Carsten's 1st Christmas

2009

We finally got our Christmas cards mailed off today (with two days to spare)! :)

Brian
His chiropractic practice is doing well. He enjoys helping people be healthy and can recommend a vitamin or supplement for nearly any ailment. :)
Brian has also done a lot of work around the house. In addition to all the maintenance and minor upgrades he does endlessly, he just finished two major projects: 1) RV gate he's been planning for six years and 2) additional cupboards and computer desk in the kitchen. Both projects turned out great. Brian replaced his truck with an Armada to accommodate our growing family, so the RV gate is used to store a trailer (to replace the truck bed).
Brian is serving as secretary in the Young Men's organization at church. He especially enjoys chaperoning the water and snow skiing activities.

Chanda
I spent most of the year being uncomfortably pregnant, so it feels great not to be pregnant anymore. :) I'm still working for Brian, although he hired an assistant to whom I've been able to turn over the day-to-day operations after the baby. I continued sewing a lot this year, including Elise's Halloween costume, but now Carsten takes up most of my time. He'll be my new hobby for quite a while. :)
At church, I play piano in Relief Society and am on the Committee Formerly Known As Enrichment. :)

Brian & I celebrated our two-year anniversary last January by going skiing in Arizona. We're looking forward to celebrating three years next month. :)

Ethan
Ethan is in 5th grade. He completed Cub Scouts, earning his Arrow of Light, and is now in 11 year old scouts. He competed in swim team over the summer and played flag football this fall.

Elise
Elise is in 1st grade and loves her teacher. She took swimming lessons in the summer and dance class in the fall. Elise loves to help cook at home and also enjoys covering the refrigerator with her artwork. She even colored a picture for Carsten before he was born.
Elise lost her first tooth this month. She asked the tooth fairy for candy and received chocolate "coin" candy (and a real dollar).

Treyton
Treyton is in 1st grade and, although he's doing well, looks forward to all half-days and school holidays. He took swimming lessons in summer and also attended summer school where his favorite subject was cooking class (he apparently didn't realize they were secretly incorporating math and reading).
Treyton lost his first two teeth in October. He got a gold Sacajawea dollar for the first tooth.

Carsten
Carsten was born!!! :)
That was the highlight of his year, as well as ours. :) We're so glad to have him! He is so precious and adorable. He smiles and coos which mesmerizes us all. He will be two months old on Christmas Eve. :)


We wish you all a Merry Christmas and Wonderful New Year!!! :)

Carsten @ 3 weeks old

Carsten Sterling Wright

The one day I was not expecting him to show up was his due date... so, of course, that's when he arrived! :)
24 Oct 2009
11:27pm
8 lbs 7.4 ozs



Here he is hanging out on the blanket his aunt Jen made for him.

Wright Reunion

Brian's extended family reunion was the same weekend as mine. He went to mine last time, so we went to his this year.

It started out in Jackson Hole, WY on Friday. We set up camp and then had dinner at a park in town, complete with clown for the kids. :)


Saturday we went rafting down the Snake River. We all did the tame float in the morning. Then Brian and Ethan also did a white water trip further down river that afternoon.


Sunday we went to the Grand Teton museum and all the kids started working on Junior Ranger badges. Then we went to a lake until it started raining.

Monday we packed up camp and stopped off to picnic and swim at String Lake on our way to our Yellowstone campsite.


Tuesday we saw Old Faithful and visited a lot of other hot pots and geysers.

(Click on picture to open video in new window)

Wednesday we drove and drove and drove in search of wildlife. The majority of what we saw, though, was the bison that kept stopping traffic by meandering into the road.


Thursday we packed up and headed toward home.

Babymoon

I calculated several months ago that the weekend of July 10th would be the one weekend before the baby is due that we would have no children at home... So, I was adamant that we utilize it. :)

We had a couple of free frequent flyer tickets to use, so we initially were planning to fly somewhere. However, with only a two-day weekend available, there weren't many options that wouldn't 1)waste half the weekend traveling and/or 2)waste the tickets on cheap, nearby locales.
We finally opted for a "local" babymoon. We were technically out of town (i.e. a different suburb of Phoenix than the one we live in) but we didn't need a rental car or anything. :) Surprisingly, it was very easy to forget we were close to home and it really felt like a vacation. :)

When we weren't hanging out in the pool, we turned the A/C down as low as it would go (something we would NEVER do at home) since it was 114 degrees outside.

We mostly ate at the hotel, since I had booked the room with a meal package. However, there was a Melting Pot nearby and I'd heard great things about it so I wanted to try it. I had also heard that dessert was not to be skipped, so I lucked out in finding this coupon for free dessert right before we went. It was delicious and I'm glad we got to try it. We had our own little booth with a curtain and it was very fun. :)

Tent Trailer

My sister told us about a great deal on a tent trailer. We weren't in the market for one, having just bought one about a year ago. However, it was such a good deal that we couldn't pass it up so we bought it anyway. Fortunately, Brian was able to sell our other one right away (within less than a day of listing it; Woohoo Craigslist!).

The new one is bigger all around (e.g., 2 king beds) and includes a toilet and shower (YEAH!). Of course Brian had to re-do all the upgrades he had done on the first one (i.e., stereo and porch lights) and there were a few things to be fixed (needed a new spare tire, new brakes, etc.), but overall it was still a great deal.


The two of us took it out for a test run a few weeks before Brian's family reunion. That really helped because we were able to figure out a few things and work out the kinks.


We also took the kayak out for its maiden voyage. :)


Treyton stayed home with Aunt Paige and, except for the fiesta going on ALL NIGHT LONG in the very next campsite, we had a really nice weekend.

Ultrasound Update

Okay, fine! If hardly anyone will guess, then I suppose I'll just let the cat out of the bag (so you can all start helping us come up with names)...



This is an image from below (i.e., as if he were sitting on the camera lens) and those are legs pointing left above and below the arrow ("BOY" is on the right leg).

We had one girl name that we both agreed on (probably a middle name), but we have no boy names that we can agree on so far. We're looking for something slightly different (i.e., absolutely, unequivocally not trendy), but not weird. Any suggestions? :D

Ultrasound

I'm at 20 weeks (half-way!) as of this past Saturday.
I went in for an ultrasound today.



Any guesses on gender? :D

Bad Mother

Our kids' school doesn't bus most of the kids who live within a mile of the school (the exception being the ones who live across a major street). I've measured it on my odometer and, although it is less than one mile from our subdivision, the school is 1.2 miles from our home. Yet... I still have to take the kids to and from school.

I really don't mind the driving. My issue is the remembering-to-pick-them-up part. I generally don't have a problem in the morning (unless I make the mistake of checking my e-mail that early) because their presence is a sufficient reminder that I need to take them to school. In the afternoon, however, I'm usually engrossed in some activity or other that causes me to lose track of time. Does this make me a bad mother? Every other parent seems to converge on the school like clockwork and I've never heard the slightest mention that it's hard for anyone else to remember to pick up their kids from school, so I feel like I'm alone in this.

Several months ago I stumbled upon a site called iwantsandy.com. I could set up tasks (e.g., "Pick up kids") and it would text me a reminder 15 minutes before I needed to pick up the kids. Unfortunately, Twitter decided to buy it and shut it down! I started using a new service (RememberTheMilk.com) that's pretty comparable for the most part. In fact, just today I learned that I can integrate it with my Google calendar, which is kind of cool. Then I also learned that I can sort of do the same thing with Google calendar (i.e. receive text reminders). However, I prefer to keep my calendar limited to actual appointments and such and not clutter it up with daily "Pick up kids"-type reminders, so I'll keep my RTM service.

Am I the only one out there who doesn't instinctively sense when the end of the school day is near without an external reminder?
And if I'm not utterly alone in this, does anyone want to share any nifty technological advances that I might find useful? :)

Laptop update

My new battery arrived today. Shortly thereafter... I did a little research online and discovered that I am not alone in my battery issues for this brand of laptop. This particular laptop apparently has a flaw wherein a DVD playing program it comes with causes the registry to become corrupted, which causes the CPU to run at full speed on battery power (instead of using the power management settings that slow it down when running off the battery). Apparently I can fix this myself with some techno geek ninja skills, but the site that will tell me how is currently down due to a hard drive malfunction.

So... at least I have my new battery for now that may (fingers crossed) function properly as long as I don't run the DVD program (then again it may not, since the registry is already corrupted). Bleh.

Laptop

I bought a laptop when I started law school. It's tiny and I love it, but I hate it when things are not charged so I was constantly plugging it in to make sure the battery never died. I ruined several cell phone batteries that way before I learned what I was doing wrong (I am now working on year #2 with the same phone battery for the first time ever!). Now, supposedly lithium-ion batteries (which my laptop has) are not supposed to do this, but mine definitely took a dive due to the constant charging. It would start out fully charged and within a very short period of time (sometimes just a few minutes) it would die.

So... I pretty much haven't used my laptop for the past year or two. I pulled it out from under the bed this past week and decided I would get a new battery (now that I know how to properly care for them). I ordered a new battery and then... decided to wait for this one to die.
After about 30 minutes of using battery power, it died. I pushed the power button and was able to use it for another 10 minutes before it died again. Then I pushed the power button again and... 15-20 minutes later it's still going!!! My battery indicator has said "0%" for quite some time now, but it's still going!

I have learned:

1. Lithium-ion batteries do suffer from the "memory effect" even though the experts claim they don't and
2. NEVER order a brand-new, non-returnable battery until you are absolutely sure that your current one is really, truly irreparably damaged.

Eighteen Weeks

I felt something on Mother's Day that I was 60% sure was the baby moving. Then I felt something two days later that I was 90% sure was the baby moving. Now I'm feeling movement daily, but every time I try to let Brian feel, it stops. It's getting more frequent, so it shouldn't be long before it's constant enough for Brian to feel it. At this point I'm still impatient for the kicking to really begin, but I know I'll regret it because I remember being miserable with Treyton kicking me in the ribs for months on end.

Maternity clothes mostly don't fit yet, but I'm getting there. I only kept one maternity outfit from Treyton (a denim jumper that I really liked) and I pulled it out last week. Brian says this baby needs to get bigger before it looks like a maternity dress; right now it just looks like a muumuu. Fortunately, my sister, Carla, gave me a few really cute maternity shirts. Also, we went to Goodwill yesterday and got a couple things. Brian wanted camping pants so as not to ruin his good jeans and I am always on the lookout for decent maternity clothing lately. Work is still pretty easy (drawstring scrubs are very maternity-friendly), but I have no idea what I'm going to wear to church tomorrow. :P

Board Games

Brian & I started a game of Cities & Knights with Ethan last Wednesday. It's been on our table all week waiting for them to come back tomorrow so we can finish it. (Treyton was concerned that the "Toy Monster", who takes toys that are left out overnight, would take our game. I told him I'd write the Toy Monster a note explaining the situation and asking him to leave the game alone.)

I love playing board games and having one out in plain sight all week has made me want to play more.
Yesterday I challenged Brian to a game of Scrabble. He was really giving me a run for my money... until I managed to get a 66-point word ("quartz" with the "q" on a double-letter score plus a double-word score). Seriously, I think he would have beat me if it hadn't been for that word.
Then we played Rummikub. I had never played before in my life, but I thought we could both learn together. Turns out, Brian has played it for years... He totally cleaned my clock. I did not feel guilty for Scrabble after that. :)

I still want a Rummikub rematch. :)

Thirteen Weeks

I hit the thirteen week mark this past Tuesday. I'm officially in the second trimester. Apparently I should be getting over the morning sickness about now, but I never had any... My sisters are jealous; they've had more than their fair shares.

Last night I dreamed that I could feel the baby doing somersaults. But I really can't feel anything yet. I don't even feel pregnant (probably because of no sickness).

One of my sisters is having a girl in June. Another sister is having a boy in September. I'm going to wait another month or so to find out what we're having, but our baby will have a same-gendered cousin close in age either way. :)

Anniversary Gift

And as a belated anniversary gift from our ski trip...

Anniversary 2

We took our annual anniversary snow trip to Sunrise this year. It was great fun, as usual. :)

Hot Tamales

Many moons ago... my friend Kristy gave me some corn husks for tamale-making purposes. I was in Ohio at the time and it just wasn't going to happen there, but I was hopeful that someday I would attempt and conquer that task.

In January, I finally decided it was now or never. I found a fabulous recipe on the Internet and set about to acquire all the ingredients and cooking gadgets I'd need. I warned Brian beforehand that this was my project and he should not touch anything... (I can be a little territorial when I want to prove to myself that I can do something from start to finish.)

I cooked the meat per the instructions and waited until the next day to do the rest (recommended in the instructions). The next day, I soaked the husks, made the masa, and began assembling tamales. I filled one pot full of tamales but... the meat bowl looked just as full as it had when I started! That's when I realized I had bitten off more than I could chew...
I went pleading to my dear, wonderful, sweet husband to ignore what I said earlier and please, please, please save me from myself. And he did. :D


So, together, we spent the rest of the evening making several dozen tamales. They turned out great!

P.S.
Yes, Monica, they freeze well. One of the kitchen gadgets I acquired was a vacuum sealer; the recipe says they will keep indefinitely that way. :D

Join in the fun

Copy and paste the list. Bold the things you have done...

1. Started your own blog 2. Slept under the stars 3. Played in a band 4. Visited Hawaii 5. Watched a meteor shower 6. Given more than you can afford to charity 7. Been to Disneyland 8. Climbed a mountain 9. Held a praying mantis 10. Sang a solo 11. Bungee jumped 12. Visited Paris 13. Watched a lightning storm at sea 14.Taught yourself an art from scratch 15. Adopted a child 16. Had food poisoning 17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty 18. Grown your own vegetables 19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France 20. Slept on an overnight train 21. Had a pillow fight 22.hitch hiked 23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill 24. Built a snow fort 25. Held a lamb 26. Gone skinny dipping 27. Run a 1/2 Marathon 28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice 29. Seen a total eclipse 30. Watched a sunrise or sunset 31.hit a home run. 32.been on a cruise 33. Seen Niagara Falls in person 34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors 35. Seen an Amish community 36. Taught yourself a new language 37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied 38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person 39. Gone rock climbing 40. Seen Michelangelo’s David 41. Sung karaoke 42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt 43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant 44. Visited Africa 45. Walked on a beach by moonlight 46. Been transported in an ambulance 47. Had your portrait painted 48. Gone deep sea fishing 49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person 50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris 51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling 52. Kissed in the rain 53. Played in the mud 54. Gone to a drive-in theater 55. Been in a movie 56. Visited the Great Wall of China 57. Started a business 58. Taken a martial arts class 59. Visited Russia 60. Served at a soup kitchen 61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies 62. Gone whale watching 63. Got flowers for no reason 64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma 65. Gone sky diving 66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp 67. Bounced a check 68. Flown in a helicopter 69. Saved a favorite childhood toy 70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial 71. Eaten Caviar 72. Pieced a quilt 73. Stood in Times Square 74. Toured the Everglades 75. Been fired from a job 76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London 77. Broken a bone. 78.Been on a speeding motorcycle 79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person 80. Published a book 81. Visited the Vatican 82. Bought a brand new car 83. Walked in Jerusalem 84. Had your picture in the newspaper 85. Read the entire Bible 86. Visited the White House 87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating 88. Had chickenpox 89. Saved someone’s life 90. Sat on a jury 91. Met someone famous 92. Joined a book club 93. Lost a loved one 94. Had a baby 95. Seen the Alamo in person 96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake 97. Been involved in a law suit 98. Owned a cell phone 99. Been stung by a bee 100.Made amends with someone who offended you 101. Flew in a small Cessna plane with just you and the pilot 102. Ran out of gas 103. Eaten fried okra 104. Swam in the Caribbean Sea 105. Peed in a swimming pool 106. Stayed in a beach house 107. Hosted an exchange student 108. Been a Secret Santa to a family in need 109. Worked on a political campaign 110. Coached a sports team 111. Baked bread from scratch 112. Driven from coast to coast 113. Paid off all of your debt 114. Roast marshmallows over a campfire 115. Cut up a credit card 116. Drove a car through a flood 117. Been on t.v 118. Had braces 119. Been to the top of the twin towers in NY. 120. Have played in both the Atlantic & Pacific Oceans 121. Been to ground zero 122. Bitten your fingernails 123. Scrapbooked 124. Visited Mexico 125. Seen a Tornado in person 126. Been lost at sea 127. Kissed a frog. 128. Given birth to twins. 129. Received 2 moving violation tickets in 1 day. 130. Taught English in a foreign country 131. Gone rappelling

Make sure to add a new question once you're done.