Try Something New: Week 3

January 15 -- Two words: sweater tights! Tried out my first ones for church on a frigid cold day. It's like wearing a sweater on your legs! In purple argyle! Can life get better? I was still a little cold walking outside, but come on...16 degrees...they're not magic, people.

January 16 -- Partook of a yummy little concoction created by my Vanessa. Oatmeal with peanut butter and Ovaltine. It's like having those no-bake cookies for breakfast! Yes please! Needless to say, I came home and bought myself a thing of Ovaltine straightaway.

January 17 -- Rented a car for the very first time to drive to the Philadelphia airport from Hoboken. Less than three weeks before my 25th birthday, so the perfect time to pay that whopping extra fee for being underage. My age clearly makes me too irresponsible to drive a rental minivan without assuming extra risk. Never mind the two adorable well-behaved children at my side that I've kept alive and well for the past 3.5 years. Never mind my bachelor's degree from a legit university. The birthdate says it all. (Can you tell age is a sensitive subject over here?)

January 18 -- Set up a new little star light that Josh got for Christmas from his Grandma Cheri. It just needed batteries and place on the dresser, but you'd be amazed at the joy that amount of effort can bring to a little boy. This toy projects light up to the ceiling that looks like stars. And the light changes colors! It makes bedtime a special treat.

January 19 -- Borrowed a bunch of new children's books from the library. Last year the boys and I would go to the library every week, but our reading schedule was thrown off with our holiday trips. It was nice to be back there again with the smell of ripe used books. Can I admit that I learn SO much from the kids books that Josh chooses? They give you just the right amount of information -- enough to remember without getting bored. Do you know anything about the history of bubble gum? Or why certain tunnels are shaped different ways? Do you know how many fingers a Deinonychus had? I do. Because I enjoy books written for three-year-olds.

January 20 -- Bought alcohol for the very first time ever. Yeah, definitely awkward. We're going to make our own vanilla extract, and it so happens that vanilla extract is just vanilla beans and vodka. (Thank you, Nor.) I was so sheepish in the store, so confused about what I was doing, that I think I bought an expensive kind. I just grabbed whatever they had out on display because I didn't want to rummage around in the alcohol section and get lost. Ha! Plus I kept worrying that someone I knew would see me and ask if this Mormon had a dirty little secret. But seriously...the stuff stinks like nail polish remover. I can't imagine why anyone would want to pour it down their throat.

 January 21 -- Ordered lobster macaroni and cheese at our favorite fancy pants restaurant, The Capital Grille. Matt and I took a little drive to Detroit yesterday for the Costco/temple/dining experiences that we've been missing in our small town. It was glorious. And the lobster mac -- a big step for me. I cannot stand seafood of any kind. The smell, the texture, the thought of it makes me want to dry heave. So eating this dish, eating noodles that had touched seafood and faintly smelled of it, was progress. Even though I couldn't handle any of the large lobster pieces, I made sure to try the smaller bits, and it was actually quite rich and delicious. Matt was so proud.

Christmas #1: Midland

Before we left for the holidays, we celebrated Christmas as much as we could here in Midland. The day after Thanksgiving we bought a tree. I think that's the earliest I have ever started the Christmas season, but it was awesome. So great to have the rest of Thanksgiving weekend together as a family to decorate and get in the holiday spirit.

I think this picture represents the overall feeling of excitement in our house:

Or this one:

"Look at me! I'm standing! Seriously, hurry up and look before I fall over again!"

Josh picked out a bunch of ornaments at Target and had so much fun deciding where each one should hang.

We went to the Santa House here in Midland. It's actually a school where they teach people how to be Santa all year round. (Yeah, that's my town. Jealous? I haven't decided when I should make Matt complete the program, but it's definitely happening.) The inside of this house is filled with toys from floor to ceiling, just like Santa's workshop should be. 

Please excuse my cell-phone-quality pictures. We took this one in the sleigh while waiting in line for our turn to see Santa.

This Santa was unbelievable! He was extremely sweet with the kids, there was glitter in his beard (glitter!), and he even smelled good! Have you ever met a Santa who actually smelled good? Like, non-homeless? Josh still wasn't brave enough to sit on his lap, but the fact that he approached him at all was pretty cool. And they even had a candy and a puzzle for each kid on the way out, no charge. Magical!

Our friends invited us to the Dow Gardens Winter Walk that week. It's a trail through the gardens at night with little lanterns lighting the path, choral groups singing carols along the way, and lots of Christmas lights. At the end of one trail they had real reindeer for the kids to meet. I have never been so close to such enormous antlers! And I was so impressed that Josh put his hand out to feed them. Wasn't scared at all!

One night we drove out to Freeland (about twenty minutes away) to see an amazing Christmas light show. This guy orchestrates a new show every year. There's a 12-minute show that repeats earlier in the evening, and a 22-minute show later. You drive up to his house, turn on a certain radio station, and watch the lights dance to the music. It. Is. So. Awesome!

Josh had a little performance at the hospital with his preschool one night. He never ever ever sings at school or at church, but he comes home and sings to himself all day long. He is just too stubborn to do it on command. So here he is, at the performance, refusing to sing and get excited about Santa with the rest of the kids. I'd like to think it's because he's got a natural ability to resist peer pressure, but I'm pretty sure it's more about defiance.

Christmas time makes us all want to snuggle by the fire and slip into peaceful hypnosis staring at the lights on the tree. Even these two get all cuddly.

The night before we left to see grandparents in Arizona, Josh opened his (very few) presents from us. He's finally at the age where he understands holidays a little and makes every event exciting.

Winter is here??

I grew up in a California town where snow was seen maybe once every few years. We are a warm weather family. That is generally the preference. 

Because of this, I never thought I'd feel a little bit cheated by a snowless winter. Here I am in Michigan, embracing the idea of frigid weather, buying snow gear out the wazoo, clenching my fists in the "wait for it" pose, and building up food storage for the day we get hit too hard to make it out the driveway...

...and there's no snow. 

Looking out my window right now, I see green grass and sunshine. I'm not sure whether I should jump for joy and run outside in my swimsuit Elle-Woods-style to get a little tan, or cower at the idea of another freakish storm to make up for this warm early winter. (Warm meaning high temperatures in the 40s.)

We did have one good storm in late November. Everyone loved it for different reasons. 

I loved it because I got to see my baby in a cute little hat that accentuates his round cheeks.

Matt loved it because he got to set up his new reverse snow plow and try it out with the truck. We have a long driveway, so an ordinary snow blower would take a good hour to clear it in the morning. This reverse snow plow is a rubber blade thing that attaches to the hitch of the truck and pushes the snow away as you back down the driveway. Everyone Matt told about it called him nuts to think it would work, but here is our driveway, at 2:00 in the morning when we finally finished assembling the blade, nice and clear in a few short minutes!

This is how Jude feels about winter...

A little bipolar.

Don't mind Jude's break dance pose there. He's just practicing for a little street competition.

Josh loved the snow because he got to use his "surf board" (as he calls his kick board for swimming) and make all kinds of tracks around the yard.

Seeing that only one side of the trees were covered with snow, Josh decided to try to help them out by putting snow on the backsides. It didn't stick very well, but he sure worked hard at it, as you can see by his "concentration tongue". This comes out a lot, and I'm afraid he inherited it from me.

He also helped me try out our new snow shovel by pushing more snow onto the driveway. Thanks, buddy.

We have a bunch of piles of dirt and sand next to our house from all the excavating going on around here for new houses. Cover them with snow, and we've got some pretty good hills to slide down.

This is the miniature ice skating rink that formed in our backyard. I couldn't resist cracking it.

And here is our house covered in snow. I quite like the white roof. Brightens it up a bit.

After that little storm, we got a few random days of light snowflakes, but nothing stuck enough to play in except once when we were out of town.

Instead, the weather has been more like this:

Yesterday we got home from the store and decided it was nice enough to play in the driveway for a while.

Jude discovered the addictive taste of sidewalk chalk,

and Josh threw ice cubes into the air and watched them crack on the driveway (one of his favorite outside games with Matt).

Jude made sure to clean up the ice mess by consuming the evidence, no matter how cold and red it made his fat little fingers.

This kind of day makes me homesick for summer. It's just a teaser.

Alright winter...bring it on. Let's get this over with!

Try Something New: Week 2

In case you don't understand what this post is all about, earlier I explained about a goal I made to try something new every day this year. Here's my report for last week:

January 8 -- Listened to an album by Muddy Waters. Classic blues. Matt said it would be a "cultural experience" for me. Kinda cool.

January 9 -- Sent out Christmas cards for the first time ever! Yes, I know it's January. There was an issue with our photo order not arriving until after we left for the holidays, so I sent them out as soon as I could...stop yelling at me!

January 10 -- Went to Dunham's Sports store to buy new shoes for volleyball. I thought I'd try it out, and was disappointed. Not a great selection and not great service. (Fortunately you can't say that about many places in Midland.)

January 11 -- Took a bubble bath in my own home! In the four and a half months that we've lived in our new place, I had not made use of the beautiful tub I insisted on having. I'm so lame. But it was worth the wait. Relaxation station, people.

January 12 -- Ordered cactus chili at lunch. I don't think I had ever eaten cactus before, and it was sweet and perfect in my soup! I want to try cooking with it.

January 13 -- Ate my first CANOLI.Delicious!

January 14 -- Strolled the charming streets of Hoboken, New Jersey. Such a cute place! It was my first time there to visit some besties. I'm still here, actually, and just ate some divine New York pizza, so...I'll probably never leave.

Try Something New: Week 1

I have a million posts to catch up on. Sorry. I've been on a very long and awesome Christmas vacation with no personal computer, so now that I'm home, I'm sure my catch up efforts will come crashing in on each other soon.

UNTIL THEN...

I have a little something to share. I've decided that one of my resolutions this year will be something to make my life more interesting. Are you ready for it? 

IN 2012, I WILL TRY SOMETHING NEW EVERY DAY. 

Every day. Seriously, do you think I can do it?

The importance of this goal to me is three-fold:

1) I need a reason to keep blogging. I need an appointment with my blog at least once a week, along with a topic to report on. Something I care about, something I want to record, something that will tell a little about my everyday life for posterity's sake.

2) I need to broaden my horizons. I have long been resistant to certain foods. I don't warm up to new clothing styles until at least a couple years after they come out. I like the old music I liked in high school. I want to eat at restaurants where I already know what I'll order and that it will be delicious. In short, I need to learn how to step out of my comfort zone more often. The greatest enemy to human potential is the comfort zone.

3) If I am not constantly learning or being physically useful, I feel irrelevant. Stagnant. Worthless. If my progression is not measured in some way, it basically doesn't exist. That's my personality.

Don't take this the wrong way. This might seem like something to brag about (sort of a "My weakness is that I work too hard and love too much" kind of thing), but it is actually a big fat tricky CURSE. 

Have you ever tried to relax for a few days while someone else parents your children, and felt so antsy that you actually started exercising or shopping to keep busy? Have you ever gone to bed feeling guilty after a few short hours of relaxing on the couch with your spouse in front of the TV, because your brain hasn't been working fast enough? Yeah, that's me. 

I have a problem. Back in school, I got grades to tell me that I was doing well. I was working toward goals with tangible, measurable outcomes. I had proof of my accomplishments, my progress. As a full-time mom, this is not the case. I have garbage cans full of snotty tissues, baby poo, apple peels, fruit snack wrappers, and secretly discarded art projects (you can't keep them all). That is my progress report at the end of the day.

SO...this little goal that I have is supposed to help with those needs. Wanna know what I've done so far?

January 1 -- Made a new carrot cake recipe with PINEAPPLE in it, per my mom's request. Moist and delicious! Didn't last long enough to get a picture.

January 2 -- Went to Trader Joe's for the first time. I know, I've been living under a rock! My mom took me because she's obsessed with their chocolate covered peppermint Oreo-like cookies. (Can you tell that my mom is a junk food junkie? Now you know where I got it.) I'm still not sure what's so great about Joe's, but I think I'd give it another try.

January 3 -- Got my pits waxed! That's right, my blond armpits. My sister has a wax pot at home and has been waxing everyone she can, probably because she likes to hear us scream. While I was there for Christmas my curiosity got the best of me. I've never been waxed in any way before and I wanted to see what it felt like. It didn't work very well because my hair wasn't long enough, but it was really hot and stingy, so...yeah I probably won't be doing it again unless I suddenly become Armenian.

January 4 -- Learned how to wipe a computer that was infected with a virus. Fixed my dad's computer. Made my husband proud. I was feeling pretty awesome.

January 5 -- Flew across the country with two young children and no help. With one layover and at least two hours of driving on each side of the airports, we're talking fifteen hours of travel. With no stroller, no second set of arms to hold the baby while I use the bathroom, and no extra space on the completely full flights. This is something new that I would prefer never ever ever to do again. But it does give me sympathy for those moms who have to do it all the time.

January 6 -- Made my first successful batch of bread bowls using a new recipe! A skill I've always needed to master because I LOVE me some broccoli soup in a bread bowl, especially in snowy weather. Next I need to figure out sourdough!

January 7 -- Learned a new song to teach the Primary kids tomorrow at church. Never heard this one before because it's a new addition for the program, but I'm hoping the kids will like it.

There. My first entry! Think I can keep this up? It's not supposed to be a hard thing. "Something new" could be as simple as listening to a song I've never heard before, trying a new restaurant, or meeting someone new at church. I can do this. 

Who wants to do this with me?? It's not too late to start!