Random Letters

Dear Kate,

2010-04-08T02:23:00.000-06:00

10!!! Double Digits Baby! Wowzers that went by in a flash! You are so special to me for soooo many reasons. You are my oldest and that means you were my first. What an amazing experience it was to bring you into this world and to be able to watch you grow these past ten years. Giving birth to you was one of the most amazing moments of my life and I will never forget it. You were so, so, so tiny: 5lbs 6oz. My brain can't comprehend how tiny that is anymore. I just know that someone told me your head was about the size of a grapefruit. Maybe it was and maybe it wasn't the size of a grapefruit. It didn't matter. You were perfect to me and you still are. I love you and am looking forward to all the years ahead!
Love,
Mom

Dear Spring,

2010-03-08T10:52:00.000-07:00

When will you be here? I am ready. I am sick of looking at the inside of my house. I am ready to dig in the dirt. I am ready to get some sun. Please hurry. I miss you.

To The American Academy of Pediatrics,

2010-02-23T13:02:00.000-07:00

Warning labels on food for choking? You're kidding right?
When I read this article about choking and food labels, I knew it would be perfect for Free Rangers!
The conclusion that I have come to is that you, the American Academy of Pediatrics, must think parents are morons.
Morons.
I admit I have seen some parents who would certainly fit the bill but most of us out there are not morons. I marvel at the advances in science and medicine, modern technology and the fact that we can shoot human beings into space. But now we are being told we need food companies labeling certain items that may be a choking hazard? Please.
Isn’t anything you put in your mouth, or in this case your child’s mouth, a choking hazard? It seems we live in a society where someone or something is always to blame when accidents do happen. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure is one of my favorite sayings but no matter how hard you try, some things just can’t be prevented. I think we just need to chill out a little.
Almost two years ago a friend from my hometown lost her
baby (she was almost two) to a choking accident. The baby was eating a very small piece of cut up apple (without the peel) and she choked and died a short time later. The Mothers grief was painful to say the least. I have cried as I’ve read her struggles and feelings on her blog. Did she start a campaign to ban apples or have them labeled as dangerous? No. She turned something that was very tragic into something positive by starting a website and support group to help other mothers and families who have lost a child regardless of the circumstances. I admire her for her courage and honesty.
My point to this story is that sometimes no matter how careful and cautious you are as a parent, accidents do happen and they are just that: accidents.

Dear Lady at Underbellie.com

2010-02-20T11:14:00.007-07:00

Thank you for this. I loved it so much I am reposting it on my blog. I hope that is o k . I am not taking credit for any of what you wrote because I think you did it perfectly and how can I improve upon perfection? I do hope someone reads this.

Sincerely,

Rochelle

OHNOES i’ve been squandering my “sex favor” cards!

The day after Christmas a friend posted an article on her Facebook profile*, entitled "Men Who Help Clean Get More Sex", from Limelife.com. It's a subject I've seen many times online - another study that reports, in effect, that a relationship with a more egalitarian share of household responsibilities often enjoys more sex (although this study in particular - link below - seems to be talking specifically about high-energy couples - high-energy in work together and in sexual activity).
The way this relatively lightweight Limelife piece presents the information is typical of the many articles I've seen on the topic (and that you will see if you do a simple Google search). It contains the following assumptions and implicit assertions:
1. In a heterosexually-partnered relationship, housework is a woman's responsibility. A man can choose to "help" if he wishes.
2. Sex isn't a mutual act: men are the pursuant party and women the pursued (or withholding). It makes sense for men to use "brownie points" to get sex, because:
3. Women don't want sex for sex's sake. It's something they dole out as a reward; or, to use the headline, something men "get" out of their women if they play their cards right.
4. Women find the sight of their male partner doing housework a "turn on" in and of itself - as opposed to male partners doing their share of housework being an element of a healthier relationship that helps heterosexual women stay happier, healthier, and sexually vigorous.
Several studies from diverse sources show that as a group heterosexually-partnered males do half of the work in the home that women do, regardless of paid or outside employment. In my own observances, well - let's just say by example one of the many myriad and minor reasons I left Facebook were the handful of female acquaintances who'd post status messages like, "My husband is doing the dishes! I am the LUCKIEST LADY ALIVE!" without a trace of irony. As far as amorous relations, I don't have much of a window into my friends' sex lives - and they don't have much into mine. But I do know a dismaying number of married-to-men women who heap all kinds of grateful praise and "rescuing" on their partner for considerably less effort and performance than they, as females, perform daily, day in, day out, over and over.
This hits home, too. My own husband is often the recipient of a glorified pedestaling for the kind of work I regularly do without much comment from outside parties; he has countless times been called "Superdad" for - I kid you not - taking care of his own kids and sometimes other people's. And just so you know - in case you, dear reader are childfree and/or unaware - women do stuff like arrange playdates and take care of kids All. The. Time.** I'll let my husband speak for himself more eloquently on his oft-prescribed moniker of "Superdad!" but suffice to say: he finds it demeaning and insulting to himself, and unfair to his wife.
Obviously, in any individual relationship there are mitigating factors, and my intention here is not to personally weigh in on any particular couple or couple's habits. For instance: perhaps in the case of the abovementioned Facebook status the husband had done a bunch of OTHER awesome stuff earlier in the day. However, taken as a sum the truth is: we expect less out of our men and they are only too happy to deliver (or, as I like to more charitably believe, won't decide to deliver unless we educate them on the necessity that they do so).
The sad thing is, ultimately, all this seems to point to a cultural devaluation of heterosexually-partnered women's health and happiness. Concomitant to this (not-very) mind-blowing concept that dudes should maybe pick it up at home I saw recently, on a web medical information site, an absolute glut of queries regarding a low sex-drive in women and wives - and many, many medications, remedies, and long lists of nutritional do's and don'ts to "fix" the problem. I'm left wondering: do the mojo-draining twin forces of overwork and deep resentment perhaps have anything at all to do with women's libido and desire? Naaaah. Let's keep to that whole, "What do women want? Ah, who knows! Let's give 'em a pill to get 'em horny for us." It's just easier that way.
As for me? I actually do have a husband who does his share. But that doesn't mean he doesn't need reminders and re-education because, yeah, there is a right way to put away the dishes, bro. In fact, in our case - with one partner working at home and the other in paid employment - he's at a bit of a disadvantage when he comes home and is thrust into the house ins and outs. But he knows it's his job to do figure it out and do his share, and so do I. He's a really, really fabulous guy (he's also great in the sack, so I guess - bonus?), and I'm grateful to have such a partner. But I think I'm pretty cool too; I've been doing the hard, hard work of casting off the expectation I should do most (if not all) of the work en casa, and expect very little of - or be inordinately grateful for - his "help".
* I don't actually have a Facebook account, but I sometimes check my husband's.
** Another thing people do? A lot? When a father of an infant is taking care of his own child, they call it "babysitting" (as opposed to, you know, parenting).

To The City of Midvale,

2010-02-10T13:15:00.000-07:00

It seems that I am not going to be able to get on with my day until I have made written this.
I have a bee in my bonnet. A really big bee. What is up with your police officers? I am sure that they are only following orders when they pull everyone over under the sun for what seems like the lamest of "violations" but come on! Go solve some crime already! Why do I never see a patrol car in my neighborhood just "patrolling"? Go find the person or persons who stole my neighbors brand new lawn mower. Go find whoever it was that broke my stereo in my car and stole all of my awesome cds. What about the neighbors on the corner? I'm sure you're aware that one of their cars was stolen last year and the car was eventually found but did you find out who did it? I doubt it. Maybe if you weren't so busy pulling everyone over, a portion if not all of these crimes could be prevented. Don't even get me started on the houses that have been burglarized around here! Again, why do I never see any cops except the ones who are hiding over by the cemetery, hiding by the burger joint on state street and various other places just waiting to pull people over. Don't get me wrong, if someone is driving recklessly or is somehow endangering the lives of innocent people around them then by all means, go get them! But really? Pulling someone over for going five freakin' miles over the speed limit or something else ridiculous?
BEE IN MY BONNET.
Was that $130 ticket really necessary? I turned right on a red light. Their is no sign there that says I can't turn on a red light. I looked. No sign. A warrant for my arrest because I have not paid the fine? Give me a break! You are aware, stupid Midvale City, that we are in the middle of a recession? Maybe I have not paid the fine because I do not have an extra $130 laying around for stupid traffic tickets and I especially don't have the extra $290 that you want because I have not paid the $130! So you want $420 of my hard earned money? I don't think so. We own our home and pay our property taxes every year. I am vigilant about keeping an "eye" on my neighborhood and surrounding areas for anything suspicious. We, along with all my neighbors, keep our yards looking pretty darn nice compared to some other parts of this city. I even hosted the Neighborhood Block Party last year as part of Harvest Days! Thanks for showing up by the way. We REALLY appreciate it. (I say those last two sentences with an abundance of sarcasm because no one from the City bothered to show up)
Soooo....
I will see you in court in April. I will have pictures of that intersection with me. I am sure the bee will still be in my bonnet. I don't back down easily so get ready for a fight.

Sincerely,

Rochelle

WITH A BEE IN MY BONNET

Dear Dental Hygenist,

2010-02-04T20:03:00.001-07:00

*Dental hygiene--I'm sure some people think those are the instruments I use*

I'm sure you thought you were being oh so gentle when you scraped my teeth with that deadly looking metal tool. I'm sure you thought that I am weird because I told you not to use that nifty little tool that sucks the drool out of my mouth and not to put any cold water in my mouth because I am super sensitive to cold and it quite literally would cause me to jump out of the chair. My mouth feels like it was in a terrible fight and lost. My gums hurt from your "gentle" flossing and are swollen in some areas. Good grief. Its no wonder I have put off going for a checkup for so long. I feel like its some sort of punishment. Thank-you for the nice compliment however about how white my teeth are and how healthy they look. I plan on keeping them forever. You are so lucky to work for Dr. Clark. He is so nice and always goes out of his way to get to know his patients. I'm sure he is just as gracious to his staff. Next time I come in, please try to be a little more gentle. I admit it: I am a big fat baby when it comes to people poking around in my mouth with sharp objects. See you in August. I'm sure you are really looking forward to it.

Sincerely,
Rochelle

Dear Parents,

2010-02-04T01:10:00.001-07:00

You don't know what YTD is? How shameful.

Let me help you: Youth Tendency Disorder. The horror. The absolute horror that our youth should behave in such a well, youthful way. Isn't that what they are supposed to do?

Need a good laugh?

Want to read all about it?

Go here

You won't be disappointed. At least I hope not.

Dear Family,

2010-02-03T13:15:00.000-07:00

❤tyler

♥kate

♥♥ella

♥♥♥sophie

❤❤

I love you dearly

Dear CocoRosie,

2010-02-02T14:09:00.000-07:00

What exactly do you mean by these lyrics? Just as they say or is there some hidden meaning? I wonder.....

By Your Side

CocoRosie

I'll always be by your side
Even when you're down and out
I'll always be by your side
Even when you're down and out
I just wanted to be your housewife
All i wanted was to be your housewife
I'll iron your clothes
I'll shine your shoes
I'll make your bed
And cook your food
I'll never cheat
I'll be the best girl you'd ever meet
And for a diamond ring
I'll do these kinds of things
I'll scrub your floor
Never be a bore
I'd tuck you in
I do not snore
I'd wear your black eyes
Bake you apple pies
I won't ask whys
And i try not to cry
I'll always be by your side
Even when you're down and out
I'll always be by your side
Even when you're down and out
And its nearly midnight
And all i want with my life
Is to be a housewife
Is to be a housewife
'Cause it's nearly midnight
And all i want with my life
Is to die a housewife
Is to die a housewife

Dear January,

2010-02-01T13:00:00.000-07:00

Thank heavens you are over. I will not miss you. You are a dreary, cold, wretched month and you have always made be feel a little depressed. There will forever be one bright spot in your 31 days; Sophie's birthday. This year she turned one and we had a fun little party at the church with the works. Fun, fun.
Now that you are over, that means we are one month closer to spring.....ahhh, glorious spring!

Dear Pandora,

2010-01-28T12:12:00.000-07:00

Oh Pandora......I love you! This is the best thing ever! You really do play the type of music that I like. It's like you came to my house and climbed in my head and found out what I love. I have to make sure I give credit to my SIL, Wendy, because she is the one who told me all about you. Thanks, and I'll keep rockin' out.....

Dear Lenore,

2010-01-26T13:58:00.002-07:00

You are my new hero. A lovely, breath of refreshing air. I heard about you for the first time last year from an article in "The Week" magazine. I was so intrigued I soon learned that you had written a book. I read it. It was awesome. I admit, some things truly do still scare me to death and I would definitely say I am in the baby step phase for a good portion of things. But deep down I think I have always felt (and still feel) that a lot of what "scares" me is really unfounded garbage brought on by the almighty media machine. One example of this? That awful Nancy Grace. But I don't want to talk about her.
I have already made some significant progress. Of course "progress" is a relative term.

Anyway, here is a list of my progress:

I let my 5 year old daughter go to the restroom alone at Wal-Mart not once, but twice over a few days time.
This same 5 year old returned our shopping cart to the aforementioned store. This included crossing the parking lot and street. I was watching the whole time of course and she knows to look both ways. Was she ever proud of herself!
I have always let my kids play outside by themselves (ages 5 and 9) and I live smack in the middle of an urban area in the Salt Lake City Valley. You are spot on when you say, "They don't know your kids like you do." I trust my girls. They're no dummies. (Of course I do check on them!)
Plans are in the works for my kids to start walking to school when the weather warms up a bit. I honestly thought my 9 year old would resist but she is actually excited and is looking forward to it! We live approximately 1/2 mile from my kids' school. They are driven to and from school everyday.
My kids are allowed to walk or ride their bikes to a friends house who lives on the next block. Wow!
We have a trampoline with out padding (yikes!) or that netting (lame!) that is supposed to keep the kids from falling off when they are jumping. Actually, this is not progress because I grew up with one as did all of my neighbors and relatives so really it is more of a staple if you ask me. I am happy to report that none of my childhood friends, neighbors and cousins were permanently injured from a trampoline. We sure did have a lot of fun and got a lot of exercise though!

One of my biggest issues is the cell phone. I love my cell phone like you love yours. But why oh why do parents think kids need them? I will never understand. My 9 year old begs and pleads to get one. I will not give in. I told her when she is old enough to get a job to pay for it herself (like I do mine) then she can go right ahead! I loved your article: Buy a Phone, Become a Baby . My favorite part of that article: "In fact, it's possible that children in a cell-connected world make out worst of all. This morning, not five minutes after I'd left for work, my 11-year-old called from the kitchen to ask if he could have banana bread for breakfast.
Kid — I'm not there . Eat ice cream and marshmallows. Make a vodka smoothie! Go wild or be a good boy, just pretend it's 1990 and I'm unreachable. With all of us connected all the time — "Mom, I'm on the bus," "Mom, I'm two blocks from home" — independence never gets a foothold."
AMEN!! I love my kids but I want them to grow up and be, well, grown ups! Independent grown ups at that! So no, I will not get my kids a cell phone. End of story.
Keep up the good work and I will keep up the baby steps. I will also be slowly informing my friends and neighbors about the 'Free-Range Kids' movement. I say its a movement! I have gotten pretty good about spouting off the statistics from your book about kidnapping, drowning, car accidents and so forth to whoever will listen. If you could only hear me. My next goal is to see what I can do about the no running rule on the playground at my kids' school. Seriously, no running? Wish me luck!

Sincerely,

Rochelle

Dear Jill,

2010-01-25T12:51:00.000-07:00

I wanted to tell you about a funny, albeit disgusting little adventure I had while visiting
a relative a few months ago. I will call this relative my "Hostess" to protect her identity.

My Hostess has some doggies that have never been properly trained in the potty department. The doggies preferred spot to pee is in the office. I think it must be the lovely shag carpet in that room that they love so much. Ha Ha Anyway, as you can imagine, that office stinks to high heaven and it spreads to the rest of the house which just alarms the senses. I tell you, when you first get to her house and you walk in the front door, holy cow. Talk about rank. In order to "spare" her house guests of the putrid smell of dog urine, she shuts the office door. Where, do you ask, do the doggies pee if they can't get to the shag carpeted office? Where ever they want of course!

Mercy.

While I was up there I needed a paper cutter and asked my Hostess if she had one.

Why yes, she does, its in the desk in the office.

Did she say office?

O.k., I'm from Idaho, Hibbard even. Dog pee is nothing compared to weevils or lice (the two things that gross me out beyond gross). Bring it on.

So off I go to brave the dog pee in the office all in the name of a paper cutter. As I get to the office door, I take a deep breath, hold it, open the door and I am halfway across the room before I realized I wasn't wearing shoes.

Why wasn't I wearing shoes?!?!

So what did I do? I stopped. I was paralyzed in the middle of the room, shoeless and standing on the crunchiest, stiffest, most disgusting urine saturated shag carpet ever. In that brief moment of paralysis, I weighed my options. I could either run out of the room as fast as possible and that meant I would be without the paper cutter and I would have to come back, or I could just suck it up and carry on to the desk and be done with it. I was already halfway there anyway, I might as well just keep going and get the stupid paper cutter. I chose the latter and made a mad dash for the desk. I grabbed that darn paper cutter and was out as fast as I could. After I was out of the room and back to "safety" I had what you would call a mini-seizure right there in the hall. I was so grossed out I could hardly stand it. I promptly washed my feet and and hands several times and then used the paper cutter. I did not, however, put it back in the office, going against what I am always nagging my kids for: To put stuff back where you got it. I left it out for my Hostess to put back. Was getting the paper cutter worth all of that? I guess you can decide. You got my Christmas card didn't you?

Much Love Always,

Rochelle

Dear Babies of Haiti,

2010-01-22T20:45:00.000-07:00

I wish I could go get you and take you all home with me or go to where you are and give you everything you need. My heart breaks when I see all your little faces. I hope you are all being protected and taken care of.

I feel so useless. The only thing I can send is my prayers.

To The Chocolate Sophie Ate Last Night,

2010-01-21T11:02:00.002-07:00

Mysterious bumps on my baby this morning. Was that you? Hmmmmmm. How to know for sure? We really like you. I don't want to give you a bad rap or anything because you are most certainly delicious. I'll be watching.....

Dear 2010,

2010-01-20T00:45:00.000-07:00

Please, please, please be kind to me.

I can't take a crappy 2010. So far, not so good. Why?

I am trying so hard and don't seem to get anywhere. I'll keep going tho.

What other choice do I have?

I won't give up and I won't quit, so go easy on me.

Sincerely,

Dear House,

2010-01-14T20:02:00.000-07:00

Why are you such a disaster? I know I went back to work full time but that is no excuse.

This is ridiculous. What did you do with my church binder? Where is my nice papercutter? You know, the one that actually cuts paper? Why haven't those tiles been fixed at the top of the stairs? I've wanted that done in -well, I can't tell you how long because I forgot. And the garage! I don't remember the last time I even parked the car in there. I would like to park it in there again soon.

Also, how long exactly have you been leaking? The water damage has become very evident. Are you

planning on dropping the ceiling on us one of these days?

I hope not.

I think we have been pretty good to you. By today's standards you

would probably be considered old.

But I think we have given you some new life with a new kitchen, windows, tile and paint.

Right? You certainly look better and if you look better than most likely

you feel better. Well, at least I do. Houses are probably different in that

regard.

You are still a good house. And you have been good to us.

You keep us warm in the winter, cool in the summer and safe all the year round. I don't want

you to think that I am ungrateful for you. I am most certainly not. Our little family

loves living here. So I guess I will forgive you. What other choice do I have? I don't think

I can forgive you for the leaky roof yet. I don't know how much its going to cost to fix and I am

scared even to think about it. Oh well.....at least we are warm.

Dear Sophie,

2010-01-12T00:34:00.004-07:00

How has it been a year already?

My heart aches because it went so fast. Did I take it all in as much as I could? What did I miss?

This time last year, I went to bed wondering when you were going to make

your appearance into our lives. I didn't have to wait long. The next evening you came.

You were worth the wait.

You have been such a sweet baby and you are such a joy. Did I feel this way about

my other babies this much? I'm sure I did.

"A mother's body remembers her babies-the folds of soft flesh, the softly furred scalp against her nose. Each child has it's own entreaties to body and soul."-Barbara Kingsolver

You are so precious and I find it no coincidence that the first year of your life

is the first time I have really enjoyed being a Mom.

Not long after you were born, and as I rocked you in my arms,

I fondly remember reciting to myself this poem (at least the last part and the shocking house part):

Song for a Fifth Child
Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth
empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
hang out the washing and butter the bread,
sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
and out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
but I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren't her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
for children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

So, Happy Birthday to you.

I just love you so much that I can't even stand it! You make me so happy.

One day when you are older and if you chance to read this, unless you have kids of your

own when you do read it, I'm sure you will think me oh so very crazy. Thats ok.

Even though I'm sure you're not my last, I have felt this way about all three of my babies:

"But the last one: the baby who trails her scent like a flag of surrender through

your life when there will be no more coming after - oh, that's love by a different name.

She is the babe you hold in your arms for an hour after she's gone to sleep. If you put her down in the crib, she might wake up changed and fly away. So instead you rock my the window, drinking the light from her skin, breathing her exhaled dreams. Your heart bays to the double crescent moons of closed lashes on her cheeks. She's the one you can't put down."
— Barbara Kingsolver (The Poisonwood Bible)

Much Love Always,

Mommy

Dear Grandma,

2010-01-08T02:01:00.000-07:00

Dear Grandma,

Happy Birthday! If you were alive you would be 75. That is young. I really wish you were still here, Grandpa too. I would probably be bitter and angry that you were both taken so young were it not for the gospel and the knowledge that I will see you both again. How comforting that is. I wish you could come for a visit and see where I live but more than that I wish I could come to Idaho and visit you on the farm. So much to tell you.
I have learned so much this past year. I would make you laugh, cringe and chastise me all with a sentence or two. I think about you all the time mostly when I am doing mundane house work or cooking as these are the things you loved. I can make some serious cinnamon rolls (finally!) that would give even yours a run for their money!
My kids grow like weeds. Already a year has gone by and my baby will be one in a few days. I'm sure you would get a kick out of my kids and their spunky, individual personalities. You would be happy to know that I have found joy in motherhood. Maybe you could tell me why it has taken me this long. There is so much I understand now about why mothers do the things they do and I know you would appreciate hearing it. Thank you for being such a pillar of strength and a great example. I am just so sorry that I didn't recognize these things when you were alive. That is how it goes I guess. You don't know what you've got till its gone.

Thank you......

for teaching me how to make buttermilk....

for all your recipes, I treasure them!...

for showing me how to make homemade noodles..

for your frugality. I always ask myself, what would Gma do?....

for your stories. Im so glad you wrote them down...

for impressing on my mind the importance of hard work....

for growing dill in your garden, it will forever remind me of you...

for delicious pickled beets...

for delicious homemade bread...

for delicious turkey noodle soup with mashed potatoes...

for writing in your journal all of those years. For with those you speak to me.

...........................................................

Much Love,

Rochelle

I wish I had a river

2009-12-13T14:47:00.000-07:00

I love this song...

Its coming on Christmas

They're cutting down trees

They're putting up reindeer

And singing songs of joy and peace

Oh I wish I had a river I could skate away on

But it don't snow here

It stays pretty green

I'm going to make a lot of money

Then I'm going to quit this crazy scene

I wish I had a river I could skate away on

I wish I had a river so long I would teach my feet to fly

Oh I wish I had a river I could skate away on

I made my baby cry

He tried hard to help me

You know, he put me at ease

And he loved me so naughty

Made me weak in the knees

Oh I wish I had a river I could skate away on

I'm so hard to handle

I'm selfish and I'm sad

Now Ive gone and lost the best baby

That I ever had

Oh I wish I had a river I could skate away on

I wish I had a river so long I would teach my feet to fly

Oh I wish I had a river I could skate away on

I made my baby say goodbye

Its coming on Christmas

They're cutting down trees

They're putting up reindeer

And singing songs of joy and peace

I wish I had a river I could skate away on

Joni Mitchell, you are awesome.

Love Us Some Halloween

2009-11-09T09:56:00.003-07:00

Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year.

Always has been. It must be the month.

I love the changing colors of fall, my birthday (at least I liked birthdays when I was younger!) and of course dressing up on Halloween. This year was the first year in a long while that I did not dress up. Not in the budget to find a costume and, since I am back at work, I really didn't have the time. However, my kids looked fab and had a blast as usual and Tyler's costume turned out pretty good as well even though I

can't believe we didn't get a picture of it! Arrggghhhh! Oh well, its imprinted on by brain.

Punk chick at the school Haloween parade

Kate was lucky enough to have Gene Simmons from Kiss come

to her class!

Miss Ladybug at the parade. This is

a repeat costume she wore from two years ago.

Love that.

Little Miss Lion cub. I could just squish her for being so cute!

Ready to trick or treat!

Kate went trick or treating with a friend so it was

just the two younger ones.

Awwwwwww.......

All tatooed and pierced up. Off to school with you!

I Want To Be.....

2009-11-08T23:24:00.000-07:00

I read, in a matter of hours, almost all of Stephanie Nielson's blog

I would recommend it to anyone.

I had heard of her from a friend last year but just recently decided to check out her blog. Wow. What a woman and what an amazing family. I think I could only dream of, A-Being that cool to begin with and, B-Having the kind of courage that she has.

Again, wow.

After reading back a few years to some of her earlier posts, I read things I had read and heard before but didn't really strike a nerve or hit home until now.

I was reminded.

Reminded that I have a job that sometimes I take a little too lightly.

I am a Mother!

A Mother for crying out loud of three fantastical, beautiful and exuberant daughters. How has Heavenly Father entrusted me with these precious spirits? He really must have a lot more faith in me than I have in myself sometimes. I really gotta work on that whole faith thing.

I forgot about this talk.

And when I heard Sister Beck give it last year I didn't really give it much thought at the time.

I have given it more thought now. More, better, faster. Those are the things I think about. Doesn't really matter what it is it seems like, just more activities, play dates, TV, getting it done sooner, cleaning, laundry, work, ect...

In part:

Mothers who know do less. They permit less of what will not bear good fruit eternally. They allow less media in their homes, less distraction, less activity that draws their children away from their home. Mothers who know are willing to live on less and consume less of the world’s goods in order to spend more time with their children—more time eating together, more time working together, more time reading together, more time talking, laughing, singing, and exemplifying. These mothers choose carefully and do not try to choose it all. Their goal is to prepare a rising generation of children who will take the gospel of Jesus Christ into the entire world. Their goal is to prepare future fathers and mothers who will be builders of the Lord’s kingdom for the next 50 years. That is influence; that is power.

But I really want to do it all.

I want to be it all, not just for myself but for everyone else around me.

But I can't. So I won't.

And that is OK.

I really need to follow the adage that less is more and remember that my kids don't "need" more of anything. They just need more of me.

So I want to be a mother who knows, a mother who listens especially. I suck at

really listening to my kids. I want to be a mom who plays with her kids. They are not kids for long after all. They grow so fast it makes my head spin.

I need to gather them in while I can and love them.

The time will come when they won't really prefer my company and I'm sure I will be full of regret then.

I hate regret.

I kept on reading Stephanies blog.

And then I was reminded again.

Double whammy for me I guess.

In M. Russell Ballards talk, Daughters of God , he says:

Author Anna Quindlen reminds us not to rush past the fleeting moments. She said: “The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. … I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less” (Loud and Clear [2004], 10–11).

Ouch.

That one stings.

A lot.

If I didn't know any better I would say that she was describing me!

I am always in a hurry to get on to the next thing and

it is always at my childrens (and husbands!) expense. I will not be a basket head

mother any longer!

I am going to try harder.

I have to. I have often thought that if I didn't have my kids how drab

my life would be. Pointless even. But, thankfully, I do have them.

So I will cherish them.

Besides, I don't think we are doing that bad of a job. There is always room for improvement of course.

Case in point: Yesterday we raked leaves together as a family. Ella was so engrossed in her raking that she knocked her head on a tree branch and began to cry. Tyler and I watched as Kate came over, put her arm around her and comforted her and got Ella to stop crying.

My heart nearly melted.

THAT is what a big sister is supposed to do.

I was so proud.

For Ironman Jace

2009-11-03T14:04:00.002-07:00

For Jace, as promised. Jace has leukemia and looks much better with chubby cheeks then I did.

These pictures are of me in my senior year of high school at MHS. Both are from two different dances I went to. I was on a large dose of prednisone for Crohn's disease and one of its many side effects is "mooning" of the face. Or in other words, a fat face. Everyone always asked me if I had just had my wisdom teeth pulled. I even had people ask me if I poked my cheeks with a pin if they would pop. Silly people. These pictures make me laugh and they make me laugh even harder when my friends (and sometimes family!) don't believe that it is really me. So here I am in all my moon face glory.

Stuff like this only makes you more of an Ironman, Jace.
Rock on!

Cute Little Pumpkins

2009-10-20T13:47:00.001-06:00

Some pics of my little pumpkins. Oh how they get so big every year....

Baby Punkin'

KA-BOOM

The biggest pumpkins!

I Am Loved

2009-10-19T00:09:00.000-06:00

Today is my birthday. I really don't get all that excited about birthdays anymore for myself. I guess I just don't really care that much. Its just a number anyway. I'm more concerned with the wrinkles and brown spots on my face. Those I hope to have zapped for my 40th. The only reason I have picked 40 is because it is going to take me that long to save enough money to have it all lasered off. I will be super hot!

I had a good laugh over this card. Man, do my friends know me

or what?

So I had a fab birthday which I totally was not expecting in the least. No fantastical presents to speak of, no big hoopla, no balloons, nobody tortured me by singing to me. I had a great day with out all of that and here is why: My family and friends love me and they all showed it in their own unique ways. First off, my kids. I love my kids. They are so cute and do and say the cutest things! Last night Kate gave me her and Ella's gift because she couldn't wait til today. She was just so excited I guess. I got this awesome coupon that reads: "This is a coupon for...Cleaning the basement." I make them clean the basement anyway. I guess it will not be so painful knowing I will be redeeming a coupon to get them to do it.

Love, kate and ella

My home made card from the girls. Kate's specialty

From Ella. It is a picture of me pushing her in the stroller.

How sweet. Could she get any cuter?

My gift from Tyler was to be able to sleep in while he got the girls ready for Stake Conference. This is a treat for me because I always have to get them ready by myself since he is always at meetings. And of course Stake Conference means a Church Holiday for me! I love Church Holidays. The girls and Tyler cleaned up the house for me after wards and we headed out to my parents for dinner. My Mom got me some cute little things complete with a red velvet cake and a pumpkin streussal - whatever that is. It was good though.

Cute AND Yummy!

We did not fly our kites at all this year so I decided that would be a great thing to do today for my birthday since I love to fly kites. We had some nice wind (the only time I like wind) and of course the kids got bored eventually leaving me and Tyler out there by ourselves. Tyler got one of the kites stuck in a tree and me being the Idaho girl that I am proceeded to climb the tree to get it down. Done. I rock at tree climbing. I have not lost those skills in the least.

Must....save.....the.....kite.....

I had lots of other treats and happy birthdays from friends and neighbors to make my day a good one as well. When we got home from my parents, this was taped by the front door.

It really is the little things that make me happy. Tyler gave me a hug and told me he hoped I had had a good day and he was sorry that it wasn't more. It could not have been more. It was awesome.

A Man and His Mustache

2009-09-23T14:31:00.004-06:00

The men in Tyler's family are not especially great at growing

facial hair. If you ask Dagen, he is the only real man in the
family because he CAN grow facial hair. Oh. I didn't know that being able to grow facial hair made you a man. I guess I didn't get that memo when I was dating. I wanted to do a post about Tyler's pride and joy as of late. Sadly it is not one of his kids or anything of the like that he is so proud of.

It's his stache.

I don't know if I should put how long he has been growing that furry thing above his lip but let's just say it was a different season than it is
now when he started. Nevertheless, he loves it and I guess that means I have to tolerate it. Actually it really doesn't bother me. I guess I am sort of used to it. He has had many comments about it from a lady at church asking him if it was real (doesn't everyone where a fake mustache to church?), to comparisons such as Captain Kangaroo and Wyatt Earp. I collected a few pictures from the internet and I must admit I got a little carried away but I had a good
laugh anyway. Their are some pretty famous mustaches out there just so you know. So I give you, "Ode To Tyler's Stache". You just have to figure out which one is Tyler.

A little sewing and a shelf

2009-09-16T13:02:00.001-06:00

I requested that Tyler make me a shelf for above my washer and dryer and lo and behold he did it. I want to maximize my shelving for food storage since I am making a real effort to keep my shelves stocked with food. I am trying really hard not to let it stress me out and am taking it just a little bit at a time since that is all my budget will allow anyway. So after the shelf was all done I thought I would spruce up the laundry room by making some cute curtains. They are nice and sheer so it lets in lots of light. How lovely for such an unlovely room. I added the ribbon and used one of the cool patterns on my sewing machine with this awesome metallic thread. Now to get the bigger girls their curtains done. Off I go!

The ribbon I added. You can't see it very well in the

picture but it looks cool in real life.

A Little Rant

2009-09-14T12:03:00.001-06:00

There is nothing like starting out the day with a little ranting. I guess that would be type ranting if there is such a thing.

What is with my house?

I can't for the life of me keep it clean and it is driving me crazy. I have heard somewhere that your house is a reflection of yourself and boy is that ringing true for me. I look around and I see piles of "stuff" everywhere. This is what my brain feels like; Piles of stuff blocking the way of progress.Why doesn't everything have a home? Why is the stuff that does have a home out where I can see it not in its designated spot? And why do I have all of this other stuff? Who keeps messing things up? One thing that I CANNOT keep up on is the mail. I officially want the mail to stop. Nothing ever comes in the mail that is good anyway. Its always bills and bills and junk mail. I hate junk mail. Save a tree already by not printing some lame junk mail! Freak! Another issue is all the papers that my kids bring home from school. Enough already! We are not going to sign up for craft karate and lacrosse cooking. I don't care what the stupid PTA is doing and who the students of the month are. Again - save a tree. I grew up in a clutter free house. A clean one for that matter and I ought to know since I spent most of my saturdays as a kid cleaning it. What is wrong with me? It is so overwhelming that I sort of "shut-down" and have to leave the room. Is this ADD? I can't accomplish anything and see something through to the end except maybe my dishes. I really am starting to question my sanity. I used to be such an organized person. Of course I guess it is pretty easy to be organized when its just you and no kids or anything that needs to be taken care of. I might be losing my mind. Who knows. All that I know is this morning I have accomplished nothing except getting my kids to school and feeding my baby. I am dressed and my teeth are brushed but come on! Lurking in the kitchen are canned goods that need to be put away, cheerios that need to be swept, a sink of dirty dishes to do, a HUGE pile of mail to sort through, a stack of grocery sacks to put away, a vacuum, red potatoes from my Mom, a full garbage can and thats just off the top of my head! I can't even talk about how bad the basement is right now. My kids are mess makers. I seriously am going to pick everything up that they won't pick up and put it away or give it away. I wonder who is boss here sometimes. I don't know that I feel any better but it doesn't matter if I do or not. I have to keep moving and at least then I will feel like I am getting something done.

Summer Is NOT For Going To The Doctor

2009-09-07T23:38:00.000-06:00

Our Little Ella. She is so cute, so sweet and most of the time so fiesty. Unfortunately she has had a bit of bad luck this summer as far as accidents and feeling well goes. I don't know what it is about the middle child. The middle child, in a lot of cases (that I know of anyway) always seems to be the one to get injured and/or sick. Is this the case in all families or is it just in a few that I know? I don't know, but what I do know is that Ella gets injured and sick to much.
If someone is going to trip and fall it will be Ella. Get burned by the campfire? Ella. Have unexplained belly pain? Ella. Have to be in the hospital when she is a baby for severe dehydration? Ella. Get strep throat on a family trip to Jackson Hole? Ella. Bless her heart because I know she can't help it. Its just so HARD sometimes when you are the Mom and are always having to pick up the pieces. I am grateful that it is just a few minor annoying things that we have to deal with occasionaly and not something worse. I will just be happy I have her in the first place.

Our first trip to the InstaCare this summer was at the end of July at a party with my family. She landed on her left wrist and we thought it was broken, so away we went. Thankfully it was just sprained and she only needed a brace. I was not thinking and did not get a picture.

In this picture Ella got sick while we were in Jackson

with Tyler's family. After a trip to the Urgent Care facility and

$100 later we found out she had strep. She was miserable

while everyone else was having a blast. So sad!

This picture was taken on August 24th at Primary

Children's Medical Center after she had

been there for two nights. She looks just fine in this picture

and she was certainly feeling a lot better at this point. We

were happy to learn that the doctors don't think she has inflammatory

bowel disease but we still aren't sure what was causing her to have an

infection. We are just thrilled to have her home.

I HATE hospitals and so does Ella!

She is happy because she is feeling a million times better

and she gets to go home! Yea!

Thank you SOOOOO much for all the help from all my awesome friends and family. I'm not sure I deserve such awesome people in my life sometimes. All I can say is Thank You and pay it forward. So, thanks!

Tis' The Season...

2009-09-05T12:56:00.002-06:00

This is fall! My Mom gave me all of these dwarf peaches from her tree so I decided to can them. Aren't they ever so pretty? I don't know what it is about canning but it gives me a feeling of immense accomplishment. Knowing that there is a little bit of the Summer of 2009 stored away for winter eating is an awesome feeling. I use my Grandma's canner (I found out yesterday that it is vintage!) and I can't help think of her every time I pull it out. I'm sure she would be very pleased knowing that her 'posterity' as she would say, is canning. Today I think I will tackle tomatoes. They are quite easy to do and then if I am feeling up to it -potatoes!
This is what I made for dinner on Thursday. Everything is fresh from the garden except the pineapple and the chicken - that came from the store. I used tomatoes, potatoes, onion, zuchinni, green pepper, marinaded the chicken in Mr. Yoshida's sauce, and then threw it on the grill. Yum! I tell Tyler that I am a great cook. I think he might be starting to believe me.

4th Grade. Bring It On!

2009-09-03T11:03:00.000-06:00

I can't believe she is in 4th grade! Where does the time go?

Happy schooling!

First Day of School

2009-09-03T10:58:00.000-06:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Some Catchin' Up

2009-08-21T10:46:00.009-06:00

We have had a fab summer overall. I have really tried to cram a lot of fun things into three months and I think I was pretty successful. There were some bumps along the way though, no doubt about that. My dishwasher died. I feel like I have gone back in time having to hand wash everything again. My car died right before we were supposed to go to Bear Lake. The Heppys were gracious enough to volunteer one of their cars for us to borrow so we could make it up there. I love all of my awesome friends more than I could ever say. Ella quit sleeping in her room. See the previous post for the goods on that FUN story. There were more bumps to speak of, but I think I'll concentrate on the fab stuff; It is way more fun to talk about happy things anyway.

JUNE

I was asked to make some hairclips for Midvale's production of Seussical. These were my favs.

I spent some time with my hubby.

My baby gets cuter everyday and the kids had some fun in the sun.

Bigfoot

2009-08-18T00:23:00.003-06:00

I love to be scared. I also love to scare my kids with talk of the Boogey-Man, the Wolf-Man, Skid Thud, monsters, aliens from outer space and my all time fav: Bigfoot. Whenever we are in the car and are surrounded by forest,I always tell the kids to be on the lookout for Bigfoot. I went to Seattle with friends two years ago and bought a book on Bigfoot thinking it would be fun to look at with the kids. It was and Kate even took it to show and tell in the 2nd grade. I have thought to myself how ingenious I am for letting my kids imaginations run wild with these things and that it is all just harmless fun because it's fun to be scared by silly things. Wussy girls are not allowed to live in the same house as me anyway and so I am just doing them a favor right? I think this clearly backfired on me though because of Ella. Oh Ella. Why oh why are you such a drama queen? Here's the scoop: About two months ago (give or take) Ella got in bed with me REALLY early in the morning and was just trembling like no other. She was scared out of her mind and I asked her if she had had a bad dream to which she replied "Yes". She wouldn't tell me what it was about and every night since the bad dream she has refused to sleep downstairs in her room and she won't even go down there by herself even in the light of day. She always has to have someone with her because she is scared. She has been sleeping in Sophie's room on the floor for the past two months. Great, she is regressing. What's next? About a month ago I finally got her to tell me what this bad dream was about. She told me that in her dream we had captured Bigfoot and he was in a cage in the basement. Then he escaped. She was standing down there and Bigfoot tapped her on the shoulder and when she turned around he "got her". Great. Poor kid. All my talk of scary things really has freaked the crap out of my five year old! Here comes the guilt train! I felt so bad and have tried to be sympathetic especially when it is broad daylight and she won't go downstairs to get dressed unless someone is with her. What a wretched mother. I decided to not pester her about sleeping down there and that she will go down there when she is good and ready. I am happy to report that for the past two nights she has slept in her room in her own bed without incident! Oh happy night! Lesson learned on my end. I guess I will ease off of the scary things. But only a little.

People

2009-08-17T23:47:00.002-06:00

I have done a little updating on my ol' blog and I have lost some people along the way. Lots of you have gone private and I have either missed your invite or I need to take the hint and piss off. If the first then resend the invite, resend! If the latter then I will piss off. Nice knowing ya. Ha ha like I would ever get a hint!
Here is a few who I am "missing":

Mandy B
Niki L
Derek and Heidi
Jeremy and Holly

Am I missing anyone else? Is there someone who I know that is not on my blog roll? If so I better get them on here so I can read their blog and improve my life.

Anorher Month

2009-06-14T00:28:00.003-06:00

My Sophie is 5 months old. My heart breaks because she is growing right in front of me and there is not a darn thing I can do about it. She is cutting her two bottom teeth which is wayyyy earlier than my other two got their first teeth. She has been so crabby and it has been rough but the last few days have been better. I added some pictures.

BLAHHHHHHGG...

2009-05-08T11:09:00.002-06:00

My friend Mandy has it right. Much seems to always be happening but the desire to get it all recorded on the ol' blog is not there. I want to be superwoman and do it all and it is very frustrating that I am not and I cannot.

Spring Skiing!

2009-04-20T23:06:00.001-06:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Its Spring!

2009-04-16T18:22:00.000-06:00

Blogging? Who has time for blogging? Not me as it is spring and everything is green and lovely!

Maybe later....

Busy...Sitting?

2009-03-02T09:25:00.002-07:00

Busy, busy, busy I have been. Not in the usual way but in the way of holding my new babe and making sure she is completely happy. Time is going by so fast and I am thrilled that it is finally March! Yeah! The two most wretched months of the year are over and that means spring is almost here. Already the tulips are peeking up through the ground and my globe willow is starting to green up even if its only a little. Its also time to prune the roses. Again. They grow fast. My baby is crying and not completely happy so I have to go. No more writing about my plants!

She's Been Found!

2009-02-10T21:49:00.003-07:00

In December we noticed that Ella's Minnie Mouse was missing and sent this email out a week later:

Dear Friends and Family,

We have lost a dear family member and are hoping you can help us locate her. She has been missing for approximately two months and believe she may be in one of your houses. We ask that you please check your house and kids toys to see if she has merely been overlooked. She was a birthday gift from Build A Bear at Disneyland and Ella is wondering what happened to her. Here are the stats:

Her Name: Minnie Mouse

Description: She's a mouse. She was last seen wearing a pinkish-purple ballerina outfit that has large wings attached to the back. She may or may not be wearing white underpants. She wears yellow shoes with red bows, white gloves on her hands and always wears a large red bow with white polka dots on her head. She stands about 20 inches tall and when her arm is squeezed she makes the sound a magic wand would make.

We are pretty positive she is at someone's house and they just don't know it so please look and ask your kids. If you know anything please respond to this email or call us.

Thanks,

Ella Grace

and Rochelle

We are happy to report that Minnie has been found! Minnie has been found! Yesterday, much to the delight of little Ella, she was found at the bottom of the dress up box in the basement. We had previously searched there but obviously not good enough. Ella was all giddy and was so excited to have her back and have her meet her newest build a bear. The mystery is solved and now we can sleep at night. It's been nothing but stress, stress, stress worrying about poor little Minnie and if she was safe, making good choices, and if she would ever come back. So happy to say she is back.

My New Addiction

2009-02-04T22:59:00.004-07:00

So I finally did it. I joined facebook and now I am addicted leaving my poor little blog so lonely and forlorn. It is just to darn fun to see what all those people that I have not seen or heard from for forever are up to! Even ones that I don't really recall liking that much are interesting to me. Who knew?

Here is a picture of my cute Soph...I kept saying the nursery rhyme "Bye Baby Bunting" over and over to her. She looked so cute I couldn't help it. We went for a little walk today in the lovely sunshine.

Bye baby bunting
Daddy's gone a hunting
To catch a little rabbit skin
To put our baby bunting in

Let Time Go By....Love is Forever

2009-01-26T22:16:00.002-07:00

It's hard to believe that it has already been two weeks since I had me a baby. I can see her changing already and there is not a darn thing I can do about it. So I will treasure her now while she is oh so tiny and let her sleep with me because I don't care what anyone says-you can't spoil a baby and not let her out of my sight for very long because I just can't stand not to see her. I saw a cool little saying once that reads something like this:

Time Flies
Suns Rise
Shadows Fall.
Let Time Go By
Love Is Forever

I am going to just enjoy her now, let time go by and not be sad that she is getting bigger. I know I am such a sap lately but I can't help it I am in love....baby love. I hope my euphoric state lasts forever. I guess its all those hormones trying to realign themselves and what not. Don't care, I love it....

Finally Some Pictures

2009-01-21T14:14:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Oh Baby!

2009-01-20T11:40:00.004-07:00

A labor story...
I'm pretty sure I started going into labor last Sunday the 11th because I was in pain with contractions and cramping all night. I finally took some tylenol early in the morning and was able to get some sleep for a while. At about 10am the contractions started in high gear although I am still not convinced I am in labor at this point. I guess I was waiting for some big bodily event - like contractions aren't enough! At 12pm I drove the preschool carpool, came home and did some laundry and then went to the couch where I stayed. In the meantime, pain was increasing but I was still not sure I was in labor! What a goof. I decided to call my Doc and ask what she thought and they told me to call labor and delivery. So I called LnD and they made me feel like an idiot because (as the nurse on the phone pointed out) my water had not broken, I wasn't bleeding and my contractions were only 8 minutes apart - so what was my labor question?
I called my Doc and they told me to go to LnD. Somebody make a decision already! So I called Tyler, made arrangements for my Mom to take my kids and away we went. By this time I was in major pain and told Tyler if I am not in labor then just go ahead and shoot me. I was dialated to a six and they took me straight to a delivery room where after much demanding on my part that the anesthesiologist get here stat, he finally got me my epidural! God bless the epidural! I can't say it enough!
A Baby Story...
After I was mucho comfy (which means pain free) and a few pushes, THE moment I had been anxiously anticipating for 9 months finally came and Sophie Claire was here! She was cute, pink and didn't even cry, just made a few squeaks. To me, having a baby is the most amazing experience and so I usually am in a euphoric state following delivery. We make the cutest babies and the fact that my body grew this precious thing brings me to tears. What is more joyous than that? She weighed 6 lbs 5 oz and was 19 inches long. My biggest baby thus far. Kate weighed 5 lbs 6 oz and Ella was 5 lbs 9 oz. which is almost a whole pound more but thats ok because she is still so tiny. We love her!
Being at home....
Tyler took the rest of the week off from work, I came home on wednesday from the hospital and so far we have been adjusting pretty well. I have not officially left the house yet and I must admit I am scared to do so. The air is soooooo disgusting right now with the inversion and I don't even dare leave to go on a walk with or without the baby. Sophie had her nights and days turned around at first but last night she only woke up twice which meant sleep for me! Yeah! I love sleep and me with out sleep = grrrrrrrr. Right now I have about 8 loads of laundry to fold and email to send out but, "Babies don't keep we've learned to our sorrow, so quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep, I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep."

Do laundry or hold this sweet thing?
A week old yesterday!

Tick Tock, Tick Tock

2009-01-09T19:45:00.002-07:00

I had my last official OB appointment today! Hallelujah! I am aware that I have serious attitude issues lately about still being pregnant and I wasn't holding back for my Doc today that's for sure. She asked if I wanted to be induced earlier and I said "Yes!" and then demanded that she "get this baby out of me" right now. She is so sweet she doesn't deserve my abuse but I'm sure I'm not the first to give it nor will I be the last. She stripped my membranes (something I did not know you could have done more than once) and I'm still hangin' in. Soooo....we moved my induction up TWO WHOLE DAYS! I am scheduled to go in tuesday the 13th! Yeah! So excited. Tick tock, tick tock...its the end of the line!

Back In My Day....

2009-01-07T18:38:00.003-07:00

So.....hmmmmm, where do I start. I don't even know. I'll start with what I remember about being 8. I remember being baptized - that was cool, I remember absolutely having to have this one pair of parachute pants from Porter's in Rexburg, I remember my Mom being pregnant with my sister, I remember knowing my place in the world and that place was that I was a KID who did what was asked and was generally pretty darn obedient. I do remember being absolutely mean to my little brother most of the time but I think he has forgiven me of that by now. I remember having chores like having to clean the bathroom every Saturday which I totally hated and every fall there was that inevitable pile of chopped wood out by the driveway that needed to be hauled into the shed for the winter. This of course was me and my brothers job. I hate, hate, hated hauling that wood. Oh how I wish I had a giant pile of wood for my kids to haul! I was 8 years old for part of 1983 and most of 1984. Life was pretty good even though we only had 4 channels on the TV. I don't even think I knew what Cable was back then! We literally lived across the road (that's road, not street) from a farmers field of potatoes. We were pretty much surrounded by farmland. The Snake River was not far from our acre and a good chunk of my childhood was spent playing by, in, or floating on the river with my brother and cousins. We had a great time in the bottom lands and on my Grandparents farm which was was just down the road from us along with the our cousins. It was fun and I look back with fond memories.
My how times have changed since then. I look at the kind of life that my kids have and it makes me want to run away and live in the middle of nowhere sometimes! I guess the reason for that is because they sure are in a hurry to grow up. What's the rush? Kate has been saying lately that she isn't eight but that she is eighteen. Oh, OK...right. I know they are influenced by a lot of different things in their little lives that weren't even invented when I was their age. The Internet, cell phones, the Disney channel (it may have been around in my day-I don't know) and other things like that that are so prevalent today. I realize that I am the parent and I have control over what they are exposed to right now but it's amazing the things Kate comes home with. She tells me about the curse words written on the playground, the 5th grader who got taken away for drugs or something like that and other things that I try to forget. Sadly Kate wants what most adults have right now and tells me everyday when she has to do her homework how stupid it is and asks why she has to go to school. Lately she has been making me CRAZY because me and Ella can have a fabulous day together with no problems and then as soon as K A T E gets home the bickering, fighting, pouting, and yelling begins. I take into consideration that I am 9 months pregnant and am at the end of my rope. But why does she have to be so stubborn and obstinate and fight me about every little thing she has to do? SHE IS ONLY EIGHT! I expected this maybe when she was ten or eleven but EIGHT?
Let's face it: if she had her way she would stay downstairs watching the Disney channel all day and night with a bag of lays chips. Tyler says she is the skinniest couch potato that he knows. Her TV time is limited to one hour a day so we do have some rules around here but its rough going sometimes. I am just trying to enjoy the journey like the Prophet says because one day they will be gone. I will just try my best to be PATIENT which is something that I am not very good at. Better than I used to be but I still have a long way to go.
Being a Mom is for sure the hardest thing I have ever had to do. Harder than being really sick and wanting to die and harder then anything I have ever attempted thus far in my life. Nothing I have ever done or probably will do in my life will be as rewarding. Rewarding in ways that some people will never understand.
I just reminded myself on why I am having another one!
Thank heavens cause I think I am going crazy.

The Most Wretched Time of The Year

2009-01-03T13:21:00.002-07:00

I hate, HATE, HATE, HATE this time of the year. The holidays are over, which means the fun, excitement and anticipation is over. Now we just have BLAH until spring. Of course the one bright spot in all of this is me having this baby any day but oh how I wish we could just fast forward to Spring. Glorious spring!

I guess I better get my duff off this couch and put away Christmas. Is there anyone who actually likes to put Christmas decor away? I loathe it with every fiber of my being. Boo hoo for me.

Cheerio!

Happy New Year

2009-01-02T21:52:00.004-07:00

Every year for New Years Eve we go to the downtown Marriott with Tyler's extended family to celebrate and have fun. Its always fun and the kids look forward to it like an extra Christmas present that they get to unwrap a week late. We swim, eat, hang out in the suite, talk, play bingo, and watch the fireworks on New Years Eve. Good times...

Wendy just might feel my belly more than I do!

Bingo anyone?

Winner!

Lindsey and Kate rockin' out

Happy New Year!

Here I Sit.....AND Our Top Ten For 2008

2008-12-31T16:40:00.005-07:00

So here I sit like a bird in the wilderness waiting to have a baby. There are only a few hours left for 2008 and I don't think its going to happen. We can kiss that child tax credit goodbye.
Snap.
Oh well what can I do? I already shoveled snow on Christmas night, had my membranes stripped yesterday and still nothing. When I was preggers with Ella I went outside, bent over and heaved and heaved and heaved a giant, I mean giant weed out of the ground. A few hours later my water broke! I would love to do some yard work right now cause that would probably get things going but alas! - it's the middle of winter! Stupid winter. I hate winter more and more every year. We were sort of on a rhythm. We got married in 1998, had our first baby in 2000, 2nd baby in 2004 and how sweet would it be to have a baby in 2008? Just as sweet to have one in 2009.

2008 was a rough year for a lot of people what with the economy and everything but as usual we have been blessed and have nothing to complain about. Here is our list in no particular order:

1. Tyler and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary in July.
I still say if you had told me in High School I would marry Tyler O.
I would have laughed in your face.
I am so glad I did.
2. Tyler started a new job in April which meant health insurance,
eye and dental insurance and of course he no longer works out
of town! Yea!
3. We found out we were having another baby in May.
The kids are sooo excited to have a sister.
4. Kate was baptized in May - we are so proud of her.
5. The kids and I (Tyler has been numerous times)
went to Bear Lake for the first time ever and
fell in love. We can't wait to go back.
6. We were able to spend a week or so in St. George at
my Aunt Jill's house. We love to visit her and look forward
to going every chance we get.
7. No major injuries or surgery for any
of us were required that meant the ER
or a hospital stay. That includes this pregnancy which is a first!
8. November marked 5 years since we bought our house.
We LOVE living where we do and are so blessed to have
great neighbors and friends here. We couldn't ask for more.
9. Ella started taking dance classes for the first time and had her
first recital in December. We officially have a star on our hands (and
a ham).
10. We had a great year and we are so grateful for our families and friends
who are always there whether it be good or bad. You are the best!

Child Activated A.D.D

2008-12-29T12:42:00.003-07:00

Someone sent this to me recently in email form and then I just read it again on my friend Mandy's blog. I didn't write it but thought it was so funny (because it's so true!) that I would post it on my own blog. What is sad and sort of funny at this point I guess is that along with the problem below I also have Placenta Brain or Momnesia as I've heard it called. I swear I feel dumber than a bag of hammers. I can't remember anything including words I would normally use in everyday conversation, appointments, I can't even remember to submit my hours for my job! Mercy. I am hoping that when I deliver this baby I will return to myself at least a little. Maybe enough to be able to have a conversation with someone and not be searching for the word I want to use. I'm not asking much right?

Recently, I was diagnosed with C.A.A.D.D. - Child Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests:
I decide to do the laundry. As I start toward the laundry room, I notice that there are cheerios all over the floor and my house keys are in the cereal bowl. I decide to pick up the cheerios before I do the laundry. I lay my keys down on the counter, put the cheerios in the trashcan under the counter, and notice that the trashcan is full. So, I decide to take out the trash. But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the trash I may as well pay the bills first. I take my check book off the table, and see that there is only one check left, my extra checks are in my desk in the office, so I go to my desk where I find a sippy cup full of juice. I'm going to look for my checks, but first I decide I should put the sippy cup in the refrigerator to keep it cold. As I head toward the kitchen with the sippy cup a plant on the counter catches my eye--it needs to be watered. I set the sippy cup on the counter, and I discover baby wipes that I've been searching for all morning. I decide I better put them back in the bathroom, but first I'm going to water the plants. I set the wipes back down, fill a container with water and suddenly I spot the TV remote, left on the kitchen table. I realize that when I go to watch TV, I will be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the TV room where it belongs, but first I'll water the plants. I splash some water on the plant, but most of it spills on the floor. So, I set the remote back down, get some paper towels and wipe up the spill. Then I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do. At the end of the day: the laundry isn't washed, the bills aren't paid, there is a warm cup of juice sitting on the counter, the plants aren't watered, there is still only one check in my check book, I can't find the remote, I can't find the wipes, and I don't remember what I did with my keys. Then when I try to figure out why nothing got done today. I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day long, and I'm really tired. I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail.

Don't laugh--if this isn't you yet, your day is coming!

Oh Kate

2008-12-28T00:25:00.002-07:00

Tonight was Kate's turn to make me laugh. Kate was sitting on the couch with her cousin Zella who is 17 months old and cute as a button. I had to go downstairs for something so I told Kate to stay on the couch with Zella and I would be right back.

Kate: "Uhhh!"
Me: "What do you mean 'uhhh!' ? Don't be a whiner, I will be right back."
Kate: Mimicking me in a whiny voice, "When is this baby going to come out?"
Me: Laughing, "Oooooh, that was pretty good! What else have you got?"
Kate: Mutters something I can't hear.
Me: "What did you say?"
Kate: "At least there is one grown up around here."
Me: Laugh, laugh, laugh, laugh....

I thought I was doing a good job at pretending to be a grown up. I guess not if my 8 year old can see right through me! I just hope Ella doesn't find out because then I am in real trouble. Kids are so fun and to think I am doing it all over again. I guess that is one reason babies are, well, babies. If they could talk and be all sassy right from the start nobody would want a baby. Thank heavens they come out all sweet or I don't know that I would make it. ha ha

There's No Place Like Home For The Holidays.....

2008-12-28T00:19:00.002-07:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Getting Ready For Santa

2008-12-25T01:48:00.005-07:00

Happy Christmas!

Frosting cookies is pretty exciting around here

The finished product complete with cookies for Santa and
carrots for his reindeer

She's working here!

Believes in Santa with all her heart....

Its Ella

2008-12-23T18:58:00.000-07:00

My brother sent this picture to me last week. I was 5 years old and at my parents wedding reception. Obviously he thinks Ella and I look alike because in the subject line of the email
he put: "It's Ella". I always thought that she looked more like Tyler than me but this picture proves me wrong. I asked Ella who the picture of me looked like and she said, "you!" and pointed to me. I asked her if she thought it looked like her and she said no because I had bangs in the picture and more freckles than her. Oh, right.

Rochelle 5 - Almost 6 yrs Ella - 4 1/2 2008
1981

Ella makes me laugh so hard almost everyday. I wanted to make sure I wrote some of these things down before I forgot them. I will probably add more as both me and Tyler remember them.

Tyler: "Ella it's time to get ready for bed."
Ella: Sitting at the kitchen table coloring, yells, "I'm working here!"

Ella spent the night at my parents last week and made a collage from women wearing dresses in cataloges. When I came to pick her up she pointed to the dresses that were and were not 'propriate'.
That's appropriate to most everyone else.

Christmas Song

2008-12-16T21:38:00.000-07:00

She was his girl; he was her boyfriend
Soon be his wife; take him as her husband
A surprise on the way, anyday, anyday
One healthy little giggling dribbling baby boy
The wise men came three made their way
to shower him with love
while he lay in the hay
Shower him with love love love
love love love
love love is all around

Not very much of his childhood was known
Kept his mother Mary worried
always out on his own
He met another Mary for a reasonable fee, less than
reputable was known to be

His heart was full of love love love
love love love
love love is all around
When Jesus Christ was nailed to his tree,
He said "Oh Daddy-o I can see how it all soon will be
I came to shed a little light on this darkening scene
Instead I fear I spill the blood of my children all around."

The blood of our children all around
The blood of our children all around
The blood of our children all around
So the story goes-so I'm told
the people he knew were
less than golden hearted
Gamblers and robbers
Drinkers and jokers, all soul searchers
Like you and me

Rumours insisted he soon would be
for his deviations
taken into custody by the authorities
less informed than he.
Drinkers and jokers, all soul searchers
Searching for love love love
love love love
love love is all around

Preparations were made
for his celebration day
He said "Eat this bread think of it as me,
drink this wine and dream it will be
the blood or our children all around"

Father up above, why in all this anger have you filled
me up with love
Fill me love love love
love love love
love love
and the blood of our children all around.

By: Dave Matthews

An Update on The "It has to get done" list

2008-12-15T23:17:00.000-07:00

We have been busy little bees at our house the last month and I am actually happy to report that A: I have not had any preterm labor, B: I have not killed anyone, and C: We have actually gotten some things done from my rather long list! My ever so cute 22 year old brother Eric came over today and basically was my slave all day. He did this out of the kindness of his heart and plus I think he likes to do it even though he probably wouldn't admit it out loud. Tyler has been run ragged doing all he has to to lately so Eric helped me get to some little things that needed attention. What a sweetie. I decided to put my list on here so I can feel like we are making progress with everything. First a rundown of what me and Eric did today.

*We hauled a chair out of my basement and took it to Tyler's sister
*Crushed about a million soda cans
*Halfway cleaned out the garage (it was a disaster!)
*Hauled out the old vanity from the basement and brought in the new one from the garage
*Put away all my patio furniture for the winter
*Eric shoveled some ice and snow from the back cement
*Moved all my newly acquired food storage to the basement
*And Eric watched my kids while I went grocery shopping! Yee Haw!

# Tear down the ceiling and walls in basement bedroom(DONE! Thanks Hepworths)
# Sheetrock, insulate, paint and put in new lights.(insulation and lights DONE!)
# Paint Ella's "new" headboard and foot board( Almost DONE!)
# Fix the duct work in basement bedroom(Getting there)
# Take down bunk beds and find some where to store them (Not even close)
# Move Kate and Ella to the newly done basement bedroom.(Not even close)
# Paint Kate and Ella's old room for new baby (Not even)
# Do not go into labor in the process of all of this work (So far so good!)
# Put up crib, changing table (This can't happen till some of the above gets done)
# Dig out baby clothes from the storage room (DONE!)
# Wash baby clothes so they don't smell (DONE!)
# Buy an infant carrier!!! (Not yet but I will get it this week)
# Get more food storage so we don't starve when its the end of the world (which is soon) (DONE!)
# Put up Christmas Tree and decorations (DONE!)
# Finish all Christmas shopping (Almost Done)

So much more to go but we are on the right track!

2008-12-06T22:24:00.001-07:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Turkey Day=Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

2008-11-30T18:35:00.000-07:00

We had a great Thanksgiving this year. We went to my Aunt Kellies house for dinner along with my cousin Kody, my Mom, Dad and little brother Eric and the Hepworths. I couldn't let them spend Thanksgiving alone at their house so I invited them to come and hopefully they had a good time. We ate a delicious dinner and went around the table so everyone could take a turn telling what they were thankful for. I don't remember what everyone else was thankful for and I know I have a lot of things to be thankful for but at that moment when it was my turn to tell what I was thankful for the first thing that came to my mind was mashed potatoes and gravy. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them. They are so delicious. I probably love them more when I am pregnant as I love all food more when I am preggers. Next year I will come up with something better to be thankful for. This year it's potatoes. I'm from Idaho!!!
After dinner we went to Wheeler Farm which is one of my fav spots in the valley. I guess its more of that Idaho in me coming out because I love to be around all the animals and I want my kids to have those experiences as much as possible as well. I am so glad they like it as much as I do!

A brief family photo. We have not had a family photo
in a while

My kids (actually what kids don't love him?)
and now the Hepworth boys love Eric and think he is
soooooooooo much fun. It's because he wrestles with them.
Who knew wrestling was the way to be popular with
the kids?

We love little piggies and me and Kate
especially love how they taste when they grow up!

Isaac obviously elated with the fact he is holding a goose.
I wasn't aware my Aunt Kellie was a goose whisperer.

"Hold your hand out like this."

A gaggle if I have ever seen one.

Ella and the goose whisperer.

Ella

A New Post! A New Post!

2008-11-25T19:54:00.000-07:00

I met with some of my Girls of '94 today for lunch and they told me I am slacking on my blog. They aren't the only ones who tell me this but talking to them got me motivated to do a new post. I decided to do a little recap on what we have been doing the last month or so.

Some things on my to do list have actually gotten done! How exciting! OK probably not that exciting but what can I say when these are things that make me happy? Not much other than I obviously live a very simple life or need to get out more. Could be both....

We had Halloween

Kate was a skater girl, Ella was a Cheetah Girl
and I was a blimp in a velvet cape. Good Times.

Lately this has been the funniest part of my day. I take off my socks
and shoes and look to see how swollen my feet and ankles are. I had
to explain to Katelyn what cankles were. THAT was an interesting but
funny conversation.

I have cankles! Sweet!

We went to Wheeler Farm...

Enjoyed our first snowfall of the season.
Well at least Ella did.
She thought she was hot stuff shoveling the sidewalks.

Some *!@#$%*&^% decided to break into
our car and steal all of my CDs :( and my stereo.
They only got my awesome CDs though. They had no luck with
the stereo but did take the face plate so that means we (torture!!)
have no music in the car! Kate asked, "What are we gonna do?"
I said "sing". She wasn't happy. Neither am I.

Ella couldn't decide between being a witch
or a Cheetah Girl. She finally settled on the latter.
I liked the witch personally.

And the walls came tumbling down....
The Hepworths were kind enough to offer
themselves to help rip out the ceiling and walls in
the basement bedroom. There is 50+ years of
dirt behind those walls and no insulation!

Isaac and Kate hauling out the chunks.

Ella in her dance class. She LOVES it.

Kate is still our little soccer star

And I keep getting fatter. (Shannon this one is for you!)
I have no stretch marks (yes I am bragging) just a lovely
scar on and below my belly button from my bowel surgery
three years ago. Pretty huh?

So Much To Do....

2008-11-11T19:21:00.000-07:00

So I was looking at my neglected blog tonight and thought I would write a few things. First off, my little baby counter thing says I have 9 weeks and 2 days to go until I have this baby. That is of course banking on if I make it to 40 weeks. I won't make it to 40 weeks. I already know that I won't make it to 40 weeks because I always go early AND my doctor told me that she would induce me at 37 weeks which is considered full term. I got sort of excited by the thought of getting to deliver at 37 weeks and all until I looked at a calender and saw that at officially 37 weeks the date will be December 26. Yeah right. Who wants their birthday to be that close to Christmas? So I will try to "hold out" (however you do that) until at least a week after Christmas but I am making no promises. I know I have said it before and I am going to say it again but I seriously hate being pregnant. I am just no good at it. I may have cute kids and all (if I do say so myself) but I think I am fatter and more uncomfortable than I have ever been and you just know its not going to be getting better. When you are no good at something you are supposed to practice, practice, practice until you have it down. Not for this. Ha ha. The very thought of me being preggers again and again makes me want to get in the fetal position and cry. No thanks. So really I could be having a baby in 6 or 7 weeks! Holy cow I am not ready! Oh there are so many things to do still! I honestly am feeling a little panicked and that makes for a crabby, absentminded (did I mention crabby?) me. Here is what I would like to get done and some things that HAVE to get done before baby number three makes her debut:

THE HAVE TO GET DONE LIST

Tear down the ceiling and walls in basement bedroom
Sheetrock, insulate, paint and put in new lights.
Paint Ella's "new" headboard and foot board
Fix the duct work in basement bedroom
Take down bunk beds and find some where to store them
Move Kate and Ella to the newly done basement bedroom.
Paint Kate and Ella's old room for new baby
Do not go into labor in the process of all of this work
Put up crib, changing table
Dig out baby clothes from the storage room
Wash baby clothes so they don't smell
Buy an infant carrier!!!
Get more food storage so we don't starve when its the end of the world (which is soon)
Put up Christmas Tree and decorations
Finish all Christmas shopping

THE IT WOULD BE REALLY GREAT IF THIS ALL GOT DONE LIST

My bathroom downstairs gets finished! (I'm the one who demolished it in the first place!)
The weather stripping on the back door gets replaced (its worn out)
The other cat door gets put up on the back door (it broke)
The tile gets fixed at the top of the stairs (which I broke, on accident)
The walls and ceiling get painted by the back door (currently there are 4 color swatches on the walls. I have been trying to pick a color for 5 years!)
I can get a pedicure at some point before baby popping time
The garage gets "organized" so we can park in there again
The patio furniture gets put away and winterized
The kids get haircuts
The carpet gets cleaned in the basement and stairs (hopefully by a professional)

What a tall order. I am not going to flip out if it does not all get done, I am just saying it would be REALLY GREAT!

That's Alot Of Elephants

2008-11-04T22:40:00.004-07:00

I am a sucky blogger. I must admit I have had zero interest in blogging lately but Ella said the funniest thing tonight and if I don't get it recorded I know I will forget what she said and then I will regret it. She is still so little and naive and the look on her face as she asked me a question was priceless. Here goes:

I was watching a show on The Learning Channel about a man who was morbidly obese and weighedover a thousand pounds. No joke. These shows are interesting to me for some reason and Ella comes in the room just as the show is showing pictures of this poor guy and talking about how he weighs as much as FIVE baby elephants.
Ella hears this, turns to me with the most sincere expression and total disbelief in her voice says:
"How many elephants did he eat?"

I was hysterical with laughter and had tears running down my face. She of course knew I was laughing at what she had said and then got mad at me but I couldn't help myself it was just too, too, too funny. Watch out for those baby elephants, they can really make you pile on the pounds!

How I Miss Her

2008-10-21T16:03:00.001-06:00

Jylene Josephson

This is how I remember her the most. Absolutely thrilled that she has a new
riding lawn mower.

This isn't meant to be a depressing post. However, I can't help it if I am not totally excited about the actual date even though it comes every year regardless. Twelve years ago today my Grandma passed away. I have been thinking about her every day for two weeks. I have always felt a connection with her even after her death. A few Sundays ago, I was hungry, as pregnant women usually are and decided that I would make a down home cooked meal. Something that my Grandma would totally have made. I made Cream of Potato soup, homemade rolls and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. I was seriously on my feet cooking and cleaning up for like 6 hours! All through the process I kept thinking that this really is alot of work and there is no way that I could do this everyday. I'd be exhausted! That led me to thoughts of an amazing woman: My Grandma. She DID do this everyday. And not only did she have her kids that still lived at home to feed she also had 11 (yes, 11) grandkids who lived next door who always were hungry that she fed without one single complaint. I was one of those grandkids and I LOVED eating at her house because you knew it was homemade and delicious. This was something that I totally took for granted and I don't know if I ever said thank-you for all she did. Knowing me I'm sure I didn't. In my kitchen that Sunday as I was pondering all of this, I really got to thinking about all that she did and had to do to keep things running smoothly. I stood there and told Tyler all of them and thought to myself what a big fat whiner I am!
This is the woman who made the most delicious homemade bread. Every week she would make loaves upon loaves of homemade bread. Before she could start the bread she had to grind the wheat to get the flour first! Seriously! I am not talking about a breadmaking machine here-she was the breadmaker. The mixing, kneading, rising and baking was all her. And she did it every week! That just blows my mind! She was a master in the kitchen if I ever knew one. She canned everything under the sun. Among the many things she canned that I loved were her dill pickles,
pickled beets (our family loved vinegar), peaches, chokecherry jelly, green beans, strawberry jam and many more. She had a HUGE garden that she took care of mostly on her own so she could grow all of these things to either freeze or can later. Most everything she made was from scratch. She taught me how to make buttermilk with vinegar and regular milk if you didn't have any buttermilk on hand. How to make butter from milk (whole milk works best if you really want to know). I also learned how to make my own noodles and corn tortillas. She also had a love of chocolate that I will not soon forget. She also made the most amazing cinnamon rolls I have ever had to this day. The frosting she put on the cinnamon rolls was called White Mountain Frosting. And was it ever delicious. I love frosting. I miss her terribly. How awesome it would be to take my kids up to Rexburg for the weekend and let them play and roam on the farm, have tractor rides with my Grandpa and have some kitchen/garden time with my Grandma. Those were my favorite things when I was a kid. How could they not? She was an amazing woman and I can't wait to see her again. Her being taken from us when she was only 61 years old was a slap in the face that I will never forget. So now I make sure my kids know how cool and talented she really was. I like to tell them stories occasionally about all the time me and my cousins spent at my Grandparents house and the trouble we would get into. What fun days they were.
A few little facts about Grandma:
-She was very musically talented. She sang in a womens group for a long time. She could play the piano AND organ beautifully. One of my favorite songs she played on her organ was Puff the Magic Dragon. She was able to play so well and only had nine fingers to do it with. When she was a child, one of her fingers became infected and so they had to remove it from the knuckle. Us kids always thought it was so cool that she only had nine fingers.
-She kept a journal her entire life. Everyday since she learned to write, she would write in her journal. She did this up until her sudden passing. How I treasure them know.
-She was always in tune with the Spirit. She knew when someone was pregnant before they had even told her she was pregnant. She knew the evening that her Grandmother had died even before she got the call. She just knew things. A few days before she died, I was sitting with her at LDS hospital while she was getting a dose of Chemotherapy. It was just her and me all alone. She looked at me and told me that she knew before I was born that I was a girl (I was her first Granddaughter born). She told me how convinced my Mom was that it was a boy and my Mom kept saying how she needs help coming up with some boy names. My Grandma said she told my Mom, it's not going to be a boy, it's going to be a girl so think of girl names. I never knew that story until that moment and I will never forget it.
She was one of the most humble people that I have ever known in my entire life. I cannot wait till the day when I am able to see her again. Until then I have loads of memories and pictures to keep me company until we meet again. Also lots of advice. Don't forget about the advice.
I know that she is free from all her cares, worries and sorrow where she is now and that brings me great comfort.

My Grandma the Bride and Grandpa the Groom

Girls Day Out

2008-10-18T12:17:00.000-06:00

I took the girls to Gardner Village the other day for a little fun since it is Fall Break and there is no school. It was so busy!!!! But we had a good time complete with face painting, carmel apples and lots of running around. I lovvvvvvveeeeeeeeeee fall. Not as much as I love summer mind you, but there is something about the change in the air, the leaves falling, pumpkins, the need for sweaters and jackets that just makes me happy. Not to mention pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, weather that has cooled off so we can make steaming, yummy soups and rolls, Halloween, the sound of leaves crunching under your feet, bringing in the last of my tomatoes and other garden goods before the frost comes, raking up the fallen leaves so we can jump in them, the reds, oranges and yellows that Mother Nature puts on display. I could go on and on. I like it a-LOT!

Ella got a Kitty painted on her face which lasted about an hour and a half before
she picked it off. Kate got a skull. You could say it matches her mood lately....

Doing some Witch watching.

LOVE those darn Carmel Apples
Ella eats the Carmel and I eat the apple.

2008-09-23T20:15:00.000-06:00

fStephanie tagged me so here you go!

I'm supposed to list 6 quirky things about myself.
Link back to the person who tagged me.
List the rules on my blog.
Tag 6 "unsuspecting" bloggers to complete, see the end of the post

1-I have a little fettish for catching garden snails and even slugs. This started maybe a year or two ago. I don't catch them because I think they are cute and I want to make them my pets, I catch them rather because they are creepy, they come out at night and they eat the leaves off of my plants and flowers. What do I do with them after I catch them? I put them in a bucket and dump salt on them. Bye, bye snails. (Insert wicked laugh)

2-I love to weed. I may have a million things that need to be done on the inside of my house like laundry, vacuuming, dishes, what have you. But I will go outside and specifically look for yard work to do because I love to pull weeds, shovel and work in the garden just so I can avoid the inside chores. Quirky enough?

3-I have a strange obsession with the Dog the Bounty Hunter. Nuff said.

4-I could easily change my underwear two times a day. Once after I shower in the morning and then gotta have a fresh pair on before I go to bed. Weird I know.

5-I have to have vaseline on my lips before I go bed. How else am I going to get moisturized lips while I sleep?

6-I am absolutely, 100% not afraid of spiders, bugs, bats, birds, snakes and any other creepy crawly that you can imagine. You want to hold this praying mantis that I just caught? Sweet.
Look at this giant stink bug! Don't get to close though. Seriously I was a tom boy growing up and we played in the muck and cattails, caught bugs, made mud pies and did anything we could to keep ourselves entertained. Those were the days.

Ok.....here are my unsuspecting bloggers: Kanani, Michelle G., Stacy R., Brittney, Danielle, Becky

Someone Call the WAHHHHAMBULENCE

2008-09-23T18:54:00.000-06:00

My wus gland is seriously swollen. I may need a wusectomy...

I do not like being pregnant. I know I am only 24 weeks in or so and that really is only a little over half way there, but I'm done. I am paranoid about having preterm labor so I do the bare minimum. Bare minimum. My house looks like crap, Ella is throwing a DOOZIE of a fit right now because she does not want to eat her dinner that I especially made for her (even though it's only Sponge Bob Mac and Cheese) and my sciatic nerve is driving me nuts. I have never had sciatic nerve pain before in either of my other pregnancies and IT SUCKS! Every freakin' step I take I have shooting pain down my left butt cheek and leg. Good times. The last thing I want is a premature baby so down I will stay I guess. Not to mention that I have a part-part time job now and it doesn't really get the attention that I would like to give it. Its not hard by any stretch of the imagination but I would like to do more. Thank heaven for SJ. She just might get me through it. I wouldn't even be doing it in the first place if we weren't so stinking poor right now. How is it that at this phase in our life we are actually worse off than we were when we first got married? This seriously just boggles my mind. Did we get dumber? We make less than we ever have (barring the first few years of marriage), have two kids, I am pregnant - so that means just about useless in my book, we are in debt up the ying yang, have a mortgage, car payments, property taxes, health and life insurance, kids that want to play sports and take dance classes, and we need to sell my beloved Subaru. I could keep going. Sad, but true. I seriously hope the people who see me and think I have this magical, do as I please life, read this post and see what a mess it really is. Not everything is what is seems and just because it looks good from a distance doesn't mean it's going to look good up close. Come on over, I'll make you feel good about your housekeeping, organization, patience, and a lot of other things you may think you are not good at. I will make you feel better. Trust me.
I realize of course that I DO have it really good. I know that. I am aware. Sometimes too much aware and it makes me feel even worse and guilty for complaining the way I do. Am I not allowed to want more? Good grief yes I am allowed, thank you very much. I am grateful for my two beautiful girls who can make me laugh, cry and feel crazy all in the same moment. What would my purpose be without them? I'm pretty sure I would have no purpose. I married the most patient man in the world-hands down. He loves me crazy or sane, happy or mad, and sometimes I don't know why. What would I do and be without him? Not much I think. I have totally great, awesome, supportive parents who help me more than I probably deserve. I am allegedly an adult. Yah, tell THEM that. I have a great house, great neighbors, great friends and I am not in any mortal danger to speak of. My Crohn's Disease has been smooth sailing for the last three years and that includes not having to take any medication for it. So what is the problem? I have everything I could ever want or need. So what is the problem?
I realize that in the broad scope of things, it really could be worse. My Dad told me that I really do have a pretty good life. He's right. Of course he's right! Hopefully after I have this baby I won't be so darn hormonal and can go back to just my "regular self". I think I remember her. She wasn't so stressed out as "pregnant self" and was way more fun to hang around. Loads more fun. I am looking forward to seeing her back in January sometime. Can't wait!

Three Years and Counting!

2008-09-14T20:53:00.000-06:00

Friday, September 12 was the third anniversary of my bowel surgery! Yeepah!

Why is this so exciting? The major reason is since about two months after the surgery I have
been completely medication free. A big deal. A really big deal. For someone who
has had to be on prednisone for more than half their life this is a huge accomplishment.
Prednisone is a nasty anti-inflammatory drug that does a good job at what it is
supposed to do but it really has some ugly side effects. Such as:
Mooning (can you say fat face?)
Throughout my "heavy dose" days of prednisone I had a very round, very large face. People would often ask me if I had just had my wisdom teeth pulled.
No.
Other things that were said to me were:
"If I poked your cheeks with a pin, would they pop?"
"What happened?"
"You look like a lollipop. Your head is the top and your body is the stick."
These are just a few. Gee whiz, it is a freakin' miracle that I don't have body dysmorphia or something like it. I was really traumatized.
What they say is true though I guess. If it doesn't kill you, it will make you stronger. OK.
Anyway......three years later and so far so good on being prednisone free.
Oh what a feeling!

Post-Op and all drugged up. I had this one nurse who
was so cute. She called herself the candy lady when she brought
me my pain meds.

My pretty belly after three different incisions. They took
out five inches of my guts in total: three of my
large intestine and two of my small intestine.

What happens when your incision becomes infected. I
walked around with a recut gut for about two weeks. They
had to cut me back open, squeeze the pus out (without ANY anesthetic)
clean it out, and stuff it with gauze so it could drain and slowly heal up on
its own. Holy cow I have never swore so much in my life as I did when they
cut me back open. I called my Doc some real choice names as well. Oops...

So glad that's all over. I hope for many happy non-surgery years to come.

Ella's First Day of Preschool (this year)

2008-09-09T13:36:00.000-06:00

Posing for her first day. I can't believe how big she is.

When I found this shirt I knew she had to have it because
the kid has a serious thing for bubble gum. She can eat (yes eat) a
whole thing of Bubble Tape. That's a lot of gum!

Its a......?

2008-08-27T21:41:00.000-06:00

Today was the big day! We got to find out what the sex of our newest addition will be. We let the kids come with us the ultrasound because they were under the impression that they were invited and I didn't have the heart to tell them otherwise. They were too excited and I didn't want to burst their bubble. The kids and I figured out a fun way to "show" our news.

Side profile. So cute

It's Not A Boy!

Mercy. Obviously I have no shame but I couldn't
think of a better way and my kids reaction was priceless
as I wrote on my swollen belly with a giant sharpie!

Despite hoping for a boy, we are thrilled that we are having a girl and

wanted to make sure everyone knew it.

The ultrasound tech AND the doctor both gave their professional
opinion that we are indeed having a girl.

Tyler told me AFTER the ultrasound that he thought we were having a girl. Of course he did. Me on the other hand....I was sooooooooooooooooo sure that I was having a boy. I have just had a feeling that it was a boy. Not 100% positive but I was so sure. Oh well. All I could do was lay on that table and laugh, and laugh, and laugh. I was so sure about that feeling! I have joked with my friends and family that if its not a boy then I am quitting the Church - that's how sure I was! I do have to say that my testimony is not hinged on the sex of this kid. Thank heavens. I am thrilled and so is Tyler and the kids. Now we have to come up with a name.

EllaDrama

2008-08-26T17:52:00.000-06:00

Ella has always been our little drama queen. Since the day she was born she has been my little parasite. Clingy, whiny, needy, to name a few. We love her of course, just not the drama that she creates. I affectionately call her my little bi-polar child because she can turn from sweet to sour in nothing flat. Happy, mad. Happy, sad. On, off - just like a light. Throw her down the stairs, don't throw her down the stairs. Hmmmmm..... I consider myself an optimist and would like to believe that she has gotten better.
Nope.
I say that because for the past 4-6 months (?) she has had pain in her abdomen on a daily basis. At LEAST five times in any given day (and I would consider that a good day!) this is what I hear: "Mommy, my belly hurts." Motrin to the rescue. I have no shame in giving my kids meds when they obviously need it. That's what it's their for right? Yes. Yes it is. So I have officially come to the conclusion, and this of course gives her the benefit of the doubt, that the reason she is such a... um shall we say trial? is because she isn't feeling all that great. I can personally attest to that. If you don't feel good physically it's hard to be nice and happy and Mary Sunshine all the time.
If there is nothing really wrong with her physically I am going to seriously believe what a lot of people have told me thus far: She's only four. It's just a phase.
They better be right.

Not a happy camper. She had to have like 8 tubes of blood
taken out of her little body. And from both arms at that!

Today's little adventure which was in two parts. First was an ultrasound which is like cake.
This I wasn't prepared for: a VCUG
Because of a previous urinary tract infection in July she had to have this done. Not cake.
There is nothing more stressful to me than having to hold down your all to aware child down while they do some kind of medical procedure on them. I would take them all for the team if I could. To bad it doesn't work that way.

What is a VCUG (Voiding* Cysto-Urethrogram)?
A VCUG evaluates a child’s bladder size, shape, and capacity, as well as the urethra. The urethra is the small tube that connects the bladder with the outside of the body. This procedure can also determine if a child has reflux — a condition where urine from the bladder goes upward back to the kidneys. This exam may be ordered after a child experiences frequent urinary tract infections.

A VCUG is obtained by the use of fluoroscopy and a contrast agent introduced through a catheter in the bladder. This exam is performed on children of all ages.

* Void means to urinate.

1st Day of Third Grade

2008-08-25T15:16:00.000-06:00

I can't believe I have a kid in the third grade! I remember the third grade very well. Good old Mr. Birch who made you ask him in Spanish when ever you had to use the bathroom. Kind of embarrassing for an 8 year old as I recall. Time does go by fast.

When asked if she was excited to go back to school, Katelyn responded
by saying, "Yes, because I have a really cute outfit."
Der....that's why you go to school isn't it?

Cute outfit....

Holy Carrots Batman

2008-08-23T16:14:00.001-06:00

Did some much needed weed pulling in my garden to day and I was surprised to see how big my carrots were. By this time every year I am pretty much burnt out on the gardening thing so it was an amazing feat that I was out there in the first place. When I plant my garden in the spring it is always done with so much hope and enthusiasm mixed with a little anticipation on how things will turn out. You can usually find me out there every day after I've planted making sure things are coming up, getting enough water ect. That time has sooooo passed. I do love the harvest. It makes all the work worth it.

Ella took these pictures....not bad for a 4 year old.

Holy ginormous carrots!

Just a few of the MANY tomatoes that I have grown.
Tyler is going to make some yummy salsa!

Ella Bella

Ella's flower shot.

The Lament of Summer

2008-08-21T19:04:00.000-06:00

Summer isn't even over officially and already I mourn its passing. My favorite times of the year hands down are spring with all its newness and summer with its sense of freedom. The change in the air has already come. I swear it seems to come sooner every year. One day you wake up, go outside and you can feel on the breeze that fall is just around the corner. I do love the changing seasons and perhaps if they didn't change and summer didn't go away for a time, I would not relish its approach once again. Oh well, such is life right? Sad that something has to go away for a while and then come back for me to appreciate it again. I should work on that...

This week has been the last full week of "freedom" for me and my kids. School starts on Monday and soon to follow will be dance, preschool, soccer and maybe even a paying job for me somewhere. Like I don't have enough to do already. When it rains it really pours. I AM excited for my kids to be back in school since I really don't have a schedule in the summer and therefore neither do they. It's fun but it has to end sometime and I can tell they are lacking the structure that school and being on a regular schedule does for them (and me)!

I am a collector of quotes among other things, and have a few that could sum up some of summer for me:

Puttering is really a time to be alone, to dream and to get
in touch with yourself....To putter is to discover.

-Alexandra Stoddard

Lovely July....with the evocative murmur of honey bees
on the wing and the smell of sun tan cream.
-Cynthia Wickham

I'd rather have roses on my table, than diamonds on my neck.
-Emma Goldman

Summer's lease hath all too short a date.
-William Shakespeare

Today we went to the pool (one of our favorite summer activities) and I realized it was probably the last time (most likely) that we will get to the pool this year. Thus, from that realization comes this post about my lament of summer.

The kids taking a break from the pool to have a snack.

The Rest of our St. George Trip...

2008-08-18T18:11:00.000-06:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Go Kate!

2008-08-18T17:38:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I think its easy to forget how young we were when we started doing "real" chores around the house. Tyler was mowing his lawn when he was eight. I was babysitting, I mean full on babysitting, by that time as well. Tyler decided that it was time for Kate to learn how to mow the lawn. She was full on against it as she usually is with most things that require work. As she got the hang of it she really got into it and told Tyler that she would mow the front lawn as well. Like she had a choice! Anyway, she loved it and wants to do it again. Go figure.

The happy little mower

More Adventurin'

2008-08-11T20:12:00.000-06:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Off We Go

2008-08-09T21:02:00.000-06:00

A much anticipated trip to St George finally was realized earlier this week. Unfortunately we had to leave Tyler behind to hold down the fort and bring home the bacon. I am sure he is savoring the peace and quiet a little bit though. We left on Tuesday and we will be back when I feel like it. I love summer.

The very end of the ride down.
Ella was nearly left on the side
of the road several times due to
her naughty behavior. She tries what little patience I have
in me to the absolute max.

Playing in the pool with cousin Megan

Messing around on the four wheelers

Hanging out in the front yard...

My cous Jeremy at the new restaurant Players.
Oops, I guess I should say that"s Dr. Jeremy Dockstader DDS
Recent grad of dental school. Way to go!

The menu to the new restaurant. My uncle is one of the
investors. Yummy, yummy.

Cool art in the restaurant

We took a little jaunt up to my cousin Chantels
husbands family cabin. Its up towards the Brianhead ski resort.

Unloading the toys

Tanner, Kate and Jordan just chillin'

Chantel and Megan on the swing.

More to come later........I have a bajillion pictures!

jbkj

Blast From The Past

2008-07-30T22:50:00.001-06:00

My brother sent me a link to all of his pictures from their recent vacation here in Utah. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the photos of my grandparents on the farm and me and all of my cousins when we were kids. It made me miss my G & G so much and how I wish they were still alive. What a raw deal. They both died in their early sixties. I admit I shed a few tears as I looked at some of these pictures. Must be the pregnancy hormones.

How dear to this heart
are the scenes of my childhood,
When fond recollection
presents them to view.
-Woodworth

A classic. I spent a lot time "doing" my Grandpas hair. He didn't have
much to work with but was a good sport about it nonetheless. I miss him!

From left to right: Ricky, Me, Brandon Whitmore and Christy Whitmore

We would BEG and BEG and BEG my Grandpa to give us rides on the
tractor this way. It was awesome. A favorite.

The whole gang ridin' tractor style

Maybe this is why raw meat grosses me out? A farm classic. Kill the chickens,
pluck their feathers and then gut them. I am at the far left. I clearly was heavily involved.

Chicken slaughter = Good Times

Digging spuds on my Grandpa's farm. My great-grandma is on the far left

More spud action

The next day after my parents wedding reception. The truck is loaded
with gifts from the reception. Provo or bust!

Our house in Hibbard

Ricky and Weston.....have a secret

Playing dress up at Grandma's house was awesome. She had this storage room full of
old dresses and clothes and it was affectionately called "The costume room". We loved it and
it really killed alot of long boring summer hours.

I'm Still Alive....Part 2-July Fun

2008-07-25T11:58:00.001-06:00

We headed to Raging Waters and had alot of fun in the water. Our favorite part was the wave pool.

A trip to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point. I had never been there before and thought it was really cool. The kids had a blast as well. While watching a dinosaur movie in 3-D, Ella said, "Hey that looks like Dinosaur chicken!" How sad on my part that that is what she knows of dinosaurs-that they can come in chicken shapes!

Here are some pics of the lovely fashion show that the girls put together with all of Grandma's fabric pieces. Lovely, just lovely.

One of the things that Becky talked about the whole time she was here was Leatherby's and making sure we went there. We did make it and we stuffed ourselves silly. We also went to Boondocks in Draper. I decided to hit some balls in the batting cage, slipped on my flip flop (not baseball shoes by any stretch), spun around and landed on the ground. My helmet went flying, I smacked my knee and scraped my hands. How graceful. Somehow sports are so appealing to me now that I am pregnant. I am just itching to play tennis. hmmmm

Doo Dee Doo..I am still alive Part 1

2008-07-23T22:54:00.003-06:00

Has it really been nearly a month since my last post? Wow. Time marches on! We have been busy and at the same time lazy. Being pregnant throws me into a river of overwhelming fatigue. I can barely keep afloat so to speak. My baby is going to have ADHD for sure with all the DP I drink. I worry about it and as is my personality, I feel tremendously guilty about it but obviously not enough to stop. I need caffeine. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a "problem" but we all have our vices, right? BTW, my Doc knows how much I drink and she says it's alright. That eases the guilt but only a little.
We have had a fun summer so far and I feel like a HUGE slacker for ignoring my blog for so long. It's my journal and if I don't write in my journal then I know I will not remember much if anything. Can you say placenta brain or momnesia?

After my last post my brother Ricky and his family came to town for two weeks and we partied on with them. His girls are 3 and 6. So cute...love them. And he has a totally awesome wife. If Tyler were a woman, he could easily be my sister-in-law Becky. They totally both have the same laid back type of personality. I marvel that my brother and I married the same type of person.
Funny how things like that happen.
Some things we did:

Hit the newest splash pad in Herriman

We spent a lot of time at my parents house in Herriman

My Mom has a cage that she places her bunnies in to run around and be safe from the dogs. The girls turned it into a club house. They put towels, blankets, pillows, food, books, and anything else a club has in it. Taylor and Kate slept in it one night.

We went to the Sandy Aquarium and then the drive-in. I love the drive-in. It has a certain appeal to it in the middle of the summer. It's just a really good time no matter what show you are there to "watch".

Come on You Lurkers!

2008-06-29T14:24:00.000-06:00

I know some of you read my blog. I know who a good portion of you are. I am going to start calling you out. Come on! Of all entries I have done on my little blog thus far, shouldn't the last one (we're pregnant!) be THE ONE that you leave a comment on if you are ever going to do it? Come on! I'm waiting.....

A Baby Story

2008-06-26T16:53:00.000-06:00

Kate-A pleasant surprise.

Ella-A long year and a half of trying resulting with us finally putting in adoption papers. THEN we finally got pregnant. Of course

Baby On The Way -Tyler must have super swimmers because it happened FAST! Just barely enough time for us to get health insurance. We are as pleased as punch about it and so are my girls. They cannot wait. They are always feeling my belly checking to see if they can feel the baby move. Crazy kids.

Our little peanut. Well, we hope its a baby and not really a peanut.

For Family Night a few weeks ago, I told the girls we were going to play the Memory Game. They love this game. Beforehand, I had written words on paper and taped them to the back of the cards. So as we played, and the game came to an end, they had a sentence to unscramble.
After only a few seconds, Kate announced that she knew what it was and read it out loud.
"Mommy is going to have a baby"
It was fun to see their reactions of disbelief and then excitement.
I hope the excitement lasts!

I Better Post All of This Before I Forget....

2008-06-11T10:52:00.001-06:00

April and the first part of May were crazy busy and I admittedly drank WAY to many RockStars.
We had two birthdays and two birthday parties in April, company at our house, Kate's baptism in May and the boutique. I felt like I was running non-stop. All were a success I am happy to say so the madness was worth it in the end.

Kate is Eight!

Katelyn had her eighth birthday the first part of April. We celebrated by having a party at Classic Skating and letting her invite 10 (!) friends. The theme was Hannah Montana and she even got a Hannah Montana cake. Sweet. Lucky girl...

Presents from Grandma Nelson

Ella is Four!

This is my baby we are talking about here! I've been sad about this for a while. Four is sssooooo old! I tear up a little if I think about it to much. Ella has an April birthday as well and was lucky enough to have a birthday party at Jungle Jim's Playland (thanks to Grandma and Grandpa).
She and her little friends had a great time. I was glad it was over.

Partied out with cousins Tommy and Brinley

Katelyn Gets Baptized!

In May Tyler had the honor of baptizing Katelyn. She was so excited and was just beaming all day. I just still can't believe that she is eight and is old enough to be baptized in the first place. Time goes by so fast it makes my head spin. I swear just the other day she was my tiny little 5 pound baby. I always tell my kids to stop growing but so far we haven't figured out stop it. We had lots of friends and family able to attend the baptism and confirmation and then have dinner with us at the church afterwards. Great day for Kate. So proud to be her mama.

Getting ready to be dunked!

Katelyn's baptism book and some pics at the church.

Some of our peeps at the church having dinner.

Dang we are a cute family if I do say so...

I've Been Tagged

2008-06-09T14:58:00.002-06:00

I have been Tagged by Mandy

1. Who is your man? Tyler
2. How long have you been together? 10 years on July 1oth!
3. How long dated? on and off for 3 years
4. How old is your man? 33
5. Who eats more? uh...Tyler
6. Who said "I love you" first? Tyler
7. Who is taller? Tyler
8. Who sings better? Me...hands down
9. Who is smarter? I would say he is. He know things that I have never even heard of
10. Who's temper is worse? Mine
11. Who does the laundry? Me
12. Who does the dishes? Mostly me
13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed. Me, been that way from the start
14. Who pays the bills? Used to be but now it's Tyler
15. Who has bigger feet? Tyler
16. Who has longer hair? Me
17. Who is better with the computer? Tyler on some stuff, Me on other stuff.
18. Who mows the lawn? Tyler, but I do all the weeding (I love it!)
19. Who cooks dinner? usually me
20. Who drives when you are together? Tyler
21. Who pays when you go out? Tyler
22. Who is most stubborn? We are both pretty stubborn but I think I am a bit more than him
23. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Probably Tyler
24. Whose parents do you see the most? It's kind of equal
25. Who kissed who first? I sort of demanded that HE kiss ME...
26. Who asked who out? He invited me up to his house where he made me homemade spaghetti
27. Who proposed? Tyler
28. Who is more sensitive? Tyler
29. Who has more friends? Me (der)
30. Who has more siblings? Tyler

Kanani, Kate, and Emily.....You have been tagged.....GO!

A Little Confused Over Here

2008-06-09T13:55:00.000-06:00

Everything seems to be all screwed up lately. Take the weather- what is up with this freakin' weather? It is June and it is still COLD! I hate the cold. I want to step outside my front door and feel like I'm in a furnace. I want to feel the sweat. That's gross but I dream about summer all winter and look oh so forward to it. When my roses bloom I am like a kid in a candy store out there picking them and smelling them and fretting that they are healthy. You would think they were my kids! Thus far only two bushes are blooming and it's June 9th! Great day in the morning!
My other gripe is I want to leave town and go to St. George tomorrow where it IS a furnace but my poor little Ella is sick. Could be strep but the dumb doc won't know until wednesday when the culture comes back. Can't he just write her a scrip for some antibiotics already since that is what he thinks it is? My family has managed to stay pretty healthy this past winter until recently. Over Memorial Day weekend Kate had some nasty stomach flu that almost ruined our little jaunt to Park City. Almost.
I guess other than sick kids and the weather not being what I want it to be I really can't complain about anything. I am totally aware that I have it really good and lately I am making more of an effort to live in the moment and be happy in that moment. I am especially reminded of that when I think of all the people out there I know who are having hard times in their various forms. I try not to take anything or anyone for granted and that especially includes my spunky, feisty girls and my ever patient Tyler. I would be a lost soul without them.

Little Sick Ella. So cute and sad at the same time.

Naked! They are naked I say! Where are the flowers?

One of the two bushes that are blooming. Now
the others just need to catch up!

Hail Thee Sled Shed/Sticks'n'Stones

2008-06-08T17:07:00.001-06:00

After I read Heather's post about the sale of their shops being a done deal, I got all nostalgic and dug through my pictures for these goodies. I included some extras because they made me laugh. We had so much fun with everyone. It doesn't even seem weird that all the couples we hung out with were married except us! Good times...

Tyler and Ja hanging out the window of Loyd and Pete's.
Tyler told me that Josh was involved as well but I didn't see any pictures (sorry Josh!).
I asked Tyler how this came about and he said it was a boring Sunday afternoon. Of course! That makes perfect sense. What else do you do when you're bored on a Sunday?

This is one of my favorite pics of Ty...

Ceasar Baca, Tyler, Tyler Lusk and Josh

Tyler Lusk and Josh

Tyler and Josh

Elephant Rock @ Heise
City of Rocks

Lance & Ann

Gheen and Beth

Me and Ty
We got together at Gringos to celebrate his 21st birthday
Man...time sure flys.
(I am aware I look like a bloated, dead fish. What was I doing?)

Brian and Heather

I Can Time Travel

2008-05-15T12:50:00.000-06:00

I can travel through time.
I've been meaning to write about it for a long time. I've had this ability for as long as I can remember. I am sure that I am not the only one who can do this but I love it just the same.
Keep in mind that when I travel back in time it lasts only for a few seconds but the feeling is always the same. It's as if I never left in the first place.
How do I do it?
My remarkable sense of smell.
It only takes one smell of certain things and I am instantly transported back in time, to certain events or different times in my life.
I have posted a few below that NEVER vary. I am always taken back to the same place with each one and am always reminded of the same people or persons.

The ever beautiful Iris. One smell of this gorgeous flower
and I am instantly taken back to my back yard in Hibbard, Idaho where
the entire length of our house was purple Iris'. They smell like
grape Kool-Aid which I happened to drink plenty of back in those days.

Another Iris. This variety is not as fragrant.

This one is just darn pretty.

The Lilac. I will forever have a love affair with the Lilac.
One smell and I am instantly back in my Grandparents yard in Hibbard, Idaho.
This smell will always remind me of my Grandma and feelings of safety and warmness come to mind. This particular bush produces a double flower so you have twice as many petals!

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-11T22:30:00.000-06:00

My Mother's Day started with the opening of two presents from two very excited girls. Kate gave me a framed letter she had written about the many things she likes about me. My favorite part of her letter was: "You can do things other Mom's can't do." Darn strait! I am not sure what some of those things are but they probably involve touching bugs, rodents and other creepy crawlies. I generally am not afraid of anything in the creepy crawly department and I am proud to say I think my girls think I am the coolest because of it.

Ella informed me on Friday when she brought home my Mother's Day present from school that it was made of glass. Lately she is really interested to know what things are made of. Usually the answer is plastic, plastic and more plastic. She gave me a lovely little votive decorated with tiny pieces of crepe paper and a yummy smelling candle. She was so pleased with herself and was just bursting with pride that she had made me something. Loved it - and her!

Later that day we had dinner at my parents house and then went up Rose Creek Canyon for a little hike. We had not been hiking for a while and I forgot how fun it is. We had a blast exploring and playing with my Mom's two Jack Russell Terriers. We nicknamed Ella "hiker girl" because despite feeling crummy (I think she has allergies!) she was a trooper and hiked most of the way in and out.

Our Little Hiker Girl

I caught a garter snake to show to the kids. My cousins and I used to catch them all the time as kids and I remembered they have a weird smell which I did not like. Of course because she is my Mom, she had gloves that I used to handle the snake. Why wouldn't you need gardening gloves on a hike. I can't think of a reason why not!

Hiker Girl's a bit shy of our new friend.

e Who couldn't love this little face?

Kate's new friend

Jump!

Showing Ella a little cactus. She wanted to touch it.

We found wild turkey feathers all over the place and the most
logical place to put them seemed to be our hair.

Little Gracie. She is a big dog in a little dogs body. Grrrrrrr

We are Indian Squaws, aren't we cool?
For sure we are going hiking more......

Come To The Boutique!

2008-05-08T11:39:00.000-06:00

I am going to be one of the vendors at this boutique so I am spreading the word to let everyone know! I will be selling my hair clips since they are not selling themselves sitting in my basement.
I am going to do some sort of give away (hair clips, what else?) so stay tuned and spread the word!

You Know The Floor's Dirty When...

2008-05-07T17:26:00.000-06:00

....Tyler sweeps and mops the floor, hallway AND bathroom.

I told him it didn't look that dirty to me (really I knew it was bad). He said it is disgusting.

I said I just don't care if the kitchen floor is spotless all the time. I turn the Roomba on every day in there Mister! Guaranteed every time I mop someone spills something sticky like apple juice, they do a cruddy job of cleaning it up, and then I step on it after it has "dried". The feeling/sound of my bare feet or shoe peeling off the sticky tile is like fingernails on a chalk board to me. So I guess I've given up on ever having a clean kitchen floor? Maybe, maybe not. The point is, is that if I wait long enough, Tyler will do it.......Score.

This Blankie Has Seen Better Days

2008-05-07T16:45:00.000-06:00

Ella has been pestering me to fix the gaping hole in her blanket for a while. Her poor blanket has seen better days. It used to be bigger, have a cute pink and white crocheted edge and wasn't almost see through like it is now. I don't know how much longer it will last. A year? Maybe two? I must say since the Binki Fairy came, she hasn't "needed" it as much and we can actually leave it at home when we leave the house. That's one giant step. Giant.

The Problem

The Ginormous Hole that I have to
figure out how to fix.

The answer! The burp cloths that came with the blanket!
They never got used as actual burp cloths considering
they are completely non-absorbent. This picture is after I cut
the edge off so I could separate the front and back.

A quick trip around the edges with the serger.

A quick zig zag stitch on my sewing machine to cover the hole.

The back of the blanket. Its hard to believe that
the burp cloth is the color that the blanket used to be.

That's Some Cheap Entertainment

2008-05-01T14:28:00.000-06:00

Today this is what Ella and her friend were doing. I thought it was hilarious. What is it with stairs? Kids love to slide down them. Its great fun and cheap entertainment to boot. Gotta love it.

A little while later in Ella's room, I eavesdropped on a hilarious conversation that went something like this:
Ella: I need to put clean panties on.
AH: So do I!
Ella: Hey, do you want to borrow some of mine? I only have girl panties, no boy panties.
AH: That's Ok

Ella then precedes to dig through her drawer and pulls out a pair of blue panties accompanied with a very satisfied look on her face.

Ella: Here you go. You can wear these all day!
AH: I don't have any girl panties.

Then they take off their "dirty" panties (that's underwear for AH) and put on clean ones. I couldn't contain my laughter at this point as I watched AH struggle a bit with his girl panties. He put them on backwards which caused an inevitable wedgie. More laughter from me. Good thing they are only 3 and 4 years old or we would be in some serious trouble.

It's Not a Dog Dish, It's Art!

2008-04-30T17:49:00.001-06:00

I just emerged out of my "craft" room. We have company coming and the bed needs to be cleared off so it can be slept in. Currently it serves as a storage facility. In my craft room I have an assortment of sewing supplies, hair clip supplies, miscellaneous craft supplies and of course my scrap booking supplies. Amongst all of my scrap booking stuff I have MANY folders. Folders full of various pictures and what not intended to be turned into scrap books. I have always felt the need to keep every single thing that my kids have made, from homemade cards to art projects, with the intention of preserving it. I realize at this point that it has gotten WAY out of hand. Again that guilt creeps in. I feel bad if I throw anything away.

I think now I know why I feel the need to keep all of their papers and art gifts.

My parents kept very little if anything that I ever made for them. When I was in first grade each class member drew a lovely picture for their Moms. That picture was then transferred to a plate (a plate you eat off of) to later be given as a Mother's Day present. I was sooooo proud of my colorful rainbow and of how well it turned out. I am not sure what amount of time had passed between my Mom actually receiving her plate and to where it finally ended up but I do remember feeling pretty low about its final use. My pretty rainbow decorated plate became a dog dish. Somehow it ended up outside as the food plate to feed our cats and dogs. Ouch. That one still stings.

My goal is to not let this type of thing happen to my kids. I don't want to make them feel like something they made for me is worthless. Worthy only of a dog dish or the garbage. So let this be a lesson to all. If you don't want that "gift" and no one will be the wiser if it ends up in the trash, then make sure it actually disappears from view. You know what they say, "Out of sight, out of mind." I probably would have forgotten all about that dumb plate had it just disappeared.

I am going to bite the bullet and go down there and clear some stuff out. I will make sure it goes directly to the trash bin outside. Later macaroni necklace....

Guilt Freak

2008-04-26T00:37:00.000-06:00

I write to space. That is what I like to think every time I post on my little blog. Right now my head is full of amassed bits of this and that, to do lists, didn't get done lists, birthdays, baptisms, craft shows I need to get ready for, a broken refrigerator, a dusty basement, selling my Subaru, my unplanted garden, my neglected Sunday School lesson, having a baby, changing the sheets. I seriously could go on. Somehow over the course of my marriage I have turned into a guilt freak. I'm not sure how or why this has happened. Is it because I am a wife and Mother now and have a greater responsibility on my shoulders? I can tell you right now that before I got married and had kids I did not really feel guilty about anything! Even the stuff I should have felt guilty for! I don't think I feel guilty about not feeling guilty back then but I really can't be sure at this point. My guilt ranges from me not being a better example and role model for my daughters to more trivial things like needing to rotate the tires on my car or feeling bad about throwing something in the garbage that I know darn well should have gone into the recycle bin. Lame! Retarded! Who freakin' cares! Yet I cannot convince myself that my guilt is lame, retarded and nobody cares. I just ride each day out with the hope that the things I didn't get done today will maybe get done tomorrow and hopefully the guilt will ease up a bit. So far that has not been the case. Oh well.
That Sunday School lesson awaits as does the Island Princess Barbie birthday cake my 3 year old wants for her party tomorrow.

Please press the pressure valve
It's going to blow up.
An awful mess it will be for sure
Who will clean it up?
Please press the pressure valve
Time is marching on.
It must be done ever so slow
Released and done.

My Other Kids (The Furry Kind)

2008-04-24T12:41:00.000-06:00

For a while I have been meaning to write about my three cats.

Toonces: AKA my oldest child.
Tyler brought him home after we had been married for two months.
He was the cutest kitten but is now a bit neurotic and does
not get along well with others (cats that is).

Harry Potter: We have had Harry for about 5 years.
Kate wanted to name him Santa Clause. He's all black. We
settled on Harry Potter. It seemed a better fit.
He is the laid back one of the bunch and tends to "tease" the other
cats and can be a bit annoying. However, he loves attention from people and
is the cat that loves it so much he will let babies and toddlers pull his tail and what not.
Don't tell the others but he is my favorite.

Oscar: We got Oscar from a neighbor's cat who had had kittens. I don't
know what I was thinking getting another cat. Moron! He's a bit neurotic as well
but keeps us entertained by sitting like a person. Weird, I know.

These three cats have it pretty good over here. If I died right now and had to be reincarnated into an animal, I would want to be a cat that lives at my house. They lead the most wonderful lives. They sleep whenever they want, eat whenever they want, go in and out of the house whenever they want and THINK that my bed belongs to them. Keeping them off of my bed has been a battle for as long as we have had them. It probably always will be. Despite the little snag of ousting them off of my bed, they really do have it good. Their lives do get shaken up a couple times a year when we shave them. Yip, that's right. Shave them. There comes a point (usually about February) when I CANNOT stand the hair any longer. So we borrow my parents shavers and get to work. It's dirty, hairy and gross but the end result is worth it. We usually try to give them the "Lion Cut", which is to leave them a mane, the fur on their legs, and a little puff of hair at the end of their tail. Hence they look like little lions. So cute. And no more shedding! Yeah! Someday I will probably read this and wonder what I was thinking. Hopefully I won't have added anymore cats to the brood. I WILL NOT become the weird cat lady. I will not.

Oscar Post Shave

Harry Potter and Oscar playing

Every Rose Has Its Thorn

2008-04-23T12:20:00.000-06:00

Last night I was nearly killed by a rose bush. Ok, that is an exaggeration but I did have to go to the Instacare and have my injury looked at by a Doc.
Rose bushes. I have a lot and they are BIG AND BEASTY. This spring I have taken on the task of cleaning out all the dead branches, trimming them down (they are as tall as I am), and just generally trying to spruce them up. They really have been neglected for a long time. I had my right arm in the thick of one said rose bush attempting to yank out a small dead stump. The stump came out but my wrist snagged on one of the massive thorns these bushes produce. Holy crap did that hurt. I look down to a pool of blood oozing from my vein. Right in the vein! One in million shot doc, one in a million shot. After the Doc looks at my wrist he doesn't know if the thorn is still in my wrist or not and I have to be on anti-biotics because apparently you can get some nasty disease from the thorns of rose bushes! Wow, I learn something new everyday. Hope fully their is no thorn in there but for now it sure hurts! Here are some pics from my adventure.

What my arm could look like if I didn't take antibiotics.
I hope I don't grow that kind of arm hair....yikes.

Thorn or no thorn. Only time will tell.
Feels like there is one in there though. I couldn't get a good picture
of how puffy it was.

Tyler really does love me. He went to Harmon's and got
my favorite sinful guilty pleasure. A maple bar with whipped
maple cream frosting. Make that two. Oh how I do love these....they are sooooo
sinfully delicious.