A Staycation and other Tidbits

My brothers and sister and their families decided to go to Florida on vacation this month. Because Jeremy just got a new job, we thought it best if we didn't go. So, my parents had the awesome idea of doing an overnight "staycation". They booked us hotel rooms in downtown Salt Lake. We had a great time, and Tyler loved spending all that time with Grandma and Grandpa! On Friday night we met in SL and went to The Gateway. We had dinner at a Brazilian restaurant that brings different kinds of meats to your table. Jeremy was literally in Hog Heaven! He hadn't eaten that much meat in a long, long time! We walked around the Gateway and Tyler got to throw pennies in the water fountain. The downside to that was that then he thought that he should get to go retrieve the pennies so he could throw them again. Needless to say, he was quite upset that he didn't get to go for a swim that day. Grandpa did buy him a blue sucker, which he loved (see pictures). The next day we went to the zoo. It couldn't have been nicer whether. Tyler's favorite part was the bird show and the big park. We had a really good time. After the zoo Tyler fell asleep and wasn't going to wake up for anything. So we went and saw the new Star Trek movie, which ended up being better than I had expected. We had a great time. Thanks mom and dad!!

In other news, we decided to go ahead and pour an extended driveway and new concrete steps this week. It's something that we really can't afford, but you have to do your part to stimulate the economy, right? So once we get some plants in, our front yard won't look too bad at all! I'll have to see if I hapen to have any before pictures and post pictures of afterward. A lot of elbow grease and a bucket full of money later, I hope you'll be able to see a difference! Then, it's on to the back yard I suppose. There's always something, right?

One last thing... So I decided in an effort to save money, I'd start cutting Tyler's hair. I decided, however, to do it without the appropriate cutting supplies. I used Jeremy's beard trimmer. It had an attachment for hair, but it was one that you could adjust to the different lengths. So I'm trimming away, and so far, so good. And then I go to do the top, and put it on the longest cut. Only the attachment slipped down to the lowest size as I was trimming, so it took a big chunk of his hair out! I decided to trim the rest with scissors and cut the rest of it longer in an effort to hide the chunk I took out. Oh, and then I put on another attachment, because it didn't adjust and it said "5" on it. Apparently it was a beard size 5, which is different from a hair size five, because I also put a little bald spot on the back of his head. Nice. From far away it looks really cute, but up close, it's embarrassing. So I guess I'm investing in some hair cutting tools that are more appropriate for the job. Did I mention in another post that Tyler's walking everywhere now too and is learning new words on a seemingly daily basis? Well, it's true, and he's so cute!

The following are pictures from our staycation:

XOXO,

Jeni

Motherhood: Lessons learned- Year One

So it's better late than never... I planned to do this post for mother's day. Maybe an honerable mention here should be that I've learned that nothing gets done when I think they will!! So without further ado, the top ten things I've learned from being a mother (year one).

1. Childbirth is WAY worse than you think it's going to be. BUT, it's amazing how quickly the pain goes away when it's done. I'm sure finally seeing your cute little bundle has a lot to do with that.

2. I've learned how much I could love a person. I think God gave mothers the ability to love this deeply, because no matter how many diapers you change or how many times you have to get up in the middle of the night, you still can't get enough hugs and kisses from that little person.

3. I've learned and was surprised by just how much my parents love me.

4. I'm able to survive with less sleep than I thought possible.

5. One word: Guilt. I didn't think it possible to have guilt over a little boy just over a year old, but I feel guilt over not knowing how to get him to eat, if I let him watch a movie so I can get something done in the house, that I don't have him involved in more activities with other children... I can go on here, but you get the idea...

6. The sillier, the better. Your kid can't get enough of your crazy dances, silly faces and made up songs. All adult reservations are thrown out the window.

7. There's nothing more fun than a mess. I remember when I brought Tyler to the park this spring. He wanted sit in the dirt and throw wood chips everywhere. At first I wasn't going to let him, afraid of the mess he was inevitably going to make (not to mention all the icky things lerking in the woodchip pile). And then I remembered that he was a kid. And being a kid, he needed to make a mess. I still have to remind myself of that when he wants to play in the mud puddle or squish applesauce in with his spaghetti.

8. Sometimes you're going to have to resort to bribery. I'll admit that I will sometimes carry a sucker in my purse, just in case we're at the store and I can see a melt down coming on. It's amazing what a little sugar will do.

9. You can spend all the money you want on the coolest toys, but sometimes the best toy is an empty peanut butter jar and a lid.

10. All parents think that their kid is the cutest, most brilliant and gifted kid ever. Of course, mine really is...

And finally I'll end with things that I've said that I never thought I would:

"Please don't lick that toilet plunger!"

"My kid doesn't like chocolate."

And

"Tyler, the doggy doesn't like it when you pet him there."

Ah Poop.

There comes a time when you have to take a moment to reflect on your life, where you've been, and how in the world you ever got into this mess. Such a moment happened to me this morning as I was scraping poop off of Tyler's crib slats this morning. That's right. A lesson learned: If your son wakes up in the morning and wines a little bit, followed by suspicious sounds and laughing, don't stay in bed hoping he'll go back to sleep for a half hour. Go in and check on him, because he may be smearing Poop Art (ha! My pun kills me!) all over his bed. I know that this happens to mothers all over the world, and I also know that those same mothers are proud to add another title to thier long resume- Poop Scraper. Ahh. For more of these and other mother lessons, tune in next time for a special Mother's Day edition of "Motherhood: Lessons learned". But for now, I'll move on to a less messy topic, Texas.

Jeremy's been training in Texas for the last few days. Therefore, I decided to fill my evenings with an episode or two of various scary shows and/or the thriller novel I'm currently reading about some serial killer who kills couples and dumps their bodies in the woods. This has inevitably lead to nights of staring up at the cieling and listening to every creek of the house or swish of the water heater. My imagination went wild with thoughts of somebody coming into my house and stealing us away, and then plans were made that involved the metal bat that's in our closet and swift blows to certain sensitive areas. It's good to be prepared. Needless to say, I'm glad that Jeremy's now home, if for nothing else but his bulging bicepts.

In other news, we're currently looking at refinancing our home to try to save a couple bucks every month. It's depressing to think about how much value our house has lost in this economy, and how cheaply people are buying houses for now. Sigh. I just can't think about that kind of thing, because you never really know what's going to happen to the housing market. What I do know is that trying to refinance is a pain, but hopefully in the end we'll save some money.

One last little thing I wanted to add. My twin brother Jeff and Jeremy's sister Melissa graduated from college last weekend! I just wanted to say congrats to them both!! It's been a long time coming for Jeff, but I'm proud of his stick-to-itiveness. Going to the graduation made me feel really super old. Because I remembered that I graduated from college 7 years ago. How did I ever get so OLD!? I don't know, but all I can say is, I make old look GOOD. Right? RIGHT?! ... -crickets chirping in the distance-...