Back in Utah

Hailey wearing her sunglasses.

We left Texas in mid-late March, drove 16 hours to Colorado. We stayed one night with Ben and Michelle, and another 2 days with the Waite’s before continuing to Utah. We went swimming with Michelle and her kids, and toured the Budweiser Plant in Fort Collins, CO with the Waite’s. We then drove 8 hours to Utah.

Bruce does not start classes for a few more weeks, so we’ve enjoyed spending most of every day together. We have been aerating and mowing lawns, and working on other projects.

Headboard

The first project we completed in Utah was a headboard for our bed. We designed and built the headboard ourselves. It’s made of oak and looks great on our bed! Thanks to my Mom and Dad for funding the project.

Desk

A few years ago we found a free desk on craigslist. It’s a large, heavy desk, and has been great, but also had some cosmetic imperfections. We sanded and refinished the desk.

Hailey

Hailey loves playing with her friends in the ward and might learn to share, someday. She wants to do whatever Mom and Dad do, so she has become a Cricut cutter expert, a master dishwasher, and an outdoor enthusiast. This will be her first week in Nursery at church. We are all so excited!

Oh, and Hailey got a new onsie. We made it for her with my Cricut and some acrylic paint. It says, “Big Sister Dec 2011,” yes, that is an announcement.

School & Work

Bruce accepted the job offer from Ernst & Young in the Houston office. Bruce will begin work in 2012 after he graduates.

Bruce will start another semester at BYU in a few weeks and will go to school every term until April 2012.

January- March 2011

The other post outlines all the excitement of our first day in TX, so I'll only indicate that we went downtown, had a picnic, visited the E&Y office building, saw the underground tunnels, and went to the zoo.
Bruce went to work the on the next day, I stayed home with Hailey, and so it has continued since.

Work
Bruce enjoys his work. He has worked on two clients, Swift Energy and BP Wind. He generally enjoys his work, and his hours have been fairly good. He works 45-50 hours on a normal week and commutes about 45 min each way. He says that sometimes the traffic is really bad, and I believe him believe him because every time I ride in the car with him I feel like I am going to die of a heart attack and he assures me that "traffic is light."

Projects

Tile
We love having the boys around on the weekends, but recently they have been busy laying tile in the master bathroom.

Quiet Book
Laurel and I have had some of our own projects. We made a list of projects and have not finished, or even started all of them, but have made good progress on many of them. We finished a Quiet Book that I started a few months ago. Laurel sewed the cover for me, that's why it's so cute! You can see each quiet book page on the March 4, 2011 blog entry (Quiet Book Link).

Recover Loveseat
We began recovering the loveseat. Laurel recovered he couch a year or two ago and intended to do the loveseat, but never got to it. I helped remove all the previous fabric and learned a little about furniture construction. She sewed all the new covers and had been stapling the fabric to the frame. It's been a good learning experience, but it's too much work (or too important and too detailed of work) for me to try to do it by myself.

Paint Table
We painted the tabletop. She refinished the table and it seems to be an endless battle to keep the paint from chipping. Turns out table tops are used and abused. We slapped another couple layers of oil based paint to try and cover the chips in the old paint and to prevent further chipping. So far, it's faired better than water-based paint, but still occasionally chips. (We have the same problem with our table in Provo. I welcome any suggestions).

Paint Game Room
We painted the game room (an open room, usually located upstairs, common to homes in this area which is a sort of 2nd family room and is often used as a toy room) tan.

Alter Tee-Shirts
Laurel taught me how to alter tee-shirts to make them cute shirts, so I altered 2 shirts that she had started.

Other Happenings
Playgroup, Story Time, Preschool
Laurel and I have gone to a few playgroups with people from their ward. It's fun to get out and meet people, and especially fun to do it in 70 degree weather! We've also gone to the library a few times for "Toddler Time." They are not as animated as the Provo storytellers, but I've also heard that the Provo storytellers are fairly renowned. We started doing preschool with Claire (Laurel's 3 year-old), but haven't done it recently. Hailey would join in but usually just distracted Claire. Whoops. :)

Outside
Hailey spends hours outside, walking around the neighborhood, collecting nuts from the sidewalk, and pushing the doll stroller or the lawn mower.

Claire and Hailey Riding the Bike together.

It's the perfect age to spend winter in Houston! The weather has been mild, and occasionally chilly, but always warm enough to go outside with a light jacket. We go for walks in the morning, wander in the afternoon, and make it to a park once or twice a week. Today we even washed the car!

Ears Pierced

Laurel talked me into getting my ears pierced, so I now have a pair of blue titanium studs in my ears. I wanted something a little more subtle, but this was the cheapest, so I'm looking forward to the 6 week mark when I can put in something that's not blue. When I was looking for somewhere to pierce my ears I was worried about sanitation. I did my research (I am an exercise scientist, after all) and didn't want to contract HIV, Hep A, B, C, D, E or any other strain they might find. Piercing guns can't be properly cleaned to eliminate the spread of infections, so I called and called looking for a doctor office to do it. There was one pediatrician, but they would only pierce their patients ears'. Anyway, I ended up going to the mall, filling out the papers at one place, asking if they use a gun (I had already called and they said they did not), she said they do (why did they tell me that they didn't on phone- I do not know), so I wouldn't let her pierce them. She was annoyed, but it's a matter of personal safety here folks. I asked at Claire's, she said they don't use a piercing gun, so I called Sarah, asked the tech again (you need to be certain about these things), and decided to do it. Laurel brought the kids in, and 2 min later it was done. It didn't even hurt, just a little pinch, and they haven't gotten infected yet, and they are almost healed.

Exercise
The weather has been great for winter training. I haven't always been motivated to put on the mileage that I could (good weather, only one kid, and no time restraints means I could, and maybe should work out for hours. But I want to be in shape, not an Olympic athlete, and there are other challenges in Texas to overcome before you can run all day, like NO SIDEWALKS and 40 mph traffic!). Laurel and I do a walk/jog combo three times a week. I try to run by myself 2-3 days a week, and Bruce and I work out together on Saturday. We usually run or do a run/bike combo in preparation for our Sprint Triathlon in April. (Did I mention that Scott and Lisa are doing it and Lisa is particularly excited, so be sure to talk to her about it.) Because there are no sidewalks on major roads, I have found some very creative routes through neighborhoods, discovered a partial trail around a lake (or drainage pond, it's hard to know which), and run while Hailey is asleep if I want to run along high-traffic, no sidewalk areas.

 

Jaron Homecoming & Nana's Death
In January Hailey and I flew back to Colorado to see Jaron home from his mission. It was great to see family again, and especially good to see Jaron after 2 years. While in Colorado, Nana's health took a turn for the worse and she was moved to Hospice. It was wonderful to be able to help around the house and to stay the night with Nana a few nights so my Mom could get some rest. I flew home as planned, and Nana passed away two days later.

December 2010 Recap

December 2010
Hailey and I had a few adventures I thought I would include.

Hailey turned one year old on December 2! She enjoyed opening presents, but was easily distracted by the toy inside the gift, so we helped her along by hiding the toy after she opened the gift. I made her a caterpillar birthday cake.

Hailey opening presents.

Hailey and her cake. Yum!

Caterpillar Cake

Bake a chocolate cake in a Bundt pan. Cool cake, then cut in half. Use the half for the main body, and cut the second half into half again. Use one for the head and one for the tail. Frost and decorate.

 

]

She can take her necklaces on and off all by herself.

 

Christmas Prep

Hailey and I took a trip to Maceys (grocery store) to take a picture with Santa. Hailey was relaxed and excited to see other kids while in line, but as soon as I turned to hand her to Santa she got the most frightened look on her face and screamed. I have never seen such an expression before, or since. Santa was very understanding, so we took a picture with Hailey on my lap and me on Santa’s lap.

As Bruce finished the semester of school, I prepared the house for our extended absence by deep cleaning. When he finished finals, we prepared the house, pack most of our clothes and any personal belongings we would need over the next 4 months and drove to Colorado. We spent a few weeks in Colorado. We visited my family for Christmas and saw Ben & Michelle's family for a few days. The trip was relaxing, productive, and enjoyable.

Christmas in Colorado
Bruce and I did some work in the downstairs bathroom: ceiling patch, texture the walls, and painted. I recovered the kitchen chairs with cute fabric and plastic for easy clean up. I was teased about the plastic until someone tried to wipe their hands of the chair, and found plastic preventing and effective wipe. Turns out you need plastic to protect fabric even when the children are all teenagers. :) We repainted the kitchen to match the chairs and made plans to decorate it with a saying written in vinyl. Laurel (my sister-in-law who we live with while we are in TX) helped me write and cut out the saying.
We enjoyed a trip to the newly renovated Chilson Recreation Center. When I was growing up my parents would wake all the kids up and take them to the pool at 6 AM on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so it was fun to see the brand new layout and additions. Hailey enjoyed being in the water and especially having cousins around!
Christmas morning was as crazy and overwhelming, as usual, and it was great to celebrate with so much family! I'm most excited to use the card table fort that Grandma Waite made, and to use my Cricut to do some serious scrapbooking.
A day or two after Christmas we went to Denver to see Ben and Michelle. Scott and Lisa were also visiting, so we were able to send Scott & Lisa with some of our presents, enjoy more time with more family, and go roller skating, .
Back to Loveland to visit my family. It's been too long now, so I don't remember what we did for the days we stayed, but I'm sure we enjoyed it. :)
Then back to Ben & Michelle's for church the morning we drove to TX. The drive went very well. Hailey slept for long stretches of time, and was cheerful when she was awake. We stopped somewhere in TX for the night, and drove the next day to get to Katy, TX, a suburb of Houston.

Quiet Book

Cover.

The polka dots were hand quilted with felt as the batting. There are 2 handles (the green fabric to the right of the book) The letters were cut with a Cricut machine and appliquéd on. 

 

The Barn

Finger puppets were made using felt bodies (sew the ears before you sew the body), a button nose, and seed bead eyes. Left to right the animals are a sheep, a cow, a duck, and a pig.

 

 

Braiding

The face is all sewn to the page. The hair is secured at the top of the head, but free-flowing down the face. It can be braided, or fixed with bows, etc.

 

 

Clock

The numbers were embroidered on the face of the clock, and the foam hand were added (secured with a brad) before the face was sewn to the page. Hailey just ripped the hand off, so I’m looking for something studier than craft foam. Any suggestions?

 

Mailbox

I reinforced the mailbox by sewing two pieces of felt together. The flag is felt, and secured with a brad. The mailbox is a pocket, so you can place “mail” in it. The lid can open and close (secured with velcro).

 

Overalls

I sewed an old pair of overalls to the page. Perfect for practicing buckling. I’d like to add a belt around the waist to practice another kind of buckling.

 

Cell Phone

The numbers are attached to the phone by snaps. Numbers were hand embroidered, and felt is two layers thick for stability. The “screen” is clear vinyl which allows you to put a photo of the child in the slot.

 

Velcro Shapes

Small shape is sewn to the page. Velcro is on top the smaller shape and allows the larger shape to be secured to the smaller shape for practice with shapes and matching.

 

Flower Buttons

Each colored button coordinates with a colored flower. The button is fastened to the page, and the flower is completely detachable. Child can match the button and flower color, or just practice buttoning.

 

Potato Head

Mrs. Potato head clothes include a purse, hat, pink heels, and red lips. Mr. Potato head had a hat, natural mouth, and yellow shoes. All potato accessories can be stored in pouch on the lover half of the potato.

 

Mom’s Purse.

A flower button secures the flap. A treat, or activity can be stored in the purse.

Day 1 in Houston, TX

After 2 days of driving, we arrived in Houston on January 3rd, 2011. The first full day in Houston we visited some sights.

Picnic
We drove downtown to see the Ernst and Young office and explore a little. We had a picnic lunch at a park across the street from the E&Y office and then walked around. Bruce showed me the E&Y building and we walked in some sky walks. Many of the buildings downtown are connected with sky walks which allows you to travel building-to-building without going outside. I would enjoy the walk outside this time of year, but rumor has it that in the summer months it's too hot to go out.

At a fountain in the park downtown.

Hailey climbing up the steps on the playground downtown.

Underground Passages
Bruce had heard of some underground passages, but had never been in them, so we tried to find them. After a fruitless search we asked an elevator companion how to access the underground tunnel. (We were in the E&Y parking garage which is reserved for really important people so Bruce was worried that the "elevator man" would be an E&Y Partner and he would see him the next day at orientation. That would be embarrassing.) Our elevator mate appeared slightly amused by my child-like excitement and kindly gave us directions from our building to the We followed his instructions, but took one shortcut and were unable to locate an access point to the supposed underground tunnels. We circled the exterior of a building, rode the elevator some more, and were running out of time on the parking meter when I asked a doorman. He kindly directed us into the neighboring building and down the escalator, and sure enough, by following his directions we arrived in the TUNNELS! It was really cool. Like a city undergound... or at least like a mall food court, or airport terminal shopping arena. I thought it was really cool, so I'm sure I had my "This is so cool! Can you believe this" face, which Bruce teases me about. :)

Zoo
We left the tunnels and hurried to the car to before our parking meter expired (parking meters take credit cards now. Cool, huh?). Then we drove a few minutes to the zoo. Bruce found that the Houston Zoo does a free day the 2nd Tuesday of every month after 1PM, and since we happened to be tourists on the 2nd Tuesday of the month it worked out just perfect for us to go to the zoo. It wasn't too crowded and was a whole new cultural experience (let's just say it's not Provo). We enjoyed the animals and Hailey loved the seals.

The camera batteries were dead (Always buy brand name batteries. We just bought these cheap batteries while we were downtown and we could hardly get the camera on because there was not enough juice in the batteries)

Home
We headed home to Kevin & Laurel's house, our temporary home, and called it a night.

Hailey's First Birthday

Hailey turned 1!

We hosted the grandparents for cake, ice cream, and presents at our apartment. Hailey didn't like ripping presents open, but she loved having new toys and really loved cake!

Hailey opening presents

Hailey playing with her presents

Caterpillar cake

Cake!

Master Menu

Master Menu

Back in June I attended an enrichment meeting and learned about this really cool way to plan meals. It's called a "Master Menu," and the concept is that you create 28 day (or 4 weeks) of meals and every month you repeat the menu. It sounds repetitive, but you only eat each meal 12 times every year- not that often!

Themed Meals

The Master Menu idea gets even better because you organize the meals so that they are intuitive, by assigning each day a theme. For example, Monday is "Beef", Tuesday is "Breakfast", Wednesday is "Mexican", etc. So each Monday you might not remember what you are making, but you know it's beef, so you can anticipate how long it will take to make, and after a few months you do have it memorized because the first Monday of every month is always the same meal.

Side Dishes

The final way to simplify meal preparation is to assign side dishes. If you are general then you have more flexibility and can still have variety without much additional thought or planning. For example, every night we have Mexican food we have corn and rice. Some nights we will have creamed corn, some nights corn on the cob, some nights canned corn, etc.; similar story with rice, some nights Spanish rice, some nights we will have rice in burritos, some nights we will have rice and beans, but I know that I need enough rice and enough corn on the shelf that I can serve it once a week. That makes food storage easier too!

My Master Menu

I like variety, so I've created an 8 week master menu. Here's what mine looks like:

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Theme	Beef	Breakfast	Mexican	Italian	Chicken	Other
Side	Potatoes Fruit Salad	Juice	Corn Green Bean	Garlic Bread Pink Stuff Salad	Rolls Apple Carrot	Peas Peaches
1	Hamburger	French Toast	Taco Ring	Lasagna	Yogurt Chicken	Lettuce Wrap
2	Steak	Omelets, Cinnamon Rolls	Tacos	Calzones	Chicken Parmesan	Chicken Croquette
3	BBQ Beef	Waffles	Beef Enchiladas	Chicken Alfredo	Orange Chicken	German Pancakes
4	Kabobs	Breakfast Burritos	Chicken Enchiladas	Stromboli	Moroccan Chicken	Pork Chops
5	Meatloaf	Breakfast Casserole	Fajitas	Spaghetti	Cordon Bleu	Ravioli
6	Café Rio	Pancakes	Nachos/ Taco Salad	Spaghetti Pie	Sweet & Sour, Rice	BBQ Ribs
7	Meatball Sandwich	Crepes	Mexican Pizza	Pizza	Chicken Monterey	Brazilian Dinner
8	Sloppy Joe	Quiche	Chimmichanga	Stuffed Shells	Teriyaki	Big Salad

Life happens and  we don’t always stick to the menu, but when it’s time to shop for the week or time to cook dinner, I know what’s on the menu, and I know that we have the ingredients to make what’s on the menu. I also know that when there is a great sale on spaghetti sauce, I should buy enough for at least 8 meals every menu cycle. The master menu has really simplified my meal prep. Another technique that has simplified meal preparation is using homemade mixes.

Mixes

I have recently started using the Make-A-Mix Cookery book to make my own mix, to further simplify meal preparation. The book lists some “master mixes” which are usually dry ingredients that you mix n a large volume and then store. You make the mix whenever you have time, store them, and when you are ready to make a dish, you add a few additional ingredients to the master mix. It’s all the convenience of a store-bought mix without the extra cost.

I love to have a variety of foods, but it’s not worth all the mess of measuring cups and spoons just to have biscuits for breakfast, or to have rolls for dinner. With mixes, I make a mess when I make the master mix, but when I am ready to make biscuits, I just measure the mix and add water, or to make rolls, measure the mix, add a few other ingredients, and I’m ready to bake.