In the Garden

I've made mention of my garden before. It's a community garden, so I have to travel a few blocks to it. But we have our own plot, which is PLENTY big, and they have a water spigot thing, and we have a hose and a sprinkler, so everything works out. A couple months ago Morgan and I planted our garden. We only planted a row of green beans, two hills each of cucumbers and squash, and left room for more. See, I had planted some squash, cucumbers and watermelons in cups at home before and planned on transplanting them when they started sprouting. That didn't work too well, but I may have a watermelon plant growing too. Later we added three Eggplant plants, which my aunt gave me. The tomatoes are in our backyard in planters, and are doing horribly! Which makes me very sad.
Anyway, here is the garden the day we planted it.

Here are some of the neighboring gardens from yesterday. Beautiful, no?
Such nicely tended rows, no weeds, lots of successful produce.

Here is mine. Embarrassingly sparse. My poor row of pilfered green beans there in the back...

But as embarrassing as it is, look! I actually got some fruit from my labors!

Beauties. So last night I decided to experiment. I found a recipe online for a squash casserole. I used two of my prized produce and mixed them with the other ingredients. When I put it in the oven I was very worried. The concoction was a goopy mess. I didn't see how the soupy mix would harden into anything worth eating.

But it turned out okay looking.

My first bite was bland. I added salt. My second bite was delicious! Seriously, I liked it so much and was ready to noise abroad how excellent this recipe was. But somewhere around the 5th bite, it became rather repulsive. I think it's regurgitated-like consistency spoiled it for me and threatened my gag reflex. The taste wasn't bad, just the mushiness. I finished my plate though. Later, if I thought about dinner, it made me sick. We still have half a casserole left. Any takers??

Small Victories

I've always said that I would never have a three year old that wasn't potty trained. But Morgan will be three in three months, and he isn't potty trained and seems to have little interest in being so. However, the last few days I have upped the ante with the whole potty training issue. We bought him some Cars underpants, which he was very excited about, and I started having him wear them. Last week, on Wednesday, he went through 4 pairs of underpants and and shorts before nap time, so I gave up. Until a couple days ago.
On Monday Morgan's diaper was dry when he got up, which is rare, so I convinced him to sit on the toilet. He did. For a LONG time. I brought him books to read, and after awhile he had a few dribbles that I counted as a success. (Though I still think he was holding it in as best he could.)

Tuesday morning Morgan woke up dry again. So back to the toilet. Out came the books. This time Morgan really had a serious stream. :) And it seemed to delight and mystify him. I think he might have made some important connections though. So we had crazy mommy celebrations and Morgan got a sucker.
Yesterday I put him on the toilet in the morning and there he sat for WAY too long without success. But this time I put him in underwear rather than a diaper. It was probably only 10 minutes after he got off the potty that he peed his pants. It went like this. We were in my bedroom, I was cleaning it and Morgan was doing his best to counteract that. Morgan started to make some very distressed noises, which at first led me to believe he had his fingers caught in the closet door, by which he was standing. Then I noticed the funny way he stood. Then he said, "the toilet!" So I rushed him to it, but it was too late at this point. I cleaned up the puddle in our bedroom, (luckily we have no carpet in this house) and then put a different pair of underwear on Morgan. I was a little encouraged because he was finally upset about peeing his pants. The week before he didn't seem to mind one bit.
So, I'd been asking Morgan all morning if he needed to go potty. Usually I got a very decisive, "NO!" I asked again, and got the same, "No!" but then he walked to the bathroom and said that he DID want to use it after all. And folks, he did! It worked! He barely even cracked a book this time.
A bit later that day I suggested Morgan sit on the toilet for awhile so I could take him to the garden without him having to go to the bathroom while we were out. I really didn't expect success from Morgan this time, but pee he did! Suckers all around.
At nap time I put him in a diaper again, but the morning preceding the nap, he only had one accident and two successes. Oh yes, and the world was our burrito.

Cousin Fun

This past weekend my sister Stephanie and her kids Anna and Mattie visited. Yay! They arrived late Friday night after Morgan was in bed. I hadn't told Morgan that his cousins were coming because I wanted it to be a surprise, and because Morgan has no sense of time. If I said that Anna and Mattie were coming tomorrow he would run to the window and look out of it for hours just waiting for them.
So, when our visitors arrived we chatted and such, and either we woke up Morgan or he hadn't actually slept yet. But I heard excited screams and chirps coming from his bedroom and made the decision to let him come out to greet his cousins. When I went into his room he said in an excited, high-pitched squeal, "I wanna see Mattie!" I don't know how he knew Mattie was here rather than some other child. Then he jumped around the house in complete happiness and took far too long to settle down to sleep.

The next day we walked/rode to the commissary, went swimming, had a barbecue with my cousins, played Rockband and board games and had a grand ol' time.
Thanks for the visit Stephanie!

The Green Bean Lament

When I planted my garden, I planted a row of green beans. Those little charmers were the first plants to pop out of the ground, giving me many warm fuzzies. My happiness increased with each new baby green been plant. At our peak, I counted 20 plants.
Now, folks, we are down to ten. And at least two of those haven't got any leaves on them anymore and are on their way to death. After much sadness and worried contemplation and a battle with the red ant hills nearby, I've concluded that the perpetrator is a gopher. It goes underneath my hill and pulls out the plants from down there! He pulls them into his underground burrow leaving nothing for me to bury up top. I feel pretty helpless to stop it too.

In happier news, my yellow squash plants, (which haven't been stolen by ugly, bucktoothed, vermin) have fruit growing! The big yellow flowers have turned into little yellow squashes. Ooooh, I'm so excited. Now I just need to figure out how to know when to pull them.

The End

Strange things are happening to me

Time for a boring post just about me. Friday morning I woke up to Morgan trying to open his door and get out of his room. With the swamp cooler on these days the wooden doors expand, which, in turn, makes it hard to open them. For a little two year old it is mostly impossible. So I stood up with the intention of freeing my child, but immediately learned that that was a mistake. I was so dizzy! So I braced myself on the bed and waited for the wave of dizziness to pass, but it didn't. In fact, I was so dizzy that I started getting nauseous. So I fell back into bed and informed my husband that he won the Get Up With The Child prize that morning.
And that was the beginning of a very strange day. I pretty much was stuck in bed all day long. Any attempt to get up, (or even lift my head) resulted in nauseating dizziness. It was insane! But I still had to use the bathroom occasionally. So I'd wobble unsteadily with my arms outstretched for balance and ready to catch myself if I fell.
Around midday I tried to get up and feed my child and be a normal human being, but I over did it and retreated to bed with my throw-up bowl just in case.
It must have been vertigo. After a nap that afternoon, (what else are you supposed to do while in bed all day??) I was feeling a little better and was able to stumble around a bit without getting sick. As long as I took it really easy I could remain out of bed too.
The next morning the symptoms were completely gone.

Also, I have been experiencing other symptoms regularly that lead me to believe that I may have Celiacs disease. It just seems that eating brings me pain. Not the sick-to-the-stomach that we are all familiar with though, it's much different. And I have a few relatives that have it, and it is genetic. Pretty much the only cure is to never eat anything with gluten in it. What has gluten? Pretty much everything yummy. Breads, pastas, lunch meats, cakes, cookies, candy, etc. I could eat veggies and fruit and rice.

I have felt this yucky feeling before, but never so consistantly. However, it can rear it's ugly head more when you are stressed, so says my experienced cousin. This past week has been very stressful. I had to speak in sacrament meeting AND sub in Relief Society last Sunday, among other very stressful things. Anyway, I hope I don't have it. But I would still like to know why I never feel good.

A puppy!

Not too long ago our little family went to Springville to visit with Aaron's grandparents and cousins and parents and aunt and uncle and sister. Whew! Anyway, Aaron's cousin Brian was getting ready to enter the MTC for his mission to Boise Idaho. Yep, you read that right. :) Anyway, his family is from California and so when they all came over to Utah they brought their tiny chihuahua. I think she was somewhere around 9 weeks old.
Now, Aaron and I both share the opinion that small dogs are pretty useless, but this little pup was pretty stinkin' cute. Morgan loved her immediately and scared the poor thing every time he got too close.

Aaron kept making comments about what how dumb chihuahuas are and how someone should take it outside and wait for a hawk to come and find it, and yet he held it as often as the infatuated teenage girls, and was even seen making kissy faces at the dog. Hehe. :)I don't think we will ever be dog owners, but if we were, we would get a real dog, as opposed to toy dogs. But this little puppy was pretty cute anyway.

I think we need to break it off

Journals.

June 25, 2004
On Saturday the ward went boating and tubing. I went too. It was tons of fun. My arms were exceedingly sore though. Aaron gave me a really cute tee-shirt that day. It's a girls face with a polar bear head on her head. Rather different, but I really like it.
On Sunday Aaron came over. We finally got by ourselves and we had another marriage talk. We both expressed desires to marry the other. I was happy.
Monday we talked about our dreams. It is amazing how identical they are. We both want to travel, write a book, paint a picture worth painting, sky-dive, have a family.

Then I write several pages about how on Wednesday Aaron broke up with me. A few more pages about an awful week, then more pages yet of how he came back a week later and UN-broke up with me.

Then...
August 8, 2004
Now it has been 1 1/2 months since we broke up, and things are going great. Our relationship has seriously improved a ton from this. We communicate a bunch better, and we are a lot closer. I am no longer going to go back to school. Instead I am going to stay home and work, and most likely get married in November. I'm not engaged, but we talk seriously about marriage and that is kind of the plan. I hope it happens. I love Aaron so much! He is so good to me.