Monday, March 24, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
The Ant and the Grasshopper
Earlier today I recieved this in an email. I don't usually post about politics or related topics, but my in-laws have been visiting (they like to keep up to date and to discuss political issues), and I've been reading The Entreblog, and I like a good discussion. So when I got this in my email, I thought it may make an interesting one.
The email follows:
Subject: The ant and the grasshopper
There are 2 Versions - Read Both
TRADITIONAL VERSION:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all
summer long, building his house and laying up
supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and
laughs and dances and plays the summer away.
Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The
grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out
in the cold.
MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!
MODERN VERSION
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long,
building his house and laying up
supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and
laughs and dances and plays the summer away.
Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a
press conference and demands to know why the ant
should be warm and well fed whil e others are cold
and starving.
CBS, NBC , PBS , CNN, and ABC show up to
provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next
to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a
table filled with food.
America is stunned by the sharp contrast.
How can this be, that in a country of such
wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer
so?
Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the
grasshopper, and everybody cries when they sing,
'It's Not Easy Being Green.'
Jesse Jackson stages a demonstration in front
of the ant's house where the news stations film the
group singing, 'We shall overcome.' Jesse then has
the group kneels down to pray to God for the
grasshopper's sake.
Nancy Pelosi , John Kerry & Harry Reid exclaim
in an interview with Larry King that the ant has
gotten rich off the ba ck of the grasshopper, and
they all call for an immediate tax hike on the ant
to make him pay his fair share.
Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity and
Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of
the summer! The ant is fined for failing to hire a
proportionate number of green bugs and, having
nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home
is confiscated by the government.
Hillary Clinton gets her old law firm to
represent the grasshopper in a defamation suit
against the ant, and the case is tried before a
panel of federal judges that Bill Clinton appointed
from a list of single-parent welfare recipients.
The ant loses the case.
The story ends as we see the grasshopper
finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while
the government house he is in, w hich just happens to
be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because
he doesn't maintain it.
The ant has disappeared in the snow.
The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related
incident and the house, now abandoned, is taken over
by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once
peaceful neighborhood.
I have to say that I think this is a bit of an exageration, but it did come in the form of an email forward, so I think that's to be expected. However, I do think it illustrates the entitlement attitude that many seem to have. If you notice there's a moral to the first story, but not for the second. If I were to choose one, it would be that Success cannot be given away. However, it can be learned. If we wish for our lives to be different, we should learn to aply the principals of those who have the lives we wish we had. (This is something I'm always working on myself.)
What moral would you give the second story?
The email follows:
Subject: The ant and the grasshopper
There are 2 Versions - Read Both
TRADITIONAL VERSION:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all
summer long, building his house and laying up
supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and
laughs and dances and plays the summer away.
Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The
grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out
in the cold.
MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!
MODERN VERSION
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long,
building his house and laying up
supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and
laughs and dances and plays the summer away.
Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a
press conference and demands to know why the ant
should be warm and well fed whil e others are cold
and starving.
CBS, NBC , PBS , CNN, and ABC show up to
provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next
to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a
table filled with food.
America is stunned by the sharp contrast.
How can this be, that in a country of such
wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer
so?
Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the
grasshopper, and everybody cries when they sing,
'It's Not Easy Being Green.'
Jesse Jackson stages a demonstration in front
of the ant's house where the news stations film the
group singing, 'We shall overcome.' Jesse then has
the group kneels down to pray to God for the
grasshopper's sake.
Nancy Pelosi , John Kerry & Harry Reid exclaim
in an interview with Larry King that the ant has
gotten rich off the ba ck of the grasshopper, and
they all call for an immediate tax hike on the ant
to make him pay his fair share.
Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity and
Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of
the summer! The ant is fined for failing to hire a
proportionate number of green bugs and, having
nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home
is confiscated by the government.
Hillary Clinton gets her old law firm to
represent the grasshopper in a defamation suit
against the ant, and the case is tried before a
panel of federal judges that Bill Clinton appointed
from a list of single-parent welfare recipients.
The ant loses the case.
The story ends as we see the grasshopper
finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while
the government house he is in, w hich just happens to
be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because
he doesn't maintain it.
The ant has disappeared in the snow.
The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related
incident and the house, now abandoned, is taken over
by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once
peaceful neighborhood.
I have to say that I think this is a bit of an exageration, but it did come in the form of an email forward, so I think that's to be expected. However, I do think it illustrates the entitlement attitude that many seem to have. If you notice there's a moral to the first story, but not for the second. If I were to choose one, it would be that Success cannot be given away. However, it can be learned. If we wish for our lives to be different, we should learn to aply the principals of those who have the lives we wish we had. (This is something I'm always working on myself.)
What moral would you give the second story?
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Good News!
Leonora had a check up with the doctor today. He said that although the numbers from her most recent blood draw were not perfect, but good enough that he thought it was time to end her antibiotics! Yay!! So, tomorrow she will get her picc line out with the home health nurse, and we will see the doctor again in two weeks to see how she is doing! This is great news for me as well as for her. I don't have to stay up late or wake up early to make sure she gets her dose at the right time. Yay!! More sleep! or at least a choice between staying up or sleeping...
(Another) new background
Okay, maybe I'm a little bit fickle. I decided the whole dot thing just wasn't what I really wanted on my blog. The problem was that I really don't know anything about Html or publishing websites. If it isn't a templet, I'm in way over my head! So I decided to check out this link which I got from Andrea's site. Andrea has one of these cute templates on her blog as well. (btw, it's very cute Andrea!) Anyway, I did some copying and pasting (I do know how to do that!) and changed a few colors, and I think I like it! At least for now... I might change my mind again soon! What do you think?
Oh, and if anyone wants to see what they have, the link is now in my side bar as well. Check it out! :)
Oh, and if anyone wants to see what they have, the link is now in my side bar as well. Check it out! :)
Yay for me!
So it's been 8 days since we started trying to eat healthier, and I am happy to report that I've actually lost some weight! Yay! I've lost about 7 lbs. My scale isn't the most acurate thing, so that could be off a little, but I am loosing weight! Aaron has also lost some. I'm not sure how much, but he is looking better. Both of us have more energy too, which is nice! I only have 27 more pounds until I get into my ideal weight range... Ugh, I can't believe I let myself get so overweight, but I'm changing that! I know that the scale isn't the only thing, but I do feel better. Both physically and the way I see myself.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Paddy's Day
I hope everyone had a good St Patricks day yesterday! I took a couple of pictures of the kids in their green cloths and thought I'd share. If I knew how to edit photos I could make them look nicer, but here it is anyway!
Why I blog
I read this on my cousin's blog and thought I'd do it too.
1. Why did you start your blog?
I started mine when I was living in Seattle. I had a couple friends who had blogs, and I thought it would be a good way of keeping in touch with them. It also was an easy way to post pictures and stories about my kids for my other friends and family to be able to keep updated with them.
2. How did you come up with your blog name?
Well, I think I was trying to be clever. I've thought about changing it to something else more descriptive of myself, but haven't come up with anything, so it's stayed the same.
3. Do your friends and family know about your blog? What do they think of it?
After reading #1 this shouldn't be to hard to figure out. I don't know what they all think about it, but I know there are at least a few people who read it. My mom doesn't read it so much anymore unless I tell her to look at a picture or something. She sees the kids all the time now though.
4. How do you write posts?
Some of them are just my thoughts and feelings. Some are fun or cute things my kids are doing. Sometimes if it's been a while since I posted, I just try to come up with anything that might possibly be of interest. I've thought about starting a different blog just for "writing." I wish I had more time for it.
5. Have you ever had a Troll or had to delete unkind comments?
No trolls, just spam.
6. Do you check your stats? Do you care how many people read your blog? If you do, how do you increase traffic?
I've never checked my stats. I don't really care how many people read it, but it is nice to know that someone reads it. I do like getting comments.
7. What kind of blogs/posts interest you?
All the blogs I read are people who I personally know. Most of them are just updates about themselves or their families. I do enjoy when they post pictures. I like to see their kids and I like to see other things they come across that are interesting. Like the Snag on Heidi's blog, Tearese's posts about art, Stephanie's sewing projects, and Saskia's honest opinions about everything. And of course, as I said, I like to see everyone's kids. It's fun to watch them grow, and don't get to see most of these kid's in person very often.
8. What do you like and dislike about blogging?Hmmm... well I think I've been over most of the things I like. I just enjoy getting to know people better. As far as dislikes, well, hmmm... I don't like spam. Other than that, I just wish I had more time to put into making my blog more interesting and reading other people's blogs.
I'm tagging anyone who needs something to post about! :)
1. Why did you start your blog?
I started mine when I was living in Seattle. I had a couple friends who had blogs, and I thought it would be a good way of keeping in touch with them. It also was an easy way to post pictures and stories about my kids for my other friends and family to be able to keep updated with them.
2. How did you come up with your blog name?
Well, I think I was trying to be clever. I've thought about changing it to something else more descriptive of myself, but haven't come up with anything, so it's stayed the same.
3. Do your friends and family know about your blog? What do they think of it?
After reading #1 this shouldn't be to hard to figure out. I don't know what they all think about it, but I know there are at least a few people who read it. My mom doesn't read it so much anymore unless I tell her to look at a picture or something. She sees the kids all the time now though.
4. How do you write posts?
Some of them are just my thoughts and feelings. Some are fun or cute things my kids are doing. Sometimes if it's been a while since I posted, I just try to come up with anything that might possibly be of interest. I've thought about starting a different blog just for "writing." I wish I had more time for it.
5. Have you ever had a Troll or had to delete unkind comments?
No trolls, just spam.
6. Do you check your stats? Do you care how many people read your blog? If you do, how do you increase traffic?
I've never checked my stats. I don't really care how many people read it, but it is nice to know that someone reads it. I do like getting comments.
7. What kind of blogs/posts interest you?
All the blogs I read are people who I personally know. Most of them are just updates about themselves or their families. I do enjoy when they post pictures. I like to see their kids and I like to see other things they come across that are interesting. Like the Snag on Heidi's blog, Tearese's posts about art, Stephanie's sewing projects, and Saskia's honest opinions about everything. And of course, as I said, I like to see everyone's kids. It's fun to watch them grow, and don't get to see most of these kid's in person very often.
8. What do you like and dislike about blogging?Hmmm... well I think I've been over most of the things I like. I just enjoy getting to know people better. As far as dislikes, well, hmmm... I don't like spam. Other than that, I just wish I had more time to put into making my blog more interesting and reading other people's blogs.
I'm tagging anyone who needs something to post about! :)
Tupperware givaway
Hi everyone!
I'm providing Tupperware for my friend Heidi's surprise givaway, and wanted to give those of you who are not regular readers of Heidi's blog the opportunity to participate! Just go to Heidi's blog to find out how! Have fun!
I'm providing Tupperware for my friend Heidi's surprise givaway, and wanted to give those of you who are not regular readers of Heidi's blog the opportunity to participate! Just go to Heidi's blog to find out how! Have fun!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Leonora dances
Leonora has always loved music. She has to move if there's music playing, and the more dramatic the music the better! She loves all kinds of music. She'll rock out to heavy rock and twirl to pretty classical. Here are a couple of videos. The first one she's a couple of months old, and the second is from yesterday at breakfast.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Great Chili
Aaron and I have decided we need to be healthier. This includes losing a bunch of weight, so we've started a "diet" for lack of a better word. Mostly, we're just trying to eat less of the bad stuff and more of the good stuff. Anyway, here's a recipe that I'm making for dinner today. I got it from a diet program we've used before. It's good and good for you! Just watch your portion size! :)
Ingredients
Olive oil-flavored cooking spray
1/2 lb extra-lean ground beef of soy crumbles
1 small onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 T. finely chopped jalapeno peppers, or to taste
2 16-oz cans diced tomatoes
1 16-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 16-oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 T. chili powder
1 T. cumin
salt and pepper to taste
Spray nonstick frypan with the olive oil-flavored cooking spray. Brown ground beef or frozen soy crumbles. If using boxed soy crumbles, skip spray and add water, heating mixture according to package directions. Add the onion and green pepper; cook until onion is translucent. Add remaining ingredients; cover and cook over low heat 15-20 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste.
Serves 6
255 calories, 17 g protien, 7 g fat, and 31 g carbs.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
Olive oil-flavored cooking spray
1/2 lb extra-lean ground beef of soy crumbles
1 small onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 T. finely chopped jalapeno peppers, or to taste
2 16-oz cans diced tomatoes
1 16-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 16-oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 T. chili powder
1 T. cumin
salt and pepper to taste
Spray nonstick frypan with the olive oil-flavored cooking spray. Brown ground beef or frozen soy crumbles. If using boxed soy crumbles, skip spray and add water, heating mixture according to package directions. Add the onion and green pepper; cook until onion is translucent. Add remaining ingredients; cover and cook over low heat 15-20 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste.
Serves 6
255 calories, 17 g protien, 7 g fat, and 31 g carbs.
Enjoy!
Thursday, March 06, 2008
In case you didn't notice...
I decided it was time for a new look. What do you think? I also started labeling my posts, so it will be easier to find past posts. Yay me! :)
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Some more of William's art
The other day, I was trying to straighten out the kids' room and get things put away where they belong. I picked up this notebook of drawing paper.
The cover was kind of lopsided, and in the proccess of trying to straighten it out, I happened to open it to this page.
William says it's a Superman Flower.
The cover was kind of lopsided, and in the proccess of trying to straighten it out, I happened to open it to this page.
William says it's a Superman Flower.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Please, Don't Die
Leonora is cute. I probably hear it at least half a dozen times a day, and I think or say it as often myself.
Tonight we were at the store buying "superman" milk. Everything William likes is "superman." His favorite cereal is "superman" cereal. AKA Cherrios. William is cute, too. Anyway, as we were leaving the store, Leonora, who was standing in the basket, excitedly started bouncing and yelling, "Die! Die!" Of course, I know that what she actually means is "Bye! Bye!" But a gentleman near the exit looked at me with a puzzled look and asked me what she was saying. "Well, it sounds like 'die' but it means 'bye.'" A nearby cashier laughed and repeated the words "sounds like 'die'" as Leonora cheerfully waved and shouted to each passerby, "Die!"
Tonight we were at the store buying "superman" milk. Everything William likes is "superman." His favorite cereal is "superman" cereal. AKA Cherrios. William is cute, too. Anyway, as we were leaving the store, Leonora, who was standing in the basket, excitedly started bouncing and yelling, "Die! Die!" Of course, I know that what she actually means is "Bye! Bye!" But a gentleman near the exit looked at me with a puzzled look and asked me what she was saying. "Well, it sounds like 'die' but it means 'bye.'" A nearby cashier laughed and repeated the words "sounds like 'die'" as Leonora cheerfully waved and shouted to each passerby, "Die!"
Friday, February 29, 2008
Online Party
Hi Everyone! I'm hosting an online Tupperware party and you're all invited! Here's a link to the invitation. Let me know if you have any questions!
I'm Blue
What's Your True Color?
My Result: Blue
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Paper Dolls
My aunt Isabel gave this cute die cut paper doll to Leonora. Here are some pictures of her playing with it. Thanks Isabel!
Friday, February 22, 2008
Hospital pictures part 2
Leonora getting unloaded from the life flight plane.
Still sick at the hospital in SLC.
Feeling a little better.
A Smile! Always a good sign!
Happy to be back home!
Still sick at the hospital in SLC.
Feeling a little better.
A Smile! Always a good sign!
Happy to be back home!
Pictures of Leonora Hospital visit
Here are some pictures! This first one was taken sometime in January before she got sick.
Poor Baby! At home Sunday, February 3rd, the day she went into the hospital.
In the hospital in St George. Very sick little girl.
Leonora's first plane ride. The life-flight trip to Salt Lake.
The plane and Leonora being unloaded.
Poor Baby! At home Sunday, February 3rd, the day she went into the hospital.
In the hospital in St George. Very sick little girl.
Leonora's first plane ride. The life-flight trip to Salt Lake.
The plane and Leonora being unloaded.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Mixed emotions
Today was Renee's due date. I'm glad that Leonora is home and doing better, but I can't help remembering that I would have had another baby to "bring home" if things had been different. It's occured to me that the last three weeks would have been more difficult if I had been pregnant or had a newborn, but it's not much consolation. It's nice to have William and Leonora back home with us, but I don't feel like our family is all together. It's been a hard day for me.
Home again
Leonora was discharged yesterday afternoon, and we spent the rest of the day traveling. Today William came home. It's nice to have him back. Leonora still has to get 2 antibiotics 5 times a day-3 times through an IV and twice by mouth, and once a week a nurse comes to draw blood to make sure everything is going well. She lost about 5 pounds during her two weeks in the hospital. She looks a lot thiner to Aaron and I, and she's a lot less stable on her feet. It feels like she's gone back about 9 months as far as mobility goes. It's hard to see her struggle to walk, but at least she's home and happy again.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Still here
I thought that you'd like to know how things are going. Leonora is doing better. They took the tube out of her chest yesterday afternoon and it looks like things are going fine there. She is doing so much better, but still can't go home until her fever is gone for at least 24 hours. She also needs to eat and drink better, but I think she'll do those things better when she's out of the hospital.
The stay here has been very tiring. I feel really ready to go home. And now that I'm not as worried about Leonora getting through this, I'm realizing how much I miss William. Thankfully, he's been having fun with his aunts and uncle at grandma's house, and seems to be doing fine. This has been such a long drawn out proccess. I'm just exhasted in every way possible. I just want her to get better so we can all go home and get back to normal-whatever that is!
The stay here has been very tiring. I feel really ready to go home. And now that I'm not as worried about Leonora getting through this, I'm realizing how much I miss William. Thankfully, he's been having fun with his aunts and uncle at grandma's house, and seems to be doing fine. This has been such a long drawn out proccess. I'm just exhasted in every way possible. I just want her to get better so we can all go home and get back to normal-whatever that is!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
quick update
Leonora is still at Primary Children's. She has to go 24 hours without fever, eat, and get her chest tube (that's draining the fluid) out before we can talk about going home. They are considering surgery to remove the infected part of her lung if her fever doesn't go down.
On the upside, she is feeling better. She's sitting up more and playing some. That is encouraging. She seems more like herself.
On the upside, she is feeling better. She's sitting up more and playing some. That is encouraging. She seems more like herself.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Still sick
Well, things have not been going well. I'm in Salt Lake. Leonora was Life flighted to the hospital here. She just was not getting better. She has some fluid in her chest but outside her lung. The antibiotics and her own antibodies couldn't get to it, so they put a tube through her ribs to drain the fluid out. It will take a few days for the fluid to drain and then they'll keep her for another day or two to make sure everything is going well. Hopefully the fluid will continue to drain. If not, they'll have to do surgery. She has not really been looking better. She's also having problems digesting the stuff they've been feeding her through a tube. Poor baby has so many tubes and wires attached to her! She's so miserable! I really hope she'll turn around soon. I'd be grateful for anyone's prayers.
Monday, February 04, 2008
Sick, sick, sick
We've all been sick with the flu. Guess this would have been the year to get a flu shot. Most of us are starting to feel better, but Leonora has just gotten worse. She was not doing well at all yesterday, so I called the Doctor. He met us at his office to check her out and sent us straight to the hospital. They did x-rays and found that she has a pretty bad case of pnemonia on top of the flu. The doctor said to expect her to stay at the hospital for 2-3 days.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
William's Artwork and zyx's
I found William writing on his magna doodle thing today and was impressed with his penmenship. So I took a picture. He said it was XYZ and that it said "Dinosaur." Obviously he hasn't quite gotten spelling perfected. He wrote it backwards, and I'm not sure if I should be concerned about that or not. In any case, I thought the letters looked pretty good!
After having that picture taken, he wanted pictures of all his doodles for the next hour or so. He drew a picture of Superman...
Batman(notice the bat ears on top)...
and I think this is the Flash.
Even though Superman is probably the best likeness, Flash is my personal favorite! He's a naturally artistic kid. I hope he keeps it up for a long time.
After having that picture taken, he wanted pictures of all his doodles for the next hour or so. He drew a picture of Superman...
Batman(notice the bat ears on top)...
and I think this is the Flash.
Even though Superman is probably the best likeness, Flash is my personal favorite! He's a naturally artistic kid. I hope he keeps it up for a long time.
What do you think?
I got my hair cut today. I meant to take a "before" picture but forgot. Anyway, here's the finished product!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
I've been meaning to post the last few days, but things have been busy. So, I'm posting now to tell you that Leonora went potty on her potty chair! I set her on it first thing in the morning, and she went! Yay! She didn't go any other time of day, but she went first thing in the morning three days in a row. She probably would have gone this morning if I hadn't been a bit lazy. We're on a later schedule for church now, so we tend to lay around a bit on Sunday mornings. Anyway, I'm hoping that she's on her way to potty training! Maybe I'll get a break from diapers!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Since Ailene Asked...
Here are some of the Tupperware products I love and can't imagine my kitchen without.
FridgeSmarts
These may not look like much, but they keep vegetables fresh for an absurdly long time. I have carrot sticks and cut celery in one in my fridge. They've been in there since the begining of December and they still crunch. I also especially love them for lettuce and other leafy things. The large one fits about 3 Romaine hearts. Anyone who finds lettuce turned to slime in the "crisper" drawer should invest in these-they will save you money!
The little vents on the end are how it works. Different veggies need different airflow. They produce gases as they sit, and if they aren't ventilated properly, they begin to break down. The vents keep the gases from building up and slow the break-down process. Each fridge smart (except the smallest) comes with a chart printed on the side to tell you how much ventilation your specific fruit or veggie needs.
Modular Mates (40% off this month!)
These are wonderful for organizing you pantry or cupboards! They all fit together in a "modular" system to save wasted space. The set in the picture is actually 50% off this month. All the others are 40%.
Rock 'n' Serve (25% off through Feb.)
These are frezer safe and microwave safe. They are great for leftovers or freezing food ahead of time. You can cook lasagne in the microwave in the large deep. I use them when I have more meat than I need. I just cook it all and store the leftover in the freezer. When I need it, it's already cooked.
You can check the prices on the Tuperware site. Let me know if you want anything!
FridgeSmarts
These may not look like much, but they keep vegetables fresh for an absurdly long time. I have carrot sticks and cut celery in one in my fridge. They've been in there since the begining of December and they still crunch. I also especially love them for lettuce and other leafy things. The large one fits about 3 Romaine hearts. Anyone who finds lettuce turned to slime in the "crisper" drawer should invest in these-they will save you money!
The little vents on the end are how it works. Different veggies need different airflow. They produce gases as they sit, and if they aren't ventilated properly, they begin to break down. The vents keep the gases from building up and slow the break-down process. Each fridge smart (except the smallest) comes with a chart printed on the side to tell you how much ventilation your specific fruit or veggie needs.
Modular Mates (40% off this month!)
These are wonderful for organizing you pantry or cupboards! They all fit together in a "modular" system to save wasted space. The set in the picture is actually 50% off this month. All the others are 40%.
Rock 'n' Serve (25% off through Feb.)
These are frezer safe and microwave safe. They are great for leftovers or freezing food ahead of time. You can cook lasagne in the microwave in the large deep. I use them when I have more meat than I need. I just cook it all and store the leftover in the freezer. When I need it, it's already cooked.
You can check the prices on the Tuperware site. Let me know if you want anything!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Tupperware anyone?
So, I've been "selling" Tupperware (yes, just like your mom had-but prettier) since just before Leonora was born. Back in September, I finally got up the guts to ask someone in the ward to do a party for me, and since then have come to the realization that there are people in my ward who will actually pay money for a good product! Amazing! Anyway, I had a party yesterday. I'm still waiting for the hostess to get back to me about her order and a couple others who didn't make it to the party. I've decided that this is a good neighborhood to do parties in. This is my third here since October and I will have made about $700 so far. Which brings me to another thought... I might actually have to file taxes this year. Blah.
PS If you'd like any Tupperware, go to the Tupperware site and email what you want to me. That link on my side bar isn't working.
PS If you'd like any Tupperware, go to the Tupperware site and email what you want to me. That link on my side bar isn't working.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Swimming
In an effort to be more consistant with my blog, I'm going to post today. I don't like to post on days like today. But since I am lousy at journaling, and this is pretty much my only form of record keeping, I think I should give an acurate picture of my life, not just the pretty days. So... here goes.
Today is one of those days that I just don't want to do anything. I've been feeling really overwhelmed and just down lately. There's no one particular event that has caused me to feel this way now, it's just a build up of things. I keep thinking I'll have a relief from some of the stress, but it never seems to happen. So today, I feel like I've had enough. I just don't want to do anything... unfortunately, I have too much to do. I can't lay around in bed. Of course, laying around in bed probably wouldn't help anyway. Too bad I don't have a fairy godmother to come bibbity-bobbity-boo everything into perfection.
But then again, if everything was magically done for me, would it make me happy?
...
No, but I'd be able to stay in bed!
Today is one of those days that I just don't want to do anything. I've been feeling really overwhelmed and just down lately. There's no one particular event that has caused me to feel this way now, it's just a build up of things. I keep thinking I'll have a relief from some of the stress, but it never seems to happen. So today, I feel like I've had enough. I just don't want to do anything... unfortunately, I have too much to do. I can't lay around in bed. Of course, laying around in bed probably wouldn't help anyway. Too bad I don't have a fairy godmother to come bibbity-bobbity-boo everything into perfection.
But then again, if everything was magically done for me, would it make me happy?
...
No, but I'd be able to stay in bed!
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Yay for pants!
Yesterday, I went to Target and used a gift card we got for Christmas to get some pants. Some for me, some for Aaron, and some for Leonora. Here's Leonora modeling hers. The shirt is new too. $2.48 on clearance! :0
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Check out this trailer!
The business of birth.
Okay, I just saw this link on another blog, and I am so excited! I love birth! Ha ha! That has to sound so strange to some people! I just get excited talking about my experiences with birth. It is just the most emopowering, exciting, emotional, painful, powerful, exhilerating experience I've ever had. Really, words can't describe it. If I could go back and change anything about my birth experiences, the only one I'd change would be the one in the hospital. Even then, I'm grateful I had my midwife there, and a doctor who respected her opinion and my needs. The only thing I would have changed there would be a nurse who didn't know me or understand my relationship with my midwife, and ended up questioning my choice and offending my midwife. Anyway, I digress. I am just so passionate about birth, and feel that women should be educated about it and empowered by it. So many women just take what they are given without researching or questioning it.
I do believe that hospitals and doctors are needed for SOME births. But the role they have given themselves goes far beyond the neccesary. And that is not just my opinion either. There are so many studies that back it up. That's why this film being made is so exciting to me! I hope it gets seen by a lot of people.
Okay, I just saw this link on another blog, and I am so excited! I love birth! Ha ha! That has to sound so strange to some people! I just get excited talking about my experiences with birth. It is just the most emopowering, exciting, emotional, painful, powerful, exhilerating experience I've ever had. Really, words can't describe it. If I could go back and change anything about my birth experiences, the only one I'd change would be the one in the hospital. Even then, I'm grateful I had my midwife there, and a doctor who respected her opinion and my needs. The only thing I would have changed there would be a nurse who didn't know me or understand my relationship with my midwife, and ended up questioning my choice and offending my midwife. Anyway, I digress. I am just so passionate about birth, and feel that women should be educated about it and empowered by it. So many women just take what they are given without researching or questioning it.
I do believe that hospitals and doctors are needed for SOME births. But the role they have given themselves goes far beyond the neccesary. And that is not just my opinion either. There are so many studies that back it up. That's why this film being made is so exciting to me! I hope it gets seen by a lot of people.
hair
I have a love-hate relationship with my hair. Really, I should be grateful to have thick, dark, full bodied hair, and I am. At least I'm grateful to have it on top of my head. It's everywhere else that I wish it weren't that dark and thick and lovely. So I'm always hoping to find a quicker, easier and less painful way of getting rid of the everywhere else hair. Anyway, a while back, I bought some wax for face and eyebrows. I've used the strip things before, but this said it didn't need any strips, just apply and remove. I had to let my eyebrows and such grow a bit before I could use the wax. Then I started to get nervous about this stuff. And my eyebrows got bushier. Well, I finally just did it. I think it turned out okay, but I'm never buying that stuff again. It cooled way to quickly. I had to keep re-heating it. So the search for something better continues.
This is the only thing I could find that could qualify as "before." As a bonus, you get to see my cute daughter trying on daddy's new headphones! Below is the finished product.
This is the only thing I could find that could qualify as "before." As a bonus, you get to see my cute daughter trying on daddy's new headphones! Below is the finished product.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Okay, I did it.
In general, I have tried to leave Leonora's beautiful locks alone, but they were becoming a bit overwhelming to everyone involved. No matter how I tried to keep it out of her face, she always ended up with food stuck in it and hopeless knots every morning. She was constatly trying to pull her hair out of her eyes and, more recently, her mouth. So, I finally did it. I cut her hair. It was kind of a sad thing for me to do, but it seemed neccesary. Anyway, here are a few pics:
Before:
After:
A bit of hair that I trimed off one side. It was actually longer in the back, but I didn't think to save it until after I'd dropped the longer peices in the garbage.
Before:
After:
A bit of hair that I trimed off one side. It was actually longer in the back, but I didn't think to save it until after I'd dropped the longer peices in the garbage.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Christmas
Well, we had a much bigger Christmas than we planned on. We have been given so much by those around us, I don't even know where to start. We have probably recived gifts and money from over a dozen families. Most was given anonomously. I don't think it was from anyone who checks my blog regularly, but just in case, Thank-you! :) Also, a special thanks to the woman in Walmart who pointed out the hole in the back of my pants. Yes, I knew it was there. I've been "planning" on loosing a few pounds before I bought new ones, but she inspired me to use some of the generously given money on myself. Yay for new pants! Anyway, here are some pictures-maybe even a video of our Christmas. 
Boo! ha,ha, you didn't know I was here, did you?
Okay, sorry it's been so long since I posted. The above picture is part of the reason why. I smashed my finger! Yep, the car door got me. Do you know how many things you need your index finger for? Especially if it's on your dominent hand. Well, I don't either, but typing is sure a lot easier with it than without. (Sorry the picture is so blury. Taking pictures is also hard to do without that finger.)
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Four Weeks (disclaimer:this may be depressing!)
Four weeks ago today our daughter Renee was born still. I wish more than anything that she were still here with me.
We finally got the results to the chromosome tests they did. Renee had Turner's Syndrom and was missing an X chromosome. Turner's Syndrom is not necesarily fatal, but can have a variety of health conditions that are. The combination of complications in Renee's case was. The good news is that there is a less than 1% chance of it repeating in a future pregnancy.
It doesn't really make anything better though. She's still gone.
We finally got the results to the chromosome tests they did. Renee had Turner's Syndrom and was missing an X chromosome. Turner's Syndrom is not necesarily fatal, but can have a variety of health conditions that are. The combination of complications in Renee's case was. The good news is that there is a less than 1% chance of it repeating in a future pregnancy.
It doesn't really make anything better though. She's still gone.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
From Stressed to Blessed
With everything we've been going through, Aaron has had a hard time being productive at work, and unfortunatly, his is not a job that you get paid for just showing up. He has to be able to sell cars-which is something he hasn't been able to do since the first week of October. We knew we would not be getting the usual paycheck on the 5th, which meant we didn't have money for rent. However, yesterday, the general manager at the dealership called Aaron into his office to ask how we were getting by without that paycheck. Aaron told them we wouldn't have rent money, and the gm said that he would take care of that.
We have been so incredibly blessed! A little over a year ago, I remember saying in church that when we do the things that God wants us to, we will be blessed and that things will always turn out better than they would have. At the time, I remember just trying to convince myself that we were doing the right thing. We had broken our lease to move to from Seattle to Sacramento with Aaron's parents. Leonora was only 6 weeks old at the time, and I was still recovering from her birth. I was emotional and very stressed about moving in with his family. Living there-even for that short time-was very difficult for me. His parents are good people, but I come from an extremely different background than Aaron. Even though we were in more or less the same situation when we moved to Utah, I was very grateful to be back at my parent's house. Since then, we've moved out, Aaron has changed jobs, and we've said hello and goodbye to another child. We've been through a lot. Now looking back, I wouldn't change any of the choices that we've made that led us to this point.
I'm so grateful to be near my family. I don't know what we would have done if we were anywhere else. Because we are here, we were able to use a burial plot that my parents had already purchased. It saved us money, and Renee is in a place where there will always be family. Aaron's work has been incredible. They sent flowers to the hospital and collected money to help out with things. And now they are paying our rent. I'm so glad Aaron is working there. The dealership he originally started at in St George would never have done all of that. Not to mention that they don't pay anything toward family health insurance. We have already payed the maximum out of pocket after everything that the insurance has paid. I can't imagine where we would be if we'd gone through all this without health insurance. I'm just so glad that we are where we are. It's not where we planned we would be.
Another thing we weren't planning was getting pregnant. In fact, I had tried to get an IUD before we moved from Seattle because I didn't want to worry about pregnancy. When that didn't happen, I was quite upset. Now I am grateful. Although I am devistated by the loss of our baby, I cannot imagine her being left out of our family! Renee's presence in our family has caused me to think differently about how we will plan our future pregnancies. I'm not saying I won't use any birth control, but I think we will be using forms that will alow us to make a decision when we feel it is right-rather than forms that require a doctor's visit or a certain amount of time to lapse.
Now, more than ever, I believe those things I was trying to talk myself into last summer. That God does have a plan for us. He knows the things that will help us grow into who we need to be. If we follow His plan, we will be blessed.
We have been so incredibly blessed! A little over a year ago, I remember saying in church that when we do the things that God wants us to, we will be blessed and that things will always turn out better than they would have. At the time, I remember just trying to convince myself that we were doing the right thing. We had broken our lease to move to from Seattle to Sacramento with Aaron's parents. Leonora was only 6 weeks old at the time, and I was still recovering from her birth. I was emotional and very stressed about moving in with his family. Living there-even for that short time-was very difficult for me. His parents are good people, but I come from an extremely different background than Aaron. Even though we were in more or less the same situation when we moved to Utah, I was very grateful to be back at my parent's house. Since then, we've moved out, Aaron has changed jobs, and we've said hello and goodbye to another child. We've been through a lot. Now looking back, I wouldn't change any of the choices that we've made that led us to this point.
I'm so grateful to be near my family. I don't know what we would have done if we were anywhere else. Because we are here, we were able to use a burial plot that my parents had already purchased. It saved us money, and Renee is in a place where there will always be family. Aaron's work has been incredible. They sent flowers to the hospital and collected money to help out with things. And now they are paying our rent. I'm so glad Aaron is working there. The dealership he originally started at in St George would never have done all of that. Not to mention that they don't pay anything toward family health insurance. We have already payed the maximum out of pocket after everything that the insurance has paid. I can't imagine where we would be if we'd gone through all this without health insurance. I'm just so glad that we are where we are. It's not where we planned we would be.
Another thing we weren't planning was getting pregnant. In fact, I had tried to get an IUD before we moved from Seattle because I didn't want to worry about pregnancy. When that didn't happen, I was quite upset. Now I am grateful. Although I am devistated by the loss of our baby, I cannot imagine her being left out of our family! Renee's presence in our family has caused me to think differently about how we will plan our future pregnancies. I'm not saying I won't use any birth control, but I think we will be using forms that will alow us to make a decision when we feel it is right-rather than forms that require a doctor's visit or a certain amount of time to lapse.
Now, more than ever, I believe those things I was trying to talk myself into last summer. That God does have a plan for us. He knows the things that will help us grow into who we need to be. If we follow His plan, we will be blessed.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
New Shoes
So, it hasn't been very long since I bought new shoes for Leonora, but I think she went through a growth spurt just after I bought them. They've been getting pretty snug, and the elastic has been leaving little red marks. It seemed like maybe she needed some new ones. We went for something a little different. These have a soft rubber sole, leather top, and they squeak! Thankfully, you can take the squeakers out. Leonora just loves them! She was a little confused when they didn't squeak on Sunday, but still seemed to like them anyway. She loves shoes. Anyway, I got these at the What Women Want Expo here in St George, but you can get them online here.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Monday, October 22, 2007
Some pictures
Aaron and I got some pictures taken of my belly the day before the induction. I thought I'd post them for you. I'm hoping to have a couple of her hands and feet soon, but they are on my mom's camera.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Sad News about our baby
I know it's been a while since I've posted. A lot has been going on, but not the kind of news that's fun to share.
On Oct. 3rd we went in for a routine, mid-pregnancy ultra sound. We found out that our baby had a lot of problems and got a referal to a specialist. We saw the specialist a week later, and got more bad news. He told us that the baby would not live and suggested that we end the pregnancy. We talked to our bishop and thought and prayed about what to do, and decided to induce labor. We met another doctor who would be the one doing the actual induction. He did another ultra sound so he could see for himself just what was going on. In this ultra sound we found out that the baby's heart had stopped. I checked into the hospital Wednesday afternoon and started the induction. It took a long time for things to happen. Our baby was born Thursday at 1:42pm. She was 2lbs 2oz and 8inches long. We named her Renee Elizabeth. Today we had a ceramony with family that was able to be here. She'll be burried on Monday.
On Oct. 3rd we went in for a routine, mid-pregnancy ultra sound. We found out that our baby had a lot of problems and got a referal to a specialist. We saw the specialist a week later, and got more bad news. He told us that the baby would not live and suggested that we end the pregnancy. We talked to our bishop and thought and prayed about what to do, and decided to induce labor. We met another doctor who would be the one doing the actual induction. He did another ultra sound so he could see for himself just what was going on. In this ultra sound we found out that the baby's heart had stopped. I checked into the hospital Wednesday afternoon and started the induction. It took a long time for things to happen. Our baby was born Thursday at 1:42pm. She was 2lbs 2oz and 8inches long. We named her Renee Elizabeth. Today we had a ceramony with family that was able to be here. She'll be burried on Monday.
Monday, October 01, 2007
Silly hand
Tonight at dinner, William paused eating his macaroni to take a drink. When he finished, he asked in a suprised voice, "Where is my fork?" Well, it turned out that his fork was in his left hand. He hadn't thought to look for it there. When I pointed it out to him, he laughed and said, "Silly hand!" This made me smile. It almost made up for all of his mischief today-of course, then he had to go and get into more before bedtime! Oh well! I do enjoy his cute moments.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
This is my 100th post
We should have a party! :) As my friend Stephanie pointed out, I neglected to post about William's birthday-sorry William.
William turned 4 on August 29th, and we had a small family celebration. We were going to have a larger extended family party, but unfortunatly, we all got sick. William managed to escape any serious symptoms-lucky boy-but the rest of us were not up to a party. Oh, well. He seemed happy with what he had.
Since this is my 100th post, I'm going to make it a long one! My cousin posted some cute shoes she got for her son, and I wanted to show off the ones I recently got for Leonora too! so, here they are!
Cute, aren't they? She loves these kind of shoes. These are here second pair. She's such a girl. She loves to bring her shoes to me, and get all dressed up. Too bad she doesn't like me to do her hair. I think I need to get some kind of detangler. Maybe one of those spray kind.
William's favorite thing right now is Superman. He told me today that he is superman and I am William. I told him I'm mom.
Okay, I think I'm done rambling for now!
William turned 4 on August 29th, and we had a small family celebration. We were going to have a larger extended family party, but unfortunatly, we all got sick. William managed to escape any serious symptoms-lucky boy-but the rest of us were not up to a party. Oh, well. He seemed happy with what he had.
Since this is my 100th post, I'm going to make it a long one! My cousin posted some cute shoes she got for her son, and I wanted to show off the ones I recently got for Leonora too! so, here they are!
Cute, aren't they? She loves these kind of shoes. These are here second pair. She's such a girl. She loves to bring her shoes to me, and get all dressed up. Too bad she doesn't like me to do her hair. I think I need to get some kind of detangler. Maybe one of those spray kind.
William's favorite thing right now is Superman. He told me today that he is superman and I am William. I told him I'm mom.
Okay, I think I'm done rambling for now!
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
The casts come off
Sunday afternoon, William and I left St George and drove to Layton. We stayed overnight at my sister Amber's house (which William loved), and drove back to Salt Lake on Monday for William's appointment at Primary children's hospital to get his casts off! Everything went well. William even giggled when they took the casts off. The doctor says his feet look good and gave us a prescription for a brace to wear at night. His legs and feet are sensitive from being in the casts for 5 weeks, but he seems to be doing better today. He started putting weight on his feet to walk this afternoon. He's still really careful. He stays near furniture and walls for suport, but he seems to be improving quickly. He'll see the doctor again in January when he comes to St George.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Announcing
Well, I think it may be about time to make an official announcement. Aaron and I are expecting our third child! He or she will be here sometime in February. We don't have an exact date pinned down, but I figure, that's about as close as an exact date is anyway! So, for now, the due-date is Sometime in February.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Funniest thing I've read on Ebay
This is hilarious. Half way through, I'd forgoten what it was supposed to be about! I think I'm going to check out this lady's blog! Anyway, here's the link.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Balloons
Yesterday we had dinner with Aaron at the dealership. The kids always enjoy terrorizing the customers and entertaining the salespeople. Leonora has been really into balloons lately. If she sees anything that even resembles a balloon, she gets all excited and starts shrieking in delight. The dealership almost always has balloons around, so she got a couple to take home. William had to have one as well. His was yellow. I wedged the balloons in hard to reach places in the car so they would be out of the way for safe driving. Of course, the kids didn't really care for this idea. When we got home, William started begging for his yellow balloon. I handed it back to him and he said, "Oh, my yellow balloon, I love you sooo much!" and gave it a nice big kiss. I was trying to get things gathered up from the car, so I didn't really notice when the balloon bobbed a few inches out of his reach. However, I couldn't help noticing when he said, "Come back yellow balloon! Come to Uncle William!"
Friday, August 03, 2007
William's surgery
On Tuesday, Aaron, the kids, and I all packed up and left for Salt Lake for sugery on William's feet. We had to go to Primary Children's Hospital for the surgery since there are no pediatric Orthopedic surgens in St. George. We spent the night with Aaron's Aunt Cathy, who was very kind to let us stay with very little notice. We had hoped to find a hotel room closer to the hospital, but there happened to be some kind of conference going on. Check in time was 6:30 am on Wednesday. The kids enjoyed the toys while we waited for the doctors to be ready for him. We said goodbye around 8:20 for what we thought would be a couple hours. It turned out to be about twice as long as expected because of the scar tissue from his previous operations, but the surgery seems to have gone well. He spent a couple more hours in recovery before we could leave. We visited with Rachel, a college roommate of mine. It was nice to see her and her pictures from the Philipines. We spent one more night with Cathy, and were able to visit Aaron's Aunt Kris and cousin Shannon. William only woke up a couple times during the night, so we were able to get some decent sleep before leaving for home. We hit some pretty amazing rain on the way home, and even got stopped on the freeway for a bit where water had washed over the road. The highway patrol had been out cleaning up already, so it didn't take long for them to get the traffic moving again. Thankfully, William slept a lot, and didn't seem to mind the delay. Today has been pretty good. He's still on pain medication, but he's able to play. Hopefully he'll continue to heal quickly and be on his feet soon!
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
At last!
Well, I finally made a dent in my disasterous house. I got the living room floor cleared and after changing a filter in my vaccuum, I used it! Amazing! I have a floor again! Most of the rest of the house is still a mess, but I feel better having gotten one area clean.
William has been without pants today. We're potty training. He's been pretty good about going to the bathroom. We've only had one "accident" so far today. Hopefully it will be relatively quick.
William has been without pants today. We're potty training. He's been pretty good about going to the bathroom. We've only had one "accident" so far today. Hopefully it will be relatively quick.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
When lightning strikes
Yesterday was an interesting day. My house has been a disaster, so I thought I should probably start making a dent in it. I can't say that I really did that, but I did get some dishes and laundry done. There's more that needs to be done, but hey, I did something! So, we ran out of milk, and I figured it had been a while since any of us left the house, so I started getting the kids ready to go to the store and maybe run a couple other errands. Just as we were getting ready to head out the door, the power went off. I figured it was just because it's so dang hot here and the power company couldn't keep up with all the air conditioners going. Well, I made sure all the blinds were closed and headed out to the car. It didn't take long to realize that this trip would take a while. The traffic lights were all out, so it was really crazy on the roads. I was glad to be in an air conditioned car though. After spending half an hour at a gas station because it was the only one I could find pumping gas, Aaron called and said he was leaving work early, so we went home. He stopped at the store and got a few snacks for dinner first. A little later, it started raining, so we all went outside with most of our neighbors. It was nice to cool off. The power finally came on around 8:30. It was off for 4 hours at our house. There was a fire that was threatening the main lines into the whole area, so they were shut off to prevent more fire. It made for an interesting evening. I'm going to have to buy milk today.
Monday, July 16, 2007
One more update
Okay, so that last post ended up being longer than I intended, but hey, I was craming a week into one post! A pretty busy week too!
Anyway, a couple things have happened since we got back. The most exciting is that Leonora finally got her fourth tooth! She's getting them in a funny order. Her third was her left "fang" and the most recent is the middle tooth next to it. I guess she's going left to right on the top.
Also, on Saturday, my parents came and helped install a "new" washer and dryer that someone had given them. They are older, and the dryer sounds like it's got rocks rolling around in it, but it works! It's nice to be able to do the laundry at home. And hey, we couldn't have found them for a better price!
Anyway, a couple things have happened since we got back. The most exciting is that Leonora finally got her fourth tooth! She's getting them in a funny order. Her third was her left "fang" and the most recent is the middle tooth next to it. I guess she's going left to right on the top.
Also, on Saturday, my parents came and helped install a "new" washer and dryer that someone had given them. They are older, and the dryer sounds like it's got rocks rolling around in it, but it works! It's nice to be able to do the laundry at home. And hey, we couldn't have found them for a better price!
Another long post-Our trip to California
Well, I thought I should tell you a little about our trip to California. I know it's taken a while, and I'm getting behind on the new news, so this will just be a quick outline of the trip.
We left St George on Tuesday, July 3rd and drove all day. We stopped in Barstow at Barstow Station for lunch. William got pretty excited about eating in a "train." The dinning rooms for the resurants are old train cars. I'm not sure if it was exactly what he thought it would be, but he seemed satified. We arived at Aaron's parent's house about 10pm (pacific time). Aaron's brother had just gotten off a plane from Mexico where he served a 2 year LDS mission, which was the main reason for our visit.
Wednesday was the 4th of course. The mornings were kind of lazy. We went to the community pool in the afternoon, had burgers for dinner, and left for a park to see fireworks. None of us really knew what we were getting into. We ended up walking close to 2 miles that night to get back and forth from the fireworks. The show was really good once in got going. William fell asleep before they started, but woke up for the majority of the show. Leonora was awake and cranky until it started and then she calmed down when it started and fell asleep about halfway through.
Thursday we all went to the movies. I saw Ratatoille (however that's spelled) with the kids. It was pretty enjoyable. Leonora got a little antsy halfway through, but I managed to stay in the back of the theatre.
Friday we went to the Sacramento Zoo. It was hot. Other than that, the only disappointments where that there weren't any bears and William couldn't ride the giraffes. In the evening we had family pictures taken. The kids were pretty good, but got a little tired of sitting still-especially Leonora.
Saturday, all those who could went to the temple. Later, we had an early birthday party for Aaron's sister. She is tuning 10 this week.
Sunday we went to church. Jesse spoke in sacrament meeting. Then we all went back to the house for lunch. Aaron's Grandma and Aunt Nancy were able to come from Reno. It was nice to see them. After they left, I sent Aaron up to sleep for a couple hours while I got the car loaded up. After his nap, we all said goodbye and got on the road. The kids seemed happy to be going home. Leonora was quite cheerful up until she fell asleep. We drove all night while the kids slept. It was nice not to have them complaining at us. It was a long night though. We got home around 11am. The kids were awake of course. I had slept a little in the car, so Aaron got to take a turn. Luckily, both of the kids fell asleep between 6:30 and 7, so we were able to get to sleep early.
Although the days and nights of driving were tiring, the rest of the trip was pretty enjoyable. It was nice to see Jesse and the rest of Aaron's family again.
We left St George on Tuesday, July 3rd and drove all day. We stopped in Barstow at Barstow Station for lunch. William got pretty excited about eating in a "train." The dinning rooms for the resurants are old train cars. I'm not sure if it was exactly what he thought it would be, but he seemed satified. We arived at Aaron's parent's house about 10pm (pacific time). Aaron's brother had just gotten off a plane from Mexico where he served a 2 year LDS mission, which was the main reason for our visit.
Wednesday was the 4th of course. The mornings were kind of lazy. We went to the community pool in the afternoon, had burgers for dinner, and left for a park to see fireworks. None of us really knew what we were getting into. We ended up walking close to 2 miles that night to get back and forth from the fireworks. The show was really good once in got going. William fell asleep before they started, but woke up for the majority of the show. Leonora was awake and cranky until it started and then she calmed down when it started and fell asleep about halfway through.
Thursday we all went to the movies. I saw Ratatoille (however that's spelled) with the kids. It was pretty enjoyable. Leonora got a little antsy halfway through, but I managed to stay in the back of the theatre.
Friday we went to the Sacramento Zoo. It was hot. Other than that, the only disappointments where that there weren't any bears and William couldn't ride the giraffes. In the evening we had family pictures taken. The kids were pretty good, but got a little tired of sitting still-especially Leonora.
Saturday, all those who could went to the temple. Later, we had an early birthday party for Aaron's sister. She is tuning 10 this week.
Sunday we went to church. Jesse spoke in sacrament meeting. Then we all went back to the house for lunch. Aaron's Grandma and Aunt Nancy were able to come from Reno. It was nice to see them. After they left, I sent Aaron up to sleep for a couple hours while I got the car loaded up. After his nap, we all said goodbye and got on the road. The kids seemed happy to be going home. Leonora was quite cheerful up until she fell asleep. We drove all night while the kids slept. It was nice not to have them complaining at us. It was a long night though. We got home around 11am. The kids were awake of course. I had slept a little in the car, so Aaron got to take a turn. Luckily, both of the kids fell asleep between 6:30 and 7, so we were able to get to sleep early.
Although the days and nights of driving were tiring, the rest of the trip was pretty enjoyable. It was nice to see Jesse and the rest of Aaron's family again.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Thanks for reading my really long post! :)
Well, It's been a while since I last posted. Sorry about that... Let's see if I can give a quick-ish update.
The night of Aaron's birthday we went to see My Fair Lady at Tuachan. That was fun. We had invited our friends Stephanie and Toby, but we talked to them around 7:30 and Stephanie made it clear that they weren't going to make it to the show because she was in labor with their 4th baby! So after some scrambling, we found someone to use the tickets. Meanwhile, Stephanie and Toby's baby boy was born during the show. They called to tell us while we were on our way out of Tuachan. Aaron thought that they should name him Aaron since he was born on his birthday, but they decided on Micah instead. :)
The next day, William had an appointment with the foot specialists that come down from Salt Lake every few months. He was born with clubbed feet and had surgury just before he turned one, but in the last year, his feet have been turning in again. He's now scheduled to go in for another surgury on the first of August.
After a very long appointment, we had lunch with Aaron and then the kids and I headed north for Layton for my sister Amber's wedding open house. We stopped to pick up my brother Morgan on the way. I was glad to have another adult in the car. He fed the kids grapes and string cheese all the way there. The next day was spent getting ready for the open house. It was at CJ's parent's house. They have one of the nicest back yards I've been in. Sunday we came home. I was very glad to be back home and see Aaron.
Well, this is getting kind of long, so I think I'll post more later. I may even have a couple of pictures!
The night of Aaron's birthday we went to see My Fair Lady at Tuachan. That was fun. We had invited our friends Stephanie and Toby, but we talked to them around 7:30 and Stephanie made it clear that they weren't going to make it to the show because she was in labor with their 4th baby! So after some scrambling, we found someone to use the tickets. Meanwhile, Stephanie and Toby's baby boy was born during the show. They called to tell us while we were on our way out of Tuachan. Aaron thought that they should name him Aaron since he was born on his birthday, but they decided on Micah instead. :)
The next day, William had an appointment with the foot specialists that come down from Salt Lake every few months. He was born with clubbed feet and had surgury just before he turned one, but in the last year, his feet have been turning in again. He's now scheduled to go in for another surgury on the first of August.
After a very long appointment, we had lunch with Aaron and then the kids and I headed north for Layton for my sister Amber's wedding open house. We stopped to pick up my brother Morgan on the way. I was glad to have another adult in the car. He fed the kids grapes and string cheese all the way there. The next day was spent getting ready for the open house. It was at CJ's parent's house. They have one of the nicest back yards I've been in. Sunday we came home. I was very glad to be back home and see Aaron.
Well, this is getting kind of long, so I think I'll post more later. I may even have a couple of pictures!
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Happy Birthday Aaron!
I hope you are enjoying your birthday! Sorry I haven't been able to do more for you. I love you very much! Happy Birthday!
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
I almost forgot...
Today is Leonora's 13 month birthday. I know it's not a particularly significant birthday, but as long as I'm on here, I might as well mention it! She's been 1 for a whole month!
So, I'm feeling a bit on the blah side today. I'm tired. I keep changing my mind about potty training William. I mean, I want him potty trained, but I just keep thinking that any of my efforts are futile. This weekend we're going up to Layton for my sister's open house. I don't know how much it will set him back, but I'm guessing it will. Then we are planning to visit Aaron's family in California for about a week in July. If I worked at it, I might get him potty trained before the trip to CA, but then, what about the long car ride? Do I just let him pee his pull ups? Do I stop every hour to sit him on some gross gas station toilet? Or should I just wait until we get back? These are just a few of the questions I've been asking myself. Hmmm... maybe I'm just putting it off because I'm tired.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Amber and CJ
So I've been really busy helping out with my sister's wedding and catching up on everything I should have been doing while I was helping out with my sister's wedding. Anyway, she's married now! She and her new hubby have been honeymooning in Southern California, and soon will be settling into their new apartment in Layton, Utah. The wedding was great, and I must say that my mom and I and everyone else who pitched in did a fabuluous job of decorating for her reception. Notice the lovely decorations behind Amber and CJ in the picture? I think we did rather well!
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Feeling pretty good!
Well, I'm still recovering from my cold, but I've been feeling pretty good anyway. I've been staying home a lot more lately in an attempt to potty train William. This is not going spectacularly well, but he will use the toilet when I supervise. Anyway, since I've been home more, I've been cleaning more. Not that cleaning is a lot of fun or anything, but knowing my house is presentable makes me feel better about myself-and honestly makes being home more enjoyable. Things never stay clean for very long, and I don't like to stress out about it, so I've been trying to focus on just one room everyday. Then if I have more energy or just feel like it, I'll tidy up here and there too. Today I got my living room looking pretty good. It's not perfect, but presentable. This makes me smile! :)
Interesting site on homebirth and related subjects
I got a link off this site from another blog, and thought that at least 1 or 2 of you would find interesting. Here's the link! http://journeytohomebirth.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Different Shades of green
I decided that it was time for a new look. I was going to post something yesterday, but spent all my time updateing instead.
Well, Leonora turned one on Saturday. Aaron had to work, so we postponed the birthday celebration until Sunday. My family came over and we watched Leonora open presents and demolish her cake. She even ate some of it! My mom took pictures, but I haven't gotten any from her yet. I'll post them when I do.
After the party, we went to a barbeque with some of Aaron's co-workers. We had fun relaxing and chating, and also got to look at a new house that our hosts' parents are building next door to their house. It will be an incredibly nice house when it's finished. It has six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a library, office, exercise room, rec room, theater, and dinning room large enough for a group of 25. Oh, and I almost forgot-a "Harry Potter Room" under the stairs that forms a passage from the entry to the dining room. Very cool. I asked how big it was. The owner said, "I don't really know. Somewhere between 8 and 10 thousand square feet." Anyway, it was a lot of fun to walk through.
Since then, I seem to have gotten a nice little cold that is causeing my voice to disappear. I tride to scream last night when I found William dumping the last of the milk into an overflowing cup on the kitchen floor. The sound that came out of me was not normal. I think I startled him because he got up, knocked the cup of milk over and cried for the next ten minutes. After all that, Aaron agreed to let me out of the house. We were invited to dinner with some friends, but didn't have a babysitter, so he sent me out and stayed home to put the kids to bed. I had a very enjoyable evening-in spite of the a-symetrical nature of the resturant we ate at.
Well, my posts are getting really long. perhaps if I post more often, it will help.
Well, Leonora turned one on Saturday. Aaron had to work, so we postponed the birthday celebration until Sunday. My family came over and we watched Leonora open presents and demolish her cake. She even ate some of it! My mom took pictures, but I haven't gotten any from her yet. I'll post them when I do.
After the party, we went to a barbeque with some of Aaron's co-workers. We had fun relaxing and chating, and also got to look at a new house that our hosts' parents are building next door to their house. It will be an incredibly nice house when it's finished. It has six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a library, office, exercise room, rec room, theater, and dinning room large enough for a group of 25. Oh, and I almost forgot-a "Harry Potter Room" under the stairs that forms a passage from the entry to the dining room. Very cool. I asked how big it was. The owner said, "I don't really know. Somewhere between 8 and 10 thousand square feet." Anyway, it was a lot of fun to walk through.
Since then, I seem to have gotten a nice little cold that is causeing my voice to disappear. I tride to scream last night when I found William dumping the last of the milk into an overflowing cup on the kitchen floor. The sound that came out of me was not normal. I think I startled him because he got up, knocked the cup of milk over and cried for the next ten minutes. After all that, Aaron agreed to let me out of the house. We were invited to dinner with some friends, but didn't have a babysitter, so he sent me out and stayed home to put the kids to bed. I had a very enjoyable evening-in spite of the a-symetrical nature of the resturant we ate at.
Well, my posts are getting really long. perhaps if I post more often, it will help.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
scrambled
Okay, I'm going to try to play a little catch up for this week... I can't remember what days everything happened, but they all happened sometime in the last week...
Well, a couple days ago, I was asking William what he wanted for breakfast. Normally he requests cereal, but he didn't that day, so I started naming off other choices. I hardly ever make eggs, but I offered it as a choice and was surprised when he said he wanted an egg. So I made him an egg. I thought I was being such a good mom! I even cut it up and stuck it in the freezer to cool it off! I was quite disappointed when he told me he didn't want "that kind of egg." Confused, I asked what kind of egg it was that he wanted. "I want a Chocolate Egg!" he tells me. Of course. Silly me. Unfortunatly for him, I don't keep chocolate eggs in stock.
Leonora has also started walking this week. She just decided to get back up when she fell one day, and she hasn't crawled since! Of course she still falls a lot, but she never stays down long.
Yesterday, I went to the What Women Want Expo with my mom. It was pretty fun, except when Leonora got really fussy and didn't want to stay in the stroller. I got some cute barettes and entered lots of drawings and got lots of cards and flyers. Then I went to Hurricane and went to a friends wedding reception. I found out this evening that I actually won one of the drawings for a free "candy bouquet." That was pretty cool.
Today, we went to our friend Toby's graduation party. It was fun, and the food was very good. There was a little kiddie pool set up with water in it, and of course that was the first thing that Leonora saw. With some help, I managed to keep her from diving in head first. Toward the end of the party, some of the other kids were getting into trouble jumping in the pool, so their mom dumped most of the water out, but left a little at the bottom. Leonora took her chance when I wasn't watching to toddle over and plop her diapered and fully clothed little bum into the pool! Oh, she had a lot of fun! Of course, it wasn't terribly fun when she had to get changed, but I think it was worth it for her.
I think that's all for now (folks)!
ha, ha, ha :)
Well, a couple days ago, I was asking William what he wanted for breakfast. Normally he requests cereal, but he didn't that day, so I started naming off other choices. I hardly ever make eggs, but I offered it as a choice and was surprised when he said he wanted an egg. So I made him an egg. I thought I was being such a good mom! I even cut it up and stuck it in the freezer to cool it off! I was quite disappointed when he told me he didn't want "that kind of egg." Confused, I asked what kind of egg it was that he wanted. "I want a Chocolate Egg!" he tells me. Of course. Silly me. Unfortunatly for him, I don't keep chocolate eggs in stock.
Leonora has also started walking this week. She just decided to get back up when she fell one day, and she hasn't crawled since! Of course she still falls a lot, but she never stays down long.
Yesterday, I went to the What Women Want Expo with my mom. It was pretty fun, except when Leonora got really fussy and didn't want to stay in the stroller. I got some cute barettes and entered lots of drawings and got lots of cards and flyers. Then I went to Hurricane and went to a friends wedding reception. I found out this evening that I actually won one of the drawings for a free "candy bouquet." That was pretty cool.
Today, we went to our friend Toby's graduation party. It was fun, and the food was very good. There was a little kiddie pool set up with water in it, and of course that was the first thing that Leonora saw. With some help, I managed to keep her from diving in head first. Toward the end of the party, some of the other kids were getting into trouble jumping in the pool, so their mom dumped most of the water out, but left a little at the bottom. Leonora took her chance when I wasn't watching to toddle over and plop her diapered and fully clothed little bum into the pool! Oh, she had a lot of fun! Of course, it wasn't terribly fun when she had to get changed, but I think it was worth it for her.
I think that's all for now (folks)!
ha, ha, ha :)
Monday, April 16, 2007
Vote for mine or enter your own
So I randomly found this cute kids contest online. I started voting and realized, "hey, my kids are at least as cute as these ones!" So I entered them! Anyway, if you'd like to vote for them, here are the links: http://bix.yahoo.com/entry/48761?emailInviteFrom=karalynlund
http://bix.yahoo.com/entry/48760?emailInviteFrom=karalynlund
http://bix.yahoo.com/entry/48760?emailInviteFrom=karalynlund
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Visual DNA
Another blogging friend had this on her blog the other day, so I thought I'd try it out and see what I got. Anyway, here are the results-hopefully this works!
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Walking Into the Woods
Tonight Aaron and I got to go on a date. We hired my brother to babysit, got some dinner at Cafe Rio (yummy!), and went to see Dixie State College's production of Into the Woods. This is one of my favorite musicals, so I was pretty happy to get to see it. It was pretty good. The beginning was a little rough, and some of the cast didn't really impress me, but there were some truly wonderful "moments."
At intermission, I called to see how the kids were treating Morgan, and he informed me that Leonora actually took a few steps on her own! She had taken a step here and there, without knowing she was doing it, but never more than one at a time, and never intentionally. So after the show, I tried to get her to walk to Morgan again. Of course, she refused to budge when I set her down, but when we changed places, she was quite willing to walk the three step to my arms! She walked once more to me and once to Aaron before he had to take Morgan home. It was exciting! Even though I know this means more trouble for me, I'm very happy for her newest achievement!
At intermission, I called to see how the kids were treating Morgan, and he informed me that Leonora actually took a few steps on her own! She had taken a step here and there, without knowing she was doing it, but never more than one at a time, and never intentionally. So after the show, I tried to get her to walk to Morgan again. Of course, she refused to budge when I set her down, but when we changed places, she was quite willing to walk the three step to my arms! She walked once more to me and once to Aaron before he had to take Morgan home. It was exciting! Even though I know this means more trouble for me, I'm very happy for her newest achievement!
Monday, March 26, 2007
A few new leaves
There's a nice big shade tree outside my living room window. A week ago it was pretty bare and dead looking, but today it's green! Because we live on the second story of our building, looking out the living room window is like looking out of a tree house. We're right up in the branches and the new leaves. It's really refreshing to lay on the couch and stare up into the tree. I've been told that green is a relaxing color, but I don't think I've ever really appriciated that fact until now.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Things I forgot to tell you
This week has been a busy one. Leonora finally 'cut' her first tooth! She's been sick on top of teething, so she's been pretty fussy. Nights have been hard. On Monday, she also celebrated her 10 month birthday! We even sang. Sorry I don't have a picture- my camera is short a battery cover, which makes it difficult to use. Tuesday was busy! I chopped off my hair- well, I let someone else do it. It's nice and short, and only about a week late for the first days of summer weather. I also went paper shopping with Melissa. That was fun. Wednesday I got to hang out with a couple of different friends. I told you about yesterday morning, but since then, I bought a couple of shirts (I love clearance racks). There nice summery shirts, which is good. After being in Seattle for so long, I didn't realize how few summery shirts I had! After that, Aaron and I went to see "Premonition" while my wonderful brother Morgan watched our kids. That was nice. Probably not the worlds best movie ever, but it was good to have a little time just the two of us. Morgan was lucky. Leonora slept the whole time. Well, I think that fills in all the gaps- at least the most recent gaps!
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Happy Thursday
I've gotten some complaints about the lack of posts to my site lately, so I'm posting something...
Other than the bad violin playing, I've had a really nice morning. We took our '93 Sable to get the windshield replaced around 8 this morning. Once that's done, it should pass the safety inspection and we can actually get it registered in the state of Utah. After dropping the car off, we went to I-HOP for breakfast. I haven't been there in a really long time! They have really good omelets-one of which I had. William wasn't too happy. He prefers Kix cereal to any other food groups lately. He did finally eat one of his pancakes. While we were there we saw a friend who works there. Hadn't seen her in a while, so that was nice. Once our tummies were full (or perhaps a little over filled) we came home. Aaron's been watching a Dream Theater concert on DVD. Between the bad violins and the effeminate moves of the lead singer, it's kept us pretty entertained. William has been keeping us refreshed with "orange juice" from his new Tupperware kid's beverage set, and Leonora has been trying to steal the remote with moderate success. (Maybe she doesn't like the violins either.)
Oh, and the best part of the morning- Aaron got to change the poopy diaper! I love his days off...
Other than the bad violin playing, I've had a really nice morning. We took our '93 Sable to get the windshield replaced around 8 this morning. Once that's done, it should pass the safety inspection and we can actually get it registered in the state of Utah. After dropping the car off, we went to I-HOP for breakfast. I haven't been there in a really long time! They have really good omelets-one of which I had. William wasn't too happy. He prefers Kix cereal to any other food groups lately. He did finally eat one of his pancakes. While we were there we saw a friend who works there. Hadn't seen her in a while, so that was nice. Once our tummies were full (or perhaps a little over filled) we came home. Aaron's been watching a Dream Theater concert on DVD. Between the bad violins and the effeminate moves of the lead singer, it's kept us pretty entertained. William has been keeping us refreshed with "orange juice" from his new Tupperware kid's beverage set, and Leonora has been trying to steal the remote with moderate success. (Maybe she doesn't like the violins either.)
Oh, and the best part of the morning- Aaron got to change the poopy diaper! I love his days off...
Monday, February 26, 2007
I've got a pickle
Well, it's been a while since I posted anything. some new news is that we are finally in our own apartment! Also, Aaron just quit at the dealership he was working at and is starting March 1st at a new one in St. George. We both feel that things will be better with this new dealership. Anyway, since Aaron had a few days off between jobs, and we have tax return money handy, we decided to jump in the car and head to California where a bunch of our stuff has been patiently waiting for us to pick it up. We're staying with Aaron's family, and I think they've enjoyed having their grandkids around for a couple days. Lately, William has been telling me that he's a pickle. I think he got this from me. Whenever he'd get into a little mischief, I'd call him a turkey or a pickle, so he's decided that he is a pickle. He also dislikes being called a little boy and always insists that he is actually a big boy if I call him little. So, last night we were all sitting around and Aaron's sister asked William if he was a little pickle. William said, "No! I'm not a little pickle! I'm a big pickle!" Well, I can hardly disagree with that statement!
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