12 Months of Me

Because it’s the last day of 2007, I thought I’d do this little “Year in Review” survey I stole from Patti’s blog. Nothing like blogging while you’re watching bowl games on New Year’s Eve, right?

♥JANUARY♥
1. Who kissed you on New Years? If any one did, it was Ryan—but having a 2 week old baby, I think I was sleeping long before midnight.
2. Did you have a New Year’s Resolution this year? Nope. I actually don’t see a point to New Year’s Resolutions…
3. Does it snow where you live? Yep
4. Do you like hot chocolate? Love it! (Especially the Steven’s brand!)
5. Have you ever been to Times Square to watch the ball drop? Nope—don’t ever want to either.

♥FEBRUARY♥
1. Who was your Valentine? Ryan!
2. When you were little did you buy Valentine’s for the whole class? Yep. I think I would have felt badly if someone was left out.
3. Do you care if the groundhog sees its shadow or not? Definitely! It may not mean much, but I think it’s fun anyway.
4. What did you receive for Valentines Day? Flowers and other things I’m not writing on here.
5. What did you give for Valentine’s Day? Same as the last…minus the flowers.

♥MARCH♥
1. Are you Irish? Nope.
2. Do you like corned beef and cabbage? Yep.
3. What did you do for St. Patty’s Day in 2007? I think we ate dinner with my family.
4. Are you happy when winter is pretty much over? Yeah—by the time each season comes to an end, I’m ready for the next one.

♥APRIL♥
1. Do you like the rain? Yes!
2. Did you play an April fool’s joke on anyone this year? Nope.
3. Do you get tons of candy for Easter? Nope.
4. Do you celebrate 4/20? I don’t. When I was a missionary, though, we were “grounded” on that day one year. Apparently, there were some interesting issues going on in Eastern Europe.
5. Do you love the month of April? Sure—why not?

♥MAY♥
1. What is your favorite flower? Gerbera daisies
What happened to 2 ?????
3. Finish the phrase “April showers…” …Bring May flowers!
4. Do you celebrate May 16th: National Piercing Day? Haven’t even heard of this day until doing this survey. So, I guess that’s a no.
5. Is May anything special to you? TONS of special things! Kallie’s birthday, Mother’s Day, our anniversary.

♥JUNE♥
1. What year did/will you graduate from high school? 1996
2. Did you do anything fun during this month? Moved to our current apartment, started our summer trip to Seattle.
3. Have a favorite baseball team? Hmmm…I’d have to go with the Diamondbacks.

♥JULY♥
1. What did you do on the 4th of July? Had a big picnic with Ryan’s family, then headed down to Puget Sound to watch fireworks—which was an incredible experience.
2. Did you go to the fireworks? Of course! Fireworks are my favorite!
3. Did you blast the A/C all day? Nope. We were at the park next to the Hood Canal. The weather was absolutely gorgeous!

♥AUGUST♥
1. Did you do anything special at the end of your summer? Not that I can recall.
2. What was your favorite summer memory of ‘07? Probably our Seattle trip.
3. Did you have a sunburn? Nope. I slather on sunscreen because I HATE sunburns. I’ve had enough to last me for the rest of my life!
4. Did you go to the pool a lot? Nope…just once or twice.

♥SEPTEMBER♥
1. Will you be attending college/school? Nope—graduated from BYU in 2000. But, Ryan’s still in school for another year, (or more).
2. Do you like fall better than summer? Fall is my favorite season!
3. Plan on anything to happen this month? Ummm…nope.

♥OCTOBER♥
1. What was your last Halloween costume? Ryan and I were janitors.
2. What is your favorite candy? Take 5
3. What was your favorite thing(s) about this month? My birthday!

♥NOVEMBER♥
1. Whose house do you go to for Thanksgiving? Depends on what’s going on—but this year, we went to my parents’ house.
2. What are you thankful for? My husband, my kids, my testimony…
3. Do you love stuffing? Yes! Especially after I started making it with apples this year.

♥DECEMBER♥
1. Do you celebrate Christmas? Oh yes!
2. Have you ever been kissed under the mistletoe? YES. J
3. Get anything special this year? Our “family gift” was a digital SLR camera. I’m looking forward to learning more about using it!

I've lost track...

It always seems to happen when I'm on vacation...I lose track of the days. Every morning this week, I've been surprised when I realized what day it was. You would think that with this happening every single day, I might be catching on--but no--I still wake up surprised. It's nice to not have to worry about being anywhere by a certain day or time and we're enjoying the flexibility.

As part of this relaxed mode, my SIL and I have been spending a lot of time playing "Zoo Tycoon 2". The kids are keeping each other entertained, so that frees us up to create our little zoos and complete the challenges associated with them. It has seriously been so fun! (Especially when our animals have their little babies...) In fact, we have had so much fun that I now want to buy Zoo Tycoon 2 so I can play it at home. But, I'm torn. Here's the dilemma: When I get home, there will be deadlines, no other kids for mine to play with, and I have to take care of all of the housecleaning and child development duties--which would mean that playing Zoo Tycoon could be a wonderful waste of time, most likely when something else was calling for my attention. On the other hand, it could be a great little distraction when Ryan is buried in home work, or an "incentive" for me to play once my normal duties and projects are done. Hmm...maybe I'll have to think about this a little more. It seems I have plenty of time to think for now.

I had to do it

I have never been one to go ga-ga over some movie star or even join any kind of fan club for anyone. But, today, I sent an e-mail to Josh Groban. As you know from this post, Kallie is currently obssessed with Josh, and I thought I might enjoy receiving such a letter if I were a famous singer. Here's what I sent:

Dear Mr. Groban,

I am writing on behalf of my 2 1/2 year old daughter, Kallie, since she has recently become your youngest fan. When the radio stations in our area began playing Christmas music at the beginning of November, songs from your beautiful Christmas album were among the mix. One afternoon while we were running errands, your version of "Little Drummer Boy" came on the radio and I mentioned to Kallie that Josh Groban was singing this song. Since then, she has become obsessed with all things Josh Groban.

Whenever she hears your music, within 5 seconds of hearing your voice, she yells, "Mom! This is Josh Groban!" (In fact, other singers don't have names to her, they are simply referred to as "Not Josh Groban.") When the song finishes, she will beg for more--which has prompted us to purchase one of your CDs. Kallie saw you on Oprah's Favorite Things as well as on Target commercials and pointed out that Josh Groban was on TV. She has even started pointing out young men she sees in pictures or at stores who look like you--and is a bit disappointed when I tell her it's not Josh. We are quite entertained by her new-found obsession and hope that you are entertained by it as well. Thank you for making wonderful music!

Sincerely,

Amanda (& Kallie) Segeberg

Paperless?

Tonight, since Ryan had a few hours of free time, he decided to mine in the office and see if he still had a desk in there. While he was sorting, filing, and tossing papers from the stacks living where his desk should be, he made what I thought was a profound comment. He said, "You know, people keep saying we're going to be a paperless society, but I think computers and printers have made it worse." I thought about it for a second...and then I had to agree. How many people will print up an entire piece of paper for something small at the top? How many businesses now use full page receipts when a 6-inch slip of paper used to do? Maybe it's because I don't remember much about pre-computer times, but when is paperless really going to start? Maybe some day, instead of receipts, businesses will just enter your e-mail address and send you a receipt instead. Until then, all of the paper in our home will somehow find at least a temporary home on Ryan's desk in the office. (Which, by the way, was eventally rediscovered under the mountains and mounds of papers, magazines, and other random things.)

All by myself...

Since Kallie had croup over the weekend, Ryan and I decided that I would stay home from chuch on Sunday while he took Whitney to church. Well, Sunday morning came and Ryan wasn't feeling too hot, so we decided that I would go to church instead. When the time came to go, Whitney was ready for a nap--so I got to leave her home, too--and I went to church with only my scripture bag. It was a weird feeling!

I decided to sit next to the 1st Counselor's wife, Elisabeth--who has 3 darling boys, including a baby she usually needs to take out and feed during the meeting. So, I thought I'd help out with her cute boys. Between answering questions and keeping track of both of them, I honestly didn't hear a word of sacrament meeting. And then, when there were about 10 minutes left, the 2 daughters of a girl I visit teach, (who are also friends with the little boys), came back to sit with us. So, by the end of the meeting, Elisabeth and I were keeping 5 kids quiet and busy.

I really don't mind at all that I don't remember much from sacrament meeting. I figure that I usually get to listen, so on days like that, I can help someone else enjoy the meeting. And, next time I go alone, I'm taking a fully-stocked diaper bag--just in case.

Mission Memories

As I was thinking about the fun times and incidents from college, thoughts of the craziness on my mission crept in, so I decided to make a post for those experiences.

Matching super-stripe soccer shorts; convincing the elders that we really couldn't play futbol americanski; Rita's; Lido; sugar day; hot, fresh cheese bread; leaving home in a hurry...and managing to forget a few VERY important things; Sister Pettit...and Sister Pettit; bathing out of pots (or the toilet, ewww!); Taaaaape; Ligo; Reenok (avoiding the elders at the reenok); watching the slippery spot in front of the Tallinn hotel; riding the glass elevator in Riga; wearing pajama pants under our tights; "Excuse me, but you are speaking very bad Russian"; matching slippers; stay off manhole covers!; don't eat ice cream on a hot day; our little stationary shop; pabkas; the motorcycle accident; the cyclist getting hit by a car; the man with 3 holes in his head; hidden valley in Vilnius; the creepy funeral in the creepy building; missionary vacation; alphabet scones; pauser/leaner; laughing too hard to finish the district leader call; couch cushions on the floor; double doors; morning study in strange places; the night the discoteque came to us; nakoma pietura; getting jaked by the bus; men in underwear--at the door and at baptisms; baptisms in the river; Jurmala; packed busses; roaches and banana bread; Bobs on the Tide; remonting; pulling the drunk out from under a train; Smints; listov; pillow room; Saturday night dates; Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's in the MTC; Pampers; Girls' camp at the dacha; Stockmann's; Minima, Media, Maxima; the man pooping at the clock tower in Riga; Statdogs; Estrella chips; Cido juices; yogurt and cornflakes; mouse cheese; Karunas; Kalev chocolate; The Compressor--(Oh, how I MISS this place!); Old Hansa; The Garlic Restaurant; harvesting; rose-mint tea; "Clayzer-blazer"; Texicana & smetana; Baltic tacos; New Year's at the Rigby's; sitting in the sauna; Christmas mass...in Estonian...with strange lit-up rocks...at a little church in the middle of nowhere; Romeo and Juliet on Valentine's Day; zephyrs; coat from Nina Adams; little yellow and dancing ducks; ...and there are more, but I'm out of time for the moment.

**OK--here are a few more: FLEAS, FLEAS, FLEAS!; the man pooping by the clock tower in Riga--so shocking and gross!; little boy pooping on the chapel floor in the middle of sacrament meeting in Vilnius; kids with green owies; mesh shirts/dresses to church...

The Good Ol' Days, Part II

(If you're interested, Part I is here.)

In the past few weeks, I have remembered a few more things that I wanted to write down here. So...here they are...hiking up Bridal Veil falls--not the path, the falls; Wingers trips; hanging out and helping Rog in the deJong; the KBYU lobby; apartment dates; blowdrying the freezer; YAY! hugs; walking to Storehouse for groceries; Sarah Lee Gibb, Chair & Maxwell, Table; bridal shower strippers; Betty Crocker; Muriel's fuzzy ketchup; carbon monoxide; the trash pile; near-death experience in the Land Rover behind Rock Canyon; camping in the rain with just the girls; learning to change a tire--thanks to a scenic drive; leopards in Alpine; finding random trails to hike; driving the Loop; BUBBA!; Fish, Leo, Rach & Amanda on a "Stormy Day"; Gwynethardo DiCaprio...SCOTT BAIO; 27's Heaven; Hunting Licenses...

O, Christmas Tree

O, Christmas Tree,

O, Christmas Tree,

You're laying on the floo-oor.

O, Christmas Tree,

O, Christmas Tree,

You're on the floor once moo-oore.

Right around the time that we put up the Christmas tree this year, Ryan and I acknowledged that, between the 2 kids, it was bound to topple at least once before the season was over. In fact, we purposefully decorated the tree with soft, unbreakable ornaments to avoid injury (and a huge mess) when the inevitable happened. As one week and then another passed and it hadn't come down, we started to think we just might avoid such an incident. Then, Thursday morning happened.

I was laying in our bed with Kallie and Ryan had just returned from running. He got Whitney out of bed and put her on the floor to play while he made a bottle for her. All of a sudden, I heard a muffled *crash* and Whitney started complaning. Yep--the tree was on top of her. Ryan and I laughed about it, I straightened the lower branches out, and rehung a few ornaments.

About an hour later, Kallie decided she wanted to play with her Little People ornament, and went to pull it off the tree. This time, I not only heard the muffled *crash*, but managed to see the whole thing as it happened. We stood the tree back up and I decided I should wait for a bit to straighten the branches and rehang the ornaments again, just in case of another mishap.

I'm happy to report that I straightned the branches that evening and it hasn't come down since. Although, since the incidents, it does look a little more lopsided and homely--the ornaments are clumped and the bottom is completely ornament free, thanks to the decorating skills of Kallie and Whitney. (Whitney pulls an ornament off and Kallie puts it back on--out of Whitney's reach.) Oh--there was one casualty, though. The only thing on our tree that was breakable, our star, won't light up anymore. Oh well...

One more thing...

A few days ago, I wrote about my attempts to simplify the Christmas season this year. It sure is a good thing I did! In the past few days, Kallie has come down with croup. It came on pretty suddenly, and I ended up taking her to Urgent Care last night because she was having a hard time breathing. They gave her a steriod shot to reduce the swelling of her windpipe and trachea. When it took effect, she was finally able to go to sleep without as much raspiness in her breathing. Needless to say, I didn't sleep too well last night! But, today, I'm really glad that I don't have a million and one things to get done and I can focus on comforting and snuggling my child.

My baby is ONE!

Today is Whitney's first birthday, and like every mother, I will eternally remember the day she was born. She was so tiny--much smaller and just a different build than Kallie was--and she was so healthy! (Because of my usual complications, that's always a concern.) She has been such a calm, mellow child right from the start--quite a balance to her energetic, demanding sister. I don't usually post pics on my blog, (as they are all on our family website), but this post seems to warrant a couple of "Then" and "Now". It's been a great year and I am grateful to have such a wonderful daughter in our home!

Then:

Now:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WHITNEY!