Earthquake!

We're okay but our vase isn't.

After a couple weeks of being back, we decided it was time to finally head out to the National mall and visit some museums. just as we were getting our things together the whole house started rumbling followed by a lot of swaying. SCARY! I was so shocked mine and Ryan's first instinct was to grab the boys and huddle together, we stood at the bottom of our stair way. Maybe not the safest place to be but we were so taken off guard we couldn't think straight. Thankfully the Micah and Sam weren't too startled by the quake.

It's crazy to me that the biggest earthquake I have ever been in was in Washington, DC (5.8). I have been in small tremors in UT but they were so insignificant. I have always been afraid of earthquakes. I'd be surprised if there was a Utah'n that wasn't. We grow up being told that we live on a fault line and we should be prepared for a big earthquake at any given moment. And if that's not enough to scare your pants off, the schools have random earthquake drills and tell you the safest place to be is under your desk. I never felt very safe under there but I figured someone must know what they are talking about. I remember as a little girl being so afraid that once I scoured the whole house for any necessities in the event of an earthquake and I put them all under the kitchen table. When everything was securely under the table, I crawled under there and sat and waited. It was a long night of waiting. :)

We moved!

Well I can't believe how fast the summer flew by. I think I only posted once the whole time I was back in UT with my family. Now that I am back in DC I need to get serious about posting on my blog so that Grandmas and Grandpas don't get mad because they don't know what's going on with their Grand kids.

Moving back to Washington was not an easy feat. We arrived back in this great city late on a Thursday Aug 12, the following morning we met up with our Realtor and got the keys to our new place, and then a few hours later we signed our lease. The last few weeks we we're so focused on finding a place to live and signing our lease but we completely looked over the other [just as important] details. The rest of the day was spent working out the logistics for our big move for the following day. It took several attempts and several hours to secure a truck, a babysitter and people to help us move but we did it. Just in time too, my cell phone was moments from dying and I left my charger in UT. We also made a stop to our storage unit to grab some essentials that would help us get through the night (air mattresses, pack and play, and blankets). I had a very detailed list of our inventory so finding our stuff was a breeze, Seriously!

The following morning we got up bright and early and went to go pick up a friend who was going to help us unload our storage unit. After we picked him up we needed to go pick up the moving truck, after about an hour of getting lost trying to find the moving truck place we called to get directions. Then we find out that the truck that we supposedly reserved was never available to be rented out in the first place. So here we are with one of our helpers, no truck and 2 boys that were suppose to be with the babysitter. Oh shoot the babysitter! Yeah, I couldn't call her because my phone was dead and though Ryan's phone was very usable he didn't have any numbers that I needed. So now our plans were falling through but we decided to head to the storage unit anyway. I made several more calls for moving trucks and the whole city and surrounding areas were all rented out.

Wen we finally made it to the storage unit, I ran into my friends who were going to help us babysit/move. Thankfully their plans that morning had shifted around last minute and they arrived to meet us just after we got there. I had been worried the whole time that they were sitting their waiting and I had no way to reach them. We still didn't have a truck but I felt so relieved to have our helpers with us. The storage facility had a moving truck that they loaned to the renters moving things into the storage unit so Ryan tied to persuade them to let us use it since it was clearly not being used. They would not make any exceptions, however, they referred us to a local company couple doors down called Cadyco who rented our an assortment of things including moving trucks. Success! they had a truck and then we were back on track.

Our new place is so little so we had to get rid of and loan a lot of furniture. The piece that was the hardest to get rid of was our kitchen hutch that we use as an entertainment center. But you gotta do what you gotta do, and we had to get rid of stuff so we could fit into our new place. So once the truck was filled, we made stops delivering all of our furniture to goodwill or to different friend's homes. Then Ryan took the truck to our new house to meet a new group of guys who would be helping unload the truck. Meanwhile I took our friend home who was most likely exhausted from our morning adventures. For the next hour I tried to figure out how to get home. Unfortunately our GPS broke so we have been getting lost a lot lately, needless to say, I don't foresee many outings in the near future unless I get it fixed or get a new one. Like I said, it took me an hour to get home, I had to keep zig zagging through the streets until I found a street I recognized.

Unloading the truck went very well, the only problem we ran into was getting mine and Ryan's bed up the stairs. The stair case is much to small to accommodate my bed. Thankfully there is a door in the boys room that has been bolted shut so we pulled out the tools and pried the door open. The guys carried the bed up a ladder and got it through the door and into my bedroom. The Plexiglas was unfortunately broken in the process but that's an easy fix.

Once we got all the boxes moved into the house, we made our way to Cadyco to return the truck. we grabbed a quick dinner and stopped to buy a phone charger for me and a wall mount for the TV. After a long day we were finally home, the only thing left to do was turn the key and walk into our new house. Sounds so easy when you put it that way. Not so! Ryan accidentally left the house key hooked to the truck key. Remember that door we broke earlier that day? That was the best thing to happen that day, we were able to get back into the house!

When we made it home we set up the kids room first, with beds and blankets and once they were asleep we got started on the kitchen. The unpacking process has been going very well. Because this house is so tiny, we have had to get creative with storing things but it's all working out very well. So far the boys bedroom is my favorite room, it is so colorful and fun. Once we get the whole house put in order I'll share pictures, but for now I can share a glimpse into the kids fun room.

I chose to share the shelf picture first because we are really proud of it. We got the idea on all things thrifty, don't you love them!?

Sam turns 1

Wow where did the last year and my little bitty baby boy go? It has been so wonderful to have Sam in our family. He has so much happy contagious energy. Sam and Micah are starting to become good little buddies, I love watching them play together.

Sam's Birthday was very Simple but perfect. We invited immediate family over and had a slide show of Sam's first year playing in the background. I made a vegan chocolate cake, Sam loved it! The highlight of the night was when Sam got the whole family to clap in unison for several minutes. Sam got lots of wonderful gifts that he and Micah have been loving!

As of today Sam is 14 months here is what he is up to

Walking trying to run

Loves jumping

Loves everyone

Loves, Loves, Loves to eat- Sam can eat a large breakfast and minutes later mooch off whoever else is eating (usually Grandma).

Loves to play in the toilet

Loves unwinding toilet paper rolls

Sam can say,

Mama

Dada

More

Shoes

I did it!

Update part 2

5/13/11

Schools out!!! Ryan finished up with finals on April 30. Finals were really hard on all of us and we are all so glad to have a break from school. We flew into Utah on Sunday (mothers day). It is so nice to be back in UT and we are loving being close to family. We didn't get to celebrate mothers day on Sunday, so today has been my make-up day.

Present

First to answer a question I keep getting. Are you still eating Vegan? I am still eating a mostly vegan diet. I am mainly just being very careful about where my dairy comes comes from. Like I said we are back in Utah. It is so nice to be around family. I missed everyone so much this last year. Ryan's parents are the kind, generous, lucky sometime, unlucky other times bunch that are providing us a nice cozy place to stay for the summer. Ryan has been working with the Utah County Public Defenders office. He is really loving his internship. This makes me very happy because

a) He had his doubts about coming to UT for the summer

b) Law very intense and if we are going to invest everything we have into it, I really want him to LOVE what he's doing for a living

c) I get to be so close to family (I can't get enough of this one)

So far we have celebrated a lot of Birthdays, vacationed in St. George, spent a lot of time catching up with friends, enjoying a lot of Free time with Ryan, and just loving life.

Sam's Birthday Post is on it's way!

Lindsay Update part 1

I am doing very well. The boys and I have had a bad case of cabin fever. We spent everyday last week doing stuff outside, even on the rainy days. I have a lot of projects that I want to get done but instead I have been spending my free time at the end of every day either exercising, vegging on the couch with a favorite show or reading. So basically I turn into a lazy bum at the end of the day (with the exception of working out).

Recently I posted this facebook status and I have had a lot of questions about it.
So I have been a vegetarian off and on for as long as I can remember. It has mainly been in my adult years that I have been off and on. I have always had an aversion to meat so it just makes sense to be vegetarian. What I have decided is that it is so important for me to know where my food comes from (watch Food Inc.). For example, I recently heard about past actions of Chiquita Banana. From what I understand they have a reputation of abusing their employees and not only that, they have a lot of blood on their hands from violence against those who would improve employment conditions. With what I learned, I just didn't feel like I could buy Chiquita's blood bananas anymore.

After learning about the bananas, I started wondering what other things are going on with my food beyond the supermarket. As I did further research I was reminded about the conditions that animals are kept in, I'm not going to go into that. But I will say that what I have learned caused me to cut myself off completely from anything that came from an animal.

Next came my spiritual journey. It is very hard to explain to people, particularly people in the Mormon culture why I have taken on this new diet. I know that God loves all of his creations and I want to honor all that God has created. I just didn't feel like I was doing that when I was buying mass produced milk, cheese, eggs, etc.

At this point in my quest I have decided that I am comfortable eating foods that come from animals if I know where it came from. The best way to accomplish this is buying local and supporting farmers markets. I guess that's what it comes down to, eating what you feel comfortable with.

Ryan Who? update

Ryan Who? is right! This guy has been so studious and busy and gone a lot. The boys and I miss him a lot when he's gone but we try to stay optimistic. I want Ryan to do well so I try not to complain, but who am I kidding, sometimes I do complain. Ryan's busy schedule has had us both on edge and for the first time in our history we had a fight. Yes after 5+ years of marriage we have not had a fight, but I guess with the stress levels rising and finals and moving something had to give. I really wish it hadn't though, I need him and he needs me, especially when things start to get hard. Everything has smoothed over now and I hope that our next fight is NEVER!

More about Ryan. Ryan has an internship in UT for the summer at the Utah County Public Defenders association. He also has a job lined up for Fall semester at Public Defender Services for the District of Columbia. His hard work is paying off as far as finding jobs goes. And I am sure that it will pay off in finals too.

Something else that is note worthy. Ryan, aka Mr. frugal, never spends a penny on himself. He went and splurged a little on new clothes, this was not birthday money or Christmas money or tax refund money. He really needed it, and we all know that we all feel great when we are wearing a new piece of clothes that we picked for ourselves (can you tell I get a lot of hand me downs :). I think it is so great that Ryan did this for himself, because I want him to look and feel confident while he's studying so hard.

Micah Update

Well Micah is such a big boy, he is finally potty trained and has been since about December. If Micah could choose he would never go to bed and stay up all the time playing trains or reading books. It is so nice that he has indoor things that he loves because we have had a lot of cold rainy days. And the poor thing was basically sick all of February and March. Speaking of being sick, he peaked a fever of 104 and I panicked. So I gave him Tylenol and took him to the emergency room. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time. Poor Micah was sweating bullets and shivering and crying. By the time we got to the ER his fever had gone down. In the end he just had a nasty bug that we had to wait out.

After Micah got over being sick, Sam got sick. Sam was up a lot in the night while he was sick and he kept waking up Micah. Our solution to the problem was to make a bed for Micah in our bedroom. He slept in there my room for about 2 weeks before we moved him back to his room. ever since then we have woken up in the morning with a little three old between us, or we find that same three year old camped out next to our bed with his blankets, pillows, and blue dog.

We have come up with a reward system for Micah to earn cotton balls which we collect in a jar. When the Jar is full he earns a reward. The cotton balls are reward enough for him though. He gets so excited when he can drop a new cotton ball into his jar. This has also made him learn how to help around the house. To be completely honest he doesn't make much of a dent in the house work, we usually clean his room, make his bed, get him dressed, brush his teeth, and unload the dishwasher. Even still I am so grateful that he is learning how rewarding work can be.

Micah loves being a big brother, he loves to make Sam laugh and he loves to help me take care of his baby brother. If he's in a good mood, Micah will play really well with Sam. Of course he's not perfect, when he's not being Brother of the year he is usually sitting on Sam. And if he is really focused on his playing he will snap if Sam starts to crawl over his train tracks.

Micah is starting to become so independent, he wants to do everything for himself. This has taught me to be much more patient and supportive of him.

A quick story about Micah. We have a book called "Judy and the Volcano," when we were reading it one day I had pointed out to him that his aunt Gabrielle's name was written on the inside of the cover. I told him that this was her book, and when we were finished with it we will have to give it back to her (I plan to keep it until she has kids mwahaha). Anyways, about a week later I was talking to him about how we are going to be moving to UT for the summer and we will get to see all of our family and be much closer to them. Do you think he cared? Nope, he was actually very concerned. All he could say was "Will Gabby want Judy and the Volcano back." He was sincerely worried about not getting to keep this book. :)

Sam Update

Sam is the cutest little baby ever. He is always so happy and smiley. He loves People, he is always batting his eyes at strangers and making friends with all kids of people. He loves blankets, he loves to rub his face into them, hide himself under them, loves when I play parachute with them (let a blanket fall on him and cover him up and then lift it again). Throwing things, this includes throwing toys into the toy box, throwing a ball and playing toss and catch, and of course throwing food from his high chair. Oh yeah and food, Sam loves to eat, he will eat anything, even if it's not food.

Sam is so adventurous. He's my climber and he's only 10 months! He has toilet bowl radar, If we leave a bathroom door open, Sam kicks into sneaky, speedy mode and goes strait to the glorious pool of water in the porcelain thrown. It is so nasty, he just likes to splash his little hands in there. At least that's all he puts in there. When we were younger my little brother use to like to stick his head in the toilet bowl and kick his head back and let his hair flop backward. If I remember right he did this to imitate Simba (Lion King).

Recently at a play group I got caught up talking to a friend and while I was chatting Micah ran up to very excitedly and said, "look Mom, Sam climbed the stairs all by himself!" I looked over toward the stair and there was Sam nearing the top of a stair case. To be honest the stair case was only four steps, but still, if he fell it would hurt. Sam was very pleased with himself and thankfully in the time that it took me to run to him he stayed put.

One more little thing about my Sammy. He took his first step today! We were sitting at church and he was walking along a row of chairs, as he was approaching me, he decided to let go and take his final step with out any assistance. I'm so proud of him. I wish he could stay a little baby forever, but I really feel so much Joy as I watch him learn and grow.

Falling back into place

For the longest time I was filling like I didn't have any structure or order in my life. For the first time since... maybe Sam was born, I am starting to feel like things are "normal." It was very hard adjusting to 2 kiddos, then adjusting to living with family, then moving cross country, then our housing falling through, you get the picture. Life was chaos, and I just wanted to go home. I was talking to my freind Adrienne recently who has also moved from Utah to Virginia and she put my feelings into words PERFECTLY. She had said that before her visit back to UT she was "romanticizing Utah". This resonated with me. I love Utah, I miss my family so much, but it wasn't until I went back and realized that everyone lives have gone on, Virginia was home now and I need to move on with the future too. Ever since I have embraced this notion, I have fallen in love with my situation. My marriage has grown stronger, who knew that such a great marriage could be even GREATER. I have really come to appreciate my role as a mother, I have come to know so many wonderful people out here that are both in my situation or have been and I love them all. The community of love out here is incredible! So basically life is good.

There is a lot to catch up on each of us so you can expect to read about each of us in a little more detail very soon. hopefully today if I can squeeze in more computer time. For now here is an old video but a milestone for Sam that I thought my family would like :)

Good or Bad I'll take 'em

Micah has been such a trouble maker lately. I've have learned that though silence can be wonderful and peaceful it is in fact the tell tale sign that something is going on and it isn't good. One of the naughty little things Micah enjoys doing is driving his cars and trains into his food. He is not allowed to have toys while he is eating but just like a lot of trouble makers out there, Micah is sneaky. He always finds a way to hide his car in his milk cup or crash a train into his noodles.

As of late Micah has been going behind my back and opening up boxes of crackers and cereal and dumping the whole thing out and then proceeding to drive his cars in the mess. recently we had a few kids over here to play. They asked for a snack so I sat them down at the table with crackers and cheese, I left for a moment and when I came back all the crackers had been dumped out onto the table, I walked into the kitchen and all the kids were just watching Micah make this "big huge mess." But that is not all I saw, oh no that is not all.... Micah had the honey in his hand and he was squeezing honey on top of all the crackers. I want to know where all the tattle tales in the world were at the time!?

And just today, I was in the kitchen and all of a sudden Micah runs in and shuts the sliding doors that close off the kitchen from the rest of the apartment. I asked Micah what was going on and he started pushing me back into the kitchen and said "stop mommy, go back." Needless to say I was not surprised to find a big pile of crackers all over the floor. I don't know what the fascination is with making these messes but it has got to stop. One more thing, Micah really likes to say "Look Mommy, I'm making a big huge mess." I hate this phrase more than anything right now.

Sam is a little angel right now, he idolizes his big brother. He is currently crawling and getting into EVERYTHING. And he has definitely spoken his first word, ball "ba, ba, ba." I like to play a game with him where I ask where's Daddy? where's Micah? where's Mommy? It's so fun to see him look at each of us on cue. He's such a sweetheart.