Good Morning to You

With the exception of my mom, no one in my family is a morning person. My youngest brother used to wander around the house after everyone had gone to sleep, just doing his own thing. Sometimes this meant seeing if anyone was still awake to talk to him. Sometimes it meant trying to bleach his hair in the bathroom with actual bleach. (Thank goodness the smell woke-up my mom.)

Growing up doing theatre, my natural schedule was ideal for late night rehearsals and after-show cast parties. I used to think that being a night owl was the best thing ever. Until college. I remember thinking, "I got up almost every morning for seminary at 5:45, an 8 o'clock class should be easy." Ah, the folly of youth. The only class I ever got a D in was a 9am Geology class. I couldn't get there on time because I had trouble waking up, so I missed too many important quizzes.

After college I worked full-time at BYU's library. I marveled at my coworkers that would arrive between the hours of 7 and 8 in the morning. I was lucky if I was awake by then and I usually felt guilty walking in at 9 (sometimes 10 during the 2 months I worked after Peter was born). When we would discuss the issue of sleep schedules, the morning people in the office would talk about how they felt so much more productive in the early morning and they couldn't imagine staying in bed late, even on the weekends.

On Saturdays Bryan and I could easily sleep in until 11am before Peter was born. Even the boys don't awaken early in comparison to their peers. I know someone whose 3 year-old wakes her up at 6:30 every morning. How does she function? I struggle when Peter wakes up before 8.

I have wanted to become a morning person for a while. They seem so naturally organized, whereas I'm so naturally not. Is there some secret to rising early and going to sleep at a reasonable hour? This article on Slate asked and, at least in part, answered that question. Although, after reading the list of morning people vs. night people, I really think I need to find a way to shift my internal clock forward a few hours.

But not today, because it's after midnight and I'm sitting here, writing this.

The Food Game

How many people that you know throw out leftovers? Let food go bad in the fridge? Decide to go out to eat because they're tired of what they have in the house? Probably more than you think.

Faced with rising grocery bills, we decided we needed to change our habits. I'm usually good at eating leftovers, but I do this weird thing where I don't eat the last serving of whatever is in the fridge. I don't know if I'm saving it for Bryan or just don't want to eat it because then that particular food would be gone. Anyway, we've thrown out way too much food. And, since I hate cleaning out moldy food containers, we've also thrown out a lot of Glad and Ziploc containers.

Our resolution? Eat all the food we make and the perishable food we buy. We've been doing this for a month and have already learned some things:

• We don't all have to eat the same thing for dinner. We've started having leftover nights. Instead of cooking, we pull out what's left from the last few nights and warm it all up.
• We're getting creative. Did you know that a recipe for Baked Cucumbers existed?
• Homemade pasta/pizza sauce is so very good. And your house smells like a great Italian restaurant while you're making it, which is one of the best parts of eating out.
• You can put together foods that you might not otherwise pair. Last night for dinner Bryan made steak salad for us. He had it while on a business trip. It was really good, and because Bryan made it, it was also really pretty. Today for lunch I diced the rest of the cucumber and tomatoes from the salad and added them to our macaroni and cheese, along with the last few slices of lunch meat we had in the fridge. It tasted great! The produce added a nice lightness to the mac n cheese.
• 

• It's like we're playing a fun game. Seriously. It's not the same "what's for dinner?" drudgery as usual. (Bryan cooked for like the first 2 years we were married because I had a tendency to wander around the kitchen saying "What are we going to eat?" until I finally made Raman. He saved us from much sodium and MSG consumption) Instead, it's like I've been challenged to come up with something fun and edible from what we have in the fridge.

It's going well so far, and the more the prices of gas and food go up, the more committed we are to this.

Try it. Let me know what you think.

One Cool Cat

An Adventure

This picture was taken after our adventure last night.

As you read, keep these two important things in mind: 1. Peter had his first ever sucker last night. 2. We have fancy, angular baseboards in our apartment. Remember these.

Peter was a screamer when he was a baby. The boy could hit pitches that would incite the envy of high sopranos everywhere. It was not awesome. Well, he's decided to pull that trick out again.

Yesterday morning we were playing in his room and I was feeding Cooper when Peter started to scream. This is the conversation that followed:

Me: Peter, please don't scream.
Peter: (Screaming)
Me: (A little louder) Peter, don't scream! Is there something wrong?
Peter: No.
Me: Are you in danger?
Peter: No.
Me: Peter, screaming is only for when you are in danger and you're trying to get mommy and daddy's attention. There is nothing wrong right now, so please don't scream.
Peter: (After a pause to think) Mommy, may I have some danger please?

Last night, long after he should have been asleep, Peter decided it would be a good idea to climb onto the rail of his toddler bed and jump off. Ah, the reasoning skills of a 2-year-old. Well, he jumped and hit the aforementioned baseboard.

We have a camera baby monitor, so I looked at the screen next to my bed when I heard the loud thud come from his room. I saw Peter on the floor in the middle of his room. We heard a wail and I saw Peter stand up and teeter to his bed. I had just started feeding Cooper, so Bryan ran in to see what happened.

Bryan called me when he saw the blood. Peter had a cut on the back of his head that was about 3/4 of an inch long. Head wounds bleed a lot, did you know? We decided a trip to the ER was in order.

Peter now has 3 staples in the back of his head, all administered without anesthetic (on advice from the doctor) going against my natural inclination; though I did agree to it and Peter was okay once he got the sucker in his mouth. The doctor was really surprised when we said Peter hadn't had one before. I believe his words were, "Wow, that's awesome. You guys are great." Hey, my low-sugar ways have the approval of the medical world - or at least that one ER doctor.

It looks like he got that danger he asked for.

He's fine today, although his head is clearly tender. We have to go back in a week to have the staples removed.

I bet he'll ask for another sucker.

Feeling the Burn

Why is it that after almost 28 years of sunburns I still don't seem to think I need sunscreen? And why can't I remember that I sunburn in 15 minutes, so an hour-long walk at 11AM would be a really bad idea?

I'm smart, but not always wise...

Puppy Love

I am not now, nor have I ever been, a dog person. For as long as I can remember I've had a wholly irrational fear of dogs. As a child, when my grandma's hyper-active dachshund would take advantage of an open door and coming tearing into the living room I would scream and jump onto the back of the couch. Yup, I was scared of a wiener dog.

I thought maybe this phobia would subside as I matured. Well, either I haven't grown-up enough yet, or it's just not going away. And, as luck would have it, we now live in a dog neighborhood. Almost every family on our street has a dog, and there must not be a leash law here because some of them seem to roam. The saddest part? I'm afraid I'm transferring this fear to Peter. I have tried really hard to control my knee-jerk freak-out reaction when I see a dog, but I know I haven't been entirely successful. He loves the idea of dogs, but tends to freak-out a little himself when presented with the opportunity to actually come into contact with one.

Due to Bryan's animal dander allergy I know I won't have to deal owning a dog (which is a relief, though I'm sad that we can't have cats either...but only a bit), but I don't want to go through life making sure I have something to climb on just in case a dog rounds the corner. And how do I help Peter avoid this particular pitfall?

Making It Official

I Hope They Call Me On a Mission

I had the privilege of seeing my two youngest siblings into the Missionary Training Center on Wednesday. I also got to do this for my other two brothers as well as Bryan's sister and brother. I didn't serve a full-time mission, but I've put in a nice amount of time in the MTC anyway.

Paige is going to the Washington D.C. South Mission and Isaac is going to the North Carolina Charlotte Mission. Some of the volunteer missionaries that direct you where to go in the MTC noticed that Paige and Isaac had the same last name on their tags and commented about what a neat coincidence it was that they were going into the MTC on the same day. I do think it was neat, but I don't think it was a coincidence.

As a side note, Peter spent most of Wednesday afternoon singing "Called to Serve" at the top of his lungs. It was awesome.

Here are some pictures from our very rainy trip to the MTC.

Guess I need a new birthday list...

The night before I wrote about wanting the Wii Fit for my birthday, Bryan went out and got it. He's sneaky like that. Our second Christmas he got me a large keyboard and had it hidden in our little two-bedroom apartment for a few months before giving it to me. I generally think of myself as pretty observant, so I'm not sure how I missed it. Anyway, he actually gave me the Wii Fit the day after I wrote about it, but I kept forgetting to get a picture of it, which I wanted before posting. He said it was a late Mother's Day present. It's fabulous! I enjoy the yoga and the aerobics most right now. Peter loves it too. He likes to stand next to me on the carpet and do the yoga poses.

Man, this puts some pressure on for a good Father's Day gift, eh?

I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home

So, we've had a crazy week, and I have lots to write about, but it's almost midnight and I have many things to do tomorrow. But I did have a few quick thoughts that I wanted to get out.

I am so thankful for Bryan. He was in California from Tuesday through Friday afternoon. It was my first time just me and the boys over night. Things went pretty well. I didn't have any episodes with tears and Peter only had a normal amount. And while I'm glad to know that I have the ability to care for the boys by myself for that long on a regular basis, I'm so glad that I don't have to. I love that he was just as glad to be home and see us as we were to have him back. My sister asked when our honeymoon phase was going to end. I asked what she meant. She said, "You know, how you guys talk on the phone a lot during the day." Is it abnormal to want to talk to my husband after almost seven years of marriage? How sad for people that think so. I'd rather talk to Bryan than anyone else. So, the answer to her question is never, I hope.

And Peter and Cooper both were so happy to see Bryan again. Peter started asking where Daddy was on Wednesday. I told him that Bryan was in California. On and off for the next two days Peter would tell me that he was packing. When I asked what he was packing for he said he was going to "see Daddy in Cafonia". That's a sign of how important and how involved Bryan is in Peter's life.
We're pretty lucky.