It is done

The Ramadan of birthdays is finally over. Today was Samantha's 'Jumping Jungle' party shared with her friend Ty.

Both these kids were so confused. Ty asked his mom and Samy asked me, separately, whether they would now be turning 5 at their party. It's so hard when you're four and the party is a week after you've just had a birthday!

Nevertheless, a great time was had by all. There was jumping, there was pizza, there was cake and there was capri sun flowing for two whole hours.

Maybe I'm weird (no comments on that!) but I felt a little awkward getting all these gifts for nothing! It was odd to literally have Christmas on March 28th for one little girl. I am appreciative, for sure, but I just feel... I don't know.... can't explain it. But I definitely will continue the tradition of friend parties only on certain years.





Anyway, it's done. The birthday is over. We will not speak of a party for another year or more. Oh snap, Maren's birthday is in June -- and it's a party year. Sheesh.

Wordless Wednesday

Easter Sunday

Similar to hanging stockings on the mantle at Christmas time, we put our empty baskets on the porch before Church and while we are gone, the Easter Bunny hops by and fills them up with goodies. When we drove up, at first we didn't see the baskets and for a split second, I was shocked and amazed that someone would steal a bunch of kids Easter baskets. But then we noticed that the Bunny had moved them to the side so as to be in the shade. Whew!










The look on Samantha's face is pure childhood excitement. So cute! Christian was way into it, as you can see. But look at that cuter tie! His shirt is a 12 month, and I couldn't button the top button under his chin(s). How could I not love this baby?!

At Church, Maren announced to the Junior Primary that the Easter Bunny doesn't hide the eggs, but the parents do. Amid dropping jaws and wide eyes from many of the kids, I quickly explained that the Bunny does what the parents of each family asks him to do, so in some families the Bunny does hide the eggs....."We'll talk about it at home, Maren..." It was awesome. In December, she may announce that Santa is a fraud. Stay tuned....

As a huge Easter bonus, Geoff spoke in Church, and really gave an excellent lesson. Very thought provoking and touching about the life and sacrifice of our Savior. It really was great. I can't remember if it was before or after Geoff spoke, but a friend said that she saw me lean over to one of the children and mouth the words; "If you touch her again, I will knock your head off." Hopefully it was before I felt the Spirit. Happy Easter!

Happy Birthday, Samy!

Four years ago this day, I went to church and learned that my friend Emily, who was due to have her baby weeks after me, had had her baby on Friday. I was ticked! So after church, I went home and laid on the couch and willed myself to feel contractions. At about 2 or 3 that afternoon, I had convinced myself that I was in labor and made arrangements for the other children's care, and Geoff and I were off to the hospital.

After an hour or so, the doctor on call came in and said; "You know, you're not really in hard labor..." Humm! I acted totally surprised. She said, though, that since I had a previous C-section, it would be better to stay at the hospital rather than go home and risk rupturing there. Fine by me!

A couple more hours, and we had our fourth child and second girl. We had no idea what to name her and finally had a family vote the day we were to leave the hospital. Samantha won out over the other options because she could be called "Samy" as in Sammy Sosa (the boys are huge baseball fanatics).

Now in the blink of an eye, that tiny baby is four years old!

We had a great day today. It started with gift opening as soon as everyone was out of bed, followed by a hot breakfast (yeah, that doesn't happen often, so I had to throw that in!).

Then as a special gift/Spring Break treat, I took the girls to the mall -- gotta break them in -- where we had lunch, walked through Macy's and the Children's Place (got Easter outfits), and finished up at Build a Bear Workshop. This was our first time. We had passed by several times and even gone in a couple, but I always told them we would save it for a special time. They were ecstatic and had the time of their life putting together a brown Bunny for Maren and a white Dog for Samantha. In the end it was a pretty penny, so yes, it will continue to be for very special occasions. But worth every cent!









The great day was ended with some birthday cake and playing with all her new birthday loot!

I sure love that little girl. She is so sweet and too dang smart for her own good.

Happy Birthday, Samy!

Wordless Wednesday

I saw this on another blog and thought I'd snag it. The point is to have no words, but I felt the need to explain the first time. Sorry I can't give credit for my steal, and hope I'm not showing bad "blog etiquite", but I can't remember where I got this idea. So, without any further ado, here is Wordless Wednesday riiiiiight now.

Damaged Goods

I am a complete wreck! I will say here that in no way am I looking for sympathy, I'm just posting....

Saturday after the ballet, my back went out, and left me flat on it. A bit of background: in 1990 (that is so long ago!) I was driving my brand new Toyota Corolla, that I had made two payments on, to go have lunch with my friend Connie at her place of employment. I exited the freeway and was driving down an eight lane street (four lanes in each direction). As I entered the intersection with a green light, I was suddenly smashing into the side of a white car. I had no idea where the white car had come from but immediately after I got out of my now totalled Toyota Corolla that I had only made two payments on (no, I'm not bitter!), three people rushed to me and told me that they had seen everything and told me what happened.

The white car was coming down the street in the opposite direction of me (towards me) and was in his right hand turn lane then suddenly made a sweeping left turn across his three lanes of traffic and two of the lanes going my direction when he came in contact with me. Totally not my fault at all.

Long story short: One of them were taken away in an ambulance, I was picked up by Connie and taken home (don't remember if we had lunch!), my car was towed to a scrap yard where it was pronounced DOA. I suffered lower back soft tissue damage and worked with a chiropractor for a while, but since then have had the pleasure of frequent back problems.

So about once a year I get a really bad spell where I am flat out for a couple days or so. I have been lucky in years past where it is while Geoff is in town or on vacation, or I can be laid up for the weekend and back to "work" by Monday. Not so this time.

It started on Saturday before the ballet and gradually go worse to where by Saturday night, I couldn't stand. Sunday I was in bed and completely useless the entire day. Geoff left Sunday night for the west coast, so I had to get better. Lots of times I can "muscle my way through" and will myself better. Not so this time! The muscles on the left side of my mid and upper back were so tight and cramped that I was leaning to the left with my left hip jetting out, and my right shoulder higher and angling to the back. It is an awesome sight to behold. I am damaged goods, to put it simply.

So, I cried a little bit when Geoff left and slowly and carefully sank to my knees to plead for a miraculous recovery by morning so that I could take care of the kids during their Easter Vacation. Christian woke himself up coughing in the middle of the night (he has a cold), so I somehow climbed up the stairs and heaved him out of his crib and up onto my shoulder to ease the weight on my back. I went downstairs, got him a bottle and fed him. He finished most of the bottle, then had another coughing fit wherein said bottle contents came spewing back up all over the both of us.

I got us cleaned and changed. Got on my knees and set up the pack and play in my closet and put him in it to sleep. I couldn't bend down enough to put him in, so I put him as far down as I could and he just kind of plopped the rest of the way down (not far at all -- totally on the up and up... no need to call authorities.) Then we both went back to sleep.

Monday morning: My miracle had not occurred. I'm fine with that, I don't doubt. I just figured there were still things I could do for myself to make it better. I called the doctor as soon as they opened and got in fairly early. He prescribed a muscle relaxer and a pain med. I took that. Still crooked and in pain. Then I called a chiropractor. They got me in right away and took X-rays, and did some electrolysis treatments and that felt great for a while. I could stand up straight. That wore off and I eventually got crooked again. When I got home from the chiropractor, Maren said: "Still crooked after all day at the doctors?" Yep!

So, Christian and I had the same routine last night as the night before - spit up and all, but I was more able to function. And I will go back to the chiropractor tomorrow for more treatment and an adjustment. The pills are kicking in a little better, and Christian's cold is gradually getting better.

I have to say that my kids are hero's! They totally step up when needed. Eric and Logan have been hauling Christian up and down the stairs, they and Maren have been picking him up and taking care of him constantly. Even Samy is a good babysitter for a little while. They are all Rock Stars! It's getting better. We're going to make it. I love when we are all able to pitch in and rally as a great team together.

Anyway, it's all making for one very "fun" Spring Break! Woo-hoo!

Today we were able to get out and I could sit in the theater to see "Horton Hears A Who". Very cute movie. My friend and I laughed out loud several times. Normally Jim Carrey bugs me with his over dramatizing, but he was tame and did a good job. (Maybe it's because I was looking at an elephant and not Jim exactly!)

So there you go: Happy Stinking St. Patrick's Day and Spring Break! I'm just laughing about all of it, because when you step back and take a look, it really is quite the comedy...

Cinderella

For our family Christmas gift exchange, I chose Maren. She is our resident prima ballerina, so I bought two tickets to the local professional ballet company's performance of Cinderella. It was kind of a tough gift to open on Christmas Eve because as everyone else was opening their cool toy or what-not, Maren opened an envelope. She was excited though, and finally, this Saturday, the day arrived for the ballet!

We dressed up in our best "theater" outfits and had lunch downtown at a fancy schmancy restaurant.

Maren is the greatest because she is in awe about every little detail. She was awestruck by the ornate statues in the theater and everything about the place from the red carpet to the pictures and chandeliers. So we took our seats in the balcony (luckily we had binoculars, it was a long way up!), and watched the most different version of Cinderella that I can ever imagine.

It was very good, and the dancing was inspiring. Of coarse, the Prince was all man (if you know what I mean - Lauren, this brings back a mission memory.), and I had to put the binoculars down for that, but otherwise, the dancing and music were absolutely beautiful. What was completely odd about the story, though, was that for one thing, Cinderella's father did not die as in the Disney version and others I've read, but was a depressed drunk! Also, the biggest difference was that instead of a fairy god-mother, graveyard ghosts give her a dress and then come to the ball, put a spell on everyone else, and strip the dress off of her as the clock strikes midnight. Weird! Lastly, Cinderella doesn't fall in love with the Prince, (and he didn't necessarily want to marry a commoner, but the shoe fit...) she falls in love with the Prince's servant. Anyway, Cinderella and the servant end up in love and walk off into the sunset (or it could have been the moonlight -- it was a spotlight, nevertheless) together to pursue their love. Ahhhh...

After the performance, the cast was supposed to be in the greenroom for photos and autographs. So I grabbed Maren's little hand and raced down there as quick as we could. Anyway, there was some sort of 'engagement' going on in the greenroom and the cast was to be out in the main foyer. So we go out there and the only cast members to show up were two of the "carnival parade members". A little disappointing, but we took a picture, even though totally wanted to see Cinderella. Oh well...

It was the perfect date. Maren is at a wonderful age where she is sweet and fun to be with and just loves everything about life. (Although I suspect that Maren's personality will be that way throughout the years.) We had a great time. Merry Christmas, Maren! We'll definitely do this again.

You never know when it's going to hit

The majority of my posts are on the lighter, more humorous side. They probably will continue to be for the most part, but I figure the biggest reason for blogging is to journal, so sometimes it's going to be not funny or silly, but more, well, journal-y.

A good friend of mine had a baby a few days ago, so now that she is home from the hospital, I called to check in and see if there was anything she needed. When a strange lady's voice answered the phone, I was startled and asked who it was (I guess I'm a bit clueless), thinking maybe I dialed the wrong number. It was her mom. When we hung up the phone, I got all teary eyed and choked up.

I thought it was the sweetest thing and so great that her mom came out here to help her daughter. I know that it happens, I know that more times than not, probably, mom's come to help their daughter's after a baby is born. For some reason this time, it just kind of took the breath out of me for a minute.

When I was three months pregnant with Eric, our first, my mom had a massive stroke. Two months later, she passed away. It was very hard. But I dealt with it (am dealing with it still 12 years later) as well, or possibly better than can be expected. Of coarse I went through the initial outward grieving period. I can't say exactly how long it lasted, but it gradually gets weaker: the feeling of loss and aloneness (if that's a word).

So over the past twelve years, it has been interesting to notice how and when the grief hits me time and again. In the beginning, every date was hard. The Firsts. The first Christmas, Thanksgiving, her birthday. The first Mother's Day put me into quite a depression. The first anniversary of her death... As the years drew on, it faded. Not the memory of her or my feelings for her, just that it wasn't as hard to go on without. There have been years when I am just as blue as can be for a few days, then it dawns on me that those days led up to the anniversary of her death, or her birthday, and I realize why subconsciously I had been down. Other times, it isn't until after the date that I realize that April 12th (the day of her passing) has come and gone. You just never know, but the grief, even after all this time, creeps up on you.

So, I have to admit that when I learned that my friends mom was here to help with the baby, I actually got a little jealous and sad and missed my mom. I've never had her to be here for any of my babies. HOWEVER, I would be remiss if I didn't say here that I have had/do have the greatest friends and adopted family that anyone could ever hope for and imagine. So even though my kids and I don't get to benefit from visits with Grandma Gayle, we are thankful for the MANY great stand-ins that we do have.

I have to say also, that the biggest thing that gets me through, is my faith in the Plan of our Father in Heaven. The knowledge that we can all be together again in the next life makes it all doable. I can't imagine how horrible loss would be without knowing that you'll see that person again. I just can't imagine.

You just never know when it's going to hit. Even after all this time.

Random

Denise posted this "tag" and I am new to blogging and don't know the ins and outs of being tagged, so I considered myself tagged because it looked like fun to do.

Here are the rules:

1. Grab the book closest to you.
2. Open to page 123. Go down to the fifth sentence.
3. Post the text of the next three sentences on your blog.
4. Name the book and author.


"But for Nephi it wasn't enough to hear his father's words. He had to know the truth for himself, to be sure he would know the way. Nephi taught about the loving God who has provided a way for us to come home:"

To Draw Closer To God by Henry B. Eyring

So, now I am tagging Rebecca, Lauren, and Kelly. You're it!

It's gonna be a loooong Birthday

Samantha goes to pre-school two days a week. Her birthday is on March 21st which will land during spring break, so they celebrated her birthday today in school. I had also signed up at some point at the beginning of the school year, to bring the "S" snack for today. So, I turned it all into one big Samantha Fest! They had cupcakes formed into the letter "S" in which I stuck a picture of Samantha onto each.

They also had Starburst, which are Samy's candy du jour. I think sticking a picture of Samantha on each and every cupcake was a bit much, but what the heck. It was cute and it was her birthday celebration at school, so there!



For her actual birthday, we will either go to dinner with our very cool neighbors, or go to the Church Easter party - because it's not always that you can have an egg hunt on your birthday - can't decide. Then on the 28th we are having her "official" party at a jumping place combined with her best boy-friend, Ty, who is two days older than her.

Samy is very excited, (she keeps asking "how many more sleeps until my birthday and my party?"), and drawing this out and milking it for all it's worth. For an almost four year old, she knows how to work it! So basically, Samantha is having one big brithday from now through the end of the month. You only turn 4 once!

My baby is a genius

He looks all sweet and innocent and typical almost-seven-month-old, but underneath, there are things going on in that head that I'm afraid to even think about. You can just tell by the look in his eyes that he is watching you and taking everything in. Then I walk into the living room one day and happen upon this:



That's Harry Potter 3! I could barely make it through Number 2 before I just couldn't handle the children who wouldn't obey the rules and had to close the book for good. Maybe Christian is getting ideas.....





Logan, on the other end of the spectrum, has found a new use for the Bumbo.

Recommended Reading

I love to read books, but admit that I am a very slow reader. I read a couple blogs where the authors frequently post book reviews. These gals go through 50+ books a year, whereas I maybe get through 6, and that's a good year. Beside the point...

I just finished this book about a woman who grew up as the daughter of Saddam Hussein's personal pilot. It was creepy and very fascinating to hear her tell of Saddam's rise to power and the frightening similarities between him and people like Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. In fact, she says, that Saddam idolized those men and not only wanted to be like them, but to be "better than them". She described some of the "parties" that Saddam's sons held and what they did to people, women in general.

The most amazing thing to me was learning what Iraq was like before the reign of Saddam. Women wearing mini-skirts, affluence, neighborhoods that one would mistake for Suburban Middle America... It was amazing -- a whole different world than Iraq seems to be today.

When Saddam was preparing to take power and become President of Iraq, he very carefully chose "friends". These people were the cream of society, young couples or families who were well-off or wealthy financially, and might have any bit of influence. One of these families was Salbi's. He surrounded himself with these people and basically guilted or blackmailed them into being his followers. The level of fear that one man, along with his 'clan from Tikrit' put upon a whole nation of people is absolutely incredible. It was a very enlightening read, to say the least.

Should I be offended...

... that a lawn service truck drove down the street, stopped in front of my house, got out of his truck, and meticulously put a business card on my door?

He then got back in his truck and drove away, not stopping at any other houses on the street. (Yes, I watched.)

Oh, and I....

voted for Mitt Romney today. Hey, they asked me who I wanted for President. Mitt's name was on the ballot, so that's who I voted for. I'm just considering it an early vote for 2012. That works, doesn't it?!?

I also, as a matter of principle, did not vote for anyone who called me repeatedly with pre-recorded messages constantly for the past week or so. John Manlove, you, my friend, did not get my vote!

But it was kind of flattering that Barak and Michelle did take time to contact little old me and ask me to work with them in "changing America". I wasn't that impressed with the call from General so-and-so who is a friend of John McCain....

Although, having America Ferrera (Ugly Betty) talk to me about Hillary every five minutes on the radio did make me consider voting for her -- but only for a quarter of a second.

Good night.

Back to the grind

So my fabulous trip of the century has come and gone and I am back to my life and laundry. San Diego is beautiful and there absolutely was not enough time to do what I wanted. Most importantly, though, Geoff and I were so happy to be in the temple for Andrea and John's sealing. It was a great event and very good semi-reunion with a number of family members.

Here's a little blow by blow of my weekend: I got into San Diego at about 2 pm. Geoff called to say that he was stuck in LA traffic and about an hour and a half away from me, so I got into a cab and went to the hotel by myself. This was the second cab ride ever in my life. The first was about twelve years ago and I had just gotten off a red-eye flight and was six months pregnant, so I don't really remember it. But this cab ride pretty much cured me of thinking cab rides were neat! First off, (not that I am a math wiz) the sign on the door in regards to pricing, and what he actually charged me did not add up in the slightest. Secondly, the stench in that car -- even with my window down -- was just plain bad. Can you say B.O.? It was bad. Now, the positive thing about a cab ride is that they definitely take the "scenic route", so I got to see some great things that we could do later in the day.

Now I have to note that had I been stuck at the airport with any children, I would have been annoyed, but I didn't have a care in the world at that time. I actually got on an airplane with my purse and a book. That's it! My purse and a book. Ahhhh....

So, I went to the hotel and checked in and laid on the scrumptious bed and ate the complementary crackers and cheese and watched a grown-up show (not adult, just grown-up -- thought I'd clarify.) and waited for Geoff to navigate the Southern California freeways.

After Geoff finally arrived, we decided to head out for dinner. We had a gift card for a fancy, schmancy restaurant and walked over to dine. We got there about five pm and slowly ate each course. Ordered expensive bottles of water (because tap just wouldn't do here!) and talked without being interrupted even once. Finally, dinner was over, and we both just felt exhausted. Seriously, we were about to fall asleep at the table. We looked at the time and it registered 6:18 pm! We are so lame. Even with a time zone adjustment, it still would have only been 8:18 pm for me. This cracked us up good. So we took a nice stroll back to the hotel and fell fast asleep. So much for all the sight seeing and touring I thought I wanted to do!

Since we went to sleep so early, we were wide awake at 4:30 AM! But we weren't alone because little Michael in the room next door was up too and raring to go to Sea World. (Seriously, in a $450 a night hotel, you'd think they could do something about that!)*

*I do have to note here that the hotel (along with the plane fare) was totally paid for with points. That is my big "perk" for being a single parent during the week is that once in a while when the sun and moon align, I get to cash in on all the racked up hotel and air points.*

So, we spent the majority of Saturday at the temple doing a session and at the sealing/wedding. I got to help Andrea get all dressed up pretty, and the ceremony was a great "refresher" of the reasons why we got married so long ago. That was probably the greatest part of the weekend; renewing my friendship with Geoff and remembering that I really do like him.

Sunday morning we got to walk around the Marina and the "Gas lamp" Quarter before heading off to the airport and saying farewell to each other for another week.

On the plane home, it was just me and my purse and another book. I got to watch, and pay attention to, the movie (Becoming Jane, starring Anne Hathaway -- it was decent, but the main gentleman character was the same guy who played the goat/man in Narnia and it was hard for me to get past that), and just relax.

So, thank you to Andrea for getting married so that I had a great reason to have this trip. And most thanks goes to the neighbors for spoiling the girls for the weekend (they had a mini Christmas, I think) and Kelly A. for having my boys and waking up with my baby at 4 am! I missed the kids a tad bit (not really, but you have to say that don't you?), but I had a total peace of mind the entire time that they were safe and happy and very well taken care of. The big boys are already itching for me to take another trip so that they can stay with their "cousins". (Don't worry, Kelly, I have no plans...)

What fun! Now, I'd post a couple pictures here, but someone (Geoff!) made me let him have the camera for the week. Humph!

Guest Blogging by Kelly

The following was posted (and then put into my drafts) by Kelly A. who had my boys for the weekend. It is complete sarcasm, but she worried that readers might think there was a cat fight going on. In my defense, the Nerf guns and gum were unknown contraband in the duffel bags. And hey, she didn't say they couldn't come back.... so I'm good. I'll post about the wonderful weekend tomorrow!

Dear Nicole,

I am super happy to watch your kids and hope your second honeymoon is filled with fantastic memories to carry you into eternity. But when you send your kids to my house with ammo shooting toy guns and gum. YOU WILL PAY!

Love,
Kelly