I love...

Brothers with hot pink hair


the beauty and smell of lilac


Babies that smile


hydrangeas that grow back, especially when you left them for dead


skyping with Craig and Christina on Sunday afternoon's and stories about invading sewer rats

Frustration

Whatchoo lookin' at?, originally uploaded by bookemdano1978.

This mamma business is much harder than I was prepared for. Looking at the monkey's face, I'm sure it's hard to believe that he is hard to take care of, but trust me, he is. The little guy is too smart and alert for his own good. I read online the other day that 3 months old are still supposed to sleep for 16-18 hours a day. If that is the case, then why does mine only sleep, like 8? And what am I supposed to do with him all the hours during the day he is awake and demanding entertainment, enlightenment, and challenge? He must be talked too, cooed at, bounced, and played with at all times. If I don't have the right toy, he tells me. If I play the wrong song in the pod, he lets me know. I'm running out of energy and ideas. And sometimes I MUST use the bathroom! I must.

I love the monkey more than I ever thought possible. He makes me so tired though, that sometimes I might lose my mind. That's okay isn't it, the mind losing part? As long as I loose it only occasionally when there is another responsible adult around?

At least he sleeps through the night, right? And wakes up so happy we can hardly stand all his chubby, squishy-ness!

My mom told me the other day that I need to develop more patience. She's right, I do. But, Monkey needs to develop his ability to verbalize what he wants. In time, he will. Every day he looks like he is just going to talk to me. The day he does will be great. The thought I had yesterday was that, I need to develop my patience, but monkey is the most patient thing in the world. He has to wait for me to figure out what he wants. That sometimes takes hours, and days...he's the patient one.

I'm glad that he can teach me.

My spare time...

Photo contest anyone?

Okay, it's not really a contest, but I am so totally going to do this.

"D&D is a social experience as well as an imaginiative one"

Two years ago, Ross played fantasy baseball (If you say it like they used to say Fantasy Island, it's much more exciting) and 1) had too much fun and 2) angered the league for "quitting" in the playoffs and 3) got suspended for a year. This year he's back and to say that Fantasy Baseball is driving me crazy is an understatement.

After doing some research tonight on the official website, I've come to the conclusion that Fantasy Baseball is just Dungeons and Dragons in a uniform. I dare to go one step further than just making the claim, I made a chart. I dared to go to the website (www.wizards.com) that claims to be the official D&D website. The Fantasy Baseball knowledge has been gleaned from an obsessive sports fan husband. Read the chart and judge for yourself.

Fantasy Baseball, originally uploaded by bookemdano1978.

Chaotic, like Brittney and Kevin

office, originally uploaded by bookemdano1978.

This is week 6 of the work from home experiment. So far, it is working. I am confident that I get more accomplished in my 4 hours a day than I ever did in 8 hours at the office. For the most part, I am much more focused and content to sit down at work. Even though I'm home, the house stuff doesn't distract me and I can just work.

However, my work environment could use a little help. Not sure if you can tell anything about a person by the status of their office, but it definitely seems like my office space is telling a lot about how my life in general is treating me at the moment. Or, how I am treating my life might be more appropriate.

Though life is good, it feels a little bit out of control. Maybe that's because I don't feel good, or because Monkey never takes naps during the day, or because I feel like my mind is spiraling out of control. Whatever the reason, it's getting hard to work out of my piles of stuff and off of two computers. You see, my work computer sucketh and I only use it for e-mail. Not sure that I should have to do my work on my personal PC, but it's okay. I like the monitor and keyboard better anyway.

So, if all those shows like "clean sweep" and "clean house" are true, by cleaning up and organizing my office I can excise my demons and be free from mess, right? Okay. As soon as the IKEA opens, and the people who are camping out have gone home, I'll tackle the office. Until then, if you need me, I'm probably buried in her, somewhere.

I love...

I love... chocolate milk

I love... roast beast for dinner on Sundays

I love... babies that think they are superman and husbands who help take care of super babies

I love... that I get to sleep in until 6:30 or 7:00 every day instead of getting up at 5:15 to go to work

I love... this book:

Lovely

color, originally uploaded by bookemdano1978.

Among the many nice gifts Ross gave me for our anniversary, he gave me these. They are divine.

4 whole years

(Wedding Day, 2003)

Today is our wedding anniversary. What are we doing to celebrate? Nothing. We are going to eat breakfast for dinner (Ross bought a ham steak, how exciting!) and do the same thing we do every night...hang out in different rooms. Ross will watch Elliott while I work.

A little history...we first met each other on January 27, 2002 and Ross took me to his ice rink. It was a Sunday and my mom had not met him yet(neither had I, though I had seen him on tv) and was nervous about me going out on a Sunday with a strange boy. I think she told me to make sure he didn't kill me or something like that. He was at the time working for the SLC Olympics and managing the Peaks Ice Arena. We then went out with each other the next night, to the Utah/BYwoo game with my dad. I wasn't sure Ross was going to show up as I stood outside the Huntsman center, but he did. He was very quiet that game. He must have wanted to make a good impression, pretending not to be the Zoobie that we have all come to know and love.

So, in 4 years (technically 5), we don't seem to be too much worse for the wear. We have good jobs, a house, a baby, an extra 20-30 lbs each, and a pretty good life. We always seem to send up like Jerry Sienfeld on that one episolde of the show where he is always even steven.

I'm pretty sure we still like each other, dare I say we even love each other (most of the time anyway, right Ross?)

Happy Anniversary!
Love,
Annie

(March, 2007)

My name is Kelly, Kelly Green

kelly green, originally uploaded by bookemdano1978.

Once again, found a very brightly colored house in the neighborhood. The photograph just doesn't do it justice.

12 weeks = 3 months?

I'm never sure how to count the monkey's age, but he is officially 12 weeks old today, even though is "birthday" isn't until Monday, the 23rd.

Elliott is getting so big and strong. He can hold his head up really well and is turning into a very happy little guy. His hand eye coordination is getting better and he is finally starting to get a really good grasp onto things.

Elliott now loves his swing, loves laying on the floor and playing, loves going for walks in the stroller and being outside, and loves to play. He is happiest in the morning and his evening grumpies are starting to subside. In fact, the last 4 nights or so, he hasn't even screamed. Yeah.

He is sleeping through the night much better all thanks to food, in addition to his formula. We introduced him to applesauce last week and he loves the stuff. Cereal, he could do without but the sauce? We can really lay on the sauce. All Ross and I have to do is let him get a taste and then just hold the spoon in front of his mouth and he laps it up like a puppy...or a monkey.

I think that of all the things he is getting good at, his smiles are my most favorite. I am so happy that he doesn't wake up sad any more, but he wakes up smiley and happy. It makes the first few months of grouchiness worth it, just to see the little guy smile, and know that he is happy and content.

Now, we just need to work on talking. I've already got him saying, "mamamamamamam", but we need to move into more "real" words.

Click To Play

I love...

Makayla is always inspiring for me so I am going to copy her. Every week or so, she does this and after a crappy weekend, I figured I ought to start doing the same. Perhaps the positive energy will rub off on me. Makayla, thanks for blogging.

I love rocking my monkey in this chair...


I love these eyelashes...


I love the tulips in my yard...


I love these boys...

Skills

My cool college co-ed cousin (great alliteration) Lauren posted on her blog the other day about all her sweet skills. I found her list of life saving and life guarding skills inspirational. So inspirational, that I thought I'd list some of my skills.

• baby bouncing skills


• dinner cooking skills


• cookie baking skills


• bed making skills


• picture taking skills


• bottle holding skills


• poopy diaper changing skills


• flower planting skills


• book reading skills


• i-pod listening skills


• baby bathing skills


• whining skills


• being bossy skills


• eating chocolate skills


• working from home skills


• playing on the Internet skills


• checking blood sugar while holding a crying baby skills


• getting the mail while holding a crying baby skills


• blowing nose while holding a crying baby skills


• weed pulling skills


• stroller pushing skills


• leg bouncing skills (Ross thinks I have RLS)


• breathing skills


• fantasy baseball hating skills

What are some of your sweet skills?

Cookies!

Cookies are great. Peanut butter cookies, chocolate chip cookies, double chocolate chip cookies, black forest cookies, sugar cookies w/ homemade icing...all of these are great.

However, my favorite cookie of the moment is a cherry chocolate chip cookie.

They look like this:

And, they are super easy to make. If you are interested:
1 box cherry chip cake mix
1 egg
1 stick butter, melted
chocolate chips (milk chocolate are the best)

Dump the cake mix into a bowl. Add egg and melted butter, stir until combined. Throw in chocolate chips (as many as you want). Bake at 375 for 7 minutes. You want them to be sore of smushy when you take them out of the oven. Place on a rack to cool and then store. They'll last a week or more, but you'll probablly eat them in 1-2 days.

Typical Day

4:00 am: Feed Baby then go back to sleep (hopefully)
7:00 am: Get up with baby, feed baby, watch "Dawson's Creek", shower
8:00 am: Play with baby, give baby a bath making sure to get in between all his rolls of fat
9:00 am: Go outside and look at flowers, play with baby, wait for baby to get grumpy and tired
10:00 am: Feed baby and baby falls asleep. Watch "a baby story" on TV
10:30 am: Start working (grading online classes)
12:30 pm: Finish work, eat a fast lunch and wait for baby to wake up.
1:00 pm: Feed baby
2:00-4:30 pm: Play with baby, take baby for a walk, look at flowers, do some laundry, wait patiently for dad to come home.
5:00 pm: Our dad gets home and takes the baby from the mom and watches "King of the Hill" or baseball, or both.
5:30 pm: Mom fixes dinner and eats it by herself, usually standing up. Baby screaming at dad because he doesn't like evenings.
6:00 pm: Dad eats and gives screaming baby to mom. Give baby special colic drops to try and get him to stop screaming.
6:30 pm: Dad cleans up dinner dishes and mom rocks screaming baby to sleep, momentarily. We all go upstairs into the baby's room...the new family room. We watch "Seinfeld" and wait for the baby to wake up.
7:00 pm: A): Grumpy baby wakes up and gets excited because we take his clothes off and let him hang out in his diaper. B): Grumpy baby wakes up even grumpier and screams.
7:30 pm: Mom gets to work and dad takes care of baby with the undetermined temperment
8:00 pm: Put formerly grumpy now happy baby's pajamas on and feed him cereal. Watch baby eat cereal frantically. Dad and baby watch "CSI: Miami" while mom works.
8:30 pm: Feed baby what is left of his bottle that didn't get mixed into the cereal. Watch baby's eyes get heavy.
9:00 pm: Put "sleeping" baby in bed. See "sleeping baby's" eyes open wide as soon as his head hits the mattress because he decides he is no longer sleepy. Turn on mobile that plays Mozart, Beethoven, and Bach. Dad and baby watch "CSI: Miami" again while mom keeps working.
9:30 pm: Mom done working, ready to help with baby, or get ready for bed herself.
10:00 pm: Still waiting for "sleepy baby" to fall asleep. Restart mobile. Trying to teach baby to sleep on his own.
10:30 pm: Still waiting...
11:00 pm: Decide to feed sleeping baby again. He can't finish his bottle because he is so sleepy, but this time, he stays asleep when his head hits the mattress.
11:15 pm: Go to bed. Wait for cycle to start all over again.

Baby Kryptonite

Maybe we should have named him Kal-el (superman reference, get it?) because after a week of trial and error and a lot of screaming, the monkey baby has discovered his kryptonite. We feed Elliott his cereal around 8 pm every night and the last three nights he's actually decided that eating it isn't half bad. Maybe it's because he's hungry or maybe it's because of the pinch of sugar I add (mom told me to) that makes it go down a little more smoothly. Regardless of the reason, Elliott has decided that cereal is A-Okay. Mom and Dad like it to. Cereal makes the baby sleep...FOR HOURS AT A TIME! Elliot can now make it, at night, 6-7 hours with out waking up and begging for food. It's such a great thing.

Thank you cereal. Thank you.

Spring has sprung!

Spring time is here. The weather is getting warmer, the flowers are starting to bloom, and there is a sense of happiness floating through the air. The blahs of winter are behind us. No more snow, just lovely rainstorms. No more grey, but bright and beautiful colors. No more getting stuck indoors all the time but evening walks and daily trips to grandma's swimming pool. Oh yes, the good weather is here.

To commemorate, a picture from my flower bed just the other day.

10 weeks

Elliott is 10 weeks old today. This morning I got to thinking that at this point, maybe the weekly update isn't necessary. Perhaps we'll make a move to bi-weekly or monthly. Does anyone out there care?

Anywhoo, in the last week, the little guy seems to be developing an even greater sense of his personality. We had a fun weekend with him and I think Ross said 10 times or so either 1) He is so big, or 2) He is so funny. I agree with both statements. He is huge and completely entertaining and amusing.

Last night Elliott slept from 9 pm to 4 am. Yes! That was a 7 hour stretch. Good job baby!

We've tried cereal for the last week but the monkey hates it. We're guessing he has texture issues like his mom and that cereal is just too slow. As his Grandma Petersen says, Elliott is just too serious and concerned about food to be bothered with cereal. She's probably right.

Elliott is getting very good at holding up his own head and has to face out. I think that the cuddly baby days are fast leaving us for a kid that has to see everything the world has to offer without any interruptions. Any bets on when he starts talking, walking, and telling us what to do?

Purely Random

Ross and I opened a savings account for Elliott this weekend. For it's initial finding, we cashed out some of my savings bonds. This gave the little monkey a good start. The oldest bond I had was purchased for me by my Great Grandpa the year I was born, 1978.

This bond got Elliott the most cash. Thank you Grandpa.

As we were finishing up at the credit union on Saturday, a stereotypical dumb cowboy kid carrying a Sobe iced-tea walked in with three other people. The available teller said, "may I help you?" and the moron responded, "I just bought me a new 4-wheeler and I gotta get the check for it wroten out." Wroten? Only in Utah.

On Friday afternoon, Elliott and I went to watch Uncle Willie play basketball at school. I've posted pictures of Willie's "hugeness" before, but this one is rather stunning. He is such a big kid. A nice, soft, cuddly, happy, smart big kid, but a big'un nonetheless.

I would say the kid he is guarding in this pic is an "average" 6th grader. Go figure.