Dads

I'll admit it... I never realized how important dads are, till I became a mom. Don't get me wrong, I have an amazing dad. He took us to Worlds of Fun at the end of the school year, if our grades were good. We got hotdogs at Royals games and he cracked us up, just by saying the word schniclkegruber. When it came to my mom or dad taking us to the park, I would way rather go with my dad. He could push the merry-go-round so fast, we would hold tight to the bars and our legs would go airborne. All this being said, it was my mother who seemed so central to my life. How could our family exist without her.
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My mom is still central, but my dad has joined her there. Being River's mom is a joy, but I have time to revel in the happiness of it all, because Bear takes him off my hands when I need a minute. He goes to work every night and doesn't complain. He cooks the meals on days when I am frazzled and always likes whats for dinner, even when it is boring. He made me understand that my own dad probably had other things he'd rather do than commute 45 min to work and work at a car plant.
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I know dads sometimes take the supporting role in the eyes of their kids, but thank goodness for that support. I love you dad and Bear.... I know River loves you like crazy! Happy Father's Day.

Rapunzel

We took River up the canyon last week. I always say up the canyon, like I still live in Logan and there is only one. Without fail, people ask, "Which one?" Which thouroughly confuses me and then I remember I live in Salt Lake and am surrounded by canyons. I get so into city mode, I forget there is a lot of nature around. Both times I've lived in Salt Lake, the stay was supposed to be short lived, so I've never bothered to become super familiar with it. Maybe one day I'll learn the canyon names, or maybe I'll just move back to Logan. Anyway, he had a lot more fun than his face in this picture would suggest, but I just had to share it. What a cutie.
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I babysat for a friend today. She has two little girls and so I was introduced to the movie Tangled. Despite the fact, I was definitely no Rapunzel at the time of my hair coloring (see picture above for proof... the roots are half the hair) I thought it might be a poor movie choice for a girl who just gave up her blondem. I like my dark hair a lot, but watching her golden, sparkly tresses was making me feel like a boring brown crayon. Without giving away the ending, I'd like to report, I was completely wrong and it was the perfect movie for me to watch today.
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When do you have to stop thinking you're the Disney Princess in the movie. I suppose when you have daughters. I guess it's a pass the torch kind of thing. Looks like I have a little while, so please refer to me as... well never mind... Rapunzel is kind of a silly name, but don't be suprised if I respond everytime I hear someone say your majesty.
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Speaking of not having daughters, I am completely entrenched in boy world. That was proved to me today, while changing the diaper of the little girl I was babysitting. I jumped a foot when I opened up the diaper and there was no penis. I quickly realized I wasn't changing River and all was well, but I sure wish I had a video of my face in that moment. Since I've already taken this blog post down to diaper level, I'll go one notch lower and tell you that River peed on my couch tonight in the two seconds I had his diaper off. Anybody feel like coming over and watching Tangled? Don't worry. We'll put down a towel.

Day Two

Good thing I wrote my goal of posting everyday till July down, because man I am tired, but you can't be a quitter on day two. Please admire this post. I really had to dig deep for it.






This is a total dad outfit... meaning his dad picked it out. What... tye-dye and plaid don't go together???? They're both blue! I find these mismatched outfits really charming.

I'm banking on none of you being able to remember long enough to use these pictures to embarrass my son. River is in the monkey see, monkey do phase of life. He wants to be just like us and copies everything we do... including trying to put on my bra every morning. He stretches it across his chest and walks around for a few minutes, before he hands it back to me. I revel in these innocent moments. To think we were all like that once... no expectation of what is cool, or acceptable, just whatever we felt like in the moment.

Oh yeah.... and by the way... I colored my hair dark brown. I didn't even add highlights. Oh Boy! I was in total shell shock. As it usually does, money won out and I was a little swayed by Bridge Mihalik's awesome photo. After about four hours, I started to like it. Six years ago, I told Bear, "Never let me dye my hair brown and never let me cut bangs." Well, oops I did it again.

Tell me what you think. You can't possibly have a worse reaction than River. His smile of joy, at thinking his mom was home, turned into a terrified look of panic, when he thought I had been body-snatched. I think it confused him really bad. Even after the initial shock wore off, he wouldn't look at me for about twenty minutes. I had to buy him off with a green m&m. They really do taste the best.

The Juice

That's what we call catching up with each other... give me the juice... as in the juicy details. I'm sorry I don't have anything too juicy for this post. I am 32 1/2 today. Whooohooo for half birthdays! It's a good reason to indulge in a treat. I'm always on the lookout for treat eating excuses. Unfortunately, River will have to celebrate turning 18 months without a half birthday, as June does not have a 31st. Looks like more treats might be needed to right that wrong. Also, I heard a rumor that Father's Day is coming up. More treats please! For Bear of course... but someone has to lick the spoons while they make em.
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I have been slacking a little on my blog. We've been busy trying to beat the heat and ever since I "upgraded" my browser, blogger really likes to fight with me. It seems to be getting better, so to celebrate turning 32 1/2, I am challenging myself to post something everyday till July. That way I can catch you up on all the juicy summer goodness we've been partaking of.
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Back to indulgences, indulge me in the matter of my great hair debate. I know there are important things going on in the world, but I am part actress, so my hair will always be somewhere on my mind.... maybe shoved down deep at the back... but still there. So here's the question, for the last few years, I have been doing the Jennifer Ansiton (not really blond, not really brunette) thing and I am bored of it, so do I go blonder (dead noon era) or browner (bloody mary era)?

Reasons for going blonder... my Mom likes it better, I always feel most like myself as a blonde and Summer starts next week.

Reasons for going browner... it matches my headshot and those suckers are pricey, roots don't show up as quick and that makes my pocketbook smile and I've always been more of a Fall person anyway.

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If you care to, let me know your opinion. I am doing the deed tomorrow, whatever that turns out to be.

No Look

What is No Look, you ask.... Why, it is my new favorite thing. Actually, it's been my favorite thing since mid March. Right after River started walking, he decided he needed more of a challenge and started walking with his eyes closed. River has a silly streak and No Look walking has turned into No Look eating (aka A bigger mess than you ever thought possible!) and No Look dancing (aka Get out the bandaids!) I haven't been lucky enough to catch all of his No Look antics on video, but here is a taste of the pure joy River brings me each day.