Learning To Walk

Samantha has finally decided she'd like to try walking. She started standing on her own the other day and now, just two days later, she's pretty good at standing on her own for a while. Until she tries to move...
Yesterday she tried to take a step but couldn't decide which foot to put forward first, so she did a little hop and fell to her hands and knees. She thought it was pretty funny. Then in the evening we went to Outer Limits Fun Zone to let the kids run around and play. It was really fun! They have a big play center that's sort of like what you'd see at McDonald's, minus the unsanitary ball pit. It's like a giant, netted-in jungle gym. Samantha thought it would be a good idea to try to walk on it. She wasn't successful, but she did have a ton of fun.

Today, while I was talking on the phone with my mom, Samantha took her first step! She was standing by the computer and decided she didn't want to stand there anymore, so she tried to walk away. She moved one foot and when she went to move the other she fell down.

Here she is standing by the computer, getting ready to try again. (My camera is too slow and I wasn't able to capture any of her actually taking the steps.) Note the shirt; more on that later.

I had to take a break typing to change a dirty diaper. After I changed her, I stood Samantha up and let go of her hands. She took three steps this time! As she walked I clapped my hands and when she fell down I told her she did a good job walking. Owen got down on his hands and knees and said, "Mom, you see I crawl like Sabanta? Clap, Mom!"

This shirt Samantha is wearing belonged to me when I was a little girl. I think it looks so cute on her and it's fun to share (soon enough she'll be raiding my closet without my permission). I have a bunch of dresses that I wore and that were purchased when we lived in Taiwan. They won't fit her for a few more years, but I'm looking forward to seeing Samantha wear them.

What We've Been Watching

I got a call a few weeks ago from Nielsen Media Research, Inc. inviting us to participate in a study on what people watch on TV. I said sure, no problem. They even offered me 30 bucks to do it. Bonus!


Thursday I got the packet in the mail and started filling it out right away. There is a booklet with tables in which I have to write what time we watched TV, what show we watched and whether or not we were watching in real time or a previously recorded show.


The whole process has been sort of enlightening. I was thinking my boys watch too much TV. For kids their age, they probably do. But as I've been recording everything in the little booklets I'm thinking, it's not so bad. I have noticed that we watch almost no real time television. Pretty much everything is pre-recorded.


Here is a sample of the booklet, which I have scanned. It reminds me of ledgers my grandma would give me when I was a kid that I could play bank or school with.

We have two booklets; one for the family room TV and one for the master bedroom TV. The master bedroom TV has more written in it; it's pretty full from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. or later because that's when I fold laundry and watch my non-cartoon shows.

Here is a sample of what we've got recorded on our DVR for the kids (we record plenty of episodes to choose from so I don't get bored listening to the same ones--my boys would be happy watching the same one or two episodes over and over, but I'd go crazy):

• Little Bill (29 episodes )
• Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! (18 episodes)
• Shaun the Sheep (17 episodes--this is my favorite of their shows; check out a sample on YouTube)
• Random Disney movies on TV: Finding Nemo, The Rescuers Down Under, Chicken Little, Tarzan
• Alvin and the Chipmunks (two Halloween movies that the boys love)

Shows that I record for myself to watch later include:

• Chuck
• Ugly Betty
• Jeopardy!
• Psych
• My Boys

David records things like:

• Criss Angel Mindfreak
• Any sporting event involving Penn State, Notre Dame, Boston Celtics, or the Pittsburgh Steelers
• Lots of comedy shows
• True Crime documentaries

We haven't been to a movie or even rented one in months! We've got so much TV to catch up on.

Oh, and the packet that arrived Thursday already had the $30 in it; in cash! Woot! Now I gotta decided what to buy with my "hard-earned" moolah. I'm thinking dinner somewhere fun sounds good--I'm really tired of cooking.

Six Random Tidbits

Lura tagged me a while ago, and I've been slacking on answering because I'm pretty boring. I am very random, though, so I think I can come up with six things (we'll just pretend the "interesting" clause never existed).

1: I love that my boys are big enough to come wake me up now. Especially since they don't usually wake up 'til around 9 a.m. (except on Fridays when the garbage truck wakes them up before 8). But I love hearing them clomp up the stairs yelling, "We brought you cake, Mom!" ("Cake" is a pillow covered with a blanket.)

2: I hate waking up to a messy kitchen. Not that it never happens, because I also hate cleaning up right after dinner, and sometimes by the time I get the kids to bed the last thing I want to do is clean the kitchen. But I try to make it somewhat livable--at least wipe the table and counters--so I'm not greeted by total chaos first thing in the morning.

3: I'm a total "foodie." I especially love to try new foods. I have a motto that I learned in Thailand: Try everything twice because chances are you won't like it on the first try, and you never know if that's because of the way the cook made it or because the dish itself is gross. Check out my favorite food website.

4: I don't get embarrassed easily--anymore, that is. I used to be incredibly shy and easily embarrassed, so I have a few embarrassing moments. Like the time I jumped on a skateboard in the hall in front of the Athletic Trainer's office after track practice. I was trying to show off for one of the boys in there 'cause I had, like, a total crush on him. The skateboard went flying out from under me and I landed on my tush right in front of the door. It would've been fine if the boy had seen the skateboard, but he hadn't, so he thought I was just running in the hall and fell for no reason. (Incidentally, my other most embarrassing moment involves a skateboard, too. I'll save that story for another day.)

5: I watch a lot of football with my husband. I have loved learning how to like football a little*. Actually, I really do enjoy football and if my favorite team is playing I'll even watch if David isn't home to watch with me. I like the Steelers because they're David's favorite so they're the ones we watch the most and I know the most about their team. I also like the Browns (the Steelers' rival) because they have my favorite quarterback (Brady Quinn) on their team.

* I stole this phrase from Brian Regen. He has a bit about trying to be open minded and learning new things. "I've been going to the opera. And have loved learning how to like it a little bit."

6: I have a goal to live in a city with a warm climate. Good thing it's David's goal, too. I had this crazy idea a while ago that I want to move to San Antonio, Texas. I will definitely look into moving there and other comparable warm climate areas when I'm finished with Dental Hygiene school, but for now we'll stay in Idaho.

To pass this on, I'll tag Abby, Adam (you need to update your blog!), Tricia (you need to update yours, too), Jen, Kadee, Tina, Madeline, and Marissa. And anyone else who wants to do it. Just paste the following little card on your blog and tag some more people!

For the First Time in Eight Years

The first (and last) time I voted, prior to today, was in 2000. I felt weird voting, since I knew basically nothing about either candidate except that Gore was the incumbent (am I using that word correctly?) Vice President and was running for President. I knew which way my mom would be voting, so I voted similarly.

Today felt different. I have spent the last few months paying attention; amazing the things one learns when one listens and studies! I felt proud to completely fill in the bubble next to my candidate-of-choice's name with the Number 2 pencil in the booth. As for the local candidates, I must admit that I haven't studied them much at all. I did recognize one name as the former County Clerk and I know she did a good job in that office so I voted for her.

So now David and I are watching the election results to see who will win. While we're waiting, enjoy some comedy:

Back Home

We're back! We went to visit my dad and step mom last Wednesday, and got home Saturday afternoon. We also took my sister, Roz, who will be living up there for a while to help out and save some money.

We had a good visit; I was glad to be able to go help out. Dad and LuAnn have been back and forth between doctor visits, so Roz and I cooked them some non-casserole meals and helped them catch up on cleaning. Drew and Owen "helped" by getting into everything. Samantha was actually really well behaved and just sat on the couch and chatted while Roz and I worked.

We also got to go trick-or-treating while we were there, in the little town near my dad's farm. I was skeptical, thinking the town is so small (like, 300 people), but I was pleasantly surprised (there might actually be 400 people there, and many of them were out on Halloween). The boys had so much fun knocking on doors and saying, "Churk-o-Chreet!" They were really polite and said "thank you" almost every time without much reminding. Drew even did a trick for an elderly lady who, as she handed him some candy, said, "Here's your treat, where's the trick?" I told him to make a Corvette sound, which he did. The lady looked all startled, then laughed.

Owen dressed as a cowboy (not really considered "dressing up" in a farm town, but whatever). I never finished the mummy costume so I thought one of the boys could be a scarecrow. But Owen ended up with the overalls and cowboy hat, and didn't want to keep the straw in his sleeves and collar (not that I blame him).

After much screaming, cajoling, wailing and gnashing of teeth, Drew dressed as Dracula. He threw a fit when I tried to put the cape on him. We told him if he was going to act like that, he could stay home. He sorta stopped crying and said, "Okay, I'll go." So I tried once again to put the cape on him. Once again he threw a fit. After repeating the scenario five times, he finally came running out the door after us with the loathed cape in hand. We put it on him in the car on the way to town.

Drew getting ready to suck the blood of a Teddy Graham.

Drew freaking out about wearing a cape, Owen sinking his teeth into some sugar.

Samantha was dressed as a pumpkin. I was really pleased with how the costume turned out, but couldn't get her to cooperate for a decent photo. Oh well. She had a great time trick-or-treating. We didn't take a bag for her, because she really didn't need a ton of candy (not like Drew and Owen did either), but a few people gave her candy anyway--she was so cute in her little pumpkin outfit, her chubby fists holding onto a Snickers bar for dear life.

My little Pumpkin Lumpkin.