Merry Christmas to all...

Ahhh, the holidays. So I hope Santa is peacefully resting...as all his work is done. Meanwhile I'm left cleaning up his messes.





Jack was very excited to find his tool set and ginormous blocks on Christmas morning. Now they are of course ALWAYS scattered everywhere and I find myself "playing" with them more than he does...but that's ok.

Please don't let me forget Jack's super terrific birthday party. We maganged a Yo Gabba Gabba party, and it was pretty sweet. SO sweet in fact, that these cupcakes couldn't compare with the sweetness, however they were the highlight of the evening... and the bulk of my entire day.








Not to mention the Gabba Land I whipped up in a couple minutes. Forgive me, DJ Lance Rock wasn't invited to the party. Not because I'm racist, but because he his is just plain a nuisance.





And Jack decided to take the form of Linus, as he drags around his favorite blue blankie, and chose to remove my already nice tree skirt, PUSH the presents aside, and wrap my pathetic tree with a little love.

So there you go. Christmas summarized.

I'm THREE YEARS OLD.

That's right. Jack has now been with us for TWICE the amount of time Josh and I have spent without him after being married.


Obviously, we are so grateful he is here. To think that my little boy flatlined 3 hours after birth, and was brought back to us by dozens of doctors so he could have his Gabba Birthday today means the world.

Jack was born 11:30pm December 17th, 2005. He came willfully on his own, a week before his induction date. I went into labor and called my mom to tell her I wouldn't be making it to the family party she was hosting, due to the birth of my child. She quickly finished up her preparation, put one of the guests in charge and she and my dad ditched their very own party to come be with me and greet their first grandson. Laura I'm sure would have been there too, but she was at the U2 concert and was a little late.

Jack was a beautiful 5 lbs 14 oz, and went straight from me to the NICU, then taken over to Primary's.

You know the rest...

So here we are, with a 25 lb three year old, who can sing, jump, run, play and keep up with the rest of the 3 year olds. We love him more than anything else in this world, and we hope to continue celebrating these birthdays/milestones for YEARS upon YEARS upon YEARS.

Happy Birthday Baby Bum.

Jack,one year old.












Jack, two years old.












Jack, three years old.

"I want to go to the car. I want to go to the car. I want to go to the car."

That is pretty much how Jack's first visit to the dentist went.

That, and he has ALL his teeth. Whew!

Tips, Tricks and Efficiencies

After Jack made his nightly trip to our room at 5am to say "He's scared" and I escorted him back to bed, I couldn't sleep. By 6am I thought I would make good use of my time and go swim some laps. So I got up and suited up, and the gym apparently doesn't open till 7. So I knew if I went home I'd go back to bed and it would all have been a waste. So I drove up the canyon and watched the CATS groom the slopes at Snowbird. That's a whole other post.

This one, however, is about ways I try to save time, money and hardship.

1. By recycling ALL things recycleable I cut my trips to the garbage can in half, and save garbage bags, simply by using a recycling bin.

2. When giving juice to Jack, I always dillute it halfway with water. That way he is getting the sweet drink he wants, with less sugar, and his tastebuds are sensitive to taste- hopefully benefitting him in the future to not like things that are TOO sweet. (Thus, less cavities.)

3. By using my fabric grocery bags I got at Harmon's for $1 each, I fit more groceries into each bag and have less to drag in from the car.

4. Organic milk stays fresh 1-2 MONTHS longer than regular milk. (Costco usually has the ones that last the longest.) That way, I know I will always make it to the end of the bottle before it expires.

5. We now use the "confetti" from our paper shredder to cushion breakable things we either ship, or pack. (Like christmas ornaments.)((I also use old egg cartons for ornaments as well.))

6. If I take Jack's diaper off for a bath or to change his clothes and it's BORDERLINE too wet to put back on him, I can extend the life of the diaper by pouring a little cornstarch in it. (And prevent a rash at the same time..)

7. If I run out of laundry detergent, I can get one extra load by filling the bottle up with water, shaking it to get all the soap coating the sides of the bottle, and pouring it into a new wash.

8. I try to only buy new clothes after selling some to Plato's Closet or donating them to the DI. That way my closet isn't to overwhelmed. And neither am I.

9. At the end of the year we collect ALL the change in the house (and cars), looking in every spot like under and inside of couches, places Jack will have put it, pockets, change purses and the laundry room- and we usually average about 75-100 dollars.


10. Keeping the same amount of dishes in your cupborad as there are people using them in the home, helps eliminate excess dishwasher usage (in turn, dish soap and electricity, and GAS if you use hot water), because each time you use your plate you are more inclined to just wash it, dry it, and put it away. (1 plate, bowl, cup, etc. per person. I understand this is harder with more people, kids, or teenagers.)

If anyone else has good tips.. please chare. Oh and I did go swimming after these thoughts. My back still hurts though.

~L

Give Thanks.

I'm giving thanks to my family, because they are the very core of my survival. I'm giving thanks to my husband, because he knows me better than anyone and loves our family enough to strive for the perfect life. I'm giving it to those who care about me and bring happiness to my life. And to those who I don't give enough thanks to that deserve it.

I am thankful for every little thing in my life that somehow I was lucky enough to have and I hope that I can only help others to have as blessed of a life as I do.

And I'm thankful for my readers. You guys are so darn sweet. To read this babble.

Happy Thanksgiving, may your bellies be full. ..As well as your hearts.


This will be me later:

Scared to the Bone.

For Halloween we visited our DEAR friends Kim, Nate and Ireland. My pic's aren't up to par, but you get the gist. Irelands a bunny, Jack's a skeleton...Kim likes bubbles.. it all speaks for itself.













We also saw some more of the sites in Vegas, like the Bellagio (jack was quite thrilled with the fountain this time. NOT LAST MONTH, but this time was different.) And the Atrium was pretty, and kinda spooky...but pretty. And Jack got to see "num num's" up, close and personal.

I dreamt a dream..

Occasionally, I have TRULY facinating dreams, which is where the address to my blog orginated. And recently I had one that I am still trying to understand WHERE in the world it came from. But let me set you up with the context.

In my dream, my friends and I were at an Aquarium, and there was a little video showing in a mini theater. So we went in to watch, and here was the short story it told.



There was a great ship, and the captain had his crew working hard to sail this ship to find treasure. The treasure was far away, but they were getting close. Due to his greed and desire, the captain of the ship had everyone push hard enough to reach the ships maximum speed. This was dangerous, but the captain wanted to be the first to get to the gold.

In the rush, the captain didn't see a large rock jutting out of the sea, and because of how fast the ship was going, they could not slow down enough to dodge it. The captain, in fear of the inevitable, tried to turn the ship to avoid the rock but KNEW it would eventually hit and most likely sink.

In his shame he quietly snuck off the ship, taking the only available boat and rowed away from the speeding ship. He watched as the ship hit the rock with unbelievable force, and heard the screams from his crew.

Just then, out of the golden clouds in the sky, came a voice as if from heaven. It said "AND IT SHALL RISE!"

The captain, frightened, stood up in his boat doing what he could to please this mysterious voice. But suddenly, the damaged ship that was filling up with water started to rise out of the sea, HIGH into the air, and float. The captain stared in amazement when instantly the ship DROPPED out of the sky and CRASHED to the water, sending a huge wave in his direction. The captain was thrown from the boat and struggled to swim.

From out of nowhere, a crazy bearded man flailing his arms swam up to the captain and wrapped his arms around his waist and dragged him under the water. The captain tried to swim to the surface but was pulled to his death.



So. Moral? Those who are greedy and deceitful shall be punished by a higher power.

I guess.

Someone tell me why I am dreaming such things.

(note: and apparently, in my dream, I closed my eyes while the captain was being dragged o the bottom of the ocean, because Natalie pulled me aside after the video and asked me if I saw the captain scratching the arms of the crazy man to get him to let go. I'm glad I didn't see that part.)

Round the World and Back again...

So we were a little busy for a bit. We went to California for a second and made a few stops while we were there.

Wisteria Lane:


The Kwik-E-Mart:


Over Seas:


Back to the Future:



The plane crash site in War of the Worlds:


But MOST IMPORTANTLY, we took Jack to Disneyland for the first time. It was, of course, magical. There weren't any set backs other than we wanted to stay longer but the park closes at 8. So here were a few highlights:

This is Jack upon arrival. You can sense the excitement.


Words can't explain the awesomeness of the Haunted Mansion, that was redecorated in its entirety to the Nightmare Before Christmas. Super cool. Worth the trip.


Jack was a bit over stimulated and hard to make pose..


Have you ever seen that "Friends" where Chandler can't smile for pictures..


We did DUMBO, though Jack hasn't a clue who that is..


But the Winner of them all, and the ride we did 3 times in a row, was Buzz Lightyear. Look at the FOCUS. On BOTH of 'em.


We did the Merry Go Round,


..though it was mega-fast..


And I wish we could have done Tea Cups, but no one was up for throwing up.


So that was our visit to the Magical Kingdom. Really fun, perfect for Jack first time, and I want to go again soon. So any takers??

That's right, I let him do it.

Sometimes, when my husband leaves town, I get desperate for activities. I'm not sure why, because it's not like he is constantly providing us with things to do such as crafts or bake fairs...but for some reason, I feel compelled to do things I usually wouldn't.

So Jack and I did finger painting. Luckily, this paint washed off of most things that it got on. But Jack had a blast and enjoyed the "smearing" effect. Which didn't bode well for the "hand print" painting I tried to create. But all that matters is that Jack had fun, and that the clocked ticked away while we did it.

In addition to crafts, I like to make yummy things. Like the S'mores Bars Brittany so generously shared. Or some sort of cupcake, or pudding. (Extra special pudding with dark chocolate melted into it. Mmm.)

So if anyone has other fun ideas. Please post a blog about them. And maybe I'll do it.

Jack's Prospects

As many of you know, I was one of the few to have a boy during the baby boom of 2005-06. But that being said, Jack will have NO trouble finding a date in the later years. He has so many girls to choose from.

First, there's Sloane. She may be the perfect fit for Jack as their personalities are alike and the each have their quirks.


Then there is Sophia. She and Jack would have a great time gettin dirty and keeping things real. Soph doesn't take anyone seriously.


Libby though a little more sensitive, would be Jack's number one fan and a devout little friend. She has enough heart to make up for his missing half.


Teagan, the "older more experienced woman" would surely be one to put Jack in his place. She is a busy girl, but would always make time for Jack.


Bella. Bella is the take-charge girl Jack needs. She won't put up with his crap.


Addison. Though they don't know eachother very well yet, there is a burning connection just WAITING to burst between these two.


And Ireland. Jack would take care of sweet Ireland. He'd be the jealous-protective type with her, but some girls like that.


So I guess we'll all stay tuned for the future. It will be interesting. And after all, this is Josh's son, so some of you may want to lock your girls up for awhile...