The Daily Grind

So hello all my extraordinary fans! This weekend has been good! Work on Friday and Saturday, church today, and family this evening. Last Sunday we started Marin on bananas, and she has been doing great. Thursday we started her on some carrots, and then this afternoon, she had a yam! She really looks forward to her food, she gets hungry, the poor little monkey! Breakfast is usually some cereal mixed with pureed banana, lunch is carrot or yam followed by milk, dinner is a little bit of everything: carrot, yam, and cereal. She just gobbles it right down! I wanted to make sure we had at least 3 days between new food tastings. I think maybe we'll do peas next, and then maybe try some pears. I want to do quite a few veggies in between fruits to make sure she likes them :) Anyway, wih all this new food tasting, there is quite a bit of food grinding going on at the Lyman house. I debated about whether or not to buy a little food grinder, but then I realized I could just use the mini cuisinart I had (courtesy of my great hubby for Christmas of 2007). So far it's worked GREAT! I never realized how much of a Do-it-yourself kinda girl I was, but I'm really seeing it come out now that I have a baby. I can grind up anything I want! I've found I just need to add some warm water to get it to grind up well. The carrots are a bit harder to get ito a smooth consistency, but I think the reason is because they aren't very starchy. The secret might be to mix them in with a veggie that IS starchy. So, I'll mix them in with peas once we try the peas.

Ahh work. Work is crazy busy. Lots and lots of people that need a good nurse, and too few nurses to be had. That's the song most hospitals sing I guess. I think I mentioned that I told my manager I would tackle the responsibility of heading the committee for policy review, and tonight I sat down to start and organize my thoughts. This is going to be a big job. I really am not sure what I'm doing, but, one step at a time right?

Today we had Ward Conference at church, and they talked a lot about food storage and money management. A good thing to talk about! I must say, having some food storage on hand when Kris lost his job was really a huge lifesaver. We really needed it and used most of it up, so now we are at the point where we need to start building it up again. I have to say, Sacrament meeting, the bishop talked about, in essence, making sure we realize how much we are blessed. I thought about how blessed I am to have the life I have. I have a place to live and a car to drive, food, clothes, nice things, an amazing husband who loves me to the ends of eternity (right back at you honey!) and a beautiful, healthy daughter who is just the light of my life. Even with the struggles we have, they are NOTHING compared to what some people have to face. We are indeed very blessed. :)

Kris is still plugging away at his job. He is doing great, but I joke with him that no one likes him at the office because he's showing them all up! Only partly true though. He says he's the quiet guy in the corner of the office that doesn't go out and party with everyone (as it should be! he's got a family!). School will start for Kris in April, and that will also be an adjustment. With his labor intensive calling as the Ward Employment Specialist, Kris is just going to be so busy. I do feel for him a bit, but this is good for him ;)

Ok, picture time!

Yeah, this is Marin after she has rolled all the way from her jungle gym, to the kitchen!
See how far she had to roll? She's so silly :)

She fond my purse the other day and just had a blast playing with the handles. Forget those silly toys!

Pretty cool stuff guys!

Tada! My little baby food freezing tray (1 of 2) with some ready to be frozen carrots.
Her face after her first bite of carrot. What is mama feeding you?

Ugh! Right after the spoon left her mouth. She likes them now though, it was just the first few bites.

Happy Girl!

Marin had decided to hold her friend, Madelyn's hand. It was cute.

Awwww. Such good friends.

Enjoy the day everyone!

The Devil runs the DMV!!!

I swear it! When you die, if you have been naughty, and I mean reeeeally naughty, you don't go to Hell. No, that would be just too nice of a place. You go to the worst place EVER to have been created in the slimy-est, meanest persons head. You go to the DMV. Lest you think "Oh, Samantha, the DMV isn't that bad! I've been there tons of times!" Let me remind you that you have never been to the DMV in SIN CITY. For that is where the Devil unleashes his awful wrath and laughs insidiously while you clench your rejected papers with a quivering chin and a waterfall of tears about ready to explode down your face. The same DMV that offers deliciously appealing junk food at their little snack bar, knowing that you will be shocked and slump to a little heap on the floor when you weigh yourself the next day after you've eaten a DMV hot dog. Little did you know the devil himself infused that innocent little weiner with specially prepared DMV SUPERfat. And of course, a DMV experience wouldn't be the same without the ever famous 3 hour wait. You think I joke?! Not in Sin City! The little screen posted high above your head gives you a false hope that maybe if you stare at it long enough, it'll just give in and post your number. But you forget! Everyone else is trying to stare down this little screen, and so you have 150 people (in your letter category ALONE!) and their headpower, ahead of you. To make sure you're experience is just. . .uber-uncomfortable, you get to sit in hard little plastic chairs next to smelly old people, creepy Mexican's and black people with 6 kids. (Ok, sorry). Now, one would think that at the end of this dark and satanic experience, one would accomplish to task that one set out to accomplish in the first place (overlooking the ridiculousy high fees with a smile!). But, that would actually be a happy thing. No, to make sure you keep this experience with you, the devil and his little helpers like to make sure they are ridiculously un-helpful before turing you away. UNHELPED and without answers! I think they really took Nancy Reagans catch phrase to heart when she said "Just say NO!". Ack!

Are you getting the picture here? Last night Kris and I tried to renew my registration online (because it's expired. . . oops). Well, when we couldn't do, or rather, the site wouldn't let us do it, Kris looked at me and said, "So, you gonna go the DMV tomorrow?". I groaned. But, today I went with baby, and said to Marin as we drove in "Ok! This is going to be a good experience!". Little did I know I would be exiting on the same pavement 3 hours later on the verge of tears. After waiting 3 hours for my number to be called, I was told my drivers license could not have an updated address because New York State wanted some more money, and my registration couldn't be renewed because our insurance company failed to mail the DMV proof of insurance (almost a full 2 years ago!). Ugh! I wanted sooo badly to start fighting with the teller, but I bit my cheeks (habit) and thanked her and left. Although I am proud of mysef for holding my tongue. Sooo, this means I get another turn at the DMV.

Ok. I've vented, so moving on. Last night I went to a recipe swap for Relief Society which was waay fun. I always love the cooking ones, and this one had some yummy food. Some meat pie, and teriyaki chicken and chicken adobo and sweet rolls and a few other things. I liked this one because there were quite a few women I didn't know, so I got to meet some new people.

Well, I don't want to post pics of my sweet baby in this very negative blog, so I'll post some later :)

Bananas of the world. . . .Unite!

Today, Marin graduated from the world of rice and oatmeal baby cereal to . . . bananas! She will be 6 months old this week, so the time had come for some real food. And boy was she ready! Just within the last week or so, she has just been DEVOURING her cereal, literally lunging for the spoon. Not only is this funny, but it makes for a messy baby. She had also gotten to the point of whimpering for more food as you went to get another spoonful for her, we just weren't fast enough I guess! So this morning she had some banana, and she did pretty well, the only wierd face we got was for the first spoonful, and then she was ready for more. Oh my, I just can't get over how quickly she is growing up. Now that she's taking solids, I'll need to start weaning her within the next few months!

This week Kris and I went out on our first real date all by ourselves. We had his friend and his fiancee come and hang out at the house (Marin was in bed) and we went to see a show on the strip. It was really nice, and oddly enough, I didn't feel as wierd about it as I thought I would. We went to a buffet for dinner beforehand and at te dessert bar they had these little desserts in different shaped miniature plastic cups. They were so cute I took 4 of them home with me for Marin. She won't appreciate them now, but if she's anything like her mama, she'll use her vivid imagination and appreciate them in about 4 years. :)

Work went well this week, pretty busy, but manageable. On Friday I let my manager know that I was going to head up the commitee for policy review (which, she had asked if I might be interested in doing earlier), so that meant I had a whole bunch of homework to take home with me. It's going to be a big job, and I don't really
know what's entailed exactly and what to expect, but in the back of my head, I still wonder what I got myself into. It will be good for me though, a good place to channel some energy.

Saturday was Valentines Day! And I was working! We had all decided at work to bring in food for a potluck, and I made some pasta salad with roated chicken, fresh basil, red peppers, raisins, chopped dried apricots and my special spicy dressing. It was super yummy! Kris brought Marin in for me to see and I got to show her off to everyone and she gave them all BIIIG smiles. She is such a flirt.

Today I taught in YW, and I gave a lesson on homemaking. It went well, and I brought in the little porcelain statue Trine gave to me after Marin was born of a women carrying a basket and a book. It represents the responsibility I have as a wife and mother to teach and nurture my family and I thought it would be a good thing to have on display. I can't tell you how much more I appreciate my own mother now, knowing how much sacrifice and effort she (and dad) put into raising me. I know how much of a sacrifice it has been on my part to raise Marin so far, and she's only 6 months! The "best" is yet to come I suppose. ;)

Picture Time!:

Marin enjoying the card grandma and grandpa Owens sent her in the mail, with a cute oufit.


She reeeeally liked the card, in all it's deliciousness. She actually almost gnawed off one corner of it!

The roses my hunny got for me for Valentines Day.

This is a dress that my grandmother Elaine Brown wore when she was younger. It was given to me for Christmas, and I just tried it o the other day. A pretty tigt squeeze, especially around the top, but it was amazing to know that she had worn his dress 50 years ago!

Marin is not usually a snuggler, there's just too much going on for her to do that, but daddy had played hardwth her and she was jut taking a quick rest.

Our little birdie all ready for a spoonful of worm. . . I mean, cereal.

Delicious!

Ahhh the swing. I love this pic. Kris rigged up her Jenny-jump-up with some climbing rope (way cool husband I have!) and we can swing her around which she LOVES! we get such big smiles!

Getting ready to swing!

Two's-day

Ahhh, the pictures decided to load today! Hooray! Well today is Tuesday and that means two babies. All is well, and as you can most likely guess, they are napping at the moment. Marin is having a sleepy, docile day today. All that learning and growing is really tiring!

I'm so excited for tomorrow! Kris is taking me out on our first real date in MONTHS! Since Marin was born at least! We are going to a seaside buffet and then to see a show called "Ka", it's by Cirque du Soleil, so it should be good, and one nice thing about living here in the city is that you can get a discount on show tickets :) We have Kris's friend Ryan and his fiancee Jamie (as of Christmas Day!) come and hang out at the house. Marin will already be in bed, so they just need to chill!

Today for lunch I made the most yummy in your tummy goodness! MMMMM! I just wiggle thinking about it! And. . .the best part. . . it was totally original and non inspired from any other recipe. I made some pesto using spinach, garlic, basil, sunflower seeds, olive oil and parmesean cheese. Then I made some risotto with some sauteed leeks and a splash of milk at the end to make it super creamy and delicious. I mixed the pesto and risotto together for a nice base for my fish, some flounder with olive oil, salt pepper, and red pepper flakes, baked until done. So I put some pesto risotto on the plate, and topped it with the fish, and then put some diced tomatoes on top, and it was soooooo good! I am very proud of myself for that recipe. And Kris liked it too, so that means I can make it again :)

Ok, NOW it's time for pictures:

Marin's first trip to the pool. She was more interested in chewing on her rubber block than anything else. Silly monkey!

Somemore chewing.

I was nervous the whole time she was in the pool. I guess I'm a nervous nelly like my dad. (you know you're a nervous nelly, dad)

A little pep talk before she hit the water.

This is such a good picture:)

Almost ready to get in!

This is the outfit that served as her bathing suit. It looked really cute.

Marin just looooves the kitty cat. She squeels every time she sees her.

This is the perfect picture. Marin has a happy smile on her face, and kitty cat is actually holding still! Just the cutest picture.

A closeup for her fans!

I hear a baby, have a good one!

3 Rotating Outfits

Well, I have tried 4 times to upload pictures, to no avail, so it looks like I'll have to try again tomorrow :(

Last week we took Marin to the pool for the first time! I'd like to say it was a very cute and exciting experience with lots of laughs and giggles and splashing, but it was just a big bath experience for Marin. And, while she loves the bath, it was a little boring! We took her in and she chewed on her toy and that was about it! We only stayed for about 15 minutes. We got to the pool at 6:15 and were gone by 6:30. But, I think maybe she will grow to enjoy the pool :)

As I'm sure you all know, I have been lamenting about not having clothes to wear, in particular, church clothes to wear. And so Kris and I went on a penny pinching scavenger hunt for clothes, which I found, however. . . I have only a few outfits that I can switch up. ANYWAY, on Sunday, Kris and I were driving out of the church parking lot and I rolled down the window to say hi to a girl I visit teach. I said "Hey Breque! You always look so cute on Sunday!" and SHE said, "Oh, I don't know about that, I only have like 3 outfits that I rotate through, but thanks!". I just had to laugh! It's so good to know that I am not the only one in our ward that rotates Sunday outfits! :)

I bought Marin some white tennis shoes today. She only had her one pair of pink Sunday shoes, and I've been putting them on her pretty much everyday so her socks won't get dirty. I'm telling you, it's kind of a catch 22. She needs to wear sock to keep her little feet warm, but when she's in her walker, her socks get filthy (no matter HOW many times I mop the floor!), so she needs to wear shoes, but pink only matches with a few colors, so white tennis shoes it is! They are a bit big on her, so she looks like she has some clodhopper feet, but she'll grow into them fast enough!

And as for the rolling. . . the rolling just keeps going and going and going! She is rolling EVERYWHERE! I'll put her under her jungle gym and a few minutes later she'll have rolled her way to the kitchen! She has really gotten the hang of it. Next stop? Crawling! Next week she'll be SIX MONTHS OLD! Holy Cow! Unbelievable! Sooooo, this means that miss monkey is ready for some real food, besides rice cereal and the like. We'll start with the ever popular banana, and then work our way up from there. Porterhouse here we come!

Ok, well, I'll try tomorrow to post some pics. It's also baby watching day, so I'll be a busy girl!

THE BIG ROLL!

We have some more exciting news here at the Lyman house! Marin did the BIG ROLL yesterday! From back to tummy! I was sooooo excited, and just wanted to run outside and tell everyone, but no one was outside :( We had been practicing her roll on the fouton, it's nice and soft and has a slant that's a bit easier to roll down, and she has been soo close to doing it on her own. I was watching Madelyn yesterday also, and she was sitting on my lap on the floor, and all of the sudden, Marin just flopped over! I ran to get the camera and took a pic before she rolled onto her back again.

Marin will be 6 months in just a couple of weeks, and I can't get over how quickly it's gone by. My little one is just growing like a weed, and before I know it, she'll be one! Anyway, when she turns 6 months, it will be time to start her on some real food. That will be fun :) I'm planning on grinding my own baby food, so I'll just do it in the food processor. I think we'll start with the ever popular banana and work our way up from there.

Tonight we are going to take miss monkey to the pool for the first time. They have a "therapy" pool at the YMCA that they do a water babies class in, but tonight it will be just Kris and baby and I. We picked up a bathing suit-like piece of apparel for her last night at Wal-Mart, and some of those water diaper things. I hope she likes it! We'll take some pics, so I guess you'll see.

Kris's job has been going well still. He was telling me at lunch today that with all of the appointments he has had, he's gotten quite a few applications. Applications are kind of how they measure how you're doing at the Univ. of Phoenix. He said that he actually got an e-mail from the regional manager telling him he was impressed at how well he was doing! He's kind of hoping that maybe if he continues to do this well, he can move into a position where he trains new employees, instead of being on the phone. He would do really well at that :) Once his 3 month trial period is over, he'll be able to start school again. If I haven't already mentioned, Kris will be going back to school for his MBA, and doing it conveniently (and cheaply!) through Univ. of Phoenix, just one perk of working for the company. So, things are going to start getting pretty busy here in another month or so. I'm not sure how well I'll do at having a husband I can't talk to in th other room doing schoolwork. I kinda like hanging out with him! One more test of patience for Samantha I guess.

Picture Time!

This is Marin, right after her first big roll! I had to snap the pic really quick, because she didnt stay on her belly for long.

After she flopped onto her belly again.

BIG blue eyes! She's such a hunny, and I love her shirt. Too bad it's almost too small for her.

Hey mama! Aren't you proud of me?

We picked up a cat bed for Sadie, in hopes of maybe localizing her fur shedding to one central area. Blech! Anyway, she seemed to love it! She crawled right in and curled up!

I see London, I see Greece, I see chubby baby cheeks!

Oh the weekend is over. :) Friday and Saturday were work days and I am always glad when it's over! I almost wasn't sure if I could work on Friday though. Marin has been sick, and I think she caught the second round of her cold Thursday night, she was pretty congested and had a dry cough. Fortunately her cough has loosened up quite a bit and the snot is just pouring from her nose, so I'm hoping the worst is over! Maybe a little for my sake, staying up with a sick baby all night is no fun!

Kris had his first week at work off of orientation and I think he's really enjoying himself :) I took him lunch the other day and I finally got to see his cubicle! Hooray! He has never worked in a cubicle before, so it makes us kinda laugh. I printed off a bunch of bright pictures of our cute family for him to hang up, so it brightens up the oh-so-happy beige.

Today I stayed home with the still sick monkey. I was hoping she was getting better, and this morning she had a bit of a fever, so we hung out. I also made a meal for a sister in the ward who just had a baby. I took her some homemade chicken noodle soup, fresh baked bread and some mini lemon cup/chessecakes with raspberry topping. Yum! Of course I made sure there was a bunch leftover for us too. Neither Kris or I can pass up the fresh baked bread that I make with a nice salty crispy crust. It is to DIE for! You know that scene in the movie Ratatouille where the girl asks the guy, Linguini, how you tell a good loaf of bread without tasting it? And she says "By ze sound" (in her French accent) and cracks the crispy crust with her hands. That's the kind of crust we had. D-Licious.

I'm hoping tht tomorrow Marin will be feeling well enough for mama to go to the gym. I didn't go last week and it's kinda showing, so let's hope she'll have given those nasty germs the boot by tomorrow morning.

Kris and I were playing with Marin on the fouton tonight and she was just a peach! So cute! We were helping her to roll from her back to her front. She has been sooooo close for a couple of weeks, but can't quite seem to get over that one pesky arm. So, we put her on the fouton and angled her a bit so the slant would help, and she did it! She rolled from her back to her front! Only twice, and with just a wee mite of gravitational assistance, but at least she knows how it feels to roll over. We were very excited!

Picture time!

Marin was laying on Kris's chest and she started sucking on his nose. He was laughing so hard! Not just because she was slobbering on his nose, but because she was sticking her tongue up his nostrils! Eeeew!
Daddy always gets big smiles from his little girl! She loves her papa so much!

One of her latest things, well, in the last 3 weeks has been put put her slobbery little fingers inside your mouth. She just thinks mouths are the coolest thing. So, your face gets pretty gross as she tries to grab your mouth.

Assessing the daddy face.

I put her toy on her head and she thought it was pretty dang funny. Look at those chubby baby cheeks!

When we first put Marin in her walker, her legs would just kinda hang there, but now they are flat on the floor! She is getting so big! We'll have to put the walker height level up to the next notch soon!

She reeeeeaally wanted the camera string to chew on.

Kitty cat in the bathroom. I think she thought she was about to get tossed in the shower, look at her face.

Marin was fascinated with the faucet, and seeing what happened when you push that funny little knob on the top :)

How does that thing work guys? I can't figure it out!

Oh! I bought a new sock wardrobe! They were on sale at, of all places, the grocery store, and most of my socks have holes in them, so I figured it might be appropriate to replace them all. And they were all either white or black and had all the colors of the rainbow, amazing!

Enjoy the day!