Arbor Day

I think it was Arbor Day a little while back, or at least some sort of observance that caused our local arboretum to have free admission. So we headed there for an afternoon jaunt. It sort of melts my heart when Lo Lo sits down on little ledges, curbs, etc. because it just reminds me how short his legs are. And I think I will miss it when he someday is tall enough to lower himself naturally onto a bench instead of clambering up there with such cute awkwardness. Jerry is severely allergic to Maple tree pollen and most varieties of grass, so perhaps an arboretum wasn't the best place for him to visit. He kept rubbing and holding his nose because it was bothering him with the allergies, and then we noticed Lo Lo was copying:

Isn't this such a lovely scenic place. We wanted a family photo on this bench (below). But there were no people around to take a shot of the three of us. So here is Jerry's initial photo of Lo and me:

...and here is the shot of Jerry using the timer:

Okay, round two went a little better. :)

And in case you were wondering what red colored object Lo Lo has in his hands for those previous couple photos, here is a closeup of his watermelon popsicle. It was made of 100% fruit, and tasted a little odd to me. Frozen watermelon has a strange texture I suppose, and I am looking forward to those days of summer--coming soon!--when the grocers produce section starts overflowing with juicy fresh watermelons.

I suppose since it is an arboretum, we should get a shot of a tree or two. Here is a tree big enough to eat Lo in one bite:

But the favorite pastime of the day had to be picking dandelions. Lo Lo thinks they are glorious floral finds, and delights in doling them out to all the ladies in our neighborhood.

Here he is doing the ASL sign for "flower" as he holds his dandelion:

And I thought his shirt was fitting for the day's journey through the gardens. The shirt says "Exploring Adventure" and is a top Lo Lo picked out all for himself. I've started to let him choose the shirts he wears each day by giving him an option of two different shirts. Usually he grabs for whichever t-shirt has a car or truck printed on it.

The video shows Lo Lo as he noticed a dead fish in the pond. He says "mu mu" which is his lazy way to say the "blub blub" noise of a bubbling fish sound we taught him. Also toward the end of the clip he makes a "buzzing" noise of a bumble bee which is pretty funny.

Maple Sugaring

When I was in elementary school, I remember loving the books Miracle on Maple Hill and whichever Laura Ingalls Wilder edition that tells about the kids making maple candy by pouring fresh syrup into shapes on a pan of snow. It has been on my bucket list (pun just realized) ever since then to experience the thrill of maple sugaring for myself. And now our family is blessed to live in the ONLY region on earth to have the particular tree variety and weather that allows maple sugaring to happen. About a week ago we visited our local farmpark to see how the process works.

First, pound a hollow nail into the trunk of a maple tree (or a stand of maple trees, as the case may be as in the photo above). Then, drape a bucket over the nail. When the weather gets to that days have melting snow, but nights drop back below freezing again, then the sap will run.

It comes out of the tree as a clear, thin liquid. It looks just like water.

This liquid then gets boiled down to a thicker syrup. Pictured above is a "backyard" type of boiling process, but we also saw a larger, more industrial vat as well.

We got to ride the tracter-pulled wagon which that Lo loved. He smiled and waved to it as it pulled up.

It also happened to be a big quilt show that weekend, and this was our favorite one.

Don't the horses look just like that quilt? This horse-drawn wagon is the alternative to the tractor-pulled cart we were in. Lo seems to enjoy the tractors more than the horses. Which I do not understand myself, but whatever.

This was our last visit to the farmpark before our membership expired. Sad. But we will probably still go a few times in the upcoming year as a couple other families we know have memberships with guest passes. Let the mooching begin!

The horses in this video were pulling a load of freshly gathered sap.

Reviews

Book Review:

When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead Jerry is making a concerted effort to read more often purely for pleasure. He picked up this short chapter book in our local library's Newberry section, and then after reading a few pages of it, asked me to take a look at it to explain something in it to him. Although I was in the middle of two other books already, I got hooked on this one and couldn't read anything else until I'd finished it!

A mixture of light science fiction (time travel) with coming-of-age themes and characters who are heart-breakingly realistic and fun. I loved this book. There is one description of violence that left me a little sick feeling, so I am not sure how I feel about recommending it for pre-teen...but anybody older than that, make sure to add it to your lists and enjoy!

Restaurant Review:

McDonald's

The dentist suggested Jerry eat only liquids and soft foods for a couple days (root canal--poor Jerry). So we treated ourselves to trying the newish McDonald's triple thick milkshakes. I hadn't had a McDonald's milkshake in years, and only remember them as sickly syrupy concoctions that were about as thick as my spit. Yeah, not so good. Well, the new ones (part of the McCafe lineup) are totally worth their price tag of two-something dollars. We shared a strawberry one the first time we went, and then a few days later could not resist going back to share a chocolate one. The strawberry seemed more authentic, though I'm usually a die-hard chocolate lover. So I'd recommend going fruity if you want to try these milkshakes.

Event Review:

Winter Carnival (City of Painesville)

Single-digit weather made for a chilly walk around the park when we first arrived at this "winter carnival." It seemed deserted--less than twenty people total, including the lone man carving an ice sculpture and one teenage girl spray-painting a knee-high snow fort she appeared to have just created moments earlier. We also noticed moments after arrival that Lo's shoe had fallen off and he had been walking around in icy mud puddles with nothing but his SOCK on his frozen toes. No wonder he seemed fussy...Anyway, we headed back to the car thinking it was a bust.

Until a newspaper photographer asked us to get out of the car to pose for a photo. We reluctantly complied.

Then the newspaper man mentioned the chili eating contest across the street. We trudged our way through the snow to get to it, and sure enough, THERE was the carnival! All free events (yay!) included caricature artists, winter crafts, chili sampling (I ate enough to amount to two regular sized bowls--very full), and useful freeby handouts like car window scrapers. We spent about two hours there and enjoyed ourselves. Jerry especially settled into the chili sampling, because he truly has the heart of a chef and likes trying to guess ingredients in new foods. One of the chilis had chocolate in it (I voted for this one), another had venison (we voted for this one also, because it was made by a girl scout troop and we wanted to see them win), and one had Black Mamba, which was an ingredient Jerry guessed right away and the restauranters who made the chili confirmed he was correct. There were both professional (restaurant) and amateur categories. Who knows, maybe next year we'll enter our own batch of chili!

Thanks Painesville for the worthwhile family event. We'll be back in a couple months for their Easter Egg Hunt.

Product Review:
Monkey Do Cloth Diapers

I've wanted to try cloth diapering ever since before that Lo was born. Finally, for Christmas a month ago Santa gave me a small starter set from this cute home-based business. Since it is headed by my awesome college friend Morgan, she gave me a good deal on the diapers and soakers, as well as customized my order (made sure the measurements would fit that Lo's chunky legs & tummy).


Still haven't used them enough to determine my full opinion, but here are some pros and cons.
Hooray: adorable, quickly repay themselves when used for just a matter of weeks (I've been getting so sick of buying disposables especially since Lo got to the bigger sizes that give less diapers in a pack), give Lo more immediate notification he has gone potty (should help with the imminent potty training days), adjustible for smaller babies with the comfortable cord lock system (I'll definitely be re-using these with future Tam babies).
Bummer: takes a bit more work to get them strapped on that Lo because of the lack of elastic (it is crucial for him to be centered on the diaper or it won't fit comfortably), and as he is in the wiggliest phase right now, I've sometimes given up using a cloth diaper at one time or another just because it was quicker to snap a disposable on his squirmy bum! Also, poopy toddler diapers are pretty much the worst thing ever. The first time I had to deal with him pooping in the cloth, I wished so much I could just throw away the soaker pad. But I swished it in the toilet, then threw it in the washer, and it came out perfectly clean so no harm done. Still, horrible, nasty, worst thing ever to me as I'm the type of person who tosses whole outfits in the trash if Lo has a blowout.

Movie Review:

The Business of Being Born

No secret to anybody who knows me: I have a passion for advocating "beautiful" births. Even though I personally found natural birth to be the ideal for me, I have gradually come to accept that for some people, their most beautiful "ideal" birth would be highly medicalized. I'm okay with the fact that I'm more eccentric than mainstream America. But I do wish more women would explore the evidence (or lack of evidence, i.e. tradition) behind what their doctors are doing to them.

At first this movie seemed like one that would make me nod my head a lot in agreement, but I was somewhat disappointed as I found myself cringing at the profanity, negativity, and emotionally charged angles (I suppose all documentaries have their agendas to promote)...though most of all, I just wished there had been more showing of moms in labor having peaceful, emotional control. Because the peacefulness is what I appreciate most about Hypnobabies. I wasn't perfect, but can say Jerry and I stayed a totally united team, where I would have ordinarily been inclined to get snappy with him. In future births, I hope to also show more of the Hypnobabies ideal of being peaceful with my midwife as well, since I said a few rude things to her that I regret now.

But I digress. Back to the movie at hand. I recommend anyone with even a moderate interest in birth give the movie consideration, because it will probably be eye-opening to anybody, including those who already think they know a lot about natural births. For example, I was surprised to learn homebirths comprise less than 1% of total births in the United States. I know so many women who have done homebirths, that it feels more common to me in my head. And I actually did not fully realize the horrors of "the twilight sleep era" until seeing the visual portrayals. Ugh. So glad I did not live in the 1920's...!

This movie has been out for more than a year now, but I just finally watched it a couple days ago because we got a Netflix subscription for Jerry to have films to entertain him while he runs on the treadmill.

**and after this blog has been posted for a whole day, it dawned on me some people might not like to watch graphic births, so I should retract my recommendation of this film to any who fall into that category! Sorry; it isn't obscene nudity, but there is plenty of nudity.

Dog Days

We made another visit to the local farmpark for the working dog weekend. I'm determined that Lo shall learn to love animals, but for now he seems fairly ambivalent about them. Observe his boredom in the poodle video. That poodle has now become my dream dog, btw. Breed an apricot with a chocolate and you get...chocolate cherry! Such a gorgeous auburn color. The dog "works" at a preschool. Other working dogs we got to meet included the lab that is "ears" for her owner; seeing eye guide dogs, Newfoundland water rescue dogs, a police dog, sheep dogs in all their variety, and too many others to count. There were lots of demonstrations, but this terrier one ended up being my favorite: 1. Start with an unassuming largish white rat.

2. Put it at the end of a tunnel.

3. Let dogs loose in the tunnel, and cheer while they "work" the rat.

I couldn't believe how intense these dogs got. They get points for speed and how much they attack the rat at the end. PETA calm down, the rat stays safely inside his wire cage during the "attack." =)And he didn't even seem anxious about the whole thing. Watching these dogs reminded me of my childhood doggy Chrisha. The neighbors called her "rat dog," because I suppose she was a little ratty looking with wirey-coat and scrawny legs. But she also had some literal "rat dog" terrier blood in her, and more than once murdered my pet rabbits when I left them in her reach. Can't blame instinct. I blame myself for being careless.

This notion of instinct was evident when we watched all the different breeds doing what they were bred to do. For instance, the labs trembled with joyous anticipation waiting to be allowed to do their water acrobatics, but the terriers were totally oblivious to the pond beside them. On the other hand, the terriers/dachsunds/etc. went crazy when they caught sight of this rat, but when the red poodle (in video below) came to visit the terrier/rat crowd, she looked more interested in the people around her than any ol' critter.

We are really enjoying our membership to the farmpark. Coming up next month: a woolfest and an ice cream celebration! Any locals care to join us?




(The reason the terrier wasn't filmed at the end is that he ran through the tunnel so quickly, our camera man didn't realize the dog had already passed the glass viewing point). But just imagine the dog biting that wire rat cage so viciously it would give ya nightmares...)

Memorial Day Weekend

I just realized another weekend is already looming before us, and I haven't even begun to talk about last weekend. There are a lot of pictures to catch up, since we had an eventful few days (as most holidays are, I suppose). I am grateful Jerry was free from work Memorial Day. We always love to have him around more. Here he is reading to that Lo. He is covering the baby's eyes because the story being read is about Jesus healing a blind man: "Imagine what it would be like to have no sight, and then suddenly be able to see again." Also note in this picture our sleeper sofa is pulled out, and we prepared our extra queen-sized bed in Lo's room (which he isn't using right now). We had some Young Single Adults (YSA) stay with us for a couple nights this past weekend as part of a church conference in the area. We feel pretty "grown up" to be able to host guests like that and it was fun getting ready for their stay. The YSA's were really sweet and we look forward to helping again in the future. On Friday night, we went to a great bowling party with more than a dozen friends. Our friend Jacob won a free bowling party for himself and 20 friends, so we felt special to be included in his "top 20." =) Thanks, Jacob.

We took that Lo swimming for the first time in a real pool! Too bad we forgot the camera for the actual pool time, but here he is in the living room right before we went as I slathered sunscreen all over his squishy baby body. His swim "trunks" are the cutest thing ever. I'll have to post a better pic of them soon. He seems to like being in the pool. Lots of looking all around in awe, and a bit of tentative splashing. He splashes more in the bathtub than in the pool. I also dunked him under the water a few times, blowing in his face first to help him take a breath. He didn't mind.
On Saturday we visited another Church historical site in the area, the Isaac Morley Farm. The little pathway they have through the trees is one of the more gorgeous places on earth. I saw flaming red cardinal bird, and a smoky black squirrel. This site is where Joseph Smith prophesied that the LDS church, just a small band of followers at that time, would one day grow to fill the nations of the earth. I am excited to see that prophecy unfolding, as nearly every country on earth now has opened to the spreading of Jesus Christ's restored gospel.

And speaking of religion, we visited our friends of another faith on Memorial Day with a trip to Amish Country. That Lo got to pet more horses and other cute farm animals, and we delighted in eating fresh Amish foods. My favorite was a lemon pie, though we had some tasty fried chicken and sweet potato fries as well. To get this photo of Lo driving the mini buggy, we had a whole team effort. (check out the video). Thanks to our wonderful friends for all the love they show that Lo. It always warms my heart to see people giving attention to our precious baby boy.

One of the Amish co-ops was having some special events where they let us get pictures taken in a real buggy. Also, note the videos of our time in the petting zoo and with the buggy horse (unhitched). I'm so amazed how quick those Amish horses trot along with a buggy full of people behind them. The horses are Standardbreds (I asked).

Wintergreen

We stumbled upon a local greenhouse last Saturday. It turned out to be one of those happy accidents that occur while getting lost in a new city. The Little had never seen green stuff before, since the ground has been snow-covered since about the time he was born in November up until now. Notice how while Jerry and I are looking at the camera, Lo is just staring at...





Plants! It felt great to have some tropics in the middle of an actual blizzard right outside the glass windows.
Orange trees heavy with fruit.

The object of this stare-down is a fishtank. There were a lot of fish in it, just none visible from this angle.

Jerry loved, loved, loved the desert portion. It seems particularly exotic to him (whereas I grew up in a desert and was all set to zip through this section).

Once again, that Little was more concerned with staring at flowers and such rather than the camera, but here is another family shot from our fun outing.

Leafpeepers

This past weekend we went on a Sunday afternoon drive along the Mohawk Trail (which I think is in the Berkshires?) and thanks to the expertise of our local buddies Roger and Nieca, we saw some beautiful color. Actually, Roger kept claiming last year was so much better...but since we newcomers didn't know any different, we thought this year was great! Some of the most interesting views happened when we ventured on a mystery little winding road coming home, but we didn't stop for pics on that road. So here are a few photos from the main highway stretch: I made Jerry wear that shirt so he would match the trees. He's such a good sport. He told me, "But your shirt doesn't match any trees." meh. Maternity wear gives me scant options...=)

This valley looked more clear in real life, of course. Coming from a desert upbringing, I am always so amazed at the density of the trees out here on the east coast.

Biker gangs. They have the right idea--it is so much easier to stop and gaze at the foliage when you don't have a big car to worry about parking somewhere.

Note the bare branches in the background. I suppose we were just a few days past peak at this particular area. Actually, the color is best right here in our neighborhood--no driving needed! lol. We are grateful to get to live in Mass. at this time of the year.

Heading into Columbus Day Weekend...

Ahoy, ahoy. Columbus Day is a public holiday in Mass. which is nice, so we are currently headed into a three-day weekend for Jerry. It was never a true "holiday" aka "day off" in the state where I grew up, though I do recall making construction paper ships of the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria for it in elementary school. We are going to Connecticut again this weekend for our birth rehearsal. When we went there two weeks ago to meet with our doula and hypnobabies instructor, we took time to stop by the Mystic Seaport. Jerry shot the photo above at the Seaport's dock; I think it looks like a painting! I always love Jerry's photos. The Seaport is a recreated, "living museum" of a colonial coastal village.

It might be difficult to discern, but there is a fluffy white jelly fish scooting along by this dock. We were entertained by it for awhile, as well as delighting in the tiny silver fish that kept leaping out of the water. There were hundreds of them, whole schools that would rush by every few moments. The world of water intrigues me--I could stare at the ocean all day.

Belly shot on the boat. We were laughing about how I barely had room to squeeze between the helm and the navigator tool behind me.

And another horsie shot. It has become some kind of tradition that we take pics with all the horses we stumble across in our travels.

A fitting way to end our journey: lay anchor. This baby is HUGE! Maybe twice as tall as me? I should have stood next to it for scale.

The Seaport was relatively interesting, though it is probably a lot better during some of their special events. For instance, they have demonstrations of New Foundland dogs doing water rescues, antique car shows, seafood festivals, and murder-mystery games set up for families to enjoy. If we go again, or were recommending it to others, it seems best to plan a visit during a special event since the Seaport itself is just a museum (albeit a good one).

Renewed!

The conference center in Salt Lake City...estimated 21,000 members of the church gathered?

Last night for family home evening, Jerry and I shared our 179th Semi-Annual General Conference notes and insights with each other. General Conference is the twice-yearly occurrence in our church during which normal weekly Sabbath/sacramental services are suspended. During these conference weekends, people worldwide can view and listen to the living prophet and twelve apostles of Jesus Christ, as well as other church leaders. Millions of people who are not able to attend in-person at the conference center in Salt Lake City participate through television, internet, or satellite broadcast in more than 6,000 meetinghouses in 85 countries. This latest conference is being translated into 92 languages, with video and print archives available online. I look forward to continuing to review the messages over the coming months as I apply them into my life.

On Saturday, Jerry and I ended up staying home to experience the conference message online, while on Sunday we spent one session at home, and one session at the church building. I like both ways of watching conference, because I tend to get varying sorts of benefits with different locations. For example, at home I feel more free to change positions (especially helpful now that I am enormously pregnant), and I can get a snack or drink of water in between speakers--thus aiding my overall alertness. But at the church building, watching on "the big screen," I often feel moved by a sense of community and love among those gathered in the chapel. We unite in our dedication to hear God's word through living revelation, and I catch myself taking notes more frequently because each time someone near me jots a word or two, it makes me realize, "oh yeah--something noteworthy just got said!"

A few personal highlights:

• Obviously as Jerry and I soon embark on the thrilling (and at times unnerving) responsibility of parenthood, we have sought direction from the ultimate source of knowlege in this area: our Heavenly Father. Elder Oaks' talk on Saturday reminded me, "there is no area more in need of--and more likely to receive--heavenly guidance [than raising children] because this is the work of eternity." I feel confident the Lord will help me be a successful wife and mother. God cares about families.


• I have worked to practice positive thinking through self-hypnosis during this pregnancy. Through this process, I have grown to believe increasingly in my capacity to control my emotions. Sort of a "spirit rules the body" type of belief. President Boyd K. Packer's reference to this idea at Saturday afternoon's session thus resonated with what I have been learning lately. He said, "You can invent a 'delete' key in your mind [...] You can control your thoughts." I love that image--a "delete" key in my mind! I will incorporate that into my hypnosis practice, and even use it elsewhere in life to choose to feel happiness when circumstances might try to convince me to feel otherwise.


• Sometimes I wonder if I am making much progress in my quest to live a Christlike life. Change comes slowly, and admittedly on occasion I slip backward. During Sunday afternoon's session, Elder Dale G. Renlund shared a metaphor relating the Christian's journey to obtain a mighty change of heart to a modern, medical heart transplant. In each case, the natural inclination of the body is to reject the new heart, and the process of conversion requires frequent assessment, maintenance, and early intervention if rejection does start to occur. Hearing this comparison made me recommit to the small but simple acts of maintenance I do on my spiritual heart--if I have been blessed enough to receive this new opportunity at life, I will follow "doctor's orders," keeping in mind, Christ is known as "the Great Physician." It is vital that I not only study and learn His gospel, but ACT on it! Or my heart will fail me, like a beneficiary of a heart transplant who fails to take his medicine after surgery. I could never throw away a gift made possible by the sacrifice of someone else's life.

I could wax on for another 10 pages...obviously I love conference! It feels great to have access to the words God wants me to hear at this time in my life. I encourage all to study these conference talks with a sincere heart (note the language link above)--I promise you will feel a deep sense of purpose and renewal in life. You will find answers unfolding to address any question, and will feel comfort to lighten any burden that comes your way.

Touring Boston

Aunt Jennifer & Uncle Mike flew out from Idaho to Boston this past weekend, so we made the most of visiting with them by attending church out there in the morning and then walking the Freedom Trail with them Sunday afternoon.

Here we are by the harbor and Bunker Hill Memorial (background). Most of this history meant little to my Hong Konger Husby, but he was patient to accompany us as we saw the sights, and stood on grounds, that were pivotal in the United States of America's origins.



We explained a few Revolutionary War facts to Jerry along the route, like how the Boston Tea Party came about, and who Paul Revere was, etc.

This building didn't need much explanation, as Jerry was familiar with the history behind it: the Declaration of Independence was first read from the balcony of this structure. Standing in the square below, I could imagine how listeners must have felt. We like the way this part of Boston blends the ancient and modern--skyscrapers alongside historical buildings.




The Holocaust Memorial appeared to branch off the Freedom Trail, and we spent a few reverent minutes reading the quotes there.

I did not realize the Freedom "TRAIL" is actually a literal trail that winds through the city--cute. We just traipsed along the red brick line, following it from one historical site to another.

The Boston Common brought us face to face with a childhood memory of mine: the pond in the classic book titled Make Way for Ducklings. Note the center island and swan boats.

The Commons also had a mounted police. We always like horsies.

And lastly, one of the most impressive sights of Boston this weekend was how people parked their cars. How is it done?! Can anybody tell me how long it might take this particular vehicle to shimmy out of its parallel parking slot--with just inches to spare between both front and back bumpers. Wow, wow.