Monkeydoodle Madness

Wheppin if . . .?

2010-07-23T16:36:00.000-07:00

Dallin sometimes creates his own little language and it takes us awhile to figure out what he is saying. Lately he has been asking, "What would happen if . . . " (fill in the blanks). He asks the question so often that he has created his own contraction: WHEPPIN.

Dallin: Mom, wheppin if you have no eyes?
Mom: You wouldn't be able to see.

Dallin: Wheppin if you have no fingernails?
Mom: Ummm . . . . (I often just trail off because I don't know how to answer)

Dallin: Wheppin if you have no eyebrows?
Wheppin if your mouth falls out?
Wheppin if you have no heart? You have no love?
Wheppin if you have no hair?
Wheppin if you have no head?
Mom or Dad: You would die.
Dallin: Why?

Each of these questions has been asked multiple times to both of us. They are his favorites. He knows the answers . . . maybe he is just trying to fill some awkward silences. I don't think he is physically able to let a silent moment pass without filling it with some noise. He talks constantly. I have been know to turn on the TV just for a break from the constant chatter.

He is also really preoccupied with pee and poop. He thinks it's funny to talk about it. Despite our best efforts to discourage the subject matter, he constantly talks about it. Today I asked him if he wanted a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. "No, I want a pee sandwich."

Mom: Dallin, that's really disgusting. You don't really want a pee sandwich, don't talk like that. Now, what kind of sandwhich do you want?

Dallin: I want a pee sandwich (mischeivous giggle)

Mom: All right.

So I went in the kitchen to make his pee sandwich (honey) As I was drizzling on the honey, Dallin came in the room and saw the "pee" go on the sandwich. He got really upset and realized that he didn't want a pee sandwich. After a minute of teasing, I eased his spirit by revealing what the pee actually was.

I don't think he'll ask for a pee sandwich again. Although he did ask for a "poopcicle" later in the day.

He's actually really cute, but I guess you'll just have to trust me on that one.

Shingletown Gap

2010-07-18T06:52:00.000-07:00

At the end of a grumpy day, we took the kids hiking at Shingletown Gap. It was a good parenting moment, because it improved everyone's mood. We got to explore in the woods, cool off a bit, and play in the water a little. The whole family loved it. The only thing we would do differently is to bring some bug spray. (You can't really see the cloud of bugs buzzing around everyone's heads). If you every come and visit we will be sure to take you here to visit.

Our Photographer

2010-07-04T11:56:00.001-07:00

Sadie has recently taken up an interest in taking pictures. Judging from the pictures that she has been taking, I think we can safely call it photography. She was playing with her "My Little Ponies" recently (after many months of non-use) She got them all ready for their photo shoot. I don't know how many braids I had to do that day, but I think I'm an expert now. All I have to put on my resume is that my daughter had "My Little Ponies" and I would be hired instantly as the official braider at any hair salon. I think that should be added to the "What To Expect" book series.

"All mothers of young girls should expect to complete at least 3000 braids on various
dolls and figurines during adolescence."

She also took these pictures of her ponies. There were many, many, many more. I cut some out.

Her muse then became Dallin. He's pretty cute don't you think? After a few pictures of smiles and cuteness, things got a little out of hand. When they aren't driving me crazy, they make me laugh like crazy! Moments like these really make me glad to be their mom.

Like Mother; Like Daughter

2010-07-01T18:19:00.000-07:00

The other day I was putting together a little baby quilt and had some leftover squares. Sadie likes to play with them so I gave them to her. I mentioned that she could probably make a blanket too. She got really excited about it. She picked out her squares and arranged them the way she wanted and then she sewed them together. It's not her first project (she made a toothfairy pillow) But I think she did a great job. The only thing she didn't do was the actual quilting. She took the pictures too. I see a future in photography!

Dallin wanted to be involved too. After he had his picture taken I made him his own little blanket.

As Promised . . . mostly for my mom

2010-06-29T07:17:00.000-07:00

Well Mom, I really hope that you are reading this. I have been assuring you for many months that I update my blog regularly, but I have been lying. I am making a sincere effort to repent of my ways and sin no more. So here goes.

What is a kid's favorite toy? A cardboard box! This magnificent pirate ship was once a box to our brand new jogging stroller. (I'm really excited about this stroller). Notice the flag and their mean pirate faces. The ship last for a few days, but they had a lot of fun with it. I think everyone in the courtyard eventually was part of this game!

Besides spending most of our time playing in the backyard, we decided to celebrate the beginning of the summer with a camping trip. So, on the last day of school, we crammed everything into our little car and ventured out to Raystown Lake. It was a great trip spent with our good friends, The Lees. We swam; we made smores; Steve mountain-biked; I did some trail running; and we had close call with some poison ivy. It took about three days to recover (I never realized how much work went into our week long camping trips when I was younger - thanks mom and dad)

And finally, these last few pictures are just from a photo shoot that I did to make a Father's Day card. The card never happened, but I got some cute pictures that I think show their personality quite well.

Can you tell that Sadie likes to pose for pictures? In fact, my neighbor has been using her as a model for some of her artwork. You can find an example of what she has been doing here.

Has it been awhile?

2010-06-28T12:45:00.001-07:00

I know it's ridiculous . . . you are thinking, "Where are those cute kids; what have they been doing for the last few months?" I promise you, there will be pictures soon, but right now I want to post about my awesome craftiness. I've been meaning to do this post for quite sometime and finally, I did it today. I made these great scripture totes based on a tutorial for a summer tote found at Homemade by Jill. I just changed the size of things so that it will fit a set of scriptures!

See? Isn't it perfect? I was quite proud of myself. If you would like to know the dimensions I used (or if you want me to make you one) I would be happy to oblige. On that note, I had so much fun making these for Sadie and Dallin that I made an extra one with leftover fabric. I want to give it to the first one who asks for it -- I'll even pay for the shipping!

Crush

2010-04-20T20:54:00.000-07:00

Overheard on the playground:

"Sadie has a crush on Justin."

"Nu-uh, I have a crush on my Dad"

That's ok with me, Sadie. I do too!

What dads are good for

2010-03-25T11:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was outside when Sadie was playing with a girl that lives in our courtyard. I remembered Carrie telling me that the girl's mom was getting married, so I mentioned it to this girl to find out what she thinks about the whole thing. She said, "Yes, and I don't like it," with a cute smile on her face, indicating that she's not that devastated about the whole thing.

At that, Sadie said, in absolute disbelief, "What?? Are you kidding?? Dads are like the funniest things in a family!!" She then went on to explain how I always make her laugh and I'm really funny.

The funniest "things" in a family. It's always great to get some insight into how your kids think about you.

Little Old Boy

2010-02-25T05:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, while we were running some errands, Dallin said to me, "I'm just a little, old boy." When I asked him what he was talking about he just said, "I'm a little, old, old, boy." I laughed. Then this morning when I took this picture I was trying to get him to smile. He said, "Me ten be grumpy." If I put that into my Dallin translator, it means, "I'm pretending to be grumpy." I guess he is just a little, grumpy, old man.

Snow

2010-02-09T14:18:00.001-08:00

We've been hit with the snow too! Why so many pictures of Dallin? He didn't take off with his friends like Sadie did. In fact, this was about as far as he got. It was much fun to play in because it was so deep. It wasn't packing snow either, so we couldn't make anything. We had fun for a little while. Now we are waiting for more to accumulate tonight. I think this is the most snow I have ever seen in my life (apart from mountain tops). I don't mind because I don't have to commute anywhere. We just hang out in the apartment all day.

Mud

2010-02-09T14:12:00.001-08:00

Not so new feature for White Course Apartments: Mud Hole for Kids of Every Age to Enjoy!
It's been there since last spring . . . oh well, the kids love it! It was really cold too. He had fun until his hands got cold!

Speech

2010-01-16T17:45:00.000-08:00

I have always taken my ability to speak for granted. I have also taken it for granted that my children will develop normally (or above normal) And that they will grow up to be Nobel Prize winners. This Christmas break we had an experience that made me appreciate both.

Dallin has always been a little bit behind the bell curve in physical development. He wasn't holding his head up at when the doctor checked at four months old (he did 1 week later); he wasn't sitting up at 6 month (he did the day after his checkup). He wasn't crawling at 9 months and he wasn't walking at 12 months. He didn't say his first word until 18 months. It wasn't a big deal that we couldn't understand about half of what he said.

Right around Christmas he started stuttering. He would say the first part of his word over and over again. At first we just thought he was talking funny and developing a weird habit of holding on to part of his word longer than necessary. We would even copy him a little and laugh. But then it got worse. It got to the point where he would clench his jaw and start talking in a high pitched voice and cover his mouth. It was really sad.

For those of you who don't know Steve, he has dealt with a stuttering problem most of his life. Usually it's not that noticable, but during times of high stress it can be quite problematic. We were both worried about the potential struggles that Dallin would face but Steve even more so. It was hard for him to watch -- one time he even had to leave the room when Dallin was trying to talk to me. I don't know all that Steve was feeling. I'm sure he was worried about Dallin, but I think it also brought back memories of his own struggles and frustrations and missed opportunities.

As a mother and a wife, I can tell you that it was very difficult to see the suffering of two people that I love very much. I wanted to take their struggles and pain away. I wanted to go through it for them. But I couldn't. I felt pretty helpless.

Steve and I talked about it a lot. We researched on the internet. We talked to friends and family. We decided to wait until the end of January before we would seek professional help. We hoped that it was just part of his development.

I am happy to report that Dallin is almost completely stutter free. We can even understand more than 50% of what he says. I do notice that when he is stressed (like when I yell at him) or tired or excited the stutter will return, but not nearly as bad as it was. I am grateful for friends and family who let me talk through this with them. And grateful that Dallin seems to be ok. I am also happy that we haven't had to worry about things more severe than a speech problem. Now that he can talk fine, we have a hard time getting him to talk! He asks questions all day long. I can live with that.

Our second annual online Christmas letter

2009-12-18T12:43:00.000-08:00

Last year we liked the idea of posting our Christmas letter to our blog so much that we've decided to do it again! So, here goes our Christmas letter in which I faun over each member of our family, picking out only the cool things that happened to each of us in the last year.

Dallin

The little man turned three in November. He uses only object pronouns (me, us, him, her), so he basically sounds like a caveman toddler. I've actually never heard him say "I" or "we." At least he's consistent! It's actually kind of cute (Where us going? Me no like that!) and, in a show of solidarity, we will often restrict ourselves to the approved pronouns.

Sadie was never into toys all that much, so Dallin is picking up the slack. For whatever reason, Dallin really, really likes PLAYMOBIL toys. He has a castle set and a pirate set. He's also a very physical kid, which has its pros and cons. It makes him a great snuggler and wrestler, but it can get annoying when he sits on your head.

He doesn't eat after about 3 pm. Seriously. The kid has a solid breakfast (usually oatmeal), nibbles at lunch, has a few snacks, and then usually rips on whatever we're having for dinner (me no like that!). At least he likes fruit.

Sadie

Sadie turned six in September. She's in first grade. She's a fantastic reader (her teachers have all been really impressed) and she has a colossal imagination. She's (usually) a joy to be around and it's always fun to hear what new craziness she comes up with. She's amazingly patient with her rambunctious little brother.

It's fun to think about what she'll do when she's older. Choir or drama or something like that is probably a safe bet. Recently, we've started having guitar sing-alongs, which she thoroughly enjoys. Now if we could just get her to have a better attitude about helping around the house . . .

Carrie

Carrie just got glasses, in case you missed it. Exciting.

She's stepped up her crafty stuff a notch. She opened a shop at etsy.com. Her shop has had a lot of visits, but no sales yet. Fortunately, she's had some requests from friends and family. She makes some killer snowflakes and some nice baby stuff. I think she really enjoys doing it. And it helps that one night a week she bails on us right before bedtime to go do crafty stuff with her friends (in all honesty, though, I'm really glad that she gets at least that one good break every week).

She's pretty involved at Sadie's school, too. She volunteers in the classroom occasionally and helps with Daisy Scouts (which, I hear, Sadie isn't too fond of thus far).

She's been teaching Gospel Doctrine at church for some time now. I always like to hear her recount what crazy comments were offered and how she steered away from disaster. I'm kidding (mostly).

She wanted to make sure I included the fact that she's read over 10,000 pages this year. Um, yeah. She likes to read.

I continue to be amazed at Carrie's dedication to motherhood. And fortunately I'm a heavy sleeper and I sleep on the side of the bed furthest from the door, so I miss all the middle-of-the-night events like nightmares and leaky pull-ups.

Me

I had a pretty nice year. In the spring, I turned in my defended and approved master's thesis. A revised version of that thesis was recently accepted for publication in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. It will probably appear next year sometime. I have a couple co-authored publications in the works, too. I'm aiming to take my comprehensive exam in the spring.

Over the summer, I fulfilled my long-time desire to start playing guitar. I even upgraded to a Martin, which I love (they're made right here in Pennsylvania, too - we toured the factory a couple months ago). I'm not very good yet, but I sure do enjoy it. I'd love to get lessons sometime. Carrie just wants me to finish the song that I started writing for her. Soon, my dear. Soon.

By far the coolest thing I did this year, though, was playing rugby. I happened to catch a replay of the college national championship between BYU and Cal on ESPNU (BYU won!) and I was hooked. I loved it. So, I got on the Google and looked up rugby here in State College. I found a team here and saw on their website that they're always looking for new players. So, I contacted them, even as I could feel my muscles and bones protesting. I'm not very good at rugby, either, but it's a blast. I healed nicely from the obligatory MCL sprain and had a nice season after that. I hope to see more playing time next spring when we have more B-side matches. By the way, go see Invictus. It's great, and you don't need to know anything about rugby.

Well, that's it. The only thing that bugs me about these letters is that they're basically like a promotional pamphlet your family. So let me throw in the fact that we sometimes yell, we often let our kids watch TV so we can go back to sleep, and sometimes it gets old to go to different churches on Sunday. But I'd like to think that we've got a pretty great little family. Love abounds, and I think that's all that really matters.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everybody.

It's been awhile. . .

2009-12-14T19:26:00.000-08:00

You know what it's like when you look at a pile of ironing? It's pretty big and it needs to be done, but not just now. It just sits there waiting for you. Finally you get to the point that you are ready to do it, but it's just been so darn long that it can wait for awhile longer. Well, I did my ironing today, and it didn't take very long (secretly I kind of like doing it) Now I am tackling my other pile: my blog. I can't believe it's been three months. I think I was waiting for something spectacular to happen . . . but since every day is spectacular, nothing really stuck out. What was the thing that prompted me to finally post? I got new glasses. Wow. Maybe I was just looking for a reason, but it's always hard to break the blogging ice. We don't have babies to announce, or Ph.D. news. We don't have a new job and Sadie hasn't lost any teeth. Dallin is potty trained, but still pees the bed (every night). I still haven't sold anything on Etsy, but Steve does have a paper that was accepted for publication.

So, my news and my great picture is about my glasses. What do you think? It turns out that it wasn't church that was giving me a headache every week, it was my eyes. Now I can watch movies and drive without headaches too. Small miracles that cost us $200. Oh well.

Etsy!

2009-09-07T05:42:00.000-07:00

I did it! I started my own site on Etsy! I am really excited, but also a little nervous. For those of you who don't know what Etsy is, it's basically a website where people can sell their homemade items. Since I love making crafty stuff, I decided to try and sell it there. I haven't been particularly successful selling it at craft fairs since most of it is baby stuff. You can check my work out at the side of the blog (it's hard to miss) Check it out often because I'm adding a lot of things since I'm just getting started. You can also register with Etsy and "heart" my shop . . . it would be a great help if you can't buy anything. Let me know if you want email updates of my new items. Send good vibes and (are you allowed to pray for etsy shops?)

Summer at the Merino house

2009-08-11T09:02:00.000-07:00

It's been too long since Carrie or I have posted, so I thought I'd share a bit about what we've been up to this summer.

Carrie just got back from a mommy vacation with a friend. No kids, no husbands, just the two of them. They went to West Virginia for the weekend. I think she enjoyed it. They mostly sat around and did crafty stuff and talked. She says that WV looks a lot like central Pennsylvania. I can imagine that. I bet I'd like the mountain biking. Anyway, we managed OK at home. Went swimming, ate pizza, stayed up late.

The kids are enjoying summer. We got Dallin a new bike and he probably spends an hour or two a day just riding in circles around our courtyard. Dallin cracks me up. His desire to speak and learn new words definitely exceeds his actual verbal ability, and some pretty funny things result. He has this funny habit of just repeating the last couple words of whatever you last said, often with a question inflection on the end. It really threw him for a loop when I shaved off my beard recently. For about a week he just kept asking me about it and wanting to touch my face. Alas, I already have about two weeks growth on my face again, and now he just talks about how scratchy it is.

Sadie is looking forward to first grade and her upcoming birthday. She spends most the time outside playing. She's lost a bit of the zeal for reading that she had right after school ended, but she did pick up a newspaper when we were in downtown State College yesterday and took it home and asked me questions about all the articles. It was cute.

We went camping a few weeks ago. It was great. We went to Raystown Lake, which is about an hour or so from us. We went swimming, played, hiked, and so on. They recently finished a new system of trails designed especially for mountain bikers. They were amazing. So fun that a week later I went back for a night by myself.

I've had a busy summer. I finally picked up our guitar that had been gathering dust since we got it a while back. I've been playing a bit every day and having a blast with it. It's amazing how much progress you can make it just a little bit of time. I already have the beginnings of a couple songs (well, some really cool chord progressions). I had a revise and resubmit on a paper (my master's thesis, essentially). I just finished that and I'm waiting for the result. I had an outright rejection (fun!), and a professor and I have finished two papers we're submitting right now. So, busy summer from that perspective.

But by far the coolest thing I've done this summer was starting to play rugby. Yes, rugby. It's a blast. I caught a replay of the college national championship between BYU and Cal a while back and just loved it. I started looking around on the internet and found out that Penn State has a team, and that there is a local rugby club for grad students and non-students. I contacted them and they said that they're always looking for new players. So, I started practicing with them over the summer (well, just touch rugby with a mix of girls, high school students, college students, and so on). We just started our real practices and our first match is on the 29th. It's still a bit overwhelming, but the guys have been really supportive and helpful when I mess up or have questions. Great sport, rugby. Very under-appreciated in the U.S. I love the emphasis on teamwork, equal participation, camaraderie, sportsmanship, and respect. Of course, it's brutal and rough, but not in an American football kind of way. More like in a wrestling with your brothers in the back yard kind of way. And it looks chaotic and crazy when you don't know what's going on, but it's actually very organized and controlled. And it definitely requires a lot of teamwork to score.

Celtic Fling

2009-07-09T07:54:00.001-07:00

Recently, we went to the Celtic Fling at the Renaissance Festival grounds. The kids loved the music (if it wasn't too loud) they loved looking at all the shops and they loved dressing up.

This is in front of the band "Enter the Haggis" I don't really know how to describe their music . . . you'll have to ask Steve. He has really been into the smaller groups lately and loves to travel around to listen to them. His next goal is to go to the Philly Folk Festival next month.

This ride was great. It was powered by a pirate. As you can see, Dallin lost the thrill once it got going too fast. But the pirate was great and stopped the ride for him. It was a great 3 dollar ride! Although we didn't get any pictures, we also saw some Irish dancers. My next goal is to get Sadie involved with Celtic dancing. I think she would do great. They just reminded me of her with all the bouncing and jumping.

Little Women

2009-05-25T20:04:00.001-07:00

With the last Scholastic book order, I ordered some Junie B. books. Sadie has been asking me when they are coming for quite awhile. She keeps telling me that she is ready to read chapter books because she is a really good reader. I just told her they would come soon. Yesterday she picked up a Great Classics for Children version of Little Women. The girl read 54 pages yesterday! There are pictures on about every other page, and the print is large, but still . . . 54 pages. She was really proud of herself. I don't think we were impressed enough for her though, because she kept telling us how hard it was and how good of a reader she was. It was really cute. I let her read a couple of chapters to me before she went to bed. It reminds me of myself when I was younger. It's nice to have her be entertained so quietly too! I am really proud of my girl!

2009-05-14T06:39:00.000-07:00

For Mother's Day, Steve took the family to a place that he likes to go mountain biking. Shingletown Gap. I think the name is cool enough to warrant going. It's not very far from where we live, and yet it felt like we were out in the wilderness (not quite, but you get my point) That's one of the reasons why I love State College -- you don't have to go very far to get away. It was great to be out in the woods. We let the kids take their time walking because the terrain was pretty rough. At first Dallin was a little afraid of the fast moving creek, but after he got over it, there was nothing else that he would talk about. I think he said the word "water" about 500 times. Maybe more.

Sadie kept creating photo opportunities by finding a rock to sit on or a tree to stand by. It was kind of funny because it seemed like she was doing it on purpose because she knew I would take a picture. I don't think she was aware of that though. There is a romantic soul in that girl.

Steve would show me the trails he would have to carry his bike up in order to find the trail to ride. I don't know how he rides on those trails. They are extremely rocky and rooty (is that a word?) It all seems a little dangerous to me, especially when I see how steep they are. Maybe he shouldn't have shown me, because now I will worry even more. Oh, well, he loves it. He's also in an incredible mood after a bike ride. It's worth it.

The whole outing was very relaxing and fun. We didn't have a destination or a goal, we just walked and explored. It reminded me of outings into the forest as a kid. One in particular, Dad led us to some old beaver dams. We collected some salamander eggs and even caught some. I tried to drink some water just coming out of the pond and was instructed about all the things that could be living in that water. There's something to be said about connecting with nature. It makes you appreciate life in all it's forms. For me, my testimony of God's existence and His love for us is strengthened. I miss wandering through the woods and can't wait to go camping this year.

Tribute to Sadie

2009-05-11T18:21:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in quite some time. Mostly it's due to my laziness in uploading pictures to the computer. I finally did it and I have a lot of awesome pictures, but one really stood out, and so I thought that Sadie deserves a post all to herself.

She has been doing awesome in school. She is always amazing me by her ability to read, do math, count money, tell time, write (sometimes her handwriting is better than mine). Not only does she do well in all these things, she loves doing it. Every Friday she brings home a packet of all the things she did that week and she can't wait to show me.

Even though we still have some troubles with her emotions getting the better of her, we have seen a shift in her maturity. We see some remorse for doing something wrong and we occasionally see her take responsibility for those mistakes. The other night, we were really having a hard time getting her to clean her room and Steve and I both got upset. We informed her of a new rule that she wouldn't be able to play with friends unless her room was clean. (She didn't like it very much) After a lot of weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth (on both sides) we agreed that she would either help clean her room or she would have to pay me to do it. She doesn't have have any money, so she would have to do chores to pay for it. Steve didn't really like the idea and tried to explain to her that it would easier to just clean it. She wouldn't listen to reason. We sent her to bed. As I was saying good night, she started crying and said, "You don't like me." I informed her that I like her very much and that I even love her. As I gave her a reassuring hug, she said, "I'll help clean the room after school tomorrow."

Just the fact that she would say that surprised me. I was stunned when she actually followed through this afternoon. She didn't even ask if she could play. In fact, after dinner she asked if she could do more chores to earn some money for a doll. I think I may have blacked out for a second out of shock. She is able to think and plan a little further into her future. I think that's a great developmental milestone. It makes it a little easier for us too.

Sadie is really emotional, especially when she is tired. With the change in the weather, she has been wearing herself out and we have been privy to quite a few more meltdowns. But even among her meltdowns, I can see remorse for poor decisions and less than good behavior. She is still excellent with Dallin (usually) and she loves to "take care of" our neighbors baby. She is a lot of fun to be with, especially one-on-one. We love our beautiful daughter and are amazed by her every day. (Sometimes we are amazed by how difficult she can be, but usually we are amazed by her growth, kindness, and beauty)

#&*!

2009-04-20T19:54:00.000-07:00

Dallin's rate of vocabulary acquisition is amazing. He is repeats just about everything we say. Sometimes is sounds right, and sometimes it doesn't. For example:

In his attempt to solidify the words in his mind, Dallin will say things about 50 times over and over again. The other day we were driving home and pointing to things like car, house, tree, truck. Dallin would repeat each one while pointing -- he loves this game. Well, he was playing this game with Sadie and he started saying truck over and over. He said it several times before Steve and I realized what he was doing. His version starts with "f" and rhymes with "uck". Yeah. After asking him to repeat truck several times to verify the situation, we busted up laughing. Not the smartest thing to do to a 2-year-old, but hey, we are first time parents right?

We tried to do the responsible thing by teaching him "t-r-" Then we tried other words that begin with tr. He can trash and tricycle and truncated (just kidding, but he can say trash) but when we got back to truck . . . more explicit language. My neighbor was even on the lookout the next day, and she said that he was successful in his truck language, but when I asked you can guess what I heard. I decided to give up because it was clearly a losing battle.

Fast forward to Sunday. (I'm sure you can see where this is going) I have become pretty good at entertaining both my kids during sacrament meetings. They are both pretty awesome about being quiet and whispering. At some point I pulled out a car and a truck for Dallin to play with. Did he decide to quietly make car and truck noises? Did he decide to say the word car over and over again? No. He decided to give the sacrament an "R" rating. He dropped the f-bomb more times than on the Sopranos. I tried to ignore it, hoping that no one would notice or he would stop talking about his truck. But he just got louder and more excited about his new truck. At one point a woman in front of me just turned and said with a smile, "I'm so sorry".

I eventually got the truck away from him without a tantrum, but the damage was done. He's known as "the kid who swears during sacrament meeting" I doubt anyone besides the people right around me even noticed. It's a good thing I have a good sense of humor because I thought it was pretty funny. I pretended I was mortified though, just in case someone thought it was bad that my sweet 2-year-old had a potty mouth.

Tree Huggers

2009-03-14T12:48:00.000-07:00

I recently was asked if I was one of "those tree-huggers." I proudly answered, "Yes, I am." Although I don't think I have ever actually hugged a tree, my kids take a more literal approach to the expression.

Steve was sick today, so I took the kids to Shaver's Creek which is an environmental center. It has a lot of trails, an interpretive center, and a bird conservatory. We were the only ones there for awhile so the kids got a little more attention and got to touch a rat snake and a turtle. Sadie didn't really want anything to do with the snake and Dallin called the snake "nase" and the turtle "terse." He really loved looking at the turtles. In fact, there was turtle shell on the touch table and he kept wanting to return it to the turtles in the cages.

Then we went on a short hike. Dallin walked most of the way, but was getting slower and slower so I had to hoist him up on my shoulders. They both had a lot of fun. I can't wait for spring . . . I'll bring them back up there to see all the wild flowers. Here are some pictures from the hike.

Mud

2009-03-11T18:39:00.001-07:00

While I welcome the warmer weather, there is something I wish I could banish . . . MUD! We had a lot of ice this winter and not a lot of good drainage in our courtyard. Someone was smart enough to drive their little truck through the grass and got stuck. The result was this mud pit. At first it was a lot of fun. All the kids were outside playing in the mud and having a great time. As you can see, Sadie was covered in mud. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of Dallin (He's already in the bath with mud in his ear even) They had so much fun, but please, I'm ready for some warmer weather and some grass replacement. Last week the same guy drove on the grass and got stuck again! Unbelievable! And yet, it's true. Maybe he's trying to screw up the lawn so bad that they will be forced to redo the entire thing.
Anyway, I we can't go outside now without Dallin running for the mud pit and then falling once he gets there. I'm ready for warmer days like these!

Before and After

2009-03-08T19:04:00.001-07:00

This Valentine's Day a tradition was created with Steve taking Sadie to a Daddy/Daughter Dance sponsored by the YMCA. This is last year's picture. She doesn't look too excited but I think she had an excellent time because she has been looking forward to it all year. Every time we drove by the Ramada, she would yell out, "Daddy-Daughter Dance." Sometimes she would ask when Valentines Day was or, "Is it February yet?" So as the day came closer, she became more and more excited.

The big day arrived, it was a little hard for her because the dance was the day after Valentines Day, but she was able to handle it with grace. She had her outfit picked out days before but changed her mind at the last minute. She even helped Steve pick out what he wore. She wanted him to wear a tie, but he didn't. They compromised.

I think she looks beautiful. And she has grown up so much. But wait . . . could that handsome man possibly be her father? Is that my hubby? Wow. The change has been amazing. Steve has lost about 100 pounds. But looking at these pictures really shows how hard he has been working. We thought everyone would like to see the before and after pictures. It's too bad he wasn't on some weight loss program because we could be making big bucks with some endorsement. Maybe not big bucks, but at least some little bucks.

Most people who don't see Steve too often have to do double takes or don't recognize him at all. For someone who doesn't like change very much, he sure has changed a lot in the last few years. (We even had to resize his wedding band!)

Interest or Obsession?

2009-03-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

Recently Sadie has taken a keen interest in dogs; puppies to be more specific. Since we cannot have a dog, or any pet for that matter, she has bestowed her love on stuffed animals. For Christmas she got a cute puppy that she named Chocolaty. She sleeps with it every night and not too many days go by without her telling me how much she loves her puppy. After Chocolaty joined our family she also renewed some interest in her other stuffed dogs (4 total). She talks about dogs and she draws and writes about them all the time. We've even looked up different breeds to decide what kind of dog Chocolaty is and what kind of dog we would get if we could get a dog.

The other day Sadie and I were at the store and she wanted to buy another stuffed puppy. I told her she could earn money to buy it herself. She didn't like the idea very much. She proceeded to complain about how she doesn't have enough puppies and stuffed animals. It made me wonder exactly how many she has. We did an inventory. . .

We have 50 Stuffed Animals

So now, whenever Sadie complains about not getting a new stuffed animal, I can just pull out this photo to remind her what a lucky girl she is!!
Judging by the look on her face, I would say that she agrees! By the way, the beloved Chocolaty is the one on her head.

If you are ever wondering what gift to give Sadie, you can never, ever go wrong with a stuffed animal . . . especially a puppy.

Our Mornings

2009-02-18T19:08:00.000-08:00

Every morning at about 6:30 Dallin wakes up. I can almost set my clock to his wake-up time. He will usually go and find a toy and play for awhile (I think this is usually his 'poop' time too) Then he comes and finds me. I don't know how he knows it, but he whispers in the morning. He'll come into our room and whisper to me or he will play with my toes if they are sticking out. Then he climbs into bed with me . . . I realize that he is poopy, so I make him get out because the pull-ups he wears at night are not the best protection. I'll usually have him go wake up Sadie because for some reason she responds better to him waking her up.

This morning was a little different. Yes, it was still 6:30 and we still had the poop, but Sadie woke up earlier, so Dallin and I went into their room and Dallin said, "Good Morning" It was so cute. I know it's not that amazing, but it is for me. It's so fun to listen to him develop his language skills. It can also be quite frustrating at times when I can't figure out that "ous" means outside or "nosssse" means snow instead of nose. And lots of other things that I really haven't figured out yet.

Another cute thing that Dallin has been doing for awhile calling himself the baby. It started one time when Steve and I were hugging and Dallin didn't think that was very cool, so he came to me and indicated that he wanted to be picked up. Then he pointed to himself and said,"Baby, baby." So I hugged him and said, "Of course you are my baby." Now he does the same thing if he wants some attention. Although, now he is being a little selective because the other day he pointed to himself and said, "baby. no. dallin." I think the translation is, "I'm not a baby, I'm Dallin." I told him that he will always be my baby and I explained that Sadie was my baby too. He seemed to get a kick out of that because he pointed to Sadie and said, "Ga-ga. baby." And as you know, Ga-ga means Sadie.

I never thought I would be one of those parents who thinks that their child is the absolute greatest, but I have to to admit it. My kids are better than all of your kids combined. They are the smartest, cutest, healthiest, strongest, bestest kids in the world. I guess if I claim that, I would also have to admit that they can be the most obnoxious, clingy, whiny, and brattiest kids in the world. I have some days where I feel that way. On those days I try to take a little extra time at the end of the day and watch them while they sleep. It doesn't take very long for me to remember that they really are the bestest in the world. I think that is my best piece of advice: Watch you kids while they sleep. Everything seems to slip into perspective while you do that.

This blog post got a little off focus, sorry . . . the rest of our mornings usually include breakfast, cartoons, getting Sadie off to school, and going to the YMCA, but this morning I went back to bed after a little passive-aggressive behavior and I let Steve take care of everything else. Thanks sweetie for taking the wheel this morning. I love you.

Ga-Ga

2009-02-15T19:24:00.000-08:00

I was thinking about weird things about our family and this is one that I think is kind of funny. Dallin calls Sadie "Ga-ga". We think it started because he couldn't do s-sounds, but now he does, in fact he puts and s at the end of almost every word. He has been calling Sadie "Ga-ga" since about the time he turned 2. That's not the weird thing. . . Sadie decided that she likes that, so she calls him "Ga-ga". So now it's kind a nickname for eachother. Confusing, right? Well, even though I think it's kind of weird, I go with it.

Now it gets really strange. . . Sometimes Steve and I forget ourselves and refer to one of the kids as "Ga-ga". It can all be very confusing because "Ga-ga" can mean either child. (It usually means Sadie) Does anyone else find this strange?

Bunk beds

2009-02-09T10:33:00.000-08:00

Although this may not change the course of anyone else's life, it has been a big deal to our family. We are now officially crib free. We were able to get some new/used bunk beds from someone and all together only spent about $300 on the entire thing! We were stoked about the deal. Dallin and Sadie both love it. They especially love it when we climb on the top bunk with them. Dallin is really good about climbing up and down. I think he likes to show off. What do you think?

2009-02-04T10:07:00.000-08:00

Soo, it's still winter here in PA. We laughed at the fact that Groundhog's Day is in the beginning of February, because I do not look forward to spring until the end of April or May. Last year my kids hunted for Easter eggs in the snow. So, since we don't have anything exciting going on and no cute pictures, I decided to blog about totally random things that makes our family unique.

(These are in no particular order)
1. We have an "L" shaped stick that we picked up in Central Park in New York 2 years ago. A toy that we bought for Sadie didn't make it home, but L-stick did. Sadie recently took it to school for show-and-tell.
2. Dallin loves to burp. He even changes the pitch of it if he has a particularly long one. Steve and I can't help but laugh.
3. Whenever something is particularly gross, we call it "wood-shed-nasty". It doesn't make any sense unless you've seen the movie Cold Comfort Farm
4. I can't help but laugh at potty humor. Steve often tells me that I am a 12-year-old boy trapped in a 30-year-old body.
5. Both of my kids are the size of a kid who is one year older. Sadie looks like a 6-year-old and Dallin looks like a 3-year-old. I didn't mind until Sadie was almost 4 and threw a huge fit in public. I got a lot of looks because people thought she was too old to act like that.
6. She still throws huge tantrums in public . . . she's getting better though.
7. Steve has recently lost 90 pounds and I have lost 30. It's the major topic of a lot of our discussions and our activities.
8. I love going to craft stores. It rejuvenates my soul. I don't even have to buy anything.
9. Dallin is in the "no" stage. But he is taking it to a whole new level. Sometimes we find him saying it over and over just to himself.
10. Sadie is an excellent reader. Everytime we sit down with her, we are amazed by what she can do.
11. I used to mock scrapbookers who had their supplies in a special case on wheels. I have become one of those kind of scrapbookers.
12. We are the kind of parents who let our kids fall. We warn them once and if they continue to do the stupid thing, we let them suffer the consequence. We've only gone to the emergency room once .
13. I love the Twilight series ( don't mock until you read them)
14. Steve and I both love the Firefly series. We are really sad that it isn't on TV anymore.
15. We have a huge library of movies . . . mostly thanks to Steve.
16. Dallin loves to watch movies too. He usually goes into sort of a trance. Sadie noticed this the other day and said, "He really likes movies, I think he's going to be like his Daddy"
17. Steve says that I have a reading addiction. I really do like to read. I go through phases. In the middle of my last really intense reading phase I got a note from Sadie one night that said "no reating allowd" Translation: You are spending too much time reading -- it is time to pay attention to me.
18. Steve mountain bikes in the middle of winter. You people from Oregon may be thinking, "So what?" Well, it's really, really cold. Apparently, he's not the only winter mountain biker though.
19. Steve and I go to different churches. It's not always easy, but we are making it work.
20. Sadie's main journal topic it about how much we all love eachother. It makes me feel good that she is so confident in our love for her and how much she loves all of us. It's one of my few validations that I am doing a good job.

There are a lot of other strange but true things that I could add, but I think I need to go and see what Dallin is up to.

Family Picture

2009-01-13T17:53:00.000-08:00

Want to know why we don't get our family picture done very often?

We got one in the end!!

Continuing the delicious tradition

2009-01-05T09:06:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve growing up we ate tamales, rice, beans, and tortillas while everybody else was having ham and potatoes or whatever. Seriously, which would you rather be having? It's no contest.

Carrie and I have always had a Mexican dinner on Christmas Eve, but it wasn't until last year that we made our own tamales. Every year the meal gets a little better as we add more pieces, improve on the recipes, and do more homemade. This time it was the best we've ever done. Tamales, rice, refried beans, red chile sauce, and flour tortillas, all homemade and from scratch. It was awesome. The best part: eating leftovers for another week.

And it looks like it might live on another generation - Sadie loved it. Dallin's not quite there yet, but he doesn't like anything that's not sweet.

Why wait until Christmas Eve to do it again? Other than the fact that it literally takes all day to prepare this meal, I can't think of any reasons.

Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday, Happy New Year . . .

2009-01-02T03:13:00.000-08:00

So, it's been a while and we need to play a little catch up. . . Shortly before Christmas we took a little family trip to Hershey, Pennsylvania. Do you know what is in Hershey? I'll give you one guess. Yep, the Hershey factory. And what better place to have a huge amusement park? Right next to it. We normally wouldn't be able to afford a whole family trip to the park, but in the winter they have it open for fun holiday festivities.

All the rides are operating except the big roller coasters and there are some pretty Christmas lights all over. They have shows and I think you can even visit Santa. The best part is that it only costs about $10 to get in. The worst part : it's cold! We didn't get very many pictures because neither one of us wanted to take off our gloves to operate the camera!

But as you can tell, the kids had a blast! Dallin was really good about staying with us and Sadie was good about not throwing any fits (she tends to do that) even when it was time to leave. Dallin loved the trains and Sadie loved everything. She really liked being the one to take Dallin on a ride. I even took the kids on a Tilt-a-Whirl. Dallin loved it. When it got too scary he would just snuggle up next to me and wait until that part was over. It was so much fun. I think it will become a family tradition.
Another family tradition that I would like to continue is Christmas pajamas. (I know it's kind of silly) I had a roommate whose family did this and I liked the idea. And who wouldn't? Look at how cute my Monkeydoodles are! Sadie especially loves matching with Dallin.

This was the only shot I got of Christmas morning! Sorry! I just got so caught up in the moment. I think the favorite gift has been Dallin's train set. Sadie plays with it almost more than Dallin . . . if he would let her. I think Steve likes it just as much as the two kids. After opening presents and stockings, we had crepes for breakfast. But even with all the new toys and clothes and movies, both of our beautiful children threw fits and cried and fought all day long. Why didn't anyone tell us that this kind of thing happens on Christmas? Children are supposed to be perfectly happy and well behaved on Christmas, right? I mean they did just get everything their heart desired. Maybe it's just our kids who do that. Aside from that, I can still look at the day with fondness. I guess that's a mother's gift . . . we can forget all the miserable times and just remember their looks of delight when they wake up on Christmas morning.

We also celebrated my birthday (not much to report) and New Year's (again, not much to report) Steve will blog later about our Christmas Eve tradition. And I made rice porridge for the first time. It was yummy, but for some reason the kids didn't eat any of it. We thought they would love it. Oh well.

Our Family Christmas Letter

2008-12-17T19:35:00.000-08:00

This year we decided to post a family Christmas letter on our blog instead of including it in the cards we're sending out. We're doing this for a few reasons:

1. It's the 21st century! We're trend-setters. Mark my words.

2. It's easier than printing off a bunch of letters. And cheaper.

3. It saves paper. The earth will thank us.

4. It gets people to check out our blog.

So, let's get on with the letter. Our hi-tech, eco-friendly, modern Christmas letter.

It's been a pretty busy year for our family. That's what really comes to mind when I stop to think about it. First of all, Sadie turned five and started kindergarten. When we ask her about it, she says she loves school, but I think it's been a bit tough for her. She's had to do a lot of growing up, and she's still just trying to take it all in. The good news is that she's learning a ton, and she constantly amazes us with her reading and writing skills. They've really taken off since she started kindergarten. She spends a lot of time at home just writing notes (often lengthy love letters to each of us) and reading books. And she also loves to draw and color. Anyway, Sadie starting school has been trying for all of us at times but we're so proud of her and she brings so much humor and energy to our home.

Dallin turned two last month, and seems to have the job description down pretty well. That kid is just non-stop action from the time he wakes up to the time he goes to sleep. He seems to have developed a healthy love of trucks, trains, and buses, all without any particular encouragement from us. He has his mom's sweet tooth, and his dad's charm (I love writing the family letter because I can just make this stuff up). He's on the verge of speaking in phrases and sentences. He's been able to understand everything we say to him for months and months, and in just the last month or two he's been using new words every day. But like I said, the kid plays hard every day. When he's tired of his toys, he'll search the kitchen or bathroom for interesting items. You can always tell when he's on the prowl. He gets this look in his eye. Dallin is a delight to have in our home and a continual source of entertainment. And exercise.

Carrie is liking the bit of freedom that Sadie going to school has provided. I think she has more time for things like working out at the YMCA or doing things with friends. She continues to make some pretty cool crafts, mostly baby stuff, and has sold them at a couple local festivals. She's become an avid reader - like, sometimes I think she has an addiction. She was recently called to be a gospel doctrine teacher at church. I think she enjoys it. I went to her class recently and was ticked that people weren't more participatory. But she says it's usually better than that day. I asked her tonight what she wanted me to say, and she just said that there's not much to say because her life is her kids. That's really true. Carrie is the glue of our little family. She has our kids' needs and wants at the forefront of her mind every moment. She's a great mom.

It's been a pretty busy year for me. First of all, many of you know that I've lost over 80 pounds since the spring (oh, and I forgot to mention that Carrie's lost about 30 pounds - go us!). I started mountain biking in the spring and got really serious about it. I absolutely love it. I go as often as I can, even now in the winter. Central Pennsylvania is a wonderful place for mountain biking, and I'm having fun finding new trails and beautiful places to go. Other than the mountain biking, I've just been eating better. And it's really worked. The only downside to losing so much weight is that I've had to replace my entire wardrobe, which is tough on a little income like mine. Oh, and people not recognizing me when they see me is a bit weird. It actually happens with some regularity.

I defended my master's thesis this fall and presented it at a scholarly meeting in Louisville, KY. I just wrapped up a couple classes this semester - a racial residential segregation seminar and a social movements seminar. I now have about three papers, including my thesis, that I'd like to get polished and ready to send off to a journal here pretty soon. I've also got to decide on a dissertation topic in the next 6 months or so. It will definitely have to do with religion, which is my main interest, but I'm still narrowing it down. In all, I'm happy to be at Penn State and happy that I'm studying sociology. It's just what I love to do.

We like life here in State College. We try to take advantage of all the great things central PA has to offer, like its natural beauty, its great local restaurants and businesses, its arts and culture, and, of course, Penn State. We were happy in our home to see a certain junior Senator get elected as our next President. No matter what your political views, it was an exciting and important election, and we can all agree that we have a lot to do to make our keep our great country great and to solve some big problems.

So, our little family here in Pennsylvania just chugs along. Having a family is probably tougher but better than Carrie or I could have ever imagined. Nothing prepares you for the highest ups and the lowest downs of family life. It's messy, noisy, crazy work, every day of the year. But we wouldn't have it any other way.

So, Merry Chrismas and Happy New Year! And thanks for reading our letter.

Thanks, whoever you are!

2008-12-08T19:23:00.000-08:00

So, I'm minding my own business, watching In Bruges, when I start hearing noises outside the door. All of a sudden, something hits the window screen. At first I think it's the wind, then my imagination gets active and I start imagining something far more sinister (hey, I was watching a movie about assassins).

Anyway, I decide to peek out the window to see what's going on and I see a little Christmas tree with cash rolled up and tied to the branches with bows. We've been money tree'd!

So, if the giver of this bit of holiday love is out there somewhere reading this, we'd like to give you a big, fat thanks. We really appreciate it.

It warmed the heart.

Did we miss it?

2008-12-06T12:48:00.001-08:00

I realize that it has been almost an entire month since Dallin's birthday. Instead of having a blog post about his birthday I thought I would steal a friend's birthday idea and list the top ten reasons we love Dallin.

1. He is the fruit of my loins.
2. The whole unconditional love thing
3. He still loves to snuggle
4. He precedes almost every word with "n-"
(example: ball = nnnball)
5. He is our human alarm clock . . . 7am even on weekends
6. He can already sit through a full length movie. Do you know many 2-year-olds that can do that?
7. He copies everything that Sadie does -- good and bad
8. He is cute (Sadie's reason)
9. He loves us. . . especially mom (Oedipus complex -- sometimes I think Freud was onto something there)
10. He just does goofy things.

So to answer my question: No, we didn't miss Dallin's birthday, I just didn't blog about it. It's hard to believe that it has been two years since his birth. It has all gone by so quickly. He is still the world's best baby, just a little more difficult to keep track of. (the whole perpetual motion thing.)

Infomercial Steve

2008-11-21T05:07:00.000-08:00

A little while back I blogged about losing 60 pounds since April. Well, I've lost 20 more pounds, bringing the total to 80 pounds since April! I totally feel like one of those people from a late-night weight loss infomercial: "I just lost 80 pounds by using Dr. Ivanov's patented Mega-Trim Pound Destroyer System!"

But on a more serious note, I'm happy about this particular accomplishment because it puts me at a healthy body weight according to my doctor. I've been working long and hard on this and that's been the end goal. I just want to be healthy and live a long life. For myself and for my family.

A Sadie-ism

2008-11-12T18:27:00.001-08:00

On the way home from our brand new Kohl's (yay!), Sadie saw someone smoking and she pointed it out to us. We were impressed and a bit surprised to hear her say something about cigarettes turning your lungs black, as we'd never talked to her about that. Anyway, we talked for a minute about smoking and the health risks associated with it. I also tried to explain that it's also addictive and told her that that means it's hard to quit.

A light bulb went on as she grasped my meaning and she said "well, I'm good at quitting math!" I guess she doesn't have a math addiction. But we might have to work on the math a bit, eh?

My little man!

2008-11-11T18:27:00.000-08:00

The other day I put this outfit on Dallin. As I was putting on his shirt, Dallin pointed to it and said, "Da. Da." It really is an outfit that Steve would pick out for himself. Dallin realized that too. He is really my little man.

Beautiful Day

2008-11-08T04:02:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous day, so the kids and I decided to go on a walk/photoshoot. Sadie is a natural at posing cute, but I decided that when people ask me what I do I will respond with, "Oh, I'm studying perpetual motion. . . it's a little difficult to explain." Dallin wouldn't sit still. It's very difficult to get a good picture from someone who is constantly moving. I have a great camera, but not good enough for his action shots. I did get a few good ones in though.

It looks like a contemplative moment, but really, I think the shot was luck, because like I said, he was moving.

I didn't like the post for Sadie's kindergarten pictures. What do you think of these ones?

He loved going on the walk. I have so many pictures of Dallin way off in the distance -- that kid can run fast!

Halloween!

2008-11-06T07:33:00.000-08:00

I'm really sorry that I haven't been posting lately. I guess I have been anti-computer lately . . . I barely even check my email. Anyway, we did celebrate Halloween. We had a cute flower and a really scary skeleton. The bones on the outfit glowed in the dark and it was really cute. I made Sadie's flower costume . . . I will never make a costume without a pattern again. But, after many hours of pain and frustration, I was successful. Sadie loved it and that's what counts.

On the night of trick-or-treating we thought Sadie would be the one who wanted to gather candy for hours . . .we were wrong. After just one side of a street, she pooped out. Dallin was the one spurring everyone on. He was running ahead of everyone and knocking on all the doors. After we taught him that he wasn't supposed to actually go into stranger's houses, he was able to learn how to say "thankyou" and even "trick or treat". I dont' think anyone else on the planet would have been able to understand him, but we were still proud parents.

We had lots of fun with a little volcano and a ghost. Thanks guys!

Give me the stupid camera, mom!

2008-10-16T14:54:00.001-07:00

Shrinking Steve

2008-10-09T19:10:00.000-07:00

Back in April I had an epiphany. A vision. Maybe it was more of a wake-up call.

Carrie and the kids were in Oregon visiting family. One morning while I was getting dressed, I stopped to look at myself in the mirror. Really stop and look. I was kind of shocked and almost disgusted at what I saw. I realized that I'd really gained a lot of weight and that I wasn't taking care of my body. I was unhappy with how I looked and felt. I needed to do something about it. Up until that point, I'd resisted any effort by Carrie to get me to do WeightWatchers with her, or to exercise, or anything. We have generally always eaten pretty healthy foods, I just tended to eat to much and to eat late at night. And I've always hated exercise. I can't stand working out at the gym.

But I had to do something. I want to live a long, healthy, happy life. I owe it to myself and my family. So, I gave in. I started to do WeightWatchers with Carrie. I never went to meetings, but I started following the system. And I started mountain biking. I got hooked. I bought a new bike. I started going three or four times a week. And I started loosing weight!

I'm proud to say that since April, I've lost about 60 pounds. And it's still coming off. I feel better. I'm down two shirt sizes and about four or five inches off my waist. It's awesome. I did a hard thing, and it's been worth it.

This is the crazy part: since the beginning of August, I've lost 40 pounds! I asked a doctor about it, and he wasn't concerned. He says I'm doing it the right way.

Here's a picture from last winter:

And here's a picture from today:

Catching Up

2008-09-21T11:04:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know, I know. I've been lazy blogger . . . I may be a lazy blogger, but I have not been a lazy mom. In fact, I have been really, really busy.

First Day of School

So, Sadie started kindergarten this year at Wonderland Charter School (please don't judge it by website because the site is awful). She was pretty excited and she looked super cute. She picked her own outfit for her first day of school, I thought she did a pretty good job. I think the first day was a reality check for her though. I had to have my neighbor pick her up from school because our car was getting fixed and Sadie was pretty grumpy. She said, "All those poor people who have to go to school." Mary asked why they are poor and Sadie responded, "They have to work ALL day and I do too!" It took a couple of weeks, but now at the end of the day she says her days are great and wonders why they are so short. On Friday she told me that it felt like a short day for her but it wasn't short for the teachers. . . I wonder how the kids acted that day. Sadie is adjusting well, but the family isn't adjusting quite so well to the early mornings!

Sadie's 5th Birthday

Sadie enjoyed her first slumber party for her birthday. It was a great slumber party, we made individual pizzas and made a fruit pizza for dessert. We waited until Sunday (her actual birthday) to have cake and family presents. I must say that I enjoyed having the kids over and I am eternally grateful to my friend Mary who helped me with the party. I'm also proud of my cake.

It was the first time I ever used fondant and it was a little more difficult than I thought it would be, but it was a success. Sadie loved it and Dallin couldn't keep his hands off it! She had a very happy birthday! We all enjoyed it.

Having it was kind of bittersweet for me. She now spends more time with other people than with me. She is growing up. I love hearing her talk about school and see how much she is learning every day. I do miss her though ( it didn't expect that as much.) There's more happening in our lives, but I'll fill you in later.

Sadie quotes of the day

2008-08-28T14:38:00.000-07:00

Sadie's been on a roll today, and I just wanted to jot down some funny things she's said before I forget.

First, this morning, Carrie and Sadie were getting a package ready to send to Carrie's mom for her birthday. Sadie made her own card for her grandma. Right in the middle of the card was a big heart. When she was finished, she told us that "there's a force field around the heart so that nobody can break the love." Force field? Break the love? Sadie, you're awesome.

Then, Sadie and I were out running errands. She saw an Obama yard sign and recognized it right away. "Obama!" she exclaimed. Then, a few moments later: "well, not the man Obama." I laughed. I guess she didn't want to get my hopes up too much.

After dinner, Carrie was schmoozing me so that I wouldn't mind her going upstairs for a little alone time. I was sitting down and she reached around me and planted one on my lips. Afterward, Sadie remarked that it was a "stay-married-forever kiss."

Yep, that's exactly what it was.

Does anyone else think she's ready for kindergarten next week?

We hiked Mt. Nittany!

2008-08-23T17:56:00.000-07:00

Last night for our date night Carrie and I hiked Mt. Nittany. Yes, that Nittany, as in the Penn State Nittany Lions, the Mount Nittany Medical Center (where Dallin was born), and all the businesses in State College that have the word "Nittany" in their name. And there are a lot of them.

It was actually a pretty tough hike, particularly the first half mile or so which is really steep. Once you get to the top there's about a three mile loop. There are a couple places on the trail where you can see down into State College and we took some pictures.

If you live in State College and go to Penn State, you have to hike Mt. Nittany at some point, right? Anyway, it was a fun date and made us want to find some more hiking places around here.

It's probably kind of hard to see, but Beaver Stadium (where PSU football plays) is in the background, as well as the Bryce Jordan Center (PSU basketball and concerts).

This picture of Carrie is in a different spot. We couldn't figure out what was in the distance.

One of those dumb pictures where you hold the camera yourself.

DVD and Blue-Ray

2008-08-21T09:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a beautiful day with lots of great things that happened. The best being that our friends, the Andersons, came back to State College after a year in Taiwan. Jenny is one of my best friends, Steve gets along really well with Kyle, and Sadie says that Abby is her best friend. We don't find that combo very often. We always have a great time with them and love to talk with them. On the way to go see them yesterday, we had a "Sadie-ism". She was experimenting with her sunglasses. She would put them on and say, "This is DVD," then she would take them off and say, "This is Blue-ray." I didn't understand what she was talking about and so I asked her to explain.

This was her explanation:

"You know DVD and Blue-ray on the movies?"
"Yeah"
"It's brighter with my sunglasses off. . . so it's Blue-ray. It's darker with them on so it's DVD."

I laughed pretty hard. Technology makes its way into our children's vocabulary way more than I ever thought it would.

Concert of the Year!

2008-08-17T08:33:00.000-07:00

We were privileged enough to receive tickets to the hottest concert in the country. She is seriously the next Hannah Montana. We snuck in a camera and got some video of this great singer/guitar player. She even gave us an autograph. . . she's only 4 years old. She would say 4 and 11/12 though. We hope you enjoy the concert as much as we did.

Ladies Man!

2008-08-14T18:15:00.001-07:00

I know that he is young, but it is totally true. He knows when to turn on the charm!! He also always tries to get his way.

Beep! Beep! Get out of my way mom! I'm cute and I know it! Dallin has the greatest facial expressions and body language. His vocal language isn't very great right now, but we always know how he is feeling through his body language. It really is something you have to see to understand. Dallin is also a bit of a bully. Our neighbor has a little boy who is about five months older than Dallin. Let just say that Andrew has a lot of practice saying, "Dallin hit," or "Dallin push." At least he hasn't bit Andrew like he bites Sadie and me. I think the kids who are little terrors are cute for a reason. There have been several times that Steve and I have observed, "It's a good thing he's so cute."

Thank goodness for helmets!

2008-08-14T06:03:00.001-07:00

Mom, if you're reading this, stop right here.

Last night I crashed while on a bike ride. I was going down a fairly steep hill, maybe a little faster than usual, and somehow I lost control. The next thing I knew I was on my side and my helmet visor was dangling. My bike was several feet in front of me. Dirt was rubbed into my shirt sleeve and my forearm pretty well, and my head started to hurt. I did a thorough check of myself, and then more importantly, my bike, and concluded that we were both OK (but I did have to straighten the handlebars). I called my wife to see if she thought I should cut my ride short. I had a headache and a bump, but I didn't feel drowsy, nauseated, or strange at all. I ended up continuing my ride for another half hour or so before coming home. When I got home, the helmet-shaped bruise on my forehead and temple kind of freaked me out.

There's a nice dent in my helmet. I'm just glad I was wearing one. I never thought I'd need it.

Rest and Relaxation

2008-07-28T18:33:00.000-07:00

Sadie really knows how to spend her summer vacation!

After I set up the pool she came in and asked for two cucumber slices.

"Why do you need those?" I asked.
"For REST and RELAXATION!" (She said it in a way that only Sadie can say it though) She can be pretty silly!

I went out and this is what she meant. I think she realizes that once kindergarten starts there won't be any time for this kind of thing. We should all follow her example.

Vacation in Williamsburg

2008-07-21T10:24:00.000-07:00

Last week we vacationed in Williamsburg, VA. I thought I'd share some stories and photos with you all. Also, I'm getting on Carrie's case about blogging a bit more often, so hopefully you'll see more from her soon.

Carrie's parents have a timeshare and they let us use some of their points to book a week in Williamsburg. Our kids absolutely loved staying at the condo. Sadie thought it was awesome that she and Dallin got their own room. We all loved the gigantic whirlpool tub. The place we stayed at had two pools and a mini-golf course, so that kept us busy, too.

I'll be honest, though, doing Colonial Williamsburg was tough. For those that don't know, it's a huge historical site complete with actors in costume, reenactments, shops, demonstrations, and more. It was a really hot, humid, sunny day, and Sadie was grumpy right from the start. We saw as much as we could, but eventually we had to give up and head back to our place for some cooling off (literally and figuratively). But we got in half a day there and enjoyed it for the most part.

I really loved the Colonial Parkway, an incredibly beautiful and scenic road connecting Williamsburg with the historic towns of Jamestown and Yorktown. We rolled down all the windows and just soaked it in. We also stopped to dip our feet in the James River.

The day before we left we went swimming at the Chesapeake Bay on a beach inside a state park. It was tons of fun and probably Sadie's favorite part of our trip. Unfortunately, though, we all got sunburns despite our sincere efforts to keep sunscreen well applied. Mine was the worst. I'm still recovering.

We also got to spend a couple days with our friends Jon and Lauren, who live in Virginia near D.C. and drove down to visit. We enjoyed that and were glad we got to see them. Sadie loved it.

But our kids were definitely excited to get home after a week away. As we were pulling into State College at around 9:30 p.m., Sadie asked "Daddy, are you thinking what I'm thinking!?" Carrie and I looked at each other, puzzled, and I said "I don't know, what are you thinking?" She then burst out "I'm thinking that we're almost home!!" We laughed and I said told her that that's just what I was thinking. When we got home they didn't want to go to bed. Dallin pulled out a toy he hadn't seen for a week and proceeded to play with it like he just might not ever see it again. When we told him it was time to go to bed, he just played harder and started yelling at us if we got too close. It was pretty funny.

Enjoy some pictures!

Sadie and I at Colonial Williamsburg during a reenactment of a confrontation between government leaders right before the Revolutionary War.

I was picked to be on a "jury" for the trial of a Virginia militia man that had made some pro-British comments.

Carrie and the kids in front of a courthouse in Colonial Williamsburg.

Playing in the James River (this one and the next two).

At the Chesapeake Bay Beach (this one and the next 2).

This one is just because.

Kids don't want health care, it turns out

2008-06-19T11:18:00.000-07:00

A hilarious video from the Onion about why kids oppose efforts to ensure that they have adequate health care coverage.

Study Finds Most Children Not In Favor Of Children’s Healthcare

Sadie's First Talk

2008-06-19T06:07:00.000-07:00

Sadie had her first talk in primary on Sunday. We practiced reading it a few times before church. At lunch time she got a case of nerves and said that she didn't want to go to church. She was actually in tears. During sacrament meeting the primary sang for the dads. She didn't like that at all. We were a little worried that she wouldn't be able to do it. She proved us wrong! I stood up with her, but she read almost the entire thing herself. She even remembered the word ancestor and family. She messed up once and just kind of laughed about it. She did such an awesome job. We are definitely proud parents. She's ready for sacrament meeting now!

Sadie's Writing

2008-06-13T14:33:00.000-07:00

UPDATE!! The winner (only two people responded to my challenge . . . I'm disappointed) is Jenny Anderson! She was really close. The correct translation is:

I know that you have been working for me. I love you.

Hey everyone . . . I thought I would have a little competition. Who can decipher Sadie's note the best? I must say, it almost made me cry because it was so sweet. She came down from her room after I had a really hard day. It made me feel good. I'll give the translation in a few days. Have fun!

Sadie

2008-06-12T05:58:00.001-07:00

Sadie is really enjoying summer! She goes outside anytime I will let her . . . even when it is absolutely roasting outside. She loves playing with water and chalk. She especially enjoys practicing her new writing and drawing skills on the sidewalk. She is a great little girl and we have a lot of fun with her. Even when we are really mad at her, she manages to make us laugh (sometimes). The other day I was really upset with her (I don't remember why) She was sent up to her room. She really hates being sent to her room. A little while later she came stomping down with a note in hand. She had written, "I do not lik yuo."

After she had gone back upstairs she called down, "Mom did you like your note?"

"No, I didn't."

"Why?"

"Because it made me sad."

A little while later she came down with another note that said, "I love yuo mommy. Love Sadie."

I must say that I was proud of her even when she didn't like me very much. There were so many positive things from her being sent to her room. She learned a new way to express herself instead of crying and screaming, she wrote a whole note without any help, she showed compassion when I said that the note made me sad . . .

Later that day she wanted to throw the mean note away . . . I kept it. I decided that it's ok if my kids don't like me all the time. As long as they know that I love them, that's all that really matters.

So Sorry!

2008-06-12T05:35:00.001-07:00

First of all, I would like to apologize for my recent lack of blog posts. As you can see, we have been enjoying our summer. We've been going on bike rides, swimming, taking trips to the library, and just having fun. I'll try to update everyone up on what we have been doing. . .

Dallin:
Dallin got tubes put in his ears about 2 weeks ago. He has been a totally different child since then. I don't think we realized how much his ear infections were bothering him. I think he is really going to be a lot like Steve. His mom tells me that when he was little she would take him to the doctor and the doctor would look into his little ears and ask, "Why didn't you bring him in earlier?" She would say, "Well, he hasn't complained about his ears." They would just look at her with an expression of, "Sure, lady!" I know how you felt Julie!

The same kind of thing would happen to me. The only symptoms he would have would be to rub his ears. He wouldn't cry and he would continue sleeping just fine. Sometimes I would just take him to a well-baby visit and they would discover infected ears. So, he has had almost constant ear infections since January.

He laughs all the time now. He rarely screams from frustration (he used to scream all the time) He is also starting to speak a few words. We are still the only one who understands him, but he definitely says mama, dad, bird, ball, banana (it sounds like dada), bye. I think he might say more than that, but we don't really understand him.

Dallin has also figured out how to climb out of his crib. Nobody ever mentions that as a milestone, but it definitely opens up a whole new chapter in our lives.

Biking, exercise, and "living in Earth"

2008-05-16T16:03:00.000-07:00

I posted this over on my blog the other day and I thought I'd post it here, too:

Let's face it. I love graduate school but sitting at a computer for 8 hours a day isn't exactly good for your health. I've gained a lot of weight since I started graduate school and recently I decided I should do something about it. Disc golf and biking are about the only forms of exercise I like. Disc golf is a lot of fun. There's a new 9-hole course here in State College (the only one). It's not a great course, but it's fun.

But biking is what I've really gotten into lately. I prefer to use the term biking since "cycling" makes me think of skinny people on skinny bikes with aerodynamic helmets going like 60 miles per hour. And none of that would apply to me. Anyway, I've been going on rides several times a week. Here are the reasons I enjoy it so much:

1. Like I said, it's about the only kind of exercise I like. And it feels really good. There's a post-exercise buzz you get that's almost euphoric. And I think I've already lost about 10 pounds in just a few weeks, too.

2. I get to wear spandex. I'm joking. I actually did recently get over my fear of wearing bike shorts and bought a pair. The last time I wore spandex I was like 10 years old or something. Anyway, they're extremely comfortable, no matter how dumb I look. (Another plus is that when I use my Camelbak I feel like I have on a stillsuit like the Fremen in Dune wear).

3. Maybe the biggest reason I like to bike is that I get to be outside. And the more I can get away from cars and roads and houses the better. There's a Pennsylvania game land on the edge of town that I absolutely love to ride in. It's absolutely beautiful. The trails are challenging but not too challenging and there's a nice variety of terrain. Once I feel more comfortable riding there, I want to start riding in Rothrock State Forest, which is apparently really challenging. I think I like to mountain bike so much because I can just be in nature. There is something refreshing and healing about it.

We humans are interesting in that most of our technological advances, designed to improve and simplify our lives, tend to remove us from nature more and more. It's almost like we've become aliens on Earth. In some small way, my bike rides make feel connected to nature again, and remind me that I am not an alien on Earth, but part of it.

I recently read a fantastic article in an independent local newspaper here in Central Pennsylvania. The author offers "a new way to think about how we might respond to climate change." He asks:

Do you live on Earth, or in Earth? Though saying that you live on Earth may sound right, the truth is that we all live in Earth. If you doubt this, go out in the afternoon and lie on your back and look up at the sky. In particular, observe the clouds and consider that, at our latitude, Earth is spinning at more than 500 miles per hour to the east. So why aren’t those clouds up there racing across the sky to the west at hundreds of miles per hour?

The answer is that all the stuff up there that we blithely refer to as “atmosphere” is part of Earth. Yes, that’s Earth up there! If you still doubt this, hold your breath! Just as a fish is utterly dependent on water for life, our life medium is the atmosphere.

The upshot of all this, in my view, is that we will not make genuine progress in mitigating climate change until we learn to speak of the atmosphere from the inside, understanding it as the breath of life. In short, what is needed is a reverential ecology— a way of seeing that reminds us that Earth doesn’t belong to us, but rather that we belong to Earth!

Let us substitute hubris with humility, recognizing, as David Abrams points out, that “our breathing bodies are simply our part of the exuberant flesh of Earth.”

So what does this have to do with bike riding? I guess riding in nature reminds me that I live in Earth and not on it.

Don't Lick Your Flip-Flop!

2008-05-07T05:46:00.000-07:00

Last year I read a book, Momfidence, that took a funny look at motherhood. One of the chapters was called, "Don't Jump on the Whale". It basically talked about all the interesting situations you find yourself in when you are working with children all day.

The other day we were driving home from an icecream trip. I turned around and told Sadie to stop licking her flip-flop. I turned back and resumed my conversation with Steve. It took me a few moments to realize what a strange thing I had just said to Sadie. It got me thinking about the book and all the strange situations we get in . So . . . to my many blog readers: What is the strangest thing you have found yourself saying to your children or other children? I would really like to know.

Family update: Oregon, kindergarten, and Obama

2008-04-21T21:24:00.000-07:00

Carrie and the kids have been in Oregon for almost a week and a half now visiting family. I thought I'd fill in during her absence and let everyone know how we're doing.

I think they're having a pretty nice time in Oregon. Visiting family always poses its challenges, though, and I think they're ready to come home. They were able to visit my brother Aaron and his family, who live right across the border in WA. That's nice.

I'm ready for them to come home, too. It's fun for a couple days, but then you realize why you got married in the first place.

We just found out today that Sadie got accepted into the charter school for kindergarten this fall! In case you didn't know, we had been trying to get Sadie into this charter school since the regular schools won't take her because of her birthday being two weeks after school starts. But this charter school takes kids that miss the cutoff if the school feels like the kids are ready. Earlier this month, Sadie spent the day there and they watched her and and all that and then discussed her in their meeting this week. They feel like she's ready.

It's a really small school - just pre-school and kindergarten. And they don't have a bus. But I don't think Carrie minds. She's just happy that Sadie will be in school.

I'm doing alright. The semester is almost ready and I'm supposed to turn in a paper in a couple weeks for a class. It's not going well. Also, I don't get to work on my master's thesis nearly as much as I should. But I plan to finish it over the summer.

Today is the big primary election. I will vote for Obama, much to the chagrin of my dad and brothers, though they still haven't told me any good reason why I shouldn't (I've asked for specifics several times). I think he's the man. He needs to be the next President.

Carrie will be home on Wednesday and she can tell you all about Oregon and everything. Complete with pictures, I'm sure.

Peace.

New Feature!

2008-04-08T19:05:00.000-07:00

I have new feature on my blog . . . if you go clear to the bottom of the page, you will see a map of where people live who look at my blog. It should be interesting!!!

Easter!

2008-03-23T20:11:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter Everyone! We had fun hunting for easter eggs in some snow. I got some cute pictures. I hope you enjoy my cuties!

Who knew that such a beautiful girl could come from our genes? I certainly didn't.

Redemption

2008-03-22T18:08:00.000-07:00

I just have to show the world that I also look like Julia Stiles . . . much prettier than Mike Myers!

MyHeritage: Celebrity Morph - Family tree search - Blank family tree

Carrie is Mike Myers!!

2008-03-22T18:03:00.000-07:00

MyHeritage: Celebrity Morph - Family sites - Free family tree

Celebrities Carrie looks like . . . sort of

2008-03-22T17:57:00.000-07:00

Let's settle it again!

2008-03-22T13:31:00.001-07:00

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family tree chart - Geneology search

Let's settle it!

2008-03-22T13:23:00.000-07:00

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebs - Collage - Morph

Celebrities I look like (sort of)

2008-03-22T12:58:00.000-07:00

OK. I think the glasses make me look like some celebrities more than I would without them. Same for the dark hair.

I understand everybody but Jude Law. That makes no sense.

Chester Bennington is a musician. I didn't know who was until right now when I looked him up. Gael Garcia Bernal is a Mexican-born actor. He was in Y Tu Mama Tambien, Babel, and The Science of Sleep, among others. And, of course, Philip Seymour Hoffman is a very good American actor.

Study Time

2008-03-21T03:31:00.000-07:00

Ever since Dallin was born, we have really tried to keep Steve on a 9-5 schedule. Recently we were reminded why. For some reason, it's hard for Steve to concentrate when he tries to study at home (we don't have an extra room to make into a study). Here's a video of our two monkeydoodles trying to help Daddy study. Not shown is the beautiful wife continuously asking him to do stuff or talking about random things. I don't think that we will try this arrangement any time soon.

"We'd have to go to Mars or something"

2008-03-15T11:09:00.000-07:00

Sadie and I were out running errands when we started talking about diapers for some reason. I asked her whether she knew why we use cloth diapers. I explained the environmental benefits and the money-saving benefits, too. I thought I'd take the chance to talk with her about why it's important to take care of the planet. She said a lot of really smart things about not wasting things and so on. I was impressed. I reminded her of The Lorax and what lessons we can learn from that, too. Anyway, at the end I asked her what it would be like if we didn't take care of the planet and she said it wouldn't be a very nice place to live. I agreed, and then she said "Yeah, we'd have to go to Mars or something." Hilarious.

A bit later I asked her how she learned about Mars. I guess just this morning on Mickey Mouse Playhouse Goofy went to Mars. It was fresh on her mind, I guess.

Pictures

2008-03-06T19:21:00.000-08:00

I realized that I haven't been posting very many pictures of the stars of my blog. So I decided that every one needs to know what REALLY goes on in the Merino household. This picture shows why we call them monkeydoodles. These guys do this kind of thing for fun. They love to make messes for their mommy to clean up. Luckily, the mess was contained in out tiny bathroom. But still, if I ever wonder why I can't keep my house clean, I just look at this picture . . . or I can just go to whatever room they are in at the moment.

This is Sadie posing. I was taking a picture of Dallin and she thought "Her Royal Cuteness" needed some documentation of just how beautiful she is. She has watched some reruns of Top Model with me and has picked up some new skills. Yesterday, she told me that she just found out that she gets to keep modeling. I wouldn't cut her after this kind of photo shoot.

Sadie's the diva, and Dallin is busy working. Every time the vacuum is out, he has to be in the middle of it. He loves to try to help us vacuum. Try is the key word. It takes us twice as long to get anything done when he is involved, but I'm not one to stifle anyone's willingness to help. I think Dallin is responsible for about 75 percent of the messes in our home. The figure might be a little inflated because I think Sadie helps Dallin make a few of his messes. (Steve is responsible for the other 25 percent, but don't tell him I said that :)

Growing Up

2008-03-01T04:00:00.000-08:00

Sadie has always been interested in anatomy. We decided from the very beginning to be very open and honest with her questions. For awhile it was blood and bones. Then it was her brain. Right now it's boobs. She has asked when mine will go away because I don't have milk anymore. She has asked why she only has nipples. I explained that girls get larger breasts when they get older and they always keep them even when they aren't nursing. Well recently, I had a conversation with her on the very subject that just made me (and Steve) laugh out loud. I thought I would share it with everyone.

She was looking at a picture of a young girl with whom she was pretty impressed (it was the girl who is in the movie Spiderwick Chronicles) Our conversation goes as follows:

"Mommy, why does this little girl have boobs?"

"Well, she's not a really little girl. She doesn't have all of her boobs because . . ."

(In a condescending tone) "Mom, we only get two boobs."

Boy she told me . . . after my chuckle, I explained to her what I meant and that girls breasts begin to grow when they are about 11 years old. And that she looks young, but she is probably around 13 and her breasts are beginning to grow.

It's all just a matter of time before she starts asking the REALLY big questions. I let you know how THAT conversation goes.

We're a lot alike!

2008-02-27T18:20:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I have blogged. Not a whole lot has happened . . . we are just waiting for winter to be over. Sadie did say some things recently that were definitely blog worthy. The other day we were in Target waiting for a prescription to be filled and I suggested that we go to look at some aisle (I think it was the aisle with hair clips) She replied, "I was just thinking that mom, you and I are a lot alike." What a cutie. She has been very observant of the things around her.

Recently we gave Sadie the chore of folding diapers. We were working together and she was amazed at how fast the pile of folded diaper grew (I wasn't really doing much) She commented, "Wow, this pile is getting so big. Mom, you and I work together really well."

We have been having a hard time with Sadie lately, but we recently started a new reward program. We have been rewarding good behavior and providing a new consequence to throwing fits and yelling at us. Every time she throws a fit or yells at us, she loses a "flower" At the end of the day she gets to move up on her chart. We started this mostly so that Sadie can see how she is doing throughout the day. We also noticed that we were punishing her by yelling at her and we didn't want to do that anymore. I can't say that it had been a miracle, because we have really had to work hard with her, but she made it to the top of her chart! I asked her what she wanted because she didn't like my idea. She wants a party. So, we will be having a party soon! I am really proud of her! She has been working really hard and hopefully it will continue.

Lookin' for trouble

2008-02-05T06:54:00.000-08:00

This morning while I was taking a shower, I felt something touch my leg. I turned and looked and saw Dallin pulling the curtain open. He really loves the shower! I had forgotten to close the door before getting in the shower. Oops.

A bit later I got an account of what happened downstairs while I was in the shower. As Dallin made his way upstairs to surprise me, Sadie said, "Mom, Dallin's looking for trouble!" As Carrie surveyed the mess of pots and pans he'd pulled from the cupboards, Carrie replied, "Yep, he leaves a trail of destruction where ever he goes!" "Is it a slobber trail?" Sadie asked.

A bit later, we were all downstairs when Dallin pulled the safety gate out of its storage place to play with it in the middle of the family room. Sadie asked, "Is that part of the 'kerstruction' trail?"

Cloth Diapers

2008-02-04T16:20:00.000-08:00

I have had several people ask how I do cloth diapers, so I thought I would post about it and have it out there for all of cyberspace to view. We started cloth diapers with Dallin when he was about six months. My neighbor helped me to see that cloth diapers are not as daunting as it may first seem. She actually has a blog about cloth diapering. She is very helpful to anyone who is interested.

There is a whole world of cloth diapering that I am not really a part of. Even though I have picked up a little of the jargon, I'm not going to go into all the possibilities. If you want to know more, just ask me. The two main motivations for cloth diapering were environmental and economical. You can spend as much or as little as you want on diapers. We decided to go with the most economical which was prefold diapers (they are the ones that are often used for burp cloths.) I learned that you can't just go to Wal-Mart and buy the packages of diapers there because the centers are made with synthetic fibers instead of cotton. So we ordered 2 dozen prefolds from Montana Diaper Store. We also ordered a diaper cover (Mary, my neighbor made a couple more for me). I have tried some fitted diapers and pocket diapers, but I have found that I just like the simple prefolds and doublers the best. (Doublers are extra padding that is put in the middle so I don't have to change him quite as often.)

We keep the dirty diapers in a diaper pail (I rinse the poopy ones in the toilet) and I wash them every other day. I soak them in cold water over night and rinse them in the morning. Then I do a hot wash with only a tiny bit of soap (you need to use the simplest type of soap with no additives) We use the stuff from Sam's Club. After the hot wash I have recently started to add another short warm rinse. All of this is done as a large wash so that there is plenty of water to rinse everything and to prevent pilling. Then I just dry them.

As far as covers go, my favorite are the wool covers because I don't have to wash them nearly as often as others. When I do wash them, they have to be treated with lanolin. (I am still amazed that the wool covers actually are water proof!) The one shown in the picture happens to be a wool cover that my Mary made for me. The other covers I have are Bummis Whisper Wraps.

Recently I had to start adding doublers to the diapers because Dallin was a heavier wetter. I made these out of six layers of old flannel receiving blankets. They work wonderfully! I felt very economical and environmentally friendly when I made those.

The only other problem that I have encountered is the build up of ammonia (old pee eventually turns to ammonia, especially when the kids are older) I found the best solution was to soak them in OxyClean overnight and then wash them like normal. That also takes care of any stains that happen to be there.

It might sound like a lot of work, but it's just a couple extra loads of laundry per week. We estimate that we've saved about $200 in the last year by doing cloth diapers instead of disposable, not to mention the environmental benefits.

Sorry this is such a long post. Hopefully I have encouraged people to take a stab at cloth diapering. If you are interested in cloth diapering, I would recommend having someone navigate you through the world of diapering, because I can tell you that it can be quite daunting if you do it yourself.

He's miserable!

2008-01-20T14:15:00.001-08:00

The last few days have been miserable for Monkeydoodle 2. We took him to the doctor due to a fever and found that he had a double ear infection. That night I checked his mouth and found 3 molars coming in. This morning I discovered a 4th molar making its debut. He has been a slobbery, whiny, tired little guy and I wanted to capture it on camera so everyone would feel for not only Dallin, but for the rest of the family. This was the picture I got. He really is a little stinker, he won't even look miserable when I want him to.

Are you going to make a sign?

2008-01-11T07:27:00.000-08:00

The other day when we were running some errands Sadie fell inside the car as she was trying to get out. We looked at each other and laughed. She then asked if I was going to make a sign about it. I couldn't quite figure out what she meant, so I asked, "Do you mean am I going to blog about it?" She confirmed that's what she meant. I told her that falling wasn't quite blog-worthy. Then Steve interjected that asking if I was going to blog about it was blog-worthy. Oh, a new generations with new words like "blog"

I'm done!

2008-01-07T18:31:00.000-08:00

I finally finished Dallin's birth record. I started it shortly after Dallin was born. I'm quite proud of it. Towards the end of a project I tend to get obsessed with finishing it. One night I stayed up until 4:30 am. Steve was very understanding and let me take a nap the next day. (I have such a great hubby!) So here it is. It isn't framed yet, but it will be soon and it will go up on the wall right next to Sadie's.

Shots!

2007-12-29T19:29:00.000-08:00

We recently had to go to the doctor to get flu shots. Sadie was ready to be brave, but she sort of chickened out at the end. Dallin did great probably because he didn't know what was coming (it's also a lot better than the last appointment where he had to have SIX shots)

Christmas at the Merinos!

2007-12-29T19:01:00.000-08:00

As our children get older, we are starting more and more traditions in our home. Making and decorating sugar cookies is a keeper. This was the first year that Sadie really got into it. She rolled them out and cut the shapes (with the help of Dad) and she decorated them. We asked her if she was having fun and she said, "Yeah, it's like an activity." I must say that I was impressed with her skills at decorating. I think that we have a little artist in our
hands.

Another tradition that we have continued is from Steve's family. That is the tradition of a Mexican meal on Christmas eve. Previous Christmas's usually included tamales that we bought from wherever they are available. But as many of you know, there is a sorry lack of Mexican food in State College. So, this year we decided to make it ourselves. I made the tortillas and Steve made the refried beans, red chili sauce and Mexican rice. We worked together to achieve the impossible . . . TAMALES!
It was really yummy and worth all the work because we had leftovers for about 3 days!

Another silly tradition is matching pajamas. My mom started it last year when she sent them some matching Christmas pajamas. I decided to do it again. I just think it's really cute. Don't you agree?

Thanks to everyone who sent us gifts and sent their love. We had a wonderful Christmas! Here are some pictures of Christmas morning.

(As you can see, it's mostly Sadie opening presents!)

He Walks!

2007-12-29T18:42:00.000-08:00

I'll let the video speak for itself!

Dallin's first word?

2007-12-17T14:06:00.000-08:00

The other day we were all sitting around in the family room. Dallin was messing with the DVD player or TV or something, and as I sometimes do when he gets into something he shouldn't, I said "Älä!" "Älä" means "don't" in Finnish (and the "ä" is pronounced like the vowel in the word "black"). Anyway, we all swear that right after I said it, he said it, too. It really sounded like it. We laughed long and hard. He felt pretty cool after that. Anyway, he's getting old enough to mimic us when we make sounds, so he really could have.

Was "Älä!" Dallin's first word? Hmm. Looks like we've got a budding polyglot on our hands.

Dallin

2007-12-08T20:29:00.001-08:00

As I was snuggling Dallin (he is quite the snuggler) The thought occurred to me that he is going to grow up. Just a few months ago, he was a teeny-tiny baby. He is getting so big. If he was walking I would be calling him a toddler. I love this age. His little personality is really starting to show itself. He loves going up and down the stairs. He loves to be chased. He likes to snuggle everyone in the family. Today, Sadie was crying and he came over and wanted to be picked up. I thought he was just getting jealous but after I picked him up he just leaned over and snuggled and kissed (or slimed) her. It helped her feel better. His curly hair and his cute mischievous look on his face is enough to melt any mother's heart. I am so lucky to be the mother of these two extraordinary children.

Losing Weight

2007-12-07T20:19:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally have reached a point where I am willing to do the hard work required to lose all that baby weight (I gained 40 lbs). So the 40 lbs plus my basic overweightness means that I am needing to do a LOT of hard work. I was discussing this with Steve the other day when Sadie joined us in our room. She seemed curious, so we included her in the conversation. We told her that mommy and daddy were going to start working hard to lose weight and being healthier. We then asked her how she felt about it. She got really excited and started dancing a little (she's always dancing or jumping or running) Then she said, "oh, goody, then you'll be like a mermaid." (Maybe she thinks I look like Ursula . . .you know, the really fat octopus) We informed her of the tragic truth -- mommy will NEVER look like Ariel.

Then on Monday, my first day of excercise, we were coming out of the YMCA and Sadie stated, "I thought you were going to lose weight." Yes, Sadie, so did I. I wish it were that easy. So far my efforts have been going well. I'll definitely need everyone's support, but I am feeling really good.

Dallin's First Year

2007-12-04T07:13:00.001-08:00

I made this slideshow of Dallin's first year and am finally getting to posting it.

O Christmas Tree

2007-12-03T19:14:00.001-08:00

We got our Christmas tree on Saturday! Sadie really loved decorating it. For those who have visited our apartment, the need for a small tree is very apparent. This year, we opted to place it up in our window seat to keep it away from Dallin. It is a cute tree, but people were laughing at us as we bought the tree. We were surrounded by people buying trees at least 6 feet tall. They had to be bound up and tied to the top of their cars. Ours slid right through the binder and it fit in our trunk. I still like it though. Sadie has taken to turning off all the lights and singing in front of the tree.

Dallin's Birthday!

2007-11-25T18:05:00.001-08:00

Well, Dallin turned the big 0-1! (Happy Birthday to Dave too!) For those who don't know, Dallin shares a birthday with his uncle. We decided to celebrate with a few friends. We reserved a room in our community center because our apartment is much too small even to have a couple of people come. I made soup, bread and cake. We invited our neighbors the Lees and the Halversons. We had fun. Dallin liked his cake. He really liked having so many people to play with.

Mary Poppins

2007-11-18T10:05:00.001-08:00

Last night, in an effort to get Sadie excited about cleaning her room, I suggested that we pretend we were cleaning her room by magic like in Mary Poppins. One minute she was grumpy and refusing to do anything, the next she was a perfectly behaved and willing participant. We proceeded to snap our fingers and "magically" clean her room. She was Jane; I was Mary Poppins; Dallin was Micheal; Steve was Bert. Steve thought we were nutty as I sang "Spoonful of Sugar" and tried to stay in character. Sadie loved it. We had the room clean in about 5 minutes, but she stayed in character the rest of the night. Anytime we called her Sadie she quickly corrected us with, "No, I'm Jane." It was really cute until 5 am I was awakened with a poke on the head . . . "Mary Poppins, I can't sleep."

Jane eventually went to sleep and now she is back to being Sadie. I am just amazed at how well a little play works to achieve some quick work.

2007-11-03T07:32:00.001-07:00

Who is who?

There are some clues that can tell you which child is which, but you can definitely tell that they are related! When people ask me who Dallin looks like, I tell them, "His sister!" I know that's not what they are looking for, but it's the truth. I guess that Steve and I just have a good mix of genes.

Puppy Dog!

2007-11-01T17:06:00.001-07:00

We did it.
We broke the rules.
We got a puppy, and he is cute.

Dallin has discovered the easiest way to carry things around. He uses his mouth. He carries just about anything this new way. But this is his favorite. He makes us laugh every single day.
We will have to get some videos of his new tricks, but just so you know, he loves to do "Patty-cake" and "Open Shut Them". He also knows how to shake his head "no" (he does it a lot when he is tired).

Halloween on the 30th?

2007-10-30T19:34:00.001-07:00

As you may know, we live in Penn State's family housing. And, apparently, they decide when Halloween is. For some strange reason, housing decided to celebrate Halloween today, the 30th, and not tomorrow. I emailed some staff members about it and they told me it was to avoid schedule conflicts for some of the staff members and to allow residents to participate in other local events tomorrow on Halloween. Weird. Anyway, there was a little parade around family housing for the kiddies, some games and food at the community center, and trick-or-treating. Below are some pictures.

Carrie made Sadie's dress. It's absolutely beautiful. Carrie did an awesome job. Sadie loves the dress. Dallin wore the Tigger costume that Sadie wore when she was younger. Cute.

Yes, I'm wearing a kilt! Isn't it awesome? I've been reading a lot about kilts and traditional Scottish dress. It's really interesting. Apparently, the pattern on my kilt is not a real tartan. Tartans are official patterns that represent families, regions, organizations, and so on. There are even tartans for U.S. states and branches of our military. Most tartans have some combination of red, green, and blue. Not all, but most. So mine is neither an official tartan nor a particularly traditional color scheme. The closest thing I could find is the Fort William District Tartan. I don't know why I'm so into this stuff. I love traditional Scottish music, and, of course, the bagpipes. I will always have a special place in my heart for Mexican music, food, and culture because of my dad. It's important to me and will be part of my life. But maybe because I'm adopted I feel like I have the ability to choose a bit of my own culture and traditions. And for me I think it's Scotland.

Renaissance Faire 2

2007-10-24T11:15:00.000-07:00

This last weekend I took Sadie to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire again. A while back I talked about our first trip to the Faire. We planned to go as a family but Dallin was sick so I just took Sadie and Carrie stayed home with the sickie. I tried to sell our remaining ticket but had no luck, so we had another go at it. Interestingly, Dallin was sick again, so there was no chance of taking them again. Plus, next weekend is the last weekend and I didn't want to miss the Penn State-Ohio State game.

If you're wondering about the fairness of Carrie staying home both times while I took Sadie, you'd certainly have a valid point. Part of it must be that Carrie is about 10 times better than me at taking care of sick babies, and the other part would probably be that I am a much bigger fan of Renaissance festivals in general than Carrie is. I went often as a kid and they definitely have a special place in my heart.

Anyway, we had a lot of fun. Sadie was very excited to see the same comedy-acrobat act we saw last time. Their name is Barely Balanced. Sadie was particularly fond of the woman in the act. We saw her a while after their show and had the chance to talk to her and take a picture with her.

All Sadie wanted to do was go on rides, but they were all really short and cost extra money, so it was a constant battle. I let her go on a few, but that wasn't enough for her. I did her to go to a couple shows aimed at kids, which she really did enjoy. We saw a music-comedy group called the Tartan Terrors. It's a Celtic music/comedy act from Canada. They were incredible. I bought a CD.

But the most exciting thing about the day was my purchase of a kilt. Yes, a kilt. I don't expect anyone to understand. It's just how it is. I have wanted a kilt for several years. I'm a lover of all things Scottish (or Irish for that matter). I've made a sacred promise to myself that I will learn to play the bagpipe at some point, and that we will visit Scotland. I thought a kilt would make an awesome Halloween costume, Renaissance festival costume, and something incredibly awesome to have. I promise to get pictures up on our blog of me in the kilt. Just promise to respect the kilt. That's all the inner Scotsman in me asks.

We did think of momma, though, in case you were wondering. We brought her home some wonderful-smelling hand-made soaps. She thought that was cool. Here are a couple pictures from the day.

We've been busy!

2007-10-23T11:04:00.000-07:00

I thought Julie would like this picture. It's the Red Cross Headquarters in Washington DC. Dallin and I took Jessica (my best friend) to DC for her conference. She flew into Harrisburg a few days early so that we could spend a few days together. We didn't do a whole lot in State College, but it was nice to have her here. There's always something good about having someone who has stuck with you through everything. It was almost like having another member of the family. She was great with my kids (Aunt Jess). She even pitched in with bedtime and when we had to babysit. She helped me with dinner and with the dishes. I wonder if she will ever come back because I really put her to work. Thanks for everything Jess!

This is me and Dallin. We didn't get any good pictures of the whole group, but we met up with Jon and Lauren Funk. They took us all out to lunch. I can't remember where it was. But it was really nice if somewhat slow. We visited a bunch of memorials. There was A LOT of walking. We were all tired by the end of the day. I can't believe I did all that when I was 8 months pregnant. (We spend 2 days in DC last October). Dallin was great the entire day. I think he only cried when I changed his diaper. He never really took a nap but he was still a very happy baby. It was nice to have 3 other people take care of him for the day.

Like the title says, we have been busy. Here is a picture of us at the Apple Festival. The cool thing about this picture is that we are standing by my own booth! There is a local fruit farm (Way Fruit Farm) that has a little festival every year. I decided about three months ago that I could try to sell some of the stuff that I make. The first week I was in DC and not much of my stuff sold. But the second week I sold a lot of stuff. It was a lot of fun. I broke even on all my supplies and paying for the booth, but it was still worth it because I had fun making the stuff and being there. Here are some close ups of my favorites:

I also made hats and scarves, baby blankets, washclothes, snowflake ornaments. If anyone wants to commission some of this stuff . . .I'm willing and able.

Now, Dallin is sick and demanding attention. Steve took Sadie to the Renaissance Festival this last weekend but he wants to blog about that.

"I won't! I'm four!"

2007-10-13T18:01:00.000-07:00

Carrie went to DC today to take her friend Jessica there for a conference. She took Dallin, too. I spent the whole day at home with Sadie. We watched a lot of college football, ordered pizza, played with Legos, and went to the playground a couple times. It was great. I really love spending time with her. I absolutely adore Sadie.

When we were at the playground, at one point she called out to me to look at what she was doing, hoping that I'd be proud of her. I had a different assessment of the situation. I thought that her climbing on top of a metal railing on the play structure had the potential to lead to physical harm. At any rate, I said "Sadie, don't do that. You'll get hurt" to which she promptly replied "I won't! I'm four!" as if just by virtue of being four years old she was suddenly immune to injury and accident.

I then had an image of us having a conservation late some night in about twelve years. I'll offer some warning or express some concern over her teenage behavior and she'll say "I won't! I'm sixteen!" Great.

"I'm not your stuffed animal"

2007-10-05T10:29:00.000-07:00

Sadie is generally very affectionate with me, and doesn't mind me swooping her up in a big hug or giving her a barrage of kisses. She's generally attached to me at the hip for a good twenty minutes when I get home every day (unless, of course, she's busy playing outside with friends - then I just get a token "hi"). That's why something she said the other day was just hilarious.

We were sitting around in our bedroom and I grabbed her to hug her and she said "Daddy, I'm not your stuffed animal!" Carrie and I just laughed and laughed. Actually, I thought it was pretty cool. Sadie is a bit of a feminist, I suppose. Anyway, there were no lasting effects on our relationship. She's just as loving and affectionate as ever. But it was cool to see her stand her ground. She'll need it when she's a bit older, eh?

Tic-Tac-Toe

2007-10-02T19:01:00.001-07:00

Today I was watching Sadie play outside with some neighborhood kids. They were playing with sidewalk chalk. And I think at some point Sadie learned to play tic-tac-toe. Some of the kids left, so it was down to Sadie and one other girl who is 5. Sadie drew a tic-tac-toe game and asked her if she would play with her. The girl ignored her. Sadie asked again. More ignoring. I was getting a little annoyed with the girl, but decided not to intervene . . . maybe she just doesn't want to play. I think Sadie kind of gave up at this point, but then a little boy was riding by on his bike and the little girl asked him, "Do you want to play with me?" He did. Then this girl asked, "Do you want to play tic-tac-toe?" I couldn't believe it. Here she was ignoring my sweet little girl, but she will play with someone else.

These kids began to play and Sadie tried to join. Here's what I could hear:
"Could I play?"
No response.
"Hey, can I play?"
Still no response.
"Your not letting me play" (she had been waiting her turn)
"This for two people"
"I really want to play"
The kids run off.

I offered to play with Sadie, but the damage had been done. I don't understand how kids who are this young can me so mean. This is the weird thing: Sadie and this girl had a lot of fun together at the beginning of the summer, so I don't understand why she is just totally being mean now. I wanted to go and MAKE that girl play with my daughter and like it. She has no right to ignore my sweet angel, especially when she was being so mature about asking to play.

Anyway, Sadie and I played for awhile, but it ended up as an enormous fit with pee all over our carpet. Why are girls so emotional?

Bike Rider Extraordinaire

2007-09-30T16:15:00.000-07:00

One of the great things about living in family housing here at Penn State is that we have a court yard where kids can play. We happen to have a little bicycle gang that rides around. Two days ago Sadie asked me to take off her training wheels. I wasn't really sure that she was ready, but she was insistent. So, I took them off. After only about 5 minutes, she was riding short distances on her own. After 10-15 minutes, she was riding all the way around the court yard. After about 30 minutes, she was even getting started by herself. She never ceases to amaze me! She tends to know when she is ready for something. She is usually right.

4

2007-09-29T07:10:00.001-07:00

Sadie is four now! She is actually 4 years, 2 weeks, 1 day old! We were a little slacking on posting a blog. We weren't planning on having a party, but after Sadie invited her entire primary class to her party, we decided to throw her a small party with a few family friends. Sadie wanted a "World" cake, so I did my best. It wasn't the best cake that I had made, but it still tasted really yummy! Here is a close up!

All in all, Sadie had a lot of fun with people giving her some really thoughtful and homemade gifts. Her friend Grace, gave her a beaded necklace that she made. My friend, Mary, made her a knitted hair kerchief and a homemade wand. She also received a tiara (I think people are getting the message that she likes princesses) and a princess doll. We gave her a stuffed cat and the game Hullaballoo. She loves all the presents and she is still very excited that she is 4.

Potty Pooper

2007-09-23T17:44:00.000-07:00

Yeah!!! Sadie is finally a potty pooper. Nope, not a "party-pooper" She is a potty-pooper. The Merino household is very happy. For those of you who don't know our long saga of pooping on the potty, it's probably better that I don't get into it. Let me just say that it has been a year and a half of struggle and frustration. Our cutie pie just refused to poop on the toilet. She was completely trained and would ask for a diaper when she needed to poop. So that was ok, but we were getting really tired of it. Sometimes we would try the "take-away-the-diaper" approach. She would hold it for 3-4 days and be in agony. So, how did we do it?

First, we have been counting down to Sadie's 4th birthday (it was on the 14th) We told her that she would have to start cleaning her diapers -- we have cloth diapers. She would insist that she wouldn't have to because she would go on the potty when she was 4. We definitely had our doubts, but we tried to remain positive. So, on her birthday she asked for a diaper. I reminded her of our deal. I told her that she still had a choice. I was willing to put a diaper on her, but she would have to clean it up. Her choice was to go on the potty or in a diaper, but she would have to clean the diaper. She really didn't want to do that. So she tried the potty. It didn't work. That night she pooped in her pull-up right before she fell asleep and I had to wake her up to change the diaper. Here we go again. Our hopes of peaceful conversion were dashed. I stuck to my guns though. I reminded her of her choice. She usually chose to hold it.

A couple of days went by and I realized that we needed some more powerful incentive. We went to Wal-mart and she got to choose a doll that she would get once she pooped on the potty 5 times. (We tried the incentive before but never actually bought the toy) She chose an Ariel doll. We bought it and we took it home. We also bought some Yo-gos for a treat after every time she went poop. (She has been asking for yo-gos ever since Jon and Lauren Funk introduced them to her last October).

Now we are at home she tried once but it didn't work. A little while later she really wanted to open the Ariel doll. I told her that she could hold the box while she pooped. She said ok and did it. I think actually having the doll and holding it made it possible for her to do this thing that was really hard for her. She was very proud of herself and told everyone in the courtyard that she pooped on the potty.

So to end the story, Sadie continued to poop on the potty and earned her doll. She has gained a new sense of confidence since this success. She used to always need me to be with her when she did anything potty related, but now she does everything herself. She acts like a big girl now in other situations too. She is proud of herself and she sees how proud we are of her. You know . . . I'm really happy that I don't have to clean up poop anymore, but I'm more happy about her success in working toward a goal. I see something new in her eyes and it really makes me happy.

I hope you enjoyed my play by play account of our bathroom adventures. If you would like to know more about all the things we tried, let me know. If not, I hope you were amused and maybe appalled. I never thought I could be so proud of someone pooping, but I have the proud parent syndrome really bad. We have awesome kids!

Loopty-Loop

2007-09-15T15:51:00.001-07:00

While my brother, George, was visiting, he broke his arm. I had to take him to the emergency room. He wanted me to document the occasion . . . I finally got the movie done. Enjoy.

I love the Future

2007-09-15T13:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I walked with the kids to the library. On the way, Sadie asked why God made trees. I started off with the easy answer, "Because they are so beautiful" then I remembered . . . I have a degree in biology, I can give her a real answer. So we talked for a few minutes about all the things that trees do for our world. Then, because she was wearing a shirt that said "Hug a tree" she decided that she wanted to hug a tree (but it had to be big enough) I really wish that I had a camera with me, but alas. I'm quite proud of my little tree hugger. Who knows, maybe she will be a world famous (or perhaps infamous) environmentalist.

Five minutes after hugging the tree, she said to me, "Mommy, I love the future." There are so many times when she just pulls something out of nowhere. As I was trying to figure out where she got that statement, I realized that she meant nature. So we had a discussion about the difference between nature and future. The rest of the walk she would ask, "Mommy, why do you love the nature?" Or she would say, "I love the nature."

I really hope that she loves nature as much as I do. She certainly loves exploring and loves hikes. She even asked if we could go camping one more time.