Our Times

One of my greatest blessings

2012-02-05T20:58:00.001-08:00

Four and a half years ago my little family (husband, self, and one daughter) moved to Oregon for a new chapter in our life. A year later, one of my sisters moved to the same town, the same ward boundaries, only 1/3 of a mile away! My sister Amy is one of my greatest blessings and I would like to share with you how wonderful she is. These reasons are in no particular order.

Amy is incredibly generous and thoughtful. For example, we were both getting ready to leave for the holidays, me for a six-day driving trip, she for a 12-or-something-like-that-day flying trip. And she has four children. Yikes! But despite her greater need for assistance, she offered to let me kids come over and play so I could get ready for our travels. She has us over for dinner, buys me the occasional chocolate, helps me with anything I ask, makes me lovely jewelry, the list is truly endless.

Amy is also a good example of many things: mothering, being a friend, dressing and accessorizing, hospitality, and spirituality, among others. My sister is one of those creative people who is also very organized. Her home is a comfortable place to visit. Her children are well-behaved, and she's often doing a fun new project or something with them. They love to play with her and spend time with her. And Amy always looks put together. She inspires me to be better in so many aspects of my life.

Living close to my sister gives me more insight into myself too. As we were raised in the same house by the same parents, we often have a similar view of things, but of course not entirely. At varying times we've been able to run together, and I really enjoyed our conversations during those runs. Amy keeps up-to-date on national and international affairs better than I do, and I always felt more educated and/or enlightened after our running discussions. We once drove to and from Seattle for a sister's weekend trip. The drive was five hours long. I wondered if we could find enough conversation for 10 hours of driving, seeing as we see each other so often, but we did! It wasn't even difficult. Amy is great about learning more about who she is with, helping a person feel comfortable talking about themselves with her.

And yet after sharing all this with you, I still feel like I haven't approached how much is means to me to have Amy close by. The best way I can express it is that she is a true friend, and that means a great deal to me. She knows my strengths and weaknesses, and not only loves me, but still wants to be with me despite knowing many of my faults. My life is much happier and richer having Amy in my life.

Sadly, I don't have any pics of Amy, but you can check her out at her blog.

2012-01-29T20:47:00.000-08:00

Finding time to blog right now is difficult for me. I thought it'd get a bit easier as Teddy grew older, but not so. He isn't on a schedule yet, and between feeding and entertaining my kids and keeping house, I don't have much down time. And the down time I do have I want to spend elsewhere, thus the neglected blog.

Moving on!

Moo turned 3 on Friday! My little girl is three years old. She is too cute for her own good, has a great raspy voice, loves anything physical, delights in playing with and tormenting her older sister, loves to entertain Teddy and wrestle daddy, and is also a big helper around the house. She tends to not tell the truth, which is a very different trait from her sister. Moo is full of life and fun. She got some dress up and dance clothes for her birthday and loves pretty things.

Poor Kj has been throwing up all day today. Thankfully she's trained to do it in the bowl now. The first one was not so successful, but the clean up hasn't been too bad since. I feel so badly for her. You know she's hurting and she wants it to stop, but there's nothing we can do for her besides help her be as comfortable as possible. She's never thrown up for an entire day like this. I hope it's over by tomorrow. I've washed my hands 147 times today.

And guess who is sitting up all by himself? That's right, my little Teddy. He acquired the skill over the weekend. He still doesn't roll over, or like to be on his tummy. Oh well. I can not express how much I adore my little man. I see him, smell him, hold him and I just adore him. He is the cutest baby and I'm so glad I'm his mama. I think we need to start feeding him solids because he seems to be eating frequently. And he doesn't sleep through the night anymore. :( Bummer.

Et moi? I ran 10 miles yesterday, which is the longest I've ever gone. And last week my running partner and I ran a 7:38 mile for our last mile repeat on our speed day. It's fun to get faster and stronger with running. We have a speed day, hill day, and long day. It works very well for what I want. I hope to start swimming one day a week next month. And I'm reading the "Anne of Green Gables" series, which is fun. "Windy Poplars" is not my favorite. The first two are really the best. The rest seem like the author creating new, funny characters for Anne to interact with and impact in some way. Exercising and reading are my two outlets right now, so besides mothering, that's about all I can talk about. :)

Hope you have a great week. Welcome February! We have lots of birthdays to celebrate this month, as well as the day of love. And I hoped to lose some more weight. Not looking likely.

I know this isn't a great pic of Kj, but it's the best I have. I have a hilarious video of her dancing and singing. She loves her dance class.

M loves her class too. They were so excited when I brought home their tights and shoes.

M on her birthday. She has been dying to wear that dress, which I like to save for church because it's a nice one. I indulged her on her birthday (Friday) and let her wear it all day.

Daddy delivers another sweet cake, Rainbow Dash from My Little Pony.

And here's my little man sitting up. Does he not have one the sweetest baby faces you have ever seen? He is a great baby too, hardly ever fussy.

Guess what?!?

2012-01-20T08:56:00.001-08:00

Today is my first time writing for another blog, The Gift of Giving Life. Six women joined forces and wrote a beautiful book about birth from a spiritual perspective. Here's the link if you want to read my post:

http://thegiftofgivinglife.com/blog/

Have a great weekend!

2012-01-06T23:03:00.005-08:00

I finally posted again on my other blog

http://shaunasearchfortruth.blogspot.com/

if you'd like to check it out. I'd love to hear from you!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T09:40:00.000-08:00

J and I didn't quite make it to midnight. We turned in at 11:30. So close! But as we had returned from our trip the day before and spent all of Saturday putting away the Christmas decorations, we didn't feel like staying up late. And our children gave us a gift: they slept in until almost 7:30 New Year's Day. This is practically unheard of in our house.

Here are some pics from our adventures in Spokane. Actually, the pictures don't show any evidence of adventure. We enjoyed spending our time with family, and I enjoyed not cooking every meal or worrying about cleaning my house. (Ha! Funny story about cleaning. We were snuggling in our bed with the girls this morning and I informed M that it will be her birthday this month. She said that she was going to get me a present and Kj declared, "Probably something to do with cleaning." I laughed so hard. It was a very perceptive and appropriate comment.) J got to go shooting twice, so he had a great time. The girls LOVED playing with their grandparent's toys. Kj loves the snow, and J helped them build a snowman. Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of my sister and her family, but I am very, very glad they were able to come over for a few days. Family + holidays is a wonderful combination.

M adoring one of the cats, Cow, I think.

Kj played outside a lot, despite the chilly weather. She loves animals.

Who doesn't love a naked baby shot?

My sis-in-law. Her hair cut is so cute!

M snuggling a pillow that Goombaw made. She also made the kids hooded towels. Thank you Goombaw!

Our little twin cousins. The girls had a lot of fun playing with them.

Visiting my Grandma Catie. She is 89 years old. Kj is hiding in the curtains in the background.

The girls trying on their capes I made them.

The snowman. Sadly, he didn't last long. The snow was already melting when they made him.

My ballet teacher (left) and her receptionist (right). I try to see them whenever I visit Spokane. I spent many, many hours at the ballet studio, and they were wonderful mentors in my teenage years.

Necessity is the mother of invention

2011-12-22T11:06:00.000-08:00

As you know, I like to run. I run all year round, whatever the weather. This winter has been unusually dry, so I have been enjoying my runs unusually more than usual. But sometimes during the cold season my tummy gets cold, because I don't have a layer close to my tummy. I thought about this conundrum and realized I had a solution already in my home: the Belleband! You know, those pieces of fabric that you use when pregnant, when your pants are getting too small to button up, but you're not big enough for maternity pants? I put that baby on, situated it nicely around my mid-section, and went for my morning run in 30-degree weather. My tummy stayed nice and warm for the most part.

We're headed to our "homeland" tomorrow and we're all very excited. I don't think Teddy will like being in the car that long, but hopefully he'll sleep his woes away. I am especially excited to see my sister and her family. We don't get to spend much time with them. This year our Christmas is incredibly simple, and I've really enjoyed the low level of stress and purchasing of unnecessary gifts. May we all remember the true reason of the season, the birth, life, Atonement, and resurrection of our Savior. Merry Christmas!

Note to self

2011-12-14T07:12:00.000-08:00

Don't buy Trader Joe's Candy Cane Joe-Joe's unless you plan on doing a 10-mile or more run the day of or after purchase. You are unable to control yourself in regards to the consumption of these cookies. Merry Christmas!

2011-12-03T22:49:00.001-08:00

We bought and decorated our tree today. Oddly, I am not at all excited about the tree, or the Christmas decorations. My kids are though, and it's fun to watch their excitement. To me, it feels like a hassle. Am I scroogy? Please enjoy some pics of recent happenings.

Little S eating the bib during his haircut. Yes! I gave my baby his first haircut. Of course I cut it way too short, but it's okay: he's a boy.

I think my baby is so handsome and cute!

Our family picture this year. It's the best we can do.

Kj and her dinosaur line up.

Our Times

2011-11-15T14:49:00.001-08:00

Here's some snapshots of what we've been up to lately. I love autumn! Teddy is officially 3 months old today! He is a wonderful baby, often sleeping through the night. He loves to watch his sisters play, eat his hands, and coo with mom.

Here we are painting our grateful tree. We add a leaf each day to the tree with something written on it of what we are grateful for. Was that sentence horrible grammar? It felt very awkward to me.

We also had a leaf-jumping party with some friends. The friends came a little late, so I only have pictures of my girls. They had a BLAST jumping and wrestling in the leaves and throwing them at each other. They were very dirty when all was done. I love all the colorful trees on our street. It makes me smile every time I look outside.

Happy Thanksgiving to you! Teddy and I are off to Utah for my brother's wedding after Thanksgiving. I am excited to meet my new sister-in-law!

Dear Reader

2011-11-13T22:01:00.001-08:00

I enjoy baking and can usually make food taste good, but I am hopeless at making cookies. My cookies are flat almost all the time. Please see image below:

Very flat. But they taste fine because these cookies have real butter and lots of sugar. What should I do to make fluffy cookies? Your help is appreciated.

Reading time

2011-11-11T09:12:00.001-08:00

We try to read to our children starting when they're very young. With Kj, we discovered she liked being read to early on, and the following two have shown the same interest. Here's a video of Daddy reading to little Teddy.Huh. I can't find the icon to post a video, so we'll have to content ourselves with pictures for now. But the video is so cute, so I'll see if I can figure it out.

Update

2011-11-02T10:45:00.000-07:00

My poor kids. When I look at other people's blogs, I see cute kids with cute hair, cute costumes, fun holiday food to eat, homemade pinatas for birthdays, etc. I just don't roll that way. I wish that I did. I wish I wanted to try harder, but I don't. So here are some pics from Kj's 5th birthday and Halloween.

I can't believe we didn't get more pics for Kj's birthday. We had a small party for her too, but apparently no pictures. I think with little S hanging around, I am a lot more distracted lately.

Kj seems to be getting taller and leaner everyday. She's never been chubby, but she's definitely stretching out. She lost her first tooth probably two months ago. I think it was due to her bottom two teeth overlapping. She was VERY excited about it, and pulled it out all by herself. She still has the tooth. It is so tiny.

Kj and M are great friends and love to play, wrestle, and dance together. If things aren't going the way Kj wants them to, she gets quite upset. Lots of screaming and such, but hopefully she'll grow out of it. She is so obedient and very helpful with chores like folding laundry and putting dishes away. She loves to snuggle up to read, makes up her own songs, and is getting better on her little scoot bike. She never wants me to do her hair and I don't like to bother with it because the girls are always rolling around and it falls out anyway. She has a beautiful hair color. Kj is like me in that she's not concerned with hair or fashion. She is only 5, but M shows a lot more inclination for clothes than Kj or I do. Maybe her Aunt Amy can be her guide there. :)

Daddy's little helpers taking apart the hideous entertainment center we've had since getting married. We got rid of our TV last weekend! We haven't had TV service since getting married, and I'm trying to put the girls in front of the TV less. There's more space in our living area now.

M loved using that power screwdriver!

Kj opening some presents. She really is a cute girl, just not photogenic like mom. That girl got LOTS of Squinkies for her birthday.

Her stegosaurus cake.

The two princesses for Halloween. Kj did some "alterations" so it was looking a little less cute, but she was more comfortable.

2011-10-26T10:59:00.001-07:00

Have I mentioned that Little S is already sleeping through the night?!? This is incredible to me. My girls were not the best of sleepers. I am in mommy heaven!

Little S's blessing

2011-10-25T14:31:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have to make this quick because little S is waking up from his nap. He was actually blessed the same weekend we found out that J passed the bar. Hooray for a great weekend! Both our parents came into town for a quick visit. We, the adults, went out to eat at a yummy restaurant and my parents treated us. Thanks for that! S got to wear an outfit that was picked out for J when he was a baby, but J's baby blessing was pushed to a later date because his dad was out at sea serving in the Navy at the time. I love that S got to wear a blessing outfit of J's. We didn't get a great picture of it though.

Other posts to come (I hope):
- weekend in Seattle with sisters and little S
- Kj's 5th birthday

Quick catch up

2011-09-26T13:52:00.000-07:00

Guess what?!? J passed the bar!!!!!!!! Hooray!!!!!! Lots of exclamation points, I know. He was feeling ill for about two weeks prior to learning the results, and that final Friday morning was killer. We went onto the website to see the results, but Mozilla was being funny, I think due to high traffic on the site. So we couldn't see if he passed or not!!! We learned the happy new from my good friend, Red Wasp, thanks again! After opening up Internet Explorer, we could see the good news for ourselves. There was a lot of yelling and hugging and tears (on my part). We are so, so happy to be done with that long journey.

Other good news is that we blessed little S this weekend. J's and my parents came into town, and we had many good friends in the blessing circle. No pics, sorry. Our camera is being shipped back to us from being repaired. He got to wear a blessing outfit of his dad's. He looked precious. I love my little boy so much and think that he is so handsome. He's a very good baby.

last week I canned peaches and pears and dried some pears too. Whew! On to apples next, but I think I'll just dry them this year. My family isn't big on applesauce. How weird are they? But I love them oh so much. We have so many good friends and family who love us. I'm really looking forward to Conference weekend too.

To the coast again!

2011-09-14T09:19:00.000-07:00

Looking at the seals and sea lions

At the aquarium with the Veggie Bunch

Sea otter lunch time

In the shark tunnel. This part of the aquarium is so cool!

Kate Bug eating the sand

I totally look like my mom from behind. I think I must walk or carry myself the way she does.

Can you find the two cousins?

Appearances are deceiving. We could not get the kite to fly for more than 3 seconds.

Future model

We went to the coast again this past weekend for a good time at the aquarium and beach. Kj was especially excited to go because we bought her another otter toy. The first otter was lost about two years ago, and she's talked about him off and on since then. I informed Kj at the beginning of the week that we'd be going to the aquarium and you'd better believe that's all she talked about for the entire week. She also packed her backpack on Monday with the toys that she wanted to bring in the car for the ride up. Note to self: don't mention really fun outings until the day before, or maybe morning of planned expedition.

The day was beautiful, and even better, my sister and her kids came along too! Have you ever seen Japanese spider crabs? They're ENORMOUS, and the ones we saw were not full grown. The otters were the most fun to see, and we had lucky timing: we got to see otter lunch time. Otters are so cute! They're extremely endangered because their pelts were so sought after. They do not have blubber like seals and sea lions. Their hair is very, very concentrated for warmth, which also makes it desirable for people who like to wear animals or use their fur, pelts, and the like.

Oh, S is waking up. Gotta go!

Beach times

2011-08-28T03:17:00.000-07:00

The stars aligned for our family this week as Papa's (grandpa's) work required him in a nearby city, so we got a visit from Goombaw and Papa. The girls absolutely adore their grandparents, especially Goombaw, who is up for anything, real or pretend. We went to a park, an indoor gym, and the crowning event, a trip to the coast! It took us awhile to actually get to a beach, and a bit longer to find one where the wind wasn't blowing 30 mph, but we conquered at last! We found a little gem of a beach tucked away from the heaviest wind; We actually felt warm as the sun beat down. As you can see, it was a beautiful day. Thank you, Goombaw and Papa, for the great visit.

Some pics

2011-08-23T09:50:00.000-07:00

He's finally here!

2011-08-16T11:43:00.000-07:00

Our little S arrived safely Monday morning! So here are all the details. Skim at your preference.

We'll start our tale of S's birth the night before, on August 14th. It was my friend Britney's birthday, and in one last, desperate attempt to induce labor, I walked (read: waddled) about one mile to and from her party, pushing the girls in the bike stroller. I was REALLY hoping/praying to start labor that evening because a midwife said that if I didn't start labor by Sunday, I would have to birth at the hospital. We've been seeing the six midwives who are based at a lovely birthing center right near the hospital, and my plan was to have S there. So when I went to bed on Sunday evening around 11 pm and no labor had started, some tears of frustration and sadness were shed.

I woke up the next morning with no contractions. Bummer. Of course I had to go to the bathroom!, and after doing so, I stood up and all this water gushed out of me. Apparently my water had broken. I stood there for fully one minute not knowing what to do. J was in the shower so I couldn't call on him for help. Water was everywhere, my clothes were wet, but I finally got my bearings, cleaned up as best I could, and waddled upstairs to let J know. He is an exceedingly attentive husband and jumped out of the shower before finishing up, ready to roll. I told him to chill out and finish his shower, not knowing when labor would start. It started almost right away. M's birthing experience was not quite six hours from start to finish. S's blew M's right out of the water, no pun intended on various levels, as you will see.

I called the midwife to let her know. She had delivered M and remembered that that labor had progressed quickly. I was pretty relaxed since we had everything ready, and started finding someone to take the girls. I realized within half an hour that we needed to get moving. My AWESOME friend Tawny took the girls for us (that girl is up for anything!), I called the midwife half an hour after my first call and asked if we could come in. We were to the birth center by about 8:45, I think.

One of the reasons I wanted to have S at the birth center is because they have the water birth option, of which I've heard great things. The water really did soothe me at the beginning. I didn't get out once I was in, but I hate to imagine more pain out of the water than what I felt in the water. Let's just say it hurt really badly and I yelled really loudly. J was the perfect birthing companion, and the midwife was excellent as well. S was born at 10:03 am, making the birthing experience just a little over three hours. Apparently I don't waste time having babies. They just take their sweet time coming out. S was one week late to the day. The midwife who delivered S said that I could choose between the birth center and the hospital. I was so happy to choose the birth center! Heavenly Father answered my prayers.

BTW, drugs for pain relief during labor aren't an option at the birth center. During most of S's birthing experience I kept thinking, "I'm getting an epidural next time." I told this to one of my sisters afterwards and she said, "That's what you said last time." Ha! That doesn't surprise me at all. I remembered being in a lot of pain with M, but the pain was so short-lived, I guess I thought I'd just do it again. I don't think we understand the effect of drugs on the baby's body, and I believe that our bodies are capable of having children naturally. I'm not saying that people who choose pain relief are wrong or weak; I had an epidural with Kj, and I may seek pain relief again. I'm just letting you know my reasons for choosing a natural birth this time around.

S was born on Monday, August 15th at 10:03 am weighing 7 lbs 4 oz and measuring 19 1/2 inches long. He has a long, kind of big head (14 inches circumference. No wonder it was so hard to get out!), and is beautiful! Is there anything to compare to that first moment of holding your baby after they're born? The relief, the joy in finally meeting them, holding their precious little body next to your own? I feel better the moment after my babies are born, and my love for this fuzzy little guy grows more every moment. He is a sweet, mellow baby thus far. I love these first few days of staying calm and happy at home, nesting with my little baby. The girls want to hold him and be with him all the time. Kj is very gentle, M a little more rambunctious, but both are very loving. They helped me give him a little washcloth bath yesterday.

I am eternally grateful that J and I were prompted to get pregnant when we did. Our "plan" was to not get pregnant until he had passed the bar. We all know that that didn't turn out as we had first (or second) hoped. But the Lord continues to bless us in J's employment. We make enough to meet our needs and some wants. Our family is truly blessed.

Nope

2011-08-12T08:38:00.001-07:00

No baby yet.

2011-08-07T21:14:00.000-07:00

Wow, has this last week been a doozy for me physically! My life is incredibly simple, easy, and blessed, so whenever a hardship comes my way, I get knocked around pretty easily. It started last Monday when I thought/hoped I had gone into labor. Both my girls came out "sunny-side up," so I experience a lot of back labor and pain. Starting at 4 pm and lasting until 11 pm, I was having some pretty serious back pain, and I hoped that I was in labor. Sadly, it was not to be. I've had a lot of back pain and cramping this week, but nothing serious or regular enough. Each day I try to think of fun things to do with the girls just to pass the time. It's fun to play and take it easy, but this feels excessive to me. I want the baby out and to move on! I have very little motivation to do extra work or start new projects; I feel stuck in the waiting game. Thankfully we are enjoying lovely weather and can be outside. I hope this waiting doesn't go longer than one week.

A thing that has never happened before

2011-08-04T14:19:00.000-07:00

You may have read my past laments about not breeding good nappers. Kj and M both averaged about hour to hour-15-minute naps, with M stopping her naps one month after turning two. They've also only ever napped in the car or their beds. Therefore, I've never had the occasion to capture those funny sleeping positions that I see from time to time. One of my favorites was my friend's little girl who was half way on a big chair. Too funny! But a miracle happened today! M fell asleep on the floor. The girls have (sadly) been arguing a lot this morning, and I had had it by one pm, so I sent them to separate rooms. Kj came down after 10 minutes or so, but M was being so quiet, I knew something was up. I walk into the room only to see this:

Good thing I put that blanket in there with her! Thanks for that, Aunt Amy. Sadly, she'll probably be up until 10 pm tonight, but I just don't have the heart to wake her up. It's been such a lovely, quiet hour.

By the way, it is a sad and annoying thing when 39 weeks and 4 days pregnant to walk down the stairs only to realize that I forgot something upstairs and have to walk up again.

Or to drop something that needs picking up.

I thought I was going into labor on Monday, but no such luck. I am ready and excited to have this baby!

Zoo times and other sundries

2011-07-24T16:44:00.000-07:00

The girls and I journeyed up to the zoo last week with our good friends for a day of fun. Kj was AWESOME, so obedient and accident-free. Moo was kind of ornery, but it was a fun day overall. Thank you so much to Tawny for climbing over the minivan seats to take care of the children's' needs. I thought that our camera batteries were low, so I didn't take many pictures. Turns out I was wrong. Oh well.

I think our favorite animals were the many bears, lions, and tigers we saw. Ha! Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! Big cats are so cool to watch. Moo growled at the tiger, and I think I saw it flinch. Hippos are amazingly fat and long for their stumpy legs, and giraffes are bizarrely cool, in my opinion.

Here are some other pictures of the girls. Kj has taken to drawing pictures of S "in the placenta." How cute is that? I love her drawings.

J goes up to Portland tomorrow to take the bar, so please say lots of prayers on his behalf. I am SO excited to be done with studying and the bar! After Wednesday, I informed J, I expect daily pampering until S's arrival. This pregnancy has been sadly deficient in the pampering department.

Kj is modeling her dinosaur belt.

Kj on her "throne," as she called it.

A napping polar bear. His feet were sprawled out straight behind him. It made me laugh.

The girls always love to pet the pygmy goats.

Kj with her creative genius. I taught her the word "placenta," by the way.

The final five

2011-07-18T21:06:00.000-07:00

You might think after having two children that I would remember to not get too eager for the third baby to come. Today I am officially full-term, meaning Seth will make his appearance sometime in the next five weeks. I still need to get my bag ready for the birthing center, but I am ready for him to come now! Okay, now would not be the best timing because Jonas is taking the bar next Tuesday and Wednesday, my sister who lives in town is at Girl's Camp this week, and my mom and mother-in-law can't come this week for various reasons. But me, I'm ready. Let me say that I'm ready to be done being pregnant. I am tired and I am uncomfortable. Mostly just tired. Thankfully our two sweet girls entertain themselves fairly well, and Kj is very obedient. Moo is two, so we'll cut her some slack in the obedience arena.

I didn't think I'd be this eager to get this baby out. I've been trying to prepare myself mentally for the dreaded last four weeks, telling myself not to get my hopes up for an early arrival, that the baby will come when he's ready, etc. I think this pregnancy has been harder in that my body is older and I feel more pains and discomfort. It sounds funny to me to say that, "my body is older." I'm only 29, but there it is. I don't know how 40-year old women carrying twins do it.

By the way, it's difficult to find an image of a tired pregnant woman without her naked belly sticking out everywhere.

Birthday bliss

2011-07-12T22:04:00.000-07:00

My man is THE BEST (for me). He totally delivered for my birthday today. Each hour of the day I got to find a beautiful light purple rose with a reason that he loves me. He also successfully arranged a surprise party, the first of our dating/married life. I had no idea about the surprise, and it took me a moment to register what was happening when I walked in the house because I was reading a book as I walked through the door. :) But the very best present of all time is that he wrote and composed a song for me!!! I have wanted a song since we got together. Want to know the best part about the song? It's in Swedish! It's called "I like your shirt." If you want to know why, you can do one of three things:

1) Comment on this blog about some great thing someone has done for you, or you have done for someone.

2) Go on Facebook and "like" my blog.

3) Call or email me for the story.

Um, just kidding about number 2. Actually, just kidding about all of those options. Just ask me and I'll tell you.

Thank you to everyone who made me feel so special and loved today. I have many, many good friends and a wonderful family. My favorite thing that Kj said today was, "Okay Mom. Whatever you say. It's your birthday."

Seven years of wedded bliss

2011-07-11T08:56:00.000-07:00

J and I celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary on Saturday. It was a lovely day complete with clear blue skies, bright sunshine, pleasant temperatures, a trip to the temple and out to eat with friends, and good conversations. Thank you to Aunt Nan for babysitting for the billionth time for us while we went to the temple.

I love going to the temple. Being reminded of the blessings Heavenly Father has for me, the promises I've made to Him, the wonderful peace I feel while there, it is rejuvenating to go there. And it will be my last visit for quite some time, as I won't be going before little S makes his entry into the world.

I'm not overly excited about posting this picture of me because I look HUGE, but I don't think I'm as fat as the picture portrays. Here's my vanity coming out again. :)

Marrying my husband is the best thing that has ever happened to me for so many, many reasons. I believe that the love between and man and a woman lawfully wedded as the Lord intended is very sacred. My husband's love for me gives me strength and confidence and a desire to better myself everyday. I see so many admirable qualities in him that I lack: his patience, his love for others, his lack of criticism, his playful energy with our girls, his sacrifice of self for the comfort of others, the list goes on. We enjoy learning together, making music, joking, and enjoying nature. I think we are a good team, and I know that our children feel loved. I'm grateful that I was raised to work toward being worthy to go to the temple and be sealed to a worthy man. We are completely loyal to each other and from that stems peace in our minds, our hearts, and our home.

I love you, J!

Summer!!!

2011-07-07T14:08:00.000-07:00

Hooray for the sunshine! Warm weather and swim time have arrived at last. Our 4th of July was spent at a birthday party, in the back yard splashing, and at my sister's for a scrumptious bbq. I hardly got any pictures, as usual, but at least I got some this time. J got Tuesday off from the office as well, and we went and played at a local lake. Nope, didn't bring my camera for that one.

Thankfully the weather hasn't been too hot yet, and the next two days are supposed to be in the pleasant high 70's. Ahh, not too hot, not too cold. Just right.

How is your summer so far? I still need to pick strawberries and raspberries for jam. We are also planning a trip to the aquarium soon, and maybe a day at the zoo. I am in the last four weeks of pregnancy, those never-ending weeks of exhaustion, so we'll so how my energy level is doing. I can not wait until the bar is over and done with. Lots of prayers for J, please! He's starting to feel and show signs of stress, poor guy.

2011-07-01T09:44:00.000-07:00

Ha! I make myself laugh. I recall at the beginning of this pregnancy setting a goal to take a picture of my belly every 5 weeks. I'm almost 35 weeks now, and the last picture I took was at 20 weeks. Oh well. Here is the current state of my body; quite the basketball, isn't it? I have nothing to complain of except being pregnant, and I feel very blessed. I'm going to try to squeeze in a couple of fun day trips with the girls before I'm full-term.

Sunny weather is finally coming our way!! I am very excited for this weekend, as J gets Monday AND Tuesday off. Hooray for some good bar-studying time. We all love to play outside. Here are some pics of the girls in cute matching Swedish-esque dresses. I think they look darling.

Day #2

2011-06-29T08:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I took the day nice and easy, and couldn't go to sleep very well last night as a result, I think. The natural man is funny that way; I think that I want to be lazy and indulged, but when I don't exercise my body and take care of my surroundings, I don't feel as well and I have a harder time sleeping.

I miss the girls, but while I was walking this morning (at a very slow pace), I realized that it is very nice to not have to take care of anyone else for a few days. Just me. Ahhhhh.

a parting

2011-06-28T09:06:00.000-07:00

My girls just left for a four-day trip to Washington. They are riding with my parents and will be staying with my in-laws. I have been looking forward to this reprieve for about a month, but it started to hit me last night how much I will miss my children. This morning as I watched and listened to them, their little voices and their subjects of conversation, I better realized how I love who they are. M was especially snuggly with me this morning, wrapping her sweet little arms around my neck and holding me close. I am really enjoying this time in their life because they are so teachable and innocent. I trust they'll have a great time at grandma's house, and I know I will be so happy to see them again on Saturday. I love my girls.

a request

2011-06-14T22:24:00.001-07:00

It's been awhile, but I finally posted on my other blog, shaunasearchfortruth.blogspot.com, so please read and comment. I am eager to get others' insights. Thanks!

Update on the kiddos

2011-06-14T22:23:00.000-07:00

I realize I haven't talked about my kids much lately, only shown you pics of them. So here's a brief update.

Kj really like babies! I didn't know this because she hardly ever play babies at home. Have a baby cousin really helps, but this "maternal instinct" didn't blossom until I was pregnant and had a decent-sized belly. She is so sweet to babies, and I'm really excited to see how she does with our little boy. She finished her first year of preschool and enjoyed her time there a lot. She still loves Toothless and dragons, and is also on a dinosaur kick lately. Singing, making up songs and stories, and creating stories for her toys are her favorite things to do. I wonder if we'll have any kids that can draw, paint, etc. My kids don't seem to be into that medium.

M is cute! She used to wear a little pink tutu 24/7, but hasn't the past couple of days. She is all movement: jumping, dancing, twirling, headstands, running, etc. She will be so fun to watch in dance and gymnastic classes. The girls have a little stroller that she takes all around the house with her. Her little voice is still so deep; people comment on it all the time. I love it.

Wrestling is a new activity the girls enjoy. They giggle so hard while doing it. They call it "trapping." It's funny to watch. Fighting and arguing are of course served everyday, but they are great little girls who are very fun to play with. I love snuggling up with them and reading them stories. I also love when they talk to baby Seth and kiss him. Kj likes it when Seth talks back to her. :)

Memorial beauty

2011-05-31T09:19:00.000-07:00

Cruisin' around in a minivan is fun, especially after driving our wimpy 4-cylinder car. On Memorial Day, we drove to some falls to take a little hike with the girls. It took us almost one hour to hike 1/2 flat mile. Gotta love my little girls. The sky was kind enough to not rain, and we got so see some pretty little falls. M especially loves to throw small objects in the water at any opportunity. I love nice and easy days off. I feel so lazy during this pregnancy, I always want to take it easy. Only 9 or so more weeks to go!

Our van!!!

2011-05-22T13:57:00.000-07:00

Hooray we got a van! We are pleased to introduce Gold Penguin (Goldie) Sliver. Yes, we name large inanimate objects in our family. The girls really wanted to name it Sparkles; needless to say, J and I were not fans of that option. Gold Penguin Goldie is Kj's doing, and Sliver is mine, because it's silver colored. You know, just switch the "i" and the "l." It made sense to me.

ANYWAY, we drove up to Vancouver yesterday, made sure all the buttons worked, test drove it for a bit, signed the papers, and were on our way. We also stopped at the temple/Deseret Book on our way home. It was a good, fast trip. J and I are especially happy to have this chore done because he started studying for the bar again. Car shopping takes up a lot of time!

M saw a cat when I took this picture.

2011-05-18T16:35:00.000-07:00

"We don't want your arms or legs, just your tows" - A clever saying I saw on a tow truck while lost in Portland.

Apparently no one else thinks that governmental agencies are weird.

Quasi-governmental bureaucracies are weird

2011-05-16T09:55:00.000-07:00

I have some student loans that I'm still paying off, and I recently sent in some paperwork to have my payments based on our income. I received a letter back from this organization stating that I did not sign the tax document. When looking through the simple two pages that I sent in to them, it was clear that both were signed in the appropriate places. So I gave them a call.

What they REALLY meant was that going through the steps that I sent in would take longer, and that they just needed a simple document that I already had at home. If I could send in that copy, making sure that it's signed, the process would be expedited. Um, okay. Why was that option not presented when starting this process in the first place? And why couldn't they communicate that to me clearly, instead of stating something completely false, like I didn't sign the tax document? Or they could have just taken the long route, I suppose, since it really would have worked. Is this strange to anyone else?

Been awhile

2011-05-11T07:11:00.000-07:00

Hi! Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. I also need to get a new baby widget, as little Seth has been an eggplant for two or three weeks.

We've been minivan shopping a lot, and boy, does it take up a lot of time! Our city is not large, and the availability is much more limited than the big city two hours north. We took the girls up north last Saturday to test drive a van, and were gone almost 12 hours!!!! The girls were great, only getting on each others' nerves the last half hour. We liked the van generally, and had it checked out by another mechanic. Unfortunately, they found a problem that could cost anywhere from $800-1700. Yikes! We were hoping that Kia (the make of the van we're hoping to buy) will cover the repair since it could be under warranty still, but we haven't heard from dealership since then. I think part of the reason is that we accidentally took the van on an extra 1 hour, 40 minute test drive. We took a different way back to the dealership from the mechanic to test it on the freeway, and turned the wrong way on the street that the dealership is on. The dealership was about 1/4 mile to the left, and we turned right! It was torturous driving in the car all that extra time, but the girls really liked being able to look out the windows.

So, no minivan yet. J and I are the impatient types, and just want to get a van purchased so we can be done with it. He's going to study for the bar again, and I was hoping to have a van purchased before he really dove into his studies, but it may not turn out that way. I think we won't be driving two hours north again. We'll try to find something in town, or nearby.

I love the spring sunshine!

Great news!

2011-04-27T13:16:00.000-07:00

Good news so soon after posting sad news?!? Yes! Heavenly Father is so good to us; we are truly blessed. J's boss really wants him to stay on, so he's increasing his wage, giving him salary instead of hourly, and we're going to give the bar one more try. Whew! The salary pay is the biggest financial blessing to us because J can really take the time he needs to study without having to worry about taking some days/hours off of work and creating an even tighter budget. Just four days ago we had no idea what lay ahead, and now the "windows of heaven" have opened once again.

The bar is July 26th and 27th, getting close to little fetus' due date. I told J that if I go into labor/have the baby while he's gone for the test, I'm not telling him until he's all done testing. I hope it doesn't come to that, and I don't think it will, because the guess date isn't until August 8th. I just want everyone to be on the same page. :)

Thankfully we'll only have two months of torturous studying, compared to the four months of the last go-around. The weather is getting warmer and we can play outside more, so that will help.

BTW, I totally lied about going off of desserts. I just had four little chocolates and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Sorry to disappoint. My taste buds are rejoicing.

Next step, buying a minivan. If you have one, what do you like, not like about your minivan. If you could go back and buy one again, what would you do differently? Any advice is appreciated.

2011-04-24T22:23:00.000-07:00

Please visit and comment, if you feel so inclined, my new blog, http://shaunasearchfortruth.blogspot.com/. It came about because of the many uplifting blogs I've found of other LDS moms. I would really like your insight on the scriptures and the gospel.

Sad news

2011-04-24T20:41:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in awhile. I'm not sure why. For awhile I didn't feel like anything "blog worthy" was happening, but I must share our news with you now. J did not pass the bar. Sigh. I was positively shocked when we learned the news. I was so sure that he had passed, and even felt like I received spiritual confirmations that he had. I'm not blaming the Lord for his not passing; I'm now doubting my ability to hear what the Lord is telling me, but that's not the point of this post.

We don't really know what lies ahead for us now. We can not continue on J's current wage, so we may be job hunting and possibly moving. It's an exciting thought, but a sad one too. We really like our home, my sister lives 1/3 mile away, J's sister lives here too, we have good friends, and we know the area well.

I confess I was quite despondent for two days after learning that he didn't pass, avoiding talking to friends, and just wanting to be alone. I had built up in my mind what we were going to do when we were finally making money, and that dream feels shattered now. I also feel guilty for having those thoughts because we have all that we need, and live in incredible comfort compared to most of the world. I don't have to worry about finding food, shelter, or clothing for my children. I am trying to be faithful. I also find it sometime difficult to be dependent on the abilities of your spouse. Ahh, feminists would rear their heads back and yell that I don't need to be dependent. I do have a Master's degree and can work and earn a decent salary, but that option just doesn't feel right to me right now. I want to support J and make our situation work. Our current situation will force me to be more creative. Thank goodness warm weather is coming so we can amuse ourselves outside!

Limbo is an uncomfortable place to be in. I hope that we find our next step soon, wherever it may take us.

2011-03-31T19:23:00.000-07:00

Today was a perfectly lovely day. It was warm and lots of sunshine popped through the partly cloudy skies. We've been having a lot of rain and dark, gray cloudy days, so this day was a gift, and we soaked it up! The girls and I were outside by 10, and spontaneously went to the park, where we stayed almost exclusively for the next 2 1/2 hours! My wonderful sister, Amy, shared her food with us and we had a picnic with another friend. We were pretty pooped by the time we walked home, and I declared DVD time so I could put up my feet and be still for a bit. Then we met another friend at another park - one we had never been too, and that's always a treat. The girls loved playing in the sand; Moo loved jumping off of various flat surfaces onto the grass and sand. Snack and bath time followed, and then Daddy was home! We were outside for a good four hours today, meaning I didn't clean my bathrooms and sweep and mop like I had planned, but who cares? I don't! I love to be outside. I love the spring. I passed by all sorts of romantic blossoms on my walk this morning. It's a lovely time of year.

Pictures!

2011-03-27T21:37:00.000-07:00

Here's me at 20 weeks, and here are the ultrasound pics of our little man. His first name will be Seth; we are debating on the middle name. Have a great week!

J likes to empathize with me

Kj wanted in on the picture action; I got really good snuggles!

His little manhood

Seth is head down facing toward my spine. This creepy skull face is the best the tech could capture.

Ahh, a little foot.

And the gender is. . .

2011-03-23T21:22:00.000-07:00

Mmmm mmm. 72% dark chocolate from a good friend is a delicious treat.

So is finding out the gender of your baby. It's a boy!!!! J was grinning from ear to ear during the ultrasound after he found out that he finally fathered a son. We didn't find out the gender with either of the girls, so knowing what we're having beforehand is a new experience too, and I'm really enjoying it. It's fun to anticipate what projects I get to do to prepare for a boy (new curtains, decorations, bath towel, etc.). I won't feel silly having a blue crib anymore. (Why I purchased a blue crib after Kj was born, I do not know. I think my anti-Princess sensibilities were getting carried away.) And maybe the train table and the billion - okay, dozen - trains we purchased will get some use again in a couple of years.

I admit, I was a little apprehensive after hearing we're having a boy. I only "know" girls, and from what I'm told, boys are a whole different ball game. At this point, I'd rather deal with lots of energy than drama, which is abundant in our little home. But J was an extremely dramatic child, as was brother, and one of my nephews. I'm not confident I can escape the drama, but that's all right. We'll love the little tike no matter what he dishes out.

On our way home from the ultrasound, J and I were attempting to speculate how a boy might be different from a girl. I brought up potty training, and mentioned how a friend of mine put Cheerios in the toilet for some teaching and motivation. J's eyes lit up and he exclaimed, "Yeah! Target shooting!" I'm so glad that J will have another man to hang out with. He loves his girls dearly, and he is VERY excited to have a boy.

I scanned in the ultrasound pics, but can't post them yet. I'll have to have J help me figure it out. Also, I'm 20 weeks now, so I need to take another pic of my belly. Maybe I'll do my hair tomorrow and J can take one. Maybe. :) Pictures coming soon!

I changed my mind

2011-03-18T06:53:00.000-07:00

I feel like I've been complaining and whining a lot lately. I'm sorry. Do you do that too? I don't recommend it. It doesn't benefit anyone.

I mentioned a post or two back that I want to make my blog more "depthful." Making up words is fun. But I changed my mind regarding the depthfulness. This blog is meant to be a sort of journal for my family, not a soapbox for my opinions, or even a journal of my scripture study. I decided that if I want to share thoughts on less fluffy matters, I'll create a new blog.

It's been raining A LOT here, but the girls and I did get out for an hour yesterday to run around. There's a nearby small butte that they LOVE to run around and explore. Little kids in rain boots is a very cute combination. On the way back to the car, they had long sticks and were hitting everything in sight. Moo was even saying something that resembled, "Bang!"

I kind of went crazy on buying things for the house this week. I think I've been repressed for so long with a tight budget, and we got some good tax return money, that I went a little overboard, but just a little. I purchased some cute ottomans for the living room, as we took out the coffee table a month or two ago. It's still living in our bedroom, but that will hopefully change this weekend! I love the multicolor, and am confident that they will match well enough any new couches we will buy in the future.

Behold the ottoman! The camera flash washes out the colors; they are more vibrant than this.

This past Tuesday proved to be another rainy day, and I turned Kj's bed over, just for something for the girls to play with. Kj has a loft bed, but she does NOT want to sleep on the top. I think she's scared, or just doesn't like the change. I decided an hour after flipping the bed that it was time to buy Moo a mattress and get some matching bedding for the girls. We planned on doing this before the baby comes, as the baby needs the bed that Moo was sleeping in. But I was seized by some powerful force, did some online shopping, got a great deal on a new mattress, a not-so-great deal on the bedding, and voila! The girls are now sleeping bunk bed style. I had immediate buyer's remorse over the bedding because there were cheaper options, but Kj helped pick out the bedding, and that was a very important step to her accepting the change. She does not like change very much. The stickers were fun for the girls to put on the walls. What do you think?

Kj's little nest

Moo's sticker art, with some help from Mom

Oooh! Convertible comforters with lots of crazy colors and patterns!

The pseudo bunk beds. Someday I will buy them some real bunk beds so Kj doesn't have to sleep on the floor, but it works for now. I like that Moo isn't too high up.

Recharged

2011-03-12T20:02:00.000-08:00

J and I are currently on a 48-hour getaway, thanks to secret shopping and J's parents. Thank you, thank you, thank you to Goombaw and Papa for watching the girls for us!

Thankfully we were able to go on a walk this morning before the rain came steadily from 11 am to 6 pm. We hoped to go on a hike this afternoon, but didn't want to get soaked, so we ended up watching a couple of movies and completely relaxing. It was great! I think the last time I spent a day like this was in November when I got to go on my last secret shopping trip by myself. Battery recharging is a wonderful thing. We ate at the resort restaurant this evening and enjoyed our dishes. I had marionberry creme brule for dessert. Yum! I think it will keep my tummy full for quite some time.

We're eager to see the girls again and spend some time with J's parents. We hoped to go whale watching on Monday with his parents, but I don't think the weather will be dry enough to go. Too bad.

Gotta go watch some college b-ball now. It's such a novelty to us to have channels. I hardly watch sports at all, but I do enjoy March Madness. Go BYU!

Fluff vs. depth

2011-03-09T21:56:00.000-08:00

My mind is reeling tonight with the things I've read and contemplated today: serious humanitarian work in Afghanistan and the sacrifices and hard work that go into it, repentance, and unity among women being the top three.

I just finished reading "Stone into Schools" by Greg Mortensen, who has done miraculous work in Pakistan and Afghanistan. I should say that he, his Dirty Dozen, and thousands of Pakistanis and Afghans have done miraculous work, building schools and vocational centers for females, providing drinking water for refugee camps, and other educational sources for older women who want to learn too. Some women in Kabul, Afghanistan's capital, established an NGO to provide education for women, and the movement has spread like wildfire. My favorite quote from tonight's reading was, "When women take charge, things start to get out of control really fast." These women can not get enough learning and being with each other, after living such secluded and controlled lives for so long. It was awesome to read!

I've also been skimming through some Mormon women blogs who are bold in their study of the scriptures and currently, the history of RS, and are writing about it on their blogs. Sis. Beck, the President of the Relief Society organization for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, would like us to study the history of Relief Society so we can gain strength and knowledge from our predecessors, and many LDS women are taking this task seriously. It is interesting and enlightening to read other womens' thoughts and see the incredible amount of energy they put into their studies. I've thought for some time now that my blog is very "fluffy." Posting pics of Kj praying in a tree or Moo jumping from couch to couch in pretty cute, and I don't think this is a bad thing to do. I've been feeling like I should stretch myself more in my blogging, but I've been scared to. I like sitting with myself and my own thoughts, and sometimes sharing them with hubby, but I don't consider myself a deep thinker, or that I have much to offer by way of spiritual and intellectual enlightenment.

I've started a new tact on my scripture reading that I've thoroughly enjoyed: studying by subject. The first subject I chose was repentance, and I've learned some wonderful things, as well as had my testimony strengthened in principles that I know. But I think I'll save that for a post of its own.

This last subject could also be a post entirely of its own, but I'll mention it briefly here. I wish that I lived in a more tribal society. A group of people that worked and lived close together, that really cared for one another. My sister lives close by, and I have one good friend, but our busy schedules make it difficult to get together. We all live in our separate homes, have to clean our separate bathrooms, mop our separate floors, take our kids to separate schools and activities, and sometimes we can see each other for an hour or two. I despise this way of life. I want to be with other women and their children, helping each other with tasks like cleaning, food storage, canning, sewing, studying the gospel and other topics together, not maintaining these superficial relationships that provide little emotional sustenance for me. I also think/fear that most people don't feel the way I do. Because the members of my ward are my only real social network, I can only make this comparison: I think that members of the Church are opposite of fair-weather friends. We're great to each other in times of need, providing meals and the stereotypical like, but when it comes to daily friendship and support, we stink. At least that's been my experience. I was much closer to my Utah ward, but we all lived within two to six blocks to each other, so maybe it was easier to see and support each other. Hence the desire for a tribal lifestyle. What I do know is that I ache to find "kindred spirit" friends. Good ol' Anne of Avonlea; She always knew the right words to use.

Parental woes

2011-03-06T20:13:00.000-08:00

What would you do if your 4 1/2 year old continued to wet her pants at least two times a day? This weekend was a doozy, with her going through 4 pairs of pants and underwear for three days in a row! I am having a hard time maintaining a functioning wardrobe for her with all these accidents.

And to top it off, my two-year old, the 25-month old (just turned two ONE month ago) is done napping. What is that all about?!? I thought Kj was a bad napper, but at least she napped until 2 1/2 years. So Moo is grumpy by 4 pm, and we have to deal with her for another 3 1/2 hours.

My parenting life is not my happiest right now. Thank goodness J's mom is coming down on Thursday to watch the kids for a couple of nights while we get away. Hooray! I am really, really looking forward to this weekend. No regulating kid fights, no worrying about my fully-functioning 4-year old who doesn't care if she pees her pants, no messes to clean, no child babbling to listen to. Sorry, I am a grumpy mama tonight.

I can't leave the post on this negative note, so let me talk about some good things:

- I'm feeling the baby move around sometimes, and that's fun.
- Spring is on its way. We went for a fun family walk today and KJ loved running around in the open air, exploring nature.
- J is done studying for the bar.
- Reading good books is a nice, relaxing escape.
- Talking with good friends is a nice thing to do, especially when they say they've been thinking about you. It's nice to be thought of.
- My favorite flower is lily-of-the-valley. Here's a pic for you to enjoy.

Hacked

2011-03-01T20:42:00.001-08:00

Apparently my email account was hacked into (does that make me sound important, or just unprotected?), because I received many emails from friends telling me that either myself or a Chinese man with bad grammar is trying to sell shady electronic products. Do I need to change my email address? Will this just go away? It was kind of exciting to open my inbox and see all those emails, but then disappointing that the messages weren't a bit more personal.

The flying Moo

2011-03-01T09:08:00.000-08:00

Sometimes we line up our two couches parallel to each other so Moo can jump back and forth between them. She did this for about half an hour yesterday. It's a good way to expend some energy, especially on rainy days.

Moo eating

2011-02-25T14:31:00.000-08:00

This short video is my attempt to capture Moo moaning while eating something she enjoys. She's done this since about 1 year old. It makes me smile every time.

A themeless post

2011-02-19T15:12:00.000-08:00

Here's my belly at 15 weeks. Not much to look at, I know. I'm getting excited to actually look pregnant. I felt the baby swimming around in my tummy last night; it was fun to feel the little movements. This pregnancy has been so easy! I've been feeling a little woozy, like I really need to concentrate on keeping my knees bent, but besides that, I have nothing to complain of.

Most of you know that I use cloth diapers. Cotton Babies, a cloth diapering company by Bum Genius, Flips, and Econobums, is raising awareness to the awesomeness of cloth diapering. I love it myself. It's a HUGE money saver, and it also helps to save the Earth. Here's the Cotton Babies goals:

Introducing Change 3 Things, our 2011 cloth diaper awareness campaign

In an effort to promote general consumer awareness of cloth diapering, we have set some big goals for 2011.

* 100,000 parents committed to change 3 cloth diapers per day.*
* 30-50 million pounds of prevented landfill waste*
* 100 million disposable diapers not purchased.*
* $24,000,000 of combined savings for participating families**

Clothing diapering is nothing like our moms and grandmas used to do. There are lots and lots of options for diapers, some of them not too expensive to get started with. The Flips and Econobums are some less expensive options, but I haven't tried them. I bought all my diapers probably three years ago. They're still in great shape, and I see no reason why they won't make it to baby #3. We initially invested about $300 or $400 when we got started, but haven't had to put any more money into it since then. If we were to use strictly disposable diapers, we'd spend that amount in 6-8 months. Think of what we've saved over three years! But we are not a strictly cloth family. I use disposables when we go out on errands, for babysitters, for trips, etc. Feel free to ask me any questions. The end of my cloth diapering plug.

J is taking the bar next week. Hooray!!!! I am so excited for this torture to be over with. Poor guy, has to test the second day on his birthday. The girls and I are going to pick him up and take him out to eat when it's all over with. J feels very confident this time around. Please pray for him over the next few days. Thanks!

How adorable is she?

Kj is saying a prayer in the tree.

Cheesy smiles

A laundry dream come true

2011-02-16T15:58:00.001-08:00

No, a little fairy did not come to do my laundry. But my detergent is being discontinued at a nearby store, and therefore was on a killer sale yesterday. I bought five containers for $5 each; they're usually $12. Wahoo!

He delivered

2011-02-11T07:10:00.000-08:00

Hubby got me my ultimate favorite ice cream AND gave me a foot rub. Aren't I lucky?

Blissful baby

2011-02-10T20:04:00.001-08:00

I had my first prenatal appointment today, and everything looks great, thank goodness! It's so fun to hear the baby's heartbeat: I can't believe how quickly that little heart beats! I am feeling really well too. Tonight I am finishing some baby gifts for friends and continuing to watch A&E's "Pride and Prejudice." Gotta love it. Maybe I can con hubby into giving me a foot rub too. If only I had some dark chocolate Coconut Bliss ice cream, my night would be complete.

I'm possessed!

2011-02-02T14:25:00.001-08:00

It all started when I got knocked up. I'm experiencing my first cravings in a pregnancy that I can remember, and the food I want is not healthy.

Disclaimer: I consider myself a pretty healthy eater, so if you regularly eat the food I list below, I don't mean to offend you. These cravings are just out of my norm.

If any of you have been to a Brazilian Grill restaurant, you probably enjoyed your experience there. An all-you-can-eat buffet, skewers of freshly grilled meat being brought right to your table, not to mention the pineapple and grilled veggies. I once told my Argentine friend that the grilled veggies were my favorite thing at Tucano's, and he said that I wasn't worthy to eat there if that was my favorite dish. Anyway, when hubby and I were living in Provo, we signed up to get the free birthday meal during your birthday month postcard, and have continued to receive said postcard since moving away 3 1/2 years ago. February is J's birthday month, and he got the free meal postcard two days ago. I have been craving Tucano's, or really good all-you-can-eat meat, ever since. I hardly eat meat. Sometimes J gets some and I take a nibble and I'm done. I feel like I could gorge myself on pork and beef right now.

And I bought Fruit Loops (the cheap kind) at the grocery store today. I NEVER buy sugar candy. We usually have steel cut oats or whole wheat pancakes for breakfast, not sugar cereals. If we could afford take-out once a day, I'd get that too. I'm telling you, pregnancy is bizarre. I can't wait for spring/summer time when there are fresh fruits and veggies a plenty at the local farms. Hopefully I can get my eating habits back in shape before the baby comes. I don't want to program my baby to want to eat fat and sugar all the time! And I don't want to gain unnecessary weight and have trouble losing it. I was thoroughly enjoying my healthy self before this pregnancy.

Now I'll go have some chocolate. I mean carrot sticks!

The pregnant scoop

2011-02-01T16:33:00.000-08:00

I am 13 weeks and one day pregnant, and feeling pretty well. This pregnancy has been easier than the first two, so J and I are really hoping its a boy this time. A girl will still be loved though. I am the fourth daughter and like to tease my parents how there are hardly any pictures of me as a baby, because the female baby novelty had well worn off by the time I came around. I read in the sister's-just-older-than-me baby book that my Dad said when he saw they had a third daughter, "Well, maybe next time, honey." Boy, was I a disappointment! :)

We decided that we want to find out the gender this time. After having been surprised twice, I want to know if it's a boy so I can be prepared.

I've been running during this pregnancy, something I've never done before. I've slowed down a bit, and discovered that if I run more than 6 miles, my hips hurt for the rest of the day. So I'm not running much, but enough to maintain some semblance of fitness.

Thankfully the food aversion isn't as strong this time. I had a really hard time eating with the girls, and thus gained only the necessary weight but no more. I have some food aversion this time around, but eating isn't a such a challenge, so I might have more weight to lose.

Is this post boring? I feel bored writing it. I'm excited to go to my first appointment next week to hear the heartbeat and all that jazz.

Being pregnant is kind of weird.

Happy birthday M!

2011-01-28T15:01:00.001-08:00

My baby turned two years old yesterday. We had family and a couple of friends over that night for cake (made by yours truly) and ice cream. I don't think that M opened one of her presents. She really didn't know what was going on, but she liked her presents eventually.

M is a very fun, active little girl, who is mostly obedient. There are times when I wistfully miss the unquestioning obedience of her 18-month old stage. She likes to take toys from others, especially from big sister, because it results in an amazing performance, and sometimes she hits and pushes, but those are in decline.

M talks like a three-year old. She loves to climb and jump and be moving. Often in the evening right before bed she runs loops around the kitchen and rolls all over the place. She really likes to play pass too, and has a mean over-hand throw. I think she'll be ready for a big-girl bed when we get the girls bunk beds because she likes to nap in Kj's bed, and hasn't fallen out yet. M is still very teachable. She is also uber independent. She has a personality trait already that I really admire. I have observed her working out a problem for up to 10 or 15 minutes by herself. She doesn't give up, doesn't whine, and doesn't ask for help. She keeps working towards the goal she has in mind. Me, I am more inclined to give up and decide that if it's too hard, it's not important enough for me.

I'm also very grateful that Kj is M's big sister. While Kj is definitely more the emotionally exhausting of the two, she is also fairly obedient, and doesn't get out of bed at night. For about a week when we converted M's crib to a toddler bed, M was coming out of the bedroom multiple times. Thankfully the behavior didn't develop into a habit, and I think it's Kj's good example. Siblings add a great dynamic to life, don't they?

We love our little M so much. She has a great personality and energy to her.

The saga of the cake

2011-01-28T14:38:00.000-08:00

For those of you who care.

I like to make most things from scratch. I think it tastes better, and I know what ingredients are going into what we're eating. I made the cake the day before M's birthday, and made a double batch because I wanted to do the 3-D cake. J found this one online, and we decided to go for it:

Thankfully I have a talented sister who has taken cake decorating classes before, so I called and emailed for lots of advice. Like, what is fondant and how do I use it?

When I baked the cakes, almost all of them partially stuck to the pans when I took them out!!! I've never had that problem before. One of my sisters thinks it was because I tried to take it out when it was still warm, but I've always done this and never had a problem. I just don't know. She also had the great idea of freezing the cake, which made it a lot easier to piece together and decorate the next day, because they were all falling apart.

The piecing together didn't go too badly though. We chose the alien from Toy Story because I thought it would be the simplest to make. M didn't really care what her cake looked like, just as long as she got to eat it. :) The putting together and decorating took three hours, so all in all it took about five hours to make that cake! And it was consumed in 20 minutes. Sigh. Does that seem like an incredible amount of time and energy to anyone else? It was fun, though, and Kj was a good helper. I made all of this cake myself, and had a good time. J has been making the girl's cake for awhile, so it was fun to do one.

Here's the final results:

I love my age

2011-01-21T14:45:00.000-08:00

No, not the age I am, although 28 is treating me pretty well. I do have crow's feet around my eyes, and lines on my forehead already. Sigh. But I digress.

I am sooo grateful for this modern time that I live in. Poor Kj threw up six or seven times since 1 am last night. We didn't get much sleep after that time. Despite her practically exhausting our supply of sheets, towels and blankets, I can clean it all with ease. I have a washer/dryer in my garage. I throw the icky bedding in the washing machine, pour in some soap, turn it on, and let it do its thing. Then I take out the wet, clean bedding and put it in an amazing machine that dries it. How cool is that?!? I can't imagine dealing with sickness before modern convenience. No, I did, and it seemed exhausting. Heating the water, pouring it into a huge wooden barrel-type thing, stirring with a spoon, hang drying by a fire I had to maintain, etc., all while still taking care of the sick child and the healthy one. We are truly blessed.

And Kj is on the mend. Her fever broke and she hasn't thrown up since about 8 this morning. Thanks goodness! I just hope that M doesn't catch it.

Wipe your duck

2011-01-19T16:30:00.000-08:00

After going on some errands this afternoon and getting in the car to finally go home, I smelled an unpleasant smell from M. I asked her if she was poopy. M replied that she was not, but her duck was poopy, and could I please wipe her duck? Sorry M, no luck. I clean plenty of bottoms each day. You can wipe your own duck.

So sad

2011-01-10T21:53:00.000-08:00

Oregon lost tonight to Auburn. I am by no means a football fan, and didn't know who Chip Kelly was until about a month ago, but it's fun to be in a city where there is so much excitement and anticipation. We certainly didn't play our best, but we put up a good fight. Maybe next year!

Praying for miracles

2011-01-09T20:45:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Have I said that already? So far, the year is looking good. Kj and M are such sweet, fun girls to be around. J is working hard studying for the bar. His anxiety level is going up a bit now that the exam is just around the corner (Feb. 22-23). I'm confident that he'll pass. We are excited for that day!

I was reading this blog that I enjoy following, and got the idea to pray for miracles this year, instead of doing New Year's resolutions. I often forget my resolutions around February or March, and I know my weaknesses pretty well to know what I want to be working on anyway. So her idea really inspired me. She talks about praying for things that seem impossible. J and I couldn't come up with anything seemingly impossible to pray for, so we decided on four "possible" miracles. I've really enjoyed keeping these four miracles in mind during my prayers and throughout my days. I believe that I can be an instrument in Heavenly Father's hands to bring miracles about, so I've also been pondering on what I can do to help these miracles along. It's brought J and me closer together too as we work toward these miracles. Some of the miracles are for us, and some are for others. I highly recommend giving this a try if it perks your interest.

family ties

2010-12-31T17:30:00.000-08:00

This is my family! Too bad I forgot to put make up on this day. I think we're a good-looking bunch.

Christmas was fun! I ate soooo much bad food. Our family played together. We went sledding at a local mountain. Kj LOVED the snow, M wasn't so fond of it. We went down on the tubes only twice, but that's okay. Now I know to not pay to go sledding until the kids are older and can enjoy it. But we can drive up the mountain and take our own sleds, which I hope to do with Kj one more time this winter. We attempted family pictures with all the cousins in their cute Children's Place matching Christmas clothes, and of course it turned out horribly. Two of the four families are trained well for pictures. My girls and one other sister's are not. I laughed so hard I cried, watching them trying to take pictures. Kj and M both had their fingers in their mouths, Kj kept pulling her "furrowed brow" look, and one cousin refused to be in the pictures all together. I'm chuckling now.

J and I served Christmas dinner and it was yummy! J made his Swedish meatballs, and we had the usual side dishes. The kitchen was a mess!

I wished that I could have spent more time with just my sisters, all four of us together. That's what girl trips are for, I suppose.

My poor brother got picked on a lot, but he's a trooper. He has four older sisters, meaning he has five mothers, but I tried to not mother him this visit. :)

Happy New Year to you!

Me and my siblings.

M looking lovely with strawberry jam all over her face.

Merry Christmas!!!

2010-12-24T10:35:00.001-08:00

My family is all in town for Christmas, and we are having a great time together. It is wonderful to be with family. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year too.

Love,
Shauna

Not-so-deep thoughts by me

2010-12-12T21:32:00.001-08:00

* Today during the sacrament, M loudly proclaimed that, "Baby Jesus in naked!"

* Kj got the phrase, "Put me down, you old wind bag" from Disney's "The Jungle Book." A combination of when Mowgli yells at Bagheera to "put him down" and Winifred the elephant calling her husband, Col. Hathi, that he's "an old wind bag."

* I just downloaded two of Norah Jones' albums yesterday. Why I did no do this five years ago, I don't know. I love her voice and music!

* Singing in a choir can be embarrassing when the choir needs more practice.

* I love when music stirs me. I went to a Christmas concert tonight, and two of the pieces were especially good. They were some wind and brass instruments accompanying the voices. I was very moved.

* Hearing good music really makes me want to dance. I ache to dance. I miss dancing. I love dancing. I want to dance again. Dance, dance, dance.

* I still have a lot of Christmas shopping to do. How about you?

Quotable Kj

2010-12-06T21:17:00.000-08:00

Daddy was helping Kj put an ornament high up on the tree the other day. After she completed the task, she ordered J to, "Put me down, you old wind bag!" I love my girl.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-26T13:19:00.001-08:00

I love Thanksgiving! How great is it that we have a holiday that celebrates gratitude and food all in one?!?

Sadly, we couldn't go to my sister's in CA for this holiday, so we invited some friends over to our home instead. If you aren't aware, I do have a sister in town, 1/3 of a mile away, actually, but we're fighting at the moment, so we decided to not celebrate this holiday together. Sad.

But on to the fun festivities! Actually, we didn't do anything particularly fun. J and I made a lot of food, and the girls played and watched DVDs. J was so sweet and enabled me to go on a trail run, since it didn't rain yesterday. It was awesome! The trails were really busy though, more people than I've ever seen on them. I ran with a couple of dogs until their owners called them back. I'll have a dog someday.

J's turkey turned out very well, though a bit on the crispy side. The flavor was excellent. Pity we don't have any leftovers. We got a pretty small bird because we weren't feeding a lot of people. Our friends brought rolls, veggies, fruit, pie, drinks, etc. It was a wonderful feast!

The above picture is my impromptu centerpiece. We don't have a tablecloth long enough for our table when it's expanded all the way, so I had to improvise. In our forests here we have ferns aplenty, so my trail run was the inspiration for it. I added some little gourds, hazelnuts, and tangerines.

We busted out our small collection of Christmas decorations today, but will wait until next weekend to get our tree. Kj understands Christmas is this year, and is very excited about it, which gets me excited!. I haven't been this excited about Christmas in a long time. My parents and siblings and their families are all coming here, and we are going to have a great time! Hopefully my sister and I can make up.

Just kidding! My sister and I are not fighting. How many of you believed me?

Well hi!

2010-11-15T18:32:00.000-08:00

I looked at my blog and realized I haven't posted in awhile. I imagine that many of my faithful readers are pining away for another post, so here I am, the deliverer.

Due to my husband's awesomeness, I got away for a two-day, two-night stay for free, thanks to secret shopping. Hooray! I stopped at IKEA on the way up. I love to walk through that store. We've broken four of our bowls, but sadly they don't carry our color anymore (sniff). I didn't get any replacements because I'm not sure what color I want to incorporate. Do you care?

The stay was at a nice condo on Mt. Hood. I went hiking, ate too much chocolate, watched movies, and was BORED in a clean, peaceful environment. It was wonderful. It's great to be bored for a little bit because I am so rarely bored. Boredom can be replenishing. And I didn't have to clean up after anyone, cook for anyone, remember to go to the bathroom for someone, or change any diapers. Ahhh, bliss.

Oh! I ran a 6:39 mile today. That is fast for me! I was excited.

Can you believe it's almost Thanksgiving?!? Sadly, we are staying in town and aren't able to see my sis in CA (sniff sniff), but all of my family is coming here for Christmas. Wahoo! I am getting excited for Christmastime! But I do love Thanksgiving and the meaning behind the holiday. I love fruits and veggies, I love what the earth provides for us, and I love celebrating the bounty of the earth.

How's your holiday season looking this year?

Halloween and leaves

2010-11-02T14:27:00.000-07:00

It all started with Kj. We were at Wal-mart looking for a Cinderella costume when she stated that she wanted to be Tinkerbell. I've concluded that Disney is a very powerful marketing force. Kj had not yet seen Peter Pan, and she's only seen Cinderella once, but those princesses are so pervasive! Anyway, we got the Tinkerbell costume, and a family theme was born. My senior prom dress sort of resembled Wendy's nightdress, and I knew I could sew a very simple Peter Pan costume for M. J was Captain Hook, and we were set! In the end, Kj didn't want to be Tinkerbell (no surprise for me there), but she opted to be a dog. I liked to say she was one of the Lost Boys, but she could also have been Nana, the nurse-dog. Take your pick. Either way, the girls had a great time at the ward party, especially the Trunk-or-Treating part. I learned a lesson this year: have your costumes done more than 2 hours before the party so you can take pics of your kids. We only got two decent family pics, but individuals of the girls would have been more fun.

Yesterday was a very warm day here, almost 70 degrees! It was also dry, but still cloudy, of course. The Veggie Bunch came over to jump in leaves, and we had a grand old time.

Kj turns four years old!

2010-11-02T14:06:00.000-07:00

All right, all right, so I'm a week and one day late, but I think Kj had a good birthday this year. I didn't want to throw a party, so I paired playgroup with birthday cupcakes, and it was a success. There were so many moms and little kids running through our little house; it was crazy and fun! And despite my listing on the invitation that presents weren't necessary, some friends still brought some great little gifts.

On her actual birthday (Sunday), we had family over for dinner, and some friends joined us for cake and ice cream. Kj requested her cake to look like Pepper, a cute little black and white stuffed animal cat given to M by her loving cousin, H-dog. J did a great job on the cake! I'm so glad that someone in our family is artistic, because it sure isn't me!

And the celebrations continued on Monday at preschool. Kj got to wear a special crown, and I brought *gasp* doughnuts for her class. I just couldn't bring myself to make any more cupcakes or cake.

I love my Kj, though she can be very fussy and disobedient sometimes. She has blossomed and gained more confidence since starting preschool, and it's fun to see as a mother. She was scared at first, but has grown to love going to school. She is very imaginative: she makes up fun songs and stories about the toys she's playing with. My favorite moments are when she and M play well together. She asks lots of good questions about her world and what she sees. It's also fun to hear her interpretation of what is going on around her. When she loves, she loves fiercely. Her cousin, H-dog, is very good to her. They have such similar skin and hair coloring, they look like siblings sometimes. Kj likes to be around people, but is also good about taking time to be on her own when she needs/wants. She likes to help me cook, and I really enjoy when we can do that together, just the two of us. We love her fun, playful spirit!

Kj raking leaves. It's very hard to get her to hold still for a picture. This is the best that I could do.

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-27T13:24:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been awhile since my last post. Kj turned 4 on Sunday, so I need to blog about that, but this week is very busy with all the Halloween parties. At any rate, I hope you have a very Happy Halloween! We are doing a Peter Pan theme, since Kj wanted to be Tinkerbell. Sadly, she didn't want to wear her costume to preschool today, so we'll see if she even wears it for our church party. M is going to be Peter Pan, J Captain Hook, and I will be Wendy. I'm excited to do our first family-themed costumes. Hope we get some good pics to share. Trick-or-Treat!

Hunger Games

2010-10-18T20:00:00.001-07:00

I realized after pondering on my last post that I haven't shared any of my thoughts on "Hunger Games," nor the link that I supplied (Misfit Cygnet). Here goes:

Overall, HG was a page-turner for me, so in that respect the author wrote well. I was completely drawn into the story, and read each book in one sitting, I think. (Meaning three different sittings, one for each book, not all at once.) I could never decide if I liked Katniss's character, and it bothered me how unrealistic Peeta's character was. I mean, who really loves a person no matter how that person treats them? Too idealistic for me.

The whole premise of the first story is horrid, but I thought the story line of the first book was the best of the three. I loved reading the Katniss and Gale interactions; they were my favorite, I think because they seemed the most real to me.

The books are incredibly violent (for me). I am a very sensitive reading/media viewer, and I don't think that this material is suitable for the age level they're written for: 5th and 6th graders. I've read just a couple of reviews of the books, and the reviewers criticized the superficial depth of the characters and events in the stories. I don't think that the depth level is inappropriate for the reading level, but the subject material is, and therefore the books seemed incongruous. I appreciate that there wasn't any sex, though major make-out scenes were mentioned.

From an LDS perspective, I've been thinking a lot about the level of violence and sexual content in the books I read, meaning I've been questioning what I should let into my brain/thoughts. The violent scenes don't really stick with me, but I don't think this should be a justification of my reading violent material. The last two or three books I've read have had at least one "seductive" scene - nothing too graphic or lengthy, but enough to affect me. I went to the temple on Friday and had something not temple-worthy jump to the forefront of my thoughts. Ugh. Not what I wanted to have happen, yet I put that material into my head.

Regarding the Misfit Cygnet post and blog, I think she did the best job she could to inform readers of her biases and what she believes to be right and wrong. I think that she challenges LDS and Christians generally to live to a higher standard, but I worry that she condemns those who choose differently than she. That is something I want to stay away from. I choose to watch mostly PG- and G-rated movies because there is so much junk in so many movies that I don't like to watch, but I try not to judge those that make different choices, my husband included. We have standards about what we let into the home, because I believe that media with inappropriate content can affect the spirit of our home, but if my husband, or even I, want to see a movie that isn't "home worthy," that's our choice.

In summary, Hunger Games is a page-turner, violent, easy to read, and may get you thinking. Don't forget who you are, and don't let it get you down.

A smattering

2010-10-17T20:38:00.001-07:00

I love that word, smattering. Autumnal is also a favorite word, and so applicable this time of year.

The other day I was thinking about how I'm kind of close to being 30 years old and how that sounded kind of old, and how the heck did I get to be almost 30? I told my eldest sis, 35, about this thought, and she said that 30 looks young to her. It's all about perspective, I guess.

Kj turns 4 on Sunday. Has she really been around that long? Was there ever a time when she wasn't in my life?

M is a serious runner already. We went to a cross country meet on Saturday, and she was mimicking the college runners during their warm-ups. With a serious and determined look on her face, she ran about 1/4 mile around the trails, insisting that I yell, "Go M! You are so fast" while doing so.

I want to get away for a couple of days, and might actually pull it off soon. Just me, books, food, hiking, a movie or two, and popcorn. No cleaning, no kids, no husband, no demands, just me. Doesn't that sound blissful?

Have you read "Hunger Games?" Here's a conservative Mormon perspective on the series if you want to check it out. I'm interested in hearing your comments:

http://www.misfitcygnet.com/

I love sunny, autumn days.

Reason #8571 why my husband rocks

2010-10-01T21:56:00.000-07:00

"Shoot!" I exclaim as Hot Husband (HH) and I are getting ready for bed. HH asks what the matter is, and I explain that I forgot to get Sports Beans for my 10-mile trail run tomorrow morning. "What store is still open where we can buy them? What's your favorite flavor?" he asks as he gets ready to go to the store for me. "No, no," I protest, "I'll be fine. I can probably bum something off of my friends." But HH is not deterred. He goes to the store for me. The first store doesn't have anything, but the ever-present, ever-open Wally World (read: Wal-Mart) probably does, so HH heads there.

Do I have an awesome HH or what?

2010-09-28T16:20:00.000-07:00

I am momentarily depressed. My almost four-year old daughter pees in her pants an average of three or four times a day (those are big accidents. She probably has seven all together). I am sick of potty training. I am tired of treats, reminders, lectures, changing clothes, washing clothes, all of it. She doesn't care if she wets herself. She keeps running and playing. She won't tell me, hardly tries to make it to the potty. I am sad and frustrated and worn out. Any suggestions?

And the results are....

2010-09-27T14:21:00.000-07:00

he didn't pass. I know, it's so sad. I feel really badly for J. He worked very hard and prepared as best as he could. Unfortunately, he had a really bad cough starting about the week previous to the exam, and it stayed with him during the test. He averaged about four hours of sleep a night. During the test, he frequently left the exam room to cough in the bathroom. We think this may have been detrimental to his test taking. :) We are very grateful to have a job. He's going to try again in February. I know he can pass it. It wasn't what we were hoping for, but we'll be fine.

In other news, the hike was AWESOME!! We went on a small section of the Pacific Crest Trail in the Three Sisters wilderness area. The trail actually spans from Canada to Mexico. It rained/drizzled on us Thursday evening, but Friday and Saturday, you couldn't ask for better weather. J's pack was about 50 pounds!!!! That is so heavy! Mine was a comfortable 20 or so, until the last day when I figured out how to steal some weight from J's and put it on mine. 10 pounds makes a huge difference, btw.

We walked through gorgeous alpine scenery, many lava flows (they cooled probably 2 million years ago), and glimpsed some glorious mountains. We could see as far as Mt. Hood, which was way north of us. I love being out in nature. I'd only been backpacking once in high school, and I really enjoyed it. My dad bought a couple of high-quality backpacking things to make his pack super light. Good times were had by all.

Starting out

Our first campsite. It was drizzling, but this was a fairly protected place from the wind.

And we woke up to this!!!

J answering nature's call

A mountain meadow. I love mountain meadows.

A real spring! Water just coming out of the ground. It's my first spring. It was very pretty.

These are the north two Sisters, Faith and Hope.

Our second campsite. My dad said he'd look over a ridge we were hiking nearby to see if he could find a decent campsite. Lo and behold, a flat spot and a fire pit were awaiting us, along with this view in the background!

It may not look like much, but this hill was the hardest! My calves are still sore.

These are some of the lava fields we hiked through. Sometimes there was a bit of a sandy trail, but a lot of it was really rocky.

Tough guys

Ahhh, kid free for three days!

2010-09-22T20:57:00.001-07:00

I am stoked! My dad, hubby and I are going on a three-day, two-night backpacking adventure. Thanks to Goombaw for coming down to watch the kiddos.

T-minus two days until we find out if J passed the bar!!!

2010-09-16T20:36:00.001-07:00

I LOVE TRAIL RUNNING!!!!!!

Kj started preschool!

2010-09-09T14:13:00.000-07:00

Yes, my eldest started preschool on Wednesday. She was nervous to go and sad when I left, but at one point during the day she exclaimed, "This is fun!" My Kj is a homebody and doesn't like change, but I think she'll really enjoy her time at preschool. Thankfully her cousin is there too. I think that having a familiar face in the crowd is helpful.

I didn't put on a cute outfit or do her hair very well; we were in too much of a rush. But here she is on her first day.

M already wants to go to preschool. Poor first children. I feel really badly for them. We do it all wrong as parents on the first kids. We (hopefully) learn our lessons and treat the younger ones better. The younger ones get to follow the older and get a taste of all the fun things to come, so they're not nearly as scared. That's been my experience as a parent of my two girls.

Four new posts below

2010-09-06T21:56:00.000-07:00

J and I just bought our third desk since moving here three years ago. Ridiculous, I know, but this most recent purchase is here to stay. Our desktop computer was resting while we hunted for a new desk, and therefore I am behind on my posts. So please scroll down through all the latest news in my incredibly exciting life. Ha!

We finally cleaned out our garage for perhaps the first time since moving in. We rented a truck to take things to the dump. We completely emptied our garage except for the washer and dryer, swept it all up, reorganized, and now have more room! What a magical thing cleaning and reorganizing is. I was so happy every time I walked into the garage the first couple of days after cleaning it. I've discovered I'm not a spring cleaner. My deep cleaning is a year-round endeavor. :)

M insisted on wearing the sweatshirt, glasses, and hat for cleaning.

The garage mostly emptied. Nice floor, eh?

She is the champion!

2010-09-06T21:29:00.000-07:00

I did it! I completed my first triathlon! It was fun too. My friend, the Red Wasp, and I drove down to compete in the Umpqua Ultimate triathlon and duathlon. Red Wasp is not overly fond of swimming, so she opted for the bike/run course, and guess what? She won! She got first place, which I think is pretty awesome.

"Grrr!" say Red Wasp and Gazelle

For myself, I was happy with the overall experience. Please understand that this is a small-attended race, so there's not a lot of competition. I placed 5th in overall women's, and first in my age group. Yup, I got a medal that says "1st." Red Wasp got a plaque. So much cooler!

For those who aren't familiar with triathlons, I completed an Olympic-distance tri, which includes a one-mile swim, 40K (24 mile) bike ride, and 10K (6.2 mile) run. The swim was fine. I'm not a fast swimmer, but a confident one, so I wasn't scared of the water. The water temp was great, 72 degrees, but outside was a chilling 55 degrees, so when I ran out of the water to transition to my bike, I was cold. I wasn't thinking as clearly as usual and my extremities weren't functioning as well. It took me probably a full minute to get my long-sleeved shirt on because the sleeve was stuck and I was having a hard time knowing how to get it unstuck. I imagine it was pretty funny to watch.

The bike ride was beautiful, going through some lovely countryside. It wasn't very hilly either, which is great when you're trying to go quickly. The ride wasn't the full 40K though, only 22.5 miles or so. I transitioned quickly to my running and took off.

My feet were still numb at the beginning of the run, but I could feel them completely by mile 3. My running foundation is strong, and I'm able to gauge myself well, so I felt the run went well. There was a seemingly large hill to run on mile 4, so I held myself back a bit in anticipation for that, but it wasn't as taxing as I thought it'd be. Flying down the hill was fun, and I had a nice, strong finish. I did complete the tri in under 3 hours, but I think it was only because the bike ride wasn't the full 40K. That's all right. I didn't really have a time goal for myself; just to experience the triathlon.

All in all, it was a great time. I like competing in smaller races. And the pasta feed the night previous was included in our registration fee, which was a fun surprise. Oh, there were two great parts to the whole experience. The best were the overweight, over-age, over-painted belly dancers cheering us on at about mile 2 and 3, and the best, best part was J sending flowers to my hotel room. I love my man!


Two happy finishers

The girls eagerly awaiting the arrival of their mom, or just playing on the slide

The last hurrah

2010-09-06T21:25:00.001-07:00

One of the best $15 I ever spent was on a wading pool at Wal-Mart. The girls are still small enough to find it entertaining, and if you add a sprinkler to the mix, much outside splashing fun is to be had. Was that horrible grammar that I just used?

Playing with friends is much more fun, so the Rexes and the Veggie Bunch joined us on one of the final warm days of summer last week for a pool party. How adorable are those little chunky legs sticking out beneath their swimsuits?

Snack time AND splash time = fun times!

Boo loves her watermelon

H Dog gave the water some serious ninja action

Hiking with Canadians. . .

2010-09-06T21:16:00.000-07:00

is a guaranteed good time. One of J's missionary companions recently got married, and had to have some things sent to a US address, so they decided to visit us for a brief two night, one day stay. We had a great time getting to know Lars and Isabel. She is a true French-Canadian: how cool is that!?! I love Canada and used to wish I was Canadian, but Lars informs me that Canada is not as cool as it used to be. Still pretty, but terribly over-priced. I love all my Canadian friends dearly. Lars' accent was pretty strong: it was fun to listen to.

Lars is also excellent with children, and Kj and M adored him. We went hiking in the morning, relaxed in the afternoon, and then the adults went out to eat at a local pub, which serves superb hand-crafted root beer. Yum yum! I took sips from some of J's three glass fulls. The man loves his root beer.

Thanks for visiting, Lars and Isabel! We hope to see you again soon.

Yes folks, these are real Canadians

M and I just keepin' it cool

Some pics

2010-08-19T22:14:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics for your viewing enjoyment.

M trying to steal D's binky.

My new-found friend, B, and her son C. We love playing with them!

C and Kj are really excited to ride the bus at Touch-a-Truck

Hangin' out in the big tire. Kj got so dirty!

The girls playing with our frog, Kermit. Okay, he's not really ours, he lives outside the house, but we see him a lot.

Kermit close-up. Isn't he handsome?

M playing on the kayaks at my friend's cabin. Thanks Red for having us out!

Kj looking cute in her life jacket.

Playing on the dock. Wow, this was a pertinent caption.

Kj really wanted a turn at the paddle.

Off to conquer the world in a borrowed canoe.

Hello again!

2010-08-11T14:35:00.001-07:00

Sorry I've been away for so long. J is finally completely done with testing and studying and anything related to law school. Hooray!!!! He took his last test on Friday, then we drove north-ish to visit family for three days. We got back in town last night. Surprise, surprise, I didn't take any pictures. Sigh. Will I ever learn?

Congratulations to my sister who had her fourth child on Monday! Welcome to the world, little K. She is a beautiful, tiny baby, and my sister looks well. I can't imagine having four children.

M just woke up from her nap, and Kj wants to show me her painting, so I've got to go. Hope you're having a good summer! We are excited to start living "normal" lives, with no studying or tests looming over our heads. We'll find out Sept. 24th if he passed. Keep your fingers crossed!

Good Times

2010-07-14T07:23:00.000-07:00

July is a fun, busy month for us. There's the 4th of July, our anniversary, my birthday, and about a hundred other family member's birthdays to celebrate. J took some time off of studying to celebrate our 6th anniversary and my 28th birthday. Both were wonderful days.

Our 4th was toned down a lot from last year, but it was still a nice evening. We celebrated with the Veggie Bunch, complete with BBQ, finally learning how to play "Bang!" (a card game given to us probably three years ago), sticking the kids in front of DVDs to allow for card playing time, and of course sparklers and small fireworks. All in all, a good evening.

Just two weeks until J takes the big bar test, and three until he's completely done with testing. I am so excited for this to all be over with!

Boastful Postful

2010-07-02T13:59:00.001-07:00

Van #1 at the starting line

J is ready to run

Slappin' each other some skin after J's first leg finish

The team, minus J, who had to stay home because M was napping,

and another teammate who chose to nap instead.

The running gods were good to me on my run last night. I did mile repeats for my speed workout. For those of you unfamiliar with my possible incorrect running terms, my workout went like this:

Mile 1: warm up
Mile 2: sprint
Mile 3: normal pace
Mile 4: sprint
Mile 5: normal pace
Mile 6: sprint
and then I cooled down for 1/2 mile.

My first spring mile was a 7:23, which is good for me. My second was a 7:35, obviously not as fast, but okay. At mile 5, running normal pace, I was feeling fatigued and didn't know if I could run quickly for the last mile sprint. I've finally started listening to music while running, and it's so fun! The music seemed to match my pace: faster, more upbeat music on the sprint miles, and more easy-going music on my normal-pace miles. During my last sprint mile, two of my all-time favorite songs came on, "Mr. Jones" by Counting Crows, and "Mysterious Ways" by U2 ("On your knees, boy!" anyone?). LOVE those songs. I was clipping, and that last mile was a 7:13. Wahoo! A sub-seven-minute mile is on the horizon. It felt great.

Onto the relay report! The relay was perfect with one exception. They offered no free food or beverage at the finish line. Super lame. But everything else was great. My first leg was the hardest for me, because it was at about 3 pm, a really warm time of day. I didn't wear my Garmin or my MP3 player. Thankfully it was only 4 miles, so it wasn't torturously long. (Spell check tells me that "torturously" isn't a word. Whatever.) Because the race was near the summer solstice, we had lots of sunlight. As bonuses, we also got a full moon AND a lunar eclipse. Beat that, Hood-to-Coast.

My second leg started at about 11 pm, but I had plenty of moonlight. The radio informed me that it was the 1st-year anniversary of Michael Jackson's death, so I got to run to "Smooth Criminal." Pretty sweet. I passed a person on that run, a good boost to the ego, and I thought that I was passing another really slow person, but that person ended up being one of the sandwich boards, also with a blinking red light, letting me know I had one mile to go.

I was part of the first van, and we had the better sleeping time frame, from midnight to four, so I got a good two or three hours of sleep, after having a shower, for which I was very grateful for both.

My third leg was around 7 in the morning. It was my longest, 7.3 miles, but I held a good pace and kicked it in the last 1 1/2 miles, and felt good when I finished. Our van picked up our team captain, we headed home, and I showered and ate before meeting our second van at the finish line. Boy was it nice having the race finish in our home town!

All in all, great times were had. The Red Wasp was the best captain EVER, so organized and motivated. Everyone's ready to do it again next year.

Overdue

2010-07-01T06:52:00.001-07:00

Hi friends! Sorry it's taken me so long to post about our camping adventure. I've had the pics on the compy since Sunday, but have just now found time to post, as the girls are still asleep. Woo hoo! I am exercising in the evenings now to accommodate my crazy-studying hubby, which is when I used to do computer stuff. I feel like I'm falling behind in life. :)

Anyway, camping was fun! My dad was a great help, setting up and taking down my tent for me. The girls had lots of fun playing in the dirt with their cousins. Kj and her cousin Katie got along smashingly, playing princesses and Tinkerbell and all sorts of thing Kj doesn't usually play on her own. We hiked, we had campfires and s'mores and popcorn, we got dirty, we missed our beds; we experienced all the wonderful things about camping. Poor Kj had a rough time sleeping. She had a croup cough during the night, and that was fairly miserable, but we were great during the day. I felt really bad for all the nearby campers who could hear her coughing and crying. Those tents aren't known for their sound barriers.

I'll post about the relay next, which was also lots of fun. I just need to get some pics from the Red Wasp, as I failed to take any of my own. Happy July!

Grandma with some grandkids at the Oregon Caves

A pretty picture by the Bean

Best cousins

You envy my camping hair

Stout Grove

All of the crazy cousins!

Wish me luck!

2010-06-21T06:24:00.001-07:00

The girls and I are leaving for a three-day, two-night camping adventure while J stays home to study and work. Then I have one day to clean, do laundry, etc. and pack for a 140ish mile relay race on Friday. Come Saturday night, I'm going to be pooped. Thankfully I don't have Sharing Time this weekend. :) Have a wonderful week, and welcome summer!!!!

Christmas in June

2010-06-17T14:38:00.000-07:00

Kj asked me if I could get out the reindeer/Santa set that Goombaw got for the girls last Christmas. I acquiesced, as I needed to get into the storage bins anyway. Then she saw an ugly Christmas tree we "won" at a White Elephant gift exchange a couple of Christmases ago. I've kept it in my closet because I intended to take off the working string of lights, but never got around to it. Kj asked to bring it down and she took it to her room. So here's a video of Kj and M playing with Santa and his reindeer, while his sleighs sings Christmas songs, and a lighted tree in the background. And they're in their sundresses, no less.

Thanks friends!

2010-06-15T09:34:00.000-07:00

The story behind the comment dilemma is that I changed my settings to moderate the comments, and then didn't know how to moderate them. I am so smart, S-M-R-T ("Simpson's" anyone?). Anyway, thanks for all the hair support! I am oh so tempted to cut it short, but I will keep it "longer" for now. I think it's funny that long hair for me means to my shoulders. Ah, vanity. It's funny; after I posted my "Help please!" post, I thought that no one commented and I was really distressed. I guess I really lean on my blog community. Thanks for always being there. :)

Your comments please

2010-06-14T09:26:00.001-07:00

I haven't received any comments for awhile, but my friend told me that she did make a comment recently. I think I changed something on the settings that hid the comments or something. So, if you gave any hair advice and don't mind commenting again, please do so. I would love to hear it. Thanks!

A tribute to my husband

2010-06-11T06:09:00.001-07:00

After a long and awkward silence, I've accepted that no one wants to give me hair advice, so we'll move on to the next post!

I should be running right now, but I want to take a few minutes to share with you why I love my husband.

He is up to his neck, no, chin/bottom of ears (you know, like when you're in water struggling to keep your face above the surface, and you tilt your head back so just your face is out of the water) with studying for the bar, working part-time, and wanting to be a good father and husband. The girls absolutely adore him. Both often ask for daddy instead of me throughout the day, wondering if he'll come on our excursions, or just wanting to play with him. Mommy does a lot more cleaning than daddy. :) He is really stressed right now because of his bar preparations, but he never complains. We are going to the temple this weekend, which takes up quite a bit of time here, as the nearest temple is a two-hour drive. That's a lot of sacrificed studying time, but J is faithful and knows that we need heavenly help through this last big career-preparing step. And most importantly to me, he allows me work out time. I love my husband. He is sweet and affectionate and much more polite than I am.

HELP!!!

2010-06-02T21:48:00.000-07:00

Short vs. Long

I am presently experiencing an inner turmoil. Sometimes I really, really think that I want to cut my hair short, but then sometimes I don't. My hair hasn't been this long for a long time, 7-10 years or so. Whoa. (And it's not even very long!)

Long hair cons: I eat long hair! Okay, not really chew and swallow, but it's always getting in my mouth. I also feel like I'm pulling it back half the day to clean or cook. And then there's the fact that my hair is fine, and therefore not very "bouncy." With it longer, I feel like it's stuck flat to my head. I don't excel in hair styling, nor have I ever. I ask my sister for hair advice from time to time, and try to apply it, but let's face it, I'm not one of those cute girls who always looks put together. (Please, no need for rebuttals on how cute I am, or how cute my spirit is. I yam what I yam and I've accepted it.) So I stand in my bathroom for half an hour curling my hair on Sunday mornings while thinking, "This is such a silly way to spend my time!" The other days I either let my hair do it's half wavy thing or straighten it.

Long hair pros: I think it is more flattering on my asymmetrical facial structure. What? I have a crooked face. I think long hair looks better on me. And theoretically a person can do more styling "things" with long hair, but we established in the cons list that I am not capable of doing those "things." Also, I look back at pictures of me with short hair and I think, "Eww! My hair did not look good." I don't want to walk around with bad hair all the time.

Hmm. Sigh. I think the solution is to either truly not care about my hair, or learn how to style it better. Or deterime which length is better to have hair that isn't going to be styled well: short or long?

I've posted the cutest pictures I could find of my hair short and long. Your suggestions? Help please!

Perfect

2010-05-29T20:33:00.000-07:00

My race today was perfect! I loved the course: it was very challenging, but I paced myself well and had a strong finish. My good friend, The Red Wasp, and I ran the last four miles together. Our splits were something like 8:15, 7:50, 7:34, and 7:37. So cool! It helped that most of the last three miles were downhill. :) I was glad that I finished strongly. The course was very hilly, sometimes rolling, sometimes just steep up and down. My thighs are feeling the effects presently, but some great massaging by hubby and rolling pin should help ease the recovery. The last big hill was a real bear, but I ran it all. I loved running on the trails, being in nature, digging in, and coasting down.

I also met some great people. There was wonderful camaraderie amongst all the runners, lots of encouraging words and such. The man I sat next to on the bus ride to the start is an attorney, so of course we talked bar exam. During the first half of the run, I chatted with a woman who is going through a very hard rough patch in her life right now: she lost her father two months ago, and her sister is dying of cancer. The sister is going on hospice now, which means the end is near. The runner is flying out to New York with her mother to be with her sister until the end. Oh, such a burden! She told me that running is her therapy. I can't imagine the ache in her heart and the hardship of helping her mom keep it together too. Later in the race I talked with a very skinny 40-something year old who has run Hood to Coast probably a dozen times. J and I are going to run a relay race soon, so we talked relays for a bit. There was one girl who kept playing leap frog with me, meaning sometimes I'd be ahead and at other times she would pull ahead. She complimented me on my calves. I love my calves and am slightly vain about them. It's really none of my doing though. I inherited great calves from my mom. Thanks mom!

Sadly, J and the girls weren't at the finish line when I arrived. They were en route though, and surprised me. Kj ran up to me while I was stretching. I was so happy they were there, but very sad they couldn't cheer me into the finish line. Maybe the next race.

This was such a great race experience. Not too long, not too cold, not too hot, not too hard. Everything was just right. In a word, perfect.

Nerves

2010-05-28T13:10:00.000-07:00

I mentioned in an earlier post that I'm going to run a race this weekend, a trail run race! I LOVE running on trails. That's what I miss most about living in Utah, trail running. I confess that I'm a bit nervous to run the race. I was just reading up on some rules and guidelines they have for the runners, and my adrenaline starting pumping a little bit. The last race I ran was my marathon in 2005, five years ago almost to the day! This race is 20K, 12.4 miles for us non-metric folk. While in Spokane two weeks ago I accidentally ran a 12-mile run (I didn't mean to go that far). I was tired, and the run was hilly, but it felt good too, like my body had been challenged in a good way. I'm confident that I can finish the race; just feeling those pre-race jitters. I'll see you at the finish line!

Sweet weekend

2010-05-24T21:42:00.000-07:00

Does anyone else stink at remembering to take pictures besides me?

I had a fun-filled and busy weekend, thanks for asking! On Sunday I was in charge of Sharing Time and then we had a graduation party for Jonas. The Veggie Bunch, Snuggle Puppies, and Rexes joined us for some food, fun, and a "carnival" hosted by two cute nine-year old girls. The kids loved playing outside, and the adults loved them playing outside. Then I hosted preschool this morning, so I was busy with lots of preparations this weekend. (I sounded like my mother during that paragraph.)

I've been thinking recently how blessed my life is. I love staying at home with the kiddos. I mean, not every day is a joy to behold, but generally speaking, it's pretty nice just to stay home, take care of the house, play with the kids, etc. I do have a lot going on, and I never feel like I'm getting done all that I want to accomplish, but I'm grateful to not have to work full time and manage a household and raise children. For me, this situation works.

My mind is running all over the place right now. I'm trying to think of semi-interesting things to share with you, and I'm also thinking that my blog is kind of silly because I'm just talking about me. Maybe that's why about six people read it. :) Thank you, my six friends!

I might run a 12-mile trail run race this weekend. I've heard it's challenging. Should be fun!

Kj was a big help with putting the graduation cupcakes together. I stole the idea from my friend, who stole it from my sister's cupcake cookbook. You too can steal the idea!

The Bean eating my daughter's head.

My daughter giving The Bean a weird look.

My daughter and The Bean wanting to eat the cupcakes.

The Bean devouring a helpless worm.

Preschool friends making cookies and soup.

Three cheers for J!

2010-05-11T11:33:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to J for finishing law school!

Post # 189

2010-05-09T20:29:00.001-07:00

Welcome to my 189th post. I'm glad we can share this moment together.

Happy Mommy's Day to all you moms and other uterus-bearing females. Wait, no, females without uteruses/uteri? count too. What a gross word, uterus.

Speaking of gross words, the rest of this email might be rated PG-13. At least this paragraph will be. We are members of an indoor playground co-op. Kj found a pair of twin boys to play with there, and they decided that "chase" would be a good game to play. One of the twins was holding a play screwdriver, and said while chasing Kj, "I'm going to screw you!" I was laughing my head off then, and I'm laughing now. It never gets old. Then it was Kj turns to chase, so she yells, "I'm going to screw you!" The mom and I were practically in tears. While driving home, Kj asks, "Why did he want to screw me?" What could I say? Ahhh, childhood innocence.

The bad language isn't confined only to Kj. M likes to have her say too. She is talking very well for 15 months, and knows how to say "sit," although at times it sounds like an "h" is inserted as well. We went to pick up J from the law school the other day, and the girls love to climb the stairs. With each stair descended, she declared, "Oh s_it, oh s_it." Her grandfather was a sailor: I'll blame it on him.

In other news, I had a great mother's day! J made a delectable breakfast, I got 8 hours of sleep the previous night, I sat in my bed and wrote a decent journal entry, I played with the girls, and ate some choice chocolate. Could a woman ask for anything more? Yes! A massage from her gorgeous husband, which I will be enjoying in approximately 20 minutes.

On Friday we went up to Salem to celebrate our good friend graduating from the State Trooper program. I can officially say that I now know a cop. We are really happy for Our Bons and so proud of Kenty. It was great to spend the day together as a family. J has been gone every Saturday for the past month, so I really enjoyed the outing.

J is done with law school on Tuesday. Hooray and hurrah!!!! The final hurdle: the bar.

My mommy's day gift "bowl," complete with a year's supply of popcorn, some yummy ice cream and dark chocolate, and Casablanca.

Our family and Our Bons

You so want his hat

Girly friends

2010-04-28T21:27:00.000-07:00

Hi! Just letting you know I'm still alive, as well as the girls and my hubby. J is almost done with law school: his final final of all finals is on May 11th. Wahoo!!!! This three-year journey is almost complete! Kj has been trying my patience lately. She throws a lot of tantrums and resorts to screaming for her primary form of communication, and it is wearing on me. I'm praying daily for patience and understanding of what she is feeling/thinking. Sometimes I fail, sometimes I do well. M is adorable, and trying to say more and more words. I think I miss half of them. I'll have to take a video of her "laugh." I can't find words to describe it; it's just not your typical laugh. More like a sputtering release of energy, but in a cute way. ??? And me? Just trying to be happy each day. I hope you're well too.