I did something...

So I did something today.  But it started yesterday.  Yesterday was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

First I (after being warned) tried to go up my parents driveway in the snow.  Well it didn't work, I slid back down, hit my dad's gate post, and completely destroyed my side mirror.  Like it's gone.  Like "hey that's a pretty ghetto looking car" type of gone.  It's very disappointing.  What was more disappointing was my trepidation at telling my dad that I hit his gate post.  Before you worry about my safety (because I did), the gate post has no damage.  Like a scratch that's an inch long and that's it, kind of damage.  But still, not a good way to start off the day.  Then nothing was working correctly at work, and to top it all off my baby had to go to the doctor where we found out he had a mild case of croup and a double ear infection!

Anyway, not an awesome day.  So today we went to Target where I got to spend my Christmas gift card on stuff only for me!  Well.  Here's where it gets iffy.  First, I'm not a fashionable, bold person.  I wish I was.  I think about the outfits I would wear and how cute they would look, but I'm just not that brave.  I'm the, 'showers faster than my husband', pulls my hair up every day, prefers black slimming shirts kind of a girl.  But I took a chance.

I bought colored jeans.

They still have the tag on them though, so they could go back to the store.  We'll see.  I haven't even had the courage to try them on yet.

But in other news, my son, the extreme flirt, has a new method for reelin' in the ladies.  When he's showing off he makes this face (dubbed by his father as his "sexy face"):

Who could resist this face?!

Way more than 30 Things my Kids should know about Me

I like to read random blogs when I find them on Pinterest.  One I found lately put into words my thoughts on why you keep a blog or why you write a journal (both of which I do, not with extreme regularity, but... that's not relevant).  I write them as if my children or grandchildren or anyone would like to know about me later on down the road.  I try to explain my motivations, talk only about the interesting things in life (sometimes haha) and share lessons I've learned.  So I came across this list and I thought it was pretty good!  It's 30 things that your kids should, or probably more likely, just might find interesting about me.  I figured I would do a blog post for each one.  But here's the list.  Some look far more challenging than others... but it should be an interesting journey for me and whoever reads it.

1. List 20 random facts about yourself.
2. Describe 3 legitimate fears you have and explain how they became fears.
3. Describe your relationship with your spouse.
4. List 10 things you would tell your 16 year-old self, if you could.
5. What are the 5 things that make you most happy right now?
6. If you could have three wishes, what would you wish for?
7. What is your dream job, and why?
8. What are 5 passions you have?
9. List 10 people who have influenced you and describe how.
10. Describe your most embarrassing moment.
11. Describe 10 pet peeves you have.
12. Describe a typical day in your current life.
13. What’s the hardest part of growing up?
14. Describe 5 and weaknesses strengths you have.
15. Describe when you knew your spouse was the one or how I fell in love.
16. What are your 5 greatest accomplishments?
17. What is the thing you most wish you were great at?
18. What do you think your spouse loves most about you?
19. How did you feel the moment you became a parent?
20. Describe 3 significant memories from your childhood
.21. Describe your relationship with your parents.
22. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? 15 years?
23. What’s your favorite holiday and why?
24. What’s your favorite and least favorite thing about parenthood?
25. If you could have dinner with anyone in history, who would it be and what would you eat?
26. What popular notion do you think the world has most wrong?
27. What is your favorite part of your body and why?
28. What’s your favorite quality in your spouse?
29. What are your hopes and dreams for your prosperity?
30. List 10 things you would hope to be remembered for.

I'll try and link to them when I finish each one!

A Week(end) in the life of Ryan

If you were to look in the window of my little life on any given Saturday (did you like that reference?) here is what you'd see:

First I have to amuse myself while mom and dad do something in the kitchen.  Whatever it was it must have been important because they didn't notice me over here planning to use the oven.  I almost made it too.

Come to find out they were making waffles!!!  And they made me my very own little waffle.  This is the first time I've had waffles.

They were pretty tasty!

After breakfast mom started some sewing project and completely ignored me.  Well not enough to let me go out the doggy door but that's beside the point.  So I just stood at the window watching the sleet come down.  I thought it was hail but I was quickly corrected by grandpa and schooled in the difference between sleet and hail.  Turns out it comes down to the shape of the particle.  But that's a lesson for another day.

 Then mom told me we needed to go to Costco.  Initially I was resistant because I wasn't jazzed about going in the car seat.  But once we got there I saw tons of people to watch.  So as we walked around I could just sit back on my throne and observe.  Pretty good subjects on a Saturday afternoon.

After we got home it was time to play with Daddy!!  One of my favorite things to do.

I guess I tired him out though...  I tried to wake him up but he was snoring.

Daddy tickles in his sleep though!!  He got me totally unprepared.

Bath time - perhaps my favorite time of day - was especially good because I got bubble bath!  AND TWO NEW DUCKIES!!

Then it was time for pj's, a story from my "boys only" storybook, scriptures, prayer, and bed.  All in all a pretty quality day.

On Sunday morning there was this new stuff on the ground.  Not sleet or hail, it was snow!  Dad told me I'd seen it before but I don't remember.  They put me down in it and I was baffled.  Why was I here and what is this stuff on my hands?

Well then it got cold and that just wasn't cool!!

 Then the rest of the day was just chillin' at church looking so handsome and yet relaxed at the same time.  It's a hard balance to pull sometimes.

And there you have it!!  Pretty cool huh?!  You want my life.

(BTW this is me clapping obvi)

What's Really Important Here

Have you ever really thought about the sheer magnitude of things you should be doing with your life?  I know most people don't obsessively list like I do, but even then, there's lots of reminders about the many things you should be doing to enrich your obviously lacking life.  Just take a look at pinterest sometime if you don't believe me.  Fastest way to feel like an underachiever, trust me.

Here's just a sampling of the things that could be on the list:  Maybe you have a job for ten hours a day, not including travel time.  Maybe you don't have a "job" but you've got a gaggle of children at home to watch, ensure they eat, grow, learn, becoming functioning members of society  (I fully subscribe that this is a job and would never assert that these people have "never worked a day in their lives" as some others might believe).  Maybe you have both those things.  Maybe... you want to lose that 75lbs of baby weight you gained when you had said gaggle of children (may or may not be an estimate of what I actually gained) so you want to work out at least once a month, give or take.  You may have some aspirations of sleep every once in a while.  You may also be taking graduate classes (although why is BEYOND me, psh PhD, who needs one).  You may even have hobbies you would like to persue to stave off psychological breakdowns, for me this includes photography, crafting, hiking, and soccer.  Other things that cross my mind occassionly are scripture study, prayer, writing in my/my son's journal, updating his baby book since he grows so fast, etc.  ALSO there's actually playing with said son in the three hours he may be awake after I get home from work, talking to my husband, OH and cleaning my house!  (Cleaning may sound superflous when in this context but it's actually something I really need for my sanity)  Forget eating actual meals.

Also those stupid pins on pinterest of the six-pack-ab girl telling me that an hour workout is only 4% of my day.  You know what I say to you?  Nothing because I just punched you and my computer screen in the face.

Faced with this list, I think about the things I really want to do (after my bebe has gone to sleep of course):  Watch So You Think You Can Dance and White Collar.

I'm sure there are people out there who are better at prioritizing then I am.  They probably do all these things and think it's ridiculous that someone could even think this is a lot!  Well to them I say, nothing.  Good for you.  But anyway, this is an incredibly long build up to the fact that I'm going to try and begin blogging regularly again.  Maybe one day my children will want more from their childhood than their memories, my journal, their journal, and the probable millions of pictures I've taken of them.  It's possible.  I mean who knows, kids these days are never satisfied.  (So many tangents on parenting that I could go off on here but I'm having a little self restraint).

Basically I look at this little mug every day:

And I feel a great need to do all of these things, and do them well, so that he can have everything he needs for the rest of time.  No pressure.

Well here we go.

Cheers to reaching as high as possible!  I think my high school motto for the year I graduated was, "Shoot for the stars, because even if you miss you land among stars."  Or something equally cheesy.  Here's to that :).

5 Weeks

It's strange being pregnant and then having a small baby because you measure you life in weeks.  15 weeks pregnant: you're out of the first trimester!  20 weeks: you can know the gender.  32 weeks: your baby would survive if born.  38 weeks: full term - have the baby already!

Then after they're born it's a weekly, almost daily change, in the things they can do.  My baby sneezed 5 times in a row just now and then smiled at me.  He's five weeks old yesterday and he's changed so much.  And I take so many pictures I just need to share some :)

Three days old

Week and a half old

Three weeks old

One Month Old!!  Look at that little belly :)

Pregnancy... better than winter

I'll explain the title of this post in a minute, but first, WOW it has been a while since I've blogged.  Not for lack of thinking about blogging, but somehow it just didn't happen.  Anyway, some of the things that I did while I was away was; get married, graduate with my masters, move to a new state, and have a baby.

Really though what I wanted to talk about was a topic that everyone who has been talks about and yet no one talks about.  Pregnancy.

First, my pregnancy was really pretty easy.  I was sick for about 6 months but overall I was really healthy.  The sickness brings me to my first point:  Don't listen to anyone who tells you that they know what you can do to cure morning sickness.  That's complete and total bull.  You're different.  Embrace being different and good luck finding your own cure.

My next point is about your legs.  I'm sure everyone has seen those pinterest posts about how it's winter now (not right now but in the story...) and that means 4 months without shaving your legs.  Let's try 8 months while you're pregnant.  It's better than winter.  Not that you don't want to, but at first it's being nauseous bending over, then by the end you can't bend over at all so it's just not happening.  Better hope you have a husband who loves you (mine made fun of me).

Next:  "Normal weight gain is 25-35 pounds." HA.  BAHAHAHA.  That is just designed to make you go into panic mode every time you visit the doctor and they weigh you.

Anyway, lots of things about pregnancy were not as advertised.  But at least you get something cute at the end of it.  Case and Point:

Quotable Quotables

I just recently went to New York City and walked through the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim, and the Museum of Modern Art. There was a lot of art that I really loved, and a great deal of art that I really didn’t care for. Honestly I’m not a modern art person. I recognize that it is a big genre but I kind of feel that if I have enough talent to make a canvas of one solid color and just cut the corner off, then it shouldn’t be counted as art. I know that art is very much a personal preference but I have no talent for it so whenever there’s something that I could do… I don’t think of it as art.

I mean seriously?


But this is an aside to my thought about the whole art experience. All through these museums there were quotes from the artists. There was an entire Picasso exhibit in MoMA and next to every painting was a quote about it.

This got me thinking: Are my thoughts quotable?

I was talking to a friend of mine and she said that now sometimes she thinks in terms of blog posts. Like “this would be a great thing to blog about and the title would be…” After going to these museums I was taking pictures (my form of artistic expression) and I realized that while I take pictures I think to myself about what aspect of the picture I want to focus on, why I’m taking this specific picture, and what it all says to me. For example, on the way home from NYC I was on the airplane and the clouds were so fascinating. I took about 50 pictures just of the clouds while I was on the plane, trying to accent certain formations, and make sure I got all the different colors I could see. And I was having thoughts while I was doing it about how the clouds hold together, how it is different when we’re on the ground, and what it meant to me in terms of the Lord being everywhere and creating these beautiful things for me to see. And then I wondered whether anyone else would care to hear my thoughts? If I were to die a famous photographer (HA!) would there be anything interesting/fascinating/enlightening to put on my little quote tabs?

Basically I have no idea. I mean I find my thoughts interesting, but that doesn’t speak for anyone else. And then we have the problem that inherently comes with observational scientific experimentation (proving a science theory through only observation); an environment is changed because it is being observed. You can never completely observe something without affecting it. Meaning, once I began wondering if my thoughts were profound enough, I started trying to think more profound thoughts about the pictures I was taking. It was so weird! Although I’m pretty sure my thoughts are still not good enough to go in a museum, it makes me wonder whether Picasso and Monet and these other artists thought about their thoughts before sharing them.