LIFE

Today, at Abby's request, I taught/played the classic board game LIFE with my kids. It was a blast. I'm so glad I put aside all the need-to-dos in my mind and enjoyed the time with my kids.

Towards the beginning, a conversation with Harvey-

I can't WAIT to get Married!!

Who DO you want to marry when you grow up Harvey?

The Crossing Lady!

(laughing)Why the crossing lady?

She's really nice but, sometimes I forget to give her a hug.

Not too far in, I traded 4 LIFE tiles for the 100,000$ salary. Shortly afterwards, Abby landed on a trade salary space. I pointed out that mine was the highest and took a big pay-cut. A little after that, Harvey landed on a trade salary space. I pointed out Abby had the biggest salary, and she took a 30% pay cut. Which resulted in tears for the next few rounds. Until she landed on ANOTHER trade salary space, and giggled delightedly. We finished up just in time for her to go to Activity Days.

Who won? HARVEY. That boy had the biggest good luck streak I have ever seen, lol. He found buried treasure, won the marathon, was the 'Tech' and got 50,000 a couple times when the spinner went wonky. There was plenty more good luck in there. Abby came in for a close 2nd, but she had gone to college, and had to pay that back. She was pretty wise in her decisions- not buying a house when she was super broke, buying insurance, etc.

Harvey was just l-u-c-k-y.

Go ahead, get out a game and play with your kids. It's so very worth the time. The house, it will still be messy later (even if you clean instead)

A little Christmas Miracle

Little Christmas miracle today- Almost 2 years ago, I bought a Nativity (I <3 Nativities) in Mexico while Jeff and I were on a cruise, right after Christmas. I think I was a bit baby brained last Christmas, because it didn't get brought out at all. When Jeff pulled out the decorations this year, I remembered.

I definitely wanted to find it and set it up this year, but I didn't know at all where I had put it. Probably in my closet, but my closet is FULL of secrets right now. I didn't relish the idea of digging through there. So, when I said my prayers this morning I asked for a little help to find the Nativity. I opened my closet (to get socks), glanced up, and saw a big shoe box, that I hadn't noticed recently. 'I bet that's it' I thought. I pulled it down- and sure enough! My Mexican Nativity was all wrapped up neatly in newspapers in the shoe box. Heavenly Father answered my prayer in less than 2 minutes. I got right back on my knees to thank him.

It's a small thing, and wouldn't have mattered if I hadn't found it. However, I can not deny that Heavenly Father hears prayers and cares enough to pay attention to me, even for some little thing. I think he was just showing me that- He's Here. How blessed we are to have Him and that He sent his Son!

Merry Christmas all!

Some Stuff

Life has gotten pretty exciting around here so I thought I'd do a quick update (it's all I've got time for!) Mostly about the kids.

Sarah has developed chunky thighs, and tends to get stuck in her Bumbo seat. She went after baby food with relish for a week, then changed her mind and stopped eating. And she got her first tooth. Today! I can't believe how fast she's growing. She'll be 6 months in a few weeks, so this is the earliest any of my kids got teeth, by far.

Willard has learned to use the potty! I was very nervous about training him but decided to give it a whirl last weekend, and when he asked me to put a diaper on him and THEN peed his pants- we knew he could do it. He did fantastic after just one day with wetting, and after this ONE week, he seems to have the concept of telling mom and putting icky's in the potty too. Wow, I'm a lucky momma.

Harvey got to register for Kindergarten this week! He was so excited. I found it quite funny to hear how he answered questions- 'No I can't write my name- but I can SING it!' His counting is usually funny- 1, 2, 7, 10. And his shapes, oh my. We have some work to do before school starts. I really thought he knew them. But his enthusiasm was unmistakable and I'm glad he's excited. I can't really believe he's 5.

Abby is a Girl Scout and has had a successful run of selling cookies, which are now finally all delivered and money collected, and just plain done with. She's doing well in school, and loves to help me out. We had a new family move in 2 doors down and they have a little boy in first grade. She's so excited to have someone her size to play with, and he comes over almost every day to ask if she can. I'm trying to find a balance with all that I think she should be doing and letting her be a kid.

I'm a Bear Den Leader now, and still haven't figured that out. I feel like I'm kind of sort of starting to get the new swing of things with 4 kids. I teach Harvey's preschool group about once month or so, and try to volunteer in Abby's class on Thursday mornings. The spring bug has bit me hard, but I'm so busy I honestly think I'm going to miss Spring entirely. Jeff has got some exciting things going on at work- which are keeping him even busier too. So if I sometimes look like I've lost my mind- hopefully it's temporary!

15 Authors

I was tagged on Facebook, and thought it would make a decent blog post so here it is:

I don't remember Authors very well, but I love to read so here goes

Laura Ingalls Wilder- My first set of books, which I devoured then and still love now.

CS Lewis- It started with Narnia, and was firmly cemented in my heart with ScrewTape.

Charlotte Bronte- Jane Eyre is my very favorite book, and I'm not even sure why.

Lucy Maude Montgomery- Anne how I love thee and always, always will.

Shel Silverstein- 'Homework oh Homework...' Memorized this poem in 4th grade, still remember half of it, and I think it was by Silverstein.

Louisa May Alcott- Little Women is simply lovely and her other stories (the sequels and '(An) Old Fashioned Girl') are equally so.

David Eddings- I found The Belgariad series on the schhol library shelf in 6th grade and was promptly swept up on the world. My first taste of modern Fantasy, and now my most read genre

Orson Scott Card- Ender's Game was not my first of his books. I think I started with Alvin Maker. Then there was his retelling of Sleeping Beauty. I've read every book of his I've found, some were definitely better than others. But it was 'The Worthing Saga' that really struck a chord.

Sheri Dew- We read a couple of her books for book group, and they really made a difference in my life. I still remind myself to be wary of the Three C's- Compare Compete Categorize. We do it all the time, but it's very damaging.

JK Rowling- So this one may be a cop out, but I can remember the name and Harry will always stay with me, sorry Paolini and Meyer you don't make the cut.

L. Frank Baum Wizard of Oz, hey it's a classic.

Lewis Carrol- I recommend that someday you actually go read Alice in Wonderland, what a trip! He''s almost as influential as Shakespeare on modern writing I think- lots of people refer to the things he created in his books when writing childrens fantasy.

Mark Twain- Huckleberry Finn. Read it, the unabridged version. Marvel at a vagabond you have respect for and develop a desire to kick the symbol of boyhood in the pants.

William Shakespeare- My favorite class in High School was the Shakespeare class. It's actually quite fun to read, even if sometimes you have to slow down and re read it to understand the Elizabethan English.

JRR Tolkien- The movies are great fun. But, reading The Hobbit should be on your bucket list. Just for the fun of it.

Now you've read mine- you're tagged! Either comment with a few, or post and let me know in the comments so I can read it. Here are the directions

Don't take too long to think about this. List fifteen authors (poets included) who have influenced you and will always stick with you. List the first 15 you can recall in no more than 15 minutes. They do not need to be listed in any particular order. Tag at least 15 friends, including me, because I'm interested in seeing my friends' choices.

The Delivery of Sarah Phyllis

Ahhh my beautiful baby! I promised a birth story and since I'm not supposed to be doing all of my regular activities and the baby is asleep, now is a good time to write it. Short version: My water broke Friday night. My sister Irene happened to be staying the night anyways so I tucked the kids in, packed a bag and went to the hospital. Labor kicked in around 2:30 in the morning and at 7:10 Sarah came flying out, much to the amusement of the nurses. (If you want to know why read the long one, lol) Jeff called home just as the kids were waking up. She weighed in at 6 lbs, 10.5 oz and was 19 inches long. She's healthy and we are doing pretty well.

Now if you want the long(very long?) version... We'll start on Thursday. I had a pre-natal check on Thursday where the doctor noticed that Sarah was experiencing some PVCs. It sounds like a skipped heart beat ever 4 beats or so. Since I was 39 weeks the next day, this was a reason to just go ahead and induce. Except- I wasn't presenting ready at all. Only a fingertip dilated, and super high- he couldn't strip my membranes. And since Abby was born via C-section, that left using a balloon to dilate my cervix, then pitocin. I did that with Harvey, and it was awful. So we went with option number 2- Nonstress test, then decide. Her NST was marvelous and showed she was healthy! (PVCs not withstanding, she was great) What a relief for me. Now I could plan on another NST on Monday, and look forward to a baby shower on Saturday and the kids Primary Program on Sunday. Plus, Irene was coming and we were going to finish getting the things that needed doing, done.

So Friday I was just having a great day- lots of energy, no stress. Just felt great, better than I had in ages. (You experienced moms are laughing, because you know where this leads, don't you???) Yes, yes I've discounted it before but now I know what they meant- that burst of energy that gets you ready for labor, means labor is coming. We turned on our brand new copy of 'Beauty and The Beast' Friday night for family movie night. Towards the end I got up to get out some Creamies for a treat, and felt a funny little leaking. But I hadn't coughed or sneezed or anything. Uh-oh. I'll ignore it for now- certainly nothing to worry about. Irene arrived, we tucked kids in. I finally conceded. (I had tried to convince myself I was imagining it, because I had plans for the day, didn't I??) I felt like I was in my period with cramps and occasional little gushes of fluid. Time to pack my bag. Part of me just wanted to stay home in bed and rest until I couldn't take it- but I didn't want to disturb people in the middle of the night if I didn't need to. So off we went. When we got to the hospital they prepared me for the possibility of it not being broken water, but it was and I was up to a 2 1/2. They called the doctor and he gave the go-ahead to leave me alone until 7 in the morning, then they would consider pitocin if necessary. So we tried to sleep in the hospital.

Yeah, right. Part of me wanted to get the rest I knew I would need for later and the other part wanted to get up and get things moving as much I could. I'd hear a baby cry and just desperately wanted to meet my Sarah. Finally I started paying attention to my contractions at 2 o'clock. At 3 Jeff noticed I was dealing with something, at 4 we called the nurse to report active labor.

Labor. The fun stuff. Yes, it's true, I'm a crazy and had this little girl with no medication. Of any sort. I'd like to say that it was great. I'd be lying. It would have been better(easier?) if I hadn't already been SO tired. I could deal with the contractions and back labor, but I knew it was going to get a lot worse, and I was already giving it all I had. Yeah, back labor. Sarah was posterior until delivery, but counter-pressure helped a lot. So anyhow I was feeling pretty chicken, but the nurse was very encouraging. Walked around, labored in the bath for a bit. Started feeling some increasing pressure and decided it was time to get out. That would be when we hit transition, when the contractions gave me 10 second breaks in between and I thought I was going to die. I remember begging, just begging for a break. (They did eventually let up a bit.) It didn't help that they checked me and I was not quite a 5. Being checked and hearing you've progressed further than you thought is great. Unless you haven't, then it's depressing. This was just after the shift change so 6:20-ish. So they put me on my side in bed, because I was too worn out to be up any more, the plan was to have me turn over every half hour. But I decided that it wasn't working and got on my hands and knees to turn the baby over. Oh, the relief when she flipped. I was pretty sure I must be ready to push so I collapsed on my side and had the nurse check. SEVEN centimeters. (7:05 am) I suggested she call the doctor anyways, because I was pretty sure the baby would be here very soon. She had to be, because I was officially DONE. One (maybe 2) more contraction and I could feel her descending. The nurse is on the phone with Dr. Gray. The poor man has already delivered 3 babies the day before, and is not quite coherent. He heard '7' and thought he could go back to sleep for a minute, she said no he couldn't- come now. So he got up and went to go pee. Meanwhile I am in bed, the baby is on her way out, and my coping strategy at the moment is born of the need to yell, and wondering where the heck my doctor is- I'm yelling " Doctor GRAAAAAY' at the top of my lungs. (Yes I'm totally embarrassed and laughing at myself right now) The nurses are yelling at him to hurry up too. They thought it was all great- they knew I was a VBAC, I was going natural, they could hear the end, they were super excited about the success, and had a great time teasing the Dr about how they don't pee for a full 12 hours, what was he thinking?? He barely had time to wash his hands and catch her because she just came flying out. 5 minutes. I went from 7cm to baby in 5 minutes. And for those of you wondering- that was my favorite part. Pushing is WAY better than passively letting contractions take over your body.

Sarah Phyllis was here. The very pink little bundle with the pretty dark hair on her head from my dreams was officially here. (She looks remarkably like the grandmother I named her for.) And we are all in love.

What September 11th means to me.

I didn't watch the news that day. We didn't have TV at home, and when I got to my Children's Lit class on the campus of DSC it was probably about 10 am, MDT. So some people knew what was going on and it was mentioned. I was feeling a bit clueless. As the day went on I heard more about it. I spent most of my day in the small building that housed the college preschool. My classes were there, and I worked there that afternoon. I could barely visualize the towers, they held no connection for me, and there was no video feed replaying around me. But my cousin, he was in Washington, and that was being locked down. When my mother came to pick me up (I had no car) I was definitely concerned about what was going on. Mostly, as I learned more about it, I grieved. There were tales of people standing up and taking down their OWN airplanes before they could cause further damage, heroes who had sacrificed their lives knowingly. Neighbors waited anxiously to contact loved ones so far away- the phone lines were completely jammed. People had died. Without warning, the world had changed.

Time has gone by. I live in Southern UT, and now that is specifically Cedar City. I grew up hearing tales of the infamous Mountain Meadows Massacre. From the performance of UTAH! at Tuacahn, to camping at a friends ranch next to the site, to a seminary teacher who was part of creating a monument. I knew it was part of MY history. It isn't discussed much here, in Cedar City. The truth is that the mob came from Cedar City. Out of fear and anger and misunderstanding a mob committed a horrible crime against humanity on September 11, 1857. When I read that date, it stuck out to me. Although it was on a much smaller scale, September 11th is not just a day that we were attacked. Al-Qaeda is not the only group of people that has lashed out against those of different belief in a misguided search for religious peace. It has happened in my own backyard. It has happened in my own religion.

September 11th will always stand as a reminder in my own mind to tolerate, to love, to forgive. It does not matter what our race, religion, creed, or nationality may be. We are ALL children of God. And he loves each of us. How we treat our fellow kind is the only way we can show what lessons we have learned from our history. We must never, never forget what hate and fear has done to us. For it will certainly happen again, time and time again, if we let it. Remember. Never Forget.

Oh me, oh my I haven't blogged in a while...

It's been two and a half months since I blogged! I realized this when I went to upload a picture from the camera to show you- of Abby's new gappy grin. And saw that I took a bunch of pictures at the end of May/beginning of June, and hadn't done a thing with them.

First- our trip to Taylor, AZ. We went to attend a cousins wedding. Which was doubly good as an excuse to show the kids where Daddy grew up, since it was in the same area. We took a few scenic pictures on the way down, then left the camera in the car. If any of my beloved extended family has pictures of my kids, will you email them to me? Thanks. It was a delightful trip, because spending time with my extended family, and meeting a cousin IRL that I'd become friends with online is one definition of Heaven.

Then came the end of school, and with it the Dance Festival. I give you- The Tooty Ta-Ta.

Tonsillectomies. For both Abby and Harvey. That was quite a week, and I was really glad to see it end, thank you very much. At least now it's done. Neither child was sick but they both had HUGE tonsils. It's much harder to see the back of their throats now.

Once the kids had recovered from surgery we were busy with PTA movies, swimming lessons, picnics, library and book mobile visits, and other stuff. So busy we decided to do nothing for the 4th of July- we stayed home and did stuff we needed to do. I did my best not to get discouraged about missing a family reunion that weekend. I succeeded reasonably well. We were going to go camping but were just too behind on everything. Being busy was a good thing- we were tired, but the summer was flying by. Once swimming lessons were done we started in on the boredom, and I slipped into a funk. So I'd been too busy to blog the fun stuff then it got dull, oh well.

On July 1st (I think) Abby lost her first tooth while eating a bread stick at the park. I only know the date by looking at the menu for the lunches they were serving. A week or so later out came the other bottom tooth. Then yesterday, July 31st, a top tooth dropped out. Since then she has been walking around with this grin frozen on her face so she can show EVERYBODY. It is pretty cute. Cute enough that we finally got out the camera to take a picture- I missed the first lost tooth picture, shame on me. She's 3 dollars richer but spent one at the dollar store on a chalkboard. I think the tooth value goes down after number 4.

So I leave you with the Gappy Grin

Facing the Daily Grind

I know my blog is supposed to be about finding simple pleasures. But, lest someone deludes themselves into thinking that anyone can have an ideal life, I'm going to go ahead and vent. I am so sick of the daily routine. Just the morning routine has me ready to pull out my hair. Every morning I make my bed, read my scriptures, get dressed, say my prayers, go downstairs to feed the kids, have them help me clan up breakfast, go back upstairs and help the kids with beds, clothes, hair, shoes, teeth. If I'm lucky, we'll finish by 9:30. 2 hours, this routine usually takes 2 whole flippin' hours. And yesterday, it was a quarter til 10 before we were done with breakfast. After the wind kept me up all night I slept in, then showered, so wow were we late.

It's made all the worst because it wasn't all that long ago that the routine felt like it was going so well, and I was getting on top of things. When I found out I was pregnant, I rejoiced. I am so happy to have another baby. And while I know four kids is going to be challenging, I looked at the 9 months in front of me as an opportunity to improve in my role as wife and mother so that I would be better prepared for having another little one around. And I was doing it too. I had developed a routine that got most of the daily tasks done, I was vacuuming at least once a week, working up to twice for downstairs, I was even planing on stripping the sheets in one bedroom every week and keeping up on clean beds that way! For some people, this may seem laughable, but I have always been the first one to say that I am a BAD housekeeper. It doesn't come naturally to me, some people rejoice in cleaning their houses, and I am not one of them. But I was trying to be. Then I stumbled.

I don't know if I got sick, stressed, tired, busy, or just in a funk. Probably a nice little combination of all of them, but I dropped the ball on my newly forming habits, and now I am having a hard time picking up the pieces. I'm sick of the mess, but catching up is intimidating. Especially when I'm just sick of trying to keep up with stuff like getting ready in the morning. School is out for summer vacation in less than 3 weeks. It would be nice if not having to worry about school would let me set my own schedule. But not having school looming over us is likely to have the opposite effect. I could do much if I would just get up a little earlier, and that was looking easy until Jeff stopped turning on an alarm clock. Yeah, we just have the one, I'll be moving it back to my side of the bed soon. Argh, we, ok I, do better when a routine is in place and getting stuff done just happens. I need to get back to that place. Where's my motivation? What helps motivate you? Really, I'd appreciate it.

Beautiful Girl II

So the Mommy Models I posted about? Another blog is doing a give-away, this time for a gift certificate good for the whole cost of the session! I really want to win this one, sohttp://tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com/2010/05/mothers-day-extravaganza-photography.html is the website, and if you win I'll be cheering for you too.

Beautiful Girl

So we all want to be beautiful right? Of course! Reality is that physical beauty is not very top priority with little kids in the house. But there is a fun chance to get your beauty on, and have a wonderful photographer take pictures of you- model style! It's called Mommy Models, and it's a fun contest that runs this summer. For 65$ you get a one-hour shoot and a CD with 10 of the best images on it. Then you are entered into the contest, and get everyone to vote for your shoes, and can win a free family shoot!! Not bad, not bad at all. Except, I don't have 65 extra dollars laying around, bummer. Never fear! A giveaway is here. Sassyscoops is giving away a 25 dollar gift certificate good to that Mommy Models shoot. If I win that certificate, I'll scrape up the remaining 40. Because this looks great. So go ahead, go enter and/or sign up for your shoot!

Community Theater

Last night we got to take the kids to a small-town community theater production of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. It was my first experience with community theater. I've been to high school productions, plenty at Tuacahn, and a production of Princess and the Pea done by kids. I've enjoyed all of them. And I now have a new love for community theater. The acting was alright, the stars of the show did a good job, but some of the ensemble didn't look to comfortable on stage. The stage was small. Very small. The sets had to be simple. There were very few special effects, certainly none that were dazzling. By no means was it a Broadway production, and it even ran much simpler than the high school plays I've been to.

But that didn't make it a less enjoyable experience. First off, it was affordable. For less than the price of ONE normal ticket to a Shakespearean Festival or Tuacahn production, the whole family got to go. Goodness, it was cheaper than a movie! But more importantly it showed off what people with a desire can do when they put their minds to it. The set was fairly simple yes, a few trees moved on and off stage, one 2-sided building, and a couple different pieces of furniture made up most of it. But the costumes were so fun! Using simple things that are readily available- fabric, plywood, some craft supplies, they created the medley of living objects at the palace. And the character of the humans was magnified by their costumes too, I think Le Fou's was my favorite. The show has been shown to a full house every night, and only ran for a week. Obviously, it was popular. But what I really found impressive, is that the people doing this aren't paid. They do it for the fun of it, the passion. It gives anyone in the community who might be interested a chance to be part of a play. If you aren't super talented yet, no big deal, come participate in this, become more experienced, gain confidence, have fun, improve!

It's a little bit of a drive for us, but this experience was such fun that I'm sure we'll be back. I don't think the larger town I'm living in has a community theater, as they have many theater options on the higher end, and I don't know if we could rouse the volunteers to do it time after time. Such a shame, I could be mistaken of course. We do have a place that it could be done, and if I ever hear of an honest-to-goodness community theater around here, I'll see what I can do to participate. Do you have one near you? Have you ever been directly involved in the production of a play, musical or otherwise? I haven't, but someday I think I will...

A Special Day

This last Wednesday started Spring Break for us. Our first official-have-a-kid-get-out-of-school Spring Break. We started it off on a very special note. I, as Mom, really needed it. I hope the kids benefited too. Abby had two days of school this last week, and they were hectic. Monday was a field trip, she was overwhelmed, and Harvey had to go see the orthopedist about his arm. Tuesday was her class party, and we filled eggs for her to take, then she came home with lots of treats. My mom wanted to know what I was planning for Easter Sunday, and I really hadn't figured it out yet. I did realize that if I wanted to go use my coupons for diapers at Costco I needed to do it Wednesday so we could decorate eggs and get ready for a busy Saturday ahead of time. So Wednesday morning, off we went.

Our errands in St. George did not take the time I had thought they would, and I wasn't ready to go home yet. After visiting Auntie Annie in the care center (in which the kids actually had a good time) I decided a trip to the Temple grounds was our best choice. It really was. The kids fell in love with the beautiful flowers, bending down to smell them, stroking the soft petals of the pansies. Seeing a toddler bend and 'sniff' at a flower could just melt any body's heart. It certainly brought a smile to my face. We walked around outside for a while, then went into the visitor's center. They had a lovely display of art by Del Parson illustrating Christ's life for Easter. And they has video clips that the kids could choose to watch. But their favorite part was the map/replica of Jerusalem during the time of Christ. Abby pushed the buttons and absolutely loved seeing and hearing about where special things happened. I did too. Then we tried to listen to the Christus, but Willie fell off a bench and bumped his head. The sister missionary gave both of the kids a pass-along card with picture of Jesus leaving the tomb. Abby got extra for her cousins, but we forgot to take them to the party.

After leaving the Temple I took the kids to the Washington Cemetery. Maybe that sounds creepy. But all of our dearly departed happen to be there, and the kids never have been. Besides, Abby asked what those rocks were when we drove by the St. George cemetery. We used it as a family history trip. Abby got to identify the names of people she knew, and realized that Willard is indeed named for his Grandpas- it's the very same! We found my Grandpa and Grandma Langford's headstone, and identified my mom's name (mine and Abby's middle name) on the back. Then we found Jeff's dad's stone, and found that Willie was named for him, and Jeff's name on the back. Lastly we found Great-Grandpa Pectol's, and found the name Willard Pectol again! Then it was time to go. We got home in time for dinner and to get ready for bed. It was a busy day, but a very enriching one.

Update on Harvey's Arm

Well we went to see the specialist today. All that anxiety was for nothing? The appointment lasted less than 10 minutes. There is a green fracture of the arm, just below the shoulder. The good thing about that is it is relatively easy. No setting or cast needed, because the break isn't really complete. But the bone can sometimes heal crooked there, so they will monitor it with X-rays. Jeff will take him back next week to get one. No point in me doing it, because they won't let me near the machine. They didn't say anything about the shoulder. Maybe we should have brought it up, but I feel pretty confident that it's fine. We tried letting him out of the Ace-Bandage and use just the sling for a while tonight. Yeah, that won't work, he went right back to using his arm. So he's tied back up again for now. I'm definitely grateful that things are looking so good for now. He's feeling fine, or at least his arm is. He keeps hurting his feet, toes, and head. But the arm, it's fine.

First of Many Incidents Like This... or Mother Guilt

Yesterday I was doing a good thing. Vacuuming the floor. Harvey, monkey that he is (most four year olds are right? was playing on the computer chair. I rolled the computer chair a few feet to vacuum under it. Crash! Harvey fell right off, and landed on his upper arm. Howled gloriously. I hugged him, apologized, and deposited him on the couch so I could finish.

Well, during lunch I kept thinking that it was possible, however unlikely, that a fall like that could break something. So when crawling, a high five, and shaking hands all resulted in exclamations of pain, I took off his shirt. Eww that looked weird. Kind of squishy right at his shoulder, with some swelling just below it Maybe he dislocated his shoulder. And Insta-care visit was certainly in order. I gave him some motrin (because OW) and sent him with Jeff. Because I knew they wouldn't let me stay with him for the x-rays. A few hours later he arrived home with a sling and an ace bandage.

The report? Insta-care Doctor is very disturbed by the x-ray. There is a bulge in the bone just below the shoulder indicating a green-stick fracture, possibly multiple hairline fractures of the shoulder!! She can't properly do anything about it, so we need to immobilize for now. Call the Orthopaedic specialist first thing Monday, and get him checked out. So that's what we've done for now. Fortunately, Harvey seems minimally bothered by his arm. Good sign I hope. Our home teacher came over tonight to assist in a blessing that Harvey will heal completely, and the doctor will be able to help him do that best.

So tomorrow, I will be on pins and needles until we know what we need to know. I do kind of wish we were close to Primary Children's. A pediatric bone specialist would be good. We're supposed to keep Harvey from falling. That is definitely the hardest part right now, he's as bouncy and energetic as ever. Running all over and crashing into plenty of things. Well, we are doing our best. He may need a cast just for extra protection, but a shoulder cast involves most of the upper body. He may need surgery. I really hope not, but I'm sure it will all be fine in the end. I will definitely be posting again when we know more.

Announcing!!

Baby Number 4! Healthy heartbeat was found last Wednesday, so now I get to tell everyone. Pure joy, I'm super excited. I'm due October 22nd. How I feel depends on the day. Tired, mostly normal. Abby is definitely wishing for a girl. Harvey thinks a brother would be better. Jeff and I agree- either would be great, but it would be nice to have another girl. Those boys don't need another collaborator, lol.

Boys Will Be Boys!

Well the month of February has been one to really enjoy my boys. Harvey turned 4 years old on President's Day. And Willie turned 18 months on Valentine's. He hasn't gone to Jr Nursery yet, he's come with me to Sr. Nursery, and been sick. Here's some of what they've been up to:

Harvey getting ready to blow out his birthday candles. What a precious boy he is. He carefully blew out each candle, one at a time.

The rug was a present from my younger brothers and sister, as soon as it was spread out he got his fingers running over the road saying vroom, vroom. Who needs cars? Not Harvey.

Willie is growing so fast, he is always hungry. I need to feed the boy every 2 hours at least, often more. He's rapidly turning into a toddler, but keeping his sweet disposition too.

Harvey was tired. We took Abby to school, he came home and fell asleep without even taking off his jacket. Polly was happy to have someone to lie down by.

What fun these brothers are having. I'm so glad that Willie came along, right now Harvey doesn't fully appreciate it, he's not even sure he likes Willie yet, but I can see the brotherly bond forming. They are going to be great friends.

Harvey wanted to show my Aunt his Super-Harvey Costume, so he put it on for her

Then Willie decided he needed a cape and helmet too. I absolutely adore how Willie looks up to his big brother (sister too). He is really a uniting presence in our house, freely sharing his love with all of us.

Between the two of them I don't think any mother has ever been more loved. They both love to cuddle. Sometimes it is frustrating when great-big-four-year-old-Harvey insists that he not be put down. But mostly it's incredible. This morning Willie wanted to lie on my lap and Harvey hung on my back, alternately sticking his face over each of my shoulders and saying PeekABoo, silly boy. Willie loves to give hugs, and if for any reason I need him to come to me (diaper change being one) I just open my arms wide and say HUUUG!! And he'll come running right into them.

Harvey's imagination is sometimes just downright funny. Currently he has some (imaginary friend??) spiders that are actually having a birthday today. The spiders? They are his hands. They feed him, but sometimes they'd rather play in the food, or feed themselves. With Abby in school half the day, Harvey is sometimes frustrated and bored. He doesn't think that Willie is fun to play with, I'm trying to show him that Willie can play now too. If we get out the wooden blocks, Harvey will build something creative and Willie will stack a tower to knock down. They both love to play with cars and kitchen toys. Whatever Harvey is doing, Willie wants to try too. If I can just teach him to let Willie follow him around, I think we will have great success.

Willie, oh he's growing. He's not a little baby anymore, but a curious toddler. His vocabulary is growing rather inconsistently, but growing. He recently learned the sign for food, and the word. So I hear a lot of Bfoo Peeese. His favorite new term seems to be ME. Which functions well as Mine, Pick Me Up, and more. He is learning to make animal noises, although the only one that is easily recognized is Mooo. Even it comes out Booo. He makes a cute little squeaky noise for a kitten. And can growl and grunt pretty well too. He's also learning to respect boundaries, if I teach him. He really likes to pull all the movies off the shelf, and I was getting aggravated with always putting them back on. Then one day Jeff told him 'No, leave that alone' and he did! Why didn't I think of that? Sometimes I have the most obvious DUH moments as a mom. I forget the simple things, lol. But as long as I remember to love and enjoy my children, I think we'll be ok.

Sweet Cheeks

Tonight I was completely lazy. I got cold and buried myself under blankets on the couch. Then added a layer of sweet cheeked children. I wish I had pictures, but at least I can now say I understand more fully the term sweet-cheeks. Pectol kids have them, super sweet ones. They are so very kissable. Even better, they don't seem to mind being practically slobbered on when Mommy gets a bit enthusiastic in her kisses. Soft and plump little cheeks. Squeezy little children, generous with the love and hugs. So generous that at one point Abby got off my lap and informed me that Daddy had not had enough Abby cuddles yet. Then she relocated. That was alright, Mommy had to get up anyways.

A Perfect Vacation...

Must be one where you enjoy every minute of it. Have nothing to worry about. And when it is over, you are actually glad to go back to real life. That was our cruise. Jeff's employers bought the tickets and sent us because they don't want him to burn out. It was definitely the best vacation I've ever been on. Here are some pictures we took to show the kids, and now you too.

My apologies, the slideshow is playing in reverse of how I thought I set it up. It makes more sense the other way if you want to bother changing the images yourself.

My Darling Husband

I love my husband. Oh. So. Much. Really I do. We often think the same thoughts at the same time, which is fun. His attitudes, insights, and approaches to things have really helped me balance a lot of my crazy. He is absolutely the yin to my yang.

I have always been a lazy procrastinator. My deadly sin of choice is idleness, always has been. Jeff? Has an incredible work ethic. When I met his old employer and long-time friend Norm, he told me the story of Jeff's first day. Norm told Jeff to go get something. Jeff dropped off the ladder, ran to get it, and zipped back up the ladder. Norm just knew that would last for a day, maybe a week. "But," he told me "he's been doing it ever since. " He then proceeded to tell me that Jeff would be an excellent provider. He has been. In fact when he got a call just the other night from an entrepreneur friend he told him straight up that he would not be able to help him build his website. He'd consult but he wasn't going to sacrifice his families security to start chasing a million dollar idea. Since I like the security myself and have no desire to shake things up, I was grinning from ear to ear while listening to his end of the conversation. I'd probably have hemmed and hawed and have had a much harder time saying no. (It always takes me longer to think of the reason why I shouldn't do something)

I have a tendency to worry myself to pieces about how I will ever get something done. Jeff's attitude? Just DO it. It's rubbing off some, and today I got my entire upstairs vacuumed. That has not ever happened before, definitely not all at once. The upstairs hasn't looked this decent since we moved in. That is definitely embarrassing to admit. But it happened because I took it in baby steps, got a little help, and just did it. I'm especially impressed with myself because what would usually feel like a 'big job' to me, that would have to wait until Jeff was home to help, wasn't. It probably has a lot to do with the fact that my kids are getting to the point that they help. I mentioned that I wanted to vacuum the whole upstairs today and Abby picked up her room so I could. Jeff and I had already tackled the very intimidating months and months of clutter in our room, so that was easy. The hardest part was keeping Harvey on task to put away his toys. It would be easier to do it myself. Easier, not smarter. Didn't hurt any that Willie likes the vacuum now and I don't have to hold him the whole time. Back to Jeff

Jeff is very insightful. Over the years he has observed that if I (or Abby, or any Stewart), is having a break down chances are excellent we need dinner and maybe a nap. Yes, food actually makes it better. It's amazing how much brighter the sky seems when one's blood sugar levels are normal. More recently he noted that the women in my immediate family HAVE to be heard. We don't really care if you agree with us or not, just shut up and listen for 2 minutes. This can be problematic when my sister, my mother, and I, all feel the need to be heard at once. It's not that we shout over the top of each other, rather we get terribly upset that we aren't being listened to, and all end up in tears and angry. He thinks we should just take turns, and remember to listen in our turn. Isn't he smart?? Thanks to his insights I feel a lot more prepared to cope with my own crazies. He knows me, he knows me better than I know my own self. My wonderful darling husband. Whatever would I do without him? (That is entirely a rhetorical question because I don't want to think about it, much less answer it!)

Reflections and Looking Forward to 2010

It's a New Year again. A good time to look at our lives and see what we want to change. I've looked back at 2009 some, and I think it was an amazing year. I made progress on many resolutions, both typical and personal. I'm 30 pounds lighter than I was a year ago. I speak more softly more often to my children. I finally gave a Book of Mormon to a friend (I've wanted to do it for 8 years). I have drawn closer to my Savior and am trying to be like Him. Really, I don't have any big changes I'd like to make. Lots of improving in lots of areas, but no huge changes. I do have one Wish for 2010 for myself, but even if that doesn't happen, then I have plenty to do to keep me occupied. This year all I really want to do is grow, improve, strengthen. My home, my family, and myself. For Home I need to better use my time. Less Facebook, less blog following, less dinking around. There are many things I can improve on but I'm going to be focusing on managing my time better. For Family I want to continue to soften my tone, and to cheer up more often too. I scold and worry too much. For Myself- Strength training. My back is hurting me again after missing so much gym time, and it is high time for the Saggy Baggy Elephant Skin to disappear, or at least shrink a little. Do I'd like to become more constructive, more tempered, and stronger. Written down like that it seems a lot harder than it feels inside myself. I'm not going to be tackling all of this with a renewed vengeance this month. Rather these are things I've already been working on, and am just going to keep on working on. There are myriad other little things that I'm working on too, and don't plan on stopping. Life is a work in progress.