Snippets

We've been busy with the end of the school year (mostly for mom at work), swimming lessons for Helena and lots of other fun summer things (pool trips, birthday parties, playdates, etc.)  Some snippets from the kids:

- We joined the rec center by our house finally so that we can go swimming for cheap(er) this summer.  I messed up and didn't get them the documentation they needed to prove our residency was 'in bounds' before I tried to take the kids swimming today.  Needless to say, I was pretty peeved when they wouldn't let us in because of it.  It was super fun to tell two kids that we weren't going swimming because of a clerical issue.  Anyway, on the way home the kids could tell I was peeved and Harper asked, "Why was that lady blocking the door to the pool?" (She wasn't really physically blocking the door, he just thought she was...) "Well, the lady needed some papers from me that I didn't have."  Harper: "What is that lady's name? Is it Lady Gaga?"  Leave it to him to bring humor to any situation!

- At work today there was a kid in Harper's class that was having trouble with drop off.  I came in the classroom and successfully helped her calm down and start eating her breakfast.  Harper's teacher told me that when I left that he said, "Miss Tami, my mom is really great with whiny kids." Hmmm.....wonder why?!?

- Helena graduates from preschool tomorrow afternoon and starts in a Spanish immersion kindergarten / 1st grade class on Monday. (I have to work this summer so the kids are going to school still).  Where oh where did the time go?  Pics and video to follow.  I'll be the one with puffy eyes and mascara running down my face.  Helena is wearing an actual cap & gown....I can't handle it!

- We've been doing some intensive swimming lessons with Helena after the first round didn't go so hot. She has really improved this week once we started doing them closer together so we're glad to be on a better, less traumatic path. :)

-Emily :)

Sing Songy

Since I started working so early in the morning, Ash has had the job of waking Harper up.  Poor Harper, he likes to wake up on his own...he'll even say "Mom, I still sleeping!" or "Mom, I want sleep more!" just like a teenager in the mornings.  :)

Anyway, Ash sings various songs to him to wake him up.  (Fun Ash fact:  He's very 'singy' in the morning.  And he's very good at making up songs).  His old preschool songs are usually the go-to ones.  Harper knows about five songs and has started getting better at singing recently.  (Currently he can sing the ABC's, Twinkle Twinkle, Up on the Housetop (yes, the Christmas one), and Itsy Bitsy Spider).  Here's he & Helena singing the "Good Morning to You" song at dinner time.

Lyrics: Good morning to you!  Good morning to you!  We're all in our places with sun shining faces....good morning to you!

I love Harper's inflection on the "you!".  He sounds like he's trying to increase his range. Ha!  Helena did a great job keeping him going, too!

Another song Ash sings that cracks me up is this one:

We live in Kansas.  Our home is Kansas.
It's the state in the west where the people are the best.
We live in Kansas.  Our home is Kansas. 
I'm a Jayhawker through and through.

I don't remember this from my Kansas preschool / elementary school days.  Does anyone else?  Just curious....  Ash went to montessori school in Lawrence before he moved to Detroit when he was 5, so I think the Jayhawk-ish songs were maybe more popular there?!? :)

Small sidenote:  Helena finished up her 'school year' and we got her 'portfolio' from her teacher.  In it was a list of her favorite this and that.  In the map unit ,she drew a picture and put that her favorite country is.....Kansas.

-Emily :)

Viral - in a bad way

Hey there! Sorry for the long absence. You see, our computer has a bad virus and this blogging from my phone thing is very annoying and cumbersome. So, let's all cross our fingers that Ash finally gives in and buys momma a new Mac laptop. :) Until then, we're all good, busy, the kids are still cute. Thanks for your patience! -Emily :)

Bodily Functions Snippets

Helena puked at circle time at school today.  (She's fine now, I think it was a case of 'didn't eat enough school breakfast because I'm picky'.)  Anyway, the funny part is that the poor kid sitting beside her puked too....we're pretty sure because he was so grossed out.  Poor guy!  I know how that feels!

This after yesterday Harper had an epic poop-a-palooza in his crib after nap time.  Let's just say almost all of the fabric in his room has been freshly laundered and I almost had to take apart his crib to properly clean everything.  Yuck.

Also, Helena had a little case of her feet falling asleep today (mainly due to her propensity, like her father, to sit on the toilet WAY. TOO. LONG.)  Anyway, the feeling upset her and she was convinced something was majorly wrong.  So after explaining the inner workings of her circulatory system to her, she calmed down and I asked her if she wanted socks on her feet.  "Yeah Mom, I think my feet would like to sleep in socks."

All for now!

-Emily :)

Bob!

Helena got a major new 'do yesterday.  So cute!  It's kind of funny, Helena has had fewer haircuts than Harper...you know, since she really didn't get hair until she was like 2!  The stylist blow dried it and curled it under, but don't worry, it's all curly today. :)  Helena wasn't a fan of the blow drying...she kept asking "Are you done with that thing now?!?"  When the stylist conferred with me that she was having trouble making her 'straight' hair even, I informed her that we wouldn't be 'styling' her hair this way at home.  No time! :)  But yesterday it was straight and fancy and sparkly! :)

We're at that 'I can't smile normally' stage.

Love it! :)

- Emily :)

Media Funnies

This is the kind of stuff that makes front page news in Utah:

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=19248440

Hilarious.  And I really can't think of another area of the country where these types of things would actually be 'news'.  It was a multi-day story, even.

And in other mormon media, behold a (what I deem bizarre) billboard not too far from my house:

Sorry for the graininess (I took it with my phone from my car)-- the billboard reads: "CSI: PROVO Decaffeinated DNA." Apparently a play now showing nearby.

After a quick google search, turns out this show is a parody of life in Utah.  Whew.  I thought it was for real.  Would that surprise anyone?!?

Ahhh, Utah.  You're funny.

-Emily :)

Snowy Sunday

I know, it's Tuesday.  But bear with me...

We've been enjoying the past couple of weekends with Ash home and not working the whole weekend!  Yay!  So nice for him to have some downtime after working so much in Dec./Jan.

Anyway, on Sunday we went to a fast food joint for lunch and it had a little playplace that was just the right size for Harper and Helena.  And, they had it all to themselves.  Welcome to Sundays in West Jordan!  Where the heathens play at Arctic Circle alone!
They had a blast (they didn't even notice that Ash and I ate ice cream without them....) and as we were leaving Helena said:
"Well, that was just delightful.   Can we do this again sometime?"

-Emily :)

Can I get a 'sup?!?

Harper started saying "'sup" today.  Specifically in the context of "''sup, Dill?"  I really need to enunciate more.  So, in the spirit of "what's going on people"......let's do this.

OK folks, I know ya'll are reading my blog.  Blogger stats are an awesomely cool thing. :)

So, let's have a little comment party shall we?

If you're reading this, comment below and tell everyone what was the best Christmas present you have ever received.  Me: original nintendo when I was 10.  Close runner up: the tempur-pedic pillow I got this Christmas.  I know, I'm old.

Go!

-Emily :)

Substitutions

Ash: "What is it, an empty bag?"  My sentiments exactly.

But, it was actually not bad.  Replaced egg-ish thing needed in the batter with 1/4 c. applesauce and all was well in our 6 a.m. Saturday pancake world.

I also made these Chocolate Chocolate Chip cookies with gluten free flour this weekend and seriously, they were some of the best cookies I've ever made.  I had to freeze half of the batch so we wouldn't eat all 55 of them!

So, this week I'm thinking, "Yay for experimental cooking!"

-Emily :)

Helena Quote of the Week

Background: Helena calls all of her nether regions her 'bum'.
Scene: Before bathtime, kids are running around naked....

Helena to Harper: "Wow Harper, you have a really long bum!"
-Emily :)

Helena Quote of the Week

"Hey guys...I want to be a mom when I grow up, but I also want to be a dad, so I can ride a bike."

-Emily :)

Snapshot Harper -- 15 months

Sliding fun with Helena.

Harper's newest words:
"Down!" (said for up and down...as in 'mommy please hold me, or let me jump on the couch')
Chips
Ball
French Fries (still working on broccoli and blueberries)
Bowl
Animal noises for cow, sheep, cat, lion, duck, chicken
Fish
Uh-Oh Spaghettios! (spaghettio's is very unclear, but consistent)
Thank You
Please
Signs for 'More' and then points at himself
Blocks
Books
Yes
"This!" - said when he wants you to give him something, pick something up, look at something, etc.  I bet he says 'this!' 100 times a day.
Shoe

Harper's first 'car cart' ride at the grocery store.  Blurriness is very indicative of the entire trip....  Yes, we are those people at the grocery store.

Current fascinations:
The toilet
Toilet paper
Not leaving anyone alone when they go to the bathroom
Bats
Balls
Golf Clubs (wooden, toddler ones)
Sidewalk chalk
Picking Tomatoes (1 for each hand!)
Planes
Any big vehicle on the road that's not a standard car or truck


Hates:
Diaper changes
Sharing

What?  You know you don't like diaper changes or sharing either....

- Emily :)

Helena Quote of the Week

First thing in the morning, yelling to us from the bathroom as we're eating breakfast in the kitchen:

"Oh, MAN!  Come on guys...why isn't there any toilet paper in here??!!"

What kind of a ship are we running anyway? 

-Emily :)

Produce Post

So this summer we've gotten ourselves into a pickle.  In March, I signed up for a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) -- which basically is a box full of veggies I get from a farm each week.  Then, later in the spring, Helena's school decided to start a community garden.  I was all in there, too.  And, we may have four 6-foot tall tomato plants in our backyard. 
So....the result: I'm up to my eyeballs in produce.  This week I got a double veggie box from East Farms (since we took a week off for vacation), my tomatoes started coming in and we had a ton of stuff for harvest at the school.  The result:  6 yellow squash, 4 large zucchini, 2 UFO squash, a bunch of medium sized onions, 6 green and purple peppers, 5 anaheim peppers, a bowl full of cherry tomatoes, two giant bunches of carrots, 10 beets, a bunch of kale, 10 ears of corn and 2 pounds of green beans.  Whew! 

Photographic proof...almost my entire countertop!

So, lots of cooking going on around here. Today I made caprese salad for lunch with our own basil and tomatoes,  a squash casserole (definitely very yummy), and a roast with cabbage (from last week's box), carrots, and onions.  Tomorrow I'm thinking zucchini brownies or bread....and lots of veggie sides with leftover roast.  This week I'm going to use up all my kale by making this and trying this for breakfast.

Dancing Moose Community Garden plot right after planting.  Tee pee trellis is for my pole beans!

Beets, Anaheims and Kale from Dancing Moose plot. 

We still have yet to harvest any of our own eggplant, beans, watermelon or hot peppers.
Anyway, I'm loving the challenge of figuring out how to use all of this stuff, but it's definitely a part-time job.  :)  In the meantime, if any SLC friends need some extra veggies, just come on by...or I might be stopping by unexpectedly to unload some things once the novelty wears off!
If anyone has some yummy summer bounty recipes to share, link to them in the comments!
-Emily :)

Back Again!

So we're back in Utah after 3 whole weeks in Kansas.  I am recovering from several bad nights of sleep, but hopefully my brain power will be back enough to write some good blogs this week.  We had a really great time going to the lake and seeing lots of friends and family.

A few quick things:
-- Ash won the weight loss challenge while I was gone and notified me via text message photo of him on the scale with the numbers to prove it.  I have no idea where the cash went. He's very skinny, I almost didn't recognize him at the airport.  I'm proud of him.  Unfortunately, I still have work to do! :)

-- Helena asked me why we live in Utah last night as she was going to bed.  She seems to think Kansas is a lot more fun.  And she's evidently over her shy streak-- yesterday on the plane she made a friend with our seat mate.  They were BFF's by the time the whole 3 hours was over...Helena had looked at all her pictures on her phone, was sitting on her lap, asking her to watch Toy Story with her, putting stickers all over her, etc., and as we were saying goodbye Helena says, "Hey Tara, you should come to my birthday party.  It's going to be really fun.  It's on October 4th!"  Hilarious.  This lady was SO NICE and I was SO GRATEFUL for her help on the flight.  The kids were as good as can be expected, but flying from Minneapolis to SLC by myself with those two is not on my to do list again any time in the near future.

-- Harper is a walking fool now.  He's so funny, and he's saying a few more words too -- "thank you", "fish!" and a few names of family/pets he learned in Kansas.

That's all for now! :)

-Emily :)

Let the Vacations Begin!

We're heading to Kansas tomorrow...just me and the kids...for a 3 week stay visiting friends and family.  Ash has too much going on at work to leave, and an intern to...intern. :)  I'm glad we're able to go for such an extended period of time....my hope is that it will be a little less stressful than visits past in terms of seeing everyone adequately.

Anyway, we're very excited to see my sister & her family and all of my grandparents who we haven't seen since Christmas.  And some lake time is sorely needed....and I think it's been warm enough (or maybe too warm) for lake time.  My sister and I are going to Lawrence for a couple of days...just us, no kids (a big thanks to my mom and aunt for watching all 4 kids for us while we're gone.  May the force be with you!).  We're very excited for a little sister mini-break.

I'm going to try to post from Kansas a little so that I don't forget things and hopefully make it a bit more interesting for my 10 readers than one big Kansas post at the end of it all. We'll see. :) Internet is a little sketchy in Burrton....

Hopefully I'll see some of you around B-town and beyond.  :)  I'll be the really pale one at the lake who is sweating profusely since it hasn't been more than 95 with no humidity here in Utah all summer....


-Emily :)

Tormenting

Poor Dill.  I think he's over babies.  He generally has a good attitude, but some days I do feel bad for him.  Kind of like when I felt bad for him when Helena was Harper's age.  A day in the life....

Dill, lying in the sun in the mornings by our back door.  Harper, can't resist.  Waiting to make his move.

"What's up Dill!  Thought you might want me to pull on your fur while you leisurely napped in the sun!"

"No? OK then.  I'll just find something else to do..."

 

"What? Was I bothering you??"

P.S. - Wow, Harper & Helena look similar when you look at the video I linked to above.  She was almost exactly the same age he is now.  Funny!

-Emily :)

P.P.S.- I've had requests for Harper videos and I'm working on it.  I still haven't figured out the video stuff on our new computer.  Namely, how to edit them a bit so everyone doesn't have to watch ten minutes of Harper tooling around to get to the good parts.

Slurp!

We'll do a lot of things around here to get certain 3-year-olds to eat their vegetables.  Or vegetable-ish products.  Whatever.  We stretch the rules around here.
Anyway, this method works fantastically....

I think she had three whole bowls of tomato soup that evening.

Gratuitous Harper picture.  He's still in 'human dumpster baby' mode.

-Emily :)

Curly Monster

We've been telling Harper he has "Uncle Alex hair" lately....so cute. :)

This is right after a bath, so it's extra curly.  Mostly he looks like a mad professor with a weird curly mohawk.

Harper will be 10 months old this weekend....holy cow!  New this week:  pointing, clapping, a love for broccoli and faster stair climbing.  Look out!

-Emily :)

Radio Silent Week

My apologies for the lack of posts lately (you know, to my all of 10 readers!)...we were without internet for over a week...but it's up now...thank goodness!  Ash & I think Harper pushed so many buttons on our modem that it was confused/no longer working. (Note to self, move modem to unreachable place).

In the midst of radio silence, Harper is now into EVERYTHING (trash cans, grown-up shoes, toilets, anything on a shelf he can reach, etc.) and can now scale an entire flight of stairs (with a spotter, of course).  Oh, and it's been snowing for three days straight.  Helena made up a song at bedtime tonight that went something like this:

"It's Spring, but it's snowing...it's been a long time, Winter...why won't Winter won't go away...come back Spring..."  She is very confused about the weather lately.  She thinks we've been lying to her about the seasons.  Ha!

Well, more to come in the coming days...I've got a big ski day to prepare for tomorrow-- probably the last one of the season.

-Emily :)