Easter Weekend

Caterpillar doesn't close for many holidays, but Good Friday is one of them. So last Thursday evening, we drove to St. Louis for the weekend. Spring had sprung there, only 3 hours south of us. It was BEAUTIFUL!Friday morning Ryan and I got to go to the temple, and then had lunch afterwards at Mimi's. Collin was pretty good for my parents, though certainly not himself. He seems to have inherited his mother's anxiety in new, different places. He didn't talk much at all while we were gone, and she couldn't get him to smile either. What a silly boy!

When he woke from his nap, we headed to the St. Louis Zoo. It was the perfect place to spend the warm, sunny afternoon... Unfortunately, the entire city of St. Louis agreed: it was packed! It was nice to be outside and look at all the animals. It was Ryan's first time, though Collin and I went once last Fall without him. Collin spent most of the time up on Daddy's shoulders, clinging to his koala - as if it was the only stable thing in his life.

Saturday and Sunday were spent almost exclusively watching Conference on my parents' satellite. I love how in touch with the world the prophets are. I picked up on two themes from the meetings:

1 - Despite the current times of crisis, we can have hope, faith and peace through Christ our Savior.

2 - We must teach our children in words and by example of their Savior and His all-encompassing love for them.
What wonderful reminders for all of us.

By Saturday afternoon we could hold out no longer, and busted into the bags and bags of Easter candy. I put some in little plastic eggs for Collin to shake, but he quickly discovered he could open them, dump them, and eat the stuff inside! It was so funny to watch.

We also colored Easter eggs before Ryan and my dad headed to the Priesthood session. Here are Ryan and Collin playing with his easter eggs... Princess Leia and her bug.

Between sessions on Sunday, we went to visit my grandparents' new retirement villa. They have lived for many wonderful years on a large farm in southern Missouri, but the time has come in their lives to move to a more assistive place. It is great: meals in a dining hall daily; maids to come and clean weekly; nurses throughout the day with medicines; someone to change the heating filter monthly; van services around town and to the grocery store; monthly field trips; daily arts, crafts and activities... Sign me up! We are also super excited because it is only 15 minutes from my parents' place, so every time we visit them, now we can see them too!

It was a great weekend. We love Conference weekend... and the Easter candy, temple date, and time with my parents made it even better!

Insomnia

I haven't done this all the way through the night in three years. Why?

My family has a history of insomnia, with its onset usually in the twenties. My mom and sister both suffer from similar ailments. I figured it was just my time for the dreaded 3-5am wakings. I decided that when I was done having children and nursing, then I would maybe think about taking a sleeping pill. But until then, I would just suffer through the nights... and then the following days.

Since about the age of twenty-two, I would have periodic insomnia. Ryan deduced its cause as a symptom of anxiety. I'd always be awake the night before a new school year, the nights before the school play, the night before parent-teacher conferences, etc. He read online, in my behalf (Love you, Babe!), that keeping a notepad by your bedside would help you record that "one more thing" on your to-do list, and then you'd be able to fall back asleep. It worked wonders for me, until three years ago.

About three years ago I started waking during the night and not being able to fall back asleep for not just a week in a row, but for entire months. I could never think of anything to record on my notepad, because I wasn't in need of adding something to my never-ending list. By this time, I was finishing my teaching and career, and my life was changing. Unfortunately, my body was not resting. Instead of getting that blessed sleep, I just stared into the dark night.

Then two weeks ago my friend came to visit. I was exhausted each night (she has a two-year-old and Collin's 15 months), and suddenly: I started sleeping again! I told Ryan that I must not be getting enough interaction and activity each day, and Jenn's visit had cured me. I knew it'd only be temporary, so I relished the week I slept each night all night.

Then it happened last week again. I was thrilled! ...and confused. Why was I suddenly able to sleep through the night again? What had been wrong for so long, and what was now right?

Here's my self-diagnosis:

Since I have a weak stomach, I began taking a prenatal vitamin before bed so that I wouldn't feel nauseous all day from the folic acid. This was about three years ago. We were trying to conceive, and I knew I needed the extra boost to my diet. At this time, we lived in an apartment with radiant baseboard heating which popped and clicked - imagine a band warming up for their big stage performance! - each time it had to come on. It woke Ryan and me each time it did its horrible job of heating our little apartment. Ryan was always able to fall back asleep, but I'd lay there all night... in pure frustration. I blamed everything of the heat, but then we moved to our beautiful home, and I was still waking.

The next year I got pregnant, and every woman knows the night-wakings associated with pregnancy: peeing, turning over, shifting pillows, rearranging blankets... It is quite and ordeal, and I blamed my wakefulness on all the discomforts of hauling my belly around.

This past year of chronic insomnia was Collin's baby year. With all the night feedings and waking to check if he was breathing (I was such a spaz), I was usually up for several hours after each unknown waking.

Then came last week. Not only was I exhausted each night after chasing Lane and Collin around (as well as constant chatting with Jenn!), but I was also too lazy to fill my water cup and take my prenatal before going to sleep. Then last week I was out of my good habits and didn't take my prenatal all week either.

Ta-da! Sleep!

I told Ryan my suspicions that my prenatal was causing night-wakefulness, and we decided it was probably a placebo thing. I decided that whether it was a "sugar-pill" thing or not, I was sleeping, and I didn't mind if I was just playing games with my brain.

Then I found THIS (gotta love google-ing). Insomnia is a documented side-effect of prenatals! Alright, now does everyone else know this already but me? If you already knew this, then shake your head and move on to the next blog. If you didn't already know this, have you had any problems like this? Do you know that your waking could be caused by your vitamins?!

My SIMPLE solution is that I've started taking my prenatal first thing in the morning. (To my surprise, it isn't even making me feel sick, and I am definitely still sleeping!) Awesome, huh? Simple solution to a HUGE problem.

Disclosures: I know you are dying to know... No, we are not expecting, but I am still nursing Collin once a day. I figure extra vitamins are good for me anyway, and why not take a prenatal over any 'ol multi-vitamin? Hope that satisfies your extra curiosity.

Happy sleeping to you all, because I know I'm sleeping tonight!

Shameless Plug

My sister-in-law Emily and mother-in-law, Lori, are super creative. I just saw this video about their boutique in Boise last weekend.

http://brollproduction.com/

Amazing, right? All the dresses were made by Lori, and one of the adorable little models is my niece Ella. Emily ran this boutique and several others, which have been traditionally held before Christmas. This one was a bonus Spring/Easter one.

If you are interested in buying a dress for your niece, daughter or granddaughter, leave me a comment and I'll get you in touch with Lori. She'll also have a website up and running soon, so keep checking back here for the link to that.

So do you now understand a little bit more of my feelings of inadequacy in the craft department? These Williams' have lots of talent!

Jenn's Visit

This past week my friend Jenn came to visit from Madison. Her husband had a conference all week in Louisville, so he dropped her and her almost-2-year old off "on his way." We played all week, and it was wonderful.

We spent time at two of the parks by our house, since it was 65 and sunny for three days. Yippee! Collin is warming up to sitting on my lap on the swing and slide, but he still doesn't love the infant swings. We also sat in the yard and relaxed one afternoon. Lane and Collin struggled to share the one child's camping chair we have. It was funny to watch Collin race - crawling, of course, since it's faster - for the chair each time Lane stood up.

We also went shopping (but not buying; go us!) and out to eat (at a fabulous trendy restaurant by the unversity here - One World Cafe). On Friday morning we went swimming at a local gym for Preschool Splash. Lane loved it the first thirty minutes, and Collin loved it the last thirty minutes, but it was fun anyways.

Jenn even babysat - after Collin was asleep - on Friday night so Ryan and I could go out. We saw Diary of a Wimpy Kid and got Coldstone. Delish! It was only our third non-temple date since Collin was born, and we were in heaven.

Even though we were tired, Jenn and I spent each of our evenings after the babies were asleep working on 4th of July door wreaths - that turned out pretty cute, I think. I got the idea HERE.

Foam form: $2.99 at Michael's
Fabric: 1/2 yard each of 3 different types ($2.79/yd at JoAnn's)
Craft glue: $2.79 at JoAnn's
Total: about $10

It was a great week with great friends. Collin is super lonely today, and I think he's even been looking for Lane. I can't believe how quiet the house is. Thanks for coming Jenn, and thanks for sharing your family with us Dave!

Collin is 15 months

(I just saw this post from FOREVER ago, and apparently I never posted it - it's been saved as a draft. Pardon the need for me to post it so I have it for our own history's sake.

Yes, I know that Collin is now almost 3! You don't have to read it.)

Physical Statistics:

Height - 31.5 inches (57%)

Weight - 23 lbs, 8 oz (32%)
Head Circumference - 46 cm (16%)

Language Skills:

Speaking - Collin says a lot of words, though much of it is based on the situation...
ball, this (meaning "What's this called?"), juice, cheese, mom (the only perfectly enunciated one!), dada, woof (when he sees a dog).

Listening - He claps his hands when we sing "If You're Happy and You Know It." He heads towards his highchair when I tell him it's time to eat. If I say, "It's time for Sesame Street," he walks to the living room, and stands in front of the television smiling. If we ask, "What does a cow say?" He answers, "Mmmmm." If I say ANYTHING about "outside," he goes to the sliding back doors and looks out.

Understanding - I think Collin understands most everything. That might seem strange, but he seems to know a great deal of what is going on. For instance, when he hears the garage opening, he heads to the laundry door, and stands saying, "Dada," and then eagerly waits for Ryan to come in. He also waves bye-bye when we put on his jacket (summer temperatures have really confused him!). If we are putting on our shoes, he brings us his. He also tries to put my socks or shoes on my feet when he wants to go outside. If I put on my workout clothes, he stands at the baby gate to the basement (where the exercise equipment is).

Mobility Skills:

Collin's walking! I never officially announced it to the blogging world, but Collin started walking two days before his 14-month birthday. Now it has been a full month, and he is probably walking 50% of the time. If he wants to get somewhere fast or if he's feeling lazy, he'll still crawl. But he is gradually adding more and more walking to his day. His favorite thing to do is to walk holding someone's hand - much safer, and much faster!

Of course walking means ouchies. This doozy happened at the end of Sunday School, and the whole ward heard/saw it! Pews are hard and sharp!

Sleeping Schedule:

Nighttime - Collin sleeps regularly 7:00pm-7:30am. If it gets messed with (example: driving to St. Louis and not arriving until 8:30pm) things get ugly... and I mean, UGLY! Collin has quite a temper, and I've seen enough tantrums in the last week to fill my lifetime. Fortunately, I discovered the problem, and Collin's catching up on his sleep. He is a much happier little guy.
Daytime - I had moved Collin to one nap, starting somewhere between 11:30 and 1:30 about a month ago. I loved the freedom to do things, especially since almost every kid-activity in this city starts between 9:30 and 10:30am. Unfortunately, though some days one nap is what Collin wants/needs, there are still the days where he desperately needs two.

Just imagine the difficulty I'm having scheduling doctor appointments, appointments for shots, visiting teaching appointments, play dates, and meeting friends at the park. I never know if he'll be on a one-nap or two-nap day! Sigh. One day my life will be routine again, right?

Eating
Colling eats three meals per day and one snack (mid-afternoon). Here's some of his main dishes: hot dog, fried egg, peanut butter & jelly, pizza rolls, grilled cheese, baby oatmeal. For snack, he usually eats something from this list - which are also sometimes his side dishes at meal time: peas, black beans, pretzels, string cheese, goldfish, strawberry yogurt, applesauce.

Oh, and Collin LOVES his juice - orange juice! He's only allowed one sippy-ful per day, and he guzzles it in just a few minutes. The rest of the day he sticks to whole milk.

Other Silly Tidbits

He used to just unload the cupboard, but now he climbs in and takes the appliance's place!

Ryan caught this classic one morning when he went to get snotty-nosed Collin from his bed.

Yep, we've got a Roman toga boy in the works!Collin loves to take things out of a location and then replace them. This time it was the silverware from the dishwasher container.And this time it was an entire bag of Goldfish!

Caught in the act! We dug out these dart guns for a Scripture Mastery Friday game, and Collin thought he'd "pack" them along for the grocery store. Probably shouldn't allow my baby to play with guns just yet...

(So it was actually just super fun for me to read this. Brennan is in most of this clothing now, and luckily is not quite so mobile. I'm sure my days are numbered though...)

Reading!

What do we do when it's 65 and sunny?

Pick up a good book, kick up our feet, and relax...

basking in the rays!

More Crafting

One of the purposes/goals of my crafting is to spend next to nothing. I like feeling I can make things for nearly free. So my new goal is to post each of my projects and leave an accounting of how much I spent. I love THIS blog, which is where many of my ideas/projects come from.


As requested, here are some explanations of my last projects:


1 - Collin's High Chair

We've hated the covering on Collin's chair since we pulled it from the dumpster 2 years ago in Madison. In January, we finally bought the fabric at JoAnn's. It was pretty expensive ($10/yard?) but we only needed a yard, so it wasn't too bad. And we had the red pleather leftover from a project many years ago to recover the seat of a motorcycle Ryan used to own, so it was free.


I traced the old cover onto the fabric (folded in half so I'd get two) - allowing for a seam allowance - and cut it out. We found a W online in a font we liked and printed it. Then I traced the W upside down on one piece of the black, shiny stuff. Then Ryan helped by using a razor blade to cut it out. We placed the red pleather (just a square piece) behind the removed W-shape, and this is when it got tricky. It had to be sewn from the front, but the black stuff was so sticky, the foot of my sewing machine couldn't advance it. Ryan got the great idea to place a piece of tissue paper over the area. Then he sewed around the W (I was afraid of messing up)then gently removed the tissue. It worked perfect: he could see the outline of the shape to sew around, but the machine was able to grip and advance the fabric accordingly.


To finish up, I sewed right-sides together (like a pillow case), turn it right-side out, and stuffed the old cover inside. Admittedly, I still haven't closed up the hole I left open. It is just tucked inside, and hardly shows at all, since it's along a hidden edge. Voila: a new throne for the Big C man!

2 - Love Letters Mailbox

The BYU ward (10th Ward Tigers!) Ryan and I met in had a tradition of collecting and distributing notes among the ward members. The notes were placed in a #10 can shaped like a Honey Pot. Ryan and I often sent each other "honey pots" as we dated and then got engaged. When we got married, we wrote each other notes and put them in each other's lunches. Since having a child, I've noticed we don't write each other notes much, and I always loved this tradition. So for Valentine's Day, I bought this mailbox - undecorated - to begin the tradition of note-writing again. I got the idea HERE.

Red Mailbox: Michael's $2.00

Foam Adhesive Lettering: Michael's $1.99 (a splurge - I could have made these and they would have been fine)

Glitter Gems: JoAnn's $1.50

Black Ribbon: free

Hot Glue: free

Foam Base: free

We've enjoyed putting the flag up to signal "You've Got Mail!"

3 - Rosette Wreath

These was the most fun fun project I've made so far. It was super easy, and it turned out better than I could have hoped for. I just love it! HERE's where I learned how to do it.

Felt: JoAnn's $4.99/yd (I bought 2 1/2 yards, but I only needed 1 1/2 yards)
Heart-shaped form: JoAnn's $2.99
Black Ribbon: free

And here's what I've been working on this month:

1 - Easter Wreath
I got the idea HERE, but I didn't like the bow as you can see. If I were making it again, I would do it differently. I spent far too much time worrying about the placement of each and every egg and varying the colors in order to make it look random. I think I could have throw them on in seconds and gotten the same look, but oh well. I was worried about how it would turn out, but I think it's okay. It isn't my favorite, but it was the best I could find online for the best price and easiest construction.



This project cost me $5.50:
- Plastic Eggs: 3 bags of 18 eggs each (Dollar Store: $1 x 3)
- Ribbon: I bought a whole spool, but then I opted to skip the bow, so I really only used it to making the hanger. I could have used anything else and saved this dollar. Live and learn. (Dollar Store: $1)
- Grass: 1 bag of grass (Walmart: $1.50)
- Cardboard: We've got tons of moving boxes in the basement. I just cut one up.
- Hot Glue: I used a lot, but I had a lot, so this was free, this time.

2 - Magnet Letters
Collin has been getting into all kinds of trouble while I work in the kitchen, so this project was an attempt to provide him with something to do that I approved.

This project cost me $0:
- Foam: leftover from a project my students did when I was teaching
- Magnetic strip: also leftover from my teaching days
- Hot glue: Had just enough to finish up this project. I'll have to buy more for the next craft though.


And that's my crafting of late. What cheap crafts have you found? Do you enjoy feeling like you can make things for almost free?

Lola

In memoriam of our non-trip to Cancun (we spent all our money on the dining room remodel),

we're proud to introduce you to Lola.

Do you find your mind wandering to warmer weather too? Aww, the doldrums of winter. Wishing warmer weather upon you too!

Valentine's Day Pet Peeve

Question: Is Valentine's Day an all-inclusive holiday for your mother, father, siblings, children, their classmates, and their teachers?

Wikipedia: "Saint Valentine's Day (commonly shortened to Valentine's Day) is an annual holiday held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The holiday is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Valentine and was established by Pope Gelasius I in AD 496. It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines"). The holiday first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished" (italicized added).

Answer: No. Valentine's Day celebrates love between "intimate companions."

When my mother-in-law's first question (Love you, Lori - even though you didn't get a valentine...) last week during our Weekly Sunday Evening Webcam Session was, "What did Collin get?" I was shocked. I didn't think that's what Valentine's Day was about. I asked, "Was I supposed to get him something?"

This question prompted some research on my part. Maybe I was the one who was wrong. Fortunately for me, if Valentine's Day is celebrated between "intimate companions," Collin doesn't fit the bill. Don't get me wrong; I love Collin dearly. But he did not receive a card on Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day is meant from my husband and I, not for our one-year old son. He has his birthday and Christmas, and he'll have Valentine's Day in 25 years or so.

In truth, Valentine's Day is really about commercialism. We've been told by the media that if we care about someone we have to spend money (cards, flowers, candies, dinner, etc.) on them on February 14th. I think it is sad that if we're told something over and over again, we start to buy into it (pun intended).

Am I a big fan of Valentine's Day? Heck no. Never have been. As a child, Valentine's Day presented a multitude of problems. You remember the angst of choosing which card seemed the most innocent in the packaged box to give to that stupid boy who'd been bothering you all year. You wanted to be nice, but not too nice. Then there was the equal anguish of picking the card to give to the boy you did like, but that you didn't want to know that you liked him. Of course, there was also the stress surrounding the "readings." Did he mean that? Why do I only have 21 cards in my little heart- and aluminum foil-covered shoebox? Did Casey skip me?!

Wikipedia: "The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately 190 million valentines are sent each year in the US. Half of those valentines are given to family members other than husband or wife, usually to children. When you include the valentine-exchange cards made in school activities the figure goes up to 1 billion, and teachers become the people receiving the most valentines."

Aww, yes, and then there's Valentine's Day as a teacher. Ten- and twelve-year olds are awkward anyways, but on Valentine's Day it was worse. Girls were crying in the bathroom about what he said at recess, and boys were freaking out at recess about the "card" (also known as a small piece of cardstock with a pre-printed, impersonal To and From) she gave him in his bag. Sigh. The first school that I taught at had it right: they banned valentine exchanges because of all the heartache and hassle it caused. Looks like St. Valentine would agree. He's probably rolling over in his grave about how far this has all gone. But, as our society has proven, the advertisers have successfully gotten us all to spend excessive amounts of money on greeting cards and the like for people like our children, their classmates and their teachers.

Was it nice to get a babysitter and an excuse to go on a date with my husband? Absolutely. Do I care that you did something for everyone you love on Valentine's Day? No. Go for it. It's your money. But please don't expect me to do something for my kid on a holiday meant for my spouse.

The End (to my rant).

Crafting

Crafter (noun): 1. one who makes crafts frequently 2. one who makes crafts well 3. one who teaches others to make crafts 4. one who exhibits confidence with making crafts

I am not a crafter. But I've had some fun this month, and I wanted to share.

1 - Collin's High Chair

2 - Love Letters Mailbox

3 - Rosette Wreath
And there you have it: A few crafts from the non-crafter who wishes she could craft.

Destructor (aka A Day in the Life)

When Mommy makes breakfast, Collin climbs up on the couch and turns on the tv.

When Mommy cleans up breakfast,

Collin decides he wants that yogurt he turned his nose up at 30 seconds earlier.

When Mommy wants to take Collin's picture,

Collin points to what he wants (the camera, of course).

When Mommy watches the evening news,

Collin makes dinner - with his toothbrush. (Pardon the sideways video and the whining.)

When Mommy makes heart-shaped sugar cookies,
Collin destroys - I mean, discovers - the dishwasher.

When Mommy uses the restroom,

Collin gets in the bath (he fell in - head first. Nice).

When Mommy makes Daddy's Valentine's Day present,

Collin empties his Church pictures book.

When Mommy skips a feeding,

Collin climbs in the rocker and tries to grab the boppy.

Oh, who knows...

When Mommy does ANYTHING without 110% attention on Collin,

Collin empties every cupboard and pushes all the chairs around for obstacles.

13-Month Top Ten

At thirteen months, Collin has a few tricks up his sleeve. Here's his Top Ten Ways he makes my heart melt:

10 - Despite eating from sun-up to sun-down anything and everything we put in front of him, he has slipped to the 22nd percentile for weight (21 pounds). Currently, he loves chicken nuggets, bologna and hot dogs. Ryan says we're raising him on the Adkin's Diet. He's definitely become quite the meat-eater. He also is slightly iron-deficient, and we have to add iron to his baby oatmeal each morning. I don't know what it tastes like, but it smells nasty.

9 - When it's cold (which is always now), I put Collin's hat on before getting in the car. Whenever he has his hat on, he is like a statue. He does move his arms or legs or grasp with his knees when you carry him. He's just a dead-weight. It makes hauling him around quite difficult.

8 - Collin waves bye-bye every time anyone puts on their shoes or coat. He also waves when he's going to his room for a nap or if we are all going to the basement to work-out.

7 - When we go in to get Collin up in the morning or from a nap, he'll be standing at the edge of his crib with his arms up in the air with all his stuffed toys and blanket thrown out on the floor. I always pick up all his things and throw them back in first. Then he gets down, crawls to grab his blankie, then stands at the edge with his blankie in hand and arms raised in the air. Heaven forbid he'd miss a second without that precious blankie.

6 - When I tell him "no" that he can't do something, he crawls a little bit away and looks at me with a sideways glance. Then he heads back over for just a little tap. Of course, I say "no" again, and he moves away. A minute later, when he thinks the coast is clear again, he heads in "faster than a speeding bullet" and barely taps whatever object I've prohibited. Then I get that sideways glance again before I scoop him up and pat his hand saying "no." Yes, I have a little firecracker on my hands.

5 - At about 5:30pm each night, Collin crawls over next to the rocking chair in the living room and, with great effort, gets my boppy. Pushing and struggling, he gets it over on my lap (I'm always sitting on the floor with him watching the news) and crawls up on it. When I ignore him (I don't nurse him for bed until 6:30pm) or push the boppy away, he cries and maneuvers it back into position. Can you tell he's making weaning quite difficult?

4 -If we start singing "If you're happy and you know it..." Collin starts clapping his hands. On cue almost every single time. He also claps his hands when he's all done eating, all done sitting in the pack 'n play while I workout, and all done being in his carseat while running errands. I love watching his little hands and the big grin on his face each time he does it.

3 - If Collin drops something (usually on purpose), he looks down after it and says "Uh-uh." I don't think it could be a more expressionless grunt. If you drop something (always on accident), he also says, "Uh-uh" with little or no expression. Try saying "uh-oh" without expression sometime.; it just doesn't have the same effect. Everytime he does it, I just have to laugh.

2 - When Collin goes to play with his Fisher Price farm animals and barn, he says, "Mmmmm." If you aske him, "What does a cow say?" He'll say, "Mmmmm," and open the door on the barn that says "moooo."

And the Number One reason Collin makes my heart melt...

1 - When we went out for our anniversary over Christmas Break, my mom was feeding Collin in his high chair when we were leaving. I saw on Super Nanny that it was better to say goodbye and make a show of leaving rather than to try to sneak out, so we've waved bye, gave him kisses, and told him we'd be back in a couple hours. Grandma finished feeding him and got him down from the chair, and he immediately went to play with the nativity set and toys by the front door. After a while, she picked him up and carried him into the living room to play with his own toys. A few minutes later, he crawled back to the front door and played right in front of it. She carefully picked him up and started a new game with him in the living room. This time he crawled quickly to the front door, pulled himself to standing, and leaning against the door, pounded with the other hand saying, "MaamaaMaamaaMaamaa." Doesn't that make your little heart cry? (or maybe just mine...)

And there are some highlights from my 13-month old's life.

Sledding

We've gotten a lot of snow around the midwest. Last week I even canceled seminary one morning. Fortunately, the forecast was bad enough the night before I was able to cancel before going to bed and then got to sleep in! Yippee!

It got bitterly cold right after the snow came, and Collin got a little stir crazy.I'm a wimp when it comes to cold weather (you'd think that Madison would have toughened me up more), so we stayed home instead of going out to play in it. Hey, at least I opened the curtains so he could look at it!

Lucky for us, it warmed up this week, and the snow is just perfect for sledding. On Thursday afternoon (since Daddy is still working the night shift and home during the daytime), we took Collin sledding.

We were the only ones on this fabulous hill (Laura Bradley Park, for you Peorians), and it was super fun. Collin was pretty expressionless for most of the time, but this video is adorable.

Go enjoy some sledding, my friends living in a Winter Wonderland. What a blast!

Brownies

I've been making brownies almost every Sunday evening for about 10 years. It started my 2nd year of college at BYU. We only ever ate one meal on Sunday - growing up too - so I needed a snack in the evening. As a child, we always had milkshakes and popcorn for Sunday "dinner", but when I became a "lactard" at 19, I had to nix that tradition. And since one college-aged girl can't - or shouldn't - eat an entire pan of brownies alone, my Sunday brownies quickly became a social event. In fact, my Sunday brownies are a part of "our story."

Back to the brownies: it's a tradition. After "courting" Ryan with my chocolatey gooey-ness, the college tradition stuck. It's been years, and except for some rare occasions (like the 3-months we were doing Biggest Loser), I have made brownies each and every Sunday night of our marriage.

And I got to say that I've never eaten a better brownie than my own. Prideful? Probably, but they're good - dang good.

But I'm not alone in my judgments. Here are some questions my admirers have asked over the years...

- What do you do special? I follow the directions on the back of the box.
- Which box? Whatever's on sale.
- How long do you cook them? Until the toothpick comes out clean.
- How many chocolate chips do you add? One bag, or half a bag, or whatever.
- So why are they so much better than when I make them? I guess you just need a decade of weekly practice.

And that's the honest truth. I don't know why everyone else can't figure it out. It's just a box mix. But - I'm trying to be careful not to offend my loyal readers - I've never had a better brownie: anywhere, ever.

Mmm, and we still have one row left from this week's batch. I feel sad for you.

The Winter Blahs

I just love this little guy. I'm feeling caged with all the cold, snowy weather we've been having so this post is an effort to feel more social. My apologies.

Picture Sharing:

I wanted to post some other pictures of my little guy. I can't get over how grown up he is starting to look.

My mom got all plastic ornaments for her new Christmas tree just so Collin could take them off to examine them. She must know just a little something about little boys.

What are you all looking at? A man needs a chair. Tired with a bow on my head. Really Mom - Another picture?

Collin loves to laugh. He is the happiest baby - as long as he's fed, napped and changed promptly.

Daddy & Me

Mommy & Me

Collin loves to share. It's fun to see him find something - a thermometer, chapstick, measuring cup, Christmas bulb, etc. - and in complete awe, hold it out to me with his big, blue eyes saying, "Look what I found, Mom! Isn't this the neatest?!"

Cleaning:

I just can't keep up. Of course, I don't really want to keep up, so that's probably a major part of the problem. I cleaned our bathroom tonight, and I really think it's the first time since the beginning of November. It was sick, but Ryan hadn't complained, and I just hadn't wanted to do it. Laziness? Maybe. No time? Probably not. Not a priority? Exactly.

Here's a perfect illustration of my kitchen.

And just like the bathroom, I don't really care. I can't keep up, and I don't really want to. I figure if it was once edible, it still is. I've got to be practical right? And Collin doesn't seem to care anyway.

Food, balloon, whatever. It's all good.

And this just about sums up my winter blahs. If you made it this far, you're a true friend, or just as bored with life as I am.