A Joyful Circus

Who needs them?

2010-04-29T09:34:00.000-07:00

It's been a week since Mya had her tonsils and adenoids removed. She is doing well, eating and drinking today. She has definitely been spoiled. Her voice is still all wrong, it's pretty sad to hear her croak, Mya better supposed to be. Hang in there little one, you will get better I promise!

3 days of stomach flu

2010-01-08T17:30:00.000-08:00

The family and I have had the stomach flu for a few days. For the most part we have gotten along just fine. Today the kids painted all day. I am now the lucky recipient of a picture of poison, rain, a snake, and gold. Chris received a painting of an exploding volcano and one of gun powder. We have cabin fever so bad!! Thomas was feeling better today so all day I heard can I do this, can I get this person to play, can we go here? AAGH! If we can survive this evening all will be well! As long as Mya stays well we're coming out to play tomorrow.

Reindeer

2009-12-03T10:26:00.000-08:00

Every night either Chris or I rocks Thomas and sings some choice good night songs. Since before Halloween Thomas has insisted that I sing a couple of Christmas songs as well. He likes Jingle Bells and Rudolph the red nose reindeer. So last night he put in a request for Grandma got ran over by a reindeer. Thank goodness I don't know the whole song so I could not sing it. It's really kind of hysterical to me that he wants to hear that song, right after I love to see the temple!! love that kid

A little insight

2009-06-09T08:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday on the way home from karate Thomas said to me, "Mom have you ever felt your body change?" I replied, "what do you mean?" to which he said "You know when you get peace and quiet in your brain, then it spreads to the rest of your body. It makes you drowsy." I asked him how did he know about this, and he said because it happens to me. Thomas has always been so sensitive, I am amazed that he is able to articulate it!

My Relationship Expert

2009-02-05T19:28:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Thomas said to me. "Mom, Dad might get bored of you. He might need to move out of the house." To which I replied. "Do I need to take Dad on more dates so he does not get bored?" To which he replied, "No, you need to cook and clean more." So there you have it folks. Cooking and Cleaning- The secret to a perfect marriage!

baby girl or linebacker

2009-01-26T15:38:00.000-08:00

So I think when Mya grows up she will be a line backer. This weekend at Target they had all their Circo outfits out for the summer. I never notice until all the matching pieces are gone so I was so happy to get first dibs. I picked up the 24 month size and thought, um maybe not, better go for the 2T. I tried them on her yesterday and the 2T shirts are already too small. She has massive shoulders. The shoulder seam was halfway to her neck. Oh well, I will exchange them tonight, I am just suprised!

So Right

2009-01-18T14:17:00.000-08:00

This was part of an email a friend sent. I want to have it framed and hung on the big wall in my kitchen.

Where have all the bloggers gone?

2009-01-16T21:54:00.000-08:00

Ah, found you, facebook!
Baby come back

North Carolina Christmas

2009-01-13T07:44:00.000-08:00

So many of you have asked how our trip was over the holidays. We haven't wanted to say much because it was kind of a hard trip. We are far enough away from it to hit the highlights now. My most favorite part was seeing my little brother. He returned from his second tour in Iraq in the fall so this was the whole family get together and the first time most of the brothers and sisters had seen him in over a year. He had lost 30 or so pounds while in Iraq so he was very thin, but super strong. Thomas adores him and was so excited that he got to go for a ride alone with Michael in his convertible sports car. Thomas was equally impressed that the girl Michael is dating drives a Charger. I helped Michael prepare an authentic Iraqi dinner for the whole family. It was fun to try new things, I had never had lamb in my whole life, that I am aware of anyway! It was okay, I would be willing to try it again. Thomas had fun playing with his south east cousins. My little sister Rebecca has a whole troop of little boys, Michael 8, Joshua 6, Caleb 4, and one tiny little princess Charlotte 11 months. My mom bought the little girls matching dresses. Mya and Charlotte are only 5 months apart but they are opposite in every way. Mya is tall, dark, agressive, and heavy! Charlotte is fair, blond, blue eyed, tiny, and sweet! I had sort of joked that if Mya sat on Charlotte she would squish her, she did. Mya's dress was size 24 months and Charlotte's was size 12 months, they both fit perfectly. Charlotte would pose and smile every time it was picture time, Mya would scowl and scream and try to run away. I am not sure if my Mom and Dad were able to get any pictures of her smiling. We found out right after we got home that Mya had a raging ear infection, possibly why she was so fun on the trip, or maybe that's just her!
Thomas was worried the whole time, "how can it be Christmas if there is no snow?" over and over again! We assured him that Santa will come even if there is no snow. On the coldest day it was 44 degrees, on the warmest it was almost 70. You have to love the south for that. We had direct flights both going and coming home. That was fabulous! However, we all came home with various infections. Mya the ears, Thomas had a sinus infection, Chris ears and sinus, Me a sinus infection. Thank goodness for antibiotics. We are so glad to be home, and unfortunately we have already planed and booked our next week away. I am such a homebody that I was in a very bad mood last night as Chris booked our hotel and flight. We are flying to Chicago in May to see Jeremy, Chris's youngest brother graduate from Medical school. While we are there, we will spend the week after graduation playing along the shores of Lake Michigan and getting in some good shopping. We are so excited for Jeremy and Jamie, and cannot wait to see where the next chapter in their life unfolds.

It's been one of those days

2009-01-08T16:24:00.000-08:00

AAAGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nothing wrong with a good scream, I say

the prettiest beast on the planet

2008-12-15T15:34:00.000-08:00

So many of you might think of Mya as the beauty. Those of us who spend time with her on a regular basis know her as the beautiful beast! On Saturday my Mother in law went shopping with me to help me find a Christmas dress for Mya. I have already bought and returned a couple of different ones. I wanted to try them on her in the store so I could save the return trip. As some of you may have noticed she is a little round, not so many dresses fit her. If you can imagine a 25 pound tazmanian devil trying on a dress, you might start to get the idea. i found what appeared to be the perfect dress, it was red and fluffy. Annie held her down, I pulled the dress over her head, she immediatly pulled it back over her head, I pulled it back down and then grabbed a hand to shove it in the arm hole before she could pull it off again. She is screaming and flailing and trying to smack whoever is closest, sorry Grandma! She landed a few. We got the other arm in only to find out that this size 2T dress is too small. We could not button the third button. We removed the offending dress set her down and away she went. Santas village was just outside this stores entrance and looked way more exciting. We chose another dress, a gorgeous dark plum and equally fluffy. Repeat tazmanian devil attack. To our suprise it fit much better. Today, add Aunt Emily, we took the beautiful beast and her gorgeous plum dress to get pictures done. I cannot express the challenge it was to get her back in the dress, get her hair fixed and pry a smile out of her. I need a Xanax, for real, I'm not kidding. THANK YOU GRANDMA AND IWI!

An Epic Battle

2008-12-04T16:38:00.000-08:00

Thomas: Mom, there is a spider in the basement
Mom: Yeah, I know, spiders like the basement
Thomas (quaking in his shoes): I keep stepping on it and it keeps going, now its on the wall
Mom: How big is the spider
Thomas: It's a tiny little spider
Mom: How big are you
Thomas: I'm very big
Cameron: I know, maybe a shoe will kill it

the boys run to find shoes, then back to the basement

Thomas: It's not working!!!
Cameron: Whack, Whack, Whack, got it!
Thomas: Just put it in the trash
Cameron: Now it won't run away ever again

Twilight the movie

2008-11-22T11:18:00.000-08:00

Twilight was pretty over the top. I wasn't going to watch it this weekend, but I got an email from Jasper Cullen yesterday saying be ready to go meet Edward at 4:15. I met Chris at the movie theater, he had saved my place in line and gotten us the best seats in the room! He had asked me weeks ago if I was going with my friends and I had told him that I did not want to deal with the crowds and craziness. I watched the movie alone though as 15 minutes into it the stomach flu finally caught up with Chris. I am really glad that I got to watch it alone because I think it would have made him sick anyway!!! He tried to read Twilight and could not finish because the book was too much. I am pretty sure one needs to be of the female persuasion to appreciate Bella's story. All this being said, I am really glad it was a matinee, and I am sure I will see it again, maybe at the $1 movies. I want to know how everyone else felt! One more thing, are these really the most beautiful people they could find to be in this movie????? In the book they are described way prettier then this, with better clothes too! Aargh

Quantom of Solace

2008-11-17T09:42:00.000-08:00

Chris and I really love Jame Bond, in fact we own every one of the movies. So I was really really surprised that we did not totally love Quantum of Solace. It was okay, I thought they plot was weak, of course the special effects were great. And as always Daniel Craig was yummy. I don't know that I like James Bond so angry! I went online to read a a little bit about how they chose Daniel Craig as the next Bond and I read this that I thought was interesting. "Critic Paul Arendt of BBC Films,^[10] Kim Newman of Empire^[11] and Todd Carty of Variety^[12] all described Craig as the first actor to truly embody the original James Bond from Ian Fleming's novels: "ironic, brutal, and cold". Maybe now we are seeing James Bond they way Ian Fleming saw him? I will have to read the books and see for myself! I want to know what you think.

Diva

2008-11-13T18:45:00.000-08:00

I finally found a pair of jeans that is the right fit for me. Really it is a miracle. I am 5 feet 5 inches tall, but terribly short waisted. I have long enough legs, but regular length pants just don't fit, they are too long every where. I also have very narrow hips and thighs, keeping in mind that all things are relative! So every pair of jeans I have are saggy and too long. If I buy petite jeans they are too short. Old Navy online had the answer. Their range of jeans goes like this, Petite, Short, Regular, Tall. The petite jeans have a 29 1/2 inch inseam, while the short have a 30 inch inseam, regular has a 32 inch inseam, and tall have a 36 inch inseam. The Diva cut also has a low rise and has a more narrow hip and thigh. VOILA! My perfect jeans. I would definitely recommend checking out Old Navy online if you have a hard time finding the right fit!

Jasper

2008-11-03T19:45:00.000-08:00

Chris was disappointed to discover he was no Edward to my Bella. Turns out he is a Jasper.

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

Love Notes

2008-11-02T18:34:00.000-08:00

I received my first love note from Thomas today. He asked me how to spell love so I told him, then he asked how to spell Mom, then he said oh I know M o m. Next thing I know I have a note that says" love Wom". I tried my best not to cry, I cannot believe my little boy can write notes. He'll get those letter turned around right eventually! The next note was for Dad and it said, "I'm leaving". Thomas added verbally" forever". As Dad pretended to cry Thomas assured him he would be back again someday, after college! Good Luck with that little man!!

Trick or Treat

2008-11-02T18:08:00.000-08:00

The Itsy Bitsy Spider and Batman! Okay, so there is nothing itsy or bitsy about Mya but she was a darn cute spider. Thomas was a terriffic Dark Knight Batman. Grandma Annie and Dad took the kids trick or treating down town as my back is on the fritz. Then we went to Grandma & Grandpa Thaynes for dinner and more trick or treating. I left a bowl full of candy on our doortstep when we left to go to dinner as I knew we would be back in about an hour. Turns out the trick was on us, someone had emptied the whole bowl!!! Oh Well, I learned my lesson. I took Thomas around our neighborhood to do a little last second trick or treating while Dad put Mya to bed. Then we played card games with a neighbor family until it was bed time. It was a fun night!

October Fun

2008-11-01T10:04:00.000-07:00

We like to cram all the fun stuff in at the same time. It seems like we go for awhile doing nothing out of the ordinary, then do it all! This month we went to Cornbelly's, it was fun except for that STUPID dragon monster thing. Thomas went through with me and we escaped out an emergency exit. Then Chris made him go thorough again with him and he came out the tail end crying hysterically. Thomas had a nightmare about the Stupid dragon monster and talked about it for a week. Then Chris took Thomas to a BYU football game. Thomas was delighted to find out that one could play football and be a scientist. He has been saying for a month that he wants to be a scientist when he grows up. Speaking of scientists, at Thomas's school they don't celebrate Halloween. Instead they have a World History Assembly. At this assembly they can dress up like someone from world history who was born before 1950, as long as they write a report about the person and it is approved by the World History Assembly Committee. Thomas has been pursing his science dreams by doing experiments. So we chose Albert Einstein as his person. It's true Albert was a phyisist and Thomas's experiments are more along the lines of what Louis Pasteur might have done. But, Albert is much more recgonizable! He had a blast and maybe one day he will be a hot commodity as the most famous football star/nobel prize winning man ever. To Dreams!

Nephrocalcinosis

2008-10-18T13:39:00.000-07:00

Thomas does not have kidney stones, rather nephrocalcinosis. If you google nephrocalcinosis you will be alarmed at what it can mean. It is a symptom for several not so nice diseases. However, the urologist said since he does not have an increase in calcium in his urine it will just need to be monitored with yearly renal ultrasounds and monthly urinalysis. If the blood in his urine does not go away when the voiding dysfuction is under control they will do some more testing. So for the time being there is no cause for alarm, rather cautious observation.

Voiding Dysfunction

2008-10-16T09:33:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness! Thomas does not have reflux from his bladder to his kidneys, what he does have is Voiding Dysfunction. On Monday Thomas had a V.C.U.G. and kidney and bladder ultrasounds to see if his body was normal. His bladder, right kidney and ureters all look great. However his left kidney appeared to be speckled with something. The Pediatric Urologist up at Primary Children's Hospital said it might possibly be kidney stones or just something residual from the ultra sound machine. They did another test yesterday to see if it was kidney stones. We will find out soon for sure what it was. In the mean time, Thomas also has terrible constipation. Who knew all this works together. She explained how it all works and gave us lots of paper work to help us understand. We learned a ton! For now we are having to basically re-potty train Thomas and give him laxatives to help everything get moving. We are also really increasing the amount of fiber he eats. He was a trooper and at All Bran buds with me this morning. He wants his body to work properly as well. On the V.C.U.G. films you can see that all his bowels were just packed. I wanted to cry. I feel responsible for not feeding him better. I am glad to know and have a better understanding of all this. I am also glad he does not have worse problems. In the paperwork they gave us sometimes voiding dysfuction can cause hydronephrosis, bladder decompensation, and kidney damage. Some kids have even needed to have kidney transplants. I am so okay with re-potty training if if will protect his little body.

Mya turned 1

2008-10-04T12:47:00.000-07:00

Mya turned one on September 24. We celebrated with dinner, presents, and fried ice cream at Los Hermanos with Grandma Annie & Aunt Emily. Our server asked if we wanted them to sing to her and bring out fried ice cream. We were like, DUH! I did ask that they keep the volume lower then they might otherwise. The first 5 servers used their indoor voices but the dude in the back didn't get the message and trillled as loud as he could. Mya weathered it well and did not cry, she didn't smile either though. We followed up with cake and more presents and Grandpa Grant at home. For the record Mya has 8 teeth, is 29 inches long, and weighs 24 pounds 10 ounces. I cannot imagine that one year ago she was 3 lbs and fighting for her life. What a trooper! She must have something important to do while she is here!

Thomas's Second First Day of School

2008-10-04T11:44:00.001-07:00

We have been working on getting Thomas into a certain school since last year this time. After the first lottery last spring he was not accepted and was #7 on the wait list. As the start of the school year approached I called every couple of weeks seeing if his place on the list had changed. The week before school he was #1 on the list. I went ahead and started him at the local elementary school and he was so excited to go. I called the new school during his first week at the local school and found out he was accepted. YEAH!!! He was even more excited. These are pictures from his second first day of school!

Rotten Egg

2008-09-01T20:03:00.000-07:00

Today our family went to the mall to do some shopping. On the way back to the car Thomas announced, "First one there is a rotten egg". He procedded to run to the car giggling all the way. He ran full force into the car in his effort to win. I am assuming he learned this phrase at school, maybe he just didn't quite get it. As I recall the saying goes, last one there is a rotten egg, and maybe not the prize Thomas thinks it is. Maybe I should leave an egg out so Thomas knows what a rotten egg is, or maybe, just maybe I should let him go on for awhile being the "winner".

She Sits

2008-08-27T12:05:00.000-07:00

We have had a crazy week. Thomas starting school, Mya having a week long asthma attack that I did not recognize, and now she sits. A couple of times yesterday and then today she was sitting up when I knew moments earlier she had been crawling around. Finally I saw the sit in action. She gets up on her hands and knees, then rocks for a second, then carefully leans back and settles on one bum cheek, then pulls herself upright, TA DA!! Thomas and I cheered and clapped for her, she gave us her toothy grin and clapped too. I don't know if she was just mimicking us or maybe she was proud of herself as well. It is a good day!

Thomas's First Day of School

2008-08-25T12:16:00.001-07:00

Aagh! I cannot believe Thomas started Kindergarten. You may be wondering why there is no first day of school picture on this post. I made sure to find the camera last night, however I did not bother to check to see if it was charged. We went outside this morning to take pictures and the camera was DEAD! I set the camera and the bag on the trunk of the car and off to school we went. Thomas wanted to ride his bike, so me and some other Moms walked our little ones to school. Thank goodness Lacey had her camera so some pictures were taken, we just have to get then shared. So we took our little ones to school and came home. I jumped in the car and headed to the gym. A little while later a man came in and said, I found this camera on someones car, does it belong to someone in here. It was my camera, I was totally in shock that it made it. Very Grateful Though! I was however lamenting the fact that the camera bag was lost with the extra lens and charger, and cord, etc. I drove home carefully looking all along the way. I did not see it, but as I was getting out, my neighbor came over and asked if I lost my camera bag. It had fallen off right in front of their house. Thank goodness for little miracles. And for the record Thomas had a great day. He told me sitting on carpet was good, going into the hall to see where the bathrooms was good, the teacher telling us to be quiet was good. He said he made new friends but could not remember their names. Right after school one of Thomas's friends said to his Mom, "I didn't learn how to read today", and he sounded really sad. I love that these sweet little kids want to learn and are so excited to go to school. All is well.

Forward Motion

2008-08-20T13:19:00.000-07:00

Mya is finally crawling. It is not pretty and not on her knees exactly. She digs in with her toes and tenses up and then kind of springs forward. She is fast though! She is also very naughty. She screams and cries when she does not get what she wants. Whenever Chris comes home, she will beeline across the room to him and if he walks away without picking her up, she is hysterical. The same can be said for say a toy that Thomas has that she wants, or getting her pajamas on at night. We love her and her attitude.

Breaking Dawn

2008-08-02T14:41:00.000-07:00

WOW, I never saw this coming. Loved it! If you have read it, let's talk.

Mya Dawn July 6

2008-07-23T11:50:00.000-07:00

Mya was blessed and named today. It was the second day of Snowbird so all of Chris's family who were vacationing came down. We had lots of Uncles to help give Mya her blessing.

July 4th

2008-07-23T11:18:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun today. It started with the Freedom Festival parade in Provo and ended at Stadium of Fire. Mya and Charlotte wore matching red, white, & blue dresses. The parade was fun and Stadium of Fire was moving. Glen Beck gave a great speech and welcomed families of soldiers that were serving in the middle east to join the field. Hundreds of family members covered the field. My sister and I were both crying our eyes out, we hoped that our little brother Michael was watching, as Stadium of Fire was being broadcast to the troops.

July 3, 2008 Together Forever

2008-07-23T10:53:00.000-07:00

What a crazy day. I lost my mind this day. We were supposed to be at the temple at 9:00am. We left the house at 9:20am. Once there I realized I had left the adoption decree and Mya's clothes at home. Thank goodness Grandma & Grandpa had not left yet. They stopped at our house and picked everything up. We went into the records office and we had not filled out our family group history form. I was so throughly out of my mind that I could not remember anything that was important. Chris managed to pry everything out of my head that was necessary. We went back to change and honestly I could not even get dressed by myself. My sweet temple helper said she understood, once one thing goes wrong it's hard to get back on track. Well to make it short all is well, Mya is now sealed to us and it was a beautiful day. I imagined us all walking together reverently into the temple. Turns out we sort of staggered in, Thomas marching right up to the doors and going in first! He has been wanting to get into the temple for as long as I can remember. It was sweet to see him with all his 5 year old confidence go marching right in. I hope I can always remember seeing my sweet family dressed in white in that beautiful room. I am so thankful for our family and friends that came to share our experience.

I've Been Tagged by iwi

2008-07-02T19:47:00.001-07:00

Little Bit on Me
3 Joys:
1. My Family
2. My Friends
3. Reading

3 Fears
1. Children seriously ill or dying
2. Chris seriously ill or dying
3. Spiders/Snakes

3 Goals
1. Keep house cleaner
2. Spend better quality time with kids and Chris
3. Take better care of myself

3 Current Obsession:
1. Diet Coke
2. Blogging
3. Changing diapers

3 Suprising Facts
1. I think it's okay for Bella to love Edward and Jacob, I know I sure do!
2. I made a boys nose bleed in 6th grade by hitting him in the face with a hula hoop
3. I would prefer not to wear clothes, nudest colony here I come

Official Decree

2008-07-02T08:59:00.000-07:00

What an exciting day for our family. We had court first thing this morning, now Mya's adoption is official. I had talked to Thomas about how court would be, with the Judge and his robe and gavel, the deputies with their guns, etc. I just did not want him to be surprised. It turns out I made him nervous instead. However as soon as we stepped through the door, the first deputy gave him a sticker deputy badge, and he was fine. He answered the Judge when he asked him questions and was very sweet. We are so happy to know that Mya is ours now, and we are looking forward to tomorrow when she will be ours forever. I am overwhelmed by what I am feeling. Last night Chris's Mom Annie had us come up for dinner and to have a video conference call with Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Jamie. Annie told us they were on the computer so as we went into the room with the camera, to our surprise Jeremy & Jamie were there. We are so glad that they could be here. Judge Lynn Davis took care of our adoption, we requested him, and he happily obliged us. He was Chris's families home teacher when they lived in Provo and it was special to have him make us official. Mya was sweet too, she kept trying to take our attorney's pen, the whole time. It was hilarious! She also looks fabulous with a gavel and robes. Perhaps one day Mya will be a judge!

Oh Happy Day

2008-06-25T13:53:00.000-07:00

Mya rolled from her back to her tummy for the first time today! Yeah! For those of you who might wonder why it has taken her so long, she is developmentally delayed because of her prematurity. She is 9 months and one day old and we are thrilled. I have been starting to worry as there are some other signs that she is way behind as well, and for a while there had been no improvement in any of them. Now we can check one off the list, and have hope for the rest.

My Angel

2008-06-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning Thomas woke up and went downstairs. He saw the left over carrot mess in Mya's high chair. He said this needs to get washed. I was in the middle of something so I said you are right and went on my way. A little while later Chris came in and told me that Thomas had moved what was in the washer to the dryer and had put Mya's high chair cover in the washing machine. What an Angel. He is so sweet and I love that he saw a mess, recognized he could do something about it, and did it. I think he is amazing!

Mya 2 Mom 0

2008-06-23T08:49:00.000-07:00

Saturday night I fed Mya baby food carrots. She let me put a couple of bites in, then on number 3 she shuttered like she was eating the foulest thing imaginable. I continued to shovel in bites as I wanted her to deal with it. She started to get wiggly and upset. I thought one more bite. As I put this bite to her little mouth, she blew the way babies do, like when your doing zurberts or raspberries, and carrots went everywhere. She has won the last two food battles. But I'm not down yet!

Feeling Better

2008-06-23T08:38:00.000-07:00

It has been 11 days since my surgery. I am feeling much better. It has been 24 hours since I last took any pain meds and the fog is clearing. Who knew demerol was the answer? It did not make me sick. I still have scabs on my right side and I continue to cough and gag and will until they come off. Chris was a trooper especially considering how sick Mya has been as well. We could not have made it through this without the help of family & friends. Thank you to Grandma Annie & Julie for taking care of the kids, especially while Mya was in the middle of roto virus. The poor thing literally went through a costco box of diapers in 13 days. For the record a box usually lasts 5 weeks!

Not Looking forward to my Tonsillectomy tomorrow

2008-06-11T12:18:00.000-07:00

Maybe I am crazy but I am going to try to find 10 reasons why I am glad to have a tonsillectomy tomorrow.

1- I will lose some weight because I can't eat
2- I will be able to sleep on my side instead of my back, as my tonsils will not fall into my throat anymore
3- I will be able to read Thomas more then 4 pages of a story
4- I will be able to sing again, not that I have any skills, just the desire!
5- I will not get strep throat every six weeks
6- I won't have to change any diapers for at least a week
7- I do enjoy that foggy, stoned feeling that narcotics are good for
8- I won't have to cook or clean for several days
9-
10-

I am out of ideas, I am open to suggestions!

Aargh!!!!! Teething

2008-06-09T05:54:00.000-07:00

Mya's first tooth came through on May 28, Thomas's B-Day. Now her second is through. They are both on the bottom in the front, you know the way most babies do it. She has been so ornery and angry. All of her gums on the bottom look they are going to explode. She ate a whole jar of bananas yesterday. I first tried to feed her squash and she would spit it out and gag. I thought maybe she was not ready for solids yet. Turns out she thinks she can be picky. She'll see, or maybe we'll see!

King for a day

2008-06-04T21:24:00.000-07:00

Thomas turned 5!!! What a fun day. Thomas had his choice of venues for his birthday party and when it came down to it, he wanted to have a family party at home, with all his friends! I am still chuckling on the inside at his understanding of a "family party". He chose to have a transformer themed birthday party. There was an epic water balloon battle between the Autobots(in red sashes) and the Decepticons (in black sashes). The Decepticons had no casualties, while the Autobots lost one. Kimber the smallest Autobot could not understand why they were getting her wet.

Graduation! I Quit

2008-06-04T21:07:00.000-07:00

Thomas was so excited for his pre-school graduation. He participated in every part of the program and was careful to keep his clothes clean before. Anyone who has boys can only imagine how important graduation must have been to him to have clean clothes on when he got there. About a week after graduation we went to see Grandma Annie at work. One of her co-workers asked if he was in school, to which her replied-"Nope, I Quit"

Miracles

2008-06-04T20:50:00.000-07:00

I have been hesitant to put pictures of my kids on my blog for a variety of reasons but I want to share them with all those that I love and who love us so here we go. I do truly believe that they are all three miracles. I cannot put up any pictures of our Angel Addison yet as I only have photographs from the hospital, maybe someday I will dedicate a blog to her. She would be 6 1/2 now if she were alive. I picture her looking like Thomas except with long curly blond hair. Her baby pictures look just like Thomas's baby pictures. Thomas is my sweet, sensitive, "expert", that changed our lives forever. Now we have Princess Mya who I think may have completed our family. Please enjoy our Miracles!

He's an Expert

2008-06-04T20:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was reading a book about whales to Thomas. On page 3 he stopped me and informed me that he was a whale expert and that he knew everything about whales. I congratulated him on knowing everything about whales and continued to read. Later that night after dinner we were all working on the garden. A storm was coming so we were putting up trellises and tying the vulnerable plants to them. As I was helping Thomas get ready for bed he informed me that he was a wind expert. He said that he knows people don't like wind at night and that when he grows up he will be able to turn it on and off. He then slapped his leg and said "see I told you I know everything." Chris told him that it is great that he knows everything now because the older you are the dumber you get. Thomas wasn't buying it, and I love that he is an expert on just about everything.

Stage 1 Extraction & Graft complete

2008-06-04T15:57:00.001-07:00

So Chris's tooth extraction and bone graft went well. He went to what he thought was going to be a consultation and came away missing a tooth, with cadaver bone sprinkles in place, and a post implanted in his jaw. He then went to work. The nurse called to check on him and I said he was fine and at work. She didn't say anything so I said, "he said he doesn't have any pain". To which she replied, "of course not he is still numb". I called Chris later to see how he was doing and he was fine and had been fine ever since. He just takes tylenol and advil to take care of the discomfort. Leave it to Chris to be impervious to pain. I guess I should be very thankful rather then astonished. They said in 4 months his jaw should be all healed up and ready for the fake tooth.

Just Kidding

2008-05-15T14:43:00.000-07:00

So I was just kidding on my last blog when I said I was back. I think maybe now! Our internet was down for a whole month. J & J we will send some pictures. We are bad siblings!! So my tonsils are gonna come out. The doctor assures me that even though I will want to die for the first 12 days after the surgery I will be glad that I am doing it. He said no worries we will give you all the pain meds you need. I didn't tell him at the time that most pain meds make me vomit!!!! I figured we would cross the pain control bridge next week when we confirm the surgery time. On Friday I am having a barium swallow test. Sounds fantastic if you ask me. They will just be checking to make sure nothing else is going on in there. The Doc said sometimes the swollen tonsils that come with mono are permanent and he is pretty sure that is what happened to me. On a happier note, Chris needs a bone graft! For real, he has a tooth that broke and because he is a chump and won't go to the dentist the infection spread to his jaw bone. So the month of June is going to be all about getting stoned and yelling at each other. Neither one of us deals very well with pain. Hopefully we can get all this behind us as July 2 is the day the stinky beast becomes final. I will write about that later.

I'm Back

2008-04-21T20:35:00.001-07:00

So the day after I found out about Strep and Flu I found out I also had Mono. It has been kicking my a@! ever since. I am still so tired and my body is still doing weird things. My tonsils are still taking up my whole throat. I see a specialist about the problem in a month or so. My beasts are doing well. The stinky beast weighs 20 pounds and is recovering from her nasty cold that put her in the hospital for a few day on an outpatient basis. The blond beast just got 10 cavities filled, two root canals, and 8 crowns. Also the stinky beast is going to get a helmet. She has positional plagiocephaly. This just means she has a misshapen head from laying on one side too much. She came to us this way and all our efforts to correct the problem have not done enough. It should only be for a few months. All in all we mostly well. I can't wait to catch up on everything that has been going on.

Strep Throat & Type A Influenza

2008-02-11T15:38:00.000-08:00

So who knew I would become my sweet little preemie's worst health threat. I found out today I have both strep throat and Type A Influenza. My mother in law asked what symptoms of the Flu are. I told her I did not know how to differentiate them from those of Strep. I have never had either one of these sicknesses. I knew something was very wrong because I want to sleep and not wake up! My whole body hurts, a lot. My head hurts so bad and my eyeballs are swollen half shut. I told the nurse I was worried that maybe brain fluid was leaking and making my eyes swell and hurt. You could tell she thought I was overreacting. I have a fever, sore throat, sore ears, IRRITABILITY, nausea, and a general feeling of malaise. They did the strep test first and then the flu test. The results of the strep came back positive and I have to be honest I was glad because I would be able to take an antibiotic and feel better. I knew there was no way I would have both. I waited another several minutes and the doctor came in and told me the Type A test was positive too. He assured me the reason my eyeballs were swollen was the flu and not my brain fluid leaking out. He sent me home with an antibiotic and told me to wear a mask when the coughing starts. Apparently I have not reached the pinnacle of the Flu experience yet! I hope I don't give either of these to my sweet little beasts or to my mother in law who came over while I went to the doctor and then took care of them while I attempted to rest.

Why Beasts

2008-02-08T16:17:00.000-08:00

So you might be wondering why I refer to our children as beasts. Let me tell the tale. Just before we decided to adopt probably because I was having those surges of maternal desire, we acquired a four month old chocolate lab named Coco. Now, we referred to Coco as the brown beast because she was crazy, and brown, and well a beast. Chris did not love the brown beast, Thomas did not love the brown beast although he professed too. I loved Coco the brown beast like she was a child. She had every accessory, toy, the best food, professional training, etc. Unfortunately, during the six weeks that we had her things went from okay, to bad, to worse, to me placing an add in the classified for someone to come and get her. Thomas played with her and helped take care of her, but was scared at the same time. He began having behavioral problems. He started having trouble sleeping, was not obedient, was upset a lot, and then started pooping his pants. Kind of beast like, since he is blond he became the blond beast. Now as for the stinky beast, when she toots it smells terrible, she can clear the room. I have really never smelled anything like this before. When she poops it smells like someone brought a rotting animal into the room. Thus she became the stinky beast.

My Amazing Litttle Brother

2008-02-08T15:51:00.000-08:00

This storm that won't leave the US alone is also plaguing the Middle East. This is my amazing little brother in his office in Iraq.

Sweet Land of Liberty

2008-02-08T15:41:00.000-08:00

As you can see I am learning a little everyday about blogging. All on my own, no calls to anyone I have given my blog a face lift. As some of you know my amazing little brother is serving in Iraq for a second tour. I found out from my parents recently that he went when he did not have too. His obligation to the Army had been met when the deployment call came in. He did not want to abandon his unit just in time to go to war. I am awed by his desire to change the face of the Middle East. He has said before that the majority of the people in Iraq are grateful for the US presence there and truly desire freedom. Thank you Michael for serving! I love you

Nine Months

2008-02-06T20:32:00.000-08:00

Around the first of the year 2007 I was feeling like it was time to do something about the size of our family. We have been working on this that traditional way for 10 years with limited success. In 10 years I had managed to get pregnant twice losing our first sweet daughter Addison at 21 weeks gestation. The second pregnancy resulted in what we refer to as the blond beast. We love the beast a lot. We decided to review our thoughts about adoption. We had twice started the adoption plan with family services, twice found out we were pregnant. I sort if thought this was our magic pill if you will. I attended an orientation at LDS Family Services in February along with my pal Julie. By the end of April we paid our retainer to get our Home Study started. Two weeks later we went to our first adoption class where they told us they only had a 10% placement rate, that only one couple out of the 10 in our paticular class would receive a baby. AAGH!!!!!!!!! What a disappointment. Never the less we persevered and continued the process. Several months later October 2007 we were still not approved at Family Services. I cannot believe the paper work they have required. We decided to apply with a new agency. I had all the paper work filled out in like one hour for the new agency. We sent the application along with a another retainer on October 18, 2007. They began showing our profile immediately. We got the call December 29 to go get our baby girl. On January 2, 2008 we had our little girl home. It was kind of ironic to me that our little girl took 9 months from our initial application for adoption. We feel very blessed. And the blond beast is starting to appreciate the stinky beast. We are still nervous as this adoption is not final yet. We have to wait until July to apply for placement and we have already had some bumps. So far all is well!

duh!

2008-02-06T20:26:00.000-08:00

So those that know me know that I am not especially savvy in the technology department. This being said I have logged into this blog twice successfully, both times having to call iwi to have her tell me the name of my blog and password. I talked to my friend Julie a few minutes ago to find out how to add her to my friends list. She talked me through adding her, of course it took two times. Then she added me to her blog list and laughed out loud as she viewed my blog. Now, I love Julie and truly my blog is laughable but I intend to remedy this! I spent the next several minutes reading through her blogs and I kind of understand what this is all about. I am excited to get started!!

Welcome to my blog!

2007-12-29T15:32:00.000-08:00

My husband's favorite sister set this up for me so you can all keep tabs on our family. Hopefully I'll have time to update it regularly!