The Staley Scoop

The Many Faces of Silas

2008-09-07T20:36:00.016-06:00

I know, I know, it has been a long time. It's just...blogging takes time. I like to think out my stories...to try and be creative. I like to work on the look of my blog - I want it to be bad ace! But, like I said, it takes time....and I don't have a lot of it. :) That's ok! I have to settle for basic and easy if I am going to continue being a blogger. So, here is the scoop, as of late, with the Staleys!

The past two months have been busy for Albert, Silas and I. Silas got to go to Texas and Missouri to visit his grandparents. When we finished traveling, Albert and I started remodeling our kitchen. We are still in the beginning stages. I say "we", I mean Albert. Albert is doing most of the work and I am getting Silas out of the house. I don't even have pictures to show you! I will get on that.

I am cleaning up my photos! So, I decided to post some close-ups of Silas for the grandparents! Here is your grandbaby!

"Kitty cat." ~ Silas Staley

2008-06-29T21:44:00.006-06:00

There was another witness to this event.

Two weeks ago, I went to San Diego for training. I stayed overnight in San Diego and did not get back to Salt Lake City until 10 p.m. the next night! Needless to say, I was ready to see my baby! So, when I got home, I went into my baby's room and woke him up. Albert came into the room and hung out with us, as well. While we were playing, Hallie, our cat, mewed at the door of Silas's room. (Hallie is not allowed to in the room, so she sits outside the doorway.) Well, when he heard the meow, Silas immediatley turned to Hallie and smiled, laughed and then cooed. But, then, AS CLEAR AS A BELL, Silas said, "Kitty cat,". Albert and I were dumbfounded. But, then we were like, why are we in shock? Of course, we have a genius baby! He is a product of us. Derrrrrr!

Yeah, he hasn't said it since...

"Laugh and the world laughs with you, snore and you sleep alone." ~ Anthony Burgess

2008-06-15T12:35:00.028-06:00

Today, Albert said, "this is my favorite Father's Day!". That made me laugh, being that it is his first. Silas did give him the best gift ever - he snuggled and took a nap with him.

We have all needed naps this weekend because we had a garage sale yesterday. Our friends, the Fischers, came and helped us. ( Thanks again, guys!) This was my first one to do by myself. I didn't put an ad in the Salt Lake Tribune because it was $60. (What a rip!) With the help of Kate, Todd and Albert, I had fabulous signage and we had a great turn out. One of my favorite customers was a little, rotund, Hispanic girl with white cowboy boots. (Please see picture to the left.) I was watching her shop and she was picking out all of my favorite clothes! With the clothes still on the hanger, she would hold them up to herself and go to her mom to get approval. If this little girl would have been 30 - I know we would have been good friends. She had fabulous taste.

Another favorite customer was a little boy who did not have a quiet voice. He endlessly chattered to his mom throughout their visit about different items for sale. He finally came up to the table where we were taking money with a 50 cent Chucky Cheese bank clutched in one hand and two quarters in the other. He held out the 2 quarters to Kate and I. I took one quarter and said, "thank you!". I wish I could remember exactly what he said, but he ran to his mother and yelled something to the extent of - she only took one, she only took one! I love garage sales.

I also learned a couple of lessons from this sale. Number one, don't go to the trouble of ironing nice clothes and hanging them up in an effort to make a bigger profit. I saw that the customers were much more willing to rummage through the pile of folded clothes rather than sift through the clothes that were hanging up. Number two lesson, Albert is a diplomat and I am hard-nosed. (We already knew this, though.)To make a long story short, two men wanted a Yamaha Snow Blower. The man with glasses began asking all of these questions about it and asked for an electric cord to try and start it. He tried for 20 minutes and probably within the first five minutes another man with a beekeeper hat came up and said that he would take it. He also said that the man with glasses should not keep on trying to start it because it would burn out the starter motor. I yelled this to Albert across the yard and Albert nods to me patiently and tells me this guy is just testing it out. At minute 10, the beekeeper hat man comes to me again, I will pay what you are asking for both snow blowers. I yell, "ALBERT, THIS MAN WILL BUY BOTH SNOW BLOWERS AS IS. HE WILL PAY FOR THEM NOW!". Albert turns and gives me the Death Look. I am like - what. Minute 15 rolls around and four-eyes is still trying to start the snow blower. The beekeeper, again, comes to me and says, I will take both of them. I yell again, "ALBERT, TELL THAT GUY THAT THIS GUY IS GOING TO BUY BOTH OF THEM!". Albert turns and gives me the Super Death Look and reluctantly goes to the man with glasses, who is trying to start the snow blower and tells him that there is somebody else interested. The man with glasses hems and haws, calls his friend on his cell phone and finally says he will take it, but has to go get cash. The beekeeper was gracious and told us that the man with glasses got a good deal. I apologized to Albert and he said he knew where I was coming from. We chalked up our differences to - hey - that is what makes us a great team.

There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want." ~ Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes

2008-05-12T20:09:00.007-06:00

This will be a short blog! Albert and I went to Cabo San Lucas last week. It was a great trip. We went kayaking, got massages and read our books on the beach. My parents flew in and took care of Silas to spend some QT with their grandson. We have lots of fun stories, but I am feeling rushed to go and get things done. So, I will have to tell them on another day! However, the picture above is the image that I forever wanted to remember.

"...you like me, right now, you like me!" ~ Sally Fields

2008-04-19T23:25:00.004-06:00

Christa and Jenny tagged me for a meme. I feel so special that ya'll want to get to know me better! Here it goes!

The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.

1. Each player answers the questions about themselves.

2. At the end of the post, the player tags 5 people and posts their name, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

The Questions and My Answers. . .

What I was doing 10 years ago?

I was 19 and working as a live-in nanny in Corpus Christi, TX. I was going to college at Texas A&M - Corpus Christi, but not really attending classes. Hee, hee. I was volunteering for Calallen Young Life - which Albert was in charge of. I often hung out with Albert, Kris Korkowski and Curtis at the Young Life building. I was trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life!

Five Snacks I enjoy:

In a perfect, non weight-gaining world. . .

1. Tablespoon of natural peanut butter (this grosses Albert out) (this is also what Silas is made out of)

2. Hummus

3. Double Stuffed Oreos and milk

4. Some squares of a Hershey's Chocolate Bar

5. Blueberries - but, I rarely have them in the house.

In the real world...

1. Ummmmm, same as above. Maybe that is why I am having difficulty losing these last 10 lbs of pregnancy weight.

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

1. Buy a Jeep Wrangler and not care that it was probably going to break down in a year.

2. Go to Italy with my sister Kerensa.

3. Go to Africa on a mission trip.

4. Do fun, anonymous, acts of giving with Albert.

5. Buy a vacation home and let anyone use it!

Five jobs that I have had:

1. Nanny

2. Flight Attendant

3. Assistant Manager, Pier One Imports

4. Sales Rep., Pharmaceutical

5. Mom to Silas

Three of my habits:

1. Washing my face with Noxema every morning and night.

2. Getting a pedicure when it is summer time. Lame, I know.

3. Surfing the Internet

Five places I have lived:

1. Pineville, Louisiana

2. Corpus Christi, Texas

3. Winthrop, Massachusetts

4. Greenville, Texas

5. Salt Lake City, UT

Five People I Want to Get to Know Better: (A nice way of saying TAG!)

1. Jody

2. Shelly

3. Amy Anderson

4. Rachael

5. Kate

“Whoever teaches his son teaches not alone his son, but also his son's son, and so on to the end of generations.” ~ Hebrew Proverb

2008-04-19T21:44:00.005-06:00

Here is a picture of 3 Staley generations! It's funny - I have to see a picture in order to understand/feel the nostalgia of it all. These 3 are Staley men. These 3 are the firstborn sons within their respective families. These 3 will fart in front of me with no shame. I am eager to see what other attributes these boys will share with one another. :)

We went to Ft. Worth last weekend! It was a heck of a trip. Highlights include, getting bumped off of our flight. Getting to ride first class - thank you Pete and Jenny! Dropping Silas off with Papa and Gigi Wilson to hang out for the weekend - thanks again, Richard and Patty! Hanging out with the Tsakopulous' - Amy when did you get so funny? Being apart of an awesome (black-tie) wedding - congrats Clif and Schuyler! Eating lunch at Freebirds with my sister, Charee and my nieces - Gracie and Sadie are spoiled, but they are not brats! (Gracie said this.) Hung out with Big Al and Sandy at the Southfork Hotel in Plano - Silas was quick to fall asleep in Sandy's arms. Got back to Salt Lake City on Monday afternoon - Delta lost our new Britax car seat. On Tuesday, at 3 a.m. - Delta returns our car seat to our house - what?!? It was a great trip!

"People who say they sleep like a baby usually don't have one." ~ Leo J. Burke

2008-04-12T15:41:00.005-06:00

Silas has been sleeping through the night for awhile now. However, I am now waking up to him babbling in his crib. It is a great sound!

I don't have much time to write. Right now, Albert and I are in Ft. Worth attending Clif and Schuyler's wedding. I had some down time, so I thought I would finally update the blog. I will tell you more about our Ft. Worth trip on my next post. Until then, enjoy the pictures from the last couple of weeks!

"The face of a child can say it all, especially the mouth part of the face" - Jack Handey

2008-03-23T17:47:00.005-06:00

We cut out early from work on Friday, packed the Jeep, threw the kid in the car seat and headed south for a family adventure in Moab. The plan was to tent camp on Friday night and stay in a cabin on Saturday night. We arrived at the Archway Resort at about 9:00 pm and checked in to get our campsite. ( I forgot to mention that this was Jeep Safari weekend; the busiest weekend in Moab all year.) We got our campsite and drove to where it was only to discover that there was already a tent set up. We double checked the lot site and drove back to the check in. "There's someone in our campsite," I said. 'Well, it had to happen," Rich said. "Well, what can we do about it?" I asked. "Well, we could put them up over here," Suzy said, pointing to a vacant spot on the map next to an old tractor trailer. "Hmmm," I said, "why don't we see if we can get those people to relocate." After all I was already paid up. "Well," said Suzy, "if we do that, I have to send Rich with you." I told Rich I'd meet him up there and he said ok. His reluctance to confront the campsite squatters, however, made me think that we might get to see the first action of the weekend. What if they don't want to move? Can we be diplomatic or will we have to use force? I was ready for whatever. Rich showed up and we slowly walked to to tent. He knocked on the front. "Anyone home?" No answer. Rich did a 360 around the tent. I was waiting at the Jeep, both protecting my family and ready to assist Rich. "Hello?", Rich asked. Nothing. Long story short, they moved us to another campsite over by the RV's. We felt a bit inconvienenced, but i haggled some free firewood out of Rich and I didn't have to use any ninja moves on some knucklehead. As Jessy and Silas waited in the car i began to set up camp. Setting up camp is manly and I made sure that Jessy positioned the headlights of the Jeep where she could watch me in all my manliness. I set up the tent and pulled out the air mattress along with my battery powered air mattress pump. I had forgot the plug for the mattres, so we had to sleep on the floor. "No problem", I told Jessy. "I've done it a million times,". At 3:00 am, I woke up and shook Jessy. "Grab the kid, we're going to the Jeep." "What took so long?", Jessy asked. We were both frozen. Our feet felt like someone had cut them off and replaced them with cue balls. Silas, however, was as snug as a bug in his 3 layers. We hit the Jeep, cranked up the heat and thawed out until 6:00am. On Saturday, we went to Arches National Park. Our goal was to do at least one hike with the kid. We decided to do Deliacate Arch. It was a fun hike. Silas was in a a baby backpack and did pretty good on the way up. When we got to the Arch, it was really cool and we took some pics. On the way down, Silas fell asleep and Jessy and I talked about how fat we are and resolved to start living more active healthier lives. Later, we went to Moab and checked out Main Street. Rather than get into another adventure, we decided to head back to camp and get our cabin. (for the kid's sake) We took showers and naps. Read some books and cooked Hobo burgers. It was great. Sunday morn we went to a little cafe and ate breakfast. Then we came home. The end.

"Viva Las Vegas." ~ Elvis Presley

2008-03-15T17:51:00.005-06:00

So, not everything that happens in Vegas, necessarily needs to stay in Vegas. When Albert got home from Clif's bachelor party - he told me everything. Every nitty gritty detail. He and his old college buddies played golf, where his buddy Chris almost made a hole in one. They played some Black Jack where Albert came out about even. (Right, Pete?) They went to the pub and sang Irish folk songs. But, they had the most fun in the hot tub!

I went to Las Vegas for work. My company is launching a new product, so I met up with half of my district to get the gameplan down. The trip was only for the day, but I did get to play the Texas Tea nickle slot machine in the airport. I actually made five dollars! Woo hoo!

Ok, now for what most of you really want to know about. Silas! He laughs a lot now. He giggles when I tickle him under his chin. He is putting everything in his mouth and he is talking up a storm! He is so much fun. Thank you God for such a fun boy!

"The ornament of the house is the friends that frequent it." ~ Ralph Wado Emerson

2008-03-01T21:44:00.006-07:00

Clif came in town this week! He was in Salt Lake City for business purposes and we got the pleasure of hanging out with him for a couple of nights. Golden Tee was played and the Democratic debate was watched. We were sad when the visit was over. But, there are more visits to be had with Clif in the future. In fact, Albert is going to Las Vegas next weekend for Clif's bachelor party. Maybe we can get some of those pics on the blog...

A quick update on Silas. He is getting more fun! He is really starting to get the hang of the Johnny Jump Up. (Check out the video.) He likes to feel Albert's beard. Also, he likes to play while he is taking a bath!

"I'll be back." ~ The Terminator

2008-02-23T10:32:00.005-07:00

Is Silas the next cyborg, born to help the future human resistance? No! The red eye feature would just not work on him. I tried it and it kept making him look like he had cataracts, so I opted to keep the Terminator look. I think Albert will be proud, especially since he is a fan of the new hit tv show, Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles. I even catch an occasional episode with him. What is everyone watching this season?

Feb2008

2008-02-17T09:51:00.001-07:00

"Politics is applesauce." ~ Will Rogers

2008-02-16T22:12:00.004-07:00

Silas came home from daycare this past week and declared his support for Obama. I did not even know that he was a Democrat!

Just kidding ~ Albert works with the guy who heads up the Obama campaign here in Utah. He hooked Albert up with some political swag!

"The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes." ~ Frank Lloyd Wright

2008-02-09T12:42:00.002-07:00

In the past four months, I have thought to myself, "I love my life", more than I can ever remember doing so! As cliche as it sounds, I am taking the time to appreciate the little things that my son, Silas, is giving to me. These little instances of joy include, but are not limited to, inspecting diapers, feeling his breath and sneaking into his bedroom with Albert to check on him as he sleeps. Again, not to be cliche, but I am humbled and thankful to the Lord for all of these experiences. He has given us such good things in the past year, a healthy baby boy, quality time with family and friends and a renewed sense of hope for the future!

Speaking of the future, keep checking back for updates! I have so many ideas about what to post, I can't hardly wait to make them a reality.