It's been a long time

since I posted a to-do list. That must be why I haven't been getting anything done. :) Seriously, I feel that I just mope around and tidy randomly. I need to light the fire under myself again.

So, this week (or more likely month), here's what I'd like to get done.

* Organize, separate, and create many scrapbook pages. I literally have a five inch pile of pictures waiting for me that stretch back into spring of last year. I need to jot down the journalling while it's fresh too.

* Read at least a couple of books that have been on my "to read" shelf in my room for at least a year. Yikes Jessica.

* Write down all of the food storage that is scattered around the house and tucked in here and there. It doesn't do me much good if I'm not sure what is hidden.

* Drink more water

* Do the Pilates DVD that just arrived from amazon more than once. :)

* Cook at least four of the dishes from my new cookbook that Joie gave me for Christmas.

* take more baths and use the sugar scrub I have.

* keep up the effort of potty-training my little toilet resister. Wish me luck.

More fun

On the tail-end of our little excursion up north, we stayed and visited with my sister and her husband. In order to keep the young child entertained, they thought it would be fun to do a mini-self-tour of Union Station and all the cool retired trains that are outside. Tyson was in train heaven. He was tickled pink. Luckily he had a really tall uncle to lift him up to places I would never dream of seeing.

There were some pretty neato trains. My sisters and I loved this train with its swirls and fanciments. Wouldn't it be a cool backdrop for pictures?

Later that night, we drove into town and visited a city park that still had lights and Christmas stuff out. By the time this picture was taken I'm pretty sure we were all freezing.

This boy

Ah, this little boy. He's my buddy. We honestly have so much fun during the day. He is an excellent shopping companion, only very rarely whining/crying. He is a good snuggler. He likes to drink hot chocolate and tea, as do I. He loves for me to take pictures of him, and then wants to look at the playback of himself.



He generally takes naps, and if not, has good quiet time where he doesn't do anything too bad. He likes to learn about cooking. He always wants to watch or help me add ingredients. He still lets me rock him and sing to him before nap and bedtime, and loves to read little stories and poems. He sings quietly to himself through out the house which sends little delight chills down my spine.



He is a very good eater and willing to try lots of good + new things. He and I laugh at the same things in movies and dance to music in the car. He's pretty conscientious about things being clean and tidy, unless friends are over to play. Then it's every man for himself. :)



He is not stingy with affection. He always has a smile and big hug for me. He's always been very friendly. He learns people's names quickly and doesn't forget them. In fact, his memory astounds me.

Sure, sometimes motherhood is rough, but I can't complain at all. I have a healthy, sweet boy I get to stay home and teach. Ironically, he teaches me so much in return, it doesn't seem like a fair trade. :)

Visiting my Family: New Years

This trip up north was one of the most relaxing visits I have had for a long time. Tyson slept like a champ, for both bedtime and naps, and I got to have lots of quality time with both my parents and Dusty's. My siblings were out of school and relatively "unbooked", so I got to see lots of them as well. It was very enjoyable and full of laughs.

We had a movie marathon that lasted for 12 hours. I'm not kidding. Can you guess which movies they were?


Tyson also got to spend many little moments with his grandpas. He loved it. I'm sure the grandpas did too. :)


Willy pulled out his super cool Hogwarts train for Tyson to play with. Definitely a highlight of the trip.


The boys also exerted much of their pent-up aggression in mini wrestling matches.


For New Year's Eve, we toasted to a better year and played a rousing game of Settlers. I'm pretty sure my Dad won, which boggles my mind because he is so generous in his trading. Good karma I guess.


I spent much of my time staring out the windows, wandering down memory lane. There were also many deer living around the town. I was never close to the camera when they chose to drift by, however. Bummer.

Visiting my family: Sledding

On New Years Day we went sledding with my family. It was a magical day. Big clumpy flakes falling on our heads, the light making the snow seem like marshmallows, bright winter hats sprinkled along the hill.

December Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth

In order to feel all rounded out and finished with my December Daily (which I am currently putting the finishing touches on), here is my offering of favorite pictures from those days. I wish it was better recorded, but it is so much in the past and with my spontaneous vacation, this was the best I could do .

Dusty's parents came to see us. They arrived on Christmas Eve and we celebrated with a scrumptious dinner at my Grandma's house. We watched last years' Mormon Tabernacle Choir Musical Celebration and watched Tyson open a few presents from Grandma and Joie. Later, we arrived home to make sure the house was all ready for Santa to arrive and put Tyson to bed.

Christmas Day was relaxed and overwhelming at the same time. Tyson was over-loaded, poor kid, with all the people who love him showering him with gifts. We kept dragging him back to the tree to open more! :) Next year we will open more on Christmas Eve and spread the love out a little. Tyson would only let Grandpa help him open presents. So funny. He followed him around the entire visit so starved as he is for male attention. I'm afraid he's surrounded by too much estrogen with me, his aunties, cousins, and grandma. After we had breakfasted on freshly squeezed orange juice, bagels with cream cheese, hot muffins, and cold milk, we got dressed and attempted to cross-country ski. (the attempted was on my part, everyone else was very good). It was refreshing and stimulating. The rest of the day was spent reading, playing, and doing all those Christmasy things.