Den Fabelaktige Tessems

Holiday Recap

2012-01-05T13:40:00.004-07:00

Our Christmas break was restful, fun, and best of all--full of family. Scott got a few days off of work and school, and we soaked in every minute. We spent time in Salt Lake together, eating at the beloved Red Iguana and walking around temple square. We spent Christmas at the Tessems, binging on amazing Norwegian food, watching movies, playing games, and just relaxing. Over the break we also got to go to Logan to see the Stewarts, where it was more awesome food, more games, and more relaxing. Troy came home from New York that week, and we got to spend some time with him and with Melinda's family. It was a perfect break and it was so awesome to be with family! Here's a few pictures of the break:

With a Thankful Heart

2011-11-06T20:12:00.003-07:00

If you have read this blog, friended us on Facebook, or you've known us for any amount of time, you might know that Scott and I are pretty much Thanksgiving's number one fans. We enthusiastically defend the holiday from naysayers and overzealous Christmas fans. We look forward to getting Halloween "over with" and let Christmas know where it belongs. We spend weeks planning our Thanksgiving menu and generally have a couple of practice Thanksgiving dinners to test out new recipes.

Having recently been accused of being, (thank you Jordan), "food worshipers," I did a little introspection. Does our little family just love Thanksgiving for the excuse at gluttony? Okay, a little bit, I admit it. But it's so much more than that. It's spending slow, quality time with family. Gathering together, playing games, sharing food, enjoying each other's company. And it's a rare time when all of us have our minds on our blessings and have thankful hearts. So lest we come across as mere food worshipers this month, I thought I'd share a few of the grateful feelings in my heart:

I'm grateful for Scott. With his crazy work schedule and class schedule, I don't get to see him very much. And I'm super grateful that after six and a half years of marriage, I really, really miss him and totally dig being with him! Our few hours together are sweet ones.

I'm grateful for Ellie. She's my great little friend and companion and we totally adore each other. It's hard to be too lonely with her around.

I'm grateful for baby #2! (Man, this poor girl needs a name)! As terrifying as the thought of a new baby is for me sometimes, I know we need her in our family right now just as much as she needs to be here with us right now. And guys, I know you think my ultrasound pictures look like there's an alien inside of me, but I think she's adorable!

I'm grateful for a belief in life eternal. And not just living beyond death, but marriage beyond death, and family units existing beyond death. This weekend I attended the funeral of Dave Holcomb, my former professor and employer. He died far too early of a brain tumor. And I just received news of our new camping buddy, Kali's brother-in-law, Rusty, passing away tonight in motorcycle accident. He was so young and still so newly married. I honestly believe that mortality is but a brief part of God's plan for us, and that while the grief and the heartache remains for those left behind, they will both be with their families again.

I'm grateful for seasons. In every literal and metaphorical sense of the word. There's beauty in each, and the change is good for the soul.

I love you guys. Thanks for being our family, our friends, our neighbors. I really am grateful for each one of you.

And because these are just too cute not to post, I'm grateful for best buddies:

It's a Girl!

2011-10-10T22:27:00.004-06:00

We had our gender ultrasound a couple weeks ago, and found out we're having another girl! After all of the boy predictions, I was genuinely surprised that it was a girl, but definitely pleased. I'm very excited that Ellie's going to have a sister close to her age. When we told Ellie she was going to have a sister she said, "Brother." We said, "No, a sister." To which she responded, "Brother too?" Haha, not this time kiddo. She seems to have grown used to the idea of a sister though. I hope the idea only continues to grow as they do. Sisters are awesome.

This little girl's name is as much a mystery to us as ever. With Ellie, we knew her name the day we found out she was a girl. But we're at a loss with baby girl #2. We have a list entitled "Names We Don't Hate" going, but none that we just love and feel right, so all suggestions are welcome!

And I know you've all been eagerly awaiting a picture of the baby bump, so without further ado:

Please try to restrain yourself from saying, "You're huge!" I keep getting that and it's just not as endearing at 4 months as it is at 8 or 9 months. ;)

My Summer Report

2011-09-13T16:28:00.004-06:00

Possibly my most grievous blog-neglect to date. In a show of penance, I'm submitting a little throw-back to elementary school days: the report on "What I Did this Summer." But rather than really crappy crayon drawings, I will be including actual photos. I know, now you're wishing you could see my artistic renditions instead, but that will have to wait for another date. ;)

Park City Getaway

The "getaway" portion being from our two year old, whom we really do adore. But a little one-on-one time was awesome! And don't worry, she was happily bunking up at Grandma and Papa's house. The romantic weekend included breakfast at Ruth's Diner, seeing the newly released Harry Potter movie, an outdoor Chris Botti concert, overnight in a condo, riding the ski lift on a beautiful morning. So, so great!

PGHS 10 Year Anti-Reunion

I know, don't hate us Skipper (their class president), but we threw an anti-reunion same time, same date as Scott's graduating class' 10 year reunion. Scott and his friends decided that they're the coolest people they know anyway, and didn't need to pay to go see less-cool people, so Scott took matters into his own hands. (They're seriously not snobby, just hilarious). We had a pot luck BBQ at a cute little park in Lindon, played games, and let the kids run wild. It was a fabulous evening!

Stewart Family Cabin Retreat

I've previously blogged about my Grandpa Stewart's cabin in Obsidian Idaho, affectionately called, "The Office." We headed north with my parents and three out of my four siblings (the New Mexicans were too far away, sadness!), and a canoe borrowed from our fabulous Aunt Betsy and Uncle Kurt. The trip involved some surprise septic tank issues and ditch-digging, but that just made it more exciting. ;) Luckily, it also involved amazing food, card games, hiking, fishing, canoeing, swimming, picnicking, and more family/outdoor goodness. It was amazing, and as always, far too short.

The Month 'o Family

The month of August was awesome! We miraculously got to see every single member of both of our immediate families last month! All of the visits were far too brief, but oh so sweet. And my extreme apologies to the Tessems! Somehow we didn't get a single picture of any of our visits!! I blame it on the fact that there's always a dozen cameras going at Tessem get-togethers, so we feel like it's been sufficiently documented. I am full of chagrin. Maybe to make up for it, I should draw some pictures of the visits? ;)

We started off with a visit from our favorite New Mexicans. We cooked together, went to the duck pond, and let the toddlers run around together. It was glorious. Next, we got to see Melinda and the kiddos. We sadly missed Taylor, but were so happy to get to see them while we could! Then we headed up to Idaho for the blessing of Megan--Jason and Tiff's newest addition. We played with cousins, ate awesome food, and crashed there overnight. Ellie loved it--she wanted to live there forever. Next was visiting with my fam in Idaho, and then the grand finale--the North Carolinians! We went on a walking tour of Provo, got us some BYU creamery ice cream, went roller skating, and were introduced to the tastiness that is a shrimp boil.

Never take family for granted, man. They're the best!

Tessem Baby 2

And oh yeah, we made a baby. :) Productive summer, eh? Our next little addition is due February 27th, so he/she is now 16 weeks gestated. We find out in two weeks what the gender is. I'm pulling for a girl, but have been out-voted by the husband, the toddler, the mother-in-law, and every Latina who has laid hands on my belly, LOL! At this point, I think I will be genuinely surprised if it's a girl.

So there are the highlights of our summer, along with a promise to be less neglectful of the blog! Love y'all!

Independence Day Weekend

2011-07-06T15:06:00.005-06:00

We just celebrated one of our favorite holidays of the year. I love America, and I've always loved celebrating our Independence Day, but we now live in what has got to be one of the most patriotic cities in the country. Provo knows how to celebrate the 4th of July weekend! And thanks to the extra long weekend, we partied hard for days on end!

Ellie riding the kids train with a couple of her little boyfriends, B and M.

We kicked it off with our good old neighborhood block party, very possibly our favorite 4th of July event. This was our fourth year at the party and it just gets better every time! This year's celebration involved the usual potluck, barbecue, kid's train, water balloon toss (we even got Mayor Curtis in on it this year!), fireworks, and dancing in the streets, but we also had a rock climbing wall, multiple bouncy houses, glow sticks, and Rock Band on the Wii. We ate too much, then proceeded to play and dance it all off. Ellie made it until 10 PM this year, which wasn't as late as last year's record, but still pretty impressive.

Us at the block party. Photo bomb courtesy of Troy.

The next morning, we were up bright and early for the hot air balloon launch. Ellie liked them last year, but she loved them this year! Her favorite was the piggy, my favorite was the Darth Vader from Europe. Nerdy, but oh so cool. After we peeled her away from the balloons, we headed to Guru's for breakfast, which I highly recommend! We can vouch for the Cowboy Benny, Huevos Rancheros, and Blue Pancakes, all of which were fantastic!

Ellie lovin' on Dada at breakfast.

Can't tell they like being together, can you?

We hit up the Freedom Festival downtown next for some vendor-browsing, snow cones, cotton candy, and free entertainment. The best part? Walking the block home when we all had to pee instead of using the dreaded Honey Buckets.

That evening, Scott's wonderful parents came over to watch Ellie for us so we could go to the Stadium of Fire. Both of us have lived here our entire lives and have never been to the Stadium of Fire! I won tickets this year and we were excited to finally go. And it did not disappoint! Sky divers, F-16s, choirs, dancers, David Archuleta, Brad Paisley, and some crazy awesome fireworks. It was fantastic. I left feeling even more American than when we'd arrived. Scott and I made a smart decision to walk instead of drive (the Stadium is only two and a half miles from our house), and that was definitely the right choice! Yay for walking together on a beautiful summer evening instead of fighting the angry hoards of traffic!

At the Stadium of FIRE!

Sunday morning we headed straight for good old Logan, Utah for the Stewart Family Reunion. Our actual time with the extended family was brief, but lovely. After a potluck dinner, we got to watch an old home video of a family reunion we had at my Grandparent's cabin for their 40th anniversary 18 years ago! Complete with footage of hot dog roasts and family talent show. It was awesome. My big regret is that we forgot our cameras! When you only see people for a couple of hours every 3 years, it should definitely be recorded.

We hurried back to Utah County so that I could be up bright and early to dance in the Pre-Parade with our Zumba ladies. Our fabulous friends, the Becars, helped us out with a 4-wheeler and sound system for the occasion, and we danced the entire 2.5 mile parade route! It was lots of fun, and hopefully drummed up some new business. My favorite were the cheers, "Go white girl!" LOL. I still stand out just a little...

Thanks Cinthia for taking pictures!

Dance white girl, dance!

The whole gang.

After dancing, I joined everyone else to watch the actual parade. Ellie cheered and waved her flag and danced. She seemed to approve. :) And Scott got the photo of the year with Darth Maul.

And seriously hon, you were surprised when the guy gave you his personal "business" card and told you that you should totally join?

That night was the block party with the Tessems in Lindon. It's become another essential part of our celebration. Potluck, patriotic program, root beer floats, fireworks. It was a fabulous way to top off our weekend of celebration.

God bless America! And may it always be worth blessing.

Super Date

2011-06-20T21:47:00.003-06:00

A few weeks ago, Scott and I forgot about our 6th anniversary as we camped with the fam over Memorial Day weekend. Since Scott will be missing out on my birthday, we decided we'd better celebrate and spend sometime together. Scott's fabulous parents took Ellie all day on Saturday, and we headed to Salt Lake for some serious one-on-one time. It was legendary.

We started the morning out at Ruth's Diner up Emigration Canyon. We've heard about it from so many people, and it did not disappoint! While Scott enjoyed Ruth's Big Breakfast and I had my way with the Migas, we chillaxed to the sound of mellow acoustical guitar and vocals on the patio out in the canyon. Very good start to the day.

Next, we headed to University of Utah to get better acquainted with the place Scott so much of his time. Don't be hatin' cougars. We still love you too.

We found ourselves downtown at our staple parking spot--the Gateway, and wandered around the Chalk Art Festival. Very talented artists, but a little overkill on the Disney characters. Then we walked over to the Downtown Farmer's Market. It was way fun, but we got there too late in the day to enjoy everything. Earlier next time, for sure.

After so much walking around, (it was more than it sounds like, I promise), we decided we needed to rest our feet and we hit the theater to see Green Lantern. I'm kind of a geek for superhero movies. And I think we've only been to a theater twice since Ellie was born!

We headed over to Caputo's to pick up some dinner, and got totally side-tracked by the smell of Bruges. Ah man, it's all Belgian waffles and frites (Belgian fries). It smelled fantastic. So we ended up getting two Machine Gun Sandwiches instead. Picture this: fresh baguette, with local lamb sausages, stuffed with frites, and topped with andalouse sauce. Holy cow, it was awesome. And ridiculously huge.

Then we finally made it over to Caputo's and bought a few ridiculously expensive chocolates made by Blue Chocolatier. We went with the Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jam, Pistachio, Sage Honey, Chilli, Passion Fruit Caramel, and Orange Julius. Holy cow, I have never had chocolate like that. It was insane!

Finally, we headed over to the highlight of the day--the Summer Solstice Concert at Library Square. It was awesome. The openers, The Secret Sisters and Brandi Carlile, were every bit as awesome as the main performer, Ray Lamontagne. It was a gorgeous evening, packed full of excellent music.

It was so amazing to have a day with my handsome husband all to myself. With school and work and life, we don't ever get enough time together. It was a beautiful, beautiful day. It was, indeed, a super date (thanks Ted Mosby).

Dear Ellie - Year Two

2011-06-16T12:51:00.001-06:00

Dear Ellie,

You turned two years old this week! This year, you had a good grasp of what a birthday is and asked for weeks to have "lellow cupcakes and balloons" on your special day. I let you call all the shots on your birthday. We snuggled in bed until you were ready for breakfast. Then I let you have whatever you wanted to eat. (Oddly enough, you chose the old bread sitting on the counter...) Then we went to Macey's to buy those coveted balloons. You chose pink and yellow and happily carried them around all day. We went to swimming lessons, which you adore. And after a nap and a happy walk to the library to choose some new books, Daddy came home and we went swimming again! You showed Dada all your mad swimming skills before we went home to eat pizza and cupcakes and open presents with Bestemor and FarFar and Troy. And girly, you got spoiled!

There will be times in your life when you hate being the oldest child. You'll probably resent having to be "the example" all of the time, and being the babysitter for your younger siblings, and being the victim of all of our first parenting experiences. But right now, it's a pretty sweet life. Your grandparents and aunts and uncles are as crazy about you as we are and you have as much love as a little person could ever want. You and I spend most of our days doing whatever we want--cooking (you're a stellar little helper), going for walks, feeding the ducks, swimming, playing at the park, just being outside in the backyard. You could happily spend all day every day "outside." Except when there's a "show" on. You do love your shows!

It's no secret that babies aren't really my forte. I loved you from the second I laid eyes on you as a newborn (and before!), but I gotta say, I like you even better now! You're so much fun! You sing, you dance, you tickle and laugh and jump and chase and you have this incredibly joyful, infectious personality. Of course, you also have an incredibly stubborn, independent streak that drives me crazy. In fact, you just learned how to climb out of your crib and open doors. Which is a pain at the moment, seeing as I've had to put you back down for your nap four times in the last hour, but I sure didn't mind you snuck out of your crib and surprised us with that cute little grin this morning. You were so pleased with yourself. It was adorable.

Thanks for being my little Elliebug. I love you love you.

Love, Mommy

What You've Missed

2011-06-07T12:51:00.007-06:00

My poor neglected blog! Life has been so crazy the past couple of months. Crazy, but good! Here's some of what you've missed:

It finally got warm(ish)! So we headed to the mountains to spend an afternoon. Barefeet and a Creamie, Ellie could not be happier.

Bear Lake with the Tessems. We had so much fun that we forgot to take pictures! There was much tennis-playing, indoor swimming, movie watching, game playing, and junk food eating. We were there over The Rapture and were happily un-surprised to find we were all there the next day.

Camping with the Stewarts. We all (minus Jenny in Jerusalem) met at Nizhoni campground, near Blanding, UT, for the Memorial Day weekend. So much fun! There was great food, hiking to 700 year old Pueblo ruins, skinny dipping in the freezing mountain creek (okay, that was just Ellie), FHE around the campfire, extreme mountain croquet, and sleeping in tents--or as Ellie calls them, "temples."

Our 6th Anniversary! You know you've been married for awhile when you both forget it's your anniversary! We were camping with the fam that day and didn't really celebrate, but we have tickets to a concert next week to celebrate together, just a little late.

The rise and fall of Zumba. Okay, that sounds way more dramatic than it is. After teaching my own class for two months, I had to call it quits. It was consuming every spare moment of my life (hence the no-blogging), and affecting my ability to take care of other, more important responsibilities. So I'm not longer teaching my own Zumba class, but I'm very involved in helping the studio and other instructors succeed, including substituting their classes. It's a good arrangement.

Ellie's tantrum phase. I think she hit two a little early. It's been epic. Good thing this kid is so cute when she's not yelling!

Summer! Even though Ellie's not in school and Scott's school doesn't break at all for summer, something about all the neighborhood kids getting out of school really makes it feel like summer. Summer for us means going to the park, the library reading programs, the farmer's market on the weekend, and swimming lesson!

Dear blog, I promise to be less neglectful, k? Summer's gonna rock.

Goodbyes

2011-04-29T13:47:00.002-06:00

This has been a week of goodbyes:

Goodbye to my little sister, Jenny, who is off to Jerusalem for the summer.

Goodbye to my childhood home of 22 years.

Goodbye to my parents and my little brother, Joe, who moved to Logan.

*sigh* I think it's time for some hellos. I'm not even sure what that means...but it seems like a good remedy for goodbyes.

Zumba Photoshoot

2011-03-25T12:46:00.012-06:00

First of all, thank you guys so, so much!! We well exceeded the minimum 25 I needed on the first day and now we're nearing 60 fans! Thanks for all your help!

Now on to business...the photo shoot! Before we added two new instructors to the studio, Paty and I had some pictures taken for marketing. And by "had some pictures taken" I mean she brought her digital camera and some lady snapped a few shots before class at the studio. Not good, not good! They turned out so awful that when we had our new instructors, Amy and Cindy, join the group, it wasn't difficult to convince Paty we needed someone a little more professional behind the camera. In steps the wonderful Ashley Becar!

Ashley lives clear out in Eagle Mountain, but has made the drive clear out to Provo a few times to join us for Zumba. Since we're pretty much broke as a new business, she was generous enough to trade free classes for a photo session! If her style looks familiar to you, it's because she's taken pretty much all of our family photos for us since Ellie was born. She's not only way talented, but a total pleasure to work with.

We decided to shoot the pictures out in front of our studio/warehouse. I total dig the urban feel of it. It's so us--blasting music and shakin' our booties next to the automotive shops down by the cemetery. We started off with individual photos, then moved onto some cutesy group shots:

(Left to right: Cindy, Paty, your truly, Amy)

Then onto some "serious" shots, which I think I can safely say are NOT my strong suit:

I will never "smolder." There is no surer way to make me crack up then tell me not to smile! Thus ending my short-lived modeling career. Next we tried some jumping pictures:

Yeah, white girl can't jump. Or keep her hands out of the way. But this picture was too hilarious not to share. I LOVE Amy's face in this picture. And Paty consistently got like a foot higher than the rest of us.

I'm not entirely sure what we were thinking with this one...

I think we were trying to show off the Zumba logos on our shirts?

Then the photoshoot got really exciting! Ashley wanted us to do some dance poses, but they all looked too contrived, so she told us just to get really close together and dance. Apparently this is impossible without music, so Cindy pulled her van around and cranked up some music. A few shots into dancing around together, we noticed our audience. The studio is surrounded by Hispanic autobody shops. The music had drawn people out and we found ourselves dancing in front of a very large crowd of Hispanic men. Awesome. Because that's not awkward at all. So if it looks like we're laughing, we most definitely are:

And last of all, a little something to leave you with--a little booty poppin'.

Yeah, I thought you'd like that. So did our male Mexican friends.

Latin Energy Studio

2011-03-22T13:20:00.002-06:00

Remember that original Zumba post from my first class 8 months ago? And then the follow up post from Day 2 that got even better? Well that Hispanic, Spanish-speaking Zumba class is a very different scene for me these days. I used to be the white girl hiding in the back, just hoping to lose a few pounds, not make an idiot of myself, and expand that comfort zone a little while having some fun. Nowadays, I'm there once or twice a day (often with Ellie in tow), chatting with my friends in a mixture of Spanglish and laughter, dancing it up and helping out with the teaching here and there. I think it's safe to say that my comfort zone has been well expanded.

But it's time for another expansion! Starting April 4th, I will be starting my own Zumba class at the studio! (Yeah, I'm freeeeaking out)! Our lovely leader and instructor, Paty, is expanding the studio and adding three new instructors and three more classes a day. We have a new name, a new website, a new FB page, and hopefully we'll be getting a shiny new studio in a few months. But I need your help!

I keep having the recurring (not reoccuring--you're welcome Scott) nightmare that I get there at 6:30 AM (I'll be teaching the early morning class) on my first day and no one comes. Or that only my friend Miguel shows up, which is less depressing but more awkward. I'm in a cold, dark studio dancing all alone at 6:30 in the morning.

When I wake up and start repeating positive affirmations to myself, my daydream is much more realistic: I show up at 6:20 on the first day, blast some sweet Latin rhythms, crank up the heater, flip on the lights, and get warmed up while I welcome the 3-6 brave souls who decided to give it a try. The class isn't perfect, but it's fun and we all get a great workout.

So in an effort to promote the new classes, I've set up a blog, a facebook page, arranged a photo shoot with all of the instructors, and helped put flyers together. (P.S. If you see a flyer around town with my face on it, I didn't design it, k? Not that it doesn't look good...it's just targeting a Hispanic target and looks like it...) Here's where I need your help! We need at least 25 people to "like" our Facebook page before I can get a username and the URL to go with it to put on flyers, the website, etc.

I'm not above begging... or bribery. So here's the deal. You go to our Facebook page, hit "like", and then if you're feeling really generous, tell a friend about it who's local and might be interested. When I get 25 likes on the page. I will give you an exclusive look at our Zumba photoshoot--including some of the "out takes", shall we say?

So go forth and "like"! Help soothe my Zumba nightmares, please, please, please, please! (Told you I wasn't above begging...)

Birthday Boy: Brother Edition

2011-03-19T09:12:00.005-06:00

Today is Scott's 28th birthday!! That's right hon, I said it. 28. (Scott thinks he's old now). Last year to celebrate, I interviewed Scott's parents about Scott as a boy. This year I decided that it would be great fun to let his brothers in on the birthday interview. So without further ado, here's what the other awesome Tessem boys had to say:

(Jeff, Scott, Troy, Atle in Norway - Jan 2010)

How would you describe Scott as a kid?

Jeff: Scott was adventurous and fearless. Scott new what he liked and would go after it. Scott new how to get out of school. He was funny, loving, and mischevious. He liked to make sandwiches and cookies, and make me eat them. He like to make his "specialty" at night and bring it to me to eat in bed.

Troy: As a kid Scott was always looking to have fun and by fun I mean by completely humiliating me in any given sport :P. He was super energetic and mischievous. Way good at sports….well way good at anything that meant winning and bragging rights. He had a way of being defiant. A.k.a. throwing bananas away cause he didn’t want to eat them, sneaking downstairs to play Nintendo instead of doing chores, etc

What is your favorite memory of Scott growing up?

Jeff: Basketball. Basketball was my favorite memory of Scott. Myself and my older friends, needing an extra man. Scott would be pulled in. Much smaller than the rest, and he would deftly hold his own. I can still remember being on the driveway with him, playing basketball

Troy: My favorite memory of Scott is the time he spent with me when we were younger kids. Even though there are five years between us he always made an effort to play with me. Whether it was playing with G.I. Joes, basketball, football, or Nintendo, Scott always included me. It meant a lot to be able to spend so much time with a brother that I looked up to so much.

(Troy and Scott, Mt Timpanogos - July 4, 2007)

What do you think people should know about Scott?

Jeff: Scott, as Mom would say, has a tender heart. He cares deeply about others. He cares much about his family. Also, as the song goes, He is a Hero. I don't know many people that have their own theme song, let alone two (That and the birthday song).

Troy: Well the kid can have a temper. There was more than one occasion that I feared for me life and was only saved by Mom or Dad intervening. But the thing you should know about Scott is that you won’t find a person who cares more and actually lives it. It’s not like he does anything big or showy to let you know. You can see it in how he treats his mom, his wife, and his daughter. Scott may cuss out a stranger for cutting him off:P But he is incredible at going out of his way to make sure his family knows that he cares.

What is the coolest thing about Scott?

Jeff: Scott will beat you at any game that you play. It can be on the computer, Nintendo, Basketball, Football, Curling, Underwater Scrabble (in Cantonese) and he will beat you. He has an amazing ability, desire, knack to win. That is cool.

Troy: He is fetching hilarious. Scott is usually the entertainment at any family gathering and it never gets old. He can make you laugh even when you are mad at him. So there really is no point at getting mad at him. This talent especially carried over into Family Home Evenings and encounters with Mom. She would be mad at him about something and then out of nowhere she was laughing. The best part was how hard she tried to not laugh. Good work Scott- thanks for helping us to be happy by making us laugh.

(Troy, Tiffany, Scott, Jeff in Norway - Jan 2010)

If you were ridiculously wealthy, what would you want to give Scott for his 28th birthday?

Jeff: A house next door. I would love to spend more time with my Brother. I miss him. Oh, and a blue chevette to throw all the bananas and under that he didn't want to take for lunch.

Troy: An Xbox - cause his broke. A new shoulder - cause his broke (I miss playing him in basketball now that I can take him:P)

Happy birthday Scott! 28's gonna be great!

(And you are NOT old!)

Facebook Knows Everything

2011-03-14T13:51:00.003-06:00

Facebook makes me a lazy blogger. Have a mentioned this before? Scott and I are both very active Facebookers, so we feel like we've got our bases covered on letting the world know what we're doing. So for those of you who somehow aren't on Facebook yet, here are the things you would have learned from Scott and I since we last blogged:

I won a super cute, customized recipe box from my friend Meghan's food blog. Don't follow her blog? You should! The best part is that like 85% of the recipes are desserts. We're kindred spirits. :)
The ladies in my Zumba class decided that I'm their "blonde Latina." Love it, love it, love it!
Scott is a little bitter and wants the Jazz and Nets to lose the rest of the season.
We're in the market for a new camera. Ours mysteriously disappeared/was stolen two months ago and it really needs to be replaced!
Scott's work put the BYU game on the big screen. Productivity was predictably affected.
Ellie and I have been taking advantage of the sunshine by spending the afternoons at the park! Apparently I play too rough because I'm now covered in bruises.
Scott had lunch with his Mommy. I hear it was great.
Ellie and I are in one of our favorite magazines, the Ensign! (Page 20) My visiting teacher is a photo stylist who does a lot of work for the church and she asked us to sit for a photo shoot they needed for a talk Elder Henry B. Eyring was giving for the Oct 2009 Relief Society session of General Conference. They didn't end up using any of the photos then, so they were added to the church's stock photos and I was told they could pop up anytime, anywhere. And one of them popped up in this month's Ensign! And bonus, my friends Meghan and Tracy are the laundry-folders in the picture with us! (For the record, Ellie was 4 months old, and I was 25 lbs heavier and 12 inches of hair longer than now. The picture's a little outdated already!)
Scott smoked with the bishopric last weekend. Ha ha ha! I just love the way that sounds. One of the bishopric members has a fancy new smoker and fired it up to let everyone try it out. Scott smoked a pork shoulder to make North Carolina pulled pork. It was ridiculously amazing! I'm drooling just thinking about it right now...
Scott bought a smoker of his very own! It should be here in time for his birthday this weekend. I'm so proud of him--he sold off all of his XBox controllers and games to get the money for it. We're such grownups.
We celebrated pi day early by making pie last night. And pie day is the ONLY good thing to EVER come from math and I don't EVER over-exaggerate ANYTHING. ;)

So there you go, if you haven't joined FB yet, you clearly need to. Look at everything you learn! (And I promise you all a stunning picture of Scott in his Ice Fjord suit just as soon as we get a new camera... I know you've all been waiting).

Lowering the Bar

2011-02-25T10:49:00.003-07:00

I'm a big fan of to-do lists. I'm not a naturally motivated, focused go-getter and they help keep me on track. Plus I find it super satisfying to check those little boxes off. My to-do list usually looks something like this:

Dishes
Laundry
Floors
Call so-and-so
E-mail so-and-so
Prepare sharing time
Practice Zumba
Take toddlers for a walk
Return books to the library
Make homemade chicken stock
Cook dinner
Etc

You get the idea. I fill up my day with those little boxes and pat myself on the back as I cross them off.

But sometimes, you just need to let some things go. We've been battling sickness for, oh I don't know, how about all winter long and this week it hit me hard. So my to-do list for yesterday looked like this:

Feed the child
Don't let the child sit in her filth all day

Where's the rest of the list? That is the list. I laid on the couch and turned on Nick Jr. and dragged myself off the couch only when absolutely necessary. But I have loftier goals today. Today's to-do list looks like this:

Don't let the child watch TV for 8 hours
Bathe/shower self and child
Put clean clothes on self and child

I've managed most of those, and now blogged. Why, I do believe that makes me an overachiever today! Sometimes, it's good to lower the bar. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go back to couch now. I feel a nap coming.

To My Funny Valentine

2011-02-14T12:21:00.003-07:00

Here's to you, love.

Here's to us.

Here's to six years of good music, grand adventures, and great food.

Here's to getting up too early and staying up too darn late...just so we can see each other.

Here's to reading before bed, g-talking all day, cooking together,

and spooning the night away.

Thanks for making me feel confident, beautiful, and so, so happy.

Thanks for always making me laugh.

You're my favorite and I'm crazy about you.

And I dare say this little Valentine is too:

We love you!

(For all of our readers, I've listed a few of our current favorite love songs for you. Enjoy!)

Unemployment

2011-02-09T21:44:00.002-07:00

Not many were in on our most recent adventure, but that's because it wasn't a fun one. It was a very stressful, try-not-to-panic kind of adventure. Late January, the company Scott worked for laid off a large number of employees in an attempt to "restructure," which is just code for "try not to die." The company has been suffering ever since Scott was hired a couple of years ago, but things apparently went from bad to worse and the group of owners forced the company to terminate many employees.

Scott, being the observant guy he is, noticed the HR rep going around from office to office, filling out paperwork. Scott happens to be an accountant and has access to the check register for the company, so he went on to find the list of "last checks" being cut. One of them was his. Rather than keep working and wait for his turn to be sent home, he went into the CEO and asked if they could just take care of it. The management was extremely apologetic, and sad to lose him, but the owners were making the call and decided that his was a salary they just couldn't afford to pay. Thus began our adventure.

I've gotta say, I don't think anyone has ever dealt with unemployment as well as that husband of mine. He didn't waste a moment. Within the first day, he had filled out applications, written cover letters, and personalized resumes for over a dozen different companies. And that processed continued day after day. When he wasn't applying for jobs, he was doing homework, cleaning, playing with Ellie, and baking bread. Man, he can bake! Not once did he lay around in his underwear, watching daytime television; which is honestly what I was kind of expecting. (I guess I've seen too many episodes of "How I Met Your Mother" and " King of Queens" on the subject).

The moment he lost his job, we went into a cease-all-spending mode. Every thing we ran out of became a debate as to whether or not we really needed it. Light bulb? I don't think so! It's not the only one in the house. Paper towels? No way. That's what rags are for. Fresh fruit? Luxury. Soap for the dishwasher? You have two hands; no need for a dishwasher! We took inventory of our food storage and dug deep in the freezer. (Which seriously needed to happen anyway). I'm just grateful that we didn't run out of anything too serious--like toilet paper or actual soap. We were pretty scared about how long we were going to have to make our savings last, and we may have just gone to some extreme measures...

Shake that thought off. Anyway, it wasn't long before Scott started interviewing, and that man knows his way around an interview! He busts out that good ole' Tessem charm. He wore his Bestefar's "Ice Fjord" suit from Norway in the 70's to his first interview! That takes some guts. And when asked what his greatest weakness was, he actually said "Spelling--I've never beaten my wife in Scrabble." Brave man.

With skills like that, it's not hard to see a happy ending to our adventure. After two weeks of applications, cover letters, resumes, and interviews, Scott was offered a job. For any of you who doubt the reality of God or His concern in our little lives, let me tell you, He is in every detail. Scott was given two weeks of severance from his job. Exactly two weeks to the day he was laid off, he was sitting in an office, signing an acceptance letter for his new job. A job which not only suited his skill set and experience beautifully, but happened to be two buildings over from his old job, with the same work schedule (allowing him to continue taking the same bus route and school schedule), working for a stable, growing company, with great people, and which pays even more than his last job. God is so, so good to us.

While Ellie and I completely enjoyed having Scott at home for two weeks, it's a lot easier to make it through the long days now knowing just how blessed we are.

And you'll be happy to know that we have paper towels, dish washing soap, and fresh fruit back in the house. And I have every intention of replacing that light bulb asap!

Zumba and Mr. Miyagi

2011-01-18T09:05:00.003-07:00

In Zumba, I'd say I'm currently in the "apprenticeship" phase of teaching. I'm teaching part of the class, and trying desperately to absorb the rest of it. Aside from the 1-2 hours I spend working out in class, Patti also spends an additional hour trying to transfer her wealth of knowledge into my packed little brain.

Patti's technique is... unorthodox, shall we say? While she was gone to Mexico in December, I spent the weeks hopping around from class to class, checking out teachers and styles. My friend, Sariah, teaches Zumba at our church once a week, so she generously offered to help me learn some choreography and teach some classes to practice. Sariah was patient, encouraging, so direct and clear, so helpful!

Patti's style is a little more Mr. Miyagi.

Our first session of training consisted exclusively of her trying to get me to breathe correctly (who knew you could breathe incorrectly while doing high-impact aerobic activity), and yell louder. Apparently, I'm really quiet. The hour was full of lots of adjectives such as "bad" and "terrible." I was lectured on "feeling" the music instead of doing choreography, for fear of "looking like a gringa" up there. Sigh. And all I wanted was to dance and workout.

Wax on, wax off, wax on, wax off.

My next session consisted of a lot of Spanish words. Apparently, I should be teaching in Spanish. I realize that ALL of my students speak Spanish, but they also speak English too. And those who don't speak it at least understand it. And I feel really confident in my ability to speak English. But Spanish it is. Arriba! Abajo! Fuerte! Rapido! And all yelled at the top of my very quiet English-speaking lungs.

Wax on, wax off, wax on, wax off.

The next session was on choruses, verses, transitions, and all things musical. Now this, I really didn't think was an issue. A dancer I am not, but music I know. I completely understand the way the music is structured. I know what a chorus is. But we went over it...again, and again, and again.

Wax on, wax off.

So this week I've been helping teach part of Patti's morning class--the class that I will be taking over. I've inhaled and exhaled (respiro! exalo!), I've felt the music, I've listened to the verses and choruses and transitions, I've yelled as loud as I can in Spanish and when I run out of Spanish, I yell in English or make up some Spanglish (izquierda! dereche! cambio! side! backward! strongero!). And this week I've been hearing some nicer adjectives thrown my way, such as "good" and "bueno."

Maybe, just maybe, Patti does know what she's doing. I may actually be ready to teach next month.

Or at least beat the bullies in the upcoming all-valley karate tournament.

2011: Learning New Stuff

2011-01-04T14:52:00.005-07:00

Ah, my monthly blog posting. Scott has informed me that we're going to start losing readership, and apparently it's all about the readership. So to both of our readers, enjoy!

We had a fabulous Christmas, complete with Farkle, naps, and ridiculously amazing Norwegian dinner. New Years was a success--we played games, ate more awesome food, and managed to stay up until midnight! Which is a big deal for a couple of old married people.

As we kick off 2011, I think an appropriate theme for our year would be "Learning New Stuff." Stuff we will be learning:

Scott

Economics, accounting, managing, finances, organizational behaviors, all sorts of boring, er, exciting stuff. He just got into the Professional MBA program at the University of Utah! It will be about 10 hours a week in class, on top of his 40 hours of work, on top of his busy church calling, on top of 16+ hours of homework, on top of hours of commuting. I know, I'm tired just reading that. It's going to be a pretty intense couple of years, but it'll pay off. I'm super proud of him.

Jessica

Zumba, Spanish, guitar. That's right, that rookie little white girl posting about her first Zumba class several months ago is about to become an instructor! Patti, my Zumba instructor, approached me last month about teaching, and I decided to go for it. This last month has been full of a LOT of practice and learning choreography, but I'm pretty stoked to get started! And the Spanish is in hopes of being able to actually communicate with my class. As for the last item, I told Scott a couple of months ago that I wanted a hobby for Christmas--something to fill my time while he was at class late and Ellie was asleep and I was all alone; so he bought me a guitar! Fun, huh?

Ellie

Singing, playdoughing, snacking, sharing, sitting quietly for 2 minutes. That's right, our little girl just started nursery! She loves it. Not that she's made it through 2 hours by herself yet, but she loves hanging out with other little people. She's also busy trying to meet her New Year's resolution to gain weight. She's only 20 lbs, which is skinny skinny for her height and age. Luckily, whole milk is pretty much her favorite thing ever. She's been drinking more than a quart of whole milk every day! Man, we need to buy a cow.

Here's hoping we learn lots of new stuff this year!

A Child Shall Lead Them

2010-12-19T20:52:00.003-07:00

Picture taken from the first page of a Google search.

Today in Primary, one of our kids shared a talk that really put things in perspective for me. Like most of us here in Provo, he was really moved by the loss of our beautiful tabernacle; but he was much quicker to learn from it than the rest of us:

This week a beautiful building in our neighborhood burnt down. As long as I can remember I have seen this building 2-6 times a day as we ran to school, the library, the store and on other errands. I can remember going to Stake Conference and other meetings there. Most days even though I passed by the Tabernacle many times I didn’t stop to think about how amazing and beautiful it was. I was too busy thinking about other things. During this holiday season let us remember the true meaning of Christmas. We need to stop and think about how amazing and beautiful this gift is that Jesus Christ has given us. Lets follow his example and be kind to others and forgiving of everyone. (Darby, age 9)

To Darby's words, I would like to add that Jesus Christ has given us the greatest gift of all. That because a baby was born in a stable, thousands of years ago, in a country far away, old things will be new again, and we can live forever with our families again. With Christ, nothing and no one will ever truly be lost. He is the King of Kings, our Savior and Redeemer.

To read about a small miracle involving out tabernacle, go here:

Picture from the Daily Herald.

Today Sucks

2010-12-17T19:49:00.004-07:00

Just when I thought our beautiful Tabernacle burning down was the worst news I could hear, I found out my former professor and the man who gave me my first job out of college is dying of an inoperable brain tumor.

Today sucks.

What do you do for someone who is dying? What do you say?

Laundry Day

2010-11-30T09:43:00.002-07:00

Our laundry day procedure goes as follows:

Gather clothes strewn all across the house
Sort clothes
Wash and dry clothes
Push baskets of clean laundry all around the house making car noises
Try on Mom's socks, Dad's hat, and drag around a t-shirt or two
Roll around in a nice, warm, freshly-laundered blanket
Fold clothes
Put away clothes

Yesterday was a successful laundry day by all counts. :)

In other news, Halloween was great, Thanksgiving was amazing (amazing meaning lots of family and a very high pie-to-person ratio), Blizzard 2010 was super lame, and our house is looking very Christmas-y!

Sometimes, We Do Stuff

2010-10-28T21:07:00.006-06:00

Sometimes we don't. Actually, a lot of times we don't. You probably know this since you read our blog--posts about sick days, reading, a lot of food. Not much excitement. But we're making up for it this month! Last weekend was epic, exciting, and totally exhausting.

Friday night, we were invited to a 1920's Chicago murder mystery party thrown by a former co-worker of mine and his wife. We were a little skeptical. And by "we" I mean Scott. I figured it would go one of two ways: 1) We'd love the other couples, the party would be awesome, and we'd have a total blast, or 2) It would be an awkward disaster and we'd have a great story out of it. Win, win, right? Luckily, it was option 1! And no, I'm not just saying that because you read my blog, Alyssa... or should I say Silky?

Scott played Eddie "Socks" R. Gyle, avid golfer and Chicago club owner. I was "Scoops", young ambitious reporter for the Chicago Trumpet, exposing every crook in the city. Check out how cute Scott is:

And yes, those are argyle socks he's rocking with his plus fours. Best part of my costume, definitely the hair!

I went to Evan's College, a local hair school, and had my new friend Braadyn do finger waves for me. Isn't it awesome?! And she even took pity on me and did my makeup, even though they just do hair there.

And here's the whole gang:

Left to right: Socks, Scoops, Harrow, Billy, Silky, Torchy, Ernie, and Molly. (Please excuse my slouching...I cringe every time I see it, as, I'm sure does my father. He's a stickler for posture.) We actually didn't know most of the couples going in, and still don't know half of their real names! But we had a fabulous time, and stayed up later than we have since last New Year's Eve!

Saturday morning, we headed out the the BYU v. Wyoming game, courtesy of Scott's work and his witty e-mail. What we hadn't known before was that the tickets included not only two crazy good seats, but admittance to the Regence tent, catered by the chef's table. So we spent the first quarter not getting soaked outside in the stadium, but inside a tent with flat screen TVs, cor'don bleu, fingerling potatoes, bruschetta, sauteed green beans, cheesecake, sodas, and hot chocolate. Ellie loved the game outside. She cheered and clapped and primarily watched the band. Then at half time, they invited us back to the Regence tent for "snacks," stuffed portobello caps, baby artichokes, shrimp cocktails, eclairs, and a chocolate fountain.

THAT is the way to watch a football game! And the icing on the cake was that BYU actually won the game; although even them losing couldn't have ruined that game for us. (Or at least for Ellie and me). We also realized that this game marked the 6 year anniversary of our first date together--also to a BYU football game.

Now if only we'd remembered the camera! We're generally terrible at documenting events in our life via film. Second point in case, our 5th annual Oktoberfest on Saturday night.

We started hosting an Oktoberfest with some of our friends back when we lived in the Hacking's house when we were first married. That quirky little place had the biggest, heated garage with a massive dining room table in it, so we always hosted out there. Things have been a little more snug in our duplex, but we've carried on. This year, it ended up being a smaller, more intimate group and it actually ended up being very cozy.

I know what you're wondering: What does Oktoberfest entail to a bunch of Mormons who don't drink? It's really just an excuse for us to eat ridiculous amounts of delicious meat. Scott's had some elaborate grilled and smoked meat spreads in the past, but this year we just roasted a couple of beautiful chickens. As we were chatting over dinner, we realized that every single one of us had included an entire stick of butter in each of our dishes: each chicken, the sweet potatoes, the smashers, and the butterflake rolls. And it was every bit as delicious as you would have expected. (There I go blogging about food again...) So we dubbed this Oktoberfest, "Butterfest 2010." It was legen--wait for it--dairy!

Sunday brought the usual 12 hours of church meetings and we ended the weekend completely exhausted. But it was totally worth it! This weekend promises equally exhausting fun--three Halloween parties, family pictures, trick-or-treating, and another 12 hours of church meetings, no doubt. And if you're lucky, you might get more than three pictures out of us this time. Although, I kinda doubt it. ;)

Thrifty Models

2010-10-19T22:00:00.003-06:00

Ellie's finally feeling better and we've been out and about town. Luckily, our adventures put us in the right place at the right time. That place and time being Saver's at 12:00 yesterday. That's right, we've been discovered. Ellie and I landed a couple of photos in the BYU newspaper. Check it out here, and try not to get too star struck.

The photographer was nice enough to send me some extra photos he took. Isn't this girl a natural? She'll be handing out autographs...just as soon as she figures out how to hold a pen.

That's Why He Loves Me

2010-10-18T14:56:00.003-06:00

Conversation on Saturday:

Scott, watching the BYU game in the living room: "Woooo! Yeah!"

Me, canning in the kitchen: "What happened? Something good, I take it?"

Scott: "Yeah, they just lit up that horny frog!"

Me: "Huh??"

Scott: "The other team. They're the horny frogs. They just lit up one of the players."

Me: "Ummm..."

Scott: "Hit really hard. They just hit the other team really hard."

Me: "Oh, got it. Wohoo!"

I love him for his patience. I think he loves me because I try.

Sick Days

2010-10-13T09:19:00.011-06:00

Today is sick day #11 at our house. Flu season didn't waste any time in our neighborhood. It went with a very in-your-face approach this year. Scott and I both had our 24-hour bouts with the stomach flu last week, but Ellie has been battling it for a week and a half now. This poor girl has had nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and a fever of 104. She's been poked and prodded and tested at the doctor's office a couple of times, and then sent home to wait out the virus. She and I have been stuck in the house together for a very loooong time now. In between doses of Pedialyte and Culturelle, cleaning up every imaginable bodily mess, laundry, frequent showers, and soothing a fussy toddler, this is how we've filled our quarantined days:

Lots of board books from the Provo Library.

Lots of "Byggmester Bob." Scott and I bought several children's DVDs when we went back to Norway in 2007, and the Norwegian version of "Bob the Builder" is Ellie's absolute favorite. When she wants to watch it, she'll march around the house singing, "Bob Bob Bob Bob!"

And for the times when Ellie could care less about what's on TV and just wants to be held, Gilmore Girls: Season 7. (Thanks Manders!) This show always makes me want to move to a small town something fierce.

Writing the Children's Sacrament Meeting Program for our ward. Nap time is a sacred time and many, many nap times are going into this program. It's going to be beautiful.

Cooking. Somewhere along the line, cooking transformed from burdensome chore to therapeutic activity. I think it may be related to my emotional eating habit. ;) This past week, our kitchen has seen roasted chicken, homemade pumpkin ravioli, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, homemade chicken stock, dried herbed tomatoes, homemade pasta noodles, and garden vegetable soup. Isn't fall food the best?!

I'll admit that being stuck in the house hasn't been all bad. Now if we can just get this little girl to keep some food in, we may get to venture outside someday!

BYU Ticket Competition

2010-10-01T13:37:00.003-06:00

My work recently had a email competition to win a pair of BYU football tickets. The requirement was that it had to be the best "zoobie" story. Here was my winning entry.

My story like any good story worth telling starts with love. Not the love between a husband and wife, or a boy and his dog. My story is about a kid and his football team. BYU football has been a fixture in my life for as far back as I can remember. I remember the big wins and the horrific losses, the Heisman Trophy, and the Holiday Bowls. I even took my wife on our first date to a BYU fooball game and because I was living right on and off the field, she married me. What can I say? "Magic happens". You want my single best Zoobie story, that's like asking for Van Gogh's greatest brush stroke or Bronco Mendenhall's greatest fireside. So instead I will give a list of you might be a Zoobie if.....

1. You have worn socks with your sandals
2. You eat at the BYU creamery weekly
3. You go to firesides for the brownies
4. Your favorite drink is Diet Mountain Dew
5. You hate the color red
6. Ute is a 4 letter word
7. You feel naked without a tie
8. Your favorite CD is from the EFY
9. Drinking games are with 2% Milk
10.You make up swear words
11.You still wear your "Quest for Perfection" T-Shirt

This list is not exhaustive; however, I believe it will prove my Zoobieness.

Kitchen Confession

2010-09-22T08:33:00.007-06:00

Aw, you know us so well! Most of you actually got it right. Our most used kitchen appliances are:

Our beloved Kitchen Aid Mixer.

And our Cuisinart Supreme Commercial Quality Ice Cream Maker.

Our Kitchen Aid was one of our favorite wedding gifts. I know it's just white, but don't be hatin'. So am I, and I'm not boring. This baby is used primarily for all things carb. It has seen countless batches of pizza dough, focaccia, buns, rolls and bread loaves. Sure, it's made its cookies and cake batters, but we're all about the bread here.

My beautiful Cuisinart Supreme Commercial Quality Ice Cream Maker, (has such a better ring than just "ice cream maker"), was my 25th birthday gift from Scott. What better way to say "happy birthday" than with the on-going gift of ice cream? It was one of those brilliant from-me-to-you-to-me gifts. And I gotta say, it has earned its place at the outlet! In less than three months in our home, this baby has made vanilla ice cream, vanilla frozen yogurt, strawberry ice cream, vanilla bean frozen custard, cookies and cream ice cream, chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, macadamia nut cookie dough ice cream, mint chocolate chip ice cream, peanut butter cup ice cream, vanilla black berry ice cream, chocolate ice cream, lavender frozen custard, and peach frozen yogurt.

I know! We have a problem. A delicious, delicious problem. I got the ice cream maker a a few weeks before we decided to lose weight, so the key has been portion control. And sharing! The more calories your friends/family eat, the fewer you eat. ;)

We're currently devising new recipes to tryout. Next up: Nutella! Genius, no? And we need to come up with a good pumpkin frozen custard for the holidays. Has anyone heard of apple ice cream? Because I think we need one. Any other suggestions?

And don't worry, the can opener and toaster get to see a little action too. But just a little. We play favorites. ;)

Electric Confession

2010-09-21T10:48:00.003-06:00

This is one of the outlets above my kitchen counter. This particular outlet is shared by four different appliances:

Toaster
Electric can opener
Kitchen Aid
Ice Cream Maker

Guess which two appliances get the most face time with the outlet?

I'll tell you who got it right tomorrow...

Staycation

2010-09-09T12:25:00.002-06:00

Remember our failed camping trip last weekend? Well, I'm pleased to inform you that we changed the weekend into a very successful staycation! Our staycation ended up including:

Lots of naps for everyone - thank you teething toddler!
A How I Met Your Mother marathon
S'mores over the stove in our jammies

Hiking in the foothills near home. (We spent our church hours in the mountains. Can we still be friends even though I skipped my church meetings? I promise it's a very rare occurrence)
Delicious peach crisp in my cute little ramekins instead of the dutch oven

Keeping the blinds shut and pretending like we weren't home ;)
Barbecued chicken in the crockpot instead of the dutch oven
The LatinoAmericano Festival downtown
Sushi - not a part of our original camping menu

It may not have been camping, but we had a fabulous Labor Day weekend! I'm a definite convert of the staycation.

Beat Down

2010-09-04T19:49:00.009-06:00

Sometimes, life has a way of reminding you that you're not in charge. Who's in charge? I'll give you a hint...if you have children, it's not you.

Case in point: we have been planning a camping trip for weeks now. We've been camping a couple of times this summer and Ellie loved it, so we figured Labor Day weekend would be the perfect time for one last hurrah before fall. Scott spent hours researching campsites, and while I was supportive, this was definitely his baby. We chose a campground up Payson canyon, about an hour away. We made our reservation, paid for the site, and made preparations. Packing lists, shopping, researching hikes and nearby lakes, packing, and most importantly, planning our camping meals. We both managed to make arrangements for other people to cover for us at church, and Scott managed to get off early from work. So yesterday, we loaded up our trusty little '95 Toyota Corolla and headed off to the wilderness.

With only a few wrong turns under our belt, (we never make it to a new destination without a few wrong turns), we made it to the beautiful Black Hawk campground with plenty of time to set up camp, explore, and make dinner before sunset. Ellie very happily ran around and explored while we made camp.

Scott got busy manning the grill and we all happily chowed down on his chilli dogs--so much better in the mountains!

After some more exploring, we got into our hoodies and jammies and decided we'd all go lay down in the tent for little while to put Ellie to sleep. Normally, she prefers to sleep alone and in her crib, but we've found camping to be an exception. She's always been super excited to share a tent and sleep in a "real pile." So we were a little surprised when she fussed and cried for more than a few minutes. That fussing and crying turned into thrashing and screaming and continued for HOURS. No amount of nursing, singing, snuggling, milk, or pacifiers could calm her. And then we discovered that she's teething. She was cutting in not one, but two teeth. A dose of baby Tylenol bought us a little peace, but the battle continued off and on ALL NIGHT LONG.

Oh, and when she finally quieted down, the nice little case of domestic violence from the family reunion across the way started. About 2 AM, one guy started yelling profanities, followed by a whole slew of shouted threats and screaming women. I don't know what all went down, but I did see a very drunk-looking dude the next morning with a black eye. Classy get-together guys. Maybe you shouldn't all be together in one place that long...

By the time the sun hit our tent, I was completely exhausted, but relieved for morning. I figured Ell would be fine now that we were all up and playing again. I tried to tell myself that tonight would be different. Scott started breakfast and Ellie and I got ready for a day of hiking and visiting the lake. By the time breakfast was ready, she had made it clear that today would NOT be different. Every little thing caused our normally happy little girl to melt into fits.

A night of almost complete sleep deprivation forced us into defeat. We failed. We gave up. We packed up camp and headed for home. Both of us felt terrible, giving up on our well planned, eagerly anticipated vacation. We were supposed to be out in the wild, making memories! We are adventurers! Not homebodies!

But after unpacking, cleaning up, and naps for everyone, our teething little monster turned into this:

And as Scott happily watches the first BYU game of the season, Ellie sleeps peacefully in her bed, and I curl up with Tolstoy, I think we made the right decision. To make it up to Scott, we've agreed to finish out our camping trip at home. We're going to cook all of our fun food at home, we'll go hiking nearby, and we'll let everyone else fill in for us at church for a day. We're still going to make some memories together, just with a change of location.

Ellie beat us down. She won this time, but at least we can admit defeat gracefully.

The Summer of Ellie

2010-08-27T09:32:00.002-06:00

I realized today that I have been failing as a Mommy blogger. It's been over two months since I had an exclusive Ellie post on here. Which really is shocking, because let's face it, this little girl is pretty much my world.

I think that when I look back on this summer, I'll remember it as the summer of Ellie. Sure, she was here last summer, but I was in sheer survival mode last summer--dealing with PPD, learning to take care of a newborn, transitioning to stay-at-home Mom. Scott was finishing up school and working two jobs. As awesome as it was to have Ellie with us, I wouldn't describe that summer as much fun.

But this summer, this summer was all sorts of Ellie fun! Our incredibly vivacious little one year old is running all over the place, just excited to discover the world. This summer, she's been on a plane, on multiple ferries, on the Metro, on a multiple road trips. She's been to six different states. She's camped, hiked, dined, played, and danced. And man, can this girl dance! She is into everything and just busy, busy.

So, without further ado, enjoy some recent Ellie eye-candy!

Ellie at the Young Living Farms.

Running with Grandma. Isn't she the cutest little walker??

I had put her in her high chair and walked away to get her some lunch and turned back to find that she'd helped herself.

Very pleased with herself. (Check it out--four teeth!)

Notice the proximity to the fruit bowl.

Our awesome neighbors gave us this little rocking horse. Their older girls are less than a year apart, so they each had one. The girls have out grown them, so they gave one to Ellie and kept one for their little boy who's just a few months younger than Ellie. Soon he'll be big enough to ride and she'll have a fellow buckaroo to ride around with! Initially, she didn't realize that she could ride it. She would pat it on the nose and hug it, but finally realized she could get on the horse.

She's also learned to pull her little chair up to the window and stand on it to watch passerbys and keep an eye out for Dada coming home from work.

Ellie wanted someone to ride with her. Big Bear was happy to oblige.

The light isn't great in this picture, but she has a massive bruise on her forehead. She was chasing a ball onto the cement and promptly face-planted. It was awful! Not to mention, the week of Tessem family pictures.

This is at little cousin Abby's baby blessing. Ellie loves her Tante Tiffany and adores her cousin Zack! He's only 2 weeks older than her and I'm pretty sure she's already crushin' on her cuz. She loves to chase him around, feed him, and pat his belly. It's so cute!

With Dada, Mama, and Uncle Troy at the baby blessing. You can't tell that she loves to be the center of attention, can you?

Next Ellie blog, I'm going to attempt to catch this little girl dancing for you! It's not a challenge getting her to dance--she'll dance to any music, and often just to the music in her head--it's just a matter of me being smart enough to download it onto the blog. Wish me luck!

The Gringas Take Zumba

2010-08-22T14:33:00.005-06:00

My Zumba instructor, Patti, has been encouraging me to bring friends. I think she's sees me as a foot in the door to the white girls niche. So when my sister-in-law, Kathleen, asked if she could come try it out while she was in town from North Carolina, I said heck yeah! Not to mention Kathleen's a blast to do anything with.

So Tuesday night, water bottles in tow, we hit up the "studio" in the industrial park to dance it up. It was awesome. Kathleen was a natural. She's a dancer anyway and she's in great shape, so she had no problem. Too bad...I was kind of hoping she'd make me look good, being her first time and all. ;)

I think the instructor was trying to make Kathleen's first Zumba experience memorable, because halfway through class she stopped the music and divided the class down the middle, with each group on different sides of the room. She made sure that Kathleen and I were on different sides of the room. She proceeded to turn on the music and make the two groups "dance off." We're talking Sharks and Jets here man; it was awesome. Patti would choose one person to lead and their group would follow them over, imitating what they did. The other group would then have to bring their game and show the other group what they had. It was hysterical and the two of us gringas lived it up. I think Kathleen brings out a little of the crazy in me.

But I think my favorite moment was at the end of class when Patti came over to meet Kathleen and brought one of the other ladies over to translate. And just as we were leaving, she said something to them in Spanish. (Apparently she took a rather intensive Spanish course in college and follows the language just fine). Their reaction of surprise and shock was priceless.

Kathleen promised she sweats as much as I do. I think I still had her beat, but man, she was close! We took a few pictures to chronicle our adventure. I felt it was kindest if I posted this in it's smallest size:

The others get even less flattering/more hilarious. (Don't you love the weird glowy look it got around the edges, like it's supposed to be a glamor photo or something?) Thanks for coming Kathleen! It was a blast!

You want to come try out Zumba with me? This is your official invitation! It really is a blast, and the first class is free! Plus, I've lost 15 pounds in the last month and a half--this stuff works!

The Cabin

2010-08-13T15:05:00.006-06:00

"The Cabin" used to actually refer to a set of three cabins my Grandpa Stewart used to own in Smiley Creek, Idaho. They were amazing. Not amazing as in huge, gaudy, or grand. Two of the three used to be part of an old hotel on Red Fish Lake not too far away. We referred to the three as the Old Lodge, the New Lodge, and the Honeymoon Cabin. They were rundown and old and sometimes down right creepy; and we totally loved them. It was the one place large enough to house our entire energetic, overgrown extended family. We had an annual reunion there with the Stewart family and growing up, that was usually the only vacation my family went on. I have so many fond memories there of hiking, swimming, tubing, playing cards, reading books, night games, cooking in the New Lodge kitchen, running past "Bullwinkle" the old moose head in the Old Lodge at night. It was a wonderful place.

A couple of years ago, my Grandpa sold the cabins. In retrospect, it was probably a brilliant sell. It was right before the recession hit and real estate values plummeted; but that was little consolation for many of us kids/grandkids. I'm glad he did what he felt was best, but I'm pretty sure I'm not the only of the offspring who had to go through a little mourning process for that place.

Fortunately, my grandpa also owns another property along the Sawtooth Mountain range. It's a little cabin that used to be a real estate office. Last week, Scott and I joined most of my family in a small trip to The Office This is the first time that I've been to The Office in years, and I don't think I'd ever even seen past the front room, which I had memories of being really gross and run down. (There was a single guy living there at the time). I was very pleasantly surprised!

The Office has a little front room with homemade cast iron fireplace. The kitchen houses all of the old, mismatched dishes I love and remember from the cabin. There are two really quite comfortable bedrooms, a little bathroom, and an awesome loft with a hazardous set of mismatched carpet steps and about half a dozen beds. Like The Cabins, The Office sure isn't fancy, but it's got that same familiar feeling of simplicity and family and the outdoors.

Our few days there were wonderful. My parents and my younger siblings living at home, Jenny and Joe, were there, as well as my brother Ben, his wife Annie, their puppy Tristan, and two of their friends from school...whose names I still cannot get right. They're from the East Turkestan Republic, now part of China, and they were wonderful company.

On Sunday, we attended church in a small multi-denominational worship center in Stanley, about 15 minutes away. Definitely one of the most beautiful places I've ever attended church. It has stained glass windows and an incredible view of the Sawtooth Mountains behind the pulpit. The little building is always packed full of visitors, and chances are always good that you'll be included in the service if you're visiting. The speakers last Sunday were two people camping in the area. Way to add some excitement to your vacation, eh?

We spent most of our time there inside the cabin together, thanks to some spectacular thunderstorms. They were so strong they would shake the cabin walls and the sound of the thunder would just roll back and forth through the valley. We had great plans to go to a few lakes and hit some mountain trails, but it's awfully hard to complain about a change of plans when it means playing games, cooking good food, and getting cozy in front of the fire with some of your favorite people. Ellie was in heaven, running around the cabin, begging food off of everyone, playing with a puppy and aunts, uncles, grandparents, and new friends. It was perfect.

And I'm glad to say we did manage to squeeze in one short trip to Stanley Lake and a couple of hikes in between storms. We hiked up to Fourth of July Lake, a first for me, and it was gorgeous. Ellie got to get out of the backpack and do some hiking herself for the first time and I think she's a natural! She loved it!

The lake was nearly at the timber line and it was so serene and beautiful.

A doe passing through walked within just a few yards of us, much to Ellie's delight and Jenny's horror. Apparently, deer can and will attack humans. I'm pleased to announce that it did no such thing. It did, however, pose for a few pictures and showed great interest in our granola bars. I'm guessing this wasn't its first exposure to hikers.

My favorite part of the hike, however, was the way back. Ellie slept on my back all of the way down the mountain. I soaked in every blissful motherhood moment.

The only thing that could have possibly made the trip better was to have my sister Kali, brother-in-law Bobby, and adorable nephew Jeremiah there. Get-togethers just never feel quite complete without everyone there.

I'm please to announce that The Office will suffice just fine. It won't work for our massive family reunions anymore, but there was something awfully nice about such an intimate little group instead. And every once in awhile, a six hour car trip with a one year old is worth it.

Zumba - Part Tres

2010-08-03T08:25:00.004-06:00

Zumba teaches me humility and I make friends.... for reals.

It's hard to decide which part of Zumba is the most humiliating... er, I mean humbling. Not understanding what people are saying for a good hour? Feeling like a minority every evening? Nah.

Probably attempting that drunk Mexican dance. Seriously, it's called the Cerveza, which I'm told means "beer," and it looks like we're tottering back and forth after too many drinks south of the border. The best description I've heard of it is from the studio owner who said it looks like the dance the police officers do on Pirates of Penzance. Honestly, I can't tell if the other ladies in the class are doing it right or not, but I know I'm not doing it right!

Or maybe it's the time I almost passed out in class last Saturday. I'm not sure how the instructor could tell I was about to go, but she grabbed me and made me lay down in the back of the room and put my feet up. Then she made me eat a couple Tootsie Rolls. Tell you what, that woman knows what she's doing. I felt a million times better after a couple minutes of elevation and sugar. She then proceeded to interrogate me about my eating habits, sleeping habits, etc, via one of the more bilingual members of the class. What? This couldn't have anything to do with the pastry I had for breakfast at the Farmer's Market, could it? Yeah, I knew better. Curse you Kamas Bakery with your delicious baked goods! After a thorough lecture to the entire class about eating well, I've learned my lesson.

Nope, none of those are the most humiliating/humbling. It's gotta be the walk home. I originally chose the class because it was a three minute walk from my house. Perfect--save gas, save time, get in a little extra exercise. I forgot to account for my appearance post-workout. Here's something you don't know about me unless you've ever had the misfortune to exercise with me. I sweat. A LOT. Like a man. Actually, more like a morbidly obese man. It's genetic. When I finish an hour of rigorous Zumba, my hair is dripping, my clothes are saturated, and my face is bright red. It's not a pretty sight. I look like I've just completed a marathon. Or so my next door neighbor tells me.

That three minute walk through my neighborhood is like running a social gauntlet. Please don't let Brother and Sister B be out walking their baby. And please don't let Sister K see me and need to talk about Primary. And there's just no avoiding Sister D. Please don't tell everyone at church that you saw me like this, okay? Oh great, and there are my tenants. Awesome timing. Yeah, I'm okay, thanks for asking. I know I look like death, okay?

The good news? We're moving studios this week! And I have to drive to get there. Now they'll have to catch me between my car and the front door. Ha!

Oh, and did I mention that I've figured out my code name at Zumba? Seriously, they refer to me as "Americana" instead of "Jessica," or should I say, "Yessica," when they don't want me to know they're talking about me. I'm 90% sure. I caught on when a couple of them slipped up and looked over at me during the conversation. I have got to learn me some Spanish!

In all seriousness though, I love Zumba! It's addictive. And I've finally started to get to know the other ladies. They may not speak much English, but we manage. So far I've gotten to know Patti, Rosario, Berta, Aida, Juanita, Silvia, and Maria. They're all very nice and very welcoming, language barrier considering. And get this, they're impressed by how profusely I sweat. They tell me it's because I'm a great dancer, a mother, because I work so hard. They tell me how healthy it is. Awesome, huh?

I think this is my kinda crowd after all.

Getaway

2010-07-20T15:02:00.002-06:00

For our fifth anniversary, Scott bought me tickets to see Ben Folds with the Utah Symphony at Deer Valley. We saw Tony Bennett there a few years ago and it's our favorite venue! You take a blanket, a picnic dinner, and enjoy amazing music right there on the mountain slope. If you've never been to the Deer Valley Music Festival, I highly recommend it! It's every July/August and they have an awesome variety of performers.

Anyway, we decided to make this our first night without the baby. Originally, the plan had been to make it a full weekend, but we couldn't handle the thought of leaving Ellie for two nights. So Ellie had her first sleepover at Grandma's house!

We spent Saturday afternoon on Main Street in Park City. We looked in shop windows, checked out art galleries, wished we had money to spend on art like Michael Fatali's, got ice cream at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, and got a bite to eat at Cisero's, our favorite Italian restaurant in Park City.

Awkward photo courtesy of Scott. I got one of him too, but I'm saving it for blackmail. ;)

We also had plans to ride the alpine coaster and the zip line again (don't hate me, but I'm not a huge fan of the alpine slide...) but then we were reminded of how ridiculously expensive it is and decided against it. Instead, we used their restrooms and took a picture of these guys:

You can't tell with the sign right there, but when the kids come down the slide it looks like they're being birthed by the t-rex. Awkward, no?

We checked into the Marriott and then headed over to Deer Valley. We got there an hour and half before the concert and there was already quite the crowd. We spread out our blanket, claimed our stake, and played cards while we waited.

At the Tony Bennett concert, we took a picnic lunch of watermelon, crackers, cheesesticks, and E.L.Fudge cookies while were surrounded by rich old people with various wines, cheeses, and meats we'd never even heard of before. So this year, we decided to splurge and try some fun new foods. We took baguette, brie cheese, gruyere cheese, prosciutto, capacollo, marinated olives, some fruit, and Izze sodas.

So fun and so, so good! Of course, this being a Ben Folds concert and not a Tony Bennett concert, we were surrounded by young people with take-out, so this year we looked like the food snobs.

The concert was amazing! Ben Folds is an incredible artist and I think his music was meant to be played by a symphony! He played a couple of songs that aren't even out yet. They're coming out on his next album. Unfortunately, one of the new songs kind of tainted the concert. It contained every expletive in the book. Something I was a little bit surprised to hear in such a beautiful place with such classy accompaniment.

After the concert, we did some crazy maneuvering/running and made it out of the parking lot before the real chaos set in. We made it back to our hotel within minutes and enjoyed a night alone... wink, wink. ;) Actually, the real excitement was getting to sleep uninterrupted through the night and waking up at 6 AM just to go back to sleep for two more hours!

Sunday morning we enjoyed leftover baguette and brie with fruit for breakfast and enjoyed a lazy morning meandering through the Park City Farmer's Market (which, by the way, is amazing! Too bad it was on Sunday so we couldn't actually purchase anything. Although, we did enjoy a nice second-breakfast of free samples...) and riding the ski lift up the beautiful mountainside and back.

We had a wonderful 24 hours away together, but were both admittedly eager to see our baby girl. She had a great time at Grandma's house, but also seemed happy to be home together again. Who knows, maybe next year will try two nights away?

Zumba - Part Dos

2010-07-16T20:56:00.003-06:00

Wherein I make friends and everybody likes me.

Did you catch that? Part dos. See, I'm learning Spanish already! I can count to eight with great proficiency now.

Last night at Zumba, towards the end of class the instructor stops the music and walks to the closet. She pulls out some bright blue and gold fabric thing and hands it to a woman in front. The woman immediately says "no, no, no, no" and tries to hand it off to someone else. All at once, everyone starts saying no and pointing around to everyone else and I'm totally confused. Suddenly, I realize that everyone has started pointing to me and I have no idea what's going on! Apparently I have been chosen and the teacher motions me to the front of the room.

Turns out, the piece of fabric is a bright blue fringy shawl with tiny gold bells hanging on it. Which she proceeds to tie around my waist and situates me in the front of the room in front ofeveryone. "Crap," I think. "This is for not speaking Spanish, isn't it?" I say to the group and those that understand English start to laugh. The music begins, and the instructor starts a belly dance-style routine that I'm intended to follow.

I figured that means my fellow classmates like me, right? Or is that called hazing?

Guys, you'd be proud. I didn't just not make an idiot out of myself, I rocked it. If I do say so myself. (Humility's not my strong point...) I shook my hips for all I was worth and made the room ring with the sound of little gold bells.

As the music ended, the women laugh and applaud. The instructor gives me thumbs up and the lady next to me gives me a "muy bueno." As I walk back to my comfortable spot in the very back of the room, the old woman next to me who'd been the original finger-pointer laughed and I tell her, "Muchos gracias. Next time I'll get you." She may not understand much English, but she got that. She laughed and nodded. At the end of class, one of the teenagers in the class even came up and told me I did a really good job.

I think I'm making friends, you guys!

Zumba!

2010-07-16T08:26:00.001-06:00

In which I make a complete fool of myself and have a great time doing it...

A couple of months ago I started attending a Stake Aerobics class during the day when I wasn't babysitting. It was three days a week and everyday was something different. Wednesdays were my introduction to Zumba. My first thought was, "Is it okay to be doing this in the church?" Closely followed by "How did I not know about this before?"

For those of you who are also new to Zumba, it's a form of aerobics based around latin dance and international music. It's fast-paced, sexy, fun, and totally exhausting! Yeah, that's right, I just threw "sexy" in there. At first, it was a little weird to be shimmying and booty-shaking with the other mild-mannered ladies from the ward, but it was just too much fun to care! Unfortunately, with my babysitting schedule, it became impossible to attend during the day. I just can't handle chasing TWO babies around the church cultural hall.

In a recent renewed effort to lose weight with Scott, I decided that I too needed a consistent form of exercise. Not all of us are runners, am I right? Or is that just me? Anyway, I decided to look into Zumba. I found a class just 6 blocks away from my house for a very affordable price, but then a friend from the ward mentioned she'd seen a class advertised just 2 blocks away. I walked by, got the information, and decided to give it a try on Wednesday night.

You should know that I'm not great about doing things outside my comfort zone, and my comfort zone isn't very big. So going to a new class by myself made me nervous. I decided I was going to suck it up and be brave and stretch my comfort zone a bit. Little did I know that I would be stretching my comfort zone a LOT!

I walked the two blocks, water bottle in hand, and walked down the stairs to the little studio. The first thing I noticed was that I was the ONLY white girl. All of the Hispanic women looked at me with an amused smile and I had a sudden urge to turn around and walk back home. But I reminded myself that I was being brave and trying new things and that I would look like a chicken if I walked out now in front of everybody. So I stayed.

Turns out, I happened to pick an all-Hispanic, Spanish-speaking Zumba class! I was completely lost when the teacher was talking--I don't speak ANY Spanish--but tried my best when the music started playing. The reflection in the mirror at the front of the room was so funny that I couldn't keep from smiling and laughing at myself, the lone white girl in the back of the studio, trying to keep up. The instructor definitely kept her eye on me, and I'm proud to say she seemed impressed. She even gave me thumbs up and applauded me when we were doing a particularly difficult shimmy/hip-shaking routine.

Hey, I might not know Spanish but these hips know no language. They're multilingual baby! My butt on the other hand moves like the good little Provo girl I am, not so much like a sassy latina... but that just leaves room for improvement, right?

As we headed out of the studio after class, everyone smiled at me and a couple of the ladies even waved. But they all seemed surprised to see me show up again last night. A couple of them even laughed, (good-naturedly, I think). But I walked right up to the instructor and paid for one month up front. I had a blast, and hey, my comfort zone could use a little enlarging. Who knows? Maybe I'll even learn some Spanish while I'm at it.

Pulmonary Embolism - Part 2

2010-07-15T09:34:00.002-06:00

I knew as soon as I heard it was gone that it was though the power of the priesthood. I know that now and have never doubted that it was the work of a loving Heavenly Father.

The difficult part came for the months following the incident. Because the object in my chest had just simply disappeared, they had no way of determining whether it was pneumonia or a blood clot. For months afterwards, I underwent all sorts of testing to determine the cause. I remember whining to my Mom that I had become a pin cushion. I was routinely pulled out of classes to go do more testing, whenever the hospital needed me.

One of my favorite memories is actually of a Saturday morning when I had to go do another round of blood tests. My sweet Mother didn't have to drag my whiney 13 year old self that time; it was my Dad's turn. Because my Dad is a big softy, he took me out to get a pastry because he felt so bad. You can poke me with a needle anytime if you'll buy me a blueberry bear claw!

Tangent. Okay, back to the story. After a great deal of testing, they were unable to determine what the obstruction in my chest was, but they found that I had two blood clotting disorders--Factor V Leiden and antiphospholipid syndrome--both of which make intravenous blood clots a real problem. (In my professional opinion, it was a pulmonary embolism. I'd had some very scary cases of pneumonia in my young life and it was nothing like that. The fact that I have those disorders also sways my opinion).

Sometimes it's hard to see purpose in trials and to recognize miracles until later. In retrospect, that blood clot probably saved my life. The blood clotting disorders make pregnancy very dangerous. Because I was aware of it, my doctors were able to treat me accordingly and thanks to some great specialists, I carried Ellie without incident.

Because of the pulmonary embolism, Ellie and I are both here today. So stop whining already 13 year old Jessica. Sometimes being a human pin cushion is a huge blessing in disguise. :)

Pulmonary Embolism

2010-07-14T09:07:00.006-06:00

I blog everyday. Mentally, that is. Somehow all of these posts just don't come to fruition online. But today, I'm home with a sick baby and everything is quiet while she naps, so I'm finally going to post a well over-due post. Just so you know, I mentally posted this weeks ago when I promised I would. ;)

I was 13 years old. I had gone to bed after a successful day of the 8th grade--meaning that I had survived--and a fun evening at the roller skating rink with the youth in the ward, despite the fact that I'm a disaster on wheels. There really was nothing extraordinary about the day at all, but that night was a different story.

I woke up in the middle of the night with an excruciating pain in my chest. I struggled to draw a breath. Now, I grew up with some pretty severe asthma and I knew what it was like to fight for breath and to feel like your chest is being crushed by a fat man you can't push off. This was different. It was so sudden, so intense. I couldn't get out of bed, so I cried out for one of my sisters to get my parents. My Mom came in and calmed me and told me we'd go to the doctor first thing in the morning. I prayed a lot and waited out the night.

The next morning, Mom helped me into the car and we went to the family physician where an exam was performed and x-rays were taken. When the x-rays were ready, Dr. Grow came in somewhat urgently. Truth be told, I wasn't a big fan of Dr. Grow. I thought he was an alarmist and he had already attempted to send me to the hospital on multiple occasions for other issues. But when he showed us that x-ray, I trusted him. My x-ray showed an object roughly the size of the size of a golf ball in my chest. And he didn't have the answers to our questions, only more questions. Blood clot? Pneumonia, perhaps? He was recommending we left for Primary Children's Medical Center immediately.

I was scared.

I was in so much pain and I wanted someone to tell me what was wrong and if I was going to be okay. We stopped by at home so my Mom could make arrangements for my siblings for the day. Before we left, my Dad gave me a priesthood blessing. I don't remember what was said, I just remember a feeling of peace. The pain in my chest eased enough that I could relax.

We made it up to PCMC within the hour and I began a long bout of poking and prodding and tests and x-rays.

When they were finally done, the specialists in the hematology department were baffled. They showed us the x-rays from that morning that we had brought with us. And then the ones they had just taken...with no trace of anything in my chest...

Ellie's awake...

...to be continued...

Independence Weekend

2010-07-06T10:23:00.003-06:00

All in favor of Independence Day always being on a Sunday, say aye! Three days of celebration is so much better than one! We kicked off the weekend on Friday by taking Scott to the local pool to show off Ellie's new aquatic skills, thanks to our Mom & Tots swim class. She's got some mad skills: kicking skills, splashing skills, swimsuit modeling skills. And she loves the water!

In addition to being our little mermaid, she's also our handy little alarm clock. Weekends mean nothing to her and since she had us up at 6 AM anyway, we hit up the Balloon Fest...

Not once...

Not twice...

...but three times; because if you're up at 6 AM, you might as well!

Saturday after the balloons, Scott got to working on his latest grilling adventure--smoking a 10 pound brisket. Half a bag of charcoal, a bag of hickory chips, a burnt foot, and 13 hours later, we had a ridiculously delicious hunk of beef.

Saturday, we hit up the beloved Freedom Festival downtown, where Ellie was happy to advertise for the Provo Bible Church, for just the price of a balloon.

And of course, we had to get some tasty, but grossly overpriced fair food. We got our annual favorite, Twisted Taters.

And a classic new to us, the Funnel Cake.

We took the long weekend as a chance to kick it in our snazzy Walmart inflatable pool. Despite Ellie's lovely collection of swimsuits, she prefers to go topless. Actually, I'm pretty sure she prefers to go naked, but the swim diaper is non-negotiable. And when you're this cute, who cares what you're wearing?

The pinnacle of our 4th of July celebration is always our neighborhood block party. We just wouldn't miss it! It's such a quintessential Americana experience--sharing hot dogs and potluck dishes with neighbors, dancing with friends and family in the streets, watching fireworks when it gets dark.

Ellie chilling with her homies from the hood, B and her swimming buddy, A.

Last year, the block party was the first time that I really left the house with Ellie as a newborn baby. This year was so much more fun. She stayed up four hours past her bedtime, running around the neighborhood lawns, waving to anyone who walked by, and dancing in the streets. She's a party animal, and the girl's got some serious moves.

The weekend also included another backyard BBQ, a classic car exhibition, the Provo parade, and another block party. It was a wonderful, exhausting weekend of family and celebration.

God bless America, and may it always be worth celebrating.

To Run A Marathon

2010-06-20T19:59:00.008-06:00

I remember growing up and watching the Olympics or Iron-Man competitions and thinking that someday I would really like to do that, just to test myself. You might recall that last year I wrote a list of things that I wanted to do before I turn 30. One of the items on that list was to run a marathon. So starting in January, I started running; a little at first adding distance each week. Until I met the arch nemesis of Marathon runners, shin splints. Seriously those little devils are painful. I learned that Marathons are unforgiving, they make you prepare. I ran 4 times a week for 5 1/2 months to get ready, and then one day it's too late you can not prepare any more, all you can do is run.

The morning of the race we all got on buses and were taken up the canyon. The first thing I noticed about marathon runners is that they come in all shapes and sizes. The next thing I noticed was that marathon runners will pee anywhere and everywhere. 5 mins into the race it started raining, I mean Seattle Washington rain. I was soaked from mile 2 to mile 22. Does anyone know what happens to nipples after 20 miles of wet shirt rubbing against them? Let me tell you, NOTHING GOOD. From mile 1 to around mile 21 or 22 I felt ok, then the bottom fell out. Your mind keeps bringing up the fact that walking is an option. In fact I keep passing people that are walking and it didn't look too bad. It feels like the miles are getting longer and longer and my legs were getting heavier and heavier. And then I see the finish line and I had a sudden burst of energy and ran as fast as I could for the last 200 meters.

Just like that it is over. I was surprisingly emotional, Jess and Ellie are there with my parents and brother and I am spent. My legs are completely dead. One thing that I would rather not do again is the 1 to 2 day recovery period after the race because that was almost worst than the race.But I did it. And now a week removed from the pain I would do it again.

Pre-run

During Run

Fan Club

Finish Line

Dear Ellie - Year One

2010-06-14T15:28:00.004-06:00

Dear Ellie,

One year ago today, I was holding you for the first time. It was a Sunday evening, two days before you were due. We had gone into the hospital for more testing and the doctors determined that the amniotic fluid was now too dangerously low and they had to take you. Your Dad and I were both shocked. A c-section hadn't even been a possibility; but as they strapped me to the operating table, I knew it was the right decision.

At 8:43 PM, the sound of Coldplay in the background, Dr. Watabe said, "Here she comes. Look at all that hair!" Your Dada just kept saying, "She's so beautiful Jess, she's so beautiful!" over and over again. They held you up for the briefest moment so that I could see you and then they took you away. That moment was so surreal. Your hair was so thick, and dark, and curly! I couldn't believe that you were finally here. I'd waited anxiously for your for 9 joyous months.

They made me wait an hour before I could finally hold you, my beautiful baby. I can honestly say that was the longest hour of my life! Your Dad spent it by your side, watching over you. I spent it in the most eager anticipation imaginable. How cruel to have you here and not be able to hold you!

Ellie Arianna, since that moment I have never stopped wanting to hold you and I never will. You have changed my life and Dada's life forever. As soon as you were born, you filled a hole we never knew was there. You took the two of us and made us a family. You awoke within me a part of myself that I didn't know I had. You made me a mother, in every possible sense of the word.

This year has been the best of our lives. You are such a joy! You have the greatest laugh and the most infectious smile. You love people and the more people there are around you, the louder and friendlier and funnier and more animated you get--which makes church very exciting! You are also incredibly stubborn and painfully independent when you want to be, but I knew that before you were even born. You've always had a mind of your own.

We've had so many first with you this year and we've had so, so much fun! I can hardly remember what we did before you came around. You've grown so much that it's hard to believe. You've gone from our small, beautiful, dark, new baby girl to our bubbly, gregarious, toddling, blond little Ellie Button. You look more like me everyday, which secretly pleases me to no end. You've got your Dada wrapped around your little finger, which I'm guessing is right where you want him and right where he's staying.

I love you so much Ellie. Thanks for being ours. Happy birthday baby girl!

Love, Mama

Hodge Podge

2010-06-01T09:44:00.006-06:00

This post is a little bit of this and a little bit of that, and a lot of pictures!

First, me and my honey (with our plus one) on our 5th wedding anniversary. He surprised me by showing up at the house with lunch and taking Ellie and I to the park for a picnic.

And how cute is my hubby? He picked up this cake at The Chocolate in Orem. It's vanilla with buttercream frosting, just like our wedding cake.

I was very surprised that he remembered what our wedding cake was. My fella isn't always the most romantic, but when he puts his mind to it, he does good!

Next, answering your questions. That's right, you ask, I answer! (1) Jeralee, yes, I was 19 when I got married. I was three weeks shy of being 20, and for some reason it really seems to bother Scott that he married a teenager. Probably because it's a little cliche in Utah Valley, but I say whatev. If it's too cliche, we can always move out of Utah and be a novelty. ;) (2) As for the blood clot story, it's a long one, so I'll make that its own post later on this week. Stay tuned...

And last, Memorial Day weekend! It was a fabulous weekend of family. My twin sis, Kali, came up from New Mexico with he hubby, Bobby, and their six month old, Jeremiah.

I miss her like crazy and it was so fun to have them with us all weekend! My brother Ben and his wife Annie also came down from Logan, so we finally had everybody together. Grandma was just a little bit excited to have both of her grandbabies here.

On Saturday, we headed to the park to see my little bro Joe fly is ridiculously huge/cool homemade kite and I got to introduce Ellie to slides.

She's a fan! We also played a lot of board games, card games, video games, made delicious food, ate delicious food, took naps, went for walks, and generally just hung out and enjoyed each other's company.

Sunday afternoon, we took some family pictures. My Mom always takes a picture of all of the kids on the front porch. The porch is starting to get pretty full!

And Ellie is starting to ham is up for the camera. I have a feeling this is just the beginning.

My Mom likes to remind us that she does not have grandpuppies, but Ben and Annie just got the cutest Cavalier King Charles Terrier named Tristan that we're all totally in love with. Isn't he cute??

And best of all for last, the grandbabies!

Aren't they irresistable? Jeremiah is only six months old, but it's hard to believe that he's five months younger than Ellie! He's only two pounds less than she is and I just can't get over that boy's adorable chub! They definitely took more interest in each other this time, and I'm so excited to see them together in a few months. They'll have so much fun together!

Flashback

2010-05-28T10:06:00.002-06:00

Dear 12 yr old Jessica,

Hey, congratulations on surviving your first year of Jr. High. School should be letting out and I know you're grateful for a few months off from that torturous place. Don't worry, it gets better. Really.

How do I know? I've already been there, done that. I'm you...12 years from now. Prove it? Okay...the world does NOT end with the new millennium, you're not going to move to Idaho after all, and one night when you wake up with excruciating chest pain next year, it's going to be a blood clot. Don't worry, everything turns out just fine.

I'm just writing you to give you a little glimpse into the future. Today, I'm celebrating my five year wedding anniversary. I married an amazing man on a beautiful May day at the Timpanogos temple five years ago. We have a house now. And you're a stay-at-home mom now to your beautiful 11 month old baby girl. Life is so, so good.

Crazy, huh? Who? Well that would be cheating, but I will tell you that you met him this year. Seriously. You'd be too horrified if I told you. Let's just say that he grows up a LOT before you meet him again in seven years. And gets a LOT better looking. ;)

You're going to grow up a lot in the next seven years too. You're going to become more assertive, more confident, and yeah, a lot less awkward looking. ;) You're going to have a great time. You're also going to make some mistakes, but that's okay. I've learned a lot about repentance and a merciful Heavenly Father. Just try and stay close to Him, okay? And it'll all turn out fine.

When you meet this boy again and the time comes for you to make the biggest decision of your life, I'll let you in on a little secret that I think will help you. There is no "one" for you. I know every romantic girly notion in your body wants to reject that idea, but truthfully, you could probably marry any number of people and live a wonderful, happy life. You're going to have to make your choice and then ask Heavenly Father if that's okay. And in retrospect, I think that's a lot more romantic. The man you're married to today wasn't chosen for you by anyone else. He wasn't "meant" for you. He chose you. And you chose him. Over anyone else in the world, you chose him.

So in the meantime, don't worry about it. Just do what you're doing. You'll end up in the right place. Oh, and when Mom tells you that boys tease because they like you...just listen to her and don't stress about it. She's always right.

Love,

24 year old Jessica

East Coast by the Numbers

2010-05-24T14:45:00.026-06:00

10 days

away

4 states

North Carolina

Virginia

Washington D.C.

Maryland

10 hours

on airplanes

1250 miles

put on our rental car

3 days

camping on the beautiful beach

of Ocracoke island

3 sunburns

what can I say? we're some serious whities

60 bug bites

i'm just sure of it

mosquitoes suck (pun intended),

but sand fleas are just evil!

2 ferry rides

7 awesome eats

hog heaven - durham, NC

the village cafe - richmond, VA

chap's pit beef - baltimore, MA

hunan mansion - columbia, MA

mt. fuji - durham, NC

elmo's diner - durham, NC

bojangles - durham, NC

6 new regional treats

hushpuppies

fried okra

boiled peanuts

chicken fried steak

pit beef

locopops

10 miles

walked in downtown DC. at least.

national air and space museum

united states capital building

national sculpture garden

national museum of american history

national museum of natural history

the white house

national world war II memorial

lincoln memorial

vietnam veterans memorial

washington monument

arlington national cemetary

60 dollars

to get into baltimore's national aquarium

ridiculous price, but it turns out, so worth it

ellie loved the dolphin show!

5 of our favorite north carolinians EVER

ultimate hosts, adventurers, cooks, and playmates

1 amazing trip

with my 2 favorite traveling companions

* Several of these pictures are by Jeff and Kathleen, as snagged from FB and Tessemland. Thanks guys!

Because I'm Too Lazy to Blog

2010-04-25T21:56:00.008-06:00

I have my excuses. I always do. I think I'm going to blame this bout of non-blogging on spring. Who can sit at a computer with sunshine to bask in, flowers to smell, walks to go on, gardens to plant, and babies to play with? I always claimed spring to be my least favorite season. I take it back! I take it all back! I love love love you spring, and I don't care who knows it!

Sorry, I got carried away. Long story short, I'll get back to blogging soon enough...especially since I hear snow is in our near future. In the meantime, here's some pics to hold you over:

My adorable nephew, Jeremiah. He's Kali (my twin sis) and Bobby's first little one. We finally got to meet him for the first time last month! This little man is such a wise soul. You can just tell. And he's got such an expressive face.

Isn't he cute??

B & E. Can you believe he's 3 months younger than Ellie?? He's already got 2-3 lbs on her and I'm pretty sure he's as long as she is. And look at him standing up already! He's also a little speed demon when he crawls around now.

My beautiful, beautiful tree. It's always the first in the neighborhood to bloom. It turns from this snowy white to pink as it loses its petals. It's been raining soft pink petals all week.

We just moved our mirror to the outside of our bedroom door and Ellie couldn't be happier. She loves to look at herself. Hopefully she grows out of this before it goes from adorable to narcissistic. Luckily, I'd say she's got quite a few years before she gets there.

E with B's ducky. Isn't she beautiful?

And Ellie strikes again. How?? How does she do this? She's too young to be this smart and sneaky. She figured out how to open the box of baker's chocolate, unwrap a square, and get it in her mouth before Mom discovered her. How did she know what was in there? And that she likes chocolate? Unsweetened baker's chocolate at that. Gross.

E & B knocking down a tasty beverage together. Don't worry, they've got different brews in those bottles. No mommy milk swapping here. ;)

One of my favorite pictures. Ellie playing Game Cube with Grandpa.

P.S. Thanks for all of the fabulous traveling advice and east coast tips! We have an exciting trip in the works! More on that later...

P.P.S. Guess I'm not too lazy to blog after all, eh? Apparently I just have to trick myself into it. ;)

Tessem's Grand East Coast Adventure!!

2010-04-08T08:31:00.004-06:00

That's what is written in big, bold caps letters across a week and half of May. That's right, the Tessems are jet-setting again! And we need your help!

We're flying in to North Carolina to be with the Durham Tessems for a few days, then we're driving up to Washington, D.C. to take in some of our nation's capital, then we're headed up to Connecticut to visit the Joneses (Scott's sister and fam). Then we're working our way back down to North Carolina. It will be Ellie's first flight, first time camping, and first big road trip. Exciting, huh?

Here's where you come in. We need all of your travel tips, baby advice, and east coast wisdom! We want to know your tricks for flying with a baby, driving with a baby, camping with a baby, your favorite D.C. sites, great hotels to stay at, your favorite places back east to eat, pit stops and fun tourist spots, etc. We need it all! Don't hold back!

Thanks in advance wise friends!

Recent Reads: Hungry Monkey

2010-04-06T20:23:00.003-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, I finished "Hungry Monkey" by Matthew Amster-Burton. This book recommendation came from one of Dooce's book lists last year. It's also highly recommended Mr. Anthony Bourdain. The book is written by a Seattle food critic and stay-at-home-dad. It's all about his experiences feeding his daughter, Iris, and trying to introduce her to the wonderful world of food. He even includes many of their favorite recipes.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book! He shares experiences about Iris' first food (chicken enchiladas), her favorite first-year foods (spicy thai), and her sudden decision at two years old to stop eating anything anything that didn't resemble a hot dog. (See, even food critics have picky kids!) He teaches her where her food comes from and involves her in deciding what's for dinner, as well as the cooking process. He introduces her to international cuisine and tries to give her a taste for good quality foods.

While I loved the book, his experience is certainly exceptional. Matthew goes to Seattle farmer's markets and fish markets almost daily. He buys top-quality, imported, very expensive products. As a food critic, he gets to take Iris to the best restaurants. His story can, at times, seem a little out-of-touch with the rest of us. (Who in their right mind mixes $10 worth of truffles with $0.25 Kraft Macaroni & Cheese???)

Nevertheless, the book was a very fun read and got me so excited about exposing Ellie to all of our favorite foods. And the book is worth reading for the recipes alone! But before you run out and pick up a copy, I should warn you that it does include some colorful language. I felt like it was still definitely worth the read, but if you're easily offended by a little profanity, I'd recommend skipping this one.

Bon appetit!

Shenanigans

2010-03-31T20:15:00.013-06:00

When we're out and about, I'm frequently told that Ellie seems so much older than she actually is. At first I thought it must be because of her small head, long legs, and all of that hair, but I've changed my mind. I think it's her personality. This girl oozes personality. Lately she's been 9 months going on 13 years old.

Take for example, the voicemail message that inspired this post. I called Scott yesterday morning at 10:30 to ask if he would please trade me places. By 10:30 in the morning, Ellie had blown-out her diaper, thrashed around until she got poop on everything, and then peed on the floor when I set her down to clean up the changing table. Then when I tried to clean up the carpet, she kept trying to get around me to play in it. Once I pinned her down and put her back in clothes, she crawled to my bedroom and banged on the door until she woke up Brady. After which she shut me out of her room! That's right, my 9 month old shut me out of her room! She figured out how to slam her door shut from the inside and then sit in front of it so I couldn't get in. Then she giggled as I tried to pry the door open.

And she is remarkably good at getting into things. We try to put things down low that she can get into; kind of a decoy concept. This first picture is not an example of this.

This one is.

And this is one of her favorite activities, "sorting" papers. Wednesday is her favorite day because it's ad day. Ads are best because they are colorful and crinkly.

Lucky for her, she is irresistibly adorable. Here, for your viewing pleasure, are some of glimpses of Ellie and her fabulous, oozy personality.

Isn't she beautiful? Just when I think she's going to drive me crazy, she shoots me one of these angelic looks.

She's lucky she's cute.

(On a side note, I think this is the first time I've ever blogged about poop. That's part of some official mom initiation, right?)

Won't You be My Neighbor?

2010-03-26T12:11:00.003-06:00

It's that time again! We have had fabulous renters in our west unit for over a year now, but it's time for them to spread their wings and leave the nest. They're headed out to a glamorous new job in the great Mid West, leaving you or someone you love with the chance to be our new neighbors!

The duplex is located in downtown Provo, near dozens of restaurants, boutiques, and local events. We're just around the corner from all of the summer festivals. The neighborhood is awesome. And we're just minutes away from both UVU and BYU.

The unit is 2 bed, 1 bath and comes with a washer/dryer, free wireless internet and cable, and a shared backyard/garden.

And, if you're LDS, the chapel is a 30 second walk from your front door! A fact that has saved us many a Sunday morning, I assure you.

We'll be posting the duplex on KSL Classifieds shortly, but we thought we'd let all y'all know first. If you or someone you love is interested, let me know and I'll send you some more info!

Recent Reads: Life of Pi

2010-03-24T10:41:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I finished "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel. The recommendation for this book came unintentionally--I saw a friend reading it during church and figured it must be good if she was sneaking it into church meetings! ;) And even though the book is about 9 years old, I had to wait patiently on the hold list at the library to get it.

"Life of Pi" is about an Piscine "Pi" Patel, a 14 year old boy growing up in Pondicherry, India. Pi is the son of a zoo keeper, a born Hindu, and a convert to Christian and Muslim; as well as the sole (human) survivor of a ship wrecked on the way to Canada. He survives 227 days aboard a life boat with a Bengal tiger by the name of Richard Parker.

Enraged that I just spoiled the ending? Don't be. The author takes care of that for you. Yann Martel writes the book in such a way that you're not reading ahead to know what happens...he writes it about how, and perhaps why.

I really enjoyed the book. It's a novel with a lot of thought to it. It makes you think about man and nature, man and self, and man and God. Plans are to release the book as a movie in 2011 (M. Night Shyamalan is out, Ang Lee is in), but don't wait for the movie. I think the book is definitely worth while.

Watching Scotty Grow

2010-03-19T08:35:00.004-06:00

27 years ago today, Scott Mikal Tessem came into this world. In past years, you've heard all about the wonderful man I got to marry, but this year, I thought I'd let you in on the little boy Scotty before I knew him. So I went to the experts, Scott's parents, LaVon and Atle. They were kind enough to let me interview them and share some of their memories of Scott's birth and childhood here. Enjoy!

LaVon, Scott's Mom

Tell me about when Scott was born.

I went into labor early in the morning on a Saturday. It was still dark. I went downstairs to do some laundry and finish some ironing while I was still in labor. I have some pictures of the older kids singing to me while I folded cloth diapers. My sister, Shirley, and her daughter Fia'ana came down to stay with with Tiffany and Jeffrey and Melinda and we headed off for the hospital.

While I was in labor, I remember Atle watching a basketball game with the doctor. I felt like, "Excuse me? What about me?" I had Scott naturally, without any medication. We recorded his moment of birth on a tape recorder, so we still have that. Scott Mikal was delivered at 3:48 PM by Dr. Judd.

How did his siblings feel about his arrival?

They were so excited! They came to the hospital on Sunday to meet him for the first time. They were just so excited to have a baby brother. Jeff especially was just thrilled to have a brother! And even though Melinda was so little, she loved to look at him. Grandpa Steadman and Grandma Wilma also came down and saw him that day.

We went home on Monday in the evening. Dad had made a welcome home sign that said, "We are glad you are back from the hospital Mother. Scott Mikal, welcome home. We hope you will enjoy it here with us. Love, Father, Jeffrey, Tiffany, and Melinda."

I was also serving as Relief Society president at the time and they threw a shower for him with all of the women in the ward. He got so many nice things! I have pictures of him on the floor with all of his gifts around him.

Tell me about the song you always sing or play for him on his birthday, "Watching Scotty Grow." When did that tradition start? Where did you find that song?

I believe it's Bobby Goldsboro who sings it. I'm not sure how old he was when we started playing it for him, but I know he was old enough to understand it. My friend, Donna, found it for us. She made me a tape that had the song on it.

How was Scott as a baby and growing up?

He was just such a sweet little soul. I don't remember him being a challenging baby. He was a real little cuddler. And he was just such a pleasant little fellow. His little neck was so strong, he was always holding his head up. He was born with such beautiful hair. It was a little darker than it is now, but not as dark as Ellie's. And as he grew, he was such a tender little boy. I don't have any memories of him giving me grief as a little boy.

Do you have any memories or anything about Scott as a boy that you'd like to share?

He was just so tender hearted. So loving and so kind hearted.

Atle, Scott's Dad

LaVon tells me that you've got a great memory for stories. Do you have any stories or memories that you could share about Scott growing up?

When he was born, it seems like I was watching a basketball game with the doctor. I think LaVon felt like we weren't giving her enough attention.

Every year on his birthday, we would play that song for him about Scotty growing up.

I remember as a kid he was just so tender hearted. People just liked him. He would just climb up on their laps and they loved holding him.

When he was little he loved to crawl into bed with us. And he loved to play doctor. He used to hit my elbows and knees and look in my ears. He'd make sure I was healthy.

As he grew, he was in scouting and he had good friends. He didn't apply himself in high school like he does now. I think he really started to apply himself when he came home from his mission. But he learned Norwegian pretty good. I don't know that I've ever heard another missionary speak Norwegian as well as he does. I think Scott, he went after knowing weird words too.

As a young man, he was pretty athletic. He was good at basketball and he was fast, deceivingly fast. And he had long arms, so he could steal the ball and block because he could reach higher and farther than they thought he could.

I always imagine Scott as a mischievous little boy. Was he not?

I remember he used to throw his bananas under the car after school when he didn't want to eat them. And during high school, I think that he was a mischievous boy, but I didn't find out about it until after the fact.

Happy birthday Scotty. You are so loved.

And to all of our readers, I have changed our playlist to "Watching Scotty Grow" for your listening pleasure.

In Love with the Girl

2010-03-14T19:06:00.004-06:00

Nine months ago today, Scott and I were headed to the hospital to have my amniotic fluid levels checked. It'd been a high-risk pregnancy full of heparin shots, non-stress tests, ultrasounds and specialists. It was a Sunday evening, two days before our baby girl was due, and I wasn't dilated at all; but we took the bags "just in case." I surprisingly wasn't anxious. I know that at 9 months I should have just wanted her out already, but I liked being pregnant, even with all of the high-risk complications. I had prepared for the pregnancy: I had our birth plan written, practiced visualizing with Scott, and was ready to stand by the natural birth we had decided on.

Funny how life is like that. My amniotic fluid levels were a three. They had to take her. And next thing I know, I hear my baby crying as I'm strapped to the operating table undergoing a cesarean section. It was the most surreal, amazing sound.

Today, Ellie has been with us in the world as long as she was with us in utero. And I've got to say, as much as I loved being pregnant with her, she's even better in person. She's funny, curious, independent, stubborn, playful and funny. Scott and I are both totally in love with her. And look at her, how could you not be?

Happy 9 months Ellie! Thanks for being a part of our family.

Recent Reads: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

2010-03-11T08:46:00.004-07:00

As promised, a remarkable second post in two days! I thought I'd kick off my Recent Reads with my most recent read. Appropriate, no? I just finished "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life" this week. My twin sister, Kali, was the first one to tell me about the book. She then bought my parents a copy and after hearing them rave about the book as well, I just had to borrow it. And it definitely did not disappoint.

"Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" was written by novelist and New York Times bestseller Barbara Kingsolver, with the help of her oldest daughter and her husband Steven. It begins with Barbara moving with her two daughters from Tuscon, Arizona to an old farm with Steven in the Appalachian mountains of Virginia. There they begin a very committed experiment in local food. They resolve for one year to eat only what they can grow themselves or purchase from their neighbors. No oranges from Florida, no wine from California, and certainly no bananas from Chile.

They begin in March with the arrival of the asparagus and together they raise animals, plant vegetables, and harvest fruit from their orchard to provide the food they will need for their dinner that day, as well as through the "hungry months" of winter. The book chronicles many visits to the farmer's market, purchasing from neighbors, feeding a huge crowd on what they could grow in May, truffle hunting, weeks of canning, her daughter's homegrown egg business, home cheese making, and turkey sex.

Initially I had a difficult time really getting into the book, but that didn't last long. Barbara's writing is enthusiastic and the topic is naturally compelling. I walked away not necessarily prepared to become a locavore, but certainly with renewed enthusiasm for our garden, increased respect for plant and animal life, and a newfound pride in being a homemaker. It inspired a failed but earnest attempt to make our own cheese (darn you pasteurized milk!), and a serious excitement for our local farmer's market to kick off. I'm definitely convinced of the value of purchasing fresh, in-season, local ingredients and supporting our own farmers, even at a higher price.

For me, the book's teachings were familiar. Growing up, we raised chickens and rabbits, we planted and cared for a very large garden, and we spent weeks canning local fruits and vegetables to put away for the winter. My mom is a very innovative and talented cook and was a master at buying and cooking what was in season. Seriously, you should see what that woman can do with a zucchini. She can literally serve it for every meal. And my Dad, farm boy that he is, always taught us the value of hard work and a respect for where our meal comes from. But I think the book definitely holds a novelty and a vast amount of information for those who are new to this way of life too.

The teachings are important, the information is abundant, and the story is intriguing and entertaining. And what better time as winter turns to spring, little green plants begins to creep from the soil, animals bear new life, and summer promises an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Want a little taste of the book? Check out this handy preview from the folks at Harper Collins:

Browse Inside this book

Get this for your site

Recent Reads

2010-03-10T10:02:00.002-07:00

Hi, my name is Jessica and I'm a bibliophile.

I'm a bookworm, descended from a long line of bookworms. I come by it honestly. Growing up, my family read together every night. We would go to the library every week and come back with dozens of books. Each of us kids would leave with our arms full. And my Dad gets in this zone when he's reading where he becomes completely unaware of his surroundings. Seriously, you should try getting his attention.

If you are a Stewart, you know what I'm talking about. I think the reading gene is solidly instilled in every Phyllis Stewart descendant. It may go back farther than that, but for now, I'm blaming it on Grandma. It was always a joke when we had our big family reunions at the cabin in Idaho that you couldn't set down a book or it would wander off. Funny, 'cause it was true.

Summers at our house growing up were probably an unusual sight. I've lamented in the past that we didn't grow up on a street with lots of other kids our age. Truthfully, it probably wouldn't have mattered. All of us kids were inside or outside with books in our hands. One summer, my Dad established a rule that we had to do something other than read for at least two hours a day. One time my little sister, Jenny, told her friend about the rule. Her friend incredulously responded, "Your dad makes you read two whole hours a day?!" We were so misunderstood... I think my record one summer was 13 books in one week. Probably half Boxcar Children, half Holocaust books. That was my "thing" that summer. My wise parents made sure that we didn't just read fiction. I don't know if the Holocaust was necessarily the most age-appropriate topic, but it's what I wanted to read and read it I did.

Once I hit High School, my social life slowed my reading a bit. I still managed to polish off some Russian literature, including Crime and Punishment, (I'll admit though that I'm not a huge fan of Russian lit), as well as the unabridged version of Les Miserables. I will confess, however, that Atlas Shrugged got the best of me. Some day Ayn Rand, some day...

By college, recreational reading became a thing of the past. Virtually all of my reading was assigned reading for classes. I had a full load of school, worked full-time, got married, and suddenly found my non-existent free time very much occupied.

In the past several months, I've found myself in a radically different place in life. Suddenly the focus wasn't studying, homework, or career. I found myself at home all day long. I was trying to figure out just what it is I do anymore. I cooked, I gardened, laundered, shopped, washed, dried, cleaned, canned, attempted to sew (attempted being the operative word), comforted, fed, wiped, bathed, and played. Because that's what I'm supposed to do. Don't get me wrong, I like this new stage of life. It just seems so very, very different. I think maybe the transition just didn't come as easily to me as it does many moms.

Recently, however, I've discovered my love of reading again. It's been this comforting reacquaintance with a familiar part of myself. Walks to the library have become part of the important part of the routine with B & E, Ellie always gets stories before bedtime, Scott and I read together almost every evening, and nap time (as every mother knows) is the best time.

So, I've decided to start blogging about some of the books I have read/am reading. If you think you've recommended the book to me before, you probably have. I get a lot of my reading recommendations from you--on Facebook, your blogs, in person. And I'm always looking for more, so please share!

Stay tuned for my first Recent Read tomorrow! (Two posts in two days, shocking, I know.)

Gone Man, Gone

2010-02-28T19:24:00.006-07:00

(Shameless Sandlot reference...)

This was my hair yesterday:

And this is my hair today:

It was time. Not once today has my hair been chewed, pulled, spit up in, climbed up, or sucked on. It didn't get in the way when I nursed, when I put the diaper bag over my shoulder, or when I got dressed.

Now to figure out where to send that creepy bag of hair sitting on my counter. Somewhere that does NOT sell 80% of it's donations to pay their six figure salaries (ahem, I'm looking at you Locks of Love...)

P.S. If you need a good hairdresser in the Provo area, I found one that I love and can highly recommend!

Revenge of the Cyst

2010-02-25T16:54:00.005-07:00

(Clever title courtesy of Scott...he's been begging me to use it).

Several months ago, I started experiencing pain in my left wrist and hand. As the weeks went on, a large bump developed. It would come and go, depending on what I was doing at the time. Top of the offending actions list: folding laundry, doing yoga, and laying a baby down to sleep. Not good for a full-time mom! A couple of times, the pain got to the point that I simply couldn't use my left hand. It was time to go visit the doctor...

After a referral to an orthopedic specialist, it was decided that I would be going under the knife to take care of a nasty little something called a ganglion cyst. A couple of weeks ago, I had the nice little outpatient procedure. I was so fortunate to have the help of my wonderful parents and mother-in-law for a couple of days, and then I decided it was time to fly solo.

I won't go into any graphic detail for you, but my big adventure this month has been learning to change a dirty diaper of epic proportions on a very wriggly 8 month-old with one hand. Yeah. It wasn't pretty, there was a lot of crying and hollering (from both of us), but I was left with a strange sense of accomplishment and an odd new talent.

Yesterday, I finally got the stitches out and the splint off! (I cannot tell you how good it feels to wash my HAND, not just my fingers, and to shower without a bag over my arm!) It was a friendly little reminder of how our healthcare professionals LIE to us. Don't get me wrong, I respect them and couldn't live without them, but they LIE.

Have you ever heard the Brian Reagan comedy bit about when doctors tell you it's only going to hurt a little bit? Yeah, that was LIE number one. The nurse told me that most people only feel a slight stinging sensation when the stitches are removed and many don't feel it at all. LIE! I wanted to remove HER stitches after she played tug-of-war with the last one stuck in my arm!

And lie number two? The surgeon told me I'd have a "neat little Harry Potter scar" on my wrist when they were done. Oh yeah?

Well, VOLDEMORT, I think you're getting a little rusty on that wand work!

Okay, truth be told, I'm grateful that they were able to remove the cyst, grateful to have that bulky splint off, and excited to have normal use of my hand in a couple of weeks...even with that ugly scar.

Norway

2010-02-11T19:50:00.014-07:00

At the end of January I took a trip with the parents, both my brothers, my sister Tiffany and her husband Jason to the Father Land! The occasion was because my Grandfather turned 90 years old. It was an awesome experience to go back to Norway and be with that side of the family. We had so much fun together. Every time I go back to this beautiful country I feel like I am coming home.

Onkle Stein and Me saying goodbye.

We did some missionary work in Hell....colder than you would think

Bestefar aka Grandfather

Me and my Bestemor aka Grandmother

We are saying goodbye

Norwegian hot dogs are the best!! Mostly because they are wrapped in bacon!!

The crew in the back.

The Tessem farm

I tried on Onkel Steins amazing glasses

All of us at the church in Trondheim, it was also my last area on my mission

Happy Birthday Bestefar!!! We love you and look forward to seeing you again.

The Adventures of B and E

2010-02-04T10:10:00.013-07:00

Last month, I started tending a cute little 4 month old by the name of Brady. When his mom originally asked if I'd be interested in tending him, I had about 8 hours of freaking out that I couldn't handle 2 babies at once. As much as I love Ellie and as much as I was surprised at how maternal I actually am and how instinctual motherhood actually is, I didn't find the transition to stay-at-home mom to be an easy one. Getting anything done with a baby was so hard! I missed interacting with adults. And I've never really been a homebody. So the thought of a second little one freaked me out, but the realization that being able to supplement our income while staying home with Ellie was a tremendous opportunity eventually won out.

Meet Brady!

Thankfully, Brady is a very chill little guy. He's usually very happy and easily entertained. Initially, Ellie seemed a little bit unsure about having another little person around, but she warmed up to him. Here's Ellie talking to her new buddy.

And while I have found two babies to be quite the challenge, I'm getting better at it all the time. We've finally got an eating/napping schedule down well enough that we can have everyone rested, clean, and fed for long enough to leave the house. I've started taking them on walks with Brady in the stroller and Ellie in the backpack:

Here are the kiddos after their walk. Can you tell Ellie is a fan? Brady loved it too--don't let that tough-guy facade fool you.

And here are the cuties in their PJ's. Both of us moms were running a little late that day. Don't you love Ellie's bed head? Impressive, huh?

And here they are watching the Today Show. Matt and Merideth are just sooo entertaining.

While Brady is 3 months younger than Ellie, he's nearly as long and already weighs more than she does! Right now he's just getting the hang of rolling around and Ellie takes advantage of her more advanced mobility. Her favorite trick is to crawl over and steal his pacifier or "fie" when I'm not looking. And if Brady is between her and wherever she's decided to go, she'll crawl right over him instead of going around. Amazingly, this doesn't phase Brady at all. He's far too tough and cool for that. He just lies there and takes it. But I've been warning Ellie that she'd better play nice--he's going to be able to keep up with her in a few months and then she's in trouble!

I'm trying to appreciate that I only have to chase one of them down right now. Ellie has had a knack lately for getting into tight spaces and getting into trouble:

And she's figured out how to stand! We've had to drop down her crib mattress and remove her bumper pads to keep her from climbing out. And suddenly, baby proofing just got a lot trickier!

With these two, everyday is an adventure!

(Stay tuned for Scott's blog about his recent adventure in Norway! )

So You Had a Bad Day

2010-01-19T13:37:00.006-07:00

It's been a rough couple of days at the Tessem house. Ellie's come down with a nasty case of bronchiolitis and our week has already (is it only Tuesday??) been full of Dr's visits, insurance phone calls, pharmacy visits, and hooking our poor little girl up to this:

Which she is NOT a fan of. With baby sick, Mom still fighting off her cold, Dad pulling late hours at work, and this nasty January funk, it's been a rough day or two. But I got a nice burst of sunshine in the mail on this cold, gray day:

The cute new clutch I ordered on Etsy last week from Mary J Maalouf, complete with matching pocket mirror and a yummy vegan chapstick, and my first issue of Cuisine at Home, compliments of my sister-in-law Melinda.

Today's looking up. :)

"Hi Myself!"

2010-01-13T14:32:00.005-07:00

That was the first line in the letter I received in the mail this week. I thought that the azure-colored handwriting on the envelope was familiar, but it was the decoration of frog and flower stickers on the inside that jogged my memory. I had placed those on that letter 10 years ago in Ms. Hill's English class. I'd long since forgotten about that letter--my few memories of that English class were of working on my assignments to Enya and being forced to seat in between the mean boys because I was the nice quiet girl who wouldn't cause any trouble.

Also in the envelope was a letter from Mrs. Hill Houghton (she's since married and she still loves Enya) and a nice picture of myself in the 9th grade. Unfortunately for you, I don't have a scanner so you can't see it. ;) Let's just say that the glasses were a mistake and thank you Mom and Dad for the braces!

And since you're all dying to know what 9th grade Jessica wrote, here it is! (Sans the capslock this time--a little older, a little wiser).

Hi myself! I really hope you get this letter. Ms. Hill, my English teacher, is supposed to mail this letter to you in 10 years.

Right now you're in ninth grade at Oak Canyon Jr. High in Lindon, Utah. Dad is threatening to move us all out to Idaho onto a farm (yuck). There would be some good things about moving though. I would get either my own room or at least a bigger room. I could get my own dog then! I want a golden lab puppy really bad. (Still working on that...) I want to volunteer at a hospital as a candy striper. (Still haven't done that...) At school I'm on the newspaper/yearbook staff. It's really fun! Next week I'm actually going to try out for our school musical - Fiddler on the Roof! I hope I make it. (I didn't. I can sing, but acting is not a gift I possess. I did, however, cover the musical for the school paper).

My family is awesome, most of the time. Dad and I disagree on a lot of things, but I'm learning to just keep my big mouth shut and stay out of trouble. (Said like a true 14 year old girl). Mom is so wonderful. She's really busy but she always has time for me. (Still does!) Kali's pretty awesome. She can be the lumps to live with sometimes, but most of the time she's my best friend! Ben is really smart, almost annoyingly so. He can be fun to hang out with sometimes, though. Jenny and I are constantly fighting. We just can't agree on anything. She can be pretty bitter sometimes. (Ha ha, sorry Jen! I'm pleased to say that Jenny and I are great friends now and she's anything but bitter!) We still have our good moments together, occasionally. Joe is...well, an eight year old boy. Over all, I have a pretty neat family.

One of my best friends right now is Amanda Mayo. (Now married and living in TX. Wish we had more contact than we do). I'm also pretty good friends with some girls in my ward: Sarah Stillwell, Michelle Marsing, and Lindsay Sullivan. (Still know and like them all! Now we're mostly blogging buddies, although I just ran into Lindsay at the mall and Sarah brought her kids over to my house last week). They're really nice. I like people and wish making friends came easier to me than it does now. My role model right now, and for the last seven years of my life, is my Mom's cousin Becky. She's wonderful! (I pretty much wanted to BE Becky when I grew up. Actually, I still do).

Here are some things that are popular right now: flare jeans, leather jackets, pokemon cards, platform shoes, and butterfly accessories. I'm not real into that stuff. I usually just wear a pair of jeans, tennis shoes, and a comfortable shirt. I wonder what you think of that right now. (I say atta girl 9th grade Jessica! I'm wearing jeans and a t-shirt right now.)

In ten years I'll probably be married and have kids. If not, I hope that I'll be out of college with at least my Bachelor's degree, hopefully my Master's. I hope that I'll either have a cozy little house with my husband, or a nice apartment with awesome roommates. (Do you like how I had a contingency plan? Always hedging my bets). I want to have a beautiful, well-trained, golden retriever that I take to work with me at the hospital. I want to be an Occupational Therapist. I don't know if in ten years I can become a fully registered therapist with a good solid job or not, but I sure hope so. (I still like the idea. Maybe I'll do that next...)

I want to be the kind of person that people look up to. I want to help people. I want to be making a difference in somebody's life. I hope that I can keep on trying until I get there.

Love, Me

It's not the same without those great stickers, but close enough. :) I think 14 year old Jessica would be pretty pleased with 24 year old Jessica. I nabbed the Bachelor's degree, a very handsome husband, the cozy little house, and made one beautiful baby girl. I'm still holding out for the Master's degree and the golden retriever, but I'm sure there's plenty of time for that later.

So Mrs. Hill Houghton, thanks for sending that letter! That's truly amazing that you remembered (and paid for all the extra postage). And 9th grade Jessica, I promise to keep trying to be the kind of person that people look up to, to help people, and to make a difference in somebody's life. We'll get there.

Love, Me

Six Month Ellie

2010-01-06T13:32:00.013-07:00

Warning: This is a total Mommy bragging post. I'll admit it. If you're not in for a dozen pictures of my super cute baby girl and adorable anecdotes about her latest adventures, this post is not for you. Grandma, Bestemor, Grandma Jo, you're gonna love it. ;)

Ellie turned 6 months in December! As cliche as it is to say this, I really can't believe how fast time has gone by! I thought babies stayed little and helpless and immobile longer than this? Suddenly she can get around on her own and she's little Miss Independent. I think she's planning on moving out on her own next week...

We had her 6 month check-up a few weeks ago. I consider these my job performance reviews. I've always liked performance reviews. I like praise, I like feedback, and I even appreciate alittle constructive criticism. Since I no longer have an boss/employer to provide me with such feedback and my job description has drastically changed, I think the pediatrician will suffice just fine. I'm proud to say that Ellie is perfectly average for her weight and still extremely tall. She has slowed down a little and is only in the 95th percentile for height now. She'll be getting her third haircut this week! What can I say? The girl eats her veggies! We also found out that Ellie has outgrown her heart murmur and her head is no longer flat on the right side. (She'll thank me for that later).

Our baby girl is now sitting like a pro and has a mean army crawl that seriously borders on the real thing. She figured out how to get across the room all by herself just in time for presents under the Christmas tree, (pictures to follow). The house is no longer safe and we have someserious baby-proofing to do. She's added several new foods to her repertoire, most recently avocado. She's definitely moving up in the culinary world!

Her first Christmas was action packed, bouncing between grandparent's houses, lots of family to play with her, tissue paper to tear, wrapping paper to eat, and not nearly enough sleep. I think she enjoyed herself. :)

Now for all of those pictures you've been waiting for:

This is Ellie helping me make my bed. She's wearing one of my favorite little outfits. (Thanks Jeralee!)

Ellie waking up. Notice the number of pacifiers? Sometimes I add extra pacifiers to her crib to increase the chances of her self-soothing and putting herself back to sleep (and to alleviate my guilt at letting her cry it out). This particular night, she'd managed to corral all of them together!

Her first of many, many attempts to tip over the garbage can; this particular one was successful. I've since learned my lesson and there is no longer a garbage can in the living room.

She got caught opening a present before Christmas! (And check out that fabulous double chin!)

This is her telling Mom a story. She is very social. I wonder where she gets that from?

Ellie in her swaddling clothing at the Sorenson's live nativity. Our back door neighbors put on an AMAZING live nativity every year. They recreate Bethlehem in their backyard. I'm talking tents, beggars, shepherds, Caesar, food, marketplace, taxes, angels, innkeepers, the whole deal. Ellie loved it until the goose squawked at her and the Roman soldiers started yelling, then she was done.

Getting into more presents!

This is Christmas Eve with Dad.

And Mom. Aren't those pajama's great?

And THIS is what happens when Dad gets to do your hair. Poor girl.

And last but not least, this was Ellie on Sunday, showing off her mad sitting skills and her new tights.

Goals and Mortality

2009-12-29T14:51:00.002-07:00

Jess is always telling me that I obsess about my age, it’s not that I don’t like getting older it’s just that Birthdays are a yearly reminder of what I still have not done with my life. So many times I see something on TV and say that would be so awesome to be able to do. Or January 1 rolls around and I dream up things I would like to do only to lose focus and forget about my goals that I was so excited about. So as I will be turning 27 this year it made me think of things that I want to do before I turn 30. So here’s the list in no particular order.
1. Get my Masters degree
2. Drive across America from coast to coast
3. Run a Marathon
4. Visit Arlington National Cemetery
5. Be a member of the audience in a TV show
6. Go up in a hot-air balloon
7. Work on relationship with God
8. Go to Blue Grass Festival
9. Teach Jess and Ellie Norwegian
10. Volunteer more
11. Train for Ironman competition
12. Read the top ten classic novels
13. Dunk a basketball again…..that was 30 pounds ago.
14. Take Jess to Grand Canyon
15. Go to a BBQ competition
16. Read the whole Bible….again
17. Not have a shoulder surgery
18. Visit the Smithsonian
19. Eat real Chicago style pizza
20. Eat real New York style pizza
21. Learn how to play at least one song on the guitar
22. Read to Ellie every night
23. Buy another investment property
24. Visit Gettysburg
25. Make Lutefisk
26. Have a clambake on a beach
27. Learn to play golf
28. Visit Mount Rushmore
29. Watch citizen Kane
30. Milk a cow

O Christmas Tree!

2009-12-07T15:18:00.008-07:00

When Scott and I were married, we had two very different ideas about the kind of Christmas tree we should have. He grew up with a fake tree, and I always had a real tree growing up. Mr Accountant felt that a fake tree was simply the smart, economical way to go. Mrs Sentimental, on the other hand, felt that a fake tree would be an insult to the very spirit of Christmas. So, we struck a deal. We would borrow a fake tree from his parents for Christmas until we had children, and then we would get a real tree...for the kids, you know.

Well, thanks to Ellie, I got my real tree this year! But best of all, we got to go cut it down in the mountains! My family was able to do that once when I was a child, and it's one of my fondest Christmas memories, so when my Dad told me he knew of someone who owned property up Provo canyon who might let us go cut our own tree, I jumped at the chance!

Saturday afternoon, we hiked up through the mountainside in pursuit of our trees. It was perfect, cold and quiet, and it started to snow just as we started up the trail. It took a nice hike up through a lot of brush oak, but we found our trees!

The great lumberjacks.

(Mom was in NM visiting the new grandchild).

And one to prove that I was there.

(By the way, the cute little shawl around Scott's head is the Moby wrap that he carried Ellie in).

Joe looking very "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers"...

and Jenny looking all cute and snow bunny-ish.

When we got home with out tree, we had places to go and things to do, but Scott made sure the tree got decorated that night, even though it required us staying up way past our bedtime. Here is our beautiful, perfectly imperfect, wonderfully smelling, real tree!

Welcome Jeremiah!!

2009-12-02T10:09:00.005-07:00

Check out my handsome new nephew!!

Kali, my twin sister, gave birth to Jeremiah Bobby Jordan on Sunday, November 29th. This beautiful little guy weighed in at 6 lbs, 9.5 oz and was 20.5 inches long. (Apparently we Stewart girls grow 'em long!) From first contraction to birth, she only took 3 hours! And she did the whole birth naturally. What a woman!

(Doesn't it look like he's smiling?)

Welcome to earth little one. We love you Jeremiah and can't wait to meet you!

Feed Me!

2009-11-23T13:45:00.006-07:00

This post is about something very important in the Tessem household... food! We LOVE good food. We love to buy it, cook it, eat it, admire it, watch it be made, grow it, read about it, you name it. For example, on Saturday we cooked a Thankgiving dinner, just for fun. We're talking the real deal--turkey, mashed potatoes, pan gravy, rosemary butternut squash, homemade cranberry sauce, cornbread sage stuffing, caramelized onion flatbread, the works. Just because we wanted to try some new recipes; and for the leftovers, of course.

Yeah, we like food.

So you can imagine our excitement to introduce real food to our first born! I did my research and I knew to expect some resistance during that first feeding. Looks like the baby books are wrong again:

If those cute little outstretched arms are any indication, she is indeed our daughter! She loved it! Over the past few weeks, we've slowly added new foods, most of which she approves. Rice cereal: yes, Broccoli: okay, Butternut Squash: big no (much to our disappointment and her Uncle Joe's delight), Peaches: yes please! We've also let her suck on a couple of foods to satiate her curiosity. She's a fan of tart apples but not sweet apples or pears, and the funnest discovery of all:

She LOVES pickles!

Maybe it shouldn't be much of a surprise; I craved pickles like crazy when I was pregnant with her; I went through jars of them. And, pickles were my very first food. The story is that my Mom left Kali and I with our Grandma Stewart and Aunt Vikki when we were six weeks old while she went grocery shopping. She came back to find us each clutching pickles in our little hands and sucking away. Thanks Grandma!

Ellie is looking forward to Thanksgiving on Thursday almost as much as Scott and I are now... we promised she could try mashed potatoes. ;)

Eat on our little foodie, eat on.

Thanks Thanksgiving!

2009-11-19T16:09:00.002-07:00

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, for this reason I feel like I have to stick up for America’s forgotten holiday. Sometimes I wish there were more Thanksgiving movies or Thanksgiving songs ( I’m thinking Giblets Roasting on an Open Fire) that I could enjoy during this time of the season, unfortunately all I have right now is Garfield’s Thanksgiving and a pumpkin pie candle, which would be fine if I wasn’t assaulted by Jolly Saint Nick every day after Halloween. I just wish Christmas would wait until the 4th Friday in November to steal the show….. Isn’t that month enough?? I guess my thinking is that if I wait to celebrate Christmas I feel that I am keeping it special, if I celebrate Christmas for 2 months of the year it somehow lessens it. I guess I could buy a bb gun and start shooting those stupid blow-up Christmas monstrosities (seriously I HATE those) to vent my frustration but I think blogging is the more peaceful approach. Anyway I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

DUPED!

2009-11-13T10:03:00.002-07:00

I suffer from chronic chapped lips, for this reason I keep 3 cap sticks in circulation at all times, 1 at work, 1 in the car, and 1 in my bedroom. Recently the bedroom one ran out and I asked Jess if she had one that I could replace it with. She pulled out this green can of what I thought was Vaseline called Bag Balm. I being grateful for the reprise from chapped lips gladly accepted this to be “high end” Vaseline. 3 days go by and I keep using this amazing product, my lips feel great as kissable as ever. Then, I notice the picture on the side of the can…….what in the world could that be……? So I pick up the can and start the read what Bag Balm really is.

BAG BALM Since 1899, BAG BALM has been the farmer's friend helping keep dairy cows from becoming chapped from the harsh Vermont environment. It's like having another hand on the farm or a helper around the house. BAG BALM works hard all year round 0 and works well. There's nothing like the original, and that's what you get when you buy this familiar green can.For chapped conditions and superficial abrasions. After each milking, apply thoroughly and allow coating to remain on surface. This protective ointment helps to keep superficial tissue moist and soft. In case of deep puncture wounds seek medical help. Discontinue use if rash or irritation occurs. Keep this, and all medications, away from children.Massage thoroughly and allow ointment to remain for full softening effect. BAG BALM contains lanolin and stays on to provide moisturizing and softening. For pets, apply BAG BALM liberally to the affected area. For use on cows, thoroughly wash treated teats and udder with separate towels before each milking. To avoid contamination after each milking, bathe the udder with plenty of hot water, strip milk out and dry skin. Apply BAG BALM freely and massage gently with this proven ointment twice daily. This product contains no alcohol.

WHAT THE CRAP!!

Suffice it to say that I had no idea that Jess shopped at Pets Mart for some of our human products…

Halloween

2009-11-02T21:08:00.009-07:00

While Scott refuses to recognize Halloween as a "real" holiday (that's a whole other post...), we did celebrate this weekend. We kicked the holiday off with sugar; appropriate, no?

These are the caramel apples we made with my family. In an attempt to imitate some of the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory's apples, we definitely stepped it up a notch this year! I think the vote for the "favorite" was pretty evenly split between the walnut white chocolate, the oreo, and the "apple pie" caramel apple--caramel, white chocolate, and cinnamon sugar. Sooo good!

And the eagerly anticipated first Halloween costume...

Ellie was a pig! Or more appropriately, H1N1. Never wanted to catch swine flu until now, did ya?

Dad caught it...

and so did Mom! I'm telling you, this little piggy is highly contagious.

Jason and Tiffany and the kids came down from Idaho for the weekend! Here are the Daddys. Don't you love the pirates?

And the girls were lovely hula dancers. Here they are in action!

And here's proud Bestemor with her Utah and Idaho grandkids.

While we couldn't quite justify getting Ellie to steal candy for us just yet, Caitlyn and Aubrey were very generous with their spoils. :) But next year, get ready to earn your keep Ellie! ;)

Drawing the Line

2009-10-21T14:23:00.002-06:00

I grew up as a bit of a tom-boy. I preferred jeans to dresses and would gladly play in the backyard instead of make crafts or dress up, although I did all of those things. Up until Jr. High, I sported my favorite hair do -- the page boy. And once, in high school, I met my date at the door wearing the exact same outfit, down to the guy's sandals (which I'd borrowed from my little brother), the blue Ralph Lauren t-shirt, and the knee-length denim shorts. Yeah.

Since then, I've learned to embrace my feminine side a bit more, much to my mother's pleasure. I got my ears pierced, I wear mascara and occasionally even lip gloss and blush, I don't mind dresses, my hair is usually long and girly, and I think my wardrobe finally leans more towards "woman" than "unisex."

Luckily, this transition means I don't really mind dressing up my baby girl. She owns a ridiculous amount of pink and several articles of clothing with ruffles. And while I'll admit to buying her boy pajama's (see previous post), I'm not opposed to putting flowers and bows in her hair. I think I've come a long way, but today, I draw the line:

I found this little gem while browsing children's clothing on Etsy. I will not put my daughter in a flower that is literally bigger than her head! That's just cruel.

Autumn Ellie

2009-10-19T19:22:00.009-06:00

To those of you still reading this, thanks! We love you and now know who our true friends are. ;) So, here are some new pics of our cute girl. I'd post pictures of the other things going on in our life, but looking through the camera, it would seem that Ellie is the only thing we take pictures of anymore.

This is Ellie watching the game, complete with tasty beverage and remote control. I don't know why, but for some reason Ellie seems really mesmerized by football on TV. She's a Daddy's girl already!

This picture shows how long and skinny this little girl is--and her legs are even longer than her torso! Must be some more of those Tessem genes. She had her 4 month appointment today and she is still in the 98th percentile for height! Looks like we might have a cousin Tina on our hands!

Ellie hates bathing, but luckily for us, she loves to shower!

Some amazing needlework for Ellie's room from Tante Melinda!

Asleep in her swing/bouncy chair. This thing is amazing! My coworkers bought it for her and I'm telling you--if this thing could feed her and change her diapers, I'd be out of a job--it has two different intensities of soothing vibration, six speeds, it plays classical music, and makes nature sounds! It's ridiculous! (And for those of you wondering, yes, she is in boy's pajamas. I got sick of all the pink.)

Our little convict. She managed to get both hands caught in her teething ring, LOL! I love the guilty little look on her face--like she just got caught doing something naughty.

Life is good--my days are not only full of diapers, feeding, and laundry, but now they're also full of playtime, autumn walks, smiles, and giggles. The transition from the workforce to the homeforce has been easier than I anticipated. An adorable little girl and a wonderful husband sure make it easier. Scott has been working long, hard hours at the office, but considering all the unemployment right now, I feel grateful that he has such a great job.

And good news--I finally have a computer again! Ours died about 2 months ago and I've been feeling shut off from the world without it. So, here's promising to post more often! Happy fall!