Puzzled

Morgan loves puzzles. When given the opportunity to choose what he wants to play with, he will pick puzzles 9 times out of 10. I, personally, would only pick them 1 time out of 10.

I found a great deal on puzzles at Target (this week - go check it out if your kids love puzzles too) and Morgan loves them. One is even a demolition derby puzzle with a magnetic tow truck to "pull" the cars out and start again!

Noticing the Little Things

My sweet Grandpa Bell was recently diagnosed with colon and lung cancer and placed in a hospice care center to spend his remaining time on this earth. The care center is right on the way from my house to my mom's, so we pass by often. This week, we went to visit him and now Morgan waves and says, "Hi, Grandpa Bell" everytime we pass by. Because I have driven that route so many times, I often go into auto-pilot and don't notice the landmarks along the way. But, Morgan notices everything, and takes the time to be caring, compassionate or thankful. I have a renewed commitment to apply this lesson, learned from my not-quite-three-year-old, and appreciate the little, seemingly unimportant things around me, to recognize opportunities to show caring and compassion and to be thankful for the many blessings in my life.

Fleeting Moments

Here I am sitting on the couch blogging, while Morgan is watching "Elmo's Potty Time" (a favorite at our house), and I realize that he is singing along to the song from the show. It is the fleeting moments like this when I just can't help but smile. How cute it is that he knows every song in this movie well enough to sing along (or maybe that is an indication that we watch this show too much)? Since I am sure you are tired of my random ramblings and you want to see more pictures of my adoreable kids, here are a couple of other cute moments...

The other day Morgan brought me Seth's Zune and asked me if he could "watch skateboarders." First of all, I didn't know he knew what a skateboard was, second, I didn't know Seth had a skateboarding clip on his Zune. Once I figured these things out, Morgan was so excited to sit and watch skateboarders for the next 20 + minutes (the clip is only a couple of minutes long, so you do the math). Just like his mommy, Morgan loves to sweep. Here he is helping me out by swiffering to make sure we got all the dog hair up (impossible with 2 dogs, I know, but we try).

After sharing his sucker with Chloe, he wanted to help her get a drink. Now that Chloe is trying to walk, Morgan always wants to be right there in the middle of the action. When I stand Chloe up and scoot back to get her to walk to me, Morgan comes and stands right in front of me, so she will "walk" (lunge really) to him instead. She is still figuring out what "walk" means, but she has taken a couple more steps.

Indulge me

In sharing my indulgences from the last post, I failed to include my most indulgent indulgence - One Tree Hill. Why am I completely and utterly addicted to this show? I don't know. Not only do I "clock out" from incoming phone calls, knocks at the door and my motherly duties every Tuesday night at 7:55 to watch it (unless it is date night and then I have to wait and watch it online), but I can never sleep on Tuesday night (and sometimes even Wednesday night) because I am up trying to resolve the characters' rediculous - and unrealistic - problems! What the heck? I am supposed to be a grown up! Anyway, after waking up at 4 AM this morning stressed out about what was going to happen with Nathan and Hayley and whether Lucus would really marry someone other than Peyton, I have decided that I need to end my indulgence (or at least start weaning myself). Every other TV show that I watch is uplifting, entertaining, or downright hillarious - I think I better stick with what works!

100th Post

Wow! I can't believe this is my 100th post! I still feel like I am new to this whole "blogging" thing. Anyway, I have been tagged to do this All About me ABC style - so here it goes...

A - Attached or single: Attached!
B - Best friends - Seth, Morgan, my mom, and all of my wonderful girlfriends who I am not going to list because I would inevitably leave someone out and then feel bad about it!
C-Cake or Pie: CAKE - well frosting really, but apparently it is not socially acceptable to eat frosting without cake. I like pie too - yay for Marie Calendars $5.99 pies!
D- Day of Choice: Fridays - playgroup is on Friday and I look forward to it all week long! Also, Thursdays are a great TV night - The Office, Scrubs and 30 Rock - or at least it will be starting April 11 when the episodes are all new!!!
E- Essential Items: Mascara, Cell Phone, Digital Camera and toy cars - I never leave home without them!
F- Favorite Color: PINK!
G- Gummi Bears or Worms: Bears - I like to sort my gummy bears by color and eat them in alternating colors - I'm OCD, what can I say!
H- Hometown: Salt Lake City, UT
I -Indulgence(s): Pretty lipglosses, scrapbook supplies and (a new indulgence thanks to hand-me-downs from my mom) designer jeans - they just make me look so much better!
J- January or July: Because we do not have central air (yet) I have to go with January.
K-Kids: 4 - Human: Morgan and Chloe; Canine: Callie and Roxy
L-Life is incomplete without: my amazing hubby, sweet family, the gospel which enables me to enjoy them for the rest of eternity!
M- Marriage Date: Oct. 14, 2003
N- Number of Siblings: 2 - Michael and Stephen
O- Oranges or Apples: Depends on whether Seth is around - I love oranges if he peels them for me (I hate peeling oranges) but apples are good too and make me feel more self-sufficient.
P- Phobias or Fears: "Wherefore be of good cheer and do not fear, for I the Lord am with thee..." D&C 68:6 I know that's cheesy, but it's true, so I couldn't think of anything to put!
Q- Quote(s): I can't pick just one favorite, but I like, "The best things in life aren't things"
R- Reason To Smile: I have a beautiful family, dear friends, and more than just what I need
S- Season: All of them - that is why I will always live in SLC, I couldn't live without any of them!
T- Tag Six: Jessica, Erin, Ruth, Ashley, Shantell, Judy and anyone else who wants to join in the alphabet fun!
U- Unknown Fact About Me: I love to sweep. I would (and often do) sweep my floors more than once a day. Not my kitchen though - I don't like to sweep tile.
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: Oppressor of Animal sounds so horrible, but I am a meat-eater.
W- Worst Habit: Biting my nails. Okay, I don't know if it is my worst habit, but it is really annoying and now Morgan is starting to do it. Crap - why do they have to copy the bad stuff?
X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds: I don't have a problem with either, but I would much rather get an ultrasound to find out my baby's gender than an X-ray to find out how badly I fractured my leg!
Y- Your Favorite Food: cheese and crackers, fattening (but yummy) dips, fruit, cookies, funeral potatoes, Grandma Bell's caramels
Z-Zodiac: Virgo

Pictures, Friends and Random Stuff

I am a bit OCD about the way I label, sort and store my digital pictures. Thus, it often takes me a couple of weeks to get them sorted into their "final" destination. As I was sorting yesterday, I found this picture and thought it was so cute. So, I am going to do something I don't often do, I am going to post a picture that includes a close up of my face!

Have I mentioned how much I love my baby girl?!

I have been thinking a lot about the blessing of good friends lately (especially since many of our neighborhood buddies are talking about moving and since we have been able to spend more time than usual with old friends). Being the social people we are, Seth and I love to spend time with our friends. It boosts your spirits, awakens your soul, and fills you with joy, and I love it! So, I just want to say thank you to our wonderful friends. Whether we live across the country, accross town or across the street, good friends are irreplaceable. Here is a picture of Morgan and his buddies Gage and Wyatt during storytime at playgroup this week.

Finally, Chloe took her first step today! She has really been working on her balance and she was standing on her own, when all of a sudden she walked to me! So exciting. I wouldn't call it walking, but I know we aren't far away! Hooray! Of course we didn't have the camera out and ready, but her is a picture of her standing on her own.

Ode to Excedrin

Disclaimer: If you are a man and get uncomfortable reading words like pregnancy or breastfeeding, please skip this post to avoid any discomfort. When you develop the stamina to discuss these things without feeling awkward, feel free to revisit this post.

Ahhhhhh, the sweet relief of Excedrin. The wonderful individual(s) who received the divine inspiration to combine ibuprofen, aspirin and caffeine for headache relief deserves special blessings in heaven!

I don't like pregnancy for a lot of reasons, but up near the top of the list is the forced avoidance of this wonderful headache medicine. Then, after 9 months of wishing Tylenol actually did something to relieve your abundance of headaches (other than bringing you to the realization that there is nothing else to do about the headaches than just suffer through them, thus, forcing you to add "abundant yet untreatable headaches" the very long list of reasons why you wish you had looked into adoption), a little relief comes when, once again, you can take Advil. But, Advil, my friends, just doesn't kick headaches like Excedrin, which is still forbidden if you are nursing.

Some moms look at weaning as a sad thing, but not me! I was happy to nurse. I am grateful for the health benefits my kids have reaped. I am glad we didn't have to spend hundreds of dollars on formula. I am glad it is over - my long wait for headache relief, that is!

Notes: I know, I know, where is that inverse paranoid Jen spoken of yesterday? Pregnancy happens to be one of those things on that list of stuff I just can't seem to see the good in - other than the result of getting a darling little baby to enjoy afterward, of course. Also, don't be offended if you are reading this post and are the mother of a formula-fed baby or babies. I think formula is great and the best choice for a lot of families! I am just too cheap to fork out the $$$ for formula when my body has proven to be a capable ice cream factory!

Inverse Paranoia

Hi! My name is Jen, and I am an inverse paranoid. What is an inverse paranoid, you may be asking? An inverse paranoid person "believes life and people are out there to do them good" (from the book 15 Secrets to a Happy Home by Janene Wolsey Baadsgaard - great book by the way!).

If you know me well, or even if you don't, you probably know that I rarely see the bad in things. In fact, I am almost blind to bad stuff. This is not to say that I am never negative - I complain about stuff and have things (some people too - Hillary Clinton, for example) that I have a hard time seeing the good in - but I am generally a glass-half-full person.

Maybe this is why I'm not worried about the wierd and crazy things going on in my neighborhood. Maybe this is why I keep moving up the "earliest possible time" I could handle another baby Tate. Maybe this is why I can see and experience bad things and still know with 100% clarity that everything is going to work for the best.

Crazy optimist? Maybe. Perfectly easy life with no trials? Not really (but my inverse paranoia makes me think it's been pretty easy). Happy anyway? You bet! Really? Uh huh!

So try it - even if only one day - try being an inverse paranoid and see how you feel. I bet it will be AWESOME (but based on this post, I'm sure you already knew that!)!