Miss me?

Yeah, I know.I have heard. But really, I have not had anything worth blogging about over the past 10 days. I eve sat down to write one night and nothing. I had blogger's block I guess.

So, on to the excitement.

I hosted book group tonight. I made yummy Snickerdoodle muffins, and a Mediterranean style 7 layer dip. It was hummus, lettuce, tomatoes, olives, cucumbers, green onion and feta cheese. I served it with normal tortilla chips, although pita chips, or even plain pitas would have been good too. It was actually tasty...and pretty healthy.

It snowed last night and it is COLD here today! I think currently it is 12 degrees. Brrrr! Avery kept crawling out of her pants today, and she wouldn't hold still long enough for me to get her sweater on, so there was a time when she was crawling around in only her onesie and socks. I went to pick her up after a while and her lips were blue! She was sooo cold! Poor thing!She didn't act too upset by it. She was just happily playing away! I promptly got her clothes on and went to put her down for her nap all wrapped nice and cozy in her warm blanket. She must have felt really cozy because she napped for 3 hours!

So, last night Logan was playing with this little cloth book that hangs from a bar over the bouncy seat. It crinkles when you touch it. Anyway, he was walking around telling us that it was his fight book. We had him explain, since we weren't sure what a fight book was. Well, apparently it is a magic book that makes kids who are fighting be nice.Don't ask me where he got that idea from! So I told him that maybe we could also use it for a whining book. Whenever Logan is whining,I will open the book, and "poof!" he is happy! He thought that was a funny idea, and it actually worked a few times!Kids are so silly!

Since I have mentioned Avery and Logan so far, I might as well include something about our third child. That would be the cat.We got her as a tiny kitten the Fall after we bought our little house in Indiana. We didn't have kids yet then. So, she is 5 years old. She might just be the dumbest cat ever! Her food and water dishes are down in the unfinished basement. Her large bag of cat food is on the floor right next to her food dishes. The bag of cat food is wide open. As of lately, the bag is almost empty, so it has been laying on its side. The bag is big enough that the cat could crawl into it if she wanted to. I think this cat would starve to death before helping herself to her own bag of food.Seriously! Do I really have to single-handedly feed every living thing in this house? Could not the cat actually take care of itself when necessary? Ok, I know I still have to get her water, but if she was that hungry, she could really very easily just help herself. The cats I had growing up would eat holes in the cat food bag to get to it.Weird, weird animal. She has a lot of other quirks about her too, but I will just complain about the one for now. The funny thing is that she really likes to crawl inside plastic shopping bags. She seeks them out if they are on the floor to crawl inside of. She won't crawl in a perfectly good bag of cat food however. Just an empty plastic Wal-Mart bag. Where's the fun in that?

On an end note, back to my sweet baby girl. She pulled herself up to standing on a little rocking chair today! She was soooo excited! She might just go straight from the army crawl to walking and skip the whole normal baby crawl completely.She's a cutie!

Alright. We'll see if I can think of anything more interesting for next time. I really should find some pictures to post too. That's always fun!

Favorite Things Part 1- Lip balm/gloss

I don't think I have ever made a list of all the things I love. I know in my head, but I often forget about things, so I think I want to have a nice list where they are all in one place. So, here goes.

Today's focus is Lipgloss,chapstick, lipbalm, lipstick, etc.-- I am addicted to anything you put on your lips...for hydration, moisturization, shininess, color, smell and taste. I have about a million different lip products, but never seem to find them when I need them. I feel like I am a pretty good judge of a good lip product. It can't be sticky. It also has to last a while. It can't make your lips feel worse afterwards than they did before you put it on in the first place. It has to smell and taste good too.

Some of my favorites are:

1.Origins Liquid Lip Color



What you see is super-high shine and incredible color. But what you get is a whole lot more. Rich Rice Bran Oil pampers. Aloe and Vitamin E soothe and smooth. And icy-cool Mint leaves your lips with a refreshing zing. Choose from a rainbow of gotta-have hues from red hot red and cool coral to pretty pink and glittery gold.* I love the transforming glaze...you can put it on over your lipstick, and it softens the color and leaves a shimmer.It's pretty.

2. Rimmel Sweet Jelly lipgloss



I like this because the color is really sheer, it smells good, and it isn't sticky. It is shiny, and it moisturizes pretty well.This is a great gloss to have if you don't have lipstick with you, and need to touch up. I really like it.

3. Burt's Bee's chapstick



Beeswax Lip Balm
Get naturally soft, healthy lips.
How it Works
This natural lip balm moisturizes lips with ingredients like ultra-emollient lanolin, coconut oil and sunflower oil, and seals in hydration with beeswax. You can use it on healthy lips for a little peppermint tingle. Take your pick of an old-fashioned yellow tin or a recycled plastic tube. No wonder it is our most popular product.

4.Rosebud Salve



This cult-favorite, multi-purpose lip balm soothes dry lips, calms and heals irritation, and soothes the sting of minor burns. Try dabbing on dry elbows or knees to condition, and relieve dryness. Also an excellent remedy for the treatment of diaper rash.

* I originally purchased this at Sephora It has a really nice soothing feeling to it. It smells good, and it is really versatile. I kept it in my diaper bag when Logan was a baby. It was great to use if he had a diaper rash, or if he had any chapped skin on his face. It is gentle and doesn't sting, so it is great for babies. I of course like it for me too. I did find a similar product at Bath & Body Works. It is called C.O. Bigelow's Rose Salve. I have tried them both, and there really isn't much difference at all.



I haven't tried this one yet, but I plan to!

C.O. Bigelow
Mentha Cinnamint Lip Shine



Our Cinnamon and Mint-infused lip balm provides a glossy high shine with a refreshing cooling sensation. Lips stay moist and protected while Cinnamon and Peppermint give breath long-lasting freshness.

5. MAC Viva Glam V Tinted Lipglass



I am listing this one as a favorite color. I love it because I can wear it by itself for a more sheer color, or over lipliner for more intense color. It smells good and lasts a long time. The only thing bad about it is that it is sticky. It isn't such a good thing to wear when it is windy outside...my hair gets stuck in it, yuck!But I still like it.

I also like all the Bonne Bell lipsmackers. I don't know what it is about them...the bright colors, the fun flavors...the fact that they have been around as long as I can remember.Anyway...anyone who knows me and happens to go shopping with me will attest to the fact that i am drawn to all things lipbalm. I can't help it. I love them!

Of course this list is not all...I could go on, but I don't want to search my house right now for all the ones I have. So, share your favorite lipbalms/gloss!

Happy New Year!

Wow. We have been a house full of sickies this holiday season. Here it is January 2 already, and still no sign of better health for us.

I am sure you remember it all started two weeks ago with Logan complaining about his ear. The next morning he woke up with a red, swollen, drippy eye, so to the doctor we went. He has gone through his 10 days of amoxicillin and 7 days for his eye drops, and while I suppose the ear infection and pink eye is gone, he has had a horrible cough since then. He naps everyday now, has had almost no appetite, and always looks and acts soooooo tired.On occasion his eye still gets a little crusty, although it no longer looks all red and sore like pink eye.

Avery, sweet girl, has also had a little bit of the goopy eyes, but they have never gotten full-blown pink looking like Logan's. She also has a runny nose and horrible cough, which has been keeping her (and the rest of us) up all night, and making it difficult for her to sleep during the day.

And, because we believe in sharing in this family, I too have developed many of the same symptoms as my chillins. I got the goopy eye. It comes and goes. I think it is over, and then I wake up again with a pink, goopy eye. I have a sore throat, my head has been congested, and I feel like it is heading to my chest, and have to cough on occasion. I am exhausted and would love to sleep all day and night, which is a no can happen with the sick kids.

Tony spent his whole holiday vacation helping to take care of us and not getting sleep himself in order to help the kids in the night and allow me to get a little more sleep, which was very appreciated, but unfortunately still not quite enough. He had to go back to work today. We miss him terribly already.

It is 12:20 in the afternoon, and Avery has been asleep for 2 1/2 hours so far, Logan just woke up from an almost 2 hour nap, and I also got a small hour long doze in. And it's only noon. I was going to try to take the kids back in to the pediatrician, but my eye is pink and scratchy today, and I can't put my contacts in, so I can't see to drive. Plus I feel horrible as well.

So, that's a little of what's been going on in our house, and how we ended the old year, and started the new. I do have a few "normal" things to post about, but will get to that later. For now, I am off to tend to the sickies in my house!

Happy New Year!

Christmas 2007!

So, Christmas has come and gone, and my house still looks like Santa's gift bag exploded everywhere. But that's ok. This is the one time of year that I am perfectly ok with my house being a mess for days in a row, and living in my pj's as well. Ok, I know that is the case an awful lot the rest of the year, but at least this time I don't feel guilty about it!



The first thing Logan wanted to do was check out his stocking. We had the Christmas tree in the other room, so he didn't see what Santa left him first. That was his choice. It's funny how the thing he seemed most excited about in his stocking was his orange. Avery played with hers too. Funny kids!



My mom and dad sent Avery this really cute musical tea set. She loved it! Both kids did actually. They played "tea party" for quite a while. It was so cute to watch! Avery would sway back and forth to the music each time they pushed the button. She would sing along with it too. She had to suck on all the spoons, and put them in the cups.I was amazed that she knew what to do. Do you see the little clippy in her hair? Santa left her some hair clips in her stocking, and they actually stay in! This momma was very excited!



My sister-in-law gave Avery this really cute toy! It is a little polar bear that growls when you push on it's head. I was worried that it might scare her, but she actually smiled and laughed at it. And played with it. I love it!



So, I am really embarrassed to be saying this, but poor Logan has been wearing a size24 month coat because I haven't been able to find him a new one...that I was willing to spend money on. I finally got one the other day half off at The Children's Place, but wasn't 100% sure I liked it. Thankfully I did not remove the tags because Grandm and Grandpa Black sent him this fine looking coat for Christmas! It was just what he needed, and I like it much better than the one I got, so the other one is going back!This is the best shot I could get of him modeling his new coat, silly kid.



What holiday is complete without some chocolate laying around? We happened to have a few boxes of these chocolate orange sticks. Yum! well, Avery was in her seat near the table eating cheerios, and when I wasn't looking managed to snag the box of chocolate orange sticks off the table and dig in! What a happy girl! There's nothing like chocolate to make a gal happy! And messy!

We also discovered that Avery really really likes ham, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and jello. I love that this girl will eat real food! So, while she indulged in all the goodness of Christmas Eve dinner, sorry to say that all Logan ate was some ham and the whipped cream off his jello. One of these days he better decide he is hungry and needs some real sustenance!

I will have to post more of our Christmas happenings later!

Bathroom music

Logan spending time on the potty way back when!I love his singing...it is so cute!

I Spy with my little drippy eye...

Wednesday afternoon, Logan all of a sudden started crying and crying and saying that his ear hurt. I didn't know what to do, so I gave him some Tylenol and hoped it wasn't anything serious. He went upstairs crying, and after a while I didn't hear him anymore, so I went up to check on him and he was in his bed sound asleep...with his cd player on playing his lullabye music and everything. It was so sweet.This was around 1 p.m. and he hadn't even eaten lunch. He napped for 2 1/2 hours, and when he woke up he said he felt much better. Well, it wasn't too long before he started saying his ear hurt again, but he wasn't acting too upset about it, so I thought I would wait it out another day.




Thursday morning, he woke up and his eye was all red and crusty. He had the major sleepy stuck to his eyelids, and the whole area around his eye was even red and swollen. It was soooo sad! He wasn't complaining about his ear anymore, but as the morning progressed, he started complaining about his eye and it was looking worse. I finally called and made an appointment to see the doctor. We went to the doctor, and he has a really bad ear infection, as well as this lovely bacterial eye infection...aka pink eye. The doctor prescribed amoxicillin for his ear, and some eye drops for his eye, so we went to get those filled. As we were driving in the car, he kept whining that his eye was dripping. It was sooo sad! It was seriously dripping tears down his cheek. I would hand him a tissue to wipe it with, and not long later he would be upset about it dripping again. When we got home, I told him to go lay on the couch while I put Avery down for her nap and then I would come give him his medicine. I wasn't upstairs for more than 5 minutes, and when I came back down he was sound asleep. I let him sleep, and every once in a while he would wake up kind of fussing, and when I would go see what he needed, he had eye tears dripping down his face, and making a nice puddle on the pillow. I would wipe his eye, and the next thing I knew he would be back asleep again. It was really the saddest thing I have seen! My poor, brave little buddy.



** So, these pictures really didn't show how awful it really was, but you get the idea. Isn't he so sweet that he smiled for me? How do you like his chocolate milk chin? And his shaggy hair? He needs a haircut so bad!

So, today his eye is looking a lot better, and it isn't dripping anymore. He did still get the crusties, and it is still red, but not swollen and not drippy. He was acting almost back to normal today, except for his nap again this afternoon. Lately his napping is few and far between, so I know he is really really tired, or not feeling well when he naps.

Avery's eye was looking a little bit red tonight, so I am worried she might be getting pink eye too. I really hope she doesn't. The doctor did say that if she does, I can just call and they will call in a prescription for eye drops for her so I won't have to bring her back in. That will be nice. But really...how on earth am I supposed to give a 10 month old eye drops? Are you kidding me? That will be fun. Oh the joys!

On another, more joyous note, we found this really cool house the other night. It was all lit up with lights, and they had a sign outside to turn your radio to a certain station. The lights on their house blinked to the music! It was seriously fascinating! I was so amazed, that I went back last night with my friend Dani, and then Tony, the kids and I went back again tonight! We also drove around tonight and found a little cul-de-sac called "Candy Cane Lane" and all the houses were decorated really cute. We also found this other fun Christmas house tonight. There were cars lining the streets, and a crowd of people in front of this house. We didn't have coats, the kids were in their pj's and Logan had no shoes, but we decided to get out of the car anyway to go see the house. We wrapped the kids in blankets and carried them. This house was literally covered in window displays. I really don't know how else to explain it.There were little displays of animated gingerbread men, victorian carolers, penguins, santa and Rudolph, the nativity, elves, and I can't even remember what else, it was all so overwhelming! They had their front door open, with their storm door shut and people were just walking right up to look in. They had the inside room decorated with porcelain dolls, and ornaments hanging from the ceiling. It was crazy! The roof had stuff all over it too. Avery was fascinated by it all. It was fun to watch her.

And, we got a few packages in the mail today. Tonight we were showing Tony what we had so far under the tree, and Logan was getting really excited about his presents. He was jumping up and down and smiling so big. He was so happy that he came running over to me and jumped on my lap to give me a huge hug! I really can't wait for Christmas day. Seeing the joy and excitement on a child's face is the best. I really don't care as much finally about what I am getting. I just want to watch my kids open their gifts and be so excited. Well, Logan at least. Avery will be happy to eat the wrapping paper.

12 Days of Christmas

To put a smile on your face, and bring you Holiday cheer, go watch this:

12 Days of Christmas


Avery has been rocking out in her high chair. It's great! Thanks Ginger for sharing!

Enrichment Night

So, I am finally posting about the Christmas Enrichment Meeting from last week! It was a beautiful evening, and I am so happy with how everything turned out! The women absolutely loved it, and I had several of them tell me that it was a perfect evening, and it couldn't have been any better.I could tell that everyone was enjoying themselves, and feeling the Christmas Spirit.





The dinner turned out really well, despite all our worries, so if anyone ever wants to have a pasta buffet, I can tell you how to do it! I think our Holiday punch was almost the biggest hit of the night. It was slush...who doesn't love slush? It was very refreshing, and I think every last drop was slurped up! Yum!

I took pictures, but not as many as I thought. my memory card was full, so I kept having to delete pictures to make room for more. I really wish I could have gotten the full effect of the way it looked, because I thought it looked so pretty. I just love Christmas lights.



This is how we displayed all the envelopes that we had everyone's compliments in. We had 3 trees full of them. At the end of the night, we had everyone go find their envelope! It was really fun. There was a girl who was baptized not long ago, and she was standing by one of the trees looking at it. I asked her if she needed help finding her envelope. She said "Oh, I don't have one. I was looking for someone else's for them." I said, "Yes you do have one. Here it is" And I handed it to her. Her whole face lit up! She was so happy! That made me feel really good about deciding to do this whole comliment thing in the first place. I know for some it was a hassle to gather them all up, and put forth all the work to decorate the envelopes, and type up the compliments. Some felt it was a lot of "extras" that weren't necessary. But in that one moment, it made it all totally and completely worth it for me. That one woman felt special and loved. That was the whole point of the entire evening. She needed to know that she was loved, just like all of us do. We are all daughters of God. We are all sisters. We are all special, important and wonderful, and we all can touch each other's lives in ways that we may not ever know. Going the extra mile to get that message across was very much worth it to me.
It was a wonderful evening.

The program that night ended with a song that is my most favorite song this time of year. "A Long Time Ago" by Denise Orgill Ferguson. I have a story of how this song came to mean so much to me. Maybe 5 or 6 years ago, my ward in Indiana had a combined ward enrichment program similar to what we did. A girl wih a beautiful, crystal clear, angelic voice sang this song. I had never heard it before, and could not get it out of my head for a long time. The spirit was so strong when she sang it, that she got choked up during it and couldn't even sing part of it. I asked her later on, what the name of the song was and she told me, but she couldn't remember who it was by. I searched high and low for the song, online, at the church bookstore, and couldn't find it.

Two years ago, right before Christmas I miscarried. I was about 10 weeks along, and we were going to Blanding for Christmas, and we were planning on telling our families our news for Christmas. We weren;t leaving until Christmas Eve, which was a Saturday. The Sunday before, I started to miscarry. I opted to have a d&c so that I would be able to travel and not be worrying about all that goes along with a miscarriage. It was hard to call our families and tell them we had good news, but now we don't. Anyway...it was an emotional time for me due to this, and I was still very emotional about the loss of my brother only about 15 months before.

We were sitting in church on Christmas Day listening to the ward choir's musical program. All of a sudden, my long searched for song was being sung! I was so overcome with emotion that I started sobbing. I couldn't control myself no matter how hard I tried! I felt so embarrassed! Tony's mom was sitting by me and was all trying to comfort me, and I felt really dumb, but I could not stop. It was almost horrible really. Anyway...I was able to get a copy of the music from Tony's cousin who was the choir director, and I was very happy! I would love to sing this song myself, but it gets a bit high, and I don't think I could do it justice. I asked a lady in our ward to sing it special for our enrichment night, and she had actually sung it before, so it was perfect!

Here are the words.

A long time ago a mother lay by the side of a tiny king.
The wisemen would come, the shepherds kneel, and the angels in heav'n would sing.

Hosanna, alleluia, for unto you this night
A babe is born upon the earth to bring the world his light.

A long time ago a perfect man walked the shores of Galilee.
He taught men of faith to forgive, to love, and bade them "Come unto me."

Hosanna, alleluia, how great were all His days
For he had come to show to all the straight and narrow way.

A long time ago a mother knelt by the cross of the chosen king.
The soldiers were there, men mocked His throne, and the angels wept at the scene.

Hosanna, alleluia, how much he must have cared.
For all our sins, he freely bore and hung and suffered there.

And not long ago a mother knelt by the side of her child each night.
She taught her to pray, to worship God, and to follow the Savior's light.

Hosanna, alleluia, now when each day is through,
the love I have for Him above, I'll teach my child, to you.

Lazy, Icy, Sunday

So, Tony is gone. He called me this morning to say he made it. What a long trip! It almost took 24 hours of traveling! Yuck! He left our house yesterday morning at 9, and called me this morning around 8. He had been there for about 3 or 4 hours I guess by that point. He couldn't check in to his hotel right away, and someone told him where the Christmas Market was, so he went and bought me something! I can't wait to see what I got! Anyway...he was just counting down the hours until he could go to sleep. he was waiting until 8 p.m, and it was 3 p.m. when he called. Right now it is after 10 p.m. there, so he should be in dreamland. I hope he gets some good rest to be ready for his meetings tomorrow!

It is really icy out today, and they actually cancelled church! I don't know if I ever remember church being cancelled before...except maybe once.I wasn't planning on going anyway since I would have to take the kids out in the freezing on the slick roads by myself, and on top of that, both kids have a pretty phlegmy cough, so i though that was a good enough reason to stay home. I am glad church was cancelled so I don't feel too bad about missing.

I had Logan help me make cookies this afternoon. All was going well until he decided that the cookies weren't the only things that needed sprinkles, and pretty soon my entire kitchen floor was covered.He was really having a good time, and didn't get bored right away like he has in the past. What a good little helper...most of the time!

I could tell you a story about Avery, a forgotten dirty diaper on the floor, and a mysterious object in her hand (and maybe mouth, but who knows?)but I won't. Logan thought it was hilarious and laughed about it all day while I was amusingly horrified that my sweet baby girl had found such a thing! Momma definitely learned her lesson about properly and promptly disposing of dirty diapers, no matter how tightly secured she thinks they are. The best part of the story is how happy that little hoodlum was holding her mystery object. Ick! Gross!

I came across a neat YouTube video clip today, and decided it was a nice way to spend Sunday at home. I cannot for the life of me figure out how to add these things to my blog.I tried for a while, so I had to settle with a link. Be sure to check it out. It is pretty powerful.

There is another clip of a singing group from BYU called Noteworthy. I don't know how long they have been around, because I don't remember them when I was there.Anyway...I loved the arrangement of this song that they did. If you like good music, be sure to check it out as well!

I need to post about my enrichment night the other night, but I will save that for another day. It went really well, and I was very happy with how it turned out.

Avery's 9 month pictures

 

My little miss was not as happy this photo shoot as her last one. And, to top it off, I couldn't find something for her hair, and happened to have this headband and red bow in my diaper bag. It doesn't quite match, but it looks better than without, I think. I guess next time I will be better prepared!

baby nephew name correction

So, I jumped the gun on the previous post. My baby nephew's name is NOT Tyler after all. It is Jordan. Jordan Kristopher Hammond. There is a story, but I won't tell it. If my sister decides to blog about it, I will link to her blog for ya'll.

So, hooray for baby Jordan!

Baby nephew update

So, I found out more news today. My nephew's name is Tyler Kristopher. Thankfully, it was not a tumor, so that's a relief. It is something called a torsion, and I guess they don't really have to do anything about it, and he is coming home today. Hooray!

Germany, a baby, a promotion, and a doctor's visit

How's that for an all-in-one post? I thought I would just blog about the random tidbits of info, and put it all on one big post!

So, here we go!

Tony has had to travel a few times recently for work, and his next trip (and the biggest one yet) will be from Dec.8-14. He will be going to Germany and the Netherlands.I will be left a single mother in the midst of holiday preparations for a week. I am excited for him that he gets to go, but he doesn't think he will have much time to enjoy anything other than meetings.I told him he better bring me home something good. Any suggestions? I don't know what something cool is to get from Germany other than German chocolate!

The next exciting thing is that Tony called me from work today to tell me he got a promotion! I am so excited and very proud of him. I know he has worked hard, and has made a great impression. I don't know what it entails, but it is exciting all the same.

Avery had her 9 month (almost 10 months really) check-up yesterday. Here are her stats.

Weight: 16 lb. 9 oz. (20%)
Length: 28 1/2 inches (80%)
Head: 18 1/2 cm (97%)

She was barely 14 pounds at her 6 month visit, so she has packed on 2 1/2 pounds since then.She likes to eat!

And last...my sister had her second baby, a boy this time, yesterday. She ended up with a c-section this time. She had a really rough delivery and recovery with her first baby, and a c-section with her second. I had to have both mine via c-section. My mom had all 5 of her kids c-section. I don't know what it is with us that doesn't allow us to give birth very well. Thank goodness we live in this modern day, or we would be toast! Anyway...I got a call this morning that they had found a tumor and were whisking the little guy all the way away to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake. My sister is in Rexburg, so that is like 4 hours away! Because I am so far away from everyone else, I have no idea what's going on. I don't even know what they named him. Last I knew they hadn't named him yet. I am so worried and sad for my sister and new nephew. I am really hoping that it isn't life threatening, and the little guy will be just fine. Our family doesn't need any more trials.

So, there you have it. A little bit of sad, happy, informative and interesting information all in one blog post.This is really how I feel lately. Nothing is cohesive in my life...everything is a bit scattered, and random, and unorganized and messy. Oh wait...that's my house! Maybe that's my problem! Ha! I better work on that.

Enrichment Craziness!

So, again I have not had much going oon worth bloggin about, in my opinion.I have been spending almost all day every day for the past 3 days working on last minute preparations for next week's Relief Society Christmas Enrichment night.

This is what I have planned.

We will be having a pasta buffet for dinner. We will have 2 or 3 types of pasta and sauces, meatballs, parmesan cheese, salad, rolls, dessert, and punch. I have figured out a way to be able to cook the pasta a little bit ahead of time,keep it warm, and prevent it from sticking together. I did a test run the other night, and was able to keep the spaghetti noodles somewhat warm, and they did not stick together for 6 hours! I even ended up putting them in the fridge overnight and had them for lunch the next day, and still they were not sticking together. I just hope I can pull it off after cooking enough pasta to feed 50 people!

After dinner, we will be having a nice little program featuring members of the RS who signed up to do something. Most of the numbers are musical, like singing, or playing instruments. A few people will be reading a Christmas story, and we will all sing some of the Christmas Hymns as well.I will have Christmas trees with white lights as decor, along with some other Christmasy things.

The grand finale of the evening will consist of a project I have been working on for months, and it is finally all coming together at the last minute, which is why I have been so busy lately!I thought it would b a neat idea to implement the "Compliment Can". Any Folk Dancers out there will know and think fondly of the "Comliment Can", and I am sure the lovely song that goes with it, with Shane singing, will go through your head like it does mine.

Anyway...I introduced the idea of the "Compliment Can" at an activity back in March. Since then, it has not been talked about until about October, when I finally got the RS Presidency on board to help me in promoting this plan. My intentions were to gather up the compliments and compile them and then present each woman with her comments as our Christmas Gift at our December Enrichment.I knew we would probably have to fill in and compensate for anyone who may not have received any, or as many as others, and we have been preparing for that. Up until about last Sunday, I was getting really worried that this plan would not work, since we were having a hard time getting people to write their compliments. We asked each person to specifically write some for the ladies they visit teach, and then whoever they wanted after that. This would hopefully ensure that all the women would be reached.Well...

On Sunday, I counted 171 comliments! Woo-Hoo! Since then, I have received several emails from people with pages of comliments. It has been fantastic! I am sooo excited! And there is really only a small handful of people who have not received any yet, and we will be sure to take care of that. I have been typing, and copying and pasting each comliment, as well as documenting them all in a spreadsheet to keep track of who has received them and how many. Like I said, I have been BUSY!!!!

I have also been working with my committee to decorate the envelopes that we will be giving them in. We are going to hang them from one of the Christmas Trees like ornaments. I am really excited about the response now, and I know the women are going to feel loved, and valued and special because of this. I have been brought to tears many times ffrom reading the comments, and I can truly feel the love that the women have for each other. I wish we could read them all out loud so that ALL the women could hear all the wonderful things said about each other.I have learned so much about people I didn't know, and have come to develop a respect and love for each of them as well, BECAUSE of the nice things said about them. If my RS presidency would go for it, I would love to make this an ongoing thing throughout the year. I think it would really create a sense of unity and sisterhood that the RS is all about. Anyway...that is that. Just thought I would share!

NOT the Thanksgiving I had hoped for

So, all my expectations for our Turkey day were crushed around 11 p.m. last night when Logan woke up and threw up everything he had eaten all day in his bed. Of course the bed was stripped, and Logan was cleaned up and transferred to our bed, and off I went to Wal-Mart for sprite and gatorade, and a few other disinfecting and odor eliminating products. Since my sleeping areas were now both compromised, I ended up on the couch. Logan woke up around 3 to throw up again, at the same time Avery was crying to be fed (little pill.) He then awoke again around 7, and then again around 8:30 or 9. He hasn't thrown up since then, but he has been crashed on the couch ALL day since then. I don't think he has gotten up at all. Needless to say, he wasn't going anywhere for Thanksgiving. Tony was feeling a bit queasy this afternoon too, so he offered to let me take Avery to our dinner, and he stayed home with Logan. I took plenty of containers with me so I could bring home leftovers for them.

It was a little weird being there by myself, but it was nice to get away from the sick house for a while. Avery enjoyed herself very much and LOVED her mashed potatoes, green beans and jello.She wouldn't eat her roll though. I would say she had a pretty good first Thanksgiving. I am taking her to get her 9 month pictures tomorrow...once again right before she turns 10 months old. I don't know how three months goes by so fast! I am not sure if I will be joining the Black Friday shopping crowd. It isn't something I have ever done before. I don't really know what I am missing, I guess. I only ever experienced the craziness of the day when I worked at the mall.I don't really mind staying home now. Anyway...let's just hope that we are all feeling well tomorrow, and no one else gets sick! Yuck!

It's snowing!!!!!

Oh my goodness. It is snowing, and I am sooooo NOT ready for cold weather. I don't have a warm coat. Logan needs a new warm coat. Avery needs a warm coat. I need warm clothes in general. I gave away a lot of my clothes last summer when we moved, anticipating being able to get new ones after the baby was born and I had slimmed down.Ha! Oops! I have no clothes. Last year I had a built in furnace, so I didn't really need to buy a lot of warm things. I was warm a lot! This year I am already freezing. Not good.

This past week has been extremely uneventful. I really can't think of a single interesting thing worth blogging about.Really. I am trying really, really hard to think of something. Let's see....

Well, I decided to start a new family "tradition" of sorts. Last week, our lesson for Family Home Evening was about gratitude. I pulled out a brand new composition book, and decided we are going to start a family gratitude journal. Every week during FHE, we will each say 5 things we are thankful for, and write it down.We have done this two weeks in a row now, and I would really like to be able to keep it up pretty regularly. I think it will be fun for the kids to look back and see what they said at their different ages. Already the difference between last week and this week for Logan is fun to see. This is what he has said each week.

Nov. 12, 2007.
1.Daddy
2.Mommy
3.Avery
4.Logan
5.Popcorn

Nov. 19, 2007.
1.Daddy
2.Avery
3.my Thomas puzzle
4.my magnet that sticks on the fridge
5.the punkin pillow

He also decided to tell us what Avery was thankful for this past week. This is what he said she said.

Nov. 19, 2007.( Avery)
1.Mommy
2.leaves
3.pants
4.doorstops to play with
5.her diaper of wipes (whatever that means!)

It has been fun so far. I think it will be a fun thing to read through all the past entries each year at Thanksgiving too. Anyway...there's one thing to blog about.

Yesterday on a completely random whim, I rearranged Logan's entire bedroom. I like it better now. I think it feels better.And since I am the one sleeping in there these days, I better like it! If you are unclear about why I am sleeping in Logan's room, you can refer to this post. He has taken over my bed, and I just want to get some sleep, so I just let the boys cuddle up together with their snoring and blanket hogging, kicking off, turning in circles and whacking innocent sleeping victims in the face.I have actually slept much better by myself. Maybe I will redecorate the master bedroom to be the boys room, and I can have my own room. Hmmmm....sounds tempting, doesn't it? Anyway...I am hoping this is a short phase that will end soon. I actually do like my bed, and would really rather sleep there, but you know. Whatever works.

Tomorrow we are celebrating Thanksgiving at a ward members home, along with several other families. It will be crazy! But, there will be a lot of food that I don't have to make, or clean up after, and that is a bonus. I am making some pies to take, but that's it. The only bummer about this arrangement is that we won't have all the wonderful leftovers to enjoy.That's the best part about Thanksgiving.It will be nice though, and I am looking forward to it.

So I guess I did think of something to write about.Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

We are having artistic differences

So, I have mentioned that Logan really enjoys drawing lately. Tony's mom brought Logan some sidewalk chalk when they were here in September, and Logan has loved going outside to draw on the driveway. He is doing really well at it too. You all saw his most recent work...titled "Some Drawings on my Sister". Well, who thought much damage could be done with crayon? I came downstairs earlier this morning to find red and yellow scribbles all over the CARPET! What???? Crayon colors on carpet? Now this is beyond ridiculous. Logan is almost 3 1/2. He has not had issues with drawing on things before now. Why start now? I never had to worry about him when he was younger. You think they grow out of that phase, and once they reach a certain age, it just makes sense to NOT color on things other than paper. I am about to confiscate the crayons and not allow him alone with ANY writing utensil at all. Good grief! I don't even want to know what's next!

And on another note...he will be in Sunbeams in January. Is he ready? I am beginning to worry!

Little Picasso

I have my very own work of art. She is precious. Thanks to her brother for thinking she needed a little spiffing up. This is what happens when one is busy making and eating breakfast and the 3 year old feels a bit inspired and wants to exericise his creative genius on a medium other than paper.





I first looked over and saw Logan scribbling on the top of her head, so I jumped up immediately to go take the pen away and reprimand him for drawing on his sisters head. Well, when I got closer and my sweet angel turned to look up at me, I about died. I was laughing so hard, and that is NOT a good thing with a sore backside! Of course I immediately got the camera, but my sweet one wouldn't give me the clearest shot of the majority of the art. I couldn't get the top of her head either. The picture just didn't show up well with her little hair in the way.



This must be all the improvement my little picasso thought he needed. He insisted I take a picture.

Mommy..I will catch you with my net!

So, today was the best, most wonderful day ever! Ha! Let me explain.

Last night was a pretty horrible night for the kids. I don't know if it was the time change or what, but they would not stay asleep, and kept waking up. In fact, I ended up in Logan's bed for the second night in a row because he has decided he enjoys laying by daddy and wants mommy to leave. Gladly. At 1 a.m. I don't want to fight, I just want to sleep. So off to Logan's bed I go. So, around 5:30 (of course...it is always right after Tony leaves for seminary) Logan wakes up distraught that he is alone in mommy and daddy's bed. I manage to calm him down and bring him back in his bed with me where we both go back to sleep. I then wake up around 6:45 because Avery is awake and hungry, so I feed her and put her back to bed right before Tony gets back home. Then Logan wakes up again all grumpy and sad because he is again all alone, and daddy can't calm him down. He says, "But Mommy is my best friend, not you." Please tell me what changes in the night when last night he wanted daddy and wanted mmommy to go away, and in the morning, mommy is his best friend and not daddy. Good grief! I manage to convince Logan to let daddy take him downstairs to eat breakfast, so I can lay back down for a few more minutes. Then Avery wakes up again (or was never really asleep) about 7:15, so I take her down and beg Tony to feed her breakfast and then I will get up. I get up after Tony tells me good-bye, and I hear Logan open the door to the garage and go running down the driveway yelling for his daddy to come back. I have to go get him and bring him back inside before the neighbors wonder what's going on.

I spend the next hour or so online, eating breakfast, and then it is time for Avery's morning nap. I put her down around 9-ish, and head for the couch to doze while Logan watches t.v. I am shamefully admitting my laziness for all the world to see. Nice. Anyway...Tony calls about 9:30 to tell me that he has called the repair men for our furnace( it has been broken) and they were coming sometime after 12 and would call 30 minutes before. Ok. Back to the couch I go. Not 10 minutes later, the phone rings and they are on their way. I scramble to get dressed, and try to get things picked up before they arrive. They got here around 9:45. That was NOT 20 minutes, like they said on the phone. So, the guy was here for 2 hours and got the furnace fixed. Hooray! Anyway...I get both kids fed lunch, and it is time for Avery's nap again, so I get her down around 1-ish. About 1:45 Logan falls asleep on the couch, so I take my chance to also catch up on some lost z's. I had a nice nap until Avery woke up. I forgot to mention that before this I managed to make a nice batch of Caramel Apple Pie Cookies Quite tasty!

So, it is around 3 at this point, and I felt a bit chilly, so I thought I would test out the new working furnace. Well, it didn't work. I called the repair guys and they came back to fix it. As soon as I let the guy back in and he had headed down to the basement, I found Avery (she was behind the couch)and took her upstairs to change her diaper. And then it happened. The thing that I have been dreading and waiting to happen ever since I moved into my house a year ago. A tornado came and blew my house away!


Ha ha! Totally kidding. I do fear that too, though. Anyway, I was coming back down the stairs and fell. I fell down the stairs with Avery. My feet totally slipped out from under me, and after landing extremely hard on my back side, then slid/bounced all the way down the rest of the stairs (about 10) to a nice painful pile at the bottom. I was seriously stunned, Avery was screaming her head off, and Logan came running around the corner to find me laying on the floor, with a terrified look on my face I am sure. Logan says " Mommy, are you o.k? Did you jump down the stairs?" I didn't want to make a big deal with the furnace guy there, so I managed to suck it up and calm Avery down while calling Tony on the phone and tearfully choking out what happened and that he needed to come home right away. Afterwards, I almost passed out and was horrified to think of the furnace guy coming back upstairs to find me passed out on the floor. I had to lay down by Avery for a while on the floor just in case I did pass out, then I would already be there. Well, the furnace guy finished and before he left asked if everything was ok since he heard a big thud and lots of crying (from Avery). She was fine by this point, and I was being super brave and said we were fine. Tony got home shortly after to find me in tears finally. I let it all out after the guy left. Logan was so cute and so concerned. He would put his face right up as close as he could to mine and tell me he would make me better, and then give me a kiss.

He also told me "Mommy, next time you fall down the stairs I will catch you with my net." What a sweet, thoughtful boy!

So, after taking some ibuprofen, I decided the pain was too intense and I should go to urgent care. Thankfully my friends were able to watch the kids and off we went. Please tell me how considerate it is for someone with a potentially broken tailbone to be left to "sit" in the waiting room for over an hour, and then sit again once in the exam room, and then again waiting for the x-ray, and then again to hear what the verdict was. Nice...No offer of anything to ease the pain on that one. The good thing was sitting for that long kind of numbed things a bit I think. So, after 2 1/2 hours at urgent care, the verdict is nothing is broken. Go home and take ibuprofen (or a handy prescription for Lortab, which I may already have left from my c-section.) Well, at least nothing is broken! But it still hurts like the dickens.

So, there you have it. The best day ever. I really hope it gets better tomorrow!At least I can go to sleep knowing that Logan and his net will come to my rescue next time!(I really hope there is NOT a next time!)

BTW...Avery did bonk her head on the railing when I first fell, but I never saw a red mark, and I think the majority of her crying was due to being scared out of her little mind. She seems fine now. Thank goodness! I would much rather it be me than her!

Halloween FHE

So, today I wanted to do something a little more fun with Logan. I wanted to do this for a few reasons. 1) He seems like he really needs some attention, and maybe some one on one mommy time.He is always harrassing Avery, and I feel like I am yelling at him a lot, or sending him to time out. 2) I wanted to do something fun for Halloween.

I found some really cute and simple booklets to print off for Halloween. I glued the 5 little pumpkins pages on orange cardstock, and put the pages in page protectors to make a nice book. The "orange pumpkin, orange pumpkin" story, I just printed off the pages and let Logan color the pictures. We had fun, and it was fun to read them to daddy when he got home.

I also made some cookies. I let Logan decorate them with chocolate chips, and he had a good time. He sure likes cookies! We let Avery have some cookie too, and when I wasn't around, daddy put her on the floor to eat her cookie. What?? That's what high chairs are for! Unfortunately, it wasn't very smart to give her some since you can see her little face starting to break out. She has had some funny reactions to some foods on occasion. It isn't as bad as it used to be, so I am hopeful she will grow out of it soon. She loves to eat, and wants to eat everything!




After the cookies, we whipped out the pumpkins for the much anticipated carving. Logan had his very own little pumpkin, and I gave him a sharpie and told him to draw his face, and I would cut it out for him. He did, and it was such a great job! I slightly modified it, to allow room, but otherwise, his pumpkin's face he designed himself. He was sooo excited! He is getting really good at drawing all of a sudden.