thank you heidi...

thanks to you, my family is updated to include a sofi and a non-3 month old luke.

you don't have to be a superhero...

to have an arch nemesis

its time for another post...well, lets be honest, its been time for another post for like three weeks. not just any post, however. this entry is the product of an issue that has been worsening and growing for years now, especially since the birth of my wonderful, yet evil friend-the text. i will be bemoaning the negative effect that technology has had on my life. before cell phones, and facebook, and every channel available to me within the confines of my own home...i already struggled with keeping in touch with the people in my life. by keeping in touch with people, i'm not just talking about those that you met in college and try to send a birthday card to once a year. i'm talking about everyone, including a certain someone that happens to live like two apartments away from me. yes, its true...i haven't seen my friend mary yet and we've lived here for two months. ridiculous.

i've always struggled with telephones. ever since my brother always made me call and order the pizza when we were kids...its been a love/hate relationship ever since...more hate than love. yes, i do love being able to talk people that are far away and it is nice to be able to get a hold of someone close by without having to send a horse and buggy messenger over, but if there is any opportunity to not use the incredible invention that is the telephone, i will use it. enter the text. before this ingenious little piece of technology, i have to admit that i relied heavily on email. i know, i'm sorry, but i am one of those. if there was a way to send an email instead of call (or if there was a time to call that i knew i would be leaving a voicemail...) i would do it. i can say honestly that i never broke up with anyone with the helping hand of cyberspace. that might be because i've only had 3 boyfriends in my life, one of whom i'm married to and one i was dating when email was still only acquired via phone line. anyway, i digress--i am a text fan and the point of this needlessly wordy blog is to apologize to all of you that have been neglected by my lack of phone skills. to you, i am sorry, but i will continue to text you if you will have me...or let me as the case may be :)

ode to sofi

apparently i haven't posted very many pictures of my second child. you may have heard of her. her name is sofi, she's bald, about 2 feet tall, and probably the best thing that has happened to this planet. i have only myself to blame...well, and my mom, of course, for making me take a trip and neglect my internet duties. anyway, sorry folks, but here she is in all her smiling glory.

just in case you didn't overdose from the overwhelming amount of cuteness in the previous video and you're still sitting upright, here are some more snippets into the short, yet up until this point, undocumented life of sofi lyn

next stop county lockup? and other funny moments

luke walked into the kitchen this morning and said, "cookie, please." i, of course, being a good, responsible parent said, "not until after lunch buddy." so, he decided to give up and go out on the porch to relax...or not

the other day, we went for a walk and i guess we tuckered sofi right out because i left her in the swing, carrier and all while i put luke to bed. this is what i came back to. don't worry, i put her in her bed after i took advantage of the photo op.

more fun with unconscious babies...

what a good helper...life's too short to stop with just mixing and pouring

omsi, dozer days, the rose festival, and the consequences of family outings during naptime

it is easily derived from the title that this is going to be a rather longish post. if you need to begin now and take a break for lunch or a snack or a nap...no worries, i've been there, in fact, i'd probably need a couple snacks and maybe a steak. anywho, its kinda funny how one can feel like they haven't done anything and then they write a blog and realize that they've actually been pretty busy. of course, in this instance "one" and "they" refers to me and my apparent full month of may. for the sake of saving time, there won't be a great deal of witty banter, but instead just a load of pure, unadulterated luke and sofi...not so much sofi unfortunately. apparently, it hasn't set in that i'm supposed to take pictures of two kids instead of just the older, screaming, i mean, precious...one :)

omsi...aka a fun-filled day or couple hours, thanks to the toddler attention span or lack thereof...aka good thing there was this exhibit with the effect air has on balls because i couldn't pry the kid away

dozer days...aka a day where little tikes such as luke are invited to climb all over tractors and back hoes and their drivers...aka a meltdown in said back hoe after waiting in a line for 45 minutes to go for a ride...

isn't it interesting how much we force our kids to do something we just "know" they'll like...maybe we should do the easier thing and let them play in the free dirt while eating cheese and sand. what? let them do what they want to do? that's just crazy

rose festival...aka good times on the waterfront...aka luke was tired and hungry so that's why there are only pictures of him on the rides where he was happy and not being threatened of being sold to the gypsies

my awesome picture of sofi...or its kinda far away and barely a profile. um...more to come? yeah, i'll leave it that

aah the quintessential carnival ride. you might want to bookmark this entry as this might be the only picture i've actually posted of myself

clarification

so, for those of you american idol fans...okay, so all of you--it seems as though i need to clarify something for you. when i wrote that adam winning was a silver lining in my day of crap it was followed by, "oh wait, that sucks too."

i did not want adam aka i wear too much make-up for a man or a woman to win. i was a kris fan from the beginning and if danny couldn't win then i'm glad it was him.

the joy of glee

i'm currently addicted to this:

my most recent day from hades

so, its been a day...and not one of those incredible ones where the sun is shining all around and you hear birds chirping while flowers are sprouting up around your ankles.

no, instead it was one of those child vomiting profusely in her carseat to the point of saturation/not having a spare outfit and you're in seattle so she has to make the trip home in the buff/older child running around winco while trying to keep the other one quiet due to the lack of binky/finally getting to the cash register and realizing you've forgotten your wallet, but you do have a checkbook (which never happens) only to get your last shred of hope dashed because they don't accept checks without a form of id, but you do have a random debit card that you think for a second you could run as credit only to find out that they don't take credit either/arguing with your husband about something totally idiotic that drives to cry your hormones out in the car ride from the store without your groceries that the manager had to store in the "cooler" until you can make the trek back/finally getting baby to sleep because not only one but all four binkies are MIA/while you're writing this incredibly sad yet semi-hard to read sob story, your child proceeds to rub, or smear rather, a confiscated piece of pizza into the carpet that you've worked so hard on keeping the color it came to you in since this has been an issue on more that one occasion in more that one apartment.

younger and older child in bed. head pounding slowing. pizza sauce expunged with 409 because its the only cleaner in said apartment (whole other story). spoke too soon...baby waking up thanks to the back up binky just not hitting the spot. oh well, at least adam's a shoe-in for american idol--oh wait, that totally sucks too. dangit

the early morning blues

so i had a whole blog written out in my head last night as i laid in my bed wide awake at 3:30 am. i contemplated going out to the front room to make sure i got it written down for posterity, but alas, we didn't have internet until 10:00 and in my early morning stupor, i didn't realize that i could just save it in a word document and post it later. moral of the story is, i can't remember it now. why was i wide awake at 3:30 you ask? no, luke was not up (for the love...), sofi had just got done eating, and i had gone to bed at 9:30. yes, its possible that i'm 90. andy was on his deathbed yet again yesterday, so he had been asleep for circa 6 hours by the time i finally gave in to the migraine that had conquered my once blissful cranium. he woke up and i laid down and squeezed (or squoze for my utah-ese speakers) my eyes shut, willing them to tell the rest of my body to give up too. well, i guess it did because by 3:00 i was apparently done sleeping. don't worry, i managed to convince my brain to stop firing after awhile and woke up at 6:45 when luke did.

ps are there enough time references in this post? maybe i should add another one just so the point definitly gets across. its 4:59 right now and i'm enjoying a rare but, nontheless amazing daddy/son outing. i'm enjoying their outing because they are both out :) not that i don't love the men in my life, but ladies you feel me, right?

stay tuned next week (or sooner if i'm on the ball) for an installment including the ever-awesome, most recent move experience and our trip to dozer day (spoiler--we waited in line for a digger for upwards of 45 minutes and just before luke got to go drive it, he melted down and cried through the whole ride to the point where the big, burly construction man lifted his hands in dismay)...is my life always going to be this predictable???

superman shirt: 15 dollars (its the gap, what do you do?), shorts from target: free (they were a gift from my good buddies, the gray sisters), luke lying on the floor to eat a chunk of beef jerky: priceless.

warning: not your average, witty post...read at your own risk

i'm feeling a little bit reflective as i've watched the clock move slowly, but surely from 4:00 am to 5:30. my "lovely" son decided to grace me with his presence at that unsightly hour and his little sister didn't wait too long to follow suit. she luckily knows how to go back to sleep while the sun does, but the former seems to think that darkness equals daytime. we're working on that...aka he's back in the crib when we eventually get to the aparment at a time yet to be determined this week.
as i sit here, trying not to eat to pass the time, i ponder on how i'm struggling a little with, well, sleep deprivation, let's be honest...but more heavily on my mind and not so broad shoulders is the outlook of this summer and the business that, for the first time, has a hazy outlook. with the exit of the person that has been with andy pretty much since he forayed into the world of satellite sales and installation 5 years ago, i'm left with a sense of insecurity with a dash of foreboding. i'm not doubting my husband's abilities or the fact that this is where we need to be at this time, but i was really surprised at the nervousness that has creeped into the forefront of my mind. was i wrapped up in a fuzzy security blanket of someone else's experience knowing that we had a united front against the thousands of doors that are so easily closed before they are opened? or is it merely the stress that i can literally see resting not so lightly on my eternal companion's heart and mind?

i know that heavenly father has a plan, but i can't help but to, every once in a while, wonder why the plan that was already in motion had to change. i hope this isn't coming across as my personal version of the apocalypse. we're really doing well with little miracles happening all the time.

i guess change is just sometimes that unwanted backseat driver that accompanies all of us along life's short, rocky journey. its not above sharing its opinion on where we should turn or how fast we should go, making sure to inform us that we were wrong in making certain decisions. being wrong sometimes, however, means that at other times, we're right. either way, we're always moving forward and with each turn in the road, comes a new experience and usually a happiness that we didn't expect or anticipate. i know that bend in the road is approaching and when it does, i'll know why "the plan" veered off its seemingly comfortable course. until then, i appreciate this opportunity i've had to share my thoughts even if they were just brought by my good buddy, sleep deprivation.

i guess you get what you pay for?

when entering my house (or apartment rather, or my mom's house...whatever), one might think my son is still 3 months old because that is the latest professional picture we have of him and ourselves for that matter. i made the command decision to get some new ones taken upon noticing a deal at my neighborhood wal-mart. i'm sure that tells you where you this post might be going. here's a hint: nowhere good. so, i get the kiddies all dressed up for easter. this originally was just going to be luke's photo shoot to commemerate his 2 years of life. i figured people might want to know that i have another child, though, so the sopester got all gussied up as well. i had made an appointment two days earlier for 10 am, but in true tara fashion i was running a little behind. this was partly because i was trying to leave as late as i possibly could so that luke's hair wouldn't move and the rest of him would stay remotely clean. blah, blah, blah, drive, drive, drive...we get to wally world and their up-scale photography studio at maybe 3 minutes after 10. i was a little surprised to see a pair of ladies sitting in the waiting room. i wondered if that meant there was more than one studio...nope, hmmm maybe they're going to make them wait for me...first mistake, i gave them the benefit of the doubt. no, there was just one studio and no, they were not waiting. they, apparently were walk-ins who got first priority on my appointment time because i was late by 3 measly minutes. now, don't get me wrong, i was willing to own up to my tardiness, but seriously! shouldn't they have some sort of window? people have kids for goodness sake...and we're not all martha stewart (or larissa) who is organized enough to arrive early with mess-free snacks and brain-stimulating activities that keep the mini people occupied without getting wrinkly or, in my son's case, bruised or scraped in some way...hence we've had to wait this long in the first place. luke finally healed from the injuries that kept occupying his face for the past 6 months. these were supposed to be 2 year old pictures if you remember.

anyway, moving on to the um...annoying, yeah, i'll go with annoying woman behind the counter at said picture-taking establishment. she proceeded to tell me that the ladies that were currently sitting in my spot arrived before me (duh) and therefore, they would be going first. (not duh...what?!) that is apparently the policy there at the cheapest place to one-stop shop in america. lets just say i tried to reign in the frustration that filled my entire being at that moment, signed her little paper, and asked how long it would be until i could bring my perfectly coifed children back for their session.

"oh, it'll just be a half-hour."

"awesome...just enough time for luke to look like a homeless child...i mean, we've got some shopping to do so we'll be back."

great. whatever. we left the picture place and headed toward the candy because my son was not going to cooperate without a little sugar. we purchased some bribery (for those of you much more responsible mothers out there...i apologize for this portion of the unfortunate tale). we picked up a few more things and on the way over to the other section of the store, mom looked at her watch and let me know that it had been about 25 minutes, so we changed direction and headed back toward the scene of the original crime so as to assure our place in line. we arrive at the waiting to room to the smell of cigarette smoke and the realization that not only are the ladies not done yet, but they also haven't even sat down to pick out their prints. long story short, the lady that told me we'd be waiting no more than half an hour, took her sweet time going through each and every pink, fluffy easter dress clad/naked picture of the poor, unsuspecting babies that stole our place in line...so...an hour later, we left. now, i pride myself in the fact that i'm not a disgruntled customer. i patiently wait for distracted, unaware servers at restaraunts, i have only sent food back once to the cook based on the fact that it was uncooked chicken, and i buy things that have flaws without forcing the poor cashier into giving me 10% off my purchase. okay, okay, okay lets stop the madness already. this story is way too long and way too lame of a memory to keep it going anymore.

lets just say that walmart is lame, i'm never going back (well, for picture-taking anyway...i'll definitly be there as soon as oreos go on sale) and i decided to try my hand at a little photography on my own. the kids were already dressed and it was just a matter of time before the whole effect would wear off and dirt would take its place so i walked the lukemeister down to the play structure in the backyard and snapped these little beauties. pictures taken, no harm done i suppose.

ps i guess photos for 7.99 are just as non-existent as a free lunch.

feliz dia de easter

all the kids with their spoils after the egg hunt on easter sunday. as you can see luke is more interested in knowing what could possibly be inside those round things than what i wanted him to do for the camera.

and the suttons first experience letting luke dye eggs himself. he didn't see any need for those ridiculous spoons or dipping apparati. hands seem to serve as much better tools...hence the shirtlessness. i wasn't even going to go there.

i walked in the room later to find this...yes, that's a wine glass full of crystal light. sweet
and here is a shot of the little one because its so darn precious and also because her rash is finally gone so i can stop being vain and let the world see her.

laughing down memory lane

i was looking through my pictures for the ones documenting the easter festivities and i found this little gem. i'll be back with the holiday pics, but in the meantime...enjoy some 1 year old luke:

ps my other baby has been sleeping through the night which is totally awesome, but luke has been waking up pre 6 am...which is not so awesome. what do you do?

70 degrees and all is well

its sunny and i'm happy...just thought you should know

the joys of nursing and other luke nonsense

note to my male readers or those who just don't want to hear a story about breastfeeding: this is not actually about nursing, its just about what happens when one must nurse even though they have a two year old loose in a large house alone.

i need to begin by making you aware that my dear son is obsessed with giving bones to my dad's beloved dog, rocky. okay...it happened on a tuesday. i was sitting on the couch, giving sustenance to my newborn child. i knew luke was in the kitchen and i was getting more and more nervous as he was getting quieter and quieter. every once in a while i could hear, "doggy, bone...doggy, bone..." and the sound of the lid being taken on and off the container that houses said puppy treats. i'm sure you can all see where this ends, and i was fearful of the same so i detached the child, made the sojourn into the kitchen, called out to my mischevious little son and found him coming toward me bone in hand...well half of the bone:

no harm done, right? just a little fiber. well luckily, none of the doggy treat actually made its way down his esophagous. mom put a kabash to that before he had the chance to even think about swallowing. he spit out the half-consumed bone into the garbage and went about on his way enjoying what boys should spend their doing--playing with toys in the bathtub...which just happens to lead me to the next part of my story.

not only is the bathtub luke's play place of choice (full of water or not), it is also the scene of many a mother's pulling hair out, wondering why she had kids in the first place, moment. as i am still aclimatizing myself to knowing how to care for two individuals instead of just one, luke has a tendency to be left in the bathtub for a few moments at a time while i am running around changing diapers and finding binkies. a couple such moments happened today while i was putting the wee one to sleep. i hear the pitter patter of not so little feet wafting down from the upstairs bathroom and adjacent bedroom. i try not to imagine the worse (little did i know what the worse was) as i couldn't get myself away in order to mend the situation. when i finally make it up the stairs, i find that my oldest has made it back to the tub with the toy keyboard...which has now become one of those awesome toys that when played makes the most annoying sound in the world, close to lloyd christmas' rendition in dumb and dumber. that's not all, however. apparently he was lonely because this had also accompanied him into the tub.

for those of you that know, this is luke's version of a "lovey." i don't even want to know what the consequences of that action. yikes

finally, we are currently in the throes of potty training/big boy bed and oh what joy both of those feats have brought into our peaceful abode. i haven't really taken the potty training by the horns quite yet and don't worry, i'm not going to submit you to a play by play, but the following story does involve a certain bodily fluid so if you want to check out, go right ahead. the other day, as i put luke in the tub, he so politely let me know that he need to use the facilities (not in so many words, but you get the idea). so, i pulled him and he officially "went potty" for the first time. i was so excited because i, of course, thought that meant that my child is a genius and all those horror stories i've heard in the past would not be applying to me. fast forward to the end of bathtime. he finishes up and we walk into his room to acquire his outfit of the day when i turn around just in time for him to say potty and proceed to relieve himself on the floor. wow, is it some kind of record to be potty trained for the amount of time it takes to bathe? thanks for bringing me back to earth, luke. you're so aware of all my needs.

ps

it was so graciously brought to my attention recently that i left a very important couple out of my list of spokanites that made life there bearable and even, yes, fun i suppose.

the payettes...aah the payettes. the reason i didn't add you before you know is because you're not technically in spokane. val, you left me first several months ago AFTER ditching me for school and "work" for a couple months before that. as if those things are more important. it was a low point in my life, i'll admit, but alas, i'm no longer bitter. instead, there is a ginormous black hole in my life where you once resided. we miss you guys a bunch and everytime notre dame or u-dub loses, i mean plays...we think of you and miss you all over again :)

ode to those we left behind...

so its time for another post...especially because, let's be honest, this really has taken the place of my long-neglected journal that i haven't written in since luke was sofi's age...probably shouldn't have admitted that. i'm sure i just tainted the immaculate view you all have of me. sorry about that. the jury will strike the last testimony and continue to believe that tara is practically perfect in every way...or was that mary poppins? anyway, i just wanted take a few minutes and praise all the coolness that are the people of the lovely yet ghetto (being honest, remember) city we all know and love as spokane, wa.

adam and jen-what can i say, i've known you for almost ever and i wouldn't trade you for the world. good luck on your basement. it needs to be done before i come and grace you with my and my screaming childrens' presence. love you guys

camille and brian-okay, so you're technically in pullman, but who's counting? camille, i've known you for even longer than almost forever and you really are one of my favorite people in the whole wide world. i'm so glad we were able to spend time with both of you guys on our little sabaticals to pullman last year. good luck with the baby and make sure we see more of each other...or else! love ya. good luck in kamiah

adam and natalie-we can be grateful for our adorable, sometimes frustrating, toddlers for our friendship. if it wasn't for that fateful day in relief society that we made the decision to use each other to watch said toddlers in order to get a moment of sanity, we might never have gotten to where we are today. thanks to loot and miam (2 year old speak for luke and liam). thanks to adam and naatalie for all the free marriage counseling/late night conversations about certain four-letter words that will remain nameless being that this is a family blog. love you guys. thanks.

the couple, the myth, the legend...the shelby's-there are no words. you guys are pretty darn close to cooler than awesome. the office and guitar hero will never be the same. thanks for the introduction to benedito's and for loving us just for our tv and playstation. we'll take what we can get. hey, love you guys too...why not?ps meredith and ben-you're fun too. don't let anyone tell you different...and for goodness sake, update your blog already!

goodbye spokane. i'd like to say we're gonna miss you, but we're really just going to miss frank's diner, the downtown mall, dick's, and of course, all of our buddies who made the ghetto truly fabulous.

count your many blessings...

or in this case, your one blessing. that's right, sofi became legal as of march 8th, 2009. she's all blessed and beautiful and i had an excuse to have a large percentage of my family and friends here (i was going to try and sound smart by writing an actual percentage, but then i got confused with how many we are and how many weren't here, so i gave up...moving on...)



andy's parents came up and brought dinner and chocolates with them from sandy, utah. thanks richard and rebecca! i was also so happy to be able to be in the same house as my brothers, a handful of nephews, and so many of our good buddies. thanks to everyone who came and participated in this incredible event...and thanks to sofi for being born at a time that made it so convenient for everyone to be here. you go girl! oh sheesh, did i just say that out loud. sorry to all those who had to read that. i guess i'm a smidge on the exhausted side thanks to said precious girl.

ps i know that picture of her is semi-goofy, but its all i've got. lets just say i'm not ansel adams. in fact, i'm not even a distant relative with my photog skills, but i've made it a goal to improve myself in that area. i mean i'm such a fabulous blogger, i should have the photographical (is that a word?) skills to match, right? okay, on to the rest of the photos that were taken so generously not by me, but by my awesome mom who made sure everyone in attendance was documented.

the whole gang at the church post-blessing. we make that side walk look good

i'm coming

so, i got a huge cup of water, gave the baby to andy and sat down at the computer all set to let my creative juices loose on a brand-spanking new post for your literary enjoyment. unfortunately, for both of the posting ideas that are reumenating in my brain, i need pictures which are on my camera, which is at the jump and bounce down the street. its closed right now, so i'm at a loss. sorry, but this will have to hold you over for now. i'll be back soon with two exciting reads. later