Tag, You're It!!

1. What time did you get up this morning? 6:30 AM - after five (yes, I finally got FIVE) hours of sleep; it was so nice.
2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds for rings, pearls for necklaces.
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Errand of Angels - it was okay, but not great.
4. What is your favorite TV show? The Office.
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? What's breakfast? J/K. Lately I've been having cottage cheese and peaches from the bottles that didn't seal.
6. What is your middle name? Ann.
7. What food do you dislike? Chinese.
8. What is your favorite CD at moment? Hmm. The only CD I listen to is Raffi.
9. What kind of car do you drive? Chevy Malibu.
10. Favorite sandwich? Probably a good BLT with mayonnaise - or just standard PB & J.
11. What characteristics do you despise? I have a really hard time with people who have to complain about everything. Like, can't you just choose to be happy and go with it?
12. Favorite item of clothing? Lately I've been living in my yoga pants that I cut off. So they're not cute - I know that. But they're super comfy and they're GREAT for doing all my projects around the house, like canning.
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? I'd go most anywhere with Jeff, but druthers would be Portugal, Spain, Mexico, Italy, Brazil, or Washington DC. Or a road trip up the west coast into Canada.
14. Favorite brand of clothing? I don't know anything about brands of clothing. I like my Old Navy jeans and my Ross or WalMart shirts.
15. Where would you retire to? I would love to own a little bed and breakfast on the beach somewhere - southern Portugal or maybe even Bear Lake. I guess in the end I'd rather be near family, though.
16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? I got to go to NYC with Jeff the week before my birthday this year, and Jeff said it was for my birthday. So that was definitely memorable. Can't forget hauling Faith and her stroller up and down 90 gazillion flights of subway stairs, and waiting for Jeff for an hour in the stifling heat of a subway station. Or the look on the face of that man who sat down at our table at Ben & Jerry's when I started nursing Faith. Or Jeff's excitement at going to the Giants game. Or the feeling of reverence I had when I saw Ground Zero. Or how heavenly it is to sleep in a king-size bed without children. Hmm. Yeah, that was a good birthday. Thanks, Jeff!!
17. Favorite sport to watch? Football - NFL, that is. Not college.
18. When is your birthday? August 26, 1978. I turned 30 this year.
19. Are you a morning person or a night person? I used to be a morning person, but lately I'm up late at night, and then up all night, and so I'd prefer to stay in bed all day if I could.
20. What is your shoe size? 10.
21. Pets? My last pet was a beta fish, Rudy. When he died, it totally freaked me out to flush him down the toilet. I don't think we'll be getting any other pets until Michael is old enough to take care of them. And we'll never have them in the house. I don't do pet smell and pet hair.
22. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? I'm going to get my act together and put some of my crocheted things in local boutiques, online, etc. I just need Jeff to help me get photos taken and some things listed online.
23. What did you want to be when you were little? That would depend on what you mean by "little." At various times I wanted to be a teacher, a mathematician (what was I thinking?), a writer, an artist..... I'd still like to write and teach, and maybe dabble in painting just enough to do some creative pieces for my home, but mathematician? Not so much. I have to ask Jeff to do even simple math problems for me.
24. How are you today? I feel really good today. Like I said, I got five hours of uninterrupted sleep. And, even though my house is a disaster area and I have a TON of work to do when I get home from work today, I feel good, and I'm actually looking forward to cleaning things up. Probably because I know that the canning is done and I won't have to clean it all up again until next year.
25. What is your favorite candy? Chocolate. Come on, is that really a question? I especially love Hershey's Special Dark chocolate.
26. What is your favorite flower? Most anything orange. I think orange flowers are so pretty.
27. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? October 27, 2008. The day AFTER our Primary program. Can you say stress-free?
28. What is your full name? Cami Ann Hansen Sabin
29. What are you listening to right now? The coffee pot at work. And some show on the television. I'm really not listening, it's just background noise.
30. What was the last thing you ate? I drank some tomato juice before I left for work. I love tomato juice. Jeff made some for me yesterday. Thanks, Sweetie!!
31. Do you wish on stars? Not since I was 15 or so.
32. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Something bright - orange, maybe, or bright purple.
33. How is the weather right now? Perfect.
34. The first person you spoke to on the phone today? A guest calling to say she wants to stay another night.
35. Favorite soft drink? This is terrible - but I love Coke. I try not to drink it unless I have a really bad headache, but sometimes I give in.
36. Favorite restaurant? I've become quite fond of a little Italian place here called Boccia's D'Italia. I also really like another little place called Bagels-n-Buns.
37. Real hair color? Brown.
38. What was your favorite toy as a child? My Jenny doll. It was actually a Mandy doll, but since my sister was Mandi, I couldn't have a Mandy doll. So we changed her name to Jenny. It must have been my favorite, because it's the only one I can remember.
39. Summer or winter? Summer.
40. Hugs or kisses? Kisses AND hugs from Jeff and Michael. Hugs from everyone else. Someday I'm sure I'll love kisses from Faith, too. But right now she's just mostly slobbery.
41. Chocolate or Vanilla? If we're talking ice cream, vanilla. Or a twist cone.
42. Coffee or tea? To smell - coffee. To drink - herbal tea.
43. When was the last time you cried? In the middle of the night on Thursday night. Michael was wide awake and wanted me to lie in his bed with him, and I just wanted to sleep - in MY bed with no little legs kicking me.
44. What is under your bed? I don't want to know - probably LOTS of dust bunnies.
45. What did you do last night? I worked until midnight, then got home just as Faith woke up. So I fed her and put her back to bed, and then I went to sleep.
46. What are you afraid of? Mirrors in dark rooms. Have you ever played Bloody Mary? That stupid game you play at sleepovers when you're 12? Yeah, I still can't get over that. I am also terrified that I'll lose a child - not that one will die, but that one will be lost, and I won't know where they're at or what's happening to them. I'm not sure I could deal with that.
47. Salty or sweet? Either.
48. How many keys on your key ring? Four - the house, the car, the truck, and the shed.
49. How many years at your current job? Almost two this time around. I worked here for almost a year from April 2001 to March 2002, and started here again in October 2006.
50. Favorite day of the week? Saturdays, because Jeff is home. Sundays, too, except that they stress me out because of my calling.
51. How many towns have you lived in? Ogden, UT; Huntsville, UT; Layton, UT; Delta, UT; Setubal, Portugal; Amora, Portugal; Mindelo, Cape Verde; Mountain View, WY - That makes eight, as well as extended stays in Provo, UT (MTC) and Michoacan, Mexico (study abroad).
52. Do you make friends easily? It takes me a while. Lots of people have told me that they think I'm stuck up when they first meet me. I think I just take a little time to warm up.
53. Worst habit? You should ask Jeff this one. I'm sure he could come up with a few. For me, I'd say impatience. That, and a lot of times my mind wanders when I should be listening.
54. Are you getting sick of this survey? Yup.

Thankful Thursday

• Food storage. Okay, so we haven't had to actually USE our food storage, but I'm grateful for the peace of mind that comes with knowing it's there. I don't have a full year's worth yet, but we're working on it.
• Free food storage. Even better! This week Jeff and I have been canning up a storm - salsa, pear sauce, peaches, and still to come, applesauce and more peaches and more salsa. Now, I know you can't live on salsa, but you have to admit, it can make rice and beans quite a bit tastier. We're also drying plums and freezing corn. Anyway, we were fortunate to get peaches and corn from Grandma and Grandpa, plums and tomatoes from Richard and Anna (Jeff's parents), pears from Jodi, and apples from a family in our ward. It's a lot of work to prepare it and can it and all that, but it's kind of fun. And then there's that whole peace-of-mind thing that comes from knowing it's there....
• Reduced-price food storage. Is this getting a little repetitive? I've been able to get some group rates on some items, which is really nice. And the case lot sales are great.
  
• pinchingyourpennies.com This website is AWESOME!!! Thanks, April, for turning me onto it. It tells you where the best deals are for groceries or anything else. It tells you how to use your Sunday coupons to get even better deals. All very good for food storage, or whatever.
  
• Nap time. No, not my own nap time (I wish!!!), but Faith's nap time. I got lots of pear sauce made while she was snoozing today, and Michael was actually pretty helpful. He loves to help.

Okay, so can anyone guess where my focus has been lately? Did I hear you say Food storage? DING DING DING DING DING!!!!! All this freakishness that is happening with the economy is making me realize how wise the prophet's counsel is - get out of debt and get your food storage. We're still working on the debt part, and the food storage part. But at least we're making progress. I'm currently brainstorming creative (but legal and ethical) ways to make money and pay off our debt faster. Any wise ideas out there?

Overdue Update

Feeding Faith is like target practice. She does this funny dive-bomb kind of thing toward the spoon, and you'd better have good aim so you get the food in her mouth while she's going head-first into the table with her mouth wide open. She is a pretty good eater. She loves peaches, bananas, pears, pineapple, blueberries, cherries, applesauce, and avocado. I obviously haven't done many vegetables yet, but soon to come is squash, sweet potatoes, and maybe green beans. She gobbles up pretty much everything we give her, except plain yogurt. She's not such a fan of that.

Michael and Faith are both sick. They have croup. Tuesday night, I was up most the night with one or the other, and Wednesday morning, I wasn't feeling so hot either. I was so exhausted and overwhelmed that I asked Jeff to go in to work late so he could help me with the kids. Thank goodness for husbands. I went back to bed, and he got breakfast for Michael, loaded the dishwasher, cleaned up the kitchen, and made breakfast for me and him, all before 10 AM. I was impressed. Thank you, Sweetie!!

Jeff decided not to go to work at all on Wednesday. Instead, we took the kids to Beus pond, up by Weber State, to feed the ducks. Michael loved it. It was so funny to watch him, because he would throw the bread as hard as he could, and it would go way up in the air and fall down about two feet in front of him. But he didn't care. He had a great time.

I took Michael to the doctor today just to make sure that he had croup and nothing worse. He was so sad - he didn't get to go to pre-school today, and he won't be able to go to the zoo tomorrow. We promised him we'd take him to the zoo another day. I think we'll take him up to Willow Park Zoo in Logan. It's cheaper and smaller than Hogle Zoo, but I think he'll like it just as much.

Enjoy a slide show of their latest photos!!

Thankful Thursday

• The cool-air humidifier that will hopefully help Michael and Faith to breathe better at night, so hopefully I can get some sleep, too.
• Wal-Mart, which sells the cool-air humidifier, and everything else we need all in one place. One-stop shopping is so nice, especially when it's cheap.
• The sleep sack that Faith wears at night. It's like a blanket that she can't take off.
• Fresh peaches and concord grapes that Jeff's mom let us pick from their garden.
• Jeff, for picking and washing the concord grapes so that I don't have to see the earwigs.
  

NOT Thankful Saturday

I spent a lot of time yesterday weeding one of our flower beds, and as I did, I realized that although I am very thankful for a lot of things, there are some things that I am definitely NOT thankful for. For example:

• Bermuda grass. What's up with grass that you can't kill? Well, I guess you can kill it with grass killer, but you can't put grass killer all over your nice grass, now, can you? Of course not. So instead, we get stuck with ugly, scratchy grass that spreads by runners and puts down roots everywhere. And it's almost impossible to pull out. Yuck.
• Thorns on rose bushes. Why can't we have pretty roses without the thorns? I can't tell you how many times I got poked in the fingers, hands, arms, back, shoulders, etc., while I was trying to get the weeds out from behind the roses.
• Owies. Michael got two owies while he was helping me. First, he dropped the pruning clippers on his foot and cut his big toe (I know, I should not let him hold the clippers - but try telling him that). Not a major cut, but still, I think it was the most blood he's ever seen, and it kind of freaked him out. Then he fell down and skinned his knee. He was really sad about the knee. After we had cleaned it up, he crawled into my lap and kept telling me to look at his owie. I asked if he wanted me to kiss it better, and he said no, just to look at it. Then he'd try to push my head down to about two inches from his knee so I really could look at it carefully.
• Centipedes. This is by far the worst of today's unthankfuls. Just the sight of a centipede gives me the willies. I can do worms, snakes, and most spiders and bugs, but things that have more than eight legs just should not be. Other creepy-crawlies that should not be: crickets, cockroaches, and earwigs.
  

Conversations with Michael

Me: Look, Michael, there's an airplane.
Michael: Yeah, there is a airplane. Somebody is flying?
Me: Yup, somebody is flying.
Michael: They have shoes on?

************
Michael: The black truck is gone. (Our neighbor across the street drives a black SUV.)
Me: It is gone. He isn't home.
Michael: He went to work?
Me: I don't know. Maybe.
Michael: He not at work. He went to JoAnn.

************
Me: Michael, you get to go to the zoo with your preschool. Won't that be fun?
Michael: Yeah, that be fun.
Me: You'll get to see zebras and crocodiles and elephants and tigers....
Michael: And ducks!!

************
And I overheard him singing:

Monkey in the tree top,
Swinging with ease.
Scratching his back
And picking at fleas.
Eating bananas
While he swings by his knees.
We are a happy family.

Apparently, he combined two songs that he often sings ("Monkey in the Tree Top," and "We are a Happy Family") into one new one.

Faces of Faith, and other funny stuff

Faith has started doing this goofy thing with her face, where she squinches up her nose and lips and breathes in and out really loudly. It's so funny looking. I had to take some photos.

Okay, and then I have to put one of her smiling in here too, lest you all think that her face has stuck that way:

She has figured out how to jump in her bouncer, instead of just kind of wobbling all over the place, and she loves it. It's fun to watch her.

Michael totally cracked me up this morning. He was sitting at the table eating breakfast, and he started singing "How Great Thou Art." He doesn't quite have the words down all the way, but he does know the tune (more or less). So he's belting it out, and he missed a couple of words. I was at the sink doing some dishes, and I started to sing with him to help him get the words right. He yelled at me, "NO MOM!!! Only sing in the spoon!!" I turned and looked at him, and he was holding the spoon up like a microphone and singing into it. Where did he learn that? I have no idea. Preschool, maybe? Or maybe Jeff sings into the spoon when I'm not around? Either way, it was hilarious to watch him, and hear him, although I can think of a couple of people who would cringe at his performance of a hymn. I'd like to record it, but I'm not sure he'd do it in front of the camera.

And since today is Thursday, I have to do my Thankful Thursday:

• Leaf Blowers. I wanted to take some photos of our house before the lawn and flowers start dying this fall, so Jeff used the leaf blower and blew all the dirt, leaves, sawdust, etc., off our patio, driveway, and sidewalks. It looks SO much better. I took lots of photos today, and I think they turned out pretty well.
• Peace and Quiet. An unexpected bonus of Michael going to preschool is that I get a little (very short) break when Michael is gone and Faith is sleeping. Today I got to make a phone call and read some blogs. Then Faith woke up. The quiet is gone, since she is bouncing in her bouncer and breathing loudly through her squinched up nose and mouth.
• The word "squinched." Could any word better describe what she is doing right now?
• Baby feet. I have to say I LOVE Faith's feet. They are so fat that there is a ridge on the TOP of her feet where her toes begin. I actually have to clean it out. Okay, so that doesn't sound very pleasant, but her feet are really cute.
• Mr. Gabaldon. He is our neighbor, and the other day he gave us a darling desk and chair for Michael. Michael promptly sat down at the desk and drew two pictures, which we brought over to him. He acted thrilled to get two multi-colored scribbles from a three-year-old. Michael spent much of the rest of the day saying "Mr. Gabaldon" over and over, with a big grin on his face. It was so cute.

Signs your child is potty-training, and other stuff

So I was thinking today about Michael being finally potty-trained. It's wonderful. He doesn't make it all night yet, but I can handle a pull-up at night. But we were running around doing some shopping today, and in every single store, he wanted to go potty. Not that he needed to - he just wants to. Maybe he needs to see for himself that every store has a bathroom, or maybe it's just the novelty of going somewhere other than home. Anyway, here are some signs that your child is being potty-trained:

1. You always have at least one extra pair of underwear and pants with you.
2. When they say they have to go potty, you drop everything and go.
3. You can list from memory which stores do and do not have public restrooms.
4. Not only do you know which ones have public restrooms, but you also know how many stalls are in each of those public restrooms, whether each stall's toilet is installed high or low, and whether the toilets flush automatically or not.
5. You stand with your hand over the sensor on automatic flushers, so that they don't scare the crap out of your kid when they go off, and you repeatedly say, "It's okay, I won't let it flush until you're ready." (Michael refuses to go in one particular bathroom in our church, because the automatic flushers scare him so badly. In fact, when the church was remodeled and they installed the automatic flushers in that bathroom - which happens to be the one by the Primary room - we often heard kids screaming and crying when they went off unexpectedly.)

In other news, I took the kids to have their pictures taken at Target today. They turned out so good. I am really excited to get them back. I wish Target had the "take home the same day" thing that Kiddie Kandids does. Maybe someday. In the meantime, I think I'll continue to wait two weeks to get my photos, and pay less than half the price.

Michael has now gone to four days of pre-school. He really enjoys it, and I think it's been good for him socially. I know that pre-school isn't really necessary, and I know that a lot of people think that 3 is too young for them to be going, but I feel like it's the right thing for him. He and I have too many power struggles over his feeding and over his sensory issues, and so it's good for him to be invited and encouraged by others (not mom or dad) to participate in activities that will help him to progress in that way.

Faith is starting to show a lot more personality, and let me tell you, I am in trouble. She has no patience at all. If she drops a toy and can't reach it, she starts yelling at the top of her lungs. She's not crying, just yelling, and she continues yelling until you pick the toy up and give it back to her. It will be nice when she can move around a little better and pick up her own toys. Of course, then she'll move around better, and be harder to contain.

We went camping at Bear Lake over the weekend with Jeff's family. It was really fun. Jeff's parents have a membership at CamperWorld, so we all stay free at any CamperWorld. Other than cramming the campers in like sardines, they're really nice. This weekend, we were actually almost the only people in the CamperWorld, since Bear Lake season is about over. Jeff's dad brought a heater for us to use in our tent, which was really nice. Camping with his family is certainly not what you'd call "roughing it." We always have flushing toilets, hot showers, electricity, a refrigerator and microwave in the trailer.... The only difference between camping with them and staying in a hotel is that the bed is not as comfortable. Of course, this time, I actually slept better than I have in weeks. So maybe it's the hotel bed that's not as comfortable.

Abigail Beth

Just had to add this photo that Mandi posted on her blog. This is Abigail Beth Larsen. They'll call her Abby. She was 8 pounds 3 ounces and 20 inches long, and look how pink she is!!!! I wonder if she has any hair.

Thankful Thursday

• A new niece!!! Mandi had her baby this morning at about 6:30 Texas time. She weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces, and I forgot to ask how long she was. They don't have a name picked yet - they are still debating between three or four different ones. Mandi had her at home. Not the way I would have done it, but everything went very well and everyone is happy and healthy, so all's good.
  
• Paintable caulk - it makes all the trim look so neat and pretty after it's painted. You can't see any gaps from my in-expert work. Actually, the gaps were only partly from my in-expert work. The other part is the in-expert work of the Turvorts, from whom we bought this house. They apparently don't know what "square" or "flush" means. But like I said, paintable caulk hides lots of those imperfections and makes it pretty.
• Healthy children. A couple in our ward just had their third child - a little girl. She is missing part of her brain, and she is missing her pallette (there is no division between her mouth and her nasal passages, so she can't eat and breathe at the same time), and there are other problems as well. She is still in the NICU, of course, and they don't know when she'll be able to come home. We took dinner over to them yesterday, and Kazia, the mom, said that they had just gotten back from seeing her at the hospital. It just hit me then how hard it would be to leave baby in the hospital every day. Of course, they have two older children to take care of, so it's not like they can just camp out at the hospital 24/7, but I'm not sure how well I would cope with leaving my baby.
• My sewing room. It's a huge mess because I have too many projects and too much stuff, but I love to go in there and create. When I'm sewing I don't have to concentrate very much, so I get lots of thinking done. It's just nice quiet time for me.
• Sleep. I'm not getting much of it these days. I've been staying up until midnight or so sewing, and then Faith wakes up at about 2:00, then about 4:00, then about 6:00. I don't know what the deal is. And then Michael wakes up, too. Last night I was up three times with her and once with him, all between midnight and 6:30. Two hours of continuous sleep seems like such a fantasy right now. Someday.
• My mom. One of my friends' mothers is dying. She has brain cancer, and the doctors have given her only a few weeks to live. I've been reading her blog, and her sister's blog (even though I've never met her sister), and the thoughts that they've expressed have been very touching to me. I'm so grateful for my mom, and I don't know what I would do without her.
• My dad. He calls me every once in a while out of the blue just to talk - usually about Michael and how he's doing at school, or with eating, or whatever. I appreciate those calls so much.
• Lists. I know, Jeff, how much you hate my lists. But they keep me feeling organized and productive. I make lists of what needs to be done, and I organize those lists into days, so I know what to do each day to get everything done. When my life gets crazy, those lists are how I stay sane. So Jeff, you really should be grateful for them, too. :) And besides, there is nothing quite as satisfying to me as crossing items off my list. I know, I know, I'm a little bit compulsive, but it works for me.

Okay, so I usually do five things for Thankful Thursday, but this week I did eight. Almost makes up for missing a week, huh? Now I have to go make some lists - we're going camping this weekend with Jeff's family, and I have to make a list of what to pack, a list of what to buy for our meals, and a list of everything else I have to do before we go.