Always in search of a deal...

So once again, I have no idea how we got from January to April without any posts. Oh wait, I have an almost-2 year old that is getting PRETTY independent. She likes to say "NO", whether or not she means it. And I have no idea why, but she has started waking up in the middle of the night asking for Mama, and wanting to get out of bed. What? I thought we were done with this!

Last night I let her cry it out, because I was exhausted from camping this past weekend. So as she is sleeping in this morning, I think she was exhausted from camping, too!

So I am indulging in a little "me" computer time this morning, and part of my daily ritual is to check out the website called "Baby Steals". Those of you who are expecting or had kids recently already know about my -ahem- obsession with finding cool baby products, or at least checking every morning! My favorite find so far has been Lesley's brown outfit from glamajama... I wish they made them in my size, boy do they look comfy! OK, they probably have something out there in my size, so I wish they made them in my size at the babysteals price of $20!

Babysteals is a fun site to watch - and it is a quick way to have fun in the morning. Those of you with toddlers know what I mean. I have become a HUGE fan of online shopping with Lesley around, and I love to see what the moms have available, and I don't even have to go looking for it. It's a lot like the Woot or slickdeal approach to shopping. Oooh, what a great [insert product name here]! Now, who could use that as a gift? The hard part is deciding if the budget can take it... very literally I can purchase an item in like 30 seconds (which is dangerous!) thanks to Google checkout!

So a big THANK YOU mamas, for adding a little bit of fun to my morning. I love to find a bargain, so you're always the first website I check in the morning.

New year, new blog entry, right?

Ok, so I'm going to try and blog a little more often this year - and get into the habit (as Josh put it). So for the 2 or 3 of you that actually read my blog from time to time, thank you - and here's the latest.

First and foremost - Happy New Year! It's going to be a busy one in our family. In June (or maybe July) Lesley is going to become a big sister! We don't know yet if we are having a boy or girl, but we do plan to find out (I know - takes away some of the surprise). Not long after that, we'll be celebrating Betsy and Dathan's wedding in October. Congratulations to you both!

We ended 2008 on a sad note, as my Grandma Norris passed away in November, but we are looking forward to many good things this year.

We're enjoying our "Chamber of Commerce" weather this week (as the rest of the country is literally freezing in Arctic air) and still working on home projects (though the bathroom tile is coming along) and getting ready for my parents to visit at the end of the month. Dad is retiring on Jan 30 - so they are coming out to babysit Lesley as I teach a Nutrition class (and to soak up some warmth and sunshine!).

I hope you are all doing well across the country - and I'll blog more later. I've got a whole rant stored up about trying to get water this morning (it involves shopping carts that can't cross boundary lines).

Cheers and best wishes!

Wow, December already?

Ok, so it's kind of a shock when you look at your blog and it says, "Last post July 10, 2008". Am I a loser? No, I think I would just say that I'm a stay at home mom who's had a really busy fall! Nothing like a mobile one year old to keep you on your toes.

Speaking of the 1 year old, she's walking, running, climbing (!), you name it. Except for that talking thing. She says "uh-oh" really well, "mama", "daddy", and a huge range of animal sounds (her elephant is a show-stopper). But nothing like sentences yet - at least not that we can understand. The jabbering is becoming more like words - Mom swears she said hippopotamus, I heard her say chocolate, and Travis heard "kicky feet". But getting her to say it again is another matter. Oh well - she's not quite 18 months old (that's next week), so I'm not too worried yet.

As for Travis & me, we're in the midst of remodeling the hall bathroom (getting ready to lay down tile on the countertop), I've had bronchitis & a cold for the last month, and we're just trying to keep up with housework! We had a great Thanksgiving visit with Bobby (he flew out from Cali), the weather is really nice right now (low 70s during the day), and we can't wait to see everyone again at Christmas.

Well, Lesley is asleep at the moment, but I don't think that will last... so I better get some laundry started. Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the start of the holidays!

Diaper crazy

Ok, so it's official... I am a cloth diapering fiend!

I have to admit, I don't think moms that use disposables think, "Wow, maybe I should look at picking up the new Huggies... the look so cute, and I bet they work a little better than the Pampers I just bought..."

Then again, those moms don't have to worry about trying to get their washing routine just right so they aren't fighting diaper rash from detergent buildup. Oh well - I still have fun doing it, so the pain is worth it. Actually, when I have the wash routine figured out, it does wonders for Lesley's skin - and I don't have to worry about running to Target to buy diapers if I get low!

I do want to recommend a store online that I have had good luck with - Keen Bambino (www.keenbambino.com). Mandi has been very helpful in answering my questions and her recommendation on Thirsties Fab fitted diapers was great - they are SO soft, and work great. So any of you moms thinking about cloth diapers - give her website a look!

Hope everyone is staying cool and dry (sounds like a deodorant commercial) - we're looking for Monsoon rains today, and highs ONLY at around 103. Hooray!

Cheers,
Jenny

Sleeping through the night

When you have a baby- you forget how much you LOVE to have oh, 8 hours of interrupted sleep. It's heavenly - and I've finally gotten there. Hooray!

In the meantime, though, naptime during the day is all over the board. Lesley's asleep now, sure, but take her swimming in the morning - and it's really hard to gauge what will happen!

All the same, we're totally excited for the arrival of Lesley's first cousin - William Christopher.
What a cutie pie! Here he is with Grandma and Grandpa Long. We can't wait to meet him in person!

Also - for all 3 of you that actually read my blog, check out the newest link for Babysteals.com. It's like WOOT! for Moms. Great deals, one per day. But you gotta be fast - the good stuff goes quickly!

Keep cool everyone - and let us know how you're doing. We're heading to Colorado soon for vacation and family reunion... if anyone has a favorite hike, let us know!

Love,
The Watson Crew

Lull before the storm

Greetings from the wild frontier!

We made it back from an awesome trip to Yosemite, LA, and Sequoia. I have awesome pictures to share, but haven't had a chance to do anything with them - yet.

Mom & Dad show up for a visit on Saturday and to celebrate Lesley's FIRST BIRTHDAY this weekend. Can you believe it? Me neither. Where did that year go? Oh wait - STAY AT HOME MOM and Master's Degree ring a bell.

Lesley is walking everywhere now - and loves her ability to travel. She tries to run, but actually kind of hops a bit, then falls into the couch or her toys, smiling all the while. She's such a good-natured little girl - and she's still ferocious. Just ask her to show you.

I found a fun blog that I wanted to share: http://www.underthehighchair.blogspot.com/
a chef and mom is frustrated with the fact that her toddler throws all her creations on the floor. Ah - sweet empathy. I really WANT Lesley to like everything I give her, but somehow bananas, yogurt, and baby cereal are still her favorites. Oh well - we'll keep trying. She at least ate some avocado before she smeared it all over her hair at lunch today.

I'll get the pics posted from our vacation next week - when Mom & Dad are here to babysit.

Cheers!

Jenny

One more thing - DONE

Well, I've officially just sent off my manuscript to my adviser - here's hoping I get published! I'm REALLY glad now that I did the alternate format for my thesis. Instead of a RESULTS section, I created a manuscript for a journal article. Yeah, it sucked and was more work, but now I can say I'm DONE and I don't have to worry about writing now that I'm really ready to be DONE!

We're looking forward to our vacation in Cali at the end of the month - and having fun watching Lesley walk! She takes about 6-8 steps by herself, and then usually gets so excited she falls over. Oh well - she's having a blast and getting better every day. Now let's hope that translates into sleeping through the night. HA.

The weather's starting to get hot around here, though not too bad yet. Only up to 97 - we haven't broken 100 yet. We actually got a crop of apricots off our tiny little tree, and we're looking forward to peaches here in a couple of weeks. Just in time for Lesley's first birthday, probably. Cool!

I should get my diploma in the mail soon - I'll post a picture. Travis and I both worked hard for it - gotta show it off!

Have a good weekend,
Jenny

Guess Who's 11 months old today?

It's hard to believe that Lesley is already 11 months old!

She can show you where her toes are...
And her ears, and even stand up for a bit!

It won't be long, and she'll be walking, we're sure. :)

Thesis, thesis, everywhere, and not a drop to drink!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I'm way behind on, well, everything - as you can see from the date in this post. The thesis is the word of the hour, day, week, semester... here's hoping that my defense will happen on the 16th of April and I'll get to wear my hood around my house in May. Perhaps I'll wear it out to the bars on Mill - sort of a surrogate graduation.

We had a wonderful Christmas with our families. The drive back was long, but made shorter with Hilary's company and listening to Eragon. Roads were mostly clear, and we even made it to Liberal, KS the first day. We got to see snow along the way, but we were happy to return to our 60 degree weather here in AZ.

Lesley was baptized while we were in KC - on December 30th. Lots of family and cousins turned out. That, along with Travis having a cold, really ate a big hole in our visit. Somehow it went really fast this year! On the way back, Bobby followed us in his car - moving to Valencia, CA to start his new job at Textron. Congrats, Bobby!

Lesley has really gotten the hang of opening presents! Not to mention, she's also sitting up on her own, might have a tooth coming in, and likes to giggle and jabber along. She got lots of great presents, including a super-cute sweatsuit from Aunt Betsy, 5 little monkeys books and finger puppets from Grandma and Grandpa Long, and Winnie the Pooh containers and new cloth diapers from Grandma Watson.

I know it's sillly, but I'm really excited about the diapers (as you can see from the other posts). Lesley now has Drybees in Monster Eyes prints, blue polka dots, and sleepy sheep. Aunt Hilary and Uncle Kerry gave Lesley a hemp diaper made by little beetle. I love them ALL! I've also purchased three more little beetle organic velour diapers... Oooooooh. We've completely switched to cloth - and I really like it! Even extra laundry is way better than more trips to Target. :) (don't get me started on cost!)

This weekend Grandma and Grandpa Long are coming to visit, along with Great Grandma Norris. With the highs around 25 in KS this week, they're totally psyched to visit the sunshine... and by that I mean Lesley. :) Mom & Dad are also planning to help jump start our bathroom remodel, which is WONDERFUL. It'll be good to start working on the inside of the house... though there is always more landscaping to do, or garden to plant.

I wish you all the best this year - and I'll write more when I get the chance. Though my research is really cranking up, and I hope to have a draft done on March 3. So... no more big posts until after that... but I'll at least try to add pics to flickr.

Hugs,
Jenny, Travis, & Lesley

So where ya been?

So I've become one of those bloggers that only posts once a month. Which I think doesn't make me a blogger - that just makes me a really inbox-friendly mass-emailer. So what's happened lately?

Hmmmm -

So I've been studying, and I completed my first two rounds of information gathering. Or almost - I'm still waiting for 2 more subjects to respond. I am mostly finished with my LAST class in my master's program - hooray! I got a 99 on my last assignment, so I'm psyched.

Lesley is keeping me busy, as always, so I don't study like I used to. :) She is a truly WONDERFUL baby and makes me happy every time I look at her. Yes, even when she's crying - which isn't often - I still LOVE being a mom.'

Travis is working a lot these days - and riding his bike, too. The weather is nice (like 70 during the day, 50 at night) so he is biking most days. He skips it if it's raining or really windy.

We've been building a garden shed, too, so Travis can start clearing out his shop. Check out all its majesty!

Mom and Dad were here over Thanksgiving, which was wonderful. The weather was just perfect, so we had a good old-fashioned eat outside Thanksgiving dinner. Travis did a great job smoking the turkey, Betsy and Dathan came over with their cats and Hello Dollies for dessert. Lesley ate her first Thanksgiving dinner with sweet potatoes and grape juice. Mmmm!

Now I'm trying to gear up for Christmas, and looking at what to get for presents. I'm also thinking about what to ask for. We're asking for diapers for Lesley - the cloth ones - as that is my new hobby. I even participated in the Great Cloth Diaper Hunt (internet scavenger hunt) to try and win free ones. No word on whether I won yet, but odds are against me on this one. But I have been hooked on cloth, thanks to my friend Cheryl, who got me started, lots of internet reading, like SoftClothBunz.com, and also a trip to Wildflower Diapers in Scottsdale - the local cloth diaper store. Shannon, the owner, helped me find DryBees pocket diapers, which fit Lesley great. I also found a great diaper on the internet called a Blueberry diaper - which is really soft, and is one-size-fits all fitted. Cloth diapers aren't cheap to get started, but they save you money in the long run.

So we're looking forward to seeing everyone at Christmas - we're driving back, like usual, at least for this year. That may change someday, but for now, we're still hauling LOADS back and forth.

Stay warm - you'll be hearing from us again soon!

Jenny & Travis & Lesley

Uh-oh Spaghetti-o!

Lesley is almost 5 months old! When did that happen? At last visit she was 25.5 inches long and weighed 13# 10 oz. I'd call her chunker, but she's TOO CUTE!

She's started eating cereal, and LOVES to try and grab our cups. It won't be long and she'll be using a sippy cup. She doesn't like bottles, so why bother?

It's still warm here (90s) but we hear the 80s will be returning soon. Ahhhh - perfect weather for a Thanksgiving picnic. Nothing like pumpkin pie on your back porch!

Phoenix - the other 'down under'

I hadn't really noticed before - but living in Phoenix is almost like living in the Southern hemisphere. Last night the low was actually 67- so we opened up the house, and started to get ready for the 'outdoor season' here in Arizona. We can't wait until the end of September, when the weather starts to get nice, when we can go outside and get fresh air - and maybe do some clean up inside and out. Sounds like March in the Midwest, doesn't it?

Travis starting riding his bike to work today, and Lesley and I are finally settled into a routine - again. She's growing so fast! I'm studying in the mornings and doing housework in the afternoons. Lesley is starting to play with her toys - i.e. looking at them, grabbing them, and pulling them to her mouth. She likes to giggle, and she has a "killer smile" as her Grandpa Long says. Now that it's getting nice outside, we'll start taking walks in the morning, too.

Grad school is going well - my thesis research is underway. I'm also taking 3 hours of classes in human resources. Interesting stuff, but it keeps me hopping! I'll be finishing up my research in February, and I hope to defend in April so I can graduate in May. Kind of a tall order, but as I am not working another full time job (you know, other than being a Mom) I think it is do-able.

We're heading to Washington state in a few weeks to visit Curtis and Glena in Spokane - we are looking forward to visiting some cold weather, and seeing the town. I hear Spokane is a really neat place - and we might even check out some of the wineries. They don't grow the grapes in Spokane, the vineyards are in Walla Walla and elsewhere, but you can go tasting in town, which would be cool.

Hope everyone is doing well - we'll be back to KS for Christmas and New Year's. Something tells me that will be here soon - especially with Lesley keeping us so busy!

Jenny

Lions, oh my!

Ah, remember when your toys
were as big as YOU?

Hope everyone is having a good week - we can't wait to get back to town and see the folks!

Enjoy the rain, heat, sun or whatever is in your neighborhood this week.

Cheers!

What's so funny?

Hi everybody!

Lesley Elaine, born June 9th, would like to welcome you to the stay at home mom edition of Arizonalife. We'll keep you posted on the latest and greatest news from Scottsdale. Stay tuned for pictures and great stories!

Hot time in the old town tonight

So as the rest of the country is freezing, it's like 80 degrees here today. Sorry guys - you'll be laughing at me when June rolls around, I promise!

Speaking of laughing, here's what our tomatoes looked like BEFORE the freeze a few weeks ago. Beauty, huh? The plants looked like crap after the couple days of hard freeze. Lots of our landscape plants don't look so hot, either. Oh well - it's getting to be planting season again. We'll probably put in a new vegetable garden when the "Seniors" are here. Travis' grandparents and great aunt and uncle are coming to visit on the 16th.

So I better go do something important - like clean the kitchen, and make dinner. I need to try and read my finance homework tonight, too. If anybody out there has tips for making a financial accounting text more engaging - please pass them along!

Have a good week and stay warm. Keep in touch if you get a minute!

Jenny

Another day, another... wait. What was the question?

So, inexplicably, it's February. And that happened...when?

Classes go marching on...the recruiting blitz goes marching on. At least it's warm and in the upper 60s here - unlike the expected high of ZERO for Sunday in Iowa. I get to hear a weather report from my classmates each time I dial in for a teleconference class.

I think I'm the only distance master's student in Foodservice and Lodging management at ISU right now. At least they didn't kick met out! Instead, I get called by the professor every week for two classes. And I get to guess what my classmates look like. I know their names and voices, so it's kind of like listening to the radio.

Work at MCC is progressing - I'm teaching one course, with 6 students. I am also trying to get as many students enrolled for next semester as possible. Here's hoping!

I hope everyone is doing well and keeping warm. Things are pretty quiet around here!

I'll write again soon - we finally got some pictures developed that show what our tomatoes looked like BEFORE the freeze. Now the plants look like crap - but the tomatoes themselves are ripening on my counter OK.

Happy weekend - time to sleep in!

Jenny

And baby makes 3!

Here she is - the newest Watson!

I know the ultrasound makes it hard to see anything, but according to the tech and my doc, everything looks good. We haven't picked out any names yet, but we've still got time. They didn't move my due date - we're still looking at June 4. That assumes that the baby got the memo, and doesn't show up early.

It's raining here in Phoenix- and we like it! Hope everyone is keeping warm and dry. Good luck with studies, and work, and all that jazz!

Cheers, Jenny

New year, new post!

Happy New Year!

So it's been just about forever since I wrote last, but here's my resolution for this year... try to post more than once a quarter!

The spring semester has just begun, I've already started my new classes at Iowa State, and I'm waiting to hear on my classes at MCC. Five students does not usually make a course, but as culinary is a new program, we'll see if it goes forward for this semester or gets postponed to next fall. If the class doesn't make, I'll focus on recruiting and program development this spring, which is plenty to keep me busy!

I'm taking courses in financial decision operations, current issues seminar, and one measly research credit. That should be enough to get my proposal done, however. That's one of my goals for today - revise my proposal to date. We'll see if I can get it done on my day "off".

Otherwise I'm doing laundry and keeping warm - we've had a couple of hard freeze warnings over the weekend. We even had ice in our pipes! A couple of our landscape plants got hit pretty hard, and our tomatoes look REALLY sad, but we've been covering them up overnight. Here's hoping they recover!

Otherwise, things are getting back to normal - or at least as close as they can. :) I go for an ultrasound on Wednesday. I plan to post any good pics next week.

Hope everyone has a happy and healthy new year! Good luck keeping YOUR resolutions.

Jenny

Did you miss me?

I'm back - FINALLY!

The old desktop took a nosedive, so we are working with a couple of manufacturers to try and get some WORKING equipment. In the meantime, we bought a totally screaming laptop. Woohoo! It's faster than our desktop and has a wide screen with super sharp picture. YES.

Now I can work at home! Oh wait...

Life's been good, albeit busy! Here's a quick rundown:

Labor Day - went to Iowa and KC to canoe the Des Moines river, see ISU campus, meet with my advisor and see the family

September 9 - watched Beller get married in Old Town Albuquerque

Classes at ISU are keeping me busy, but going well. I picked a topic for my thesis - culinary skills for hospitality students. Research questions are still in the works. Review of Lit is going slowly now, but I'm finding info...

The culinary program is coming right along - our first Advisory Committee meeting is October 2nd. I've meet with EVIT staff, other Community College program directors, and the marketing department!

Travis is working hard - he started riding his bike to work again - the weather is starting to cool off - HOORAY!

Hope everybody is doing well!

Take care and talk to you soon.

Jennyany

Photo Photo!