Mystery of the Missing Items

Friday morning as Phil was about to walk out the door for work I asked him where he had put my keys because he had used them the night before. He told me the last thing he remembered was Livi playing with them in our bedroom. I wasn't too concerned, our apartment isn't that big so I knew they wouldn't be far. A few hours later I couldn't find my phone. I had just seen it on the bed in Livi's room!! I again, didn't think much of it, but decided it was time for me to look for the missing items. Livi has a tendency to carry things off, but she usually just leaves them on the floor somewhere so I figured I would find them in no time. I retraced all of my steps from the time I last remembered seeing the phone. I went through cabinets, closets, the couch, shoes, garbages, her toys, the fireplace, purses, laundry basket, desk, in the toilets, under the bed yada yada yada. Nothing. I was beginning to become a little concerned. Where else could they be? I should mention that a few months ago we were searching ALL over the place for the charger for the camera. It had literally disappeared. We searched and prayed and searched some more, but nothing. I kept having the impression to look under the bed, but I never found anything. A few hours later, Phil went to put on one of his shoes (which was under the bed) and ta da!! Livi had stuck it in a shoe! So, keeping that incident in mind I went through every shoe. Nothing. Phil got home a few hours later and I was still empty handed. We both started looking and re looking. Still nothing!! What? I had taken a break to give Livi her dinner when I hear Phil holler from the bedroom: "I found them!" Where were they? In the laundry basket. Which I had checked mind you. What I failed to do was empty it completely. I figured if she had thrown them in there they would be on top because it's taller than she is. I was wrong. What killed me was that she would have put the keys in there the night before, and the next day she went back and deposited the phone in her secret stash. Now I know where to check if anything ever goes missing!

What To Eat?

The other day after I had given Livi her lunch, a well balanced meal of tilapia, sweet potatoes and broccoli, I started to think about what I was going to eat. I pulled out a hot dog and was about to cook it, when it suddenly occurred to me: I would never dream of feeding Phil and Livi some of the things that I eat. I always make sure that they have some type of lean protein with at least one vegetable, that they eat their fruit, that they only eat whole grains, we eat vegetarian meals at least twice a week, and we rarely eat out. But when it comes to what I ingest, whatever is easiest is king. Why is that? I know how important it is to eat healthy. I know the benefits of a well balanced diet and I know the potentially negative side effects of a poor diet. But I still don't take care of myself nearly as well as Livi and Phil. Fortunately, dinner is easy, I eat what I have prepared for them. But breakfast and lunch are a different story. I LOVE breakfast, it is usually what inspires me to get out of bed in the morning (besides Livi speaking gibberish in the next room). But my ideal breakfast consists of cereal, or pancakes or waffles or muffins. The sugary stuff. You put any baked product in front of me and it will be gone. However, I don't want Livi starting her day with spiked blood sugar, so while I am eating my Lucky Charms she gets oatmeal (not the packaged kind) and raisins, or a scrambled egg or whole wheat french toast with unsweetened applesauce instead of syrup etc. You get the idea. She eats well and I....don't. Don't get me wrong, both Phil and Livi get their share of things that aren't so good for them, but I'm trying. I am pretty sure that this is fairly common among mothers of small children. After preparing three meals a day, cooking for yourself is the last thing on your list. So after taking the hot dog out of the fridge, I put it back, made myself some tilapia and potatoes and vowed to treat my body as well as I treat my family's.

Father's Day

Phil and I had a very great, interesting and exhausting Father's Day. Saturday night someone from the church called Phil and asked him if he and I would drive a deaf woman to her branch on Sunday. There is a deaf branch about 30 minutes away and all the wards in our stake take turns driving various members to their church. I'm not sure if it's because deaf people can't get driver's licences (?) or because they don't have cars. Regardless, they need rides and we were asked to take them yesterday. Our church normally starts at 8:30 and we are out at 11:30. The deaf branch didn't start until 12:30 and doesn't get out until 3:30, so that was an adjustment. The day began with me waking up early before Phil and Livi in order to make Phil his requested breakfast burritos. Livi woke up, and then a little while later Phil woke up and we all had breakfast. (Livi loves sausage) The rest of the morning was spent trying to figure out how many people we were supposed to be picking up. The initial email said two women and some daughters. Then we talked to someone who said that one woman is out of town, and the other woman has two daughters but the oldest doesn't go so we would only need two seats. Which incidentally, is how many available seats we have. Another email said there was a woman and three daughters. We decided that we would just show up and if there were more than two people we would just apologize for not having room. But there wasn't much else we could do, we only have a 5 seater. So we show up a little after noon and out comes a woman and her two daughters. The oldest had decided to come to church that day. Luckily, the daughters knew sign language and interpreted for us. We told them we only had two seats, but that if the daughters wanted to sit together we wouldn't mind. They declined and the oldest daughter ended up staying home. Which I felt horrible about all day. We get to the church and go into Sunday school. I have never been to a quieter meeting in my life. The best part? Livi was being her normal loud self, and it didn't' disturb anybody. All of the lessons, talks, songs and prayers were in sign language. There was a woman interpreting so we did know what was going on. Relief Society was insane. The lesson was in English with a woman translating into sign language at the front of the class, and then behind me there was someone translating into Spanish for the Hispanic sisters. Sacrament meeting ended 15 minutes early because a speaker didn't show up. All in all it was a very eye opening and humbling experience. I had forgotten what a different experience branch life is from a ward. We met some really great people and everyone was as nice as can be.

We got home around 4 and I made Phil his requested fajitas. We had dinner and then we just relaxed for the rest of the night. We ended up going to bed about 8:50. That's right, we're lame. Keep in mind Saturday night was spent cleaning the church until 9pm and then watching a movie until almost midnight. Saturday morning Phil had gone and played soccer with Hispanic youth at an orphanage. Needless to say, although it was Phil's weekend to be pampered and mushed on, he didn't get a lot of down time. I'm grateful that he is such a good man and so willing to put others needs above his own.

I love all my Dad's so much, each one of them has taught me invaluable lessons. I'm especially grateful for my baby's daddy. :-)

My Husband, aka Benjamin Franklin

I love history. I'm not sure when this love developed. I believe it was on my mission. I really became fascinated with the history of Spain, especially the Canary Islands. I vowed that when I got home I was going to read every book about the Canary Islands that I could get my hands on. That didn't happen. But a spark was lit inside of me that just won't seem to go away, nor do I want it to. I went to the library the other day to find a good book that would placate this need. I didn't go with any particular one in mind. I was standing in the Historical Non Fiction section at the library scanning the plethora of books, when I came across two that caught my attention. The first was for me, entitled "The Wolf by the Ears: Thomas Jefferson and Slavery." And the second was for my sweet husband: "Ben Franklin America's Original Entrepreneur Franklin's Autobiography for Modern Times" While Phil is not the history lover that I am, he is a lover of business and an admirer of successful men (and women). I figured he would at least like to glance at it's pages, and if he didn't like it, I was also interested in it. Much to my delight, he has not been able to put it down. The other night we were laying in bed reading, I my book on Thomas Jefferson, and he his on Ben Franklin (can you say heaven?). Phil kept telling me about all of the amazing personality traits that Mr. Franklin possessed and what a driven and determined person he was. And the more he told me about him, the more I realized that Phil has got to be a descendant of this remarkable man. I turned to Phil and said, "You and Ben are a lot alike." He was pleased as punch to hear that I thought so. But it's true. Phil possesses SO many of the qualities that Mr. Franklin possessed that it's almost uncanny. Benjamin Franklin was so intent on becoming a better person, mediocrity was just not acceptable. He was tireless in his efforts to better himself. And when he became successful, he still practiced an extremely frugal lifestyle. I have never met anyone as driven as Phil. Ever. And I'm not just saying that because he is my husband and I love him. I know so many people who are content to just coast through life, they do what needs to be done to get by. Phil, on the other hand, is constantly setting goals, always thinking of what he can do to increase his knowledge, hone in on the skills he already possesses or develop new ones. He is constantly striving to become a better husband and father, even going so far as to read books such as "Men Are From Mars Women Are From Venus" (One I highly recommend). I will admit that many times I have become frustrated with this constant need for improvement. He has asked me several times, "Is that going to make you a better person?" To which I reply, "I just want to watch a movie!" But I love that about him. He has truly made me a better person in the nearly four years that I have known him. And isn't that what marriage is about? I love him more now than I ever thought possible. And it just keeps getting better.

I wasn't planning on getting all mushy today, but with Father's Day around the corner I have just been thinking about how lucky I am, and how much I love Phil and I guess it just came out. I knew I was supposed to marry Phil. There wasn't a doubt in my mind. But now I know why.

Livi The Grown Up

I think this picture epitomizes how grown up she is. She just looks so big to me.

Livi has grown up so much over the last few days. Which is both good and bad. She is really beginning to communicate with me (good) and she is developing quite a defiant personality (bad). I think I'm going to have to stick to my guns with this one. Over the past several months Phil and I have made a very weak attempt at teaching her sign language, really the only signs we consistently show her are milk and book. And this past week she has really picked up on the milk one. However, I've discovered that it doesn't just mean milk anymore, it's her universal sign for anything that she wants. For those that don't know, you sign milk by squeezing your hand in a fist, it literally looks like milking a cow. About last Wednesday she started signing it to us, and we were so excited we would drop whatever we were doing, run to the fridge and grab her her sippy cup of milk. It's amazing! She can actually tell us she wants something! The other day we had just left the store and I look in the back seat and Livi is pumping her fist away signing milk. I felt so bad I didn't have it with me. (It's so hot here right now, the milk would have gotten all warm and nasty.) But I was so proud of her! Shortly after learning the sign, I think she figured out that if she signed milk, she would get what she wanted. So now she signs "milk" when she's hungry, when she wants to go outside, when she is finished eating. Pretty much anything. So I guess we're kind of back to square one trying to figure out what she wants. But at least we know she wants something, that's half the battle. I've tried to incorporate more signs, and I'm sure eventually she will pick them up. They say milk is the first one they will probably learn because it's easy to do. It really is one of the most adorable things I've ever seen. I've tried numerous times to catch it on camera, but to no avail. I will get it!

Other than being a signing queen, as I mentioned before, she is also DEFIANT. For example, the other day I was making dinner and she, of course, was in there with me. She was going through the cupboards like she normally does (although lately she prefers to open the dishwasher and rummage around there), when she started trying to unload the crock pot. Considering how big and heavy it is, I could just see it falling on her sweet little toes and causing extreme pain. So I closed the cupboard, took her away from the temptation, and firmly told her no. She looked at me with a scowl that could wilt a flower, jerked her hand out of mine, and while staring me straight in the eyes, went right back over, opened the cupboard and attempted to unload the crock pot. So I repeated what I did, she repeated what she did. I then picked her up and took her into another room to distract her with something not so dangerous. Luckily, once she was playing with her blocks she had forgotten about the crock pot and was once again my sweet loving daughter. I can't believe she is only 13 months old and already such a spitfire! Although, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. According to my family from the age of 2 to 6 I was, in fact, possessed by the devil. Oh the stories they have told me about my shenanigans and tantrums. However, I turned into quite the little angel (if I don't say so myself) so I'm not too worried.

Sweet Deal

Phil and I have discovered an amazing deal that is worth sharing. My brother is getting home from his mission in August and Phil and I bought our plane tickets on Saturday. Each ticket, round trip, non-stop, on Delta was a grand total of $47!!! How is this possible? We signed up for an American Express Delta Skymiles credit card. When you get the card you only have to use it once, they then credit you with 15,000 miles (which equates to $150 off a plane ticket), then a few weeks later (we got ours in about 5 weeks) they give you an additional 10,000 ($100 off). Even if you haven't used the card again. So Phil and I each had 25,000 miles (because we each got a card) and tickets were $297-$250=$47! PLUS (I feel like an infomercial) since we used our miles before August, they are going to credit each of our cards with an additional 25,000 miles! There is an annual fee of $95, but it is waived for the first year. So you can cancel it as soon as you have used your miles and never have to pay it. It's a pretty sweet deal and worth checking out. Here is a link if you are interested. Happy Flying!

Dancing Queen

  Anyone who knows Phil knows that this boy loves to DANCE! Anyone who knows me knows that I hate to dance (in public that is).  When we first started dating I really thought dancing was going to be the end of us.  He was always saying "let's go dancing!" and I was always trying to find excuses not to. However, I did end up going with him twice, and I will admit that I had a great time.  Alicia and Lindsey remember the club in Salt Lake we went to and me and Alicia got up on the stage? Unfortunately for me, Alicia really can dance, so I'm sure I just looked like a moron. Oh the things we do for love. Luckily, Phil has no desire to go to clubs anymore and I have honed in a little on my skills so now we just dance like idiots at home and every body's happy. Naturally, Phil wants to instill his love of the arts into his daughter so he dances with her whenever he gets a chance....and she eats it up! Last night while I was at the gym Phil was babysitting and listening to Outkast on his computer. He noticed that Livi would start pumping her arms and get really excited. So he decided to pull out the camera and capture her mad dancing skills.  Phil was having a hard time not dancing as well so the video is a little wobbly in some places.  Here is a little compilation of the several videos he took. It's a little long, and I'm sure for anyone who is not her parents this isn't that entertaining, but I'm putting it up anyway. :-)

Curling

Phil's mom sent a package full of goodies for Livi yesterday.  One of the things she sent were these rings.  I'm not exactly sure what Livi was trying to do with them, but it looked a lot like curling to me.  Who knew we had a Canadian?  

Papa Layne

twinners

just chilaxing and getting tickled

Rudy's, Livi has some classic expressions

My Dad was here over the weekend for a quick visit.  He was in Lafayette La on business and decided to make the 4 hour drive over here.  He was here for about 24 hours.  I feel bad that he had to drive so much, but I'm really glad he came.  Even though we live so far away, I have been lucky to see my family about every two months this year.  It's really been because of both of my brother's weddings, Maddie's homecoming, then we're going again in August for Michael's homecoming, and both of my parents have made visits.  This is my Dad's third time here in the past year and a half. Luckily, his work takes him to La several times a year and he just swings by here.  We didn't do too much while he was here. We went to Rudy's, a yummy BBQ place, and other than that we just stayed home and relaxed.  Phil brought out an extra Exxon shirt and asked my Dad if he was conservative enough to wear an oil companies shirt, to which my Dad replied, "heck yes!"  I love when my Dad visits, it never fails that the conversation turns to politics.  And he is passionate about his politics. It took Livi a little while to warm up to him and then they were good friends.  She would slowly inch her way closer to him when he wasn't paying attention.  Then she would grab his beard, and eventually she would let him hold her and tickle her.  Hopefully she'll remember him when she sees him again in a few months!

Mommy's Little Helper

When I'm in the kitchen Livi has to be in there with me. It doesn't matter if she is in the other room playing, as soon as I step foot in the kitchen I hear her little feet pitter pattering their way over.  She usually likes to go through the cupboards and unload all of the dishes.  But the other day she just brought what she was already playing with (a night light) and plopped down on the floor and played while I made dinner.  She is so stinking cute! I can't handle it.

Livi and the Pear

Livi loves pears.  I can hand her an entire pear and she will go to town on it.  Normally she will eat the skin and all, but yesterday she kept spitting it out so I peeled it for her.  Yesterday was also an exceptionally juicy pear so I had to document how wet she got. It was dripping down her neck and her arms, her dress was soaked, and my shirt was soaked because she kept touching me. Pretty much everything had a nice sticky glaze by the time she was finished.  Thank goodness she likes fruit though.  She has been a little under the weather the last few days and all I can get her to really eat is fruit. She's eaten her weight in mangoes, oranges, raisins, pears and an occasional cherry (cut up and pit removed of course)

Bathing Beauty

Have any of you ever seen the Friends episode where Chandler gets really into taking baths?  The other night Phil got home from working out and he put his bag down and said, "I need a bath."  Ok I thought, everybody needs a nice bath every once in a while.  I went in there a little while later to talk to him and this is what I found.  All that was missing was some sweet smelling candles and a little Enya.

P.S. Just so you know, I did ask Phil if I could post this picture.

Sweat Much?

                          
Yesterday I went to the gym and the class that I normally go to was beyond full so I decided to do the spinning class.  I had done this class once before and vowed never to return.  It's just not fun for me.  Granted, it's an excellent workout but I need to be entertained while I workout or I have no motivation to return.   Although this class was a little better than last time I still don't understand people's love of cycling.  BUT, and this is a big but, even though I don't find spinning as entertaining as other classes, it is a GREAT workout.  I am not a sweater. Never have been.  However, as you can see in the pictures, I sweat like there was no tomorrow.  And my face was as red as a tomato.  I'm sure walking out of the gym I had several stares but I didn't stick around long enough to find out.  I looked like a man child.  I walked in the door and Phil was shocked.  Although I looked like a piece of work I felt great and I slept like a baby :-)

I just have to say how sweet Phil has been about this working out thing.  I used to go in the morning and just drop Livi off in the day care.  But she kept getting sick, not to mention she bawled everytime I left.  So I was debating whether or not to keep going to the gym. Phil always goes and workouts after work, from 5:30 to 6:30. So he had the bright idea of me meeting him at the gym at 6:30, I hand him Livi, he takes her home and feeds her dinner, and then I can workout from 6:30 to 7:30.  I get home and give her a bath and put her to bed and everyone's happy!  Granted we've only been doing it for a week, but so far it's been wonderful.