This "Special" Phase

taken fall 2011

About a year and a few months back my little family was at a really good point in church. My littlest child was over 4 years old, and all of my kids were pretty darn good sitting through Sacrament Meeting. Most of the time they were pretty reverent. It had been a long time since any of them had made a scene and had to be taken into the lobby. I could actually listen to the talks and pay attention throughout the entire meeting. I was getting pretty smug about the whole thing. I had EARNED this. How many years had I endured difficult babies? How many years had I sat through a meeting just waiting for one of the kids to scream or fight or laugh really loudly? 9 years. Since Maddy's birth.

Then we had a beautiful baby boy. Kingston. And just like that, my days of peaceful church meetings were again put on hold. Kingston is a fussy child. Don't get me wrong, he's also adorable. But, he is not an easy kid to handle during church. In the past 15 or so months we have gone through periods of time where we could sit or stand with him during our classes and Sacrament Meeting, and periods where we spent 3 hours wandering halls and standing in the lobby. Those periods are exhausting. I am so thankful I have a husband that is my equal partner in these parenting things.

We are currently in a very difficult phase with King. Our church starts at 1:50pm. That would normally be about half an hour after his morning nap starts. So, we're doomed from the get go. Aside from being cranky and tired the whole 3 hour block, the kid likes to SCREAM. I don't mean cry, well, at least not all the time. He just likes to SCREAM. Randomly. If he's discouraged, he screams. If he's tired, he screams. If he likes you, he screams. If he wants food, he screams. And the list goes on and on. Unfortunately, screaming during church meetings is a pretty major distraction. It makes it pretty much impossible to stay in a meeting with him in tow.

Today, after trying for probably a bit too long to keep the kid quiet using different toys and whatnot, Cameron paced with him in the back of our Gospel Doctrine class. Then, during the special combined men and women class, I had to take Kingston into the lobby instead of being able to sit next to Cameron. It wouldn't have been so bad if King was good while I was holding him. He used to do really well as long as I was standing up. It's our policy not to put him down on the ground if he has to be taken out of a meeting. We've learned that our kids would then make the connection that if they are bad in class they get to go out and play. So, we hold him. Today he struggled like no other wanting me to put him down. Frankly, if I did put him down, he probably would have screamed for me to pick him back up. He was TIRED.

Cameron and I went to choir practice before church for the first time today, too. They were performing The Battle Hymn of the Republic today in church, and wanted as many voices as they could get. I was pretty excited about it, but in the back of my mind I realized that I would probably be in the lobby with the baby instead of on stage singing. I knew the choir was in desperate need of men, and I wasn't going to have Cameron go out with the baby when he should be on stage singing. Sigh. I hate when predictions come true. I actually spent all of Sacrament Meeting today in the car. I don't normally go outside, but my feet and legs were KILLING me (I guess the wedge shoes were a bad idea). My baby was exhausted. He actually fell asleep within minutes of being put into his carseat. I did one quick trip around the block to lull him to sleep, and he was out for the hour. I parked in the shade. I put on the CD of church music the bishop had given me for Mother's Day, and read a few articles from a church magazine, The Ensign.

I have to admit, I had more peace during that hour in the car than I've had during church time for a while. I was doing something that was spiritually uplifting. Plus, I was raising to my calling as a mother. To me, these few years of sacrificing my time and energy to care for my children is part of my job. Is it easy? No. Is it exhausting? Yes. Is it worth it? Absolutely. I know that when my children see me going to church week after week through thick and thin they will see how important the Savior is to their mother. They will also see how much their mother loves them that she is willing to make sacrifices like this in order to care for them. I have the rest of my life to sit through church without babies to worry about. Right now it's my turn to mother my little ones. And these little ones won't stay little for very long at all.

Hut's Hamburgers and the UT campus

What do you do on date night when the day's high was at least 106? The same thing you would have otherwise done, but probably an hour or two later at night.

Cam was in charge of date night this week. We left around quarter after 8pm and headed downtown to Hut's Hamburgers for dinner. As we pulled up I saw a great parking space! I told Cameron, and he said he saw it, too! Turns out we saw different spaces. Mine was free, his was a paid space. We debated backing up (on the one way street!) because there wasn't much traffic, and pulling into the free space. Then we came to our senses and paid the $1 for the hour we'd be there. LOL! The paid spot was a fantastic space, too. Right in front of the restaurant.

Hut's is a fun place. Cam and I had never been there before. It's been open in one form or another since 1939 downtown on 6th street. It definitely has the feel of a 1950-60's diner. The walls are covered with college flags and newspaper articles and various pictures. It is a really fun little place.

The burgers are very good. They taste like a burger you would make at home -- so, not fast foodie, but a bit less gourmet than places like Hopdoddy or Red Robin. They have listed 20 burgers on the menu, but really there are a handful of different ones, then they list every possible combination... with mustard, without mustard, with mayo etc. Frankly, I would have preferred LESS minor choices. I finally settled on The Fats Domino Burger because I wanted one with jalapenos. It was pretty good. There was too much cajun seasoning caked on it though. So, while it was good, I wouldn't order it again. I felt like it had too many toppings and prevented me from tasting the actual burger -- which was the best part! Next time I'm going to get just a good ol' fashioned burger without all the fancy toppings. I think I would like it better that way.

We ordered onion rings and fries to go with our burgers. The fries were fantastic. Really, I'm not sure I could have improved them. The onion rings were HUGE, but I felt like they weren't cooked enough. So... 4 stars probably. I liked it okay, but there are a few places in Austin that I like a lot more. When I want a burger I'll probably hit up one of those places instead.

We left there at 9:40pm and headed over to the University of Texas campus. When Cam told me that's where we were going I was skeptical. It was almost 10 at night! He said we were going on a scavenger hunt. I was nervous. I could just picture us wandering around on the college campus at night and getting mugged or something. 

We parked across the street from campus, and set out.... to find a bathroom. I hate how nature calls at the most inopportune times. After running in and out of the Starbucks (3 minutes before closing), we were ready to start our scavenger hunt. It was actually really nice to walk around holding hands and looking at the different things the printed guide had us find. Nobody mugged us. Thankfully my fears were unfounded. The giant cockroaches were easily the scariest things we encountered.

UT has a really neat campus. There were great statues and historic buildings we got to wander around and see. I'd never been on campus before. I'm glad I was able to see things when there weren't so many people. School is out for the summer, and it was so late that there were very few people around. 

I'm glad we were able to go after temperatures dropped. Though, when we returned to our car at about 10:45pm the thermostat said 100 degrees. I believed it too. While I wasn't miserable, it was clearly hot outside still. I can't imagine having been out walking around downtown during the day. A friend of mine said her car thermostat said 114 that afternoon! NUTS. I'm all for doing fun dates a bit later in order to avoid the heat. Next, night hiking! (Just joking...)

Making Me a Morning Person

I am not a morning person. I really wish I were. I do my best in the evening. It seems to take me most of the day to get going so when it comes to the evening I don't want to stop and sleep. I'm a horrid sleeper most of the time.

I've been trying to change. I actually really like waking up in the morning when I'm not too tired. I love getting things done early. I love that fresh morning feeling. I love being out and about when not many people are. I just don't love waking up early. I think things would be different if I could fall asleep easily. Cameron is the best sleeper I've ever met. He has no problem whatsoever going to sleep at night. When he doesn't get to bed at a decent hour, it's inevitably my fault. He loves me and wants to stay up to be with me.

Today I had a reminder of why I have morning person envy. I was asked to meet up with some friends at a park... at 9am. Now, for all you folks that get kids ready and send them off to school practically before the sun comes up, a 9am park day might not be a big deal. In contrast, we go through phases at my house where breakfast is replaced by a 10am brunch (like I said... not a morning person). However,  I was determined not to be the park party pooper.

So this morning I woke up before 7am. I got the baby ready. I got myself showered and ready. We ate breakfast. We dropped Cameron off at work.  We arrived at the park just after 9am. We would have arrived 15 minutes earlier had there not been a train and major rush hour traffic on our way to the park. We were even the first to arrive.

The weather was beautiful. It didn't start getting hot until about 10am, and then we were still okay in the shade. The kids had a great time. There was swinging, basketball playing, scooter riding, and rock eating (gotta love that "everything goes in the mouth" baby phase). I was so glad I made myself venture out so early.

We got home right about 11am. I couldn't believe it was still so early in the day. I was able to water the garden, read some of my book, and still have lunch ready by about 12:30pm. It felt fantastic. I can totally see why we are given the council of "Early to bed, early to rise". What a great feeling.

I am now determined to transform my habits. I will go to sleep earlier. I will wake up earlier. I will be organized and get things done in the mornings. Who knows? Maybe this Night Owl will be a Morning Person someday yet!

Convenient Neighborhood Pool Alternative

Sometimes I want to go swimming (or I want my kids to go swimming), but I really really don't want to have to get everything ready and head over to the swimming pool. We have avoided the at home built in pool options for a few reasons (safety and maintenance mostly), but I'm a big fan of sprinklers and kiddie pools.

Today was the first day this year we hit 100 degrees in Austin. Bleck. When it's hot like that you either camp inside a building with air conditioning, or inside a swimming pool. Today we did both.

Cameron helped inflate the pool in the shade with his air compressor. Can I just say how grateful I am that we didn't have to blow it up with a hand pump or worse - with our mouths (yeah... not possible). It was up and ready to be enjoyed in no time!

While Maddy has recently decided she doesn't like the kiddie pools because "they're too small", the little kids will spend all day outside. River and Britta were outside from about 2:30pm until just after 5pm today. I'm very glad the pool was in the shade.

When Kingston woke from his nap, he and I went out back to hop in the pool ourselves. This was at nearly 5pm. I wasn't very hot, having spent the previous few hours inside. The pool water wasn't very appealing. I grabbed a kitchen strainer and got out as much of the grass as I could, but the water was still merkey from the kids' time playing in it. When I finally got in I was startled at how cold it was! I contemplated jogging around the yard in the sun first, but decided it was too much of a hassle.

Kingston wasn't thrilled with the temperature at first either. He got used to it though and by the time we were ready to get out was splashing around having a grand ol' time.

I'm glad we have a fun cool alternative to going to the pool. Letting the older kids play in the yard is a lot easier than having to hang out at the pool with them until they're ready to go home. Maybe sometime in the future we'll opt for a big backyard pool. Maybe. If it comes with a fence and a pool guy.

Money Well Spent

When we buy baby items often we buy the ones that will last the longest. Cam and I decided on the 3 in 1 crib. You know, the one that's a crib, a toddler bed, and then a full sized bed? Yeah... we'll see if the bite marks on the rails of the crib look as cute on a full sized bed... Oh, and the clothes that I bought just a bit big for him but decided to have him wear in the meantime? By the time they fit him right they were a bit more worn out than I would have liked. Well, one thing that I do NOT regret getting (as of today) is the baby rocker/vibrating chair that your toddler can use as a rocking chair, too.

We've been storing the chair against the wall in Kingston's room. We were hoping that eventually he would be ready to use it. Well, Kingston is growing taller. Today he realized he could climb up and into that rocker. I was in the rocking chair next to him rocking back and forth. He watched me for a bit and then began rocking back and forth himself. 

It was super cute! He was very pleased with himself, too. When the other kids were toddlers we had a bunch of different toddler sized chairs. We got rid of them as they outgrew them though. Now all we have is a pair of wooden ikea chairs (the table has long since been thrown out), and this. It's fun to have something his size. 

I'm sure the chair will get a ton of use for the next couple of years. Purchase well made! Finally something that lives up to the "use it for your baby and also your toddler" statement on the side of the box. Money well spent.

Just a little video to demonstrate his in and out skills.

This is NOT Sugar-Free

Sometimes you need some junk food. I've been pretty good about my "less sugar" resolve. Since determining I was no longer going for zero sugar, I have probably only had a handful of sugary items to eat. They were all delicious, but I noticed that I couldn't eat as much, and my body felt kinda funny after indulging. Today though, I decided to jump WAY off the wagon.

My kids love popcorn with movies. We usually do air popped corn, but recently I've been trying a few different (savory) flavors. We did garlic parmesan a week or two back. Last week we tried ranch popcorn (with powdered ranch dressing). Today I wanted to try a sweet popcorn. I could have done something simple like kettle corn. But, in case you haven't noticed, I'm not really a "simple" person. I decided I was going to make Cinnamon Caramel Corn with Pecans & White Chocolate (aka Cinnamon Bun Popcorn).

I knew it was going to take some time. I gave my kids the choice of plain air popped right away, or this fancy popcorn in about 45 minutes. They, of course, wanted the fancy stuff. Oh how I wish it had only taken 45 minutes!

After getting everything out for the recipe I realized I didn't have almond bark after all! Rats! I briefly thought of finding another recipe, but with how indecisive I am I figured that would take as long as making this recipe, running to the store, buying the ingredient I needed and running back home to finish. So, I proceeded with that change in plans.

Uncharacteristically, I followed the instructions from the site pretty closely. Usually I have to change a few things up, but I decided I didn't want to think outside the box, I wanted to eat caramel corn as soon as humanly possible.

I had never made caramel corn with the microwave before. I usually do it on the stove top. I was skeptical. However, it turned out great! I was pleased with how quickly it all came together. I can't tell the difference from my stove top version. I did use dark brown sugar (because that's what I had on hand). I could tell the difference between that and light brown sugar. Both would be fabulous I'm sure.

After mixing everything together and putting it into the oven to bake at 250, I asked Cam to cover for me while I ran to the grocery store to grab Almond Bark. I'm all about subbing when I don't have the right ingredient, but this was no time for subpar popcorn. So, while Cameron stirred our popcorn every 10 minutes for 30 minutes total, I ran to the store.

The closest store is about a 10 minute drive (that's from garage to the time I enter the actual store on foot). I hurried. I was even back before the oven buzzer went off for the last time! Winning!

The almond bark really brought the popcorn to the next level, too. I drizzled it on top, and then stuck the whole pan in the chest freezer to set it up. Perfect. I served it up in our little movie theater-like containers. This stuff was a hit.

Everyone loved it. I think my favorite part is the pecans. Excellent excellent treat. I definitely am on sugar overload right now though. But oh, it was worth it.

Nobody Can Walk Straight

You know how in every movie where someone gets lost in the woods or at the airport or in the desert, they say they feel like they are walking in circles? Well, as it turns out, they probably are!

Today for FHE River taught a lesson on walking straight. First we all headed out back to participate in an experiment. One at a time we were each blindfolded and told to walk straight across our backyard. 

I went first. I was skeptical. I pictured myself twisting my ankle and falling into trees. Cameron said he wouldn't let me get hurt. I was still a bit hesitant. As a result I took very small steps. The children literally ran circles around me as I walked. It felt like I was at the grocery store (where they constantly walk circles around me), only blindfolded. I did pretty horribly. I ended up by our garage door, which is most certainly NOT a straight shot from where I started.

One by one the rest of the family tried the experiment. Cameron was the closest to walking straight. I think it's because he took really big steps. Pretty much everyone else ended up over by the door to the garage. I'm convinced it was because the ground slopes a bit in that direction.

Whatever the case, the point was well made: Nobody can walk in a straight line for extended periods of time while blindfolded.

After going back inside, River had us watch this video. It talks about studies that have been done over time regarding people walking, biking, driving, or swimming while blindfolded. They all point to the fact that without visual landmarks, people cannot walk in a straight line to save their lives.

For the First Presidency Message this month, President Uchtdorf uses this same concept to illustrate how we each need spiritual landmarks to keep us on a straight course in our lives. He outlines sources such as the scriptures and general conference. He states, "They are God's landmarks that show the way we should travel in order to draw closer to our Savior and reach worthy goals."

There are so many different messages out there telling us what is right and what is wrong. I am so grateful to have the scriptures and the prophets along with the spirit to guide me in my quest to live righteously. Because of these things I am able to have peace in my heart every single day. Our Heavenly Father loves us. He wouldn't put us on Earth without guidance. He wants us to be happy. If we follow the "spiritual landmarks" He has put here for us, we can all find the joy that He wants us to have.

It's about the Cars

Kingston loves cars. He makes the best car noises ever. We're not sure how this started as he was making car noises before either Cam or I had shown him. It might just be the "boy" in him. Both he and River loved playing with cars from early on with zero prompting from us. Once they showed interest though, we certainly played right along with them.

I'm sure he's picked up a few things from his siblings as well. All three of them like to play with cars. They will often play with him, too. It's not unusual to find them lining up cars, or racing the cars around. Kingston has probably had some very thorough lessons on the many ways to play with cars. It's no wonder that he's a pro at such an early age.

Anytime he sees a toy car he makes car noises and drives it around. He gets a kick out of it when we drive cars around on his little body. Usually the cars drive up his tummy, over his head, then down his back. That must be a good road because cars often drive that route.

He likes to be pushed around in a pretend car, too. He especially likes it if you make car noises while pushing him. He usually chimes in. His car noises are better than mine.

He also likes riding in the cart at the store as long as you don't stop. Then he screams until you start moving again. I think he has a need for speed.

The funny thing is, he doesn't really like riding in the actual car. He's okay for a little while, and it helps if he can feel the acceleration. Road trips are a bit of a headache right now because he doesn't like being cooped up in his carseat for long stretches. I think he'll like driving when he gets older though. He'll especially like it when he's able to personally drive the car. I'm sure he'll still make the car noises himself, too.

An Italian Evening

Lately I have been in love with date nights. Don't get me wrong. I always look forward to Fridays because Cameron and I always plan a special night together. However, recently we've been branching out a bit and trying new places -- especially restaurants. I love good restaurants.

It was my turn to plan this week and I decided to try another place my friend had suggested. Taverna is a cute little Italian place downtown. I decided last minute that's where I wanted to go, but thankfully was still able to get a reservation for 9pm. Late, but it actually worked very well with our schedule.

After circling for 10-15 minutes downtown trying to find a space on the street to park, we finally pulled into a parking garage. At least it only cost us $5. (Have I mentioned I hate parking downtown?) It was actually a pretty convenient lot to be in. We were just kitty corner from the restaurant once we got up to street level.

First impression: This place is SO LOUD! It was a very small space, and the roar inside was ridiculous. For a non-bar type atmosphere, I was a bit surprised. Cameron and I had to concentrate pretty hard in order to hear what the other was saying on the other side of our relatively small table.

The food, however, was pretty great. I ordered Paglia e Fieno. It was a pasta with everything I love: chicken, mushrooms, butter, cream, and noodles. Seriously yum. Cameron got one of their risotto dishes. It was good, but I prefered the pasta dish. Probably because there were a million mushrooms in it, and I do love mushrooms.

Our waiter was a bit off-putting. I didn't feel like he was very helpful, or attentive overall. My water was empty for most of our meal. We also sat at our table, done, for about 10 minutes before he checked on us. Though someone came past and bussed our table for him. Perhaps I have high expectations of waiters, but I was less than impressed here.

Instead of ordering dessert there, we opted for a less deafening setting. We drove up the road to Teo. This little cafe has fantastic gelato! We'd been once before, but it had been awhile. I'm still trying to minimize my sugar intake, so any indulgence has to be pretty special. This certainly qualified.

We got a medium and shared. For our three flavors we picked Strawberries and Cream, salted caramel, and a dark chocolate hazelnut. All of them were fabulous. I especially liked combining the flavors. They all meshed well together.

It was a really great date night. I love spending time with Cameron. I love exploring with him, too. New places are less intimidating if I have him with me. He is my comfort zone. I'm happy wherever I am if he's next to me. Date Night is my haven.

Shadowbrook Pool

Heat saps the energy out of everything. Truly. This week has been a seriously low energy week. I make the mistake of trying to get something done that takes energy, and I'm quickly hit with the exhaustion that is left behind. Why do I not remember summer being this way when I was a kid?!

One of the casualties of my lack of energy has been that we've needed to completely change up our schedule for this month. We had planned to do the Texas Nature Challenge. Well, as you could probably guess, a lot of the nature challenge takes place out in nature. Cameron and I made the conscious choice to postpone our nature challenge activities until the temperatures drop again (and the humidity give us a break, too!). So, we'll do a family nature challenge when it cools off in the fall.

In the meantime we need things to do for our Friday field trips! It's a good thing my kids love swimming! This field trip was changed from hot and sweaty outdoors to cool and refreshing outdoors. I packed up a picnic lunch and the whole family headed over to our neighborhood pool.

Going to the neighborhood pool is a bit of a hassle, so it takes a bit of motivation and help to get us there. Cameron coming along was great! He was able to take his lunch break and join us. He even pushed the stroller like a good daddy does.

I guess I don't do many picnics, because the kids always get really excited when we pack up lunch and eat somewhere else. I guess it does make an occasion seem that much more momentous to eat outside our house. 

We discovered that River is actually a decent swimmer. All he needs is confidence! We had him practicing swimming around a bit while we were at the pool. He will be swimming like a fish in no time.

It was also determined that Kingston has only been in a pool three times in his entire life. He wasn't quite sure what to make of it at first. He loves the bathtub, but this is definitely not a bathtub. Once Daddy showed him how to play motorboat, all was well again.

An outing to the pool was the perfect field trip replacement. The kids didn't feel like we copped out either. The pool is as good a field trip as any other to them. In fact, in their minds, I think it might be better.

Crafty Indulgence

I've always enjoyed crafting. I love taking pieces of whatever and transforming them into something completely different. I especially love sewing. Maddy loves crafting, too. She is an artist at heart. She is a creator. She will spend hours working on little projects.

A while back Maddy got on this kick of making 3D paper dolls and sending them to relatives in the mail. She would decorate them, sew the edges, and stuff them with something (either paper shreds or polyester batting), and sew them shut. They were really quite brilliant. It occurred to me that these paper dolls weren't exactly durable. She needed to make these out of some sort of fabric.

Really what Maddy needed was some fun patterns for these types of things. When I stopped to think about it, I remembered that I already had a book on my Amazon wishlist that I thought would be perfect! Big Little Felt Universe was exactly what I wanted for her. I actually bought it back in February and debated on giving it to her for her birthday. Then I decided I would rather just pull it out on an afternoon when we needed a fun project.

The other day we had one of those afternoons. It was perfect! Maddy was thrilled with the book. I had a bunch of felt already, so I pulled out that, all the different colors of thread from my sewing supplies and a few other items we would need. Then we got to work.

Maddy decided the first thing we needed to make was some fruits and vegetables. These were some of the more straightforward items in the book, a great place to start! I started with a carrot, and Maddy began an eggplant.

Our projects took a bit of time to complete. Maddy even had to finish hers the next day. I was proud of her for working on it until it was done. It turned out really cute, too!

Once our first two veggies were finished Maddy immediately started cutting out more. She was really into it! She made a tomato next, and from there branched into non veggie items. She made a screwdriver (and has plans to make more tools), lipstick, and a few other things as well. She has a lot of things she wants to do, but that require some thin cardboard (which we didn't have at the time, but do now).

This has been a fun activity for us to do together! I especially love that, unlike the paper dolls, these may actually stick around. It's fun to come across the little felt projects and remember what a good mother daughter time we had together indulging in our love of crafting.