Two-year-olds sure are punctual!

So sometime last night, my son apparently had a dream in which someone (I would guess they were from Hades) taught him how to say "no" to everything, all the live-long day.

"Jamie, are you hungry? Do you want to eat?"
"No!"
"Okay, you're all done with your food?"
"No!"
"Oh, you want to eat some more?"
"No!!"
"Do you want the food, or not?"
"NO!"
"Okay, I'll take your tray away."
"NOOOO!!!"

Etcetera.

Lol. Okay, now that he's asleep and it's blessedly quiet, it is a little funny. Not so much in the moment though. But I guess it's normal. I got my What to Expect newsletter of the day, and this exact thing was the topic--the author and most of the commenters all had kids who went from sweet to sinister practically overnight, almost exactly when they turned 2. Weird. Click here for the blog entry if you're interested.

Oh, and after keeping up in this fashion at Wal-Mart (nothing to do with eating then, but you get the idea), he was instantly smiley and charming for the missionaries behind us in line and for the checker lady, who said he was the cutest thing she'd ever seen. Little punk.


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2/2/11: I just realized what it says on that kid's shirt, and that I may have unknowingly put across what might look like a political opinion...I don't even watch the news, so please pretend his onesie is blank.

I might be getting high off paint fumes...

I opened the sliding glass door to the porch and am sitting with a breeze blowing on me (hello, Arizona in January!), but it's still bad. I guess spraying the clear coat on the picture frame I just painted INSIDE was a bad idea...

Anyway, it's late and I shouldn't be doing this, but I'm not in the mood to go to bed. So here's over a month's worth of pictures, including holidays and vacation. Ready?

Christmas goody preparations underway...I probably went a little overboard, but I love giving.

Anyone want the recipe for those Butterscotch Cashew Bars? I assure you they are sinfully, ridiculously delicious!

This is why I didn't send Christmas cards, even email ones. In Jamie's defense, he was dying to go to the nearby playground, but we couldn't let him because he'd been circumcised a few days earlier and was not allowed on play equipment for two weeks. (And looking again, Jason and I look dorky in this one anyway, so whatever. :))

See the feet poking out of there--one with slipper on, one without?

He reminds me of some sort of bird here.

These are flat iron travel pouches that I made--I gave the pink one to my sister-in-law, Janelle, for Christmas. I actually keep my awesome flatiron in mine all the time, because I live in fear that it will break. (It's expensive, and it was a gift.)

You can find the tutorial for this here at Crap I've Made.

Jamie seems to know that no picture is complete without him in it :)

Salem enjoyed having us home at my parents', for obvious reasons.

Christmas morning--stockings

(That's all. Sorry, I'm not great at picture-taking on holidays.)

We called this "Jamie's Wonderland." On this particular day (after Christmas), we had my twin cousins, Emily and Celeste, over to knit with my mom; Rob and Conner over to play Wii with Jason; Liz and Ali (alias Lexi) over to play with Jamie and me, and Aunt Colli even stopped by at one point! It was great!

This would be my son...NOT sharing. Look at that face. Sheesh.

Every once in awhile, Ali and Jamie would hug--and out came the cameras, with us telling them to do it again and again, trying to get a good shot. :) (Hey Liz, did you get any better than mine? Could you email them to me?)

Muah!
This one actually is on the brink of disturbing me...just a little. Lol.

Michelle and Rob with Jamie

The Lemon Meringue Pie I baked for my dad as his Christmas present--check out the recipe on my recipe blog if you're interested. (I'm not a pie person, but dang, it was good.)

Just for the gross-out factor: this is what it looked like when we came home.

Be really, really glad you can't communicate smells over the internet.

Ugh, just looking at it has me remembering...

We were the lucky recipients of a like-new, comfy loveseat! Our friend's sister got a new one because this one acquired a big ol' ink stain (and the person who caused the stain paid for a new loveseat, having been warned previously not to leave his pen there). She was nice enough to offer this to us for free! We used some AMAZING cleaner, and you can barely tell it was ever there!

P.S. As Jason just looked over my shoulder and noted, the loveseat looks "schlumpy" in this picture taken with my crappy camera, but in reality it's very nice and new-looking.

We're up to the present! This...

...was used for THIS! We bought a white board to write down goals, to-dos, and...well, read the magnets for yourself. :) I really like how they came out, and that I could make my own after seeing "days of the week" ones at Target for like FIVE DOLLARS that weren't even as cute as mine are. They're a tad time-consuming, but really easy.

And, finally, the offending frame...

...and the finished project.
Maybe.
It's kind of a lot of black. That might change.
Anyway, see how the letters are 3-D? Hard to tell, I know.
Tutorial here, with better pictures.

I'm happy because the frame was one of those uber-cheap, maple-looking ones from WalMart, that I simply sanded and painted. I think it came out really nice, and though the sanding is a pain in the neck, it's a much cheaper alternative than actually buying a nice frame. :)

Did you stay with me for all of that? If so, I'm impressed...and flattered!
I seriously feel better now that I'm caught up, so I guess I can go to bed now. Lol. Blogging is such an addiction. Goodnight!

This and that

I've been wanting to post all kinds of pictures, but there are always so many other things that need to be done and so little free time (case in point that Jamie JUST woke up from his nap and started crying, so I'm speed-typing this), that I've put it off.

On the fridge: I took careful note of what we lost and the price of each item, typed it up in Excel, made copies of receipts, etc. The manager told us that unfortunately the owners' policy is "this is what renters' insurance is for." But since we reported the problem so many times, she went to bat for us and got us $175 reimbursement. The food cost around $250-275, but she said usually people get nothing when something like that happens. So that will come off our rent next month.

Jamie turns 2 on FRIDAY! We're having a little party for him with our friends on Saturday, which should be fun.

And here's a pic of him with an early birthday present:

I don't like that you can't see his eyes, but otherwise adorable :)

I've been reading Fire of the Covenant by Gerald N. Lund, who wrote the Work and the Glory books. It's about the Martin and Willie handcart companies, and holy moley, it's so, so good. Another instance of never really thinking much about a "story" you hear a lot, and then realizing those were real people who had incredible faith and courage--not only those emigrants who went through the disaster coming over the plains, but those already in Utah who bravely and selflessly went out to save them and bring them in.

Sigh. So hard to describe, especially with a crying toddler in the background. You'll have to read it yourself. :)

One more thing:

Happy Birthday, Sam!!! :D

In the last 24-ish hours, I have...

1. Gotten home after a five-hour drive to a very stinky apartment.
   
2. Realized the stink was due to an apparently broken refrigerator and freezer left alone for three weeks, and gasped in horror at the scenes inside both.
3. Been kept up a good portion of the night by a kitty who spent three weeks outside (long story) and was so happy to have us back that he kept trying to curl up next to our heads on our pillows, over and over--or mewed continually for no apparent reason.
   
4. Taken inventory of a whole page worth of ruined food while the poor maintenance guy removed them, trying to hold his breath (even though we wheeled the fridge outside to do it).
5. Gone shopping at CostCo and WalMart by myself to replace nearly all of these items, writing down the prices of what I did and did not replace. The cart was so heavy by the end, I could barely maneuver it. ***On Monday we'll find out how (hopefully not if) the manager will compensate us, because we've been trying to convince them there was something seriously wrong with the freezer for months.
6. Entered the list of the foods and their prices and quantities into Excel, trying to be thorough and neat so they'll be more apt to give us what we deserve.
   
7. Given a little boy a bath, a haircut and a manicure (i.e. clipped his nails).
8. Given a kitty a bath (okay, Jason did), a hair brushing and a manicure (i.e. clipped his nails).
9. Unpacked four suitcases varying in size from huge to carry-on.
10. Done laundry, dishes, and general cleaning.
11. I'm sure there's other stuff; took a shower, ate here and there, etc.

I don't mean to complain--much. There are worse things. I'm still glad to be home.

But this is why I'm tired.

Trip Teaser

Enjoying Grandpa's Retirement party balloons

"It wasn't me, it was Jimmy!"
(Old Sac Schoolhouse)

Old Sac Pony Express Man

Making Conner (his soon-to-be-cousin, whom he LOVES) squish him at Grandpa's retirement party