4/18/09 - 4/23/09

Saturday 4/18/09 – Last Saturday we got a Hip Hop for Kids video at the library and Lijah has wanted to watch it over and over and over. He's not getting up and doing any dancing yet, but I think he might after 20 more times watching it. He did try to do 'the worm' on the floor and looked like a fish out of water, it was great. We didn't go to the library today but instead spent the morning out in the yard cleaning up. Clark spent some time in the portable crib and for most of the time he sat with his face smooshed up against the mesh with his nose turned up like a pig snout. I wanted to take a picture, but a picture through the mesh just wouldn't have done it justice. We got the back part of the backyard cleaned up and I was able to dig up a bunch of hostas and ferns. I am trying to make a little more grass in our backyard, and I hate to kill off these plants, but the garden is just getting too big and everyone I know is up to their ears in hostas and ferns already. We also found the biggest worm I have ever seen today and Lijah got to hold it in his hand. It started to 'slime' him, which I thought was pretty gross. Then we put it back on the ground and it slithered away. While Lijah napped, Clark and I ran up to Target to get some things I need for Tuesday (Tuesday we are having a Relief Society dinner at church). Instead of buying my own bike right now, Jason said I can use his new bike to ride to work so I got a bike lock as well. I also got Lijah some new socks, which he loved. They were just plain socks, but they were very clean (unlike his old socks), and they fit (unlike his old socks). I also found some flower seeds in the dollar section that I plan on putting the garden in front of the house.

Sunday 4/19/09 – Today was my first day teaching in Relief Society. The past few days I have been surprisingly calm, and not nervous. My brain kept telling me to be nervous, but my heart is not listening. Then my brain says that I should be nervous because I am not nervous. Nice try brain…..you lose. The lesson was on the teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith while he was in Liberty Jail. Here's a link to the lesson: “God Shall Be with You Forever and Ever”: The Prophet in Liberty Jail. The lesson went well, and I had a lot of participation. Now that the 'first time' is over I feel comfortable with future lessons. I'll be teaching once a month on the 3rd Sundays. After church both boys took a nap at the same time so I took the opportunity to go out in the garden. It had been raining so the ground was easy to dig up for the flower seeds I bought yesterday. So I put them in the ground – all 4 packs of them – so hopefully something will spring up. I also had a little time to check out my new Photoshop that came in the mail last week.

Monday 4/20/09 – On the way to work today Lijah was asking for a treat, but I didn't have a treat for him. So he said "mommy, go and get a treat". This may not seem all that funny, or amazing, but watching him say a sentence when only a few months ago he was not putting more than a few words together is amazing to me. Some of my favorites lately are "Mommy, I love ice cream", Mommy, I sleepy in my car", and when he is really excited about something he will mess up and call me daddy or call Jason mommy. He also is really into washing the dishes lately, but usually when we don't really have time to sit and do the dishes 'Lijah-style'. On the way home from work I started copying Lijah's movements and he thought this was pretty funny – so he started doing crazy things with his hands to see if I would copy him. At bedtime I was changing Lijah's diaper and was doing something halfway through where I was not looking at him. He was holding this duck puppet we have that quacks when you open and shut his mouth. Anyways, Lijah is going to kill me when he is older for documenting this story, but I just can't resist. So….I look back and he is opening and closing the ducks mouth on his 'diaper-less' parts, the duck is quacking it's Old McDonald had a farm song, and Lijah is saying "EAT IT UP" to the duck. Sorry Lijah….the story is now documented.

Tuesday 4/21/09 – This morning in the car Lijah pointed to a light pole and told me "Mommy, the light pole is looking at me". Lijah is also convinced that because he took a bath the other day he is exempt from future baths. With the bathroom remodel he has not been taking a lot of baths. Whenevery I tell him he is taking a bath he says "no mommy, one" as in "I took one and that's all I need to take in my lifetime". When I got into the car after work Lijah pointed to the government center and said "mommy work" and I corrected him by telling him that mommy worked in the building across the street from the government center. Then he pointed to the government center again and said, "No. Mommy work, BIG money" and then pointed to my building and said "mommy no money". He held fast to this so I told him that if I am looking for a job in the future I will look at jobs in the government center where the big money is. After a quick stop home we were off to church for the Relief Society dinner. I helped prepare the food before the event and I was very grateful that Lijah was happy running around and that Clark was content in his car seat. We had a baked potato and salad bar, watched a video, had some spotlights on sisters in the ward, had one sister give a talk, and then the Relief Society president shared some words with us. Lijah had a great time in the nursery playing with his friends, Brother McWilliams, and Brother Kolts. There were balloons as centerpieces on the tables and Lijah got to take two bunches home.

Wednesday 4/22/09 - This morning before work Lijah was talking about me not going to work today. I asked him what mommy does for work and he replied "gets the money". So I guess in his head I go off every day, get money, and then come home. I wonder what this actually looks like in his head…..

Thursday 4/23/09 – I rode my bike into work for the first time this morning. The first mile was pretty tough, but it got easier after that. I'm taking Fillmore all the way down to the Stone Arch Bridge and then into downtown. Right after the bridge is a huge hill that almost killed me, but other than that I didn't have any tough spots. All was going well until I stopped riding and got off my bike. Then my legs felt like jello and the 9 miles hit my unprepared body. But I made it through it and everyone at work cheered me on when I came in. Scot at work recommended another route after getting off the bridge that is less of an incline and I will try that next time. Scot also informed me that I had 18 mile an hour winds coming at me on the way in – and I sure felt those! On the way home I realized that I could not take the same route getting out of downtown that I did getting into downtown because it's a one way going into downtown (unless I want to ride on the sidewalk). I did ride on the sidewalk for a few blocks and at one point a car shot out of an underground parking lot without looking for people on the sidewalk. I skidded, but didn't fall. Then she saw me, rolled down her window, and apologized profusely to me. I just told her to look next time. Then when she took off she rolled down her window and yelled at me for being on the sidewalk in the first place. I think that tops it off for passive aggressiveness. On the ride home I encountered a few more hills, but realized that I can go around them next time. After work me and the boys sat out in the front yard and watched the tree branches blowing in the wind and the airplanes in the sky.