Goals.

Dave and Lindsey goal number 1:

No more smarty-pants remarks from us parents.

You know how you are so good at parenting other parents? You know what I mean. It's a gift everyone is born with. With little observation, one can easily spot all the parent crimes another parent commits. What most people don't realize is that "gift" usually doesn't work on themselves. People go along all day pointing out problems in others without noticing their kid is butt naked in the street drinking dish soap from the bottle.

****SPEAKING OF WHICH...while I just wrote that last part Lauren had gotten a hold of a permanent marker and was coloring the kitchen cabinets pink. So yep. ****

Well, Dave and I turned our attention to our own parenting style and we found only one thing we need work on. Because we are nearly perfect.

And this is what we need to work on:

Offering advice instead of encouragement.

I'm really bad at this. I read somewhere that parents who are always lecturing undermine their child's ability to gain confidence in making his or her own decisions. So, I hope you never hear me or Dave say things like "Well, this is what happens when...." or "I told you not to...." or "Next time can we just..." 'Cause really, do you like it when people say things like this to you? No! It's super annoying and absolutely not helpful! Of course there are ways to talk with children in a loving way, but it doesn't have to involve belittling them or their decisions.

By the way, our code word is "Aflac." You can say that to either one of us if you catch using those naughty parent phrases. Then you can find a super long and thin reed and whip our wrists.


Dave and Lindsey Goal number 2:

Stop being lazy bums. Our new lives will go as follows:

Get up at 5:30.
Dave runs around our fake lake.
Lindsey does a workout video. Because running is evil.
Cold shower.
Kids wake up.
Do stuff during the day.
Put kids to bed.
Watch Parks and Rec. Because laughing is a great de-stressor.
Go to bed by 9:30-10pm.

This is really hard for me. I'm even doing exercise hypnosis to make me like it. Not kidding.
It must be working because today was our 5th day!

To finish, please enjoy a few de-stressing videos yourself!

Easter!

 First, the egg-dying.

But what to do with cracked eggs?

This was Sabrina's reaction everytime we took the eggs out of the dye. Surprise, Sabrina! They go in white and come out colorful!

 Dad is the expert, by the way.

 Oh. A face.

  Easter Morning Surprise: Books!

(Good Night, Gorilla is for Lauren [not pictured]).

 Someone's harvest.

 Someone's breakfast.

Kids being kids.

I was going to title this post as "Nothing Special," but decided that that wouldn't be very accurate. You see, these people are special to me! Maybe nothing significant was happening at this moment but we were having some fun!

Sabrina really likes to play tee-ball all by herself.

As you can see, she was very pleased with herself when she hit the ball!

And everyone loves a ball of soccer, right!?

 Everyone had to get head shots AKA lie down and get "tied up" by the pirates...

 

And this picture pretty much sums up Dave's life right here:

I know. I love this photo too.

That is all.

Halloween!

Princess/Bride Sophie

 

 

 

Elephant Sabrina

 

The Halloween Pre-Show

The Boy Scout with his All-American Girl

(That's what someone said to us at the Trunk-or-Treat, and I think it fits.)

 

Photos Courtesy of Sophia

Silly Stories

Silly Daddy, Silly Mommy

Cutting into freshly baked GF brownies Dave says, "They kind of have a brownish hue."

Very good, Dave. Brownies usually are brown.

* * * * *

Lindsey: "I have a DIY husband."

Dave: "You put me together yourself?"

* * * * *

What Dave said when he was looking for attention and Lindsey was staring at the computer screen:

"Hi. I'm your husband. I keep you warm at night. But I also live here, too."

* * * * *

What a Heather Carr's son said to Lindsey one day:
 5 yr old: "Are you having another baby?"
Lindsey: "What? Do I look like I'm going to have another baby?"
  5yr old: "You just have a smile on your face all the time."

* * * * *

Dave: "I actually do pick up after breakfast occasionally."
Lindsey: "So do I. Sometimes."
Sophie: "No you don't, Mommy!"


Silly Sophie

One day, Sophie wore Sabrina's size 6 months shorts. She is four years old, and she squeezed her little hiney into size 6 month shorts.

She was convinced that the shorts were meant as a gift for her and not her baby sister.

* * * * *

One evening, Lindsey was preoccupied talking to Dave when she realized that she hadn't seen Sophie for the last 20 minutes. So Lindsey went peeking around in the rooms only to find Sophie in her bed, reading the phone book by the light at the end of day.

* * * * *

One day, Sophie came to Dave all distraught.

Dave: "What's wrong?"

Soph: "I don't like these pants."

Dave: "Why not?"

Soph: "They're not falling down."

If you have ever seen Sophie in person, you might have noticed that Sophie does not like pants that fit her waist.

* * * * *

"You Revel Skunk!"

Sophie's way of quoting the Star Wars line, "You rebel scum."

* * * * *

Lindsey so badly wanted to prove herself to Sophie that she could do handy jobs around the house. Every time Lindsey picked up a power tool Sophie would say "Only Daddy can do that." Well, imagine the joy in Lindsey's heart when she heard these words from Sophie's mouth:

"Mommy, you did the curtains all by yourself! I am so conpressed [impressed] with you! I thought daddy was going to do it."

* * * * *

What Sophie said one day while playing outside:

"Look, Mom! A jumping spider! It won't hurt you. No Sabrina! Don't eat it!"

* * * * *

A joke Sophie just came up as I am typing this:

Knock Knock

Who's There?

Tomato

Tomato Who?

Tomato the missionaries are here! The missionaries are eating with us. Come eat with us!

Silly Sabrina

 

 

Sabrina enjoys eating her foods, throwing her foods, and pooping out her foods. And sometimes all at the same time!

But here is her typical eating routine.
Before 1 year:
Sabrina will eat much of her meal, and then she will just sit and act like she is all done. The moment Dave or Lindsey begin wiping off her hands Sabrina will start picking up more food and shoving it into her mouth. She will continue to be rubbed down with a wash cloth until her tray is empty. 
Conclusion: Sabrina needs to wiped down in order to finish her meal.

Post 1 year:
Sabrina receives all her food from her mom and dad and instead of shoving them into her mouth, she throws them onto the floor. When she is "done," Dave or Lindsey will get her out of her high chair and place her on the floor. Sabrina will then eat all the food she threw onto the ground.

* * * * *


One afternoon, Lindsey was loading Sabrina into her car seat so they could all head over to Target. Sabrina was holding a cracker in her hand. When Sabrina was placed in her car seat she found a binky there! She picked it up, and with the binky in one hand and the cracker in the other, she opened her mouth wide and aimed both objects toward it. When the binky and cracker simultaneously arrived at her mouth, she realized her mistake and decided to cake care of the cracker first. 

 * * * * *

Sabrina is a cuddler. Whenever she is tired and ready for bed. She will often lay her head down on her Mom's shoulder and snuggle up until Lindsey lies her down in her crib. It is the sweetest thing.

Walk around the Temple

Father's Day Interview

Sophie's thoughts on her Dad

What do you like about Daddy?

When I play with him. I like to play Barbies with him.

What does Daddy look like?

He looks nice.

What does Daddy do at work?

He works on buildings.

What is Daddy's favorite show to watch?

He likes watching Star Trek. He likes watching it with me.

What does Daddy like to do?

Well, maybe he likes going to the park with me?

What do you like to do with Daddy?

Sometimes he takes me to the park.

Fill in the blank:

Daddy is: happy!

Daddy smells like: clean!

I love my Daddy because: he is nice.

*****

I often tell Dave that I'm the luckiest woman in the world, and a lot of people say stuff like that. But I really, really, really believe it. Every woman should be intensely jealous of me because I seriously have the best husband in the whole world. 

He gives me back massages and (my favorite) foot massages. He makes me laugh. He lets me get away with a lot! Is that even a good thing? I dunno....

Sophie and Sabrina are two lucky girls as well. Dave will take his girls to movies in the park, on ice cream dates, and trips to the Home Depot! 

He is my life saver at the end of the day when I am tired and when my patience is running thin. Dave will spend time with the girls and will have more compassion on them when I am losing mine.

You are awesome, Dave.

Fun with Daddy

 These just make me happy. That's all.

Tongue Tied

I loved nursing Sophie when she was a little baby. It was good, quiet bonding time. I got to read lots of books and Dave would take care of my every need as I couldn't get up and move very easily. I was looking forward to breastfeeding again with Sabrina, but that didn't quite turn out like I had hoped.That's because Sabrina is tongue tied. Or was. I got her tongue clipped a few weeks ago.

If you want to know where Sabrina gets all her problems from here it is:

 Dave. That's the farthest he can stick his tongue out. 

For those of you wondering how the procedure was done here's what happened : The otolaryngologist put a clamp on her tongue and with scissors clipped the skin that tied her tongue down to her mouth (after numbing that area of couse). I actually didn't watch because I had Sophie with me and didn't want her to be freaked out. We stepped out of the room. Sophie doesn't need any more reasons to fear the doctor. Sabrina was of course upset, but only for a few minutes. It took a week or two till nursing became pain free.

Goodbye to sore nipples and bracing the latch on! Goodbye to dwindling milk supply and thus constant pumping! Goodbye to those feelings of dread every time Sabrina wanted to eat! 

Now we are all happy and eating well.

Daddy Daughter "Quality Time"

Here he is

trying to geekify my daughter.

:)

Living with Dave

One night a couple of weeks ago I was trying to get myself back to the Land of Nod after waking up from a disturbing dream. I dreamt that Dave had an evil twin, and although now I cannot remember the details of the dream I know I was very disturbed because of it.

As I lay in bed, I had my hand curled up in a fist by my cheek (maybe that's how I slept while in my mother's womb--who knows?) and Dave was facing me sleeping soundly. I was getting very close to finally drifting off again, when very suddenly Dave grabs my fist and begins biting it as if my hand were an apple! In his sleep.

I was thoroughly freaked out at first, especially thinking about my Evil Twin dream that I had just dreamt. Dave woke up too when he found the foreign object in his mouth, and then we both laughed and laughed when we realized what had just happened. I asked Dave what he had just dreamt about. Dave told me he had to remove an Unknown Object from a map, and the most logical solution was to bite it off!

When I asked him the next day for more clarification on his dream, he had completely changed the story.

In other news....

Dave and I had a pseudo getaway (not to be confused with a ghettoway) last month. I got to tag along on Dave's work trip to San Antonio, Texas! I went shopping and sight seeing while Dave attended his BIMforum.

 

Here am I at the Riverwalk in San Antonio. Very Awesome. That's a baby in the chub, fyi.

And here is Dave. We ate at a Mexican place off of the Riverwalk. San Antonio is a lovely city that reminds me of Europe (or what I imagine what Europe looks like). We arrived during a week called Fiesta Week, where, you guessed it, they partied for a whole week. They had mariachi bands playing in boats down the river and a bunch of festivals all around. I totally recommend San Antonio if you're looking for a getaway.    

Can I divulge a disappointment, though? One of the things I was excited about was having TV at the hotel (We don't watch TV. We have internet.) and watching HGTV. However, pretty much every time I tried to watch my beloved station the only thing that was on was Income Property--which is not my favorite! I guess we're not missing out with no TV reception.

The End. Have a nice day.

RECALL NOTICE

For Immediate Release
January, 2012


Lucasfilm is recalling certain episodes of its Star Wars Saga released between 1999 and the present, citing numerous safety and continuity issues identified by consumers. Major issues cited included:

Small children and Star Wars veterans may choke on loose plots and flimsy characters;
Overly flashy packaging and animations may cause epileptic seizures;
The brakes are known to not work, as it just keeps going and going and won't stop;
General inability to deliver on expectations or to perform per previously set standards;

Specific episodes in question are episodes #1, 2, and 3, and any current or future variations on these. Some recent revisions to episodes 4, 5, and 6, released in the late 1990s, are also in question. Consumers are strongly cautioned to stick with the original episodes (#4, 5, and 6, produced before 1997), and to avoid newer revisions and episodes if at all possible. Parents are strongly cautioned to limit or prevent their childrens' exposure to the questionable episodes as well.

Please send your copies of the Episodes in question to George Lucas, and include a copy of this notice with your request for a refund.

(By Dave)

Here Comes the Bride.

Dave keeps saying, "It's so weird to see Joseph kissing someone. He's still a baby to me!"

This weekend we celebrated the Joseph and Hannah's Wedding! It was a fabulous weekend. Here are a few of my favorite pics...

Brotherly Love.

This is probably my favorite.

This was the best part of the weekend. Seeing this girl show up for her photo shoot in this dress!!! The photo does not do it justice. :)

My two loves. Three if you count the Temple. :)