A Walk in the Park

Well, it is a gorgeous day today- short sleeve weather- and since Cody came home from school early I thought it would be fun to go the park. We took our new camera with us to see how well it performs and got some awfully cute pictures. You know me, I just have to share. . .
This is a picture of our ever adorable Claire, posing in the leaves. She is lovin' all the leaves that are now on the ground here in PA.

I add this picture because of what she was saying as I snapped it. Dad had just been spotting her so she didn't fall, and when she tried climbing up again, I had dad back away so I could get a snap shot. But Claire didn't like having her spotter taken away, so she stuck out her fanny and said, "Daddy, come hold my tooshy bum tail."

This picture I would label "Pure Delight" because that's what both Claire is exper-iencing as her dad lifts her (those are his hairy arms, not mine!) on the swing, and what I exper-ienced as I watched her. He had her giggling good.

Another fun picture that for some strange reason makes me crave an orange julius. . .

And this last picture is my favorite. . . as we walked home, Claire fell behind and we looked back to find this Downy Ultra Soft moment. She had found seeded dandelions and she spent several minutes picking them and blowing on them. . . I wonder what she is wishing for. . .

I know my post wasn't that informative this time, but I hope you enjoy the delightful feast for the eyes of Claire. . . We love her very much.

Some Big Buns

Just thought I would drop a note about our Thanks-giving weekend. After much drama on deciding where we should eat- we were invited to a couple of different places, and I stress way to much about hurting peoples feelings and worry about leaving anyone alone on Thanksgiving, etc, etc, etc. But all the stressing was for naught as Claire got sick and we ended up having it by ourselves at our home anyways. I actually really liked having it by ourselves. It was a very relaxing day and I had a lot of fun cooking our meal. I made ham instead of Turkey (since I don't really care for Turkey and I didn't want to prepare a big bird just for the three of us), I made some yummy butterhorn rolls (which really defines Thanksgiving for me), and some cheesy potatoes (Cody's favorite). For dessert, I made some Cinnamon rolls. Now I am going to spend a moment talking about the cinnamon rolls, because they were that good. I am going to spare you any excuses regarding my vanity, and just dive into the description of their gooey yumminess. They were gooey and yummy! The were hands down the best cinnamon rolls I have ever made. They may, just may, almost be as good as moms- I know that's practically blaspheme to say, but that is just how good they were.

So between the butterhorn rolls, and the cinnamon rolls, the biggest buns of the day happen to be my own. Its time to put my running shoes on and hit the hills once again.

Who Am I?

So old reputations are hard to get rid of. When I was younger, my dad use to tease me and one of my other sisters by calling us Anastasia and Drusila, while calling my third sister, Cinderella. I know, I can hear your outrage. He would call us this because me and my sister would gang up on the other sister. But it never really bothered me, because lets face it, Cinderella met and fell in love with a man who chose her based on her dress and her beauty, who hardly spoke a word to her before he proposed, and all of this happened within 24 hours! That's not the fairy tale for me.

Today, Claire and I were playing a Cinderella game. She tells me she wants to dance to the hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm song (So this is love), and I hold her hands and sing the words of the song. After the song is over, she immediately takes off running, looking back to make sure I am running after her shouting, "wait Cinderella, come back!" She gets a big laugh out of this. So after one of these chases, I decide its time for me to finish washing the dishes. Claire isn't happy that I cut short her game, so she comes up to me and says, "Come on, come here, Anastasia, come here." Apparently Claire has inherited a lot from her grandpa! Or, maybe I really am Anastasia material (I am starting to think that she got the short end of the stick in the story). But I don't worry about this at all, because I take stock in the fact that I am so obviously Laura Engles Wilder, and Elizabeth Bennett in their respective stories :-)

Wiping up the mud

I haven't posted anything is several days, even though I have started three different drafts. I just feel a bit uninspired and bundled down by a recent event that seems to be clouding over everything in my life. I don't mean to set you at alarm, because it really is insignificant and yet I have created a permanent little resting spot for it inside my chest- and with everything I do, it's right there, just below the surface, tugging on me.


I have seen the darkness and destruction of gossip in people's lives and to think that now I am in the place of the ones throwing the mud behind closed doors, I feel horrible. I find it oddly satisfying to topple down people whom I feel build themselves up in pride. But the truth of it really is, most likely that person is doing that because they have tremendous insecurities, and how destructive would it be for them to know other's are talking about them, criticizing. I don't like who I am becoming. That is the dark gloom that has been hanging over me, the ugly stain of gossip, and my struggle with how to resist the temptation when I am with my friends.

I am extremely ashamed about what have I wrote, but I feel an obligation to the blog to be honest about my feelings. What would be the point of me sharing my superficial feelings while I am dealing with this. I abhor all things that put on appearances, and I don't want to be one of them. Its another one of those things, that once publicly acknowledged, I can't just ignore- I have to work to overcome these temptations! And that's all I have to say about that.

An Open Shut Case

Well, I think it rightly about the time for another highs and lows for the week posting. Last time I did a high and low, it was right after I had completed my high-which inspired me to write. This time, unfortunately, it is right after the low.

So lets start with the low and get it over with. My life is an open book- I've never done anything wrong. . . except I did try to jump over the tennis net when I was in 7th grade, and I didn't make it. . . I don't know if it's just that Claire has been sick for two weeks, or that she has been indoors for two weeks, or that she is just two- but I am having a difficult time with her right now. Everything is a fight- put on your pants- big fight- let me comb the boogers out of your hair- big fight- let me blow your nose-okay, she likes to blow her nose- mom eating string cheese when Claire doesn't want her to-big, big tantrum. It has worn me thin and today I flipped out! I yelled at her and stuck her in her room because I was going to lose it big time. Then when I calmed down, I started to feel completely ashamed that I had lost my temper in such a deplorable fashion. It was one of those moments where you don't recognize yourself- I never wanted to be a mom that lost control and yelled. I blame it on hormones, because when in doubt, blame it on hormones. As further proof that it was hormones, let me tell you what happened when I voted today. I went to vote for the first time, ever. I know that's bad since I have had 7 years of voting opportunity. But I was excited at the prospect of actually voting and being a part of the democratic process that our nation is known for (well, that and John Travolta). So as I am standing in the infant room, waiting my turn to vote, watching the other voters, I was caught up in the thought that these people cared enough to come out and vote. I got teary eyed!!! I got teary eyed at the polls? I am nutsos and thoroughly convinced the hormones were throwing a quiensenera in my body today.

So the high. . . the high for this week? This is a bit trickier to come up with. Its hard to remember the things I am proud about when I have just sunk to such a low. I am going to say that the high point of this week is the distinct feeling of Christmas coming!! Last week we had our first frost which, I am sad to say, killed off the last of the impatiens. I love fall, but there is a certain sadness that comes when the yard closes up shop for the winter. This means an end of going to parks, an end of outdoor tete-a-tetes with my friends, an end of flowers, and an end of jacket-free days! But it also means a beginning of sweaters, a beginning of Christmas music, a beginning of hot cocoa and cinnamon rolls, and the beginning of it being okay that I am completely without a tan. I remember standing in the middle of the Law parking lot at BYU my first year, almost in the middle of the night, and for a split second catching the scent of Christmas- I don't know what it was, but in that split second I felt a whoosh of happiness and coziness that this time of year brings. Well, I have caught the scent here and I am blasting the Christmas music, buying sweaters (they are fabulous, by the way), and restraining myself from setting out the Christmas decorations until at least the day after Thanksgiving.

So that's the complete, unadulterated truth (Yessss! I have always wanted to use that word!!). I am probably more honest than my ego would like me to be, but I have always liked living like an open book. I just hope you don't get too disgusted with me and close the book!!

Dancing in the moonlight

For those who wanted to picture of Claire- here it is! I am sure she is going to love this picture when she is older- dancing in her panties. There is something about this picture that reminds me of that picture of mom when she was in college- do you know what I am talking about? This was taken with our new, nifty, difty camera. We are glad to finally have a camera once again. I don't quite take 200 pics a month like Michelle, but I do like to take pictures here and there, at least every month, to catch her growing, which she is doing too quickly. I hope you enjoy!!

What Mama Says

It has been fun to watch Claire's language grow, and even more fun to watch her memory grow. She still catches us off guard here and there with what she remembers. Last night, she was asking what different animals say, and then she asked what does mama say? I wanted to hear her response, so I asked her the question back. She hesitated for a minute and so Cody asked, "Does mama say, no no no!" But Claire didn't take this bait. She gave, in her best motherly voice, an "I love you." Well, I was just busting at the seams with how sweet that was. Of course I have drilled her with "what does mama say. . . I love you!" so the answer wasn't completely unexpected. So while Cody and I were laughing about how sweet that was, Claire apparently had time to reconsider her answer and she remember a little episode from this morning. Claire had taken a bag of rice crispies and emptied it all over the living room table and floor. Naturally she got in trouble. So this is what Claire changed her answer to for a more correct 'what mama says'. . . "Sit in time out! Don't spill! Don't Spill the Ice Cispies!" Point of Order-- tape recordings are not admissible evidence. Cody and I had a good laugh, and its good to know that not everything is going in one ear and out the other.