Screening Faces

photos by Liz

24

hours in a day.  

doughnuts in a double dozen. 

 pounds above 100 I like to be.  

miles before I "hit the wall" in St. George, my only marathon.  

carats in pure gold.  

years I've lived.

It's elementary, my dear Lincoln.

   We have visited my mom's work a few times recently.  Her sixth graders gave presentations of an amazing project they did involving a census and proposed bus routes.  I don't remember doing real, applicable research like this when I was their age, but she taught them how to survey their school and then, based on where families lived in which cities, they had to propose two bus routes that would be most efficient in terms of mileage and families served.  How cool is that?  I won't post pics of them without permission, but here is Lincoln and me watching:

And then we went to sift through some of her stuff with my home-schooling sister-in-law.  I had to laugh at my supreme dorkiness in this pic.  You can see Tara in the background, cute and pregnant!

When Lincoln grew restless, we made use of the extended care room.  He loves to climb everything in sight!

In fact, we bought him a slide.  Mainly because it came attached to a ladder.  Here he is climbing at home with his favorite teddy bear,  Tub-o-Lard.

A nod to the season

As much as we love to bundle up...

it's time to say goodbye to winter.  Goodbye to inclement weather days, and hello to mornings on the balcony.

Playing, people watching, relaxing and cuddling.  A happy place, no?

(That being said, we are in Utah, and yesterday it hailed twice between bursts of piercing sunshine.  Keeping us on our toes, that Mother Nature!)

my elder

   It's that time of year again, when (for 5 days) my best friend is older than me!  I picked her up from work on her birthday and we had fun celebrating.  When we got back to her place, her boyfriend had a sweet surprise waiting!  I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture of the walls covered in balloons.  It was darling.  

I haven't the skills or knowledge in photo editing like Liz does, but you get the drift.  I love you Liz!

Bubble Bath Blues

Lincoln always has a story to tell.  Even in the tub.

whole 'nother mother

   I've found out a few things in the past two weeks of gym-going.  Lifting weights really does something, even though it always has, and still does, feel too relaxing to be exercise.  The only proof that I have that I'm working is in my extreme soreness the next day.  Also, my current diet has proved to be lacking in protein.  You know how toning and building muscle essentially means you tear and rebuild?  Well, protein is what your body uses to rebuild, and I just don't eat enough of it.  In fact, all I really eat is sugar. All the time, sugar.  My body has nothing to rebuild its torn muscles with, and so I've been exhausted and light-headed.  A heavy, meaty meal makes me sick right after working out, so really all I'm left with is to buy protein shakes.  I thought I could get by without them, and that they were just a marketing scheme.  But I feel much better after chugging one, so that's that.  

  Lincoln was timid at first about the big room full of strangers.  The daycare really is the nicest, cleanest one I could find, but I still felt incredibly guilty when he cried as I left.  But I stuck with it, because the ladies there said this happens to every little tike, and he'd be comfortable after a week.  Turned out to be true!  I'm so happy, because the past few times we've went, no tears were shed by baby or mommy.  Honestly at first, my heart pounded more in the daycare than in the gym next door. But yesterday I set Lincoln down and he trotted over to the trucks with a smile on his face.  Overwhelming relief!  I watched him through the security cameras, and he even interacted with the other kids instead of standing in the middle of the room, looking forlornly at the door.  


  So, all is well after the initial adjustment period.  I am so glad to have something which adds a little busy-ness to our day, not to mention the health benefits.  Maybe I'll have something to show for it in a few months! 

To the chirping birds

... outside my living room window.  Thank you for coming home again.

TO MARCH

   by Emily Dickinson

Dear March, come in!

How glad I am!

I looked for you before.

Put down your hat--

You must have walked--

How out of breath you are!

Dear March, how are you?

And the rest?

Did you leave Nature well?

Oh, March, come right upstairs with me,

I have so much to tell!

I got your letter, and the birds';

The maples never knew 

That you were coming,-- I declare,

How red their faces grew!

But, March, forgive me--

And all those hills

You left for me to hue;

There was no purple suitable,

You took it all with you.

Who knocks?  That April!

Lock the door!

I will not be pursued!

He stayed away a year, to call

When I am occupied.

But trifles look so trivial

As soon as you have come,

That blame is just as dear as praise

And praise as mere as blame.  

City Creek Trail

   50s and sunny-- my favorite weather!  You can run, hike, and explore all you want without getting hot.  Lincoln and I found City Creek Trail after walking up a paved path from Memory Grove (where Tyler and I were married.)  A lot of other people were out running, walking their dogs, biking and just enjoying the comfortable weather.  Lincoln likes people watching from his perch in his stroller, and I like watching Lincoln: 

We had so much fun!  I love that my little boy is a trooper and enjoys being outside with me.  

I am looking forward to a whole spring and summer full of adventures like this one.  

Release your inhibitions? Easier said (or sung) than done!

   I am inconsistent and self-conscious, qualities which are not conducive to blogging.  I began this project with the intent to amuse myself, unaware of the culture I was plugging into.  Once you start poking around, you realize the blogging world is a time-sucking, mind-boggling, idea-swarming place from which you are unlikely to return the same person.  My changes involved a new appreciation for the sheer quantity of people in this world, a desire to sew and repurpose clothing (essentially throw away less and create more), a reminder that even my most original ideas have already been thought of by someone else, and a hopeless intimidation of all the "successful" blogs out there with thousands of followers and lists of comments following each post.  I lost sight of what I wanted to get out of my own blogging experience, thinking if I couldn't raise additional income for my family and become marginally well-known, then I was wasting my time.  Potential employers seeking writers might look at my unvisited site and think I'm not the person for the job.  Silly, right?  Yeah, I know.  I'm trying to get past that.  I'm trying to grow up and forget my childish, naive notion that I must always be the best.  To shake off the paralysis of inhibition.

   My writing is usually serious and personal, because at this time in my life I really don't care to write generalizations that masses can relate to.  Throughout the day I often think of random things to say without anyone to say them to, and I've missed communicating them here.  And Tyler, sitting at his desk through the long work hours, loves to browse my blog for pictures and videos of his son.  I think I can count my blog a "success" if only to provide my wonderful husband with glimpses of home.  (Hi Tyler!)  So, what I'm trying to say is, trepidation aside, I am back.

  A few things that have happened since I wrote last:

• I have new glasses!  I like plastic frames better.  Not only are they stylish, but I find them more comfortable than metal. 

• Lincoln's vocabulary understanding is growing so quickly!  (He doesn't say these words, but he knows what I mean and reacts appropriately when I say stuff like:  "Want to go bye-bye?"  "Are you hungry?"  "Lets go read books!"  "Get your shoes!"  "Where's the laundry?"  "Ready for a bath?"  ... and so on.)  It's so amazing to see that glimmer in his eye, that knowing look, that says I've actually communicated verbally with my baby boy.  

• I received my diploma in the mail!  Yay for bachelors degrees. 

•  Our parents teamed up to purchase us a brand-new, flat screen TV and delivered it to us on Christmas morning.  Best surprise ever! Seriously, we have incredibly generous and loving parents!

• Beloved Roomba is gone and I now vacuum with a Dyson, another family gift. Our carpets are much cleaner, but Lincoln is still searching for his friend.  He was quite obsessed with the little robot.  If I didn't separate them, Linc would pounce on Roomba and press buttons over and over until the poor thing just gave up and sat trembling in a corner.  Ha!  So most of the time I used the high chair to force some distance.  

• We also just joined a gym.  After a lot of research, I found one nearby with the best daycare.  It will take adjustments for both Lincoln and me, but I hope that eventually we will become comfortable with an hour's separation each day.  I hope that he will have fun playing and won't feel abandoned.  And I'm so excited to get some me-time:  healthy, endorphin-junkie, me-time.  This afternoon I'm going to learn about the machines and how to get the most out of my workouts.  Not looking forward to the body fat percentage and other tests, but that's ok.  It's good to know my starting point.