Indianapolis Temple

Indianapolis Temple

Video Post

12/30/2009 05:33:00 PM Edit This 1 Comment »
The long awaited Vivi Birthday Cake video.



Lara's favorite secular Christmas song is I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas. I've been trying to capture this on video for a while. Finally!



Reed loves to let Lara drive in empty parking lots. We were waiting for my family in a church parking lot and this is what we get to look forward to when she's a teenager.

Our Best Christmas Present Ever

12/24/2009 07:53:00 PM Edit This 1 Comment »
Today our darling Genevieve turned one-year-old. I can't believe it! My baby is not a baby anymore!

Last year, on Christmas Eve morning, Reed had gotten up with Lara so that I could sleep in for a little while. I wasn't due until January 4th but I was thinking to myself "Self, wouldn't it be great if the baby came today?" Now, I had been saying that to myself for a whole week at this point so I didn't really think it would actually happen. I got out of bed and my water broke. Weird feeling but unmistakable. I ran into Lara's bedroom and told Reed that we were going to be at the hospital for the rest of the day and that we'd better get ready (because of course I hadn't packed anything). Contractions hadn't started yet so I took my sweet time getting ready- took a shower, finished packing, and then we opened all our presents. I knew I wasn't going to be around for Christmas and I wanted to be there when Lara opened her presents. Later on that night, Genevieve Noelle was born. All 7 pounds and 8 ounces of her.

Reed and I like to be surprised at the last minute as to the gender of our baby. I thought Vivi was a boy up to the moment I saw her. Luckily we had a boy's AND a girl's name in mind way before Vivi was born. Genevieve was chosen because it was French and Reed had spent a lot of time in Geneva on his mission. It was also the name of my first french teacher in college and I had liked the name at the time. Noelle was Reed's choice as a first name (I disagreed) so we comprised and thought it would be a good name for a baby born around the holiday time. Little did we know that she would decide to come on Christmas Eve (Get it? Genvi-EVE?).

Vivi has accomplished a lot in her first year. She is now only one pound away from Lara and is pretty much in the same size clothes as Lara (2T). She has taken a few steps and, I'm sure, will be walking confidently by the new year. She eats everything in sight and knows when anybody within 100 yards has food. It is great fun watching her when she eats! (Video of her eating her birthday cake will be posted soon).

Happy Birthday, Genevieve! We are so glad you are a part of our eternal family. You are our best Christmas present ever and we love you so much!

New Calling for Valerie

12/20/2009 07:09:00 PM Edit This 2 Comments »
This might be a weird thing to blog about but this is actually a momentous occasion. I've always had musical callings in church and I've pretty much had them all- primary chorister for about 7 years, primary pianist, church organist, and choir director. Not that I'm complaining, I looooove music. Obviously, I chose it as my profession.

With the wards being re-organized and Reed and I being in a new ward, we had the chance to sit down with our new bishop for tithing settlement. Part of that settlement was him asking us what our ideal callings were. We, of course, said we were willing to do anything. I fully expected to be called as choir director again since I knew there was a need and I had just been called to that position in our old ward. We received a call on Saturday night asking both Reed and I to meet with a member of the bishopric to talk about a new calling for me. Hmmmm... first flag right there. They don't usually talk to the spouse about a choir director calling.

I, of course, said yes when I was extended the call to be the first counselor in the Powell Ward primary presidency. My first non-musical calling in a long time! And the perfect calling for me. I absolutely love serving in the primary and, with sharing times, I'll get to do music also! Did my life just get busier? Yes. But I'm looking forward to serving in our new ward and learning new things along the way.

Lara: Popstar

12/17/2009 06:58:00 PM Edit This 2 Comments »

Experiences

12/06/2009 04:57:00 PM Edit This 3 Comments »
Today I went through my first re-allignment of ward boundaries in my entire life. It was quite the experience! For those of you who might not know, our church organizes congregations by geographical regions so where you live dictates what congregation you attend. Because of this, sometimes new congregations are formed to better serve the members in the area. Reed and I are now in another ward along with a small portion of our old ward. Exciting!

When we heard of the special meeting where the new boundaries were being announced, I knew that we were going to be in another ward. I felt fine with that because that's just the way it is. There was a moment in the meeting when members of the new congregations were asked to stand and sustain their local leaders. In that moment, I saw all the new faces of our new ward and noticed how many of our old ward were still in the old ward. I felt a twinge of emotion not because I didn't want to leave our old ward but it was the kind of feeling you get when you remember all the fun times you had with certain people. We had fun in Worthington and there are many friends there that we will miss. We are looking forward to meeting new friends and learning the ways we can serve in the Powell ward. I'm grateful for the opportunity we have to see the growth of the gospel in the world and how it impacts even our small neck of the woods!

Potty-training

12/04/2009 06:05:00 PM Edit This 3 Comments »

Last week we started potty-training Lara and after the first few days she's done a phenomenal job! I'm so proud of her but that's not the real reason I'm blogging tonight.

There are a few weird things that I've thought about during this whole process and I've decided to share them. Lucky!

1. Who decided to potty-train children and when did that happen? Were kids potty-trained in ancient Greece? I know that every culture has their own version of where and how to go to the bathroom but did everyone systematically teach their kids that version? Just wondering.

2. Is there anything else in the world that can get grown human beings get so excited about seeing poop and pee in a little potty?

3. Did you know that the bladder is a smooth muscle and it's not supposed to be voluntary? Human beings are cool creatures though and we adapted!

So there. My thoughts on potty-training.

Lara is Funny

11/23/2009 07:34:00 PM Edit This 1 Comment »

Lara is growing up so fast and she is talking a lot nowadays. Here are some funny things she says or does.

1. She sings Jordin Sparks "Battlefield" with me in the car. And she doesn't hold back!

2. While driving home late Saturday night from a very full day at my parent's farm- "Whew, I am soooooo tired."

3. When I play the organ at church, I like to look down into the congregation, find Lara, and give her a smile. This Sunday when I did that, she had a message she wanted me to hear. So she whispered very loudly "Mommy! I want a cookie!"

4. She is into giving compliments at the moment. "Wow, I like your shirt." or "Oh Mommy, your tights are so beautiful!"

5. It's hard to describe how she says certain things. She has these grown-up facial expressions at times when she's talking to us about her day, protesting, or just plain ignoring us. These expressions are complete with eye rolls, head tilts, and shoulder shrugs. She'll be a great teenager.

Pretty soon Vivi will be talking to and I know I'll be posting more quotes in the future!

Melaleuca Product of the Week: Tub & Tile

11/14/2009 07:01:00 PM Edit This 0 Comments »

We recently cleaned our bathroom. I know, it's a rare occurrence. Nonetheless, the product spotlight is on Tub & Tile, the number one bathroom cleaner in my book. I'll start with what Tub & Tile does NOT contain: harsh abrasives, chlorine bleach, or other caustic chemicals. How does it get the job done? With natural citric acid, a.k.a. lemons. I was able to clean the bathroom when I was pregnant with this cleaner and I didn't feel woozy, nauseous, or sick. I never have to worry about the fumes and Lara can help me clean with no problem! Tub & Tile works on textured tubs, rust, and dirty sinks. Niiiiiiiiiice.

Oh, by the way, love the new look of the Ecosense products.

Reed's Dream Come True

11/12/2009 04:42:00 PM Edit This 6 Comments »
Reed is a wonderful father to our two little girls and they both have him wrapped around their little fingers. It is so cute when Lara does something that just makes Reed so happy. This is one of those things-

We always read scriptures, sing a hymn or primary song, and say our prayers before bedtime.

Reed: Lara, it's time to get ready for bed. Let's go up stairs and read our *pause*...

Lara: Read Star Wars book!

Reed was beaming from ear to ear.

Finally

11/06/2009 05:29:00 PM Edit This 5 Comments »
As many of you know, our Genevieve looooooves food. So much so that she is quite loud when we're not feeding her fast enough. I've been working for months on signing with her, hoping that she would pick it up in a short amount of time to save my aching head. It took her longer than hoped but at least now she can do this...



instead of this...




Perfect example of sign language helping the development of spoken language! Figures that Vivi's first word had to do with food.

Our Fun Weekend

11/01/2009 06:30:00 PM Edit This 0 Comments »
This weekend we visited my family down in Vinton County for R.O.A.R Day at Lake Hope and Papa's 70th birthday party. My sisters, Lindey and Kimmi, created a song for Papa and it was so clever that I've decided to post it :)

Since it had rained the night before, R.O.A.R Day was quite muddy and wet. Lili and Lara were pretty good staying dry until the last 10 minutes. Grandpa was watching them and let them do this...

My Musical Girl

10/28/2009 05:25:00 PM Edit This 0 Comments »
This is what I spent the last hour singing with Lara, and she knew every word-
  • Let's Go Fly a Kite
  • Just a Spoonful of Sugar (she's really into Mary Poppins right now)
  • No More Pie (Music Together)
  • John the Rabbit (Music Together)
  • You Belong With Me (Taylor Swift)
  • Rocketship Run (Laurie Berkner)
I've also heard her sing Boom Boom Pow... I take full responsibility for that one. I just love the fact that she enjoys singing so much. We love dancing around the kitchen and singing! Thanks to the Music Together program and to our families on both sides that taught Reed and I the importance of music in the home.

Goin' Against the Gray

10/19/2009 05:16:00 PM Edit This 2 Comments »
A few weeks ago, I was talking with some co-workers about college football and one of them remarked how her husband was excited about the Michigan win over Indiana. Somebody asked her if he was a Michigan fan and she replied "No, he just likes to go against the gray." I laughed because that's exactly what I like to do.

It may come as no surprise to anyone that I am not a Buckeye fan. But most people's mouths drop to the ground when they find this fact out because I have lived in Ohio for most of my life. So, let me explain...

When I was 14 years old I became aware of the fact that most people were gaga over the local college football team. I figured since we had lived in Columbus for many years that I should join in the fun. My family was driving in the van one day when I asked my parents if they had heard that "we" had won the game on Saturday. They looked at me and said "We? 'We' are not Buckeyes!" I had never seen my parents so adament about anything sportslike. They explained that back in the day when they were at BYU, there was a football game between the Cougars and the Buckeyes. Now, usually, no matter what the rivalry on the field the bands are cool with each other and would often hang out together. Not so with the elite Buckeyes. They made a point to stay away from their fellow band geeks and even made fun of my mom, who played the tuba, saying things like "Why would you ever let a girl play tuba?"
Really? Are you 12?

So, I have been an anti-Buckeye ever since. I root for teams that I have a connection to, such as BYU or USC. Or I pick teams where I like their quarterback, like Florida. Or teams such as Texas which has a cool mascot. Or, of course, I root for my alma mater- the wonderful Ohio University. GO BOBCATS!

Just putting this out there- OSU will be beat at least 3 more times before the year is out.

Melaleuca Product of the Week: Calmicid

10/10/2009 08:14:00 PM Edit This 1 Comment »

The reason I picked my product of the week is because Vivi is 9 months old which means, although I love watching her grow and learn new things, I miss having a newborn. So, in order to remind myself why I should wait a few more months to think about having another baby, I think about all the things that are uncomfortable about being pregnant. Heartburn is one of them. The best thing that calmed my heartburn was this product- Calmicid. I would keep a bottle in my purse, just in case. I when I would wake up in the middle of the night with the heartburn, I'd just pop one of these in my mouth and I'd be good to go. Now, truthfully, I've never tried anything else so I can't compare. But why compare when something works? And it has 4 natural herbal ingredients?

Some reasons that Calmicid is better than anything else-
* Helps strengthen bones as it soothes your stomach
* Does not contain aspirin
* Calcium carbonate to neutralize acid while it strengthens your bone structure
* Ginger to soothe and help calm occasional nausea
* Chamomile to help calm the digestive tract
* Fennel seed to help ease occasional stomach cramps and gas

Blasts from the Past

10/03/2009 07:41:00 PM Edit This 3 Comments »
Tonight Reed attended the priesthood session of General Conference which meant that after the girls went to bed I had some time to myself. I finished my Shadow Children book and soon became bored and started youtubing bands that I haven't heard of for a long time. These were music groups that my sisters (Jamie and Suki specifically) and I used to listen to aaaaaaallllllll the time. I seem to remember my mom and dad liking some of them too! This was music that were probably played at church dances and to which I knew all the dance moves. So I'm posting some of the videos to see if my sisters remember any of them. Now, of course these weren't the only music groups to whom we listened. Ya' know there was 'NSync, 98 Degrees, Backstreet Boys, etc. I'm only posting the stuff from groups who are or were close to being one hit wonders.

I believe we stole B*Witched's first album from our cousin Rachel. We might have bought her a replacement eventually :)




Whoa! Do you remember these guys? We had both of their albums!



We never actually watched the movie/show/whatever it was but we liked this song.



I don't think we were a fan of the actual group. Just this particular song.



I was watching this video when Reed came home. He immediately started groaning at how old this song was and how he actually remembered it. Weren't they from Youngstown?



Ahhhhh... that was fun.

Chubbalicious

9/27/2009 06:43:00 PM Edit This 1 Comment »
This week Genevieve celebrated her 9-month birthday. That means only 3 months left until Christmas but that is beside the point. Turning 9 months means a visit to the doctor which is always fun because she gets to be weighed. The verdict at this visit- 21 1/2 pounds. This may not seem very big to some of you but to put that in our perspective, Lara is 23 pounds and is 2 1/2 years old.

Some of Vivi's nicknames- Chunky Monkey, Chubba Bubba, Hambo, Chubbalicious, and Chunkers. Most of these come from family who swear that, although spoken with the utmost adoration, as soon as Genevieve begins to understand what they're saying, they will stop calling her that :)

Other Vivi accomplishments-

1. Eating anything and everything and relishing every minute of it. Mealtimes consist of her screeching at the top of her lungs while I hurriedly dish food into her mouth or cut up something to put on her tray. I am never fast enough for her. Perhaps I will film her so that all of you will have the priviledge of hearing her pterydactl-like shrieks.

2. She already knows how to annoy Lara. Mostly by screaming. Lara absolutely hates it when Vivi screams so she will scream back at Vivi. When this happens, I hear the changes in Vivi's screams. They are no longer "I AM HUNGRY!". They become "WOW, THIS IS FUN! LET'S MAKE LARA SCREAM SOME MORE!" These exchanges usually happen in the car or while I'm on the phone.

3. Crawling and not being content with just that. She learned to crawl while at Myrtle Beach but, as soon as we got home, she began to pull herself up on anything. Chairs, couches, people, the wall, her crib, shelves, toys, bumbos, etc. She really wants to start cruising along these things but inevitably ends up on the ground. This week she has even let go a few times but has promptly fallen down. IMHO, subsequent children should always walk later than the previous. I fear that is not the case for Vivi.

4. Getting cuter and cuter every day. Need I say more on this subject?

I haven't taken as many pictures this month as I should have. So the most recent photo I have of Genevieve is this one taken at our ward camp-out. At least you can see her very kissable cheeks! Je l'aime! Ma belle Genevieve Noelle!

Melaleuca Product of the Week: Simply Fit Crackers

9/22/2009 06:05:00 PM Edit This 1 Comment »

Lara was asking for crackers the other day and I knew which ones she wanted- the Simply Fit Crackers 7 Real Cheese. She likes to lick the top and then eat them. I prefer the Simply Fit Crackers Harvest Grain- mmmmmm, yummy. I love that they're sweet in a grainy way and crunchy. And, weirdly, I love the real seeds because I like to play with them in my mouth :). Both crackers contain 10 whole grains and seeds so much more flavorful than regular crackers.

Bon 26eme Anniversaire, ma belle!

9/15/2009 03:39:00 PM Edit This 4 Comments »
With all these celebrity tributes going on, I thought I'd put together a tribute for the biggest celebrity in my life, my lovely Island Princess, Valerie.
Enjoy the pictures!

This is Valerie's first ever birthday. Also known as birth. lol!
Look at this mohawk! Now I know where Genevieve gets it!
This one is not exactly a picture of one of her birthdays,
but I thought it was too adorable not to include!

As far as I can tell, this is her 2nd birthday which also happens to be the start of a long, happy, and productive relationship with chocolate and ice cream. Aren't those curls beautiful?

At around 5 years old, Valerie went to see a production of the Nutcracker with her father. This was also too cute to leave out!

For her 6th birthday Valerie and her family went to a Polynesian themed restaurant. As you can see, she's all smiles!


Valerie's sweet sixteen here with her sister Jamie. Wow, look how cute Josh used to be! ;)

For her 17th birthday, Valerie and a group of friends (including myself) went to the Columbus Zoo, and we had dinner at Wendys. Wow, Mormon teens are original... We had a great time!

Valerie didn't like me at that time. But I liked her a lot, and I tried to be at her side as much as I could, as evident in this photo.

I know that there are only 12 candles on this cake, but I promise she was older than that! I think that we actually made the candles count as 2 each.
This, unfortunately is the closest picture that I have to her current age. Great Grandma Laulusa came to visit, and Valerie got to spend some fun time with her and the girls.



It is difficult for me to find the words to express how grateful I am for my wonderful wife, and though these pictures do not say everything I want to say I feel that they communicate to some degree the love I have for her.

Happy birthday, Love! And here's to many years of you whooping me in your new Star Trek Scene it! game.

Computer Rant

9/12/2009 06:56:00 AM Edit This 0 Comments »
It's been too long since my last post. Part of that is because work started back up to a 5-day work week so it's extra busy. The other part is that one night our computer just turned off by itself and didn't turn back on. $350 later we basically have a new computer.

I love technology, and I can't live without it. And I understand that new strides are being made in the computer industry every day which makes our computers run faster and more efficiently. But I think it's a little ridiculous that we had to buy a new motherboard, processor, hard drive, more ram, and possibly a power supply all because one thing in our computer broke. And because we had to buy that one thing, we had to buy all the other components because things had changed so much that the connections for everything was different and wouldn't work without the newer versions. Harumph.

But I am glad that our computer is back up and running.

Myrtle Beach

9/01/2009 05:24:00 PM Edit This 0 Comments »
We had a lot of fun at Myrtle Beach with Auntie Kimmi, Uncle Josh, Grandma Flute, and Grandpa. Here is a video of Lara in an airlift chair during our visit of SciWorks in North Carolina. We always try to visit a science center or zoo that is part of our reciprocal memberships. It gives us a driving break and it's fun!




We visited Broadway at the Beach on Tuesday evening especially to see the fireworks. I was excited to take Lara on the carousel but for some reason all she wanted to do was sit on the non-moving bench on said carousel. Boring. But we had fun eating ice cream and fudge, playing on the playground, finding 80% off sales (it was the end of the season so vendors just wanted their stuff gone), and watching fireworks.
















Lara wanted to take this picture but there was a shop light shining on the cutouts and I couldn't get a really good shot. But this one of Vivi is really cute!




We loved seeing the different wildlife in South Carolina- lizards, frogs, snakes, fish, crabs, birds, etc.















Both of the girls absolutely loved the beach!

Does this picture say everything? We had a great time!

Lara Quote

8/30/2009 05:49:00 PM Edit This 2 Comments »
We were waiting at a gas station in Charleston, West Virginia for my family to catch up with us. Reed let Lara into the driver's seat and this is their conversation.

Reed: Do you want to drive?

Lara: Yeah! *climbs onto Daddy's lap and puts her hand on the wheel*

Reed: *makes car noises* Brrrrr..... Beep, beep!

Lara: Uh, Daddy, I need the keys!

They start young.

Melaleuca Product of the Week: Hydrogel

8/29/2009 04:07:00 PM Edit This 0 Comments »

We recently returned from a week at the beach (a post and facebook pictures about that to come later) and while there, I cultivated a love for the spotlighted product today- Hydrogel. All of us got sunburned on our first full day at the beach but thanks to Hydrogel, it wasn't too bad. Hydrogel soothes and moisturizes sunburned skin and it feels oh so good after a day at the beach. It contains a formula of algae (who knew algae could be so cool), aloe, melaleuca oil, and advanced E (an antioxidant).

Two Beautiful Eyes

8/21/2009 12:17:00 PM Edit This 3 Comments »
Take a look at these eyes...

Notice how clear and blue and beautiful they are? Yay! There is no gunk in her eyes!

Our wonderful Genevieve was born with clogged tear ducts and the doctor assured us that she would grow out of it. Her left eye cleared up within the first month but that stubborn right eye kept gooping up. Sometimes it would get so red and irritated because of the oozing and me trying to keep it clean. But today I noticed that her eyes were clear and that I hadn't had to clean them for a while! And not a moment too soon. I was getting mighty tired of people asking me if I knew that my daughter had an eye infection. Did you know that any liquid that is concentrated changes color? It is a common misconception that if any liquid oozing from facial orifices is green or yellow that means an infection. It might mean that there's just a lot of liquid. Anyways, we're all happy that Vivi's face is gunk-free and beautiful!

Grandpa and Grandma "Loo-sa"

8/20/2009 06:49:00 AM Edit This 0 Comments »
My cousin, Matt, came home from his mission to Pheonix, AZ last week and so my grandparents flew in from CA to visit. We don't get to see them very often so it was exciting for them to meet Genevieve and see Lara again. We were able to visit with them at a park down in Zanesville on Saturday and then they visited Monday before heading off to Dayton for their flight. Now, did I take any pictures at Matt's homecoming open house? No. Did I take any pictures at the park? No. Silly me. But we did get some pictures of Grandpa and Grandma Laulusa with the girls.

Vivi was only too happy to oblige. She loved showing off her pre-crawling skills and loved Grandpa's glasses.

Lara, on the other hand, was in her shy mode and refused to smile for the pictures.

I knew that as soon as they left Lara would be talking about Great-Grandma and Great-Grandma "Loo-sa" and all the fun she had with them at the park. And sure enough as their car drove away... "Mommy, Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Loo-sa! We go to the park!" She still talks about them this week.
*sigh* Hopefully the next time we see them she'll have grown out of that phase.

Melaleuca Product of the Week: Cereal

8/17/2009 07:19:00 AM Edit This 0 Comments »

Melaleuca's cereal is part of their Fiberwise product line. All of the Fiberwise products contain psyllium husk, herbs, vitamins, and antioxidants dedicated to help your digestive tract be the healthiest it can be. My favorite cereal is the strawberry but Reed prefers the cinnamon clusters. This cereal contains more grams of soluble fiber than Kashi and is at a comparable price! Did you know... "As the soluble fiber in psyllium husk absorbs liquid while moving through the digestive tract, it also absorbs cholesterol and bile acids, allowing them to pass out of the body instead of being absorbed by the intestines. The result is a natural lowering of blood cholesterol levels."
One more reason to add the Fiberwise products to your daily diet. I might highlight some more Fiberwise products at a later date.

Our State Fair is a Great State Fair

8/12/2009 05:30:00 PM Edit This 5 Comments »
Don't miss it, don't even be late.

Name that musical.

Anyways, it's a tradition for our family to attend the state fair and I was excited this year because I knew Lara would be way into everything- animals, food, entertainment... She might have been into the rides if we had gone, but we never do the rides.

Originally, Reed wasn't going to be able to take the time off of work to go with us to the fair. But he decided that it was his duty as a dad to take Lara fishing.

He's sure glad he came!


Another highlight for Lara was seeing Uncle Jonathan, who had spent the summer working at a scout camp. In fact, whenever I told her that we would be seeing Grandma Flute and the rest of the crew, she knew to tell me "Jonathan at work." She didn't believe me that we would actually see him the day of the fair.


I'm pretty proud of this next picture because I have been wanting to try a back carry with my wrap for a while. I needed Reed to help put Vivi on my back (not comfortable doing that by myself) and she loved it. She stayed in that carry for about an hour and fell asleep there too!


For the first time this year we watched the draft horse hitched team competition called the Governor's Cup. Pretty exciting, I think we'll go see it again next year. Lara loved to clap along with everyone else. And begged to stay and see more horsies. Alas, it was past bedtime so home we went.

All in all, it was a fun visit! Can't wait for next year. In tribute, a clip from the musical that I quoted in my title and opening post line. Not the title song (couldn't find it on YouTube) but one of the better known ones.



Melaleuca Product of the Week: Melaleuca Oil

8/08/2009 07:23:00 PM Edit This 1 Comment »

I asked Reed which product should be this week's highlight and he said "Melaleuca oil." Therefore, Melaleuca oil- Melaleuca is the scientific name for tea tree oil. It's an essential oil and has 6 properties, each of which does something different and you can read about those properties here. We've mostly used the oil in the humidifier and in steamy water to help Lara with her bouts of croup. I've also diluted Melaleuca oil in another carrier oil (like olive) to put in Lara's ears for her ear infections. (I love the smell of Melaleuca oil, mmmmmmm. Some people say it takes some getting used to but I love it). Reed says that he sometimes uses it straight on cuts and they heal faster. It's very versatile :)

Little Sister's Dilemna

8/07/2009 05:34:00 PM Edit This 2 Comments »
Yesterday Reed and I took the girls to the fair with my family, minus a few siblings. I'll post more pictures of that later but today I wanted to post about something that happened at the fair.

Some of us had gone to the Ag building so that Kimmi, Josh, and Jonathan could climb the climbing wall. There were a few other things for Lara to do so Kimmi, Josh, and Jonathan waited in line without the rest of us. When Reed and I got back to watch the climbing Reed remarked that he thought someone was hitting on Kimmi. I looked over and I saw her in line with Josh and this guy who obviously had taking a liking to her. I knew just by the one look that the young man had some mental delays and that Kimmi was trying to be nice but was really uncomfortable. But it was too late to do anything, she was at the front of the line and about to climb. Lara was anxious to see her beloved Auntie Kimmi so we waited at the end of the climb for her. After Kimmi was done we rushed her out of the building (the young man was still climbing) because it was obvious that she was really nervous. Apparently he had started talking to her and somehow came to the conclusion that after the climb they would be exchanging numbers. I had to run back into the Ag building to get Jonathan who was still climbing and then gave him a what-for talking to about how he should have been looking out for his younger sister. I mean, that's what older brothers are supposed to do. (Usually after lectures like this Jonathan is in a bad mood. He must have realized I was right because he still talked with me for the rest of the day). The poor young man was still wandering around the building, probably wondering where Kimmi had run off to. I assured Kimmi that he probably had no idea that he was making her uncomfortable but I'm not sure if that helped her feel better or not.

Anyways, I have been thinking about this incident and wondering what I would have done in Kimmi's shoes. I remember giving a guy a made-up number one time but he was D-R-U-N-K and he probably wasn't going to remember anything in the morning anyways. So, I would like all ladies to post your opinions or stories here and I'll share them with Kimmi :) It might be nice to laugh about it now!

One year older and wiser too

8/02/2009 05:19:00 PM Edit This 8 Comments »

Happy 27th Birthday, Reed!

In honor of Reed's birthday, the girls and I put together a list of 27 things we love about Daddy (Reed).

1. Happy Daddy, Grumpy Daddy. (This is a game that Reed plays with Lara. She tells him an emotion and he makes the face.)
2. He plays outside.
3. He makes everything into a game- going to bed, changing a diaper, eating, you name it, it's a game.
4. He pulls weeds, rearranges mulch, and generally comments on every landscaping detail... in a mall parking lot.
5. He is very handy around the house. He can fix leaky pipes, tile our floor, garden, carry heavy bookshelves, unclog toilets, etc.
6. He has good spatial awareness. He can look at a room and visualize a better way to arrange it. This also means that he is good at packing up boxes and packing up trunks. Everything fits neatly when he packs stuff.
7. Vivi's face lights up when Reed walks into the room.
8. He is quick to admit when he needs to work on certain aspects of his life.
9. He cooks.
10. He does the dishes every morning before I get up for work.
11. He works hard for our family- at work and at school.
12. He loves to sing and he has a wonderful voice which blends well. Lara loves singing with him and they do it quite often.
13. He can pick up his cello after years of not playing and sound like he has been practicing every day for months.
14. He magnifies his callings as a counselor in the Elder's Quorum, and a father. Sometimes it is hard to balance, but he does a wonderful job.
15. He is willing to help whoever is in need. About a month ago, one of our neighbor's came and asked him if he would clean up a dead bird that had appeared on her walkway. He's not the only guy around the area, but she must have known that he would be ready and willing.
16. He tries to keep up with his French speaking and I love it when he talks en francais avec Lara et moi.
17. Lara loves when Reed plays horsie with her. Especially when he sings Trot Trot while they're playing.
18. He has learned how to sing books in rhyme and Lara listens with rapt attention whenever he does. He could be a great music therapist :)
19. He makes up the best songs. In that respect, he's a better music therapist than I.
20. He does not like all the shows that I do (any show with dancing or reality shows) but I appreciate that he'll mostly keep the snarky comments to a minimum while I'm watching.
21. He knows that I jump at scary parts in movies so he offers his arm automatically when he knows one is forthcoming.
22. Vivi loves when Reed plays rhythm sticks with her or when he sings to her.
23. She also loves it when he kisses her cheeks.
24. He shaves his face just for me.
25. He calls me or writes me little notes at random times.
26. He scoops the cat litter.
27. We know that he loves us because he shows us every day.

Ode to Rita's Italian Ice and Custard

7/31/2009 05:51:00 PM Edit This 10 Comments »

Oh Rita, how I love thee.
Thou hast all sorts of flavors, new ones every day.
I have tasted not a single one twice.
Thine custard is thick and delish.
Thine ice is cold and Lara thinketh that it is better than ice cream.
I love thine Gelati's- custard on bottom, ice in the middle, custard on top.
Better yet, I love the coupons that make thee really affordable.
Three words that I love- 50 cents off.
Lara knows thy store front by sight and yells "ICE CREAM" when we pass by.
Which we usually don't because we're coming to thy store.
How I love thy Double Stamp Tuesdays.
Free stuff? I cannot pass it up.
I look forward to Fridays, my date days with Lara and Vivi.
We sit on thy patio and eat delicious eats.
We talk about food, toys, family, and whatever else Lara talks about.
My favorite flavor ice so far- Mint Chocolate Chip.
My favorite custard- is there any other? Chocolate.
Oh Rita's, how I love thee!

Smartmouth

7/28/2009 06:38:00 PM Edit This 3 Comments »
Me: Lara, put on your shoes. We need to go to the library.

Lara: Mommy, stop whining!

Melaleuca Product of the Week: PreSpot

7/27/2009 06:02:00 PM Edit This 2 Comments »

Lara wore a really cute pink overalls outfit that was given to her at a baby shower. The overalls have white eyelet lining the straps and has pictures of bears and flowers across the chest. Very cute. I look forward to Vivi wearing the same outfit next summer (or sooner the way she's growing). Well, I went to get Lara from daycare and she had green streaks on her bum from sitting on a bench with grass clippings on it. Oh no! But did I panic? Was I disappointed because Vivi would get a stained outfit from her sister? No! I know that the stains will come out with a simple treatment of PreSpot. PreSpot was recently reformulated so that it could be 4 times concentrated meaning less plastic in our environment. The new PreSpot also contains 3 naturally derived enzymes (lipase to tackle grease stains, protease to tackle proteins and amylase to tackle starch) instead of caustic chemicals that burn your fabric. There's a page of Frequently Asked Questions about PreSpot on Melaleuca's website. This is a must-have product for those with kids!

Angel Food

7/24/2009 10:29:00 AM Edit This 4 Comments »
A co-worker told me about a non-profit organization that runs a food program called Angel Food. It's an organization that serves families and individuals who just want to save money on buying food for their families. You order once a month by a designated time, and then pick up your food at your nearest location. Ours happens to be a church in Powell. On standard box of Angel Food is nutritionally balanced and can feed a family of 4 for a week. There are also fruit and meat expansion boxes that you can also purchase. The price of these boxes are about half the price of the same food at the grocery store and, best of all, it's not damaged goods or expired food. It's perfectly good food from companies that have agreed to partner with this non-profit.

At first I was a little hesitant to try out the program. Reed and I work hard to provide for our families and I didn't like the idea of possibly taking away from other people in need. But after visiting their website, reading about the program, and talking to my co-worker, I decided it was worth a try. The program doesn't have any limitations or qualifications you have to meet in order to participate. It's just for anybody who is on a budget and wants to save money.

We've been really impressed so far. The people are so nice when we go to pick up our food. You don't feel judged at all. The food is great and definitely a good price. We've been able to save around $100 off our grocery budget per month! Angel Food also helps us to use up everything we've bought before going to the store. We have our Angel Food in the middle of the month and I refuse to go grocery shopping until at least 2 weeks have passed. It forces us to be ingenious and go without things that we normally would hop over to the store to purchase. It also, *sigh*, forces me to cook.

Visit www.angelfoodministries.com to learn more!

Our Eventful Night

7/18/2009 07:33:00 PM Edit This 5 Comments »
Sometimes you just have to experience a night like tonight so that you can have something to laugh over later in life.

I was excited last week to purchase Popcorn Pops tickets at half price- only $6 per ticket! Only catch was I had to buy 4 at a time (kids 2 and under are free) so we invited our friends the Dschaaks to come along to the concert tonight. We arrived at CAS with some blue skies above us, a good sign or so we thought. We got up to the ticket takers and discovered that this was a Picnic with the Pops concert, not Popcorn Pops... I had somehow gotten my dates mixed up. I tried to exchange the tickets and just pay the difference but since they were discounted tickets the ticket people told me that wasn't possible. I walked back to our group, dejected and feeling rather foolish. We decided to just go to a park and have our picnic dinners but then one of the managers of the event said that they would just take our tickets and we could go to the concert. Yay!

Oh, were it that the tickets would be our only snaffoo in our lovely evening. But no. It started raining about 20 minutes into the picnic (the concert hadn't started yet) and it rained for a good half hour. Our blankets were soaked and so were my jeans. I managed to keep Vivi dry and Lara was pretty dry also. We decided to tough it out for the first part of the concert. Lara loved it! Reed had taken her up to see the instruments while they were tuning and she came back and told me all about them. During the concert she would clap her hands and ask for more after the piece was done. She was having such a fun time but it was rather chilly and since we were wet that just made it worse. I knew that I would be forever kicking myself if we didn't stay for at least one song in the second half since Aaron Neville was the guest artist. We stayed for the first 2 songs and then started to leave when he started playing the one song that I really, really wanted to hear! He had sung a duet with Linda Rondstadt called Don't Know Much that Reed and I like to sing together. I was happy that I at least got to hear that song. Even though really, I wasn't supposed to be at that concert at all.

We were all glad to get home and change into dry clothes and the girls were exhausted. Kudos to the Dschaaks for being good sports! They were so positive throughout the whole thing, we couldn't have picked a better family with which to have a potential horrible evening.

At least she's happy!

You can't really tell from this picture, but everything is soaked.

The Dschaaks, also with everything soaked.

The sun did come out for about 10 minutes at the very beginning of the concert.

Melaleuca Product of the Week: No Work

7/14/2009 06:09:00 PM Edit This 3 Comments »
In the back of my mind this week is the thought that I need to clean the bathroom. So I have chosen my highlighted product because it's one that allows me to go a long time between cleanings of said bathroom, specifically the shower. I spray No Work on the walls after a shower or bath and it penetrates soap scum so that it doesn't stick to the walls. No Work makes my job easier and it's non-toxic. Big bonus.

A first for me

7/11/2009 06:43:00 PM Edit This 2 Comments »
Yesterday I took Lara and Genevieve to a little playground by our house. It was a really hot day and nobody was around except for this cute little boy. He saw us playing and came over to say hi, such a cute boy with chubby cheeks and big eyes. He pretty much told me his life story- 8 years old, he likes a cartoon called Baku Balls (or something) and had one of the toys which he showed Lara, he's a yellow belt in Tai Kwon Do, has an older brother, older sister, and younger brother and younger sister, a dad and 3 moms... Eh, what? I asked him more about his moms and he explained that he has a step-mom and she was working at that particular moment and that his other moms were married to each other... Eh, what? I tried to hide my surprise but I had never met someone who actually had 3 moms.

Bathtub Babes

7/06/2009 02:38:00 AM Edit This 7 Comments »
I gave Lara and Vivi a bath at the same time, for the first time, a few days ago. Usually we just pop them in the shower with us, it's much easier that way. But I was by myself because Reed is back at school, and Lara was absolutely filthy from playing outside. So a bubblebath it is! They were having so much fun that I had to run get the camcorder. I know, bad Mommy for leaving them in the tub by themselves. But I literally ran downstairs and ran back up! It was worth it for this cute video!


Melaleuca Product of the Week: Lip Balm

7/02/2009 07:04:00 PM Edit This 3 Comments »

This might seem like a silly product to have highlighted but I honestly can't function without my lip balm. With other lip balms and chapsticks I have to constantly keep applying them to be effective and they often feel very waxy. Sun Shades Lip Balm has 15 SPF and comes in 3 "flavors", my favorite being the vanilla bean. During the winter holiday season there's even more "flavors" which is really exciting!

Captain EO

6/30/2009 04:40:00 AM Edit This 0 Comments »
I was on a mission to figure out what 3-D movie was at Disneyland that starred Michael Jackson. I remember seeing it on a family trip to Disneyland when I was 4 years old. After searching the IMDB and thanks to YouTube, I discovered it was Captain EO and all about how Captain EO saved the universe from an evil queen by singing and dancing. The short film was directed by Francis Ford Coppola and screenplay by George Lucas. The full version is posted on YouTube but I'm just going to put the main song from the movie. I love the part where the guards turn into MJ's dancers :) Fun stuff!

Tribute

6/25/2009 07:09:00 PM Edit This 5 Comments »
Reed read my blog tonight and asked why I hadn't written anything about Michael Jackson yet. I'm not sure why he cared because when I told him about the news he started laughing at me! Ah well, I still love him even when he makes fun of me.

So, my family went to Disneyland when I was around 4 years old. We saw a 3-D movie there that starred Michael Jackson as a captain of some spacefaring vessel and there was singing and dancing and a storyline that I don't remember. I was very confused about how a person named Michael Jackson could look and sound so girly. Later on I remember driving in a van with my family to a park and listening to an audio cassette of Michael Jackson's album Bad. My favorite song was Man in the Mirror and even at a young age I listened to the lyrics and found them to be very powerful. That song continues to be my favorite MJ song of all time and it started a love of his music. My dad bought the HIStory CD set and I listened to it so much that when I went away to college he let me take it with me!

I don't really know why he turned all weird and psychotic but I'm sure he had a legitimate reason. Bottom line is that a piece of music history would have been lost if Michael Jackson had not been born. Where would artists like Justin Timberlake have gotten their inspiration? Who would have invented moonwalking? Where would the 20-minute long music video be? I'm sure my family will make fun of me for posting this :) I would like to go on record as saying that I didn't cry when I heard the news, I'm not that crazy.

In tribute, here is my favorite song being performed at the 1988 Grammy's, complete with gospel choir.

Nightmare?

6/22/2009 07:15:00 PM Edit This 3 Comments »
Our 30-day free trial of cable ends this week so I was enjoying a chicky TLC show the other day. At least, I thought it would be enjoyable because most TLC shows are. But this one left me hyperventilating in my seat. It was called Twins by Surprise and, like the title would suggest, it was 4 stories of women who during labor discovered that they were delivering, not one baby but two! All of the women had no genetic markings for twins which made me hyperventilate even more. My only comfort- the reasons these women did not know that they were carrying twins until birth are avoidable. 1. Not having a home birth and home prenatal care (having home prenatal care would mean no ultrasounds). 2. Having a modern birth (one of the women delivered back in the day when ultrasounds were not available). 3. An unassisted home birth (um, who in their right mind would choose that?! This woman birthed footling breach twins with a very frantic husband as her only companion! Very dangerous). Whew, I'm breathing... I'm breathing... I'm breathing...

Happy Father's Day!

6/21/2009 05:58:00 PM Edit This 2 Comments »
I asked Lara some questions about her Daddy-

Q: What do you like to do with your daddy?
A: Daddy tickles.

Q: What books do you like to read with Daddy?
A: Thomas the train! (Which is actually the Little Engine that Could but she thinks that all engines are Thomas right now).

Q: What songs do you like to sing with Daddy?
A: ABC's, Twinkle Twinkle, Up and Down.

Q: Do you love Daddy?
A: *giggles and smiles really big*