Merry Christmas!

In an attempt to spread holiday cheer, embrace technology, and get out of trekking through the snow and freezing temperatures to the post office, please accept this as our holiday greeting, sent right to your door. :)

Another wonderful year has gone by and we are still blessed with great family and friends, thanks for your love and friendship.

Wishing you the very best, Brian, Chelsea, and Ethan Cheney

Wicked Disappointed

As soon as I heard in August that the musical Wicked was going to Salt Lake in April, I called up my mom, sisters, and sisters-in-law and started planning our first annual "Girls Weekend." The musical was of course, going to be the highlight of the weekend, since I'm the only one who has seen it and everyone else has been wanting to see it.
In anticipation, I counted down the days until the tickets would go on sale: December 12 (yesterday). We picked our top day to see it, had a few others in mind just in case, sent my brother-in-law to the SLC theater to try to get tickets.
After being 3 blocks back in line at 7 am, he was told that from a certain point ahead of him and back, would not get tickets before 10, when online ticket sales started.
So, I started trying to get on the website almost an hour early. Unfortunately for almost 2 hours of constantly pushing the "try again" button on the website page because the website was clogged with high demand, I never even got through the second page to get tickets. Plus, calling the theater over 100 times, only to get a busy signal, AND having my mom and sisters calling or working on getting through the website STILL did not work. Within 2 1/2 hours, a message popped up saying it was SOLD OUT!!
So sad. We all had our hopes up, and planned it months ago, and still had no chance of getting tickets. I am blaming it on the scalpers that got early tickets through a season ticket holder offer, and took most the tickets before anyone else had a chance. How in the world are you supposed to get tickets without having to buy from the scalping websites for triple the price if you never can get on to the official website?
Of course, having the cold flu at the same time (yes, I did have a flu shot a few months ago), made yesterday one of those bad days. With chills, sweats, body aches, skin sensitivity, a cough, fever, and stuffy nose, I couldn't even function enough to be able to take care of Ethan after a few hours. I called Brian up to come home from studying for his finals (he's almost panicked to be ready for his 3 next week), and to take care of Ethan.
On the good side, my husband is so sweet and loving, putting his family first to come take care of his bedridden wife and fussy child. What a sweetheart! He is so wonderful to me.
Also on the good side, I am feeling well enough today to manage to care for me and Ethan. Whoopie! I hope no one else gets that bug, it's nasty.

H.E.M. at Last

Ever since I started dating Brian 5 years ago, he has teased me about being a H.E.M. (his term of endearment to his Home Ec Major). At any mistake or hesitation to want to do something, he says, "Oh, come on, you're a H.E.M, of course you can do it", whether it be cooking a gourmet food, sewing a masterpiece something, being a perfect mom, or whatever else these "HEMs" are supposed to be experts at. Of course, this is all in good fun, since I often burn food, have to unpick half my sewing project, or just have no clue how to mother this cute little rascal. But I have to say, I have truly failed in one area: Baking the famed "Cheney Rolls."
Brian's mom is Amazing at cooking her rolls. I can hardly stop myself from eating a whole pan when she makes them. I have been convinced since we've been married that to truly be initiated in as a Cheney, I need to be able to make these Cheney Rolls.

Attempt #1: Failure. Two years ago I tried, and well, let's just say, we didn't end up eating them.

Attempt #2: Failure. Unfortunately, this was at last week's Thanksgiving meal (I know, my previous failure scared me away for 2 whole years from trying again). In a sincere effort to let Mom Cheney rest instead of making rolls, my SIL Lizz and I tried to make the rolls. Not a good idea. They came out of the oven 2 minutes before our Thanksgiving feast started, flat as a biscuit and with blackened bottoms.

In speaking with other Cheney family members about this, and hearing that every other person who has tried to recreate these masterpieces, has utterly failed too, we decided that these aren't actually Cheney Rolls, these are Eileen Rolls since no one else can achieve that greatness.

My sweet, loving, and oh-so-supportive husband, then sat me down and said, "Chelsea, I know you are a H.E.M, but you can't make these rolls. You have failed twice. You are not allowed to try again."
"Excuse me?!" I replied, "You can't demand that I never try again."
"Well, you've tried, and you can't do it. So don't even try ever again."
"Hmmph." I answered, with a "yeah, we'll see about that" in my head.

Yesterday, in direct defiance of my hubby, I tried again. And....
It worked! My rolls turned out almost perfect, only stunted in their baking by me having to take them out before they were golden brown, because Brian called and needed a ride home.

So, I guess that means they weren't as perfect as Eileen rolls, but I can say I know how to make Cheney Rolls!
And by the way, Brian really isn't a bully or demanding, but I did fall for his reverse psychology. Darn it, I always fall for that. :) Brian's excited I can make them now.

In case you would like to be a Cheney too, here's the recipe. I think we can honorary adopt anyone in who also can make the rolls.

Cheney Rolls

1 c. milk
1/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/4 c. margarine
1/4 c. water
3 1/2 c. flour
1 egg
1 Tbsp. quick rising yeast
Heat milk, sugar, salt, margarine, and water in saucepan until butter melts. Pour into large mixing bowl and add 1 1/2 c. flour, egg, and yeast. Mix for 3 minutes with a hand mixer. Gradually add about 2 more cups of flour with a spoon until dough is very thick and not too sticky. Knead just a few times and place into a greased bowl and let rise until doubled. Punch down dough and shape into rolls. Dip into melted butter and place in greased baking pan. Let rise again until doubled in size. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Brush again with melted butter.

A Big Baby or a Little Boy?

Because of writers block/laziness/busy-ness, I have not blogged in almost a month, making those of you who check it, see dumb pictures of Sarah Palin and the Faux Palin. My apologies. So...
Update on Ethan:

• We have a walker!!! He's been working on it for the past month, but last week decided to tip the scale and walk more than he crawls. He's so hilarious, but he's so proud of himself too. Here's a video of his first attempts at walking a few weeks ago. He learned quick, but just wasn't willing to give up the crawling for a while...

• Ethan loves to read (i.e. have his parents read) books over and over and over, although somehow he still has a hard time listening all the way through a book before he's handing over another to be read.

• Baby Einstein is his (and my) new best friend. He feels the need to touch the screen as he watches (a sad attempt to move him back explains the piano bench in front). But I can actually get a bathroom cleaned without his help if that video is on. Whoopee!

• He's a momma's boy to the extreme. Anyone who gets within 2 feet of him or me during one of his "moods" is shoved and screamed away. I should feel flattered, but usually don't.

• 
• In addition to hiding his toys and making me retrieve them, Ethan also likes to hide himself in a cupboard, I think he enjoys it as his own little "fort".

• Ethan learns new words almost daily and loves to try to mimic what we say--it is SOO cute! Words include: Brush teeth, Jesus, milk, yes, mama, dada, cracker, ball, and the FAVORITE is "NOO". Anytime we ask a question, we get a reply of "No". You'd think that's all I say to him all day. We're trying to replace it with "Yes", but apparently it's not quite as fun to say. Here comes the rebellion at age one.

• Having friends come over makes his day. He loves to hug and kiss other kids (as long as he's bigger than them and they don't try to grab him back). He can't understand why other babies don't want to catch the balls he throws in their face (luckily, his mother has usually caught them first to avoid any injuries).

• Our once voracious eater has now turned into a herbavore (minus the veggies)--he wants to live off of fruits and crackers (with the exception of one type of baby food). And yet, he still manages to make a mess.

• He is SOOO much fun and has quite the personality. Brian and I can't wait to see what he learns next!
  

Get Ready, Get Set, VOTE!

A word from Sarah Palin and me "Oh, ya know, be patriotic and get your little hinny over to the voting booth."
And, since the election is nearing an end, like every good patriotic shopper, we are donating our clothing to charity. It makes spending all that money on clothing and make-up worth it. Yes, I realize my Saks on Fifth Avenue was really Salvation Army on 2nd Avenue, but hey, I live in Iowa, give me a break.

It's true, any and all of these accessories will be auctioned off to my own charity (really, my own pocket). Goes to the highest, lowest, or any bidder.

Happy Halloween!

Friday night we went to a fun Halloween party with friends, where Ethan dressed up as a horse to go along with some other kids in a medieval theme. We had a king, knight, dragon, and princess in addition to the other cute costumes of lobster, ladybug, and Elmo. Unfortunately, we never got pictures of all the kids together.
Saturday was the church Trunk-or-Treating party where Ethan managed to dress up as a monkey for the first half hour after which he was exhausted and grumpy, hence put down for a nap in an empty room while we finished the party.
I had a great time dressing up as Sarah Palin. I'm no Tina Fey but it was still fun putting together the costume and attempting the accent of "Oh, you bechya (wink, wink)"
Sadly, Brian wasn't my John McCain, but we should have got him into a Todd Palin outfit. Too bad.

House of Insanity

For the past few weeks, Ethan has fallen in love with balls. His favorite thing to do with them is to roll them under the couch, then whine and complain for me to get it out. The moment it comes tumbling out from under the couch, he pushes it back under, gets on his stomach and tries to get it out, and failing, cries "uh, uh, uhhhh, groan, moan, uh" for me to get it back again.
The thought going through my head was this Albert Einstein quote:
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
Yes, this little stunt Ethan does makes me think he's insane. It almost seems like he really doesn't understand how the ball got back under the coach after he shoves it under there.
Then again today, he kept taking a water bottle and pushing it onto the kitchen table, where it would roll across the table and get stuck against the wall where he couldn't reach it. After a "ohhh, scream, waaa, mama, uh uh, grunt" ("mama, help, I don't know how that just happened, but I need my water bottle back.") I would then give it back to him, and within 3 seconds, he would push it back on the table and back to the wall it would roll. This was repeated at least 5 times, and I would tell him to just not put it on the table the next time. Yes, my child repeatedly does the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. Yes, my child is insane. And with that came the sad realization:

Ethan wasn't the only one doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.

I guess he's not the only one insane in this house.

Stick up your Guns

I love how easily kids are entertained. Watch this video, Ethan was cracking up like crazy when Brian was loading this play gun.

By the way, no, I didn't buy a toy rifle for my one-year-old. This was a find I got at a thrift store as part of my Halloween costume. Can you guess what I'm dressing as? It includes a rifle and a moose.

Pumpkin Patch

A few days ago we went with a playgroup to Wilson's Apple Orchard to see their pumpkin patch and go for a hayride. Ethan wasn't sure what was with the pumpkins, but I think he decided they were balls and he liked that. The weather cooperated, the apple turnover was delicious, and despite it being right in the middle of nap time, it was so fun! All the kids seemed to enjoy it--even little 2-year-old Elizabeth, who decided to take a little "dip" in the stream as the hayride stopped in the middle of it for a little scenic view. Good thing she was such a good sport! Hooray for autumn! (and booooo for oncoming winter...)

Dreams do come true :)

A small wish, but it was fulfilled. I gassed up our car today for under $50.

Rollback

Say What? Dost my eyes deceive me? Zip-a-dee-ay and heigh-dee-ho! Keep a climbin' down... We might be able to fill up a tank for under $50 at some point! Yippy!

The Big 1!

I can't believe Ethan turned one year old on Sunday! What a year! He enjoyed his new toys and absolutely LOVED his birthday cake.

A few of my favorite things about Ethan--
He:
Is the cutest baby ever (I know, a possible bias)
Loves to read
Is a good eater (up until the last 2 weeks)
Has the best chubby rolls
Follows me around saying "mama"
Giggles in delight every time he sees Brian
Is FINALLY sleeping through the night
Is our best entertainment (and free)
Smiles and waves at almost all strangers
Puts his head down shyly when others talk to him
Is silly beyond description
Loves to cuddle and put his head on my shoulder when he's tired

Happy Birthday Ethan!
We love you!

Sing Us a Song, You're the Piano Man

Ethan is getting so big and reminds me so much of Brian sometimes (silly, messy, so darn cute, etc). One of the biggest similarities now is a love of the piano. I LOVE hearing Brian play and Ethan's decided to take up the hobby too.
In the past week, Ethan goes to the piano at least every hour and asks in his urgent jabber (seriously, he thinks he's talking--he repeats the same babble over and over each time) for me to uncover turn on the piano (it's digital). He then proceeds to "play" his music and thinks it's the best thing on earth. As soon as he gets distracted and I go turn it off, he'll catch me, and crawl right back to play it again. We hope he keeps this up, I always wanted to learn to play the piano up until my 1st piano lesson (things only went downhill from there).


Starting young (1 week old)




He even gets into singing sometimes! (we'll have to work on that a little)

La la la, de de da
La la, de de da da da
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feelin' alright

Da Doc Dash

This weekend, Ethan ran (rode) his first race! As a family, we ran the 5k "Doc Dash" the med school puts on each year. I can't say Brian and I did that great, but Ethan got 1st place in the baby category! Way to go ya little chunk!

Les Miserables

We spent the weekend in Kansas City, visiting Brian's aunt and family, and got to go see Les Miserables while it was playing there. It was such a great weekend!

Our big surprise was that the Starlight Theatre was aptly named--it was an outdoors! It was really a beautiful amphitheater, unfortunately the tornados from the night before still left us with a lot of rain the night of the performance. But with panchos, we were fine (don't worry, the actors were also fine--the stage was covered). The performance was SO good, I've always loved the storyline, book, and music to this play, but this was my first to actually see the musical.
Ethan had so much fun playing with his second cousin, the gorgeous Ainsley. She is just a few months older and it was so cute to see them interact.

We can't wait to go back to visit the Hamricks!

Aww... That's Better

Two full weeks later, and we're back. It was a pain to clean every dish, crack, and surface, but it is SO great to be able to live in a home again, complete with a new ceiling. Our management was good about working to get our apartment back in action, and suprise! -- we even got an added bonus-- Popcorn Ceiling! Woo hoo! (cough cough).

The Sky is Falling Down!

We had quite the adventure yesterday. I was babysitting a little girl at our apartment and right after lunch I heard a lot of cracking sounds coming from the kitchen cabinets hanging above our kitchen sink and bar. I could tell the cabinets were coming loose from the wall, but were still hanging by the ceiling. Apparently the ceiling wasn't strong enough because within a few minutes, the whole cabinet unit FELL on our counter, taking the kitchen (and part of the living room) CEILING with it! It was a HUGE noise and I thought the whole apartment was caving in. Luckily I had made sure the little girl was in the living room because I was worried something might happen when I heard the cracking, and I was barely able to grab Ethan out of his highchair before we were buried under rubble of cabinets, plaster, and insulation. We ran outside and the kids were screaming and I was shaking like crazy.
Apparently fell because of a pipe leak in the ceiling that had dried and weakened everything. I'm SO glad no one was hurt. We are kitchenless for a week and half-homeless since there's so much construction going on, but thanks to good friends and family, we've been well taken care of.
Here are some pictures, although they don't do any of it justice, I thought we were in the middle of a building demolition at the time! Insulation is Everywhere and I don't know how we'll ever get rid of all the dirt and dust.

Hmm, maybe not so much

So I'd like to formally rescind my former complaints against the characters of the Twilight series. Jacob's not a Total jerk, Bella's not an unfaithful wife, and Edward picked a good mate. I really enjoyed Breaking Dawn, although I still stand by my complaints against the inappropriateness of the passion directed toward young adult readers. Harrumph.

Breaking Dawn: A Blood-Sucking Debate

I don't want to ruin the story for anyone, so if you haven't finished these books, or are planning to read them in the future, Beware, this post may contain spoilers (though I'll try to avoid it).

I've loved reading the Twilight series for the past few years and have recommended it to countless people. It's got everything: action, adventure, romance, great character development, issues you can debate for hours over. It's not Harry Potter, but this young adult fiction series is a great story to "sink your teeth into."

I'm currently reading Breaking Dawn (about half way through), and really, just have to pose a few questions I'm currently having issues with (regarding the whole series, but mostly Breaking Dawn). I'd love to hear everyone's opinions on these.

1. How do you feel about the details of the sexual tension between Jacob, Bella, and Edward?
2. Has the author put too much detail in about "honeymoon" aspects of the book?
3. What age groups would you recommend this series to?
4. Is there a difference between married adults reading this vs. the young adult audience this book is geared towards?
5. The Host is considered Meyer's first "Adult" book. In what ways is that story more adult than Breaking Dawn?

I have to admit I'm disappointed in Stephenie Meyers. She is a wonderful author, and I am so glad that she has chosen to have the characters avoid any premarital sex. But, considering that this is a young adult book, WHY did she need to write so much about the issues to be dealt with during the honeymoon. Yes, I know it wasn't terribly graphic or detailed, but I'm not sure I approve of these 10-18 year olds reading about the lingerie, headboard, bruises, etc, etc, etc. I had expected Meyers to use her knowledge of the sanctity of marriage to skip over any unneeded private details. If what was written had been acted out in a movie, it would be too much of a sex scene for me to be comfortable with, why should it be different in a book? And I wish she hadn't felt the need to add in those few less offensive swear words. Not all teenagers swear and I think it'd be a good example to have characters who don't swear.
On another note, why does Bella have to act so stupid and stubborn all the time? Hasn't she learned to trust Edward's wisdom? WHY can't she just get Jacob out of her mind and heart if she's so in love with Edward? Why doesn't Jacob just give up and accept it once Bella's married? And why is Edward so in love with Bella--full of faults (it seems like an unequally yoked relationship to me)?

Ok, obviously despite all these quips, I'm still so into the books that I will take the time to get into this, I love reading the story, overall it's a GREAT series, there are just a few parts I'm having problems with.

What do you think? Feel free to totally disagree with me, I'm interested in what everyone else thinks!

Our State Fair is the Best State Fair

Yes, so good that there was even a musical made after the Iowa State Fair.
Okay, so it wasn't the most amazing thing I've ever done, but we had a great time this weekend with Brian's parents.


Here's the traditional butter cow and honorary butter sculpture of Des Moines native Shawn Johnson (not a very accurate likeness--and her backside was huge, but cool none the less).

Apparently Iowa's into super-sizing everything for the fair. We pigged out (haha, get it, see the winning big pig--1200 pounds! and the big old bull--over 3000 pounds--I thought it was a hippo!) on all the greasy carnie food we could get our hands on--kettle corn, Italian sausages, fresh lemonade, homemade root beer, and yes, even a FRIED TWINKIE (as pictured below). Despite its slightly banana-y taste, it wasn't that special, but it was amazing how FAT it got from soaking up the grease :)

There was a pumpkin so big that our chubby little E could live in it! By the time we left, I felt like I was super-sized like the hog, hippo-bull, pumpkin, and butter girl. Blah, but it still makes me want to experiment with frying everything I didn't get to try at the fair--fried Snickers, Oreos, pineapple, etc, etc, etc, --anyone up for a fry party (forget the fondue pots, let's go with the fry daddies and make ourselves sick!) ?

The Sink, a Sucker, and a Snip Snip Snip

Ethan's first haircut! Our poor kid had a mop-top, so we got out the clippers and evened it all out. He thought it was great fun to sit in the kitchen sink, and the bribery worked great with his first taste of candy. Check out the pictures and video--he's got the cheesiest fake laugh, we love it :)

Before



After