Beauty in Every Inch of Life

Giveaway!!! Designer Necklace...one more day...

2011-09-21T21:14:00.000-07:00

Hi friends,

Yes, I've been gone for two months. It's just too busy to blog these days. Or I guess it's just a really low priority. But I miss it and I WANTED it to be my family journal so that's my motivation to keep it alive :) Blurb Book 'em every year.

Anyway, I had to jump on. One more day for this awesome giveaway. All her jewelry is made with real pearls and gemstones. She is giving away a necklace from her best selling line and I happen to own one of them. It's awesome. I'm trying to spread the word. Just follow the link. It's only a click to enter.

www.blog.mariebruns.com

And yes, I blog for her. And get paid to do it. But NO I do not get paid to spread the word about the giveaway. I'm just sharing the love :)

Cathy

Charlie has fully integrated into the family

2011-07-12T21:33:00.000-07:00

Runs in the Family

2011-06-04T20:57:00.000-07:00

And now that Kris has been doing photo booths for some of his weddings, the dress up potential is endless! Yes, I'm a dork. No, Tofer won't be permanently damaged, promise.

Charlie

2011-05-28T20:51:00.001-07:00

My little Charlie

I love this little boy so much. He is such a happy baby. If I even look in his direction, he smiles. If it's four in the morning and he wakes up and takes one peek at me, he smiles. And not just a little grin - his entire body smiles. He is so full of joy and so sweet.

I completely adore him.

I blog, therefore, I AM...

2011-05-25T12:27:00.001-07:00

...a professional blogger!!

(is this a good look for an authoress??)

That's right. Well, let's start off with...I shouldn't have announced my return to the family blog in flaming glory. I WANT to blog, it just never seems to happen these days. I will and I have a million in my head to catch up on because this is my little family blog journal and I want to keep it forever. Anyway...sorry for the big fat lie. It wasn't meant to be a lie, so let's call it a miscommunication with...myself.

In the meantime, it looks like I got a job as a professional blogger. Cracks me up. I worked for HP for 5 years (writing, training, editing, bla bla) and my old boss there is starting a company designing jewelry. I've written all the copy for her website and now I'll be in charge of her blog. I've missed her. When you work with someone EVERY DAY for 5 years, that's a lot of time.

So, I'm very excited to say that I'm now being paid to blog and for a very talented woman that was my mentor all those years. And for a FUN fashion blog that I will be in charge of. What a great job. It's great to be a stay-at-home mom and it's fun to keep my "fingers in the game", here and there :)

More updates to come.

Promotions and such....

2011-04-12T14:24:00.000-07:00

So back in my Corporate America days at HP, there were lots and lots of different job levels and payscales and bla bla bla and on and on. There was, however, one common thread across the businesses and that was this: You were either an individual contributor or you were a manager.

When you become a manager, your "worth" changes in the working world because you have crossed the barrier between working for someone, to having people work for you. This is a big deal.

Soooooo with that little intro, I'm very proud to say that my husband has crossed the great divide! :) Congrats on your promotion, honey! You ROCK!

P.S. For those who didn't know, we always talk about photography on here, but Kris actually does have a day job too :) Haha. He works for an accounting software consulting company in Irvine (which I find fascinating in and of itself). Kris is the perfect mix between a math brain and an artist. An extremely rare combination. I'm so lucky.

Some things are worth waiting for....

2011-04-11T14:02:00.000-07:00

...and some are worth anything.

On February 19th my husband and his family were sealed together in the San Diego, Calfornia LDS Temple - a day he had been waiting for his whole life.

You can imagine the joy I felt, as I sat there watching them kneel together as a family. I couldn't help but cry. It made it even more emotional for me, as I realized it was the very same room that Kris and I were married in.

Yes, some things really are worth anything. Congrats Sundbergs. What an honor to be a part of it.

Blogging Revival

2011-03-30T13:33:00.000-07:00

Back in all my raucous glory.

So last night Charlie slept for 8 hours straight. From 7pm ish to 3ish and then again until 7. I think I am officially back on the map.

Let's just say....I don't do well on sleep deprivation. But now the reflux meds have kicked in and he's eating great and getting chubby cheeks and smiles a TON. He is so cute. He's been smiling since 6 weeks. He laughs in his sleep too. Very very cute. I can tell he is going to be hilarious the way he watches me and Tofer play and tries to laugh about it. I just lug him around with us.

We play in the sandbox and I bring his little (obnoxiously expensive bjorn bouncy chair that is supposed to be good for reflux - yes im a sucker) chair and he watches. He still lets us know what he wants and has bad days where he won't sleep too much and cry a lot but on the whole he's doing GREAT.

I'm one of those people that can multitask anything but life. If something is wrong, I become totally absorbed in it. When he was sick and the meds weren't kicking in yet, I was just stressed and sad and couldn't NOT think about it.

SO LIFE IS GOOD! Tofer is doing great too. He totally cracks me up. He is the social butterfly of the neighborhood. Yesterday we had like 8 kids come over to play. They are all way older....but they always want to play and he LOVES it. So cute. Anyway, I'm back and happy to be back. I need to print this darn thing so I don't lose it.

P.S. Isn't he so cute?

Two kids under Two

2011-02-13T19:58:00.000-08:00

Is not easy....

It would be easier if Acid Reflux had not hit our home again. The infamous GERD. Poor Charlie. It seems like everyone and their mother thinks their kid has acid reflux. And since 10% of babies DO, I guess everyone and 1/10 their mother really does...

My kids have moderate to severe acid reflux - meaning, they will STOP eating because of the pain and I will be squirting food into their mouths with a syringe. It's really sad. With Tofer I didn't have it all figured out for two months. With Charlie, I was on it the first week. Sadly, Charlie also refuses to nurse. I had high hopes for him in the hospital but that all went to crap when he stopped eating. Oh well. You do what you can.

The birth story....well, I was grumpy going into the hospital. Hahaha. I suppose knowing what I was getting into, took some of the anticipation out and replaced it with dread. Haha. I got there around 9am. They broke my water at 1 and around 7:30 I pushed for 30 minutes and out came Charlie at 8PM. Since he was face up (back labor) my back was totally hurting, even with an epidural. I was totally irrational because of the whole "being in labor" thing and was convinced that the anesthesiologist had somehow pinched a nerve in my back. Hahahaha. It was an annoying pain but not totally unbearable. Kris posted some pics of the whole birth story on his photog blog: www.burntexposureblog.com .

Charlie came out with dark hair. He is so very darling. Love him. When they laid him on my chest, I got emotional. I just knew I was going to have two boys first. Charlie has been waiting to come down and join the family. For months I before he was born I just kept thinking of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. I think I will point them to those examples often while they are growing up.

Tofer is adjusting pretty well. That was the haredest part for me the first few days. I would look at Tofer and cry, thinking he was sad or worried. I just love him so much. I can't stand thinking he is sad. The first few days were weird for him but he's doing really well now and the days where Charlie sleeps a lot, things are almost normal for him. Too bad I'm not sleeping a lot....

Charlie wakes up around 10ish, 1ish, and 4ish. The 4-ish one, he doesn't like to go back to sleep immediately so I'm up for a good hour or so and then Tofer wakes up at seven and I've got to be rearin to go! Ugh.

Charlie is a crier. Poor baby is probably in pain but man, Tofer had this raspy, soft little cry and Charlie shreaks like you wouldn't believe. LOUD. This little man is gonna tell you when something is wrong.

My mom was hear for 10 days (life saver) and now Kris's parents are coming on Wed for two weeks (and his sis and her fam for a week) and then my parents are coming for a week again so I'll have a lot of help around here for his first two months of life (thank goodness). Mostly so I can sleep and play with Tofer. This post probably makes no sense since I'm so tired. This morning I was trying to put a sippy cup lid on the milk carton and totally not understanding why it wasn't working out for me. That just about explains my state right now. Sleep will come again....and if it doesn't, I already told Kris I'm going to hire a night nanny a few nights a week to help me...this is not a joke :)

Enjoy your sleep.

Start spreadin' the news...

2011-01-11T14:44:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK, NEW YORK !!!

Kris had a destination wedding in Atlantic City so we took off for our first trip "sans" baby. I was truly tormented beforehand but things went great and Tofer had a blast with my parents on their ranch in Texas (post to come).

We flew out to New Jersey for the wedding and then went to Kris's hometown and then spent a few days in NYC. This post is all about the Big Apple. Others to come.

New York was a blast. I lived there years ago while doing an internship for John Stossel at ABC News (now he's at Fox). It was so nostalgic and fun. Loved being there with Kris. The trip was a big long four day date. *Sigh*

We begin:

Gotta have the subway shot.

And the Times Square shot.

The famous iced chocolate at the eclectic Serendipitys. Ridiculously long wait but very quirky/cute.

The musicians EVERYWHERE. They were actually quite good.

walking around Central Park with my prego gut...hahaha.

I was too prego and tired for the tandem bike so we opted to be cycled around. They charged an astronomical fee but gave us a huge discount when they saw my big belly and how I was actually contemplating riding a bike myself. Hahaha. It was pretty funny.

Central Park really is so beautiful. A peaceful haven right in the middle of the city.

Kris's "I'm a hard-a, pic". Funny, he ALMOST pulls it off, but we all know the truth.

The ridiculousness of this pic deserves an explanation. I was trying to explain to Kris how HARD it is to actually catch a leaf that is falling from the tree. I don't know why, but I've always found it kind of a romantic idea. Anyway, here I am, making a pregnant fool of myself demonstrating to him. It's just too horrible not to post. I look like a balloon.

So he tries and finally believes me. I'm telling you. Sounds easy. NOT SO.

And my chubby little pregnant face for your viewing pleasure.

Dinner downtown with some of Kris's old buddies.

We rented a car and driving was kinda crazy. But we survived....even had to bump our way out of a parallel parking situation where they sandwiched us in. Never done that before...

Gotta love New York.

Halloween

2011-01-06T00:07:00.000-08:00

We woke up Halloween morning to breakfast from Kris. Hahaha. Good man.

Tofer wasn't a huge fan of the holiday but he was a HIT around the neighborhood. Our babysitter lives up the street and every pre-teen that we passed seemed to know who he was. It was cute. And he looked really cute in his Cookie Monster outfit.

That is the face of a child who is NOT very excited. Although he kinda liked knocking on doors and reaching his hand out for candy. HAHAHA - I just looked at the pic and realized I went from door to door in Kriss slippers. Ha.

One of our neighbors (also the ward organist) has spent the past 30 years, yes that's right, BUILDING an organ in his living room. He was playing Phantom of the Opera and other fun songs for everybody. Added a little zest to the evening.

Come on in! Here is the gate to our house. You can see me sitting back there in our little graveyard.

A closer look.

Front window that one day....some day...will be a BIG bay window with seats.

The front door that we sanded and painted and had someone make a custom glass insert for us. The old window was broken....yes, the joys of foreclosure properties.

We were one of "those" houses that gave out the good stuff ;)

And finally, Kris and I made a little bet about who could carve the best pumpkin. Obviously he took it more seriously than I did....

This WAS the place!

2011-01-05T13:11:00.000-08:00

Last September we took a little trip to Provo. All those college years...so many memories. Since we didn't meet until after the good ole Provo days, we decided to make some memories together. Had a great time.

Who can forget the museum cafe? We met up with our buddies, the Lyons, for some lunch. Nick just started the MBA program.

Tofer was hilarious the whole time. Here he's giving the window cleaners for the Tanner building something to do :)

And of course, my old stomping grounds...."From all of us here at K-BYU...I'm Cathy Geigle". Haha. Looks like Tofer is a NATURAL!

Met up with Kris fam for a few nights.

Nina looks amazing. She just had baby number two when we took this pic.

So we decided to swing by Antelope Island. Ever been there? Apparently it makes lists of "places to go" in travel mags. And you can see my prego gut here.

K seriously, you can't even tell how windy it was from the picture but it was INSANE.

Very fitting to take prego pics with the buffalo...Today, I'd probably need to find a beached whale.

And of course, Kris met up with some old buddies to go mountain biking. Here we are with our friend Craig - that we both happened to know but didn't know we knew, until we were dating. Random. Our circles ALMOST crossed at college :)

How 'bout them apples?

2010-12-28T13:54:00.000-08:00

JULIAN!

Back in October (yes, I'm doing some major blog catch-up) we went to Julian with our buddies, the Woolstons, to go apple picking.

It is the CUTEST little town you've ever seen. We're talking - the town plays, quaint bed-and-breakfast, built in the 1800s, antique shops, markets, apple orchards everywhere - kind of town. Check out the link. If you are ever near San Diego, go CHECK IT OUT! We even waited in line for 30ish minutes for a piece of their famous apple pie. The line went out the front door and clear down the sidewalk.

Can't wait to go back!

P.S. The Woolstons are new 2010 friends :) Ha. We love them.

Handsome

2010-11-08T14:23:00.000-08:00

I look like barf in this picture. But I am 7 months pregnant and had rolled out of bed to go to a photoshoot with Kris at a fun place in San Juan Capistrano so I had "yesterday's" make-up....you know what? Who cares...blablabla

The point is, Tofer looks so grown up to me in this picture! He's a little boy now! Ugh. When did that happen? I keep telling myself he's not even two yet but he sure doesn't look like a baby anymore does he?

Not only that, he's just such a good looking kid! I love that little face. Perfection.

Who knew it could come out of such an opposite blend of parents!

P.S. Go ahead, click click, get a closer look. So cute, huh?

California Dreamin'?

2010-10-11T14:03:00.000-07:00

I am DYING to get someone in my family to move to California. What I would GIVE to have family close by. Ugh. My sister, Jen, has six kids and lives in Texas. My brother, Jeremy, has six kids and one on the way. They live in Arizona. My other sister, Liz, has three kids and lives in Illinois and my parents are in Texas. Considering all this, my best bet for success would be uprooting my parents or Liz.

In an effort to "woo" Liz, we had them come stay with us for a little California visit last fall with their two kids Sam and Josh (she just had her third, a little girl). Anyway, they got the works! Disneyland, a cottage a few blocks from the beach, Halloween in downtown Huntington Beach, the list goes on... We thought for sure we could win them over.

As luck would have it...when they went to pick up their Disneyland tickets they got for a "deal" on ebay, the cops were investigating the place for fraud and they almost lost their tickets. Halloween consisted of skanky moms dressed in bunny ears and lingerie, dragging their kids from store to store along Main street. The short walk to the beach, turned into a few hours as we gave bad directions and they got lost...To top it off, when we got home one evening our street was lined with forensic police vans and red tape. Turns out our next door neighbor had a meth lab going on in the garage.

Dang you, California.

Needless to say, they still live in the midwest. Maybe we'll try again in a few years...

P.S. I was driving along the freeway today when that memory came flashing back and I had to laugh and knew it needed to be blogged for memory :)

Happy Choices are....

2010-10-05T14:17:00.000-07:00

Refinancing a rental property from a 6% interest rate and 30 years down to a 4.25% interest rate and 15 years WITH the mortgage only going up $150 a month. Love that we can now plan on rental payoffs when Kris is only 45.
Getting epoxy garage floors so I can move all the boxes out of every room of our house and back into the garage in an organized fashion
Baby sign language videos and watching Tofer SIGN in his sleep. Not kidding. So cute.
New windows and doors to replace the circa 82 windows
Making homemade pizza for FHE and watching Tofer roll the dough with a pin and sprinkle with cheese (the chunks he doesn't eat first)
Watching General Conference - having a living Prophet on the earth
Paying for things with cash when you can so you don't let the temptation of "EVERYTHING NOW" spiral you into debt (minus house/car etc - i wish)
Hugs
Saying prayers as a family and watching your 1.5 year old bow his head and fold his arms.
Making cupcakes for the neighbors kids

Wife of the Year

2010-09-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

Surprisingly, I have never mentioned on the blog that we have been a ONE CAR FAMILY since we bought our house - almost a year.

When we sold my car I told Kris the one car thing would last a month.... So, we made a deal. We would save up and the longer I waited, the better car I would get. This was GREAT motivation for me. There were STARS in my eyes - a Lexus RX350, fully loaded. Let the saving begin!!

Well, I picked the car out and was going to buy it last week (AMAZING CAR, a few years old and really not much more expensive than any other mid-sized suv when it comes down to it - but felt like driving in a cloud...amamamamazing).

Turns out, I couldn't sleep the night before. I didn't need that kind of car. I was being impractical."Why on earth am I buying this car when we are trying to renovate a house?" So, I told Kris to get a sedan since they are so much cheaper, and I would use the money we saved to fix up the house as much as possible. In the meantime, we can keep our old beat up suv a while longer until we really need a new one.

I've had contractors here all week. I am very excited. It is a good decision. But a hard one since I'd been waiting so long and was so excited to buy the darn thing. And Kris was so cute to be excited for me to get it too. I just couldn't pull the trigger. I even cried, dangit. But it felt good to make the right decision.

Well, Kris has been haggling all night at a dealership. Looks like he finally won. This is the car he is currently buying at 11 pm tonight.

It is a Nissan Altima Hybrid. It is a 2007 with ONLY 10k miles on it. Crazy. Anyway, he negotiated with them to put in navigation and blue tooth AND take off about $3k more from their best price. Then somehow he get's them to finance it for 0.9% for the life of the loan. He's been there sine 8:00! He must get his negotiation skills from me ;). We finally have another car. And no worries. My day will come. I'll probably end up in a mini-van and that's ok with me :)

The end.

And the Sundberg name carries on...

2010-09-01T16:27:00.001-07:00

That's right...this morning we found out that baby number 2 is a BOY!

Looks like my due date is January 21st :) Yay for Tofer having a best friend! Yay for a sweet boy to adore. And yay for another good man to add to the gene pool :) Haha.

We are excited!

True Blue

2010-08-31T12:05:00.000-07:00

Kris and I have no BYU memories together :(

Funny enough, he actually moved into - not just the same ward, or complex, or building, or floor, or even apartment...but the SAME ROOM as one of my old boyfriends, when he moved out. Small world, even with over 30,000 students. Ha. But even with that, we never crossed paths (granted, I was also doing an internship in NYC when all that happened but anyway....)

We decided to make some memories. Thursday we are hitting the road for a long weekend to check out the old stomping grounds, visit some friends, and see his sister's new baby. The crazy thing is, I haven't been back for so long I'm more excited to hit up Provo than just about anywhere right now. Ha. Especially now that Fall is starting.

I can STILL feel that old rush of excitement I felt every year with the new school year and the weather cooling, the leaves changing colors, the smell in the air, the mountains, the football games. Ah, I can feel it NOW. Man, I loved BYU.

Can't wait to make some memories with Kris there.

Go cougars.

Tofer Through the Ages - Photo Timeline

2010-08-23T08:12:00.001-07:00

A few days ago Tofer turned 1.5 years old! I can't believe it. He's grown up so much! We love him more and more every day - if that's even possible!

Here is the "Tofer Timeline" from tummy on. Enjoy.

Getting ready for earth!

One Day Old -Eyes Closed

One Day Old- Eyes Open (his big blue eyes took my breath away)

One Month Old (Don't you just want to squeeze him???)

One and a Half Months Old (Learning how to smile)

Two Months Old (Beyond cute)

Three Months Old (Photoshoot for ToyBoxTees.com)

Six Months Old (That face kills me- first photoshoot in grass)

Eight Months Old (Arizona trip with college buddies)

First Birthday (A little overwhelming for him but ended in fine form :)

Fifteen Months (Beautiful trail in Irvine)

A Year and a Half (Taking over the Alaska frontier)

1.5 down and a lifetime of adventures to come. We love you, Tofer!

High School Sweethearts

2010-08-15T22:58:00.000-07:00

Today is my parent's 40th wedding anniversary and that is just plain awesome! My mom was the new girl in dad's history class in high school...and the rest really is history. Har har har.

I am constantly humbled by their awesome relationship. Individually, they are two of my greatest heros and together they are such a powerhouse - everything I hope Kris and I will be and then just so in love to boot. Such best friends. So happy. Such a great relationship. They just belong together.

Congrats, Mom and Dad. You are the BEST!

Favorite Thing

2010-08-09T22:03:00.001-07:00

Right now, my favorite thing on earth is watching Tofer get super excited to play with his Dad. When Kris gets home from work every day, he changes his clothes and then has Dad time with Tofer. You should see how impatient Tofer gets sometimes for him to get changed. It's so cute.

Then when I say, "Wanna go on a bike ride with Dad?" or "Wanna go build blocks with Dad?" or anything "with Dad" you should see how fast those little baby legs go racing to wherever Kris is.

It is the sweetest thing I have ever seen. Sometimes I even get choked up. Boys love their Dads. There's just something different between them and I like it.

Here are a few Alaska pics of Tof and his favorite buddy.

And one of me and Tof, just for good measure. We all know how much boys love their moms :)

P.S. Kris posted about 150 Alaska pics on facebook, Kris Sundberg "Tofer Goes Into the Wild" in case you want to see! It was a blast. I'll get to that later.

Raw and Wild

2010-07-15T10:07:00.000-07:00

A native Alaskan once described the state to me as "raw and wild" :)

I can't imagine a more awesome place to go tomorrow.

See you in ten days. So excited.

Land that I Love

2010-07-05T00:02:00.000-07:00

So many fun things today....

But my favorite part was riding our tandem beach cruiser bike to church because there was no parking anywhere in Huntington Beach and then being able to just SOAK IN what this day is all about, instead of getting lost in the hustle and bustle of the activities.

And to think, we were running so late this morning we almost didn't go. Doesn't it always seem like the days where it is the hardest to get out the door to church, end up being the most meaningful?

Marital Business Negotiations

2010-06-27T08:41:00.000-07:00

Kris wasn't guilty of anything heinous yesterday, just a culmination of annoying events that led to me wanting to commit violent acts against him. Let's call it pregnancy-induced hormonal rage.

Needless to say, I wasn't in the mood to go to his little work client bbq last night. The solution? A business negotiation. I told him I would go for $50. He thought that was outrageous but seriously, I reminded him of my HP salary and how for a full night of exchanging pleasantries with random people he was actually getting a STEAL.

I am now $50 richer.

The end.

P.S. Turns out that we had some of the most amazing food I have ever tasted in my life. The family is from Afghanistan and it was unbelievably good. I'll probably reimburse him a little just for that. :) Business is business.

Isabella Oliver 51% off sale TODAY! (Maternity)

2010-06-21T12:22:00.000-07:00

Ok, it's a designer maternity label so her stuff is expensive BUT I've NEVER seen or worn such cute maternity clothes...EVER.

Seriously. Even if you just want ONE nice maternity dress for your life :), you will be glad you got it here and today it is half off! Even if you aren't pregnant, I would get something to hold onto.

P.S. This stuff sells for more USED on ebay than she is selling it for today. Hurry, sizes are running out.

Check it out.

www.isabellaoliver.com

Makeup Boycott

2010-06-19T20:17:00.000-07:00

The other day I finally used the spa giftcard Kris gave me for Christmas. Ha. I went to the spa and got the longest facial they had time for. Heavenly.

You know how when your face feels so clean and awesome, the last thing on earth you want to do is put on makeup? So I decided to boycott it. I have been SO SICK of getting ready these days.

My whole routine consisted of concealer under the eyes, tinted moisturizer/foundation, powder, eye shadow, eye liner, mascara, blush, sometimes bronzer. Ugh, I've been so over it. And while I never wore a lot of it, it took a long time and I hate feeling like I'm caking crap on my face.

Now my routine consists of eye shadow (a neutral color just to take out the shine), eye liner and mascara. Maybe a tiny bit of powder if my nose is shiny. Takes like 3 minutes and I'm done. I prob looked better before but I'm really loving this.

While on this new kick, I bought a Clarisonic Mia - I'm lazy and this makes washing your face so easy. I use it at night and then put on moisturizer and my face just feels and looks so much better (another reason I can cut back on the makeup).

It's liberating. Give it a try.

P.S. Disclaimer: I do still "get ready" for evenings out and special occasions etc and even better, now it's actually kind of fun because it's not a chore.

Secret stash....don't tell Kris

2010-06-14T22:45:00.000-07:00

Would any of you ladies dated your husbands in high school if you knew them?

So, a few months ago I had a post about Kris in high school and how this guy paid for him to get pics taken and sent him to New York to meet with producers bla bla bla. WELL, for Christmas at his parent's house I CAME ACROSS THE PICS!

He wanted to trash them (because he looks like a total poser, let's be honest). HOWEVER, I snuck them in my suitcase and have been WAITING to post them FOR MONTHS. Hahaha. He is going to kill me. We finally got a scanner that works with our Mac so here are two of them. I would have posted a few more that were so hilarious but he may have never forgiven me ;) These just look like glorified senior pics, but still make me smile.

Enjoy! Ha.

P.S. And to answer my own question....YES, I would have...I think he was adorable. Look at that face. HOT! Love it.

What's Cookin?

2010-06-10T12:23:00.001-07:00

February 2011 :)

Doorless

2010-06-09T20:26:00.000-07:00

This is how our front door looks.

Right, there isn't one. Dear Kris decided to refinish the front door and promised it would be all done in a day (since I'm a little on the paranoid side and like to lock my doors at night). Don't most people??

Well, it's been like this for three days now. Shocker.

Good thing Mission Viejo was rated "safest city in the country" by Newsweek in 2007. But wait...what happened in 2008 and 2009 to LOSE the title??!

Yea, maybe I need a dog.

The latest!

2010-06-07T22:13:00.000-07:00

EXCITING NEWS:

Since we've been on the topic and I haven't done a photog update in ages, I thought I'd record the latest and greatest. Here are some of the more exciting things going on:

Kris recently signed a contract to allow his pier shot below to be used in the following book, “Beneath Blossom Rain – Discovering Bhutan on the Toughest Trek in the World” by Kevin Grange about a 24 day, 216 mile trek he did in the Himalayas. His journey ends at the HB pier. Kris will be featured alongside Peter McBride—a photographer who shoots for National Geographic, Newsweek and Outside Magazine. Sweet!

A few weeks ago Kris shot the front and back cover of the book below. And apparently, in an online pre-sales screening they already sold $400K worth. Awesome!

Back cover (yea, that's my chair - craigslist :) West Elm)

Kris is now booking destination weddings. We have done shoots all over the west coast but now we have one booked in Atlantic City at the end of the pier in November and a few more on the east coast next year.

Ok, this isn't news, just shameless bragging, but that's what wives are for. Recently Kris was shooting a reception in Del Mar (fun swanky beach town by San Diego) and the woman at the reception center said she's been working there for 14 years and has seen hundreds of weddings and he is the best photog she's ever seen. I was so proud.

Kris, it's safe to say, you're rockin' it. Good job honey, and congrats!

The Hubby's response

2010-06-04T22:21:00.000-07:00

Well, I have to say that is super sweet of you, hon. It was a challenge to not just collapse in overwhelming disbelief and then continue through the cycles of remorse until i raged out at the bride and groom... throwing a chair or something would have felt good for sure. But really, I just found a happy thought. Sounds gay i know, but i looked over at my gorgeous wife, with her cute hair cut and delicious style... She had the most apologetic face I've ever seen and she whispers, "it's OK if you use the money I've been saving up for my car" in my ear. All I could think about was how lucky i was to be married to such a sweet and loving wife...

What is money when i have the world?

I held onto that thought... and periodically glanced over at her during the night to try and meet her gaze in the crowd. Knowing I'm "stuck" with her for the rest of my life is what helped me keep my cool and enjoy the rest of the evening. I don't know what i would have done if she hadn't been there with me. Now i just need to learn to hold that thought when she leaves the wet sponge in the sink ;) Thanks for all your love and support babe. I love you to pieces.

Kris

Accolades

2010-06-04T12:41:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons I really liked Kris when we were dating was because he is so even tempered. He just never gets riled up and mean....EVER.

While Kris and I were moving out of our rental back in December - we were already late getting everything out of the house, I was prego (and had a miscarriage), we just bought a house that was a foreclosure mess and were going out of town for two weeks while it was closing so we had to move everything into a storage unit. It was horribly stressful.

To top it off, Kris lost his ID and we had to get on a plane so he was climbing around in the dark, cold storage unit, ON his birthday, and sick as a dog, looking for his passport. One of our friends went out to help him. When he got back he mentioned to his wife that it was the first time he had ever seen Kris a "little stressed".

Well, this weekend when he had all that camera stuff stolen at the wedding ($4,500), I was so humbled I just can't stop thinking about it. He just calmly asked me to call around and try to find another 5D Mark II battery in case his ran out and he kept on shooting. The bride and groom had no clue anything had happened. Kris was smiling and laughing and dancing around all night having a blast. Who does that? I'd venture to say, not 1 in 1,000 men could be so calm and collected in a situation like that. Reminds me a lot of my Dad, who has been a lifelong hero of mine.

I'm just humbled and feel really lucky that my kids get such a kindhearted dad and I have such a nice husband. And I wanted to record that for posterity in our little blog book.

Love and respect you dearly, Kris.

Just Finished

2010-06-03T12:23:00.000-07:00

After three of my friends declared this book a "must read" (starting a few years ago) I finally bought it and read it this past week.

Very good book. I recommend it. Very sad. Be prepared to cry a lot. I think I was already crying by page ten. But it isn't one of those sad stories that makes you super ticked off (like movies with bad endings). It's just plain TRAGIC and sad.

It's also moving, warm, funny, thought provoking, and interesting. I was surprised sometimes how the author managed to keep it a page-turner for me, even though the story spanned 20 years. Anyway, it also makes you very grateful for your life and your blessings and is a really cute love story.

Read it.

BEYOND LAME

2010-05-29T23:01:00.000-07:00

Getting $4,500 worth of camera equipment STOLEN right from under your nose while shooting a wedding tonight.

The end.

PLUG

2010-05-24T20:38:00.000-07:00

1) Latest find. I love country kitchens and "Farmhouse" sinks seem to be the thing lately. I love them but even the cheapest ones out there are at least $400. I found the sink below on craigslist. A plumber had one that had a small scratch so they couldn't use it. He had to point it out to me because I COULD NOT even find it. Anyway, point is, check the link. This sink is OVER $2,000. Yes, you read that right. We bought it this week for $300. STILL IN THE BOX.

http://www.us.kohler.com/onlinecatalog/detail.jsp?item=332902&section=1&category=5&subcategory=36

2) Another good one. I was cautious about getting a used couch. Kinda grosses me out so it took me three MONTHS to find this one from a couple in Irvine that just bought a $1.5 million dollar house and didn't have use for it anymore. No pets, one baby. Since Tofer is going to ransack the furniture anyway I was OK getting this $2,800 down-filled sectional from them for $700.

http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/product/detail.do?productGroup=19230&catalog=filter&menuCatalog=room&menuSubcategory=201195

3)Last one "for today" We were not going to buy a new toilet for the downstairs, even though it's kinda old. But then we saw this Duravit on craigslist. This toilet is $579 dollars. We got it for $80. Why? Girl's Dad is a contractor and it needed extra caulking because of a small drip. Rather than caulk it, they got a brand new one. Now it's ours.

http://www.irawoods.com/Duravit-D16530-Starck-2-Series-One-Piece-Elongated-Toilet-Kit-White

So, here's the deal. It requires patience, some practical sense (because yes, there are scammers on there and maybe even total weirdos, but I look for specific things from specific people so I've never had trouble YET) and then it also takes some more...patience.

Just something to think about next time you want to buy a new couch that your kids are just going to wipe their dirty hands on. Take a look at craigslist, trust me, you'll be glad you did...

P.S. Oh and the list goes on if you are interested....crate and barrel table and chairs, pottery barn crib, pottery barn train table with rolling shelves, Z-Gallerie leather recliner, West Elm arm chair, Rock Star Baby stroller....I could keep going. The best part is, I spent what you may have spent at Target and if I get sick of this stuff, since most are "brands"people like, I could probably sell it all again!

Goodnight!

Truly beautiful

2010-05-17T22:21:00.000-07:00

"For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone."

~Audrey Hepburn

*I've always thought she looks like my Mother, another truly beautiful person

Priceless

2010-05-17T22:03:00.000-07:00

Who needs to buy pics to decorate the bathroom when you have this model!?

K, seriously, he just cracks me up. Love him. These were the three we picked.

P.S. Click on the first one to get a better look at his expression. Priceless. HA!

Bangs - For the Record

2010-05-16T21:45:00.000-07:00

Let it be written, let it be known.

P.S. They are actually growing on me. No, I mean, like getting longer. Har har har.

I'm still not loving it, despite what you might think from all the glamour shot poses I'm throwing out. On a good day, it's fun to have a change. On a bad day, I wear a hat or barett/headband and pull them back. Kris loves them. Go figure.

How white trash are you?

2010-05-15T23:32:00.000-07:00

White Trash has such a negative connotation. Probably something to do with the word "trash" :)
But here's the deal, it's ok to be white trash AS LONG as you are AWESOME about it!

White Trash: Not mowing the lawn for four months

Awesomeness: Finally "mowing" it by crawling around the grass with a hedger since you don't HAVE a lawn mower (ps all the neighbors have gardeners)

White Trash: Getting everything you own for free, at a garage sale, or on Craigslist

Awesomeness: Selling it for a profit

White Trash: Chronic greasy hair from lack of washing
Awesomeness: "Bumble & Bumble Hair Powder" - The perfect hair degreaser

White Trash: Alley/Dumpster diving at any time and for any reason

Awesomeness: Finding an old bbq IN the alley and dragging it home behind a bike with a rope ON a tandem beach cruiser (see pic below)

White Trash: Chronic malfunctioning toilets
Awesomeness: Resetting it yourself by gluing it to the floor

White Trash: Old dumpy cars
Awesomeness: WITH one headlight out, one tail light out, no seat cushions in the back, and a door that will never fully close (all the neighbors have the typical Lexus, Mercedes, BMW and one even has an old school Rolls Royce)

White Trash: Pulling out a 12 foot palm tree by attaching it with a rope to the hitch of the car and driving back and forth for two hours until it rips out of the ground
Awesomeness: Putting it (standing up straight) in the garbage can and then slipping the garbage man $20 to chainsaw it up - oh yes he did - and take it

I'm not sure we totally belong in Orange County yet....but at least we're pretty awesome... (and I blame, ahem, I mean I give Kris credit for about 80% of it :) Go ahead, click on the pic to enlarge, and you'll see what I mean.

The Truth about Bangs

2010-04-28T21:46:00.000-07:00

If you have a friend that is trying to convince you to cut bangs, she probably doesn't like you.

You actually have to DO your hair to look decent.

If it's hot, bangs make your forehead sweat which makes your bangs wet. Wet bangs = not cute.

When you are doing your hair, somehow long hairs always get caught in the short hairs and tickle your face.

If the wind blows, you may or may not look ridiculous. Hopefully you will be able to see yourself in a store window or mirror. If not, OH WELL!

Sometimes bangs want to kink or twist or part in weird places and there's not much you can do about it.

You thought aerosol was a thing of the past UNTIL you cut bangs.

You can't just roll over in the morning and have that cute beachy/messy hair look like grown out bangs give you.

Morning bangs = Punky Brewster

Sometimes they ALMOST look cute if only...xyz...so you get a pair of scissors and cut them a little only to find they look even worse the next day.

To be fair, I HAVE experienced one positive thing about them since CUTTING BANGS ON SATURDAY...

When you are relaxing in the hammock and a bird poops on your head, your bangs keep the poop from touching your face. True story.

Just when you think "CUTER" is NOT...EVEN...POSSIBLE

2010-04-22T17:48:00.001-07:00

It

Keeps

Happening!

Seeing Dad Again After TWO WEEKS!

2010-04-22T12:20:00.000-07:00

Enough said.

Hyperemesis gravidarum

2010-04-22T11:59:00.000-07:00

Yes, it sounds like a spell from Harry Potter, doesn't it? It's actually a rare condition pregnant women get. What is it? Basically, take the worst you ever felt pregnant, times it by 100 and let it live with you for nine months. We are talking CANNOT LIFT YOUR HEAD OFF YOUR PILLOW sick.

My sister Liz was blessed with this awesome condition so Tofer and I went to her house in Chicago for two weeks to help her out. In her last visit to the hospital for dehydration (yes, there have been a few emergency room visits already) she got an IV for several hours that ran different meds through her body and for the entire two weeks I was there she didn't throw up once!! Now she is on 4 different meds and progressively getting better. Poor Liz. But we are so happy she is feeling better.

Although she has been thanking me endlessly, the truth is, it was FUN and Tofer LOVED playing with his cousins and I LOVED seeing all of them.

And THAT is why I haven't been blogging lately.

THE END

P.S. I would post pics but I'm pretty sure she would kill me since being an invalid makes you look especially awesome :)

When your heart fills up to bursting

2010-04-19T16:26:00.000-07:00

The other day I was relaxing here in our yard...

...when the most AMAZING scent glided past me in the breeze...it was so beautiful I HAD to find it. I started pacing all over the yard when I came to this...

...as I leaned in closer I noticed these all over the tree...

...and as I breathed them in, there it was AGAIN. But this time the scent went straight to my HEART as I realized why it was so beautiful and familiar to me.

A long time ago, I had the GREAT HONOR of being able to wear one of these....

for a year and a half when I served as a missionary in SPAIN.

SPAIN is filllllled with orange trees. Now, every time I pass my little orange tree and I smell those beautiful flowers, I am sent back to Spain and my heart completely fills up. Sometimes I even cry, like now, just thinking of it. What a privilege that was for me - so hard, so amazing. Priceless.

I'm so thankful for my little orange tree.

So long Corporate America, you've been good to me

2010-03-20T20:52:00.000-07:00

Six years in Corporate America. Five of those years working from home for HP. When I was hired I asked my manager if they cared where I lived since I worked from home. Her response, "You can live on the moon as long as you have an internet connection."

Can you say DREAM JOB!

I haven't talked about my job on the blog at all and now that I'm moving on to full-time motherhood I wanted to give a little shout out to HP, for being an amazing place to work full of wonderful people. Granted, all the downsizing and restructuring have killed a bit of the fun but man, I used to pinch myself all the time, I felt so lucky. HP you'll always have a bit of my heart. Don't change too much.

Highlights....

Creating and giving a communications training to a team in Bangalore, India and Singapore with one of my favorite friends and old BYU roomies who was also a co-worker of mine
Hotel shopping for a conference I organized in New York City. This meant traveling there several times and being spoiled sick by the Westin Times Square, The Roosevelt, The Waldorf-Astoria and the Essex House - all in an effort to win our favor
Presenting at a few of the many many worldwide webcasts I produced every few months
An absolutely pointless and fabulous team meeting trip to Munich, Germany
A week in Acapulco, Mexico (hotel hunting for another conference) where I swam with dolphins and got a lovely sunburn sitting with my laptop by the pool
Getting a one-way ticket to Houston because they needed my help so much...and staying for 17 days. I ate EVERYTHING on the Sheraton's room service menu and got a zillion starwood points
Working on my laptop while getting a pedicure
Traveling so much I would often forget which airport I was at
SPA trips and amazing hotels! The Ritz-Carlton in Singapore, the Leela Palace in Bangalore and a myriad of Starwood favorites.
I could go on forever. Thanks Marie, Pat, Emil, Katie and the million other people that made HP such a wonderful place to work and helped me appreciate the finer things in life (haha, Kris is ever so grateful :)

And now....the best adventure yet! Full-time, stay-at-home Mom. Something feels so great about typing that.

Happy One Year!

2010-03-02T23:21:00.000-08:00

On February 21st Tofer turned one year old!

Tofer's latest:

He loves pushing around his walker, his own stroller and anything else that moves if he pushes hard enough
Watching "Anne of Green Gables" (potentially mother-inspired - haha)
Trying to run
Going outside
Wrestling with Dad
Sucking on pennies and trying to hide it from Mom
Toilets - watching anything go down the toilet, trying to splash in the toilet when mom is not looking, trying to put things in the toilet, flushing the toilet.....
Taking showers
Playing magnets on the fridge
Holding Mom :)
Kids, he really likes kids...time for a brother?
He says: Mom, Dadadadada, Nana (for banana) and Aaaahma (for Grandma)
He has never liked baby food. He loves english muffins with raisins and bananas
First steps at 10 months, he is now trying to run and it's hilarious
And he just loves to do whatever we are doing - sanding, sweeping, drawing, typing....he is a great little worker and the cutest kid alive :)

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE HIM!

We had a little party for his bday with some buddies but he was overwhelmed and cried most of the time :( Ha. Poor little guy. Alas, he pulled through and by the end was in fine form.

Oops!

2010-02-22T22:25:00.000-08:00

So...let's talk about Valentines Day.

We both forgot it. How is that even possible? I'll tell you. We suck. That's how it's possible.

We went on a camping trip for President's Day weekend with our buddies Jared and Vanessa. For a month we've been talking about the "President's Day weekend camp trip". Valentines never made it in the title. When we got to Morro Bay we realized it was also V-day weekend. Ha. But what better thing to do than a weekend getaway with our friends, right? I'm still slightly bitter but will probably buy something to make myself feel better :)

Truthfully, it was an awesome weekend. The documentation begins.

Here's the group! This was our V-Day hike. It was so beautiful.

Tofer looks like Aunt Jemima.

We bought a bike seat from REI on the way out. He LOVED it. What a trooper. He missed so many naps on this trip but stayed happy the whole time.

Here he is riding with Uncle Jared, AKA, the Godfather

Me and Tof in Morro Bay. Don't mind the three days of not showering.

I love this pic. He was so happy to play with Dad all weekend.

On the way home we stopped at a little pizza place in Santa Barbara. No shirt, no shoes, no business, right? But who would turn away that face? Kills me.

A great weekend.

BEFORE AND AFTER

2010-01-27T09:29:00.000-08:00

When you buy a fixer-upper, you never really know what you're in for. And one of the hardest things, I think, is finding contractors that you like, that specialize in what you are looking for, are honest, and do a thorough job.

Because of this I had to make a post about Eric Frishcosy for anyone out there on the hunt. I've known Eric for a few years and I gotta be honest, I usually shy away from hiring friends for various reasons but hiring Frish is the BEST decision we've made in this whole house project.

Scraping ceilings, ripping out floors, painting walls, putting in new floors...the list is endless on what he is helping us with. I was just so impressed with him! If anyone out there is looking for a contractor, or handy man, or someone to remodel for them - call Frish. We've been begging him to move into our spare bedroom :)

Eric Friscosy
OC Home Remodeling and Repair
714-478-6198
frishcosy@yahoo.com

Here are the first before and after pics of our lovely little fixer. We'll have a series of posts as we finish more projects. We'll start with the living room. Thanks Frish.

BEFORE

IN PROCESS - The Man Himself

AFTER

Gotta do the edging on the step down still and finish some details on the baseboards but we're getting there!

Baby Iron Man

2010-01-19T19:24:00.000-08:00

Tofer cracks me up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpR7U_kP9K8

The Happys and the Sads

2010-01-18T09:00:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure I've ever gone over a month without posting. Just goes to show how crazy life has been. Too many things to discuss so I will just say we are living in our house! It's a major work in progress. We basically live at Home Depot and I spend my days chasing Tofer around the construction zone so he doesn't kill himself. We have some great before and after pics I'll post tonight. Recessed lighting in the kitchen today. Woohoo!

News of the past month:

Christmas at "Sunny Acres" - post to come
Tofer's first steps
Miscarriage at 9 weeks :( - it was sad but I'm ok. More time is good. Life is too crazy right now.
Moving into the house is a biggie
So many friends who have helped us along the way. I LOVE YOU ALL!
Two of my girlfriends are dating pro-sports players (ok, they would get mad at that statement so I'll say....they are being "befriended" by them. HELLO!)
Tofer's musical debut - post to come

Life has been so good. Living out of boxes is tricky though. I haven't been the most pleasant wife on the planet.... Found my blowdryer after TWO WEEKS of living here. You can imagine how beautiful I've been looking... We still haven't unpacked most of our stuff because we are finishing floors and walls, etc etc etc. But I love the house! More posts to come!!! Heres's Tof in the construction zone! Seriously, he's the love of our lives.

Happy Birthday Super Star

2009-12-15T14:44:00.000-08:00

Let me tell you a little known fact about Kris and one reason why he is a super star (besides it being his 29th birthday today). When Kris was in high school someone thought he looked just like James Dean and told him they would pay for acting classes if he would just agree to take them. So he did and then off they shipped him to New York City to perform in front of a bunch of producers.

Turns out they really liked him and thought he would be great for some show. He had already been accepted to BYU so he would have had to drop out to do this. I, naturally, was wondering why he didn't take them up on it! I mean, shoot, it's not every day producers in NYC are wanting to make you famous, right?

But he chose going to BYU instead. Didn't even hesistate, in fact. It just wasn't the life he was looking for. I've always been impressed with that.

And so I say thank you dear, for not becoming famous so I could meet and marry you. You will always be my super star.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I LOVE YOU!

Worst Anniversary Ever

2009-12-02T14:22:00.000-08:00

Besides the fact that I haven't slept for about two weeks (took Tofer off the reflux meds to see if he's ok without them and he stopped sleeping for a week so we put him back on...THEN two days later he got sick so he hasn't been sleeping this week either) we also had to move out of our rental yesterday. Yesterday being December 1st, our two year anniversary. Awesome.

Since the house doesn't close til the end of the month but we had to move out, we are homeless. Thanks to our dear friends the Pobsts, we have a place to sleep. Kris and I spent all day packing and moving stuff to a storage unit and feeling sick. We are all sick, the three of us.

We also spent the entire day fighting.

Last year for our anniversary we went to the St Regis resort in Dana Point for the weekend. The memory of that made this year suck even worse (if that's humanly possible).

This morning we felt bad for being such wrecks and our conversation went something like this:

Cathy: I'm feeling remorseful for being such a brat to you yesterday.
Kris: Yea, me too.
Cathy: Do you love me less now?
Kris: No. Do you?
Cathy: No
Kris: But I sure don't love you more!
*long pause*
*laughter*

I like how Kris makes me like him. Dude, yesterday sucked so this is NOT a warm fuzzy post, just get that straight...but in an effort to be repentant I will say, I do appreciate how he makes me like him even when I really don't want to.

Happy Crappiversary Dear.

You guessed it!

2009-11-30T09:08:00.000-08:00

Nope, not Irvine! But I knew that would throw some of you off because of the great schools and "safest city in the country" - I think since 2007 Irvine has actually carried that title.

MISSION VIEJO!

I had no idea that Mission Viejo was so AWESOME! We feel really blessed and are so excited! Only trouble, moving tomorrow.....don't close until the end of December....which means we are homeless until we leave for Christmas vacation to Virginia. Thankfully we have some great friends who are helping and an old landlord who is super cool. Blessings.

The house needs a lot of work so we'll do before and after remodel pics just for kicks (i love that kind of thing). And although it will be overwhelming, we are super excited!! As we are not blog privateers I may only post a few outside pics of the house. Don't want the paparazzi banging down the door ;)

P.S. The winning guess goes out to Miss Hermana Anderson (Mission Companion Extraordinaire and dear friend for life ;) love you!!!)

Announcing....

2009-11-24T14:55:00.000-08:00

Through a series of miracles (literally) we FINALLY found a house and in a place we had actually never even considered!! Yayayayayayay! Bank owned, KILLER deal, 6 offers in two days and the highest was $35K higher than ours and we STILL won. It's an awesome story actually.

ANYWAY! AFTER we offered we realized more and more awesome things about the city and neighborhood. I even broke down and cried as I was learning. Anyone wanna guess where it is??? Here are some clues and some of the things I found out after the fact...

In 2007 Newsweek voted this city the safest city in the country
This city is the largest master planned community in the country
The high school is in the top 2.5% in the country
You CANNOT walk to the beach :( but it's still close (relatively)
The average high in August is low 80s
The neighborhood has a big park and backs up to a reserve with trails
There is a lake across the street from the neighborhood that we have HOA access to
Around the corner is a youth athletic center where they have all the t-ball games, etc

Any guesses????????

P.S. This is NOT our house....but it IS a Tudor style and this house is my inspiration. Pics to come.

Cookie Monster

2009-11-15T07:17:00.000-08:00

Still Sleeping!

2009-11-09T08:46:00.000-08:00

It's 9:15 AM and the baby is STILL sleeping (and breathing, yes I've checked like three times).

How is this possible? I had to document.

P.S. Halloween Pics to come. He was a hit.

To Eat or Not to Eat

2009-11-04T19:26:00.000-08:00

Who really knows these days!

Out of the mouth of my crawling little munchkin has emerged:

A hair ball
Pebbles
Jelly Beans
Thread
Paper of every kind, including toilet paper (if I can get it out before he swallows it)
Baby Food - of all these things, I think baby food is his least favorite - go figure

Tofer with his little friend, Emma Claire. Likes older women, just like his Dad ;)

Check out Kris's new Temple Pics!

2009-10-26T23:56:00.000-07:00

Kris took some amazing pics of some of the temples around here and is starting to actually sell them to random people on the internet. I think it would be so cool to be able to create something that people would want to buy. Anyways here is a link to see some of them. I know he'd realy appreciate comments on there since it helps his pictures look more popular.

Tofer vs the Blue Man

2009-10-26T23:35:00.000-07:00

8 MONTHS!

2009-10-23T21:28:00.001-07:00

Just in case you didn't catch THAT FACE!

8 MONTHS OLD

LOVES

Taking a bath
Making loud noises
Crawling everywhere
Pulling himself up on everything
When I bite his side
Squealing
Pulling Dad's hair
Pounding on piano
Playing toy drum
Reading books with Mom
Eating toilet paper, pears, and sweet potatoes
Being cuddly when he wakes up
Listening to Mom sing

Does NOT like

Getting his diaper changed (it's a true acrobatic event trying to pin him down)
His carseat
The Blue Man (post explanation coming)
Sitting in the grass
Being confined in any way, shape, or form and sadly this includes the exercauser (he used to love it)

I can't believe he is 8 months old already. We LOOOOOVVVEEE him. Cute little Tofer man.

This One's for the GIRLS!

2009-10-21T09:09:00.000-07:00

Go ahead, click on the pics to enlarge.

"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked." ~ Bernard Meltzer

When I went to college I remember praying so hard that I'd find a good group of roommates. But I never imagined I'd be so lucky to meet some of the BEST women I've ever known.

Freshman year at BYU we conquered that world ;) everyone called us "the Giggs" even though these girls refuse to admit it, ahem. And yes, I'm not mentioning your names to protect you privateers from human trafficking in Thailand...but HOW could I keep the world from your beautiful faces? ;)

We've been meeting up in random places for reunions every couple of years since those fateful days in John Hall. Here we are, over a DECADE later (are we getting BETTER looking even?) We spent last week in a cabin in Arizona. FUUUNN! And our little group of five has grown to TWENTY FIVE with husbands and kids included.

Thanks for a fun and INSPIRING week, ladies. Love you!

P.S. The late nights got me DEATHLY ILL! Go figure. I'm not sure how we averaged 4AM bedtimes in college and never got sick.

Cheese

2009-10-19T15:35:00.000-07:00

Yes, I do recognize and am well aware of the occasional cheesy nature of some of my posts. I've also had friends tell me they stopped blogging altogether because reading about other people's "perfect lives" made them depressed.

Well, that's just a shame.

WE ALL KNOW...

Everyone has a picture where they look like Beavis and/or Butthead. You probably won't find it on their blog, unless it's hilarious.

Everyone has a moment where they wanted to go into a mad rage and throw something at their spouse (and I am actually pretty even tempered so it makes me wonder what really fiesty people want to do). Ha!

I'm not sure everyone has locked their husband out and made him climb through the kitchen window or built a barracade of pillows between them while sleeping so they didn't have to look at eachother...but I'm pretty sure, I'm not the only one.

But isn't it life's imperfections that make it so beautiful and dare I say...fun?? We laugh our heads off about the night with the pillow wall. I'm not sure he thinks climbing through the window was hilarious but I laugh pretty hard about it still.

"Life is just like an old time rail journey ... delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride." — Gordon B. Hinckley

Happiness is:

2009-10-19T15:09:00.000-07:00

After spending 24/7 with your husband for a week, this gchat made me smile. It's fun to have a buddy.

cgeigle: you callin me? got ur message :) sorry i missed ya :(

Kris: no prob
i'll call you in 15 min for your third and final chance

cgeigle: LOL

Kris: weird not being with you all day

cgeigle: i know :( i dont like it one bit

Kris: ah
I hope you have a plan of how we can never have to be apart another day when i call

cgeigle: LOL
i love you

Kris: love you too babe

The Latest Favorite

2009-10-10T20:59:00.000-07:00

Yes, Tofer LOOOOVVVEEESSS his bath and his latest fascination is the running faucet water so this is what we do at the end of every bath. Cute huh?

Caught on Video!

2009-10-03T19:19:00.000-07:00

P.S. Video is pretty dark, huh? But how fun to get his first crawl on tape!

Nostalgia

2009-09-23T23:34:00.001-07:00

A few nights before Kris and I got married, he and his buddy Brandon (who I love to death) stayed up all night finishing a song that Brandon sang at our reception. It was a suprise for me and I loved it.

Here we are, almost two years later, the baby is sleeping in the other room and Kris and Brandon are playing the song in the living room right now trying to remember all the lyrics - we lost the paper :( I'm just soaking it in. Not sure why listening to it makes my throat hurt. Time goes by so fast. I found a pic the photographer took while Brandon was playing the song (above).

Here's what we remember so far...

"We're two and two, me and you, walking side by side...through the blue lights...feel like I'm five again, I'm alive again...can't wait to see what comes next, when i'm with you."

"You caught me by suprise with those big brown eyes and i know most of the time, i dont deserve you. Cuz you make me feel like i could be the man i always knew i could be, you belive in me and heaven knows that i need you"

"With liberty and love we make a single vow in God's good grace so hold on tight and we'll jump this face of love...one foot in front of the last."

If we ever figure it all out we'll record it and maybe I'll put it on here. Life gets too busy. So many to-do's. So many stresses and worries. Always working towards something or saving up or making plans for this and that. ALWAYS overbooked. It's nice to just sit back and remember the important things. Just soak in all the feelings I had that day.

Cutie Pootie

2009-09-19T22:17:00.000-07:00

I realize I'm way behind on new pics of the baby. I have so many on my little camera but whenever I want to post I can't seem to find it, so I pulled these off of Kris's photog blog www.burntexposure.com

I LOVE THIS LITTLE GUY! His big smile in the bath (he loves taking a bath) just seriously fills me with joy. And that POUTY FACE IN THE GRASS. HAHA! Kills me. I don't know how I got so lucky to have such a funny, sweet, darling little son.

The New Face of Turtle Shells

2009-09-18T16:08:00.000-07:00

That face melts my heart. The new "face" of our (Cheryl and my) new company. And I got to hear how cute it was from buyers all over the world all week in Vegas! You know I was loving that. Hahaha.

So, yes, Cheryl and I and our hubbys and babies went to an expo in Las Vegas to launch our new company. Yes, I've been busy, busy these days. I'm excited to talk more about it but the website is temporary and still needs some tweaks. I actually cropped the banner to take out some info until we're ready. In the meantime, it's just something to wet your whistle ;)

Be back with more in a few days...

Baby Factory

2009-08-26T15:21:00.000-07:00

Seriously.

So the boundaries for our local church (we call it a ward) are in downtown Huntington Beach. In our ward alone, we have had THIRTEEN new babies born since January - the most recent little peanut was born a few weeks ago. A true baby factory. Crazy fun, huh?

On Sunday we decided to take a quick pic in between meetings to document the anomaly.

The Cute Babies

The Hot Mommies

Click on the pics to enlarge! Tof is the third baby from the left on the couch. He was hilarious and just kept staring at the babies sitting right next to him.

More pics on the photog blog www.burntexposure.com

Happy Six Months!

2009-08-21T15:09:00.000-07:00

Dear Little Kristofer,

I can't believe you are six months old already. Time really does fly by. Today I found a little newborn diaper on the shelf that you used to wear and it made me a little emotional. You are such a big boy now! So darling. You LOVE LOVE your Daddy and laugh then he rubs his nose on your little toes, or dances around the room, or plays the drums with his fingers on the table. Whenever he's in the room you like to watch everything he does and will sit on his lap forever, happy as a clam. You love your Mommy too and you want to be with me all the time. You even cry when I walk out of the room. I have to call out to you and talk to you so you know I'm still around. It's so cute.

Just this week you got your first two teeth! Your two front bottom teeth. It is so cute! You love to go on walks, swing in the hammock, have baths, play with your feet, and play in your exercauser. You also love flash cards and books! Such a smarty pants already. I sing to you and you smile at me. It melts my heart. In the morning your favorite thing to do is get on the bed with us and grab Daddy's face while he's trying to sleep. I think this is especially funny :) You are very funny too and always have a twinkle in your eye and a determined look on your face. Your smile lights up the room. It's the cutest thing we have ever seen.

Sometimes I look at you and I cry because I love you so much. You are the light of our lives. We love you more than anything. Happy 6 months.

Love,

Mom

One Week Old

Six Months Old

Sweet Dreams

2009-08-18T14:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Kris and I were talking to a good friend about marriage and going over the "lists" of the do's and don'ts to consider when looking for a spouse (like we're all professional or something - ha).

Anyway, last night while I was sleeping I had a dream that I was with a bunch of guys but I couldn't remember who my husband was. I knew I was married but I couldn't remember WHO I married.

All at once my mind started racing..."Oh, I hope I married someone that I really like! Did I marry someone just to get married? Did I marry someone just because they seemed like a good choice? Did I get married but I'm not in love? Oh man, who is it? Am I happy?? CRAP, WHO DID I MARRY!!??"

Suddenly, I remembered. His face and name came to me.

A FLOOD of relief washed over me. And I was SO EXCITED THAT I MARRIED KRIS!

Now THAT was a sweet, sweet dream.

Once Upon a Time...

2009-08-12T15:46:00.000-07:00

I used to blog.

And then Baby Jayce came along and I just wanted to watch that blog. And then he passed away and I cried and didn't want to blog at all because it just made me sad. And then I started getting headaches and weird cravings (I ate 1.5 bags of mini Twix in one week- I KID YOU NOT) and I woke up at night hungry and was really really tired all the time...yea. So for a few days I was SUPER paranoid that I was pregnant which I'm NOT. Thankfully.

Then Kris went out of town and I freaked myself into thinking someone had come in the house, moved something to unobstruct the hallway that leads to my room (hahah yes i really got myself to believe this), that they unlocked the back door and opened the back gate and were waiting for me to fall asleep so they could attack me...sooooooo I couldn't sleep. 3 am bedtime followed by 4,5, and 7 wake ups and a million escape route scenarios. Yes, call me paranoid. Whatever.

Then I just felt too overwhelmed and busy to blog. So I'm making this post.

P.S. The baby is doing great. In fact, he is the most darling, wonderful, happy, funny little creature I have ever met. Pics and videos to come shortly. Promise.

P.S.S. I am NOT blonde but thanks for those of you who were encouraging. Haha. Wigs are fun! Today I pick Kris up at the airport again and I think I'm going for the secretary look this time. Dark wavy hair and glasses.

Inasmuch...

2009-07-24T09:42:00.000-07:00

MATTHEW 25:40

My friend grew up with a family that just had their first baby. There are major complications and multiple surgeries ahead for him. The hospital is six hours from their home. The Dad is trying to go to med school but might have to defer this next year because the hospital stay for baby Jayce is going to be at least six months.

PLEASE take a look at this blog. And if there is anything you can do, please help.
http://www.jaycef.blogspot.com/

Also, PLEASE spread the word. There is so much power in numbers and blog to blog spreads like wildfire.

Finally, sometimes the best gift you can give is your fasting and prayers. Heart surgery for him today. A big day.

Remember, prayers work miracles.

Do blondes have more fun?

2009-07-16T13:19:00.000-07:00

Can I get some cool wife props here?

The other day I went to pick up Kris at the airport...he saw me driving up from a distance and pulled out the camera...

I believe his last sentence was, "What happened to my wife!?"

I figure with two blondes in the family now, I'm out numbered. If ya can't beat 'em, join 'em!! But the question remains, will I have more fun??

P.S. You should've seen the outfit I picked him up in last time.

Taladega Nights

2009-07-09T15:45:00.000-07:00

HAHAHAHAHA. Ok, I'm sorry but am I the only one who CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT NASCAR when you look at Kris with the handlebar thing going on? You would be every women's dream out there in the stands, honey. HA! Yes, it was just for the pic, he shaved it right after. I must say though, you're a babe - white trash or not.

I'm one to talk. I look like a ridiculous poser in half of these. We're pathetic. Only the baby is innocent. Although he's kind of trying to look studly in the first one. Yea, you noticed, didn't you? ;)

San Fran

2009-07-09T12:17:00.000-07:00

I don't imagine things...

When we went to San Francisco people kept staring at us. Why? Because we are uncommonly goodlooking and have magnetic personalities? HA! No, the baby. I swear he was the only baby in that entire city, well that corner of the city anyway. It wasn't a tourist spot.

It was strange and it was almost like he wasn't welcome...(something about depleting the earth's natural resources, im sure - ha). To make sure I wasn't imagining things, because I'm really not dramatic that way, we even verified this information with some of Kris's coworkers the next day. They laughed that we noticed, agreed, and said all their friends move out of the city when they have kids.

I had a very profound experience that night, most of which I will keep to my journal but I WILL say, our little son was full of light, a shining beacon on a hill in a place that didn't really want him there. I felt such love in my little family. Such a power in this union. The "rightness" was tangible. Not only could I feel it, but as I made eye contact with the on-lookers, I could actually see it in their eyes. They were affected. How can I ever really explain it? I can't but it was so profound to me, I will never forget it.

We loved our trip. We really love San Francisco. Such an amazing place. It was the beginning of two two-week voyage. Baby's first vacation. He did AWESOME! Here are some pics.

The classic ones, naturally.

We went all over sightseeing, to restaurants, the city, etc. We've been here several times so we tried to explore Marin County a little more (the place where mountain biking was basically created). We even went mountain biking! First time since the baby! I took a pic on my phone I'll put up when I figure out how.

Father and son outing. Kris took Tofer out for a few hours one night to an awesome building next to our hotel that he wanted to see.

Firsts

2009-07-08T18:38:00.001-07:00

I know, I know. It's been over a month. It's been so busy!! San Francisco to Lake Tahoe to Texas to Huntington Beach 4th of July. Phew. Lots of firsts this month. First trip for Tof. First swim. First airplane. First hotel. First time at Grandma and Grandpa's ranch. First 4th of July. It's too overwhelming to catch up so I'll start with his first swim with his Dad in Texas and we'll see how far we get in the next few days.

Seriously though, how cute is he???? I could stare at that face all day and never get bored. Oh wait, I do and no, never boring. Would you? Sheesh, he's like BabyGap Gerber King. ;)

Dear Husband

2009-06-06T14:07:00.001-07:00

Dear husband chartered a sailboat with "The Pelican Army" (AKA - group of buddies he has down here who came up with this boy club) and is sailing from Newport Beach to Catalina Island for the weekend.

Dear husband left me with a list of to-do's to take care of while he is gone on vacation playing Peter Pan. Ahem - Pay bills, sell car, take other car to the shop, mail pics to photog clients...

Dear wife was not amused.

P.S. To make myself feel better I'm scheduling a hair appointment for next week. Cut and dye. Seriously, I look like a rat and I couldn't stop thinking about it after that last post. And since he left the house a mess when he departed, I may just have to get a massage too for my poor muscles that spent all weekend cleaning it ;)

P.P.S. He's lucky he's so good looking.

"Liberated and Unhappy" - Just Food for Thought

2009-06-04T10:00:00.000-07:00

Interesting article from the New York Times

Op-Ed Columnist: Liberated and Unhappy By ROSS DOUTHAT

In the 1960s, American women reported themselves happier, on average, than did men. Today, that gender gap has reversed. Male happiness has inched up, and female happiness has dropped.

"...all the achievements of the feminist era may have delivered women to greater unhappiness. In the 1960s, when Betty Friedan diagnosed her fellow wives and daughters as the victims of “the problem with no name,” American women reported themselves happier, on average, than did men. Today, that gender gap has reversed. Male happiness has inched up, and female happiness has dropped. In postfeminist America, men are happier than women."

Side Note: I've had a lot of fun running around Corporate America and am grateful to be treated equally. I DO think however that men and women are just plain different. And while women are certainly MORE THAN CAPABLE of ROCKING the workplace and even tackling labor jobs successfully, maybe these numbers just illustrate the point that we are most happy when we find joy in our God given strengths? What's wrong with excelling at and embracing motherhood? Certainly more satisfying than documenting profit and loss margins at HP, trust me.

Could it be we've spent all these years trying to "prove" we are equal to men, by simply trying to BE men?

I am woman, hear me...?

Oh how life changes...

2009-06-04T09:40:00.000-07:00

Before Marriage

Monthly Spa Trips
Anthropologie/BCBG Shopping Sprees
$100 hair cuts
Handbags: Prada
Shoes: Lanvin

After Marriage

Massage from Kris
Shopping, what's that? Oh, you mean the grocery store?
I actually cut my OWN hair last time
Handbags: Rrright
Shoes: Wearing the old ones

You could say my life has changed a bit :) Kris's fault? Actually, no. We set aside money every month for each of us in our "kitty account" to use at will. When we first got married I plowed through it, but I started using it less and less and after a year I gave it up entirely. It all goes to the house fund now.

So maybe my life isn't as glamorous but if I really wanted that stuff, I'd get it. Somehow it's just not as enticing. Interesting....

The Vote of the People Stands :)

2009-05-26T10:23:00.001-07:00

The ruling was announced this morning. Prop 8 was upheld in courts.

Tof's First Modeling Gigg

2009-05-21T23:46:00.001-07:00

Toy Box Tees

Love it! Love it! So our buddies Ryan and Steph Blad made an online t-shirt company for kids. These t-shirts are awesome and a GREAT idea for baby showers, birthdays, Christmas, whatever. We have two onsies already. Go get one!

Saturday we had a photo shoot for the company website. It was a blast. And Mr T's first modeling shoot :)

He's lookin' all tough and studly in this one. Really, he was looking at the camera, wondering what on earth it was and why he was laying on the really hard, uncomfortable wood floor - hence the furrowed brow.

These kids were SO DARLING! It was a blast for Kris to help with the shoot. Seriously, look at them. Soooo cute.

Ok so I can't remember what cartoon character this reminds me of. Somewhere in between an alien and a beetle. Cracks me up.

BURNT EXPOSURE

2009-05-14T15:17:00.000-07:00

Seems like Kris has been out shooting pics several times a week lately. I try to come when I can. I've got to say....I never get sick of looking at his stuff. He rocks the photog world.

Below are a few from the latest shoots. Check out more: http://www.burntexposureblog.com/

Miracle Product

2009-05-14T11:27:00.000-07:00

Not to sound like an infomercial or anything but you know all those miracle drugs out there and they have all these "testimonials" of people who swear by them, and really, it's just crap? Yea, that's like half of the products out there.

Anyway, I feel it is my duty to report a product that is actually AMAZING.
Note: I have no affiliation with this company ;)

So, it's called Colic Calm
http://www.coliccalm.com/?gclid=CIrF78q3vJoCFQRkswod3mA1cA

Bottom Line:

It's expensive, it's all natural, and it is AMAZING. It works for gas, acid reflux, colic.... I've had SEVERAL great experiences with this. Just yesterday Tof was getting fussy and not wanting to eat. I think his throat may have been irritating him from the acid reflux (although the meds ARE helping a ton). Anyway, he wouldn't eat for about 7 hours and screamed every time I tried to feed him. Finally I gave him some of this and ten minutes later he sucked down 6 ounces.

I LOVE THIS STUFF

Warning: It is BLACK and does stain but I would stain all my clothes just to have this on hand. Follow the link and read more about it.

Unexpected

2009-05-05T08:59:00.001-07:00

You never really know what kind of side effects meds will have... :)

I'm thinking he's more of a blonde :)

P.S. Other side effects: Last night he slept from 9:30 - 6:30. NINE HOURS!!!!!!

Bragging Rights

2009-05-01T14:54:00.000-07:00

Congrats Jer!

My AMAZING brother, Jeremy, was just appointed to a Congressional Committee - the Online Safety and Technology Working group in Washington D.C. They are a working group dedicated to protecting children on the internet. See more about it: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/press/2009/OSTWG_090428.html

NOT TO MENTION, Glenn Beck's team recently called him to interview him for a potential spot on the show because of a press release he and his equally awesome wife, Jill, wrote regarding the nomination of David Ogden to the department of justice...uhmmm, I LOVE Glenn Beck. The DAY he calls me to be on the show. Wow, Jer.

And since I'm on a roll I'll just say...my brother has always excelled at everything he has done! He was a black belt in karate at age ELEVEN, is an Eagle Scout, won state in Pole Vault in high school, went on to Pole Vault for BYU, served an awesome mission in Brazil and then not only went to law school but got his masters in business at the SAME time and EVEN went on to get a Certificate of Dispute Resolution.

But the best part of all, is that even though he is a SUPER STUD ;) with lots of bragging rights, he is so humble and just full of integrity, kindness, and love.

He married an amazing woman and has SIX amazing children.

JER! You are my hero. I love you!! CONGRATS!!

P.S. Keep an eye on him, friends. You will hear his name again :)

Bloody and Bowed

2009-04-29T11:57:00.000-07:00

I surrender

What else do you do when you've been up all night, your baby refuses to eat for NINE hours, and you end up force feeding him out of a syringe while he screams?

He is now on meds.

P.S. FINALLY found an awesome pediatrician, thanks to my friend Julie B. We are going to get the reflux straightened out and then do a process of elimination to see about any allergies.

Gastroenterologist

2009-04-27T11:34:00.000-07:00

Today me and my little buddy go to the GI specialist. I'm really excited actually. Trying to figure all this out on my own has been nerve wrecking and stressful. What about my pediatrician, you say? Yea, his diagnosis was "grumpy baby". He has since been fired and I meet with my new one on May 1st. It'll be good to go armed with info from this specialist today.

My diagnosis? Poor kid is allergic to the milk and soy protein and responds to the allergy with acid reflux symptoms, among others. We shall see.

He is now on hypoallergenic formula. Tastes like rabbit food smells. Seriously. I tasted it a few times. Nursing has all but failed. I was prescribed medicine to get my milk back but it has some pretty wretched side effects AND is secreted through breast milk so I'll talk to the specialist about that too.
--------------------------------------------------
UPDATE:

Worthless, completely worthless. I waited a month to get into a "specialist" only to have to convince the nurse practitioner that my case was good enough for the Doctor to come in. At one point she even tried to give me the whole "well, you're a new mom paranoia speech" Oh NO you don't!

Little Kristofer was being darling and smiling his little face off too so that didn't help (hahaha) but when the Dr finally came in he was screaming his brains out as I was trying to feed him then making the "reflux" noises after. So finally she tells me, "Sounds like he's refluxing". And I'm like, "YA DONT SAY!" Jeeze. What a waste of time.

So I left with another prescription of Zantac. Thanks. That's two now.

P.S. He's actually doing SOOO much better since he was on milk so I can't help but blame the milk allergy. We are talking SCREAMING all day, diarhea, eating less and less, screaming during sleep, crying when he swallowed, acid smell all over his mouth and my clothes, trouble sleeping, hoarse voice, congestion, it goes on and on. He is 100 times better.

So the lady is telling me to put him on Zantac and I'm like, "Well, if he's allergic to milk, instead of giving him something he's allergic to and then a drug after to fix the allergic reaction...how about let's NOT give him milk and NOT have to give him drugs. It's not rocket science people. Idiots. The only problem is he still shows some of the signs of refluxing, just minor. He said it peaks at four months. He's doing so well, I really hope it doesn't get worse.

My diagnosis: He has a minor case of acid reflux that is aggrivated by a milk allergy
My plan: Keep on keeping on.

The Mini

2009-04-19T08:23:00.000-07:00

Kris loves having a little mini. They are two peas in a pod and the two best lookin' guys that I know :)

New Look

2009-04-17T19:21:00.000-07:00

Something about having a baby makes me want to experiment with my look. Kinda of drastically. I figure, why not? I'm not exactly in tip top shape anyway so why not try something new and by the time I lose all the weight I'll look normal again. Haha.

Kris was eyeglass shopping today so I tried on a few and he FELL IN LOVE with the whole "journalist" with bangs look. Well, I DID study broadcast journalism...

Seriously, I hate bangs and I haven't had them since 8th grade. Everyone used to call me Winnie Cooper from Wonder Years when I had them. Ha. Not sure I could go back to bangs again.

Have any of you had the whole post baby "makeover" bug? And if so, is it a horrible, horrible mistake to go for it...kind of like when you impulsively send an email that you REALLY should not have written but don't realize it until you push CLICK and then you are mortified?

Will that happen to me with the scizzors?

SNIP SNIP

Starting Early

2009-04-16T10:42:00.000-07:00

"I'm pretty sure there's a lot more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good looking. And I plan on finding out what that is."

Derek Zoolander: Well I guess it all started the first time I went through the second grade. I caught my reflection in a spoon while I was eating my cereal, and I remember thinking "wow, you're ridiculously good looking, maybe you could do that for a career."

Matilda: Do what for a career?

Derek Zoolander: Be professionally good looking.

Learning how to smile

2009-04-14T21:38:00.000-07:00

The first smile session. We laughed soooo hard. It was adorable! I'm so glad we have it recorded.

Haha. He was trying so hard but not quite sure how to do it...

Getting closer

Got one side working...

Now how do I get the other side to work too?

There we go!!!

SUCH A CUTIE!!!

Heroes

2009-04-08T17:10:00.000-07:00

This is my mom. She is amazing. I can't even scratch the surface in a post. Today I went to the grocery store with the baby for the first time. I must have looked helpless and awkward because people were falling over themselves trying to help me. While I was walking down the isle with ONE small baby, I thought of my mom in a grocery store with children 5,4,2 and 6 months. Amazing.

When I had my baby she came for 15 days and then went straight to my sisters who also just had a baby to help her for 10 days (and her five kids) and then went straight to my brothers to babysit their SIX KIDS for a week while they took off to Hawaii and THEN came BACK to my house with my Dad so he could meet the baby too. She was gone for over a MONTH doing service for us.

When my mom is around I don't have a worry in the world. She is the most wise woman I have ever met, cracks me up to the point of tears all the time, and is unfailingly selfless.

Thanks Mom, I love you.

Hot Yoga or Gross Yoga?

2009-04-06T17:59:00.000-07:00

I've never been to a Yoga class. Kris is begging me to go tonight. Trouble is, it's not just yoga it's "hot yoga". Ok, let's do weird body stretches in a REALLY hot room so we all sweat on eachother. I'll be honest, sounds really gross to me but he's begging and if I say no, I'm just being lazy.

Anyone ever done it? I've heard it's disgusting and I've heard it's amazing. Thoughts?

If I do it every day will it take me back to pre-baby body below? Right now I'm sporting all kinds of love handles and if we wanna talk about hot...well, it's super hot. Especially when I try to squeeze into pre-baby clothes.

But if you want to see TRULY HOT yoga, come to my class tonight to witness me in my workout clothes.

So, I will never fit into my wedding dress again...but why would I need to? Ha. In fact, it's for sale. Spread the word :)

If birthday wishes came true

2009-04-04T19:30:00.000-07:00

1) Yep, that's what I got. Hahaha. Only ours is blue and used but still super cute (Craigslist, naturally). Can't wait for the baby bike seat and then we'll have full-on family bike rides on the beach. Ha. Hilarious.

2) Then Kris and I played at Disneyland...so fun to re-live our first date.

3) I also got a full night of sleep. After six weeks this was like heaven. NINE hours of heaven (thank you, dear).

3) But the only WISH I made was for my baby to get better. I don't want to jinx myself but he is getting soooooooooooo much better every day that I believe maybe birthday wishes come true after all :)

P.S. The culprit may be a milk allergy. I got him on soy about 5-ish days ago and he is improving every day. The past few days have been awesome. The first night I noticed major improvement I was so ecstatic I literally couldn't sleep. After the 3am bottle I just laid there and looked at his cute face until morning.

House hunting

2009-04-01T04:13:00.000-07:00

Real estate - been a while since I've talked about this. We are watching prices in HB plummet and enjoying it.

In 2006 this house sold for $1.3 million.

Awesome...

P.S. They are now asking for $600k. I'll never get used to California prices.

Love too Much?

2009-03-31T12:34:00.000-07:00

Is it possible to love someone too much? When he has a good day it's like a big burst of sunlight that fills me up. When he has a bad day it's like my world falls apart. I need to learn how to change that. How do you do this? Someone tell me. I need to learn. Seriously. It's disruptive to life, marriage, everything.

So, my pediatrician (who I think I'm going to fire) is out of town so another Dr. called me back and I told him my shpeal and all little Tofer's symptoms - including the poor little guy reeking of acid all the time and he didn't even question me, gave me a prescription for Zantac. So, I guess I was right. Anyone have experience with Zantac?? TALK to me.

Before putting a five week old baby on meds I want to exhaust other avenues so I'm trying Soy Formula in case he has an allergy to milk protein. If it doesn't work I'll try one that doesn't have the soy or the milk protein (apparently they are usually allergic to both, if one). If that doesn't work I'll probably take the meds so he doesn't end up with surgery from the acid burning his esophagus, like some babies. Ugh. I hate that he hurts.

Tonight he gets a blessing from Dad. It isn't fair for life to suck so bad for such a little guy. And can you believe that face? It makes me want to cry just looking at it. He's so stinkin cute. Love this baby.

P.S. Breastmilk is the goal. Dr gave me prescription meds to build that up too. I hate meds. I'm trying to decide if I should take it or not. I want to get him on total breastmilk!!

P.P.S. The Cranial Sacral Therapist was actually very interesting and he came home relaxed and happy. Slept for like 5.5 hours which is a big deal over here.

My poor baby

2009-03-28T20:17:00.000-07:00

Today I'm very sad and tired. I realized something about my baby. Yes, he has some gas but that is not the reason for most of his crying. After SEVERAL and I mean SEVERAL hours of researching and reading and watching Kristofer closely I am 95% sure that he has Silent Reflux. Didn't even know what that was until I started doing research about all his symptoms.

It is a SAD thing and really painful and today when he shrieked in pain and I knew what was causing it, I just cried. Most babies grow out of it by a year, some a few months, some never. They have prescription meds to help with the burning acid. I'm going to try to find a cranial sacral therapist for him and a Pediatric Gastroenterologist.

In a way, I'm grateful for the stupid pediatrician who told me I had a rotten baby because the truth is, he's not. He's adorable and his temperment is actually really sweet so when the Doctor said that I realized that something was wrong.

I'm very sad. That's all I have to say.

Delightful

2009-03-27T12:31:00.000-07:00

Tofer and his buddies. Yep, that's him in the middle. Not sleeping peacefully, like his friends. No, no - he was alive and lively. Likes to know what's goin on. And he had to be removed from the photoshoot early, due to a crying spell.

In fact, yesterday I was talking to the pediatrician about his schedule which goes something like this: sleep, eat, cry (occasional alert moments of peace intermingled). So he has a lot of gas.

I was told in so many words that some babies with gas cry a lot and some don't AND because my baby cries a lot he is, in essence, rotten. And then he blamed his genes. Hello. Ha!

My baby is darling, thank you very much.

P.S. My mother informed me that he actually isn't bad at all because he is always consolable (which is true, we just have to bounce him or distract him, etc.) But it does seem like we spend a lot of time trying to console him :) So tell me. What is normal????