Aunika Stats

Height: 32 inches (99th percentile)

Weight: 20 pounds (25th percentile)

Conversation overheard in the hall: "are you sure she's that tall, because that's really tall."

"Go in and look at her.  She's really long."

"I'll remeasure and see."

remeasuring takes place

"Hmm...I guess you were right."

Apparently, no one in the doctor's office had seen a baby that big before.  It was like she was some sort of anomoly.  Of course, no one asked me what I thought, because it was quite apparent when I stuffed her in 18 month pants and a 24 month shirt, that this was not the average size of a one year old.

General Disposition: Aunika is still one of the easiest babies I have ever seen, as long as she's not required to sit still for any amount of time.  Like church.  She's a garbage disposal that eats pretty much everything I feed her.  Including olives (yuck), mushrooms (double yuck), and green peppers (yum!). 

She still sounds like a stuffed piggy when you're not feeding her fast enough or she sees you eating something that she wants, but most of the time, she's just content with wherever she is.  She is really happy and laughs at everything, including the guy sitting behind us in Sunday School with the swollen eye.

In short, she's a delight to have around.  Even if she's always on the move.  And makes me tired.

Cuteness Factor:  Off the charts!

Book Review Friday 11/27/09

Book: The Goose Girl
Author: Shannon Hale
Pages: 400

This is a retelling of the fairy tale by The Brothers Grimm.  To be honest, I had never heard of the story before, though at the book club this was discussed at, some of the older ladies had.

Princess Ani is sent to a neighboring land to be married, but comes upon a plot for her righteous place in the kingdom.  She is then forced into hiding and must get the King to see that she is who everyone says she isn't. 

All in all, the plot was pretty predictable, though there were a few windy turns here and there.  I wasn't surprised at anything that happened.  However, a few ladies at the bookclub were taken by surprise.  My theory is that I've read so many books, that there really isn't much left to surprise me anymore.  Or I'm pretty good at sniffing out the twists.  Who knows?

This book took me about 1/3 of the way to get really into it.  In fact, I hadn't even read it all before I showed up at book club because I just couldn't bring myself to sit down and read it.  However, after hearing what they had to say about it at book club, I finished and I'm glad I did.

The story is written for a younger crowd and princesses aren't really my thing, so I have a bias going into it, but I thought Shannon Hale did an excellent job of crafting the story to fit into the young adult genre.  There's definitely a strong female presence in the book and it's nice to see the females empowered instead of oppressed.

By the end of the book, I was intrigued enough to maybe pick up the next book in the series, so that says something.  I didn't devour the book, but I enjoyed it for what it's worth.

Happy Birthday Little Turkey!

I can't believe that Aunika is one today.  Crazy!!!  It seems like just yesterday I was upchucking everything that hit my stomach and scratching my belly like mad and not falling asleep until 4 am because of insomnia, but wishing that I could just stay in bed all day because I was SO tired, and crying because everything hurt so bad.

Hmmm...looks like I'm not quite ready for another one, doesn't it?

But it's been a full year.  And sadly, her birthday kind of got overshadowed by Thanksgiving.  So much so that she actually fell asleep during her "party" up  at my brother's house last night.  But next year, we'll figure something else out, because you should have a special day all to yourself for your birthday and not just be an afterthought. 

For the first birthday, oh well.  You won't remember it.

Her doctor appointment is on Monday, so I'll wait until then to update her stats, but I'm expecting something like "she's the size of a two year old" or "she's in the 120th percentile (doesn't exist.  I know.  I have a degree in math.  No need to make some smart remark in the comments section.  It's a joke.)  Perhaps the doctor will mention that she's a genius as well.  That'd be nice.

Until then, Happy Birthday my little turkey butt. 

Thanksgiving in Pictures

There's a story behind all these pictures.  And maybe I'll share them with you later, but tonight, you can just make the stories up in your head. 

Because they'll probably be more interesting that way. 

 

 

 .)

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving and The Day After Thanksgiving and BYU/Utah Day and Sunday.

(And I know how horribly misshapened my pies were, but the point is I MADE THEM.  BY MYSELF.  With help from the internet.  And they were GOOD.  DANG GOOD.  And maybe, I'm not so undomestically geeky afterall.  Except for look at their shape. And maybe it was more of a peach soup than a peach pie.  But regardless, I'm on a roll this year with my new found baking skills and I'm fairly certain that in dire circumstances, my family would not starve.)

Thanksgiving Gratitude List

The Thanksgiving season is a time for us all to gather and reminisce about the things we're grateful for before we start to indulge in the overgratification that the Christmas holiday brings us.  Only to repent in time for the New Year.

And today is no different.  So, in no particular order, here is my 2009 gratitude list:

• SO happy I'm not pregnant this year.
• The Discovery Channel
• Our FINISHED basement
• My health
• My two beautiful and energetic kids
• My Ipod
• My Headlamp
• Two friends that indulge my wild running ideas, and can still beat me in a race.
• Friends that don't run, but still come out to cheer me on
• An incredible husband who works hard and is two semesters away from receiving his Master's.
• A house that is slowly becoming a home
• A car that drives nicely in the snow.  With heated seats.
• My degree
• Warm clothes
• My skinny jeans
• My brothers and their wives and all my neices.
• My in-laws.  All of them. 
• Two feet that have shaved 3 minutes off  PER MILE since Februrary.
• Hair that is finally long enough to throw in a knot.
• My bike
• The projector that makes it somewhat bearable to bike 20 miles indoors.
• My LMF's who make it easy just to be.
• New friendships with people who live mere houses away
• Old friendships with people who anticipate what I need and rush to fulfill it, even if I didn't know I needed it at the time.
• A clean pantry
• Time with my dad every week
• Tuesdays with Mom.
• Books
• My quest for knowledge
• The library
• The internet and the many sites that show you how to make pies
• College football
• Shoes.  Lots and lots of shoes.
• The ability to read in the car.
• Facebook and a quirky sense of humor.
• New friendships I've made this year with people I wouldn't have otherwise associated with
• Leaving my shell behind
• Maturity
• Boston
• My Garmin GPS watch
• Thanksgiving dinner, especially the mashed potatoes
• A second Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday, especially the mashed potatoes
• Pie
• Cake
• Diet Coke
• Friends that keep Diet Coke in their fridge for me, so that I only drink it in extreme emergencies.
• Bread
• A big enough mouth to accomodate my foot.
• Long enough legs to kick myself in the butt
• An inabilty to hold any rhythm so every dance on So You Think I Can Dance looks equally incredible and impossible.
• Ditto with American Idol
• Ability to foresee the future.  Well, sorta.
• Faith in God, the inherent goodness of mankind, and just retribution

Research

We're voracious researchers.  It's a habit that Wade has instilled in me from day one, and I'm finally catching on. 

We don't make a major purchase without first researching it.  Ever.  We research it to great lengths.  Sometimes to the point that I want to tie someone up to the chair and put duct tape over his mouth just buy the stupid thing and get it over and done with.

However, it has come to our attention that people may think that we do all this research and then buy the cheapest thing.

Which would defeat the purpose of the research, now wouldn't it? 

But, to those not into researching or who do their researching incorrectly, the cheapest ($$$) thing isn't necessarily the cheapest thing.

Allow me to explain.

Take for example the road bike Wade gave me for our anniversary. 

It's cheap ($$$).  I knew that it was when I picked it out.  But here's the thing.  I don't have the time to invest right now into heavy duty biking.  I wanted a road bike to do two or three triathlons on a year.  It fits me better than Wade's brother's old mountain bike and it fits my needs.  I live in a climate where outdoor biking is not feasible six months out of the year.

In short, I'm not going to shell out $$$ for something I don't anticipate using all that often right now in my life.

I did, however, look at A LOT of reviews for A LOT of bikes roughly in this price range.  And this is the one I chose based on what I saw and what I read.  Was it the cheapest ($$$)?  No.  Was it the cheapest?  No.  Is it my dream bike?  No.  Will I be riding it on the Tour de France?  No.  But it gets me from Point A to Point B on the triathlon course and that's all that matters right now.

Now there is the argument that if you're going to pay $200 for something that later on you're going to upgrade to a better model by paying $1000, wouldn't it be better to just fork over the $1000 now and not waste the $200.

And there's some merit to that argument.  However, if I would've gone with a $1000 model now and then decided that riding wasn't really for me, I'm out $1000 and not $200.  Also, it's hard to justify $1000 for two or three triathlons a year when you have a basement you're paying for and car payments.

Because we're also responsible adults too.  And we can't always go out and get the best thing because it's not in our best interest.

Sidenote: Did you know that 60% of millionaires use coupons?  Hello, they're not rich because of some luck of the draw.

So, in short, there's a formula (we're geeks.  Would you expect anything less?) we employ when making a major purchase, by which I mean, something that is pretty expensive and you wouldn't buy on impulse.

We weigh how much we're going to use said item versus how much it costs.  We NEVER buy top of the line. You're just throwing your money away if you do.  We buy mid-line.  If it's an item that isn't going to (realistically) be used a lot (our tent, for example), we buy lower on the scale.  If it's something that we plan on using a lot, (our projector) we'll buy higher on the scale.

And then we wait.

Which is the hardest part for a lot of people.  And may be why we give off the impression that we're buying the cheapest stuff.  Because, in some people's eyes, there's no difference between cheap ($$$) and cheap.  But I can tell you that there is a lot of cheap stuff out there that cost $$$.  So don't get caught in the trap that a price tag indicates how good something is.  A $185 pair of jeans still has two legs, a zipper and a snap.  Just like my $7 jeans.

But we wait until we find said item at a price that we can live with.  Occasionally, we will see it for a better price later on, but rarely do we ever feel guilty because we bought it at a price that fit our budget. 

The final thing is that once we've done our research, picked our item, waited for the good price, and bought it, we STOP researching it.  Or we do, theoretically.  Because I've seen Wade researching things after we've bought them.  You will ALWAYS find something better or cheaper if you keep looking.

Be happy with what you choose.  That is unless you didn't do your research and just went with what the price tag said.  In which case, you're a sucker.

 

End of the Year Thoughts

I know it's not quite the end of the year, but I've been thinking about it.  Like how my little girl is going to be A YEAR next week.  Where did the last year go?  Granted, I spent the first six months in a haze (a story for later down the road, when it's not still so fresh), but still I can't believe that only a year ago I was SO miserable I would've given my left leg to not be pregnant anymore.

There was a lot I wanted to do with my blog before I got sucked into a time warp of home improvement projects, entertaining children and napping .  Lots and lots of naps because who knew that two children would make you SO tired. 

And now that the basement is done, I feel like a HUGE burden has been lifted off my shoulders.  There's a lot to be done to getting the house in order, but at least now we have the space to do it with. If I could just find the energy to get started.

Baby steps.  Baby steps.

So, starting in January, prepare to be AMAZED with my ramblings.  Because not only will they be even more rambly, there will be more of them.  And other cool stuff because I'm not just a pretty face filled with witty words.  My kids are HILARIOUS.  And I'm anticipating the return of my spouse, who has been MIA since February, so that should make for good blog fodder.

In 2010, I will aim to be your cup of coffee in the morning--like a cup of Joe, only it will be a cup of Sandra or a thimble of Sandra, whatever works--to start off your day. Or end your day.  Whenever I get around to posting.  Don't get all excited that I'm going to become all organized and actually deliver all my promises. 

Because I'm not like that.

I can, apparently, teach myself to wake up at 5:15 in the morning, but I cannot become organized no matter how many rewards I give myself.

Sorry.

For now though, I'll keep posting randomly just to keep you on your toes.