Graveyard Gab....Molly Update

I find myself laughing out loud at this child at least a few times a day. This time I caught her trying to find a way to get that darn foot up to her mouth. It was though something was blocking this from happening. She didn't know whether to get mad at the foot or that huge belly in her way. When she was flexing all her muscles trying to get that foot, her whole body turned into rolls and cottage cheese. It was the cutest thing I've ever seen.

I forgot to blog about her first swimming experience. We had a family reunion at the Logan Aquatic Center. We got all ready to go, I was so excited to go swimming and be in the sun! But Molly here slept the entire time except for the last 15 minutes so I hurry and took her into the kiddie pool for a few minutes and she did fine. She just kind of looked at me trying to figure out what the fuss was all about. I am determined that she will love the sun as much as her mother.


This is what I like to call Salon de Tarbet. She just sits in her bumbo and lets me comb her hair. Sometimes she laughs at herself, sometimes she laughs at me but Kade and I's favorite is when she whines to herself. She stares at the mirror and does this half cry half talk thing to herself as though she has finally found a friend to confide in and can tell this mystery baby in the mirror about her terrible parents and how mean they are to her or how wierd they are.

She is already such a tease. She will be eating, stop and look up at me and wait until I look at her and then she will smile and go back to eating. It is amazing how they already have their little personalities. She definitely lets you know when she is mad. She loves rides in the ranger and likes to be outside. Even though Jamal is trying to win her attention, her best friend is still the polka dotted wall hanging. Now they have full on conversations.

I had to take her to the dr's about a week ago because she had a sinus infection. But other than that she is a healthy, happy, chubby, funny baby. She will be 4 months next week and then we will go to the Dr. and get all of her stats. She is definitely not lacking in the weight dept. Is there a chubbiest baby contest?

Molly and I will be venturing up to Park City on Sunday to see family from California. We can't wait!

Graveyard Gab...

In order to keep myself awake I figured I would allow myself this time to rant, rave, complain, discuss, express, and vent my feelings on issues that I have been thinking about currently.

1. Organic vs. Non-organic: I have actually been meaning to post on this subject for quite some time and I also had detailed issues and pictures that I wanted to post. This, however, will be an abbreviated discussion on the matter and maybe at another date I will elaborate. I want to preface this discussion with the fact that I am only talking about milk, I am not knowledgeable on other products and thus will not be discussing them.
In recent years there has been a large movement towards products that are "organic". I personally feel that this is a great idea, I think we eat too many foods that are processed and have ingredients that most of us can't even pronounce. We are not a very healthy country and I think the push to be more aware of what is in our food is a very positive thing. However, I am afraid that a lot (not all) of this movement is largely a marketing scheme that allows producers and sellers to make more money. They change a label but they don't change the product and consumers pay double,even triple for these products.
Since marrying a dairy farmer I have tried to become educated in this area. We attend dairy conventions at least once a year. Organic vs. non- organic has become a hot topic at these conventions, therefore I have tried to learn all I can on the subject. I have to admit, through everything I have learned, I have come to the conclusion that I can find no difference between organic and non-organic milk.
I was watching Rachel Ray the other day and they were taste testing different products, one of the products was very expensive and the other was fairly cheap. When it came to butter, they tested the average butter one buys in the store to organic butter from a farm in Wisconsin which was $50. When Rachel asked why it cost so much the guy said that it was organic and antibiotic free. I found this very interesting and I will explain why shortly.
Milk is a touchy subject sometimes. There are opinions all across the board when it comes to milk consumption. For instance, I do not feel comfortable drinking milk without pasteurization. However, I know some that do. There are some that prefer soy, some goats milk, some are allergic. I do not see a problem with any of these opinions, I am not attacking anyone who does not drink milk or drinks organic. There are just some facts you need to know before you pay double for milk.
When you are in the grocery store I'm sure you read labels, as I do. I'm also sure that you tend to believe what the labels say, and why wouldn't you?!? Some of you may have noticed that new statements are being put on gallons of milk. Maybe you haven't noticed but here are the most recent:
"This milk is hormone free"
"This milk is antibiotic free"
"This milk does not contain BST" (a hormone injected into cows that
increases their milk production.)

I personally like all of these statements. I don't want to drink hormones or antibiotics. I don't know anyone who would. Now, in order to explain why these statements are purely marketing schemes one would need to know some basic facts about milk production:
1. Dairy Farmers CANNOT milk cows that are on antibiotics. If milk from a cow on antibiotics accidentally is milked, the farmer has to dump the
entire tank. Tanks are tested every time they are picked up by the
company. Therefore, we can conclude that all milk is antibiotic free.
Remember that butter that cost $50 because it was antibiotic free... so is
the butter that is currently in your fridge.

2. It is impossible for milk to be completely hormone free. Question: Does
breast milk contain hormones? You bet it does. All milk contains
hormones.

3. There was quite a large controversy over the use of BST. Many farmers
used it to increase milk production in order to make more money. The FDA
could not find any problems with it but public perception was very negative
towards the use of it. I'm not promoting or condemning its' use. While
I'm not sure if this is the case with all milk companies, ours will not accept
milk that has been produced using this hormone.

I am not here to say anything about why one should or should not drink milk, organic milk or anything else. Drink whatever you want. I guess I just want people to be a little more educated on what they are spending their money on. And maybe it has something to do with the fact that it is 2 AM and I'm bored out of my mind.

Crazy Hair...

I love Molly's hair in the morning. I'm not quite sure what she does in her sleep but it looks like she has a good time!

I also love this blanket! It is a kiddopatomus. I don't think Molly would sleep through the night with out it.

New Job

Well, I new the day would soon approach when I would have to start working again... I had hoped that it would be a teaching job with sweet benefits and a sassy classroom with a fridge. Apparently, however, a history teacher (especially one who is not a coach) is not very marketable at the moment. Having realized that I might have to go back to Olive Garden, I desperately applied for jobs online and checked the classifieds. After meeting with much failure, our good friend Eric who works at the Cache Valley Youth Center told me that I might be able to get on there.

Fast forward two weeks, here I am at 11:14 at the beginning of my shift. I am part time which means they call me and ask me to fill in on shifts. Most of them are graves from 11- 6, which are perfect for me. Molly sleeps from 10- 6 every night so I never have to miss a feeding or anything.

Last night was my first night. I came prepared with my 44oz of diet dr. pepper, pretzels, cherries, and popcorn. I also brought a book, crochet needle and yarn. I was prepared for a long night. It actually wasn't that bad. I stayed awake just fine and wasn't even nervous about the drive home and I didn't even eat all of the food I brought. I got home, fed molly, and then passed out. I had no idea what was going on because Kade took Molly with him and when it was time to eat just fed her a bottle. What a great husband! I woke up at 1:00 feeling refreshed and enjoyed the rest of my day. Now, I am back for my second grave. 9:00 church could be interesting.

Since I have ample time on my hands during these graves I was thinking I could share my opinion on a specific issue or idea on each shift. Please leave me some comments on ideas.

4th of July

Molly and Kade hanging out between softball games.

Grammy, Aunt Lauren and Molly

Molly after the parade. The headband was already off.

Uncle Phil giving Molly her first taste of Otter Pop!


Brynly, Jaxon and Molly awaiting the Parade!

The 4th is always such a fun holiday and it did not disapoint this year. We woke up early, got ready, headed down town for the firemen's breakfast. After we ate we headed for the parade. Kade put out our flatbed trailer on Monday in order to save us a spot. The parade seemed a little shorter this year but maybe not. After the parade Kade headed over to the 3 on 3 basketball tournament that he and Eric were in charge of while I met some family who came up for the day! We walked around the booths, ate, watched some b-ball and had a nice afternoon. The softball tournament then started at 2:00. I bowed out this year, much to the detriment of our team who took second this year. The games were great to watch and a lady even got kicked out of a game this year which was a first and also very entertaining. The evening culminated with the fireworks uptown which Molly fell asleep during. What a great day! We were exhausted! Thanks to everyone who fights to keep our country free!