Life is like a chair of bowlies

Little dragonfly

2009-08-13T14:25:00.000-07:00

I thought he was cute :) He sat for 10 minutes waiting for me to take a perfect picture.

FREE $40 in amazon gift cards!

2009-07-28T13:29:00.000-07:00

Since I joined in January, I've earned $40 worth of amazon gift cards just for searching the web like I normally do. How?

From SWAGBUCKS!! Click on the link on the right for more info. It's really cool! I hope to have $40 more before Christmas to get Dallin a new wii game!

Alpine Slide fun!

2009-06-21T12:01:00.000-07:00

We took the kids up to Durango again yesterday to see how Maddie would do on the Alpine slide. She wasn't sure about the chairlift ride up, but LOVED the slide down! She yelled Weeeehoooo! The whole way down with me. I asked Todd what she did when she rode with him and he said "nothing, other than yelling "daddy!!! GO FASTER!!!"" hehehehe!

Dallin is almost old enough to ride by himself. Next year buddy :)

They both did the bungee trampoline, but Maddie didn't like it at ALL. So she probably won't do that again! Dallin LOVES it though and goes really high!

Maddie also found a dandelion and held on to it the whole ride down with Daddy. Click on the pictures and it will make them bigger. You'll see the dandelion in her hand.

And the result of smelling the dandelion:

Silly Dallin! Tricks are for kids!

2009-06-18T12:49:00.000-07:00

This guy is such a goofball. He reminds me a lot of Uncle Adam! Love you bubba!

Don't let that face fool you...

2009-06-14T21:37:00.000-07:00

This little angel faced princess was a total terror today. Anyone with advice on how to get her to stop yelling "I need to go POTTY" at the top of her lungs during sacrament meeting please let me know. (We do take her before church starts). Everyone around us thinks it's pretty funny. Oh, and her coming back in and announcing "I...AM...SO...GRUMPY!!!!" Todd and I tried SO hard to keep a straight face! Well, at least she's honest!

And while you're at it, if there is anyone out there who can get her to sleep in her own bed...I'll love you forever. I'm ready to gate her in or something. Oh...and...
Do all 3 year olds WHINE everything? She can't ask for anything without whining or crying. It's mentally exhausting. Don't get me wrong. I wouldn't trade her for anything. Today was just one of those days where I caught myself thinking "ohhhh little girl, it's a good thing you are cute!!"

Tomorrow's post will be on how sweet my 5 year old is, because truly he's wonderful and he deserves his own post!

Don't mess with this!

2009-05-28T19:53:00.000-07:00

Maddie's angry face...

Thankfully she was just being silly. I wouldn't want to mess with that!

Come visit us and we'll take you here!

2009-05-12T18:03:00.000-07:00

Silverton, Colorado! I know I've already blogged about this place but it really is such a great little town. They have a new "Big Foot Central" museum (not really a museum, it's just a room, but still pretty funny). Dallin didn't like the "stinky foot monster" so he wouldn't get his picture taken. It was windy and kind of chilly so Maddie wanted to ride on my back most of the day.

Here are some pictures. Anyone want to come? Our doors are always open to visitors!

8 YEARS!

2009-05-12T18:02:00.000-07:00

Today is our 8th Anniversary :) I can't believe it's been that long already!! Happy Anniversary Todd!

Dallin vs. the Cactus

2009-04-18T18:40:00.000-07:00

Dallin went immediately from a balance bike to a regular pedal bike with NO training wheels. He's done really well. I'm not sure exactly what happened tonight, but he came back looking very sad. Todd was across the street with both bikes.

Apparently Dallin turned right INTO a cactus. He totally trampled the poor thing, but managed to escape COMPLETELY unscathed. How? I have no idea. Divine intervention I'm sure.

Birth Tag (Rach, this is for you)

2009-04-15T22:30:00.000-07:00

1.Were your pregnancies planned?

Yes.

2. How long were you married at the time of birth?

D: 2 years, 7 months
M: 4 years, 7 months

3. What were your reactions?

Excited! Happy!

4. How did your spouse react?

He didn't. Don't expect a "woo-hoo" out of this guy. He's a great dad though!

5. How old were you?

D: 22.5
M: 24 (2 weeks from 25)

6. How did you find out you were pregnant?

I was temping and testing.

7. Who did you tell first?

Todd. Then my mom and family and friends.

8. Did you want to find out the gender?

Yes, and we will for any future kids. I have an insane need to know.

9. Due Date?

D: Halloween. Came 10/08
M: Due Feb 25 Born Jan 14

10. Did you have morning sickness?

Oh heavens yes. For about 25 weeks with Dallin and with Maddie I was on medication.

11. What did you crave?

I don't remember with Dallin, I couldn't keep anything down...but with Maddie I craved peanut butter on toast (had to be toasted) with strawberry jelly.

12. What irritated you the most?

Nothing that I can remember. Except maybe having to pee every 5 minutes for the entire duration.

13. What was the child’s sex?

Boy, girl

14. Did you wish that you had the opposite sex of what you were getting?

No way! I'll take what I'm given. Although I am thrilled I have one of each!

15. How many pounds did you gain throughout the pregnancy?

D: 32
M:15

And I'm having an awful time getting it off (one of the reasons we don't have another yet)

16. Did you have a baby shower?

For Dallin yes. For Maddie no.

17. Did you have any complications during your pregnancy?

Oh um...well there was the barfing. The hip joints deciding to come undone. The swelling of the bottoms of my feet so I couldn't walk at night. And of course, my water breaking at 34 weeks...yeah that was a blast.

18. Where did you give birth?

Both kids were delivered at a hospital in Clovis, NM. I wish I were a candidate for a home birth but I'm really not.

19. How many hours were you in labor?

12 hours with both of them from the time my water broke (yes, it broke with BOTH of them before actual labor started...FUN for me!)

20. Who drove you to the hospital?

Todd the first time. The second time he was out of town so I got an ambulance ride. No friends or family to take me and I wasn't about to drive myself!

21. Who watched you give birth?

Todd and a doctor and a nurse...my mom was there for Maddie's.

22. Was your baby delivered the regular way or by c-section?

Regular way thank you.

23. Did you take medicine to ease the pain?

I am a weenie. The. end. I had epidurals with both, although with Dallin, they turned it off and I felt everything.

24. How much did the baby weigh?

D: 7- even
M: 5 pounds, 5 oz. She came flying out in 2 pushes because she was SO small.

25. What did you name your children?

Dallin Todd
Madison Leigh

26. How old are your children today?

D: 5 years, 6 months
M: 3 years, 3 months

Poisonous Gas

2009-03-31T15:10:00.000-07:00

Dallin and I were having a conversation about family and heaven. We were talking about my Papa Buzz who passed away a few years ago and Dallin asked "how do we die mama?" I told him there are a lot of ways that we can die (not really wanting to go into details) and he said..."yeah, like poisonous gas".

Where he got that from, I have no idea but it made me laugh.

Dallin said to me this morning...

2009-03-21T18:01:00.000-07:00

I got up and Todd had gone to buy me the Twilight DVD from Target (thanks babe!). Dallin said to me...

"mom, I can't find Dad ANYWHERE. I looked in the bathroom, and out in the garage. His car is gone. I think he went to Durango to go to the park by himself".

I just laughed. The mental picture of Todd playing at the park alone nearly had me rolling on the floor. We had talked about possibly taking a trip there, but I'm packing and getting ready to leave and we couldn't make it today.

We're still around

2009-03-20T13:31:00.000-07:00

Just muddling along as always. Nothing really exciting to share.

I need to start writing down the funny things the kids say. I call uncle Adam about twice a week to tell him (and give him a laugh) but I can't ever remember.

Maddie is getting SO big. She weighs 26.5 pounds and is FINALLY growing out of her 24 month clothes. 2T fits her well, and even some 3T!

Dallin can count to 100. He does it all.the.time. Yessssssss.

Maddie speaks chinese. No really. Her FAVORITE show is on Noggin about a little chinese girl. So she knows hello, and listen and a few others in chinese. It's pretty funny.

Oh! And this little girl seems to be ambidextrous. She throws with both hands, and even switch hits. It's pretty cool. She LOVES hitting and throwing baseballs. Last night she was wearing her pink tutu, her sparkly shoes and hitting a ball. Well rounded I guess!

My date with Dallin

2009-02-21T09:23:00.000-08:00

We were lucky enough to get to host 2 of the BYU Young Ambassadors, so we got free tickets to that night's performance. Todd didn't really want to go, and Maddie isn't very fun to take to live performances so we left them home and Dallin and I had a date.

It was weird sitting in the audience. I'm usually on stage. But it was a lot of fun to watch and then we got to bring 2 home with us.

What a fun treat to have them stay with us for a few hours. They literally were only here for about 8 hours, but it was still pretty neat to get to talk to them for a bit.

Anyone out there?

2009-01-26T20:46:00.000-08:00

Good grief! I post 3 posts full of pictures and I got ONE comment (Thanks Heidi!). I'm not feeling the blogging love people! Come on! Leave me a little hello or SOMETHING!

*pouts in the corner*

My little Peanut Butter...

2009-01-25T22:39:00.000-08:00

Maddie's cake was again, gluten free and egg free. She wanted Tinkerbell so I begged the lady at the Safeway bakery to let me buy just the topper. Maddie is STILL talking about her cake.

Snow Pictures!

2009-01-25T22:34:00.001-08:00

We got a good amount of snow around Christmas so Todd and Dallin decided to take full advantage of living on a golf course. There are a few small hills that were perfect for sledding! Of course, it's warmed up and all the snow is melted now, but they had fun while it lasted.

Trying pictures...

2009-01-25T22:28:00.000-08:00

My beautiful friend, Ruth is a hairdresser and she cuts my hair (and Maddie's). I'm SO blessed to have her in my life. She's so wonderful to have around!!

I could NOT get her to smile in this one!!

Gotta love Target PJ clearance...of course they had NOTHING girly in Maddie's size!

This one just cracks me up. The true talent of a 3 year old is her ability to dress herself. Here we have a purple shirt, her apron, NO pants, snow boots and knit gloves. Lovely, dear. Just beautiful.

And since I seem to be blogging for my amusement only...

2009-01-23T21:13:00.000-08:00

I'm really having a hard time getting pictures to load properly so I'm heading to bed and I'll try again tomorrow. I've got LOTS of pictures!!

Some things I'm grateful for...

2009-01-22T20:33:00.000-08:00

My kids have made me laugh so much today and Dallin's prayer included "please bless mama's foot, and please bless us to be nice". (I broke my toe a couple weeks ago, I didn't feel it was that exciting to create a post about it). He's so sweet to include me.

Todd is amazing. He works so hard to provide for our family and he's great with the kids. I'm so proud of him and so grateful for him.

My siblings. What a big year we have coming up! A wedding, a baby, a new house!

My parents. I don't feel like I need to elaborate much here. When you become a parent, you finally appreciate all the hard work that YOUR parents put into raising you. Thanks Mom and Dad!

I'm grateful for the church in my life. Our stake presidency gave us a "focus, challenge and promise" this year. The fireside Sunday night was wonderful, and full of hope and joy for the future.

I'm grateful for gluten free foods so Maddie can have pizza when the rest of us are.

I'm grateful for our home. Safe, secure and simple.
I'm grateful for cars that run. I never worry that it's not going to start.
I'm grateful for the scriptures and the counsel in them.
I'm grateful for our Prophet and his counselors.
I'm grateful for the snow, and rain.
I'm grateful for a sunny day in the middle of January.

I could keep going but I need to get her royal majesty to bed.

If you were my SD card reader...

2009-01-21T18:38:00.000-08:00

Where would you be? I'd like to get Maddie's birthday pictures off of the camera please.

3 years ago...

2009-01-14T21:45:00.000-08:00

3 years ago Todd and I decided that we needed to find somewhere to live when we moved away from the military and since I still had 5/6 weeks left of my pregnancy, he decided to go that weekend. Both of us has a weird feeling about him leaving, but neither of us mentioned it to the other until later...and now we know why.

Because 3 years ago, my water broke at 5 AM, 5/6 weeks early and I had no husband to take me to the hospital. I tried calling his cell phone but it went straight to his voicemail. I was terrified. I called 2 neighbors. One was more pregnant than I was (by about 2 weeks) and the other was a newlywed. The newlywed stayed with my sleeping Dallin while I called an ambulance to come and get me and take me to the hospital. I didn't think it would be a great idea to drive myself the 45 minutes it would take to get there. I called my parents, I called my friend in Tennessee...I called Todd...again. No answer.

Ambulance came. I had nothing packed. My waters kept making a mess (contrary to popular belief, it doesn't stop once it pops...it continually replenishes itself...and makes a BIG mess.) I tried to throw a few things in a backpack but I wasn't thinking straight. I had no idea what to bring. The EMT's arrived. Wonderful. I went to the back room to change my pants (again...and yes I had put a pad on but it wasn't a big help). They loaded me into the ambulance. I begged them not to turn on the lights and sirens. They laughed at me. I called Todd again.

We made it to the hospital. I was admitted quickly. They asked me if I was sure it was my water. I told them to take a look at my pants. Duh. I didn't wet myself. I called Todd again.

My mom was on her way. She had called the in-laws who were trying to reach Todd. My OB did a quick ultrasound to make sure she was head down and then they put me in a room. To wait. Alone.

at 7:20 Todd called. He was on his way. His parents had somehow gotten a hold of the family Todd was staying with, and the dad had gone driving around Alamosa to find Todd to tell him to turn his phone on because his wife was in the hospital. Hehehe...I wish I could have seen his face.

My sweet, very pregnant neighbor showed up. Bless her. She told me "I don't want you to have to do this alone, I'll wait here until Todd or your mom shows up". And she did. For 5 hours she waited with me, answered my phone while I was knocked out with nubaine. They wanted to give me Pitocin. I wouldn't let them until I got an epidural. I know what pitocin does. I didn't want to feel it.

Todd showed up at 1. Same time the drug guy did. Worst epidural ever. Mom showed up shortly after that.

And Maddie arrived at 4:30.

She was blue. And floppy. And not crying. I listened while they worked on her and then she let out a small wail. They showed her to me and took her away. I was scared.

Doctor spent an hour putting me back together. Apparently Maddie is some sort of a contortionist because she actually crowned with her FOOT by her head. Thanks for that chica.

When my epidural wore off I could visit her. She was connected to a bunch of wires. And monitors. Her skin was beat red from the heat lamp. I couldn't hold her. My heart broke. But we were lucky.

It took less time than most. Only 24 hours and she was off oxygen and 3 days after she was born we were going home.

She's been a spitfire since day 1 but I wouldn't trade her for the world. If anyone is wondering why we don't have another one already...let's just say that this is the condensed version of the story. I've had 2 kids and 2 very traumatic deliveries. I'm still trying to convince myself I CAN do it again.

SO HAPPY BIRTHDAY little Peanut. Which is what we've called you since you were born. 5 pounds and 18 inches long. No name for 3 days. So Peanut it was...and you will always be my little Peanut...Peanut Butter!! (and jelly)

Pictures tomorrow...it's been a long day.

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T20:12:00.000-08:00

From our family to yours. We hope that 2009 brings blessings and happiness to you and yours!

And yes, I am again, behind the camera (on purpose). Until the baby weight comes off, I'm not showing my fat face online. Thankyouverymuch.

Maddie's scared face

2008-12-31T20:10:00.000-08:00

You know you laughed...because I do. Every time.

The house is a disaster...

2008-12-29T09:34:00.000-08:00

We returned from Arizona Saturday. Thankfully the roads weren't bad at all. We drove both cars since I went several days earlier than Todd.
We arrived home and unloaded the car and I started in on the mounds of laundry. Really though, the entire house looks like it threw up all over itself. It's bad. Really bad. And I don't even know where to start. Todd left in a hurry to get to Arizona before the storm hit, so some things weren't taken care of before he rushed off. I'm staring into a sink full of week old dirty dishes and I can't get myself to even start on that project.
I need to go grocery shopping. I have a few presents to exchange (doubles). And more laundry to do.
I'm tempted to throw stuff in bags and donate it to the children's shelter here because I don't want to deal with it, but I don't think that will go over very well. Heh.

Any suggestions on how to start this monumental task? Maybe I'll go hide in the closet...at least I can see the floor in there.

Merry Christmas Eve...hohoho

2008-12-24T11:58:00.001-08:00

Sorry, no pictures yet but there will be when I get home. We're in the White Mtns visiting family. I'm sick with something weird. (nothing contagious I don't think) I'm kind of scrooge-ing it at the moment, but I'm sure tonight will be much better when the craziness starts.

So Merry Christmas everyone!

PSA re: norovirus/norwalk virus aka: the stomach flu

2008-12-15T13:24:00.000-08:00

Tis the season to spread the germs...but please try to keep this bug to yourself, my kids tend to end up in the hospital due to dehydration.

Some myths and facts about the stomach bug that you may not know.

#1 Purell and similiar "anti-bacterial" hand sanitizers do NOT kill the stomach bug, sorry. You're just smearing them around on your hands. If you want something that KILLS it, use something with the active ingredient "Benzethonium Chloride" found in "Wet Ones" brand wipes and at www.thegermzapper.com. I love wet ones because you are actually WIPING the germs off. This, of course is second only to proper handwashing.
#2 Handwashing. Please wash your hands after using the restroom. Warm water and soap. Rub together and make lots of bubbles while singing "Happy Birthday" or your "ABC's". (Approx 20 seconds)
#3 Lysol also does not kill this virus. Only bleach and the Benzethonium Chloride. Bummer because I LOVE my Mr. Clean w/ Febreeze. If someone gets sick, BLEACH everything possible. And wash your hands again.
#4 You are contagious for up to 2 weeks. Yup. You read that right. But as long as #2 is being done, you shouldn't spread it.
It is not airborne like a cold. It is spread "fecal-oral". Don't ask me to explain that please, but suffice it to say that if everyone washed their hands like they were supposed to, this wouldn't be a problem.

Don't ask how I know these things. If you really want to know, google "emetophobia" and you will understand why I'm neurotic.

Thanksgiving and other fun stuff

2008-12-02T14:32:00.000-08:00

So about a year ago I caught the Disneyland bug in a bad way. When Todd was at USC we had season passes and went all.the.time. This was, of course before we had kids. As kids, we grew up doing Disney a lot because my grandparents lived in Southern Cali for a LONG time. I wanted to see if we could do a trip with as many of the sibs as possible. It turned out that back in June (July?) one of my brothers (Josh) was accepted to the Police academy so he and his beautiful wife couldn't make it. And for a variety of other reasons, Justin and Trina couldn't make it either. So it was Adam and Tiff and baby J, our parents and 2 youngest siblings Cody and Lacey and the 4 of us (Todd, me, Dallin and Maddie). I commendeered the entire procedure, including scoring us a killer deal on a hotel within walking distance, getting tickets before the Sept. 1 price increase, reserving T-day dinner for 15 etc. We had a lot of fun, and I think everyone was glad I was "the boss" because we never ended up waiting for more than 10 minutes for anything. (Get there early and you have the park to yourself). Of course, directing that many people and trying to keep everyone happy was exhausting and I need about a week to recoup.

Overall it was a great trip, even if we did have to drive oh...15 hours each way. I'll post more pictures soon...

Sorry...

2008-11-01T10:10:00.001-07:00

I don't know why my pictures are getting chopped up but I've been trying to fix it and I'm totally at a loss...so enjoy HALF of the pictures I took. Ugh.

Happy Halloween...late again.

2008-11-01T09:23:00.000-07:00

Maddie's surgery Tuesday went well. She had her second set of tubes put in her ears and had her adnoids taken out. Unfortunately Dallin brought home a pretty nasty cold bug that she has caught (along with Todd and I) and with it and the post-surgery sore throat she's pretty miserable. She's been watching Shrek 2 and 3 a lot (better than Dora or Max and Ruby for 4 days straight!!)Thank goodness for good medication...

Maddie wanted to go TOTing last night so we went to the churches Trunk or Treat. She was SO cute saying "Twick or Tweet" "Thank YOU" to everyone who gave her candy. She decided last minute that she did NOT want to be Cinderella, she wanted to be a pirate like her brother so I threw her costume together in about 5 minutes...no one knew what she was but she was cute anyway.

Dallin was Captain Jack Sparrow (again) This costume will probably fit again next year too but he said he needs a sword.

And what is this? Gum in Maddie's hair. Her hair is very fine and if I cut that part out she'd have a pretty significant bald spot. So I took the Peanut Butter to it. Thankfully it all came out with little effort, although she was ticked I had to wash her hair out but there was no way I'd sleep with her next to me smelling like minty peanut butter. Blech.

Fun in Arizona

2008-10-22T19:59:00.000-07:00

Man I miss Arizona. I miss family. It's hard being so far away, but this is the closest we've been since Todd and I got married 7 years ago. About 3 hours and 45 minutes will get you to my mom's house and another 45 to Pinetop. That's with no potty breaks though. Heh. That rarely happens.

The kids had so much fun at Nana's house on the big swing. We had a small birthday "party" with family Saturday night and it was such a blast. Adam and Tiff came up too for Jocelyn's birthday and it was so much fun seeing them. It really makes me miss everyone and I wish we lived closer. Right now Todd's job is ok but if anyone knows of an office looking for a kick-butt dentist let us know! Hahaha!

Picture overload

2008-10-19T20:23:00.000-07:00

Errm...yeah. So it's been awhile since I posted any pictures of my beautiful kids so I think it's long overdue. Yes, a picture loaded post. You can shout "hooray" because I know you were thinking it. Heh...no? Ok then, I guess this is just for me. And no photography criticism please...these are straight out of the camera, I'm too tired to photoshop (plus I'm really not that good at it) I know there is a serious white balance issue here.

I have to say that this is probably my favorite picture of my kids because it really shows how much they love each other. Although they don't always show it, this picture captured their love and it makes my heart melt. Dallin is an amazing big brother with a big heart and a sweet spirit. I'm so grateful for him.

So silly and so fun!Because she's so beautiful when she's asleep. It doesn't happen often. She's not a good sleeper.

Dallin was letting me try out my new camera on him.

And that's it for me because I've got to get my rear to bed. See...I'm trying to lose weight. The "baby weight" is stubborn and won't come off so I've been going to the gym for the last 6 WEEKS at 5:30 AM (yeah you read that right) for an hour on the elliptical. And you want to know how much weight I've lost? 4 pounds. Not happy. Weight watchers can kiss my shoes. I'm trying South Beach.

You know...sometimes my heart just breaks...

2008-10-16T21:38:00.000-07:00

I was reading a friends blog and her daughter (about the same age as mine) was eating a huge cupcake from a bakery. It made me sad for Maddie, who will never be able to eat a cupcake from a bakery, or a donut from Krispie Kreme, or a regular birthday cake from Safeway. Of course none of these things are healthy but to never even be able to have that treat, it just made me sad for her.

For those wondering, Maddie has a severe gluten intolerance or Celiac disease. We had her tested in May and found out that she also had a severe malapsorption issue, which is why her little self only weighed in at 21 pounds. Since taking her off gluten in May, she has gained a whopping 3 pounds, which in toddler pounds is a LOT. She's still very petite at 24 pounds and 32 inches she's about the size of an 18 month old but otherwise you'd never know she's different. She's so smart and talks like she's 13. Oh heavens we are going to have a blast with her as a teenager.

At church we've had to bring her gluten free bread for sacrament. Nursery presented a challenge but the leaders have been wonderful. They HAVE to wipe her hands before she eats. I bring her a special snack. Every once in awhile she gets glutened and it's very obvious but for the most part they do an awesome job.

As a mother you don't want your child to suffer. From the time Maddie was VERY young I knew something wasn't "right". I felt very proud of myself when I finally decided to do the testing (we went through an independant lab because the doctor's didn't believe there was any problem).
I'm glad we have answers. It's not easy (a lot of the time it's a huge pain in the rear) but it's worth it.
But it makes me sad. I'm scared to send her to school. People don't understand "gluten sensitive" like they understand "peanut allergy". She won't be able to have birthday cake when it's another child's birthday. Even some ice creams have gluten. She can't trade food with other kids because it could be cross contaminated. I try not to think of the "stuff" she'll miss out on because it really breaks my heart. All of it is food related, which is silly but our society is very focused on food. You don't realize it until it's taken away. No pizza parties, no sub sandwiches, no flour tortillas.

But I'm so grateful it's not anything worse. Her "problem" is taken care of simply with diet. That's it. No medication, no special exercises, nothing. Just diet. And it's so worth it to see your child respond the way she has. The difference is astounding.

She's an amazing little bug. She's sleeping on the couch behind me (we have sleeping problems with her, but that's not related) and giggling in her sleep. I tell you what, there is NOTHING cuter than that. And I'm so grateful for her.

Happy Birthday Dallin!!

2008-10-08T18:57:00.000-07:00

My buddy is 5 today! I can't even believe it. More coming tomorrow when I'm not so tired. I got up at 5 this morning to go to the gym (and yet, I'm STILL not losing weight *sigh*).

Be back later :)

mmmkay...

2008-09-10T09:19:00.000-07:00

For NOW I'm going to stay public. I have had many long-lost friends contact me through this blog and I'd hate for someone to stumble upon the front page only to have them see that it is private and they can't contact me. At some point in the future, I may go private (if I get any more weirdos commenting) but for now I'll stay public.

Dallin has started preschool again. He missed the cutoff for kindergarden by 1 month and 1 week. He doesn't care though because he LOOOOVES preschool, and I LOVE having a little bit of quiet in the afternoon. I don't have any "first day of school" pictures because he had STREP and missed the first day. So sad.

Maddie is now potty trained (wooo-hooo!!!) so that's her major accomplishment. We're working on staying in her bed all night next. *yawn*

And for those who have been eagerly awaiting pictures...here are a few from our most recent trip to Silverton, CO a couple of weeks ago. The kids wanted to play in the stream and went "fishing" with sticks. They had SO much fun.

Not yet...

2008-08-21T09:39:00.001-07:00

We haven't gone private yet because I'm lazy...but it will happen when you least expect it!

Going private

2008-07-10T00:29:00.001-07:00

Please post your email in the comments section if you would like to be able to continue to read updates to our blog. I will be going private at the end of the month.

Happy 4th of July...late

2008-07-09T14:17:00.000-07:00

Sorry. I've been dealing with more bodily fluids than I care to mention. Here are a couple of my favorite shots from the 4th (and 5th) of July :) Sorry a couple are pretty pixelated.

Prayers for Peanut

2008-07-07T14:02:00.000-07:00

Maddie got mowed over by a 4 YO friend yesterday and hit her head on the tile floor at the house we were visiting. We watched her and she seemed ok (despite the goose egg on the back of her head) but she woke at about midnight and started throwing up. I'm not really one to take my kids to the ER but head injuries aren't to be messed with so I took her in. They bypassed most of the other patients and got us in quickly. As soon as they brought us back, she had a REALLY awful diaper. I knew at that moment we were dealing with rotavirus. Dallin had it when I was pregnant w/ Maddie and I will never ever ever ever forget the smell.
They did a CAT scan and it came back normal. Now I'm just watching her for dehydration. Any prayers would be appreciated. My kids don't do well with stomach viruses and we've ended up in the ER more often than not because of them. I don't want to go back. *sigh*

And Todd is headed out of town tomorrow...please pray Dallin doesn't get it while he's gone.

Sleep

2008-07-03T12:32:00.001-07:00

Maddie fell asleep on the couch yesterday in nothing but her little pettiskirt (the only thing besides her swimming suit I can get her to wear). I took these and some people on ILP photoshopped them a smidge for me (popped color, added texture to the couch).

Just in case...

2008-06-30T23:25:00.000-07:00

Anyone checks my blog, I thought I'd give an update. :)
We've been enjoying summer vacation, finishing up "moving in" and traveling home to visit family. Everyone is doing well and we are enjoying our new home. It's finally CLEAN! (you know how it is when you move and it takes a million years to find new homes for stuff).

Anyway. That's about it. I think I have about 3 readers out there but I wanted them to know we're doing ok :)

The crud...

2008-05-23T23:16:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure where it came from but it has joined our family for the last week or so. It started with Maddie and a runny nose. It caught Dallin and gave him a tickle in his throat. I got that tickle Monday. Dallin's tickle turned into a cough. A cough so intense that he would throw up and turn blue, Then a fever. And a "mom it hurts in my ear". After 2 doctor trips (why we didn't catch the ear thing the day before is beyond me, but the doctor said his ears were fine 24 hours earlier). So D and I are on antibiotics. Maddie has started coughing tonight (it sounds like drainage, and I'm praying it doesn't get worse!!) We were supposed to leave for Arizona today for a week, but that trip has been postponed. We are leaving Monday if everyone is doing better. Wednesday is as late as I can leave so we all BETTER be well by then!

That said, I can't complain too much. We haven't been too sick since February. I think that's pretty good considering Dallin is still going to prechool.
And speaking of Dallin, he finally fell asleep (he took a LATE nap 5-7PM) so I'm going to get my sick rear in bed too.

Mother's Day at Home :)

2008-05-13T20:29:00.000-07:00

We took a short trip home again this weekend to spend Mother's Day with our mommys :) It was a wonderful trip and I got 2 GREAT pictures of the kids. Aren't they cute!

Unfortunately when I loaded them they look kind of weird, but you can still see how beautiful they are.

7 years today!

2008-05-12T15:19:00.000-07:00

Todd and I have been married for 7 years. I can't believe it! Woohoo!

Grateful

2008-05-07T21:42:00.000-07:00

I am so grateful for SO much. I am so blessed. I wanted to list some of the things I was thinking about tonight. (And fair warning, some are really silly!!) In no particular order (although my family IS what I am most grateful for)

1. My Family
2. My family's health
3. My health
4. Our new house that is so insulated that it only varies about 5 degrees inside when it varies 50 outside. LOVE that!!
5. Our church, and the peace it brings to my life
6. Food (yeah I like to eat, but more importantly, I'm grateful we can feed our children)
7. 2 cars that run. And mine gets 26 mpg. Love it.
8. Todd's job that provides for our family
9. Gluten free foods for Maddie. I'm grateful we live in a time when they are available
10. Ok this is super dumb, but I'm grateful for my new fridge that doesn't smell like butt. The fridge we used at the rental was clean (after I took BLEACH to it, but still stunk). Oh, and I'm grateful my fridge has a water dispenser. Cold water mmmmm...
11. Bathtubs with slanted backs so I can lay down and read. You know, when I have 5 minutes to myself. The kids think this feature is a slide. "I slide down mama" Maddie says. Oy!
12. An incredibly talented little sister who cut and dyed my hair at cosmo school for $37. Last time I went to a salon it cost me $100 more that that!!
13. Reading with my kids. They are SO smart. It amazes me.
14. The 2 hours between the time when the kids go to sleep and I go to sleep. Ah...quiet.
15. Good friends
16. Outside and sunshine
17. Temps in the 70's.
18. Cute shoes that don't hurt my feet.
19. Garage door openers that work. Let me tell you how not fun they are when they DON'T work.
20. Ok I could keep going but it's late. SO this is the last one...I'm grateful for baby/toddler kisses. Nothing is quite as sweet as your child giving you a hug and a kiss and telling you "I wuf you mama". Awwww.

Please pray for Samuel and his family

2008-05-05T12:28:00.000-07:00

I have been following his story for 4 years and my heart is breaking for this family. They have been through SO much. Please pray that his passing will be swift and he will be free from the pain he has endured for so long.

*Warning: VERY sad*
http://www.samuelbackus.com/SamuelsUpdates.html

Silverton and Durango again :)

2008-04-30T09:19:00.000-07:00

What can I say? We LOVE it there. We found an awesome NEW place to stay too. It's clean and NEW and comfortable. Did I mention it's NEW?? Not 100 years old. Not that I don't LOVE sleeping in old brothels, but hey...something new and comfortable. I'll take it. It's called Lola's Place and I HIGHLY recommend them. Tell them we sent you. Tommy is very nice and will talk to you forever and his wife is super sweet as well.
Anyway, before we headed up, we stopped at the Durango Fish Hatchery. I was trying to take pictures while keeping Maddie from swimming with the fish. The ugly fish. Ew.

Here are some pictures. They are straight out of the camera, and I wasn't really going for "great photography". Sometimes, on vacation you can't stop to mess with settings or you'll completely miss the vacation. So I just tried to get some decent shots.

Trying my hand at photography...

2008-04-22T15:34:00.000-07:00

As much as I love my little point and shoot camera, I wanted to try it the hard way. With a digital SLR and in manual mode. I'm still new (only at this for a week) but so far I'm pretty pleased. Of course in a year I'll come back and laugh that I ever thought these were worth putting up, but hey...for now I like them :)

Moved in...almost!

2008-04-17T10:24:00.000-07:00

95% of our stuff is now at the house and put away. The other 5% is still over at the apartment. I have another week to get it out and clean up. I've been picking up a load or two when I drop off/pick up Dallin from school since it's right around the corner and I have to pick up the mail there anyway.
It's amazing how wonderful having extra space is. Dallin is SO happy to have his own room and lots of floor space to set up his train tracks.
Here are a few pictures for anyone wondering. I'm not showing the front because I don't want any weirdos coming to my house ;)

I know you all missed me...

2008-03-29T20:55:00.001-07:00

To all my 3 readers out there, I'm sorry about the couple days I haven't posted. Well, no I'm not. We've been gone with my parents and youngest brother Cody (who will be 13 in about a week). We spent some time in Silverton, CO and Durango, CO for the last few days. This included staying at the historic (and kind of crooked) Teller Hotel. I think it threw Maddie off a little because she kept laying down in the hallway like it was making her dizzy. We were the only ones there that night so we got the whole place to ourselves. It was an adventure. Let's just say I was SO grateful for the king size fluffy bed at the Hampton in Durango the next night!
We walked around a little bit, ate at the Brown Bear cafe for both dinner and breakfast because in the winter just about everything in Silverton is closed. We went sledding at Kendall Mountain which was REALLY fun, but Maddie wasn't sure what to think of the snow.
We went to the Venture snowboard shop and I stayed out in front with the kids while the rest of the family went "backstage" to see the factory. The kids LOVED the resident cats that live in the shop. They were fat and friendly.

We left Silverton after our sledding adventure and returned to Durango where we walked around on Main street, ran through the train museum because it was closing, saw one of the steam trains pull in (and run over some pennies).

We returned to the Hampton a wee bit early because really, we were all exhausted.
This morning we got up and puttered around for awhile. We ate the complimentary breakfast that the Hampton provided, and went to the Durango Museum.

We walked along the river, went to the health food store and decided that because Maddie, because she is the royal princess in charge of everything was throwing a fit, we should return to Farmington and let her sleep in the car. It worked out well and no sooner had we started out of town when we heard her snoring from the back seat. *phew*
We ate a late lunch at Red Lobster before they returned to Taylor.
It was SO wonderful spending time with the family, I wish everyone could have come. It's kind of weird only having ONE of my siblings with us, but it was still really really fun. I hope they come back soon.
And if anyone else wants to come visit, we are 45 minutes from Durango, about an hour and 45 from Silverton. We love visitors! Oh and we'll have a HOUSE in about 2 weeks! Woohooo!!

Happy Easter (a day late)

2008-03-24T13:03:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the day later post but I was SO sick yesterday. I got to sing in church, but because 90% of our ward was out of town (it's Spring Break this week) I couldn't find ANYONE to play for me. So I sang acapella. Fun. To add insult to injury, I have a sinus infection and singing with a stuffy nose and sore throat is a challenge. So I started the song about 4 notes lower than written. LOL!

Anyway, here are a couple pictures of the kids. It was AWFUL lighting but you get the idea.

And today's update:
Maddie had her 2 year appointment (yes, I know we're a little late) and the doctor is recommending a celiac panel test so see if Maddie's growth issues are because of celiac or if she's just small. I'm hoping it's just genetics. She's already wheat, egg, soy and peanut free. I don't really want to have to do completely gluten free as well.
Her stats:
22 pounds WITH clothes
31 inches WITH shoes
He said she's about the size of an average 16 month old!
She says more than the "50 words" that they are looking for. She can tell you where ALL her body parts are (including her armpit and elbow), she knows most of her colors, can count to 10 (but skips 6) and can sing her ABCs. She gets herself dressed and undressed, puts her shoes on (usually the right feet) and can color. So she's above average mentally, but significantly under average for her size.
But look at Grammie Mimi (my mom). At a 5 foot even and a whopping 100 pounds, I think Maddie's just going to be "mimi size" :)

Park fun! Great weather!

2008-03-21T18:34:00.000-07:00

We really couldn't ask for better park weather these last few days. We took advantage of Dallin being out of school to have a picnic at the park with our friends. The kids had a wonderful time and it made Maddie tired enough that she had a GREAT nap!

We spent the afternoon grocery shopping (which I HATE doing with two kids!!) and picking up the house because tomorrow Todd and I are headed back to Purgatory one last time to ski/snowboard. Unless an awesome storm comes in, we're guessing this will be the last week with decent snow.

Here are a few pictures at the park. Sorry, no pictures of the grocery shopping. I'm sure you're so disappointed!

And HELLO, I'm getting 20+hits a day and no comments. No one has anything to say? *sad face*

Maddie, What's your name?

2008-03-18T17:38:00.001-07:00

Ever since Maddie arrived 6 weeks early and weighed in at just over 5 pounds, she has been known as "Peanut". At 26 months she is still my Peanut. And in this short video you'll hear her tell you her name. We're trying to teach her her "real name" which she also says. The mess on her face is a gluten-free cookie. And she was trying to watch Noggin so she wasn't paying total attention to me.

Oh, and she'll also tell you what a frog, cow and elephant say, but listen close and turn your volume up all the way or you'll miss it.

Uncle Adam, the letter is in the mail. Dallin wrote his name REALLY big on the front of the envelope so you'll know it's from him. He sure loves you!

And hey, if you read my blog, please post a comment...I'd love to know who's peeking in on us!

If anyone knows a stat counter site...

2008-03-17T20:42:00.000-07:00

That DOESN'T put an annoying add under your counter, PLEASE let me know. This one is stupid.

I really think I have THE cutest kids ever!

2008-03-17T15:24:00.001-07:00

Yup. They are the cutest! Too bad I stink at taking good pictures.

Fun times!

2008-03-16T21:33:00.001-07:00

Lacey, Cody and Mom came up Friday evening and we went to Purgatory Saturday. Lacey stayed home and watched the monkies.

Honestly, this was the first time I can say that it was FUN. Before I really couldn't understand how sliding down a hill on 2 sticks (or 1 stick if you are snowboarding) can POSSIBLY be fun...BUT yesterday I finally understood. I skied on shorties (135) and had boots that didn't cut off circulation to my toes. I actually skied blues! Go me!!! Of course my body is horribly out of shape and I couldn't move this morning, but hey! Yesterday was FUN!

We didn't end up going to church because everyone is still coughing. I have to say that I REALLY hate NOT going. I love being in the nursery with the sweet babies. I love being able to keep an eye on my little peanut (she's the smallest, although not the youngest).

Speaking of my little peanut, She is still 21 pounds. 26 months old and still wearing 12-18 month clothes. BUT she's SMART. I have to get it on video but if you ask her what a frog says, she say s "ri-ri-ri- BIP!!!" It's SO cute. And she counts in spanish, and knows her colors.

Dallin is writing his name, counting to 20, and starting addition. He LOVES school and I am so proud of him. I'll have to get a picture of his name. It's GREAT!

Cold meds are kicking in. I better go before I start typing things backwards!

Tagged? Who me?

2008-03-16T21:12:00.001-07:00

Thanks Tiff for tagging me ;)

Hmmm...
1. I have a horrible phobia of vomit. Sound crazy? Well google emetephobia and you'll see what I'm talking about. It's getting better though, but I've had it as long as I can remember. I still have panic attacks but they are much less frequent.

2. When I was a teenager I didn't want kids because of phobia in #1. Eventually the mothering instinct overrode the phobia and I wanted a baby more than I was afraid of the barf.

3. I HATED High School. We moved to a new town when I was 15 and it was pretty hard on me. I was probably one of the only people who didn't cry at graduation because I was SO ready to leave.

4. I've never been outside of the US, except a trip to Mexico my senior year for spanish club. Even then, I could BARELY understand anything.

5. Some people know this, but when I was 18 I sang the National Anthem at an Arizona Diamondbacks game. And to make me sound even cooler, I was invited. I did not audition.

6. Someday I want to go to Switzerland. Adam went there on his mission and I am still insanely jealous.

7. I sang at church when I was 3. All by myself. Yup. I think the choir hummed behind me or something, but I don't remember it.

And I don't even know enough bloggers to tag 7 people, so if you read this and haven't been tagged...consider yourself tagged ok?

Some big news!

2008-03-13T09:25:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not pregnant (shame on you for thinking that!!). I refuse to even try for another child until I get rid of the 30 pounds of baby weight that won't go away. So don't go there.
We are buying a house! I am very excited, and nervous at the same time. This will be our third move in 3 years. I am tired of moving. Hopefully we'll be there for awhile. I'll post pictures as we get closer to the closing date.

I have to admit, I'm better at reading other people's blogs than updating my own. Why? Well that would be because I don't think anyone reads my blog.

But just in case there is someone out there who is going through picture withdrawl, here is a very silly picture of my kids. Notice Dallin's shoes are on the wrong feet...AGAIN. I can't see how that is comfortable at all. Maddie never has them on the wrong feet, probably because she's a bit more particular than Dallin is.
And if anyone is wondering why I don't post pictures of myself. Read the first paragraph again.

NO we're not dead...no I don't have pictures...

2008-03-11T15:31:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time and really it's because I've been busy. And lazy. That is all. We've actually been pretty healthy for the most part (besides the constant runny nose thing) and life is puttering along well.

Almost a month...

2008-02-05T21:27:00.000-08:00

Everyone was healthy for nearly a month...then we got a lovely cold buggie, that turned into the most horrific cough for Dallin, the WORST ear infection Maddie has ever had (yes, even with the tubes which drained all sorts of nastiness...so gross) a cough for Todd that has NOT gone away yet and now...yipee! I have the head cold from you know where.

I will post a better bloggie later. Fuzzy head...

Birthday Pictures

2008-01-16T11:54:00.000-08:00

It was fun :)
Goofy grin and "cheeeeeeeeeeese!!!!"
Gluten-free/egg-free cake. Ugly...but it tasted good! And more than a little attitude from Maddie when I asked her to smile for me. She is such a 2 year old.

Please pray for this family...

2008-01-15T18:51:00.000-08:00

Their story is absolutely inspiring. Please say a prayer for Tricia, Gwenyth and Nathan. And head over to their blog too so you can read how absolutely amazing their story is!

http://cfhusband.blogspot.com/

Duuur...I really can post pictures.

2008-01-12T17:12:00.002-08:00

So sorry. And the video...oy. I really am slow these days.

Wait...it's January WHAT??

2008-01-10T20:22:00.001-08:00

How have I completely missed the last 3 weeks? Good grief the holidays went SO fast. It was a blast hanging out with the family. Christmas Eve was awesome with everyone sharing their talents. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family. My brothers (for those who don't know them) are the MOST fun group of guys you will ever meet. They are each fun on their own, but put all 3 of those guys together and it is an absolute riot. Make sure to bring your Depends...
My 3 youngest siblings are all growing up so fast it's making me feel old. Trina turned 19 in October and Lacey 16 in November and Cody is quickly coming up on 13 in April...it's insane!

We actually have been semi-healthy (knock on wood) for a few weeks. The kids have the runny nose thing going on, but it doesn't seem to affect them at all so I guess they aren't "sick".
I, however have been hit by a massive sinus and ear infection. So fun when it sounds like there is water in your ear all.day.long.
The kids are so fun though, they keep me laughing all day. Here is a video of Maddie rockin' out to High School Muscial 2's "Fabulous". I wish you could hear the music because her beat was spot on, but it's still pretty funny to watch.
[URL=http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y280/funnyfarmcreations/?action=view&current=MVI_0227.flv][IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y280/funnyfarmcreations/th_MVI_0227.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Dallin has this awesome talent that we had never seen before. He calls it his eyebrow dance. I will get that on video for you soon.
For the most part, they play well together. Maddie has quite an "I rule the world" attitude and gets VERY upset if things don't go her way. Dallin gets picked on a lot by his dominating little sister.
This picture captures their personalities perfectly. Silly sweet Dallin buddy and stone face Madison.

"Mommy, can you wake up and take care of me?"

2007-12-17T14:38:00.000-08:00

That is what my 4 year old said to me at 3 AM this morning. Now Dallin is not one who complains about not feeling well. Even with a stomach virus he never gave us any warning that he was feeling off (not really a good thing in that case) but this AM he woke me up with his pathetic little voice in between coughs "mommy...cough...cough...can you wake up...cough...and take care of me...cough cough...cough..."
So we got up (yes, we includes Maddie who doesn't sleep through ANY.THING.) and took a warm bath at 3 AM. Then I dosed her with benadryl for her nasty nose and Dallin got Delsym cough syrup and benadryl. When he told me his ear hurt I knew it had to be infected because he just doesn't complain unless it's bad.
I woke at 7 to get ready for the plumber (who never showed up by-the-way...how RUDE!!!) and at 8:30 I got the kids ready for the day and we waited...and waited...for an HOUR and Dallin coughed and coughed...so I took them in to Urgent care. Thankfully we have an awesome Urgent care clinic about 2 minutes from the condo and the wait wasn't bad (about 30 minutes in the front and 10 in the back). While waiting I peeked in Dallin's ears. BLOOD red. SO SOOOO infected. Poor guy!
Dr. came in and told me what I already knew, perscribed antibiotics for both kids (Maddie has a sinus infection) and a cough syrup for Dallin. Hopefully we will see some serious improvement now. It's been too long.

Getting ready...

2007-12-16T21:17:00.000-08:00

Christmas is fast approaching and I am struggling to get my head on straight so I we can leave Wednesday or Thursday (depends on the weather).

I have a few sewing projects to complete (shhh don't tell Todd, he thinks I'm done!) I need to finish packing, wipe the bathrooms down again, mop the kitchen floor (which I did tonight, but it will need it again before we leave) change the fish's water and feed it, get several packages in the mail (including one going to Canada, which means I have to go to the Post office and stand in line)...

Dallin has his Preschool Christmas program tomorrow night. He has a cough. Do I send him? I think I'll give him some cough/cold meds and pray he can stay awake for it. I think he'd be really sad if he missed it and besides, I KNOW that's where he picked it up!
I'm praying VERY hard that the kids are better by Friday because I really want to get together with Rachel, but I don't want to subject her children to the crud mine have. PLEEEEEEASE get better kids! Can we be healthy for just 1 week? Please?
I really don't have anything exciting to share. Too tired. Please tell Maddie to go to bed. We took a late nap and I'm sure she'll be up till Midnight again. Problem is, the landlord is coming at 8AM to check on the heater which means I need to be dressed and presentable by then. Heaven help me I need a break please!

Whew!

2007-12-05T20:06:00.001-08:00

How long has it been? Uh. Too long.

Lets' see. Thanksgiving we went home to Pinetop and spent some time with Todd's family. We also had the pleasure of spending time with my wonderful Grandma and Grandpa. Papa let me play with his nice camera. Oh how I would LOVE a camera like that (Nikon D80) but it's SO not in the budget this year seeing as Todd already bought me a laptop and an ipod nano. Can you belive this is the first ipod I've ever owned. Yes. I live under a rock.

The kids had a wonderful time swinging on the huge swing outside. If I can figure out this windows vista bologna I'll get those pictures loaded.
And of course Maddie is sick again (what would a post be without an illness???) This time I scheduled her in with the allergist in town who also happens to be the ENT that did her tubes. Her appointment was today and he agreed that SOMETHING is not right with her and ordered a full allergen screen. They took 3 HUGE vials of blood and she was SO angry about being held down. Thankfully she has a rockin' vein in her right arm so they only had to poke her once. And let me tell you, once was enough thankyouverymuch. Oy! So now we wait for the results and HOPEFULLY at that point we'll get some answers. Say a little prayer for answers, I don't know how much testing I can put her through :(

And here are some pictures I took with my new camera (that I bought with my very own sewing money woot!) that will probably be made into Christmas cards if I get busy and get them done...but yeah. I'm not really motivated right now. And yes they are sideways. Sorry. Just turn your head. Like I said...still trying to figure out this windows vista. Blah!

Back from the dead...or something like that

2007-11-16T13:27:00.000-08:00

So the kids have been sick, then we went to Phoenix for Josh and Emma's wedding. It was awesome, BTW. We got to see Adam and Tiff's little sweetie. Then this past week I have been trying to get caught up on laundry and housecleaning so we can go back to Arizona next week for Thanksgiving. Oh, and the list of custom orders is getting smaller too. Finally.

But yeah. Now I am sick with the crud the kids have had and I feel like poo so it's been forever since I've written. Not like anyone is really reading this or anything but still.
Here are some pictures from our recent trip to Albuquerque. Maddie had a pediatric cardiology appointment (everything is fine). We decided to take advantage of the situation and made it a mini-vacation. We stayed in the Embassy Suites and went to the zoo. And even better, my mom

met us there and the kids had a blast.

Adventures in Parenting

2007-10-25T10:26:00.000-07:00

Please forgive my lack of updates. We have had the plague. Well, not REALLY the plague, but a stomach virus which, in my humble opinion, may as well be the plague. This is kind of gross, so if you are easily nauseated please skip it LOL!

It started Sunday night at 11:15 with Dallin. He got sick all over his bed, the carpet, the floor on the way to the bathroom. As I was taking care of the barfy sheets, Todd wiped up the floor outside of Dallin's room. Meanwhile, Maddie was on my bed screaming hysterically because I was nursing her and left to help Todd. She was beyond mad at me. SO I'm rushing to get the barfies in the washer and came tearing out of Dallin's room only to hit the wet floor and went skidding into the wall in front of me, breaking my toe. Oh how fun that was. I almost said a bad word. I certainly thought a bad word. It hurt so much. I fought back tears as I hopped into the other room to get a stack of towels. Things calmed down somewhat after Todd bathed Dallin and I nursed Maddie back to sleep but Dallin was up every 2 hours getting sick. Thankfully, Todd took care of the barf catching, and I just cleaned up the aftermath. By Monday morning he was doing better, but didn't want anything to eat/drink. By that night he was better...or so I thought.

Fast forward to Wednesday. We go to the park in the morning. We had been cooped up in the house for a few days. Kids played. Fun fun. We get home and Dallin says he's cold and tired. I asked him what he wanted for lunch. Mac and cheese. Fine. I make it, we sit down on the floor picnic style. Maddie eats all of hers. Dallin doesn't touch his. I asked him if he was ok. He said he didn't know. He looked at me funny, burped and threw up what I'm pretty sure was a gallon of water. Apparently he drank too much too fast and his sensitive tummy didn't appreciate it. Fun.
So I cleaned up what I could and put both kids down for a nap. I actually managed to finish one order of sewing.
Later that night Maddie was whining at me. I got her ready for bed and was nursing her on the couch when she popped off and said "hurt" pointing to her tummy. Before I knew it, she threw up all over me, the couch, the floor, the rug...it was a MESS. So I ran her to the bathroom, cleaned up again, put her in the bath, washed her up and got the barf bowl back out from under the sink.
After several more rounds of vomiting she seemed to be doing better. She woke at 1:30 begging for water. Thankfully I had some pedialite from my 3 AM trip to Wal-Mart on Monday when Dallin was sick so I gave her a few teaspoons of it. She cried for more. I gave her about a cup of it over the course of an hour, followed by two popcicles and a short nursing session. All of it stayed down and we finally got to sleep around 3 AM.
This morning, everyone seems to be doing MUCH better. Thankfully this was a fast bug. Hopefully Todd and I won't get it. We've been washing our hands to the point that they are bleeding, but hey...we are germaphobic.

Having kids is never boring. That is for sure!

2007-10-21T15:49:00.001-07:00

Here's the Daddy warewolf...and my silly girl.

And here are some more of that fun day: Oh, and that little girl behind the wolf...yeah she kept coughing like she was hacking up a lung. We were a little irritated that someone would bring a child w/ such a gunky cough on an enclosed train ride with 100's of other children. Thanks a lot lady.

Isn't Dallin just the cheeziest little guy ever? ---------->

Durango vacation...and a warewolf family.

2007-10-21T15:38:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a lot of fun. We met up with Todd's family (Michelle and Aaron and their girls and Mom and Dad Wahlin) for the "Great Pumpkin Patch Express" in Durango. The family flew in Thursday night and Todd went up to meet them. Since Maddie was still looking a little pale, I decided it would be best to keep her out of the wind and stay home. Friday afternoon we all went up (Todd came back later Thursday night and worked Friday AM). We hung out and ate at Serious Texas BBQ for lunch and nearly lost our lives on the way back to the hotel when a Hispanic man in a huge suburban completely ran a stop sign and came FLYING at us at about 45 mph. I screamed (which I never do) and Todd slammed the brakes on just in time. The guy didn't even slow down or ANYTHING. It was SO not fun. I hate to think what would have happened if I hadn't screamed.

Saturday AM we went to the train station and rode the train up to a farm somewhere. On the way up, there was a family of warewolves (people were encouraged to wear their costumes). Dallin "doesn't like wufs" but Maddie was fascinated by the "bears" as she thought they were. As you can see from the pictures, they weren't friendly looking warewolves, but she liked them so much she wanted to SIT with them. So the daddy warewolf held her on his lap for the entire ride there and back (30 minutes each way!) which is SO unusual for Maddie. She's usually so incredibly shy she won't go to anyone she doesn't know REALLY well. She was SO relaxed she fell asleep on the way back.

More in the next post...

The quest for the perfect jeans...

2007-10-15T19:39:00.000-07:00

So I have started the never-ending quest for the perfect jeans. So many women have found "the pair" and I'm beginning to think that there ISN'T one out there for me. This lovely new body that has emerged from bearing children is no longer the body I once hated. It is a totally NEW body that I hate even MORE!! Yipee! Carrying children has forever stretched my stomach out so there is what so many refer to as "muffin topping" over the waistband of the jeans. I NEVER had a problem with my stomach before and this is just depressing. Of course it could be the extra 30 pounds I can't seem to get rid of too. Blah.
So I ordered a pair of "Not your Daughters Jeans" from Zappos.com. They are SO soft, a perfect dark wash and 2 inches too high in the rise for this short waisted mama. I'm keeping them anyway though because as long as I'm wearing a shirt (which I plan to if I'm leaving the house thankyouverymuch) you can't really tell. And did I mention they are SOOOO soft?

Anyway. I'm still on the lookout for a nice pair of jeans that makes my rear perky, takes inches off my waist and slims my thighs.

Maybe I should just get liposuction.

Writing for myself...

2007-10-14T13:44:00.000-07:00

You know what I think is funny? All these people who blog and have thousands of visitors every day. Me? Well I don't have that many friends so I blog for myself, and my grandma if she feels like reading.
Today is Sunday October 14th. It marks the 1 year anniversary of my Papa Buzz's death. I still miss him daily. I miss how he would play his banjo and make up the SILLIEST songs. Everyone was "a big ol' drink of water" and dogs were "groggers" as in "good ol' grogger". No matter how busy he was, he'd take the time to play with us. We loved his coin collection, the scrap papers in his desk drawer with the high school math on them. We'd pretend they were secret code or a treasure map. Because after all, being 6 years old, calculus and trig all looked foreign. We loved his big ol' belly, it made the best pillow. And he gave the BEST hugs. I miss him so much, but I know that he's SO happy on the other side. His poor old body fought hard there at the end, with the cancer taking over his organs and sending him into renal failure. I remember talking to him a few days before he died. His throat was scratchy from the tubes but he still managed to tell me he loved me as I did nothing but sob into the phone.
I can't believe it's already been a year.

And on a completely different subject. The kids are STILL sick with this blasted cold. Maddie's nose is nasty and that's all I'm saying about it. Blech. And of course, after a week of fighting it off, my body has decided it was too tired and now I have a sore throat too. Hopefully everyone will be better by Thursday because the Wahlin's are coming for the "Charlie Brown Pumpkin Patch Train" in Durango. Should be fun!!

Down on the Farm

2007-10-13T19:31:00.000-07:00

Todd works with some really neat people. One of the guys (Dan) has parents who live in Chimney Rock, CO about 1 1/2 hours from Farmington. They have a HUGE organic farm where they grow tons of fruits and veggies. Today we went out to the farm to pick pumpkins and enjoy the weather. It is just beautiful out there and the kids had a great time.
Maddie only threw a very small fit when we picked her up to go down a hill. She wanted to "wat". And she was MAD.
Anyway, I'm exhausted and not really witty this evening so here are some pictures :)

Just pictures...

2007-10-12T19:13:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to post a picture of Maddie from yesterday AM. You can see by her eyes that she DID NOT sleep...and sadly, I looked 10 times worse.

Surgery Day

2007-10-11T19:26:00.000-07:00

Maddie must have known something was up because she didn't sleep last night. She fell asleep at 9, got up at midnight and was up until 3 AM. Then again at 4:30 and 5:20. I nursed her for the last time and she was MAD at 6 when she couldn't nurse so we were up for the day. I think I got about 3 hours of sleep.

Since we were up, I went ahead and did her hair, got her dressed and sang some songs since she refused to sleep. We left a little before 7, it took 2 minutes to get there and we were signed in by 10 after 7. About 5 minutes later they called us back.

Now, this is one smart girl. She knew we were at a doctor's office, and she HATES doctors. She screamed the second they called her name. Oh she was SO mad when I took her clothes off and got her dressed in the scratchy yellow gown they provided. The nurses were all so in love with her pigtails "she looks like Cindy loo-who" they all said, and once she calmed down (thanks to a smart nurse with an annoying singing plush duck) she started talking to them. "what color is the duck?" they'd ask...she would every so brilliantly answer "purple". Because EVERYTHING is purple to Maddie.
When the ENT came back he said "ah yes, Miss Madison, the one with the attitude". Uh yeah. He about nailed it on the head.
The nurse took her out of my arms and I felt my heart leap. I hadn't even thought much about it and I wasn't nervous for more than just that split second. I went back out to the waiting room. No sooner had I sat down, looked at my phone to see what time it was (7:23) and put it back in my bag did the ENT come back out to talk to me. And 2 minutes after that the nurse came back to get me. He said "she's down the hall a bit, you'll hear her." And I think the entire surgery center heard her. She was LIVID coming out of the anesthesia. So mad. Wouldn't even nurse. Wouldn't let anyone touch her, tried to jump out of my arms. That was the worst part. She screamed all the way out to the car after I changed her diaper and got her dressed. She screamed all the way home. I thought for sure it was going to be the.longest.day.ever. but we got home, slept an hour before Todd had to head to work and when she woke up, she was FINE. And a totally different kid already. She must have felt REALLY awful all this time because she was SO good today. When the tylenol would wear off, she'd say "hurt" while sticking her fingers in both ears, but pain relief is quick in liquid form. Bless her heart.

So it's over. We will see if this makes a difference in her sleep. Oh PLEASE let it make a difference in her sleep. I am SO tired.

And Dallin. My special, sweet little boy. He is such a good big brother. He kept asking if she was ok and gave her lots of love today. I LOVE it when they love each other. It makes me see why my parents had so many.

And yes, I took a picture this morning before we left, but the camera software is re-downloading after our computer crash so I'll have to post a picture later :) Adios for now!

A mass of updates...

2007-10-03T19:59:00.000-07:00

This week has been the week of "catch up and run". Catch up w/ my orders and run around like a chicken with it's head cut off. (Do they really do that? By the way?)
Anyway. Monday AM BOTH kids and a regular ol' check up. So Dallin. My sweet not-so-little boy is 41 inches tall and 34 pounds. 60% for height and 40% for weight. Healthy as a horse. Smart as a whip. Perfect.

Maddie. My oh-so-incredibly-tiny daughter. 29 inches tall and a whopping 19 pounds. *sigh* No where NEAR the growth curve. Something like negative 10-15%. Boo. BUT he was very impressed that she talked so well. Yes. She's a chatterbox. Kind of like her mother. AND she knows some of her colors, all her body parts (including her elbow, how cute is that!?!) and she is funny as all get out.
He is concerned about 2 things though. #1 her ears. Yes. 10 infections in less than 2 years is too many. Referral to an ENT. And her heart. Yes. You read that right. Her heart. She has a murmur. He's not sure it is anything to be worried about, but just to be on the safe side he also gave us a referral to a pediatric cardiologist in Albuquerque. Hooray Road trip! It's times like this that I wish we lived in a place that had EVERYTHING we need. All the doctors within a 30 minute drive, OB's and midwives aplenty so that you could actually CHOOSE who delivers your children. Not here though. Oh well. At least we have a Target!

So Tuesday 10/2 (can you believe it's October already!?!) We had the appointment w/ the ENT. Super nice guy but was running an HOUR late. Fun with a toddler who's naptime was oh...and HOUR ago. Sheesh. So by the time he actually came in, she was HYSTERICAL and didn't want him to touch her. He looked in her ears and said that the infection she had a few weeks ago isn't cleared up yet and she needs tubes ASAP. Great! Schedule surgery for next Thursday 10/11. And smartie pants me, called Todd's office to have them block off as much of the morning as possible. He already had a 10 AM appointment, but hopefully we'll be done by then.
Anywho. That's the update from the headless chicken.
Off to do laundry so I can pack tomorrow for Dallin's birthday trip to Pinetop! Yipee!

Fun day!!

2007-09-22T19:25:00.000-07:00

Todd let me sleep in (bless him!!!) and we got up and went back to Durango. We rode our bikes along the river walk (which we've done a million times) played at the park, ate lunch at Serious Texas BBQ, then decided to go further to Silverton to see if the leaves were changing. They were and it was SO beautiful!! We walked around the little town and stopped in some stores. Everyone is having huge sales because the town shuts down at the end of October. The roads get so bad when it snows no one tries to go there and the railroad doesn't go there in the winter.

We went back to Durango, walked around a couple stores and headed home. It was a long day, but fun and wonderful to get out of the house. And the kids were reasonably behaved. Dallin threw a fit when he figured out we were going home "but I HATE Farmington mom!!!!" and Maddie threw a fit in Silverton for some unknown reason other than she wanted to "wat" which is "walk" and I was carrying her on my back. I took her down and she threw a fit right on her face. Graceful I tell you!

Overall, it was a fun day. I took a shower, fed the kids and checked my emails and I will be going to bed early because I'm still completely wiped out!

Tired...SO tired.

2007-09-21T15:46:00.000-07:00

I don't think anyone can TRULY understand exhaustion until they have been up countless nights in a row with a sick child. I don't even know how many times Maddie woke last night, but it was enough that again, in the morning when Dallin came in my room to ask for his usual "chocolate milk and a waffle" I honestly couldn't even open my eyes.

But I knew I had a massive amount of stuff on my "to do" list including the enormous pile of laundry in the room and a sink half full of dirty dishes. The only reason it wasn't completely full was because Todd did some last night.

The sleep deprivation is killing me. I'm not a good mom when I'm this tired. The kids watch entirely too much TV, my house falls apart and we eat pizza and chicken nuggets more times than I'd like to count.

*sigh* I can only hope that tonight's sleep is better than last.

My poor little Maddie girl...

2007-09-19T15:28:00.000-07:00

I feel so terrible for her. She was up several times last night with a fever and rapid breathing. I couldn't sleep knowing she felt so terrible. Today she's just been laying on the floor with all her animals. She's hysterical trying to carry them ALL at the same time and only having 2 arms. She gets SO mad when she drops one.

Here's my poor sick princess laying on the floor.

Grocery day...fun fun fun...and Maddie's sick AGAIN!

2007-09-18T20:50:00.000-07:00

Todd and I have really re-done (or FINALLY figured out) a grocery budget. He gives me cash twice a month and I spend it. I HATE grocery shopping. I truly do. I hate trying to figure out what my family will eat, making a detailed list of what I need, cutting coupons, dragging both kids to the store (and I go to 2 stores because I refuse to buy wal-mart milk/produce/meat). And knowing that I get to actually COOK it. Yeah. Not my idea of fun.

But today was different. Our AM trip to Wal-Mart resulted in only a very small tantrum by Dallin "but I waaaant a DONUT!!!" and a short screaming fit by Maddie who was on my back in a Beco Baby carrier. I handed her a slice of wheat bread and she stopped. Apparently she was hungry. Go figure.

So I get the Wal-Mart part of the shopping over with. $122 later I have just about everything on my list. We go home, I fix sandwiches (Dallin's "cold cheese" which I suppose is the opposite of grilled cheese) and I take Dallin to preschool. Usually he LOVES preschool. His teachers actually come to the car to get them out and put them in (which is wonderful when Maddie falls asleep) but today, he came RUNNING back to the car in TEARS before I drove off saying that he missed me and wanted more hugs. I felt awful leaving him but his teachers assured me he'd be fine. And of course he was.

After dropping him off, Maddie and I ran to Safeway to get produce, chicken, milk, cottage cheese etc. and some random stuff that was on sale. I was SO excited after I handed the cashier my pile of coupons, my total went from $142 to $77. Yeah me! And this will last 2 weeks PLUS I've been buying extra for our food storage.
We also have 15 gallons of water under Maddie's toddler bed. Woohoo!

Maddie woke from her nap with a low grade fever (99.8) and her nose was still running from the last ear infection she had just been treated for (10 days ago). I knew that this was not a good sign and after Todd came home from work and I fed everyone dinner (salmon, alfredo w/ veggies and cookies for dessert) I took her to Urgent care where sure enough, we find that her right ear is STILL infected. Yipee. So the doctor put her on a stronger antibiotic, which no doubt will give her the runs, but hopefully it will kick it quickly.
I'm hoping to get some sleep tonight and find out if our insurance will cover tubes for Maddie tomorrow. I can't imagine going through another winter like last one. Ugh.

Take 2...

2007-09-16T20:39:00.000-07:00

I don't have anything really interesting to say today. Nope. I've been cleaning and sewing all day. Shame on me. On a Sunday. But it HAS to be done or I get behind. I swear, if I leave dishes in the sink overnight, they mate and the next morning I have twice as many. Dishes are like rabbits I tell you!

So Maddie was up ALL night. Why? I have NO clue. She had a double ear infection about 10 days ago, but was on antibiotics and SHOULD be better. Her nose is still running green so I may have to take her back in, BUT NO ONE is taking new patients right now. There is a serious shortage of doctors here in Farmington. Boo. I took her to the Urgent Care clinic last time because it was my ONLY option. *sigh* I want to get her in to an ENT and get tubes in because seriously, this is her 10th ear infection in 20 months.

First Blog Entry

2007-09-15T21:43:00.000-07:00

So I have been meaning to get a blog going for, oh, a LONG time. I had a xanga account many moons ago, but forgot the password and well...yeah. Life kind of got in the way of things.

So, I don't have much to blog about today, I just wanted to get it started. So there ya go. First blog entry. Ta da!