It's the holiday season!

Whoopdeeedooooo!

We spent Thanksgiving with my parents in Provo. It was a pretty quiet day with just Grandma and my parents and us. We decided to show up quite early in the day after rushing out with pie and rolls in hand. We have a few traditions we've adopted from each side of our families. My family always has pecan pie and gravy the special way my grandma makes it. Scott's family does cranberry relish with orange, Grandma Bastian's rolls, and Christmas tree hunting in the wilderwoods. This year, I did them all. Scott helped with the tree hunting but everything else, I super woman-ed myself. My rolls were a decent first attempt but everything else was pretty dang stellar.

I got to take a two hour nap by the fire in the afternoon which was an absolute slice of heaven. I was fighting the urge to nap but Grandma was the one who encouraged me so, I took her advice. :D I woke up just after Patrick and pretty soon after that we had Thanksgiving dinner. We had a nice time talking about family memories...and current family drama. We played with Patrick outside and it was just the kind of day one could wish for.

On Saturday, we drove to Preston to hang out with Doug and Heather and the kids and to go hunt for a Christmas tree. This year, we had Patrick's freaking amazing Prince of Persia hiking carrier. A-maz-ing. It was much easier than last year...oh and the fact that we were not being snowed on. We managed to find the perfect tree this year and by we I mean me. :D I found it. Scott cut it. Patrick played in the snow by it. It was a team effort. When we were cutting down the tree we let Patch walk around and play in the snow and when I had to put him back in the pack to head back to the car he absolutely LOST IT. I mean lost his mind. He was wailing so loud that I think the sound echoed through the mountains and into the valley of Preston. He was lifting himself up out of the pack and writhed around and sat back in it. Oh my heavens. I'm convinced we are in the throws of "terrible twos" already. Tell me it doesn't get worse than this. One minute he's amazing and happy and adorable and the next he's losing his mind over being taken out of the snow or his magnetic trains not sticking together in the right way or his legos not sticking like he wants them to. Luckily, I just find it funny most of the time.

When we got back to Doug and Heather's house we had "egg tacos"- what the kids call them. I teased and reminded everyone that their egg tacos are actually breakfast burritos. Patrick was too distracted playing with the "sit on" toys and his cousins to enjoy dinner. Shortly after that we headed out to watch the Preston fireworks and light parade. SO AWESOME.

I'll put up pics when we've decorated our tree.

And, by the way, I'm killing it at work.

Funny Stories

Family and friends who know me well are aware that I LOVE to tell stories but I'm only sort of good at it. I often give way too many details that in my mind are totally important and most everyone else could probably do without. Marty Rudd likes details. My mama likes details. So far, these are the only two people who have validated my method of telling stories. Anyway, here's some fun stories...mostly about Patrick.

At the end of October, we celebrated McKenna's 18th birthday at the Brunson home. When Kenna was finished opening presents from the family, she showed us the gifts she got from friends at her party the night before. Patrick was wandering about on the floor and was very interested in the tissue paper and most especially in Kenna's candy. He helped himself to an open bag and took off with it. Katie ran after him and once they were both out of sight, we hear Kaite bust up laughing. I ran over to find Patrick hiding himself in the floor length curtains in the dining room with that bag of candy. Luckily, he hadn't figured out how to open the bag. How is it that a 20 month old knows what candy is and knows that it's worth running away and hiding with?

Also within the first week of November, as I mentioned in my last post, Patrick's vocabulary has really picked up. I mentioned a few words that he's started to say but I think I neglected to mention that he says poop now. The first time Scott and I heard him say it was at the dinner table one night. Sure enough, he was actively pooping when he said it. With any luck, this kid may be ready to potty train at age 2. *oh please oh please*

At dinner on Thursday night, Patrick touched our server on the boob. I said, before even thinking about it of course, "Patrick, you've got to at least buy her dinner first". My parents, Scott and the waitress all started laughing, luckily. Then I said, "I'm so sorry. That was a little inappropriate. I apologize. Why did I say that. It's ok, we'll make sure to tip you well" and then paused for a moment, realizing what I'd said...yeah, that didn't make it any better. Of course everyone continued laughing for a moment.

At church yesterday there was a lady who was working with us in the Primary (where the children go to learn about Jesus and sing songs) and she was "released from her calling" which is the Mormon way of saying that the leadership of our "ward" (our congregation) felt that she might benefit and everyone else might benefit by her doing something different. I asked her what her new calling was and she said "I guess I get to work with dead people" to which I asked "so, you're taking care of funerals in the ward and stuff?" She said "no, even more dead than those people, I'm doing family history". I laughed and said "I felt like we were playing hot and cold there for a minute". Hot and cold is where you keep guessing and as you get closer to the right answer the person says "warmer warmer" and she said, "well, I suppose in this case I would say 'colder....colder'". I hope that is as funny in writing as it was in person...maybe you had to be there.

Now for something cliche "live. laugh. love"

Until next time...

Don Patricio, Luchador!

Last August we took a trip to Mexico to celebrate my brother Brent marrying his soul mate Ana. It was an amazing week in Tulum staying in a home right on the beach with my family. We were bummed that the resort, Dreams, where most of the wedding party was staying was VERY outside of our price range and the cost to visit as a guest on the resort/ day was $75. That made things challenging for us considering we wanted to be there to celebrate and meet Ana's family who came from Argentina but we also wanted to enjoy the amenities we were already paying for in the beach house we rented. Anyway, I digress...we wound up having a great time in spite of feeling such torn feelings....wow...way too many unnecessary and unrelated details there...oh well. It's who I am.

So, I bring up Mexico because, during that trip Patrick started becoming very socially vocal. What I mean is, he would respond to people looking at him and talking to him with excited screams/ yells. Scott started apologizing to our taxi drivers for our loud child and said things like "he's just training to become a luchador". A new nickname was born: Don Patricio, Luchador!!! We had a fun time calling him that and he had a fun time yelling.

As of late, his language abilities have been EXPLODING. It's so exciting. I've heard people say that you spend the first 2 years of your child's life trying to convince them to talk and the next 18 trying to get them to shut up. This is all said jokingly, of course, but, there is some truth to that. Once they start...they don't stop. Buuuuut, I'll admit, I've been trying to help Patrick develop language skills, sure, I can't help it. We sing songs and read books. I talk to him in the car on my drive back from Kathie's house. When he gestures for something with little grunts I ask him to say "please".

Here's a list of words I've heard him say in the last month or so:
Please (pronounced pleeece)
Keys
Yes
No
Wow
Thank You
Dinah (pronounced Ninah)
Eat
Candy
Trick or Treat
Ball
Shoe
Nose
Eyes
Today

that's all I can think of at the moment. My favorite is when he walks around the house holding Dinah's treat bag and says "Niiiinah" in the same kinds of calling tones that he hears us use to call for her. It's just so. freaking. cute.

Last night, during his bath, he decided to lower himself into the tub laying on his back. I think he liked the way the water felt as it filled his ears because he laughed and laughed and as he came up he was pointing to his ears as he got ready to do the whole thing over again. Just. So. Freaking. Cute.

Tonight, he was pointing up to the hooks where we hang the car keys and Dinah's leash. He obviously wanted something that was up there. He started getting fussy about it because Scott was having a hard time figuring out what it was that he wanted. He then came to me and grabbed me by the leg and pulled me over to the key hooks, obviously thinking that I might be able to help him out. Guys, he's 21 months old. Is it just me or is that pretty smart? I feel like that's pretty smart.

I think we'll keep him.

Inspiration and Ideas

I once heard that small minds talk about people, average minds talk about things, and great minds talk about ideas. I catch myself thinking about this saying regularly and asking myself, am I talking about ideas enough? Further, am I giving myself enough quiet time to even come up with new ideas?

With the start of my new job I've gotten a new phone plan and DRASTICALLY cut down on my data usage. This means less email checking on the go. Fewer checks into social media. More time to just think. In the car, on the toilet, in the shower, in line at the store, sitting at the park, etc. We have 2 gigs of data between my hubby and me and, so far so good. I'm liking how this has forced me to use my time to think and brainstorm... and sing songs.

Some of my best ideas come while in the shower.  A few posts ago I explained how I typically use the shower as a time to check into my bank accounts and pay bills etc. I still feel that is a viable use of time but, I'm now avoiding using data annnnd I don't want to get my new iPhone wet. So, I have been trying to use that time for ideation. For example, I typically plan what I'm going to do with my primary singing time when I'm showering. It seems last minute, I know, but, church is at 11 so, it's not too bad. Often, good ideas come as a spark first thing in the morning as I lay in bed and check my schedule for the day. If that spark of an idea comes first thing, then the shower is the time to flesh out the idea and explore the details.

I also try to take notes in my phone when I get a new blog post idea or business idea. Often, business ideas come from running into a problem that I wish there was a solution for. Many times, I share my idea with Scott and explain how I've come up with this genius idea to solve a certain problem and Scott tries to sweetly (or not so sweetly) tell me that a solution already exists. Sometimes, though, I do come up with an original idea...or at least one that we think is original...and I'll write it down so that, if it's worth exploring, I don't forget it.

I wonder how many people get a good idea and then, in an effort to check weather or not that product or service exists, they search Google. I then wonder how many people have access to Google searches of original content and can then jump on all of the most worth while ideas that others have had....

These are the things I've found myself thinking as of late.

Here's my latest, and greatest, idea. A Valet Parking App. It would look something like this: let's say I'm hanging out downtown with Scott and we're having a casual dinner. Someone nearby is heading to a performance of some kind and they're short on time SCRAMBLING to get parking so that they can run to the venue and be there in time. I get an alert on my app that someone needs me to snag their car and park it for them. I'm familiar with downtown, I have time on my hands, and I want to earn a few extra bucks. Not only that, I do someone a favor and ensure that they get to the show on time. They are able to park right in front of the venue where I'm waiting to pick up their vehicle. I have not fleshed out the details yet. I can see a couple of immediate concerns, the biggest of which is having a stranger drive someone else's car and trusting them. Car insurance could also be an issue. Then there is the question of what to do with the keys. Are there restrictions on how far away the car can be? Is it a true valet service where I then go back and deliver the vehicle to the couple seeing the show? I don't know. All I know is that I was in Park City on Saturday having a heck of a time finding parking and I thought....how sweet would it be if someone could just take this thing and park it for me?!

Then I search the app store...THIS EXISTS!!! This makes me super bummed but also, super happy. Down side: I don't get to make money off of this idea. Up side: my problem is solved!

Where do you come up with your best ideas?

70/30

There are some days where I've got it together. I wake up feeling good. I make Patch a good breakfast...sometimes I even make myself and Scott a good breakfast. I pack everyone healthy lunches. I get ready and look amazing. I get to work at 7 AM, on the nose, and I'm focused and awesome the whole day. I pick Patrick up at 3 on the nose. We play in the yard and have fun. He giggles and smiles. I get to work washing dishes or folding laundry and he finds a cute little way to participate. I start dinner and Patrick finds a way to participate in that too. Scott gets home just before 5 and we sit down to dinner together. We head up the canyon and enjoy a hike with Dinah the dog. We get home just in time to put Patrick to bed by 7:30. Scott and I relax for a minute together on the couch and I wrap up a few more house projects before heading to bed. When I'm REALLY on it, I even make time to read for a few minutes.

Those days, even on the most perfect of days, some tiny things go wrong...the battery on my car key dies and makes it hard to open the door. We run out of milk. A deal gets declined at work. An appointment cancels. Patrick cries during the drive home from Kathie's house. He pulls the tops of the sprinklers out and I have to chase him down and put them back. Patrick closes the dryer door on his fingers and becomes very very sad. Scott comes home late from work. Rain prevents ups from heading up the canyon. The internet breaks down making it hard to watch a show. I try to work on one of my projects and just become overwhelmed with the fact that the house will never be in perfect order.

Most of the time, these things wind up being a mixture. Sometimes 50% good and easy and 50% lousy and annoying. The ratio frequently seems to be 70/30. Today, it was 80/20 and it was delightful.

Scott's alarm went off late and we slept in. Good news is, we slept in and so did Patrick. Bad news is, our morning was chaos and Scott left for work late. I started working from home and then the internet crashed. I had to bring my phone into the Apple store to replace the screen. Patrick, however, was in an awesome mood when we first got home. I launched into making both of us some food and that quelled his hanger. When I was doing some dishes, I decided to listen to some music. The first song that came on was "Uptown Funk"...one of our favorites to dance to. Patrick bolted out of the bedroom where he was playing with Legos and started to dance on the landing almost immediately. It melted my little heart to see him having so much fun. Then, just as Scott was arriving at home (before 5!!!) I went and hid behind the curtains on the windows by the front door. Patrick saw me and ran across the room to join me behind the curtain. Scott walked in the door and played along right away. Patrick could hardly bear to stay behind the curtain for more than 2 seconds after Scott walked in. SUPER cute. Coincidentally, Scott brought the mail in with him and placed it on the floor when crouching down to hug Patch and whoops, Patch slipped on the papers and had a quick cry about it.

We went up the canyon to capture some more pictures with a friend and to enjoy the fall colors. On our way down, the babies were getting fussy (hungry and close to bed time). Scott and I decided to sing "Old McDonald" and Patch showed off his animal noises and some singing. Gosh I love this kid. He's so freaking cute. It's challenging to be a mom to a toddler. All you experienced mamas out there laugh because I only have one and he's only 20 months. Yeah, I know. This is my jam though. This is totally my kind of crazy.

I do need to just hire a maid service though ;)

Pumpkin Spice is in the Air

Fall is just around the corner. We're heading into that time of year that zooms by. School is back in session. The evenings have cooled down. The leaves are starting to change. September really is the best month. We're 8 days away from my birthday. This time of year is just awesome.

Patrick seems to be growing and changing so quickly that time is blurred. As I type this, I've just put him down for his nap and after 30 minutes, he's still just up there in his crib hanging out. I can tell he's trying to fall asleep and he's not crying but the poor little guy is so tired. He just goes and goes and goes from about 6 AM until his nap at 11. Sometimes that nap is 1 hour. Sometimes it's 3 hours. On Friday, it was FOUR HOURS. Bless my soul that was a productive day for me. Working from home on Fridays has it's challenges but when the child sleeps for 4 hours I'm like BAM! This works! Maybe if I keep him up past 10 PM every Thursday he'll take a nice long nap...I'll consider this strategy. Patch is so loving lately. He runs up to complete stranger's kids, mostly ones his size, and hugs them. He gets this grin on his face as he's hugging and everyone goes "oh how sweet" and, my little performer, he just keeps hugging and milking it. Sometimes he ends the hug with a little push sooooo we're working on that.

Scott and I have really been working hard on house projects lately. Last weekend, we cancelled our annual Labor Day trip to Tahoe. It was closing weekend for Shrek and all of our friends we were going to meet up with bailed on us. Lame-o. We decided it wasn't worth it and stayed at home. We did some serious weeding and pruning of the yard. I caved and we purchased a gas powered lawn mower (we'd been using a push mow and neither of us really made it a priority to cut the lawn since it was so dang difficult to do with the push mow.) I re-caulked the downstairs shower so now our guests can use it.  It seemed like we had a leak in the shower and there were little mold flowers growing in the carpet just outside the bathroom (SO FOUL!!!) and I figured I'd re-caulk it to see if that was the problem. It appears to have worked! We welcomed a new Airbnb guest and therefore had to move Taylor upstairs into Patrick's room and therefore had to move Patrick into our room...it's a long story but, it's working out! Two weekends ago we started building our deck. We didn't get very far but, we started!

The following weekend we celebrated my birthday with a bike ride down Provo Canyon. The fall colors were just starting to pop and it's STUNNING! It was mostly family there but, about half way down our ride our friends Evan and Annette joined up with us. We all got to the bottom and my dad rode ahead to start the trip-tip bbq. When we arrived at the house Aunt Carol joined up with us and brought her son Adam with her. Adam is a cousin I've never met so, it was cool to have him there. Taylor joined up with us later and we all ate and laughed. Patrick was loving the new jungle gym. This reminds me, the weekend before my closing of Shrek, Scott and I drove down to Provo to snatch the old swings from Shadowbrook and took the whole thing down just the two of us. Luckily, Patrick napped through almost the whole process. Any who, that was to make way for the new jungle gym. It was a fun birthday. Mark got me a favorite gift: the Shower Wow....LED lights for your shower. SCORE. On the box it reads "fun for the whole family" and in Mark's card he said "We're looking forward to coming over to enjoy it". Now I'm determined to get the toilet bowl light, the squatty potty, a shower speaker, and Poopourri. Maybe we could get a seat heater too.... pure luxury. Annnnywaaaaaay....

So my birthday...On Sunday, I continued the birthday celebrations by wearing one of Taylor's tiaras to primary and dubbing myself the Queen of the Primary. The kids competed to sit in my "throne"....a chair with a really fluffy blanket on it. SUCH fun.

Monday was lovely. Scott made me Swedish pancakes and I got to FaceTime with Ted. The second half of the day was a little rocky because I got a rather harsh email about work BUT, I had free Firehouse subs for lunch and joined up with some family at Gardner Village in the afternoon. We did Texas Roadhouse for dinner and it was fun, as always. I especially love to sit on the saddle...I planned poorly and wore a pencil skirt to work that day so, I had to ride the saddle side saddle. It's ok though...I made it look good.

On Tuesday we drove up Millcreek canyon to take some pictures of our little family and the setting was GORGEOUS!!! Patrick was such a delight too. All smiles most of the time and we captured some winners.

Last night, I got to float down the Provo River with some members of the team from work. It was perfect weather and we had a bbq by the river's edge at dusk. Lots of laughs. I work with some good men and women and it's always nice to spend quality time outside of the office with those folks. It was also a chance to enjoy the fall colors again. I cannot get enough of Utah's canyon's in the fall.

Dreams Come True

I saw Shrek the Musical in 2013 and loved every second. I decided that if given the opportunity, I would audition for the show. I could not help but see myself in Fiona. She's quirky and loud. She's a morning person (or so one of her songs says). She's sassy and silly and I love her. It has been such a dream to step into this character and, if I'm being honest, it's not that difficult to do as I basically am Fiona in real life.

We have had some fun times on the stage. Notably, when something goes wrong and we have to cover each others mistakes. On opening night someone took a prop of mine that I had placed and ready to go. This left me improving some sweet dance moves in Fiona's tower...not a problem at all. Another time, Shrek dropped a couple of lines in our scene comparing how crappy our childhoods were. I fed him a quick line and we were back on track. The moments when I can save a scene like that are gold and make me feel like a half way decent actress. It's thanks to these last 2 years doing lots of dinner theater and handling all the improve there. One more show to go and then I'll probably take a small break from performing life.

Here are some pics from the show: