Benana Split With a Kari on Top

Slumber party

2011-11-25T01:35:00.001-07:00

Since my sister is out of town, her family said my parents could stay at their place and have the house to themselves. When Benny found out Grandpa and Grandma were leaving our house, he decided he wanted to go with them. We let them have a couple hours to themselves and then sent him over to spend the night. We have no idea how it went and will find out in the morning I guess, but it was so cute how excited he was. He's all dressed up in his pj's with his special pillow and blanket (which he stole from me; my mom made them for me when I was little), ready to go. When did he get so grown up?

Oh yeah, I forgot to write down the latest Bennyisms:
-We were talking about Christmas and giving, and Ben said something about Benny sharing and giving someone a gift.
His response:"Why would I give them a present? I'm not Santa Claus."
Guess we need to work on the meaning of giving with him.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T20:26:00.001-07:00

Let's see. We've been super busy but not with anything exciting or fun.We moved last weekend into a small apartment here in Hercules so my mom has been here helping. The poor woman came a week before the move to help clean and pack since I was 36 weeks pregnant. Then she stayed another week to help unpack and clean and watch Benny. Then at that point my dad said since Thanksgiving was just another 5 days away, she may as well stay and he'd come up to get her and spend Thanksgiving with us. She will have been here a minimum of 3 weeks when she goes home. She will probably never want to visit again! But we really appreciate all her help and we did have a nice Thanksgiving dinner today. I did none of the cooking except the gravy which was gross. Everything else turned out well, even the pumpkin pie which had 3 incorrect ingredients.

Yesterday I was too lazy to cut Benny's hair and took him to Great Clips to pay way too much for a trim. But he's always so cute when he sits in that big chair. He always has such a serious look on his face.

My birthday was last week, and we had boxes everywhere in the apartment. It was exhausting unpacking all week but I did have a good day. Ben spoiled me and got me flowers and a card to a spa for some pampering. Then we were able to go out for lunch on Saturday to my favorite restaurant, the Cheesecake Factory. So this pic is of me with a ginormous belly, as people are very eager to point out, at the end of the day on my birthday.

And, this last one is me today, Thanksgiving day, with 2 weeks left before I am due. I'm doing pretty well when my back and pelvis aren't killing me. I haven't gained much weight, and I'm not super swollen. My nose has spread a little which never looks good on anyone, but I'm still wearing normal jeans and didn't get any new stretch marks. It's been exhausting but I really can't complain. No one said pregnancy is easy, and we are very grateful to have Benny and now this little girl. Everything has gone pretty textbook with growth being spot on as well. So even though people say I'm "extremely large," I'm right where I should be. The one thing I worry about is the drama girls bring. And this one has been CRAZY from the beginning. We had to do her ultrasound 3 times to see everything we needed to see. And inside my belly has been a constant circus. They tell you to do "kick counts" during active periods during the day. I have to do the opposite and see if there are any NON-active periods during the day, or night. She is one constant ball of movement. There is hardly a time I cannot see or feel something going on in my tummy.All that said, we're just about ready. The doctor said any day at this point will be the day. I think I overdid it with all the moving and have had a lot of contractions and dilating. He said if she hasn't come by next week, 39 weeks, I can just go ahead if I want to if I am worried about size since Benny was fairly good size. We'll see. I kind of want to spend a little time with Benny before she gets here since the past couple weeks have been so crazy.So that's where we are! Still here.

Benny the Angry Bird

2011-10-21T17:34:00.007-07:00

I am shocked at how many compliments I have gotten on this costume. Thank you so much! As I said, I have been called "craft impaired, craft-tarded, and the anti-crafter." I have complained about my anxiety over walking into the store Michaels. I refuse to make things and would rather buy them.
This Halloween, however, Benny's costume started at $50. Then we saw it was sold out and was going for $200 on ebay. So what does a dad do? He tells his son that "WE" will just make it for him. Yikes. For some reason I doubted that "WE" included more than one person, and I also doubted that one person was him.

Anyway, I figured someone else had also made this costume somewhere in the world, so I googled instructions on how. I came across this blog: http://theclockblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/angry-birds-costume-instructions.html

Some have asked for instructions, so here are my revisions to the above guidelines:

You will need: colored fabric of choice bird (black here), other fabric for inside of costume, thread matching bird, stuffing/batting, grey fabric for bottom of bird, flannel for face.

I used as much stuff as I could find around the house and spent $7!!!

1. First, there is no pattern, so get some butcher paper or tissue paper and trace around the person to get an accurate size. I then tied a string to a pencil to create a circle from the center of Benny's body. I measured the circle and bought fabric accordingly.

2. Fabric is actually kind of expensive I found. You will need at least a yard of colored fabric for the front and one for the back depending on how large the person is. I got away with 2 yards total for Benny and it is large on him. I didn't want to buy the expensive fabric, so even though the blog recommends flannel, I decided a twin bedsheet would probably be good enough. I went to Walmart to spend $5 on one and ran across some flannel throws for $2.88 each and bought two.

3. You also need fabric for the inside of the costume, so I cut up an old white sheet we had lying around the house.
So essentially there are 4 pieces of fabric, 2 black (or red, yellow, whatever bird this is) and then 2 of whatever color for the inside that no one will see. They are all exactly the same pattern/size cut from the butcher paper pattern you drew earlier. The pattern should include the fuse at the top of the head if doing the black bomb bird, or tufts for the red etc.

4. Sew both of the outside/black pieces to the inside/white pieces leaving a small open area at the bottom to be able to stuff it. Now there are 2 pieces, the front and back of the costume.

5. On the front piece, cut arm slats, whatever size you want and wherever you want. Cut a hole for the head but DO NOT make it too big (Benny's is waaay too big). They recommend making it smaller than you think it should be and should use a cereal bowl to trace the head circle. Also make sure not to place it too high. I was worried Benny's would be too low and cover his face, but I made it too high and it doesn't cover enough head to stay on well (this could also be because the hole is huge).

6. For the grey area on the bottom of the black bomb bird, I cut up an old Tshirt. You can also find cheap Thirts at Walmart's craft section ($2.50)or Michaels, or just buy a little fabric. I didn't have dark grey so Benny's is a little on the light side. Sew this onto the bottom portion of the front piece. Save some small scraps for the eyes.

7. Stitch up all rough edges from head hole, arms holes, etc. Sew front of costume to back of costume so now there is one piece, making sure to leave a large opening at the bottom for the wearer's body to enter.

8. I used some red, yellow and white felt pieces and cut eyes, mouth, and eyebrows. You can stitch or glue them on.

9. Stuff the costume with batting and then stitch the openings closed. I used an old pillow and took out half the stuffing for the front and the other half for the back.

10. And that's it! Hopefully this won't take you, Bethany, as long as it took me as I had no idea what I was doing!!!! Good luck

Crazy

2011-10-08T23:10:00.003-07:00

It's official: we have completely lost our minds.

We decided to move into a small apartment to save some money for a few months. I will be 36 weeks pregnant on moving day next month.

Kill me now.

That said, we both feel good about this. We're just moving a few streets away in the same city and same ward. We'll obviously be giving up some things, but at least we will both be able to fit into the bathroom at the same time. Although I won't be working anymore so I really won't need to be in the bathroom getting ready at the same time as Ben. Oh well. We'll see how this goes! It's not forever, right?

Still here

2011-09-25T22:10:00.005-07:00

There just hasn't been a whole lot going on here. We're busy and pooped. Let's face it, I'm plain tired. I don't do much besides work and take care of Benny.

Ben had a week break before the fall school year start dates, but we decided to stay local and save some money and energy. We went to the zoo as a family, went to the Santa Cruz boardwalk, and did some baby shopping.

Ben had crazy hair day at school. We thought we did a pretty awesome job on his cut.

Benny visits firefighters/firetrucks/firestations any chance he gets. This was at Walmart last week.

This is me at 29 weeks today.

And these are my favorite boys:)

It's a...

2011-07-31T23:46:00.002-07:00

...healthy baby! That's at least what we got the first time we tried to find out what kind of baby it was. Little stinker wasn't showing off. However, a friend who used to be in the ward and who also happens to be in ultrasound school right now heard of our predicament and offered to do another one for us. It turned out to be really, really cool, much better than the grainy images we saw at the clinic we went to (which I have to return to tomorrow to finish the scan for documentation purposes). The equipment was top notch and we got some really clear pictures and a CD with several pics and video clips, much better than the computer printer paper we got from the clinic.

Oh yeah, and it's a girl, but I think you all already knew that. We can't keep a secret.

This is a very short clip that I thought was sooo cute. We happened to catch her yawning, and then sticking that thumb right back into her mouth, just like her older brother.

The Bens

2011-07-31T23:10:00.003-07:00

Ever since Benny was born people would say he was Ben's mini me. I just never saw it. He looked too much like himself. Then we got a photo album in the mail from Ben's stepmom for his birthday. I took one look at this pic below and realized they are the same person. I wish I could have found a better picture of Benny where he looks like his dad's twin, but I can definitely see it now. Take off the hair on both and just look at the faces:

They even do the same things:

I thought this was the funniest picture I have ever seen. Both Big Ben and Benny have a thing with sucking their thumb/fingers and holding their ear. Benny has never used his foot, though. I am impressed with Big Ben's flexibility here:

Funny little boys

2011-07-23T22:06:00.004-07:00

I just enjoy this guy. Much more so than I ever thought I would. When we first found out he was not a girl, I wondered what the heck I was going to do. I only knew hair and Barbies and Cabbage Patch dolls. I didn't know anything about dump trucks and hot wheels. But he cracks me up. We find out Monday what we're having and I would be fine with another boy, and a girl would be fun too. So we are just excited Benny gets to be a big brother.

We always check on Benny before we go to bed. This one night I peeked in and noticed he was naked and asleep. In the morning I asked him why he took all his clothes off and he matter of factly said he knew he was going to pee the bed and didn't want to get his clothes all wet! Such a thinker ha ha

Benny does not share his pillows with anyone unless there is a very good reason. This night we peeked in and saw he had carefully placed his two puppies on a pillow each and everyone was asleep.

He is such a hard worker when he wants to be. There are two things he could do all day: take out the trash and weed. This was taken a few weeks ago, but he loves to go out and help his dad with the yard. Today we had a ward service project and he went to an older lady's house and helped Ben weed for 3 hours.
He also wants to take out the trash as soon as he sees there is any garbage in it. He knows there are three bins--garbage, recycle, and green waste--and puts things in accordingly. On trash day he helps roll out the garbage cans, and brings them in on his own after they're empty. We think we're going to start an allowance type thing along with his poop chart, so he'll get quarters for pooping and doing chores etc. We'll see if he's jazzed about it at all but I appreciate his willingness to help. Now if he'd only pick up his toys....

He thinks he is such a big boy, much older than his peers:

I already posted this on Facebook but he is such a typical boy. I think my sister Kimiko calls my mom several times a week to tell her the funny things he says. Very thankful for this little monkey.

Ben's bday and more travel

2011-07-23T21:46:00.003-07:00

Wow I didn't realize how busy our summer had been until I started updating the blog. I realize a lot of this is boring for people reading, and they don't know who most of the people are, but I have to remember this is for me to remember stuff and document our goings on. I feel bad my blog is not funny or exciting, but I don't feel bad enough to do anything about that:)

Once again, Ben's birthday fell on July 4th. He is funny and said we either had to do a small family thing with just us or invite a bunch of people as he did not know who to exclude. So he requested I do a luau. Fortunately and unfortunately, many people are busy on the 4th so we only had about 20 people and a ton of leftovers. It turned out to be a fun time with people from the ward and good food.

The next week we celebrated our anniversary and went to Cheesecake Factory in Walnut Creek, my fave. We then rushed next door to watch Transformers 3 in 3D and then rushed to Oakland for a baptism.

The next week Kimiko and I took a trip down to Lompoc to our parents' house. Our good friend Tristan was able to come up from Mexico to visit. She has been down there the past 10 years due to silly U.S. laws restricting her Mexican husband from re-entering the country. This was an exciting time as he was able to obtain his Visa once again and it was the first time they were able to all come up and visit. Tristan's family, the Rhines, were the first people we met when we moved to Lompoc. They eventually moved off to Washington, and she moved to Mexico, but they have always been a special family to us. When we first moved to Lompoc, we all kind of had a hard time and didn't know anyone. A few weeks after arriving my older brother, Kenneth, suddenly passed away. Scott Rhine was Bishop then and very supportive, and his wife, Verna immediately came over with food for our freezer so we didn't have to worry about little things like that. They took us to the beach, girls' camp, and befriended two shy preteens who really didn't want to be there.

The Rhines later inherited some inlaws from church, the Heaths. I worked for the Heaths in high school as a general assistant in their dental office. They are wonderful people and helped jumpstart my career in dental hygiene.
It was great to see all these good people who left positive marks in our memories.

Utah trip June 2011

2011-07-23T19:50:00.003-07:00

Whew! The moment the Nishimoto reunion was over, we left the next day (Father's Day) for Utah. Poor Ben spent his Father's Day in the car, and then we (I) accidentally left the laptop at the hotel in Reno.

But we made it safe and sound to Lehi where we spent time with Ben's mom, sister and her family, and brother. We barbecued at family friends and had Cafe Rio.

We also spent some time in Provo at our good friends' the Jensens and enjoyed making s'mores in the backyard. And I got to get my teeth cleaned and visit with my old dental office in Orem.

Then on to the northern part of our trip in the Brigham City area where we visited with Grandma Christensen, Benny's great grandma and saw the Brigham temple. We attended my nephew Jared's wedding. I got to see my cousin Brooke who is having a baby boy in October and my old roommate Heather. My parents and I visited my niece Amanda who had just given birth to her first little baby boy the day before. And finally we celebrated my brother-in-law Chad's 50th birthday. And then we jumped in the car and headed back to Cali. And yay, we were able to retrieve the laptop in Reno:) And then we breathed for a little bit. Just a little.

Nishimoto reunion June 2011

2011-07-23T00:03:00.004-07:00

We finally had our 5 year reunion on my mom's side. We don't hold it very often since a lot of people have to travel from Hawaii and it gets pricey. I was disappointed we didn't actually hold it in Hawaii as originally planned and had it in the Bay Area, but it turned out to be fun for everyone.

My siblings came out a few days early and we all (minus my brother who didn't make the reunion) went to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. We saw marine animals and shows and rode rides. I was sooo thankful to my nephew Connor for taking Benny on all the rides so I didn't have to.
Benny and Mayumi won matching puppies from a balloon dart game. I was impressed at Benny's skills as he won all by himself.

Day 1 of the reunion we all went to dinner and then gathered at the church for pictures, talents and family updates. Clockwise from top left: my mom's brother Sam's family, my mom's family, 1st cousins who attended, mom's sister (deceased) Yuriko's family, and middle is the 3 out of 7 surviving siblings including my mom. There is one more but she didn't make it.

Day 2 of reunion we met at Tilden Park in Berkelely for lunch, chatting and activities. My sister Janice made awesome shirts which Benny is modeling. He is also showing off his slug friend in one of the pictures. It was all exhausting but a lot of fun.

Spring break April 2011

2011-07-22T23:18:00.005-07:00

It's been so long it's getting kind of blurry. But we took a coastal trip and went down to visit my parents and Ben's dad.

We went to the mission in Lompoc:

And then to Surf Beach to look for sand dollars. Ben illegally grabbed one from the restricted bird preserve just for me. It was so freezing and windy at the beach that Benny started crying so my mom took him to the car. Definitely not a beach to go lay out or swim

.

Then on to Cambria to visit Ben's dad. His stepmom stayed home in Bakersfield as she prepped for surgery a few days later.
The seals swam right by us.
Benny pretty much stayed this way forever poking anemones and picking up crabs.

More fun at the tide pools:

View from Grandpa Tom's beach house. I could get used to life at the beach:)

Pure joy (part 2)

2011-05-28T22:46:00.004-07:00

We appreciate so much all the people who have prayed for us over the years. Miracles don't happen without faith, and we have definitely seen them in our lives. We have had so many interesting growth experiences and feel humbled and extremely grateful.

Pure joy (part 1)

2011-05-28T22:21:00.005-07:00

It's been a great week. After being partially potty trained for almost a year, he finally decided he would go #2! We had tried everything. We bribed him with everything imaginable, and nothing was worth pooping on the potty to him. Until last Sunday. When we saw he was really going to do this, we came up with a reward system. He could go to the $ store the next day and pick out a bunch of things as a reward each time he went. Then we made a chart that would fill up maybe a month or so of successes, and each time he earned 7 he could earn a big prize. We knew he had been ready for a long time and was being stubborn and hoped this would finally work.
Well, it sure did. That little turkey decided he really could do this and wanted all the big prizes as fast as possible and has gone more times than I could fathom. But I guess when you refuse to use the potty and hold it inside that long it all has to go somewhere.

And here is the proud owner of some new fire boots. Big prize #1 was new fire gear. He earned it so quickly the rest of it hasn't even arrived yet.
Everyone said it would click one day, but he was being so incredibly stubborn we couldn't see it happening. Well it clicked, and he's a pro now, and life is good.

2011-05-09T17:58:00.003-07:00

I know this needs to be updated, badly. I'll really try in the next few days.
For now, here are the latest Benny-isms:

Yesterday:

Ben: Benny, today was Mother's Day, a special day for moms when we tell them how much we appreciate them. Is there anything you'd like to say to mommy?
Benny: No.

Today:

Benny: Mommy, can you get me some soy milk?
Kari: Yeah, it's on the counter where I already told you it was.
Benny: Oh, can you bring it in here to me?
Ben: You can go get it yourself. Mommy is not your personal slave.
Benny: Yes, she is.

Oh this boy

Bunch of stuffs

2011-03-20T23:16:00.006-07:00

I said "stuffs" cuz that is the way my mom has always said it. Stuffs is plural for stuff. Oh, wait.

Anyway, I am too tired to organize this post or write much about it.

Oakland zoo. It was nice Daddy was able to have MLK Day off work to spend time with us.

Tech Museum in San Jose last week. This is a small submarine.

Awesome slippers Big Ben brought home from work for Benny. They are always getting rid of cool stuff that is not "age appropriate" for the students there

Chillin' with dad's ipod. Ben is nice to share since he owns at least 3. I, sadly, have none.

All the rescue vehicles are parked backward in the station so they can rush out to help somebody when it's time.

My 2nd non-rectangular cake. We celebrated my dad's bday on Superbowl Sunday, so even though he doesn't watch football, he got a football cupcake cake

I just want you to check out my mom's legs. Pretty buff for a _____ year-old.

I can't remember why but Ben watched Benny all day one day. They read books, practiced letters and numbers, played, and did crafts. I was very impressed. I still say he should be stay-at-home dad. He's much better at it than I am. (No, Benny did not write his name by himself).

Trying to call Grandpa Tom & Grammy on my "special phone."

They play so well together (most of the time). It's really fun.

And, most importantly, Benny's trip to the firestation! I've been meaning to take him for several months now and have been trying to find a day to fit in several things together to make it worth a special trip to Cordelia (Fairfield). They were so nice and actually seemed excited to have us there. They invited us back anytime. They were even nice enough to tell Benny that real firefighters use the potty, not pullups or diapers (or their underwear! Grrr), so he said he would start using the potty all the time (have yet to see this happen, but we'll see.) It was so cute to see how excited he was, even if he got all shy once we were there. I even thought it was pretty cool. To all my firefighting friends, thank you for all you do! My son sure thinks you are heroes

Growing up

2011-03-15T22:49:00.006-07:00

And I'm not talking about Benny. I'm talking about two goobers in their early 30's. I think back to 8 years ago when our friends introduced Ben and me to each other (Adrienne speaking): "Kari, let's get together since we haven't seen each other in years. We'll bring a friend for you to hang out with--he's a big goofball, and you're a big goofball, so you two will have fun together."

Several months later I got 2 baking stones as wedding gifts. I regifted both of them. I was NEVER going to be talented enough to actually make something from scratch. I also got a breadmaker and promptly packed it back up for 8 years after my 1st failed attempt using it. Couldn't even make bread from a machine.

Now I make stuff--dinners, desserts, baked goods. Ben even complimented me by telling his staff: "My wife really sucked at cooking when I met her, but now she's pretty good." What a sweetie.
Anyway, I am slowly wanting to learn how to can and do food storage stuff. Not saying I've done it yet, but I am looking into it. I made pizza from scratch, including the dough, the other day. Crafts still give me anxiety, but I wouldn't be surprised if one day I made a homemade card or something. I just need to conquer my fear of Michael's craft store.

I'm not saying all this to brag about my awesome skills, because they really aren't AWESOME, but maybe awesome.

Ben has changed, too. He used to get so caught up in sports that I would often cry because I was so frustrated with him. Now he is cancelling his sports package from DirecTV, and has missed games to do family or church activities.
I think the biggest is how much he serves others. Ben has always been a good guy since I've known him, but I definitely think he's better. Sometimes I get annoyed at how much other people need stuff and I think they should do more for themselves. But Ben doesn't complain. He just goes and does what needs to be done. I need to be more like that.
The biggest moment that sticks out to me was last week. Benny and I had been gone ALL DAY to San Jose and were exhausted. I just wanted to go home and have dinner and go to bed, but we had to stop at the store first. As we were leaving the store, the usual "Save the Children" guy was outside asking for change. And then the guy pointed out there was a lady in need of a jumpstart for her car. I was so tired I was close to tears. But I remembered two things: 1) A friend who kept having car troubles had to rely on the goodness of others on several occasions, and what if that were me needing help?
2) Ben had had us purchase jumper cables for instances such as this, so they should be used for instances such as this.

The rich-looking lady in the nice clothes with the nice car and dead battery said she didn't have any cash to give us at the moment, and I waved her off and told her I didn't expect anything. I explained we were lucky to have jumper cables because of my husband. We bought them one night when someone needed a jump and we didn't have cables. Ben had said "We really need to have cables in case someone needs help again." He didn't say "We need cables in case WE need help." He was thinking of how he could help someone else.

And that got me thinking. Eight years, 5 miscarriages, 1 child, and many, many experiences later, we're different people. We're definitely not perfect, but I hope we are better people than we were. There have been hard times, but those bring about the most good.
So happy engagement day to us (in 23 minutes)! Can't believe it's been 8 years.

***And because I'm still me, you better believe I told that lady with the dead car battery that there was an auto parts store in that very same parking lot so she'd have jumper cables in the future. Nicely, of course.

Country music

2011-02-14T10:29:00.002-07:00

It's no secret that Ben and I don't like it. So last night Ben was watching the Grammys, and just when you think your kids aren't paying attention, they say stuff like this:

Ben: (as a weird country song was being performed) "What was that?!"
Benny: (shouting from the other room) "That was just me farting!"

Little boys

Good guy

2011-01-30T21:44:00.002-07:00

My husband is a good one. And I often don't give him enough credit. Especially this week. He has had a really grueling week at work (apparently teaching Special Ed can get kind of crazy, and gross) and I often lose patience when he gets worn out and I don't get the breaks I "feel I deserve." I put that in quotes to soften it a bit, so I don't sound like a complete jerk of a wife.

I remembered that a couple weeks ago I was thinking what a good guy he was after one night in particular. We were going to babysit for my sister but I was pretty busy that night, and without hesitation Ben said he didn't mind just doing it himself. So he fed the kids, played with them, got them in their pajamas, etc. When I got home I saw that Benny and Mayumi were wearing the same pajamas. Kimiko and I had somehow bought the exact same ones for our kids.
I didn't even have to wonder if Ben took some pictures; of course he did. He thinks of things like that.

I know it's a little thing, snapping a quick picture, but he does thoughtful little things like that a lot. He turns on my seat warmer for me when he starts the car. He drops off Benny and picks him up on the days I work, and also gets him ready to save me 10 minutes since I am ALWAYS running late. He brings home extra toys from school that he thinks Benny will like.

So off I go to see if there is something I can do for him. I'd like to one day be as good a wife as he is a husband.

Benny's song

2011-01-30T21:30:00.006-07:00

The picture has nothing to do with anything, but non-funny blogs are better with pics, right?

Benny is quite the budding photographer.

Of course this is just for his parents to remember as we will think it is way funnier than anyone else.

Tonight Benny decided that after prayer and scriptures he would perform a couple songs on his guitar before he went to bed. His first number was Old MacDonald. He then wanted to sing a song about dinosaurs, but then he realized he didn't know any. Ben told him he would just have to make one up. So this was the song:

"There was a dinosaur named Rexy Hape. He ate all the vegetables, and then a cow and a triceratops, and then he ate all the POOP! And then he ate some guts, guts, guts, guts."

We thought that was pretty creative for his first song. Maybe the next one will be a bit cleaner.

Walking faster

2011-01-12T22:40:00.004-07:00

...than we have strength is a no-no.
And I think we often-times do this.

For example, I got sick over the holidays. But it was the holidays and I wasn't going to let being sick slow me down. So I baked. I shopped. I cooked. I entertained.
And I made Friendship Bread. I was feeling sicker and sicker, but the dough was already past its day to be baked so I couldn't put it off any longer. And I was going to bake them all and THEN give them away. So I baked 8 mini loaves, 2 medium loaves, and one regular. I made tags and got ready to deliver. Except by then I was too exhausted. I went to bed. I went to bed the next day. And those little loaves of bread dried out. They eventually became too gross to give to anyone. And they all went into the trash.

And maybe wasting 8 mini loaves is not a huge deal in the big picture, but it just kind of hit me that I had been a bit maniacal with my doing stuff. It is ok to slow down.
So, I am going to work on prioritizing and doing things that matter. Sometimes we just can't do everything.

3 Years Old

2011-01-02T13:24:00.005-07:00

Is it bad that I might be a tiny bit sad? Today he is officially no longer a baby. I've seen it coming for awhile now, but today I can no longer say he's still my two year-old toddler.

This is the 1st cake I've ever tried to do, you know, besides a 9x13 or round. It turned out to be about what I expected for a 1st attempt. At least Benny can tell it's a firetruck.

More of the holiday festivities to come later, but I just had to tell someone that Benny is all grown up now.

Benny-isms of the week

2010-12-18T10:47:00.002-07:00

(Last Saturday)
Benny: Bye, Dad, I'm going to the store with Mommy. And make sure she doesn't yell at me.

(Monday)
Me: OK, Benny, you can watch a show on my bed while I exercise.
Benny: Why do you need to exercise? So you won't be fat?

(Wednesday, doctor's office)
Benny: Is that a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge?
Me, looking closely: Um, yes, it actually IS the Golden Gate Bridge.
Benny: Remember the time we went under the bridge with Grandpa Tom and Grammy in a boat? (That was almost a year ago. His memory is incredible)

A bit later, STILL at the doctor's office:
Benny: What is the doctor going to do?
Me: Well, I have a sinus infection so my nose is kind of yucky.
Benny: Oh, you're right, you should have the doctor get all that hair out of there.

A few minutes later:
Me: Benny, we have been here a really long time and I need to get to work, so I'll give the doctor 5 more minutes and then we're leaving.
Benny: No! Mommy, you can't leave until the doctor gets all the boogers out of your nose!

(Thursday, getting ready for a nap)
Benny: Remember when Daddy showed me pictures on the grey laptop of when I was in your tummy, and your tummy was really big?
Me: Yeah, and wouldn't it be cool if there was another baby in there and my tummy got big again?
Benny: Yeah, but your tummy is already getting bigger.
Me: Oh really, where?
Benny: (Pointing) here and here.
Me: That's not a baby, it's just fat.
Benny: Oh, it's fat? I think you better work out more, Mommy.

A bit later:
Benny: Alright, you can have a baby in there but make sure your tummy doesn't break.

Little boys

2010-12-08T09:39:00.005-07:00

I always have to do a double take when I walk down the hall and encounter these:

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I think he is OCD. He rearranged the nativity characters into a straight line. And I still have no idea what baby Jesus is doing in the tree.

We sure enjoy this little guy

Church callings

2010-12-05T02:09:00.003-07:00

Though I should answer since people are asking what exactly we are doing in church. No, Ben is not the Bishop; he is 2nd Counselor.
I'm in the 2nd Counselor in Primary and also choir pianist, surprise surprise. I think I have been a choir pianist for a total of about 10 years.

My bday & Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-29T00:28:00.012-07:00

So I had a birthday on Nov. 15th. Ben got me some lilies, I got a bunch of cards in the mail, I got tons of Facebook bday wishes, and I got flowers from work. And I got 3 cakes: one from a ward member we had over for dinner, one my sister Kimiko made (which was very cute), and one from work. Ben and I still have yet to go out and celebrate as scheduling has been kind of hard latel.

Kimiko's cake

For Thanksgiving we went to Bakersfield to see Ben's dad and stepmom before turkey day, then headed over to Lompoc to my parents' for turkey day itself. Kimiko's family was also at my parents', so our kids got to run around together and make messes. And then we left because as of this moment, my parents, a sister and a brother are all on their way to Hawaii. Stinkers. OK, we really left because Ben had to speak in church, and it also was nice he had his bigscreen at home to watch the BYU game (although the game didn't end up being worth it).
A tired and grouchy Benny after lunch with Grandpa & Grammy Middleton

On our drive home to the Bay Area, we stopped in Morro Bay for a couple hours. It was a very nice day, not too freezing or windy. We took Benny to the aquarium and he got to feed the sea lions. Way better and cheaper than Sea World! As far as the feeding goes, that is. The rest of the aquarium, not so much.

We waited for lunch for an hour, but the view was nice. Benny is deliriously tired by now

I think this was my favorite part. Benny always wants a big sucker when we go sightseeing, and we won't let him have one. This time we decided he had earned a "big, huge sucker, please, please" so he is enjoying it here above....

...and not 2 minutes later he faceplanted on the sidewalk, leaving this much of the sucker. He cried, not because he hurt himself, but because sucker bits were all over the sidewalk. I was kinda happy about the new size though since he definitely didn't need all that candy.

Once again, Benny is overly tired and in need of a nap here

The Sunday before Thanksgiving my parents came up, even though we were going to see them 3 days later. When we found out Ben would be in the Bishopric at church, we asked my dad if he would come up and ordain Ben as a High Priest. They were in Utah at the time, and are now leaving for Hawaii, but they didn't hesitate about rearranging some plans in the middle and making the last minute trip up here to support us. We really appreciate all our parents and all they do for us.

So, I think this Thanksgiving season, I am most thankful for family. They bake you cakes. They read your blog. They answer the phone when you want to just blab. They do anything you ask them to do if you need help. They buy you 7 containers of hot chocolate and sauces you can't get in California and bring it to you. They send cards for holidays, even if they're late. They tell you things you need to hear, even if you don't want to hear them. And they always support you, even if you don't feel you deserve it.

I hope everyone is enjoying their Thanksgiving season and remembers to be grateful. No matter how much we have or don't have, everyone has something to be thankful for, something I continuously work on to remember.

Everybody Needs a Friend

2010-11-07T18:03:00.006-07:00

Benny and his 3 best friends

Look at me, getting all reflective and stuff.

Several weeks ago, my sister and I went to help with a Saturday night church dinner for the women in the area. We didn't really want to help, but no one else would volunteer, so off we went. We probably didn't even help that much once we were there, and it was really hot. I hate being hot. So there we were with a bunch of old ladies filling water glasses.

We found out we wouldn't have to help the whole time and would get to enjoy the dinner, so we went to put our purses down at a table and hopefully reserve it for us and our friends. To my surprise, one of the older ladies we were working with asked where we were putting our stuff so she could put hers there too. I kind of chuckled to myself that they would want to sit with us instead of with people their age.

Once our "younger" friends showed up they came over and let us know that they were all at "The Younger Table" and were waiting for us. I smiled and said we were fine where we were, and thank you. She gave me a confused look and returned to her table.

I realized that there doesn't have to be the "young table" and the "old table." The women we sat with didn't have children at home anymore, one was widowed, and another single altogether and I am not sure of her story. They just wanted to have a fresh conversation with a friend. They just wanted to feel included, too.

And we had a great time. They are all great women. Many times we have to get out of our comfort zone because, young or old, everybody needs a friend.

Utah Trip Oct. 2010

2010-11-07T17:50:00.000-07:00

My memory of the trip is a little foggy by now. But the 2nd weekend in October we decided to take a quick trip, the reasons being threefold: My niece was blessing her baby, and I REALLY wanted to see the tiny little girl (although not so tiny after just 2 months), my Grandma recently had a stroke and we wanted to visit with her, and we needed to get some dental work done. Bad. (My old boss made it worth our while to travel to Utah and get all the work done there than to do it at THE OFFICE I WORK AT here in Cali. That said it is a good office and a very nice dentist).

We were worried that with it being such a quick trip it would only be exhausting (leave Thurs night and be back to work 8:00 am Monday, driving 12 hours each way) and not fun, but it proved very worthwhile. Even with Benny puking all over the car on the way we made it.

We were able to stay in Provo with our friends Steve and Adrienne and their family. They made yummy food for us the whole time.

Then we went to my old office and got our dental work done. It was really nice to see everyone and even made me miss my old job. My friend Kristen met up with us and we went to Cafe Rio. Oh how I have missed thee (you too, Kristen).
All this time Benny is out with his Grandma Sue having the time of his life. Apparently they went to the mall where he got some nice professional portraits taken. Then they went to lunch. Then they went to Trafalga with the entire family on Ben's side the rest of the afternoon. I feel kind of bad we weren't in on the fun or to get any pictures with them, but Ben and I did get to spend the whole day together on our dental date and shopping:)

I have missed Winger's so much and made everyone on my side go to dinner there with us once we got up to the Brigham City area. (no, the whole trip was not about food)

My grandma's house in Brigham City

Benny and his "Grape Grandma" (great Grandma)

She is doing really well and it was good to see her and my uncle.

Benny holding his 1st baby, his 2nd cousin Alison

This one is random but I came home one night and Ben and Benny were just lying in our bed hanging out. I asked Benny why he wasn't in bed yet and he said he was going to sleep in my bed with Daddy and I could go sleep in his bed. So that is exactly what I did!

Two peas in a pod. Watching sports and eating ice cream in bed.

So that's it. We'll probably go back again sometime:)

Halloween 2010

2010-11-06T12:54:00.005-07:00

I'm not even going to bother to put them in order.
Thursday the 28th we had a moms and kids party at a friend's house during the day. Saturday we did Trunk or Treat and games at the church and the kids trick or treated in all the classrooms. Sunday my sister Kimiko had a few of us over for dinner instead of trick or treating. Benny has definitely gotten use of his costume and still wears his hat everday.

Benny and Mayumi at our house after church Trunk or Treat.

Benny and me at Trunk or Treat taking a "time out" (for me. I wanted to punch all the older crazy, rude kids)

My sis Kimiko, Dan and Mayumi

Benny and his best friends from church. He was thrilled they both got to be fire fighters.

Another friend from church. Notice the funny look on his face as they hold hands. She is hilarious.

Blogger

2010-10-30T19:34:00.003-07:00

I am really frustrated with blogger and how they've changed the templates. My blog is such a mess and it's driving me crazy. I have spent HOURS trying to fix this and I don't know how. Grrrr! I know if you look at it it probably doesn't look that bad, but it's the fact it is not doing what I want it to do that is really peeving me.
I think I'm going to just leave it alone and focus on the actual posting from now on instead of trying to make it look cute. Blah

Lessons from a 2 year old

2010-10-29T15:06:00.002-07:00

I cannot tell you how stressful this past month has been. Maybe it has just seemed worse since being hopped up on hormones makes everything worse for everyone. But it has been a hard month, at least for me.

Sometimes I feel like I run around spreading myself too thin and wish there was just ONE thing I was doing really well instead of a lot of things I wasn't doing well. One thing I often wish I was better at was mothering. I feel guilty being gone so much lately between work and doctor's appointments, especially as we want a little brother or sister for Benny and I want to be there for them, not shuttling them off to sitters all the time. But at the same time we need the job and medical treatments to be able to HAVE a baby, so it's kind of a catch 22.

The other day I was so frustrated and feeling bad, so I asked Benny if I was a bad mom. He looked at me wide eyed and adamantly said, "No, you're a good mommy!" And gave me a hug. I don't usually ask for praise or reassurance (also not why I am writing this post), but that day I needed it. What a sweet boy.

Then yesterday I was driving home with Benny and he asked his usual, "What am I going to see after my nap?" Meaning, "who am I going to see and what am I going to do tomorrow morning after I wake up." He always has to have a plan.
Me: You're going to Auntie Kimiko's house to play with Mayumi.
Benny: Oh. Where are you going?
Me: I'm going to work.
Benny: Who are you going to help?
Me: I'm going to clean some people's teeth.

He assumed that since he was going to a sitter again, we would be off helping someone. I often wonder if we are doing things right, if we are doing all the things we need to. At that moment I realized that yes, maybe we're doing ok. My 2 year old has not once complained about the amount of time Ben and I have been gone lately, he has only noticed that we have been out "helping people." There have been many moves and service projects, and I am so glad that that is where we have been spending our time instead of other frivolous ways.
Benny is definitely a typical two year old with two year old antics, but also typical in how pure and innocent they are. I felt humbled.

Manners

2010-10-19T23:38:00.004-07:00

This little chef needs to learn some I guess.

Saturday we were at the store when Benny asked "what are those?" I answered they were yucky drinks (liquor bottles) and then realized he probably meant the Little People passing by. I quickly moved on, but on the way back out of the store Benny asked, "Where are my friends? I want to say hi." And there they were, a couple about Benny's size. So we chatted for no more than 2 seconds and then I rushed him out, mortified we singled these poor people out. Thankfully they were very kind, and I'm sure they get all sorts of comments and stares, but I didn't want to the be one to give them any unwanted attention.

Not even two days later we were at another store when Benny asked, very loudly, "What does that girl in blue have on her?" I looked up to see a woman in blue scrubs with light patches of skin RIGHT NEXT to us, so no time to hide or talk to him about it. I apologized to the woman, but she also was very nice and explained to him that she had "Michael Jackson Syndrome."

Thankfully the people in both these situations were very nice and knew just how to handle things, but it must be hard to be "different" and have to deal with those awkward situations all the time.

Benny and I had a talk about how we are all different, and we don't need to stare or point out these differences, but he is 2 and I would be surprised if something like this didn't happen again. I hate feeling like a terrible mom. I promise we do try to teach Benny how to be polite.

Fireman Ben

2010-10-01T23:37:00.007-07:00

I know it's not Halloween yet, but I about died when I saw how cute Benny was in his costume (no, he will not be wearing crocs). The cutest part is how excited he has been. Last Halloween he was not a fan of dressing up, but this year he has been planning his costume ever since the catalogs came in the mail. He carries the catalogs around the house and sits down time and again on the couch, thumbing through the pictures and always landing on the firefigher page. He is very into firetrucks and firefighters at the moment.

Auntie Kimiko made this for him one day when she was babysitting.

He still likes to streak and ran into his room after his bath, immediately donning his helmet, and only his helmet.

He even asked if he could wear his costume to sleep tonight.
Thank you, Grandma Sue, for making this little boy so happy! I think this costume will be more than just for Halloween.

And some other random stuff--I still get a kick out of how much fun Benny and Mayumi have together. She copies everything he does, and he loves having a little "doll" to take around.

And he is getting big. He is potty training and has a big boy bed. I am not sure why we bought him the bed though as this was pretty much the only time he slept in it. He usually makes a "nest" on the floor out of his blankets, pillows and stuffed animals. It is fun for me to hear all the funny things he says but we are definitely saying so long to his baby days.

He's doing great with his counting and ABC's and learning letter and number recognition. He knows how to use an ipod better than I do. And he wants to pretty much know the mysteries of the universe. I get weird looks at the grocery store when I am explaining things in depth to my 2 year old sitting in the cart, but the more you explain something to him, the better. He's very detail oriented and very reasonable and I pretty much just converse with him like I would an adult. He of course still has his fits and normal two year old moments, but he grew up way too fast for this mom. I guess they all do.

Cousins

2010-09-10T22:40:00.005-07:00

Moving far away is hard. It's lonely. It can be boring.

But it sure is nice when your sister moves in!

I know our older siblings think we're worse than twins, but I see it as a huge blessing that my sister and her family were able to come out here. Of all the places and jobs in the world, they ended up 5 miles from us! What are the chances? We are even in the same ward at church.

We don't know how long this will last, but we will enjoy it while we can. Benny and Mayumi have sure been enjoying their get togethers.

San Diego vacation

2010-09-07T23:13:00.004-07:00

The first time in a very long time we have taken a "vacation" and not just a "trip" to see family etc. While we did see family, it was still a lot of fun. We stopped in Bakersfield on the way down and visited with Ben's dad and stepmom. We had fun in the pool as the weather there is HOT.
Then we went to San Diego and hit the beach, Sea World, Zoo, Old Town including the Mormon Battalion museum. We even took an accidental exit and ended up going over the bridge to Coronao Island, which I thought was cool. On the way home we stopped in Lompoc to see my parents and had lunch in Pismo Beach where it was very windy, so our lunch kits were very crunchy (beach sand).
We definitely need to do vacation again.

He is going to kill me if he grows up and sees this post, but can you guess what he's doing in the pic above, bottom right corner? I laugh everytime I see this one.

Teeth

2010-09-07T21:08:00.003-07:00

Feeling a bit frustrated at the moment that as a dental health employee, I get no dental benefits. I've never run into this before. Ben just broke a tooth (that has been fixed before, mind you) and I know it is going to cost over $1000 to fix.
I guess this is what everyone else feels like when it comes to dental fees :(

The Claw

2010-08-15T23:12:00.005-07:00

How this kid always wins something, I don't know.

Whenever we go to a store that has a claw machine, Benny wants to play. Several of the machines let you go a second round and win a piece of candy if you don't win an animal the first time. Somehow Benny has won animals several times. We've definitely gotten our money's worth from "The Claw."
The funniest is this last time, he said "Can I do the claw and get some candy?" So after our shopping I forked over my 50 cents. I was so excited when the claw actually grabbed a stuffed puppy and dropped it into the shoot. Benny excitedly reached in and pulled out his new puppy.
Then he turned to me and said, "So can I do the claw and get my candy?"

Nevermind the puppy. Yeah, I paid another 50 cents so he could get a smartie.

Critters

2010-07-31T23:54:00.005-07:00

Every morning we wake up to slug tracks in the living room. I have a hunch it is the enormous slug we saw by the front door several weeks ago. We never saw it again, but we sure see its aftermath in the morning. Every morning. Across the floor, shoes, any bags that might be sitting by the front door, even the ceiling. How that little slug gets around so quickly, thoroughly and mysteriously, and then where it hides all day is beyond me.
The other night at bedtime Ben came giggling in to the bedroom announcing he had set a trap. Since I had not bought any snail bait, he made his own slug trap made of salt...sprinkled generously all over the floor. (I'm not sure who he thought was going to clean it up)

But guess what. We saw some fizzy tracks through the salt yesterday morning, and that was it. No more slug. Where it melted and died I do not know, and I feel kind of bad. But the glee in Ben's laugh and the light on his face at his cleverness was maybe worth the torture of the poor little slimer.

And now there are frogs. In my bedroom closet. We caught one jumping around the bedroom 2 weeks ago and Ben let it go outside. Last night I heard some croaking but figured it was under the house. And today there they were, 2 froggies hiding behind some pictures I wanted to hang up. After much screaming, running around, and some help from Benny, I caught them. I made Ben release them further from the house this time.

Don't even ask me how many spiders live here.
Hopefully the skink in the front yard doesn't make its way in next.

Summer

2010-07-24T01:47:00.008-07:00

I completely skipped part of spring and the trip from Ben's dad and stepmom. This is in part due to my search for the pics we took. Alas, they are nowhere to be found. But we did have a nice visit and Benny still talks about the boat ride in the Bay.

Then, in May I went to Utah with Benny. Ben must have really missed us because when we got back, he said he was taking me to:

It was every bit as good as I've heard. Ben even liked it so much he is not opposed to seeing another Broadway show one day.

Ben's mom visited (and babysat while we saw "Wicked") and we used our passes to Six Flags Marine World/Discovery Kingdom, whatever it's called now.

Ben had time off work and took Benny to the SF Zoo:

We celebrated Big Ben's birthday by having some ward members over and then watching fireworks along the Hercules Bay front. Benny was not impressed and turned his back to the fireworks and kept asking "Can we go home now?"

We celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary:

My parents and sister's family were here at the same time which made for some fun barbecuing and crazy trips into the city. Another brother in law was here working for a week but we didn't get to see him. Traffic is torture. And of course I didn't take one single picture. Benny sure loved all the company and is hoping someone else will come visit soon.

So, nothing exciting to report but we sure have been keeping busy and enjoying our summer. Life has not been boring since we moved here and we are just fine with that. We are enjoying the house and feel very blessed for all that we have and the people we know.

Moving day

2010-06-13T18:48:00.006-07:00

I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who helped us move yesterday. We've never had anyone help us and I can't believe how nice it was to have so many bodies carrying boxes and loading items, and even providing an extra truck. To top it off it was 96 degrees here on the coast. What a day.

We just moved to the next little neighboring town into a home with a little bit more space and yard for a growing 2 year old.

My parents hate attention, but I especially want to say thank you for all of their help. They drove the 4.5 hours up and helped move a bunch of stuff, babysat, mowed the lawn, ran errands, and cleaned. My mom is going to stay all week to help me clean and babysit. And to top it off then my dad is going to make a second trip up to pick up my mom. I think this is a very, very nice thing for them to do, especially as this is not a fun trip for things like sight-seeing or relaxing.

Thanks again! Benny is sure happy to have had you come.

Happenings

2010-06-10T13:57:00.003-07:00

Benny and I went to Utah for a family reunion and my cousin's wedding. It blizzarded in Idaho and dumped snow in Provo. Then it was sunny the rest of the time. Well, kind of. CRAZY weather.
We also celebrated my mom's bday. We went to the Cheesecake Factory (yum!). We drove A LOT. Can we say I can't remember when I have been so exhausted. And grouchy (sorry Mom).

When we got back I started a new job. I have been off the past 9 months except for a few days subbing here and there. It's about 16 hours a week and Benny is going to friends' homes to be babysat and play. So far it's working out Benny enjoys the friend time.
And then this week we are moving to the next town to get into a house with a bit more room. Right now I am supposed to be packing while Benny naps but I am too tired:)

Little Farm in Berkeley for a friend's bday. You can feed your own lettuce and celery to the animals. And it's free to go there. The kids loved it and we'll have to go again:

He LOVES these sunglasses, but even more, he loves wearing them upside down:

I bribed him into wearing them correctly. Big Ben thinks he looks like Bono. He does love music...

The biggest marshmallow I have ever seen. You only need one to make a full size s'mores.

He actually did a pretty good job watering my parents' plants in Lompoc and only got a little wet:

I just want to kiss that sweet face:

Mother's Day

2010-06-06T23:47:00.003-07:00

I am sooo behind. I just wanted to quickly jot down a big thank you to my boys for really doing a great job this Mother's Day.
Since church is early, Ben did most of the Mother's Day stuff the day before on Saturday. I was awakened to breakfast in bed (which of course Benny wanted to help me eat). Then Ben cleaned the entire house including sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, dishes, and even dusting. I got to take a nap, and when I woke up, there were these on the table:

I love all lilies.

And we all just spent the day together. Ben also cooked Sunday dinner. He remarked how it was funny that on Mother's Day a lot of times moms want a break from their families/kids, but it's those little ones who make the day even possible. I am thankful for my sweet little boy who truly made me a mother. And for a wonderful husband who does his best to make me happy.

My grossest day ever

2010-06-06T23:31:00.003-07:00

Not for the faint of heart!

I will spare you the pictures. Yes, Ben took some while laughing his head off. Our new landlords were also laughing their heads off. At least there was humor in the situation, even if I wanted to puke from the smell.

We met up with our new landlord to get the keys to the house and go over a few things. Benny has had diarrhea this week after our trip to Utah but he has been acting fine otherwise. So he was running around with the other kids while we talked to the landlord, so we didn't notice the smell until the end. As I lifted him to put him in his car seat, Ben noticed the brown streaks on Benny's leg. Uh oh, that must be a pretty bad diaper if it's running down his legs. I took him back down so I could line the carseat with paper towels so the leaky diaper wouldn't get everywhere. Then all h-e-c-k broke loose. As I lifted him back up to put him in his carseat, I kind of swung him over the edge of the seat. That small swing was all the momentum the poop needed to fly up and out the top back of the diaper, smattering my shirt, pants, shoes, the ground, the car seat, the car, the tires with nasty stinky poo! I stood there in shock not knowing what to do, where to move or how to breathe. I sent Ben into the house to strip Benny and rinse him off in the tub, but unfortunately I would just have to wait till I got back home to clean myself.
Now I have dealt with leaky diapers and accidents and puke, but the volume of this splatter was incredible. I have never seen so much poop in my life.

The reason for such a graphic post is to give background detail to precede the words which then came from this little two year old's mouth.
I found Ben and Benny in the bathroom and when Benny saw me, he said:
"You got lotta poop on you. Probably change clothes."
Uh... you think????

Hammari visit

2010-04-29T23:19:00.002-07:00

I didn't take one single picture. I suck. My sister Kimiko's husband had an interview in the South Bay, so the family stayed with us for a few days. Benny and Mayumi had fun making huge messes and fighting with each other. And all too quickly, his playmate was gone and he keeps asking where they all went.

This was Benny's prayer tonight:
"Thank you friends. Thank you Eli come over (we were babysitting one of his friends for the evening). Thank you friends. Please bless Uncle Dan and Iko and Ami. Please bless Uncle Dan and Iko and Ami. Thank you friends."

It was the sweetest thing I have ever heard.

Some not so sweet things about the visit:
-Kimiko and I took 4 hours to get ourselves and children ready and out the door. After driving all the way to Sausalito to go to the children's museum, we arrive to find it closed on Mondays. Good to know.
-Ben was sick and couldn't do anything with us. But the rest of us were too tired to do anything anyway.
-I got a horrible case of the stomach flu. All I could think was how I thought I was dying, but even worse, what if Dan got the flu just in time for his interview. It reminded me of a time just about a year ago when Ben and I drove out here for a job interview as well. On the way we both suffered a horrible case of the stomach flu, the worst we have ever felt in our lives. Such dejavu--same time of year, same flu, same purpose in traveling to the same area....But thankfully no one else got sick. Except for me again as now I have another sinus infection due to this year's super power pollen. But oh well, everyone is well and pretty healthy and we can't complain (even though I still do).

More Benny'isms

2010-04-20T23:56:00.004-07:00

Ben's mom is always asking what "new and different" things Benny is doing, and when she asks every Sunday night, I can't think of anything. And while she doesn't check the blog, I think I still need to be better about writing them down. So, stop reading now if you don't want to be bored, cuz these things will never be as funny to anyone else as they are to me. And we all know most of us are in it for the pics anyway.

4/19/10-Benny often asks for some sort of snack while he is in the car. We are usually getting settled in when he asks, so I tell him to hold on and I’ll get it in a minute. And then I usually forget and he has to remind me. So yesterday we had gone to the library storytime and he was asking for snacks pretty much the moment we got there. I doubt you can eat in the library so I told him to wait till we got out to the car. He kept reminding me and said he wanted a granola bar. We finally got all buckled into our seatbelts in the car and he looked at me from the backseat and shouted,
“BAR! BAR!! BAR!!! Sorry. bar.” He was done saying he “wants a granola bar.” He had resorted to one word cave man talk.
It is one of the funniest moments I have encountered yet. I was in shock from the yelling, and then I just burst out laughing. It’s funny to me that he was so frustrated he would shout repeatedly what he wanted; he just does not do that. But funnier that he immediately caught himself, apologized, and lowered his voice. I didn’t say anything, and I don’t think my face registered anything either, it was all so fast.
You really had to be there, there is no way anyone will think this was funny, but the look on his face, and the comprehension just amazed me. He is such a thinker. It is by far one of my favorite 2 year old moments.

4/20/10-Benny kept farting tonight, a few times when we were holding him with our arms right under his bottom. Gross. His response was that he “Got lotta gas. Got lotta gas in my bum.”
And he does say “excuse me.” But it still stinks

Spring break

2010-04-12T00:19:00.011-07:00

Ben was off all week. Yay! We were going to go to Utah but had to postpone the trip, so we tried to do a few things around here.
We went to the DMV and FINALLY got our driver's licenses after being here 8 months. It was a much better experience than my previous 4 trips to register the cars and I was almost giddy with how smoothly it went. We were in and out in 1 HOUR as opposed to 3-5.

We took pictures of Benny in weird sleeping positions. Pretty much every night we have to go in and rearrange him in the bed. Last night his body was on but his head was not. How do kids sleep like that?

We thought about going down to Monterey to take Benny to the aquarium but remembered we have Six Flags Marine World just 15 minutes away. And boy was it fun! Ben and I didn't get to do any big rides but Benny enjoyed the animals, shows and kiddie rides.

This orca is so highly trained, they had it pee in a cup for us during the performanc! Yes, a bit TMI, but wow, a potty trained whale?

They have an entire Thomas Town (Dad, I know you are excited about this) where this pic was taken.

And one very grouchy, very tired little boy who was not too tired to wake up and announce he still wanted ice cream.
Don't you think I either need a bigger stroller or a smaller baby?

Just Mom

2010-03-29T00:01:00.004-07:00

First I was "Mama" when my baby started babbling and learning to talk. Then about a month ago he realized he could call me "Mommy," which I loved. I loved having a little mama's boy for a change. Now all too soon "mommy" is gone and he is all grown up, and I am just "Mom." He is 2. I thought he would call me "mommy" until he was at least 4 or 5. I thought I would have a baby a little longer. Overnight he grew up. Everything is "Benny do it." He goes potty on the big potty, not his little Elmo potty (when he does go on the potty, sigh). He talked to his Grandma Sue for a half hour by webchat the other day. He wakes up and finds his own breakfast. He might have a cavity (yes, Mom, he eats too much sugar). He plays on the computer. He is picky about what music he listens to and knows how to play CD's. He is particular about his clothes. He is reasonable and can compromise. He is a real little person.

And now I am just "Mom."

But the other day he put his arms around my neck and very seriously said, "Mom, I'm happy" and snuggled into my shoulder.

Being "Mom" may just be ok.

Job hunting...

2010-03-17T15:11:00.004-07:00

...sucks. I know there are many others in this position right now. But I just really hate it. I have hand delivered 25 resumes, talked with 3 temp agencies, and called another 25 or so offices getting a good response from maybe half of them (a good response is "yeah, I guess you can go ahead and send us a resume if you want").

I don't really care that I am not working. The longer I'm off, the harder it is to get motivated. But money would be good, and so would a schedule.

Anyway, just putting it out there that I am TRYING

The Sickees

2010-03-09T23:03:00.006-07:00

This poor kid is going soooo stir crazy! He was sick last week, and now I am sick, so we have been cooped up inside for a whole week. If I have to watch another episode of "Land Before Time" I'm going to pull my hair out! Anyway, after acting pretty crazy and getting on our last nerve today, he was pretty funny this evening.
He likes to streak. During his bath, I stepped out for a moment. I turn around to see tiny wet footprints and a naked body zooming past me and running back into the tub. Just glad he didn't slip and fall.
Then after his bath, he went potty in his special potty, proclaiming he now deserved a jelly bean as he once again went streaking down the hall.

Benny: (as he runs) "Naked boy!"
Me: (trying to wrestle and pick up a very heavy child) "Man you're huge"
Benny: (adamantly) "No, little!!"

Then after he was fast asleep, he came staggering out of his room with his eyes half closed looking very upset. I led him back to his room and put him in bed where he started mumbling something about Petrie spitting from, you guessed it, Land Before Time.

It was just a very entertaining night after a very "two-year-oldish" day. Poor little guy. Hopefully he will be able to get out tomorrow, even if it is just to get new tires on the car

3 birthdays

2010-03-02T01:57:00.003-07:00

Happy 2nd birthday, Benny! Er, happy 26th month birthday, Benny! Yeah, Jan 2nd was 2 months ago. But at least I did take pics on the real day(s).

Party #1 at Grandma Sue's in Utah over Christmas trip:

Party #2 in Willard, UT at my sister's family's house. We have an annual New Year's Bingo party, so we combined that and cousin Keelia's birthday all into one party (thanks for sharing your special day, Keelia!):

Party #3 in Pinole, CA after we got back from Utah. Grandpa Christensen didn't want to miss out on everything that happened in Utah, so they spent the actual birthday here:

I have never been to so many parties and seen so many presents all at one time like we did this Christmas.

(Info for myself for 2 year old Benny): He is still very big (35 pounds, 38 inches) and not slowing down. This is hard when he wants to be carried, or other people think he's older than he is and should be doing more than he is. But he is doing well. He has an incredible vocabulary. He is very sweet and caring and has such a mild and pleasant disposition, something you could see from the moment he was born. We get told over and over by other people what a good and obedient child he is, and I am very grateful for that as I have NO PATIENCE. Don't know what I'll do with a kid not like him. Although he is very stubborn and everything now is "Benny do it!" He is definitely all boy and loves to rough house, play with cars and noisy toys, jump in puddles, and kid around. He is really fun, funny and is always making us laugh. The other day he put on his dad's shoes and came walking into the kitchen and called out, "Mommy, I'm ready! I'm ready go store you!" He is also learning to say his nighttime prayers and it is so cute to hear. He knows his shapes, colors, and numbers to 10. We are working on potty training and he loves to "go potty on Elmo, get jelly bean!" He still loves cartoons and also wants a yard, so I am hoping to have a house in the not too distant future.
He is a great little boy, better than I could have ever hoped for, and I am grateful I have been able to be home with him the past 6 months.

4 Christmases

2010-03-02T01:41:00.004-07:00

I did say I might blog about Christmas one day. Basically we were gone for 2 weeks.

We went to Lompoc to see my parents. Absolutely gorgeous day in Santa Barbara:

We went to Bakersfield to see Ben's dad and stepmom (they requested no pj's pics of themselves):

We went to Utah to see Ben's mom and the rest of my family:

It was tiring:

It was fun:

This is random, but which Asian looks meaner? My sister with her "resting face," or cousin-to-be with his "Korean smile?" I wouldn't mess with either of them

Blessings

2010-02-24T22:01:00.003-07:00

My sister Kimiko may say something about this on her own blog, but yesterday she called and told me some pretty cool information. Last week her husband got laid off (that is not the cool part) and so of course they are worried about finances. She got a letter in the mail from the student loan people saying they had forgiven the rest of her loan since she had been a reliable client! I have never heard of this! Maybe it is more common than we know, but that was so random and pretty darn amazing in my book.
I had also called her earlier in the day because I was so excited my hygiene license arrived in the mail. This means I can actually start working and earn money. After 6 months of being here and being really tight financially, it will be really nice to be able to help out if need be. And yes, I think there is a need. How the job market is, though, I do not know, but I was just excited that it finally came.

And then, today I called one of my insurance companies for the 3rd or 4th time in the past few weeks after getting a confusing letter yesterday. They are really hard to get a hold of and I was a bit frustrated with them as there were some mix-ups with my policy and payments. Basically they hadn't been charging me and ended up cancelling my policy. After getting a hold of them today, the woman I spoke with said all I had to do was fill out the form I received yesterday and submit next month's premium and everything would be put back in order. I said I didn't know if I wanted to start all over again and have a waiting period etc and she said that it actually was a glitch in their system and I had had all the correct information, so since it was their fault it would just continue with no lapse in coverage. I do not owe any back pay on past premiums for the past 6 months! It would still look like I had had coverage with them this whole time. 6 months of insurance premiums is a good chunk of money, and I am so thankful I was able to save that money because we really needed it.

I just thought it was really neat that these things happened and wanted to record them. I'm pretty good at remembering negative stuff and am working on remembering the positive stuff more. And just basically trying to write stuff down more in general. For Christmas my Grandma gave us all a book she had compiled of her thoughts and journal entries, and it is really great to have. I even wish there were more in there. So I know I need to do much, much better at recording things in my life. As boring as some of the things may be, it is important to me and I'd like to remember.

LDS Night at Oracle Arena

2010-02-22T22:27:00.003-07:00

Basically all the stadiums up here (and apparently other places, too, as my parents said they do it at Dodger stadium and it is a big deal) have a night where they do discount tickets to LDS Church members. Ben is a Warriors fan so we went to the game against the Jazz. Our tickets included dinner at the snack bar and the evening consisted of missionaries singing the national anthem, LDS youth basketball during halftime, and Thurl Bailey chalk talk after the game. We didn't stay for Thurl as we had to get home to relieve the babysitter, but we had an investigating family with us that thought the whole thing was just awesome and they were so excited to be there, which helped us to be excited. We had a lot of fun and it was good to get out together. I kept waiting for people to boo the missionaries, or make some comment when they would announce something about the Mormons during the game, but everyone was very respectful.
Of course the Warriors lost. Poor Ben

Random: These were taken as Ben left work a couple weeks ago. It had been raining and raining and I was ready to pull my hair out or some other drastic measure to vent my frustration with the nastiness. But that day it cleared up for a moment and we had a gorgeous view. He made some comment about how nice little things like that happen even amidst the gloom, but I was not having any of it at the time. However, now I look back and am glad he got a picture of that pretty rainbow. And it is true; good things do happen, we just don't always notice.

Goings on

2010-02-19T00:21:00.010-07:00

Benny likes to mess with my make-up. This pic was on a mild day. Yesterday, however, I let him do whatever he wanted while I cleaned the kitchen. This led to cleaning the entire bathroom after he applied foundation all over it and himself. There will be no more playing with mommy's make-up (especially as Daddy thinks it is not macho enough).

While I shower I usually give him some cereal and he watches cartoons in my bed. Look closely and you can see the froot loops so neatly lined up on the comforter. He is so precise in the things he does. It will be interesting to see what he chooses for a career.

Valentine's weekend was pretty uneventful as Ben and I don't really like to do much for V-Day, but we did put Benny in a big boy "day bed." We had been meaning to do this for awhile (just like I am meaning to potty train) and finally got around to doing some rearranging. So far so good and he likes to have the freedom of getting in and out. The funny thing is he gets up a lot earlier now. Either that or I just didn't know he was up and left him in his crib for an extra hour or 2! I have mixed feelings about him officially no longer being a baby.

Then Monday was Presidents' Day and Ben had the day off. Yahoo! We actually planned the day and went to the SF Zoo as a family. It was a really nice day and we had a lot of fun. We don't get to go on many outings as a family, so we really made the most of it. The generosity of others really made the day even better as we got the tickets to the zoo, parking, and ride passes from one of Ben's coworkers. And then when we were in the petting zoo, we didn't have enough change for sheep/goat feed, and a little girl came up to Benny and shared hers with him. Very, very sweet.

I'm too lazy to go straighten this video. No one will probably think it is as cute as I do, but I just think it's funny he tells himself he did a good job.

Benny got to ride the carousel twice thanks to the ride passes (train line was like 45 min, no way we were waiting for that!), and he gave his dad a thank you hug:

I have never seen something so cute before as this chimp. He/she was lying down under the blanket, then got up and wrapped it around himself. He just hung out with his blankie in the fog.

And this is the souvenir Benny bought at the zoo. He wasn't super excited about it at first since he wanted everything in the store, but since then he has been talking to it and tucking it in the covers with him at night. He also has a blue pillow that he will not share for the world, but he lovingly places his monkey on the pillow when they go to bed.

And that's about it for now.

Wow

2010-02-12T01:16:00.006-07:00

That's all I have to say about my evening. The missionaries called me a couple days ago and asked if I could provide a ride for someone they wanted to take to the Oakland temple visitors' center. I had met her once and was more than happy to take her to meet with them.
I was not prepared for the wonderful evening I had (yes, I actually used the word "wonderful"). She was an amazing woman, and I admire her very much for the changes she is willing to make in her life and for her will to do what is right.

If only I were willing to change like that. Would I be willing to turn my entire life around like she was?
I thought about how my life has completely done a 180 the past few months, and how much I whine about it. It has not been easy. Everything is pretty much opposite of how it was. And my attitude has not always been good; in fact, it's been more negative than positive.
But tonight I was humbled, and I was very grateful that I got to provide a ride to an almost stranger, because I got way more out of it than I put in.

I write this to remind myself tomorrow when I start whining again just how much I have to be grateful for.

Talents

2010-01-25T20:44:00.002-07:00

I decided it would be nice if I had one.

Our ward here is pretty spread out, and there are not many moms and kids, so we try to make an effort to get together and do stuff. This past week we went to someone's house to make Valentines and let the kids play. I wasn't too sure about the making stuff part, but I knew we really needed to get out of the house.

When we arrived there were all sorts of crafty scrapbooking supplies and paper. It looked cool, but I didn't know what I was supposed to do with any of it. I kind of sat and watched while others made Valentine after Valentine. I felt anxiety growing and growing in my stomach and spreading. In an hour I was maybe halfway done with one card while they had made like 4.

Then I came home and played blocks with Benny. I built the same thing I usually build, a four-walled structure. I looked at the block box and saw a bunch of different things like robots and dinosaurs and wondered how people thought to build stuff like that.

I always joked with people that I didn't have one creative bone in my body, and that day I knew without a doubt it was true. I do not do cutesy blogs. I do not do fun daily activities with my child. I had no idea what I was doing when I taught singing time in primary at church. I don't photograph, scrapbook, decorate, or write.
I'm not saying all this to be all "woe is me" or anything, it's just a clear realization of who I am. I used to think I really needed to work on being more creative for my children, and it probably would be nice if I were, but I think they'll live if I don't sew their Halloween costumes or cut their food into cool shapes. It's ok if all my sisters are creative and I am not. It just goes to show how different we all are. And we are all good at different things.
I am REALLY working on trying not to compare myself with others--ie. how many kids they have, how they raise their kids, what kind of house they have--and I will just not compare myself regarding things we do, too.
Besides, it would be a pretty boring place if we all did the exact same things, right?
And for anyone who cares to see them, these are my 2 Valentines. My dear hubby came home and told me how cute they were:)

Christmas

2010-01-11T00:37:00.002-07:00

I might post about it one day. We were gone so long and took so many pics it just seems overwhelming

Getting old

2010-01-11T00:19:00.003-07:00

My dad is going to kill me for this post. But I told him I was going to do it. So if he does get really mad, I guess I will remove it, but he has been warned. We usually laugh at my mom, but it's your turn now, Dad!
My parents were up for Benny's 2nd birthday last weekend. It was fun to have them here and Benny enjoyed spending time with his grandparents. We tried to go to Chuck E Cheese but it was INSANE, so we had pizza and cake at home. Then Grandpa and Benny watched cartoons together.

Later in the week my mom called to ask if my dad had left a white shirt up here. Dad was pretty sure it was on his body the whole time so it couldn't have been left. I checked through all the laundry and didn't find anything. My mom called again tonight and left 2 messages as they were getting obsessed with finding this white shirt now. My mom had the idea to have me check the birthday pics and see if my dad was indeed wearing the shirt. This is the shirt he had on:

It is not white. I told them it was blue so the mystery had still not been solved. However, then my dad got on the phone and started excitedly getting some notion in his head. He put me on hold. When he came back he said the shirt actually was blue after all. He had it the whole time, he just forgot what color it was. All week they had been looking for a white shirt that didn't exist. He blames this clothing forgetfulness on just being an oblivious guy, but my mom says he's getting old.
No one else probably thinks this is funny as you had to be there, but I was laughing my head off. I'm sure I was laughing so hard I was making my "horse face," as Ben calls it.
Laughing that hard also made my eye hurt more, but it was so worth it

Gross--proceed with caution

2010-01-09T18:57:00.005-07:00

Because last night I looked like this,

and this morning after prying my eye open looked like this, I had to go all over the place to go to the doctor and pharmacies today.

When I got home, I found this:

my boys lounging on the couch watching football, eating pizza, and snuggling under a warm blanket.

I think they enjoyed a daddy/Benny day while I enjoyed being banished to my room to read, watch TV, and play on the internet.

Merry Christmas from Mr. December

2009-12-08T23:58:00.003-07:00

You've gotta be quick when moments like this occur, so cell phone camera would have to do.
ETA: Yes, he did this himself

November stuff

2009-12-08T23:26:00.006-07:00

I officially turned old....er this year. I made Ben take me on a date for my bday since we haven't been on one since moving. We decided we'll never do it again. Well maybe we will, but we won't hire a sitter. We cannot believe how expensive it is to hire a teenager for a couple hours. I wanted to go to dinner and a movie, but since there really wasn't anything that great playing, we rushed to dinner and then home since we could feel the money draining from our pockets. Ha ha, so romantic. No, we really did have a nice time. We went to Black Angus in Vallejo for some yummy steaks and ooey gooey chocolate cake. It was nice to put on real clothes (as opposed to yoga pants, and I don't even do yoga) and go out for some alone time.

My actual birthday was on Sunday, so we just kicked it at home after church. I really needed a birthday cake though, and since there wasn't one to be found in the house, Benny and I set out to make one. I had fun letting Benny help me. You can't see it really well, but there is an entire container of cupcake cups there. When he wasn't looking I had to go back and make sure there was only one in each cup.
And that is his "cheese face." He has a habit of not actually waiting for the picture to be snapped before he moves though.

I can't believe I'm an idiot and didn't take pics of Thanksgiving with my side of the family. Oops. But basically we went down to Bakersfield and stayed with Ben's dad and stepmom for a couple days. We were able to meet Ben's half-brother and his fiancee as well. And just for the record, there was NO PUMPKIN PIE at Thanksgiving dinner. But other than that we had a really nice time. Benny had a lot of fun playing with his Grandpa Tom and hanging out with Grandma Tom.

We then met my parents and sister Kimiko's family in Morrow Bay for some lunch and window shopping. It was sooo cold and windy, so we didn't stay long, but I at least got to show Ben Morro Rock up close. He was really impressed.
Back at my parents' house Benny and his little cousin Mayumi just played and played and had the greatest time together. It was like they even had their own little language. I was so sad to leave and head back up to Northern Cal. Those are times that I miss now that we are not really near anyone.

We had a really nice November and look forward to seeing family again in just a few weeks. I love the holidays

Sleep talking

2009-12-06T12:01:00.002-07:00

Last night I had to go get Benny and bring him into our bed as he was not feeling well and needed some soothing (we normally make him suck it up and stay in his own bed). All of a sudden he shouted "sucker!" and rolled over and went back to sleep.

I always wondered what babies dreamed about. Suckers sound good to me

It was bound to happen sooner or later

2009-12-03T22:27:00.004-07:00

Why every child does this at some point, I have no idea:

Benny was sitting in the car eating raisins as we drove back from the park. He started shouting "stuck! stuck!" but I didn't pay much attention as he often complains about something he dropped or that his seatbelt is too tight. He seemed to get even more distressed though and then said the word "nose" too, and that's when I went "oh no" inside and saw his crocodile tears.
Me: Benny, do you have a raisin stuck in your nose?
Benny (excitedly): Nose, raisin, stuck!

I pulled in to the store parking lot as I was headed there anyway and decided instead of taking 5 more minutes to go home and risk it embedding itself further, I would buy some tweezers (so now we have like a bajillion pairs) and get it out myself while I still could. I was not going to end up in the ER or doctor's office for a measly raisin incident.

I performed minor surgery in the cosmetics aisle of Lucky and told Benny how gross that was and not to put stuff up his nose.
And then I've had to be super careful all day not to laugh so he doesn't get the bright idea to humor me and do it again

Another Benny-ism

2009-11-30T20:39:00.001-07:00

Benny and I were in line at $Tree today. He loudly announces "Excuse me, I tooted!"
I don't even know where he learned that word. At least he is a polite 23 month old.

The Little Things

2009-11-19T10:09:00.004-07:00

I had a day the other day where several nice things happened, and I thought about how we really are blessed. I wanted to write them down to remind me so I wouldn't forget.
And because I dind't act right away, of course I have forgotten. Why is it so easy to remember and focus on the negative, but so difficult to see the good? We're quick to look at the things we don't have, and slower to see what we do have.

Well unfortunately I cannot remember everything, but one thing I am really thankful for is my sweet niece. She called from Utah to say she had been thinking of me and felt like she needed to ask me if we wanted her camera. I have an old, slow camera, but a camera nonetheless, so when my brother was out visiting he gave his camera to my niece Mariko. I really want to replace mine with something better but can't afford it. Mariko said she isn't really using the camera and would be happy to send it to me.

Just one of the little things that put a smile on my face

Time for a toddler bed?

2009-11-13T18:27:00.004-07:00

Today Benny made an enormous mess in the kitchen. I stuck him in his crib for damage control while I cleaned up. While I was gone he stunk up his diaper, so I told him we needed to change it before his nap.
He immediately climbed effortlessly up onto his changing table which is connected to his crib and laid down.
Now when did he learn how to do that?

Of mice and gum

2009-11-13T10:22:00.004-07:00

Warning: lots of talk about my child
We have had a small rodent issue the past week or two. We were able to get rid of Rouse. Ben took him outside, still alive. Well, he either came back or one of his friends came over, but we saw one more. So we thought we better go for the kill this time. I bought some mouse traps and had them semi-strategically placed; placed well for the mouse, and semi-hidden from small hands.
Yesterday morning I was in the kitchen and heard a "snap!" followed immediately by crying. I just went "oh no" inside and fond Benny running toward me with a mouse trap stuck to his finger. I felt terrible, especially as he is so good about these things and gets over them quickly (although I'd probably feel really bad if he cried and cried forever, too). I removed the trap, he said "sharp! ouchie!", had me kiss it better, and went on his merry way. All day he would say "ouch!" if he happened to see it again (out of the way and not active).

When Ben got home, I told him of the morning, and of course he felt bad that we had left the trap where small hands could reach it. Not long after this conversation we heard another snap followed by crying. Even with all the "ouchie" talk all afternoon, Benny found the one remaining trap and had to have it removed from his other hand. 2 traps in one day! I feel terrible but it was also kind of amusing because he is so cute about these kinds of things. The funniest is that whenever he gets hurt, I give him a hug and tell him I'm sorry that happened. So now whenever he gets hurt, he says "I sorry, I sorry."

Now on to the gum portion. Benny LOVES mints and often is scavenging in my purse for anything he can eat. I have told him in the past not to eat gum as it is yucky for his tummy. That doesn't stop him from eating it, though. I got out of the shower to find an entire package of gum wrappers on my bed, with Benny proudly proclaiming, "Gum! Yucky!" I asked him if he ate all that gum, and he, without hesitation, announced "Yeah!" Like, of course, Mom, what do you think I did with all that gum. I cleaned everything up, told him not to eat anymore, and then noticed something in his mouth as I turned to leave.
Me: Benny, what's in your mouth?
Benny: Gum!
So enthusiastic, he is.

And this is just a cool pic at that awesome children's museum in Sausalito

Proud

2009-11-07T14:43:00.004-07:00

I am having the worst day. This stupid hcg diet doesn't even work for me. My body is resistant to losing weight:(

Anyway, the thing that made my day was my husband. He was watching the BYU game, and if you know Ben, he is an AVID BYU FAN. You do not mess with his games.
Well it was time for Benny to take a nap and he said he wanted a book first, and he wanted his dad to read it to him. When I told him Dad was busy, Ben came right out, read Benny his book, and put him down for his nap. He really likes that little boy.

Rouse

2009-11-05T23:06:00.004-07:00

That is the name Ben gave our new house guest. Well he wasn't really even invited. Or maybe he is a she. Anyway, Rouse the mouse made his/her presence known tonight of all nights. We have been going back and forth trying to decide what to do about our living arrangement as our lease ends the end of this month. Then I had a bit of a money moment today and in a panic told God I would just shut up about this apartment and appreciate having a place to live.
So I came home and decided to renew the lease. In the middle of signing I spotted Rouse running across the living room floor. Ironic, or a sign? Oh brother.
At least he's kind of cute.

October stuff

2009-10-30T23:20:00.004-07:00

I know that picture quality is not so good (thank you, cell phone), but I was just tickled pink I actually got the boy smiling on camera! He HATES having his picture taken, just like his mom and dad. What a photogenic family we are. I used to be sad my mom and dad didn't have more pictures from my childhood; now I understand why. It is hard to capture every moment, especially when your child doesn't want you to.

We had a fun visit from Ben's mom and brother a couple weeks ago. They flew into Oakland from Salt Lake because they missed the boy. I'm sure they wanted to see us too, but it was definitely some quality Grandma/Benny time that week. Unfortunately, Ben had to work, so he missed out on a lot of the things we did. But we went to Sausalito on a rainy day and had some good seafood lunch along the waterfront. We went to Fisherman's Wharf and had more yummy seafood along the waterfront. It was a nice, warm day, so there were extra sea lions out on the wharf, more than I've ever seen. They were just basking in the sun, being fat, and smelling bad. On Saturday, we all, including Ben, got to go to the Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. It is an awesome museum and we didn't get finished with everything, but some highlights are an aquarium and rainforest. We ended the week by having to speak in church on Sunday. Whew, glad that's over with for awhile! (The speaking, that is)
We appreciate them and are glad they could make the trip!

For Halloween, Ben's class dressed up yesterday. One of his coworkers made a Cat in the Hat hat, so that's what Ben was. He even let me put a nose and whiskers on his face and wore a tail. I was so proud of him for putting aside his manliness for the day.
Benny was supposed to be Homer Simpson, but that did not work out so well. He kept fiddling with the pillow we stuffed in his shirt and pants, and hated the latex bald cap we had on his head. So at the last minute we dressed him in his Chinese pajamas and painted on a little mustache. Too bad we didn't have a little Asian hat. So off he and I went to Berkeley to have dinner and trick-or-treating with some families from the ward.
I already felt frazzled as he was hyper (no candy yet either) and we had been rushing around to get out the door, but then as we started walking around UC Berkeley's housing and everyone was Asian, I felt completely stupid with my quarter Japanese boy who looks white wearing a supposed Chinese outfit. But he had fun getting candy door to door and eating loads of desserts. The funniest was everytime he got something in his basket, he took it out and wanted to eat it. I had to explain we were not going to eat all the candy along the way.
And yes, he was even more hyper by the time we forced him to go to bed way past his bedtime.

We are still plugging along with nothing too exciting going on. Ben is still really enjoying his job, and I am enjoying the mama's boy Benny has become. We are still trying to figure out where we're going to live. House hunting/condo hunting is pretty frustrating out here, a lot different than in Utah. But as long as I don't have to walk up tons of stairs and get to use my washer dryer that's sitting uselessly on the patio, I think that is all I will need! My how my tastes have changed;) I may become humble yet

Turkey

2009-10-11T19:28:00.005-07:00

That's what my child is. Or stinker (and yes, he has done lots of literal stinkies today. I am making Ben take care of one as we speak).
He's just being a typical two year old I guess. Today in Sacrament meeting he announced he wanted to go home and watch Yo Gabba Gabba. Grrr . Feeling a little worn out today

Anyway, this week we went to an awesome kids' museum right underneath the entrance to the Golden Gate Bridge. Talk about a view! The weather was gorgeous and there was TONS of stuff to do. We probably only got through with a thrid of it. It's not really a museum but more of an activity place for kids.
Wouldn't you know, both sets of batteries for the camera were dead and my phone also ran out of memory. I got a couple shots though, and hopefully the friend I went with will send me the ones I took with her camera:

They're not the best quality since I took them with my phone, but can you see the aprons they are wearing as they paint? So cute!

This last one really has nothing to do with anything. I just posted it cuz he looks so old:( We are at Walmart and he is sitting on his new Elmo potty in the cart

This week Ben's mom and brother are coming to visit. I will hopefully have lots of fun stuff to post next time!

Bla bla bla about my child

2009-10-04T15:53:00.005-07:00

As I said in the beginning, this is going to kind of be my "journal," so many posts may be boring posts that only I care about and will mention my child(ren) a lot, like this one.

Are all kids this funny? My little 21 month old sure can talk. He says the darndest things. Right now he is obsessed with pillows and hogs all of them. We have given him 3 or 4 so at least he's not taking ours all the time now. The other day we had to run an errand, and after we got in the car he realized he did not have his pillow with him. I told him it was in the house, so he looked up at me and said, "Get it."
"No, I am not going to go back and get your pillow so you can take it to the store."

He is also obsessed with chocolate. He loves all candy, but especially chocolate (to his Grandpa Christensen's dismay/delight). I gave him a milk dud today and as he was running around, he started making gagging faces. I asked him if he was ok and he matter-of-factly said "choke!", fixed the long stream of caramel going down his throat, and went on his way. No idea where he learned that one.

He was the life of the party yesterday when we went to a ward member's home to watch the Saturday morning session of General Conference and then have lunch. He cried when he first got there as the new situation and faces scared him, but he warmed up by the time lunch rolled around. When he heard the banging plates and silverware, he hopped up into a chair and sat alone at the table, patiently waiting for all the food prep to be done so he could eat. When it comes to food, he is not shy.

He is also super into TV. I have created a cartoon monster. When we first moved into these apartments, we didn't have any of our stuff except for our laptop. We used it to steal internet off of one of the neighbors and let Benny watch episode after episode of "Sponge Bob Squarepants" until our stuff came. Once the TV came he always wanted to watch "toons." It is the first word he says when he wakes up in the morning. He has his favorite shows. He does not want to leave the house to go the beach or the lake. I am a horrible mother for allowing this to happen and he will fry his brain. Actually though he fortunately watches learning shows like "Elmo," "Dora," and "The Backyardigans." I'm the one that finally turns it to "SpongeBob" when I can't take another rerun of "Yo Gabba Gabba." That show is WEIRD. But he LOVES it.

He is still very big and very heavy. We wonder when he's going to slow down as his doctor swears he will not be the huge football player we're hoping for. He's also not too bad looking and we get a lot of attention and comments whenever we go out. I had one lady at the drive-thru of Carl's Jr. practically poking her head into my car so she could ooo and ahhh. I finally said I had to go and drove off. It's nice that people like him though. He's always smiling and telling everyone hi and bye.
Oh, speaking of drive-thrus. I remember one time my former boss telling me his family went to the drive-thru cleaners to pick up some clothes once and his toddler boy piped up from the back "I'll have fries!" I thought that was so funny. Well, now if I go anywhere drive-up Benny asks for fries too! I guess we eat out more than I thought we did.

Here he is being attacked with a hug by a tiny girl. He cracks me up

Feeding the birds

2009-09-30T20:42:00.002-07:00

I'll have to add a picture sometime as I did not take any today because I suck when it comes to photography, but Benny and I went to this cool park about 2-3 miles from our house. It is in Hercules and there are/is a reg playground and a little kid playground, as well as lots of grass, trails, and a large pond with fountains, ducks and fish (very tiny fish, possibly to feed the ducks).

We took some bread with us, hoping to toss some to the birds in the water. Well they saw us coming and swarms of geese came out and walked around. It was like the movie "The Birds." They were extremely people friendly and waited for the food; I'm guessing this happens a lot. Well the funniest and slightly scary part was when Benny decided that he, too, wanted bread and was eating a large piece. One of the birds was not going to let that piece go and came over and snatched it right out of Benny's hand as he was holding the bread to his mouth. I couldn't believe how brave they are and was just glad they didn't go for his eye or something as they did get a little feisty with each other fighting over pieces of bread.

I really like this area and hope we can find a good place to live. And we will all have to go back to that park and take the camera next time. It was a nice day (until he, of course, threw a fit when it was time to leave).

We're in trouble

2009-09-28T21:23:00.007-07:00

This child. He is all boy. This is what we woke up to this morning, minus the pillow and blanket:

If you can't tell what's going on, he is naked and sitting on top of his changing table. Well, not completely naked; he did leave his diaper on. Why he took off his clothes, I am not sure. This situation would have been funny if he was just naked. It would have been funny if he was just stuck on his changing table. But the combination of being naked and stuck was too much and I couldn't stop laughing. Ben stayed home sick today and I made him get out of bed to come see what this little monkey was doing.

Benny got up and was kind of talking and hanging out, so I let him be for awhile and stayed in my cozy bed. Finally he started crying, so I went in to get him. I saw his clothes on the floor and he was sitting "Indain style" on the changing table! He had this look on his face like "oops, I did something and now I am stuck." I picked him up and he just gave me hugs and hugs and hugs. I think he felt kind of dumb and scared and was glad he was ok. I was glad he was ok! He wanted his pillow and blanket, so I did what every normal mom would do: I gave them to him, set him back on the changing table, and ran and got the camera.

This summer

2009-09-22T23:17:00.005-07:00

I know my posts aren't exactly in order. I am just trying to keep track of things though and write them down (journaling) so they are recorded somewhere for the time being.
We had a crazy summer with trying to sell the house, packing, working, family get togethers, and weddings. Everything fell into place for everyone though and we had some fun times.
After my niece Jacqui's wedding, Ben and I went up to Willard to spend some time with family as my brother Allan was here from St. Louis. We only see him every few years or so. We went to Willard Bay and spent the afternoon in the water and watching the kids have fun.

Then, of course, we had to eat so we went to my sister Janice's house for some great food as usual. Grandma (my dad's mom) came over and the newlyweds came back from their honeymoon, so we had a nice dinner with quite a few of the family including my mom, brother Allan, sister Janice's family, sister Kimiko's family and brother Frank's family.

Fast forward now to after the move to California. We took Benny to the Oakland zoo our first weekend here. Boy was it not fun. We were having a heat wave and it was soooo HOOOT. I about melted. Benny was super tired and grouchy. He is frowning in all of these pictures, and the one on the ground is the fit he threw in the amphibian house. I finally got one on film as no one believes this sweet little boy throws tantrums.
Well at least we have a memorable experience of our first weekend in California.

Weekend with grandparents

2009-09-22T22:34:00.005-07:00

This little boy of mine sure can keep himself busy! The other day he was being awfully quiet, and I found him sitting in this tote with his pillow, reading his "Walter the Farting Dog" book.
He also likes to "dust" which is vacuuming, sweeping or mopping. I sure hope he keeps it up when he gets older.
So anyway, yeah, my parents came up for the weekend to visit. They hadn't been to San Francisco for awhile and hadn't seen their youngest grandson in a few weeks, so we got together. It was nice to have them here and Benny sure enjoyed them.
We went to Fisherman's Wharf and had clam chowder on the bay and watched all the interesting people. We went to Ghirardelli Square and got chocolate and yummy waffle cones. And then we went home and went to Wal Mart he he. I know the Wal Mart part doesn't sound very exciting but it actually kind of is. Our Wal Mart is part of the mall, like JC Penny or Sears, and it has 2 levels. You push your cart around and then either take it in the elevator or send it up the escalator on some sort of pulley thingie. I died laughing the first time I saw it.

Benny enjoyed reading books with his Grandpa and eating LOTS of junk. I don't know how much chocolate my dad and Benny ate this weekend. In this pic of him eating ice cream at the table, he got all excited when he saw my dad eating some and ran and sat down and exclaimed, as clear as anything, "I like chocolate!" It was too funny. He busts out with some pretty amazing language and we have to be careful now what we say because his talking has really taken off.
The last picture is a bay front walk not too far from our apartment. We don't live on the open ocean, it's more of a marshy bay, but there are some really nice walking trails and parks.

We had a fun time and hope to do it again soon! We will have Ben's mom out here next month, so we'll probably have some more clam chowder and sour dough. Yum

Accident prone Ben

2009-09-10T21:52:00.004-07:00

Anyone that knows Ben knows he is always getting injured or sick
with something weird. He just has bad luck this way.
The two latest injuries:
Shaving his head, he sliced off a chunk of ear.
It was a small piece, but it bled all day and reopened
a few times days later. Nice.

The day after we arrived in California, we were sleeping on the floor. Ben awoke to something on his face which didn't feel too pleasant. Benny had found his dad's razor and decided to shave him. Thankfully there's just a small spot on the right cheek. No great injury but I thought it was hilarious. That kid cracks me up

And I promise I will get around to an update with the the goings on of the move and how things are going.

Happy Grandparents' Day

2009-09-09T13:19:00.006-07:00

Grandparents are great. I'm so glad Benny has 3 sets, plus one living great-grandma.
I've been thinking about them a lot lately and have been wanting to write about them and let them know how much they are appreciated. As I write this now, I realize Grandparents' Day is this weekend! What a coincidence.

Grandpa Tom and Grammy (Ben's dad and stepmom) live in Bakersfield and Cambria, CA. This was actually taken last Christmas, the last time we saw them! So it has been awhile. Definitely time for a new visit! We are looking forward to seeing them soon now that we live a little closer:

This is Grandpa and Grandma Christensen who live in Lompoc, CA. I think this was taken around New Year's. They go to Utah to visit several times a year, which was nice. We now live about 5 hours away and plan to have a visit within the next few weeks:

Grandma Sue and Uncle Jon (Ben's mom and brother) live in Lehi, UT, which was about 20 min from where we were. It was nice having them so close. They helped out with so many things, especially taking care of Benny. This was a farewell dinner at Outback right before we moved:

And this is great-Grandma Christensen, Kari's dad's mom. I don't remember my great-grandparents, so it is nice that Benny has one right now. He also loves this huge Care Bear at Auntie Kimiko and Uncle Dan's house. This was at his cousin Mayumi's 1st bday:

Thank you to the grandparents who do so much by supporting us in all we do, babysitting, feeding us, and thinking and praying for us! We know we are in your thoughts, and you are in ours.

Zero wait time, ha!

2009-09-09T13:13:00.002-07:00

2.5 hours at the DMV! I looked online at where to go, and it said the El Cerrito station had no wait time for appointments or walk-ns. Woo-hoo! So off Benny and I went.
Two and a half hours later I almost had one of the cars registered. I have to get a signature and then I also have to go back to do the drivers license part! If I had done the written test and gotten licensed today it would have easily been over 3 hours.
Benny was a trooper through it all. He didn't have any screaming fits but he did lie down in the middle of the cold hard floor for a bit.

I had decided the reason I don't get anything done is I usually decide to take a nap when Benny does :) So today I was going to be super productive during naptime instead. But after a morning like that, I think I need a nap too!

Do they all look the same?

2009-09-08T22:02:00.005-07:00

Or we. Asians, that is.
I ask because Benny sure seems to think they do.
We weren't sure if he knew who his Grandparents Christensen were, but after yesterday we are pretty sure he does.
Before leaving for California, my parents came to Utah for my niece's wedding. My mom was able to stay and help me clean the house before we left and sold it. We were able to do some fun things, like going to Willard Bay and feeding the birds:

So we have been in California for about 2 weeks now. We had to get rid of a lot of stuff before we moved, so after we got here we've been getting a few small things again. We found a TV stand on Craigsist and as we arrived at the house where it was located, Benny said "Grandma." We had no idea if he was recognizing something from the neighborhood that reminded him of his Grandma Sue's house, or if he thought the Asian man in the driveway reminded him of Grandma Christensen.
We purchased the TV stand from the Asian man, and his wife also joined him outside. As we drove away Benny excitedly kept chanting "Grandma, Grandma, Grandma" from the backseat.
We thought it was pretty funny the Asian couple reminded Benny of his Grandma Christensen. Well at least he does know who his grandparents are!

Good times

2009-08-03T20:02:00.005-07:00

My previous post was a bit of a downer, so I thought I better also share some of the positive things going on this summer.
-We've had a lot of things fall into place. We were approved for adoption and are just on the waiting list now for a birth parent to select us.
-We were looking for a home for our dog since we were selling the house and didn't know what the new situation would be, and one of our neighbors just happened to be looking for a housetrained family dog. Couldn't have asked for a better home.
-We've been able to enjoy family and had several birthdays and other get togethers
-We've had TONS of help with babysitting this last semester from Ben's mom and my sis Kimiko, and a few others who have stepped in. We really appreciate their help
-My boss did a ton of dental work for me, even after he knew I'd be quitting. That was really, really nice of him. You'll all have to check out my new pearly whites
-And my hair is starting to grow. Yay!
While Ben and I have had to go to Cali a couple times, we used one of those times to also celebrate our 6th anniversary. We spent the day in San Francisco at Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf and went to the aquarium. If we are in a city with an aquarium, Ben will pretty much make us go (I like aquariums too, but Ben LOVES them).

When we got back, we bribed Benny by taking him to the zoo. When I say "bribe," it's actually just to make him like us again. He never wants to leave Grandma's house after we leave him for a bit, and we missed him, so we wanted him to be happy to see us. Here he is trying to take off--very normal, energetic boy.

Sorry to Ben that this is not the world's greatest pic, but I think it's so funny how Benny has an ear obsession. He sucks his thumb and either holds his ear or someone else's. It's his little comfort object. Kids do weird things.

I love/hate how independent this little bugger is. Now after bathtime I am not allowed to put lotion on him, HE must do it HIMSELF. I do help, though ;)

Ride 'em cowboy

2009-08-03T19:53:00.003-07:00

I have had Colleen, this hobby horse, since I was a little girl. I was going to trash it in the upcoming move, but one day came home from work and found out what Ben and Benny do while I am gone.

I was amazed at the riding skills of this 18 month old boy. I kept waiting for him to fly off forward into his bookshelf, but he sure held on. So I guess we are keeping Colleen.

Bored

2009-07-29T20:33:00.003-07:00

Ben will not stop talking about how bored he is. It's too late to do anything fun like watch a movie, but too early to go to bed. I decided I was bored too, and now would be a good time to write down a few things.

So, update on us:
We (ok, really more me) are stressed. We hate moving!

-Sale of the house fell through
-No place to live yet in Cali
-Job situation has minor glitch (ask Ben if you really want to know)

So I'm being a little "woe is me" and will stop lamenting, but I just have to vent those things somewhere. Everything is going to work out, I'm just tired at the moment and would like to see it start working out now, not later. I'm at the point I'd rather just stay here where we are comfortable.
But, it's not about taking the easy road or being comfortable, right? It's about doing what will be worthwhile in the end and what is right for us. And I know the right thing to do is to do this move.

Positives:

-Ben will like this job and enjoy the kids he'll be with
-I will get to stay home more with Benny and spend time with him
-No snow in No Cal! Yay!
-Closer in proximity to some of the grandparents

I'm sure one day I'll look back and say "all that stress was nothing. Look how great it turned out in the end." We just have to get past this stuff and look at the big picture. I tend to get sidetracked on the little things along the way and lose my focus.
I know everyone has things going on right now too; we've all just got different baggage, and this is ours at the moment.
So, for the next few weeks I am going to try to pack up that baggage and store it away and support Ben as he leaves on this venture. Three more days in Utah and he is outta here!
Good luck Ben!

Here Come the Newlyweds

2009-07-15T20:44:00.003-07:00

Not us, by any means! It's a reality show we got addicted to on Monday nights. The finale was yesterday and I decided to post a quick thought since I take so long in between posts they are all going to be really long and no one will want to read them. Oh well, this is more for my journaling purposes, right?

So the show takes a bunch of newlywed couples and they have to carry out certain tasks and relay race type things every day, and each day they vote to eliminate someone. Each day the money pot grows bigger and in the end, someone will go home with it. Like "Survivor" but for newlyweds.

Well, the Corlisses were not your sugary sweet little couple. His whole body was tatooed, and she wore very little clothing, and what was there was very tight. First impression may not have been the most positive with them and they almost got voted off pretty much every week.
Guess who won..........
Yep, the Corlisses. I COULD NOT believe it.

As the show ended, Ben made another brief but deep thought. As in life, we get kicked down many times. But the best thing to do is pick yourself up and hang in there. And if you hang in there long enough, things can really turn out well in the end.
The Corlisses were so close to losing so many times, and they never quit; they just tried harder. They ended up growing closer as a couple and winning half a million dollars.
How's that for hanging in there!

Happy Birthday Ben and USA!

2009-07-04T22:52:00.005-07:00

What a great day to celebrate Ben's birthday, the same day as our nation. He is even named partially after one of history's great men, Benjamin Franklin.
We started the festivities by having our friends Steve and Adrienne over for dinner and a game of Rock Band. I can't find the pic of all of them rocking out, but here is second best. Steve and Ben have known each other since high school and are very similar in a lot of ways. Steve had quite the knack for the guitar, and Adrienne was an "awesome" singer.
The next day we went to Ben's mom's and sister's house for a barbecue. Costco cake is the best!

Yes, Ben got a hammer for his birthday. And of course there's a story that goes with that.

And for the 1st time in 6 years, Ben let us go to fireworks! We wanted to take Benny and let him see all the lights. This is him during the fireworks show:

We ended up just parking the car outside Thanksgiving Point and letting him sleep while we sat on the grass on the side of the road. It was actually quite nice. I even took this lovely picture of us and our license plate:

Toward the end of the show everybody got in their cars and started driving away. All the headlights didn't add to the splendor of the show, and I commented how dumb it was that they would all leave during the fireworks finale, the best part. Why go to something if you're not going to stay to the end? This led to other questions: Why go to a game and leave before the last play? Why go to a conference and leave during the speaker's final comments? Why attend something if all you can think about is leaving in time to beat the traffic? If you are so concerned with how it's going to be leaving, can you really enjoy the whole event fully?

Ben commented that that is a problem for a lot of people in life. We are so concerned with the end result that we don't live in the moment. We don't take time to enjoy what we have now because we're worried about what comes later.

I enjoy spending time with Ben because he usually has little insights like that with pretty much everything we do, whether it be a stupid movie that really has nothing to do with anything, or something he heard someone say during the day. He always has an interesting thought and I am constantly learning from him (when he is not being a total goofball).

I'm proud to be an American, and I'm proud to be married to such a good and crazy guy! Happy birthday

Kamri turns 1

2009-06-27T21:25:00.009-07:00

Today my niece's little girl had her first birthday party. We helped them celebrate in Ogden at a gorgeous little park hidden in the city. Since my sisters and her kids got all the talent in the family, this is the cake my niece made:

Benny enjoyed running around and looking at stuff:

He especially enjoyed the icy Ogden river running through the park. Our feet were numb from the cold, but he wouldn't get out!

And here is the sweet birthday girl enjoying her cake. Mmmm.. Messy and yummy

It's been nice having so much family close by to enjoy these kinds of events. Now that we are leaving, I think the reality that we will not be able to go to everything is settling in and people are inviting us to do stuff every weekend. It's kind of nice for our egos to be wanted, and it will be sad to have to miss stuff. So we are just enjoying everything now!

Buddha Boy

2009-06-23T19:53:00.004-07:00

Benny is obsessed with his belly. He lifts up his shirt, sticks it out and rubs it, pats it and says over and over "belly" (or really, "beh"). He even likes to lift up other people's shirts and pat their bellies.

My friend Grace took Benny and me to Thanksgiving Point last week since I had never been there in the number of years I have lived here. Benny rode the ponies, went for a carriage ride, and played in the water. This is him and his "beh."

Movin' On Up...

2009-06-17T20:41:00.008-07:00

...to the great north. Well, Northern California. After graduating from Utah State with a degree in Special Education, Ben accepted a job in San Pablo.

We have lived here in Orem, UT the 6 years we have been married, and Ben has lived here in Utah County most of his life. I have been here in Provo/Orem almost 13 years as well! Crazy! So this will be a big move. Most of our family is here, as well as many close friends.

But it will be a great experience and we are excited to start a new adventure.

So...I caved and started a blog and will hopefully be able to keep in touch with people this way. I am also a horrible journal writer and am hoping this will somehow count.

***Ben is happy to have the blog started, although he won't admit, and wants to make it very clear that he is NOT contributing to any posting. (He did come up with the title and ice cream pic)