There is Always a Time for Firsts

There is a tendency to let life pass you by without stopping to enjoy the sites or smell the roses. That is definitely a habit in my life. Until I had Korban I would never have gone to the zoo on whim. This Memorial Day Jason's parents, who were watching their granddaughter, Haily, drove up to Idaho Falls and we all went to Tautphaus Zoo. As long as I lived in Idaho, I have never been to this zoo. It was a lot of fun, mostly because Korban had a ball looking at the new funny looking animals. This is his first time to actually interact with the animals rather than just laying there staring at the sky. Here are some of our favorite shots.

Korban loved the monkeys. He tried to not only get out of his stroller to touch them but he also attempted to feed him his cereal. Thank goodness for glass enclosures.

This was my favorite part. This singing coyote, which looks like a typical dog to me, was very friendly and came up to the glass to scope Korban and Haily out. They both thought it was the funniest thing ever. Can you tell they love dogs?

Luckily there were toy animals the kids could ride and touch.



This is the new baby zebra. I wish we could have seen her play around.

Sin City... Not on our Tour

For Valentine's Day my wonderful husband surprised me with a "Honeymoon Redo" trip. We went to Vegas for our honeymoon 4 years ago and didn't have the most pleasant time. I won't go into it. But now we got to go with a little more money in our pockets and more freedom to experience the good points in Vegas. Below are a few of the cultural and wholesome sights we were able to enjoy. But I am glad to be home. All those flashing lights, slow-walking people, clanking coin machines, cigarette clouds, and trashy cards on the street make Idaho seem like heaven.

We stayed at the beautiful Bellagio with the grand fountain show in front. But I couldn't help falling in love with the groomed gardens and large fountains.

Vegas at night is twice as busy as the day. The lights are brighter and the shows are more elaborate. The volcano at Mirage was excellent. I wish I could have enjoyed the Bellagio pools at night but they closed them early so we could all go gamble and drink. Subtle.
Jason also bought us tickets to see Blue Man Group. Definitely a must see show.

I can't help but get carried away when I see a Chihully installation. Chihully is a master glass artist and he created the massive glass sculpture in the Bellagio. You can see another of his great works at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City. We were so excited to get a signed book from him. We just wish we could afford one of his pieces. Unfortunately we don't even know anyone who could afford them.

I just thought this was fun.

Bellagio had a beautiful Botanical Garden inside. Here are a few of my favorite shots. I wish I could grow such lush flowers.

The Glass Half Full?

To be honest, the last 11 days I felt half empty the whole time. It wasn't unbearable but I really had a hard time mentally restraining myself from eating everything in sight. I didn't loose the weight I thought I might but I did loose so I decided to take the optimistic route. As you all know, if you let it get you down it is really hard to get back up. I plan on starting again this weekend on another round of the 11-day diet.
As for advice on how to concur the new mommy blues, thank you, THANK YOU!! I received emails and blog posts from friends and family about how to help. Since I last posted I have had other opportunities to have personal time. This summer I am going to try to take art classes. This spring, Korban and I will take a swimming class with our friends Berty and Jace. I have play dates with friends planned and the weather is getting much better so we are able to go outside.
Below are some wonderful pictures we have taken lately. We hope you enjoy.

Jace and Korban wearing matching pjs.

Korban playing in the oven drawer. Yes, I know he is wierd.

At the Utah Capital.
Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa Barney's. That is his cousin's pink car she got for Christmas but of course Korban had to try it out for himself.
Daddy's little man. I sometimes wonder if I am even his mom.

Brave New World

Life as a stay-at-home mom comes with it's own set of unexpected challenges. When I chose to stay home with Korban I thought it would be a busy life style focused on home maintenance, play groups schedules, and a rigorous child rearing. But in the last 18 months I have learned that a busy lifestyle does not come right away. Actually I find with one young child it is kind of boring. And since I had Korban I have steadily succumbed to a lazy schedule of long naps, hours of reading and watching tv, and the occasional cleaning of the house. With that comes days of depression and overeating. LOTS of overeating. When I am sad or bored I tend to open the pantry and munch. I am not as much a self-starter as I used to imagine. With school and work, staying busy was easy. Staying motivated to loose weight was easy. I have committed to stay with Korban and now have to commit to other ways to keep my self in check. First will be my diet. I was motivated by my dear sister-in-law, Tia, to get on the 11 day diet. Today is my first day. So far the extra meat has made me a little nauseous but that only means I eat less. I am determined to see it through to the end and return to a happy weight. As for the depression, I am determined to conquer it without drugs. I believe the root of the depression is in boredom. I am thinking of mommy and me swimming classes, more time outside when the weather improves, and possibly art classes. Any suggestions from experienced and successful moms would be appreciated, as well. The reason I post all of this is to give me more motivation. If you all know I am working on improving myself then I am less like to give up and return to my glutinous ways. Thanks for listening.

I'm a Christmas Slacker!

So you would think with all my time off being "just" a mom I would do all the stuff a good wife does- like clean my house, bake cookies for everyone in the neighborhood, send Christmas cards, etc. But you know what, I am not a good homemaker. I think I cleaned my house more when I worked full time. As for being a good neighbor and sending my friends and family Christmas cards, all I can say is sorry. I delude myself by saying that it is because no one wants anymore treats to get fat on and now that we live close to people no one needs Christmas card updates. But the truth is- I'm lazy! Plain and simple. Thus as a last ditch effort I am posting our latest family pic as our Christmas card to everyone. We truly love you all and miss everyone we left in Phoenix. I can promise you as I type this blog with my frozen fingers that I wish I were with you all this Christmas. We are so grateful to be close to our families (well most of them). We have really enjoyed this past year in Idaho.

We wish you all a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

And the Award for "Meanest Mom" goes to...

Yes that is right. I have been nominated and won the prestigious award thanks in part to my wonderful son. He sent in his top 10 reasons why I am a mean mom and, can you believe it, I won. Wow! Here are his reasons below in Korban's own words.

10. Touching my tender gums while my molars are coming in. Mom, if it is red and swollen then you can be sure it hurts. You don't have to touch them to make sure.


9. Forcing me to go down the stairs feet first. What's so wrong with head first. That is how I crawl.


8. Eating in front of me. I am hungry too. Okay, I did just eat but how rude!


7. Taking all the electronics away from me. Why is it that mom gets to talk on the phone and push the buttons on the computer but not me. I only broke her phone once and that was only for a day.


6. Wiping my bum with cold wipes. Who invented those! Whoever it was should be put in diapers and sat in a crib all day.


5. Scrubbing an already rough nose to remove dried on buggers. If I wanted them gone, I would remove them myself. They make my nose feel better after she have wiped it raw.


4. Being hypocritical. She can rub my face and poke my teeth but the moment I want to stick my fingers up her nose, play inside her mouth, or pull her hair it is all, "no Korbi that is not nice."


3. Installing child locks and closing doors. It's like she doesn't trust me anymore. One day I have free rein of the house to explore and learn and the next thing I know there are road blocks put in front of me. I can't play anywhere.


2. Saying the word "no." It's like her favorite word now. No, Korbi don't play with those bamboo skewers. No, Korban, not the straightener. Korban, no more ripping my books apart. No, no, no!


1. Associating me with fat animals. That is where I draw the line. I am sick of her calling me her fat hippo or dressing me up as a chubby penguin. So I'm husky. Get over it. Buy bigger pants if they don't fit around my legs. But stop calling me your fat little hippo in front of everyone. I'm going to get a complex. Now, where's my dinner!



With that rave review how was I not going to win. As you can tell there have been extra tears at our house due to his heightened sense of exploration and personality. Tears from both me and him. But I think he missed one important thing on his list. I will always be here to take pictures of him during his most embarrassing moments. Like this one from a couple nights ago. He got stuck in the basket after pulling it off the shelf and ripping everything out of it. I didn't feel that bad. Does that make me a bad mom?


Here is a video of my little boy who is now walking. He started about a week ago and that is all he does now. And since his is so big it is a problem because he does pull things off counters and door handles are being reached. I am a little scared of the possibilities.




To my own credit, I am not that bad of a mom. I do take him to play with friends and cousins. Here are some pics from those events.

Hanging out with his ole' buddies Mark and Piper. They weren't drinking the Mountain Dew. Just playing with the bottle.


Halloween 2009. Here is cousin Logan and Korban pigging out on the candy in the back of the car. Trunk or Treat was not a treat for Korban. I think this is the only smiling picture I got. He was cold and it was raining. Maybe next year he'll enjoy it.



Hanging out at Grandma and Grandpa Barney's House with Aunt Michelle and cousin Hailey. And of course his favorite, Tess, the big yellow dog.



Dressing up not as a fat animal. Cowboys and Super Hero's with capes are masculine and tough. See, I am not always saying he will be a fat boy.