having a ball

If any of you are new moms or old moms or just wondering folk and would like a news update on what the hot hot hot toy is of the moment for your urban baby, please consider:


The Playskool Busy Ball Popper (no that is not my kid).

I went to my share of playgroups when Wesley was a wee wee infant, and I didn't think it was a coincidence that um, every house I went to that had a toddler under the roof had one of these toys. It plays songs when it pops the balls up in the air, like renditions of William Tell's Overture (very funny) and Rockin' Robin (which every time reminds me of that episode of the Office where Andy recorded it acapella on his cell phone).

One of our friends, Stacey, said her son loved the Ball Popper so much that it stopped working. Luckily for her, she hosted a playgroup and some other kids started beating on it, and it came back to life. Eventually it died and she chucked it, but it goes to show how hot a toy this is.

Contemporary! Musical! Resilient! I knew it was birthday present numero uno for little man's first birthday.

The icing on the cake (haha not literally, although birthdays do have cake and icing) was when a random guy at work yesterday was showing me pictures of his adorable grandson, and what should be in the pictures but the Busy Ball Popper! I said, "We have one of those at home!" And he said, "My grandson loves it!"

Seriously, I'm like a commercial. It gets better.

When we had our birthday get-together at Grandma Gottula's house, Wesley's awesome family brought him other gifts. Evidently, the Busy Ball Popper has "toy relatives," you know, toys from the same "family" that are a little different. Please consider:


The Playskool Busy Ball Choo Choo. Wesley's Aunt Krista bought this for him! I was floored, number 1, since it was so darn close to the Busy Ball Popper. She said she almost bought him the Ball Popper, but at the last minute decided to get the Choo Choo since she works for the railroad. Very cute. I considered taking our Ball Popper back. Luckily for all of us, I decided to keep both toys. The Choo Choo's balls just go round and round, they don't pop (although his picture sure makes it look like they do, huh?), but it moves and it's good for a crawling baby. I think the Popper is good for a toddler.

Anyway, the random guy at work ALSO SAID his grandson had the Choo Choo and loved it as well! Are these toys hot or what?

So if you're wondering what to get your neighborhood kid, your own kid, a niece or nephew, or any random person on the street, the Playskool Busy Ball Popper is for you. Seriously.

oh no, that is not all

This is hilarious. I saw it on my sister-in-law's site. I think I have seen it before; I can't remember. But it made me laugh!

I think I'd add a line about blogging (haha), scrapbooking baby photos, taking care of family pets, reading best-sellers and classics, throwing dinner parties, planning crafts and activities for the kid(s), attending playgroups, clipping coupons, and on and on. I'm definitely a person who thinks if I'm organized enough I can do it all, and if I can't do it all then something is wrong with me. I think I'm going to be in trouble as Wesley gets older and more demanding.

My favorite line is the one where the checkbooks balance... enjoy!



The Girl in a Whirl by "Dr. Sue"

If you, or someone you know has ever felt overwhelmed by all they feel they need to do, Vickie Gunther of Redlands , California , wrote a poem, Dr. Seuss style, about how much Latter-day Saint women try to take on. David B. Marsh used it at Women's Conference, and Vickie has given permission to share it.

The Girl in a Whirl by "Dr. Sue" (a.k.a. Vickie Gunther)

Look at me, look at me, look at me now!
You could do what I do if you only knew how.
I study the scriptures one hour each day;
I bake, I upholster, I scrub, and I pray.
I always keep all the commandments completely;
I speak to my little ones gently and sweetly.
I help in their classrooms! I sew all they wear!
I drive them to practice! I cut all their hair!
I memorize names of the General Authorities;
I focus on things to be done by priorities.
I play the piano! I bless with my talents!
My toilets all sparkle! My checkbooks all balance!
Each week every child gets a one-on-one date;
I attend all my meetings (on time! never late!)
I'm taking a class on the teachings of Paul,
But that is not all! Oh, no. That is not all.

I track my bad habits 'til each is abolished;
Our t-shirts are ironed! My toenails are polished!
Our family home evenings are always delightful;
The lessons I give are both fun and insightful.
I do genealogy faithfully, too.
It's easy to do all the things that I do!
I rise each day early, refreshed and awake;
I know all the names of each youth in my stake!
I read to my children! I help all my neighbors!
I bless the community, too, with my labors.
I exercise and I cook menus gourmet;
My visiting teaching is done the first day!
(I also go do it for someone who missed hers.
It's the least I can do for my cherished ward sisters.)
I chart resolutions and check off each goal;
I seek each "lost lamb" on my Primary roll.
I eat home-grown produce each summer and fall.
But that is not all! Oh, no. That is not all.

I write in my journal! I sing in the choir!
Each day, I write "thank yous" to those I admire.
My sons were all Eagles when they were fourteen!
My kids get straight A's! And their bedrooms are clean!
I have a home business to help make some money;
I always look beautifully groomed for my honey.
I go to the temple at least once a week;
I change the car's tires! I fix the sink's leak!
I grind my own wheat and I bake all our bread;
I have all our meals planned out six months ahead.
I make sure I rotate our two-years' supply;
My shopping for Christmas is done by July!
These things are not hard; 'tis good if you do them;
You can if you try! Just set goals and pursue them!
It's easy to do all the things that I do!
If you plan and work smart, you can do them all, too!
It's easy!" she said...

and then she dropped dead.

one

On May 26, 2008, my life changed.

Wesley Grant Gottula was born.

And today, he turns one.

He has brought my husband and I closer. He has taught us how to love. He has amazed us in more ways than we can count. We have been scared for his health and concerned about his happiness, we have shed tears over his pains, we have watched him grow with pride and wonderment. He has shown us pure joy. He is more than we could ever ask for.

I love this little man. I am so blessed to be his mother, to be able to watch him grow every day. Wow.

Our big birthday celebration was this past weekend. Wesley got his first stash of birthday loot and his first sugar rush. I made a "caterpillar cake" (as promised!), and we did the obligatory "naked baby cake fest." He wanted to eat the wrapping paper more than inspect the presents, and he was cautious about the cake until his cousin Ben helped things along. But in the end, it was a hilarious and most wonderful celebration.

I've told him Happy Birthday about 1,000 times today but I'm not sure he gets it, since today could never compare to Sunday! But I have a present or two saved, and he may get some more cake. "Dad" and I can keep the celebration going.

I am just... so humbled. I can't believe he belongs to me. I get to be with him for eternity. He is so happy and sweet and pure.

I can't wait to spend many more birthdays with you, my Wesley. You'll always be my baby!

mom and wesley adventures

I've been waiting to post this until I had some PICTURES but instead my FAMILY who I begged for pictures has not RESPONDED. FAMILY, THAT'S YOU! I'm not a good photographer when I have a squirming baby to attend to all by my lonesome.

That's right, Wesley and I embarked on an adventure and visited my family in Colorado Springs sans dad. My brother's wife had a new baby girl, so we all got together: my brother and his fam, my other brother and his wife, my folks, and a slew of cousins who also live there. It was most awesome.

The plane ride out was great. Shane got a special pass (thanks for the tip, Whimsy!) to pass security and get me to our gate. There was an extra seat open so I could buckle in Wesley's car seat and he could sit (and sleep) there during the flight. (I did break quite a sweat getting the ginormous thing all buckled in though. It wasn't easy.)

I arranged our flight to Denver to correspond with the flight of my brother and his wife, who were coming to Denver from Salt Lake. That was the best idea I had all year, since as soon as I landed in Denver -- by myself -- I put Wesley in his gate-checked stroller, slew the diaper bag over my shoulder, and somehow pushed him WHILE CARRYING A 30-POUND CAR SEAT across the airport. By myself. THEN, I got my 50-pound checked bag and hobbled about 30 feet to a bench by baggage claim and dropped everything. I was not moving. If I had had to get to the rental car facility or ANYWHERE other than 30 feet from baggage claim -- by myself -- I would have died. Literally. My arm was red the whole afternoon from just lugging the car seat strap.

After Brad and Leslie arrived and came to my rescue, we got a rental car and it took Brad and I like an hour to get the car seat hooked up -- another thing I don't ever want to do by myself. Traveling is an adventure!

The weekend was full of fun and happiness and memories and laughter and familial bliss. My family rocks. My folks got an awesome suite at a Marriott, and Wesley and I had an upstairs loft, which was so very contemporary. He had his own port-a-crib, although sound did tend to carry so we had to be super quiet when he was napping or sleeping.

Some photos from the hotel room...

That magazine didn't make it.

Wesley mastered stairs on this trip. He loves them. We don't have stairs in our place. While visiting with my brother in his kitchen, I noticed Wesley crawl over to the living room (down a hall), but then a few minutes later when I went to get him in the living room, he wasn't there. Not in the living room? Not in the kitchen? What? He was all the way up the stairs. I first felt like an irresponsible parent (what if he had toppled over?), and then I felt beamingly proud of his mad stair skills.

Some highlights of our action-packed Colorado adventure:

Friday

Mom and dad (thank you thank you) funded a trip for the family to the top of Pike's Peak. How did we manage that? On something called a cog railway; it's this train that has a gear under it so it can stop and start at any time (so if it has to stop while going up a big hill, or a mountain, it doesn't slide all the way back down). Our tour guide told us the Pikes Peak one is the longest and highest one in the world. At some points, the incline is 25 degrees.

After traversing deep snow and thick forest, we were at the top of the mountain. It wasn't a very clear day, which was sad, but up at the top we were above the clouds so it was nice and sunny. Our tour guide said on a clear day we could have been able to see to Kansas. Oh well!

It was fun, but... first of all, it was COLD, and secondly, I could not BREATHE. Due to the elevation, I felt nauseated and disoriented and winded. It's the strangest feeling. Anyone from sea level (like me and my folks) really suffer up there. It was even kind of emotionally painful, I thought. Wesley started getting really squirmy, and I felt like this AWFUL mom since one of his socks fell into a mud puddle, he was only wearing a jacket, he as wrapped in just a light swaddle blanket, and it was literally 5 degrees up there. Literally. I couldn't tell if he was hungry or thirsty or tired or freaking out like I was or what. At one point I think I almost cried. It was strange... I just didn't feel like myself, and I think it's 100% due to the elevation change.

We were only at the top for about 20 minutes, and I was ready to go back down. If I do it again, I'll bring full winter garb for me and all family members. It was fun and I'm glad we did it, though. On the way back down, we all started feeling better and warmer and chatty. My family rocks. The train ride is about an hour each way.

(Random Trivia: Pikes Peak originally had an apostrophe in its name, but the U.S. Board of Geographic Names discourages the use of apostrophes in geological names so it was eliminated. Fascinating yet strange. I am a stickler for correct possessive and plural punctuation.)

Friday night

We threw a party for my mom. Her birthday was the week before, but due to a brilliant idea from my brother we'd been scheming for weeks. She turned 50 this year, and we really wanted to make her feel special. (Poor dad, all he got from me when he turned 50 was a card and some cookies. Forgive me, dad!)

We asked lots of our friends from Church, family members, mom's old coworkers, etc., to write memories of mom for a book. They all emailed them to me or my brother, and Kurt printed them out on nice paper and put them in a book. How cool.

We also scoured all our old pictures for ones of us with mom doing awesome things, and we got a book with 50+ pictures in it for her. Some awesome memories. Family trips, birthdays, graduations, weddings, you name it. We live a rich life. My family rocks. Did I mention that?

Anyway, we totally surprised mom. She cried buckets. It was awesome. I love you, mom!

Saturday

Another high point of the weekend: my sister-in-law Leslie and I got TOTALLY LOST like four times. Wherever we went, we were lost. I was in a new place, in a weird rental car, and just totally underestimated how long it would take and how difficult it would be to get places. To add fuel to the fire, I tried to buy a baby gift for my brother from a guy on Craigslist and -- not only did I get lost in the way to the guy's house, but -- the guy STOOD ME UP. Boy, I was mad and frustrated and LOST. It was an awful Saturday, really.

Sunday

Sunday was much better. Kurt blessed his baby girl in Church at 8:30 in the blessed A.M. That afternoon Wesley napped for a loooooong time in Kurt's upstairs guest room while everyone socialized downstairs. Lots of food, all the family, excitement all around. It was great!

Here's Uncle Kurt and Wesley and Kurt's son Kyler playing with stacking cups (Wesley has also discovered stacking, and he is quite the pro):

And back home

We came home on Monday. We barely made it to the airport in time (am I an idiot or what? I never time things well), and then Wesley and my flight was super full and he had to sit on my lap. For almost three hours. It was awful! It's dang tough to entertain a squirmy, tired baby for that long! I tried to get him to go to sleep countless times. He finally fell asleep as we landed. You read that right: just as we landed, sweet little Wesley sighed into my shoulder and fell asleep. Just in time for me to wake him up again. Poor little man! We spilled water on the girl beside us at least 3 times, but she was totally cool and actually asked if she could carry my bag out of the plane. I declined her offer but struggled for another minute or two and she just took my bag and carried it. What a nice gal. Whew. We lived.

So, there you have it! A dramatic play by play! Now if only that family would send me more pictures... I said you guys ROCKED only a million times in this post. You owe me! Pictures, please!

another cake

I suppose this is becoming an obsession of mine. My mom even told me that my aunt used to make cakes for people's birthdays and weddings and stuff and made pretty decent money doing it. I don't know if I'm that talented (I know my friend over at the Notes from the Pacific Northwest is), but it would sure be fun, right?

Last week our young women at Church had a fund-raiser to earn money for girls' camp. We put on a dinner with an admission, but the main $$$ for the night comes from a dessert auction. Last year I did some wimpy brownies that probably weren't all that impressive (note: you can substitute applesauce for oil in cake mixes, but NOT brownie mixes), so this year I wanted to do something better. I saw an idea in Parents magazine a couple months ago for this cake... so I had to try it.

First, you bake a cake mix in a pyrex bowl and invert it onto a platter. Decorate as desired.

Next, you make a rice krispie treat in a pie pan or round cake pan. My mom is a pro at rice krispie treats, so you'd think I would be, too, but I'm not; I've always had trouble. But I had my wax paper and my big pan on the stovetop and my rubber spatula, and I did my best. The instructions for this cake told me to tint the marshmallows with orange food coloring AND add melted white chocolate to the mix. Hmmmm yummy.

As the rice krispie treat cools, melt white chocolate in a small bowl and use it attach varied candies to decorate the rice krispie treat. The magazine suggested runts; I used dots. Use brightly colored cupcake liners and dum-dum lollipops to create "seats" and "passengers."

Finally, with the magic of wooden skewers, attach the rice krispie creation to the cake. Voila!

So there is me and my awesome Ferris wheel cake.

Some things the magazine DIDN'T tell me:

• Travel to and from is tough. I was worried the whole way to Church it would tip over. Oh geez. I recommend taking a passenger and having them hold it, as opposed to putting it on the floor of the passenger side and leaning over to gently reinforce it at every stoplight.
  
• The rice krispie treat, somehow, started to disintegrate as the evening wore on. It was awful. I was so upset and sad and frankly, embarrassed! I managed to fix it, put it in the freezer at Church, and bring it out again just before the auction began. So for some reason, unless you know how to make a rock hard or stale rice krispie treat, you'll have to be mindful of it falling apart.
• Plus, as you adjust and readjust the rice krispie treat, the very top of the wheel becomes a bit mushed, as you can see in the picture below. The whole thing kind of "sinks."

In any case, it was a fun night. The "Carnival Cake" was auctioned for a respectable $36. All the desserts were SUPER impressive... the almond-lime cheesecake went for $150! I got an AMAZING peanut butter pie for $40. It's the first year I've actually bought something. I'm usually a pushover at auctions but this year I decided, no, I want something and I'm gonna get something. So I did! Yippee! (And for those of you thinking, Angela, your last post was on eating more healthy and you're buying a pie for forty bucks? I ate one piece and the rest is in the freezer awaiting a special occassion!)

Hmmmm desserts.

So, look forward to a post on my next project: Wesley's birthday cake. Oh baby! (I like the bathtub or the caterpillar.)

six months is only the beginning

Six months ago was my 28th birthday. My most expensive and marvelous gift was an elliptical machine. When I told many friends I was getting an elliptical machine and canceling my gym membership, most of them shrugged their shoulders and said, "well, if you're still using it in six months let me know," implying that they'd be surprised.

Well friends, it's been six months! And I used it this morning! I think I've mentioned my latest and greatest motivational tool is watching DVDs while I'm exercising. It's great. I can do an episode of The Office and its deleted scenes during a 30-minute workout; I can do an hour-long episode of something else in a 40-minute workout.

So, I feel like I WON, or something, and now everyone should be so amazed at my amazingness.

But yet... I haven't really won anything. Yes, I work out as often as I can, but I still feel like a slug most of the time, especially in the evenings after I've had ice cream or cake or Hershey's kisses or all of the above! This trying-to-be-more-healthy-and-lose-weight-and-feel-great thing is just so darn tough.

Here are some things I am trying:

• Exercise 3 times a week (I'm working up to more)
• Know the calories of everything I'm eating
• Limit myself to just one treat a day -- or none at all! (easier said than done!!)
• Get at least 5 fruits and veggies in
• Log what I eat and my exercise on an online tracking tool
• Work with a Mayo Clinic lifestyle coach (thanks Boeing!), and report back every couple weeks on how I'm doing
• Set aside money and gift cards, so when I reach my goal I can go out and get some new clothes!

I just feel like my "recipe" is for success, but I'm not necessarily seeing success. Some days are better than others, and some days I achieve all of these things and some days I don't. It's just odd to realize this has to be a life-long thing; my struggles will be life-long. I wish it was easy! Temptations are everywhere.

I just look at my life -- and I think we can all do this -- and I can see these funny habits I've gotten into, little habits that are probably destroying everything I am working so hard to accomplish, without my even realizing it! I wonder if I just pinpointed a few of these "habits" (like licking the ice cream container or sneaking cookies before dinner) and eliminated them, maybe that would be enough to make the difference.

I think what it boils down to is the moment, the one instant where your mind and soul and heart and everything says "yes, I want that treat!," but you're able to SAY NO and stop yourself and make that conscious choice because you know you MUST. Every time, my mind says "oh it's just this once," but then in a whole week that's at least seven "just this onces" and, well, that's not really just once, is it? I think if I can start with just one moment, then the next will come easier. And the next after that, easier. And pretty soon, this life-long battle will not be so bad after all.

What do think? What do you guys do to be more healthy, stay in shape, lose weight, feel great, etc.? Any words of advice? What works in theory, versus what actually works?

(I had the stomach flu a month or so ago and that really worked!, but I don't necessarily think that's the best way to go about things. I'm just sayin'.)

So, I guess this post is a bit personal, but I just felt like getting it out there and seeing what you guys have to say. And hopefully, we can all keep up the good work, with whatever it is we're struggling with. And maybe one day, we'll all be able to say "I WIN." I'm looking forward to that.

ace

I bet not very many of you know that I am the "executive director" (aka secretary aka administrative person) of a non-profit mentoring program in Puget Sound. I'm involved through my job as a marketing person at a structural engineering firm; I used to assist the CEO/chairman of the company and as such, helped him run this mentoring program. Even though I don't technically "assist" him anymore, I'm still involved with ACE.

ACE pairs high school students interested in architecture (A), construction (C), and engineering (E), with professionals in the area. All of our students are divided into teams that meet about twice a month. From October to May, they learn about what A/C/E professionals do, and basically build a building on paper. They develop a concept for say, an aquarium or a stadium or a high-rise building, and they design the entire thing.

ACE is nation-wide; it started in the East in the '90s, and the Seattle chapter was founded (by my company's CEO/chairman) in 2001. At first, there were 11 kids on one ACE team. This year we have more than 175 kids on 9 ACE teams. My how we have grown!

One of the coolest parts of my job is our annual Scholarship Breakfast, which was this morning. Every year dozens of companies (32 this year, I think), in the A/C/E industry contribute money to our scholarship fund. Our seniors apply, and we award several of them big bucks. This morning we awarded 12 high school kids $35,000 in scholarships. Wow! Two kids -- the top engineering and top architecture students -- got $5,000 each; two kids -- the next two top applicants -- got $4,500 each; and 8 other kids got $2,000 each.

It's so fun to meet these kids and their parents, and introduce them to the people from the companies that made these awards possible. When I was in high school I considered myself to be a genius (not true), but I did manage to get several scholarships. It made me feel good, and it went a LONG WAY to helping pay for school. I graduated from BYU debt free; not a lot of people can say that.

Anyway, these kids love the program. It really helps them see what it means to be an architect or a structural engineer, and it helps them figure out if they want to pursue that in college. It's pretty cool. In fact, ha!, one year we got a thank you note from a kid who said, "thanks so much for mentoring me. I know for a fact now that I DON'T want to be an architect, but it was a really awesome experience." Many students do go on to pursue A/C/E careers, and in fact at least one of our former ACE scholarship winners now works for a Seattle construction firm! Very cool!

It was a fun morning. This is the SIXTH breakfast I've run, and they've kind of become like clockwork, which is nice. Everything runs smoothly. I like it that way. Sometimes I think they don't even need me anymore, but since I usually end up answering a lot of questions I guess I'm serving some purpose. It's also fun just to be there and feel the energy and see everyone being happy and excited about supporting education.

But here's the real kicker from Scholarship Breakfast 2009: After it was all said and done, I raced home to greet my sweet Wesley, who was under the care of a friend from Church. And by "raced," I suppose I mean that literally since I was pulled over for speeding. Did you know the speed limit on I-5 is 60? I thought it was at least 65.

Anyway... I was not adhering to the limit. But for reasons known only to God, the officer asked me where I was headed, and I said I had an event this morning and wanted to get home to the baby. Then he asked what kind of event it was. Umm, "well officer, I am part of a mentoring program and today we awarded $35,000 in scholarships to 12 local high school students." I couldn't tell what he thought, until (after his private deliberation during which my blood pressure continued to skyrocket) he handed back my license and registration and said "no ticket today, you've already given out enough money this morning, but please watch your speed."

Oh wow!

So basically, my job rocks and helping high school kids learn about architecture and engineering and then giving them money rocks, and getting out of tickets for being a good citizen also rocks.

But note to self: STOP SPEEDING.

I hope you're having a good Friday, too!