Birthday Magic

Yesterday we decided to celebrate at the happiest place on earth... and, it proved to be simply magical!

We road the carousel - numerous - times... so we both got a photo op with our little equestrian. Round.and.round.we.go... and go... and go




Oddly enough, Lexi is terrified of the characters. She refused to make eye contact, until we were for sure walking away, then she was brave enough to wave and say "bye bye"... what courage!

family resemblance?


we frequented the tea cups more often than I would have preferred... she was having a grand time, while I was trying my best to keep my eyes closed and my lunch DOWN.


Next time we visit, I'm going to spent the whole trip seeing how many pictures we can get with the shape of mickey's head in the background... oh, something to look forward to!


And, what's a b-day without a little cake? She was more than a little determined to have her cake, and eat it too. (Thanks for waking up early, and making the cake Dave! it was delicious - more so cause I didn't have to make it!)


All in all, it was a perfect day. Though we certainly wish we lived closer to family so we could all spend these days together; Seeing Goofy oddly filled the void some how...

finger lickin' good

So, as the lack of blog entries may suggest, i have been a little stressed and busy over the past few weeks. Much of the stress comes from wondering where we are going to be living for the next few years, but throw a little YW drama in the mix and voila - one super-sized emotional basket case.
Now, i hear that when some individuals get stressed or overwhelmed they do things like: go for a walk, write all their feelings down on paper, or talk problems through with another person. I, however, am not that well balanced or emotionally mature - go ahead, ask David he'd be the first to agree - thus, what do i do to cope with my stress? Starts with a "C" and doesn't involve either sharing or caring...

yup, CHOCOLATE... and lots of it!

Some of you may be, at the very moment, recalling that I have a degree in Psychology. The science of the "care and share"; The revolution of "talk it out". So why am i confiding in Betty Crocker? I went into head shrinking so that i was the one asking the questions... to poor David's dismay, i never claimed to believe in sharing feelings.
I always forget is there one T or two in hypocrite?

Anyway, lex loves to help me cook dinner and can always be found right under foot while I'm in the kitchen. The entire time i was putting the brownies together she stood at my feet with her mouth open and tongue hanging out - yup, made the mistake of letting her taste the batter. This was the first time she's even gotten the bowl and spoon to lick clean - i think she caught on pretty quick.

It was hard to get a good picture... she was so focused on getting as much batter as she could, she wouldn't stop for even a brief Kodak moment. Thus, no smiles - just pure concentration...

group hug

the weekly special

This is Alexis' new favorite perch. She loves to climb in, but getting out is another matter.
I find it fairly ironic that she willingly puts herself into a shopping cart that is obviously way too small, while at the grocery store in the cart is the last place she wants to be.

THEY DO EXIST! - - in california

Over the weekend, David and I decided to take a "spur of the moment" camping trip to Big Bear.
First, let me simply start off by saying:

I am BIGGER than her.
I am STRONGER than her.
I am SMARTER than her (at times I definitely question the validity of this one).
I am OLDER than her.
And, I am MEANER than her.

So with all of the evidence weighing heavily in my favor of having the upper hand - I ask: WHY is EVERYTHING so much more difficult when kids are involved?!?!



David had class on Friday afternoon, so we thought it best that rather than skip class and avoid traffic - we'd hope for the blessing of light traffic in return for scholastic diligence. Traffic was not pretty but could have been drastically worse, and what should have been a 2 hour drive took closer to 3 hours.
David won the prize for booking at the most obscure campground possible, and our drive time was lengthened to 4.5 hours as we drove back and forth through winding mountains roads trying to find the camp ground that had no trouble finding our bank account for the reservation fee.
As our drive time increased we decided to give Lexi her bottle in hoped of keeping her pacified. Sadly, we did not factor in the winding roads and mere moments later, as we ourselves we joking about car sickness, not only her bottle but everything else in her little stomach made an encore appearance. Most of it landed on her stuffed dog - which we now lovingly refer to as the "spew sponge". And, after a brief stop on the side of the road to de-spew and attempt to settle our own stomachs, we finally pulled into our campground a little after sunset.

The "camp host" handed David our car permit looked in the car and said, "there's a bear and she has a cub." I realize I may have been a little short with her and only made brief eye contact, but I don't think there was really cause for name calling! David, however, didn't need to agree quite so readily! I was a little taken aback by her blunt delivery and realized that the mountains must be where they send "those kind" of hosts...

We got our tent set up in record time and sat down for a brief dinner. Somehow our choices for food were limited only to soup for dinner, but 4 different kinds of cookies to choose from for dessert... that's what happens when David is in charge of the gear and I am in charge of the food.
After retiring for the evening, we realized Lexi was not about to sleep in her port-a-crib; and, since I felt guilty about her clothes being damp from sitting in a wet car seat David let her sleep in his sleeping bag with him. Which worked out great from about 10pm to 3am - at which point she woke up, saw both mom and dad, and decided that she had enough sleep and was ready to play.
It was one of those nights were again I was wondering why I didn't "help" her to sleep. And also, I couldn't wait for night to be OVER. After hours of rocking and cuddling, I finally thought she was back to sleep when in clearest sing-song voice I hear, "mama! dada! papa!". Rarely have I wanted to injure my child, but at that moment I must admit my resolve weakened - - greatly!!




After the sun FINALLY came up, we scavenged for some fire wood and had a nice bonfire in no time - while deftly managing to avoid the scathing looks from other campers; apparently noise carries in the mountains.
Lex showed us yet again that she has no idea the meaning of the word "boundaries". She was not nervous in the least about wandering away from camp and out of our sight. She would walk until she saw David coming after her, and then her pleasant sightseeing turned into a full sprint. She loved the dirt, and much like sand at the beach, quickly had it every where. She was in constant motion until we finally packed up camp and buckled her back in the car - with a great deal of protest - to no one's surprise, she was asleep in the car before we even exited the camp ground.

We had great expectations and high hopes of taking advantage of out time in the mountains: hiking, swimming in the lake, and scouting out other camp grounds. But after a long sleepless night it was hard to work up enthusiasm for much more than getting home and taking a nap!
We did go sightseeing to Lake Arrowhead - which as we were informed my our "host" is a private lake. I raise the question as to how exactly a lake becomes private? I was sorely tempted to get out of the car and fill one of our water bottles with the private water, just to show "them" what I thought about their private lake. But, that meant stopping the car and there was no way I would risk awakening the sleeping cub.

Our drive home was uneventful, but there have been few times when we have been so grateful to see our freeway exit. Unlike our experience at the drive-in, we realized that we need to camp more often so that Lex gets used to it. And, also so that I can perfect ways of "helping" her to sleep far far away from people we know and cell coverage for DCFS...



Yes, we are those parents - the ones that sit and watch while their kids make an absolute mess.
Numerous other campers pointed us out as they walked by - I'm not sure they were remarking on Lexi's chameleon like ability color change to match her surroundings, or if they were points of "so that's the child - go figure with parents like those!"

By the end, it was difficult to remember what color she was when she started...

you did what?

Kristen - this one's for you!



Recently, my brothers' wives and my mother decided to put a streak of pink in their hair. Since I was unable to attend the impromptu girl's day, and so I wouldn't feel SO left out, Kristen mailed me the supplies and I did my own. Side note: who knew you could mail hair dye? and, if you can't which disgruntled P.O. worker dropped the ball on that one?!?!

I was really excited to play along, right until I put the pink dye on... then, I had one of those "what on earth are you thinking?" moments... I have those a lot. but, by that point there was no turning back.
I think the bathroom took more of a beating than my hair - there is still pink everywhere. When Kristen warned that it was powerful; well, let's just say hopefully the next occupants of our apartment like pink, and I will NEVER question Kristen again!

The streak is actually pretty well hidden - with only a glimpse of pink every now and then. Which is probably for the best, I was a little worried what kind of backlash I would get at church since I am supposed to be an "example" for the young women (young woman rather, but that's a whole other drama)...

When I emailed David a picture, he had two questions:
1 - is it permanent?
2 - did you do it to Lexi?

Yes, permanent. And, come on give me some credit - since when would I torture my daughter simply to play with her hair?
Besides, I have a feeling blue is more her color...

never again

Last weekend, David and I had the brilliant plan of going to the drive-in movie theater. We didn't want to hassle with getting a babysitter. Just as easily as Lex could sleep in her crib, she could sleep in the car while we watch movies... right...

?!?! WRONG ?!?!

We were pretty enthusiastic about our genius idea. David gets to see 2 movies he actually wants to see (Harry Potter and Transformers 2). I don't have to worry about paying full price for 2 movies. And, Lexi gets to spend time with us rather than home alone with a sitter. Everybody WINS.

So, the master plan was to have Lex all ready for bed and right as the first movies starts, put her in her car seat and hand her the ba ba. Everything was going very smoothly and exactly according to plan, until the first movie started and we tried to put her in her seat... She wanted nothing to do with her car seat and after she finished her bottle on my lap, she wanted nothing to do with sleeping.
Her ideas for the evening turned out to be radically different than ours. If she wasn't screaming because we were rocking her in attempts to get her to sleep, she was flashing the brights on and off, playing with the radio volume or switching the radio stations completely, or screaming "no no no!" as I forced her little fists out of the doughnuts.

I can honestly say that I have no idea what happened in Harry Potter. And, don't recall anything about transformers aside from the last hour - when Lexi finally zonked off into an unconscious oblivion. 12:30AM ... both David and I were exhausted, so I can't blame her one bit for falling asleep.

Throughout the entire experience the only coherent thought I had was, "why on earth did I NOT add the benadryl to her bottle?!?" You can be sure that I will not make that mistake again... And, by mistake I am certainly not talking about only the omission from the bottle... we're talking the whole very memorable event!

don't worry, she made up for it the next day.

variations

here are a couple of variations for the sourdough bread...

sourdough w/ Kalamata olives... SO good if you love salt as much as I do!


sourdough w/ Asaigo cheese... doesn't look much different, but oh man!


or, a third option my sister.in.law thought of is homemade croutons... works great for those times when the bread goes stale before it gets eaten.

SO MANY options - so little time to eat!

bye bye

Our family is once again back to normal, but I knew we were in trouble when Lex wandered out of her room this morning and the first thing she said was, "cat! cat!".

our daughter of constant motion and perpetual commotion...

exchange program

Our good friends are always more than willing to watch Lexi when David and I go out for a few hours, so we decided we better return the favor and watch their "little one".
This weekend - and this weekend only - our family as a new addition. Zulu.
Lex adores having her around - she in fact treats her not like a pet, but rather like a little playmate person. she brings her markers... stuffed animals... books... and anything else that we normally find ourselves telling her she has to share. Lex is getting quite good at the 'sharing' part, but her 'placement' could use a little work - as more times than not, she puts everything directly on top of Zulu.
Zulu was a bit apprehensive during her first visit. Apparently going from a peaceful empty house, to a lexi house is a rather dramatic change. But, she has figured out that she can run MUCH faster than Lex and fit into MUCH smaller spaces to gain a few moments of peace.

We'll be sad when the weekend ends, and we have to give her back. But, I'm sure we can go visit Lexi every now and then...

more of the same

costume and all..

grow baby grow

Now, i know this appears VERY odd. But, I learned a very fascinating fact on the Food Network, and had to test it...



If you put the root end of green onions in water - they will regenerate! Now when someone tells me that something is going to regrow after I use it - that is a challenge I can not pass up! And, sure enough... it works.
I don't know that it's really that frugal in the long run, cause it takes a while to get enough to actually cook with, but it's fun to watch them on the counter.

And, David thinks that he is the only scientist in the family... phew... when has he ever brought something back from the brink of death?!? Come to think of it, scratch "scientist"... I'm more a doctor!

cheap thrills

dog!

one of the gifts that we received as a Christmas "white elephant" last year was a red and white stuffed dog... never in my wildest dreams did I realize what a huge role this gift would play in Lexi's daily life!

she absolutely adores this dog (thanks Blake and Lori)! she cannot sleep without it - preferring to cuddle with it even more than to cuddle with David or myself prior to falling asleep. She carries him around the house all day, plops him down on the ground as a pillow to lounge on, and he must be present for her afternoon and nightly milk. She is so attached that when we venture anywhere - the dog must be present. I even had to stuff him in a suitcase for the flight to Utah last month - I can only imagine what airport security thought when they inspected that bag.

need i say more...

No Moms Allowed

David helped Lex make her first fort on Sunday - but it was pretty apparent from the start who the fort was actually for... but, he was too big to admit it...
There was only enough room for two, so they took some books and refreshments, and had some quality time. Lex loved going in and out, and I was very surprised that she didn't attempt to lay siege to the castle - not that she has a tendency for destruction or anything...
Now that she has learned what fun blankets can be, we are no longer able to leave our spares piled in the corner. Sadly, it took me numerous times of folding and refolding the blankets to learn this lesson. Thanks a lot David!

Virgina, Michigan, Oklahoma - Oh My!

Well, we are in full swing of specialty applications and both David and I are looking for the light at the end of the tunnel. I don't think we've been able to see our kitchen table, under the paperwork and addressed envelopes, for the last month... We are applying to lots of school, in lots of different places, and the stress is building!
I have discovered what a blessing it was that David and I didn't start dating till after he had applied and was accepted to dental school - I don't know how he did it all on his own. And, more to the point I don't know how he is managing to do applications all over again... my hat is definitely off to him.

The ADA has an application system known as PASS - essentially, it was developed as a standard way of applying to multiple schools. Rather than having to apply to each school individually, with PASS the idea is to input one applications and electronically select the schools for PASS to send it out to.

Sadly, that was lost somewhere in translation! So, not only do we have to get everything entered into and submitted to PASS (which once it's in the computer there is NO editing - no pressure, or anything). But, we also have to contact each individual school and see what they need us to send to them directly; such as college transcripts, official scores, letters of recommendation, etc. All of which are part of the required PASS application mind you... So, this is turning out to be not only stressful in the sense that we have TONS of deadlines and trying to keep everything organized. But, there is also the worry of "what if". David has worked his tail off these past 3 years working towards applications, but it is still incredibly stressful! I can't think of anything else he could have possibly done - and I can only hope that all of these schools will feel the same way...

Needless to say - we are staying very busy and in a constant state of apprehension that we may have missed something. but, we are both confident that everything will work out and come December we'll have good news to report.
Aside from that, David is well into his 4TH YEAR! I can not believe we have been here that long. He is now the big man on campus, and enjoying the relaxed class schedule that the last year has to offer - thus far. We look forward to applications being done, so we really can kick back and take a breather...

and, topping the list: Things I Will Never Do To My Kids

Even without her cast, it seems that we can't help but make a spectacle of ourselves these days. Over the weekend we visited the Santa Barbara Zoo. i think we spent more time on the freeway getting there, than total time at the zoo and in Santa Barbara. But, we've been meaning to go for a long time, and ended up really enjoying the chance to get out of LA for a few hours.

While at the zoo I did something that I swore I would NEVER do - I put my child on a leash! We got our share of stares and comments about how inappropriate it is to treat kids like pets. Though, the people saying such things were making their kids pushed their dogs in strollers, so I still find myself questioning the validity of the argument.

I gotta tell you - we all had a great day! Lex got to run around rather than be locked into her stroller, and David and I didn't have to run around madly trying to keep an eye on her (not that i would take this opportunity to point out that there were such parents running around - who only paused momentarily during the day to point fingers in our direction... boy, do i feel foolish...)

I would probably feel differently about the whole thing if Lexi hated having it on. But, she actually loves to wear the backpack. She cuddles with it in her crib and brings it to me numerous times throughout the day so she can wear it on her back.
Thus, I have officially topped my list of things i will never do to my children. But, i fear that there really is no going back from here... we're on such a roll that I think I will start feeding her nothing but sugar, let her stay up as late as she wants, and get away with talking back and not doing her chores... oh wait...

The Crystal Cathedral

While in Orange for Lex's appointment last week, we had a few minutes to spare due to light traffic, so we decided to do a bit of sightseeing. As we got off the freeway, we noticed signs for the "Crystal Cathedral", and decided to check it out.
We didn't do anything aside from drive around the parking lot and look at the outside, but it was still fun to see something new.
I also took the following picture to show my favorite part about the cathedral. I think that they are definitely on to something with the "in car" concept... It's like a Sunday drive-thru!