18 inches

Minnesota has been nice enough to give us a good taste of their winter wonderland and sub zero temperatures over this last week. This morning it was -10 and the high yesterday was 5. I think we might hit 24 for this week - watch out for that heat wave!

Not only is it numbingly cold here but this weekend we got hit with a blizzard that dropped 18 inches in our town. The wind was the snow's steady companion and so some of the snow drifts around our neighborhood ended up being several feet high. Here are just a few pictures we took one night. Now they have the roads plowed and cars dug out but the snow pile down the street is almost to the top of the lamp post.

God Bless the Walmart Man

I hate going to walmart. What I hate worse about going to Walmart is having to go and get help from someone who works there- especially around the holidays. Everyone is in a hurry or grumpy. Today I had to go and have the battery in the LC (Land cruiser) tested. It sat for a week in sub zero tempatures and had to be jumped started a few times. Scott asked me to just take it in and have it tested. I didn't want to do it. I've been dreading it since he asked me.

This seems like an easy task but like I said, I hate Walmart and running any errands with Benson has been less than delightful since he's discovered that he can stand rather than sit in the cart. Luckly I had a doctors apt today and had a friend watch Benson for me. Before I went to go pick him up, I drove over to Walmart, around the back side and parked. I went in and a nice man behind the counter asked what he could help me with. I explained to him the situation and told him I needed the battery in the car tested. He said ok.

This is where I was waiting for him to growl at me or tell me I'll have to wait 20 mintues. Or explain the machine or whatever it is they test the battery with is broke or being repaired. Instead he grabbed a brick looking thing that has two cords attached to it and started walking around the counter and outside to my car. dumbly, I followed him as he politely, without making me feel like an idot since I know nothing about cars, explained how it'll be tested and the numbers the results needs to be for the batter to be good. He tested it and the results printed out on his brick thing and he gave me three options of what I could do then. One option was to just make sure to run the car everyday (I picked this option).

AND THAT WAS IT. I thanked him and he smiled and said sincerely "your welcome". It took a total of 5 maybe 7 minutes. I know this doesn't sound like that great of a story but to me it was. I feel like during the holiday season I can get so caught up in what I need to get done, what I haven't done and what a hurry I am in to get those things done, that I don't feel like I don't have time to help other people around me or even just stop and say "Thank you".

This man seemed like his whole day was revolved around me coming in and him helping me and he was happy to do so. And he was nice. And helpful. I just stood there for a second wanting to hug this man and tell him how wonderful he was. God bless the Walmart man for teaching me a lesson.

take two

Last night we went in for the routine 20 week ultrasound and we are so excited that we're going to have another BOY!

I remeber when Benson was born, he would pee EVERY time we changed his diaper, i saw these at the time and never made them but now that we've got another little boy on the way, i'm tempted to make them this time around.

they are little wee wigwam, you cover them up while you change their diaper- how funny.

Remember, Remember the 5th of November

I stole that from some peoples facebook status, i think its from a tv show or something.

But its a great way to remember Scott's brithday! (I'm awful at remembering dates, just ask Scott- the other day we were talking about our anniversary in April and I told him the 26th of April was the best day of my life....he looked at me funny and asked "Why? because it was two days before we got married?" Oh Right- We got married on the 28th)

So here is the late shout out to Scott for his birthday!

We celebrated by going to Chipotle and getting 2 free burritos! (no- i didnt steal them)
and visiting the Minnesota History Museum where we found out that there is a lake somewhere in this great state that when the water freezes- over 30,000 people move onto the lake and create a town- they have roads, speed limits and even a towing service... amazing! It doesnt make me any more excited for winter here though.

He had to leave tonight to go out of town for the week-We'll see how this week goes - I'm a bit nervous I might go crazy by the end of the week but I've made a huge TO-DO LIST that will hopefully keep me busy and sane.

pictures will come later.

Love Him

a little more to add

In my update from the last post, I forgot to add one tiny thing- because it is definitely tiny as right now-

a baby!

I'm due the beginning of April and am just so glad to be out of the first trimester. it was awful and am not sure how many more times i can handle a first trimester. i am currently obsessed with Coleslaw and Apple Juice and can't stand the sight of meats. Poor Scott. We are really excited and we find out the gender of the baby next month! Scott thinks it'll be a girl but i keep dreaming of boys- as long as its one or the other, we'll be happy.

Here's to a warm winter being pregnant and no more bonding time with toilets!

3 month catch up

I have no idea how to get this to stop being underlined so i'm just dealing with it.

I have no particular reason why I have neglected our blogspot for the last three months, it started when I got really sick and then there was so much to catch up on I just kept putting it off. And then I got lazy.

Here are just a few highlights over the last few months

We went to an apple orchard and picked some apples, they had a few animals which Benson loved. This goat wouldnt stop trying to eat his shirt and he thought it was so funny
Instead of a sandbox, they had a cornbox- Benson could of spent all day there
This picture is a little goofy of him but he LOVES LOVES LOVES tractors, big trucks, construction trucks- i would even say he's obsessed because every time we see one he tries to either climb on it, stare at it or scream bloody murder when we leave.

We are now a two car family- yah! i'm so happy to have two cars, it has made life so much easier! It was a great deal with a great price and it gets us to the important places we need to go- like the grocery store, the library, the park and the mall.

Since fall has arrived i got my jump start back into the kitchen- i took a hiatus from the kitchen for some time and am getting back into the swing of things. We've froze raspberries, peaches, and started baking danish pastries, artisan breads, and pies.
To help along in the kitchen, i have my Sous-Chef de Cuisine - Benson. He now has to help me with every meal or anything i make in the kitchen if I want to avoid any tantrums being thrown. He is even willing to help with the dishes...
Another great trait Benson has to contribute to his help in the kitchen is that he can multi-task...He can eat and do dishes at the same time. although he started to intermingle the two by dipping his muffin into the water and then eating it.

We have been enjoying our time in Minnesota and the weather has been good to us( no snow yet!!) We just can't believe how big Benson is getting!

(Scott said he was making a booty call)
(yes, my husband thinks hes funny)

Family Time

I can't believe its the last week of July! This summer has gone by so fast! Scott's parents came to visit us this month from Hong Kong. It was so good to see them and we had so much fun! We got to celebrate my birthday, Benson's birthday and my graduation while they were out here. We took them to some of the sites and showed them where Scott works.

They travel a lot for Grandpa's job- so we got some awesome gifts from Hong Kong, Japan and the Philippines.Here are a few highlights

Benson loves Chipotle as much as his Dad, can you tell?
One of the many presents from Hong Kong, I can't wait for him to wear it!
We went to this AMAZING restaurant called Akita, its a Japanese place where you pay a flat rate and get to order anything off the menu, they had great sushi, teppanyaki and teriyaki. It was so much fun.
Grandpa and Benson in their coordinating outfits.
We went to the pool for a bit and benson loved showing Grandpa and Grandma his skills of jumping in the water
Benson loved having Grandpa Berrett around, he always wanted to play and make sure Grandpa was watching him.

We also took them to Mall of America right before they left and there were hundreds and hundreds of girls.....and Zac Efron there. I'll admit I was a little excited hearing that he was at the mall but then hearing hundreds and hundreds of girls scream when he came onto the stage hurt my ears and I walked away.

Celebrate

Coconut Curry Chicken

This is one of Scott's favorite new meals. I'm trying to expand our dinners a little and he likes it so much, he told me I should post it right away. The only thing i change, is the amount of sugar - I just put a little less than it calls for. We have it with rice, broccoli and nann (i tried making my own nann but then found out that trader joes has them in their freezer section).

Coconut Curry Chicken

Ingredients

• 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
• 1 teaspoon salt and pepper, or to taste
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed, diced tomatoes
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 3 tablespoons sugar

Directions

1. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil and curry powder in a large skillet over medium-high heat for two minutes. Stir in onions and garlic, and cook 1 minute more. Add chicken, tossing lightly to coat with curry oil. Reduce heat to medium, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink in center and juices run clear.
3. Pour coconut milk, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and sugar into the pan, and stir to combine. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, approximately 30 to 40 minutes.

Motherhood: An Eternal Partnership with God

“We hold in our arms the rising generation. They come to this earth with important responsibilities and great spiritual capacities. We cannot be casual in how we prepare them. Our challenge as parents and teachers is not to create a spiritual core in their souls but rather to fan the flame of their spiritual core already aglow with the fire of their premortal faith.”

the last few months have been really hard on me. being home is not as easy as i once imagined and dreamed. i was so excited to be home with my child once i was done with school and my husbands job settle down. Ive had this image since i was a little girl what a mom's life was like, and in this image, it was great.

life is great for being a stay at home mom but its nothing to sneeze at. watching my girlfriends who don't have kids yet accomplish things that seem so much more important than dusting, changing diapers and playing peek a boo. they are out fulfilling careers, traveling the world and furthering their education.

I've felt like what I've been doing at home is not important and has little meaning in the scheme of life. Ive thought on occasion that this life is maybe not what I want and that its not fulfilling. That i'm not good at it and I shouldn't of chosen this path. But then I realized that when you try something for the first time in your life, when do you ever just get the hang of it on the first day? Grant it, there are those women out there that as soon as that baby pops out look like they've been a mother their whole life. I'm not like that.

I've had to start making goals for myself and thinking about what things I want to fill my time and life with. Between the several emotional breakdowns to spending my hours with self pity I'm finally learning a little bit more about my role here at home. I saw this video today and it really put things into perspective...

Happy Birthday Benson

Benson turned one! We really wanted to get him the child size table and chair from Ikea but they are out of stock right now, so he'll have to wait. But he did love his cupcake, so much that the following day I walked in the kitchen and he had grabbed the cupcake wrapper out of the trash and was eating it and getting the crumbs off it.




He was so sad the party was over and time for bed.

The apple and the tree

Just after we got home from our big trip, Benson started taking his first steps. He's hasnt quite mastered the task but he tries. The only thing that can really get him to walk is if we pull out the bike pump. I think its genetic that Scott likes bikes so much and it has been passed onto our child. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Beach Week

My parents rented a house just across the street from the beach. I was so excited for Benson to see the ocean for the first time! Here he is with grandpa and me with his first trip to the ocean.
The day before we left he had woken up with some type of sores around his lips, he had three of them and i just knew they were cold sores. i panicked. there is something about having a first child that makes you so worried when they get sick. It a whole guessing game- does their throat hurt? do they feel achy? are they okay? why are they sick? where did they get it from? how long is it going to last? should i take him into the hospital? how much tylenol is too much? why wont he sleep? is he drinking enough? should i try to force him to eat more? is he eating enough?
i hate it. i dont handle it well at all.

The following day, he had more on his face and it made me more stressed. the first night at the beach house, Benson got up at 2am with a fever and didn't got back to sleep till 4 in the afternoon. When he first got up, I went and put a onesie over the lamp in the bedroom to try to keep it dim, hoping he'd go back to sleep. It was around 2am when all this commotion happened. i was holding him on the bed and i could smell smoke- like a bonfire. it really bugged me. Why would some idiot have a fire burning on the bay side at 2am. Then I realized it must be one of our neighbors because the smell was so strong. But normally at a bonfire there are people talking and some type noise. it was quiet. really quiet. The whole time I'm thinking about weird people who have bonfires at 2am and don't make a peep, I'm holding Benson and just looking down at him. My eyes started stinging and i look up and the whole dang bedroom is filled with smoke. I turn to the lamp with the onesie on it and its on fire. uuh-hu.

I woke my mom up in a panic holding the onsie that was on fire with my sick baby on the other side. the rest of the week my room smelled like smoke and i'm sorry to say that we are short one onesie. (sorry Kristie!)


The following night Benson wouldnt sleep unless someone was holding him, by this time his sores started to spread to his eyes and we were giving him medicine to keep his fever down every 4 hours. my mom and i took turns holding him through the night and the next morning we went to the doctors. He said he contracted the virus that causes cold sores and he'll be likly to get cold sores the rest of his life, espeically if hes in the sun too much or stressed. He said that the first time small children get the virus, it breaks out really bad but wont ever get like it again. I felt so bad for the poor guy.

This is the worst it got, but it takes about a month to heal. he has small red spots where the sores were, the doctor promised no scares would come from it.

Me and Dallin took him to the aquarium one day, and he loved it. you can see that Dallin is very sympathetic towards him.

The trip to D.C.

While out on our east coast trip, we drove up to Richmond to see my sister and spend the weekend and then we went to D.C. to see my brother and his family. They just had a new baby and it was so fun to see my new niece! I forgot how small newborns are! We also were planning on visiting my girlfriend from high school but the day that we were going to head over there she called and said her little girl got the croup. As much as I wanted to see her, I didn't want to have to risk Benson getting the same thing. So we ended our trip early and headed home.

The hard part of the trip was when we stayed with my parents friends and Benson was out of his schedule and screamed the first half of the night, and when the a/c in the car broke and it was 100% humidity in 95 degree weather and when the car suddenly died on 395 while everyone around is going 70mph.

We did stop by and see the Washington monument and went to the American History Museum. One of my favorite parts was the first ladies dressed. This one below is Abe Lincoln's wifes dress and then below that is Michelle Obama. The dresses were gorgeous.

They also had a child station me and Benson stopped by and played with the blocks and toys for a bit.
We went and saw Julia Child's kitchen, it was really interesting. I think I'm going to have this quote put up somewhere in my house to remind me that i should have a good time because that picture below of Julia is not the same expression i have on my face every time i make dinner, just ask Scott.