008-12-19T16:44:00.000-08:00

Seattle has been hit by snow, and the rarity of the occasion has brought the fun times on. Seth's class was supposed to have a "day of centers" for their class party today. Since school was cancelled, we made our own day of centers. We started out with some sledding with the neighbor kids, then moved on to stories and hot cocoa. After a little break for Viv's nap, we'll finish off the day with movies and popcorn and bake some cookies for the neighbors. All in all, a good day!

Tagged

2008-11-11T17:56:00.000-08:00

I've been tagged! Thanks, Amber. Makes me feel cool : )

Quick 5 and List of 8

Quick 5:
1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
Throwing up. I was pregnant with Theron and didn't realize I had a ruptured appendix. I threw up every day for about 8 months.

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list today?
It's already night time so...
1. get the kids to bed.
2. catch up on laundry.
3. eat some of the cookies Viv and I made today.
4. read my scriptures (desperately trying to finish the Book of Mormon by the end of the year).
5. work on the kindergarten tours projects I signed up to run at the kids' school, which turns out to actually be a fairly huge job.

3. Snacks I enjoy: peanut m&ms, bruschetta, quesadillas, and corn chips with a sort of tacky cheese dip made with velvetta and rotel.

4. Places I've lived: WA, OR, AZ, UT, and back to WA.

5. Five things I'd do if I were a billionaire:
1. buy a Shelby Cobra
2. travel!
3. invest (doesn't everyone have to say that?)
4. pay off debt (that too?)
5. hire a staff, including a masseuse, secretary, and chef

A List of 8:
8 TV shows I love to watch:
1. 24
2. Lost
3. Arrested Development
4. The Office
5. Heroes
6. Grey's Anatomy
7. American Idol
8. House

8 favorite places I love to eat:
1. Tamarind Tree (Vietnamese place in International District)
2. Cafe Rio in Provo (I still dream about those fajita chicken burritos)
3. Outback Steakhouse (filet mignon, medium or medium rare with a baked potato and steamed veggies)
4. Icon Grill (comfort food at its best)
5. Red Mill (really yummy/greasy burgers)
6. El Sombrero in Walla Walla (Theron and I went there on our first date, and Theron ate most of my food plus all of his)
7. Romio's Pizza
8. McDonalds (sometimes you just need a nice flat cheeseburger that's been sitting in the warmer for a while).

8 things that happened yesterday:
1. cleaned half my bedroom
2. volunteered in the kids' school library (my secret dream job)
3. went to lunch with Theron and Viv -- a Monday tradition
4. had Family Home Evening
5. finished off the last of the Halloween candy -- thank goodness it's gone!
6. worked on plans for the Primary activity coming up in a couple of weeks
7. discovered that Netflix instant movies don't play on a mac :(
8. worked on Theron's online ad campaign, which I am now in charge of.

8 things I look forward to:
1. Christmas!!
2. and Thanksgiving.
3. getting out of debt. Student loans are so much more fun to borrow than to repay...
4. being 10 pounds thinner
5. getting a new car (in the distant future)
6. yard work in the Spring
7. apple cider and a crackling fire in the hearth. Maybe a little music.
8. my birthday, of course!

8 things on my wish list:
1. someone else for President
2. a fabulous wardrobe
3. a new flute
4. a day or two of complete silence
5. an herb garden
6. theater tickets
7. the next season of 24
8. someone else for President. (did I already say that?)

I tag: Danielle, Ali, Annie, Maran, Crystal, Catherine, Auburn, and Renee

Japanese Genius

2008-10-06T17:41:00.000-07:00

Apparently, the debate is not a hot topic so, moving on, I have recently discovered a source of humor that has thus far remained untapped in my little world. As it turns out, the Japanese have a rare sense of fun and adventure, and youtube has a plethora of hilarious examples of their ultra-creative and quirky game shows. This clip, one of my favorites, is from the ever popular show, "Silent Library." The premise of the show is this: several guys have a set of unpleasant but funny tasks that must be completed by the guy who draws the short stick. To make it even more interesting, the show is set in a library so the contestants must perform their feats in silence. Added entertainment comes from the translations. I find "hitted hip" to be a particularly poignant description. Take a look and prepare to be amused.

My Take on Debate #1

2008-09-27T14:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was practically a dream come true for me, since the first presidential debate essentially kicks off the intensity of the political season. Here are some of my thoughts on the debate:

point #1: Obama is presidential. He's a better debater, speaks directly, looks more like a president, and pretty much seems like a nice guy. The type of guy I'd want to be friends with. Unfortunately, his ideas lack substance and his plans are allarmingly socialist. AAAAAAHHHH!

On the other hand, I don't really care for McCain all that much. He's cocky, less attractive, and frankly, was a bit of a Debbie Downer last night. Also, his constant arm gestures irritate me even though I know that's really mean to say since he got his injuries as a POW. Plus, he was really a jerk to my man, Mitt. Anyway, as much as I wouldn't want to hang out with John McCain, he's the man for the job. Why? You'll find out as you read on.

Point #2: McCain has it on national defense. Pointing out Obama's lack of knowledge and experience in military strategy and his failure to visit Afghanistan despite the fact that he chairs a committee overseeing NATO in that country was a good move. McCain also pointed out all the senate votes he has made over the years that have turned out to be the right choices in hindsight.

Point #3: Obama is a big spender. Not that I mind spending money to help people in need. However, his solution is to "provide" healthcare, computers, access to education (nevermind the fact that it's already pretty easy to get money for college if you need it), etc. for everyone with tax dollars. Why not let people keep their tax dollars and spend them how they want?

Point #4: Capitalism drives America, and it should. It's what works. Robin Hooding his way around and turning this into a socialist society is not going to make Obama the best president ever. Look at Russia's super successful economy, for example. The middle class in a socialist society is worse off than the poor in a capitalist one. Obama kept talking about the fact that businesses and the "wealthy" don't need or deserve tax breaks. The fact is, 70% of all tax revenue comes from 10% of the population (the weathiest 10% paid about 48% of all taxes in 1981). I'm not suggesting that these people pay less taxes than everyone else, but I think it's poor policy to make them pay so much more. Obama talked a lot about tax cuts for the poor, which he would fund by increasing taxes on the already overburdened rich. The reality is that many of the poor already don't pay any taxes. About 30% of American wage-earners pay no taxes at all. He says "put money back in the pockets of the middle class." What? There's no "back." What he means is, "take money out of a rich man's pocket and put it in a poor man's pocket." Here's why it's good for everyone if the wealthy get tax breaks too. If you give a tax cut to a poor or middle class citizen, what does that do? It allows them to keep another few hundred dollars or maybe even a thousand a year to use as they see fit. Most likely, they'll pay bills or buy a tv or something. On the other hand, what happens if you give a tax cut to the wealthy too? You allow tons of money to stay in the hands of those who will grow the economy. They'll spread that money around in the food and travel industry, they'll invest, allowing other businesses to grow) and they might even hire a few people to do some things. They'll create jobs, which puts way more money in the pocket of a poor person than a couple of hundred dollars in their tax return would do. Same thing for businesses. America has the second highest business taxes in the world. We're at about 35%. Think of all the jobs that would be created if they could keep some of that money and expand some of their businesses. Think of all the money that would come into the US from other countries if this was a good place to start a business. Hmmm... Well, enough about money for now. Obama is NOT the Messiah. As inspiring as he is, there's no way he can rearrange things in a way that will ensure that everyone has everything they want, simply by virtue of the fact that they exist and live in the US. It can't work, and it shouldn't be done. That's it for point #4.

Most awkward Moment of the debate: Obama's statement "I have a bracelet, too." Well. Awesome for him. I think he even worked up a little quiver in his voice.

Most irritating thing about the debate: The way Obama always called McCain "John" even though McCain always called Obama "Senator Obama."

Funniest line: When Obama announced that he would consider attacking Pakistan, and McCain said "You don't do that. You don't say that out loud!"

Overall, I think Obama came across as more presidential, but McCain came across as the candidate who would actually make a better president. Hope you enjoyed my rant and I haven't alienated any of my friends too badly. You can count on more opinions from me in the days to come.

Name the Car Contest!

2008-09-20T11:54:00.000-07:00

For those of you who haven't yet met our sweet new set of wheels, I though I'd introduce her to you. Several weeks ago, someone turned left in front of Theron and smashed the front corner of our 94 Camry. It didn't take much damage to total it, so we found ourselves in the market for a "new" car. Now, I know lots of people think dentists drive BMWs and Porches, but I'll just say that some of us drive 93 Chevy Caprices. When we paid off our Camry back in 2002, we decided we never wanted to have a car payment again and so far we've stuck to that. In fact, we got a really super deal on this car. Here's how the conversation went:

Theron: The car's listed for $2,500, but would you take $2,000 for it?
Seller: Well, you can have it for $1,800.
Theron: Okay.

Nice, huh? So far it's been pretty fun. Complete strangers approach me on the street to talk about my car. Every kid who rides in it thinks it's a luxury car. They're all really impressed by the wood paneling, the bench seat in the front, and, most importantly, the rear facing third row seat in the back.

The only thing we need now, other than maybe a set of fuzzy dice for the rear view mirror, is a name. This car is practically begging for a name. She just has too much personality to remain anonymous. Post your suggestions, and to sweeten the deal I'll offer rear-facing seat privileges to the person that submits a name thats sticks.

The view from the back seat, taken by Viv.

What Does it Take?

2008-09-06T23:54:00.000-07:00

So, what does it take to bring me out of my shameful lapse in blogging? Maybe Theron graduating from dental school and buying a practice? Nope. Or buying a house of our very own and moving into it? Not that either. Surely then, it must be wrecking our car and replacing it with a totally sweet '93 wood paneled station wagon. No again. Yes, all those things happened. But what I really just couldn't resist blogging about was BYU FOOTBALL! WOOO HOOOO! I LOVE BYU football. I love it so much that we had season tickets when we lived in Provo and the only game we missed was BYU vs. San Diego State in 2001. That game, we watched on TV in the hospital while I gave birth to our second child, who, being the accommodating little soul he is, made his debut during half time. BYU defeated San Diego State 59-21 and Seth was born a healthy 7 lbs 3 oz.

Today the mighty Cougs came to Seattle, so Theron and I took the boys (Viv stayed with a sitter) to the stadium with a bunch of friends and cheered our men on to victory with a final score of 28-27. Not much can match the roar of the crowd, the smell of hot dogs, the stickiness of spilled soda on the soles of your shoes, and the rumble of the bleachers under your feet. The skies were sunny and our boys in blue managed to win in spite of some infuriatingly incompetent referees. In the end, justice was served and we tried really hard to keep the smug smiles off our faces in the midst of our foes.

Of course, being the inept blogger that I am, I didn't bring a camera so you'll have to make do with photos I found on the net.

Now that I've broken through that awkward barrier of "first-post-in-such-a long-time-that-it-has-to-be-really-awesome-to-make-up-the-deficit," I'm sure I'll be posting more regularly. I have a lot on my mind and I even promise to post some actual pictures of my actual family soon. So, stay tuned, because I'm back in the saddle. (and leave a comment here so I can see if I have any ultra-faithful readers who still have enough hope to check if I've finally posted something new.

Down with Mike Huckabee

2008-01-02T16:19:00.000-08:00

For those of you who don't know, I'm an admitted political junkie. I scour the internet for political news and am never happier than I am during the year before a presidential election. I have read practically every article addressing the presidential primaries for the last year and a half, and now that things are starting to roll, the anticipation is greater than it is for my own birthday. So on the eve of the ever important Iowa caucus that kicks it all off, I had to throw in my blog-ical support. Down with Mike Huckabee and GO MITT!
I'm Sarah, and I approve this message.

The "Good Girl Bep"

2007-12-11T23:43:00.000-08:00

Since Vivian has been able to climb out of her crib for the last 6 months or so, and since my little sister is going to have a baby (Yeah for Rachel and Blake!) I decided to pass the crib along and Viv has been sleeping on her mattress on the floor. I have been watching Craigslist for a good, cheap, used toddler bed for her and haven't found just the right thing at just the right price (except for one that was all the way down in Puyallup, and Ali pointed out that the cost of hauling it home would make it into a not-so-great deal). So today I was browsing the 'net, and came across this one at Wal-Mart for $49. Plus, I didn't have to refinish it since it isn't used! So Viv and I hopped in the car and came home an hour later with our very own "big-girl bed." Vivi has confused her terms a little though, and that plus her cute little speech impediments coined the title "GOOD girl bep." Unfortunately, she wasn't actually a very good girl going to bed in it tonight. I guess she is still learning how to handle a little freedom and I get to play warden. She looks so darn sweet in it though, especially when she's asleep! Now I just hope she doesn't dream about getting in trouble for getting out of bed over and over. I guess being a "good girl" takes practice, even for the most precious of us. Sweet dreams, little Viv!

Happy Birthday Vivian Lula!

2007-12-11T20:48:00.001-08:00

As you can see, I'm a couple of weeks late in posting this and I have no excuse to offer. But speaking of how time seems to slip away from me, I can't believe Vivian has been with us for two years now! I love that she is so independent now -- it is really fun to watch her learn and develop. At the same time, I have been looking through all my pictures of her and I miss her tiny self and her sweet baby phase.

Vivian November 29, 2005

Vivian November 29, 2006

Vivian November 29, 2007

As for the birthday party, she wasn't too impressed with the cake. In fact, she went from unimpressed...

to a little nervous...

to discovering that frosting is actually pretty good stuff.

For her birthday she got a baby stroller and new shoes to go on my old cabbage patch kid (we prefer designating it "vintage" to calling it a "hand-me-down"). She actually does have pants too -- they're just not in the picture.

She also got a Cozy Coupe, which is the official name for one of these:
She usually just calls it ""MYYYYYYYY Coupe! MYYYYYYYYY Coupe!" though-- especially if she suspects that someone else might be thinking of taking a spin in it.

At two, she is a comedian, a supervisor, an acrobat, and a do-it-yourself-er. I've always thought of her as a little pink bull-dozer. She knows where she wants to go, and always manages to pull together the resources to get herself there. She is strong-willed, loving, and charming all at the same time. I love you, darling Vivi! Happy Birthday!

Wild West Thanksgiving

2007-12-03T14:36:00.000-08:00

This year we spent Thanksgiving with Theron's brother and his family in California. The kids had fun playing with their cousins and Theron got to spend some time on Alex's drum set.

Jen worked night and day and turned out a perfect Thanksgiving dinner, complete with a barbequed turkey! I pretty much sat back and watched, although I did do a pretty artistic job of squirting the easy cheese into the celery sticks.
The next day we spent a few hours in Old Sacramento, which was really fun. There was a paddleboat hotel, as well as trains and a candy store that gave out free samples -- what could be better than that?

The kids got creative with their entertainment on the long drive home, and Vivian even slept a little!

All in all it was a great trip, and we loved spending time with Alex and Jen and their family. Thanks guys!

Vivian's New Look

2007-11-15T09:45:00.000-08:00

I bet from the title of this post you thought she cut her bangs or something. Nope. That day is still coming and the new look I am talking about is the expression on her face when I am not holding her. Thus, every picture I have of her over the last few weeks features this new look. I think she's taken the move kind of hard and still feels a bit displaced. She has also had two colds in a row, so that might have something to do with it too. We are finally (mostly) settled in to our new house and all except Viv are loving it. Every time I use the microwave without blowing a fuse (it always tripped a breaker in our old apartment) I think -- I am loving this. Every time I load or unload the dishwasher instead of washing by hand I get excited. When I do laundry in my own basement and can leave stuff in the dryer overnight I think my life is awesome. The kids are in love with the backyard and I love the fact that they can have friends over without me having an anxiety attack that we'll get in trouble from the lady downstairs for all the noise. I even love that I have a real mailbox instead of trying to fit oversized envelopes (read: Netflix) into that little metal slot. Anyway, enough of me raving over that fact that I have appliances and normal wiring. Poor little Viv -- I guess she still doesn't know just what to do with herself.

She chose this outfit (worn commando, by the way) and put it on herself. Can't you just see her fashion sense emerging?

My Favorite Toys

2007-10-23T21:37:00.000-07:00

I was talking about Christmas shopping with Crystal and Catherine last week and we are all motivated to get started (and hopefully finished!) early. We decided to compile lists of our favorite tried and true toys to help each other out. Here are a few of the toys our kids have loved. I hope you find some ideas here that you can use, and I hope you can suggest some ideas I can use! The Quadrilla marble run is one of those toys you imagine preserving for your grandchildren and they will all beg to come to your house so they can play with it. It's a little more expensive than other marble runs but the pieces are all wood and each color of block processes the marble a different way so the kids have a lot of fun experimenting with different set ups. I posted a picture of the basic set and there are tons of other sets and individual pieces you can add to your collection.

We also love geotrax. Again, you can buy a basic set and then add more and more pieces as you go. Our setup can fill up our whole living room now, and the kids (and dad) like making it wind around and under furniture. This train set is cheaper than the wooden ones (it's plastic). It's great because it's really sturdy, and pieces are easy for little hands to snap together. It has remote control engines and lots of little stations for loading things into the cars in various clever ways.

Board games are always good -- we like Stratego, Monopoly Jr. (the kids call it "Mini Monopoly") Carriboo (made by the same people who made Cranium), and the old classic, Sorry.

We don't actually have this, but look how cute it is! Vivian is always following me around with a squeege or a feather duster, so I'm thinking about getting her something like this and who knows -- I may end up with a slightly cleaner house! (I suppose I can also just recommend feather dusters and squeeges for Christmas fun).

Sports equipment and books are also big hits in our house. I'll post some of our favorite books soon. We will be moving (just a few blocks up the hill) starting tomorrow, so I won't be around much for a few days. Happy shopping, and please suggest your favorite toys!

Pucker Up!

2007-10-22T20:52:00.000-07:00

I actually snatched this out of Suzanne's blog, but I just thought it was hilarious. It's a video of babies eating lemons.

Corndog Chaos

2007-10-22T18:38:00.000-07:00

Today has been filled with little explosions of chaos, the most intense one being the dinnertime circus. Being "one of those days," plus the fact that Theron was working late, I decided to cop out and feed the kids corn dogs. So, the corndogs are heating in the toaster oven and suddenly I am accosted by a brilliant display of sound and motion. All at once Vivian (who is somehow mysteriously half naked and covered in green marker) is climbing up my leg and repeating a rhythmic "A see a whood? A see a whood! A see a whood? A see a whood!" (For those who don't speak her particular dialect, that's "I want to see the food," with her tone alternating between question and command). At the same time Seth launches into the ever popular "Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom!" -- each "Mom!" punctuated with approximately three finger jabs to my arm. To complete the frenzy, Theron is giving an animated demonstration of the Pokemon scenario he and Calvin acted out at recess today. So, a little blaze of craziness and then the toaster oven dings, I put the cordogs on the plates, and peace is restored. Of course then the boys say "Hey! We had corndogs for lunch today!" Great. Well, you do have the bread group, the meat group, plus all the other groups that are probably represented in the "meat" that makes up a hotdog. They each had a glass of milk, no one wanted applesauce, and I am calling it good. Now I'm getting pajamas out and heading for the home stretch!

Look what I found!

2007-10-22T17:24:00.000-07:00

After lunch today Vivi and I went to try some shoes on at Nordstrom (at one point we were actually fighting over the same pair of ankle boots) and then... I found these little beauties! I read a book once called The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty. There's a character named Faye, who's arguably the most unlikable character ever written. She's completely self-absorbed, immature, and oblivious. Anyway, she goes out shopping one day while her husband is dying in the hospital and brings home a pair of new shoes which she proudly displays on the mantle. Of course Theron isn't dying in the hospital or anything, but if I had a mantle I might be tempted to put these on it for a while. I know that's sort of shallow but they're purple suede!

Foxy Lady

2007-10-22T17:13:00.001-07:00

This morning Vivian and I were getting ready to meet Theron for our weekly lunch date. In the amount of time it took me to rub the moisturizer into my face, this little darling managed to get up into the make-up cupboard and fix herself up for an afternoon on the town. She's a girl after my own heart, but with a slightly less steady hand.