Shopping

"In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun.

Find the fun, and *snap,* the job's a game." - Mary Poppins

I've never been a fan of grocery shopping. As a teenager I usually chose to stay in the car if I had to go to the grocery store with my mom. Once I started doing my own shopping it got a bit less distasteful, but it was still a chore I disliked immensely. Recently, though, I've discovered an "element of fun" - bargain hunting. Shopping has now become less a chore, and more a challenge to see how many products I can get for the smallest amount of money. I'm slowly getting better at this new game. For example, below is a picture of what I bought at CVS this morning:

How much did I pay for all this? -$1. Yes, CVS paid me one dollar to take this merchandise off their hands. :)
After we stopped by CVS we went to Publix where I got $117 worth of groceries (including a lot of fruits and veggies) for $55! I don't mind grocery shopping nearly as much any more. In fact, I love going to Publix. They treat us extremely well and Aubree gets so excited when she knows that's where we're going. On our trip today Aubree even got a balloon, to which she announced, "it's my favorite balloon ever!" I had hoped Bryce would sleep in the wrap while I was shopping today, but he had other plans. He really wanted to sit in the super-cool space shuttle cart with his sister, so I let him try. He lasted about 5 minutes and had a great time driving (or at least eating the steering wheel).

6 months old!

My baby just turned six months old. Incredible. That definitely warrants a Bryce-post, so here it is:

* On our trip to California I realized a couple things about Bryce. First, he loves to be outside. He's almost always calm and happy when we're outdoors. Second, he seems to enjoy new scenes, people, and places - as long as he's safely in my arms (he is a total mamma's boy). He likes to see new people and watch them and woo them with his dimply grin, but refuses to be held by others for more than a couple minutes.
* We still struggle with his daytime sleep. Some days are better than others, but he really fights sleeping which is frustrating (to put it mildly!). He will usually fall asleep in the jogging stroller when we're out "training," which is almost incentive enough to keep training! I keep thinking, "if only Bryce would take a couple good naps everything else will fall into place." Oh well. I suppose if naps are my main concern I have things pretty easy.
* Bryce LOVES to eat. I'm still taking the solid foods slowly, but I think he would eat all day, every day, given the chance. People keep telling me, "boys are vacuum cleaners!" I'm beginning to agree.
* Bryce seems to be surprisingly good at anticipating things. For example, he's almost always good in his car seat for about 20 minutes, but if the trip gets longer than that he typically starts crying. However, if I slow down or stop at a stop sign or red light, he will stop crying. When I again accelerate, the crying also begins again. I think he understands that when the car stops that usually means it's time to get out. He's a smart cookie.
* He sits up very well now and likes to play with (aka "eat") his toys. When put on his stomach he can spin himself in a circle, but he hasn't yet made any motions towards crawling. I have a feeling that he will be a much more content baby once he is able to move around on his own.
* Aubree and Bryce get along wonderfully, which makes me incredibly happy. Aubree wakes up every morning and asks to see and hold Bryce. The three of us cuddle in bed for a few minutes and Aubree will sing about how much she loves Bryce and what a great brother he is. She is rewarded with giggles and smiles (and sometimes pulled hair). It is one of my main goals as a mother to try to foster a strong relationship between Aubree and Bryce so it's thrilling when I see them interact in such a manner. I know it won't always be so great as Bryce gets older and there's more competition for toys and attention, etc..
* Speaking of Aubree, I was looking at pictures of her when she was six-months old and comparing them to how Bryce now looks. I don't think they look much alike. What do you think? Most people comment about how much Bryce looks like Mark.

Let the Birthday Season Begin!

It's been a busy and fun week. There's way too much to blog about all at once, so I'll start with the most important part - Mark had a birthday on Thursday and he is now 29! Twenty-nine must be a pretty great age since I know a lot of people who seem like they've been that age for a while. How did we celebrate? Well, the kids and I went to pack meeting and Mark did his typical Thursday night Elder's Quorum visits/meetings/phone calls (which he loves so much). I did make him a cake, but things were so hectic that night and the next few days that we didn't get around to eating it until this morning and by then it didn't taste quite right so I threw it out. How pathetic! It's not all bad though; Friday night we got a baby sitter for Aubree and went out to dinner. We did have to take Bryce, but it was Bryce's half birthday (more about that later!) so I figured he qualified for a night out as well.

For his gift, I got Mark an iPod. In general, we're a number of years behind the curve when it comes to technology. Seeing as this is Mark's last year being hip and young (because we all know thirty is so old - just ask my younger siblings), I figured he should at least be semi-up-to-date with the 21st century (we also got new cell phones earlier in the month). He's been secretly wanting an iPod for some time, and it's perfect for a guy who loves music as much as Mark does. Once he got it, I half expected him to disappear into music-land for awhile but he's shown remarkable restraint. I'm not a big music fan, but Mark started telling me about podcasts and those sound very enticing. Maybe someday I'll get an iPod too.
So, Happy Birthday to Mark!! Thanks for being such a wonderful, hard-working, and devoted husband and father. We love you!

Look what I just bought...

Those of you who know me well are probably scratching your heads in confusion at the moment. I can imagine your internal dialogue: "Wait, isn't that a double jogging stroller? This doesn't make any sense. I mean, I understand the 'double' part - Erin does have two kids - and even the 'stroller' part - they need to get around somehow - but 'jogging?!???' Erin hates to run. In fact I even remember her explaining that her own personal version of that oh-so-very-hot-and-undesirable-place would be one never-ending marathon. Not to mention that she is a Graff by birth and don't they have a family motto that goes something like, 'Graff's don't run?' So surely there is an imposter posting on her blog; that's the only reasonable explanation."
Alas, there is not an imposter. I really did buy a jogging stroller and I actually intend to try to run. (And I can't believe I just wrote that last sentence!) I've been feeling the need lately to get active and after a good deal of introspection I've realized that when it comes to exercise I'm not very self-motivated. I'm great at coming up with noble plans, but I'm even better at talking myself out of those plans. I noticed that the times in my life when I've been consistent about exercise it's because there is some sort of deadline or goal, and not arbitrary ones - those don't work. For example, I'm really good about walking when I'm pregnant because I know that I have to be strong for labor and delivery; there's just no way to get out of that deadline. I did great in high school because I was working towards softball season.
Granted, my preferred mode of exercise would involve playing sports: softball, volleyball, tennis, soccer, etc., but at this point in my life that just isn't feasible. So, I tried and tried to think of something I could realistically do that involved a physical deadline. The only option I could come up with was running a 5K. Trust me, I really, really tried to think of something, anything!, else, but there was nothing else I could do with 2 little kids and limited time and money.
I have a good friend, Amy, who is an avid runner. She makes comments like, "Oh, I only ran five miles this morning." Amy is a big part of my decision to start running because she claims that she used to hate to run too! She also only started running about 5 years ago, so I have a small spark of hope that maybe I won't hate to run forever. Someday, maybe I can be like Amy. My good friends, Jenni and Juliana, have also said they will train for a 5K with me.
When I purchased the stroller I committed myself to run at least one 5K. I plan to use a 9-12 week training plan from a site that claims "couch to 5K." I've got the couch part down, so I'm halfway there, right? I previously admitted a lack of self motivation. Part of the reason I'm posting this blog is to create external motivation; now everyone knows my "noble plans" so I can't give them up as easily as I might otherwise. With that external pressure, my personal commitment, and help from my wonderful friends, I hope to post pictures of me crossing the finish line of a 5K race sometime in December. And maybe, just maybe, I won't hate it.
PS I'm starting my "training" tomorrow. Aaaaaauuuuugggggghhhhh

9/22 UPDATE: I did it. I went out this morning with Juliana and made it about 12 minutes into the suggested 20 minute jog/walk routine, then I almost died. Okay, maybe not "died," but was very near to throwing up and it took 35 minutes to retrace the route that only took 15 minutes on our way out. Sorry Juliana! Yes, I know that's a sad commentary on my current physical condition, but I try to console myself with the fact that I was pushing almost 50 lbs in the stroller and I am not used to pushing the stroller yet. I am surprised at how much back and arm strength that requires! I think I'll stretch the suggested first week training into two weeks to give me time to get used to the stroller.

Weekend Excursion

We've lived in Florida for almost three years now and it occurred to me a while ago that we really haven't done much traveling around the state. That's sad because lots of people plan for years and years to take big vacations to Florida, and we live here and aren't taking advantage of the amazing opportunities so nearby. The goal in the next year or so is to remedy that situation. Last weekend was the first step. Together with two other families, the Millers and the Hawkins, we drove across the state to Sanibel Island, which is famous for it's seashells. We left Friday morning and came back late Saturday night, so it was a quick trip, but we had lots of fun.

Our little family decided to break up the 4 hour drive Friday morning, so we stopped at a Children's Museum around the halfway point. The museum was small and definitely geared towards younger children, which worked perfectly for us. Aubree loved playing in a mini-grocery store where she could push a little cart, go shopping, and even check-out and pay for her purchases. She also really enjoyed the dress-up clothes (no surprise there!) and playing in the just-her-size airplanes and cars. Bryce mostly just appreciated being out of his carseat, but he did manage to find some toys on which he could slobber. Here is a very amateur video of Aubree's first stage performance. She's singing a song she wrote herself entitled, "Mary had a little child."

We checked into our hotel in Fort Myers in the late afternoon ahead of our friends. We decided to head straight to the beach at Sanibel where we stayed until Sunset. Watching the sun set over the ocean was beautiful and reminded me of going to the beach at home in California (although it's almost always cool or cold in the evening at the beach in California and it was still balmy and near-perfect at Sanibel). Aubree and her friends had a great time playing in the sand. With Mark's help they dug a big water-filled hole that Aubree alternately called her swimming pool or her bathtub. We did find some neat shells, but it wasn't until we were leaving that one of our friends found piles and piles of amazing shells. We left the beach once it got dark and headed back to our not-so-wonderful hotel. Aubree had a really difficult time falling asleep and finally crashed around 10:30 pm.
The next morning we took a more leisurely pace and checked out of the hotel for the day's festivities around 10 am. We first went to the Imaginarium, a "hands-on children's science museum." Mark said the museum reminded him of a small Franklin Institute. A lot of the exhibits were over Aubree's head, but the older kids LOVED it and Aubree found a few areas that piqued her interest. For example, she had a lot of fun "painting dinosaurs" (aka digging for dinosaur bones), tasting clouds, experiencing the winds of a Category 1 hurricane (she didn't like that too much), and learning about animals (did you know that some turtles can breathe out of their bums?). Mostly she ran from area to area too keyed up to focus long on any one thing.
Following the Imaginarium we went back to the beaches for the afternoon. We initially went to the FAR end of Captiva island and found a gorgeous beach. It was a really hot day and the water looked extremely appealing. However, once we got in we realized (too late) that the waves were brutal. Before we could react we got hit with a huge, over-powering wave. Mark had Aubree and they got knocked over and went tumbling around under water until the wave rolled back out. Thankfully Mark was able to hold onto Aubree and he has scrapes and bruises all over as a reward for his heroics. Aubree was very upset, but not hurt. I wasn't as far out so Bryce and I only got a face full of sea water. We didn't stay at that beach for long. Instead, we went to the river-side of the island where there were no waves at all and swam comfortably for a few blissful hours before embarking on the semi-long drive home (during which Aubree and Bryce both slept almost the whole way!). I think Aubree summed our trip up best just after leaving the river. With a big yawn and stretch she said, "all this fun has made me sleepy!"

Mark and Aubree swimming off the Causeway at Sanibel Island, FL

How do your words taste?

I've noticed that as a parent I do a lot of "word eating." Things don't always work out the way I hope or plan, sometimes despite my best intentions. The more I talk, the more words I end up eating later. Most recently my words taste like oatmeal. To translate, I officially started Bryce on solid foods last week. I really, really wanted to wait until he was six months old and couldn't imagine any reason why that wouldn't work out. However, for a number of weeks Bryce wanted to nurse all the time and never seemed totally satisfied. Plus, he's been so fussy that I started to wonder if maybe he's hungry. So, I gave in and started to slowly introduce solids. He LOVES to eat. He smacks his lips and gets quite impatient if I wait too long between bites. It's a stark contrast to Aubree who never seemed to care much about food when she was a baby.

Little Momma

Last May I was a bridesmaid for my sister, Kira. Part of our outfit was a long, red sash. After the wedding I donated the sash to Aubree's dress-up bin. A few days ago Aubree found a great new use for it. She brought me the sash and asked, "Mom, can you make a sling for me to carry my baby?" Sure thing! To the right is a picture of the result. You know what they say about imitation...