A Year in Review

I conducted an interesting experiment today that saved my sanity. It's been a long week with at least one kid crying at all times and very little sleep for any of us, though I'm the only one with an excuse (kids are keeping me up all night!). So I sorted my facebook profile by my status updates, which usually share funny scotty sayings or things that will be funny to me in a few years. Or lots of whining...hmm, I should work on that! Enjoy 2010 (thus far) in review:

January

maybe i'm starting to get used to be an accounting widow....or maybe that's just the chinese food i didn't have to cook talking...

Scotty just shattered an entire gallon bottle of vanilla on the floor. It smells wonderfully Christmasy around here! Much simpler than baking.

February

love watching the Olympics with Scotty. "I want to see the spaceship again, vroom vroom!" he says. He does make a valid point about bobsled...

Scotty spent the whole morning telling me that he would get to hear the "baby's heartbeeps" today....for some reason he doesn't seem as excited now! I think he's starting to realize that he's not getting a dolphin for a sibling.

April

Pregnancy is amazing--been throwing up for 20 weeks and still have managed to gain 12 pounds, right on track. Maybe because I'm self-medicating with ice cream?

Do you ever wonder what bizarre things your behavior teaches your children? Scotty is currently standing next to me and chanting "yay, mama! Throw up again!"

I feel so good today! I actually enjoy the idea and taste of food! so of course i'm binging on Easter candy...

maybe i take scotty shopping too much? he's currently "scanning" my credit card through the computer keyboard....

Scotty thinks the beeping noise construction trucks make when they back up is actually saying "move, move, move, move...." The kid does have a point.

May 

Sat down to play piano today for the first time in awhile...and when I finished Scotty looked at me and said, "that's a pretty song, mama. I liked it." I think that is all the encouragement I need to start practicing again!

i think i've given up on potty training. Plan B: Put Scotty in daycare for a few weeks and let them teach him as I am making absolutely no progress. Plan C? Have "Elder Larsen" embossed on a package of extra large pampers.

nausea, we are no longer friends. from now on, i will no longer even be civil. please don't retaliate.

June

note to Eric: we need a toolbox that LOCKS. or at least sits on a very high shelf :o)

survival = success. happy thursday everyone.

July

i think i have the best husband in the world. nothing says true love like a late night Wendy's run for chicken sandwiches ;o)

FINALLY back from jury duty. Surprised it took all day to decide that having a pregnant lady decide a case that might extend PAST her due date is a bad idea....

August

you know you're a professional mom when spending 2 hours at the DMV counts as "doing something productive"

Happy Birthday to Scotty! Can't believe he's already three and I'm about to start over with a newborn....of course he doesn't know it's his birthday as we celebrated a few weeks ago and if I tell him he'll expect cake :o)

sent the boys off to the Diamondbacks game. hmm, what to do for our first girls' night in? i'm thinking chic flick.

Dearest Darling Alyssa: the sun has gone to bed, and so must I. And therefore you, as well. So stop batting those bright baby eyes at me!

September

I am a much better mom on days that begin at 8:30 instead of 6. If only this happened every day!

two kids: super fun and easy. And sometimes I actually mean that! like right now, when they're both finally sleeping. chocolate, anyone?

got a flu shot today and it HURT. still aches actually...since when did i become a total wimp? six weeks ago i had a baby without meds and now i'm whining about a flu shot? lame.

I turned around to discover a large half watermelon sitting on the kitchen counter. "Don't worry mama," says my 3 year old Scotty while balanced on a kitchen chair, "I used two hands."

October

both kids AND the dog we're watching are asleep, and I'm on facebook?! I must be totally losing my mind. Time for SLEEP!

can Allstate protect me from mayhem like my toddler? i'll pay extra.

I snapped at Scotty after he purposefully dumped an entire bag of goldfish on the floor and he looked at me and said "Chillax, mama, I'll clean them up."

I wonder what he'll say tomorrow.... :o)

Learning to Pose

No, I didn't forget cute outfit friday. I just was a little preoccupied last week with potty training. Yes, that's right, Scotty is finally potty trained! I say finally because he turned 3 a few months ago and also because I spent weeks working with him at the beginning of the year with no progress. This time around it took 3 days and he caught right on. He hasn't had an accident in two days, including naps and nighttime so I think we're in great shape! He still had no interest or motivation to be "a big kid" but cutting out the diapers completely seemed to work fine.

Friday night we took him out to Red Robin to celebrate. It ended up being a dinner full of miscues as Alyssa was hysterical. Eric scarfed his food down while I held/rocked/bounced a fussy baby and when we attempted to switch she started screaming. Eric ended up taking her out to sit and wait in the car while Scotty and I finished. Of course, that was when Scotty decided he needed to get to a bathroom right then so I grabbed my diaper bag and hustled him to the bathroom. Fortunately I caught out waiter's eye on the way and told him we'd be back, as I didn't want them clearing our table or thinking we'd skipped out without paying! Overall a nice evening out as a family....or something like that! Sometimes you just have to laugh to keep from going crazy.

And now for Cute Outfit Friday, featuring both Larsen ladies. Our blog also got a new look so if you're reading this via email or RSS feed pop over and let me know what you think!

out and about--before she got crazy

"what are you lookin' at?" - strike a pose

"hey look! i'm still cute!"

"not so sure about this..."

"ok, just kidding, i still like you mom"

adding a little flair

her best attempt at a sassy face

kissy face (hmm, I'm starting to remind myself of TAMN)

the Larsen girls. I think her eyebrows are the same shape and color as my mom's...

My "cute outfit friday" only it was Sunday...

On Saturday I took some "me time" and checked out a local craft boutique. I decided I needed an update to prevent frump mom from setting in so I got a trendy little fabric headband (click on the picture to see it larger). Coming in handy already as those baby fists snatch my hair tightly and don't let go! I also picked out a gorgeous necklace and bracelet that Eric is giving me for Christmas :o) He considers it a win-win situation as I get exactly what I want and he doesn't have to stress about finding the perfect gift amidst busy days at work and traveling. The only downside is that I don't get to show them off for a few more months!

Singing Scotty

It finally happened. After a year of "Stop Singing, mama!" and "your singing makes me sad," my little monkey finally LOVES singing songs with me. I was even able to catch a few on camera a few weeks back. Unless you're really in love with my obviously adorable child you probably aren't that interested :o) For my wonderful moms: enjoy!

 

Monkeys jumping on the bed

 

Monkey and the Alligator

 

Old MacDonald, Scotty style. 

I particularly like that mama talks, claps, and sings.

We are so proud of our big boy! He's officially a "big kid" now as the diapers ran out :o) We're on day two of potty training and so far he's doing great! He's about 50/50 for successes and accidents and we are having a blast with lots of mom and scotty time. It's hard to be "ON" 24/7 for your kids but it makes me feel like such a great mom.

Home Decor

also known as "I love Goodwill."

Check out the latest updates here in the Larsen house. I finally solved the superheated-kitchen-in-the-morning problem for cheaper than replacing all the blinds in the house.

before. though there isn't always a man standing on my counter.

after!

voila! Green curtains that match the color of the wall and add a little bit of color in addition to blocking out the light. Totally worth $3.99.

This wasn't my first try at green curtains, however. The first set, while nice, was much too big for this window and a little more sage in tone.... and therefore a perfect fit right here.

before. there is often a little man flopped on my nice couch, much to my chagrin.

after! i plan to use ribbon to tie the sides back after i stitch the top panels together.

The curtains were $3.99 each (goodwill) and the pillows $2.99 each (savers). I especially love goodwill because I always have a 20% off coupon anytime I spend more than $10, and there is NO sales tax. Sales tax in Chandler is now almost 9% so that makes a big difference.

I also found this bedskirt for Scotty's bed, which at $3.99 was much cheaper than the one I was planning on making!

ignore all the things on the floor....just focus on the construction trucks!

The plan for painting Scotty's room is green rolling hills with a road border, so this is PERFECT.

We've been a little picture happy around here with our cute new addition, so we'll be swapping out and rearranging almost every picture in our house. First, though, we wanted to make a special display about temples, the focus of our family home evening for the past month. I think it turned out great! (I love those $10 off Kohl's coupons!)

Scotty is particularly fond of this one and likes to point out all the temples.

A Mother's Reward

 First things first, here is cute outfit Friday. This was actually Sunday but it's the last newborn thing that fits so I had to document it :o) And I left my feet in the picture because 1) my toenails match and 2) you can see what size she actually is. Though she is growing so fast she's starting to feel heavy to carry around! She has her 2 month checkup on Monday so we'll get the official weight but I think she's at least 11 pounds already.

Also, here is a mother's reward for the first two months of constant nursing and little sleeping: sweet baby songs and smiles.

thinking i'm pretty interesting

oh look, a doggie!

ok, what were you saying mom?

a cute smile!

how about a REALLY big one?

just to prove it's not a fluke....plus i'm a cute little monkey

  I also have to get Scotty in on the cute outfit Friday action because I found the perfect shirt for him:

 

He likes it because it has robots.

I like it for the caption. (click on the picture to see it big)

"I don't have a mute button." Isn't that the truth! Of course, his uncensored commentary cracks me up. I got a total gem yesterday:

"Mama, I'm going to be Batman for Halloween. But I think I'm going to be Hercules for Christmas."

Cute Outfit Friday

So my sister in law, April, posts a picture of her adorable little baby Ella in a cute outfit once a week. This is brilliant for several reasons.

1. Girl clothes are ridiculously adorable
2. Girls are rare in our family and we might not get another one!
3. I forget to get the camera out and take pictures otherwise

So, this will ensure that I at least get a picture of Alyssa every week.

Here it is, cute outfit friday. We celebrated the "finally cool enough to wander outside occasionally" weather with a sunshiny outfit.

 

Ignore the drool on her chin, she was sucking on her hands :o) She's almost always sucking on something. She still loves to snuggle, but often times I discover that she's been licking my shoulder the entire time I've been holding her...

 

I love this expression! She LOVES to look in mirrors and reacts enthusiastically to the baby in the mirror's funny faces :o)

Here's Looking at You, Kid

Alyssa makes tremendous faces. Her pirate one (with a squinty eye and a sneer) is particularly impressive but elusive to catch on camera. She's also famous for wild eyes.

Terribly, terribly alert.

"hmm, maybe I can eat this..."

Classic Alyssa. Her cheeks are filling out :o)

Check out this killer hair! It really does stick straight out for about 2 inches. And the front half of her scalp is completely bare...

Isn't this outfit adorable? Her Nani has fabulous taste.

She's starting to smile but not enough to catch on film. She's also starting to coo and sing those sweet baby songs, though she's pretty quiet as there is plenty of noise around here to keep her listening...

Through the eyes of a child

I realized the other day that I haven't picked up the camera much over the past few weeks, mostly because my hands are full juggling two kids! Fortunately, Scotty has a new hobby to keep himself entertained while I'm feeding Alyssa or putting her to sleep. While I did find about 35 pictures of the ceiling fans and a fair share of fingers and the piles accumulating around our house, he also captured some pretty good shots. Hence, the following photoblog, brought to you by Mr. Scott Larsen:

proof that mom knows he has the camera

Grandma came to visit!

And Peeta!

Daddy's "scary cheese face"

Legs are really prominent from a toddler's viewpoint.

Grandma is so fun and accommodating!

Even ruffles gets in on the photo action

Alyssa is a particularly entertaining

solution to bed hair? cut off the top of your head in the picture--he's brilliant!

she's very alert. we call these her "wild eyes!"

she's also a bobblehead

hey look, it's Bekah and Grant's engagment pictures!

Evidence of my snugglebug

the important self-portrait

he puts a new perspective on life

his view of the world really highlights my storage solutions

photo evidence that I have managed to do my hair at least once this week

Overall I see a lot of potential in this line of work.