Halloween 2011

I was really excited about trick or treating this year. As in, I started making costumes a full two weeks in advance. The day of, all I had left to do was make Ginny's treat bag. Not bad.

I was so ahead of time that Ginny's costume was done in time for Aunt Tasha (a much better photographer than me) to do a photoshoot. That means I didn't take a single picture of the girl on the 31st. And I do not feel guilty!

Here the little lady is...

 I used THIS tutorial by Prudent Baby. If I had had red fabric, she would have been red... but since I already had yards of this pink, well, she was a pretty little pink bird. I loved it.

Raymond's was a bit more work. About two weeks before the big day I sat down at the computer with Raymond at my lap. We googled images of "toddler costumes" and looked and looked and looked. What he really (insistently) wanted to be was a skeleton. Really. He's two. There was no way I was going to go with that. Not while I can convince him otherwise. I talked him into a cowboy.

I made the vest, chaps, and horse. Poor Max (the horse) didn't make it to trick or treating because he was so heavy. Next time I would make a sock horse instead of using this tutorial.

And since I'm lame, I only got two phone pictures. Alright, I do feel a little guilty about that. Sorry.

Earlier in the day I cooked (!!) a pumpkin and I made pumpkin soup (only Ginny would eat it... it was a total let down) and roasted seeds. I love me some pumpkin seeds. Trick or treating was interesting since there are only a handful of kids in our neighborhood. I think we made people's night by knocking on their doors. We saw only two other trick or treaters the whole night. Seriously. (And didn't get any ourselves. Boo.)

Raymond was pretty cute about it though. He wouldn't quite say "trick or treat" but when we got to a door would just start yelling instead of knocking. It was hilarious. He was pretty cute. All in all, it was a great Halloween!

The Ginny Bug

Dear Virginia,

Today, little one, you are eleven months old. I can't fathom where the time has gone. You are all too quickly growing up before my very eyes. The quick transition from baby to toddler has begun earlier than I imagined possible. You are definitely your own little person--full of personality and fun.

Sometimes we just might refer to you as a wild animal, you crazy girl. You love to climb and crawl and go go go. Today I set up an elaborate "gate" to keep you from going into the back part of the apartment. You won every time. No matter how I arranged those chairs, you climbed under, over, and around. It was truly impressive.

You are days (hours?) away from figuring out how to climb on the couch. And then I don't know how I will possibly keep the computer safe from your pounding little fists. But, oh!, the look of delight it gives you to do it. It's completely endearing.

Speaking of endearment, you are permanently endeared to your brother. Who, by the way, does not completely deserve it. He can be pretty viscous now and again in his undying efforts to keep you from his toys or books. But when he beacons, "walk to Raymond?" you always respond. When he shouts, you shout. When he laughs, you laugh. When he asks, "what does the elephant say, baby?" you make a raspberry every time.

I am actually (crazily??) looking forward to you figuring out walking this month. You stand up on your own and can keep your balance fairly well, all until you try to lunge forward. You love to grip my fingers and walk around the house. You soon will be running, I can tell.

Your favorite things to do are pull books of shelves (which you do at an alarming rate), "read" to yourself, explore new places, eat wood chips at the park, swing, eat (eat! My I should write a whole paragraph about how you love to eat!! You eat better than your brother does), and sit with mama. You don't like me to be too far away from you. I love the way your curl up so comfortably in my lap.

Despite being a mama's girl, you look more and more like your Daddy every day. You have his eyes, his mouth, and what I think will someday be his hair color. But for now you are blonde blonde blonde. It's a little bit at the scraggly baby stage. I wish you would wear headbands, but no such luck. Maybe someday the pigtails will work out. I can't wait.

Baby girl, despite your crazy energy, and unbelievable climbing abilities for a person who can't walk yet, you are as sweet and tender as I knew you would be from the womb. I never tire of kissing your chubby chunky cheeks.  I love gathering you in my arms when you are sad or hurt. I love making you laugh. I love your lispy babbling. I love watching you grow.

I love you. Love,

Mama

(Sorry this is not the best picture of Ginny. Tasha was here this week and took a whole photo shoot of her. Can't wait to get them. Can't wait to show you here in her Halloween costume. It's to die for.)

Park City

A few weeks ago Raymond, Virginia, and I drove the beautiful (fall!) drive to Park City to visit with my long-time friend, Jodianne. Jodi and I were freshmen together (Chipman Chicas!) and I just love her. She beautiful and talented, kind and sincere, and loves red to boot! I feel lucky to know her.

We had a lovely afternoon enjoying the fall leaves and parks of her little corner of Utah.

Raymond especially loved the tractor he got to climb on.

And they both loved the sand at the park. Seriously they could have stayed forever.

Thanks for letting us come play, Jodi! And thanks for taking such great pictures!

PS feel free to humor me by telling me how adorable my children are. They are, huh? Gosh, I just generally can't get over it!

Thoughts on food

Sometimes I forget that you don't all live in my back room and know the intimate details of my life. Probably for the best, no? But there are always so many things rambling around in my brain and coming and going on my to do lists, that I suddenly get tongue tied when it comes to filling in all the blanks in this space for all of you. Sorry about that.

One of the things up at the very top of my occupy-the-brain list lately is food. I feel like my life revolves around food. Before we moved to Blanding--where I was happily mostly just a consumer and not a fixer--I resolved that our move to Salt Lake would turn a new phase in my personal Healthy Eating for Life Campaign. We were going to eat healthy! Less meat! More vegetables! Whole grains! Homemade bread!

You get the picture.

I am happy to report that my efforts (and many successes) are going strong. Yes, I still probably make too many desserts. And somehow "tastey treats" make it to our pantry in abundance whether I plan on it or not, but by and large my vision of Healthy Eating for Life is being realized.

Whether Jeremy likes it or not. (Bless his heart, he tries to be optimistic about it. Even while eating wheat berries mixed into his sloppy joes. For realsies that was lunch today.)

Despite Jeremy's grimaces over added wheat berries or lentils to his meaty meals, I must say that by and large, this goal has opened our horizons when it comes to good foods out there. And so many of the foods I have made have received an enthusiastic thumbs up. Roasted Sweet Potato Soup for example. Healthy Corn Chowder was tasty too. And Vegetarian Burritos have gotten a repeated request for more.

I am also committed to whole grains. Don't get me wrong, I still use a handful of recipes that use half white, half wheat flour... but I'm starting to just put in all wheat anyway. Even in my birthday cupcakes I used whole wheat (cut the sugar, eliminated and egg, and replaced oil with applesauce) and thought they were oh so good. It's not just any whole wheat flour I'll use either. I am a true convert to freshly ground whole wheat. As in, I grind it myself. Seriously, the flour is so much lighter than anything you could buy in a store. Not to mention has both the bran and the germ still intact--making it indeed a whole grain (as opposed to wheat flour  in the store that has had parts taken out to preserve shelf life).

Tuesday night I decided to make wheat berries for the first time. Basically you cook wheat kernals in the crockpot with a lot of water and a little salt over night. I ate them for breakfast with milk (heavens, so much better than oatmeal--which I can't hardly even look at without wanting to gag). And I added them to my sloppy joe meat for lunch (which for the record, I thought was good, no matter how much Jeremy gritted his teeth about it!). And I plan to make some sort of salad with them this weekend (like this).

One of the key factors in making all this healthy eating happen, I should add, is our diligent purchasing of a bountiful basket each week. For those who don't know, it's a food co-op that for $16.50 a week provides us with enormous amounts of fruits and vegetables. Most people I talk to say they simply can't eat them all in a week. Somehow (!!) we manage to eat a whole basket by ourselves each week. It seriously makes for one happy mama.

I often make three meals a day and of our lunches and dinners we eat at least (at least) half meatless. Often more. Salads, soups, veggie burritos. The list goes one. Thank you bountiful baskets.

It's been a huge time commitment on my part to make this transition to more serious healthy eating. I am trying to cut way back on processed foods. Meaning I have to be the maker of our foods. I have learned to make tortillas, breads, and rouxes in abundance. I make my own pizza sauce. I make my own mac and cheese (although still keep the box stuff around for emergencies).  I knead my own bread.

I won't lie, it's a little intense sometimes. But at the end of the day, I usually feel so good about our eating choices. It makes me happy to see my kids lapping up fresh steamed broccoli. And I love knowing exactly what is in what we are eating. There are no fake ingredients. No high fructose corn syrup.

(Don't worry, we aren't perfect. We sure did eat candy corn the came in the mail today from Grandma. Plenty of high fructose in there.)

I tell you, I dream about someday having my own chickens for eggs and a great big garden with all my own fresh vegetables for canning, dehydrating, and eating, eating, eating.

Happy thoughts.

Today

"I am lucky to be what I am!

Thank goodness I'm not just a clam or a ham

Or a dusty old jar of sour gooseberry jam!

I am what I am! That's a great thing to be!

If I say so myself, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!"

--Happy Birthday to You by Dr. Seuss

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And that truly is just how I feel today. Life is good, no?

Content

So I see October 1st is looming.

The is a sprinkling of red leaves on the trees.

With more to follow.

General Conference is pending.

And life goes on in the Christiansen home.

We've been busy and snail paced all at once, if you know what I mean. I finished reading Daughters in My Kingdom a few nights ago and I feel satisfied with my life. And anxious (as always) to do better. But not stressed about it. Just eager. If you  know what I mean.

I've been soaking up the days with these little ones I have. They bring magic to life. Something about their simplicity, their purity, their energy. Oh how I love motherhood.

Raymond is as energetic as ever. He amazes me with his ability to learn and do new things every single day. He is also ridiculously cute. His little smile melts my heart every time.

Ginny is a ball of excitement for life. She cannot be contained. (Literally). And somehow she is turning (already!) from a baby to a toddler. I see it coming.

Well, Mike Mulligan calls.

If you've been wondering where we've been... that would sum it up!

Family Photo Shoot

So back over the 4th of July my oh so talented sister-in-law, Lindsey, did a little photo shoot of our family. Honestly this is the first time we've ever done (a real) one (since, well, our wedding day).

It was actually Jeremy's idea (yep, the fellow who HATES taking pictures). But he was a Trooper (with a capital T) throughout the whole thing. Alas it was Raymond's nap time, so he was a little squirrely  during most of it, especially since we were near water, and all he wanted to do was throw rocks.

But by and large, it was a success!! Here are some of my favorites...

Um, so I liked SO MANY. Wow. That little series of Ginny made the whole thing oh so worth it. Wow. They captured her little go-getter personality perfectly. Gosh she's adorable. (And I didn't even put up half of them!)

A great big THANK YOU to Lindsey for being such a talented, willing, and fun photographer. I love them all.

Pictures taken at Dry Wash and Johnson's Creek, Blanding, Utah, July 2nd 2011. Raymond is 2 years, 1 month; Ginny is 7.5 months, we've been married just under three years!

Odds and Ends

I'm really loving Pinterest these days. I love having a visual catalog of all the things I want to do/try/remember. Most visited for me are my food-related boards lately. I'm taking my role as "nurisher" seriously these days. That's three meals a day, seven days a week.

Except when Jeremy comes home and dinner is only half made and I look at him with pleading eyes and say, "do you want to experiment and come up with a sauce to go with my homemade gnocchis?" Because I can only do so much.

But I am venturing into the realm of homemade-only breads around here. Since we moved to SLC I've only bought bread once, and that was because we had been here less than 24 hours and I didn't know what box my wheat grinder was in. This artisan bread? It's divine.

Some days my kids take naps and some days they cry in there simultaneously until I release them from their cages. Usually we have a few good days in a row, and I pat myself on the back for mastering two-in-one-very-small-room-during-nap-time. And then the next day is a total flop.

Today is the flop. Raymond keeps calling out, "Mama? Whatcha doin?" and Ginny is wailing. Such is life. I will release them soon, have no fear.

This week is projected to be in the upper 90s every (stinkin) day. Next week it's only lower 90s. I can't wait. (Note: no air conditioning. Only a dying fan and a no good fan. It has it's rough moments.)

Tomorrow. AH TOMORROW! It's only a day away. I get to see my mom, Paige, and Chad tomorrow. It's been roughly four months since I saw anyone from my family and I'm going through serious withdrawals. I almost want to cry just thinking about it. But I won't because TOMORROW I get to spend the day with them in Provo. And then after tomorrow Paige (and Chad!) will become a Utah resident. And I rejoice that for the first time in TEN years we will live near each other. I seriously CANNOT WAIT.

(I don't know how I would have handled life if we had ended up at Ohio State. The last four months have seriously made me reconsider my former lack of desire to ever move back to California. I miss my gente.)

Speaking of gente, I have also begun to seriously reconsidered my former refusal to join facebook. I've been scanning mission pictures this week and I miss my mission gente. I have a sneaking suspicion that if I joined facebook I would be able to find some of my favorite Honduran folk. Sigh. What to do, what to do.)

The wailing must end. If only it wasn't 97 degrees outside we would go to the park to make up for our napless day. Alas. Well, either way, I'm off to kiss those tears away!

I know, I know, I KNOW

Seriously, right? I've been living in Salt Lake City for well over a week now (ahem, two whole weeks tomorrow)... and my internet has been officially up and running for at least four or five days now... so what, no post?

Seriously, friends,  I live in Salt Lake City.

If you didn't know (I didn't), it's a pretty historic place. I have started day dreaming about owning just about any house in the avenues... or even just living  in one of their basements. Seriously the kinds of houses I dream about. And all of them historic.

Downtown is about a mile west of us. And it is pretty thrilling to see all those tall buildings (ok, so they aren't that tall for all you real city dwellers) just down the hill from us. And so many  of them historic.

Speaking of those hills! You should see my calf muscles. I am building them on our daily walks as we go up and down those inevitable hills. Good times. But oh so worth it to drool over those houses in the Avenues. I want, I want, I want one. Someday.

In the meantime, we are enjoying our lives in our cozy (yes, cozy) little basement apartment. It's probably bigger than it would have been if we were living in DC or something, though. Got to count every blessing.  I have decided I like small. Seriously takes no time at all to clean the whole apartment! That's happy.

We are slowly but surely getting our two little ones used to sleeping in the same room (at the same time no less!) The sleeping bit has probably been the hardest adjustment (I knew it would be). But we're making it. As I type both of them are taking a nap at the same time!! for the very first time since we moved here. I could shout out loud I'm so happy. But since that might wake them up, I won't.

Today Jeremy started orientation. I'm bottled up with curiosity about how it's going. Seriously exciting stuff.

Picture to be taken and posted... someday. But probably not today!

The middle of the move

Ah solitude.

I am sitting at my sister-law's computer while Ginny naps in a borrowed pack-and-play and Jeremy runs last minute errands around Cedar City. The U-Haul is packed. Blanding is becoming already only a memory. Salt Lake City awaits us.

The Future (capital intended) looms.

And oh I am excited and anxious and ready and nervous and happy. Supposedly the new apartment has had a hauling over since Jeremy saw it for the first time on Saturday. It was, shall we say, less than desirable at the time. Dirty, paint peeling, unkempt, and broken down. He got a hold of management and voiced his displeasure... and supposedly it has been cleaned, repainted, and possibly even re carpeted. Fingers crossed.

It is awaiting all the living we will do there.

I am excited about that living. The pitter patter of little feet. The family dinners. The play time and nap time and story time. The adventures that will be just outside our door. 

Wish us luck in our new life.

rainy rainy day

 source

Today started a little too early.

Granted, it was initially my fault. My alarm went off at 5:10am, and like the dutiful person I am, I heeded the call to get up and exercise before the kiddos awoke. If only I hadn't gone to bed way too late last night.

But just as I had the laptop set up with my workout video poised and my kettlebell in hand, Jeremy opened the door to let me know Ginny was screaming and Raymond was awake. Could I help?

Of course.

So while getting up before the sun was voluntary, it wasn't the start I had envisioned. Such is life.

But it has created one of those days when you look at the clock at 9:30am, while feeding your kids their second breakfast of the day, watching the rain go streaking down the window, and wonder how you will fill the hours between then at 5:35pm when Dad comes home.

We've read books, played horsie (aka ride mom's back), colored, kicked the soccerball around the toy room, played with the play food, the play dough, and our lunches. Raymond went on a four-wheeling ride with Grandpa. I swept the upstairs, have washed the diapers, exercised (a little her and a little there with the kids underfoot), and showered. We played more with the toy food, read more books, and Raymond slipped out for an unauthorized skip in the rain.

All by 12:13pm.

Finally (it feels like) it's naptime, and I'm procrastinating my scripture study and potential nap, to ask you a very important question:

What are your favorite things to do on a rainy day?

Because I feel like I'm running out of ideas. Of course we can always make muffins (something we do just about every other day anyway), color some more. Or paint if I'm feeling ambitious. Or read more books. But my brain stops there. Any suggestions? 

Thanks! 

Oh be wise

So tomorrow I am going to get my wisdom teeth out. Yes, you read that right. It didn't happen in high school or before I served a mission. I'm 28 years old and just now getting my wisdom teeth out.

I only have two, you see (up top). And every time I've had teeth x-rays in the last fifteen years I was told they were going no where. So not to worry about it.

Well, about two months ago I started to worry when I could feel one of them coming in. Yep, that's always a fun discovery. And that pretty much was the deciding factor against going to California this summer. Sad but true.

Anyhow, tomorrow is the big day. And I am a wee bit nervous. I just wish the dentist (yep, dentist, not oral surgeon... ah the joys of not having dental insurance...) could put me out for it. But maybe I'll give laughing gas a whirl for the first time instead. (Which, honestly, also makes me feel nervous... and very vulnerable.)

I keep hoping that I'm one of the lucky ones that doesn't get a totally swollen face. That my life is back to normal in 24 hours or so.  And that Raymond and Ginny decide to take record breaking naps for the remainder of the week.

But there is already some ice cream in the freezer just in case that doesn't happen. Wish me luck.

This summer

I've been doing a lot of reflection and introspection lately.

Big changes are ahead... the second move of the summer, school starting, the kiddos sharing a room, a chance of pace, new friends, new goals.

I never miss a chance to set a new goal or two.  And so I'm up to my elbows in working out just what I envision all these chances will bring. How I can (purposefully) grow in the process of it all.

Let's just say that I am excited. I feel like we are about to make a big leap in life. That we are standing on the edge, so to speak, with the anticipation of the thrill of what's just ahead.

But at the same time I find myself trying to dig in my heels a little harder and hang on a little tighter to these long summer days and the carefree-ness of our current circumstances. I try to push Raymond a little higher on the swing, chase grasshoppers with a little more gusto, and overall smile more at the little pleasures of having "daddy" around more.

I feel like this is the last summer of our lives.

Never again will Jeremy work a manual-labor weekends-to-himself kind of job. Never again will time off be automatic and carefree. After this it's all school and work and more school and then work, work, work for the rest of his life. You know what I mean?

This is it. And so far, it has been just about right. Lazy and busy and fun and quiet all at once.

I know that someday we'll have more money to do to things with, more children to enjoy the fun with, more toys or gadgets or games. But for now, I wouldn't trade this gem of a summer for any of it.

The weekend

I think I'm still recovering from what was The 4th 2011. The crowds started coming the Wednesday before and the last car-load headed out the Tuesday after. At the peak there were 23 people in this house. It was a party.

I may or may not have finally finished washing all the towels.

Here is an (incomplete) list of some of the goings-on

• Jeanine made (almost all of) a new skirt
• Lindsey sewed eight (darling) patriotic bags for the kiddos
• seven adults hiked/swam the Black Hole (while three (sometimes four) adults watched eight kids under six)
• Ginny cut two teeth and learned to crawl (!!)
• unfathomable amounts of food was consumed... at least 8 bags of chips, 30 enchiladas, 3 packages of brats, 2 huge cases of strawberries (made into three delicious pies), a couple of dutch ovens of chicken wings, a few dozen cake pops... the list goes on
• Grandpa spent a solid two hours giving rides on his four wheeler
• Lindsey took family pictures for us and Jason and Cansas
• We actually went to the parade early and were able to sit and see it (rather than stand at the back)!
• Mark and Debbie reported on their trip to Jerusalem with a full table to Jerusalem food (hello homemade pita bread, let's be life-long friends) and a slide show
• Endless entertainment on laptops, ipads, and the DVD player for children of all ages
• Countless drink runs
• And occasional sleeping

Like I said, it was a party. I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed not having to drive anywhere or live out of a suitcase for this family gathering. It was incentive for us to buy a big ole house someday so people will come to us again. Alas. Someday.

Well that's one thing to check off the list

We have housing!

Seriously, friends, the housing hunting we've been doing for the last two or three weeks has been a wee bit stressful. Our three main criteria have all the appearances of being doable:

1. As close as stinkin possible to the law school (since we only have one car and the goal was for me to have it 100% of the (day) time, Jeremy thus needs to have a doable commute via trax or the bus. You'd be surprised how fast (er, slow) a 2 mile commute equals 20+ minutes on a bus)
2. washer / dryer hookups (since, you know, we have two kids and do cloth diapers. There will be no dropping of quarters for our laundry for three years. No sir.)
3. Cheap, cheap, cheapest. The goal was under $800. This turned our ideal of a three bedroom into a two. And my wishes for new carpets and updated appliances out the door. Alas. 

You'd be surprised how impossible this has seemed as we've looked and looked and looked. But somehow what we got fits all three criteria.

1. According to google maps it is a three minute walk to the law school. I think it's closer than the nearest parking lot (seriously). This means Jeremy will be home for all three meals most days. And helping to get the kids to bed before running back to the library will not be stressful. Happiness.
2. There are hook ups (albeit in a shared laundry room with the upstairs tenants (we are in a basement), we won't have to pay for it)
3. It's cheaper than we hoped for. Ok so there isn't even a garbage disposal (not to mention a dishwasher) and we will have the carpets cleaned (if the management company doesn't do that automatically)... but the rent is so SO in our price range, that maybe life won't be so stressful.

See here for some pictures. Not so inviting looking in these (although the outside is darling)... but at least it's not cinderblock. And a slash or two of red will brighten it right up, I think.

HOORAY!

And so

life goes on and on.

But it sure is happier when wearing a baby muumuu. Here is my latest Ginny creation. I cut down Lier's Raglan dress pattern and added the ruffle. I adore it.

So far I've made two. Only twenty more to go. Because who wants to wear anything but a muumuu in the summertime?

To Do List:

• Make at least two more muumuus for Ginny Bug
• Make more red, white, and blue crape paper garlands.
• Make another skirt for me. Because I like wearing skirts. (So far I've made this skirt twice and every time I wear one I think: why don't I have twenty of these? The last one I made matches Ginny's dress above).
• Make a market skirt for my niece Bentley (her mom is taking our family pictures as a trade. I would do anything for someone else to take pictures instead of me. And since I've been wanting to make this little skirt for awhile now, this is a win win for me!)
• Make Raymond a 4th of July tie.
• Find housing in Salt Lake. 
• Kiss baby cheeks.

All in all, I think I can handle it.

Five things that are making me happy

I am really bummed today. As in, fighting tears all day, sad.

Today my little sister, Paige, graduates from high school. And I don't get to be there. Or hang out with all my family that is congregated for the occasion. (Again.) Or go to California at all this summer, for that matter.

And I'm unendingly sad about it.

But I know I need to buck up and get over it and move on with life.

So in an effort to be cheerful in all things, here is my list today of five things that are making me happy. Because I can choose to be happy.

1. I am sewing again! After a six month break, I've busted out my machine (as of last week) and am sewing up a storm. I've made three skirts for Ginny, one for me, and have a Ginny dress in the making (as in, the pattern and such are in the making). I've also been making yoyos for Paige's quilt. And I've remade three (or four?) of Jeremy's ties into Raymond ties for church. Creativity breeds happiness.
2. I've joined pinterest. Just today I've been working through the details and adding pins to my boards. Most notably my "Salt Lake Options" board in which I've added the many different houses and apartments in SL that I've looked at in the past two days. Sigh. Finding housing is stressful! (But this portion of the post is supposed to be happy... so I'll stop there!)
3. I've exercised five or six days a week for three and half weeks now! I feel so dang good about life when I'm exercising. I alternate daily between the elliptical and a kettlebell workout. It's a great mix of aerobic and cardio.
4. I've successful convinced Jeremy to watch movies with me like Persuasion and North and South. And low and behold he enjoys them. Seriously opens up all sorts of movie-watching possibilities around here! (And isn't it happy that we get to bum off my in-law's Netflix all summer? Yes. Very happy.)
5. Summer weather is finally (FINALLY!) here to stay (or so it seems). Blue skies, hot sun, cool breezes. I love summertime.

And because this picture has been making me happy for a few days now: here is Miss Virginia in her new (made by Mama) all pink ruffle skirt. It's seriously darling on her (much cuter in person than in the picture)... but who can resist being happy with that little face looking up at you?

The Birthday Boy

Well.

So Raymond turned two last week (Sunday, June 5th, to be exact). It was over and out a happy happy day.

We started out (early) with presents and and abundance of balloons (boon! He loves boons.) Raymond's room is right off the basement "living room" here at Jeremy's parent's house. So right as he walked out of his room he walked right into the festivities.

Raymond loves horses (horsies!), so we gave him an enormous horse coloring book (he also loves coloring), and the soccer ball on the floor. 

He also loves (LOVES) all things Sesame Street, most especially Elmo, related. So waiting for him was some Elmo juice (Elmo was on the front). Oh and he loves juice. Can you see how he's fiddling with his fingers while I open the juices for him.  What I love most about this picture, however is Ginny. She was a bit out of it still. Oh how I love that little face!

Yea. Mom got the juice open. He drank all four in about thirty minutes. You get to do those sort of things on your birthday.

My parents gave him toy dishes and food (that velcros together so you can cut it. So cool, and definitely a hit with the birthday boy).

We spent the morning before church playing with toys (bubbles also came from gma and gpa T. and were never ending fun). We had waffles (still a favorite) for breakfast.

After church we busted out the Elmo cupcakes.

Ok so they didn't turn out perfect. But not bad. The black icing was running at first (and I couldn't figure out why). The red frosting was really only dark pink. But they tasted good! And Raymond immediately knew they were Elmo.

We did blow out a #2 candle... but didn't get it on film. Sorry.

But they sure were tasty. I think he only ate one on his birthday... but all week long he ate "Elmo tate" and was happy happy boy. (Note: Raymond usually will have nothing to do with sitting in a high chair any more... but was willing to do anything we asked in order to get that Elmo cake.)

Since it was just us on his birthday (Jeremy's parents were out of town), it was pretty low key. We talked to the Torgerson crowd (my family) who were all together in Vegas for my nephew's blessing. And we drove all over Blanding to look at the horsies. Something Raymond loves to do.

We've taken quite a few family drives to look for horses in the last few weeks. We also know where to find piggies, sheep, a llama, and cows. Just in case horses aren't out and eating.

All in all, it was such a quiet, fun day. I'm pretty sure they sang to him in nursery. And we told Happy Birthday all day long.

A few fun facts about Raymond:

• He loves TV (much to my disappointment). Elmo and Mickey Mouse make him most happy. (I pick Mickey Mouse if at all possible).
• He loves all animals.
• He loves people. He is so good for other people (like in nursery and this last Sunday when we spoke in church and had him sit with the neighbors). He's as much a ham as he ever was
• He loves to talk. He will repeat (or try anyway) anything you ask him too. He seriously learns new words every day.
• He loves his numbers. He can count (mostly on his own) up to about 14 (although he things 11 is 7 and will often go back to 8 after he says 11. It's pretty cute. We've got to get it on film).
• He loves reading books still (even though that TV is so enticing). 
• He loves peanut butter, eggs (eggies), hot dogs, strawberries, raisins, and yogurt (to name a few). And any kind of "treat" he can weasel out of us. He most definitely has a sweet tooth. He's pretty brave and will try most things (and like them! Like artichokes. What two year old likes artichokes?)
• He loves to investigate "ouchies" on himself or anyone else. He'll remember where someone's ouchie is (even months later) and point and look at it as long as you'll let him.
• He loves to be outside.
• He knows how to throw a pretty good tantrum.
• He still loves his blankets (all five or so of them) and will tote them all over the house.

Oh and seriously, he's adorable. I know I'm his mom and all, but he's a cute kid.

Happy Birthday, Raymond!

Happy Half Birthday

to Ginny Bug!

I can hardly believe this beautiful girl is already six months old (as of Monday!).  There are so many things I love about her growing self.

(As a side note, I just love this age. The newborn stage is a tender time, but I love me a baby that is rolling and moving and smiling. Every day feels like a milestone, and I love it.)

First off, if you can't tell from the fuzzy, poor-quality picture above, Ginny is a by-and-large very happy girl. She has the most beautiful smile. She lights up with a little attention from just about anyone. But probably attention from Dad is the happiest.

Gosh and golly, she loves to watch her dad. Most preferable is for Mom to hold her so she can follow his every move around the room, eager for each glance or smile he gives her.

Next to Dad, Raymond is the next light in her life. A week or so ago the two of them discovered each other. They sat across from each other laughing, making faces, and all-together amused with the other's company. I about burst with the happiness of it.

Miss Virginia is also very happy when she is outside soaking up some sun, and when she is eating. Wowsa, food is fun. She laps up with eagerness just about anything that comes at her on a spoon. And she has the rolls and dimples to prove it.

Seriously this girl is a little (er, not so little) butterball. Hello, I hope her soft squishiness will stay forever. I can't kiss and squeeze her cheeks, dimpled elbows, and chubby legs enough. I am constantly astounded that we are moving up to yet another size.

As far as latest (or current) milestones, she rolls every which way, scoots to reach toys (already!), almost sits on her own, eats (rice cereal, bananas, sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, applesauce, and little puffs), and occasionally sleeps for six hours at a stretch during the night (but is in her bed for at least twelve hours a night with a couple feedings in there). And I'm guessing she's pretty close to cutting a tooth or two (judging from the amount of drool, gumming, and fussiness that sometimes surfaces.)

Oh, and she's blonde. My dark-haired baby lost just about every last brunette lock she as born with (see) and is slowly growing a whole new head of of soft very-blonde fluff. I'm still trying to get used to it!

Happy half birthday, Baby Girl. We sure love you.

A lesser known fact

about me is that I hate (that's a strong word) using lotion.

Really, I can't stand the sliminess of if. Or how I can't open a door after lathering up without leaving a grease mark on the handle. Or how I can't open anything, for that matter, because I can't get a good enough grip to twist that lid.

Silly, huh?

Just the other day, however, I noticed another woman's hands and thought, they are so soft. And supple. And not cracked. Wow. that's novel. I won't lie, I was a wee bit jealous.

The downside to not liking lotion is having constantly dry hands. Particularly when you live in Utah, perhaps the driest place on this planet. My hands (at this very moment) are so dry and rough I think I am permanently damaging my uniquely-mine finger prints. Really and truly my fingers snag on just about everything. My hair. Raymond's Sunday tie. Ginny's soft baby cheeks. Then they crack and bleed.

It's embarrassing, actually.  I need to get over this, don't you think? I need start consistently using lotion.

Because not just my hands are suffering here. I am one dry, flaky mess all over. (Was that too graphic?)

I've mastered the art of washing my hands (which I do approximately fifty billion times a day... and which is probably contributing greatly to my rough hand, dry skin problem), so I need to at least dabble in the art of using lotion.

Any recommendations? Something I can get at the grocery store but that's not a bottle of grease?

Where to start...

We have been living in Blanding for one week now.

Which means that somehow we managed to pack and clean our apartment in the midst of all the graduation festivities. I'm still not sure how that happened (or how we passed our cleaning check). But we did. And we're here.

It already feels like Cedar City was a long-ago dream. It's so strange how that happens.

At the same time, I can't quite get it into my head that I don't actually live there anymore (and am not just on vacation at "Nama and Nampa's house." I keep thinking about my friends and past ward-members in Cedar and having to remind myself that chances are I won't see them again. I'll never get to see that new baby or find out if so-and-so got into Med school. Weird. It's hard to let go sometimes.

But slowly and steadily we are settling into a new rhythm. Jeremy is working four tens Monday through Thursday (which makes those days long) with a perpetual three day weekend on every horizon (which makes the weekends gloriously long as well). I love that when he's home from work, there's no studying to do (just playing with kiddos, bath and bed times, hanging out).

Debbie (my mother-in-law) has already babysat for us twice. Twice! Getting a babysitter was the bane of my existence in Cedar, so I can hardly believe my good fortune to be have one living with us (who's willing, no less!)

We are loving (with all our hearts) having an enormous backyard to frolic in--with "doggies" who bark at the fences on all sides (Raymond's one true desire in life is to go see the doggies every day). And more than that, there are chickens ("bock bocks") across the street, horses and donkeys a few doors down, and pigs around the corner. Really and truly, life doesn't get better than this when you are two.

Ginny, however, is reaping the most benefits of us all. The girl has finally been put in a room of her own... and miracle of miracles, she sleeps! Still not perfect by any means, but most days she has at least one long(er) nap. And most nights she has at least one stretch (longer than two hours is a stretch for her). Progress, my friends, progress. Hooray!

Other glorious perks to living at the Christiansen abode is (as mentioned before) my mother-in-law's love of all things culinary. She is more than willing to be the head chef of the house, and truly I am happy to be her helper! And she's in healthy-eating mode, which makes me oh so happy. But willing to buy Jeremy just about any treat he requests, which makes him oh so happy. There is all sorts of wining going on around here when it comes to food. (Can I just say she made some out-of-this-world Gumbo for dinner today. Wow.  I don't have words for the rhubarb cake with nutmeg sauce that followed.)

Speaking of the healthy side of life, there is an olyptical (sp?!) machine in the basement (where we live), that I am taking full advantage of. Along with the wide open spaces and new place to go when we want to get out for a walk. Glorious exercise is making me happy.

Did I mention there is a toy room? Yep.

So you see, we are alive and well.

I'm not quite sure how blogging will fit into life this summer. Hopefully more so as the summer progresses, but I guess I can't make any promises. But have no fear, we are happy and healthy and well.

The BIG six

Well hi there. I tell you, this packing business is serious. And the cleaning, well, it has begun (and somehow will end by Saturday morning, don't ask me how).  Really and truly it all isn't so bad. It's the two active kiddos that want to be played with and held incessantly that makes it all so difficult. Good thing Jeremy's parents just drove into town. Debbie is on Ginny-holding duty all day tomorrow. No complaining allowed.

Well, that was a lengthy tangent because this post is NOT about packing or cleaning or moving. It's about the fact that today is Cinco de Mayo, also known as the day I came home from my mission SIX years ago.

You read that right. SIX!

I think I'm as shocked as you are. Except that at the same time, that mission feels like it happened a lifetime ago. Part of me really can't believe it's only six years ago. While the other part marvels that it was the equivalent of four missions ago (that's a year and half times four, in case you were confused). How did that happen?

If I had a scanner I would add some of my favorite mission pictures to this post (I can even still see the box I packed them in). But alas. Nothing is happier than blue skies and banana and mango trees in the background. Plus really and truly I have never been (and will hopefully never be again) so tan in my life as I was for the year and half I lived in Honduras. You should see it.

I had full intentions of writing a nostalgic post about that glorious time in my life. And the many many things I have learned in the past six years since then. But shoot, I tell you what, I am plum too tired to think that hard. All I can manage at the moment is this endless rambling. My appologies.

So I'll end with a happy Cinco de Mayo to you. And a happy six year anniversary to me.

A final farwell

This is it, friends, the last week of our lives in Cedar City. Finals. Graduation. PACKING. A whole lot of cleaning. Moving.  That's what my week looks like. (Along with the usual. Blocks. Books. And the newly acquired Sofie the Giraffe.)

Anyhow, it all feels pretty surreal.  As in, are we really and truly packing up shop around here? Are we officially saying goodbye to all the cedar trees, the lone Main Street, Lin's Market, and the Shakespeare Festival? Not to mention all the lovely friends we have made. And Sadie and Drew-doo (cousins).

Looks like it.

My only question is: where did I get all this stuff? And along the same lines, how do I possibly have enough stuff to fill multiple bags and boxes to take to DI? We have been blessed, I tell you.

Well, Cedar City, I will miss you. Even all your blustery winds and long winters.  We've had a good ole time the last three years. I'm glad that forever and always we'll stop in Cedar on our way to California and tell Raymond and Virginia, "this is where you were born!" along with all the associated memories.

But it's onward and upward, I supposed (speaking literally, of course). First onward--this summer we are moving in with Jeremy's parents in Blanding (basement living, here we come!) to enjoy all the amenities of living with the "grandparents." Can't argue with Debbie's famous cooking or a full-sized backyard! And then upward--we will move to SLC sometime in August. Still looking for an apartment and a new couch.

In the meantime, I keep packing. And contemplating the cleaning. And counting the minutes until Jeremy's LAST final is over (45 more minutes to go).

Wish us luck.

Because I can do hard things

So yesterday, after writing that post about my total lack of picture-taking skills, I forced myself to take pictures. Because  weaknesses can become strengths, right? Or at least I can swallow my pride and frustration with the whole thing and do it anyway.

And because this was too wonderful not to document.

So I believe I've mentioned before that my mother is a seamstress. She really and truly is phenomenal. Her sewing skills are not only vast, they are deep. She does many things. And she does them all well.

One of my favorite types of things she sews is heirloom children's clothing. Hand smocking. Piping. Lace. Pleats.So so darling. My childhood was littered with dresses sewn by my mother. To my fifth birthday party I wore a yellow smocked dress... with lace on the edge of the puff sleeves. I thought that lace was so elegant and pretty (even as a five year old). I vividly remember the year we all wore various styles of pale green dresses for Easter (and took pictures in Grandma and Grandpa Snowball's backyard). My first-day-of-school dress in first grade was a purple dress with a smocked pinafore. My favorite doll (also made my mom) had a matching dress (she still wears it). Second grade was a blue dress with a big red apple appliqued on the collar.

My memories of these and other dresses are so tender to me. They are associated with love and the devotion of my mother. I would give anything to have one or two of them back in my possession (anyone know what happened to them all? Mom? Are they in a box somewhere??).

So you can imagine how thrilled I was when my mom called to tell me she had just bought material to make Miss Virginia an Easter dress. Delighted. I held my breath in anticipation.

And oh. my. She did not disappoint. Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present (despite my poor photography skills) Ginny's Easter Dress.

(I love it so much I wanted to cry every time I looked at it on Ginny on Sunday. It is beautiful.)

 (Can you tell she's been crying? I was frantic to get the pictures taken before Raymond woke up from his nap, however. I'm just grateful she's not screaming in these pictures.)

 (Almost a smile. I'll get one with a real smile someday!)

 (If this last picture hadn't turned out blurry, it just might have been my favorite. I adore those big blue eyes and jowls.)