Mower Moments

a little slip and a Happy Birthday

2012-01-31T20:30:00.000-06:00

Making Papa's birthday cake

Today Evi said to her friends: "Your mom is cheating with my mom". I looked at her as I was laughing, as she tried to say that we were chatting. They came in to split us up and Evi says, "ok ok ok, no more cheating!" hahahaha, I corrected her, but it didn't stick because she said it again a few minutes later. :)

Blowing out the candles!

Today we went downtown with the Himmighoefers to celebrate Papa. His birthday was yesterday, and we had cake and ice cream last night. Today we headed to the American History Museum for some new fun and learning adventures. I figured that anytime we go to a museum it always seems to be the Natural History or the Air and Space, so I really wanted to do a new one, yet was torn with not seeing the gem and mineral exhibit in honor of my dad (like we did last year). We had some fun at the American History and all the girls seemed to be enjoying it, but the hands on kids section was not open, so after awhile there, we decided to go next door to the Natural History :). I would really enjoy going back to the American History museum without the kids though, because there was a lot to read and take in that I just couldn't do with the kids. So out into the BEAUTIFUL weather we went to walk over one museum to quite possibly our favorite! We got tickets for the free on tuesdays butterfly exhibit, which was really cool :). Butterflies landed on just about all of us, although most of the great pictures are on Evin's camera. The kids were all worn out, but I needed just a quick fix of the rocks, so we got to see some of the beautiful gems and minerals and had our fun seeing "Papa's Rocks."

What a fabulous day! Funny, because I had a really hard day Sunday, but Monday and Tuesday have been great and I am so glad we were able to celebrate my dad. I know that I am lucky to have him, and I know some people have not been able to have the kind of close family bonds and ties that I feel like I have had in my family. I hate that he is gone. But I am so glad to have happy memories of him and to think of all the good he had and wanted to share with others.

Christmas 1995

PG County

2012-01-29T22:34:00.000-06:00

Occasionally when I speak, my PG county upbringing flows out of my mouth without any thought. For example, today I said to a friend, "you had been decided that...". This was followed by my own outburst of laughter at myself, that I didn't even realize I said it. Normal people don't say things like this, do they? Grammatically correct speakers would say something like, "You had already decided that." RIGHT? I think I generally use good grammar. My mom is still a grammar correction queen, and therefore I (and my sisters) all seem to be as well. So I don't think I normally speak like this. Or do I?Oh, PG County, I have to love you. Have to. Because I am still here.

*another favorite is: "we had been done that"

Truckin' Along

2012-01-26T23:24:00.001-06:00

I have had quite a crazy couple of weeks, and life around here has been turned upside down, then sideways, and then upright again. In the process of the craziness of my current state, I have thought a lot about my job as a mom and I really value it. It's funny, because the day I was telling Ron how much I am glad to be a mom, and wouldn't trade it for other seemingly more glamorous or attractive lifestyles, was the day that the kids went crazy and gave me a run for my money. Ron joked that they must have heard me talking about it and decided to take action! HA! But even with the hard days, I adore my babies and am so glad to be their mom. I need them in my life. Although some days are harder than others, we get through the challenges together and I feel fortunate to be their mom, and am so glad I am able to stay home with them. I am also extremely glad to work part time though, so I have a break to re-group sometimes and stay balanced :).
So that's all for now. We go through changes and have to adapt. But we keep on truckin' and hopefully enjoy whatever part of the journey that we can.

Since I have a broken camera...I went in to my photo files and have some old pictures to share from the pool. I love my job, I love my family there, and I love taking my kids there! These pictures are from June, but still great to share. Evi was almost 4 1/2 and Jamie had just turned 1 in May.

From Labor Day weekend

Staff cardboard boat regatta in August! Except for the extremely buoyant base you see here, this boat fell apart. But Evi wanted a turn after all the big kids finished the racing! It was shortly after this that some of the lifeguards got worried when they saw her in the 5 feet (without the life vest). My sweet baby was swimming and they thought she needed help. One even jumped in to get her, then realized she was fine :). Evi turned into a fish this summer and I love it!

Cast Off Day

2012-01-19T17:47:00.000-06:00

That's what we are calling today because Evi got her cast off! WooHoo! There is good news and bad news.
The Good:
~Cast is off
~She can move her leg
~Stopped for some "cast off" treats (chosen were a happy face cookie and a sprinkle doughnut)
~Asked for chicken nuggets for her special cast off day dinner

The Bad:
~Fracture has not healed entirely, and was actually worse than I originally thought :( .
~In a Knee Immobilizer for 3 more weeks (but it's not a cast, at least) to be sure she won't twist her leg wrong or re-injure it. This can come off for baths, sleeping and swimming.
~She is a little grumpy, like the first few days after the initial injury, because it still hurts to move it after being in one position for 3 weeks. Has not walked much yet. (Hoping that will get up to the good section soon and say "walking").
~My camera fell on the ground and BROKE on the way into the X-ray room.

I can still get the pictures off the memory card, and here are a few cast pictures from the last few days.

hanging out at the park on a great January day. The cast didn't slow down her fun!

Playing "store" on my bed. She was the shopkeeper...in my shirt :).
The calculator she is holding was the cash register I think.

Angry birds is fun for these girls!

Time to get the cast off. Ev was uncertain about it, and very frightened.

Studying Mr. Tom's (the guy cutting the cast off) movements like a hawk. A nervous hawk.

Happy girls on our way to the hospital.

We'll see how the next few days go with my girl.
Tomorrow she is having show and tell AND pajama day at school. That will give her something fun to look forward to after the pain she went through today!

A new year

2012-01-06T21:36:00.001-06:00

While in Utah, our family took an afternoon to head up to Bridal Veil Falls to walk, take in the beauty, enjoy the outdoors and family, AND take pictures! Here is one of me with my babies, smiling (sort of :) ) and looking forward to a positive 2012! More to follow when Kris sends me the rest of the photos!

PLUS, I added a BUNCH of photos to the previous post.

We flew home yesterday, and couldn't have had a better experience. Our flight out to Utah was pretty rough. Jamie wouldn't sleep but needed to, Evi wasn't interested in her movies for more than 20 minutes, and although I had a bunch of things for them to do, they were kinda restless (I can't blame them though). They weren't poorly behaved, but it was a loooong flight. Coming back was fabulous. I purchased a used double stroller on the way to the airport that I had scoped out the day before. Although Evi can get around on her cast I knew it would be easier for all involved to have them both sitting in a stroller. It was! We were still a sight to see though. Mom is pushing with one arm: two kids in double stroller, one with leg in cast; pulling with the other arm: two rolling carry-ons hooked together; carrying over pulling shoulder; "personal item" of a bag/diaper bag/carry all. The security people were so nice and even gave me an extra person to help with the stroller while I did the bags and kids. Gate people were awesome and even told me I had the row to myself on the plane, then followed me down the jet way to fold my stroller for me. Flight attendants were all super nice and helpful. We even ran into good friends of my parents who were on our flight, and they offered to help. Kids were well behaved, entertained, and pleasant. Thank goodness.

Was it that people saw a little girl in a cast? Was it they saw a mom travelling alone with two kids (one of which was in a cast)? Did I have a look of desperation in my eyes that made people want to reach out and help? Was it just everyone I ran into was in a good mood?? I really don't know, but I was grateful to be reminded of how well things can go sometimes, since it hasn't always gone that way for me. I am grateful to be reminded of the goodness in the world, especially when things seem dark and gloomy. I am grateful to have little things remind me that I have a Father in Heaven who loves me, and knows my challenges and will support me through them.

A trip to remember

2011-12-31T02:21:00.004-06:00

Three Parts:
I have been so fortunate to be in Utah with my family for the last few weeks. I have known for a long time that my 92 year old grandmother's health was fading and she wouldn't have too much time left, and really wanted to be able to attend her funeral in Utah with my mom and sisters. I also really liked the idea of spending the Holidays with my family in Utah. I couldn't fly out twice so had to choose Christmas or the unknown time of whenever my grandmother's health gave way. I chose Christmas for several different reasons and arrived on December 18th.

Part One:

cousins, tv, and trays with grilled cheese. ahh, the life.

a little tv at great-grandmas house

On the morning of the 19th, Erin and I were getting ourselves and our kids ready to go visit Grandma, when we got the call from our aunt that Grandma had just died. Sadly, I didn't get to say goodbye to her. When we got to the house, I did get to see her and almost didn't recognize her. Her health had robbed her of so much and she was down to just skin and bones. My last memory of her alive was when we visited in June and we were at a dinner at her country club, a staple on any trip to visit :). She was dressed nice, adorned with her beautiful jewelry, and had her hair and make up looking sharp, as always. Her eye sight and hearing was poor, but it was still grandma, and she was still in control. She was still going to work almost every day at the company she built with my grandfather decades ago. A few months later her health really plunged and my mom and sisters were there for the ups and downs. Because I live so far away, I wasn't there for any of it, which was hard to feel helpless when I knew help was needed. I am sure she would want us to remember the good times and the happy memories, rather than think of the frail woman that she had become at the end. I love my Grandma and cherish the memories with her. She loved her family and worked hard with and for them. We had her funeral on Thursday, 12/29 and it was very nice to celebrate her life with loved ones. So it turned out, my choice to come out for Christmas was a good one so I could be with most of my family for Christmas AND my sweet Grandma's funeral.
Side note: I was thrilled to see my dads brother Norman at the viewing and funeral. I gave him a big hug and didn't want to let go. I think that must be because he is a living connection to my dad. Or, I just love him and was happy to see him since I thought he'd be out of town! My dad often referred to Norman as Tio Magnifico (magnificent uncle) and called himself Tio Feo (ugly uncle) :). I was happy to see my Tio Magnifico! Funerals are sad, but they really bring people together in a good way.

Jamie with our cousin Melissa and Amy and Evi at Grandmas viewing

Dad was at the funeral. Evi sat by her Papa.

Cousin Caitlin at the funeral

Playing games in Grandma's basement after the funeral

we love love love the player piano. many hours of fun have been spent here.

Grandma was a golfer, so we had chocolate golf balls to snack on :). Just had to watch out for the real ones.

Part Two:
Monday night 12/19, Evi went with her cousins next door to jump on the trampoline. A little while later, Katey, the next door neighbor, carried a crying Evi back to our house saying she got jumped on and hurt her leg. I gave her some medicine to help with the pain, and she calmed down enough that she seemed ok, and I put her to bed like normal. Like any mom with a chance for a kid-free trip to the store, I left the baby monitor with my sister after the kids were in bed and headed out for some Christmas things. After just a short time I got a call saying Evi was crying saying her leg hurt. Thus begun the saga of something that I thought was nothing. I contemplated taking her to the emergency room, but she seemed ok enough. Definitely hurt and sore, but still ok. Although she wouldn't walk, she crawled and scooted and seemed to use her leg. In fact the day I was first going to take her to the emergency room, she was limping a little, so I thought she was getting better. Long story a little bit shorter, she really never improved and I was carrying her everywhere or she was scooting/crawling.
On Monday, 12/26, I took her to the emergency room and the doctor consulted with the radiologist on her xray, and they weren't sure if it was a break or not on the outside of her lower leg (bend in the bone that could have been a fracture OR just the way her bones were growing). They put her in a splint and told us to go to the fracture center on Wednesday.
12/28: The doctor at the fracture center asked her where it hurt, she pointed to a spot just below her knee, and then he pointed at the x-ray and showed me the fracture in the exact spot she pointed to. The doctor and radiologist in the ER missed it, and therefore splinted her leg wrong, so I am very glad that we went to the fracture center. The doctor said they call this injury the "trampoline fracture" because they get so many of these in their office.
I had asked Erin before this incident why she doesn't have a trampoline (since A LOT of people in Utah do), and she said she wasn't a fan of broken bones and injuries. Hmm, now I see why. Now my sweet baby girl has a purple cast from her upper thigh to her ankle. But the glorious thing is that she is finally walking again-albeit awkwardly. AND I opted to pay for the waterproof liner since she has to be in it for three weeks and I couldn't imagine how to clean my child while keeping her entire leg dry. I made my appointment at children's hospital in DC to get it removed at the right time, so hopefully all of this will go smoothly. And hopefully she'll be able to walk normal again! Another great plus now that she has this cast, her personality is back. She was so grumpy and mean that first week and it was really hard on me. No wonder, the poor girl was in pain! Very soon after getting the cast on, I noticed her personality change for the better and was so glad to see her laughing and joking again. So so glad. I am just sad we pretty much lost a week that she could have been having more fun with her family (but, the fracture center only takes cases like this on Wednesdays apparently, so unless we went the night she hurt it or the next day, we still would have gotten the cast at the same time). Whew. Believe it or not, that long story is missing a lot of details :). I could have just said she broke her leg jumping on a trampoline, but what fun is that?

Part Three:
We are on vacation! Although this may not be a typical relaxing vacation with all the other stuff going on, being with family has been great. Evi got a much needed hair cut also, and this time, it was not a result self styling, but more so a result of all summer in the pool :). I was glad to spend Christmas with a house full of people that I adore. I am happy to send 2011 out the door and hope for a bright 2012. Life is what we make it, so I try to remind myself to look for the good in every day. Sometimes it's easier than others, but it's certainly a good goal. I adore my kids and am so glad to spend this time with them surrounded by wonderful people that we just don't get enough of. Thank you to the Browns for making this possible and making the end of 2011 absolutely fabulous. I am not looking forward to heading back to reality this week, so I am soaking it all in here while I can. Mom, sisters, cousins, extended family....all of it. I am so glad we were able to come.

Christmas morning with stocking goodies

Jamie had fun with new slippers

Jamie and Grandma

Jamie in Evi's new snow boots. Evi in her new ballerina outfit AND Tim's new gun. Perfect.

mmmm, Cake Pops! Thanks Santa!!

I offered to put this on the big TV, but all 5 kids were content here.

Jame Jame with Aunt TT at dinner

Starting to clean out Grandmas house. She had fabulous clothes and really never got rid of any of them (I called one BEDROOM in her house the "walk in closet", since that was where many (not even close to all) of her clothes were kept). This purse was from the 60's easily. The shoes are a perfect match. The awesome blue purse was one of sesveral just like it (also found in red, black and white). This picture was the first of MANY fun dress up outfits while working. Although, the rest of the pictures were recorded on Kristin's camera. If I get copies, I may have to post.

Evi wanted in on the dress up action too.

Normal

2011-12-07T09:50:00.000-06:00

What is normal, anyway? After my dad died 2009, I said I needed to figure out what the "new normal" was. Everything was turned upside down and I had to figure out daily life without my dad around. It has certainly been hard, and I miss him all the time. I even hate to admit that it has become normal without him here. Trips to Utah are not the same because he is not there. But sadly I am used to that now. Although on my next trip out there, it will be even more different, because my mom sold their house and moved into an easier-to-manage apartment closer to family. So maybe that won't be normal. Anyway....again I am facing life changes and figuring out the new normal, again. Maybe that is what life is like when you are a grown up. Or maybe that is just what life is like when you face challenges?
A couple that used to be in my ward at church were facing some HUGE challenges. They had been married about a year, and his cancer (diagnosed at age 17) which had been in remission returned with gusto. He had a healthy perspective on life and did not take things for granted as he faced so many challenges at such a young age. He had great zeal and zest for life and adored his wife. His cancer returned and ultimately took his life at a super young age. I could write so much more about them, and more thoughts I had. But to say the least, it made me look at myself--what do I take for granted and how am I living my life?
Life has been very hard for me lately. It has for awhile now. I want so badly to be 'normal' again. But I guess 'normal' is what I make it. I have had moments where I have kept all of my hard times to myself. I have also had times where I could share thoughts and feelings with friends and loved ones, and have seen that makes all the difference in my well being. It is up to me, and I think that's how I can find that 'new normal' and press forward with a positive outlook. Life is always changing and we are going to continue to have challenges placed in front of us. I joke that God has a lot for me to learn, because he keeps giving me challenges to overcome! Someday I will be gratful for this hard time. I am becoming stronger and will hopefully have learned some valuable life lessons when all is said and done :).
One thing that has helped me lately is knowing that God loves me. He will not give me challenges that I can not get through. Yet I think I have also learned that when something seems very difficult and unable to face, He places people in our lives to help us when we can't do it alone. The Savior is always there for us and can carry us when we can't walk, and sometimes we have actual people to step in and figuratively carry us. I have learned that one of the things I am NOT good at is asking for help. Even though I have learned it, I am still not very good at it, but I am so grateful for loving people who have been angels in my life.
So whats the point of writing all this? I have just been thinking lately about how I want things to go back to normal again. Well, 1) in due time...........and in the mean time 2) it's all in what I make of it! :).

Adventure Day Downtown

2011-11-15T22:17:00.003-06:00

Thanks to a friend and her great thinking, we took

an adventure downtown today. Danielle let me know that the Butterfly exhibit at the Natural History Museum was free on Tuesdays, and since we already LOVE that museum as it is, it was set. Evi has been asking to ride the train (metro) for a long time, and just last week she asked if we could go to a museum. We did go to the teeny tiny exhibit from the Greenbelt Museum that is on display in the Community Center last week, but how great that we could also see another [huge] one today. I got all dressed and set to go, decided that I would only take a single stroller rather than lug my mammoth double jogger around the metro and museum. BUT, just before I left, Danielle gave me motivation when she said she was jogging to the metro. I changed, lugged out the mammoth, loaded the girls in and ran to the station that is farther from my house, because the easy option was just too close if I wanted to actually get somewhat of a run in :). I haven't run with both girls since August and that stroller was heavy, but I still really enjoyed it. I am so grateful for some nice weather in November to make this even possible! AWESOME.

Riding the train with my babies?? AWESOME. Evi stared out the window the whole time, even leaned on my arm part of it. She would excitedly point things out to me along the way and keep track of the stops. Jamie sat still on my lap the whole time (!). I think it may have been Jamie's first trip on the train.

Museum?? AWESOME, as always. Evi and her friend Liam (both 4 years old) were so excited to see everything together and were and fun to watch! Jamie and Elsie (who were born one day apart), on the other hand would wander in different directions so us moms would often split: one with the 4 year olds and one with the 1 year olds :). After walking through the exhibit on evolution/cavemen (not sure what it's called), Evi pointed out that the display was of "People Monkeys". When watching a movie, there was a statue of an chimpanzee in the middle of a bench. I tried to have the kids sit by it so I could take their picture, and Evi thought it was a "people monkey" and was frightened. I guess this means the museum did a great job of making their displays lifelike?
Of course we went to the "Papa's Rocks" (gems and minerals) exhibit. Sweet Jamie found a seat,

interestingly on one of the amethyst displays. If you didn't know my dad or were never in my house, he loved amethysts and had many on his own display. She is named after him, after all, and maybe he was there with us, or at least her. Or just maybe she is going to be like him? Or just maybe it was a sweet coincidence :)!

Butterfly exhibit?? EQUALLY AWESOME. One of the better butterfly houses I have seen (ok, I think I have only been in 3 or 4). Butterflies of all colors and sizes and while we were instructed not to touch them, they were apparently not instructed not to touch us :). One landed on Danielle's camera while taking a picture and one landed on Evi's head! He did NOT want to get off her hair either. I had to work to get him out of her hair while touching him as little as possible. It might have scared her a little at the time, but she later told me she loved being in there! Jamie was excited about them also.

Just being downtown in general was great; I love being on the mall. It is so familiar to me even though I don't often go anymore. We saw specs atop the Washington Monument--workers assessing/fixing (?) damage from September's earthquake. The Monument is closed indefinitely while work is being done to stabilize the structure, but I hope they can get it fixed so people can go to the top once more. The kids also rode the Carousel after our museum adventure. At this point in the day, we had been out for hours, and kids (read: Evi) were reaching their tipping points. I wanted a picture with my girls in front of the monument. Well, my stubborn child only wanted to be in a picture with Liam, NOT me. So we tried to be slick--took one of her with Liam, then I stood in and Danielle got Liam out. But, Evi saw what we did, and the picture reveals how she felt about it! Sigh.
The ride home was not as smooth. Tired Jamie did not want to sit still, Evi was a bit of a nut on the somewhat crowded train, but you take the good with the bad. We had an awesome day, so a rocky ride home is ok. Plus, we still got off at the College Park station rather than Greenbelt, so I could still have a longer jog home. Perfect ending, so I wouldn't end stressed.

Then what to do on a Tuesday night, after being out all day and nothing cooked for dinner? Why, family night at Chick Fil A, where you get a free kids meal with an adults meal purchase. Score. They have crafts and books and fun stuff for the kids, the cow comes out and gives balloons, and kids can run around and have fun. We enjoyed our time there, and then it was an easy bedtime for the kids once we got home.

It was a long day, but FUN. All day we kept singing the theme song from the Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot about That (if you haven't watched this on PBS, you're missing out on a catchy song :) ). "Here we go go go go, on an adventure......." I am so glad I had an adventure day with my girls and can't wait until the next one!

Bonus pictures of my cuties before church in matching outfits

My Babies

2011-11-10T23:10:00.000-06:00

So I am pretty bad at updates lately, but as I was looking through my pictures tonight, I couldn't resist adding a couple new shots of my girls.

It turns out that Jamie loves pudding!

Happy Halloween!

Ragnar Relay 2011

2011-10-09T17:18:00.000-05:00

Fabulous reflective vest and head lamp.
I couldn't resist the chance for a fabulous photo!

Here are my thoughts on my ragar race. It is long, but I had a great experience with it and wanted to write it all down. If you didn't read the previous post, do that now and it'll explain this race.

I ran my first leg (7.3 miles) in 1:10, my second (7.4 miles) in 1:09, and my third (4.8miles) in 37:27. On my first run, the sun set and I did probably half of it in the dark. I had a hard time figuring out my borrowed head lamp for the first 10 or so minutes that it got dark. 2.2 miles of it was straight UP HILL, and before that it was up and down like intervals :). My team cheered me on, as did other vans and other runners. I wore a "fuel belt" for the first time that carried water and my phone (since I would be in the dark I wanted to have that to be safe). I realized too far into the run that it was too tight and the water bottles that were pushing against my back were doing harm. I was only passed by men and ran past a few women. It was a challenge, and I am really glad it ended after a downhill and flat surface! I was lifted in the darkness and pushed through my challenges. It was such a rush to finish that first leg.

In between my first and second races, we stopped for the night. The van was parked, but no sleeping was done. It was too loud and too much was going on. I was able to chat with a friend on the phone for awhile, which was very nice considering I couldn’t sleep anyway! It was at this stop that I had another spiritual experience. We only had two men on our team, and as I said before that my team was comprised of all members of my church. Most of us didn’t know each other, but that didn’t matter. Two of the women on my team were feeling really bad and the guys we had were awesome, and really helped them. We were able to have a special prayer for them and it really made a difference for them, and they were able to run their races and feel strong. I am moved and touched when I see men who honor their responsibilities and can be prepared at any time and in any place to be of assistance. Much thanks to them and our whole team. It was a moving and motivating experience for me.

My second run was hard. I felt like I gave everything in my first, and didn’t have enough left. At this point I was wondering what the heck was I doing?? I started in the early hours of the morning so it was still dark. Much of the course was through quiet country roads lined with woods and farms (and still much of it was hilly! I thought I did all the hills the first time!). Could be fine if it wasn’t pitch black! As I started running, I put my music on, but then heard rustling in the woods and decided to keep alert and go without the music, AND run in the middle of the road! Other than being slightly frightened about what might have been tracking me in the woods, I really enjoyed the peaceful solitude of the run. I listened to the crickets chirp, looked at the massive sky full of stars, and did a lot of thinking. Some men passed me, which I was ok with, then a couple of women passed me, which I didn’t like. Then I had to come to the realization—I am running MY race and doing MY best. It didn’t matter what anyone else is doing and I can’t compare myself to anyone here. I enjoyed my moment and was really glad for my time in the dark of night. I found my own light while there. Because I was in some winding country roads, I didn’t actually get to see the gradual sun rise. More like it was dark, then all of the sudden it was light. Really. At some point, when I felt like I was going pretty slow, a woman came up behind me and was going to pass. We started chatting, I ran faster, and we ended up jogging together and supporting each other to the finish. What a great comfort this gave me! To know I could do it alone, but to have someone else there really lifted me and almost carried me to the finish and gave me that extra umph I needed to push through. Oh, and about the fuel belt from the first leg: the bottles bruised my back and I was reminded of my novice mistake for the rest of the race with my back hurting!

A few hours and no sleep later, it was time for my last run. I would cover Virgina, D.C., and Maryland in my last leg. Initially I thought I would breeze through it. My first two races were over 7 miles; this one was 4 so I would push hard. But I reminded myself it wasn’t actually 4, it was closer to 5 miles and it would probably take me about 45 minutes. That realization apparently didn’t stay with me when I started the race BLAZING through. I passed a woman, was booking it around the streets of Alexandria, VA, then soon realized I was going to fade fast. The woman I passed came up and we chatted a bit. She told me she couldn’t keep up with me but would stay with me as long as she could. I laughed and told her I was going to fade fast and started too strong, and to feel free to pass if she needed to. We seemed to make a good team and together we pushed ourselves. She was amazing and in her 40’s. We were running across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and it was feeling mighty long to me and I was feeling the fatigue. She would speak little motivating things to me, such as, “we’re just going to get to that girl up there. Let’s get there”. So we got to that girl and kept going, and found a new goal to get to. It was such a valuable experience for me. My short little legs were flying, faster than ever I think. With about ½ a mile to go, I really couldn’t keep up with her anymore and thanked her, told her to go ahead and I would come up behind her. I kept pushing and finished STRONG. My team was waiting there for me since I was the last runner and we would all go across the finish line together. It was so AWESOME. One of the guys on my team was a little ahead of me actually, and I even said to him, “let me finish first”. It was such an accomplishment for me to push that hard and I had to finish strong and see it through. I ran faster than I knew was possible for a considerable distance and finished 4.8 miles in 37 minutes. Then to top it off, the finish was in the National Harbor which is the new home to the Awakening Statue, which I have LOVED since I was a teenager.

I was lifted; I was carried; I was illuminated. I was naive and made mistakes. I wore my fuel belt too tight in my first race and had pain for the rest of the time. I compared myself to others and had to remember that it doesn’t matter what anyone else does, because this is MY race. I enjoyed God’s great creations and soaked in some great moments of solitude in nature while only hearing crickets and the sound of my own two feet on the pavement. I started way too strong and was carried when I couldn’t handle it anymore. I accomplished what I set out to do, and thanks to the support of others, was able to surpass my own expectations. It was really a beautiful experience and I would so do it again. I taught a lesson on fasting the next day and could tie so much in. Not focused on the lack of eating, but on the fact that it is individual and we want to do all we can to accomplish our goal. God loves us and wants us to succeed and will give us support when we need it. He only cares about OUR best and doesn’t want us comparing ourselves to others. If we start out something to hard and too fast, he can be there to help us when we fade. Or if we are too naïve and don’t quite get the magnitude of what we are doing, He is there. God wants us to try and to hang in there even when it is tough.

I had a great experience doing this race. If you are even just a little crazy, it might be the perfect kind of race for you :). A friend on the team took lots of photos and I took very few! If I ever get them, I may post them. Below is in the hand in "The Awakening" after the finish.

Time Flies

2011-10-09T16:59:00.000-05:00

Myrtle Beach 7/2011

I have been pretty bad about keeping up my blog for awhile. I feel like summer FLEW by. I know I was there, and I know I LOVED it. But is it really already gone?? YES, and it is October?!? I am so glad we have had mostly nice days so far in the fall, but I admit that I dread the winter. But I do love the change of seasons and can look at the bright side!

Since fall started, we have gotten into the swing of pre-school for Evi. She is going to the same place she went last year and loves it. We saw her two teachers all summer since it is in the same department that I work in, and they both worked with the camps and brought kids to the pool. Evi adores them and was usually pretty excited to see them (because, let's be real, she IS 4 and not always happy). One day, in June maybe after school was out, we jogged past the building her classroom is in. Evi asked me if that was going to be her school forever and then told me she couldn't wait to go there again. So September was a happy time for us, since she got to go back :). Several of her friends from last year are there with her again, and a friend from church is there also.

I also signed Evi up for a dance class once a week. She is so energetic and already loves to dance, so I thought it would be a good fit. She did ask if she could take a dance karate class (where she would do karate WHILE dancing) but I wasn't able to find one of those. Go figure. :) So far she is loving that. Jamie doesn't mind playing on the park outside the building during class either.

eating only the red blackberries, and loving them!

Jamie is now 17 months and is growing up faster than I expected. For quite some time she has been comprehending so much more than I thought she would be able to and it's fascinating to watch her. She has a little grunt she does when answering in the affirmative and will often shake her head to say no. She recently started folding her arms and bowing her head when we say prayers. A couple of months ago, right after I finished changing her diaper she got up, took her dirty diaper and took it right to the trash. She gets her shoes when I tell her we are leaving. And I am constantly reminded I need to do better with sign language with her, because she is doing some of the few I have taught her. I could keep going, but the point is I am loving spending time with this girl.

I see the great importance of one on one time with each of my girls. I adore them both so much and they are in such different stages in their lives. Evi has been getting homework once a week, and I actually love doing it with her. She enjoys it and gets a great feeling of accomplishment and I think she likes to show off what she does at school. They grow up so fast and sometimes I just want to slow down and drink them in. Love my beauties.

Well, other than working, the big thing I did recently was run a RAGNAR RELAY RACE. Really, it's an INSANE race, that I think only INSANE people do. It is a nearly 200 mile relay race on a team of 12 people, and it started in Cumberland, Maryland and ended in Washington DC (actually, that's what they said, but we ended in MARYLAND due to a course change! But the race was still called the Washington, D.C. Ragnar ;). HA!). The crazy part is that it is non-stop for over 24 hours. And if you are lucky you sleep. If you are somewhat normal, you don't because it's tough. The short version: 12 people split in 2 vans. Each person runs 3 times, all lengths are different. My 3 race lengths were 1) 7.3 miles 2) 7.4 miles and 3) 4.8 miles. Although I tried to sleep, I was unsuccessful. Several times I reminded the other 5 people in my van that we were all nuts for doing this. It was a BLAST. But we were still nuts for doing it. I WOULD do it again. But I am still nuts for wanting to :). I had a very spiritual experience doing this race. I was able to tie in a valuable connection from my race to the lesson I had to teach in Sunday school the next day. I was lucky to do this race on a team that each person was a member of my own religious faith, so we actually did have some spiritual discussions. I have a new post just for the race, so I'll list that separately.

Now the race is over and I feel super motivated to run a marathon. We shall see what is in store.

Oh, and I can't forget that we went camping at Assateague Island over Labor Day weekend with the Heaths. I was able to leave Jamie home and just went with Evi and it was fantastic. We had a great time together and it was wonderful to not chase a toddler around the beach and deal with diapers and naps and all of that. So Evi and I had a fantastic date at the beach with our best friends!

I am, again having difficulty with pictures, surprise surprise. But at least this time I got a bunch on before the difficulty started. I just can't format them well, but at least they are here!

Summertime

2011-08-21T23:36:00.000-05:00

This is my favorite time of year! Therefore, I haven't been blogging much. It will be impossible for me to recant my whole summer, but here are a few fun things.
I worked this summer coordinating the swim lesson program at the pool and it has been great! I really love the job and the people I get to see every day (parents, kids AND the great people I work with). One great aspect of the job, which made it a possibility for me in the first place was that I could take the kids with me. At times it was a lot to juggle, but I work with some outstanding friends who helped me with the kids when I needed it. As a result of most of our days spent at the pool, Evi is a fantastic swimmer now! Really, I mean it. She goes in the 9 feet and has no problem. WHAT? Yahoo for my water baby!! She still won't really let me teach her anything, but fortunately she listened to her instructors in the lessons, at least some of the time! At the staff end of summer party/cardboard boat race, she shocked many people by showing up in the middle of the pool (where it was about 5 feet deep). One of the lifeguards actually dove in to help her, then got there and realized she didn't need any help. It made me so happy to see my baby out there swimming. I would love to see her actually do the proper strokes, but, hey, she's only 4. The rest will come! Jamie loves the pool too, but didn't get quite as many opportunities to swim as her older sister did. But she seemed quite fearless on many occasions by squirming out of my arms in the pool to submerge herself. She is comfortable in the water, and that's what I like.

Miss Independent x2

So in summary about the job--two thumbs up! I loved it, I think it was good for the kids too. It made for a busy summer, but not too busy to at least take a couple trips! In May we went to Utah and in July we went to Myrtle Beach. I am just a beach bum and feel at home when I am at a beach. The calming sound, the breeze, the smells; I love it all. More good news, Evi and Jamie both seem to feel the same way! Only, there was a pool in the community we stayed in, and then Evi seemed to prefer the idea of that! Ugh! Evi had a really high fever while we were there and that kept us inside quite a bit for a few days, and Jamie's naps didn't always coincide with when we could all be at the beach. All this beach bum of a mom wanted was family time at the beach! It was limited, but there were a few occasions that we built some 'mower moments' together out at the beach. It seemed that the most fun we had playing in the sand and water were the spontaneous times when no one intended on swimming. But taking kids to the beach in dry clothes is just a silly idea to begin with! Oh yea, and it was at Myrtle Beach that Jamie finally decided to walk full-time (at 13 months--just barely shy of 14 months)! Yahoo! No more skinned knees and ripped pants from all the crawling!

We took both kids to see fireworks this summer and it actually was a lot better than I expected. Although it was loud, it didn't scare them too much and we loved watching with our extended family the Heaths :). I got them matching shirts that say, "Miss Independent". Knowing my kids, I couldn't resist :).

We took a spontaneous trip to the zoo a few days ago, and it's fun to see Jamie getting into things and excitedly pointing out animals. I think the last time we took them Jamie wasn't super in to it. Evi is quite a fun girl to be around. Sometimes it's the opposite, but most of the time, it's really fun to talk with her and explore with her, and listen to her imagination run wild (for example, she has 2 or 3 brothers she often speaks of). She really is growing up so fast.

So it's been a busy and hot summer, but I loved it. I can't believe that schools start tomorrow and summer is ending. I miss my days in Hawaii, and crave the chance to move back there or to New Zealand (a remote possibility). Aaahhhhh. Likely that neither will happen, so we'll keep on keeping on. One thing is for sure--wherever I am, I adore my two girls and have loved playing with them all summer! Winter: please stay away as long as possible. I would love an unseasonably warm fall and winter!

I don't seem to have luck with pictures and blogging. It's not letting me open the upload link right now, so no more pictures for this post. At least I made a new Header :).

Pictures

2011-06-29T14:01:00.000-05:00

For some reason, the pictures didn't come through on my original "Grandpa Week" post. I have reposted them, and hopefully they'll work this time. Hopefully more on the trip to come, but in all honesty, it may take awhile :).

Grandpa Day? Try Grandpa WEEK!

2011-06-11T15:34:00.000-05:00

Our family went to Utah, and were there over the anniversary of my dad's death. Since June 5th was a Sunday and we didn't want to do any major outings that day, we opted to have Grandpa day on Monday, which also led into Tuesday--doing family things and learning while having fun! But on Sunday night, we played games with the kids, then continued playing after they went to bed. After awhile, Ron made the suggestion to play Hearts (which happened to a popular game we played with dad). It turned out to be perfect to play that on that night with the joking and singing, and I actually shot the moon! He really must have been there with me, cause that never really happens :).
Monday we took the kids to a Childrens Discovery Museum and everyone loved it. In fact, we took two cars, and Erin had to leave earlier, but since Evi was having so much fun we stayed until they closed! When there weren't kids to play with, Evi just played with the employees! At one point, it was Evi and 4 employees doing an activity together. They got to build, play with giant billiard balls, giant dominos, human fusbal, shop in a mini market, play in a mini house, play in water, a farm, a construction zone, and all sorts of fun. There was also a beehive ball exhibit and Jamie loved to put the balls down the tubes. It was a great Grandpa day. It was just missing Grandpa (or Papa as Evi has always called him).
Tuesday we went to This is the Place Heritage Park. I had never been (that I recall), but it's a town set up in Pioneer times, and you go through learning about what life was like as a pioneer. We went to school, panned for gold, rode a ship, saw teepees, shopped at the local cooperative, saw TINY cabins where way too many people had to live, rode horses, did chores, and then some. It was a fun place and I think all the kids enjoyed themselves. At the little shop, all the kids wanted to buy some of the shiny rocks. So being in celebration of grandpa, we gave in. Yet I mentioned to Erin that it seemed wrong to buy rocks, when all the nice rocks that we have were found by my dad himself and then polished by his own hand (well, machine). But anyway, they all bought some Papa rocks.
The week before we went to the planatarium and walked on Mars and the Moon! We played at an awesome park, went jumping at Jump on It, and went to see Dad's Grave. I'd say it was a fun and uplifting Grandpa Week. Wow, how are we going to match this next year? I'm thinking a trip to Hawaii, right Sisters???

Here are some pictures of the Grandpa fun:

Firsts

2011-05-20T22:30:00.006-05:00

I wrote this post months ago, but was never able to get the photos uploaded due to my poor internet connection. I have found some luck tonight and will just get this thing posted :).

Now that it is MAY, I'll write that February brought a lot of Firsts my way:
The not so good Firsts:

1) First time dealing with an overflowing toilet (thankfully it was clear water overflowing, but still left us with a mess and without out a toilet for most of a day).

2) First time cleaning up vomit in my kids' bed (Evi)

3) First experience with a kid with an ear infection (Jamie). How did Evi never get sick as a baby?
4) Second time putting both kids on breathing nebulizer treatments for illnesses. :(

Let's Dance!

The better firsts:

4) First time making [cute finger puppet] Valentine's for Evi's school exchange (which by the way, she was the only kid who brought in something homemade rather than purchased. Way to go, us!).

5) First time throwing a birthday party for one of my kids, and it was a super fun pool party with a friend with a very close birthday! Second time making a cool cake for a birthday though (last year it was a dinosaur), but first time making this super cool rainbow cupcake fish cake!

Celebrating their 4th birthdays together!

6) First time putting Jamie on the swing at the park. She loved it!
7) March brought me my first trip to Florida AND first trip to Disneyworld. Evi and Jamie too, of course :)

Now that it's May, we have had many more adventures. Maybe one day I'll write about some of them!

Because I don't want to forget

2011-05-20T22:03:00.001-05:00

We were at the zoo, and asked Evi if she wanted to see the Cheetah's. She said, "Yes, I want to see the Cheeto's! I love to see the Cheeto's!"

That's all. :)

There comes a time...

2011-05-17T13:38:00.001-05:00

Before school , with both ponytails in tact

Most girls cut their own hair at some point in their childhood, right? Having such a curious child might explain why I was so calm when I got to school to pick up Evi today, and her teacher took me out into the hall to talk to me before I greeted Evi. In fact, she even suggested I sit down first, and handed me an envelope (containing Evi's hair!). She had sent me an e-mail, but I hadn't checked it yet, so she told me the story of how Evi lost her ponytail. Sigh. I guess with Evi being Evi, it was only a matter of time. Fortunately, she cut off the end ponytail, and not at the root of the head. AND, I was just telling Ron on Sunday that maybe we should get her hair cut since it is so thin and scraggly. I guess it is a winning solution. But rather than try to fix it myself, I took her for a real haircut and got things fixed up nice. Now we have a super short grown up looking bob and a new look on our adventurous kid! To top all of this off, it was her last day of school! She sure went out with a bang!

The lone strand of hair left behind

The hair...

Jamie turned 1!

2011-05-17T13:01:00.000-05:00

Jamie turned one year old a few weeks ago! So many things have happened that I haven't blogged about, but I wanted to at least throw this picture up! Love my girls. Funny thing about this cake is that she wouldn't eat it with her fingers, and started to cry when we put it in front of her but didn't feed it to her. We quickly got a fork and she and daddy ate it up!

Sisterly love

2011-04-25T20:10:00.000-05:00

Funny faces, awkward hugs! Loving our day downtown at the WWII Memorial!

fun stuff

2011-02-22T22:39:00.000-06:00

My computer and/or internet connection has been super slow lately and I haven't been able to upload the pictures I want with a post I was working on. So I'll just stick with this one for now, of my budding swimmer. Hopefully she'll always be a little 'water baby'! Last week at the pool was the first time I have seen her actually swimming! She would leap forward into the water, kick her legs and wave her arms. She has a way to go in terms of technique and coordination to propel herself forward, but I was still so proud of her! It was really exciting for me to see her swim!

It was a hit!

2011-02-13T23:26:00.000-06:00

Evi's first friend birthday party was a hit! Just ask Jamie!! More pictures and stories to follow.

it runneth over...

2011-02-11T23:48:00.000-06:00

I think I passed through some sort of parenting rite of passage the other day. I was changing Jamie in the girls' room when Evi came in from the bathroom saying, "Mommy, the toilet is getting everything all wet!" I did indeed hear the water running, but I thought it was the sink! AAAHHHH. Luckily, it was clear water coming over, but indeed the bathroom was soaked! I will spare the details (but they are clean details at least!), but between having to run in and out of the house all afternoon--including taking Evi to school 10 minutes later, and having no luck with any of the fixes I was trying, the toilet wasn't fixed until the early evening. All I know is she used a lot of toilet paper, but there was no visible clog and I couldn't plunge anything. What a disaster. Throughout the day I heard different stories of what parents had to fish out of toilets when the water wasn't clean, so I'm really really glad for the clean water. Heck, I dropped the toilet paper roll holder into my parents toilet by mistake 2 YEARS AGO, and I'm supposed to be an adult! haha, parents are always parents :)!
I was incredibly grateful to take the sopping wet towels and bathmats to my home away from home a few blocks away at the Heaths to wash it all in one load in a gloriously big washing machine. As opposed to my tiny-would-have-taken-3-loads-to-get-it-all-in stackable washer! All is well, but it sure made for an exciting afternoon!

Tall kids

2011-02-11T23:35:00.000-06:00

I took Evi and Jamie for their regular check ups this week. Warning to parents who have not yet had the 4 year check up--it's a DOOZIE. Evi got 5 shots! Poor kid. AND we left with an order to get bloodwork done (meaning go to another office and have them stick her one more time to draw her blood!). I didn't have the heart to do that on the same day, so that is something we'll do next week. Normally she takes the shots like a champ, but she was not having it that day and I had to hold her to keep her from moving! We made it through and I think the frosty she had afterward helped her feel a little better. Then getting to play with a friend after that really helped. The doctor told me she was in the 50th percentile for her weight (36lbs), but "above 90th percentile" for her height (41 1/2 inches, although now that I think about it, she wouldn't raise her head while they were trying to measure her).
Then he looked up Jamie (17lbs 11oz) and told me she was about the same in weight (50th) and 95th percentile for length (28 1/2 inchs)! Sheesh, I guess these girls are tall. People have been asking for a long time, "Is Evi tall for her age?" and I suppose now I know she is! No wonder Jamie is moving through pants so quickly :).

Let's not forget the 9 month old

2011-02-06T22:56:00.000-06:00

Evi is 4, and Jamie is 9 months! My how time flies. I take them both to the doctor for their check-ups tomorrow so we shall see how they've grown!
Some fun pictures of Jamie:
I'm not sure if all babies do this, but Jamie really prefers to sleep with things against her head. She will either be in the corner of her bed or against a blanket or a toy of some sort. I took of picture of her this night, and then moved her since it did worry me a bit to see her jammed so tight into the side!
Also, we went to Wendy's with their Great Grandma Mower a few days ago and Jamie had her first french fry. She loved it :)!

Evi is 4! Parties 1, 2, and 3

2011-02-06T22:45:00.001-06:00

Evi has already celebrated her birthday 3 times, with one more party to go! I made fish cupcakes to take to her school class on Thursday and I got to be in her room for about 30 minutes. It was really rewarding for me to just observe Evi in her school environment. Jamie was a HIT with a bunch of the little girls and we had fun playing for a little while! Evi seemed really happy to have me come with her cupcakes and she loved having fish AND sprinkles! What a fun kid :).

Then her actual birthday was Saturday and she started the day at a swim lesson. I wanted to do something for her that night so had e-mailed her Grandma earlier in the week to see if she wanted to go to dinner or something. She suggested Chuck E Cheese and it sounded fun so we went for it! Other than it being PACKED with birthday parties, it was a fun night. The parties dissipated after awhile and Evi really liked playing all the games. I didn't get many good pictures while we were there, but here is a great one of her chosen outfit for the night. Her new skirt over her jeans, her new purse, and her 2 sizes too big rain boots! Ok, so I'm too cheap to spend money on brand new boots that actually fit her, so when I found these boots a few months ago at a consignment sale, I figured she'd grow into them! HA! They kept falling off her feet, but it didn't dampen her fun in anyway! She loved the night, but I learned that if we go back, stick to the middle of a week day!

Tonight we had a family party with Grandma and Grandpa Just and family. The best news about this for her was getting to see her cousin Ashlyn! They were having too much fun playing together that I didn't even get a picture of them this time. But, I got a couple of her with her cupcake and candle!

What fun birthday celebrations. This lucky kid gets 1 more party, this time with friends! We have never had a friend party for her and I really wanted her to have something special. We'll be having a swimming party! WooHoo! AND, one of her great friends was born 2 weeks after her, so we are going to have a joint party for them. I am really looking forward to the party for a lot of reasons. One big reason is that it won't be at my house and there is far less planning involved when the kids will be in the pool the majority of the time :). But I am also quite looking forward to doing something special for my little angel. We can't give her a lot of material things, so I am really happy when we can have this special time just to celebrate her.

Evi is growing up so much and I love watching her and being around her. She has quite an imagination and loves to make up her own songs and tell stories to anyone who will listen. She even tells me sometimes that if I don't sing with her I'm going to go to jail, so I better sing! Evi makes some pretty great expressions with her face that just make this momma smile. As of a few weeks ago, she apparently has a boyfriend! I think I have finally confirmed that it is one of her teachers at church (it's a husband/wife team). She first asked me last week if she was going to see her "big boyfriend". Again today she asked me when we got to church, "Am I going to see my big boyfriend?", and finally confirmed that it is indeed her teacher. I talked to his wife today and told her I thought my daughter had the hots for her husband, she laughed and said that their first Sunday Evi would only sit with him! Then tonight at the party, I walked around the corner to hear Evi and Ashlyn talking about boyfriends! I heard Evi say, "I have a boyfriend" and then Ashlyn said she did too! Cute girl. Uh oh though, first crush at 4?? I'm in for it!

It is just really great to be her mom, especially when she is behaving!!

JC Playdate

2011-02-02T21:19:00.009-06:00

In 1999 I had the amazing experience and opportunity to live and go to school at the BYU Jerusalem Center (fondly referred to as the JC :) ). I've written a bit about it on this blog in the past and today gives me another chance to do that. Several people from that program are living in the DC area and a few of us have babies about the same age. We had a small east coast reunion a year and a half ago and that was the last time I have seen any of my Jerusalem friends.

Today we gathered in Alexandria and had such a nice time catching up, laughing about our time together way back when, and even tearing up at all the stinky stuff everyone has or is experiencing too! We all knew we were close to the same age, but realized today that we were indeed the same age and graduated high school at the same time. Funny, because we had no idea and fun because now we all have babies the same age. Thank you ladies for a great afternoon and good luck to Mindy who is moving to Mexico!!

Me with Jamie (9 months tomorrow), Jocelyn with Amelia (8 months), Mindy with Eliza (6 months) and Suzanne with Tait (8 months). Suzanne's 4 year old, Tenny and Evi were not interested in being in the picture with us!

We tried to get a picture of the girls surrounding Tait, but the 4 wiggly babies on the couch weren't interested in posing today! I like the second one, because it seems like Tait is celebrating his move to get closer to Ameila!!

Happy Birthday Dad

2011-01-31T21:04:00.000-06:00

Sunday was my dad's birthday and I guess last year started what might be a tradition of trying to do something special in honor of him. This year, I took my girls downtown to the Natural History museum to look at all the "Papa rocks". What a perfect way to think of him. I can't remember a time in my life that our home didn't have all kinds of rocks on display. He loved geology, he loved learning and teaching and he adored his family. So, we learned (about plenty more than just rocks!), took in some beautiful sights of rocks, and spent the day with eachother. Evi loved it and well, Jamie tolerated it :).

Happy Birthday to a wonderful dad. Thank you for teaching me how to love.

January Fun

2011-01-31T20:30:00.001-06:00

The wet snow last week was perfect snowman building material! Evi was excited to add "her" scarf to our chilly friend. It was quite fun to play in the snow with her and I'm glad Jamie slept right through it! I know she liked making the snowman, but I think her favorite part was eating the snow.

I took full advantage of the Baltimore Aquarium 'Friday after Five' special when the tickets are $8 each instead of $25 (winter time until March). We added the dolphin show for $4 more and had a wonderful time. We were really glad that our friend Danielle and her kids (who are almost exactly the same ages as Evi and Jamie) could join us. I have always loved the Baltimore Aquarium, and I love it even more when it's cheap(er). Fun times were had by all!

The next step

2011-01-29T17:47:00.006-06:00

It's official: Jamie is cruising. She has now figured out that she can take steps while holding onto things. She is such a happy baby and really puts a smile on my face. It's hard to be sad when looking into those baby blues!

I was watching Shark Tale with Evi and heard a great line at the end. Angie says, "what about being a somebody?", and to that, Oscar says, "I'm nobody without you". Aww. That's sweet and who wouldn't want to hear that? I'm nobody without you!

Thrift store or school yard??

2011-01-17T21:08:00.004-06:00

This evening we went to Value Village Thrift Store to look for a baby/toddler activity table for Jamie. They were having a 50% off everything sale so it was a good day to look.

Ron was with Evi and Jamie in one of the aisle's of toys, and I was several rows away looking at the activity tables. All of the sudden I hear Evi screaming and thought she got in trouble for something, and walked over to find Ron holding my sobbing girl because a boy PUNCHED HER IN THE FACE. That's right. She was playing quietly and minding her own business and apparently (Ron saw all of this take place) a little boy yanked the toy away from Evi and then punched her in the face for no reason. And when Ron says that he punched her, he said, "he cocked his elbow back, made a fist and punched her like a school yard fight. He has clearly seen this or done it before." By the time I walked over there, the mom was scolding the boy and the store POLICE MAN was hovering. The mom made him apologize and the police man checked to see if Evi was ok, and then I guess that was that. The mom was also stressing to him to never lay a hand on a female. Ron wondered what they would have told him if he had punched a boy in the face instead of a girl? The poor thing, he is only 3 and probably had some bad examples somewhere. I know kids hit and shove, but this was beyond 3/4 year old hitting and shoving.

WHO DOES THAT? Just punch another kid in the face for no reason?? My poor Evi. She was ok, but wasn't interested in the toys after that. Hopefully this will help her not to hit!

Punching aside, we got some great deals at least. We found Evi a Bike and helmet, plus an activity table for Jamie and a few other little things and paid $6.50. And we got Evi a frosty on the way home since we felt so bad about her getting punched. :(

December was busy!

2011-01-03T20:36:00.009-06:00

I will attempt to play catch up from the month of December so I can record some of our fun events!
December 11: Church Christmas party. We had a great turn out and Evi had a blast running around with her friends and Jamie was great throughout the entire thing. There was a game we could choose to play during dinner where we had to find a person who had done various things listed. We couldn't put one person more than once and the point was to get to know people. I have done this game a lot (thanks to Recreation Management at BYU!) and actually was happy to play it and get to know some of the people I hadn't met before. It worked, cause I feel like I met a lot of people that I don't get a chance to chat with at church AND I won a candy bar :). Once Santa came, I waited in line with Evi and she sat on his lap, asked for a toy duck, and got her candy cane. She was shy at first, but nothing like previous years :). It wasn't until the next day that I realized we didn't have JAMIE sit on Santa's lap for her first Christmas! oops. Sorry sweetie. I love you and adore you, I just didn't think about it since you are a sweet little baby. Maybe next year?

December 15: Holiday Concert and NASA Visitors Center. I took the girls to support a friend in a holiday concert that was held at NASA (needed a visitors badge and all!), and afterward, I thought we'd try out the visitors center to see if there were any kid friendly things. We had a blast playing 'astronaut', putting a giant puzzle together, coloring a Christmas ornament and more. I think we were there for over an hour. I took some pictures of us flying in outer space!

December 17: Gingerbread House with Friends. This ended up being Evi eats a bunch of candy, help a bit with the house, then play with friends and toys. I believe her exact words to me were, "you can finish, I'm going to go play." HA! Thanks Ev! Well, I had fun chatting with friends while attempting my first gingerbread house (which has much room for improvement in upcoming years). I recently found out why this friend from church, Robyn, looked SO familiar to me when I met her last fall. It's because we were freshman at BYU-Hawaii at the same time. We didn't know each other there, but you can't go there and NOT recognize someone, so we got to chat about our time there in between making houses and feeding babies! Also, during the gingerbread making, Jamie got her first taste of sugar. She was being super wiggly and found some apple flavored licorice that kept her still! Andrew got some great shots of Jamie's first candy!

That's part of the month! Christmas was great this year. We spent Christmas Eve with Ron's Mom's side of the family, enjoyed all of Christmas morning at our house, then saw Ron's dads side of the family that evening, and then my sisters family the day after! It is wonderful to have extended family around and also really nice to enjoy some of our own family time too.

Just Five Dollars!

2010-12-12T22:38:00.003-06:00

If you grew up around here, you have to remember that commercial: "Just fiiiive Dollas". Right? For some electronics item or something. Or pawn? Not sure. Well, anyway, on Friday I spent five dollars on a very fun family activity!

We went to Watkins Park to do the drive through Festival of Lights, and I feel like it was worth the money and quite well done. In fact, we actually turned around and drove through a second time because Evi really liked it. Since it's been so cold, this was the perfect option to staying warm while enjoy christmas lights (some people actually went through on a hayride, yet I was completely content to be enclosed in my warm car). I would really like to go to the Temple as well as Brookside Gardens to look at the lights there, so hopefully I'll brave the cold and get us out there!

Trip to Virginia in pictures

2010-12-09T22:53:00.006-06:00

I wrote a little while back about a weekend trip I took the first weekend of November to visit Evin (near VA Beach). We had a fantastic time as always. This time, we had a special treat because we got to visit my amazing friend Julie. Sometimes there are friends that have touched you so much in your life, they will always be special and always a friend, no matter how much you talk. I haven't seen Julie in at least 7 years. We have e-mailed here and there, but seeing her again was wonderful and made my heart happy :). It is so nice to see old friends, even if it's just a few hours here and there. Plus, I was so glad to meet her 4 great kids. What a double treat, to visit Julie WITH Evin.

Julie, Evin and me: I love these girls.

All of our kids!

Evi and Eliza hit it off well!

Evin, Shelby and Jamie

The three musketeers on the swings.

We saw a couple of goats at the animal park...

Princesses!

Jamie mastered sitting up all on her own on our visit!

some sayings around here

2010-12-09T22:10:00.005-06:00

Some of the things Evi has said lately:

While praying and being thankful for everything, Evi (who was looking around and must have seen our poster of Elvis) said, "Thank you for Elvis who lives in the CD."

She wanted to call my sister, and when she had to leave a message, she said, "Hello Jenny. It's me, the message lady."

I asked her today what Christmas songs she knows the words to. She started singing this one, "I like Jesus, I like Santa, but I don't like you." Hmm, don't know that one.

Oh, and our favorite. She tells us 'secrets' all the time that always start out with, "cheese and crackers and a fish swimming in the sea...." and then she'll add some other fun little thing such as "and a monkey sitting in a tree" or "and a bear riding a bike" or really anything. She always tells us a secret before bed and will whisper it in our ear.

She really likes to play "mad girl". This is simply making a mad face and being all grumpy, then I'll tickle mad girl away and bring out happy girl. One time I was pushing her on a swing and she told me she wanted to swing as mad girl. Yes, I took a picture, even though she was happy girl 2 seconds later. Here are two of our recent mad girl looks.

Fun stuff with this little one.

December Third

2010-12-03T23:03:00.008-06:00

This cute girl:

Is 7 months old today! She still has just two teeth; has been crawling for about 2 weeks; sits up great on her own; laughs and giggles; does a fun thing by putting the back of her hand against her mouth and then moving her hand/wrist all around (hard to describe but pretty fun to watch at least); prefers to be around people rather than in a room alone; chews on everything; is quite a happy girl in general; and most importantly she HAS A NEW ROOM. I always said I'd put her in the room with Evi as soon as she slept through the night, but her sleeping through the night was sporadic until after we got home from Minnesota. 2 or 3 days after we got home, I put her in her new room and took back mine! Even better than that, I rarely have to wake up at crazy hours. The transition went/is going fairly smoothly, and I think we're all happy with the new arrangements. Finally.

this is the best picture we have where you can see her teeth--even though you barely can. Evi captured this one!

And this cute girl:

Got 3 stitches in her lip last night :(. She fell and hit her mouth on a speaker and split her lip right open. Thanks to some wonderful close-to-family support and some kind people at Holy Cross, the night went smoothly. Evi was amazing and calm through the whole process, and got to celebrate with a popsicle! She's back to normal now...just with strings coming out of her lip for a few days.

Minnesota in Pictures

2010-12-03T22:31:00.004-06:00

I had a wonderful trip to Minnesota in November. The purpose of the trip (besides a one child only getaway) was to watch two of my nephews in their school musical, Aida. It was quick and a bit of a whirlwind, but super fun. It was exciting to watch Joel and Nathan perform, and I got to see them twice (with a babysitter both times!). I think I am still just a kid at heart because from the front row, I kept trying to make eye contact with both of them to make them laugh. hehe, it worked once with Joel, then he didn't look at me anymore! Thank you Kris and family for a wonderful weekend!!

*I was quite proud of myself for ONLY packing one carry-on bag for the two of us for the weekend. This meant laundry AND borrowing coats and buying baby food and diapers in Minnesota, but it was quite nice to just have one little bag!

I did it!!

2010-11-17T22:42:00.004-06:00

My mom sent me a sewing machine a month or so ago. I had a "lesson" with my sister and learned some of the basics. I had been wanting to make a simple blanket for Jamie with ribbons that she can play with or chew on and I finally made it tonight! Thanks to Holly for sharing some of her scrap ribbons with me so I had plenty of variety! This blanket is not even close to being perfect, but seeing how it's for an infant, I don't think she'll mind my errors. I'm so proud of my simple little achievment!!! Woohoo for learning to sew! The true test will come tomorrow when we see if she likes it.

Welcome To Minnesota

2010-11-13T17:38:00.002-06:00

This is what I woke up to this morning. So much for not hitting the Twin Cities, Mr. Weatherman.

Leaving again...

2010-11-11T13:47:00.003-06:00

I don't really have time to write at the moment, but I thought I'd take a quick minute. I'm leaving again today for another trip. I feel really fortunate to have been able to travel a bit in the last month. Last weekend I went (with Evi and Jamie) to visit Evin and her family in Suffolk, Va. As it turns out, one of my wonderful friends from growing up (Julie McGraw) lives about 30 minutes from Evin and we were all able to visit and catch up some. Pictures to follow, but no time now! It was wonderful to be with such great people!
I'm now trying to pack my things to head out to Minnesota to visit my sister and watch two of her boys in a play this weekend. The best part about this trip is...........I'm only taking Jamie! I am looking forward to a little bit of a break. Heck, I'd probably go kid free all together except for the fact that I'm still nursing Jamie and I don't want to risk losing that just yet.
Some fun facts about Jamie now: she is six months; she has two teeth; she rolls around everywhere and is just about crawling (!); as of last weekend she can now sit herself up (!); she has super long legs and has therefore turned many of her pants into Capri's; she has one dimple on the right cheek; she eats her solids quite well but still wakes up occasionally at night; she absolutely did not like getting two shots at her 6 month check up :(; but all in all she is just super cute and wonderful!
Fun facts about Evi: she is loving school; she has started waking up earlier and earlier, and I so loved the 8:30/9am ish time she was waking up; she is...dare I say it....potty trained (has been for months, but I guess I'm afraid to admit it because it might jinx it or something!); she is just such a big girl and says some pretty funny things sometimes! She seems to be quite a problem solver and leader. She asked for something to eat that seemed gross to me, and I told her so. She said, "don't worry, you don't have to like it, I'm going to eat it. You don't have to." And she was right, so she ate it! I love to see her grow and change and the time is flying by.
I adore these girls and am so glad to get to be their mom!

Picture updates for a future post :).

bugged

2010-11-10T12:44:00.004-06:00

This morning I taught a water aerobics class and then chatted with some the guards afterward. When one of the guards found out I was mormon, she said she knew a joke about mormons and proceeded to tell it to me. Well, she didn't remember how it went exactly, but the point was that if you put a mormon in a room alone with a beer, they will drink it. If you put several mormons in a room with a beer, no one will touch it because they won't want anyone knowing they drink.
First of all, when you find out someone is a particular religion, why tell them a joke you know about their religion? But second of all, I was bothered by this joke because I think there is truth to it. I've known, or known of people who let people believe they are believing and practicing Latter-day Saints, only to go out and drink/smoke/do whatever they want when no one they know from church is looking. Then continue to live some charade. WHY? It bugs me that this happens because the people they ARE drinking with see 'the mormon' as doing all this stuff that is supposedly against the rules. Why bother telling people that you follow any religion if you're not going to live up to the standards of that religion? Why set that example to your friends so that there are even jokes made about the mormons who don't drink around other mormons?? At least if you're going to say one thing and do another, you could tell those people who see you as the "mormon" that you may be a member of the religion, but you don't believe it or follow it any longer...or something.
Well, for the record, there are plenty of mormons who follow the teachings and standards of the church.

Giant

2010-10-28T22:30:00.002-05:00

I put a new picture on my header...yet it's gigantic. Not sure how to shrink it, and really don't want to spend an hour on it right now. Sorry for the giant picture of my cuties!

Helpful Evi

2010-10-28T22:10:00.001-05:00

It's nice when big sister wants baby to have enough toys!

(taken just a few weeks ago)

(taken in June)

zoom in

2010-10-25T15:31:00.004-05:00

Evi absolutely did not want to be in this picture. But, since it was the ONLY picture of the whole group all weekend, I sort of forced it on her. Poor thing. In the process of holding her up, I accidentally turned Jamie from the camera. But at least all of our bodies are there!

Trip to the mountains

2010-10-24T13:21:00.012-05:00

I was supposed to have a 'getaway' for myself in September, and I was going to go to Tennessee. I had friends to see in Memphis and Nashville, and Ron said he'd keep Evi for a weekend so I could enjoy my trip (with just the nursing Jamie). Sadly, that trip didn't happen and I was bummed. But, my amazing friend Tiffany (friend in Memphis) said, "we're going to the Smokey's in October, why don't you come with us?" They rented a cabin for their family and it was just about half way between their home in Memphis and me in Maryland. I couldn't pass up the opportunity, even if it would be a 9+ hour drive. Even better, I've been trying to coordinate schedules to go see my my friend Holly in North Carolina. Wouldn't you know that going through Holly's town on the way to Sevierville, TN only added about an hour to the overall trip, AND I got to split the 9+ hour drive into two days (alone with two kids, that ended up being a necessity). I love North Carolina AND Tennessee so was thrilled to be in both places.
We set out on Thursday, October 8 and made pretty decent time to North Carolina. It was so fun to see Holly and her family. We hadn't seen each other in about 5 years, but since we both have blogs we were already fairly caught up on each others lives! Yet we still managed to stay up until 2am chatting away. She made a yummy meal for us and her kids are adorable. Evi acted shy for about 5 minutes then warmed right up to Holly's fun kids. Yer youngest is 3 weeks older than Jamie so we had some fun putting them together. He's just a little bit bigger :).

Friday, our drive should have been about 5 hours. Between insane traffic and hour long stops to take care of the kids to do everything I can't do while driving, it took about 9 hours (grrr). Luckily, I hadn't taken the portable DVD player out yet, so it was really handy to have in the last hours of the drive. Jamie was great for the most part. As long as she was fed she travelled quite well! My family went on vacation in Dandridge, Tennessee in 2007 and I drove through some of the same places on this trip that we were in back with my family. It made me a little nostalgic for that time, and I thought of my dad a lot as I was driving. I pictured him there on the vacation and our whole family together. That was the last time we were all together. It was a nice moment near the end of a long drive.
We haven't seen Tiffany and Steve since we left Memphis in July 2008. It was so good to be with them again. In some aspects, it was like we hadn't been apart at all. They have always felt like family to me and getting back together was so refreshing. Their daughters are so nice to be around and getting so grown up! It was just really nice to be with them.
We got to see some beautiful spots in the mountains and go on some mini hikes. The trees were beautiful with the changing leaves and the weather was perfect. There was a stream at the base of the hike and all 4 of the girls enjoyed playing in that at the end (until Kenzie fell in, then she didn't like it anymore)! Driving through the Smokey's, we saw many deer and a BEAR. I loved watching Evi experience this trip. She was thrilled by so many things and I wanted to provide every opportunity I could for her. We went on long walks, she played outside in the acorns a lot, she got all wet in the river, she got in the "hot bath" [hot tub] at the house (a first for her), and I even let her hang out the window with the big girls when we were driving 5 miles an hour down the mountain. I didn't want it to be a trip of 'no's'. Even though she still heard "no" a lot, and we still had some battles, I really tried to let some the non important stuff go, and let her enjoy the trip. It's hard to explain, but I just felt very close to her and my heart felt very full.
Although Evi didn't remember their family from our days in Memphis, she quickly took to them and was calling them her family/cousins all weekend. Tiffany brought her girls to the hospital the day I had Evi, so it was special to reunite Evi with her very first friends! She loved being with her 'cousins' on this trip and they were all so great with her. 3 is a tough age, and each one of those girls was amazing with her (and Jamie), especially considering she wasn't always nice. Jamie fared well on this trip as well. She was an angel, plus I had some amazing helpers with her! Jordan and Jamie were born on the same day, exactly 10 years apart! We loved the picnic's, the lazy times, even the driving times because it was so refreshing to both be together again, and to be in the beautiful Smokey Mountains! The time flew by and the traffic wasn't enjoyable, but it was all so worth it.

I was going to drive straight home on Monday, since Evi had school on Tuesday. However, I finally started seeing the logic in Evi missing one day of pre-school for my sanity of not being on the road for 9-12 hours (with the variable of traffic and stops to feed the baby...who knows how long it would have taken). So I headed back through North Carolina to stay at Holly's one more night. Apparently, the drive on highway 40 between Tennessee and North Carolina doesn't like us. That's where we hit traffic on the way down, and on the way back, we got stuck again! This time, we had our car off for 2 hours, because a tractor trailer 'lost his brakes' and was flipped on its side blocking all lanes of traffic (about 1/4 of a mile ahead of us). This was RIGHT AFTER I had stopped to feed and change Jamie, take Evi to the bathroom and get gas. When all is said and done, the stops take about an hour. So less than 5 minutes back on the road and I stop. Good thing for that DVD player again!
But, we got through it, both kids were actually great, and we made it safe and sound. I'm still really glad that I decided to make the drive in two days though. It was a lot of driving time, but the trip was 100% worth it and I am so glad that they invited us in the first place and that we got to go. We love the Sandridges like family and loved our weekend away!

Want to do something crazy??

2010-10-13T21:16:00.001-05:00

If so, put two kids in the car (one of which likes to nurse about every 3 hours) and drive almost 1300 miles over a span of 6 days! BY YOURSELF!

And what do you do when you have the car turned OFF on the middle of a major highway for more than 2 hours? Movie time! Thank goodness for the portable DVD player.

More pictures to come to record the FUN times on our trip to the Smokey Mountains!!

I love to see the temple, and other outings

2010-10-03T23:12:00.002-05:00

We went to walk around the outside of temple, and I had hoped to get a picture in front with my girls. Evi was insistant on going inside the temple...and therefore wouldn't pause to take a picture. I thought I'd record our attempts! When you look and her face in the pictures, just imagine her saying, "No pictures" or "We havea go inside!"

That day we also went to Wheaton Regional Park again, and brought Daddy along. This time, riding the carousel was a breeze (she rode twice actually, and the second time she was alone!), and we enjoyed the train together. We couldn't quite manage a family shot that we were all in with our eyes open...but this will have to do!

I took Evi to Watkins Park to go to the Old Maryland Farm, and Dolly the goat head butt Evi in the tummy! I said, "Evi, go stand by the goat and I'll take your picture", just then, Dolly went for it! One of the employees told us she did it to be playful, but Evi wouldn't go near her again!

My Baby is in School

2010-10-03T21:57:00.015-05:00

I decided to sign Evi up for the pre-school program through the recreation department where I used to work. She has been going for 3 weeks now and loves it. I haven't quite been able to take full advantage of 'free time' as I have to generally come home and feed Jamie right smack dab in the middle of the time, but it is such a good experience for Evi. After the first day, her teacher told me that she could tell this was Evi's first experience in this type of setting. But every day since then, she has told me that Evi is really adapting well and is doing well. The first day I picked her up from school, all the kids were in line waiting for their parents, and Evi was off to the side trying to climb on a table. The second day all the kids were in line and Evi was off to the side. Now, every time I go, Evi is in line waiting with all the rest of the kids for the parents to arrive. There are two teachers, and apparently she really only likes to obey one of them--the other gets the look (probably something like the the picture on the right in the yellow shirt). But that seems to be how it is at home some of the time too. She's growing, making great progress and I'm so proud of her. I tried to take a 'first day of school' picture. As soon as she saw the camera, she said, "please don't take a picture". I tried again on the second day of school and wasn't much more successful. Eh, but she smiled afterward at Wendy's!

To go to school in the first place, she had to be POTTY TRAINED (requirement of the school, not me). Yes, folks, that's right, my 3 1/2 year old is finally out of diapers. It's been since July, really. It took a lot of effort (and still does sometimes), but she finally relented and allowed herself to do it, and therefore I could even consider school for her! We've had some minor setbacks. Going to the beach on Labor day weekend threw things off for a little while. She also had diarrhea a couple of weeks ago and she absolutely hated sitting on the potty for days (I don't blame her, poor thing). But I think things are back to normal...although it's still a work in progress I think. I think the whole process started when I finally bought size 5 diapers. She was in 4's for so long and I refused to buy the bigger size since I just wanted her to be in underwear. Well, I gave in and went bigger....now I have a bunch of extra size 5's! What I learned? Hmm. My child is incredibly independent. Pull-ups didn't work in teaching her anything. Lemon drops were a fantastic reward/motivation. Peer pressure isn't a bad thing when it comes to potty training. The best thing was when I heard her cousin (6 months older than her) ask if she wore diapers. The response, "I'm a big girl. Big girls wear underpants. Babies wear diapers"! YES!

Jamie is doing great. She is 5 months old today, and time flies. She rolls all over the place, smiles, laughs, can hold her pacifier/put it in her mouth on her own, is working hard on sitting up, and she is super fidgety! We finally discovered that although she prefers to sleep on her tummy, we still NEED to swaddle her TIGHT if we want to sleep all night long. If her arms are free she wakes herself up too too early. I finally got my 12 hours out of her! Although now she has picked up a yucky cough...so she's waking up a few times at night, but calms right down with the replacement of the pacifier. She gets my sympathy when she's sick! Aside from fidgets in her sleep, even things with clips don't entirely contain her. She almost leaned right out of the bouncy seat a few weeks ago as it looked like she was trying to dive off the side, WHILE buckled in! I love to see the smile that comes on her face when Evi comes into her sight. She has a pretty cute dimple when she smiles. Her 3-6 month pants all seem to fit her like capri pants...I guess she's still long for her age! Jamie has such a pleasant disposition and is really enjoyable to be around--even if you can't leave her alone anywhere!

That's my quick update. I have often thought of other subjects I would like to blog about, but this more often ends up as my family journal. I'd love to do both...but maybe I'd have to be a more regular blogger to write about things other than family events. With these two little ones, I certainly want to remember the moments we share.

Labor Day Weekend

2010-09-26T21:30:00.002-05:00

We went to the beach!! I am fortunate to feel a part of the Heath family, and they include me on their annual trip to Assateague Island. It looked like we might not get to go this year because of Hurricane Earl, but he passed over the shore on Friday and we were still able to check in on Saturday, September 3. It was far too short, but still a wonderful weekend away with some truly wonderful people. This year it was just myself and the girls and that had it's own challenges. I wouldn't have been able to do it without the extended family, so with great thanks to them fun could be had.
Evi was thrilled to be with Mia and Shelby and I was thrilled to be with Evin and her family! Evi ended up sleeping in the tent with her best buds and the three of them were all giggles about camping together. The fact that Jamie decided to wake up at 5:20am each day with Evi waking shortly after was quite bearable considering my company :).
I really do have a beach bum for a daughter, and I love that. She could spend all day playing in the sand and water and that is just fine with me.
I am sad to see the end of summer, but I'm so glad we got to enjoy our last summer days at the beach with my second family!

Making Sand Angels:

Beach Bum Model

The Little Mermaid!

Sisters #4, #4 1/2, and #5 of the Heath Fam!

Best Friends...

...and their kids!

My Girls!

2010-08-31T15:15:00.005-05:00

This is the last post of the day, I think! I am rarely in pictures with both girls, it seems, so I wanted to add a picture of momma and her girls!

Vada Sultenfuss

2010-08-31T14:56:00.005-05:00

Have you seen My Girl ? I have one picture of Evi that reminds me of Vada Sultenfuss. I couldn't find the exact expression from Vada...but I still think they're close. You decide. :)

Loving summertime!

2010-08-23T14:28:00.010-05:00

Last week I took Evi and Jamie to Wheaton Regional Park so Evi could ride the Merry-Go-Round and the Train. I had been looking for some fun activities during the week and I found that the Montgomery County Fair had a few more days. But to even get in the gates it cost $10 per adult, plus $5 for parking. Wow! The Howard County Fair (which we missed by a week) only cost $5 per adult, which didn't offend me quite as much. But to take a 3 1/2 year old and then have to pay for everything inside, it just didn't seem worth it. Evi kept calling it "The Fairy". Next year I'll have to keep track of the dates and make sure to go in Howard County! The Merry-Go-Round and Train were a great substitute for the Fairy, and we had a great time. Evi was a little terrified of the merry-go-round at first, but thankfully the ride was nice and long so she adjusted. She really loved the train, and at $1.75 per ticket, it was much nicer than the fairy!

We played at the park for a little while, but I was a little sad that it has changed a lot from the huge park I remember from childhood. A few of the really big slides are gone--for safety reasons I'm sure. But Evi had a blast and Jamie was nice and content as well. We even enjoyed a self serve snow cone together thanks to the "music truck" (this is what we started calling it a few years ago so she didn't think she could get a treat from it every day on our street. It worked until this summer). It was a wonderful day, but it didn't end there.

We went home, Evi had a little rest, then we all went to Rockville for the last night of the Comcast Film Festival to watch Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs outside on a big screen. We have that movie and Evi loves it, so I thought it would be really fun to watch it outside. The downside is that it was a really late night, but it was fun and worth it. The weather was great, and we were in a great spot and it was something I'd love to do again. Jamie didn't love being so close to the speakers though--it was pretty loud. I just took her to the back of the parking lot and sat on the curb so she could fall asleep. I'll know better for next time I guess. Don't let the picture fool you--Evi loved it. She just didn't want to be in a picture!

The next day we had another outdoor event at the Beltsville Community Center, to listen to "Jazz Under the Stars", an outdoor Jazz concert. Another beautiful night and a great concert. Evi wasn't as interested in sitting to listen to music, but there was a great park for her to play on, so it was a great option for the little ones. It was fun to run into some of our friends from the pool there.

The following week was the week of friends! Monday we watched Evi's cousins, Caleb and Ashlyn. Ashlyn and Evi are only 6 months apart in age and they have really come to adore eachother. We live over an hour away, so playdates together aren't too often, but we need some more. Wednesday Evi went to play with a friend of mine (since her kids were both sleeping, bless her), so I could go to an appointment. Thursday we set up a play date for Evi and Zoe. Zoe was away all summer, and the first sunday they saw eachother in church, they couldn't stop giggling and hugging. The funny part about getting them together is they were both a little grumpy that day! I took a picture of them both laying on the couch because they couldn't agree on an activity. Yet, they forget easily because they had a blast together at playgroup today! Then Friday we watched another friends little boy, because her childcare fell through at the last minute! Stressful for them, and it worked out really well for us.
I am actually really glad we had friends over all week, because Evi really needs to learn to share her things better. She is great in neutral territory, or in someone else's home. But we really need to work on having more kids at our house! The interesting thing is that she seems to share and play better with boys. I'm not sure how I was as a kid, but in high school, I had a few great girl friends, but a lot of guy friends. Not on purpose, that was just who I became great friends with. Hmm, could this somehow be genetic??

Yesterday was a special treat because we got to play with Evin, Mia and Shelby. We went to feed the ducks at pond and played at an all too hot playground with no shade! We're looking forward to a weekend of fun together this weekend at the beach! Although a friend told me today there may just be a hurricane landing on us there....so we'll see how that goes!

We've been busy the last couple of weeks, but we're just trying to enjoy summer and friends while we can! Just a few more days and the outdoor pool will close for the year! Evi has been doing outstanding in the pool lately. She likes to go under tunnels and bridges; so I make them with my legs or arms and she'll go under water right through. We're still working on the actual swimming part of it, but I love that she is already being so daring. She still has a healthy fear though, so I'm glad for that.

Let's compare...

2010-08-19T21:42:00.005-05:00

(left) Evi at 5 months old (right) Jamie at 3 months old

(left) Evi at 3 months old (right) Jamie at 3 weeks old

(left) Evi at 5 months old (right) Jamie at 3 1/2 months old

(left) Evi at 2 months old (right) Jamie at 3 1/2 months old

These two kids look so different when comparing the pictures from the same age. Jamie was heavier at birth, but lost more weight than Evi did after birth. Evi's diet was supplemented with formula from the beginning, yet in her pictures she looks so tiny during the time I was nursing and supplementing. As soon as we switched to only feeding her formula at four months, she plumped right up. Jamie rarely gets formula anymore and seems to be getting plenty of nourishment, although it was a rocky start. It looks as though we've got the feeding thing figured out, for now. They look more similar in pictures when comparing an older Evi to Jamie!

Already? It's too soon!

2010-08-19T20:50:00.007-05:00

It's funny how your attitude towards milestones changes when you have a second kid. When Evi was an infant, I couldn't wait for her to hit all the big milestones--holding toys, sitting up, rolling over, crawling, walking, etc. Then I learned that once they do some of those things, they can go everywhere. This time around, I have been in no hurry for Jamie to hit her milestones, as I know they will be achieved when she is ready. Evi learned rolling from stomach to back around 2 months, which is average I think; Jamie did the same. Evi learned to roll from her back to her stomach 2 days before she was 5 months old (ok, so 5 months old). Jamie learned to roll from her back to her stomach YESTERDAY. By the way, she is only 3 1/2 months old! I'm not ready for this new achievement. Once the rolling is down pat, they roll wherever they want to go before they figure out crawling. I am thrilled she learned it, I just could have been content with waiting another couple of months for this! I was just changing her diaper a little while ago and she kept rolling away from me, and I had to hold her in place so I could get her diaper on! Well, what a great little learner and grower. It was just too soon for me! I should have known it would come this early. For at least a month (or longer) she would move herself all over the floor if I had her laying on her back; just from kicking her long little legs. Oh boy! She's going to keep me on my toes!

Just wondering...

2010-08-17T13:49:00.002-05:00

How did I manage to get poison ivy again??? A few days ago I thought I had 2-3 mosquito bites on my inner arm/tricep, so logically I scratched the itch. Well, it was not 2-3 mosquito bites, it's little bumps of what I can only assume is poison ivy........AGAIN. I am trying my best to leave it alone now, and some of the bigger spots are now covered under bandaids. But really, I didn't do ANYTHING even remotely close to the poison ivy this time. Now I'm wondering what still has the oils--or did I pick it up from something/someone else? I'm just hoping to keep it contained and not give it to my helpless infant.

That's all.

A memory and a lesson

2010-08-15T21:16:00.007-05:00

I started thinking about a wonderful memory I have of my dad tonight. Several years ago, most of my family was vacationing in North Carolina, but I could only go down for part of the week because of work. It was the 4th of July and by the time I was nearby it was already dark, so I was enjoying seeing fireworks in each town that I passed. My family had told me the location of the house so I had an idea of what to look for. But like I said--it was dark. This was also before EVERYONE had cell phones, so my family only had a general idea of when I'd arrive. So I was nearing the neighborhood (a bit later than planned because of traffic), but there weren't street lights to help me see the landmarks or street signs I was supposed to look for. All of the sudden, I saw my dad on the corner of the road I had just passed and quickly turned around and picked him up and we drove to the house together. I asked what he was doing out there and he told me that he knew it would be hard to find in the dark without some direction.

He must have been waiting out there for at least an hour since I hit traffic--but it was nothing to him. He was worried about me making the drive by myself and wanted to do all that he could to bring me safely home.

What a good lesson for me from a parent, but also to make the analogy about my Father in Heaven, always watching out for me. All He wants is to bring us safely home, just like my dad did that night. We make our choices and sometimes have to find our way in the dark. But He'll always be there, we just have to look and open up to let him in. My dad always used object lessons. It's funny, because I feel like this was an object lesson for me and he didn't even have to say a word.

"He got dead"

2010-08-10T21:08:00.004-05:00

Last night I was looking through the Gospel Art Book with Evi so we could find pictures of Jesus. Although there are several to choose from, she was fixated on a picture of the crucifixion. She was studying it, staring at it, and asked all sorts of questions about it. She was fascinated. I explained what was happening in the picture to her and she just continued to stare, get kinda sad and ask some more questions. We tried to turn the page away after several minutes to end with a picture of Jesus with children, but she just kept wanting to go back to that one. I first felt like it was a topic that might be too complicated to explain to a 3 year old, but she wanted to know about it and I'm glad we took the time.

This morning she opened the book and asked me to help her find the page where Jesus "was hanging". And again tonight she wanted to open the book to see the picture where "Jesus got dead", and told me she was going to teach me a lesson. :)

It's refreshing to see her sweet and innocent spirit coming out like this. I could tell there was something really drawing her to that picture and I am so glad for chances to sit down as a family to learn together.

You'll get yours in Heaven

2010-08-02T21:43:00.003-05:00

This morning I went for a run and stumbled upon a dog at the top of a bridge! I was doing the zig-zag switchbacks up the bridge to go over the train tracks and out of the corner of my eye at the top I see a dog, just hanging out. It seemed so strange and for a minute I was at a loss of what I should do. I looked around and saw no one--remember, I'm at the top of a bridge and no people were anywhere. The ground was wet around the dog and it seemed he had been swimming in the lake that I was on my way to (it didn't seem hot enough for him to be sweating that much). First I called my animal loving friend, as I knew she would tell me the right thing to do. No answer. Then, DUH, I checked the collar and found the number to his owner, and his name: Butch. I dialed. A very thankful woman said YES, that is her dog and she was 2 blocks away and would be there right away. She also asked if I could stay with the very friendly dog. No problem. I'm allergic to dogs so I try not to get too close, but I sat down and started petting Butch. He was indeed very calm and friendly. The woman's husband showed up and the poor dog started quivering. As he was walking up the bridge, I tried to get Butch to stand and he wouldn't. I wasn't sure if he didn't want to go or if he was hurt. The guy gets there and I commented that Butch was shaking and wouldn't stand, and he assured me that he doesn't beat the dog. Clearly he was the owner and was very grateful that I called. Plus, I wasn't accusing him, I just wanted the dog to be ok. He went on how they've had the dog since he was a puppy and that he's 12 years old now and how grateful they were that someone would call them to come get Butch. His wife insisted they give me money as a thank you. I tried to refuse, but he forced it on me--six big ones. :). The dog was clearly hurt, and the owner thought that maybe he had been hit by a car? Not sure, but I told him, "I'm not even a dog person and I'm tearing up over your dog." He thanked me again and told me, "you'll get yours in heaven." He seemed very touched by the simple act. I am grateful for that small experience this morning, as I have been praying for opportunities to serve. Heavenly Father presents opportunities all the time. But how open are my eyes all the time? I could have kept on running, but I'm glad for the simple opportunity to serve someone else.

because I'm new at this...

2010-07-30T17:09:00.003-05:00

I need some advice from some of you mom's out there. I want to put Evi in some sort of pre-school and have 2 to choose from.
#1) I've heard great things about this place but it isn't cheap. I spoke with someone there and it sounded like I could most likely get a scholarship to help with the tuition, but there are still additional one time, non-refundable fees. However, it seems like a great school. Plus, it's a co-op so I would be required to go and help 1-2 times a month, plus take on an administrative responsibility. I thought that I would probably enjoy that aspect since I'm not working. The class for Evi's age group is full, but she could get in the class just below her, however there are also kids close to her age in that class. She'd be first on the waiting list for the correct class though.
#2) Isn't a traditional school, it is at a community center. The teachers are wonderful though and I still think Evi would do well. With the full scholarship to the first option (which is not definite), the price per month for this option would be just a little bit more. But the class is 30 minutes longer per day and it is not a co-op so I wouldn't be as involved. Just drop off and pick up.
So I'm looking at co-op vs. traditional I guess. Not quite sure which way to go. I really just want to provide a good environment for Evi to learn and grow with some other kids her age. Both are two days a week, but the correct class that is currently full for option #1 would be 3 days a week. I'm not sure if she needs 3 days a week just yet though. Hmmm.

Are/were your kids in pre-school? What did you do? What did you like/dislike? What are some things you learned about the process?

a first

2010-07-20T15:09:00.002-05:00

Both of my girls are napping at the same time, and they have been out for a while now! I've actually been able to get some things done this afternoon! Oh, it's also a first for Evi sleeping in underwear instead of pull ups. I'm not convinced that the pull ups help her, so I'm attempting the 'no turning back' approach and keeping her in underwear. She already had an accident at the park this morning, but has done ok at home. I may turn back soon, but this is just today's attempt. She is sleeping on top of an extra mattress pad and a towel though, because I am realistic. :)

Why I can't stop crying...

2010-07-18T19:07:00.003-05:00

I am finally trying to put together my wedding album. From seven years ago. The pictures have been sitting in a box waiting patiently for me to get to them. I got through the pictures up to the reception and couldn't hold back the tears when I got to these. This man had so much love to give and I'm so glad to be his daughter. I have one picture of Ron dancing with his mom for the album, and I'm trying to choose between the 5 or 6 pictures of my with my dad. It's just a little lopsided.

As for the album, it's still a work in progress. Evi will get home tonight so my progress might just be halted for awhile...we'll see!

scratch that

2010-07-17T10:16:00.002-05:00

Did I say that Ron would have to study like it's his job? Well, he will, but not until after a short trip to Michigan for the weekend!
Ron's family has a reunion canoe trip every year in Michigan, and he hasn't been since he was a kid. His Grandmother and Uncle (and his 2 kids) go every year, and on Tuesday his grandmother was telling us about the upcoming trip--leaving Thursday. Normally, I'd be all for a spontaneous adventure, but with just buying a new car and the expenses involved in a trip, mixed with having a baby (preventing me from actually going on the canoe), I suggested to Ron that he could go and ride with his Uncle and take Evi. You know, he actually decided to do it! they left on Thursday and will come back on Sunday.
I have quite been enjoying my one on one time with Miss Jamie, and am really glad that Evi gets lots of Daddy time. He took a camera, so hopefully I'll have some pictures of their adventure to post!

Keeping Busy

2010-07-13T20:34:00.012-05:00

Jamie is now a little more than two months and things are busy! It finally feels normal to have two kids, although it still takes forever to get out of the house with everyone and everything.

-Evi is loving being a big sister but sometimes forgets just how gentle she needs to be with her baby sister.

-Jamie is smiling a lot and making those cute baby noises that infants make AND sleeping all night, which is super. If only we could get Evi to sleep longer then we'd be set.

-At her check up Jamie was in the 50th percentile for weight and 90th (!) for length.

-We bought a plastic pool for our yard and Evi loves swimming in it whenever she can. I would LOVE to be taking her to the real pool, but with Jamie and all the stuff we'd need to cart in, I'm happy to have a back up.

-We celebrated our 7th anniversary in June. A friend watched Evi and we went to the Cheesecake factory (a rare treat) for dinner with Jamie, expecting her to sleep like she normally does when we're out. Wrong. The restaurant was really loud and it seems that Jamie really doesn't like loud noise, so we didn't have the evening we thought we would! HA. Do parents ever get what they plan for?? Either way, we still had a nice time and it's already been 7 years!

-Evi made a shirt for Ron for Father's day (a picture is on the last post). I had great intentions of writing "We love our Daddy" or something mushy like that, and then painting both girls handprints on the shirt. Evi, however, had a different plan and went to town splashing paint all over the shirt. I let go of my plan and let her had fun, and it turned out to look really cool. Ron loves it and wears it all the time, and even made another one with her the next day.

-Evi, Jamie and I drove up to Gettysburg one day to meet up with Amy and her family on their cross country drive from Utah to New Jersey (where her husband is from). Gettysburg was one of their educational and historical stops and we couldn't miss the opportunity to go see them. They opted to buy the car/cd tour so we drove from stop to stop and listened to the history on the cd, which was probably the best way to see the most. However, with and infant and a 3 year old, I might not recommend that trip unless you are really a history buff OR have a lot of time (which we didn't, because we still had to go to another sisters house and they were STILL driving to New Jersey that night). Evi was pretty good, but she wanted to get out at every stop (which we didn't do) and she didn't always get back in right away. Jamie was great although she needed to eat during the trip. I may or may not have nursed her in a moving car going 5-10 miles per hour. It was really great to see Amy's family, even if only for a few hours. We took the scenic route (thanks to GPS' "shortest" route, rather than "fastest") to Jen's house and had a yummy dinner together before their continued drive.

-4th of July weekend our family went to visit my best friend Evin and her family in their first home! We had a fantastic weekend visiting with them, enjoying their great new house, going to the beach (they are about an hour from Virginia Beach), and watching our girls play together. We celebrated Shelby's birthday, Evin's birthday AND Independence Day all in one weekend! It was all very super and I look forward to going back!

Jamie slept most of the time at the beach (or ate) and Evi LOVED playing in the water!

-On the way there, and while there, Evi did extremely well using the potty by herself. We might just see a potty trained girl yet. Since then, we've had some great days, some not so great days, and some really busy days that have required diapers or pull ups, and neither one helps our efforts. With this girl it seems to be all or nothing, and I'm still to nervous to take her out without the protection of at least a pull up. At least we're on the right track.

-On the way home, our car died. We were pretty much half way between there and home (on a 4-5 hour drive) and were stuck (on the first record setting heat day of the summer) for 5 hours at a lumber yard on the side of highway 17! An amazing family friend picked us up and used her AAA to tow our car home for almost free. The car is not worth the amount we'd have to pay to fix it so...

-We bought a new car yesterday! We shopped around and did lots of research and bought a used Nissan Murano. No pictures yet, it's been a busy couple of days. Ron loves it. In fact, when I said I needed to go to the store tonight, he quickly volunteered to go and opted to head to Walmart instead of Target, because it would mean a longer drive (WHY isn't there a walmart in the HUGE college town of College Park. Come on walmart!).

-I have started to try to run again. My biggest hurdle is getting up early enough to go before it gets too hot. Today we went as a family around 10am, and it was already super hot and humid. I just have to make a regular routine to go, cause I want to get this baby weight off. Nursing really doesn't seem to help me lose weight AT ALL, so I've got to take things into my own hands! Ron and I plan to do the P90X program together, and run together. We'll see how it all plays out.

-Ron just finished teaching two classes for the first 6 week summer session; one online and a weight lifting class. Now that school is out, and the car is purchased, he can mostly focus his efforts on preparing for his comprehensive exams that he plans to take late summer/early fall. Apparently, these exams take extensive preparation and he has to study like it's his job. Once he passes those, he will then be a phd candidate which is a huge stepping stone in the program. He's teaching his own course in the fall, as opposed to being a teachers assistant like he has been every semester to this point. He won't have any TA's to do the grading for him, which isn't great, BUT the class is pretty small and only meets once a week so it won't take up all of his time.

I think that about sums up the last month or so!

Great News!

2010-06-30T20:33:00.006-05:00

I took Jamie for her two month appointment yesterday, and SHE'S GROWING!! That may not seem that exciting, but with all the concern over her slow weight gain initially, I was thrilled that she has gained over two pounds since her last visit. The doctor was quite pleased as well! Great job sweet angel!!

Some photos in the blessing dress my mom bought us:

I loved the pouty lip while sleeping. Maybe she's already working on the puppy dog look. The second picture is Jamie on Father's Day, wearing the hat that my 9 1/2 year old nephew made for her! Super cute if you ask me.

Evi and Daddy showing off the Father's Day gift that Evi created herself. A one of a kind original design. Ron actually loved it and they made another one together the next day! The second picture is just fun in the rain. Who doesn't love a good run around in the rain??

Evi adores her "babydoo"

Room to grow

2010-06-12T16:00:00.001-05:00

Evi loves her new bed. But I guess she doesn't quite need all the space just yet!

3 week hurdles

2010-06-09T22:10:00.001-05:00

I seem to have bad luck when it comes to my babies being 3 weeks old. When Evi was 3 weeks, Ron "severely sprained" his ankle. He was in a cast and helped how he could, but he really couldn't do much for several weeks. The really bad luck thing about that was that my mom had just left town a few days before that happened. We adjusted and made it through, but there were some really hard moments for me then.

Fast forward 3 years:
When Jamie hit her 3 week mark, Evi had pneumonia and bronchitis and Jamie managed to catch some runny/stuffy nose and congestion and STILL wasn't gaining adequate weight (more below). Ron took Evi to the doctor for her never ending cold (we thought), and got on antibiotics for pneumonia. Other than being extra whiney, she didn't seem too phased by being sick. The next day, we took Jamie in for her congestion/weight check and were told to keep her upright 24/7. A few days later, her follow up appointment determined she was getting worse and BOTH girls needed to be on breathing nebulizer treatments. Evi 3 times a day, Jamie twice.

On the weight issue: Jamie lost a pretty significant amount of weight shortly after birth so we had a lot of doctor visits to check on her gain. I also had two different visits with lactation consultants to see if we could figure out a problem (I got some good advice, but we didn't find any major problems in my milk or her drinking). When I took Jamie for her 5th weight check appointment, she had FINALLY reached (and surpassed) her birth weight. I was excited, but the doctor told me it still needed to be more. I took her back at least two more times due to the congestion + her one month appointment, and the doctor is finally pleased with her weight. So finally some weight gain AND the pneumonia is gone!

After so many appointments with different professionals with differing opinions, it comes down making the best informed choice I can as Jamie’s mom as to what will help her. I’ve taken bits and pieces from all of them and I think Jamie seems to be thriving. Most of the time, I’m ok too!

Three week curse or not, it was a busy time. I’m so glad I had Ron and my mom to help! Now Jamie is 5 weeks and getting bigger and more alert. Evi adores her baby sister and has been a sweet girl through this adjustment.

One Year

2010-06-05T14:32:00.002-05:00

I have lots I need to update about our family of four, but not now. Now my mind is on today...June 5, 2010. One year ago I lost my dad. It's strange how the time passes and life moves on, but he is always on my mind. In my family I'm dubbed as the emotional one, and they're right. In April, before my dad died, he actually told me that he worried that it was his fault that I was emotional or sensitive. After thinking about it some, I told him I am glad that I am. I feel like I have a lot of passion and care deeply about things and people. But it also did make me think about how I got to be so. Being the youngest of 5 girls probably has a lot to do with it, but I also wondered about how my teenage years added to it. My dad started getting really sick when I was in high school, when it was just my mom, dad, and me at home. There were many times that I thought he was going to die and I had a hard time thinking about losing him. I don't know how it came about, but of my sisters, I seem to indeed be the emotional one.
It's been a long year with some big challenges. I never even posted anything about going to Utah for the funeral last year. I think it was too hard for me to do that. But now I can try to focus on the good. The day of the funeral was very taxing on me. It was wonderful to be with family and to share good and funny memories of my dad after the service at a luncheon. That night, I'm not sure how we got going, but all of us started playing games. We were having so much fun playing some of the games Dad taught us as kids, plus some new ones too. I think I'm the one who brought up (remember, I'm the emotional one!) the fact that it seemed almost irreverent to be having so much fun on such a sad day, but how much that Dad would have preferred us laughing and having fun to moping around being sad. We all needed that release; we needed to be silly and have a fun time with our siblings and family. We even tried to set up some game nights after that one, but none worked out quite as nicely as that first night. I guess Dad was popping in to play with us one last time.
I talked to Erin the other day, who told me that her family was going to go rock hunting today, on they day that will be "Grandpa Day" in their house. I thought that was a great idea, and started trying to come up with things to do on "Papa Day" for us. My dad was all about family time and family outings and enjoying our time together. Since Ron had to work and proctor his online class all day, we had to stick close to home if we were going to be together. Last night, we bought a big pool for our yard and I blew that up for Evi this morning. We spent all morning and early afternoon playing outside and in the pool and enjoying the time together. For me, that was something my dad would have enjoyed and loved. It's not a great getaway to the beach or anything educational (because we always had to learn something about the places we went as kids), but with a newborn and a husband who has to be on the computer for work, it was a good compromise that provided some great fun.
The day is half over--both girls are sleeping and Ron's doing his online class. We hope to continue the family fun after naptime.
I'm really glad for a husband who is so supportive of me and my strong connection and bond (and sensitivity!) to family. He is also an amazing dad, and I'm hoping that our girls will feel just as strongly about their dad as I have always felt about mine. Family is precious. My parents taught me that. I hope that my sweet angels learn the same thing from Ron and me.

Baby Gaga

2010-05-12T22:15:00.010-05:00

For months, we have been asking Evi what we should name her baby sister. The answer has always been "baby Gaga". Even when we discussed specific names, it always came down to baby gaga, and we often called her that before her arrival too (heck, we still call her that sometimes!). We went into the hospital almost certain that we'd name the baby Elsie Ann; for my mothers grandmother and my fathers aunt. As soon as I laid my eyes on her, I knew that name didn't fit her. She was Jamie. I had wanted to name her after my dad, but never liked the idea of Jamie and but also never found another name that was really fitting of being any kind of relation to James that we liked. But looking at her sweet angel face, I had my Jamie and knew it. So Jamie Kathryn it is; Jamie for my dad and Kathryn is my middle name.
I had been feeling very ready for her to arrive and really feeling like I wouldn't go all the way until the 12th. I was right! Here is the condensed version: My water broke at 7am on Monday morning and we started the process of getting to the hospital. I wasn't having really painful contractions and almost the same thing happened with Evi's delivery, so I knew we didn't really need to rush too much. We checked in around 9:30-10am and waited for things to progress. The doctor gave me pitocin to encourage the labor and man did that help those contractions come hard and fast. I got the ever wonderful epidural sometime after 3pm and things progressed quickly from there and Jamie was born at 5:18pm. We're now a family of 4! It's been a decent adjustment, so far. I'm healing, Jamie is sleeping and eating pretty well and Evi and Daddy are both wonderful. Baby sister brought Evi some pretty sparkle princess shoes (thanks to Payless), and now when she wears them, she calls them the shoes "from baby sister". I guess that was a winning choice (she also brought a Dora memory game that says it's for ages 3+, but I think the shoes are more of a hit).

More adventures and pictures to come!

Oh, so glad

2010-05-05T00:37:00.003-05:00

I am oh, so glad that this 8 pound 11 1/2 ounce baby decided to come earlier than her projected due date of May 12th! More pictures and her name to follow (we're still finalizing that one)! Everyone is healthy and happy, and a few of us are a little tired!

Some of Everything

2010-04-28T21:01:00.006-05:00

April 27th has come and gone, and no baby yet. When I had my last ultrasound, at 28 weeks I think, the tech told me my 'new due date' was April 27th because of the size of the baby. But my doctor knows a thing or two and said she wasn't going to change my due date and we're sticking with the original date in May. I just figured I'd be ready anytime after the 27th. Well, I'm ready, come on baby!

Accomplished Checklist:

-car seat installed

-bouncy seat and play mat put together

-bags packed for the hospital (which, why did it take me so long to choose clothes for the baby to come home in??)

-Evi's room and closet re-organized to make room for two (although the baby will be in our room until she sleeps through the night. That's the plan at least...we'll see)

-Baby clothes washed and put away

-Bathroom cleaned (ok, has nothing to do with bringing a baby home...but I need cleanliness and order!)

-double jogging stroller put together (not like I'll be jogging anytime soon, but it's our double stroller, PLUS it can hold the car seat)

-Some diapers and wipes are purchased and ready to be used!

Need to do:

-Put together portable crib/bassinet, baby's home while she's in our room (but it takes less than 5 minutes, so I'm not too concerned with that)

-Pack Evi's bag for her stay at Grandma's while I'm in the hospital

-Get head pillow/cradle to put in carseat to keep small baby's head in place. Borrowed one from Erin last time, but in her declutter zeal she got rid of it!

-Sell darn desk to make more room in living room for baby swing/stuff (come on craigslist buyers, buy my desk!!)

-GET SWING (have you ever just wanted something specific and another wouldn't do? Such is the case for the swing I want. We sold the one we had for Evi, knowing I wanted a different one and to save space)

-Continually clean my house. You know when you have a small house, when anything is out of place it looks messy again? Well, that's what we have and it's an ongoing thing to clean. But at least a few days ago I vacuumed and dusted everything, so I just have to clean up what gets displaced during the day.

-Sell more stuff on craigslist or ebay. Not super high on my priority list, but would still be nice to clear out the pile of "to sell" stuff. Now if only people would BUY all the things we list, we'd be golden!

I know there are probably a million more things to do to prepare, but my body is definitely ready for her to arrive. It'll be more cramped in our small space for sure, and I have no idea how our family dynamic will change, but the time is right around the corner and it's time to figure out what life as a family of 4 will be like!

In other news.....

Ron's grandmother generously bought Evi a bed for her birthday in February. She asked us what would be a good gift, and being the practical people we are, we figured a bed would serve her better in the long run than a really cool toy. We headed to IKEA and decided on the "reversible" bed that can be put at two different heights (so it can be used as a low bunk bed or just a loft bed). We figured it would be a space saver, eventually, as we could put a toddler on the bottom 'bunk' and in the mean time, fit the crib perpendicularly (is that a word with the -ly on the end?) under the bed before she's ready for the "toddler bed" space saving bunk.
We (READ: RON) got it all set up and first of all, Evi looks so tiny in her new giant bed (pictures to follow because I haven't taken any yet). She sure is growing up. We put it up high already (it's got high walls to prevent kids from falling out, plus it's only about 4 feet high, not like a normal bunk bed), and for days afterward she would always say, "I like my new bed" as she climbed the 3 step ladder. She sleeps well in it and the BEST part is that she's napping quite well again! Yahoo for the change in the bed! I'll take a small and cramped room for regular naps :). Plus, I'm quite pleased that she can use the cool sheets I saved from my teenage/college years. Right now, awesome clownfish sheets adorn the new bed. I have to go to Ron's mom's attic to get the remainder of my cool sheet collection to share with my daughter! I knew they'd get used again :).

Secondly, what were we thinking about putting the crib underneath? Part of it would stick out, which would be fine if I wasn't worried about a toddler throwing things into the baby crib! I realized this as I was arranging the room. It's just one little thing we didn't consider. But we'll see how it all works out--they won't even share a room for a while anyway. So now it's just cramped in there with the big bed, the full sized crib/toddler bed still there (do I really want to take it apart to put back together in a couple months?), and a big toy shelf. Ah, the joys of living the college life--tiny housing and little money :). One day this will all be a distant memory :).

Moving along...

-The poison ivy mostly gone, thank goodness. I still have itchy episodes now and again, but the worst of it is over (I hope). Now I would just like all my skin to heal, and not scar. Thank you poison ivy, but I am finished with you!

-I really haven't enjoyed cooking while pregnant, and some local businesses have really benefited from this lack of desire. Wendy's, Jason's Deli, and Chevy's are a few that might just be grateful for this pregnancy. Too bad we're not closer to a Cafe Rio or Costa Vida (CV benefited from my pregnancy in Memphis!)! It's a good thing I'm super frugal and low maintenance in most things I do, because my food spending in the last few months has not been so frugal.

-Speaking of Memphis, I've really been missing it lately. I think it's because we had Evi there, so my thoughts and memories of having a baby all take place there. I guess in years to come, we'll also be able to look back fondly on our time in Maryland for being the place we had baby #2 (who has no name yet!).

There you have it. A little bit of everything that has been happening. I'll put up some recent pictures of our happenings.

Picture from Evi's Easter egg hunt in our yard. Evi made the color with food coloring for that egg herself, so I had to take a picture. If you look above the egg, you can see the massively overgrown Holly tree that was tainted with poison ivy vines. The tree is trimmed and the ugly brush pile next to it is now GONE.
Kisses for Daddy

Evi and Mia on Easter Sunday

This is the only picture I got with Evi in this cute dress from my Grandmother, and she was loving driving this car by herself. When I saw it, I was a nervous wreck and had to go in the house and let Daddy continue on letting her enjoy herself. This was at Ron's Uncle's house.

Coincidence or deliberate word choice?

2010-04-20T22:55:00.005-05:00

Earlier today, Evi crawled up into her bed and said in sort of a sad voice, “I gwieving”. I said, “You’re grieving?" She said yes, and I asked, “who are you grieving?” She said, “Grandpa”.

Hmm. I generally don't use the term "grieving" with her. Maybe she picked it up in observation? It may mean nothing and may have been a coincidence of her word use, but I still found it interesting. She also usually calls my dad, "Papa", but it made too much sense for her to not be talking about him. Just thought I'd record that little moment.

It might just be time....

2010-04-16T21:40:00.003-05:00

....to do away with naps. I thought everything was put away securely for Evi's naptime, but I was mistaken. I only had ONE side of the closet locked, the other side has never been a worry. But I suppose she figured out how to squeeze her little body to wherever she is determinded to be, and that might just be where a small bottle of baby powder is hidden. I didn't mind her just having quiet time in her room rather than sleeping, but it was a shock to be greeted with this face:

Nice. Just in time for a new baby to show up! Of course it would happen that way!

Quick update on the whole closet situation anyway: the doors have been broken so I thought I would train/trust her to NOT empty all the clothes out, and took off one of the two sliding doors. I got a curtain to cover the opening and continually reminded her she was not allowed to empty anything. One time she did (JUST as soon as I had folded and organized all the baby clothes and had everything fitting nicely) and I scolded her pretty badly, and it seemed to work for awhile. Two more times of that over a few weeks and I didn't put anything back in the closet until our landlord could get the closet doors fixed. This just happened, but I only have the hook and eye lock on one of the doors. SHEESH. That'll teach me. If you lock one side, get em both. Or just stop mandating quiet time in her room when she only wants to explore....

Steroid Update

2010-04-16T20:30:00.001-05:00

Poison ivy is the pits. Last night was nice though, I only woke up one time with an itch attack, as opposed to previous nights with several times. That might also be from the wonderful spray I used for the first time last night--it burns first but then basically numbs the area and it doesn't itch. Golden.
My doctor's visit was Monday and I got the OK for the steroid on Tuesday. Ron went in on Wednesday and he was in bad shape. His entire arms from biceps to wrists are swollen and red and cracked and just bad. He started his steroid treatment on Wednesday, but hasn't seen a lot of improvement, so we went back to the doctor for him today. We called to ask if he should be seen before the weekend or if he should be on something stronger (because it basically looked like acid was dumped on his arms, they looked terrible) and they suggested he come in for a steroid shot. I thought I'd tag along to see if they suggested anything else for me.
The doctor--well, physicians assistant actually--suggested we both get it, as long as I could get the OK from my OB. I called, and got the approval and Ron went first.
Almost instantly, he was laying back on the table, breathing heavy and clearly not well. I called in the nurse and with the doctor they gave him some ice and helped him through it and thought maybe it was because Ron doesn't do so well with needles and figured I'd be alright. Ron didn't think I should get it afterall, and I talked with the doctor about that, and she thought I'd be fine. She even said that I was getting a lesser dose than him because of my weight and pregnancy. After 10 minutes or so, Ron was much better, with only a hurting arm, but it was a strange and worrysome experience.
My turn came and I experienced everything he did. It was AWFUL. I instantly felt incredibly hot, dizzy, nauseous, and other uncomfortable things, and no position helped ease the discomfort. The arm it was injected into felt like it was hit with a bat by someone like Reggie Jackson and no amount of ice helped that feel better. AWFUL. Yet, just like Ron, after 10 minutes or so, I was all cleared up and ready to go. As I was laying/sitting there, I was thinking about the fact that I have to GIVE BIRTH in a few weeks, yet I barely feel like I can handle a shot in my arm (packed full of crazy side effects though). Yikes. It was such a strange experience.
Now that it's been several hours, I think it's working better on some of my spots. She told us we should see a difference tomorrow, and if not, we can see a dermatologist next week. Super. But I have one spot on my arm that's been swollen all week and just this afternoon it's finally starting to go down. I still itch, a lot, but I'm going to keep some good faith in the fact that it'll get better and run it's course and, fingers crossed, that I DON'T have a baby with nasty red bumpy dried leather looking arms.
That's the update for now. I figure I might as well keep a record. Oh, and Ron said today that he isn't doing any more yard work until we OWN a home and we HAVE to, and with no bare skin exposed.
He has a point.

Who is due first?

2010-04-15T23:06:00.001-05:00

Taken at 35 1/2 weeks! However, Ron's "baby" came right out after the picture...I'm still carrying mine!

Hopefully, some relief

2010-04-13T23:04:00.002-05:00

Fortunately I had a regular check up today with my OB (since I'm now 36 weeks!), and she told me it's perfectly safe to take the steroid for the poison ivy. I learned something new, though, about the pains of poison ivy. I knew you could only get it from the oils of the plant and recently learned that it is not spread from the oozing sores. However, you can also get a "general" poison ivy which means you can break out ANYWHERE and everywhere, regardless of whether or not the oils touched you in a particular spot. My OB knew that since she had the experience a year ago and broke out all over, and said the steroid will be the only thing to fight it. My worry? On Monday at the doctor, I only had it on my forearms and one small spot on my stomach. Right now, in addition to the spots from yesterday, I have it on my forehead, eyebrow, eyelid, below my nose/upper lip, left shoulder blade, right shoulder, a bit on my knee and chest. I KNOW that darn vine didn't get me in all those places and am not really comfortable. After a lot of calls and messages, I finally got my prescription filled for the steroid that will hopefully help. I might have even convinced Ron to go to the doctor tomorrow so he can get the same medicine, assuming they can see him last minute too.
So I'm hoping for a little relief in the very near future, cause this is lame! I've got some indoor nesting to do and I'm not real comfortable moving in general, so lets get this thing kicked!

Why nesting should be contained to indoors only

2010-04-12T21:36:00.002-05:00

Since we've lived in our current house (almost 2 years), there has been a giant pile of sticks, brush, leaves, thorns, and who knows what else in our back yard. We know bunnies hide out in there, but we were pretty sure it was also a breeding ground for other things that might not be as cute as bunnies. Lately, Evi has enjoyed going back there and climbing around, so we thought we'd be safe and get rid of the pile. Thanks to all the snow in February weighing it down and smushing it, it wasn't as big and seemed managable. Of course, this was all my idea; Ron was completely content letting it be (smart man).

On Saturday we borrowed some gardening gloves and a few tools from some friends and went to work, and got it all taken care of. I forgot to take the before picture, so I didn't bother with the after one, but it looks great now. We're not even sure if we're going to use the now open space for anything, but the yard looks much better. HOWEVER, later that day, my arms were itching and I told Ron that I might have poison ivy or something. Not once in any of our work did we see any leaves or anything--yet there were lots of vines. He just encouraged me to wash my arms and said it was probably nothing. Well, the next day his arms started itching too and he believes me now that we both got stuck with poison ivy (or oak or something??)! Apparently we got the oils from the vines or something. Both of us only have it on our forearms, and a few small spots here and there, as our clothes kept us pretty protected. But as Ron was super supportive to me, the very pregnant wife, he did more of the heavy duty stuff, and his arms now look far worse than mine. Evi was with us out there but I wisely had her in long sleeves and pants, and so far she seems unaffected.

I went to the doctor for it today cause it's pretty miserable and I wasn't sure what I could take at this stage of my pregnancy. I got some topical stuff and she's checking on another oral medication and will call me tomorrow. In the mean time, Ron and I are resisting the burning and itchiness as much as possible and keeping our calamine lotion fresh!

The moral I learned?? Keep the nesting inside. It's much safer and I think everyone will be happier in the long run!

This time last year

2010-04-09T21:57:00.004-05:00

At this time last year, I was visiting my dad. We had gotten the news that things didn't look so good, so the three of us who don't live in Utah went in for a last visit with him. Unfortunately we couldn't all coordinate to be there together, but maybe that was better anyway, to stagger the visits with Dad. When I was there, he wasn't great, but still, he was ok. He still would walk around the house sometimes without his oxygen tube (which he wasn't supposed to do, that rebel), we still did a couple of family outings, and I still got to hug him and sit with him and laugh with him and be with him. Leaving for the airport to come home was the hardest, because we both knew it would likely be the last time we'd see eachother. He had planned to go to the airport with me, but then decided it would be too hard, and I kind of agreed. We had a wonderful visit, we had a sweet goodbye and wonderful embrace. Less than two months later, I was back in Utah for his funeral. That disease came hard and fast and it seemed that in an instant, he was in bed more than he was up, simply because he didn't have the energy or lung capacity to support any effort.

I've really been missing him lately and have been so sad that he is gone. But I also have tried to look at some of the positives, such as: He would have absolutely hated living in any kind of senior living center; nursing home or assisted living or anything. Add to that even a hospital. He got to go out on his own terms and in his own home thanks to Hospice care. Another thing positive is that Evi will randomly bring him up which brings a smile to my face. She'll use my phone to "call Papa" or she'll talk about "Papa's rocks" or say"Papa called me a mess." I hope to be able to help her remember him as time goes on.

I have lots of things to be grateful for, but sometimes, I just miss him.

Dad and his big brother, 4/2009

The tour

2010-04-09T12:20:00.003-05:00

Ron and I toured Holy Cross this week, to get ready for the baby delivery. Evi was born in Memphis, and it seems like it was almost in a different world. Here are some of the things that I took away from our tour:

*You have to PAY for parking at the hospital!? Maybe that's not new to some people, but I was shocked. We barely made it out having to pay our $2.00--we had about $0.20 to spare as we paid in change (I had used all my cash at Rita's earlier in the day, yum). I guess the good thing is that your "support person" can have parking validated, although visitors are out of luck. Oh, but if I deliver over a weekend, anyone can visit on a Sunday and not have to pay!

*I can bring any type of electronics I want with me into the labor/delivery room, but I can't plug them in. Too much other stuff in there and they don't want to chance anything with the power.

*The phones in the labor/delivery room dial out, but not in. And we're not allowed to use cell phones in there. Yet we can use their wireless internet?

*The phones in the recovery rooms dial out and in, and they still say you can't use the cell phones there. BUT, our tour guide said that everyone uses them there anyway, because it's too hard to police and not a big enough deal I guess.

*The fold out couch/bed that Ron will get to experience does not feel very comfortable.

*We were warned ahead of time to bring all the pillows we want, because the hospital pillows are thin and plastic and not comfortable. It's nice to know ahead of time!

*Since I'm already pre-registered, it seems that check in will be easy. They say they won't be full, even if they are busy, so that's good news. In Mempis, they were pretty busy the night I went in and had to wait for 30-45 minutes before I could even get in a bed for them to check me.

*They have lots of options for "clear liquids" for me to have if I want when I'm in labor. Including italian ice and popsicles.

*If I heard them right, I can order food at anytime. I do believe I heard our guide say that "it was like room service".

*I hope to go into labor at off-peak rush hour. It only took us 15 minutes to get home on the beltway after the tour, but if I need to head over there around 5pm, that'll be another story and we definitely won't be on the beltway.

*The tour was informative and I'm glad we took it. I'm looking forward to having our baby at Holy Cross, as Ron and I were both born there. Evi is our stand alone, hailing from Memphis, Tennessee!

Some of the differences from having a baby in a smaller city of Memphis:

*It took us about 20 minutes to get to the hospital, but that was it. It wouldn't change during rush hour and we could always plan on that.

*Free parking, come and go as you please (although, who knows? Maybe it has changed there too in the last 3 years).

*Cell phone use anywhere, although I don't recall if there was wireless internet or not.

*One day in recovery, I had nurses who were just helping there and didn't know all the in's and out's of labor/delivery recovery. They were so busy (I guess I wasn't the only one who got excited over the super bowl that year--since my labor started a few hours after the game ended) and they were short staffed.

*Much of my hospital stay was a blur since my world had changed so much in an instant. I didn't leave the room much and didn't need half the stuff I packed from the "must pack for the hospital" lists.

*The only thing I was allowed to put in my mouth after I got there was ice chips, "just in case I needed a c-section". I checked in around midnight and Evi wasn't born until 12:50pm. I was pretty hungry, but still had to wait until the kitchen opened for dinner because by the time I was allowed to eat, the kitchen was closed. The nurses brought me juice and crackers, because that was about all they had, but I think Ron might have had to go get us some food from a restaurant nearby.

I think the hospital experience may be a bit different this time around, but will hopefully have a similar result: a beautiful baby to bring home with us. I look back at Evi's birth and love the memories and wouldn't change it. Everything I experienced there brought me my sweet baby girl. Small town or big town, I'm grateful for the experience.

a parking spot, and much more

2010-04-03T22:05:00.005-05:00

Today was a busy day, starting with dying Easter eggs. Last year Evi did get to "hunt" for eggs at Ron's aunts house, but we didn't do anything in our house because I thought she might not get too much out of it at 2 years old. I figured she's old enough now at 3 to enjoy the process, so we boiled our eggs and had some friends over for some dying fun! Sadly, no pictures to show (as is often the case when toddlers and possible messes are involved), but I hope to take some tomorrow with her holding up some of the eggs. She actually got quite into it and loved to pick the color and she really tried to carefully put the egg in the cup once I urged her to do it that way rather than dropping it! Evin brought her daughters and 14/15 year old (?) niece Kara and I just need to add that I absolutely love my time with Evin. I was doing dishes and she helped me dry and we just talked and were girlfriends again for a few minutes without having to worry about the kids (since fun cousin Kara was playing with them). Distance is always hard, and phone and e-mail just aren't the same as face to face, so I love times when I can see my great friends.

After a short nap, we headed to the Patriot Center to watch the CIRCUS! We went with Ron's Grandma, Uncle and 2 cousins and enjoyed our time! In the first act/half, Evi would say every now and again, "I want to get out of here", and I would encourage her to stay and point out something cool to see. She sat on my lap the entire first half, pretty timid about the surroundings, yet curiously watching everything. At the "brief break", Evi turned to me and said with a bit of excitement, "it's over??". I guess the first part didn't make too much of an impression, but Ron took her to walk around and look at the goodies, and when we settled in for the second half she was much more relaxed. We saw some pretty cool things, and Evi really ended up enjoying herself. She says the elephants were her favorite part! Three really is a fun age. Difficult at times, for sure, but she's growing up so much and I'm really enjoying watching it all.

I got a picture of her with a cardboard elephant and she is saying "taa-daa", then she ran to the costly photo op elephant to climb on. Well, as I took my own photo op, the woman told me I couldn't take pictures, as you can see her hand up motioning to stop. She didn't make me delete it, so here it is!

After the circus, we were all hungry, so we headed over to the nearby Outback for some dinner. Ron stopped the car in front to let us out and after a few minutes, I saw a man walking to his close spot to leave, so I walked over to claim the spot so Ron could get the car there. The lot was packed, and cars were hunting, so as we were in the hunt too, I wanted Ron to get the spot. So I'm standing in the middle of the spot as Ron is getting the car in position when an older gentlman in a mini van and who I assume was his wife in the passenger seat, starts to pull in the spot. I said we were waiting for this spot and he said, "no ma'am" and wasn't stopping the car--approaching the supersized Michelle. I said, "so you're going to hit the pregnant lady over a parking spot??" He just kept shaking his head and saying, "no, no, no, ma'am, sorry" as he's inching forward; his car was within a foot of my body. I said, "so the fact that he's waiting right there for the spot and the fact that I'm standing here means nothing to you?" Again, "no ma'am" with the head shake. I gave it up and just thought it was pretty cruddy of him and just walked away as both Ron and his grandmother were both glaring at the guy. I turned around and gave him a thumbs up and said, "great example to the kids." Well, I'm not actually sure what happened when my back was turned, but by the time I was back sitting by Ron's grandma, the older gentleman pulled out of the spot and Ron pulled in. They walked by us (after parking in what seemed to be an equally close spot) and Ron waved and thanked him (which I was quite impressed with, actually). I felt bad after for arguing with an old man about a parking spot, but I was also appalled that the whole thing took place. I thought that he pulled out once he saw that we were with Ron's grandmother and not just some young punk kids, or maybe his wife said something to him. That, or he could have caught the look Ron's grandma gave him--I've never seen itbefore and I'm glad it wasn't aimed at me! Not sure the reason, but it was nutty. And really, over a parking spot? Not necessary on either of our parts, but like I said, I was just shocked that it could elevate so much, especially that he would actually put his car that close and chance hitting me. I'm glad we had a little bit of a wait outside because the kids ran and danced and played and I could unwind a bit and just enjoy the kids and move on.

I thought it'd be a great time to take a family picture, maybe one last one of all three of us before we are four, but Evi was absolutely not having it! Below are the attempts at pictures! Since Evi wasn't interested, Ron and I did a self portrait that I was quite happy with. In our one family picture, I think even Ron's eyes are closed, but I couldn't resist adding it, as it captures the essence of the attempt with our squirmy child (and you can see the evidence of my massiveness)! After dinner, Evi smiled for one with me! The bottom right picture is a chance shot I got, just after she was saying, "don't yook [look] at me" and burrying her head in the bench. I got her to look up for a second and I took it not even knowing if her head was in the frame.

We had a quite a full and busy day, but it was lots of fun all around (well, minus the parking space incident!). I dearly miss my family that is spread all over the place, but I love Ron's family and glad we had the chance to have such a fun afternoon with some of them today!

From the mouth of my 3 year old

2010-04-03T11:44:00.003-05:00

When encouraging Evi to eat her cucumbers or carrots (which she normally loves), I told her they would help her to grow big and strong. Her reply, "I don't want to grow big and strong". Hmm, she's getting too smart for our simple psychology.

Awhile ago, I tried to put on her shirt that says "super star". I said, "do you want to be a super star?" The reply, "no, I want to be super NAKED" and she proceeded to dance and jump on my bed singing, "super naked" over and over. Aahhhh.

Upon seeing a baby somewhere, Evi excitedly turned to me and said, "We have a baby in your tummy!"
Upon seeing the bras on display at target, Evi ran over to them, grabbed one and said, "I have one of these at my house."

I had some more to write, but my mind is now drawing a blank. If I remember I'll start writing them down as they happen to post all at once from time to time.

Gift giving and a good lesson

2010-03-30T13:53:00.004-05:00

I've read, and been told by other moms, that it can be a good idea for a new baby to bring a gift to the older siblings at the hospital. I've been trying to think of something that Evi would think was pretty cool, but wondering if I need to go small or big? Do I go out and buy something that I would never normally spend the money on, or stick with something small? Any tips from you moms out there?
I have been planning on making bean bags for her with the excess of beans that I have, but saving those to be from her baby sister just doesn't seem cool enough. I don't know--advice is welcomed!
On Sunday in church there seemed to be an overall theme of the day of don't be quick to anger. In all three meetings that's the message that really seemed to stick out. Be patient, be loving to those around you, don't get angry--even when you are wronged. Maybe that's just what I needed to hear. My patience has been getting shorter and it seems like Evi's will and independence is only getting stronger. I haven't been sleeping well, it got cold again after being delightfully warm and sunny, and I feel like I needed the reminder. So at least since Sunday I have been trying to be more positive and have been working on me. It's easy to get caught up in everything and forget to work on ourselves, and I'm glad for the reminder. It's only Tuesday, but I feel happier and enjoy the days more with a new outlook. It was especially good timing to think about this when yesterday I woke up to her bringing me (and smelling like) baby powder, which led me to the living room where there was a pile of powder on the floor and diaper cream smeared all over the couch. I'm not sure how long she was awake, but we spent the morning cleaning and I got her monitor plugged back in so I could hear her in the morning!

abbreviated posting

2010-03-22T20:43:00.002-05:00

I was almost finished with a post to update with, and as I hit the backspace button to fix a typo, my browser went back and erased all my efforts. grrrr.
The shortened version:
-Baby's due date is still in May; my doctor isn't changing anything. I would welcome an early delivery I think, but whenever she needs to come out is when it'll be I guess!
-Got baby stuff out of storage and now trying to clean and organize to make it all fit. Doctor's call it nesting, but I simply just think of it as trying to make us all fit in a small space. Hopefully making some money off of this nesting/fitting into small space as we are trying to sell some less used things on craigslist and ebay (I already made $15....a step in the right direction!).
-Evi is slowly easing into using the potty. She has initiated use a handful of times in the last couple of weeks, and hopefully it'll stick. Although nothing for a few days....
-I'm now 33 weeks and reminding myself that I need time to rest more often! Evi was born in the winter, so I'm not used to it being warm while being large. I'm in new territory here and need more short sleeved maternity tops I think :).
-We have been loving warmer weather and I try to go walking with Evi most days. A couple of weeks ago I did sort of a part walk and part jog with her in the stroller--it must have been quite a site! It does feel good to be active though.
-Still trying to come up with a name for this baby girl. I want the name to have meaning and was hoping to associate it with my dad somehow. I still haven't found a combination I like with James, and I've started thinking about rock/gem names (it wasn't his career, but you could pretty much say he was a geologist. He loved all things rock). Plus, there was a nickname he gave me when I was a little girl, and I was thinking about shortening that to name my daughter. The bottom line is we're still searching...and we might just wait to meet this little girl before she has a name, as was the case with her big sister.

And....I guess that's all for now!

New date?

2010-02-25T14:43:00.003-06:00

I asked my doctor for an order for an ultrasound, and I was glad to get a second chance look at our daughter. This time around, the pictures I was given still weren't fabulous, but 1) Ron got to be there and 2) I got to see everything, so it was worth another go at it. She was sleeping for most of the time and had her arms infront of her face. In one of the views, her foot was next to her head! I wish I had gotten a picture of that to take home. As the ultrasound tech was finishing up, she told me that according to the baby's size, I have a new due date 2 weeks sooner! Hmm. I figure I'll wait until I see the doctor again next week to fully jump on board with the new due date though. Here is one of the 2 pictures I got, of the face. The arms were infront of her face but the tech did something with her wand and the arms went away!
Today I was in 'go for it' situation or a 'go buy more diapers' situation. We were down to 3 diapers in the house but Evi seems SO uninterested in using the potty. I thought that maybe this is the time--if I have no diapers she'll have to adjust and I'll have to clean a few messes in the process. She'll sit on her potty for a long while, but either only after she already went in her diaper, or she'll get up and go in her diaper or underwear. The candy reward didn't work, the new sticker chart I have up hasn't caught on yet. AUGH. I'm seriously doubting if I can do this potty training thing. I had really hoped to take care of this before we have another baby...but I don't know if I can handle it! When I told her pediatrition about where she is in terms of potty training, even he said she's not quite ready. Man, my child is so independent and strong willed. I'm sure those qualities will serve her well in life later on, but somtimes I find it challenging.

"You're a Mess"

2010-02-23T14:59:00.010-06:00

My dad called all kids messes (lovingly, of course). I think he was right!

After dumping her entire bottle of bubble bath into her water when I left.

enjoying the leftover brownie batter from Daddy's birthday brownies

It is bugging me that I can't turn this picture the right way....but I have to accept it and move on. I have spent too much time on it already. But, this was during "naptime". After she dumped (and ate--see her mouth for evidence) the baby powder, she reached for a wipe to clean her mess.

Yes, she is a mess, but I love her dearly! Afterall, I was a mess first, many years before her!

Best Buds

2010-02-10T16:09:00.003-06:00

Evi and Tim

Birthday #2

2010-02-10T15:38:00.007-06:00

Speaking of birthdays (from previous post), Evi just turned 3!! Since we were leaving Utah 3 days before Evi's birthday, we had a family party on the 31st before we left. Erin, with her 3 boys, had some awesome cake pan molds for me to choose from to do a fun cake--spiderman, a train, or a dinosaur. I left the choice up to the birthday girl, and a dinosaur cake it was. I've never even turned a cake out of the pan to decorate, so I was a bit nervous as to how this cake would turn out. I guess the family blood helped out here, cause the cake was awesome and Evi loved it. (I say family blood in baking because my mom has been an amazing cake decorator and even made wedding cakes for my sisters, plus Ron's mom makes/decorates cakes, PLUS, Ron's grandparents owned a bakery! No pressure though to make a good cake!!!!!!!!). Well, here's my finished product. When Evi saw it decorated, she sighed out the words, "I wuuuv it" That's enough to melt this mom's heart!

The party was lots of fun, and really just a great excuse to get together with family one last time before we left. My grandmother was able to come, as well as my aunt and her family. We had a full house, lots of yummy food, and a great time. Evi loved opening her presents. She'd open one and then really before even seeing what it was, she'd say, "another present", while I wanted her to look at it and appreciate it before moving along! Ahh, I guess every mom has to go through this.

Evi was oh, so happy to receive her very own set of hot wheels from Aunt Amy! She has been loving playing with all of her cousins' cars, so she was thrilled to have her own!

The pictures below are from her actual birthday once we were home. I felt bad about not having a party or cake again, so she at least got another cake (notice that it is decorated in the pan)! She helped decorate this one herself! Mother nature also gave her a gift for her birthday: A Blizzard! In Tennessee we had a tornado on her first birthday, her second birthday was normal, but a blizzard for her 3rd. Erin jokingly asked us not to be in Utah for her 5th, in case they'll have the earthquake that is so probable there!

Remembering

2010-02-10T14:43:00.007-06:00

Saturday, January 30th would have been my dad's 73rd birthday. Instead of calling him or celebrating with him, I was left with memories and fond thoughts of my dad. I was a bit emotional about the day leading up to it and wanted to try to do something to honor him or remember him. Erin and I tried to brainstorm things we could do with our kids that dad would have done or suggested, but everything we thought of was an outdoors activity. In Utah in January, we didn't want to be outside too much. Ron thought of a great idea--to get a jamba juice smoothie for him! You see, he enjoyed jamba juice, and every time I visited I would often make runs to get some. Maybe he knew how much I loved them so would suggested getting a "jumbaliah" for my benefit, but either way, we both enjoyed it! In fact, when his weight was down in his last few months and he wasn't too interested in eating, a thick and hearty jamba juice helped to add some calories!

That morning as I was thinking about him, I thought back to my childhood, where dad often treated the kids to "Packer Family Pancakes" on Saturday mornings; always made from scratch. I decided to take Evi to IHOP for a pancake breakfast. Not even close to being from scratch in a family kitchen, but hey, it worked and we had a nice time.

After Evi's nap in the afternoon, Amy, Evi and I drove up to Salt Lake to see dad's grave. It was getting dark, and it was freezing, but I really needed to be there for him on his birthday, since I was actually in the state and could go. I had Evi pick out some rocks earlier in the day and put them on his grave (not nice "papa rocks", but some unpolished ones from a sidewalk--they need his expertise for polishing!). Dad did not like big celebrations for his birthday, but I know he liked to be thought of and remembered. And I am too much of a softy to let his special day go by without trying to do something. After the cemetary, we headed to Jamba Juice to get that yummy frozen treat in honor of dad.

That was that, Dad's birthday came and passed. I will love him forever and I am grateful I had him for almost 30 years. I wish I could have had him longer, but I am forever grateful for the example he was to me and for all the love that he always gave.

It's a .......

2010-01-28T01:04:00.005-06:00

TURKEY??
I wasn't going to be able to go to my regular doctor for my 20 week ultrasound, so I found a clinic that has an ultrasound tech come in once a week. When he asked me what I needed (after the nurse told him I was there for a full OB ultrasound), I wondered what I was in for. I couldn't see a thing during the ultrasound, because he had a laptop on a cart and he had to move the cart to show me anytime I asked to see, which prevented him from continuing. He kept promising great pictures, so I accepted that and figured I'd at least get to see some great still shots.
Well, he gave me my pictures, and here is the first one I saw--the one resembling a turkey.

It is pretty cute with the crossed legs and all.

The second, third, and fourth pictures were of the baby's leg. Just so I'm fully aware, this baby has legs. An indicator that I have a runner coming my way, perhaps? I'm pretty certain there's a head too, I just didn't get any pictures of that this time around!

While the pictures aren't stellar (that is, if you don't consider a baby resembling a turkey to be cool), we did at least find out the sex. While I was almost convinced that I'd have a baby boy to name after my dad (a name chosen long ago, but even more meaningful now), we're having baby girl #2!

I'm hoping that my regular doctor will still send me to get another ultrasound!

Birthday, 20 weeks, new hair, dancing and smiles!

2010-01-04T23:37:00.004-06:00

The picture on the left was taken on my birthday, also the 20 week marker for the baby.

The picture on the right was a result of me wanting a picture in Evi's cute new pajama's and Evi just wanting to dance!

Me and my girl

One with a super cheese, and I couldn't resist including the funny face. I think she had a "spicey" bite of a candy.

Christmas Card?

2009-12-20T00:22:00.009-06:00

Don't worry, she was all smiles once Santa gave her an M&M filled candy cane.

This picture seems a bit similar to the last picture on this post! Let's face it, I've gotten quite a few pictures of her with a face like this!

To show that at least she is consistent, here is her first Christmas with Santa Claus in 2007: For obvious reasons, we did not bother with the Santa thing in 2008. I thought this year might have been different! I guess we'll see what 2010 has in store.

Merry Christmas!!

"NT" and a milestone not recorded

2009-12-15T00:41:00.004-06:00

Evi's cousins like to spell some of their responses, such as "n-o". Well, after hearing this answer a bit, I think she started to try to spell it too, but whenever she heard anyone say, "n-o", she replied with "n-t". This started a few days ago, and now it's mostly become a game--someone will say, "Hey, Evi, "N-O", to hear her enthusiastically say, "N-T" with a smile. It's only sometimes used as teasing when her 4 year old cousin really means no, but only hears "n-t" over and over. Aahh, my smart little one has already learned how to tease. Great.

Evi also had a milestone of sorts on Saturday, but it happened too fast to take a picture. That, and I was still reeling over my shock of the day. I went to get my hair cut--I was ready for something new and totally different. I got that, and I'm still adjusting and deciding how I feel about it, so there won't be a picture for a little while. Then I figured since I had the courage to cut all my hair off, I could have the courage to get Evi's hair evened out. Since she had any hair growing at all, even minimally, the left side has always been longer than the right. Of course I never wanted to do anything about it, because it has taken so long for any of it grow at all! I was apprehensive, but I bit the bullet and got her hair cut. Her first haircut at almost 3 years old, and 1) you can't tell a difference in the length at all (thank goodness) and 2) it looks quite nice. But it maybe took 2 minutes and she was sitting on my lap. By the time I realized to get the camera out to have a picture taken, the cut was already completed and I wasn't sure I wanted to record my new cut just yet! Even if there's no picture and I didn't save any of the hair, I'm still glad I got that done. Life still moves forward and we can just enjoy the moments we have!

The irony

2009-12-09T22:03:00.006-06:00

In the last post, I mentioned the nice man who told me I was a good mom. The irony of that story was that I had almost the opposite experience on a previous flight in either November '08 or April '09. I was flying with Evi when she was not on her best behavior, and I was the mom who said her name a lot in frustration and was almost at my wits end a few times. Well, a helpful dad of a baby nearby decided to try to give me parenting lessons and asked me if I had tried positive reinforcement with her. He kept going with more advice and how to impliment it; I tuned him out but tried to be polite until he was finished. I do try to be positive with my child, but a contained child who refused to sleep was too much for that day. The good with the bad, I guess. I had one man try to teach me how to be a better mom, and later another who thought I was doing just fine! We all have our good days and bad days, toddlers and mom's included!

Oh, and just a sampling of how my daughter can help me work on my patience and positivity:

This is what I woke up to yesterday. It serves me right for trying to get some more sleep.

A nice stranger, and a princess

2009-12-07T16:22:00.008-06:00

A few days ago, Evi and I flew to Utah to visit with my family. We flew on Southwest; the airline with no assigned seating. I always make sure to check in early so we can be in the first boarding group, because I always hope for our own row. Turns out, it was a full flight and every seat was to be taken. We had our aisle and middle seat, and we lucked out to get a super nice guy to choose the window seat in our row. When he sat down, he said, "don't worry, I like kids." I said to him, "you must if you chose to sit by a toddler on a 5 hour flight!" He started telling me how he was a Pop-Pop himself and it kind of put him in grandpa mode to be by Evi. Well, the flight acutally turned out quite well. Evi was pretty well behaved, but when she wasn't making the best choices, I only had to talk to her to get her to make a better choice. The first time our window neighbor heard me correct her, he gave me a thumbs up and said, "good job, mom!". Maybe 3/4ths of the way through the flight he told me that I was a good mom. I thanked him, and told him that I really appreciated hearing that, because sometimes I don't feel like it. He said, "no, you are a good mom. We are are own worst judges and don't let that get in your way. You are great with your daughter." It meant a lot to hear that. It may have helped my case that there was a couple across the aisle from us with a toddler and a baby, and the mom kept scolding her daughter (that's how I learned the little girls name--I heard it a lot). That couple also referred to Benedryl as "candy" to the kids as they were getting their doses before take off. Besides all that, it was nice to just have a stranger give a really nice compliment.

As for the princess part of the title, a few days before we left, Evi got to have her face painted like a princess. We went to Chevy's on a Monday, and apparently that's face painting night. I thought there would be no way she'd sit still for it, so I asked the artist to just do something simple. To my amazement, she was perfectly still the entire time and absolutely loved her princess paint and jewel. In fact, for several days after, she wouldn't let me leave the house until she pretended to paint my face just like her princess look. Complete with the instructions to close my eyes so she could apply the "sprinkles" (glitter). I love her imagination and have such a fun time make-believing with her.

The car drama

2009-12-02T13:06:00.006-06:00

Back in August (on my mother's birthday no less), my car was hit. I wrote about it in this post. It was very much the other drivers fault, and her insurance started working with me right away. My initial impression was that this was a great company (I had never heard of it) and they were going to take care of everything. I felt that way until: 1) I asked to meet them in Beltsville when the car was being looked at so I didn't have to go to Waldorf, and never got that call, and 2) I got the call saying they were offering me $980 for my car. WHAT??? I actually couldn't even talk to the woman on the phone, I was so upset. I kept my cool for awhile, then lost the ability to hold my tears back, and I told her I'd have to talk to her when I had calmed down. $980 for taking away my old, but perfectly reliable car. At the moment she called, I was actually on my way to WALDORF to pull out my remaining personal items from the car that I didn't get the day of the accident. So I continued on to the car, got my things, said my goodbyes just in case, and went on with life.

Fast forward two months, and things still weren't resolved. I wouldn't accept their low offer, knowing my car was worth more than that (although they did add a whopping $36 to the total after I sent them a picture of my radio face plate). They told me they compared my car to "local market value", but when you look up my car in the local market, you won't find it. The closest comparison vehicle to mine that they used was over 200 miles away; they failed to mention that to me. Plus, as I read over the report they sent me, I also noticed the three cars they compared mine too were not only not local, but they were ALL listed on the market BEFORE my accident date. That tells me that they didn't try very hard and took the lowest numbers they could. It seems to me that if a car has been on the market for 2 months (which 2 of them were), the price could have been lowered to try to sell. I brought this to my adjuster's attention, saying that I felt like they should use cars listed on or after my accident date, plus sent her SEVEN more comparison cars that I found listed from my "local market" (I say that in jest, because there was not a '93 or '94 chrysler concorde for sale within a 250 mile radius of my zip code). Did I mention that the lowest sale price of any of these seven cars was $1,500?

That finally got a ball rolling in my direction. Actually, the initial person who gave me the quote was no help at all. I spoke with her supervisor and she is who actually got me more money for my car (only once I provided more comparision vehicles though). It was such a headache. For awhile, we debated on whether or not to try to keep it. Our good friend Ubong works for an insurance company and we were on the phone with him a lot asking questions and getting advice. I sent pictures out of the car to him and a few other people with the question: any chance you think we can salvage this? The overwhelming answer was no. Cut your losses and take the money. Well, that's why I kept up the fight to get something. So about 3 weeks ago I finally got my check in the mail, for just under $1400. Much better than $980. Would have like to get more for it, but still, what I did get is probably more than we'd get if we tried to sell it on our own. Sad though, because I had no intention of selling it. The intention was to drive it until it didn't drive anymore.

We're going to try to make it on one car, since we live so close to campus. Ron either rides a bike, walks, or I drop him off, so we can get by with one car; we think. Before he died, my dad told me that we should skip the funeral and take a family trip to the Bahamas. I told him we'd consider that for the one year mark. I told my sisters he said that, and who knows, that might actually happen (well, maybe not the Bahamas specifically, but a family trip maybe). So I joked with Erin that Dad paid for the car, so it's only fitting that I use the money for it to pay for a family trip that was his suggestion. We'll see; who knows? And actually, this pregnancy now changes things a bit...I'm due to deliver mid-May. Dad died June 5. Not sure about a tropical vacation with a 3-4 week old and the recovery. Oh, and side note on the pregnancy: I was pregnant the day of the accident, although didn't know it at the time. The doctor assures me that it wouldn't have hurt the baby. As for all the emotions about losing the car and the initial low offer, I'd like to believe that they were intensified due to the pregnancy hormones!

Lessons learned about dealing with insurance companies: don't expect them to have your best interest; read everything they give you about your car evaluation; do your own research; and don't take their first low ball offer! It was eye opening. I wish it didn't happen, but I'm glad it's over.

A final goodbye to "Grandma":
Side view of the damage, plus the rear door that I didn't even realize was hit until seeing pictures:

It's kinda dark, but I had stickers on my visors. The one in the middle on the driver's side says "Michelle" and the passenger visor got a smiley face and rainbow. They had been on since college. On the right: the sticker Evin brought me from her mission in Brazil, and some Hawaiian turtles. Sadly, I cut off the BYU-Hawaii sticker that's on the back window. You can see the bottom of it. Guess I need to go back to Hawaii to get some more stickers for our car!

I'm doing a poll. Please weigh in!

2009-11-12T23:11:00.004-06:00

This post will also serve as a bit of an announcement, as well as a poll. Ron and I have been discussing a conference he has the option to attend in May (Memorial Day weekend). I don't think he should go, and he thinks it would be fine, so I told him I'd take it to the blogging world to get other opinions.

Why don't I think he should go away Memorial Day weekend? Because we're expecting this delivery on or around May 12th:

His Points:
-He'll take Evi so I won't be alone with a newborn AND a 3 year old
-It's only 3 days, not a week
-When Evi was 3 weeks old, he tore ligaments in his ankle and was unable to walk without crutches for several weeks, and I did "fine" then (his words. because if you ask me, I didn't do "fine", and he was at least there to help me change diapers and other sitting down things).

My Points:
-Being left alone with even just a newborn (without the 3 year old) can't be a picnic
-I'll still be healing from birth
-I'll have no help
-He'll be in Florida; not a distance that he could come home early if there's a problem
-That's still the time that I'm not supposed to drive or lift anything heavier than the baby, and doctor's instructions are to get all the rest I can.

I don't know, maybe I could deal with it. But do I want to? It would be nice to not have a 3 year old around for a few days, but I'm not quite sure I how feel about losing my helper at the same time.
He said he'd get the opinion of his (male) professor who has two kids--ask him what his wife would want him to do with a 2 week old at home in that situation. I told him I'd ask the blogging world. Please weigh in with your thoughts!

Halloween

2009-11-09T21:10:00.003-06:00

I almost skipped Halloween this year. I was going to make Evi a penguin costume with some basic thrift store buys, but since I was sick, I never went shopping and had no energy to do much. I was still sick on the day of our ward Halloween party and figured, since we didn't get her ready for that, we'd just skip the actual trick-or-treating on Saturday also (thinking Evi wouldn't miss it if she didn't realize it was happening). Little did I realize, she would indeed enjoy it. Ron thought we should take her, and thanks to Frugalityville, I learned that I could look for a $2 costume from Old Navy on the day of! We chanced it, and found a super cute lion costume that would also fit her next year. It was pretty cool that ALL of their Halloween stuff was $2 so we got a few different items!

She looked great, and she loved being a lion, and LOVED trick-or-treating. We first went to see Ron's grandmother and had some dinner with her, then went to his aunt and uncle's neighborhood to see them and go around for candy. The neighborhood is pretty close-knit. Many of the neighbors turn into a family and they spend time at eachothers homes, and it's just so nice to see that. It makes me want to live there too! Anyway, Evi loved it, got lots of "trick-or-treats" (candy), and I was so wrong about her not caring about Halloween this year! I learned my lesson and won't try to skip Halloween again! I've rationed her candy intake, but she keeps asking for "trick-or-treats". In fact, this morning, that was the first thing she asked for!

Not a conductor

2009-11-09T20:52:00.002-06:00

Well, this post doesn't have much to it, but I figured I needed to update.
In church, I work with the young women. Last night we had a big group meeting with all the young women from the area called Young Women in Excellence. It's a night to celebrate all the accomplishments of the girls over the last year. I got a call the night before, asking me to conduct the music. My answer was that I really don't know music very well, but I could probably muddle through (since I was asked, I didn't really want to say no). I got there, looked at the song, and it was 4/4, and that I could handle, so I was ready to go. It turned out that there was a misprint on the program and the actual song was 2/2. Easy right, just wave your hand up and down. Well, I never quite had the right tempo (good thing the pianist wasn't going off of me), and I found out afterward I was waving my hand the wrong way (in, instead of out). And, it seemed that the only people watching me were people who know music, but at least I smiled my way through! I was happy to look at the program and see that there was no closing song!
The program was nice. We have one girl, and we combine with another ward with two girls. The three of them sang a song together, and it was beautiful, and quite touching. We asked them the Wednesday night before if they wanted the leaders to sing with them or not, and they decided that they could do it on their own. Of all the young women who sang songs last night, ours were the only ones who sang alone, without leaders. I was quite proud of them and really enjoyed listening to them.
That's about it. I'm not sick anymore, thank goodness. I was left with a bit of a cough longer than anything, but that's mostly gone too. I think the flu has left our home, hopefully for good. Maybe now I can finally start exercising again!

Still sick

2009-10-29T20:01:00.003-05:00

It's Thursday night and I'm starting to see a glimmer of hope for getting better. I last wrote on Sunday when I said that I was starting to feel a little better. About mid day on Monday it was getting difficult to breathe. I had rapid shallow breaths and couldn't get enough air. After multiple calls to my doctors office, and not getting a person any time (including waiting on hold for 40 minutes at one point), I called my sister. I figure if you have 3 kids, that qualifies you to give medical advice, right :)? We tried an emergency care place near our house, and they didn't take my insurance, then finally got ahold of my doctors office. What do you know, even though they actually were still open at 5:30pm, they didn't have any appointments available to someone who was initially getting over the flu but then got worse and was having trouble breathing--and walking. So we headed to Holy Cross to wait in the packed emergency room. PACKED.
We waited, and waited, and waited, and waited and waited some more. I finally got called back and had a bed in the hall since all the rooms were filled. My fear was I'd spend all that time waiting and they'd tell me to rest and drink plenty of water and there was nothing to do for me. So when the doctor told me I needed fluids, my heart sank because I thought she was telling me to drink more water. But she said I needed an IV and they were going to put antibiotics in it to treat for bronchitis, since I have a history of that nasty illness and there was a good chance my cough from the flu would turn into bronchitis. As the IV was dripping in my arm, I slowly started to breathe better, thank goodness. It turned out to be worth it, I think, even though the wait was miserable.
Ron's mom came to the hospital around 9 I think, and she took Evi home with her so she could finally go to bed. The emergency room (especially in the thick of flu season) is not really the best place for a curious 2 year old. Since we didn't get out of the hospital until after midnight, Janet said we could leave Evi there overnight and get her in the morning. Since Ron wasn't feeling great in the morning either, she kept Evi until after her nap and brought her back in the afternoon. It was so nice and so appreciated to just be able to rest and not try to take care of Ev too.
Now it's Thursday and I'm finally feeling better. I had a doctor's appoitment today so I had to leave the house, but I think it was too much too soon. But, there's still a great glimmer of hope and I am so glad. I have one more day of antibiotics for the coughing (although I'm thinking more would have been nice) and I actually have an appetite to eat again! Woohoo, I'm on the road to recovery.

Now a funny Evi story: She didn't want to eat her dinner tonight and as she was squirming to get out of her chair, I asked her why she didn't want to eat it. Her answer, "somebody sneezed on it." Ron and I both told her that it was fine and no one sneezed on it, so what does she do? "AAAA-CHOOO", right on her food. It was a fake sneeze, but where did she come up with that?? Ron had to turn his head away from her so she didn't see him laughing at her ingenuity. Just thought I'd share :).

The Joy of Motherhood

2009-10-25T22:44:00.004-05:00

If you read my last post, you know that I had a rough Wednesday night. Tuesday or Wednesday I started getting a runny nose. Then after my Wednesday night, it took forever to fall asleep because my mind was just racing, and when I woke up on Thursday, after restless sleep, I felt awful! This is where "the joy of motherhood" comes in...all I wanted to do was sleep, but Ron had to go into campus and Evi was raring to go.

Since the weather was nice, I took her out for a walk, and she pushed her baby stroller. But every time Ev wanted to stop walking and "stretch" or do anything else, I felt like I was going to fall over. Our walk ended early and we went to the park--she played while I sat on the bench feeling awful-weak, runny nose, burning in my throat and chest while I coughed. She was having fun and all of the sudden as we were going home, she came to me and clung to my legs. I carried her inside and set her down to get her lunch. She made herself comfortable on the couch, wouldn't eat her sandwich, and then fell asleep on the couch. Well, maybe for most kids, this is no big deal. My child has never fallen asleep anywhere but her room. She won't even fall asleep in my bed. I was starting to think she was feeling kind of awful too (she had a runny nose and a bit of a cough too). I put her in bed, ate my own lunch, and hoped to sleep.

During my possible nap time, I get a call from the car insurance people. I've been going back and forth with them for over a month on the amount they're offering me for my car. The short version is: the accident was on August 28. I have not been satisfied with the amount they were offering for my totaled car and finally got to speak with a supervisor and did my own research. I sent them what I found, and finally the amount went up. I've learned it's always important to do your own research!! So I didn't get to fall asleep, but at least I got good news from the insurance people, FINALLY.

Then, all of the sudden, Evi was awake! She barely slept an hour. By then I was finished trying to have energy, and plopped her on my bed watching a movie while I was in and out of sleep, almost counting the minutes until Ron would come home. I don't think he realized how ill I felt, because he had so much to do and stayed a little later to try to get everything done that he could. I was thinking about "the joy of motherhood" during this time. I have to be there for my child, no matter how I feel. Ron is a wonderful dad and would do anything for us, but there are some times that he really can't just drop his day to stay home. It's not like I could have called anyone to take Evi, because she had some illness too, and I didn't want her to spread it. So the two of us were stuck together, on my bed :). I called Ron about an hour after his class ended and basically begged him to come home as soon as he could. Like I said, he would do anything he could, because he came home shortly after that, even though he had a lot to do.

I love being a mom and staying home with Evi. This has been the first time I've been really sick with her and it isn't the most fun part of stay at home motherhood! Mom's take care of the sick kids, and spouses too. But what happens when the mom is sick and no one can stay home to take care of her? That's all part of the job, I guess. It was a rough Thursday, but we made it through. I don't think I emerged much from my room once Ron was home though :).

I made a doctor's appointment for Friday morning since I felt so awful, and it turned out that Ron was starting to feel pretty awful too. Terrible for him, but at least somewhat beneficial for me, cause we could take turns with Evi! I got to go to the doctor alone, and I felt like I'd fall asleep at the wheel after another sleepless night. Turns out, I have the bug, FLU. I got to wear a lovely mask at the doctor's office, and the doctor wore one too. I asked if it was swine flu, and the doctor said they didn't know because the test was simply if you have influenza, not what type, I guess (it's a bit of a blur to me now). Since I had it for more than 24 hours, there's nothing I can really take for it except for tylenol. Wonderful. At least I know what it is.

Now it's Sunday night (well, technically I guess it's Monday morning since it's past midnight) and I've had 4 down days. I don't feel as awful as I did Thursday and Friday, but I'm still not well and have no energy. I'm finally sleeping better at night. A few nights ago, I tried to sleep, but gave up the effort at 4am. There isn't much on TV worth watching at that hour, in case you're interested. Ron has it and has been here with me since Friday. We've been sort of tag teaming with Evi, one of us sleeps and one of us is with her. She's had more TV time in the last 4 days than she's ever had all at once. I hope she can adjust to when we're well again! Evi has something, but not as bad as us. She had a flu shot, but she still has a congested cough and runny nose. My sister pointed out that her flu vaccine wouldn't stop H1N1, so it's something we've been paying attention too. I called her doctor on Thursday and they said they don't need to see her unless her temperature reaches 102. Well, I might just give them a call tomorrow, just to be safe.

I'm hoping to send this bug on it's way out of our house as soon as possible. My sore throat is slowly fading, but I still have a nasty cough. I have no energy and I feel shortness of breath after small movement. This is coming from the girl who just went running last week for 50 minutes before all this sickness came around. What a nice way to enjoy the beautiful weather----sick in bed inside all day!!!!!! I must say Evi is just amazing because she's been dealing with her sickie parents like a trooper. Now if we can all be better, that'd be the next great step!

Oh, and to make this story even better: I went to the doctor 2 weeks ago for a well visit and intended to get a flu shot, but they were out. Nice. Hope everyone else feels better :)!

P.S. I almost forgot about all of the drama from the previous post, since my mind has been previously occupied. I guess that's the course it's set to take, I forget about it and move on.

P.P.S. Our internet has been down since Friday sometime (I think). Tonight is the first we've had it back.