Giving Thanks

I love holiday traditions. Especially ones that I am actually successful at carrying out as our family transitions from one stage to another. For example, my tradition of going to a movie in the evening after the big Thanksgiving dinner is kind of on hold until I have kids old enough to enjoy that with me. One thing I have been able to maintain, no matter what, is taking a picture of my beautiful Martha Stewart/Real Simple inspired table setting.

This years picture is kinda just going through the motions...















Before anyone stops being my friend in the name of bad taste, let me just explain that Anthony is working this week in Statesville, NC so we went down to join him for dinner today. The original "plan" was to just go to the Outback next to the hotel where he stays...however, he sprung a last minute "need" for Thanksgiving dinner on me and we wound up at Cracker Barrel. For $9.95 you can get turkey, ham, ice cream scoop greenish cornbread stuffing, cranberry relish, sweet potatoes, a coke, pumpkin pie, rolls, and another vegetable of your choosing. What a deal! Notice my plate is full. Anyway...Anthony got what he needed and I didn't cook so I won't complain. The sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie were pretty good, as was the diet coke. :)


















Fashionista here wouldn't touch her dinner so she whined and ate Teddy Grahams the whole way home, despite the fact that she had the new Tinkerbell movie to watch (which I do recommend...she loved it on the way there.) Jack pretty much screamed the whole way home. I think he's had it with my travels. I also think he might be having a little teething, which is not so fun. I love the guessing games!


















The picture doesn't do it much justice, but Addie was really getting into putting my makeup on this morning. It was pretty cute. She's also wearing her favorite shoes in this picture...white patent mary janes. I let her do what she wants in the house and luckily she's been really good so far about simply changing her shoes before we leave. Here's hoping that stays the same! :)

There are 15 minutes left in this day that is suppose to be about giving thanks and I'm feeling really guilty about the fact that even though I didn't have any family here to catch up with or spend all day cooking for, I still didn't really take any time to reflect on my many, many blessings. Thank goodness for blogging to bring some introspection to my day!

Happy Thoughts

I'm thinking my last post may have sounded a bit grumpy.

Really, I'm not grumpy though. How could I be with my cute babies to make me smile?

This is Addie on Thursday explaining that she was not sick anymore. She spent three days on the couch without moving. On Tuesday, I didn't even get her to eat one single cracker. So glad to have my girl back!

Jack can now roll from his tummy to his back and then back to his tummy. He's five months old now...time is really flying by!

And here are my two favorite ladies. Addie sure loves being with Nana and Toppie!

Craziness

Our trip home was unexpectedly delayed this week by a mean stomach bug (BOO!) We are recovered today, but still pretty wimpy and so ready to see Dad! 

It's been a whirlwind here. Mostly good things though. Anthony has been to Texas twice for interviews while I've been here. Serena, Maggie, Jack and I flew to join him for one interview, so that was busy. We've seen lots of people, but missed many more. Sadly, our extra week here didn't help with that because I didn't want to get anyone sick. 

In the middle of all the sickness this week, while I watch the news of stock market plunges, deflation predictions, bailouts, and terrorist-friendly presidential cabinet choices I see this:

I'm a stay at home mom. Most of what streams into my home on any given day comes from The Disney Channel or PBS (which evidently is a good source of information per one of these comments...I'll have to focus in on Elmo a little harder.) I did take political science in college, but it was summer school at Texas A&M University with a Drew Carey look-a-like professor in basketball shorts and a t-shirt. All I remember was that he called me out for studying Quantitative Analysis or sleeping during his lectures and I was totally shocked that he had even noticed me since I was in the highest, most obscure seat I could find.

 I spend my days working hard to make my corner of the world something that will in turn make the world a better place. Lately, when I have the opportunity to lift my head up away from the family I'm focusing on and look around I'm just not impressed. Frankly, I'm a little discouraged. I feel like I should DO something about this, but I'm not sure what. I worked hard for a candidate I really believed in, but the uninformed voter shot him down. That's all I knew to do. Any suggestions for my stir crazy, community service, change the world needs? I guess it's just been one of those weeks! 

Root of all Evil

Addie's love of money has been my best friend this past week. She's spent HOURS doing this.

She empties the weird chicken gravy bowl, then she refills it. 

Then she does it again. 

One happy girl.

For the life of me, I have no clue why my photos are in this strange arrangement. I guess I'm just too tired to figure it out either! :)

We Love Cousins!

We are having so much fun here in Houston with our friends and family. Addie is LOVING the chance to play with her cousins. On Saturday night, Dave, Serena and Maggie came over for dinner. The girls wrapped up the night with a bath, which Addie loved. The first thing she said on Sunday morning was, "I take a bath with Maggie!" 

These were pretty much the only two moments where Addie was not saying, "I play with this one" and trying to take whatever poor Maggie was holding. 

And these two have become fast friends once again. I think the age difference makes them great pals. Addie just follows JD around mostly doing whatever he's doing. These kids have such a good Nana. Lucky lucky.
We dipped frozen bananas in chocolate and then covered them in sprinkles tonight for Family Home Evening. Addie and JD loved it of course as you can see from the pictures. 
So many people to see, but we're having a great time trying to fit it all in! We've seen Brent, Holly, and Clark twice now but no pictures! I'll have to fix that. 

A Purse, Money, and a Twirly Skirt

That pretty much sums up the afternoon yesterday. Addie entertained herself in full dress up mode, dancing around in her twirly skirt, while emptying and refilling her purse with some loose change Nana gave her. It was GREAT!

Grandma came over for a visit while Addie was playing. She ran to the door and said, "Gramma, look at my beautiful skirt!" Then the twirling commenced and Grandma was kind enough to join in on the money counting. I love afternoons like that and LOVE that we're having them with some family around for a few weeks! :)

Cool Nana

Nana has a race car (as Addie calls it) and she let Addie drive it. So cool!

Did You?

My voter registration literally just went through when we checked it at 7:30 a.m. this morning! By 8:15 I had voted with both kids still in jammies. Yeah! Now all my buddies who live in later time zones...you know who you are. You get up in the morning, rush to the computer, and pull up my blog (this is sarcasm people.) Well, here's your reminder just in case you live in a hole.

P.S.

If you plan to vote for the guy who is going to hike up my taxes to "spread the wealth" to the tune of a whopping $500/yr to those who need it most, bankrupt the coal industry, send electricity rates through the roof, brunch with our enemies, and further elevate himself and his buddies by standing on the backs of the poor who don't even know his full name...PLEASE DO NOT TELL ME.

I've held my tongue for months now and I think I've done a great job, despite my need to vent about the main stream media's seriously biased reporting on silly things like Sarah Palin's wardrobe (as if Hillary shops at Dress Barn!) So this is all I'll say about THAT.

Happy Election Day!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween from Julie Berg on Vimeo.

Just Can't Resist...

Sorry, but this was too funny. :) Cute Halloween pictures of my fairy girl will follow later!

All of the Above

Wow...October 6th was my last post. That's a long time for me. The weather has been great so whenever we can we've been outside in the yard playing. Sidewalk chalk, swinging, picnicking, you name it. I've taken pictures or video quite a bit along the way, but I just haven't had the chance at night to do anything with it (I have to do the dishes and laundry sometime since we play all day!) So here's a compilation of everything I have accumulated.


All of the Above from Julie Berg on Vimeo.



Before going to the Lazy5Ranch where we fed all the animals in the video, Addie and I participated in a 5K yesterday morning. I say participated because we only ran about 3/4ths of the 3.3 miles. My neighbors totally put me up to this and then didn't show. Yeah...great practical joke! I've only run 3 times since having Jack, and 2.5 miles is the most I've done on an easy course. For the entire run while I was killing myself pushing 50 lbs (Addie plus stroller - no she's not that heavy!), Addie was asking where Maddie and Izzy were. Bla. One lady that was running next to us towards the end must have thought my ipod was up too high for me to hear her because she kept trying to motion to me that Addie was talking. I was like, "Yeah, she's been saying that for 25 minutes now." Either way, I beat most of the run/walkers with strollers and my fair share of junior high girls. :)

Cheap Cheap!

Anthony taught Addie one of his favorite words this morning. He's so proud. :)

Very exciting stuff going on here...tonight I skipped the elliptical machine and hit the pavement with Addie in the jogger for the first time in about a year. It went well enough. I only went about 1.7 miles, but it was getting dark so I was trying to stick to the route I knew would be lit. Instead of a quiet or whining Addie from a year ago, I got to hear the following:

Lots of: "Faster mommy, faster!!"
"Hi Moon!! I see you!"
Running through the trees: "Moooooon, where are you??"
Back out from under the trees: "There it is! Hiiii Moon!"
As we turned onto our street: "Goodnight moon! See you next time!"

I've never pointed the moon out to her. Maybe she's learning something at school?

She's Gone Country

For a good laugh, push play and wait for the end of this little video. This is from yesterday. In the morning, Anthony and Addie were at the Dixie Classic Fair. In the afternoon, they were at "Pickins at Priddys." It's an old general store built in 1888 that is still in operation. For three weeks in the fall, they have music and food on Saturdays. I'm not sure if it gets any more "down home" than this. Anthony's clinic gets together there every year. It's about 45 minutes away, so I opted to stay home and let Anthony take Addie. Apparently she was the life of the party.



She's Gone Country.... from Julie Berg on Vimeo.

A Good Day

When I was in elementary school, I got my first journal for Easter one year. I wish I still had it so that I could thumb through it and read what I wrote. The entries were pretty simple. 99% of them said, "Today was a good day. I got to play outside at school." or "We went to church." or "I had chocolate chip ice cream after dinner." On occasion there was a very startling "Today was NOT a good day. I got in trouble." or "It rained." or any other number of catastrophic events that can happen to a six year old.

Well, I must say that today was a good day for so many reasons.

To start off, Anthony took a 6 a.m. nasty diaper off of my hands. My hero! Then all I had to do was snuggle with Jack in the glider until 7:30 when it was time to get up. Tough job, but somebody's gotta do it.

While I was feeding Jack, in walks my cute independent two year old. It's been chilly in the mornings lately, so last night I put her in the only pair of long jammies that still fit her. It just happens they have feet. I could write forever about the cuteness of footed pajamas. I will buy them for Addie until they don't make them in her size. Even then I'll probably still look for them! Either way, she was stinkin cute with her crazy hair and her belly sticking out as she walked around in her jammies telling me how well she slept.

Anthony and Addie went to the Dixie County Fair and had a blast. Video/photos will come tomorrow. I worked out while Jack slept. I put my ipod on shuffle instead of my usual playlist of new songs. Here is what it played for me:

The Seashores of Old Mexico - George Strait
I Just Called - Stevie Wonder
She Will Be Loved - Maroon 5
Good Hearted Man - Tift Merritt
You'll Be There - George Strait
Me and Charlie Talking - Miranda Lambert
Sunday Morning - Maroon 5
Somewhere Only We Know - Keane

I couldn't help but laugh at my random music taste while I was exercising. These songs all remind me of other good days, 3 and 4 years ago. It was fun to reflect on what I was doing in my life when I downloaded these.

Other good things...Jack napped like a champ while I relished the General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Wow is all I can say. I didn't even know how much I needed to hear the abundant messages on hope and faith! Until I heard these messages, I didn't even realize how much the global financial distress, energy crisis, presidential race, natural disasters (Ike...Iowa Floods), and terrorism (Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech to the UN just about made me crazy) were stressing me beyond my usual fears about being a good wife and mother (daughter, grandaughter, friend, etc...)

Just a few talks that really stood out:

L. Tom Perry discussed the spiritual benefits of a simplified lifestyle, citing Henry David Thoreau's experiences. If I only implemented what I heard in this one talk, my life would be improved 100% for it!

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf's eloquent, yet, simple instruction on faith and hope was exactly what I needed. Just as I was thinking that, it dawned on me that he was giving this talk because so many people need it. If you need to replace feelings of fear and despair with faith and hope, check it out. You can get it here. I promise it won't disappoint.

During the latter session of the conference, I enjoyed listening to Addie try to sing along with the children's choir while I fed Jack his cereal in the other room and reflected on how lucky I am. Now my babies are in bed, my husband is at his Priesthood meeting, Addie is singing herself to sleep, and I'm enjoying a house so quiet that all I can hear are the neighborhood dogs and locusts in the trees. Ahhhhhh. Today was a
good day. :)

Debate Watching

Yes, I was really paying attention to the VP Debate last night. At least a ton more than the actual presidential debate last week which I thought was a real snoozer. I just happened to be playing around on the computer at the same time and made this little video. I had some cute clips of Jack I was just looking for something to do with. :)


Break from the Debate... from Julie Berg on Vimeo.

Goodmorning!

Addie's excitement over her big girl bed has translated into general excitement over anything about the morning. She has rekindled her old habit of ending most of her sentences with "in the morning" and instead of saying hello to people she says "goodmorning!" She says "goodmorning" with so much enthusiasm that it's hard not to feel like you could start your day over right even if it's 5 p.m. Yesterday there was a little girl playing in her yard two doors down. Addie just stood on the fence watching her and after much prodding from me she shouted a "goodmorning" to her. Thank goodness the girl was sweet enough to yell "hi" back and make Addie's day.



Since changing beds, Addie does wake up a little earlier than she use to which is really fine since I'm up with this little guy anyway. I have still been waking Jack up at 10 p.m. to feed him so that he'd sleep until 7 a.m. By this time, Addie had been sleeping 12 hours but it wasn't all falling into place as easily with Jack. All of that changed on Monday night when Anthony and I went in to wake him up for the 10 p.m. feeding. He just smiled the biggest smile at both of us, then he refused to eat, then he smiled some more. Totally unnerved, I put him back in bed and he fell back to sleep until 7:30 a.m. Crazy. He's repeated it for the rest of the week. So now he gets the "easy baby" award. Sorry Addie.

Food and Conversation

The new bed is a hit so far, although there has only been one late nap where Addie was so tired she would have slept anywhere. She did fall out the first night. Around 5 a.m I heard a thud in the next room and went in to find her in a ball on the floor. She didn't seem to mind much and picking her up to put her back in bed didn't even phase her. She's so excited to get up in the morning though! Both days I've been in the kitchen feeding Jack when I'll hear her door open. She walks around the corner, with super tall posture, hand raised in a perfect beauty queen wave, and says "hi!" It's only topped off by this fabulous bed head do:



Here are a few video clips we took yesterday. In the first one, during breakfast Addie was explaining that she wanted to go to Texas to see Maggie and Serena. Of course Anthony immediately found the camera and prodded a repeat. Second is Jack getting excited about some really runny rice cereal we've been playing with. I chose to omit the last clip of me being a pushover and letting Addie give Jack a bite of cereal. I don't need video proof of my parental negligence floating around the web. :)


Eating & Conversation from Julie Berg on Vimeo.

Oh, and in case you were not aware. It's Hispanic Heritage Month. There are not words to describe the expression on Addie's face this morning when she started to sing along with the "Little Einsteins" theme song on Playhouse Disney, only to find it was in another language. She knows all the words in English and was so perplexed by the change. It was pretty funny.

Saturday

Today was just a good lazy Saturday at our house. It was cool and rainy all day, which only added to the mood. I love days like this! Anthony and Addie went out to breakfast at the Waffle House (gag) and LOVED it (double gag) while I worked out and Jack took a nap this morning. Then Anthony played kept the kiddos while I had a much needed (and oddly, much blogged about) trip to the hairdresser.

Daddy daycare turned out to be a success, coloring and all. I came home to two sleeping children. WOW.



The "new" do. It's pretty much the same as always, but it's definitely NOT what I left the house with this morning. Let's just say, this is what my hair usually looks like when it is getting any kind of attention.



Jack tested out his baseball cap and the Bumbo. He's not quite big enough for either one, but still pretty cute. I can't figure out on the cap...ears in our out? They kinda stick out funny when I leave them out so I tucked them in. I guess they've gotta come out sometime...poor boy has his momma's ears and no long locks to cover them.



We set up Addie's new bed too. After squishing her into a pack n' play for our last trip to Blowing Rock we decided it was time she got use to something other than the crib. Her room isn't really big enough for a twin, so we got a little toddler bed for her. She'll sleep there for the first time tonight. Hopefully that won't be an exciting enough change for me to bother blogging about tomorrow! :)



Addie got really excited when we put Jack in the bed with her. She loves this baby. If only it could always be that way...

Blowing Rock

We went to Blowing Rock, NC this weekend for some relaxation and cool weather. It was GREAT. Serena came into town last Wednesday so she and Maggie were hanging with us too. Addie is obsessed with Maggie and Serena has been super patient in letting my 2 year old smother her baby.

Here we are sitting on top of the actual blowing rock. There is a story. It's long and American Indian and you can find it online if you are reeeeeeally interested.

Good thing big hair is always cool in the south. :) Going to the hairdresser SATURDAY and after six months of not loosing a single strand I have finally started losing a few here and there so maybe my fro will chill in a few months.


Anthony, Addie and Serena went on a hike to some waterfalls. The hike got a lot longer than anticipated and Addie ended up getting a nice long ride on Anthony's shoulders. Needless to say, Anthony got his workout in for the year.


Jack was just about this cute all weekend. :)


Serena, Maggie and Addie with one of the waterfalls. Apparently every time they reached a hill or some kind of milestone, Addie would throw her arms up and shout "We did it!!" If only I could have her cheer for me like that when she's in the jogging stroller. Instead all I hear is "out?", "Addie walk?", and "go home??"

Addie chilling on the fall display in downtown Blowing Rock. Downtown Blowing Rock was really cute. We enjoyed the shops and their great park tremendously! We had Jack and Maggie in the double stroller and Addie on her stylish teddy bear leash. People were constantly stopping to see the children and more than one acknowledged that she thought all three were mine. Yikes, a 3 month old, and 8 month old, and a 2 year old. Yikes.


If we'd thought to have Addie turn for the picture, this would have been really cute.
Serena, Maggie and Addie sitting on the blowing rock.

Addie and Anthony had a good time making pizza for dinner on Saturday night. Did I mention we had a good time? It was really fun. I need to get a picture of all three cousins on the couch tomorrow...hopefully I won't forget in the madness, and boy do we have some now and then. Dinner time with these three is very noisy!

Eat it All!

As I was enjoying my turkey sandwich at lunch today, Addie looked up from her food and said, "eat it all!" in her most authoritative voice (mimicking her dad of course.) When I finished it she politely thanked me. Something funny every single day lately!