Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Numero 30!

Wow, today is the last day! This month has gone super fast.  I never really planned out what my things were going to be every day, but rather what I was thankful for that day.  I've also had a hard time remembering what I have said on other days.  What has popped up today has been kind of weird.  I have some paranoia problems sometimes, especially at night.  Sometimes I'll think there's people in the house when there really aren't, etc.  Lately though, I've felt pretty safe most of the time.  I don't necessarily *like* where we live, but I do feel safe here.  I feel we live in a friendly neighborhood, our neighbors are kind, and there aren't any outside sources that are threatening my way of life.  I am extremely grateful for the peace of mind this gives me. 

Thank you, Michele, for letting me copy you and write random stuff that I like to talk about :)

She loves her Uncle Kenz so much that she insisted on sitting in his lap!  ...Marshall on the other hand....she needs a few more years to warm up to him :)  And Hunter is a good Nana!

Twenty - Niner

Let's see, let's see...what to choose.....  We came home to a somewhat messy house...more disorganized than dirty, but we definitely needed to do some dishes after frantic dinner last night.  I also bought some little plates and some more cups for E, so we had those as well.  I am so grateful for my kitchen *things*.  All of them! My dishwasher, stove, fridge, KitchenAid mixer, food processor, mandolin, fry pan, Demarle pans...everything that makes life just a little nicer, a little sweeter.

I am so thankful I don't have to destroy my hands to wash dishes every day.  I promised myself that when we got a dishwasher, I would never complain about doing dishes.  There are days that I don't necessarily WANT to do dishes, but I never speak of this out loud.  I know I have a good thing, and I hope I never have to live without them!

 If you click on this picture and make it really big, you can see her big grin she has while she's trying to feed Hunterpup!


 We found stickers!

She got herself in there. She was so proud!

Sunday, November 28, 2010

28th Day

We're spending another night in Seattle tonight so that tomorrow isn't as much of a hassle.  We have to take Elisabeth to Portland for a doctor's appointment (after my lovely post of how healthy we are- haha!)- but anyway, I figured it would be kinder on all of us if we visited the doctor in Portland on our way home from Seattle.  Otherwise we'd drive down today (4-5 hours), and then drive back up and down (another total of 3 hours).  I thought that instead, we could just drive ~3 hours down to portland, go to the doctor, and then drive the last 1.5 hours afterward.  Great idea, eh?

Today, I am extremely grateful for health insurance.  Drew and I both had shady insurance deals growing up, and when we were done with undergrad, we didn't have any insurance for a year until grad school started...it was just too expensive.

This year, we decided to opt out of my insurance because of some district benefits I got for doing so.  We were able to do this because Drew has pretty good insurance with his work.

I am so glad we have insurance for so many things.  I can't imagine having a baby without insurance...that would be murder!  And the reason we're going to Portland is only because we have insurance...otherwise I'd just keep on going. (intestinal issues).  Elisabeth's doctor and I both doubt anything is wrong, but we decided we would take her to a pediatric gastroenterologist just in case.

 Look at those little hairs! I could actually put 2 little pigtails in her hair if she wouldn't rip them out within seconds of putting them in!
 At least one of us is looking at the camera! haha
stop taking pictures of me, I's watchin mah stories!!!!

Saturday, November 27, 2010

27 days

I have so many things to be thankful for, yet sometimes I have a hard time thinking of something to write here.  Something that keeps coming to mind for me today is my health.  I may not be my ideal weight, but honestly, I have never been an "ideal" weight as long as I remember being alive.  But other than my weight, I consider myself a relatively healthy person*.  I don't get sick often, and when I do, it's usually just head colds and they're gone within a few days.

I am thankful I don't have any life threatening ailments that keep me from enjoying life.  I have swollen iliotibial bands, but I can still walk, and I can still run intervals...just not long distances. 

For the majority of the food I eat, I consider it to be healthy and nutritious.  I love eating salads for lunch, and I hope to continue to do so even though our CSA box is over for 6 months (so sad).

I'm on a maintain my weight mode for the school year because I just can't commit to a lot of time to exercise, so as long as I eat right, I won't gain weight...and hopefully when the sun comes back out, I'll be able to devote more time to exercising.

The bottom line is, my heart works well, my brain works, my innerds are healthy, I don't have any thyroid issues, blood pressure issues, diabetes, etc.  I am extremely grateful for the health I have, and the healthy my family has as well.

*(minus my nut allergy) haha

Black Friday, a day late- but really, just a day of thankfulness

I had my dad go out and get a newspaper with all the Black Friday ads in it on Thursday evening.  I was determined to find SOMETHING to go out and get.  It didn't happen.  There was NOTHING we needed or really wanted that badly.  I was a bit saddened by this cause I love going out and feeling the energy, but I didn't want to go out "just because."  So we didn't. :(

Instead, we sat at my dad's house, hung out, and did a lot of nothing.  It was great. (Oh, we did end up at Ross and the grocery store at some point.  I got Elisabeth a couple really cute outfits and a Christmas dress that I love!)

But back to days of Thankfulness.  For my 25th thing, I am thankful for hair care products.  I contemplate what a disaster my hair would be without something to tame it.  My hair has a very good tendency to break off and frizz like mad.  I am constantly on a search for something that works and makes my hair look good.  So chances are, if you go...whoa..her hair is a disaster, it means whatever I'm using just isn't working and I'm in the process of finding something else.

But for now, this is what I do:
Shampoo with lovely shampoo, and hydrating conditioner.  I then use a leave-in conditioner and work in my gel.  Surprisingly, I've had some decent success with the cheaper brands of gel, and it's nice because I don't have to pay a lot to try them out.

About once a week, I use a clarifying shampoo and k-pak to re-hydrate my hair that's been stripped. (The clarifying is vital since I put so much gunk in my hair on a daily basis).  Then I do the same leave-in and gel afterward.

I love my hair.  I wish it was just a little stronger so it could handle the beating it goes through.  But in the same breath, I can't imagine what it would do if I DIDN'T tame it daily.





Love these guys!

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Golden Snitch Cupcakes



You guys! I think this is my last post for the day! (finally, right?)

So my awesome sister reminded me that my half-brother was turning 25 on the 25th this month (which also happens to be Thanksgiving this year :) ) - so we both thought, almost immediately, that Golden Snitch's were in order to celebrate.

I thought for about a month on what I should do.  I searched the internet to see what other people had created.  I had initially thought I should do a cake, but after seeing other peoples, and asking opinions, cupcakes seemed more realistic.  I got the cupcake idea from Dumbledore's Vegan Army.  I wasn't going to make vegan cuppin cakes, but out of all the ideas, that one seemed to be the most realistic....it needed wings that weren't lines and just weird.

So I set to work, planning in my head, talking it through with Drew, and people on Facebook.  We came up with what I felt was a pretty decent plan.  Here's how it played out:

I made sugar cookies that looked like mustaches and had a little tab in the middle of them.  I brought these up to Seattle with us and frosted them last night since I needed the icing to set before painting them gold.  This morning, I painted them gold with gold pearl dust.

Once those were done and waiting, I made some sweet cuppin cakes and frosted them.  I put some gold sprinkles on those.

Then! I shoved the tab on the cookies into the middle of the cupcakes and let them sit around for their debut!

They weren't perfect, but I think they turned out well enough - especially since I didn't have my icing spatula, and for some reason, my icing didn't set properly...even though it was mad delicious!







so...what do you think???  (I would have had gold cupcake liners if I could have found them quickly, but I couldn't, so they were silver)

Happy Thanksgiving!

I had planned on taking a family picture today and it just didn't work.  Drew has found the xbox with 2983 million games upstairs.  Elisabeth had food in her head before 8am, and I was wearing her food quite beautifully.  Maybe tomorrow.  I did however, get pictures of my little cutie in her Native American Princess (aka Pocahontas dress) today :)

I am so thankful for all that we have.





I hope everyone had a good day :)

25th Day of Thankfulness

I think I'm all caught up now.  Yay!  So today, since I don't think I've done it yet, I am thankful for music.  I'm not a very good singer, and I have no idea how to play any instruments, but I love listening to it, and attempting to sing it.  I may  not have the best voice, but my little girl sure thinks it's the best :)

As I have grown up, my music preferences of have changed a lot.  I like to listen to what's current and has a good beat.  When we lived in Utah, for my birthday one year, Drew got subwoofers installed in the car. The car got broken into and they took my amp.  I was devastated.  After that, I didn't even want to put a new one in since I felt so violated that they destroyed the car that I just didn't want it happening again.  There's times when I want to get some new ones installed, but I figure that I probably shouldn't with having a child in the car.  My hearing is trashed, I probably shouldn't do the same to her.

I realized a couple days ago, we are constantly singing songs with Elisabeth.  We sing in the car, while eating, in the bath, going to bed, walking to the car...everywhere...  I also listen to music in the car and while I exercise. 

I loves it!

24th Day of Thankfulness

You know what else I'm thankful for?  Facebook.  True story.  Without it, I wouldn't be able to read STFUParents, or entertain myself on FrontierVille, or pretend to be totally into people's lives without lifting my arm.  It's pretty much the best invention since the internet.

You know what else I like? When stupid people have stupid updates.  Myself included. :)

23rd Day!

On the fine day of the 23rd which I was absent for, I would like to say I am extremely thankful for RiffTrax, and my wonderful cousins for enlightening me to such wonderfulness. 

We watched Twilight with the riff about a year ago and laughed and laughed and laughed!  THEN New Moon came out and we giggled even more! These things make painful movies worth watching more than once. :)  Thank you Mystery Science Theater 3000 dudes. :)

22nd day

I'm backed up.  Not literally. hahaha!  For my 22nd day of thankfulness, I'm thankful for my car.  It's reliable, safe, and most importantly, BLACK!  Since all growing up, I never had my own car- always borrowed my sister's or my mom's car)- Drew and i decided I should get the first "new" car once one was needed. 

When we had Elisabeth and Drew started working full time, it became clearly apparent quickly that we needed another car.  So we got us a Rav4.  I wanted something with 4 wheel drive, and something that I could get the baby in and out of easily.  I also wanted something big enough that 2 car seats would fit, with a potential booster in there somewhere.  I don't know if we'll have that car that long, but just in case!

(and no, my car was never included in those recalls) :D

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Thankfulness 21

I miscounted somewhere.  This is just a disaster. Sheesh.

So my 21sh thing I'm thankful for is my camera.  It is so beautiful to me.  It was definitely worth scrimping on my allowance for 8 months.  But come my birthday, I'll have money again! haha :)

Now that I have it, I see the need to have a telephoto lens.  There's never going to be a happy medium. hahaha

Next:

Elisabeth is 17 months old today!  I should take her stats to see how she's doing.  She is such a happy baby.  She's been saying new words every day.  Her new favorite song is "Tiny Tim" (I had a little turtle, his name is Tiny Tim, I put him in the bathtub to see if he could swim. He drank up all the water, he ate up all the soap, and now he's sick in bed with a bubble in his throat!  Bubble, bubble, bubble.  Bubble, bubble, bubble. Bubble, bubble, bubble.  Bubble, bubble, POP!) - She sings the bubbles and pop with me.  She's also been working on her ABC's, and she tries to sing Twinkle, Twinkle and Give Said the Little Stream with me.  She is just soaking up everything.  She can even say "Whack!" lol we're working on wiggity whack now. hahaha
She's been telling me when her diaper is messy, and likes to go everywhere with me.  We are bestest buds. 
Drew's mom has been up here the past few days.  We went to the Tilamook Cheese Factory and hung out there for a while.  We got some yummy ice cream and I got a couple Christmas gifts. :)







Saturday, November 20, 2010

3 days of thankfulnes

I was in a hurry the last time I posted and had written that I was thankful for Harry Potter a second time.  Then Michele kindly reminded me that I already SAID that.  whoops!  Guess I like that guy!  So here's for THREE of them since I'm a bit behind.

#17  I woke up with Ellie this morning at 4:30am.  I didn't get to bed until about midnight since we went to a late showing of Harry Potter (which, by the way, is fabulous!) so needless to say, I was a bit tired.  Once 7:30 came around, I tag teamed Drew and went to lay back down.  I'd say I was OUT within 3 minutes.  I was exhausted!  So with that being said, I am grateful for my beautiful, fluffy, soft bed.


#18 - I am extremely grateful for our timeshare.  I know it's a totally unnecessary expense, but I sure do love it.  It has given us the opportunity to go so many places we wouldn't have ever dreamed of going!  We've been able to go to Midway-UT, Big Bear-CA, Gleneden-OR(x3), Seaside-OR, Ocean Park-WA, Grand Cayman-Cayman Islands, Maui-HI and another one coming up- Pompano Beach-FL, Seaside-OR again, and Clear Lake-CA :)  All in the last 4 years, too!  It has definitely been worth it.

12.24.08 - Kihei, Maui

#19 - Lastly, I'm thankful for living in Oregon.  Even if it's soley for the fact that I don't have to deal with snow from December-April like I did in Utah.  I have to give Utah credit though, they know how to take care of it.  Whereas here, it turns to ice and no one knows what to do.  It's like they go stupid or something.  I do enjoy the snow days with a light dusting of snow over the ice ridden streets....I definitely won't complain about that!

...yup...glad I don't have to deal with that. :)  And if I remember correctly, I was still supposed to go to work...

Thursday, November 18, 2010

17 days of gratitude

Apparently I already did Harry Potter, so I need to do something else. :) Guess I have a little crush ;)

I'm thankful for the coast.  I love it as well.  The last 2 years we haven't been there to visit near as much as I like.  I'm excited for the day when I can go out there in the summer, let my feet get soaked in the waves while I read loads of books.  Those summers before I had Elisabeth were some of my favorite ever. (not to discount the ones I have now, which are my favorite in other ways...but you get the idea!)

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Thankful for 16

Is it just me, or is this week incredibly long?  It's not even Wednesday! We got granted a "jeans" week at work.  I'm taking full advantage of it.  I love jeans- you know what I love more than jeans? Flip-flops. :)

The thing I'm thankful for today is my family.  I love them so!  Even the lame ones. :)  I'm glad I have a mom who listens and loves me.  I'm glad for my sister who I talk to daily.  I'm glad for my brother for our fun teletubbie jokes. I'm glad for my little sister who is always keeping me on my toes.  I all my in-laws, my niece and nephew.  I love my aunts, uncles, cousins, and cousins-in-laws and their kiddos!  I love my Grandma's (and all my grandparents who are waiting in heaven :) )I'd even go so far as to say I love Drew's family, too!  There's going to be a new addition to the Jackson clan in March that I'm pretty excited about as well(not ours!)  Thank you all for being in my life, enriching it, and making up part of me!










Elisabeth couldn't be bothered with sitting down to eat today.  She had to take what was on Drew's plate and eat it at a chair (she put her food on the seat of a chair and ate it as she walked around).  We also went to the store this afternoon to get some cranberry items for some math I'm doing tomorrow with my students.  The Mother's animal cookies were on sale, so I threw some in the cart.  She immediately starting saying cook-cook (cookie) and signing please over and over again.  This child has never had these cookies.  How in the WORLD does she know what they are, and that she needs them so badly?

I put them on the conveyor belt to get scanned and she screamed at me (cause she was trying to figure out how to open them to eat).  So afterward, we get in the car and immediately she starts up with the cook-cook again and saying please.  I gave in :)  She even SAID please to Drew in the car  after we went and picked him up...it was pretty cute!


This is our second to last produce box for the year.  I told the lady who drops off the boxes that I'm going through withdrawls already and I don't know what I'm going to do for 26 weeks until it starts up again!  She agreed!

Today in our box, we got 2 leeks, 3 pounds of rome apples, 1 bunch  ofcarrots, 1 bunch of beets, 1 bunch of collard greens, 1 acorn squash, salad mix, 2 pounds of yellow finn potatoes)  ---our produce drawers are exploding, and I couldn't be happier!

Monday, November 15, 2010

Thanksgiving 15

I am so thankful for my little girl today.  She has become my life.  I don't know what I'd do without her.  A coworker's daughter had some complications in her pregnancy resulting in having her twins born early.  They lived an hour.  They were only 5 1/2 months along.  I only found out this morning.  I was devastated.  No one should *ever* have to deal with that.  And if you have, I look up to you.  The ability to deal with such an agonizing experience is beyond me, and I wouldn't wish it upon anyone.  Know that I love you!

I definitely have a tiny gift from heaven, and I thank my Heavenly Father daily for her presence in my life.  She is the world to me.






Totally different topic: look at these cool mushrooms in our yard...




Sunday, November 14, 2010

14th day of Thankfulness

Ever single one of my things I'm thankful for seems to have a story behind it.  I wanted to do this one before I forgot about it.

We were at Wallyworld earlier this week (Friday?) and we were in line to check out.  The lady in front of us had a baby who was probably about 7 months old.  The kid made a growling type sound at one point and the mom turns to him and says, "NO!" like he deliberately was yelling at her.

I'm not sure if it was young almost teenage mother w/ an uneducated upbringing (most likely), or if people in general bark at their children about things that seem degrading to even hear.

So today, I'm thankful for my degree in Human Development.  Without those classes, I probably would have put my kid in timeout thinking I was a "good" parent, and may have even scolded a baby for being rude.  But after countless hours of learning how kids develop in every way, shape and form, it has made me understand children and what they need.

I have started to set boundaries with Elisabeth, but only in the last couple of months.  Telling a baby no to some kind of speech development is just wrong, and I feel awful for that little boy who's going to grow up to probably be a mean kid cause he was yelled at since birth.

I still stand by my assertion that to have children, both the mother and father have to pass a parenting class before they can spawn.  It floors me to know what some parents  DON'T do with their kids, and what a disservice it is to everyone.

So thank you Iniveristy of Utah for opening my eyes, and broadening my horizons!



I forgot to post these yesterday! :)

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Numero 13

In the middle of the night, I often wake up thinking about *things* and some of the thoughts lately have been about what to be thankful for.  There are so many things.  I often have a fun/clever idea and I think, "I should write that down." and to be totally lame, when I was pregnant, I WOULD write stuff down.  My mind was ca-razy! But I'm gotten out of the habit of doing so, so the thoughts leave as quick as they came.

So today, I decided I'm thankful for Drew.  He's my best friend, a great baby daddy, and witty. ;)  I appreciate that I don't have to use my filter flap around him.  If I want to say something, I say it and most times, he agrees with me.  Sometimes, he even eggs me on!

I love that he takes good care of Elisabeth- he switches off bath nights with me, he gets up with her on the weekends so I can pretend to sleep in, and he never brushes her teeth. (OK, maybe occasionally)

I could go on an on about lame, sappy stuff, but I'll spare you.  I don't like gloating about him, and I feel that relationship fodder needn't be shared with the world (esp. via Facebook). ;)

Just be happy with me knowing he's a good fit for me and my personality, and that's all that matters!

Friday, November 12, 2010

72-Hour kit AKA Phew!

I put together a 72-hour kit a while back, and I've been pretty diligent about going through it every 6 months to make sure everything is in good condition, and nothing has expired.  If it is going to expire before the next time I check it (I check it in April and October), then I pull it out, and buy what needs to be replaced.

A friend of mine had listed what she and her husband put into their packs for their kit and I had realized there were things they had that I didn't, and it was probably a VERY good thing to get them in there.  Since it's now November, I have been slacking on it a bit.  I did pull everything out, resulting in a huge mess on our kitchen table.  I told Drew I wasn't going to put it back together until I had everything I wanted in it, because I felt it was stupid to put it back, cause then I'd forget to restock it.

So here's what I did.  Prior to this check point, I had everything in 1 backpack.  With the addition of a few extra things, I felt it necessary to make 2 backpacks that weren't as heavy as the 1.  So, I pulled Drew's old backpack down from the attic and got to work.  This is what I have in the packs:

1 large plastic painting tarp - I figured this could be a makeshift shelter, or to cover the ground, or both
3 emergency blankets
3 rain jackets
1 whistle/flashlight/hazards flashlight thing
2 travel sized shampoo (incase something really nasty gets in your hair)
2 travel sized conditioner (I'm a wuss)
1 bottle lotion
2 travel size deodorants - so you don't stink ;)
2  travel size hand sanitizer
1 box tampons - for the ladies ;) cause you never know when it'll happen!
1 pack playing cards
1 travel size tube of toothpaste
2 travel toothbrushes
18 hand/feet warmers (you know the kind you shake and they heat up)- not necessary, but I felt with Elisabeth it might be
2 ball point pens
1 hatchet
1 multi tool
1 pocket knife
1 first aide kit (I also added in extra bandaides and neosporin)-the kit was pretty packed, it has things from sunscreen, insect repellent, poison ivy wipes, splints, butterfly bandages, cold compress, moleskins, etc.)
3 pairs of socks for each person
1 pair of really thick socks (for hands, Ellie legs?)
1 winter hat for Ellie
2 thicker receiving sized blankets for Ellie
1 pack of diapers
1 travel size baby wipes
1 roll toilet paper
2 water bottles
matches w/water proof container
2 water bottles
2 flashlights
4 candles (who knows!)
1 bag protein powder - chocolate flavored!
1 bag of dried mangos from costco
1 box of crackers
5 granola bars
vital documents in a waterproof bag*
2 cans sterno fuel
2 travel size tissues
1 bar of soap
1 pacifier
1 roll duct tape
1 travel size tylenol
1 travel size ibuprofin
1 clicky lighter thing (in case the matches go out, or really, cause I like them)
(I think that's it?)

Now a couple things I have considered and I'm not sure what to do yet.  We have a couple cases of water up in our attic for emergencies.  I don't know if I should take a few of these water bottles and put them in the backpacks.  I have the room for at least 6-16oz containers at least in each.  We also have a "camping" shovel, but it's in the car for emergencies.  We've actually had to use it to dig a tire out of the snow 2 winters ago!  I also have a gallon of water in the car. 

As for winter gear for Drew and me, I figured we'd grab that on an as needed basis so I don't have to pack it. I felt that for Elisabeth though, it would be better to be precautionary about it.

This other family packed sleeping bags, but those, too are in our attic.  I thought about bringing them down so they were move accessible, but I just haven't decided.  ACTUALLY, what I'd really like, is to get some hiking backpacks so that a sleeping bag wouldn't be a cumbersome item on/in a backpack in the first place, so I'm keeping my eyes out for some decent/cheap ones.

*for my vital documents, I made copies and folded them in half so they fit nicely into one of the outside pockets.  They've been placed in a double lined ziplock bag.
The contents are as follows(all copies):
birth certificates
social security cards
passports
bank account information
church records (membership id's, patriarchal blessings, temple marriage, priesthood certs., blessings, etc)
health insurance info
car insurance info
house insurance info
life insurance info
immunization records
--I'd also like to put a credit card in there, as well as some cash, it just hasn't happened yet.
(I think that's it on that, too)


***I also need to get a battery powered radio, but I was kind of holding off for the black friday ads to see if I could get a hand crank one for a little bit cheaper.  I also need some zipties, but I'm having a difficult time finding them.

I don't know if it's too much, or not enough, but at least it's something.  And if I never have to use it, that'll be the best. :)


And since no post is ever complete without pictures, here's some for you!
 She knew she needed a hat to go outside since I had put one on her earlier that morning, so she went and got her hat for me, and immediately ran to the door to go outside once it was on.  She got pretty far before my shoes were on!

She was dancing to music while sitting on her step there in the corner.

Thankful for 12

I know I don't show it at times, and I know I complain at others, but today, I am very thankful for my job.  If push came to shove, we could afford to live on Drew's salary alone.  Things would be tight.  Things would be VERY tight.  I would have to be a little more creative about some things we buy, and lower my standards on others.  We would have to give up the car payment, cable (the very minimal that we have), just little things that make life sweet.  But with having me work, we can afford to buy the things I want to get, like a wonderful BOB stroller, or a Nikon camera.  Sure, it's just stuff, but money comes and goes, and I feel like I work my tail off most days, and I should have some way to prove to myself I'm doing a good job.

Other people might think- well how dare you for putting your child in daycare.  Well, people can think that all they want, and I'm fine with them thinking that way.  But when I think about the things my daughter is getting at someone else's house that I can't give to her (pets, "siblings", overabundance of goats and horses, different toys, etc) sometimes I think, 'how dare I NOT give her the opportunity to expand, grow and get nurtured elsewhere.  I am so very thankful for her current babysitter.  Their family is perfect, and the other little boys that go there love Ellie to death, and I wouldn't have it any other way.  Ultimately, I figure that a mom is important in a child's life (as is Dad).  But in reality, as long as they're being nurtured and loved, that "mom" can be anyone.  I am perfectly happy that my little girl loves her babysitter so much that they will cuddle, give hugs, and kisses.  I want my daughter to grow up to have healthy attachments to people, and I just don't see how she could do that if I shelter her in my house every single day. 

I'm also thankful that I get to share some of my time with other people's children.  They are all so unique and such individuals.  I love getting to know new kids, helping them grow and develop.  Watching them start as struggling readers to confident chapter book readers is a wonderful experience.

The people I work with are great.  They, too, have unique personalities, and sometimes we don't always get along, but everyone is willing to work on it, and it's getting better.

(since this picture was taken, they've expanded the driveway to accommodate 2 bus lanes, so it's pushed the grass back a bit)

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Thankful 10 & 11

I did it again.  Forgot to post.  Elisabeth has had a pretty nasty cold, and I've had the same cold. Yuck.  I'm out of energy and cranky, she's out of energy and cranky.  The only nice thing I can do is take cold medicine.  For her, I have to think up every trick in the book to get her to sleep for a couple hours.  I know I have no room to complain compared to others' issues in life, but I'm whiney (sp?), and right now, sleep is scarce in our house.

(I'm not going to put in an ad for watching TV, but she did watch Nemo for about 15 minutes while I changed sheets - hooray for little things!)

So back to things I'm thankful for: Numero 10 has to be my Harvest Box we get each week.  Our little letter reminded us that we only have 2 weeks left.  Our box contents are getting a wee bit smaller, like the beginning of the season, just because everything is finishing growing.  I have absolutely LOVED getting the experience to try new foods, to have local, RIPE food, an over abundance of different tomatoes, salads daily, fennel! (oh my gosh, I am in LOVE with fennel now!)  This whole experience has been wonderful for me, and I'm so grateful to Drew's coworker for introducing it to us- Thank you!!!

We've even started saving up a reserve to that next year's box won't set us back so much money like this one did.


(what we got for this week! - Butternut squash, bok choy, brussel sprouts, tomatoes, onions, salad mix, apples, persimmons, fennel!) Yum!!!

The next thing I'm thankful for is: Harry Potter.  OK, this may sound totally and completely lame, but it's true.  All through school, I detested reading.  I'm not very fast, and stories got boring quickly.  I remember looking at books and thinking, ok, only 3 more pages until the chapter ends, I can do it, and feeling like it took FOREVER to finish.  I hated, hated, hated reading.  A couple different people from my side, and Drew's side of the families had suggested it to me right before the 3th book came out.  My mom was all super excited about the 1st book, and my brother had even gone out to buy #3 cause we didn't have it at the house so he could catch up faster.  It was crazy.  So I figured I'd hop on the wagon and see what it was all about. I am SO glad I did.  I read through those books so easily.  I loved the storyline, I loved the universe J.K. Rowling had created.  I just loved it so much!

I didn't read a whole lot other than textbook stuff until I was out of college.  There just isn't time to read, and when there is, you better be studying.  So the only things that I did read were the new Harry Potter books as they came out.  I am such a follower that I went to the midnight releases for #5, #6, and #7.  I even dressed up for #6 and #7!!  I even have Quidditch goggles! :)


So yeah, totaly Harry Potter geek right here, and I'm proud to admit it.
(I'm beating myself up for not going to the midnight premiere of the first half of #7, but I just can't realistically go to work the next day on so little sleep :( )

And now for cute pictures, cause I like to share

 We got her a rocking chair for her room that was a bit more comfortable than her highchair

 We also got her a bike! It expands so it'll grow with her for a few years.  She loves it!  She also needs a bluetooth...
 ...aaannddd a pettiskirt.  She loves it!  She wears is all the time!

 And this was was just for fun, Drew put his Utes sweatshirt on her :)
 
Love this girl!