Back-bloggin': San Fran trip (early Dec)

I can't NOT post all these great pictures from all our fun "happenings." I think that's why I'm not blogging. I'm too far behind and have too many fun things I want to share. But no energy/drive to put it all up for blogger consumption.

But I'll start sort of where I left off... The week after Thanksgiving, the kids and I went to San Francisco to visit Brian and bring him home. It was such a fun trip! Even though he was working part of the time, we still got to see and do so many fun things. The short recap:

First of all, check this out! At the Natural History Museum they have a live albino alligator! Samantha was totally freaked out by it, and didn't want to see the rest of the aquarium for fear the fish might GET her...

But Spencer loved it all. Me and Spence, checking out the live sand dollars, they're some of my favorites...
Seriously, Samantha stood waaay back from most of the aquarium windows, and only got close if Mom or Dad was right beside her...
Just love this pic, have to include it...

The Cali Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park had a great aquarium, as well as a rain forest and planetarium (which we skipped). Here's the snake show...
And here's Samantha, looking at the snakes... entranced.
And here, she studies the map. She loves maps, have I mentioned?
We bought them some fun lollypops as we were leaving the park. Spencer really didn't know what to do with it at first...
But he figured it out. He looks really serious in this one, because he was afraid I was taking it away...

Samantha got one too. Pink, of course. They were GREAT entertainment for the whole rest of the trip. We left them in the car and let them lick away all day as we rode along!

We fed the ducks in Golden Gate Park, but Spence hated it. He screamed and cried, which Brian got on video, if I can get it to load (will try later, but for now here's a pic of me feeding the ducks) ...
Rode the trolley car to Union Square. This is all of us, packed in the car together...
Samantha loved it because she got to stand on the seat and hold onto the bar for part of the time. I was less enthusiastic, because it was an hour-long wait and the busker that was playing the electric guitar while we waited was absolutely pathetic. Plus, it was frrreeezing cold. Oh, but what a memory! right?
We had an awesome hotel suite, with a king bed, and a cute little living room (which I failed to capture on our new camera)...
Our hotel was complete, with fabulous made-to-order complimentary breakfast, and an indoor pool and spa. yay!!

As you can imagine, the pool was BY FAR the highlight of Samantha's trip! Her dad bought her some new floaties, and she learned to jump off the edge by herself. So fun...
We saw some seals, but just a few. We wanted to see the Elephant Seals, and planned a whole day around it, but missed them again. Bad luck! Oh well. We settled for the harbor seals at Santa Cruz. The kids were ecstatic.
Saw some amazing giant Redwoods. Very cool! (And cold, too, unfortnately.)

Also saw a gorgeous sunset from Muir Beach overlook. Left the kids in the car for that one, was that mean?
The lights of the city, all lit up for the holidays...
We also got to see our friend, Ryan Park, who we knew in Boston. Had dinner with him and got to catch up a bit. Samantha was kind enough to take a picture of all of us...
Then Brian took another one...
Just had to throw in these fun ones of the kids. I love the look on his face, don't you?
And that's our girl! Little smudge of ketchup from lunch on her cheek, oops.
We went over Donner's Pass on the way home. Lucky for us, we just missed a big snowstorm -- the roads had been closed the day before. But for us, we just got a spectacular snow show, and some nice, dry roads...

It's been soooo nice to be all together again! He was in San Fran working from Labor Day all the way until the first week of December. Looong time away! I have a new appreciation for single parents and the hard job they have. And also a new appreciation for my husband and how wonderful it is having him around!

a tiny catch-up

It's been ages, I know!

And the worst part (for me, anyway) is that I haven't even checked ANYONE ELSE'S blogs this whole time I've been not writing. For example, I didn't even know my sis-in-law is having a GIRL baby, because I didn't check the blog. Thankfully someone else told me, huh? I'm sad to think of all the other tidbits I've been missing this whole non-blogging time.

I have no real excuses, except that Brian has been working from home this past month and he uses my main computer all day. That's sort of a good excuse, isn't it? I mean, we do have two other computers in the house, but one is slower than tar, and the other one (this one) crashes all the time and has lost my docs on a few occasions lately. Plus, neither of them have any of the pictures we upload. So, I feel a little lost in the blogging world right now.

But I'm trying again. And here's a little update from here, starting from way back...

Thanksgiving:

Was great! We spent the weekend with Brian's family, doing all kinds of fun family things -- games, football, looking at Christmas lights, hosting "the Great Cousin Sleepover," etc. Good times! Some of Brian's siblings from Utah came up, which made it extra fun. Plus we got together with extended family, which means I got quizzed on all the cousins' names again. (still not good at that one, unfortunately.)

One extra tidbit, we finally got ourselves a new camera on the Black Friday sales. yay! hopefully I'll get to add some pictures on here someday soon.

Trip to San Fran:

Wonderful! We got a great SouthWest ticket deal, so I flew with the kids to meet Brian and bring him home to us. We stayed in a great suite hotel with an indoor pool -- new love of Sammie's life. She even learned to jump off the side of the pool (with her new floaties, of course). Big girl! We toured around the city a bit, saw the majestic Redwood forest, and got to meet Brian's colleagues. The firm he's been working with extended him the offer to continue working on this project from home, so he's been busy this whole past month, continuing to log hours, reviewing documents for them. Nice!

Samantha's Birthday:

She's officially FOUR!! Yay! Can't believe she's already so old. She just seems so grown up to me. I keep asking her, "how did you get to be a big four-year-old already?!" She responds, "Because you maked me a cake and then I was four." She had a great birthday, celebrating with a fun play date with her little friend from church, then a big family party at Grandma and Grandpa's in the evening. We celebrated her's and her cousin Ella's together. One of the favorite present's is a new hot pink bathrobe from Ella's family. Samantha sleeps with it in her bed every night and puts it on first thing every morning. sooo cute!

Christmas:

Was with my family this year. We packed up all our goodies and presents on Christmas Eve, and drove to be with my parents the whole Christmas weekend. What a crazy party time!! The kids were overwhelmed with constant sugar highs, tons of play time with cousins, a string of VERY late nights, and so many many presents and new toys! Samantha got a bit of the "more for me?" syndrome, expecting every day would bring even more presents than the day before. She's still coming off the Christmas-addiction, I think.

Christmas highlight for me was an evening out with JUST the grown-ups. We got baby-sitters for all the kids, then we went to a little B&B for a private catered dinner party that my parents set up for all of us siblings and parents. Ah, the sweet serenity of adult conversation and no interruptions! It's just nice to get away for a little while sometimes, ya know? Then we went back to my brother's house, put the kids to bed, and played games together. Fun memories!

Of course, we had a big "after" party that lasted several more days once we got back our home here... More of Brian's family was in town, so we had another big dinner at his parents' house, then games at our house another night, then football at his brother's house the next night, etc. We gained our obligatory five holiday pounds, and are now working them off with our New Year resolutions.

Sad to say, the whole Christmas season passed without me sending any Christmas cards this year. The stamps are in my wallet, the cards have been hauled around the state with me, and we even printed family pictures to go inside. Sigh. But I think we missed the window, the ship has sailed, and we might be saying "next year" this time around. Sorry 'bout that!

New Year's:

Not the highlight this year. Actually, it was a bit pathetic this time around. New Year's Eve was really foggy and snowy this year. We were going to maybe do something with some of Brian's family, but it just didn't work out. So, Samantha and I stayed up late playing play-dough and watching Cinderella while Brian worked. At 11:50, we put Sam in bed and drank Martinelli's cider. Happy New Year! bleah. Next year I want to do something awesome, just telling y'all right here and now, okay?!

Kids report:

A quick conversation with Sammie. Last weekend, we had the radio on, and the song was about a guy telling the girl if she didn't love him TONIGHT, he'd go find someone else to love him better. As usual, I was talking to the radio, telling the girl, "if he's the kind of guy who's going around giving ultimatums like that, you better not fall for him anyway!"

Samantha looked up from her coloring and said, slightly irritated, "Mom, it's just a song!" (As in, please stop talking to the radio.) Then, after I laughed a little bit, she added, thoughtfully, "Besides, what are Old Tomatoes, anyway?" ha! We thought it was adorable.

Spencer's a cutie, too. He has three obsessions right now: shoes, his coat, and his pajamas. He brings me any of those three items at any hour of the day and expects me to put them on him. I usually oblige him with the shoes and coat -- we put them on, take them off several times a day. But he brings me a pair of pajamas at noon and wants to wear them, then throws a huge tantrum when I tell him "not yet." It's kind of cute, kind of bothersome. I know it's just a phase, so I'm trying to stay amused.

Spence says some really cute things now. Our favorite phrase for the holidays was, "Oh! So!" Whenever we drove by a house decorated with Christmas lights, he would excitedly exclaim, "Oh! So!" (as in oh, so pretty!) By the end of the season, it turned into "Oh! So! So! So!" Really cute. We got it on video, maybe I'll try to upload. He also says several new words and does a lot of mimicking right now. So fun to hear him learning so quickly: coat and shoes are his all-time favorites, though puppy and monkey are close seconds (he has jammies with puppies and monkeys).

Church:

We have been extra busy with church lately. A big Primary New Year's party tomorrow -- wish me luck! And I have Sharing Time for the children for the whole month of January. Whew! Better get busy for now.

This was not my best blogging, I know. And I can't even promise I'll do better and be back on track. But I am definitely hopeful!! Bye for now. Happy New Year to everyone!

Thinking about Samantha

I've been thinking about Samantha tonight, loving her little personality. She is my helper, and my little friend, especially when Brian is gone. Last night the wind woke her up. (I think it woke up everyone in the Valley, for that matter!) She came SCREAMING into my room, eyes wide, face white. Once she was with me, she didn't scream or cry out again -- only whispered. She told me she got up to turn on her CD player (she sleeps with lullabies), and heard a noise in the hall. I know for a fact it was the wind, because I'd been hearing similar "noises" all night.

Well, she ended up cuddling in bed with me for the rest of the night, and seemed quite pleased with the arrangement this morning. She mentioned it several times today -- how she had been scared so she got to sleep with Mommy. I'm wondering if tonight will bring a repeat? There's not nearly so much wind, so hopefully she'll sleep through.

We have our ups and downs together. Some interesting things I want to remember about my girl right now...

-- She loves learning about driving, directions, places. When we're in the car, she asks things like "why did you slow down? did the speed limit change?" or "if we turn there, would that road take us to the library?" She knows what the stop lights are for, and when she sees a light turn green, she's quick to tell me to "go, Mom!" She thinks she knows the quickest ways to places, and gets a little upset if I take us a different way than she was expecting.

-- She doesn't like television or movies very much. Like the rest of us, she occasionally gets sucked in, and will watch whatever is on the tube. But left to herself, she usually prefers almost anything else to t.v. It's true, she still gets VERY nervous about scary parts of movies. But more than that, it seems that she just doesn't see t.v. watching as a valuable use of time. I wonder if this will change? I keep thinking it will, but it hasn't so far.

-- She says the most amusing prayers. A few weeks ago, when my dad was sick for awhile, she would pray for him to get well. After a few days she got quite creative and came up with this gem: We thank thee this day, for loving guidance to show us the way. Please bless Grandpa Dennis to feel better, and all his wonderful creations, of this beautiful, wonderful world of Grandpa Dennis. To be happy and not sick! Amen! Sounds disjointed, I know. But that's just the way she prays, not the way she talks.

-- She counts in Spanish now, all the way to 40. She counts EVERYTHING. Uno, dos, tres... There are tres cups on the table, Mom. How do you say cups in Spanish? Preschool is a highlight of her week and she picks out her outfits days in advance.

-- Samantha likes to talk about the things that made her day especially good. Yesterday, she told me, was an especially good day, even "one of the very best days EVER." You know why? She said it was "for three things: I went to preschool, I played Husker-du (a new matching game we got at the thrift store) with Mom, and I got to help pick the leaves up." Isn't that sweet? I love how easy she can be to please. Just the simplest things make her light up.

-- She has a particular order to certain things, and gets quite cross when things go out of order. For example, she sleeps with three blankets -- the flower blanket, the warm pink-and-black-striped blanket, and the cold princess blanket. (Those are her names, of course.) The flower blanket generally sleeps next to her, then the warm blanket, then the cold blanket. If you get them out of order while tucking her in, you will be reprimanded and made to do it the right way. Also, there is an order in bedtime routine -- and unfortunately, my order differs from hers, and we have had huge disagreements about whether it is better to have story time before or after going potty and brushing teeth. (She says before, I say after.) Her final word on the subject, a few nights ago: "We just ARE supposed to read FIRST because the LORD said that's the RIGHT way to do it!" Whoah. Not sure when bedtime order became commandment. hmm...

-- She sometimes thinks Spencer is a bully. She'll be standing on a stool, and he tries to climb up beside her. Although it's a big stool and there IS room for both of them, he gives her a gentle nudge, and she dramatically falls from the stool and acts the part of helpless victim, laying there whimpering and telling on Spencer. He is amused by this behavior, and I'm amused by his amusement. She gets very little sympathy, but continues to try to make him out to be the big meanie around her.

-- She is almost TOO easy to tease. A few weeks ago, we were discussing her upcoming birthday. I told her I really liked having a three-year-old, and I was thinking maybe we just shouldn't have her turn four, so we could keep having our cute three-year-old girl. No more birthdays for Samantha. She immediately turned on the tears, telling me how unfair that is! Even when I was laughing, and even when I had said the same joke 15 times over the course of several days, she still couldn't keep from crying each time. Then she'd ask, through her tears, "Are you just kidding, Mom?" Each time I said yes, she would try to smile and fake that she thought it was funny. But it's obvious she finds no humor in this joke.

Speak of the cutie pie... She just got up for a drink. It's late, she's whiny and I better get to bed and get her back to bed. I do love that darling little girlie.

***

30 minutes later:

Ah yes, this same little angel who just claimed several paragraphs of adoring prose from me just spent the past half hour throwing a big ol' midnight tantrum... stomping, screaming, whimpering, refusing to be comforted because we accidentally left her blanket in Mark and Dalana's car today and she wants me to go get it. NOW. Tragedy. Woke up Spencer, who then threw a mini tantrum of his own.

Did I mention ups and downs? Oh yes, I did. Third paragraph. Maybe shoulda put it in the first paragraph??

must be validated

Just put the fourth load of laundry in -- two are already folded and half put away, half still on top of the dryer. Also raked up three bags of leaves and veggie plants from our backyard/garden area. Put over 100 rotten tomatoes in a bag, too -- so sad seeing them freeze, but they never ripened properly anyway. Also took out some trash (I've been obsessing about putting the trash out for the garbage collection tomorrow morning, since I missed it last week.)

This morning, I got some shopping done -- a few pairs of pants for Spence, and a cute shirt and sweater for me, plus some jeans for Sammie. Also went to the chiropractor again, which was good. He worked on my back some more -- the OTHER hip is now acting up, ug. Also he relocated my shoulder, so I'm hoping that rotator cuff issue will get better again (was good, then bad, then good, now bad again. hmm.) Took the looooong way back from Homedale (we'll call it scenic, if Marsing can be called scenic?), and got to Sammie's school five mins before her preschool was getting out. Even had a minute to sit in the car and listen to a sappy country song while I wrote a check for her next month of classes.

It's not that I haven't been doing things, you see. It's that I don't FEEL like doing things. No energy today. No drive to be "industrious" and "ambitious." And the list of things I still NEED to do just seems to keep getting longer. But I thought I'd take a minute to at least write down some of the things I HAVE accomplished today, so I can see for myself that I AM getting somewhere, even if it doesn't feel like it.

And now, I'm going to take a nap. Hopefully without feeling guilty.

Good Eats, and a Happy Sunday

More from the San Francisco trip. (I gotta milk it, right? But this will be the last post about it, promise.)

First, we made it to church for a great Sacrament meeting. I very much appreciated not having the kids. It makes a big difference in church, to not be wrestling Spencer and entertaining Samantha, who knew?! (Besides me.) I actually was able to listen and retain some of what was said. yay!

Next, I have to tell you about our favorite lunch -- a great memory I'm sure I'll enjoy for a long time! We ate at a restaurant that had this as a backyard...

Have you ever had a dining experience that just seemed absolutely ideal? Well, this was one of those times, for me. It wasn't just superb food, but more like the stars aligned just right for me that day -- the food, the whole dining atmosphere, the mood of the day, the weather, the company. All of it. Perfect. Except, it was a little bit pricey, I guess.

So, we went to a place at Half Moon Bay called Sam's Chowder House. Brian said it's a chain, well, it must be rather popular, because the whole parking lot was packed, and cars were lining the streets as well. We were lucky to have a 20 minute wait, which we spent walking along the beach. When our buzzer rang, we were escorted to our table -- best seats in the house, out on the back patio overlooking that same beach we had just walked along. Our view...

And, from the other angle...
Me, enjoying the view...
Brian, enjoying me taking so many pictures. :)

Our simple meal -- shrimp ceviche and avocado appetizer, New England clam chowder, and their famous lobster roll. We shared all, and it was plenty (though the appetizer was a bit skimpy on the portion size, we thought). The lobster roll was delectable, especially with an extra squirt of lemon. mmm... Here's the last morsels, since I didn't think to take a picture until it was almost gone...

And Brian, finishing off those last morsels. Can't let good lobster go to waste, you know?!

After lunch, more beach time, more wave watching. Ha, here's Brian, sitting on a rock that just got sloshed. He knows I'm taking my time getting the picture, hoping another big wave will come in and soak him...

Along with wave watching, we got to do some seal watching, too. We went to a beach that is famed for its tide pools. But it was high tide. So, instead of hunting for starfish, we were privileged to watch seals coming up to sunbathe, just a ways down from us. Not sure how clear this picture it, but here are a couple of seals making their way up the beach...

We took a path to a bluff and looked over the top at them...

Thirty-two, at first. And we watched another two straggle up out of the water to join the group. I love to watch them move. It seems like it must take sooo much effort. But they manage.

A picture of the happy couple, awww....

More waves, I really just couldn't get enough...

More coastal driving, and a sunset off the pier at Santa Cruz...

What more can I say? It was a really wonderful getaway for us -- one of the "bright sides" of Brian working away from home.

Weekend in the City by the Bay

It was lovely. A perfect weekend getaway. For those who don't know, Brian's been working in San Francisco for the past few months. He has come home for a couple of weekend trips, but other than that, we've been doing the long-distance-relationship thing. Not so fun. So, we planned a little trip without the kids, so I could go be with Brian. yay!

Let me paint the picture... Me. With just a purse and coat at the airport. Those who travel with children know the immense sense of freedom I was feeling setting off on the trip. No car seats and 20 bags to haul and check. No stroller to fold down at the security gate. No wild one-year-old running through the metal detector. No "taste testing" of a bottle of milk. No rummaging through a bag of diapers, wipes and fruit snacks to find my boarding pass and ID. Wow! I actually slept on the airplane! And it's only an hour-and-a-half flight. Imagine.

Now, don't get me wrong. I missed my kids, and brought back special presents for them, talked about them every few minutes of the trip, etc. But I was also very appreciative of the break, and very aware of all the extra freedoms and indulgences of going sans children. (Like sitting in the hot tub at 11 p.m., keeping the TV on at a regular volume past 9 p.m., staying at the beach a little longer even though we were both getting hungry... luxuries that just don't happen when travelling with kids, right?)

So, we got a great hotel deal, down in Sunnyvale, near where Brian was working. Soooo cute! It wasn't the fanciest place, but it was all decked up like some Mediterranean resort... little extras like bamboo chairs, a colorful canopy over the bed, and darling little courtyards between each block of rooms....

First night we ate at a great Middle Eastern restaurant that Brian has been to a few times. Delicious. Didn't bring the camera, or you'd have great pictures of a fabulous platter of hummus, tabbouleh, stuffed grape leaves, falafel, yogurt-mint-cucumber salad, and some raisin-cinnamon/rice dish with eggplant and cauliflower. Wow! That was delightful!

Saturday... well, we had plans of going into San Fran, riding the trolleys, visiting Chinatown, and going to all the touristy spots. But then I had the bad-back problem. Oh well. Plan B: Golden Gate park, then hit the beach, go up the coast, visit a lighthouse. It was perfect.

Me and Golden Gate Park...

The Bridge... Us and the Bridge, after crossing and driving up a very winding highway with fantastic views of the bay and bridge and coast...
Best shot of the Bridge and the City. Isn't San Francisco just an amazingly beautiful city? I love seeing it from "above" like this. So gorgeous! (Zoom in for a better view, if you like.)

We drove out to Point Bonita Lighthouse. Very cool. I got a little book of 101 Hikes around SF area... found it at a thrift store here in Idaho, just the day before I left. It suggested this lighthouse as a fascinating spot to visit -- only open Saturdays and Sundays from 12:30 to 3:30. How convenient for us; we crossed the Golden Gate at noon, and headed on over. yay!

The literature about the lighthouse said it was the first one built near the Bay, and before it was built (1848) they had tons of shipwrecks during the fog. Also inside, there was a little write-up about the bay and the bridge, with this interesting little diagram...

I can't remember exactly how DEEP it said the water is under the bridge, but let's just say there's a reason that's a suspension bridge, rather than a bridge with a post or two stretching a few hundred feet down there! Interesting, to me at least.

Best part, the waves. We watched the waves roll in right by the lighthouse for over an hour, I bet. They were humongous. Gigantic. If I believed in the word (which I don't, btw), I'd even say gi-normous. Anyway, they were amazing to watch. Massive barrels, perfect crests, crashing and splashing right underneath our little perch up above. Lovely, lovely ocean.

Pictures really do it no justice, but here's more waves, and Brian, looking cute (and cold, if you ask me!)...

The suspension bridge to get out to the lighthouse is not for those who have a hard time with heights. It's a little rickety, and there's a sign saying they plan to replace it soon because it's not the sturdiest, safest bridge.

Plus, they have forest service people standing on either end, and they only allow two people to cross at a time. TWO. Seriously! The sign says something like "this bridge is deemed worthy to handle foot traffic of up to two persons at a time." Two.
Me, waiting for our turn to cross. Do I look nervous? (You can say, no, Kam, you look wind blown... which I was.)

After the lighthouse, we drove around on the far side of the bridge for awhile... loved the darling little town of Sausalito. (I got mixed up and called it Sausagito, which we now prefer.) And then, back to do some of the more touristy things. Like Lombard Street....

Super-dooper steep Hyde street...
We ended the evening with a walk around Fisherman's Wharf, and a trip to In-n-Out Burger -- my first time. (I hate to admit, I wasn't all that impressed. Sorry all you Cali folk!)

That's all for now, folks. Stay tuned for Sunday's festivities, coming up next!

Upcoming blog updates...

No time to blog tonight. Seriously. I have been skimping on my sleep, and I'm feeling it. So I'm fully committed to have lights out at 11p.m. (It's 10:29 right now, and I still have all that "bedtime routine" stuff to do, so....)

But I thought I'd at least say that I DO plan to blog soon. In fact, I have several blog ideas just waiting to be written. Thought I'd share the teasers, just so y'all can stay on the edge of your seats, waiting for the upcoming editions.

1. San Fran with Brian, the details and the picts

2. San Fran II, the best dining experience in a loooong time

3. Spencer's words... he said THREE new ones for the first time ever, today (hot dog, apple, and get-down)! I sense a vocab explosion coming soon.

4. Home Improvement 201 -- includes paint and pictures, how exciting!

5. Halloween redo

Oh, I'm sure you're all so very eager to get these next posts, right? Well, hopefully tomorrow I'll get going. In the meantime, thanks for the concern about my back. Got a great chiropractor, thank goodness, finally! And I'm feeling much better. Still have a ways to go, but I'm seeing progress. yay!

Okay, 10:35 -- must go, must make this goal!

wood smoke

Sammie, tonight, as we walked outside:

Mmmm!! It smells like....... like..... like someone is camping in their back yard.

After more sniffing and deep breathing of our neighbor's wood stove:

No, actually. It smells more like burning bananas.

hmm. Descriptive, that's for sure.

Pictures, anyone??

Oh, I should drag this out and make it last! Finally, some pictures to post on my blog, yay!! So many fun, beautiful pictures. Yep, these are from our weekend trip to San Francisco. Actually, to be honest, we weren't in a very "urban" mood. So, instead, we got a lot of this kind of action...



And it was lovely! All of it. I will add more pictures -- ones that actually include us -- in the next few days. And you will hear all about the Northern Cal coast, so exciting. For now, I'm so sleepy, folks. G'nite.

The good with the bad

Good: My parents came for a visit this week, and we had a great time together. Trent and Mel and their kids came too. We all went to dinner at Applebees (kids 99cent menu, again.) And Melissa even made cupcakes, yum!

Bad: I threw my back out the night before they came, at midnight. I literally crawled to bed, it was miserable. I wasn't sure how I was going to make it through the next day. And I didn't get that laundry folded but instead had to sleep with it on the bed because I was in too much pain to even push it off the bed!!

Good: Thanks to my parents, and parents-in-law, the kids were well cared for. My mom and Samantha even folded that mountain of laundry and put it away! And, I was able to crawl into a chiropractor and get some relief.

Bad: One of the "reliefs" is a big, strong, heavy-duty elastic brace to wear. It looks and feels like a corset. Only, it doesn't go all the way up in front, like a corset does, so it squeezes all my lovely "extras" up to the top of my stomach and I get this huge bulge right above my belly button. Looks terrible.

Good: Might not look great, but that back brace does the job it was meant to do! When I have it on, the residual back pain (which I'll probably have for a week or so, according to the dr) stays pretty isolated to that one spot in the small of my back. Also, a side perk is that I am eating half as much when I wear it because I just don't feel hungry with my stomach all squeezed up like that. May be the new diet solution I've been looking for. ha!

Bad: When my parents were leaving today, there was a tiny wee bit of "tension" because my dad wanted to hurry home while my mom wanted to linger longer.

Good: Samantha set Grandpa straight in a private conversation where she told him he was "being silly" and "not acting the right way!" (hilarious, I think, to have a three-year-old doing a little experimental marriage counseling.)

Bad: I'm going to miss my kids this weekend, as they'll be staying with Grandma Susan and Grandpa Dale, and Mark and Dalana.

Good: I'm going to be with Brian, in San Francisco all weekend. yay!!

Bad: Wearing that back brace.

Good: On the beach? I hope!

Bad: Still no camera. (I've been looking, I promise!)

Good: We're going to borrow one. So, maybe you'll even see pictures in a future post. Just imagine....

Bye for now.

Happy November!

Stop me if I've mentioned before (I think I have, actually). Brian and I play this game where we race to see who's first to remember to wish each other a Happy November -- or whatever month it happens to be. He waited until 12:01 a.m. Sunday morning (or really late Halloween night) and got the honors this month. Just a fun little celebration of a new month. yay.

Anyway, so, we had a lovely Halloween, spent the evening gorging ourselves on chocolate and candy, like the rest of the nation. We did the NEW traditional "Trunk or Treat" at the church parking lot. Both kids made off with bundles of candy in a record time of 42 minutes flat. Then we came back home and did the OLD traditional "Trick or Treat" around the neighborhood. (But Sammie kept mixing it up and saying "trunk or treat" at each door. She actually thought we were ridiculous when we told her it's "TRICK or treat."... I guess old traditions are dying?)

Still no camera, and not a single picture of our darling trick-or-treaters. (or TRUNK or treaters?) But maybe I'll try to recreate the moments when we DO get a camera (which may be very soon, let's get excited!!) Even if no pictures are forthcoming, I'm sure you can imagine how adorable our little pumpkin Spencer was... black corduroy pants and a pumpkin jacket with stem hood.

I painted a black triangle on his nose, and two above his eyes, so he looked like a little jack-o-lantern. Truth be told, he acted more like a grizzly bear, he was so grumpy! At the church party, he double-fisted two suckers, and that sort of kept him from crying that Mom was holding his basket of candy. Then, the first two houses we went to for trick-or-treating, he went barging right into our neighbors' living rooms, and kicked a big fit when I dragged him out of their houses. He was stroller bound for the rest of the neighborhood, and whined about it a lot.

Samantha was a VERY happy little barbie fairy princess butterfly. She lost her wings half way through the night, and just decided to be Cinderella after that. She was really good at saying thank-you, and loved all the "cute" comments about her costume. Our next door neighbor, Mrs J, is in her 80s. She was especially excited to see Sammie, and made a big fuss over both kids, which we all loved. (What parent doesn't enjoy the doting grandparent figure?)

We had an "after" party at our house, with Mark and Dalana's family, Reed and Alysa's fam, and another cousin, Amber, with her kids. Fun to see all the kids' costumes, and get a chance to visit while Brian was home. I made caramel corn and fudge, which my stomach is still not appreciating. ug. Between the rest of the group, we also had pumpkin pie, hot cider punch, cookies and cake -- not to mention the heaps of candy from all the trick-or-treating! whew!

Good times. After living in London, I still feel like I'm warming up to the Halloween holiday. It's just not a big deal over there. But I'm liking it more, I decided. Only, now what do we do with soooo much candy? My kids really don't need it, and I, of course, have resolved to be good once again (while my stomach is still recovering!)

And on to November. Is anyone else appreciating the riddance of daylight savings?! I certainly AM!!! I know, I know, it gets dark so early now, which is not fun. But it also is LIGHT again in the mornings, and the sun is actually UP before 8 a.m. That's worth appreciating, in my book. Plus, we got that extra hour Sunday morning, which we used to full advantage, lazily sleeping until... well, I don't remember, but it was lovely. Hats off to the new time zone!

Bye for now. And Happy November to you! (I got you this month! ha!)

Things you won't see...

.... Because we still don't have a camera.

-- all the wonderful leaves around here. I know y'all have your own pictures, but I sooo have been wanting to walk off into the woods with a camera. It's been so perfectly fallish here.

-- Sam and Spence helping Grandma Susan and Grandpa Dale pick up all the walnuts from their yard yesterday. They were soooo cute in little old hats and gloves Grandma found for them -- sitting in the wheelbarrow on top of all the leaves. It was perfect lighting, too. But the wind was bad for pictures so I guess I'll have to be content.

-- Spencer's four eye teeth FINALLY all cut through (you know, the sharp vampire-looking corner teeth?) He's been cutting them one at a time since August, poor buddy! Actually, he might not let me get a picture of those anyway, but I'd be trying, of course.

-- Sammie's cute halloween costume... She's a "Barbie fairy butterfly princess." or something like that? She wore it to preschool today and looks adorable. It's really just another new princess dress that she is in love with. Maybe next year we'll have moved on to cowgirl or bride or something?

-- Spencer's cute pumpkin suit. Actually, he may continue wearing it, because it's just a darling little jack-o-lantern jacket with a stem hood. So cute.

-- Those stinkin' cute kitchen valances. I still just ADORE them every time I go into our kitchen. Someday they'll have their own blog feature, but not yet.

--My haircut... been chin length since the end of August, right after our last camera "walked away." The haircut is actually growing out now, to the "awkward" almost-shoulder-length stage. But it was cute. I don't think a single picture was taken while it was in the cute phase though. Oh well. It can be cut again, right?

-- The spick-and-span cleaner-than-ever condition of ALL our bathrooms at this moment. It's a most rewarding feeling to walk in and just KNOW the bathroom is so clean. But yeah, maybe I wouldn't be posting pictures of that. Guess that's just a news item for you.

-- Me in San Fran next weekend. Okay, maybe we'll get a camera by then because I just can't STAND the thought of not getting some picts of the Bay and the trolley cars and the Redwoods, etc. oh, and Brian, of course. :)

Good night, all.

vegetables are nasty

This one is for Randilicious.

I ate collard greens tonight.

For the first time. Ever.

They came from a can labelled "Southern Style Collard Greens -- with onions, garlic, and savory broth."

They were nasty. Disgusting. Despicable.

I felt like a kid at school again, reliving that one day in fifth grade when the principle made me eat every last green bean and I gagged because they were saltless, overcooked, gushy, cold green beans.

Okay, so the collard greens weren't cold or saltless, but they were green. And gross. And I ate a full 3/4 cup of them to set a good example for my children. Of course, after tasting the first bite, I did not even put ANY collard greens on either of their plates. They don't even KNOW how they should be thanking me. The leftovers (from a can the size of Libbys pumpkin pie filling) are still on the stove and will be until morning at which time they will find their way to the disposal because, who wants food that sat out all night, right?

Vegetables ARE nasty, Rand. At least collard greens.

Things I thought in the night

Yes, I tossed and turned last night, and couldn't sleep for a few hours. That gets frustrating because now I need a nap today and will probably have trouble sleeping again tonight. Oh well. It's because I have a cold, so I plan to take it easy today. Anyway, here are some of the random thoughts that "kept me awake?" or maybe I just thought them because I was already not sleeping?

-- Why, in a brand new house with granite countertops, did we end up with the most BASIC heat and cooling system? Why isn't there a single "auto-timing" button? And why can't they design systems that can be controlled room by room? Keep dreaming.

-- Why do I think someone is playing the piano every time the train goes by at 3 a.m.? Or, is that someone playing?? (get up to check, one more time.)

-- And why does that train sound soooo loud when I know it's nearly 2 miles away!?? Isn't it? Or maybe there's one that's a lot closer that I just don't know about.

-- I wonder if we have any sudafed, and if it would just keep me awake longer? and how do you spell pseudophed anyway?

-- I wonder if it's still too early to call people in London?

-- Were our library books due today? Or was that email notice for tomorrow?

-- If I could have any snack right now, what would I want? Maybe some smoked gouda cheese on garlic toast or something I couldn't actually produce from my own fridge even if I wanted to.

-- If it's this cold and windy tomorrow, I'm going to have to insist that Samantha wear her cute pullover turtleneck sweater to preschool. She won't like that, I'm sure. Why did she get so picky about clothes? And why does she always want to wear dresses now? And why does she ruin every pair of tights after one or two wearings?

-- That's where all our extra money goes -- to buy Samantha new tights. And Spencer's diapers, of course. Will he ever stop pooing first thing in the morning?

-- If I had to move away from here, where else would I want to live? Where would Brian want to live? What kind of work would he really, really, like to do? Should I wake him up and ask him? I'm not sleeping, no reason why he should be, huh?

-- I wonder if Wade will come for Thanksgiving. That would be so fun to have him around, even if he's off gaming with friends a lot.

-- Is it raining out there, or is that just the wind? or the train?

-- I need to do laundry. Again!? Already?! I need to remember to wash that huge pile of wash clothes in my bathroom, I keep forgetting those, and we're almost completely out.

-- That is so crazy that Marissa has hard evidence that the new toilet paper rolls are SHORTER than the old ones. Did I comment on her blog? I need to. Better have a look again tomorrow.

-- Also need to get working on my writing projects. Maybe I should just get up now and write? Ug. It's too cold. Maybe I should try to stop thinking and sleep.

Yeah. Pretty much random nothingness, as you would suspect.

In other news, we went to my cousin's wedding in Rexburg last week. It was gorgeous. I was especially excited to see his older sister, who's my age, who lives in Minnesota. Haven't seen her in six or seven years. Also, it's just always nice to see the fam.

Still no camera. Bye for today.

Fresh Pumpkin Pie

It's fall, the leaves are changing, the pumpkins are orange and plentiful. I'd post pictures of all those things, but still no camera. Hence, the lack of bloggering lately. Sorry! It's true, I shouldn't have to have pictures to write on my blog. But they sure make things more interesting. Without pictures, what can I tell you today?

Well, you probably won't be as excited as I am, but I'll announce that my kitchen valances arrived this week, and I hung them up last night! They are.... PERFECT! I LOVE them. I haven't experienced this much domestic satisfaction in... how long? maybe ever? Ah, but at this point, wouldn't a picture of those darling little curtains just give you a reason to share my excitement?! I know! I NEED a camera.

Another something to tell... I cut Spencer's hair this week with the clippers. It was getting really long on top, and while I loved the 'baby' look it gave him, it started to be very unmanageable. So, he got a real boy hair cut. And he looks so much older to me. He still does all his cute little one-year-old baby boy things, but because he's so tall, it kinda looks like he's a bigger kid, doing those 'baby' things. Oh well, I do like the hair cut -- even though he screamed and hated the buzzer. The end result is good. (again, just think how much you'd enjoy a cute little picture of the boy and his cut. sigh)

I took the kids to a pumpkin patch play date with some of the other kids from church this week. It was so much fun picking out our own pumpkins. A couple in our ward offered a big garden plot to anyone who wanted to grow fresh produce this year. The last of the crop is a HUGE row of hundreds of pumpkins, and we were allowed to take as many as we wanted. Fun! Now we have a porch full of orange pumpkins, and I'm thinking of all the pumpkiny goodness of seasons past.

If you're a long time follower here, you'll remember me writing about the good ol' days of PUMPKINFEST (always capitalized). When I lived in Boston, back my single days, one of my awesome roommates, Randi, was positively obsessed with this time of year. (positively, as in, obsessed in a very good way.) PUMPKINFEST was really Randi's thing... a huge party where everyone invited was supposed to bring something "pumpkin" to share.

I confess, I am new to the love of pumpkin, and I owe this love to PUMPKINFEST. Where else would you find all different ways of experiencing that delicious vegetable in so many delectable ways? We had pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread, pumpkin soup, pumpkin rolls (those goodies with cream cheese filling, oh yes!), roasted pumpkin, spiced pumpkin seeds, pumpkin soup, and of course, pumpkin pie. Wow! What a versatile vegetable. Let's hear it for the pumpkin! And for Randilicious, for introducing me so kindly.

I've often thought it would be fun to throw my own PUMPKINFEST. Maybe I'd even make it a lowercase pumpkinfest, so as not to disrespect the REAL PUMPKINFEST. But really, it wouldn't be the same as, would it? I know it wouldn't. So, instead, I honor PUMPKINFEST by writing about it and telling people about it every year.

This year, I'm posting my favorite pumpkin pie recipe. I fell in love with it in London one Thanksgiving when a friend served it for our little American feast. Fresh pumpkin and honey. Good combo.

Enjoy!

Fresh Pumpkin Pie

(doesn't come with a crust recipe, so just use your own favorite crust)

1 medium sugar pumpkin

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch single crust pie

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

(I sometimes use 2-3 teaspoons of "pumpkin pie spice" instead of cinnamon and ginger, works just great)

1 teaspoon salt

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup honey, warmed slightly

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Cut pumpkin in half, and remove seeds. Lightly oil the cut surface. Place cut side down on a jelly roll pan lined with foil and lightly oiled. Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) until the flesh is tender when poked with a fork. Cool until just warm. Scrape the pumpkin flesh from the peel. Either mash, or puree in small batches in a blender. (I prefer it mashed, for a chunkier texture. Puree makes it more like canned pumpkin.)

In large bowl, blend together 2 cups pumpkin, spices, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, honey, milk, and cream. Mix egg mixture in with pumpkin. (Don’t overbeat, or you’ll lose the texture. I'd say to beat by hand, rather than with a mixer, for a dense, rich texture.) Pour filling into pie shell. Bake at 400 degrees F ( 205 degrees C) for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a knife inserted 1 inch from edge of pie comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Best served with real whipping cream on top, mixed up with a bit of honey.

General Conference Prayer

The kids and I spent General Conference weekend for our church at my parents' house -- a really nice, relaxing time for us. We ate too much, slept too little, and thoroughly enjoyed all the conference sessions via radio. My parents usually just listen, rather than watch, since their TV isn't equipped to get the broadcasts. Well, Sunday afternoon, Samantha decided she really, really wanted to SEE General Conference -- not just listen. She kept telling me, "I really want to see the prophet speak."

What's a mom to do, but dress her up and take her to the Stake Center so she could "see the prophet speak?!" It was a rainy, cold day, and when we got to the church building, there was only one other car in the lot. Also, there was only one other person in the chapel -- a 16-yr-old young man who was probably just there to make sure the broadcast was streaming properly in case anyone came to watch.

Well, Samantha and I settled in a couple of rows from the back. I had brought along some crayons and paper and a few things, in case she lost interest. But she was glued for the first half hour. She LOVED the singing, and seemed quite interested in the speakers as well. Then her attention waned and she colored, took a few "bathroom breaks," played in the foyer, etc. I called her in during the last 15 minutes, so she could see President Monson give his closing remarks. Again, she was glued, and especially loved the closing hymn.

That night, as I was tucking her into bed, Sammie said the sweetest prayer. She thanked Heavenly Father for a good day, asked for Daddy to be safe, asked that we could drive home safely the next day, please bless Spencer to sleep good, bless our swing set and fence to be safe, and that Mommy can cheer up and be happy even when Daddy is gone.

It was so cute, and so very thorough. As she closed, I kissed her goodnight and thanked her for saying such a nice prayer for all our family. She got a really big smile and said, "Mom! That was almost a General Conference prayer!"

Too precious! She really is growing up, isn't she?

Report on the day

Wow! How exciting to see so many people commenting on my little to-do list. Since you all seemed so interested, I thought I'd give a report at the end of the day, and see how I did...

DONE...

-- Two loads of laundry, but they're not folded, and the second one is actually still in the dryer at 11 p.m.

-- One suitcase unpacked. Spencer's is still packed, but mainly because it has a bunch of summer clothes in it, and I'd rather not put them back in his drawers.

-- One batch of fruit leather -- it's in the oven still, will be done when I go to bed in a few mins, I hope. (Jeni, it's like homemade fruit roll-ups... just fruit puree and honey, kinda tasty and somewhat healthy too.)

-- Pants and shirts for Spencer. None for Sammie today, though I did look. All the cute stuff I saw today was for my boy. Sam was a bit disappointed, but I think that kind of disappointment is probably good for her from time to time.

-- Curtains ordered for the dining room, plus I bought curtains and a rod for the piano room as well. Can't wait to have our house all curtained and homey!

-- Ordered those books on Amazon, as I was hoping. Funny how writing something down sometimes makes it happen, just like that.

-- Called Ruth in London. She's doing well, though we only chatted for 5 mins. We were both running out the door, so couldn't talk long. But was good to touch base, been missing her.

-- Worked on my writing "project." It's no secret really, just trying to write about Brian's and my dating days. I didn't get a full page of real story written, but I organized some good raw material -- emails, journal stuff. If I ever get brave, maybe I'll post a page or two of my writing on here. It's a good enough story, if I can just tell it properly... three rounds of dating over three years. hmmm.

-- Ate at Applebees. Yep, they really do have 99cents day for kids on Wednesdays. My friend and I took our kiddos along for an evening treat. Good food, though eating out with kids isn't really as "fun" as... not?

-- Took a nap. My late hours demanded it. I'm trying for earlier tonight. hmm.

-- Wrote two cards and mailed them, along with two bills.

NOT DONE...

-- Didn't make it to the humanitarian day project. I keep wanting to go to our monthly meeting, but it just doesn't happen with kids. Maybe next month.

-- Laundry room is still quite a mess, but better than it was yesterday. Work in progress, right?

-- Didn't lay out our bedroom wall arrangement. I'll try that again tomorrow. After I mow the lawn and clean up the mess of a house that I didn't touch today!

To do tomorrow

I'm tired of not having a new "something" on my blog. The swing set post was exciting for about five minutes. Well, it's not that we haven't had excitement around here. It's more that I'm just in a blogging slump. And I'm camera-less. And I have a itchy-throat cold and sinus pressure thing, with an eye that is sealed shut every morning. (no complaining here, right?)

So, I thought maybe y'all would like to see my "to do" list, as a switcheroo from the swing set post.

Tomorrow...
-- Do laundry, at least three loads, to clean out all the bags from our trip to my parents' last week.
-- Empty suitcases and sort out stuff from trip, at least enough to get our laundry room back in order.
-- Write a couple of thank you cards (and no, I'm not saying to whom. If it's for you, you'll know when you get it, right?)
-- Call Ruth in London
-- Lay out wall arrangement for our bedroom wall (that's been on my list every day for a couple of months now. sigh)
-- Go to church humanitarian day activity thing.
-- Go to Applebees (what? I mean, c'mon, sometimes I need a little break, and they have a 99 cent kids menu on Wednesdays. It's a worthy to-do item, no??)
-- Write one page for my "project" (those in-the-know on this one know this has also been on the wait-list forever)
-- Do something with all that plum puree I made today. Maybe fruit leather? Or jam? (I would have done something with it tonight, but I'm not so sure about making fruit leather in our gas oven. May explode or something; Brian advises against it.)
-- Make a decision on curtains for the dining room/kitchen. Turns out I'm curtain picky. I have searched long and hard for the perfect little valances for our kitchen. Think I may have finally found them, if I have the guts to order them.
-- While I'm ordering, I should order those two books from Amazon I've been eying for the past couple of months. (Can you believe that's really how you spell "eying?" It just looks funny, doesn't it? But spellchecker assures me it's correct.)
-- Get Samantha some new jeans. How is it that she is already growing out of the two pair I just bought her?
-- While I'm at it, Spencer could use some more new pants, too. And socks.

Okay, so maybe I should go to BED tonight, so I can start doing at least a FEW of the items from my list tomorrow by the time tomorrow is over? Yeah, I better add "take a nap" to the list, as I'm getting tired just thinking of all that needs to be done. Or maybe it's because it's so late. Again.

later!