This One Goes Out To You, Dad

This morning I got a really urgent-feeling, concerned call from my Dad. Our conversation went something like this;

"Hi Dad!"

"Hi, Ash. I'm calling to check on your hands and fingers, are they okay?"

"Ughhhh...I think so? I'm not sure what you're talking about."

"Well there's got to be something wrong with them because you haven't blogged in 5 days."

Oh my Daddy! I love that he cares enough about my life to notice when it's been a while. Also, my mom was in the car and she may or may not have had something to with him calling me to give me a hard time. I think she likes the updates too! :)

So, here's an update in a series of 5 facts, and some accompanying commentary:

Nolan is a chubby McChubberson. He weighs 17 pounds. This shocked and slightly concerned me, so I sent a text to his cousins' (who are about 2 months older than Nol) mom, to see what they're weighing in at these days. Turns out my shock and concern was totally valid. Little miss twin is 15 pounds, and her twin brother is 16 pounds. We decided Nolan, the chunk, will just have their back when they're older. If anybody messes with the twins, he'll just sit on the culprit. Need evidence of the chub? Here's your proof...he's so chubby that he's multiplying.

2. We went on a Chicago scavenger hunt with Coll's school to try and get to know the city better. Highlights included;

*Watching Coll walk a stranger's dog

*Seeing the whole team fit in one section of a revolving door

*And capturing this on camera:

3. We've found a delicious ice cream place (we actually found it when we came here to interview a few years back) that we would like to take you all to when you come visit. You pick your flavor, your toppings, and then your color!!

4. I've been trying really hard to work on my photography skills. Nolan's been my good little model. Here are some of my favorites:

5. We got some pictures back of our family outside the temple after Nolan's sealing. I'm still playing around with editing and what not but here's one of my favorites so far:

Life is good! We're loving Chicago and are excited for some family that's visiting next month! Any and ALL of you are welcome to visit, anytime!

Pizza Predicament

"Homemade Pizza" is what our menu said for Wednesday (last) night, but I was short a few things. A few important things; pizza crust, and pepperoni. So we walked Daddy to his bus stop yesterday and swung by the farmers market. We were in luck! Organic pizza crust AND organic pepperoni. Later that evening Daddy sent a text message saying he would be home in 30 minutes. So Nol and I had a heart to heart about being a good boy during tummy time so Mommy could whip up some pizza. He obliged and I got to work.

Just after I had the pizza assembled, the oven pre-heated, and the pizza stone ready to slide in the oven, Daddy got home! And just in time. Nol was starting to forget his end of the deal.

A few tickles and smoochies later, our pizza was done.

Looks delicious right?! (Never mind the uneven slicing). Well, earlier in the prepping process, when I unwrapped the organic pizza crus, an unpleasant aroma filled the room. I assumed it would disappear when the crust was smothered in olive oil, pizza sauce, toppings and then baked to the high heavens. Turns out I was wrong. We each ate a piece simply because we were STARVING. We each tried to down a second slice, but we couldn't do it.

Moral of the story, RUSTIC organic pizza crust bears its name proudly. It tasted about as rustic or rusty as anything I'd even consumed. Bad choice.

So we left our plates full of pizza, empty of Ranch, the kitchen a mess and went on a bike-ride. Nolan likes to hold my dress ties like reigns on a horse. I went faster with every whip of the reigns.

It was a lovely ride. And then we came home. And our pizza was still there. Along with its stench. I guess a girl can't have everything.

Hangin' Out

The other day I was asking Markee how she gets house-work and even things like taking a shower or getting ready for the day done when her kids are awake. She said that she puts her youngest in a jumper and then the baby takes care of herself! We acquired a jumper a while back and I decided to give Nol a shot at it!

Three things are sure:

1. I was able to get my laundry done.

2. It tuckered him out.

3. He didn't hate it.

I'm hoping that as he gets a little bigger he'll enjoy it even more.

Tidbits of Home

Last night after Noly was in bed, I was cleaning up before I hit the sack and I realized that we have some funny things in our home.

Observe:

This is our bathroom. With an orange Home Depot bucket containing sugar, right in the middle of the bathroom. Why? Because that bathroom mirror is the only mirror in the house, and I have to stand on the bucket to get a view of my whole self. Awesome.

Yesterday we were looking for the baby Tylenol (Nol may or may not be cutting a tooth. In this case 'may or may not' isn't implying that he really is cutting a tooth. We really don't know. He actually may, or may not, be cutting a tooth) and I assured Collin is was in one of my two purses. Before I knew it, this was on the ground.

Our stroller folds up quite nicely, but we use it too much to always be folding it up. It has just become a part of our room decor.

I was realizing the other day that I really am such a floor-worker. We have places to sit in our house, I just generally prefer the ground.

Back to the bathroom. I'd say our back-of-the-toilet-reading-material sums us up pretty well. Dwell Magazine and The Book of Mormon. That's us. :)

Lately I've been playing the piano more than usual, and I hadn't really realized it but I've been playing Morning Prayer most every time I sit down at the piano. I'm sure Coll and Nolan have it memorized and are sick of it. But a few years ago I needed to pick a piece for a piano midterm at ASU and so the next time I was in Eagar I was going through my mom's music and stumbled upon this piece. It was my grandma's. I love playing it because it makes me feel close to home and close to Grandma. (I'll give it back Mom, I promise!)

And lastly, this guy is what really makes our home a happy place. We have some pretty funky quirks and some messy spots here and there, but he ties it all together and makes life wonderful. And he's got a sick-nasty Blue Steel!

Things I know This Month That I Didn't Know 3 Months Ago

1. Poopy diapers more than 3 days old smell like moth balls (admit it, this could be worse)

2. Going down stairs with a stroller, a baby, and a purse is much easier than going up stairs with a stroller, a baby, and a purse, and groceries.

3. You can indeed learn to tune out crying.

4. An uninterrupted nights sleep followed by a 5:30 a.m. wake up is 100% better than waking up 3+ times a night followed by a 7:00 or 8:00 wake up.

5. Sometimes all you need is a Jello cup. The Beatles lied. (This mostly applied to Collin. He loves him some Jello.)

Being a mom totally rocks. And it's educational.

Also, I'll be doing a hair tutorial later in the week on how to achieve bangs like those in the picture above.

Remember That One Night?

I have a feeling that's the phrase we'll keep saying for years to come.

"Hey Coll, remember that one night? When we set out for ice cream and ended up winning BINGO in a pub?"

Because folks, that's exactly what happened.

It had been a long, hard day full of more diapers than usual, more screams and cries than usual, less Collin than usual (darn that school) and less patience than usual. So when Coll finally walked through the door...actually scratch that, we went outside and walked down the side-walk to meet Coll at the bus stop in order to see him even sooner. Never mind that he got off at a different stop than usual and so he got home and we weren't there and we got to the bus stop and he wasn't there. Anyway, back to the story. Collin was home, the house was a mess, I had no plan for dinner and Nolan had milk stains all down the front of his shirt. That could only mean 2 things:

1. leftovers for dinner

2. a mission to find a cheap treat post-dinner

Sunday night's chicken alfredo it was. We considered googling a good ice cream/gelato/frozen yogurt place, but we'd done that before and it's so hit or miss, so we just loaded the Bubs (like the Beibs but cooler) in his stroller and headed out.

We walked and walked, and walked some more. We found several ice cream shops, just no open ice creams shops. We were all walked out, incredibly discouraged, and close to giving up when we passed a pub which was pretty much the only open establishment we'd seen all night. (No, it wasn't super late or anything, just a week day.) Coll peeked his head into the pub and asked for a dessert menu. When he returned with the news of a pizza-cookie we could have been at an out-house for all I cared, and into the pub we strolled.

The people were friendly, and they put in for our cookie before we even sat down (service!). We picked a seat away from the bar, and right by the shuffle-board. Little Nolan was fast asleep (okay so maybe it was a little late) and so Coll and I tried our hand at shuffle-board. We were both equally horrible, but it was fun. Especially when Collin played standing behind me, with his hands around my waist. It was like the good old days of dates and flirting.

Anyway, the place started to fill up and soon a friendly pub employee offered us each a BINGO card. We hesitated, knowing the usual gambling implications that go along with such a game, but he assured us this was a free and friendly game of BINGO. We obliged, took a card, and casually marked off B2 and G36 as we shuffled our lives away.

Finally, our cookie of goodness topped with ice cream appeared, and we shuffled our way over to our table only to find Nolan wide awake watching pre-season football. We enjoyed our cookie (though we've had better) and continued to kind of play BINGO. Soon our treat was consumed, Nol was getting restless, and it was time to go home.

"One more game of BINGO?" I asked.

Collin responded with "Look at our baby! He needs to be in bed!"

He was right. But that didn't stop me. My needs before my child's needs right?

We stuck around (mostly because I pretended to still be nibbling on the cookie remains) and wouldn't you know it. In a 4-corner round of BINGO, I got the BINGO!! I squealed with delight, walked myself up to the BINGO caller, presented my card, he verified, and I announced my name over the pub PA. It was then that I was told

"Just see the bartender for your free Moose something or other".

"I dont drink" I replied. "Give it to somebody else".

"I'll tell you what" said the nice BINGO caller "I'll give you a prize bag instead".

And there it was. My first BINGO win, and a brain-teaser puzzle to boot! All while exposing Nolan to his first pub, staying out way past all of our bed-time, only to have to walk home, on the streets of Chicago, after dark. Safe I tell you! Super safe! But all in the name of a delicious treat after a long, hard day.

And BINGO was his name-o.

Reading In Bed

When I was younger I would read in bed and always think,

"Somebody should come up with some type of apparatus that hangs from my ceiling and holds my book open for me so I can read lying down in bed."

It turns out Nolan needs that same apparatus. Maybe it can be Daddy's thesis project? :)

P.S. He also has a thing for technology. Notice my computer cord and cell-phone gathered around him right along with his chew toys, rattles, and books. That little guy!!

P.S.S. Despite how it appears, I did not rope his right arm with my computer cord. He did that all by himself. I think he's going to be a cowboy. And a reader. And a technology buff. He's so smart!!!!

Our 4th Wedding Anniversay

Last week we (as you know, and thank you for the nice happy anniversary wishes) celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary. Collin woke me up (although I had been awake with Nolan for several hours, I pretended I was asleep when he came into our bedroom) with breakfast in bed (blueberry muffins, scrambled eggs, and a strawberry-banana smoothie), and then he told me our schedule for the day. He said first we would be going to The Magnificent Mile which is a mile of incredible shopping so that I could get a new pair of shoes (mine all have holes in them) or a new diaper bag (my purses aren't cutting it). After shopping we would head to Lincoln Park where they have a free zoo. And after the zoo we could either hang out in the park for a free jazz concert, or go to a Cubs game. Woot woot!! We then ate our breakfast, and I read to him my gift (the first few chapters of our "love story") and then we got ready for the day.

We took a bus to the Magnificent Mile and walked and walked looking for some shoes and/or a diaper bag. They were all too expensive, or out of the right size, or just didn't seem right. We were so exhausted after shopping (some people are cut out for shopping, we are not those people) and Nolan was starving, so we plopped right down in the middle of the sidewalk and took a break.

As we were walking the mile we kept getting glimpses of the lake. We really wanted to get a closer view so we started walking towards the lake, and when we got close enough to actually see the lake, we found this...

A beach!! It's a full-blown beach! And an all-inclusive one at that. They have warm weather, lots of gross swimming suits, plenty of volleyball nets, and ice cream vendors all around. What took us by surprise though, was the colllllld water!

It was soooo much fun, and Nolan was a sweetheart and slept through most of it.

But right as we were leaving, he woke up.

And we couldn't resist letting him play in the water during his first trip to the beach.

I accidentally got my and Nol's pants wet. We took's Nol's off to dry. I didn't have the same luxury.

Then we walked down to the zoo where Collin and I both had to go potty so terribly bad that we really rushed through the zoo and didn't give taking pictures a single thought.

We finally found public restroom at the end of our zoo trip, and despite the absolute filth we encountered, we were whole again.

We then headed down to Navy Pier where there is something for everyone. We decided to ride the ENORMOUS ferris-wheel. We saw the most breathtaking views of our new city.

It was such a lovely day and I'm so glad to have shared it with Colly and Nol. We've loved these past 4 years and can't wait to have many, many more!!

Our Morning

Today Daddy left for his first day of graduate school. He was almost out the door when I remembered to take a first-day-of-school photo. I said, "Wait, I need a picture" to which he replied, "YES!! I was hoping you'd remember". That little rascal was just praying I would take his picture...and with the poses he can come up with, why wouldn't he?!

In other news, Uncle Troy came to visit last night. It was a much-needed familiar face, and he did the dishes to-boot.

Oh and, we have a really cute baby.