Wild weekend

I knew that this week before Christmas was going to be crazy . . . but this crazy? I had no idea!

Friday night Jeremy and I had my parents and brothers come over to our house so the boys could play some X-box and Mom and I could make some cards for people. Everything was going great and I went to go crash on the couch for a little while because I was feeling uncomfortable. Jeremy and Jordan went to go get some pizza and when they got back, I got up to go get something to eat. Unfortunately, when I got up there was an uncomfortable wet feeling. To make a long story short; my water had broken. After calling the doctor, Jeremy and I went to the hospital where before we knew what was happening, we were in labor and delivery getting ready to have a baby. We went to the hospital about 8:30 p.m. on Friday night and at 4:41 a.m. Kylee Jean Sherwood was born. At 4 lbs. 8 oz. 17 3/4 inches, she is a tiny little peanut, but completely healthy. She was a great eater right from the start and all of the tests that they ran on her (sugar, bilirubin, etc.) came back with excellent results. So Monday morning, Jeremy, Kylee and I all got to come home! It's been pretty surreal having her here because I was not, and still aren't, completely mentally prepared for her arrival for another 5 weeks. I thought I was going to be able to do all the Christmas stuff and once all that was out of the way, I could focus on getting things ready for a new baby. Kylee had other plans and thankfully, thanks to lots of help from family and friends, we have made the transition much easier than I ever would have thought.

Kadin has been a trooper through all of this. After we disappeared on Friday night, he has been with my parents and brothers. He came to visit us in the hospital a couple times and was pretty intrigued by "baby sister", but I was still preparing myself for the meltdown I was sure was on the way when he figured out that she was a permanent addition to the family. But it still hasn't come! He loves to see "baby sister", talks to her, already wants her to play toys with him . . . basically he has surpassed my expectations once again! I am so blessed to have him!

While all of this madness was going on for us, Portland was having a crisis of its own. We were all excited about the snow fall of last week, thinking that 2-3 inches was pretty amazing for our area. Starting Friday, the real action began. It has been pretty close to blizzard conditions here all weekend and we have accumulated over a foot of snow, if not more! I'm not quite sure how deep it is out there because I haven't been outside since Friday. Everything has been shut down and barely anyone is going anywhere. Kylee picked quite the weekend to make her appearance.

All in all, even though it was unexpected, overwhelming and at moments pretty scary, Kylee's birth has been such a blessing. Since everyone is around for the holiday, a bunch of family got to see her who otherwise might not have. We are also planning on blessing her while all this family is around; what a special experience that will be. And all the family in town provides tons of much needed help and support! The Lord truly is looking after us and answering prayers.



Kadin has been so helpful, covering up Kylee so she doesn't get cold!
Here is our little peanut, I put the remote next to her to give you an idea of just how tiny she really is. Jeremy is afraid to change her diapers, she looks so fragile!

I will put up some better pictures in the next few days. Getting a shower and some bits of sleep have taken precedence over good photos!

A rare treat for us in Oregon; substantial snow! I was very doubtful that the weatherman's predictions would come to fruition, but I was proved wrong when it snowed all day Sunday and accumulated a good couple inches. Kadin was very excited and we took him out to play for a few minutes (not very long because it was very windy and very cold!). He loved to make "no-balls" and would have probably stayed out there until he froze if we let them. It's fun to see everything all white and frozen outside, but I forgot how miserable the cold is!



The other big happening here was Kadin got one of his Christmas presents early when Jeremy decided to build his big boy bed on Monday. Since the weather was nasty, Jeremy stayed home and decided that it would be a good time to tackle that project (I think he didn't want anything to get in the way of his video game playing during Christmas break). So Jordan came over and they dismanteled the crib and built his new bed. Kadin was so excited and couldn't wait to climb up and jump on it. And surprisingly he did great when we put him to bed for the first time in it. We tucked him in like normal and he looked a little nervous as we walked out the door. He cried for a while, which is unusual for him, but he never got up and once he was asleep, he didn't wake up until morning! And nap time went pretty smoothly too; I only had to go in and put him back to bed once! Yeah for him!
I have to say, I have been excited for Kadin to make the transition from the crib to a big boy bed, but once the bed was up and I looked at his room without the crib, I had a pretty emotional moment (like I stood in the middle of the room and cried). My baby isn't a baby anymore and this was a concrete reminder that he is growing up fast! I am excited and happy about everything, but I still miss all the sweet baby moments (isn't is funny how we only remember the good and forget everything else).

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Lots to catch up on!

So much to talk about, so little time (literally; I have until this episode of Curious George is over and then it's back to being Kadin's playmate).
- We have a new addition to our family . . . no, Kylee has not been born yet (although I am really wishing she was right now because I am tired of being pregnant!), we got a new car. Unfortunately it was out of necessity rather than planning; Jeremy got into a car accident last Friday and completely wrecked our Honda. Thankfully he is fine, but we had to figure out what we were going to do about a second car (sharing a car would be crazy with Jeremy having to drive different places for work meetings and me starting to have doctor's appointments every week now). Jeremy did the research and decided that he wanted to look into getting a Honda CR-V. So after working with our insurance (thanks to Jeremy's amazing salesman skills, they ended up giving us more money than we anticipated), we were able to take the money from the old car and put it into a 2000 Honda CR-V. So a stressful situation that turned out pretty well!

- I had another ultrasound (I think this is the 5th or 6th one . . . it's been really fun to watch all the changes) to measure Kylee and make sure that she is doing alright. She gave the ultrasound tech some sass, throwing out an elbow or a knee when the tech pushed down a little harder to see something specific. Everything looks great (I had them check AGAIN to make sure she is still a girl; I think I will be paranoid about that until she is actually born!). She is small, about 50% on the growth estimate chart, but still within the normal range. Jeremy is worried that she is going to be too small, so he is constantly reminding me to eat A LOT! I just tell him that I was not built for big babies! After my next appointment, I start going every week, which means I am getting close! I am getting anxious and excited the closer we get!

- The last and most exciting thing is that my brother Jordan got home from his mission yesterday! He has been serving for 2 years in Cordoba, Argentina and it was so amazing to see him come home and see what a change has been made in him. Kadin and I got to go to the airport with my parents to meet his plane and as soon as I saw him, I was amazed at how grown-up he seemed. This mission was such an amazing experience for him and I can tell that it made such a difference for him in becoming even more of a great person.
When Jordan left, Kadin was 8 months old, just learning how to sit up by himself and eat solid foods. Now he is 2 1/2 and Jordan was absolutely amazed at how different he was. Kadin took a little while to warm up to him, but once he did, Jordan had to hide in the bathroom to get some space because Kadin didn't want to leave his new friend! My mom and dad asked Kadin if he knew who Jordan was and after thinking for a second, Kadin said "Jesus". There must be a pretty strong spirit around Jordan and Kadin probably recognizes that. It was really fun to see him interact with Jordan and just to see Jordan again.

It was awesome to see Jordan again, but it was also really surreal. It seemed like it was always this thing in the future, "Jordan is coming home" but now that it is "Jordan is home", it is just weird! It also makes me panic a little more about the holidays and getting ready . . . just another reminder that time is going faster than I am!

Full of surprises

The last couple days, I have gotten a few surprises from Kadin such as . . .

"Mommy, done with cookie!" It was one of those chocolate-covered mint ones, and I figured he would eat it quickly enough that there would be nothing more disastrous than some crumbs. But he decided to play rather than eat so the chocolate coating melted all over his fingers. I do have to commend him for obedience. I saw the mess while I was driving and couldn't do anything about it, so I told him to put his hands together and not touch anything. When we got home, there wasn't a spot of chocolate anywhere on his carseat or his clothes!


"I don't know my shirt got down around my waist!" I always prepare myself for odd little surprises like this when I go to get him up from his nap.

"Rub in my chin. Make Kadin feel better" As Jeremy said last night when I told him about this, "At least he knows it is supposed to make him feel better. The only thing he messed up on is which set of cheeks it belongs on!"

I voted!!!

I am pretty proud of myself; yesterday I voted in my very first presidential election! I know I am old enough to have this be my second time voting, but the first time around I was fairly unconcerned with anything outside of my own little world. I am still pretty overwhelmed by all the political discussions and really don't understand most of what is going on. But, I think that we are in a time when we can't afford to sit back and let other people make decisions for us. My vote may only be one of many and things may not go the way that I voted, but at least I did something instead of being a passive observer like usual!

Ode to digital

I cannot say how much I love digital cameras! I can take hundreds of pictures, literally, and the odds that a handful of those will turn out well are pretty good as opposed to hoping for one or two out of a whole roll! And I can check to see if I have the perfect shot and keep trying if I'm not happy!

The reason behind this tribute to technology is our now traditional fall leaves photo shoot with Kadin. My mom and I take him up to the arboreteum by the zoo, find all the beautifully colored leaves and let Kadin run amuck. This year I took 142 pictures of Kadin; most of them turned out like this:

or this one . . .

but then, in the middle of all the junk, there are a couple keepers like these:

By the way, have I mentioned that fall is my favorite season. especially in Oregon. Every day I see more and more amazing colors on the trees. And the weather has been beautiful too; sunny and a little chilly, enough for sweaters and hot chocolate!

So I forgot that the blog adds pictures to the TOP of the list instead of the bottom, so the order of these pictures is backwards, and I don't want to take the time to change it. If you want to see them chronologically, just go from the bottom up!

Daddy's pumpkin: Jack Skellington from "Nightmare before Christmas"

Mommy's pumpkin

Kadin's pumpkin

Kadin cautiously scooping out the insides of the pumpkin
(after feeling what was in there, he decided he wasn't so
interested in carving pumpkins after all)

What's inside? Before we opened them up, he
told Jeremy and me that there was a baby in there;
maybe a reference to the similarity to my stomach?

Carving out the top of the pumpkin
I promise there was more adult supervision
than this picture implies

Kadin showing off his pumpkin and best smile

When I asked Kadin to smile for me in this picture,

this forced kind of grimace; at least he tries!

Me, Jeremy and Kadin with our chosen pumpkins

Kadin found his pumpkin!

"How 'bout this one?" Kadin thought EVERY
pumpkin in the entire patch was worth our
consideration

Jeremy and Kadin on the hunt for the perfect pumpkin

We had a great time picking out and carving our pumpkins! I still cannot believe that Halloween is next week and then the whole holiday craziness begins. I am really excited for the holidays this year, but not quite sure that I am ready to get ready for them; if that makes any sense! The next three months are going to be really busy!

great gift from a great husband

Last week Jeremy told me that he had ordered me a surprise to help me out. He wouldn't give me any more clues than "see a need, fill a need" (from "Robots") and he said that he had seen my need and tried to fill it. I was curious to see which need he had tried to fill (there are so many to choose from) so when the big package arrived a couple days ago, I was very excited to see what he had chosen.
My wonderful hubbie had seen (and probably felt) my need for comfort when I sleep. Since being pregnant, I have experienced the very common problem of not being able to find a comfortable position to sleep in. After a lot of tossing and turning and sticking nearly all the pillows we own around me, I still could not get more than a couple hours rest without waking up aching in some place. So Jeremy found this . . .


a body pillow that wraps around to hit all the important things; back, knees and belly. I was so happy!!! It finally afforded me a good night's sleep (minus the getting up to go to the bathroom, blow my nose and take drinks of water)! Thank you to my very observant and very wonderful husband!

It kind of makes me laugh that even though I am 5 months pregnant, I still shock some people when I tell them I am expecting. I know that I am a very subtle pregnant person, I don't tend to announce it to the world loudly and I really don't get very big at all. Now that it's getting colder, I could probably wear sweaters and sweatshirts all the time and no one would ever notice the bump. But even though I may not look pregnant, there are days when I feel SOOOOOO pregnant with the back aches and the little bundle of joy shifting all her tiny wieght right onto my bladder. There are nights when I feel like my stomach is stretched so tightly that I wouldn't be surprised if I popped right open! Those are the days when I wonder where the "glow" that everyone attributes to pregnant women is, people who said that probably never had a basketball strapped to their stomach! But then there are times when I do remember why it is fun to be pregnant; when I get to see the ultrasounds and remember that there is an actual little tiny person in there, when I feel her rolling around and nudging me, when I see all the adorable little girl clothes we are accumulating! I held a friend's baby the other day and was amazed at how light and tiny he was. I am excited for my own little tiny baby to snuggle with!

At a loss

I am struggling to find the right way to deal with Kadin as he is becoming his own little independent person, with quite the attitude! Most of the time he is great, happy to play and run around and listens as well as any two-year-old can be expected (meaning it usually takes 2-3 repititions to get him to pay attention and follow through with something). But then there come the days when he gets the itch to be mischevious and starts to do things just because he knows they push my buttons. He gets this look in his eye and makes sure I am paying attention and then . . . ARGH! Makes me want to scream!

Anyway, I am at a loss as to how to discipline. So I am asking the moms out there, what have you found to be effective when you are first teaching discipline? I have tried time-out (he thinks it's a game to see how far and fast he can run as soon as I set him down), loss of privileges (this works pretty well, except when he gets into his deliberately defiant mode and then he could care less what I say) and today I even put myself in timeout (when he was throwing things at me and refused to stop, I barricaded myself in my room after telling him that Mommy doesn't like to play with him when he throws things). Maybe all it will take is time and repetition of things for it all to sink in, but it drives me to my wit's end! I can be patient when he is doing "normal" toddler trouble making things, but when he gets that look in his face that says "I know what I am doing is wrong and I'm doing it anyway. . . . " HELP!!!!

quick catchup

Couple fun things this week:

- Jeremy got home safe and sound from England/India. I was so excited to see him and it was just about the greatest thing in the world to go to bed that night NOT ALONE! He came home feeling pretty nasty from all the traveling (he got seated next to someone who got airsick and barfed nearly the whole 15 hour flight from India to Chicago) and the time change, but after going to bed at 6 and sleeping through the night, he woke up feeling much more normal. The last few nights he has been waking up really early because he is still working on a different clock, but we're slowly getting back to normal. He got home on Wednesday and took the rest of the week off, minus a company golf event (like he was going to miss that one!). It was so great to have him home all the time and to be able to spend all that time together.

- I had another doctor's appointment for the baby this week. One of the few and far between benefits of having CSS is that my baby gets to be very photographed. We had our fourth ultrasound on Wednesday, to check the baby's heart and growth, and everything still looks great. Everything that is supposed to be there is there and the right size and so far no surprises. And she is still a girl; I actually asked the tech to double check for me! My biggest paranoia is a surprise on the delivery table! I'll post all the ultrasounds as soon as I get them in the computer so you can see the growth of our little girl.

- We have decided on a name for the newest Sherwood. Jeremy wanted to keep with the "K" names, which narrowed down our options quite a bit. So one night we were flipping through the name book and I came across Kylee and thought that was pretty and also kind of cool because it's like Kyle, who is one of Jeremy's best friends and was a big part of our dating/early married life because he was a roommate of Jeremy's during that first time. We both love Kyle to pieces and think he is one of the greatest people we know, so it was kind of fun to think of naming our little girl after him. After I talked to Jeremy about it, he said that he liked that the last part of the name was "Lee" like his middle name and then both our kids will have his "Lee" in their names. So for all of those reasons, we have picked Kylee for our little girl's name.

We also picked a middle name. We both wanted it to be something meaningful and family related, but we were a little stumped as to what direction to go in. My first thought was "Lela", my maternal grandmother's name. She died when I was 7 of breast cancer and her death made a huge impact on my life because she was the quintessential grandmother when I was growing up and I loved her to pieces. But I didn't like how Lela sounded with Kylee, with the "le" sounds, so I was a little stumped. Then Jeremy asked what my mom's middle name one and As I thought about it, it sounded really with Kylee and Sherwood. So, the final name (unless something absolutely AMAZING comes along in the meantime) is . . . . . . . .

KYLEE JEAN SHERWOOD

Just checking

I just wanted to get a couple of other opinions to make sure that I am not going crazy . . . take a look at this card and tell me what you see.

Beyond the typical receptionist scrawl, does it not say that I have an appointment for Wed. September 17th at 10 am with Dr. Riddick. IT DOES?!?!?! That's the same thing that I thought, until I showed up at the office and the receptionist looked like I was speaking a foreign language when I told her I was there for my 10 o'clock appointment with Dr. Riddick. She told me that I couldn't possibly have an appointment with him because he wasn't even in the office. I didn't have the card to verify the appointment so she went to look in the computer. She continued on to tell me that I don't even have a future appointment in the books, so it wasn't like I had shown up on the wrong day, I'm sure in her mind I looked like some hypochondriac who HAD to be at the doctor's office. Right, like I would haul my active 2 year old son around the hospital for kicks and giggles! She looked in the doctor's notes to confirm why I was there for the appointment, to check on me mid-way through my pregnancy to make sure my lung function was still okay, and lo-and-behold, she can't even find mention of my pregnancy and nothing about a followup appointment until next January. By this time I was getting pretty frustrated, because while they are back doing whatever they are doing to prove to themselves that this was my screwup not theirs, Kadin is going bonkers in the waiting room (did I mention we had already been to one doctor's appointment this morning?). Finally she came back and was about to write me off and I said "I remember having the appointment card written because the woman who wrote it commented that it was her birthday" The receptionist looked at me in total shock and said "It's MY birthday today . . . I am SOOOOOO sorry!" Then she went off on this big long monologue of how it must not have gotten entered in the computer and she's never done this before . . . blah . blah . blah . . . . She made me another appointment and put me at the top of the "in case of cancellation" list. What I really wanted to say (even though I never would be able to because I am so anti-confrontational) "So does this mean you will be reimbursing me for the gas it took to drive here and back home, giving me some kind of restitution for the stress of bringing my child to a doctor's appointment and waiting for 20 minutes while you tried to figure out your own mistakes, and maybe throw in a little extra for your general incompetence?" After all this is the doctor's office that will charge you $100 for a no-show appointment and cancel your appointment if you are more than 10 minutes late. But they can no-show on their appointments by just not scheduling them and they run more than 10 minutes late be default . . . . . .where is the equality!!!!!

There is my doctor's office rant for a while. for the most part everything runs really smoothly at the offices I have to go to. There are a couple that I know I might be waiting longer, one that I know will be ridiculously slow, but this out of the blue craziness just makes me want to scream!

Flying Solo

Jeremy took off yesterday for a business trip to London and India. He's going to be gone until the 24th, which will make this the longest time we have been apart since we've been married! Thankfully I have bunches of family in the area so I am not totally alone, but it's still rough having him gone.

This past week before Jeremy took off was a whirlwind; I think we were off to somewhere or doing something every night of the week. Some were for fun, others were for church callings, but it all kept us pretty busy.

Towards the end of the week we got to some of the more fun things. Thursday we went to the Portland Street of Dreams. We had some snags getting there (miscommunication on when and where to meet, confusion on how to get there, etc.), but once we made it, it was a great time! The houses were beautiful, as always, but Jeremy and I both decided that we are much simpler people. I would not want to have a ginormous house for a couple reasons:
1. I would not want to clean it (but I guess if you are rich enough to afford such a big house, you are rich enough to hire someone to clean it)
2. It feels lonely to have so much space; you could go a whole day in some of those houses without running into another person
3. I would probably lose Kadin! He would run away and hide somewhere when he had a poopy diaper and I wouldn't find him for three days!

Friday night we had our big family September birthday party. Between all the extended family, we have four birthdays pretty close in September (me, Andi, Nia and my dad) so we decided a couple years ago to celebrate them all together. We went over to Mom and Dad Sherwood's for some birthday fun and dessert. I love it when Kadin can get together with his cousins; he goes crazy whenever we say that we get to see Nia and Justis. I love that they have such a fun relationship and we live close enough that they can all be friends instead of just cousins.

Busy week, but lots of fun things! Now I am just counting down the days until Jeremy comes home!

WOO-HOO

A moment of celebration! One fully completed journaling page, complete with chipboard letters, painting, stiching and handwriting (the part I HATE HATE HATE to do). It's simple, clean and I love it!

Another page in progress, coming along super cute and faster than I anticipated. I may actually blow my old record out of the water and complete two page layouts in a week! I am unstoppable!

My craft room is a total disaster again . . . . the price one must pay for creativity!

Pictures to come soon

All is right

Today was one of those rare days when I actually felt like I was ahead of the game. I woke up this morning feeling fairly gross (lots of congestions, body aches, etc.) and was actually thinking it would be a day to simply survive. I had laundry creeping out of our closet, dishes stacked in the sink and just lots of stuff everywhere (why is it that the house always explodes during the weekend?). Surprisingly, I got through the laundry pretty quickly(including some of the folding, which usually takes me forever to do), and picked up the house as Kadin and I played around in the morning (he likes to chase me with his super arms, so I strategically led the chase into the rooms where I needed to go put things away! multitasking at its best!). We even got to play outside and best of all, Kadin played in his sandbox by himself for 1/2 an hour, which gave me time to work on some scrapbooking! It's been a full and productive day and I don't feel totally wiped out at the end of it! All is right in my world!

I feel like I am slowly, but surely getting my life and house in order so I can use the tiny moments of spare time I have better. I have been working on getting all the kitchen cabinets organized (and they will stay that way, I am determined), going through all the filing in the study and shredding a bunch of out-of-date papers that were cluttering things up and just generally clearing up the "stuff" that seems to overwhelm life. But out of all of that, I think the thing I am most excited about is I finally got all the pictures I had stuck in various boxes and envelopes sorted and put away in a good system so they are easy to find! And I got most of our digital pictures sorted chronologically so I can find them easily on the computer. I hope that being able to keep track of all out pictures will make myscrapbooking easier, and maybe I can spend time actually doing something with the pictures instead of trying to track them down!!!

It's a . . . .

GIRL! If you couldn't tell by the color change on the blog background, we are thinking pink in our house after the ultrasound this morning. The baby was not very cooperative, she was sitting down really low and all curled up so the ultrasound tech had quite a hard time getting all the measurements that she wanted. Then towards the end of the ultrasound she started to look for the gender stuff and after a lot of wiggling and pushing and somewhat painful pokes from the tech, she declared it a girl.

Jeremy and I are both really excited about this new addition to our family. It really feels like it completes us, Mommy, Daddy, brother and sister. We took Kadin with us to the doctor's appointment and he got to see the baby in Mommy's tummy. While we were sitting there watching, he was making comments like "Hold still Mommy" and "See baby", but he pipes up with "Hab it" (have it). I looked at him and said "Have what?" He pointed at the ultrasound screen and said "Have baby. Baby come out" We had to explain that the baby needs to stay in Mommy's tummy for a while longer and get bigger, but it will come out soon and he will have a baby sister. I think it might be kind of starting to make an impact that there is actually another person coming to join our family.

The other good news is that the baby is looking good, all the measurements came out great on the ultrasound, she is measuring about a week smaller than her gestational age, but that has been consistent all along so it looks like we will be looking forward to another itty-bitty baby! The doctor told me that my case was pretty boring this time around; but in my world, boring is good!!!!

mid-pregnancy blah

I am laying here taking a load off while Kadin sleeps and just feeling "blah"! I'm at that point where I don't quite feel pregnant all the time, I just feel fat! My normal pants stopped fitting a while ago and I can't find any maternity pants that feel good. If I didn't look like such a schlump I would hang around in sweat pants all the time! I miss putting on a pair of jeans and just thinking "Ok, these make me feel like I look good!" Now it's just, "which pair makes me look the least bad?" Isn't the second trimester supposed to be the easy one?

On the happy side of things, I've started to feel little flutter kicks in my tummy. It's pretty fun when it all becomes real and I can start to feel the person growing in there. Can't wait until the 27th when we get the ultrasound and we can see he/she/it as a real baby instead of a peanut!

Beating the heat

Never again will I consider air conditioning an "extra" or a "luxury". After this week, I am fully convinced that it is a necessity and should be a standard feature in every home and car. It has been unbelievably hot here this week, over 100 a couple days this week. Needless to say, Kadin and I have hunkered down at home and survived fairly comfortably in our cool, climate-controlled home. When we did need to go out to run errands, it was miserable! I felt hot, sticky and just overall yucky! I think the yuckiest thing was constantly having hair sweat, when your head sweats and the roots of your hair get all wet, but the rest of your hair is dry . . . one of my least favorite feelings!

Even with the incredible heat, we did some fun things this week. Jeremy took me out on our somewhat regular Friday night date (some weeks we are really good at getting that time for just the two of us, but some weeks, not so much!). We went out to dinner and then downtown to Comedy Sportz, an improv comedy club. We got put in the front row and as we were waiting for it to start, some of the actors come out and do funny little puns like they are selling things at a baseball game. One woman's thing was holding an ice cube tray with a stuffed bear on top of it and yelling "Ice cold bear, who wants some ice cold bear?" (she said it with a thick accent so it was like she was saying "ice cold beer"). She came around to us and asked Jeremy if he wanted any, he declined and then she looked at me and asked. But as soon as she asked, she said "Oh no, I can't give you any!" I thought it was because I was pregnant, but she quickly followed it up with "I get in huge trouble giving beer to someone so young!" I know that someday I will be grateful for looking young, but right now it's kind of a pain.

Saturday morning we got up and went golfing with my parents and brother. Kadin and I just got to ride in the golf cart with my mom while the boys golfed. Kadin was loving "driving" with Grandma and he would jump out whenever we stopped and run over to the boys and ask "Kadin's turn?" to see if they would let him hit with their clubs. Since it was pretty early in the morning, it wasn't too hot, which was really nice. Thankfully, all that running around wore him out and he took a good nap.

I got to substitute in nursery again this week, and I am glad that this is the last week I have to do it. It was one little boy's first time in nursery so there was a lot of screaming and I had to hold him pretty much the whole time. It gave me a whole new respect for my mom who had to deal with all 4 kids under the age of 5 every day! I don't know how she did it! I'm kind of scared about having just two!

Fun Find

My Mom got invited to join this website www.goodreads.com, kind of like a Facebook for book freaks! I have been clicking like crazy finding all these great books I had read and books that I want to read! If you love to read and want to find out what everyone else is reading and talk about what you're reading, check it out! Let me know if you sign up and then we can connect as "friends" and see what each other is reading. Pretty fun I think, but then I am the epitome of book freak!

crazy days

Last Friday we celebrated Jeremy's birthday (actually on the 5th) with family and a HUGE barbecue. I had been stressing a little bit because we had to change location last minute (my parent's yard is still super crazy so thank you thank you thank you Mom Sherwood!), had a couple extra attendees (Grandma, Grandpa Theurer and Uncle Morgan came into town Friday afternoon, totally unexpected!), and I just wanted it to be great! Jeremy requested my dad's ribs (if you haven't experienced the ribs . . . . you haven't lived!), deviled eggs, twice baked potatoes, and then on top of that we had broccoli salad, green salad, fruit salad, corn on the cob, and then cake and ice cream for dessert! We had enough food to feed a million people!

But the party was great, everyone had a great time. Kadin was in seventh heaven playing with his cousins. I think he pretty much worships the ground that they walk on. They played hide and seek (Kadin didn't quite get the concept of staying hidden, he got too much of a kick out of jumping out and being found!).

The next day we spent doing yard work at my parent's house again. Their yard is slowly coming along, slowly getting to where they want it to be. Kadin was again having the time of his life playing in the dirt. He gets to be more and more typical boy every day; destruction, dirt and devious behavior! But I love him!

Today I think we took on our biggest challenge. The 15 minute potty trips weren't working, and actually making him get upset about sitting on the potty. I didn't want to make the potty a negative thing in his mind so I decided to try a different tactic. So after talking with Andi and picking her brain for what worked with Justis (her son who is a year older than Kadin), I decided to just do it 100% and get rid of diapers! So today we got up and got dressed . . . . . in big boy underwear! Or as Kadin calls them "boy wears". We talked about how cool it is that he gets to wear big boy underwear, just like Justis, and this means that he needs to go pee-pee in the potty. Then off we went for a day of what was sure to be excitment! Here's the quick run down:
7 pairs of underwear
5 pairs of shorts
2 shirts
2 towels
1 blanket
3 rags (for cleaning the carpet)
1 diaper (for nap time)
and still no pee-pee in the toilet! The most frustrating is when I actually saw him begin to pee (on the carpet) and quickly rushed him off to the potty where we sat for 10-15 minutes with me coaching him and encouraging him to put the rest of the pee pee in the potty. Kadin's contribution "Pee-pee come out of tummy!" Still, the bowl remained empty and after 15 minutes I was ok with Kadin saying "all done" and getting up. On went another pair of "wears" and off we went, only to discover Kadin peeing all over himself five minutes later! I was hoping that the wet feeling of the soaked underwear would be some sort of motivation to make potty training attractive, but I have been blessed with the child who has no sense of personal hygiene. He could care less if he was wet, poopy, has snot all over his face; none of it phases him in the least!

But it's only the first day. I am gritting my teeth and going for another day in the underwears tomorrow and hopefully we start to make some progress. I'm not asking for much, maybe just a little disgust at running around in your own urine! Is that to much?

And off we go!

So after many false promises and much delaying, Kadin and I have embarked on the potty training adventure! This morning we went to Target and got some fun green hand soap, a poster to mark his "successes" and fun animal stickers as a reward. I decided that the timer method would probably work the best for him since he is so impatient and has such a short attention span. So every fifteen minutes when the bell goes off, we troop off to the potty, sit down, sing three rounds of the "Super Why" Alpha pig alphabet song and then up we go and on with our day. So far, nothing has happened, but I am counting it successful so far because he is learning to go to the potty at regular intervals, and is sitting on the potty for increasingly longer periods of time without getting impatient. I'll keep you updated on the progress (leaving out all the gory details that are better left unsaid) as we tackle this whole new challenge. Jeremy and my goal is to have him pretty well trained by the time the new baby comes. We are hoping to avoid the double diaper duty! We'll see how it goes.

Couple of giggles for the day

My first giggle actually came from yesterday, but I thought it earned a spot in the giggle-hall-of-fame (maybe I'll start one of those and everyone can add their funniest moments and then we can all laugh until we pee). Kadin was awake from his nap and talking to himself, just waiting for me to come and get him. I went in and said "hello", he looked up at me and said "mommy, stinky poo-poo (the phrase Mom Sherwood taught him which he nows uses all the time to tell me the status of his diapers). I tell him not to worry, we'll get the stinky poo-poo cleaned up. This had all occured before I had gotten around the corner of the crib and saw him (if you can tell where this is leading up to; just wait, there is a twist!). As I came into view I saw him sitting down holding up his hands and he clarified "Mommy, stinky poo-poo hands" Somehow he had managed to get poop all over his hands. I whisked him out of bed, over to the sink and washed the nastiness all off. Then I went back and checked his bed for more stinky poo-poo but, and here's the twist, there was none. His blankets, all three of them, his two stuffed animals, and his pillow were all pristinely clean! I could not figure out how the little Houdini did it! He's a tricky one!

The other giggle happened this afternoon when I was at my mom's house. Kadin asked for a yogurt and Devin was picked to get one since he was closest to the fridge. After much rooting around and struggle, he got a yogurt . . . . and then dropped a container of bluberries all over the floor. We all just looked for a second, you know the surprised shocked look of a fairly large mess being made, and then at the top of his voice Kadin yells out "OH CRAP" and not just once, but several times in rapid succession. "OH CRAP, OH CRAP, OH CRAP!" I was stunned, amused and a little embarassed (not too much because it was with my mom and brother). I tried to swallow my laughter and tell Kadin that we say whoop-e-doo when we drop things. But he seemed much happier when he let the c-word fly. So I apologize in advance if he ever offends your ears with this statement, I am trying to teach him social appropriateness and all of that, but it could take some time.

I got asked a couple questions about my pregnancy since I wrote about it last time. I am 15 weeks pregnant and am finally starting to gain weight! It's the craziest thing, but the best diet I have ever been on is when I am pregnant. It's not because I am not eating because I really don't get horribly morning sick and usually can eat normally. For some reason I drop about 10 pounds during the first trimester and then it starts creeping back after that. So I am really happy that the numbers on the scale are beginning to climb (this will probably be the only time that I am going to say that!). So far, everything is going really well. I am still a high-risk pregnancy because of everything else rocking around in my body, but I have the same great doctor I had last time and we have the added benefit of being able to look back at Kadin's pregnancy to give us a guide of what we can reasonably expect this time around. We are hoping for smooth sailing, like last time, and hoping to avoid, but planning for just in case, some bed rest towards the end. So far, everything is going well. All my lab tests have come back completely normal and the two ultrasounds we've gotten thus far show nothing but good things. We go back on the 27th to get the "big" ultrasound, when we find out what we are going to have. But all in all, I am doing well and feeling pretty good, all things considered.

Loving summer

As I type this I am sitting in our back doorway watching Kadin play with his sand table and absolutely loving the gorgeous weather today! It is sunny and warm, perfect for sitting out and relaxing in the sunshine!

We went to visit Jeremy's grandparents this weekend in Moses Lake Washington. I had never been and we wanted to make sure Kadin got a chance to get to know them a little bit and spend some time with them. Jeremy's parents and brother's family came too, so it was great to have a bunch of family all together. Kadin got to ride in Jason and Andi's van (THANK YOU!) so he could watch movies and be with his cousins. He loved every minute of it; I told Andi I thought we would have to move in with them after this weekend because Kadin wasn't going to let them out of his sight! Once we got there, it was great to let the kids out and run in Grandma's big yard. We set up a wading pool for them to play in, they played ball, it was great fun. Kadin was so exhausted after so much fun that by the end of the night he was the one telling us that it was time for him to go to bed!

We were a little bit worried about how he would do sleeping in a different place (he is a creature of habit and gets pretty upset when things don't go like he is used to), but he slept pretty well for a couple hours. Then he was up and cranky, so Jeremy took him for a drive. That conked him out until about 3 and then up we went again. After rocking and walking, we finally got him asleep again and laid him in bed with us. The problem with that was that he took up half the bed and Jeremy and I were so afraid to wake him again that we didn't get anymore sleep being all cramped up on the other half!

Other than sleeping problems, we had a great time! Moses Lake has a great water park that we took the kids to on Saturday and had a great time. It was one of those that starts out super shallow and slowly gets deeper so the kids could walk on their own for quite a while. That was great until Kadin's independent streak kicked in and he decided that he should be able to walk on his own ANYWHERE in the pool, including the deep end. We had a couple slips and scares, but overall it was an awesome time!

So glad we got to go and spend time with Grandma and Grandpa and family! Love you all tons!

One more fun piece of news: Jeremy and I are expecting our second baby! He/she is due around Jan 22nd (although everyone is betting we will go early like last time, let's hope not though!) and we are really excited about it! I have started to tell Kadin about the baby in Mommy's tummy and he got to come to my doctor's appointment today and hear the heartbeat. I don't know how much of it he really comprehends (not much I am sure), but I'm sure as I get bigger and we start bringing out the baby stuff again, he'll figure it out a little bit more!

Home again, Home again

After a week of lounging around, seeing beautiful sights, eating more decadent food than I previously thought possible . . . . it's back to reality. It's amazing how fast I got used to having food ready whenever I wanted it, and tons of options to choose from so no matter what I was in the mood for, it was there! My bed was always made when I got back to the room from breakfast. After eating did I want to read, go swimming, play ping-pong, gamble away my money in the slot machines, go to an art auction, or learn how to fold towels into cute little animals? I could do anything, anytime, and most of it involved food. Oh the food!!!!! I cannot say enough about the food. We could have been cruising through the podunk backwater of some swamp and if the food was still as good, I would have been thrilled to be there! Breakfast and lunch were pretty casual, but still amazing. Tons of choices; Italian, Salad Bar, Sandwich shop, outdoor grill, Chinese Wok, bistro . . . .you could eat 24/7 and still never eat everything they offered. But dinner, oh dinner, was where it was really amazing. We ate four course dinners every night, with appetizers like rock crab artichoke dip, Beef carpaccio, tuna tartare, crab cakes .. . . . . all pretty amazing. Soups and salads like mixed berry soup, Gold Rush soup (tomato on steriods), Greek salad . . . . yum again! If you weren't stuffed by this time then make room for duck al' orange, New York Steak, Surf and Turf, lamb shank, Rock fish, scallops. Top it off with dessert like mixed berry crisp, creme brulee, mango sundae. It was quite a letdown to have to go back to regular food after that. But I have to say that I am glad to get back to regular food because if I ate like that all the time, I would weigh 300 pounds in about a month!

The rest of the cruise was amazing. We got to see great cities, really interesting historical sites and the excursions were amazing. We got to hike a glacier and I DID IT!!!! I was really worried because they said it was a 2 hour hike and you needed to be in good physical shape to handle the rough terrain and low-level ice climbing skills. But I did great! I huffed and puffed a couple times, but I kept up and did it all really well! I think that was the highlight of the trip for me, was accomplishing something that I was really scared I wouldn't be able to do.

But like every vacation, this week of gluttony and sloth came to an end. And I was glad to see it end. As nice as it was to be on a adult schedule, I missed Kadin ALOT by the end of the week. There was a little 1 1/2 year old girl dancing in one of the night clubs in a princess dress on formal night. Just watching her bop around in her sparkly dress and feel the joy just pouring out of her, it just about made me cry. I missed my little man and his joy.

Coming back to see him was so great. He had his usual giant smile and couldn't wait to jump up for a big hug and to tell me all about the fun things that he had been doing while we had been gone. He had the greatest time at Grandma and Grandpa's house, but he was also pretty excited that we were back and were all going to be going home together. It was such a great feeling of completeness when it was the three of us again.

Amazed at myself

It's only Tuesday and I am already kicking butt at getting everything on my "to-do" list crossed off! I am very nearly packed, just little bits and pieces to pull together. My laundry pile is at an all time low, I think just one more load until it is down to just the clothes we are wearing right now! I got most of the errand running done, getting the extras we'll need for our trip and stocking up on Kadin essentials like milk and diapers. Now all that is left is one more doctor's appointment (the first two went great, got the thumbs-up on both accounts), final packing and getting the house cleaned up! I could make it through this week without going completely insane!

Been a while

It's been a while since I've posted on here and looking back I was hoping it was because we have been extremely busy lately and life has been keeping me so occupied that I simply didn't have time. But in all reality, life has been keeping me just plain tired! At the end of the day, typing anything seems like just too much effort; isn't that pathetic?

But life will be speeding up this week; I've got quite a bit on my plate. I have three doctor's appointments (why do I think it is such a great idea to lump them all together? It just means I need to find more babysitters!!!!). On top of that, I need to get packed up for the trip Jeremy and I are taking next week. For Christmas, my mom and dad decided to take all of us kids on an Alaskan cruise. I am so excited to go! Unlimited food . . . . sleeping in (sometimes) . . . . and a week-long break from being a mom . . . . sounds good to me!!! But, I need to get all packed up and ready by Thursday, so we can have fun on Friday and then take off Saturday morning. I also need to get Kadin's stuff all ready to go to Mom Sherwood's house and the house clean in case anyone shows up for a showing.

Speaking of which, I had a couple interesting house showing experiences lately. On Monday, we decided to drop the price on our house. There are a couple new townhouse subdivisions going in really close to us and if we wait until those are built we will most likely have a tougher time selling, so we figure we should get out now while we can still get an okay price for it. Anyways, since we've dropped the price we have had more traffic coming through to look at the house, which is good and bad. Good because more people looking means more chance someone will buy, but bad because I always have to be ready to evacuate. One day, after Kadin and I had come home and crashed after a busy day of playing in the pool at my mom's house, the phone rang and there was a realtor asking if he could come and look at the house . . . in 15 minutes. Thankfully, Jeremy and I had cleaned the house really well a couple days before so I just had to zip around and pick up bits and pieces. Then I had to fight Kadin back in his pants and we popped outside and just hung out around the corner until they came and went. I was trying to be low-key so they wouldn't notice us, but our cover was blown when Kadin saw them, pointed and yelled "In our house!!!" oh well.

Then last night we had another realtor call to show our house today between 12 and 1. I left church early with Kadin to make sure that everything was clean and perfect and then we left and went to my mom's house. Kadin was a handful, throwing the newspaper around, climbing on everything and just plain going crazy. I was exhausted and couldn't wait to go home. I got home, put Kadin down for his nap and crashed on the bed for a nap of my own. About 1/2 hour later, just as I was nodding off, I heard a knock on the door and Jeremy talking to someone. Listening more, I realized that this was the realtor . . . an hour late! So I dragged myself out of bed and went downstairs. We told them Kadin was sleeping in the upstairs bedroom and they could peek in. Apparently they weren't exceptionally quiet because he was up and whining 5 minutes after they left. So much for nap time! Frustrating!!!!!

ABC tag

ABC Tag
ABC's "getting to know you" TAG ABC's of you.Each player then tags 3 people and posts their names, then go to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.
A- Attached or single: Attached
B- Best Friend: Jeremy
C-Cake or Pie: Depends on the day, but most of the time I would have to go with pie. Mmmmm, cherry, lemon meringue, does cheesecake count as pie? Too many choices!!!!
D- Day of the Week: Saturday. Jeremy gets to be home and hopefully we get to do fun things!
E- Essential Item: All of my prescriptions, it's lame, but I would never want to go back to life before them
F- Favorite Color: Red.
G-Gummi Bears or Worms: Worms.
H-Home town: Beaverton Oregon
I- Indulgences: Scrapbooking supplies and totally useless TV shows.
J- January or July?: July.
K-Kids: 1 very active and very adorable 2 year old
L-Life is incomplete without: My family
M- Marriage Date: May 16, 2003
N- Number of Siblings: 3 brothers
O- Oranges or Apples: Oranges (but they have to be sweet, not super sour)
P- Phobias or Fears: Spiders (I used to watch them all afternoon waiting for Jeremy to come home and kill them)
Q- Quote: Life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful
R- Reason To Smile: An amazing husband who is picking up my slack while I feel yucky!
S- Season: Fall; there is nothing like the fall colors in Oregon
T- Tag Three: Lisa, Annie and Cari
U- Unknown fact about me: Most of the stuff people don't know about me I think we would all be happier keeping it that way!
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: Really? We have to put it that way? But animal oppresor all the way (if you have ever had my dad's ribs you would never be able to go vegetarian!)
W- Worst Habit: (that I'm going to admit on a public forum!) Reading when I shouldn't be (I would go with that one too Andi!)
X-Rays or Ultrasounds: Ultrasounds; I've had a few and always get to see cool things like my heart and babies!
Y-Your favorite food: Right now, not a whole lot, being sick doesn't make food very appealing and I am having a hard time remembering the last time something sounded good!
Z: Zodiac Sign: Virgo

Little laughs

You know you have medical issues when:
- your medical file takes three file folders and a rubber band to keep it together
- you have the phone number for your pharmacy memorized, but have trouble remembering your husband's work number (maybe this just means I'm a bad wife!)
- When you go to the pharmacy, the pharmacist sees you coming and has your prescription ready before you even get to the counter
- You know the names and ages of the lab technician's grand kids

Just a few of the funny moments I have come across in the last few years. If you can't laugh about it . . . what's the point?

Life with kids is . . . .

I'm sure that every mom out there could find a funny, touching, or inspirational way to finish the sentence above, but for the purposes of my blog, I'm just going to say "never boring" Just when you think that the day is winding down and it is smooth sailing from here to bedtime, WATCH OUT! Here comes a curveball or two you never saw coming.

I had just forcibly brought Kadin inside after happily playing outside. He had found the barbeque and was pushing the igniton button. Nothing was happening because both gas knobs were in the "off" spot, but then he started twisting those too, and I knew it was time to step in. I crouched down by him, made him look at me, and said in my sternest mom voice, "Kadin if you touch any part of this (pointing to the barbeque) again, we are going inside. Do you understand me?" Kadin nodded enthusiastically and then told me to go back inside. As soon as I was settled back into the kitchen chair I had been watching him from, he looked at me for 5 seconds with THAT LOOK in his eyes. Slowly, he reached out one tiny little finger and stretched it out towards the grill to see what I would do. I gave him the mom look and reminded him that if he touched it, he would go inside. Slowly, ever so slowly, he inched forward, his little finger coming closer and closer until he finally just barely grazed the grill. He looked at me like "You really can't count THAT as a touch, right?" He thought he had figured out someway around the rules, but he was sorely mistaken. I scooped him up with one arm, shut and locked the door with the other and my moments of peaceful seclusion were over.

Later, we were both crashed out on the couch, Kadin watching Diego and me reading some trashy book just so that I don't have to listen to the Rescue Pack rap for the millionth time. Kadin decided he wanted to get his water that was across the room and slid off the couch to go get it. I looked over at where he was sitting and was horrified to find a mass which shall remain nameless, but if you are a mother of children in diapers you can imagine what it was I found there. Quickly I stopped Kadin as he made to sit down on another blanket and took him upstairs to go right into the bath. When I unwrapped him, I saw the nameless substance was EVERYWHERE!!!! And to make matters worse, it had made his poor sensitive spots red and raw. So not only was he upset about having to change his diaper, it was an uncomfortable diaper, and I had to rub wet cloths over the raw spots. Needless to say there was a lot of screaming and crying. And then when we went to get him dressed again, the only diaper cream I could find was the one that makes him scream to high heaven when we put it on him. Let's just say I can personally vouch that it stings like nobody's business! Even more unhappiness . . . . and it all got settled with some crackers and a Mr. Rogers episode. If only all life's problems could be solved so simply!

P.S. I would be interested to hear how the other moms would finish the sentence from the title: "Life with kids is . . . . . " Should get some fun answers!

Back to normal . . . almost

After a completely yucky week for everyone in our house, I am glad to say that we are well on the way to being healthy again. Kadin had been running a fever since Monday and we have both been fighting a cough and sniffles. As a result, we have been couch/bed potatoes for the whole week because neither of us felt up to doing much of anything. I think I have seen enough "Curious George" to last me a lifetime! Thankfully, Kadin woke up this morning (after sleeping in until 9, yeah for me!!!) much more his happy little self and when I took his temperature it was back to normal! We're not totally together yet, both of us are still sniffing and hacking a bit, but we are back to functional!!!!



I know he's sick when he just lays down on the floor and falls asleep on his own. I was making dinner and he got really quiet. I went to go look for him and found him asleep on the floor in front of the couch.

This is how Kadin was for most of this week, laying down miserable on the couch. My poor monkey!

Disgusting all the way around

Yuck! That is all I can say about the past few days. After the screaming hot weather, it went back to being a normal Oregon spring, i.e. gray, wet and cold. As always, my body didn't adjust quite as well to the sudden changes and I caught a cold. No big deal right? Normally yes, but this is me we're talking about! Jeremy caught the same cold, we think, and he just has some sniffles and a little cough. I, on the other hand, am completely stuffed up and dripping at the same time (can someone just tell me how that is possible?) and coughing so much that I am practically living on cough drops (cherry menthol gets pretty disgusting after the 50th one). Poor Jeremy has slept on the couch the last few nights because I am so nasty and he wouldn't have gotten any sleep with my sniffing and coughing. Yuck, yuck and more yuck!!!



As I sit here with my plastic bag brimming over with used tissue (toilet paper really, I ran out of Kleenex sometime in the middle of the night), I wonder how in the world I lived like this for so long. I have no idea how I went to school, student taught and all of that feeling this raunchy for years! I guess it's all a testament to rising to the occasion . . . I wish I could remember some of my old survival techniques because I need them now!!!!

Our own Ensign article

We have been waiting and waiting and waiting for someone . . . anyone . . . to take a look at our house. It's been a few weeks and we have had no calls. Jeremy was getting really frustrated and been debating about whether to drop the price of the house just so we can get it sold and get out of here before more new development comes in. So he had the great thought that he would get up super early this morning (4:30!) and go do a temple session in hopes that it would help him with the decision. He also was fasting (he had to today for his life insurance medical checkup this afternoon, he just decided to do it with purpose as well) for the same reason. Lo and behold, at 12:30 this afternoon, the phone rings and we got our first showing tonight! Who knows if anything will come of it, but I told Jeremy that we need to be careful what we wish for because someone is obviously listening!

That call was a mixed blessing. It was great to finally have some interest in our house so we aren't just sitting around twiddling our thumbs wondering if putting it on the market was a good idea. But it was stressful at the same time because as a result of the lack of calls, I had slacked off on the keeping the home "show ready" thing. I had to work like crazy to get the house back to beautiful (there are a lot of mismatched socks "hiding" in my top drawer for lack of anywhere else to put them!). Luckily, the lacrosse banquet was tonight so we didn't have to worry about where to be when the people came through.

same old answer

I went back to the doctor today to get the results of my sleep study and I got the same answer I usually get, "We can't find anything; you're broken and we don't know why". They phrase it a little nicer than that with a lot more medical jargon, but that's what it boils down to. There is another option we could look into, which is a neurologist consult and a sleep latency study. My GP wasn't too sure what that entailed so he said he would look into it for me and let me know if he thought it would be benefical. So, at least I don't have to sleep with the super sexy machine on my face every night!

On an up note, Kadin has begun to love to swim! On tuesday I put on his swim shirt and he lost his marbles, like laying down on the floor, kicking and screaming and trying to pull it off. I figured if the shirt got a reaction like that, the pool was going to send him into coniptions (which I don't really know what they are, but every time I hear about someone being sent into them, it's a bad thing!). So we skipped class on Tuesday. Wednesday was Jeremy's first night of freedom from lacrosse, the season has ended and I am no longer a lacrosse widow! He was as stumped as I was with Kadin's freakouts in the water, so we went to open swim to see if anything would be different. And boy was it ever different! I don't know what kind of Daddy magic Jeremy worked, but Kadin was laughing, splashing, blowing bubbles . . . a complete 180 from the kid I had holding my neck in a death grip last week. Our class was this morning and I was praying that I could keep the positive vibes going. We got in, he wanted to walk down the steps by himself, and he found a ball to play with and that was that. He was giggling and throwing the ball around and loving it. I had a hard time convincing him that it was time to go!!!!! YEAH FOR DADDY MAGIC!!!!!

And yeah for AC and ice! The weather here has become bi-polar! It was raining and 60 on Monday and today it was sunny and 86!!!! And it's supposed to get hotter tomorrow and Saturday. Weird stuff!

fun day that ended in a not fun way

Yesterday my mom took me shopping for a Mother's Day dress (a tradition her mom started and she is continuing with me). We had a great time and I found a really cute skirt and jacket for Sunday. After shopping we headed over to Stanford's for their happy hour. You can sit in the bar area and get appetizers for $3 and $4 as long as you get something to drink. DELICIOUS! We were having a great time, but I was getting worried because I had been having chest pains on my left side since we left the store and as we were almost done eating they still hadn't gone away. I had some chest pains a couple weeks ago and after I told my doctor about it, she said the next time it happened to go to the ER. So, reluctantly, I told my mom about it and she got really worried (of course!). We called Jeremy and he said to go to either the urgent care right down the road or the ER. I chose urgent care, hoping they could check me out there, tell me I was fine and send me home. Unfortunately, when I got there and told them what was going on, they said I could either drive myself to the ER or they would send me in an ambulance. In the interest of saving money, I chose to drive myself (even though it would have made the story even better to have ridden in an ambulance!). Jeremy met us there and we got checked in and waited (luckily, chest pain gets you in pretty fast!). Long story short, I got sent home after three hours with a diagnosis of "atypical chest pain", a nice way of saying "We have no idea what is wrong with you!" The chest pain stopped, my EKG was fine, chest x-ray was fine, and the ER doctor was pretty stumped by my colorful and unique medical history.

I'm glad that everything turned out fine and nothing is wrong with me, but it is frustrating to have these pains without an explanation. I kind of feel like the girl who cried wolf; saying that there are things wrong with me, but they can never find evidence. As a result, I have become reticient to voice these problems, and this in turn gets me in trouble because I end up letting things get out of hand and it takes more time and effort to fix them than it should. There is a fine line between being a hypochondriac and being, as the ER doctor put it, vigilant about my health. I wish the line was more deliniated and I knew better which things to just ride it out and which to get the doctors involved. I'm learning, but too slowly!

my night as a lab rat

Sleeping in a lab . . . not as painful as I thought it was going to be. I checked in at 8 and was taken back to my assigned room. I was a little intimadated by the seemingly endless wires hanging over a table, the thirty-two pieces of tape lined up along the edge of the table and the big blank walls around me. The tech came in and put on an informational video about sleep apnea and what was going to happen in the sleep lab. While watching that, I had to fill out yet another info sheet (beyond the 6 pages I had to bring with me) about my sleeping habits and what brought me in. Then the tech came back and starting hooking me up to all the sensors; and there were ALOT! There were two bands, one around my chest and one around my stomach to measure my respirations, two sensors on each of my legs to measure movement. Then came the innumerable face and head sensors; on my forehead, chin, temples, behind the ears and all over the scalp. The sensors for the scalp had to be literally glued on, a big glop of sticky glue in my hair! The final addition was a strap across my face under my nose with a breathing sensor to see if I mouth or nose breathe at night. I was tempted to take a picture of the final result, but after seeing it for myself in the mirror, I decided that as much as I believe in preserving all memories, good and bad, this was one I could skip.

After I got all settled into bed, the tech came back in and plugged in all my wires to the big console. Then she left to adjust the camera (I have to say the thought of someone watching me while I sleep is a little bit creepy) and then test all the sensors by doing eye movements and breathing exercises. Then I got to just read until I was ready to go to sleep, at which point I just yelled out "I'm ready" and the powers that be turned out my lights.

Surprisingly, the night went like usual. I fell asleep quickly and stayed asleep. I thought I would sleep through to the 6 am wakeup call, but I woke up early because the finger they had put the pulse/ox meter on was burning. I think that the little LED light burnt my finger (thanks prednisone for the tissue-thin skin). So then when the wakeup call came, I had to go through the same calibration exercises that I did last night and then I got to go home! Now I just get to wait for my doctor to get the results from the sleep lab doctor.

I was surprised at how many people were there. I asked the technician and she said that their 10 rooms are full seven days a week, 365 days a year (minus major holidays). She said there are amazing numbers of people that have sleep problems and even more that should be getting tested but just don't know it. So I totally suggest talking to your doctor about it if you think you are abnormally tired and snore . . . it might be you!

As for our other big event of yesterday, Kadin was none too thrilled with the experience at first, but in the last five minutes I think he warmed up to it a little bit. We had to ease into it, talking him through the pre-pool shower, sitting on the side for a few minutes talking to him about what was going to happen. He spent the majority of the class in a death grip around my neck, but he really liked the Humpty Dumpty part. We put the kids on the side of the pool and did the Humpty Dumpty rhyme and when we got to the "great fall" part, we'd pop them back into the pool. He liked the in and out of it. The instructor suggested that I get a rash guard shirt for him, he was shivering by the end of the class, and maybe being warmer would help him be happier about the whole thing. So we go back tomorrow and try it again.

things to look forward to . . .

Before I get to the things to come, let me just say how amazing a day it was today! The temperature shot up to the mid-70's and it was clear and sunny and AWESOME! After nap time Kadin and I headed out to the park (actually several parks) and spent the rest of the afternoon running, playing and just enjoying the sunshine! Of course, the forecast is for clouds and rain the rest of the week, but as long as we are headed towards sunshine, I'm okay!

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day and I am a little apprehensive about what we've got. The first thing is Kadin and I start swimming lessons tomorrow. Jeremy had the idea a while ago to get Kadin acclimated to the water because Jeremy loves to swim and that would be something really fun we could all go in the summer time. So I looked up THPRD and found a Baby and Me swimming class. So every Tues. and Thurs. Kadin and I will be splashing around in the pool! When we went today to get signed up, he saw the pool through the window and got really excited about it (actually got really mad that he couldn't get in right that second!), so I hope it will go well.

The other reason I am really apprehensive about the whole swimming thing is the typical female insecurity about getting in a swimsuit. I haven't been in one since we went to Hawaii last year and I probably set a record there for the least amount of time in a swimsuit. I'm hoping that because our class is in the morning there are as few people around as possible! And that everyone is more focused on the cute babies in the water than the people holding them!

The second thing is I have to go in tomorrow night for a sleep study. For a while I have been abnormally sleepy during the day. I sleep about 9-10 hours a night, plus I usually take a nap during the day and it is still all I can do to keep my eyes open sometimes. So I went to see my doctor and he suggested that I might have sleep apnea. I check in tomorrow night for a "good night's sleep" in a lab hooked up to a bunch of monitors. I am crossing my fingers that they figure something out, because dozing off at a red light really isn't the safest thing!

I'll let you know how it all turns out! Wish me luck!

Triumph and trial

Triumph:
Kadin was due for a haircut and I was not looking forward to it. His past haircuts have all been a struggle; basically me holding him tight while Jeremy buzzes him as fast as he can. There is lots of screaming, lots of hair flying, and usually some pretty crazy spots on Kadin's head. So today as we were looking forward to the "big moment" I was trying to think of ways that we could eliminate or at least lessen the trauma. So, I decided to tap into the hypnotic power of the TV and hope that would distract him enough. So we put on "Monsters Inc." sat him down and let him get into it. Then Jeremy started up the clippers, which initally started a meltdown, but he just let them run close by Kadin's ear so he could get used to the sound. After he got okay with that, Jeremy started to cut. Initially, Kadin jumped and started to get upset, but after I started talking to him and got him back focused on the movie, he did great! He sat quietly and let Jeremy buzz him and we actually got to get around his ears and the back of his neck, which we usually end up getting with scissors over the next couple days in bits and pieces. After we were done, he got really excited and said "I did it!" and "All done!" I was so proud of him!

Trial:
The most frustrating thing for me lately has been Kadin's eating, or lack of it. He is the pickiest eater! The list of acceptable foods are as follows:
1. peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
2. bananas
3. Cheerios
4. fruit snacks
5. Gogurt yogurt
6. string cheese
7. chocolate
8. mac and cheese
That list used to be longer and include some vegetables! I cannot even get him to put new things in his mouth to try them! I cannot count the number of times I have tried to sneak chicken into his mac and cheese, but he always finds it and then he won't touch any of the rest of the food. I have tried funny shapes, colored foods, bite size pieces . . . I am out of ideas! I really don't know what to do. I am worried about whether he is getting all the nutrition he needs and making sure he is healthy. Any suggestions?

Mystery of the Day

Where could Kadin be going with those socks? Hmmmmm I wonder . . . .

Oh! The sock stash . . . in the bathroom! Of course, why didn't I think about that!

MYSTERY SOLVED!!!!!!!

Take a peek

So we made it through the pictures with our realtor (the hardest part was keeping Kadin out of the pictures; he was convinced that she was really there to photograph him!) and we are officially on the market! So if you're interested, take a peek at our listing and see what our house looks like. Go to rmls.com and in the number search enter 8038942. We are not crazy about the pictures that she took, kind of wierd angles and we're not sure that it shows our house to the best advantage, but we'll see how it goes.

Must-see Boob-fest!

Jeremy and I just finished watching "Lars and the Real Girl" and I LOVED IT! Devin found it a while ago, some indie movie that only played in the Fox Tower downtown. He went with my mom and Ben and they all loved it. So I started watching it yesterday and finished it tonight and fell in love with it too.
The premise is about Lars bringing home his girlfriend; a fake, plastic woman, Bianca. No one knows what to do, but the people of the town really step it up and open their minds and hearts to Lars and Bianca. There are so many heartwarming moments through the whole show and by the end I was in tears (it doesn't take me a lot to get there!). It is so sweet and just shows how good people can be. I totally whole-heartedly recommend this to anyone, you could sit down and watch this with your 80 year old grandma and not be embarrassed! It is FABULOUS!

Fatty McFat Fat

That is what I feel like today; a total Fatty McFat Fat. Another side-effect of all this pre-moving craziness is that I feel too beat to even think of what to cook for dinner so we have been eating a bunch of take-out or quick and crappy food. I feel nasty as a result. But, I have had a couple really good things this week; good to eat, not good for me. So I thought I would share the yummies.

Raspberry Pretzel Salad
I made this for the birthday party we had for Justis and Kadin as an experiment and it turned out GREAT! Sweet, salty and almost a cup of butter . . . YUM!!!!

3/4 cup butter
2 1/2 cups thin pretzel sticks (I used the normal shaped ones)
1 (8 oz.) pacakage cream cheese
1 (8 oz.) tub Cool Whip
1 cup sugar
2 cups water
1 large package raspberry Jello
2 (10 oz.) packages frozen raspberries, undrained and slightly thawed
1 (15 1/2 oz) can crushed pineapple undrained

Melt butter and pour into a 9x13 inch pan. Break pretzels in half and pat evenly into the pan. Bake 10 minutes at 400. Remove from oven and cool.
In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, Cool whip, and sugar. Dab on top of pretzels and spread to edges of pan. Refrigerate for an hour.
Bring water to a boil. Completely dissolve jello in boiling water and cool in refrigerator until syrupy. Add slightly thawed raspberries and crushed pineapple and stir. Pour carefully over top of cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate overnight or several hours until firm. Makes 12 servings.

The other taste treat I discovered were these Lemon Ricotta Biscuits. They are a yummy muffin/cupcake/biscuit!

I have enjoyed the food, but now I am going to start enjoying in more moderation!

Am I insane? (the sequel)

The deeper we get into this house selling thing, or at least the preparing to sell thing, the more I question the sanity of our choice.
I have been cleaning like mad trying to get the house put together and organized so that our realtor could take pictures today. But yesterday the sheetrocker came and the house EXPLODED!!! Furniture got moved, clothes were everywhere in our bedroom, and the dishes were starting to pile up (ok, so the dishes had nothing to do with the sheetrocker, but if I can pass the blame on that, I will). Kadin was thrilled to pieces though. As soon as the guy and his fiancee/helper showed up, he was running around and talking up a storm with them. My favorite was when they were in two different rooms and he would run back and forth between them saying "Hi!" in the most cheerful voice. Thankfully they were both very patient!
They started around 5 and didn't finish until close to 9:30, which was not such a good thing for either Kadin or me. We both have early bedtimes (Kadin crashes at 8 and then I go down shortly thereafter), so by the time they packed up and left we were struggling. And, they didn't quite finish.
This morning Jeremy and Devin took on the job of painting the outside of the house (not all of it, just where we had some cracks fixed a while ago) and painting inside where the sheetrock had been fixed. They did a fantastic job, but ran into a slight problem. After Jeremy had gone around and painted over the misc. sheetrock fixes on the walls in the halls and stairway, we realized that it was the wrong color paint. Jeremy had taken the paint can that the builder left us to the same paint company that originally mixed it, but somehow they got the mix wrong so we have splotchy walls. So we have to have them try and mix it again and hopefully we get it right this time!
On top of the exploded house, stinky sheetrocking, plastic covering nearly everything upstairs and splotchy paint; Kadin has been so difficult today. Today was one of those days when I think he woke up with the goal to see how many of my buttons he could push. And I think he set a record today. I won't list out all of the struggles we had today (it makes me want to scream just thinking about some of them), but needless to say it got to the point where dropping him off somewhere, anywhere, and running away, was beginning to look like a viable and fairly attractive option. Luckily at the end of the day he gave me a big hug and a kiss and said "Wub 'ou" (love you), so I guess I like him again. Until six o'clock tomorrow morning when the chorus of "Mommy . . . . Mommy . . . .MommyMommyMommy!" begins again!

Am I insane?

Jeremy and I made the decision to put our house on the market this week (after talking with our realtor we decided that even though the market isn't that great right now, we aren't in a position where we have to sell so if we don't get a good offer, oh well). Wednesday our realtor is coming to take pictures so it is a mad rush around here to get things cleaned up and moved out. We are packing some of our extra "stuff" up (like old baby stuff and winter clothes) and moving it to Mom and Dad Sherwood's to make our house look more spacious. Then tomorrow we are having a sheet-rocker come and fix these HUGE cracks in the back rooms of our house from the settling of the house. After the sheet-rocker finishes tomorrow night (did I mention he isn't even starting until 5 pm?), Jeremy is taking a personal day Wednesday and doing the touch-up painting right before Vicki comes to take pictures. Then hopefully everything goes well and our house will be up and listed by the weekend. Which means that then we will start (hopefully) having people coming to look at our house; which means that I need to get on top of keeping it "show-ready" all the time! Really? Keeping a house immaculate with a two year old boy? Again I say, AM I INSANE?!?!?!?!

What I miss

I am sitting here at 10:30 at night waiting for my magic Ambien pill to kick in watching old episodes of "The West Wing" and remembering just why I loved this show so much. The writing is so witty and the actors are so quick and perfectly fit their characters. . . it has drama (they are about to blow up a Syrian ammo dump in reponse to an American plane being blown up), comedy (the snarky personal assistant and the ex-girlfriend who was trying to elect the presidents opponent being hired to report to her ex-boyfriend). It made me realize that I miss good TV. In my opinion, "good TV" is that which doesn't play to the lowest common denominator ie. jokes about bodily sounds, racism, or crude sexuality. Shows that have qualified as "good TV" for me are: (in no particular order other than the one in which they pop into my mind)
1. Fraiser
2. Gilmore Girls
3. West Wing
4. Studio 60
5. Pushing Daisies
6. House

The list is short, and I think that is too bad. I miss good tv. I'm not trying to be a laugh snob or an elitist TV watcher, but I would like to find more than a handful of shows that don't focus on crude humor, obvious 5th grade jokes or denigrating humans for the enjoyment of everyone else in the world. Is that really too much to ask? If anyone out there has any suggestions for something I might enjoy, I am more than willing to give something a shot.


Really, why am I whining about this? It's not like I have time to watch TV anyway!

by the way . . .

Just thought I would let you all know that Jeremy has his own blog too. He is doing something kind of cool, at least I think so. His blog is snappynewday.com and instead of writing about his life, he chooses a quote from Mr. Rogers (a personal hero in our family) and talks about what that quote means to him. Check it out; I think he's got some pretty great things on there!

After all the deep thoughts this morning, Kadin provided the usual comic relief tonight. I got him out of the tub as usual and let him run around in the buff while I was mopping up the lake he created with his splashing. He stopped running and started tinkling on the floor. Seeing a "teaching moment" I grabbed him and plopped him on the potty. "This is where we go pee-pee" I said, and turned my back for a second to grab the towel and get the last bits of water. I didn't expect anything to happen, peeing or otherwise, but I was wrong. In the time I was turned around, Kadin stood up on the potty and just as I turned to look at him and figure out what was going on, he continued the tinkle he had previously began; from the potty to the floor. At least we're in the vicinity!