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.