Knee-High to a Grasshopper:

If you are any good at counting...

2012-01-11T21:15:00.000-06:00

You may realize that there are five pairs of shoes in our header picture.

And if you are any good at guessing, you are absolutely right.

So, maybe we'll get a Max this time. Or maybe it will be a Mabel.

My mom wants both. But I have decided that if there are two, she will have to keep one.

You can count on baby three's arrival in early August.

There's a high of 70 today.

2011-12-31T10:49:00.001-06:00

So we hopped a train to the Dallas Zoo, which I like more every time I go. Happy New Year!

Ella wrote a song.

2011-12-28T09:01:00.001-06:00

I have to say, Paul and I were shocked at how accurately she reproduced notes. I think I'll save teaching her about the staff later.

'Tis the Season.

2011-12-21T22:11:00.000-06:00

I shouldn't have been, but was, surprised, as I was going through the last couple of months of pictures, at how many pictures we have of Charlotte naked. In my defense, this particular one was taken when it was still quite warm outside. You know, in October.

But, let's be real, she was also naked when Richard and Jess showed up for dinner tonight. And I didn't bother getting her dressed until bedtime either. We were doing a paint craft, and her outfit was too cute to ruin.

We have been crazy busy this last week, and I don't know that it will let up until after Christmas. Paul had last week off of work, which was so fun. And we made the most of our family time. And even fit a little 'stay-cation' into the week. We headed to Great Wolf Lodge for a couple of days. And then headed to my sister, Laurel's wedding. The Lodge was very fun, and I think it will become a tradition. And the wedding was lovely. If I ever have to get married again (let's hope not), I'm going to elope, too.

I am the ward choir director, and music chair, so there are just a few last minute things to take care of for the Christmas program. We had friends stay the night last night on their way to Amarillo. And the night before we went Christmas Caroling with a big group from the ward. Plus we're still recovering from the wedding. It was a big weekend. I don't think Ella's been asleep before 10pm in a week. Tomorrow we have an evening rehearsal, Friday morning I have another rehearsal (different group), but the evening should calm down and Saturday will be nice and quiet. Can't wait for Christmas. It is such a wonderful season.

I read this amazing article about celebrating the material at Christmastime. You can find it here. It was beautifully written and thought provoking.

Hope your pre-Christmas week is going wonderfully!

Remember that day...

2011-12-15T17:27:00.001-06:00

That we went out to a restaurant for dinner and they had computers on every table with computer games?

You can also place your order and use them to pay. But that's obviously a secondary function.

Play first, eat later.

2011-12-13T00:24:00.000-06:00

Paul was home with the girls the other day for lunch and was busy in the kitchen, when he turned to find Ella spelling with her green beans.

We think she's pretty cute.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-10T22:07:00.000-06:00

I've been doing a lot of soul searching on Christmas this year. And last year actually. And maybe the year before. It all kind of blurs together. It all began with a ward Christmas party where Santa made an appearance. It was just after the Nativity performance, which was lovely, and left us feeling so peaceful and spiritual and wonderful. Well, Santa came in, and the kids started going crazy. And, there went the Spirit.

So, anyway, the girls (I think it was just Ella back then) were young enough that it didn't really matter if we talked about Santa or not. So we just didn't. This year I felt like I needed to decide one way or another if Santa was going to be part of our Christmas traditions. And so we decided.

He's not.

Well, not really. Obviously, they know who Santa is. How can you not if you ever leave the house in December? Or November. Or October, incidentally. So I just recently informed Ella he was just a pretend part of Christmas. Mostly just to clarify. It didn't seem to really surprise her, probably because, all she knows about Santa consists in large dolls on display in stores. And the Grinch book. I really like that book. We read it year round at our house.

On a related note, this year, while Paul was setting up the tree, she asked him, "Why are you taking our Christmas tree, why?" Which is a direct quote from Cindy Lou Who in the Grinch. We thought it was pretty funny.

Maybe I should have told her that some people pretend that Santa brings the presents. Because the Grinch kind of gives the wrong idea on that vein. But I bet she'll figure it out eventually.

So, we just came home from this year's ward Christmas party, which had the same setup, and I have to say, they managed to keep the Santa line very calm. So, I didn't feel like it was a huge detraction from the Nativity. But I don't regret our decision. Santa doesn't really add anything to Christmas for me.

The magic of Christmas is the birth of our Savior. It just doesn't get more magical than that. I don't need to make up stories for my kids to feel the awe-inspiring spirit surrounding Christmas.

In any case, I know all of you think that I am probably crazy. But I'm sort of fine with that. I also don't care if you do Santa at your house. And you probably do. We were the only family who left without seeing Santa tonight. Which is also fine. Santa is really fun. And it's a fun tradition. And I totally understand why you are doing Santa. It took me at least two years to make this decision, remember? So, no judging here. I will also be sitting down with Ella next year and having a serious talk about not spilling the beans on Santa. She's too little this year to be a risk, I think. :)

Anyhow, if you want to know the real reason I shared this new family tradition, it is in the hopes that it will eclipse the article I am about to post. Which is about not buying gifts at Christmas. I wouldn't usually post it on this blog, mostly because I have lots of strong opinions, and they don't need to be out in cyberspace offending people. But I want to keep track of the link, and this is the best place to do it. So, if you want to know if I'm really crazy, just click here. It is a link to a blog called ZenHabits.net. It is titled The Case Against Buying Christmas Presents. (All that information is for me in case the link ever goes bad.)

But, if you're wondering. It's too late this year. The gifts have been purchased. Although, we really tried to simplify. I guess Paul doesn't have his gift yet, but he will. And I imagine he will get me something, too. But the extended family is covered. The girls are covered. So, there is no need to feel sorry for us on Christmas morning this year. :)

Boring Stuff

2011-11-26T18:03:00.000-06:00

We went to the Dallas Arboretum with friends the other day, and took quite a few pictures, many of which, over all, were better than this one. But I just can't get over Charlotte's expression in this photo. She is really a hoot. With more personality than is really practical in that little body of hers.

We have always known that Ella was an easier child. She is laid back and nearly always obedient. But we didn't quite know how easy we had it until the last few months. There have been multiple times when Paul and I have looked at each other in response to Charlotte and honestly not known what to do. She is so young to be so very willful. She outright refuses to eat unless it is on her terms. (Whatever those terms are in the moment, this afternoon 'her terms' consisted of eating nuts right out of the bag, which there was no way I was going to let her do, and so she stayed hungry, I guess. This morning 'her terms' consisted of massive amounts of sour cream on her eggs (breakfast burritoes). We wouldn't comply with this request either, so eggs went uneaten, and she stayed hungry. But twenty months is awfully young to have to stay hungry....) I could go on. But I won't. Because she really is, by and large, a delightful child, and we have so much fun, SO much fun with her. I imagine it is the two sides of the same coin.

Ella and Charlotte adore one another, notwithstanding normal childhood spats, and play together beautifully. We're so blessed to have both of them. But they sure are different. :)

Our Fall has been surprisingly busy. It's hard to quite put my finger on one thing that is making it so, but really, it is just a combination of factors. But it's been several weeks since we haven't had something scheduled on any given day. On every given day, actually. I am hoping the next few weeks will slow down and we will be able to spend more time reading and playing together. I just love my girls.

We bought a new car (a minivan) and the old Mazda is still going, sort of. But it is in desperate need of new tires and so forth, so we're going to retire it until February, when we get transferred. We were using both for a while because Paul has been working these crazy hours. But we've just decided that we will begin trading off and utilizing the train again. In any case, it will be nice to have a good excuse to stay home on the days Paul has the car. The weather is still good and I have everything I need in walking distance. (The library, the grocery store, and friends.)

Happy Thankgiving Weekend. I hope none of you got pepper sprayed :)

Remember when I used to be better at blogging?

2011-11-03T21:38:00.001-05:00

I do.

But at least I have a three year old who LOVES to take pictures, so when I consult my archive of photos I have hundreds (literally) to choose from. Just from last week.

I would say that a solid twenty percent of the pictures that Ella takes are self-portraits. Another twenty percent are of strangers and/or random cars. Another ten percent are too blurry to identify. Forty-nine percent of Ella's pictures consist in what I like to call "still-lifes". You know, the carpet, houseplants, door handles; and often when she finds a shot she really loves, there will be five or seven in a row. Hence the reason I have a total of eight photos of an orange reusable shopping bag. The remaining one percent are actually kind of good.

And so photo credit for the above photo goes to Ella. There were also some lovely shots of my legs, but I opted not to use those. Maybe next time.

We got a new cousin!

2011-10-17T23:07:00.000-05:00

And by "we", I mean Ella and Charlotte have a new cousin. His name is Soren. And he is beautiful. And we live only twenty minutes away from him, so everyone is going to be best friends. Finally! A cousin! Let's keep them coming! (You know who you are. I have spoken to you personally, and I still think you should be having babies to keep my children company.)

Don't you want a picture like this of your future child and Ella? She is really sweet with babies. It *almost* makes me want to have another one.

Speaking of cute babies. Try this one on for size.

Although, baby isn't quite the right word to describe this little girl. But we still call her "the baby" (or just, "baby") more often than not. But she's getting to be less and less of one every day. At night, though... That is a different story. Still not my star sleeper. I will not go in to details here, because that inevitably results in advice, which I am really not interested in getting. But for posterity's sake. And because I like to whine. And to make other people feel better about their stellar parenting. Just know that I long for a full night's rest. And I have only had three full nights of sleep in the last nineteen months. :) I know. Now you think I'm the crazy parent. Ah, it was inevitable.

A shout out to the equinox.

2011-09-29T20:20:00.000-05:00

Well, It's fall here. I use the term fall loosely, because it isn't anything like the autumns across the rest of the country. Our arboretum has to buy hundreds of thousands of pounds of ornamental (and edible) gourds in order to display the fall colors here. But I'm not complaining. If this were Idaho, people would feel that this weather is suitable for swimming. But it is not. I personally don't believe in swimming unless it is at least 95F. So we haven't been swimming in weeks. Sometimes we even put on our cardigans... in the mornings... early mornings. Basically it warms up as soon as the sun is out. Still not complaining. We have many more days of outside play waiting for us this year. And that will make up for all the days we didn't go outside in the oppressive heat during the summer. And so life is good.

I'm just glad it's winter squash season. I'm not glad that our winter squash is crazy expensive here. (A dollar a pound, and those bad boys are heavy.) So you will find me in the ornamental gourd section, with my phone out, trying to identify all the squash that is labeled "mixed variety pumpkins" to figure out which ones are edible. Because those guys are only 40 cents a pound. And I love love love squash.

One day, I will have a root cellar, and I will store enough squash to eat one a day every day until late spring (when winter squash starts tasting mealy). Because when you buy squash in that quantity, they are as sure as heck not going to charge you a dollar a pound. And then my life will be complete.

Ella just informed me...

2011-09-19T15:16:00.001-05:00

that she is saving up enough money to buy this car. Yes, a little white Fiat. She is her father's daughter.

Introducing the newest member of our family...

2011-09-13T14:26:00.000-05:00

Xena.

I know. It's kind of a crazy name for a male fish. But we asked Ella what she wanted to name him, and Xena was her choice. I don't know where she got it. Unless she is remembering that that was her womb name when she was a fetus. But, I find that highly unlikely.

So, he sits on our dining room table, and we feed him at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and I have to say, I really like the fish. And I'm pretty sure he likes me, too. Because every time I come by the bowl, he swims around like crazy doing his little beta dance for me.

Long term, I think he's going to get rocks and a plant. But we decided on a $10 limit for a new pet, and since the fish cost $4, and the food cost $3, he was lucky that he even got a bowl. Otherwise we would have had to keep him in the bathroom sink. And that would have been awkward for house guests.

How did this happen?

2011-09-05T14:03:00.002-05:00

Ella has been interested in writing for a while now, and she's been learning to write letters here and there. And asking how to write basically everyone's name, including her own. But she blew me away Sunday when she just busted out with her own name without any help. It was pretty exciting. We've started working on reading, because she has shown so much interest in letters and she has all of her letter recognition down, so we're learning phonetic recognition now. I bought a program called Rocket Phonics. I think the name is a little misleading. Our progress has not, shall we say, been faster than a speeding bullet. But Ella asks to 'play' Rocket Phonics nearly everyday, and so we are just now starting to see real progress. We've only had the program for two weeks, so I guess that's not bad. But, in my parental visions of teaching my precocious child how to read, I thought we would at least be ready for Hop On Pop by now. :) Like a Rocket! You know? Maybe next week. :)

Riding Her Noble Mount

2011-08-30T12:25:00.002-05:00

We are playing at a friend's house today, who just happens to live in Dress-Up-Heaven. Ella is loving it. And I am really digging the pink wig. She has just informed me that she is on her way to the Castle to go to the King's Birthday Party. Let them eat cake!

I have good news and bad news.

2011-08-20T12:10:00.000-05:00

The good news is Ella has conquered her fear of haircuts.

The bad news is, she enjoyed the haircut I gave her so much, that she decided to take another whack at it while I wasn't looking.

I thought I caught her before she did any damage. All I found on the floor was a little strand of hair, and her pigtails looked intact. So, disaster averted.

And then, later, I was stroking her sweet curly hair, and it just started coming out in my hand. I cannot even describe how traumatizing this was for me. I nearly wept. And that is hard to admit, because I consider myself pretty hardcore.

Ah well, the damage is done. And hair grows. That has been my mantra. Hair grows.

But I haven't had the heart to throw out the hair. So, there it sits in a jar on my counter.

And we're back.

2011-08-13T20:40:00.000-05:00

And I'm just shocked at how few pictures we got on our trip. But, you'll just have to trust me when I say that we had a great time with friends and family. We miss everyone already. You should all move to Texas.

Also, Richard and Jess are moving to Texas. So, we will soon have a cousin here in our very city. As soon as he is born. (Which should be in September or October. So, we don't have long to wait.) We are so excited about this new development that we periodically have conversations like this:

Jess: Can you believe Richard and Jess are moving here!

Paul: No! It is unreal.

And by periodically, I mean, about four times a day.

(Richard is Paul's brother.)

We are now on the job hunt. Because Paul's Dad needs a job here. So does Amanda, but I don't think she'll move. But we want her to anyway. Because Carolyn is already here. And who ever thought that would happen? Texas was not on her "list of places that she would willingly move".

I think we might have a disease called Texan-itis and everyone is catching it. Watch out. You may be next.

Did I hear a 'niner' in there?

2011-07-29T22:27:00.001-05:00

Well. As you may have guessed. Our family recently flew across the country in a Cessna 221. The cabin was pressurized, so we could fly at a pretty high altitude. But it was still pretty loud in there, and we had to wear these awesome headsets to hear each other talk.

Paul's cousin has a plane and flew us out to Utah for Paul's other cousin's wedding. It was pretty sweet. Six hours of flight time. No baggage claim necessary. We officially have a new cousin-in-law. And had a fabulous time at all the wedding festivities. It was so good to see family out it Utah. Paul flew home Wednesday, and I drove up to Idaho Falls (in the car that we bought in Utah). And so begins leg two of my very long vacation. Everyone in Idaho is missing Paul sorely and wishes he could be here to visit. And I am glad I have someone to fund my cross country travels, but I miss him too. Single parenting on vacation isn't all the fun you think it will be.

The word "vacation" conjures up images of relaxing days with loved ones in far distant lands while my children play merrily in the background. But they miss their dad, and their bed, and their quiet times, and their dad.... And bedtime isn't nearly as fun when it's two to one :) We're surviving though, and loving being here with Clark and Lindsay and the Desmonds. It's been a great trip.

Are you jealous?

2011-07-22T08:58:00.000-05:00

Warning: Brag Board Ahead.

2011-07-14T20:43:00.000-05:00

I just want to jot down a few milestones for posterity's sake. So if that kind of thing bores you, move right along. I won't be offended. (Sometimes I make quick work of your kid's milestone posts too.)

This girl. She has started doing this thing where she hugs me around the neck and pats my back and lays her little head on my shoulder and it just melts my heart.

She also has all of her teeth, I think. I am not brave enough to do a thorough examination. (Or, truthfully, motivated. If I were a better mother I would count each tooth lovingly. But for me, a quick peek is sufficient. Yep, they're in there.) She is working so hard to learn how to jump. And she's getting pretty good. No air time yet, but I bet she'll get there any day now.

Charlotte has recently developed this quirk of absolutely requiring something in her hands while she breastfeeds. (LONG SIDE NOTE: (JUST SKIP THIS PART, ARCHIE. Yes. She is fifteen months, and 80% of her diet is breast milk. Maybe 90%. She has very little interest in solids. Unless junk food is present, which it is usually not, so I don't factor that into my estimates. When Ella was fifteen months (and still nursing) I remember being mildly embarrassed. And being grateful when I found others who were also doing "extended breastfeeding". Ahhh, how time changes things.) So, anyway, she asks to nurse, then climbs off my lap, grabs a toy, or whatever mildly interesting object is close at hand (this afternoon it was a throw pillow) and keeps her little hands occupied during mealtime. She never stops moving. Ever.

Recently we have noticed her singing the tune of Twinkle Twinkle in moments of solitary play. I have been telling Paul about it for a while, but he never believes it when I tell him that our children are doing precocious things. So, when we were in the car together Monday and she was singing it, I said, "Paul, do you hear her?! She's singing Twinkle Twinkle! I told you she could!" And he said, "Yeah, I know, I heard her singing it yesterday. During Sunday School. Really Loudly." Char sings some portion or at least does hand motions to most every song we sing now. My favorite is when she is the echo on the "Hello" song.

Another fun thing that she does is run away from me yelling "No! No! No!" when she doesn't want to do something. The reason it is cute and not aggravating is because she is not saying it with defiance as much as with desperation. As in "No, please don't make me!" vs. "No, I won't do it, buster and you can't make me." I don't mind a little desperation in my life. It makes my job more exciting.

Ella is just learning by leaps and bounds. She has recently started asking me to teach her how to write her letters, which is really fun, because I have opinions on pushing your children into that sort of thing, but it has been completely child-led. So far she has learned E, A, F, O, and the J shape, with no guarantees that the J is facing in the correct direction. I know. Totally random letters. But this is at her request, so I just go with it. I started trying to teach her to write her name, but she didn't care about that. She just wants to write the letters. So she does. She writes them all over the page, and then she tells me stories about the letters, and how they are all going to the park together, or other such adventures. She is starting to come up with really fun stories to tell. Sometimes at night she will tell me a bedtime story. Or sing me a bedtime song, complete with her own lyrics and tune.

She loves to draw, and has recently been "writing books". Which means she draws several pictures and then folds up the paper several times. Then she 'reads' the book while unfolding the paper. Her pictures are varied and sometimes even recognizable. She draws a great stick figure. And once she tells me what animal she drew I can see the resemblance. She's also a fan of drawing trees, clocks, and grass. And really anything that she can think of.

Ella loves self-directed play time and spends it in her room streaming a constant flow of dialogue for her toys. She says her prayers independently now. They are a bit rote, but we've been working with her on it, and the other day while we were on a date and our friends were watching her, she said a prayer and blessed the people in their family by name. So, my parenting is paying off. Her typical prayer includes our immediate family and asks that we sleep well. But she has been known to pray for grandparents and aunts and uncles. She also is frequently grateful for Jesus and Nursery. So that's good. :)

Have I even addressed potty training on the blog? We started potty training her when she turned two and it has been a long road. She has been happily going to the bathroom since then, but always needed reminding. Not long after we moved her I started forgetting to remind her, and she started remembering herself. So, she is potty trained. I know nobody really cares, but this is for posterity's sake, anyway.

Whew. Well, that's all I can think of for now!

Popsicles

2011-07-10T18:33:00.002-05:00

Ella got a Zoku for her birthday, so we have been eating Popsicles basically all the time. Peaches are fifty cents a pound here, so I juiced a a couple and added some yogurt to make peach creamsicles. Yum.

An interesting take on the whys of home schooling.

2011-07-06T09:56:00.000-05:00

http://afamiliarpath.com/2011/05/why-homeschool/

I think this woman really nailed a lot of components of why I want to home school long term. (As in, I am already home schooling right now. I try to keep that in mind each day, because at no point in human development do we learn more quickly than we do as infants and toddlers.) The older I get, the more painfully aware I become of the time limitations we have here in mortality. So, the idea of sending my children off five days a week for nine hours a day, with only some unknown percentage of their day is spent on things that I consider of worth, is a bit distasteful to me.

Anyhow. Don't worry about the social development of my children just yet. Paul's still not on board.

Another Independence day come and gone.

2011-07-04T21:13:00.000-05:00

Ours was delightful.

It consisted of breakfast with the ward, and swimming, and naptime for three of the four members of our family. I’m not going to tell you who didn’t take a nap. But I will tell you that that person opted to watch Blue’s Clues instead.

After naps we decided to go to see African Cats at the Dollar Theatre; which was made all the more enjoyable with a running commentary by Ella Joy herself. Then we headed home for dinner, and yes, another round of swimming. And so I’m not sure if Ella has really grasped the full import of this holiday, but she did enjoy it.

Actually, so did Charlotte. She definitely knows what swimming is and when we say the word she responds by clapping her hands and saying "Yea!"

She is a fearless non-swimmer, and jumper. And although we didn't catch any airborne pictures, you get the general idea. She consistently tries to wriggle out of our arms in the water and we try to let her flounder underwater for a few seconds to see if we can instill a little fear. No luck so far.

Ella on the other hand has officially, as of today, transitioned into the swimmer category. Yes, we took off her floatie, and she just went for it, and made it a good ten or twelve feet swimming on her own with her face in the water. What a rock star. We start swimming lessons next week, so hopefully we'll be able to improve her technique a little bit.

Here's hoping everyone else's Fourth was as enjoyable!

Little pig, little pig, let me come in!

2011-06-29T22:34:00.000-05:00

Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin.

Well, okay. If you insist.

All the way in. There we go.

Much better.

Three years ago right now.

2011-06-22T14:53:00.000-05:00

I was still waiting for Ella to come. I don't remember the day very well. Because, well, I was in labor. I am thinking that it was right about now that I was asking for an emergency cesarean.

They said no.

But she did show up eventually.

So today we have been celebrating.

I have often asserted that birthdays should be celebrations of the mothers who did all the work on that natal day.

But, if you want the truth, even after all the work I did, I just want to spend the day celebrating that Ella is a part of our family. We are so blessed.

So I let Ella choose the food for the day. She requested cupcakes for breakfast. We are both lucky that muffins and cupcakes are very similar. And that she doesn't yet know what "whole wheat" means yet. I did make cream cheese icing for the top, though.

Happy Birthday, Ella.

High Fashion

2011-06-11T10:32:00.001-05:00

I did choose Ella's shirt. But that's it. Those are actually the baby's shorts. I think they're too short, but Paul says they're okay. So I'm just going with it. Sometimes you're just glad to leave the house.

I didn't check. But I'm pretty sure she just forwent the underwear.

I don't really blame her.

My sweet life.

2011-06-07T13:21:00.001-05:00

I don't know if you know this, but I am madly in love with my children. My sister once told me that you feel the same way about your baby as you do your middle school crush, times a million. And she's pretty much right. I can't get enough of these two. And if the situation required it, I would spend every possible moment lurking by their locker and learning their school schedule and drawing their names in hearts all over my homework. But, I don't have time for those luxuries. And luckily, I think the feeling is mutual.

Charlotte has really come into her own in the past month or so. She is a hoot to be around. She has recently learned the art of tickling, and when given the chance will tickle anything that moves and a fair number of things that don't move. Including the couch and characters in books. You know she is tickling you when she wiggles her little fingers and says "tickle, tickle, tickle!"

Ella is equally delightful. She keeps up a running commentary on everything that happens, and it is always fun to hear things from her point of view. The other day when we were driving, we had this conversation:

Ella: Mom, why are we stopping?

Jess: We have to yield to traffic here.

Ella (yelling): TRAFFIC!!

Ella: Mom, I yelled to traffic.

We have had a couple of conversations about yield and yell, but I don't think it is sinking in, because the other day when we were stuck in traffic, she asked if she should yell. Thanks for the offer, Ella. She's always thinking of others. She is quite sweet to the baby. (Although when I tell people this, Paul always jumps in to tell them that she isn't always sweet. And she's not. But she is usually sweet. Sweet is her default setting.

They are starting to play together more consistently, which I love. And I have started taking showers during the day and letting them play, which is a major step forward for me. I have such control issues, that I feel like I need to be able to hear everything that happens, just in case. Before now, I never showered alone (meaning, sometimes I would let the girls jump in the shower with me) when Paul wasn't home to watch the kids. No, not even during nap time. Because I was paranoid I wouldn't be able to hear the baby monitor over the shower. I'm kind of a freak. But at least I'm moving forward.

She discovered shoes.

2011-06-04T17:31:00.000-05:00

Maternal.

2011-06-03T13:18:00.000-05:00

Paul and I have decided that Laurel needs to have a baby. We fully agree that she should get married first. But as soon as January rolls around, she and Hunter should just go ahead and get cracking.

We have some very viable logic for this opinion.

First:

She wants to throw her dog a birthday party, and has actually researched venues that are dog-party-oriented for said party. This is an indication that she needs somebody to love and nurture and FAST. My kids don't even get a venue for their parties. Actually, I've never thrown either of my girls parties. That is because I am too busy nurturing them. They have more needs than dogs. We can safely say that they are filling my nurturing needs. Above and beyond, in fact.

Second:

She looks really beautiful holding Char. Just think what it would be like if it were her own child.

Breathtaking.

Just think about it.

Saturday is the day after Friday.

2011-05-28T14:32:00.002-05:00

Kickin' it at the Dallas Arboretum today. Just me and the girls. I won't name any names, but a certain other member of our family is spending the day at a PGA something or an other. I eased my sense of abandonment by treating us girls to lunch out on the town.

Ella was kind enough to dress herself today.

2011-05-26T15:14:00.002-05:00

I think we might need to work on the order in which she puts on her clothes. Yes. That is her underwear over her pants.

Although, for the record. I personally think that she rocks this look.

(For some reason the text didn't show up the first time I published this post. And it only took me two days to sit down at the computer to fix it.)

UPDATE: The worst part about that day was that I completely intended to take pictures and then change her clothes, placing her underwear in the customary position. But life got busy, and I kept forgetting, until we got to the library and realized that yes, I let my daughter walk around all day with her underwear outside her pants.

I didn't brush her hair either.

There's nothing like a good story to make others feel better about their own parenting.

Baby Daddy.

2011-05-22T20:33:00.000-05:00

I like these two.

A lot.

It's been a nice week here. I got curtains up finally and banished our mini-blinds to the storage closet. I hate mini-blinds.

I made a nightgown for Ella out of Paul's old work shirt. I was originally going to be a skirt for me, but I cut the waist too small. I was in a hurry, and assumed I could eyeball it. Eyeballing it often works out well for me. But not this time. I sew like I do everything else. Is there a word to describe how I do everything else? Ummm, by the seat of my pants? That might work. Recipes are for suckers.

So is hygiene, incidentally.

I also came up with a new goal tracking system, so we'll see how that goes. As it turns out, I am a lot more productive when I structure my time. Which is kind of difficult for my loosey-goosey self. But I'm working on it.

It's been a good week.

Sudie and Grandpa Jeff.

2011-05-16T12:37:00.001-05:00

Luckily the parents of the bride had time to spend with their sweet grandbabies. A good time was had by all at the little "destination" wedding.

Weekending in Houston.

2011-05-14T12:35:00.000-05:00

We are in town for my sister's birthday party. Although this is the first time since Carolyn's (Paul's sister) wedding that I've made time to sit down and upload pictures on to the computer. I'll get those pictures posted someday. But for now, we're just living the quiet life, Ella, Mom, and Charlotte going on rides, eating lots of yummy food, checking out wedding venues for Laurel (my sister), and basically just sitting around visiting. It's a good life.

Two words.

2011-04-27T09:36:00.000-05:00

So, Paul came home from work yesterday, and Charlotte starts toddling over to him and says, "Hi, Dad!" (Well, she actually said "Da", but we knew what she meant.) And he looks at me with these big wide eyes, and then looks back at Charlotte and says, "Hi, Char!" And then she does it again. "Hi, Dad!" It was crazy.

She said "Hi, Ma!" to me this morning. So we're even. Not that I'm keeping score :)

Pictured above is Charlotte's favorite place in the whole world. It is the stool Ella stands on to help me cook. And if I even leave it out for one minute after it's been in use, she hurries over to it and stands there, surveying the world at such a great height. Until we hurry over and take her down and put the stool away.

Writer's Block.

2011-04-22T21:13:00.000-05:00

I think I am just out of practice. But it is rare that I sit in front of this computer screen and can think of nothing to write.

I am still waiting for inspiration. It's hard to see the time lapse when you're just reading the post. But trust me, it is bad.

Part of the problem is that we have been taking life a little slow this week. So there's not much news. It is a nice change, and it's good to get back to the basics, and establish my balance again. I'm not there yet. Is balance this hard for everyone? Or am I just untalented?

One day.

I am considering scrapping this entire post. This is kind of ridiculous.

Or maybe I'll just keep the post and call it a night. Maybe everyone will be distracted by the very sweet baby at the top, and fail to notice my miserable attempt at prose.

Questionable Parenting Alert.

2011-04-14T10:16:00.001-05:00

Well, Monday brought with it some random ailment. I still don't know what it was, but I was not feeling good. So I did what any good mother would do, I put on Blue's Clues and tried to take a nap. For those of you who have had the opportunity to waste away your child's life on this delightful show, you are already familiar with the host (and only human character) of the show, Steve. For those of you who are not, just imagine the nicest, most sincere and slightly nerdy guy you will ever meet, and that is Steve. Kind of the Fred Child of children's television. And Ella loves him. Well, a little while after laying down I heard a hauntingly familiar song drifting in from the other room. The tune was "Follow the Prophet"... but Ella changed the words to "Follow the Steve, follow the Steve..."

Cute?

Or Scary?

2011-04-12T16:37:00.002-05:00

We are enjoying a glorious afternoon at the park today.... There's something about water and wind and sunshine that makes life feel so complete.

If there were an audio track...

2011-04-07T13:37:00.005-05:00

You would hear me screaming in the background. "TOO FAST! Paul!! That's too fast! Paul! Paul!!"

At the Zoo today.

2011-04-07T13:37:00.004-05:00

Sweet Char actually took a nap in public. When does that ever happen? It was a nice day, bringing up many fond memories of our Zoo trip with Clark and Linds last year. There is just something about Spring that makes me want to go to the Zoo. I've had my fix now, and I think I'll be okay until next Spring.

At the market today...

2011-04-04T16:42:00.002-05:00

If you ever need culinary bark, I know where to find it.

Last year...

2011-04-03T17:11:00.001-05:00

I was looking through old pictures, and found this from last Spring. So sweet. Life is just wonderful here. The weather is warming up, we even attempted swimming when Richard and Jess visited last week. (Ella was the only one with the nerve to stay in very long.) We are all just happy and healthy. Busy, too. We have made friends and enjoy socializing, but honestly, I really enjoy just being at home with the girls and doing our own thing. We work together and read and cook and nap (well, Charlotte naps, Ella and I have 'quiet time') and enjoy our little park. It is a nice life.

I was talking to Susan (Paul's mom) the other day and she was asking what Charlotte's new 'tricks' are. And off the top of my head, I had a hard time coming up with them. It's different with your second, since you've 'seen it all', it doesn't consume you quite as much when they learn something new. So, here's a list. For me, and for Susan, and the rest of you that are enamored with that sweet baby. She says "hi" all the time, and sometimes, for effect, "hello!" (exclamation point always included). She unloads the silverware, handing me utensils one at a time. This used to be Ella's job, but I have graduated her to plates and cups. She woofs at most anything that moves, with the exception of birds (tweet) and ducks (quack) which she usually imitates effectively enough. She walks pretty much everywhere, except when she trips, and then she continues her journey on hands and knees. She knows where I keep the little tomatoes on the counter and will climb up the stool to eat them if I accidentally leave the stool out in the kitchen. (Ella knew where we kept the crackers and helped herself there at this age. My girls take matters into their own hands when it comes to food.) She calls me "Ma" more and more. And continues to call Ella all the time. She gives kisses on the lips when we ask, and sometimes when we don't ask, she'll grab my face and say "mmmmmwah". She throws the ball to Ella several times in a row. And she and Ella have lots of other little games that they play together. They spend a fair amount of time laughing together which I find delightful. She will play independently, if Ella and I are not in sight. But, if one of us is around, she wants to be part of the action. She sings along to a couple of songs (songs with repeating syllables "lalala" etc.) and does hand motions to a couple of songs (Wheels on the bus, roll your hands, if you're happy and you know it (the last one she's been doing for months)). Today I read a book to the girls that has songs in it, and after I was finished, she grabbed the book and started 'singing' with the book open in her lap. It was pretty cute. Ella recognizes sheet music and 'sings' while pretending to read the music when she finds music around. And also, Charlotted does sing along to her lullabies when we put her to sleep. She's basically the cutest girl ever.

My children are going to have a warped concept of what 'cutest' and favorite mean, because we use them so liberally. I don't know how both of my girls can be 'cutest', but they are. And every day Ella brings me a different book and says, "Mom, this is my favorite book! Let's read it!" And if it's one that I have expressed a disinterest in (because I straight up tell Ella when I don't like a book and don't want to read it), she'll say something like, "I think you might like it. Let's see." She can be awfully persuasive. Enough for now. Enjoy conference!

Overheard

2011-03-17T08:40:00.000-05:00

Ella: Dad, dance with me!

Paul: Okay!

Ella: Here, put this on. [Handing him a tutu.]

Paul: Ummmm...

Ella won out in the end. The only acceptable dance is one in which the dancer is wearing a tutu. I don't know where she got that from, as I have never exposed her to ballet, or any form of tutu etiquette (I think of them more as costumes than dance attire), but thanks to Sudie, she has two tutus, so there can always be a pas de deux.

There are just not enough hours in the day.

2011-03-10T20:51:00.002-06:00

I have such high hopes for my life. I want to give my children hours each day to explore nature, eat nutritionally rich meals, start a business, learn Chinese, read the twelve books that I currently have checked out from the library, allow the girls to play alone, let the girls learn to play with others, teach the girls to work hard along side their mother, and spend meaningful one on one time with each of my children, sew any of the seven projects that are currently percolating in my head, study the gospel, share the gospel, repot four of my houseplants, plant a vegetable garden (location TBD), blog... and sleep.

Is anyone else feeling a bit opressed by the constraints of mortality?

Dallas Top Ten

2011-03-07T21:02:00.001-06:00

Well, in case you were wondering. Our camera cord is MIA. So we have a few current phone photos and lots of vacation photos. I'm going with vacation, if you can't tell. Can you see the Christensen resemblance? I think Char and Grandpa Jeff may share some genetic code.

Now that we have lived in Dallas for three weeks, I thought I would give you a little taste of what our life holds. The first three weeks in any new home can be a little tenuous, but overall, it's been a positive experience.

The Best of our First Weeks in Dallas:

10 - The weather. Glorious. A few 'off' days where it's been down in the low sixties, but generally we have spent these glorious days in the seventies. Springtime is so hopeful, isn't it? The trees in our neighborhood have just started blossoming. It is lovely.

9 - Three Bedrooms. Ah, sweet bliss. Each girl can sleep without waking the other. One day, they will learn to share and sleep in the same space. But today is not that day.

8 - Our Apartment Complex's Five Acre Park - Complete with a pond and ducks and a nice trail. It's no Yellowstone, but it is sure convenient to have something close by.

7 - The Stuff Purge - It continues. Paul and I have donated three LARGE boxes already, and this weekend promises to turn up more stuff that is no longer deserving of our resources. One day I'll be a minimalist. Right now I feel so overwhelmed by stuff I feel like a faker, but I am at least trying. And it feels good to set it free. The upside of all this is, I have bought very few things since we moved in.

6 - Our very active ward - It's a two-way relationship. We have attended Ward Temple Night, Ultimate Frisbee (Paul), Choir, Knitting Club (Jess), a Fireside, had people over for dinner, I taught Relief Society last week, subbed in Nursery yesterday, and we're speaking next week. It's nice to feel involved so quickly.

5 - I now officially have two toddlers. One prefers to crawl, but the walking to crawling ratio is slowly shifting. It's fun having two toddlers. I like toddlers. Maybe even more than babies. Maybe. But I like it all when they belong to me.

4 - Hope. We're still in the honeymoon phase of living here. Who will our friends be? How will we fill our time? What callings will we have? It's fun to dream. We're so idealistic about the future.

3 - A paycheck. It's official. We make money.

2 - Houston. It's still close enough for a weekend trip. I did it last weekend and the girls were rock stars about the whole thing. So fun to be close enough to just go down for my sister's birthday.

1 - We are NORMAL again! As much fun as it was to have Paul around all the time... it's really nice to get back to the way things were. We miss him, in a lot of ways, especially the girls, they are not used to waiting for attention, but we miss him in a good way.

My picture is blurry.

2011-03-05T07:05:00.000-06:00

But it's Char's fault. She won't stop moving. Ever.

A sweet little girl at church asked if she could change Char's diaper.

"Sure! Take her away!"

It was kind of traumatic for the poor girl, because I forgot to tell her that often Char screams bloody murder when she is having her diaper changed because she hates laying still.

I tried to console her with this information post-diaper change, and the girl's sister asked, "Well, if she hates laying down so much, how does she ever fall asleep?"

"We wrap her in a blanket really tight so she can't move," was my truthful response.

At what point does a swaddle become a straight-jacket?

Some news and the conversation of the day.

2011-02-13T18:52:00.000-06:00

We are currently in Dallas. Tomorrow morning the movers will bring our stuff to our house and unpack (but not put away) all of our stuff. My plan is to get everything out of boxes and put everything away that fits, and get rid of the rest. We have had stuff in boxes at my Mom's for a year and a half, so I don't even remember what I own. Or if I still want to own it. Anyhow, tonight is our last night of transiency. We drove up to Dallas early early this morning to go to church in our new ward, mostly because we had to stay the night anyway to be here early enough to meet the movers, so we may as well make a day of it.

So we're chillin' in our La Quinta tonight. Ella discovered the cups and was playing a game with them.

Jess: She has water in that cup. Did you give her water?
Paul: No. Ella, where did you get water for your cup?
Ella: The toilet.
Jess: She's stirring it with our toothbrush. Don't use the green one anymore.

More exciting news (not related to us having to purchase new toothbrushes):

Charlotte took her first real steps today. Yep, right here at the La Quinta. She has been doing single steps in between pieces of furniture or people. But this afternoon she was getting four and five steps in a row consistently. Shaky, slow, small steps. But all by herself.

This is almost as fun as all of the animal noises she has started making. Her favorite is a dog, but I enjoy her bear impressions more. She likes to randomly roar at people. It happened, like, four times at church today. I shouldn't be surprised, because we roar at her all the time. She will also meow, but she doesn't have the name association down, yet. It is just a imitation of our meows. (She does correctly respond to "What does a bear/dog say?") She is so outgoing. She is sure everyone she sees is her friend, and she crawled up to at least two different strangers at church today and tried to climb on their laps. They happily obliged. Everybody likes to hold happy babies.

When Ella was this age strangers would wave at her and talk to her and it would take her at least sixty to ninety seconds to decide that she would smile and wave back. I would tell people she is "slow-to-warm". She is still that way to some extent, which is fine. We like her the way she is. Luckily, when she does 'warm', she is darling; well worth the wait.

Must it ever end?

2011-02-09T18:35:00.000-06:00

The weather is lovely here. I think this might be the only place in the country with nice weather. We have been swimming every day. Three beach days so far. A fifteen mile bike ride in the everglades. It has been a magical vacation.

It's Snowing!

2011-02-02T06:47:00.002-06:00

We (and by 'we' I mean New Hampshire) are expected to get between eleven and twenty inches in the current storm. That does not count the three inches that we got yesterday morning. At least I am in good company. It seems like the entire country is getting snow. (Except Colorado. Sorry, Kate.) Luckily, we are scheduled to fly to Florida on Friday evening. Lucky for multiple reasons. The obvious being: We are getting out of the snow for heaven's sake. We are also lucky we will miss all of the snow storm flight cancellations, if weather predictions hold.

You might be wondering about the handsome young man who graces the beginning of this morning's post. That is Paul. And he is sleeping. And I'm not sure if those are nipples or arms. I didn't ask. But I couldn't be a prouder Mamma. Ella and I were drawing together yesterday, and all of a sudden I look over at her creation and see... something resembling a human! Imagine my shock. About a month ago she started drawing recognizable people, but this is by far her best work. And in the true spirit of parenthood, I began thinking of all the ways that I have helped mold that sweet child to arrive at the pinnacle of her two and a half year old potential today. And then I told myself that I was probably wrong, and she was just born brilliant. And then I self-talked a little about how Ella is just normal and normal is okay, and childhood is not a competition, and it doesn't matter what other two and a half year old's are drawing, so don't get on the internet to see if she is developmentally ahead of or behind her peers on this one.

It's a constant battle. All right there inside my brain.

Wish me luck as I wage my own personal war against competitive parenting.

And if you want to help: Please do not tell me about how your newborn slept through the night at five weeks. Or ask me what I am typically doing with my eleven month old at three in the morning.

HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY!

The Mazdarati

2011-01-26T21:05:00.000-06:00

That is what I like to call our 2000 Mazda Protege. It's a pretty hot little number. If you are looking for a car, we could make you a great deal. Here are the specs.

- It has 190,000 miles.

- The radio doesn't work. Neither does the cd player or clock, or the cigarette lighter. So, is you are looking for a way to be cut off from the world in every way when you're traveling in the Mazdarati, this is the car for you.

- The power-steering fluid leaks.

- We haven't replaced any filters (except the oil) since the Bush Administration. His first term in office.

- The exhaust manifold is being held together by electrical tape. Don't worry, we keep extra in the glove box for when it wears out. We will throw that roll in for F-R-E-E. I told you it was a good deal.

- The "check engine" light makes regular appearances. But do we ever? No.

- The overdrive light flashes. Sometimes, but not all the time. Paul is sort of relived when it stops flashing. Like maybe the car is healing itself somehow.

- The air conditioner works great when you're on the freeway and not stuck in traffic, but due to a busted engine fan, I would not recommend it in more taxing situations.

- Check out its impressive gas milage: 32 mpg freeway. 14 mpg city. Don't even ask.

Now, here is the thing that really gives our car class. (And incidentally, the straw that finally broke Paul's camel's back. He is finally ready for a new car.)

The driver's side window is being held up by duct tape.

We like to consider this "custom detailing".

This is its most recent ailment. And after many months of saying "This car just has to last us until graduation." We can finally agree that it has. And move on. It will drive us to Dallas, and hopefully, no where else.

Warning: Long Post

2011-01-23T22:16:00.004-06:00

The most lovely thing about my life recently is that my daughters so genuinely love each other. They play together, not all the time, but regularly. Ella is very sweet to include Char, who desperately wants to be a part of anything interesting that is going on. Not long ago Ella and I were playing in the kitchen, where I was tickling her. Charlotte was on the other end of the house being held by her dad, and as soon as she heard Ella laughing, she squirmed out of his arms and power crawled all the way across the house to Ella and I, where she proceeded to throw herself on top of the tickle fest. And that basically sums up Charlotte's approach to life.

We are in the New Hampshire segment of "vacation". We enjoyed a lovely three weeks living at my Mom's, and were sad to leave the beautiful weather we were enjoying there. But it is nice to be here with Paul's family. It has been a nice quiet visit so far, mostly just trying to stay warm. Although Paul, his Dad and sister, Amanda went skiing on Saturday. I was invited, but wasn't ready to leave the baby for quite so long... and honestly don't think I would have enjoyed myself skiing in twenty degree weather. I am more of a Springtime skier. Mid-thirties and above is my ideal skiing weather (if there is such a thing...) :)

Paul's parents have their basement set up to accomodate our little family, and Paul's dad graciously informed me that we were allowed to keep the heat turned as high as we wish down there. It was a sweet gesture, because the Christensen's are notorious for their energy saving wintertime practices. They have been 'green' since way before it was popular to do so. And even though I only turn up the heat when the girls and I spend time down there during the day (which is not too often), it is nice to feel like I have a little control over our little space. Ella and I spent time drawing downstairs while Char was napping today, and it almost felt like our normal life again. How I miss our life. You would think that having your husband home for two months to co-parent with you would be a dream come true. And while I truly have enjoyed being with Paul, and he has really stepped up to the plate and taken a fair share of the parenting load... for some reason, I just don't love it. I think I miss having sole-stewardship over my home and children, because I have been sharing it not only with Paul, but with our parents as well.

Oh well, soon enough life will get back to normal, and I'm sure, to some extent I will miss these strange and lovely days filled with family.

We found an apartment. Yes. You read that correctly.

I still don't know if I'm happy about it. Paul and I were always going to rent in Dallas (because we won't know for several months if we'll be there permanently), but I was dead set on renting a house. I wanted a yard. And a garage to keep my power tools. And two living areas. And four bedrooms. And hardwood floors.

And honestly, we mostly looked at houses. Actually, I think that the apartment we picked was the only one we actually toured. Weird. But the longer we looked, and the more houses we saw, the more I realized that that apartment was somehow the right choice for our little family. There are a million logical reasons to live in an apartment. (Well, at least five or six.) But there was a spiritual component as well. Part of that, I think was a realization that the biggest reason I wanted to live in a house was my own pride. I wanted the status symbol of living in a house, even if we were only renting it. I wanted people to come over and think, "Oh, what a nice house." And I don't really think there is anything wrong with wanting that. Really, there is nothing wrong with wanting people to feel comfortable and pleased with your home. BUT, there is something wrong with wanting that at the expense of more important factors. And right now, we have factors trump living in a house.

If you care, I will tell you. But this post is getting too long already, so if you don't care, pretend I just wrote a witty conclusion and move on to the next blog. But I like to know the nitty gritty details of people's lives. Otherwise, I think they're hiding something really juicy. So, in the spirit of broadcasting how boring we are:

- Paul's office is a short walk away from a DART train station. And so is the apartment we picked (a different apartment from last summer, though. There was no way I was going to live in a one-bedroom again!) Yea for car-free travel to work! It was hard to find a nice neighborhood within walking distance to a train station... shocking, I know.
- Paul loved our relaxing summer routine of going to the pool every evening before bed, and he really wanted to be close enough to a pool to do so without getting loaded in the car.
- We plan on starting a couple of small side-businesses to get our entrepruenurial feet wet, and honestly, it is just more cost-efficient (read: cheap) to live in an apartment, which will free up some capital for the businesses.
- We have another financial goal to save enough money to own a house outright in five years (we'll see how that goes). Another reason for saving money every month.
- Houses nearly always beg for a few specific peices of furniture to compliment the basics that we have, and fill it up nicely. I was actually excited about this aspect of living in a house (we got rid of a LOT of furniture when we moved out of our house in Idaho), but again, cost-efficiency is a priority.
- I read this article a while ago and felt inspired. So the plan is to see how little we can use our car while living in Dallas. (And hopefully get away with not buying another one or replacing our dying old girl for a while.) And the apartment is in a really nice location for biking to all of our regular 'haunts'. (You know, the library, the grocery store, a couple of parks, even the church.) We own the bike cart. Just not the bike. :) Besides being very close to a rail station for downtown jaunts.

So. We're living in an apartment. It is a three bedroom, which is nice. And I've decided to build a murphy bed for the playroom, so we have room for guests! Come visit!

Just in case you didn't know this about me.

2011-01-11T14:23:00.001-06:00

We are on our way to Dallas to find a house. We loaded the car with who knows what, but it sure is full. Occupying the place of honor is my Blendtec Blender:

For wither I goest, thou will go, wither I lodgest, thou will lodge. My people shall be thy people, and my food, thy food.

Sometimes when Ella smiles on command...

2011-01-07T20:29:00.002-06:00

it looks really cute.

But, sometimes when we say "Smile!" This is what we get.

This post is epic.

2011-01-06T11:28:00.001-06:00

I have recently realized that the word "cool" is going the direction of the word "groovy". Ouch. Especially since I use it in my blog at least once a week to describe myself.

The problem is, I haven't found a satisfactory replacement slang to accurately describe the height and depth of my... my... coolness.

Legit.

Sweet.

Sick?!

Any suggestions?

More weird parenting.

2011-01-05T11:25:00.001-06:00

I read this article on our country's declining Creativity Quotient in Newsweek ages ago. When I stumbled on this article recently, I was impressed by many of the principles that will almost certainly help to reverse that trend.

Let's face it. I'm always looking for things to reinforce my parenting philosophies. I like feeling right. :) And then I don't have to be haunted by the "you-must-be-crazy!" face that my friends give me when I tell them that I got rid of most of Ella's toys.

Gag.

2011-01-04T10:42:00.000-06:00

This morning I looked over to see Charlotte making a sour face... clearly she put something in her mouth that wasn't supposed to be there, that is nothing new. When I went to intervene, she spit out a still-writhing worm. A few seconds later, his head followed.

Bleh.

I haven't gotten up the courage to kiss her yet. I have been wondering if she is noticing that I am keeping my distance, because she also got her own cup of smoothie this morning instead of sharing as we usually do. Maybe one day I will recover from the disturbing images of half worm on the kitchen floor... but it's not going to be any time soon.

We wish you a merry Christmas.

2010-12-24T08:36:00.000-06:00

It's just a little more magical with children around.

Happy Christmas Eve.

We're moving to Dallas!

2010-12-22T20:45:00.003-06:00

I've been meaning to blog this forever. Sorry.

at&t offered us a job last September. We accepted said job at the end of November. And then we waited and waited for our assigned location. And we finally found out a couple of weeks ago. It was almost anti-climactic. "We could go anywhere!" we would tell people. And it was true. But Dallas is included in that category. So, we head North to being *real life (again) in mid-February. Until then, we are in the land of endless vacation.

*You know, like grown ups, making money and all sorts of crazy stuff. Maybe there will even be a yard in our future.

So.

2010-12-21T20:23:00.002-06:00

I know some people feel like they need to have snow around in the winter time. "It doesn't feel like Christmas... blah blah blah." Not me. I am digging this weather.

Notice the bare feet.

It's not just because I couldn't catch Ella before she ran outside. This is bonafide bare-footedness. High-seventies here.

Gloria in excelsis Deo.

And on earth peace, goodwill to men.

The Fam.

2010-12-20T20:17:00.000-06:00

Well, it was a big weekend for us, as you know. We are done with school! Although Paul did inform me this weekend that he might like to go back to get his Ph.D. Wha?! I told him that when we are independently wealthy he can do whatever he wants.

Paul's parents Jeff and Susan, and his Grandma, Wild Wilda, came out for graduation and we had a wonderful time. There were two graduation ceremonies, the MBA hooding ceremony, and the regular graduation, and I think Paul was glad that he did both, but I sure did my darnedest to get everyone to skip the school graduation, because who wants to watch twelve hundred people walk across a stage? I was in the hallway a lot of the time, trying to keep the girls happy. But they did sing the fight song at the end of the school graduation and that is kind of a big deal at A&M, and I wanted to be down swaying with the grads in that moment, so I'm glad Paul got to be there for that. One last fight song.

The way graduation went is, they called your name, you picked up your diploma and little pockets of people (presumably those who came to see you) would clap or whoop or whatever. I tried to listen and cheer for the people who didn't have a lot of clapping. It's the least you can do. Besides, I kind of like cheering. Well, when the last name was called, the room spontaneously erupted in cheering, and it would have been fun to be that guy. I was kind of jealous. I don't get a lot of cheering in my life. I think if people could cheer at church, I might get some there. I give pretty good talks, and I hold my own on the piano. But, we Mormons are a little lacking in the "spirit" department. (As in "We've got spirit, yes we do", not the other kind.)

In any case, we all cheered for Paul. So that was nice I guess. I still regret that I didn't yell something like, "You're hot!" or "Way to go, Lover!". There's always next time, I guess. I think cat-calling will be a nice touch when Paul gets his next degree.

Three Letters.

2010-12-19T20:01:00.000-06:00

M.B.A.

On a related note. I think my M.R.S. is really paying off.

Congratulations, Paul.

Date Night

2010-12-05T20:26:00.000-06:00

Last weekend our high school put on the play Cinderella, and one of my Laurels had the lead, so naturally I wanted to attend. And decided that Ella would make a nice date for the event. So we dressed up. (Yes, I did coordinate our outfits so we are both wearing black and brown.) And headed out for the night. She did great. No problems at all the first act, and about two-thirds of the way into the second act she was ready to go. But, I made her wait it out. And she still wasn't too disruptive. We sat in the front row, and I think that it helped to be so close to the action.

How wonderful to finally have a daughter who is old enough to attend events that are mutually enjoyable. The future is bright.

Turning thirty... again.

2010-12-02T07:48:00.000-06:00

"Thirty!?" You say. But how can a woman born in 1982 possibly have reached thirty so early. Well. I'll tell you. Beginning last year, I decided to forgo the formalities of an accurate age and simply round to the nearest pentade. That means that I will be turning thirty for the next four years. At which point I plan on rounding to thirty-five for a while. And then forty. And so on. That is, until I hit sixty. At that point I'm switching to decades. Until I hit 100. And then I will switch back to precise age measurement. Because once you are one hundred, you gain a lot of clout for an extra year or too.

Here's the thing. Everyone else kind of generalizes age. ("Oh, she's in her thirties.") So why shouldn't I just beat them to the punch?

And then you don't have to stop and think, twice a year, when someone actually asks how old you are, to remember how many candles were on the last cake. After five years of turning thirty, I am dang well going to have an answer ready at hand.

Besides, it's cool to be thirty.

And, as we all know, I am always cool.

We will never ever ever

2010-11-30T21:41:00.000-06:00

all be smiling at the same time.

Ever.

That's all I have to say.

Just chillin' with my homeboys.

2010-11-22T21:00:00.001-06:00

Yes, I did try to put her pant leg down several times. But she kept pulling it back up, because in the eyes of this two year old, that band-aid represents some serious bling.

She's a nomad. She follows the food.

2010-11-15T09:24:00.001-06:00

We had a bag of persimmons sitting on our floor this morning while I was cooking breakfast. (I picked them from my aunt's persimmon tree last weekend, and they are waiting to be made into something wonderful.) At one point I glanced down and realized that she had not only found the bag, but consumed a good portion of a persimmon. The chalky-tasting skin did not seem to deter her in the least. This girl loves food. If I have the nerve to eat something and not give her a bite, it is a true tragedy.

Aunt La-La.

2010-11-11T13:12:00.001-06:00

I just love Laurel.

Paul, I and the girls stayed overnight in Huntsville before my grandfather's funeral to decrease the driving time for the girls.

Laurel was going to stay at Mom and Archie's that night.

But my mom made her stay with me. Which is funny for a couple of reasons. The first being that Laurel still listens to and does what my mom says. And the second because my mom likes me enough to let me have Laurel overnight. I have a good mom.

Then Laurel whined about how Paul and I went to bed too early.

And then she found out why we go to bed so early when all of us climbed in her bed the next morning.

That magical day.

2010-11-06T21:53:00.000-05:00

When I was serving a mission and daylight savings rolled around, I would purposely not set my clock back the night before and pretend I was sleeping in. It was glorious.

You gotta celebrate the small stuff.

Happy Daylight Savings everyone!

Here's hoping my kids don't forget to set their clocks back an hour tomorrow morning.

Cute as a Bug in a Rug.

2010-11-05T19:54:00.001-05:00

Paul came as our bug catcher, decked out in khaki. There are only so many halloweens where I get to coordinate all the costumes. Before long, Ella will have an opinion of her own.

Roughing It.

2010-10-30T09:33:00.001-05:00

I think we look pretty good after a day of camping, don't you?

It's hard not to look good when you're in our family.

Basically, we're hot.

Or pre-hot, as the case may be.

You'll get there soon enough, girls.

In other news, I found an article (read: blog post) that articulates so concisely the benefits of attachment parenting. (Sometimes I like to call blog posts "articles" to legitimize my reading them. Is that misleading?) She addresses some principles that I've been thinking about posting for a while, but haven't, for a number of reasons. Mostly because I have a lot of thoughts and not a lot of time, but I also didn't know if anyone would care :) Anyhow, just thought I would share.

I'd like my smoothie green, please.

2010-10-27T08:36:00.002-05:00

Thanks. That was delish.

Brave. Brave. Brave.

2010-10-24T15:26:00.000-05:00

Oh yes we did. We went camping. With two littles.

Are you so impressed with our daring?

The girls were great. Happy, with very few exceptions.

One of those exceptions being a very unfortunate encounter with the side of a pond. All this little girl wanted to do was throw some rocks in the water. And after she was swallowed by the mud, all she wanted was some love and attention. But what did her dad do? He got out the camera. I guess I'm not much better, I did step aside briefly so he could get a good shot.

We were the only people in our camping area. No one wanted the "non-electrical" sites. And the bathroom was a distant trek. But it was nice and secluded. And cheap. And that is the Christensen way.

'Til we meet again.

2010-10-19T11:13:00.001-05:00

Tuesday morning my Mom called to tell us it was time to drive out to Huntsville to say goodbye to Grandad. He was diagnosed with cancer last Christmas, and true to his nature, has been fighting the good fight ever since then. But he took a turn for the worse early last week, and, well, it was his time.

The day blurred together, taking shape only in segmented moments: the brilliant blue of a cloudless day, tear-spent eyes, warm, long, sincere embraces, the slow path of tears down my own face, the shock and pain at the sick man who only months ago was so vibrant. It was unifying beyond all description, to grieve and mourn and love and laugh as a family, to remember, to accept, to release to the Lord. We held his hand, and showed off babies, recounted stories and news, and in quiet moments, leaned close and whispered our love to him.

I wish I had had the courage to tell him what I was thinking. That Jesus lives. That his Atonement is real; infinite and eternal, perfect and beautiful. That God has a plan, and it doesn't end in this life, or the next. That we would see each other again. I didn't want him to know that I knew that he was dying. I wanted to pretend that our gathering together was just another day like so many others. But it wasn't. And he knew it. And I knew it.

Charlotte did, too. She cooed at Grandad and held his hand, staring past his broken body, mesmerized, into his sentient eyes. And I wondered what she saw. The only time I heard him speak was when the baby was in the room. He lit up. Their spirits connected beyond the rest of us there that day. Perhaps communicating those same thoughts that were at the forefront of my own mind. This is not the end, just the next step on the path back Home.

Oh so chubby.

2010-10-17T22:34:00.002-05:00

When Ella was a baby, I was sure that the reason she was a late crawler/walker was because she was so chubby and so tall. She had too much body, therefore it took her longer to figure out how to use it effectively.

I stand corrected.

So chubby. So tall. So mobile.

How did she get so dang cute?

She has her Dadd'n's eyes.

2010-10-11T20:23:00.002-05:00

Don't you think? This was taken at an outdoor Jazz concert a couple of weeks ago. I always think I'm going to like Jazz. Because I'm hip and with-it. I never do. We left early and hit a string quartet playing in a church a few blocks over (it was a big community arts event that night). Much more my style. We had to leave after the first movement, though, because, well, we have two children, and it was basically a miracle that they lasted that long without a too painful interuption.

Charlotte has started "cruising" along the couch after she pulls herself up into a standing position. It is ridiculous how motivated she is to get around. Chill-ax, Char. You have the rest of your life to discover every possible thing in the world, just be a little baby for a little while longer. Okay, this is almost embarrassing to tell, because I sound like one of those moms that assigns characteristics to their child that are just way beyond their developmental capabilities. But, I swear, this is real. Yesterday, she let go of the couch, and tried to take a step. Total face plant. Not even close to success. And I know it could have just been her falling down on accident, but I watched the whole thing, and it looked so deliberate. I am just blown away by that girl's determination. She must get it from her dad.

Speaking of getting things from her dad. Ella asked to watch Blues Clues this morning. (Like she does every day.) And I told her, "No." (Like I do most days.) And then she asked, "Watch football?!" Paul tries to get Ella excited about football all weekend long. I guess his evil plan is working.

Oh yes she did.

2010-10-02T19:50:00.002-05:00

So, there we were, watching General Conference, and Char crawls over to the couch, and proceeds to pull herself up into a standing position!! What the heck?! The first time she tried, she completely lost her balance and toppled over as soon as she made it to her feet. But her second attempt resulted in a successful stint at standing while holding on to the couch. She also tried to pull herself up using the toilet this evening while I was reading Ella a story before bed. Nipped that one in the bud. She has really blossomed in the last few weeks, crawling over to wherever the action is and putting herself in the middle of it. So stinkin' fun. She loves playing with Ella, and is completely enamored with everything Ella does. You can just see it in her eyes "Oooh! Look at Ella jump! That is magnificent!" And Ella is an amazing older sister, most of the time.

Both of my girls are just so fun and darling. I love being a mother. Ella and I went to the park with several friends for dinner this evening, while our husbands went out to eat and went to the Priesthood session of conference. On the way, Ella asked, "Where did Dadd'n go?"

"He went to a meeting to learn about Jesus and Heavenly Father."

"And the moon?" was her reply.

"Ummm, maybe. We can ask Dad when he gets home if he learned about the moon."

"Yeah."

We've never had one of those 'funny kid conversations'. I felt like I had arrived as a parent. Shout it from the rooftops, "I have a child who says random, and slightly amusing things!" Oh yeah. It's good to be me.

Dancing with the Normal People

2010-09-26T21:42:00.002-05:00

Okay. This picture has nothing to do with the post. But I still like it. Let me just put that out there.

The other thing I want to say is: If they ever have a show called "Dancing with the Normal People", I am in.

The glitz. The glamor. The gaiety.

Every time we watch Dancing with the Stars, I just imagine myself twirling around that floor. Accepting the judges praises with dignity and poise. Spouting off witty one liners, like I was made to entertain. If America knew who I was-- I would rock that show. Mirror ball trophy, here I come. "Dance experience?" they ask. I am exclusively a living room diva! (Except for one unfortunate year of ballet at the age of five.)

Unfortunately, I'd rather shoot myself in the foot than be famous.... so we're really going to have to hope for a new show, because I'll never be a star. So, America, rally with me. Who will be my co-contestants on Dancing with the Normal People?

2010-09-21T22:54:00.001-05:00

I love feeding my babies solid foods. There's just something unifying about sharing a meal with someone. Including your own child. Charlotte is a fan so far. We had watermelon last night. For a six month old, she did pretty good. This is Charlotte's first time feeding herself ever. All of the other foods I've given her aren't very self-feeding friendly. Oatmeal? I tried that. She just dumped the bowl all over herself. Oh yeah. That's why Ella used to have to eat straight off her tray. We weren't just uncouth, we were avoiding food disaster. It'll be nice when Charlie's ready for finger foods, but for now, she just gets the mashed up version of whatever single ingredient food we have at the meal. (Usually the vegetable. The watermelon was officially dessert, though.) I was so into baby foods with Ella. I made purees and froze them, and defrosted them (sans microwave) dutifully to eat exactly one hour after breastfeeding, so as not to interfere with her appetite for the good stuff (breastmilk). I introduced one new food every three days for MONTHS. No more of that. She eats when the rest of us are hungry. Honestly, she really doesn't get enough to interfere. And since we have a varied diet, she basically gets three new foods a day. Don't tell Dr. Sears.

My roommates are going to love this. Ella has recently decided to take off her pajamas after we put her to bed. So she sleeps in the (mostly) nude. (Yep, she's mine.) But, get this. She puts her pajamas away, in her top drawer. Yes. She strips, and then puts her clothes away, in the middle of the night. Paul and I don't even put our clothes away when we are wide awake. Somehow, Kate imbibed some of her clean-freak-ness into my genetic code when we lived together all those years ago. Thanks, Kate.

Ella had a late afternoon meltdown at Target today. So what did I do? I called my friend and asked if she would babysit. And then I drove straight to her house, fed my baby, and left my kids there. IT WAS GLORIOUS! Paul and I got home about the same time, when I surprised him with the news. Take out in the comfort of our own home was just what I needed. My little Char is not sleeping well, and I have felt a bit on the edge (of sanity, you know). I am rejuvenated. No sleep required. (Well, I will require sleep, but this evening did the trick without it. But sleep would still be good. Excellent, actually. Just keep that in mind, cyberspace.)

That's a wrap.

Late is better than never.

2010-09-06T09:43:00.001-05:00

Well, Sunday morning, we squeezed Charlotte into an (almost) thirty year old blessing gown. (Suck it in, Charlie!) And Paul gave her a name and a blessing. She's only five and a half months old. I was worried Charlotte would kind of flip out, you know, being surrounded by men in a big circle could be intimidating, but Archie said it was the only blessing circle that he's ever been in where the baby was playing with the ties of all the men in the circle. Cute.

We left our camera charger in Utah.

2010-09-05T21:28:00.000-05:00

And that's why I'm still posting vacation photos.

It's sad because, I might have been able to get a video of Ella singing "Happy Birthday, dear Dadd'n". Which she has been singing on and off since I taught it to her on Tuesday. (Yes, Paul is the big Two-Nine.) (But I like to tell people he is thirty, like I accidentally forgot.) (Because it makes him mad.) (He doesn't get that thirty is the new twenty.) My original plan was for her to sing just the last word in each phrase, like she does most other songs. But, I failed to account for the fact that it basically has the same lyrics in each phrase, so she picked it up pretty quickly. So that was fun. Another "trick" for Paul to try to get her to do to impress the family. Which she, no doubt, will refuse to perform on command. Kids these days.

I do love this picture, though. The morning after we arrived in Utah, the first thing Paul did was pull out the golf clubs and hollow golf balls out of grandma's garage. (Which wait for him there, no matter how long it's been since we've visited.) And started hitting balls accross the yard.

I watched him from inside, and watched my sweet daughter try her luck with a golf club of her own, and it just felt like home. Grandma's house is one of those few places that seems to stand still in time. We can change, and grow, and have crazy amounts of babies, and still know that there are cookies in the freezer, and ham and cheese in the fridge. We can invite friends over for game night, and know that Grandma will stay up with us all hours of the night playing something she'd never even heard of until that day. We can all sit around talking for hours, or just sit reading our own books companionably. We have Sunday dinner, and gather in the kitchen to clean up, which for some reason, is one of my favorite times. Maybe because it was in that kitchen, doing those dishes, that I first knew that I belonged to the Christensens, the same way I belong to my own family. It was a nice vacation.

Life is going on about as usual here. Paul still studies more than I would like. But, I'm just being selfish. He's doing great in school, and we are hoping to hear if we have an offer from at&t this week. Wish us luck!

Home again, home again...

2010-08-30T20:59:00.000-05:00

It's nice to be home. We are all adjusting back from a looooooong day of driving on Saturday. We left at 4 am, and rolled in to College Station at 3:30 am. Yeah. It was a long drive. We did lose two hours due to time zones, so it was more like 22 hours on the road, rather than the 24 that it seems. Still a long time.

I just love our family. This trip we visited with Paul's family almost exclusively, but after five years of marriage (and several years of dating before that), they are my family, too. In fact, the trip was my idea. Paul fought me on it for a while. (And can you blame him? We probably logged 60 hours of driving time over the last two and a half weeks.) But I just cannot bear the thought of my girls not knowing our sweet family. Even though they might be too little to notice.

Arizona was hot. But we mostly stayed inside, with the occasional early morning or late afternoon swim. Ella calls Carolyn "Aunt Cee-Cee", She even puts the 'aunt' on the front, which is cute. It became clear early on that 'Carolyn' was too difficult for Ella's unpracticed tongue. It worked out well.

Carolyn swears that she will be the strict aunt, but I just have to laugh, because I don't know how she will ever be anything except "Fun Aunt Carolyn". The first thing she did was paint Ella's toenails hot pink. Ella spent the whole trip showing off her toenails. Ah well, time will tell. But I have my money on "Fun Aunt Carolyn" rather than "Boring and Rule-Abiding Aunt Carolyn".

A little of this and a little of that.

2010-08-27T14:39:00.004-05:00

Lots of time in the car. Imagine our surprise when Charlotte was thrilled that Ella climbed up on her lap.

A little sight seeing with Grandma Christensen. How we love visiting her. The comfort of Grandma's house is as good as ever.

A little crawling. The strength is there. The coordination is not.

A lot of visiting. Enjoying the friendship of roommates, family, and friends. Once a room-ie, always a room-ie.

A lot of playing. Still loves balls.

Cousins

2010-08-16T23:42:00.001-05:00

Because my and Paul's brothers and sisters have not been so accomodating when it comes to creating cousins for our children to play with, it was really fun to see Ella playing with her second cousins, Jed and Giovanna. Yea for family! We are having a marvelous time here in Utah. The wedding was magnificent. And Sunday we had a lovely family dinner with the Christensen clan. We are looking forward to a fun week visiting with friends and family.

Also of note, Charlotte is beginning to crawl. Mostly backwards, but she did somehow go forward the other day when I wasn't looking. She also got her first tooth. And grabs any food within reach, because she is clearly ready for solids before I am. Ella began using her first preposition: the word "by". As in, "Tee-tee by bush?" Yes. I let her go outside once in her whole life and this is what happens. Ah well, she is telling us when she has to go a lot more often now... in hopes that she will be able to go "by bush".

How did this even happen?

2010-08-03T11:35:00.004-05:00

Ella is two. Twenty-five months actually. And I never posted birthday pictures. Or a sweet little list of all the things she does that are cute. Mostly because I'm a bad mom.

In spite of that, she is basically just the most beautiful, wonderful girl. When Laurel came out for Ella's birth, she told Hunter that Ella was "so sweet". And Hunter asked, "How can you even know that?" And I don't know how much you can know about a newborn, I imagine they are all sweet. But sweet is the word that people use most often to describe Ella. Her nursery leaders, her Mother's Day Out teachers, friends who babysit for us. She is truly sweet.

Right now she is upstairs singing to "Beebee Da-ee" (Baby Charlie) because she woke up from her nap and started fussing. So Ella ran up to comfort her. Again, because I'm a bad mom. Or maybe I'm just a really good delegator.

Alright, I just heard her say "Eat, Baby, Eat." I have to go.

Sisters.

2010-07-27T17:03:00.000-05:00

Mi-Ming

2010-07-24T11:42:00.000-05:00

Happy Saturday! Paul made us a yummy breakfast this morning, and as we finished up Ella looked at him and asked, "Dadd'n mi-ming?" (Mi-ming = Swimming, ask me how long that took to figure out. Weeks. She talked about swimming for weeks without me even remotely understanding what she meant.) Mi-ming is a question that is asked at least three times a day, and invariably after dinner.

This is because, four times out of five, we go swimming after dinner. And at least twice a week Ella and Charlotte and I go while Paul is at work. Plus once or twice on Saturdays. And Ella loves it. Sometimes we put a floatie on her, and sometimes not. Regardless of her floatation devices, she fearlessly and tirelessly explores the pool.

So much fun.

Ouch! Charlie, that really hurts!

2010-07-17T14:22:00.000-05:00

I didn't know it was possible for a two year old and a four month old to love each other. I figured my girls would just tolerate one another until they were old enough to really play together. Not so. It was a forceful reminder this morning when Paul and I divided up shopping duties. I took Charlotte, he took Ella. When we met back up together, Ella ran toward us yelling "Baby!!", and when I picked her up to let her see Charlotte in the shopping cart, Charlotte broke out into this enormous grin. There must be some of that premortal life bonding stuff lingering on. I only wish I could remember if Charlotte, Ella, and Linds used to let me hang out with them back in premortality.

Because they are already best friends, Ella has found a game that they can play together. She puts her finger in Charlotte's mouth, and then quickly retracts it yelling, "Ow! Ow! Ow!" She is pretty convincing. The first time she did it in front of Paul, he thought she was really hurt. She then grins at Charlotte and admonishes her, "No, Baby." I couldn't figure out why she decided to play out such a strange interaction. We have been working on not biting... but that was a couple of months ago. She engages in lots of imaginative play, so I just wrote it off. Until I was telling my mother about this new game. And she informed me that the last time Ella stayed with them, they watched YouTube videos together. Yeah. That's right. Ella watched the famous Charlie biting his older brother. Classic.

Isn't she beautiful?

2010-07-10T17:07:00.001-05:00

Life has been just great, enjoying my two wonderful girls. And Paul. We spent Independence Day in Dallas, enjoying the fireworks from a secluded spot by a little creek that we stumbled upon by chance. The weekend festivities also included a nice afternoon hike (stroll) (one day we'll hike again), and naps for everyone.

We've been gluten free this week. Just because I wanted to try it. I held fast until this morning, when Paul suggested doughnuts for breakfast. As many of you know I am somewhat picky when it comes to breakfast foods. Even muffins typically have too much sugar for me to feel like they qualify. But I am a sucker for doughnuts. Extra gluten with that, please! Honestly, it didn't really matter. I have felt no different being off gluten, and didn't really think I would because I don't really suffer from any digestive complaints. But you hear so much about gluten these days, I thought we should give it a go. Besides, I like a good cooking challenge.

Ella started singing along to songs last week. She has been singing songs (recognizably) on her own for a couple of months. Humming might be more accurate. There are words, but I can't understand them. But I'll hear the distinct tune of ABC's floating around the house, mostly using the letters t, e, and b. Two weeks ago, I heard her singing the chorus to "I am a Child of God", it was tender. Especially sweet because I only started singing it to her at bedtime a week or so before. I was impressed at her quick learning of that one. But even sweeter, last week she started singing right along with me at bedtime. Love it. She also does a mean "Down by the Bay".

Charlotte, who has been laughing very well for tickles for a long while, (since she was two months and one week) started belly-laughing at Ella's antics the other night. That was fun. She continues to be a happy, contented baby. Thrilled at any chance to interact with anyone, especially her sister.

Alright. Time to go.

Women of the World Unite.

2010-07-02T11:30:00.003-05:00

It occurred to me as I was putting on makeup Tuesday night, that I was merely one of thousands preparing to join in a sisterhood and celebrate... silliness.

Yep. I did it. I saw the midnight showing of Eclipse. It was a grand excuse for a much needed "Girl's Night". And I loved every minute of it. (Every minute of the girl's night. The movie was... basically a movie.)

And honestly, isn't that what this is all about? Three hours to pretend that you are not the responsible adult that you really are every other hour of your life. Five hours, if you count the waiting in line part. Six and a half hours if you count the time you spent meeting at a friend's house, eating cheesecake, and making tee-shirts to commemorate the event.

I told Paul our plan for the night. "Are you going to write things on your tee-shirt like 'Bite me, Edward?'" was his response. Deep down he really wanted one for himself.

And so, without sanctioning the books, movies, or posters, I boldly proclaim my whole-hearted approval of a reason to stay up until three in the morning and eat cheesecake with wild abandon.

Love it.

2010-06-28T12:09:00.002-05:00

I felt inspired this morning when I read this.

Roll Out.

2010-06-23T14:32:00.002-05:00

So, I finally created my blogroll. It is a work in progress, since I am using Paul's laptop currently in Dallas, and my desktop is the computer with my bookmarks saved. So, if you aren't on there, and you want to be, tell me. Chances are, when I get the chance, in say, three months, I would have added you anyway. It's been a while since I've done my regular blog cruising, so things are getting hazy. We're still friends, right?

If you are on there, and you don't want to be. Tell me. Then maybe we'll actually email back and forth a few times, and I can hear about stuff that you don't post on your blog. Or maybe we're not as close as I thought. And that's cool too.

Um, I also added several blogs that I read on occasion, that may or may not have unorthodox content. Seriously, it's like opening up my innermost thoughts and dreams for public consumption. But the lure of the ease of having them all in one, easily accessible place was too great. So, don't think I'm weird if you check out any of those links. I'm currently obsessed with homeschooling. If I had done this six months ago, you would have seen a bunch of vegan blogs. I'm a phaser. Who knows what I'll discover next. (Although, I'm considering hula-hooping.) (But the hardcore people out there just call it hooping.) (In case you were wondering.)

Oh, and I'm not vegan. And I never plan to be. But I am still drifting closer and closer toward what I would probably define as 'weird'. And that kind of scares me. In a good way.

I think.

Who the heck is "Honey"?

2010-06-23T14:21:00.002-05:00

My sister Laurel decided early on in Ella's life that Aunt Laurel is too hard for a baby to say. (This was back when Ella was a baby.) So she became Aunt La-La. I am not sure if Ella loves Aunt La-La because Laurel fawns all over her. Or because she can say her name. Maybe she would talk about everyone else if she only could. Or maybe she does talk about everyone in the family, and I simply don't understand. Whatever the reason, Ella spends a fair amount of time talking about Aunt La-La. Don't ask me what she says. All I understand is "La-La". (If you can imagine.)

After our most recent family gathering, Ella began talking about "Honey" in the back seat. "Do you want to eat honey?" I asked. No. "Honey, your baby doll?" (I named her baby doll Honey, mostly because it's a word she can already say.) No. Then she brought things into context by mentioning La-La. "Oh! Uncle Hunter!?!" "YEAH!" was her enthusiastic reply. Um, basically, could there be any cuter couple than Uncle Honey and Aunt La-La? I mean, linguistically cuter. I think not.

We have been trying to get Ella to call Hunter "Uncle Huh-Huh". But mostly because it annoys him. I think I like Honey better.

Turning the camera around.

2010-06-11T20:24:00.000-05:00

I made Ella a book for her first birthday entitled "When Ella was a Baby" with pictures of her and the family and other various milestones. She loves to read it. But she calls it her "Dadd'n Book". (She calls Paul Dadd'n, with the occasional 'Dad', or more recently, 'Paul', thrown in.) The reason she calls it her Dadd'n book is because the only pictures of me in there are the ones of me pregnant with her. I may as well be an invisible influence in her life, according to our camera. Since I'm (marginally) more obsessed with Ella than Paul, I am usually the one taking the pictures. So I opted for a self-portrait of Charlotte and I when we visited the waterpark last week. Charlotte has not gotten the hang of looking at or smiling for the camera. The least she could do is look a little sassy. I think vague is a nice word to describe this look.

The upside of the waterpark is that we had a blast. There were three pools, two of them had a maximum depth of 24" or something, so Ella got to explore her little guts out. There were a couple of little slides, too. The third pool had "grown-up" slides, so Paul and I got a few thrills thrown in the mix. It was a fun day. The downside of our day being that this was the only cute shot of the day. And I'm the only one who looks cute in it. Oh well, the memories can live on in our hearts, if not our hard drive.

Oh yeah. And we have the internet. And Paul took Charlotte to the store while I was putting Ella to bed. And it doesn't take that long. (Although she is not asleep, strictly speaking. She is yelling things from her 'room' (closet) such as "Mom? Park? Yeah?" "Mom, tee-tee?") So here I am. If anyone has the perserverence to keep checking my blog, that is.

This summer has been...

2010-06-05T13:49:00.009-05:00

an interesting lesson in minimalism. We rented a one bedroom apartment for the summer for Paul's internship:

mostly because I didn't want to move our stuff and then move it back. Financially expensive, emotionally sound. So we loaded everything we could into our little Mazda (ourselves included) and basically started from scratch.

Clark and Linds came into town the same weekend we moved in and so we all "camped out" in our apartment the first few days. Clark and Paul braved a Mexican Flea Market to procure what little furniture we now live on. A king mattress and a futon. Paul and I later craigslisted (isn't that funny how that's becoming a verb, kind of like "google") a table, and so in the way of furniture, that's all we got. Oh, and a mattress for Ella... in our walk-in closet. Don't tell CPS. Sometimes we close her in the closet if she won't go to sleep. And we feel like real jerks for locking our daughter in a closet. But we do it in love, and she does

n't seem to mind too much. Usually, she just ends up singing Old McDonald quietly to herself, and bonding with her stuffed penguin... and then falling alseep.

Paul rides the train to work every morning. If the girls are up, we all walk down to the station together and kiss him goodbye. Last week I rode the train downtown for an outdoor concert, which was fun. The ticket-checker looked at me like I was getting a really good deal for my four dollars, with the three (me and the two girls) of us all riding on one pass. You don't have to pay until your kids are five.

This weekend has been our first weekend not going back to College Station. Whew! So nice. Paul and I went estate sale shopping this morning, mostly just because we like looking at other people's stuff. Seriously. So interesting. We did buy sheets for our king bed for $1. Which just happened to be all the cash we had. :)

Life is simple, but good. I am loving not having very much stuff. All of our dishes were dirty the other day, and we just barely had a full dishwasher load. Ella has maybe five toys, and a few books and she stays plenty busy in her play. We do have a little yard where she takes a few tupperware bowls and plastic cups and pours water, and plays with the rocks and sticks out there. I am loving that. I just read a book called Simplicity Parenting, so now I don't even have to feel guilty that she doesn't have (m)any toys. It was a great book. Although he doesn't advocate the level of minimalism we are living... but I do. I am getting rid of the rest of my toys when we go back to A&M. She is a great helper and loves to help me clean and cook, which is also good for her development. Andhopefully having less to play with will allow her to be more creative (forcing her to create her own play, rather than following the script of whatever toy strikes her fancy). I can't wait until she can talk, so I know everything going on in that sweet little head. (Although that is a whole nother post.) (There's another made up word that we use all the time.)

We don't have internet either, if you haven't guessed. So we utilize the services of Starbucks and the Public Library. Good times. We are getting internet, though. We've put if off, trying to decide if we really need it. "Need it". Of course we don't need it. You know. But we do "need" it. I like being more connected than I am. And I'm getting used to not having it, so hopefully I'll waste less time on the internet once we're connected again. Hopefully.

2010-06-03T18:30:00.001-05:00

At a summer concert sponsored by at&t. It was a nice venue, out on the patio of the at&t Performing Arts Center.

Recent Happenings:

2010-05-31T14:13:00.008-05:00

Who says you don't take pictures of the second baby? We have tons. Featured here. Not in any sort of order at all. It's been a busy couple of weeks getting settled in the "City House". I would load more, but this internet is so SLOW! Pictures forthcoming: Clark and Linds in Dallas! (with us.)

Paul, with his goatee. (He's clean-shaven now.) And Aunt La-La.
In the lake last weekend.
"Why is everyone staring at me?" Charlotte and Grandma Polly at our Mother's Day party.
Aunt Rachel and the baby on the boat last weekend. So much fun.
The mini-mustache.
My personal favorite from Paul's facial hair. The hick. All he needs is a mullet.

A little shout out to my mom.

2010-05-11T05:14:00.000-05:00

I was going to write this post a month ago. And then I was going to write it for Mother's Day. Let's just say this is Mother's Week and call it good.

First of all, let me set the record straight on my Mom. She is pretty cool. A fact I learned after those tumultuous adolescent years, but knew all throughout my childhood. I seriously thought my parents were the coolest. In fact, you could probably say that I get all of my coolness from my Mom. But I wouldn't call coolness her defining characteristic.

I think I would define my mom as kinetic.

Not only is she constantly active and involved in something, she is always active and involved in something different; always learning, forever progressing.

We were reminiscing the other day about my freshman year when she decided she would go back to school and be a lawyer. She did go back to school, but she took art classes, a significant portion of them involving naked people. "I've decided Speech Pathology is boring," she once told me during the "Art Era". But now that she is working again as a speech therapist, she is wildly passionate about technological communication aids. She is always telling me about a new class she has taken, or a new device she has implemented in one of her schools.

This trait is universally applicable. Her passion for life, her love of the Savior, her dedication to her family, future, past, and present, all stems from this kinetic energy, constantly driving her toward greatness.

My grandfather told me about how my mom insisted on going on a school trip to Europe during high school. (If you didn't know, my mom has been using crutches to walk since she was five.) "She did?!" I exclaimed, surprised at this new information. "Yep," he replied, "nothing ever holds Donna back". It couldn't be any truer today.

The tenderness of our relationship is sweeter still with the birth of my two daughters. I have a heightened awareness of her love for me, and appreciation of all that she gave us, and continues to give. I never really realized that my grandma was my mom's Mom until I was a mother. She makes an entire pot of gumbo without seafood, just because my mom recently developed an allergy to shellfish. And when she sees a purse that she thinks my mom would like, she buys it for her. Why didn't I notice all the Mom-things Grandma was doing? Maybe they were eclipsed by all of the fun Grandma-things she did. Ice cream and sandwiches, swimming and staying up late. Grandmas are fun. But how sweet it has been to be aware of the mothering that still happens in her home. Kind of like how my mom buys Ella organic graham crackers and juice, just because I tend to be a food nazi. That's the mothering. And then feeds Ella all the brownie she wants from her own plate. That's grandmothering.

She's good at both.

I might be obsessed.

2010-05-03T22:27:00.002-05:00

Somewhere along the way to now, I stopped listening to regular radio and started listening to NPR. I'm not really sure when it happened, but I still laugh to myself sometimes that I enjoy talk radio so much. You just never think it's going to happen to you. And then you're glad when it does. When I was working full time (and by working, I mean, getting paid for my work), I just listened to the basic news that comes on while commuting, with an occasional Fresh Air by Terri Gross. (Love Fresh Air). But now that the majority of my driving occurs during daytime hours, I have discovered new shows by American Public Media. Exploring Music and, my personal favorite: Performance Today. If you have never heard Performance Today, you will not be able to quite understand how I cannot even type those words without hearing the familiar inflection of Fred Child, PT's host.

I love Fred Child. In fact, I have a voice crush on him. Nothing romantic. I am just completely sure that Fred Child and I could be best friends.

After listening to his wildly expressive voice for many months, I finally decided to look up a picture of him on the internet. And I have to say, I was sadly disappointed. I imagined Fred to be a kindly, graying man of my parent's generation. He surely would wear a subtle pair of wire-rimmed glasses to compliment his narrow, unassuming face.

Nope. He is young, and sort of bald. With a beard! Blah. I mean, Fred, if you are reading this (which is a possibility, since we are potential best friends) there is nothing wrong with how you look, you are a fine looking guy... just different. It just hasn't been the same on the show since I saw his picture. I keep trying to assimilate that image with the one in my head.

But, I still want to start an "I Love Fred Child" Fan Club.

And the Piano Puzzler is still the best ten minutes of my week.

She smiles.

2010-04-29T22:49:00.005-05:00

Charlotte has actually been smiling for a while. But it was still too new and sweet for me to go and get the camera to document it. I forgot about those first sweet weeks of smiling where you really can't look away until she stops smiling. It has been so fun. So I finally got it on camera.

I have been wondering, since she started smiling, when she will start smiling at me while she's nursing. And the answer is, today! There is honestly nothing more tender than looking down at your hungry baby and seeing her take a quick break to flash you a big grin. That was one of my favorite moments with Ella, too.

Ella outdid her usual nursing smile the other night (yep, still breastfeeding), when she took a break, looked up at me and said "happy girl". It was the sweetest thing. I am so grateful we still have that relationship, even though I never ever thought I would breastfeed this long. It has been an interesting breastfeeding journey, learning about the benefits of extended breastfeeding, and realizing that just don't mind nursing a toddler.

It kinda feels like we're in college...

2010-04-26T11:47:00.003-05:00

Probably because we are. But I forgot that 'summer break' feeling. All of our friends are packing up and leaving for the summer. By next week all that will be left is the promises of a renewed friendship come Fall. I am having serious flashbacks of freshman year... But without the hope of an awesome roadtrip to comfort me. :) On the upside, if this is college, then I guess that makes Clark and Linds our 'high school' friends, which fits well, since we will be seeing them the first week of break! We live a good life.

PS Both girls are napping in their own bed right now. I don't even know what to do with myself. Weird.