Oy Vey

 It's been a long, long day. If I were being productive right now I'd be completing my Chemistry homework while it's still fresh in my head from class this morning. But I need a break. And that break is coming in the from of writing on my blog about why I need said break.  

Take note of the child in the bath. 

See his glistening upper lip? Yeah, that's not from soap bubbles, that would be icky-sticky-makes-me-want-to-gag s-n-o-t. Eew, my gag reflex just kicked in even typing that word out. 

It's not the poor boy's fault that he caught a cold (darn you whoever took your sick child to nursery at Calvary Chapel on Sunday, I blame you!) and it's also not his fault that his mom has a very strong dislike for anything that comes out of nasal cavities. 

To make his life even more miserable, this poor kid has 4 molars coming in at the same time. 

FOUR! 

The two on top are almost through and the bottom two are now wanting to move in. So not only can he not breathe out of his nose making sleeping completely out of the question, but his teeth hurt so much that he's been like a turned on faucet salivating buckets of drool all over his blanket, my blankets, his clothes, my clothes.  He's had very little appetite because of it, hence only munching on toast and crackers the past 4 days. I swear he's lost weight because his pants that used to be tight in the waist were falling off of him today. 

And then there's me, his mom, who should be bending over backwards to take care of him and all I can think is "who is this cranky, screaming, slobbery, boogery child and what have you done with my happy little Sawyer?". I don't know how moms with multiple children do it. I really don't. I have just one child and on days like today even that seems like too much to handle.  I think I may have gotten a big fat F today in the motherhood department of caring for your sick child. I'm determined to be better tomorrow and maybe, just maybe I can bring that F up to at least a B-. 

That's Bogus

Sometime last week, my dad, Matt, Mike (my brother's friend/our neighbor/my parent's other child) and I went up to Bogus Basin to do some night skiing or night boarding in our case. We'd been chickening out the past few times we had planned on going because it was either going to be way too cold for our California acclimated selfs, or it was going to snow. Somehow we've turned into fair weather only boarders! That didn't used to be the case because when I was younger I would go every chance I got, rain, snow, hail, it didn't matter. Then you turn into a grown up and suddenly have to factor in the cost of two people going instead of one, finding someone to watch your kid/kids and forget doing any tricks or big jumps because you can't afford to get  injured as an adult with lots of responsibilities! 

 Still, it was a lot of fun and we did find some ledges to "carefully" jump of off. Mike video'd a bunch of them, but the playback I found pretty disappointing :( I thought for sure I'd gotten a good 3 or 4 feet  of air on one of them! Sadly, it was more like 3 or 4 inches. But I did land them and remained unhurt, so in that aspect, goal accomplished. 

An awesome full moon was out and as the night went on the icy conditions of the snow actually softened up. Not sure how that worked, but we enjoyed it! Below are my dad and Mike up top,  right before we blasted down the mountain. 

We probably did at least 15-20 runs from 5 pm when we got there until about 9 pm and the whole night only cost us $10 per person. DEAL! We took a break in the middle to get some hot chocolate and fries and defrost our frozen toes in the lodge. 

It was rejuvenating to get away for a few hours and have fun doing something we both love to do.  I can't wait to go again! Too bad my babysitter a.k.a. my mom is moving to Australia for three months.  Maybe next time Sawyer will be joining us on his own little two foot snowboard. What age can little kids learn to snowboard at anyway? I guess we'll find out!

Keeping My Toddler Busy

 Last week my mom found a lifesaving book for me at a thrift store called "The Toddler's Busy Book" with 365 creative games and activities to keep your 1 1/2-to 3-year old busy. I repeat, a life saving book. 

 Some of the activities I wanted to do required a trip to the craft store where we stocked up on supplies. So far this week here are two of the things I've made for S. to keep him busy. 

The Wave Bottle 

All you do is take an empty soda bottle (I used a small 8 oz coke bottle) and fill it 1/3 of the way full of water. Then put in food coloring if you want. I made ours blue, but it's hard to tell because of the massive amounts of glitter I put in which is the next step. Putting in whatever fun things you want into it. I put in glitter, sequins, dimes, nickels. A lego man would have been fun if I'd had one. Then you fill the rest of the bottle with baby oil . Glue the cap on and viola! you've got a fun bottle for your kid to shake and watch all the glittery waves and things float around. Sawyer has played with it a few times, but hey my brothers friend Mike played with it for 15 minutes! So there you go, it can be fun for babies and grown ups. 

Next we made some texture magnets out of canning lids. We glued magnets onto the back of the lids with a glue gun and fun things on the front for S. to touch. The first one is just gold ribbon, second is sparkly pom poms, the third is an assortment of noodles, next is a soft piece of fleece, and the last is a yarn pom pom.

Then Matt and I got on a roll and really started getting creative! I constructed a spider out of the pom poms and black pipe cleaners and Matt made some dinosaur murals on his out of pom poms and dino stickers we found. 

Here S. is not quite sure what to make of the spider magnet. He may have inherited an arachnophobia from me!

And while I'm blogging about good books to keep your kid busy I have to talk about this awesome find. I saw it in the airport at Thanksgiving and knew Sawyer would LOVE it, but wasn't willing at that time to spend almost $20 for it.  Lucky for us Matt likes to search on line for the best deals around and he found it for him on Amazon for a whole lot cheaper.

It has the cutest photos of all different breeds of dogs and is written by Matthew Van Fleet. I've seen it at Borders recently too.

Not only is Sawyer obsessed with dogs which was one reason I knew he'd like it, but he also enjoys books that you can touch and feel. Almost all the pages have either flaps to lift up or pull and different textures to feel. In the photo below you can feel the white dogs pony tail, the sheep dogs fur and lift up the flaps of the last dogs ears.

Finally there's a book that he will actually look through the whole thing and let me read it to him, instead of jumping off my lap after the first two pages. We have a winner!

Double Date

Saturday night after we got back from the hot springs we went on a double date with Meg and Kev. The plan was to go to Mai Tai for some thai deliciousness downtown, but we didn't think to make reservations and our growling stomachs didn't want to wait for an hour. Instead we walked down the street to a hipster hangout called The Pie Hole and had some pizza. We ate outside and watched all the interesting people walking around in the rain. 

 For dessert we went to Goody's in Hyde Park which is a ice cream/chocolate/every candy you can dream of shop that I worked at in high school. Every time we would visit Idaho I would try to stop in and say hi. Now we can frequent there all the time!  

Although as Megan pointed out, that might not gel well with our healthy eating New Years resolutions. 

I took a photo of these two while we devoured our desserts. They must have already wiped the chocolate off their lips.  I think I may have "accidentally" zoomed in a wee bit too far, but I think it's pretty cute of them. 

I apologize in advance Megan, for posting it on my blog, but like you say it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission! 

Givens

Friday night my sister Megan and her husband Kevin drove into town from Washington to spend the holiday weekend with us. And when I say us, what that really means is that they specifically came to see Sawyer. They just left this morning and every night they were here other friends and family came over to visit and we stayed up late playing cards and/or talking until midnight. The party went on long after, but Matt and I's cut off time was midnight since it's no fun getting up at 6 with a wide awake kid when you've only had a few hours of sleep. We found that out rather quickly!

Saturday afternoon we went to Givens hot springs and had a nice long soak in the pool. 

And so did about 40 other people, who had the same great idea on how to spend their Saturday afternoon. It wasn't crowded in the deep end though so we got Sawyer a floaty and all hung out there. The last time we went to Givens and took Sawyer there were maybe 4 other people there. 

Meggy Weggy and I trying to stay afloat. Oh who am I kidding, we float rather well. I'm sure that's because of all our muscles :)

S. was wiped out by the end. We placed bets on how fast he would fall asleep in the car on the way back. Kevin won with a guess of 15 minutes. I thought for sure it would only take 2. He did sleep really well that night, as did I!

The hot spring addicts.

I was laughing when I saw Megan's not so subtle wink in this photo, but she swore she didn't know what I was talking about until I showed her. Turns out she actually had water in her eye! 

Fun fact for the day: The turquoise color of the water is actually the color it comes out of the ground as. My dad knows a farmer in that area who said that not only is it naturally turquoise, but he also had to wait for it to cool down before he can use it to water his crops! 

The Great Great.

Friday morning my mom, and I took Sawyer to see my great grandma Dee, making her S's great great grandma.  She used to live in Fruitlandwhich is close to Idaho, but now that she lives nearby in Boise and so do we, we hope to see her often.  

S. had fun repeatedly stacking his cups into a tower on her coffee table and then knocking them over.  He had happily wedged himself right in front of Grandma Dee's legs and the table. 

Turns out he was mostly standing on her feet and ankles. Probably so he could have a height advantage and stack a taller tower! 

Very strategic. 

We stayed in her apartment for almost an hour until S. was Done with a capital D. He was having a "I woke up on the wrong side of the crib" kind of day which didn't make for a very long visit, but there's always next time. 

Thanks for having us over Grandma and for letting Sawyer trample all over your feet, mess around with your window blinds, dump out your basket of rocks, push around your cane, and touch everything in your living room at least once. Who knew a little person could do all that in just under an hour?! 

I'm Crazy for Lists

I love lists and could give you a list of a million reasons why plus a detailed list of all the lists I like to make. I've come across a few really good ones from friends blogs (or friends of a friend of a friend) and have no shame when admitting I've resorted to stealing them rather than making up my own. So here is a rundown of my 2010 year in list format.

1. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I honestly don't remember my resolutions from last year. They probably were something like lose weight, which I did do, sort of. I did run a marathon so that was a big goal I could check off my list. I'm sure that had been a long running new years resolution for a few years in a row. This year I have made more. Matt isn't big into resolutions, but it goes against my very nature to not make any. Like I said, I really like lists!

2. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Practically every other person on my blog list had a child (or 2) this year.

3. Did anyone close to you die?

Not in 2010.

4. What would you like to have in 2011 that you didn’t have in 2010?

Our very own house!

5. What date from 2010 will be etched upon your memory, and why?

August 5, 2010 which was Matt's big 3-0 birthday and we were celebrating it down under in Australia! That was a once in a lifetime adventure. Still salivating for their amazing passion fruit.

6. What was your biggest achievement of this year?

Running the Nike women's marathon and training for it while still nursing Sawyer. Which brings to my next big achievement which was nursing for a full year. (if whomever I stole this post from happens to find mine, interestingly enough we have those two achievements in common from 2010!)

7. What was your biggest failure?

Failing to show compassion towards those I am angry at. 
Working on it.

8. What was the best thing you bought?

Our Go-card when we were on vacation in Australia which allowed us to travel around on the buses, ferries, and trains.

9. Where did most your money go?

Hmmmm I've wondered that very same thing. I would say most of it went to the three S's: school, Sawyer, and savings.

10. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Moving to Idaho. Ironically enough, moving back to the place I'd originally wanted so badly to move away from so I could experience big city living! Well now I've experience it. Suddenly the idea of living in a place with more conservative values became a priority, as well as a place where could actually afford daycare.
Kids really do change everything.

11. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?

Richer, far happier and somewhat thinner.

12. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Read more good books.

13. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Watched far less TV.

14. What was your favorite TV program?

Greek.

15. What was the best book you read?

I honestly don't think I read one single novel in 2010. I read lots of school books, but those definitely don't count. I did read The Hunger Games starting right after the New Year and I loved it!! Working on the second book right now.

16. What was your greatest musical discovery?

That there are cd's that have transformed music from The Beatles all the way to Eminem into baby lullabies (just the tune, not the lyrics). Absolutely genius. Sawyer is currently sleeping away with the melody of "I want to hold your hand" wafting through his room.

17. What did you want and get?

To travel.
Went to: Idaho for Thanksgiving/Dad's 50th birthday, Utah for snowboarding in February, June for Bryson's high school graduation, Australia for Matt's birthday, San Francisco in October for my marathon, and Idaho again for Thanksgiving. And Sawyer accompanied us on every last one. What a world traveler even before the age of 1!

18. What did you want and not get?

I guess it's a good sign that I've been stuck on this question for quite some time and can't think of a single thing.

19. What was your favorite film of 2010?

Who would have ever thought that I, the skeptic of all things cartoon would ever admit it, but the movie UP was one of my favs. But please do tell, is Russell asian or hispanic? Yeah you don't know either, do you? Or maybe, like my brother in law just said, he's Pacific Islander.

20. What did you do on your birthday?

I ran 20 miles on the beach in Ventura in light of my marathon training. And the feeling of pride I felt afterwards was the best birthday present (minus the cramping in both of my legs on the drive home).

21. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

To have gotten into a nursing program so I can actually get this ball rolling to becoming a nurse. I swear it's gonna happen....someday.

22. How would you describe your personal fashion concept of 2010?

Faded, old and in dire need of a revival.
Thanks to a personal (family) fashion consultant and a shopping spree I could finally show myself in public again.

23. What kept you sane?

The MOM's group I went to every Tuesday morning at my church.

24. What political issue stirred you the most?

Two words: Healthcare Bill.

25. Who did you miss?

My father in law Ed.
I would have loved to have seen him play with Sawyer. They would have bonded in an instant.

26. Who was the best new person you met?

All the mom's I met through my MOM's group.

27. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010.

If you don't like something, change it. But complaining about it doesn't change a thing.


And because a post just isn't the same without a photo. Here are two photos I found on my parent's computer from when the S was just a little soybean.

Lots to Read

I just posted about 4, maybe 5 posts below. I can't remember how many, but at least now I am somewhat caught up.

I Love McCall

So far this weekend has been a much needed relaxing one. We started yesterday by getting up early to head to McCall, Idaho with my dad, Uncle Bob, and cousins Bridger and Carson. My parents have a cabin there that they rent out, so it was important that we learn the ropes of what could potentially need to be done while they are away in Australia. 

This is the front of the cabin. They purchased it over 10 years ago, did a complete remodel and have been renting it out ever since. It has 5 huge bedrooms and enough beds to sleep almost up to 30 people.  The best part is that it's only 12 miles away from Brundage resort, 15 minutes away from Tamarack resort and the Activity Barn where you can go tubing and sledding is just right down the road.  I've really only been up there maybe 10 times because I was a senior in high school when they got it and then moved away not long after. We did spend one Christmas there after we were first married and it was so much fun to have all the family together in one place and play in the snow. Now that we only live 2 hours away we are looking forward to utilizing it a lot more! 

After eating burgers at My Fathers Place and finishing up at the cabin we headed to Gold Fork hot springs. On second thought perhaps I shouldn't be blogging about how amazing those springs are so I can keep it our little secret :) No, but really they are one of the best ones I've ever been to. It's super scenic as you can tell by the photo below, costs only $8 to get in, and there are 5 pools in total. Which pool you decide to go in depends on what you consider to be hot water. The 1st just about cooked me, the 3rd one was more like bathwater, but had a nice white sand bottom. The 2nd pool was just right. 

We stayed in the water until we were good and wrinkly. I saw a couple with a 5 month old baby in the less hot pools and for a split second missed Sawyer because I knew he would have had a blast swimming in the springs too. We had left him behind to play with Grandma; hence, the very much relaxing day I was having :)

This is the official road that was put in last year by the cabin because the acreage it's on was broken up into lots to sell. So far in this economy none have sold so far, but that's okay because in the mean time we can enjoy the view!  

I got two naps in on the trip, one going up to the cabin and one going back. I must have needed them because the second one I took was on Matt's shoulder and when I woke up I had drooled. Ha, that's when you know it was a really good nap! (Sorry hubby)

Then this morning I got sleep in an extra two hours and Matt even brought me some homemade hot chocolate in bed! 

Snow, hot springs, and hot chocolate in bed, now that's the life!

Red Sweater Day

The Dog Food Thief

"Just walking around the the island in the kitchen, minding my own business.

 Pay no attention to little me."

"I have an idea, but first let me check if the dogs are in the backyard."

 "Looks like they are, but I better double check just to be sure."

"The coast is clear! I'm making a run for it!"

"There it is! The green bowl of dog food that's just so much fun to twirl my fingers in, dump on the floor, and spread around all over with my feet! I can hardly wait to get to work!"

"Yikes! Busted by dad!"

Dancing

Christmas 2010

I know Christmas seems like it was ages ago, but we had a great one and I need to capture it on our blog before I forget! I try to use our blog as a journal of all our family events and want to get better at updating it more frequently this coming year. So far in 2011 I haven't had a great start at it. 

Christmas Eve we spent at Matt's mom's house where we had a yum-o dinner together, exchanged gifts, listened to Christmas music and later in the evening Matt and I made his mom watch endless Julian Smith videos on YouTube. What can we say? We think he's hilarious! (strange yes, but mostly hilarious).

This is the Roald Dahl book set that Matt got me for Christmas. Matt saw them at Costco once and knowing I'd be ecstatic he pointed it out to me. I said I needed them to read to Sawyer, but truthfully I wanted them just as much for me! It's all the classics I read growing up like Matilda, the BFG, James and the Giant Peach, and of course Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. 

Thanks Santa  Matt!

My friend Ashley came over to visit that evening for a while too. She brought over a plate of goodies and after she left Sawyer snatched a peanut butter fudge piece when we weren't looking. As soon as he knew he'd been caught he stuffed that thing in his mouth so quick before we could take it away. I would say he throughly enjoyed it, but it's hard to tell since he swallowed it so fast. 

Sitting around the dinner table like a big boy with daddy. 

Sawyer got some large Legos from his Nana that he loves stacking. Then he opened a car track mat from us and some cars to play on it with. I don't think he understands yet what the mats good for besides sitting on, but he enjoyed taking the cars apart.  

Matt got the 5 Crowns card game that we love as well as some shaving accessories from the Art of Shaving store.  

 We had a really nice Christmas Eve and tried to save room for the brunch we knew we would be eating the next morning at the 95th Aero Squadron on Christmas Day. 

Christmas morning Cousin Christine and Aunt Peggy came over and Christine gave us a super cute wooden sign you stick on the door knob that reads "Mommy and Daddy time. KEEP OUT!". It is so funny and definitely something we will have to teach Sawyer how to read :)

Grandma Faye, Aunt Penny, Aunt Peggy, Christine, Matt, Sawyer and I all headed out to brunch around 10 that day. The spread at the restaurant was HUGE! It reminded me of the part on Hook where the Lost Boys are at the dinner table with the imaginary feast. There was a chocolate fountain, cheesecake, lobster, crab, sushi, omelets, pancakes, everything you could possibly want was there for the taking.  It was definitely a memorable Christmas morning breakfast! 

Update

I know I have a lot of catching up to do as far as Christmas, our relocating, and New Years, but until then, I had to post this hilarious photo of Matt that his mom emailed me.  I put Sawyer's Christmas tantrum photo next to it for comparison since Sawyer and Matt are both a year old in them. Besides the age difference of the Santa's (and creepy factor of the one that Matt got) the looks of terror on both little boy's faces are pretty much identical! 

Also, before I forget, here are some interesting tidbits of Sawyer as of late:

* He clapped for the first time this morning at breakfast. Not sure if he is a late bloomer as far as clapping goes, or just that he finally had something to clap about (a bite of my french toast with almond butter and syrup on it).

* He loves to shake his head NO and nod his head YES. More often he chooses the shaking no action especially when it comes to me trying to get him to eat something green and healthy.

* He mastered the art of sliding down the stairs feet first while on his stomach and is now trying the going down while sitting on his bum  maneuver. 

* Walking backwards is a newfound delight. He takes as many small steps backwards as he can before he runs into a wall, a piece of furniture, or until I stop him because he is about to fall down the stairs (all with a silly grin on his face because it's obvious he thinks walking backwards is pretty dang clever.)

* The words he knows so far (besides Mama and Dada) are Dog (which sounds like "doh") and Uh Oh (which sounds like "Uh Ow". Think Eliza Doolittle's British accent). 

* The things that bring him the most joy in life thus far are: Ritz crackers, playing "keep away" with his dog Moxie and his toys, getting utensils out of drawers and tupperware out of cupboards,  being chased, and riding the red trike at Grandpa and Grandma Howell's house. 

* He has figured out that he can indeed sleep while sitting up in his car seat, a necessary skill he had to have to make it the whole way to Idaho in the car. We are super thankful he conquered that one since it made our 20+ hour trip so much more pleasant.

And last but not least here are his 15 month stats from his last doctors appointment:

-24 lbs. 

-50th percentile for weight

-supposed 30th percentile for height (meaning he hadn't grown even a centimeter since his last appointment) until I remeasured him at home and found he was a whole inch taller putting him actually in the 50th percentile. The medical assistant who measured him this time was the same one who said at his 9 month check up that he had shrunk.  I don't think so Tim (yes that is a Home Improvement reference). 

-While he is running like a maniac around the office, I was asked if he is standing and walking yet. Um.....yes. Why, yes he is.

- Was told he should have his 15 month molars coming in soon and yesterday, while he was leaning his head back laughing, Matt and I saw those big pearly whites breaking through in the back of his mouth. That would explain the drool spots on the front of his shirts. 

And that's the end of the Soy boy news update.