Time to move the ficus...

Life update

Ever since I started blogging I have been a bit at a loss as to the format I wanted to follow. Everyone seems to do it differently and I haven't found my niche. But since the main point of blogging was to keep in touch with my friends and family across the country, I am thinking I would like to do a few more journaling-type blogs than I have been.

So far, this spring has been very nice. Dylan is growing like a weed and getting into EVERYTHING! He is also teething again and has been biting. Fun for everyone. He mostly just bites me on the shoulder, but he has also gotten Aaron on the toe and arm. You gotta be careful around the little bugger. The thing that keeps us from getting mad is that he thinks he is giving us kisses and always has a big grin and giggle ready when we yelp in pain. So, maybe it's half out of love and half out of amusement that he does it. He is really such a doll. And he is going to be 1 year old on May 8th! I can't believe it. Gabe is also growing lots - he has gotten to be such a big boy. He can make his own PB&J's, pour his own juice, get himself dressed and is a little dynamo on the soccer field. He can count to 50 or 60 and knows his ABC's and most importantly is a little tender heart who will tell me how much he loves me and provide me with an endless supply of hugs and kisses.

What I'm Reading Now

My sister gave me this idea for my blog and I said I would put it up here the night I read it. Two weeks later, I am finally doing it! Such is my life. Anyway, here is a list of all the random books I have going right now, what they are about and why I am reading them:

You're Wearing That? Understanding Mothers and Daughters in Conversation by Deborah Tannen
This is such a great book! I am only about 1/3 of the way through it, but it has already helped shed some light on why my mom does what she does and why it makes me feel the way it does. I recommend this one.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
I have had this book for almost a year now - Aaron's dad brought it with him when he flew out right after Dylan was born - and I just barely started it. We both felt I should wait and read it when I was "more emotionally stable" - my words, not his! I figure I am about as stable as I am going to get, for a while, anyway, so the time is now. It is really interesting so far and is about two friends growing up in Afghanistan before the Soviet occupation. I can tell already I am gonna shed some tears over this one!

Created To Be His Help Meet by Debi Pearl
A radical book! Recommended by my sister Janie, this book discusses the importance of the woman's role in a marriage as the husband's "help meet" and support. It is in no way "P.C." nor would it be popular with the feminist crowd, because they would immediately dismiss it or pass judgement. While there have been a couple of things I have disagreed with and taken issue with, I have also been amazed at the changes that have taken place when I actually followed the advice given. It is basically saying "Forget about yourself and focus on him". Good advice for any marriage.

Between Mothers and Sons Edited by Patricia Stevens
This is a collection of essays written by women writers about their sons. I just checked it out yesterday and I haven't read too much of it, but I am already hooked. My boys are so wonderful and amazing and I just don't want to ruin them! I feel like reading and learning all I can about raising them and reading other moms' perspectives is part of that. Other moms can provide just as much pertinent information as a doctor can. Wish me luck!

Please share any books you recommend or anything you are reading now. I love to read and always find it interesting to see what other people are reading. Do tell!

Happy Easter, one and all!

I hope all of you have had a wonderful Easter! We had a very nice day ourselves. The boys, of course, were spoiled rotten by that dang Easter Bunny - who, oddly enough, has the very same induldgent ways as my hubby. Go figure!

Another Thing I Love About Virginia or Where I Went Last Week...

My niece and nephew, Vanessa and Kaden, were in town last week and we all had such a great time. Here are a couple of pictures from when we went to the Jamestown Settlement - as you probably guessed, the place is a recreation of the original settlement and is adjacent to the actual site. It's really neat and actually pretty humbling to go walking around a place like that. And where else can you find mini-armor for a photo op like this?!

The boat is a recreation of one of the boats that carried the settlers over - you wouldn't believe how small they are, especially considering how many people were crammed into them. I never would have made it! There is a reason I was born when and where I was!

Do not adjust your screen...

Yes, my new purse is green. And I love it. LOVE it. I am using the word love here, about my new purse.

I've been tagged!

4 Jobs I've had:
1. Honey Baked Ham – Ham Expert
2. Trask, Britt & Rossa - Receptionist
3. PricewaterhouseCoopers – Administrative Assistant
4. Mommy

4 movies I can watch over and over:
1. Dead Poets Society
2. A Room With A View
3. French Kiss
4. A River Runs Through It

4 Places I've lived:
1. Holladay, UT
2. Orem, UT
3. Provo, UT
4. Chesapeake, VA

4 Places I Want to Live:
1. Arizona
2. Utah
3. Northern California
4. Virginia :o)

4 TV shows I love:
1. Scrubs
2. What Not to Wear
3. Grey’s Anatomy
4. Everyday Food

4 Highly Regarded TV shows I've never watched a minute of:
1. Commander in Chief
2. 24
3. Six Feet Under
4. Medium

4 Places I've Vacationed:
1. Italy – Rome, Florence, Venice, Siena
2. Oahu, Hawaii
3. San Francisco, CA
4. Southern Utah

4 Places I Wish I Could Vacation:
1. Palau
2. Kenya
3. Germany
4. Japan

4 Favorite Dishes:
1. I
2. love
3. all
4. food!!! (Seriously, have any of you ever known me to turn anything down?!)

4 Sites I Visit Daily:
1. Yahoo
2. MSN
3. Netscape
4. my friends’ blogs

4 Places I'd Rather Be Right Now:
1. SLC or Idaho (I miss my family and friends!)
2. Hiking Red Butte
3. Hiking Southern Utah
4. Out! I stay home waaaay too much!

4 People I'm Tagging:
1. Janie
2. Erin
3. Aaron (yes, he reads it, though he never comments!)
4. Tammy S. (if she ever decides to blog again!)

New Jammies!

Gabe just got these new jammies from his Granny today. He was so thrilled, he immediately put them on and began running around shouting "Use the force!" Doesn't he look just like a Jedi?!

Dylan learning to eat with a spoon!

Update

Over the past week or so I have been considering possible new names for my puppy. Sachi just didn't seem to fit anymore. "Evil One" or "She-Devil" and my favorite "You Little SH**" all seemed more suitable. I did have my first puppy training class with her on Tuesday and I think we may survive and she may get to keep her name after all. It's moment-to-moment, though, so I will keep you all posted!

The boys and just as wonderful as ever. SO CUTE! And growing so fast! It just breaks my heart. Gabe has been making up for being an angel his first two years by challenging EVERY thing I say or ask him to do. I guess that is what comes of him being such a smart kid. Dylan is a mischeivous little guy and loves to make messes - but he knows right when to flash his angelic smile - I can never get too upset.

So sorry for the abscence from blogging, but I'm back now! Life has been kind of crazy. I don't know why this new addition to our family has thrown such a kink in our schedule, but it has and I just feel overwhelmed a lot of the time. I was joking the other day that all I wanted to do was sit in a dark room and eat! I may have meant it as a joke, but boy, did I ever mean it! Luckily, the weather has been really nice (81 today!) so we have gotten out and I am feeling a little sane again. I am always amazed at how much the weather affects me. And the little things like daffodils coming up and fruit trees flowering - so wonderful! It gives me hope and reminds that soon it will be Spring. And that means we can go to the beach! I can make it, I can make it, I can make it...!

Actual 5-day Forecast for Southeastern Virginia

Today
Sunny
High: 68°Low: 41°

Tomorrow
Sunny
High: 70°Low: 52°

Friday
Mostly Cloudy
High: 70°Low: 35°

Saturday
Rain/Snow Showers
High: 42°Low: 32°

Sunday
Partly Cloudy
High: 37°Low: 31°

To which I say "WHA...?!"

Oh, yeah - this is why...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCKK!

Why, oh, why, oh, why did we get ourselves a puppy?! Does anyone remember that "organization" post? Yeah. And was anyone else thinking that I had jinxed myself by writing it? Yeah. Organization, and sanity, for that matter, are out the window. I maybe got two, three hours of sleep last night. And that's not even in a row, that's cumulative. Dylan is teething and has a cold and Sachi alternated between crying and playful barking. Egads. Good thing they are both cute!

I must give my husband huge amounts of credit - he is a fine man. I was practically foaming at the mouth this morning and he bore it with a tremendous amount of patience and sympathy. Of course, that may be because he brought up the puppy idea in the first place...Nah, he's just a sweetheart! Now, if we can just get through this week, we will be set. I hope.

Our New Arrival!

Meet Sachi, our new Wire Fox Terrier puppy. I'm not the only girl anymore!

Best buds

Goofy as these pictures are, they totally capture my boys!

Misnomer

Am I really still a Utah girl? I am starting to wonder. Virginia is feeling more and more like home to me these days and when I think about Utah it is with a mixture of apathy and uncertainty, not the feelings of longing I used to have. I still love Utah with it's diverse landscape - the majestic mountains, and oh, my - the desert! - and most importantly lots of people I love. I think I have just discovered so much more happiness out here than I thought possible and I am scared to mess with that. There are days when I am lonely and homesick, but they are getting few and far-between. In addition to the happiness Aaron and I have found as a family, I have really become attached to this place. Trees and water everywhere. A long history, holding so much significance to our country and our lives. I have stood where Captain John Smith met Pocahontas! To say nothing of Williamsburg, Yorktown and the long list of Civil War sites. And most importantly - the BEACH!!!

It's hard to say what the future will hold. Aaron and I go back and forth weekly. We have conversations of "Well, when we move back to Utah we can leave this and bring that..." followed a few days later by "If we stay, we could close in this wall, it would make a great room for when Dylan is older." It is a continuing, back-and-forth dialogue that will probably go on for a while. We are going home for a visit in May and I think a lot will be decided then. A lot of attention will be paid to all the details we used to take for granted. Not everything will be entirely up to us, though. There is always the issue of a job for Aaron and the housing market. From what we hear, prices are steadily climbing in the SL Valley. That is more than a little discouraging! Things are always changing, though - so we will really just have to see how things are once Aaron finishes school here, which should be about a year from May.

In the meantime, I am just trying to enjoy this place to the fullest and see and do all I can. It has been really neat to share my new experiences with my family and friends and show them all the places I have come to love (but there are some of you that haven't come out yet - the door is always open!) Places left on my list to explore are: the Eastern Shore of VA and the island of Chiconteague - famous for it's ponies, the Western part of the state and all the surrounding mountains - Appalachian Trail, anyone?! , we still have to visit D.C. and I would love to check out parts of Maryland. If there are any places I missed, please feel free to let me know! Or come on out and visit and explore them with me!

Simple Pleasures

Tea. The very act of pouring hot water over a tea bag relaxes me.

Make-believe. This week I have been a princess, a baby, an adventurer, a wizard and a Jedi. All without leaving the house.

Folded laundry. Visually satisfying and one of the easier ways I know to obtain a sense of accomplishment.

Blue sky and white clouds. Do I really need to expound?

Giggling children. Simply life-affirming.

Hot baths. Simply life-saving!

Snuggling with hubby. Wonderful!

Disclaimer

I think I had a serious upsurge of hormones yesterday! That entry sure was out of nowhere. This blogging thing is dangerous. I don't think it is wise for just anyone to be able to do this!

Organization

Organization is a funny thing. It is something we all strive for and desire - on some level we all want to be on top of things. I certainly always have, but it was never truly something I posessed. The longer I have been home with the boys, the more I have realized that it is a total necessity if I am to remain a sane, functioning member of society. So, I drew up plans, made schedules and tried a few things here and there. And folks, I do believe yesterday was a breakthrough! The day unfolded as it should, scheduled tasks were completed. All the effort and planning and discipline of the last few months came into fruition and Aaron and I found ourselves sitting there, stunned, at 8:00 PM in a quiet, clean home with no clue as what to do next. We were completely befuddled, flummoxed, even. Such an event had not occurred in ages. Granted, we had been building toward this moment with days and nights of ever increasing resolve and follow-through and adherence to a schedule. But to see it all pay off and to have actually done what we set out to do was just marvelous and oddly enough, totally unexpected!

I suppose this might seem like a strange post, a rather random thing to be so awed by. But this new knowledge that I can be home with two kids all day and not be crazy and cranky and surrounded by chaos (the three c's!) - that I can actually relax a bit and enjoy my children - is liberating! My sisters (deservedly) have all been waiting for this moment (smugly, I think, even if in secret!) - for me to say that being a mom is so hard and such a challenge. I had many days where I just didn't think I could do it or, well - just didn't want to do it anymore. I am happy to report that I haven't had a day like that in ages and I am really enjoying my new life.

A new revelation comes even as I write this: this is the happiest I have ever been!

Now, if you will excuse me, my boys are waiting for me. :o)

Update

The shoes are still muddy and still in the garage. Hee, hee, hee!