I Heart Bulleted Lists

I've been tired and busy and lazy so I haven't blogged for a while. Here is a bulleted list to recap what's been happening. (I love bulleted lists and office supplies...it's a teacher thing.)

• Kellyn is still not sleeping through the night but I am dealing with it better.


• My hormones seem to have finally returned to "normal" and I feel human again. It only took six months post-childbirth.


• I read all seven Harry Potter's in two weeks. I laughed, I cried, I couldn't believe _____ killed ________ (if you've read them you know who I'm talking about), and I also couldn't believe I have never read them before because they are AWESOME. I've joined the Potter Nerd Club. I'm going to ask for a wand and wizard robes for Christmas.


• I read a great book called "In Defense of Food" and it inspired me to quit eating processed foods, start eating as organically as possible, grow a garden, and start make everything from scratch. Did you know that you can actually make everything you can buy at the store? It's amazing! I've also returned to the vegetarian life and I feel great. It's incredible the difference your diet can make in the way you feel. More on this coming soon.


• I bought new running shoes and am training to race this summer.


• Kellyn is sitting up like a champ, rolling everywhere, screaming, yelling, grunting, babbling, drooling, grabbing, sucking, gumming, and doing calculus. She is also on the verge of crawling, I just know it. Her cheeks and legs are so chubby and cute. She is adorable and smart and we can't get enough of her! Except between the hours of 10 PM and 7 AM--then we would like to get a little less.


• I love being a mom and I finally feel like I'm getting the hang of it. I'm sure that feeling won't last long but I'm enjoying it for the moment.


• Jared likes his job and I suspect he is a really great nurse--even though I'm not there to see him in action, I can just tell. He plans on working for a while but we are starting to make plans for more education. Now the trick is the actual decision making part which we're not very good at.


• I turned 24. I feel old. But life is better than it's ever been and I'm really happy--so it seems silly to worry about being 24.

I finally downloaded a video of Kellyn. This isn't a very good one but it's the most recent one I have. It's amazing that she is still adorable even while she's grunting, burping, drooling, and whining! Please turn the volume down so you can't hear me laughing like a smoker in the background. Embarrassing...

Long Lost Friend

Dear Eight Hours of Uninterrupted Sleep,
I want to apologize for never appreciating you until you were gone. Each night as I finally lay down in bed, I think about you, long for you, and pray this night will finally be the night when you return to me. But we both know it's not meant to be. Even if sweet little Kellyn doesn't steal you from me, my ready-to-explode-because-they're-filled-with-milk-to-the-max boobs will. Woe is me. Hope to see you again someday old friend.
Sincerely,
Tired

Tofu and Vinegar

I'm back! It actually turns out we have had wireless internet access since we moved but I have been too busy moving in, taking care of Kellyn, and enjoying our new place to blog. So here's a quick update. We got moved in! Our families were so great to help. We bought a condo on the third floor so moving was even a bigger pain than it is normally. But we got it all in and we didn't even have enough stuff to fill up all the space! This condo is about five years old but the last owner was immaculate so it feels like it's brand new. It's so clean and nice and I am in HEAVEN. I have my own laundry room and a new washer and dryer, two bathrooms (as mentioned before), a walk in closet, my very own beautiful kitchen with a real-life pantry, full size functioning and clean appliances, and an amazing view. The list goes on of things I love about this place. I'll post some pictures soon.

Kellyn is growing like a weed. She is huge! She is now smiling like crazy, laughing, rolling over (and over and over and over...), almost sitting up by herself, and putting EVERYTHING in her mouth--much to the dismay of her germaphobic mother. She will be five months old in about a week. I can't believe how fast it's going. I also can't believe how much easier and more fun it's gotten. I didn't think I would make it at first. Motherhood was so much harder that I imagined it would be. But I feel more like a real person now and am loving staying home with Kellyn and watching her grow.

With our new house I am also becoming house-wife extraordinaire. Okay not really. Actually that just means I've started cooking dinner and cleaning on a regular basis. It's so much more fun to cook and clean in a nice home! I'm back to my vegetarian diet for the most part and am having tons of fun cooking new meals. Two new things I've discovered--Tofu and Vinegar. I love to eat tofu. Never liked it before but I guess you just have to have the right recipe. And I love cleaning with vinegar. I found a website that has like 1001 uses for vinegar. It's all natural, non-toxic, cheap, and you can use it for just about everything. Jared isn't really loving coming home on days I've been cleaning cause it smells like pickles. But he'll get used to it right? I've also started a new hobby--crocheting. It is so relaxing! I'm like an old woman--cleaning with vinegar and crocheting. The reason I started is I needed to do some community service and I decided that making scarves and hats for a homeless shelter is something I could feasibly do since whatever I did I would have to take Kellyn with me. More about the reason for community service later. (No I didn't commit a crime.)

Next on the update list: The Holidays. We had a nice Christmas in Nephi with my family. We were all spoiled to the maximum and ate ridiculous amounts of food. Thank heavens for breast-feeding or else who knows how much I would weigh. I swear my metabolism has become like a teenage boy. Better not get used to that unless I plan on following in Michelle Duggar's footsteps and nursing for the rest of my life. (A new weight loss program--have a baby every nine months!) On New Years Eve we went to bed at 9:30. I was so excited that Kellyn actually went to bed early for once and we didn't even realize what day it was. We were awakened at midnight by screaming and pot banging in the condo beneath us. We then realized our New Year's Eve memo must have gotten lost in the mail and we went back to sleep. New Year's Eve used to be a lot more exciting when I knew I could sleep in the next day.

Well I think that's all for now. Life is good. Here are some pictures to top it all off. And here's some advice: try tofu and vinegar. Seriously. They rock.

Aren't these the cutest hat and gloves ever?

Leaving Kellyn alone with Dad usually ends up in some interesting pictures on the camera. Take the white trash mullet photo for instance.Another alone with Dad picture. Apparently she decided the bumbo was as good a place as any to take a nap.

Her first smile for the camera!Gangsta KellynWouldn't it be nice to still look cute when your leg rolls are showing through your stretchy pants?Kellyn's Grandma made her a sock monkey that she loves to play with/slobber on.

The End

Plural Potties

We are moving into our first home TOMORROW. If everything goes according to plan that is. I feel like we are really moving up in the world. I mean we are going to have TWO bathrooms! I don't even know what to do with two whole bathrooms! Other luxuries include but are not limited to the following: control of our own temperature--no more layering on the winter clothes in my own house, hot water at any time of day, hot water lasting long enough for me to shave my legs (it's been a while...gross), no obnoxious landlords upstairs screaming at each other or doing various other noisy "activities" that we can hear but would rather not hear, no more living beneath ground level, and best of all--no more moving for a REALLY LONG TIME. Moving is a lot of work. We really appreciate all of our family for helping us move. We couldn't have done it without them! Since we won't have internet for a while I am going on a blogging break. So the next time you hear from me, I will be blogging and then deciding which potty I want to use cause starting tomorrow I will have a choice.

What kind of idiot puts liquid dish soap in the dishwasher?

This kind of idiot. (Note to self: read the labels carefully next time.)

Sweat Pants and Fuzzy Teeth

Do you ever get to the end of the day, run your tongue across your teeth, and realize you never got around to brushing them? When I "retired" and moved on to motherhood, I thought there would be nothing to it. I mean I had been taking care of 25 kids for the past two years so how hard could one little baby be? I was actually worried I would be bored. Now it is 11:00 at night and I have fuzzy teeth that, once again, I never got around to brushing. I took my shower for the day about two hours ago, and I am now wearing my bedtime sweat pants as opposed to my daytime sweat pants. I'm not sure what time or day it is (is it the end of the week or the beginning?), don't know for sure when I washed my hair last, and I'm positive I have lots of things to do but I seem to have lost a significant portion of my short-term memory. What has happened to me? Is this a motherhood phenomenon? Is it due to the exhaustion of sleepless nights? Constant breast-feeding? Never-ending diaper changes and poop leakage? Could it be the unaturally high tone of voice I seem to have developed? Or maybe it's the germaphobia that occupies every waking moment while I boil and sanitize in the fight against swine flu? Whatever the cause of this insanity, this face makes it all worthwhile don't you think? (The picture is dark because the flash freaks her out. If you can't tell in the picture, she has learned to blow spit bubbles. My child is a genius!)

Growing Up

It looks like everyone is growing up in our family. Kellyn has grown so much I can't believe she is the same baby I gave birth to 12 weeks ago. We also are growing up and attempting to buy our first home. Three days ago I said "please can we move?" and since then we found a great condo and are working on the loan. We possibly could close by the end of the month. That was fast huh? We are really excited and stressed. Buying a house is a BIG deal and a LOT of money and a lot of WORK. Growing up is hard. But I really think we will be happy there. So if anyone needs an apartment in Provo, we are selling our contract. We have a nice apartment that is very affordable and within walking distance of BYU. If we were still students I would love to stay here. But we aren't students and I'm staying home now so I need a place to feel more like home. And now I'm getting it! Jared is so good to me. So everyone keep your fingers crossed and send potential Provo renters our way. I'll post pictures of the new place if/when everything works out. And since there are no pictures yet, here are some Kellyn Halloween pictures. She's not really ready for trick-or-treating. But my mom had to buy her a costume, of course. Isn't this the cutest pumpkin ever?