My "luck" (mother's intuition?) still holds. I told King that after the ultrasound Friday he and Guy would either be seriously outnumbered, or the ranks would be even. True to my intuition, we're evening the score. Boy, girl, girl, BOY.
Brother and Daddy are the most excited I think.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Monday, February 18, 2013
For the Love
Eddie has a bear. She has affectionately named it, "Baby Bear." It goes with her all around the house and waits patiently inside the door for us when we have to leave. Occasionally he is even snuck into the car...
I digress.
Eddie LOVES Baby Bear.
"Mom! Help me dress Baby Bear?!"
"Mom! Baby Bear wants to watch us eat!"
etc.
The other day, Eddie and Guy were playing in the basement when I heard a scream. A "I'm hurt" scream. Guy loudly called up that Eddie had fallen off the toy horse. As I went to meet her half way she came yelling!
"Where are you hurting?"
"Baby Bear! Baby Bear hurt his face!"
?
"What?"
"Baby Bear hurt his face! When I fell off the horse!"
"Oh. I'm sorry, Baby Bear. Are you hurt, Eddie?"
"No."
Instantly the tears were off and she hopped back downstairs to play.
... uh.... I'm glad you have empathy?
I digress.
Eddie LOVES Baby Bear.
"Mom! Help me dress Baby Bear?!"
"Mom! Baby Bear wants to watch us eat!"
etc.
The other day, Eddie and Guy were playing in the basement when I heard a scream. A "I'm hurt" scream. Guy loudly called up that Eddie had fallen off the toy horse. As I went to meet her half way she came yelling!
"Where are you hurting?"
"Baby Bear! Baby Bear hurt his face!"
?
"What?"
"Baby Bear hurt his face! When I fell off the horse!"
"Oh. I'm sorry, Baby Bear. Are you hurt, Eddie?"
"No."
Instantly the tears were off and she hopped back downstairs to play.
... uh.... I'm glad you have empathy?
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
We live in a great neighborhood
This story has the potential to get confusing without using any names. I'll do my best.
We've been housing King's Dad's car while he went on a trip. Call us the local airport shuttle. That's not a big deal. The difficulty came when on Sunday night, his dad called to say they had landed, and could we pick them up?
Sure thing.
Oh, wait. It's snowed. Again.
Doesn't sound like a big deal. But our shovel is broken- its been well used this year, and of course, we'd run out of ice melt. It being Sunday (night) and all- we're not headed to the store till Monday. So King tries to gun it out. Backwards. On snow. Up a sloped driveway (yes, it slopes towards the street). And can't get it out. There's ice under the snow. He tried for a few minutes to no avail. Don't worry, he did the logical thing and took our car to pick up his dad. On his way out he called me and asked that I find a nice neighbor with some ice melt so we could get the car out.
Here's the tricky part.
First I call neighbor #1 right across the street. Very kind. Always helpful. No ice-melt, just rock salt. "No problem!" I tell them. "There's others I can call. Don't worry about it."
Then I call neighbor #2. Right in the middle of the phone call as I'm rambling this long story out (and sounding very much like an idiot), someone knocks on my door. It's neighbor #1. He worried about it. In his hand is a bucket of rock salt. I stumble out a jumbled, "Oh, nevermind. We've got it covered," and head outside with neighbor #1. We put some rock salt down, tried to shovel- unsuccessfully- and decided to wait and see what good the salt had done when King got home.
I go inside.
The phone rings. It's neighbor #2. The husband this time. "Hey, the wife said you called. Something about a car being stuck. I have a truck and a tow strap, and a four-wheeler with a mini plow. Let me come over and see how I can help." GREAT! AWESOME! (Because, really - I think we're going to need that truck and tow strap!)
I go outside to meet neighbor #2. Neighbors #1 AND #2 show up simultaneously.
Neighbor #1: "Hey, I just went up to Neighbor #3. He has a snow blower. He's coming down to help."
Just then, neighbor #3 walks down the street with a snow blower.
Immediately after, King pulls up.
I have three neighbors, a bucket of rock salt, a snow blower, and a four-wheeler with a plow ready at my command. Feeling sheepish, I try to explain I had only TRIED to call one... but was grateful for the help!
So they got to work!
Neighbor #1 put down more salt. Neighbor #3 cleared the entire (very large) driveway with his snow blower so they could give the car a running start up the sloped driveway. Neighbor #2 used his mini plow and cleared the mountain of snow left from the snow plow on the street that barred the exit.
Vwala. Mission accomplished. Car freed.
And then Neighbor #2 looked at the sorry state of our other driveway (with our car in it), had us move our van, and cleared that one as well.
Thank you. Thank you. You kind people.
We live in a great neighborhood.
We've been housing King's Dad's car while he went on a trip. Call us the local airport shuttle. That's not a big deal. The difficulty came when on Sunday night, his dad called to say they had landed, and could we pick them up?
Sure thing.
Oh, wait. It's snowed. Again.
Doesn't sound like a big deal. But our shovel is broken- its been well used this year, and of course, we'd run out of ice melt. It being Sunday (night) and all- we're not headed to the store till Monday. So King tries to gun it out. Backwards. On snow. Up a sloped driveway (yes, it slopes towards the street). And can't get it out. There's ice under the snow. He tried for a few minutes to no avail. Don't worry, he did the logical thing and took our car to pick up his dad. On his way out he called me and asked that I find a nice neighbor with some ice melt so we could get the car out.
Here's the tricky part.
First I call neighbor #1 right across the street. Very kind. Always helpful. No ice-melt, just rock salt. "No problem!" I tell them. "There's others I can call. Don't worry about it."
Then I call neighbor #2. Right in the middle of the phone call as I'm rambling this long story out (and sounding very much like an idiot), someone knocks on my door. It's neighbor #1. He worried about it. In his hand is a bucket of rock salt. I stumble out a jumbled, "Oh, nevermind. We've got it covered," and head outside with neighbor #1. We put some rock salt down, tried to shovel- unsuccessfully- and decided to wait and see what good the salt had done when King got home.
I go inside.
The phone rings. It's neighbor #2. The husband this time. "Hey, the wife said you called. Something about a car being stuck. I have a truck and a tow strap, and a four-wheeler with a mini plow. Let me come over and see how I can help." GREAT! AWESOME! (Because, really - I think we're going to need that truck and tow strap!)
I go outside to meet neighbor #2. Neighbors #1 AND #2 show up simultaneously.
Neighbor #1: "Hey, I just went up to Neighbor #3. He has a snow blower. He's coming down to help."
Just then, neighbor #3 walks down the street with a snow blower.
Immediately after, King pulls up.
I have three neighbors, a bucket of rock salt, a snow blower, and a four-wheeler with a plow ready at my command. Feeling sheepish, I try to explain I had only TRIED to call one... but was grateful for the help!
So they got to work!
Neighbor #1 put down more salt. Neighbor #3 cleared the entire (very large) driveway with his snow blower so they could give the car a running start up the sloped driveway. Neighbor #2 used his mini plow and cleared the mountain of snow left from the snow plow on the street that barred the exit.
Vwala. Mission accomplished. Car freed.
And then Neighbor #2 looked at the sorry state of our other driveway (with our car in it), had us move our van, and cleared that one as well.
Thank you. Thank you. You kind people.
We live in a great neighborhood.
Monday, February 4, 2013
Winding Roads
I have always hated (excuse the harsh word) the first few months of pregnancy when you feel sick, very sick, and yet have to put on a bright face for the whole world so they won't "know." I get the secrecy. I get the worry that something will go wrong. But my brain reasons that if people "knew" they would be so much more understanding of your 7th trip to the bathroom during your visit, and your queasy pale face, or your sudden need to "take a nap" instead of volunteer to clean out the fridge when you are supposed to be helping someone with a dire need (yes- that has happened before!). They wouldn't wonder why you've suddenly turned into a cop-out that seems to continually be making excuses for oneself. Having all that said. This time around (by way of announcement for many of you)- I wanted to tell people JUST BECAUSE. No! For once I was NOT throwing up. For once I was NOT having to cop-out of any remotely-smelly activity. No, for ONCE I was feeling GREAT! I just wanted to TELL! To have people know. Why pretend? I was finally excited! Secrecy for some things is not a big deal for me. Birthday gifts are a cinch (for everyone but King- he always seems to want to buy whatever I've just hidden away for him). But babies? Oh, can I please tell someone?! Usually I have one or two I tell on the sly so I can DISCUSS this baby with! It turns into my sanity and I love it. With baby 4 we spread the news in quite the different manner. Some family was told because we could no longer go on the ubber-fun family vacation planned for this fall. Some family found out because I erroneously posted our new-years goals on the fridge and one family member announced, "What does this goal mean? Exercise all the way throughout this pregnancy?" Awkward, pregnant (get it) pause. "What do you think it means?" And after that- what was the point in not telling the REST of the family. So I delivered the newly-taken-long-awaited-updated-family-photos to my mom and told her it was too bad they'd be outdated so soon, as in about six and half months.
Fast forward about a week after that last conversation. My breezy, easy, pregnancy took a turn down a different road. It got a bit bumpy. I got a bit scared. Why did I tell people already?! Oh yeah, because I stink at NOT telling people. SURELY nothing could go wrong because I strongly felt like this baby was supposed to come sooner than we had originally "planned" and I'd struggled with the decision for MONTHS. When I'd finally had some peace about it- baby came! So SURELY- things would be fine. After a frantic call to the dr. and an unexpected visit. The baby WAS fine. There was that lovely, strong heartbeat. Strong. There were still problems though. No, I wasn't on "bedrest." But there were plenty of no's. NO stairs. NO carrying or lifting things more than 20 lbs. Ahem. Remember? My 14 month old is ATLEAST 25 lbs! NO. NO over-doing things. Take it easy. Lets do some blood work. If things go well, my body may heal. Rest is not a guarantee of that- just makes it more likely. If my body does NOT heal, this had potential to be a very. long. pregnancy.
If you asked King or my parents what that meant: I was banished to the couch. That doesn't sound so bad for someone who LOVES to read and doesn't get much of a chance these days.
But what about my kids?! My baby (Millaker)? How was I supposed to lift her in and out of her crib for naps? How was I supposed to get her in her high-chair (King's idea is to put it on the floor... there will be a lot more sweeping going on)? How am I supposed to put her in her carseat? How do I pick her up and hold her when she is sad? How on earth do I get he OFF the table (or insert other furnature here) when she climbs up CONSTANTLY. For crying out loud- on top of the temple is her FAVORITE place to be! Hmm..... How, how, how?
The older ones can manage fine. I usually don't pick them up anyhow and they can climb up beside me. They can be coerced from my perch on the couch with relatively few mishaps.
The initial solution was for the kids and I to take a mini vacation down to my parents. There I would have extra family around to help the baby and other kids if needed and I could take it easy. King made me promise to DO NOTHING. (Reminding him I wasn't REALLY on bedrest didn't help.)
Things seemed to be going well. It was a bit awkward to order family around like servants when I FELT fine. I did not hurt and there were no outward manifestations that anything was wrong. That changed quickly. The day after the dr. visit I got a call. The dr. said my progesterone levels were low- not dangerously so- just low. He wanted to start me on a twice-a-day-suppliment. Ok. No problem. Good idea. I'm game for anything that keeps this baby safe.
Let me define progesterone for you: nasty pregnancy side-effects in a bottle.
Side effects: DROWSY as all get out. Slightly loopy. Slightly dizzy if you get up too fast. Need to SLEEP. A bit queasy. Stomach aches sometimes. What a delight to take. I VERY quickly learned to take the first pill first thing in the morning so the side-effects would wear off as quickly as possible. The second was taken right before bed so I could sleep through all the discomfort.
My dad unexpectedly was offered a new/better position at work and began working full time. This started my hunt for round the clock babysitters. I'm not sure if they were for me or Millaker, but I needed someone there if Millie was awake! That led to an unexpected, somewhat akward call to an old friend I hadn't seen in YEARS. "Hi! You live close! We wanted to get together sometime right? (We really did!) Could that happen this week? In the morning? And could you help me with my baby?" There are few times I've felt more foolish.
And so my road continued.
The second week I moved my perch to my own house. Again, I arranged for round-the-clock help in hopes that two weeks of being REALLY GOOD would mean six more months of normal activity. Thankfully the side-effects of the progesterone lessened as time went on. I'm not sure if its because my levels were raising and there was a smaller gap between my current levels and the levels a pill put me on, or if I was just lucky. Either way- I was greatful! There was that one day I forgot to take my medicine the night before... and my friend had to REALLY watch the kids while I slept off the side-effects for hours the next morning!
With just a few days left to go before I get checked again, I have hope.
King was able to give me a Priesthood blessing a few days ago. It didn't offer the specific blessings I was hoping for: that everything would turn out perfectly and we'd live happily ever after. But it brought peace. Promised strength. Promised my feelings would be what they needed to be at appropriate times so I'd know what to do. I haven't yet figured out the implications of that- but I feel calm, hopeful, and feel that all will be well. Hopefully there is a better prognosis in a few days. Hopefully I am healing. Hopefully this couch-trip will end shortly. But mostly, hopefully the baby is well. As a great friend put it, "How does your gut feel?" Again. I feel at peace. Part of me clings to the "this is meant to be. This baby is meant to come." While another part of me recognizes that that might not be the real plan. That a much harder lesson might be in store for me. But I feel at peace. Things for now are going well, even if I'm not getting as much reading done as I'd like, or my stuffed elephant project looks like a six year old sewed it, and even if I feel foolish asking for help when I FEEL capable. I am grateful for the family and friends who have so generously offered their time and help.
I'll keep you posted on this winding road.
UPDATE:
We went to the dr. this morning and there is a healthy, wriggling, moving baby with a good heartbeat inside! Let normal life resume!! I can pick up Millaker, climb the stairs, vacuum my house (because its in DIRE need), etc etc. I just need to not jump back in too fast. Ease in. Be a tad cautious.
You got it doc!
Next visit? Gender!
Fast forward about a week after that last conversation. My breezy, easy, pregnancy took a turn down a different road. It got a bit bumpy. I got a bit scared. Why did I tell people already?! Oh yeah, because I stink at NOT telling people. SURELY nothing could go wrong because I strongly felt like this baby was supposed to come sooner than we had originally "planned" and I'd struggled with the decision for MONTHS. When I'd finally had some peace about it- baby came! So SURELY- things would be fine. After a frantic call to the dr. and an unexpected visit. The baby WAS fine. There was that lovely, strong heartbeat. Strong. There were still problems though. No, I wasn't on "bedrest." But there were plenty of no's. NO stairs. NO carrying or lifting things more than 20 lbs. Ahem. Remember? My 14 month old is ATLEAST 25 lbs! NO. NO over-doing things. Take it easy. Lets do some blood work. If things go well, my body may heal. Rest is not a guarantee of that- just makes it more likely. If my body does NOT heal, this had potential to be a very. long. pregnancy.
If you asked King or my parents what that meant: I was banished to the couch. That doesn't sound so bad for someone who LOVES to read and doesn't get much of a chance these days.
But what about my kids?! My baby (Millaker)? How was I supposed to lift her in and out of her crib for naps? How was I supposed to get her in her high-chair (King's idea is to put it on the floor... there will be a lot more sweeping going on)? How am I supposed to put her in her carseat? How do I pick her up and hold her when she is sad? How on earth do I get he OFF the table (or insert other furnature here) when she climbs up CONSTANTLY. For crying out loud- on top of the temple is her FAVORITE place to be! Hmm..... How, how, how?
The older ones can manage fine. I usually don't pick them up anyhow and they can climb up beside me. They can be coerced from my perch on the couch with relatively few mishaps.
The initial solution was for the kids and I to take a mini vacation down to my parents. There I would have extra family around to help the baby and other kids if needed and I could take it easy. King made me promise to DO NOTHING. (Reminding him I wasn't REALLY on bedrest didn't help.)
Things seemed to be going well. It was a bit awkward to order family around like servants when I FELT fine. I did not hurt and there were no outward manifestations that anything was wrong. That changed quickly. The day after the dr. visit I got a call. The dr. said my progesterone levels were low- not dangerously so- just low. He wanted to start me on a twice-a-day-suppliment. Ok. No problem. Good idea. I'm game for anything that keeps this baby safe.
Let me define progesterone for you: nasty pregnancy side-effects in a bottle.
Side effects: DROWSY as all get out. Slightly loopy. Slightly dizzy if you get up too fast. Need to SLEEP. A bit queasy. Stomach aches sometimes. What a delight to take. I VERY quickly learned to take the first pill first thing in the morning so the side-effects would wear off as quickly as possible. The second was taken right before bed so I could sleep through all the discomfort.
My dad unexpectedly was offered a new/better position at work and began working full time. This started my hunt for round the clock babysitters. I'm not sure if they were for me or Millaker, but I needed someone there if Millie was awake! That led to an unexpected, somewhat akward call to an old friend I hadn't seen in YEARS. "Hi! You live close! We wanted to get together sometime right? (We really did!) Could that happen this week? In the morning? And could you help me with my baby?" There are few times I've felt more foolish.
And so my road continued.
The second week I moved my perch to my own house. Again, I arranged for round-the-clock help in hopes that two weeks of being REALLY GOOD would mean six more months of normal activity. Thankfully the side-effects of the progesterone lessened as time went on. I'm not sure if its because my levels were raising and there was a smaller gap between my current levels and the levels a pill put me on, or if I was just lucky. Either way- I was greatful! There was that one day I forgot to take my medicine the night before... and my friend had to REALLY watch the kids while I slept off the side-effects for hours the next morning!
With just a few days left to go before I get checked again, I have hope.
King was able to give me a Priesthood blessing a few days ago. It didn't offer the specific blessings I was hoping for: that everything would turn out perfectly and we'd live happily ever after. But it brought peace. Promised strength. Promised my feelings would be what they needed to be at appropriate times so I'd know what to do. I haven't yet figured out the implications of that- but I feel calm, hopeful, and feel that all will be well. Hopefully there is a better prognosis in a few days. Hopefully I am healing. Hopefully this couch-trip will end shortly. But mostly, hopefully the baby is well. As a great friend put it, "How does your gut feel?" Again. I feel at peace. Part of me clings to the "this is meant to be. This baby is meant to come." While another part of me recognizes that that might not be the real plan. That a much harder lesson might be in store for me. But I feel at peace. Things for now are going well, even if I'm not getting as much reading done as I'd like, or my stuffed elephant project looks like a six year old sewed it, and even if I feel foolish asking for help when I FEEL capable. I am grateful for the family and friends who have so generously offered their time and help.
I'll keep you posted on this winding road.
UPDATE:
We went to the dr. this morning and there is a healthy, wriggling, moving baby with a good heartbeat inside! Let normal life resume!! I can pick up Millaker, climb the stairs, vacuum my house (because its in DIRE need), etc etc. I just need to not jump back in too fast. Ease in. Be a tad cautious.
You got it doc!
Next visit? Gender!
From the Mouths of Babes
This was written months ago- right after the said conversation happened.
I've waited months and months to post it (for obvious reasons).
Without further adieu:
Eddie didn't know King and I have been discussing- as in last night discussing- our family. The size, the timing, the pros and cons of having kids close together, my sanity etc. She couldn't have known. She was sleeping.
Yet this morning she climbed on my lap with a library book and said, "We don't have enough kids." I wasn't paying attention. She said it louder. "We don't have enough kids!"
"What?"
"WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH KIDS!"
"Oh, we don't- do we?"
"No."
"You think we should have more kids?"
"Yes."
"When should we have more kids in our family?"
"Thursday."
"Would you like a little brother or a little sister?"
"A little brother." Does she know I think our next baby will be a boy? Does she know how heavy this has been weighing on my mind?
I guess so.
Does she know there were STONG promptings for baby 3 (Millaker) regarding her need to come to this earth THEN! NOW! Probably not. Does she know there were simmilar (yet less severe) promptings for this baby. Along the lines of, "Your timing isn't right." That seemed like an open-ended prompting. Especially since I thought my current plan about timing was Perfect. Capital P Perfect. Probably not. But someone else new and needed I needed all the reassurance/confirmation/persuasion I could get.
I've waited months and months to post it (for obvious reasons).
Without further adieu:
Eddie didn't know King and I have been discussing- as in last night discussing- our family. The size, the timing, the pros and cons of having kids close together, my sanity etc. She couldn't have known. She was sleeping.
Yet this morning she climbed on my lap with a library book and said, "We don't have enough kids." I wasn't paying attention. She said it louder. "We don't have enough kids!"
"What?"
"WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH KIDS!"
"Oh, we don't- do we?"
"No."
"You think we should have more kids?"
"Yes."
"When should we have more kids in our family?"
"Thursday."
"Would you like a little brother or a little sister?"
"A little brother." Does she know I think our next baby will be a boy? Does she know how heavy this has been weighing on my mind?
I guess so.
Does she know there were STONG promptings for baby 3 (Millaker) regarding her need to come to this earth THEN! NOW! Probably not. Does she know there were simmilar (yet less severe) promptings for this baby. Along the lines of, "Your timing isn't right." That seemed like an open-ended prompting. Especially since I thought my current plan about timing was Perfect. Capital P Perfect. Probably not. But someone else new and needed I needed all the reassurance/confirmation/persuasion I could get.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Way to be born!
We've had some birthdays! Two to be exact! Documentation was never my strong point.
We actually decorated! Thanks to some darling bunting my sister gave me for Christmas! It's amazing what two strands of bunting can do to my lack of decorating skills! I'm now a pro!
We even hung a festive little sign (which we left up for two weeks). Why decorate twice? It was cute!
Amidst all the festivities we got a LOT of snow. We have had several big storms followed by nasty pollution. This was one of the clear days right after a storm. Check out how much snow was on our mailbox! King's been shoveling, and shoveling, and shoveling, and shoveling...
Back to the point. Birthdays!
Millaker seemed oblivious to the festivities. She was grateful for the the extra company, the cake, and extra paper to tear.
Eddie got some books- which are her FAVORITE things. She read, read, read, and had grandma read them again and again. Thanks grandma and grandpa!
Amidst all the excitement we forgot to give Eddie OUR gifts. We'd already put her in bed when we realized this fact, so we got her back up and brought out the gifts. Oops. Bad parents.
King has much better pictures on his phone of her- I promise to post them as soon as I download them.
I can't believe this girl is three! She is very, very proud of that fact! Three means lots of things. three is being a very kind sister who loves to help Millaker (whether or not that help is wanted). Three is loving to go get things for mom and be my helper. Three (and one, and two for this girl) means she NEVER tires of books and would read them all day with me if I had the time (see above).
Oh, how we love our Eddie!
Tangent: We have had LOTS of friend over the last few weeks. The kids have LOVED it!
Then came King's Birthday! I think Guy had more fun giving Dad presents and watching him open them than any one else. Its fun to see the kids really get into a birthday! We put trick candles on King's cake this year, which guy thought was a RIOT. Who knew trick candles could be so funny.
King has reached the ripe old age of ... I'd better not say.
He is a wonderful, wonderful dad!
He wrestles with the kids, plays knights and princesses, pillow monster, tag, the "tickle game" and the kids adore him. Millaker in particular will SCREAM in delight the moment dad gets home from work! She can not get enough of her daddy!
And though I may be slightly biased, King makes the most wonderful husband. He has done more than his fair share of housework lately as I've been under the weather. He helps make meals, clean house, take care of kids, and all while he's in the midst of his busy season at work. We love, love, love, our Daddy.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Sisters
I was looking through old pictures and found these two. The first is Eddie with her classic finger-sucking-hair-twirling pose she kept for nearly three years.
The second one is Millaker. Besides their drastically different eye color and despite the fact that in one photo one child is neatly groomed while the other CLEARLY is not- I think these two look a lot alike here. I frequently have people tell me they look alike and yet I don't see it much. That was, until I saw these. I guess they look like sisters after all.
I'm so glad I have my girls!
Monday, January 14, 2013
Toddlers
You know your baby is becoming a toddler when in ONE afternoon she:
Climbs on the table
Falls off the table in her attempt to climb back to a chair
Destroys her siblings block towers with absolute glee
Climbs on the table and manages to make it to her chair this time
Refuses to take one of her naps
Walks around muttering, "no, no, no, no"
Thinks that all kids remotely her age or younger are the "BABY!"
Intentionally climbs on the block table so her siblings CAN'T remake the tower she's knocked down... and smiles at their wailing
Yanks out her ponytails
Raids the garbage can and brings you its contents one by one
Destroys your sorting piles that you've been working on ALL DAY to dejunk the filing cabinet
Walks around the house caring the firehouse siren pushing the button again, and again, and again...
Tries on everyone shoes and then proceeds to scatter them throughout the house
Welcome to toddlerhood, Millaker.
Climbs on the table
Falls off the table in her attempt to climb back to a chair
Destroys her siblings block towers with absolute glee
Climbs on the table and manages to make it to her chair this time
Refuses to take one of her naps
Walks around muttering, "no, no, no, no"
Thinks that all kids remotely her age or younger are the "BABY!"
Intentionally climbs on the block table so her siblings CAN'T remake the tower she's knocked down... and smiles at their wailing
Yanks out her ponytails
Raids the garbage can and brings you its contents one by one
Destroys your sorting piles that you've been working on ALL DAY to dejunk the filing cabinet
Walks around the house caring the firehouse siren pushing the button again, and again, and again...
Tries on everyone shoes and then proceeds to scatter them throughout the house
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Christmas and New Years
It's times like this I wish I were naturally witty.
I'm not.
So be prepared for the monotone dialogue (it sounds MUCH better on my end) and a whole bunch of photos!
Christmas and New Years did, indeed, happen. My lack of documentation is just a delay on my part.
My very favorite picture from the whole holiday break was this. Guy wanted to be SURE Santa knew we wouldn't be home Christmas morning. He hand wrote this note himself and placed it right in front of the Christmas tree:
SAN
TA- WE
8 R AT
GRAM
OZ
HYRUM
(Translation: Santa, we are at Grandma's. Hyrum)
Cute boy. He found us.
Here's the Christmas parade circling the house before they could come open their stockings.
I promise Eddie was more excited than she looks.
I am pretty sure these pictures of Millaker don't belong in this sequence, but they were somehow added and are much too cute to be taken out. Those darn fingers!
ALL of my siblings were in town! I could find a picture of this whole family- so they're here in bits.
As in- all the photos of kids you don't recognize are theirs.
Us. In all our morning glory.
Oops- more of the Kids Christmas Train.
I'm not mad- I promise. I'm not sure what that look on my face is.
The cute newlywed couple.
The REAL Christmas Train made by Grandpa.
The bachelor!
The family who traveled the farthest!
Here in the middle there should be a whole SLEW of pictures of us freezing cold on snowmobiles- that will be a whole other post in and of itself. It deserves it!
We ended the holidays with the oldest niece getting baptized! They were able to arrange to have it here while everyone was in town. Such a serious occasion obviously didn't merit serious pictures. See below.
And that face of Millakers - is about how I feel right now.
Night, folks!
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Little Miracles
I keep forgetting to post this, but better late than never I suppose.
One morning in early December our "low tire pressure" light came on. Since it was a cold morning after a long string of warm weather we thought we just needed to fill the tires up. No big deal.
It turned out that yes, we did need to fill them up, but were we also aware that we were in need of new tires? Hmm. No, we weren't. Rats.
We spent a few days price-checking and then decided to bite the bullet and get new tires before the snow and ice came along. On a Thursday morning I brought the car in and bought new tires. When I was checking out, I was asked if I wanted to purchase the certificate that guarantees that if they can't patch a hole, they'll replace the tire. I called King. He said no- I said yes. Since he knows much more about cars than I do, we were going to deffer to his opinion. That was until the man decided to offer a terrific coupon that made it almost impossible for me to resist. Hey- a girl knows a bargain when she sees one. It still took a mighty hefty swallow to swipe my credit card. Who knew tires were so stinkin' expensive!
Fast forward two days.
Yep. TWO.
King and the oldest two had taken a free front runner ride down south while I stopped off at a bridal shower before heading down to pick them up. Their ride took two glorious hours of standing room only... but that's another story.
Heading south at the point of the mountain, there was a nice little jolt to my car. I hadn't seen anything in the road! I looked in my rearview mirror just in time to see a little square of... who knows! flying away.
My initial thought: "No big deal."
Three seconds later: "Big deal!"
My car was driving funny and the pesky "low tire pressure" light was on again. Being in the carpool lane, I pulled to the left side of the road. Millaker, thankfully, was sleeping soundly at this point. I climbed out of the car into the FREEZING, blustery wind and commenced checking the tires. Front drivers side? check. Front passenger's side? check. Back driver's side? check. Back passenger side... completely flat.
Now I'm not sure where my brain had gone, because my first response was to climb back in the car out of the freezing wind and call King.
ME: Hey! I blew a tire! How am I going to get home? I don't have to call 911 just to get a tow truck do I?
Told you my brain was gone.
KING: Uh... we have a spare.
ME: Oh yeah! And I know how to change it! Oh, wait! Someone is pulling over to help.
My guardian angels!
A nice family of four pulled ahead of me and backed up. I explained the problem and the dad and his fifteen year old son climbed out of their car in nice, button-down shirts (no coats!) and proceeded to change my tire on the VERY cold, very dangerous freeway side. I tried to give them money since, REALLY they were incredibly helpful- but they refused. They said it was good practice for their son. Before they drove away, the cautioned me to only drive 25 mph on the spare, and good luck.
I was going to need it.
Praying awfully hard, I manuvered my car to the OTHER side of the freeway and somehow managed NOT to get hit. Miracles still do happen. Don't ever forget it.
Then I proceeded to limp down the freeway, hugging the side-line, with my hazard lights on. All the while, King had found me the nearest tire store. 15 miles down the road I pulled off and find the well-hidden store. Thanks to the certificates we very nearly didn't purchase, the new tire and the labor were all free. They were even kind enough to not make me purchase a NEW certificate for the new tire.
The significance of this story is this.
NO, its not great to fork over money for new tires.
NO, its not great to blow a tire on the freeway.
HOWEVER-
Had we not had new tires, the technician thought we would have rolled or at least crashed! Whatever I hit had punctured a whole bigger than his hand and he could put his whole fist in our tire. There was no patching that tire!
Had we not purchased the certificate, we'd be out many, many more pretty pennies.
Had I had all three kids- I can GUARANTEE the whole episode would not have gone as smoothly. I can still picture the possible mayhem in the car as I tried to help with a tire!
Had we not had kind, wonderful, generous people stop to help, I would have been on the side of a dangerous, freezing highway for a VERY long time changing my first tire by myself. Not an ideal scenario.
I'm grateful for the little blessings- that come about in ways we don't expect, or imagine. I'm grateful for the kindness of strangers and the unseen help from above which I can GUARANTEE helps and protects us more than we realize.
Have you checked your tires lately?
One morning in early December our "low tire pressure" light came on. Since it was a cold morning after a long string of warm weather we thought we just needed to fill the tires up. No big deal.
It turned out that yes, we did need to fill them up, but were we also aware that we were in need of new tires? Hmm. No, we weren't. Rats.
We spent a few days price-checking and then decided to bite the bullet and get new tires before the snow and ice came along. On a Thursday morning I brought the car in and bought new tires. When I was checking out, I was asked if I wanted to purchase the certificate that guarantees that if they can't patch a hole, they'll replace the tire. I called King. He said no- I said yes. Since he knows much more about cars than I do, we were going to deffer to his opinion. That was until the man decided to offer a terrific coupon that made it almost impossible for me to resist. Hey- a girl knows a bargain when she sees one. It still took a mighty hefty swallow to swipe my credit card. Who knew tires were so stinkin' expensive!
Fast forward two days.
Yep. TWO.
King and the oldest two had taken a free front runner ride down south while I stopped off at a bridal shower before heading down to pick them up. Their ride took two glorious hours of standing room only... but that's another story.
Heading south at the point of the mountain, there was a nice little jolt to my car. I hadn't seen anything in the road! I looked in my rearview mirror just in time to see a little square of... who knows! flying away.
My initial thought: "No big deal."
Three seconds later: "Big deal!"
My car was driving funny and the pesky "low tire pressure" light was on again. Being in the carpool lane, I pulled to the left side of the road. Millaker, thankfully, was sleeping soundly at this point. I climbed out of the car into the FREEZING, blustery wind and commenced checking the tires. Front drivers side? check. Front passenger's side? check. Back driver's side? check. Back passenger side... completely flat.
Now I'm not sure where my brain had gone, because my first response was to climb back in the car out of the freezing wind and call King.
ME: Hey! I blew a tire! How am I going to get home? I don't have to call 911 just to get a tow truck do I?
Told you my brain was gone.
KING: Uh... we have a spare.
ME: Oh yeah! And I know how to change it! Oh, wait! Someone is pulling over to help.
My guardian angels!
A nice family of four pulled ahead of me and backed up. I explained the problem and the dad and his fifteen year old son climbed out of their car in nice, button-down shirts (no coats!) and proceeded to change my tire on the VERY cold, very dangerous freeway side. I tried to give them money since, REALLY they were incredibly helpful- but they refused. They said it was good practice for their son. Before they drove away, the cautioned me to only drive 25 mph on the spare, and good luck.
I was going to need it.
Praying awfully hard, I manuvered my car to the OTHER side of the freeway and somehow managed NOT to get hit. Miracles still do happen. Don't ever forget it.
Then I proceeded to limp down the freeway, hugging the side-line, with my hazard lights on. All the while, King had found me the nearest tire store. 15 miles down the road I pulled off and find the well-hidden store. Thanks to the certificates we very nearly didn't purchase, the new tire and the labor were all free. They were even kind enough to not make me purchase a NEW certificate for the new tire.
The significance of this story is this.
NO, its not great to fork over money for new tires.
NO, its not great to blow a tire on the freeway.
HOWEVER-
Had we not had new tires, the technician thought we would have rolled or at least crashed! Whatever I hit had punctured a whole bigger than his hand and he could put his whole fist in our tire. There was no patching that tire!
Had we not purchased the certificate, we'd be out many, many more pretty pennies.
Had I had all three kids- I can GUARANTEE the whole episode would not have gone as smoothly. I can still picture the possible mayhem in the car as I tried to help with a tire!
Had we not had kind, wonderful, generous people stop to help, I would have been on the side of a dangerous, freezing highway for a VERY long time changing my first tire by myself. Not an ideal scenario.
I'm grateful for the little blessings- that come about in ways we don't expect, or imagine. I'm grateful for the kindness of strangers and the unseen help from above which I can GUARANTEE helps and protects us more than we realize.
Have you checked your tires lately?
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