I WON! I WON! I WON!!!

EEEEEEEE!!!!! I posted about the author Bree Despian a few weeks ago, but in case you didn't pay attention, I will refresh your memory. My best friend Dani has a sister-in-law (also named Danielle) who had a roommate in college named Bree. Bree happens to be on her way to a magnificent career as a published author and her book, "The Dark Divine" comes out in December. I have only read the first chapter posted on her website, but from what I can tell, it is going to kick "Twilight" in the pants. After reading only the first chapter, I was like, "Seriously??? I have to wait until DECEMBER to get my hands on this!?!?!?!" and I was a little sad. But Bree, being as cool as she is, decided to give away some signed "Advanced Reader Copies," or ARCs. (Which I someday hope to get. You know, when I get all published. Which would require me to finish my book. But I'm getting sidetracked.)

ANYWAYS, I entered the contest. AND I WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To enter, she wanted to hear about your first crush. I thought about posting about being in love with Mark Cornelius in Nursery school, then about Ryan Circh in 1st grade (still upset he left me for Kati Gibeau...but whatever. She was cuter), but finally settled on Stan. Stan was our Schwann's Ice Cream delivery guy. And I loved him. And I don't really remember if he retired or just got a different route, but when he told us he wasn't delivering to us anymore, I was heartbroken. And I wrote him a song.

Well, Bree thought that was hilarious. So hilarious, in fact, that she made me the #1 winner of a signed ARC of her novel!!!!! I never win anything!!!!!! So, the official announcement of my winning is HERE if you want to get all excited with me. EEEEE!!!!!!!

(Also, I'm due in 20 days. And will be induced on the 21st of July if no action happens on its own. Life is sooooooo good!!!!!)

Happy Birthday, Baby Boy!!!

(Apologies for not posting this last week on his birthday...apparently I didn't hit "publish post," I hit "save now." Oops.)

Birthday Weekend Part Deux...

Well today was party day! I got up this morning and hid Logan's present that we got last night (because it was big and I wasn't about to waste time wrapping it). After that I started the potato salad, thawed the white hots, thawed some red raspberries for fruit salad, and baked the cake. And surprisingly enough, I didn't mess up the cake!!!!!! After it cooled I frosted it and made:



A Wall-E cake!!!! There's actually a Wall-E cake pan that Wilton makes, but I wasn't about to spend $20 on a pan I would likely use once, so I just did a normal 9X13 and frosted it all cute-like. I was kinda proud of it :-)

Two of Logan's good friends came...Parker and Kanoa. Parker also brought his little brother, Evan, and his parents. And Kanoa brought his mom and aunt. His cousin Casey (who recently came home form serving a mission for our church in Chile) also made it, along with Aunt Savannah and her friend Owen (who Logan also loves to pieces). Add Logan and us, and it was a pretty full house. Which wouldn't have been a problem had it not started DOWNPOURING ten minutes before the party started. And yes, it continued until after everybody left. Which also meant that the hot dogs (white, polish, and classic) we had intended to grill had to be cooked inside on our George Foreman grill. But whatever, they were still tastey!

After the food we did presents and Logan got sooo much cool stuff! He got a bike from Grandma and Grandpa Steele (and Aunt Nana, of course):



A school bus from Kanoa, a Crayola ColorWonder kit from Parker, a book that he ADORES from his Great-Aunt Karen, movies from his Great-Grandparents, golf clubs from Aunt Liz (that he got to open before she left), and a ton of stuff from Grandma and Grandpa Thomas that included (but was not limited to) super-cute clothes, a life jacket, Wall-E swim trunks (which he would wear to bed if we let him), books, and Cars cars :-)






And lastly, we thought about making him wait until tomorrow for our present, but it was taking up too much room in our downstairs bathroom, so we gave it to him this evening:

Yep. It's a "Baskey Ball Hoop." He is a huge fan :-)

After presents, we dove into the cake (which had the candle blown out twice by me laughing and once by Parker before Logan finally got his chance...but he did it!) and then everyone headed home.




And the rain finally stopped. Oh well, I think he had a good time :-)

Birthday Weekend Part One...

Two is a big deal. Big enough for us to make a whole weekend out of it. So we started celebrating today by taking Logan up to Salt Lake to "This is the Place Heritage Park." I guess for you New Yorkers, it's comparable to Genesee Valley Country Museum. You know, old replica homes, people dressed up in period clothing, farm animals, etc. Today they were running a special...only $5 admission. So we went. Highlights included:


Walking around the farm country and looking at the "A'mals"


Being approached by the sweetest little lamb you ever saw and being TERRIFIED of it


Riding the trolley when we got too tired of walking in the heat

(No picture...sorry)
Waiting in line for 20 minutes for the horse ride which Logan was certain he wanted to do...until we actually approached the horse. Then he freaked.


Then finding the biggest hit of the day (next to all the candy Daddy gave him...notice the candy necklace): the train ride. He loved it so much, we went around SIX times. The little train circled a pond and went over a covered bridge. And every time we went through the covered bridge, Logan would put his arms up and yell "WHOA!!!" It was precious. Clearly precious enough that we went on six times :-)



So aside from all of the "traumatic" events surrounding the farm animals getting too close, this birthday weekend got off to a good start!

Top 10 Reasons Logan Needs To Nap...

Recently, Logan's naps have become very inconsistent. And it's totally not on my part. He has just been refusing to sleep...even with compromises (watching Wall-E, napping in Mommy and Daddy's bed, taking a cup of juice with him, etc). I think it's too early for him to give up naps completely. So I've compiled a list of reasons he needs to nap and maybe after reading it, he will be convinced.

10. He, like his mother, gets very cranky when an afternoon nap is not in place.
9. He only sleeps about 10 hours at night and (according to my parenting books) needs to make up that other 1-2 hours during the day.
8. When he doesn't nap he becomes over-tired, making bedtime even more painful.
7. When he doesn't sleep, I don't shower.
6. When he doesn't sleep, I sometimes don't even get dressed. (e.g. it is 4 pm and though Logan is bathed and dressed, I am still in my gym shorts and sweaty t-shirt from my morning walk 7 hours ago).
5. He is precious when he sleeps.
4. He is super cuddly when he wakes up.
3. I don't want to strangle him after he naps.
2. I can get things done (i.e. dishes, vacuuming, laundry, cleaning and organizing our room) when he is asleep and out of the way.
1. I feel just a little bit more sane when I get an hour to a two hour break from mommy-hood.

Anyone else have an opinion or idea as to why Logan should be napping at this moment?

p.s. I just looked over to find him shaking a bottle of children's Benadryl. Maybe he's trying to tell me something???

You Know I'm All About Winning Contests...

Or at least entering. I rarely even win anything. In fact, the last contest I actually remember winning was in 3rd grade. It was a US Postal Service thing...something to do with outer space and space travel. So I drew a sweet picture of the solar system (back when Pluto was still a planet) and colored the entire background black. I'm fairly certain I won because of the time it clearly took me to color around all the stars and planets. That was talent for a third grader.

Anyways, I'm entering another contest that I need to blog about in order to have a chance at winning. It's my friend's sister-in-law. She is a photographer offering a free session. And we all know how precious it would be with a new baby in the family. So here's her blog:

Red Bean Photography

Wish me luck!

Visiting Daddy At Work...

Logan got to go visit daddy at work today. And I got to see a level of the Harold B. Lee Library I've never seen before...the basement! And I didn't know there was a sixth floor until this year, either. The things you continue to learn, even when you've been in the same place for 6 years...


Helping move the trash bins


The basement!


All done...time to go home!

First Big Boy Haircut...

So I've been trimming Logan's hair here and there, but we decided maybe it was time for a real haircut. I was a little hesitant to take him to just any place that does hair because I was afraid he would freak out (past experience has shown us that he does NOT like the clippers that are so convenient when cutting boy hair). So I looked around and found a place that exclusively does children's haircuts called "Cookie Cutter Haircuts for Kids." It was just up in Lehi (20 minutes north of where we live), so we went for it. The salon was amazing...it had a playplace/tree house thing with a slide that Logan loved, the interior was in bright primary colors, and every haircutting station had a cool car or airplane to sit in (instead of a regular chair), and a TV where your kid can watch a movie or play Playstation. It was really sweet!


Waiting his turn with daddy

So once they called Logan's name, he got to pick out a movie to watch. They didn't have "Wall-E." We went with "Cars" instead. Then he picked an airplane to sit in. And then the hair stylist put the cutest penguin cape on him. Which is when he flipped out. Zac held his hand the whole time, but clearly it didn't help:





The stylist still did a really good job, despite the heart attack Logan was having. So after she was done giving him the cutest little faux-hawk, Logan got a sucker and a balloon and went right back to the slide like nothing had happened:




So since we were in Lehi anyways, we also stopped by Zac's cousin Emily's house. We haven't seen them in forever. Which is dumb because they only live like 20 minutes away. Oh well. I'll blame it on the pregnancy. Which could be over a month from today if I so choose. July 11th. I could be done being pregnant on July 11th. But I think I'm going to hold off because no one will be here! Savannah is going back to NY for like 3 weeks (till July 20th), Liz is moving to Vegas for the summer, and Zac's mom can't be here until the 22nd. So unless anyone else wants to come help out :-) I think I'm just going to wait for this little girl to come on her own.

Early Birthday Present...

So Logan's birthday is in 11 days. He's going to be 2!!!! Crazy how time flies. But he happened to get an early birthday present from his very best friend in the whole world the other day:



They are his favorite shoes ever. Whenever we get ready to go out anywhere, he starts yelling "Wall-E Shoes! Wall-E Shoes!" And pretty much refuses to go anywhere without them on. Unless I have to run upstairs to get socks...in which case he is forced to wear sandals. Thanks, James!!!! We love you!!!!!

How Well Do You Know Me???

So there is this quiz thing going around on Facebook called "How Well Do You Know ____?" and I made one. I wasn't surprised that Zac did the best of everyone and that not many people scored above 50% (especially because I seem to be getting around 40% on most other people's), but I was a bit surprised by some of the obviously wrong answers. So I thought maybe I would take the time to answer a few questions and provide an explanation for each. I know this is usually all about Logan, but now you get a little taste of Sarah, too.

1) What is my middle name?
a) Kay
b) Kay Marie
c) Marie
d) Thomas (my maiden name)

Answer: c. Answers to this one were all over the board. Fact: my first name is Sarah Kay. Like Mary Beth or Maryanne. One name. The story (as I've been told) is that my mom liked Kay because of her good friend with the same name. And I guess my dad liked Sarah. So they compromised and combined them. I really don't know where the Marie came from, other than it's the most generic middle name in all world history.

2) My guilty pleasure is...
a) Ice cream
b) Chocolate
c) Primetime TV
d) Bubble baths

Answer: c. This one is more of a "process of elimination" question. I don't like ice cream for a few reasons. 1. I worked at an ice cream shop for 2 summers and it kind of killed any taste for ice cream I had. 2. It's cold and I have sensitive teeth (though I LOVE milkshakes...when you use a straw it doesn't touch them). And 3. I have lactose issues so ice cream usually does a number on my digestive tract.

Next, I just don't like chocolate. In any form. Except white chocolate which, I have been told by many a chocolate enthusiast, is not actually chocolate.

Lastly, bubble baths gross me out. Something about sitting in stagnant, hot water that can rapidly become tepid, surrounded by dirt and dead skin is just yucky to me. Hot tubs I can handle. Baths are just ookie.

3) My due date is the same day as...
a) Logan's birthday
b) Zac's birthday
c) Logan's original due date
d) Independence Day

Answer: b. Which is July 18th. 40 days from now!

4) My favorite book in the "Twilight" series was...
a) "Twilight"
b) "New Moon"
c) "Eclipse"
d) "Breaking Dawn"

Answer: b. Anyone who chose d is a moron. "Twilight" was ok...but broke a lot of conventional rules of YA literature and didn't do a good job when actually breaking them. And "Eclipse" was fine. Nothing really wrong with it, but nothing outstanding. So "New Moon" was my favorite because of the emotional attachment I had to Bella (which I thought was lacking in the other 3 books). And they go to Italy. Sweet.

5) What is my degree in?
a) English Teaching
b) Comparative Literature
c) English Literature
d) English

Answer: d. I'm pretty sure this was the most widely-missed question. It was just English. Nothing fancy about it. I read, I wrote, I graduated. And no, I don't know what I'm planning on doing with an English degree, other than say "I have a BA in English."

So...more to come later...

Sunday Snapshot...

Since Logan has been sick, he has taken advantage of the "I'm allowed to sleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed when (and ONLY when) I don't feel well" rule. Only problem is, I can't sleep with two kicking, snoring boys in my bed and one very active girl in my belly. So I retreated to the pull-out couch last night and actually slept quite well. So the hide-away bed was still out this morning...and afternoon...so Logan couldn't help but climb up there. And I couldn't help but snuggle up right next to him :-)

One Of Two Things Has To Happen...

I either need to sell Logan or I need a double stroller. And today I'm leaning toward the former option since he is acting like the spawn of satan. So here's my For Sale Ad:

Two-Year-Old For Sale:
Two-year-old male for sale. Mostly potty-trained, used to sleep through the night. Occasionally gives hugs and kisses, but lately seems ornery and would prefer to hit, scream, or all-together ignore you. Will include toddler bed and a month's supply of diapers at no extra cost. Make me an offer. Child is a pain in the tush, but worth it when he says "I love you, Mommy."


Ok, that last line got me. Maybe I'll hang onto him. But that means I'm gonna need me one of these...


This is the Wal-Mart Ad. After doing some research, I think I want the "Baby Trend Sit-N-Stand Plus" double stroller. It has two tandem seats, but the back one can be removed and converted into a platform for the bigger child to either sit or stand. And the front seat accommodates an infant carrier. And if I'm allowed to get picky, I want a beige one. Guess we'll have to see what the mister says...

So This One Time, There Was A Duck In My Kitchen...

I've been wanting to plant some flowers for our front stoop and a nursery down the road was having a sale. So we went today after Zac went to work. As soon as we got home, I got to work planting, using my neighbor's little spade. (I think I'm starting to nest again...) After my flowers were looking particularly cute out front, I went though the house and out the back door (in the kitchen) to return my neighbor's spade to her back stoop. Logan had followed me out, so I left the back door open so he could come inside when he felt like it while I went back to the front stoop to take pictures of my new flowers. When I had finished, I came inside and found Logan standing in the hallway between the kitchen and living room frantically saying "Ducky!"

Me: "Logan, are there duckies outside?" (not uncommon)
Logan: "DUCKY! DUCKY!"
Me: "Do you want to give the duckies some bread?"
Logan: "DUCKY! DUCKY!" (now waving his arms like a maniac)

So I walked into the kitchen to grab some bread out of the cupboard and as I turned to head out the door, I saw it. There was a duck in my kitchen, standing right next to the table.

Logan: (pointing at the duck) "Ducky, Mama."
Me: "I guess there is a ducky, Logan."
Duck: "Quack."

So we shooed her out of the kitchen but she hung around the back door until she (and the mallard with her) were fed a few slices of bread.



Moral of the story: sometimes you have to deal with the duck in your kitchen.

Sick Boy...

A little Logan update. The poor boy is sick. Again. It started 2 Fridays ago. He had diarrhea like nobody's business. He had it most of the weekend and the beginning of the following week, which culminated with him throwing up for the first time ever Tuesday night. That was enough to make me put my trip to Vegas on Thursday with Savannah and Liz on hold, but when Logan seemed to have radically improved, we went anyways.

Then Saturday night, we seemingly infected everyone at our cousin's house that we stayed at. 5 of the 9 of us in the house got the insane diarrhea and throwing up thing (I avoided it...since I don't throw up EVER...but Logan did again). So I felt awful for getting everyone sick AND I felt awful for my poor little guy having to go through it AGAIN. So we came home Sunday night and Logan just took it easy for a few days. And then yesterday (Wednesday) he got hit pretty hard again.


Not only was the diarrhea persisting, but the poor kid had a temperature of 103.5. It didn't go down below 100 all night with the help of Motrin or Tylenol, so I called the doctor this morning. Turns out he has an ear infection along with whatever is causing the diarrhea. So he's on antibiotics for the ear infection and we're just waiting on a stool sample to figure out the nearly 2-week diarrhea problem. Joy!!!!

Remember...

...how I'm having a baby next month? Well it hit me today when I found out my friend, Hailey, went into labor last night. And her due date was only 2 weeks earlier than mine. And though I don't expect to go into labor super early like she did, I realized that we are SO not ready.

So that prompted me to start pulling stuff out of storage...the first thing being our infant car seat. Then after wiping it down, I realized that I really wanted a pink car seat for our little girl. That led me to researching car seat covers online...and I seriously found them ranging from $65-$120. THAT'S ABSURD!!!!

Well, that started me into craft-mode. I dismantled the car seat cover we have, made my own pattern, and set off for JoAnns. After debating forever between two main materials, I ended up settling on this one:


Super cute, right??? :-)

So I got all my materials (Velcro, elastic, material, ribbon, and thread) and ended up paying only $28.31 (with my 40% off coupon)! I was pretty psyched. Until I got home and realized I got 2 1/2 YARDS of material when I really should have gotten 2 1/2 FEET... so I'm a moron and got three times as much as I needed. I re-calculated and found out my entire car seat project really should have only cost me $17. But oh well. I can't wait to get started and post pictures!!!

(Also, I realize this doesn't get me any closer to being ready for the baby. If anything, it sets me back. But that's how my crazy pregnant brain is working these days!)