Going "Green"

Now that Jonathan is crawling around, my conscience has turned to more "kid" friendly and "environmentally" friendly cleaning products. I have been pondering this for a while, and decided that I would make the change for the health of my family and if it helps out the planet? Why not? My friend told me that she uses vinegar to clean her wood floors. I thought to myself..."Vinegar can actually be useful? AND kid/environment friendly?", so I gave it a try today. I dug around my house looking for some vinegar. One always has a random bottle in their cupboard, that you buy thinking that "someday" you will need it. Well..today was the day. I dusted it off and got to work scrubbing my floors. It seemed to work pretty well, except that it has a NASTY smell. I kept thinking that it would die out a little, but it continues to live on. You really notice it as you walk out and come back inside. Pee-uu! If this is what environmentally friendly smells like? NO thanks. I decided to go online, and do some research on vinegar. Why on earth would anyone want to keep using this stuff, when it makes your house smell like a truck load of rotten cole slaw has been dumped in your living room? One thing I read said, "Don't worry about your house smelling like vinegar, the smell goes away after it dries.." yeah right, It's been 7 hours now, and it still stinks. And then I read on and learned a valuable word. A word that made the whole universe come back into alignment. What is this word? Dilute... Use 1/4 cup vinegar to 1 gallon water when cleaning vinyl floors. Oh. That would have been helpful. Didn't think about diluting the gallon of vinegar. Dilute. One word, that makes all the difference.

Book

I had a deep conversation with Nathan the other day. One that left me speechless, until the laughing started, and didn't quit for about 10 minutes.

Nathan: "I am going to write a book".
Me: Thinking..."wow...my son is so brilliant, I am so proud..."
Nathan: "And I am going to title it, "Mom Farts".

My little biographer.

Charlie Bit my Finger

I love this video, every time Nathan and I watch it, we just crack up, and we find ourselves quoting it several times a day. The simple pleasures. In fact, Nathan just wandered out of bed as I was typing this, and we had to watch it one time before he went back to bed. Family time....all hours of the night. Love it.

Mouse in my house

So I am sitting in my kitchen minding my own business the other night, and out of the corner of my eye, I see a mouse run across the kitchen floor. I guess I made some in-human sound because Trent was asking me what was wrong from the other room. One likes to feel safe in knowing that their house is free from rodents, especially since I have a crawling baby. eeww. Mice cooties everywhere. I expected mice in our house in Pocatello (I have a really gross mouse story to share another time) livin out in the boon dockies, but in the neighborhood? I purchased some mouse traps, but wasn't sure where to put them. Then, to my utter dismay/delight, I spotted the mouse again in my tiny laundry room. I jumped up, closed the door, and became... a Mouse Hunter. I set the traps with peanut butter and put them in the laundry room. In about 15 minutes I hear SNAP! I was ecstatic. Me Mighty Mouse Hunter. Me catch mouse. And then, a 1/2 second later, I felt kindof bad......but it passed. Now to dispose of the thing. Gross! Trent asked me how I got the mouse out of the trap. Ya right. Trap and all went out into the garbage. Recycling a mouse trap? I don't think so. I then went out into the garage and layed out 6 packets of De-con. If there are any animal lovers out there....too bad. I am a mouse hunter...get over it. :) (at least I didn't attatch pictures of my mouse) The next morning, ALL of the packets were eaten. Oh my....how many mice are in my garage? ewwww! I am surrounded by cats. Literally surrounded. The lady next door has 8 cats, the other next door, has 4 cats...etc. I think my house is a safe house for rodents. I am the neighborhood litter box, but don't get me started about that topic. It's the sabbath, and I dont' want to feel angry. I pondered for another 1/2 second about getting a cat...and then that passed. More de-con should do it. I have no idea when or where I am going to find dead mice. But, I feel safe in knowing, that for the time being, there is no more "mouse in my house".

Piano Man

Nathan has been in piano a few months now and it has been quite the process. I can understand my mothers frustrations with me and my whole piano experience a lot better now (frustrated in the sense that I was an ideal child, who was so compliant and did whatever was asked of me, including practicing the piano every day, heh heh). The other day Nathan was practicing his piano, with such a cheerful heart because he LOVES to practice, practice, practice (payback time for all the flack I gave my mom growing up about practicing), and as he was playing I asked him to point to the note he was playing. He could not point to where he was at in the song. I had been wondering what was going on, because anytime Nathan would start a new song, it was like pure torture, (and I mean torture, it would take him forever to figure out a note, he would lay on the piano bench...yadda yadda) until he got to the end and heard how it sounded, and then he could figure it out. He hears a song, and then can play it. All these months of piano, and my son can barely read notes! He is so clever, I did the same sort of thing though, and I am sure my mother is LOVING this whole situation. (she didn't play the piano so I fooled her much longer) Nathan can be really good at the piano, "if" we can survive this whole process. I am pretty stubborn so I will win this battle. :) Here is a video of him playing the "Indian Song". It brings back the days of the Pocatello High Indians. Oskee Ow ow!

New Hairstyle

Conversation with Nathan
Nathan: "Have you had this haircut your whole life?"
Me: "Not my whole life, but your whole life I have".
Nathan: "huh."

End of conversation.
Wow...deep stuff eh? Boys are so non-communicative. (I think I just made up that word, sounds impressive). The fashion guru has spoken, maybe it is time to get a new hairstyle?

Wind Tunnel

It was an absolutely Gorgeous Weekend here. Saturday was 78 degrees and sunny (last saturday it was 38 and rainy!) Jonathan and I were in the car, and I didn't want to turn on the air conditioner (conserve gas and all), so as we were getting on the freeway I rolled down the window in my Honda civic and let the cool breeze filter in. Jonathan sits right behind me and I have a mirror set up so we can see each other...precious I know. (heh heh) As I was enjoying the cool breeze, pondering the goodness of life, and nature, and blue skies and sun, some movement from the back of the car caught my eye. I looked back into the mirror and the movement was Jonathans hair whipping around all over the place, and he was sucking in some serious air. Talk about a "breath of fresh air"! After I got the window rolled back up and he got his breath back, he gave me a talkin to. Baby babble of course, but he was lookin at me in the mirror and giving me a piece of his mind. He was not happy about his experience with nature. Who knew that my little honda would create such a wind tunnel to the back seat? Nothing like getting some 70 mph wind in the face. Go figure. :)

Bed Head?

Could one argue that the severity of one's bed head, determines the quality of sleep? Yes...Yes it does. Let's just say that Teething Toddlers, are totally Tiresome! It was a long night for all who are in the house....wait...Trent and Nathan slept through the entire thing. Am I jealous? You're darn tootin right I am. I guess Jonathan and I get to spend a lot of "quality" time together. This morning, there were two teeth that had broken through the gum! Halla-stinkin-lujah! I feel like I have given birth to each one of Jonathan's teeth. Jonathan + Teething=Nightmare. I'm still "feelin the love" though. :)

Lesson Learned

As I spent everyday this week spending some quality time with my chiropractor (twice a day to be exact!), I have learned a valuable lesson. I woke up Sunday night with horrible neck pain. I could not lay in any position that was comfortible, so I got out of bed and tried to deal with the pain. I finally caved in and took some ibuprofen to knock the pain, and had to keep drugged up for the next 3 days in order to even kindof function. (and you know how I rarely take drugs...thus my motto "Toughen up Buttercup", but sometimes the butter is not tough, and one must medicate) My neck was totally messed up. I looked like a wierdo, because it was all spasmed up so I could not turn my neck at all, you should see me trying to drive! It gave the word, "Stiffneckedness" in the Book of Mormon a whole new meaning. I am happy to report that today it is finally loosening up, and there is light at the end of the tunnel. So what is this valuable lesson that I learned? I learned that no one over the age of 30 should go sledding. Sledding is evil for old farts and should be avoided at all costs. Was it really worth Whiplash to impress a bunch of 8 year olds? I say, it is not. If you don't know what I am talking about, refer to my posting "Show me da Snow" for more details. Just say No to sledding.

Crawling Machine

We now have a crawling machine on our hands. Saturday he just decided it was time to crawl and he took off. It is amazing that he learned it all on his own. And I mean ALL on his own. Anytime I would see Nathan up in the crawl stance, I would tell him to quit showing Jonathan, we don't want this kid to crawl any earlier than necessary! :) I feel fortunate that he is 9 months and just started to crawl, we dodged that bullet for a while. It has been fun to watch him, and it has opened a whole new world for him. The world of dust balls, and bugs in the sliding glass door rail, old cheerios that had been lying hidden under the fridge, ant traps that had not been put up on the counter, and any other teeny pieces of food, dirt, plastic, leaves, wrappers, etc..that no human eye could see unless they were down on their hands and knees. I have been vaccuming and mopping a lot these days. It is amazing the things things he finds! It was gross when he had black stuff all over his face and upon closer inspection it was little bug parts, possibly a fly? Extra protein I guess. I am never alone now either. He crawls to everywhere that I am (including outside the bathroom door while I am in there!) and cries at my feet. The sounds of motherhood, I should record them onto a CD for all to enjoy. It could be the new abstinence campaign, just straight crying and whining for a solid 1/2 hr. That should just about do it. I have to say that a crawling baby is pretty cute. Can't wait for church on Sunday, should be interesting. PS...Beware of the obnoxious sounding mommy voice on the video. Yikes! PSS, I am now adding another video. As I was trying to put the first video on, Jonathan was of course at my feet crying, and he got himself in quite a pickle. Thought I would add it. Love my life.

Feel The Love

I got me a new header for my blog page. My friend Arlyn designed this for me as a surprise, and I love it! I LOVE Daisies, and it has my two favorite sayings, "Feel the Love" and "Toughen up Buttercup". I have worked with the youth in my church for many years, and all of them can tell you that I often say, "Feel the Love". It is a well used quote of mine. And as for the "Toughen up buttercup" ? , well that one comes in handy. For instance, when Nathan gets plowed over in a soccer game and is slow to get up and all the parents are concerned and making sure that I know that it is my son who is down on the field, I am yelling for him to shake it off, and then I'll add "Toughen up Buttercup" to lighten the mood among the parents. Maybe I should have T-shirts made with the logo? Or when some women get together and start whining, I'll throw that quote in. It works for me. Are you "Feelin the love" right now, cuz I sure love ya'll. :)

Show me da Snow!

It is spring break here in Vancouver, and we wanted to do something different. We wanted to play in some snow, so we hopped in the car and headed to the mountains. Our friends came along on our little adventure. (Robin, Emily, Maddie and Annie) We all put on some rented snow shoes (Robin and I took turns sitting in the car with the babies, in case you were wondering) and we went out trekkin. It was wonderful! It was so awesome to walk along, and hear the sound of nothingness, except for the crunching of the snow and the slight breeze. The snow was glistening in the sun (yes, the sun was actually out! Miracle I know!). Now for those of you who know about me and exercise...that I am allergic to it, might be surprised to hear that I LOVED snow shoeing. Who knew? Guess it is good to try new things every now and then.

You can see Mt. Hood in the background....isn't it gorgeous? Well...after the snow shoeing, we moved on to the sledding portion of the trip. As I watched Nathan and Emily sledding down the hill, it looked like fun, so I decided to give it a whirl. We hiked up the hill and I got on the sled and took off. Well, I didn't factor in that I am much heavier than an 8 year old, so I was screaming like a little girl as I was bombing down the hill gaining momentum on a death trap that you cannot steer or control. I hit a jump at the bottom of the hill, flying off of the sled and barely skidding to a stop before dropping down the hill into the parking lot. The kids were all telling me that I now needed to try out the "faster" sled. I couldn't say No...the peer pressure of an 8 year old was just too much to bear. I guess I should have remembered the Nancy Reagan slogan, "Just Say No". I'll remember that one in the future. I took that second run, and let me just say that I went faster, and caught some "serious air" according to the kids (I think I blacked out mid jump). Let's just say that I am not as young as I use to be and ended up crawling my way out of the situation, all the while trying to look cool. I ended up at the chiropractor the next day with a kinked neck, that we are still trying to un-kink. Other than the sledding episode, the day was fabulous!

Baseball Beginneth

Baseball has begun. I have mixed emotions about the whole baseball season. Mainly because it lasts SO long (March 3rd-middle of June!!), and it is cold and rainy here for the outside practices and games. HOWEVER, when he put on the baseball uniform, he looked so cute...errr...I mean handsome! It is fun to watch the games. He is such a good ball player. He is learning to pitch this year, and is enjoying that. I have not been as nervous/competitive while watching his games this year. And then I figured out why....it is because I am wrestling with an 8 month old for the two hour games. My mind is occupied elsewhere. Guess that is a good thing. :) I am secretly hoping that he will pick basketball as his main sport. Never have to worry about weather for that one. He is currently doing basketball too. We didn't realize that the seasons overlapped so much. Keeps us busy.

Statistics

Hitting 32 for 38 with 26 runs scored, Pitching: 11 innings 3 runs allowed, 12 strikeouts

New Camera anyone?

My digital camera drives me crazy! By the time it does all the fancy smancy blinking and red eye whatever, most of my pictures end up looking like these? Need I say more? Jonathan will be laughing and smiling and I'll snap the picture and 20 seconds later, he ends up looking like a crack head. Sheesh! I really need to get a better camera. Maybe the camera fairy will come and leave one under my pillow?

Great to be Eight!

Nathan's baptism day was awesome. He had Grandpa Kunz baptize him and Trent confirm him. He asked two of his friends to give talks. One was on baptism (Melanie, 8 yrs old) and the other was on the Holy Ghost (Emily, 11 yrs. old), and they did an AWESOME job. It is fun to hear a kids perspective on those topics, and Nathan really listened and learned a lot. So did we! They even had pictures, and object lessons. It was quite impressive. Nathan really likes the song, I Love to see the Temple, so he asked me to sing it. It was a great day. Nathan was a little bit nervous, but as he came up out of the water he had a huge smile on his face. It was so cute. There were almost 50 people crammed in the little room. It was so nice that so many people came out to support us. It was a good thing that we had so many refreshments! I am a firm believer that every event needs to have some sort of food, it just keeps us all fat and happy. :) It was nice to have everyone eat and visit afterwards. Then we went to Black Angus with the family, (my cousin and her family came down from Centralia, which was nice). I only took a couple of pictures, and as I was looking through them, I realized that Jonathan was not in any of them. Oops...I'm sure I'll be paying for his therapy session for that one. Maybe we'll have to go back to the church, and stage it to look like it is the same day. I already got my hair cut though...guess I'll have to wait a month or so. OH well... all in all it was a wonderful day. Hard to believe that Nathan is 8 years old. And when Jonathan is 8, Nathan will be able to baptize him. That would be cool! Life is good here in Vancouver.

Tubby Time

Looky what I found? Jonathan LOVES to suck on his toes. Who knew that he would be just like me? I still love a nibble of the toes every now and then. NOT! Like this old body could even get my foot that close to the mouth! Nothing that a few Pilates classes couldn't cure...wait...that means I would have to actually stretch and exercise? Hmm.....not that motivated these days.