Yet Another Adventure

Today I put Kennady down for a nap. She just sat in her crib babbling and occasionally screeching for twenty minutes or so. Then she started banging on the wall. When I went in to tell her to knock it off, I found her standing up in her crib, jumping up and down, wearing only a shirt. She'd taken off her pants and her diaper and peed all over everything. She was soaking wet, as were her blankets, sheets and even pillow. She got a bath instead of a nap. And I did one more load of laundry than I was planning on doing today.

Easter Photos

Ok, so I know it's not Easter yet, but since General Conference is next week, we won't get a chance to wear our Easter outfits next Sunday, so we wore them today and a friend from church was kind enough to take a photo for us. I know, we're not super photogenic. Kennady is adorable always though. She lets me do her hair on occasions. It usually doesn't stay in all day, but today it made it through church, well, mostly.
Some time I really want to get some good pictures of Kennady, since we did the whole Easter pictures thing last year. But I don't want to go to a studio again, because I don't want to spend a fortune. Mostly I'd like to just buy a camera and take them myself. But first that would actually be more expensive, and second I think I'd have trouble getting her to cooperate for me.

Only 2 weeks until the end of the semester! Yippee! Ben is super swamped trying to prepare for finals and finish papers and the like. Kennady and I are just trying to stay out of his hair, and we aren't very good at it. This week we plan to visit some friends, go on an Easter egg hunt with the rest of the nursery kids, and maybe even dye some eggs (I can't see that going too well with an 18 month old....I'm envisioning lots of stained stuff and cracked eggs....but maybe it will be worth it once a year to keep us busy for a little while). Oh yes, and don't forget babysitting. I know, we are so exciting.

Unlocking the Secrets of the Universe

I finally figured it out. How to make the ultimately perfect chocolate chip cookie every time. Using Mom's recipe (which is the best) and some secret tricks. The trick is being a little less exact with the measuring and a little more exact with the time and temperature they are baked. And every single cookie is perfect, the last 3 batches I have made. It probably seems like I am bragging. Well, maybe a little, but I'm sure there are better things to do perfectly than baking cookies.

The problem is the cookies are too good. Even I, the person who should be immune to the will-power sucking effects of chocolate chip cookies because I've had so many good ones over my lifetime (thanks Mom!), cannot resist these cookies. And I don't even like chocolate. See last night I ate so many that it made me sick. And then I had two more with ice cream sandwiched between them.

Kennady loves cookies. We have to hide them after they are baked or she won't stop asking for one all day. And she stands at my feet the whole time I am making them just looking up with puppy dog eyes until I give her a taste. This last time she looked up at me and said "cookie dough" in this totally adorable voice. I didn't even know she knew cookie dough. Smart girl. But it was so cute that I couldn't help but give her some. I didn't feel bad because the poor girl snacks on Frosted Mini Wheats all day. What kid eats Frosted Mini Wheats as a snack? Or at all? And asks for beans? I'm not complaining.

My Husband is Awesome, and My House is Clean

I know, two posts in one day. But I couldn't help it. You see I am so proud of myself, because I finally finally finally got our house clean.*

*By clean I mean the bathroom, Kennady's bedroom, the living room and sort of the kitchen.

Our bedroom is still a total disaster. But, oh how I am loving the rest of the cleanness. And yes, Kennady did "help." She also watched Kung Fu Panda a record number of times today. But it was so worth it. I got her closet organized, including removing all the clothes that no longer fit (which is a lot). I picked up all of her toys, at least twice. What is it about cleaning that makes children suddenly want to play with their toys? And I vacuumed. The living room got picked up. Including all the junk that accumulates on top of our entertainment center and bookshelf (the only places Kennady can't reach). And vacuumed. The bathroom got cleaned. Swept, counters wiped down, a spot mop, mirror and sink cleaned and toilet cleaned (Ben did the last one, cause he is awesome, not that I don't clean toilets, it was just nice that he volunteered). The kitchen was swept and mopped, counters wiped down, and one load of dishes done. There are still two sinks full of dishes....because I made cookies!

Why the sudden urge to clean our apartment? Ok, so the urge has been there awhile, but what finally pushed me over the edge was that we had company, and the best kind of company. A friend in the ward agreed to babysit Kennady while I went to Ben's presentation at the research symposium. She is Kennady's nursery leader and is awesome. And I had to have my house clean, because she is pregnant, and when I was pregnant I couldn't stand dirtiness, or at least smelliness, plus I just didn't want her to think I am a slob. I love trading babysitting for cookies and dinner, even though she insisted she was just happy to do it. And it made me clean my house and make cookies, so I win win win.

Ben did awesome at the symposium. He was presenting the research he's been doing with amoebas and glowing and macrophages and genes and other stuff. Yeah, have him explain it sometime, or give you the presentation, which actually made me kind of understand what he is talking about, more or less. His name actually made it into the published research. And he just walked in the door and......drum roll please.... first place!!!! He got a pen, a pin and $200. Which all goes back into the research. Booo. But yay for him, I am so proud of my hubby, and he looked super handsome today!

The Best Decision I Ever Made

Ok, so the actual best was marrying Ben. And I guess the second best was having Kennady. But here's what I was really talking about:

When I turned 16 my parents bought me a car (I know, lucky, well they bought a car for me to use, they didn't actually give it to me until I got married, but I was pretty much the only one who drove it). They bought a Dodge Stratus, and it had a CD player, power locks and windows, tinted windows and a remote starter. We also at the time had a 99 Chevy Cavalier, which wasn't as fancy (power nothing and no CD player). I was told I got to pick which car I wanted. I chose the Cavalier. If I remember correctly, my dad was trying to talk me into it, he said the V4 was more suitable for a little girl like me, as compared to the Stratus's V6. Ok, so that wasn't very convincing, but for some reason I chose the Cavalier. Maybe because it is red. For one birthday I got a CD player for the car.

That car is now 11 years old and has 166,000 miles on it. And it runs like a champ. Sure, it's got it quirks- like power nothing except steering, several cracks in the plastic interior, hail damage, a broken trunk, a dented trunk (that's a good story), a cracked hub cap (another good story), a non working air conditioner which refuses to be fixed, a CD player that won't work when it's cold, a gas gauge that doesn't work and the tripometer which requires Fonzie-like moves to correctly display how far we've gone since our last fill up. Oh, and it always has and always will sound and drive a little like a go-kart. This poor car has been severely abused by a teenage girl who neglects to check the oil, ever, and drives on a flat tire for who knows how many days (um, thanks to crappy roads in Rexburg, I honestly couldn't tell the difference).

But Roxanne (that's her name) is the best car ever. She's required very little maintenance. One time I had to replace an O2 sensor. And then something with the steering column. Both pretty inexpensive (well, at least at the time I was single and working and had nothing better to pay for). The one major expense, well what should have been, was replacing the timing belt, which happens to be in the worst possible place in the engine, requiring a bazillion hours in labor. Luckily, my Dad did that for me, so it was super cheap. It still gets awesome gas mileage (around 30 hwy, sometimes more). And tires seem to last longer than they should (or on occasions they blow out....on our honeymoon, yet another good story). Over the summer the car started having trouble. We replaced the battery and that seemed to help. And then it's been getting worse and worse. We replaced the spark plugs (first time ever) and that helped for a little while. And then it continued to get worse. I was starting to get worried that the car might be on it's last leg. But Monday (or was it Tuesday?) Ben replaced the spark plug wires, and she is good as new! $20 for a brand new car (ok, so it doesn't smell like a new car, it smells like McDonald's french fries). Love it. I am hoping she can last another 168,000 miles. See I made a deal with her. The deal was something like this (keep in mind this was when I a junior in college, getting ready to graduate and go on to become a lawyer and make beaucoup bucks, so it probably seemed like a good deal at the time) I said that as long as she was running I wouldn't replace her, no matter how rich and famous I became. Maybe she will get us through Med school and I'll still be driving her as a doctor's wife. Hey, I'll never refuse to drive a car that runs and is paid for.

And, in the meanwhile, the Stratus has died a long, lonely and rather expensive death.

Go Away

The snow needs to leave and not come back for a very long time. I really don't like the giant snowflakes I can see from my window, because it means it is cold outside and we will not be going to the playground. Sad.

Well our weekend did official start, but now it is officially over. After Ben finished his test we went to Idaho Falls for dinner with our friends Mike and Kari. It was great. And Domino's new pizza really is a lot better than their old pizza, which I did not like. Kennady had tons of fun playing with Garrek and the adults played the train game. We put the kids to bed, which meant we could play without constant interruption. Then we watched a movie. Then we left around 11:30. Kennady woke up. And she did not go back to sleep. Until somewhere around 5 a.m. Bad idea. I don't think we will be doing that again. This made for a very grouchy bunch of people at our house on Sunday. We did get Kennady to take a nap around 9, and we took a nap, and we all slept until about 12:30, which nearly made us late for church.

I did get pigtails in Kennady's hair! They lasted until about 5 minutes before the end of sacrament meeting. And she got to wear her new Easter shoes (she'll still be excited when she finds them in her basket, she loves shoes). They are white with a little heel, and she loves them.

We took Kennady to nursery again this week and she loved it! We will be glad when we don't have to go with her every week. But kinda sad at the same time. After church we were all tired and hungry, and cheese sandwiches were excellent. Kennady really wanted to go to bed, but it was only 6 pm, so we didn't think that was a good idea. We have taken away her binky. Ahhh! She only gets it for nap time and bedtime. So far, this really hasn't been a problem, knock on wood. Ben left for a meeting, so Kennady and I turned on a movie, because she was too tired to do anything else (um, yes me too). She started fussing a lot, so I finally just gave her her binky and she was asleep within 5 minutes. It was 7:15, but luckily she slept all the way through the night.

Other than that we are just counting down the days until the end of the semester and our trip to Oregon. We can't wait!

Trying to Keep Up

Well it is finally Saturday. Hopefully Ben will be finished with his test in the next few hours and then our weekend can really begin. It has been quite the week. Ben's had two tests this week and is gearing up for finals. Oh, how I can not wait for this semester to be over. I know we still have many more semesters to go, but until he gets to med school, I think we are through the worst of it (aka Ben doesn't have to take any more chemistry classes). I am getting excited for our week long break. Ok, my week long break. Ben will be studying like crazy to take the MCAT the Saturday after finals week. We are heading to Oregon to spend a week with the Nelsons! Kennady and I are going to have lots of fun. Ben might have a little fun. And I hope we can survive the 12 hour car ride with Kennady. Anyone have a travel DVD player we can borrow?

Kennady has been a pain this week. I think her two top canines might (o I hope) break through. She's having a hard time with them. And she misses daddy. And she's not been getting enough sleep. And I've not been getting enough sleep. And Ben's definitely not been getting enough sleep. I will be so glad when we are finally done with this teething thing for good. (only 8 teeth to go).

Well, in between Kennady's temper tantrums, she did manage to be quite cute and adorable, so I guess I'll keep her. She's become quite attached to her dolly and likes to take good care of it. She feeds it, bathes it, puts it down for a nap, wraps it up in a blanket, makes me change its diaper and put it in hugemongous dresses. In these pictures, I was doing dishes and her leftover cottage cheese was left within her reach, and her dolly was hungry. She kept saying, "Yumm," and "big bite" asking if she wanted more and clapping. It was very funny. And yes, that is chocolate in the doll's armpit.
Kennady has also discovered how fun slides are. There have been some nice days this week, so enough snow was melted off the playground that we could go play. She loves the slides. She also throws the biggest fits when we have to come instead, no matter that we've been playing outside for over an hour and she is starting to freeze. I'm not really sure how to end these kinds of fits or how to stop them. I mean, I can't really punish her by not letting her go outside the next day, because, first that would be cruel, and second by then she will have forgotten why she is being punished. I've just been putting on a movie when we get inside and that seems to calm her down. Or sometimes I give her a bath. Yesterday she was in the bath and she decided to try to climb out. Well, she slipped on the back of the tub (the slanted part) and knocked her head pretty good. I was waiting for the tears, and instead she just looked up at me and said, "Slide?" I had to laugh. And I figured that her sliding in the tub causes less of a water mess than her splashing or playing with cups, so I'll allow it. Plus we have a spout cover which should help us to avoid stitches.

Well, what have I been up to? Besides Kennady wrangling? Babysitting. Slowly cleaning our apartment (which means that it is messy because I am not keeping up with Kennady's messes). Putting together the 1500 piece puzzle that my brother gave us for Christmas. Way to kill time...holy cow. It's one of the puzzles that only has two puzzle shapes and has few distinguishable features, you know the kind that makes you want to pull your hair out (and becomes somewhat addictive to me). Ben quit after 20 minutes.

Neighbors

Some neighbors are great. They bake you cookies. They invite you over for dinner. They lend you eggs, sugar and other missing ingredients. They stop by to visit. They watch your child while you bring up groceries. They help you move in.

Other neighbors, well, or the same neighbors at other times, aren't so great. They stay up until 3 or 4 in the morning. Every time they walk they make your light fixtures rattle. They have weekly fights which involve screaming and slamming doors, always after your child is asleep. They have fights so bad in the hallway that you get trapped in a laundry room for over an hour. They let their children cry for hours and hours. They have an adjoining door to your apartment, and either talk loudly on their cell phone or play the guitar next to it. They forget to give you your urgent package accidentally delivered to them (for which they signed...) for 3 weeks, causing you to spend many hours on the phone trying to discover what has happened to your expensive ordered item which was signed for by "Bob." They smoke marijuana and you can smell it through your walls. They don't seem to care that their child is pounding on walls in the wee hours of the morning, because they probably sleep with earplugs in. They are chronically ill and never seem to have any cough drops. They refuse to answer their door even though you know they home because they are being so loud. They don't notice that their sprinklers are aimed directly into your windows, and don't care that this wakes you up every day at 7 am and 11 pm. They must shout everything when they are in the stairwell. They wear high heels around the house. They vacuum late at night or early in the morning, or both, all the time. They do 14 loads of laundry a day. They own Rock Band. They are really into sports and have a big screen so everyone comes over to watch the game during Sunday nap time. Their friends are even louder than they are. They take up two parking spots. They cook fish on a regular basis. They burn things a lot, which causes the smoke detectors to go off. Their car has a car alarm which is uber sensitive. They frequently drop heavy objects. They have a squeaky bed.

I guess I should just be grateful I don't have roommates anymore. Although it would be nice to be able to go to sleep before 3 am and not get woken up at 7 am.

I'd Like My Hour Back, Please

Yes, really, I need it. Maybe I should move to Arizona (hmm...there are actually quite a few reasons this might be a good idea...but it will not happen until I have a car with air conditioning). Well, ok, so maybe I appreciate that Kennady might possibly sleep later, since the sun comes up later. And I love that we have daylight until 7 pm. Especially on a day like today- it was nearly 50 degrees and sunny, so wonderful. And the snow is almost gone (that does not mean that it won't snow again, because I'm pretty sure it will) but at least the mounds on the playground are disappearing.

So we actually forgot about the whole changing the clocks thing. We did figure it out, and even made it to church on time (uh, well, close), because we don't meet until 1:30. But Kennady did not get a nap. Ugh. And she had a runny nose, so no nursery for us, besides she isn't old enough, remember? She was pretty good for the first hour. Then she got bored in class. And she pooped. And she was being downright ornery (this is a current trend of hers). Another mom let us borrow a necklace, which Kennady found very entertaining, until she broke it. And then she was in trouble. Ben took her out several times. And by the end of class, I thought it was probably my turn to take her, although Ben tried earnestly to convince me he wanted to take her.

So I took her to Relief Society with me. Yes, the one meeting where I am supposed to lead the music. So I sit near the front, thinking she'll have a little more room to play and I have to be up there anyways. Well, my kid is a monkey. She wanted to play the piano. Luckily, it's digital, and it turns off. So the first song I am trying to lead the music and she is trying to play the piano. So then I am trying to lead the music while trying to convince Kennady that she wants to help me lead the music. And then I was struggling to hold onto a squirming 17 month old and hold off a temper tantrum. We did barely make it through the song before she erupted. So, kindly, another lady in the ward hopped up to lead the next song for me, while I took my screaming child elsewhere. And, can I just say, my music leading skills are awful, she did an awesome job, and she didn't even have to practice.

So I take Kennady out into the hall to try to get her to sit still, be quiet, or go to sleep. And there are 3 screaming, unsupervised children under the age of 5 running around in the foyer. At least I know I'm not the only one. But how do I explain to my kid that I'm not the nice mom that is going to let her run around like a monkey at church? Instead I am the mean mom that is going to make her pretend like she is well-behaved for 3 hours. So, we just switched foyers (yay for big buildings). Then she was tired enough we snuck back into the Relief Society room and sat in the back. She finally fell asleep. Just in time for the closing song. So I tried to lead the music while holding a sleeping, snoring baby who was drooling all down my arm. Teach them to tell me she's too young for nursery.

Kennady made it the rest of the day on that 30 minute nap, and even stayed up late because we went to Kendra and Nathan's for dinner. And then I had to get her up at 6:30 this morning to go babysit, man was she a grump. Today went well though, her and Bailey are best friends and play really well together. We got home at 6, and Ben had made dinner. We ate quickly (he had to go to work), and then Kennady and I headed outside to enjoy what was left of the beautiful day. Then it got colder as the sun was setting and we had to come inside. Kennady was devastated. I put in a movie to try to lessen the blow. She said she was hungry, because she didn't eat dinner. So I made her some chicken nuggets. She ate a few bites, and then dumped them on the living room floor. I asked her to pick them up. She said, "No." I asked again. She started stomping on them. I asked once more, she sat down and started kicking them, laughing. And then she got a lesson on where her stubbornness comes from. Yes, enter an hour of poor pathetic tantrum throwing because she did not want to pick up those chicken nuggets. By the time Ben got home from work at 8, she was hysterical, and mom was not budging, so dad "helped" her pick them up. She did not like that very much, especially since she was pretty convinced that Dad was going to save her from her mean ol' mommy.

Why is it that teaching your children something takes a million times more effort, and is no fun for any one involved? Hmm, if only we could all figure that out as children, perhaps the parent/child relationship would become so much easier.

Score One for Us

Or make that four.

First, Kennady is in bed. Which is fabulous, because we are pretty sure she is getting another tooth and has been a bit of a drooling grump today. She also has hit a growth spurt and is growing like a weed. She is in 18 month clothes (well, they are a little baggy, but she needs the length) and 5 1/2 shoes. This is why I try to only buy shoes on sale, she only wears them for a few months.

Second, Ben is officially registered to take the MCAT! Yay! Ok, so maybe he's not so excited to actually take it, but it is nice that he can, and that we finally got accepted into the fee waiver program, so it won't cost us an arm and a leg to take the test and apply to med schools. Talk about a big relief for us. We'll still have to fork out the money for him to travel to interviews next year, but, well, if he gets interviews I would say it will be worth it.

Third, and I know this is a little late, we stuck to our budget for the second month in a row! And we had $5 left. Go us. Well, I guess technically we had more than that left, but we rolled some of it over into this month's budget to cover my trip to Utah. Hopefully we can stick to it this month. I keep thinking of things I want to buy. Oh yeah, and the MCAT fee, and doctor bills, and we should probably fix our car. Hmm. Good thing we have a freezer full of hot pockets. And Butterfinger ice-cream (the best ice cream ever, which is weird, because neither Ben nor I really care for Butterfingers). Gotta love sales. $.55 for a package of Hot Pockets, does it get better than that? Ok, so maybe potatoes are cheaper, and possibly better depending on how they are cooked. We eat a lot of those too.

Fourth, yesterday I made guacamole for the first time ever. And it was good. So good. I ate a lot. And then for dinner tonight I made up a new recipe. I like to call it Holy Mole Chicken. Catchy, I know. So I take chicken and slather Lowry's Havana Garlic & Lime marinade all over it and bake it till it's done (375 for about 35 minutes). Then top with cheese of your choice (we used mozzarella, because it was already grated, but I would have preferred pepper jack). Then coat with freshly made (um, or leftover) guacamole. Mmmm, tasty. What, you say you don't like guacamole? I used to think that too, but I was wrong. Oh, you don't have a recipe for guacamole? Well, let me just solve both of your problems. Go here. Psych. I can't find the place where I got the recipe from originally. And then I changed it a whole bunch anyways. So I'll just tell you.

2 ripe avocados (I don't know what a ripe avocado looks like, so I don't know if mine were or not)
handful of diced tomatoes (I used them from a can or chop your own fresh, you lazy cook, maybe like two roma tomatoes)
diced garlic, a big spoonful, well I used a fork
lemon juice (the recipe said lime, I didn't have any) it said a lime's worth, but since I used the stuff out of a bottle, I just guessed
salt. a lot. I don't know, maybe a teaspoon or something, make it taste good
diced onion (yeah, I didn't want to chop the onion, and it gives me heartburn, so I omitted it)
cayenne pepper- I didn't have any, so I didn't use any
oh yeah, and some cilantro


Don't ask me how things turn out good from recipes like that. Or when I forget to buy chili seasoning and it's Sunday, so I improvise and both Ben and I agree it's the best chili we've ever had. (Don't ask me for the recipe, I don't know what in the world I did, but hopefully I can recreate it so Ben doesn't cry). I think I have a gift. It probably has something to do with my ridiculously good sense of smell. See, Ben- it does come in handy for something besides nagging you to take out the garbage or asking you to brush your teeth.

Tonight I am going to attempt to go to bed in the next half hour- by 9:30. Every time I try this something bad happens. Like Kennady wakes up and decides not to go back to sleep until 3 in the morning. But first I think I need some guacamole and Butterfinger ice cream. And, no, I am not pregnant. I always get weird food cravings.

The Weekend

Thursday morning I woke up, got Kennady and myself ready for the day and packed our bags. With some help from my kind neighbor who let Kennady play at her house for a few minutes, I was able to get the car loaded in record time. And then I walked back into our house and it was a disaster. At that point it was 11 a.m., the time I had decided was the perfect time to leave. So I decided to just leave it. Sorry Ben. We made it to Blackfoot with Kennady still awake, dropped off some blankets at the hospital there, and then had lunch at McDonald's. Kennady and I were both very disappointed to learn that the outdoor playplace was closed. Kennady was content to sit and eat chicken nuggets in the backseat, rock out to some music and finally snuggle up with her blanket and fall asleep. I got to drive the next 2 1/2 hours in peace.

Kennady woke up around Brigham City, which was good timing because I had to stop for gas. Oh, I should mention that when we left Rexburg, it was beautiful, sunny and 45 degrees (which for all you non-Idaho residents is a warm go outside and play day). By the time we stopped for gas it was dark dreary and starting to rain. Back in the car. Somewhere before Ogden it started hailing. Semi-frozen hail, which was kind of like having snowballs repeatedly thrown at my windshield, making it very hard to see. There is always something when I drive down to Utah, I'm annoyed. We did make it Bluffdale, and just in time because Kennady said she was done in the car. Kennady had fun playing with Russell, and I really enjoyed having an adult to talk to. Kennady had a hard time understanding new rules, like food has to stay in the kitchen (um, we live in a rental, a small one where her table doesn't fit in the kitchen) and no throwing toys down the stairs. We also discovered, or um rediscovered, why Kennady has her own bedroom. After much fighting she went to bed. Then I went to bed a couple hours later. She talks in her sleep. And then she woke up an hour or so after I went to bed and was up until 4:30. Luckily she couldn't get out of the room, so mostly I just let her run around the room (um, sorry if you find any stray Goldfish Kristi). Friday she took a very short morning nap. Then Kristi and I attempted to take Kennady and Russell to the distribution center. The busiest one I have ever seen. Kennady and Russell helped reorganize all the CDs and DVDs on the shelves, between running around screaming and crying and running out the automatic sliding doors.

After that we stopped at McDonald's to let the kids run around the playplace. Russell thought it was awesome. Kennady's lack of sleep caught up to her, and even the slide wasn't making her happy. So we had to leave. This made Russell very unhappy (rightfully so). Kennady got another nap. This time a little longer. We had dinner with Ben's aunt Wanda and his cousins, ranging in age from 3-13? Kennady loved that there were so many kids to play with. Friday night she slept better, but still not quietly, and woke up around 4 am, when she came to sleep in bed with me. She likes to kick me while she is sleeping. And then we got up around 7. Ok, well she woke up and spent a half hour trying to convince me to get out of bed. Maybe it was closer to an hour.

Saturday morning we ate and played, then naps and time to go. We went to Provo and visited Monique and her new baby. Kennady immediately knew there was a baby in the house (she saw all the baby stuff) and spent quite some time looking for the baby, before becoming distracted by all the pretty things she wasn't supposed to play with. I got to hold the little guy, who, from what I could tell, is a really good little baby. Just slept and then ate some and slept some more. Kennady just ate and ate and ate. She did sleep, but only at night. Ok, so I can't complain that much. Kennady loved the baby and kept saying "Hi" and trying to show me his eye. Then we went to see my friend Chelsea. Kennady became grumpy, because she needed a nap. Then pizza for dinner, and Bethany was kind enough to let Kennady watch Kung Fu Panda, which put her in a good enough mood to get her back into the car. Then back to Bluffdale, where we loaded up the car. We were going to drive home Sunday, but I thought I would surprise Ben and be home when he got off work at midnight Saturday. So we left and drove home. Kennady slept most of the way. Until Blackfoot, and then she yelled at me for the last 45 minutes. Her yelling was not stopped by arriving home or promises of getting to go back to sleep or see daddy. Fruit snacks (I forgot to take any to Utah so she was deprived for 3 days) however, did the trick. Ben was surprised to see us. I think we all slept better that night.

Sunday was our first day in the new building, and it was nice! I think they were having a hard time with the speakers, so we all had a hard time hearing. Kennady just played on the floor under our pew, it was great! The only bad thing is that church was moved to 1:30, which is kind of late. Previously church has been in the middle of Kennady's nap time, so she's always been a little cranky and mellow. This week she was full of energy. So class didn't work so well for us. I was out wandering the halls with her and someone opened the door to nursery. She bolted. So I thought we would give it a try. There were 10 kids in there under 2. And it seemed to be everyone else's nap time. I stayed and watched her and she loved it and was one of the better behaved kids in there. Halfway through I had to leave to go lead music, so Ben took over. They were in a tiny room and there were already 5 adults in there and Kennady was being good, so I said he could probably just keep an eye on her from the window in the door. Well, after a few minutes, they brought Kennady out, saying she looked a little too young to be in nursery (um, 3 weeks?) and Ben would have to be in there with her. Whatever, not a problem. I am super happy to learn that our transition into nursery should be a pretty easy one, because Kennady thinks nursery is great. I'm probably more apprehensive than she is about it. Especially when they were teaching the little kids to clap after singing "I Am a Child of God."

I Can Do Anything

So I thought I would post a few pictures from Ben's birthday. Great action shot, huh? So not only am I an awesome photographer, but I can also make cheesecake from scratch. I know the cheesecake isn't the prettiest in the world, but boy does it taste good (and all that wax from Ben's 25 candles came right off).This is Kennady all dressed for church. Isn't she cute? Aunt Kendra likes to spoil her (well, and everyone else, but this outfit came from Aunt Kendra).

I can handle two 18 month-olds at the same time. Especially while one is disgustingly sick. Today was quite the morning. Well, I guess it started last night when Kennady thought it was time to get up around 11 (just as we were heading to bed). So after some snacks and Kung Foo Panda we finally got her back to bed. I was supposed to babysit this morning, but didn't want to wake up the monkey, so I had them bring Bailey here. Kennady slept in until 8:30 and Bailey just sleepily snuggled and watched cartoons until she got up. And then Bailey got sick. Poop up to her armpits. A smelly stinky mess, it made our entire apartment stink. It was the worst I have ever seen (and I've seen some bad stuff). Luckily (for me) Ben was still home. It took both of us to clean up the mess and keep Kennady out of it. So I could have done it by myself, but who would refuse help in this situation? And I'm sure the mess would have been a lot worse if I had been outnumbered. After a bath and a load of laundry things were all good. And Bailey seemed just fine for the rest of the day (during which Kennady refused to take a nap).

I can play the organ. And now for the story of how I've come to play the organ. So, once upon a time, I started plunking out hymns on a 1970s keyboard in Young Women's, because I could read music (treble clef, that is) and had deciphered which keys corresponded to which notes. Then I turned 18, entered Relief Society, and was asked to be the pianist. Um, I don't play the piano. Well, then I guess you can learn. Uh, ok. So I did, or well at least I tried. I could play a few hymns well, and the rest, well, I guess they were alright. Every Sunday the chorister gave a disclaimer, just asking people to bear with me. Did I mention that I get horribly nervous playing in front of people? I played the flute for 6 years, and was pretty good, and yet never really went for the solo thing, it made me want to pass out and throw up. Not to mention I cannot memorize music to save my life. Ok, so I lived through that, went away to college and got released, thinking no one would ever know that I'd been forced to learn the piano and besides every girl at BYU-I plays the piano. And it worked, until we moved to Alaska. Then I got called to play the piano for Primary. I thought, well, a bunch of little kids don't know the difference between a good piano player and a crummy one, so I wasn't so nervous. Plus I was pregnant and enjoyed hiding behind the piano and eating snacks for 2 hours. It was awesome. Then we moved back to Idaho, where there are tons of people that play the piano for real. And I thought I was off the hook.

And then a few weeks ago, the bishop approached me and said, "You play piano, right?" What? Who told you? Maybe people just assume because I have ginormous hands and long fingers. "Uh, well, play, sort of, I know a few hymns and lots of primary songs. But I guess if you need me to play I can." And then I got called to be the Relief Society chorister. Um, I can't lead music, I don't know how. Well, I guess you can learn. Uh, ok, it's alright, no one pays attention to the lady in front waving her arm (well except all the music majors...which there are a lot of). Eh, well, who cares if I make a fool out of myself every week, it could be worse.

So then last Sunday they announce that there is going to be a meeting for all people who musical callings. Bishop calls later that day to confirm that I am going, because he wants to make sure I am there. So I go to the meeting last night in our new building (um, fabulous, we don't have to sit in folding chairs anymore). Turns out the title of the meeting is Stake Organist Training Meeting. What? I have been duped. So it's me and the ward pianist there. And I learned how to play the organ. This one's all fancy and can actually play itself, although we've been forbidden to do that. Did you know the organ has a keyboard you play with your feet? You are supposed to play the bass line on it. PS I still don't really know how to read bass clef. And I'm the worst guitar hero drummer ever because I can't use the foot pedal. So, I'm sure this will just come naturally to me. Anyways, I felt like a total goof, because not only was I the only one there not an accomplished piano player or a music major, I had no idea the organ had so many foot pedals, so I was super confused and until I figured it out.

I wasn't really sure why I was at the meeting. And then the pianist told me she plans to be out of town in a few weeks. And since I'm the only other person in the ward that can even turn on the organ...well I think you get it. I hope they don't mind if I throw up all over their expensive new organ.

Not Helping

Earth Quake in Chili May Have Shortened Days
Seriously? And we lose an hour of sleep in 2 weeks. Ugh.