The Boston Aquarium

We visited the aquarium on Saturday courtesy of some of Josh's friends from school who volunteer there. Nora's favorite parts were: the touching tank, the turtle and the gift shop merchandise. Her least favorites were the shark swimming feet from her face, leaving the gift shop without any loot, and dropping Josh off at school afterward. Our favorite part was watching Nora's reaction to everything. Our least favorite part was a neon orange envelope that we found under the windshield upon returning to our car... who ever heard of a parking ticket for an expired inspection?

What do you do when you're snowed in on a Friday night?

You paint! This was Nora's first painting experience and not only did she love it, but she put out a pile of museum worthy pieces. My little Picasso!

Happy Valentine's Day!

What a day! I decided to splurge and get Nora something special for Valentine's day. I found this little tent, complete with a back pack (actually cute!), pint-sized sleeping bag, water bottle, flash light, and even a head band in a set at target for $20. Nora was so excited that she screamed out loud when she came downstairs and saw it. We have had a hard time getting her out since. Despite the fact that it takes up all the floor space in our living room, I think it was a good move. Here is Nora enjoying a present from Nana in her new tent followed by a few heart shaped waffles for breakfast. It was all we could do to get her to the table. Everytime we asked if she was hungy she would say "no, I'm in my tent". When Josh finally got home from school (after sitting in traffic for an hour) we went out to dinner. Nora didn't eat much of her kids meal, but she did have fun playing in Daddy's sprite and coloring on the menu. So much for romance!

Holy Moly, That's a Huge Bubble!

Nora has always loved bubbles. I started blowing them for her at bathtime when she was a newborn. I think she is still in as much awe of them as the first time we got them out. Lately she's been using the phrase 'Holy Moly!', something I didn't even think I ever said. The other night at bathtime we caught her saying 'Holy Moly, that's a huge bubble!' about every bubble, huge or not. I guess when you're that small, everything seems huge. She loves to catch them in her incredibly soft hands. Whenever I try this, they pop immediately but she manages to play with them for amazing amounts of time before they bite the dust. She also tries to eat them, but that's a story for another day. Here are some photos of Nora playing in the bath. Please ignore the mildew in the tile grout behind her which absolutely WILL NOT come off, no matter what I scrub with or for how long. The last picture is her reaction when I tell her it's time to put the bubbles away and wash her hair.

Tagged and some good news

I've been tagged! So I'm supposed to write some exciting stuff about myself and then ask other people to do the same thing. Here goes!

10 years ago:

Ahh, 1998. The year I finished High School in Radnor, Pennsylvania, spent the summer teaching canoeing at an all girls' camp and left for my first semester at BYU. I guess ten years ago today I was actually not quite done high school but almost and definitely iching to get out of town!

5 things on my 'to do' list today:

Well, let's see...

1) feed, dress and keep a clean diaper on Nora
2) library storytime
3) time-out for Nora for running away from me and screaming in the library
4) nap (battle) then bath (battle) for Nora
5) visiting teaching

I guess that pretty much sums it up!

Snacks I enjoy:

These pregnant days, it's any salty chips I can get my hands on! And this great new specialty edition ice cream that Edy's makes called 'most orange-inal'- it tastes just like the yummiest creamsicle of all your childhood summers!

What I would do if I was suddenly made a billionare:

Oh the possiblities! First, I already have the house picked out. We just need more space- for practical reasons, of course. I'd probably update my wardrobe, enroll Nora is the greatest toddler and mom education programs available, and have dinner delivered to our doorstep every night! Oh yea, we also need a really great get-away vacation. Something tropical... twice a year... All selfish, I know! I hope I'd search out some great charities in all the free time I'd have not making dinner.
Oh yea, and we'd finally fix the back bumper on the carolla where I backed into a fire hydrant.

3 of my bad habits:

These days,
1. Losing or almost losing my temper- most times this involves Nora and her carseat, shopping cart, or stroller- the little girl is almost stronger than me!
2. Falling asleep in the chair in Nora's room at her bedtime- too tired to move!
3. Over eating junk food at every possible opportunity- hate that!

5 places I have lived:

1) Wayne, Pa
2) Provo, Ut
3) Orem, Ut
4) Dayton, Oh (only 12 weeks but I needed this to add to 5!)
5) Boston area, Ma

Things people don't know about me:

I hate roller coasters, I'm usually a night owl (except when pregnant), I love sleeping in (but never do anymore), one of my worst fears involves speaking in front of crowds.

Sorry this took so long for me to finally do! I was tagged almost 2 weeks ago and have been putting it off ever since- should have added procrastination to my list of bad habits!

The good news that I promised at the end of all this useless information is that Josh passed his qualifying exams! All those lonely days and nights as a single parent have suddenly been validated. Only 2 1/2 years of school to go (hopefully)!

Helping Mummy

No matter what I am trying to do, Nora is always "helping Mummy". I wish I was more creative about finding ways that she can actually help instead of just pretending to. The other day I was trying to make a pie crust (actually, this is really one of the most stressful activities of my life- sad, but true) and Nora was so determined to help that she was stuffing spinach for the quiesh into an empty grapefruit rind left over from snack and periodically bringing me random cans from the pantry. I was about to loose my mind! Then I had the bright idea to get her tiny rolling pin and really let her help flatten out the crust. She was thrilled!