Paper Chickens

After we got back from our usual Saturday grocery shopping, Kallie informed us that she wanted to make paper chickens. I had NO idea what she was talking about, but told her that we'd discuss it later. Well, skip to later...I was taking a nap and Ryan was cleaning the house when Kallie asked again. Ryan, being the amazing father (and husband!) that he is, took Kallie over to the "useful box" and pulled out the requested items: paper, cotton balls (pom-poms), and glue. He handed her the items and she was off and running while he kept cleaning. When I woke up, I came out to a clean house, a very happy 3-year old, and paper chickens. Here are the results of her project, (which you can plainly see ARE paper chickens):
Ryan amazes me. I, being a graduate of Family Science, often feel that I must have some sort of goal in mind with these projects. They must be educational and they must have a recognizable result. And, to avoid too much of a mess on Kallie and her surroundings, I try to keep some kind of control over the situation. But, Ryan didn't worry about all of that that--he just let her use what she wanted from our supplies, (collected for this exact purpose), and let her go. Ryan often tells me that I'm "the brains behind this operation," especially in relation to the kids. But, it often seems my education gets in the way--and his "wingin' it" turns out much better than my applied theories. What a great example from my husband of how to be a fabulous parent!

Another installment of Kallie-isms!

I have quite a few of these lately. Either Kallie has been pretty funny the past week or so, or I just haven't been paying attention until then. Here we go...

Thursday, during our Pioneer Day celebration at my Gramma's house, we had a little BBQ. My aunt brought corn on the cob. And, since this is one of Kallie's favorite foods, she couldn't wait to have some. She proudly carried it on her plate and told me, "Mom! I got corn on the bob!" Which, of course, made me laugh. Then, Saturday night, we made some more corn--which this time, was Bobcorn. I'm not sure if it was a combination of corn on the bob and popcorn...or if she was inspired by the VeggieTales movie we were watching...

This morning, Kallie was sitting at the table eating the banana and peanut butter she had requested for breakfast, when she announced she needed to go potty. (What is it about sitting down at the table that makes a 3-year old have to go potty?) Knowing how much Whitney likes bananas, Kallie told her, "Whitney, don't touch my banana while I'm going potty!" She then hopped out of her chair and said, "Mom, I told Whitney not to touch my banana and she was like, 'WHAT'?" LOL! Obviously, I must talk like a valley girl from time to time--where else would she learn that?

Later today, Kallie decided she was going to play airplane. So, she set up her seat, put on her pretend seatbelt, and then realized she'd forgotten to pack a suitcase. I retrieved her ladybug backpack and then heard Kallie whining and complaining a few minutes later. When I asked what the problem was, she said, "MOM! I have too much elephant in my backpack!" (We have a sand-filled elephant from Seattle--and it's pretty heavy.) Her comment seemed rather out of place and definitely funny.

The Tub is NOT a Potty

Over the past few weeks, Whitney has developed a pretty bad habit. It seems almost every time we put her in the tub, she decides to add her own special touch to the bath water. Today was no different. I saw the familiar floatie in the tub and pulled the girls out. While they stood dripping and freezing on the bath mat, I grabbed an old Cool Whip dish and scooped out the offender. As the tub drained, I pulled out all the toys and tossed them into the sink, which I had filled with bleach water. I was sure glad I'd only put half of the bath toys in the tub tonight!

While all this was going on, the girls escaped into the family room for a few minutes--which was fine with me because I still had to clean the tub and couldn't fully appreciate their little helping hands at the moment. I sprayed it down with cleaner, looked out into the family room, and noticed that Whitney was sitting on something while she played with toys. It took a few seconds to register that she had just finished what she started in the tub. Since I was working on the bathroom, Ryan hurried to whisk Whitney away from the second potty disaster of the day. Unfortunately, he didn't reach her before she decided to move around a bit...I'll leave the rest of that description up to your parent-inspired imagination. At this point, both Ryan and I were laughing at the situation. (Thank goodness we'd had a relaxing day...otherwise, I may have been crying!)

By the time he got her cleaned up, I had finished cleaning the tub, so I got the girls back in and scrubbed them down. It gave Ryan just enough time to finish cleaning the carpet before we jammied them and got them into bed for the night. At the end of it all, I have three thoughts:
1. I'm sure grateful BYU cleans our carpets three times each year!
2. How great that the afore mentioned carpet cleaners are scheduled to come this week.
3. How in the world do you teach a 19-month old that the bathtub is not a potty? (And neither is the family room, for that matter!)

Pioneer Day

Pioneer Day is a great holiday--especially when you're at BYU--and one reason I love living in Utah. Ryan got the day off and then since the next day was Friday, he took that one off as well. So, we've had pretty much 3 Saturdays in a row, which has been a great opportunity to get a few projects crossed off our list.

Thursday morning, we headed over to our storage unit bright and early. I went through bins of baby clothes and emptied out those I don't like or we're not going to use anymore. Ryan went through other boxes to make sure we knew what was in them and cleaned out a few things we're not using anymore. We went through our camping supplies and got rid of duplicate items. We actually didn't get rid off too much, but it was enough to shrink down our piles of stuff. And, the reorganization effort made a huge difference. At least I feel ready to pack the stuff onto a moving truck in a few months and know it's not just junk we're transporting from place to place.

Thursday, we also finally installed our air conditioner. I was holding off on doing this because I hate not being able to open my front window and let the breeze in. Plus, our window looked so ghetto last year that I was not looking forward to having it look that way again. This year, however, we found transparent duct tape, (who knew it existed?), and Ryan managed to fit all the weather stripping in so it can hardly be seen. It looks 1000 times better than last year! (Definite props to my amazing husband!)

Friday, Ryan took Kallie out early to wash the car. (This is another bonus of living in Wymount--a free carwashing area, complete with hoses and vacuums.) As soon as they got back, we headed over to Seven Peaks, (waterpark), to break in our season passes. Kallie and Whitney LOVED playing in the water. Kallie really enjoyed the mini waterslides and Whitney enjoyed kicking back on her floatie ring in the wave pool. It was a great time! (Well, except for my sunburned head. I remembered to put sunscreen on the parts in the girls' hair, but not my own!) We completely wore them out and they took great naps as soon as we got home.

Today has been full of our normal Saturday activities...well, mostly. After taking a load to DI, we headed over to the grocery store where there was a Country Fair themed activity. Kallie and Whitney went to the petting zoo for a few minutes before we went in to the store. (Don't worry--we sanitized them before we picked up the groceries!) In a little while, we'll be heading over to our ward "Water Party" and then we plan to have a nice, relaxing evening before the craziness of Sunday hits.

Spoiled

Those of you who are long-time readers may remember my laundry posts from last summer. Those of you who are not long-time readers will appreciate being spared from reading those complaints...but unfortunately, you will not be spared from this one. (Unless, of course, you stop reading right about now.)

During the two weeks we were in Seattle, we did laundry twice. And, WOW, what a great experience it was both times! I hauled our laundry bag downstairs, separated it into three piles, and got it all done without leaving the house once. I got it all folded that night and--badda-boom, badda-bing--the laundry was DONE! Seriously, I didn't even mind doing the laundry.

Then we came home and I realized how spoiled I was actually having a washer and dryer in the house! Once again, it's back to production-style laundry. Hauling 5 bags of laundry out to the car, driving them to the laundry building, (which is better than walking it all over), unloading all five bags into washers, and then coming home. 30 minutes later, I head out to change loads which includes cleaning other people's lint out of the dryers and carting 5-6 loads of laundry across the building. After the dryers' 40 minutes are up, I'm back once again to shove hot laundry into a big bag and a laundry basket to haul it all home again. If I'm lucky, I have enough desire and energy to fold it that night...otherwise it waits for at least a day before I even feel like touching it again. I dread even starting the process because it's such a hassle.

I'm telling you--if I never see another commercial washer or dryer after we move out, I will not be in the least bit sad. I just REALLY look forward to the day that I have a washer and dryer in my home once again! (And, for all those of you who are lucky enough to have them...give them a huge hug and tell them how much you appreciate them!) :)

562 Pictures Later...

Well, I downloaded half of our Seattle pictures and then the camera battery died. I'm also going to have to sort through ALL of the pictures, which could really take a while. So, the rest of Seattle will just have to wait a little longer.

Scenes from the Life of a Mommy

I still need to finish blogging about our Seattle trip...but I want to wait until I download the pictures before I do that. So, instead, I've posted the four previous posts which are scenes from my recent life. I was going to put them all in one post, but it was a super long post--so I broke them down into smaller chunks.

Girly Girl

Whitney has been quite the talker for a LONG time now--but it has just been during the past couple of months that she has really started putting the sounds together to form words. I've tried to teach her useful words...eat, milk, more, crackers...and she has most of those down now. But, she has picked up a few words of her own choosing: shoes and hair.

I've mentioned Whitney's obsession with shoes before--and it's only getting worse. While we were in Seattle, I bought a pair of silver glittery shoes for each of the girls. (They were $2 at Children's Place--couldn't pass it up.) When Whitney saw Kallie's, she ran away with them and wouldn't give them back. And, quite often the first thing out of Whitney's mouth when I get her up in the morning is, "Shoes!!"

As for the hair, Whitney LOVES to have me do her hair. When I announce it's time for the girls to have their hair done, Whitney is first in line. She BEGS for barrettes, hair bands, and bows to be put into her hair. When she finds an errant hair accessory, she will come find me, hold the accessory to the top of her head and say, "Mama! Hair!" (She is sometimes so serious about having her hair done that she will fuss until I do something about it.) The only problem is that every time I do her hair, she pulls out the hairband, bow, and/or barrette within 3 minutes. Often, she asks me to put it back in, but I have learned not to fight this losing battle and I end up hiding whatever she pulled out.

Whitney is such a fun kid--and she cracks me up with the girly things she does each day. I can't wait to see what she comes up with when she's a little older!

A Clue! A Clue!

Kallie has developed a recent obsession for appreciation of Blue's Clues, which was reinforced with free On Demand episodes at Nana and Papa's house. (And, since Cougar Cable doesn't offer any channels which show Blue's Clues, we have to settle for videos from the library.) Yesterday, as Kallie was eating a pouch of fruit snacks, she pulled out a strawberry snack and said, "Look mom! A clue!" Sure enough, there were some misformed dents on the jelly strawberry that looked just like Blue's paw print. Hmmm...maybe Blue was telling us to watch out for Red Dye #2 and corn syrup...

Diving Lessons

Whitney has entered the climbing phase of toddler-hood. While Kallie did a little climbing, she was not nearly as interesting in conquering high places as Whitney is. So, of course, the kitchen table has become Whitney's challenge of choice. Every moment I take my eyes off her, she's pulling chairs out from the table to make it possible for her ascent. Yesterday, I heard a chair move and then a WHUMP and Whitney crying. Yes--she fell off the table onto the lovely linoleum covered cement floor. It knocked the air out of her, but she was otherwise unhurt. I was amazed! (And incredibly grateful.) But, apparently, there were no lessons learned after taking the dive because within a few minutes, she tried to climb on the table again. We now have a rather strange chair arrangement while we're not eating--two chairs upside down on top of the table, and two chairs accessorized with strapped on booster seats laying on the floor under the table.

Talking Potty

Living in Wymount brings some interesting living situations--one of which includes our toilet. Several times a day, the toilet will run for a minute or so for no good reason. At first, it was puzzling to me, but now, I don't even notice when it happens. A few months ago, when Kallie was having serious issues with putting her #2's in the potty, she realized the random and sporadic noise that the toilet makes. When she asked me was it was, I told her it was the potty asking for her poops. Fast forward to a few days ago...Kallie was sitting on the potty before bedtime and it spontaneously started running. Kallie looked at me and said, "Mom! It's asking for my poops!" And, then she was stressed about not having any available to deposit. I assured her it was OK. It really made me laugh, though, that an off-hand comment from an exasperated mother turned into a point of concern for my 3-year old!

The Results...

He passed! Ryan said it's always a good sign when the members on your committee are coming up with pricing plans and marketing ideas for your project. Now, if we could just get future employers to be at least as excited, we'd be set!

The Big Day

Tomorrow, Ryan is proposing his thesis! While we were in Seattle, (got home yesterday night around 9), he sent many e-mails and made many phone calls to try to schedule this event. In spite of all the work, it was looking like he was going to have to wait until August because of the committee members' schedules. But, at literally the last moment, everything miraculously fell into place and tomorrow it will finally happen!

I have to admit that I have enjoyed Ryan's grad school schedule, even though it's been tough on the finances. But, he's available for his family much more than when he was going to school full-time and working part-time and when he was working full-time and going to school part-time. There are still times of busy-ness, but it's been a nice balance for the past year or so.

I just have to keep my patience at the forefront for now. I am getting so excited to move on to a new place and a new phase of life. I feel like I've been doing this college thing for 12 years now! While we were in Seattle, we (mostly I) kept talking about how 6 months from now, we could be living there, (I'm really crossing my fingers!). I know that I will miss the current phase of life once it's gone, but I can't help feeling a little trunky now that I see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Across the Sound

Earlier this week, while we were with Ryan's brother's family, we did some fun things.

First of all, (and this is probably only interesting to me...), we traveled about 30 min. northwest of Bremerton to the Chimacum Valley to see the setting of "The Egg and I," an autobiographical book by Betty MacDonald about living on an egg farm. I read the book several months again and wanted to see the area she described in the books. So, it was very enjoyable for me to see where this book actually took place. (R.M., if you read this before I get home, I took a few pics to show you!)

That same day in the afternoon, we took the kids to Harborview Park next to the ferry terminal in Bremerton. There are 5 huge copper fountains surrounded by wading pools for the kids to play in. (I have pics, but the camera cord is at home...so those will come later.) Whitney really enjoyed herself and Kallie did too, with the exception of the periodic eruptions of water from the top of the fountains.

The next morning, we got ready to head back across the Sound. We caught the ferry, which has become a once-a-trip event for us. Riding the ferry every day for work could get a little old, but I love it every time! It's so fun to stand out on the deck, feel the wind blowing on your face, and see the gorgeous Washington surroundings. And--there's quite a view of the Seattle skyline as you come into port. The girls also had a great time on the ferry.

Once we were in Seattle, we headed off to Pike's Place. It's such a fun market! I wanted to pick up some more olive oil from Sotto Voce and we also wanted to get some amazing cheesecake from The Confectional. I suppose to offset the cheesecake, we bought a few pounds of fresh cherries and peaches from the farmer's market area. I love shopping at Pikes! And, the best part was that we managed to actually find the freeway entrance to get us out of Seattle this time. :)

We were planning to head out and pick strawberries this morning, but woke up at 5 a.m. to thunder, lightning, and pouring rain. So, that's out for today. Guess we'll have to find something else to do before we head out for Ocean Shores. (And, cross our fingers that there's better weather at the beach!)

Take me back...

One pump and the smooth, clear gel slides smoothly into my hand. The scent wafts up and I smell 21. I smell a cheap, brown laminate counter. A sink in the bedroom instead of the bathroom. Not the usual set up, but it works well for 4 college co-eds living in a small, cheap apartment. I smell my Ever After soundtrack filling the room. The music fills the empty places inside me. I smell the miracle of cinder blocks, strategically placed under the four legs of my bed. It's amazing what another 12 inches can create in the way of storage space. I smell the narrow, steep stairs where I sit at the top with the phone pressed to my ear. I reassure my recently ex-boyfriend that we really aren't getting back together. I smell cleaning checks, completed after midnight with the help of a blow dryer to defrost the ice encrusted freezer. I smell a dishwasher so small I thought it was a trash compactor. I smell Pepsi-Loo and roommate prayer. I smell a little black Audi named Pepe. I spent a lot of time zipping around Provo as a passenger in Pepe. I smell a home with dark green carpet on Navajo Ln. and another home with orange carpet on Foothill. A knock on the door jolts me back to the bathroom sink. "Mom! I need to go potty!" As I turn off the water and dry my hands, I consider the letter I will never write:

Dear Softsoap,
Thanks for the memories.
Sincerely,
Amanda