Merry Christmas!

Atticus wasn't sure what to think of Santa when he met him in person, but it didn't take him long to figure out what Santa was supposed to do: bring toys. Last week we heard "I do Santa toys" almost nonstop. When I said Santa only comes on Christmas, it changed to "I do Kiss-muss" nonstop. Ah, the joys of childhood. :)

And Santa didn't disappoint. He brought Atticus train tracks and 10 engines from the Thomas series to put on them. I have a video of him pulling each one of the the box and saying their names, but I've had trouble uploading video for some reason.

He's been entranced all morning, only occasionally taking a break to play with another toy or eat. He wouldn't even pause long enough to look up for a photo. I'd say, "Look at me, Atty!" and I'd hear "No lookamee, no tanks." This was the closest I got:

I'd say this Christmas was a hit.

James and I are having fun watching him play. Oh, and shooting birds at pigs in glass houses in the "Angry Birds" game for iPad and iPod. Man, that's addictive.

I hope all your Christmas wishes came true.

Free iPad???

Go to Frugal Family Fun Blog to enter to win an iPad and an assortment of children's books courtesy of Target!

Sweetness

It's 10:04 a.m., and Atticus is asleep with his head in my lap. The poor boy has a double ear infection, and although he slept soundly last night, either the infection or the antibiotics is making him sleepy. Part of me wants to slide out from under him and go do something productive, like change the laundry or do the dishes, but the rest of me just wants to sit here and listen to him breathe.

Confessions of a wannabe urban hippie

I confess, sometimes I covet what I call the catalog life: I want to be a trendy, fashionable mom who wears whimsical, coordinated outfits and lives in a house full of Pottery Barn furniture, drives an SUV to go grocery shopping at Costco or Whole Foods, and has beautifully dressed, well-behaved children. Oh, and a dog. I want to eat in boutique restaurants and buy gorgeous little boxes of gourmet macaroons as thank-you gifts for my friends. That just looks fun.

But then something happens that brings me back to my real life and reminds me why I love it. Yesterday I went to pick up our first share of food from the community co-op. I'd been thinking about joining for a long time, but it just never seemed that convenient, and I wasn't sure it would really save us money. But I think I may be hooked.

The primary purpose of the Community Food Co-Op is to make it economical to get fresh food into lower-income homes. But anyone can join, and the distribution runs from Nephi to Ogden. You order once a month, and because they're buying in bulk, it ends up being cheaper than the grocery store. Here's what we got for the standard $24 share:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 2 lbs chicken thighs
• 2 lbs chuck roast
• 1.5 lbs boneless pork spare ribs
• 5 oranges
• 5 apples
• 5 pears
• 1 large celery
• 4 yams
• 1 head romaine
• 8 oz mushrooms
• 5 lbs onions
• 2 lbs carrots

Plus there are optional "add ons" each month, and we got a half gallon of local apple cider for $2 and 2 lbs local honey for $6.

Even better than the great prices was the feeling of community I experienced. When I went to pick up the food at 8 am (practically in my jammies), the people were so friendly and welcoming and seemed happy that I was there. Then when I was checking out, I ran into a woman from our ward that I've been wanting to get to know better. We chatted for a minute, and she told me about a clothing/supply drive her roller derby league is having for a women's shelter. Then she invited me to try out for roller derby in a couple weeks. I might just do it, even just to see what it's all about.

Then when I was driving home I passed the houses of friends, and waved to a friend walking her dog. I've lived in this neighborhood for over 10 years, and I feel like part of a community. I like this feeling, and I wouldn't trade that for anything, not even a cute pair of ballet flats or a case of organic Oreos.

A quieter moment

Meltdown

Last night Atticus was in full meltdown mode, and it was a little scary. He's had meltdown moments, but this went on for over an hour, and it wasn't nearly close enough to bedtime. Luckily I have a creative-thinking husband.

It's like Atticus's brain short-circuited and he got caught in some kind of memory loop (to get all sci-fi): he kept sobbing and asking for help putting on his pants, even coming up to me and saying "hep! hep!" So I'd say, "Do you want me to help you put on your pants?" "Yeah!" But as soon as I made a move toward him, he'd freak out and scream "NOOOOO!"

Like I said, this went on for over an hour, him going back and forth like that over putting on or taking off his pants, eating or not eating something, sitting on my lap or not, etc. Twice I calmly took him to his room and put him on his bed with his blankie and pacifier ("passa") and told him that he didn't need to go to sleep, but he couldn't come out until he had calmed down. Once, thinking he was just attention-starved, I snuggled him close and sang to him. Both times he calmed down, but as soon as he tried to talk or move into the living room again, he'd melt into the same cycle.

James and I were both at wit's end, so James decided to take Atticus out somewhere to give me a break. But Atty freaked out about me staying home without him, so I went along. He was still melting down as we put him in the car seat, but once we got in the car and turned up the radio, his sobs lost some steam within a few blocks. By the time we got to Trolley Square, he might have actually smiled.

Miraculously, he remained in a fairly pleasant and cooperative mood while he ran around the mall. He was flat out chipper when we went to Hires for "fwench fwies." Needless to say, he crashed hard when we got home, and he went to bed earlier than normal.

I do love being a mother. And I'm so glad I don't have to do it alone.

Fy Truck!

On Saturday we saw a fire truck in the parking lot at Costco, and Atticus flipped out. No one was around, so we asked him if he wanted to touch it. Oh yeah, he did. He ran up to it, then touched it with one finger, all careful like. As he went along he got more adventurous and excited, and he was thrilled when we put him on the front bumper. We could barely get him to stand still long enough to take the picture.

Oh, and he's wearing his favorite shirt. When he saw me pull his "wo-bot" shirt out of the dryer, he tried to pull off his jammies so he could put it on right then. Unfortunately it was time for bed, so he had to keep his jammies on. But he got to wear it the next day, and the next two days after that. Three days is my limit.

My goodness, I love this kid.

This and That

More unrelated pictures. Atticus enjoying "frites" at our favorite Belgian waffle shop.

• I've started working again part-time. I'm back at my old job with the Church, working on visitors' center exhibits. I'm not an official employee, and I only go in a couple times a week. Atticus plays at his friend Mia's house while I'm gone. I'm not sure how long this will last, but it's nice to make some extra money. Unfortunately, sitting at a desk for 6 hours at a time is bringing back all my chronic pains. Definitely not going back full-time.

Male bonding over an iPad game where you drop bombs on zombie-filled cities.

• I made lasagne in the crockpot last week. When I first saw the recipe, I envisioned my brother Adam's attempt to make spaghetti in the crock pot. Not a success. But it turned out really tasty. I kept trying to figure out the advantages of using the crock pot instead of the oven, and there really weren't any, except for maybe energy consumption and not heating up your kitchen. So why on earth would you make lasagne in a crock pot? BECAUSE YOU CAN! Bwaaa haaa haaaa!!

Blurry iPod photo of a really excited boy.

• Halloween was kind of a bust for us this year. I made Atticus a really cute grinder monkey hat to wear, but he refused to wear it. Not even to take a picture. James made this great grinder organ from some cardboard, our pasta maker, and an iPod (to play the music). But when it came time for the costume contest at the ward party, Atty just wanted to "wun awound" in circles, so I had to wear the hat. We won for cutest costume. I also won for grossest dessert with my dish of roasted intestines. I used pureed apple pie filling for the filling. And it was extra gross because the pastry didn't cook all the way. I didn't eat any. James scored with his jack-o-lantern, though. Someone asked us if we'd had it carved professionally. Does such a thing exist? I'll post pictures after James uploads them. And I'll try to get a photo of Atty in the hat.

New Calling

Picture is unrelated. These are from our trip to the Temple Quarry a few weeks ago.

James was released from the bishopric yesterday, and we were both called as service missionaries in a new branch in our stake. We will be starting up a tutoring program, primarily for a family of French-speaking teenagers who recently immigrated from Guinea. We also have one woman studying for her GED, and we expect it to expand. We're a bit daunted by the magnitude and the logistics, but we already have volunteer tutors who are excited to help. We met everyone this week, and our first tutoring session is Thursday. We'll see how it goes.

We'll also be teaching a French-language Sunday School class in the new branch. The African family are recent converts, and only the mom speaks much English. I'm most excited about this part. I'm comfortable teaching, and James is really good at it, and it will be nice to interact one-on-one.

I'm sad to be leaving our regular ward, and I'm nervous about the new branch. It's an interesting branch. The stake took what was arguably the most struggling ward in the stake and split it into a ward and two branches. This ward had a huge amount of welfare needs, and the bishop was just overwhelmed. Now there are three priesthood leaders covering those needs, and all three units are growing. Our branch covers the area right around the grocery store where James used to work, so he knows a lot of the people from the store. He could point out all the members he used to sell beer and cigarettes to during the week. But in this branch that just doesn't matter. We're just happy they're coming to church. So the branch president decided that as long as they don't smoke or drink on the premises, they can hold a calling.

And everyone is automatically enscripted into the choir. Choir practice is 6 minutes long, immediately after sacrament meeting. I haven't seen a performance yet, so I'm not sure how it works. I'm looking forward to the Christmas program. We've already been assigned to sing a French carol with the African family.

The biggest downside, though, is that the branch meets from 1-4, right when Atticus normally takes a nap. Sacrament meeting is last, so I may spend most of the meetings in the mothers' room, rocking a sleeping child. And Atticus is one of only a few toddlers (or babies, for that matter), so when he makes noise, everyone hears it. Yesterday he got excited every time they said "thy Son" in the sacrament prayers. He loves to point out the sun and the moon and the stars whenever he sees them, so every time they said "thy Son," Atty yelled, "da sun!" Never done that before. Also I never noticed how many times they use those words. It's a lot.

Accomplishments for Today

I don't know why, but I feel like listing all that I got done today. And I feel like doing it in a new font.

1. Make a big mess on the kitchen floor by throwing down the jug of protein powder that wouldn't open, thus shattering the lid and spilling the contents all over the rug.
2. Refrain from screaming. At least the jug was open now.
3. Get Atticus some milk, change his diaper, and install him on the couch with a Thomas the Tank Engine video while I clean up the mess.
4. Wash the rug.
5. Mend Atticus's blankie and my sheets. Both were slated for the scrap pile, but I decided to give them a little more life.
6. Change the bedding with newly mended sheets.
7. Wash all the old bedding.
8. Wash, fold, AND PUT AWAY every bit of laundry in the house, including towels.
9. Make an apple pie with pie crust from scratch and filling I canned last fall.
10. Finish knitting Atticus's cap for Halloween. He's going to be a grinder monkey. Details and photos forthcoming.

And it's not even 6:00 yet. Maybe I'll get around to putting the cushions back on the couch and straightening the living room. And maybe, just maybe, I'll dust. Wish me luck.

I want this room

One of my favorite blogs is SouleMama, written by Amanda Soule. Her family recently bought a 100-year-old farmhouse in Maine, and she's been posting their renovations and move-in progress. I've been drooling over each room, with the wide-plank floors and the funky angles and nooks upstairs, and all the gorgeous light through the windows. But the library tops it all. It's officially the dining room, but really, how often do you use a formal dining room?

I have always wanted a library, a quiet place full of books and a comfortable chair and good light and lots of pillows. A place to snuggle up in winter with a good book and a cup of tea. As Atticus gets older I'll want to add art supplies and such, like she did here. Or maybe he'll get his own art room, and the library will be mine. We'll see.

When I mentally renovate the house I'm currently coveting, the dining room looks a lot like this, except it will also be used as a dining room. And it's about half the size. Oh well. You have to start somewhere, right?

See more photos here.

James has a couple new toys, thanks to your tax dollars. Kearns High School applied for and received a grant (from a part of the stimulus bill that allowed for technology in schools) to buy every student and teacher an iPod Touch for use in the classroom. As a bonus, every teacher gets an iPad. James is pretty stoked, and one or the other has been in his hands pretty much nonstop. Atty thinks they're pretty cool too, especially the app that lets him draw with his fingers.

His iPod is also a still and video camera, which is a handy bonus. We caught a few pics of Atticus the other day, and this is my favorite. I love his laugh. Notice how the photo is iPod shaped. Kinda funny.


And here's a video, which is also iPod shaped. I hope it works right. James is pretty proud of that pumpkin, as well he should be. It's gorgeous. The colors are beautiful--it almost glows. Atty thinks it's pretty fun to sit on.

Not much else is new this week. We made grape juice at my parents' house on Saturday, and it really felt like fall. Beautiful. And I've picked up more work with my old job at Exhibits, which is a nice change of pace but a good reminder that I really don't want to go back to work full time right now.

And that's what's going on in our lives at the moment.

It must be tied to testosterone or something

Today I was lying down with Atticus in hopes of his taking a nap, and he burped. Then he burped again. Then it became clear he was trying to burp even more.

Soon his "burps" turned into strangled, gargling sounds, which grew longer and louder. Then he started saying "sy-coh!" followed by more strangling sounds. After several rounds of this I finally caught on and asked, "Are you making motorcycle sounds?" To which he enthusiastically replied, "Yeah!"

So yeah, Atticus is definitely a boy.

Haircuts

Ok, I uploaded the photos. I can't remember if I posted about his first haircut, but this about sums it up:

My friend came to the house to cut my hair, and by the time we got to Atticus, he was already tired and worn out. The worst part was afterward when he realized he had bits of hair on his arms and chest (he wouldn't let us put the drape on him beforehand). He totally freaked out, and putting him in the bath just made it worse. He hated baths for months afterward.

So when he started getting shaggy again, we were a little nervous. Then James's barber mentioned Cookie Cutters, a salon that specializes in children's haircuts. For $15, we decided to give it a go. He got to sit in a hotrod and watch his choice of DVD (Thomas the Tank Engine is his current obsession).

He wasn't excited about getting his hair sprayed wet, and the comb and scissors were intrusive. We had to keep reminding him to keep his hands on the wheel and watch the trains, but he never got more upset than this:

And check out the results! Didn't I tell you he was handsome? Wary, but handsome.

And then at the end he got a balloon and a sucker and got to go down the slide a couple times. TOTALLY worth every penny.

Feeling Lazy

I've had a request for a new post, but the last few posts I've tried to put up haven't worked (videos didn't upload), and I don't feel like fighting with Blogger at the moment. And the newest pics are still in the camera, and I don't feel like getting them at the moment. So you'll have to make do with my new favorite picture:

It's currently our desktop wallpaper, and I love seeing this little face every time I get on the computer.

And it's a good preview for our next post, which is about his haircuts. His first haircut was traumatic, but his second went sooooo much better. As much as I loved the long mess in the photo, I may love this trim little boy cut even more. He's so handsome. I'll get those photos posted as soon as I get them transferred from the computer. Soon. I promise.

Look at me.

After pouring a bottle of water over himself.

Whenever Atticus throws a fit, we get face-to-face and say calmly, "Look at me, Atticus..." and then explain why he can't have or do whatever it is he wants at the moment.

So I couldn't help but laugh this morning when, after I tried to offer him water when he'd asked for milk, he grabbed my face and said, "Lookamee. Milk."

He got milk.

A New Look

I've been thinking lately that I want a new look. Something classy and a little more tailored, but not so much that I have to start wearing a girdle. I'm thinking vintage and romantic and feminine. Kind of along these lines:

With this dress:

And a fitted cardigan (not the baggy ones I usually wear):

And (gasp!) a little bit of a heel:

Honestly, I'll probably end up looking more like this:

But in my mind I'll look like this:

And how fantastic is this dress?? (The jacket is actually attached--it's all one piece.)

What do you think? Can I pull it off?

Oh my cuteness

This is my very favorite picture of James. I hope Atticus looks like this in a few years. We'll have to make sure he wears a Superman shirt for his kindergarten photo.

Oh, and James really does have blue eyes. They just look brown in this photo.

Fantasy Garden

Isn't this beautiful?? The fence, the neat beds, the fruit trees, the woods beyond. There has to be a stream in those woods, right? Read more about it here.

Loping through the Lavender

This morning my mom and I participated in a 5K at the Young Living Lavender Farm. Young Living Essential Oils is one of myriad health-related multilevel marketing companies in Utah County, and they happen to have a huge lavender field in Mona, Utah, south of Santaquin and just north of the edge of nowhere. Here we are at the starting line:

The guy in the hat behind us is the CEO of the company, and he started the race with a shotgun. Later there would be a staged gunfight in which he played Wyatt Earp. We left before that event. My mom thought ahead and dressed appropriately in lavender. I didn't. Oops.

Here we are toward the end of the race. I was able to run most of the way (walking no more than 2-3 minutes at a time), so I finished ahead of my mom, who was walking. So I came back and met up with her so we could finish together.

I had to include both pictures, because she looks better in one and I look better in the other. No hope for my hair, though. It would not be contained this morning.

After the race there was muffins and fruit and trying to find our times. They only had the first 300 people or so posted (out of over 1,000), and we weren't on that list. So I have no idea how long it took me.

It was hard--the longest I've ever run--but once it was done I was already thinking about the next race, the one where I'd run the whole time, not stopping even once. Maybe I'll find one in the fall when it's not so hot. It was an odd feeling for this natural couch potato. I can see how people get hooked on this stuff.

CSA week 1

Braising greens (mixed), spinach, microgreens (overgrown sprouts), rainbow carrots, French radishes, two kinds of chard, and a huge bunch of cilantro.

I've been eating salads of spinach and microgreens, plus peas from the farmers' market. Tonight we had grilled chicken (marinated lightly in lime juice) with cilantro pesto and a barley salad with peas, rainbow carrots, and fresh herbs. Later this week we'll eat the chard and greens in two different meals. I'm not sure what to do with the radishes.

I made another yummy thing that's not CSA-related but not worth a post of its own: strawberry sauce. But I didn't use just any strawberries; these were tiny, sun-ripened berries foraged (with permission) from my neighbor's garden. I was hoping to make jam, but no such luck. I got about a cup of perfect sauce, just berries, sugar, water, and lemon juice. I'm eating it over tart frozen yogurt, my new favorite treat. Mmmmmm..... I love summer food.

Chicken fest

A couple Saturdays ago was the Wasatch Gardens Tour de Coops, a self-guided tour through a whole slew of backyard chicken coops. The chickens were gorgeous and looked happy. More impressive, though, were the gardens. Only a few properties had large back yards; most were smaller than your typical suburban plot. But all were full of vegetables and herbs and flowers. Only one had a nice lawn in the back, and that's because they planted their garden on top of their garage.

I would have taken more garden photos, but I was trying to keep Atticus from trampling the garden or falling off the roof. I wanted to get a photo of Atty with a chicken, but he wouldn't get close to them, even when they were caged. He'd stand far back, point, and say "cheek-en."

This coop used to be a sleeper cab for a semi truck. Now chickens sleep here.

This same property kept bees. Several properties we visited kept bees. I guess if you have a large garden, it just makes sense. And it fits with the urban-hippie vibe.

This was the most decorative coop we saw. The sleeper cab is just to the right. It was at this farm that I met Sharon, an enthusiastic hippie chick with hairy armpits who runs the garden (doesn't own the property or chickens). She actually has several gardens in other people's back yards and sells the produce at local farmers' markets. And it just so happened that she was starting up a CSA. Most CSAs require that you pay back in March or April, so they have start-up money for seeds etc. And I had decided not to go with our regular CSA for various reasons. But when she told me that she specializes in greens and beans, I was hooked. Plus she's planted 20 varieties of tomatoes. And herbs. AND she delivers. How can you beat that??

All in all, I was very inspired by what I saw. I saw that I don't have to have half an acre or more to have the little farm of my dreams. Not to say that I wouldn't enjoy a larger plot (dairy goats would need more room), but it's good to see that it's not required.

Yeah, sandals will do that to you.

And man, do they stink.

Bourdain!

James and I had a great time Saturday night when we went to see Anthony Bourdain speak. If you don't know who he is, you should look him up. He has a great show on the Travel channel called "No Reservations." James interviewed him for SLUG magazine (you can read his interview here), and as a bonus we got free tickets to the show. Ninth row center. Pretty darn good. And even better, we happened to be sitting next to the editor of SLUG, Angela, and her boyfriend, Fletcher.

Bourdain's press agent promised us tickets for the VIP meet-and-greet afterward, but apparently that didn't happen. I was digging the email from the agent out of my purse, though, when a nice couple gave us their VIP tickets. And because we'd been haggling with the usher, we ended up first in line. Bonus! And by strange coincidence we knew both of the women selling his books in the signing room. And afterward we were able to pass off our tickets to friends from the ward so they could get their book signed.

The only potential downer was when I lost my knitting when the ball of yarn rolled under the seats ahead of me, then dragged away the sweater I was working on as it moved toward the stage. It only got three or four rows up, and I did get it all back in one piece. James says he can't take me anywhere, but I say all's well that ends well, right?

This was also the first time we left Atticus with a real babysitter. As in teenage girls. He likes to hang out with Carly, an 11-year-old girl in our ward, but she's a bit young to babysit alone, so her older sister Cassidy came along. He got a little nervous when we were leaving, but when I told him they would give him candy (one gummy vitamin) after we left, it was like, "what, you're still here? go already!" It cost us a little extra to have two babysitters, but it was worth it. Atty had a great time, and we had a lovely time without him.

Memorial Day, part 2

[Does anyone know how to rotate video in Blogger?]

That evening our friends Larry and Sharon Nielson invited us over to help them eat leftovers from Sharon's daughter's wedding. How could we say no to gyoza and chocolate strawberries?? We brought a cooler of bottled soda. Atty thought the luggage cart was the best thing ever. On the way home, they kept getting grounded on the grass, so James dumped the ice and carried the cooler so Atty could control the cart. He's such a sweet dad.

Memorial Day, part 1

I know this is kind of late, but I had trouble uploading the video. James had the day off (yea!), so we headed up I-80 to our favorite diner, the Road Island Diner. I was sad to see that they had changed their menu, eliminating breakfast (except on weekends) and *gasp* their house-made potato chips. I'd been looking forward to those chips. But they still had coconut cream pie. And cold drinks.

A little early...

Atty received the Duty to God award Sunday. No, he didn't earn it. They're changing the design of the award, and the ward had a surplus of the old ones, so we took one home. It's his new favorite toy. And it's the reason behind his new word: tem-po. Which inspired our FHE lesson on temples. The other side represents John the Baptist restoring the Aaronic Priesthood, but we'll save that lesson for another time.

Today James was flipping it like a coin and asked Atty, "heads or tails--temple or dudes?" To which Atty quickly responded, "dooods!" He won.

Our little gymnast

Last week was Atty's last day at Little Gym. I had a hard time capturing him on camera because he wouldn't stand still for more than two seconds. Here are some highlights:

And a video (I tried uploading more, but it weirded out on me):