Saturday Fun

Yesterday at the gym I had my friend show me some ab exercises. I'm sore today. I'm so flabby in the middle. Having babies stretched my belly out. I also carry my weight in the middle, so that's the last place it leaves. I'm like a mushroom. I think that's a more appropriate comparison than "apple shape". Wow. I think I win the prize for most boring entry ever. Sorry.

This morning I'm going to get a facial with my mom. I've never had a facial before, so I don't know what to expect. Are they going to put cucumbers on my eyes? A mud mask? Do I have to be naked and wrapped in a towel? Could they wax my eyebrows while they're at it?
Nils is going to replace my mom's garbage disposal and rewire some of her outlets today for money. Do it for free, you say? Of course not! It takes all day and it's a pain in the you-know-what. And she offered. And we need money. While he's doing that, I'm taking the kids to Kohl's to spend the money he's earning. Jolly good plan.

Celebrating Pee

How long do we celebrate Anders peeing in his potty? Every time he so much as dribbles in it, he proudly announces, "MOMMY! I GOED PEE PEE IN MY POTTY!" I'm starting to get worn out from all the excitement. He's also expecting some sort of goodie every time, which is fine. This morning, however, he's gone about 4 times, but each time is literally 1/2 a teaspoon. Should there be a minimum volume requirement? I'm confused. He also wants to sit on the thing constantly. Maybe I should get him a Reader's Digest. I think he needs to learn that he has to live normally. Then when he feels the urge, he's to pause, pee in the toilet, and then resume normal activity.

Addie woke up at the crack of dawn this morning. She's supposed to be napping but thinks it's funny. I'm so tired and cranky. I need a nap.

Pee and Popsicles

I thought I should write since Nils has sorta taken over the last few entries. Anders decided to start peeing in his potty Sunday. He's been doing it ever since, but only if he's naked from the waist down. He still refuses to wear underwear. I told him if he goes poop in the potty, we'll go to the store and buy him some new blocks. He totally wants to, and he sits down frequently and says he's going to go poop. After a few seconds he asks for help. He says, "push on my sides". I don't know either. Anyway, he has yet to poop in the potty, but he will be rewarded greatly when the time comes. He gets a cool popsicle when he pees. Now we just have to figure out how to get him in underwear, and how to leave the house without a pull up or diaper. Honestly, I've been dreading potty training since the boy was born. I think we've done a good job of not making an issue of it, and he's coming around. It's all about the bribery. I hope Addie is easier.

Speaking of Addie, she's my little velcro baby lately. She has to be held or touching me most of the time. She won't even go to Nils. It's crazy. Yesterday she was trying to stick the headphone jack into an outlet. Nils told her no, and she threw a major fit, and then was mad at him for an hour. She would run away from him if he tried to pick her up. She's 15 months old. Isn't this coming a little soon? She acts devastated if she's told no. She crumbles into a heap on the floor and screams. Maybe we should stop being so mean.

What a Fun Weekend

April 22, 2006. Six years of marriage. Katrina and I were walking with the kids tonight and we talked about how we never would have guessed where we'd be today when we got married. So here we are- a three year old and a one year old, our own little home in a fun neighborhood, a good job and I'm still in school. The school part is the only part we kind of expected but I really hoped to be done before now. Anyway, I think we're really blessed and we have a lot to be thankful for.
So since today was our Anniversary, I had a few plans to celebrate. About a week ago I booked a hotel so we stayed in a nice room last night. Nothing too fancy but much better than we had expected. The room was about as big as our first floor and everything was in good shape. We started our evening by picking up my sister, Harmony, to watch the kids. We went to dinner at the Art City Trolley and then we weren't sure what to do because none of the movies that are out look too fantastic to us right now. So Katrina remembered a friend telling her about a place in the Riverwoods where you can buy pottery and paint it or decorate it yourself. So we headed over since Friday night is date night there and admission (normally $8) was half off. The place is called Color Me Mine and it was a lot of fun. We each made a big mug and we ended up paying about $28 because we chose some $10 mugs. We were there for two hours and it was really a good time. They even had live music playing the whole time. After you're done with the pottery, they glaze it and bake it for you so we'll pick ours up on Tuesday. If I'm feeling ambitious, I'll post pics. While I'm remembering, Tuesday is also Free Ice Cream Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's. If you live near one, be sure to head over on Tuesday.
After our pottery painting session, we headed across the street to Border's Book Store where I spent a half hour being amused by a book entitled "Why Do Men Have Nipples?". It was a book about medical curiosities that you never ask your doctor. Pretty interesting stuff. In case you're wondering, men have nipples because our embryos are patterned after the female sex for the first six weeks of development, at which point males receive their male chromosome and start to develop into males. The nipples, however, stay.
We checked into our hotel after that and we were both in the mood for ice cream so we headed over to the Maverick gas station where, for $1.49, you can get a good sized soft serve ice cream and load it with sprinkles, nerds, candies and more. So we each had one of those and we even made time to do a little reading. I'm reading the DaVinci Code and it's really gripping. I don't have a lot of time to read so I like this one, because every time I read, even if it's a just a few pages something good is going on and there aren't any lulls in the action. Katrina's reading a book for her ward book club but it has some long name and I haven't the foggiest what it is.
In the morning we slept in, got ready and then headed to the Cracker Barrel for breakfast. We had French toast, eggs, sausage, etc. and it was mediocre. Then we did a bit of shopping at Wal-Mart, then walked over to a little strip mall by Wal-Mart. Katrina went to the Scrapbooking Store and I went to the Video Game Store. Neither of us bought anything but it was fun to look. I have an XBox that I got for free but I only have one game so some day I'll have to get another. After that we went home.
Katrina took Harmony home and then took Addie to a ModBe party. It's one of the many modest wear for girls types of parties or something. Anders and I took out the trash, bought a new tube for my mountain bike, fixed the tire and then headed out on our first father-son bike ride. It was a lot of fun. Anders has a sweet BigWheel and he's pretty fast on that thing so we rode on the path that circles around our whole development. It's quite a long ride for a three year old but we did it and he handled it like a champ. We each got a little pink in the arms from the sun but we could both use some color, so it's OK. We came home, had some Tunafish Casserole, bathed the kids and then went on a walk. The walk took 80 minutes because we saw some friends outside their house so we chatted for a while. Then our neighbors were out on a walk with their kids so all three families were there chatting. I've currently got some brownies in the oven so I'm going to end my night on a sweet note.
So it has indeed been a fun weekend. It was great to spend some time alone with Katrina just hanging out and having fun. I wish we could do that more often. I've got two conferences coming up in the next month and a half so I'll be out of town for four days each, so it was good to have this time together now. That's it for now. Rock On!
-Nizzle.

Mullet-Head

It's a little bit hard to tell from this photo but Addie is sportin' a serious mullet these days. Her hair on top is about an inch and a half long. The hair in the back and some of the sides is more like four inches long. Tonight I gave her mullet a bit of an Afro Puff and it suits her quite well. Aaah, little Addie. She's a cutie.

Anders is quite a handsome little guy. I shot both of these pictures just a few minutes ago and this one came out pretty cool. I got him frozen in the frame while the camera was moving so the rest was blurred.
Today was a good day- I got a lot done at work and even showed up an hour early again. I bled the brakes on the car and it was easy and successful- a total change of pace for me. Then I mowed the lawn, trimmed the edges and watered it. It's looking pretty good. After a great dinner we all walked to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things and then Katrina went jogging while I bathed the kids and put them to bed. And here I am. It's Final project time again so off I go. Just thought I'd check in with some pictures. Rock On! -Nizzle.

Know When to Not Do-It-Yourself

Have you seen these 'TLC Life Lessons'? They're pretty funny. I couldn't help but think of this particular life lesson as I changed the brakes on my '91 Honda Accord Wagon on Saturday. I've changed brakes before and it went fine but this one was a bit of a bear. My brake pads went from working fine and no signs of problems at all one day to grinding metal on metal and no pad left the next. Crazy stuff. So I thought, "I am man. Me fix stuff. Me strong." A brake job costs in the neighborhood of $90-$120 depending on the place and assuming nothing extra/typical has to be done. The parts cost under $30 and the labor shouldn't be too bad but everything I do turns to ruins so of course the 90 minute project took me about five hours and didn't even work. I replaced the brake pads- that part isn't too bad. I needed my rotors turned but I couldn't get them off. Those suckers were practically welded on so there they'll stay. Then when I finally finished the brakes didn't work. What the heck? As it turns out I let some air and or moisture into the brake lines in the process so now I have to bleed the brake lines, which is another project. Oh joy. That's hopefully going to be done tomorrow. The brakes work a little bit right now. If I pump the brakes, pressure builds up in the brake line and I can stop. I can't STOP, but I can slow to an eventual halt. So I've been driving around since Saturday with my hand resting on the E-Brake and at the ready. I know- I'm not too smart. I learned what mistakes to avoid for my next brake job, though, so that's important. My next brake job will be in the very near future since our van is in need of new brakes, too. Happy day.
I really shouldn't be blogging right now because I have three final projects due next week and I haven't started on any of them. I've got time... right? Sure I do. Nothing is late yet and I'm a quick worker. I get in my zone and start producing. Next thing you know it, it's midnight and I have a semi-crappy product to turn in. Yippee.
So guess what Saturday is. Our SIX YEAR ANNIVERSARY. How cool is that? Six is not a significant number or anything but I'm pretty excited. I just did a quick search and apparently this is our Iron Anniversary. Talk about special! Iron- whoa. It's not every year that you get to celebrate your Iron Anniversary, eh? Next year is the much anticipated Wool Anniversary! That's gonna be special, huh? Who comes up with this stuff. I think this year will be our Play-Doh anniversary since I've acquired a bit of dough around the middle and Anders loves Play-Doh. Yeah, that's way cooler than Iron.
I've got something worked out for our anniversary this weekend but of course I can't divulge it on the internet. That would certainly ruin any chance of surprising Katrina. Nothing special but I think Katrina will like it. OK, OK- I'll tell. I got her a one year subscription to the Spiderman Comic Book.. er.. I mean.. Illustrated Novel. She's gonna love it. I'm kidding. I got her a huge tub of laundry detergent and a new iron. Kidding again. Perhaps I should go to bed before I start getting hate mail.
In a few weeks (sometime in early May) I'm going to go to a huge conference in Chicago for retailers. They have a marketing segment that I'm hoping to learn a lot in. I'm going with the President of our company and the IT guru dude. That should be interesting. The president's name is Darrel and he's like a 40 year old teenager. He's the nicest guy ever and is as generous and smart as they come but he constantly puts meetings on hold with his... his... how should I put this... Stanky Farts. He also plays paintball for at least two full work days every week and he talks like a fourteen year old when he's in a good mood. He's very intelligent so I know he's just having fun but it's kind of funny. He started the company 23 years ago and now he's somewhat wealthy and doesn't have to be at work if he doesn't want to be. That would be cool. So I'm curious to see how this trip goes. I've work with Darrel a lot but I've never actually traveled with him. We shall see. I've been to shows out of state with the IT guy, Don, and he's pretty cool. Also a smart fella. Then in June I have another conference that I'll be attending but I'm going on my own. I plan to meet up with York (my brother) one of the nights and I'm going to meet a friend of mine who lives in Chicago another night. He's a retired Chicago PD officer and we've never actually met but he's just a really cool guy that I know through work. This guy spends hours making pens and other cool stuff on his wood lathe so that he can then give the items away to people that are having a hard day or people who he thinks deserve a gift. He recently returned from Iraq. He wasn't called to go over or anything but he volunteered because he saw a need. He helped the Iraqi police force with their training under their new policies. How cool is this guy? I hope I can be as giving and humble as he is someday.
Speaking of role models, my Dad isn't doing too hot right now. Poor guy. He found out he had Prostate cancer about a month and a half ago and then had surgery to have his Prostate removed about a week ago. He's been in bed and in a chair for most of the time since his surgery and then he was told that the surgery had spread outside his Prostate, so the surgery didn't even do the trick. The cancer was very new (he's checked every year) but it's obviously quite aggressive and has metastasized quickly. So now he's sitting at home with a catheter (which has got to be as cool as having your arm steam-rolled, or something), staples in his organs and a tube in his stomach. The guy is as optimistic as a recent lottery winner, though. He's never down. He doesn't waste any time with pessimism or negativity. He'd rather just learn from life and enjoy the lessons. I'm not sure how he does it. Personally I enjoy the occasional wallowing in self pity session. It helps me feel good about myself for some reason. Gotta love that pity. So if you're reading this, keep my dad in your prayers. He's an excellent man and is much too young to deal with any debilitating illnesses. On a positive note, my likelihood of getting cancer is about 90%. My Dad, my Grandfather, my Great-Grandfather and many of my extended family members have had cancer. It gives me a challenge to look forward to, right? So I'll be getting tested quite often starting a few years from now. I'm only 27 now so I should have to check for at least 8 or 9 years but it doesn't hurt, right? Well- maybe it does hurt but it's still good. Isn't it?
This is the longest blog entry ever. I had better turn this computer off. If you've read this far, get a life. Just kidding. If you've read this far you're obviously named Katrina and you're checking my post for accuracy. Otherwise, my hat's off to you. You're a brave and bored soul. Until next time,
-Nizzle Foschizzle in ya Hizzle.

Winter

Everyone I've talked to in the last two days is in a bad mood because of the weather. Yesterday it snowed and rained all day. It was a cold, gloomy day. I took the kids to the doctor yesterday for their check-ups, and the doctor looked out the window and sighed. She said, "It's so gray out there." Word, lady. Speaking of the check-up, all went well for the most part. Anders did very well. He had an eye exam and they made it like a game and told him how great he was, and he beamed the whole time. He told the doctor that she's a pretty girl. Wow. Coming from Anders, that it quite a compliment. I think he loves her. He's been saying all day that he's sick and wants to go to the doctor. We had to take him in on Friday night for an ear infection, so he's gotten used to seeing her lately. Addie's fine and gross motor skills are right on track, but she doesn't say any words so we have to have her evaluated by a speech person. The dr. said she could just be a little behind because she's been working on other skills, but just wants to be sure. I had a dream last night that Addie couldn't hear because her ears were plugged up with wax. In reality I think she can hear, because whenever she hears Elmo she looks, and when I say her name from across the room, she looks. Hopefully she's fine.

It's Friday!

It's been a long week, but hasn't been too bad. I credit the weather for that. Nils has been gone most nights, but we've been able to play outside with all the neighbors, so that's made it very bearable. Ah, Spring. This is the time of year that brings new hope for me. It's amazing. I think I made it through the winter fairly unscathed, but it sure is nice to have sunshine until 8:00 at night.
Our midweek activity committee started a bunch of sub-groups, like a book club, recipe swap, scrapbook group, etc. Last night was the first book club meeting. It was supposed to be at another girl's house, but got changed to my house last minute. It turned out fine. I've never been part of anything like this, so I felt like a moron trying to lead the discussion. Plus, I've haven't thought deeply since college, so it was a real strain on my mind. I think it went fairly well in spite of it all. A couple of the girls brought their kids, which would have been fine if one of them didn't beat the crap out of the others the whole time. I had Addie there, but sent Anders next door. This one little girl kept hitting, shoving, taking things away from Addie and the other little girl there. I didn't see her attack my kid because I was trying to "entertain" the crowd, but I was told afterward. Addie didn't cry, though. I guess she's used to getting beat on. Anyway, I guess a few people were annoyed that the mother didn't leave sooner. Oh well. I'm looking forward to reading some of the books people suggested, and I'm glad I got the whole hosting thing over with first.

The kids woke up at 7:00 this morning. That's early to be up and at 'em. At least give me 7:30.

Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

So Anders is three. This is Nils, by the way. For weeks now he asks the question "Why?" after every statement, order, suggestion, question or observation we make. He continues with the 'why' questions until we tell him to stop. Sometimes it seems like he's genuinely curious and trying to learn. Other times, he does it because he knows we've had enough. Clever little boy. We've tried turning it around on him and asking him why after everything but he quickly gets annoyed and says "Stop saying that!". Oh well.
So my dad was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer just a month or so ago and we've all been kind of worried about him. He's in great health and had caught it very early. After a bone scan, they determined that it had not spread outside his prostate. After much research, my dad decided to have laproscopic robotic surgery to have his prostate removed all together. That took place earlier this week, on Thursday. My mom called and let us know that he's well and the surgery went smoothly. We're going to call him today, as he should be back home and doing better. It could take months for him to get back to full health, but he runs every day and watches what he eats, so I think he'll be up and at'em before long. When my parents called to let us know the news, they explained that my great grandfather had cancer, my grandfather had cancer and now my father has cancer so... watch out. I'll be getting tested regularly as I progress in age since it seems pretty much inevitable. I can't wait for that :)
It's early April and that means that school is almost over for a little while. I've decided to transfer to Westwood College Online to persue a degree in Game Art and Design but now I'm having second thoughts. I still feel that it's the best option for me but I'm also feeling a little confused and overwhelmed about school in general. My fear is that we'll pay all this money for me to be able to finish within the next 1.5 to 2 years and then I'll either have a difficult time finding a job (if I find one at all) or I'll only be able to get a job that would involve a severe pay cut. I make a decent living right now considerring the fact that we live in Utah County and I have no degree. I work for a company that I really like and I enjoy the atmosphere there. The only thing is- I don't do what I really want to do. I want to do 3D modeling. I want to create environments and characters out of thin air and make them look real and entertaining. Instead, I do marketing. You know- email specials, search engine optimization, sales and promotions, etc. I'm extremely thankful for my job. I feel really fortunate to have a good enough job that allows me to provide for my family and have a nice little home and a minivan. So I think that this is what we'd be up against upon graduation: Continue what I'm doing for x per year, or do what I really want to do for 1/2x per year. Hmmmm. I dunno. We can't live on much less than what I live on now, so I don't think 1/2x is an option. We shall see.
That's about all I'm going to blab about for now (thank goodness, right?). I'm sure Katrina or I will keep you updated as decisions are made. For now, I'm really looking forward to being done with this semster and spending some time outdoors in the nice weather. I hope to darken my skin tone from angelic white to caucasian white. I don't know if that's possible. Rock on, folks.

Stupid Dog

When I was a Jr. in high school, my brother bought a dog. We never knew what kind of a dog he was, but he was a pretty good one. His name was Champ. He was a little hyper, but really good with kids and good natured. My brother got married and left the dog with my Mom, who doesn't love animals. She took care of Champ anyway, and even took him with her on her morning walks. A couple of years ago my sister and her family decided to adopt Champ, so he went to live with them. They love animals, so it was good.

Champ got hit by a car on Friday night and died. When I found out I cried. I didn't even really care about the stupid dog. There was a time in my life when I did, but I haven't really cared about him for a long time. I guess the thought of him suffering before he died makes me really sad. He died in my nephew's arms- also very sad. This is one of the reasons I don't want pets. When they die, it's such a loss. There are many other reasons I don't want pets: they stink, they're tons of work (and mom usually does all the work), they mess things up and crap on the lawn. But look at me! I CRIED when I found out Champ died. And I didn't even think I was emotionally invested in the stupid dog. We were at the park last night and every time I saw a mid-sized blackish dog, I thought it was Champ. But it wasn't, because he's in doggie heaven now.

Trainer

Monday when I was at the gym a trainer came up to me and asked me if I had done bicep curls on the incline bench. She had a cancellation and started showing me a few new weight exercises. I knew what was coming- the sales pitch. I thought I'd take the "complimentary" session, learn all I could and that would be that. Oh, Katrina. You should really know yourself better.

Here's the justification:
I've been able to lose my baby weight, plus about 15 lbs. Not too shabby, but I still feel tubby 'round the middle. I've also gotten a little lazy about weights. I don't keep track of what I do, I just sorta do whatever I feel like doing when I'm there. Which isn't much most times. I've also been eating like crap lately. This weekend, I told Nils that I want to lose 5-7 lbs by the end of the month. I had my body fat tested on Monday, and it's still a little high. So I want to get it down a few points.

So guess what I got yesterday? That's right! A TRAINER! Yes, I realize I'm a sucker. However, I did manage to talk them down quite a bit- really. Almost half price. I worked out yesterday with the same girl that approached me on Monday. It looks like she's the one I'll always be with. She was really nice, but she kicked my butt. I'm really, really sore today. How's this for a sign; we worked legs and abs yesterday, and my arms are also sore. So even though I'm a sucker, I'm excited about having a task-master. I think I'll see results. As the sign says in their office, "Nothing tastes as good as fit feels!" Oh gag me. I still need frosting.

The Da Vinci Code

We were at Costco Friday night and I bought The Da Vinci Code for $4.27. I started reading it on Saturday night and finished last night at Midnight. I couldn't put it down. I managed to break away for General Conference and food. I love reading, but I have a hard time finding books that aren't trashy. I've only read 3 or 4 books in the last year for that reason. Anyway, I LOVED this book. I'm not exaggerating when I say every single page is interesting. The story never lets up. It keeps you guessing the entire time. Everything I'm saying is cliche, but it's true! I'm wondering how the movie is going to be. There are elements to the story that are pretty graphic, and I imagine seeing them on screen would be much more gruesome than what I imagine when I read it. Anyway, if you haven't read this book yet, I recommend it.

On an entirely different note, we tried potty training again this weekend. Saturday it went quite well, and Anders peed in the potty numerous times. We had a party for him. Yesterday he wasn't having it. He cried and cried for a diaper. I think he has an unusual attatchment to his diapers. He picks through them to find the ones with Bert on them, and he carries them around. I figure I'll take it as it comes. Everyone I've talked to with boys says it's much harder and you have to wait for them to come around. Anytime would be nice!