Working Reality

It's usually only when I have to make or take a quick phone call that Allstar wants to fuss his loudest! I really do try to be professional most of the time, but I just can't override the background noises! Haha...oh well, I wouldn't have it any other way. So grateful for my job letting me bring the baby, and just be partly here b/w taking care of work and babe.

Instructions for Installing a Husband

Dear Tech Support,

Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed a distinct slow down in overall system performance, particularly in the flower and jewelry applications, which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0. In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5, and then installed undesirable programs such as NBA 5.0, NFL 3.0 and Golf Clubs 4.1. Conversation 8.0 no longer runs, and Housecleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system. Please note that I have tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail.What can I do?

Signed, Desperate.


DEAR DESPERATE,

First, keep in mind, Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package, while Husband 1.0 is an operating system. Please enter command: ithoughtyoulovedme.exe and try to download Tears 6.2 and do not forget to install the Guilt 3.0 update. If that application works as designed, Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the applications Jewelry 2.0 and Flowers 3.5. However, remember, overuse of the above application can cause Husband 1.0 to default to Grumpy Silence 2.5, Happy Hour 7.0 or Beer 6.1. Please note that Beer 6.1 is a very bad program that will download the Farting and Snoring Loudly Beta. Whatever you do, DO NOT under any circumstances install Mother-In-Law 1.0 (it runs a virus in the background that will eventually seize control of all your system resources.) In addition, please do not attempt to reinstall the Boyfriend 5.0; program. These are unsupported applications and will crash Husband 1.0. In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly. You might consider buying additional software to improve memory and performance. We recommend Cooking 3.0 and Hot Lingerie 7.7.

Good Luck Babe! Tech Support

My mom fowarded this in an email to me. Hilarious!! Fortunately, upgrading my boyfriend to husband came almost perfectly, as most of you know. He does have to have a couple faults, because 100% perfect would make it boring.

Free Christmas Oranges Concert

This is one Christmas Event worth your time, you will walk away happy and filled with the Christmas spirit!

Christmas Oranges Benefit Concert - MONDAY NIGHT!
Monday, December 6th at 7 pm
Jordan High School Auditorium
95 East Beetdigger Boulevard in Sandy, UT 84070

Featuring: Marshall McDonald & Steven Sharp Nelson
Young Artist Chamber Players & Jordan High Chamber Choir
Celebrate this holiday season with a traditional program of holiday selections followed by a reading of the Christmas Oranges story as narrated by FM100's Rebecca Cressman and accompanied by the complete ensemble of performers.

Admission is free, however cash and food donations are strongly encouraged to benefit the Utah Food Bank.

This is Marshall McDonald. He used to be in our stake, and I worked with him a little with my old calling. He is an amazing pianist and music man, and person in general!

a Classic

The Scrunchy Face!

what makes it so funny is how the camera captured that akward in motion pose! Plus with his scrunchy face I guess his neck muscles tighten, which makes his body look even more silly and distorted!

Legs

Well, looks like Allstar has discovered how his legs can MOVE him!! Watch the short videos below to see him move! We did this last Sunday, so it has been one week now.

#2 Monday Night: to THAT.......................................... #1 Sunday Night: From THIS

Things that change life when you have a baby

People ask me if life is that different with a baby, and to them I say "It's completely different, we have similarities, but daily life in general is totally different." This has been somewhat hard for me to handle, it changed more than I expected it to, and I am still trying to figure it out so I don't lose my identity among the busy everday baby life that consumes me [which I love, don't get me wrong, but I still need some Melina time for crafts or what not!] I get emails from BabyCenter.com about my growing baby. This is an article that came the other day. It is nice to be reminded of all the good things that have changed in life, because sometimes it's just gets hard, though we would take every bad day over again if we had to, because it is still worth it. The items bolded really hit me more than the others.

1. You finally stop to smell the roses, because your baby is in your arms.
2. Where you once believed you were fearless, you now find yourself afraid. [See a reader's perspective in #22, below.]
3. The sacrifices you thought you made to have a child no longer seem like sacrifices.
4. You respect your body ... finally.
5. You respect your parents and love them in a new way.
6. You find that your baby's pain feels much worse than your own.
7. You believe once again in the things you believed in as a child.
8. You lose touch with the people in your life whom you should have banished years ago.
9. Your heart breaks much more easily.
10. You think of someone else 234,836,178,976 times a day.
11. Every day is a surprise.
12. Bodily functions are no longer repulsive. In fact, they please you. (Hooray for poop!)
13. You look at your baby in the mirror instead of yourself.
14. You become a morning person.
15. Your love becomes limitless, a superhuman power.
And from our readers...
1. "You discover how much there is to say about one tooth."
2. "You finally realize that true joy doesn't come from material wealth."
3. "You now know where the sun comes from."
4. "You'd rather buy a plastic tricycle than those shoes that you've been dying to have."
5. "You realize that although sticky, lollipops have magical powers."
6. "You don't mind going to bed at 9 p.m. on Friday night."
7. "Silence? What's that?"
8. "You realize that the 15 pounds you can't seem to get rid of are totally worth having."
9. "You discover an inner strength you never thought you had."
10. "You no longer rely on a clock — your baby now sets your schedule."
11. "You give parents with a screaming child an 'I-know-the-feeling' look instead of a 'Can't-they-shut-him-up?' one."
12. "Your dog — who used to be your 'baby' — becomes just a dog." [Many readers begged to differ, saying things like, " I disagree with number 12. My dogs are my additional children," "Nothing about previous babies, whether two- or four-legged, changes when a new miracle comes along," "My dog will never be 'just a dog," and "This is sad to me. My cat is still my baby too."]
13. "You take the time for one more hug and kiss even if it means you'll be late."
14. "You learn that taking a shower is a luxury."
15. "You realize that you can love a complete stranger."
16. You find yourself wanting to make this world a better place. [even more so now]
17. If you didn’t believe in love at first sight before, now you do!
18. You start to appreciate Sesame Street for its intellectual contribution.
19. You have to quit watching the news because you see every story from a mother's perspective and it breaks your heart.
20. You just plain love life more - everything comes together and becomes better because of one tiny person and your love for them.
21. You finally find out the real reason you have those breasts.
22. In response to #2 [above], I'd say that where you were once afraid, you're now fearless. I was always very timid and shy and let myself get walked all over … but now where my kid's concerned, I'll speak my mind and really connect with my inner "b"!
23. The support you get from other people surprises you, because the people giving it are not always the ones you'd expect.
24. Nothing is just yours any longer. You share EVERYTHING!
25. No matter what you've accomplished in life, you look at your child and think, "I've done a GREAT job!"
26. You want to take better care of yourself for your child.
27. You can have the most wonderful conversation using only vowel sounds like "ahhh" and "oooo."

White

From inside the comforts of home, it's definately bearable, but I am not sure I am ready to handle this stuff outside yet! Burrr...

9 MONTH [& 1 week] APPT.

He was crawling all over this crinkly paper stuff, he loved it.

Still a little guy, but not a shorty like his mom!!!
Height: 29" (70%)

Weight: 18 lb 3.5 oz (14%)

Head: 18" (60%)

Adopted Boys

We seem to adopt 12 big Basketball players every year for a couple months. They are always seen & heard on the big screen in our home! Luckily, our friends gave us the opportunity to see them in person Monday night. Woo woo! It was a fun spur of the moment date night, thanks to our friends and sister. GO JAZZ

Nine

Our baby is nine months old today. Wow how time flies by. So much has happened developmentally in this last 3 months. He is crawling around like crazy, and pulling himself up onto everything. It was amazing how fast he figured that out. With all this crawling he is getting himself into everything, and making lots of messes, which is fine right now. An exploring little one he is. He loves to climb up the stairs, and is pretty stable at it now, but it still scares me! He actually crawled up one flight at my office all by himself. (I thought Spencer had him, Spencer thought I had him!) He babbles and makes lots of noises, baby talk is so darling to hear! He has 3 teeth now, the top one just cut through a week ago. He loves to eat real food, and will eat almost anything we give him, which is only healthy of course! His stats will come next week after his appt. We love this little one, he smiles and smiles and smiles; such a joy.

His 6 months collage of my favs. What a little HANDSOME, just like his dad!

I Lost

10.9 Pounds in the last 17 weeks on the Weight Watchers program! I feel so much better about my self esteem, losing some of the baby weight. Though there is still some pudge left, I can deal with that! I mainly only made one small change, cutting out 1/2 of the sugars I was eating, and that really what was keeping my weight on, which was very surprising to me. Though that is the hardest thing for me to cut out! So, I am no longer paying for the program anymore, I couldn't justify paying for something I know how to do now. However, I am glad for the information I learned at Weight Watchers.

Mickey, Minnie & Tigger

Halloween...another year, but with a baby! I know baby's first holidays are supposed to be grand, but we are not really that type of people I guess. So we made do with what we had around and to borrow! We introduce our small Halloween festivities.

Trunk or Treat

Little Tigger cutie. A bucket of candy...in his dreams. Maybe another couple months buddy.

My little bro and wife were in town and joined us for Trunk or Treat.
Not a costume, but it could be! His first time in this nightie. Our Allstar baby.
Cousins. 3 months apart.

our one Little Halloween party at my brother's house.

the Spontaneous Hike

...the Willow Heights Trail. This has become our annual fall hike. We have been trying to plan this hike with our friends for the last couple years, but it just wouldn't happen. Life. And that's why this hike is now spontaneous, when we can go!

Spencer and I still really wanted to hit it this year, knowing our colors most likely won't be great. On a Friday morning Allstar woke up at 6:30 am to eat, so Spencer decided to get up as well and take us on this hike! We made it to the trailhead at 8 am and were up there by 8:45. We were hoping to catch the sunrise, and we would have, but the overcast sky prevented it being seen. As we suspected, most of the Quakies leaves were already gone, but we were able to catch one little forest that was still in yellow bliss. Enojoy our early morning hike! Haha, you can see our early morning eyes.

We bundled Allstar up. Fleece PJ's w/fleece top & bottom over that!

Jump Jump...can't forget the JUMPS!!! I love it.

Wow!

Babe fell asleep on the way down. So sweet.

Announced

It's that time of year...what is that time you say? Time to figure out where to order those family Christmas Cards! Go check out our friend's site, Announced. You just pay a small flat rate for her to insert your family pic and info into on of her many custom designed cards, and then she'll give you the .jpeg file to you so you can then print as many of your Cards you want anywhere you would like to! CLICK ON THE PIC TO VISIT THAT, she'd love to get you "Announced" for the holiday season.

She also has a craft blog, Less Cake More Frosting. Wow, super cute crafts on a low budget. I don't know how she thinks up most of her projects, but you should go check them out, and maybe become a follower too...She is very creative at writing, and though some of her posts may seem so long, just read it, you'll be entertained. CLICK ON THE PIC TO VISIT.

Believe it Folks

I thought I had a couple more weeks, but this boy ain't wastin' time. While on his stomach he gets his knees under him real well, but just didn't know how to move. Last Night I pushed his knees while he moved his hands...then this morning he remembered and thought he'd try it out himself! Wow...it's time for us to get on our hands and knees and babyproof for real now! He has been movin all day, albeit a bit slow, he'll speed up in no time and be in all sorts of trouble. This one is alive and curious, just 4 days short of 8 months.

He also just got his first cold yesterday, full blown today. It's the saddest thing ever, especially hearing him trying to breath with all that snot in his nose. He was up almost every hour for a 4 hours last night. Sad.

Lake Mary, sort of

We forgot to put the shoulder straps on him, and he kept sticking his head and body out. He'd never done this, and it took us 10 min to figure out why he was being silly.Lake #1, Mary: WHAT's WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE???
Aww, that's much better. What a SAD sight to see when hiking to a lake...emptiness. Only 1/2 of this lake was full.

Lake #2, Martha

Lake #3, Catherine

Getting the Fall colors this year has been a little rough with our weird cold then warm weather. The reds were already dying out while the yellows are just starting to turn.

Man, I love this nature stuff! It is beautiful and rewarding.

Golden Gate + Baseball =

EXHAUSTION for poor Allstar. We rented bikes to bike across Golden Gate Bridge. Allstar did not take a very long nap to begin with, and was so tired for most of the ride. Then, once we got onto the bridge it was SO noisy from all the cars he got even more upset. Too bad. The ride had a couple little hills that surprised us, but it was a pretty good ride altogether. The bridge is very long and seemed to go on forever. All in all, it was a fun experience worth doing!

We stopped before entering the bridge for our tasty [and pricy] cheese & crackers w/grapes. YUM.

and to take the family picture

Allstar got so upset that we took him out of the bike trailer and I went totally illegal riding w/him like this. I was so scared on the hills, well and most of the time. Not from getting in trouble, but for the tiniest of rocks that could've caused a crash.

DONE. See, look at all those cars! So busy

After he fell asleep in our arms we softly laid him down like so, we should've done this the first time he fell asleep so he was more comfortable. Then, when we boarded the ferry they made us take him out, which meant waking him up yet again. Afterwards I wished we didn't tell them he was in there!

To end the day we were so excited to see this MLB game. Unfortunately, after getting there a couple minutes late, then figuring out what to do w/the stroller we forgot to think about, then waiting in the "Gilroy's famous garlic fries" line for 20 minutes, we saw like 2 innings before having to leave the game...the babe would just not be happy or sleep. The noise and the cold just was not in our favor. Darn, we were really looking forward to this. We had sweet tickets too. In all the crying and everything we didn't even get a very good pict of the whole field. Next time Allstar, there will be another and you will enjoy it!

He even wore his Allstar Baseball shirt!

Alcatraz

Alcatraz was very interesting to see and learn a little more about. We really enjoyed the tour and highly recommend it. Though there were a lot of people, the tour is very well designed for a lot of people to flow through it. We took the audio tour, which had a couple prison officials and inmates telling the main stories and facts of Alcatraz when it was a prison, which is what it is most known for. We have toured the Utah Prison, so seeing the cells were not new to us, but it does remind you how awful of a life it would be to have to live in such tiny, dirty, cement quarters for years and years. 1 interesting fact I got out of it: those in prison read more than the outside population, something like that.

Some of the re-reations were very neat, such as this head that was made out of wax, concrete and paint; made by the prisoners who escaped, to look like they were still in their cell.

We used this front carry pack a lot during this trip, when he got tired of the stroller.