Ashley

When Ashley is hungry she is usually very patient with me and generally will only deeply cry as a last resort. I can always tell when she is hungry because when I walk by her and she sees me, she will burst out in this desperate laugh. Laugh, laugh, laugh, laugh, laugh. And then if I keep going and she doesn't see me anymore, the laughter will sound a little more pained but then she will stop.

It is pretty endearing. Everett never did that. When he wanted to eat, he had to eat, and he had to eat immediately and on his own terms. But I don't think that comes as a surprise to anyone. Matter of fact, he is still like that, only with a lot more hitting and an insane amount of yelling and throwing things.

Today I heard some strange sounds in the bathroom so I went to investigate. When I rounded the hall corner, I looked through the open doorway and saw Everett with his head down into the toilet bowl and his hands grasping the sides.

Fearing the worst--and having unpleasant images of him lapping up the water like a puppy--I rushed over to see what he was really doing.

I have stressed over and over again that we do NOT touch the toilet water. We're still working on the bowl, but I take what I can get these days. (Oh, uh, by "we" I really mean just Everett. So please spare yourself concern for Joel's well-being.)

However, Everett, being the compliant boy that he is (hah), was not touching the water. What then, was he doing?

He was blowing as hard as he possibly could and gleefully watching the resulting ripples.

...and there I was, left wondering not why was he doing this, but how in the world did he figure out that this was a possibility?

I'm confess, I'm still stumped.

Joy

On Sunday in Relief Society we were talking about having joy in your little children. At least, it was mentioned a little. I was out feeding Ashley for the majority of the lesson.

But, it got me thinking. Am I finding enough joy in the state of life I'm in, or am I wishing too much for the days that are not yet here? It is easy to wish my children are older so they can do this or that, but am I finding enough joy in the stages that they are in? I feel like I do have joy for the little people that they are now, not just who they will be, but it is harder to find joy in the day-to-day tasks that accompany mothering small children (even though I only have two).

So I want to ask all of you, whether you have children or not: What do you do (or what would you do) to find joy in your days? What kinds of things help you to remember to have joy, and how do you capture that feeling and hang onto it? What advice would you give other mothers who feel they need to work on having more joy?

Requisite Halloween Pictures

I know it isn't Halloween yet, but since my ward had their Trunk or Treat last night and my kids are too little to go trick-or-treating, I thought I'd better take a picture while the kids were dressed.

Everett was the frog (prince, but you can't really tell), and Ashley was the princess. My sister Maddy came and was the evil fairy who turned the prince into the frog. I was all set to wear a "lady in waiting" sign, but it was pouring while we were setting everything up at the church for the event and the tape wouldn't stick to my wet shirt. This just means that Joel is lucky because I would have made him wear a "lady in waiting's boyfriend" sign, or something silly like that. Really, though, he would have refused and I would have given up so I guess my whole point is moot.


We can never get a good picture of everyone at once. I don't know how people do it with more kids than two. I don't need to post all of these since they're practically the same, but I'm going to anyway.



(Joel was trying to show Everett how to smile in this one. See how well it worked?)



I think the Trunk-or-Treat went well, all things considered. Since it was raining we had to fit our whole ward (sugar-laden children included) in our small building and use only half of our already half-sized gym for everyone to eat in. It was a little tough, but we have a good committee and we had a lot of needed help getting it done. The only really tricky part for me was working the while also juggling a hungry baby...but thankfully a wonderful woman in my ward volunteered to step in for me. My ward is wonderful that way. People are so good about seeing a need and jumping in and helping, even if it isn't their "job." And I was really happy that I didn't have to take home all the centerpieces. It was enough that they had been living on my kitchen table; I didn't need them in my house any more. I think some people took them home but if the majority went in the trash, I won't mind. It's better than trying to figure out what to do with them.

Crazy Eights

I was tagged by my dear friend Natalie, so here I go!

8 Favorite TV shows:
1: Supernanny
2: Monk
3: Eli Stone
4: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
5: Project Runway (I just love seeing their creative process)
6: The Cosby Show
7: Pushing Daisies
8: Any HGTV show

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1: Baja Fresh
2: Zupas (unfortunately not out here)
3: PF Chang's
4: Etete (ok, never been, but it sounds amazing)
5: Anything Indian
6: Any good sushi
7: Kneader's (or any similar place)
8: Anywhere I don't have to cook

8 things that happened yesterday
1: Woke Up
2: Went fall leaf hunting with Everett
3: Fed Ashley
4: Had copies made
5: Went to Walmart
6: Began centerpieces for our ward's Trunk-or-Treat
7: Read too many blogs
8: I was astounded at the amount of carrots Everett gobbled up for dinner.

8 things to look forward to
1: Everett's birthday
2: Thanksgiving
3: Christmas
4: When busy season for Joel will be over for a while
5: My Anniversary (hint, hint to Joel)
6: Joel going to grad school--wait. Being done with Grad school.
7: Getting a house with an actual back yard.
8: Going on a mission with Joel since he scooped me up before I could go by myself.

8 things I love about fall
1: Sweaters!
2: The leafy smells
3: The crisp air
4: Soup and hot chocolate (and homemade bread)
5: The colors changing
6: Preparing for the holidays that are coming up
7: Everett actually talking? (this year) We'll see.
8: General Conference

8 things on my wish list:
1: To be financially worry-free (ha, like that is ever going to happen)
2: For Everett to skip the terrible two's and not yell so much (see above statement)
3: To be smart enough to make Everett's birthday present the way I envision it.
4: A van that magically runs without gas
5: No stretch marks (yeah....)
6: A house that stays clean all the time with no effort.
7: That TV will start to get cleaner, not more vulgar
8: To not have so many impossible wishes

8 people I'm tagging
Mmmm. I don't mind being tagged at all, but I don't like picking and choosing. If this sounds fun, consider yourself tagged!

Washable...

We discovered something a few weeks ago that makes bath time more fun. Ever heard of bathtub crayons? I have, and all I know about them is that they are relatively expensive and that they have gotten some poor reviews (too runny, stains the water, etc.).

I had on hand some washable crayons and Everett sneaked them into the tub one night. I came in and he had drawn on the tub walls, but to my amazement the crayon came off so easily you could almost just splash water to remove the marks. A wet washcloth removed every trace of crayon with no scrubbing, just a gentle wiping.

The colors were bright and colorful and didn't do any damage. The best part was that we had a lot of color options, rather than a pack of a few colors like we'd get with the actual bath crayons. We'll definitely have to use them again. Maybe this will start a new "recreational bath" phase of our lives.

(Even without the bath consideration, this is the only kind of crayon I will ever buy. They wipe off of everything, even walls. No scrubbing! Even a baby wipe takes it off everything.)

Dear Hair,

This is just a quick note to say that I appreciate you. I especially appreciate you when I am pregnant and you flow strongly and securely from my scalp. Then again, I appreciate you anytime you are flowing from my scalp, as long as you are properly conditioned. (Yes, I do know that last matter is completely my responsibility.) I do try to make it a point to ensure your proper care.

Which brings me to my main point: Why do you insist on leaving me en masse? I am having a harder time appreciating you lately, given that any time I try to fix you up you leave the bathroom floor looking like I haven't swept it for twelve years. I also find hundreds of you in my bathtub, wound around my children's stuffed animals and threaded through my washed laundry. Plus, it has taken my every effort to keep you out of our dinners. I understand that it was the pregnancy hormones that kept you sticking around so well, but I am not so unappealing without them, am I? I must be; this is the only reason I can think of to explain a departure of such magnitude.

All I would like is to resolve this matter. If I pledge to keep you clean and cared for, will you kindly discontinue your roving ways?

Sincerely,
The person beneath the scalp

75 dollars' worth of groceries in 2008

(included is a package of diapers, our main money-sucker. I am glad I took this picture because afterward I realized I left another bag in the car)

We usually try to operate on a very strict grocery budget. This is somewhat tough given that in the category "groceries" we include all household items, such as diapers, cleaners, and personal hygiene items.

I think I am going to start looking into using vinegar and baking soda for cleaning substitutions. For one thing, they are "green," so I don't have to worry about a lot of chemicals, but for another, vinegar is very cheap. Once it dries it isn't supposed to smell anymore. I haven't tried it yet, but here is an interesting article. Did you know you can use vinegar to keep colors from running in the wash? And that if you boil a bowl of vinegar in the microwave it will remove smells and soften stains and food particles?

The more I read about vinegar, the more I am curious about trying it for more things. Apparently it makes a good shampoo, but I don't know if I am curious enough to try that yet. Maybe I will if my kids ever come home with lice.

I might be in danger of becoming...

The neighborhood bag lady.

Why, you ask? Well, aside from the fact that I often let Everett run around with a messy face and dirty clothes, I happened upon a fantastic find--in a rather unusual place.

It was a beautiful playgym, complete with fabrics of different textures, floppy animal ears and flowers, crinkly sounds, and a battery-operated music player that is activated by a few key touch pads underneath the fabric. It was in pristine condition, and when I saw it I immediately wondered why anyone would throw it out.

Throw it out, you say?

Well, yes. Someone in my building had (ahem) discarded this lovely item alongside the trash, which had all been kindly deposited on the curbside for early morning pick-up.

(please notice that I did say "alongside", rather than "amongst" or "heaped with moldy banana peels and left to fester and rot.")

Uhm, before I go any farther, I feel the need to clarify something: we have a "trash room" in our building. This consists of a cement room (with very clean floors) and a few well-kept trash cans. The baby item was presumably laid against a wall in that room and taken out with the rest of the trash, as is customary, or I would have found it bagged with the regular trash. Or wait. I wouldn't have found it at all. Please erase the image of me dumpster-diving for a few teething rattles from your mind. Thank you for your consideration on this matter.

Fortunately, after a good washing (did I mention that it was a very good washing? unnecessarily thorough, even?), I felt comfortable letting Ashley play on it. And play she did. She just loved grabbing at the toys dangling above her (no toys came with it, so we used some of our own), and immediately wowed us all with her mad reaching and rolling skills. Well, actually, I don't know if Everett was so very wowed, but I liked seeing her enjoy it so much.

Funny thing is, when I called Joel to tell him about my "amazing find," all I had to do was say sheepishly: "So, guess what I did."

Joel (who had seen the playgym out there on the way to work) immediately responded in horror: "....you didn't...."

Well, yes. I did. And someday when Ashley is old enough to talk, I'm sure she'll thank me profusely for saving her favorite toy from utter putrescent destruction. I'm just sure of it.

Fishing and the Zoo

On Thursday I had the great opportunity of going fly fishing with my Dad, my brother, and Joel. I was very excited to go and we ended up having a lot of fun, even though the only things people caught were sticks, leaves, and rocks.

I was hoping we could get pictures of us holding our catches of the day, but we were only able to get a picture of me with the catch of my life. (Joel, I know your eyes are rolling at that one.)

And then, at the end of the day when I was walking upriver toward my Dad, my eyes detected some movement by my feet. I looked down into the shallow rock-bottomed water and what did I see? A snake. Yes, that's right. In a Maryland river. A river I thought would be too cold for snakes or I would have been trying to keep the heebie-jeebies at bay during our whole fishing trip.

I figured it was just a little river snake, and so when I got home I checked a few varieties of MD snakes to see what would match. It seems I am probably right, but it could also have been a milk snake.

(northern river snake)

Doesn't this picture give you the creeps? I know snakes serve a noble purpose and all, keeping the rodent population at bay, but come on. Couldn't they be at least a little, I don't know, warm and furry, and maybe have cute faces or something?

Even though we only fished for a short time after my discovery, the only thing going through my mind was, "Snake! SNAKE! Snake!", like a trumpeter's blaring warning.

AND THEN, on Saturday, we all went down to the National Zoo.

I have to say, it was a bit of a disappointment. It was fine; rather ordinary, as zoos go, if you ignore that many of the animals were no-shows. It certainly isn't the worst zoo in the nation. Probably. But I was expecting more from a place that touts itself as the National Zoo. If it was the DC zoo, or the Somewhere-Near-Maryland-Zoo, that would be entirely different. I suppose I just figured that this particular zoo, being so named, would have done more to be more impressive. The zoo we went to last summer in Omaha was by far (by FAR!) more impressive.

Even so, we did have a little fun. Ashley was a dream through the whole trip of course, since she was content in the snugli. Everett had fun seeing the animals. And since we didn't park (15-20 dollars), we only paid the metro fees.

I don't know if Everett is looking at an animal or at one of his family members, but he is intent on whatever it is.

Doesn't Ashley look so cute in this picture? Hah. That's one thing about the snugli--you can never see her in the pictures. Fortunately we usually have more than enough (as evidenced by one of my recent blog posts).

Here we are, walking. Betcha didn't know we could do that, did you?

Oh, I forgot to mention that Everett didn't have any fun with his relatives.

The Pandas were the best animals we saw because they were rolling around and gnawing on each other.

Diaper Duty, etc.

One of the best things in the world is watching a father change his child's diaper, especially when that father is Joel and the child is one of mine. Maybe this has something to do with the fact that it means I am not the one getting my hands dirty, but I know it is actually much more than that. It is the reflexive satisfaction of seeing a grown man bend to a child's level and perform a task that is somewhat delicate and generally more than unpleasant. It is watching his hands, large and gallant, soothe sore bottoms reassuringly. And, it is listening to the sure, familiar voice discuss the goings on of the day--about the doggies we'll all see, the balls we'll kick, and the pine cones we'll gather.

But most of all, it is seeing the father's affectionate gaze reflected in the iridescent love of the child's complete and utter adoration.

Now that is something I'll never get tired of seeing.

...and then, I'll be roused from my dreaminess by a thrown spoon, crayon on the wall, or a tearful tantrum. So I'll tuck my perfect little dreamy jewels away for those moments I feel like throwing my own tantrum, and they'll remind me that while motherhood is its own spine-tingling roller coaster, the ups are always there to outshine the downs--if I only remember where to look.

Everett and I went grocery shopping at a different store today. Usually we pick between Safeway, Giant, Shoppers, and Trader Joe's based on what the dinner menu consists of and what items are on sale at each store.

A few months ago Joel and I (and the kids) happened upon a grocery store I had never seen or heard of before. It is called Fresh World and it lauds itself as an intenational market. Today I decided to go check it out.

I was not disappointed. Bananas were 39 cents a pound (bananas are cheap anyway, but it just shows the price difference with just about everything). They had all sorts of produce, more than half of which I had never seen before. They had aisles and aisles of foods that were for all sorts of international cuisines. I walked around and often didn't know what I was looking at because everything was in another language.

They also have an "American" section with familiar items and brands, all for pretty good prices. However, some of the best deals to be found are in the international items. For instance, I found a huge bottle of (mexican?) vanilla for about three dollars. By "huge", I mean the size you get at costco for 11 dollars--if that is still the price. The vanilla in the American section ranged from 5-8 dollars for tiny bottles.

The best part for Everett was walking past the fish tanks where he was transfixed by live eels, crabs, lobsters, and all sorts of fish. Once I showed those to him I had a hard time getting him to be satisfied looking at the shelved items.

It was a fun shopping trip and it makes me want to try out a whole bunch of authentic international recipes. If anyone has a good one, let me know.

If you want more information about this grocery store, look here. We'll definitely be repeat customers.

Ashley

I am going to indulge myself and post a bunch of pictures of Ashley we took this afternoon, since she is just over three months old now. We were giving her tummy time, which is why you see her on her back in a couple of the shots. She is not always the biggest fan of tummy time so when she remembers she can roll over, well, over she goes.

I was trying to get some good smiles. We'll just have to settle for pleasant looks (or blurry images). I know this isn't that interesting, so just scroll really fast. Maybe it will look like a flipbook.

Notice the drool. Forces of gravity, what can I say.

...And here are some pictures from when she was first born and then one month old. Think she's changed much? She has quite a bit, but not as much as I expected.

Oh, sigh. The time sure flies. Joel was saying the other night that he remembers the first three months with Everett much more clearly than he does with Ashley. Maybe this just means I need to make him do more baby work around here...