Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Baby #3
In case anyone missed my hidden announcement in my Torch Run post, we are pregnant with baby #3! I am now 12 weeks, pregnant. So far so good. Baby's heart rate is good, mommy is now feeling pretty good, just tired all the time. We'll find out what the sex is around the end of August. I'll keep you all posted. :)
Why I Haven't Been Blogging
16 1/2 TONS of Landscaping rock:
A trip to Seattle to visit some good childhood friends:
Trenching and sprinkler system building:
A wonderful visit from family:
All the ingredients for one busy June.
A trip to Seattle to visit some good childhood friends:
Trenching and sprinkler system building:
A wonderful visit from family:
All the ingredients for one busy June.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Torch Run
Jeff and I ran the Colorado Springs Torch Run for the Special Olympics yesterday. There are many segments of the run, but we did the ceremonial half mile walk and 5 mile run in the afternoon. It was quite different than any other running event I've done before. First of all, there were a couple of people from the local new channels running it so there were all sorts of cameras in our faces in the beginning. You can see a video of it here, and you can actually see me in the video, behind the news chick, to the right, and Jeff to the left. (I know, we're TV stars!) We started off walking together (it was a small group, maybe 20 runners) through the middle of downtown with a police motorcycle escort. Jeff and I were betting on whether or not the motor cops would have to put their feet down cuz they were barely moving. It was quite a balancing act, we were impressed, although they did have to put their feet down to balance themselves once, that we saw.
Even once we started running, it wasn't a race by any definition; we actually all ran together with those in front sharing the torch. That alone was interesting because if you lagged behind then they tried to get everyone to slow down, talk about pressure! I wasn't expecting that, I've always been free to run my own pace, and was counting on that for this run because I was not properly trained. We've been so busy with planting our garden, preparing our yard for landscaping, refinishing our table, and getting over the flu, that there wasn't much time for training. My longest run before the torch run was 4 miles, and I was pushing it. Normally I would at least get the mileage up to 6 before attempting a 5 mile race. So I was planning on keeping an easy pace (right now that's an 11 or 12 min pace per mile), and just trying to stick it out. Well, that didn't really happen, cuz everyone was running a 10 min pace or faster most of the time.
Jeff did just fine, he was chatting it up with a fellow CSPD officer the last half, but I really started lagging at four miles and slowed down to a walk. I ended up runing about a 4.5 miles, then hopped in a van they had following us to pick up stragglers (yep that would be me). I should have just stuck it out because the end was just around the corner, more than a quarter mile short of 5 miles, I would have been done in just a couple minutes. Oh well, I wasn't the only one in the van. Besides, I'm pregnant! I don't really enjoy running pregnant, not even the first months. I'm just so low on energy, which I always feel the most whenever I try to run when I'm prego. Thats my excuse and I'm sticking to it!
So in the end Jeff did great, his first running event and he did 5 miles without much training at all! And he was barely even puffin' at a fast 10 min pace. Not bad, huh?
Even once we started running, it wasn't a race by any definition; we actually all ran together with those in front sharing the torch. That alone was interesting because if you lagged behind then they tried to get everyone to slow down, talk about pressure! I wasn't expecting that, I've always been free to run my own pace, and was counting on that for this run because I was not properly trained. We've been so busy with planting our garden, preparing our yard for landscaping, refinishing our table, and getting over the flu, that there wasn't much time for training. My longest run before the torch run was 4 miles, and I was pushing it. Normally I would at least get the mileage up to 6 before attempting a 5 mile race. So I was planning on keeping an easy pace (right now that's an 11 or 12 min pace per mile), and just trying to stick it out. Well, that didn't really happen, cuz everyone was running a 10 min pace or faster most of the time.
Jeff did just fine, he was chatting it up with a fellow CSPD officer the last half, but I really started lagging at four miles and slowed down to a walk. I ended up runing about a 4.5 miles, then hopped in a van they had following us to pick up stragglers (yep that would be me). I should have just stuck it out because the end was just around the corner, more than a quarter mile short of 5 miles, I would have been done in just a couple minutes. Oh well, I wasn't the only one in the van. Besides, I'm pregnant! I don't really enjoy running pregnant, not even the first months. I'm just so low on energy, which I always feel the most whenever I try to run when I'm prego. Thats my excuse and I'm sticking to it!
So in the end Jeff did great, his first running event and he did 5 miles without much training at all! And he was barely even puffin' at a fast 10 min pace. Not bad, huh?
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Let Me Count the Days
How many times can the family get the flu in a week? Oh, let me count the days. The week before last, on Thursday morning, Jaden complained that his stomach hurt. He does this quite often so I usually just brush it off unless there are other symptoms, which I did that morning. Then, as I was driving him to my parent's house so my mom and I could go on a hike, he repeated his complaint, and as I looked back his lips turned white. He looked like he was about to hurl any minute. I warned him not to throw up in the car, and eased the petal down, grateful that we were almost there.
We arrived at my parent's house vomit-free and Jaden seemed to have recovered. I wasn't sure what to do, my mom had already planned the hike and was looking forward to it all week, and we were just about to leave. So with encouragement from my dad and an eager push out the door from my mom, we left. When we got home my dad reported that Jaden had thrown up, but then felt much better. He acted fine the rest of the day and I thought the episode was done.
The next Tuesday night my stomach started to hurt. The whole experience culminated with my head over the toilet at about five the next morning, and slowly concluded with a day spent in bed. Again, I thought the experience was finished.
A few days later, I wake up in the middle of the night to the always unwelcome sound of vomiting. It was poor Jaden again! He was fine by morning, and I counted myself lucky. Ha ha, silly me. The next night was puncuated with a quite different sound. I woke up to hear Carter screaming. When I checked on him he showed me that his pants were wet. Thinking that he had wet himself through his diaper I changed his diaper and pjs and tucked him back in bed. It was when I tucked his blanket around him that I discovered that one of the corners of the blanket was also wet, and couldn't be from a leaky diaper. I asked him if he had thrown up, and he calmly nodded. Poor guy! When the scream was repeated in a few minutes, I stripped him down again, armed myself with a bowl, a towel and nausea medicine, and set up a little bed for him beside my bed. Luckily he didn't throw up again, though he didn't sleep much and groaned and squirmed a lot. Again, he was fine by morning, but I wasn't taking any chances and kept the whole family home from church.
Everyone except Jeff has now had the flu at least once, and Jaden twice. You'd think we were done, right? Nope. Jaden threw up again, the next night! I swear we do wash our hands and we have been sanitizing, and disinfecting, etc. I just hope that this is finally the end. I have no idea how Jeff escaped, except that he has with every little bug out family has gotten since we moved out here. He has this special super-strong hand sanitizer they give him at work that kills bacteria for two hours after applied, but we all use it when we get sick, and it only seems to work on him! I guess it only works on cops.
Almost two weeks later, after many loads of laundry, much toilet cleaning, and carpet cleaning, a missed presidency meeting, activity, birthday party, and church, we've now had on vomit-free night. Are we done? I guess we'll see...
We arrived at my parent's house vomit-free and Jaden seemed to have recovered. I wasn't sure what to do, my mom had already planned the hike and was looking forward to it all week, and we were just about to leave. So with encouragement from my dad and an eager push out the door from my mom, we left. When we got home my dad reported that Jaden had thrown up, but then felt much better. He acted fine the rest of the day and I thought the episode was done.
The next Tuesday night my stomach started to hurt. The whole experience culminated with my head over the toilet at about five the next morning, and slowly concluded with a day spent in bed. Again, I thought the experience was finished.
A few days later, I wake up in the middle of the night to the always unwelcome sound of vomiting. It was poor Jaden again! He was fine by morning, and I counted myself lucky. Ha ha, silly me. The next night was puncuated with a quite different sound. I woke up to hear Carter screaming. When I checked on him he showed me that his pants were wet. Thinking that he had wet himself through his diaper I changed his diaper and pjs and tucked him back in bed. It was when I tucked his blanket around him that I discovered that one of the corners of the blanket was also wet, and couldn't be from a leaky diaper. I asked him if he had thrown up, and he calmly nodded. Poor guy! When the scream was repeated in a few minutes, I stripped him down again, armed myself with a bowl, a towel and nausea medicine, and set up a little bed for him beside my bed. Luckily he didn't throw up again, though he didn't sleep much and groaned and squirmed a lot. Again, he was fine by morning, but I wasn't taking any chances and kept the whole family home from church.
Everyone except Jeff has now had the flu at least once, and Jaden twice. You'd think we were done, right? Nope. Jaden threw up again, the next night! I swear we do wash our hands and we have been sanitizing, and disinfecting, etc. I just hope that this is finally the end. I have no idea how Jeff escaped, except that he has with every little bug out family has gotten since we moved out here. He has this special super-strong hand sanitizer they give him at work that kills bacteria for two hours after applied, but we all use it when we get sick, and it only seems to work on him! I guess it only works on cops.
Almost two weeks later, after many loads of laundry, much toilet cleaning, and carpet cleaning, a missed presidency meeting, activity, birthday party, and church, we've now had on vomit-free night. Are we done? I guess we'll see...
Friday, May 22, 2009
Prayers and Temples
Temples have been on my mind a lot lately. First of all, my temple recommend expired right after we moved here but with all the moving business it was left expired for far too long, so when I finally did notice it, it was pretty shameful. Then after missing two temple recommend appointments I felt even worse. Once I finally got everything together I felt a renewed commitment. Jeff and I went together shortly after. Since then I seemed to be reminded constantly that more frequent attendance would greatly bless our family.
I loved Elder Scott's talk from General Conference, in which he reminded us to set goals and specific dates for temple attendance ahead of time, then let nothing get in our way. Jeff and I usually just decide randomly that we want to go to the temple that day or the next, we've never tried to make dates.
Last night I attended an activity where Sister Baer, the Denver temple president's wife spoke. She reminded us that we should make regular plans and try to stick to them. She spoke a lot about her daughter who has 7 kids, who goes to the temple once a week while her kids are in school. I want to commit to a new approach myself, to make a date each month to attend the temple and stick to it! With May fast closing we need to do it soon! Its funny, but when you set goals like these the months just fly by!
Another thing I really want to work on is saying morning prayers. I always say prayers at night before I go to bed, but I've never been good at remembering first thing in the morning when there is so much ahead of me. When I do say a prayer in the morning I always pray that I won't raise my voice so much that day. I find that I remember that morning prayer throughout the day when I start feeling frustrated. Hey, its a start, although I'm sure I'll never be the most soft-spoken mom. Sigh.
I know this isn't the most interesting post, but I'm hoping writing this down will help me to remember my new goals. Wish me luck!
I loved Elder Scott's talk from General Conference, in which he reminded us to set goals and specific dates for temple attendance ahead of time, then let nothing get in our way. Jeff and I usually just decide randomly that we want to go to the temple that day or the next, we've never tried to make dates.
Last night I attended an activity where Sister Baer, the Denver temple president's wife spoke. She reminded us that we should make regular plans and try to stick to them. She spoke a lot about her daughter who has 7 kids, who goes to the temple once a week while her kids are in school. I want to commit to a new approach myself, to make a date each month to attend the temple and stick to it! With May fast closing we need to do it soon! Its funny, but when you set goals like these the months just fly by!
Another thing I really want to work on is saying morning prayers. I always say prayers at night before I go to bed, but I've never been good at remembering first thing in the morning when there is so much ahead of me. When I do say a prayer in the morning I always pray that I won't raise my voice so much that day. I find that I remember that morning prayer throughout the day when I start feeling frustrated. Hey, its a start, although I'm sure I'll never be the most soft-spoken mom. Sigh.
I know this isn't the most interesting post, but I'm hoping writing this down will help me to remember my new goals. Wish me luck!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Happy Mother's Day!
I thought a lot about being a mother today, on Mother's day. I love being a mother. I love raising my children, I love teaching them and watching them learn. I love watching them grow, I love (almost) all the little stages and phases. I love their simple joy and wonder in the world. I love their innocence, their laughter, their tight hugs and cuddles, and I love that they need me and most of all, I love that I can be there for them through it all. I also love other mothers. As the years of my motherhood increase, so does my admiration and respect for other mothers. There is so much that I admire in others and I watch my friends as they mother their children and try to learn from their examples. I pray every day that I can be a better mother. There are only a few other things in my life (being a wife, and being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) that bring me such peace and joy.
I will always be grateful that I have such a wonderful and loving mother in my life. My mom has always been a source of passion, exuberance, energy, and love in my life. She filled my childhood with nature hikes and camping trips that I will never forget. She would often catch a bug, or a lizard, or a snake and bring it to us for us to see and touch. The world of insects and bugs and ampibians was a wonder to me as a child, I felt like natures endless bounty was open for us to explore. Every hike was like our own little petting zoo! We sang songs joyously as we hiked with the boundless energy of youth. We would walk along river and stream beds, climb the hills to a swimming hole or just walk to enjoy being in nature. We went camping every summer as children and these trips, piled with our friends and all our equipment into our car, are some of my fondest memories. Only now, as I plan camping trips as an adult, do I appreciate all the work she put into those trips! I just remember waking up early excited for each day, whether we would play in the ocean, go on an eary morning walk at low tide and search for shells and starfish, play games at our campsite, or go for a hike that ended at a lake and get into a crazy mud fight. I will always cherish my childhood because of what she gave to us. I will always try to follow her example with my own children.
She one of the most compassionate and unjudgemental people I know. She loves everyone. She would stick up for Satan if she thought he was being unfairly judged! She is such a great example to me, and I continue to find things that I can learn from her. She is a strength and a support to me. She understands me and makes me feel sane when I think I am going crazy. As we have grown our relationship has become more and more a deep friendship. I am so grateful that we have stayed close to family and that I can call her up to go to the gym with me or plan a lunch or movie date. She is the perfect mother for me, and I can never tell her enough how much I love her!
Happy Mother's Day to all!
I will always be grateful that I have such a wonderful and loving mother in my life. My mom has always been a source of passion, exuberance, energy, and love in my life. She filled my childhood with nature hikes and camping trips that I will never forget. She would often catch a bug, or a lizard, or a snake and bring it to us for us to see and touch. The world of insects and bugs and ampibians was a wonder to me as a child, I felt like natures endless bounty was open for us to explore. Every hike was like our own little petting zoo! We sang songs joyously as we hiked with the boundless energy of youth. We would walk along river and stream beds, climb the hills to a swimming hole or just walk to enjoy being in nature. We went camping every summer as children and these trips, piled with our friends and all our equipment into our car, are some of my fondest memories. Only now, as I plan camping trips as an adult, do I appreciate all the work she put into those trips! I just remember waking up early excited for each day, whether we would play in the ocean, go on an eary morning walk at low tide and search for shells and starfish, play games at our campsite, or go for a hike that ended at a lake and get into a crazy mud fight. I will always cherish my childhood because of what she gave to us. I will always try to follow her example with my own children.
She one of the most compassionate and unjudgemental people I know. She loves everyone. She would stick up for Satan if she thought he was being unfairly judged! She is such a great example to me, and I continue to find things that I can learn from her. She is a strength and a support to me. She understands me and makes me feel sane when I think I am going crazy. As we have grown our relationship has become more and more a deep friendship. I am so grateful that we have stayed close to family and that I can call her up to go to the gym with me or plan a lunch or movie date. She is the perfect mother for me, and I can never tell her enough how much I love her!
Happy Mother's Day to all!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Easter Fun
Jaden's preschool put together an amazing activity for Easter. We started out in the sanctuary where we sang some fun Easter and worship songs, then they split us up in groups and sent us through an activity circuit. We started out with face painting. Jaden was too scared at first, but after Carter did it (although he smeared it almost immediately) Jaden tried it, too. He asked for a bee.
Next stop was an easter egg hunt!
After that we decorated paper easter eggs, then went to story-time! A lady read a story about Jesus and Palm Sunday.
Next was a game room where they played Simon Says, and played parachute games.
After that they had a snack, and then it was back to the sanctuary for an awesome puppet show!! It was very creative, they had black lights and neon puppets. It was the best puppet show I've ever seen, by far. Very fun activity, the kids were exhausted by the end of it.
Next stop was an easter egg hunt!
After that we decorated paper easter eggs, then went to story-time! A lady read a story about Jesus and Palm Sunday.
Next was a game room where they played Simon Says, and played parachute games.
After that they had a snack, and then it was back to the sanctuary for an awesome puppet show!! It was very creative, they had black lights and neon puppets. It was the best puppet show I've ever seen, by far. Very fun activity, the kids were exhausted by the end of it.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Bike Riding
I really started getting into a new hobby out here: bike riding. I absolutely love the wind in my hair and the burn in my quads (especially when I am pulling both my kids)! It was hard to get out and do in California only because there really wasn't anywhere fun and pretty to go, that was close by and safe to tow the kids. So one of the things I absolutely LOVED about Colorado Springs, the first time we came to check out the area when we were thinking about moving here, is all the trails everywhere! I just LOVE the Santa Fe trail, even in the off months, its still beautiful. Its perfect for my stroller/trailer whether I want to take the kids for a stroll and let them run around, or for a run, or a bike ride, and its so close and totally safe for them.
Just recently I met a new friend at Gold Gym and she bike rides a lot on the Air Force Base. She can bring me in as a sponsor; we went for a ride last Friday and it was so much fun. Of course, this was after quite a few annoying setbacks. I had gone for a bike ride by myself with the kids the day before and, like the airhead I can be sometimes, I forgot that I had the bike on top of my car and drove it right into the house! (What makes it even more infuriating is that was not the first, but the second time I've done that!!) Fortunately, the racks weren't ruined and my bike looked okay. I tried to count myself lucky and just forget about it. But the next day when I set my bike up with my friend, the brakes were continually locked on the wheel because part of the frame had gotten bent a little. We tried to fix it for a little while (all the time I'm feeling like an idiot for not checking out my bike the before coming to meet her), then tried to find some way to just tie the brakes out the way, I would just rely on my rear brakes, which are safer anyway. Once we got that figured out we rode down to the entrance, only to be turned away because I wasn't wearing a helmet (silly me!). We drove back to her house so I could borrow a helmet, duct taped my brakes out of the way, and tried again. By this time I was feeling really bad for causing so much trouble. Once we got back we unloaded the bikes, again, and rode down to the entrance, again. Only to be turned away, AGAIN, because I needed my driver's license! ARGH. After another quick trip back to the car we were finally admitted and on our way.
It was definitely worth all the trouble. It was so beautiful! It was a nice, cool day, and the ride was up hill the first half, and downhill on the way back, so we felt great by the time we got back to our cars. It was so exhilarating, and a great workout! My legs were pretty shaky the rest of the day. We decided to try to ride together every Friday, I am so looking forward to it!!
Just recently I met a new friend at Gold Gym and she bike rides a lot on the Air Force Base. She can bring me in as a sponsor; we went for a ride last Friday and it was so much fun. Of course, this was after quite a few annoying setbacks. I had gone for a bike ride by myself with the kids the day before and, like the airhead I can be sometimes, I forgot that I had the bike on top of my car and drove it right into the house! (What makes it even more infuriating is that was not the first, but the second time I've done that!!) Fortunately, the racks weren't ruined and my bike looked okay. I tried to count myself lucky and just forget about it. But the next day when I set my bike up with my friend, the brakes were continually locked on the wheel because part of the frame had gotten bent a little. We tried to fix it for a little while (all the time I'm feeling like an idiot for not checking out my bike the before coming to meet her), then tried to find some way to just tie the brakes out the way, I would just rely on my rear brakes, which are safer anyway. Once we got that figured out we rode down to the entrance, only to be turned away because I wasn't wearing a helmet (silly me!). We drove back to her house so I could borrow a helmet, duct taped my brakes out of the way, and tried again. By this time I was feeling really bad for causing so much trouble. Once we got back we unloaded the bikes, again, and rode down to the entrance, again. Only to be turned away, AGAIN, because I needed my driver's license! ARGH. After another quick trip back to the car we were finally admitted and on our way.
It was definitely worth all the trouble. It was so beautiful! It was a nice, cool day, and the ride was up hill the first half, and downhill on the way back, so we felt great by the time we got back to our cars. It was so exhilarating, and a great workout! My legs were pretty shaky the rest of the day. We decided to try to ride together every Friday, I am so looking forward to it!!
Jaden is Four (Last Month)
Jaden had his birthday April 3rd (I know, I'm really behind!). It was really fun because Jeff's parents were able to come out that weekend. It was General Conference weekend, and Jaden's uncle Zach's birthday also, so it was a busy weekend, but a very fun one! Saturday after General Conference we picked up Jaden's friend Solomon and we all went to Chucky Cheese's.
I made a cake for Jaden and Zach and put four candles for Jaden on his side, and ten candles on Zach's side because he was turning fourteen, and let them blow them out at the same time.
We all got in on the games!
Jaden and Solomon love to play together!
Jaden absolutely adores his uncle Zach! Zach couldn't be sweeter to Jaden, I've never seen a 14-year-old play so much with a 4-year-old!
Grandpa Rhett and Grandma Susan loved spending time with the kids!
I made a beautiful strawberry cake, per Jaden's specific request. Unfortunately, it turned out terrible. :(
I made a cake for Jaden and Zach and put four candles for Jaden on his side, and ten candles on Zach's side because he was turning fourteen, and let them blow them out at the same time.
We all got in on the games!
Jaden and Solomon love to play together!
Jaden absolutely adores his uncle Zach! Zach couldn't be sweeter to Jaden, I've never seen a 14-year-old play so much with a 4-year-old!
Grandpa Rhett and Grandma Susan loved spending time with the kids!
I made a beautiful strawberry cake, per Jaden's specific request. Unfortunately, it turned out terrible. :(
Monday, May 4, 2009
Virgin Islands Paradise
I spent a week in April with my sister and her new baby, Scottie. I left the kids behind and flew out with my mom so we could help Juli out with the baby. He was older than we had planned when we arrived because he decided to come early, so he was two months old by our visit. We spent a lot of time just hanging out with him, but we did get out a few times to enjoy the beauty of where they live. We spend four days in Tortola, which is a British Virgin Island. We stayed at a friends house that had amazing views and was a short, though incredibly steep, walk down to the beach. This is the view from the house!
We had some amazing sunsets!
Isn't that about the most idyllic picture of the beach?
This picture was taken at the bottom of the hundred stairs you have to climb to get up to the house.
This was taken on our first day in St. John, where Juli lives. We went on an awesome hike, which eventually took us to the beach where we gratefully cooled off and rinsed off our sweat! It was Scottie's first time in the ocean!
Scottie prefers to sleep being held so Juli usually carries him everywhere in a sling (he was still only about 7 lbs at two months), but he did take one nice long nap by himself while we were there. He even smiled! Isn't he cute!!
All in all I think it was the most relaxing vacation I've ever taken! I got to sleep in, lay on the beach a few times, go for a run along the ocean, and all in the most beautiful place! It was such a nice break. And I didn't have to worry about my kids because we paid to fly Jeff's mom in to be with them. So everyone had fun, except maybe poor Jeff, who had to work. What a hero!
We had some amazing sunsets!
Isn't that about the most idyllic picture of the beach?
This picture was taken at the bottom of the hundred stairs you have to climb to get up to the house.
This was taken on our first day in St. John, where Juli lives. We went on an awesome hike, which eventually took us to the beach where we gratefully cooled off and rinsed off our sweat! It was Scottie's first time in the ocean!
Scottie prefers to sleep being held so Juli usually carries him everywhere in a sling (he was still only about 7 lbs at two months), but he did take one nice long nap by himself while we were there. He even smiled! Isn't he cute!!
All in all I think it was the most relaxing vacation I've ever taken! I got to sleep in, lay on the beach a few times, go for a run along the ocean, and all in the most beautiful place! It was such a nice break. And I didn't have to worry about my kids because we paid to fly Jeff's mom in to be with them. So everyone had fun, except maybe poor Jeff, who had to work. What a hero!
Monday, March 30, 2009
These are some CRAZY spring storms!!
Isn't it supposed to be Spring? We didn't see these kinds of blizzards in the winter!
Jeff and I were thinking about going for a run on the Santa Fe trail this morning. Um, maybe not.
Jeff and I were thinking about going for a run on the Santa Fe trail this morning. Um, maybe not.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Half-naked exchange
Jaden (standing at the top of the stairs naked from the waist down holding his pants, which were inside out): Mom can you fix my pants?
Me: Why don't you go find your underwear first?
Jaden (two seconds later): I can't find it.
(Repeat two or three times)
When Jaden comes downstairs still half naked, Mom: What are you gonna give me if I find your underwear right where I told you to look?
Jaden: I don't know.
Mom: Are you gonna buy me a pizza?
Jaden: Ok, lets get pizza!
Mom: Are you gonna buy it?
Jaden (looking confused): Kids don't buy things for moms.
How true, how true.
Me: Why don't you go find your underwear first?
Jaden (two seconds later): I can't find it.
(Repeat two or three times)
When Jaden comes downstairs still half naked, Mom: What are you gonna give me if I find your underwear right where I told you to look?
Jaden: I don't know.
Mom: Are you gonna buy me a pizza?
Jaden: Ok, lets get pizza!
Mom: Are you gonna buy it?
Jaden (looking confused): Kids don't buy things for moms.
How true, how true.
Favorite Pictures of the Boys
Just a random shot I captured as we were walking to the park on one of those warm days
I don't know where he got this from but he does it all the time and it always makes me laugh, especially if he's in the nude. I call it his yoga baby pose:
Just the bros, hanging out
I don't know where he got this from but he does it all the time and it always makes me laugh, especially if he's in the nude. I call it his yoga baby pose:
Just the bros, hanging out
Carter's Two!
In pretty much opposite order (oh, I wish I had a brain), here are pictures of Carter's birthday:
Trying to blow out his candles:
Among other things he got his own pair of sunglasses (so he doesn't have to steal Jaden's), and gummy LifeSavers, one of his favorites. This was just the cutest picture of the presents:
Trying to blow out his candles:
Among other things he got his own pair of sunglasses (so he doesn't have to steal Jaden's), and gummy LifeSavers, one of his favorites. This was just the cutest picture of the presents:
It seemed like a good idea at the time...
I've been stuck at home with various illnesses in the family for a week now. At first I was my normal self, trying to make the best of it. After I recovered from a nasty bout of food poisoning I straightened up the whole house, did four hours of much needed spring cleaning and then made myself presentable again. I continued like this for a couple days, thinking the next day Carter would be better. Now on day seven here I am still in the pajamas I've been wearing since yesterday (which are now pretty much covered in hair after Jeff's hair-cut last night), still not showered or dressed by 1pm, despite needing to drop Jaden off at a ward Primary activity.
Yes, I showed up in all my glory, not noticing until I got there that I hadn't even bothered to brush my teeth or put on a bra! The only thing I did to improve my appearance was throw on a pair of sunglasses, feeling very much like someone trying to cover up a hang-over. You would think that by the time I had to pick Jaden up an hour and a half later that I would have regreted my previous slothfulness and taken a shower, at least out of pure shame. But no, I showed up the exact same way AGAIN (still without a bra), toting Carter with no pants on because he'd already gone through two pairs of pants that morning almost immediately after I put them on, and he only had one pair left. I wrapped a blanket around Carter and hoped I could just grab Jaden and slink away as soon as possible, hopefully before I was even seen. But, again, no.
Right when it was time for the activity to be done they herded in the kids to a buffet table full of all kinds of snacks. Jaden was so excited so I had to lead him through the line and let him eat his full, all the while slouching in the corner wishing I would blend in more to the wall. I tried to keep Carter covered up but of course he wandered off at one point dragging his blanket, while someone stared and probably wondered why he was half naked with almost a foot on snow on the ground outside.
Yeah, it was a day to be proud of....
Maybe its time to take and shower, put on a little make-up, and stop feeling sorry for myself for being cooped up. What do you think?
Yes, I showed up in all my glory, not noticing until I got there that I hadn't even bothered to brush my teeth or put on a bra! The only thing I did to improve my appearance was throw on a pair of sunglasses, feeling very much like someone trying to cover up a hang-over. You would think that by the time I had to pick Jaden up an hour and a half later that I would have regreted my previous slothfulness and taken a shower, at least out of pure shame. But no, I showed up the exact same way AGAIN (still without a bra), toting Carter with no pants on because he'd already gone through two pairs of pants that morning almost immediately after I put them on, and he only had one pair left. I wrapped a blanket around Carter and hoped I could just grab Jaden and slink away as soon as possible, hopefully before I was even seen. But, again, no.
Right when it was time for the activity to be done they herded in the kids to a buffet table full of all kinds of snacks. Jaden was so excited so I had to lead him through the line and let him eat his full, all the while slouching in the corner wishing I would blend in more to the wall. I tried to keep Carter covered up but of course he wandered off at one point dragging his blanket, while someone stared and probably wondered why he was half naked with almost a foot on snow on the ground outside.
Yeah, it was a day to be proud of....
Maybe its time to take and shower, put on a little make-up, and stop feeling sorry for myself for being cooped up. What do you think?
Friday, February 13, 2009
I LOVE Normal
Just to update, I had the best most normal day today. The kids were just their everyday selves, really nothing to report, except that I love them VERY much. I had a couple inspirations on some things to do for some friends to cheer them up and that made the day extra special. I feel good that I made a couple people smile today.
My parents stayed home while the kids were asleep and I went for a quick little run (ok, maybe not quick, but just short), and even though it got pretty cold it felt GREAT! I love being able to get away for even just a little while and have some "alone time".
There was no dangerous medicine medling, no cracked walls (or heads!), and even no fits! Amazing!
And tomorrow is Valentine's Day, and I'm going to help watch about 24 of my friends' kids so they can spend some quality time with their spouses. Maybe I'm crazy, but I'm really excited!
My parents stayed home while the kids were asleep and I went for a quick little run (ok, maybe not quick, but just short), and even though it got pretty cold it felt GREAT! I love being able to get away for even just a little while and have some "alone time".
There was no dangerous medicine medling, no cracked walls (or heads!), and even no fits! Amazing!
And tomorrow is Valentine's Day, and I'm going to help watch about 24 of my friends' kids so they can spend some quality time with their spouses. Maybe I'm crazy, but I'm really excited!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Eye of the Storm
Well I got my quiet night. Little did I know it was just the eye of the storm. Carter pretty much slept through the night, only waking once right after I fell asleep. I was so grateful in the morning! Ahhhh. I think the Lord knew I needed a full nights rest for what I was about to face.
Today Carter:
1) smacked his head so hard on a wall that he cracked the wall!!
2) spilled gatorade all over his high-chair tray while I was in the shower, and then smacked the puddle repeatedly until everything within a mile radius was covered
3) had 2 out-of-control-in-a-way-I've-never-seen tantrums that lasted at least 30 minutes each
4) fell off a chair
5) climbed up on the stool, and opened the childrens motrin, spilling and possibly consuming the entire half-empty bottle (yes he has recently figured out the secret to "child proof caps")
6) fell asleep sitting up
7) found and got into my Dad's heart medication Nitroglycerin
8) had a very expensive two hour visit to the Emergency Room
It didn't appear that he had ingested either the nitro nor the Motrin, but when he fell asleep sitting up I called poison control, who told me to take him to the ER. If all of this had happened with the amount of sleep I had yesterday I think I would have had an mental breakdown. But I thank Heavenly Father that my child is still alive and screaming. I didn't even mind the fits so much. And when we were at the hospital he was such an angel he had all the nurses cooing at him. I was afraid he would totally freak out with all the doctors and nurses around him, which he has been prone to do since he had a minor surgery about 6 months ago, but he didn't seem to care at all. I contribute that to all the great, sweet doctors we've seen since we've been here. He just sat in my lap for pretty much the entire two hours and pretended he was a different baby.
So despite my horrible guilt for having all this happen on my watch I am one grateful mommy.
Today Carter:
1) smacked his head so hard on a wall that he cracked the wall!!
2) spilled gatorade all over his high-chair tray while I was in the shower, and then smacked the puddle repeatedly until everything within a mile radius was covered
3) had 2 out-of-control-in-a-way-I've-never-seen tantrums that lasted at least 30 minutes each
4) fell off a chair
5) climbed up on the stool, and opened the childrens motrin, spilling and possibly consuming the entire half-empty bottle (yes he has recently figured out the secret to "child proof caps")
6) fell asleep sitting up
7) found and got into my Dad's heart medication Nitroglycerin
8) had a very expensive two hour visit to the Emergency Room
It didn't appear that he had ingested either the nitro nor the Motrin, but when he fell asleep sitting up I called poison control, who told me to take him to the ER. If all of this had happened with the amount of sleep I had yesterday I think I would have had an mental breakdown. But I thank Heavenly Father that my child is still alive and screaming. I didn't even mind the fits so much. And when we were at the hospital he was such an angel he had all the nurses cooing at him. I was afraid he would totally freak out with all the doctors and nurses around him, which he has been prone to do since he had a minor surgery about 6 months ago, but he didn't seem to care at all. I contribute that to all the great, sweet doctors we've seen since we've been here. He just sat in my lap for pretty much the entire two hours and pretended he was a different baby.
So despite my horrible guilt for having all this happen on my watch I am one grateful mommy.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
A Day of Tears
Today the crying never stopped. Carter started feeling sick yesterday, and was fussy all day from morning until night. The over all misery progressed until he was only content being held. He laid in everyone's arms until he fell asleep before 7 PM. Once he was asleep he was pretty much quiet until I went in his room to check on him as I was going to bed at 11 PM. After that he decided it was much better to be with mom all night than be alone in his crib. Sleep was only captured in glimpses for the next 24 hours.
The day started anyway despite all my hopes and prayers. And the crying continued. He cried when he woke up. He cried because Daddy wasn't there. He cried when Daddy came home. He cried even harder when Daddy had to go to sleep. He cried when we had to take Jaden to preschool. He cried because he was hungry, but then he refused to eat. Finally, he started to nod off while I was holding him. I had one peaceful moment as I was rocking him in his room. But then I put him in his crib and he cried. I picked him up and tried to get him to sleep on me. He cried, so I put him back in his crib hoping he would fall asleep eventually, and dozed off while he cried. I woke up a few minutes later when he cried again. I got up and held him as he cried once again for Daddy.
Thankfully, my mother relieved me and held him while I picked Jaden up from school. I made lunch while Jaden pouted about who knows what. He was having his own "out of sorts day". We got through lunch and I laid Carter in his crib for his nap. I put ear plugs in knowing that I had to get some sleep or I was going to be a very mean mommy VERY soon. I fell asleep to him crying and woke to him crying. By that time I was feeling very depressed and nursing a migraine. Thankfully Jeff was up by then, and I escaped for a desperately needed trip to the grocery store (Carter got sick right after Jaden got better, so this has pretty much been the story of the week). I took an Excederin and left to the sound of you-know-what.
Once I was in the car I took a deep breath and looked around. The mountains looked beautiful, snow capped and majestic. I turned up the music on the radio and tried to sing along. I thought about how grateful I was for the "time off". I knew by the time I got back Jeff would probably be feeling how I did when I left, so I tried to cheer myself up. We can't all be cranky at the same time! So with my headache temporarily relieved, and little bit of shaky, caffine energy, I made it through the night. Its amazing what a little bit of fresh air will do for you during a very oppressive day. So now with my exhausted children in bed, my husband off to work, and my migraine returned in force, I take two Excerdin PM and pray for a quiet night.
The day started anyway despite all my hopes and prayers. And the crying continued. He cried when he woke up. He cried because Daddy wasn't there. He cried when Daddy came home. He cried even harder when Daddy had to go to sleep. He cried when we had to take Jaden to preschool. He cried because he was hungry, but then he refused to eat. Finally, he started to nod off while I was holding him. I had one peaceful moment as I was rocking him in his room. But then I put him in his crib and he cried. I picked him up and tried to get him to sleep on me. He cried, so I put him back in his crib hoping he would fall asleep eventually, and dozed off while he cried. I woke up a few minutes later when he cried again. I got up and held him as he cried once again for Daddy.
Thankfully, my mother relieved me and held him while I picked Jaden up from school. I made lunch while Jaden pouted about who knows what. He was having his own "out of sorts day". We got through lunch and I laid Carter in his crib for his nap. I put ear plugs in knowing that I had to get some sleep or I was going to be a very mean mommy VERY soon. I fell asleep to him crying and woke to him crying. By that time I was feeling very depressed and nursing a migraine. Thankfully Jeff was up by then, and I escaped for a desperately needed trip to the grocery store (Carter got sick right after Jaden got better, so this has pretty much been the story of the week). I took an Excederin and left to the sound of you-know-what.
Once I was in the car I took a deep breath and looked around. The mountains looked beautiful, snow capped and majestic. I turned up the music on the radio and tried to sing along. I thought about how grateful I was for the "time off". I knew by the time I got back Jeff would probably be feeling how I did when I left, so I tried to cheer myself up. We can't all be cranky at the same time! So with my headache temporarily relieved, and little bit of shaky, caffine energy, I made it through the night. Its amazing what a little bit of fresh air will do for you during a very oppressive day. So now with my exhausted children in bed, my husband off to work, and my migraine returned in force, I take two Excerdin PM and pray for a quiet night.
Baby Scott
My sister, Juli, had her baby! He was born two months early, surprise! He came on February 9th at 4:03 PM, 4 lbs 3.4 oz, 17.5 inches. He is doing great, and even better every time they do a check-up. He will have to remain in the NICU at the St. Thomas Hospital for probably four weeks.
Everything came as a surprise to everyone. The pregnancy seemed to be doing fine, Juli was experiencing some cramping and what she perceived to be incontinence, but nothing that seemed off course. Then Monday, her cramping seemed to be intensifying, still she just thought it was Braxton Hicks contractions. She called her midwife who told her to check into the clinic just to be safe. Reluctantly she did, but not until she ran a few errands that had to be done that day. She didn't tell Will because she knew he was busy with work and didn't want to cause any unnecessary alarm. She figured she'd just tell him about it after she got home.
When she got to the clinic in St. John she was 4 centimeters dialated, and the contractions were progressing quickly. They tried to give her some medecine to slow it down but to no avail. The realized now that her water must have broke about a week earlier (it leaked slowly so she just thought she was peeing herself!) They shipped her over to St. Thomas and she had to work hard not to have the baby in the boat or ambulance! Once they allowed her to push, the delivery was over in 10 minutes. Will barely had time to wash his hands to be there for the birth. Congratulations Juli and Will!
Everything came as a surprise to everyone. The pregnancy seemed to be doing fine, Juli was experiencing some cramping and what she perceived to be incontinence, but nothing that seemed off course. Then Monday, her cramping seemed to be intensifying, still she just thought it was Braxton Hicks contractions. She called her midwife who told her to check into the clinic just to be safe. Reluctantly she did, but not until she ran a few errands that had to be done that day. She didn't tell Will because she knew he was busy with work and didn't want to cause any unnecessary alarm. She figured she'd just tell him about it after she got home.
When she got to the clinic in St. John she was 4 centimeters dialated, and the contractions were progressing quickly. They tried to give her some medecine to slow it down but to no avail. The realized now that her water must have broke about a week earlier (it leaked slowly so she just thought she was peeing herself!) They shipped her over to St. Thomas and she had to work hard not to have the baby in the boat or ambulance! Once they allowed her to push, the delivery was over in 10 minutes. Will barely had time to wash his hands to be there for the birth. Congratulations Juli and Will!
Friday, February 6, 2009
"Put it on my Tab"
My good friend from BYU made a comment on her blog the other day that I must reiterate. She has four children, three of which have been very sick lately. After the umpteenth visit to the doctor toting three sick children, she wanted to tell the nurse behind the counter, like Dan in "Dan In Real Life" to the police officer writing him a ticket, "Put it on my tab." I laughed so hard when I read that. I mean, haven't we all been there? We had so many visits to the doctors over the holidays, for puenemonia, ear infections, pink eye, and a sinus infection, and those were just the visits that produced diagnoses.
Today, unfortunately I will say it again at 11am, "Put it on my tab." Jaden has had a fever since yesterday afternoon, and despite rotating tylenol and motrin every four hours, has not receded. He couldn't sleep all night (which of course meant, neither could Carter nor I). So off we go to the doctors again...
Today, unfortunately I will say it again at 11am, "Put it on my tab." Jaden has had a fever since yesterday afternoon, and despite rotating tylenol and motrin every four hours, has not receded. He couldn't sleep all night (which of course meant, neither could Carter nor I). So off we go to the doctors again...
Ovens, Refrigerators, and Cell Phones
So I bought an oven. Not as cool as the one I really wanted, but still a great deal. We had to drive out to Denver to get it, but the nice lady who sold it to me took $150 less than what she was asking so it was definitely worth the trip! This appliance is the one I care the most about so I'm relieved that that purchase is done. Now all we need is an electric dryer, an over the range microwave, and I would love a stainless/black refrigerator.
I was so proud of myself yesterday, I figured out how to list an item for sale on Craigslist all by myself, with pictures even! (Which is REALLY easy, by the way, but I just always leave that stuff for Jeff to do just because he's better at it. Until yesterday, I'm ashamed to admit I had never even uploaded pictures off the camera to the computer before!!) I'm having trouble convincing Jeff that we need a stainless/black refrigerator to match our new kitchen, so I figured if we could sell our current fridge for a good price first, he wouldn't need as much convincing. So if anyone wants a great fridge we're selling ours for $800.
I was excited when I received an email asking if it was still available just a couple hours later, so I decided I'd better clean it out just in case someone wanted to come by to see it. I had my cell phone in my pocket so I wouldn't miss any calls, and I spent probably an hour making it spotless. Just as I was finishing up, something fell into the bowl of soapy water. What would it be, except my brand new phone? Yep, the only cool phone I've ever had, that I've only had for a couple weeks. Yeah, I broke it. Nice. It probably commited suicide because it had no more self-worth after the whole oven thing. I shouldn't have bad-mouthed it so much, cuz right now I sure wish it had stuck around longer. Sigh.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Baby Sitting Co-op
We had our first day of our newly formed Babysitting Co-op on Monday. I started it off since I chose to make myself available on Monday mornings. I had two kids from 9-12 am, we had a blast!
Then today, I swapped kids with the mom from yesterday, and she took mine for three hours this morning. I finally vacuumed the spilled baby powder from a week ago in the kid's room, cleaned up the dishes piled all over my kitchen, and drove around all morning collecting boxes for moving from various grocery store produce departments. All things that are not very much fun toting two kids. It was a nice break. What a great idea! :)
Then today, I swapped kids with the mom from yesterday, and she took mine for three hours this morning. I finally vacuumed the spilled baby powder from a week ago in the kid's room, cleaned up the dishes piled all over my kitchen, and drove around all morning collecting boxes for moving from various grocery store produce departments. All things that are not very much fun toting two kids. It was a nice break. What a great idea! :)
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Grrrrrr
This is a double convection oven I found on Craigslist yesterday, listed for $650, which retails for $1900 new!
I was so excited! I emailed the guy immediately and left a message on his voicemail. I was waiting around anxiously all day for a call back, because the last stove we were interested in on Craigslist was sold before we could go see it. The only time my cell phone rang was when I was on my dad's cell phone with my State Farm agent going over her insurance quote for our house. I went to see who was calling on the caller ID and it said "Shaina Nunnelly". I didn't want to interupt the call with my insurance agent because we needed to get this done pronto to close on escrow so I planned on calling her back later.
As soon as I hung up I went to explain to Jeff our insurance options. While we were talking about that he said we should make dinner for my parents because my Dad was sick (he does all the cooking). So we made a quick dinner, cleaned up....then I checked my message. Turns out the call was NOT from Shaina, it was from the guy I had called about the oven! My new phone has done this a couple times, where caller ID says its my Dad, when its really my realtor, etc. Its a little confusing and annoying. I'm still surprised every time.
So now its an hour later as I call the Craigslist guy back. I leave another message and wait. Finally I send him a text message asking if we can go see the oven the next day. He sends me a text back saying he just sold it!!!! Arghh!!! I am still so mad! My stupid phone cost me a really great stove! Its is just so frustrating, I probably won't find another deal like this. The oven is the most important appliance to me that we have to buy. I've had too many bad ovens that make my food turn out terrible. And now that I've seen what I missed I won't be easily satisfied with less, ya know? This all happened last night and I am still fuming.
I was so excited! I emailed the guy immediately and left a message on his voicemail. I was waiting around anxiously all day for a call back, because the last stove we were interested in on Craigslist was sold before we could go see it. The only time my cell phone rang was when I was on my dad's cell phone with my State Farm agent going over her insurance quote for our house. I went to see who was calling on the caller ID and it said "Shaina Nunnelly". I didn't want to interupt the call with my insurance agent because we needed to get this done pronto to close on escrow so I planned on calling her back later.
As soon as I hung up I went to explain to Jeff our insurance options. While we were talking about that he said we should make dinner for my parents because my Dad was sick (he does all the cooking). So we made a quick dinner, cleaned up....then I checked my message. Turns out the call was NOT from Shaina, it was from the guy I had called about the oven! My new phone has done this a couple times, where caller ID says its my Dad, when its really my realtor, etc. Its a little confusing and annoying. I'm still surprised every time.
So now its an hour later as I call the Craigslist guy back. I leave another message and wait. Finally I send him a text message asking if we can go see the oven the next day. He sends me a text back saying he just sold it!!!! Arghh!!! I am still so mad! My stupid phone cost me a really great stove! Its is just so frustrating, I probably won't find another deal like this. The oven is the most important appliance to me that we have to buy. I've had too many bad ovens that make my food turn out terrible. And now that I've seen what I missed I won't be easily satisfied with less, ya know? This all happened last night and I am still fuming.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Inside Pics
Here are some picture of our new home! This is the master bedroom (I don't know why the top window is covered):
This is our top level:
This is our formal dining room:
Our family room (a little small):
Our backyard (still needs a lot of work, but its huge!):
Our front porch:
My dream kitchen, it even has pull out drawers:
There are more picture on flikr.com, but I thought these ones showed the house the best. We are stressing on the numbers ($), appliances, and landscaping, but we know its totally worth it!
This is our top level:
This is our formal dining room:
Our family room (a little small):
Our backyard (still needs a lot of work, but its huge!):
Our front porch:
My dream kitchen, it even has pull out drawers:
There are more picture on flikr.com, but I thought these ones showed the house the best. We are stressing on the numbers ($), appliances, and landscaping, but we know its totally worth it!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
My Little Spiderman
Jaden LOVES anything Spiderman! Before Christmas my mom bought him some Spiderman pajamas and that just completed his "stash". Now every night or afternoon Jaden asks me, "Can I put on my Spiderman pajamas?" I finally had to make it a rule that he had to wait until after dinner to put on his pajamas, otherwise he wanted to wear them all day long! He still asks me about five times before dinner. Although that gets old, I think its the cutest thing!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
