Diaper Cakes

So, I know you're asking yourself as you read the title of this post: WHAT THE HECK IS A DIAPER CAKE? Is it a cake made to look like a diaper? (YUCK!) Or worse, a cake made of diapers. I'm afraid to say it's the latter.

Yesterday, a friend in the ward and I put on a baby shower for the girl I visit teach. She is not a member of the church, but her husband is. They just moved up here and come from VERY HUMBLE circumstances. My friend, Natalie, decided that we should throw her a baby shower to help her get the things she needs before the baby comes.


Natalie is very creative and cute. She is our ward activity leader and does an AMAZING job! The other day, she called to ask me if I could help her out by making a diaper cake that we could put as a centerpiece for the shower. I had to ask her a few times to explain the said "cake" to me. (Does it involve food AND diapers?) Finally, I told her that I'd do it and I turned to the internet. Apparently these cakes made out of diapers are very popular. Here is me making the cake. I'll have you know that Evan made fun of me throughout this adventure, meanwhile proceeding to give me advice on how I could make it look better. :)




POST. SCRIPT. No, I don't always look this ugly. I happened to be making HIDEOUS faces in the above pictures, mostly to satiate Evan's desire to make fun of me. :)

Off-the-Radar Rock

Last Saturday, Evan and I went to a little-known rock climbing area nearby. To get from the base of the cliff up to the rock, it took A LOT OF SCRAMBLING and about 20 minutes over boulders, sticker bushes, through trees, and walking up a ledge using a rope that's be there for 15 years. It was exciting. We had our harnesses on before we ever went up the rope so that as soon as we got to the top, we could hook into the rock. I belayed from the middle of a cliff, which was adventurous and a new experience for me.

All in all, it wasn't the most fun climbing experience I've ever had. The rock was SUPER dirty and had bugs (I have 2 spider bites that won't go away) crawling all over it. I don't mind bugs, but when you can't swat them away because you're climbing or belaying, it makes it hard to do your job.

View from my belaying point (No, I was not taking this picture as I was belaying. Shame on you for even thinking that!)

Evan tying into the rock

Olympic-Sized Fun

On a spur of the moment trip, my sister, close family friend, Cathy Smith, and I all went to the home of the 2010 Winter Olympics: Vancouver, BC. Our good friend, Cathy Smith, came up for wedding Thursday night. Friday morning, I called to set up a time to come see her. When I called, I found out that they were out the door on their way to Canada. They asked if I wanted to come. Of course I did!

I cancelled all of my plans for the day to drive my little Subaru up to Canada. We had a great time together! We all have a lot of energy and the ability to walk for miles (literally). We covered quite a bit of ground and got to see a some Olympians, the Olympic torch (which was AMAZING looks like the flames are encased in ice), celebrators galore, Stephen Colbert (I spotted and then we followed him to his seaplane escape), BC Place where all of the events are held, and just got a general feeling of what the 2010 Olympics are all about. We met people from so many different countries, and my sister and I got the chance to speak German. It was awesome.

The Olympic torch (they put a gate around it because some guy tried to climb up it)


View from the water near the torch


On the subway





I seem lucky enough to be in BIG cities when they have painted statues around their city commemorating the year (Berlin, Zurich, Seattle, Munich to name a few). This year, Vancouver has beautifully painted eagles gracing their streets.

Rock Climbing Adventures Continue

As I'm sure you're all aware, Evan and I graciously accepted the invitation to watch my sister's children while she and her husband were in Costa Rica. For months, nay years, Evan and I have wanted to take the kids rock climbing. Last time we watched the kids for my sister (in September), Evan taught the kids how to rappell and then helped them prussic up the huge tree in their back yard to rappell down. THEY LOVED IT! (see photo below)



We bought a harness that would fit the kids in hopes that SOME DAY we could take them climbing. That some day arrived on Saturday, February 6th. We piled into two separate cars (we misplaced the van keys) and began our journey to a man-made outdoor rock area in Spanaway, Washington. Sure, there were a few tears shed when push came to shove and the 6 and 10 year olds were trying to rappell down the "tall" rock. Eventually, though, everyone got over their fears and had a fun time. In fact, after 5 hours of climbing and rappelling, the kids didn't want to go home! Hopefully this means more rock climbing adventures are in store for these kids in the future. :)

Maria was fearless... after a while she stopped climbing with the rope and harness.


My little Billy-baby didn't climb using a rope, but we had a fun time playing together!



Annie's pants at the end of the day:

Roommate Visit

I feel really blessed to be living back in Seattle. It seems that Seattle is a hotspot for visitors! Ever since I've moved back from Hawaii, I've had MANY friends and family come to Seattle for work or otherwise. I don't care how they get here, I enjoy being able to catch up with people!

Recently, my old roommate, Christy, told me she was coming up to Seattle with her husband and adorable baby. They were able to come over one night so I could meet their baby and they could meet Evan for the first time. We had such a great time together! It's hard to believe that we started college together as roommates nearly 10 years ago. Am I that old?!

(And yes, that is a surfboard hanging on the wall in the picture. We have 3 surfboards and 3 bikes in an apartment with no storage closet. Do you want to take some stuff off our hands?)

Mid-Winter Break

Next week, I have an entire student-free week of school because of Mid-Winter Break. Here are some things I hope to accomplish during said break:

Keep in mind, I have a week to do all of these things (and probably more that I've forgotten). I may or may not get them all done. I'm putting them on here so you can hold me to them if I don't finish.

FINALLY Home

After 12 days of sleeping in someone else's bed, I returned home last night. What a GLORIOUS feeling it is to sleep in your own bed with your own pillow (and all that that entails)!

Even though Evan and I have been both staying at my sister's house to watch her children while she was gone, I feel like we HARDLY saw each other! He had to drive an hour away to get to school. When he got home, I was running the kids around to sports/church activities or busy with the kids. He was busy spending time with my brother (who is really struggling) or studying for school.

Although I LOVED spending time with my 3 nieces and 1 nephew, I'm definitely glad to be home. Being away from your normal comforts always seems to remind me of what I have to be grateful for.

In other news, we took the 4 kids rappeling and rock climbing last Saturday. I'll post pictures soon when I get a second to get them off my camera. The kids loved it and had so much fun! Sure, there were a few initial tears of fear shed at the beginning, but after 5 hours, they all wanted to stay longer! Looks like we'll be taking the kids climbing again with us. :)

Email is Evil

As a former AP Literature teacher, I taught my students much about the TONE, DICTION, and CONNOTATION associated with words and phrases in literature. Even in the written word, phrases used can tell us if the author is excited, angry, or sad.

Email is no different than other forms of written communication. With email, however, words can be lost on someone who isn't clued into the TONE or CONNOTATION you would normally use with your voice. The frustration comes in when you mean one thing and the person assumes another based on what you have written.

As I sit here pondering the 2 occasions (TODAY!) that I've had people misinterpret (what I thought was) very clear word choice in my emails, I ask myself WHY?

Did I not write these emails as clearly as I meant to? (Re-reading what I wrote)
No, I wrote exactly what I meant to write. My meaning seems very clear.

Did the person not read the email in its entirety? (Again, re-reading what I wrote)
It is definitely a possibility I'm not ruling out.

Did the person start to read and form meaning based on past experiences or current anger issues or problems?
We might have a close answer to our dilemma.

Did I misread the email response and assume too much about the tone of it?
Maybe the issue is me. Perhaps I'm reading too far into the tone of the 2 people I've angered today via email.

Hopefully tomorrow I will be more careful about my words... or else I can stay clear of email for a few days.

Superbowl Sunday

From my students dressing up for their favorite team today to the talk of what snacks you eat for Superbowl Sunday on many blogs... Everywhere I look, there is so much hype about Superbowl Sunday! And, frankly, I couldn't care less.

If it weren't for my students arguing and debating about which team is going to win, I honestly would have NO CLUE who was even playing in the Superbowl, let alone on which Sunday the game was going to be played. Evan and I don't have access to TV channels at our apartment. We're happy that way. So, why do my students think that I'm crazy because I don't care who is going to win a football game?

Way back when 12 years ago, my family would record the Superbowl on their VCR. Even then, I didn't care about the game. I only wanted to see which outrageous advertisers were willing to pay big money to have their 30-second time slot during the game.

So, are my students right? Am I crazy that I don't enjoy watching sports on TV? Is it "un-American" of me to not want to watch the biggest football game of the year? Regardless of what people think, I will be enjoying time with family that day SANS TV.

Free Cookies

Tonight, I dropped by the local QFC to pick up some dishwasher detergent. My niece, Annie, happened to be with me. The girl loves going to the store, mostly because of the free cookies. As we walked into the store, immediately the begging began. She wanted one of the free cookies the bakery offers.

As she adoringly chewed on the chocolate chip delight, I thought how funny it is that we can walk into a grocery store and demand a free cookie from the bakery. I have friends and family in Germany. I laughed at what they would think if I told them that we get FREE cookies at the grocery store if we ask for them. Do they do this in grocery stores in other states? Other countries?

In other news, Evan and I are parents for 11 days, hence the reason I haven't written about our recent adventures. My sister and brother-in-law went out of town to Costa Rica on a well-deserved vacation (and business trip).

From making sure that the kids are ready for school and lunches made, to running the kids around to various sports games/practices, life is hectic as a working "mom." I feel like I can barely get the kids ready for school before I am able to rush out the door to teach!

I don't know how working mothers do it, let alone those who are SINGLE, working mothers. My hat goes off to them! We are enjoying our time with the kids, but I realized today that I will be glad to get back to the life that doesn't involve running kids to sports practices, church meetings, school, friends, etc. I'm so glad that kids come into this world in baby form. It definitely helps to ease a parent into the joy, laughter, noise, errands, interruptions, sports, messes, crying, smiles, and everything that is the life of a child.