Don't Cry Over Spilled Soup

Mom needed a break. Usually dad took us to PoJo's and left my mom with the baby so she could relax. The run-down strip mall arcade was definitely second-rate to Chucky Cheese. No pizza, no creepy full-size dancing dolls, no smelly blue tunnels and questionable ball pit. But the glitz and glam lacking in PoJo's was made up by the fact that PoJo's had Tetris, which made the outing not just bearable for dad, but actually enjoyable. He strategically directed colorful falling bricks with a joy stick, while me, my sister, and brother spent our silver coins on Skee Ball and Air Hockey games in order to collect enough tickets to buy watermelon Jolly Ranchers, Tootsie Rolls, and green sticky hands.

But tonight mom went out for night on the town (let's be honest, she probably went to Barnes and Nobel for the hot chocolate and the smell of books) and we stayed home. Normally dad fed us cereal and called it good. Then he allowed us to gather around him on the computer to watch him play King's Quest 5. We'd watch a pixelated King Graham cross our screen seeking clues to an ever unfolding storyline that would get us one step closer to our goal of...I don't know if I ever knew what the point of that game was. But it didn't stop me and my siblings from directing and pointing, and jumping up and down in suspense at the pixelated villains and treacheries. 

However, soup and Aladdin were on the menu tonight. We sat at the bar watching him wind the can opener and pop off lids to Campbell's chicken noodle soup. He poured the concentrate into the pan, carefully adding water. Filled our cups with cold water from the tap, and divided the soup equally among the colorful plastic bowls. Kirsten and I fought over who got to use the funny spoon (an old, decrepit spoon with a loose yellow handle that had somehow survived the 70's and managed to find its way into our silverware drawer. Still not sure where it came from, but we fought gallantly for the right to slurp our soup from it). Dad handed a bowl to the 4-year-old, Clint. Kirsten won the spoon this time, but I was already making plans to commandeer it for breakfast tomorrow. 

Dad watched Clint as he started walking to the table. At first Clint walked very slowly and carefully, balancing the soup in his little hands, but Dad could see a sudden flicker of confidence in the four-year-old's eye as Clint quickened his step towards the table. Suddenly dad saw impending doom. 

"No Clint! Don't spill!!" Dad cried. 

Soup spilled everywhere. 

Clint looked up in alarm, his own soup still safely swishing back and forth in his orange bowl. But he saw a puddle of chicken noodle goodness splattered across the bar right underneath dad's bowl.

Dad burst into laughter which soon transformed into one of his famous giggling fits. He couldn't stop laughing. And when my dad started laughing, everyone started laughing. Dad's laughs were contagious. 

Right then mom walked through the door carrying a bag of fresh books. "What's going on?" She asked. 

Dad tried to talk, but he could only get a few words out. "Soup....spilled..." Mom looked quizzically at the soup puddle. Finally he composed himself enough to say, "I gave Clint a bowl of soup and...." 

He burst into uncontrollable laughter for a few seconds, until he again composed himself. 

"He started to run off with it, so I shouted, 'Don't spill!'" 

And then dad burst into another fit of laughter until he again, tried to finish. 

"And right as I said that, I spilled my own bowl of soup all over the counter." 

Kirsten, Clint and I shrieked with giggles as he finished the story, Andre, the baby, catapulted applesauce onto his face, and my mom joined the laughter while she pulled my dad in for a big smooch. Ew.  

Our family wasn't perfect, but life was splattered with happy, silly moments. And after all I've seen and experienced, it seems to me like these moments are what life is all about. 

Apple Cinnamon Waffles

We started a new tradition today. Apple cinnamon waffles! I thought it would be cool to make these waffles every saturday for all of fall, but then I remembered I'm not Julia Childs. I often get myself mixed up with her.

I had to separate out egg yolks! And whip the egg whites until "stiff peaks" formed! And use buttermilk! Which turns out is just watered down cottage cheese.

We're just going to do this once a year.

But the recipe was a-a-a-mazing! Thank you Williams-Sonoma.com. Thank you.

The official name of the recipe is Cinnamon Waffles with Caramelized Apples and you can find the recipe here. All we did was swap out the regular flour for King Arthur's GLUTEN-FREE All-Purpose Flour and voila! A magical cinnamon-laced plateful of fluffiness topped with caramel apples and a hint of frosty air, red rain boots, and tangerine leaves that would make even an autumn pumpkin cry.

So now the pictures.

My handsome helpers

Abram ate lots of apples and helped by picking up stray apple peels (that john purposely flicked to the ground causing Abram to burst into giggles before Abe would pick them up and throw them into the trash).

Abram wanted his bear to join us. I swear, I didn't bring him in for a photo op. 

We made hot chocolate too! Which ended up being a really bad idea because it pushed our sugar levels over the edge. The hot chocolate was a little too much. 

Plus the hot chocolate maker was really loud.

Anyways, back to the waffles. Mmmm...

Here's our fancy table setting. Paper towels and all. 

And the final product. Magical cinnamon apple fluffiness.

We were so excited we forgot the whipped cream! Which was probably a good thing. Oh. I was there too. 

All in all, it was a successful family fall event and we are definitely going to make these again! A couple things for me to remember next year:

1. I'm not going to include a sugary drink with this meal again. Waaaaaay too much sugar. 
2. The recipe only made 4 waffles, so I think I'll double it next year so we can have some left overs. 

And a side story:

Tonight as we were getting Abram ready for bed, he was kicking and screaming because he's going through this phase where he doesn't want to wear clothes. Normally we try and distract him with books while we change him or try to get him to choose between different pajama's and all that jazz. Trust us. We've read some parenting blogs. We know what we're doing. But tonight I decided to pull out the big guns. 

Remember that whipped cream we didn't use earlier? Since Abram has never had whipped cream in his life, I thought this particular fit of rage would be a good time to introduce it. I walked into the room, whipped out the whipped cream and Abram paused. I shook the bottle and sprayed a little whipped cream morsel on Abram's finger. He curiously examined the white fluff on his finger and then popped it into his mouth. After letting the taste and texture sink in, he looked up at John and I and whispered with a smile, "Whoaaaaaa." 

Good day today. 

Work Anniversary

One year work anniversary! Both me and the little man took "work" pictures to commemorate the achievement:

One year ago today I went back to work full time. It was a really difficult decision because I always pictured myself as a stay at home mom and most of the women who I've grown up with and who I greatly admire chose to stay home with their kids and I wanted to be like them. But in the end John and I decided that having me work full time was the best thing for our family. We definitely made a lot of trade off's and during the first little bit we wondered if we had made the right decision (one of us was inevitably sick during the first three months 😱). But one year later we have all settled in nicely to this new phase of life and all three of us are happy and fulfilled (John was at work when we took this pic, but just imagine his handsome face next to mine. Mmm...doesn't he look good?). So here's to finding what's best for your family! 🎉

I don't know what he's going to do when he grows out of his hat. He LOVES it. I don't know what I'M going to do when he grows out of that hat! Anyways, I need to go study, so...

Autumn Aloft 2015

We went to Autumn Aloft again this year!! You can read about our first Autumn Aloft here. After a 20-year hiatus, the Autumn Aloft Hot Air Balloon Festival returned to Park City in 2014. I'm not sure why PC halted the festival 20 years ago (money?), but here's how it originally began:

"More than 30 years ago, Park City resident Gene Moser and a group of local hot air balloon pilots set out to create the classiest Hot Air Balloon festival in the world. Their ideas was to create a balloon festival that reflected the free-spirited, anything-goes exuberance of Park City; Autumn Aloft was the brainchild of these passionate balloonists." (http://www.autumnaloft.com/media.html)

This year's festival did not disappoint. We drove into town a little late (because waking up a 6:30 AM on a Saturday morning takes a lot of personal strength and courage). Two or three balloons dotted the sky, but there were no other signs of a world renowned balloon festival. Starting to wonder if we had the right day and address, I reached over to pull out the GPS when I suddenly saw this...

And then we turned around a bend in the highway and saw this...

We went with some good friends this year, Stephanie, Rocket, and Jarren.

And we brought the kids, Abe and baby. 

We took advantage of the gorgeous surroundings and took some fun pictures.

The fall colors were stunning.

There were lots of other balloons at the festival besides just hot air balloons.

And, of course, there was a guy making balloon animals.

Rocket got a turtle and Abe got a motorcycle. 

After the balloons, we all went to breakfast. We had TWO different groups of people ask if Abe and Rocket were twins. Haha! I guess they do have a similar hair color and they're just a few months apart. 

The morning ended with a dramatic race to the car. John and Abe won. Actually they lost. After racing around the parking lot they ended up being the last one's to the car, but it still made for some really good sport. 

It was another magical morning, and we'll definitely be going to Autumn Aloft again next year. 

He's a Sky Full of Stars

Alright. This post is not going to be very allegorical or glamorous because, frankly, I don't have time. Which is really unfortunate because I had this great little sketch going about motherhood and my screaming baby in a car seat and it was going to end with a bunch of goldfish crackers somehow falling down my shirt because, for some reason, my most genuine attempts at being a good mom end up with goldfish crackers getting chucked at my head and then inevitably falling down my shirt and it usually happens in a public place where I can't do anything about it.

So if you want to read that story go ahead an hop into another dimension where I'm a mom but I somehow have time to write intricate allegorical stories about my child that make you laugh, cry, and stare off deep into sweet nostalgic contemplation. And then bring me back a virgin margarita. 

But if you're staying in this dimension, today I'm going to quickly write what the past year has been like raising my little one-year-old boy. 

Two words: Pure joy. 

I'm serious! I'm being completely serious. Ok, yes, there's been the occasional goldfish down my shirt, and there's been a few bath times that have ended with baby poops floating around with rubber ducky, and goopy green vegetable guts have basically coated my kitchen floor all year long due to epic "eat your peas!" battles.  Yes, all of this is true. But, seriously, this year has been incredible. Why?!

This is the year my baby boy learned how to sing. Sing! I can't even tell you how jaw-droppingly extraordinary it was the first time I heard him hum along to Taylor Swift's "Shake it Off." I pulled down the rear view mirror and stared in awe at my baby when I should have been watching the road, but I couldn't help it! There he was - matching pitch and tapping his little hands up and down to the beat. And after a few months the humming transformed into full blown singing once he figured out how to mimic a lyric here and there. I'll tell you what. The boy's got pipes. Soul pipes. 

And he doesn't just sing anything. In fact, he doesn't just listen to anything. He has very particular taste in music. For instance, he hates, HATES, anything that debuted before 2005. Don't ask me how a one-year-old can tell when a song came out, but I'm telling you, anything before 2005 with very few exceptions. We've had many a conversation like this:

"Abram. This is Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" It's a classic! You have to like-" 

"WAAAAA!" 

"Ok, ok, ok, ok! I'll change it. I'll change it. Geesh."

~~~~~

"Abram. How can you like Taylor Swift and not like Christina Aguilera's "What a Girl Wants"?! Christina is ten times-"

"WAAAAAA!"

"Ok, ok, ok, ok! I'll change it. I'll change it. Geesh."

~~~~~

"Abram. The members of this family appreciate Billy Joel's contribution to the musical communit-"

"WAAAAAAA!!!"

"Ok, ok, ok, ok! I'll change it. I'll change it. Geesh."

But on the flip side, there is a lot of music that he loves. Taylor Swift is always a win. The other day T Swift's "Blank Space" was playing over the grocery store loudspeakers and a random lady busted up laughing when Abram joined Taylor and polished off her "And you love the game!" phrase with a very heartfelt and perfectly-timed "GAME!" In fact, Abram has been in a pop music phase for most of his life. Bruno Mars, some of Kelly Clarkson, Ariana Grande, Philip Philips, Justin Timberlake, Lorde, David Guetta. All of these are winners. And anything heavily synthesized and techno-esque usually captures his attention.

He does NOT like Katy Perry or Owl City for some reason. Owl city? Come on! And right now he's on a Skrillex kick. Skrillex?! I'm just as amazed as you. They're a little too intense for me, but the kid has a complete melt down, MELT DOWN, when Skrillex songs end. He just wants their music to go on and on and on. He's music critic, that fo sho. And despite the 2005 music blockade, I have been able to encourage some humming along to a little classical, namely Bizet's Carmen Suite 1. So that's a start. 

Abram loves all these musicians and their billboard chart songs with varying degrees of enthusiasm, but my son's favorite song, by a long shot, is Coldplay's "Sky Full of Stars." It came out right around the time he turned one-year-old and it's been playing in our house ever since. 

He asks for "Sky" every time he gets into the car, we play it at least twice on every family drive, and I've been singing it to him as a lullaby almost every night for the past year. He knows all the words and he sings them with more spirit than Chris Martin himself. If you want to make a friend, start singing "Sky" to my baby and he'll soon start singing along. 

Lot's of other great things took place this year as I watched my son grow up, but all the events seem to fall under the philosophical idea of hearing my baby sing for the first time. He started communicating in new, exciting ways this year. Through song and speech and more involved facial expressions, more hugs and kisses and more signs of affection, and yes, through a more diverse palette of tears and wails. It's been a year of learning more about this little person. He's not just a squishy, cute, cuddly doll, but a thinking, feeling human being with a very complicated little mind and personality. He's always been like this from the day he was born, but I got to know him a lot better this year. 

And he's getting to know us better too! I'm not just "Hey, person with the food and toys, get over here." I'm now "Mama!" Well, actually I'm also "Leeeece!" If Abram needs or wants something from us he yells our first names. "JAAANN! Leece!" I think he's copying us when John and I call to each other. Haha. But if he's showing affection or excitement to see us he coos, "Mama!" or "Dada!"

We've also had some great conversations this last year with our little boy. For instance during a nighttime car conversation between John and I we suddenly heard:

"Thank you Dada!....Thank you Dada! Thank you Dada! Thank you Dada! Thank you Dada! Thank you Dada!"

Short pause.

John: "Um...you're welcome Abram." (We're still not sure why he was thanking John, but whatevs) 

Alyse cuts in: "So Abe, do you like t-"

Abram: "LEEEECE!" (Shouted in the best unintentional Ricky-Ricardo-calling/scolding-Lucy impression I've heard in a long time).  

Alyse: "Uh...yes?"

Abram: "The moooooooon! The mooooooon! It's the MOOOOOOOON!!!" (Pointing outside to a lovely full moon).

During another car conversation on our way home in the car, John and I were talking softly thinking Abe would be drifting off soon when we suddenly hear:

"FIRE! A fire!"

Alyse: "Abe? Where's the fire, dude?" Looking around a little unnerved by his fervent announcement."

Silence. John and I eventually started talking again. 

"FIRE!!!" It's a fire! Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. FIRE!!"

John: "Whoa. Abram. Where's the fire?"

Abram: "It's a fire!"

Not sure, but I think this conversation had something to do with Abe previously learning the word "fire" from the fireplace picture in Good Night, Moon and seeing the bright street lamps. But let's be honest, we'll never know what the heck that fire warning was all about.  

Some other amazing milestones:

• Abram learned how to walk at 14 months, and learned how to run at 14 months and a day. He's been running ever since. 
• He learned how to jump and the boy's got hops.
• He learned how to pray, which is quite a miracle because John and I sure didn't teach him. I mean, prayer happens in our house, but we didn't make any conscious effort to teach our one-year-old about it, but somehow he figured it out! Either Moses came down and taught our son how to pray or he learned it from his teachers at the Baptist daycare he attended at the time. The most likely assumption is the Baptist daycare, but I'm still holding out for the Moses theory because, really, you should see Abe pray. We first noticed it one night when we bowed our heads and John started praying and we looked over at Abram and there he was with his eyes closed, head bowed, and little hands pressed together in a perfect prayer pose. His sweet, sincere reverence was too much cute for us to handle and we, of course, busted up into suppressed giggles that we quelled through the rest of the prayer. Afterwards John said, "Well, we're a very religiously diverse family. You're an atheist, I'm a mormon, and I guess Abram's a baptist."
• First tantrum. I thought I had seen tantrums before, but no. About 4 weeks before his 2nd birthday Abram did something I'd never seen him do before. He threw himself to the floor and started kicking his feet uncontrollably because why? I suggested he wear pants. Call child protective services everyone because that's what the blood curdling screams coming from my house are about. So this next year is going to be interesting. But I love the fact that he can say "no!" I want him to find more appropriate ways to express himself, but I never want him to be afraid of telling people his is not pleased with what is happening. 

I can't finish this post without talking about cars. And trucks. And buses. My boy LOVES vehicles. We have spent countless hours this year sitting on the front porch watching the cars as they drive by. 

"Whoa! Truck! Did you see it? Did you see it?"

"Hello truck!"

"Hello car!"

He plays with cars in the morning, he plays with cars in the afternoon, he plays with cars at night. He tucks his cars into their "bed" (shelf) right before sleepy time. It's just the cutest thing ever.  

So that's all. I could keep writing and writing about this boy, but I've got to get back to daily life stuff.

Abram, when you read this, I want you to know that I love you sooooooo much! I love being your mom! This year has been something special, that's for sure. Happy 2-year-old birthday!!! I can't wait to see what this next year brings!!!

And now for the picture overload:

One-Year-Old Pictures

Watching Hot Air Balloon's with Mommy

Playing with Daddy

First Professional Haircut that ended in a buzz...

Halloween 2014

November 2014

Christmas 2014

He really likes strawberries

 

Camping pics. 2015 Packer Family Camping trip on the left. And that very flattering picture of us on the right is the 2015 Johnson Family Camping trip. 

Samurai Abe

Eating grapes and watching cars on the front porch

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!!! I love you!

--------------------------

Pregnant with Abe

Abe's Birth Story

Abram's Debut (infant)