2010 was, by and large, the worst year of my life in many ways. I understand now how people can say, "It's just been a hard year." The move was hard, my birth and recovery were hard. But I don't want to remember the hard times, at least not foremost in my mind. Although this year brought more challenges than any other, it was also good in countless ways.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
So long, farewell to 2010
2010 was, by and large, the worst year of my life in many ways. I understand now how people can say, "It's just been a hard year." The move was hard, my birth and recovery were hard. But I don't want to remember the hard times, at least not foremost in my mind. Although this year brought more challenges than any other, it was also good in countless ways.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
My own firemen episode
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Still alive and punching
We are seriously having a "broken" streak right now. First my Bosch blender, then my hand mixer, then our TV, then our computer, and today our new replacement blender broke. (We have BAD luck with blenders. Any reccommendations on a good blender for smoothie-making?) We hit the 60,000 mile mark on the van and took that in for a tune-up. I joined a way expensive, totally awesome, boxing gym. Life is generally expensive right now. Perfect timing, with Christmas coming up, right? Oh well - we've been really lucky since we got married not to have lots of repairs to make, and I guess our good streak is over.
So my boxing gym. HELLO, awesome. I went on Saturday, knowing full-well that I would fall in love and it would be pricey. And that's exactly it. Since we moved here I have been in serious boxing withdrawals. I knew I loved it, but I didn't know how much until I didn't have it. And now, it's back in my life. With a vengeance. I had the most killer workout of my life today. I have been on my lose-the-baby-weight-plus-some journey for a few weeks now, and I feel great. Progress isn't lightning fast, but the important thing is establishing good habits, I think. I've been using sparkpeople.com to track my food and have been totally shocked at how many calories I consume every day. Just writing it down, without making any drastic changes, has already made a difference. Good-bye to my days of eating ice cream straight from the carton and accidentally eating a quarter of it.
So no pictures or anything fabulous to write about, but I just missed my little blog and thought I'd drop in for a quick note. Later.
P.S. Our house is totally ready for Christmas. Tree, lights, and all. I LOVE this time of year. The only thing missing is a beautiful Washington Christmas tree cut down by my dear husband. Costco artificial fit the bill this year.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Happy Halloween!
From Rosie the Riveter, the Witch, the Fire Fighter, the Pea Pod, and the Soccer Player (behind the camera).
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Family Pictures 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Letter C
Monday, October 11, 2010
My new constant companion
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Letter M
Friday, October 1, 2010
Letter H
Thursday, September 23, 2010
1 month
I have that strange feeling where it seems like just yesterday that I lay on that operating table, and yet it seems like we've had Dean around forever.
I'm holding him right now, listening to the beautiful sound of his breathing while typing with one hand. His face is fuller and older-looking already. Time is already speeding past, and I'm not ready yet. But I can't slow it down. All I can do is kiss his squishy cheeks, smell his hair, and try to burn his littleness in my memory.
Here's to hoping the next month goes a little slower.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Letter L
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Thankful
{My last pregnancy picture - 36 weeks. Can you believe I got bigger than that? I can't.}
Two posts in one night - how do you like that?
Tonight Eva said our family prayer. "Thankful that baby Dean came out of Mommy's tummy."
Amen, sister. Amen.
Creatures
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Letter B
Although Dean's unexpectedly early arrival threw off my preschool plans a bit, this past week I felt ready to get back into it. I had spent countless hours preparing and planning, and both older kids seemed ready for more structure after 2 weeks of none at all. Eventually I will get around to making a blog just for our preschool/homeschool stuff, but for now I'll just put it here. I can't even keep up with one blog right now, so starting another one is just asking for more pressure on myself.
I divided our "curriculum" into one focus letter per week. I did NOT go in alphabetical order. Also for each week I have a BFIAR book that we are semi-delving into, depending on my/the kids' interest. We have a meory scripture for each week, and I have to say I am shocked at how quickly Eva memorized it. By Thursday, she knew the whole thing perfectly, and her Dad is still struggling in a few spots. :) Our "subjects" are reading, arts/crafts, math/fine motor skills, letters, play/large motor skills, and music. Since this week we were still adjusting and I'm still trying to figure out how to have older kid time worked in around Dean's feedings, I'm hoping it will get even better. But for our first week of school, it was pretty good.
Scripture: Joshua 1:9
Reading:
The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
Bunny Cakes by Rosemary Wells
Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! by Bob Barner (the kids liked this one)
Buzz Buzz Buzz by Byron Barton
Birds by Kevin Henkes (I LOVED this book - it was my favorite of the week. Kevin Henkes is one of our top 5 favorite authors around here.)
Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard
Boo Hoo Bird by Jeremy Tankard (these were the kids' favorites, they are adorable books)
Boats by Byron Barton
Row Row Row Your Boat by Penny Dann
Crafts:
-Cotton ball bunny (glued cotton balls on a print-out bunny)
-Colored a big letter B blue and glued blue buttons on it (Our crafts were a little lacking this week due to my lack of motivation. We had planned to do this and this adorable B crafts for our alphabet book we'll be making, but we'll have to save those for a rainy day. If it ever rains here.)
Math/FMS:
-Kumon Cutting workbook - Eva's scissor skills were far more advanced than I thought. She did what I told her to (6 little straight lines on the dog's whiskers) and then cut out the full dog, curved ears and all. Leighton, on the other hand, ended up cutting lots of snips NOT on the lines and then just started tearing. :)
-Kumon Sticker and Paste workbook - they were so excited about stickers; I think this will be one of their favorite activities of the week.
-Math workbook - p. 7-10
-Butterfly clip cards - Confessions of a Homeschooler is an incredible resource for preschool printables. She even has a whole ABC curriculum for download for free! Amazing. I printed off and laminated the number cards and the kids clipped clothespins onto them. Leighton had a hard time with the clothespins, but Eva did really well. She knew her numbers better than she did 2 months ago, so I was glad to see her recognizing them all.
-Playing with beads - this is Leighton's favorite activity. He pours the beads from cup to cup and digs his hands in them...and eventually threw them all over the place when I was distracted. But Eva is good at helping him clean up, and I think it's worth the mess.
Letters:
-Big Alphabet workbook - we got this from Costco just for fun a long time ago, along with another one we have, but she did the Letter B pages in there. She really loves and does well with workbooks. We need to get Leighton one because he keeps asking to do his workbook when she does hers.
-Letter practice - I made some big alphabet "flashcards" where Eva can trace the dotted letters for practice. I saw some Kumon cards for $10 and decided I could make my own much cheaper. I printed them on cardstock, 2 letters to a page, and laminated them with my new Scotch laminator. If you want the file, just leave a comment with your email and I'll be happy to send it.
-Butterfly writing practice - this was really easy for Eva but I think it will be a good challenge for Leighton soon. If he can stop throwing markers long enough to focus on something.
Music: (I found 4 Wee Sing CDs on clearance at Borders a while back and have really enjoyed them. Good selection of basic songs.)
-Little Bunny Foo Foo - they fell in love with this song and we listened to it at least 30 times in a row. This was a song I had fond childhood memories with as well, so it was fun to see them hopping around and acting it out.
-The Bear Went Over the Mountain - again, we listened to this several times before they got tired of it. They got their teddy bears and pretended to climb mountains - the stairs and the toy chest.
-Baby Bumblebee
-Two Little Blackbirds
Things I planned to do but didn't (just for the record): Make paper birds; cut out and glue shapes to make a boat, beanbag toss, backwards obstacle course, and play sailboat with a laundry basket
Fun extras: made banana ice cream (actually Andrew made it) - YUM! Especially with Nutella and strawberries; found a bumblebee costume at a consignment sale and watched the kids buzz around.
Eva mastered writing both uppercase and lowercase B, and I think it's starting to sink in that words start with letters and it's not just a guessing game. Both kids love preschool and are already begging to read next week's books. Coming up: the letter L.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
The Story of Baby Dean
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
A break from the heat
I am happy to report that we found them. My jaw dropped along with the temperature recorded on the van's thermometer thing - when we reached a low of 75 degrees I almost cried from joy. The slight breeze made me want to sit in the shade and never go back home. That idea seemed especially grand when we pulled back in the driveway and saw 108 as our new climate. But breathing mountain air was good for my soul and gave me a little boost. At least for an hour or so, until the heat got to me again. I have never been so thankful for air conditioning, or for a husband who lets me keep it at 74 degrees at night. (My little oven won't let me sleep if it's any warmer than that.) He doesn't even complain when the electric bill comes in at a whopping $300. Good thing this pregnancy is almost over - I can soon go back to being the one who is always cold. I hope.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
A few things about this Sabbath day
This morning in sacrament meeting, we were singing "Oh Ye Mountains High." I leaned over to Andrew and said, "This song is about Washington." Where the pure breezes blow and the clear streamlets flow, How I've longed to your bosom to flee! Oh, how I miss that beautiful place. I like Vegas, but I LOVE Washington. Oh, and then, since it was Fast Sunday, I got to listen to a bunch of people stand and say that they wanted to bury their testimonies. I had to keep snickering. Is there one big testimony pit, or does everyone kind of find their own little spot? How deep does one need to dig to sufficiently bury it?
Then, in Sunday School, I was skimming through the chapters as the teacher talked about certain stories. And I found this disgusting verse: "So we boiled my son, and did eat him." (2 Kings 6:29). Umm, I'm sorry. What? That is the sickest thing in all of scripture, I'm positive. But then, on the next page, I found a smiley face. It's in 2 Kings 7:13. It's cute. If you use the KJV of the Bible, go look it up. That didn't make up for the cannibalism in the previous chapter, but it cheered me up a little.
And that's all.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Remember me that way
Look how cute I used to be! No swollen nose with fat rolls for nostrils, no giant ankles or sausage feet. That is my real face, the one I have forgotten. I knew I used to be able to open my eyes wider. And there's proof.
I really hate the last 10 weeks of being pregnant. I know I should think about the miracle of life and all, and that's all fine and good for some people. Good for them. But the only miracle I can think of right now is that I'm still able to put lotion on my legs without passing out. September can't come soon enough.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Nervous habits
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Our first visitors
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Pet owners once again
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
A few messages, and St. George
Thank you.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Back pain
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Happy birthday, Leighton!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Blessed beyond measure
-12,000 lbs. of household goods. That is a mere 1,000 lbs. under our limit, so we scraped by. I blame it on Andrew's motorcycle, but he blames it on my craft supplies. (He's probably right.)
-2 months and 2 days of living in Las Vegas without a home. This is not so much a blessing as a trial, but they say that trials are a blessing. So what do I know? Maybe in a year, when I've forgotten how depressed I was, I will look at it as a blessing. It has been so nice getting used to living in a house, although very strange not to just throw clothes back in a suitcase. I didn't realize how foreign hangers could become in such a short time.
-30 pounds of weight gain in this pregnancy so far. (Holy stinking cow, Steph, what did you do? Eat out for two months? Yep. And it shows.) 30 pounds of healthy baby and really healthy me. I allotted myself 40 pounds total to gain during this pregnancy, so I have a mere 10 pounds left in the next 9 weeks. I hope I can stay within that range. If not, oh well. Jillian Michaels is waiting for me at the end of postpartum recovery, and she'll make it all go away. Pound by slow pound.
-4,107 miles. That's how far I traveled in June to visit both sides of the family and temporarily escape homelessness. It was so fun to be at my parents' for 2 weeks and then in Colorado for Webb Sisters' Week for 36 hours.
-5 profile pictures hanging on our wall. Andrew hung baby Dean's ultrasound picture in the lineup, and it makes it feel more real that we will very soon be a family of 5. Whoa.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
It's official.
We finally finally finally closed on our house today.
It was a long, horrible process, and I'm so relieved it's over. I'm going to pretend it never happened and continue unpacking our never-ending boxes. And cooking meals in my awesome kitchen.
Hotel Webb is now open to visitors. Come on over.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Going home
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Let's blow this popsicle stand.
We are no closer to getting a house than when we arrived.
I'm getting the heck out of here and going to my parents' house in Houston for 2 weeks.
Peace out, Sin City.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Monday #4
We had to take Eva to the doctor on Saturday and found out that she has a UTI. I was so relieved just to get a diagnosis and some antibiotics to help the poor thing feel better. Her medicine tastes disgusting and she has to take it twice a day, but she has been so brave and good about it. Medicine is a REAL struggle with her, so this is truly a miracle that she's taking it well.
Yesterday Andrew and I watched the PBS documentary "Faces of America." I highly recommend it - it was awesome. It made us both want to learn more about our family history. Also, that we had enough money to have our DNA examined.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Maybe the third time WILL be the charm.
I'm going to try breastfeeding again. But this time I'm not going to pump - I've done that enough for a lifetime. I have put many heartfelt prayers up, asking for my body to know what to do and how to produce enough milk to feed this child without supplementing formula. Not because I'm against formula (obviously), but because I want to try something new.
I'm going to try wearing this baby in a sling. I know it's a controversial topic right now what with the media craze on 2 types of slings being recalled. But I feel I have educated myself enough that I feel good doing it. We'll see how it goes.
I'm not going to push sleeping through the night at 8 weeks with this baby. I will still retain a somewhat scheduled approach if I can, simply because that is my nature and personality. But I won't hold any iron-fisted standard over where we SHOULD be with sleeping. I'm going to try to relax in that area and be a better nighttime parent. (Read this post, please. It really got to me. That is one of my main struggles as a mother.)
I'm going to look at this baby as a gift from the Lord and try to savor the precious newborn moments by rocking and cuddling rather than stressing out about schedules and feeding times.
So there is my admission that I did it all wrong the first two times (thank heavens they still turned out fine, so far) and I'm ready to go at it again. With fresh perspective.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
My bi-monthly update
~Yesterday two old roommates from my first semester of college, Samye and Marissa, came to swim at our hotel. Kara came too, and it was like a twilight zone moment. I just kept thinking, how strange. I never would have imagined 7 years ago that one day we would all be sitting together at a swimming pool in Las Vegas. Life is strange.
~I'm getting an awesome tan. And I found a cute maternity swimsuit - at least as cute something so large can be. I am SO much bigger than my other pregnancies at 24 weeks, it's not even funny. I cringe to think how huge I'll be at this point with #4. I don't know if it's physically possible to stretch any bigger any faster.
~We got in trouble from the hotel for the kids coloring with chalk on the sidewalk. The guy came today with a huge, LOUD machine to rudely spray it all off. Part of me wants to be spiteful and just give them the chalk again and tell them to go to town. The immature side of me.
~Today as I made peanut butter sandwiches for lunch, I broke down bawling. I miss Washington. I have never cried from missing a place in my life, other than Nauvoo. But I do miss WA. This time of year is the BEST there. I miss my friends there, and I miss SO much having a house of our own. I am trying every day not to spiral into uncontrollable depression from being homeless, but it's really really hard. Probably one of the biggest trials on my patience I've ever experienced. Unfortunately, I think I'm failing at this trial. I JUST WANT MY HOUSE. It's almost all I think about, try as I might to distract myself.
~Andrew started training. He has an hour and a half commute each way from our hotel, so it makes for some long days. For all of us. But I'm glad that he's keeping busy and is back in study mode. It reminds me of when we were first married and he came home with all his big pilot binders. This is the 4th "pilot training" we've experienced in our marriage. And hopefully the last.
~I got to take a Target trip by myself the other day. I bought an adorable turquoise hat with a big brim for all our days at the pool, some bright pink nail polish to compliment the beautiful tan feet I'm getting, and a bag of gummy bears. And a ring, and some more sunglasses (I can't seem to keep track of them for very long). It was so nice to go by myself and be able to look around at what I wanted!