Right now

I love these teeth. Charlotte has a whole new look with teeth, and it's just as cute as ever.
Tucker has been calling me "honey", I love that too. A couple days ago I kissed Tucker and then said, "Whew, we need to brush your teeth, cause your breath stinks!" Since then there have been several instances of him asking anyone who kisses him if they've brushed their teeth. Actually, more like he's accused them of not brushing their teeth.
"Papa, you didn't brush your teeth!"
"Karen, have you brushed your teeth? It smells like you got beans in it."

I'm excited I joined a little book club, I really haven't done much reading for a while. Right now I am reading The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, which I am really enjoying. I am also starting Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis. I have never read C. S. Lewis, so I am looking forward to that.
I am getting excited thinking about Christmas. I know it's not even October, but this is when I gotta start shopping. I suppose I should enjoy Halloween first. I am looking forward to Abbie's Halloween party. However, my husband is a party pooper when it comes to Halloween. He absolutely does not want to dress up. I wanted to theme our family, I will maybe just leave Trent out. I need to get creative and start working on finding costumes. I wish I could buy fun Halloween decor, but I have budget restraints right now, so I need to get creative with that too.
Also, I need to get sewing, I am going to forget how if I don't start soon. I want to make a bunch of baby blankies, I have a lot of pregnant friends. About 6. I also need to get Charlotte a silky blanky so she stops trying to snuggle up to my undergarments.
Welp, that's about it for today. Off you go.

My DVD wishlist

My sister had a post listing some things she wanted, saying that the things we want tell us something about ourselves. Since there are so many things I want-a headboard being one of the highest on my list- I decided I would just make a list of movies that I want. These are in no particular order.

Napoleon Dynamite- Trent, Tucker, and I all love it and for some reason don't own it.
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir- This is an old movie we had when I was young, I don't even know if it is made on DVD.
West Side Story- I remember being like 10 or so and watching it in my grandparents basement.
Curious George
Cars
All the Wallace and Gromit movies
Another Stakeout- I must have been around 12 when my friend Downi introduced me to this movie, we thought it was hilarious
Breakfast at Tiffany's-I've never seen it, but I feel that I should own it, and watch it.
Anne of Avonlea-I only have Anne of Green Gables and I want all the rest
High Strung- an old low budget Ben Stiller film
Hercules
Annie-the one I used to watch as a kid
UHF- a weird film with Weird Al
Newsies- when I was 12 I thought the tough kid from Brooklyn was hot, then again I thought Elijah Wood was hot too.
All the Harry Potter movies

I am sure if I gave this more thought I could go on for pages. This is what came to me sitting here and I think it would give me great joy to own all of these. Now I have a goal, all I need is to buy one each month if I can spare the 15 dollars.

Lake Powell weekend

Lake Powell Sep 2006

The temperatures were a little cool and the wind was well, a tad windy. However, we had a fabulous time with our friends boating, playing in the sand, visiting by the campfire, watching the huge carp up by the marina and all the stuff inbetween. Trent bought Tucker a large dump truck for the occasion, which hasn't left Tucker's side yet. Ian showed him how to load it up with rocks and launch it down the hill, which Tucker loved. I got to enjoy s'mores for the first time in a very long time and the company of Gina. It seemed like no time had gone by at all since we had last hung out. I will look forward to the next time we get to see eachother and wonder what Liam will be up to by then.
This was my first photo montage, hopefully my skills will only increase.

Free Entertainment

Tucker is pretty much the funniest kid ever. Or as funny as every other 3 year old, but still. Last night at the dinner table he just randomly says, "Mom, I don't care, change your mind. I like purple grass." Well, okay then. After he said something else ( I can't remember what at the moment) I asked, "Where did you learn that?" To which he replied, "High school."
Trent said last night, "What do you feed this kid during the day? Everytime I come home he is weirder."
Tucker (dancing) "Look at me, I'm a dancer." (Striking a pose) "Spice!"
What in the world?! (confused laughing)This is the pose he would do in the middle of his dance and say "Spice."
After I took the spice picture he said, "Take one like this.. Let me see. Oh. Yes, sweet."
I saw this on a couple other blogs, kids answered these questions. I thought Tucker may be a bit young, but I was curious to hear what he would say.

According to Tucker about himself:

1. Something you do well.
"Fixing screws."
2. Something you wish you could do better.
"Play toys."
3. Your favorite food.
"That it's tasty."
4. 3 words that tell about you.
"umm, C, R, S."
5. What makes you happy.
"Play Bob the Builder."
6. The most important thing in your life right now.
"That I got arms and straight fingers."
7. Your favorite movie.
"Ice Age."
8. Your favorite book.
" That I like the dinosaurs one."
9. Your favorite thing.
"Chairs."
10. Your favorite place to go.
"At grandma's house."
11. Your favorite thing to draw.
" A stegasaurus."
12. Something you want for Christmas.
"Toys."
13. Your favorite color.
"Umm, about green, I like green at Christmas."
14. What do you like to play.
"Toys, racecars."
15. What do you like to do when it's raining?
"Get umbrellas over our heads so we don't get rained. STORM."
16. Your favorite animal
" A camel and a elephant."

Then I am supposed to say if any of these answers surprised me. I tell you most of them did that and had me trying to hold back laughter. I was very surprised that he specified a stegasaurus, that he said a camel as a favorite animal and the thing about his arms and straight fingers completely caught me off guard. It was pretty great all in all, wouldn't you say?

Baby Steps

This Saturday Charlotte had some major breakthroughs. For one, her top two front teeth broke through. For two, a couple days bbefore that she would stand on her own and balance great instead of immediately squatting down when I let go of her. She also would initiate the letting go. So then on Saturday she decided that since she was so good at balancing why not try moving too. She let go of the coffee table and took a couple steps toward Trent. When I came in to see, she did it over and over to me and back to Trent. These steps weren't the most stable, but they were steps nonetheless. She is on her way already and she isn't even 9 months old until Sep 26! Wow.
Sunday my lesson went very well. It was on Living Righteously Amid Wordly Pressures using Daniel(Old Testament) as an example. I got so nervous and was shaking and sweating. I have gotten used to the sweating since when I was teaching Sunday School for over a year and it began at the beginning of every lesson the whole time. I am not a confident public speaker and for some reason a small group of teenage girls seems like a terrifying audience. Once I got started my voice stabilized and things went great. I was very pleased. At 5:30 we headed to my parents for dinner after a quick stop at the in-laws to say hi to Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Dan, Aunt Kim, Deret, and Tristan. My parents had invited all the kids and grandkids over for dinner. It was fun seeing Moqui and charlotte together, as always and visiting with my siblings and parents and just hanging out.

It's Friday Already?

We are leaving about noon today to spend the day at Christopher Creek in a huge million dollar cabin. Cool. We have to head back pretty early tomorrow for the parent meeting for the youth sports. Yes, we signed Tucker up for soccer! I think it should be great fun to watch 3 year olds trying to play soccer. I am pretty excited, so is he.
I have to teach a lesson on Sunday. That's right, I got a calling. Mia Maid advisor. That means I will be teaching lessons most Sundays to 14-16 year old girls and going to their Wednesday night activities. I think I will enjoy it for the most part.
Next weekend we head to Lake Powell with our good friends from Utah. How we've missed watching little Liam grow. We've missed you too Gina and Ian! It almost looked like things weren't going to work out, but now it's on and I think we'll have a blast.
Tucker has been driving me up a wall. He says cute things a lot. But he's not so good with the listening or minding or being nice. He's 3 so I think I'll blame it on the age. Things he says: absolutely, actually, and all kinds of strange and funny responses which I could list all day.
Karen has stayed here the last two nights. It helps to have another adult around to soothe the soul sometimes. I even splurged and got a new shirt and skirt yesterday. Now I gotta watch my budget extra close. But I sure could use some new shoes!

Charlotte's bed with canopy. I made the bumper and bed skirt. I am new at sewing.


Charlotte's dresser and framed photos from when she was 5 weeks old.


The shower curtain and ring set I got on sale at Kohl's for $7.50 for the kid/guest bathroom.
Kid news.
Charlotte had a top left tooth break through a couple days ago. It is not one of the front teeth, it is on the side. It looks like her two front teeth are really close to coming through too. Tucker and Charlotte both had well check ups with their new pediatrician yesterday. Tucker is 36 and 3/4 " tall and weighs 31.5 lbs. Charlotte is 27 and 3/4" tall and weighs 17 lbs 14 oz. Tucker got one shot in his arm and didn't even cry! Charlotte got a toe prick and 2 shots in her thighs. She did very well, crying only for a moment. Her iron levels came back a little low, so I have to get her iron drops, I think my breastmilk is getting low so we are also trying really hard to get her to take one bottle of formula a day. No luck yet. Each night we are going to try to have Trent give her a bottle before bed. She has never taken a bottle or binki. She wouldn't even take breastmilk from a bottle, Tucker was the same way. The doctor said we could start her on a cup since she is old enough, but I don't think that she will get enough down her and not on her clothes and everywhere else. I am very open to any tips or suggestions. She also slept for 10 hours last night, I think that has much to do with her missing a nap and her shots.
"I'm a bridge. Take a picture."
I love this shirt on Charlotte. It's so grown up!

Celebrating our Differences

With all the turmoil in the world, could I be talking about the clash of cultures, religions, races? No. I am talking about the differences between my husband and myself. I was recently viewing a blog on What on earth is that smell? that asked what attracted her readers to their mates. I thought of the obvious things like his face and body and excellent kissing skills. But what it really got me thinking about was all our many differences.
Do we enjoy the same music? No
Trent mostly listens to country music and is not really passionate about music at all. I enjoy so many different kinds of music and I absolutely love it and use it to enhance or change my mood. I love creative lyrics. I love so many different kinds: rock, punk,emo/indie, classic rock, oldies, and gospel. Occasionally I will listen to country.
Do we enjoy the same academic classes? Hardly.
While Trent enjoyed and excelled in his construction management classes, including electronics, plumbing, construction law, blueprint drawing, and the like I do not have a mechanical mind.
I love things like art history, psychology, english, life drawing and such. I miss school, Trent never looks back.
Do we appreciate the same things? Not really
Trent appreciates things like architecture, engineering, and machinery. I appreciate the aesthetics of interior design, artwork, and literature. I like words. I have a strong desire to increase my vocabulary. I have no desire to learn the history and inner workings of the Glen Canyon Dam.
Do we enjoy the same entertainment? Some
We can usually agree on movies fairly easy. We will watch most of the same TV shows. Some of our favorites include Scrubs, That 70's show, The Simpsons, and The Office. He tolerates my watching of Project Runway, Design Star (and various other design shows), and Gilmore Girls. I tolerate and sometimes enjoy the watching of Mythbusters, Dirty Jobs, and American Choppers. I would like to go see plays and shows(you know, bands playing). But with a husband that has no desire to go and with 2 small children I do not enjoy those forms of entertainment right now. I do appreciate the fact that my husband is not a sports fanatic. We would definitely require a 2nd TV if one had to be tuned to every football, basketball, or baseball game that was aired.
Once we discussed going to New York. I would want to see a Broadway show, art museums, and fabulous restaurants. Trent wants to see where the twin towers were. I guess we could enjoy central park and the Empire State Building together.
Do we enjoy the same hobbies/activities? Some.
We both like to wakeboard, cliff jump, and lift weights. Trent enjoys motorized sports more than me. I have little confidence behind the wheel of a four wheeler or snowmobile. Trent likes to drive tractors and ride bikes and shoot guns. I am not real great at any of those things. I like to draw and decorate our home. We both pole-vaulted in high school and college. I think that had a lot to do with bringing us together.
I am a cuddler, a smotherer, a compliment giver, dependant, and insecure. Trent is none of those things.
Anyway, I haven't added up all these differences and weighed them against our similarities. The whole point of this post is that I love my husband. Sometimes our differences make our marriage a little bit harder. But mostly I think we balance eachother out pretty well. Trent is the calm to my instability. Trent is the sense to my irrationality. Knowing he enjoys a clean house and a bed that's made motivates me to be a better homemaker.
Perhaps I am the silliness and comic relief to his easygoing, seriousness. Maybe he contributes mostly to making me better. I don't know. I like to think somehow I make him better too. He teaches me things I would never have learned on my own. He helps me appreciate things I wouldn't have taken a second glance at. I am so glad he is those things I am not and that he helps me on my way to becoming the woman I want to be.

38 months and 8 months

My blogging is mostly a journal for me to remember what my kids did when and stuff like that. I know it probably isn't that exciting to outsiders. But it also helps my brain remember how to type and I've noticed I am not as good of a speller as I once was. So it's all for me basically and I hope I am not putting anyone to sleep, but if I am, oh well.
In the Funny Things Tucker Says category I have a couple things to add to my list: actually and What the heck?
I have also been trying to warn him about strangers and that sort of thing. He often asks me to tell him more about bad guys or about getting squished by cars. He seems fascinated by these topics and can't seem to get enough of these things that I would probably rather never think about if I didn't have to.
When he is ready to go to bed he asks Trent to scoop him like an excagator(excavator) or a bulldozer.
Charlotte is eating all kinds of new things all the time. She likes variety and she likes things she can feed herself. She eats Cheerios, sliced banana, buttery crackers (like Club or Townhouse), and now even graham crackers. She has also tried cottage cheese and yogurt now to switch it up a little from the regular stage 2 baby foods. She even tried some refried beans a couple days ago.
On Labor day I finally got Trent to help me hang some pictures in her room and the canopy over her bed (thanks Gina). Now her room is the cutest in the whole house. I will post some pictures soon, I left the camera at my mom's. woops.

Babysitting

In reference to my last post, if anyone orders something please tell her I referred you.

August 31
Click on pictures to make them larger!

Thursday I babysat 2 of my brother's kids while mommy Michelle went to 2 dentist appointments. Ethan 4, and Moqui 8months. Karen came to my aide since I was a tad nervous about having 2 wild boys and 2 8 month old girls to chase around. It was actually pretty fun. The boys played well and were happy to have a friend to play with (but not to share with). MOqui was very easy and laid back, not needing to be climbing all over me or wiggling out of my arms when being held like Charlotte. I don't mind when Charlotte is needy cause I love being needed, but I didn't know if I could handle 2 babies needing me that much all at once. God bless mothers of twins and such! Well it turned out great and we spent alittle time in the baby pools and the slip and slide of course, as the weather has not sunk below 100' yet.splashing...
Moqui escaped quite easily and headed for the slip and slide.. Charlotte never quite made it out on her own.
Yay for Aunt Karen, lover of babies, wearer of converse shirt, and bringer of celebrity gossip magazines!

Michelle and I got to hang out a little bit afterward and she even rewarded me with 2 new shirts and a necklace. How fabulous.

Also yesterday I went to check out an item I saw on craigslist. Notice to dumb people: if something is old and the paint job is redone that doesn't always qualify as an antique! Duh!