Girls Weekend!

Oh, I needed it. I wanted it. And I LOVED it. I ran away for the weekend with my 3 best friends. It was so great. They are by far some of the very best women that I know. And when we are together, it is a riot. Friday night we checked in to a very nice hotel and made ourselves at home. It was comfy and plush. And there was not a child nor husband in sight! We went to a very tasty french bakery for dinner, went to a concert in the park, and soaked in the hot tub before turning in for the night. We woke up Saturday morning and headed up the canyon to an amazing breakfast at a lovely little diner with HUGE biscuits. Found a lovely spot for pedicures. Then hit another local landmark for a late lunch/early dinner. Some how we consumed a lot of hollandase sauce. We are affectionately refering to it as a TRIPLE D weekend. As in Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. We ate more than we thought humanly possible, laughed a lot. And really just enjoyed a great weekend when we could just be a girls. I love being able to hang out with my girls. They are strong and beautiful women, who are all amazing in their own right, so when you mix us all together, we are a force to be reconned with.....just ask the lady at Lane Bryant and Victoria's Secret.

Embryos implanted in Wrong Mom !?!

Infertility has never been an issue for Greg and I. We were able to get pregnant when we wanted with in a very reasonable amount of time. And while I have never had that issue myself, I do have a very close friend who has. More than anything she wanted to have a family, and deSpite the inability to have a child herself, she and her husband were able to adopt a wonderful child. Whom we all adore. Happy ending, yes, but I saw what her battle to get there was, and I will tell you now that it was a rollercoaster ride. Miscarriages and all, it took a heavy toll on her emotionally. I can only imagine. And on more than one occasion my heart broke for her.

So you can imagine the look on my face and I was watching the TODAY show yesterday, enjoying my coffee, waiting for Keanne and the boys to arrive. There is a couple back east somewhere who were implanted with frozen embryos so that they could have a baby. She was 14 weeks along when the clinic/doctor figured out they had implanted her with someone elses embryos! Wholly Crap...how in the hell do you make that mistake? But with much grace and dignity she has agreed to carry the baby to term and then give the baby boy to the biological parents (who were about ready to try again anyway, as it turns out). That is beyond amazing.

Someday I want to be that amazing. I want to be that thoughtful. I want to be able to be that humble and graceful. I have a long way to go, but knowing that there is someone out there that is that gracious inspires me.

Poor Blog

My poor neglected blog.....I do think of you, and really in a fond manner, but it is usually when I am up to my elbows in something else. Today it was changing Lex's diaper. Last night I even dreamed of you, and that I had a couple of hours to just sit and type. All for you. So, know that you are not forgotten my friend. Neglected, yes....but not forgotten.

Do you want me to make YOU something?

Free Offer Today. I found this hard-to-pass-up offer on my friend's blog:The first 5 people to respond to this post will get something made by me--my choice! This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1. I make no guarantees you will like what I make! (I can only hope!)
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It will be done some time this year.
4. You have no clue what it's going to be--it may be cards, something delicious, a paper weight, or a complete surprise to you (and me)! Who knows?
5. Most importantly, you must offer the same deal on your blog.
The first 5 people to comment on your blog post get something made by YOU!I don't know how this will work, but I hope it will be fun for all(and that at least 5 people comment)I took her up on it, so here is my official "I'm in the game" post. It's the ultimate give and take!

So here we go, If you don't have a google ID and follow me, shoot me an email and I will add you thru the comment if you want to play. Hum, Iam curious to see who wants the goods. (or whatever it may be that you get. I have to think on it.)

First Day of School 2009

when you have a little sister, who is as big a ham as you are, it is nearly impossible to get her out of the picture.
Nathan's first day of school 2009.

Nathan is offically in the 4 year old preschool class and boy is he happy to be there. His teacher this year is Mrs. Francis and he is so excited to go to school 3 days a week. The preschool he is at focuses on a phonics based reading program and by the end of the year, he should be reading simple books. I am very happy with that, and look forward to a great year.

I sent Greg to school with Nathan for his open house, becasue I had to take my aunt to a Dr. appt. Greg filled out all his paperwork, likes and dislikes and such. He put on the paper that the name he goes by is Nate, not Nathan. Apparently Nathan spent all day Friday (the first day of school) correcting his teacher, telling her his name is Nathan not Nate. I cannot not blame his Dad, becasuse we do call him Nate alot. But when it come to school....he is Nathan. He started that last year, and I am sure it will change again before his school career is over. But whatever you call him, he is always my little boy.

My nephews!

My nephews are now 3 months old. Wow how time has flown by. Keanne will be returning to work the first part of September, and the boys will be with me and mine 3 days a week. My 2 are so excited to have their "new" cousins with them. Can't wait!

Alex is 18 Months!

Alright, I am about a week late on this, but better late than never.

Lex went to the dr. last week for her 18 month check-up, and all is well. Her tubes have given us 3 whole months without an ear infection. That is the longest we have gone since she was born. She had her first one at 4 months old and from there it was like clock work that she would have a double ear infection every 6 weeks or so. Needless to say we are super excited to be done with that.

She weighed in at 24 pounds. and that puts her in the 50% for that. The same was true of her head size....it put her in the 50% range. She is 33.4 inches tall which puts her in the 90% for height. Not really a suprise there. She is a tall cookie just like her big brother. She is following her established growth cruve nicely, and all her immunizations are up to date, and we are good until she needs her flu shot this fall.

So, despite our fondness for our wonderful pediatrician, Dr. Cox, you will have to find another family to pay for all your stiches in your nose. We are taking a break from sick kids. See ya in the fall for flu shots and then not again until 5 and 2 yr old check-ups!

Congratulations It's a .........Mazda?

So I finally got a new car. It is not at all what I thought I would get, but it was a screamin' deal and I am super excited. I got a 2008 Mazda cx-9, it is liquid silver....not my prefered color. But it was kinda the only option. We found it here locally, after it had been pulled from a lot in Utah county that (as they put it...had had some legal issues) it is a 2008 that had 58 miles on it when we drove it off the lot. Seriously it was brand new. And we got it for more like a used car price. SWEET! So now me and the kids are set. We can actually go places with people in only one car. That will be a totally new idea for us and I am excited.

Finally......

It is finally (nearly) over. My time as a single mom is coming to an end. The hubs will be home in less than 24 hours and I am so excited. The past week has been long, but luckily for me, and my kids, we have the very best family and friends. Saturday night was rough, Greg had not been gone 4 hours when Lex pooped in the bathtub! GROSS! I was not a happy girl and figured that must have just been the beginning, but really it wasn't. Sure we had our ups and downs, but we have made it through. On Sunday, Katie, Jared and Alyssa came up, hung out and made us a lovely dinner! Nathan got to spend Monday night with Grandma (Greg's mom). She took him to the new Ice Age movie and his favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner. Can you say spoiled? Lex had a Dr appt on Tues with her ENT to check her ear tubes (in which she got a clean bill of health) and we swung by Grandma's on the way home, hung out for a bit and stopped at Mc'd's for some nuggets on the way home. That night Courtney (my 18 yr old neighbor) came over to see if the kids could play on the front lawn with her. Yep, no probs...wear them out good. Wednesday we just hung out at home, Court did take Nate to get a Slurpee. Thursday, I had plans to get a pedi and some dinner with the girls, so my mom took the kids. They were both supposed to spend the night, but my poor step-dad totalled his motorcycle in Canada on the way back from riding to Alaska (he is very sad, but not hurt thank heavens) so instead of keeping them both, she only was able to keep Nate, because she had to pick the Dad up at the airport at 9:30p.m. But I did get to go out with Katie and Heather, and though we were missing the 4th musketeer (AMY!!) we did manage to have a very relaxing and fun time. Friday was technically a holiday, so we spent the whole day at my parents. The kids in the pool, me napping!! It was a good day. Saturday we got up early and Nathan rode his new bike (I told you he was spoiled) in the neighborhood bike parade. We had breakfast with our neighborhood (I love where we live!) and then headed home. Katie called and asked if she could take Nate to a movie with Alyssa (SPOILED AGAIN) and then we hung out and let the kiddies feed the horses. It also must be said that Nathan talked to his dad or at least left him a message EVERY night that he was gone. Which I think is part of the reason things went so well, but I am still ready for Greg to be home. And I am more than ready for the my girls trip this fall. And maybe a good back rub and a nap.

Soapbox (again)...

OkAy, so as I was blog surfing one night when I should have been doing dishes or laundry or whatever other mundane household duty that was calling my name, I came accross a post by a woman whose car had been stole out of her garage. Now, in and of itself, there is not a whole lot that can be done about that, per say. But the part that made me want to shake her, was the fact that she had made it the motherlode for the crook. Not only had she left her keys in the car, but her purse too. Seriously, I thought, people do that?

So one day as my friend (she knows who she is, and I will not reveil her here due to the following) and I sat at Mcdonald's while the kids played in the playland, I told her the story and I nearly fell off my chair when she gave me a sly smile and said she leaves her items in the car all the time so she doesn't forget them. SERIOUSLY! Now I am not a genius, but let us think this thru.....you just gave the theif, not only your car, with the keys, but also your house keys, your work keys (if you have such things), and ha yes, your wallet and all its contents. And maybe even a contact list or planner with your schedule in it. Now I am not trying to harp on anyone (okay, so I might be a little bit) but really are the 2 minutes you just "saved" by having your keys and purse in the car worth the problems that will come if they are stolen? I am thinking, not so much. I have neighbors down around the bend that this happened to, and they said the cost alone in having to change ALL the locks to their house, was not only expensive but also a pain in the hiney! So people PLEASE! Don't leave your crap in the car. I just want to save you from a worse headache than is necessary. And to my friend, you know I love you!

Summer Fun

We drug the pool out for the first time this year and the kids had a great time. Lex is a water baby. She climbed right up and slid down the slide no questions asked. Nathan and his friend Alyssa had a ball splashing and dumping buckets of water on the cat (the cat was not amused) and running around the back yard like the wild children they are. Nice way to make 100 degrees feel much cooler.

Single mom for a week

Every year the hubby packs up and heads to Alaska for a week of fishing and bonding (or what ever it is that men do) with his dad, brother, uncle and 2 close family friends. Well, this is that week. I am still trying to recover from having house guests (who are more than welcome again next year....if they want) and I would like to sleep for a week. I have a one year old who is teething, and a grumpy butt, but I am hanging in there. Becasue those things are just life. I spend most every day with my kiddies. I love them so much. And I just laugh t how funny they are, before Greg left Nathan said he was going to call his dad every night and I think he ment it. We called him last night, right before bed, even thought he was still on the plane and Nate left him the cutest message ever, Greg said it was great to turn on his phone and see and message and have it be from Nate. So tonight as we fininsh up our night time routine, he tells me we have to call Daddy. So in we go and dial him up. Greg was able to get some reception and it was fun to hear Nate tell him about his day. Love that kid. Last night Nate kept creeping into my bed. When I asked him about it this morning he said that he slept with Daddy while I was away in St George. I kindly told him NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! He will sleep in his bed and I will sleep in mine...............we shall see. So tomorrow he (NATHAN) has scheduled himself a sleepover at Grandma's and then a movie with her on Tuesday. Lex has to go to the dr to have her ear tubes checked so it worked out great for me schedule wise. And I think I may head to dinner with my mom. I can only hope the week continues on so smoothly and that we don't have any "I need my daddy moments", becasue he is far far away. Until next Sunday anyway.

What a week

So my cousin and his family have been here for a couple of days, and I am toast. I am pretty sure we have gone non-stop for 4 days, and I am really starting to feel like it, but instead of whining I will fill you in....

Sunday....arrival and family dinner with the Salt Lake crew. That would be me and my family (this makes more sense when you know that they are staying at our house) my mom, Rosie (the very best aunt) and my little bro Pete and his wife and of course my cutie twin nephews. We had crockpot lasagna and it was devine. I also snuck out to Sanctuary and had a pedi with Keanne...Good times.

Monday....We kinda just let the day lead the way. We went mellow. Paul (the cousin) went to the local carpenters union office. Greg worked half a day, and we all met for lunch at THE PIE! Yummy pizza. Then we headed to Kennecot to see the pit in all it huge old glory. It had been a long time since I had been there, and it was big and had a ton of neat information. We ended the day with my mom coming to watch the kids, and the 4 grown ups going out to dinner at Red Rock.

Tuesday.... Greg had to work all day, so we loaded the remaining 8 of us in to the cousin's 'burb and headed for the monastary in Huntsville. This trip is necessary, becasue we have an uncle who is a monk up there. It had been 10 yrs since they were there, not so long for my crew, but all good. The kids got to run outside on the lawn at the guest houses, something I remember doing when I was a kid, while the grown-ups had chat time with the old guy (and I do mean old...he will be 80 in October). We had a lovely visit and came down Ogden Canyon. After some dicussion, we decided it was to freakin' hot to go to the Eccles Dino Park, and instead headed for home, but not before stopping off at The Greenery for some Mormon Muffins....mmmm, yummy. We got home about 5:30 and I fixed us some dinner.

Wednesday....We split the morning up some. Nancee, Zoe and I hit the mall for an hour or 2, and the boys and Shannon and Lex stayed home in some sense. Nate had a hair cut and Paul built a cat scratch post. In the afternoon, we all joined forces and headed for Sweet's Candy Co for a factory tour. It was super fun. All 9 of us enjoyed it alot. Then we headed the other way and went to the Dino museum at Thanksgiving Point. We spent a couple hours there, before darting home for a minute to let everyone freshen up and then off to Rosie's for a tasty dinner. Turkey and burgers, and salad and all so good.

Thursday....I sent the 5 Moran's to Lagoon, and the kids and I tried to play catch up. On naps, and laundry and dishes, and all. I am currently baking a rum cake to take to Price tomorrow.

So I will have to post again, when all is said and done, and oh, did I mention that my hubby leaves on Saturday for his yearly trek to Alaska? I will survive.............

2nd week of July

As if things are not crazy enough around here, we have fam in from California. My cousin, his wife and 3 kiddies are with us for a week and we are giving them the whorl wind tour of SLC. I will get some fun pics up when I can. We hit the copper mine today and are dashing up Ogden way tomorrow to see the Uncle at the monistary. All in all it will be a trip to remember.

Marriage...

"Marriage is like a warm gas stove. Even if the burners aren't on all the time, you've always got to keep the pilot light lit. You have to go back to that, back to the beginning."

(that was said by Brian a 67 yr old guy when talking about making his own marriage work. He has been married for 40 (!!!!!!) years. and I full admit I stole the quote off msn.com)

4th of July

Happy 4th of July. I am a bit of a patriotic dolt. My kids are both wearing Old Navy flag tee's we are having a bbq with the fam this afternoon (even if the heavens open and we have a down pour.) and I will cry today when I hear the national anthem. My grandparents (on my mom's side) both imigrated to this nation in the past 100 years or so. We are still really new to this country by some standards. But the one thing the fourth always makes me think of is my cousins. Not becasue of some weird family thing, but becasue I have 2 cousins who have chosen to give it all to the ARMY. Max and Zeke are twins that are 6 months older than I, so needless to say they are like brothers to me. I think it was pretty clear from the time we were old enough to figure out that we had to have jobs when we were adults, that these 2 would end up in the armed forces some where, some how. I cannot help but worry about them and what they are up to. This year, on the 4th, I am fortunate to not have to worry so much. They are both stateside for a change. Max, the apache helicopter pilot, is back from a stint in Korea. While Zeke, the Captain, is back from a very long stay in Afganistan. Both in my opinion are home from very nasty places, at a very good time. They have both said that they envy me for my family. I always tell them that without them and what they do, my family would not be what it is, safe, happy and free to be together. I don't think they ever hear enough how much what they do means to anyone, especially me. I am so greatful, and more than that blessed that they are safe and unscathed. So to all those souls who have served out nation (that includes my step-dad the Navy diver, my step-brother the Navy man, my uncles who have served and even my cute dad-in-law, and anyone I missed) THANK YOU. Know that I appreciate you and what you have done.

Ear tubes!

Okay, I hope we are done. I mean I really like the ENT we use, but I really just don't want to spend any more time with him. And hopefully with Friday's events, pending one follow up appointment, we will have wrapped it all up. Alex got tubes in both her little ears yesterday. It went well (for the most part, we had a little issue with the nursing staff and Alex's red dye allergy) and she has bounced back to her good old self. She puked like a 2-headed monster in the car, all over herself and her carseat on the way home, but we made it in one piece. I am so excited to be hopefully be done with ear infections and a miserable child. Lex has had 6 double ear infections in the past year, and the last one was a doozie. She was miserable for days, and I felt so bad for her. You know if she stops moving and wants to cuddle up to you, then there is something wrong, because Iswear, She NEVER stops moving. And she gave up cuddleing at like 10 months old, as soon as she learned to walk. So, despite my affection for Dr. Child (the greatest ENT ever!! he also did Nate's tonsils and adnoid removal in May) I really hope that we can retire your telephone number for a good long time. We will be more than happy to refer you to him though, if you need a great ENT.

Smokey the kitten

Nathan and his Kitten

Alex and Smokey

Smokey the kitten (only you can prevent forest fires!)

So we got adopted by a kitten. We opened the garage last Sunday and it came running in and has hardly left since. As with all things, he came with a long story, so I will give you the cliffnotes version. He was a neighbors, but they had too may cats, so they gave him to our other neighbors who have ties to the humane society, so they could turn him in for adoption. We, by this point were ready to claim him, and Janette (our sweet neighbor) was able to make it so he was ours. Smokey is the sweetest kitten. He loves to lay ON you. He loves the kids. He even lets Lex pick him up. He uses a litter box like a pro, and has in 2 days not given us any grief. So not what I expected from a kitten. I thought we would be having poop issues and scratching issues, but we have not had any (yet!). I am so excited. Smokey even tolerates his moring baby wipe rub down, with out complaining. (they told us if you wipe them down daily with an unscented baby wipe it will keep their dander down and have less problems for people with allergies, such as my sweet hubby, who though to this point has shown no symptoms what so ever. It is awesome. I never expected it to be this easy. And I am so happy that my kids have a pet that they can love and be responsible for, I think it is good for them. So, only time will tell, but all the neighbors love him. Courtney, Nate's 18 year old girlfriend next door, would probably steal him if she could. But we will loan him for the loving. I swear he climbs on your chest settles in and purrs like a motorboat. So cute!

Sleep?!?!?

Oh, how describe the past weeek? I am really not sure. We have had our ups and downs. On Friday, May 22nd, Nathan had his first (and hopefully last) surgery.



We have spent much of the last 4 years getting the boy to sleep at night. We had created some bad habits (OOPS!) and had taken all the steps to rectify them. Nathan was going to bed by himself, following a great routine, and still getting up between 2 and 6 times a night. Greg and I were at a loss (of sleep and sanity), so we hauled him into his pediatrician (Dr. Cox is awesome) and started what would be a unique adventure. I am sure by now it is pretty darn clear that NOTHING with Nathan is ever quick or simple. Dr. Cox was really not sure what to do with his not sleeping. He had no clear or obvious medical causes, so the good Dr. recommended we see a sleep specailist and see what she had to say, so off we headed to Dr. Pfeffer. She rocks too. She listened very closely to what we had to say. Was a bit perplexed. How ca a child go to sleep so well and easily and be up anywhere from 2-5 hours later and not want anything but to be tucked in again. Greg and I felt there was something wrong with his sleep patterns, Dr. Pfeffer, was unsure and thought perhaps it could be a behavioral issue, but was not really sure about that. So she suggested a sleep study. Wholly Crap was that a process for a 4 year old. If I ever manage to get the pics off my cell phone I will post them, but needless to say he was hooked up to about 20 leds, 2 nasal canals, and chest and belly pressure bands. Plus he did not get to bed until at least an hour after bedtime, and we were in a strange place. When he finally did go to sleep, it seemed ok. He never got out of bed.....I am not sure he could have had he wanted to anyway. And a few short hours later they woke us, unhooked Nate and sent us on our way. Shortly after that we saw our pediatrician in a non-office setting and asked if he has seen or heard anything from the sleep dr. He said he had and since we would be in on Tuesday with Alex he would review it and talk to us about it then. Turns out that we got the results in the mail the very next day and talk about shocked. Turns out Greg and I have a 4 year old with sleep apnea! WHAT THE *&^%! How is that possible? Turns out that even though his tonsils and adnoids were not really large, they were causing a blockage in his breathing process, especially when he slept. So we had an appt with the sleep specailist to follow up with the sleep study and I thought she was going to jump out of her chair she was so excited to see the results. It was more than clear that Nate was have some major sleep issues and that they were medically caused. Nathan sleeps really well for the first 2 to 4-ish hours and then all hell brakes loose. His REM cycles are directly realated to his bretahing diffcilties. His legs twitch, and he really labors to breathe. Even though I was expecting a result like that when I saw on paper how bad it was, I about laughed and cried. He had something like 115 wakening episodes and of those 105 were realated to apnea with something like 90 of them directly realated to difficulty getting oxygen. I was astounded. As were both Greg and the doctor. The doctor really thought that we were probably having more behavorial problems with little intrinsic (medical) factors. And she was the first to say she was soooo wrong. But she was so excited at being able to help him. It was so nice to have her be so supportive and so willing to admit that her first impression was so wrong. So we got Nathan an appointment with the ENT and as it turned out we were able to schedule his surgery to remove his tonsil and adnoids the friday right after school ended. Greg and I tried to be really honest with him about the whole thing and answered any questions he had. Like, no they do not "pop" your head off to get your tonsils out. They put you to sleep and take them out thru your mouth. But by far one of the very best things we did was to take him up to the pre-surgery class at PCMC. Nathan is a very logical and tactile child. He loved the class, which walked him through the whole process as best as possible and he was very calm about the whole process. When we were getting him check in and changed into his "hospital pajamas" they asked if he needed the versed to calm him before surgery. So I looked at him and asked him if he wanted the medicine that made him really calm and sleepy . He looked me square in the face and said no, he wanted to go to the game and toy room and play video games. I said no he did not need the medicine, but could I maybe have a dose, to which the nurse got a good laugh. I was really not sure about how I was feeling about putting my little guy "under the knife". So the short verison is, all went well. Our ENT, Dr. Child, said it went greatand in less than a hour we were back by Nathan's bedside watching him in his groggy little haze. He woke up pretty well, but had to stay for a 4 hour observation. Nathan's nurse in the PACU was so great. Her name was Jane, and she was soo sweet to him and us. She brought him root beer slushees, and apple juice and sprite and jello and mac and cheese. Nathan was awake at first, but after drinking some slushee and some popsicle, the vast amount of sugar was too much for him and within 10 minutes of wanting it he was sick to his stomach. Luckily Dr. Child had prescribed some medicine for him, and soon he was not only was the nausea gone, but Nathan had drifted off to sleep for a long nap. During this time I ran over to the U, where my sister-in-law and nephews were, an checked in on them. When I got back Nathan was snoozing, and Greg was reading his book. It took surgery, but I finally managed to finish the book I have been reading for months. Sadly, I finished it in hour number 2 and then was left with some time to burn. We got to the hospital at 11:45 and we left at 7pm. It was a long day for all, and Nate, bless his heart, as we are strapping him in to the car, says "wait. we have to go see Aunt Keanne." We chuckeled at him and said no, he needed to go home and that Aunt Keanne would be okay without a visit from us. So now we are on the road to recovery. I have a feeling it will be a long road.

Coincidences?

Pete and KeAnne and their boys in their going home outfits

Okay for those not aware, my brother and I are only 11 months apart in age. Pete was born in November 1978, I was born in December 1977. So yes, my mom was pregnant for 2 years, nearly non-stop. We have always been pretty close. There are only 2 of us. We have spent most of our lives making each other crazy. And I love it. We have also both always been close to our cousins who are our age. But, our boys are taking it just too far. Here are the facts, as they stand today.

Nathan, Andrew, and Cooper were all born at 33 weeks (and some days). All three spent 3 weeks in the NICU. (Nate 21 days, Cooper and Andrew 20 days). All 3 boys came home from the hospital on a holiday. (Nate on Christmas 2004, Andrew and Cooper on Memorial Day 2009.), and last but not least, and this is the weird one, the holidays date was the 25th day of the month.

They are three unique little creatures. I cannot wait to see what Andrew and Cooper grow up to be like. (I am not trying to rush that at all!) Cooper looks just like Nathan...which is adorable! Andrew looks like Keanne's side of the family, so he is a darn cutie too. I am curious to see how these three bond in their lifetimes together. Hmmmmmmmmm.........

Mom Jeopordy

The Answer:

Things you never thought you would say.....

The Question:

What is "Alex stop dancing on the coffee table"
"I am so sick of seeing weiner, put on some underwear"
"If you do one more headstand on my couch you will not have a head"
"Stop chewing on your shirt"
"Yes you can have yogurt for dessert"
"Just because you are 4 and can use DAMN correctly in a sentence does not
mean you can say it"

I am sure there will be a part 2 to this. I swear that my kids do and say the strangest things.

NINE!!

Nine years ago today, I married my best friend, my love and my everything. We have been thru so very much together, but every day seems better than the last. I love everyday with you Greg. Every choice we make, good or bad, is made together. I enjoy our date nights, our giggles together, and all the fun we have. I love that you tend to make me laugh at the same moment that I want to kill you with my bare hands. You know me, and love me despite it. So today, forever and always. I love you!

4 Years Ago....

Flashbacks. They are an interesting thing. I figured that they would happen, and I had prepared myself, mentally, for them. But I was not really sure how I would handle the moment I stepped foot back in a NICU for quality time with a baby that I loved. It was a little over 4 years ago that my son was born premature. I, like my sweet sister-in-law, had no control over the situation. My doctor had to induce my labor at 33 weeks because I had incredibly high blood pressure, and it was no longer safe for me to be pregnant. For me or the baby. For me it was a very matter of fact thing. I was startled by the events, but I didn't really have time to be scared. I knew my baby was coming way too soon, and that his lungs were not ready. I could feel that in my gut, but I had no choice, I had to do what was best for both myself and my son. I remember a couple of things very clearly. First, it was December 3rd. Of course, one would assume that I would recall the day, but it was more than a day. December 3rd is MY birthday, and I was not ready to share. I looked at my wonderful doctor and said "I do not want him to be born before midnight!" with a cute little laugh, my OB informed me that the induction would take a good 12 hours. Secondly, my in-laws were a few thousand miles away getting ready to board a ship for a cruise through the Panama Canal. This is their first grandchild, and they were not here. I am not sure if I was upset by that, but I recall being a bit sad for them, strangely enough they called not long after the decision was made to induce me, and they called regularly over the next 2 weeks so we were able to give them updates on Nathan's well being. And lastly, I had to let my husband and my mom know what was going on. Those 2 phone calls were the most necessary and the least fun. I knew they would both be worried and probably freak out a bit, and they did. Not that I could really change what was happening. So, I was under way to deliver my first baby. My labor was not horrible, I was upset that the epidural won't work. I never planned on natural childbirth, but that is what I got. Lucky for me it was only 13 and a half hours long. Granted it was all night long, but I made it through and when they said I was ready I looked at the nurse and told her I had no intention of pushing for hours, so if he was not ready to not even call the Dr. She said we were good to go, and so we started pushing. I think I only pushed twice before he came out. They tried to whisk him out of the room, but I was able to stop them and at least see him, before he was off to the nursery. That was at 6:32 in the morning and had I know I was going to spend much of the next 3 hours knocked out I would have kept him there just a minute longer. With no epidural and a placenta that would not deliver, I was begging my doctor to stop trying to dig it out by hand. By the grace of God, the wonderful anesthesiologist who, despite 8 tries was unable to get the epidural to work, came to see what was going on since he knew the baby had been delivered. The last words I remember were "hand me that other bottle of versed off my cart will you" and then the pain that was worse than labor stopped. Next thing I knew I woke up some 3 hours later, and wanted to see my son. And even though I was insanely groggy and a bit dizzy I jumped into the wheelchair so I could go see him. He was insanely cute. By noon they were concerned it was taking too much effort for him to breathe, diagnosed him with RDS (respiratory distress syndrome), and they decided it was time to move him to a hospital with a NICU. So by 1:oo in the afternoon, my baby was packaged into a incubator, and loaded into a special ambulance staffed with a team whose job is to transports babies, and sent packing to a different hospital than the one I was left at. Let me say there is nothing worse than being stuck on the maternity ward without a child. I know my sweet husband was torn. He wanted to be with me, and I wanted him to be with Nathan. Nate's first visitors in the NICU were Greg, my mom and my brother Pete. Little did I know how significant that would turn out to be 4 years later. Nate had good days and bad days in the NICU. He was given surfactant when they got him there, and was able to be off all oxygen support within 24 hours of birth (thank you March of Dimes) but had to keep his little IV. It went from his hand to his head, before it was able to be completely removed by the time he was about a week old. All told we spent a full 21 days in the hospital with him. When Greg's parents got home from their trip they came straight from the airport to the hospital to see their new grandson. I don't remember being afraid of the equipment, but I know it was shocking to see it all, but I got used to it. And I knew it was taking care of my child. We could only have 6 visitors to see Nathan. Among them were my brother and sister-in-law. They both got the chance to hold him and love him while he was all hooked up. And I most certainly hope that it has made their adventures with their 2 little boys easier for them. I by no way want to take away from their experience. Every parent has their own worries and fears, but I hope that having had Nathan in the NICU and seeing him all hooked up to the oxygen and monitors and NG tube has softened the blow of having their own boys there. I got to go see Cooper and Andrew for the first time since their birth yesterday, and it was magical. I got to snuggle with Cooper and explain to him who his favorite auntie is (ME of course). And even though I teared up when I got there, I kept it together. Because I know what those 2 little munchkins are going to be like in 4 years, healthy happy little boys who are making their parents question every decision they make. And that is the very best part!

Baby Names

It is official......the boys names are Andrew Peter Hadden and Cooper Nicholl Hadden. Keanne and the boys are doing great. We went and saw her today, but not the babies. Nathan is so bummed out. He wants to meet his new cousins so bad. We showed him some pictures, but he is really ready to see them, He told us at lunch that he was really sad. Greg and I told him not to worry he would have a lot of chances to get to see them and to get to know them. But now I gotta get my butt in gear and find a new car that will hold 4 car seats at one time, cuz my sweet Saturn ain't gonna be able to pull this one off.

I am an AUNTIE!!

So we got a call from my brother this morning about 8:15 am. He said that Keanne's water broke that moring when his alarm went off for work (good grief what kind of alarm clock do you use!!) and that they were at Jordan Valley Hospital, but that because she was only 33 weeks and 3 days that they were going to stick her in a helicopter and send her to the University of Utah. Well hello!! So I ran Nate to preschool, took Alex to my in-laws, and since my mom was on her way home from Death Valley, I rushed up to the U. I was a bit of a mess. Suddenly I have a chance to think about what delivering at 33 weeks means and how truly scary it is. I didn't really have time to think about all that with Nathan when I was the one delivering, but I cried most of the way up to the hospital. My turn to freak out about it. I knew that Keanne had the steroids shots for the babies lungs, so that made me feel better, but I was still really anxious. So I get up there, find labor and delivery, and figure it is time to sit back. I thought surely she had already delivered. but NO. Right after she got there they got an emergency c-section, so they held her back. She didn't have to wait too long, but I saw how hard and fast her contractions were coming, and when the dr. decided to check her, she must have felt toes (baby "a" was breach) because her eyes got really big and she said "we are moving NOW" and away they went. They boys were born at 11:27 and 11:28 respectively and weighed in at 4 lbs 14 oz and 5 lbs even (again respectivley). All three of them are doing great. Keanne is a trooper, and I am so glad they are all well. Hopefully the boys will be able to come home soon, and then the madness will really get going. I will post some pics as soon as I can. And, I will list their names as soon as they are official. Keanne wanted to see baby "b" before she was sure of his name, and she had only seen baby "a" when I had to leave for Nathan's dr's appt.

Saw this on a friends facebook page and about fell over.....

MOTHERHOOD: the only place you can experience heaven and hell at the same time!!

Coming and goings....

I feel like I blog in bursts. Which I guess really is the case, so here is a burst...as to what is bursting that is up to you to decide.

My sweet sister-in-law has reached the 33 week mark with the BOYS! Poor Keanne has been on bedrest for about 3 weeks (maybe more I am not sure) and bless her heart she just keeps her feet up and minds her manners. I cannot put into words how amazing she is. First, she puts up with my brother. She deserves a medal for that, and now she is having TWIN BOYS! Good grief. I am going to have to loan her Alex from time to time just so there can be a little bit of estrgoen in that house. I can only imagine that much testosterone. But I am of course wildly excited for my nephews to make their apperance. Andrew and (insert name here) are going to be so loved it is pretty much gross. And with any luck, baby "B" will have a name! I know there are a couple up in the air, I have decided to not voice any further opinion either way. All I can say is glad I only had to name mine one at a time.

Nathan has sleep apnea. How in the world can a 4 yr old have sleep apnea.......seems that he had a problem with his tonsils and adnoids and after we meet with the sleep specialist on Monday, we are off to the ENT on Tuesday to see about a little surgery. I am not excited for him to have surgery, but if it needs to be done (and from the sleep study report it NEEDS to be done) I would so much rather have it done when he is still younger. It can be brutal when they get older. Nathan was a little freaked out at first, but once I explained that they will not pop his head off....his idea not mine.....and that he will get to have a few days of only eating ice cream, jello and icees, he was more than okay with the idea. You will notice I "forgot" to tell him it is probably going to hurt some too. I will come clean about that later.

Lex had her 15 mo. check up on Tuesday. She is growing well. She is in the 50% for weight and head size, and the 90+% for height. No suprise there. Nate has always been on the tall side, and since my brother is over 6 ft, and so is my father-in-law. I am not shocked to see that my kids are tall. I feel so awful for her though, because despite being fine on tuesday, she is now miserable. She has a fever and a nasty cough. I am sure it is just reaction to the shots. She has never tolerated them well, but I may have to take her to the Dr on Saturday depending on how she looks, and what her fever is up to in the morning.

I must say that I am super excited though......I am getting to go away with Greg for our anniversary. We are running to Vegas a little later in May and I am so ready. We have not been away since Lex was born and I am sure we will not be able to relax, but we are going to give it a whirl. I have a book I have been trying to read since Janurary and I am going to finish it!!! Boy NINE years has flown by.

So those are the comings and goings around here. I am currently working on my recipe blog, I hopefully will have a bunch of new recipes on there before long, so keep checking back.

Happy Weekend!

Ronald Mcdonald House Gala

I am so lucky to work with an amazing committee who has once again, pulled off the unimaginable. 4 years ago, my brother's MIL asked if I want to help her with a charity event. I figured why not. I had a baby, that was finally health and pretty content, and I needed to regain my sense of self. So May introduced me to the Ronald Mcdonald House. I knew of their existence, we had pod buddies in the NICU that used their services. I never had been to the house or had used them personally, but I loved their comittment to families and I KNEW how it felt to be the parent with a child who was not well and to watch his medical bills just keep growing, so I signed on for the few months she needed help.
What if you live in Utah and need to be at a hospital in California for your childs care...what would you do? where would you stay? I know we would all be out the door and say we will figure it out when we get there right?...that is where the House comes in. I had the chance to meet a mom from California who came to visit for a quick girls getaway when she was 30 weeks pregnant. She was here for one last hoorah before her (first) baby was born. The morning she woke up to go home with her friends, she figured out she was in labor. She delivered at a local SLC hospital and stayed at the house until her daughter was strong enough to go home. Can you imagine? And I can tell you first hand that NICU bills add up fast. My son was born six weeks premature, and is my $100,000 boy, and when you consider he had no big complications, that is a ton of cash. Not something I had laying around. I was lucky to live here, but the House serves families every night that live more than 35 miles away from here. So the bottom line, need a charity to support? What to do something great? check out the website...... http://www.rmhcslc.org/ and see what you can do to help. If you don't want to write a check, there are some great ways to help out and be involved. And by all meanss, find the local Ronald Mcdonald House in you r area if you aren't here local to me!
So Saturday is the Gala for 2009. We have had a difficult year, but have made it thru. Despite some rough economic times, we have 700+ silent auction items, plus some great live auction items too. We are expecting a full house, which is so exciting, and I cannot wait to see how we do....and to see if I can snag myself a little something at the auction too. I have my eye on a few items.......we will have to see. I'll keep you posted!

Happy Easter

So as I was trying to explain Easter to my four year old this morning, I thought about how truly amazing this season is. In short, I explained to Nathan that just like Christmas is Jesus's birthday, so is Easter in a sense. You must understand that he is a very logical, tactile child, and has yet to experience death, so I have not had to deal a lot with things that are really abstract. He seemed to take what I said at face value, and didn't even ask why Jesus got two birthdays and he only got one. So, despite, a very vague explanation, I was able to get the point accross that Easter is about a whole lot more that just a bunny and a basket of eggs. Which really is the point. Once again, Jesus is the reason for the season!

Boys will be Boys....

The living room from the stairs, if you look close you can see the THOMAS toys and train tracks underneath the SNOW!

Can you find the empty couch cushion in the above picture?

Just some more mayhem! Let it snow, let it snow!

Have you ever thought to yourself....."Self, I wonder what it would look like if a 3 year old and a 4 year old pulled all the stuffing out of couch coushion?" You no longer have to wonder, THIS is the result. Last week my friend Jannda, had a family emergency, and asked if I could take Mason for a couple of hours while she went and did what was necessary. I said sure no problem, drop him off whenever. She dropped him off about 1 just as Lex was waking up and deciding she was hungry, so I left the boys to play train in the living room, something they had done a million times before, and also the only place that Lex cannot go Godzilla all over the track and yank it apart. Lex and I are happily in the kitchen, she eating some leftover chili (divine recipe by the way it is on my recipe blog, check it out!) when Mason sticks his arms over the gate and says to me "Look Snow." I turn to see what he could possibly be talking about and I nearly fall over, where I ask myself, could he have gotten THAT! So I put the baby on the floor so she doesn't nose dive out of her highchair, and I make it to the gate in about 3 steps........pretty good for a 12 foot walk.....and I am met by the above sight. And my son saying "look Mom it is snowing" I am so far beyond speechless....hello, me speechless!!!.....I stammered for words and the first ones I found were "get in time-out NOW" and they looked at me, and suddenly the words came flowing.....

"what in the hell were you thinking".....

"TIME-OUT NOW, both of you! I said NOW"......

"don't move until I tell you.".........

"seriously whose idea was this"....

two sets of puppy dog eyes, Nate "Mom we just wanted snow" Me "there are a whole lot better ways then this..I had some packing peanuts in the garage you could have played with." Nate "Oh, go get those" Me "OH HELL NO!!!"

So I stuck both of the boys in time-out, cleaned up the mess (and to all of you who say I should have made them clean it up, all I can say is really, my pillows are having a tough enough life, the last thing they need it to stuffed half full, or one half full and one over flowing full, I just did it myself so I did not have to hurt anyone), had a little chat with the boys about what will happen to them if that were to ever happen again, and then took pictures and texted them to Mason's mom and my sweet husband. Both were surprised to say the least.....Greg asked if there was blood shed, Jannda just apologized over and over again. Seriously it took them 15 minutes to tear the place apart. But we all survived, and I learned that even the best of kids can work a wire lose and go NUTS!

One Busy Saturday....

Saturday was a busy one for us. We had a wedding to go to and a sibling (mine) moving. Of course these 2 things, must be scheduled for the exact same time, because what fun would it be if they were not?
I started the day earlier than desired and rack with guilt by running to the grocery store to make up a goodie basket for my brother and his cute wife and their moving crew, as we were not able to really be of much help. I stocked a cooler with water, vitamin water and a few sodas. I also packed up some apples, chex mix (store bought....much as it is a shame to admit) and some cookies. Oh, and because I knew the guys helping him move, a 12 pack of Budwiser. Got home, got Alex and myself thru the shower, got ready, tried on 2 different skirts (could not decide which one I liked better...finally settled on the khaki linen one) and got the kids packed up and out the door. My mom had been kind enough to take Nathan so that he would not have to sit and be bored thru the wedding, we took Alex with us. We ran to my brother's old house to drop off Nathan (my mom was helping him move, of course) and the goodies, already way later than I wanted to be. My in-laws called as we were leaving there asking where the heck we were.....I love them so much, but they should know by now we are always late. Greg said we were 10 minutes out, then he and his Dad debated who's time was right, my cars, or his watch. I had no desire to be late for the ceremony, but it is not like we were part of the wedding party! As it turned out a member of the brides family had car trouble and so we arrived in just the nick of time, with a 1 year old who did not get her morning nap. As luck would have it Alex, was so good. She crawled all over her Grandpa and just as she was about to get restless, the ceremony was over and we were headed down the hallway to the luncheon, where she was able to pig out on strawberries and chocolate.
So once that was done, and by the way, we wish Bryan and Heather many happy years to come, we dashed home, changed clothes and headed over to "the new house" to help with the unpacking. While on the way over (yes, I talk and drive...hello I am a Mom, multitaking is my midlle name) I called my mom and she said that my aunt had taken Nathan to her house "the farm" and that we could pick him up there later. We went and helped as best we could with the unpacking, went home and changed AGAIN, and went to get Nathan (who had an awesome time at the farm...he fed the chickens, the cows, collected the farm fresh eggs, and made cookies with Rosie.) and went back to the wedding reception. We had also made plans that night to go to dinner with friends (more about that in a sec). At the reception, we handed both little ones off to their Grandma and Grandpa, with the passing notion that they were hungry and needed to be fed and also to be bathed ( Nate apparently had a good time in the grain bin at the farm), and dashed back home one more time to find our friends sitting on the couch waiting for us....thank heavens for coded garage doors so they could get in.
We had a great dinner with 2 of our most wonderful friends. Greg and Jared met at Snow College when they lived in the dorms there together many moons ago. Katie and I met at their wedding reception in 2001. I cannot tell you how great it is to have such awesome friends. We can (and do) talk about everything, and mostly agree, but it is okay if we don't too. We have kids that are very close to the same age (Alyssa just turned 5 and Nate will be there is Dec.) and our kids get along pretty much like siblings. Last time we had them together they were agruing about the road work on 10600 South. Nathan said they were widening the road and Alyssa was insistant that they were building a town. I think we were about 10 seconds from hair pulling when Katie and I had to set the record straight that, they were in fact, widening the road. Much to Alyssa's dismay. After dinner we came home, and the boys introduced Katie and I to the finer side of Youtube (if there is such a thing) and then we had to go our seperate ways to reclaim our children or really rescue the grandparents. But it was a great end to a day of craziness.
And as I lay in bed, next to my cute hubby, I am so aware of how great our life is. Sure it is chaotic, busy and non-stop, but it is full of great people who love us and that we love, and there is not much better than that.

Baby Update

I talked to Keanne the other day, just after her dr's appointment. All is well and the boys are growing really well. She is now 25 weeks along. I think we are almost to the point we can start counting down. To say that pregnancy has been good to Keanne is an understatement. She looks amazing, truly she has the pregnancy glow. She certainly is round, she is carrying twins for goodness sake, but she looks amazing. She and Pete sold their house in Kearns last week and are closing on their new house this week and will be moving this weekend. The best part of them moving is that their new house is a whole lot closer to me! Yahoo! Nathan is so excited to have new cousins. Alex could care less. I am sure she will love them, but right now all she cares about is the horses across the back fence. So ya for Keanne and her babies. We are so glad all is well and that we are getting closer to the boys arrival.

My Husband....

So I found this on a friends FACEBOOK page and decided that it might be a fun thing to do about my sweet husband. We have been married for 9 years this May and I love every year with him more than the last. He is so amazing on so many levels....mostly becsause he puts up with me and all the crap I throw at him. So, I love ya Greg, and now I will reveal all your secrets.
1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen? Scrubs or Ghost Hunters
2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? NO SALAD
3. What's one food he doesn't like? watermelon
4. What is his favorite drink? Mountain dew
5. Where did he go to high school? Hillcrest High
6. What size shoe does he wear? 9 1/2 usually
7.If he was to collect anything, what would it be? wow.....uhm......movies
8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? Not a fan of sandwiches
9. What would he eat every day if he could? oreos and milk
10. What is his favorite cereal? fruity pebbles
11.What would he never wear? a thong
12. What is his favorite sports team? MIAMI DOLPHINS
13. Who did he vote for? No one in favor of Nationalizing health care
14. Who is his best friend? ME
15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? Not enough room here.....more dishes.
16. What is his heritage? European
17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake? Yellow cake with chocolate frosting....if he is in a cake mood, if not just good vanilla ice cream
18. Did he play sports in school? yes, for a bit
19. What could he spend hours doing? like if he had time alone? He has a book he has been trying to finish and I think he owuld love some time to play the Wii with out a 4 yr old helping.
20. What is one unique talent he has? trying anything once....except food.

Tagged....

Okay so I have about 50 other things to do, but I am going to sneak this in. Jannda tagged me with 6 Random things/quirks tag. So here goes.



1. I have huge feet. I wear a size 11. Thanks Nate and Alex, before you I was a nice normal size 9 and a half. but no more.

2. I am game to try any food once, and I like most things, but I despise BRUSSEL SPROUTS! And I will not make my kids try them either.

3. I have "nighttime tourets" that is what my husband and cousin call the state of repeated twitching I go thru before falling asleep. I have been told it is a riot to watch.

4. I thought it was easier to recover from a c-section then a regular birth.

5. I always put veggies on my kids plates. They may not eat them, but they are there staring them in the face.

Years and Years....

20 years ago...
1. I was starting 5th grade.
2. I met the other Joey that would make school interesting.
(We had the same last inital and up closer looking also the same middle inital which lead us to be Joey boy and Joey girl. We ended up following each other all the way thru high school.)

10 years ago....
1. I was engaged (still)
2. I was trying college for the 2nd time.
3. I had recently embarked on my career as a pharmacy technician


5 years ago...
1. My hubby had just graduated from the U.
2. We bought our truck
3. We took our first real vacation since our honeymoon

3 years ago...
1. Nathan was 1yr. old
2. We were settled in our new house (now just our house)
3. I learned how much cereal and popcorn one man can eat (JASON MARSHALL)

1 year ago...
1. I had a 1 week old
2. I was recovering from a c-section (makes sense with #1)
3. I gave upsoda for a long 6 months (Alex didn't like it!)

Alexandra is ONE!

My very last baby is ONE! I am not sure where the past year has gone. Alex is so much fun and so wildly different that Nathan was that I am seriously shocked every stinkin' day. Her new feat is to climb up on the kitchen table, via the kitchen chairs, so needless to say the chairs legs are now lapped over the base of the table. I am lucky my Grandmother's table has rungs on the bottom be able to hook the to. She also has figured out that she can push things over to an item to be able to climb up onto things. Like her brother's toy box is one of her favorites, and nothing is safe from that child. She has go-go gadget arms, that I am pretty sure could reach to the moon. Last week she reached up on to the table (from the floor) and pulled down a melted frosty (MESS!) and a full cup of yogurt. It was such a mess, plus the yogurt was a Trix Kids yogurts so it had red dye in it and she ate the whole thing with her hand and got a huge stomachache from the coloring in the yogurt. I swear I am still finding and cleaning up frosty splatter.

Alex On Christmas Day in her frilly dress, and her pedal car.

Babies, Babies, Babies

So the ultrasound machine has spoken, and it has told us that KeAnne and Pete will be having........TWO BOYS! I am so excited for them and their growing family. The doctor said all looks well, which I am so happy to hear. The boys are growing well, as is KeAnne's waist band. But I must say, pregnancy has been good to her. She looks amazing and certainly has a "glow" to her. We hope and pray that all continues to go well, and that they all endure in this healthy and happy state.

Along those same lines, I am thrilled to find out that my girlfriend Jannda is having a girl She is due around the 19th of May and seems to be adjusting to the idea of having a second child. Trust me when I tell you that level of adjustment will still kick you in the teeth once the little munchkin has arrived. My girlfriend Carrie, is also having a girl, and seeing that this is her 4th, I am going to consider her a seasoned pro at this point.

My very best wishes to all the babies and their parents. I am praying for you all to be healthy and happy.

The Happiest Place on Earth and The Year of a Million Dreams

Disneyland was great. I was a bit skeptical of taking a 9 month old, but Alex had a ball. Nathan loved just about every second. Greg and I got to have some fun too. Nathan loved that we caught up with his cousins. That ment that he did not have to be stuck with his parents the whole trip. He got to go on rides with Riley and Jack. Which was more that icing on the cake. We literally shut the park down every night riding Buzz Lightyear Star Command. We would ride-run-repeat until they literally locked the doors. It was so fun. We got to ride the monorail into the park everyday, and then Nathan always wanted to walk back to the hotel.....just to keep the magic alive, most nights we had to carry him he was so beat, but he never feel asleep until we got to the room. Of course I can safely say I have never in my days seen that boy put on his pj's so fast and climb in bed. Most nights we could hardly keep him awake long enough to feed him, so we started each day off with breakfast and made him eat becasue he would skip food all day long just to ride the rides. He is a nut. We had great flights both ways. The Long Beach airport is not as big as my yard, aside from the runways. I was shocked at just how tiny it was. I learned some very important lessons on this trip. Such as when traveling with 2 small children, a stroller and all the luggage it is so very worth it to get a car and driver. It was fantastic to have them waiting for us, put all our things in to vehicle and drive us to our hotel and then unload all our things. Worth every penny. When flying with childern you can haul juice/formula/squishy food through airport security with out any problems. So nice to know that. Really a great trip, Nathan is already asking to go back. Maybe next year Nate, let me catch my breath.

The view out our hotelroom window.

We stayed on property this time at Paradise Pier.

Nathan and Minnie Mouse during breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen.

Alex was NOT afraid of the characters. In fact she was ready to love on them all.

Christmas Letter 2008

This is the letter I sent out with our Christmas cards this year. I am sorry if I some how missed you on our list. I sent out so many, my brain turned to mush. But if I did miss you, for which I apologize profusley send me an email so I can make sure I get you next year! We hope you all had a great Christmas and are looking forward to a wonderful New Year!

December 2008
Dear Family and Friends,
2008 has been an amazing year. We started things off with a bang with the birth of our baby girl. Alexandra Catherine White was born on a snowy Monday, January 28th, at 11:27 pm. She weighed in at 8 pounds 12 ounces (for those keeping track that is just shy of DOUBLE her brother’s birth weight) and 21 inches long. Alex was born healthy and happy and has, by the grace of God, mostly remained that way. She is now 10 months old and pretty much crazy. She insists on putting EVERYTHING in her mouth and will climb anything (stairs, toy boxes, laundry baskets) that she sees. She has been crawling for almost 4 months now and is taking more steps everyday. Near as I can tell, She is going to make Nathan look mellow……I am in so much trouble.
Nathan, aside from becoming a big brother, started preschool this fall and amazes me everyday. The preschool he is at starts off with teaching them to write their names right away. So at 4 years old, Nathan can write his first name. He also has mastered his months of the year and days of the week. He is eager to learn to read, and can identify most of his letters by sight and can tell you what sound they make. I am a strong believer that if you teach a child to read, the rest will all come so much more easily. Nathan still has a love of all things trains, and to his Dad’s delight Star Wars. He has his own lightsaber (okay 3 of them) and after many nights on his uncle’s (30 yr old) Star Wars sheets, he got a brand new set of his very own from Pottery Barn Kids.
Greg and I are still making each other crazy after 8 years of marriage and neither of us would change a thing. We are so happy that we can watch our children grow and learn everyday. We have been blessed with fantastic family, amazing friends and so much love. We are truly blessed.
This year brought us the usual challenges, with a few that we never planned on. My mom had her hands full with my Aunt Mary Ann, who, as it turned out needed major heart surgery. We are so glad that she has recovered so well, and that her time in SLC, lead her to an extraordinary relationship with Nathan. She started out in April not being able to hold Alex on her lap and now she bends down and picks her up. Thank you modern medicine. Greg’s Grandpa and Grandma have given us more than one stress filled moment this year……..but all seems to be good now.
The coming year is already full of excitement and wonder. My brother Pete and his wife KeAnne are due with twins in June. Greg has booked his yearly adventure to Alaska for July, and I intend to take a break this fall and will try to escape on a girl’s only trip. I am sure that Nathan and Alex will provide us with a lot of laughs and love, for it seems everyday is more entertaining than the next.
We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Healthy and Happy 2009. We are going to take everyday that we are given and make it wonderful. We hope that you are able to do the same!
Greg, Joey, Nathan and Alexandra White

Happy Thanksgiving!

In honor of this Thanksgiving day, I am now going to list five things that I am thankful for.....I know I will ultimaltey forget something huge, but none the less here I go......

1. fantastic family......I have amazing parents, crazy brothers (Pete and Mike), in-laws who love me as their own (so more craziness) and extended family that never ends.

2. babies, oh babies! I would be remiss if I did not mention (with a giggle) the Hadden babies. May they get here safe and sound and not give their mommy too much grief while in the womb.

3. My husband has a good job that continues to provide for us every day. (at least until Obama screws things up with his socialistic view of medicine)

4. My babies. I have to list them. I grow everyday because of them. Granted that I am usually growing more tired and more frustrated. But in 2 seconds they give me more joy than I ever imagined possible.

5. Those who keep us safe. Undoubtly this means our troops (M & Z) but I (stealing from Amy) also adding those who keep us safe around home....police, UHP, firemen, snowplow drivers (look we need them alot and their hours are just as bad as the other 3)

There it is, ponder your own list. And I hope you all have great things to be thankful for!

Say Thank You to Our Troops!

Hey everybody, I got this in an email, and in honor of our two guy in the Army, I signed in and sent a card. It was super easy and fast, so zip on over and send a card to our troops!

A Cute Little Family Grows (NOT MINE)

So it is out there for the world to know.....my little bother is going to be a daddy! Yahoo! Oh, but does it every get better than that.....He and his adorable wife KeAnne (the good Lord knew what He was doing when He gave her to Pete) are having TWINS! Ha! I know I am so bad, but I have been laughing and giving him crap since the day he called to tell me about their first dr's appt. Pete always loves to tell me how crazy my kids are and laugh at their, shall we say quirks. You know the little things like the fact that Nathan had had stitches 3 times by the time he was 2 years old, the fact that Alex eats EVERYTHING in sight and that Nathan has, on more than one occasion, run smack into a wall he was staring at. So I absolutley cannot wait to see how he deals with TWO little crazies running around at the same time. But there is one thing I know for sure, these two new little ones (whom we are affectionatley refering to as hockey puck and hockey stick) have two amazing parents who will love then and care for them so much. And at least Pete and KeAnne have somewhere to turn.....Max and Zeke are no longer our only set of twins.

Twilight The Movie....

Okay, so I am here to admit that I was not all that excited about Twilight being made into a movie. I truly enjoyed the book and have seen many books slaughtered in the name of making a movie out of it. But I have to tell you that I am pleasantly suprised. I was able, thru some friends to get a ticket (or 2) to an advanced screening of the movie.....I am writing this after having seen the movie at 7pm and it is not in full release until midnight tonight. So I am feeling pretty ahead of the game here. I have to tell you, I was NOT a fan of the guy playing Edward, but after seeing the movie I think he was great. I am speechless over the guy who played James....wholly HOTTIE! too bad he dies.......if you didn't know that, have you been living under a rock? So, it is not a five star work of art, but it was a ggod movie I would be more that willing to see again. Oh, and just let me say that the kid who plays Jacob....again HOTTIE!

Happy Halloween

Braxton (Spiderman), Alyssa (Halloween Minnie Mouse), Nathan (Luke) Skywalker and Mari (scary/sparkley witch) not pictured..Alex as Princess Leia

We had the greatest Halloween ever! I decided since the day was so close to our little trip to Disneyland that we would have the party at our house. It ws great! Mari came and brought her parents, Heather and Loren. Alyssa came and brought her parents, Katie and Jared, and also her friend Braxton. And both Gran and Grandma came over too. Gran even stayed home with Alex while we all went out becasue she was having a lovely reaction to her flu shot. We had sloppy joe's, homemade mac and cheese, dirt cake and homemade root beer that Loren tried to blast all over the kitchen. We tried in vain to get the kids to eat much before we went out knocking on doors, but they gobbled a few bites. They hit about a street and a half in our neighborhood and made the hall. There was LOTS of chocolate and other good stuff. Nathan has something like 15 packs of skittles, he really likes those. So as you can see we have great neighbors. After trick or treating, the kids came back to the house and played mix up the playdoh colors, but had a ball so who cares! I love that we have such great friends. (those of you who came to our little party and those who didn't too) Happy candy eating!

The Cousin's (at least the 4 big ones)

Alex and Max are missing, but here are the Marshall/White clan at their finest! In order from left to right....Jack (with his stunning glasses), Madison (cup in hand and Nate's "twin" they are 27 day apart), Nate, and Riley (the oldest and the bestest)

Hamming It Up....

Okay so I have to admit that my children see a camera and run to be in front of it. Truly they do. And my son doesn't say cheese, after a very unfortunate experience at "Rosie's" he now say cow poop instead.....really there is a story there that will take a bit so you will just have to live with the anticipppppation. (hey, its the season for Rocky Horror). I finally went back to work for my first real shift since Lex was born and I knew the girls at the clinic would want to see a current photo and since I did not have one, I threw them on the stairs real quick and took this one. And by darn if it didn't turn out soooo cute. Aren't they photogenic!?!

Sink Tub

So despite the fact that she is almost 9 months old (I have said that once or twice haven't I) Alex recently had her first "sink tub" or for all you normal folks out there, her first bath in the kitchen sink. Now please understand that I am part fish....that is I LOVE water. I would have a swimming pool or hot tub if I wan't so damn cheap. And apparently Alex got the bug from me. The girl will sit and enjoy a good tub far past the point where all sanity screams at you to get out becasue the water has gotten cold, but since her brother is the same way what, truly, can I say. So here she is in all her sink glory, wet and oh so cute!

Baby Food and Strange Food Allergies...

So since Alex is almost nine months old (where did the time go..really I would like to know) we have certainly been down the path of commercially prepared baby food. And thank God for Gerber and Beech-Nut because without them it would probably have been a rough start if I had to make her food for her in those early solids days, but now I am about at my wits end with the lovely people who make baby food. I know that food allergies are pretty common stuff.....we have a good chunk of them on both my side and Greg's side of the family. We both have family members with severe Celiac's, also a few lactose intolerants, and Greg's dad can't do strawberries or nuts, so this is not entirely a new route for us. This particular food though sure is, and from what I can find....which is not a whole lot, it is not very common. First let me offer you a brief education on food allergies. There are 2 types of reactions, the anaphylactic kind (hives, swelling, trouble breathing) and then there are the GI type reactions (bloating, heartburn, diarrhea) I think most people percieve the anaphylactic reaction to be more severe, but I am here to tell you that either way is nothing but trouble. So back to my poor kid....we have always been careful with nuts and berries because of Dennis, but this one hit me out of the blue. I was not even aware that a person could be allergic to carrots and squash. But Alex sure has shown us the she is. And boy do I feel like crap, for some 6 months I thought the poor kid had a wicked case of reflux. Oops, Mother of the Year! So okay, now that I have figured it out, and also how to treat her when she does get a tasty morsel of orange, I am about to scream at the poor baby food companies, and anyone who lists natural coloring on their labels. First, if you have never read a baby food label for stage 2 or higher jsut know this.....there are very few that do not contain carrots in the savory dishes. Even some companies mac and cheese dishes have carrots in them. It pretty much sucks. Carrots are a great filler food. They are also handy to use as coloring in, oh about anything orange, red or purple (yes, there are purple carrots) especially when a company is trying not to use anything artifical in their products. So here is my new challange...to prepare food for the WHOLE family that everyone likes and can be eaten by all. Seriously, I would possibly have better luck with world peace at this point. I used to sneak a can of V8 into anything possible..chili, spaghetti sauce, stews, whatever, not anymore. I also am really nervous to buy commercially prepared sauces, like marinara or the like. Most types of vegtable soups are out, oh and watch out for fruit snacks. I have to be super careful with the words "natural coloring". It is a good thing I like to cook. Because I have a feeling we are going to be eating in ALOT. So, off I go to figure out what my daughter can eat for dinner tomorrow. Beech-nut has a new salmon and sweet potato flavor out.....I am not sure I can stomach feeding it to her. The one nice thing is that both baby food companies have been more than happy to talk to me and see what they can do to help. So I say thanks for the awesome customer service lines. It was so great to have someone at the company to talk to...a real human voice.

We are going to DISNEYLAND!

All 6 covers

The 4 Marshall's covers

Nathan and Alexandra's covers

So we are now in major count down to DISNEY. Nathan is so excited, the topper being he gets to go with his cousins. So I put on my craft hat and made all SIX kids autographbooks. It took a couple of hours (and to be fair I did this last time we went but not in such a large scale....I did 2 last time) and a couple of $$ but I am done. The covers are ready to go to the laminators and then be hooked back on to the book. Here is how they turned out.....

It's time to IMMUNIZE

Hey, watch me as I jump up on my soapbox.....Please get your kids a FLU SHOT! There are more children under the age of 2 who are hospitalized and die from the flu than elderly people. That is just plain scary. Also if you or any member of your family plan on spending ANY time at all around our dear little MAP, please make sure you get a flu shot. Her recent open heart surgery puts her at a HUGE risk should she get the flu....she will be getting her flu shot soon, ala Greg. Nathan and Alex had their this past Wednesday. I get mine around the 20th and Greg, I am sure will stab himself. I will now step down.