Mommy, Sister, Daddy, Brother

Moving...

2010-06-21T13:23:00.001-05:00

Bookmark this new blog address:

http://dinnertable44.blogspot.com/

We'll be there now, starting with pictures from our Summer Vacation to Utah...

See you there!

Packing Up

2010-06-17T23:20:00.002-05:00

Be patient with me folks. We just got back from wonderful vacation early, EARLY Wednesday morning, plus I've decided to move to a new blog because I can't get the title/web address of this one to fit us anymore now that we're more than 3. So give me some time to recuperate & figure stuff out & then I'll regale you with our goings on with the brand new blog. Stay tuned...

Outdoor Sibling Fun

2010-06-03T11:38:00.001-05:00

Bad Blogger

2010-05-26T15:00:00.005-05:00

I've decided something. I'm not loving the blogging so much right now, and its a shame because there's a lot going on. I just can't seem to either find the time, or when I have the time I don't have the brain power to write something that sounds intelligent. I feel like every month I'm saying the same things over and over, esp. about Bryson and not telling you the good stuff. Like do you know that Bryson loves naked time? He'd live in just a diaper if I'd let him, but of course you wouldn't know that because I haven't told you. I forgot to write about it when I was doing his 4 month post. I think my brain can only process two things at a time, and those two things are Bryson & Sariah.

So here's a big catch up post, and then you probably won't hear from me for awhile. These are not necessarily in order of importance, but in order in which they happened.

Furniture rearranging

I'm one of these people that can't just clean a room, I have to totally rearrange it. (Just ask my parents.) So when our downstairs family room was in constant disarray, it needed a big change & quick! It always just felt so small & cramped down there. So I fixed it. I moved (almost) everything 90 degrees. I think the end result is much better.
Also, in the hopes that toys stay picked up, I labeled everything where it belongs with easy to understand (but not great works of art) labels. We've also instigated a "toy time out" for any toy that isn't put away before bed time. Those toys disappear until the end of the month, and then they will be given back. Honestly though, Sariah is so worried about anything ended up in toy time out, she's really keeping it clean after she plays.
See our jumperoo? Bryson loves it! Which is great because Sariah hated it. The teething toys that Sariah refused to play with are also getting some Bryson love. Thank goodness.
Much, much better! Between the more open feeling & the fact that its like 10 degrees cooler down there, I think we'll be downstairs more this Summer.
Sariah turns 3.5 years old

Every month I do a Bryson post and I was feeling like Sariah was getting a little left out (not that she notices.) So since she's officially (as of the 17th) 3.5 years old, I thought I'd share some things about how wonderful she is and how much I love this age!
First off, I love a potty trained Sariah, she's so great at it. I love that all her clothes fit better now that we're out of diapers. I love that she can get dressed all by herself and picks out all her clothes.

I love how trusting she is. I love how every hug has to be a flying leap into our arms (sometimes from off the top of the stairs when were 2 or more stairs down. Talk about fearless!) I love how friendly she is, but how she can still play by herself. I love that she's really making friends now.
I love how much she loves her brother. I love how she's now into princesses (thanks to the aforementioned friends and Grandma C.), but how her favorite shows still are Curious George & the Wiggles. I love that she loves to dress up in fancy clothes, but she still wants to be an astronaut when she grows up.

I love how she can do chores we ask he to do. I love how curious she is. I love how she asks about the meaning of every song we listen to in the car. I love how she asks about what different words she hears in those songs mean. I love it when she asks me to "know her letters." check out these work sheets she's done. The only time I helped her was on the first "D."

I love when I catch her singing the words in Primary (and not just the chorus to Follow the Prophet.) I love when we play Guitar Hero together, and she sings the chorus to Jessie's Girl. I love how every time I finish a song she cheers "Yay Mommy!" I love when she wants me to read books to her. I love it when she surprises me by knowing how the computer works, or that the word on our Netflix Wii says "retrieving" even though I don't think we've ever told her that out right.

I love her prayers. I love that we can open the scriptures and explain things like the Word of Wisdom or Modesty or Faith to her and she gets it. I love Sariah more than I could ever say.

Bryson Doctor Appointment

Vital Stats on 5/19

Height: 25in (49%)
Weight: 16 lbs 11 oz (80%)

Everything was looking great, & even his umbilical hernia seems to be healing (did I even mention that he has one? Well he does.) Which leads us to...

Bryson's first bites

Since everything was looking good, we went ahead that night and started rice cereal. Those first bites were uncertain, but since then he's really taken to it. Last night he was chowing down so much he ate 4 Tbs. He really likes it if you get that spoon in sideways and he can lick/suck it down. I like it because it is once less time I have to nurse during the day and I feel like I can get a bit of a break.

One would hope that since he's eating so well, he would sleep all night, but that has only happened once. We're getting there.

Everything breaks weekend

Last weekend was a laugh riot (not.) Friday morning I got the kids in my car to go to a play date and it wouldn't start. It turned on, but it wouldn't turn over. Swell. So I frantically called Doug and he came home picked us up, and we used his car all weekend. We got it fixed yesterday. The starter & the battery both needed replacing. So frustrating when we are going to trade that car in and get a new one in like 2 months.

Then Sunday, right after chruch my cell phone died. I'd had the phone for all of 23 days. It stopped holding a charge. So after we dropped Doug off at work on Monday, we ran to the Sprint store. They gave me a brand new phone, which was good. I lost all the pictures, video & phone contacts in my old phone, which is bad. So unless your immediate family, I probably don't have your phone number anymore. If you want me to have it, feel free to email me.

Final note

I feel the need to mention briefly that Doug's Team Lead (his boss at work) passed away on the 14th. He was only 29 years old. We really liked this man, he was Doug's mentor when he first started & they shared an office for several months. He was a good boss that always gave favorable reviews & constructive criticism. I didn't know him personally, but we did have him over to our apartment once for game night. I would often say hi to him in the halls if we saw him when we ate lunch with Doug. He was really great about approving leave, esp. the time it was short notice because a business trip got canceled that I was meeting Doug at, so he gave him a week of vacation instead. I hope he knows how much we appreciated him & may he be at peace. They are having a memorial service at work for him today.

Well that's it. I'll try to post pictures now & again. You can catch me on facebook, twitter or real life if you want to know what's up with us!

4 Months

2010-05-13T12:56:00.003-05:00

Did you know Bryson is related to Italian Plumbers from Brooklyn*? Yup, he's growing that mustache quite quickly... ;)

But seriously! We're happy to report that Bryson has made it to 4 months old! He's pretty happy, too.
Bryson has quite the personality. He wakes up every morning so happy to see us & for 30 minutes he's all smiles. But then he's down to business & its time for breakfast. Breakfast is followed by some sleepy time and our day goes from there depending on what's on schedule for Sariah that day. He usually takes an afternoon snooze as well. We're not really good at sleeping only in his crib during the day. Often naps are taken in the car seat as we zoom around town, or in his swing, which he is rapidly out growing. He has a definite grumpy time in the evening before bed, usually coinciding with dinner and Sariah's bed time routine. Then its to bed for the evening, though its guaranteed that he'll wake again in the middle of the night at least once, if not twice. If I'm lucky, he'll sleep till 4:30 before he wakes, but that's not often the case.

His vision has gotten better, and just in the last two weeks he's finally following things with his eyes. He's found some of his toys, and definitely his hands. Bryson's favorite things are hands, his hands, my hands, Daddy's hands. They all end up in Bryson's mouth several times a day.

Other Bryson Four Month Fun Facts:

-He likes his tummy time. He likes to lift that head up and look around. Yesterday he even pushed himself forward off his elbows and moved 4 inches or so, but it def. startled him. I don't think he really knows what to do with those arms yet. He was getting really good at the rolling from tummy to back, but he's stopped for now, probably to learn something else.

-He likes playing with his sister & daddy. Sariah will often roll the ball to him and Daddy, who with help Bryson kick the ball back to Sister. Its quite cute. They also enjoy a good game of chase, as long as Daddy is helping Bryson "get" Sariah.

-He likes to stand up. He can't do it on his own, but he much prefers it if someone will help him stand up. He's a strong little guy!

-He loves church. He is usually the most quietest, the calmest, and eats the best when we're at church. It almost makes me wish we went to church everyday.

-He's got a Drs. appt. on the 19th, so I'll check back then, but he's a big little guy! I'm pretty sure he's at least 17 lbs. In comparison, Sariah wasn't 17 lbs until she was almost 13 months.

We sure love having Bryson around!

*in case it was unclear, I was talking about the Super Mario Brothers

Hard Work

2010-04-22T18:45:00.003-05:00

Do you wonder what Doug does at work all day? Well he makes pretty pictures like this one with stickers, of course!
Okay, not really. Actually Sariah put the stickers on that picture. But she did do it at Doug's work place because today was take your child to work day. Oh how I love this event. The reality of it is that they do nothing that's actually like work, but the kids come and they get food, make crafts & get fun stuff to take home. (And I get some time off, or in this year's case with just the baby!)

I asked Doug if they had some sort of safari theme this year to the event, but he said no, even though it sure seems like it to me! They got their picture taken in front of this toucan.

There was the prerequisite snacks and treats. Sariah enjoyed some tasty cheese curds & ice cream.I think she rocks this look, don't you?
They also decorated fun masks. Sariah also rocks this look.
It was very enjoyable daddy/daughter time! Its also probably the best two hours of work for Doug every year!

If you looked up Adorable in the dictionary...

2010-04-16T17:44:00.000-05:00

...you'd find these two...

25%

2010-04-13T15:11:00.003-05:00

Bryson turned a quarter of a year today also known as as 3 months. He's been commemorating the day by giving me lots of spontaneous smiles.He's still having tummy troubles, but sitting upright helps him a lot. So I caved in and got him a bumbo seat. He approves.
Other things about Bryson:

He likes to make squeals & coos. He doesn't do it often, but when he does, its adorable.

He likes to be in constant motion. The cradle swing is his best friend, as is the car, or a bouncing mommy or daddy leg. (Sariah was the same way at this age.)

He can hold his head up really well. He's not that fond of tummy time, but when he does do it, he pulls his head up to 90 degrees & tries to reach/push his feet forward. I realize that is reflex for this age, but I'm glad he's doing it. He's not really fond of being on the floor. He much rather be held or sitting somewhere, mostly held. He's a cuddler!

He enjoys baby story time. We've been the past 3 Mondays and he always stays very alert & attentive throughout. He'll usually crash right after though, probably all that stimulation. He's the youngest baby there, but big sister helps him out a lot.

He nurses about every 3 hrs during the day. I'm not sure if this is something I'm doing because it seems like a good idea, or something he's initiating, but its working. His last feeding during the day is usually about 7:30 or 8pm. Then he gets swaddled and sleepy, although he doesn't really get put in bed till after 10pm or he fusses & cries. Then he's still getting up at least once or twice a night before waking again at 7:30-8am. Its not really ideal, but I figure it can't last forever (knock on wood...)

I can't think of anything else exciting to say. He's a good little guy, even when he's crying a lot still because of all his reflux/gassy problems. We're thankful he's a part of our family and are looking forward to helping him grow and do more.

A milk experiment

2010-04-11T12:42:00.002-05:00

Sariah came up to me on Friday and said "Mom, milk is white, but it isn't green!" So of coures I challenged her perception on things, and I asked her if she'd like to try some green milk. She was excited, so we headed to the kitchen.

The result? Well, she drank almost all of it and told me it was "nummy." But I did noticed she chose to dump the leftovers down the sink instead of saving them like she usually wants to. I think the experiment was a success!

The difference between boys & girls

2010-04-07T14:01:00.004-05:00

according to Sariah...

"Daddy & Bryson have a peanut, but I don't have a peanut..."

Happiness

2010-04-04T21:58:00.002-05:00

When he's this adorable, how can I not share? I think he's ticklish. I was tickling his ribs. Thirty seconds after this, he was crying like crazy... talk about mood swings!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-03T23:38:00.003-05:00

We hope you're having a wonderful holiday remembering Christ's resurrection & everything he did for us. We're enjoying watching General Conference at home this Easter weekend.

Here are some pictures of the kids in their new outfits. They actually wore them last Sunday since we're at home this Sunday enjoying the words of the prophets.

We're enjoying what we can hear of conference. Sometimes its sketchy between two kids, but hey, at least we're enjoying our recliners.

Today Sariah was Superhero Sariah! I love how creative she's getting.
A couple of days ago she was Sariah MD. She know what a stethoscope is & she loves using it to "help her baby brother feel better."
Finally just some shots of Bryson. He was hanging out on the floor for part of the second session, something he usually doesn't do lately. He really enjoys the music though.

I love that sweet face!

A long time coming...

2010-04-02T08:10:00.003-05:00

This post has taken a long time to actually get moving, but after 2 (!) consecutive night of 8+ hrs of sleep, my brain has (sort of) come out of the fog. So here's what's up with us.

We've had 2 weeks of seasonably warm weather. Its been nice to get back outside again and feel the warm sunshine. The snow has all melted and the grass is getting green again. The flowers that I planted 3 years ago are coming up again, even though I keep thinking I've dug them all up (I'm planning on putting bushes where they are eventually.)

Two Mondays ago we all headed over to the park for the first time this year. There were 2 little boys playing there as well, and Sariah made friends. The three of them got on the tire swing and spun around for what seemed like a good 10 minutes. When she finally got off, she came over and cried "Mommy, I need Bryson's burp cloth!" Poor thing had made herself sick. I made her sit down and Doug had to take her home.

Also last week I took both cars to get serviced. We dropped off Doug's car off, but we waited when I serviced mine. While Sariah, Bryson and I waited, one of the men that work there started making a new pot of coffee. Sariah asked me what that noise was and when I told her she asked if she could have some coffee, too. This lead to a short conversation about how we don't drink coffee, and I asked her if she would like to learn more about the word of wisdom that night at family home evening. She said she did. That evening I told Doug that our lesson needed to be on the word of wisdom. I figured we'd just show her some pictures of what was good & what was bad to put in our bodies, but to my surprise, Doug pulled out D&C 89 and we all read from the scriptures and explained the verses to her. Even more surprising was that she sat and listened and comprehended what we were talking about! It was a faith building experience for me to know that we can teach our kids straight out of the scriptures, no matter how young they are.

So back to being outside... I just tuned up my bike and bought a new bike helmet. Sariah was also insistent that he have a helmet, too, and since I thought it would be good to get her use to wearing one while biking, I acquiesced. Isn't she cute? She's getting really good on her tricycle, too. Hopefully this is the year she actually rides it through the whole 4th of July parade.
Bryson is enjoying the great outdoors as well, sleeping in it anyways.
Actually, lately, Bryson has proved that he can sleep about anywhere.

I took him to his very first baby story time on Monday. I had just fed him before hand and he did a very good job listening and "participating." The weird thing was, just as the stories and songs were finished, he fell asleep in my lap. So I moved him to the floor and he laid there while everyone else played around him. I guess all that listening took it out of him. :)

He has gotten more smiley though. He gave his first smile to grandpa, but every once in awhile I get one after naps or meals. I finally managed to catch one on camera, but this isn't one of his best...
I love little boy outfits! This is another I find so cute, with the tail on the booty.Bryson helps make it even cuter.

We're looking forward to Easter & General Conference this weekend. In fact were off to the annual library egg hunt this morning, and I might get pictures if I can find where Sariah hid the small camera. :)

Guess What?

2010-03-31T13:24:00.000-05:00

Monkey Butt!!!

Good looking People

2010-03-15T19:23:00.002-05:00

Ever look at your family and think, "Hey, you guys need a haircut!" ?
Well I do... :)

For the record, Bryson & my hair looks fabulous already (and yes, Doug is going to shave later)...

2 Months!

2010-03-13T16:27:00.002-06:00

Hello Handsome!Bryson had his 2 month checkup yesterday and his stats are as follows:

Height: 23" (56%)
Weight: 13 lbs 12.5 oz (92%)

He's one solid little boy! Its actually a little unnerving for me, I'm use to a baby that was a little waif of a thing, but this kid is already growing out of his clothes. He's already in mostly 3-6 month (or 6 month depending on the brand) clothing. When he gains another pound and a half he'll be half Sariah's weight!

We've also started using the cloth diapers again. Check out this cute little booty!
Cloth diapers on a baby are much different than on a toddler. First off, he def. has to be changed every 3 hrs or he pees out of them and we get wet onesies. Plus, since we use adjustable size diapers, they kind of give him a big booty. But, they're still really easy to use, and we don't have to spray them off because breastfeed poop is water solvable, so their so easy!

Other interesting (or not so interesting) Bryson facts:

Based on weight, we've upped his dosage of reflux medicine. I can already see a difference. He's way less fussy, which is nice.

I'm also crossing my fingers that we're turning the sleep corner. He (amazingly) did 8 hrs two nights ago, and last night he went about 6, had a feeding at 3:45, and went right back to sleep, had a feeding at 7:30 and while Sariah and Doug went to the pool, Bryson and I took another nap. It was heavenly...
We've gotten him to smile only 3 times. His first smile was for Grandpa, but I finally got one Thursday and one today. He seems to be a serious little boy.
And this isn't a great picture, but if you look inside the circle, you'll see the beginning of his first tooth! I'm not sure how I feel about this yet. It hasn't totally broken through yet, but I'm sure it will soon.
He's an inquisitive little boy, and really likes to study his surroundings. And he's so tolerant of his big sister. He's pretty strong, too, although he's not very fond of the tummy time. He's also not that interested in any of his toys either, but its still early. We're looking forward to seeing more of his emerging personality!

Bryson's Blessing Day

2010-03-11T13:11:00.003-06:00

This is a little late, but Bryson received his name and blessing in church last Sunday. Doug did a fabulous job, and it was a very sweet & (I think) unique blessing. Among other things, he was blessed to be a peacemaker (which we could really use!), he would value knowledge, and become what God would have him be.

Here's the handsome boy!Several hands were used to make this blessing outfit. I started it while I was still pregnant and made the bodice, vest & collar. The vest is left over fabric from my wedding dress. Unfortunately, I never got around to finishing it before I had Bryson, and I was too tired to do so afterward, so my wonderful friend, Ann, finished the sleeves, pants & buttonholes. (She also got a little help from Sariah.) That just left some hand work for me to finish. I think it turned out beautifully, and I'm glad we blessed him when we did, because it just barely fit!

Here's our new family photo. Forgive the editing, we took the pictures in front of our family sign, and I didn't want our last name to show. I think we're looking pretty good! I really think Sariah and I look really similar in this photo, and its not just the fact we're wearing matching skirts.
Doug's parents were able to come out for the weekend which was really nice. They got to watch Sariah at her swim lessons, view Doug's work place, among other things. It was a really great weekend, and we're glad they could come visit.

Dear...

2010-02-23T16:46:00.002-06:00

Dear Abs,

Please show up to my next work out... thanks!

Sincerely,
ow, ow, ow

Dear Little Boy,

You're 12 lbs now, anytime you want to start sleeping longer is fine by me. Also, its okay to sleep when you're not being held, really it is!

Sincerely,
Your Very Tired Mommy

Dear Mild Cheddar,

You're not tasty, sorry. Please don't let my husband buy you again.

Sincerely,
A Sharp Cheddar lover

Dear Family,

Last time I checked, taking a shower was not a spectator sport. Just a thought.

Sincerely,
Um, I'm a little busy here

Dear Winter Olympics,

Why do you have to be so entertaining? I can't stop watching you!

Sincerely,
Its a hate/love thing

Dear Little Girl,

Everything doesn't have to be a fight. Sometimes its okay just to do as I say.

Sincerely,
Deja Vu Mommy

Dear Snow,

I'm breaking up with you, please leave & bring on Spring. I'm really over trying to get all the multiple layers on my family.

Sincerely,
Ready for shorts

Dear Spammers,

Stop leaving your creepy/annoying comments on my blog. I am tired of deleting them. Don't make me go private, because I will, but I won't like it.

Sincerely,
Not looking forward to the hassle.

Dear Food,

Could you please prepare yourself for all meals? Also, make sure there's a wide variety of veggies & stuff so we can be healthy. I'm sorry I don't have time to spend preparing you anymore.

Sincerely,
Tired of eating out of the freezer

Dear Dept. of Magic,

There just aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done. Could you please send me one of those time turner thingies so I can get my house clean, spend more time with just my husband & oh yeah, sleep some more?

Sincerely,
So exhausted last night I started randomly singing "Don't Worry, Be Happy"

Super Sariah!

2010-02-20T10:45:00.002-06:00

I've spent a lot of time on the blog talking about Bryson, or Sariah and Bryson together, so I thought I'd dedicate a post just to Sariah, because frankly, she's one amazing 3 year old. She's doing an amazing job at dance class & swim lessons and she loves story time. Sure we're going through a big adjustment and her and mommy are going through a big adjustment, but she's doing such a great job and she's learning to do more things by herself.

I know she's feeling a little insecure right now. She's always asking me if I missed her while she was gone or if I still like her. She's never really been one to attach herself to things, but lately she's really into this big teddy bear I got from my colorguard girls when I taught at Bastrop HS. Teddy goes a lot of places with Sariah like the bathroom, he sits next to her at breakfast & he's a must for sleeping. A few time the last week she's woken up & teddy hasn't been tucked into the blankets with her, so she's woken us up to tuck them back in. She goes back to sleep pretty quickly so I think its pretty cute. Here's a picture I took of them together.She was totally asleep and rolled over to cuddle teddy. It was pretty adorable.

Yesterday, Sariah went into her room and got dressed all by herself without anyone helping. She even picked out her own clothes. Here's what she looked like when she came into my room (I was feeding Bryson.)

Yup, clashing flower patterns and if you look closely, her black shoes are on the wrong feet. The mother in me is quite proud of her for picking out clothes and getting dressed all by herself, but the fashionista in me is quite horrified: clashing flower patterns? brown pants & black shoes? Oh my! We're going to have to work on that fashion sense. Ok, deep breath. And yes, I let her out of the house looking like that, although I made her switch her shoes to the right feet. We had to go to the dentist and didn't have time to change, but I didn't take her coat off while we were there. But frankly, nobody but me cares what she looks like. Plus she totally charmed our hygienist (who I love btw.)

A few other things about Sariah...

She's quite the computer genius. She's learned how to open a web browser and get to PBS kids to play her games. She loves the Word World, Martha Speaks, Curious George & SuperWhy! games. She also figured out how to get to the media player & play the songs I have loaded on there.

Speaking of songs, she's got quite the singing voice. Our songs of choice in the car right now are from the Glee soundtrack & I was impressed to catch her singing along on multiple occasions. I was also pleasantly pleased at our last FHE to find out that she knew about half of the words to the Primary song they learned in January.

She's also very helpful. Just right now she "helped" brush the tanglies out of my hair. And now she's brushing Bryson's hair.

Its been much harder to have two kids and I feel bad because right now I really think Sariah is getting the short end of the stick, but I'm thankful that she's such a bright little girl.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T07:47:00.001-06:00

1 Month

2010-02-13T13:56:00.002-06:00

Bryson at 1 month:

Still sleeps with his mouth open (very cute!)

Still wakes mommy up every 2.5-3 hrs at night (although last night he did 4 at one stretch, so hopefully things are looking up.)

Reacting well to his reflux medicine

Is such a slow eater! Often times feeding take at least an hour.

Still very cuddly and loves to sleep against someone.

So tolerant of Sariah and rarely cries, even when Sariah is "crushing him" or bugging him or yesterday I caught her trying to carry him to me.

Starting to see his surroundings. He likes to look at Mommy & Daddy and of course bright lights and windows.

So adorable!!!

Hair!

2010-02-11T18:13:00.002-06:00

Okay, since my last post was completely depressing... how about something frivolous & fun!

I love Bryson's hair. I actually didn't think he'd have any, don't ask my why. It was quite a surprise to see his light brown, almost blond hair. Its growing pretty fast, too. He's kind of got a mullet going on.Look! He's already got Doug's bald spot (sorry Doug!)
His hair is so soft and he's so cuddly, I love to rub my cheeks against his fuzzy head.
Its already kind of long in the back. I wonder how long we can go before he needs his first trim...
He was asleep like this yesterday afternoon for a couple of hours after a feeding. So adorable!

She's all alone... except for us

2010-02-09T22:05:00.002-06:00

Have you ever played The Sims? I had a copy back in high school that I would play on my Dad's computer. Of course I was awful at it. See, in The Sims, you're suppose to control your person, make sure he eats, bathes, sleeps, uses the toilet, gets to work, etc. See, I could never get my person to do all that stuff quick enough. When that happens, said person gets dirty, hungry, depressed, loses his job and dies. It got even worse when I tried to control more than one character at a time. It was a frustrating game that I played over & over.

Since my mom left a week and a half ago, I kind of feel like I'm playing a real life game of The Sims minus the whole dirty/depressed/dying part, because I don't think it'll get that bad. But it does seem like my to do list piles up faster than I can get things done. I'm talking about simple things. As soon as I sit to feel Bryson, Sariah needs a snack, I need to pee, etc. I feel like I'm doing my best to keep up with just the basics, never mind the big things like dishes or whatever (thank goodness for Doug!)

Then of course, last week I could feel myself catching a cold, which got worse and worse. It was pretty awful today, and thankfully Doug stayed home so I could catch up on sleep. New mothers shouldn't be allowed to get sick, that's all I've got to say.

Also, it seems that my kids are all doomed to develop reflux around their 3rd week of life. Sariah had it, and Bryson started developing it last week. We were using gas drops anyways because he was having a hard time burping and tooting, but they stopped working so well, so we graduated to gripe water, which helped for maybe a day or two. Finally I broke down and emailed our doctor for a prescription of the same drug we used for Sariah. He's had it 3 times so far & it seems to be helping (knock on wood.) He's stopped spitting up and pulling off during feedings, and he's finally sleeping on his back again, something he was having a hard time doing last week because of the reflux. Hopefully this means we'll get more sleep, since he really hasn't slept longer than 2.5-3 hrs between feedings, which was wearing on my sanity.

So that's a quick update on us. Hopefully things start getting better now. It has been a lonely week for me, even though I haven't really been alone. I was going to post some new pictures of the kids, but I looked on the camera, and there are no new pictures. I guess I'll have to take some soon, I'll put it on the list...

Bryson's Birth Story

2010-02-02T14:21:00.003-06:00

Recap: On Jan 4^th, we had a scheduled ultrasound to make sure baby was head down & to check his weight. The tech said that he was weighing about 7lbs. 7oz.on that day. I met with Dr. Bills the next day and after checking the ultrasound report, thought that I wouldn't have any problems delivering the baby whenever he decided to arrive since he would be “so much smaller” than Sariah had been. On that day he checked my cervix & I was dilated between 1 & 2 cm.

Our next appt. with Dr. Bills was Jan 12^th. By this point we figured that baby had to be just over 8lbs. After reviewing my records on Sariah's birth about my 4^th degree tear & checking that I was dilated between 3 & 4 cm, Dr. Bills offered to induce us the next time he was on call, stressing that it was totally elective, but we could go ahead and do it anyways. Since I had to deliver at St. Mary's Hospital, the choice was to induce the next day or wait until the 22^nd, which was after my due date. So we decided to go ahead and induce on the 13^th since they had a bed for us.

The next day we had to be at the hospital at 5:30am. Needless to say, I did not sleep very well the night before, even though I knew I needed to, since I was going to have a very big day. We were very thankful that Doug's mom had arrived on the 11^th,so she could stay with Sariah at home while we were at the hospital.

We took the long walk to labor & delivery and made it there right at 5:30am. It was a little weird to walk up to the desk & the lady there already knew our names, but it turned out we were the only induction that day. They showed us to our room & we got checked in. I got changed, and our first nurse, Billie Jo, got my IV set up. I had tested Group Strep B positive, which meant I got a round of IV penicillin before they started the induction.

Nurses changed shifts at 7:30, so we got a new nurse, who was wonderful and who we spent the most time with, yet I can't remember her name. (I wish I had written it down!) I know it started with a “j” so I'm going to call her Janet. Dr. Bills came on call at 8am, so he came in & broke my water & we started pitocin. He had checked before he broke my water & I was already at a definite 4 cm & 90% effaced, so I was pretty much on my way anyways. As Dr. Bills said, we were going to have a baby that day, there was no turning back now!

Forty-five minutes later Dr. Bills came back & jokingly asked if I was ready to push. I don't think I was even feeling the contractions at that point. I started feeling the contractions in the 9am hour. I was doing my best to relax & ignore them, which was something I failed at miserably when I had Sariah. So we hung out and watched some tv (Let's Make a Deal to be specific, its pretty entertaining.) Janet made sure to know that I wanted an epidural, and she was prepping for it way before I thought I needed it.

Ten o'clock rolled around, and I'm not sure if the contractions started getting stronger or if it was just harder to ignore them because people came in to check on us often & every time Doug would turn off the tv. By 10:30 I was dilated to 5 cm, so even though I was breathing okay through them, they went ahead and called the anesthesiologist for the epidural. I was pretty grateful he was on his way by 11am, I was getting ready for the relief. The exhaustion had started to set in, and I was falling asleep between the contractions.

The 11am hour is kind of a blur. I'm not sure how long it took to get the epidural in, but it was done sometime between 11 and noon. I thought I had been relaxing, but he had a really hard time getting the epidural in. Janet was wonderful during this time and even though I don't like being touched while I'm having contractions, she held my hand through them while he was trying to get the epidural in & it was really helpful. I thought I was relaxed, but at one point Janet had to remind me to relax my shoulders. I didn't even realize they were so tense. It was quite a relief once the epidural was in. I couldn't feel the contractions anymore, but then I got pretty itchy for awhile. Dr. Bills checked me again and I was at 6cm. I think at this point he turned up my pitocin drip.

I was pretty tired at this point, so I decided to put my headphones on and listen to my mp3 player and close my eyes for awhile. I figured I still had a couple of hours or so before I had to push. Imagine my surprise when about 45 minutes later I started feeling the contractions again. I thought the epidural had stopped working, and Janet was out of the room, so I pushed the button I had to up the epidural medicine. That didn't work though, I was still feeling pain. When Janet came back in, she checked me and that pain I was feeling was the baby descending down & it was time to push!

Okay at this point I should mention that I was totally not ready to push. I was having some anxiety from remembering pushing Sariah out. I thought I had a couple of hours to rest and prepare and next thing I know, its time to push. I'll admit, I slightly freaked out. Janet rolled me over on my right side for a little while before Dr. Bills came in. He got there shortly before 1pm with the resident (who's name I also don't remember, but I do remember that she was also pregnant because Dr. Bills said we had something in common, but not for much longer.) Dr. Bills asked me if I was ready to push & I remember asking him if he meant physically or mentally, because mentally, I didn't want to push.

They got me ready & I started pushing anyways. It was not fun. I hate pushing. Janet & the resident were very encouraging though and that was nice. There was lots of screaming. But I did a better job getting Bryson out than Sariah. At one point Dr. Bills said there were some scar tissue that they wanted to cut through because the baby was having a hard time getting past it. I was hesitant, mostly because I don't think I was really comprehending, but Dr. Bills was like, trust me, you want us to do this, so we went ahead. About 20-30 minutes later at 1:24pm, Bryson Douglas was born. I ended up with a 3^rd degree tear, but Dr. Bills said it was more of a 2^nd than a 3^rd. (Which is better than last time when they said it was a 3^rd but turned out to be a 4^th.) All in all, the labor took about 5 ½ hrs.

They let me hold Bryson while the worked on stitching me up. At one point the resident said that she thought he looked about 9lbs 3oz and Dr. Bills said “don't say that.” Remember that we thought he was going to be about 8lbs 2 oz according to the ultrasound. After Dr. Bills and the resident left, they took Bryson to get weighed and cleaned up and do his paperwork. Janet laid Bryson on the scale and we found out he was 9lbs 2oz, a whole pound bigger than we thought he was going to be. I cried. We'll blame it on hormones but it was really upsetting that he was so big. I really didn't want to push another 9lb baby out, and even though I had already done it, I was very upset about it. So yeah, I guess we just have big babies. I'm glad we had induced a whole week early. I can't imagine how big he would've been if he had been born on his due date a week earlier.

We were moved to our recovery room around 3pm. I was ordering dinner by 4:30pm. Sariah got to come and be our first visitor that evening around 7pm. She brought Bryson his own rubber ducky. Bryon had gotten Sariah a My Little Pony. Sariah is smitten with her baby brother.

Bryson had been a great baby. He took to breastfeeding better than even Sariah did. Every nurse & lactation consultant that came in was impressed with how well he was doing. It probably helped that I knew what I was doing, this being the 2^nd time around. We enjoyed our time in recovery. Bryson was such a quiet baby, we didn't even bother sending him to the nursery during the night like we had Sariah. Actually that first night both Doug and I kept checking on him to make sure he was breathing, he was so quiet. (Since then he's gotten nosier.) We left the hospital to go home Friday morning (we were going to wait until the afternoon, but we decided we were ready to be home.)

The worst part of recovery for me was actually my back. It was really sore from the epidural. I managed to walk out of the hospital by myself though, carrying Bryson in his car seat. All in all, it was a good birth experience.

Holding Bryson, moments after birth

our big boy

Daddy holding his son

He found his thumb really quickly, I'm talking like an hour after birth

meeting Big Sister

2 week (& 2 day) Stats

2010-01-29T16:35:00.003-06:00

Bryson had his 2 week check up today, two days late. Here are his stats:

Height: 21 inches
Weight: 9lbs 5.5oz.

His weight is up a whole lbs since his last appt. 11 days ago. That's a gain of about 1.5 oz. a day. Needless to say, he's eating & growing well.

Here's a couple more photos. I admit, I haven't taken many lately, and mostly I take the kids together...

Aw, sibling hugs.cuddle time

stretching out

So I'm working on typing out his birth story, but my brain is still mush & I don't get much out at a time. Have patience with me, and I'll get it out eventually. :)

Happy Birthday Grandma Diana!

2010-01-28T10:06:00.001-06:00

We're glad we get to spend your day with you!

Its been One Week since you looked at me...

2010-01-20T13:20:00.002-06:00

Here's little Bryson at 1 week. I can't believe today was actually my due date! We're thankful that Bryson has been in our lives this week. He's such a good, patient, easy going little guy. I know I keep saying this, but its true that Sariah just adores him.

At one week, Bryson:

-loves to suck. Nothing calms him down like his thumb (which he found hours after birth) or a paci.
-isn't really a fussy guy. He gets mostly upset if he's got gas, other than that nothing really fazes him. Although...
-he isn't a fan of diaper changes. I think that's when he gets upset the most.
-is a super nurser. I've never had any problems with his latch. He's a slow nurser though & often falls asleep. In fact during the night it seems to take forever to feed him. First I have to strip him down to his onesie. Then he'll feed for 10 min on the first side, fall asleep, so I have to burp him, then he'll continue another 5-10 in that same side. Then he gets a diaper change, does 10 min on the other side, gets his jammies & swaddled in his blanket, gets tops off & finally goes back to sleep. Thankfully we're only repeating this process 2-3 times a night depending on when we get to bed.
-he's a self soother. Often I can hear him just cooing to himself in his crib between feedings, but he never gets real upset. In fact, after the first night, we haven't had to calm him down between feedings.

Seriously, the best thing about him is how calm he is. (I think he gets it from Doug.) He makes having a second kid a breeze. (And hopefully I didn't just jinx myself by saying so!)

Siblings

2010-01-19T12:19:00.002-06:00

I have so many things I want to share from the past couple of days, but really, I'm a sleep deprived mess. So for now, I thought I'd just share a couple of pictures of my awesome kids. If there is one thing Sariah isn't having a problem with right now is Bryson. (The rest of us are another story...) She's the best big sister!

Here's their first meeting in the hospital. Sariah was our first visitor to her little brother. She brought him his first rubber ducky & Bryson has already bought Sariah a new My Little Pony. She took to him right away.

She (& Grandma) came back the next day. Sariah loves holding her little brother. She's very gentile.
Lately she's been a great helper at diaper changes & burping during feedings. She loves to give brother big hugs & kisses.
She also loves to take his picture. Here's a pretty good shot she took last night.

Baby Brother

2010-01-15T14:16:00.003-06:00

Bryson Douglas
Born 1/13/2010 at 1:24pm
9 lbs. 2 oz
19.5 inches

Quick fun facts: Bryson is a calm baby! He's doing a great job brestfeeding, but he very much a "grazer" and takes him time between sucks. He enjoys snuggles. He's very happy to be home. Sariah is enjoying holding him & being a big helper.

More later, when I can string thoughts together... :)

Today Seems Like a Good Day...

2010-01-13T04:56:00.003-06:00

... so we're off to Labor & Delivery. :) I'm being induced in about half an hour! Come back on Saturday, we should have pictures by then. :)

a Sunbeam!

2010-01-04T09:08:00.003-06:00

My how they grow up fast! Didn't our nephews just start sunbeams? What do you mean that was like 3 years ago? For the record, Sariah loved Sunbeams & Primary yesterday. I loved being able to watch her reactions during singing time. Her new teachers said she did great during class. I'm not really surprised though, she's been so excited all week about primary.

Also big news from yesterday... we're officially declaring Sariah potty trained. She received her second "potty prize" for finishing up her poop chart. Honestly, she probably could've received it sooner because after about 2 accidents, she hasn't had a problem at all doing the number 2. Most days she'd just use the potty & I never knew if she pooped or not. She's even staying dry at night, even though we're still using a diaper because I'm expecting some regression in the next couple of weeks with baby on the way.Our biggest potty challenge? "Foreign" potties. She doesn't like using a potty anywhere but at home, which tends to be okay as long as she goes potty before we leave and right after we get home, but at some point she's going to be in a situation where she has to use a foreign potty. The problem is partly our fault because we know that she has a fear of going down the drain, and the first non-home potty she used was at the library which has an automatic flush. It kind of freaked her out. So if anyone has any suggestions for calming her fears... :)

I'm immensely proud of how well she's been doing with all the changes happening around here. There's a maturity level to a 3 year old that's much better than even 6 months ago. We're also excited to start all over again real soon!

Random Pictures

2010-01-02T11:10:00.004-06:00

For Jenny: Our outdoor "candy cane rope" lights. The pictures don't do them justice...

For Doug's Mom: Our new recliners, one of our Christmas presents to us...
Just some finishing touches on the nursery.

Sign for the door:
Correct picture on the dresser:
Post cards in the frame (Thanks for all who sent us one! The others will get used, too):
Finally, his blessing outfit that I'm working on. The fabric on the vest was left over from my wedding dress. Hopefully I'll get it all done before he comes, although I'm not really feeling up to sewing anymore. :(

Happy New Year!

2009-12-31T18:57:00.002-06:00

2009 was good to us. It was full of hard work & fun. Some of our highlights include a trip to NYC, losing weight, TEA parties & Health care debates, getting pregnant again(!), camping in South Dakota, finding out we're having a boy, all turning one year older (including me hitting the big 3-0) and Sariah learning how to successfully use the potty!

We're totally excited about 2010 & expect to be filled with new adventures right from the beginning. We're looking forward to both our moms visiting in Jan & finally becoming a family of 4!

Hope everyone has an equally wonderful new year!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T10:29:00.003-06:00

Twas the night before Christmas & all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even Sariah...The stockings were hung on the book case with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there...
Okay, enough of that... :) Merry Christmas! Just a couple of pictures of Christmas cheer here at our house as way of thanks for the wonderful gifts everyone got us.

First, Santa got Sariah a bunch of dress up clothes that she's currently enjoying.
Who says I need to go to the doctor? I have my own in house physician!
A pretty ballerina! Thanks Aunt Jenny!
We're really excited to give our new baby a bath. Thanks Grandma & Grandpa!
and thanks to Aunt Susan for bringing music into our house. By music, I mean the sound of the same recorder note over & over. Now come teach her how to use it! The only song I remember is hot cross buns...

Big thanks to all our other family's very thoughtful gifts. We're having a wonderful Christmas. We hope you are too, and also have a Happy New Year!

A Christmas Meme

2009-12-24T14:29:00.002-06:00

1. Eggnog or hot chocolate?
Eggnog... I love the stuff. I get so excited when I see it in the stores. Although most years I have to limit my servings, its rich stuff! (I prefer my hot chocolate in the Summer, yes that is backwards.)

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Usually Santa wraps presents (except the really big ones), even the ones in stockings, but this year he's being extra lazy so I doubt anything will get wrapped.

3. Colored lights on the tree/house or white?
I prefer white on my tree & colored on the house, but since most of our ornaments are from my childhood, I acquiesced to Doug's wishes & we use colored on our tree. Our outside lights are candy cane ropes.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
No.

5. When do you put your Christmas decorations up?
Traditionally the day after Thanksgiving, which did happen this year. In previous years, sickness/tiredness has made us wait a couple of days.

6. Favorite holiday dish?
Mashed potatoes & pumpkin pie at both Thanksgiving & Christmas. But you gotta love cookies at Christmas. I esp. like to make "bump on a log" cookies at Christmas.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child?
The Christmas Eve program was sometimes created by me. Several Christmas Eve programs were designed and performed by me with my brothers in tow. There were often printed programs, songs preformed on the piano & those pipe bells (I wish I still had those), stories, the nativity done by dolls, one year we even had a "performance" by Alvin & the Chipmunks (which I do still have the puppets I drew & colored.)

8. When did you learn the truth about Santa?
I don't really remember at what age I was, but I remember being in a grocery store with my mom when I confronted her about it. I remember my mom confirming my suspicions but asking me to keep it quiet for the brothers.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Usually no, although I remember doing it once or twice in my life.

10. How do you decorate a tree?
I make Doug put the lights on, add our Snowman Star on top, then let Sariah & Doug place their ornaments on the tree where ever they want. Then I fill in the gaps with my ornaments & finish with blue candy canes.

11. Snow! Love it or dread it?
pretty to look at, awful to drive in

12. Can you ice skate?
When I was a teen to could do turns & skate backwards, now days I think ice skating would hurt my ankles

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
Doug

14. What is the most important thing about the holidays to you?
Teaching my kids about Jesus Christ. I love spending time together as our little family & sharing our testimonies.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Singing Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht on (and only on) Christmas Eve

17. What tops your tree?
A Snowman in the shape of a star, I love snowman Christmas decorations!

18. Which do you prefer-Giving or Receiving?
I love giving, esp. when I home make stuff.

19. Favorite Christmas song?
There's no way to name just one or two (or twenty...)

20. Candy Canes-Yuck or Yum?
not a big fan unless you crush them into something else, or melt them into chocolate. I had some awesome dark chocolate peppermint ice cream at Cold Stone on Monday... yum!

21. Favorite Christmas show?
I must watch White Christmas ever year, even if its not that Christmasey. We've also enjoyed Holiday Inn, Rudolph, Charlie Brown, Elf, Santa Clause 1 & 2 so far this year.

22. Saddest Christmas song?
Christmas in Wisconsin (because frankly, its not where I want to be...)

Merry Christmas! Feel free to share your answers!

36 Weeks

2009-12-23T11:08:00.002-06:00

One of our pregnancy traditions is to take a picture of Doug and I together that's placed in the baby's room. We took Sariah's picture at 32 weeks in Sept. 2006. It was a warm, sunny day & we took a neat picture near a small lake by our apartment. Fast forward to this pregnancy. I couldn't wait until 32 weeks so we could take another picture. 32 weeks was the day before Thanksgiving, so we decided that we'd take the picture on Thanksgiving. The best laid plans...

The night before Thanksgiving, I caught a nasty stomach bug & spent the entire night vomiting. In fact, I vomited so hard I gave myself a bloody nose and broke half the blood vessels in my face. It looked like a pretty nasty rash. Needless to say, Thanksgiving had to be postponed and so did our picture. In fact we had to wait 2 or 3 weeks for my face to heal, so we put it off and put it off, but today, at 36 weeks, I give you our couple's picture...
Its a little harder to take an outside picture in Dec. esp when we've already had more than a foot & a half of snow, but ultimately we decided just to go for it because the indoor pictures we tried were kind of bland. I think they turned out pretty good, though. :)

So here we are at 36 weeks! I know I haven't posted many pregnancy updates, mostly because it really has been an uneventful pregnancy. Totally different than my first one. I remember with Sariah at 36 weeks I was so ready for it all to be over, in fact I distinctly remember begging Doug to forget this whole "baby thing" and just go get a cat instead. (In my defense, the humane society was having free cat adoptions at the time, and it sounded very appealing.)

This time I haven't gained as much weight, and I've been sleeping with a pregnancy pillow, so I'm feeling pretty good. My hips are hurting a little, but nothing some warm rice packs don't solve. I've been have some Braxton Hicks contractions, but nothing to terrible. Sometimes it hurts to walk or stand, but if I slow down & drink some water I'm great.

Baby is also doing well. He's more active in the afternoon & esp. evenings until I fall asleep. Here's my uneducated guess, but I don't think the little stinker is head down at all. The kicks are low & in odd places. He also didn't get any hiccups until 32 weeks, and when he does get them, they're not felt on top of my belly but against my hip, mostly the left, but sometime the right. We'll know for certain between my next two appointments, since we'll be having another ultrasound then.

Sariah's so excited for the baby to come. She's already started bossing him around. Just yesterday she told me she had to talk to brother & then she said, "Bryson, don't kick Mommy!"

Last night we took her on the sibling tour at the hospital so she could see the room where babies are delivered & where she'll get to meet her little brother for the first time. They also got to meet a 2 day old baby. She was this beautiful little thing with lots of dark hair. Very cute. Sariah got very sad when they took the baby back to her mommy.

Being back in the L&D rooms brought back lots of memories & a bit of anxiety. I can't believe how fast we're coming up on this little guy's due date! We're really excited thought. Its going to be great to be a family of 4. We're also really excited for first Doug's mom & then my mom to come visit. Right now though, were going to enjoy our quite Christmas & New Years. We hope yours is fantastic as well!

Meeting Santa... Take 2

2009-12-16T21:33:00.003-06:00

(I guess this is actually take 3, since we saw Santa at the Ward Party, but we didn't have a camera then...)

The Library always has the best Santa. Plus they have the added benefit of the evening story time. So we came early, met Santa, played for awhile then attended story time full of Christmas stories, Jingle Bells, a puppet show & Sariah's favorite: a short movie, which is usually an adaptation of a book, this time The Night Before Christmas. She loves saying the magic word (abracadabra) and seeing the screen for the projector come down. It was a packed house, but a lot of fun!

Potty Perfect

2009-12-15T12:26:00.004-06:00

One of the things I've actually dreaded as a parent was potty training. We've been working on it (sort of) for months, mostly in the hypothetical (reading books about it, some times wearing panties, sitting on the potty just because, etc.) It hasn't been until the last couple of days ago though that its really clicked for Sariah. At her 3 yr. check up, our Dr. suggested we let her sit on the potty at her bedtime diaper change, just for practice. So we came up with the potty chart. When she sat on the potty but didn't use it, she got high fives & positive encouragement. If she actually used the potty, she got 1 sticker for pee & 2 for poop. Just Monday, I think it all clicked for her. She wore panties all day, stayed dry & earned at least 8 stickers. Today she earned her last 3 so we gave her a special prize, another My Little Pony.

Would I say she's potty trained? Probably not. She's got the peeing thing down. We even went out to lunch today and she stayed dry. But she had a poop accident this morning (thankfully while I was at the doctors, so poor Doug had to clean it up.) Are we making progress? Most definitely. I see light at the end of the tunnel, and just when I had resigned myself to having 2 in diapers, now I think she's going to be just fine. :) Yay Sariah!

Meeting Santa, take 1

2009-11-28T15:37:00.002-06:00

We had some errands to run at Walmart today & it just so happened Santa was there giving out free pictures! Luckily Sariah's been really into wearing her "Christmas hat" so she was ready. You can see though, she wasn't really sure if she likes the big guy. She did enjoy the 2 little candy canes he gave her. We'll try again when we see Santa at the Library later next month...

3 Year Portraits

2009-11-19T14:44:00.004-06:00

Sariah did so well at her photo shoot today! These are the photos I got prints of, Grandparents should let me know which ones you'd like me to send you... :)

Goodbye 2... Hello 3 Years Old!

2009-11-17T16:29:00.007-06:00

Isn't it amazing how fast kids grow? Years seem to fly by. Since this is Sariah's last birthday as a "only child," we wanted to spend some extra time with her. Doug took Monday & Tuesday off of work so we could have some family time.

First we celebrated Sariah's last day being 2. Mondays we have story time in the morning anyway, so we got up and went over to Pancake Cafe for breakfast. Sariah enjoyed the whip cream, powder sugar & strawberries off her Micky Cake, but she only had a couple of bites of actual pancake. Daddy attended story time with her while Mommy spent some time talking with the other moms. They made these cool owl masks.
After lunch, we went over to the cheap theatre to see Pixar's Up. It was the first time Sariah's been in a movie theatre (not counting the time Doug and I took her with us to see a movie when she was a baby, & she slept through it.) She did really good! She was, admittedly, more interested in the projector than the movie, but she watched most of it. We shared a huge bucket of popcorn.
I didn't have high expectations for the movie, since I didn't really know much about it, but I loved it! I seriously laughed & cried several times, and I think it'll rank as one of my more favorite Pixar movies. I've already bought it for Sariah's Christmas stocking.
We were all exhausted by Monday evening, so Sariah helped me bake her cake, we had a short FHE & headed to bed.

Tuesday my baby turned 3! As soon as she got up, she was asking for cake for breakfast. She had been anticipating birthday cake for weeks. I'm pretty sure it was the most exciting part for her. I did get her to eat a bowl of chex & milk instead of cake, only because we hadn't decorated it. After breakfast we did just that. I kind of get stressed out when I'm decorating a cake, and it was awkward having an audience, but I think it turned out okay.

After the cake was decorated, we headed out to the Children's Museum. Doug and I had never been to a Children's Museum before, so I'm not sure what we expected. Sariah had a great time, though! Best off, admission was free that day, so we didn't have to pay the $15 I though we would (I did make a donation though.) We kind of followed Sariah's lead through the museum & let her do her thing. We took at least 100 pictures, and they're all posted on my facebook if you want to see them. (If we're not facebook friends & you'd like to be, let me know, my security settings are super high, so I'd probably have to find you.)
Doug insisted on dressing Sariah up at almost every station. She enjoyed it, so it was okay.
She actually built this brick "arch" thing by herself, I was pretty impressed.

This "boat" was called the dream machine & I think it was Sariah's favorite spot, we spent a lot of time here.
The kids could "fish" off the side. She got pretty good at it!
Look, its Doug the dinosaur!
Here you could pretend to milk cows, I think Sariah would make a pretty cute cow milker.

It was well worth the trip, even if the museum is downtown, & I hate downtown! After the museum, we headed home, had lunch (Sariah finally got a small bit of cake with her lunch.) Then we opened presents. Sariah got a pretty good haul again this year.
A book from Grandma Diana & Poppee James.
Sariah loved this outfit from Grandpa Steve & Jackie.
She also played her Candy Land game from Doug's parents afterwards, but I hear from Daddy that she cheated a little. She really loves the My Little Pony that Grandma bought her, too. She used the money that her Great-Grandparents gave her to buy 2 more today. She likes to brush their hair. Ponies also travel well to scary places like the doctor's office.
Later that evening we went out to Outback Steakhouse for birthday dinner since we had a coupon for a free Awesome Blossom. Sariah enjoyed some birthday Mac & Cheese. Then we headed home after a long day. Here she is in her new Curious George pajamas that I made her. The pajamas are huge on her, but she can grow into them.
We were exhausted after several days of family fun, but it was totally worth it. I love having a 3 year old! She's been so much fun & so good today at both my & her doctor's appointment. In case you're wondering, she 30 lbs & 35 inches. She's perfect & healthy in every way. We are looking forward to her portraits tomorrow! Happy Birthday big girl!

Big Stinkin' Update

2009-11-08T18:43:00.002-06:00

Gah! Why does it take so much effort to get motivated to blog lately? Oh yes, the pregnancy thing. ;) Third trimester is apparently sucking my energy out of my body. Thus it makes it hard to do things, like think. But, I digress... let me update you on things going on in our household.

When H1N1 Attacks: About the 15th of October, I came down with a funny cough. I call it a funny cough, because if you know me, when I get sick, it ALWAYS starts in my throat. I have enlarged, scarred tonsils, and I like to joke that they'd swab me for strep if I went in with a broken leg. So it was very unusual to have a cough & no sore throat. This progressed to what I though was just a semi-nasty cold. By that Saturday, Doug was sick, too. We skipped church on Sunday, and by then Sariah was just starting to cough. We didn't think much about it until Doug spiked a 104 degree temperature. So we called our clinic. By the time they called us back, Doug's fever had gone down with tylenol, but they prescribed me Tamiflu since I'm in a high risk category. We also scheduled an appointment for Sariah and she was also given the Tamiflu. By Monday, I felt like a million dollars, so I went to de-germing our entire house. Sariah also felt fine, her worst symptom ended up being a mild temperature. Poor Doug was still down for the count. By Monday night, he was having a hard time breathing. When I woke up Tuesday, it was so bad, he could barely catch his breath, so it was off to urgent care for him.

Long story short, Doug missed a whole week of work, had an X-ray of his lungs, was prescribed some inhaler meds & a cough suppressant, followed by an antibiotic & a steroid on Friday for bloodied mucus in his nose. We also ended up buying a humidifier & a neti pot, which was oh so fun. Poor Doug! He's feeling much better now & can say he survived the "epidemic." And I'll just add that I hope none of you come down with H1N1, but if you do, I hope you can get the Tamiflu, because that stuff rocks!

Halloween: Oh how thankful that the sickness drama was the week before all our Halloween festivities. We had at least 5 parties to attend that week, making Sariah's costume totally worth the time & effort I put into it. And here she is!
Just in case you were wondering, yes, I made the dress myself. I found all the materials at Walmart, and I even let Sariah choose the fabric & lace. We found her hat at Walmart, too, just in the toy section, not the Halloween stuff. The horse was a find at Target & her boots came from Target.com.

Monday we went to a party hosted by one of our friends from the Library. This is year 3 of having all the kids from our former baby story time get together at Halloween. I wish I hadn't forgotten my camera! There were tons of fun crafts for the kids to do. Sariah enjoyed stringing beads onto piper cleaners & making bracelets the best.

Wednesday we headed to our ward playgroup. Thursday at dance class the girls got to wear their costumes.

They learned a fun dance to the Purple People Eater song. I got a video, so we'll see if it ever gets onto the internet, it depends on how agreeable the dying laptop will be.

Friday morning was the annual library costume pageant. Several of our friends were there, and we had fun singing songs & eating treats. Friday night was our ward Trunk or Treat. We enjoyed the yummy soups & bread.
This year was the first year that we took Sariah out to the trunk or treat part of the evening. Doug took her out & unfortunately, there aren't any good pictures. It was very dark, very cold & very windy! Doug tells me that Sariah seemed very confused, but I know she enjoyed the candy we let her eat afterward.

Saturday night we did our first official Trick or Treating. We didn't go very many places, just to some of our neighbor houses & then over to Richard & Chrissie's house.
There's a nice older couple across the street that we went to first, who weren't planning on handing out candy, but had bought a big box of M&Ms just for Sariah. After that, she wouldn't really hold her pumpkin herself, in the hopes more big boxes of candy would be given that don't fit in her little pumpkin. No such luck, though. She did enjoy visiting Richard & Chrissie because they gave her several pieces of candy & pumpkin seed (which she surprisingly loved!) We had to dash home early because we had Stake Conference that night, but I'd say our first foray into Halloween was a success!

First salon visit: The Monday after Halloween we decided we'd go get Sariah's hair cut. It was flipping out funny in the back, getting long enough to start getting really tangled again, and we're doing 3 year portraits on the 19th, so I wanted her to have a good cut. Here's the finished product.
She did such a good job in the chair! She sat very still in the chair & held her head exactly like the lady asked her to. I was very proud. (I can't believe she'll be 3 in just over a week!)

Other tidbits: I survived my first Sunday as Primary Chorister. We're working on singing songs off my "fall singing tree" right now. Two weeks ago, Sariah helped me collect pretty fall colored leaves. Then I laminated them, wrote songs on the back & attached them to a poster of a tree I colored. I'm doing my best to learn the kids names & attitudes, but I'll admit to being still very nervous.

Sariah loves swim lessons. She's doing so good, too. Saturday they gave the kids all diving rings and had them blowing bubbles through them. Sariah loved this. Its the first time I've really seen her blow bubbles. Soon she'll be old enough to move up to the kids only classes & while she's definitely ready skill wise, she'll have to be potty trained first. We've marked Thanksgiving weekend for the next big potty push. Wish us luck!

Speaking of kids only classes. Tomorrow is Sariah's very first Pre-school story time. Its the first time she'll go into story time without me. I think she's excited, there's at least 4 or 5 of her friends in the same class. Mommy is understandably upset that her baby has grown up & doesn't need her anymore, but she's blaming it on pregnancy hormones... ;)

Finally, speaking of pregnancy, its still going well. All doctor's appointments are looking good. We're finally in the phase where we go to the doctor every 2 weeks. That, combined with the sisters-in-law that will be having babies soon has got me excited for the end of this pregnancy, even though we have a ways to go still. My hips are still holding out (thanks to my body pillow,) but I'm still sore in other places & I'm moving slower. I've had to stop picking Sariah up, because carrying her 31 lbs. disagrees with my uterus. Sariah is understandably upset by this development. She is excited about having a brother. She loves to go in "brother's room" and point out that baby brother is in my tummy. She tells me she's going to be very nice to brother & very helpful for mommy. We're all very excited.

So there it is, our lives caught up to date. Don't be surprised if I don't get another post out until Sariah's birthday, I've got such a mushy brain! :)

Um, yeah

2009-11-02T08:38:00.002-06:00

So a ton of things have been going on here, starting 2 weeks ago when we were all sick, esp. Doug. Then this last week we had tons of Halloween festivities, and I went to the dr. today (looking good!)

So I promise a real update as soon as I feel coherent enough to form sentences into paragraphs and explain stuff... I've been battling a sinus infection that feels like I've been punched in my left cheek, so thinking hurts... Please stand by...

Happy 30th Lisa!

2009-10-29T08:37:00.001-05:00

To my "Sister," Lisa, Happy 30th Birthday! Honestly? Its not as bad as we thought... :) Love ya!

Neun und Neunzig

2009-10-13T10:42:00.004-05:00

At some point last night, my little creepy floating baby reminded me that I had only 100 days until my due date. To that thought, I went, "Really? Sweet!" Honestly, the second pregnancy isn't as busy as my first. We already have a lot of things ready, and as soon as we found out it was a boy we went out & got clothes & decorated the nursery. We seem to be in a hold pattern for now. Thankfully, its fall, so there's lots of things to keep us busy!

Some basic pregnancy updates.

*I'm feeling tons better. About 2 or 3 days before my birthday, I realized that I had energy again! I started feeling (almost) normal again, except of course for the bulging belly. My food aversions are gone, and its nice to be able to eat again. (I've gained a bit of weight to prove it!) So the 2nd trimester came a little late (like 10 weeks) but thankfully it came!

*Everything is looking good at my doctor's appointments. I'm still nervous about having another big baby. Last week I measured on the outside about a week ahead. We'll just have to see what happens. I get to go in for glucose testing in about 2 weeks. Joy.

*I've been feeling movement since week 14, but its nice to start getting those good hard kicks. Unfortunately, they are extremely low. I can't be certain, but it seems like this little boy's feet are wedged low near my cervix. Almost all the movement is under my belly. My kidneys and colon feel like they are getting a beating all night long. Hopefully he unwedges soon and flips, no breach babies please!

*We're getting Sariah use to the idea of baby brother. She knows the room where we change her diaper is "brother's room." She's still in love with babies, which is a good thing. Yesterday, we were over at a friend's house, and she kept telling me she had to "pet" the baby. She even got to hold him. I think she's going to be a great big sister.

*Doug came back from the Priesthood session of General Conference totally excited about being a father to a boy. He's going to be a great example to our little guy!

*Finally, here's a shot of me with 99 days to go, a day shy of 26 weeks... scary, isn't it?

Autumn Leaves are Falling Down

2009-10-11T18:09:00.002-05:00

Can you tell what this is a picture of?Here, I'll give you a hint...
Yup, its our driveway, although its covered in leaves. The sad part? I swept it totally clean yesterday & Doug mowed all the leaves up. But then last night we had our first freeze and I guess the tree didn't take it well...
On another note... How cute is our daughter?
I think she's extremely cute!

Where in the World?

2009-10-07T09:21:00.006-05:00

We finished the baby's room last night! Well, I should say almost finished because I still have one or two more little things that I'm waiting on, but for the most part, its painted, and the big pictures are put up. We decided to go with a map theme for this room. Its based off a room I saw in a magazine, but we went with browns instead of blues, just in case I ever have to girl the room up at some point. You can ignore the ugly dresser & pack n play though, that's temporary baby furniture that will be replaced with a nice new bedroom set when baby is no longer a baby & ready for a big boy bed. So let's look at the pictures, shall we?

This is the corner of the room where our "changing closet" is located. That picture frame next to is is the one some of the postcards people are sending me will be placed. I have plans for the others as well, so no worries! The brown paint on the wall looks a funny color in these pictures, just know its a nicer color in person.The top of the dresser, once again, ignore the picture of Doug and I in the frame. That's our 32 weeks shot when I was pregnant with Sariah. It'll be replaced with a new one in about 7 weeks. The outfit on the dresser is his "coming home" outfit for the hospital. Its the same one as we used with Sariah, with a different blanket (it use to be Doug's) and a new small monkey toy.
These are the maps on the walls.
A close up of the stars that border the room, and the clock, which isn't too interesting, but useful when nursing in the middle of the night!
In case you're wondering, the temple pictured there is Chicago. We tried to go with the closest temples around for the kid's rooms, Sariah has a picture of Nauvoo in her room.
Check out my red curtains, I made those. :) They're "blackout" curtains, so they'll block more light out the room in the morning when the sun is streaming into the room.
(I see a Sariah...) The curtains are suppose to match that toy bucket & the red on the baskets you'll see in the changing closet.
Speaking of the changing closet, we added shelves on the other side (next picture) so we have a whole lot of storage on this side now. The green bucket is empty, but the other two are filled with boy clothes in bigger sizes.
Check out all the storage space! I love it!
So that's the room for now. If I find the cord for the other camera, I'll post the pictures Sariah took that document us painting it. Its been a fun project to work on during this last birthday/conference weekend. I'm glad to have it (mostly) done!

The Big 3 - 0

2009-10-03T08:52:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I left my twenties behind & moved into what I'm going to call the quiet thirties. I call it that because I won't hit a lot of milestones in my thirties. If you think about it, in your teens & twenties lots of stuff happens, high school, college, missions, marriage, first kids, etc. My thirties will still be filled with milestones for my kids, and lots of great life will be going on, but I'm hoping for a calmer existence that what my teens & twenties were!

So, in honor of my birthday, Doug took the day off from work. We woke up and he made me a yummy breakfast, then we hurried off to story time. Afterward we headed to the Home Depot for paint & shelving, and after lunch the day was spent painting the baby's room. I know what you're thinking, painting? Really? Yup, I've been waiting to start decorating that room all week, and what better day when my hubby is off work to do it! Its like my birthday present to me.

Sariah working hard

After the painting was finished, we had dinner out at the Olive Garden. Then after dinner, presents & bed time for little ones. Then Doug and I had birthday dessert. In the end I choose to make 2 cheesecakes, the Key Lime & the Brownie. It wasn't until I was beating the Brownie & the Key Lime was finished that I realized I didn't add the sugar into the Key Lime. It couldn't matter that much, could it? Oh yes it can! It turned out tasting like a very bad block of sour/bitter cheese. Doug managed to eat a piece by mooshing it together with the whipped topping, then we tossed the rest.

A very bad tasting Key Lime Cheesecake

A very tasty Brownie CheescakeThe Brownie Cheesecake turned out much better, although next time I think I'll try to either use less chocolate chips on the top, or make the "lines" thinner, because there are some seriously thick chocolate pieces on top!

All in all, it was a busy, productive, fun birthday. All joking aside, its not bad to be 30. There's some sort of stability about it. I'm looking forward to seeing what the next decade provides!!

The birthday girl & her adorable husband

Mmmm, Cheesecake

2009-09-28T16:50:00.002-05:00

Help me pick a birthday cheesecake! Vote on the side --->

Key Lime Cheesecake

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar
2 pkg. (8 oz. each) Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 tsp. grated lime peel
2 eggs

1 Graham Cracker Pie Crust
1 cup thawed Cool Whip Topping

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Beat cream cheese, whipping cream, sugar, lime peel, lime juice and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time; mix just until blended.

2. Pour mixture evenly into graham cracker crust.

3. Bake for 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool.

4. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Top with whipped topping before serving.

Red Velvet Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Red Velvet Crust Ingredients:

2 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted

Red Velevet Filling Ingredients:

3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs, beaten slightly
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon white vinegar
2 (1 ounce) bottles red food coloring

Topping Ingredients:

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Strawberries for garnish

Red Velvet Cheesecake Directions:

1. Mix together chocolate graham cracker crumbs and brown sugar. Add melted butter and mix well.

2. Press mixture into bottom and up sides of 9-inch spring-form pan. Bake in 350 degree F oven for 10 minutes; cool slightly.

3. In a large bowl combine cream cheese and sugar and beat with a mixer until combined.

4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

5. Add cocoa, sour cream, buttermilk, vanilla extract, vinegar and red food coloring and continue to beat until filling is smooth and well mixed.

6. Pour batter into prepared crust and bake at 325 degrees F for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until cheesecake looks almost set. Remove cheesecake from oven and cool in pan. Cover and chill in refrigerator overnight (in pan).

7. To make the topping: Beat the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar and vanilla extract, beating until smooth. Spread evenly over top of cheesecake. Remove sides of spring-form pan and garnish if desired with fresh strawberries.

Brownie Cheesecake

Ingredients:

8 oz (1 Pk) Brownie Mix
16 oz Cream Cheese, Softened
3 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup Sugar
2 Large Eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 cup Milk Chocolate Chips, Melted

Brownie Cheesecake Directions:

1. Grease bottom of 9-inch springform pan.

2. Prepare the brownie mix as directed on package. Pour batter into pan, bake for 15 minutes at 350F.

3. Combine cream cheese, whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla. Mix on medium speed with an electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Pour cheese mixture over brownie layer.

3. Spoon melted chocolate over the cream cheese mixture, then cut through with a knife for a marble effect.

4. Bake at 350F for 35 minutes. Loosen cake from rim of pan; cool before removing rim of pan. Chill.

Orange Cheesecake with Chocolate Drizzle (no picture...)
Ingredients

Crust:

1 1/2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs
4 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:

1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup orange juice
24 oz cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup whipping cream, whipped
2 teaspoons grated orange peel

Topping:

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Combine cookie crumbs and butter. Press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan and bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Cool.

3. Soften gelatin in orange juice; stir over low heat until dissolved.

4. Combine cream cheese and sugar. Gradually add gelatin mixture. Fold in whipped cream and orange peel.

5. Chill until firm, about 4 hours.

6. Just before serving - in a small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate and oil uncovered on high 1 minute to 1 minute 30 seconds, stirring every 15 seconds, until melted.

7. Drizzle chocolate over cheesecake.

A Plethora of Dance Class Videos

2009-09-24T13:50:00.002-05:00

Today was Sariah's second day of Creative Movement Dance Class. Its a pre-pre-ballet class, so they don't have to wear actual dance clothes, just something comfy to move in. If we continue with classes, I'll probably get her some shoes & things! She's really enjoying it. I know, 8 videos is a lot, but she was so cute today!

Sariah

2009-09-16T16:18:00.002-05:00

Gosh, I realize its been forever since I've posted anything about Sariah. So here are some things that Sariah is really into right now:

1. Outer Space. Sariah loves talking about Space. She's really into planets, stars, the moon, anything up in the sky. And oh, how she'd love to ride in a rocket ship like Curious George does. She use to have huge tantrums first thing in the morning because she couldn't go "up in space!" Since then we've spent hours watching rocket launches on youtube, reading books about space & learning as much as she can. She loves it. If I had known earlier, I would've made her a astronaut costume for Halloween, but it wasn't until after we bought fabric that she started showing her love for space. Airplanes are pretty neat, too. She got really sad one day at the park because the airplane that flew over us wouldn't come back. Needless to say, we spend a lot of time looking for space related activities.

2. The camera. I've got quite the budding photographer. I have 2 cameras, a really nice camcorder, and a cheap small camera I bought at Target for trips. Sariah loves to take the small camera around and take pictures. I like looking at them, because I really get a feel for her perspective on the world. Here is just a small sample of her work.

Yes, that last one is from the day she fell asleep under my bed.

3. Sariah is very helpful. She does mealtime chores right now. She's very good at setting the table & clearing it after meals. She also loves to "help" us cook in the kitchen. She's a very good dumper of ingredients. She loves to turn lights on and off for us & fetch us things. She's going to be a great help when her little brother comes.

4. She's also quite the talker & very observant. When she first meets someone, it takes a little while to warm up to them, but when she gets familiar, she loves to talk. She's good at answering most of our questions. The other day at the zoo she noticed that the spots on the umbrellas were the same as the ones on the giraffes. Although she's starting to get a little bossy. The other morning I was at the computer, she was next to me playing and she said "Mommy, go into the kitchen, get milk for Sariah!" We're working on politeness, and she's normally pretty good with her please, thank you, bless you! Every once & awhile we even get a gesundheit!

5. Some of Sariah's other favorite things include "Green Eggs & Ham" book, almost anything on PBS kids, "helping" mommy race on Mario Kart, playing on the tire swing at the park, riding in the car, getting apple juice slushies at Sonic.

6. We're starting classes this week! This fall we're doing a creative movement dance class, a story time & swim lessons (because we didn't get in during the Summer.) I'm really excited for her, I think she's going to have a really fun time. She's still quite the monkey, and she love to climb. This morning I caught her mimicking the ballet dancers on the Wiggles dvd she was watching, so I think she'll like her dance class. And she told me at the zoo today that she wants to swim like a seal.

7. Speaking of the zoo, (one final story) she did some really great counting today. She counted all 6 penguins by herself, and we learned that camels (at least at our zoo) have 2 humps, so if there are 2 camels, that means 4 humps!

Football Loyalty 2009

2009-09-12T14:17:00.003-05:00

In case you were wondering:

1. Utah Utes: I've been a Ute since I was born. When we lived in Utah, my parents took me to all the games. I grew up on Utah Football, so even though I didn't attend college there, I've gotta wear red!
2. BYU Cougars: Partly out of respect for Doug's family, party because anytime a MWC team wins, well that's good for the conference
3. Florida Gators: I'm a big Urban Meyer fan after what he did with the Utah program back in 2004. I'm sad that meant he left Utah, but he's done some pretty amazing things with Florida that's fun to watch. Tim Tebow's pretty great, too.
4. Texas Longhorns: Ah, Austin will always be my home, so naturally, I adopted Texas.
5. Wisconsin Badgers: We're here, its interesting to follow the local team... nuff said.

everybody else...

So... if Utah plays BYU, then I root for Utah, but if BYU plays Texas, then I'd root for BYU, etc. So while I'm a Ute, when BYU beat Oklahoma last week, well that was awesome. Mostly, I just enjoy football. Some days I'll turn a game on, pick a team and watch.

P.S. The BCS is crap... but that's a post for another time...

Always Remember

2009-09-10T12:57:00.004-05:00

a fireman's coat & hat, found at ground zero

a plane window found at the site of the towers

Its been 8 years. I'm never going to forget what happened 8 years ago. It was a special experience to actually visit ground zero when my mom and I went to New York. You can read more about the individuals that died that die over at Project 2,996.

I've debated about sharing my 9/11 experience here on my blog, because I haven't written it here, but I've made the decision not to. That day isn't about me. That day is about all America. It reminds us that we live in a place that allows us to make our own choices, to think for ourselves, to be personally responsible. We have freedoms that others want to take away because they think they can manage our lives better than we can. That day is about the selfless heroes that stood up to help others & to fight. No matter what anyone else says, does, or tries to make this day into, let us at some point today take a moment and thank Heavenly Father for our blessings, pray for those who lost family or were otherwise personally affected that day, and pray for our servicemen & woman to continue to risk their lives so we can be free.

This is particularly moving. I recommend everyone watch it.

Proof That Children Can Sleep Anywhere

2009-09-09T18:17:00.001-05:00

Yes, that's under our bed...

Hello World

2009-09-03T06:07:00.000-05:00

Awww... isn't he cute?

Introducing our little baby boy! We're so excited. I loved getting a good look at him, his arms, legs, spine, face, heart... I didn't like the seriously full bladder. I kinda overcompensated with the water, and it was seriously painful. I was thankful when we were finally done, it sort of sucks the joy out of it... one the one hand, you want to see the baby move, on the other, man you gotta pee!

I just knew we were having a boy. I've known since I saw that positive test. In ways, I've known since before then, but that's hard to explain. I guess most of that is personal, and things I ponder in my heart. We do have a pretty solid name picked out, but I won't share it here just yet, because for some reason, that feels like jinxing it.

We're thankful to have a healthy boy. We're thankful that we can start telling Sariah about her baby brother! She's going to be an excellent big sister.

20 Weeks

2009-09-02T04:12:00.003-05:00

We're here! Half way. Thank goodness. This has felt like the longest pregnancy ever & esp. the last 3 weeks have dragged on & on. Sometimes when you're waiting for something to happen, like an exam or a root canal, time speeds up, not so much with this pregnancy. Phew, anyways... here are some 20 week stats.

*can get up and down & around, albeit slower than normal. I can still get down on the ground and cut fabric without too much trouble, although I cut almost all the projects out for the rest of the year so I don't have to do it later.
*cannot go into my kitchen/bathroom/car/other places without gagging... STILL
*only vomit once or twice a week... this is a improvement over every day
*can eat beef & dairy again, although I don't do it very much. I had to have a tall glass of milk every day with Sariah's pregnancy, with this one the thought makes me gag.
*exhausted all the time, esp. in the morning. I'd sleep till 11am if I could
*can still play volleyball, as I proved last weekend... I even skinned my knee diving for the ball... hmm, maybe I won't be playing again for awhile...
*been feeling the baby since week 14, but I feel slightly stronger kicks now, but only if I really sit quiet & focus.
*crave McDonald's french fries... seriously, I'd live off them if I could, but I shouldn't
*starting to get some heartburn when I eat food like salsa, hummus, chocolate or walk through Walmart (don't ask why, it just happened and it hurt like crap.) I don't know how to get rid of it if I can't drink milk with my tums. Anybody got some non dairy remedies for heartburn?
*incredibly forgetful: I've left my keys in my car at least 3 times, twice in the garage & once at the "beach" when I locked them & my cell phone in the car. Thank goodness Hilary was there to save me & let me borrow her phone so Doug could rescue us.

I guess that's about it... oh, did you want to know the gender? You'll have to wait, our ultrasound isnt' until later today. Boy vs. Girl has been a hot topic around our house for weeks now, probably since we found out we were pregnant. I am very much on team boy; Doug is very much on team girl. I use to think he was doing it to annoy me, but yesterday I started thinking, maybe he really just wants a girl.

I forget that growing up with sisters has to be different than growing up with brothers. Add that fact that Sariah is just darn cute, and why wouldn't he want to live in a house full of girls? I'll admit, I guess I can see his perspective. I always imagined that I'd have a house full of boys. I've always related better to little boys. One of my favorite callings was a Sunbeam class with 6 boys and 1 girl in it. It wasn't until I was pregnant with Sariah that I craved a little girl. I have always assumed that this time I'd get my little boy.

A couple of weeks ago, Sariah and I were at the splash park. I was sitting on a bench watching her play in the water when a mom & her two girls, about 4 and 18 mo. walked up in front of me to play. I watched as the older sister took care of her little sister & they played together. It really looked like the whole family was having a ton of fun. That's the first time I realized I could be okay if this is a girl. I never had a sister, but I bet Sariah would love one.

Of course, all this is pretty moot until we know for sure. No matter if we end up on team blue or team pink, I think we're going to be excited to have this new child in our family, & Sariah is going to love being a big sister!

If your interested...

2009-08-31T09:55:00.002-05:00

...here are some professional pictures of the Healthcare Town Hall last week. I'm in some of them, but since I don't want to steal his pictures, and if you're interested in looking, I'm in these shots:

55

64

93 - here's a really good side shot of 19 week pregnant me

9435 - this is kinda a where's waldo from the back. I look like I'm sitting about 4th row, and you can see my pony tail between a lady with short white hair and another lady with long frizzy blond hair. I'm kinda sitting in the center... see if you can see me!

9460- I'm not actually in this pic, but the lady I was sitting next to is the lady standing up clapping. (I'm hidden behind another person, I was probably hunched over writing...)

Healthcare! My Notes from the Town Hall

2009-08-26T15:57:00.006-05:00

Last night was 2 big events for us. Doug attended the Neighborhoods Restoring Safety meeting for our community. Meanwhile I was at the Americans for Prosperity Health Care Town Hall with keynote speaker John Stossel of ABC's 20/20. (And I was early, so I had a really great seat!) (Sariah was asleep with the graciousness of one of our neighbors who stayed with her.)

I can't really speak about Doug's meeting, but I took a ton of notes from the health care meeting. This is going to make for a seriously long post, but I'm going to go ahead and transcribe all my notes from the meeting onto my blog, in case you are interested, plus, my handwriting was pretty frantic, so I want to get this down before I forget.

The forum was 2 parts, first a speech by John Stossel, followed by the intro of the panel, who each got 5 min. to introduce themselves/say something. That was followed by a Q & A session. I should point out that most everyone there in attendance were not in favor of the current reform, may had read the bill. There were, I'd estimate, about 20 people in the back that were in favor of the reform, and they tried to be loud and disruptive at the beginning of John Stossel's remarks. There was esp. one woman who tried to "rebut" his every sentence, but was quickly shushed by Stossel himself, when he mentioned that that's where all the narcissists must be sitting. She later *claimed she was a physical therapist and asked a question about what was wrong with the public option. No one was totally unruly, even though there was a large police presence. I'd say the whole tone of the meeting was postitive.

(*I say claimed because there have been many stories in the news about people attending town halls claiming to be drs. or health care professionals, who actually aren't. If this woman truly is what she says, I apologize.)

Keynote Speaker: John Stossel
Moderated by: Vicki McKenna, WIBA Madison, WISN Milwaukee
Panelists:
U.S. Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-2nd) (Invited, did not attend)
Scott Klug – Former Congressman (R-2nd CD)
Tim Nerenz – Executive Vice-President, Oldenburg Group, Inc. (aka small business owner)
Steve Schwartzer – President, Heartland Benefits Group (aka insurance)
Dr. Pamela Galloway – Founder, Breast Center of Central WI

John Stossel (sorry its blurry, I brought the cheap camera because it was smaller.)A graph on Gov. spending from the beginning of the country to today.Local Radio Host, Vicki McKennaThe panelBoth the health care bills from the House & Senate. (2 binders for the House & 1 for the senate... def. not "light" reading!)

(the next section is my notes, mostly written in bullet points)
John Stossel: *the current system is broken, but the reform will make it much worse
*its okay to spend $ on health care
*insurance is more expensive/fewer choices... insurance=someone else pays for you
*free market = innovation... compete to please customer
*not everyone has to be an expert in a free market society
*insurance encourages us to behave well
*one size fits all doesn't work
*capitalism works when we spend our own $
*between us & doc we don't care what things cost (because of insurance)
*if we had grocery insurance we wouldn't care how expensive things were at the grocery store
*Wisconsin makes it worse w/ mandates
*insurance a necessary evil for catastrophes/not meant to pay for everything
*high detectable insurance the best
*more Health Savings Accounts (HSA) - often employer will give $
*we'd shop around & save
*there is ALWAYS rationing when Gov. takes control (maybe not immediately)
*Economic Freedom (See Hong Kong after British... 3rd world to 1st world)

Vicki McKenna: approx 2,000 peeps in attendance (actual count was just over 1700)
*from listener "Do you feel the ground move beneath your feet? Don't just stand & watch the earthquake."

Scott Klug: "You can fix the health care system, but leave my health care alone." -teacher's union in '92

Tim Nerenz-our health care is fast, but billing for health care is slow
*TORT reform - get health care 40% lower
*eliminate 3rd payer - HSAs

Steve Schwartzer- Heath insurance is expensive because of health care costs, not the other way around
*cost shifting not a fair business practice (ex. gov pays 75% of the dollar so private ins. pays 125%)
*small business makes up this country
*mandates = bad
*mandates force private to cover what public won't
*don't throw baby out with bathwater, just tweak
*keep questioning & fight back

Dr. Pamela Galloway- Trojan horse to single payer - Gov. sets standards for drs.
*drs. should do what's best for patients
*do you want to be in control or the Gov.?

This next section is the Q & A where it got really hard to write. I abbreviate the speakers of the answers by their last initial, except for John Stossel, where I used both his initials.

Q & A

Q: pre exsisting conditions?
S: in WI & declined by 2 private goes to HERSE program (which I don't know much about.)

Q: what's this about increased birth intervals? she believes that more kids good
G: I agree

Q: What's the rational for not including themselves (senators & congressmen) in bill?
K: "protect yourself" they are exempt from lots of gov. programs & it doesn't make sense

Q: Impact of TORT reform on medical costs?
G: ESSENTIAL becuase cost of defensive medicine is large. plaintiff should pay if they lose, now they have no skin in the game because they just walk away scott free of they lose
N: 40% of lawsuits don't claim medical malpractice

Q: Obama to do away with medicare advantage?
JS: medicare doesn't police for fraud
G: medicare is captive audience can't compare medicare to private
S: still around

Q: Why are we even debating this, the bill is unconstitutional!
G: already passed a lot of laws that are unconstitutional
JS: "provide general welfare" gets away with lots of stuff

Q: How do we start to get rid of mandates?
S: contact reps & demand
K: Lobbiest are effective (tug on heartstrings.) easier to say "look what I passed!" not "this is what I stopped." change mentality. TERM LIMITS... non-career politicians

Q:How can patients make judgments when hospitals don't know what things cost? where's the transparency?
G: work together. more drs. in private practice/ not big clinics. make sure bill DOES NOT get passed!!
JS: more people need to pay for themselves
S: HSA - get skin in the game. shop around!
G: (prescriptions) ask around. big Pharma wants this bill so they can charge more
K: in bill, gov. benefits if drugs cost more "more taxes off drugs if they cost more"
N: Big Business wants public/small doesn't want

Q: 152 pg 50 illegals will receive health care - shouldn't we take care of legals 1st? Yup!
S: they're already getting care in ERs - some using ID theft. trust private to fix it more than public

Q: something about medicare again...
S: Gov. arbitrarily makes rules for medicare that don't benefit the patient
G: lots of hoops to jump for drs.

Q: Catholic hospitals & caregivers wo refuse to provide abortions?
N: not touching that! no one is impartial democrats or republicans
Vicki McKenna: short answer, they'd shut their doors

Q: 3 bills by republicans (totaling only 452 pgs) why haven't we heard more in the media?
JS: media listens more to party in power

Q: How can we rebut when people say we're not in the top 10 for mortality rate, birth rate, etc?
JS: numbers are deceiving - we shoot more, drive more and further, crash more & we're fat.
S: we lead world in cancer treatment. our life exp. is at 79 yrs = to Canada

Q: We hire them, how can we make them accountable?
K: Change 'em! THey're ideals are different... they'll listen if you invest time & money PUBLIC PRESSURE if they don't listen, they do it at own peril

Q: What is wrong w/ a public health care option?
G: Public option has tax payer $, private has to balance budget: public crowds out private
K: still cost shifting - more in public costs more to private. Nobody in the world has it right! There is no magic solution.

Q: practical ideas to fix medicare?
S: FRAUD ISSUE, we don't need an overhaul (WI HERSE program is also part private funded)
JS: Raise age, wealthy pay for themselves

Q: Where in constitution does it say an unelected gov. office makes health care decisions?
N: its not in there!

Well, there you have it. I hope you got through that. I know it might not all make sense, there were lots of things said that I didn't get written down. Like I said, I felt the meeting was a positive experience for those who attended (even though the local media stories I've read put a neg. spin on it.) I'm thankful for the opportunity to attend.

Things We Like

2009-08-15T22:46:00.002-05:00

Because we are boring & because I can't sleep, here is a short list of things we're into lately...

1. How to Potty Train Your Monster
Here's a book that was recommended by my mom that we bought for Sariah, and she loves it! I think she enjoys the colorful monsters on the pages learning how to use the potty. The book give you 10 rules in helping potty train your "monster." Its humorous tips and reminders are also good for mom & dad.

2. Market Pantry Chocolate Ice Cream from Target: Honestly, there's nothing better than Blue Bell Ice Cream, and I accept that! Unfortunately, we live in the "deep north" and the best ice cream in the world isn't available to us. This is a pretty good substitute for our money though. It has a soft, non gritty texture which we enjoy. It def. doesn't taste like a store brand and is better than most the other options we've tried.

3. Ceiling Fans & Pedestal Fans: Its August, its "hot" (not by Texas standards, but still hotter than the rest of the year), we don't have a/c in our house. Nuff said.

4. Toilet Sprayer:

For cloth diapering, this is totally worth the money. Sprays all the nasty stuff into the toilet, and I don't have to touch it... brilliant!

5. Our new dentist office: Our first dentist that we went to here was trying to scam us, I'm pretty sure. He made us feel all kinds of guilt, then he told us we had all these cavities, then when we went to fix the first round, he botched one of mine and it hurt for like a month, so he "fixed" it again, but the pain never stopped, so we bailed on him. Two years later we finally went back to the dentist. Our new dentist office was nice, friendly, guilt free, let Sariah watch PBS while we got our teeth cleaned, and guess what, I've got no cavities! (Doug has 2 but one of them is from a botched job by the previous dentist... grr...) It was a much better experience, and we're much happier! They even gave Sariah an awesome new tooth brush that she brought to Doug this morning and insisted they brush their teeth.

27 Years, 16 Weeks

2009-08-06T13:33:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was my wonderful hubby, Doug's, birthday! He only turned 27, so he's not an old man yet. I'm secretly pleased, because I was 27 when we had Sariah, and now Doug is 27 when we have this baby. I think it was meant to be... either that or I like odd patterns & coincidences.

Doug had a stressful day at work, so we didn't get to celebrate until the evening. We took him to Red Robin for dinner, where he enjoyed his Prime Rib dip & Chocolate Shake. (I'm still having beef aversions, but I managed to enjoy an A1 Peppercorn burger with a garden burger patty substitute.) Doug was a little embarrassed when he got sung to by 4 of the servers, one who announced to the whole place that he had just turned 21. (I told him he should feel flattered, and he said he would've except his office mate thought he was over 30 earlier in the day.) Sariah was fascinated by the clapping & the singing. She bobbed her head along with them and stared in awe. We all enjoyed the free ice cream.

After dinner we came home for cake and ice cream. Doug had requested a yellow cake with raspberry icing, but I couldn't find raspberry icing. Instead he enjoyed this yellow cake will raspberry filling, lemon icing & raspberry garnish with chocolate ice cream. This is the only picture I got of the entire day and I took it after Sariah and I finished decorating the cake.Notice how Sariah has pen marks all over her legs and arm. She found one of my pens downstairs during quiet time, thankfully she only wrote on herself. She didn't want to color Doug's birthday banner, but her legs? Sure!

Doug recieved Sliders season 4, Pushing Daisies season 2 & a pc version of Final Fantasy VII that he's been longing for forever. Its out of print, but I managed to find a (working) copy for a reasonable amount of money. He is thrilled! Happy Birthday to a wonderful father & husband!

In other news, I'm 16 weeks pregnant! This means I'm full into the 2nd trimester, but I'm still enduring some first trimester goodness (and by goodness, I mean morning sickness, boo!) I actually started feeling fluttery baby movement at night about 2 weeks ago, which has been really cool. I don't have anything really exciting to report at the moment, but I thought I'd finally post a belly picture, for those who are interested. I haven't really wanted to do this yet this time around, since I carry most of my weight in the belly anyways, and I always feel I look pregnant, but I figured by now, I'm pretty obviously pregnant. So there you go...

We're about a month away from our 20 week ultrasound, which I figure I'll be able to schedule after my appt. tomorrow, so I'll go ahead and post a "what gender do you think we're having?" poll... :)

Cookie Monster

2009-07-27T19:55:00.004-05:00

We have a family chocolate chip cookie recipe. It makes a ton of cookies, I'm talking 5.5-7 dozen, depending on how much dough we eat while baking. Needless to say, you need a ginormous bowl to make these cookies. (I tried once making them in my largest glass bowl & didn't get the brown sugar creamed well enough, they were awfully sugary, and not in a good way.) Growing up, my mom has this green tupperware bowl that we pulled out every time we made the recipe, so I was stoked when my friend Tina invited me to a tupperware party, I needed a big bowl!

Sadly, tupperware doesn't sell the same bowls I grew up with anymore, so I had to settle for the biggest bowl they sold. I was a little weary because its a pretty deep bowl, and I wasn't sure if I could beat the dough in it well enough, so we tried a family experiment tonight for FHE.Sariah has been a really big helper today, from helping me with the laundry and dish washing, to finding me my orange shoes. So it wasn't a suprise that she's such a good cookie making helper!
Thankfully, the bowl works great for cookies! Yay! I'm really happy with the results! And we've made 7.5 doz cookies tonight. (I think because the dough didnt' sound great to me and I didn't eat any.) So now you're asking, yes, but are the cookies good?
Yup! They're Sariah tested and approved! I imagine a bunch of these will end up frozen in our chest freezer. Or if we get ambitious, I'll pull out the ice cream sandwich press & make some yummy frozen treats!

Cloth Diapers!

2009-07-17T11:56:00.003-05:00

Sometimes, I think I many be crazy. This is one of these times. I mean, really, who thinks, "I know, lets start cloth diapering when I'm 11 weeks pregnant, so I can spend more time around poop!" Well, I do and here's why:

First off, they're just stinkin' cute! I'm serious! Look... Okay, so some of that maybe my beautiful child but still... So let's run through some pros/cons.

Pros:
~I don't have to buy disposables. Seriously, after 2.5 years of that, I'd so tired of running to the store and agonizing if I should really spend that much for diapers because I'm a diaper snob and will only buy pampers. We're already saving tons of money.

~They are really REALLY easy! I bought two different brands of cloth diapers and they are both known as pocket diapers. Both diapers are also a "one size fits all" and "grow" to fit a growing baby. I'll explain more about that later. With pocket diapers, they go on just like a disposable would, only both the brands we own use snaps instead of velcro. They're called pocket diapers because they have a lining that you stuff inside the diaper to make it more absorbent. If you're worried that the child will pee through the diaper (like overnight or on a long car trip), you can just add another lining and boom, problem solved.

~They are really easy to wash. One of the "scary factors" for me was trying to get diapers washed every 2 or 3 days, depending. I'm awful at laundry (which I won't elaborate on, so as not to embarrass myself.) Honestly, its not that big of a deal. The diapers use the same laundry soap our clothes do, and it uses WAY less than a normal load of laundry. Plus it really doesn't take that much time to stuff the diapers again and put them up, so the burden isn't as bad as it would seem.

Cons:
~And this I feel, so far, has been the only con. Its dumping the poop into the toilet. Really, it only happens once or twice a day, and its not so bad. Sometimes though, poop is really stinky or sticky. Most of this problem is because Sariah is older. I've heard that with little breastfed babies, you don't even have to worry about the poop. But, as every parent knows, once they start eating solids, poop get stinky!

So like I said earlier, we own two differnt brands of diapers (I had orginally bought 3 kinds, but I didn't like the bumgenius ones & sold them to a friend.) In the picture below, Sariah is modeling a Fuzzibunz.
Fuzzibunz adjust for size by using adjustable elastic around the legs. (Think of those adjustable waist pants you can buy now days.) The lining is a soft microfleece. (The only downside to that is sometimes I've seen a bit of a heat rash if we've been outside playing for awhile.) Sariah really likes this red diaper, and she'll often ask to wear it if its clean. After the diaper is used, you just shake out the lining, which is really easy.

The other brand we bought on my Sis-in-law, Jodi's, recommendation is Smartipants. They're a pretty new diaper on the market, but I love them. First off, you don't have to worry about shaking out the liners, they come out in the wash. They adjust with snaps on the front of the diaper to make it smaller or bigger. The lining isn't as soft, but poop comes off WAY easier. Another big plus is they are cheaper than most other diapers on the market.

So in conclusion, we really like cloth diapering. It was just a small experiment to try it out before the next baby arrives, but I doubt we'll stop doing it with Sariah until she potty trains. I say this mostly because she throws a huge tantrum if we try to put a disposable diaper on her. So I guess they're here to stay!

A Snapshot into the Future

2009-07-15T16:08:00.002-05:00

I think I mentioned that I was getting an ultrasound today so they could check on the cyst in my left ovary. That means we got another good look at baby 2, or as I like to say, Baby Swarley. So here's baby at 13 weeks!
If you're looking for some comparison, here's Sariah at 14 weeks & some odd days...

We won't really hear anything on the cyst until later, but my OB didn't seem worried about it, so I'm not. Basically he was just giving us a freebie look at Swarley. Thanks Doc!

I'm alive!

2009-07-14T13:05:00.002-05:00

I know what you're thinking, what's up with Marin's lack of blogging? Well its been a rough couple of weeks, pregnancy wise, and I figured you didn't want to hear about the colorful ways & times I've vomited, so I've kinda been quiet. I will say that even though morning sickness with this pregnancy has seemed shorter and "easier", I've thrown up way more than with my first pregnancy, and that's not really cool. But now that's I'm feeling (relatively) better, I'll leave you with some "exciting" info about our lives.

1. The weekend after our camping trip, Doug and I headed over to Summerfest, a large, outdoor music festival in Milwalkee. Normally I would avoid such things, but my favorite band ever, Barenaked Ladies, was playing. Its been years since I've seen BNL because they'd always seem to stop in my town when I'm not there, or the day after I've had a baby, and a lot has changed for them & me. Doug snagged us row 4 seats, stage right, so we were awesomally close! I wish I had brought my camera, but the website said that was a no, no, so I didn't. I tried to take a picture w/ my phone, but it didn't really turn out. Sad. There was a guy in front of me though, that looked like he was getting some awesome pics.

The music was fantastic, probably the best concert I've been to (and I've been to 6 of them, including 2 in one weekend!) They've got a new cd coming out in the fall and I highly recommend it. They played 3 new songs, and they were all amazing!

2. Since then, nothing much has been going on. We skipped the fireworks for the 4th this year, but did attend the neighborhood bike parade. Sariah still hadn't figured out her tricycle by then, so Doug helped her around the block. Since then she's finally figured out how to stear, and she's getting much better. The rest of the 4th was spent hiding in our house and relaxing.

3. We've started cloth diapering! More on this later, but I will say, I like it more than I thought I would!

4. I had my 12 week drs. appointment today. It took a bit, but the nurse found the heartbeat, right under mine. It was 160 and strong, so yay! It was the first time I met my O.B., Dr. Bills (the OB I had with Sariah doesn't do pregnancies anymore), and I really like him. He's really nice and we had a pretty open conversation about several things. We're getting another ultrasound tomorrow, not because we really need one, but they did find a slightly large cyst in my left ovary that they'll re-check. He's not worried, but hey I won't say no to another ultrasound!

So that's kind of it for now. I should get around to taking more pictures of Sariah and stuff, hopefully as I enter the 2nd trimester I won't feel so tired & yucky, and I'll post more. :)

A funny thing happened on the way to the BNL concert...

2009-07-02T14:34:00.002-05:00

That's right, you gotta be careful at those music fests, you could take one wrong turn & end up on the Congress Ave. Bridge in Austin!

Camping & Laziness

2009-06-29T11:49:00.003-05:00

Yes! We were camping over Father's Day weekend, and we had a blast. We met Doug's sister Jenny & her family at Custer State Park, South Dakota. We had a really great time.

Unfortunately since we've gotten home, I've been pretty lazy when it comes to blogging & sorting through the 500 (I'm not kidding) pictures we took. I may get around to it eventually. In the meantime, enjoy Jenny's Blog & her comments from the trip.

I'm also hoping to post about Doug & my date to Summerfest last Saturday to see BNL. It was pretty sweet. :)

Sariah the Cat

2009-06-17T08:27:00.003-05:00

Lately, Sariah has been refusing naps. Unfortunately, with all the Summer fun, she really needs one, but since she doesn't, she often falls asleep around 4pm anyways, just exhausted. Yesterday, I was getting ready to leave for enrichment & Doug was outside mowing the lawn so we don't get cited by the city again (that's another long story.) Sariah was downstairs watching Clifford the Big Red Dog, and this is how I found her when I went to leave.
Poor thing. She must be really comfortable with her balance to fall asleep on the couch like that. I don't know what happened after I left because she was still sleeping, but I think Doug moved her so she didn't wake up and fall off the back of the couch. I guess we'll have to try and be better about nap times!

County Dairy Breakfast

2009-06-13T16:47:00.003-05:00

Since Sariah has decided that she likes to wake up before recognized times in the morning, (I only recognize one 5:30 a day, and that's in the evening) we decided it would be fun to head to the county dairy breakfast. Apparently, this is a yearly event and each county hosts one at a local dairy farm.

It unfortunately rained last night, so the ground was soft & muddy, but we thankfully didn't get the car stuck in the field where we had to park. (Unlike in '98 when I got my car stuck at a concert at Southpark Meadows, Christi knows what I'm talking about!) From the field to the dairy farm we got a tractor ride, which just might have been Sariah's favorite part (aside from seeing the cows.)

The breakfast was decent, I was able to eat the scrambled eggs, sausage, coffee cake, but I had to pass on the cheese cubes & ice cream. (I know, the fact that ice cream makes me nausious is a sad sad thing!) Unlike the dairy farm that we visited in Kansas last November, this one doesn't process it's milk on site, so they handed out milk from sponser McDonalds, which was a little weird.

We enjoyed all the booths about the dairy farms and things. Sariah even got cow spots painted on her face. We took a short horse drawn cart tour around the farm, then took a closer look at the cows. Then we hoped a tractor ride back to our car & headed home. It was a pretty good morning. Maybe next year when I'm not loathing dairy we'll go visit some of the neighboring county dairy breakfasts, too!

Baby's First Ultrasound

2009-06-09T16:20:00.002-05:00

Here's Baby! I had my first ultrasound today, mainly just to date the baby, and baby is doing great. Baby is measuring 7 weeks 2 days, which is a couple of days less than where I thought I was, but kinda makes sense because my symptoms seem to change on Sundays. So we'll kind of run with that. Heart beat was at a healthy 147 bpm and I just love getting to see the heartbeat. In this picture, baby is upside down with the head at the bottom & the body on the top. At least that's what she told me. :)

Update on my 10 in 6 challenges

2009-06-05T21:05:00.002-05:00

So of course right now I'm not really focusing on weight loss anymore, but we still have a hearty group of gals that want to continue, so we're starting the 10 in 6 challenge again, but a little different. The info is up on the 10 in 6 blog...

But also, since I'm pregnant, I was hoping to get a support system going for us pregnant ladies. I know lots of ladies expecting right now, so I hope ya'll are interested in joining our community. I'm calling it Healthy Bellies, but its not just a group focused on eating & exercise during pregnancy, but all aspects, the good & the bad. I want it to be a place we can all share.

So if you're interested in joining the 10 in 6 or Healthy Bellies, feel free to register with our NEW Message Boards. I can't wait to see you there! (Also if you just want to hang with the coolest people on the internet, there's a general board. We love input from our friends!)

Conversations

2009-05-30T07:25:00.002-05:00

Sariah: I wear shoes! Daddy wear shoes?

Daddy: Should I get dressed first?

Sariah: Daddy get dress... I wear dress, too!

Coming Attractions

2009-05-26T17:12:00.002-05:00

Coming to our house approx. Jan 20th, 2010! Don't miss the next greatest hit!

Encore!

2009-05-26T08:40:00.002-05:00

Sariah singing the Baby Bumblebee song... its a favorite with all the nursery kids!

Yeah, this video is several weeks old & pre-haircut, I just got around to uploading...

Brat Fest 2009

2009-05-23T12:49:00.003-05:00

Its that time again, Brat Fest! I love going on Saturday morning. If we leave our house around 10:30ish, we get there just in time to get great parking, start eating brats, enjoy some music & leave before it gets crowded or crazy. We got there just in time to see the University of Wisconsin marching band (well a small version of it anyways) and the Budweiser Horses. Sariah thought the horses were pretty cool, but all the music this year seemed REALLY loud, so we didn't stay very long. The music on the stage this year was the Blues Brothers Band. There were a pretty enjoyable cover band (although they kinda look like older guys trying to hold on to that time when they were really cool...)

We had a great morning, and we've spent a quiet afternoon relaxing & I sewed a dress. Hope you're having a relaxing weekend... Monday, a parade!

Easter Dresses

2009-05-19T18:45:00.002-05:00

My mother-in-law reminded me that I never blogged about Easter. Well, that's because I lost the memory card to our nice camera along with practically all my photos from this year. So I can't share the pictures of us dying eggs or other fun things. But these are the matching dresses for Sariah and I. Dresses are so much fun to sew!

Great Husband!

2009-05-19T08:05:00.001-05:00

Flowers for practically no reason... awesome!

Snip Snip

2009-05-12T16:21:00.004-05:00

f
I did it, I can't believe it! Sariah got her hair cut today. She was awful wiggly, which made it hard for the lady to cut, but its pretty straight, considering. I was really nervous about the whole thing, but I LOVE it. I think it makes her look like more of a little kid & less of a toddler. She's a little confused on what happened, but I think she likes it. Its def. going to be easier to deal with & less out of her face (but not completely.) I'm going to miss styling it, but it'll grow & then when she's older & less wiggly, it'll be easier anyways. Best of all, she's still beautiful! Yay!

to cut or not to cut?

2009-05-06T13:09:00.002-05:00

Sariah's hair is really long. I'm talking almost to her waist in the back. Not surprising since it has never been cut and she had a lot to start with. When its washed and done up, its so pretty & girly, and it has a slight natural curl at the bottom that is awesome! The down side is that Sariah hates having it washed, or brushed or anything done to it. It gets all tangly so easily, and she gets food in it. I'm dreading the Summer, since it'll have to be done up and then washed every time we go to the park.

So I'm thinking, maybe its time to cut it. We could do a cute bob or something and cut it so it stays out of her face & is less hasstle. (I'm all for less power struggles...) On the other hand, cutting my baby's hair? SOB!

What do ya'll think? There's a poll on the side, too...

The Wheels on the Bus

2009-04-26T22:25:00.001-05:00

in case you missed it on facebook...

don't you just love how the frame they picked makes her look like her finger is up her nose?

Thursday Food & Take Your Child to Work Day

2009-04-23T22:07:00.004-05:00

So today was take your child to work day, and I let Doug take the camera for awhile (cute pics of Sariah > food). So I'm missing the ice cream I had at cold stone & half my subway sandwich, chips & soda. Sariah had tons of fun at Epic, all the pics are posted on Facebook, so I just posted a few here.

I hear there was face painting, lots of crafts, a magician & lots of food at work today. So not things that are normally around when Doug's at work (well, maybe the food.) It looks like Sariah had tons of fun though. After Daddy took her to Wendy's for dinner, what a lucky girl!

Wednesday Food

2009-04-22T20:28:00.003-05:00

See that bowl of salsa & cream cheese? Pretend there are two of those, because there was...

Oh, and Sariah found the big puddle of water in the sand at the playground today... yay laundry time!

I know it seems like I didn't eat much today, but I'm actually really full...

Tuesday Food

2009-04-21T18:54:00.005-05:00

Just in case your wondering, if there's some one in the photo, its because I shared whatever I was eating with them. We had lunch at Epic today, and I had Curry Crusted Temph w/ Pomegranate Sauce & Brown Basmati Rice (its apparently vegan & for the calorie conscious.) Doug and I split a Pink Lemonade Pie slice, which was perfection! The top picture is for my mom, who doesn't care what I'm eating, just what Sariah is.

Food: Monday 4/20

2009-04-20T09:40:00.004-05:00

I know, no Easter photos yet, soon! Well, Saturday, actually. This week I'm doing the mini-challenge on my 10 in 6 blog. So bear with me while I post everything I eat for 5 days...

TEA Party Videos

2009-04-16T09:03:00.002-05:00

Local Radio Host Vicki McKenna at the Tea Party Rally

Our "March" to the Capitol

Other videos:

US Rep Paul Ryan 1
US Rep Paul Ryan 2

TEA Anyone?

2009-04-15T15:59:00.005-05:00

It was a beautiful day to let the government know that we're not happy. We headed downtown to the capitol along with 8,000 of our closest friends. That's right. 8,000. It was awesome & we're fired up to make a difference!

Here's Doug and Sariah waiting for the busses to take us to the capitol.

Then we gave up and walked it. Here's a view of where we were headed. There was a large group of us, it was awesome!

We made it! And we followed "Uncle Sam" all the way.

Our first view of the rally.

Sariah enjoying the pre-rally music. Just so you know, the front of her shirt reads "I want you to stop spending my future!" and the back "Don't put me in debt... I can't even vote yet!"

Sariah and I before the rally.

Doug and I at the rally

The whole family during the rally.

We saw this guy after the rally, pretty awesome, right?

Waiting in line in the capitol to drop off our letter of discontent & our tea bag to the Governor (who wasn't even in town, I hear he was watching golf.)

Doug & Sariah in the Capitol building.

Me and Sariah in the Capitol.It was a perfect experience, and I'm so glad we went. We took the bus back to our car & then enjoyed "linner" at Red Robin. I think we were all tired, but happy.

Sariah in the car before "linner."

We're so thankful that Doug was able to take a half day off of work & come to the rally. Now that the tea party is over, it doesn't end here. We're going to take charge & take our government back!

Fighting Back

2009-04-13T09:28:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter. I have a lot of pictures to post soon, but I'm putting them on the back burner for now because I feel this is a more important topic.

As a disclaimer: This is a post on politics. I appreciate that everyone has their own feelings/beliefs/political associations. I'm not looking to change your views, so I ask politely that you be respectful of mine in the comments. I withhold the right to delete any comment. Its my right, its my blog. That said, I welcome anything (nice) you have to say.

Did anybody realize that when Obama campaigned on the slogan "A Change We Can Believe In" he actually meant, I see the change in your pocket and I believe its mine? I see what politicians are doing today and I don't like it. How about that stimulus bill that was longer than the bible, probably harder to read, that was passed without practically anybody reading it? And the budget full of earmarks? The ones we were promised wouldn't be in any Obama budgets? Who knew that he actually meant all the ones after this one?

I'm a small government kind of gal. I don't believe we're victims of our situations. We all made choices and we should all take responsibility. I don't need government to "save" me. It bothers me when the government wants to take over businesses and health care and everything else. One only has to look at what they've already done with social security, Fanny Mae or Freddie Mac, to know that this is a disaster in the making. Basically, I don't like what I'm hearing in Washington.

I don't like what I'm hearing from the state capital either. My Governor says "look! I've cut the budget!" And yet his budget is 10% higher than last year. Its just not as high as he'd like it. He says my property taxes will go up $90 this year and $130 the year after, but don't worry, its not as much as it could of been because your property is depreciating. They want to raise taxes on everything from businesses to gas to cigerettes (where there was barely just a tax hike), yet the unemployment rate is rising and will continue if more taxes are levyed. Nevermind what's happening at the city & county level. News Flash! This city isn't big enough for a train!!!!

So we've decided to fight back. Enough is enough! We're going to have to live in this community for a long time, so we're going to make our voices heard. And we're starting on April 15th.

I hope most of you are award of the Tax Day TEA Parties happening throughout the nation. Don't expect a lot of coverage about them from the news stations, or if you do, it won't be good. But I'm here to tell you there is a silent majority of people who don't like they way the nation is going, and we're not going to be silent any more. Here's a short list of things we're unhappy about from the offical website.

Are you fed up with a Congress and a president who:

vote for a $500 billion tax bill without even reading it?
are spending trillions of borrowed dollars, leaving a debt our great-grandchildren will be paying?
consistently give special interest groups billions of dollars in earmarks to help get themselves re-elected?
want to take your wealth and redistribute it to others?
punish those who practice responsible financial behavior and reward those who do not?
admit to using the financial hurt of millions as an opportunity to push their political agenda?
run up trillions of dollars of debt and then sell that debt to countries such as China?
want government controlled health care?
want to take away the right to vote with a secret ballot in union elections?
refuse to stop the flow of millions of illegal immigrants into our country?
appoint a defender of child pornography to the Number 2 position in the Justice Department?
want to force doctors and other medical workers to perform abortions against their will?
want to impose a carbon tax on your electricity, gas and home heating fuels?
want to reduce your tax deductibility for charitable gifts?
take money from your family budget to pay for their federal budget?

If you don't believe this is actually happening, I'm here to tell you it is. I urge you to take part in your local Tea Party. We'll be there!!

Some Important Links
www.fightbackwisconsin.com
Official Tax Day TEA Party

I encourage everyone to read Liberty & Tyranny by Mark R. Levin. Doug read it in one day. I'm still reading it, but its one of those books that I had to get out a pencil & highlight.

For Aunt Jenny (& Everyone Else, Too!)

2009-04-07T09:30:00.002-05:00

Sariah loves to watch videos online. So I though it was especially cute when she wanted to watch this one of her cousin Henry over & over. She laughs when Aunt Jenny drops the lion, asks "uh oh, what happened here!" when he pulls up on the bookcases, & of course asks to see it again when is all done. In case you're wondering, she's wearing a towel, because we watched this right after bath time. Enjoy!

Other Sariah fun:
playing w/ daddy
biker babe
biker babe 2
watching Curious George

A Susan Tag

2009-04-07T08:33:00.002-05:00

Healthy Pleasures – Things that I like that make me feel like a good person.

1. Working out with Sariah

2. Long walks as a Family

3. Reading good books

4. Big salads for lunch

5. Trying a new healthy recipe

6. encouraging others

7. keeping my house clean

8.talking with a good friend

9. Doing something crafty

10. sleeping enough at night

Basic Pleasures – Things that provide a simple feel-good feeling.

1. playing my wii

2. creative writing

3. playgroups

4. warm spring or fall days at the playground

5. flying a kite

6. gardening

7. family vacations

8. Kissing my husband

9. lunch with Doug at work

10. Laughing with family

Guilty Pleasures – Pleasures that may bring shame or mild self-loathing or things that aren't really good or bad.

1. ordering pizza

2. Homemade macaroni and cheese

3. eating a pint of ice cream

4. Taking naps

5. Blog or facebook stalking

6. watching episode after episode of a show instead of doing something productive

7.shopping when we don't really need anything

8. youtube

9. puzzle games like tetris

10. random hair cuts

Conference Weekend

2009-04-04T17:10:00.004-05:00

I hope everyone is enjoy General Conference! I know I really like Elder Hales's talk on provident living and Elder Ballard's talk on receiving answers through the scriptures & prophets. Here's a little glimpse into our Conference Saturday.

Doug let me sleep in and then we enjoyed a brunch of oranges & conference rolls, a little recipe that I picked up from my ward mission leader in Wuerzburg on my mission (he was an American, btw...)
Yes, they're tasty, but not that healthy. You're looking at 2 sticks of butter in that pan. Oh, and yeah, I used the wrong sized pan, so they overflowed when they rose.
For the last 2 FHEs, we've been talking about King Benjamin & pitching our tent towards the prophet, so we pulled out Sariah's play tent to sit in and "pitched" it towards the computer where we streamed conference. No, we didn't all spent 4 hours of conference crammed into this little tent. But its suppose to be symbolic, ya know?Sariah spent part of conference in the box & Doug hung out in the tent. I sat in the rocker outside the tent & knitted. Its been a great day. Conference has really brought a good spirit into our home. We're looking forward to tomorrow!

Hangin' w/ My Girls

2009-03-31T18:40:00.003-05:00

I've been spending lots of time with the Sister Missionaries lately, so since everything else in life is kind of dull, I'll share.

Tuesday night is exchanges. (I'm not going tonight :( ) This picture is about 3 weeks old, back when Sis. Behrends was with us (we had a dritt).
Top row l to r: My awesome friend Beth, who's only been a member a year, Sis. Behrends, Aly
Bottom row: me, Sis. Nichols, Sis. Hafen
Shortly after that we had them over for dinner. Since Sis. Behrends is from Germany (we first met her last year when she was here w/ Sis. Grasser, also from Germany) we enjoyed a German feast of Nurenberg wuerst, knoedel, roet kohl & cucumber salad with fruit tea and german chocolate for dessert. Here I am last week on exchanges again. It was raining buckets and Sis. Hafen and I had to stop for gas. There was literally a river of water under the car, so I was pumping the gas like so.

Here we are again last week. I've been on so many joint teaches & exchanges lately, that I'm feeling like a missionary again. I even dream about it...

So, totally changing directions of where this post was going. Here's some pictures of Sariah watching Curious George this afternoon.
Yes, those are Doug's socks on her arms, I'm trying to get a mountain of laundry folded, and she took this oppertunity to "help."
She's so cute. My mother-in-law sent me this shirt she's wearing.I'm in the mood to try and upload the videos I recently took of Sariah, so stay tuned & cross your fingers that the lap top is in a good mood.

Random Quandries

2009-03-25T14:10:00.003-05:00

1. I just bought a Sansa clip 2GB MP3 player at Target. It was on sale (so I saved like $3, woo hoo), and I wanted something small for music when I take walks outside now that its getting warmer. (I need a beat to keep moving fast.) But I haven't removed it from the packaging yet because I wanted to check the reviews online, just to make sure. Well I noticed that I can get it for like $10 cheaper on amazon (and I bought red, but I kinda wanted blue). So do I return it to Target and buy it on amazon to save a bit of money but have to wait around till it ships to me, or do I just keep the one I've got now and not worry about the hassle.

Also, would it make a difference if I could get the 4GB one from amazon for exactly what I paid for the 2GB? I don't really think I need all that extra space, but I guess it wouldn't hurt?

2. Why do pillows have to be so difficult to buy? They're a nessasary elemant to sleeping, so I'm picky about them. And I've always slept with 2 because my head has to be at a certain angle or I can't sleep. But after awhile they go all flat, and I hate that. Here's whey my quest for the perfect pillow meets me frugality. I don't want to pay a lot for a stinkin' pillow! I've always wanted to try one of those memory foam pillows, but spend $35 for one pillow? No thank you. Target has pillows on sale right now, but if I only spend $8 for a pillow, is it going to be unusable after 6 months? Sigh...

3. Speaking of Target (can you tell I was just there?) They always have the cutest things. Like their dishes, so cute! But their sets are either really heavy so Sariah wouldn't be able to use them, or they're those plastic ones that you can't microwave or stick in the dishwasher unless its the top rack (& my top rack isn't that big!) I hate non-microwavable dishes! What about leftovers!! I wish they'd just make some non-breakable, microwavable, dishwasherable, light-weight, cute dishes... is that so much to ask? (For the record, I have a set of dishes that are just that, that we got at Wal-mart, and I do like them for now.)

4.Pants. Seriously folks, I don't want to spend $60 on them, but I wish they'd fit right. Right now I'm in between sizes, so the larger size is falling off, but the smaller size is too small. And everything seems baggy in the hips/thighs. I've been searching for new Summer capris; its not going well. Maybe I'll just have to wait a couple of months and see what size I am then. But seriously, why do they think that I want to pay and arm and a leg for an article of clothing? And I can't stand to pay more than $4 a piece of kids clothing. That's why Sariah has 2 closets, one for things that fit now and one for things that'll fit later but I bought seriously cheap.

5. Why do they make it so hard to figure out which software works with Vista? (I shake my fist at you microsoft!) And why is Sony so stupid? When Sariah was born, my mom gave us an awesome Sony Handycam so we could take pics & videos and post them here for all to enjoy. Well, when our laptop got very sick, we bought a new desktop and set it up and behold! our Handycam softare (nero 6) doesn't work with Vista. (I shake my fist at you microsoft!) So we waited for the upgrade we could get free, and when the time came I went to download said upgrade and behold! you need your serial number (which had scratched off the camrea, why is it on the bottom?!?!?) and other obscure info for the camera (which we didn't have.) Okay so I gave up. Every once and awhile I try to resusatate our laptop and post video, but its a big hassle, so does anyone know if there is software I can just buy to make my handycam download video with Vista? I'm desperate here!

6. Not really a quandry, but I got new glasses (the first time in almost 7 years) so here ya go. And yes, our blog has gone monkey, I love it!

Do you see the difference?

2009-03-16T14:05:00.002-05:00

Here I am on my birthday last year, 2 Oct 2008
This is me today 16 March 2009
Can you see the 25 lb difference? I kinda do, but not really, that's why I put the same outfit on (its faded a little, it was new on my birthday...)

On a side note, my hair was pretty cute back then, I wonder if I should cut it...

Biker Babe

2009-03-14T18:20:00.002-05:00

It was warm enough today that we were able to go outside for awhile and watch Sariah "ride" her bike. Her feet reach the peddles, but she has a hard time reaching at the very end of the push down. This kind of makes her go forward a bit and then roll backwards. She's content for now to sit on her bike & check out the scenery. I imagine in a couple of months it'll be hard to keep up with her. :)

Awesome

2009-03-12T10:47:00.003-05:00

Sariah and I went to Half Price Books yesterday to look for some Curious George books and some other things. I'm looking into taking some music theory/composition courses either online or some where around town. (If you have any good ideas let me know!) So I though I'd just check and see if they had any theory books I could study on my own. That's when I picked up The Music Kit by Tom Manoff. It was reasonably priced, and hey, its a computer assisted version, which I thought was sweet, since I have a computer program for the writing of the music. I felt something hard at the back of the book & I thought, great! free softwear, so I flip to the back & check it out...
Awesome, right? I think the last time I saw a floppy this big was 1993....

Goings On

2009-02-27T13:58:00.006-06:00

There are lots of excuses I could give you for why I haven't given ya'll a really interesting blog to read lately... We've been sick, I've been distracted, etc. So here's some other semi-intersting things going on here:

1. The 10 lbs. in 6 weeks blog has really taken off. We're at the end of our second week and I am thrilled with the response & everybody's progress. I wasn't sure when I started it if it was going to be worth trying, but I'm thankful for everybody's participation. Everybody's keeping me motivated as well. I've now lost 26 lbs. and weigh 5 lbs less than I did when I got pregnant was Sariah (only 7 more lbs. to get down to my pre-wedding weight). Unfairly, I still can't get into those pre-pregnancy pants, but we're getting there.

2. I don't like to talk politics on my blog, but I will say there are things going on here locally that make me angry. (I'm looking at you Kathleen Falk & your awful rail project, among other things.) Some of you know that I'm addicted to conservitave talk radio, and I love the local lady, Vicki McKenna, who's planning a rally on April 15th at the capital against the wasteful spending going on right under our noes. I think I'm actually going to go.

3. I'm hesitant to post this, lest it all implodes under me (which usually happens to things after I write about them) but here I go. My house has been clean for 2 weeks. This is a huge accomplishment for me. My mom would know, I'm a messy gal. But I think I've finally got a simple system that will keep the house clean, but let us keep our weekends free for family fun. Mondays: Laundry
Tuesdays: Bathrooms
Wednesday: Dust/Vacuum
Thursday: Kitchen
Of course things like the dishes & picking up toys/books, gets done daily, but I'm finding the houe stays clean & I have more time to spend with Sariah and doing my crafts. Speaking of Sariah, she likes to help me clean. She's a great duster, she cleans mirrors, and she even tried to scrub the tub. I hope she will always like to help Mommy, but I doubt it! Now that I've written this, lets hope I don't drop the ball next week...

4. Fun things Sariah Says:

Hi Mommy!
Mommy hug.
I walking round.
Daddy work/shower/shovel snow?
I milk/chicken nugget/Banane?
George all done.
Big girl sad/happy.
I watch george.
I not big girl, I baby.
One, two, three, nine, ten.

She knows lots more words, but these are the common phrases. She likes to count, she knows lots of her colors. She has started repeating the words we read to her at bedtime. She LOVES Curious George on tv & in books. We always have to read a George book after scriptures at nap time. She's quite the picky eater now. I have a hard time getting her to eat veggies. If she had her way she'd live on cheerios & milk, eggs, cheese, applesauce, & cookies. She still throws tantrums, but she a lot of fun now that she can communicate better. She's really getting into storytime. Today we painted with chocolate pudding (they were paintings spots on giraffes) and she loved it.

5. Here are some recent pictures we've taken. I've got some good videos that I should probably try and post, but for now here are the pics...

Sariah on Valentine's Day
The cookies we made for neighbors & friends
I made all these tags, just another example how I made easy things complicated.
We used heart cookie cutters & I got these cute X & O cutters from Target.
Last Sat. Mom & Big Girl hanging out in bed. If you look closely, you can see my grey hair...
Daddy made her this "space helmet."
Daddy wearing the "space helmet."
Sariah decides she rather not see Daddy in the "space helmet."

A blog giveaway!

2009-02-19T14:51:00.002-06:00

Jen over at Skinny Habits is giving away a Swissmar Borner V-slicer Plus. You should check it out, it looks pretty snazzy!

(and yes, a real blog post is coming as soon as I figure out what to post about...)

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T08:15:00.002-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day from us to you! We're now off to eat carmel rolls, followed by sugar cookie baking & decorating, & tonight is the stake adult fireside & dance w/ free babysitting! Yay!!

Doing it 10lbs at a Time...

2009-02-10T15:13:00.003-06:00

I was going to post about this on Friday, but I've started a new blog that goes along with this, so join me for a little bit of tooting my own horn.

So back in Nov. my doctor recommended that I lose some weight, and I was like, well duh. So I threw myself a pity party for 2 months, then got over it. And on Jan. 2nd I joined a group of ladies to try and lose 10lbs in 6 weeks. I got serious about exercise & eating. Started using myfitnessplan.com (thanks Jenny!) to manage what I was eating. I've started eating better & drinking loads of water (even though I hate water.)

Friday is the end of the challenge, and if you scroll down to the bottom of my blog, not only have I already lost 10lbs, I've actually lost 18lbs! Yay me! I've still got a ways to go though...

Which is why I've started a new blog 10in6.blogspot.com. My last group has kind of fizzled and nobody really participates anymore. While I'm going to try and continue over there, I'm looking for a new group to help motivate one another to live a healthier life style. Would you like to join me? I'd love to have you! We're starting Monday. Even if you're not looking to lose 10 lbs or more, but you just want to maintain, we could use your support. So come on over!

Photo Tag

2009-02-09T13:26:00.003-06:00

This is the 6th photo in the 6th folder in My Pictures. Ironically, its a picture of Susan (and Sariah) who tagged me.

If you subtract the files with photos from others, then you get this picture which was taken almost a year ago (2/16/2008) of Sariah helping do the dishes. Something she still likes to do, when she's not on an eatting strike like she is now.

*ahem* TAG!!!! *runs away madly...*

Snow Day

2009-02-08T18:06:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was the warmest day its been here in a long time (45, mmm warm...) and since the snow started melting, it was the perfect consitancy for snowman snow... I tried to get a picture of Sariah next to our snowman, but she kept running away. She wanted to play in the snow herself.

BTW, Sariah did have gloves on at the beginning, but she took them off when they got really wet. I'm a good parent, I promise!

I pulled out the snow shovels for a bit to clear off some melting ice, but Sariah's idea of helping is to put the snow from the lawn back on the driveway. Its not really that helpful.

Okay, I did get this picture, but I had to hold Sariah and the camera. Actually I think this was suppose to be a pic of all 3 of us...

After all the playing in the snow, we took a walk around the block, which turned out to be a mistake since snow melts into water & water collects at the bottom of sidewalks & driveways. Needless to say, our shoes & socks were quite wet, but we had fun (I only wore a sweatshirt & a long sleeved shirt, it was heavenly.) I'd like more of this please!