Bread and Sickness

Felix likes to help. Like with everything. "WeWe help!" is something we hear a lot around here. He's even tried to helpfully get his little sister out of the swing for me before. Yikes!

So when his bahma made bread last week, he jumped right in.

(Amelia doesn't cuddle. Like ever. But when she's ready to sleep, she loves her daddy's shoulder like nothing else.)

We found a spider. Let me be clear, we find a lot of spiders around here. It's been worse in the past, but I'm hoping the hobos will stay away from the kids. This one was red, so after I hit it with a shoe (it was sauntering down the hallway) I took a picture. Anyone know what kind this is? Felix went to spend the day with his cousin Luke on Monday. Would have been perfect if Luke hadn't been totally snotty. Felix got it full force. Not sure what's up with Amelia, but she's been really fussy lately too. Felix is coughing so hard he's been throwing up. Poor kids are both miserable. And that means Brent and I are pretty miserable too. Thank heavens for simple pleasures: (works perfectly with our toaster oven. We can get 8 cookies on the little tray so we each get 4. Makes us feel like we're getting a huge treat but keeps us from totally pigging out. Yeah, so some people's definitions of "pigging out" is like 3 cookies, but mine is at least 5.)

Movie Review: Monsters vs. Aliens

Catching up on the movie reviews...
I can't leave this one out. It's Dreamworks, which won't matter to you unless you know anything about movie studios. This is made by the same people that made the Shrek movies, not all the lovable Pixar or Disney movies. The fact that I loved it (Brent did too) says a lot.

This has great casting - the voices work well with the characters, and they're not so unique to the actors that you can't help but think about those actors when you hear them.

The characters are developed well too. There's enough background on the most important one - Susan (the really tall one) - that you feel connected to her. You care about what happens. And yet, you're not bogged down by too much back story.

In a quick synopsis, a group of so-called monsters is recruited to battle an evil alien.

We saw the movie in 3-D and enjoyed it immensely. It was very fun, had great pacing, the effects were wonderful, and we're crossing our fingers that it is released in 3-D.

Monsters vs. Aliens is rated PG for some mild peril, I guess. If you see it in 3-D, it costs extra for the glasses, but I think it's worth it. Matinee perhaps?

I give it 3 1/2 out of 4 stars. Yeah, I know my last few have all gotten the same score. They've all been very good movies, but for very different reasons. This one happens to be great for the whole family. :)

Movie Review: Slumdog Millionaire

This is a story about a kid from the slums of Mumbai getting on the show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. That's really all there is to it, but this movie is a lot more complex than it seems.

It starts out with the guy winning lots of money on the show and being arrested on suspicion of fraud. The movie is basically him telling the cops how he knew the answers.

This all being said, the movie is haunting and devastating and hopeful and beautiful.

It is a series of events. Just a series of events. It is rated R because those events are often intensely unpleasant.

If you're not vehemently opposed to seeing rated R movies, this is one to see. I give it 3 1/2 out of 4 stars. It really does deserve all the accolades it gets.

Movie Review: Pan's Labyrinth

Brent and I finally got around to watching this. Netflix is awesome, by the way. It starts out with a little girl in 1944 in Spain, so you kind of get the immediate feeling that war is the background. Her mother gets married to some beastly general-type and about 8 months pregnant, they go out to the country to be with him. He says his son should be born where his father is.

This step-father is a cruel piece of work, and since her mother is confined to bedrest, the little girl goes off in the woods, finding a labyrinth.

Does it sound at all familiar? There are definite magical elements to the story, what with this girl's contact with other-worldly creatures, but the story feels familiar. It feels a bit like Spiderwick Chronicles, a little like Secret Garden, and a bunch of other stories. But this really is unique. It's haunting and compelling and it draws you in. It leaves you feeling all sorts of conflicting emotions, but I promise that's a good thing.

Oh, this is the movie that M. Night Shyamalan should have made instead of that disaster Lady in the Water. This is what a made-up fairytale with a dark twist should look like.

Pan's Labyrinth is rated R for some graphic war violence (all at the hands of this general guy - there's not a lot, but it's enough to make you cringe and hate the guy). Also, it's in Spanish. I give it 3 1/2 out of 4 stars. Not for everyone, but a very good show.

Felix's angel

A post for a Sunday

I'm exhausted. Even though Amelia is consistently sleeping through the night (oh, what joy... she sleeps from about 8:30 at night till about 6:30 in the morning), I'm not getting nearly enough sleep. I'm sure it's partially because I get crappy sleep. It's just never enough.

My foot hurts. I have no idea why. It actually hurts in two different spots, and each spot hurts very differently. Seriously, no idea.

Went to Chris Heimerdinger's wedding reception yesterday. Nice to see him happy. He's had a couple years of weirdness.

Saw my adorable friend Jenica yesterday for a Pampered Chef party. Pleasant. Plus, I love Pampered Chef. I think I'm going to host a party. Anyone interested? I just want the opportunity to buy more goods for myself honestly. :)

And I bought a new bra. I'm not sure if any men read my blog, and if they do I apologize in advance. I was shocked at the size I had to buy, but extremely happy with the results. 44L. Yeah.

It took me an hour and a half to get Amelia asleep at church and then Felix needed immediate attention. Brent told me after church that she had woken up as soon as I left her with him to take Felix. She's down now, probably for a good 4 hour nap.

and that's exactly where I want to be. I did take some fun pics this week, so I'm posting them. They don't exactly need explanation, so enjoy! (in this picture Felix is fast asleep. He stayed that way - standing up and supporting himself with his arms out - till I tickled his hand and he moved his arm and fell down. I felt guilty.)

Misunderstood

Why is it that so many people seem eager almost to misunderstand others' words? It feels like they just want an excuse to get angry or offended or depressed.

What's so wrong with giving people the benefit of the doubt? I don't think that trusting and protecting yourself are mutually exclusive behaviors.

There is nothing to gain from ascribing the most negative motives possible to everyone in your life. It's selfish and prideful to assume that everyone is as callous or mean as you are. It just makes everyone involved miserable. It drives people away, destroys connections, kills all potential friendship.

Life is much too short.




(Please understand that we are all guilty of pessimism at times. If you think this is too harsh, then maybe it's aimed at you. Sorry, I get blunt when I'm sleep deprived. I love you all anyway.)

Family visit and petting zoo

My sister and her husband came up from Arizona for conference weekend, but on Sunday they went to California - where they are now stationed. We compared babies - Ammon was born the end of October and Amelia was born the end of November. What do you think about the size difference? It was a great visit and I look forward to visiting them in San Francisco sometime soon.

Yesterday Amelia got two shots at the doctor's office. Instead of going home, we took my sister Judy to see her doctor because she wasn't feeling great. Turned out it was more serious even than she thought and she was admitted to the hospital.

Felix got a call from his cousin Luke who wanted to play with him, but since I was busy with Judy at the hospital we decided to have the boys play today. I thought it would be nice to take the kids to the petting zoo, and we decided their cousin Genevieve should come too.

So, here are a couple of pictures from our trip to the petting zoo at Thanksgiving Point. It was a very fun day...

Better Pic?

I was told that maybe if I cropped the pic I would look better instead of older. I know I need lots of good sleep and a much better angle and lighting. But I really think that shorter hair looks better on me. I guess I don't really care if you agree or not. I like it and that's really all that matters. Right?

A weight has been lifted

... from my head! Here are the before and after pics:

I was so sick of wearing my hair in a pony tail every single day. Especially since I have to wear it up at night because otherwise it chokes me and wakes me up. Who knew that hair would want to wind itself around your neck as you sleep?

I took my mom and Felix and both my mom and I got our hair done. We walked the half a mile to Devron's house for the appointments. On the way home I felt so, well, free. To feel the breeze on my scalp and not have to pull my hair out from my collar was a fantastic feeling. I put it off way too long.