4 months

here are all my boys at around 4 months of age!

"Happy Holidays to YOU"

The other day I went to a grocery store on 90th where a very friendly man was ringing the Salvation Army Bell. You know, the guys with the bell and the red bucket, begging for your spare change on your way out of the store. Most of them just nod, or smile, most don't bother you at all really. But this guy was different. He was blessing everyone and was pretty exuberant about the whole thing. I actually thought it was kind of cool and gave him some change. Fast forward to last night. Steve and I are driving through this store's parking lot and I say "hey, there's that same bell ringer from the other day!" Just then, a pretty girl in her twenties goes into the store while saying hello to the man. And as she's passing him he totally checks her out! But as Steve put it "He wasn't just looking, he was taking a long drink of water". I was totally shocked by the man's blatant "looking" (and he was no young guy, he had to have been in his 40s!) who was there to do charity work, but I guess pretty girls going by was just a bonus or something. So all you hot mamas in the neighborhood, next time you go grocery shopping, be sure to look your best so those bell ringers have something to keep them going through those long hours of change collecting!

Dare to Compare

This one is for Porsche...

Owen


Justin

Picture Time!

Since I haven't posted any pics for a very long time, I'm about to make up for it now...

Every boy needs a blue velvet track suit...
See! Look how happy Owen was in it yesterday!


Justin was Bam Bam for Halloween

Evan was a clone trooper!



Owen was a pumpkin

Sometimes an unhappy one (Get this thing offa me!)

The boys hanging out a couple of weeks ago

Evan loves his little Bro :)

A Day In the Life Of...

I woke up this morning at 5am to go to the temple. Actually, I jogged there to get in my morning run at the same time (Just wear a skort ok?) While jogging to the temple, I prayed for my neighbor with the swine flu, my sister who was just made relief society president and my cousin's baby who is constipated. On my way home from the temple, I stopped at Macey's to buy donuts to drop off to a friend in need who has been depressed all week (I think she may just be in the middle of reading New Moon though).
Before the kids got up I took a shower, cleaned the kitchen, did some laundry and washed down all the walls in my living room. Once they kids were up I made them a gourmet breakfast and cleaned the kitchen again. Then I bathed my 3 children, helped my oldest with his homework and we all read scriptures together and prayed. Afterwards I took everyone on a cultural field trip to the West Jordan museum where we could learn about our pioneer heritage. Then it was time to go back home where I prepared a healthy meal of homemade mac and cheese, carrot sticks and pineapple which my children eagerly gobbled up.
Time for the oldest to go off to school, lay the middle child down for a nap, clean the kitchen and get some aerobic exercise in while playing classical music for the youngest so his brain can grow. Once everyone was back together we had singing and story time and a quick gospel lesson. I sat all the children down to color while I prepared salmon on a wooden plank for dinner and some lasagna for another friend in need down the road. The hubby came home and after dinner we all played Scrabble and went on a bike ride (but not before I cleaned the kitchen again). Finally it was time for bed, all the kids were asleep by 7:30pm which left my hubby and I the rest of the night to stare into each other's eyes and share our deep, most innermost thoughts with each other. Then I said my prayers and got 8 hours of sleep.

*Disclaimer: The events depicted in this day are not typical and may not have happened at all. In fact, they may be a complete lie (except for how many times the kitchen needed to be cleaned), so the next time you are jogging to the temple at 5am you may need to pray for the author of this blog entry. Thank you.

LA LA LA I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!

I feel kind of like hiding out today from the kids. Sometimes I wish, as a mom, I could start the year off with like 3 "get out of jail free" cards, so on those days where I just don't feel like "doing it all" I would be exempt for the day from responsibilities. I know life don't work that way, but hey, a girl can dream right? And that's why us woman have book club nights and girls night outs and relief society socials and all that jazz, so we can escape and let our wild thing out for a few hours. I think, having a newborn, has been especially hard on me this time, b/c already having 2 wonderful chilluns (book club reference!) to look after and then adding one that's attached to me 24/7 (literally, either I'm feeding him, holding him or sleeping with him) makes the selfish beast in me really come out and say "can't I have some ME time??" I feel like Supernanny is going to bust in any minute and tell me how selfish I am (she told a Dad with no energy that once)and tell me to start disciplining my kids a little better as well. So, if you walk by my window sometime and look in and see my hands over my ears sitting in a fetal position, you'll know why :P

Back By Popular Demand!!

Ok, so only my friend Melissa actually requested I write another blog, but it's still flattering to have at least one fan :) I thought about blogging about how having 3 kids is kicking my butt, but my friend Sherry, just wrote a blog about how having FOUR kids is kicking her butt, so I would just sound lame next to that. I also could maybe blog about how to function on an hour and a half of sleep at a time, but that's just depressing. So too would be blogging about the "joys" of once again having an acid reflux baby. Thus, we come to the only topic there is left to blog about in my life right now: random thoughts concerning how what you don't know about now will kill you later. I seem to have these late night/early morning panic attacks while nursing where everything seems immediate and dire. Like, once morning finally comes I MUST do something about "it". And "it" varies considerably. For one thing, I've noticed every time I have a kid, I go through the same somewhat agonizing decision of whether to immunize my kids. I'll make up my mind, then right before their appointment I'll read or find something to change my mind. This happened once again. Owen has his 2 month check up next week and I recently read an article that stated giving newborn boys the Heb B vaccine tripled their chances of having autism. I talked to my doctor about this, he's a nonjudgemental man and I trust him. He's also very in favor of vaccines, saying he's never seen a problem develop from getting one, only complications from not getting them. We had an open conversation that I think sort of got him fired up in the end, but honestly, I'm on the fence when it comes to immunizations, so I can't argue passionately about it either way. But all this search for the truth stuff got me to thinking how one day something that seemed perfectly harmless becomes a deadly killer the next. For example, cooking on nonstick pans. One day you are cooking some pork chops in them and then the next day you find out that "harmless" coating is going to give you cancer. Or, you shower with your nice plastic shower curtain for years only to find out it's been emitting lovely toxic fumes onto you every morning (so of course you run to walmart to find the "non-toxic" kind and yeah, they don't carry them). Anyways, so every time that 4am feeding rolls around, I get these kinds of thoughts and feel this sense of urgency about whatever and then when morning comes, I'm like, huh, I really hope I get a shower today becomes the more pressing thought.
So, that's all from the paranoid mind of Erin right now. I will post pics of Owen soon (and by soon Melissa S. I mean within the next 2 months hahahaha!!)

A Baby Story

It's been a week now since Owen William was born so I thought I better hurry and write his story down before sleep deprivation and two restless children totally melt my brain. Here's how it went down:

07:00 August 28th: I call AltaView Hospital to see if they have a bed and a nurse for me. Lucky for them, they did so I didn't have to march down there and go ape crazy on them.

08:00: I get hooked up to the oxycontin (did you know that's the same as pitocin??)

11:00: my water gets broken: let the fun times begin!!

12:00: Steve notices my contractions picking up on the monitor. He wants to help me any way he can (he was a very active participant in Justin's labor) and says this while rubbing my shoulder and making jokes. With a slight glare I tell him to not talk to me or touch me, I'm finding my happy place.

12:30: My doctor comes in for the first time to see how I'm doing, I'm at a 7.

13:15: The doctor comes back, I'm still at a 7. Grr.

13:40: I'm at a 9 and holding my own. The doctor says in 4 more contractions I should be ready to push and then everyone leaves (one last potty break???). On the 3rd contraction I HAVE to push. I tell Steve to call the doctor, he asks me where the little call button is. Surprisingly, I'm not very helpful, Steve goes out in the hall to get the doctor.

13:50: Everyone rushes back in, I'm totally pushing, (and they also think I'm very self sufficient because they have me hold my own legs!) but they get everything ready just in time and...

14:00: In 2 official pushes our little guy is born!! 6 lbs. 8 oz. 19 in.

Owen's birth, was by far, the best out of the 3. I had a much easier time with J's birth, than I ever did with Evan's, so I didn't really know what to expect the 3rd time around. Apparently though, a few things seemed to work in my favor. One, my pain tolerance was unexpectedly high due to my being in so much pain the past few weeks. Two, I had exercised almost my entire pregnancy and I think that helped my body out in that I was in way better shape this time and also, I just knew my body better. I was able to work with my contractions instead of against them. The pain, honestly, never felt like more than I could handle, and with that, I was able to really focus and breathe through them. It was awesome to feel so in control.
I still got a 2nd degree tear, so fun times there, and my muscle pain is still with me, just not as intense. However, even so, I still feel better after this delivery than with J's. I also think all of the many, many prayers in my behalf had a tremendous impact. When I give birth, I totally feel this strong connection to Heavenly Father, and He's always there backing me up. So, thanks to everyone who prayed and sent happy thoughts my way. I'm so happy to be done with this pregnancy and have my little Owen home with us!

What's the Life You Would Imagine?

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams, live the life you've imagined." That's the quote I have on my fridge by Henry David Thoreau and somedays it makes me laugh (because a day of dirty diapers, endless demands, hauling my pregnant body around is not my idea of a dream life), other days I just ignore the thought and then there are days like today where it actually really, truly, makes me think. I've never been a big dreamer. Really, in high school all's I thought about was getting through college, I didn't give much thought to life past that. And I'm still not a "where do I see myself in 10 years kind of person." I like to plan, that is true, but like a week to a few months ahead. Thinking beyond that just kind of scares me I guess.
So what were my deep thoughts about that quote today? Well, I was thinking, I'm at a changing point in my life right now. New baby coming any day, Evan starting kindergarten ect. that's a lot of change for me at once. And I was wondering, if I could change my life into anything right now, what would it be? What would I imagine my life to be like? Well, I like to read this magazine called "Guideposts" and they always have these nondenominational inspirational stories about people. A lot of times these people make life changing decisions that lead to serving others in places they never imagined. I love reading these stories because I sort of live vicariously through them. I'm not brave enough to do what most of these people do, which is usually give up the life that they know, make financial sacrifices, take risks to do something they believe deeply in like go to Africa for a few years to dig wells or something. I admire them, would secretly like to be them sometimes, but in the end, I enjoy the story and then go back to my own ordinary life. Today I read a story in Guideposts that sort of linked my thoughts on my fridge quote to what maybe the life I imagined would be like. It was about a couple with 2 teenage kids on the verge of divorce. The couple goes to Italy to put on this business tour to get sponsors and while there they both are so changed by the scenery and atmosphere they decide to sell their house, quit their jobs they don't like anymore and live in Italy for a year and give their marriage one more try. They even wrote a book about it called "Halfway to Each Other".
I like that movie "Under the Tuscan Sun" where Diane Lane's character buys a villa on a whim and fixes it up. It's not all fun and roses, but I like that idea, despite my fear and abhorrence of change, of starting over in such a dream setting. So, honestly, I think if I were brave enough, I would think of it as a grand adventure to leave everything behind and take my family to Italy or somewhere else beautiful and exotic and live there for awhile. Be in a place so wonderful and dazzling there would be no need for tv or video games or media in general. We could just enjoy nature's beauty and each other and live a different kind of life. That's the life I secretly imagine it would be fun and fulfilling to live. And hey, if I could dig a few wells while I was there, all the better!

Pain in the Butt

It would probably be more interesting to blog about my cute kids right now, but really, all's I can think about is myself right now! Sad, but true. I've had a pretty good couple of months with this pregnancy so I was probably thinking I could get away with anything, when it hit me: pain! Pain down my lower back, butt and into my left thigh. Walking was suddenly killer, bending over, picking things up, carrying small children-- impossible! What? I'm not unstoppable? What will I do with my nesting instinct now? I went from scrubbing floors and cleaning out the fridge to trying to just sit as much as possible during the day and not even putting so much as a dish away. So disheartening. I cried to my wonderful and sympathetic OBGYN on Friday saying I could not live with this pain for the next 3 weeks. So, he recommended I see a physical therapist. I was able to get an appointment for Monday so I went today. She said I had really tight hamstrings and it was aggravating my sciatic nerve, but it was mostly my muscles that were causing all the pain. She worked with me, gave me exercises to do and papers on how to sit up, roll over and wag my tail properly. (Ok, not the last one!) It seems I've been breaking a lot of bending over, twisting, rolling over you name it rules. No wonder I hurt so bad, it's like I had forgotten how to move properly. My back is all taped up too. I feel about 60% better and hope, with time and exercises, to continue to improve. It was nice to get some hope back. I'm not good with chronic pain. Now I just have to "take it easy" and remember to pivot and not twist, bend with my knees, not my waist and sit with support and my feet on the floor ect. I can do it!! And I better end this blog because this computer chair is killing my back!!!!

My Dad

My sister Jenn should really be the one doing a blog about my dad, but since she hasn't updated her blog in weeks (for shame!) I thought I'd go ahead and be the one to fill everyone in. So, on Saturday, my dad and my brother-in-law Adam decided it was time to finish cutting down a tree in their backyard. Dad was up on the ladder with the chainsaw while Adam helped direct below. He noticed Dad was in a bad spot and while telling him to move, that's when Dad slipped and fell about 8 feet. Luckily, Dad threw the chainsaw away from himself and didn't land on numerous things he could have (a bench for one!) but he hit the ground pretty hard, landing on his back. Adam knew immediately Dad was hurt bad and ran inside to get help. He told my mom to call 911 and then went back outside to be with Dad and tell him not to move. Dad was having trouble breathing and turning gray. Luckily, the paramedics arrived quickly and were able to stabilize him. Around this time my sister got home from grocery shopping with her 2 boys, Alex and Erik. Of course, she knew nothing about the accident and was shocked to find an ambulance and a fire truck in front of her house. Everyone stayed miraculously calm considering the circumstances. My mom rode with my dad to the hospital in the ambulance where he had to get a chest tube and lots of x-rays. They figured out he broke his shoulder and 6 ribs and had a collapsed lung. They kept him in the hospital till Monday afternoon. He's home now recuperating but he's in a lot of pain. He really can't get comfortable and has to be careful with his breathing, since he could get pneumonia easily because of the collapsed lung. We're so glad though it wasn't worse and that he's expected to make a full recovery in time. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers!!

Harry "Pot"ter

My husband, sister and brother-in-law decided to go see Harry Potter last week. We saw it at the District the day after it came out, so it was a Thursday night. As we were sitting there watching the movie we noticed some strange things. The first was that even though there were a lot of little kids there (to be expected) this group of girls, from little tiny to about 7/8 years old repeatedly paraded throughout the theatre. There were probably about 8-10 of them and they would come giggling down the aisles and out the theatre. I guess they all had small bladders or something? Kind of distracting children! And then there was this strange smell. A strong smoke smell. Not cigarette smoke, or fire smoke, but something different. When the movie ended everyone looked at each other and said "who's been smoking pot??" Walking out of the theater and getting some fresh air never felt so good! And while we were waiting for Steve to get a fill up on his popcorn before leaving, a theatre worker came up to a manager and said something like "The cops are on their way and we know who is responsible" and then they both proceeded to walk towards our theater. So, I'm thinking, that the pot smoke was not in our imaginations, I guess, lucky me, at 8 months prego, I got 2 hours of lovely second hand weed. Nice, right? At least the movie was good :)

Barefoot, Pregnant and No Ring

This is me 8 months pregnant. Just a week later this was my predicament:

BAREFOOT, PREGNANT AND NO RING!

One fateful Sunday morning I went to take a bath, and like normal, went to take my wedding rings off when my wedding ring FLEW off my finger. Seriously, it came off so fast, I didn't see where it went at all. I just heard a "ting" and that was it. All the doors were closed, all the cabinets were closed, the toilet lid was down, my finger had been pointing towards the floor, so it had to be on the floor somewhere right? WRONG!!! Steve looked. I looked. My sister looked. My parents looked. Somehow, in a space, little bigger than a closet, my ring completely VANISHED. I have not been able to find it. And the saddest part? It was my great great grandmother's wedding ring. I have loved that ring since I was 16 years old and have been so careful with it. So careful in fact, I have regular nightmares about the diamond in it falling out (though, not about losing the actual ring). I have pleaded with heaven above for me to find this ring, but it just isn't showing up anywhere. I haven't even vacuumed the upstairs since it was lost for fear it just might be somewhere and get vacuumed up. I'm just so sad. I guess it goes to show, no matter how careful you are in life, in reality, you have no control. Things just happen sometimes. For whatever reason. So, I'm trying to learn something positive out of this. But ring, wherever you are, I sure do miss you!!!!!

My Little Guy Turns 5!

Evan opening presents

Even after the carwash fell down it was still a lot of fun apparently!

Evan and his cousin Alex, chillin'

5 seems like such a big deal. Kindergarten is just around the corner for one thing, but it's just hard to believe it's been five whole years since I had my first child. Wow. I've been a mom for 5 years now!? Some days it seems longer and other days it feel like it was just yesterday he was turning one.

Well, this year, Evan made things easy. He pretty much wanted a repeat of last year's festivities. So, that included a trip to Chuck E Cheese (which we went to on his actual b-day) and a water party inviting at least everyone who was there last year. He would have even had me make the same castle cake, if I wouldn't have reminded him that he was into Star Wars this year so Dad could made him a Star Wars cake (it ended up being a star destoyer cake. go Steve!).

We had a really nice time and a lot of kids showed up. If I wouldn't have been 8 months prego and a hundred degrees out, I probably would have been just fine. As it were, boy was I tired afterwards! But having the party on Saturday when Steve could be there was definitely a wise decision :) At any rate, I think everyone had a good time in the water and Evan seemed really happy with his party, cake and presents. Happy Birthday Sweetie!

The Odd One Out

"One of these things is not like the other," a popular song and catch phrase, does tend to ring true when it comes to that one person in the group who just doesn't quite belong, or that one skinny sister who it's not fair got that kind of body and I'm realizing, it can also apply to things in nature. Take, for instance, my tomato plant. I was excited when my dad brought over two tomato plants, already large in size, a few months ago. I grew even more excited when it bloomed early and started growing tomatoes. However, I soon realized, despite having several normal specimens developing, one of the plants was capable of producing this big guy:
yes, my very own mutant tomato. It's huge and bumpy and I blame its unusual looks on climate change. Or the inversion. Or Mindi's diet coke addiction. I don't know, really, I'm just wondering, anyone out there really want to eat Mr. Lumpy when he's finally ripe? Hmm??

Pluses to Being Pregnant

You know, there are a few things I do enjoy about being pregnant and since this is my last go around with the whole giving birth thing, I figure I might as well make the most of the condition! So, here is the list:

1. For once, not having to suck my stomach in. Sure, you may look at the other pregnant ladies around you and compare bellies, but you don't have to worry about eating too much and having a gut. It's ok to flaunt the pooch for a few months!

2. Taking 2nds and 3rds or eating 4 desserts and not have anyone look at you funny.

3. Not having a period! Enough said!

4. Playing what I like to call the "pregnancy card". Only to be used a few times during pregnancy, it's a catch all to get you out of just about anything.

5. Having my husband give me one of those "you're so cute pregnant" looks. I just love those, they melt my heart!

My Babies!

I haven't done a kid update post in awhile, and since I'm not one of those moms who keeps journals about her children or documents their every move through the camera, about all their gonna get is my faulty recollections and a few blog posts to remember their childhood by when their older. Sorry kids!
Anyways, Evan recently graduated from preschool. He went to Bright Beginner Preschool for 2 years and I have no regrets about sending him! He really seemed to catch onto things a lot more the 2nd time around and I definitely noticed an improvement in his writing and drawing. For one, he wrote his name this year and all of his pictures weren't colored with just one color like they were the year before. Amazingly enough, the kid actually seems excited to start kindergarten too. We'll see what he really thinks once he has to go every day, but for now I'll take it that he's not throwing tantrums about going yet (unlike turning 8 and being baptized. He keeps telling me he's going to skip that b-day so he doesn't have to get baptized! yep, I'm raising the next general authority over here...).
Also, I'm amazed at how easily we have transitioned to him being home all day now. I was worried about my "me" time being taken away, but we've worked out a fairly decent system of put Justin down for a nap in the afternoon, Evan and I play some games we can't when Justin is awake, then he either watches a show or plays video games while I clean or exercise. It's been working out pretty well that way.
Evan is still in full Star Wars mode. He watches all the movies, plays all the video games, plays with his Star Wars Gallactics, has lightsaber duels every day and even when he draws, he draws star destroyers blowing up. He also continually hums various Star War themes. It's all about the Force over here!
Justin is 20 months old and still isn't officially walking. He's getting close though. I hope in the next few weeks he'll give up crawling completely and be walking full time. We had him evaluated and at 19 months he had the gross motor skills of a 13 month old they said. Justin also has weak ankles. He qualified for physical therapy, but we decided to just keep an eye on him and keep trying ourselves to help him. Justin has started saying more words, but it's hard for me to believe that he'll be 2 in a few months when he's not walking or talking yet! He very much is a baby to me. But that doesn't mean he doesn't have an opinion on things though! He's got Evan's stubborn streak for sure, and tries very hard to not eat in his high chair and he wants to be outside all of the time. He screams really loudly when he doesn't get his way. It's funny, but the older he gets the messier he gets (shouldn't it be the opposite??) too. He loves to go in and out and to turn things on and off. He's very adept at shape sorting and simple puzzles. He's possessive of his toys and wants to play in Evan's room as much as he can (Evan likes to keep his door shut though). Justin also loves to watch tv. He now will go and sit on the couch and point at the tv when he wants me to turn it on. He's been doing more signs, he's very curious about what everything is now and lately I've found it easier to teach him new signs. Justin HATES nursery or pretty much being more than 1 foot away from me I should say. His separation anxiety has only gotten worse with him getting older and it borders on the ridiculous sometimes. I have no idea what to do about this, except hope it passes in time. I can't help but wonder if the new baby coming has something to do with it though...
Speaking of the new baby, I am now 28 weeks along and this baby is one active little guy! We still haven't picked out a name, but so far we like Luke or Colin. I keep asking my stomach "what is your name?" but we'll probably just have to wait till we see the little guy to decide. I really hope he turns out as good as the other two. For feeling so paranoid about having a healthy baby you'd think I'd try to take better care of myself! I pretty much eat whatever I want and only eat a flintstone vitamin when I think of it. I do exercise regularly, but that's my only saving grace. I guess having my other 2 kids to take care of just seems to occupy my time. Anyways, if you've read down this far, congrats, I think I'm done with the updates for now :)

Natural Cleaning Solutions

When I was pregnant with Evan I discovered I could not stand the smell of cleaning products. And then, once I had the little guy, I had nightmares of having to call the poison control center because he ate some Comet or something. So, I started experimenting with making my own cleaning products, read a book or two on it and basically now I clean with bon ami and a mixture of vinegar/water/peppermint oil. I did get over some of my paranoia and Steve likes his cleaning products so we still have some of the other stuff in the house, but I find those two things do most of the cleaning jobs just fine. However, we have tile in our kitchen and bathrooms and I hadn't found a way to get the grout clean since we moved here. After almost 3 years, the grout is getting gross! Then, my Real Simple magazine came a month or two ago and had all these great ideas of how to clean with common household items like lemons and castile soap (ok, I admit, castile soap is not a common item in my house...)ect. and there was a tiny section on cleaning grout! So, I decided to try it. Basically, you mix creme of tartar with lemon juice and scrub the grout with a toothbrush and then wipe clean. As you can see from the pics, I've gotten fairly good results from this process. Of course, I didn't have enough creme of tartar so only half my kitchen grout is done. But I can't wait to go buy some more and finish the job and not have my kitchen floor gross me out anymore! Hurray!

my cleaning "kit"and my cleaner tile grout

can you see the clean strip compared to the nonclean grout?

a close up so you can better compare!

Family Scripture Study--Act I Scene I

The Scene: Just after dinner, the family is gathered around the table

Steve: setting scriptures down-Ok, let's read!
Evan immediately stands up on the bench and walks a little ways, bumping his glass of milk and spilling it everywhere.
Steve: ACK! Evan just spilled his milk and his glass was full!
Me: huh? It was full, are you kidding me?
grumpily I get up and investigate the damage and try not to yell at Evan.
Me: yelling at Evan-Evan! You better come help clean this up!!!
Evan: NO!!
Me: Then I don't want to look at you!!
Evan runs into the other room screaming and crying
Me: Was that too harsh Steve?
I go and comfort Evan while Steve finishes cleaning up the mess.
Me: Weren't we supposed to be reading scriptures or something?
Steve: Yep, we're on Nephi chapter 1
Steve starts to read
Justin can suddenly be heard screeching from the other room. He's still stuck in his high chair due to the fact he refused to eat anything but pickles for dinner. I go into the dining room to retrieve him. He keeps signing for more pickles...
Me: ACK! Justin is all wet!!! His diaper must have leaked!
I drag Justin into the room where Steve is reading and try to change him while being spiritually enlightened. Justin keeps crying and crawling away. Steve puts the scriptures down and helps me change Justin.
Steve: ok, back to Nephi...
We're all on the couch now, Steve is reading, I'm listening and the kids are crawling all over me. Suddenly Evan starts wacking me and Justin with pillows and his blankets.
Me: Stop that Evan!!!
Evan: Just one more time!
Evan hits me again with a pillow.
Evan: Just one more time!
Evan hits me again with a pillow.
Me: EVAN! I SAID STOP!!!
Steve closes the scriptures.
Steve: ok! we're done with chapter 1!
Me: wow, I can't wait till tomorrow so we can do this all again!

Movie Theatre Popcorn: Innocent Treat or Addictive Substance?

I LOVE popcorn! I was pretty much raised on it, so when we go to the movies, it's essential we shell out the cash for a big tub of it. Last night was no exception when Steve and I went to see Land of the Lost. We pretty much ate the entire contents of the giant bucket so we decided on the way out we'd actually take advantage of that free refill you always tell yourself you'll get when you buy the largest size. We thought the kids would think we were cool parents that we brought them home popcorn. Well, little did we know what a big hit the popcorn would be! It seems I have reproduced some little popcorn addicts and so I don't know if it's just my family or if there really is an addictive chemical in that stuff. But, here's an example of when you know the popcorn has gone a little too far--literally. I was making dinner and I looked at the kitchen table where the bucket had been sitting and it was gone! Justin had been there just a moment ago eating out of it, so I curiously peer around the corner to see what could have happened and see my little son scooting across the carpet while precariously holding this huge tub of popcorn. I would have totally snapped a picture if the fear of having to pick up popcorn kernals off the carpet for hours wouldn't have overcome me first. It really was a pretty cute sight, but J screamed bloody murder when I wrenched the bucket out of his hands. And tonight, while cleaning the kitchen, I kept stopping to eat some. And eat some more and keep eating...you get the picture. That popcorn is some dangerous stuff!

shouldn't there be warning label on all that goodness?

Steve and Evan's Excellent Adventure

People kept asking me if Steve took Evan on the Father/Son Campout last weekend and I got the feeling that people were surprised that I said nope! (It was too far away and required travel near Price--a place we shun at all costs). But what they maybe didn't know was that just the weekend before that, Steve and Evan had gotten plenty of Daddy/Son time in when just the two of them went to CA together for Steve's Dad 60th b-day celebration! Now, you may wonder why Justin and I didn't go too. Well, have you seen me lately??? Being hugely pregnant does not lend itself to traveling (I pretty much am crippled if I get up after sitting in one spot for more than an hour) and Justin is a homebody. As in, when we go anywhere, if we aren't home again in a couple of hours he gets pretty grumpy. So, combine pregnancy + doesn't travel well Justin + grumpy me because I tire easily and can't keep up with everyone=not fun trip. Besides, I've never had one on one time with Justin, so I thought four days of the just the two of us would be really fun.

So Steve and Evan had our blessing to go to CA and set off the Thursday night before Memorial Day and Justin and I hung out in the quiet house all weekend. I had 3 things I wanted to do, things it would have been hard to do with both kids: go to the park, go swimming and go to a Gymboree class. We only made it to the Gymboree class, but J loved climbing and exploring on all their play stuff. And then we went to Sunflower Market and Walmart that day too (two other places I don't enjoy going with 2 children). And then on Saturday we went to the Conservation Gardens and Arctic Circle with my parents while Evan's room got painted. On Sunday church and my mom came over for dinner. Not swimming or the park, but nice relaxing activities :) On Sunday night things took a turn for the worse when Justin woke up with a burning fever and then on Monday was super grumpy while I had problems of my own from some apparently spoiled cookie dough from the night before. My kind sister and her family took care of us though.

As for Steve and Evan, they got to tour the Jelly Belly factory on Friday. Something Evan LOVED. Candy, pipes, machinery--what more could my kid ask for? And there were squirt gun fights, toys Grandma had got for the kids and a couple of bbqs. The big 60th b-day party was on Sunday and they got the cutest shirts made that said "When I grow up I want to be 60!" with Fulkerson 60 on the back, kind of like a baseball jersey. Steve said Evan was really good the whole time and had a blast. It was nice too because Tanner, his cousin his age, was there too so they got to play with each other all weekend. I think all in all, Steve and I made the right choice by "spliting" the family up!

Grandpa and his Dodger Cake

Evan losing the squirt gun battle with Grandma

the fam in their cute shirts


Evan and his cousins at the Jelly Belly Factory

Evan's party-induced coma stare

Evan's Room

It's no secret that Steve and I are NOT renovators. As in, we've lived in this house for almost 3 years and haven't done a single thing to it. No new flooring, no new cabinets of any kind and not even a drop of paint has this poor house seen. Luckily for us, the house is in good enough shape we can get away with that, but eventually we decided we were done with talking about changing things and decided to start small but start we would. Evan's room seemed the logical choice since he has a really old bed and a really old dresser and that's it in there. We knew if Justin and Evan were going to share that room soon, it would need some TLC. So, Steve and I came up with a plan for the room, we know what we want to get from IKEA for the room (bunk beds, storage shelves ect) but we thought, first, we should paint it. We heard Jimmy Curtis was for hire, so we had him give us some quotes and thought we could afford one room at a time. After much agonizing over color choices, I came up with a plan to make everyone happy. Steve wanted a neutral color (he picked a very nice one called Yak Skin) so 3 walls got that, and Evan wanted DARK brown, so he got one accent wall in Oak Gall. And I got a room that didn't look boring! I loved how it turned out, Jimmy did a great job and now that one room has color, I can't wait to have Jimmy come back and jazz up some more of our rooms!

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

(it's hard to see the yak skin color in these photos, but i swear it looks SO much different than the white his room used to be!)

A Series of Unfortunate Events

I'm really beginning to not like Tuesdays. It seems lately bad things keep happening on Tuesdays. For instance, I had a little car accident two weeks ago today. I was dropping the kids off at my sister's house so I could go visiting teaching and when I pulled into her driveway, I hit the edge of their fence that kind of sticks out. It put a dent/scratch all along the driver's side of the van. I was devastated to say the least that I hurt my 2 month old van!!
Then, today, since Evan has been homebound due to illness, and it was one of those days that the kids have just been screaming nonstop since they woke up, when Evan wanted to walk to get a donut from Dunford, I was like, sure, let's get the heck out of here! So, we are having a nice walk to the donut shop, something we have done countless times before without any mishap mind you, when I ask Evan to open the door to the store so I can bring the stroller in. As Evan is opening the door it slices his big toe open! Blood immediately starts welling up and I rush inside and ask the cashier for a band aid. She comes to investigate and we can both tell it's not your minor little cut. So she eventually takes me behind the register to their little office where we sit Evan down and she brings me some neosporin, alcohol wipes, gauze and band aids to try to clean his toe up. I can tell through all the blood the door sliced all the way through his nail and continues down his toe. I'm not one for blood! I call Steve to come get us and between his help and a kindly gentleman who works there who came to assist as well, we get Evan bandaged up as best as we can. I have to say, Evan was a real trooper, he barely cried and didn't complain at all. The cashier gave Evan and Justin stickers and the nice man who helped us as well packed us up some donuts and cookies he said we could have for free. I thought they had been especially kind to us so I asked "what's your name?" thinking I could send a thank you note later and he said "Doug Dunford"! Wow, I felt special!

So, Evan's throat still hurts and now he's got a sore toe, poor kid, and now you can see why I'm not looking forward to next Tuesday...Evan's toe after we cleaned it up at home

Doing Things As A Family

It's time once again to do what I do best on my blog: COMPLAIN! This time it's about a topic that has been on my mind a lot lately. I don't know if it's because the kids are getting old enough to care or that we just are going to have more kids period, but I've been realizing lately how little time we spend together as a family. This has really been bugging me too. Now, I'm all for a little alone time or going on dates with the hubby here and there but for some reason my family just can't seem to get it together enough to go places together let alone spend more than 10 min. in the same room with each other. It's really kind of sad. I know Steve and I are both part of the problem, I'm not blaming either one of us exclusively, I just don't know how to solve the problem. It's like, when Steve is home, he's getting ready for work or doing work stuff or worrying about work stuff. If he feels like he has some down time he wants to play video games. He's a true introvert and homebody and loves nothing more than to be somewhere quiet doing something he enjoys. I don't blame him, really. I, on the other hand, spend my time cleaning or caring for the kids. I take several 10 min. breaks during the day to connect to the outside world through the internet or phone calls. I'm a true extrovert and love to go on dates with my hubby or out with girlfriends. At the end of the day I'm exhausted and either fall asleep, get on the internet or in general Steve and I end up at opposite rooms barely even spending time with each other. We seem ok with this, but lately, especially, I will admit, after reading so many other family's blogs about what they do as a family, I can't help but think we are lacking in the time spent together as a family department. So, be honest friends. how do YOU do family time? Is it something you find that comes natural or do you have to work at setting aside time to do things together? I'm just frustrated and worried that we are all missing out on some quality time together that we are going to end up regretting later.

Take Your Family to Work Day

I haven't told a Steve story in awhile and he definitely deserves a shout out for what he did on Friday, which was single handedly saving our family from running full force off the cliffs of insanity.
Let me explain: I was actually happy at first that it was Friday because it had been a busy week and I knew Saturday was going to be busy as well. Normally, I like busy, but once in awhile, I don't mind a down day where there's not much going on and there's not a lot to worry about. Well, it all started when Evan started complaining about not having anyone to play with. He wanted to go to someone's house or have someone come over. I wasn't opposed to this, and I told him I would see what I could set up. As soon as I said this, he immediately requests that his cousin Ashlee come over. Once again, I didn't think it'd be a problem, I knew she didn't have school that day. But when I called Jenn she pretty much already had her day planned and Ashlee wasn't available. End result? Freak Out #1 by Evan. For over an HOUR. Screaming, tantruming, you name it, Evan was going bonkers with the disappointment of Ashlee not coming over.

Fast forward an hour past that tantrum. It's almost lunch time, what should we have? Evan says he wants McDonalds, and ONLY that. I tell him nope b/c of the way he's been acting. That leads to Freak Out #2 for once again an HOUR. Luckily, Steve has been home this whole time and tried to help me calm Evan down both times. Neither one of us was having any luck however and then Steve had to leave for work finally. It was still 30-40 min. till preschool, but I said, we have to go too, hoping a change of scenery would help us all. Of course, I had no plan, I just thought if we drove around that might be enough to keep me from snapping. So I gather up my kids and Kevin and we head out. Evan says "I'm HUNGRY!" So, I call my parents to see if we can stop by and have a quick snack at their place since they are right by the preschool. When we get there, Ashlee and Jenn end up being home so Evan gets to see Ashlee after all. Sigh. But he was finally being good, so I was relieved about that and I had high hopes that once he went to preschool that would get all this nonsense out of his system.

I pick Evan up from preschool at 3pm and we are not in the van 5 min. before Freak Out #3 starts. He screams the entire way home. I get Justin out of the van, but not Evan, run into the house sobbing and tell Steve he better get his son out of the van because I'm not. (Steve happened to be home again to get some more stuff for work). Steve gets Evan out and talks to him and tries to get us to reconcile. But Evan and I just glare at each other. I was definitely, by that time, having problems with an unforgiving heart. Steve has to leave for Provo, but I can tell he's worried about leaving us alone, so we decide to all go with him. Miraculously the kids are really good on the drive down and while we wait in the van for Steve to do his ticket. Evenutally we did have to get out for a potty break, but afterwards we all leave and have dinner at Wingers. We come home and Steve puts the kids to bed.

I was SO glad Steve could take us with him. I was in no emotional state to take care of the kids by myself for the rest of the afternoon/evening. I have a screaming limit and Evan had totally used it up for the day. Plus, I'm every bit as intense as he is, so I have a really hard time being calm while he is going ballistic. Steve was a real life saver that day and it's nice that one of us has the cool head in the family. Seriously, how do single moms do it???

On A Positive Note--

In my mind, I tend to focus on the negative and while contemplating my next post I thought of at least 3 things I wanted to gripe about. But really, my life is pretty good, so there's got to be something to blog about that makes me happy right? And yes, there is: my new vegetable garden! Well, to look at it right now, it just looks like a pile of dirt, but in my mind's eye, I see little seedlings in a few weeks and eventually plants that will grow yummy veggies I can try to talk my children into eating!

I'd love to say my vegetable patch came about due to my own hardwork and sweat, but at 6 months prego and counting, just watching someone else do the work makes me tired. So, my awesome dad came over yesterday and helped me borrow Amy's cultivator (thanks Amy!!!) and he tilled the pile of dead grass and weeds ect. into something that would sustain veggie life. I added manure and topsoil, but that was basically my only contribution. After lots of tilling, Dad then proceeded to patiently plant seed after seed until my patch was two-thirds planted. If I would have attempted all this, instead of taking 2 hours, it would have taken me like 3 days so yeah, I have the best Dad ever! He also brought me over some tomato plants. With some water and some prayers, hopefully I can take it from here.

nope, it's not an ant graveyard, it's the future site of some cucumbers and zucchini!

My Next Vacation

Every week I get an email from travelzoo.com. They list the top 20 travel deals and some of them are so very TEMPTING that I'm not kidding, I spend at least a half hour or more clicking on 2 or 3 of them and planning some pretty elaborate vacations. This week, here are the trips I planned: $499 -- 6 Nights in Ireland: Top-Rated Resort, Car & Air, $555 & up -- Tokyo from Across the U.S. (R/T), incl. Taxes, $39 -- Be on 'The Price is Right Live' in Vegas (Reg. $55). Of course, they sound great right at first, but once you factor in the city you have to fly out of (the cheapest cities are always the east coast cities, sigh), the taxes and how many people you are going to drag along, well, the deal loses some of its dealiness. But my minor in college was in travel and tourism and I worked for a travel agency right out of college, so there's just something in me that can't resist planning a good cheap vacation. Plus, Ireland is so GREEN and who can resist an all inclusive package? And Steve and I talk about going to Tokyo all of the time (it's our dream 10 year anniversary trip of choice) and I pretty much have wanted to be on the Price is Right my entire life and Las Vegas is only 6 hours away...
You get my drift, it's my guilty pleasure, planning these vacations, hoping after I do the math, maybe we could afford to go on one and I could talk Steve into spending the money and my sister into watching my kids etc. Maybe someday...a girl can dream right?

could you seriously say no to staying here?? I think not!!

A Different Boy

BEFORE

I went to my hair appointment today, intending to only get my hair trimmed. But when Amy offered to cut Justin's hair as well, I couldn't resist. Just don't hate me Steve! My husband and I just yesterday talked about getting both of the kids hair buzzed, but Steve said he'd prefer to leave J's hair long. I know it was unexpected, but J's hair turned out really cute! He looks like a different kid (and more like Evan!)

AFTER

Soccer for Beginners

We're not a sporting family. Let me get that out into the open right away. Sure, Steve likes to watch his sports on tv, but as for actually playing any, um, nope. But, in the name of trying new things and expanding young minds ect. I asked Evan this year if he wanted to take swimming lessons (we've done a few sessions in the past). Seeing as how lately, I can only get the kid to take a bath like once a week, I wasn't surprised to get a no on that one. However, when I mentioned he could do something else instead this spring (with a newborn, fall activities are not on my to do list this year) like soccer. He immediately said yes. I asked him several times after that to make sure he really wanted to try soccer (I wasn't even sure if he knew what soccer was exactly, his only exposure being a few of his cousin Alex's soccer games we had been to in the past) and I kept getting a yes, so I took a deep breath and signed him up.

Evan is like me, he doesn't warm quickly to new things. I was afraid after one soccer practice he would refuse to ever go again. However, despite some protests because of wind and cold (cannot blame him though!) he has been pretty agreeable about the whole thing. I'm still pretty sure he doesn't really understand the game yet, but that's ok with me, I just want him to run around and have fun.

We had his third soccer game this past Saturday. The weather was the nicest it had been yet, which really helped. Evan even kicked the ball a couple of times during the game (see video: I especially love how at the end he runs off the field immediately to tell me he kicked the ball!). At any rate, it's kind of amazing too to see how good some of these four year olds already are at soccer. I wonder how much is natural ability versus how much their parents practice with them. Evan is at a disadvantage there, we don't practice and I'm afraid there's not a lot of natural sports ability to be had in our family. But like I said, it's been a pretty good experience so far and even Justin has been a good sport at the games.

Evan running around and having fun

Justin concentrating on the game

Evan close to the ball

An endless supply of snacks kept Justin happy