It's fun to be a girl!

So...after being a mom for a couple of years I've finally re-entered the land of "girly-ness." When I stopped working I didn't really see the need to spend the time (or money) on all those girly things like coloring my hair, make-up, pedicures, waxing my brows, etc. Recently I've decided that just because I'm a full tim mom doesn't mean I can't look good! I found a GREAT new hairdresser that gave me a really good cut and updated my color. I am now back to having blonde-ish highlights, I really like it better than having my hair dark brown. I had my brows waxed at a local Aveda salon....or maybe I should say I was SCALPED at the local Aveda salon. Now I am in the process of growing out my eyebrows so I can take them to a different place to be waxed.....one that believes people shouldn't have that "YIKES!" look on their face because they have no brows! The best thing I've found recently is a new line of cosmetics called "Jane Iredale." You can't get them everywhere and I was introduced to them at a hair salon. They are "minerals" cosmetics and are supposedly good for your skin. I just like them because I can put it on and it lasts all day long.....no shiny red face for me!! I use a pressed powder, eye shadow, blush, eyeliner (so smooth it doesn't "pull" your eye skin when you put it on) and their mascara which I adore. The mascara is a soft brown color which is better for me than black since I am getting older (and those crows feet have begun to show around my eyes!) the mascara is also the only brand in recent years that has not made my eyes burn,itch and water when I put it on, and it also does not flake off leaving smudges around my eyes. All in all it gives me a very natural and soft look but evens out my skin tones and, most importantly, makes me feel pretty!!

What's For Dinner?

I've decided that not ALL the posts on this blog have to be about Benjamin. I mean...I actually have other things in my life happening! One thing that happens quite frequently is dinner....so I decided to post new, different or interesting meals as they occur.

Tonight's dinner was fast, healthy and yummy! I was at Trader Joe's doing my shopping the other day when I saw a "Fully Cooked Seasoned Pork Roast." The description doesn't sound too interesting but basically it is a very lean port roast sealed in a bag with BBQ sauce. I thought I'd give it a try....how can anything smothered in BBQ sauce be bad!?

Since I was short on time I decided to cook in the microwave according to the directions on the bag....just 10 minutes! One note...it says to put several "punctures" in the bag and place it on a microwave safe plate. What it failed to mention is that there is actually another bag inside this bag....and if you don't puncture that bag it will explode...just a little! Luckily I had neglected to take off the outer bag so there was no mess to deal with.

After cooking I shredded the roast and put it on hamburger buns (the whole wheat ones at Trader Joe's are also very yummy!) and we had a version of pulled pork sandwiches. It was a little fussy to shred (the drawback of having lean meat is that it isn't always super juicy!) However, the mealwas really good and I will probably make it again.

I give this meal 4 out of 5 stars ****

So...what is a yak anyway??

I know that all parents think their children are brilliant.....I am well aware of those little things they look for that confirm that their children are gifted. That being said.....I'm fairly certain that Benjamin is a genius, and I have the proof!!

Awhile ago I bought Benjamin these little wooden alphabet blocks. I liked that they looked sort of old fashioned and they all had letters and numbers on them (that's me....always finding an opportunity to educate!) He's played with the blocks off and on but recently he's really been into them. He likes to ceremonially dump all the blocks out of their little bag onto the floor and then build "choo choo" train with them. Basically that's the blocks all lined up single file across the coffee table. He is surprisingly adept of keeping the blocks in a very straight line but, although impressive, that's not the brilliant part.

The other thing he likes to do with the blocks is to build a "tower." At first he demanded that Nate or I build the block tower so that he could swiftly knock it down (arguably the best part!) After a few days he began to build his own towers. He's really good at stacking the blocks one on top of the other. So far his record is 14 blocks stacked on top of one another, but that's not the brilliant part either!

The other day we were feeling sort of lazy (okay...it was me...I was feeling lazy) and didn't really want to go through the effort of building a tower. Benjamin began to hand me the blocks one by one and I would tell him what letter was on each block and the corresponding pictures that demonstrated the letter (do you see where I'm going with this?? There really is a yak in the story!)

"This block has the letter 'N.' It makes the sound 'nnnnn' like 'nest' and 'needle.' 'Nest' and 'Needle' start with the letter 'N.' There's about 60 blocks with each letter being represented twice and some that just have numbers. So the next day Benjamin is building his block "choo choo" again. He picks up the block with the letter "Y" and says "Oh....Yak!" WHAT?!?! Nate and I just looked at each other with disbelief. Then we both wondered aloud...."So...what is a yak?" We better find out quickly because our child is most certainly a genius!

more sad news.....

I can't believe I'm having to write this post......I can't believe what happened.....our beloved little doggie has died. We are a family with no pets.....I feel so sad!!

We woke up Saturday morning and noticed that Penny didn't seem to be around. We thought she must have gotten out of the yard, even though she'd never really gotten out before. Nate drove through the neighborhood, up and down every street, in and out of every cul-de-sac. I walked up and down the streets with Benjamin, asking every person I ran into if they'd seen a little black and white dog running around.....no one had. I immediately put together a "Lost Dog" flyer offering a reward for her safe return. We knew that if someone had Penny they may decide to keep her....she was so friendly and loving. As I was on the phone with the Humane Society, giving them a description of our Penny, Nate made a gruesome discovery.

With the small bits of evidence we found we have determined that Penny must have been killed and carried away by coyotes. We figure she must have heard something in the middle of the night and gone out to investigate....she probably thought she was going to play with something. She loved spending time chasing little field mice and lizards in our backyard. We've searched and searched for her remains, we'd really like the chance to bury her, but we haven't had any luck yet.

Penny was the best dog we ever could have hoped for. We searched for the best dog and once we laid eyes on her we knew she was the one. She was so gregarious and wanted nothing more than to sit in your lap and lick your face. The house feels so quiet without her. I miss hearing her clanking collar when she was running to greet me, I can hardly sleep without the sound of her snoring in her little dog bed at the foot of ours, and all those little snorts and snuffs when she was trying to find some remnant of Benjamin's dinner on the floor. I miss petting the soft spot on her squashed little nose and I miss the bare spot on her curly Q tail.

Benjamin hasn't really seemed to notice Penny being gone. It was the same when Oliver passed away. Of course, we had time to get used to Oliver being gone with all the doctor's visits, tests, medications, etc. We knew that Oliver was sick with cancer, that he hadn't eaten in weeks and that his death would end his suffering. Several days after Oliver was gone Benjamin told me the kitty had gone "night night." He's so intuitive and smart! With Penny gone I think Benjamin is just concerned because Nate and I have been so upset. He told Nate yesterday that "Mama sad." It just broke my heart!

I know that some day we will bring a new pet into our family. We even talked a bit today about what kind of dog we might like, but it made me miss Penny too badly. I think we'll have to take some time to heal the grief before we are ready to love a new furry friend. It just feels so weird not to have a pet, to not have to go to the pet store for anything, not have to worry about arranging for a pet sitter for an out of town trip. I'm sure we'll get used to it eventually. As for the rest of you with pets of your own.....make sure you hug them, hold them and love them while you can!

Huff Family Road Trip!

Well, this posting is LONG overdue. It's amazing how busy life can get sometimes...especially with a toddler! So, as part of our Huff family tradition, we took our summer road trip this June.We had the pleasure of traveling through 4 states!! Our destination.....Utah.

We left on Saturday morning headed for St. George, Utah. This is the town we stayed in while waiting for ICPC (state to state paperwork) to clear when we brought Benjamin home. We drove 7 hours through the desert, passing through Nevada, Arizona and into Utah. Benjamin slept in the car for about 2 hours the whole trip! He was just so curious about what was out his window and he wanted to listen to his "Backyardigans" music that we brought along on the iPod.
The next morning we headed up to the Salt Lake City area where Benjamin was born and his birthfamily still lives. We spent a few days just visiting with Vie and her family. Benjamin attended his first drumming circle, explored the mountains with Vie and was generally spoiled by everyone.....especially Grandma J! The first night we were there Grandma J took Benjamin to the store that she works to meet her co-workers. When they returned it looked like Benjamin had been to the County Fair! He had on a cowboy hat, a stuffed horse (that he sleeps with every night now), a balloon, and the dazed look of a child that has riden too many rides. The only thing missing was some puffy pink cotton candy! We all had such a great time visiting our Utah family!

Upon leaving Sandy City we drove the 5 hours to Springdale, Utah. This is the town just outside of Zion National Park. It's just a small town with a main road that has all the hotels, restaurants and tourist stops. We stayed at a hotel called "Flanigan's" which was just wonderful. They had a labrynth that was just a short little walk up a hill next to the hotel. We had fun our first morning walking around the labrynth and taking photos of the gorgeous red mountains.

Over the next several days we did some hiking all around Zion. I cant' even describe the beauty that we saw...it was just majestic.

The nicest thing about the trip was that once we parked our car at the hotel we didn't have to drive again! The town of Springdale has a shuttle bus that picks you up from one of 6 stops (one was just out in front of our hotel) and takes you to wherever you want to go. Each night we would take the shuttle to the restaurant of our choice for dinner and each day we rode the shuttle into Zion park. Once inside the park there is another shuttle that drives you through the 90 minute scenic drive. You can get off at one of the many spots and look around, hike, take photos and then hop on the next shuttle....they came every 6 minutes or so. Benjamin really liked riding the "choo choo bus" as he called it!

The first day in the park we decided to get off the shuttle bus to hike (walk) the "Riverside Walk." It was mostly paved or packed dirt and went along the Virgin River. Benjamin really got into the "hike" and seemed to be having such a great time. We walked for almost 2 hours and then Benjamin became very very tired. We got to the shuttle stop and I guess he figured we weren't going home if we got on the bus....he started saying "No Bus...NO BUS!" and "No Hike!" as loud as he could. By the time we got back to the hotel he tried to put himself to bed in the Pack n' Play!

The next day Benjamin was all excited to get on the "choo choo bus" and take a hike. We rode the shuttle to the "Weeping Rock" hike. It is a short but fairly steep hike. As soon as we stepped off the shuttle Benjamin began to say "No Hike" and Nate ended up having to carry him all the way to the top! It was so worth it though to see the hanging gardens and feel the cool mist from the water "weeping" from the sandstone rock.

Our last day at Zion we got smart....and brought our all terrain stroller into the park. We decided to do the "Emerald Pools" hike which was just a couple of hours of hiking. The last day was a bit warmer than the other days (Zion was experiencing abnormally cook weather while we were there...in the '70s with a light breeze...just perfect!) We stopped along the way to let Benjamin explore rocks, sticks, dirt and lizards!

The end of this trail ended at a pool (although not so emerald....or impressive!) with smooth, cool sandstone cliffs and several small waterfalls...it was just beautiful! Once we finished our hike and began to walk back to the shuttle bus, I looked down and saw that Benjamin had fallen deep asleep in his stroller....what a big week for such a big boy!

Goodbye Furry Friend

It is with much sadness that I announce the passing of our beloved friend Oliver. He really was a fantastic little kitty, always using the litter box, never scratching on the furniture and wanting nothing more than to be with his family. Oliver always knew if I felt sad or stressed out and would come to comfort me with his loud purring. I always felt better after petting his soft furry tummy or rubbing noses with him. He was just a sweet little fluffy orange lovey and I miss him already!

Two Monkeys & A Pirate......

I know.....it's been awhile since I've update the website....sorry!!! Life has been busy lately! Benjamin (and 40 of his closest friends and relatives) celebrated his 2nd birthday with a big Elmo birthday bash at That Pizza Place. It's sort of become a tradition to party at That Pizza Place since we were there for Benjamin's baby shower and his first birthday party. There was lots of fun to be had by all, loads of good pizza and cake and lots of fantastic presents for the birthday boy. Benjamin, of course, grew bored of opening gifts halfway through so it was up to Mommy and Daddy to continue for him. He was mostly interested riding the "horse" over in the corner by the video games. I don't think he's EVER going to get over his obsession with horses!

We were lucky enough that Benjamin's birthmom "Vie" was able to come out for the birthday party and spend a week at our house! I'm sure we bored her to death with our daily routine of playgroups, grocery shopping, walks at the harbor, etc. but we were thrilled that she was there! She gave Benjamin a skateboard (or as he calls it..."B-Bore") for his birthday. It's SUPER cool looking and very durable...it will last forever. He LOVES it and tries to jump on and ride whenever he gets the chance. I really think he knows HOW to ride the skateboard...he just can't get his 2 year old body to cooperate!

Benjamin was also the recipient of some birthday gifts through the mail. His Grandma J sent him some neat books and some stuff animals. One is a really soft beanie baby stuff monkey and the other is a furry stuffed monkey with bunny ears (Ben's birthday was several days before Easter!) Ever since Benjamin received these special monkeys he has to have them in bed with him every night. For those who were unaware....Benjamin already had a bedtime pal he was sleeping with every night....Uniqua, dressed as a pirate! For those of you who aren't lucky enough to watch cartoons made for 2 year olds, Uniqua is a character from Benjamin's all time (really his only) favorite tv show....The Backyardigans. Uniqua is a pink salamander looking character with dark pink dots. In one show she is a pirate looking for treasure, hence the pirate hat and pirate eye patch. This stuffed Uniqua also sings songs from the pirate show and tells us that "a pirate says arggghhhh!" So...now as I put Benjamin to bed, with his purple kitty pillow position just right (yes...it came clean....let's all say thanks to my wonderful husband Nate who braved putting it in the washing machine & dryer!) then I have to position the bear pillow just right. Then Benjamin puts his head on the kitty pillow and then, in this exact order, Uniqua, monkey and monkey bunny lay on the bear pillow. Then I have to cover them ALL with one blanket at a time (yes he still has the blanket thing going on too!) Then I am required to kiss each one goodnight! If one of these characters is missing he tells me "Mama.....Mama....arggghhhhh (for Uniqua) or "Ooo....Ooo (for the monkey.) I just hope by the time he goes away to college that he's over these weird nightime routines!! "Night Night Benjamin.....Night Night pirate Uniqua....Night Night Monkey....Night Night Monkey Bunny!"