Friday Movie Review: Hot Tub Time Machine

Yuck! Yuck! And more yuck! I should have known better. But I caved because my boyfriend, John Cusack was in this movie. Why John? Why did you have to make such an icky movie? I am not going to trouble anyone with details or a real review. Just realize that it was icky and I am saddened that we watched it.

If you wanted to see it then you probably already have, but if you haven't seen it, DON'T DO IT! And realize as I post this that because I love me some John Cusack for me to tell people not to see this...well it means that it is HORRIBLE!!!

That is all...

Thursdays Nostaligia

Can you remember when Aidan was this little?
It seems like it was just yesterday and yet so long ago as well.
I love my baby. I love that he has grown by leaps and bounds.
I am anxious to have another baby in the house.

Wednesdays blessings

Cousins. This last week my cousins daughter, Chelsea, has been staying with us. We are so happy to have her here with us visiting. She is such a delightful young woman, I am happy to be able to make memories and spend QT with her. Aidan loves her to death and gets mad if she isn't right next to him. :)

Temple Square. I often forget how wonderful this is. I have always lived a short distance from it and have rarely taken advantage of its sites. We always go down to see the lights at Christmas time but never go down during the other months. With Chelsea visiting we took advantage of her and went and visited. Aside from her never really spending much time in Northern Utah, she and her sisters were recently baptized.

Antelope Island. What a relaxing little drive. There really isn't much to see out there. Once you have seen it a couple of hundred times, it doesn't change much. But aside from the relaxing drive, I enjoy spending time with my Grandparents.

Banana Splits. After our trip to the Island, we went to lunch and got banana splits for dessert. What a fun memory. Thanks Bob and Virgie for the wonderful time!

Morning Sickness. I can't believe I am putting this on my Wednesdays Blessings list. But I have wanted to be pregnant for a while and feeling nausea and icky helps to remind me that I want this. I especially want this wonderful parasite in my middle to grow and develop and come out and see me.

Intuition. Read last weeks blog entitled This Week At A Glance. The doctor says one thing. We feel another.

Free Resources. When you are poor and want something to do, nothing is better than having free fun resources available to you.

Tuesday Book Review: Midnight Sons Volume 3

I finally made it to the library and was able to get my hands on a Macomber book that I hadn't read. YEAH! This book is part of a series. The series takes place in Hard Luck, Alaska. Hard Luck is located just above the Arctic Circle. In the beginning of the series the population of the town is less than 50. As the books go through and document the lives of the residences you see not only a part of there wonderfully complex and yet simple life (living far away from civilization would have its pros and cons). Midnight Sons is the name of a company ran by three brothers. The company specializes in aviation transportation. These brothers/pilots are the towns only way to communicate with the outside world. As the brothers start to lose pilots due to a lack of females in the towns population, two of them devise a plan. Bribe beautiful woman from the bigger cities to come and live in Hard Luck. In exchange they would get property after a year and a job. This concept proves to be shoddy. The woman who they want to come to Hard Luck refuse to stay after a day. But the strong willed able bodied woman make it last. The brothers find themselves (as with other men in the town) falling in love with the women who embrace their town and lifestyle. These books share the beautiful and mostly tumultious relationship beginnings between man and woman.

I have said it before and will say it again. Macomber does a fine job of documenting the dynamic within relationships.

Good quick read, I have missed you. Hopefully the library will have more later this week.

Molly Monday: Root Veggies

I was distraught last week because my neighbor has been picking her veggies for a while and have gotten nothing. Well I decided to go and just check my root veggies. First I pulled the carrots that looked dead and then the beet that looked sad. And this it what I saw. I am no longer sad, but enthusiatic about what can be coming soon. I hope to harvest in October. Yummy pickled beets and possible baby food? Just kidding.

This week at a glance

This last week was an interesting one. Last Sunday I found myself on Facebook excited for yet another friend announcing their pregnancy/due date to cyberspace. And then, right in the middle of my happiness for them I felt saddened.

Brian and I have been wanted to get pregnant for the last 18 months. Our ideal plan was to have babies two years apart. We both want four babies. We both are aware that I am not a spring chicken so since we started when I was 28 we knew we would have to work fast. As so when my body began to "act up" we were concerned.

I have been going to see a Fertility Doctor/OB-GYN for the last six months. He has helped me to understand that my problems may be cause by PCOS. And yes, he "thinks" I may have. He says all my symptoms lead him to believe this but we haven't got around to furthering that diagnosis. His first plan of action to regulate my body was to put me on birth control. What? He knows we WANT more babies, why birth control. Apparently birth control helps a woman regulate her body and hormones when her body "acts up". So I took some birth control, for a month. Then I couldn't get in to see him and left it alone.

Last Sunday I found myself going from super happy to super upset. I said to myself "FINE!" I cried a little bit and then first thing Monday morning I called and asked if I could have a prescription for birth control, because it was obviously not going to hurt me this year, my body was acting up again. The nurse said that was fine but asked if I was pregnant. No I am not. Brian agreed with my decision and so on Tuesday morning we went and picked up prescription. The pharmacy tech asked, no stressed that if I am pregnant I should not take birth control. "Are you sure you are not pregnant or you have a possibility of being pregnant?" she stressed. No I replied. Three months nothing happening within my body. I am not pregnant, biology says that is impossible. So Tuesday night I sit on my bed with my water in my hand and prep to take the birth control and I couldn't take it. I began to cry. If I start taking birth control there goes another chance. And then I remembered the look on the pharmacy tech's face and I ask Brian to go and get me a test. Better to be safe than sorry. So Wednesday he goes to the store and buys one.

Wednesday night, right before bed, I realize I haven't taken this test and need to so that I can feel good about the birth control. So at midnight I take the test and this is what we get...

"BRIAN!!! COME HERE NOW PLEASE!!!" What he says followed by a giggle. We argue a bit and decide that maybe its because I have been eating too many spinach-poppy seed dressing salads this last week. I go to bed, without taking birth control. Throughout the night Brian buys another test so that I can take a test in the morning.
This is what we get. At first glance we thought negative. And then we started looking at the directions of the lines. Two positive tests. Are we really PREGNANT? I call the doctor and make an appointment for Monday.

At the doctor he does a test and it also come back positive. SWEET! Now we are getting excited. Especially when he tells us the due date is Jan. 22. 2011. And in 3-4 weeks we can find out the sex of the baby. WHAT?? Brian and quickly lose our enthusiasm and determine that something isn't correct. I haven't had a cycle since April 17 (this is the date the doctor is going on) and yet we don't feel right about it. We must have let off some weird vibes because the doctor then says let me check something first. He goes looking for a heart beat. Nothing. He then tells us to come back in two hours and have an ultrasound. Its easier to find a heart beat with an ultrasound. I like that better because who doesn't want a picture of their baby.

Two hours later we are getting our ultrasound. And guess what, nothing. The technician then decides to try a different method of looking. She goes in vaginally. And then she sees something. But what is it? Too make a long story short. We are a fluke.

We are pregnant but have no heart beat and we aren't worried. Why you ask? After finally finding something to take a picture of we determine that all we have is a sac. No baby yet. I am estimated to be only 3 weeks pregnant. A babies heart beat doesn't show up until week 5-6. I didn't know that. I just happen to take a test early and WOW my hormones showed up.

Needless to say we are all very excited but very nervous. It is still so early that lots could happen. We hope and pray that the only things that happen are positive and allow this baby to go full term. My heart says everything is fine and yet my mind tells me not to get comfortable. My body is crazy and my only hope is that it calms down so that we might experience this little blessing in our arms in 10 months. Please keep Baby Larson #2 in your prayers. Because I would love to hold the baby in my arms soon.

Thanks and sorry for being so long.

PS Aidan is pretty excited. He likes to kiss and rub my tummy. I have been trying to get him to say I love you for months now. The first time he said it was to my tummy. "I wuv you Baby."
So cute!

Aidanisms

"Mommy there's a baby in my tummy, too."
"What? Aidan, only mommy's can have babies in their tummies, not boys."
"Oh-kay. Daddy, there's a baby in my tummy."
Repeat over and over again.

Friday Movie Review: WarGames

A classic. A super silly wonderful 80s social commentary. Aidan really enjoyed this movie. He kept saying he wanted to play the game too. :)

This movie is about a teenage hacker in the early 1980s. Matthew Broderick plays the hacker and the ultimate hack is when he hacks into a super secret military database. This database has a long list of "games" to play. He harmlessly begins playing "global thermonuclear war" against a computer. Problem is the computer is programmed to win. As the computer begins to play the game, the government control room begins to see all the game moves as aggressive moves by enemy countries. Basically the humans in the control room don't realize it is a game and they decide to go after there enemies. Can Matthew Broderick convince the computer to end the game before it is over? Can humans ignore their gut instinct in the time of war? Is nuclear war a winnable war?

Classic movie with classic memories attached. Good movie.

Thursdays Nostaligia

Today I have been thinking a lot about the day Aidan was born. What a delightful day! We waited for this day for what seemed like an eternity, okay, maybe 9 months. But it was such a treat, such a wonderful moment. He was so tiny and loved cuddling up to me. Only recently has my big boy wanted to cuddle with me. Happy Birthday sweet Aidan! You will always be my number one!

Wednesdays blessings

A renewal of life. We have a spot in our backyard that has been struggling all year. Well I resolved to focus a lot of attention on this spot and water it constantly. No skipping days or minutes. Every night it gets 90-120 minutes of water...it was bad. It hasn't all come back in but I can see that it is no longer struggling. I love being able to see the transformation. I also love to see the vibrant green and not the neglected yellow.

A full queen size bed. My bed sleeps well with two people in it. It even does alright with a squirt in there. But it doesn't do very well with just one person in it. I can't believe the difference in sleep that I get when I sleep solo in the bed versus sleeping together with Brian. You might think that sleeping solo would be ideal; the whole bed, no sharing covers, tossing and turning as you would like. NO! I love cuddling with Brian. I don't get to do it often, but what a treat when we get to sleep together.

Cell Phones. Seriously what would we ever do without them. They didn't become popular until I got home from my mission so I know I survived with out them, but how, I know not. What a wonderful technological tool, when used properly.

Fabric remnants. I got bored yesterday and decided to make Aidan a snake. He loves it. I love being able to create and see the fruits of my labors.

A child's prayer. Aidan and I pray every night. He usually doesn't want to participate with me but we do it anyway. I usually kneel and say the prayer and Aidan usually ends up on his bed. He tries to keep his eyes closed but still struggles. He won't repeat the words after me, so I just say a little prayer as if it came from Aidan. He is good about saying Amen. Last night as I was saying the prayer, Aidan kept saying Woody Buzz. Finally I asked him in a whisper what he was saying. He said in a whisper back Woody Buzz sleep good too Mommy. So we added that to the prayer. After the Amen, he gave me the biggest hug and said thank you mommy for the prayer. Progress? Absolutely.

A motivate husband. Brian was really tired last night so he slept for like 15 hours. I hate when he does that but I let him because he obviously really needed it. Grave yard shift...blah! So this morning I woke up to the sound of a lawn mower. I went to the window to see from where it came and Brian had woke up and mowed the lawn. FANTASTIC! When he finished he told me everything he had managed to do whilst I was sleeping. What a treat! Drain cleared-check, lawn mowed- check, lawn weeded- almost check. It makes my day so much more pleasant when he is on board. Thanks honey!

A wise two year old. We watch cartoons On Demand. I love it! While Aidan watches the little kid friendly version of Spiderman they have interruptions by toy companies. One add literally says "you know you want the Battle Force 5. Go. Tell your parents you have to have it. Now." What? After a couple of times of seeing this Aidan came up to me and said "Mom I need. Now. Toy. Now." I looked at him and asked "Are you sure you need THAT. Now?" He thought a moment and said "No. I play with bubbles." I just hope peer pressure stays away longer than the not so subliminal messages.

Molly Monday: crafts

More crafts... or should I say quilts. The first one I call "Spectrum" and the second is called "Two way street." Is it sad that I have begun to look at making these blankets like an artist would. I try and find inspiration and patterns everywhere.

Aidan-isms

Aidan woke up this morning, early. Freaking out about "needing to watch television." I tried for a little while to figure out what he wanted to watch. Aidan wasn't much help. Finally he said "super hero Christmas guy." I said what? Then he cried for about ten minutes about needing to see his "super hero Christmas guy." I think I know who he is talking about, but I didn't turn on the movie, I talked him into going back to sleep.

He is all about Christmas movies this month. Christmas in July, really. This doesn't help my stress level whilst preparing for Christmas already. Don't laugh. But I can't bring myself to be that person who goes on a spending spree in December and doesn't get it paid off until May. If we are aware now we slowly buy gifts and then in December we are relaxed and not stressed out, helps with remember the reason for Christmas.

I digress, sorry.

A couple of days ago he kept calling Santa Claus a super hero. Because he is a hero who brings presents. The mind of a two year old. So I am pretty sure he wanted to watch Merry Madagascar and see the cool super hero Christmas guy.

P.S. This still frame was taken from Google images and is one of Aidan's favorite scenes in the movie.

Friday Movie Review: Tale of Desperaux

Last week we went as a family to the Summer Movie at the theater. These movie are super cheap and targeted for little kids that are out of school for the summer. We had been meaning to see this movie and just hadn't rented it yet. So when we realized we see it for $3 (for the family) we said YES!

This movie is fun and cute. Aidan enjoyed it immensely.

The movie is about a little mouse that is not scared of traditional things a mouse should be scared of. One day he sneaks into the castle and reads a book on being a gentleman and a hero. Then he finds he quest, the quest to make him a gentleman and a hero. He will restore happiness and soup to the kingdom. Why was it gone you ask...one must watch the movie. :]

Thursdays Nostaligia

Aidan wanted to look through old pictures. I came to this one and he said "cute baby." I couldn't agree more. This picture was taken on Monday...Monday February 11,2008. I remember this date because Aidan was days old, like three days old. This was his "due" date. I was induced three days early so that my parents could be in town for the delivery. Sometimes a girl just needs her mommy and daddy, ya dig? :)

I digress. Look at how tiny my baby was? When he was born he was 21 inches and 7 pounds 12 ounces. Now he is about 39 inches tall (and going thru another growth spurt) and about 37 pounds. In 30 months he has grown by 30 pounds and 18 inches. Crazy! I love you Aidan. And yes, I agree, you were an adorable baby...and still are.

Wednesdays blessings

Chatting. I am scared to death of chit-chat. I am not good at it, I am not carefree and relaxed in my conversations so chit chat means deer in head light sensation, for me. After living here for over a year I can honestly say that I have had a conversation with my neighbor to the East. After chatting yesterday over a common topic, gardens (hers is amazing and I want to be just like her) I have understood why we haven't talked much. She was just as scared as I was. I may be wrong, this wasn't covered in our conversation but I am pretty sure she is from Eastern Europe (moderate to heavy accent). So her excuse is the language/accent barrier, and my excuse was nervousness. Glad we finally got through that. On a side note, I learned lots about gardening and especially what worked best with the previous owners of this house. Pray for my peppers.

Global Thermonuclear Warfare...and other social commentaries from the 80s. They bring a smile to my face and a sense of nostaligia. Do you know what movie this is from? You get one other clue...Joshua. That is it. If you know or are curious make a comment. :)

Grandparents. I get so excited when they come over for a brief visit. Nothing detailed or important is really ever discussed. We have never solved a problem or figured out the answer to any burning questions in the universe, but being around them is splendiferious!

Status Updates. Because I am not a good conversationalist, there is something to be said about little venting blurbs to the universe. I love being able to "know" what is going on in someones life but not needing to "respond" or "converse" about the situation. For me sometimes that is all I need to share, not to converse. I think this is the reason why I like text messaging too.

Digital photography. In my work as a quilter I have used my camera-phone for so many reasons. I have taken pictures of my progress. I can say progress because from my first few lap blankets to now I can see a skill level change and I can see me perfecting my techniques. I also take photos of fabric I have stored, have used, and want to buy. It is also helpful in trying to buy completementary fabrics.

Husbands. At least mine. Have you ever found yourself just being a girl about something? I do, all the time. Thank goodness for a manly man like Brian. Always willing to get his hands dirty and touch ickiness. Thank you Brian for being more of a man than I will ever be. :)

Kisses and Cuddles. Though he thinks it is a game. Kisses from Aidan are wonderful. He loves to ask to be cuddled and then proceeds to pucker up his lips and plant them on you. I love this display of affection. I love love love it! I hope it never ends.

Tuesday Book Review: none

No book review today. That is all.

Molly Monday: More quilts

Because this last week was so busy and because we are essentially broke due to our trip to St. George I have had limited time and resources when it comes to quilting. These quilts have been made using scraps and irregular remnants that I have picked up along the way. Only one of these quilts is completed, the others are just tops waiting to be filled with batting and secured to a back piece. Hopefully soon I can finish these quilts. Keep your knowledge of these quilts on the quiet side, they are all Christmas presents, though, luckily the recipients are not followers of the blog. Score! :)


A levi quilt top. This is HUGE!! Its measurements are 90 inches long and 85 inches wide. I did this on purpose because the person(s) receiving this as a gift have a California King Bed. It is so big that you aren't seeing the whole width or length of the quilt. Brian's reach or height is not as great as the quilt. The other snag I am running into is finding backing for this top. A California King flat sheet, by itself, is about $20! Hopefully by Christmas it will have a back. If you have access to an older but in good condition California King flat sheet I would love any kind of donation. Keep in mind that the color should be pretty neutral and complementary. Nothing to manly and nothing to girly. Thanks for your help.

I had a bunch of pastel scraps that were calling me. I didn't have many so this is going to just be a baby quilt but I am okay with that. Such pretty colors. Still needs to be finished.


I am such a nerd. The other day I was organizing my fabric and realized I have lots of basic colors. I love that I buy solid colors that are bright and brilliant. So with that phrase in my head I decide to do a crayon quilt. I went online to see if anyone had a free pattern to my concept and no one did. So I took a couple of days and drew out a design. During the course of this quilt I learned about measurements and how to take in stitches after the top was finished. I am please with the way it turned out but I think I will now hand stitch some embellishments on it. I am thinking of stitching in the lines at the bottom and the top of the crayon, they will be black. Go look at your crayon box and you will understand. I may even get bold and hand stitch the name of the colors on it. We will see.

I am a novice quilter and yet I find myself comparing quilts everywhere I go. Walking through the park to go to the parade was a bad thing for me. I would look at everyone's quilt and make mental notes of the difficulty levels and whether or not I was prepared for such ambitious undertakings. One quilt I saw was a beautiful rainbow. It looked similar to above. The difference was the the middle squares were red and they moved outward becoming pink. These were scraps I had and decided to let ROY G BIV become my inspiration. For those of you that don' t know that is a trick I learned in 8th grade to remember the colors of the rainbow, in order. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet. I also added four pink squares to the middle because I had them. This quilt is also waiting to be finished. On this quilt I learned the importance of making sure that you have the same kind of fabric when quilting. Some is calico and other are a flannel type. Notice the bottom right side? All squares were cut exactly but because flannel stretches differently then calico I got some inconsistencies. Oh well. It makes for a good conversation piece, right?

Recap for July 2-10, 2010

The last couple of weeks have been horribly busy and I am sorry I haven't posted the re-caps on Sundays. I couldn't remember and didn't want to try and guess about some stuff. So I did another slide show chronicling the last two weeks with the pictures (few I know) I took. Enjoy!

Recap for July 2-10, 2010--in pictures

Aidan-isms

"En garde" Aidan believes that anything resembling a stick is a sword. And to prepare you for the forthcoming battle/fight he now says..."en garde."

LOL! Now he knows some English, Spanish and French.

Friday Movie Review: Extraordinary Measures

I wanted to see this movie in the theater but never made it. Thank goodness for Red Box. I wanted to see because these two actors I consider entertaining. Harrison Ford is getting old, but as long as he isn't trying to play a heartthrob I like him. I think his heartthrob years are over. And then there is Brendan Fraser. I think he was better in his younger years (School Ties, With Honors, Encino Man) but every time I look at him I can't help but imagine him in a loin cloth running head on into a tree. George of the Jungle was just a silly fun movie.

This movie is about a pharmacuteical company marketing guy who has a family. A wife and three kids, two of which are inflicted with a genetic disease called Pompe. Pompe is a form of muscular dystrophy. He works hard during the day as a rep and then goes home and tries to make the best of his situation. The life expectancy for his children with Pompe is 9 years old. One child is almost 9, the other is almost 8. He tries to figure out answers in his spare time and then he reads an article by Dr. Eric Stonehill. He is the leading researcher on theoretical cures. His theory on how to fix Pompe is promising but there is no funding.

Brendan Fraser works hard to fight all the red tape and barriers to help his kids. He is literally racing the clock to find a cure.

Fraser does a good job of playing a torn father trying to beat the clock and Ford does well playing a spacy, cantankerous doctor.

Go see it if you have the interest. I found myself crying, so be careful. :)

Thursdays Nostaligia

This was my fourth grade photo. Check out that hair. Mom worked on it forever. This was the same year that I got my first perm, courtesy of Brandi. I looked like a horrific poodle. It wasn't Brandi's fault, my hair is/was so think that my hair went nuts. Lucky for me I remember looking like ridiculous for like two weeks and then it disappeared. Maybe now that's why I have a natural curl to my hair. Before this time I had bone straight hair. I also remember that this shirt (the coolest shirt ever!) originally had shoulder pads. Mom decided that I looked ridiculous with the shoulder pads in, so that morning (accuracy in question by author) took them out. Thanks mom! I look much better. Seriously can you imagine this shirt on a 9 year old with big shoulder pads. Ahhh, the 80s, so glad I don't remember much. :)

Wednesdays blessings

1. Washers and dryers.
2. Lovely lush green grass.
3. Summer movie clubhouse.
4. The gospel.
5. The DVR box.
6. 4th of July holiday/parades/fireworks
7. Freedom.

Tuesday Book Review: Just a daydream

This is another Aidan favorite. The little critter daydreams that he is a super hero critter and can save his friends from a big bully. A new classic at our house.

Molly Monday: Busy!

My first attempt at a non-tied, non-patched quilt.
Not too shabby.

Because of my quilting addiction, I have lots of scraps.
So here is my second table runner.

Quilt I made for my friends' son's 1st birthday.

A western themed book cover for my grandpa for Christmas.
Shhh...its a secert!

A half apron. I haven't decided if I like it or not.

Thanks to one of my crafty websites I stalk, I was
inspired to make Aidan a Woody vest, from Toy Story.

He loves it!

And my attempt at a 4th of July cake. It is supposed to be
a multi-layered, multi-colored cake. When you cut into it, you should
see a cake. Not in my case. It tastes good, but
it is HIDEOUS!
I am so NOT a BAKER!
It was supposed to look like this.

Aidan-isms

Aidan's lastest obsession is Madagascar and Merry Madagascar. Merry Madagascar is a short 30 minute movie that shown on television last December. Before I realized that it was to be shown on television, I bought it at Wal-Mart. Aidan loved it at Christmas time. This last week all he has wanted to do is watch "Christmas show." Even though it is only July, I say yes, anything to make the kid happy. :) Good thing I find the movie enjoyable too.

Friday Movie Review: Star Wars 6: The Return of the Jedi

This is my favorite Jedi movie. Maybe its because I remember being able to see it at the movie theater with my dad, cousin Ryan and neighbor Travis when istwas a summer release ( I think I was 6) or maybe its because of those cute little Ewoks.

No matter the reason I like it, Aidan loves this one too. If he wants to watch this one he says "SSSPPPAACCCEEE bears. Bears." He refuses to call the Ewoks by their names. He also loves Chewy in this movie. Why Chewy is different in this movie I don't know. But he loving calls Chewy a "big doggy." Which is awesome because according to Brian that was what Lucas was going for in Chewy, a big dog. Chewy is from a planet of big dogs called, Kashyyyk, or Wookie World.

This one is much better because Lucas didn't write nor direct this film. It was merely his concept. So thank you to Richard Marquand directed and Lawrence Kasdan wrote it.

Thursdays Nostaligia

Me as a wee baby. Look at that long narrow head. My Uncle Reed says that when I was about this age if I got upset my face would change colors. I forget the order but something like pink, red, purple, blue and PURPLE. Who knows if he is telling the truth or not. :)