Marking His Territory

Bentley was sitting quietly at the kid's table at the local bookstore looking through books when he jumped up, spread his legs, and proceeded to pee.

It ran down his legs, over his flip flops and onto the floor.

Not knowing what else to do, we quickly pulled out the back up clothes and proceeded to change him right then and there.

As we were leaving the store Chod announced that he "never thought he would be the kind of dad that would take his child to the back of a bookstore and let him whiz on the floor."

Is that your mom?

I need land--lots of land---with no neighbors.

Bentley was sitting in his little chair eating a popsicle (in his undies) on the patio, and I ran to the garage to grab a pot for my herbs. When I returned, a few seconds later, I found him hiding behind the table and a little girl standing inside our house. But don't worry, her mom was just outside holding a little bird she had rescued. She wanted to know if I knew how to save the poor bird...

I have no idea who these people are, but the mom left and the little girl stood staring. Then she stated, "I want one of those." And pointed to the popsicle. I told her she would have to ask her mom. She ran off and a few minutes later returned saying it was okay.

I gave her a popsicle and sent her home.

Tonight as we were returning home from a bike ride a little boy met us at the driveway and asked if we lived here. He then followed us into our garage and informed us that garages are for cars, not bikes.

"I think I hear your mom calling" is all I had to say as we closed the garage door.

Lil' Nacho

Yesterday, I decided that today was the day. The day Bentley starts the school of potty training.

This morning I woke up thinking that maybe we could wait a week or so before subjecting myself to such a thing. But Bentley remembered all the pep talks we had yesterday and as soon as his jammies were off he insisted on wearing his Lightning McQueen undies.

I think he feels pretty cool in them because he isn't allowing any other clothes to be placed on his little body.In fact, he pretty much looks like the guy on the right.

It has been almost three hours and five underwear changes since we began, and I am begging him to let me put a diaper on, but he is insistent on the underwear.

What have I gotten myself into?

Memorial Day Memories

{A quick jaunt of what went down, before I forget.}

The whole family was in Burley for the weekend, as it was the Hartwell's last before their hiatus for the summer. It was filled with lots of fun and laughs, playing with the puppy and eating brownies.

Saturday was the Annual WEPCo BBQ. It is normally held on June 3rd, the anniversary of the gas tank explosion that happened 10 years ago. But it got bumped up this year because of the Hartwell's departure. Preparations went relatively smooth, so smooth that Mom let Chod and Chris have the afternoon off. That night the yard was filled with family and friends and neighbors I have never met, oh, and some good food too.

Sunday night we played Wii Olympics. I'm not sure who won, but Brent is for sure the best character imitator of the bunch.

Monday morning Karisa, Chod and Chris got up and ran 4 miles, Mom and Deidra settled for 2. The crazy in the group ran in flip flops. And that lazies stayed home.

We then went and visited graves. While we were there, the family took it upon themselves to scan headstones for a middle name for our unborn child. There were a lot of suggestions, but I think it turned into a contest to find the most ridiculous name. As we were walking through the cemetery Hudson saw a large headstone statue thing of Jesus. He exclaimed while pointing, "Mom! I see JESUS!" We decided that Dad's headstone should be a swing, so kids can play while their parents are being quiet and reflective, without getting in trouble.

Then Papa took the boys fishing. Hudson got to try out his new pole while Bentley preferred to throw rocks in the river. If he keeps that up this may have been his only fishing trip with Grandpa.
We stopped for ice cream on our way from the river to Grandma and Grandpa's because you can't pass by Gossner's without stopping.

The family had planned Monday evening for everyone to spend some time working in my grandparent's yard. It was raining so instead we had a BBQ like the good old days.

It's all about the texture

We have a problem at our house that I don't know how to solve. A picky eater. I always thought I would be a mom that would fix one meal and my kids could either take it or leave it, but I was not going to be a short order cook. Bentley is out to prove me wrong. He is not necessarily picky in an unhealthy way, just very selective of the textures that are allowed in his mouth.

For instance he loves yogurt, but hates the little pieces of fruit in the yogurt. Strawberries, peaches, and raspberry seeds all get spit out and piled on the table or thrown on the floor. I buy vanilla, lemon, and orange cream yogurt for him.

He loves fruit. Pineapple, strawberries, oranges, mangoes, apples, and bananas are a hit with him, but if I coat them with a spoonful of pudding or yogurt he won't eat them. Apparently the gooey feeling just isn't right.

Peanut butter and honey sandwiches are a staple and he loves cheese and toast. But if I try to serve a grilled cheese sandwich--no go. Once again I think the melted cheese is too gooey. The same with quesedillas.

And meat. We still haven't moved passed the occasional chicken nugget. Spaghetti with hamburger will result in a pile of spit out hamburger. No ham or turkey or hot dogs or even fish will make it past Bentley's ultra sensitive texture meter.

He won't eat eggs, but loves tomatoes. Eats broccoli over ice cream and can't get enough cucumbers.

Before he starts sounding like a health nut let me assure you that he loves sweets. It doesn't matter what form it comes in, as long as it is high in sugar he loves it. He can hear M&Ms touch each other, which makes it very hard to sneak them and cookies rank at the top of his favorites.

So any ideas how we can overcome this problem?

Detox

It's hard to return home after a long weekend at Grandma's house. Brownies, swedish fish, root beer, and gummy bears flowed freely while we had lots of fun hanging out with the family.

But tomorrow we begin sugar detox.

Wish us luck.

B's Crib

Bentley still sleeps in the crib. My mom has asked what our plan is, since we have another on the way---are we just going to buy another crib?

Maybe we will.

Bentley loves his crib. It is his sanctuary. He has never crawled out and never asks to be taken out. If I put him down for a nap before he is ready, he jumps. Sometimes for a half an hour just bouncing away, no complaining, just bouncing. The last few days I have found him wide awake with his head on his pillow and both arms behind his head, talking away. This morning he was identifying the parts of his face. When I ask if he wants out his reply is "Hmmmm....No".

So I leave him.

Wouldn't you?

Party of Pies

When the current issue of Martha Stewart Living arrived at my door I couldn't get over how delicious the pies looked. So I arranged a pie making night with Deidra and Jolyn.

Our husbands voted on which ones we would make and chocolate-caramel and butterscotch-praline were the winners.

Deidra came over yesterday afternoon and we started making the crusts. Jolyn stopped by for a little while. It felt like we were getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner and the kitchen looked like it.

Chod and Chris kept themselves entertained with the Wii, because they were not going to bed without a piece of pie. So finally late last night we cut into the chocolate-caramel pie. It was good, but I made the comment that we could probably have gone to Village Inn and bought a chocolate pie and we would have saved ourselves a lot of time and it probably wouldn't have cost us much more than our ingredients did.
Chod and Chris were quick to jump in and reassure us that this pie was much better than any pie you could get at Frontier Pies or even Marie Callender's. And I have to admit it is pretty delicious.

So there you have it from the experts. Martha's pies are as good as they looked in the magazine!

Tonight we'll cut into the butterscotch-praline and see how it compares.

Easy Bake

Yesterday I made cookies. I pulled the pan out of the oven and told Bentley that he needed to be changed before he could have a cookie.

On our way upstairs I said, "We'll change your diaper and then we'll have"

"A Baby!" he filled in.

If only it was that easy.

Hitchin' a Ride

Last Friday my dad called Tameka, "Are you bringing B home with you?"

"I don't know"

Tameka to me, "Am I taking B home with me?"

"Not that I know of."

Me to my dad, "You want Bentley this weekend?"

"Shoot no!"


Never believe a word that Grandpa says--that is rule #1.

Bentley spent the weekend in Burley hanging out with the grands and Tameka. I think he had fun playing with the new puppy, chicks, and kittens and sneaking up on Papa.

Strolling

As we were getting ready to run errands this morning I noticed what a nice day it was and made an executive decision and pulled out the stroller. Since we only live 3/4 of a mile from Main Street, we walked, killing a couple birds with 1 stone.

Our walk there was great. We got what we went for, and not much else, because the basket on the stroller does not allow room for impulse buys. We stopped by the pastry shop and shared a lemon bar. Bentley ate the lemon top and left me the bottom. It was a great mother son outing.

The walk back was a little different and I learned a couple things.

#1 Just because laundry detergent is on sale does not mean you should stock up while using a stroller. I think the weight I was pushing tripled after I added it to the stroller.

#2 We must leave earlier in the morning if we plan to continue these trips, because it was HOT on the way back.

#3 If I ever decide to be a bag lady I will most definitely trade in the stroller for a shopping cart.

#4 Judging by the number of Orkin boxes surrounding the building, it appears our local Sam's Club has a rodent problem.


How did you spend this beautiful Friday?

X Chromosomes

The battle of names continues since we are most definitely having a boy.

Which isn't a huge surprise considering my theory of Stephens boys not being able to have girls. It doesn't appear they have working X chromosomes to contribute. It is just a theory, but this little fellow will mean they are batting 1.0.

7 grandsons and no granddaughters from Chod and his brothers.

Lincoln Logs

In a matter of hours we will find out if we are having a man cub or a baby girl. Over the last few days I have been trying to find some boy names we can agree on.

I shared my favorite, Lincoln, with Chod the other night while we were getting ready for bed. Chod is still insisting on Ezekiel. I say no to Ezekiel and banned him from reading the bible.

We had been asleep for a few hours when he woke me up by saying, "Logs."

"What?"

"Logs."

"What about logs?"

"That could be his middle name, Lincoln Logs! Ha Ha Har Har."

".....good night."

"Was that not worth waking you up?"


The next morning he remembered nothing of the conversation--but Lincoln is still my #1.

Dacha

In Russia it is common for a family to have a dacha. Which is essentially a garden in the country so those living in the city have a place to grow a garden to feed their family. They vacation at the dacha on weekends, since they work the rest of the week.

We may not be Russian, but this year we have a dacha of our own. Since we live in an apartment we travel across town to our little garden. It makes checking on things a little more time consuming than walking to the backyard, but you've gotta take what is available.

Bentley loves going to the garden. He arrives somewhat clean and leaves as a mudball. It is hard for me to let him play in the dirt and water and then let him get in his carseat---but it isn't fair to take mud away from a boy.

He is turning out to be quite the little gardener. His job is to put the seeds in the holes. Tonight he planted pumpkins. As soon as the seeds were covered he ran and grabbed a hot cap, proceeded to put it in place, and then filled the brim with soil.

I only hope he is still this anxious to help in the garden when he is 14 and it is time to weed!

House of Shoes

I like shoes. When we got married Chod couldn't believe how many pairs I owned.

He owned 2. A pair of black ones for church and a pair of Van's for his everyday wear.

Since being married I have had a really hard time spending money on shoes for myself. But after a walk through the house I have realized that I haven't quit buying shoes--I've just quit buying them for myself.

Chod and Bentley own sooo many shoes.

A quick count resulted in Chod having 13 pairs and Bentley following with 11. I probably still have more than either of them, but it is time for a change.

No more shoes for the boys. And I think I'll go shopping.

Don't Feed the Bears

Chod's brother Kensey is in town (he is stationed in Hawaii) so we spent the weekend in Idaho. The family hopped in a 15 passenger van and headed to Yellowstone National Park Saturday morning. It was quite the adventure.

Old Faithful

The wildlife is supposed to be more active this time of year, so we kept our eyes peeled for a bear.

Bison

We saw bison, and elk, geese, swans and cranes. But no bears were out. There was still quite a bit of snow on the ground and as the day got later the temperature kept getting cooler and cooler.

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

And like all family trips there were things to laugh at. Like Larry hitting a sign on the way into the park and our picnic in the van with Kensey and I on the sandwich construction crew.

Mammoth Springs

Bentley and Kaayl were troopers. It was a long day for them to be strapped in their carseats. And after mine and Bentley's puppy run the day before he was quite sick of the carseat.

I love how he is holding his sandwich.

Learned from the best

Chod loves all things space related. We have framed pictures of space shuttles and the earth hanging in our office. He really wants a nice (expensive) telescope one of these days when we have extra cash laying around.

I think it is safe to say that he has passed this love onto Bentley. Bentley has a book titled "On the Moon", which is Chod's favorite book to read to Bentley. When Chod reads it, the story becomes much longer than what is just written on the page because Chod adds in all the important information that was left out.

Things like why the astronauts sit at the very top of the shuttle, or that there is no wind on the moon so the American flag actually has wires to hold it out so it looks like it is flying.

While we were on our "vacation" we were walking into a room at the aquarium and Chod pointed to the wall and said "Look Bentley, the moon."

Bentley looked at Chod with some confusion and then confidently stated, "Earth."

And sure enough, it was planet Earth.

Ooops.

Don't you hate it when your kids become smarter than you?

Takin out the Trash

I brought a pile of junk mail up to shred. Mainly a pile of credit card offers and those convenience checks from a current credit card.

As I was sending them through--letting the shredder do its business I caught glimpse of the end of an envelope.

It was from the hospital. I immediately knew what it was. Our last bill for Bentley's surgery. Gone.

It was the largest bill by far. Think they'll waive the charges when they hear I shredded it?

Me either.

Family Vacation

We just returned from our family vacation. Although we live so close, we rarely take advantage of the things on our own backyard so we booked a couple nights in Salt Lake and spent 3 days pretending to be tourists.

Our first day began at the Discovery Gateway.
Bentley really liked the balls in the beehive and taking Chod for a ride in the truck.They had a Sesame Street exhibit all about the body. Bentley enjoyed helping along the digestion process by turning the stomach.Then we were off to the Clark Planetarium. Bentley and I visited the moon
but he went on a solo mission to Mars.
We also watched a movie all about black holes...Chod said it was good, but Bentley and I took naps through it, so we wouldn't know.

Of course, before leaving The Gateway we spent some time in the Apple store.

Then it was off to temple square. Chod had never been to the Church Museum, so we saw it, the visitors center and had dinner at The Lion House Pantry.
Day 2 started off at the Living Planet Aquariumand then to Thanksgiving Pointwhere we visited the dinosaur museum.

Chod then got to spend some time in Cabella's while Bentley took a nap. We learned that Cabella's parking lot is full loud trucks driven by camo wearing guys, which does not make for a friendly nap. After his visit to Cabella's Chod agreed to a visit to IKEA.

Day 3 took us to Hogle ZooWe had planned to visit a a couple more places, but by then we were tired and since we didn't have to wait around for a plane to catch we headed home.