Pinterest recipe for Stuffed Peppers and Child Safety

As promised, long ago when I thought it was a great idea to blog about myself, I would like to share a receipe. Would you believe it, I found it on Pinetrest. The site I spend a little too much time on. If you have not been sucked into the Pinterest black hole...do it. Do it now. I love being able to organize the different receipes and craft ideas...among thousands of other things.
But this receipe.
It was fairly simple, and even though I had beautiful Marisha and Cynthia over to cook with me, I think I could have had a Pinterest Success Stories as opposed to a Pinterest Fail. Again, for those Pinteresters, you know exactly what I mean.

We made Turkey Stuffed Bell Peppers. The pin I found originated from the Skinnytaste blog, and it was the featured recipe on November 6, 2008, and I adapted it only because I did not have ingredients it called for.
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2008/11/turkey-stuffed-peppers-45-pts.html

Would you take a look at that delicious looking pepper.

 As you can see, it was not the photo I took.

We used 3 bell peppers, which made a total of 6 servings after we halved them....and then three ladies and two 18 month old children gobbled them up before we could take a victory picture.

But I promise, they looked just like this. Actually, we might have put a little more cheese on ours.
 Just a Scosh.
Because I am showing you the Original Recipe photo, I thought it would be polite to show you the original recipe as well. I will indicate where we added our own twist:

• 1 lb lean chopped turkey meat- Ground Turkey worked great
• 1 garlic, minced
• 1/4 onion, minced
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro or parsley Did not have
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• salt to taste
• 3 large sweet red bell peppers, washed We used Red Yellow and Orange. All added great flavor
• 1 cup fat free chicken broth Mine had not obtained freedom from fat
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce Used Bertolli Four Cheese Rosa. It was a good choice. (sorry Mary)
• 1 1/2 cups cooked rice I used Brown Rice
• Olive oil spray
• 1/4 cup reduced fat shredded cheese

 The original recipe directions are as followed:
Heat oven to 400°. Spray a little olive oil spray in a medium size saute pan and heat on a medium flame. Add onion, garlic and cilantro to the pan. Saute about 2 minutes and add ground turkey. Season with salt and garlic powder, and cumin and brown meat for several minutes until meat is completely cooked through. Add 1/4 cup of tomato sauce(I used 3/4 of the 4 cheese Roma jar in the end) and 1/2 cup of chicken broth, mix well and simmer on low for about 5 minutes. Combine cooked rice and meat together.

Cut the bell peppers in half lengthwise, and remove all seeds. Place in a baking dish. Spoon the meat mixture into each pepper half and fill it with as much as you can. Place all stuffed pepper halves on the baking dish and pour the remainder of the chicken broth on the bottom of the pan(this helped cook the peppers). Cover tight with aluminum foil and bake for about 35 minutes. Top with shredded cheddar cheese and enjoy.(we put the cheese on top and then cooked. Cynthia even made a foil 'tent' so that the cheese would not get cooked to the top...and thus gave us a Pinterest Success vs Fail photo...which we would have had to post)

Clara featured in new child size 5 baby shark robe

Oh you came here for your Clara fix? Well look no further. Let me tell you something about this child. 

 She has learned "No". And not just 'No". It's "NO, emphasis on the short o"...almost like a nah".
 She spouts this horrific noise as she points her chubby inch and a half long pointer finger at me, at the dog, at the neighbors dog, at the kid in the pool who said hi to her...She is relentless.
I'm pretty sure she would do it to Pope Benedict XVI if he showed up in the mojave desert tomorrow.

She is perfecting tantrums daily, but she is also surprising me by how well she follows directions and how much easier it is getting for us to understand one another.

Andy and I realized that we ruined our chance to use the "I'm going to count to 3" as a rule of warning...as we played the "one, two, three, weee" swinging game as we walk on either side of her.

My Hartley-Diedrich family will be happy to hear that we did not abandon this way of (hopeful) preventative discipline, but chose to simply count in German. Lets be honest, it sounds a lot more threatening.

So when Clara will not climb down off the coffee table after I ask her, I simply start the slow chant (through my teeth) of "eins......zwei......drei..." and depending on her speedy reaction she ends up escaping with her dignity, or with a few minutes in time out.

Due to the fact that she has been falling out of her big girl bed, I must thank pinterest again for this wonderful idea! We nabbed a swimming pool noodle for $1 and simply slid it under the sheet. Tonight is the first night using it...we will see how it goes!

A series of Unfortunate Events(From a 1st world perspective)

I debated how to write this entry, as I wanted to share with everyone the unfortunate hilarity that plagued our house this past week. Yet, I felt like after my 'woe-is-me-I-have-Scoliosis-and-it-doesn't-even-hurt' post, that I should not follow up with more whining from a middle class American.

 But I'm going to.

It started out when Andy left his iPhone in a Humvee. Not in a friends car. Not on the desk at work. In a Humvee. Even though we've had an Army filled life for the past 2 years, somethings still catch me off guard. Long story short, there is no hope recovering the phone. Hopefully a bearded lizard out in the Mojave drug it back to it's hole and used the remaining battery listening to Toby Keith, Kenny Loggins, and the theme song to Robin Hood prince of thieves. (I try to keep Andy on his toes, musically).

So many ways to lose a phone from this vehicle..

That is my best assumption. In reality, someone probably found it and doesn't feel like trying to give it back. Someone took Andy's coffee mug after a giant formation of soldiers and I guess he had a little melt down in front of some people. Luckily, I had purchased a 2 pack from Costco, so I wrote his name all of the second one. I should have thought to write his name on the iPhone too...

Anyhow: I had planned on upgrading my phone once I got to Alaska in July. My iPhone has been awesome, but I'm wearing it out, and if anyone follows the facebook photos I put up, the quality is getting horrible. Why not get a nice camera instead? According to Andy, I still believe money grows on trees and I was told to make a "want" list...and when I get a job I'm allowed to buy those items with my own money. He's lucky is so handsome, otherwise I would have taken that statement and bought the car that had the built in DVD system.

The whole reason I was waiting to purchase a phone in Alaska was because California charges $50 in taxes to purchase an iPhone. I am not going to rant, but I do feel cheated. I do believe in taxes, and I understand why they are needed...but I do NOT believe in the tax of an electronic that is not the same across the country.

So what happened? I paid it anyways. Only one of our lines was eligible for upgrade, and we sucked it up and paid our dues to California. This state will be lucky if it sees ONE cent from us after we leave. (watch, now Clara will want to go to UCSD for college). So, as I write this blog, I am waiting for the post man to deliver the new phone. That means I haven't even showered, because you KNOW the one time I'm in no condition to answer a door bell, he'll ring it 4 times.

On Thursday Andy left into the field around 4 am. Because he is phoneless, and I think where they were running a mission he did not even have service, I have not been able to talk with him. It's frustrating, but like I've said before, I know he's only 20 miles out in the desert playing war, so I'll be okay.

But, while he was gone, I endured a series of unfortunate events with Clara.

It all started when she woke up way too early for her own good. Because she had begun to hit inanmiate objects and yell at the music playing while I did the dishes, she earned herself an early nap in her crib. About 5 minutes of crying protests go by and her cries turn into painful shrieks. I raced up the stairs at an incredible speed to find poor little Clara's leg WEDGED between two bars of her crib. I know she did this on purpose, but I don't think she took into account that her knees are larger than the rest of her leg (right, because she is only 18 months) and her poor right like was stuck bad.
I quickly, but gently, tried to ease her leg back into the crib, and poor scared Clara screamed louder in pain. I tried to maniptulate the cheap wood horizontally, to see if it would give just enough for Clara's leg to go back into the crib. It would not budge.



In the one or two seconds I stopped to think of my options, Clara looked at me with so much fear and pain that I summoned all my he-man mama bear woman strength and I ripped the bar clean off the crib.

Hopefully Andy has learned his lesson in proper photo etiquette

 She was pretty upset after the whole ordeal, and she has two dark bruises on either side of her knee. I guess this was Clara's newest way of telling us she was ready for a change in the sleeping department. You may notice that her mattress is lower than her crib frame. That was our attempt to keep her from climbing out of her crib, as she had done on the lowest crib setting back in February. You may recall 'rug burn Clara'...and she didn't climb out, she threw herself from the crib. We caught her in the act.

.





I decided to use this experience to turn her crib into a big girl bed!  It looked really promising, until I tried to leave the room and let Clara take a nap.

 
After an Hour of trying everything, (all those toys and blankets) I finally turned her big girl bed into a 3 sided crib and she fell asleep.

As of today, she has slept like a champ all night long in her "big girl bed". She woke up this morning, walked into my room, and patted me on the arm while making the 'hungry' sign. But today for nap time, I had to turn it back into the 3 sided crib. She is so worried she is going to miss something, I think the 'open' side of the bed is way too damn tempting.

So as it stands. 3 sided crib for naps...big girl bed for night time. It's progress :)

I have to wrap this post up with the story of the death of my Kindle. (See, I told you this was filled with 1st world woes)





I found Clara a pair of plastic pink high heels a few weeks ago. They are way too big and, like her mother, her foot is way too wide to fit into a normal heeled shoe. But she stomps around in them all the same.

During one of her stomping/cat walk struts. She tripped and fell up against the wall.

Well, since I am such a horrible mother, I laughed out loud before I covered my mouth to hide my smile.

Clara went from aspiring teenager to full pissed Godzilla. And that was when the rampage began. 

This is the result of Clara-zilla above

 RIP in Kindle. You were no match for 30 pounds of force reigning down up on you from the misunderstood stomp of a toddler. Thank you for getting me through over a 100 books.

I will leave this blog with a thanks to Kelsey Cebula, who said I could have her old one :)

And with this picture of the three of us at the Drive In watching Madagascar 3. Clara refered to it as "mommit mommit", since I pumped her up with "I like to move it move it" for the past 3 weeks in preparation for the movie :)

Heidi Jo Scoliosis Lean

Ever since I gave birth to 9 lb 2 oz Clara, my back has been bothering me. Andy has always called me "the princess and the pea" when it came to beds....I think Goldilocks would have been a better reference, as I am much more apt to say "This bed is too hard...this bed is too soft...this one is just right :) We are currently on the second bed in the Goldilocks scenario...but I have been promised a King size "just right" this fall. Originally it was going to join our family when we moved from Fort Irwin, but I was nasty and pulled the "I'm not trying to squeeze all of us (whenever Lean Baby part 2 shows up) into one bed...because you know Clara will ninja her way in here half the time"....so by pulling the baby card from the deck, he agreed a new bed could be purchased.

Back to the point of the story, my back has been bothering me, and I kept thinking it was my pillow top bed that is now too soft. It's moved around, had two large people and a small person..okay and Ju-Ly spending quite a bit of time on there. Ever since I had Clara, I have had 5 different series of lower back muscle spasms (throwing my back out) that have completely immobilized me. I had gone to the clinic here and was given low dose muscle relaxants, and those helped a little, but didn't even completely take the edge off.

I finally went to a chiropractor. One of my favorite people in the world, Kelly Watson, just became a Doctor of Physical Therapy. Therefore, I did not even want to tell her I went. But, as it would have taken a week just to be seen to be referred to a PT...I figured I'd just avoid her. She lives in Florida, how hard can it be? I broke down and emailed her that night. ALSO, Mind you, Andy's father had a horrible experience with a chiropractor, and since he is Captain America to Andy, that means chiropractors do not do anything good. I am actually really sympathetic for my father in law, back pain is nothing to make fun of. But I WILL make fun of my husband, who flat out "doesn't believe in" a chiropractor. When I asked him, "Andy, how do you think they have stayed in business for so long?" I am not even joking, his reply was " Well, psychics have been in business a long time too Heidi".

So while my husband was trying to convince me the chiropractor was akin to a psychic, I made my appointment and made the uncomfortable hour drive to Barstow. The chiropractor was awesome, especially for getting me in the same day I called, and he also took x-rays for free since I was the spouse of an active duty soldier. While he is taking my x-rays he says, "Oh, you have a bit of scoliosis huh?" And I laugh and say "Oh ha ha ha, my back just hurts"...

In which he replies, "No seriously, you have scoliosis"

 My back is on the right.

 Or so I thought for the last 25 years.

 Nope, that is my back on the left! Crazy!

My right hip is also higher than the other hip... But this is not what was making my back hurt. Granted, there are quite a few things that could be worked on, some tension and pressure released here and there that would probably help my back NOT to have spasms. The chiropractor did a few adjustments and I left feeling better, but still with pain in my back. I came home and was excited to show Andy, proof that I wasn't just whining as he so dared to mention in the conversation that included physic chiropractors... He had the nerve to ask me "were you in the same room when he took these?" "um yes, Andrew, clearly you have never received an x-ray". But THEN he asked me if I was sure it was my back! "I mean, did you see him print the exact photo?"
Holy cow Andy.

He just could not believe that my back could look like that without him noticing. Since I don't walk around with my hands touching my toes, I doubt he would notice...and even when he made me bend over and touch my toes so he could feel my spine (super painful with muscle spasms going on by the way) He still was not convinced.

Now granted, I understand that my is not the same as the photo to the left, as mine is blown up to be focused on my lower back, but I still think that is a significant curve. Perhaps that it was it was so hard to have Clara? It took that kid forever to make it down to the right area...no wonder, that little adventurer was squeezing through maze!

He also did not think it was very funny when I said "Hey, look how skinny I look in my x-rays"

Side Note: I was born this way. (Gaga style). There is a chance that the curve become more pronounced during my huge growth spurt (like 4 inches)  in high school. But I do not need surgery. I scared Reba and Mo pretty bad when I send them the photo. Sorry girls :) If anything, I hope to get in to see a Physical Therapist to learn stretches and exercises that will help my particular back and keep it from getting too tight!

Fast forward a Few months to Summer in the Mojave Desert

Apologizing for my lack of blogging is an understatement, as I am mad that I waited so long.

In all honesty, I started to feel like everything I wanted to write about was about my child. So i waited until I could think of something else to try to exaggerate and and draw out....but only this came to mind ...

  There is a part of me that does not want to be classified (by my friends without children)...as the 'mom who wouldn't shut up about her kid'. Yet, most of the current hilarity in my life comes from mine and Andy's own expense of procreating.

Granted, we do live very far away from friends and family, and I'm sure those who are interested probably appreciate hearing the ins and outs of our hard headed Hurricane Clara. Not to be confused with Hurricane Clara who never hit land fall in 1977 (see photo).

This Clara has hit landfall and has a special talent for casing catastrophic destruction, most of it on my nerves. But, in the eye of the storm she is peaceful and sweet, often giving me kisses and squeezing me until she finally exhales as loud as she can before whirling off to rip all the magnets off the refrigerator and throw them in the garbage. To Andy, She is an excellent DE-clutter-er, as she has taking a liking to throwing everything away..into both the trash and the recycling. I'm sorry for the recycling center, I think they have received empty bottles, rinsed out cans, a few socks, some dog food, my brand new mascara, and a few 'stinky stinky' diapers. Selfishly, I am not sorry I stopped fishing the miscellaneous items out of the blue bin, as it would literally take up half of my day.

Although it is hurricane season 24/7 at 8318 A Shiloh St, it does not take into account our HOT 103 F sunshine we had today. It makes it hard to be motivated to go outside and do anything! We have been having a LOT of water dates...in our little princess pool or at the pool here on post. Clara SUCH a little fish. Miss Chloe Allen called it on day 1...'that girl is going to be a swimmer'. she might be right. What she did NOT call on day 1, was after 20 minutes at the pool, Clara would whine to have her puddle jumper removed, and then take it upon herself to try to throw herself into the deep end.

Most recently she got in trouble for trying to jump in the deep end, had her puddle jumper put back on, and THREW herself forward onto the ground screaming. Good thing she had a floatation devince on her chest, otherwise it might have knocked the wind out of her! (Clara is 30 pounds and almost 3 feet tall!!) When she realized I was not impressed, she simply opened that big wide Lean mouth and proceeded to LICK the ground. We have not been back to the pool since.

But while we get to bask (or chase toddlers) at the pool, Andy gets to work out in the heat, dressed in a full military uniform. That poor guy gets home from work (I know, that's almost a joke in its self) and heads straight to take a shower. Complain as we might, I know both of us are VERY thankful it is a dry heat.Even if it is 110 F by 9 am.

So you can probably guess we are not the biggest fans of the Mojave desert.

 But we are fans of each other, and glad that even if he works non stop around the clock with only 6 days off a month, I am happy that he is in my desert backyard, and not the desert over seas. A lot of spouses here tell me they think it is easier when their husband deploys, as you know he will be gone and you do not have to worry up the disruption of a routine and schedule until he comes home. I can fully understand that, but never experiencing Andy being gone on deployment myself, I try very hard to be optimistic and thankful that we do see him as little, or as often as we do.

So much happens every day that I curse under my breath that I have not documented it, via blog. Clara likes to read books, I am starting to love the heat, Clara got stuck in the top of a McDonalds playland, I stopped drinking soda, Andy and I are reading "The Inheritance Cycle" by Christopher Paolini, not caring that they were probably meant for kids almost half our age, Clara talks to animals in a high pitch voice, as if thinking that higher decibel makes them love her more...

But above all..

She is growing and growing and growing. Her Michelin-man arms are still there...but her legs are growing long and lean. Oh, hello blog title. She is a constant reminder of the patience and I am working so hard to hold in my heart, and when I surrender, and let go of frustration, the greatest reward is her toothy little grin and her excitement at the possibility that I might understand what she is trying to say.

And then the Leans bought a 2012 Toyota Prius V Hybrid

When Andy and I got engaged in March 2010, we both had our own vehicles. He had a single cab dodge 1500, of course with a HEMI and 9 mile per gallon mileage. I had a Nissan Xterra, which was not much better on gas. We both were very surprised when I learned I was pregnant with Clara only one month later...and as everything in our life was changing dramatically, we always kept the vehicle conversation in the foreground.

Upon moving to Missouri, and selling both our Alaskan vehicles, Andy bought a '99 Toyota Camry that had about 180,000 miles. I almost died. He just met the with owner, took it for a test drive, and bought it. It was an awesome car, the same car that got us from Scottsdale to Fort Irwin on one tank of gas! The Jeep Commander on the other hand was not such a wise investment. Andy was gone 15 hours a day while we were in Missouri, and a lot of times that included weekends. I did not want to go look at a car all by myself, especially at 8 months pregnant...and 2 months of crying and feeling sorry for myself didn't help. Finally. two days before I went to the hospital, Andy went to look at the jeep on the used car lot that was located on the military post. I told him I had researched the jeep commander, it was not what I was looking for, that he should just test drive.

He came home 10 minutes later with this jeep. "Yeah, I just wrote him a check and drove it home".

Poor Andy. He was trying so hard to provide for us, and I was very, VERY lucky that we were able to afford a second car to begin with. But, I was also beyond upset that he had bought a used vehicle, FOR A SECOND TIME, without taking it to a mechanic to get checked out. Unlike the Camry, the jeep had some electrical issues, which we learned when the head lights shut off as we were going 75 mph on the I-40. But to defend my providing husband, he did get us another car, despite the circumstances.

We drove this jeep to California, and realized quickly that we used a half of tank of gas just to get to the nearest town and back. (I don't consider Barstow a town anymore, I never stop there for fear of my life, or patience)

Long Story Short: We have been looking for a new car. It started with me looking at a mid to large size SUV with 7 seats. I wanted to be high off the ground, and I wanted space!
 I was tired of having an SUV that I didn't accomodate tall people in the back seat.

So we bought a Prius wagon when I was whining about my car not being big enough? I know, I'm getting there.

Once gas started climbing, Andy knew our search for a new car was going to need to change. We started looking at small SUVs, trying to find the best gas mileage for the best price. It was going to be our first big loan together and we both had different...ideas of comfort when it came to the vehicle. I of course wanted Bluetooth and gps navigation and even a DVD system while Andy would be happy with manual windows and locks.

As gas hit $4.29 a gallon last month, we decided to take the Camry on a trip to Orange county. It was then that I finally realized how economical it was to have a smaller car. We talked it out. We are not worrying about hitting a moose in the middle of the desert, so that alleviates one reason for wanting a large vehicle. We also do not need 4 wheel drive, as it doesn't even snow where we are. We ALSO only have one child. The plan is to have another sooner than later, so this new car will have to hold 2 car seat/booster seats.

There is still the idea of 'what if we go to Alaska next'...it was be stupid to buy a 2 wheel drive sedan car. Yet, the odds of us going to in Alaska are not ever in our favor, and there is a higher chance that we could head right back to Missouri, or even north to Fort Lewis, Washington..both places where we can get away with a smaller car that has awesome gas milage.

This is a Prius V with a DOUBLE jogging stroller in the back

And then we looked at hybrids for fun, especially Toyota since we are so happy with the Camry, and we realized that the Toyota Prius V, which is a size larger than the original prius, is the same price as the small SUVs we were looking at. We did a side by side comparison with the Prius V and the Subaru Outback(our other choice)...and the Prius V has more cargo space, is the same height off the ground, and the leg room is about the same. BUT: That Suby has AWD, where the Prius only has 2WD.

We decided to take one for a test drive, knowing that this new car sounded like it was going to be a pretty good fit for our family, we weren't sure if it was going to be a good 'fit' for our size! And honestly, Andy rides with his seat reclined SO far in every car we have ever been in. I'm not sure what his deal is. I'm only 3 inches shorter than him, and our seat preference is ridiculous! We never change how far 'back' the seat is, just how far reclined.

We left that day with a brand new 2012 Toyota Prius V. We didn't even take the car seat out of the back after the test drive. It is the fanciest car I have ever driven, with a push start ignition and a push button for park. The voice activated commands blow my mind, and you better believe we had to call our family from the car on the drive home. "We are calling you from our car!" "Um, you guys shouldn't be on the phone and drive.." "No, it's hands free! You are coming out the speakers!"...


 Small town Alaskans, we are.

Andy and I are extremely happy with our purchase. The hybrid technology is amazing, and highly beneficial for where we are. We get 44 mpg in the city and 40 mpg on the highway. With a hybrid, once you stop at a stop sign/street light, the engine switches over to a battery. This battery is charged by the engine, especially when the break is pushed. You can see how this model is outstanding for stop and go traffic in the city. The other benefit about the battery is you can run in "EV" mode, which is electric when traveling under 25 mph. Anyone ever visited a military base?   It's all about the slow speed limits!! I travel from the commissary and back entirely on battery. Granted, it's about a mile away, but it all adds up in the end.

The next fun part...is decorating the car. We realize that we almost had to give up our "Alaska cards" by purchasing this vehicle. I guess we are going to be the moderatly conservative example that says, "dude, it doesn't have a HEMI, but we can still pump more money into the economy by what we have saved in gas"...



Yet, understandably, you do not see a lot of 25 year old young parents rocking a Prius V. So we have started looking into bumper stickers. Please, send your hilarious ideas our way.

428 miles on one tank of gas: The trip to Scottsdale, AZ and back

She's my best friend no matter where I live!

When Tennelle called and said she would be headed to Arizona for the week of her Mom's spring break (Peggy is a teacher), I jumped at the idea of seeing one of my best friends. We worked it out that I would take the I-10 to Phoenix Sky Harbor airport, and then we would head up to her hometown of Cottonwood, Arizona. I was so excited to get to visit HER hometown, as we met and she now lives in mine. It seemed only fair. :)

While all this planning was going on, I realized that I would never in a million and a half years be able to travel the seven hours to Phoenix and then 1.5 more hours to Cottonwood in one day. I have a cousin who lives in Scottsdale that I had recently made contact with. Fred and I had even made plans to see each other in Vegas when we head that way for Andy's military ball! Fred will be in Vegas that very same weekend celebrating like it is his 21st Birthday, when in reality he will be turning 30.(But we aren't talking about it)

 I decided to overstep my comfort and ask my cousin, whom I hadn't seen since I was 12, if Clara and I could spend the night with him and his wife the night before we picked up Tennelle. With a warm invitation and excitement from both ends of the phone, I pushed the uncertainty to the back of my mind. It wasn't until I was driving on the I-10, with Clara crying in the back, and her Disney character cd that incorporates her name into every song (Jake's girlfriend nailed it in the Christmas department)...that I realized perhaps I was taking too big of a risk. It wasn't that I didn't trust my cousin or his wife, I was very excited to see them! But I was driving to another state, another time zone at that, with my darling daughter who has the nickname "Hurricane Clara" for a reason...and I hoped that Fred and Stefanie would not care if I walked in the door with a sticky fingered toddler who could destroy their entire home in less than 5 minutes.

I thought about changing my clothes..changing Clara's clothes...freshening up in a gas station..washing my car...but we had already lost quite a bit of time stopping for Clara breaks, and I knew they were waiting on us to get dinner. So when we found their home in SOUTH Scottsdale(As I hear them reference often), I was glad to see my cousin running outside to greet us.

It turns out he was just as excited for us to visit as we were to be there, and we were welcomed into a home with three sweet loving dogs that only wanted to lick all the sticky fingers of my toddler. It was a feeling I cannot describe, but in a sense, these strangers had welcomed us into their home with the pretense that we were 'family', and our incredible bond formed before the night was over.

I have only ever experienced such comfort and relief in a relationship one other time, and that was when I met my cousin Cassie in Florida for the first time. A very similar scenario, another cousin who I am related to on my mom's side. Her and I had so many similarities down to which side of the booth we tried to sit on in a restaurant, to the way we tilt our heads for a photo, to the life or death need for McDonalds french fries after and not so sober night.It still amazes me how quickly I was able to categorize both said relationship as family, when I had in fact only spent little time with these individuals. In both cases, with Cassie and Fred, it was such a relief to know I have family living near me, as I grew up with all the Hartley cousins only a few hours away.

Clara and Allieska taking her jeep for a spin

But my new found sense of family did not stop in Scottsdale, because we picked up Tennelley and headed straight to Cottonwood the next day. We had the chance to visit her Grandma, Marsha Clara, who thanked me for naming my daughter after her. I think just about everyone I met insisted that her middle name was "claire"...but Marsha was pretty sure I named Clara after her, so I just went with it! Her house was a jackpot for Clara, as she often watches her great Grandchildren. It was so kid friendly that the tension in my shoulders from driving immediately disappeared, as I was able to let the hurricane do her worst.  It was the same when we stayed with Tennelle's Dad, their house was set up for Granddaughters, and the same when we visited Peggy's house. The time we spent in Cottonwood was enjoyable for me as Tennelle's friend, especially because I was getting a chance to meet all her family! (She is at so many of our family functions my Grandma Jo asked her at Christmas "Now, which Hartley are you?"!) But I was also able to enjoy my time as Mom, as Clara was always entertained by other children, or their toys!

We spent the last few days of our trip in North Phoenix laying by the pool. I had to make 3 different trips to WalMart to find the perfect flotation device for Clara's age. She did NOT want the round doughnut that she sits in the middle of, but she also was not ready for the chest floatation. SHE WAS, however, ready for the chest/water wing combo that keeps her floating on her stomach. We put that thing on her and she did not want to get out of the water for hours! It will be an awesome addition to the pool here this summer!!

We had an amazing few days hanging out. Tennelle, Tiffany and Allieska, and Peggy. We were able to celebrate her birthday in style! (Take out Pita Jungle!!)...and we even got to order the Great wall of Chocolate for PF Changs...which I almost single-handedly devoured. (Good thing I went on a 6.5 mile walk today with my work out divas..that great wall of chocolate decided to stick around for a while) Speaking of walking, we walked everywhere while we were there. We were a little less than a mile away from the shopping districts, so when I say I went to WalMart 3 times, we walked there. Or when I say we went to Paradise Bakery for lunch...we walked there too. Even when we got our days supply from BevMo...we clanked the whole way back to the hotel. It was great for us, and we joked about people who lived around there would think "Oh look, there goes the hobos who do not have a car... Oh look, today they have a floaty from WalMart..."

 It was nice and snug in our hotel room..with Tennelle, Clara and I sharing a bed, and the Grandma, daughter, and grand daughter in the other. But for 6 girls of all ages in one Marriott room? We did pretty good! Clara is definitely a bed hog, but you know someone is your best friend, when they will lay awake next to your obnoxious sleeping child at 3 am, but still give her kisses the next day.

Clara picking Lemons from Fred and Stefanie's tree!!

So now that I have a reason to escape to Arizona whenever Andy has to spend 2 weeks straight in the field, I am much more willing to spend that time on the road, knowing that when we arrive in the MUCH more beautiful desert of Arizona, we will be expected to stay for more than one night...and we are allowed to bring Ju-Ly.








But I think the ultimate deal breaker is the fact that our '99 camry made it from Scottsdale to Fort Irwin with 5 stops on one tank of gas.

 It will be amazing to see what our 
2012 Toyota Prius V hybrid will get.

Wait, our what??!

 Just wait until you see the next post. I am waiting until Andy gets home to take a picture. He LOVES this car..and loves searching for conservative bumper stickers to put on it. If anyone comes across a "Drill Baby Drill" bumper sticker, please send it to us in Southern California!
 The Leans have gone GREEN! (With money anyways...we have already gone 140 miles on less than 1/4 tank of gas! Whaaat up!! )

Arachnophobia 2012: Heidi's house in California

I have been getting all hot and bothered (seriously, it was like 80 F out there today) about the spider sightings in my house. After seeing enough, I had a pretty good feeling I could identify these spiders if I saw them in a line up. Guess who stood out of the crowd. Little ol' Brown Recluse.

Brown Recluse Spider. http://www.brown-recluse.com/

Yes, I am horribly afraid of spiders. Yes, I know that I am SO much bigger than a spider. But I absolutely cannot handle knowing that this spider could take me out with a bite. Dramatic...of course I am. I grew up with grizzly bears and frostbite...not spiders that can deteriorate your flesh with their bite. But they can, and they will.

I know I'm giving them a bad wrap. Mainly because when I called housing maintenance to request a visit from pest control, I was told by 'Kim':

 "Oh Mrs Lean, we do not have brown recluse spiders in California! What you saw was a Wolf Spider".

I was silent on the other end. She had to be joking, I've heard so many stories about people getting bitten and their flesh rotting out from under them. Or was that when we lived in Missouri? No that was here in California...or was that when I lived in Florida? Either way...all three of said states have way more scary bugs than Alaska, so as far as I'm concerned, these deadly spiders live in all of them. And don't even get me started on a Wolf spider. I thought maybe it was a joke...a Twilight reference, people are getting so out of control trying to integrate vampire and wolf fantasies into reality...

But Kim was right. Brown Recluse spiders do not reside in California (Or Florida for those of you worried). Sorry Missouri, apparently you are where the 'Fiddle backs' hail. I'm sure we will meet again when we move back to Fort Leonard Wood for Andy's Captain's career course sometime down the road.

But in the mean time...

I was reassured by 'Kim' that we only have black widows, and that I shouldn't worry about them showing up in Clara's room or in my bathroom.  "The black widow is a fantastic creature...she never leaves her territory, not even if she's starving"... I am assuming Kim missed her calling as an aracnolologist (the very word makes my skin tingle) and instead works in the maintenance office at Fort Irwin.

I scheduled my pest control appointment regardless of her love for desert dwelling insects and spend the rest of my afternoon feeling a lot better about the big spider I had killed in Clara's room, in broad daylight. As well as the one I had killed my bathroom in the span of a week. I can handle the spideys in my room...but once they hit Clara's, they cross the line.

I noticed Clara had a little hard pimple on her upper cheek, below her eye. She still has that nice baby soft, smooth skin so I wondered where it came from. My mind flashed back to looking at photos of the brown recluse bites and my heart fell into the pit of my very large stomach. I had seen a picture of a br bite that looked exactly like that.

I REALIZE how out of control I was thinking. So I told no one and just watched her little cheek all day. I didn't notice any of the "bulls eye" coloring or swelling. But poor kid, I was staring her down the entire time she was awake. Once both her and Andy were sleeping, I crept into the office (which is my most cluttered room and I know there are about 12 spiders hiding in here. I can feel it) and began researching ONE more time...just to make myself feel better.

Kim said that we didn't have brown recluse spiders, so I could rule that one out.

BUT I CANNOT RULE OUT IT'S COUSIN THE DESERT RECLUSE SPIDER!!!

YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!!

This is the EXACT spider I have been killing. Several times. Ever since we moved in one year ago!

I just made this discovery ten minutes ago. So what did I go do before I even finished this blog?

yes, I crept into Clara's room and turned her lights on. Thankfully she was sleeping on her back and not with her baby bum in the air, and I peered over her crib to stare at her little bump on her cheek. Good news, I think we are okay. But first thing in the morning I'm going to go check again. I might even wake up and look one more time. I hope not...I honestly think I'm over reacting.

But come on. The Brown Recluse and the Desert Recluse? Give me a break Fort Irwin!!

Brown recluse

 My desert recluse research stated: Their bite is similar to the Brown Recluse and can have the same affect. Most bites may require no more than the general spider bite treatment. There may be some localized swelling and redness, but healing can occur without much intervention. However some bites may become necrotic. Rarely do these bites cause death. ((oh thanks)) Systemic effects, which are generalized effects, will usually occur within the first 3 days of the bite.

http://www.spiderzrule.com/dr.html

I know my research came from a " .com " but I as I shopped around, I found they were spot on. I just decided to give them the credit.

And now that I have successfully freaked out myself and the other Mojave desert residents stuck here...I am going to bid adieu to my readers laughing at how much time I wasted spouting my fears for an arachnid species. 

Just to let you know, this photo was taken by my friend Anna Toth in my neighborhood. Not even joking.

Featured:
(Clara, me, and the Desert Recluse)

I did it. I started a blog

I have spent almost 10 minutes trying to figure out something funny and clever to write for my first blog. But frankly, it all sounds cheesy and cliche, so I'll just get down to it.

Life is short, but I hope you still have a second or two to read about the details of my humble one. I like to exaggerate, make a big deal about something small (lately it has been the Brown recluse spiders coming out for spring in the Mojave desert) and look at pintrest before I go to bed. These three ingredients could brew a pretty entertaining blog...and I hope I can blow you all away. Please stand by as I get used to having a blog and finding funny things to post...or awesome recipes we cannot live without.

Hopefully this will be more fulfilling than the 2,468 photos tagged of me on Facebook. I honestly think about 1000 of them are of Clara.

Clara. She will be in this blog a lot, as my full time job is to keep her alive. She has been doing a pretty good job trying to accomplish the opposite...including diving face first out of her crib because she was too impatient to try and use her legs. Reminds me of someone I know. (her father). Okay fine, it is me. My mom says she always knew which craft was mine in kindergarten because you could tell the artist was really into the project for the first 5 minutes..and then slapped glue and glitter all over the paper, finishing with a HUGE signature.

I hope 20 years later I can keep it together enough to manage a blog.

Forward!!

-Heidi Jo