This Is Halloween, This is Halloween....

Halloween is here. Hooray! Since I love if possibly more than any other holiday. I feel like we have already had sufficient Halloween celebration and there is still a week and the actual day to go. On Friday we had a ward party. It was fun to see all the kiddos dressed up. Kate loved the kiddie carnival, spent most her time at the coloring table (shocking I know) and cried when I tried to take her around for the trunk or treat, I think she was just tuckered out by then. She feel asleep on the way home in her car seat in her costume with a sucker half eaten in her hand and all over her face. Mind you it is only about a two minute drive.
On Saturday we had some friends over for a Halloween Party. Last year we did not have a Halloween Party and I really felt like something was missing from October. It was a fun excuse to make cute invitations, go all out decorating the house and make some of my favorite party food. We did a haunted scavenger hunt, Competitive Halloween Charades and a costume contest. In the end I think it was a success. All that is left now to make the holiday complete is to watch "The Nightmare Before Christmas" or some other scary film and hand out the rest of our candy.
Here we are- Senator McCain and Gov. Palin- we have been planning to be this for weeks. Jake came up with it because I am sometimes telling him that I think that in 60 years he will look a little like John McCain. Notice the campaign buttons I had to order on line. Also don't you think Jake looks pretty hot with white hair. I think we are decent look-a-likes. The fact that I am pregnant and showing I think just makes it a little funnier.
The party crew! There were some great costumes, I even think we were de-throned to the Littles for Best Costumes- they are the ones were the tacky Publisher's Clear House awarder and caught off guard house wife awardee. Cruella deVille, a pair of eyes, Screech and Lisa, a deer and Hunter, Speed Racer and Trixie, Three Witches, and Emergency Response Worker and a Blind Sports Ref completed the group.
Kate as an elephant at the ward party. It was a little difficult to think of something to go with our political theme- and Jeff and Amy came up with an elephant for me- Brilliant! Notice the color crayon in hand.

Tagged.

I often comply with tags, especially when they are so short and sweet.

Where is your cell phone? Purse
Where is your significant other? Work
Your hair color? Fake
Your mother? Giving
Your father? Adventurous
Your favorite thing? Sleep
Your dream last night? Bears
Your dream/goal? Vacation
The room you’re in? Living
Your hobby? Planning
Your fear? Loss
Where do you want to be in 6 years? Stress-free
Where were you last night? Couch
What you’re not? Comfortable
One of your wish-list items? Camera
Where you grew up? Heber
The last thing you did? Breakfast
What are you wearing? PJ's
Your TV? Basic
Your pet? Dirty
Your computer? Old
Your mood? Tired
Your car? Missing
Something you’re not wearing? Socks
Favorite store? Many
Your summer? Sick
Love someone? Katerade
Your favorite color? Orange
When is the last time you laughed? Yesterday
Last time you cried? Yesterday

Oh Boy!

Our first family photo of our family of four.

I'm at about 23 weeks now- over half way I keep telling myself. This week we got to go and get our ultrasound done. Kate and Jake came of course to find that we will be adding a little baby boy to Team Freeman in February. I was sure it was a girl too- so it was a fun surprise. We will be an even four some now. The doctors did find a small problem with his kidneys. They said not to get to0 worried yet-(do they know pregnant women at all?) and we would do another ultrasound in a few weeks to see if the problem is still there. Obviously we are a little concerned about the problem- but excited we get to have some extra ultrasounds in the weeks to come and more pictures to share. We actually have a lot more boy names than girl names- so that is a bonus. I did go through all of Kate's clothes and try to find all the gender neutral things to start putting in the new babies room- Sadly it turns out that most everything she has is pink, so I guess we will be just packing away a closet full of clothes. Last night we decided to move Kate into her big girl bed and get her used to not having the crib before we are even more desperate for sleep. She seemed very excited about it until we left her there- she kept getting up and crying. I'm not sure what I expected but I did not think it would take her an hour and a half to figure it out. She did sleep through the night in it though then this morning I heard her wake up and she came right to our room.
When it was warm Kate and I would go to the park everyday. Now that the weather has changed she is apparently missing the slides. At her Grandma's the other day she discovered how this steep grassy hill in their yard doubles and sliding fun. She would roll a little too much even and fall. She thought it was fun and she looked really cute doing it.

Pum Pums!

Everyday when we go outside Kate points across the street to our neighbors and says "pumpums". Yes the neighbors have about 25 pumpkins on their front porch- creatively decorated with hay and such, and Kate was a little jealous. We decided to go some pumpums of our own last night. I wanted going to the pumpkin patch to be a fun family event, a fun memory of us with Kate when she was our only child, her first chance it seems to really understand the fun of a holiday- we would wander through a field looking for the perfect pumpkin, take a hay ride and sip some cider. Good luck finding and actual pumpkin patch though. I believe there was one about 50 minutes away, but by the time Jake got off work and we made it there is would have been dark. I found a nursery in Kamas that had a "pumpkin patch"- but really it was just pumpkins sitting in piles. Better than the grocery store I suppose but I was really looking for a pick your own pumpkin... patch. All I have been able to find- within a reasonable distance are pumpkin piles. This place was kind and let us stay even though they were closing, we were able to get a few pumpkins and I guess in the end Kate is happy just to have pumpkins on her front porch too. Today we have gone out to see them twice and every time she passes the front door she says "pumpums". And even though they were just pumpkin piles it still seemed exciting to her.

Fall Food Begins

Well I actually can't claim that this is the first time I have been making pumpkin or spice goods, Spice Muffins and Pumpkin Cookies have already left the oven a few weeks ago and been finished off by eager mouths- namely mine. I tried a new fall treat yesterday and it was a big hit at our ward party so I thought I might share. I'm earning a bit of a reputation for making good treats lately but the credit for this goes to my mother-in-law, I saw her making something similar for a wedding open house spread this summer.

Ginger White Chocolate Cookies
2 1/4 cup flour
2 teas ground ginger
1 teas baking soda
3/4 teas ground cinnamon
1/2 teas ground cloves
1/4 teas salt
3/4 cup butter softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup sugar
white chocolate

Set oven to 350 and grease cookie sheets
Sift flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in a large bowl- set aside
Cream butter and 1 cup sugar in separate bowl- beat in egg then stir in water and molasses. Stir in dry ingredients that were set aside*. Roll into walnut sized balls, roll in left over sugar, set on cookie sheet.
Bake for 8-10 minutes
When completely cool (sometimes I set in the fridge to make sure they are really cool) melt white chocolate and drizzle criss cross across the top of the cookies set on wax paper.
* if you prefer- you can mix in white chocolate chips, it makes it a little easier, but the presentation is not as great, and I think the reason my treats always get great reviews is more how they look then what they taste like.
Hmmmm- now I am going to go eat some, it tastes like fall and I like it.

Orange you glad it is October?

As promised- a picture of the cat shirt Kate is obsessed with. I am pretty sure she is going to wear it everyday it is clean until I don't let her anymore. Here she is with one of the pumpkins from our garden. She calls them "Pumpums" and apparently thinks you eat them too.

A Grocery Store of Treasures

It is not that often when I find one new thing that makes my life easier or better, let alone three in one week. They are just little things I found I really liked while grocery shopping this week and I thought I would share my finds. All three in fact have to do with making this second trimester a little bit more comfortable. Since I am still very miserably throwing up several times a day I would say every little bit counts.
The first is this Aveeno Ultra Calming Night Cream. I have been getting that hideous pregnancy mask of blotching skin and found that this cream gets rid of it mostly, at least enough that I can easily cover the rest with makeup. Not only that it is pretty cheap and I just found it at Smith's.
The second is this Mega Shower Foamer from Scrubbing Bubbles. It makes cleaning the shower and tub so easy it is hardly any work at all. I have used it on toilet bowls and sinks as well. Less time cleaning the shower means more time to take a nap- just what I need! Plus I like the way it smells- sometimes I spray it in the tub just so it smells good.
The third is Tostitos Medium Queso. What have I been craving this pregnancy?- orange juice and what I call "Hot Nachos", which are the kind of nachos you buy at gas stations or sporting events. I know gross right- even Jake has questioned me if I know how long that cheese has been sitting in the convenient store before I beg him a second time to run a get me some "Hot Nachos". When I was making a grocery list this week, I asked Jake if he needed anything, his response "nacho cheese". He is either beyond grossed out that I eat them from gas stations, sick of me saying at 9:00 at night that I sure could go for some, or never wants to go to the gas stations for the sole purpose of bringing me back my hearts desire again. Either way buying this Tostistos cheese was a great idea, and it is maybe even more delicious, especially with a side of orange juice.
Do you have any great new finds lately? All I know is if it was my birthday nobody would have a good excuse for not knowing what to get me now. Aveeno, Shower Cleaner and Nacho Cheese is sure to put a smile on my face- well at least for this week.

A Little more Kate

So she is not 18 months yet, just a few more days- so I am counting these as her milestone pictures. At 18 months what is Kate like? She likes corn dogs and going to the park. She likes coloring, especially when she tells you what animal to draw, dancing, imitating animals and smelling flowers. She is great at getting her clothes and shoes on, getting in the car, taking her afternoon nap and taking care of her stuffed animals and babies. She loves singing but usually only gets the first or second word of song like "A,B," or "Head" no "C" and no "shoulders". She loves playing with other kids and reading a 400 page Reader's Digest Nature in America Book, no seriously we read this for more than an hour everyday. She is really looking forward to October- this I know because every morning she tries to get a shirt I bought her with a black cat on it for Halloween. When I get a shirt out of her closet she will go back to the closet and point up and "Meow" when she sees I have not gotten the right shirt out to wear. I am sure a picture of her in this shirt will make its appearance on the blog shortly as well.

She hardly needs me anymore.

Kate is growing up a lot lately- She attends nursery and happily, she gets her own diapers when she needs changing, she kneels and says Amen when we pray and now she is punishing herself when she does something wrong.
Kate is generally very good. She rarely does something to warrent a "no" from us unless she is asked to sit still for more than ten minutes. Mostly we haven't had to do much parenting up to this point. Even on the rare occasions when she does do something wrong we don't do anything except tell her "no". But realized that lately she understands what "no" means but was not listening. We figured it was time to try and attach a new consequence to the word when she didn't listen and try our hand at some actual parenting.
Jake and I have been experimenting with "time out". The first time was a few weeks ago when we made her sit on a pillow on the floor. She didn't like it at the time, but later even that night sat there like it was some kind of game. So we took away the pillow. Kate was in time out two times this weekend because even after being told no and warned she was going into time out she continued to do what she had been asked not to. The first time- I could hardly help myself from laughing as Jake made her sit in the corner of the entry way and count to ten. She was crying hysterically- and it seemed only because she knew her Dad was mad at her. The second time she knew what to do and sat there patiently. Then yesterday she was getting into the desk, something she knows not to do, and Jake told her "no" a few times. When she didn't listen he said "Do you want to go in time out". She promptly walked over to the corner in the entry way on her own and sat down and looked at us sadly. We counted to ten and then told her she could get up and were clapping and offering hugs because- well it is hard to be mean- and also because our child is a genius and knows how to put herself in time out. It is funny I was so proud of her for knowing how to punish herself. I guess our time outs have been effective- but it is sad to see our little girl sad because we took away the fun. Except for church really maybe- being Kate's parent has been all a joy thus far. I know there will come a day when this is bound to change but- she even in her cute way made time out a little bit of a joy- watching her learn and be obedient.

The Best Sandwich Ever!

I'm in the mood to blog today, probably because my house is clean, I feel alright and kate is napping well. This is a fun little post called the best sandwich ever- in case you didn't read the title. Jake and I have perfected the sandwich. We have been eating this for lunch and some dinners for the past week or so, not to mention often before that. It is delicious if made to our exact instruction. When we eat them Jake always says that he wants to take the sandwich apart and each each layer one by one because everything inside is so good. True honey but really it is the calculated formula that makes the perfection.

Start with really good bread- preferable with a cheese base although a good sourdough will do. Buy canned jellied cranberry like your grandma buys at thanksgiving- mash it up in a separate bowl, then slather on one side of the bread. The next layer is good thinly sliced Provolone Cheese- two pieces if you have it. Next some slow roasted turkey breast- which you may just have to buy a whole turkey and cook it for, shredded not sliced and salt and peppered lightly before being placed on the sandwich. Then a green leaf lettuce-not iceberg, tomato and avocado previously salt and peppered before being placed on the sandwich as well. The last layer is a delicious sauce you make on the side before putting on the other piece of bread. It is four tablespoons mayo, four tablespoons of sour cream (and don't use fat free) and one tablespoon of mustard- just the cheap yellow kind all mixed together. You will also want a spoonful of this on your plate to dip the finished product into. So we are being a little silly, but I promise that it will be the best sandwich you ever made at home.
Plus I think it has every category in the food pyramid so that makes it healthy too. Mmmmmm!

My Little Sister Rocks!

Today Kate and I got to get up early and go see my little sister Ali who is a senior , compete in the homecoming pageant at Wasatch High. Kate was really into it and loved dancing along to all the contestants talents, but of course none compared to Ali. She sang and played a song she wrote and - no bias here- honestly was the best, most purely talented contestant. She rocks! She won though she probably would prefer not to be the homecoming queen in the end, but she certainly seemed to have the most fans in the audience. I have had the song she sung stuck in my head all day- now that is a good song. I should see if she has uploaded anything to youtube and put the link here so you all can hear.

It was a little fun to be in the same high school halls I attended 9 years ago, with a child in my belly and another in my arms. I can remember being in those same halls being so concerned about silly things in contrast to now and how happy I am just to hang out with Kate. I thought this would be a great post to add my high school tag post too. I feel like I have been tagged with this 5 or 6 times in the last two weeks by family and friends. I would say I don't like doing these tags, but I sure enjoy reading other people's so maybe my opinion of them needs to not be so negative. Here goes..

High School Tag
1. Did you date someone from your High School? Someone- to many someone's I think. Two in particular I continued to date off and on through high school and college. It was fun to have boyfriends in high school and it helped make me the person I am, but I surely took it too seriously and wish I wouldn't have been so dramatic. I thought at 17 my life SHOULD be like an episode of Friends and that was silly.
2. What kind of car did you drive?
Amy and I shared a really decent Ford Explorer it was turquoise and gray. It didn't have an air conditioner or a very good heater, but it did have a tape player. Funny enough I can only remember us fighting over who got the car maybe two times.
3. What was the most embarrassing moment of High School for you?
Thankfully I was not often embarrassed back then even though I did a lot of stupid things because I thought I was too cool, but my mom coming to soccer practice to get some kind of coaching license is most likely to still make me cringe.
4. Were you a party animal? I was always at a party with lots of people, but partying in Heber would not be considered a good time in most places. There were no drugs or alcohol, or even really loud music.
5. Were you considered a flirt? No, at least I don't think so. Others might say otherwise.
6. Were you in Band, Orchestra, or Choir? Not a one, although I think it would have been fun maybe, at the time I viewed them as less than worthy (meaning kind of nerdy) activities.
7. Were you a nerd? No, at the time I would have likely told you I was one of the most popular people at school, but looking back I am sure this is completely inaccurate and I was likely not quite as cool as I perceived myself.
8. Were you on any Varsity teams? I did play soccer all four years and lettered, but I didn't really "play" all that much. I wasn't a star, but I did enjoy running around in the cool crisp Fall air with some of my favorite girls.
9. Did you ever get suspended/expelled? No, although I did break into the high school once with a few friends in the middle of the night my senior year to pull some April Fools jokes on some of our fav. teachers and administration. We were fingered, but didn't get in trouble like I think we maybe should have. The administration thought me and my friends were pretty cool too, so we got away with a lot.
10. Can you still sing the fight song?
Not a chance. In fact today they sang it at the homecoming assembly and I had no idea what they were singing about. I don't know if I ever could sing it.
11. Who were your favorite teachers? Mr. Moss who taught television and Mrs. Southerland who taught AP English. They were the kind of teachers who treated me and my friends with respect and like adults.
12. Where did you sit during lunch? I feel like esp. towards the end of school we hardly got lunches trying to get everything done with all the club meetings and stuff. We did eat at Wendy's a lot, and the grocery store, but the best thing we ever did was a too short lived Joy Lunch Club, where 10-40 of my closest friends showed up at someones house and had their mom's make us lunch. It kind of got to big and the mom's couldn't keep up, so we went back to Wendy's drive thru.
13. What was your school's full name? Wasatch High School: Home of the Wasps.
14. School mascot? A wasp. When people ask me what High School I went to and i say Wasatch no doubt their next question will be "Aren't you guys a bee or something?" Apparently a wasp didn't strike fear into the hearts of neighboring schools.
15. Did you go to Homecoming? With who? My school had I think four or five formals each year. I went to all of them, but we didn't always go with the person we were dating. I could get asked by anyone and pretty much was expected to say yes no matter who it was. When I explained this tradition to Jake he said "asking someone else's girl to a dance would seriously have got you shot at my school". Yes but it made it lots of fun in Heber, plus it was hardly an intimate date because we usually went in groups of 30 or more people.
16. If you could go back and do it again, would you? No, it was fun, but I wouldn't trade it for being with my hubby and daughter now. Although it was nice to have the most stressful thing in my life be deciding what to do on the weekend.
17. What do you remember most about graduation? I remember being really sad, and had a hard time splitting up my time between everyone I wanted to be with.
18. Where did you go Senior Skip Day? The school had a trip to Lagoon but I was with 15 or so friends in Moab and Mesa Verde for the long weekend and it was so much fun
19. Were you in any clubs? I was in a lot of clubs, but never did too much with them. I feel like for the most part they were just college resume builders for me.
20. Have you gained some weight since then? No- well at the moment only because I am pregnant, but I think I actually lost 5 lbs or so since my Senior Year of High School. I think because I worked at a delicious cafe where I could eat for free whenever I worked. Between having to buy my own food and not eating at work freshman year of college was like an automatic diet. Either way I like the body I have (when I am not prego) more now than then. I am surely more comfortable with it.
21. Who was your Prom Date? I went to both Prom's funny enough with boys who were not at the time but later became serious relationships. Prom was fun, but not that big of a deal, like it seems to be in other schools. Except that we did do promenade Jr year, where we learned a dance with our dates and performed them in front of our parents and grandparents. I actually like learning formal dance, so the learning was fun plus it was just hours with all our friends, but the performing seemed silly.
22. 10 year Reunion? I hope I will go, I hope we have one, but I have been lucky to see most of the people who I was closest too at least once a year since then at little get together, weddings and christmas parties.
23. Looking back, what advice would you give yourself? I would tell myself to have more fun. Not make things so dramatic, and not try to do everything and work so much but to spend more time with the people who were most important to me then. I would also tell myself to be nicer to people, I was not the best friend to my closest friends sometimes.

Some of my blog followers are friends from this era in my life. It would be interesting to hear how their memories differ from mine. I wouldn't want to do High School again, but I might not mind doing college over. It was fun, and there are things I would change. Somebody should make a college tag post, I would enjoy even more talking about then. Jake and I- especially since we share several years of college together often say when we are stressed about jobs and money and such that we wish we were in college again. I guess ever era of life has something we will miss as we move on.

Lions, Tigers and Brown Hair- oh my

Kate has a new obsession. Lions, Tigers and all other predatory cats. I had mentioned her successful "roaring"lessons before. It has been taken to a whole-nother-level. She watched the LION KING at her grandma's last weekend when Jake and I went to the temple. We brought it home with us because we heard it had been a big hit. We watched it together. There was roaring, neighing, and other commenting through out. I'll admit to letting her watch at least part of it every day since. She just loves it so much and plus give me a break I don't feel good. Then grandma brought over a giant tiger that was ours when we were kids that had been hidden away in a closet. The roaring has taken over, it starts in morning, she points at the tv and roars. It is hilarious, I love that she has something she likes so much.

On another note, I colored my hair brown. Really I have not been blonde since I was 23, it started going dark then and has been getting darker and darker since (well not that anyone knew because I lightened it every month). I went to my hair stylist (Jake hates when I say that- he thinks it sounds snobby), and asked her to get me back to my roots, so that I won't have to dye it anymore. Sounds easier, maybe not as pretty, but easier and cheaper too. She convinced me to go a little darker than my roots because it was going to be hard to cover the blonde. I think it is too dark, and am not in love with it, but think I will after a second take and maybe some fading. I am sure I will like not dying it eventually. I figure I will likely dye out my gray hair when they come, so why not have easy natural colored hair while I can. Well that is my intent anyway. We will see how long it lasts. I don't feel as pretty without my blonde hair. Look at the picture in my last post. It was blonde, longer and curly, it has been a dramatic change. Sorry for this bad picture, I actually took several but I am just not good at taking picture of myself, I just always miss. At least I look more like my parents and siblings for the moment, but I don't like that I don't match Kate.

Hey Baby!

I thought I would share some more about the new baby news since my only post thus far was mostly a complaint. Jake, Kate and I are going to become a family a four on or around ( and hopeful this time before) February 24, 2008. Making me about 16 weeks along or so. We are excited and most of all surprised. Shocked, completely caught of guard and a little slow.
The first week of April or so I was really sick. I kept telling Jake I was so sick it felt like I was pregnant. He told me it was probably just the flu but if I felt pregnant I should stop just talking about it and go get a test- how practical of him. So I did, it came up neg, and shortly there after Jake came down with a flu and thus ended our thoughts that I was pregnant.
A few weeks later, late May say, I felt the same way again. This time more sure I was just sick, plus I had been a little stressed maybe that was part of the reason I kept getting the flu. Not to mention getting pregnant with Kate took around 18 months longer than planned, several Dr's, tests, drugs, and lots of frustration and tears, the chance that I was accidentally pregnant seemed uber unlikely. The icky feeling stuck around, week after week, and was just too familiar to how I had spent six month of 2006. I just kept thinking, why am I so sick, maybe I am pregnant this time, but I don't want to be silly like last time and spend twenty dollars on a test just to tell me that I am really sick, plus if I am not pregnant, than I am really sick. Maybe I should go see a Dr. Kate had her 15 month appointment while Jake was at scout camp. While there I had a consult with the gen practitioner. We decided to take a blood test, to test for babies, low iron and other abnormalities that could be causing me to vomit, faint and be exhausted. He called later to tell me my blood showed a baby in the works.
At this point I had been sick for two months, but I was still surprised. I had to wait three days to tell Jake, when he got home from Scout Camp (this years scout camp blessing I guess). Till then just Kate and I shared the secret. We waited a few weeks and started sharing the news. Of course I was about 9 weeks pregnant when I finally figured it out.
So now we are counting down the weeks until February. Kate and baby #2 will be about 22 months apart. We really think we are just too young to have two kids, and think it is hilarious almost how easily this baby came. The thought of adding to our family had not crossed our minds seeing as how my body only had one month off between nursing Kate and being pregnant again. But what more could be want than another Kate in our lives! The summer months of pregnancy were daunting to me, to be so sick and care for Kate, but with the cooler weather has come some relief and I am only throwing up once or twice a day now, which seems much more manageable.
We don't have our ultrasound till a little late- Oct 17, but I just can't wait to see a healthy baby boy or girl and start going through all of Kate's old clothes organizing and such.

10 Signs the Freeman's have Big News!

10. I am managing to sleep up to 15 hours a day on the weekends and am still exhausted.
9. The only thing I can eat before 11:00 am is the broth from the Creamy Chicken Cup of Noodles, but after 6:00 pm I can easily consume an entire box of Cheez-its.
8. Did you know that you can throw up out of your mouth, nose and eyes? Serious vomiting happening here people.
7. I find it completely reasonable that my husband should wake up with Kate each morning, go to work for 9 hours, come home make dinner, put Kate to bed and rub my feet for an hour.
6. I can't remember what it is like to breath out of my nose. ( I am so congested)
5. Though I managed to get back down to my pre pregnant 110lbs for a whole two months, I am already 10 lbs on my way to my most pregnant 168lb and have considered bringing back the all velor suit as an appropriate outfit to wear out to eat.
4. My mouth and all water tastes like metal, and I am therefore using a bottle of mouthwash a week and only drinking Rootbeer, Diet Coke and Orange Juice.
3. My house looks like we were in a hurricane, Jake even felt like the bathrooms needed to be cleaned and proceeded to clean one without being asked.
2. I have actually gone to Wendy's and McDonalds to purchase a spicy chicken sandwich two weeks in a row doubling the amount of fast food I have eaten this year.
1. The doc says to expect to meet #2 in about 24 weeks.

So I thought this was just a funny way to break the news to the blog. A lot of family and friends already know, and if they don't it is probably because they are too polite to ask me why i have gained ten lbs in the past two weeks. The 10 things has a negative tone, but really we couldn't be more delighted about having baby #2. I have lots more to say on the subject ( like "I'm pregnant???) and I am sure you do to so I will be over blogging about it for the next several months so I will just leave you with this for now.

Labor Day at the Pool

Though Jake and I have lived in Heber for a long time now, and heard a lot about the fun pool the Summit County rec center has, we had never made our way there until yesterday. We are so glad we did. They have tons of stuff for kids to climb on, two water slides, one which Kate went on all by herself, and the other she loved going down with her parents. They also have a lazy river, and the best part is that it is all indoors and all heated- meaning I will actually get in! Also it is only a foot in parts so Kate could walk around and though it took her a minute to be sure it was safe, by the end she didn't want to leave and when we got out was saying "waaw" and pointing trying to say she wanted to get back in. Also we went around 9:30 am and there were only two other small families, but by 11:00 it was getting a lot busier. Also they charge you a ton for plastic pants which they require children under two wear even over a swim diaper, so I suggest if you are going to go make sure you have some and bring them. Sorry for the lame picture of Kate, she was having too much fun to even look at me for a second. Here is there link
http://www.ssummit.k12.ut.us/ssafc.cfm?subpage=291393.
If you live near by or are in the area visiting you should try it out. Especially in the winter. Indoor water park made for little kids- what could be better. I think kate and I might look into a pass there we had so much fun.

Can we Start over?

Well everything is set now for the 2008 election year. We have been narrowing down who will run for well over a year now. Obama and McCain accepted nominations and announced their V.P. candidates this week. What I think. I want to start over. I can't even believe that we believe that these pairs are the most fit to lead our country.I don't know that I would vote for anyone of them to even be a governor. Usually I am proud to cast my vote on election day, but I am almost dreading it now. I don't really think anyone of these four is qualified to be the president and can't find myself backing anyone. I was not pleased with the choice between Obama and McCain and had hoped that their VP picks might give me more trust in one party or the other. Sadly neither of my preferences, Hillary or Romney were given much consideration. Now what will I do? I'm not voting for any four of these guys!

My Name is WHAT? My Name is What?

To the right on my blog I keep a list of things Kate says. Partially so when I get around to updating her baby book I will remember and also because I think it is fun for everyone to see. Kate is almost 17 months old now. She started saying "Dad" and "Dog" the other two members of the family back before Christmas when she was eight months old. And as you can see by the list of her most recent speech, she is not behind by any stretch in this department. She even has several two word phrases like "whats that" or "Hi Dad". She makes every possible animal sound, and even almost gets how to pretend, when we pretend that we are cougars and chase around or pretend we are a horse and give her a ride she will make the appropriate sound. Other common words she uses daily are "more", "jesus", "piggies", "hippie","dipping" and almost every part of the body... you get the picture. She is not slow of speech. But for some reason she just has not said mom. There was a short lived time where she said "Meem" which we thought could be "Mom", some "Mom sounds that didn't really seem to be associated with me, and more often than not she would just call me "Dad" too. In fact, when I lead the music in sacrament she sits with her Dad and points at me and yells for the entire congregation to hear "Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad" when we are suppose to be singing. It is possible that there has just not been a real need for her to use my name. It is not like she has to call me ever, we are almost always together. This must be the reason why after just 17 months she is finally figuring out my name is not also "Dad" but "Mom"! It seems that I can finally put "Mom" in that side bar as words she now says. I did conceive, grow and birth her, not to mention nurse her for a year and attend to her every need every minute of the day. I guess it is about time she learned what my name is.

Lucky Scottsdale!

My sister Amy and her family moved to Scottsdale, AZ about a week and a half ago. It didn't seem that far until a few days ago. Amy called me, as she is bound to do at least once a week, but it was after five. Seldom do we call each other when our spouses are home from work because we try to save our calls to entertain some of our more boring mommy down time during the day. When i got off the phone with her, I commented to Jake that it was unusual for her to call around dinner just to say hello. He informed me it was not five yet for her, because Arizona has different time than we do. No they are not in a different time zone, they just don't think day light savings applies to them. This made Arizona seem far away. Far away enough that we don't even have the same time. Scottsdale is silly for not doing daylight savings like the rest of us, but they are lucky they have the carpenters now.
Before Amy left I took some family pictures for them. This one is my favorite though it doesn't include Jeff.... sorry Jeff, but I know you are getting used to being left out of our family pictures by now anyways.

She is ready to start the season. She even has her "roar" down when we as her what a Cougar says. The best part is that she swipes her "paw" across in the air like a predatory cat as she says it. Or maybe the best thing is how I heard her "roaring" in her room late at night, so I went to see if she was awake, but she was not, she was just dream "roaring". Hilarious! The brain washing has been successful.

Oh the Blogging World.

A few months ago my ever talented -can do husband showed me how to track the hits on my blog. The tracking can't show me exactly who is looking, but it can show me what cities my hits are coming from, and what blogs traffic is linking from. I don't check this information often but I did today. What I found was very interesting. I noticed that I have tons of hits in cities where I don't know anyone, or at least know that I know anyone. Two cities in particular, one in Arizona and one in California. Who are you? I know you are looking. I also see that I have had over 500 different visitors- and around 50 regular visitors, those who view the site twice a month or more. This is also interesting since only about 8 of you ever leave comments. I am found of the blog and the connections it brings. I don't mind the strangers that stumble upon our lives and take some of it in, I don't mind that some of you who I don't really know well repeatedly visit my blog, I just wanted to let you know I know, so you might as well say something, leave a comment. You obviously find what I post and my life interesting as you keep coming back for more, so give it up, say hello, say something. I can see you silently starring and it is a little rude.

Celebrate

There was a lot to celebrate in July, but with Jake's bar we just didn't get to do much partying. So to make up for it Jake and I finally "got away" for the weekend. Okay so we only went to Midway, but we left Kate with her grandma (the first time she has been away for the night) and went on our own little vacation. Jake and I always talk about going on little trips, doing fun things, but when we seriously start planning we realize that we are just too responsible with our money and never purchase that cruise or airfare to somewhere fun. The solution-a half vacation which we have actually done before in Salt Lake. We had so much fun attending an outdoor theater at Sundance, staying and the Zermatt, going out to eat, swimming like Olympians and most amazingly sleeping in till our hearts content. It was a wonderful weekend, and good thing because we had a lot of July celebrating to make up for. Happy 26th birthday to me, Happy 5 year wedding anniversary to us, Happy Jake is done studying for the stressful CA BAR, Yes we did have a busy July!

More Olympic Thoughts

Jake and I have the TV on way to much lately. NBC is getting all the attention with the Olympics. Previously I doubted how into this year I would be when I didn't love the Opening Ceremonies. I did enjoy it in the playback and have continued to enjoy this years Olympic experience. I have stayed up way to late waiting for outcomes from the other side of the world. I do have other thoughts though, things I am just not loving. I am just not loving the way the Chinese are representing themselves. I was disappointed to hear about the lip sync scandal, where the seven year olds voice was heard but another girl lip synced during the Opening because the seven year old was deemed not attractive enough to represent her country. Also they are either starving their gymnasts to prevent them from going through puberty or they are totally lying about their age. I am fairly certain after the games our girls will be awarded the team gold when they discover that the Gymnasts put forward from the Chinese are really 12, below the legal age to compete. I am also sick of the Michael Phelps show. I realize he is amazing. I am excited that an American is breaking all those records, but I feel like it is rude to the other amazing athletes and swimmers to only talk about Phelps. His name is said more than any other, more than "The United States" even I bet. He is great, but I get it, he is great, let us hear about others who are great and see other sports aside from swimming, volleyball and gymnastics. Maybe coverage would also be improved if the commentators didnt just make predictions the whole time but shared interesting stories and facts about the athletes and their sports. Maybe the could not talk at all and their could be VH1 style pop ups in the corner telling us how Michael Phelps doesn't produce lactic acid like most humans, or how the mens volleyball star grew up on welfare, or how the rules in the Czech for water polo are different than in the US. I guess I was just really looking forward to this years Olympics and getting into it like in years past and it just hasn't happened.

Opening Ceremonies

I'm watching the Opening of the Olympics on NBC right now. I have been preparing to watch all week, and by preparing I mean watching the Today show and taking on their complete opinion for who I should cheer for and everything else Chinese. I have been looking forward to the ceremony and even contemplated having a gathering a friends over for Chinese food and watching them. I'm glad I didn't. I am not finding them very entertaining. Perhaps I am just not in the mood even though they are being hosted by my imaginary best friend Matt Lauer. Perhaps watching on my small television interrupted by commercials pales in comparison to the live version, of which I was privileged to see when the Olympics were in SLC. Perhaps I am just tired of being alone with Kate with Jake off to another Young Men's event. Perhaps it is the lack of good food in my house to eat, maybe a couple pounds of fortune cookies like they sell and the foreign foods market on Bulldog would have made the evening more complete. I'm disappointed. I am sure I will enjoy watching the events still and get teary eyed at the stories. but it hasn't started with the bang that I had hoped for.

On another note my daughter is no longer a baby. I realized this week that she is a little girl. Her interests have changed dramatically in the last week. She use to like books and the dog and most any of her baby toys. Now she is obsessed with dolls and babies, her play horses in their barn, necklaces and fake jewelry and she just colored in my lap for over 30 minutes. Along with all of this has come the enjoyment of cuddling... hooray.. and lots of hugs. I guess now that she is old enough it is time to start planning her Olympic path in gymnastics, if we can get her away from her coloring books that is.

California wears me out!

Well it has been a long week and I am exhausted! Jake and I left for California on Sunday morning. It took us over 13 hours to get to Fresno. We spent about a day there before we said goodbye to Jake while we stayed with his parents. He was off to Sacramento to take his California bar. While he spent three days writing and trying to recall information he learned three years ago I spent three hours a day napping and another one watching What Not to Wear. It was stressful, painful and boring, not for me but him, but I am sure he did wonderful. And we will get the results around Thanksgiving. Of course one of the reasons that pushed him to take the test is that he paid for it two years ago before he decided to take the Utah bar instead and that money is held for two years. This test costs over $1000 to take so it seemed worth it, until we actually found out that our two years expired just days before the test almost as we were packing the car to leave. Oh well we will just re pay, but this is such our luck. I hitched a ride with my Mom to Los Banos mid week, about an hour away, to visit with my grandparents for two days. Then Jake swung back to pick us up as he traveled from Sacramento to Fresno. We spent a few more days in Fresno with his family. Even extra family was around because his sister was having an open house for her wedding a few weeks ago. We spent some time on the farm, swimming, boating at the lake- Kate loved the boat- at the new cabin, and seeing The Dark Knight, which was spectacular and also the first movie Jake and I have seen in a theater in over a year and a half. I know pathetic right. On Sunday morning early we headed back to Heber, for another 13 plus hour drive in the heat of the day through the desert. This time with Lisa and Rodney's wedding presents,more luggage,and two hitchhikers (DeeAnn and my Mom). Like I said we are exhausted but it was fun to get away.

Lisa and Rodney's Wedding

Lisa and Rodney were married on Saturday. It was so much fun to be together as a family. Every member of the Freeman family was there minus two sick Mesa Freeman's. Here are some of the pictures. **Family- if you want a copy of all the pictures on a CD leave a comment and make sure I have your address and I will send one out to you**

Zoo Day

About a week ago Jake and I took Kate to the Zoo in Salt Lake. I have wanted to for a while, but it seems things always come up so it was real last minute and it turned out that we didn't really need very long at the zoo anyways. Three hours was plenty of time to see all the animals and stop for a small lunch. I had this really great video of Kate "reading" the zoo map, but sadly deleted it because I am not sure how to work my new camera yet. Too Bad :( It took Kate a minute to warm up to what was going on but then she got into it. She started "Neighing" to anything big and really liked the boars and especially the birds... any birds... even the birds just around the park eating leftover picnic dinners. She would point and say "Bir, Bir, Bir". She also liked the giraffes but then got distracted when a butterfly flew by. Jake had to carry her most the time though because she didn't like being in the stroller and she couldn't really see in it anyway. It was fun to share her first zoo day with her. She makes everything so fun.

A Blog Vacation

Dear Blog and Blog Readers
Do you feel neglected? I seem to have been away for a little while. I guess I have been writting but I haven't been spending my normal 20 minutes each morning catching up on the latest in the blogosphere. Many of you have new posts I have yet to read and comment on. What can I say it has been a slow week.... and I don't have a camera so I can't even just post cute pictures of the Katerade. Jake is away at scout camp this week. It is only Thursday, but I miss him so much. It is funny because Jake and I have been apart for a week straight many times through out our marriage, for many reasons, scout camp, business trips, family trips. I usually feel bad that I don't miss him more, but enjoy the time to myself. I usually get a ton of stuff done, enjoy organizing and working in the yard, spending time with friends, shopping. This time has been different. I think it is because I know Kate misses Jake too so I feel the missing for the both of us. Plus it has been a different week. First I was a little sick, then Kate had to get five shots and screamed her head off for over an hour and has a fever from them still two days later. I find that I can't sleep when Jake is not home. I should revel in the opportunity to go to bed early but I am up later than normal, especially when our 300 lb neighbor is shouting the f word hundreds of times into his cell phone in his front yard and I can hear him for over an hour and I debate whether or not to call the police... but that is another story. I certainly eat differently when Jake is not home. I went to the store and got all the food that I like, cut up fruit, smoothies, pico and chips. I made a dozen cookies and have eaten them for breakfast a few days. I love cold cookies. But I hate milk that has been open for more than two days. I think that is quirky of me. I don't enjoy watching the Family Feud at lunch and Seinfeld before bed like I usually do with Jake everyday. And I am really not spending that much time cleaning the house or working on other projects like I intended.
Jake and I have a running joke that we always get awesome blessings while Jake is at camp. In the past years we have sold our house for a profit, two years Jake got new jobs and we were finally able to get pregnant with Kate all either during or shortly after scout camp. Jake almost expects that the minute his cell phone regains reception as he is returning that he will get a call from me, or someone else with fabulous news. It is a bit of a joke, but it is so true. Not that he should be doing his calling for blessings, but I feel like we are living proof that the Lord is generous. So despite all this missing, and how much being a single parent just for a week stinks. I know it will be worth it. I dont mean to sound blasphemous but I wonder what we will get this year. Stay tuned I guess, cuz Scout camp is nearing its end. Perhaps a small fortune? A raise? somehow a free family vacation???? Maybe just the realization that I just can't live without Jake is blessing enough.
Oh but my birthday present Jake ordered as a surprise came in the mail today! And he is not here to stop me from opening it early!!!! But that doesn't count.

Happy 4th of July

There is no doubt that July is my favorite month, especially since there is a holiday every week for me. The 4th of July, My Birthday, The 24th of July and My Anniversary. I mean a holiday every week makes for one pretty great month. We started this holiday series out perfectly with an Anderson family reunion/ 4th of July/ 80th birthday party for Grandpa. With so many reasons to get together, almost every member of the Anderson clan... I believe 47 people, spent three days at my parents in Heberlandia. We were only missing a few. There were semi-non athletic competitions, a family feud, talent show and skit night, sing-a-long, birthday party and if you have never seen fireworks from my parents patio, you are missing out. You can see every firework from Charleston, Midway and Heber, not to mention we had our own fireworks and finished the evening with a campfire and smores. It was so fun to spend time with so many people that I love but don't get to see so often. Also a bonus, that I only live a few minutes a way so I was one of the lucky few that got a my own bed and shower :) Sadly my camera is a piece of junk so I stole all the pictures below from Amy. Hope your 4th was eventful !

July 4th 2008

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Oh Summer!

In the last eight days Jake and I hosted four BBQ's ( and attended a fifth) and I am confident I have met my quota of grilled meat and hot dogs for the next thirty days. I knew that BBQ I scored at Smith's for half off would get worn in quickly. I also started and completed four novels this week, the kind of novels that read quickly and didn't change my life. It really feels like summer vacation around here and I couldn't love it more. If only I had made it to the lake once or twice...

It is Official

I purchased five pounds of chicken nuggets in the shape of Dinosaurs at Costco today. I pretty sure that is my official induction into the motherhood of a toddler.

I have a new diet. Ok- really I am not the dieting type, especially fad diets... but I made this one up. It really has worked for me. I mean I have surely lost at least two pounds this week because of it. It is what I call the Ice Cream Sandwich Diet. I bought a ton of ice cream sandwiches for a BBQ we had with some ward families. We didn't end up needing them. There are 30 or so ice cream sandwiches sitting in our freezer. If there are treats in my house, I eat them. (Jake and I have embarrassingly been known to polish off an entire package of Oreos within 48 hours. We don't buy them anymore.) So I decided that if I was going to eat an ice cream sandwich, I should just eat it for lunch. I mean I am going to eat it. I am going to eat one everyday until they are gone. I might even eat two. Then it is possible I will buy more. There is no question about this. I just lack the will power to say no to a sandwich made of chocolate and ice cream. I will fill up on lunch and then just really want an ice cream sandwich. It is much easier for me to say no to a sandwich made of meat and lettuce. So I have a sandwich for lunch everyday.... an ice cream sandwich that is... and no dessert. I told Amy about this. She thinks it is brilliant.

This is not going to be pretty!

Let me start by saying I forgive you if you attended the University of Utah, if you have a love for the red and white, you may not want to read this..... or we might have a fight on our hands. Normally I reserve my mostly in fun rivalry towards the U for football season.... and even then don't really care, but I can see from this point forward I am going to be really pulling for the Cougs whenever they have a chance to smash those Utes. Yes this is going to be one of those posts mentioned in my "100th post" post...."mostly about Kate and things I am MAD about". If you live in Utah you have likely heard about the information theft that occurred with the University of Utah's medical records.... if not read about it here.
Basically somebody stole a bunch or personal information... SSN, DOB's, medical records etc from their patients. And sticking with the unlucky universe I face everyday, of course I was one of them. I was a patient there for my eye surgery last fall, not only did I end up getting some surgery that didn't work, and another specialist questioned it was even done correctly, and then when I was almost blind because of it they wouldn't call be back for weeks even though i called and left a message every day and then even though I couldn't even drive because the surgery caused so much scar tissue making things worse they wouldn't make me an appointment for three months until I practically threatened a malpractice suit.... now that one regrettable experience has turned into another. Not only is this claimingly "acclaimed" medical facility serving out unnecessary surgeries and poor customer service, now they are also serving my identity (which I work so hard to protect) to low lives and slackers ready to prey on my perfect credit score. What are they offering to correct this mistake. Well they sent me a letter dated June 16th 2008 informing me they are having a conference to discuss these issues on June 10, 2008... "information that could have been useful yesterday" and giving me credit MONITORING for a year. Thanks guys you really know how to right a wrong..... oh that is not what I meant to say... what I meant was... I think you treat your customers even worse than Home Depot.... if that is even possible.

Little Kate is teething like crazy. You can see her showing off her four little teeth in the one picture. She is cranky all the time now, not my little girl. So here is a picture to remember that she is usually a happy girl. Yesterday we got this smile with Tylenol. No not giving it to her, but letting her chew on the children's dropper. Apparently nothing beats it on swollen gums. The other picture is just typical Kate touching the camera behavior. Sometimes I fear we have more pictures of Kate's hand than her. And of course sticking her tongue out usually makes her more successful in her efforts.

Daddy Pictures

I made Jake and Kate come with me to the "old town" Heber to take some belated father's day pictures. They may have been cute except that our sometimes cooperative model was obsessed with all the rocks on the ground and would get upset whenever Jake picked her up. If you look close I am pretty sure she has at least one rock in hand in every picture I took, plus she wouldn't wear the cowboy hat I had for her... I know shocking right. I guess all the matters it that Kate has got the most wonderful, funnest, and hottest dad around.

She IS Part Canine

We all know that Kate loves dogs, and I admit to using this love to my own advantage. For example when Kate is cranky I let the dog in the house, that usually cheers her right up. I even let Cola "babysit" Now before you judge me what I mean is give Kate a handful of Chex to feed the dog through a sadly ghetto hole in the kitchen screen door while I make dinner. This wonderful parenting technique... can I call it that?... does have it side effects as it seems that hole is getting bigger and bigger and now apparently big enough to fit a 14month old human through. Yes Kate has created her own doggie door and used it today for the first time :( I ran over to stop here but she was quick as a puppy and made it all the way outside onto the deck before I could stop her so all that was left to do was take a picture. I feel like this post really highlights both my bad parenting skills and the run-down-ness of our home but I had to post it because I am pretty sure it is the funniest thing that has happened around here in days.
!!!Hilarious!!!

Junk

So this afternoon you will never guess what I did. I spent it on the phone with companies that drive me crazy with junk mail (ie, steven heneger, american express). Seriously my small mail box is full everyday with one or more ads from these people. The funny thing is that you can get a customer service rep right away, but then they transfer you to the "mail removal" department and there is a long phone wait. Don't they realize they are soliciting a little too much when they have to have an entire department for mail removal. Lets just say, I didn't even bother being polite. and when I say I was not polite I mean I told Steven Heneger that I would not longer being needing an ad a day from them as I actually had graduated from a reputable university unlike theirs, and my husband had his doctrite from a top university as well, thus no need for a fake college ...hey, its not like they are being polite. These companies send me a credit card application to my last three addresses in both my married and madien name several times a week, so they obviously dont care that I no longer live at these addresses, and haven't at some for over seven years, and they therefore obviously don't care if my identity gets stolen. At some times it was quite hilarious because the lady would ask what name I wanted removed and the address then go to say have a nice day and I would say wait there is more.... and continue with the other 6 or seven. And yes she would find six or seven on her computer. I did Jake's as well while i was at it. I have even been online to those stop junk mail sites but they don't seem to work. I am not really and environmentalist or anything, but I am pretty sure over 30 acres of the Brazilian rain forest have been sent to me piece by piece by Capital One in the last year alone. URRRR!

Pictures

On Saturday I got to go and take some engagements for Lisa and Rodney. It was really fun and easy since they are both really good looking. We did three small shoots around Provo and here is a picture from each one. Obviously some were just for fun. But I love the middle one, it reminds me of a perfume ad. I have always been into photography, but never really get a chance to do it, so it was a great opportunity to enjoy it and also learn a little.

Everyday Low Prices and a Bit of Wisdom

Yesterday Kate and I went to Wal-mart where we did indeed marvel at the everyday low prices. Smith's nor Day's our only options just can't compete with this wonder of the free market economy. While browsing the dish soap selection a young women approached me. I made a quick assessment of her based purely on her appearance. She was not threatening, cute, a little younger than I, fashionable dressed, we could possible be friends. Until she made a complete breech of the social rules to which we all adhere... you will soon see.
Her " Can I ask you a question"
Me (thinking she needs help choosing a cleaning supply) "sure"
Her "Do you like being a mother"
Me (very thrown off) "Well I like it, It is great" (what else am I suppose to share with this stranger)
Her something like "is it all you every wanted"
Me "It is great... pretty great" (nodding my head wondering what she really wants from me)
Her " I am changing roles soon and I am just curious how my life will change"
Me "Are you becoming a mother?"
Her "No I am getting married and I am just not sure about taking on this new role as a mother and wife"
Me "Well I was a wife for a few year before becoming a mother, it is all great... pretty great" (is this sufficient enough counsel to get you on your merry and strange way?)
Her "Well your daughter is cute" (Her getting I am not interested in sharing the details of my personal life with strange her in asile 16)

Perhaps our world would be a better place if we all looked for and took advice from those we meet as we run errand about our day, but to me it was a little akward, and a little sad. I hope this seemingly normal gal had somewhere else to turn for advice and life guidance than a woman shopping for dish soap. Perhaps she could get a blog where family and friends could come together and share with her, her hopes and dreams. If you are, like her, thinking of asking the next random stranger you meet whether or not you should change jobs, break up with your girlfriend, have a third child, or get a nose job don't do it. You can ask me. I know you and could offer advice- I don't know everything, but I am sure to offer something more constructive than the person behind you at the bank.

Swimming and Backyard Fun

See that dimple high on her cheek. That is exactly the same as mine, but those eyes are 100% Jakes. Man she is just fabulous.
Sometimes my favorite pictures are the silly ones.

Kate and I have been hanging out just the two of us a lot lately. Poor Jake has been working every minute with everything he has going right now. Of course I have been taking pictures of every thing. Here she is swimming in her little pool and playing with Cola. Don't you wish they made cute swim suits in wetsuit style for adults too?