Just a little Dude and his Dad

The 4th of July.....and what do you do before the fireworks? Try to catch big huge beatles, ofcourse!

Miles, posing for the camera with dad

Hey Dad....There's something down there!

Almost there......Just a little closer....

(That's as close as he got. Once he saw it up close and personal, he decided he didn't want it anymore.)

That's alright by me. Given his penchant for eating bugs, I'd rather he not learn how to pick up big stink bug beatles.

Crack is Wack....But Babies are the next best thing

The other day I was playing with Miles, something I do pretty much all day, every day. I'm not sure what was different about that particular play session, but I found myself noticing just how happy I felt. Or maybe I should say, I couldn't help but notice how happy he made me feel. I wasn't exactly sure what it was, but there was something about the way he smiled and laughed, and just couldn't get enough of my silly faces or the tickles on his tummy. I even brought it up to Mike, and we had a whole conversation on the mysteries of a smiling baby, and why we will do ALMOST anything to see the dimples in his cheeks, and hear his infectious giggles.

So, imagine my surprise when, later that afternoon, I came across an article on MSNBC about this very topic. Apparrently, seeing your baby smile activates pleasure receptors in your brain typically associated with....you got it. Drug Addiction. (along with other things). According to the article:

"Any mother who's ever felt a jolt of joy at her baby’s first grin knows how intoxicating that can be. Now, scientists at the Baylor College of Medicine say there’s more to the baby buzz than just a rush of happy feelings. Turns out that seeing your own child smile actually activates the pleasure receptors in the brain typically associated with food, sex — and drug addiction.
“It may be that seeing your own baby’s face is like a ‘natural high’ ."

Apparrently, this has been scientifically tested. (You know how I love scientific things)

So there you have it. Now you know why you might jump up and down, talk like a chipmunk, prance around the house or act like a monkey, make various strange noises, stick out your tongue, play pat-a-cake, tickle tummies, and sing childish songs in the presence of your favorite baby, all to coax out one more grin. You do it for the same reason I do.

We can't help it.

We're addicted

And how could I not be?

Add Lion Tamer to my list of job requirements

Today, my little man is 9 months old.

My sweet, crazy, funny, Smiley Miley

And since he is now 9 months, I figured I should write his 8 months "summary."

at 8 months he was: 15 pounds 8 ounces

• He perfected his army crawl
• He perfected his "regular" crawl
• He learned how to pull himself up to a standing position (which resulted in his crib being lowered to the lowest position)
• And he learned how to get himself into a sitting position
• He got his first tooth. (Actually, his first TWO teeth) both bottom front ones
• He said his first word, "da-da". Despite the HOURS I have spent whispering mama into his ear
• He started having formula and eating all kinds of yummy finger foods, like cheerios, yogurt bites, and fruit and vegetable puffs
• He learned how to get these yummy treats into his mouth all by himself
• And then he ate his first bug right off the kitchen floor (see my previous post)
  
• And he has learned how to throw a pretty good tantrum, and cry in just a way that mom feels bad and gives him whatever he wants. What a smart little bugger!
• Tasted his first ice cream. Ofcourse he loves it.
• And he got his first haircut. (performed by Grandma Atkinson) Mike wasn't very happy about it. But don't worry. He still has PLENTY!!
  

That's a lot in just 4 weeks! Miles is definitely developing his little personality. Here are a few things about him at 8 months.

He prefers army crawling to regular crawling, but only pushes off with his right foot

• Loves kicking and kicking and kicking his legs. (Maybe we have the next Michael Phelps on our hands?)
• Loves his Baby Einstein First Signs dvd. We watch it everyday.
  Favorite Book: Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton
• Favorite Song: Mom singing "I've been working on the railroad"
• Loves chasing after electrical cords and remote controls. I can't keep him away from them.
• Hates being held "like a baby", in a cuddly position. If he lets you hold him at all, he wants to be facing out and looking at his world. But he really prefers to be exploring.
• Doesn't like going down for naps, or going to sleep. He tries to fight it, and usually cries for about oh...30 seconds before he just gets too comfy and falls right to sleep.
• Sleeps about 12 hours at night. He usually doesn't wake up

But if I had to describe Miles in only one word, it would be HAPPY! I probably don't deserve how good he is. He is just happy and smiley all day long. And that makes ME smile all day long.

And NOW...Miles is working on cute new things I can record for nine months. At nine months, Miles now likes growl like a lion. Atleast thats what I think he sounds like. He started doing this today. It just doesn't get any cuter than this.

We only eat Gourmet Delicacies at our house

One major negative aspect to living in a climate where temperatures soar above 100 degrees (well, besides the temperatures themselves) is all the little warm weather loving creepy crawlies that seem to be in abundance around my house lately. These buggies are, I think, smarter than most people give them credit for. You see, while they love warm temperatures, they want to get out of the HOT temperatures, just like everthing else. They do this by finding any crack, hole or opening and sneak their way into MY lovely air-conditioned home.

We do our best to keep these pests under control. Our HOA pays for a company to spray twice a year. And we spray outside and inside ourselves a few times a year. This helps. But some creepy crawlies still manage to get in. Usually the fly swatter takes care of these. Even still, some extra sneaky buggies sneak past us. Today was one of those days.

I have officially become a baby wrangler around here. (In addition to bug zapper.) Miles just can NOT hold still. He is crawling everywhere, pulling himself up on anything he can get his hands on, and simply REFUSES to be held, or contained in any manner. This also almost always includes being put in his baby jumper he LOVED only a couple weeks ago. At the same time, he has also learned how to throw a pretty good tantrum. These tantrums generally occur when he feels his new found freedom is being infringed upon (as in being placed in the baby jumper, crib, pack-n-play, highchair, or even being held.) And did I mention I'm also a push over? As a result, Miles enjoys free reign of the house. He gets to crawl all over the place. We don't have stairs, and everything has been appropriately baby proofed, so I just let him go, and go, and go. He's happy, I'm happy.

He has also figured out how to pick little things up and put them in his mouth. Usually these little things consist of cheerios or vegetable puffs, or other baby appropriate munchies. But TODAY......today he found a new treat.

I was putting things away from our trip to Utah this afternoon. I came into the living room and noticed Miles was just chomping away. Chomp Chomp Chomp....perfectly happy he had found such a yummy treat. I hadn't given him any snacks. Afraid he had found some kind of choking hazard accidentally left out, I rushed over to investigate. And What did I see????

Two perfect little cricket legs sticking out of my baby's mouth.

Yes. That's right. Miles found a cricket that had somehow made it past me. I'm assuming it was already dead when he found it. I started yelling: "Oh NOOOOO! Don't eat that! Yuck! Spit that OOUUUUTTTTT!" I tried getting it out of his mouth, but Miles' jaws were shut tight! He was not about to let the snack he had found all by himself get away.

Mike had to help me get the half chewed cricket out of his slobbery mouth. It was a fight I tell you. We finally had to pinch Miles' nose to get him to open his mouth. And once the cricket was removed......we had a tantrum on our hands.

Lovely. My only consolation is that somewhere, in some foreign land or third world country, crickets are probably considered a delicacy. And as I'm quite sure this won't be the last "delicacy" Miles finds around our house, next time I'll try to get a picture.

The Best Weekend EVER

This weekend I had an amazing opportunity to attend a vocal recording conference and workshop with the likes of Jenny Phillips, Hillary Weeks, Tyler Castleton and Staci Peters (The producers and writers for the EFY cds), Peter Breinholt, and many many others. (Yes, I brought my camera...but no...I didn't get any pictures. I know.......its sad.) It was a treat to spend Friday listening and learning from their experiences, and getting advice on getting into the LDS music market. (Something I have literally been DREAMING about since I was around 14). I loved every minute of it. But that wasn't even the best part.

Saturday was pretty much the highlight of my trip here to Utah. Me, Mike, Chris (my mother-in-law), and my mom and dad drove to Counterpoint Studios in SLC for me to get the chance to record a demo for the 2009 Young Women's CD. (I love you families and friends, but recording in a real studio???? You just couldn't top that.)

I was beyond excited. Jenny Phillips produced my session, and it was AWESOME! I was in the recording studio, behind the glass, with my $5000 mic, and my sweet head set, and I sang my little heart out. And it was So Much FUN!! I wish I could have had more time, but we were only alotted 20 minutes to record.

I don't know if I'll get to be on the CD. Jenny Phillips, and a few execs from Deseret Book pick the top ten demos, and then those people get the privelege of recording their demo for the CD. For Reals. I can't think of anything better than getting the chance to record lead vocals for a song on the 2009 Young Womens CD. (Well, maybe getting to record lead vocals on the new 2009 EFY CD....maybe that'll come later.) I felt like it went really well, and my dad said he glanced over Jenny's shoulder just before we left, and there was a star by my name. (And ONLY my name.) I don't know what that means exactly, but I'm hoping a star = she liked me. :)

And if you want to hear my demo...just press play below.

And Warning....it's some pretty hard core LDS music. You might not be able to handle it. :)

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Only One Word

There's only one word I can think of to describe what has been going on around our house these last few weeks....

FUN!!!

It all started a few weeks ago for our friend Owen's 4th Birthday party. Miles tried out the pool, with mixed results.

He did love kicking and kicking and kicking his little legs in the water. I think we have a natural swimmer on our hands. :)

And what kid doesn't look stinkin cute in a floppy, protect his skin from the bright hot sun, baby blue, fishermans hat?
Miles loves being outside. And swimming is fun, but to beat the heat, sometimes you just have to get out of town. So we did. Twice! We loaded up the Rav, grappbed some of our friends, and headed to Flagstaff to go camping. Miles did GREAT, and loved the great outdoors. And he loved sitting around the campfire in his chair, just like his daddy.

(His hair is just a *little* out of control. But I think it is so cute all fuzzy like that. It sticks up in just about every direction. Grandma might have to give it a little trim when we visit next week.)

We had so much fun, we decided to do it again the next weekend. I've realized its nice to go places with friends, because I can get a very rare picture that actually has ME in it. Even if it is with my SWEET visor, sunglasses, and camp hair. Atleast there is proof I was there. For once.

I also took Miles to a play date last Wednesday to the Peoria City Splash Park. He is too little to fully enjoy running through the sprinklers. But he did like splashing the water that was already on the ground.

And I loved how cute he was in his little swim suit, rash guard, and funny as heck hat that keeps the sun off his neck, but kept flipping up in front.

You might be wondering....How can I even STAND having a little boy so cute? Well, the truth is, I just can't!! I just want to hug him and love him, and pinch his little chubby cheeks all day long.

Oh....and fill my hard-drive up with millions and billions of pictures.

Here's a couple more. Just in case you didn't get enough. I know I never can.

Laughing with me....

Or laughing AT me. Either way, I'm okay with it. :)

A while ago (the beginning of May) my Friend Tiffany told me about an Apron Swap she was doing. I make an apron, and send it to someone who signed up for the swap, and then someone sends an apron to me. I thought it sounded so fun. And I thought it would be a good chance to stretch my very limited sewing skills and try something new. I told my Mike about my great new find. His response? "why???"

"Why what" I said.
Mike: "Why are you making an apron to send to someone else? If you want an apron, why don't you just make one, and then keep it."

I figured this was just my overly logical husband COMPLETELY not understanding how fun this would be. So, I called my mom to tell her about it. Her response?

"Why?" "Why would you make and apron and send it to someone else. Why don't you just make an apron, and then keep it?"

Okay, Okay.....Maybe I'm the only one who looks forward to getting surprises in the mail. That's REALLY the reason I thought this would be so fun. So, I signed up.

I did have my hesitations. Let's just say...I've never been a very "lucky" person. I just knew it would be my luck to end up with a swapping partner who never sends an apron. So, I decided I would just buy double the fabric. Then I could make one for someone else AND for me. I'm such a little smarty! :)

The theme was "Summer". So I picked out some fun, flowery Amy Butler fabric, bought a pattern (because I wanted to learn how to use one) and went to work. My mom helped me do the first one while I was in St. George. It was my "practice", and I gave it to Rachel while we were there. It was cute. And I was proud. But I wasn't fond of the pattern, so I went at the next one on my own.

I've been working on it for a few days, and was ALMOST finished. All I had to do was attach the front pocket to the apron. And PRESTO! It would be complete. So, I pinned the apron in place and started sewing. This is what it looked like before the sewing began.


So I was just sewing right along and thinking....Wow. This pocket is a little harder to sew than I imagined. For some reason, it just seems "thicker" somehow. Wierd. And I just kept sewing. At LAST, I finished my last stitch on the pocket, snipped the threads, and pulled out my apron to admire my handiwork.

There was only one problem. The apron didn't look quite like I had imagined. This is what the front looked like.




If you can't tell, while I was sewing the pocket on, the whole top of the apron had been tucked under, and was now sewn to the back side of the pocket. So basically the apron was folded and sewn in half. And to make matters worse, I had DOUBLE top-stitched the pocket on. That means TWO ROWS of stitches were holding my apron in half.

go ahead. Laugh. I understand.

So, after puffing out my cheeks to hold in the curse words, I went to work unpicking, and unpicking, and unpicking.

and let me just interject here that I have to do all my sewing during Miles' nap-time. That makes the time available to me to do crafty things very limited. Hence the mental curse words.


So I unpicked my stitches, re-sewed the pocket, and worked with the fabric to get all the little "holes" left by my stitches to go away. And I ended up with this pretty little thing.


It gets dropped in the mail tomorrow. A whopping 5 days before the deadline. And I am proud of myself for not procrastinating completing it until the very last minute.

And incase you are wondering, I still haven't received MY apron in the mail yet. (The deadline to send is june 9th, so there's still time.) But no worries. I have the apron I will make for myself already cut out.

I've been sewing almost every day since I've been home from St. George. Thanks to my Mother-In-Law for letting me use a SWEET vintage Singer 401a sewing machine. It was the machine she learned on, and I L-O-V-E it.

Awhile ago I mentioned something about an Etsy shop. And I have been working my fingers off trying to get things ready. It's only taken me about 3 months longer than I thought. :) And there's still a little more. The problem is that as soon as I make something, someone I know wants to buy it, or I have a shower to go to and I take it, before I get it photographed and uploaded. But I finally DID photograph a few things. So, here's another (not so sneaky) peek.


Diaper and Wipes holder made from the "Dick and Jane" series fabric by Michael Miller. LOVE this, and I'll have lots of combinations of the fabric available.

Baby changing pad, topped with super easy to clean Vinyl dot fabric by Michael miller. Changing pad is lined with a thin cotton batting for a little "cush for babies tush", and backed with solid blue or red durable cotton fabric. I am in love with this. I just gave one at a baby shower, and already have a few requests for some more. I have a super cute brown and pink flower pattern for little girls that will be making its way to the shop soon too.

And here we have a nice big, slobber proof, baby food proof, smear whatever you want on it, and just wipe it up, easy peasy, "shirt bib". I should have posted a picture of the back. But you can put baby's arm through the arm holes, and the bib sleeves help keep baby's clothes clean. The pocked on the bottom helps catch drips and spills before they stain pants. Made from the same laminated fabric as the changing pad. Just wipe with a wet cloth, and thats it.

And I think this is my very very favorite. At approx. 20"x24", this super snuggly blankie is the perfect size for the carseat or stroller. Babies can't help grabbing hold of the soft minky fabric on front. (comes in red or blue), or snuggeling next to the vanilla satin lining on the back. Blankey has a layer of flannel in the middle for extra softness. And the best part is I can customize any of the items with any of the fabrics. Like the blankey, but want a blue minky center with the Dick and Jane word fabric instead of stripes? No problem.

And there's so much more! But I just couldn't help but show these off a little. They aren't in the shop yet. I'm still working on writing all the descriptions, pricing and uploading. But SOON. Very Soon. I have more styles of Bibs, big blankies, burpcloths, rag quilts, and nursing covers too, in a variety of fabrics for stylish moms and babies. So Stay Tuned!!! I can't wait to finally, finally, finally be making a little progress. Mike doesn't have class tomorrow. So, I'm hoping to get a little extra help on the baby wrangling front to take more pictures and get things uploaded. So, if you have a shower or something you will be going to in the next few months, keep me in mind! And ofcourse, my wonderful friends and family will be getting a very nice discount! :)

strawberries, pectin, and hypothesis...

These past months, I have been up to all sorts of things. Cooking, baking, sewing and such. I have been learning to be domestic. And while I have really enjoyed becoming, in my mind, what I always pictured I would be as a "home-maker", this is all new to me. I am in uncharted waters here. You see, I have spent the majority of my adult life training to become one thing. A Scientist. Seriously. For nearly a decade, the bulk of my educational efforts have been spent learning how to interpret an electrophoresis scan for Multiple Sclerosis. Or, detecting and identifying antibodies in the blood bank so the surgeon will have compatible blood for the emergency heart surgery going in 20 minutes. Or looking at peripheral blood smears for abnormal cells, to tell the doctor the patient has Leukemia. (really sad) Or that he doesn't. (really happy)

I have always loved science, and loved being a "lab rat." I love my job. But now I only work a few days a month. And I think lately, my scientist self has started feeling just a little neglected, and a little overrun by domesticity. :) This became glaringly obvious to me while I was at the grocery store the other day.

I was shopping for pectin. WHAT????? Yeahhh...I was shopping for pectin because my domestic self noticed that strawberries were on sale for $1 a pound, and thought it would be nice to make some home made strawberry jam. And to make jam you need strawberries and......you guessed it. Pectin.

So, I was perusing the pectin selection (say THAT fast 5 times) and found a few things. The first one I saw was this.

A pectin classic. I've used this before to make freezer jam (with mixed results). It's pretty simple (you have to boil the pectin, but thats not so bad), and is relatively quick. But then I saw THIS....
Two things stood out to me. First, just how yummy the picture looked. And then second, the words "No Cook." And then then words "Fresh, Delicious, Easy." Hmmmmm...... My neglected scientist self instantly began designing an experiment to prove if the Ball pectin really IS fresh, delicious, and easy. And I also wanted to scientifically prove which pectin produced better tasting jam. (my taste buds are pretty darn scientific). So, I bought both, headed back to the produce isle to double up on the strawberries, and headed for home. (Oh...and I also bought some of the plastic Ball freezer jam containers. Mike asked me why I bought these new conatiners when I could have just used tupperware we had at home. My response? "These are cuter." And in my defense, I was planning on giving some of my finished product to the neighbors, so the containers SHOULD be nicer than the old cottage cheese tub that has been used and washed a hundred times.)



ANYWAY.................

Back to the experiment. My hypothesis was:

Ball pectin will be easier to use and will produce fresher and tastier strawberry jam than Sure-Jell pectin.

I KNOOOOOWWWWWW what you are thinking. I am a science dork. But we've already established that. So, if you want the results of my delicious experiment, you are just going to have to keep reading.

Here is basically everything you needed to know (according to me and my tastebuds) about making strawberry freezer jam.


I started with the Ball pectin because I was anxious to try it out.

Ball Pectin

The instructions seemed simple enough. First, cut and mash strawberries. I needed to smoosh up 4 cups of these.

I used a potato masher as oppossed to a blender or food processor. But I like my jam a little on the "chunky" side. If you don't, just mash it up more. Simple. The buying guide on the bag said I would need about 4 pounds of strawberries. (Each of the containers is a pound) So, thats what I bought. But it was WAY too much. I found that ONE pound of whole strawberries = TWO CUPS of mushed strawberries. So, I really only needed 2 containers of the delicious fruit and not 4. Ohwell. More to eat later.

Next, in a seperate bowl, I added the Ball pectin to 2 cups of sugar. Atleast I think it was two cups of sugar. I'm writing this after the fact, so I don't remember EXACTLY...It could have been a little less than 2 cups. But just look at the instructions on the bag. (you could also use Splenda as an alternative.) I mixed those together, then added my 4 cups of fruity goodness. I stirred for 3 minutes to help the sugars disolve. And then I used a wide mouth funnel to make filling my cute jars easy, scooped the mixture in, and put the lids on.

The package says this will make approximately 5-8oz. jars. (or 40 oz. total) But I filled 2 of my big jars (16 oz each) and then 2 of my small jars (80z each). So, if you do the math, that equals 48 oz. or 6-8oz. jars. Ending up with extra jam always makes me happy.

Finally, just let it sit out on the counter for 30 minutes to "set" a little more. And that's it! It was as easy as that. There really was no cooking. And the whole thing took about 10 minutes. (Well, except the letting it set for 30 minutes part. Obviously.)

And this is what it looked like.

And the taste???? Was SOOOOOO good. It was sweet, but not too sweet, and not too sugary. It tasted more like real fruit, and not like fruit syrup, like some jams do. D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S. I knew it was going to be pretty hard to beat, but I gave it a try.

Sure-Jell
I opened the Sure-Jell box and found a double sided page of instructions. So, I was already a little annoyed. I finally found the recipe I needed for strawberry jam. Be careful, because there are TWO. A recipe for cooking the fruit, and a recipe for not cooking the fruit. I chose the recipe for not cooking the fruit.

So, this time I only needed two cups of mashed strawberries. And FOUR cups of sugar. Yup....Four. That seemed like a lot. Compared to the other jam, there was twice as much sugar and half the strawberries. I was already less than impressed.

So, I added my 4 cups of sugar to my 2 cups of strawberries. Stirred it all together and let it sit for 10 minutes for the sugar to start dissolving. This would be a good time to cook your pectin.

Sure-Jell pectin has to be boiled with water. I don't remember HOW much water, exactly. But I think it was something like 4.25 cups. Or maybe 1.25??? Whatever the amount was, I'm sure It was EXACTLY measured out, very scientifically. :) Just check the directions. So, you add the pectin to COLD water, and stir it until it boils. Boil for 1 minute, then dump into your sugar/strawberry mixture. Stir this around until all the sugar crystals are dissolved, and then put into your containers.

The instructions say to leave it out at room temp for 24 hours to let the jam set. But Scientist Sarah is extremely skeptical of leaving ANY kind of food out of the fridge for 4 hours, let alone 24. So, I left mine out for a half hour with the other jam, and into the fridge it went.

24 Hours Later-Conclusion

So, I waited a whole day before trying the jam again. And I definitely had a hands down favorite. The Sure-Jell was 'okay'....but turns out my hypothesis was correct.

According to my taste buds, The jam made with ball pectin was pretty much the best jam I have ever made. (I know, I know...there's not much competition for the best jam I've ever made.) But if you are craving something fresh and fruity, like I was, you should definitely give this a try.

And, because this TECHNICALLY was a science experiment. I had to put my newly found domestic skills to good use and make home-made honey whole wheat bread.

YUM!

Summer?

Well, they say its summer here. Triple digit temps now. But frankly, thats not really my idea of a nice summer. For me, Summer here starts around January and goes through April. I want to go back to January. :)

In honor of the triple digit week we had and will continue to have until next October, I decided to brighten up the blog a bit. Get in-tune with my summer self, so to speak. I played around with the HTML codes last night. It was a crazy thing to do. But I was soon addicted to changing EVERY number in the code to see what it would do. Yes, I'm a computer dork. and I am obviously not afraid to admit it. I played until 1:00 am, at which point I decided the numbers would still be waiting for me later. I have more I will be adding, so check back for some fun.

About the things I will be adding.......

I have been working really hard on a little "project", and am almost ready to get everything up and going. I wanted to wait until everything was perfect before I said anything. And I STILL do. So, I'll just give you a teaser and say someone will be having a fully stocked ETSY boutique, full of completely irresistible items, up and running very soon. Hopefully by the end of this week. It was suppossed to happen last week. But obviously, It didn't.

That's it for now. And since this is kind of a boring post, here's a little something to make it worth your while.

Romer Look-alike Meter

Alright....It's settled now, once and for all.

Miles looks more like.........

I guess that explains why half the people say he looks just like me and half the people say he looks just like Mike. well there's no wondering any more who is right. They all are.

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Geneology - Free genealogy