Dishes

I'll never know what is quite so fascinating about the dishwasher. I'm a fan, but not like my son! But between this and the vacuum, I think I'm going to use chores as a bribe!! Honestly, a friend of mine's husband liked .... spinach? broccoli? so much as a child that his mother used it as a bribe. "You can have "vegetables" after you clean your room..." Wow. Maybe I can do that too.

Dad stopped all the fun.

So he helped from the ground.

Excuse

Part one:
I know, I know. "I'll be better at blogging" is what I said.
Well, we've been sick.
StoneMason has had this nasty nose that has been running like a fountain for almost two weeks. On top of that, his cough has been come and go. He decided to be nice and share the cold to boot. King Drake skipped out on work on Friday to nurse us back to health. That was sure nice of him.

Part two:
I promised my sister we'd post pictures of the lovely new couches we bought for a steal (thank you ksl). Here they are!

Eight

The number of teeth our son now has.
He's only nine (and a half) months old.
Sheesh.

Now if I could only decorate....

Here's the long awaited pictures of our home... well, some of them. Now my only problem is decorating- I've never been good. I need to find someone who's style is similar to mine (if I knew what that was) and just pay them to come decorate. Any volunteers?

Side note/ disclaimer: when we were looking for houses, King Drake hated it when you could only see the corner of a room from the picture... it turns out I take pictures of rooms the exact same way. Sorry.
The house.
The dining room.
The kitchen. I didn't do my dishes...
Our room.
Why we'll never need a dresser.... the closets are big enough to get lost in.

StoneMason's room is through those double doors. Its really a loft that overlooks the entry. We'll be closing that in so he can't throw things or himself over the edge. More to come soon- gotta run take care of Mason.

All by itself...
Nice and decorated...
All lit up...
Worth the $50... even with the bad description.

"Pine and Evergreenish."

We decided we would forgo waiting to buy a Christmas tree during the post-Christmas sales, and have been looking for a used, but nice one on KSL. We found a seven foot, pre-lit tree that was a year old, but it didn't have a picture attached. So, when I called the sellers to ask about it, this was our conversation.... in a nutshell.
Me: Could you tell me more about your Christmas tree? What does it look like, what condition is it in?
Seller: Oh, its pine and evergreenish.
Me: Aren't they all?

Really.
We bought the tree.

Home again, home again, jiggety jig.

My sister told me that abandoning writing was not an improvement as I promised last time. So in my defense, I didn't abandon it! We've been busy!
First, there was Thanksgiving and our "Tour de Family." We spent a day in Park City, a day in Orem, and a day in Payson, and still did not see all of our immediate family. We came home for one short day (Sunday) to give talks in our new ward and then we were off again. We've spent the last week watching a DIFFERENT family of kids (again from our old ward) while their parents were in China. Going from one to a total of five children has its challenges, but the kids were generally very good and very helpful.
So, that being said, we are finally home again and I promise pictures of our house will be forthcoming. We bought some couches yesterday for a steal... so now people can sit down when they come to visit. How nice.

Blogs

Tonight we've been watching our old neighbor's kids.  We love them, and I seriously miss living in their backyard and coming over anytime, day or night.  But back to the thought at hand.  King Drake is currently in the living room, being a good babysitter, and is playing board games with a 12 year old, a 10 year old, and a... 6? 7? year old.  I am being the bad babysitter and have been sitting at their computer (not to worry, its in the same room, I'm not completely shameless) reading various blogs.  It wouldn't be so bad if I hadn't been reading for almost an hour.  The only conclusion I've come to after this last hour is... I can't blog.  I once thought of myself as a decent writer.  In fact, going back to some of my old school papers, I consider myself brilliant.  (I never was very humble.)  But now I realize, those fantastic papers took thought, EDITING, and time.  And now, I don't even know what those three words mean.  Sure, I still THINK about posts, but not deeply.  I just write the quickest thoughts down and hurry on with my life.  And yet... am I really that busy?  Not really.  StoneMason keeps me on my toes, sure, but so much that I've given up thinking... now I just sound pathetic.  Now before you wonder what the real purpose of this post is (and if I even BRIEFLY thought about this one), I have set a new goal for myself.  Actually, I've set two.  1.  I will take time to think deeply about things again- and not just posts.  I will stop and think about my little boy, about my life, about things going on around me, instead of just giving them a passing glance and then moving on.     On a sidenote:  This was also brought on as I read a relative's blog.  I heard that they recently separated and was shocked, I had no idea anything was wrong, and by reading and looking at pictures no one would have known.  And I thought to myself, is my life as distant as their news was to me?  Am I really aware of my own life, or do I let things sneak up or slip by unnoticed.  I don't want to wake up surprised one day finding my life has moved on without any conscious thought.  Ok, enough.  If that didn't make sense, don't worry about it.  Goal two:  I will keep a better record (blogging or journaling) of my family.  Since I've never been a great journaler (with the exception of about two years during college) I can AT LEAST keep a brief, historical record (with pictures too!).  That is the least I can do for my children.  I have been feeling guilty that I haven't dutifully kept a daily journal for me, or for Mason, but I'm going to stop beating myself up over it.  I'll do my best in my journal and in his, those can be my "small plates" with significant meaning and memories.  This blog is now my "large plates" with new and improved deeper thinking... but mostly a record for my children.  I'm taking a leaf out of another old neighbor's book and am considering making a book out of the blog each year as the family "scrapbook."  Because lets be honest, it would look better than my normal scrapbooking.  

So, here it goes.  Here's for better blogging.  Perhaps none of you will be inspired by our brief recordings like I am by some of yours, but it will improve, and it will mean something to me.  And hopefully, to someone else.

Helpful

Update

Life's been a little crazy lately. StoneMason just cut tooth number five, and is in the processing of cutting two more. Joy. He's also mastered pulling up on EVERYTHING. His favorite is to pull up on the piano bench, stretch his fingers WAY up high, and hit the keys on the piano. It usually results in him hitting his chin on the piano bench on the way down as he topples from his precarious, unbalanced position. He might knock out those teeth as fast as he gets them in. Poor guy. His other favorite is to crawl up stairs. Unfortunately he hasn't figured out down yet. We have just a few steps to get into our living room, and he's constatnly trying to go down them head first. It's pretty entertaining to watch, and he gets mad if we try to turn him around to teach him to go backwards. Maybe someday he'll get it... or maybe we'll buy him a helmet.
We're pretty much unpacked, except a few boxes that I've just hid in a room- out of sight, out of mind. Pictures will get put up eventually- for now, just covering a few of the major nails will suffice. For those out of state, it is a balmy 50+ degrees everyday and the grass still has some green in it. Maybe we'll have a green Christmas. I certainly hope not.

We're in!

Yeah!
We made it... a few bumps on the way, but we are official homeowners and everything seems to have turned out for the best. Well, the bank is probably more of the official homeowner, but still.
Now, for unpacking...
I'll post pictures... when I find my camera... and if we get the internet set up this week... (I'm posting from my mom's.)

New Names

In case we confuse a few...
We've renamed ourselves. Courtesy of our neighbor, our son is now "the Little Stone Mason." We might just call him Mason. It sounds kind of like the little engine that could.
His name is due to the fact that EVERYTHING he grabs is immediately pounded up and down, up and down.
Husband here is King Drake. Ask his friends.
I am the Barefoot Queen- but since I never talk in the 3rd person, that doesn't really matter. Drake never posts anyhow...

4 teeth

No wonder hes been cranky.

Chopin, Beehoven,....Elder....

StoneMason is starting early. We have a competition going with Beethoven.
He even has artistic looking hands. My grandmother and piano teachers would all be so proud.
Classic "Deer in the Headlights"
He seems to be enjoying himself.
And he even lets Dad play duets with him.

See what I mean?

At least the binki made it to his mouth...

House anyone?

I know...
Lets buy this one!

We're supposed to close on Halloween. We'll be official home owners and

officially back in debt (but only for 30 years).

Creative

StoneMason has some interesting perspectives on the way things work. For example, cribs are for playing peek-a-boo. He peeks over the edge and laughs at us when we put him down for a nap.
Exersaucers are for crawling under like a tunnel.
Binky pacification isn't only achieved through sucking. For him, it's all about how and at what angle he makes it go into his mouth. It's just as soothing (and definitely more fun) if you put it in your mouth sideways or even backwards
When our cell phones ring, we are sure Mason is thinking at least one of the following:
- "That sounds good. I bet it tastes good."
- "Who cares who it is, how about those lights and that music."
- "I'll get it."
Paper is many things for him such as the most terrific toy, a nice noise maker, a tasty treat, and great for origami (the cloud he made was amazing).
According to Mason, food can be used for eating, art work and spitting. My personal favorite is when he uses food (or at least our desire to feed it to him) to show us that we can't impose our will upon him and that he has a little will of his own. Mason and his gaping mouth will happily be devouring every bite of food we put in front of him and then all of a sudden, the mouth closes and his face gets serious. For the next few minutes there is nothing you can do, short of using your own two hands, to get that mouth open. Then, out of nowhere, he starts eating again.

I did it...

before...

and after.
I was sick of getting my hair pulled, so I cut it! Its the shortest its been since I was little.

"scawling": a combination of scooting and crawling

All we do is place a cell phone (his favorite thing) across the room and call it so it lights up and makes noise.
He can't resist...
he was a lot more cheerful the first time though... this was his 3rd.

*sorry, this is a bit long. I should have cut some of it out... and the cell phone is a bit loud since it was right next to the camera... we'll do better next time.

VERY CUTE

Grandma bought him this outfit... about six months BEFORE he was born. It's adorable...
But either the shirt is getting too small now, or his belly is a bit too big...
He wore this to church and everyone in the ward wanted to take him home.

I believe in miracles...

he fell asleep ON HIS BACK for the VERY FIRST time...

It's a New School Year

... and for the first time since I was five... it has absolutely zero impact on me. Well, not quite. I tossed and turned all night dreaming they didn't have a 6th grade teacher and had to call me in last minute. I had ADULTS in my class mixed in with kids who were throwing bouncy balls around the room and couldn't even multiply. I was taking recess away from them already because they were TERRIBLE! I was happy to wake up for once.
In all honesty, I am feeling a little blue. I miss feeling like I really accomplished something or contributed in some way. I was reading my friend's blog and she mentioned how some days she feels down because she sees the cool crafts others do and wonders why she isn't that way. I could completely relate!! I keep thinking I need a hobby. Sewing? Cooking? Scapbooking? Not for me. So, StoneMason and I have fun on our own... just in a boring way. And my desperate need to do SOMETHING has been filled in an unexpected way. A lady in my ward has a friend who needs some help cleaning and taking care of her 4 year old three mornings a week. It's not too long, and it pays, but most of all, it gets me out of the house!! Yeah! I start today. I hope its a good substitution for teaching.... or else the nightmares of run-amuck 6th graders/adults might persist.

Stone Mason of the Squished Face

That's what you get when your parents make you wear a life-jacket.

Caricatures

We got these in New Orleans. Any good?

The last week

We had a great week last week. I'm finally getting the pictures onto the computer!! New Orleans was fun. It was interesting to see- even if its not a place I would normally visit. It was interesting to see the areas that were damaged by Katrina and some of the historic places. Above, we discoverd a new kind of soup... made fresh with titanium. Drake managed to scrub his ring off 3 times while cleaning of the BBQ shrimp from his hands. Speaking of food- that's probably what we enjoyed most about New Orleans. I ate on the more conservative side (as always) and Drake enjoyed everything I won't normally cook!
Here we are at the Super Dome in New Orleans. They had an "opening ceremony" for the convention. I think it was just an excuse to party. And no one can say they don't know how to party! The music was great (gospel and jazz) and of course entertainment was live. There was great food too. Everyone seemed a bit tipsy and loud thanks to all the free drinks they were handing out. Here we are standing in line waiting for a man to draw a caricature of us. Mason actually looked at the camera.
Happy Birthday to me. Drake was a doll and got me my favorite: cinnamon rolls and books. He made me promise I'd post some of these.

Two Vacations.

We haven't updated anything in a while. We didn't drop off the face of the planet- well, we did go to Montana- that's close. We spent a week in Montana with the some extended family up at Flathead lake, two days at home, and then Drake's work sent him to New Orleans... so I tagged along. It was all fun and games, but boy, it is nice to be home again.

Teething at 4 months 3 wks old.

The title says it all. He's cut his two bottom front teeth. One you can see better than the other. Ouch.
At least he didn't take after his grandma and cut teeth at 3 months.

Update...

So, here's what's new:
We sold our car and bought a new one (well, new for us). No pictures, but it's a lot nicer and it FITS A CARSEAT SOO MUCH BETTER! It will be great to drive it up to Montana- where we're headed for a week long vacation! Yahoo!
StoneMason can roll over (at least one way). He wakes himself up and gets all mad- he can't figure out why he's on his back. He is the "king of the dinner table" as shown above sitting on his throne. Its a rather messy throne. He loves, did I say LOVES cereal. We can't shovel it fast enough. The other day some fell on his tray and he leaned his head down and started sucking it off the tray. Funny kid. Speaking of king, he thinks he's king of the pool too. Check out the smug look.