I Haven't Seen a Sasquatch, But My Boys Are Cute

While Gary watches this show about Sasquatch sightings in Alaska (awesome), I'll take a chance to post some random pictures from the last four months. Starting us off, this picture is of Josh in the Snuggli. We had it out for Andrew, then thought it would be funny to try Noah in it since he's within their advertised weight limit. Noah hated it, but Josh thought it was hilarious. And it was, we laughed and laughed at this one.

Poor Noah was so exhausted one day, he just layed down in the hallway and fell asleep. After taking his socks off, of course.

One day Noah ate a marker. Well, lots of days Noah ate a marker, but one day in particular I thought, "Emily, you always took pictures of when Josh got into stuff, why not Noah." So here he is, marker face. And one day I'll have a nice camera that doesn't make my kids look ghostie. Whatever.

During the summer I relied on sending my kids outside to keep them entertained while I cooked dinner. But then it was winter . . . not possible. By dinner time they're usually tired of roaming around playing with toys, so I've sometimes tried to get something else going. One of the most popular has been turning on music (usually this random satellite kids' channel), and letting them dance. Josh really has some moves, and has been especially exicted about music since I recorded the Spiderman theme song. He'll put in on 30 times in a row, I'm not kidding. It's cute, and I've memorized a new song.

We don't have a picture of that, but here's another idea I had. I put out placemats and a few play dishes, and let them play in shaving cream. It's just soap, and pretty easy to clean. They really loved it for a few minutes, but this activity didn't last as long as I had hoped, because what they really wanted to do was . . .

read books to Andrew. They did this forever. Andrew was a captive audience.

When Andrew was new, Josh thought it was awesome to make special beds for Andrew out of couch pillows. He was pretty proud of what he'd done for his brother.

One day while Josh was at preschool and I needed to do some things, I filled a basin full of snow and put it in the sink. Noah stood on a chair and played in it with spoons and cups. He had a blast, and kept playing even after his hands started to be pink. By the time they were red he was done, though.

Noah is a stuffed animal kid. He loves hugging them when he's tired, needs comfort, or is trying to go to sleep. His favorite one is Piggy. I got Piggy when I was in high school, and he used to be wearing overalls, but Noah prefers his stuffed animals not to wear clothes. Who would have thought when I made my strange purchase (from QVC), that I would someday have an adorable little boy who would love it? Here is Noah taking Piggy for a ride.

One day Noah got Vicks Vaporub all over himself. And the bathroom. And when I discovered him he was lounging back in the sink, relaxed as if he were in a spa.

Here's a closeup. Vicks is clear, so it doesn't seem so dramatic in a photo. But those of you just looking at the photo aren't smelling it. Or cleaning it up.

And we leave you with another crash landing. I swear we could all fall asleep any time, anywhere these days. Here, Josh fell asleep in a corner, behind a recliner. Sweet dreams!

Updates February

January 31:
As for our week, Gary worked until 11 or later almost every night, including Saturday, so it's been nutty. Good thing is we'll have that in time off in the summer, and also his work is super interesting. Gary and I have discussed the merits of several bills before the media got wind of them. So, we'll let that be our solace, I guess. Josh went to Preston to hang out with his cousins for two days, so I got some great Noah-time. So, highlights of the week: Playing basketball with Noah, taking him to ice cream for FHE, going to the children's museum and Costa Vida on Friday night, and Josh discovering the Olivia books. Lowlights include spending all day Saturday trying to get things together for a trip to WalMart because we were out of milk and hadn't had an oil change in 6 months, finally getting there at 5:30, and then after taking all 3 boys through the store, finding out at pick-up time that although we were 1 quart low, they didn't change my oil because the last mechanic who did it put the plug in sideways and it's starting to strip. Also discovering a flat tire on the other car after church. Other highlight, the boys are playing basketball with Gary now and having a great time, and the rolls I'm making smell good. Thusly, life is good.

February 8:
Leah's wake-up routine reminds me of Noah. He wakes up and yells, "Mom, I awake, get me out!" He also sings to himself in his crib a lot, but he hasn't gotten it together enough to sing an actual song like Leah. Geez, Noah. And Candacy, so glad you have the means to whip up carb-delights. Makes life worth it. I just got a mix-ish thing and use it a lot. I tried to start putting whole wheat flour in with regular, to make things better, but Gary says he prefers just white. Too bad.


So besides noticing Eric's mysterious lack of antecedents, I guess we did do stuff last week. More working like crazy for Gary. The kids didn't see him from Sunday until Thursday when he came home magically early at 8:00. Both of our cars got fixed, and it wasn't as bad as we thought for either of them, so that's good. Josh has become obsessed with playing games this week, and it's fun since he's the man around here these days. My sister Kayla came and stayed with us on Friday and Saturday, so it was awesome to have another big person around those two days. She helped me fold laundry for 3 hours while she got caught up on Lost - that's how behind I get without Gary. On Friday night we had a game party - played Candy Land and Memory, then put Josh to bed and played a big-kid game. We also ate lots of candy, and Josh was so pumped. "We're eating candy and playing Candy Land!" he had to exclaim several times. Then on Saturday we went to the Children's Museum in Salt Lake and then met up with some more of my sisters and my mom to celebrate Kayla's 14th birthday at an Italian restaurant. Yum. Then I ran a marathon to work off the weekend's eating . . . I wish.

February 23:
Monday, Schmonday . . . if that is a real rule, I will rarely be able to write. :) The last two weeks have been a whirlwind for us. President's Day weekend the kids and I went to my mom's house while Gary stayed home to work 16 hour days every day but Sunday. We celebrated my mom's birthday by going to a Vocal Point concert - the came to Preston and it was tons of fun! Josh came, too, and loved it. I told him it was just okay because Uncle Christian was no longer in it. The next night when I thought Josh was asleep I heard him practicing vocal percussion in his bed. The next day I was hired as Vocal Point's tour guide through Preston's Napoleon Dynamite sites. My sister is actually good friends with one of the guys, so that's why we were asked to show them around. I haven't thought about Napoleon stuff in a long time, so it was a fun blast from the past.


While in Preston we also celebrated my neice Madeline's birthday (hooray, for a while there we were scared about that girl). Since I had two sisters expecting babies and my mom was planning on going to Barstow to be with one of them, the one left behind in Preston would have no mom-help. So, my sister Sarah and I made 6 different freezer meals for her while we were up there, so that she would at least have something. Then, last Friday, both of the babies were born. Katie's by scheduled c-section (breech baby), and Cindy's just decided that day would work for him as well. Katie's baby (Lily) is doing great, but Cindy's baby (Beckett) is still in the NICU. He swallowed some fluid after he was born and went completely blue and limp - not breathing for at least a minute. He was revived, and will be okay, but poor little guy (and poor Cindy) have a lot to deal with right now. I really want to go help her, but . . . my college roommate who had cancer died yesterday morning, and I am going to the funeral. Cindy says she really wants me to. I think it's close to her heart because her husband's dad died of cancer when he was young.

So, that's the sad news. If you are curious about my friend's story, her husband wrote a synopsis on their blog www.steve-catie.blogspot.com. The good news is, they live in North Carolina, as do some of my favorite people, whom I will get to stay with. Other good news is my dashing boyfriend got off work ridiculously early last Thursday (6:00!) to take me on a Valentine date. We ate at Noodles then went to find me a couple of things to wear that fit. Romantic? Oh yes, Gary is good at finding things for me a clothing store, it turns out. Also, I am motivated to get dressed when I have something to wear, and getting dressed is more romantic than jammies all day.

Speaking of blogs, if you haven't yet, you should check out the pictures of not-so-little Andrew on my blog: www.emilary.blogspot.com. A visit to my dad's office revealed he weighs 17 lbs. 8 oz. Not 4 months until Saturday. The same visit revealed a pretty abnormal tympanogram for Josh, which confirmed my suspicion that his hearing isn't the best. Hopefully the nasal spray he was given will help as it's supposed to.

Dear Catie

I wanted to find pictures, to write more of the memories, and more of the feelings. But getting to the funeral has required a lot of arranging, so none of that today. I wrote her a letter the day before she passed away because I wanted to let her know how great she was to me. I'm pretty sure she never read it, but I know she knows what it says. I'm posting it because for lack of time to write other things, it is my tribute to her.

Dear Catie,

I was taking a Sunday afternoon nap just now, and I had a dream that we were all sitting around in someone’s room talking, just like back in the day. You were cheerful and funny, and we were having a great time. Someday we’ll recreate that for real. The dream kicked me into action – I’ve been wanting to write you and tell you how great you are.

When I first got to BYU, I was pretty scared. I went down for honors orientation, but after I woke up and got dressed the first day, I almost didn’t go. Then, I met the nicest girl from Tennessee. I think she caught me trying to put some volume into my sadly limp hair. She and her dad were both super nice, and it was exciting to be with her all day as she would often exclaim, “I can’t believe all these people are Mormon!” Saved my day, and made me feel like I might actually make it.

So many memories, it’s fun to think. So many nights talking, So many nights talking way too late, Thanksgiving in Preston (my parents still love you), going to the football games, getting kidnapped to go to the Mo for my birthday breakfast, the infamous spelling bee, the Dallin Anderson fan club, doing the ‘N Sync dance, Stop in the Name of Love, swimming at the RB, buying a Christmas tree, enjoying the Jello you would always make, having an apartment hoe-down to your fiddle music . . . I thought of more the other day. It seems like a long time ago, but it was such an important time of my life. The time when I was trying to figure out how to be on my own, and I’m convinced the Lord gave me great friends to get me through it.

I know I never told anyone at the time, but the summer between freshman and sophomore year was extremely difficult for me. When I got back to school the whole thing was weighing on me and bringing out all of my other insecurities. It was no secret I was struggling, but I don’t even think I fully understood everything going on inside my head. But through the whole thing, you were kind and caring towards me. I remember one night you were typing a paper and I was laying on the floor for some reason. I don’t remember at all what we talked about, but I do remember feeling like someone cared. Enough that it's stuck with me. Going to Taiwan and then later to BYU-Hawaii were amazing experiences for me that shaped a lot of who I am, and I’m glad I went those places. However, it’s always made me a little sad that I wasn’t able to come back to Provo to be with you and the other girls. That’s okay, like I said, someday.

I was looking at the “We Love Catie” website a while back, and noticed a line at the top I haven’t noticed since the first time I logged on a couple of years ago. It basically says that the site is to cheer you on as you “fight and win your current battle with cancer.” I was kind of discouraged thinking about it, because it seemed at the time that the cancer was starting to win. This rolled over in my brain for a while, until it hit me on Christmas Eve as I was pondering the meaning of the holiday. The cancer can’t win. No matter what happens, the cancer can’t win because the Savior already beat it. Thank you so much for sharing all of your insights and your beautiful family with everyone during this struggle you’re having. I am trying really hard not to take little things for granted, like taking care of my children, as you have so often mentioned. Thank you so much.

Know that I love you, and I think about and pray for you and your family often.

Love,
Emily

P.S. To anyone who read this and wants to know what happened, her husband wrote a synopsis at http://www.steve-catie.blogspot.com/. Also, I loved what my friend Krista wrote here and here. I put the links even though the first one contains photos of me circa 1997. :) And yes, I knew she was dying when I wrote about someday. I know there are plenty of somedays.

It's "Little" Andrew

Here's my baby:

Oh, yeah, that's right. So perfect for cuddling and kissing. I knew he was getting big when I had to switch him to size 3 diapers and 3-6 month clothes around Christmas time (right before he turned two months). Then, at his two-month check-up he was 15 lbs., 12 oz. (99th percentile), and 24 inches long (just under 90th percentile). But after that, he's just kept getting bigger. I'm not really sure how big he is now, but he's 3 months old now, and I won't take him in for another month. However, I put him on the scale at the grocery store in the children's museum, and it said over 17 pounds. Who knows how accurate that is, but he seems big enough. I think it's cute, just as long as it's not the result of some disorder . . . for now we'll go with cute. Oh, and he's shiny in the picture because I just put Aquaphor on him.

His size is good for holding his head up and rolling. He rolled from his front to back the first time a month and a half ago, and now does it a little more regularly. When he's on his tummy pushing up on his hands, you can really see what his little face looks like, minus the extra rolls. This is how I see him.

Andrew has the hugest smiles, and laughs, too. I've never had a baby who laughed when tickled so early. He doesn't laugh every single time he gets tickled, but if he's in a happy mood it's just hilarious. I don't have great laughing pictures (hard to get with babies sans fancy camera or tons of luck), but here's a sample.

Yes, he's smaller in these last two pictures. They were taken in mid-December.

Josh is a good brother and often says, "Andrew really likes me." Josh has been known to put Andrew in his bed next to him to snuggle, and once I found Josh asleep with Andrew just calmly laying beside him. Too bad Andrew has gotten too big for Josh to carry, it was so cute.

Josh loves feeding Andrew a bottle (it's another issue, but please let him still take a bottle . . . he hasn't gotten one often enough, it seems.)

Andrew loves playing with his toys that dangle down. He stays interested way longer than Josh would have ever thought of at that age. Whether this is by force or by personality, I don't know, but it's cute to see him get all excited and talk his little baby babble as he plays.

Andrew gets covered up by this one, but the boys really wanted to all be in the picture.

Speaking of all the boys, I was trying to get all three of them together when Andrew was still pretty new, but neglected to actually dress them first. I take what I can get. Oh, and this was when Noah still had his cast.

Noah always says, "I want hold Anoos." So we put Andrew on his lap, and usually before Andrew really even settles there, Noah says, "I done."

A shot of him at about 6 weeks old.

When he was still pretty new.

And finally, his first bath where he could really get his whole body in the water, at around 2 weeks old. Very relaxing. (Although he did scream at first.)

We actually thought it would be funny to put all 3 of the kids in the tub at once, although this will not be repeated again for quite a while. I tried tonight, and the success level was low, as far as protecting my baby from injury. (BTW, no way he fits in that baby tub now.)

And in the end he gets all cozy in a towel.

So there you have it, my tiny little newborn baby. I'm going to go kiss those cheeks right now.

Question Regarding Word Verification

They say it's to reduce "comment spamming." I would hate getting that, but every time I have to punch in the letters to make a comment somewhere I wonder about it. I turned off word verification several months ago, and no problems so far. Have any of you turned off your word verification and had problems with getting random comments from monkeys banging on keyboards? (Or whatever else.)

Andrew's Blessing

Andrew was blessed on the 17th of January. He looked big to be getting blessed, but he was only two and a half months . . . He was very excited for the event, or at least he didn't cry, so he seemed excited. It was a wonderful experience for me as a mother to have a reminder about how special this little boy is to our Heavenly Father, and what a big job we have to help him be all he can be. I mean that in a positive way. Here he is all dressed up for the occasion.


We were lucky enough to have several family members there for Andrew's special day, and we loved getting to be with them. Here are the pictures.

First, our little family. Poor Noah was exhausted since we have church from 1-4, so he needed lots of hugs.
Josh is just awesome.


The boys with Grandma and Grandpa (Gary's parents).
Andrew with Grandma and Grandpa (my parents).

Derreck, Jessica, Dallin, Martha, Deanne, Merrill


Aunt Sarah decided to provide Andrew with some tummy time. Yes, poor Aunt Sarah has a black eye and stitches. You can read the story here.


We thought it would be twice as cute to have twice the boys in the picture . . . until Noah chose his place. So typical of day to day life . . .


Andrew poses with Aunt Kayla and Aunt Martha.


Noah got over his tiredness to play crazy games with Uncle Eric.


Aunt Hannah at one point had "snakes" on her back named Josh and Tate.

Andrew with just his mommy and daddy.


Here's a picture of "the Marks." The Mark that started it all, Tate Mark, and Andrew Mark.


Andrew and Mom


Not pictured but attending were Cindy, Nate, Dave, Braden, Sophie, and Madeline. We missed Sara and Taylor and family because, good news, they had a new baby! You can see his cute self here. Congratulations to them . . . looks like we'll be getting together for one of these events again soon . . .

P.S. Getting used to the new blogger . . . pictures are a little all over for now. And what happened to spell check?

Acknowledging Tragedy

Eleven years ago I was an English teacher in Taiwan. I lived with a woman named A-e, and her 9 year old girl Sherry (or Yi-jun). Someday I'd like to write all about them, because they were great. A couple of months after we parted ways there was a terrible earthquake in Taiwan and the apartment building they lived in toppled to the ground. They were killed and it was really hard on me. I remember watching the news of the devastation in Taiwan and thinking how awful it was that everyone around me just went about their daily lives worrying about clothes and parties while so many people in Taiwan (and I) were suffering.

Now there is terrible devastation in Haiti. Part of me wants to ignore it, because it makes me feel sad and helpless. Another part of me thinks I've got to do something more than a one second thought and some meager funds. I've thought, "I've got so much, and so much of it's not even necessary for life. I could go without makeup for a while to help them . . ." Then I realized that would be a 2 dollar donation anyway, but you get the train of thought.

So what is my point? I'm not exactly sure. The point is that it's an issue I wrestle with at various times in life, and right now I have some thoughts. I've been really busy lately, and barely had time to touch the computer. I'm really determined to preserve our little family history, so there are tons of posts I want to post, but for some reason I felt bad barrelling on without acknowledging that people are suffering. The thing is, people are always suffering, and it could really be a depressing existence to dwell on it. I don't think we're supposed to. We are commanded to be of good cheer. (I love John 16:33.) I think we're supposed to help as much as we can with prayers and other resources we may be blessed with, but then we have to let it go and realize all that is good and beautiful in life. These things serve as my little reality checks, to keep me grateful and not shallow (a tough job). When I get to wishing for outfits that make me feel snazzy and money for vacations, I can check myself. I can look at all of the clothes in my drawers and realize I will not be cold or naked. I can fix dinner and be grateful to be full. I can kiss my babies and my husband and realize what a miracle all four of them are. I can read the scriptures and realize the point of my existence.

So, I went to lds.org to get a link to the aforementioned scripture, when I saw that the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has made an official statement on the Haiti situation. You can read it here. I'll add that to my thoughts. I can't conclude my thoughts for now, because as I said before, I wrestle with these kinds of things from time to time. Still wrestling.

2010 - The New Year was When?

You may remember this post about how I've had a theme for each year since 2004. Some of them have changed my life, others not so much. Last year's theme, 2009 - Potty Train Josh's Behin', might seem shortsighted, but it was worth it. I got 8 months of only one child in diapers, oh, yeah! You may be thinking I have abandoned themes this year, but actually, I have only delayed in writing about it, as I have delayed most everything else these crazy days (who wants a Christmas card?) (Serious.).

We spent Christmas in St. George, and arrived home in time to watch 20 minutes of Dick Clark's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest before the ball dropped to bring in 2010. Most of the 20 minutes was spent trying to spit out the show's entire title, but anyway, we saw the Black Eyed Peas sing "Boom Boom Pow," which inspired me as far as rhyming goes. Not only does it have one of my favorite lines I would LOVE to find a reason to use ("I'm so two thousand and eight, you're so two thousand and late"), it also has the line, "We're on that HD flat, this beat goes boom, boom bat." Boom boom bat? Not to demean their cleverness, but isn't that kind of cheap as far as rhyming goes? Couldn't anything be put there, for example, "Could you please pass the salt, this beat goes boom, boom balt." Thus, my first idea was that my yearly theme could be, 2010 - This year goes boom, boom ben.

I decided to pass on that one, and quickly threw out other obvious options like, 2010 - buy a hen, or, 2010 - design a pen. I thought of 2010 - Use diagrams by Venn, but soon realized Venn diagrams will do nothing to organize my house, so the theme wouldn't meet my biggest needs. Although, I probably should do some of those with Josh. I then realized I have been pregnant for at least a portion of each of the last 5 years, so I thought a fitting theme might be, 2010 - I'm not pregnant in 2010. Other considerations - "snuggle my Ken," "listen to music by Len," "for currency use yen," or, "be a good frien'."

A lot of those are good, but I wanted one for this year that I could really reach for, like 2005-Husbands Arrive. So, I have settled on, 2010 - Enjoy my children before they are men. I need to make a sign, print it out, and tape it to my closet, just like when all of this started in 2004. These little boys are awesome. I can't say enough how much I love and enjoy each of them and their unique personalities. However, it does get pretty crazy, especially around the time when Gary's life has to be work instead of us. Especially around the time Noah starts opening doors and jumping out of his crib, and Josh and Noah realize they can climb on the counters and destroy together. I get very tired and start wishing for spring, or older children, or something else . . . but I don't want to live that way. In the spring Andrew will be that much closer to kid and farther away from new baby. I'll love it, but I love this, too, and I want to soak it in. Noah may be into everything, but I barely care because he's so darn cute. He requests "Child of God" before he goes to sleep, and it's such a sweet tiny voice. And Josh's 3 year old mind - I love it! (Example: "Mom, if we don't have enough money we can go to the store and buy some. Or just make our own.") I have been so blessed to have wonderful moments even in the crazy sick times, and I want to be able to continually notice and enjoy those. This is a goal to really work for, and work hard cause it's worth it. So, there you have it, the theme for 2010.

Self-Bribery

It is about the time when one finds one's self wearing nothing but a bathrobe, holding an armful of dirty potatoes in one arm and trying to turn on Sesame Street with the other, screaming toddler clinging on one leg, baby screaming to be fed, goopy eyes and noses on all three kids, haven't been out of the house in a week (for real, no exaggeration), changed two entire sets of clothing due to blow-outs that day, trying to get over a sinus infection . . . that is the time when one promises one's self brownies. One's husband might not have gotten home until late, but a promise is a promise. Mmmmm . . . .

(And that was yesterday. Still haven't been out of the house. Kids are still sick. Gary's not home tonight, either. First time to touch the computer in a long time, and now only because I have to for church. But it's all good . . . I've actually been blessed to get through this and have some good moments, which I am publicly pledging to share because I want to remember them, but not now because I think Josh is getting an ear infection. Wait, that sounds like Noah. Maybe him, too.)

Merry Christmas 2009

If I find a better copy, I'll replace this one. This received a very small circulation of non-blog-followers.

See the tiny baby in the pictures? He’s our new baby boy, Andrew Mark, born October 27. Getting him here and taking care of him has been our biggest project of 2009, but a worthwhile one – much better than sending out early Christmas cards. He started out life as a big boy (9 lbs. 5 oz.), and he doesn’t show signs of slowing down. He’s chubby and snuggly, and we all love giving him kisses and watching him learn to smile.

Noah is now 19 months old and a funny boy. He loves all the common little boy games, including flinging food and jumping off stuff. His dare-devil ways led to a broken leg last month, but it barely slowed him down. He says a lot of words these days, like yelling, “Football game, go, go, go,” and, “Oh, man!” when Gary watches sports.

Being 3 has brought awesome things to Josh’s life, like getting to play soccer and be in our neighborhood co-op preschool. Soccer was a big hit, in fact, just the other day he prayed that it could be spring so he could play again. He loves learning new things, and right now is arguing with me about whether or not I need to press the Q. (I guess he wins.) Josh brings a lot of fun to our lives.

Gary and I are happy to report we still have our same jobs (Gary with the legislature and me with the boys), and are doing our best to keep up with everything. It does get to be a circus around here much of the time, but who doesn’t like a good circus? We are so grateful for our boys, each other, and all of the other extra stuff we are blessed to have. I liked this Christmas card because it reminds me of the peace that our Savior Jesus Christ brings to us. May we all enjoy this peace this coming year as we seek after Him.

Meet the Fam

Yes, these pictures were taken in May, but I never posted any, I really like them, and I needed a little breath of spring air after the freezing week we just had. Plus, I never put them onto my computer until last night when making the family calendar . . . so, meet my family! These were taken at my parents' house in Idaho.

Yes, there's an extra boy in the middle at the bottom. He's our cousin Kevin, and he's part of the bunch since he's hung out with our family and traveled here and there and everywhere with us his entire life. We love him.

Yep, seven girls, no boys. Go ahead, stare and count, we're used to it.

Sister #2 - Cindy, with husband Nate, and children Tate, Sophie, and Braden.

Recognize these jokers? That's right, I'm #1. At least in one thing.

Sister #3- Sarah, with husband Dave and baby Madeline.

Sister #4 - Katie, with husband Paul

Sisters 7, 5, and 6 - Kayla, Hannah, and Kristen

Dad and Mom

Melody's Hula Class

Once upon a time ten years ago there was a girl named Melody who went to BYU-Hawaii and took a hula class. Her teacher told the class that part of hula was using your eyes and facial expressions, and that to get full points the students would need to use them, too. Melody and her friend watched the other students in the class, and saw this one girl who apparently took the advice to heart. Not only did she really get into the hula, but she had all sorts of facial expressions as well. Melody and her friend would chuckle and say, "Wow, she must really want an A."

As so many good heroines do, Melody ended up in Provo, where she had a pretty decent winter semester despite not being in Hawaii. When the semester was over, she found out she was getting a new roommate for the spring. When the day came Melody emerged from her room to greet the new girl . . . and it was the crazy hula-class girl!! Melody and the girl had a fun time being roommates, even though they ended up having to do their hula at the ward luau. (Most likely the roommate's fault, but the menfolk told Melody she did a good job.)

The roommate grew up to have three little boys, one of which she was driving to preschool this morning while listening to a Hawaiian CD given to her by her sister-in-law. She heard the hula song she'd once danced to, and thought, "I wonder if I've still got what it takes?", then laughed and laughed the whole way home.

How to Get the University Donation People to Hang Up

Guy Who Called While I Was Cooking Dinner: Hi, I'm from BYU-Idaho, and I'd like to discuss your experiences with us and what you can do to help out some of the things we're doing up here.
Me: (While stirring two different skillets on the stove) Okay. (He sounded nice, so I thought I'd be gentle.)
Noah: Food, mommy, food, mommy, mommy, mommy, (While screaming loudly and pathetically) . . .
Guy: So first of all, did you graduate from Ricks?
Noah: Screams! Neediness!
Me: No, I actually never went to school up there at all, it was my husband that did.
Andrew: Waaaaaaaah! (Sounds much further away then he should, given that he was just barely sitting on the couch with Josh.)
Guy: Okay, well what we're doing -
Me: Just a second, sorry. (Covers the phone) Joshua! Where is Andrew? (Runs upstairs trying to find baby. Sees him on Josh's bed with a burp rag over his face, screaming away. Picks up baby.) Still Me: Josh, why did you put him here? (Keep in mind, Josh carries Andrew around kind of by the neck, and he had to have carried him all the way up the stairs for this.)
Josh: It's my bed, he likes my bed.
Me: (Remembers the phone) I'm sorry, go ahead.
Guy: It sounds like you've got a lot going on right now, I can call back later.
Me: Okay, have a great night!

So, that's how you do it folks. I'm not saying it's easy to replicate yourself, but it was so effective. (BTW - I'm all for donating money to education. It's just awkward to explain to a guy on the phone that my 3 year old doesn't want a receipt saying someone else is going to college in his Christmas stocking.)

And the First Broken Bone Goes To . . .

Noah. Two weeks ago he was learning to jump, and he was really excited about it. All day long he'd say, "I jumping mommy, I jumping!" That evening he was jumping on the couch, and unfortunately off the couch as well, because suddenly I heard him land on the ground and start crying, and when I looked up his right foot was awkwardly off to the side. Because he was beside himself every time we moved him, Gary took him to the urgent care that night. The x-ray didn't show a break, but they put a splint on him to stabilize the injury and told us to follow up with our doctor. Even though he was still upset about his "owies," when I pulled out the camera he was willing to cheese it up. Here are two pictures of him in his baby splint.

The doctor told us if he wasn't walking in a week, to come back, and in the mean time to take off the splint and see if he'd start moving on his own. She thought that would be the right thing to do because she could twist his ankle all around and it didn't really bother him. So, a week later he still wasn't walking - he still found lots of ways to get into everything, but not by walking. Gary took him in again, and the x-ray once again showed nothing. The doctor said he was "perplexing" and ordered an x-ray of his hip, and said that if he wasn't walking in another week, we'd have to go to a specialist at Primary Children's. Great . . .

We went to my parents' house for Thanksgiving, and during that time he awkwardly fell on the foot twice, and was a basket case each time. So sad, because he was really trying to be brave, but would whimper, "Foot, my foot, owies," every time he'd try to put weight on in. My heart nearly broke this morning when he hurt it again and was trying so hard to let me rock him to sleep, but couldn't. He looked up at me with his big brown eyes and sniffled, "Owie, mommy, owie," like he really wanted me to take away the pain.

So, my mom called my dad (who is a doctor), who happened to be at the hospital, and said the x-ray tech was there and if we ran up there quickly we could get another x-ray. We figured it was worth a try, so we went. Poor kid was so used to the x-ray equipment he was happy to be there. (The first time he screamed and fought.) Turns out, his leg (tibia) is broken, about an inch above his ankle. No wonder he's okay when you mess with his foot but not okay if you grab his ankles to change his diaper! My dad said that he can see why it didn't show up a few days ago. I guess fractures like that don't show up until they start to heal. So, he got this sweet blue cast (Dad was thinking "Go Cougars" when he picked it). Noah wanted the cast off when it first got finished, but he was happy when it was being put on, and it supposedly makes it feel a whole lot better. We got him all casted up just in time to go to church for his first day of nursery, which he loved regardless of his cast.

Of course no one ever wants their child to break a bone, but Gary and I were so relieved to find out what's wrong and that there is an easy solution, that we were happy about the cast. Poor, poor baby . . . two weeks with a broken leg before the cast. We did our best, though, and now there's only 3 weeks until he's good as new! On the way home in the car Noah kept saying, "I jumping couch, owie. Jumping couch, fall down, owie," over and over again . . . seems like the whole thing has made an impression, so probably we'll have a really calm household after this.

Yeah, ha, ha, but that's okay. Yes, we have two kids that don't walk now, and yes, one of them is very heavy, but hey, nothing too bad, we can't complain. Although as a post note it is funny to think that the day Noah broke his leg was my most on the ball day since Andrew was born. I had the house decently clean, dinner ready the second Gary got home, and family home evening all planned out. I was getting back in to the swing of things, but then FHE turned into urgent care for Noah and Gary, while Josh and I drank hot chocolate and watched Star Wars. Had to make up for the fact Noah got to go somewhere and he didn't. Then with Noah injured, things went back to nuts. That's okay, though, I may have been in danger of getting bored, and it isn't about me, it about Noah, and his big accomplishment as the first one to break a bone. He might think that makes him cool much later in life.