President Hinckley

As I use my blog for journaling purposes I just wanted to write about the dear prophet President Hinckley. He passed away on Sunday night and when my mom called to let us know, I felt a sadness but a joy at the same time. I felt joy because I immediately thought of how precious a reunion he was having with his sweet wife. Theirs is a love so incredible, pure and inspiring. I am so happy they are united once again. I am sad because I will miss him deeply. I will miss his sense of humor, his incredible strength and example, and his smile and wave of his cane at the end of conference. I remember going to conference several years ago. As soon as he walked into the conference center the spirit was so strong- a feeling I will never forget. I truely love him and will miss him, but thank our Father in Heaven for the blessing of having grown up with him as the prophet.

Bikes

For Christmas the kids got bikes, and it has been up to Daniel to teach them how to ride them as my pregnant body isnt quite up to chasing them along- anyway its interesting to me how Tyler is much more interested in it than Kylie. The first time Daniel helped Tyler he did really good and tried it by himself and even after he fell he got back on. Kylie got on for less than a minute and wasnt all that interested to try again. Santa probably should have brought her an art set and more books as those seem to be her passions. Hopefully she will try it again, but for now the only bike rider is my Toast.

my miracle

A little over two weeks ago I started having constant Braxton Hicks contractions, not just normal ones- ones that dont go away. I had the same thing while pregnant with James and it was due to an infection. So I called my dr's office and after taking all day to call back, told me to come in the next morning to leave a specimen. The next morning i go at the time they told me, and had to wait an hour and a half just to pee in a stupid cup- Totally ridiculous-. The next week I have an appointment with the dr, and after his less than two minute check-up he asks if I have any questions- so I tell him what has been going on, and ask if they have my results-Its a 48 hour test-- this was 4 days later-- he says its not back but will have the nurse call me the next day. the next three days I still dont hear from them, all the while am living with this never ending pain and discomfort that is getting worse and worse. Thursday night I couldnt move i was in terrible pain. on Sunday I get up with the kids and start getting them their breakfast and BAM- I am having labor contractions-- not sissy little contractions- MAJOR contractions- one right on top of the next. I couldnt stand up, and was having a hard time breathing. My back was on fire and I felt pressure only known to those who have been in labor- 30 minutes of this and I call my mom. She tells me that I need to get the the hospital ASAP- So I get off the phone and have Daniel give me a blessing and while we are trying to figure out who we can ask to watch the kids, the contractions slow way down. I call my mom again, she still thinks I need to go to the hospital but also tells me to call my drs office. So I leave a message and tell them whats been going on- and after a little while, they call back and the dr says just rest and drink lots of water. OK- whatever. So I take it easy but am still just really uncomfortable and get feeling really sick and weak and dizzy, but make it through the day. Monday I call the dr office first thing, and when they call me back the nurse tells me the dr hasnt looked over the results yet- when he finally looks over them his nurse calls me back and tells me "it looks like it is an infection, so we need to get you on antibiotics right away"- RIGHT AWAY? Right away would have been 48 hours after the stupid test- so for two weeks this infection has been spreading, and making life miserable- But here's the thing- If an infection can cause preterm labor and other serious problems, and the results dont take that long to get back so the doctors can know whats going on, why did it take them so long to get the results and get me taken care of? We are paying them for their "service" so to speak of providing health care while I am pregnant- but I think they put me and my baby at huge risk by letting it go so long.

But through all of this I am grateful for a few things. I think the reason my contractions stopped and I didnt end up in preterm labor was-one the blessing and the power of the priesthood. And two- my mothers faith and prayers- It seems to me that I had a little miracle through my little experience, and the blessing testifies to me that my Father in Heaven is always there, and is always aware, and he cares for me and this baby. Also, my mother has exceeding great faith. I was extremely scared and worried sick, but my wise mother has a way of calming my fears and her example is incredible. She immediately turns to the Lord and through her faith, miracles happen. I am grateful for the priesthood, and am grateful Daniel is worthy to hold such a powerful gift, and I am ever so grateful to my mom and her never failing faith.

fhe woes

So I have been trying to have more meaningful FHEs this year-and today i put a lot of effort into planning a lesson and activity that was meaningful, on their level, and entertaining. Kylie had treats and I even correlated that into my plan. So after dinner we jump into it. Then Tyler starts disrupting. so I give him his time-out warning. That works for a minute, then he starts disrupting again. I dont want to put the kid in time out, cuz I want him to participate. I know if he will just pay attention he will really like this lesson. So i choose to ignore his behavior, but am getting irritated. We start the game and he gets involved for a few minutes, then he is disrupting again. After the game I try to wrap everything up and tie it all together and he disrupts again. THEN IT CLICKS. The reason he has been disrupting is cuz he is trying to get his daddys attention. The kid can barely get through the day waiting for his dad to come home so they can wrestle- and I hadnt given him his "daddy time." So next week I am gonna give Toast 15 minutes of pure Daddy body slamming wrestling- and then start FHE and hopefully it will go a little more smoothly- we shall see~

Singing

Toast and Kylie have really been into the movie the little rascals lately. They go around quoting lines to each other, and have given each other the nick names of buckwheat and uh-hu. Kylie loves to ask Tyler "are you thinkin what I'm thinkin?" and Ty laughs and replies "yeah Butch. what are we thinkin?" Then they both laugh hysterically and do it over and over. They also love tapping their chins with a ponderous look upon their little faces and say "pretty good pleading." Then they ask me, "hey mom- what does pleading mean?" And whenever I change James diaper Kylie comes over and says- "hey uh-hu, does it stink in there?" To which Ty runs over and yells "uh-hu!" and of course they end up laughing hysterically. Crazy kids. yesterday they were singing "you are so beautiful to me," so I had to record it cuz I love it. However Kylie got camera shy, so Ty sings solo- you might want to pause the music launcher before watching this so you can hear him.

Survey

Found this and thought it might be fun--
1. Are you ready for 100 questions?
Bring it on
2. Do you watch college football?
No
3. Who will fill this survey out after you?
?Dunno
4. Who was the last person to send you a text message?
Daniel
5. Do you love anyone?
Yes-
6. Are you happy?
Yes
7. Where was the last place you went shopping?
Target
8. How do you feel about your hair?
I need a good trim
9. Where do you work?
At home
10. Last thing you ate/drank?
an orange
11. Do you wish you were someplace else right now?
Hawaii would be nice
12. Do you have any pet peeves?
I cant stand when there is road work and 2 lanes are merging into one, and people think they have more right to zoom in front of everyone and push their way in when everyone else has to wait-that really irks me!
13. Do you have any expensive jewelry?
My wedding ring
14. AIM or Yahoo?
Yahoo i guess
15. Do you like math?
not really
16. How many hours on average do you work a week:
24/7
18. Favorite baseball team?
Dont watch baseball
19. Favorte NBA team?
used to like Utah Jazz when Karl Malone and John Stockton were on the team
20. Do you watch the Olympics?
not really
21. Last restaurant you went to?
Pei Wei- on our drive home from Christmas vacation
22. Who was the last person to call you?
Daniel
23. What’s your sign?
Saggitarius
24. Do you have a favorite number?
5
25. Last time you did volunteer work or made any donations?
2 weeks ago on Sunday
26. What do you spend the majority of your money on?
bills-
27. Where does your family live?
We live in Yuma, my siblings and parents are in UTAH
28. Are you an only child or do you have siblings?
6 siblings
29. Ever been called a witch?
dunno-possibly
30. Got any guilty pleasures?
I really like sleeping in but with 3 kids it never happens
31. Do you drink beer?
ewww yuck!
32. Whats your favorite color?
Light pink, green, blue, and white
33. Did you ever collect Beanie Babies?
nope
34. Ever bought anything online?
yes- mostly stuff on ebay
35. Myspace or Facebook?
neither
36. Do you have T-Mobile?
yes
38. Do you sometimes wish you were someone else?
sure for a minute or two but then realize i wouldnt trade my husband or kids for anything!
41. Last time you saw your parents?
Christmas
42. Do you have any talents?
I make the best chocolate chip cookies EVER!
43. Ever been in a wedding?
yes
44. Do you have any children?
3.5
45. Last movie you watched?
Baby Einstein with James
46. Are you missing anyone at the moment?
I miss my parents
47. Did you take a nap today?
Oh gee- I wish!!!!
49. Ever been on a cruise?
no but would absolutely love to take one with Daniel
50. Did you notice number 40 was missing?
nope
52. Do you have any wealthy friends?
yup- Michael
53. Ever met anyone famous before?
Does Mickey Mouse count?
54. Favorite actor?
Tom Hanks
55. Favorite actress?
Julia Roberts
56. Are you multi-tasking right now?
no
57. Could you handle being in the military?
no
58. Are you hungry or thirsty?
maybe thirsty
59. Favorite fast food restaurant?
Chick Fillet
61. What is your average cell phone bill?
$50-$60
62. Do you own a camera phone?
yes
63. Ever had to take a sobriety test?
no
64. Do you believe in Karma?
I believe that you get what you give
65. Can you speak any other languages?
I can count to ten in 4 other languages- Brilliant I know!
66. Last time you went to the gym or worked out?
Before I got too pregnant- I think I stopped in October
67. How many pairs of shoes do you own?
5
68. Do you have a photo hosting site that you use?
no
69. Last place you were?
I have been home except for taking Kylie to school this morning
70. What is your college mascot?
Ricks Vikings
71. Ever been to Las Vegas?
yup
76. Have you ever been gambling?
I put a quarter or two in a slot machine several years ago
77. How old are your parents?
58 and 59
78. When is the last time you updated your blog?
right now
79. Do you have your wisdom teeth?
nope-gottem pulled out and was black and blue for two weeks-stinking dentist
80. Favorite place to be?
Most anywhere with Daniel-
81. Have you been to New York City?
No but would like to visit there someday
82 Favorite sit down restaurant?
Cheesecake factory, Claim jumper, Baja Fresh-(we sit down when we eat there), Pei Wei, olive garden, sweet tomatoes, THE ROOF,
83. Ever been to Disney Land?
a few times- we took the kids for their first time the week after Thanksgiving
84. Do you have a favorite cartoon character?
I like Tigger
85. Last thing you cooked?
Daniel and I made lettuce wraps together last night
86. How is the weather today?
its a bit chilly for Yuma-yesterday was bitter cold and the wind was insane!
87. Do you email?
From time to time
88. Last letter/piece of mail you received besides junk or a bill?
A few Christmas letters that arrived after Christmas as they were sent to our old address in Mesa
89. Last missed call?
Yesterday Brie called to invite Toast over for a play date-
91. Last voicemail you received?
and she left a voicemail with that message-
92. Do you drunk dial/text?
?dont know what that means-I dont drink so I dont get drunk so I guess that means no?
93. Stupidest thing you ever did with your cell phone?
answered it while taking a shower
94. What is the best city in the state that you live in?
?Dunno- i havent been to them all to make that kind of assesment.
96. Did you just die?
I hope not-
97. Are you bored right now?
No- I just put James down and thought I would update my blog, and found this survey- after I finish I get to clean up the house and fold some laundry- YIPEE!
98. Last concert you went to?
Celines in Vegas 3 years ago
99. What do you think about before you go to bed?
my baby
100. What are your plans for tomorrow?
We have some errands, ty has a b-day party, and then we will take the kids to the park

Haircut

Last year I gave James his first haircut and messed it up, so Daniel shaved his head. He continued to do so for a while, but in September we started letting it grow out. Well it started looking pretty funny. He is a little fluffy fuzz ball and no matter what I do his hair has a mind of its own and goes all over. So this past weekend Daniel took him in to clean it up, as I was afraid if I tried Daniel would start shaving it again- well it still sticks up all over the place, but it is a little less shaggy- My cute little fuzz ball!