More Chick-isms

A few weeks ago the neighbors were having some trees cut down. Chick had fun watching the trees come down, and watching the "monkey" in the tree...do you see the monkey? I wonder what the world looks like to little people for whom anything is possible still.

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Yesterday was Muffin Tin Monday. It was no theme, and I didn't really plan anything out (or have anything special on hand, even). So Chick's dinner of leftovers was turned into MTM. She still insisted that we needed to take a picture--thank goodness for 2-year-olds who don't know that leftovers aren't special. Anyhow, it was applesauce, asparagus, juice, chicken, cheese-stuffed pasta, and carrots. Next week I'll do something really cute & next week has a fun theme (all about me).

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We have the little Pim dvds. Lately Chick has been referring to Monkey as her "piebi"...she said it was Italian for "baby." I told her that baby was "bambina" but I couldn't figure out where "piebi" came from. A few minutes ago I heard it--they showed a baby in a bath, but more importantly they showed the baby's FEET (piedi). ah hah. I think I need to make those dvd's more interactive, or I'm going to have one funky faux-italian little girl running around!

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Yesterday at lunch I was getting some green pepper for Chick. I asked her if she wanted it "in strips or in little chunks." She responded that she wanted it "in Italian."

Taking Flight

On Saturday we took advantage of the Smithsonian's Museum Day with free passes to the Seattle Museum of Flight.

Several pictures were in the "red barn" where Boeing started, and I think it would have been a lovely place to work--all wood & light, very unlike the yucky steel & concrete & fluorescent of today.

I think Chick enjoyed people watching more than plane watching....

At one point I was near two elderly ladies who were talking about visiting a friend in another city. They were concerned about the "swarthy characters" at the bus station. Swarthy. I don't know that I've ever heard anyone use that word in a serious, normal conversation before.

Have you missed me?

I've been wanting to blog...I just didn't have time, and since I didn't have anything very pressing to write about it was easier to put other things before the blog. At any rate, here's my latest:

Ok, in my last post I mentioned getting a dishwasher. It was installed a week ago (Thanks, Mike & Judy!), and I have been IN HEAVEN ever since. Honestly, I would kiss the inventor if I ever met him. I wonder how I ever got through life without one... well, with a dirty kitchen, that's how. It's so great to wake up to a clean(er) kitchen & clean breakfast dishes! It's so great to dirty a bunch of dishes at dinner & not have to spend hours cleaning up afterwards! I took a video of it working it's magic, but it was honestly a really boring video.

I've been doing great at eating well & exercising. I'm enjoying sparkpeople, and not feeling alone as I try to lose weight. My results are dismal, though, and I'm just hoping that someday the efforts will pay off. I do feel better & I feed my family better, so I guess that's something.
It's also nice to be setting a good example for my cute little girlies. Here's a video from earlier today. I know it's short & kinda crummy, but here's what I love about it: Chick changed her outfit to more closely match the folks on the show, and Monkey was dancing along with them : )


On Monday night we got to visit with some of HH's family from Arizona. Here's Monkey with Cousin Ashton & Aunt Polly...

And here's Chick and Cousin Kota being read to by Grandma. We loved getting to spend time with them.

I recently listened to the audiobook of "The Red Tent" and I read "The Shack." Both were interesting & I liked things about them, but there were things I didn't like as well.

Monkey is doing better about not waking up too early in the mornings & the girls wake each other up around 7. As long as they are both in the room, they are happy for a while. So this morning I could hear them goofing around & when I went in, here's what I saw: Chick had taken all of the videos from the bookshelf and given them to Monkey to play with.

Oh, I just remembered a conversation from dinner last night. Chick took a long time eating her dinner & wanted other food. When she had finished what I had given her I told her that she could have something else if she was still hungry.
"What would you like to eat?"
"chocolate pudding."
"Uhh, we can have chocolate pudding on Sunday. You can help me make it."
"Oh, ok. That will be nice."
"What would you like to eat now?"
"Chocolate pudding."



Oh, ok, the last thing that I can think to write is that we had the most wonderful meal the other night! It's "Taco Soup" but really it's too thick for soup, so it's "Taco Stew." We all loved it. Honestly, I can't wait to make it again.



That's it. I'll try to lead a more fascinating life so that I have more to write about soon!

Making progress

Monkey graduated to being a bi-ped! Here's a little video of her walking across the living room : ) She still prefers to crawl most of the time, but each day she gets bolder and bolder in her walking. And her climbing. Today she climbed onto things 3 times & then screamed because she didn't know how to get back down. (screaming is a new thing too. not so cool.)

Chick started preschool on Wednesday! She liked it. They learned about the letter "A" and played outside, and made placemats that have their coloring & individual photos on them (to use at snacktime). It was at a friend's daycare. There were 4 boys there, I think, but there will be another little girl too.

(While she was at preschool I shunned productivity & took Monkey for a walk nearby. We stopped and picked almost a gallon bag-ful of blackberries. Mmmm. We ate some on our pancakes this morning. Scrumptious.)

I wrote in an earlier post that I didn't know whether I liked SparkPeople, but I've totally decided that I do. At least for now (new things are always exciting and then are replaced by something else). For now I find it very helpful. Here's a blog posting that I wrote about it on Kelly's Biggest Loser Friends Blog. Anyhow, I'm starting to see some results, which is SOOOO exciting.

This was a very long, hard week. Layout, HH getting home later than usual, still recovering from colds, tired, etc etc. (and btw, Katie, I'm really sorry for not getting our newsletter submission in...it was just a horrible week).

BUT, Friday night we went to bed early & got a good night's sleep. Saturday was a great day, and made up for all of the previous stress. I took the girls for a walk to the grocery store while HH got some home work done, then lunch & I went shopping ALL BY MYSELF, for as long as I wanted (it ended up being only 4 hours, but that was enough). The sun was shining, I turned the music up really loud, and it was one of those can't-keep-yourself-from-dancing-while-you-drive kinda times.

Some of it was just errand running, but I also bought a much MUCH needed dishwasher!! YAY! I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to that. It'll arrive on Tuesday. Also I looked at the Optical shop in Penney's and found glasses & sunglasses that I love! Honestly, I have a horrible time finding any that I really like, and I LOVE both the glasses & the sunglasses (not going the transitional route...maybe next time). I didn't have the perscription with me, but at least I have them picked out.

While I was out I bought "The Holiday" at the thrift store, so when I got home I did my weights & then cuddled up with HH to watch the movie. I thought it was pretty cute, have you seen it?

Not to sound like a broken record...

but I'm afraid I don't have much going on besides trying to stay motivated & working on exercising. The only other news around here is that I'm starting to get the itch to sew but have to get through layout first (as well as clear off the dining table since I want to sew out in the midst of things for a while). Oh, and we're all sick. HH even stayed home from work, which he practically never does. Chick sounds like Carol Channing, and it's pretty cute.

OK, so I signed up on sparkpeople.com, and am not sure what I think of it. But anyhow, they emphasize visualization. One activity they recommend is putting up visual reminders of what you want to accomplish. Here are the pictures & quotes that I found to remind me of my goals....

I love one-shoulder swimsuits. (My favorite past swimsuit was when I was about 10 & had a one-shoulder turquoise colored suit. Super cute.) I don't need to buy a new swimsuit, but I do really love this one. She's on my fridge with this quote:

"Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels."

(She's kinda preachy, eh? But effective nonetheless. I think she's right, even if she is flaunting her thinness. Maybe I should have her say "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful" instead...)

Doesn't that look lovely? It's Xcaret, an eco-amusement park in the Cancun area, and I think I'd like to go there when we're in port at Cozumel.

When I was on my mission in Italy, I always wanted to ride a scooter. I love them. I never could, of course, because as a missionary we had safety rules and such...but I think it would be a blast to scooter around Grand Cayman & maybe do some geo-caching or letterboxing while we're exploring. And if the scooter was pink and cute like this one it'd be even better!

You have a choice. You can throw in the towel, or you can use it to wipe the sweat off of your face. -Gatorade

(The Suzi Chin dress is also one of my motivators--it's been on my computer's desktop for a couple of days)

The menu went well, btw, but we didn't get through all of the meals because we just had too much leftover & had to have leftovers for a couple of days. But I'm happy with how I've eaten & also with my exercise efforts. Today I wrote out next week's menu, which is similar enough to last week's that I won't bore you (but if some new recipes pan out I'll share them later).

My biggest achievement exercise-wise this week was running 2 miles continuously. I haven't done much running in quite a while, so I'm thrilled to be building up my endurance.

Don’t Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you are trudging seems all up hill;
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh;
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.
Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you can never tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit -
It’s when things seem worst that you mustn’t quit!
Author unknown