Bode • ONE

a blurp from my "letters to boden":

Oh my sweet, sweet Boden. I can't believe you're one! You light up my life and bring peace and comfort to me daily. Your sweet demeanor is just what I need! There is something about you that is so out of this world. I'm amazed by your calm personality. It is a constant reminder to me of what life is all about. There is no reason for contention, the need to rush through life or for irreverence. Those are just a few things that your peace teaches me.

Thank you for balancing out our family so well. You melt my heart. 

Here are a few of your latest accomplishments:

You walk! 

You are eating everything we eat.

You LOVE to snuggle with Lucas.

You also love to play chase with him around the house - but you're not so fond of him picking you up.

You weighed in at 25lbs, 8oz

height: 2'5.5"
You have 8 1/2 teeth.

You love bath time and RUSH to the bathroom at the sound of running water.

You LOVE LOVE LOVE music and dancing.

You love watching airplanes and being outside.

Your favorite thing to do is put things on your head. Hats, blankets, shirts, cups... anything and everything goes on your head.

You say Momma, Dadda, when looking for something, you hum to my tune, "Passie, where are you?" You blow and say "tah" for Hot.

You love to point to my nose and eyes.

Every day you learn new things and it is so fun to watch.

I love you, handsome boy.

Happy Birthday!

hugs&kisses,

"mommy"

Test Subject

Before every shoot, I spend time brainstorming new ideas, props and look for inspiration... which usually leads to staying up all night making/buying specific items. The day comes, I check to make sure I have my camera/battery pack/flash drive/lenses. I then pack my car as the time gets closer, anxiously I watch the clock. I glance at the car which is filled to the brim with balloons, stools, flowers, wagons, benches, you name it. I've got it. I make sure the boys are taken care of, sometimes they come with. I check AGAIN to see if I have my camera. Because how embarrassing would that be if I showed up without it? It's like a nervous twitch as I reach for my camera repeatedly. Turning it on, snapping a photo to see what kind of crazy settings I left it on from previous use. The time gets closer to "go" time, so of course I reach for my camera, powering it on as naturally as an inhale of breath, turn to check settings... again and find a subject. The same test subject as always. Standing there looking right back at me, I get this face:

 

I usually trash the picture if not instantly, in post processing. Not for any reason other than it was just a "test" snap. In this case, even if I did want to save it - the ISO was too low leaving it too dark. Picky me would have just tossed it, as there are thousands of him already jamming up my cpu. :)

As I looked at it (before trashing it of course) I wondered for a split second, what was behind those eyes.

Did he wonder why I bounced around from project to project, rushing through the house?

Did he wonder if I just wanted to frantically get out the door? 

Does he look up to me and does watching me spark something inside of him that could possibly make HIM want to work hard someday?

Did he wish I would just stop and check out the really cool rock he found?

Did he WANT me to leave?

Did he want a turn to take a picture?

Is he sick and tired of being my "test subject?"

Does he wonder if I notice him?

Did this sweet, innocent face have a game plan to sneak some licorice the second I headed to the car? :)

I'm grateful for the chance this photo gave me to stop and think.

If only I could think like a child again. This adult stuff is for the birds.

Instead of trashing the picture, I played with it of course. All the while, wondering what he thinks.

My tag-along

I promised Lucas if he would come with me to my last wedding rehearsal that I would treat him to a ride on the Monorail. He quickly agreed to come. He worked great as a carpool buddy - I skimmed through Seattle afternoon traffic in no time. :)

We actually had a lot of fun together. We've been having lots of Mommy-Lucas dates now that we're 2 months away from having a third wheel. ;)

He ended up being a huge help. I think he enjoyed being the stand-in ring bearer at the rehearsal. They asked him to walk down the isle so they could figure out everyone's timing... and, well - he ran. 

 dinner at the Seattle Center

 goofy groobs on the monorail

I love this kid and am so grateful for all our time together.

This summer was supposed to be relaxing...

I have replaced the word relaxing with a few others:

• uneasy because I am pretty sure that I just broke my favorite camera lens. (just months outside it's warranty) Pretty sick to my stomach.

• Also sick because of how much time I have taken off this past month. 

•  Very unexcited to do laundry that is currently in heaps.

• Annoyed that we might have to replace Holly Hybrid. (my car) She's definitely not been behaving.

• Stressed for my also stressed husband who continues to prepare for his DAT exam for dental school. I helped him study the other night and left with a huge headache. Overwhelmed at the material, I asked him, "don't you ever want to just QUIT?" His response, "no." He's crazy. :) Better him in school than me I guess.

•  Completely nervous and excited at the fact that I have just over 3 months until I am a Mother of 2. The said laundry heaps will surely double. The car/school/work stresses will remain present. There will be lots less sleep. I will have to buy diapers again. 

...But then I remember the answered prayer that this is and I feel peace. This has brought us such clarity and understanding. There are times when I think that we're crazy for having another right now, but the thought quickly leaves my mind when I remember all the spiritual experiences we've had leading up to this little spirit. 

...and really it's what keeps me going. 

Photo taken at 23 weeks

Free baby sling

Just placed my order for this free baby carrier, so I thought I'd share. 

Use this code: FAMILY2011

on this website. 

total was just around $11 for shipping.

Once you order this, they also give you a promo code for a free nursing cover at uddercovers.com. I've heard some people say it's a scam, but it's worked for me! Can't beat free!

I love this.

Because we had so much fun "heart attacking" on Valentine's Day, I thought I would share this fun idea with all of you.

Ding Dong Ditch

from three...

to Passie-FREE.

He is officially un-addicted to his passie.

We "lost" them. 

We went on a trip and forgot them. He ended up never asking for one during our trip. It wasn't until we got home that he asked for the plastic pleasure.

WHEW. 

So we threw them away.

Mother's Day Thoughts.

I'm pretty sure today was the best day ever.

My Mother had so many "Happy Mother's Day phone calls"  that it made her late to church. We were all dressed and headed out the door and she came down the stairs in her ROBE. She was an HOUR behind schedule. She completely lost track of time talking to her kids on the phone. I hope that one day, I can have the same problem she does.

Jimmy detailed my car and I got a very domesticated housewife apron. :)

What really made my day wonderful was that Jimmy jumped at Lucas' every need. Starting when he woke up this morning and it continued all day. I haven't attended Relief Society in quite a while due to Lucas having a hard time staying alone in nursery. Today I was able to listen to the most beautiful lesson taught by my very own Mother. I felt so spiritually fed all day long. I probably cried like 17 times because I kept thinking about how grateful and lucky I am for everything I have. Most importantly a kind, loving, ETERNAL family.

I thought about how no one else can sport a plaid suit coat the way Lucas does.

I thought a lot about my Grandpa who has to be alone on a day that was once spent doting on his beautiful bride, and how my Mother had no Mother this year to wish a Happy Mother's Day.

I pondered about how hard it must have been for Sariah to trust her "visionary" husband in sending her children back to Jerusalem which was prophesied to be destroyed. I also thought about how hard it would be to have children not get a long the way Laman and Lemuel were with Nephi. It would just kill me to know that my children despised one another. I admire her for her faith in the Lord and strength to carry on.

I thought about my Mother in Law who CHOSE to take in 4 children and love them like her own. An unconditional love that can't be pretended. She sacrificed and continues to sacrifice for them. She will  always put them before herself and IS their REAL Mom. Sure, they share someone else's gene's but they are HERS. I thought about how she reared her little Jimmy up in the gospel and taught him some of life's most important lessons. I thought about her strong desire to fulfill the calling of a Mother and how I wouldn't have an eternal companion if she didn't fight the way she did for her kids.

I thought about the hardships, and pains a Mother goes through and the indescribable blessings that are rewarded.

I thought about each smile, wave and snicker my little Groobs sends my way and how I can't imagine not having him in my life.

To all you Mothers out there - and to any of you who HAVE a Mother, Happy Mother's Day!

*random baby picture of my little handsome*

Elvira

This might look like a big pot of dirt to you.

...but to our family, this is Miss Elvira.
I purchased her the year Jim and I got married along with some other beautiful plants. They all died. INCLUDING Elvira. I have NO idea how to take care of plants aside from giving them names. Nor do I know what on earth kind of plant she is.

She came back. Every year she does. Each year, she is larger and more beautiful than before.
(If only we all got more and more beautiful with time.)
I'll have to show you a picture at her best. Give her a few months. She'll be here.

Children's Museum

We went to the Seattle Children's Museum last week.

It was nice to get Lucas out for a bit.
We went with Amanda, Austen and Kolton.

Austen and Lucas at the water table.

...and this is when we called it quits at the water table.
Lucas spent some time Grocery shopping.
He was out of sight... until I spotted two little feet kicking from the fridge in the dairy section.
Thanks, Amanda for making a fun day for us!

Gymboree

www.gymboreeclasses.com
If you haven't checked this out, DO. You can sign up online for a Free Trial class. It was just what Lucas needed. He has been dying to romp around and I'm sure he's sick of hearing me tell him "no" to jumping on the couch.

It was so cute to see Lucas walk in for the first time. He went up to each toy, paused... looked up at me and GASPED. He was so amazed and seemed so grateful I was letting him jump, run and play on every toy! They sing, blow bubbles, play with a big parachute and for Lucas, it was pretty close to heaven. They stamped his hand with "GYMBO" the clown at the end of the class and he was so sad when it finally washed off in the bath.

There was only one problem.
TOTALLY FUN, but TOTALLY EXPENSIVE.

Does anyone know anything inexpensive but similar? It was more than the cost of a gym membership for me and Jimmy. I couldn't bring myself to do it. My friend, Amanda mentioned YMCA. Any thoughts or suggestions? We do weekly story time faithfully, but I think we need more. Especially during winter months.

Thanks!

Hello?

I was grocery shopping. In a zone. I had a job to do, and I needed to do it fast. I was focused. There was a traffic jam of carts at a crossroad, all of us patiently waiting to get through. I wondered why no one was letting me go, as It was my turn. Don't these people notice me? I(still in my zone) lifted up my left pinkie from the handle of the cart in efforts to TURN ON MY BLINKER. True story. My imaginary blinker clearly didn't work, because the people filtered through in front of me as if I wasn't even there.

After my items were found, I headed to the shortest line which in fact was a self-check line. (After the blinker incident, I'm sure I was in no form to be self checking my groceries.) After the register repeatedly told me I wasn't bagging my items, (which I was doing with FORCE) my light went on to signal the real cashier I needed help. She stared, dazed out the front door of the store. The register wasn't recognizing my items, and the lady wasn't recognizing ME. Don't these people notice me?

The last straw. I pushed the cart to the side, loaded my arms with bags and headed out the door of the grocery store. It wouldn't open. I waved a free finger at the sensor. Nothing. I walk back to tell the cashier about the door issue, and as I stepped away, it opened.
That's it. I'm going home where people notice me.

One more reason I don't like to grocery shop.

Oh Holy {mess} part 2.

Chocolate covered pretzels. My favorite. I have made them before with a complicated recipe and decided to go the easy microwavable route. I did one batch. I undoubtedly decided we needed more. I threw the same cup I was using right back in the microwave to melt some more gooey goodness. Jimmy came in and asked why on earth the microwave was engulfed with smoke. Well folks, I used a METAL cup. Apparently the first time I did it, the microwave was giving me another chance to figure it out. I didn't. There was smoke every where.

I turned all fans on and opened every door. Two of which Lucas ALMOST successfully escaped through. Once I regrouped, I threw in some more EASY melt chocolate into the microwave. This time, using a safer plastic bowl. You'll never guess what happened. SMOKE. The bowl has a complete hole melted through the bottom. What are the chances?

Eventually, I did complete my second batch. I was not about to let those blankity-blank chocolate covered pretzels defeat me. Afterward, I saw them in the store. There was a huge bag of them for $3. So tempting.

Oh Holy {mess.}

Let the holiday baking begin. I really LOVE baking. Especially during the holidays. I blast the Christmas music, turn on all the decorative lights, take off that wedding ring and get to work. I was in the mood and ready to go yesterday. I deep cleaned the kitchen and cleared some counter space. It was bake time. Unexpectedly, the home teacher pulled up. One thing lead to another, he stayed for an hour and a half, {that should not be allowed} when he left, it was time to make dinner and I was almost late to my basketball game. No baking.

Today, I had a few clients, RE-cleaned the kitchen, got my game face on and turned over my shoulder to find Lucas right on my tail. He wanted to help. (which I expected, but deep down hoped he would miraculously entertain himself) Up on the counter he went, right in the mix of it all. Literally. Lucky for me, he's a little bit of a clean freak. He immediately grabbed the goop in the mixer, pausing to realize that his hands were dirty. If I could paint the picture in words of his facial expression, I would. He does it often and it's a disgust as if the world is coming to an end. I've gotta catch it on camera. So, I handed him a towel to clean his hands off with. Once his hands were clean, he began taking the towel to the inside of the mixing bowl to clean up the bigger mess. :) He eventually discovered that what I was doing was messy and no fun so he scaled the counter tops. He did this for at least 2 hours. Getting into random cupboards, pouring out salt and pepper shakers and repeatedly turning on and off the sink.

Between baking and keeping him from sticking his fingers down the toaster, not much was accomplished. I think he enjoyed himself, but boy did I have a mess to clean up when we were done. I'm not sure what took more time, the baking, or all the cleaning that took place before and after. I'm still not done baking. Wish me luck!

just for me.

I did something for myself today.

You should, too.

Do your homework...

BLACK FRIDAY is just around the corner and my sis-in-law was kind enough to share this site with me. It already has some adds posted so we can strategically MAP out our morning!
Some say they'd rather stay home, sleep in and pay the extra few dollars to avoid the lines. They're probably smarter than I. Every year I say I'll never do it again. But then I do. I guess I do it for the thrill. It's like a sport. An addiction. I get so excited.

I just thought I'd share the news.
go here to check it out for yourself.

I thought I'd never...

Here are a few things that I thought I would NEVER do. For reasons mostly affiliated with being too "motherly" or "old". I always wanted to be this fun, YOUNG Mom. I have been thinking about this a lot lately, so I thought I'd share.

I thought I'd never...

• Listen to country music. For some reason it was way too twangy and too banjo-playing, harmonica whistling annoying. My eyes were OPENED when I met Jimmy. I was SHOCKED to see him sing along to Garth Brooks. At first, It made me want to vomit. WHY was this guy singing along to this CRAP? (off tune, I might add) I slowly warmed up to it, and think it's the sweetest thing to see a tough guy sing country. Now, as a Mother, It's one of the only clean things on. It's catchy, and more soothing than other things out there. My heart lies in smooth R&B, but I really have to be careful about the messages the songs relay. I find myself changing the lyrics to be my own, more positive words. :)
• Drive a mini-van. OK, I still haven't, but there's something about those auto-open doors that is so enticing.
• Carry a big purse. Well, I broke that rule once I started doing hair with my duffel bag of a purse I tote around with all my tools. It holds everything. Just don't ask me to find anything in it.
• Push a shopping cart. WHAT? Who SAYS that? I remember telling my Mother this. Seriously? How else am I supposed to carry all my goodies from target? Or two gallons of milk at a time for that matter? Maybe I thought it would "age" me. Quick lesson learned. There might be a premature hunchback if I were to continue on without a shopping cart. Now that's aging.
  

Today, I looked in my rear -view mirror and saw Lucas' bright eyes as he bopped his head to {country} music. I've learned that "motherly" and "old" are beautiful things. I've learned to live the age you are. I mean really LIVE it. Don't let a moment pass you by. Cruise that Minivan listening to those twangy tunes with pride. Push that shopping cart carrying that ginormous purse like you mean it. I'm so glad I had my Mother do these things and set the example for me. I'm sure when I told her I would never be caught behind a shopping cart, or that her music was lame that she just rolled her eyes. She knew that someday I would be doing the same things as her. I love her for that.

I love you, Old Navy.

I was just informed that Monday - Wednesday of this coming week, Old Navy Southcenter will be doing their additional half off clearance event. They do it a few times a year.
I've been waiting for it, because it has been an EXTRA long time since they've done it and I only shop when they do it. Almost all the clothes Lucas wears right now are from Last year's event. (he wasn't even born yet.) Yes, I'm crazy like that. So, if you're crazy like me, you'd better hit up ON SC!

*They have been known to change sale dates at the last minute, so I'll let you know if this changes.
**Also, if you've purchased anything in the last 14 days before the sale and it was a clearance item, they will reimburse you if you bring in your receipt. I've done that before, too.
***One more thing - If you want to get an even BETTER deal, do their silly little surveys at the end of their receipts, and get another 10% off the next purchase. I never enter an Old Navy w/out one. Don't laugh, I've already admitted to being crazy. Why pay full price when you don't have to?

So, If I haven't purchased all they have by the time you get there, buy yourself something nice. :)
Happy shopping.

oh. my. sickness.

I was at Fred Meyer today doing some routine grocery shopping. I was just about done, and heading up to the registers while doing a mental checklist to make sure I got all I needed. On my right was a Fred Meyer employee waiting for people to join her line. She smiled at me and I continued walking, going through my mental checklist. When out of NOWHERE, a RAT crosses my path, coming from her register. It scurried on toward the display of oreos on my left.

DID THAT JUST HAPPEN? Still in shock, I glance up at the employee and shout, "did you see that?!" At first, she acted like she didn't know what I was talking about. I repeat myself trying to stay calm, "did you just see that... RAT?" She casually walked over to me and leaned over saying, "It happens all the time around here because the front doors are always open." "oh." I replied, and turned the corner watching my every step for that nasty RODENT. I was sick to my stomach for a good hour afterwards.

First of all, I am not the shreikey girl who gets scared of things like this. I just find it DISGUSTING that it was running around the grocery store where I buy things that I consume. I completely understand that some things are just inevitable, like the birds that fly around in the rafters at times. I've seen that in several stores. What's the worst they can do? Drop a gooey poo on the upper shelves that I can't reach anyways? These RATS can nibble their way into our FOOD.
Second of all, I used to work in the hotel business and we had mice at times inside the walls, or living in the ceilings. If we ever had any evidence, we would hire an exterminator, or at least have the maintinance department take a look. If I were ever to be confronted by a customer about such issues, NEVER would I reply, "it happens all the time." HELLO? Do you want business?

Maybe I'm overreacting. I just wanted something to be done. Even if she does see rats all the time, at least PRETEND to do something about it. Take that cheesy smile over to your handy little walkie talkie and CALL someone to come take care of it. OR PRETEND TO CALL. I don't care. Just give me, the customer, the reassurance that the sick rat won't go grubbing on that neat stack of oreos. I don't know that I'll be able to eat the double stuffed goodness for a while.

So on that note, watch your step at Fred Meyer.

MEGA

I just found a new outlet store! My sister, Tammy took me there and it's pretty good! The Mega Toy outlet is in Fife. Their headquarters are there and they have lots of great things for SUPER cheap. You might be familiar with some of their brands:

Rose Art
Magnetix
MEGA puzzles
MEGA bloks

I just got Lucas a big pull along firetruck filled with MEGA Bloks (giant Legos) that I'll save for his birthday. I also got 4 other family gifts and back to school supplies for Jimmy all for under $30. They have several big building sets that normally would be $80 averaging around $10. Some sets were even $1! There are 18 grandkids on my side and 6 on Jimmy's side. (That's a lot of birthday gifts!) I have to stock up when I can!
I always have to share a good deal when I find one!
I couldn't find the address, but I can give directions if anyone is interested. It's in the industrial area of Fife on 70th ave.

I hope someone can benefit from this!

Here is their official website to get an idea of what they carry.