I have a baby and

A giant box of packing peanuts....

C'mon, tell me you would have done anything else!

Our Son turned One- Fun!

I am WAAAY behind on blogging once again. Its certainly not lack of motivation or writers block. This time, it is lack of TIME! Life has been crazy lately and between work, church, and family, there is just not a lot of down time. If there is, I choose sleep!

Isaac's birthday was great. I decided to get cake creative for the first time in my life. When you see the images to follow, please just remember FIRST TIME-NOT AN EXPERT, that is why it looks so strange.

We needed two cakes of course. One for guests to enjoy and one for Isaac to destroy. For the smash cake, a filled a few ramekins with red velvet cake batter:

I used the remaining batter to make cupcakes. And I am sure you already get the idea, but here is what I did next.

For the guests cake, I found some instructions for a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cake on http://www.playhousedisney.com/. Here is my interpretation:

I forgot to put the blue frosting in the windows. Oh well. Pretty gross looking huh? Isaac's friends and well wishers were kind enough to choke it down with some ice cream:).

Isaac provided most of the entertainment of course!

After a quick bath, it was time for gifts. Like they always say, Isaac was a lot more excited by the box then the gifts. Good thing he had friends to who all wanted to help open them!

All in all, it was a fantastic day. In fact, Isaac said it was his best birthday ever! Thank you to everyone who celebrated with us here and in spirit.

It's a Party!!!

Or, a little gathering..... or something.....

Isaac is turning 1 year old on Saturday! I can't believe it. This has been by far the busiest, and most fun year of my life. We should definitely celebrate!

I am not entirely sure how to organize a proper party for a 1 year old, but one way or another, it is sure to be a cake smashing good time! This, by the way is your official invitation:).

What: Mr. Man's (aka Isaac's) 1st Birthday Shindig
When: Saturday, May 24th 2008 3:30 PM
Where: Our House (call me if you need my address. I probably shouldn't post it on the www....)
Why: Because you love Isaac, Cake and Ice Cream, Kids, and mingling with new and interesting people, and maybe even showing off your WII Sports and Guitar Hero Skills, and run-on-sentences, and.... sorry...

So give me a call and let me know if you will attend. We would love to see you, especially if we haven't seen you in a while. 801 867 8477.

Sacramento

So Ashley's comment a couple posts ago reminded me that I need to offer a little update on my life. I haven't done this because things are still so up in the air with so many things, but we have been able to figure out a couple of things, so here goes.

After a lot of thought, consideration and prayer about the job thing, Bryce and I both knew that it would be best for everyone (especially Isaac) if I stayed home to be his mom. The trouble was that we still knew that one income just wouldn't work. I continued to look for and interview for positions, hoping that the right thing would finally come along. I wanted to somehow get an offer that I felt great about, even though it would mean Isaac going to day care. Not necessarily a money thing, just a good fit.....

I actually wound up with a few offers. That almost sounds snobby. I don't mean to sound that way. I know there are a lot of people who have a hard time getting a job. But, its true. I got a few offers, and they were pretty good. I just didn't get a good feeling about any of them though. Neither did Bryce. The last offer I got, I actually did feel good about. I liked the company, the pay, and most importantly, the co-workers. Everything seemed to fit, and although I still didn't feel good about leaving Isaac (who would feel good about that?), I think I finally felt ready and that this was the offer I was waiting for. At the same time though, my father in-law called with an offer from his company that would allow me to work PT from home doing HR/Benefits/payroll for his company. That is the ideal situation. I am so lucky to have this opportunity to help my family with extra income and still take care of my son. It was a little hard to turn down the other offer, but I think I made the right choice.

There will be more adjustments to be made in the months to come. We will almost certainly be moving to a smaller more affordable place closer to Bryce's work, and probably looking for a more fuel efficient vehicle. We have made a lot of sacrifices, and there will be more to come, but I think that we are headed in the right direction.

So, last week Isaac and I went to Sacramento so that I could spend some time in the office getting set up for my new position, and Isaac could spend some time with his Grandparents and his Aunt Jennie. We had a wonderful time. Isaac had some mommy issues as this was his first time really being away from me for more than a 3 hour stretch. He did great with Grandma all day, but when I would get home in the afternoon, he did not want to let me out of his sight. He is doing better now that we are home, but I think separation anxiety is just something we will be dealing with for the next few months as part of his age.

Isaac Playing with Aunt Jennie. We loved going on walks with her every night!

Grandma Barnett has the best toys!

Isaac got to open some birthday gifts from Grandma and Grandpa Barnett early. He especially loved his new books. As you can see, he is also a proud Jazz fan. It is required of all family members. On this particular day, he was supporting D-Will in an at-home victory over the Lakers. Isaac is disappointed that the Jazz are out of the playoffs, but he is already focusing on next season.

Pay it Forward

This is a fun little thing called PAY IT FORWARD!!! Here is what you do the first 3 people who comment to this post will receive a homemade gift from yours truly (within in a month). Then you have to do the same! Post it on your blog, a make a homemade gift for the first 3 people who comment!! Let's keep Payin' it forward:)

P.S. If you are not in Utah, you can still participate, but I should warn you in advance that your "homemade gift" will probably be something like an MS Paint picture that I do for you. It will look very etch-a-sketchy and will probably be of a flower or perhaps a portrait of you. I promise to get the shading on your upper lip just right:).

Where's Isaac?

This has become a constant concern for me lately. Isaac is not quite walking yet, but he has turned into a little explorer. I keep a pretty sharp eye on him, but it is amazing how quickly he escapes. He usually gives himself away though. He likes to start crawling away as fast as he can, and he lets out a huge squeal as he does it and he will stop briefly to turn and look at me to make sure I will chase him. It is one of his favorite games. Something that takes a great deal of my time each day now is replacing all things he pulls out of drawers and cabinets. I have resisted the baby proofing thing because I thought I could simply teach him boundaries. Ha! I am such a fool. I think it might be time to get those annoying cabinet latches. It is so much fun to see him learning and discovering new things, but it was not fun for Bryce and I to spend a half hour last weekend trying to figure out how to dislodge two balls and a squishy alien thing from a speaker.

The trapped toys, posing atop their temporary prison post rescue.

Just a few of the devices used in the rescue. Yes, that is gum. Not pictured-the kabob skewers.

Today I was getting ready in the master bathroom while Isaac was supposed to be in the room right next to me watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. But I noticed it was quiet... too quiet. I went out of the room and heard noise coming from down the hall. When I checked the half bath, I discovered this:

He is just too cute for me to be angry. I try to keep the doors shut wherever I want him to stay out, but Molly's bed is in this bathroom and I want her to be able to get in and sleep when she wants to. Oh well, there plenty of worse things he can get into than toilet paper.

Key Lime Pie!

Key Lime Pie is Bryce's favorite desert. I have never met a pie I didn't like, so I sure don't mind making it and eating it. I have made it a few time in the past few months, but I was psyched to make some this week because the grocery store had ACTUAL KEY LIMES for the first time ever! I usually just make it with normal lime juice, and it is still really good, but using key lime juice made a huge difference. This is the best it has ever turned out.

The recipe is not a secret or anything. It is the one in the Betty Crocker Cookbook. If you don't have it and you want it, let me know and I will email it to you. I don't want to get sued or something for posting it here. Here are a couple of Key Lime Pie tips though:

1. Maybe you all already know this and I was just dumb the first time I made it, but graham cracker crusts burn too. Make sure to put foil around the edge for best results.

2. I am kind of against eating green stuff. Key Lime Pie is only green if you put green food coloring in it, so that's up to you. I leave it out.

3. Your Key Lime Pie should chill in the fridge for at least two hours and is then good for up to three days. We have found that the pie is at its peak of tastiness about 12-24 hours after cooking. It gives the lime time to "calm down" a bit, so the flavor is still nice and limey, yet sweet. Sometimes when I have it the day I make it, the lime is still really strong and it makes my tummy hurt a little.

I just love summer food, and I love to bake. I am not going to turn this into a recipe blog or anything, but I am sure I will post a few more tasty treats in the coming months.