The best things in life are...sticks and bikes?

That's right. Scotty has replaced his love for mama with more interesting things: sticks and bicycles. Now that the weather is nice (at least sometimes!)
we take lots of long walks and Scotty loves to explore.

His favorite game is "see how many sticks I can hold at one time." He starts with the biggest sticks he can find, but doesn't get upset if they break
(which they always do because he uses them to catapult himself forward or scratch in the dirt) because then he just gets even more stick pieces to hold.

Isn't our yard lovely? So much for the grass we worked so hard for! There is some grass under here, but SO many weeds. I'd say it was time for weed killer
but then there would be nothing growing and it will be bare dirt all summmer (again).
Even the rototilling, fertilizer, and grass seed wasn't enough
to make a noticeable difference in the back yard.
*sigh* i'm ready for a real yard!
At least this one is colorful. I kept meaning to take pictures of our rainbow of tulips but I forgot and they all fell apart in the snow on Sunday.

This was Scotty yesterday--ALL DAY LONG.
He had me wear Eric's helmet while he wore his for at least an hour around the house.
Guess it's time to buy his bike seat again, right Eric?

For those who don't know my super efficient husband, here's the story:
For Christmas we bought Scotty a seat that attaches to Eric's bike. We actually got it in November hoping to catch a bit of nice weather before winter set in, but it didn't happen. My parents bought the duck helmet for Scotty's Christmas early as well so he'd be safe. Since we never used the bike seat, and Eric HATES storing things, he returned it and promised to buy it back when it was nice weather again. (Is it a horrible thing to return your child's Christmas present? it made sense at the time...). Scotty recognizes his helmet and tries to climb on every back we pass on our walks, so I would say it's time to get the seat again and take this kid on adventures!

P.S. For the moms and grandmas who never get bored with all things Scotty, there's a running list in the left sidebar of words that scotty is saying and signing...

Graduation Highlights

Well, it's official. Eric has graduated!

The whole family attended his convocation last night and even Scotty managed pretty well. Luckily it was at the Marriott Center so we took a little play break on the lawn
(with the 500 other kids there!) while everyone else walked.
We even ran into my old roommate and her husband--it was so good to see you Mel!

His mom, Leanne, has been working on finishing her degree in general studies for the past two years and we were so excited for the two of them to walk together! Her coworkers are throwing her a much deserved graduation party, so Eric and I contributed to the fun by making a few photo collages of the pictures I took this week.

Aren't they tremendous?

Congradulations!

We're finally done!

A Long Week

You can always tell when it's been a long week.

Good night!

Numbers

What a whirlwind weekend! My mom flew up for my cousin's bridal shower and endowment and Scotty and I drove all over Utah. Sunday morning I started up in Ogden, drove down just in time for a quick shower before church, and then headed down to Santaquin for a family dinner with Eric's grandparents.

Miles driven: 416.2
People visited: Meg's family: mom, grandma, 3 aunts, 1 uncle, 10 cousins (my cousins span the generations: 2 are my age, 3 in high school, and 5 young ones....my youngest cousin is only a year older than Scotty!), 2 dogs, 2 cats. Eric's family: one set of grandparents, two brothers, one sister, 5 cousins, one cat.
Books read: one 600 page historical novel about King Henry VIII
Naps taken: 2, both for Scotty
Meals cooked: ZERO! WOO! that's a nice change of pace
Movies watched: ZERO. Scotty lasted four whole days without The Little Mermaid and we all survived.
Finals taken: 4, all Eric
Papers written: 4 by Meg, 1 by Eric, plus some scribbles from Scotty with a pen on his bare legs

Pictures forthcoming!

A Day in the Life

So the discussion on Sunday about enjoying the "now" moments of your life really got me thinking. The past month was a little rough for all of us, and for the first time I wasn't so sure I really wanted to be a stay at home mom. Scotty is a blast to be with, but he's not old enough to really play with me yet, but doesn't need the constant care and attention that a newborn does. Most days, he wanted me to sit on the floor and watch him play. If I get up or sit somewhere that prevents him from using me a human jungle gym, he gets upset, but it's just not that stimulating to watch a toddler through blocks around for hours everyday.

What a handy shelf!

The past few weeks have been much better and I'm really enjoying the time I get with him again. There are so many moment everyday that make me laugh and make me realize that he won't be like this forever, and I'll miss it when it's gone.

Scotty put on a shoe fashion show for me the other day...he wore this particular "pair" for at least 20 minutes...one black date shoe platform and one beat up tennis shoe

It also helps to have warmer weather (although it's dumping snow while i'm typing this!) because we both love to get out. The other day I took him on an "adventure" walk (i.e. both strollers were in the car which was not at home, but we needed to get out). Instead of trying to get somewhere in particular, we just walked, and I let him stop and show me anything that caught his eye. We looked at the trees that were starting to bloom. We picked some grass. We played on the freshly painted red curb (he's a total gymnast already! though guys don't do balance beam.) We chased the ducks and collected handfuls of sticks. We waved to everyone who passed.



It was a wonderful day! How refreshing to see things through the eyes of child. I think we all get too caught up in things to do and places to go, that we forget to just enjoy the ride.

Scotty's newest trick: "running." It's more of a lopsided gallop/hop/dance, but it's hilarious and he gets so excited to be able to move quickly!

He also loves to lead me around and show me everything. Yesterday in the dollar store he kept pointing out the "Fish" (Finding Nemo themed bags) and the balls. He's starting to talk more and more, and I don't even have to struggle to translate Scottish because he signs for me :o) His newest word is "shoes" we he pronounces backwards so it sounds just like "woosh."

Bowling Adventure!

Friday night was Eric's Senior celebration on campus. It was perfect--a great date, free food, ice cream, games, and 2 free games of bowling! Scotty was in heaven, as he got to eat chips and ice cream with dinner.



We were excited to let Scotty actually push the ball down the lane, and he loved it! Wasn't at all intimidated by the loud noises, he loved watching his ball roll down and would cheer for it and wave his arms.

He also liked looking for the ball coming out of the sorter but that made us a little nervous...

He beat my score the first game, but we all bowled better in the second.

P.S. How are you supposed to hit this?

Only in Utah

So, I spend a lot of time working in the chemistry department at Provo High to complete my observation hours (which I've now finished 97! only three more to go!!). I help out in one main classroom tutoring, grading, filing, prepping demonstrations, and even teaching occasionally. Today I was grading lab reports about nuclear chemistry when I read something that cracked me up and could only happen here in Utah.

Let me explain the background. In chemistry, mass is conserved in reactions, meaning you can't create or destroy matter. This is called the Law of Conservation of Mass. In nuclear chemistry, the amount of energy and heat released is so great that some mass is actually converted to energy (ever heard of E=mc^2? E is energy and m is mass....) so nuclear chemistry doesn't follow the same conservation of mass as regular chemistry.

This student's response?

"Nuclear chemistry doesn't follow the law of consecration."

Taking out student loans and juggling a toddler with completing a master's program: Expensive. Capturing moments like this: Priceless.

A better outlook

Now that I've slept off this weekend's exhaustion, I'm feeling much better about everything. I love Conference weekend because it always makes me feel so hopeful and motivated to do better!

Some days being a parent is really hard, and others, it's the best thing in the world. Today I love being a mom! Instead of trying to get my school stuff done early or trying to do "my" stuff, I decided to just love being a mom and play with my little boy while he still thinks I'm the coolest person ever.

He totally cracks me up! Funny morning moments:

* he loves this big purple bouncy ball his Grandpa bought him at the dollar store for Christmas. He's really good and throwing it and pretty good at kicking it, so we're working on catching. The problem is, every time I tell him to put his arms out, he carefully folds them! He'll stand there with his arms folded while the ball bounces off his stomach....so funny!

* this morning he decided to use his bouncy ball like an exercise ball and walked himself around the front room on his stomach

* after reading his Dog book (which is hilarious because he imitates all the dog sounds), he pranced around the front room on his hands and knees picking up cheerios with his mouth. Gross, but I clean my floors regularly and it was pretty cute.

* we watched a few minutes of Bambi before his nap, and while I'm old enough to realize that it is the slowest and most plot-less movie ever, he loves it! He loves watching the animals bounce around, and gets really concerned when they get scared of the hunters. He popped right out of his rocking chair and put his face against the TV and started yelling "go! go!" to the bunnies.

On a more personal note, I actually got to read my scriptures this morning! I usually only find time at night after he's asleep, which works, but sometimes I need a little boost to get me out of my morning funk and that just doesn't happen often with a toddler. It's not exactly peaceful or enlightening to study over screaming or fight over the book...but this morning, I asked him if he wanted to read books and instead of bringing me his touch and feel alphabet book (thanks, Sarah!), he brought me Eric's scripture case. Then he sat quietly in my lap for FIFTEEN MINUTES flipping through the miniature hymn book while I read out loud. It was so amazing and so nice! He's a great example to me :o) Having a son of my own gives me a totally new perspective on Easter.

Days like this...

Have you ever read the book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day?

Today was one of those days, where everything that can go crazy becomes chaos, and by the end of it you almost have to laugh because it's just getting ridiculous. Ok, I'm exaggerating. I've had days like that, and today wasn't nearly that bad--but it was interesting.

We worked at the treatment center this weekend, which made it harder to catch General Conference. We still listened to most of it, though please share your favorite moments from the Sunday afternoon session because our radio broadcast was punctuated by lots of yelling. Usually Sundays are pretty low key, which helps it feel more peaceful. Last week we had one little girl come in for a few hours. This week? 11 kids for dinner. We work there to help the kids out, who are often innocent victims of their parents lack of responsibility or control. Still, it is getting harder and harder to handle the irresponsible parents that manipulate the system. Would you ever just decide not to pick your kids up from the babysitter? Or decide to go to the hospital instead of pick them up and not inform anyone? when you don't have a cell phone or any way to reach you? Yeah, I didn't think so.

I don't want to turn this into a rant, because really, we're all feeling much better now. Eric is downing the Tums to fight off a nasty stomach virus, I finally had time to jump in the shower, and Scotty is drugged with baby tylenol to reduce the gum swelling (two of the four incisors have FINALLY popped through!) and calamine lotion and anti-fungal cream to fight off a nasty diaper rash that somehow chaffed all the way down his legs....

Having a sad, sick little boy does have an upside:

he becomes a great snuggler.

P.S. yes, you can see the calamine lotion and the anti-fungal cream in this picture, and yes, I am using our unpacked duffle bag of dirty clothes as a pillow (and please don't comment on the hair! just be glad this picture isn't scratch and sniff). If you look closely you can see the bandaids on my fingers from where I cut myself this weekend....twice....

P.P.S. Want to know what's making us smile in this picture? We're watching Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. It's the kind of show that makes you believe in the goodness of people and actually want more kids :o)

Getting so big!

Ok, so Scotty has been a little behind the talking curve, but he's up on his game when it comes to sound effects! Driving Eric to campus the other day we even heard beat-boxing coming from the backseat... right now he's really into imitation so we're teaching him important life skills, like howling at the moon and the wolf whistle.

He is starting to say more words in English (and not just sign language), including ball, dog, and fish. I can tell that he gets what he's saying because he'll say the word while he's signing.

Scotty showing off his tremendous piano skills and his bashed nose.

Other than Scotty's antics, life is pretty much the same here in the Larsen household. Eric is swamped with presentations, tests, and papers leading up to graduation in just a few weeks. He starts his first CPA review course the day of commencement and will be putting in more hours at work this summer, so no breaks there! We are still working a weekend a month at the treatment center, including last weekend and this weekend. I've also been picking up some extra hours as the live-in couple just quit and we're waiting to get a new couple moved in and trained. It feels nice to have a little extra income, and I pretty much do the same thing there as I do at home--and get paid for it. Scotty LOVES it there and keeps himself occupied with the other kids and all the toys, and he loves the playground out back. Makes me wish we had a playground and a fence in our backyard! Someday...

In other news, I took my AEPA Chemistry test last weekend to get certified to teach high school chemistry. Assuming I passed (and I'm pretty sure I did), they'll submit my application to the districts in Phoenix and I'll finally know where I'll be student teaching in the fall! It's all starting to seem very real.

WOW this is a really dry laundry list of life's boring details. On a fun note, I read a book last week that I found really interesting: How We Decide, by Jonah Lehrer
It reminded me of Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell. If you haven't read Blink, you definitely should!