See Them Grow

Clara: took a shower and washed and conditioned her hair all by herself for the first time (the only reason this hasn't happened sooner is because it is so hard for her to get all the shampoo out of her hair with our weak shower heads), is reading well and loves it, can not wait for Easter and Kindergarten, does not believe the Easter Bunny is real (but believes a man dresses up as a bunny and hides the eggs and fills the Easter baskets), jumped up and down for a solid 30 seconds when I told her she was old enough to learn how to shine the bathroom sinks, counter and toilet, loves helping in the kitchen (she helps me cook, bake, juice and wash dishes), told me she's going to buy our neighbor's house when said neighbor dies so she can always live close to me, loves to socialize and still says the most awesome prayers (as evidenced by this one from last):

Thankful for the beautiful {repeated 7-10 times} sky.

Thankful for the beautiful {repeated 7-10 times} planets.

Thankful for the beautiful {repeated 7-10 times} earth.

Thankful for the grass that is so beautiful it makes our hearts break in two.

Hazel: got two molars on the top within the last week (bringing her teeth total to 12), is a little parrot and repeats so much of what she hears, eats A LOT, loves other people (cries if she sees my mom and I don't hand her over), doesn't cry when I leave (but cries if I give her to Jason to have him put her to bed), is done nursing (Sunday - 14 months - finally), loves climbing stairs and ladders, loves climbing into things, loves undoing everything and throwing things, knows she's funny, says cheese with a goofy smile (but never long enough for me to get it on camera), "blows" (sounds more like someone making a "th" sound) when I'm getting her food ready (to cool it off, never mind she's several feet away), loves to crawl in circles around her crib or her chair to try to get someone to chase her, rarely puts things in her mouth, stands up in the bath tub until I look at her or tell her to stop (then she'll keep doing it and then falls to her bum when I look at her until I take her out), dances to music and constantly amazes me with what a good baby she is

Don't worry, I don't take them for granted.

They are incredible.

I love myself #2: What you see is what you get. You rarely have to wonder how I'm feeling and you better believe I'm a pretty open book with everything that's non-feeling related. I don't pretend, I don't put on a show and I don't hide much.

Thoughts & Pictures

Fasting - Today was the first day I've fasted in 23 months. Last month I thought, "Ha ha! I get to eat and no one else here does!" Then as I walked into church and started listening to the testimonies, I realized fasting is just like many of the other things we are asked to do. On the surface, they might seem restricting. However, by doing what we have been asked to do, we tap into blessings and opportunities that we otherwise wouldn't be able to. For the next month, I looked forward to today. I enjoyed the expansion of my blessings.

To Do List - On Saturday I spent a good amount of my day sitting, staring at my computer and thinking about what to do about a phone. That's what decisions do to me - paralyze me. I did clean the kitchen, but it took over two hours because when I have a full day to clean, I obsess and deep clean. Late afternoon, Clara and I went to Debbie's to hang out for a few hours and then our families went to dinner. After the kids were in bed, I got all but one of my most important work to do's done. I love it when I am irresponsible and everything still works out just fine. Oh sure, my huge to do list is still going to roll over to Monday, but I got all my pressing deadlines taken care of so I'm not stressed.

iPhone - Every 5 minutes, I decide to take the plunge and get an iPhone. It'd be awesome! Instagram! Better camera! Then I talk myself out of it. $30+ more a month! What if Jason loses his job?! Pay off debt! Save money! TWO YEAR CONTRACT! 5 minutes later, I've talked myself back into it. I'll just work extra! I'll spend less on groceries! I'll actually stick to my budget! Everyone else is doing it! INSTAGRAM! It's rather pathetic. The good news is, today I realized I can use my hands free button to make phone calls. If I can't get the right name with my voice command, I can always say the phone number. Works like a charm. Jason rolls his eyes at me when I say "Call Melzer house" and my phone announces "Calling Melzer house". I think it's marvelous. Jason insists my phone is broken, I insist it works fine.

Happy Life - Last night I was laying in bed trying to fall asleep and thought about how I feel like I have the best of two worlds. I have my cake and eat it too. Jason and I have just as much fun now than we did before we were married, laugh together often and stay up late talking, yet we also get to parent two darling kids, which brings it's very own joys and happiness. It's pretty awesome.

And now for more pictures with commentary than you probably care for...

This happens regularly. I hope it means Hazel likes books as much as Clara.

One day while I was in my room working, Clara loaded the dishwasher without being asked.
Hazel disappears in the kitchen. It makes me laugh every time I turn around and see something like this.
It took me an hour and ten minutes to get to my mom's one day last week. At least I got to enjoy a beautiful sunset.
On the same day my commute took 30 minutes longer than normal, my hem, that was being held with masking tape, came undone, so my pants drug in the rain water and I found the tape on the bottom of my shoe. Moments like that make me feel like one big mess. Or wait, maybe I felt really put together and classy.
I don't know exactly why, but I love this picture. I love the lighting, Hazel's pj's, Hazel period and the Valentine's decorations Clara made all by herself and hung on the mantle. The little pink things are rose petals taped to the mantle and you should really zoom in to see Clara's hearts that she cut out with no pattern.
I guess one downfall of matching PJ's is the 5 year old grabbing the 1 year old shirt.
Can anyone guess what movie Clara watched that inspired this?

{101 Dalmatians}

I feed Hazel lots of avocados in hopes it will make up for all the good fat she's missing out on by not drinking cow's milk. Lately she's made a huge mess with them and I laugh every time.
Awww, such a sweet baby.
Last Saturday Romney's campaign bus was right by our house so I talked Jason into going to look at it with me - awww, such a supportive husband.
Jason had Monday off so I went into work. I came home to Clara's "store" that her and Jason built.
Someone learned how to blink
her
eyes.
Someone still doesn't walk and doesn't try to walk. I stood her up against the wall and was surprised she stood long enough for a few pictures.
I've really been getting into my backyard lately. I feel like I've totally underestimated it's awesomeness until recently.
Cars go brrbbbbbb.
Really happy, really sad.
Obviously the baby swing is big enough for two.
Clara insisted on carrying the backpack on our little nature walk. It didn't last long, but longer than I thought it would.
I decided I'd take my phone apart to fix it. I really like my phone and am so bummed I have to replace it. After that tiny little piece fell out, I panicked and put it back together. I didn't totally break it, but I also didn't fix it.
Clara is obsessed with parties. Friday night we had a bow party. Her and my mom tied bows earlier in the day and we picked bows and put them on our heads during the party.
The fun has begun!

Signs of Normalcy - Or Not

I started this on Wednesday:

On Wednesday morning I did the dishes, exercised and made my bed.

Go me. It's been a while.

Then I realized, I still have so much to do in the next week. And if only I approached all of those things with due dates a week away as aggressively as I do due dates for that night, I'd be even better off.

Today was a totally different story.

7:00am shower

7:30am feed Hazel

7:35am make breakfast

7:55am feed kids/get ready/get stuff together

8:35am give Angela brief instructions

8:41am leave for preschool/pick up carpool

9:00am Nature Walk at Usery Park

11:55am back to preschool from Usery (25 min. late)

12:05pm pick up Hazel

12:30pm lunch with friends at Olive Garden

2:05pm Hazel down for a nap

2:20pm start 4 loaves of french bread & make salad for way too many people (4 families - one huge head of red leaf, 6 romaine hearts, 3 huge cucumbers, 3 red peppers, 1+ bunch of celery, 1 pound carrots)

3:25pm finish bread and prepare for baking

3:55pm finish salads

4:30pm try to fix my phone - I can't do anything but answer calls, call the last person to call me and take pictures

4:45pm slice and butter bread

5:00pm get food together, change Hazel's diaper, put food and kids in car

5:15pm pick up rest of meal from friend's, drop off her bread and salad and bread and salad for another family

5:30pm take dinner to friend, hold sweet baby

5:50pm realize school meeting is at 6, not 6:30pm, rush home

5:55pm startled*

6:05pm school meeting

7:30pm register Clara for school (finally!)

7:45pm feed kids dinner

8:00pm Hazel ready for bed and to bed

8:15pm Clara ready for bed and to bed

8:45pm try to fix phone - find a software to at least get my pictures and phone numbers off

9:00pm think about a new phone. I want an iPhone really, really bad. I don't want to pay for a data plan really, really bad. I don't make decisions easily.

I took the cutest picture of Hazel today. She smiled a goofy smile for the picture and held still. Too bad it's stuck on my phone and I can NOT get it off.

I am exhausted.

If you need to get in touch with me, send me an e-mail.

*So, after taking dinner to my friend's, I needed to run in and grab something before going to the school. I parked by the front door and ran in. I ran into the kitchen and heard something but just thought it was a noise from outside. I continued gathering food for "dinner" at Jason's game (that we never made it to) and then jumped out of my skin when someone walked into the kitchen and started talking. Since I didn't go in the garage, I didn't see Jason's car. And it never dawned on me that he'd be home. It was really, really startling because I had no idea he was in the house.

Pat, Pat, Pat

I got nearly everything on my To Do list for yesterday and today done. It's been a long time since that's happened. Definitely worthy of a good pat on the back. The great thing is, it's only 9:39pm. Finally. I think the chaos has peaked and I am on a downward slope. I think. It's great timing since I have been a pretty rotten homemaker lately. I have not cooked dinner since last Sunday. That's 9 nights. I plan to put an end to that tomorrow. We've eaten a lot of leftovers. We've gone out a few times. But mostly leftovers. I also have not folded laundry for almost three weeks. Our guest room has turned into a giant laundry basket. No one asks where their clothes are anymore, they just go straight to dig in the pile. Not counting Costco, I can't remember the last time I went to the grocery store. I think that was three weeks ago too. I haven't really cleaned my kitchen in 9 days either. Angela cleaned it for me and Jason's cleaned it a few times, but that's it. I can't forget to bring up my financial mess ups. Don't worry, I only let my personal finances fall by the way side when I get busy, none of my client's. First, I forgot to transfer $$ in time so one of my accounts got hit with an overdraft fee. Then, I attempted to make an online payment of $210, but my fried brain entered $120. I begged for mercy on that one and the late fee was reversed. Stuff like this used to give me a headache. Now, I'm better at not fretting over it.

It kind of bothers me when people complain about things that they could change. Kind of like me whining about being busy because of work and then going to the park, playing Bunco, visiting with friends, etc. As I explained to Jason, it's true, there is a lot of fun and socializing going on over here and I could give it up so that I don't feel so busy and so I could get more sleep. However, I choose not to. I would rather be tired and feel busier and have fun than not. If I didn't do fun things, I'd feel like all I ever did was work and then I'd just complain about that. I'd also feel bad for my kids. So although I complain about being busy and tired, I'm happy I choose to make time for fun.

Love Day

I am usually lacking when it comes to being fun and creative on holidays, but for my kid's sake, I've really been trying to get over that.

On Monday we made our Valentine's all from paper, ribbons and fabric we had around the house. (I bought pencils last year at 75% off).

Can you guess which one I Made for Jason?
Preschool class - take note of the way Clara wrote her name.

On Tuesday we had heart & initial pancakes

It's okay if you're thinking- Wow Anna, maybe this is why you haven't got into the "fun" of the more insignificant holidays, look at how awful those look - I felt the same way. And Clara asked me if Hazel's "H" was a bone. HA HA HA.

I made Clara some coupons (paper hearts glued to fabric) to put in a bag with a few little goodies and left it on the table by her bed. The next morning she came into my room really excited.

C: Mom, look what they gave me.

M: Who's they?

C: Weird look.

M: Who do you think gave you that bag?

C: Realizing it was me, You :)

Jason and Dan made Karen and I dinner: pork steaks with sauteed mushrooms and onions, green salad, roasted broccoli, cheese tortellini with pesto sauce, garlic bread and cookies and donuts for dessert. Dinner in is almost always better than dinner out. I finished my dinner wanting nothing more than a pound of sauteed mushrooms to eat all by myself.

While the guys were finishing up dinner Clara made cards for everyone. I think she got the heart and 'I' mixed up, but I was still impressed since everyone had the right initial. I asked her how she knew what it was to which she sounded out the /k/ for Karen, the /d/for Dan, the /d/ for Dad and the /a/ sound for Anna. She seemed surprised that I had to ask how she knew. The ribbon was just wrapped around the paper. It was cute.

Then I fell asleep while my computer installed QuickBooks since I was rather tired and Jason watched a movie in the other room while cleaning up the kitchen. Romantic, right? Then Hazel woke up a little after Midnight which woke me up. Jason then fell asleep and I was up until 4am because I couldn't sleep.

And Everything In Between

The problem with getting behind on blogging is I don't write as many details about events and I don't blog the smaller things that happen or some of my random thoughts - like how I feel about that Scottsdale police officer that fatally shot someone this week. Or how it is amazing how often I am under or over charged (like getting $75 too much back when I returned something to Costco last week). I don't post Hazel's achievements - like her standing up by herself for the first time this week or her second molar coming in, also this week. I don't post about the funny things Clara says - like her argument with me in an attempt for me to let her have a puppy:M: I know puppies are really cute. But do you know what happens when they get older? C: Yes, they grow up and get bigger. But I will just sell it when it is big!

I knew the week of the 5th would be extra busy so I took lots of pictures to remember everything that happened in between the bigger events and of the little things I wanted to document.

Hazel's hair is kind of growing. It is over her ears, see?
Hazel also climbed onto the dishwasher for the first time. It's the first time she's climbed onto anything. But now she realized she can climb, she does it more often.
Hazel got to go to Costco with me by herself for the first time (she had quite a few firsts that week, eh?). She loved it.
I love trying to slice my bread perfectly.
I made sandwiches for our picnic at the train park. I secretly love making sandwiches in bulk because I imagine I have a bunch of kids and I'm making their lunch. Oh, and I am a little freaky about cross contamination when it comes to making the sandwiches. One knife for the peanut butter, one knife for the almond butter, one knife for the jelly and one knife for the honey. :)
My windshield cracked on the 101. I'm pretty sure all of my cracked windshields happen on the 101.
I love these trees and need to get my very own. They are so pretty.
We found a scorpion on the back porch and Clara wanted to help get it. It's not in focus, which is fine, since the real reason I took this picture was an attempt to capture Clara's outfit - her bulky boots compared to her skinny legs always make me smile.
Hazel loves to push things around. Look how skinny she is. I would be worried if she didn't eat like a horse, but she actually does eat like a horse. Yesterday's lunch: 1 banana, 1 avocado, celery, crackers and popcorn. Yesterday's dinner: steamed broccoli, steamed cauliflower, 1/2 slice of cheese, 1/2 of Clara's cheese crisp.
On one of the days my mom watched Clara, she took her to the elementary school's talent show which was Western themed. The rest of the day they made a western backdrop for her stage (aka the front porch/door) and Clara wore this cowgirl hat and danced. I have it on video and laugh every time I see it.
Hazel LOVES animals just like Clara does.
After I got home from Erin's shower last Saturday, I didn't want to do a single thing. So we sat outside and ate goldfish.
Something about this cookie being a near-perfect circle made my giant bite out of it totally amusing.

Somehow

Apparently that good night's sleep I was dreaming of isn't going to happen any time soon. But that's okay, I've decided sleep is overrated.

Thank goodness this isn't a busy time of year for me work wise (ha!) and good thing Jason hasn't been working much (ha!), because we've had a lot going on the last few weeks.

The Noble family (and they are noble) came for a visit. Somehow they still like me after circumstances forced me to be a sub par hostess (pictures from playing at Falcon Field Park and picnic and train ride at Scottsdale train park).

If you're wondering why Clara opted for this outfit, it's because she watched The Bee Movie that morning and wanted to look "more like a bee."

Angela's baby shower was at our house last Saturday. Somehow I never realized how many people (places for 70, over 60 people came) could fit in one area of our yard. See more pretty pictures and the details on Angela's blog or Debbie's blog.

Before I finished helping clean up Angela's shower, I headed to the Biltmore for Erin's baby shower. Somehow I didn't get a headache after a.) the 202 was closed, b.) there were 1000's of motorcyclists creating awful traffic, c.) one of said motorcycles crashed, d.) there was an accident just before the 51 so I got off on 24th St and e.) 24th St was under construction and down to one lane (making my 25 minute drive take an hour and 5 minutes on a SATURDAY afternoon).

But somehow, and very fortunately, I ate the most amazing chocolate cake in the world. Oh my.

Sunday it was my turn to host our family dinner. Somehow everything worked out so well, even despite the melted plastic lid in my oven - no stress, pretty colors in the pot and fresh flowers on the tables.

You know what they say, when it rains it pours, and lately it's been a downpour of work and socializing. Not a bad thing, just a busy thing.