Adventures with Ethan

I have struggled for some time trying to enjoy staying at home instead of working. The guilt for not loving this "job" can be overwhelming at times. I've decided to try to make this a little adventure, and come up with academic and physical activities for Ethan and me to do together to make our days more full! (and easier on the pocketbook than shopping) I found this great website, http://www.toddlertoddler.com, that has tons of ideas to do with your toddler. SO. EXCITED!

We started with numbers and airplanes. Have I mentioned Ethan has a healthy obsession with airplanes?

Putting the airplanes high enough for Ethan to struggle to grab them off the wall..

Ethan posing for the camera. Lately he enjoys doing this, and then running to me to see what his picture looks like!

Ethan mid-run to see his picture :)

AND.. he thought the airplanes wore better on his shirt than the wall. He was right.

...On a side note, make sure you watch the tape around a toddler. There's just way too much fun to be had with it!

Creme Brulee

A few weekends ago, I had a girls' night in Portland with some friends, and we finished the night off at Papa Haydn's. SERIOUSLY the best dessert I've ever had! I tried some from all my friends, but I have to say, my creme brulee was the best. I'd been thinking about it for weeks, and of course driving all the way up to Portland, ordering this delicious meal, and driving back are just not financial options for us right now! So... I decided to try my luck at making it myself. Here was the end product:

It was so amazing! Really hit the spot. I did feel a little wasteful, because I ended up throwing away the leftovers, since it's SOOOOO fattening. Very worth it. Can't WAIT to make this again! Anyone know where to get cute little individual dishes to make it in?

Puke

Yes... Puke. Seriously, so disgusting. Billy will tell you that I don't deal well with ick. Can't stand anything that smells or looks weird. My gag reflex is WAY too active!

Ethan's been sick for several days, and yesterday, his puke made its debut. He spit up plenty as a baby, but somehow, that was so much more benign than what came out of his mouth yesterday. So. Gross. I somehow managed to keep my OWN puke inside, although not without significant effort on my part. It's things like this that make me think maybe I AM cut out for motherhood after all! If I can clean up puke, there's nothing I can't do :)

Superman

Betchya didn't know I was related to Superman, did you? Ethan is in this stage where he likes to have both milk and water AT ALL TIMES. So you see him walking around with 2 sippy cups quite frequently. The other day, Billy tied his blanket around his neck like a cape, and he was ECSTATIC! So, so precious. His little personality grows bigger every day.

Naptime/Popcorn Time

Ethan has had a pretty rough time napping, even when he was a brand-new newborn. I was so confused when people said newborns sleep all day - because mine didn't sleep EVER!!

Lately, I have learned how to get him to sleep longer. He normally wakes up after 45-60 minutes, and all I have to do is go in, settle him down, and tell him to go back to sleep. Well, this is what was awaiting me when I went in his room to do just that this afternoon:

Yeah... there was no getting this baby back to sleep! He was an unstoppable force today. On a side note, so was his hair...

This isn't really relevant to this post, but I love this photo! Ethan loves his popcorn, and I love this because it's kind of an inside joke in our family :) Note the mismatched socks. He's all boy.

MY Golden Globes Best & Worst Dressed

One of my favorite parts of award season.. Well, my ONLY favorite part of award season, is the fashion on the fashion on the red carpet! I decided to do my OWN little Best & Worst dressed list :)

BEST

Heather Morris: Freaking hilarious. LOVE her. LOVE this dress. It's in my top 5 of the night. I of course love how it has sleeves, but I am now obsessed with owning a nude dress for our cruise in March ('cause, you know...we're going on a cruise. Be jealous).

WORST

Catherina Zeta-Jones. I know you're dating an old guy, but you don't need to dress like it! Looking at this reminds me of Scarlett's dress in Gone With the Wind..

WORST

Tina Fey. Seriously...I believe that dress belongs to my wardrobe circa 1997. And it was gross even then.

WORST

Scarlett Johannson. I know I said I was into the whole nude dress thing, but this is all wrong! What's weird is that she has the PERFECT figure, but somehow managed to find a dress that makes her look frumpy. Also, her hair makes me want to take a shower.

WORST

Tilda Swinton. Do I really need to say anything about this? This looks like a really poorly dressed bridesmaid at an LDS wedding. On a side note: I really really like her shoes.

BEST

Mila Kunis. I love everything about this dress! The color, the cut, and I love that it was paired with almost no jewelry. I'm also obsessed with Mila, so maybe I'm biased.

WORST

Jennifer Lopez. Just one sentence: Don't wear a poncho to a red carpet.

WORST

Julia Stiles. I have grown to love her over this last season of Dexter, but this dress is seriously frightening. What is she, 30? I think she's way past Prom age..

BEST

Jane Fonda. She is so flawless and graceful, and is dressed as such. She's dressed her age, used black (stunning), and the cut is wonderful for her. Pretty sure I want this dress too.

WORST

Natalie Portman. Now, I know it's hard to dress when you're pregnant, but with her explosion these past few months, you'd think she would get better than this! That flower makes me nauseous.

WORST

Michelle Williams. This isn't the MTV Movie Awards. Or the '70's. So PLEASE get out of that hideous dress!

BEST

Claire Danes. This is the PERFECT color for her rosy colored skin. It is so simple as well! I am absolutely in love with this simplicity.

WORST

Jennifer Love Hewitt. She's been unlucky in love, so maybe that's she chose a bad wedding dress. Anyone else feel like her top is going to eat her alive?

BEST

Angelina Jolie. I love everything about this look. I love how it's gathered like a tunic, how it's green, the long sleeves, and, of course, the SPARKLES! I am a girl, after all.

WORST

January Jones. I saw this dress got some awards, and I have NO IDEA why. It's one of the most unflattering of the night. It's way too awkward to make any sense of. And tassels? Maybe she thought it was the CMA's.

WORST

Helena Bonham Carter. I really only put her on here because she had two different colored shoes. She's horrible every award show, so it's not a surprise she showed up in this get up.

WORST

Emma Stone. Although I love her understated make up/hair, it doesn't excuse her nasty orange, ill-fitting get up. Ew.

WORST

Amy Adams. This is hard for me, because I am in LOVE with her! But what's up with the oddly gathered fabric? It looks like fabric threw up on her bodice.

WORST

Sandra Bullock. Which is worse? Her bangs or her dress? Once again, I love the nude dress, just not this one. She has a nice body, maybe she shouldn't wear a dress like a paper bag..

WORST

Halle Berry. Does this dress remind anyone of Madonna? I love the shoes, and I love how she looks killer with short hair, but I cannot get past this dress. Also, we KNOW you have a nice body. Cover it up once in a while.

BEST

Anne Hathaway. My ALL TIME FAVE OF THE NIGHT. LOVE this dress! Love the color (nude), love the sparkles (of course), and I love how it hugs her body. If my body looked like hers, that would be the best day of my life!

Liar, Liar

No, I'm not talking about politicians, silly. This post is all about Ethan. He has already told his first lie. In fact, he tells it several times a day. He's discovered that "Poop" gets him out of bed, out of time out, etc. What he HASN'T yet figured out, is that it's pretty easy for me to figure out he's telling an untruth. What will he come up with next??