"experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted." -randy pausch

Thursday, March 24, 2011

start your seeds

another day of underwear,
lucky charms in the toilet bowl (targets my friends, targets),
and a load of laundry in my washer.
phew!
this is the hardest thing i've ever done.
i feel like i have changed as a person.
and grown as a mother.
just as i was about to call it all quits again,
brennan shocked my socks off and finally figured out what i've been trying to teach him for the past 48 hours.
we're not 100% there,
but man, we're making progress.
BIG progress.
and so is my garden.
it's time folks,
time to start those indoor seeds.
this i have never done.
a gardening virgin.
deflowered???
or just flowered.
that just sounds so wrong.
and so right, lol.
pun intended?
HA!!!
so dannie came over to show me how to get things going.
it was really simple.
i had made it out to be a much more complicated process in my mind.
so get to your local home depot or wherever you see seed packets, and get your seeds started indoors.
a great indoor activity for this weekend.
and from what i've heard,
you can keep some in pots for the entire growing season if you don't have a place to plant.
leroy at home depot told me he always had a garden,
even when he lived in apartments.

you will need: seed starting soil, little egg crates if you don't want to buy the ones they sell at the store, seeds, and if you want to get fancy, buy a gardening tool for potting. i got mine for 99 cents at home depot.
my only seeds that need starting indoors are the bell peppers and tomatoes.
everything else can wait until the frost is gone.
this is what my gardening friends and family experts have told me.
bless them.
and my great ideas. 

STEP 1:
wet soil, and mix it,
so it looks like...
well, like manure:)

STEP 2:
put soil into your trays about 3/4 of the way, and label which seeds are going into which trays. i did one tray for peppers and one for tomatoes. 
(b/c we had little helpers we had to go back and take some soil out, and put some more water in, but they loved helping so it was worth it!)
the crates will need something to sit in for draining water as you water them indoors over the next 4-6 weeks.
i used the top of a small plastic organizing bin.

STEP 3:
poke your finger through the center of each compartment to leave a small hole for the seeds to go into.
then drop 2-3 seeds into each hole (check the packet of your seeds to see if 2-3 seeds per hole is right).

STEP 4:
cover with dirt to the top.
dannie told me to use a spray bottle to water them until i see sprouts coming up.
then to water them with the faucet.
she also said not to over water.
and something about the leaves looking funny if i've over watered.
we shall see if i encounter that!
no idea what i'm doing.
so if you don't know what you're doing,
start not knowing what you're doing with me.
and we can start learning what we're doing together:)
washing machine is dinging.
can't wait to see these puppies grow!!!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

9, take away 1.

we went through 9 pairs of underwear.
1 of which could not be recovered.

'nuff said.
3 dish towels.
3 pairs of pants (less leaks onto the carpet if they have on pants, fyi).
1 swim towl.
i held my temper.
had my loving patience.
and dang it,
i want my mother of the year award.
instead,
i broke down crying around 9:30pm.
and it felt good.
really good.
sean sat with me on the couch and told me really sweet nice things.
i love him.
then i stayed up to unwind,
watching some of my favorite reality tv junk.
now i am a new woman and ready to conquere day 2.
the best part of the day,
was at 7pm when bieber came running in from the play room shouting,
"mom!!!! I HAVE TO GO PEE!!!"
i started jumping up and down,
my hands waving in the air,
ran to brennan,
grabbed his little pudgy cabbage patch hand that i adore,
and we booked it straight to the queen potty.
which was still in front of the tv.
where upon he sat and sat and sat and sat.
for awhile.
i don't know how long.
the setting the timer thing is not my forte.
i forget to set the timer to remind him to go pee.
so several times in the morning he peed b/c well, it had been 3 hours and no one had reminded him to try.
myself being "no one."
don't worry,
every time he peed,
i knew about it.
and after a day of him not knowing about it, i was ecstatic with our accomplishments.
telling me he had to go.
GLORY BE!
so he sat on the queen potty for a long time.
i think he may have watched a show.
i'm not sure.
but he did tell me he loved his underwear and that diapers are yucky.
he wanted to pee in the potty.
what i do know is that at some point while i was cutting an avocado and grilling turkey meat for tacos he decided he was done trying.
announces, "no pee is coming."
my neighbor knocked on my door.
love her.
we chatted on the porch,
and brennan took off around the corner of the house.
5 minutes later,
as we are in the middle of sharing our life stories and ailments of the day,
brennan shouts an ear shattering scream.
and holly tells me there's a big puddle in his tracks.
what we have diagnosed?
stage fright.
all day.
and a darn good case of hating pee down his leg.
but man it feels good to have made some progress.
b/c the fact that he knew it was coming,
felt like winning the lotto.
bring it on thursday,
BRING.
IT.
ON.


tinkle tv

look, all we need is one little tinkle.
then we'll be in business.
desperate times call for desperate measures.
and so,
we wait.
 i'm beginning to think max might be potty trained before brennan.

Monday, March 21, 2011

24

if i had 24 hours to myself.
i would:
organize the basement.
watch the food network.
go to the gym.
take a long hot shower.
sleep in.
go out to lunch.
get a new bra.
watch the today show.
go to a movie.
and not in that order.
i don't like the gym anymore, but it used to be one of my favorite things to do,
and i think it would be fun to do something in my pre-mama routine.
just for one day.
like watching the today show.
i always felt so informed.
i barely heard about the earthquake in japan.
thank goodness for texting.
and people knowing that if it's not on disney channel,
i don't hear about it.
the thing i didn't like about the gym was going every day.
where it felt like a chore.
so i think it would be fun to get to go just for one day.
as a relaxing, enjoyable activity.
and really, i'd rather just go for an 8 mile run in the middle of idaho, but we only have 24 hours folks, and we all know i'm not in running shape anymore, so there's no way i'm going to be able to do 8.
man, i used to run!!!
and since we are dreaming,
i would also like to request no sore muscles the next day.
i used to love the food network show where they showed where different kinds of food got their start.
how they were all made.
when the today show is over,
i would have the food network on.
turned up so i could hear it in the basement.
as i threw stuff out.
organized the rest.
in bins.
i like bins.
a lot.
i don't even remember the name of that food network show anymore,
but before i had kids, i used to ALWAYS watch it.
i ate a lot more then.
mainly b/c when you watch the food network you get hungry.
even if you're not hungry,
watching it makes you hungry.
and it was usually on at 10pm.
evil!
evil i say!
so after sleeping in, going to the gym, and taking a hot shower,
i would get dressed.
do a little basement organizing/throwing out.
while having the food network on in the background.
and then need a break.
so.
i'd go out to lunch.
like jen, i would have to say cheesecake factory would be my spot.
i would order:
avocado rolls with extra dip b/c there's never enough.
rasberry lemonade.
refilled at least once.
and another once for the road.
sugar retouched every time.
and a piece of the adam's peanut butter cheesecake.
i've tried others.
they do not compare.
it's all i need.
and want.
i would eat half of it.
ask for extra whipped cream to go, and save the other half for later.
back to the basement.
hopefully by now i would have cleaned out most of my teaching boxes which we all know i won't be using ever again.
god willing.
maybe have the courage to throw out the old cheerleading megaphone.
maybe not.
definitely put the pom poms and prom dress in a box.
good willed some of the toys?
maybe this basement idea isn't so hot.
but it's what i always want to do.
when no kids are around.
maybe it's just one of those things i say i want to do b/c i know the kids will never not be around so it's a safe desire to want b/c i don't really want to do it, i just want to say i want to do it, knowing it might never happen anyway?
wow,
that's too deep for a monday night.
so let's just say i'm working on that basement as planned.
then come up for a snack.
watch oprah.
during it's regularly scheduled time.
watch the evening news.
i'd better be feeling informed by this point during the day.
probably paranoid and a little depressed by all of the negative news too.
then back to the basement.
eat the last half of the cheesecake for dinner.
drop off all of the basement de-junking at the DI/goodwill.
go to a movie.
large popcorn,
layered butter 2 times, 3 if i'm being really honest.
extra salt.
large mug of diet pepsi and dr pepper mixed.
come home.
fall asleep reading a good book.
and if there really were no budget for this free 24 hours,
let's be honest.
i would have squeazed in a $1000 shopping spree.
on clothes.
and shoes.
just for me:)
the end.
who's funding this and watching my kids?!
I'M THERE!!!

the old phat professors.

40 years of the physical therapy department at the university of utah.
exciting business my friends.
EXCITING!
so we got all dressed up.
even did valet.
but only bc we were late and there were no self parking spots left.
after dancing all night,
i was happy for that $6 valet.
less walking on sore feet.
i don't wear heels very often,
and now i know why.
it also happened to be the big byu game against gonzaga.
sweet sixteen spot was riding on the line.
so sean streamed the game to his phone.
and the best part of the night was watching sean sit next to one of his physical therapy idols.
b/c they watched the game together.
i can't decide if sean was more enamored with the game,
or the fact that rod miyasaki was sitting next to him and watching it with him.
it was so cute.
i'm sure he would not appreciate me calling it cute,
but, MY BLOG:)
i couldn't stop looking up at the chandeliers.
it was held in the little america hotel in downtown salt lake city.
we kept saying,
"if this is the little america,
what does the grand america look like?!"
b/c from the outside,
the little america looks like the motel 8 compared to the grand america across the street.
the grand america looks like the plaza hotel.
well, let me tell you.
the little america does not disappoint.

"the old phat professors" was the band for the evening.
they played lots of beatles and classic rock.
it was so much fun.
i can't remember the last time sean and i got to dance together.
the lead guitarist played one song with a salt shaker.
SO AWESOME.
you have to check it out below:
it is difficult to take pictures while dancing.
especially when it's dark.
and you're using your phone.
exhibit A, B, C, and D:

but it's really
really
fun.