So I have discovered pinterest. Check it out if you haven't ever heard of it...but beware, it is addicting.
I have found so many ideas I just don't know where to begin. I have tried some of the recipes I've found though and I'm so happy to have yet another source for new recipes. Thank goodness for my iPhone! I don't have to waste hours on my computer, I can look at pinterest while I wait for kids to get out of school, at the drs office, while in line at the grocery store, etc. What did I ever ever do without my loverly iPhone?! Thank you Steve Jobs, may you rest in peace knowing you have made my life, and countless others, more fulfilled because of our iPhones; you should have a direct ticket into heaven. (I'm not even joking)
Okay, so I have some random thoughts. When I lay in bed at night, as I try to fall asleep, I don't usually think about normal things, like bills. I usually have the odd and, like I said before, random thoughts. Such as this beauty.
I'm laying down, Lars is snoring already, Sam is snuggled in my arms. I'm thinking about all the fun times we have as a family, how much I enjoy watching my kids play. Lilli has just learned to ride a two wheeler, no training wheels. I should be photographing this moment, but instead I want to run along side of her, cheering her on. My thought goes something like this, "Should I be taking more pictures/videos of my kids? What will I do someday when I don't have those?" Then I think "That's just silly, I will have my kids, I will have my memories" This leads to my anxiety laden thought, "What if I don't have my memories, what if I get dementia or Alzheimer's?" So my question is this: When all is said and done, when I am nearing the end of my life, or even just when my kids are grown, will I be sad if I don't have pictures depicting each and every event and moment of our lives? Or will I be happy I enjoyed being involved in those events rather than on the sidelines taking pictures, always behind the camera? I'm not saying I don't love photos and capturing moments and memories, but what if I don't get every vacation, every cake, every moment? Will I feel I missed out on something or will I feel I captured it more fully by participating instead of photographing? I realize it isn't always an either or thing, you can have both...to an extent. As I have had more kids and as the older ones have started to grow up a little, I find myself taking less pictures of every event. I take some spontaneous pictures here or there, and of course Christmas, Disneyland, and the like. But not as many and not as often. There is just too much to see, do, and enjoy to stop and take a picture every time. I don't know, I haven't decided though. Maybe I'll start taking more pictures, maybe I'll take less. I'll have to mull it over a little more. When all is said and done, I can't take them with me, and once a moment has passed, it has passed and I can't do anything about it if I haven't taken a picture, I just have to be happy with the moments wether or not I have a photo of it.
Yup, that was how it went. And eventually I fell asleep and dreamt I was taking pictures. Such is the stuff of late night musings.
There are more midnight random thoughts I could share, but I think I have rambled enough for one post. ;)
We are getting so close to getting our new house!!! And may I say once again, I L-O-V-E my iPhone! (I started this post last week and am just getting around to finishing it.) I don't know how I could have done all I needed to do, such as sending, finding, signing paperwork, without my iPhone and the internet. Ok, I know it can, and I have before, be done but it is so much better this way.
Can't wait to move into my house so I can start doing some of my Pinterests! :)
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Sunday, October 2, 2011
I think I may move to Disneyland
Car breakdowns, Dr appointments, parent teacher conferences (and somebody's first, and last, F), good news, waiting, and new tires. If it wasn't for the good news thrown in I probably wouldn't be blogging right now, I'd be in Disneyland (debt be DA...nged!)
So, my car had started making a scraping sound whenever I would brake. I told Lars and he got on in right away, or at least within a few days. The problem started though, when he thought it was the front brakes and not the back. He bought all the parts to fix the front and spent a few hours working on it, only to find that the front brakes were in great condition. Time for a new plan. Lars planned on fixing the car a couple days later since he had parent teacher conferences for his own students and then we had parent teacher conferences for our kids the day after that. Sadly, the car had other plans for us. I had dropped kids off at school as usual. First the Jr high kids and then off to the elementary school where, since we aren't living at our new house yet so we commute, we wait 30 minutes until school starts. Today I had to leave right away and get back to the Jr high, often I spend the first part of the morning in Lilli's class helping out. Today, however, 7th grade parents had a SEOP presentation to attend. So I headed back down the hill to BJH. Went to the presentation, learned...well, not a lot. Went back to the car and decided to nurse Sam before running some more errands and getting Lilli from kindergarten. After a few relaxing minutes of nursing I put Sam into his car seat, move up to the front, start the car, check behind me and start backing out when...CLUNK! There was a horrible noise and the car shook. I was sure I had backed into something but since I was looking behind me I was quite confused. I quickly pulled back into the parking spot, nearly hyperventilating and absolutely trembling. I shakily get out of the car and make sure I was right and nothing was there. I was, of course, (haha) right. I got back in the car and took a few long deep breaths to try to get my adrenaline levels back to normal. Once I could no longer hear my heart beating loudly in my head my thoughts turned to the only logical explanation of what had happened. My once easy brake repair had just turned into a complicated expensive job. Plus I was stuck at the Jr high with only an hour before I needed to pick up Lilli. I finally got ahold of Lars and told him about our problem, then I called my childhood hero, the person I can always count on, my Grandpa. He drove 20 minutes to come to my rescue. We went and waited for Lilli to get out and took care of a few phone calls Grandpa needed me to make (address changes for bills etc.) Then we got lunch and went back to the car so I could go exchange the brake parts and see what else I might need. When we got to the car my heart sank even lower, there was fluid leaking from the back...brake fluid...A LOT of it. I took a picture and sent it to Lars. (I love technology!) Then I went to Auto Zone in Bountiful. There I met the most helpful guys around. They listened to my woes, helped me figure out the right parts, and commiserated with me. Then they helped me carry my rear brakes and rotors to the car. I seriously love these guys and just want to bake them cookies or something. If any of you out this way ever need car parts go see these guys, it was a bright spot in an otherwise cloudy morning. (Figuratively speaking. Literally speaking it was far too hot for a late September day) To finish up the story, Lars was able to fix it and it didn't cost nearly as much as feared. We only had to buy one additional part, a rear caliper. (Whatever that does)
On to the good news...the bank counter-offered on the house and it is within the price range we had decided on for ourselves!! We are getting close now. Fingers crossed and prayers being said that the loan goes through quickly so we can close and move in! Any and all prayers, chants, finger-crossing, or whatever you do for good luck would be greatly appreciated. :-)
Poor Lilli had to get 7 cavities filled. She, unfortunately, has inherited the Andersen teeth. She did so amazing though! She was so good and laid there so quiet and let them do the work without complaint. Afterwards though she was quite upset, she HATED the feeling of being numb. I definitely felt for her, I dread that feeling when I need work done too. She has vowed to brush her teeth "Lots during the day, every day" so she doesn't have as many cavities next time.
Oscar goes in tomorrow for dental work, thank goodness he has matured a bit since he was Lilli's age. He was AWFUL to take to the dentist.
Last but certainly not least is....Samuel the Great! Sam had his four month check up. He is off the charts in height (or length, depending on how you look at it) and 90 something in weight. Official stats are:
28 inches long
16.8 pounds
He is doing perfect, which we already knew, but it is nice to have the Dr agree.
Sam's various nicknames as of this moment are (In order of most used to least used, or newest)
Stink
Agent stink
Champ
Sammy boo (That one is Lilli)
Little man
Agent S
Stinkaroo
Perhaps you've noticed a theme amongst most of those. Sam is a champion farter. It's true. He is truly amazing. And it makes him so darn happy. ;-)
So I think I covered most of our news for now. I have more to say but Lars keeps giving me dirty looks for clacking away on the keyboard as he tries to sleep so I shall sign off for now.
Until next time, remember to cross your fingers, eyes, toes and nose that we get into our house soon.
I'd appreciate it, THANKS! :)
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Dang computers
Well I had written this wonderful eloquent post earlier today. Then as I tried to publish it my internet crashed and didn't save anything. So you'll just have to my word for it that it was a clever, witty, and, as mentioned above, eloquent post.
That being said, here is a quick recap of the lost post.
Oscar turned 14, he is an awesome and talented kid. LOVE HIM!
Emma turned 13, she is amazing and organized, I envy that trait. LOVE HER!
Sam is turning 4 months and is a TANK! Will post 4 months stats after his checkup next week.
We live in Bountiful, UT and really love it. Still waiting for our house...dang short sales take so stinking long!
That's about it for now. I'll write an actual post soon, I hope. Check out my food blog to see what I've been up to in the kitchen. (Promise it is always yummy!)
That being said, here is a quick recap of the lost post.
Oscar turned 14, he is an awesome and talented kid. LOVE HIM!
Emma turned 13, she is amazing and organized, I envy that trait. LOVE HER!
Sam is turning 4 months and is a TANK! Will post 4 months stats after his checkup next week.
We live in Bountiful, UT and really love it. Still waiting for our house...dang short sales take so stinking long!
That's about it for now. I'll write an actual post soon, I hope. Check out my food blog to see what I've been up to in the kitchen. (Promise it is always yummy!)
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Wooooosh
Summer is gone. It didn't feel like the slow lazy days of summer. It FLEW right on by! And as the seasons change and we transition to school and fall, our family is experiencing many transitions and changes. We have rented out the house that we had put so much blood, sweat, and tears into. It was simply time for a change for our family. My grandpa has been living with us since last August/September. We love having him with us but in our house he just had one little room to himself. That along with the simple and clear feeling that there was a house out there waiting for our family, put I motion our search for a new home that better suits our current family situation. Well, we have found the home and now are waiting, relying on the generosity of family as our house rented faster than our new house can close. We have moved from Salt lake City to Bountiful. We have uprooted the kids and transplanted them hoping to see them flourish and yet fearing they would wilt slightly from the move and changes. Happily they have thrived! They all have wonderful schools and teachers that seem to be an incredible fit for their personalities. Oscar and Emma were worried about moving from their small charter school to a bigger Jr High but the administration and faculty at this school are amazingly kind and helpful. I told the kids they are so lucky because they have what seems to be the nicest school counselor available, I remember thinking that it was a requirement for school counselors to be grumpy and unhelpful when I was a kid.
Overall we are so happy with our decision, we are just crossing our fingers, toes, eyes, legs, and arms that the buying of our new home goes quickly and smoothly. If any of you out there want to join in by crossing your fingers and maybe sending up a prayer or two on our behalf, we wouldn't mind at all.
Sam, my sweet "little" baby is now 3 months old! How?! I don't get it ;) He weighs about 16 1/2 lbs and is a smiling cutie! He brings a wonderful spirit to our family with his sweetness and we all just love him more than words can express. He fits in our family perfectly.
Lilli has started kindergarten. She loves it and I'm doing ok with it so far. Next year though she'll leave me full day and that will be even harder. Her teacher is wonderful and fun though, and I know Lilli is going to have a great year.
Henry is in 5th grade and has an AMAZING teacher!! I am so happy, it is exactly what he needs!
Oscar turned 14! Aaaaahhhh!!!!! How is that possible. He is an amazing kid, um teenager I mean. He is so talented in art and music. He also has a fun sense of humor. Love him and hope we made his birthday special.
Emma's birthday is in 2 weeks! I'll write more about her then.
The kids have all been so great about the move. They are being so patient and doing well despite having to mesh two families and lifestyles into one home.
That's about it for us right now. Hopefully now that Sam is a little bigger and on more of a predictable schedule I can find a minute here and there to blog a bit. I'll add pics soon!
Overall we are so happy with our decision, we are just crossing our fingers, toes, eyes, legs, and arms that the buying of our new home goes quickly and smoothly. If any of you out there want to join in by crossing your fingers and maybe sending up a prayer or two on our behalf, we wouldn't mind at all.
Sam, my sweet "little" baby is now 3 months old! How?! I don't get it ;) He weighs about 16 1/2 lbs and is a smiling cutie! He brings a wonderful spirit to our family with his sweetness and we all just love him more than words can express. He fits in our family perfectly.
Lilli has started kindergarten. She loves it and I'm doing ok with it so far. Next year though she'll leave me full day and that will be even harder. Her teacher is wonderful and fun though, and I know Lilli is going to have a great year.
Henry is in 5th grade and has an AMAZING teacher!! I am so happy, it is exactly what he needs!
Oscar turned 14! Aaaaahhhh!!!!! How is that possible. He is an amazing kid, um teenager I mean. He is so talented in art and music. He also has a fun sense of humor. Love him and hope we made his birthday special.
Emma's birthday is in 2 weeks! I'll write more about her then.
The kids have all been so great about the move. They are being so patient and doing well despite having to mesh two families and lifestyles into one home.
That's about it for us right now. Hopefully now that Sam is a little bigger and on more of a predictable schedule I can find a minute here and there to blog a bit. I'll add pics soon!
Monday, July 11, 2011
6 weeks
So it is July already. Summer is quickly passing us by. Sam is 6 weeks old! September will soon be here and Oscar will turn 14 and Emma will be 13!
Life is good. The kids are all doing well and Sam is growing like a weed. He was 12 lbs at 4 weeks old and probably has gained quite a few oz since then. He is awake more and more and the kids are just waiting for him to start "doing things". ;) I tell them not to try to make him grow up too fast, let Mama enjoy the newborn phase as long as possible. He is a cutie and I'm afraid he really is going to try to catch up to the other kids. At 3 weeks old he started rolling over every time we put him on his stomach for the oh-so-important tummy time that drs go on and on about. BUT I can't keep him on his stomach! He rolls over every time after a minute or so. When he isn't rolling over he looks like he is already trying to crawl away. We'll see what happens when he can actually control his body a little more.
Not a lot else is happening. Oscar just got back from Scout camp. It turned out to be an expensive trip for us as he lost his glasses and the filling from a tooth fell out. So add two more things to the "need to be paid" list.
Emma just left this morning for her first girls camp. She was nervous and a little sad about leaving us for a week but I know she is going to have a great time. Thankfully last night one of our niece-in-laws (haha), Stephanie, was telling Emma how much fun this particular camp is and how you just make tons of friends etc. It helped Emma feel so much better. Thank you Stephanie, I am in your debt for helping my sweet girl! Sadly we will be gone on our trip to San Francisco when Emma gets back so I won't be here to pick her up and greet her. :( I wish they hadn't changed the dates of her camp! Oh well, not a lot I can do about that now. I hope she has an amazing time and can't wait to see her next week when I get back!
Henry is too young for any overnighters with scouts still but he does get to stay at his cousins for almost a week while we are in San Francisco. He is very excited about that.
It's safe to say the kids have had a pretty good summer so far.
We went camping with some of our good friends this past weekend. We had a blast and the kids were in heaven being able to play with their best friends. We adults had a good time chatting and watching the kids get very very dirty. Summer isn't complete without at least one camping trip. (I'll get some pictures up soon) Sam did great on the campout. Thankfully we have our pop up tent trailer. It is the best. Really is the perfect combination of camping and comfort.
That about covers us for now, I doubt I'll find the time to post again until after our trip. Until then friends...enjoy the summer!
Life is good. The kids are all doing well and Sam is growing like a weed. He was 12 lbs at 4 weeks old and probably has gained quite a few oz since then. He is awake more and more and the kids are just waiting for him to start "doing things". ;) I tell them not to try to make him grow up too fast, let Mama enjoy the newborn phase as long as possible. He is a cutie and I'm afraid he really is going to try to catch up to the other kids. At 3 weeks old he started rolling over every time we put him on his stomach for the oh-so-important tummy time that drs go on and on about. BUT I can't keep him on his stomach! He rolls over every time after a minute or so. When he isn't rolling over he looks like he is already trying to crawl away. We'll see what happens when he can actually control his body a little more.
Not a lot else is happening. Oscar just got back from Scout camp. It turned out to be an expensive trip for us as he lost his glasses and the filling from a tooth fell out. So add two more things to the "need to be paid" list.
Emma just left this morning for her first girls camp. She was nervous and a little sad about leaving us for a week but I know she is going to have a great time. Thankfully last night one of our niece-in-laws (haha), Stephanie, was telling Emma how much fun this particular camp is and how you just make tons of friends etc. It helped Emma feel so much better. Thank you Stephanie, I am in your debt for helping my sweet girl! Sadly we will be gone on our trip to San Francisco when Emma gets back so I won't be here to pick her up and greet her. :( I wish they hadn't changed the dates of her camp! Oh well, not a lot I can do about that now. I hope she has an amazing time and can't wait to see her next week when I get back!
Henry is too young for any overnighters with scouts still but he does get to stay at his cousins for almost a week while we are in San Francisco. He is very excited about that.
It's safe to say the kids have had a pretty good summer so far.
We went camping with some of our good friends this past weekend. We had a blast and the kids were in heaven being able to play with their best friends. We adults had a good time chatting and watching the kids get very very dirty. Summer isn't complete without at least one camping trip. (I'll get some pictures up soon) Sam did great on the campout. Thankfully we have our pop up tent trailer. It is the best. Really is the perfect combination of camping and comfort.
That about covers us for now, I doubt I'll find the time to post again until after our trip. Until then friends...enjoy the summer!
Friday, June 24, 2011
Andersen's new groove
I know I've a been a little scarce this past month, having a new baby will do that. We are finding our groove and learning Sam's routine. :)
In reality we haven't been doing much but feeding Sam, changing Sam, and holding Sam...and we LOVE it. When it comes to a blog though those things don't make for very exciting posts as we are doing basically the same thing over and over. We are learning how to venture out of the house though so Summer can now begin for us. My kids may not love it as much since that means I may actually get them up before noon at this point. (Mean Mom, I know)
Sam is doing great! He weighs 11 lbs 3 oz now so he is gaining about 1 lb a week thus far. He is just a little porker, he loves to eat. (The bigger kids have noticed this as well as every time they ask to hold him he is either eating or getting ready to eat.)
In a couple weeks we get to go to San Francisco. I'm really excited about this as I have never been there. I, of course, have a list of things I want to see and places to visit. I have to visit this fortune cookie factory. I LOVE fortune cookies and I think it will be fun to see them made and eat some fresh fortune cookies!
Oops, time to feed Sam again. I'll have to try to post more about our upcoming trip later, between feedings. :)
In reality we haven't been doing much but feeding Sam, changing Sam, and holding Sam...and we LOVE it. When it comes to a blog though those things don't make for very exciting posts as we are doing basically the same thing over and over. We are learning how to venture out of the house though so Summer can now begin for us. My kids may not love it as much since that means I may actually get them up before noon at this point. (Mean Mom, I know)
Sam is doing great! He weighs 11 lbs 3 oz now so he is gaining about 1 lb a week thus far. He is just a little porker, he loves to eat. (The bigger kids have noticed this as well as every time they ask to hold him he is either eating or getting ready to eat.)
In a couple weeks we get to go to San Francisco. I'm really excited about this as I have never been there. I, of course, have a list of things I want to see and places to visit. I have to visit this fortune cookie factory. I LOVE fortune cookies and I think it will be fun to see them made and eat some fresh fortune cookies!
Oops, time to feed Sam again. I'll have to try to post more about our upcoming trip later, between feedings. :)
Monday, June 6, 2011
Sam-I-Am
My sister took some pictures the other day. They turned out so cute; of course, how could they not given the main subject. :)
I can't believe a week has passed since Sam was born. It seems like such a short amount of time and yet I have a hard time imagining that there was a time he wasn't with us. We are just so happy he is a part of our family.
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