Today's favorite moments included . . .
. . . making microwaved s'mores with Joy. They're not quite as good as the campfire version, but a whole lot easier.
. . . hearing the song "Funky Town" as I shopped at Trader Joe's.
. . . singing our family's extended birthday song to Joy's stuffed lizard. Joy did a pretty good job of singing along, then she helped Socks the Lizard open his imaginary presents: a new clock, some train tracks, and a violin (it was V Day at preschool this morning, and one of the students' siblings played "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" on her violin).
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Oh, Daniel
Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .
. . . Daniel dumping his cup of apple juice everywhere. Why couldn't he douse our clothes BEFORE I did the laundry?
Today's favorite moments included . . .
. . . Daniel cuddles.
. . . Daniel dumping his cup of apple juice everywhere. Why couldn't he douse our clothes BEFORE I did the laundry?
Today's favorite moments included . . .
. . . Daniel cuddles.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Bread and a Big Boy
Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .
. . . hearing Daniel's high-pitched scream (sometimes cheerful, sometimes frustrated) repeated over and over, with plenty of encouragement from his big sister.
. . . calling every food store I could think of to ask if they carried dough enhancer for a whole wheat bread recipe I wanted to try. Nobody did. I eventually called a grain-loving woman in our ward to ask if she knew a good source, and she said I was welcome to some that was sitting in her pantry. Bless her.
Today's favorite moments included . . .
. . . playing with and reading to Daniel while Joy and Daddy made a new train setup for our home evening activity. Once they were done, we all had fun running model trains along the intertwining routes.
. . . Phillip saying that today's loaf of bread is my best yet. I agree that it's pretty good, but I think it needs more flour and I'm curious to try it without the dough enhancer to see how it compares.
And another thing . . .
. . . Daniel is developing more personality and a sense of humor. In addition to doing things to fill needs and wants (i.e. communicating that he's hungry, or handing me a book so I'll read to him), he's also starting to make funny faces and do silly things just to amuse us (and himself). It's really cute.
. . . hearing Daniel's high-pitched scream (sometimes cheerful, sometimes frustrated) repeated over and over, with plenty of encouragement from his big sister.
. . . calling every food store I could think of to ask if they carried dough enhancer for a whole wheat bread recipe I wanted to try. Nobody did. I eventually called a grain-loving woman in our ward to ask if she knew a good source, and she said I was welcome to some that was sitting in her pantry. Bless her.
Today's favorite moments included . . .
. . . playing with and reading to Daniel while Joy and Daddy made a new train setup for our home evening activity. Once they were done, we all had fun running model trains along the intertwining routes.
. . . Phillip saying that today's loaf of bread is my best yet. I agree that it's pretty good, but I think it needs more flour and I'm curious to try it without the dough enhancer to see how it compares.
And another thing . . .
. . . Daniel is developing more personality and a sense of humor. In addition to doing things to fill needs and wants (i.e. communicating that he's hungry, or handing me a book so I'll read to him), he's also starting to make funny faces and do silly things just to amuse us (and himself). It's really cute.
Doing Vs. Being
Today's favorite moments included . . .
. . . more Conference, and the peace and illumination it brings. Elder Robbins's talk about doing vs. being particularly resonated with me. He had a lot to say about teaching kids to be good vs. just doing good, and he posed the poignant question how many of us have "to-be" lists. When that talk becomes available online in a few days, I want to study it more in depth and consider how to apply it as a spouse, a parent, and a person in general.
. . . a video chat with Phillip's sister and her fiance. It was fun to talk to them, and get to know our future brother-in-law better. He seems like a great guy.
. . . more Conference, and the peace and illumination it brings. Elder Robbins's talk about doing vs. being particularly resonated with me. He had a lot to say about teaching kids to be good vs. just doing good, and he posed the poignant question how many of us have "to-be" lists. When that talk becomes available online in a few days, I want to study it more in depth and consider how to apply it as a spouse, a parent, and a person in general.
. . . a video chat with Phillip's sister and her fiance. It was fun to talk to them, and get to know our future brother-in-law better. He seems like a great guy.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Burgers and Perspective
Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .
. . . overreacting when Joy dumped too much baking powder in the strawberry bread. Mom fail. I scooped the excess out and the bread turned out fine.
Today's favorite moments included . . .
. . . listening to two sessions of General Conference. The first session was uplifting, but I wasn't able to listen or ponder much because the kids were pretty rambunctious. The second session fell during naptime, and it was nice to actually be able to pay attention and reflect on what was said. Looking forward to more tomorrow.
. . . taking a walk with Daniel between sessions while Joy made a new train setup with Daddy. It was nice to just let him wander at will rather than always having to keep the two kids within sight of each other. Of course, the catch is that at some point I have to (repeatedly) persuade him to head back toward home. It would be quickest to just carry him, but would you want to haul thirty pounds of annoyed toddler three blocks?
. . . overreacting when Joy dumped too much baking powder in the strawberry bread. Mom fail. I scooped the excess out and the bread turned out fine.
Today's favorite moments included . . .
. . . listening to two sessions of General Conference. The first session was uplifting, but I wasn't able to listen or ponder much because the kids were pretty rambunctious. The second session fell during naptime, and it was nice to actually be able to pay attention and reflect on what was said. Looking forward to more tomorrow.
. . . taking a walk with Daniel between sessions while Joy made a new train setup with Daddy. It was nice to just let him wander at will rather than always having to keep the two kids within sight of each other. Of course, the catch is that at some point I have to (repeatedly) persuade him to head back toward home. It would be quickest to just carry him, but would you want to haul thirty pounds of annoyed toddler three blocks?
. . . making tasty burgers and a strawberry smoothie for dinner. It always feels good when dinner turns out well, and I'm really glad I finally developed a burger recipe that is easy and consistently tastes good.
. . . reading ‘The Parable of the Little Peruvian Girl’ in a recent article about LDS Philanthropies. I could use more frequent doses of such perspective.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Music, Madness, and Ice Cream
Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .
. . . discovering that there were no carts available at a clothing store, so I had no way to keep Daniel from wandering off. Trying to shop while keeping track of two small children was an exercise in frantic futility. After a few minutes we headed back to the car and strapped him into the umbrella stroller I keep in the trunk, then all was well.
Today's favorite moments included . . .
. . . making ice cream and popcorn with my kids.
. . . attending a concert by my husband's choir on campus. I loved the Brahms piece, the Swahili number, the Bach cantata, and the rousing Gospel song at the end, but my favorite part was watching how passionate my sweetheart is about making music. I suspect the baby enjoyed the concert, too—I think I felt some little kicks during the cantata.
. . . discovering that there were no carts available at a clothing store, so I had no way to keep Daniel from wandering off. Trying to shop while keeping track of two small children was an exercise in frantic futility. After a few minutes we headed back to the car and strapped him into the umbrella stroller I keep in the trunk, then all was well.
Today's favorite moments included . . .
. . . making ice cream and popcorn with my kids.
. . . attending a concert by my husband's choir on campus. I loved the Brahms piece, the Swahili number, the Bach cantata, and the rousing Gospel song at the end, but my favorite part was watching how passionate my sweetheart is about making music. I suspect the baby enjoyed the concert, too—I think I felt some little kicks during the cantata.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Some Like It Hot
Today's favorite moments included . . .
. . . watching my delighted daughter splash around our apartment pool in the 90+ degree heat.
. . . a family trip to our local fro yo place. Phillip and I both went for the "pineapple tart" flavor (I had mine with a side of "taro"), but we topped them very differently. I went with fresh fruit, while he opted for his favorite topping: sour gummi worms. As for the kids, Joy randomly piped four flavors into her bowl and topped them with chocolate sprinkles, and Daniel was content gnawing on the gummi worms Daddy shared with him. To each their own.
And another thing . . .
. . . I randomly happened upon this statement on the web this week: "It takes genius to split atoms, but it takes an even higher order of genius to split atoms safely. Unfortunately, we aren't that smart yet." No matter how many precautions we take with nuclear energy, accidents happen, and they always will because we're imperfect mortals and nature is unpredictable. I really don't want a radioactive accident in my backyard, or anyone else's for that matter. Nuclear energy may be cleaner and safer than coal or oil (assuming nothing unexpected happens, which isn't necessarily a safe assumption these days), but I still think there are better alternative energy options worth pursuing.
. . . watching my delighted daughter splash around our apartment pool in the 90+ degree heat.
. . . a family trip to our local fro yo place. Phillip and I both went for the "pineapple tart" flavor (I had mine with a side of "taro"), but we topped them very differently. I went with fresh fruit, while he opted for his favorite topping: sour gummi worms. As for the kids, Joy randomly piped four flavors into her bowl and topped them with chocolate sprinkles, and Daniel was content gnawing on the gummi worms Daddy shared with him. To each their own.
And another thing . . .
. . . I randomly happened upon this statement on the web this week: "It takes genius to split atoms, but it takes an even higher order of genius to split atoms safely. Unfortunately, we aren't that smart yet." No matter how many precautions we take with nuclear energy, accidents happen, and they always will because we're imperfect mortals and nature is unpredictable. I really don't want a radioactive accident in my backyard, or anyone else's for that matter. Nuclear energy may be cleaner and safer than coal or oil (assuming nothing unexpected happens, which isn't necessarily a safe assumption these days), but I still think there are better alternative energy options worth pursuing.
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