Quite a Game of Blog Tag

what is your occupation? Mom.

what are you listening to right now? Nick Drake, Pink Moon. I was listening to it then when I went to Molly's blog to get these questions the same song came on. Kind of crazy.

what is the last thing you ate? Cucumbers and tomatoes with lime and salt.

do you wish on stars? Of Coarse, but I'm running out of wishes.

if you were a crayon what color would you be? Depends on the day. There should be a mood crayon like mood rings.

how is the weather right now? Tolerable, which is better than it's been for months.

last person you talked to on the phone? My Mom. She brought us dinner cuz I've been a little sick.

do you like the person who tagged you? Molly? What's not to like?

how old are you right now? 27

your favorite drink? agua pura

favorite sport to watch? Not big on watching sports. I swear I have ADD. I'd much rather be playing.

have you ever dyed your hair? Yup. I'm in denial that I'm not truly blonde now that I'm out of the sun.

your favorite job? Mom. Most of the time.

any pets? Nope. Thank goodness cuz we came close to getting a dog while waiting on Eden. That would have been disasterous I think.

favorite month? April. New life gives me a renewal.

favorite food? Sandwhiches or a big salad. Yum. Wait, does chocolate count as a food. Maybe I pick Ice Cream. Hmmm. It might take a while for me to decide on just one.

what was the last movie you watched? 27 Dresses. Thanks Micah, but I shouldn't be allowed to pick. It was pretty bad.

favorite day of the year? That's usually a suprise. You can never really tell what a day has in store for you.

what do you do to vent anger? Exercise, and if not watch out Micah.

fall or spring? Spring. Fall is like the haunting of what's just around the corner.

hugs or kisses? Either one. Eden's turned into quite the huggy bear lately and I love it.

cherry or blueberry? Blueberries every time.

living arrangements? Micah and I live in Taj and Eden's house. They run this place.

when was the last time you cried? Can't remember. I forget about the bad time's pretty quickly.

what is on the floor in your closet? Dusty slipper.... I'm coming to get you out soon!!!

who is the friend that you have known the longest? Amy Smith or Sara Chase.

what did you do last night? After the kids went down I got down with some 30 Rock and Americone Dream ice cream.

what inspires you? Taj, Eden, and the other beautiful things-thoughts, actions, feelings, views....

what are you afraid of? Cancer. Never living by the ocean. (I must have it pretty rough to be most afraid of that). I also hate scary movies. I'm pretty scared of the world I get to raise my kids in too.

how many keys are on your key ring? two. Want to guess what they are?

how many years at your current job? 2 years and five months, not counting pregnancy.

favorite day of the week? Friday cuz I'm excited about getting the weekend started.

where have you lived? Utah, Hawaii, New Mexico, and Florida.

first cd you ever bought? I think it was PM Dawn. Maybe it was Richard Marx. Don't remember that specificly, but either way I'm pretty sure I was a dork.

favorite vacation? Costa Rica, Lake powell or each time we've been back to HI.

favorite tv shows? The Office, Colbert Reprt, Flight of the Concords, 30 Rock, My Name is Earl, A.F.V. america's best dance crew. Just realized how much t.v. I'm watching these days. Yuck.

You're it Lindsay Horne and Bailey.

an Update

Taj has been getting worked lately. He goes through little periods of being really clumsy and getting hurt, usually during growth spurts, but lately he's just plain getting dosed. We went to a basketball game of Micah's the other night and as Taj sweetly sat on the front row getting into the excitement of the game and the atmosphere a guy got mad at the ref and threw the ball. The ref didn't catch the ball and it goes flying right at inocent little Taj. He was hurt, but as a kid the suprised and embarrassed factors made it sooooo much worse. I was shocked how quickly he bounced back and pleased that he was more willing to stay close to mom afterwords.
It's finally warm enough to go outside so Taj was taking full advantage. We played until he got so hurt I put my foot down and made him come in for a nap. First he hit the beam holding up our balcony with the top of his head (not sure what was going on to cause that one), then he was riding his bike and not really watching where he was going and rode right into our gate leaving his nose and eye all tore up. What a tough kid doing his best to smile while I took the picture of his battle wounds.Here we have "Fireman Sam". Anyone heard of the show? Me either until we found it on Demand a week ago. Now that's all Taj talks about. We turn on the fireplace and all of a sudden it's, "Fireman Sam to the rescue. He's gonna save the day." We got into it with him.
We finally got to use the "Hawaii Stroller". I got this stroller before we went to HI and haven't used it since we got back until today! I wasn't the only one excited. Taj and Eden were all about it.

the "Great Job on the Crapper" Phone Call

"Hi Nana. Miss you Nana. He went poo poo on the potty."

Silence.

In a whisper, " It look like snakes. Hsssssss."

That boy cracks me up. He gets M&M's when he goes on the potty so every once and a while Taj will ask to try it out. We've had great luck a few times now. Who knew the potty could be so exciting. I'm definitely waiting a little longer to dive into it whole heartedly, but yeah! It looks like snakes!

Thanks for Blogging

Last night I hung out with Molly, a girl I grew up with, after at least a few years. We hardly even talked to each other until a few months ago when we found each other through the computer and have been hanging out in Blog-ville, checking up on each other. We finally got together with our families last night and had a blast-ee. I can't even list the cool people from my life that I thought might be lost that I've reconnected with through blogging. It might sound cheesy, but this housewife in the cold of Utah is really grateful for blogging.
In other news, I am also grateful for Babywise. I'm not saying it's for everyone, but everyone should at least consider. Ha. It really has made an amazing difference for us in just a few days. It made a difference from even the first day. Eden woke up once last night! I don't think I was a bad mom before, I think I was just a tired and rundown mom before. I love the predictable routine of it, and it seems so does Eden because she's a happy camper. I'm worried I'm jinxing it by talking about it. Thanks for the input and support. Just knowing there are other mom's out there with sleep issues too is comforting.

New Room, New Sleeping Habits

Eden started sleeping in her own room a couple nights ago, and I think they were two of the longest nights I've had with her in a couple months. I'm wondering if it's the new location and if it might just take a few more days or what. Whatever it is, I'm getting worried that this up-every-other-hour-for-a-hug thing is her new style. In a nervous fit I've been reading "On Becoming Babywise" hoping to find a solution, or at least an explanation for this sleeplessness. As I'm reading it I feel like I'm getting a bit brainwashed. I also wonder if it's too late to start at four months. I will take any feedback on Babywise: the good, the bad and the ugly.

I also wanted to show off some pictures of the room that we finally got ready for Eden. I'm so proud of Micah's handy work on refinishing the dresser and painting the walls. I could say he did it for me, but the truth is I know he would do anything for that sweet little girl.

My funny Valentine's Day

The first Valentine's Day I shared with Micah was more amazing than any I even imagined. I woke up to roses placed around my room with notes next to them telling of reasons he loves me. The day got better and better. Needless to say, I married that secretly romantic guy. We haven't quite topped that first Valentine together, and probably because we don't feel like we have to. Every year with Micah has been special and memorable in their own way.

This year was extra special because it was new and special for Taj. We started the day with pink pancakes (they were suposed to be hearts) and pink milk. I've never seen him eat so much in my life. He just kept asking for more. I like this picture because you can see he snuck his hand in the shot to get a pink pancake. He couldn't wait. I've added food coloring to his food a couple of times and it has helped keep my two year old interested in eating- pretty hard to do. At his "Wee Read" class they read and sang all sorts of fun Valentin's Day books and songs, and he got a lolipop (posibly his favorite part of the day). At home we made Valentine's for a few special ladies in his life. The most exciting part for me was his date that night. Taj went out with his Nana and PopPop to a play of "Jungle Book". He sat through the whole thing and had an amazing time, from what I'm told anyway. I love this big boy stuff.

Micah and I took it easy that night, but made up for it the next day on our date. I planned the most romantic thing I could think of- Kangaroo Zoo! It's a huge warehouse full of jumping castles, slides and mazes. We felt like we were on the set of American Gladiators. After getting sweaty there we went and got pedicures. A little girls day out-ish, but I challange anyone to get a pedicure and say they didn't enjoy it. I guess it was Micah showing me one more time how much he loves me by humoring me on that date. We have fun together no matter what we do. I'm so lucky to have married my best friend, and we still like and love each other after all this time.

"Finally!"

We gave Eden her first serving of rice cereal yesterday. She ate almost every drop, holding onto the spoon unil she got it all. When we were done she kept trying to eat everything she could... the bib, the high chair and even her hands looking for more of that tastey rice cereal. I love this stage.

Little Van Gough

Taj LOVES to draw. Anytime he sees a writing utencile he imediately asks for some paper to draw on. I wonder where he gets it. Maybe my talented husband. This is one Micah did most recently, and one of my favorites.

This is one of Taj's first major works of art. He had so much fun, and we love it so much that I think I'm going to start framing some of his stuff.

We just got this art eisle from Ikea (love that evil place). He had so much fun drawing and erasing (doing majic) that he would stop every other minute to jump and dance around. Good purchace. Happy parents.

So Bored

Eden Waimea

I find it hard to believe it's been four months already. Don't get me wrong, there have been some long days and nights. I think what I mean to say is that life without Edens bright eyes, coo's and squeels, Micah sized burps, stretches, and hugs seems like a million years ago. To think it's only been four months.

She rolled over today for the first time! She loves to talk and as Taj puts it, "hang out." Eden loves her brother and spends most of her day on my hip watching her busy brother explore the world as only a two year old can. Edo's (one of her nicknames) loves to be int the tub and is very forgiving of her brothers splashing. She sleeps pretty well. She's put herself on the schedule of eight o'clock to bed and only getting up to eat a couple times in the night. I'm o.k. with it. We love you Eden and know we are blessed to have you in our family.

Now what?

We just got back from our family trip to Hawaii. Leaving a vacation and trying to get back into your old routine is never fun. I think that the bad thing about Hawaii is how quickly time flys there. Instead of going into my list of complaints about Utah in February, I will just upload some memories and happy thoughts.As a mom that grew up in Hawaii there is something about my kids playing without shoes on, sleeping on a towel on the beach, and climbing trees that really feels like love and childhood. I was a happy mom in the Hawaiian tradewinds.
Is this what heaven looks like? I think so.
I think Eden liked the taste of salt and sunscreen because she never stopped sucking on her or my hand.
Taj forgot about snowcones really quickly. Saying we were going to get shave ice became the great motivator.
We got a similar shot of micah holding Taj and a surfboard a couple years ago when Taj was that little. Nothing like a Dad taking his family to the beach.

The first night back in Utah Taj asked me if we could go back to our Hawaii house. All I could think was how homesick I was too.