Getting back in touch with life

For the last couple years I have fallen into the habit of texting and keeping up with friends on Facebook instead of in person or by phone. It is very convenient and easy to fit in with other tasks. The problem is that even though I have been in touch I still feel like I have been falling out of touch a little. Quick texting conversations have their place. To confirm appointments, send a quick thought or joke, or let someone know you are thinking about them. Something is lost, however, when you replace face to face and phone conversations with texting and social media rather than using it as a supplement or aid.
So I made a vow to myself that I would reach out more to the people in my life. What are we here for, what are we living for, if we shun human contact for brief contact through distant computers that can never quite convey the feeling and warmth you can gain from the sound of a voice or a single look.
So far I have reconnected with an old friend both in person and on the phone. Several times when I have thought of texting someone to say hi I have called them instead, and I feel more alive and happy for it. That isn't to say that I will no longer text, email, or Facebook, not to mention blogging, but I will make an effort to find more balance. I also hope to use those tools to connect more with those that are far from me. There are so many ways to keep in touch with those I love, so I hope to embrace it all and fill my life with love, laughter, friends, and family.

Snowy slip and slide

400 N in Bountiful UT
Saturday January 21, 2012

Saturday Lars and I had planned on fixing a part of our fence that had blown over during the big windstorm in December. It was cold and rainy but we had the supplies and it needed to be done. So we set to work and worked until we were soaked and Sam had woken up from his nap at which point we decided to go inside, drink some hot chocolate, and warm up a bit. Once we had done that and Sam was settled, playing happily with Emma and Lilli, we went back outside to find a winter wonderland. We also found cars lining the streets, we have a corner home, and many accidents, both in progress and already happened. Our street had truly become a snowy slip and slide and many people were still trying to navigate it, despite the accidents on the street. Now I must say in their defense, before you come around the corner near our house you can't really see what is going on on the rest of the hill. They probably were quite surprised to see cars lined up along the streets, cars in yards, and people waving and yelling not to go down the hill. Unfortunately at that point it was probably already to late, you put on the brakes and begin your decent against your will. Thankfully people were finally able to get high up enough on the hill and low enough down to stop more traffic from coming up or down the hill. The severity of the situation can be viewed on this youtube video taken by someone 2 streets down from us. It was almost comical at first but then people helping those that had crashed or slid into yards and curbs were nearly run down but out of control cars. 

The snowplow was even having a difficult time making the climb up the hill. We watched wondering how this would play out. Finally after several failed attempts the snowplow began to turn around. Was he abandoning our street as a hopeless cause? And then he began to go up the street backwards, allowing the salt that shoots out the back of the truck to lay down traction up the hill instead of down. Another snowplow arrived on the scene and suddenly they were working together, one going backwards and one facing forward pushing the other along just to lay down that salt and make the road passable even for them. It was quite a scene and I am so sad we didn't get it on video. There were cheers and clapping on the street as the snowplow turned around at the top and finally cleared a path down the hill. Everyone waited, watching, as the snowplows made a couple of passes up and down the hill and finally the road was once again safe to drive on. There was, of course, clean up of the cars that couldn't be driven but everyone waiting was able to safely drive up or down the street. 

And then Lars and I finished the fence and drank more hot chocolate. It was quite a snow day. 

Fashion or clown

We are all familiar with the smokey eye look.

http://www.thebeautyinsiders.com/smokey-eyes-make-up-quickly.html

Well when I was waiting for my haircut yesterday I was flipping through one of the magazines they had out and came upon this, ummmm beauty.

As seen in an issue of Beauty magazine.

It is supposed to be the smokey eye but bright and fresh. I think it says "I'm dressing up as a clown" or "I've been in a fight with a clown"
Can someone really do this and think "Wow, I look smokin'"?! Sadly due to the power of advertising and media some poor girls and women will think just that. If they saw it on a woman walking around they would think it is ridiculous, put it on a model in a magazine and it becomes high fashion.
So, no more hiding those black eyes or dark circles under our eyes, from now on highlight and accentuate them! Makes life so much easier. (especially for us sleep deprived moms) Ü

January

January always seems to be synonymous with sickness at our house. I can't think of one January without at least 2 people being sick in our home. Nothing serious, just annoying viruses. Colds, stomach bugs, unexplained fevers.
This year is no exception. Emma had had a fever of about 102 degrees the last two days. She seems to be on the mend today but I'm on the watch for the next person. Thankfully, I don't get the illnesses myself, I'm too busy taking care of everyone else. When I get sick it's not good, nothing really gets done and I can't relax for thinking of everything I need to be doing.
All I can say is, thank goodness this January seems to be going a lot faster than last January, probably due in part to the fact that I have a baby this year and last year I was pregnant. Both of those events come with their own time warps. With pregnancy time slows way down, with a baby it's kicks into hyper-drive.
And seeing as its January and we are barreling towards February, I will be posting my annual tax post. Tax season is upon us!

Just for fun here is a picture of me and my new haircut. It was time for a change, my hair was too long and I didn't have time to dry, straighten, or whatever. With my thick hair, especially when it is long, it takes over 1/2 an hour to blow-dry. So this will be a nice change.

New addictions and fun surprises

I have a new addiction...Instagram. It is an iPhone app. It is kinda of a cross between blogging and Pinterest. It is a quick and easy way to post pictures of what you are doing or things you see. It has the ease of pinterest with the personal touch of blogging. I love it.

And speaking of pictures check out the beauty below. When we moved into the new house there was this ugly carpet downstairs but we figured it would do for now. But Lars pulled it back and found this fantastic old floor underneath. It was a great surprise, especially since so often during remodels the surprises are not fun and generally expensive. Yay for fun surprises!

A sense of accomplishment

When you have a baby sometimes it is hard to feel like you have accomplished anything, or to actually accomplish something. The day is filled with keeping the baby safe and yet providing them with a stimulating environment so they can learn the things they need to. It is amazing how much learning is crammed into our first two years of life. Not the point though. The point is that with a mobile baby the days are full of watching, teaching, and playing. (Which is wonderful, don't get me wrong) For some reason though my family also wants clean clothes, dinner, rides, etc. There is also my list of to-dos and projects needing to be done beyond the dishes and laundry. And we come to the point, it is often hard to feel like I've accomplished anything beyond the baby stuff. I know this stage ends and with him being my 5th I'm in no rush for him to grow up BUT today I actually did get to check something off my to-do list! Yay, it feels good to have one less thing on my list, though somehow 10 things have appeared to take that one tasks place. ;)
We moved into our house 4 months ago now and have had a pile of stuff on our back porch since then. It was mostly the stuff we realized we just don't need or want. It has been accumulating and each weekend we promise ourselves we'll take it to DI, a thrift shop, and yet it has sat, and worse, grown. Well my porch is no longer the embarrassment of the neighborhood! Yay!
So tonight I celebrate this one small accomplishment, tomorrow I will enjoy my baby and family.

He is so fluffy I am gonna die

Ummmm, yup, we got a new bunny. Okay, I swore I wasn't getting any new pets anytime soon but, well...look at that guy! He is huge and sweet and cuddly. We didn't go seeking him but when Lars called and told me about him I may have kinda told him not to come home without the rabbit.
His name is Chunky , following with our pet name theme thus far. In the past Chewy (still with us) Crunchy, Crispy, Carmel, Butterscotch, Licorice, Hershey, Furry Curry, Oreo, and Peanut Butter. And really, there is no other name that fits this chubby, fluffy, HUGE bunny as well as Chunky. (aka Chunk and Chunky Monkey)
He is about as big as Sam is right now, if not slightly bigger. As previously stated, he is the sweetest most cuddly thing. I'll get a picture of him laying in my arms on his back, almost comatose.
So the Andersen bunny haven is back in business apparently, and my Saturday this week will be taken making an outside pen where he can romp in the "wild".

Best friends

I don't know if I've ever written about Lilli's best friend. She and Jack have been best pals practically from birth. Jack is (for the next 7-ish months) the youngest child of our good friends. I would watch Jack to help them out sometimes and Lilli and Jack got along even as little toddlers.
They have done everything together. 4th of July breakfasts, preschool, and just spending as much time as possible together. They plan on getting married, and after the wedding...go swimming together. :)
When we moved it was so hard on them. Thankfully it isn't too far, but it isn't as close as down the street.
I don't think many of us have a friendship like this. I love watching them play. They can play for hours and never get bored. They pretend to be Harry Potter and Hermione. I love that they can play all day without ever once needing to turn on a movie or game.
They won't always be little but I hope they'll always be friends, no matter what, because friendships like this don't come along everyday.

Journals and nothing to write

When I was a kid my Grandma had a case of small journals that belonged to her grandma. I loved to read them. Mostly there was nothing very exciting or astounding, just everyday happenings. She would write that she went to the grocery store and then would list how much each thing cost. Or she would write about taking care of her baby, my grandma's mother, not how she felt about taking care of the baby just about taking care of the baby. Yet I found it all absolutely fascinating.
I don't write in a journal usually, I should but I never seem to do it. I love writing and putting my thoughts into words but with a journal they tend to sit in my nightstand and generally when I finally get to bed, I crash and am asleep quickly. So I blog and whether anyone else reads it or not I put many of my thoughts and feelings in writing. I probably should journal my more private thoughts and such sometimes too but maybe that's a goal for another year.
I sit here on my iPhone (Can I say once again, Thank you Steve Jobs for iPhones!) at close to midnight listening to my baby babble completely not ready to fall asleep, and I write, about nothing.

Parenting

Being a parent is incredible. It is incredibly difficult, incredibly rewarding, incredibly fun, and also incredibly exhausting (especially the older you get). Much of the difficult moments have nothing to do with your kids exactly; that is to say it isn't necessarily directly related to something they have done or not done. Much of it comes down to our expectations of ourselves as parents and guilt we often feel for not doing it all "the right way".
For example I go to bed each night feeling like I could've done better or here or done something differently there. Truth is I'm a pretty good parent, not perfect, but good. I love my kids, a lot, I feed them, I try to make sure they are clean and have all the other basic necessities of life. On top of that I try to make sure they have fun, that we have fun with them, and that they learn what they need to so that when the time comes and they move out they can clean and cook, and basically take care of themselves.
And yet, I still feel guilt. "I shouldn't have told Lilli to 'Hold on' so many times today."
"I should've spent more time talking to Emma instead of rushing when saying goodnight so I could finish cleaning the kitchen."
"I should've spent more time with Oscar helping him practice the song for his audition."
"I should've put down my work and watched the movie with Henry when he asked me to."
Obviously not earth-shattering but there is guilt, and there is room to improve.

I just read a post on another blog. I loved a lot of what she had to say. You can read the whole post here, but she was talking about how parenting is difficult and we aren't going to love every moment but there will be many moments that we love. I love that and wholeheartedly agree. The one thing I didn't agree with was when she said she was annoyed by being told to enjoy it because it all goes too fast. She said she doesn't really get annoyed by the people but the idea. I get both sides though. I know it goes by so fast, I know where these old ladies are coming from. Now that some of my kids are teenagers, I do miss those days when they were all little . I miss their antics, and the playgroups, and days at the park. I still have my younger kids but I miss the early days of parenting. I wouldn't trade it for where we are now but I wish I knew then how much I would come to cherish it all. But that is the thing about reminiscing, you get to remember the good things and let the bad fall to the wayside. That is the beauty of parenting. It is hard and sometimes thankless. It involves late nights, early mornings, and hours of work in between. In the end, however, it is worth it and you are happy to have been through the journey.
So you don't have to feel like you are doing something wrong if you don't "enjoy" every moment but take comfort in the fact that someday you will miss these days and look back on it all with fondness and tenderness. And someday you can tell someone how you loved these days too, but maybe let them know that it wasn't always easy, just very very worth it.

Yesterday

Well it has happened to me once again. Yesterday I wrote an awesome post, waxing poetic and thoughtful. Sadly, or fortunately, it is gone. Maybe it was a little too deep or maybe it was just too late at night and didn't make sense anyhow. No matter because it is gone, lost forever.
Instead I will write about Christmas and my latest project.
Christmas was fun, albeit crazy and hectic. My sister came in from Alabama with her family. With her having 7 kids it was a week of non-stop sleepovers and visiting. It was a lot of fun and we were so sad to see them go.
My kids really wanted to do the 12 days of Christmas again this year but I hadn't planned for it so we did the 7 days of Christmas. It was still fun and the kids seemed happy with their gifts. That always makes for a good Christmas.
Lars got me the food processor I've been eyeing. Sounds like a lame present, I know, but for me it is perfect. There is nothing I love to receive more than kitchen gear and gadgets! I've used it a ton already and just love it so much! We were so grateful to be in our new home for Christmas, though we all wished we were at Disneyland, we just were happy to be in our own home.

On to my project. I have made a goal to cook dinner every night for my family. Not to say I didn't cook a lot before but there were cereal or sandwich nights and way too many eating out nights. It seemed that if we for some reason had a late or busy evening we would eat out because it was getting late. So what changed is that I want to cook the meals at home, saving us money and giving us more nutritious meals. So if we make dinner at 7pm then that is when we make dinner. It actually has been pretty easy and so far delicious. The point is, when I decided to do this I wanted some more dinner recipes to work with. Now, I could easily go on the Internet and find endless recipes, I do that a lot. This time I wanted to try to gather recipes of friends. Tried and true meals that having been used by people I know and trust have good taste ;)
So far I have about 15 great recipes and am hoping to add more. Can't wait to compile them and start trying them out.

5-6-7...months that is

Yes, this is one of those all about my baby posts. He is adorable and I have to brag sometimes.

6 month stats:
19 pounds
29 inches
Cute as can be

Can you believe my "bathtub" baby is 7 months. Seems like yesterday I was waiting, waiting, waiting to have him. I seriously thought I was going to have an elephant pregnancy, I think they last 2 years. Yikes!

Sam is crawling, pulling up on furniture, smiling, laughing, and basically wrapping everyone around his little finger. He does love to party at 1 in the morning sometimes but that's what it's all about. Thank goodness it isn't all about the Hokey Pokey.


That's really it for today. I suppose I should do my after Christmas post next. Stay tuned.

Deer in the headlights

So, our new house is up in the hills a bit. What that means is that we have deer, a lot of deer, in the neighborhood.
It is so fun to walk to my car and see 3 or 4 down at the end of the road walking across the street early in the morning, or meandering in a nearby field. One night Lars and Henry were going to the store and saw one in the yard. The other kids and I looked out every window but we never did see it. You think deer and your mind conjures up images of peaceful forests, babbling brooks, and serene morning breezes.

But I have a confession. I am just as afraid of having a run in with a deer at night as I am of having a run in with, say...a mugger. When I go to my car late at night I am on high alert. I warily walk to the car listening, watching, ready to run or jump into the car should a mugger or, more realistically here in our small city in Utah, a deer should appear. I'm convinced if I catch one unaware that it will stomple me to death. (Yup, pretty sure that's a word)

So there you have it. Animal loving, wanna-be back woodsman, Crystal Andersen, is a little afraid of deer. (Though I also really wanna pet one!) :)

Shower

No we aren't talking about the fun parties when people get married or have a baby. We are talking about a real shower. Not that I know much about them, when I do see the shower it is about a one minute affair. Get in soap up, wash hair, hop out.
When you have a baby that wakes up at night to nurse you end up having to make a choice. Shower or sleep a little longer. The choice is simple...sleep.
Ok so it's not like I go around
un-showered for days at a time but I often have missed days for sure. It only feels like I walk around un-showered for days at a time.
Still a shower, or if I go really wild...a bath, feels like a luxury and is a treasured thing as a mom.
Don't take them for granted.

2012

It is amazing to me. Another year gone. Before I know it Sam will be 1. He is already over half a year old, hitting the ripe old age of 7 months just after Christmas.

I have a few goals this year.

Have more fun with my kids and don't sweat the small stuff.
Write on my blog everyday for a year starting with today.
Go to Disneyland :)

I have a couple more personal goals but these are a few of my main goals and hopes for this year.

So before we fully move into the new year a brief recap of 2011....

I got really huge (pregnancy)
Henry entered double digits (10)
Lilli turned 5
Sadly, an old friend passed away "before his time"
I had Sam, alone...in a bathtub
Went to San Francisco for the 1st time
Moved out of our beautiful home we ha worked so hard to restore.
We lived with family for 3 long months and learned patience and gratitude.
We finally moved into our new home!
Our renters decided they didn't like the amount of rent anymore so we "agreed" they would move out.
I stressed that our kids wouldn't have Christmas ;)
The great windstorm of 2011 and the miracle of the pine tree that fell and didn't damage anything.
Christmas with ALL my siblings.
The loss of another wonderful friend all too soon.
New years!
And here we are.

It has been an exciting year, full of happiness, sadness, strength, loss, newness, bonding, and adventures.

I can't wait to see what this year has in store and I hope to do all I can to make it a wonderful year for myself and my loved ones. (And I really hope it includes Disneyland!!!)