The Daily Crumble

I used my thesaurus to come up with that title, a take off from "the daily grind". I am not completely sold on it, but I think "crumble" fits the happenings of my day more than "grind". When I think "grind", I think of the some thing happening uniformly- somewhat of a routine. When I think "crumble", I think of events more haphazardly occurring. So I took it and now it sits as the title of this day. I got the idea for the post from a friend that said she would like to do this, Erin Seymour. I don't believe she had time to do it yet because that was just yesterday. I figured I was sure to forget to do it if I didn't start today. Who knows how long I will actually keep track, but the purpose is to get somewhat of an idea what I accomplish each day. Like all my posts, I am writing this for me, not for you- which means I shouldn't have needed to write that.
Without further ado, here was my Thursday:
4:00 am Corban woke me up for his nightly feeding (this was much later than usual, so I was proud of him)
4:10 am I was back to sleep with Corban cradled in my arms, finishing his delicious mother-made milk
5:25 am I wake up startled- alarm clock going off, Jared sleeping as usual, and Corban is still cradled in my arms. I jump out of bed to put Corban in his own bed and I throw on my workout clothes. I am usually leaving around this time, so I am feeling really late.
5:30 am In the car driving to the 4S Ranch LA Fitness.
5:40 am Racing to put the stereo equipment together and then get my equipment (bench, 3 sets of weights, and a mat) all set up.
5:46 am Said some anecdote to get the class started with a smile...that is a challenge this early in the morning, but there are the one or two people that are willing to amuse me with a smile.
Then it was an hour of muscle challenging work. I always tell people I teach to keep my brain active while I workout, otherwise I would be bored.
6:50 am I always seem to take my classes over the allotted time. I call Jared to see if our plan is still the same- and it is. He is off to the RPQ Golden Spoon with Corban.
I clock in, recording there were 10 people in class, say my goodbye as I pass by the front desk and jump in my car to drive home.
7:00 am I arrive at home. Nika gives a bark to inform me she is still in her kennel. I can't bare to leave her in there while I selfishly take a shower, so I take her on a quick walk- I tried the backyard first, but then I felt guilty, so I took her up the street (her favorite place to go potty).
We come back inside and I jump in the shower- it's a quick one because I know Jared needs me ASAP. I get out, get dressed, dry my hair, somewhat fix it (a lot less than I do on days I am not rushed, but even then it doesn't take long), put on eyeliner, curl my eyelashes, pour a bowl of homemade granola with milk, grab coupons and diaper bag with snacks and sunscreen, and get in the car.
7:45 am I arrive at the RPQ store to relieve Jared so he can get his bum over to LJ for a meeting with Jen Gateley, our Accountant. He doesn't seem to be in a hurry, so we talk a little bit, he tells me what Corban has been doing, checks out with the assistant Electrician that is doing work in the store, we switch the car seat base back to my car, a sweet kiss and he is off.
8:05 am I start feeding Corban baby food Bananas. "Yummy", he would say if he could talk. I really sounds more like "Umm. Umm. Umm." The Electrician in charge came in and said they were all done and would be cleaning up there stuff in the back and they would be out of here. this was MUCH sooner than Jared expected, which got me off the hook for the morning.
8:22 am I lock up the door and pull out Corban's stroller and walk over to VONS. I am only going in to buy baby food. Not only that, but ONLY the foods that are corresponding with the coupons I have. It takes me a while to pick out the ones I want, even though the variety isn't that huge. I check out, having spent $18 and saving a total of about $4, exchange a few cordial words with a store manager, and back to the car. Throw the groceries in the trunk, put sleeping Corban in his car seat, collapse the stroller and heave it into the trunk, and off we go to the park.
9:00 am We arrive at Views West Park. We are the only ones there- not a sign of life on the playground. I figure more moms will come eventually, especially Wendy Kim because I invited her and she said she would meet me there. I fix Corban a bottle, figuring the banana's surely couldn't have satisfied his belly. As I am walking with Corban in his stroller, holding a bottle for him, over to a shady bench, Wendy pulls up. After Corban finishes his bottle I realize it is time to change a stinky diaper, which we did on the grass on top of a hooter-hider because I don't have a changing pad in the diaper bag. Shortly after, Jen Allen, baby Isaac, and her mother in law show up. As we are all chatting we begin to get hot, so we move to a shadier spot. At this point I decide I can try putting Corban in a swing so we can say we actually "played" at play group. Proof:

He had such a great time.

Kim Garcia arrived with her two boys and a baby she is watching. Us ladies all talked, me holding Corban, and the rest of the kids ran a played. Isaac Allen started getting vocal so mom decided to take him home. Shortly after Jen left, Erin Seymour and her two girls showed up. Here is a great picture of the result of bartering for "fishy crackers" from Ashlyn. Ashlyn got off with a "chocolate bar" and a sweet "thanks" from Isaac.

We enjoyed more talking until about 11:30 am, when we all decided it was time to gather things up and leave.
12:00 pm I arrive at Babies "R" Us to complete a step in my 3 step plan of negotiating a cheaper price for our horse bouncer. I sneak in some Enfamil because I had a $1 off coupon. Loaded those items in the car. Then a short walk over to Target to look for a floaty we borrowed from Seymour's yesterday at Pool Day- we want one of our own. I got a little side tracked when I passed an isle where a lady , talking to her young child, was saying they needed a step stool. I too am in need of one so I looked where they were looking. Didn't find any, but I did find Vacuums, which made me think about how I need a vacuum I can do stairs with. Nothing came of that thought. I checked out of Target $45 later- didn't even find the right floaty.
1:00 pm I am tired and want to go home, but it would be nice to stop by Costco and see what they have in their "Coupons" which are expiring soon (turns out, August 3rd is the expiration). We park, grab a cart, go to Membership desk for the coupons, walk in the Entrance and are reminded by the convenient 1 Hour Photo that we could print some pictures.
1:15 pm "Will it take the full 1 hour?" I ask. I got "No" as the response. I spend the next 10 or so minutes going through the coupons to decide what we want to use, trying to stick to things that I would normally buy. Jared received a phone call about whether or not I should buy a 250 GB hard drive that was $20 off $109. He said no, but then I looked at the item and decided "yes". Since the coupon items were all we were shopping for, I arrange them in the best order and off we go to pick up the goods. Somewhere close to the end of my item picking Rosemary and Emily Wells come up behind me and we are all excited about the coincidence. They "Ooo" and "Ahhh" over how adorable this little guy is, who was actually pretty upset with how long this shopping was taking since he was sitting in his car seat the entire time. Just before they stopped me I had given Corban a wrapper from an almond sample to make him happy (he loves paper and is easily distracted when given something new). He had it in his mouth, tightly clamped between his front gums. I
decide to take it away from him as I start talking to them. This, of course, makes him mad, but taking him out of the seat does bring a smile.
We finish our conversation with them and then I pick up the last few items. They happen to be huge items- diapers and wipes- so I get lots of stares on my way back to the photo lab- it was now 2:08 according to Costco time, so I was sure my pictures were done.
2:17 pm I wait in line at the check stand. It sure is going to be hard to convince Jared we saved money when the total ended up being $200+. We walk out to the car, carefully load all our items into our already loaded car (mostly just junk that I really should clean out), and then we got in and headed for home.
2:40 pm Arrive at home. Jard answered the door in his garments- hiding behind the door "in case someone walks by." He takes the sleeping baby while I unload the rest of the car.
3:00 pm I listen to voice mails and return a phone call to Jen Gateley regarding picking up a signed check. Jared leaves.
3:10 pm Put away the groceries- baby food took the longest.
3:20 pm Nursed Corban- it was only for a few minutes, but he did latch on!
3:30 pm Diaper change. We took pictures since this is his usual now (twisting and turning when the diaper is off):

3:38 pm Prepared information and check for Jen so it would be ready when she arrived. Did a few other paperwork things, including checking the bank account and paying an AMX bill that just arrived in the mail.
3:55 pm Picked up a bit in the kitchen and family room. While busy doing that, Corban was crawling on the floor to the tile. This got me side-tracked into mopping the floor because he has a tendency to put his hands in his mouth- gotta keep things clean. This led to mopping a couple areas of the tile floor. Then back to picking up the house.
Somewhere in the picking up of things I came across a $5 off coupon for Enfamil that expires today. I get this bright idea that I should have Jared take back the bouncy horse, step 3/the final step of my plan, and the "Natural Nurser" bottle that Corban doesn't seem to enjoy, and redeem this $5 coupon. When he walks in the door that is the first thing I say to him. Of course he is willing to do it.
4:30 pm Corban sits down to a nice meal of Rice Cereal, Squash and Banana's. I think I waited a little too long to feed him because he was VERY vocal while we started the feeding. This is when Jen Gateley quietly knocks on the door. I have Jared trade me places because I need to talk to Jen. She ends up coming in and watching Corban eat, per Jared's invitation. I finish the feeding.
5:00 pm Just as Jen is leaving I get a phone call from Tang, our night cleaner that is so sweet and loves to talk and hear about how Corban and I are doing. I know this will be a long lasting conversation. On my mind is how I have Scrapbook Night starting in 1 hour, but I work/clean while I talk on the phone. Minutes into it I see Jared sitting down at the computer to watch LOST, so I whisper to him that I could use some help, and I motion towards boxing up Rock Band for Wii because "there is going to be young boys coming over."
5:35 pm I am off the phone and I figure I have just enough time to vacuum the family room. I has only been a few days since I last vacuumed, but it always makes a room look cleaner. Plus, that would be were the boys were going to hang out, so I best make it clean for play. I put Corban in the bouncer and he watches as I vacuum. Jared comes in and starts talking to me about Scuba Diving certs- so we pick up and talk at the same time. His conversation has too much detail for me, so I say so to him. He gets his point across and the conversation dies as he sits back at the computer and starts watching LOST again.
5:56 pm I make sandwiches for dinner so we have something with some nutrition. I get Jared to pray on the food with me.
6:03 pm We finish the prayer and the doorbell rings- it's Kim Garcia, her boys, and her friend, Bonnie. Nika gets put in the garage and I let them in help them with their stuff. We set up the table Kim brought and start getting them settled. I walk by Corban and see-

I guess mommy left him a little too long. I go grab jammies and try to gently pull him out of the bouncer. He wakes up and is crying all through getting clothes on. Jared packs him up and leaves for the store (the Babies "R" Us run) and Brent's (to play Rock Band) for the evening while the girls scrapbook.
6:20 pm Jen Allen arrives. I go up stairs to pull together some scrapbook stuff because up until this time I have not been able to do so. I also bring down Corban's picture frames because I actually printed pictures for the today so I need to do it now or it will never happen.
6:40 pm Maricela Knapp arrives. I start organizing my photos into chronological order. All the while us ladies are enjoying female conversation about lots of different stuff.
7:00 pm Odile Richart arrives. I help her get situated, somewhat, then I start fiddling with pictures again. Check on the boys. Take a few bites of the sandwich I had made myself. I finish the picture frames and continue to work on photo organization
7:30 pm Maricela leaves (her husband wasn't going to come home to be with her boys so she needed to be there for the evening). I help her get out the door, then I check on the boys. Few more bites of sandwich. Back to the scrap booking table. Witness many cute moments of Kim disciplining Isaac, who is a little ball of energy.
8:30 pm Odile leaves- saying she actually got something accomplished, which isn't usually the case (according to her). I bring up the subject of whether or not anyone would be interested in doing scrap booking more frequently. It wasn't a resounding "YES", but there is interest (they probably feel much like I do- they would love it but don't know if it is actually a reality in life).
9:00 pm Kim and Bonnie pack up to leave. I help carry a few things out. When I come back in Nika reminds me with a little bark that she is still in the garage. I let her in. Back to organizing. Jen mentions how it looks like she won't see the promised scrapbook page from me. Truth. Nika is trying to get my attention by bringing toys and rubbing them on my leg, trying to get me to take them. She also does this licking thing that is a sign she needs to go out to the bathroom. I attempt to take her out, which I am usually very cautious about because she doesn't listen to me and will run up the hill. This is scary at night for me because she has been attacked by a coyote before. She does listen to me and does her business.
9:50 pm Jen starts packing up, so I call Jared so he can come home. I show Jen my "scrapbook space", which trails her through my MESSY upstairs, and isn't really a sight to see at this point. I am reminded how it would be nice if I lived a cleaner life, and on the other hand that this is my reality and it is okay if others get a peek in every once in a while (not the picture perfect life they never guessed anyway).
10:00 pm I walk Jen out with her stuff, say our goodbyes, with a plan to see each other at the beach tomorrow. I go in a start cleaning up the tables, and actually sit down to decide on a few photos to put in my pre-made scrapbook Kristie gave me for my baby shower on the subject of Corban's first year. I didn't actually put the pictures in the book, but I did make a few decisions. Clearly I didn't start doing this until all my pictures were in order.
10:20 pm Jared arrives home with a zonked out baby. I continue to clean off the table that belongs to Kim because she will be picking it up in the morning when we walk at 7 am.
10:40 pm I pass by Corban, getting ready to go upstairs to start this blog, but I can't resist his need to be cuddled by me. I pull him out of the car seat and he wakes up enough to start rooting. I take this opportunity to nurse him (as we know we have a problem with this) as I am walking up the stairs with him.
10:55 pm I put Corban in his own bed, brush my teeth, and sit down to the computer. I check emails first,write a few responses and forward on a few messages that I meant to do earlier for work.
11:22 pm I start this blog. It takes a long time to type a days happenings.
12:30 am Still blogging, I yell down to Jared to see if he is still awake. He is. He eventually makes his way up to our room and says I look sleepy- which I am. He plays on his phone for a bit and then makes subtle hints that I should get to bed before he surrenders to sleep. I am reminded that I don't have to finish this blog at this moment, so I do go to bed.
1:20 am I actually go to sleep, with the debate in my head of whether or not I will be able to go walking at 7 am.

8:45 am I finished this post, after walking with Kim.

Note: Times are a little off from here to there because the clocks in my life are all a bit forward, anywhere from 2 minutes to I think 15 minutes, which doesn't exactly concur to the rest of the world where atomic time is easier to achieve (I have a clock that shows this, too). But then again, none of my clocks concur with one another. I like it that way and no one can really convince me otherwise. (My liking of the word "concur" came from the movie "Catch Me if You Can")
Second Note: This jumps between past and present tense. I couldn't make up my mind and I am not going back and fixing it.

To Be or Not To Be...

That is the question. Jared and I are contemplating taking in a 14 year old girl who is 5 months pregnant and needs a host family for the rest of her pregnancy. My interested was peaked in Relief Society when the announcement was made because we are always looking for ways we can be more charitable (Jared is good at this, so I am just trying to make a contribution). I am so pro adoption because of Heather's involvement and getting two beautiful children that have a great life because of the hard decision their birth mother had to make. So I took the question to Jared whether or not this was something I could look into further. Of course he said yes, so I received the actual inquiring email:
Subject: host home
I am working with a family from San Ysidro. There is a 14 yr old girl that is pregnant due in early November. She was still getting encouragement from family to have an abortion and the birth father (who is 20 years older than she ) suggested she just leave the baby in the trash. I am speaking with her older sister who is advocating for adoption?. I'm going to meet with them tomorrow morning. The sister is hoping I can find a "host home" for the 14 yr old so she's away from bad influences. Her mother suggested giving the baby to the brother but the sis told me he used crystal meth?.. Sooooooooooooooooo??.. if you know of anyone who might have a spare room and a heart for this young girl, would you forward this email?
Thank you and God's blessing on you.

When reading the email to Jared we talked about some concerns we might have. Jared specifically brought up the fact that Mexican culture are very tight knit families and if anything were to go wrong or she decided she didn't like something we were doing she could get her boyfriend or brother to come make a problem for us. There is also the issue of stealing that has to be considered. So I sent an email inquiring more:
I heard about the need for a host home for a 14 year old pregnant girl. I am interested because we have a spare bedroom and I am always for supporting adoption as my sister has adopted children. I do, however, have some concerns for my own family (I have a 7 month old baby and we are currently finishing a remodel on our home..but we do have a spare bedroom that is complete) with the situation that this young girl is coming from and would like to discuss them further if you are still in need of a host.

I then talked to someone from the adoption agency to get more information. In addition to what I read in the email, this young girl has decided on her own that she wanted to give the baby up for adoption, contrary to her mother's encouragement to get an abortion. The family is quite poor and the home she is living in is over populated with a lot of crazy stuff going on- therefore, not an environment for a young pregnant girl. They would like her to have a "host home" mainly so she has a better influence and financial situation, but also because they don't want extended family to know of the situation. She will be doing home study for her schooling and as soon as she chooses a family for the baby, they will be the one to take her to appointments. When I asked if she was a good girl, the response was that she seems well spoken and mature for her age. So we would be providing her room and board, occasional rides to appointments or other places she may need to go, a more comfortable family environment, and a safe haven from bad influences.
Is this something I am really up for? I wouldn't be concerned except for what other people bring up as things to be concerned about- her background and whether or not she is a good, honest girl, her performance in school up to this point, the invasion of our privacy, and the time commitment this will be. I actually worry more about whether I am prepared to discipline a 14 year old. In my mind she would just be like an adult, knowing right from wrong and always choosing right to avoid negative consequences- obviously this isn't so. After talking with my mom and a friend about it, it made me think about house rules that would have to be vocalized- everything from our expectations of how she keep her personal space, chores we would need her to do, time spent watching TV (ha, she will be sorely disappointed if she likes TV since we don't have cable) or movies, to being firm about how we view honesty and integrity and how if there is ever a question as to whether or not she is stealing or lying to us we will have to have her leave. What else haven't I thought of?
We are trying to arrange to meet her and to be able to talk more with the adoption agency about her background. That might clear my mind to make the decision. Jared is pretty much going to say yes if I want to do it.

On the other side of life is the question as to how much to donate to Prop 8, protecting marriage between a man and a women in California. It has strongly been encouraged at church to be vocal of our position on this proposition and so make a non tax deductible donation to the cause. When I got the donation slip it had boxes you could check with amounts of $50- $5,000. We have yet to turn it in because we have not been able to decide on an amount. Then tonight we were one of the chosen few who were visited by the Bishop. This was the first time I have actually spoke with and received direction from Bishop Wilcox since he was just called at the beginning of this month.
He of course started out by finding out how we are doing and thanking us for our involvement in the ward. Then he talked to us about Prop 8 and our need to help in preserving traditional marriage. A few years ago Prop 22 was voted on that made marriage between man and woman the law, but just recently it was put to vote by 7 judges, with a 4-3 majority voting for same sex marriage. We are now trying to amend the California Constitution to state that "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California." The sad thing about this is that the people already voted and made a decision to preserve traditional marriage- then judges voted and changed the law. So we are working to get people to vote again and vote YES on Prop 8. I told him how I have a difficult time explaining the WHY to people that are not devout to religion and don't have a testimony of family like we do. He talked about the "coat tail" of consequences that follow behind what seems to be a small issue. Though we don't know and can't know all that would follow if traditional marriage is not preserved in the constitution, but we do know that we are suppose to do all we can to support the sanctity of marriage and family. The Family proclamation is fabulous in defining this for the world.
He discussed the importance of making a donation to this cause and that it should be a generous donation. We told him we have been planning on donating, we have just not been able to decide on the amount. He again talked about making it generous- it should stretch you a bit, to the point that you feel an "ouch". I think it was at that point that both Jared and I thought to ourselves the amount that we should donate. I really liked to have the visual of "ouch", as that put it into terms that helped determine an amount- which happened to be more than double what we had been considering at first. I guess that is why I never felt at ease with the amount.

So that is what has mainly been on my mind. Corban continues to be his happy cute self. He is getting more and more mobile every day. His favorite things to do is to travel to the TV cords and play in them (strangulation hazard) or crawl to the edge of the carpet where it meets the tile and pull back the carpet (occasionally he pulls out carpet strings which could be a choking hazard- but I don't think he eats them). He is still loving his bouncy horse. I think he is starting to get the hang of rhythmically bouncing. Today was the first day I have let him play with wood blocks. He was very entertained for some time. He was just talking away as he banged them together, gathered them in his arms, and put them him his mouth. He is still loving solid foods. He enjoyed his first bite of peaches on Sunday. We haven't had much luck with nursing. I got really mad at him last night when I couldn't get him to nurse and I was positive there was milk in there and he WAS hungry. I ended up having to feed him a bottle because he just wouldn't eat from me. As I fed him the bottle and pondered my reason for being mad, I determined I express my sadness through anger. That could be quite enlightening for other times. But in that moment I decided that I would just allow myself to be sad about it. I will keep trying nurse for the next week or so, but if he won't do it, I will let him have it his way. I guess I didn't realize that it really is the baby who decides when they are done. I just wish it wasn't so soon. How can he possibly desire to have formula over yummy breast milk? I have considered pumping, but every time I have tried (since the last 5 1/2 ounce bottle last week) I only get about 1-2 ounces. Not enough to make it worth the time and energy. This is why I need another baby to be on it's way.
We experienced an earthquake today. On the first tremor Jared said, "That must have been a HUGE gust of wind." I said as I looked out the window, "That was no gust of wind. There is not even a breeze outside. It was a tremor." Maybe 10 seconds later the second tremor made it's way through. We all (Jared, Wilson, Corban, Matthew- Stephanie Martins baby, and me) just stood there. Afterwards I thought, "What if that would have become something huge and I didn't make any attempt to run for cover and protect my baby?"

To bed I go as I hope to get up early and do some more yard work- I am slowly picking up on all the things a house wife is to do. I must say, house wives work rather long hours.

Memories

This comes to you from an idea I received from Allison. I wanted to post on her blog, so I decided I would add it to my own. Allison, as soon as I can find that picture, I will post it for you :)


1. As a comment on my blog leave a memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me well or not so well, anything you remember.

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and people will leave a memory about you. It's a fun way to get to know each other better. If you leave a memory about me I'll assume you are playing and I'll go to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog I'll leave my memory of you in my comments on my blog.

Reading Other People's Lives

So I have pondered my own question from a few days ago. I actually asked the question because I was feeling a little down for the moment- late nights sometimes do that to me because of being tired. Having thought about it for a few days and read the comments from Jacqui and Colleen, I feel I have a more positive, constructive outlook.
Honestly there have been times that when I read other's blogs that I begin to feel insecure about my own life. I can't tell you the last time this happened BEFORE reading other people's blogs. My guess it would be back in college or when I was single. So my first inclination would be to STOP reading and just enjoy my life. Jacqui made a very valid point that

"sometimes they do make me feel like I need to start living, but mostly I just enjoy their sweet moments and am glad for my own. Sometimes they give me good ideas to fit into our lives though, like trips to places or ideas to organize things better."

to use her own words. Granted, I shouldn't spend a majority of my day looking in on other's lives or else I really won't have much going for me.
Evaluating what makes me feel negatively I come up with the following answers (I use "they" but most are "she"):
-They are so good at this or that.
-They seem to have the perfect relationship and seem so in love.
-Wow, they are getting that done and that has been on my list for months.
-I wish I could write in away that could grasp every aspect of my experiences like they do.
-I wish I had time for that.
-Oh, they make that look so much more fun than when I do that, or when I experienced that.
-I wish I would have done that when I was going through a similar experience.
Okay, I am now really reaching to add to the list, but I think this makes the point I am trying for. Most of those answers come by forgetting to look at my own life. So I take an outsiders look at my own life and I could say similar things about things I do experience, produce, and accomplish. Sometimes I surprise myself with what I am doing, how I feel in my relationships, or how I see myself progressing. Definitely the negative is there, but you can get away without dwelling on it and just keeping trying for that next step forward.
My best answer for how to keep it positive is to make a physical list of priorities. These are personal and really look deep into what you want for your life. Once you have the list, then you find the greatest happiness and feeling of accomplishment in life by living in accordance with those priorities. I would imagine many people's list could be simplified to a list similar to mine, but how it is defined in your own life is what makes the difference. When I am not living according to my priorities and I am allowing other fillers to take up the space where important things should be placed, that is when I feel insecure or down about my life. Of course I have times of weakness, which I seem to have been experiencing in the area of spirituality for some time now (I have been well aware of this). Now that I have realized this (that I have insecurities when reading about others) I can see that I need to put more priority on getting back to my priorities.
I really am grateful for so many things in my life. It isn't just the list I have created in hopes that I will continue to be grateful for them, or that I am wishing I were whole heartedly grateful for them. I have things that I think about on a continual basis that I thank Heavenly Father for blessing me with- and I sure could thank him more often for them. Just to name a few:
Jared Scott Crane. Of course I am grateful for my husband and the father of my child. But I really am! This man, with all the imperfect things I point out in him (a fault of my natural man tendencies that Jared doesn't seem to have), is so perfect for ME. I truly am blessed to have a husband that can humble himself and say sorry and want to kiss and make up when the other person (me) still wants to throw it in his face. He takes it. This is one of my weaknesses and could be an end to my relationship if I didn't have a husband like Jared. (Nothing happened recently, I am just well aware that we never have big arguments because he doesn't allow it to happen- he will give in before it ever becomes a problem). He is also VERY thoughtful when it comes to how we work things out together- he usually gives more on the side of making me happy than getting what he wants.
I was talking with a friend the other day and when she spoke of reasons she liked her significant other, the reasons all came back to what he did for her, or how he made her feel. As I analyzed this I thought, "There must be more reasons I like Jared than just for what he does for me." It is true, I like Jared because of the person he is. I love his concern for others and desire for their happiness (or eternal salvation, depending on how it is applied in the situation). He is so sweet with our elderly neighbor that just adores him and asks him to do the silliest of things, like reset her alarm clock when the power goes out. I love his ability to memorize things (this one does benefit me, but I admire it about him and for him). I love that he doesn't care about appearances, such as what he looks like physically, that he is sometimes mistaken for a girl on the phone because he has a higher voice, or that he doesn't know all the answers (even the answers that he should know). And he has just started this new thing that whenever he walks into the closet he has to do 5 pull ups (there is a pull up bar in our closet)- I love it. It is such a guy thing to do. The list goes on for him.
Corban is my next blessing I give thanks for often and really mean it. If he were anyone elses they would be doing the same thing. This little guy is the sweetest, happiest, most darling little boy. Of course a mother would say this about their son, and she should. Babies are such a blessing to a mother. It is the greatest feeling to come into Corban's view and have him get the biggest smile ever because he knows you are his mom. He is such a beautiful little person and I have a hard time fathoming he came from me. What a miracle our bodies are and the things we can do with them. He is growing up way too fast and I only hope to be able to repeat this miracle a couple more times so I have a few more chances of taking it all in.
One last one because it is getting late. It isn't necessarily at the top of the list, as people and relationships usually fill all those spots, but in a different area of life, I am SO grateful to live the life of a stay-at-home-mom. The definition, I am sure, has a different meaning to anyone who wants to define it. So for me this is what it is at this "glimpse" in time (I know it is going to change, but that is one of the beauties of it, right?):
-I have the freedom of waking up some mornings really early and other mornings really late- it is the fact that it isn't always the same that is great for me. And if I wanted, I could make it always early :)
-I get to think up things to do with my infant for play time (which is all the time)- should we sing and dance, just smile and laugh with each other, watch him bounce in his horse bouncer and get really excited, leave him to play on his own and come back and find him licking the kitchen floor (I should have been mopping the kitchen floor when I left him to be alone, but I am sure I was doing something way more productive), or listen to him cry until I realize he is more important than whatever I was doing.
-Feed him- I have already written reasons why I LOVE these times in the day.
-Getting to do house work. It is weird, but I do enjoy house work- dishes, laundry (washing more than folding), scrubbing floors, or showers, or counters, sweeping, windows (new found favorite), etc. Just because I love it doesn't mean it gets done, so the house isn't always clean- in fact, a majority of the time it isn't :)
-Doing work (GS work) anytime I want to- I can put it off 'til later, or do it now because it is convenient. Or not do it at all and use the excuse, "I didn't have time because I was playing with Corban. Find someone else to do it."
-Shopping! I love most any kind of shopping, so even a simple trip to the grocery store for the essentials fulfills my need to shop. Oh, and with this new position, the "essential" list just got longer and now it includes stores like Target, Babies R Us, and online stores.
-Budgeting- I like a challenge, especially when it has to do with self discipline. Sometimes I fail, but there is always next month.
-Take a nap if I want. This is usually only desirable when Corban makes it so. Sometimes when putting him down in the afternoon I just join him- it's easier than fighting it.
-Making dinner for my hubby. He probably wishes this happened more often, and frankly so do I. The truth of the matter is that I think of food a lot less than I use to, so sometimes I forget about dinner. Never thought I would say that, but it is true. I think it will eventually become part of my routine because I do enjoy cooking, but I am working my way up to that priority.
-Enjoy the city we live in. Corban and I take advantage of the beach and we try to visit other places I haven't gone to otherwise (i.e. Zoo, Play Groups, Musikgarten, walks around the lake).
-Scrapbook- there isn't really time for this most of the time. But if I found the time I would have a justification for why it fits within my priorities. Just recently I did get to do a project- dad's 60th Birthday gift, and there is an Activity Group for Relief Society this coming week that is a Scrapbook night- it's my calling :)
-Go to bed whenever I want. "Want" could be misleading, because I would rarely choose to go to bed early, but sometimes my body chooses for me. I would stay up late and get up early every single day if I had things my way and my body didn't want to rule.

Now, my words don't do any of this justice, as I could come up with more and more reasons, some being better descriptors than what I have chosen above, but we already have determined that I wish I could write better. Working on it! Nevertheless, the point is I do have a life that I am grateful to be living and I am blessed to be able to read the lives of others as an enrichment for my own. So I will keep on keeping up on other's lives, while also striving to keep within my priorities.

Babysitting Gift

(This had to be a post of it's own)

This lovely package greeted me at the door one fine day last week. If Jen Allen ever needs a babysitter again, I hope I get asked. This was her payment for watching Isaac for about 8 hours one day, who is an angel of a child to watch. No payment was necessary, but who can say no to this? Not only is it my favorite stuff in the whole world, it came in the mail! I don't know that I could top this one. THANK YOU, Jen!


Unfortunately, for those who get to watch my little darling, it's either money or Golden Spoon. I dare say the reward is in watching Corban, but maybe not everyone would agree. When it comes to paying a sitter, I am not really sure how much to pay them. When I would babysit as a teenager, I didn't really have a "rate" per say, I was excited about whatever they paid me. Not really sure how it works now days. Guess I should do some asking around.

Past two weeks

Now I will do some catching up of the last two weeks. Despite being sick, we have had a great time! (This post has taken me all day to write, so the post time is deceiving).
When we got back Monday night I had the feeling of having just returned from the most perfect vacation. There was plenty of relaxation along with enough movement that I didn't feel like a slug. It was nice returning in the early evening so I felt I could still prepare for my week.
Corban had a doctor's appoint early Tuesday morning- but not earlier than the Body Works class I teach at the gym. He is still playing catch up on the growth charts, but I think he is doing pretty good. At 24" and 15 lbs 13 oz, he is just above the 3rd percentile for height, just about the 10th for weight and above 50th for head circumference! Because I was worried about him coming down with something, we skipped the shots (which ended up being put off for 2 weeks to the day).
Since Corban has had to do more drinking from a bottle, this was a picture we captured. He isn't consistent on being able to hold the bottle, but it is adorable when he does. I have been taking an herbal pill, Fenigreek, to hopefully restore my milk supply. I am not great at taking pills consistently so we will see how bad I want this. I actually just made an 8 oz bottle, knowing that Corban can drink a little over 6 oz before bed. It turns out when I tried nursing him first, there was enough to put him to sleep. Drat! Only when you think you are doing good on planning ahead does a miracle happen which foils your preparations.

This here is a picture of Jared holding up Corban. He was holding his toes by himself. He has really had this thing for his toes lately. I was standing him up on my lap during church on Sunday and he looked down at his toes, which were covered by some white shoes, and he gave this look like, "What are those? I haven't seen them before." and he dove right down to his feet to grab the shoes and put them in his mouth.

This is how Jared found him once he heard him after putting him down for a nap. He was just jabbering away to himself. (Sorry it isn't turned the right way)













Corban's new talent is to somewhat crawl around. I got out of bed one morning, with Corban sleeping soundly lying next to his dad. I came back upstairs after doing something and found him in this position. CUTE, but a little worrisome to leave alone now. We have also seen a lot of this position: preparing to crawl. He will get on his hands and knees and do the rocking back and forth. There have been a few times when he actually does move forward, but I wouldn't really say he is crawling yet. Just because he isn't crawling doesn't mean he isn't mobile. If he wants something he finds his way to get it. Nika is the favorite attraction. In this picture she doesn't look as happy as she really is. She is the one that gets close enough for him to reach for, and the pulling of hair has yet to stop her from coming by. In fact, she will come lay her toys beside him, and sometimes they have been known to play a little tug-of-war together. She has been caught playfully biting Corban, just like she would anyone, which has not bothered him, but I am doing my best to nip that behavior before it is out of hand.

On Monday, July 14th, we got up an hour before we had to be to the Zoo. Now that Corban is eating solids, this isn't enough time to be on time. Good thing our friends were running a little behind as well. Jared kindly dressed Corban in his darling "Zoo outfit" and then out the door we went. We went with Meg and Indy Ryan and Jenny and Vicky Bush and Lily (a girl Jenny is nannying and Meg use to nanny). How we got away without taking any pictures, I don't know, but we really did see some animals. We spent most of our time at the Apes and Gorillas. They are always very entertaining. The Zoo is quite large with lots of walking, so we didn't even see half of what is there. This leaves room for next time. Even though Corban is pretty young, I would say that he did enjoy what he was awake for.
On Thursday of last week we had a GS BBQ. I again had great plans to document it with pictures, but Jared and I were the ones in charge, so we were doing the cooking. It was great fun to have a work party that didn't consist of meeting about work. We invited the Assistant Managers and Managers and had them each bring someone with them (so they would feel more outgoing since we don't provide alcohol). We played some Blongo Balls and Bocci Ball, some went surfing, but most just sat and talked. The food turned out great and only a few people cut out early. Looks like we will be planning more "meetings" like this in the future. Jared did a fabulous job mingling with employees and their guest- I am always impressed with him. It is nice to see him just be able to enjoy his time with the management team because then they get to see more of who he really is- friendly, funny, very caring, soft big guy.
Saturday was another day at the beach because Deena, Brad, and Krista (with her friend Sage) were in town to help Kali pack up to go home. Kali has spent the last two months working at the La Jolla store and getting a feel for the beauty of San Diego. We almost had her convinced to stay, but I guess school is more important. The Clawsons also joined us. Before going to the beach, Jared spent the morning SLAVING away on the yard. Our yard has become an embarrassing sight to see. Sometimes I wonder why we even decided to buy a home. Nevertheless, Jared worked diligently to clean it up while I attempted to clean the inside. It truly amazes me how little you can get down with a little Munchkin around. I did have fun with Corban- that item definitely got accomplished! At the very end when I went out to tell Jared we really did need to head to the beach if we were going to meet with the family, he asked for me to put Corban down just a for a second to help him bag up the weeds. I put him in the new bouncer we got (I ended up not liking the other one that hangs in the door). When I came back inside, this was what I beheld:

After the beach , everyone came to our house for hamburgers and hot dogs. We hung out and talked until 10, then everyone went home. It would have been recommended that we go to bed at that time since we had been in the sun all day, but we found something to keep us up so we would be tired in church the next day.
Jared also woke up with a mosquito bite on his hand on Saturday morning. For anyone else this would be no big deal. For Jared, it is a huge deal. He has this mosquito bite from his mission that returns with a vengeance if he gets a bad enough bite. So at the moment he is suffering from two swollen hands. So sad. I guess video games are out of the question (*hehehe*).
Our home teachers visited us yesterday. I dare say we have the best home teachers, and Corban thinks so too. They love Corban. The minute they walk in the door they are whisking him out of my arms and are coaxing smiles out of him- not so hard to do. This was their idea:
That's the update. Now hopefully I will just stay caught up.

Where have I been?

My first thought of what to write is an explanation of why I haven't written since our vacation. It reminds me of every time I would start out a journal entry, but here it goes. I have been trying to finish an already late birthday present for Grandpa Larsen. Here is just a sample of what it is: Hopefully I will have this finished and in the mail tomorrow so I can come back to blogging our lives. I actually have thought daily about what I would like to write in the blog. We have had an eventful 2 weeks for being as sick as we have been (Corban has had a little something too).
I have been sick since Utah, which isn't my excuse for why the project isn't finished yet. The excuse is that I have been taking naps with Corban. I hate to tell the health authorities, but more sleep seems to be keeping me sick, not making me better. When I was forced to work while sick I seemed to not get as sick. I have been battling this long enough that my milk supply is not sufficient to please Corban, so we have resorted to formula for about half of his feedings. I now know more bonuses to breastfeeding. Making a bottle in the middle of the night wakes Corban up and then I have to be awake longer, trying to convince him it isn't time to be awake. I have never had that problem when breastfeeding. Also, waiting for the formula to dissolve, Enfamil being much better than Nestle, doesn't keep a smile on Smiley boy's face.
This is all we get for now because Jared would like to say nightly prayers, which means I will be in dreamland all too soon. But I will leave with this thought/question- Does reading about other people's lives (blog, email, letter) make you feel like you need to start living?

Who wouldn't want to take a nap with this precious thing?

4th of July, Hiking and visiting Grandpa Morlin

The rest of the 4th was lots of fun. We did some fireworks at the house and then we went down to the tracks to see the Sandy City show. Corban LOVES fireworks! He was glued to them, and nothing was going to distract him. He wouldn't blink, and his body was leaning forward. This picture is a pretty good capture of how he was the entire show. When the fireworks would slow down and then all of a sudden start again, with popping sounds, Corban would jump a little, but not a sound from him.

The next morning we went on another hike. This was the 2nd hike we had done on Thursday, but this time we had plans to make it to the waterfall. Jared and I were suppose to be on a time schedule, to return to the house by 9 am. Well, we had not reached the falls by 8:07 am. We decided we should keep hiking cause we could almost be there. Nope, it took us 'til about 9 am, then we had to take pictures:





You wouldn't believe the challenge it was for us to get him to turn his head toward the camera. He was way too interested in the falls.

This was hiking down from the top of the falls. Pretty steep! Ashley (8 years old) was hiking with us and she hiked like a champ!

My handsome boys looking at the falls.

Corban was happy the entire time! He took little cat naps, but then he would be awake with a big smile and some cooing every now and then. I am so blessed with this little one! Not to mention the man that made him possible and who does double duty by carrying him on challenging hikes.

We didn't finish hiking until 10 am, which was when we were supposed to be picked up to go to Manti. Luckily it was my family we were dealing with because it was a pretty safe gamble that they would be running behind. We didn't leave until about 11:30 am.

Patrick with Cache and Corban. Cache is a tough crowd.Kristie with her new hair cut, holding Corban.

Grandpa with Corban. Grandpa is almost 89 years old.The whole gang!

We went for pizza afterwards at Fat Jack's in Ephraim, which is now called Roy's. After a great meal of fattening pizza, bread sticks and soda, Kimberly and I played "white-trash" out on the sidewalk, feeding our babies. Here were some cute photos taken in Ephraim:

Overall it was a fabulous day. I love being with family, but it makes me remember how much I miss them. It was nice being able to see grandpa and for him to meet Corban for the first time.

Jared's contribution to my hobbies

I was reading Kristie's blog and she had talked about how sweet it was for Patrick to come in and make a card with her so they could spend time together (apparently she is "crafting" a lot so the only way to spend time with her is to join her). This reminded me of my sweet husband, so I thought I should keep this memory.
Shortly after we got married Jared was well aware of my messy hobby, scrap booking. For my first birthday we spent together, married, he bought me a Cricut, electronic die cut machine. Little did I know he would be so encouraging of such an expensive hobby by buying a machine whose cartridges are no less than $50 each, and usually around $60. For Christmas that same year (2007), he then purchased the "Design Studio". This made it possible to do practically everything I want with the Cricut. It took me a while to get it downloaded to a computer it would work on, and when I did, Jared was the first to try it out. Now anytime I have a question or problem, Jared is the first to fix it. There have been multiple times when Jared has actually done the project for me- mostly when it has been for church. Anytime I am trying to think of a cute handout, Jared suggests doing it on the Cricut. What a sweet, creative husband I have!
His support of my hobby doesn't stop there. Our life has had a complete turn around with the arrival of Corban, mainly speaking of my being home 100% more than before, and him being the number 1 in Golden Spoon oversight. This provides more time for me to spend in my creative space. As we have continued with our home remodel, Jared is continually supporting the idea of me having a scrap book space. Originally it was to be in the guest bedroom, but with the changing around of everything, has ended up in our bedroom. I don't know what man would support such an idea if he wasn't completely devoted to his woman.
He will forever joke around about my hobby being girly, messy, and expensive, but I know he loves it and loves me when I am doing it!
He still isn't very interested in the blog, which is becoming a new hobby for me, but every once in a while he will take the time to read what is going on in our lives, and he does encourage me to put pictures on the blog. I think he sometimes surprised of all that he is apart of in this little family of ours.

Finding more Blogs

Today I found more blogs to add to my list. The sad thing is, I should have had these earlier because they are FAMILY! I went to Kimberly's blog after she reminded me of it and Kristie had made a comment on it, which then led me to her TWO blogs. I have successfully spent my day (from one Corban nap to another) reading other people's blogs. This is what I was afraid of by joining the blogging world. But I will say, I now know what is going on in my sibling's lives, since they are blogging rather than emailing or calling. I guess everything does have a selling point and and a reason for wanting to return it. With blogging, I think I just need to keep it in check so it doesn't get out of hand and remember my reason for starting this in the first place.

Jared, Corban, and I are visiting family in Utah. There was an open invitation sent out a couple of months ago by Jacqui to come for the 4th. At the time we were thinking this would be a perfect summer vacation because we couldn't do much else to see family (we had to miss the first Lake Powell trip). Luckily I am not the one running the business because with the opening of the 6th store, I don't think I could have left it. Jared has done an exceptional job in getting things running smoothly these past 3 weeks, in addition to having Wilson (who also helped to get things running smoothly) still in San Diego to hold down the fort. Needless to say, I continue to find more and more reasons for loving me new life. It truly is better than I was imagining back in the day when I was answering the question, "What would be your ideal job?" Maybe it is that I have the greatest husband and by far the cutest baby in the world. Anyway, the parents (Colleen and Curtis) and Lisa have joined us at the Scott's home, and we will spend some time with Kimberly, Dave, and baby and Patrick, Kristie and the boys.

Today we started our 4th of July celebration by watching the neighborhood parade. Ashley and Olivia were in the parade with the swim team. Just about every float, car, bike that went by threw candy. We just happened to have no kids to run for it since they were in the parade. I gladly took over the responsibility all in the name of "neighborhood cleanliness". I got way more than I needed and on the walk up to the pavillion for breakfast, Jared and Curtis were "street cleaning", picking up mostly trash, but there was also a lot of good candy left.

Breakfast was hardly worth talking about. The food, anyway. Way too much sugar and VERY little nutrition. We did have a nice time sitting and talking on the grass. Corban had his yummy breakfast, with hopes that I had enough nutrition to feed the both of us, then he was much more enjoyable. We played a little before he decided to take a little snooze. This is one of my favorite things to do when playing with him because it can get him to laugh. I "bite" his cheek while my chin goes into his neck and chest. After his nap we also tried the swimming thing, which didn't work out very well. He didn't like the cold water, I think. But we did enjoy "The Little Mermaid" swim diaper that Kim gave us. Too bad it was pretty much wasted.

This was the first time Lisa met baby Corban. This is also the first I have seen the much-talked-about hairstyle she has created while in beauty school. I really do like it- the length especially.
Yesterday was also a great day. We arose early in the morning to go hiking- Jared, Corban, me, Colleen, Curtis, and Jeff. We first hiked to a waterfall, which took all of 10 minutes, but could hike no further unless we wanted to face trecherous conditions (not wise with a baby). So we tried another location and hiked around a beautiful lake, which we didn't know was there. I really do love the scenery of Utah- it makes me want to live here again. I was quickly reminded why I don't want to live here when I went to the festivities this morning. I really don't know how to put it into words, it is more a feeling I get when I am around a lot of people from Utah (clarify, Salt Lake and St. George- I don't want to blanket-statement the entire state). Just doesn't feel the same as San Diego.

After hiking I then joined Jacqui on her jaunt to the gym, Tree House Athletic Club. If I just happened to live in Utah, close to Sandy, and had $70 a month to splurge on fitness (that is, if they wouldn't hire me to instruct), then this is the gym I would choose. It is highly desirable! Zumba was the class she took me to. WOW! Was that a fun class. Definitely more dancing than I have ever done in a class and a lot more fun. The class alone would be worth joining the gym. It is a cheap way of getting a dance class, with another amenities attached. Jacqui says she loves the childcare, too. I have yet to use L.A. Fitness's childcare because I don't trust it.

I think it is time for me to move on from blogging for the day. I will go see what all the commotion is upstairs (they all just left me downstairs after their movie ended).