A Hodge-Modge-Podge of a Post

"I know that there are people in this world who do not love their fellow man, and I hate people like that!" -Tom Lehrer

A random quote for a random post!

A few things:

Realizations

• I've realized that not only do I have a lead foot when I drive, but I have a speed my foot especially loves to go - 55 miles per hour. No matter the speed limit of the street. Unless I'm on the freeway, and then my foot likes going around 10 miles over.
• I've realized why fall and spring are my favorite seasons - I hate being hot (at all), but I hate being too cold too. I love the feeling of being wrapped up, whether in blankets, a robe, or a jacket. I like having the AC turned up high so that I can snuggle up and be toasty like that. Unfortunately, the power bill would be humongous if we did that...

Wish Us Luck!

• We are officially going to start potty training Andrew next Monday. We're going to stay inside all day, and have him wear big boy underwear and cheap shorts from the local thrift store. We'd just have him go naked or with just the underwear, but unlike just about any other toddler in the entire world, Andrew loves wearing clothes. Strange, I know. We even bought a Groupon-like thing for carpet cleaning so that we can start and not worry about our carpets. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is this: wish us luck! We're going to need it!

We went to the zoo!

On Monday, we picked up my dad and went to the Columbus Zoo with the boys. We had a lot of fun! Here are some of the pictures we took:

Alligators

They had babies at the zoo! This one was especially cute. :)

This picture doesn't show how BIG this ray was, but it was big!

Andrew loved the Merry-Go-Round!

Kangaroo!

A little blurry (it was dark), but I thought it was too funny not to take a picture.

Kukubura

We had a great time there with my dad. Thanks for going with us, Poppy!

Secret: This goes along with my first realization. One of our friends said it pretty much perfectly: If people are passing me on the freeway, I often feel as if I'm not going fast enough - even if I'm going really fast!

Fun morning!

"What a beautiful, sunny morning. It makes you happy to be alive." -Takayuki Ikkaku

We had a fun day yesterday. Especially in the morning.

There was a stake activity in Upper Arlington - softball and a picnic lunch! Jason played softball while Andrew, David and I did this:

*went down small slides,

*played Andrew's version of Tic-Tac-Toe (which was completely one-sided, so he won, obviously!),

*went down a BIG kid slide,

*played the drums,

*swung in the swings,

*drove a rockin' car,

*bounced on the teeter-totter,

*and, in general, enjoyed the sunshine.

After the softball was over, the lunch was great. We found some of our friends from our ward and ate and talked together. David REALLY liked this new food:

WATERMELON!!! He ended up eating this entire piece himself!

In the afternoon, we played games and watched movies over at my sister's place. Fun!

Then the boys had an early bed time (Andrew was especially cranky after being woken up from a nap in the car), and Jason went to a fantasy football draft while I reveled in the quietness. Silence is rare in this apartment!

It was a great day.

Secret: I turn on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on our computer for Andrew to watch when I want to take a shower when Jason's gone. It's the only thing I'm confident will keep his attention long enough for me to take a shower without him destroying the entire apartment!

Longing for Fall

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." -George Eliot

I am longing for fall. It's my favorite season. That's when everything exciting begins! The weather begins to cool down, football starts, it owns Halloween and Thanksgiving, and makes me think of buying school supplies. It smells crisp, and you can actually play outside because it's not too hot or too cold. I love it.

Hence the change in my background. :)

On to what I really wanted to say...

Jason and I went to a baseball game on Tuesday. We got a deal from Groupon to go see the Columbus Clippers do their thing against the Buffalo Bisons, and do their thing they did! The Clippers won 5-0. It was really fun.

Our view. The folding chairs just behind the fence originally blocked my view of home plate, but Jason moved them. :)

That's right. My husband plays for the Clippers now! Haha.

 In other news...

Andrew has been super cranky lately. It's been awful. He usually refuses to take a nap, but I think he really needed one the other day:

They both were asleep at the same time for only 20 minutes, but I'll take it!

And just because I can:

*sigh* My boys are cute. :)

Secret: I am NOT a morning person. If I could sleep in until 9am every day (except for Christmas, maybe!), I'd be happy.

David is growing up! Slowly...

"A grownup is a child with layers on." -Woody Harrelson

We're going to see David without any layers on! Quite literally. Except for a diaper. Keep reading. ;)

*gasp* This is probably only the second time in my memory that I have been awake in the morning while both my boys slumbered on. And it's 9:30! This is crazy! (I guess it helps that Andrew woke us all up at around 3:45 this morning, screaming because he had lost his sippy cup of water. That, my friends, was lovely.) (Update at 9:50 - David woke up. But Andrew's STILL asleep!)

Anyway, I took this little boy to the doctor's office for his 6-month checkup on Wednesday:

He loved checking himself out in the mirror!

I asked the doc about his slightly misshapen head, and she said it looked ok. I also asked about the fact that he still seems to fall asleep every time I feed him (and he doesn't eat very much). She said she wasn't too concerned about it, and that he is actually probably cutting back on his milk feedings because he's getting fed solid food now. That made me feel better, because David is a string-bean! Here are his stats:

• Weight: 16 lbs 10 oz - 30th percentile (That's only 1 lb heavier than he was at his 4-month appointment!)
• Height: 27 inches - 70th percentile
• Head: 17 inches - 25th percentile

So he's tall, but really skinny and his head is small. He's getting bigger, but slowly. But I think he looks perfect. Just like Andrew was perfect in all his roly-poly gloriousness. :)

Speaking of Andrew, THIS is the entry I made about his 6-month checkup. Yes. He was huge. I know I keep saying that, but I'm continually surprised by how much more normal-sized David is! And here are two pictures of Andrew from that age, since there wasn't a picture on that post:

Oh my word. Look at those thighs!

My older cutie-patutie

Alright. That's all I wanted to say. :)

Oh, except this: Have you guys ever eaten these before?:

White chocolate-covered oreos

Oh man. I had them for the first time last night, and let's just say that they were amazing. *sigh*

Secret: I'm a nail biter! But only when the nails get long, and especially if they've gotten a snag in them. I always have to tell myself, "Just go clip your nails already!"

Pictures of My Boys + Hair-styling attempt #3

"The soul never thinks without a picture." -Aristotle

I know I just updated. I wanted to include these pictures with the last update, but I thought it was starting to get a little long.....

I want to become a better photographer. I don't have a lot of time and money to dedicate to this longing, so it's probably not going to happen for now, but at least I have a pretty good point-and-shoot camera and a couple cute boys to practice on!

We'll be getting family pictures taken by a friend in our ward on Saturday, but these pictures will have to do until then:

Happy boy!

Rolling around

Playing at the park. Wheeee!

Happy smiles

A "cheese-y" smile

Also, I did my hair on Sunday using this as my inspiration. It didn't turn out as well, and this picture was taken at the end of the day, so it's coming a bit loose on top...

My "Bun-Hawk"

And just for fun, this is what it looked like when it came down!

Secret: One time recently, I made a box of brownies, and proceeded to eat nearly the entire thing without abandon. Fortunately for Jason, I let him have a piece. But that was it! Haha.

Recommendations

"Life is either a great adventure or nothing." -Helen Keller

Jason and I went on a date Friday night. Shocker, I know. We're married and we still go on dates! :) Anyway, we felt somewhat more adventurous than normal, and went to an area of Columbus known as German Village, where a lot of German immigrants lived as Columbus was growing. We had eaten dinner as a family at home before we left, so we went to Schmidt's for dessert.

This is what it looks like on the outside.

We got one of their famous cream puffs! Yummmm!!!!

This cream puff was huge, too, guys. If I wasn't nursing, I might've been hard pressed to finish my half!

If you're in Columbus and wanting a special dessert, I recommend getting one of these bad boys from Schmidt's. Really, I just recommend you visit them for food period, because it's all super-good German food.

After dessert, we walked to this place, also in German Village, called The Book Loft.

This is the front of the store, but you don't go in the front of the store - you go through this alleyway beside the store and go in a side door.

This is what the little alleyway looks like. It's beautiful!

If you can see the sign at the alleyway, it says that there are 32 rooms in this bookstore. That is not a lie, my friends. There are 32 little rooms, all with different themes, like cook books, travel, classic fiction, nature, sewing/crocheting/knitting/crafting, romance, politics... it's crazy. It was like a little bit of heaven for me! I love to read. I fortunately escaped having only bought this little book for my ward's book club this month, but I could've bought half the store:

So much fun!

Also, if you're in the Columbus area and love farmers markets, I suggest you check out Lynd's Fruit Farm.

My little family ventured out there with my mom last Saturday. What's wonderful about this farm is that they have this building set up where you can get vegetables, fruits, and other goodies like 5 different flavors of cider, fudge, jams, cookies... Yum. They have a good selection of food during the summer, but the fall is the best time. They have freshly harvested fruits and veggies, straight from the field. If you've been around for a while though, you know they're mostly known for their apples. You can drive out to the farm and choose a bushel or half bushel of the kind of apples that are your favorite, or you can go out to their orchards and pick the apples yourself! That's my favorite thing to do. I love apples straight off the tree. It's hard for me to eat them any other way now, they're just that good. Check out their picking schedule to make sure you get there on the weekends with your favorite apples.

Those are my Columbus Recommendations to you. If you're feeling up to the adventure, check them out!

Secret: Most days I stay in my pajamas all day long. :)

Where Has the Time Gone?

"Time = Life, therefore, waste your time and waste your life, or master your time and master your life." -Alan Lakein

Time is running away with me! I hope I'm not wasting my life away.

This guy, my cute little second son, David, is now officially six months old.

How did that happen? Where did the time go?

Things about him:

• He sticks everything in his mouth - his hands, other people's toes, toys, paper (one of his favorites!)... you name it and it's within his reach, he's got it in his mouth.
• He's not quite crawling, but scoots everywhere now
• He hasn't mastered the art of sitting up without support yet. He's getting close, but still throws his body around, thinking someone will catch him.
• He's been eating solid food for about a month now, and he loves it. I don't know that he has a favorite, but I'm not sure how much he likes the peas...
• He has a ready smile, especially for mommy or if you play with him.
• He is ticklish! I love finding his ticklish spots on his belly and sides.

One of my personal favorites:

• He loves Andrew. He could watch him do silly things all day.

He loves laughing at the things Andrew does

I can't believe he's six months old already! The time has passed so quickly! I think that time will seem to go faster with each child I have and with each year I get older. So, it'll pass exponentially faster! Ahhh!

And just because I can, here's a cute picture of Andrew:

I love my boys.

Secret: Most of the time, I don't know what to do with myself. If I get started on anything, most of the time I have to stop halfway through to get Andrew out of something, or keep the peace while David unknowingly "steals" the toys Andrew doesn't want to share with him, or pick up the water Andrew spills on the floor, or wipe down the walls where Andrew has drawn with the pens he somehow finds (even though we hide them from him...). What do you do with your kids to fill your days, especially on hot days when you don't want to go outside?

Hair-Style Attempt #2

"C'est la vie!" (Seize the day!)

I've never figured out how to french braid my hair. (Or anyone else's, really...)

Until NOW! I've always understood the concept, but I've never been able to do it. I took a shower last night, and wanted to see if I could do it, so I tried (without a mirror, even). This is how it turned out:

The braid ended up on the outside, which was kinda cool, because I did the braid in the "wrong" direction and the pieces of hair I added went under the braid, not over. I didn't even do that on purpose, but I think it turned out pretty cool!

I took out the braid last night, let my hair air dry, and braided it like this again this morning. Here's what it looks like now (it's not as clear because it's from my cell phone):

Pretty good, no? I'm happy! What I want to try next is doing this around my head...

Secret: I have a book where I write down quotes that I like. I wrote in there a bunch when I first got it 5 or 6 years ago, but stopped until recently. I'll have to give you some of my favorites. :)

I know, I know...

I've posted a lot the last couple days. But remember how I told you I found those old pictures of Andrew in THIS post?

Now that I have two kids, both boys, I have a hard time not comparing them to each other, or at least how David is now compared to how Andrew was at the same age. David is definitely a skinnier baby than Andrew was! Having David, I've kind of forgotten how huge Andrew was. Looking through these pictures totally reminded me though!

Here are two pictures of my almost-30-pound Andrew at nearly one year old:

What a chunky little boy! No wonder my back ached after carrying him around! I'm looking forward to see how David grows up, and if he gets the same rolls and round cheeks Andrew had. If his size right now is an indicator, though, David is going to be a string bean! He's so skinny! But then all I know is chubby baby, so... yeah.

Oh, and as a bonus, this was Andrew at 5 months, ever the big boy (I mean, look at those thighs!):

Cute!

I love my boys. :)

First Hair-Styling Attempt + Reading

"The habit of reading is the only enjoyment in which there is no alloy; it lasts when all other pleasures fade." -Anthony Trollope

I know the quote has nothing to do with the beginning of this post, but everything to do with the bottom. Read on.

Part 1: First Hair-Styling Attempt

I saw this hairstyle on Abby's blog first, HERE. I admit though, I just saw the picture, and I didn't read exactly how she did it, so my version didn't turn out quite as nice. Whoops.

Anyway, here's my first attempt to do something fun with my hair:

Don't follow my lead. Check out how Abby did it. Please. :)

PS. Just to clarify, I am NOT doing my own 30-day challenge. I would surely fail! But I'll try to post my hair successes as I have them, so that if you're hair-challenged like me, you can know that you CAN do it!

Part 2: Reading

In other news, I've been reading a lot lately. I love reading, and wish I could do more of it, but if I did, my kids would be covered in dirt and would be starving. :) I'll give you my opinions on the books I've read over the last couple weeks. (And the goodreads.com link to their summaries.)

Books to pass on:

I got halfway through, and couldn't finish it...
Summary HERE

I actually read this one a month(ish) ago, but it was weird and had to include it on my list.
Summary HERE

Books that were worth one read, but maybe not another:

Cute! But totally not realistic. Quick read.
Summary HERE

I know, I know. So many people love this book. It was "Just Ok". It dragged for me.
Summary HERE

Books you HAVE to read:

Accidental time-traveling to the time where you meet the man of your dreams... Literally? Lots of twists? An awful cliff-hanger ending? Sign me up!
Summary HERE

Another time-bending angsty teen book? Yes!
Summary HERE

Seriously, on these last two, PLEASE don't pass them up. They're very good. They were both published this year, and the first books of their respective series. Especially if you're into YA literature like I am, you will like these books. :)

Secret: I wish my wardrobe was more varied. My shirts are mostly white, black, and grey. Most of the colors I have are muted pastels. My younger sister once said my wardrobe was really boring, and I have to agree! I just don't have any money to do a wardrobe makeover!