Kettlecorn

I may or may not have made a batch of this kettle corn about once a day for the past week. . . and eaten the whole thing myself.  It kind of has the most amazing texture of any kettle corn I've ever eaten and only takes about 5 minutes.  Here is a link to the recipe.  You're welcome.
Click here for amazing Kettlecorn recipe

It's from OurBestBites and f you have their book it's on Page 256!

Today

Today I took a scooter ride!  which I don't normally get to do since the scooter is Tanner's method of transportation and anytime I go anywhere it's usually with Camryn or somewhere too far to use the scooter.  I loooove our scooter.

Today I did a little grocery shopping forgetting that I had brought the scooter (I do this every single time) and probably looked like a fool trying to get all the food to fit.  And was successful.

Today Tanner made me breakfast!  Blueberry muffins and a smoothie, before heading off to school to take yet another practice MCAT.

Today I did some laundry at the Wash Hut.  Was going to wait until Friday and do it at my parents house, but Camryn made absolutely sure that that was not a possibility but completely saturating just about every piece of fabric in the entire house with spit up (and a few things that aren't fabric. . . )

Today I bought a can of Strawberry Fanta out of the vending machine at the Wash Hut.  I'm not really much of a soda person, and really not a pay-quadruple-price-for-something-just-cuz-it's-convenient-and-I'm-desperate kind of person, but it was calling my name and I had a pocketful of quarters.

Today I finished (I think) a story for Heather to illustrate! (more on this later maybe)

Today I blew bubbles outside with my baby.  Don't really know if she liked it, since she was in the baby sling facing away from me, but--what kid doesn't like bubbles?

Today I am being paid for 8 hours of work, even though I'm not working.  Yay for National holidays and paid time off. 

Today I'm looking forward to the day when my husband works somewhere that recognizes National holidays (which may never actually happen, since he aspires to work at a hospital).

That's all.  I'd wish you happy Memorial Day but that doesn't really seem appropriate, so. . . have a good day!

I Dare You

I've been thinking about this for a while (which you'll understand in a little bit is kind of ironic).  I've been thinking about how there are a lot of things that I think about that I never actually do.  Things that I want to happen in my life, or things that I want to accomplish.  Things that I pin, people I mean to call, hairstyles I mean to try, dreams I mean to follow, gifts I mean to give, trips I mean to take, DIY projects I mean to try, races I mean to run, bucket list items I mean to cross off, you get the picture.  Intentions you might call them--good intentions.  We all have them.  Some of you may be at a time in your life when your entire existence is so consumed by one intention that there is no space for side projects (i.e. graduate from college, raise 5 kids) and that is 100% acceptable.  Not that I'm not busy, but right now I do not have such an all consuming task at hand you might say.  Obviously, I take care of Camryn, but she's a good baby and let's be honest--sleeps a lot.  And I work too, but I have a lot of down time at work that I probably could be really productive during but instead I really just waste that time (that down time is the whole reason I even started a blog, because I have to be at a computer then anyway) when I could probably do something a lot more productive.
Bottom line is I've been kind of down on myself lately about lots of things I'm not doing.  I want to be someone who pursues their passions and doesn't just sit around thinking about it.  SO.  I decided to start something of a blog series where I dare myself to do things.  Initially, I thought I'd pick something to dare myself to do, then do it, then write a blog post about it daring all 10 of you that read this thing to do it too.  But--that cheesy saying that says 'it's not a goal until you write it down' is kind of true, and a few weeks have passed without me doing anything about the things I've been thinking about due to lack of motivation.  I think, then, that I will dare myself (along with you) in a blog post first, which will then hopefully give me motivation to follow up!  Some things will be very small, and some hopefully big.  So, follow me if you'd like and get inspired to do a thing or two with your life and turn it into what you want!

First dare:  I dare you to do something creative this week.  Anything at all.  Paint it, sew it, write it, bake it--whatever.  Just get your creative juices flowing, make a big mess, and create something.  Go!

Photos for the Aunts

Camryn hit 4 months yesterday! And took her shots this morning like a champ.  She weighed in at 12 lbs. 15 0z., which puts her in the 25th percentile and I think makes her bigger than her older cousin Ruby and smaller than her younger cousin Nolan!  She's 25 inches long (90th percentile)  Tall and skinny!  Here is a little photo gallery for your viewing pleasure.  What do you think, am I a little snap happy?  Will I ever regret taking too many pictures of my kid?

Just so you know, she's a lot happier of a baby than these pictures give her credit for.  Like I said before, as soon as we whip out the camera, all we get are wide eyes and blank stares.

She's SO close to rolling over.  Well get there.  (and yes, there is a blowout occurring in this photo.  We took care of it.)

Loving these ruffle butt pants!

She found her toes this week, was completely fascinated for about a day, and then seemed to forget all about it

We're getting a LOT of this lately

If you look really closely you can see her first little loop of a curl on the top of her head :)

Workin' Man

My husband walked in the door today after a walk with Camryn that lasted approximately 3 minutes and said (a little melodramatically, let's be honest) "I'm not going outside again until next winter!  It is SO dang hot outside!"  So. . . that makes him the only person I know who wishes for a longer Provo winter. (see more on his crazy weather preferences here)  Make that the only person in Provo who isn't half depressed and desperate for sunshine by mid March.  It was something like 85 degrees and I don't even know what he's going to do when we hit 100.   I think it's kind of adorable though that he is such a never-summer kind of guy. 

Speaking of this adorable man, he just got a job serving at the Outback steakhouse and loves it.  He's got a great personality for being a good waiter, right?  His word on it:  "I finally found a home for my voice!" (his loud voice) and: "Maybe I should just stop trying to get into medical school and do this for the rest of my  life" (which, don't worry, we had a little chat and I brought him over to my way of thinking that that is not a good life choice right now).  I think he loves having a productive break from studying organic chemistry and pathophysiology! (I thank heaven every day I see his books that I went for an English degree)

I made him let me take this picture of him on his way out the door for his first day of work.  He said he feels really dorky on his way to work on the scooter in the uniform, but I think you'll all agree with me here, the man looks gooooood!

Monday began the 30 countdown/intense review until Tanner takes the MCAT.  Yikes!  So, those of you that are accustomed to seeing us on any kind of regular basis. . . don't count on it until after June 21 and keep this guy in your prayers.  Thanks.  That's all. 

Have a good day!

Photos for the Aunts

She started actually responding to stories, it's fun.  She'll get all wide-eyed and  kick like crazy every time we turn the page

We tried introducing her to toys this week.  Not way impressed. . . 

Bald spot!  it's more like a ring actually

Roadbiking season!

I love my Cannondale.  This bike was my graduation gift last April from my fabulous parents.  Let's be honest, mostly from my dad.  My two older sisters that graduated college both got sewing machines as their graduation gifts and as much as I would love for sewing to be something that I love to do--it's not.  I applaud the sewing endeavors, ambitions, and accomplishments of my mother and sisters, but decided that that is a machine just a little too intimidating for me to dive into at this time in my life.  I chose this bike instead!  And I love love love it.  My dad is a fairly serious biker and (brag moment) has completed LOTOJA 6 times (pretty sure it's 6).  LOTOJA is a 206 mile bike race from Logan, UT to Jackson, WY.  Yes, 206.  I rode my bike SIX miles today and am feeling pretty pooped, so. . . props to my old man.
As most of you know, I was pregnant shortly after graduating, so I didn't get to enjoy my gift very long until my belly just wasn't having any of this bike riding business.  The first ride I went on with my dad nearly killed me--26 miles.  And I was pregnant but he didn't know it yet! I got in a few months of riding but soon it became just a new beautiful object decorating my living room that I couldn't actually use.  I couldn't believe how amazing it felt to get back on her when spring came!  I'm starting out small--6 miles on Saturday, 6 more today--And to my credit a lot of it is steep uphill around the Provo Temple--a hill which I think most Provo runners/bikers are familiar with and probably have a love/hate relationship with like I do.  I want to do a my first bike race this summer, possibly a triathlon in my near future (anyone want to volunteer to teach me to swim?) and one day, someday--LOTOJA.  Before I actually do the whole race myself, I want to do it one year on a relay team--anyone interested?
For now, you may see me cruising my way around Provo, trying to avoid construction (what the heck? there is a construction explosion everywhere I go) searching out bike lanes (I'm considering writing my local politicians and voicing my support for more bike lanes) and absolutely adoring Mt. Timpanogos.  Isn't it beautiful today??

Blessing Day

We blessed our little baby girl on Sunday.  She's been sick with bronchiolitis and Saturday night was a loooong night for all of us.  We almost cancelled the blessing and did it a different day, but since I already did that once and she seemed ok after her doctors visit, we went through with it.  That morning was more stressful than I would have liked, but everything turned out ok.  She was crying and crying all before the blessing and we had pretty much thrown up our hands and thought ok, she's just going to cry through the whole thing and there's nothing we can do about it.  But the minute Tanner started the blessing, she went silent, was quiet through the whole thing, and recommenced her crying as soon as it was over--at which point I took her straight home.  My grandpa said she looked straight up at the ceiling with big wide eyes the whole time.

I'm really excited about her dress.  It was passed down to my mom through her German side (my grandpa was German) and was originally a christening dress (so, for 1-yr olds, that's why it's too big.  But it's still awesome.)  It has names and dates embroidered on the back of the people who were christened in it (in German so I can't read it) and the dates (mostly in the 1940's).  My mothers memory is a little fuzzy in her old age, but she's pretty sure that I was blessed in it, as well as my sisters Alison and Maddy.  Camryn was the first of this generation to be blessed in it since she's the first granddaughter.  Gotta love those old sentimental antique dresses!  The blanket is one that my mother-in-law used when she blessed all of her babies, (except her first) including Tanner.  Pretty special.

My Aunt Kathryn and Uncle Bob were nice enough to host our families in their absolutely beautiful backyard for food and such afterwards.  Thank you for everyone who came!  I know it's a long drive.  Shout out to Nolan and his beyond adorable little suitvest/tie thing.  And also to the part where Blake fell headfirst into the toy chest and we all turn around and see his legs waving in the air above it.  That was awesome.  I wish I had more pictures but I was too busy keeping my little poor sicky happy!

Bye, House

     We moved!  I can't remember who, but somebody said to me this weekend "man, you guys move more than anybody I know."  I guess they were right.  Depending on how you count, I've lived in 9 different places since moving out of my parents house at age 18. . . 5 years ago.  Holy cow, what's my problem?  I really like change and being in a new place is just fun and different, so I've always liked moving--until now.  This move was terrible.  The reason is because of my insane underestimation of the time and energy that moving requires.  For some reason, in my brain, moving is a one afternoon activity.  Even as a freshman, sophomore, and then a junior in college, this mindset was a problem.  My roommates and I all seemed to think that we could just not even start packing until the night before we had to be out of our apartment and that we would have plenty of time to pack, load, and clean every inch of the apartment by the next morning.  This idea of ours has led to some great memories that were actually quite miserable at the time.  Freshman year, moving out morning was the 1st time my roommates had seen me cry.  Sophomore year, I distinctly remember sitting in the corner of Lyndi, Alissa, and Marissa's room eating a bowl of fruit loops at 4 in the morning while all of us cursed ourselves for not packing sooner.  And later that day the insane mad dash of ten different people cleaning our kitchen floor at once because it was the one last thing before the cleaning checker came over in 60 seconds.  I once had a roommate that when moving,  literally put everything she owned on her bed, then picked up the 4 corners of the bedspread and hauled it straight to her new apartment.   I could go on, but I wont.
    The point is, I never realize how much stuff I have until I have to pack every little last item into a box and haul it out to a car.  One wedding and one baby later I have so much more stuff than I used to!  Most of you have heard the wannabe minimalist in me long for the day that everything I owned fit into my 4 door Suzuki Forenza.  But now, the days when I loved moving are gone,  and pretty much I never want to move again.  Here are some lessons I learned this time around. 

1) Trust Tanner.  I like to hum and ha over every apartment decision.  Make pros and cons lists, sleep on it, etc.  Several times, this attitude has lost Tanner and I really great apartments because one of the 8 other couples looking at the place swoop in and sign for it within minutes of walking in the door.  That's what we did this time.  I've learned that Tanner spends hours and hours surfing ksl and that by the time he actually wants to show me a place,  he's done his research and it's the best we're going to find. 

2) Call the power company before the day that you need power.  Especially if that day is a Friday.  Because they will want to charge you $75 for a same-day turn on.  You are cheap, will think this is ridiculous, and will instead live in your apartment until Monday without power.  Which will actually turn out to be kind of a fun, candlelit memory. 

3) Go through boxes of junk before you move 9 times and haul those boxes every. single. time.  Boxes you may think are full of important things may actually be full of 1000 stupid photos you took as a snap happy 12 yr old with her first camera (every ride at Disneyland, every boy at EFY who you thought you wanted to remember forever,  etc. . .) dead batteries, stale playdough (?), several chargers that you don't even know what they charge. . .

4)  Pack methodically.  As in, don't pack each box with one item from each room in the house.  Don't even ask me how this happened, but it made for a lot of walking on unpacking day.

5)  Don't move the same week you and your husband both start work and that you and your baby are both sick.  It won't be fun, you will  be very tired, and it might just take you 2 full weeks until you are (almost) completely unpacked!

This is the house we've been living in since September.  We've loved it, but it was a lot more space than we really needed and too expensive :(  So, bye, house.  Bye cool downstairs neighbors, washer and dryer, plentiful kitchen counter space, and garden potential.  We will miss you dearly.

 

In case you were wondering though, we love our new apartment!  (Minus the fact that we can hear our neighbors through the walls now.  Oh, and the windchimes hanging next door.  Who thinks windchimes are a good idea?!?  We are considering stealing them in the night and disposing of them.  Please feel free to share your thoughts on whether or not you think this is morally acceptable)

Online Moms

If you are a new mom like me (which some of you are) and have turned to google more often than your own mother for your new-mommy questions, you may have encountered the sometimes hilarious community of online moms.  Bless their hearts, they are sympathetic, supportive, oh-so-opinionated, and looove to share pictures.  Not to mention open-- there is no question so personal, weird, or gross that some mom somewhere has not posted her answer to.  They have one million inside jokes, love to laugh in an i-know-exactly-what-you-mean-my-kids-do-that-too kind of way, and even have their own language-- I have long been familiar with instant messaging shortcuts like LOL, BTW, BRB etc. . . but until recently had yet to encounter these little items that are thrown out left and right by online moms:  BF (breast feeding), LO (little one), MIL (mother in law).  But the thing that really prompted this post happened the other day while online shopping for diapers (awesome I know).  I was searching for a good deal and cheap little old me was wondering if Kirkland Signature (Costco) diapers would be as good as Huggies (I've been repeatedly warned by some of the cheapest people I know not to go cheap on diapers and just break down now and buy the expensive huggies).  That's when I noticed that there were no less than 2628 product reviews for the box of diapers I was contemplating purchasing.  That's two thousand six hundred and twenty eight.  !!.  Curiosity kicked in.  I took a peek.  And proceeded to get a little glimpse of 2,628 moms telling the world exactly how many times a day their child poops, at what time of day, what it looks like (color, texture, smell, I haven't heard that much poop talk since 2 months in Guatemala) how much their child weighs, and (at least the most relevant information)  how many blowouts they experience per day using each available brand of diaper on the market.  Yikes!  After weighing said advice carefully I purchased a giant box of Costco diapers.  Haven't busted it open yet.  But when I do, I'll save you all the experience of having to read about that experience and just refer you to 2,628 other online moms who would be happy to help you!