Boise Foothills

On Sunday evening we went for a family walk (hike for Caleb since we were in the hills) in the Boise foothills not far from where we live. It was really nice to get out and walk around and fun to do it as a family. Annika slept most of the time and Caleb spent the first while begging to get out of his backpack and "get out and hike." We wanted to actually go somewhere and not spend hours digging in the dirt so we made him sit in the backpack for quite a while. Here we are starting out:
Part way along

Then we finally stopped and let Caleb get out. If you can see above there is a strip of green that signifies water and the trail and stream met up and that's where we got out and ate our snacks and had a rest. Caleb wouldn't eat or drink a thing (even though I'm sure he needed to, it was past dinner time) because it was such a waste to eat when he could play. I remember finding it terribly burdensome to eat as a kid and just wanting to play. Caleb loves to be outside and play. He could spend all day every day outside. It will be nice to move into our new house so he can do that more. Here is a little video and picture of Caleb playing in the water:

Then after having enjoyed our walk so much on Sunday evening, I set out to get more exercise and today went for a walk up the trail closest to our apartment. I pushed Caleb in the stroller and carried Annika on my front and tried to get a good workout for about a half an hour. Then we headed to another little stream, this one with a bridge, where Caleb could play and I fed Annika. I let Caleb get out a bit before the stream and walk a bit. Here are some pictures of the hillside and Caleb walking. I didn't take any of him at the stream.

I couldn't help but think of our time in Park City on the last couple walks. Andy and I got to live in Andy's parents' condo in Park City the summer after Caleb was born. Andy studied for the bar and I finished my thesis and stressed immensely over Caleb, poor kid. However, their condo backs a beautiful hillside with a trail starting in the back yard. I wanted to get back in shape after having had a baby and hiked up the hill to a flag pole on top every day. At first it took me a while and then I got better and could go pretty fast. I took Caleb in the front carrier and we waited until it had cooled off and the sun was setting in the evening. Here are a couple pictures of the trail

Andy's sister and her family are going to live there for a couple months this summer and I am green with envy. I know, Alisa, it comes with a large price. I loved living there that summer and all the beautiful trails. I loved the walk we took every evening up that hill. It was absolutely beautiful. I also got in really good shape. Looking back I'm really pretty impressed but realize it was living close to such a beautiful walk. I've never been good about going to gyms or even running around town consistantly, but that walk I could do every day of my life--especially having it start right out your back door. Hope you Hammonds have a wonderful time there!! And you can see, while the Boise foothills have their own beauty...Park City is enchanting.

Raccoon

This morning I took out the trash and saw a raccoon on top of the car port. I hurried in and got Caleb's shoes on and took him outside to show him. It had fallen back asleep so I went over by it and clapped and then had to move a branch and it poked it's head up. Caleb was nervous and stayed on the far sidewalk. But when the raccoon poked it's head up Caleb loved watching it. It's still up there asleep in the shade of the tree.

Baby Shower

Some friends in the ward have been trying to throw me a baby shower for a while now and it finally happened. Here are some photos

Earlier this week

Annika woke up happy. Caleb woke up sick. It was a long day but I took a lot of pictures. The above is a video because Annika woke up so smiley I wanted to get it on film. I also wanted my mom to see this outfit so I changed her diaper and clothes before taking the video and she wasn't as smiley. But that's okay.

Annika changed her outfit many times throughout the day. Caleb stayed in his pajamas all day. They were his Cars pajamas and he loves them. Whenever he wears them it's a fight to change out of them.
Happy baby. Enter brother. Not so sure. Smart baby.

Our kids have such expressive faces.

Caleb reading to Annika.
.Caleb sitting by Annika. Annika not so sure about this. Again, smart baby.

Mommy probably shouldn't have let them sit together...

Warily looking on.

Caleb wanted me to take a picture of his eye

...and his mouthBy the end of the day it had warmed up and Annika was in her third outfit (or maybe it was even more than that--this girl has so many cute clothes!!). This little dress was part of my Mother's Day present from my sister.

Brithday take two (at Grandma's)

This was the Sunday after Caleb's birthday and I forgot we had these videos. The first one just shows how things are at Grandma and I found it entertaining.

Griping

I was just scanning facebook while I was waiting for my pictures to load and I read my cousin Jennifer's byline about being positive because everything is so negative in the world. Jennifer is one of the most fun people to be around and has had a lot of tough times and has laughed through a lot of them. I was feeling incredibly grumpy and sorry for myself, and despite her bright call for positivity am still in a very bad mood--Sorry Jennifer. Give me a few hours and I'll be okay again. In the meantime, I sort of feel like writing in one of the two or three journals I have floating around that I haven't written in in ages, but I know if I did that it would just be a lot of venting and probably just make me more angry and irritated. So instead I'm writing a blog entry and griping to the great void. You do not have to read this at all. In fact I'm writing it for myself and should probably just push delete when I'm done, but I'll post it so people who think other people have blogs to show how perfect their lives are, are incorrect in this moment. So I'll gripe first then count my blessings to end on a positive note. Gripes: I made a dinner I was so looking forward to and it totally didn't turn out. It was a new recipe and I bought cheap chicken (so much for my resolves to change the world huh?) and didn't buy the right kind of bread crumbs, so perhaps I'll try it again. Andy and I had a discussion about food and shopping (let me make it clear ANDY DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING TO MAKE ME THINK THIS--I THOUGHT IT ALL ON MY OWN!) and I just realized I'm not a very good cook and my desires for a healthy family would be greatly improved if I could improve my organizational skills, time management, and cooking skills. I need to plan better and make more time for preparing meals that everyone would like and that are also nutritious. Also, my house is almost always a mess. I hate that. I never thought I would have a messy house. I grew up in a very neat and orderly house. I know how to clean, it just is always messy--and sometimes dirty. I think I just need to accept this and move on with life. Actually today (as part of counting my many blessings) Caleb went to bed at 9:00, which is early around here, Annika is asleep, the dishes are done, and things are fairly picked up. But this is highly unusual. If anyone were to stop by randomly, chances are it would be a mess. An embarrassing mess. Not just, "oh I have a two year old and some toys are in the living room mess," but dirty dishes, stuff on the counter that needs to be dealt with, messy bedrooms, probably the bathrooms need to be cleaned, etc, etc. If I start thinking about it, I can come up with a few dozen things that need improvement in my life. So I need to stop thinking about it. If this were a journal entry it would be way worse and like Alisa, I need to go through and edit my journals before I die, so why add another entry that would just need to be disposed of? Instead I'll get it out of my system on the computer. Andy just came home so I'll wrap this up with some positive things. Andy just went to the store and got food for his lunches. Annika is an amazing sleeper. Caleb falls asleep by himself and sleeps through the night. Andy has a good job. We just bought a house. Our peas our coming up. Yes--I have one ince pea plants!! I was very happy about that!

Nursery

Today Andy took Annika for the last part of church since I was doing sharing time and he was done teaching his class. He took her in a room that is part of the nursery but the divider was shut. There was a nice rocking chair in there and they both fell asleep. But before he fell asleep Andy heard, "Caleb, you can't hit," "Caleb you need to stop hitting," interspersed with, "Will come down you're going to fall."

For the Grandmothers

Annika

No, I don't have a picture. I promise I'll take one in a bit. I just have to say how much I love this little girl. What a blessing she is in our lives. She brings us so much happiness. She has also blessed us with what a great sleeper she is and how sweet and content she is. I'm so grateful for her.

Baby Steps

One of the favorite movies at our house is What About Bob? We watched it again the other day and it's good every time. "Baby Steps" came to mind as I was thinking of the post I'm going to write. See there are so many problems with the world and so many ways I need to live my life better that I get totally overwhelmed by it all. I get "all-or nothing" about it and then it's too much. I've got to learn to go in baby steps--so hard for a nature like mine who wants to be completely part of something...

Anyway, I've slowly started some improvements that help my life coincide with my beliefs and now I will proceed to evangelize them on this blog.

First: Cleaning products

I recently read, in one of the many books I'm reading, that "the average sample of breast milk produced by a woman in the US contains over 100 contaminants. Some 25 percent of the breast milk supply is now so laden with toxic foreign substances that if bottled and sold as a food product it would violate federal food safety regulations." So what I thought was the best and safest thing I could possibly feed my kid is really just another thing to worry about! So what to do? First of all I have to constantly remind myself that I just do a little and do the best I can, Baby Steps, you know. Here are some things I've found helpful:
-Get rid of all Windex. White vinegar works just as well and is way safer. There's no real reason to use Windex. When I was a custodian at BYU they told us of the ills of the stuff and we were supposed to follow the directions (had I EVER read the directions on that? No) and spray into the rag so as not to breathe it in and always use gloves. I'd grown up doing neither and sad to say didn't heed the advise of my managers as custodian either. Old habits die hard. But now I do not own Windex and just have a squirt bottle with Vinegar. Vinegar also does pretty well with hard water stains and worked just as well if not better on my windows that had lots of hard water from sprinkers.
-Borax is good for cleaning bathroom sinks.
-Hydrogen Peroxide is a disinfectant. I've started cleaning my toilet bowl with it. Then after rincing it, doing a one over with Borax. I don't know if the fact that it kills germs in your mouth means it kills fecal germs, but who really knows if the stuff they sell us really does either.

So brief interlude. The more I've been reading lately, the more I feel betrayed. I've felt that all things I buy are safe for me and that laws and regulations are out to protect us, etc., etc. And while laws and regulations are out there to protect us, I as a consumer need to be so much more informed and careful about things. I'm such a trusting person. Time to start reading fine print and inform myself.

-I mop my floor with vinegar.

Well, I hope to do a lot more changes as far as cleaning. I'm reading and trying to find safe but effective ways to clean. Luckily my parents have done a really good job getting me started and we didn't use pesticides, herbicides, oven cleaner, or other dangerous chemicals. But we did use comet, toilet bowl cleaner, windex, and pinesol. I'm trying to find easy ways to get rid of these now too.


Food:

I recently read The Omnivores Dilemma by Michael Pollan. I loved it. I've known a lot about the ills of our food industry and just try to block out what I know when I buy things. I've known how awful animals are treated as they are grown to feed us and it makes me ill to think about. But I still buy and eat meat. I've known that the hormone levels in milk from the hormones they inject in cows to make a few more bucks on faster growing beef is slowly making puberty start earlier in girls and could be linked to fertility problems nationwide. Yet, because organic milk is over twice as much I don't buy it. I've known about all this long before reading The Omnivores Dilemma, but the book is pretty convincing. I have decided to try to change for the better for my own health and my family's. Baby Steps. I bought my first half gallon of organic, hormone and antibiotic free milk. I've been buying organic yogurt for Caleb for months now. And we just planted a little garden.

As you can see this is a different set of beliefs than you might have originally thought, but I believe in doing what's best for our health, individually, as a community, as a country, and for the world. There are so many problems and when I read about any of them, poverty, hunger, disease, misuse of power, abuse, etc., all over I just feel like there isn't anything I can do. You may not think that changing the way I clean or eat has anything to do with those, but to me it all ties into doing what's best for our world, starting with us. So see it is trying to live in line with my beliefs.

I'll keep you posted. As long as Andy doesn't think this bit of spouting off out to all of our beloved readers isn't too annoying. :)

Italian Bread

This morning I couldn't find anything that looked good for breakfast so I got out a cookbook and found a recipe for this Italian cheese bread that looked really good. I was making it and Caleb pulled the little step ladder we keep in the kitchen up to help. As I was making the filling on the other side of the counter he somehow fell over and brought the bowl full of bread dough on top of him. It was a HUMONGOUS mess! He was covered in dough and by poor design the bowl hit a spot of carpet in the dining room. (Whoever designs houses or apts with carpet near the kitchen or dining room should just expect that carpet to get ruined!) Caleb was crying and got up and ran towards the living room dropping globs of dough as he went. I got his clothes off and dumped him in the tub. Ate some left over brown rice for a very late breakfast, and then Annika woke up. We put her in the bath too. Thankfully both kids were very cooperative. Annika watched Caleb play in his room for a while and then got fussy. But then she fell asleep and slept in her swing long enough for me to clean up all the dough off the carpet. It took quite a while, but I think it's clean. After telling him about five times, Caleb understood that he couldn't come in where the mess was and he played while I cleaned it up. That sort of thing doesn't happen very often so I was very grateful (messes happen, kids being cooperative so I can clean them up is what is harder to come by). I wish I would've gotten a picture of Caleb covered head to foot in bread dough and the piles of it on the floor. Unfortuately the batteries weren't charged. Now the Italian cheese bread is cooking in the oven and my stomach is growling again.

Things I want to remember

I wrote in my journal every single day of high school. It's the only time I've been a faithful journal writer. However, most of it is completely ridiculous and about crushes or something. Now during such an important and wonderful time of my life, the only journal I keep is this blog. I'm realizing as I'm watching Annika grow up that I don't remember what Caleb was like at her age and am forgetting things so fast. When they happen I think I'll remember them forever and then I forget so fast. I want to take a quick moment this mother's day and write down some of the things I hope never to forget:

--watching Caleb run down the hallway with his fine hair flying around and a huge grin on his face. I want to remember the look of how he runs now as a toddler and that complete look of joy on his face.

--the fun and wonderful way Caleb communicates now. The other day he was describing a shirt that a friend made him for his birthday. He said, "Drew's mom built it for me." Isn't it so create to use the word built since he doesn't know the word sew that well?

--the way Caleb dances when we have dance parties.

--the way Annika looks up at me. How am I going to remember this? I love it and don't even know how to describe it. I'm hoping that by just writing it I'll remember how her deep eyes look and the content look in her face.

--The feel of Annika sleeping against me.

--The way Caleb walks. His gait is just so cute.

--The high voice Caleb uses when talking to Annika. He is so sweet and wants to be gentle. (Then of course, he gets crazy--but I want to remember his gentle moments)

--The way Caleb pretends to talk on the phone and who he thinks to talk to. He said he was calling Kathy Parker, our relator, when Andy was making phone calls to contractors. How smart is that? :)

--Today during church I told him that the sacrament was to help us remember Jesus. For some reason he was very reverent and attentive of what was going on during sacrament today. However, he ususally uses a fairly loud voice to talk and as I was telling him he said, "Thinking of Jesus" and the people in front of us smiled. I loved hearing him say that and the way he watched the sacrament getting blessed and passed.

--"Good catches" in the bathtub. He "falls down" and catches himself in the tub.

--his laugh

--her smile that infuses her whole face and especially her eyes

--rocking either of them

I hope I will take more time to record things so that I won't forget. I was trying to think of how and when Caleb started talking and I realized how fuzzy it all is and it's only been a year or so. I want to remember it all. I am so thankful to be a mother and I love my kids so much!

April 20th

This was a pretty eventful day and I have composed several blog entries in my head that have not made it to the computer and were probably much better than this one will be, but at least I'm finally adding it. On April 20th, 2009, Andy and I bought our first home. It needs a lot of fixing up and our lease at our apartment doesn't end until July 31 (there is a pretty substantial fee for breaking it) so we are living in our apartment while we fix up the house. Only since we don't have much experience in that sort of thing and I take care of two little kids and Andy gets paid by billable hours, we're hiring most of it out. We actually haven't started any of that. The only thing we have started is the garden and that is taking lots longer than I had originally anticipated. Which is what I should have anticipated, right? :) Since we haven't done any work on the house or made any sort of monetary payments (besides the earnest money) it doesn't quite seem real. But nonetheless, we have keys and Caleb can tell you about our new house.

Also on the 20th Andy rode his bike to work and when he went to ride it home it was gone. Let me explain what happened. Andy had made a quick trip to the recorders office to check something out about our property before we met with the Realtor and the title agent that morning. Because he was in such a hurry and had a lot on his mind when he parked his bike at the very full rack downtown, he attached his very heavy duty lock to the rack but not to the bike. At least that's what we figure happened since the lock was securely attached to the rack and didn't look touched, while the bike was no where to be found. I was so bummed since I knew Andy loved his bike and had basically rebuilt it with all the components he liked. He's spent quite a bit of time and energy into it being basically his only big hobby. However, after searching local bike shops, online, and craigslist, he found one two days later. He is now the very proud owner of a Cannondale. If you scroll down to Caleb's birthday you can see a bit of his yellow framed Cannondale, built in the USA, behind Caleb's birthday cake. Now Andy is telling me details to add about his bike: He got a sceamin' deal on a 1998 Cannondale F300 Volvo/Cannondale team replica--the same model that the great Tinker Juarez rode during the 1998 season.
We were all really happy he could find a substitute.

My Birthday

My birthday was on the 29th and Andy was out of town. The house was still a bit of a mess from Caleb's party but I decided to go shopping and start my garden instead of cleaning the house. It was my birthday, Andy wasn't home and I felt like I could do whatever I wanted. We took a duplicate birthday present back to Toys R Us and they gave us cash back. You know I thought about just keeping it. Then I thought, no this is Caleb's birthday gift--I can't keep it. So we walked around the store looking at things. I think we've done this once or twice before but haven't really bought things that he's picked out so he just merrily looked at everything and played with displays. He had a grand time and near the end we found a really neat CAT backhoe digger and a plastic bat and ball in exchange for a bubble blowing dog. He was so thrilled with the bat and ball he wouldn't let go of it for the guy to scan it. He usually understands the concept of buying something (we,ve bought things he really likes like candy and he had no trouble buying it), but he wasn't about to let the bat and ball out of his tight grip. We went to two other stores after that and at Target he kept askingto go back to the bubble store.

Home Depot was the last stop and we bought a shovel--well two shovels, some seeds and a tomato plant. The second shovel was because I saw a miny one of the one I bought for me that was about two feet tall and exactly like my five foot one. I thought Caleb would love it.

After lunch we went up to the new house--oh yes, we bought a house--and started digging up the sod. I only got about 4x5 feet done because Annika didn't like sitting in her carseat. We also met the kids that live on the other side. We bought a condo--only there are only two so it's more like a duplex. We share the yard with a very nice woman and her two kids ages 6 and 4. They are thrilled at making a garden. Since then I've only dug out maybe a 5x12 foot area and have planted a bit of lettuce and a few pepper seeds but I really need some more time to get it looking good and plant it in an organized manner. I'm terrible with plants as much as I'd like to be good with them and will be happy if we harvest even a very small amount from this garden. How could I have been raised growing a large garden every year of my life and feel so clueless as to how to get some vegetable to grow in my back yard? Water is my big question and my parents always took care of that. I can weed really well since that is what I did a lot. Whether or not the garden turns out it was a wonderful way to spend my birthday. Our house is up in the foothills and the view is beautiful. The weather was nice and it was so pretty outside and felt so good to work outside. I'm really very excited to do yard work and hope i can work something out with Annika.

Caleb had a wonderful time playing in the dirt. He was so excited. The backhoe we bought was perfect for digging in the dirt. At one point when Annika was sleeping in her carseat and I was digging Caleb said, "I happy." You have no idea how that melted my heart to hear.

I had a primary presidency meeting that night and afterwards they took me (and the kids) out for ice-cream. Caleb loved it. Kate brought her kids and Caleb loves them and so he was with these big kids and eating ice-cream. I really enjoyed my birthday but I think Caleb liked it even more.

Feeding Mickey

Today at Grandma's Caleb said Mickey Mouse was eating. (They have a Mickey Mouse that is about the same size as Caleb.) I turned to look and Caleb was nursing Mickey. Then Mickey spit up and Caleb had to get a rag and wipe it up. It was really funny. I loved hearing him give the play by play.