The Nearest Future

For Your Friday (George Michael Edition)

2012-01-27T11:01:00.004-07:00

A little something for your Friday:

Our weekend is shaping up to be fun and eventful. We're seeing four more movies at Sundance (two tonight, two tomorrow) and having one of the celebrations for Mimi's birthday. (The other one will probably happen once the kitchen is finished).

I hope you have a great weekend!

Sink or Swim

2012-01-26T12:41:00.004-07:00

It's frustrating: I have several things I want to post about but work and the ever-ongoing kitchen remodel (along with the kids) have been sucking up all of my spare time.

Right now I'm trying to figure out which of these two under-mount sinks to install. It's the same price for either of them. I can see the advantage of the 60/40 split (more room to pile dishes!) but can't decide if it will look off balance.

What do you think? Which would you be prefer to see in a house you were thinking about buying?

Sundance 2012 - The Queen of Versailles

2012-01-23T10:43:00.010-07:00

Every year N and I try and make it to a few films at the Sundance Film Festival. It's pretty affordable and easy to do thanks to locals' tickets and there being several festival venues in Salt Lake City.

On Saturday we saw two movies, one of which was The Queen of Versailles.

The Queen of Versailles is a documentary that follows billionaires David and Jackie (his 30-years younger wife) Siegel as they set out to build their dream house, a 90,000 square-foot replica of Versailles complete with ice-skating rink and grand ballroom. It will be the largest home in America.

However, once the 2008 economic crisis hits, the time-share empire that Jackie and David's wealth is based on starts crumbling and then falls fast and hard. Their opulent lifestyle is thrown into chaos.

Lauren Greenfield's deft touch is evident throughout the whole film. Greenfield walks the fine line of mining the absurdity of the Siegels' life for laughs while still humanizing her subjects so when their fall comes you still see them as family thrown into crisis and not merely symbols of the 1%.

If there is any flaw in the movie it is that Greenfield does not hold David and Jackie as accountable for their own downfall as she could have. The Siegels, billionaires at the beginning of the film, are by the end talking about how their kids will have to get loans if they want to go to college.

On camera they talk about how their bad fortune is the fault of conniving bankers. Greenfield lets them expose their delusions with their own words rather than confronting them with it which is a valid choice but it does mean at times you just want to grab Jackie and shake her by the shoulders.

The film has the arc of a classic Greek tragedy and is epic in scope but unfolds its story by capturing the most telling details--the painted fantasy portraits of David and Jackie as warrior and princess, the dead fish floating in the scummy tank, the piles of dog crap on the expensive carpets.

As I was watching the film I kept exclaiming to myself, "I can't believe they got this footage!" The access the documentary crew had is astounding and speaks to Greenfield's talent of connecting with her subjects.

The Queen of Versailles is funny and charming and thought-provoking. I heard it got purchased so it will be hitting theaters in a year or so. If you get the chance it's definitely worth watching.

The Time, It Flies

2012-01-18T11:35:00.007-07:00

It's hard to believe that Mimi will turn one in about a week. The days are whipping by so quickly.

Mimi Catching Water from Faith on Vimeo.

For your Friday

2012-01-13T08:54:00.004-07:00

Tonight N and I are going to dinner at Cucina Toscana (which we've been wanting to try for ages) and then to a comedy show. I can't wait!

I hope you have a great weekend. While you're waiting for it to start here a couple things from the ol' interwebs that caught my eye this last week:

Jaden put together a great collection of Chinese New Year recipes.
Nicole rounded up her one year-old's favorite iPhone apps (I might try out one or two of these with Mimi).
Jenn made a neat kaleidoscope craft made with tissue paper. (I'm not sure if E would be into it but I want one for me!)

Recent Instagram Photos

2012-01-12T08:00:00.001-07:00

I've been having a lot of fun with Instagram lately.

First snow.

Model railroad + iPhone effects = Tilt Shift to the max!

If you don't use the Instagram app but would like to follow my photos you can subscribe to an email feed of them here.

Letter to Mimi: Months Nine, Ten, & Eleven

2012-01-10T08:00:00.003-07:00

Dear Mimi,

First off, I know. And I'm sorry. Despite what your brother may tell you, it doesn't mean we love you any less--honestly!

The main purpose of these letters is to record all the little things that otherwise would be lost in the daily grind of life with small kids but the last few months went by especially fast.

It's a shame that I didn't get those letters written because you grew a lot these last few months. Back in October you were still very much a baby. It was fun to dress you up for Halloween and cart you around. It's strange to think that next year you'll be walking around on your own.

It's amazing to me how quickly you're changing. Back when you started solid food it took you a few weeks before you even wanted anything to do with it. But now you've got the hang of it and you want to eat EVERYTHING.

In the mornings I plop you in your high chair while I fix breakfast and your eyes follow me around the kitchen with such intensity that it makes me laugh. You smack your lips in anticipation and kick your little legs in excitement. And heaven help us all if your brother gets his food before you do because you are not shy about standing up for yourself.

Luckily you like mostly everything we've given you: green beans, ravioli, potstickers, roast chicken, yogurt, samosas, bulgogi, roast squash, hummas, and guacamole to name a few. You've liked everything except for bananas--you hate bananas.

With your brother's food allergies we were worried that you might have allergies too. I've been avoiding dairy/eggs/nuts/peanuts while nursing you but we recently had you tested for food allergies. For now it seems that you're allergy-free! It was such a relief.

Without fail you want to try whatever I eat and I can't describe how wonderful it is to be able to be able give you a taste without worrying if it will make you sick. But at the same time it makes my heart ache a little bit more for your poor brother.

Regarding other milestones, you were a little late learning to crawl. For months you got around by scooting backwards and then by slowly creeping forward on your tummy. But in the last few weeks you've master forward locomotion and now if I turn my head for a second you're off and getting into trouble. I can tell that you're going to keep me on my toes.

It's so exciting to watch you grow into your own person. You bring so much joy into our family. We all love you so much, sweet Mimi.

Love,

Mama

For your Friday

2012-01-06T10:29:00.001-07:00

N showed this to me yesterday. Ohmygoodness.

Get More: TV Shows, Full Episode Video, Reality TV Shows

I hope you have a lovely weekend. Our will probably be pretty low-key. Tomorrow morning we're going to the box office to get our tickets for the Sundance Film Festival but other than that we're going to be hanging out at home.

Poor Mimi is coming down with a bug so I'm moving cuddling her to the top of my to-do list for this weekend. I guess that means painting cabinets got bumped from #1 (darn).

See you here next week!

A Photo A Day

2012-01-05T14:58:00.011-07:00

I have a few specific resolutions for the new year and one of them is to a take at least one photo every day.

Ideally I'd like to use this exercise to develop my artistic eye and stretch the limits of what I can do with my dSLR and film cameras, but to tell you the truth I have a feeling that most of the photos are simply going to be taken with my phone as I'm out and about with the kids. (And I'm okay with that.)

I'll be posting some of my favorite photos on this blog that but if you want to see all of my iPhone photos you can find me on Instagram @thenearestfuture. If you don't use Instagram you can subscribe to my photos here. I'm also collecting all of the daily photos in a flickr set which you can see on the sidebar of this blog.

Do you use Instagram? If so, leave your username in the comments--I'd love to see your pictures!

Year in Review

2012-01-03T10:38:00.014-07:00

Happy new year! For me, 2011 went by in a busy-but-mostly-pleasant blur.

It feels like she's always been here but it was only last January that Mimi was born. And it only a little while later that she ended up in the hospital with RSV (and thankfully recovered fully).

Having a daughter has been a lot of fun. We've already started sharing clothes.

E grew in leaps and bounds from a toddler into a little boy. He learned to use the toilet and earned a shiny red bike for his efforts. He continues to make me laugh every day.

I cut my hair short for the first time.

It still has a long way to go, but I started tinkering around our house. I put up some pictures in our bedroom and we installed our Japanese robot toilet. I hung up the spice cabinet I built and then realized that the rest of the kitchen looked shabby in comparison so I started a DIY kitchen remodel (that is dragging on even as we speak, blarg.)

We did some fun things as a family. We went to the beach and ate s'mores. We made our annual trip to the state fair. And we had a lovely Christmas, Mimi's first.

I'm excited and hopeful for this next year will bring us. I hope your new year is off to a good start.

Our Christmas

2011-12-27T16:02:00.002-07:00

The kids had a great Christmas. E has been anxiously counting down the days until Christmas and had a blast unwrapping presents from us and Santa and thoughtful aunts and uncles and grandparents.

This was Mimi's first Christmas and while she was oblivious to most of it she has been having a great time playing with the new toys and books.

I am so grateful for this little family of mine.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T23:52:00.003-07:00

Allergy Tests

2011-12-22T08:00:00.007-07:00

Back in October I had a weird allergic reaction to shrimp. I say "weird" because it was the first time I've ever had a reaction to food but considering E's food allergies I guess it wasn't that strange. I went to the allergist on Tuesday to get tested for food and other allergies.

(Right before the hives developed)

The good news?--I tested negative for shrimp and other food allergies. The bad news--I am crazy allergic to cats, dogs, weeds, grass, and dust mites. But I kind of already knew that any way so it's not a big deal.

Even with the negative skin test the doctor still wants me to avoid shrimp for a year and then come into the office for a "food challenge" (e.g. sit in their office and eat a bunch of shrimp). I'm also supposed to carry around an Epi-pen for myself but I already have a kid-sized one for E and they are awfully expensive so we'll see.

This puts a bit of a damper on my preferred method of celebrating New Year's is to eat an inordinate amount of shrimp cocktail. Oh well, I guess there's always assorted cheeses and cured meats.

The Coat

2011-12-20T08:00:00.001-07:00

N's talented cousin Travis worked on this animated piece for our church. I thought it was really lovely.

Paul's Birthday Party

2011-12-19T08:04:00.005-07:00

My nephew Paul turned two over the weekend and so we took the kids to my sister's house for his birthday party.

My sister Jan and cousin YoungShin spent all day cooking up an AMAZING dinner. In fact, it was so great that while I remembered to take a picture of the food I forgot to take one of the cute birthday boy. (Oops.)

Christmas Card Outtake

2011-12-16T16:11:00.015-07:00

Some years I send out a Christmas card, some years I don't. But since this is Mimi's first Christmas I wanted to send out a card even though time-wise it's cutting it a little close.

So yesterday I plopped the kids into their matching Christmas jammies and tried to capture the magic. (Previous years' photos here and here.)

Let's just say that getting a nice photo of both kids was harder than I anticipated. I ended up with a few decent shots but it was only by bribing E with a lollipop (at 9:30 in the morning) and by using some creative cropping. C'est la vie, I guess.

I hope you have a nice weekend.

Meeting Santa

2011-12-15T09:15:00.001-07:00

I do most of my Christmas shopping online but I did make a quick run to the mall this week. It was surprisingly uncrowded--there wasn't even a line to see Santa so I took the kids to meet the big guy himself.

E was thrilled while Mimi (predictably) was not.

A new look for the old blog

2011-12-14T11:10:00.009-07:00

In general I'm pretty laid-back but every once in a great while I get a burst of manic energy and I shift into high gear and get all "must-do-everything-NOW!"-ish. And then poor N gets stuck in the cloud of chaos and is left wondering what happened to his mellow wife and his relaxing weekends :)

Along with my kitchen and hair I recently got a hankering to update my blog template. And this is what I ended up with--the same basic idea but hopefully with more of an emphasis on woodworking and photography.

HTML/CSS has changed a lot in the past 10 (gulp!) years since I minored in web design in college. As I was working on the new design I fell under the delusions that 1) I could quickly figured out CSS sprites and 2) that I was going to be graded for how clean my code was. (Nerd!)

There are still a lot of tweaks I'd like to make but I figured if I didn't go live with the design now then I'd just continue to spend hours messing around with it instead of you know, actually posting.

I owe a HUGE debt to Katrina over at Pugly Pixel. This designed is based on her Strawberry Shortcake template and I used a lot of her resources (like the washi tape strips and photo frames) and tutorials. I signed up for her $5/30-day membership and it was fantastic--the only negative was that I feel kind of guilty that I got such a good deal :) I highly recommend her site if you're interested in design or want to jazz up your blog.

Coming up for air

2011-12-07T11:45:00.002-07:00

Phew! After being laid low over the weekend by a nasty stomach bug things are finally getting back to normal. Sweet Mimi is still a little under the weather but E and I are back to normal and lucky N managed to avoid the whole thing.

I have some things I'm working on but in the mean time, you should totally watch this video.

(Found via Asian Mommy)

Aren't they amazing? Back in college I attended a casual Taekwondo class with the kids from my Korean class but watching this makes me want to sign up for real classes. It looks so much fun and what great exercise!

I've already watched this twice today

2011-11-30T08:57:00.004-07:00

Anyone who's seen those party buses full of Asian retirees cruising down the freeway with the karaoke blaring knows they can rock.

Special awesomeness at 3:16!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-28T11:30:00.005-07:00

We had a low-key Thanksgiving which is my favorite kind. N's mom was excited about her first stateside Thanksgiving in 3 years and went all out and cooked an incredible meal. Our contribution was a vegan pumpkin pie for E and some oven-roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon.

The day after Thanksgiving N's dad help us return our defective TV to the store and pick up the replacement set. For the rest of the weekend we mostly stayed home watching movies and playing video games together. I made some more progress on painting our kitchen cabinets and on Saturday night we drove up to our favorite Korean restaurant for some soon dubu to take a break from leftovers.

It was a lovely, relaxing weekend before the busyness of the next month.

Extended Warranty, FTW!

2011-11-22T11:29:00.010-07:00

I'm not much of a Black Friday shopper but this year I'm looking forward to hitting up the sales because we're going to be getting a new TV--for FREE! (Well, almost free.)

Almost five years ago we bought a new TV on the day after Christmas. We were upgrading from the old CRT model that N had bought when he was in college. At the time it was the most money we had ever spent on anything, other than our house, so we also got a 5-year extended warranty for about $200.

For the most part the tv worked great until the last few years when it's been having problems. We've had the repair guy out several times and he's replaced various parts but it still kept breaking. Our warranty expires this December 26th so I was getting anxious to get the TV fixed before it ran out but we just got word that the store is replacing our set with a new one because it's more cost-effective than repairing it. Yay!

So we can either take this set or we can pick out a different model and get the equivalent cost in store credit. On Black Friday we're going to head to the store and see what the deals are so we can get the most out of our store credit. It almost feels like we've won a sweepstakes or something.

Food Allergy Update

2011-11-18T11:25:00.008-07:00

I took E and Mimi to see our allergist yesterday. It was E's yearly check-up and time to do a skin test on Mimi to see if she shows also showed signs of having food allergies. Our doctor is really great but there is always a lot of waiting involved during these visits. We were hanging out in the exam room from for over two hours.

I was able to distract E for the first hour but then I caved and let him play on the rolly stool.

When I got desperate to entertain her I allowed this small shirtless bald man to root through my bag for fun.

E is still very allergic to cow's milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, and now he's allergic to shrimp. BUT, Mimi doesn't show any signs of food allergies! I was SO excited.

On the advice of our allergist I've been avoiding milk, eggs, peanuts, nuts, etc... while I've been nursing Mimi and now the doctor said it's time to introduce those things into her diet. We're suppose to gradually ramp things up and get her eating all of the things E is allergic too, even peanuts. So I'm supposed to be eating those things too. My ten-month fast from everything milky and creamy is over!

On a somewhat-related not, we have dinner reservations at The Melting Pot tonight.

(Doctor's orders, you know.)

Letter to E: Year Four

2011-11-16T10:58:00.006-07:00

Music: "Rollerskate" by Call & Response

Dear E,

You grew so much this last year. At the beginning of the year you still had a bit of toddler shyness about you but now you are very much a big little boy.

You love going places; every morning when you get up you ask me where we're going today. Your favorite places to visit are the dinosaur museum, the library, and your Aunt Jan's house. Weekends when our family gets to spend all day together are your favorite.

In general you're still fairly well-mannered but this year you've grown a little sassy. Sometimes when I tell you do something you don't want to do I'll hear you muttering, "okay, okay, oKAY" under your breath. And when you keep asking "why?" instead of doing what I asked I find myself channeling the frustration of parents throughout the ages and across the globe and the words "Because I'm your mom!" burst out of my mouth.

But that same sprightliness that makes it difficult to get out the door on time also makes you a lot of fun to have around. I sincerely like going places and spending time with you. You crack me up. You also love being your dad's little pal and you can't wait for him to come home in the evening so you can hang out together.

You have an acute sensitivity to the feelings of others that is very endearing. If you sense that someone is a little down or tired you'll ask them "Are you happy?," your face full of concern. And if someone bonks their elbow or gets hurt you're the first to rush over to see if they're okay and to plant a kiss on their owie.

This year you've finally outgrown your crib so we bought you a twin bed for your birthday. We had never had a problem with you climbing out of your crib but I was a little bit worried that you would have issues staying in your new bed. But you transitioned awesomely and now lie down like a champ for your nap and for bedtime.

Your imagination has really bloomed this year. You like to name all your toys "Dommas" which we're mystified by. You make us songs and silly jokes (current favorite: "How does a monster count to 13? On its head!") and like to pretend your a robot or a super hero. When we watch Batman cartoons you like to run around the room during the opening credits jumping off the couch and pretending you're Batman. My favorite part is how you put on your imaginary Batman costume--the gloves, the mask, the pants--before you jump around.

Your imagination can get away from you, though. Halloween really threw you for a loop this year and now you're afraid of monsters. Going to bed is a little hard because you're worried about them but we put imaginary force fields around your room and the house which seems to help.

These last couple of months you've been more anxious in general. Besides worrying about monsters you don't like to be separated from your dad or me. Last week, after going to your primary class at church happily for months on your own, you flat out refused and preferred to sit in time out on a metal chair rather than leave your dad's side.

I think it's because you're just starting to realize just how big of a place the world can be, that with your growing sense of independence you need extra reassurance that your mom and dad are here and that we'll always keep you safe.

It is humbling to see you take these steps towards growing into your own person. It throws me for a loop to realize I have memories from when I was your age. In some ways it feels like dress rehearsal is over and now we're playing for keeps. I know that I've made mistakes as a parent and that I will make many, many more but I hope that as you grow you will view them with same generosity and love that you show us now.

Your dad and I love you so much.

Yours,

Mama

Sentimental

2011-11-14T08:35:00.004-07:00

The little boy in this British commercial reminds me of E, so of course I got a little misty-eyed and sniffle-y while watching it.

Goodbye, Long Hair!

2011-11-11T08:38:00.002-07:00

After having long hair for 20+ years, yesterday I decided it was time for a change.

So far reactions have been mostly positive. As soon as he saw me E's eyes got really big and he exclaimed, "Wow, your hair looks so good! I like it!" (He's going to make someone a great husband one day.) My sister Jan and cousin Young Shin, who were babysitting the kids for me, said they like it. According to Young Shin, who just moved here from Korea, it makes me look "like a New Yorker." And N thought it looked cute.

But poor Mimi kept looking at me in confusion and then looking around the room and back to me until she scrunched up her face and cried like her heart was broken. Poor thing. But as you can see, she got over it.

After having long hair since I was a kid it feels strange to have it so short I can't even put it in a pony tail. But so far I really like it--no regrets! I'm kind of a beauty/fashion newbie so I'm sure there will be a bit of a learning curve to getting the hang of styling it. But I already feel more put together.

Success!

2011-11-10T10:17:00.003-07:00

E and N had a blast at the show.

There was dancing in the aisles!

E's ear protectors were the unsung heroes of the evening. N said that there were quite a few kids covering their ears and freaking out but that with his ear muffs on E was happy to bop around.

Optimistic or just plain stupid?

2011-11-09T09:45:00.003-07:00

Yo Gabba Gabba Live is back in town today. Last year N and I tried to take E to the show but it was an unqualified disaster. But this time around 1) E's a whole year older 2) we've talked about the show with him and he really wants to go 3) he's been to a few movies in the theater and did well and 4) I got him some ear protectors.

This time around we only bought two tickets so N is taking him which I feel slightly jealous about but also vaguely relieved. It's sweet how excited E is to go someone on his own with his dad.

I think it will go well. But I also thought it would go well last year so we shall see, my friends.

We shall see.

E Turns 4

2011-11-07T11:28:00.003-07:00

Over the weekend our funny and sweet little guy turned four!

Four years of being parents to this incredible boy--N and I are so lucky.

Kindle Lending Library

2011-11-03T09:20:00.002-06:00

Amazon just launched a lending library for the Kindle. If you have an Amazon Prime membership and a Kindle you can borrow one book a month. It looks like they have a pretty good selection.

I have a Kindle but my free one-year Amazon Prime subscription through their Amazon Mom program sadly just ended. It's only been a few weeks but I miss it already.

This lending library just might be the excuse I need to renew my membership.

Sugar High

2011-11-01T19:20:00.005-06:00

This was E yesterday after treat-or-treating:

Sadly today he came down off his sugar high and was grouchy instead of loopy.

I think I'm going to put our leftover candy away out of sight and hopefully my sweet little guy will be back soon...

Halloween, for the win!

2011-11-01T08:10:00.002-06:00

So this all went well:

At N's office party.

This year E went up to the doors by himself--he's getting so big!

Surveying the neighborhood ripe for plunder.

14 Hours, 1400 Miles

2011-10-30T21:07:00.004-06:00

On Saturday N and I left the house at 6 am at flew to Seattle. It felt so strange to be flying without any luggage or carry-ons. From the airport we headed straight to the funeral. It was a really lovely service and afterwards there was a lot of catching up with family and swapping funny stories about Grandpa.

After the graveside service and a quick family lunch we headed back to the airport and few back to Salt Lake. Incredibly enough we were back home in time to put E to bed.

It was a surreal day in a lot of ways but I'm so glad we went. It was very comforting to be able to pay our respects to Grandpa.

Hearing people talk about him was really inspiring. He had a lot of good qualities that I want to emulate, especially the ability to find the funny aspect of any situation. Things that would bother most people didn't annoy him; they amused him. Whomever he spent time with left feeling better about things than they did before.

How awesome would life be if more of us were like that?

So You Think You Can Dance?" Tour

2011-10-28T07:52:00.006-06:00

For my birthday N gave me tickets to the "So You Think You Can Dance" tour. The performance was on Wednesday night and it was AMAZING. Those kids are incredible athletes. It was a really fun night out with N and was the highlight of what has been kind of a hard week for us.

During intermission we were chatting and I asked N why so many Mormon kids are really into dance (we were seated in the middle of a big crowd wearing "Team Caitlyn" shirts). His face got that lawyer-ish look it gets when he's getting ready to launch into a long explanation of something.

"Well," he said. "It goes back to the 60s and 70s. There was this bishop in Lehi who was against dancing..." I interrupted him by smacking him in the arm.

He had me right up until "in Lehi." (Ha-ha, I love this guy.)

(By the way, the mill is only 10 minutes from our house and you should check it out if you're ever in town. The cookie, pancake, and cake mixes they sell in their gift shop are supposed to be super yummy.)

I hope you have a nice weekend. N and I are gearing up for a whirlwind visit to Seattle for his grandpa's funeral on Saturday. We leave the house at 6am, fly to SEA, go straight to the funeral and a family lunch, and then leave for the airport to fly back to SLC. It's going to be a crazy 14 hours.

Goodbye, Grandpa

2011-10-24T12:32:00.001-06:00

Grandpa and E, August 2008

We just found out that N's grandpa passed away last night.

He was a wonderful man. Until his health went downhill we would see him once or twice a year when he stayed with us to attend local genealogy conferences. We loved having him around.

My own grandfathers died before I was born so he was the only grandpa I really knew and I loved spending time with him. He was a Grandpa straight out of central casting--funny and caring but with an ornery streak and the tendency to say slightly scandalous things and the self-awareness to enjoy saying them. Every once in a great while he would drop an outdated racial epithet in a conversation but I think he mostly did it to get a rise out of us and so we would chide him, "Grandpa, you can't say that anymore!"

Being in his company was like being plunged into an ocean of Grandpa-y-ness. It was awesome.

He was always unfailingly kind to me and went out of his way to make me feel welcome as a member of the family. I will miss his humor, his wit, his kindness, and the example he set as a man devoted to his family and the Lord. We will miss him but I know that he's with his wife and other loved ones now. I believe that families can be forever and that I'll see him again.

Grandpa, we love you.

Olliegraphic Custom Bowls

2011-10-19T14:01:00.004-06:00

Last week the custom bowls I ordered for E and some of his cousins came from Olliegraphic! I love how they turned out.

They're normally $21 a piece + shipping but I had snagged some discount vouchers at Zulily which brought them into niece-and-nephew-Christmas-present range (we have a lot of them). I still have one voucher left which I'm going to use to order Mimi a bowl, but I'm holding off until we have a better idea of what color the little baldie's hair is going to be. :)

If you're interested in ordering, there are a few things you should know. The bowls are dishwasher-safe but not microwave-safe which makes them great for cereal but bad for, um, foods you might want to microwave. The custom plates, which I assume you also can't put in the microwave, might be more inconvenient.

Also, I found the skin tones to be a little lighter than they looked on my screen. I picked the lightest shade ("fair") for E and the next darkest shade ("light") for his half-Korean cousins but with them side by side I have a hard them telling the difference and while they look super cute I think the next shade darker would have been better.

All and all, I'm really happy with how the bowls turned out and can't wait to send them to my nieces and nephew. As gifts go, they're cute and a little out-of-the-ordinary. Since they're custom-made it takes about 3-4 weeks to receive your order so don't procrastinate if you're want to give them as Christmas gifts.

Quilt Binding

2011-10-17T09:02:00.004-06:00

This Remix fabric by Ann Kelle was a major inspiration for my zigzag quilt. There are already so many bright colors in the quilt that throwing in this fabric as the binding may be little much. But I love it so much that I couldn't resist. More is more, right? :)

Since this is my first quilt, every step in construction is new (and intimidating!) to me. I took a look at a couple of tutorials online and was psyching myself up to give binding the quilt a go when my mom arrived in town last week to visit my sister Jan. She's an expert quilter so I, um, had her help me/do it for me instead. (I know, I know...but at this point I just wanted to get it finished. But I now that I've seen how it's done I am totally going to bind the next one myself.)

So the quilt is finished and I'm really happy with it. I can see all of my mistakes (of which there are many) but both of the kids love snuggling with it which was the whole point. I'll get pictures up as soon as I can.

Letter to Mimi: Month Eight

2011-10-14T11:38:00.003-06:00

Dear Mimi,

I'm not going to lie, this month was a little hard for me. You, the baby who was basically sleeping through the night at two weeks, started waking up 3-4 times a night. You would wake up crying at 2 am, 3:30 am, 4:30 am, 5:00 am, and then be all smiles and and ready to start the day at 7 am. It was WRECKING me.

Fortunately the waking-4-times-a-night thing lasted only a few weeks. Now you're getting up 1-2 times a night which, while far from ideal, is doable. I haven't given up on getting you to sleep through the night, though. Your pediatrician told us that you're physically capable of doing it so we're trying to figure out how to help you do so. I just checked out a few books on sleep training from the library so we shall see, my friend. WE SHALL SEE.

During the day you continue to be a wonderfully pleasant baby. You're interested in everything and laugh easily. I'll sit you on down on the carpet with a few toys and you'll happily play by yourself for 10-15 minutes at a time.

You're still fascinated by your brother. He's better at making you laugh than anyone else and is (usually) very gentle and kind with you. This last month you've been going through a hair-pulling stage and when E gets too close you grab his hair with your tiny fists and yank hard. You've actually pulled some of his hair out but he just laughs and doesn't listen to me when I remind him not to get too close. He thinks you're hilarious.

Watching the two of you together brings me joy in a way that I didn't really anticipate. The other day I was listening to the radio and they were talking about sibling relationships and about how they're the longest running relationships we have since your siblings are in your life before your spouse enters the picture and they're there after your parents pass away. It makes me glad to think that you and E will always have each other.

Sweet Mimi, we all love you so. I wouldn't change a thing about you (except for that pesky little waking-at-night habit--work on that, won't you?)

Love,

Mama

Kitchen Remodel

2011-10-12T08:00:00.008-06:00

(Click to see larger)

So for some reason I decided that this was the ideal time to start the kitchen remodel that I've been wanting to do for years. I'm doing as much of the work myself as I can because 1) our house isn't fancy to begin so it doesn't make sense to spend the $$$ it would cost to have it done professionally, and 2) I am under the delusion that I enjoy doing things like this myself.

I was really gung-ho to get started and have already taken down most of the cabinet doors to start sanding and painting them. But along with the "I am woman, hear me roar!" enthusiasm sometimes I feel overwhelmed and wonder what on earth I've gotten myself into. To tell you the truth it largely depends on how well Mimi (and I) slept the previous night. :-)

But I'm already past the point of no return so I better just buckle down and get it finished. The goal is to have things largely put back together by Thanksgiving (fingers crossed).

Birthday Weekend

2011-10-10T21:32:00.001-06:00

I didn't find my ring but we still have a lovely weekend complete with three (!) birthday dinners.

They sent me a coupon for a free birthday meal so on Friday night we took the kids to Tucano's. It's a Brazilian steakhouse where the servers walk around with skewers of various grilled meats and they bang on bongo drums and sing "Happy Birthday" to you in Portuguese. It was kind of crazy but E loved all the spectacle and stuffed himself silly and even ate a grilled chicken heart. I was so proud!

On Saturday night N and I went to The Copper Onion, one of my favorite places in Salt Lake. And then on Sunday we went up to my in-laws' house for steaks and cake and ice cream.

As a treat I ordered a birthday cake from City Cakes, our favorite local vegan bakery. It was lemon with raspberry filling and "cream cheese" frosting and DELICIOUS. It was super moist and tasty and didn't taste "off" at all.

E really got a kick out of the weekend's festivities. When he got up on Friday N prompted him to wish me a happy birthday which he did by saying, "Happy birthday, Mama! I got you an umbrella!" It's probably a good thing that N kept E out of the loop on the other presents he got me. N was so thoughtful that I felt a bit spoiled. And fortunately none of his gifts is small enough to be lost in the shag carpeting :)

The reason I can't have nice things

2011-10-07T07:41:00.008-06:00

It's actually not my kids, it's me. (Sigh.)

Yesterday I lost the lovely little diamond band N gave me for our 10th anniversary earlier this year. I was using some serious chemical anti-mold stuff to clean under one of our bathroom sinks where the faucet had been leaking so I took off my rings (I wear two stacked on my ring finger) and put them in my pocket so they wouldn't get gunky.

HOURS LATER I realize in a panic that I'm not wearing my rings and they're not in my pocket anymore. I find one of them lying on the couch but I can't find the other one anywhere. I've been looking all over the house but half of our house has this thick shag carpet that hides dropped tiny things really well. And I can't remember if I took them off before or after I made a quick IKEA run. I think it was after, but eep.

N was really sweet about it. I would have been a little bit upset if he had lost something expensive/sentimental that I gave him because of carelessness but he took breaks from cooking dinner to help me look and after I went to bed I heard him looking some more on his own.

I'm going to try and not let this cast a pall over the weekend but I keep worrying about it. Right now I'm going to go give my bedroom the most careful vacuuming it's ever had and then my sister Jan is taking me out to lunch for my birthday. I'm hoping that it will eventually turn up, but even if it doesn't things will be okay.

More than okay, even.

Faith vs. Food

2011-10-05T09:04:00.008-06:00

Winner Round One: Faith!

I followed through and made a galette with the pears from the co-op. I used this recipe for the crust and it worked well (you normies can substitute real butter for the vegan margarine).

I have totally fallen for galettes. Less fussy than a pie, they're great for a quick weeknight dessert. Plus saying "galette" makes me feel kind of fancy :) I have two pear trees in my backyard covered in fruit so we'll probably be eating a few more of these this fall.

Winner Round Two: Food

Yesterday I decided that shrimp cocktail and garlic bread sounded like an awesome lunch. I had picked up a shrimp ring at Costco on a whim the day before because I love shrimp cocktail and I was shopping hungry and my birthday's later this week and hey don't judge.

Anyway, so I enjoyed my tasty-but-weird lunch but a few minutes later my face starts feeling flushed and itchy. I look in the mirror and see this. And my heart just drops.

I'm sorry, but what the hell?!! Did I really just developed an allergy to shrimp? I had it a few months ago and was fine. But this time my face got really itchy and I had a few scattered hives on the rest of my body. I downed some Benadryl and the hives went away in about three hours.

Shrimp is pretty easily avoidable but I'm freaked out by the idea that I've developed a food allergy at thirty. I didn't know that could happen. Am I going to develop other allergies? Maybe it was just a weird one-time thing. I'm scared to try shrimp again because if I have another reaction and it confirms an allergy I'll be bummed.

Bountiful Baskets

2011-10-03T08:49:00.002-06:00

Several of my neighbors have signed up for Bountiful Baskets, a produce co-op. It seemed fun so I thought I'd give it a try; we got our first basket on Saturday.

Our basket included iceberg lettuce, 5 pears, 5 lemons, 4 tomatoes, a cantaloupe, concord grapes, 5 bananas, 4 green and 2 red bell peppers, celery, and 5 ears of corn.

Not bad for $15, but it's a lot more produce that we usually buy in a week. However, I do enjoy the Iron Chef aspect to it all--the contents of the basket are a surprise and it's an interesting challenge to think of ways to use all of these ingredients.

So far I'm planning on baking the pears into a galette and making roasted corn soup. We'll probably just eat the melon, grapes, and bananas on their own and the veggies can go into a sauce/salads. But what to do with the lemons and kiwis? Hmm...

A Winner and The Weekend

2011-09-30T14:27:00.004-06:00

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway for a copy of Maphead! The prize goes to Elaine who was lucky #1.

I hope that everyone has a great weekend. I'm still a bit under the weather so my weekend plans are absurdly couch-centric. Tonight N and I will probably watch the next few parts of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, and then on Saturday and Sunday I'm going to watch my church's general conference, bestirring myself from the couch only when strictly necessary.

Here's to the weekend!

Daughters

2011-09-29T11:03:00.007-06:00

Last week my mom sent me a few baby pictures and a little dress of mine she had saved.

Mimi-8 months. Me-10ish months.

P.S. - Remember, you have until midnight tonight to enter the giveaway for a signed copy of Maphead!

Diana Beach Photos

2011-09-27T14:21:00.003-06:00

When we were on the coast this summer I shot several rolls of film with my Diana camera. I just had them developed and wanted to share a few of them.

E at Ocean Shores, WA

E and cousins - Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach

Hooray for film!

Maphead Giveaway!

2011-09-26T08:34:00.013-06:00

Thanks for the well-wishes, guys. Mimi is sleeping a bit better now, waking one or two times during the night instead of three. It's still not optimal but I'll take it. Last week I got worn out from the lack of sleep and trying to do too much (hello, simultaneous DIY kitchen and bath remodels!) and I ended up coming down with a nasty stomach bug. I was stuck in bed with a fever and crazy chills but after taking it easy over the weekend I'm feeling better.

I have some fun things to post this week, including A GIVEAWAY! N's brother Ken is in town visiting on his way to a speaking thing and he is graciously offering a signed copy of his new book Maphead.

I've read it and it's a fun, smart read that is being well-received. (Watch for the New York Times review later this week!) If you win Ken will sign the book and he can make it out to you or whomever you'd like if you want to give it as a gift.

To enter, leave a comment on this post (be sure to include your email or a link so I can find you if you win) before midnight (MST) this Thursday, September 29th. One winner will be drawn at random. If you want something to talk about in your comment, tell us some place you've always wanted to go.

I'll start. I know it's not that exciting, but I've always wanted to go to Ireland. I blame watching watching Riverdance on PBS at an impressionable age.

Your turn!

Give Me Back My Dreams

2011-09-20T11:18:00.006-06:00

So Mimi, while continuing to be totally adorable and easygoing during the day, has been waking up two or three times during the night for about the past 6 weeks.

And it is WRECKING me.

I have some fun posts planned but first I need to clear this fog from my head.

Maphead

2011-09-15T13:41:00.006-06:00

My brother-in-law's new book is coming out next Tuesday! Right now I'm reading an advance copy and I'm really enjoying it.

If you, like me, you tend to read more fiction than nonfiction don't let that scare you off. Maphead, or {muh-FEED} as some of us call it, covers fascinating ground in an down-to-earth way and is funny to boot. It's fun to read AND every time I set it down I also feel a bit smarter--bonus! Plus, there are some great bits about my adorable sister-in-law Mindy in it (which you will probably like even if you don't know her).

So yeah, you should probably pick up a copy. Amazon has Maphead for preorder at $15* If you don't get one now, keep it in mind come Christmas time. Anyone who has at least a vague interest in the world and how it works will enjoy it but I think it would make a particularly great gift for those hard-to-shop-for guys in your life (especially if they run towards being smart and funny and a little/a lot on the nerdy side like the ones in my life.)

*This is an affiliate link. I was not compensated in any way for this review beyond the warm fuzzy feeling I get from sharing something I like with my readers and getting to brag a bit about my family.

Mini Thunderbolt

2011-09-13T15:14:00.000-06:00

Here's a photo I took from the Ferris Wheel and ran through a tilt-shift effects generator. This year I had a plastic Diana lens on my DSLR so the starting photo wasn't tack-sharp to begin with and so the overall effect isn't as strong as last year's photos (here). But it's still fun to play around like this :)

State Fair

2011-09-12T15:40:00.010-06:00

We had an especially lovely day on Saturday.

We like to visit the state fair every year and so on Saturday we packed the kids into the car and drove up to Salt Lake. Since we were so close by we first stopped for lunch at Red Iguana 2.

This second location is just blocks away from the original and has the same fantastic food but is less crowded and more kid-friendly. After a lunch of the best Mexican food around (Seriously, if you haven't been, you need to go and try one of the moles!) we drove over a couple of blocks, parked for free on the little street where we usually park and went to the fair.

We looked at the folk art (check out that amazing Dear Jane quilt in the middle photo), pet the livestock, rode some rides, got E some cotton candy and a balloon animal, and left ten minutes before the little guy reached his limit and melted down. And during all of that Mimi chilled in her stroller like a champ.

The fair runs through September 18th and you can buy discount tickets at Smith's or online.

School Lunch

2011-09-09T11:33:00.002-06:00

Fall always makes me a little wistful for those square pieces of pizza we used to get in elementary school. They were totally the shiz.

I Heart Art: 20x200

2011-09-07T14:03:00.004-06:00

20x200 and Tiny Showcase are two of my favorite places online to browse for affordable art. I've bought a few prints from Tiny Showcase over the last few years, mostly work by Scott C and Jen Corace, but I haven't bought anything from 20x200--yet.

I have a voucher to 20x200 that I bought on one of those deal-of-the-day sites burning a hole in my pocket and these are some prints that have caught my eye.

Vogue JUL07:pg145 (Ripeness is All) by Lauren DiCioccio
(I LOVE these pieces by DiCioccio.)

28 Camera Drawings by Christine Berrie
(The vintage Polaroid camera N gave me earlier this year is the same model as the one in the upper right.)

Memories of Festivals by Tatsuro Kiuchi

Squeeze by Gary Petersen

What do you think? Do any of these (or anything else on 20x200) strike your fancy?

Letter to Mimi: Months Six and Seven

2011-09-06T14:14:00.013-06:00

Dear Mimi,

We had some fun adventures this summer. I took you on your first plane ride. You and your brother and I flew to Seattle to visit my parents. Because they've been in poor health this last year and unable to travel this was the first time they met you in person. They loved you like I knew they would and it made me happy to see you together.

Then your dad and the rest of my family came to town and then we all went to Ocean Shores, WA for a family reunion. Even though your nap schedule got shuffled around you were a trooper during all the chaos. You loved being around all the kids and your cousins Ivy and Clara doted on you ridiculously.

It would be fun if I could say that you loved the ocean at first sight, that you felt a primal oneness with that great force which settled over you as a mystical calm. But mostly you were just upset about the wind blowing in your face.

After the Ocean Shores the four of us (I love saying "the four of us") drove down the the coast to Rockaway Beach, OR. It was a leisurely drive along the winding Pacific Coast highway, through the sort of lush green gray scenery that never fails to make me feel at home. For the most part you were content to nap or be entertained by your brother's clowning. It was a lovely, lovely drive.

And then we were in Oregon. Our beach house there was right on the beach, so close that instead of plugging in the white noise machine we run at home to help you sleep I could open the windows and let the sound of the waves fill the room. As soon as you heard them you felt at home and your eyes would immediately start fluttering shut. (Because your first teeth were coming in your eyes had trouble STAYING shut, but whatever.)

You loved watching all your cousins run around from the safety of our arms. With all aunts and grandma around you had plenty of people willing to hold and snuggle you. Fortunately you weren't clingy and went to whoever wanted to hold you.

During these last two months you did a slew of things for the first time: you rolled from your back onto your tummy, you got your first tooth (bottom front right), you started giving kisses (e.g. opening your drooling mouth as wide as you can and mashing it on my face while humming--let's just say I'm looking forward to your form improving a bit), and you learned to sit up on your own.

There were ups-and-downs but this summer was wonderful. Some things are more complicated now (e.g. it's harder to leave the house on time or work on my reports or get dinner on the table as planned) but it's just so satisfying to have you around. Your sweet presence is like a balm that soothes an itch I didn't know existed until it was gone.

Hall Bathroom

2011-09-02T14:32:00.001-06:00

Not much has going on around here. I've been spending most of my free time dithering over paint colors.

This is for the kid bathroom so right now I'm leaning third from the left, middle card. What do you think--too bright?

A Revelation

2011-08-31T11:35:00.011-06:00

Do you remember my garden? Despite being neglected for almost 3 weeks when I was out of town we're starting to harvest some tasty things. So far these have been my favorite.Baby beets!

Do you like beets? When I was a kid my dad liked the canned pickled variety which never interested me. But over the last few years I've had beets in various dishes at one of my favorite local restaurants and I've fallen hard for them, particularly when they're roasted. Roasted baby beets taste so fresh and sweetly earthy.

Since the greens were kind of scabby (see: 4 weeks of neglect) I didn't use them. After I cut off the tops (leaving behind about 2 inches of the stems so the beets wouldn't bleed their juices out) I wrapped the beets in foil and roasted them in the oven for about an hour. Once they cooled I peeled off their skins, sliced them, and then added them to a variation of this salad.

I added chunks of avocado and served it with fresh greens instead of cooked ones. It was delicious AND I got the added bonus of feeling virtuous since beets are so good for you. Win-win!

Daddy's Girl

2011-08-29T10:48:00.004-06:00

Lately Mimi has been going gaga over N. Her personality is really starting to shine and she is quickly wrapping him around her little finger.

Yesterday after church I walked into the family room and saw this:

I couldn't help exclaiming "Awww!" which promptly woke her up. Oops.

And then there's also this:

Happy Friday!

2011-08-26T14:52:00.007-06:00

Babies + Freddy Mercury = AWESOMENESS

Our plans for this weekend are pretty low key. I'm looking forward to mulling over paint chips (I have PLANS for our kitchen) and getting caught up on laundry (Poor N--one morning this week he discovered that he was out of clean black socks for work but sweetly put on a dirty pair without mentioning it at all. I only knew because I saw him out of the corner of my eye when I was in the shower. I am Wife Of The Year.)

I hope your weekend is as fun/relaxing/productive as you want it to be!

S'mores

2011-08-24T08:34:00.004-06:00

I still have some photos from our beach vacations to share--I hope you don't mind. :) These document the first few times E experienced the wonder that is the s'more. Not surprisingly, he loved them!

A Boy and His Bike

2011-08-22T11:01:00.005-06:00

We had a busy weekend: N and I spoke in church (and I also taught Relief Society) and we had a barbeque at N's parents' house to celebrate my father-in-law's birthday which was fun. But the big news from this weekend is that E finished earning stickers for his potty chart.

Which meant that it was time to get a bike!

The excitement (and the long car ride) proved a bit much for our protagonist.

But once we were at the store he perked up and we found just the right red (his request) bike complete with a shifter grip on the handlebar that makes a "VROOM!" sound.

And then when we got home Our Young Hero rode off into the sunset (until he reached the end of the driveway and was gently steered away from the street by his mother).

Synchonicity

2011-08-19T12:32:00.000-06:00

With all the talk about photography lately I thought it noteworthy to mention that today is World Photography Day. As far I can tell isn't a real holiday...yet! Let's get together and make it happen, people!

I found out about it from the latest issue of the Photojojo newsletter which has a great roundup of photography ideas and inspiration. If you like photography I recommend subscribing. It's always fun and interesting.

I especially liked this link from this last newsletter. SO great. I wonder if I could get E to model for photos like these.

So if you get the chance, have fun and take some pictures this weekend to celebrate World Photography Day!

iPhone Air Museum Photos

2011-08-18T21:54:00.003-06:00

I thought I'd post these for comparison. For clarity these photos can't compare to the ones I took with my DSLR but I was still impressed with how the Hipstamatic app on my iPhone handled the lighting conditions in the hangar.

Cathedral

2011-08-17T11:46:00.005-06:00

Our beach house was just down the road from Tillamook, OR (home of Tillamook Cheese) where there's an air museum that we toured. Looking at the aircraft was fun but the highlight for me was the WWII blimp hangar the museum is housed in.

The hangar is MASSIVE. Apparently it's the largest wooden structure in the world. (Interesting fact: there used to be two hangars until 1992 when someone decided that it seemed like a good idea to use one of the world's largest wooden structures as storage for BALES OF DRY HAY and the whole thing went up in a huge fireball.)

This picture makes me happy since I've been feeling a little uninspired with photography lately. I've had a passion for photography since I was in high school but sometimes my enthusiasm for it wanes: life get busy and I just don't have the energy for it. I'm a chronic dabbler--I haven't met a hobby that doesn't seem interesting yet--but photography is my main interest (with woodworking a close second) and I think I'll always come back to it again and again. With this photo I felt that rush of falling in love with taking pictures again.

I also took a few photos of the hangar using film; I'm excited to see if/how they turn out.

Mimi Meets Meemaw and Peepaw

2011-08-16T11:16:00.001-06:00

Our recent visit to WA was the first time my parents got to meet Mimi. What can I say?--They were smitten.

Rock-Rock-Rock-Rockaway Beach

2011-08-15T16:42:00.004-06:00

Hard to believe that this was the view out our window only a day-and-a-half ago:

It was wonderful to stay on the beach (as in walk-off-the-porch-and-you're-on-the-beach) for an entire week. We decided at the last minute that driving the 14+ hours home from Rockaway Beach, OR to Salt Lake City with a breast-feeding infant and a toilet-training 3-year-old would be marginally less painful if we drove through the night while both kidlets slept. So we packed the kids into the car around midnight Sunday morning and made it home around 5 o'clock that night.

The plan worked pretty well and we only made stops for food/diaper changes/potty breaks/gas/the search for an open gas station at 3 am. Did you know that most of the gas stations in small Oregon towns close for the night around 10pm but leave their signs and lights on? So if you find yourself in a small town running low on gas at 3 am your search gets rather frustrating when you drive up to yet another well-lit station to find that they are actually closed. I had panicky visions of having to park and wait until a station opened at 7 am but some helpful hotel clerks directed us to the one station in town open at night and everything worked out okay.

But don't worry, Oregon. Despite your old-fashioned and inconvenient ideas about gasoline we still love you. You are magical and I miss you already. Xoxo.

Embellished Onesies

2011-08-11T08:00:00.000-06:00

My sister-in-law Gwyn made these sweet embellished onesies for Mimi. Aren't they cute? My favorite is the sweet narwhal.

Ocean Shores iPhone Photos

2011-08-08T09:33:00.003-06:00

There have been a few hiccups (mostly due to a teething baby) but so far this vacation has been wonderful. I can't download the photos from my camera until I get home but here are a few I took with my iPhone using the Hipstmatic app.

Top to bottom: my brother David and his son, E waking up from a nap at our hotel, E tearing around on the beach.

Super Pooper

2011-08-05T09:00:00.000-06:00

Crafts are great and all, but what this blog really needs is more talk about poop!

E has been in underwear since May and quickly became an ace at peeing in the potty. Pooping was causing some issues, however. After trying bribery and time outs we finally settled on a sticker chart:

E has been wanting a bike for a while now and so N and I figured this would be good motivation for him. I brought the chart and stickers with us on our trip and he is almost halfway there to earning his bike.

But those first few stickers were won with tears and sweat. E was terrified of pooping on the potty and once he held it in for a whole week until we had to resort to mildly invasive measures (i.e. a suppository.) But now he's doing well. I think he's even on his way to conquering his fear of public toilets with their alarmingly loud flushes; he used the toilet at the airport which was a big deal.

So in summation, E is a super star.

Stephanie's Quilt

2011-08-03T08:55:00.003-06:00

This is the quilt that got me off the fence about trying to make a quilting. Aren't the fabrics beautiful?

My mom has been into quilting for a decade and has made my babies beautiful quilts but when my friend and neighbor (and Kristen Bell lookalike) Stephanie made Mimi this quilt I started thinking that that maybe I could make a quilt too. My mom's retired but Stephanie has an insanely-packed schedule and I thought that if she could find the time to make a quilt then maybe I could too. Plus like a good friend she volunteer to help me if I got stuck. :)

I'm really looking forward to finishing my quilt when I go home.

Spice Cabinet Completed!

2011-08-01T09:00:00.006-06:00

A couple of people reminded me that I never posted pictures of my finished spice cabinet (previous posts about it here (1, 2, 3, and 4) I made an effort to get it hung on the wall before Mimi was born because when we have a new baby not a lot gets done around here, but then I forgot to post about it. So here it is!

In order to have a place to hang the cabinet we had to have to rewire our thermostat and move it around the corner--WORTH IT.

It's nice to finally get our spices off our counter and into their new home.

Here's a slideshow I put together of some of the steps I took to build the cabinet.

Now that the cabinet's finished I'm beginning to daydream about what I could build in woodworking this fall--I'm toying with the idea of making a dining table or an entertainment center. I guess we'll just have to see.

The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated

2011-07-30T11:12:00.013-06:00

So um, hi there! I kept meaning to post but things were pretty crazy for a while. We were all sick: it really dragged on and on and I was swamped with work at the same time. When I've been sick for a while and I'm not sleeping well I lose track of the fact that in general I love my life and suddenly Everything Is Horrible! and It Has Always Been Horrible! and It Will Always Be Horrible! The End. It's something I need to work on.

To be honest I wasn't a lot of fun to be around: I was pretty grumpy and kept snapping at N. I wouldn't blame poor N if he was secretly relieved to ship his grumpy wife and the kids off to my parents' house for while.

I was nervous about flying by myself with the two kids but Melissa reminded me that you can get a gate ticket for an escort to help you through security. So my sweet mother-in-law helped us to our gate which was a big help.

Except for Mimi having a diaper blowout the flight was pretty uneventful. Even though E hasn't had an accident in a long time I was a bit nervous about him being in underwear for the flight but he did great. E's getting to be quite the old hand at flying.

While it's hard to live out of suitcases (especially with a baby) I'm feeling better and more like myself. Stuffing my face with yummy Korean food, relaxing for an afternoon at the spa, and spending some time catching up with old friends will do that to me every time :) Now I'm just counting down the days until N gets here.

I've repented of my blog-shirking ways and have a few posts lined up for while I'm away so check back next week.

Amy Ruppel on Tiny Showcase

2011-07-19T13:25:00.003-06:00

We're still under the weather around here but thankfully I think I'm starting to feel a little better.

I just wanted to hop on and give the head's up that Amy Ruppel is going to be on Tiny Showcase tonight.

I love her work and can't wait to see the the print they're going to release. Only 100 copies will be sold and at $20 a pop they're going to go fast.

Check it out at 5:30 pm today Utah time.

Mondays are teh lame

2011-07-18T11:55:00.004-06:00

It turns out that the noted 20th-century philosopher Garfield was correct. I'm looking at the front end of this week already feeling exhausted. It think it's mostly because I've had a raging sinus infection for a few days now and add to that several big work deadlines, a teething baby who has sleeping more poorly than she ever has before, and a dentist appointment to get a few cavities filled and blarg, my friends. BLARG.

But yesterday was actually really lovely. At church I taught the lesson in Relief Society and I drew heavily from this talk. (Read it if you have a few seconds; it is really great.) I still get ridiculously nervous when I teach at church but I think I'm slowly getting better at being more coherent. At least I hope so :)

After our church meetings we drove to my in-laws' church service. They were scheduled to speak about their recent mission experience in Korea and it was great to hear their remarks. And then we came home, the stars aligned, and we all took much needed naps. Yay for naps.

Words With Friends

2011-07-15T08:53:00.003-06:00

Anyone else playing Words With Friends (i.e. Scrabble) on their phones? I know I'm a bit late to the party but I've really gotten into it lately even though I'm not especially good at it. (That's not false modesty--back in the day when N and I were young marrieds and we would play board games with his family I would literally break out in a sweat when it was my turn. But in my defense, YOU try playing board games with N and his brother.)

Anyway, while I get nervous playing these sorts of games in person I'm having fun playing on my phone. So far I've successfully cajoled N and my sister-in-law Mindy into playing with me but two games are not enough to feed my addiction! (BTW, it's your turn, Minders.)

While I'd like more people to play with I don't want to play with total strangers. So I thought I'd see if any of you want to play because we're all friends here and tight like that. There are free apps for both Android and iPhone so if you're interested download it (enabled push notifications to get notified when a move is made) and look me up: my login is TheNearestFuture.

Let the games begin!

My First Quilt: Update 3

2011-07-13T08:00:00.003-06:00

During these last few weeks we had a lot going on and so I took a break from working on my quilt but after a while I felt the itch to work on it again. So out came my sewing machine and supplies to take over the kitchen table again.

I sewed all of my squares into strips and then pressed the seams open. This step took a lot more time than I thought it would would. (All those little seams!)

Then I took the strips and started sewing them to each other, trying (and often failing) to match up all the short seams.

And then I had a finished quilt top! I'm being a bit of a tease and saving the picture of the completed top for my next post. But I really like this picture of the back because of the texture and because it's satisfying to look at All Those Seams after I spent so much time on them.

Now I just need to pick out a fabric for the back. I am really stumped on what color to use. I love the look of gray mixed with bright colors in this quilt and was thinking about using a gray back but now I don't know.

What do you think? Would gray look good or would a brighter print be better?

Letter to Mimi: Month Five

2011-07-11T09:30:00.007-06:00

Dear Mimi,

After a lot of practice, you finally rolled over this last month! Now as soon as I put you on your stomach you tip yourself to the side and roll onto your back, quick as a flash. I've had to really up the antics to keep you entertained for tummy time. So far you're into situational and prop comedy but turn your nose up at impressions.

Besides rolling over you love, love, love grabbing your toes. As soon as I take your socks off (or you pull them off) you immediate reach for your toes and try to cram them in your mouth. It's pretty cute.

I think your teeth are starting to come in because you will gnaw on everything given the chance. I'm not too good about remembering milestones (one of the reasons I write these letters) but I think that your brother didn't start teething for at least a few more months um, so there's that. Teething also means that you've also started biting occasionally when I'm nursing you and uh, yeouch! and also stop.

We're gearing up to take you on your first trip away from home. We have back-to-back family reunions in WA and OR and even though I'm a little bit nervous about taking you away from your routine I'm looking forward to showing you off a bit. We all love you so much and know that the rest of our families will too.

Love,

Mama

Last Minute Fun

2011-07-08T15:28:00.003-06:00

I know this is kind of last minute, but if you're looking for something to do this weekend can I suggest catching a comedy show?
Jenna Kim Jones is hilarious; N and I try to catch her shows whenever she's in town. (She's a family friend but we would go see her even if she wasn't--honest!) Jenna lives in New York where she works for The Daily Show but does a few shows in Utah every year, so don't miss your chance to catch her live!

Jenna Kim Jones at Wiseguys Trolley Square
July 8-9
7:30 and 10 PM each night
$10 Tickets (2-for-1 coupons available here.)

Our July 4th

2011-07-06T11:16:00.006-06:00

The hits kept on coming all weekend; it was so much fun to spend time with family members we hadn't seen in so long. As predicted, E loved hanging out with his cousins. Every morning when he woke up the first thing he wanted to know was where his cousins were. Things were so busy that unfortunately I didn't take many pictures but we did manage to snap a couple to document a few firsts:

Mimi's first Fourth of July

E's first sparkler

Both were big hits!

In-law-palooza 2011

2011-07-01T08:05:00.003-06:00

This weekend is going to be fun. N's parents are returning home tomorrow after having spent the last THREE YEARS serving a mission for our church in Pusan, Korea. The last time we saw them was back in October when N and E and I went to Korea for a visit and since then we've been counting down the days until they came home (and started babysitting for us).

N's sister Gwyn and his brother Ken are both coming into town with their families to see their parents so except for one missing sister this weekend will be a dress rehearsal of the family reunion we have planned for August. Gwyn and her family are going to crash at our house and I've been looking forward to seeing them for months.

For us this weekend is going to have lots of little cousins running around, probably a barbeque (or two) and possibly even some fireworks (fingers crossed). I hope you have a wonderful weekend and a great Forth of July!

L&L Hawaiian Barbecue

2011-06-29T07:52:00.010-06:00

Last week one of N's friends at work took him to L&L Hawaiian Barbecue for lunch and N liked it a lot. So on Friday we made the drive to Provo to eat there for dinner--worth it!

I've never been to Hawaii and I had never heard of this chain before. But I have eaten a lot of Hawaiian and Korean food (Korean BBQ is a big influence with Hawaiian BBQ) and I thought the food was good. The service was unfriendly (bordering on surly) like it is at some small places but all the food we tried (ribs, chicken, pork) was super tasty. And the portions are HUGE; we had enough leftovers for lunch the next day. We will definitely be going back. If you decide to go, go hungry and early (they close at 8pm).

L&L Hawaiian Barbecue
W. 1230 North & N. Freedom Blvd.
Windsor Park Shopping Ctr.
158 W. 1230 North
Provo, UT

There's also a Salt Lake location:
(S. 700 East & University Blvd.)
358 S. 700 East

Letter to E: Months Forty-Two and Forty-Three

2011-06-27T14:46:00.007-06:00

Dear E,

From here on out you might probably notice that most pictures of you also include your baby sister. It's mostly because 1) it's difficult to use my camera and hold a baby at the same time 2) lately when I have any free time I've been preferring to curl up with a novel rather than get out the camera and 3) when I do get the camera out you beg and beg for me to take pictures of you next to Mimi. So as you can see, it's clearly mostly your fault.

Speaking of Mimi, you've gotten a lot more comfortable with your baby sister these last couple of months, for better or for worse. You get such a thrill out of making her laugh but your efforts usually consist of getting right up in her face and shouting nonsense words, pulling on her arm, or covering her face with a blanket. I'm not expecting you to have a new set of material every day but c'mon, I'm pretty sure you can step it up a bit. You don't need to get all avant-garde or edgy. Just try a few things like, oh I don't know...maybe speaking in an inside voice? Or soft animal sounds? I don't know, I just thought I'd give you a few notes.

In other news, you're progressing quite nicely with potty training. I probably should have started you on it last year but I wanted to wait until after we went to Korea and then the holidays hit and then Mimi was born and wow look at that, you're almost three-and-a-half and still in diapers and kids at the playground notice and think you're a little weird.

So one day after you had become good at sitting on your little potty chair I just put away your diapers and stuck you in underwear. We had a number of accidents that first week but then you pretty much got the hang of it. For a few days you had a horrific bout of diarrhea that I still have nightmares about (don't worrying, I've taken the carpet cleaning bill out of your college fund.) but you are this close to getting the whole toilet thing down pat.

You are such a funny little guy. The other day some boy scouts were sitting in our living room explaining a fund raiser they were doing when your dad came home from work. When he walked into the house you gestured toward him and said to the boys, "Hey guys, this is my dad." And it blew my mind. Look at that, you're a real person! A person who sometimes still poops in his underwear, but A Real Person! And my heart swelled with pride and love for you until it felt like it would burst.

And then an hour later you were shrieking about how you DON'T WANT TO EAT CHICKEN FOR DINNER! and I found myself clenching my jaw and explain to you for the three-thousandth time why we use nice voices when we talk to each other, etc... Sometimes the emotional roller coaster ride gives me whiplash.

But luckily for us, you are still a joy to have around. You've been testing your limits more lately and sometimes outright ignore or defy us but when you calm down you're still our sweet little guy. At times I can almost see the wheels in your head turn as you're trying to figure out how the world works and what your place in it is. Sometimes when I'm down in the trenches of mundane everyday life I have to remind myself of it but it really is a privilege to help you find your way.

Love,

Mama

My First Quilt: Update 2

2011-06-23T08:16:00.008-06:00

Things are looking up! Thank you for being patient with my little pity-party yesterday. You guys are really lovely. My toe has turned a lovely shade of purple but the pain has leveled off and things are getting back to a good normal.

In more cheerful news, I'm still chugging along on my quilt.

After I sewed my blocks together I cut them down the middle and was left with lots of half-square triangles blocks.

Then I took the blocks and pressed their seams open (all 130 of them). It took a while but I worked on it while N and I watched Hello, Dolly! (Seeing the bits of Dolly in countless viewings of WALL-E with E had made me want to watch the whole thing.)

Next I laid the blocks out on the carpet.

And then I clapped my hands together in excitement and squealed like a little girl. Squeee!

Today is going to be better

2011-06-22T06:28:00.007-06:00

Yesterday was totally lame: E was on a tear and being outright defiant and even though he hasn't had them in several weeks he had two accidents (one incredibly while he was sitting on my lap on our bed). And then I broke my little toe which was the icing on the cake.

It happened in such a embarrassingly stupid way, too. I answered the front door and side of my foot was underneath the edge of the door so when I went to walk away my toe got caught and bent back. I actually heard a "crack!" At first I thought it was just the knuckle popping but a few minutes later the discoloration and swelling (and pain!) started. I called my doctor and they said there wasn't anything they could do and just to tape it to the toe next to it. So I taped it and dug out my bottle of mega-dose ibuprofen from when I had Mimi.

I know that in the grand scheme of things my problems aren't bad at all (i.e. "white people problems") but I can't help but feel a little beat all the same.

I hope things go better today.

Super 8

2011-06-20T14:34:00.007-06:00

Things have been hectic but fun around here lately. On Saturday N and I saw Super 8. I thought it was really good. The plot is familiar but the kids in it do a great job and the action is nicely paced. I was baffled when the credits started rolling and the guy sitting in front of us turned to his wife and gave it a dramatic thumbs down. Really? I have no idea what he was expecting. It's one of the best summer movies I've seen in a while.

While it's fun it's definitely not for little kids because of the intense action. Maybe 13+? Anyway, if you go be sure to stay in your seat for the credits!

My First Quilt: Update 1

2011-06-15T10:18:00.008-06:00

This last weekend I was finally able to get started on my rainbow zigzag quilt. I'm using this tutorial from the very fun blog, A Quilt Is Nice.

Thanks to everyone who chimed in on the pattern question. After WAY too much deliberation I finally decided to go with the reflected rainbow pattern, with the purples in the middle. This is the final order of the fabrics:

I had never used a rotary cutter before so it took me a bit of practice to get the hang of it (I only wasted a small piece of one fabric) but after working through the kids' Saturday afternoon nap I got all my squares cut out.

Then I paired up the squares, pinned them together, and used a fabric marker to draw a line across the diagonal.

Then I used the 1/4" quilting setting on my sewing machine to sew two stitched lines each 1/4" away from the line I drew earlier. I still have a few more squares to sew together and then it's on to the next step.

I'm kind of surprised by how much I'm enjoying this project. I love these fabrics so much that just looking at them while I work is fun and while the work is repetitious enough to be relaxing each stage is over pretty quickly so I don't get too bored. I'm sure that I'm making PLENTY of mistakes, but so far I'm having fun.

Wiggly Hot Dog Squids

2011-06-13T11:22:00.003-06:00

Ever since I saw this way of cooking spaghetti and hot dogs on Steamy Kitchen I've been wanting to try it with E. So we made it for his dinner last night.

You poke uncooked spaghetti noodles through hot dog slices.

Then once you have them all assembled you boil them in water until the noodles are cooked...

...and voila--wriggly squid creatures!

The next time I do this I'm going to use wider chunks of hot dog and draw on little faces with ketchup. :)

Stirring Words

2011-06-10T11:21:00.004-06:00

This made me laugh and laugh.

Once E is totally finished potty training (i.e. poops in the toilet EVERY time) we're going to get him a bike as a prize. I can't wait! (both because I'm tired of cleaning up his poopy underwear and also because the sight of him on a bike is going to be super cute).

Turning Over a New Leaf*

2011-06-08T08:00:00.003-06:00

{*I know, I know, but I couldn't resist the pun.}

When we bought our house way back when I had dreams of tending a bountiful garden but except for a few half-hearted attempts at growing tomatoes I never really did anything. But this summer is going to be different! This time around I'm not going to give up and let the weeds overtake everything. Serious Faith is serious! and all that.

So I planted this pot of herbs for our patio. It has rosemary, mint, purple and sweet basil, oregano, and cilantro in it. In the past I've had horrible luck growing cilantro and rosemary so we'll see how they do this time.

In our garden plot I put in some strawberries, onions (Walla Walla and scallions), tomatoes, cauliflower (I was curious to see what it looked like as it grows), zucchini, beets, spinach, and two lettuce mixes. I'm especially excited about homegrown tomatoes; they taste so much better than the store-bought ones.

Did you know that tomato cages come in fun colors? They cost a bit more than the normal ones but they were so cheery that I couldn't resist.

I'm pretty sure that being so stylish is going to help my tomatoes taste extra delicious. :)

Letter to Mimi: Month Four

2011-06-06T11:12:00.001-06:00

Dear Mimi,

You're a lot more coordinated with your hands now and like reaching for toys and cramming them in your mouth. You have a little squeaky giraffe toy and until recently you seemed fairly indifferent to it. But now you like to clutch it when you're in your car seat and chew on its ears.

You seem so eager to move around on your own. Instead of chilling in your swing you now prefer wiggling around on your play mat. You like grabbing your feet and rocking back and forth and seem to be this close to rolling over.

You continue to be entranced by your big brother. You love watching E bop around and he loves goofing off to make you laugh. You are such a happy baby and bring so much joy into our house.

It's hard to believe you're only four months old; it seems like you've always been a part of our family. We love having you here and hearing your sweet laugh.

Love,

Mama

Sneaky Cupcakes

2011-06-03T21:16:00.003-06:00

So this is what I've been up to lately:

My friend Stephanie and I held a baby shower for one of our neighbors on Thursday which kept me pretty busy this week.

It seemed cruel to bake five dozen mini cupcakes if E (and I) couldn't eat any of them so I made these dairy-and-egg-free chocolate cupcakes. I was a little worried that people might taste the difference but they went pretty quickly and a few people without any dietary restrictions ("Normies," we call them) even asked for the recipe.

So, success!

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Dictator

2011-06-01T14:33:00.008-06:00

This breaks my heart. Crazy, no?

The other thing I learned from this is that I am obviously not disciplining my three-year old in the most efficient manner. Unfortunately, The Dear Leader seems to have it all figured out, though.

Hooray For Tuesday!

2011-05-31T08:00:00.004-06:00

I can't remember the last time I was this happy to see a holiday weekend end. N has been out of town at a music festival since Friday but is coming home tonight. I originally had all sorts of grand plans for when he was out of town: the main thing I wanted to work on was piecing my rainbow quilt. But I came down with the bug that E's been fighting for almost two weeks and consequently got nothing done. Instead I moped around the house in a fog and went to bed early every night.

I did get to see a few friends but other than that we just stayed home. With E being cranky and me not feeling well there were more times than I care to admit when my patience wore thin. But happily there were some lovely moments too. Exhibit A:

Anyway, we are all really looking forward to having N home tonight. E cried and cried when we dropped N off at the airport and has asked when his dad is coming home every day. I've really missed spending time with N and chatting with him about our days every evening.

Refreshing!

2011-05-27T08:00:00.002-06:00

When I'm at home I like filling up one of those big plastic lidded mugs with water to drink throughout the day (Yep, I keep it classy). Anyway, the other day I was working at the computer and took a few sips of water. I noticed that it tasted a little funny so I popped off the lid and found this:

Yum!

Grand Plans: Rainbow Zigzag Quilt

2011-05-25T08:00:00.006-06:00

I've given in--I'm going to try quilting! I've been collecting pictures of quilts I like over on Pinterest and I've decided to make a zigzag quilt using this tutorial from A Quilt Is Nice (which is a great blog by the way).

Photo from A Quilt Is Nice

Nettie has made a couple rainbow quilts lately that I've really liked and I think this zigzag pattern would look great in a rainbow palette. So I went shopping with my friend Stephanie and picked out a rainbow of fabrics which was really fun.

I'm still not sure about the orange on the right but we'll see. The bottom fabric is for the binding around the edge of the quilt.

Now the question is which pattern should I use? I have two fabrics in each color--should I repeat through the rainbow twice or should I arrange the colors in a mirror image?

Hmm...my first instinct was to go with A, but B is growing on me and N says he prefers that one. It's too bad Mimi is too young to tell us which one she prefers since this is going to be her blanket. :)

How about you--which do you prefer? Weigh in on the debate of the century!

Garage Sale Finds

2011-05-23T11:50:00.011-06:00

Mimi and I hit up some garage sales on Saturday morning and scored a couple of great deals. First off is this Pottery Barn kids crib set:

Isn't it cute? It's well made and in great shape. The bumpers were marked at $15, the crib skirt at $6 and the sheets were $1 each but while I was looking at them I overheard the owner tell her friend that they better start slashing prices. I asked her about the price of the set and she told me to make her an offer so I asked if she'd take $15 for the lot and she said yes. (I just checked and Pottery Barn sells these sets for about $170 new--score!) I especially like the embroidered accents on the skirt and bumpers.

The other thing I bought was this bolt of designer fabric.

I read a local interior designer's blog and when I saw that she was having a tag sale on Saturday I wanted to check it out. It took Mimi and I longer than I wanted to get out of the house (as usual) and so when I arrived the sale was already pretty picked over. But then I saw this bolt of fabric and it felt like it had been set aside just for me. The colors are exactly what I was trying to find for a window treatment in our living room. There are 7 yards of fabric and I paid $30 total for it. So it wasn't dirt cheap but it was still a good deal.

Now the big question is what type of window treatment should I do? Curtains? Valances? I really have no idea.

What do you think would look best?

Tracy Aviary

2011-05-19T14:43:00.002-06:00

Thank you for all the supportive comments here and on Facebook! You guys are seriously the best. I'm out of my slump and feeling more upbeat about the whole food-allergy thing.

I wanted to post these pictures from when I took the kids to the Tracy Aviary a couple of weeks ago. We went with N's sister Miranda and my cousin Youngshin and her daughter who are visiting from Korea.

The highlight of the visit was feeding the conures. You can buy tickets ($3) and go right into the birds' cage and feed them apples from your hand.

E was very excited about the prospect of feeding the birds but, predictably, once we were inside it was a little much for him.

The aviary was doing a lot of construction when we were there in preparation for the summer crowds which was a bit of a hassle to deal with. But all of the exhibits were open and it was nice seeing the birds. Hand-feeding the conures was definitely my favorite part. If you want to feed the birds you need to purchase tickets at the front gate when you come in.

Speaking of Food Allergies...

2011-05-17T13:34:00.006-06:00

Even though E has tested negative for it up until now, it turns out that he is also allergic to shrimp. We found this out when we um, had shrimp for dinner last night. He threw up several times and got hives but after some Benadryl his reaction calmed down.

Finding out that he has another food allergy in addition to milk, eggs, peanuts, and nuts hit me kind of hard. Not because a shrimp allergy is especially difficult to manage (it's a cake walk compared to milk and eggs) but because it made me despair that E's food allergies are ever going to be getter. It seems like the odds of him outgrowing them are getting worse and worse.

I try to keep things in perspective--I'll take food allergies over the host of ailments other kids and families struggle with (bone cancer anyone?), but I have to admit that despite all that sometimes I get a bit discouraged.

Dinner at Takashi

2011-05-16T08:00:00.006-06:00

Right now I'm not eating dairy/eggs/nuts (on the advice of our doctor since I'm nursing Mimi and she's probably prone to food allergies) which meant that for our anniversary dinner a lot of cuisines were off the table, so to speak. We decided to try out Takashi up in Salt Lake and I'm so glad we did--it was AWESOME.

Left to right from top: pork belly with lotus root and purple sweet potato mash, wagyu beef nikumaki, clams with glass noodles in coconut curry, hamachi with jalapenos, the Imagine (tuna) and Spider (soft-shell crab) rolls, AND salmon tataki with some sort of citrus sauce that I would gladly bathe in. (Yeah, we went a little nuts.)

It was an excellent meal. No exaggeration, the wagyu nikumaki was one of the ten most delicious things I've eaten IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. The beef was super tender and intensely-flavored, not to mention perfectly grilled, and the thin slices of vegetables it was wrapped around were the perfect crunchy counterpoint. It's a good thing it came with six pieces because ten years of wedded bliss aside, I'm pretty sure the fight for the last roll could have gotten pretty ugly. But fortunately such crises were avoided and we had a fantastic meal.

If you find yourself in Salt Lake City and like Japanese food I wholeheartedly recommend Takashi. Price-wise it's more of a special-occasion place (at least for us) but it's definitely worth checking out if you get the chance.

Ten Years

2011-05-13T15:32:00.001-06:00

N and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary this week! When we were married we had known each other for almost three years and had been best friends/dated for two so we already knew each other well. I already knew that N was the best friend I had ever had and I thought that he would be a great husband and father. But I didn't know just how great of a husband and father he would be.

Not to say that we haven't had our share of disagreements (we have, especially during those first few years). But underneath all the stresses of life with kids, jobs, and a mortgage there's a friendship and love that deepens the joys and makes the disappointments easier to laugh about.

I don't know what the following years will bring but right now I'm happier with my life than I knew was possible. Things just keep getting better and better and I chalk most of it up to the marriage N and I have built together. The idea of being together with him forever makes me ridiculously happy.

Potty Time

2011-05-11T08:00:00.000-06:00

After several weeks of having E use the potty but still wearing diapers I bit the bullet yesterday and just put him in underwear. (We had three accidents.)

I hope today goes better.

On a more positive note, I took a couple of pictures with my Polaroid--using it is so much fun! I'll post them as soon as I scan them.