A Stewart Family Chronicle

When a white cat crosses your path...

2012-01-15T21:13:00.002-07:00

We had a lovely time on our vacation; but, if I'm honest, I feel a little shortchanged. Let me explain.

My parents have a cat, Ichabod. They call him Icky for short. (Benjamin calls him IchaBOB) One day my brother observed a funny scene with Icky and Levi:

In typical toddler fashion, Levi was meandering along. In typical Icky mode, the cat was trying to stand in front of the person's legs, ("He always does that!") in order to get attention, or play, or whatever. Well Ichabod couldn't guess where Levi was going to step next. So Levi is walking along and Icky is hopping around like a crazy cat, trying his darnedest to get in front of his legs.

Funny! Cute! A Cat/Kid Tango! Right? Wrong. Oh, the dramatic irony. Little did I know what would happen next.

Later that day out in the yard Jacob was digging the foundation for a chicken coop. Levi had his new awesome light-up bouncy ball and was throwing it in the dirt.

"That works better on the driveway, babe!" I coo. And in an effort to help my baby have more fun, show him how it's done, AND get him out of the way of his dad's shovel, I say, "Toss it over here!" to Jacob, who has retrieved the bouncy ball.

He gives it a nice toss and in a moment I realize that it works WAY better on the driveway than the dirt and I'm going to have to grab that (precious, special, light-up) bouncy ball (now sailing over my head) before it bounces off into the desert. Or that big stack of hay bales over there.

I turn, step, see a flash of unmistakable Icky white, and plant solid on the driveway, hands and knees. I take stock. I decide to stay where I am.

"Are you okay?" says Jacob.

"Nope." I say, and sort of slump down into a worshipful position.

After a few more moments I decide I'm probably okay enough to get into the house for some first-aid, as it appears no one is rushing up to me with ice packs and bandaids. I stand.

My pants, new pants, have a hole in the knee. And that's what really did it. I liked those pants. And now they would be ruined and I could not take them back to the cold Illinois winter and just wear them with a hole in the knee because it is COLD for reals in Illinois.

I was hurt. I was sad. I was, for a short time, angry. If that cat had crossed my path again that day ... things might have gotten ugly.

But let me tell you something. There's nothing like having your mom treat your skinned knee.
She washed it out for me (while I whined to her about my pants). She told me the story of her most memorable skinned knee: She came into the house after wrecking her bike. Her dad looked her up and down and said, "Is the bike okay?" A shocking inquiry. "You," he said, "will heal. But is the bike okay?"

So she understood about the pants.

She set me up with the finest in her medicine cabinet -- spray, ointment, frozen peas, tylenol, chocolate. And my brother (he who provided the foreshadowing) was dispatched for special, bigger bandaids.

All this is to say that I couldn't go horseback riding the next day. *clink* (Can you hear the sound of my change, coming back short?)

But I guess if a white cat crosses your path it's not all bad. My dad took Jacob and Benjamin, and snapped a few photos to bring back for the injured. And for the sleeping Levi.

I love introducing our babies to horses. This is because they quickly learn to make real horse noises. Horses puff and snort much more often than they whinny or neigh. Despite missing the ride, Levi was snorting like a horse in no time.

p.s. Icky did not come near me again for the duration of our visit. Our tango must not have been fun for him, either.

p.p.s. My mom patched my jeans. With a stripey heart-shaped patch. <3

Over on Everead I talk about book clubs I'd love to be in

and a really cool true story graphic novel.

Home again, home again, jiggetty jig!

2012-01-11T21:37:00.000-07:00

We're back in the great state of Illinois! Just in time to get some groceries before the winter weather advisory. :)

We had a successful and happy vacation by all accounts (meaning only the baby barfed that time we all got sick). But I would like particularly to highlight that in more than three weeks of vacation Levi had ZERO allergic reactions! Thank you, thank you to all of our awesome relatives who made sure he didn't get any milk, eggs, peanuts or tree nuts! Your sacrifices were not unnoticed! I love you all!

While in Arizona this is the winter quote I thought of most often:

"During the winter my attention was attracted to the changes in the stars and planets in the sky." --Paul Nurse

Those AZ skies were clear and beautiful! Orion is my favorite constellation, and one night in particular he was huge on the horizon just when I walked outside. Gorgeous.

source:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_(constellation)

2012 New Years Resolutions and Goals

2012-01-01T22:59:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year! One thing that I learned in 2011 was to put my finger on the difference between resolutions and goals. As I said in my review of The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin over on Everead, I see the difference as "Goals are set and met. Resolutions are decided upon and you continually strive to meet them."

Also in 2011, I found this lovely quote about resolutions:

Resolutions are quickly made and quickly forgotten. But, in a year from now, if we are doing better than we have done in the past, then the efforts of these days will not have been in vain.
Gordon B Hinckley (in Conference Report, Oct. 2000, 114; or Ensign, Nov. 2000, 88–89).

I just love that. Because how many resolutions have I made and forgotten about? How many goals have I made and failed to achieve? I don't even know. But being able to check them off the list is not what is ultimately important -- being a better person is what matters. And that frees me up to make lots of specific resolutions and check-em-off goals, without feeling too much pressure.

So here they are!

2012 New Years Resolutions

(most of the resolutions have a measureable, goal-like component, to help me gauge whether or not I'm staying on track. It's important to note, though, that these resolutions have no ending point.)

Go to bed earlier and get up earlier -- 2011 average was probably bed around midnight and rise at 8, for me. I'd like to push that back by about two hours. Bed by 10 up by 6.

Add cardiovascular fitness to my life -- 2011 was a great Pilates year (love Ana Caban's videos). I lost weight and gained strength and flexibility. Some little running I've done (and the accompanying reaction of my body) has nudged me to add a cardio element; I plan to run at least two days a week in the morning (alternating with Jacob's basketball days).

Increase Personal Spirituality -- through diligent, pre-5-p.m. scripture study, sharing my testimony of Christ (in church and not), fervent prayer as a first response, recording spiritual promptings and impressions, and memorizing one scripture per month.

Be Friendly -- strengthen current friendships by calling a friend at least once per week, and make new friends by reaching out to others and by recognizing and responding to overtures of friendship.

Play Piano Every Day -- even if it is just a C-scale. My little boys never let me play much, hopefully this year will build up their stamina for letting me sit undisturbed and improve my skills.

2012 New Years Goals:

2012, The Year of 100 gifts!

I'd like to give 100 gifts this year -- approximately 2 per week. I'd love to have all these be physical, wrapped gifts, but the point is really to help me increase in showing love to others, so I'm not going to hold myself to those criteria. Anything I say counts, counts. (A resolution to go with this could be "Show more love to others.")

2012, The Year of the Honor Bee!

I earned my Young Womanhood Recognition Award when I was a Young Woman (age 12-18 in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). The Personal Progress program was modified a few years ago, and I earned the new medallion and award as a leader. This year I hope to earn my Honor Bee by mentoring another program participant. (This will go right along with my resolution to Increase Personal Spirituality, or it could tie to a resolution about serving others)

2012, The Year of the Blog!

Suffice it to say that I've set some goals for this blog and for Everead. They are modest, and I don't want to share them here because I'm feeling shy about it. But hopefully you'll enjoy both blogs in the coming year. (A resolution to go with this could be "Write more.")

So, what do you think? There are other things I plan to do this year, and other things that I hope for, but these are the official Resolutions and Goals. What are yours?

Winter Inspiration: Quotes!

2011-12-15T15:36:00.001-07:00

Being a native Arizonan in the thick of the Illinois winter can give one a serious case of the-grass-is-greeners. This year my winter preparations (in addition to stocking, hunkering, and battening) included a mental component: gathering inspirational winter quotes. I have plenty of original quotes in my brain about the pitfalls of winter -- I wanted some brainfodder that was pro-winter, to even the scales a bit.

It is not yet officially winter. The first day of the season is December 22. In Illinois, unlike in Arizona, this actually makes sense. Sure, we've seen a hint of snow over here, but with a couple years under my belt I know that the season has much more of snow, ice, and cold wind for me.

But today the wind is particularly cold, and on the 20th I'll be flying to Arizona, so here is some early winter inspiration.

Blow, blow thou winter wind,

thou art not so unkind

as man's ingratitude.

-- William Shakespeare

No, I did not validate that quote. Ten points to the first person who tells me which of his plays it is from. And, because that one is only backhandedly nice about winter wind, here is another.

One
kind
word
can
warm
three

winter
months

--Japanese Proverb

See? Winter's not so bad! One kind word is all it takes. And I would submit that includes blog comments! ;D

Super cute firemen

2011-12-07T21:40:00.002-07:00

Benjamin loves playing at his friend Henry's house! Henry's mom posted about the boys on her blog. It's SO cute. Go check it out! http://foxandewe.blogspot.com/2011/12/firemen.html

Bedtime Discipline Plan and a game for Snow Days

2011-11-28T21:34:00.000-07:00

Indoor Standing Long Jump

First, the game. It was born on a rainy day not too long ago. For some reason or another I had the masking tape out. Benjamin was jumping around, literally. And -- inspiration! We marked where he started from and how far he could jump with the masking tape on the carpet. An active, indoor game with super easy cleanup! Extensions: indoor hopscotch! mazes! roads for cars!

Benjamin's Bedtime Discipline Plan

If there was one thing I learned from getting a degree in Elementary Education, it was how to write a darn good discipline plan. Here's ours, to be implemented tomorrow night:

Teach intrinsic motivation:

Your body needs good food and good sleep in order to have energy and be strong.
When you begin to yawn, your limbs begin to ache, etc. your body is feeling like it wants to go to bed and rest.
When you wake in the morning and you feel happy, and your body has energy then you know you got a good night's sleep.
You can lay in bed before you feel tired, to help your body begin resting.

Supplement with extrinsic motivation (positive reinforcements and positive punishments):
When you get in bed you get a sticker.
When you stay in bed all night you get a treat in the morning (new card, piece of candy, extra book, etc.)
If you come out of bed you get a yellow light posted on your door. If you come out of bed again, you get a red light. If you come out another time, you get a sad face on your bedtime chart. All other days (from treat to yellow light) get a happy face.
When you earn a predetermined number of happy faces, you earn a big treat (new toy, new book, an outing, a special food, etc.)

Negative punishments (meaning punishments that take something away, i.e. "give me back the sticker," rather than giving something i.e. "here is a yellow light") don't seem to work well for Benjamin, at least at bedtime. If we try to take something away from him, it starts a huge fit. Counterproductive.

Now. We'll see how this works out. Can his stubborness withstand the warm calculations of a mother who paid attention in her child psychology class? Only time will tell...

Wish us luck, feel free to pray for us (goodness knows we all need more sleep around here, including Levi who gets woken up by huge fits).

xoxo

Alysa

Quotables

2011-11-12T13:34:00.003-07:00

Discussing a group date at a steakhouse
Alysa: Do they have salads? (Jokingly:) I'm vegan now.
Jacob: Don't worry, they have chicken.

Waiting outside the bathroom
Benjamin: Mommy open the door!
Alysa: I'm almost done.
Benjamin: (mutters for a bit) Then I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your bathroom in!

After cleaning out the sandbox for the winter (hard work!)
Alysa: Are you ready for a nap?
Levi: Mm! (nods) <3 (snuggles)

Just now
Benjamin: I would like to have roast beef cookies.

If you click on the "quotable" tag below, theres more where this came from! I've just been enjoying browsing the archives...

Hooray! Allergy Test Results!

2011-10-28T15:30:00.000-06:00

So remember how we went to have Levi's blood drawn and I nearly passed out? And the nurses only collected about 1/30 of the blood requested for the test? "Well, I'll send this in and see if they can do anything with it..." the nurse said rather hopelessly as we left.

Hooray! They did something with it! ~~Our~~ My suffering was not in vain! They did the "childhood allergy panel," plus carrots, because he had seemed to react to them a couple of times.

Milk

Peanut

Egg White

Walnut

Carrot

Fish

Shrimp

Soy

Wheat

Cat

Dog

Mold

Dust

It is so nice to know what we need to stay away from! All of the four that he tested positive for were at the "class 2" level. Personally I'm not certain what that means other than that his allergies are "moderate," but I'm sure I'll bring it up with the doctor soon. I think I would like to have him tested for sensitivity to other nuts -- a friend of ours whose young daughter has nut allergies suggested it, as they found the "nut panel" helpful.

See how the list of things he is NOT allergic to is so much longer? That is what has had me happy this week. For while there I hadn't mentally eliminated anything (except I was pretty sure about fish and wheat), so while the egg was our surprise culprit it was super nice to know we are okay on carrot, soy, dog and cat.

Speaking of allergies, this Halloween I will not be giving out the typical fun size candy bar (all of which I have found are processed on peanut equipment and include milk or egg, soy or nuts). We are giving out Halloween pencils and cute monster stickers! Hope you like them, kids!

We're going to take the boys trick-or-treating, but have some fun prizes for them to buy from us with their poison candy! Happy Halloween!

The Queen Champion

2011-10-17T10:00:00.000-06:00

All of these taken from the lips of Alysa, on the same day in history.

****
"Benjamin. Now is not the time to ask inane questions."
****

****
"Don't pee, don't pee don'tpeedon'tpee..." all the way to the grocery store bathroom, with a small pause when we passed an employee. This after the announcement from Benjamin, "I'm starting to pee."
****

****
Alysa: You underestimate me! I am the Queen Champion!
Jacob: Of what?
Alysa: Things.

Confrontations with Mortality

2011-10-09T21:04:00.001-06:00

Levi has food allergies. Serious food allergies. He is allergic to both milk and peanut on an anaphylactic level.

I remember seeing, several years ago, a Facebook friend flip out over her son's newly discovered peanut allergy. At the time I thought to myself, "Okay . . . peanut is a very common allergy -- lots of people live good lives allergic to peanuts. What's the big deal?"

Now, I know. For me, it was not so much to idea that he wouldn't be able to enjoy PB&J, (Tragic? Hardly.) but the knowing that something in particular could kill him. Confronting your infant's mortality is different from knowing that someday, something will kill us all: age, accident, disease. It was frightening.

In the time that has passed since our discovery of his allergies, I've been able to settle down a little bit. Still, it's a game-changer. Sometimes it feels like he is allergic to everything, because I love dairy and nuts and am accustomed to using them liberally in my cooking. I've begun to realize that one can make foods taste good by the addition of spices, not just fats (haha).

Many things, in fact, have helped to alleviate my stress about this: We have a couple of Epi-Pens now, and that's a comfort. I remembered my own "Ah, he'll be fine" reaction to my friend's son's diagnosis, and that has helped. Also, amid all the scary things that you can find on the internet when you try to research food allergies, I found the lovely story of Morgan Smith at allergicchild.com. This is the kind of reassurance I was looking for -- anecdotal evidence of someone with food allergies living happily. In some ways I feel like the Lord has been preparing me to mother a food-allergic child for years. One of the best ways to avoid allergic reactions is to prepare one's own food. Many friends of mine in the past 5 years have been excellent cooks who have inspired me to increase my own culinary capacities (Ashley, Aislin, Amy, Susan, and April I'm looking at you ladies in particular, thank you).

So, here we go! Off on the same adventure as before, but with a new menu!

Levi Walks!

2011-09-27T10:39:00.000-06:00

Preschool!

2011-09-21T10:00:00.000-06:00

I just dropped Benjamin off at preschool! Can you believe it?! It's pretty crazy. But totally sane, of course. So here is how I was feeling about this: excited, nervous, not at all sad. A little bit worried that Benjamin would have a hard time (which is highly unlikely, given his track record of doing well with babysitters and in nursery at church), a little bit worried that I would not be able to adjust my daily schedule to make a trip out of the house before 9 a.m. (this remains to be seen, but was a success for today). Honestly, I'm not a morning person. I like being awake in the mornings, I like getting things done and such. But I find it so much easier to do in the evening!

Anyway, we're carpooling with a friend of ours, and let me tell you, listening to those two boys chatter in the back seat was awesome! Firstly because it is hilarious, secondly because it meant I was not constantly trying to answer strange questions during the whole drive. You mothers of 3 and 4 year olds know what I mean. My favorite little line from their conversation went like this.

Benjamin: In Cars the movie, there is a race car his name is Light'ing.
Jared: Me too!

They proceeded to talk about how they both had Lightning McQueen toy cars and Benjamin said that he "Just started collecting" them. Hm. Good to know!

Anyway, this whole preschool thing is pretty crazy because Levi is still taking a morning nap, which means. . . ME time! What!?! A time, not late at night, when I am not accompanied by a small boy? The possibilities! I could . . . blog! :D

So, sorry to leave you hanging on the Cheese Curling! Leila let me know you were all waiting with baited breath. Thank you Leila, it made me feel special to know you cared. The results of the 2011 International Cheese Curling Competition boil down to one fact:

The Stewarts prevail!!! Jacob was on the winning team again this year! Our team of former glory, Blue Cheese, did not even come close to winning this year. Haha! But some other friends needed a fourth for their team, The Freestone Cheesestones, and they ended up in a major tiebreaker and it was all so exciting! Except I didn't see it because the boys and I were hanging out in an air-conditioned gift shop. Man. Labor day was like the hottest day of the summer for us! Strange, but true.

Anyway, we had a blast and did not take any pictures because as soon as I turned on my camera a message on the screen said "You forgot to bring batteries! No pictures for you!" And I have continued to forget to replace the batteries, so I have not taken a "first day of school" picture of Benjamin either! I will take one on my phone. And buy new batteries.

Lots of pictures have been going up over on my google plus account, if you are interested, since my phone automatically uploads them there and I can just click to share them. So nice. So if you want to see our pet caterpillar/butterfly, Milko, add me over there.

So. What do you have to say about that?

Potluck Picnic

2011-09-03T10:09:00.000-06:00

Tonight is a potluck picnic with friends attending the Arthur Cheese Festival. Remember last year? When I was very pregnant for this? Well. We've got to go defend our title.

Two Stories by Benjamin

2011-09-02T08:03:00.000-06:00

We're having taco salad tonight of course! Because we're just a little family of four and a pound of ground beef mixed with a can of refried beans definitely makes two meals. Yum! Don't forget the Green Goddess dressing!
---------------------------

I have a question for you. Once 'pon a time. This was a story. About 8 friends. Once upon a time there was 8 friends. And they lived in a house called 8:30. Then they came out. This is the one about the fire and the fire hose. Then a man bring out a fire hose. Then it got all ---- and it rained and rained and washed and washed away the fire. And they were OK. That's the end!
---------------------------
This one's about Shadrach and Mommy. Once upon a time there was Shadrach and Mommy. This one is not about the fire hose. This one doesn't have a fire in it. They were having a snack at home and went for a walk and they went to school -- to preschool. And then their daddy were driving them to preschool and then when they got there the bell ring and then it was circle time.
Mom: Is that the end?
Benjamin: No, there's two more verses left. There's a short verse, too, if you want to read it. Then they went home. And then they went for another walk. And then they went to Primary!
---------------------------
Benjamin is a big fan of the Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego story, if you can't tell. Also he's very excited to be starting preschool in a few weeks and move from Nursery (18mo-3years) to Primary (3+) at church in January.

Tacos!

2011-09-01T11:14:00.001-06:00

Tonight we're having tacos. Mmm, tacos. A staple of my childhood. Ground beef seasoned with a packet and mixed with refried beans. Topped with the works. Or, if you were me in my childhood, only cheese. No lettuce, no tomato, no green onion, no salsa, no sour cream. What can I say? My tastes have changed.

We use corn tortillas, softened, warmed, fried, (however you want to put it) in oil. I mention this because the last two times we have had people over for tacos they said that they didn't do it that way. The first time this happened I was bemused. The second time I was like, "What do you people do?!?" Use flour tortillas, I was told. Hm! I don't really understand that. That...does not...compute. Sounds like a burrito that's about to fall apart, to me! To each his own, though. Far be it from me to claim that my tacos are the One True Path.

So, if you've never had tacos made on corn tortillas prepped in oil, I highly recommend it.

Speaking of tacos, I've had tongue tacos. Cow tongue. Yep. It was fine. I don't really remember it much except that I was excited that I could say I had eaten cow tongue tacos. Check that one off on the bucket list! And now you will be one step closer to knowing the answer if you and I ever play Two Truths and a Lie.
-----------------------------
Grilled cheese was yum. We added tomatoes, red onion, and pepperoni in various combinations to make some yummy ones.

The moon is made of

2011-08-31T07:36:00.000-06:00

People, things are gonna be lookin' up around here pretty soon. That's right, only one day left until I can wear contacts again. I awoke on the morning of our 5th anniversary with pinkeye. (love you honey, happy 5th!) Conjunctivitis. And let me tell you the hardest part has not been itchiness or doing the prescription eye drops, it has been wearing my glasses full time. Contacts are so much better. Also, I miss wearing eye makeup. But on Thursday it will be back to my regularly scheduled programming, thankyouverymuch.
------------------
So. Tonight. Grilled Cheese.

On the grill.

I've made many, many grilled cheese sandwiches in my life. But never have I ever made one on an actual, outdoor, fueled by propane, grill.

Probably this is partly because I've never had a grill before. So many thanks to the Petersons for moving to the big citay and giving us their grill!

It will be homemade bread. So, many thanks to Jeremy and Molly for the bread machine! Merry Christmas!

It will be white cheddar cheese. So, many thanks to Ashley for introducing me to white cheddar, since her mom bought it, since they don't have yellow/orange cheddar in Maine, apparently. And also to Walmart, for selling cheaper than regular cheddar.
-----------------
~~Berber King~~ Burger King was good. Actually it was fantastic as fast food goes, because everything was so clean. And the employees were really excited about making a good impression. So we got awesome service in a very very clean restaurant. Also Benjamin got a Sponge Bob watch that he loves. Levi held onto the Lemon-scented wet wipe that came in his high chair (with disposable bib) throughout the whole meal. And successfully demolished his paper crown.

Pasta was a bit overcooked. I always under cook it, so I compensated a little too far tonight. Oops. Also, ironically, I did not end up making broccoli.

Pasta Night

2011-08-30T12:20:00.001-06:00

So. Tonight we'll be having pasta for dinner. How about you?

I'm thinking noodles (Levi loves noodles!), sauce, maybe some chicken and veggies? Broccoli most likely.

My dad met the guy who invented broccoli. Or maybe it was my grandpa. Someone, somewhere, knew the guy who invented broccoli. I tell people this all the time, even though it has been years since my dad mentioned it to me, and clearly the details are fuzzy. But that's not the point. The point is, someone invented broccoli!

Wait. You guys, I just tried to look this up on the internet. I can find no evidence of someone inventing broccoli.

Regardless, let us continue with this story! Someone, Mr. Broccoli, perhaps, created broccoli. In the lab? Accidentally, on his farm? By the hybridization of brussel sprouts and cauliflower. Think about it. It could totally be true.

Dad, what kind of lies were you feeding me along with that broccoli?

Every day we eat

2011-08-29T15:19:00.000-06:00

So. Tonight is special. Tonight we will be having dinner at the newest restaurant in town. That's right: Burger King.

I'm not typically found in Burger King. I think that while I'd like to say that it has something to do with my impeccable taste, what it comes down to is that I didn't go to Burger King much growing up, so I'm not very familiar with the menu, so I don't know what to order when I go there (plus also the Whopper is so big!) and therefore I don't think "I really want a ...whopper?" so going to Burger King just doesn't happen much.

But. This new Burger King is pretty close to our house and we've been watching the construction on it for weeks. The big trucks (Oh, the big trucks! How we love big trucks!) showed up and demolished the old spaghetti place, and started work on the new. Once the site looked remotely like a building, Benjamin started asking when we could eat there. "Can we eat at the wood one?" he would say. It was just beams.

Well. Now it is open. Today is the first day of business. Because we've had a lot of time to plan for the opening of this Burger King, since it was a "wood one," we've got it all planned out. And we'll be eating at Burger King tonight.

See you there? Because that would be fun.

Well, look what I found!

2011-08-11T14:13:00.000-06:00

First of all, I said two posts ago that I would let you know how the presentation went. It was great, of course. High school students have a way of making things casual. :) Anyway, I went back to this workshop twice more and had a lovely time. The students ended up posting guest reviews on my book blog. You can see them all by clicking on the TAP In label, over at Everead. Enjoy! I'm sure they'd appreciate comments you have, as well.

Now. This is fun. On my recent (fantastic) visit to Arizona (to be with my sister in the LDS temple, before her mission to the Czech Republic), I found the key to my diary! This particular diary is the first one I remember keeping. It's hot pink and as soon as I had found the key I knew it, because it is heart shaped. Oh, how fun.

But even more fun has been reading the thoughts of 8-12 year old me. Behold! This awesome entry (spelling and punctuation preserved):

Dear Diary today is ElP day. I havent rote to you for a month. I'm very sorry. We do lots of things in ElP. I know my hand writeing has changed. I havent got a chance to write in you. I got Some new scripturs. Im geting more muture. I'm 8 you know It is 9:40 my bed time 7:30 I sould get going ceseal Dixy. goodby

Yes, that's right, I named my diary. I now know that Cecille is the conventional spelling of that name. Also I have only increased in maturity over the past 17 years. ELP stood for "extended learning program" -- the gifted education program in my elementary school which was held once a week.

Evil Baby Orphanage* material?

2011-07-20T09:37:00.000-06:00

Benjamin: high squeaky voice My baby, my baby! Don't eat my baby! low gruff voice I'm gonna eat the babies because I'm hungry!... I'm eating the nest!"

This conversation comes to you from the breakfast table this morning. Or, as we called it today, Borg. Benjamin came downstairs and announced "I don't want any breakfast" which I took to mean "I don't want any cold cereal" because we always have cold cereal for breakfast.

Jacob asked him if he would like Borg, instead of breakfast. He asked what Borg was. I said "fruit!" So he enthusiastically agreed and I served him up some grapes in one bowl and applesauce in the other. Pretty soon he was tossing the grapes into the applesauce and acting out the treachery above. The grapes were the babies, and the applesauce their nest. Hopefully he outgrows his penchant for villainy?

--------------
*What is the EBO, you ask?
http://www.omnictionary.com/index.php/Evil_Baby_Orphanage
http://youtu.be/XtATGzpTOFk

Anticipation

2011-07-06T09:41:00.000-06:00

So right now I'm getting ready to go give a (little, short) presentation about book blogging. To a group of high school students who are attending a class at the Center for Children's Books here on UIUC campus.

Excited!

Nervous!

Validated!

It is so nice to think that something I do for fun, something I just do just because I love it (blog about books that is) is interesting to other people and they want me to come talk about it.

This is awesome!

I'll tell you how it goes.

Benjamin is Three!

2011-07-05T09:30:00.000-06:00

Benjamin, loudly: "Time to open presents, I yelled!"

The birthday party was pretty exciting. When asked his favorite part, Benjamin said "birthday cake with party hats on." And no wonder. Check out what a great time he is having.

Many thanks to all who helped make his birthday so fun! More videos and pictures to come. :D

I Chose This

2011-06-26T20:12:00.001-06:00

I've been thinking about my current occupation for quite some time now.

Mother
Homemaker
Housewife
Stay-at-home-mom
Home Executive

Whatever you want to call it. I've been thinking about it. So I've had lots of thoughts about it, and one of them is this:

I chose this.

I'm really, really glad that I have chosen it, too. I'm not "not working" or "unemployed" for lack of a paying job. I am living my dream. I'm not here, doing the work at home -- the thrilling work of home and the mundane work of home -- because someone else told me I should be, but because I want to be.

Two items for your consideration:

1. As a conscientious young person in my senior year of high school, I had put some thought into what field of study I would like to pursue post-high-school. College, I felt, was a given. After some soul searching and number crunching, I decided that the best immediate course of action -- the one most likely to both earn me a living and fulfill me in a deeper way -- was to obtain a degree in education.

As our graduation approached, David, one of those friends in high school who was more than an acquaintance but not a close friend, asked me, "So, what're you going to study?"

"Elementary Education." I said.

"What?!" He was incredulous. "You're wasting your brain!"

Now I was incredulous.

"You could be a rocket scientist!"

"Yeah," I said, "but I don't want to be a rocket scientist."

I can't tell you how many times I've re-lived that conversation. Is it one's moral obligation to become a rocket scientist, if one can? (I submit No.) Is it a "waste" of a great mind to use it educating other minds? What about young minds? Minds so young they might not even remember how they were influenced?

And what, pray tell, would David have said if I had told him that my plan for a large portion of my life was to be a mother? A homemaker?

2. Just tonight I finished reading Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder. Fabulous book. But one phrase I read yesterday still rankles, a little bit. Kidder is describing the background of Jim Kim, a major player in the book. Kidder clearly has great respect for Kim's mother, and describes how educated, how cultured she was:

Jim's mother had come from South Korea--a grandfather had served as a minister to the last Korean king--and she had studied at Union Theological Seminary with Reinhold Niebuhr and Paul Tillich and become a Confucian scholar, and ended up for many years a housewife in Muscatine. A small, elegant woman . . . At every opportunity she took Jim and his siblings to Des Moines and Chicago so they'd know the world was larger than it seemed from Muscatine. She taught her three children, by example, the arts of debate around the kitchen table, while her husband, who had early morning appointments, went to bed grumbling that he didn't know what they had to talk about that was more important than a good night's sleep. She'd tell them to live "as if for eternity" and tutor them on current events, translating for Jim the images of famine and war that upset him on the TV news.

She sounds like a lovely woman. Like someone I could relate to.

Here's the bit that bothers me, in the writing: "ended up for many years a housewife." Ended up. Accidentally. Unfortunately. For many years. Just for a while though. Not her whole life. Like she would rise above housewifery again, later.

Am I reading too much into this?

Is it really so unbelievable that Kim's mother would "become a Confucian scholar and [choose to be a housewife] for many years"?

I think not. Because I chose this. I choose it every day. Just like you choose your job, every day, whatever that job may be.

Benjamin and the Blanket Named Blue Blank and the Tooth

2011-06-21T10:03:00.000-06:00

Benjamin and the Blanket Named Blue Blank and the Tooth by Benjamin Stewart, transcribed by Alysa Stewart

Once upon a time. There was a blanket named Blue Blank. And Benjamin had it, and put it on his tooth. A lot of tooth. The end. That's the end of the story! Goodbye! See you later!

The Stewart Family Photo

2011-06-14T13:31:00.000-06:00

Christmas 2010

Watch out!

2011-06-05T21:22:00.000-06:00

Two new drivers on the Illinois roads...

We had a blast at Champaign Touch-a-Truck day.

The Summer of Pony Tails

2011-06-03T22:15:00.000-06:00

I am officially declaring this summer to be the Summer of Pony Tails. I will be wearing my hair in a pony tail this summer. And, if I'm not, special surprise for you! But, you know. Just so we all know where things stand.

An Exchange at Prairie Gardens

2011-05-26T20:20:00.000-06:00

Clerk: Nineteen thirty one.
My mom: pulling out her wallet Actually, it's 2011.
Clerk looks thrown off, I laugh and roll my eyes.

Me: with a wicked grin 1931. The year you were born.
My mom: What?!
Clerk: Actually, a lot of our customers could say that.
My mom: Not me!
Alysa chuckles

New World Symphony

2011-05-22T22:04:00.000-06:00

Jacob and I seized the opportunity to attend an orchestra concert this evening. We haven't been to a concert, especially a concert without kids, in roughly 3 years. Anyway, we left the boys with our trusted friends and monthly childcare swappers the Freestones. (Thank you, Freestones!)

We attended the East Central Illinois Youth Orchestra's concert, and got to see our neighbor, Sungmin on the violin and our acquaintance Alice on cello. The orchestra played 4 pieces, including a gorgeous oboe concerto. Let me tell you, this girl was good. Jacob whispered to me, "It is really hard to make an oboe sound that good." and I agree. We're both erstwhile clarinet players. They also favored us with some of the Lord of the Rings score by Howard Shore, and a personal favorite, Dvorák's New World Symphony.

I had forgotten how much fun it is to see orchestra perform live. It's not just the music, it's the movement. The orchestra, like a great beast on the stage, moving, quivering, dancing in perfect time with the music -- because its movement creates the music.

The concert hall was lavish as well -- intricate mouldings* and gorgeous wood paneling. I couldn't decide if the huge, yet somehow delicate pipe organ that was set into the stage was the teeth of the beast or its crown. Probably the crown. I mean, the violin bows, chomping away during the last movement of the New World Symphony were definitely the teeth. Like Jaws.

After the concert we presented Sungmin with an origami rose (courtesy of Jacob's mad paper folding skillz) and Hyuna told us that we were very good neighbors. We are so glad that we went. We had a blast.

*British spelling! As I looked at the moulding, I thought to myself: That's not molding. That's moulding.

Mother's

2011-05-08T17:22:00.000-06:00

We all belong to a mother.

When I became a mother, I felt accepted into a worldwide sisterhood. I went out with my newborn and women would stop me to look at him and would share glimpses of their own experiences with motherhood: how many children they had, little bits of advice that revealed in some small way the things that they had experienced as mothers. Smiles. An extra hand that held the door or the receipt I was supposed to sign since my other hand was occupied.

At first, this reception surprised me. People who never would have spoken to me were talking to me now. And then, as I thought about it, I was amazed. Because here is the thing: everyone here on earth, all the billions and billions of people had been born.

And that got me thinking about birth, and how much work it takes to give birth, to deliver a child, to be born. And how miraculous and awesome it is that so many people were born! And so many women gave birth! It is astounding.

I know a lot of mothers. I always have. As a child I knew my mothers and my aunts and my grandmothers and my friends mothers and other mothers in my church or community. Now, as a mother, I know even more mothers, and more intimately. And yet, there are SO MANY mothers that I don't even know! That I've never seen! Whose names I've never heard! Whose names I probably would mispronounce if I tried to say them.

And so many more women, young women, and girls are future mothers! It boggles my mind, and I love it.

I love motherhood. I feel extraordinarily lucky in motherhood.

First, that I became a mother on my own terms -- accompanied by a husband I love so dearly, and at the time in my life when I wanted to start a family. I didn't have the jolt that an unexpected pregnancy must bring, or the drawn out stretching of having to wait to become pregnant. Or any of the million other scenarios and ways there are to become a mother that would have been less than ideal to me.

Second, that in motherhood I am fulfilling my dreams. I was taught from a young age, by my church and more importantly by my sincere and loving parents, that to be a mother is a holy calling. I learned that mothers must nurture and protect their children, guide them as they grow, let them fail when necessary. I learned that God was very interested in mothers, and in helping them raise children. That, at any time, a mother could call on Him for help and expect miracles. I was explicitly prepared in my youth for motherhood. I learned how to change diapers and entertain children. How to teach them and how to discipline them with love. I practiced on my younger siblings and on children that I babysat. And, because I was given such instruction and practice, I knew that motherhood was a path I wanted to pursue.

I love being a mother. One day, a few months (weeks? time then is fuzzy) after Benjamin was born, I said to Jacob, "I think I love being a mother. Because I loved being a student, and motherhood is way better." Or something like that, anyway. Isn't that how life is? We all have different lives, and different experiences and who knows what life will bring until it has arrived.

Anyway, these are just a few of my thoughts at one moment in my life. Happy Mothers' Day.

Happy Easter

2011-04-26T10:57:00.000-06:00

Typing this with "Lilac Pastelle" fingernails. <3

We spent Easter in Cincinnati with relatives. Ah relatives! We love you! It was so good to see you! My nephew Taylor (age 8) was baptized and so was his cousin (who is not my niece, but is very nice).

Poor Benjamin got a serious tooth bonk when he tripped face first into a chair. Thankfully, our host (my husband's brother's wife's sister's husband; lets just call him Darcy, since that's his name) Darcy is a pediatric surgeon (I think) and anyway has lots of experience in diagnosing and treating children, and he assuaged my fears.

So that was stressful, and add to it the fact that shortly thereafter the exhausted Benjamin was sleeping on the couch and rolled off of it and then peed all over the bathroom floor? Well. Saturday was not our day.

But, all is well that ends well. We had a lovely Easter Sunday and a safe trip home.

Come to think of it, our Easter Sunday could sound quite heathen, if you stack the cards right. We did not go to church.* We wandered in greedy pursuits** and played dice games.***

* Ironic, that we attend church every week but missed Easter. Benjamin was still asleep and we were not about to shoot ourselves in the foot by waking the injured bear. We watched an inspirational message online.
** Easter egg hunt! All the eggs were found and then Grandpa Craig decided to hide them again and extend the fun. Thing is, some of them were empty by then. So on round two, Ellie (age 4) and Benjamin (age almost 3) were hunting eggs in the easy patch and Ellie would shake each egg and toss the empty ones into Benjamin's bucket. Hilarious!
***Namely, "Never Trust a Pirate." It was fun, and did not involve any gambling. :)

Unfortunately, on this lovely weekend, we forgot our camera.

rainbows for breakfast

2011-04-17T20:07:00.000-06:00

"You not can eat rainbows, because they're dery dery big." Benjamin, when Jacob asked if he'd like to eat rainbows for breakfast.

"Hi, window! Hi, dishwasher! Hi, Mom and Dad! Hi, window! Hi, dishwasher! Hi, Mom and Dad!" repeated many times as he spun in the kitchen.

"You messed up my plan." Benjamin says after messing up his own train track. "I'll give you one week."
"One week for what?" Mom asks.
"Painting. . . . Five paintings."

"Mommy! Mommy! . . . I'm not calling you!" Oh, of course not. Silly me.

***

So we've all been getting over a nasty sinus thing here.

Levi got his second tooth this week, so now he's got two on the bottom.

We got our taxes figured out, always a bit of a hairy mess, being part of a couple of family trusts. I can't say I'm not annoyed (because I am annoyed) that Jacob's income doesn't qualify as "earned" or that Illinois doesn't have a child tax credit, but hey, at least I'm learning about taxes. Chalk one up for education.

Had a lovely picnic this week with some neighbors:

My awesome Korean neighbor Hyuna brought kimbap, which she packs for her husband's lunch each day. [sidenote: when she learned that I pack Jacob's lunch sometimes she was very impressed, and told Jacob "You have a very good wife!" Jacob said, "I know." :-)]

My other awesome Korean neighbor, Doyeon, made this delicious noodle salad with shrimp and peppers and blueberries and lettuce. Guys. It was so good! She is a fantastic chef. Back in Korea she was a pharmacist. So, you know. Chemistry in the pharmacy, chemistry in the kitchen, right?

Oh, also Doyeon told me that she took her congested little one-year-old in to the doctor for some medicine and they didn't have anything for the under 2 crowd (as we all know). Well apparently in Korea they do! Am I wrong in thinking that an infant decongestant would sell like hotcakes here? I think that I am not. She's like "what do you do?" and I'm like "um, let them sleep with an elevated head, turn on a humidifier..." all the while thinking, "where can I get me some of this drug?" Part of me thinks, "Well, it must not be safe!" and the other, bigger part thinks, "Pharmaceutical politics in the US are so, so, whack." Because as we all know Asians are geniuses. And also no entire country (or pharmacist) would give their babies a drug that was not safe.

So I can have some of that, then? Because remember we are all getting over the sinus infection here.

Portraits by an Artist who's a Young Man

2011-04-10T20:01:00.000-06:00

Benjamin took these portraits of our family:

Levi, looking chubby.

Alysa, with lamp.

Jacob, in jacket.

self, through smudged lens.

Toothsome

2011-04-10T19:53:00.000-06:00

Toothsome: (noun)

1. (of a food) temptingly tasty...

2. (of a person) Goodlooking; attractive.

from Dictionary.com

First, a few photos of the little guy who now has one tooth and one on the way!

this is a typical Levi pose. He has very good balance, and it's probably because he sticks his arms out like this!

arms out again! His hair is getting fluffy, and it is so touchable.

scrutinizing the camera

He adores feeding himself. Among his favorite foods are cheerios, baby puffs, saltine crackers, graham crackers and teething bisciuts. Also, cereal and veggies; fruits get the sour face. Spoon feeding Levi requires two spoons: one to fill with cereal and move towards his mouth. He will wrench it from your grasp, so just let go once he's got a hold of it, to avoid cereal coated walls. He'll get it to his mouth. The other spoon is to fill up and repeat, which will enable you to retrieve the first spoon.

And, just for fun, here is one of Benjamin:

This is his picture face. He always has his eyes open, but with the double flash it is a guarantee they're closed.

"Video killed the radio star"

2011-04-03T21:14:00.001-06:00

We have videos for you! Yes, I know we've been holding out. As we finally emptied our card onto our computer I noticed that we hadn't shared any videos since Thanksgiving at least. Whew. But! Without further ado, something for the grandparents...

(click on the videos to see them larger on YouTube)

Good news, bad news

2011-03-29T12:36:00.000-06:00

Let's do some good news/bad news. :D

Good news: I am thinner! Exercise works!
Bad news: Jeans no longer fit.
Good news: That probably means my summer pants will fit, though...
Bad news: Currently 43 degrees out.

Bad news: Levi is teething!
Good news: Infant tylenol helps.

Good news: Benjamin is nearly ready for preschool!
Bad news: I have to figure out what preschool to send him to. Or a Co-op? Hmmm.

Good news: I was in the newspaper! For my book blog!
Bad news: I don't subscribe to the newspaper, so I never saw it. County Star anyone?

You can read this.

2011-03-11T21:20:00.001-07:00

It is a little bit about Jacob on his group's website. Featuring bonus picture of the family at group Christmas party!

ETA: Oh, and you can watch this. It is "Mormon comedy at it's finest" according to my aunt's niece.

Bodily Fluids

2011-03-10T20:04:00.000-07:00

Today's exhibit is by a new artist -- photographer Benjamin Stewart. This series, entitled "Bodily Fluids" is composed of self-portraits of the two year old.

Dialog on the blog

2011-03-10T14:01:00.000-07:00

"You, Mister, need a nap. Fall asleep and sleep the sleep. Sleep the sleep of a thousand sleepy sheep." --Alysa, moments ago. No, Levi's not asleep yet.

Benjamin: Mommy, you a woman?
Alysa: Yes, I'm a woman.
Benjamin: The man's at the lab.
Alysa laughs
Benjamin: Daddy is a man?
Alysa: Yes, Daddy is a man.
Benjamin: Daddy is a boy?
Alysa: Daddy is a boy all grown up.
-- Benjamin has been figuring out all about boys and girls and men and women lately. We've been over it a lot, but we're not done yet I'm sure. Ah, yes. He just came up to talk to me about the boy horses and girl horses (centaurs in the Pastoral Symphony of Disney's Fantasia).

Happy Half-birthday, Levi!

2011-03-07T19:49:00.001-07:00

Can you believe this kid has been on the planet for half a year? 'Cause I can't!

These days he's got all kinds of new tricks. He's "eating" rice cereal:

As you can also see, he's getting really good at sitting up on his own. His blue eyes are so adorable. He's very aware and trying to grab anything that comes within his reach. Once it's in his hands, it goes straight into his mouth (of course).

We love our Levi! Happy half-birthday!

Heard around home

2011-02-21T11:59:00.000-07:00

About Levi, my Korean neighbor Hyuna Yang said, "He look like angel." I just love that. I can't get enough of people loving my babies!

Benjamin used to call his Grammy Cami "Ammy Ammy." Then he went to "Grammy Canny." This week, he has updated it to "Grammy Candy!"

Jacob: What color is my hair?
Benjamin: Gray!
We have not yet seen a single gray hair on Jacob's head. :)

Benjamin: That's a cucumber?
Alysa: Yep, It's a cucumber.
Benjamin: Yeah, like a Barbequecumber.

After being tucked in...
Benjamin: Daddy going downstairs?
Jacob: Yep
Benjamin: You just be careful!

Out of nowhere this morning in the living room Benjamin said
Hi! I'm Benjamin, and this is my fun mommy!

5 months

2011-02-11T15:02:00.000-07:00

Mr Blue Eyes is now 5 months old

yeah, you better believe it

A windy fitful day in winter, charging toward the Ides of May

2011-02-01T19:01:00.001-07:00

January is over! Hooray! So what if checking the mail is like walking through a sno-cone? It's February (which Jacob always pronounces the way that it is spelled)! Month of Luuurrve!

***
What I heard today:

Floating down from upstairs in a two-year old voice: "I is a grownup. I is a grownup."

To the sound of toy trains on a track: "Shark vs. Train! Shark {bersuz} Train!"

ETA: Here is our review of Shark vs. Train. :)

Mom. Let me do some B's.
bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB

Granola Bars!

2011-01-17T21:41:00.000-07:00

For those who have asked, here is the granola bar recipe! I got it from a friend (Ashley) who got it from a friend (Sara), and now you, my friends, can have it from me!

Granola Bars

Step 1: Grease or line a 9x13 pan. You can line with plastic wrap, waxed paper, or parchment paper. I've tried all three and I don't know yet which is my favorite. I recommend a metal pan rather than glass because the corners are more square, which seems to help my bars form more nicely. I read about that trick on another lunch. Glass works fine too, though.

Step 2: In large bowl mix the following:

2 & 1/2 c. Oats (either old fashioned or quick will work, and they're both yummy but different)

2 c. Cereal you have on hand (rice krispies work excellently)

1/4 c. nuts (almonds, pecans, peanuts, etc.)

1/4 c. dried fruit (raisins*, craisins, etc.)

1/4 c. somethin' else**

1/2 teaspoon salt

*I like to separate my raisins, and add them in a few at a time, stirring, so that they get coated in cereal dust. Otherwise, they can end up kind of clumped together.

**In fact, you can use whatever you want for all three of these 1/4 cups, I just like to do nuts and fruit. Some ideas to consider: shredded coconut, flax seed, wheat germ, mini chocolate chips, any kind of baking chips, really, a second nut, seriously, whatever you want! But if you do chips that will melt, you may want to reserve them and press them into the top after the bars have cooled a bit.

oats and cereal. betcha never seen that before!
I took pics with all the other stuff in,
but those got lost cuz my camera batteries were low, ok!?!

Step 3: Measure the following into a small saucepan:

2/3 c. brown sugar

2/3 c. honey

1/2 c. peanut butter

Reserve 1 teaspoon vanilla (don't add till later!)

Stirring, bring these to a boil. Boil anywhere from 0-3 min. If you boil shorter, the bars will be more gooey. If you boil too long, they will crumble. I prefer to boil for one and a half min, as that seems to work well with the quick oats I use. Add the vanilla after you take it off the heat.

gooey stuff measured...

gooey stuff ready!

Step 4: Dump the gooey stuff into the dry stuff and stir! If you forgot to add the vanilla right when you took it off the heat, add it as you stir it all together. That's what usually happens to me.

Step 5: Press it into your pan. I like to do this with the back of my spoon. The same spoon I used to stir my dry ingredients, and then my gooey ones. It saves on dishes. I watched my friend do it with her hands, and that provided a lot more finger-licking opportunities, though, if you want that.

pressing.
This was the 1st time I used parchment paper
(ever! for anything!)
I should've cut it or creased it a bit to fit the pan better.

Step 6: Let them cool. If you used quick oats, they'll set better if you can control yourself and not eat them for several hours, maybe even overnight. Sometimes I can, sometimes I can't. What can I say? Cut them as you please. These also freeze very nicely. Sometimes I make a batch and throw half into the freezer to take on our day trips to the temple.

smile for granola bars!

Delicious! Depending on how you make them, they can be sweet enough to satisfy a cookie craving (but maybe healthier?) what with the chocolate chip option and all. This is also an excellent recipe for your two-year-old chef, who can dump measured cereal into a big bowl and stir things all around.

"Yeah, whatever. I can't eat these, I can't help make them. This baby stuff is a bum deal."

Ashley says: I used those mini chocolate chips, but when you pour the sauce into the rice crispies/oatmeal mixture, it's pretty hot, so when you add the choc. chips, they melt almost instantly. So I added them very last and stirred only minimally after adding them. Then I sprinkled some more on top just as I was finishing pressing it into the pan. Then you really have to let them cool before eating them, because the chips are quite melted throughout.

Sara says: I call these Food Storage Granola Bars because pretty much everything I put in it is in my food storage. ...The whole process (including clean up...with a two year old helping) is less than half an hour. If you do it without help, it'll take about 15 minutes to do including clean up. Enjoy!

Been meaning to mention

2011-01-06T18:39:00.000-07:00

Levi is weighing in at 17.8 pounds.

Yesterday I made sushi! Fun, yummy, cheap (fillings were canned salmon with lemon juice, avocado and green onion), a little bit labor intensive. We've also been enjoying homemade bread (thanks to Jeremy and Molly for the breadmaker) and homemade granola bars recently.

We have convinced a friend (Hi Susan, if you read this!) to lend us some cloth diapers, so that we can try cloth risk-free. Probably not for 30 days. More like 6 days. But it's been just over 24 hours, and seems fine.

Potty training continues. Benjamin prefers exotic toilets to his own two options at home.

The never-mailed Christmas Letter

2010-12-28T22:22:00.015-07:00

A Christmas Letter from the Stewarts

International Cheese Curling Champions 2010

by Alysa Stewart

Jacob continues his graduate studies in Physical Chemistry. He hopes someday to become a professor of Chemistry. Don't be surprised when he doesn't end up teaching at Berkeley – he would rather teach than have to worry about producing amazing research results.

This is the part where I try to make Jacob's current research sound exciting, dangerous and kind of understandable: Usually Jacob and Brian are trying to get their tiny oven to reach 1300 degrees Fahrenheit. Or perhaps they're aligning the laser which is smaller than a toothpick (no smoke, all mirrors), or refilling the liquid nitrogen which could freeze your hand off, or tinkering with the pumps (which required an addition to be constructed on the building). Once this is all set up, they heat Buckminsterfullerene in the oven, cool it with the pump, shoot the laser (which is kept cool by the liquid nitrogen) through it, and analyze the graph that comes out of their spectrometer. The molecule costs $20/gram, and one gram only lasts an hour in the oven. They've never seen the lines it is supposed to be making on the graph, so they plan to test pyrene (which can cause cancer and birth defects) next.

Jacob also spent the year serving in the church. He worked with cub scouts until this summer when he was called as ward mission leader. He enjoys helping the missionaries teach the gospel and working with new members of the church. He also enjoys popcorn, books by Brandon Sanderson, and tickling the boys.

I spent the majority of the year pregnant. I volunteered at the library, delivering books to homebound women, until the belly got too big, the books got too heavy, and Benjamin got too rambunctious (read: kept ditching his pregnant mommy with a stroller full of books and running through nursing home hallways, attempting to board elevators unchaperoned). I served in the Stake Young Women's presidency (helping organize youth dances and meetings, and training youth leaders) until August. Recently I was called as the ward Relief Society meeting coordinator, and will help organize meetings and events for the women in the ward. I've kept busy the past few months as a judge for the Cybils (Bloggers' choice children's literature award). And of course, in the day-to-day, two little guys keep me scrambling to make sure everyone is dressed and fed properly.

Benjamin is two-and-a-half and finishing up his first year in nursery. He especially loves music time with Brother Miyasaki. He enjoyed being in Kindermusik (taught by mom) at the beginning of the year, and often pulls out instruments to play. This year he has participated in a grammar study at the U of I and loves going to play (on camera) in their lab. It is amazing how much he has learned to say. He is working on potty training, and can be relied upon to wake his parents up with a smile in the morning. He loves to webcam with relatives.

Levi was born on September 7. He has already flown through boxes of Benjamin's hand-me-downs, and almost rolled over several times. His signature move is the ab crunch. He sleeps like a dream, but took his time learning to nurse properly. It is easy to see he loves being part of the family, and it is apparent that he inherited the sensitive skin genes.

Merry Christmas! Remember how Jesus Christ was born? And lived? And died? Well he was resurrected, too! And he's coming back again soon! We can't help but smile as we celebrate his birth.

Thank you for caring about our family. Best wishes for the New Year!

Mad Libs

2010-12-09T17:27:00.000-07:00

We like to do Mad Libs in the car. They help us stay awake. This is the one that made us laugh most, recently. See if you can pick out the words that Jacob filled in:

Studying the Constitution is a likable rainy day camp activity. in 1787, a convention of important American wombats ratified our constitution. The Constitution was an antagonistic document which guaranteed that the U.S. would not merely be a league of independent cars, but a nation with a cranky government that would deal with lightsabers as well as earthquakes. The Constitution provided for a senate, to which every state would send two clouds, and a larger body called the House of Basketballs, which was based on population. The government was divided into three branches: the judicial, the legislative, and the ginormous. This created a system of checks and stripes that works to protect us to this day and gives us our deranged government of the people, for the people and by the swords.

Ha ha! This particular story is from the Camp Daze Mad Libs book.

Imagine that...

2010-12-02T18:54:00.000-07:00

The scene is the master bedroom. Benjamin is jumping on the bed, flapping stiff arms.
Benjamin: Benj'in flying like a bird!
Jacob:...Yeah, you're flying like a penguin!

The scene is the living room. Benjamin perches on the arms of a green Bumbo baby seat.
Benjamin: Benj'in standing a tree!
(In a tree? On a tree? Like a tree? Your guess is as good as mine.)

The scene is Benjamin's bedroom. He has wedged himself into the space his stuffed animals occupy, between the bed and the wall.
Benjamin: Benj'in live in a palace!
Alysa: You live in a palace?
Benjamin: A pretend palace!

In short, Benjamin appears to be exercising his imagination.

He has also started saying "because." It sounds like "na-cuz." Toddlers are known for asking "why, why, why" and when Benjamin enters this phase I won't be surprised. We often ask him, "Why did you do that? Why, why, why?"

Accidental Poetry

2010-11-14T19:30:00.002-07:00

Occasionally a poem pops out of my head during journal writing. Usually late at night, when my guard is down. Here is last night's:

Can't do enough in a day,
Ain't got no time for play,
Already forgot what I was going to say,
That's what it's like to be me today.

I'm sure there are some days when you can relate.

Edited to add: Mahaha! My brother has made this into a song. Accompanied on the banjolele he got last week! It is awesome!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL0RHEwqiYI

Introducing...

2010-11-08T21:51:00.000-07:00

The Stewart family as seen on Halloween weekend:

"Scruffy" Stewart (this costume took a lot of work)

"Sassy" Stewart (complete with sassy eyelashes)

"Sticky Stewart (yes, that is a stick stuck to him)

"Stinky" Stewart (borrowing one of his brother's diapers)

We were all adjectives for the festivities this year. Ironically, Stinky's extra diaper came in handy. He spent the whole night bundled in his carseat, but we were glad we dressed him in costume when we got home and discovered he had blown through his own diaper, his onesie and that his carseat had been saved by his costume. Huzzah!

"Our kids would be freaks"

2010-11-04T12:16:00.001-06:00

That's what my dad's first cousin said to him, when he proposed marriage to her in his youth.

I didn't marry my first cousin, though Jacob and I are distantly related. I think it's more the combination of our heights that makes our kids a little bit freakish.

Levi, age 8 weeks, is now wearing size 6 months. (He's not even 2 months, officially! Even Benjamin didn't get into the 6 month clothes until a little later.)

Benjamin, age 2, is wearing size 10 shoes. He's not even two-and-a-half, even.

So, at least one part of Kym's prediction is coming true: "You're going to breed giant geniuses" was the gist of it. I can't say about the genius part, but they seem to be somewhat giant.

Food, glorious food!

2010-10-29T09:42:00.002-06:00

I have been thinking a lot about food lately. This may be because I spend an amazing amount of time feeding people. I'm looking forward to a phase of life when everyone can be served one thing. As it is, I feed myself, Jacob and Benjamin one meal, then I feed Levi his own. And it will be a while before he can eat what we eat. I'm looking forward to cereals and such, but they're still a different meal to prepare.*

Anyway, let me write out some recommendations. They're good enough that, if you don't know about them already, you should give them a try.

1. "Summer Sandwich" -- This beauty is a grilled cheese with a twist. Well, a couple of twists, since grilled cheese is pretty boring. Anyway, get your bread. Spread it with pesto (mmm, pesto!). Slice a tomato and put that on there too. Top with mozzarella cheese. Grill as you please. I use my sandwich maker. My friend Ashley uses her waffle iron. You could do stovetop, but then you wouldn't get the bread all saturated with pesto and tomato juices. It would still be dang good though.

2. Hummus -- Can I just say I love hummus? I mean, this won't be a surprise to those who know how much I love refried beans. Hummus is like refried garbanzo beans, basically. That's the way I see it. (Incidentally, I haven't figured out to make my own hummus or refried beans properly yet, though the refried beans were passable. Most of the hummus got dumped.) Benjamin and I eat hummus with tortilla chips, on crackers, with olives, and I'm wanting to try a hummus sandwich that I read about in Parents magazine. I just need to find some pita bread. Pita, hummus, olive, lettuce, tomato it would be. I say "Benjamin and I" because Jacob never seems to get much hummus as it is all gone by the time he gets home. This week alone Benjamin and I have eaten a full pound of it. I buy it at Aldi (thanks to all those who recommended Aldi to me, especially Anna Frost [yummy raviolis!] and Britney Richards).

3. Chicken Satay -- I made this for the first time this week. Wow. I'll definitely be making it again. Got the recipe from Family Fun. We made kebobs out of it, with onion, green pepper, and mushroom. Next time we plan to use pineapple, too. Seriously though, as I was making this I thought, "this is a lot of chicken...I guess we'll have plenty of leftovers." Not a one. It all got scarfed, and it was a big hit with Benjamin too. He doesn't always eat a lot of chicken, but I think the dipping sauce made it so fun he couldn't resist.

I know what you're thinking now -- "where are the pictures?" Well. Let me just tell you that I am always too busy eating these things to bother taking pictures. The thought occasionally crosses my mind, but then it goes away again. Probably because it gets crowded out by the thought that goes, "mmm, delicious!"

I hope you enjoy! Let me know if you try any of these, and if you do how you like them! Also, let me know about recipes your family loves!

<3

Alysa

*Not that breastmilk has to be prepared, per se. And I suppose we could ALL eat baby cereal, after all I rather like the baby cereals and have been known to eat Benjamin's leftovers.

"Hmm, I think I need some..."

2010-10-16T21:05:00.000-06:00

random photos!

riding the ponies at Curtis Orchard

matchy matchy! handsome squared!

fast friends: my niece and my youngest sister

one of me, taken by my mom

Levi's first music lesson. Uncle Cool is in his "uncle cool" shirt

trying to catch some smiles

awww.

isn't he a cutie?

Family of four (with our pet, Teddy.)

Smith side of the family.

Please note that my 12 year old brother (on the left) is now taller than me. Thankfully he's not as tall as Jacob yet. He's still in elementary school for Pete's sake!

Pictures of Levi

2010-10-12T19:38:00.000-06:00

Pff... who has time to blog? But I do think you should see these:
http://jenikaslens.com/?p=2393

***

Monday's Family Home Evening Lesson

Jacob: (holding a picture of the missionaries) Do you know who this is?
Benjamin: Yep.
Jacob: Who is this?
Benjamin: Misha(garbled noises)! Benjamin see real ones.
Alysa: You've seen the real missionaries.
Jacob: Yeah, this is just a picture of missionaries. Do you know what missionaries do?
Benjamin: Yep.
Jacob: What do the missionaries do?
Benjamin: Eat dinner!

Little Levi!

2010-09-26T18:10:00.000-06:00

19 days old and dressed in his Sunday best

And now he is hungry and it's bedtime for Benjamin and so on and so forth. But, at last, there is a picture of him on the blog. More to follow, of course.

My kind of sport

2010-09-05T21:42:00.000-06:00

Yesterday (39 weeks and 1 day, for those of you counting) we went to the Amish Cheese Festival in Arthur, IL. All kinds of fun, let me tell you. For one thing, it was adorable listening to Benjamin say "cheese festival!" which sounds more like "cheese a bess a bull!" For another, there was cheese tasting. My favorite flavor was named "friendly garlic." Also, there was delicious funnel cake.

eating delicious funnel cake

But the undisputed highlight of the festival was the 11th Annual International Cheese Curling Team Championships. Allow me to emphasize that, being the only (to my knowledge) cheese curling event, this is the most prestigious of all cheese curling events in the world!

What happens is this: a team of four steps up. Usually said team of four has a cheesy (pun intended) name. The Cheese-its. The Cheesettes. Winsleydale, The Cheese Slicers, Pretty Gouda, and so forth. Our team name was Blue Cheese, since we were all coincidentally wearing blue. Our whole team was coincidental, really. It consisted of myself and Jacob, as well as our friends Joe Bair and Bill Evans.

looking like he's been sweeping cheese
his whole life

One team member is chosen as the sweeper. On our team this was Jacob. The other team members roll a four pound stone of Baby Swiss down the ~~tarp~~ field toward the target. The sweeper does anything he can to get the cheese on the bullseye at the end. Each curler gets one practice roll and one roll for points. The bullseye is worth four, and there are rings worth three, two, and one points. This makes the highest possible score 12 points, and the low score could be 0, if the target was never reached.

For participation, each team gets to keep their stone -- roughly a pound of baby swiss per person! We almost didn't participate, but as we watched the other competitors, who varied widely in skill and in the punniness of their team names, we figured, "hey, free cheese!" (and also "what a great story, if this put me into labor!") and signed up. Since we signed up mid-competition, we were the last team on the roster.

Two teams were tied at 11 points before team Blue Cheese took the field.

I rolled first, for practice. My roll was too hard and the broom was too soft. It rolled right through the target and beyond. Joe rolled second, and Jacob was able to sweep it over into the three point section (but it was just practice). Bill was our anchor, and his roll went wide, hit the boundary, and never even made it to Jacob. Things were not looking good for Blue Cheese.

I stepped up to the line again, and sent the cheese flying with a nice follow-through.

just look at that form!

It headed straight for the bullseye and Jacob smacked it down for four points! Joe sent another one nice and easy down the middle, and Jacob brought our total to 8 points! In the meantime, Bill's two kids who had been standing next to us decided to head back to their mom -- causing a break in concentration on the team. Where are the kids? Where is Bill? Okay, here we go again. The official stopped Bill saying, "Did you roll, before?" He wanted to make sure we weren't pulling in a different team member. Once Bill was cleared, he curled straight and true. Jacob nudged the cheese over as it passed into the bullseye, and we had a perfect 12!

Team Blue Cheese (plus a few)

We are the International Cheese Curling Team Champions for 2010! For winning, we each got a stone of swiss to take home, as well as a Cheese Festival T-shirt. A local media man took our picture for the paper, and has promised to mail us a copy of it.

Since I figured our little family didn't need eight pounds of Guggisberg baby swiss (four will do, thanks!) we gave our second wheel to some friends who got lost on the way and arrived just after we'd won. We finished the day with a picnic in the park, and unfortunately, winning my title hasn't put me into labor.

Now I'd like to make a little speech, if that's okay.

Thank you, friends, for celebrating my success with me. Winning this championship was one of those things I never knew I always wanted. If you have any good recipes that involve swiss cheese, please, for the love of cheese, send them my way.

Getting Ready

2010-08-24T16:02:00.000-06:00

I'm due to have this baby September 10th -- which is rapidly approaching. Honestly, I feel mostly ready. I feel more ready than I did at this point in my pregnancy with Benjamin. Probably because I know what my experience was like with him, and I know I can handle something like that again.

I'm doing well as far as physical readiness goes, too. Huge thank you's go to my mom and sister who helped a ton while they were here to make sure I didn't have the baby, and also to super-shopper Rachel Luke who hunted down all the baby gear I needed at garage sales and got me smokin' good deals on great stuff. I feel like she's been the baby version of my wedding planner -- a baby planner or something.

There are two types of physical readiness, I've decided. The imperatives and the extras. You've simply GOT to have a carseat, a couple of outfits, you know. The things on my before-baby-to-do list have become more trivial this past couple of weeks: paint toenails. Get a haircut so that when you look in the mirror at the hospital you don't cringe.

I think Benjamin understands what's coming as well as a two-year-old can. He knows he's going to have a baby brother, knows his name (Levi Thomas Stewart is the plan), and shows interest in other little babies. I'm sure it will be an adjustment when the little guy comes, but Benjamin already seems to be very loving of his abstract little brother.

Birthday Sombrero

2010-08-15T17:13:00.001-06:00

Once I took this picture, I just had to share it. Alysa got me this hat for my birthday and then snuck into my lab the day before my birthday and left it on my desk with a note telling me it was to be worn ALL DAY. I brought it home at the end of the day and Benjamin tries to put it on me every once in a while as a party hat. He did that today, but Alysa had just taken his Sunday clothes for lunch, so bi decided to put the hat on him and take a picture. This will be prime wedding reception slideshow material.

Benjamin's new trains

2010-08-14T14:09:00.000-06:00

We found these trains at a garage sale for $10 and Benjamin has been playing with them ever since we got home. He loves all the trains from the Thomas the Tank Engine series. Happy Saturday!

Benjamin's New Basketball Hoop

2010-08-07T21:08:00.000-06:00

Alysa found a Little Tykes basketball hoop for $10 and Benjamin has been loving it! We took some video of him playing with it for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

Tonight

2010-08-06T19:01:00.000-06:00

Jacob: Cora has blue eyes. What color are your eyes?
Benjamin: Brown!
Jacob: Yes! What color are my eyes?
Benjamin: Brown!
Jacob: Right. What color are Mommy's eyes?
Benjamin (looks to check): Purple!

Jacob tickles Benjamin.
Benjamin: That tickles!
Jacob: Oh, it does? Well maybe I'd better do it some more!
Benjamin (laughing): Stop, Daddy!
Jacob (still tickling): You want me to stop?
Benjamin: Yes.
Jacob: Oh, okay. (stops)
Benjamin: ...Green, go!

Nesting Much?

2010-07-18T21:16:00.000-06:00

Back on July 2nd (the date of the last post on here, coincidentally) I had some early labor. The medical staff called it an "irritable uterus." It wasn't enough to keep me in the hospital for long (just long enough to miss the Eclipse movie watching party I had organized - ugh!) and I was released with the instruction to "resume normal activity." Nevertheless, my mother jumped at the chance to come out and visit. She has been busy for the last couple of weeks making sure I don't pick up my 30 lb toddler, bringing me drinks of water, and vacuuming.

We've also been working on projects galore. Here are a few things we've been up to:

getting rid of the weeds
planting flowers and herbs
setting up a sandbox
organizing the closet under the stairs
rearranging furniture like crazy
laundering baby clothes
learning about IL wildflowers
going on dates/babysitting
going to the pool
catching fireflies
paddle-boating on Crystal Lake
making a baby quilt

So, I think I've been nesting a bit. And I'm glad for all the help that my mom has been able to give me with that. She's switching places with my sister Clare on Wednesday, and it will be fun to see Clare, too. :D

Dear Neighbors

2010-07-02T20:38:00.000-06:00

Dear Neighbors,
You know Benjamin. He's the one that loves your dogs and gets so excited every time a bus drives by. He's the one running to the white Corolla, or pushing the teddy bear in a green stroller. And, in case you didn't know, he's the one that hates getting dressed in the morning. He doesn't mind being dressed, just getting dressed.

So, if you happen to be driving, walking, or just living nearby, and you see our door slightly ajar, and you look closer and find that you can just see a sliver of a toddler getting dressed, then know this. Apparently the best motivation is authentic motivation. This kid gets dressed in record time if even a little reminder of "Outside!" can get in.

Please forgive us. I hope you don't think it's too vulgar, dressing with the door open. I've only just discovered this, and it's sure to become a little ritual of daily life, at least for a time. It will save me literally hours a week, if it keeps working. Just thought I'd give you the heads-up.

Distraction

2010-07-01T20:38:00.000-06:00

Sometimes, I love distraction. It serves me well as a mother: "while I read this to you, let's get dressed!" "You got a bonk, poor guy. Look! A dog!"

This morning, however, I was the one distracted. Watching this lovely little video, in fact. The consequence? I had to vacuum granola out of my bed.

So, you know, just check to make sure the granola is put away before you watch.

(Thanks to Laini for posting the video to begin with.)

Happy 2nd to Benjamin!

2010-06-30T12:01:00.000-06:00

More pictures to come, but I couldn't resist posting this one right away. He blew out that first candle on his own, but never could get the second one. Jacob helped him out. :)

Snapshots

2010-06-09T21:08:00.000-06:00

A portrait of mom, by Benjamin. I held the camera, he pushed the button.

Yeah, everyone around here sits on the potty. Even the elephant.

And all the Teddys wear undies, too!

Don't Mention It

2010-06-08T21:02:00.000-06:00

Annaliese said she liked hearing my tips and tricks for getting toddler cooperation. So here's another one that I like to call "Don't mention it." or "just do it."

You know how it is, we're going along with the day and it's time for the next thing. I mention what the next thing is: "Are you ready for lunch?" "It's time to come inside now," "let's go upstairs for your nap." Half the time statements like these garner a negative reaction from Benjamin. So, I'm learning to keep my mouth shut about what's coming next.

Take today, for example.

We've been taking steps toward potty training this weekend -- only because at this point it seems as easy as diaper changes. The diaper comes off the moment it is wet, and it's hard to get another one back on Benjamin. Most times he insists on standing up while I put it on. And, he's been showing other signs of readiness, too: willingness to sit on the potty, the ability to keep a dry diaper for a length of time, picking potty books at the library and insisting we read them over and over.

So, we've borrowed a little toilet from some friends, made a potty chart (complete with Elmo stickers -- highly motivational) and even busted out the undies for times when we're at home and not sleeping.

However, when asked, Benjamin almost NEVER wants to go potty. I finally wised up to this today, and, when I knew it was about time for the next potty break, had Jacob bring the potty down from the upstairs bathroom. Then I grabbed the favorite book about potty time, and just started reading it aloud, in the kitchen. Benjamin was quickly entranced and when he asked for a second reading of the book, I said, "Okay, come in here."

We proceeded to the bathroom, where I made quick work of removing his shorts (without a word!) and began to read the potty book again. He did his duty in record time! Sweet! Who knows how long it would have taken us if I had asked him to come upstairs and go potty. From experience, quite a while.

So, our potty training experience begins.

The latest cute portrait

2010-05-31T17:06:00.000-06:00

Dirty Laundry

2010-05-03T12:46:00.000-06:00

We've been doing a lot of laundry at our house. Those of you with toddlers may not be surprised. But wait. It's not because Benjamin is a messy eater (and he certainly is). It's not because he loves to play out in the dirt and mud and rain (though he does). It is because Benjamin loves, LOVES, dumping laundry soap into the washer.

If we're downstairs, he'll drag his step-stool over to the washer and open it, and then point frantically at the soap. If he's in his booster seat at the table and the laundry closet is open, he'll point at the soap and make dumping motions (this kid will always talk with his hands, I'm sure). Or maybe he'll point out the "M" on the "arm and hammer" soap. If we're upstairs, he'll spot a basket of laundry, start kind of wrestling with it, and say "down, down!" until we agree to sort it and put a load in.

Really, I'm not complaining. It's been kind of nice to feel so "caught up" on laundry. :)

"Jacob, Jacob and sons..."

2010-04-29T07:01:00.000-06:00

Okay folks. The poll on the gender of our second child has closed. It had 30 votes -- 10 for boy and 20 for girl.

1/3 of you can congratulate yourselves...

We'll be having a BOY!

Pretty awesome, huh? Now we just have to decide what to name the kid. The doctor suggested Maximus, then laughed really hard at the looks on our faces. Truth be told I love the name Max (but would probably pick Maxwell over Maximus or Maximillian) however Max sounds horrible with Stewart. It ends up sounding like Mac, and that is not an option.

Jacob likes "good strong names" and I like names that aren't "too common" -- if you think you've got something that fits the bill, suggestions are welcome!

Probably the cutest thing about it all is that we can ask Benjamin, "are you having a baby brother?" and he'll say "yeah."

Halfway Day!

2010-04-23T14:33:00.000-06:00

Today I am 20 weeks pregnant!

Earlier this week:

Me: "I'll be halfway pregnant soon!"

Jacob: "No, you're already 100% pregnant. You'll be halfway to NOT pregnant."

Now that made me smile.

Feeling pretty good (I know that is the burning question on all of your minds,) but my right hip is definitely out of whack. I usually solve this problem by sleeping on my back for a night. That's not really an option anymore.

I'm feeling the baby move at least daily now, and think there might have been hiccups last night.

There are a mere 5 days until our ultrasound!

Songs and Games and things

2010-04-13T10:41:00.000-06:00

Playing Peekaboo with a new favorite blanket:

He loves it, and sleeps with it every night. Thanks Jenni!

Anyone else know this song?

Dad does things different:

The other day Benjamin brought me his little fake "CD player." It has several large buttons on the front that play music, you know the type of thing. Well then he turned it over and started making screwdriver motions with his finger on the screws. I said something about "yes, that's how you change the battery..." and we moved on.

A day or two later Jacob had some time with Benjamin (various things have been keeping me busy recently). When I got home Benjamin was already asleep and I asked how he had been for Jacob.

"Pretty good," was the response. "We took apart his CD player again."

"Like, with a screwdriver?"

"Yeah, we just take the back off sometimes..."

Mystery solved. I never would have thought of tinkering with electronics as an appropriate activity for a one year old. But obviously he loved it and there's no harm done. I caught him eyeing the back of his new toy phone recently -- maybe that will be their next project.

Guessing Game

2010-04-05T13:27:00.000-06:00

We have a date set for our ultrasound. April 28th. And yes, we're planning on learning the baby's gender. So that means you get to make your predictions for whether we'll be having a boy or girl. My father says he's hoping for human.

So, go ahead and vote in the sidebar! Remember, though, that mother nature has already cast her vote. You just don't get to know it until April 28th. Also, her vote is worth like 10,000 of your votes. So.

*sidenote: I've discovered that since the baby is due in September (month 9 of 12), it's really easy to keep track of how many months along I am. As long as I can remember what month it is...

New Benjamin Video

2010-03-31T21:21:00.000-06:00

So, our video camera has been out of commission for a little while now due to a problem with the SD card. We finally bit the bullet and just bought a new one, so we can take more videos of Benjamin now! Here's one I took of him yesterday where I quiz him on some of the animal sounds that he knows.

We just got a tricycle for Benjamin from some friends, so hopefully we'll get some action footage to post here.

"M!"

2010-03-29T11:35:00.000-06:00

There are a few letters of the alphabet that Benjamin knows and loves. For one, "O!" So easy to say, so easy to pick out of a crowd. He goes for "O" first when he sees a keyboard. He also likes and can find on the keyboard "M," for mom, "D" for dad, "B" for Benjamin, and "I," just because it's right next to "O" and also easy to say.

I should mention that Benjamin first got into identifying "O" and "I" from reading Bingo by Rosemary Wells.

Well, today I was putting him down for his nap and reading him a book, Birds by Julie Aigner-Clark. I read "Many birds live in trees." and Benjamin interrupted me excitedly saying "M! M! Mom!" He had found the M at the beginning of the page and thought it was very cool. None of his other favorite letters started a page (and I don't think he's quite to picking them out yet), but M did a few more times, much to his excitement.

I thought that was pretty cool, especially since M is for Mom. :)

Getting Dressed Part 2

2010-03-19T11:42:00.000-06:00

About an hour after the shirt. Also after two time-outs for bad behavior and several previous pants-putting-on-tries. My recent fail-proof trick (reading two pages of a book, then putting in one foot, reading two more, putting in the other foot, two more pages and zip them up) has failed. I am now sitting on the edge of the bed, holding a struggling kid.

Me (reverting to old standby tactic that used to work): Daddy wears pants! Benjamin still kicks his legs. Does Daddy wear pants?

Benjamin: Noooo. kicking stops.

Me: No? Does Daddy wear shorts?

B: Noooo.

Me: Does Daddy wear a skirt??

B: Noooo.

Me: No, that's silly! Does Daddy wear pants?

B: Yes!

Now he lets me put the pants on. Seriously. If this kid does not want to do it, it does not get done. Every morning I have to convince him that he wants to wear clothes. Luckily, since he doesn't have much interest in them, he doesn't take them off constantly. Yet.

Also, as you may have noticed, he has a driving desire to be like his Daddy. Several months ago Jacob was playing his Philippino recorder/flute thingy. Benjamin went to the bathroom, found something long and skinny (mousse), climbed up and wormed his way into the exact place that Dad was sitting. Behold:

Getting Dressed (Or Trying)

2010-03-19T09:24:00.000-06:00

This morning:

Me: Mommy's wearing a black shirt. Do you want to wear a white shirt today?

Benjamin: Yeah.

I begin to put shirt on him

Benjamin: No, no, no.

Me: Look, Teddy wants you to wear your shirt! He doesn't like it when you're naked. Teddy is a good friend, huh.

Benjamin: Yeah.

Me: Yeah, (slipping shirt on him) Teddy wasn't going to say anything, but he wants you to put on a shirt.

High Time

2010-03-17T13:04:00.000-06:00

Last night I went and bought myself some more pregnancy pants. Oh glory! I'm wearing them today and I feel free! Also I am finally getting over this fake cold/congestion thing I've had going on the last week. Yay!

I actually saw a flyswatter at the store the other day; I bought it. Today, our first fly met his doom. Benjamin pointed him out to me -- one of those big, buzzy types. And I wasted no time. But, let's just say my aim needs improvement. I was chasing the fly around whapping the walls and putting on a great show for Benjamin. He made me do reenactments all through lunch.

Random quote from Jacob: "That's what I'm here for: Smart Ideas and Dumb Comments." (pronounced after a smart idea.)

Hey, Guess What...

2010-02-27T13:11:00.000-07:00

I'm pregnant. Preggers. Prego. Eating for two. In the family way.

And it's about all I've wanted to talk about recently, hence the dearth of posts.

So. Let me anticipate some of your questions. I'm 12 weeks along as of now. I'm due on Sept 10th 2010. I'm feeling pretty good. I don't tend to toss my cookies -- I just get really really really really really tired. Another reason the blogging has slowed -- I nap when Benjamin does, instead of blogging, and when I'm up past ten I don't do well. So, if it can't get done when I'm awake, it doesn't get done.

Oh, also sometimes I have to eat NOW. Like, for instance, last night. We drove up to the Blue and Gold Banquet at 5:53, the thing was scheduled to start at 6. Did I go sit at a table? No. Because I needed to eat NOW. (Usually I carry some snacks for myself, but I had run out.) I went straight into the kitchen and snagged me some garlic bread. Yum, yum!

And it was a good thing, too. Because by the time the food was being served at 6:30, I HAD to be first in line. This was slightly awkward, since technically the tables at the other end of the gym were supposed to go first. But I've got Benjamin as an excuse. When a couple of Webelos looked at me scarfing my ravioli and were like "Hey, how come they have food. . ." I said "Because babies get to go first." And shoveled another bite into his mouth. And in my head I said 'The youngest go first. And none of y'all are unborn.'

Anyway, we're very excited. We were planning for things to go this way, and this will put Benjamin and his little sibling (we'll find out the gender around the end of April) 2 years and 3 months apart. It will also keep the birthdays in our family right in line: June, July, August, and September. :) Assuming that all goes as planned.

Rapunzel's Revenge Book Trailer Voting

2010-02-09T08:20:00.002-07:00

You can now vote for your favorite trailer at Shannon Hale's blog! Somehow my maiden name is with my entry, but it works. It's a good name. Yeehaw!

A Family Photo

2010-02-07T19:57:00.000-07:00

Jacob has been organizing our pictures recently, and we realized that the most recent family photo that we had on our computer was fairly old and looked like this:

So before church today we decided to take a family picture using the timer on our camera on our new couch. It turned out much better:

A Tale of Two Computers

2010-01-29T12:12:00.000-07:00

Curses! I was going to post pictures, but now I realize that none of them are on this computer. See, recently Jacob acquired some computer parts. Wait. Let me take you back. To the beginning.

When I was a child, my family began getting computers. Eventually there were so many of them that they could no longer be referred to as "the computer" or "the new computer" or "the one in the living room" etc. They had to have names: George, Josh, Bob, Leo, Katie, Stacy, Justice, Mercy, etc. Each name has a story behind it.

Fast forward to 2006. When Jacob learned I had a laptop, Gypsy, he married me. But it didn't take too long for him to start dreaming of a desktop. And then Gypsy went blind -- which is to say her monitor died and she had to be hooked up externally. So when some friends of ours hollered "Free computer! Who wants it?" Jacob was all up on that. He got the old beast, which we named Gertrude, tinkered with it a bit and had it running in decent shape. Good enough for him, but not for me. I've gots to be able to watch my YouTubes, y'all.

Now you're up to speed. Recently, Jacob acquired some computer parts. These he inspected, cleaned, and decided to use. Gerty was getting a hip replacement. But wait! For a mere $30, Jacob could get an actual video card for this one! So, with a different exterior and a mish mash of parts, we (okay, Jacob. I'm definitely the Igor of this story) flipped the switch, and FrankenGerty was born!

And now it (he? she?) is our main computer. This was delightful for two days while Benjamin couldn't figure out which buttons to push. But now I realize all my pictures are still on Gypsy, and I'm far too lazy at the moment to boot her up and post them.

Instead, you all get to bask in the glow of a wife who is very proud of her genius husband and $30 "new" computer. :)

Snow...

2010-01-08T19:58:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Christmas break in Arizona and we loved seeing both of our families. Two days after we got back from sunny Arizona, we got hit by a snowstorm. It was definitely a reminder that we had returned to the Midwest in January. It wasn't all bad, though, as Benjamin got the chance to play in the snow a bit. Alysa caught some of it on video, so here you go:

Here's hoping your winters are warmer than ours!

All my wisdom . . . gone.

2009-12-09T18:33:00.004-07:00

That ellipsis has replaced the word teeth. All my wisdom teeth are gone. Although come to think of it I do seem to remember saying something that made Jacob laugh and roll his eyes while I was on heavier meds. Couldn't tell you now what it was. So maybe all my wisdom really is gone too. . . . Nah.

I went under the knife on Monday. It is now Wednesday, and I look more the chipmunk than ever. But that's okay because the doctor gave me a paper that said that would happen. I'm pretty sure the next steps in recovery are to wean myself off of high alternating doses of ibuprofen and tylenol and to chew gum. Oh, also the paper says I should have lots of milkshakes. So that's my plan.

Rapunzel's Revenge Book Trailer

2009-11-29T22:01:00.002-07:00

My entry into the Rapunzel's Revenge Book Trailer Contest is live! And I still chuckle at the funny parts even though I watched the footage at least 50 times. :D What do you guys think?

Contest info here and here. I will let you know when the voting begins!

The latest stats etc.

2009-10-24T09:02:00.004-06:00

Benjamin

age: 16 months

height: 32.5 inches

weight: 25 lbs. 9 oz.

Vocabulary

mom
dad
help
ice
hi
dog
meow
juice
this
that
toes
cup
yeah
uh-huh
nah
cheese
bath
diaper

Signing vocabulary

ice
lotion
more
all done
no
milk

Has said ever

all done
ball
shoes
up
down
teeth
grandma
fine
food

Haven't done THAT in a while

2009-10-10T16:32:00.006-06:00

Today we washed our car. Haven't done that in a while. In fact when my neighbor Erika came over and said she was impressed, I had to disillusion her. I told her this was the first time that I had washed a car as a married woman. Come to think of it, it's probably the first time I've washed a car since high school. What brought on this sudden vigor was that our friends the Richards's just discovered that their car had rusted to death right under their noses. This scared me pretty good as our car is relatively new to us, and I'd like it to last a long, long time. So I did some research on how to prevent that whole rusting thing. Apparently it is brought on by moisture and salt (hmm, no wonder we never worried about it in AZ) and exacerbated by having a dirty car, so you should wash and wax your car regularly! Revolutionary! Okay, to me, anyway.

So, today Jacob got the oil changed and helped me wash the car out in the parking lot. Then he watched Benjamin while I went and vacuumed it (so much easier at a car wash place!) and while I waxed it. Neither of us had ever waxed a car before, and I'm the one who watched two internet videos, so that makes me the expert in the family. :) It was tiring! But hopefully it will be worth it in the long run to make a habit of it.

While Jacob was waiting for the oil change he picked us out a pumpkin and we couldn't resist getting some pictures of Benjamin with it. I've been trying to get him to say "Trick or Treat" but he hasn't got there yet. Not surprising, since his newest word is "meow."

Yeah, this picture was SO cute...before he stood up right as I was taking it. You can see his new molars though!

Curtis Orchard

2009-10-02T20:55:00.008-06:00

We went and visited Curtis Orchard tonight with our former next-door neighbor Stacy. Since we didn't get there until 5 minutes before they closed, we mostly just looked around and enjoyed watching Benjamin explore. There was a litter of kittens and he had a fantastic time chasing them around.

This one actually let him pet it. He was very gentle.

In the wagon corral

So tall!

Driving Home with Stacy

We'll have to go back another time when we can pick apples, choose a pumpkin, see the goats, play on the jungle gym, etc. etc. :D We had fun though. I wish I'd brought the good video camera -- these videos are so cute.

Benjamin kept squeaking at the cats:

Here he finally corners the orange one -- for a second:

And now he's willing to say "hi" from behind bars:

Jacob's Starting a Blog!

2009-09-19T20:06:00.000-06:00

I have begun my own blog where I'll be talking about science. Obviously I love science, and I also love explaining things, so I'll be doing posts explaining things (hopefully in simple terms) that I've learned from science. For the first while I'll be leading up to explaining what it is I do for research in my lab (I hope to make things more accessible than what's on that web page). The blog is called Seeds of Science and can be found at http://seedsofscience.blogspot.com/. My goal with this blog is to communicate more about science to non-scientists because science is playing an increasingly important role in our world. So go over and check it out, even though there's only a couple of posts so far.

The Haircut

2009-09-19T13:37:00.004-06:00

Before

After

Donated 12 inches! :D Still trying to figure out how to do it properly, but really liking having it short. What do you think?

Visit to the Indianapolis Children's Museum

2009-09-13T20:41:00.002-06:00

This last weekend we went to Indianapolis and visited the Children's Museum there with my brother and his family, who came from Cincinnati. It was great to see them and their kids. Benjamin had a lot of fun with his cousins and they had fun entertaining him. The museum was amazing. When we first walked into it, I was totally overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stuff and people that were there. Benjamin and his cousin Ellie loved the Playscape, an area designed for kids under 5. Here's a couple of videos we took while we were there:

The End of a Regime

2009-09-10T10:33:00.003-06:00

My benevolent dictatorship has ended. This morning, when I asked Benjamin if he wanted to do something, he said, "nah." He used to say "uh-huh" to my every suggestion. *sigh* Those days are gone. But it did save me some time this morning when I thought he wanted a snack. I asked him if he wanted a cracker and he said nah, waving his hand in typical get-that-away-from-me fashion. He is now able to mentally grasp the abstract cracker! And understand his relationship to it! We are definitely progressing.

Hiatus

2009-09-01T15:06:00.002-06:00

We leave tonight to drive to St. Louis. We'll crash at my cousin's place, then catch an early flight to SLC tomorrow. My grandmother's funeral will be on Saturday, and we will return Sunday. Just so y'all know.

Mary Elizabeth Wiltbank Burton was my grandmother, and she fought cancer for the last 5 or so years of her life. She died at home at age 81, with 5 of her 8 children at her bedside, and two others visited during the day. I am sad I won't get to see her anymore (for a while) but I'm not sad that she has passed away. From what it sounds like, it was time.

In thinking about her life, I've decided that she had a lot of love for a lot of people. Some of my favorite memories of her are from when I was in college. She would have Jacob and I over along with other members of the family who could make it for a monthly get together. It was nice to spend that time with her and with my other relatives.

A Few More Videos

2009-08-23T20:42:00.002-06:00

So, this blog is probably going to be filled with videos of Benjamin now that we have a camcorder. Here are a couple more videos of Benjamin. Here's one of him playing in a rainstorm recently:

And here is one of him on the swing at the park:

New Camcorder!

2009-08-20T21:12:00.003-06:00

So Camille was very nice and got us a joint birthday present of a camcorder! We just got it today and had to take video of Benjamin doing all of his cool tricks. Here you go!

Video, Apology, Reviews.

2009-08-13T11:45:00.006-06:00

Here is a video of Benjamin saying some of his favorite words. It's a bit old -- it got lost in the move, as it were. Enjoy!

Speaking of the move, we are settling in well. We are not, however, prepared to have three wards worth of women at my place with only three days notice. I just about went into cardiac arrest when I thought that was going to happen. So, many apologies to those of you who were accidentally forwarded an email to that effect. I would LOVE to have you all over. Just not yet. And maybe not all at once.

Oh! Other random things I've been wanting to say: I have been enjoying the album Volume One by She & Him. It's got a old-fashioned/new-fashioned feel. Kind of like The Carpenters meets ...oh, Vanessa Carlton or something. Check it out. Also, we enjoyed watching the movie 17 Again last night. It's kind of like Mrs. Doubtfire, but not as creepy. :)

Visit to Girls' Camp

2009-08-07T12:35:00.004-06:00

Being in the Stake YW presidency, I got to spend a little bit of time at girls' camp this week. I would have loved to have gone and stayed the whole week, but alas, it was not to be. To everything there is a season.

I went up for the evening of Monday, for the introduction of the camp theme, "Partakers of the Gift." Then I made it back for the closing evening and testimony meeting on Thursday night.

After singing camp songs (including the awesome theme song that one of the sisters wrote for the week, as well as perennial favorites like "Baby Shark") I was sitting next to a soon-to-be-high-school-senior. She looked at her wrist and was inspecting a mark on it. A common sight at camp, right?

"Did you burn yourself?" I asked.

"I don't know, I don't remember getting burned."

The blotch in question was fairly small, but a little bit puffy and red. It looked like a burn to me -- maybe a splash of water or oil from cooking over the fire. I said as much.

"Maybe it's cancer." she said.

"Yeah, it's got the jagged edges," I said, going along with the malignant mole theory for a moment. "But it looks like a burn to me."

"Well, it had better be a burn," she declared finally, "cuz I don't wanna die bald!"

I just about died laughing. Forget about, oh, painful surgeries. Chemotherapy. Radiation. Long, drawn out death. I just don't want to die bald! It killed me.

In all seriousness, though, the testimony meeting was great. Amidst all of the "I love you all"s and "I was so excited/I was so NOT excited"s there were witnesses of the Savior and his Spirit. Testimonies of the scriptures and of charity. Girls camp is great.

So this is cool...

2009-08-05T10:36:00.001-06:00

World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale from World Science Festival on Vimeo.

We made it!

2009-07-26T19:38:00.005-06:00

Phew. What a whirlwind weekend!

Friday we got the keys to our townhome (that sounds so much better than "apartment" doesn't it?) and paint- paint- painted! We did an accent wall in three of the rooms: downstairs bath, living room, and master bedroom.

Yellow & Blue Living room:

Golden-Brown & Purple Bathroom:

Green & White Bedroom:

I am so proud of us! Neither of us have done a paint job of this scale from start to finish. We are really growing already. Someday, we'll have a house and know what to do with it! Speaking of which, we have some personal yard space here, too, which will be a good training ground for us.

Anyway, Laura came over from Springfield and helped us do the second coat. Then she helped me decide where all our furniture would go. That made moving the next day much easier! We were able to direct traffic and get things all set up how we want them right from the get go. She was also a tireless packer and cheerful babysitter and marvelous kitchen organizer. Seriously. Saturday morning, she packed our entire kitchen (minus several boxes of dishes which Ashley packed for me last week. Thanks, Shley!). Then that afternoon she unpacked it all and organized it. She claims the unpacking is her favorite.

Laura, Kitchen Goddess:

We had plenty of help moving all of our furniture and boxes from the new place to the old. Thanks to all who helped! And their wives, who very often lent me things or let my baby nap at their places. Special commendations go to Scott Cromar, who was there from the beginning, and Matt McCarter who installed our washer and dryer. (We have a W/D! I am so SO thrilled! No more trips down 3.5 flights of stairs and across a snowy walk with laundry and a baby!) Also, anyone who moved that beast of a couch, hulking desk, or piano (free piano! amazing! wonderful! pictured above) deserves special thanks. Thanks in advance to those of you who have volunteered to help me clean our old place sometime this coming week. My heart is really (but not literally) overflowing with gratitude.

And it is just so lovely here. Such a neighborhood. Benjamin can look out the floor-to-ceiling window in the living room and see kids on bikes, people walking dogs, the bus going by, etc. It is quite a contrast from our apartment complex which was all but vacant this past year.

We're settling in well. We slept here last night. We attended our new ward (and were glad to see familiar faces) this week. I've already received some mail here. It is starting to feel like home.