Title Cliche: Calm Before the Storm

I have put off writing about this but I'll update anyways.

Last Wednesday I went to bed and had one of those rare moments of perfection, of complete bliss. Everything in my life was right where it should be. Before I even had a chance to enjoy the moment, blind panic set in, for I've had this feeling of perfection before and trials inevitably follow. I had to calm myself down so that I could sleep.

The next day, Derek and I went to swimming lessons and had a great time. I had forgotten about the panic the night before and didn't think anything of our neighbor's car parked in front of their house. Tyler and our neighbor carpooled to work that day and I thought they might have come home because his wife needed help. I thought to myself, "I'll have to call Tyler when I get in the house to see if he needs a ride home." When I opened our front door, Tyler was walking up our stairs. It startled me, but I wasn't thinking that anything out of the ordinary was happening. I asked him what he was doing home, chiding him a little for scaring me in that way. He sadly answered, "What do you think?"

Tyler's department downsized and outsourced and didn't renew several contracts, including Tyler's. So we are back to job searching and unemployment. Hello uncertainty; I can't say that I've missed you.

We're dong all right, considering. I'm still working at the restaurant and Tyler's all ready had a couple of interviews. He's such a good man and I'm sure he'll find something soon. We're hopeful and we're happy and healthy otherwise. So that's something.

Derek at 15 Months

We had Derek's well-baby appointment a week or two ago. He is in the 60th percentile for height but isn't even on the charts for weight. The doctor said that by looking at me and Tyler, she's not expecting him to be very big, but she'd like to see him on the charts. We're trying to give him lots of good fats like milk, peanut butter, etc. He won't drink a lot of milk, but he likes yogurt, so that's something. The picture above is Derek with a mouth full of french toast. I especially love the powdered sugar on the nose. He loves to feed himself. He almost won't eat unless we let him do it himself. He's really good at using a spoon.

We did mommy and me swimming lessons for the last two weeks. He LOVED it. We'd get to the pool and he'd start saying, "water! water!" which sounded more like, "wadee! wadee!" It was fun to get in the water everyday, sing songs, and play. It kept us busy while Choka was gone. It actually kept us busy until Tyler got home everyday.

Derek's favorite movie right now is Disney/Pixar's "Cars". He's obsessed with all things cars. I'm fine with it. It's a good movie and very entertaining and I was getting a little tired of "Yo Gabba Gabba". He also loves to ride in the car and to play with toy cars. He also loves to pretend to drive our car. Such a boy.


He says quite a few words for a 15 month old. 3-4 words is normal and Derek has a vocabulary of 15-16 words. I am trying to make a list of all the words he says, but I'm fairly certain that I'm forgetting some. He also is a little gymnast. Last night he kept trying to do somersaults. I was pretty impressed.

Unfortunately, he's also started with the tantrums. He's still adorable though and we love him very much. He's a smart kid, charming, and happy. I'm still loving motherhood. I love you, Derek!

Dear General Public (and especially the eccentric couple at one of my tables the other night...)

Hating something because it's popular is just as bad as liking something just because it's popular.
love,
Tara

Bumblebee and Baby

Kensington had her first dance recital on Monday. She was adorable! We were glad we were able to make it and with the traffic up to Salt Lake, we almost didn't make it. We got there at the beginning of her second dance. She was the cutest bumblebee.

We also got to meet new baby Juliette. What a cutie! She's tiny and slept most of the time that we were with her. I wish I could have held her! I still had some sinus issues and weren't sure if they were allergies or cold related, so I stayed at arm's length. Shanda made it to Kensington's recital as well, which is amazing since Juliette was born on Wednesday! What a trooper. She looked great.

I love this picture of Tyler and Juliette.

It was good to see everybody and to get out of the house. I have wanted to meet this sweet little baby all week and was so glad to finally get to see her. She's adorable. It kinda makes me want another one. I forgot how cute and tiny and sleepy fresh babies are. Then again, I also remember how tired I was.

I do want Derek to have a sibling though. Look how sweet:

Welcome Juliette and Congratulations to Kensington for a dance well danced.

Eating Out and Visiting is Fun

Katie and Dad came to visit in the last couple of weeks. We had lots of fun just hanging out with them. The first couple of days that Katie was in town, she, Choka, and I had some quality girl time with all of our husbands gone or busy. (Cory couldn't come because of work, Dan was in at a conference in California, and my Tyler is always at work.) So we did a lot of shopping and talking.

Dad came into town on a Thursday, I think. We, of course, had the "Dad Special" that night - Costco Pizza and Caesar Salad. He convinced us all to get up extra early on Friday to go to my Aunt Debbie's birthday breakfast in American Fork. It's the earliest we've been up and ready to go in a long time. It was a lot of fun! And Happy Birthday to Aunt Debbie!

Choka, Dad, Tyler and I played "Taboo" after the kids went to bed that night. Choka always teases me and Tyler about our method of "Taboo" playing. She says it's freaky that we nearly read each others' minds. Tyler and I won.

Saturday, we got up early again and had breakfast at Kneaders. I've wanted to try to the unlimited french toast breakfast forever but could never get out of bed early enough to try it. Lazy bones. Man, was it good. Good and rich and delectable. Mmmmmm....

That night, my dad and I went to a commitment ceremony for my Aunt Debbie and her beau Jeff. She looked beautiful and they both seemed very happy. They exchanged vows and rings and they had the best little chocolate cupcakes.


The last day Dad was in town, we had breakfast at Mimi's Cafe. Derek had so much fun. They gave him a little place setting with an orange, cup of cheerios, crackers, and even a bib. He loved having his own little place and feeding himself. He was being such a ham too. Tyler gave him a bite or two of butter and Derek loved it. Derek also loved having his Papa here. All the kids loved having him here. They all wanted to climb all over him. Ariunaa calls him, "my Papa." Most of the time he had to hold Derek and Ariunaa 'cause when he had one or the other, there was lots of jealousy.

It was sad to see Dad go. We loved having him here. He helps out so much. We love you, Dad. Come back soon!
Katie, too! We loved having you, too! We miss you!

Sickies

I've been sick since Wednesday night.

We have a new baby niece, little baby Nuila, who was born that day and I was so excited to go see her!! Derek and I met Choka at the mall while she was getting her nails done so we could say goodbye to her before she left for Mongolia. After we said our goodbyes, Derek and I picked out a few little things to give to the new bundle of joy, her Mom, and her Big Sister. I made sure to have them all ready to go so that when Tyler got home, we could go up to the hospital for a quick visit.

Derek and I took a nap and when I woke up, I started feeling a little off. By the time Tyler got home, I could barely move. I didn't check my temperature that night, but I'm pretty sure it was over 104. I think I was delusional. It's all a bit fuzzy but I remember being really scared. I was shaking because I was so cold but Tyler said I was burning up. I ended up alternating between sleeping on the bathroom floor and throwing up.

I woke up with a HUGE headache, partly because I was sick, partly because I was dehydrated. I was afraid to eat anything on Thursday. I don't remember a lot of Thursday. Most of the day was spent trying to entertain D-Bug without moving too much. We watched a lot of television and movies (which I usually try to avoid more than about 20-40 minutes a day) but I kinda feel like Mommy sick days are somewhat of a special situation. Derek loves the Pixar movie, Cars, right now and of course there was a lot of Yo Gabba Gabba watching.
My fever was down to 102.9 that night.

Friday morning was about the same. Every step I took made my head hurt. I finally broke down and called the doctor. Went to the doctor. They gave me medicine. I started to feel a little better and called work. "Sure I can work tomorrow. I all ready feel a little better; I'm sure I'll feel even better tomorrow." When will I learn? The initial relief felt when you start to get better is always greater than how you feel the next day, especially when you do more than you should and wear yourself out.

Saturday, I didn't get out of bed until 4pm. I got ready for work slowly. It was not fun. I went to work. It was torture. I came home and was exhausted.

So today is Sunday and I'm still not feeling well. I feel awful, actually. Needless to say, we still have not met our new niece or had the opportunity to see Shanda or Kensington, or to check on my brother and his kids while their wife/mommy is away. What a horrible time to get sick.

Another thing, if you tell people you threw up, they automatically think you're pregnant. I put on my Facebook status that I threw up and in came the e-mails, the messages, and the comments all asking if I was pregnant. In case you, reader, are wondering, no, I'm not pregnant. At least those questions were somewhat solicited by the headline of throwing up. The other day at work, one of the cooks told me I looked different and asked if I was pregnant. I asked, "what, because I gained a few pounds or because my face is broken out you think I'm pregnant?" Anytime I go to LA, my face breaks out and every time I go on vacation, I come home a few pounds heavier than when I left. It had nothing to do with pregnancy, but thanks for noticing how bad I look. Then he followed with, "no, you just have really big bags under your eyes." Well THANK YOU. A girl always loves to hear how tired and puffy she looks.

All right well I'm done with that rant. Hopefully we'll get to meet cute li'l baby Nuila soon. I don't have anything contagious, so I might be able to go sooner than I would have been able to if it was like a virus or something. I also should go play with our nieces and nephew on the other side of the family and give their daddy some relief. And I have to feel better by tomorrow at 11:30am because Derek and I start our Mommy and Me Swimming class tomorrow!!

Derek's First Trip to Disneyland!!!

Disneyland was so much fun!! Our two days there were not long enough. I can't wait to go back. Our first day was on Monday, the 17th. We met Pluto, Derek's favorite Disney character, and took some pictures. Then we went on Derek's first ride, Peter Pan's Flight! The wait was twenty or thirty minutes and Derek was just about asleep before we got on the ride.

When we got off, he kept pointing at Dumbo so we had to give that a try. Derek loved it.

Derek wasn't feeling great so we were pretty glad that he was able to sleep at the park. He took a few really nice, long naps. I was a little surprised, but delightedly so.

Most of our trip was shopping with mom and showing Derek the sights and magic of Disneyland. We didn't get to do our favorite major attractions like, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, or really any of the mountains at Disneyland. We did, however, get to ride California Screaming, Soaring Over California, It's a Small World, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Speaking of Pirates, here's the hottest pirate I've ever seen:

I love that picture. I might have to go back to Disneyland to buy that hat.

We did buy one hat, some ears, actually, for my Derek. He would only wear them if he was looking in a mirror. The lady that embroidered them for us was really sweet too. I was waiting in line to buy the ears and some woman cut in front of me with three ears to be embroidered. I was so mad. The cast member told the woman that it would take awhile and to come back in twenty minutes to pick up her ears. Then she helped me, embroidered Derek's ears, and even gave him a "1st Visit" button. She talked with us and totally turned a somewhat sour experience into one of my favorite moments in the park.


It was a good trip. We got to see Jeff and Rachel Anderson, the first night we were there. We met them for dinner at Disney's House of Blues in Downtown Disney. It was good to see them. Our waiter was a complete jerk though. We had our stroller with us and he asked us to move it. Tyler was moving it while he took our drink orders and he never came back to get Tyler a drink! He kept talking down to us like we weren't good enough to be eating at the House of Blues. What a jerk! He didn't check on us once during our meal and then had the nerve to charge us gratuity. I was so mad. He was the worst waiter I've ever had. And to charge gratuity for a table of 5? Who does that? I wanted to talk to the manager and give him an earful but Jeff was rolling his eyes and I didn't want to embarrass him. But, I'm still mad at that &%$#*@&$ of a waiter.

Anyways, enough negativity. We'll move back to positive things, like the new Vinylmation campaign. Oh my gosh, I love them. So in stores, all over the parks and in Downtown Disney, they have boxes of painted Mickeys. They are in Mickey form but not Mickey coloring. Some are all black with white swirls, some look like food items, some are painted like Disney attractions, and some are holiday inspired. They are collectible figurines, but when you buy one, you don't know which one you are buying! They're in sealed boxes and buying one is like gambling. I'm addicted to it now. It's silly but fun. I bought two regular sized Vinylmation figurines and one keychain sized. I got one that looks like a cupcake, one that looks like a hamburger, and my new li'l guy has a princess crown. Mom bought one that looks like a ladybug. So cute.

I wanted to get Derek this set of fake Disneyland food but the store was all out! So we let Derek just pick anything he wanted for his souvenir. (Of course, this was after he all ready had a few souvenirs like the Pluto dog his Grandma bought him, Mickey Ears, and a bouncy ball.) We showed him the stuffed animals and the blocks and the action figures. He found this "Kooky" pen with Pluto's face on it and would not let it go. So that's what he got. Here's a picture of Derek, Grandma, and his Pluto souvenir:

He did not let that sucker go until we got home a couple of days later. Even then, he held on to it until he found his new favorite toy, Mommy's old makeup brush. Not much of an upgrade, if you ask me.

We had dinner at the Blue Bayou the second night. It was excellent! The food was good, the service was excellent, and I was so happy that we were able to eat there. I love Disneyland.


We had a lot of fun. I can't wait to take Derek back. It was kinda sad, the day that we left town, when we got up, Derek went straight for the stroller. He was ready for another day at the Happiest Place on Earth. All good things have to come to an end, I suppose. Hopefully we'll get to go back soon!

We Went to California in May

My dad came for a visit a few days before Mother's Day. We visited and played and had a great weekend here in Provo. The Tuesday after Mother's Day, Derek and I hitched a ride with Dad through Las Vegas and on to, what I was hoping would be, sunny California.

Here's Derek with his Uncle Cory and Aunt Katie at our stop in Las Vegas:

Wednesday, we spent most of the day with Dad. Derek just adores his Papa Walker. They had so much fun playing together. And Derek loved the dogs and the cats at his house. He can say "doggie" but calls the cats "meows". I think doggies are his new favorite animal. We had lunch with Dad and Sam at a cute little Bakery, the Edelweiss Cafe, I think. Then we went to K Mart. No trip to Tehachapi is complete without a trip to K Mart. We had a few things to pick up there like allergy medicine and tissues.

Thursday we spent the day with my Mom and Sam. We had lunch at the Great Wall and went shopping around Tehachapi. I can't believe how much my little hometown has grown. I barely recognize it.
Mom made us a yummy taco salad for dinner and Sam spent the night with us. We stayed up late talking, watching TV, and eating my mother's day box of See's chocolates. Sam wouldn't spent any more nights with us though claiming that we were just going to watch Nancy Grace and go to bed.

Friday morning, Mom, Woody, and I took Derek to see Woody's horses. He was very intrigued. It was really cute.

Friday night, Sam and her boyfriend, Jeremy, came over for dinner at Mom's house. Jeremy is very nice and we enjoyed his company. We had pasta, artichokes, and salad. Derek wasn't feeling very well, so I didn't get to enjoy much of the dinner. It was still nice to have an old fashioned family dinner. Poor little Derek. He caught a cold right before we left and it just kept getting worse. The allergies around the animals didn't make things any easier. His fever was really bad Friday night and I was really worried. I was getting ready to take him in to an Urgent Care facility. I thought I would at least wait until Tyler got there.
Tyler came and Derek's fever had gone down slightly and he was doing a little better so we decided to wait until morning to see if we should take him to the doctor. It was good to have Tyler with us again! Derek and I missed him.

Saturday, Derek was doing much better. He was even running around. I'm glad we didn't take him to Urgent Care. We just can't afford unnecessary doctor's visits. Tyler, Derek, Mom, Woody, and I went to Bakersfield, Had lunch at Red Robin, and shopped at the good ol' Valley Plaza Mall. I haven't been there in years! Mom and I had a lot of fun looking at jewelry and handbags while the men rolled there eyes and tapped their feet with just a pinch of irritation. No, it wasn't that bad, they were really patient with us. They even gave us a few smiles. I bought some earrings. I'm trying to wear earrings more often. I always forget to put them on and I always admire them on other people. So I'm going to try to hide the holes in my ears with various doo-dads and/or crystals.
That night, we had dinner at the Anderson's house with Rob, Connie, and my dad. It was so fun to see them! The food was yummy and the company was, of course, great. Their house is looking pretty great as well. The yard is plush and nicely landscaped. It's a little weird to see them anywhere but the house in town but it still feels like the Anderson's house and that still feels like my second home.

Sunday, we went to church with Mom, Woody, Dad, and Connie. After that, we drove to Bakersfield and had lunch with Jessie and Johnny! It was a lot of fun to catch up with them. They look well and happy and that makes me happy. I wish I could see her more often. You know those friends that you talk to like once a year or just once in awhile and you get together and it's still easy to talk to them and be comfortable? She's one of those friends. I miss her. I just wish I could have seen KT while I was there too. I have only talked to her once or twice since her wedding in '07! I need to be better at keeping in touch with people.

That night, Tyler, Mom, Derek, and I packed up the car and drove to the Castle Inn and Suites in Anaheim. We had fun just chilling in our little hotel room that night. My next entry will be about our Disneyland adventure!