An awfully big adventure

Well, friends, I realize I haven't been posting much lately, and I won't be posting at all for probably another 3 weeks. The reason for all of this is the "trip of a lifetime" that I vaguely mentioned in my previous post.

The big news? Tomorrow morning, Husband, Kiddo and I are departing for South Africa/Lesotho to meet Husband's family. This will involve many planes, a bit of driving (on mountain roads-- scary for a girl from the Plains like me) and will take a lot of (travel) time. We are very excited, as neither the Kiddo nor I have ever been there or met Daddy-O's family, but also exceedingly nervous, as this will be Kiddo's first time traveling by plane and my first

overseas adventure!

Please pray for us that Kiddo will maintain his wonderful, sunny disposition as he is far

from his home, Elmo videos, and toys-- and also that his Mommy won't have a nervous breakdown from the stress!

We hope you have a wonderful New Year and look forward to catching up with you when we return.

I've been tagged! (by Kaela)

Don't know if anyone still reads this dumb blog, but if you do, here's some random stuff about me...

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

5 Things I was doing 10 years ago:
Well, this is kind of sad, because 10 years ago...
1. My beloved grandmother had just passed away.
2. My boyfriend of a year broke up with me the month before-- although this turned out to be really a GOOD thing.
3. I cut about 8-10 inches off my hair because I just wanted to change SOMETHING. Wish I'd known then to donate it!
4. I was way behind in some of my college classes because of #1 and #2.
5. I was praying about whether to serve a mission or not. (I didn't)

5 Things on my to-do list today
1. Laundry, laundry, laundry!
2. Pack for the trip of a lifetime.
3. Upload, save, print out photos to take on trip.
4. Pick up prescriptions.
5. Try to eat well and get a good night sleep-- the past few weeks have been super-stressful.

5 Snacks I enjoy
1. Cake donuts with chocolate frosting.
2. Cookies-- well, pretty much anything baked.
3. Really good bread with butter
4. Ice cream sandwiches from Aldi-- they are delicious and inexpensive
5. Chips and dip
-- I am a junk-food junkie, obviously!

5 Things I would do if I were a Billionaire
1. Save for future (retirement, missions).
2. Pay for education of my kid, all my nieces and nephews, and get a nicer place for my Mom.
3. Adopt children, if they would let me!
4. Be like Oprah or Dikembe Mutumbo and build schools or hospitals, but probably in Lesotho.
5. Buy a house big enough for a room for my books and crafts!
6. Make that SIX things: I forgot that FIRST, I'd pay off all our school debt. DUH!

5 of my bad habits:
1. WORRYING about every possible thing.
2. The junk food thing... and then, not exercising.
3. Extreme perfectionism.
4. Procrastinating.
5. Forgetting to cook for my family because I'M not hungry...
... and there are plenty more bad habits where those came from! argh.

5 places I have lived
Well, let's put it this way: I've lived in 18 "homes" in 11 towns in 3 states, but all in the midwest!

5 Jobs I’ve had
1. Sales associate in Draperies and Domestics, Montgomery Ward
2. Babysitter in many forms and places
3. Student Clerk in Patient Transportation, UIHC
4. Clerk in Records & Special Testing dept., ACT
5. Educational Associate, Ames Community Schools

5 Things people probably don’t know about me
1. I like to sing really loud when nobody's home.
2. When I was a kid, I really wanted to be famous and I used to come up with my own plot lines for all my favorite TV shows, writing in a character for myself, of course! Now I have NO desire to be famous.
3. At different points in my life, I was a member of fan clubs for the Smurfs and New Kids on the Block.
4. I am addicted to what I believe to be the stupidest, shallowest show on television, but I'll bet you can't get me to tell you what it is!
5. Whenever I watch "You've Got Mail," I pretty much want to be Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan)... the clothes, the figure, the cool apartment/furniture, the upbeat personality, the book store-- only I wouldn't want mine to close!

So, if there's anyone out there still reading this blog, other than Kaela, I tag you! Amy? Melissa? Mom? Anybody?

It figures...

"Who, me?"

In an earlier post, I mentioned how our little guy had "lost" the power button to our television set. Here is the update: we now have just ONE of the FIVE buttons originally on the TV.

"Which one?" you might ask.

Well, the Volume+ button, of course! So, he may not be able to change channels any more or turn the volume down, but he sure can blast out our brand-new neighbors. Hopefully, the fact that they have a baby will make them more tolerant of our little tyrant.

If not, here's hoping that the last button "dies" soon!

(note: just in case you're worried, he typically watches one pre-recorded show a day and if he continues to increase the volume after being scolded, the show is stopped altogether... so we're not so bad to our new neighbors! Although... then he sometimes screams [sigh]!)

Saturday...

...is World AIDS Day.

If nothing else, I hope we'll all say a prayer today in which we give thanks to our Heavenly Father for the blessing of our own good health and ask Him humbly what we might do to help our 33.2 million brothers and sisters throughout the world who are living, and dying, with AIDS.

Kids' music that isn't annoying (Part Two)

This is our other favorite Children's CD: Putumayo Kids Presents African Playground. We discovered this one at the Ames Library several months ago and checked it out several times before breaking down and buying it for Kiddo's birthday. Our whole family loves it. Daddy-O especially appreciates that all the songs are performed by legitimate African artists who are popular throughout the continent. They hail from various countries-- Senegal, Benin, Uganda and South Africa, just to name a few. Unfortunately, no Sesotho songs, in case you were wondering. "Grammy" is also a fan-- heaven forbid we should go for a visit and forget to bring this CD with us!!



It was actually the only gift we managed to get him to smile about for a picture on his birthday. He'd seen it enough times that he recognized it immediately and popped it right out of the CD case as soon as we opened it. Whenever he hears Anjelique Kidjo's "Battu" start, he lights up and starts dancing. It is one of the cutest things ever! But his favorite song has to be Aura Msimang's "Langa Mo." The Zulu word "Hamba" is repeated several times in this song, and when he hears the song, he almost always calls out "Hamba" at least a few times.

Daddy-O's favorite is "Hello Hello" by Mose Fan Fan (from Congo) and I simply love "Jambo Bwana" by Them Mushrooms (from Kenya). I am very amused by the fact that I can now sing the chorus so I "know" some Swahili. ;) I also end up singing "Langa Mo" quite a bit, so now I also "know" some Zulu. The liner notes are fascinating and educational, so be sure to read them if you get a chance.

This music doesn't have a real "kid" vibe, but boy, does our kid enjoy it. I highly recommend this CD to anyone of any age. It is so catchy and upbeat, you'll find yourself and your kiddies dancing to it all the time.

Kids' music that isn't annoying (Part One)

Well, it's a sad day in our little home. We have to return our new favorite CD-- "Country Goes Raffi!"-- to the Library. We've renewed it twice already, so I guess we'd better give another family a turn. I've looked this up on Amazon.com, and unfortunately it's $17.98, so I guess we'll depend on the Library for a fix every now and then until we are "poor no more."

I am always looking for music that our budding musician will enjoy but that won't drive the Mama and the Daddy-O crazy. The kiddo and I are quite fond of Raffi, but Daddy-O is not a huge fan because he says Raffi puts him to sleep. When I saw this CD listed on the Library's website, I was pretty amused at the concept of country artists singing Raffi songs and knew I'd have to check it out-- especially when I saw Alison Krauss was one of those artists, and I am in total awe of her talent.

For us, this CD did not disappoint. While neither my husband or I are big country fans and I'm not familiar with about half of the artists, I like pretty much all of the songs on this CD-- really, the only song I skip is the lone selection sung by Raffi himself. The Kiddo LOVES, LOVES, LOVES "Shake My Sillies Out" and "Apples and Bananas." I sometimes hear him babbling words from those songs while he's playing. And the other morning, the kidlet woke up and said "Bowl! Bowl! Shirt! Shirt!" which we can only assume was a reference to "The Bowling Song." Daddy-O's favorite is "Baby Beluga" (in my view, way better than the original) and I, of course, can't get enough of AK's version of "Blessed Be." It is so beautiful that when I try to sing it to my son, I usually end up crying. Raul Malo's take on "Thanks a Lot" is also high on my list. I'm not sure who Marty Stuart is (doesn't he have a mullet?), but he's managed to actually get me to like the song "Naturally" -- not a small feat.

One of the great things about this CD is if you find yourself doing something so embarrassing as singing "Apples & Bananas" all over town, you can remind yourself that keith urban recorded it and he is considered very cool. Therefore, you are still cool also... right?

Why I am glad I'm not famous... Reason #1

If I ever have a picture taken of me that is this bad (and, oh, I think I may have already), at least it won't end up all over the Internet.

I really don't know anything about this Amy Winehouse chickie, but since she's a woman and she's famous, I would imagine she's got to be at least relatively pretty most of the time. The person who took, sold, or published this photo must not be a fan, though.

What the heck?

Every so often, I get an advertising email from Mary Kay. I happened to notice the following "headline" on the most recent message:


Okay, is it just me, or is there something wrong with this? I know that as a grad student and a stay-at-home mom, we seem to have taken a vow of poverty, but who really has enough moolah to be putting $25 gifts in the category of stocking stuffers? What happened to oranges or candy or socks or toothbrushes? Those are the types of things I've found in my stockings throughout the years. I would venture a guess that this year the only person who we'll spend more than $25 on is the kidlet. And believe me, I'll stretch that money the best way I know how.

Seriously, if you have this kind of cash on hand, send it our way...

I think aliens are inhabiting my body...

...because I actually watched the whole second half of a football game this afternoon-- and for once, I didn't hate it!!!!

I think it's actually this guy's fault.

Darn that Chris "Beanie" Wells!! And Go Buckeyes!!!

Pride goeth before the fall...

So... the previous post was all about how smart my little guy was-- and he still is... I'm pretty sure.

But this morning I decided to nurture his new-found creative leanings and gave him some crayons and paper to color while I got his breakfast ready.

When I came back, I noticed his teeth were just chomping away-- and there were deep purple crayon "crumbs" all over his chin.

"What are you eating?" I cried.

Looking innocently at me with those enormous brown eyes, he matter-of-factly replied, "Cackuh" (translation: "cracker").

No, sweetheart, crayons and crackers are not the same!!!!

(Note to Mikaela: I don't think you'll be wanting Kaden to copy him with that "food" choice!!!! ;) )

Further proof that my child is a genius...

Okay, I can't help it. I just have to boast a teensy bit on behalf of our little "Boko" (Sesotho word, meaning "brain").

Last night, my son surprised me by dumping all the pieces out of this wooden puzzle and putting them in, one by one, until he finished it ALL BY HIMSELF! Usually, he asks for "Hep... puh!" (translation: "help, please!") I guess he doesn't need my help anymore! Each time he would get a piece in correctly, I would cheer, "Yea! You did it!" and sometimes I even clapped. This made him squeal with delight and reply, "Ah did!" ("I did!")

I like the look of deep concentration on his face in these photos.

Here are some of his other recent smarty-pants sayings:

+ When he or Daddy leave his bedroom, "See Ya!"

+ Today he found, and dumped, a box of crayons on the floor in my room. When I discovered him and his mess, he looked up and said, "Pay-puh?" So I asked him if he wanted some paper and he said yes. When I gave it to him, he put crayon right to paper and said "Herkah! Herkah!" (translation: circle) So then I had to draw oh, 18 circles of different sizes and colors for him. How he knows/remembers the word "paper," I'm not totally sure. I have been very neglectful in not letting him really have any, or use crayons much... I guess that'll soon change, if he has anything to say about it!

+ My Norwegian relatives would appreciate this one: The kiddo and I were chatting one afternoon and I asked him a question, I can no longer remember what it was. His reply: "ya, sure" -- with a Scandinavian accent and everything. I then asked him if he was a little Norwegian baby, and he responded, "Heck, yeah!" He learned that little phrase from his Daddy-O, a Napoleon Dynamite fan.

+ Much to my dismay, he rarely calls us "ma-ma" and "da-da" anymore. He has learned to say "Mommy" and "Daddy" already. I am thrilled with all his growth and development, but I just really loved the way he'd call "Mama" in his lilting, dulcet voice... and it just reminds me that he won't be my baby much longer.

It's (finally) official!!!

I'm back in Primary!!! Woo-hoo!!!

It is no secret that I LOVE working with the kids in our Church, and as a result, every time I move to a new ward (congregation), I am quick to tell the Bishop that I am always ready to teach in Primary (ages 3-12) or even Nursery (18 mos. to 3 years). So I've been pretty sad for the last 3 and 1/2 months since I bid goodbye to my sweet little CTR-6 class in our old ward.

On October 28th, a member of the Bishopric asked me if I would teach the Valiant Girls (ages 10-12) class. I had a wonderful experience teaching that group in CF, so I was really excited and wholeheartedly agreed. He gave me a class list, a substitute list, and some info about when class meets, etc. and I went home expecting that sometime soon I would hear from the Primary about when to start.

By the time Saturday the 3rd rolled around, I was antsy so I called the Primary President. In talking to her, we figured out that I was issued the wrong calling-- they wanted me to teach the Sunbeams (kids turning 4 this calendar year). Well, okay, I taught Sunbeams in IC back when I was first married and liked that too so I said sure, whatever. I would have to adjust my thinking somewhat, though.

Then I got to Church on Sunday the 4th, and there wasn't any Ward Business so I wasn't sustained. I thought that was kinda weird. Then the Bishop asked to meet with me after Church, and I was just praying that there wasn't yet another misunderstanding. After all, I needed to be in Primary!

So, I met with the Bishop and he said that in the preceding week, they decided to release the current Primary Presidency, and called a new President. And she, Sister Kay, asked for me to serve as her 1st counselor. This was surely not what I was expecting-- I never aspire to leadership positions-- but it is in Primary and, hey, this way I get to see all the kids every week without having to teach a lesson every week. Not too bad a deal, if you ask me. But I am feeling a little overwhelmed at the idea of responsibility-- and giving Sharing Time so often.

So, yesterday (Nov. 11th), I was finally sustained and I can do a little happy dance. I also got to substitute in the Sunbeam class-- still teacher-less-- and whew, are they some busy kids! One of them, who I'd never met before, told me she was glad I was teaching because she loved me, and loved my dress! On the other hand, one of her classmates impatiently asked me during the lesson, "Why are you talking so much?" (Honey, that's what everyone wants to know!)

GOTTA LOVE PRIMARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Blog-free week

It seems that most days I do think about posting, but usually don't get that much time to do so unless I stay up in to the wee hours of the morning... like now. But even when I do get to the computer, I spend most of my time reading other people's blogs because you are all just so much more interesting than I am!!!

The husband now has way more work that requires the computer than he ever did as an undergrad, so when he's home, he's usually online typing papers or presentations, reading journal articles, or posting on his class sites. When he's not home, it's dangerous to try to use the computer unless the little kid is asleep. Otherwise, he is trying to type his own blog or something... somehow our 16-month-old managed to "add another printer" and set it as the default, among other things, when he has been pounding on the keyboard. For a while, we thought our printer was broken, because when we'd try to print something, nothing would happen. Finally we realized that the message to print was being sent to some mysterious second printer that we don't even have! Luckily, that was a problem that could be easily fixed.



On a related note, somehow our living room TV no longer has a power button! I have no earthly idea how he managed that one! The Daddy-O thinks that maybe Baby Hercules pushed it all the way in to the television. Is that even possible? I just know that I haven't seen it anywhere for almost a week now. The good news is, with no cable or satellite, and virtually no reception, that TV is mostly just used for a daily dose of one Elmo or Blue's Clues video. The bad news is, we couldn't afford to replace the 19-inch piece of junk even if we wanted to!



At the end of the week, my Little Man discovered that if he stood on top of the end table, he could reach the light switch. In the process of reaching for said light switch, he knocked the lamp off the table, breaking the shade. When I removed the battered lamp, he climbed right back up and again reached for that blasted light switch. In a big huff, the mean old mommy dumped all the board books out of the table and carted it down to the basement, thus ruining all the kidlet's fun. What he doesn't understand, though, is that my main concern was that I didn't want him to fall off the table and get broken next time!!!!

It's always something, isn't it? Maybe this is why I also have not been able to "hibernate" with my library books. :( Note: I also have to learn to not check so many out. But at least they're free!

Sad, sad news

Just as I was typing the previous post, my husband turned on the news. Suddenly he said,"That guy is in my class!" I looked over to see a report that this young man, a state police trooper and Army National Guardsmen who served deployments in Saudi Arabia & Italy, was killed on his way to assist another officer. 2 other cars, both driven by drunk drivers, crashed into his vehicle, which burst into flames. He leaves behind a wife, his parents, and ten siblings. According to my husband, he was one of the nicest guys. I didn't ever know him, but am deeply saddened by this tragedy. We will certainly be keeping his family in our prayers.

Yippee!!!!

I survived my talk! It even went okay! Now that it's over, I can "hibernate" and read my 5 library books.

And I was extended a calling today... in my favorite Church organization!!! Yea!!!

Is there anything cuter...

...than this little guy?



Really. Seriously. I do not think so.



If that face doesn't make you smile, nothing will.

I just love this kid!

Why am I so crabby?

Hel-loooooo!

So I thought if I went a longer time between postings, I might create some anticipation for the next entry... Judging from the very small number of comments I get and my mostly empty inbox, I'm guessing that I haven't waited long enough. Or something. Actually, The Husband has been monopolizing the computer lately with his papers and projects and presentations, etc., etc., etc. so I don't get so much time to post.

So here I am... and boy, have I been in a bad mood a lot lately. I don't know for sure what it is. We are all healthy, with a roof over our heads. The kidlet is mostly delightful. I've gotten emails this week from friends Camille & Amy C, adorable photos of the Allen kids, and have been thoroughly entertained by posts on friends' (& cousin's) blogs. My dear friend, Melissa, has called a few times in the past week. I've gotten to talk to my Mom, one of my sisters, and two of my fantastic nieces. I'm almost caught up with the laundry. I got five cards made. So what is my problem?

Maybe it's that all those wonderful people live so far away. Maybe it's that the daylight hours are getting shorter. Maybe it's that I hate the way grad school eats up all of my husband's time and most of his energy. Maybe it's because there's always more dirty laundry, and I seem to no longer be capable of keeping a neat house. Maybe it's because I keep getting headaches and when I tell my husband about it, he helpfully suggests, "maybe you're pregnant," when, ahem, quite obviously I'm not. Maybe it's a profound case of ingratitude. Maybe it's that I miss being in Primary. Maybe it's even hormones. Probably it's a little bit of "all of the above."

And also...

I agreed to give a talk in Church this Sunday. Bro. Richards said my reference was the Spring 2007 conference talk by Joseph B. Wirthlin. Great. I love Elder Wirthlin. I love his talks. Then he tells me the topic is "diligent work." Now what in the heck do I know about that topic? Or, how am I supposed to become an expert on that by Sunday? I wish I could just say "no, on second thought, how about we wait for a different topic?"

Help!!!!

Baby Hercules

Okay, I'm not sure this will be as funny to anyone else as it is to me, but here goes...

Our little man-child is extremely strong, especially when it comes to his upper body. I don't know where he gets it, but sometimes it's a little alarming. We had sort of hoped that he was like Samson, and that after we cut his hair he'd be at least a little bit weaker. No such luck.

At one point while discussing this with the Daddy, he said, with just a little bit of pride, "I'll bet he could lift a chicken over his head!" Okay, what? That just cracked me up. Heck, it still cracks me up!

This weekend at Aldi, we bought a three-pound bag of frozen boneless, skinless chicken. While I was off getting something else, the little brute lifted the bag out of the cart with one hand. The Daddy was so impressed that he just couldn't stop talking about it.

Later it occurred to me, and I told the Daddy, "Well, you know, he doesn't have access to a real, live chicken. So maybe he did want to see if he could lift a chicken over his head and thought he'd try frozen chicken instead!"

I'm sure that was it, right? ;)

A brief rant

Yesterday, I got some much needed Mommy-time and went to see Harry Potter 5 at the discount theater, which I really enjoyed. But while I was in the restroom, I found further proof of something I guess I've always known. RACISTS ARE SUPREMELY STUPID!

Written on the wall: "Niger's."

Unless this great brain was about to impart some wisdom about the country of Niger before she was interrupted, I think she was showing that she can't even spell the hideous racial slur she felt so compelled to scrawl. I tried to wipe it off, but no such luck.

Veggie Tales

Our little guy has developed a new interest-- vegetables.

Last night he picked up a raw, unwashed potato and tried to bite into it.

This morning, at the farmer's market, he insisted on holding one of the green peppers and carrying it all the way to the car. When we told him it was a pepper, he kept delightedly calling out, "pep-uh! pep-uh!"

This evening while I was cooking dinner, he found an onion, tried to remove the skin, and then rolled it on the kitchen floor.

So I guess maybe we should add farmer or produce man to his list of potential future careers-- along with doorman, clock/watch repairman, musician, dancer, engineer, or photographer (that's a whole other story...)

Hey, wait a minute!

Maybe you can post comments on this dumb blog now! Hooray!

But, wait, how did that happen?

Okay, I promise, no more posts today.

By the way, do you think I should change the name of this site to "this dumb blog?" :)

Have a muy fabuloso day (no idea if that's correct Spanish).

Who are you calling "Big?"

Our little kid had his 15-month appointment today and is very healthy, as usual (thank heavens). He is now 33" (95th percentile) and 28 lbs, 6 oz (85th percentile). The Daddy is quite proud that his son now weighs "two stones."

The new pediatrician isn't concerned about his lack of walking or the size of his noggin, either. She says he is strong enough to walk independently and will just do it when he feels like it. She also says that he's a big kid, so it's normal for him to have a big head. The funny thing is, while she was saying all this, the kidlet was just staring at her like, "what do you mean, 'big?'"

But here's the real "funny": when we were taking him out to the car on the way to the appointment, the Daddy was complaining about all the baby sundries and library books he had to carry. I replied, "Well, all of those things together don't weigh as much as he (the kidlet) does." The kiddo looked right at his mommy and said, "HUSH."

Priceless.

Why you can't post a comment on this blog

We-ell, I don't rightly know. In fact, I haven't a clue.

My uncle tried to help me out, but the changes I made didn't seem to make a difference for this dumb blog. I must have really messed this up somehow.

So, anybody have any advice?

Any ideas?

My husband just hates people talking about him. He's not really into sharing personal info. So I was wondering what I should call him on this blog. I've seen people use "DH" but that just seems so generic. And, you know, my husband is anything but generic!

My thoughts so far:

The Daddy-O

Mr. Man

He Who Shall Remain Nameless (HWSRN)

He Who Wishes to Remain Anonymous (HWWTRA)

or, maybe,

My Very Weird Husband (MVWH)?

What do you think?

Just call me Rosie...

...because I've jumped on the bandwagon and created a Blog. But I promise, no haikus!

I know, what am I thinking? Being a real-life female equivalent to Charlie Brown, I'm just sure no one (other than maybe my mommy) will ever read this. But I'm going ahead based on the following reasoning:

+ It will reduce the number of times I send the same "stuff" to different people. With my aging Mommy brain, I find it somewhat difficult to keep track of what I've told to whom.

+ It will reduce the number of people who have to read my nauseatingly cute stories about my baby. I'm sure not everyone who receives them via email really cares to read them, so if I just post them to a blog, you can choose if you're really in the mood to read one today. Although I guess you could already just be deleting my emails...

+ Sometimes I read such a good book, watch such a good movie, or find such a good bargain that I just want to share it with someone, and blogs seem like a suitable place for such trivia.

But I'm still not sure what all I'll use this for. In my paranoia, I am hesitant to post photos of my darling little baby. Somebody, please reassure me that perverts and random weirdos won't be logging on to check him out! I'm even almost hesitant to post his name-- I was thinking of referring to him as My Little One, but then I remembered that when I was little, my mom had a friend who owned a huge cat named Little One who barfed all over the carpet when we were visiting. So suddenly, that doesn't seem like such a cute nickname!

Anyway, I hope somebody does read this and posts a comment every now and then. Otherwise, I guess I'll just try to keep a regular old journal like other unpopular people.

But please, don't actually call me Rosie. She bugs me! :)