Show Me Life

Picture catch-up.

I'm not very good at holiday décor around my house. I did find these cute glitter hearts at ye olde Big Lots.

1/20

I got a Happy Birthday e-mail from Rodizio, offering a free meal. So we went on the 21st. Delish.

1/21.  Best.  Brazillian Food.  Ever.

On Saturday the 22nd, the siblings got together at Rachael's house. It was a very nice day. This is a collage of some good pictures I got. There was a lot of purple; I must have missed the memo.

Happy Birthday to me.

This is from Sunday 1/23.  I had been released from Primary the week before, but Benji has been coughing for a while, so Allen went to Sacrament Meeting and I went to Relief Society (I have been called as the R.S. pianist again).  I took this picture of him after church, and I thought it turned out cute.

1/23

On Monday, Benji didn't want to take a nap (until about 5pm, of course). I tried to wake him up, but he was just OUT. So I did what any loving mother would do . . . I messed with him.

1/24--a very sleepy boy.

The rest of these have stories to go along with them, but I need to wrap this up. So here's the gist: I got a sweet Thank-You card from the Primary kids. It made me cry a little bit.

1/25

Awesome Birthday lunch from Zupa's.  1/26

Blogger is giving me grief with pictures.  Sorry it's sideways.  1/27

The Children's Center, 1/28

Terrible picture, but it captures the disgusting essence of the smog. 1/29

Darn you, blogger. 1/30

I'll write more soon, but I needed to get these pictures up.  à bientôt.

I'm Getting Older Too

It's my birthday. As far as birthdays go, it has been pretty good. I don't need gifts, though my Mom drove down from Logan, and we went to lunch at Zupas and to dinner at Cheesecake. Food-wise, it doesn't get much better than that.

I know I need to post some pictures, and I have had a lot of thoughts and planned blog posts running through my head, but I really need to sleep now.

So thanks to everyone for the lovely birthday wishes. Thanks for the wonderful sibling get-together we had last weekend. And thanks for taking the time to come visit me, Mom. I truly am blessed.

It Takes a Little Time Sometimes

Somewhere along the way I lost track of the days.  It doesn't help that my camera is off by one day, so I'm not entirely sure which pictures came from what day.  So I'll try to post them more often; I can usually remember two days . . . but then, I can remember the lyrics to hundreds of songs, but I can't tell you what I ate for dinner last night.  "Feelin' good."  (Can you see Drew Barrymore's head bob?)

This was taken yesterday.  It is another goal of the year: to keep this plant alive.  I have yet to nurture something green for more than a few weeks, or until it turns brown; whichever comes first.  I'd really like to help it thrive.  Plus, it's a pretty low-maintenance plant, so it just might be possible.  I purchased both the plant and the cute pot at Ikea, but I really do need to get some more soil for it to grow in.  Tomorrow!

Envious?

And here's today's picture:

Allen is usually asleep when it's bath time/bed time for the boy, so I'll hang out with Benji while he's in the tub (hence all of the bath pictures).  Since he's a 'captive audience' (e.g., he can't move very far), I'll try to sing songs with him and go over letters and numbers by writing on the little magnet board and showing it to him.  Sometimes he'll point to the letters and say what they are, but he really likes to indicate what he's reading with his feet (e.g., kick the board without getting in trouble).  Whatever.  So anyway, I wrote this for him, held it up to him and asked him what it said.  He told me, clear as day, "cow."  I was so excited!  He read the entire word (not just the letters) and pronounced it correctly.  And I know he knows what a cow is, so I can see all of these things coming together.  He's making connections and he's finally figuring out how to express them verbally.  He did the same thing with the word "water," but he's still spelling out "cat" and most other words.  We're trying to do some sign language with him as well.  I wrote the word "ball" on the board, and he did the sign for it.  That's so cool to see.

I know it seems silly to parents of children who are developmentally normal, but it's a big deal to me.  I wish I could have real conversations with my child, where he would understand what I'm saying and respond appropriately.  I think it's kind-of an exponential curve with him.  It has been very slow starting out, but now that he knows a few words, I think it will come a lot quicker.  Our appointment with the Children's Center is coming up next week, and I really hope they can help us to help him.

Days Go By

This is just some random thoughts and some pictures

Benji has started pointing.  Actually, it's usually slapping what he's looking at (he's beating up on his French Picture Book as I write), but sometimes he'll use one finger.  I'll go over some letters and numbers with him, like I'll write "ABC" on his little magnet/erase board, and he'll point to the letters and say what they are.  To me, that's a pretty big deal.  He has such a hard time communicating that I get really excited when he points to something.

Deep in Thought (from 1/16/11)

He's also starting to 'parrot' some words back to us.  I've heard him say some words very clearly, like "chair," "cat" and "boy."  Usually he'll latch onto one word for the day, and he'll say it over and over again.  He really likes the word "pet," though I'm not sure he knows what it means.  He also likes to say "water," though that comes out as "wadder."  "Dog" comes out as "dod" and "duck" comes out as "dut."  He's learning, and he's slowly becoming more and more sure of himself.  He still won't say "mom," but I know he'll get there eventually.

This picture is from today.  The helicopter was taking off just as I was leaving work, and I happened to have my camera.  I wish I would have made the exposure time a little longer to get some movement  (i.e. blur) from the helicopter blades.

 

 

Life Flight (1/17)

That's all I can think of for today.  Must sleep.

Since You Came Along

I have a new Hollywood crush. Ryan Reynolds. Yeah, I know, he's the sexiest man alive and everything, so I'm definitely not alone in my crush, but he really is adorable. I just finished watching "Definitely, Maybe" (which is a really sweet movie, btw).  Highly recommend.

Yum.

Now, I like Scarlett Johansson, and the two of them together?  Hello!?  I'm a little sad that they are getting divorced.  Silly girl.  Silly, silly girl.

Anyway, on to more pictures.  It's hard taking pictures everyday; a lot of times it's just random stuff from around the house, so sorry.  I hope things will get a little more interesting when it isn't so bleak outside.

This is from January 10th.  I purchased a headboard at the D.I. (thrift store), and we ended up tying it to the roof to bring it home.  I thought I'd take a picture so you can actually see Silvano.  Yes, I decided this car is a guy, since this is the only vehicle I have owned which has rear-wheel drive, and only a male would put ridiculous rims on a pretend-SUV to make it look cooler.  Okay, I don't actually know that, but the tires really do piss me off.  They look good, but they have no get-up-and-go.  I got stuck in a parking lot because I was on a very shallow slope and there was slush on the ground.  I was wearing heels, trying to scrape away the snow with the stroller (hey--it was all I had), and Silvano kept sliding around.  I started out over three feet away from the Jeep next to me, but once I slid to within a few inches, I had to have Allen come rescue me.  He brought a little shovel to help me get out, and even then, he had to clear out all the snow, down to bare pavement, just so I could back out.  Seriously obnoxious.  The tires will be fine in the summer, but driving in the snow is scary, and thinking about it makes me angry.

Silvano, the anti-snow beast.

From January 11th.  He's so stinking cute, even with his dirty little feet.

Yes, he still sleeps with his bum up.  I love it.

January 12th.  We got a package in the mail from Allen's mom.  His sister made a calendar, which had these pictures of Allen.

From a calendar made by Allen's sister Wendy

Cute kid, eh?  Then I realized that Benji looks exactly like Allen in that left picture.  Here's a close-up/comparison.

Little Allen and Little Benji.  Crazy, eh?

Yeah, I thought Benji looked like me until I saw this (that picture of Benji is from last June).  I guess it's just the eyes.  Anyway, here's some random stuff around the house for January 13th.  It's actually from a track suit I purchased.  They were on serious clearance, so I got two of them (jackets and pants), in this obnoxious pink and also in red.  And I got two shirts.  Plus, I had a coupon (or, as they like to call it, a "Gift Cheque") for $10, so I got all that for $25.  Yeah, baby.

The pink track suit.

And here's a couple of shots from today.  I tried to chase down a decent picture of the sunset, since it had a beautiful pink glow to it, but this is the best I got.  Not very inspiring.

Smoggy Sunset

And since I was driving in this direction, I decided to try to get a picture of the Murray bridge.  I love the simple lines and graceful arch.  It's too bad it leads to nowhere.  I think I drove on it once, ended up getting lost and having to back track.  It does look nice, though.

Murray Bridge at Twilight

So that is my picture catch-up for this week.  Thanks for reading.

What's Going On

Here's a little catch-up on the Project 365. This is from January 5th:

A little showcase of my new glasses.

This is from January 6th. Allen found a tutorial on the interwebs to make ones own antenna. And this is the result. It kind-of worked when Allen had it clamped to the wall outside our building, but it was so ugly and he couldn't get it just right. We're almost frustrated enough to get the dish, but we haven't gotten there yet. Still a little too cheap.

The Ghetto Antenna

This is also from January 6th. I gave Benji one of my pudding cups. He was doing so well with the spoon that I thought I could trust him. I left him a lone for a few minutes, and this is what I came back to.

The Aftermath.

This is from January 7th. Not great quality, but I liked the look on his little face.

Love this boy.

I don't know what's possessing me to put so many unflattering pictures of myself on my blog, but I guess I should show up in the chronicles of my life every once in a while. Allen took this picture, which has been pretty typical of chez nous for the past couple of weeks. I'm half-asleep on the couch and Benji is climbing all over everything. This was yesterday.

And this is today. Benji sitting in the toilet again. If only he'd actually use it instead of peeing in the bathtub. This kid . . .

At least he has his sippy, right?

So there's the haps, kids. Back to work tomorrow, so I really should get some sleep.

I Never See Anything

This isn't a great picture, but I'm loving the new "textures" feature of picnik. It turned a terrible quality picture into an art-nouveau-je-ne-sais-quoi, right?

I rarely include pictures of myself (uh, you do know why I own so much photography stuff, right?), but here you go. This is me today.

I actually put on some make-up for my post-op appointment today (my ENT was impressed), so I figured I'd take a picture.

Not much to say today. I'm cold and I need to sleep. I wish I had purchased that Snuggie at the 7-Eleven.

Pictures of You

Here are the pictures from yesterday and today.  For this one, I put Benjamin in the sink.  He's so funny in front of the mirror!  It cracks me up!

And this is how I found him this morning. He piles all of his stuffed animals (and yes, a heart pillow--don't judge) around his head.  Such a funny kid.

And here's a bonus picture for you:

These are pictures of the sweet flowers Mom & Granny sent me. I don't think I have ever received a flower delivery before. It definitely made me smile.

Today has been pretty rough. I have been hot then cold then in pain, then pain-free, etc., etc. I'm ready to be done with this, seriously. I had to use my tetracaine lollipop to numb my throat enough to drink a smoothie. I'd like to be normal again. I did shave my legs, so that's something. Of course, I did have to rest on the couch for a while afterward. Exhausting. Grrr.

It's Gonna Be a Good Year

I have never been big on New Year's Resolutions. I have pretty poor impulse control, and a feeling that trying to improve myself is pointless. I also think that changing ones' self should happen when one is ready, not just because the calendar and the advertising gurus say it's time.

I do have some plans this year, though. It is definitely time for some changes in my life, and I'm not sure that I'll be able to accomplish all of them, but writing them down is a big step. It also gives me a small measure of accountability. I don't expect anyone besides myself to keep track of what I'm doing. I will, however, be blogging about my progress (or lack thereof). I really am tired of being stagnant; I need to move. If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always had, right? Right.

So here are my goals:

1. Go to the temple. I haven't been in quite a while, which is my own fault. I have let a lot of things slide over the past couple of years, and I have really felt it spiritually. My recommend is not current, so it will take some work and discipline to get there.

2. Read my scriptures every day, and complete the Book of Mormon by the end of the year. I'm not saying I will be able to do significant study every day, but I will read at least one verse. It does make a difference in reminding me of what should be most important, and I have been slacking on that too.

3. I will do some sort of exercise everyday, even if it's just stretching or a few sit-ups or something. I'll try to walk or jog when it's warmer outside, but it's too dang cold right now.

4. Along with that, I will lose 50 pounds. This is a big step for me. It's totally do-able--less than one pound per week. It won't be easy; I'm not a good dieter. I love to eat. I really love to eat chocolate. And ice cream. And bread. And pretty much any carb out there. So controlling the impulses will be tough. It's not too hard at this moment, because it hurts to swallow pretty much anything right now. I'm trying to decide if I want to write my actual weight on here. I know it's not a secret that I'm a big girl, and I don't hide my weight very well, but it might take some time and courage to do it.

I'm hoping that actually doing a few things to take care of myself will help me be a better mother. If I feel like I'm worth a few minutes everyday, maybe it will help me realize how much more I could be doing for Benjamin.

Of course, I have all these grand plans now, when I can barely drag myself off the couch. I had to go to Smith's this evening, so I waited for a few hours until after my pain meds wore off (so I could drive legally), and it sucked. One small trip to the store should sap every ounce of energy, right? Well, it did. So that counts as my exercise for the day, because it might as well have been a two-mile walk.

I'll round off the resolutions with something fun.

5. Project 365. My version: take a picture every day, and write a little blurb about it. I'll try to post them here, though I know I won't be posting every day.

On that note, here is today's picture:

Just {another} picture of Benji in the bath. Once again, he had fingerpainted all over himself everything in his room, so he got a shower and a bath. He also got a haircut last night, because it was WAY long. Anyway, this isn't the greatest picture, but I wanted to put it up to show you how much he looks like me these days. It weirds me out, seriously. It's like looking into my own face. I want him to be his own person, not to think about me every time he looks in the mirror, but I guess I don't have much choice in the matter. Poor kid.

So that's where I'm at.  What are your resolutions?