You Know Your Husband Loves You When...

he makes you a ham & cheese omelet with slices of a homegrown California avocado layered on top. It was heavenly. Seriously, the best thing Jimmy has ever cooked up. The best part, I had just come from the bedroom, where I sadly had just gotten out all my maternity clothes -clothes I didn't expect to see for another month. The yummy breakfast was just the thing to make me forget about the frumpy maternity shirt I was wearing. Thank you honey!


And below is one of the few reasons why it is nice to have a 30 yr. old couch that comes apart into a gazillion pieces.

Duncan's favorite word yesterday

Not Camel, but "dromedary"(apparently that's what a camel with one hump is called). In his favorite book, Curious George, there is a part where they draw animals out of all the letters. For "D" they draw a dromedary. Now we have a little almost 2 year old running around the house saying, "dromedary, dromedary, dromedaaaaaaaary!"

Holly Jolly Christmas

So this is the first year I actually have a kid to get psyched up about Christmas. It is so fun! It's the first time, in a long time, I've been this excited for Christmas. I have always loved Christmas, but as a kid, being the youngest of a big family, I was kind of forced to grow up to soon when it came to Christmas. I don't ever remember believing in Santa, and by the time I was 11, I think I was the only one still really excited about going to get the Christmas tree, and then I would most of the decorating by myself (ok, Liz, so maybe you were still into it a little bit, but you have to admit, I did do most of it). Anyway, my point is, it so fun to see Duncan putting bells on the tree and shaking them, and singing "Jingle Bells". It was so fun to see his face when I plugged in the lights. He doesn't even know about the presents yet! I'm mainly looking forward to the quiet Christmas morning at our house before we head up to be with the rest of the gang. Especially if Bennett is here with us. How cute? The two little boys enjoying their first real Christmas experience together. Ok, I'll stop rambling on about this and go watch a Gilmore Girls episode or two or three or four.

Here are some family pictures you may or may not receive as a Christmas Card (I've definitely caught the "Christmas Spirit" this year but I'm not sure if it's strong enough to carry me all the way through Christmas baking and cards. It's one or the other, I'm afraid). Also, a picture of our tree. It's the only real Christmas decorating we've done. We don't have a whole lot of surfaces to decorate. Anyway, enjoy.

(it's much cuter in real life...but the carpet isn't)

So I was thinking that maybe I should have someone hold the rest of season 3 Gilmore Girls DVDs at there house just until I finish moving (to a 3 bedroom apt. downstairs). It's getting to be a bit distracting. At least they stopped showing re-runs of season 7 on T.V. so I'm no longer watching 2 seasons at a time (and no more dreaming of being married to Logan). On second thought, I don't think I have the self-discipline to actually hand them over, so if someone could sneak into my house and TAKE them, just for a while, that would be great =)

Pictureless...

We remembered the camera and forgot the memory card so sorry...no pics at the moment. We had a great Thanksgiving break in Carlsbad. We spent a lot of time relaxing on the couch, letting Duncan work his magic with Grandma and Grandpa. Almost every time one of them would walk in the room Duncan would say in a very excited voice, "Hi Grandpa!" or "Hi Grandma!" Then, he would ask them what they were doing and just "talk" to them. He is a pretty good conversationalist for an almost two year old.

I also got to spend some time with my sister. How great is it to get to see so much family in one trip?! We did the whole "Black Friday" thing. I think it was a first for both of us. I originally only planned to go to the outlet stores that opened at 12:01 am but after a few hours there, Liz convinced me to go to Denny's. Once we finished there, it was almost time for Wal-mart to open so of course we had to drive by and scope it out. Oh and how convenient that Kohls is right across the street. So...after hours of waiting in line for really unimportant things, I got home and into bed at 7:30am. It sounds kind of miserable but we actually had a lot of fun! We didn't get mad or irritated, because we knew what to expect. We just talked and laughed and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves in all our giddiness.

Another highlight of the trip...the ZOO! Duncan loved it. We all loved it. Our feet hurt but we didn't overdo it. The hippo was our favorite.

Without pictures, I'm really pushing the length of this post so let me just say, thank you to everyone who entertained Duncan this past week so we could have bit of a break. Thank you also to Sabrina for squeezing us in. We'll get the pictures up as soon as they're ready. Maybe we'll actually get Christmas cards out this year. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Christmas is just around the corner...yipee!

Joining the Club

It looks like just about everyone got the 8 things tag so here I go...joining the club.

8 Things That Happened Today
1. Duncan crawled in bed with us and stole quite a bit of my sleep.
2. Successfully taught 11 primary kids, "I'll With You" (subbed for chorister)
3. Looked pregnant
4. Used orzo pasta for the first time ever
5. Went to Susie's house
6. Played memory with my niece
7. Chargers lost
8. Made a Thanksgiving banner

8 Things I Did Yesterday
1. Let Duncan watch an extra Curious George so I could sleep in a little.
2. Went to see Twilight with Jimmy. (he can't stop talking about it).
3. Ate pizza at Bruce and Sabrina's.
4. Saw a modern dance show with my sisters and their little girls.
5. Bought some ice cream on the way home.
6. Ate some ice cream and watched some Gilmore Girls on DVD.
7. Listened to Jimmy and Bruce talk "nerd" while playing a computer game.
8. Went to bed too late.

8 Favorite Places to Eat
1. Mom and Dad's house. Those people can cook!
2. Outside (as long as it's not too cold or too hot or too windy or too many flies).
3. In-N-Out.
4. Lola's.
5. That place my Dad has been getting carne asada burritos for like 30 years.
6. Cafe Med (I Never get to go but I love Mediterranean food!).
7. Noodles and Company (I love the tuscan linguine).
8. Anyone's house for dinner. It means I didn't have to cook, and I have a friend!
*I could go on for a while. Eating is definitely one of my favorite things to do!

8 Adventurous Things I'm Looking Forward to
1. Having 2 children.
2. Moving to a new place with no family and no friends, having to make it on my own.
3. Doing a triathlon.
4. Hosting a big party in my "home".
5. Raising boys! (and possibly girls)
6. Going back to Slovenia.
7. Living abroad with my family someday.
8. Retirement (is it too early to look forward to this?)

8 Things on My Wishlist
1. Upright, cordless vacuum.
2. Digital Camcorder
3. Butter dish.
4. Venus razor refills.
5. Decorated house.
6. Australia.
7. Healthy baby (and an easy delivery...I'll take this over the butter dish).
8. House.

8 Favorite T.V. Shows
1. Currently watching Gilmore Girls on DVD. I'm pretty into it.
2. House.
3. Project Runway.
4. Top Model (I try to stay away, but I can't deny that I LOVE this show).
5. House Hunters.
6. Lost.
7. The Office.
8. So You Think You Can Dance.
*Sadly this was the easiest section for me to fill out.

If you are reading this and you are one of the few who has not yet done this then, TAG!! You're
it!

PICTURE UPDATE:Halloween Giraffe! He still talks about this costume.

His latest favorite thing...this backpack.

Everything is a stool!

Trippin' out watching the psychedelic snowman

And yes, this is my Thanksgiving Banner. Leaves something wanting, no? Oh, well. Duncan really likes it. He calls it "Mommy's Letters" and keeps asking where the "M" is.

Just Remembering...

I was looking through Duncan's newborn pictures and was reminded of how alert he was for such a new guy. Duncan is less than a week old in both these pics...See for yourself! Oh please...let me have a sleepy boy #2!!


This is what he was like most of the time. Eyes wide open...just seeing what was up.

Not Worthy of Seperate Posts

Pregnancy:
You know that moment when you realize that you aren't bloated anymore, but that really is your belly? I'm there.

Guess whose justifications for buying expensive baby shoes are now making a lot of sense? We'll be all set for boy #2.

What I am thankful for:
Garlic and probiotics...anyone picking up what I'm putting down. I don't want to get specific.

The friend who suggested mixing plain yogurt with fruit yogurt. It's so much better toned down a notch.

The awesome deal on soap that my friend found. $6 for 8 bottles of laundry detergent. Small western family bottles, but still...awesome deal and awesome friend who drove somewhere far away to pick all our orders up.

What Duncan is into lately:
Trains are now called "chuga chuga choo choos"

He can't get enough made up stories... he calls them "once upona's"

He thinks the moles on my neck are nipples. Don't worry, this one is top priority. I can just picture it now... Duncan's robust voice carrying across the chapel, talking about Mommy's nipples.

I almost forgot a picture. Seriously, I think I have the most sensitive eyes on the planet. I can't even look at an onion without burning and tears. Any suggestions...?? (the goggles fogged up too quickly and I almost cut myself)

Apparently,

according to Duncan, there is a baby girl in my belly named Gertie.

We'll see who is right...Duncan or the Doctor (he seemed pretty convinced it's not a girl in there).

I figured I should blog something about this historic day. I didn't vote for our President-Elect but I can definitely appreciate the significance of his victory. I couldn't help but be moved as he told the story of the 106 year old African American woman voting in Atlanta and all the changes and events she has witnessed in her lifetime. I'm anxious to see what the future holds. John McCain's concession speech was also so inspiring. I'm feeling a lot less pessimistic and cynical than I did yesterday =)

Last Night...

Duncan was really sick. We were a little worried it might be RSV so I called the on call doctor at his pediatrician's office. Jimmy and I were sitting there on the couch, me with Duncan half asleep in my arms, talking about what the doctor said. All of the sudden we hear this sad little voice pipe in, "No, doctor said, no more monkeys jumping on the bed." We were dying. He then continued on mumbling, "poo poo, pee pee, bum bum", until he finally fell back a sleep. Wow, did we need some comic relief -it was a pretty intense night.

A Mess

is what I am. I still am trying to assemble some order to my life after Denver, the RV and the wedding. This is why I haven't posted. To give you some idea of the current state of our home, right now I am eating cold cereal with a yellow plastic spoon that came with a card game called, "spoons".

Happy Anniversary?

So life has played one cruel joke on us. While getting to spend almost the entire day together on our anniversary would normally be considered a treat, when that day is spent hurled over the toilet bowl puking or lying motionless on the couch listening to the other hacking away in the bathroom, it is less a treat and more complete agony. Not to mention I just entered the 2nd trimester. Not really what I was expecting. Anyway, thank you to the Earlyreiser who took Duncan for a bit this morning and to angelic Sabrina who took him for most of the evening. Happy Anniversary to us.

My First Tag

So I was reading someone's post after being "tagged" and started feel bad because I had never been tagged. Thank you Heather for putting an end to this pity party. I really am afraid I won't be able to think of 7 random or weird things about myself. If I get stuck I will just ask my husband. He thinks I do a lot of random and weird things.

1. Cry at Christmas. I know a lot of people probably get emotional around the holidays, but I take it to a new level. I cry on Christmas morning -amidst all the present opening. It all started with a very very sad ankle length, sweatshirt style, puppy dog adorned nightgown, when I was 16. It was the last present I opened, and to my mom's horror, I burst out in tears as soon as I saw the thing. Since that Christmas, I have cried every Christmas morning. Even at the in-laws. It really is embarrassing.

2. My husband calls me slack jaw because of my inability to keep my mouth closed. Literally -I am not able to keep my lips together for more than a minute or two. And this isn't because I'm busy talking. It just runs in the family. Our mouths are not designed to maintain a closed resting position. The worst part is that it eventually gets wider and wider until my husband has to make a hand gesture which is code for, "CLOSE YOUR MOUTH".

3. I can sit on the couch and read cook books for hours and still not feel like making dinner.

4. I am riding on an RV to Oklahoma for my sister's wedding with my parents, grandpa, 2 sisters and possibly 1 brother. How random is that?

5. I don't handle discomfort well. I'm not the type to grin and bare it. Be it air temperature, brightness of a room, the fit of a shirt, or some off odor, if I'm uncomfortable, it's hard for me to focus on anything else. Jimmy just loooooves this about me. =) I'm able to mask my discomfort a little if I'm in an unfamiliar crowd, but get me around those I love and everyone will know my misery. I think I passed this on to Duncan.

6. I care way too much about what people think. I analyze to death things I said and how someone might have taken something. I eventually, like with a lot of things, have to tell myself to just let it go. I try really hard to appear mellow.

7. I'm pregnant and due at the end of April. I know this isn't weird or very random, but I realized that I hadn't mentioned it on the blog yet.

I tag Sabrina, Emily and Veronica

So What do You do When You're Trapped Inside With a Sick Belly?

Why you put on snow boots and prance around, of course.
Yeah, so we had a fun night of throwing up, changing the bedding and jammies, then throwing up, changing bedding and jammies again. The morning brought a similiar routine, except we did eventually get all the throw up in the bowl and not on the couch. That was a pretty big moment. I don't know if I'm sick too or if it's just the smells of all the sickness that is making me feel gross.

On a lighter note, Jimmy and I spent Saturday night in Park City for our anniversary. We ate at a fancy restaurant and watched a movie in our room. Our kind of vacation. Good food, and not a whole lot else.

Holy Socks!

Duncan has been wearing the same socks since he was about 9 months old. I have to say, these little hanes can stretch like no other. I highly recommend them. Plus, they are a great length. They don't go up too high, so you there's no scrunching involved. I just noticed him sitting there on the couch drinking his milk with that big toe sticking out and couldn't help myself.



As you can see, I've been canning. Why do we call it canning when we are actually using jars? I kept telling people I had to go buy cans (really meaning to say jars, but being thrown off the word, "canning"). Isn't it sad that I had to go buy jars when my mom has tons stored somewhere far away from me? Someday, I too, will be able to go to Sunday dinner at my parents, or drop the kids off at Grandma and Grandpa's for the night, or even steal jars from their garage. Someday. We just have to get them to stay in one place long enough to convince us they aren't going to move away as soon as we move in. Anyway, the applesauce is absolutely delicious. You don't even need to add any sugar, it's naturally so sweet. I also canned peaches a couple weeks ago. I'm excited about all my new abilities. I should publicly thank the friend who organized all the fruit pickups and loaned at all the canning equipment and answered my phone calls and all my very very basic canning questions. Thank You!

and yes, I am canning on miniature stove.

Long Walks, Firetrucks and Socks

Today we walked to the fire station for a kind of anticlimactic tour. Duncan wasn't really interested in where the firemen eat and sleep or in fire safety. He did, however, enjoy the big truck, watching the kids spray the big hose and then running under the water. I on the other hand, never really recovered from the walk up the hill to the fire station. The high light of the trip for me was finding the blue sock that had somehow made its way to the inside of my pink shirt. I'm guessing their was a love connection made in the laundry basket.

P.S. Sorry there are no pictures of today's adventure (which included my fabulous sister in law and 2 adorable nieces). I love pictures but hate taking them.

More Duncan Worship

Sorry if things sound the same...Duncan, Duncan, Duncan, but I've decided this will be like my scrapbook for him. I'll just get a blog book printed every year and, voila -memories captured. So the new cute and adorable things he is doing are...

Instead of answering "no" to anything sounding anything like a question, he now answers in the affirmative. He doesn't exactly say, "yes", he says, "uuuhmmm". I don't know know where he picked it up, but I love it.

Yesterday we had stake conference at the conference center. We brought the magnadoodle to keep him occupied for a bit. I started drawing all the letters and he could identify A-S. He eventually got distracted, so I don't know if he actually knows all his letters. I was shocked. I knew he knew some of them, but he just named them off like it was nothing. Yesterday he also counted to 10, only missing the number 8. I don't want to seem like this mom who is pushing her kid to know the most stuff, but he is like a little sponge. It's fun to see how much he can do. I can't help myself.

And the last cute and adorable thing, he will sit on his little potty like his going (fully clothed), get some toilet paper, pretend to wipe, throw the toilet paper in his potty then ask to wash his hands. Dad is apparently a good teacher.
This is Duncan in his many layers of clothing. First we had to put his monkey romper on over his PJs and then of course his tractor sweater. He has a strong tendency to want to wear any clothing with animals, trucks or balls on it.

Sir Dunks A lot

Have I told you how much I love my Dunks? He is the most interesting, fun, goofy little man, and I think he's great. I love how much he loves his friends and how he says their names with his cute little voice. I just can't get enough. So...speaking of adorable...I got him some new clothes and, holy cow, he looks so cute. This is a picture of him before church. I just love him.

Domestic Me

Thanks to an amazingly domestic neighbor I did 2 things I've never done: canned something and made a cherry pie. It felt good to be in that hot kitchen filled with tart cherries and sugar with me stirring the biggest pot I've ever seen in my life. Next up...freezer apricot jam.

Pride and Prejudice Rewind

I started watching Pride and Prejudice (the Kira Knightly version) on T.V. last night. I hate when I do that. I love the movie too much to stop watching, but with all those darn commercials it's like 4 hours long! Luckily we do have TiVo so I can pause those obnoxious commercials. Anway, while it was paused on the last commercial break, I decided to rewind it and watch my favorite part over and over again. You know the part where Mr. Darcy says, "you've bewitched me mind and body and I lov...lov....I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on"? (or at least something very close to that). It made me just as happy the 5th time through as it did the 1st.

I Know, It's Confusing

So I said I was going private, which I did -it just didn't last long. I decided to unprivatize out of fear that no one was reading my blog. I know, it's ridiculous.

MacGoogle

Duncan now says his last name....MacGoogle. It's adorable.

"If I Was a Grammar Correcting Robot, My Head Would Have Exploded" -Jimmy

So the group may not have been the most cohesive, but we sure did have a great time on our river trip. Liz's father-in-law, whom I now adore and to whom I will forever be indebted, took us on a 4 day, 3 night, river trip down the Green River. We spent anywhere from 4-8 hours on the river everyday and camped the rest of the time. We hiked to 2 waterfalls, climbed some gnarly rocks, had some good water fights, experienced some heart pitter-pattering rapids, perfected the farrier technique, got to know our niece a little better, and the best part...took all of our crap along for the ride. Oh..and when I say "crap", I don't mean junk or stuff, I mean human feces. Yup...what comes in must come out. That is the rule on the river and boy was that the topic of many a conversation. I feel so crude discussing the topic so far from the river, but it was a big deal. It's not like I personally had to carry it with me, but it was on the big raft, and I did have to watch them load and unload, every day, that container full of all of our outputs.

I was not a fan of that aspect of the river trip, but let me tell you what I was a fan of......no child for 4 days. Yes, I missed my little Dunkster, but not nearly as much as I expected. I was just having so much fun, and I knew he was in good hands, so I didn't worry. It felt like a week long P-day.

I briefly described all the fun we were having, but let me explain a few things. First of all the farrier technique is just a way of steering the raft. Jimmy picked it up so quickly, Liz named him the "Fairy King". I was so proud. We didn't all climb the big rocks -just Liz and I. They seriously were big. The only reason I risked my life in climbing them was to keep up with my big sis. I guess I had forgotten how stinkin' competitive I am with Liz. I can't tell you how many times I felt myself being motivated purely by the need to match or outdo my sister. The embarrassing thing is, she could care less. I am pathetic.

Well, despite the highs and lows of being married to the Fairy King, and realizing how pathetic I am, it was one of the best 4 days of my life. The only thing that could have made it any better, would have been to have all our friends and family (and all their crap) along for the ride too.

This was on a hike we took and If you look very closely you will see Jimmy under all that water. He was the only one brave enough to get in that frigid water.
Here we are on the first day of camp. Yes...it was even worse by day 4. Sorry, Jimmy...not the most flattering shot of you.
This is Jimmy and I in our favorite little read kayak farriering our way from some rocks.
Here I am getting a nice cold shower. Next time, sign me up for the warm shower.
Our boat by day, and bed by night. Thank goodness for Tylenol PM.
How romantic. Nothing like getting a sweet kiss from your hubby, while inside just wanting to jump up and run away.

Duncan is really into shoes right now. Check him out on You Tube. I don't really know how to make this address a link. Sorry...you'll have to copy and paste. Hope you can find the time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h68WsJDbN30

Just to let you all know, I've decided to go private. You'll be getting your invitations soon!

Accomplishment of the Day

Cleaned the casserole dish that has been "soaking" in the sink for 3 days. GO HOLLY!

I need to add another item to my list from 3 post ago

*drink visible backwash*

Sometimes when you're really thirsty, but your child has contaminated all possible drinking options with visible floaties, you just have to shut your eyes and drink.

Falling Out of Habit...

It's so hard for me to start back blogging when I've taken such a long break. Hopefully this will be all I need to get myself going again. Well, Georgia was fun! Not as hot as I expected. I don't know why everyone complains about southern heat. What a bunch of babies. Just kidding...I must of brought some of this dry air with me -apparently that week was the driest Georgia gets. Oh thank you, weather gods. It was fun seeing my brother and his wife along with their cute kiddos. Duncan loves having big kids to chase and bug. I don't know how much the littlest nephew loved having a little guy around to knock down block towers and take away cars. We figured it was good practice for the baby sister on the way.

The plane ride consisted of a 4 hour flight + 1 hour flight. Each way was similar, just with different stops. Duncan was awake and needed full and exhausting entertaining for both long flights. Then he slept the whole way on both small flights. The long flight there was by far the worst (expect for that changing a really really poopy diaper in an airplane bathroom with no changing table experience, on the long flight home...that was pretty awful). On the long flight there we were jammed pack into what seemed like a smaller than average plane. When the guy in front of me decided it would be a good idea to fully recline into my lap, leaving me and my 18 mos old about a 2 inch perimeter in which to move, I knew it was going to be a marathon. And it was. But we survived and we're home now with no plans to ever fly again with Duncan on my lap.

We enjoyed spending the 4th with Jimmy's folks, S & B, Aunt and cousins at a very very friendly stranger's home. The next morning, Mom & Dad treated us to a yummy breakfast at Blue Plate Diner, where I discovered my new favorite breakfast -eggs benedict. Ohhhhhhhh, how yummy it was. This place was featured on Food Network's "Diner's, Drive-Ins and Dives", and is famous for their eggs benedict. I made sure everyone knew how much I was loving my breakfast. Every other bite I would expound on its goodness.

Saturday we saw my parents at my nieces baptism. My niece who just might be the coolest new member of the church. My sister is also in town for like a month. Her husband kicked her out again. I guess it's hard to study for the Bar Exam with a 1 year old around. Anyway, his loss, our gain. We all went to the zoo today and rode the Carousel and the Train (Yeah, I know...WOW!)


So I'm regretting making this so stinkin' long, but there's just so to talk about, like the river trip. Yup, in 2 weeks Jimmy and I get to go on a 4 day rafting trip. My sister's father-in-law is about the nicest guy you'll ever meet and has invited us to go with them on this trip. My mom who is about the nicest lady you'll ever meet is coming up to watch Duncan, which will hopefully make leaving him a little easier. We're really excited. We never do things like this. I'm sure we'll be talking about this in future posts.

The last thing that I just HAVE to say before ending this essay, is......I think Duncan is off the bottle. Yes...he has had a severe drinking problem since about 10 mos and I think he may be turning a corner. =) Of course, we're talking about the baby bottle filled with warm milk that he insists on having before nap time and bed time. 3 sleeps without and I think we may be done. That's one less thing to worry about. Well....thanks enduring to the end. I'm sure you can't imagine what would have happened if you hadn't. All this pointless information....missed.

A lone man in the...I guess it's a wilderness

Yep, definitely a wilderness given that I have to clean up after myself. Originally conceived for the betterment of my educational pursuits, this week alone (Holly and Duncan flew off to Georgia today) looms as difficult, and only six hours have passed. She is definitely a commodity to be appreciated, my wife, as the mundane now seems like scaling Everest (or anything that might have the slightest hint of an up-hill). Dishes and vacuuming now greet me and, with no reasonable solution, I avoid them like a 14 year old boy avoids the girls at a LDS church dance; Awkwardly I sit in the corner trying not to let them know I notice them in the hopes that they don't notice me and ask me to... Anything is better than dishes and the vacuum - see I'm posting to the blog - anything.
The 2 and 1/2 foot tall 30 lb. ruler of the domain's (Duncan's) absence equally frustrates and confuses me. Without orders such as - "MOM, Catch!" which means 'anyone in the vicinity need pay attention else they're getting hit in the head with this ball' or 'Three, GO!" (He skips one and two, the lesser numbers) meaning 'watch mortals, I'm about to do something amazing' - without these, what do I fill my time with? SportsCenter is a bit dry on the third time through.
So Holly, Duncan I miss and love you. Come back soon. Save me.

I used to care so much...

So here is the beginning of a list of things that I don't think I would have done or at least made a habit of doing before mommyhood hit.


1. Wear workout clothes all day without any REAL intention of working out...that is unless you count the trip to the grocery store. I mean, I did break a sweat.

2. Realize I have a poo stain on my nice white shirt and don't really feel the need to change. (I guess this should be #3 and #2 should be...HAVE A POO STAIN ON SHIRT...gross )

3. Similar to the last, number three is to realize that I've had crusty dried food on my arm or neck or anywhere pretty noticeable, all day long, and not really give it a second thought. I remember a time when that would have mortified me. Of course, I've been plagued by chronic embarrassment since I can remember. Apparently when I was 3 and riding in the car with my mom, she accidentally switched the windshield wipers on when it wasn't raining and couldn't get them off (OH, the horror!), and I told her that I was so embarrassed.

4. Consider valuable "me" time as pretty much any activity void of a whiny child at my feet.


5. It's late...I'll add to this later.

6. It's the next day and I thought of another one: Pick someone else's nose.

Our Little Soccer Player

Just a couple pictures from our daily soccer practices with Duncan. He is really getting these drills down. You've got to start em early, right?

*we don't really make our child run soccer drills.

Some more cute pictures thanks to Aunt Sabrina.

For lack of a better title, CHEESECAKE

So I made Mom MacDougall's cheesecake recipe and...not too bad. Not an exact match but pretty close. The taste was there, but the appearance was lacking. The sides kind of collapsed, and it wasn't quite as tall as Mom's. Any suggestions for my next attempt? Jimmy is thinking maybe I whipped the egg whites to much and there was too much air. I'm thinking that I have no idea what went wrong and he probably doesn't either. But like I said, the taste was there. For those of you unfamiliar with the MacDougall's beloved cheesecake, it is very light and fluffy, which is nice. You don't get overwhelmed by it like you do after a few bites of most cheesecakes. So...I'll keep trying, but even if my final product is still a slightly shriveled version of Mom's but with the same yummy taste, I'll be happy.

p.s. no post would be complete without naming some of the cute things Duncan is doing at the moment. He is learning how to catch. When it is my turn to catch he says, "catch Mom!" When I ask him if he is ready he replies with a very enthusiastic, "ready!" Oh, and he can't really say, "Sabrina" so he calls her "Bity", which sounds a lot like "pretty". Ok...I'm done...sorry.

Isn't this a cute one? A rare picture of Duncan smiling. I had to post it.

I've made my bed and now I have to...

jump on it!! So I guess I'm one step closer to growing up. After all these years I have finally started making my bed. I realized that it isn't as difficult as I always feared it might be. In fact, it's pretty simple, and QUICK too! Duncan and I enjoy jumping and rolling around even more so on a made bed. It's also much safer. Those tangled sheets can be dangerous. I guess the next step would be NOT jumping on the bed and then after that, having a "made" bed presentable enough to actually take a picture of and post for viewing.

It was a lovely waterfall...

Ok...so we didn't actually make it to the waterfall but the creek was sure nice. Mike and Emily Bunnell came up to participate in what we thought was going to be a nice, leisurely hike up a nearby canyon. Turns out we are bunch of wimps and stopped early to have lunch, then turned back. It didn't help that we had Duncan in a backpack carrier, and Mike's bad back. Those are pretty good excuses, right?

They put her on the School Board... ha ha

So I found this movie totally hilarious! I told Jimmy that this was going to be one of those movies that I recommend to people and then they won't like it as much as I did. Just a warning...but I really loved it.

The Wedding

The Cousies

The Gang

Lets just run through the list of events that have occurred since our last post. We went to Carlsbad for the SaBruna wedding (one of the many fun and exciting combinations of Bruce and Sabrina). We also spent a night with The Nomads (my parents). I was called as Primary President. Duncan started sleeping poorly again. We crashed the honeymoon and spent 3 nights in Park City with SaBruna, who just moved in next door. I should also mention, we got to watch season finales to all our faves like Lost, The Office and House. Oh, and I'm pretty sure that over the last 2 weeks I have eaten an entire Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake by myself, and just to add to the embarrassment, I should share that I eventually ate the left over frosting with Duncan's teddy grams. It has been hard keeping up with all the vacationing and sugar binges, but somehow I'm still standing =)

Duncan is doing some amazingly cute things lately. Like what you ask? Well since you asked...I mean, I'm not like one of those annoying moms who just goes on and on about how smart and funny her child is...Duncan really is THAT smart and THAT funny =) He says 1,2,3, GOOO! before he jumps off stuff. Also, if you say LMNO (like from the alphabet song) he follows up with and enthusiastic PEEEEEEEE!! He has the deepest, loudest voice I've ever heard on a toddler, and certain words are only YELLED, not spoken. His horse sound is this odd grunting sound. I counted it up the other day and not including animal sounds the kid says like 30-40 words. AND his hair is getting curly. I mean...smart and cute...I'm just telling it like it is =)


Forgot to mention that I cut my hair. It only looked like this for a couple days. It didn't take long for me to start pinning those suckers back.

It's Easier Than it Looks

I have this "face" that we call "puppet face". It's VERY ugly but Duncan thinks it is the funniest thing in the world. That's how I got this winner!

I was a little reluctant to post this picture because of Duncan's appearance. That third onesie button is just a little too much for mom these days =)

I was talking to some moms today about my perception of myself as a mom. You know how some moms make everything look so easy?! They just seem to take everything in stride...like it's the most natural thing in the world to have a child drinking FROM you, or to spend 90% of your day bending over picking up toys, food, clothes, or an over-sized 1 year old. They must have superhero strength because they seem to be just fine toting a 30 lbs toddler in one arm and a load of groceries int the other. I, on the other hand, make mothering look much harder than it probably is. People probably thought I was trying to nurse an alligator under that blanket, or that my toddler has bricks in his pants, because I can't seem to carry him + groceries without some serious sweat and strain. I constantly get comments from perfect strangers that would suggest that the general public thinks I'm in over my head (with one child). Well, just so you know...it is hard, but I'm not struggling as much as I appear to be struggling. I really enjoy being a mom, even if I look frazzled. In fact, let me just take a minute to brag about our bedtime routine. After we finish up and say "night-night", Duncan now goes into his room all on his own and attempts to crawl into his crib. I help him up, he gives me a kiss good-night and lays down and goes to sleep. 16 months, folks! I would say I'm proud of myself but I don't think I can say that until the bottle works it way out of that routine.

Down in the Dunks

Here's a close up of the Doctor's handiwork.

I had to capture Duncan's sad face. This is how he was for most of the day today. I know...so sad, huh? (You have to click on it and enlarge it to get the full affect...I should also note that this sadness is due to a stubborn fever not the stitches)

Chicks Dig Scars

We had our first visit to the E.R. last night. I'm thinking this may have been the first of many. Duncan tripped and hit his head on the door hinge. It gives me the willies just thinking about it. It looked so painful. There was quite a bit of blood and I could tell right away he would need stitches. I was a little worried how I would react in this inevitable first E.R. worthy accident, but I thought I stayed fairly calm. Jimmy might disagree, but all I did was bark out a few orders, not go into hysteria.
Sorry if the picture is little gory. We haven't gotten a good one of the stitched up head, yet. Oh yeah, they did conscience sedation and gave him 4 stitches. The sedation was kind of cool. They squirted fluid up his nostrils that made him really out of it but awake. I asked the nurse if I could get some for the plane. Ha ha...Me...drug my child on a plane? NEVER =) (I just wish it actually worked on him!)

So if April Showers Bring May Flowers...What Does May Snow Bring?

Yeah...that's right...we woke up to snow this morning. We were quite upset. But on a lighter note -if you look very closely you can see Duncan's mohawk!!

You have got to be kidding me...

So Duncan has not slept past 8am in months and months and months. Because of this, I didn't bother to set an alarm for our 8:40am Dr.'s Appt. that we had to schedule 2 months in advance. Well, wouldn't ya know...Duncan woke up at 9am. I should have been thrilled to get the extra sleep, but instead, I was ticked off!! I called the Dr. and they said they could get me in sometime in JUNE!! Ughh!! SO here we go again...

Some Sad News

I'm sure many of you have heard about the fatal shark attack in San Diego yesterday. I was shocked to learn that the victim was my Uncle Dave. He was "Uncle Dave" for most of my life, however, he and my aunt have been divorced for the past couple years. I just can't stop thinking about my aunt and my cousins and what they must be feeling right now. I pray that they can find some sort of comfort amidst such a tragic event.