Hospitality

Welcome!

In December Ian and I decided to list our basement on Airbnb. We learned about Airbnb from some friends who have used it when traveling in Europe. We were originally just going to use it to find places to stay for our upcoming trip to Europe, but after learning more about it we realized that we have a great space in our house that is rarely used and could be a potential money-maker. One of airbnb's enticing lines to draw in potential hosts is: "Live a richer life: You could be making money with what you already have."

I was pretty wary at first. I was worried about the safety of our family, theft, vandalism- normal things you might worry about when considering opening your home to strangers. What finally made me feel comfortable with it is the fact that Airbnb has several steps users have to go through to confirm their identity including creating a detailed profile. I figured that if you know someone's name, phone number, occupation, and have picture of them they are probably not going to do anything nefarious while staying with you. Ian also installed a new door lock with key-pad entry so that instead of handing out keys and facing the possibility of people losing them or not returning them we just program in a new code for each guest and then wipe it as soon as they leave. The best thing is that we can choose to accept or decline anyone's reservation request. If you seem creepy on your profile then I don't want you sleeping in my basement.

Since we started hosting in December we have had about about eight or nine bookings. The shortest being one night and the longest being nine nights. We have had a medical student, a man who was obviously going through a mid-life crisis, a philosopher, a few conference goers, and some people just passing through Salt Lake. I tend to be a pretty shy person, so it's been an interesting experience to welcome people into my home while acting like I'm outgoing. One of the most interesting things for me, which I didn't expect, is that I worry about the people who stay with us. For example, Mr. Mid-Life Crisis decided to come to Utah on a whim to try skiing for the first time in his life. When he didn't return when he said he would I seriously thought about calling Snowbird to see if there had been any major accidents on the mountain that day.

Overall the experience has been good so far (knock on wood). It's definitely been a nice way to make some extra money for our Europe trip. It's also been fun to meet people from all over the country and world. It has definitely expanded my world view in a few different ways. Here's to more great guests!

Kill Your TV

Ian and I recently banned Aven from all screen-time for one full week. She had been acting irritable and whiny when it was time to shut off a movie or game and had also been throwing some pretty major tantrums about it. Here's what we learned from our week of no screen-time:

1. Aven can be downright pleasant most of the time. Apparently watching TV brings out her worst behavior.
2. As a parent, it was really hard to be "on" all the time. There were some nights when Ian and I were both so tired that our normal reaction would have been to put a movie on for Aven so that we could collapse on the couch, but we stuck with it.
3. Aven LOVES creative play and it was so much fun to watch her use her imagination.
4. Aven loves to interact with Etta.
5. When she doesn't have a show to distract her, Aven never stops moving. Ever.
6. We don't need screens to survive our kids. Aven is really good at playing by herself when nobody is available to play with her.
7. The sounds of Aven and Etta talking, laughing, and playing are far more entertaining and delightful than any movie or show.
8. We won't stop watching, but we will give a lot more thought to what and when we watch from now on.

Etta Gets Tubed

After five ear infections in three months it was time for Etta to get tubes in her ears. I think she just wanted to be like me since I have tubes in my ears right now too. I was very nervous before the procedure because the thought of her getting anesthesia scared me. We encountered many great staff members at Primary Chinldren's over the course of our three-hour hospital visit. The further into the process we got the more comfortable I felt. I realize that it was a very minor, routine procedure, but as a parent it's nerve wracking to go through. She handled it all like a little champ.

Etta in her hospital jammies.

Ian playing the video game system in the waiting room meant for children who are about to have surgery.  I kicked him off- the mean wife that I am.

Cuddling with my babe before surgery.

In the recovery room sporting our matching ear tubes.

Laughing & Splashing

Here is an awesome video of my girls laughing together. Sorry it's sideways, deal with it.

Aven Discovers

Today Aven and I met friends at the Gateway for a Happy Meal and some fun at Discovery Gateway Children's Museum. I hadn't taken Aven to Discovery since she was about 18 months old, so this place was a whole new world for her. She easily could have spent all day playing at the water feature, but she enjoyed just about everything she tried.

Shopping at the Neighborhood Market. The little girl at the register (who we didn't know) was the self-appointed cashier and Aven and Alyssa listened to her and did everything she said. So cute I almost went into a cute-induced coma.

They BOTH wanted to drive. Good thing there were two steering wheels!

The water feature was the definite favorite of the day.

We were on the news!

She looks like such a big kid here- she's growing up at warp speed!

The Battle Rages On

The battle to get Etta accustomed to eating something other than breast milk rages on. After six weeks she finally likes rice cereal, oatmeal cereal, and sweet potatoes. She is still highly skeptical of apples and pears; the look she gets on her face when eating either one is that of someone who has just realized that they have swallowed a fatal poison. I gave her peas for the first time today and since she didn't give me 'the look' I have to assume that she tolerated them and maybe even LIKED them. Hooray for progress!

Yes, the peas were really that green.

Okay, so I'm kinda crazy . . .

So, this year I decided that Valentine's Day was going to be a fun family holiday aimed at creating a little bit of magic for Aven. She's at such a fun age and any deviation from the norm is very exciting for her. Since I really hate the corporate greed aspect of Valentine's Day I also decided that all gifts would be homemade (this came as a slightly unpleasant surprise to Ian- sorry Ian.)

So, after spending WAY too much time on Pinterest I came up with my three gift ideas:

A pack of cards for Ian. 52 cards with one thing on each card that we love about him. I had to translate Etta's and Grace's comments, but it all worked out.

I gathered all of Aven's old, broken crayons, chopped them into smaller pieces,  and made them into heart shaped, multicolored crayons. Fill a silicone baking mold with crayon pieces and bake at 225 for 15-20 minutes.

And for Etta May, a heart made of white fleece and red felt.

As if homemade gifts weren't enough I also decided that we were going to have a fun and fancy Valentine's dinner on Valentine's Day, because saving it for the weekend is for chumps. Also, it's not like I work full time and have two small children (what was I thinking?!).

We served the following foods in heart shapes: black bean burgers, carrots, and strawberries. Avocado is a little hard to make into a heart shape, so we just ate it as-is.

For dessert we had frosted sugar cookies and Ian's present to me: delicious homemade chocolate truffles in various flavors (raspberry, strawberry, anise, and mint).

 I would personally like to thank all the coconuts out there. I couldn't have made those cookies without coconut margarine and coconut milk. Coconut milk was also instrumental in the making of those truffles.

It was a lot of crazy preparation, but in the end it totally paid off. We all had a great time and it was so nice to have a celebration in the doldrums of late winter. I will definitely do my best to make this type of Valentine's celebration our family tradition.

Day Off

I took a personal day and went skiing with Ian for the first time since Spring of 2011. I was amazed, as always, with how free I feel when I ski. I don't know if there is any other time when I feel so light. Enjoy some cell phone pictures of our absolutely beautiful day at Brighton:

Looking toward Heber from the top of Snake Creek.

In the pow on Milly side.

On Millly side.

Milly really does have some of the best views on the mountain.

Ian.

Me, on the lift.


Can't wait to do it again.

Hats

Enjoy these pictures of Etta wearing cowboy hats. Did her head get huge in that bottom picture, or is she just wearing a small hat? Looks like we'll never know.

The Dead of Winter

Today we celebrated "The Dead of Winter" at school with a zombie dress-up competition. Enjoy: