Graveyard Gab....Molly

A delicious carrot from our garden. I actually made a whole meal the other night and didn't spend one penny. I was pretty proud. Obviously, Molly was not very impressed.

I think I have found the reason why Molly is sitting up early....her belly. When you look from the side it is a tremendous balancing tool pulling her forward. I am very proud that my daughter has already learned to work with what she has and make the best of it. She is very industrious! She has recently become quite the wild woman. She likes to be thrown up in the air, dipped upside down and dancing with her dad. Her laugh is more like a high pitched squeal. She is also extremely ticklish and likes to give kisses, sometimes. She is the most slobbery child, I'm considering a permanent bib of some sort. She still loves to be outside and loves sitting on the grass trying to get it to her mouth. She is starting to realize that Jamal is a living thing and gets a little apprehensive about his proximity, I'm sure that won't last. Her legs are almost too big to fit in the bumbo, it takes some effort to get her out of it. She is starting to realize when someone she doesn't know is holding her. I am enjoying the time when she wants me because I'm sure the day will come when I will be too embarassing to be seen with and maybe I will even have a mom hair cut unless her father has anything to say about it. She is very antsy and gets fussy if we stay home all day or if I am just not doing enough to keep her entertained. She likes to sit in the kitchen while I cook or clean and sit in the bathroom while I get ready. I think she gets a sense of satisfaction out of seeing me work. She likes going on rides with her dad, and yes, she goes on the four wheeler. We made it a family trip one night with the three of us and jamal on the four wheeler, Jamal was a little upset he had to sit on the front but we are all making sacrifices with a baby in the house. Still struggling in the nap department, we will battle until she falls asleep and then she will wake up 30 minutes later just smiling, talking and refusing to sleep longer.
Kade is going to the Bronco's game with his friend Eric this weekend while me and Eric's wife, Georgana, go to a movie. Has anyone seen the Time Traveler's Wife? How is it?

Jackson Hole

We ventured up to Jackson Hole this past weekend for what has become an annual trip with the Tarbets. Glade, Suzette and Jordan even joined us this year! We did some shopping, eating, rafting, it was a great time!

Highlights:

* Finding $5 dollar sweatshirts!
* "Borrowing" Brooks' phone
* Billy's Burgers!
* Celebrating Sally's birthday with the wonderful cheese fries at Sidewinders!
* Brynly telling me I looked nice while trying to cover my bum crack... Long story.

Lowlights:

* The drive- got car sick both ways.
* Molly refusing to go to sleep!
* Molly learning a high pitched scream!

It was a great trip! Jackson Hole, see you next year! And this time I will not miss out on the river trip!

Graveyard Gab....

Favorite Things Lately:

1. Pandora- Love it! I enter whatever song I am in the mood for and it creates an entire station just for me. I just sit and enjoy the soothing sounds until the wee hours of the morning while blog stalking, or playing online scrabble or sudoku!

2. Diet Dr. Pepper- I drink a variety of diet sodas but for some reasons this beverage quenches the late night thirst. For anyone who lives in Cache Valley: the best diet dr. pepper in the valley is found at the Sinclair in Smithfield. They also have the cheapest refill prices. However, they are not open 24 hours a day.

3. Cake Boss- What a delightful show. Buddy takes me into his creative grasp and I am entranced. Naturally I am starving for anything sugar afterwards. I can't believe the ideas they come up with. It makes me want to open a bakery. My next project is cakes!

4. My serger- What a fabulous machine! Kade's parents got me one for graduation and I marvel at how smooth it is. How did I sew without it? I am now convinced that I can make anything, which I'm sure will lead to many disapointments in the future!

5. Online giveaways- Obviously I have some time on my hands at work. I have become obsessed with entering giveaways on blogs. It is amazing how many you can find everyday!

6. The new Our Lady Peace Album- I was pretty excited to hear they had released a new album. I have always been a big fan. I personally don't know why they haven't made it bigger in the music world. They also put on a great show and I'm waiting for them to announce a concert date.

7. Molly is sitting up on her own- The other day we were outside playing on the lawn and I sat her up and she stayed. Who knew! I think she is just trying to get ahead of Jonas (who is a rolling king and less then half her age). She doesn't really care to roll over but I think this is her way of trying to get ahead. It has made playing, bathing, and eating all much easier tasks.

8. The fresh corn out of our garden we had for lunch today! Yum!

Things on my bad list:

1. Mayonnaise- This is just one of those foods that it is hard to avoid. Whether it is on a sandwich or in a dip of some sort I feel like I come across it often. I can't stand the taste plain. But even more than that I despise the feel and consistency. If I get it on my hands it makes me feel icky. I also can't stand it when I drip some on the counter or on the plate that I am eating off of. It reminds me of pure fat and I don't like being reminded of the unhealthy eating habits I have formed.

2. Health Insurance- We are on a private plan considering that Kade is a farmer which doesn't include benefits and I'm not full time. Our premiums have doubled in the 3 years we have had it. It is now more than our mortgage. The only time we have ever had to use it was for pregnancy, labor, and molly. And considering we had a maternity deductible that was more than half of the total cost, not much of a benefit. They also just raised our premium without even telling us. I think the whole situation is immoral. No matter what your views are on the health care debate, things need to change.

3. Glenn Beck- I'm not going to elaborate on this one.

I consider it a good sign that I have more items on my good list then bad.

First Hair Cut

Molly had her first hair cut! When she was born she had quite a bit of hair. Now that more has come in she kind of looked like she had a wig on the top. So Aunt Kelsey evened it out a bit. Although her rat tail made me reminise of my brothers many years ago I decided to have Kelsey take care of that as well. She was such a champ during her hair cut and actually seemed to enjoy it. She kept laughing and spazzing out.
This is her first "face" that she has been pulling lately. I think she could definitely rival Derek Zoolander!

Kade and I can't believe how much Molly is changing! She is so funny. She hasn't rolled over since the first time. I think she just wanted to prove that she was capable but only does things for herself, not for our entertainment. All of the sudden she is sitting up on her own. We were outside playing on the grass and I sat her up and she stayed on her own. This has made play time much more fun. And the timing couldn't be better because I don't know how much longer her thighs will fit in the bumbo. She is super strong and super strong willed. I still can't get her to nap without a fit. Any suggestions???

Bee's

Go Bees! We went to the Bee's game this last week with Kade's family. On our way down we stopped at Tepanyaki's. I can't get enough of that place! Then we went to the game where I got to meet up with Miles and Elysia. It was so awesome to catch up. Molly was such a trooper at the game. She is a busy body so as long as there are a lot of things to look at and enough stuff going on she is a happy girl.

I'm not really a fan of my large face in this picture but it is rare to come by a photo of Kade and I so I guess I will have to like it.

It is even more rare to come across a photo of Molly and I so I had to post it. Isn't she cute. I think I am finally getting the hang of things. We are on a pretty good schedule and I know all of the different cries and clues she gives, usually. I still can't wait for the day that she can just tell me what is wrong. But even more than that, I can't wait for the day that we don't have a diaper explosion everyday. There are a lot of benefits to nursing, that is not one of them. Nursing has gotten a ton easier to. I'm so glad I stuck with it.

She is more fun everyday and I can't believe how fast they develop and how smart they are. She likes her toys more and more everyday. Her favorite is a little dragonfly looking thing that lights up and plays twinkle twinkle little star. She loves to be sung to, she will usually sit in her bumbo while I clean or cook and as long as I'm singing to her she will just hang out with me. I'm starting to get sick of the usual songs so if anyone has any suggestions, pass them along.

The rice cereal has really become an event. She loves it and tries to eat the spoon. She will grab onto it and just suck on it. Once I get the spoon back, the hands go in the mouth and she just sucks like crazy hoping that food will come out of them somehow. While this makes it quite difficult to get the spoon back in, it is rather entertaining.

Naps are quite the adventure. Even though she sleeps through the night and has for several months, the whole napping concept still hasn't caught on. No matter how tired she is she fights sleep in the day. I have to hold her, put the blanket next to her face, binkie in mouth, bounce ridiculously and sway from side to side. She will then do this constant whine noise, usually with her eyes closed, until sleep overtakes her. While this may be a good work out for my thighs, it is a tremendous waste of time considering she usually only naps for about 30 minutes. Sometimes, if I catch her before she completely wakes up, I can rock her back to sleep. Every now and then I will get a good nap out of her but not usually. I just have to remind myself that she sleeps through the night and that is priority.

*Funny story for the day: Kade loves to scare me, so today while I was cooking lunch he came in from work and waited around the corner of the hallway. Of course, as I walked through he jumped out and I let out a nice scream. After a little delay, poor Molly, who was on the floor playing, started screaming. It was the sad scream too. She calmed down after Kade picked her up and I told her I was ok. I am just glad to know that she is on my side and now I have someone to defend me against her dad's antics.

Special Finds....Graveyard Gab

As I work all night I try to alternate activities; read, blog, facebook, movie, etc. Now there are some very special things I come across and I think that it is my duty to share with the public.

Families are Forever

On a different note:

- Last night I finished My Sister's Keeper. I have been avoiding it because of the things that I had heard. I didn't know if I wanted to go through the emotional toil I thought would ensue. However, it wasn't as bad as I thought. It was definitely more thought provoking and turned out very differently than I expected.

- Watched an episode of Big Brother. This was a first time experience for me. I have never watched the show or knew much about it for that matter. I have to say it wasn't a great experience. The challenges were probably among the top 10 dumbest things seen on tv for me. Of course it is like most reality shows where you can't believe how dumb people are so you continue to watch it. I often wonder where they find these people. They must use some tactic to find the dumbest, most outspoken, confrontational people in the U.S. If that is their ultimate goal they have found success!

- Watching Lions for Lambs. Big fan! It stars Meryl Streep, Robert Redford and Tom Cruise. If you haven't seen it, I recommend it. Yes, it is rated R. I apologize.

-Politics have been weighing heavily on my mind but I just don't know if I want to take my blog there. I want my blog to be a happy place and politics usually generates heated conversations. However, there are just a few key points I want to remind the general public of:

Disclaimer: I don't want any hate mail...yes, Melissa, I'm talking to you.

1. The President of the United States cannot make laws. Obviously he has a great influence but ultimately the only power he has is a veto which can be over ridden. The only people who can do that are your representatives. So let your representatives know how you feel.
2. Change is healthy for government. I know many are upset by the control the Democrats have in our current government. Well, all I have to say is, "You had your turn and you will have a turn again". In a two party system it is not healthy for one party to rule for too long. I personally don't think either of the parties is "right". One party will take us too far left, lose control, the other party will win and take us too far right. It is a balancing act. Now, I'm not saying that this model leads to success, because it usually doesn't, I'm just saying that in a two party system this is bound to happen. You can count on the Republicans to be back on top shortly, take my word for it. As Americans we have a general distrust and distaste for Congress.
3. I would like to address the idea of patriotism. When President Bush was in office many citizens spoke out against him and his policies, often the War in Iraq. His supporters said this was unpatriotic and was disrespectful to the troops. I have always thought the reason the troops were fighting was for the ideals of free speech and democracy. However, now, these same people are speaking out against President Obama and his policies. Is this unpatriotic? I'm not saying I agree of disagree with either of these men, we won't go there tonight, I just think that we can't accuse people of being unpatriotic just because we don't agree with them.

I don't think I should say anymore tonight considering it is 5 am and I could easily get carried away. I would just like to encourage everyone to check sources, watch more than one news channel and enjoy the rest of your summer.

Yard

We finally finished our yard. When we moved in there were nasty bushes which Kade ripped out. Every summer I just kept killing all of the plant life that grew because I didn't like it and I didn't know what I wanted in its place. After we got the siding done I felt like it was time to focus on the yard.


I picked out the bricks for the retaining wall so we could build up the flower beds. Kade took care of that, I layed a few myself. Then we got the YM/YW to come fill them in with top soil. (There are definitely some benefits to some church callings.)



Then, my fabulous Mom came up and after a lot of reading in books and internet research we went to Lowes and bought some bushes, vines, and ground cover. I figure that is good for this year. Maybe next year I will get ambitious and add some color. Hopefully everything is still alive.
We also took on the project of a garden this year. (Kade's idea and he also did 99% of the work) I have to say I am pretty proud of us.

Corn, this may be strange but I never realized what a beautiful plant corn can be until I moved next to it.

Potatoes

Zucchini, which by the way is a mutant plant. First of all it has these tiny little stickers which give me a rash. Second, these things grow so dang fast it is unbelievable. If anyone wants any zucchini give me a call.

Peas, which didn't turn out great but the few I did get were delicious. I love eating them right out of the garden. Kade couldn't believe I ate the "ruffage" as he calls it.

Carrots which we have yet to harvest.

Now, the cucumbers....or the lack there of. On a hot sunny day I was out toiling in the garden weeding on my hands and knees only to see Jamal destroy the cucumber mounds in hopes of finding a gopher.

Lets talk about gardening in Lewiston. Now, when I was growing up I often had to help out with weeding the yard. This task was usually performed once a week and even after a week the yard was not a disaster. Now, living in Lewiston it is a daily task to keep weeds a safe distance from the yard or garden. Whether it is weeds, grass or some crop from the field you never know what you will find growing the next time you go outside.

Roll Over..

Molly rolled over today. Kade came home for lunch, Molly was on her belly in front of us. We were talking about when she would roll over and how she doesn't even really try when all of the sudden she started leaning to the right and then rolled right over. It was cute. I'm almost sad about it because now this is the beginning of the end. Now the moving will get more intense and turn into crawling. I'm not ready to keep her out of stuff and lock cupboards!

Pictures I promised...

Need I say more?

First feeding of rice cereal. She got frustrated after a few minutes. Obviously, fairly dramatic.

Kade and I at a Real Salt Lake game.

Graveyard Gab....

Disclaimer: I continue to title my posts when I am working the grave as Graveyard Gab to warn everyone of what is coming. I cannot always guarantee complete coherence of said posts.

While I have many subjects on my mind at the moment I will start with Molly and hope that this subject distracts me. Molly is officially 4 months old. We went to the Dr. on Monday for her check up and immunizations.
Her Stats (I always thought it was dumb that parents kept track of percentiles until I became one, so bear with me.)

weight: 14 lbs. 9 oz. 72 percentile
height: 24 1/2 inches 61 percentile
head: I can't remember 62 percentile

While my daughter may be on the slightly portley side, I am comforted in the fact that she is proportional. She was a perfect angel during the check up, smiling and talking to the Dr. She continued smiling as the nurse got the shots ready. She kept her eyes on me as I stood at her side. She smiled, babbled and then suddenly as the needle penetrated the skin she lost all expression, stared blankly, then it came. The saddest face, scrunched up nose, closed eyes, and the scream. Then what followed was even worse, she opened those eyes, crying, looking at me as if she wanted to implore why, as her mother, would I ever let someone do that to her. It took some time to reassure her that I still loved her and I think now she has completely forgotten the incident or at least stored it away only to resent me for it later as any good daughter would do.

Molly continues to change so rapidly. We have recently introduced the exersaucer into her daily entertainment which has been successful. She also enjoys pulling her mothers hair, staring at jamal, laying underneath trees and just being outside in general, she enjoys watching the Daily Show with her mother each morning (she is already very poltically aware, I couldn't be prouder). Her best friend is still the wall hanging but I think my hand is coming in at a close second. She is still startled when someone sneezes or belches, this includes when she performs one of these herself. She is grabbing objects and pulling them to her mouth but usually misses and hits herself in the head and then thinks that whoever is holding her is at fault. She loves to try to drink mom's water bottle and dad's soda (yes I am a terrible mother). She is liking the bath more and more but still doesn't understand who gave her mother permission to do the whole lather up with lotion and dress routine. She still poops through her diaper at least once a day. We are starting rice cereal and her mother is excited for the day when some of it actually makes it to her throat. She is a very busy baby and always has to be able to see whats going on. She hasn't really tried to roll over but kicks like crazy which I think can be considered parental abuse. When she is on her tummy she just tries to push forward instead of turn over. She is a healthy, happy, sassy little girl. I will post some pictures when I am home.

Now, for any of you who have made it through all of the babbling, I'm curious to know who has seen the documentary, The Right America, Feeling Wronged. This is the subject matter I wanted to rant about but I was afraid I would upset some of you. Let me know if you have seen it and if so, what you thought.