No words.

Back to Square One

When Caleb was born I did not lose as much weight (or inches in my belly) as I would have liked. I tried to start eating better (cut out the sweets!) but I've been a little stressed/depressed--to be expected--and sweets are my weakness in those situations. So, I've been waiting for my body to feel like it's healed so that I can start exercising again. I think that happened a few weeks ago...

First, Justin and I fixed up his parents' old 70's road bikes. We planted $80 bucks into them because we thought they'd be a great thing to have! Well, they are so old, they work just fine, but mine is a bit too big, so I don't actually ride in the drops at all (Just on the flats..which is not ideal). They also shift via these two little knobs that sit on the front post (Justin might know what they are actually called, but I don't.) Like these...

You just move them forward or backward to shift...but there's no "clicking" for the gears. You just have to fiddle with it to get it on the right gear. It's really inconvenient and annoying! It's not very efficient either. So, bike riding has kind of died...

So, I decided I was just going to have to go for walks and runs on my own. See, Justin has to stay at home to help with the house, or if I'm on a run, he gets to watch Caleb. He knows it's important to me to get back into shape...so he fully supported my exercise every morning.

Well, so then the excuse to get over was "I don't have time." Time? What do I do all day? I stay home. With Caleb, of course. How can I not have time? I finally committed to going running this past Monday morning after I did my teaching. I went. Yes! First accomplishment! haha
I only ran ONE mile. that's it. Yes, it was 1/2 uphill, and 1/2 downhill, but it was only ONE mile. I've been achy since then. It's mostly my calves, but not the calf muscle I'm used to being sore. and it doesn't hurt to use, only to touch. But what hurts the most is my right hip! Man, it's like my hips haven't gone back together again or something! Basically, this is what I felt like:

Whereas, this is what I WANT to feel like. I like to look good, but mostly I like to feel good. So, since I've now joined the club of "Moms," I am hoping there are some other Moms who can share some insight or give suggestions on how I can work out. Here are my obstacles:

1. Sore body: knees, hips, shoulders


2. Scheduling time: I feel bad requiring someone to watch Caleb when there is so much else to do here at the house...


3. Motivation: I want to feel good, I want to be able to wear at least a few more of my clothes (mostly because we don't have money to buy more!), but like I said, sweets are really easy to come by here and when I'm stressed, depressed, bored, or uncomfortable chocolate becomes my best friend.

I'd LOVE to hear what y'all gotta say!! :-D

Creative...

...Is what I was going for, right?
So I got bored with my hair...and I've been really thinking about some bangs...and we own real hair-cutting scissors...so I decided to save some money that we don't have.



But I forgot about the fact that I really have no idea how to cut hair! This is the finished project...it's not horrible, but it's not quite what I was going for. Maybe next time will be better!

Have you ever had a personal "let's-save-money" hair-cutting attempt gone wrong? Please share! :-D

2 Months Old!

Already!?!
It seems like we just got him...and that we've always had him at the same time. Caleb was 2 months last Saturday. He's gotten so big and he just keeps growing!
And YES- that is the same stuffed animal this time! :D



We love him!! He brings so much joy to our lives!

I don't know why this is underlined??

A Day Get-away

So last Tuesday we took a day trip up into Vermont so that I could see the leaves turning up there. It's supposed to be the best state in the East to see the colors of Autumn. I was not disappointed!! Even though it was a few days before peak (when the colors are the most brilliant), the country side all around us was breathtaking! The pictures on't quite capture it, but you get an idea.



We also stopped at the Joseph Smith Birthplace. There is such an incredible spirit there! It was so peaceful and comforting. It's incredible how a piece of land with a monument, a visitor's center, and some music can communicate the spirit so well. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. The land even bears testimony! Having our little family there made me so grateful for the Plan of Salvation and so many other truths declared in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, restored by Joseph the Prophet.

Then we visited some factories (Cabot cheese and a cider place), but honestly the best place was the Joseph Smith memorial. Caleb did quite well, really. And thank goodness for GPS! We had planned to see some covered bridges, but by the time we got to that part of our trip, it was quite dark. and Vermont roads are very confusing!! It was an almost-fruitless attempt (we saw 2), but the detour took us far away from the road we needed to get home. And after our experience of how unreliable the Vermont roads are, especially compared to the maps we had, we were so grateful for Lola who got us home safely.

It was nice to have a day with my two wonderful boys, and so lovely to see so much nature! I loved it, but boy were we tired when we got home!! :-) I love my family!

Mooo...

Like I mentioned, on our Vermont trip we visited the Cabot cheese factory. And out front that they had this (what do you call it?) cow. Justin couldn't resist...and nor could I, for that matter. This is really sometimes how I feel. And yes, that is my milk I am holding. :-)

I'm a cute cow, though, right? haha

Just me and my baby! He looks so much like his Daddy! Love!

The Depends...

One weekend, we ran out of diapers. It was Sunday night...and we had 2 diapers left. Caleb goes through two diapers just by thinking about them.

Ox in the mire? Poor planning? Lessons to be learned...

What would you do? Well, for us, it was DEPENDS...

the tools...

And for those of you wondering, the depends were just here at the house...

and the finished product...Caleb's face says it all.

Thanks, Elisa, for the Red-eye deletion tip!

We'll never make that mistake again!!

Candid Camera

Caleb is a bit camera shy, so it is hard to catch some of his antics on camera. Plus he hates the flash, so most pictures of him show him squinting, flailing, or crying in surprise. The picture to the left is a wonderful example. Note the screaming baby who was awoken from his slumber by a series of bright flashes. Examine the picture closely and you will notice that his pacifier is flying through the air, partially blocking his face.

Yes, capturing those precious moments is a joy...

In a previous post, I mentioned how I discovered that Caleb likes whistling... or at least I assume that he does because whenever I whistle, it makes him smile. It turns out that capturing this on camera has proved very difficult. If we try to take a picture, the result resembles the aforementioned image. Taking video of him does not seem to work because he fixates on the camera and looses all interest in anything else.

This morning I had a breakthrough. Using a candid camera technique (ie. holding the camera to the side), I was finally able to capture the ever elusive smile. Grandmas, this one is for you.

Baby Smiles

A few years ago, when my nephew James was 1 or 2 years old (he's now 5), I remember that I was the only person that would not speak to him in a high pitched squirrel-like voice. I thought it was embarrassing. My brother-in-law warned me that when I had my own children, I would do anything to make them smile... no matter how embarrassing, odd, or demeaning.

I have always believed that babies are just little people. If I wouldn't want someone to use squirrel talk with me, why would a baby want that?

Well, congrats Quinn... you were right. It started out slow. Over the past few days and weeks, I have found myself looking over my shoulder casually. When the coast was clear, I would find myself using squirrel-talk. "Squeakedy squeak squeak squeakums."

It was harmless at first. Then came the smile. Caleb one morning decided to prove to me that he had complete control over me. I was, very sheepishly, using baby-talk... I was whispering because I knew there were other people in the house. He gave me a big smile. I knew that if I stopped speaking in that humiliating voice, that he would stop smiling. Well, he won. I kept it up until he decided he was done smiling.

Last night, after conference, I was holding Caleb and whistling some of the hymns that were sung during the meetings. Caleb started to smile at me as I whistled. He would smile when I started, and stop smiling when I stopped. I was hooked. I love that little guy.

...I think i whistled for 2 hours...

Squeaky Clean

This was Caleb's first bathing experience at home:

He did not like it a whole lot...

He has moved on from screaming like we're torturing him to silently submitting. He doesn't scream, but he doesn't smile or anything. He just looks at us.


And he gets some really funky hair after we put him in his hooded towel:

This is our little monkey after his bath.

And occasionally, he'll try to bathe us. Well, mostly his Daddy.


We love him!