Compellation

I'm not sure that is a word but it's not underlined in Word so I'm going with it. It refers to the fact that I feel compelled to write something on the blog today but I don't know what about.
Glen started school a few weeks ago and things are going much more smoothly this year than last. He likes the new assistant principle and he is not as strained as last year. The administration is requiring all teachers to have a prep and a normal lunch time. He had neither for the first two weeks of this year.
My schedule at work was changed so I can't work half-days on Friday anymore. I am mostly okay with this as it will make it so that Monday is not so crazy. George is becoming increasingly difficult to have around while I am trying to work. He likes to climb on me and brush my hair and yell really loud. This doesn't work when I have someone on the phone. Luckily, every once in a while, Grandma comes to save the day. Yesterday she picked him up at noon and didn't bring him back until five. It was glorious. I even took a nap. I should have been cleaning the house but the couch was calling my name.George is growing. He is huge and so smart. He says all sorts of fun words like "papa (grandpa)" "mama (the obvious but also grandma)" "ball" "bumbob (spongebob)" "memo (elmo)" "cow" "wa-is-at (what is that)" "dow (very nasily 'no')" "teetee (Uncle Taylor)" "day (cousin Dade)" "tay-a (cousin Tayen)" "peepee" "bubu (bubbles)" "dita (diaper)" "cah (car)" and others. They are starting to actually sound like different words instead of just the same word with different emphasis.He likes to brush his own teeth. I brush them first and then hand over the toothbrush. He actually does really well reaching all of his teeth and he does not give it back very easily. He likes to say prayers and will fold his arms when we ask him to or when we say "amen" or when he sees someone else with their arms folded. He loves to color and eat crayons. We are a month from nursery! He has been before, as I have mentioned, and he loves it!He eats his vegetables first on his plate. He loves broccoli, cucumber and carrots the best.
Hope everyone is doing well out there!

At the Mall

In Arizona, you really have to search for free activities outside of the home during the summer months. On Saturday, we decided to head to the mall. Free air conditioning, a pet store and a play place could only be improved upon with a free sample from See's Candy.This dog was very concerned because there was a Yorkie running around in the back behind all of the cages.

The day is best summed up in George's words: "Weee, weee, weee!"

Hiatus

I have taken a break from losing weight. Well, my body has. I am still trying to lose weight but it's just not happening anymore. So I will stick with maintenance for now. I get up every weekday morning (I try to anyway.. sometimes not even my alarm can wake me up) and go jogging/walking. Then I usually have a healthy breakfast, snack and lunch. But then Glen comes home and makes a delicious dinner that is not always the best for me. I think that is my weakness and the reason I am not progressing. But I'm not gaining and I feel good so I'm okay with all of that. Forty-eight pounds is a lot to lose and a lot to ask of my body. It needs a break!

I leave you with a video of my baby doing my job:

Happy Birthday!

Today is Glen's birthday! He is now as old as me. But not for long! He spent the better part of the day in training in Maricopa. If you know anything about Arizona, you know that Maricopa is in the middle of no where. It is over an hour from our house. So he left here at 6:30 am and got home around 5:00 pm. Then we dropped the rotten off at Grandma's and went out to dinner. My family came over after and we had cake and ice cream. He requested "Better than Church Cake". This is more commonly known as "Better than Sex Cake" but Glen's a prude; at least in public.

Glen is a wonderful husband and adoring father. I watch Glen with George and I see everything I should be as a mom. They are best friends! When Glen left for work this morning, George would not let him put him down. He would just start screaming every time. But, he left anyway, with me holding a screaming baby. Luckily, George fell asleep shortly thereafter and slept for three hours. Then when Glen got home, George ran to his daddy and anytime I even looked at him, he got mad and waved me away. He is his daddy's boy.

He works really hard at his job, delaying his dream of a Master's and Doctorate while I finish my Bachelor's. He is the reason I am finishing it. I kept saying I didn't really need it and he kept saying I did. He knows how important it is to me even when I don't.

Thanks for everything honey! I love you! Happy Birthday!

Pictures!

Upstairs guest bathroom. This bathroom had THREE towel racks. Really?! So we took them all down, spackled and painted and then put one new one up. It was a beige color and we painted it the same green as the downstairs half-bath.


Downstairs Living Room. This room was four different colors... Not sure what the thought process was there. We went for two colors: one main color and an accent color in the kitchen that extended into this room.

Update Your Blog Day!

I declared it "update your blog" day so I guess I had better join in the festivities! We have been making several home improvements. I am finally satisfied with our living room and took pictures but I need my mom's magic cord to download them (I have learned I need only mention it on the blog and it appears at my house within 24 hours. Let's watch!). We had the entire downstairs (minus the front room/salon/parlor/piano room {that's all one room, I'm just not sure what to call it}) painted recently. We did the bathroom ourselves and have already posted pictures here but we hired our home teacher to do the kitchen/dining room/living room/entry/stairs area. The kitchen is not quite ready for its debut on the blog because we still need a curtain for the window over the sink, but when we get one, I will be sure to take a picture and then post it several days later after getting the cord from my mom. Oh, we have also redone the guest bathroom. We did it around the same time we did the half-bath downstairs we just didn't post pictures. Maybe I will just take pictures with my phone and post them later today....
We saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II last night/this morning! It was awesome! We had readmit tickets from a previous purchase and we were told we could use them for any movie. Therefore, we paid the price of a regular ticket but were able to see Harry Potter in IMAX 3-D. It was fabulous! We got in line around 9:30 and waited until 12:05 for the movie to start. My sweet mother stayed the night at our house so that we could go. Isn't she awesome? While the movie was not inline with the book completely, I feel David Yates does a great job of making sure the most important aspects are still present.
Next time you see George, ask him what a chicken says. You are sure to smile!
PS. I thought I had already mentioned this but I guess not: I am now in the Relief Society Presidency. I never knew how much work goes into such a calling...

15 months!

Watching Elmo

My baby boy is now 15 months old. We went in for his 15-month check-up on Friday last week. He weighs 25 lbs and is 32 inches. He has grown 2 inches in three months. He is around the 50 percentile for weight and 70th for height and of course he is somewhere in the 80th percentile for head size. It doesn't help that both his mom and dad have giant noggins. He can kind of say a few words. He can identify several animals and he says, "chi-chi" for chicken and "dawdy" for doggy (sounds a lot like how he says daddy) or he'll just say, "woof woof". He says, "ooooo" for cows. He talks in his own language non-stop. He points to his various body parts on command. I think his favorite is to find his ear 'cause he can really grab on. He has decided to sleep more at night and only take one long nap during the day which is working well. He LOVES Sesame Street. He especially loves Elmo. He is an obstinate little stink and throws tantrums when he doesn't get his way. He also frequently employs a rather dramatic but quite silly psuedo-cry. It's pretty funny. But he is also a sweetheart that loves to give hugs and kisses and will walk in circles around the room with his lips puckered saying, "mmmmmmm" until everyone in the room has received a few kisses each. We love our little boy!

Die Hard

They are back this morning, with a vengeance. And, yes, I am aware that if my body were like it was a few years ago, there would be a boob in the picture.