I've been meaning to talk about our fun activities over the past couple of weeks, but I've been distracted. I took all 3 kids by myself to a museum on campus. I forgot the camera, so no pictures. Parking was tight and it was very busy. But the kids enjoyed it. I was even able to nurse Amy while the kids sat and traced dinosaurs.
The following weekend we all went to the Science museum. I hadn't been since before Amy was born. We saw one of the IMAX shows. The kids loved it. I was worried Amy would just scream because it was dark. She did alright for a while, and then I nursed her for a good chunk of it. Then she was happy until the end. David and Timothy had different activities they wanted to do so we split up. I took Timothy and David went with Aaron, (Amy was strapped to me). When we met up at the end Aaron had found some of our old friends from Texas! They live in sunny CA, but were on vacation and we happened to run into them. Fun times!
We are excited for all of our friends that matched and we got to attend a match party for some of them. On Saturday we went to a ward pancake breakfast and service project. I wish I had brought my camera - but I didn't.There was lots of yummy breakfast food and then we helped do some garden clean up, trimming, pruning, raking etc at a local elementary school. The kids were able to play on the playground- supervised while the adults worked, but for the most part the kids wanted to help too. It was great to see them helping, although they really wanted to use the pruning shears, and they didn't really know what to cut. We ended up having Timothy snip branches that were already cut.
I'm glad we had a good Saturday, because Sunday was a bust. I take that back, church was great, and I really enjoyed the lesson on prayer. We talked about praying always, saying a gratitude prayer-without asking for anything, and praying for our enemies. I'm really grateful for that lesson, because I needed it when we got home. While we were at church our home was broken into. I really don't want to go into details, but they basically took the most expesive things that were easy to carry out. It was a downer of a day after that. After dealing with the detailed Police report and insurance invetories(thank goodness for renter's insurance) I'm really not in the mood to blog anymore. At least at the moment. I'm seriously considering going private.
We are all fine - a little shaken, but life goes on. We really only lost things and a few memories. But I can't get angry or bitter, because that's not going to make things better. The item I miss most is our camera. I'm glad I didn't take any pictures, because those would have been lost. There were probably only 10 or so on the camera. The rest were already uploaded. I miss it most because Amy is just about to crawl and I won't get it on camera.
So we ate getting on with life and I hope my next post will be more upbeat.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
One More Night
Here's bunch of random thoughts
I am so glad Aaron is almost done with nights. Only one more to go! I haven't been blogging as much as I thought I would with him being gone. I've had other things occupying my time. Including taking care of Amy. She just doesn't want to sleep in her crib, at night that is. During the day I can put her in her crib when she's tired and she'll fall asleep with minimal fussing. Of course she only naps for about 30 minutes. At night she won't go to sleep in her crib. I end up holding her her nursing her. If I put her back in her crib she is awake every hour, or more often. The reason I haven't let her cry it out yet is because she's had a nasty cold for about 2 weeks now. She is horribly congested, and coughs so much I feel bad for her. More than once I have picked up her to discover she has a messy diaper. Along with this cold and thrush, she now has a yeast infection. I thought it was a really bad diaper rash until Aaron took a look at it this morning. I didn't have to deal with that with the boys. I keep telling myself I'll be more consistent with bedtime when she gets better. I hope so. I just hope she's not crawling by then.
Amy is showing signs of readiness to crawl. I'm not ready for that. David and Timothy were both about 8 1/2 month before they crawled. Amy gets up on her hands an knees, rocks back and forth, and even has forward movement. Yesterday Aaron and I watched her as we put a toy in front of her, just out of her reach. She got up on hands and knees, moved one knee forward, then the other one, and then she flopped on her belly and reached - she got it. Oh boy I'm in trouble. I'm just glad she is generally happy during the day.
David and Timothy are getting excited to go to Idaho. We leave next week. I found out Sara and Tina will be traveling back from Montana at the same time. So I'll get to see Tina & Lizzy (will John be coming?) too. I'm excited to see Sara again. She was newly engaged when I saw her last, now she's married, and expecting her first baby!!! A lot can happen in 7 months!
When I told David we were taking a day off of school to go to Idaho he wasn't happy about that. But eventually he agreed to come;). Aaron's vacation is a little off from David's Spring break, so we'll leave a day earlier, because Aaron has to be back at work the following Friday.
March Madness has begun!!! I've filled out a few brackets, and they are already tanking thanks to BYU's first round lost - a repeat of last year, only worse this year. Oh well. I'll still root for them any day. OK, so really there's one bracket that I've only called the BYU game wrong so far. The other 5 games I called right.
Timothy is loving preschool. He loves having his friends over and going to their homes. I hope he's learning things as well, mostly how to behave at school. We have come to a standstill on his reading. He doesn't want us to help him, He won't sound things out when we ask him to, even though he can. He still does it on his own though. I worry that he doesn't get enough expose to words though. I need to read to him more during the day. Some days we don't read books until bedtime. And half of the time Timothy doesn't get any books because he doesn't get ready for bed in a timely manner. Seriously 9 times out of 10 he doesn't get his pajamas on until I take him by the hand and tell him step by step what to do next. Mostly he just plays in his room half undressed, and there aren't any toys in there.
It actually works best to have the boys get dressed separately, and start at 7:00 instead of 7:30. Bed time isn't until 8:00, but sometimes they just take FOREVER to do it by themselves. Without Aaron here, I am trying to take care of Amy, clean up after dinner, and get ready for the next day, and they boys just fool around when I ask them to get ready for bed. As I said before, only one more night - hooray!
David is doing well at school. He generally gets 100% on his spelling tests. His handwriting is very good on those tests, otherwise he just writes so quickly, it's pretty messy - oh well. He loves the math, and typically doesn't complain about homework. But apparently he's having trouble at recess. He feels like his friends don't listen to him. I think he often doesn't understand the rules of the games and gets upset easily when he's told he's wrong. He's also gotten into little physical skirmishes (sp?) after school, while I'm there, but he doesn't tell me until we are on the way home, and it's too late to talk to the other kid. He usually says the other kid hit him, or punched him etc, but as we talk about it, I discover he also hit/kicked etc. And I can never tell who started it, not that it excuses his behavior, either way. David is also sensitive about it and doesn't want to talk about it, and then the rest of the afternoon is grouchy and talks back a lot. I've got to figure out how to get through this with him. I don't like to see him sad and angry.
Remember how excited I was to live close to David's school? Close enough to walk? Well the first week we walked to school 3 of the 5 days, and home once. We haven't done it since then. It only took 15 minutes to get there and well, longer than that to get home. I'm usually dragging Timothy the whole way there because we have a deadline, but I let Timothy set the pace on the way home, and he's just a dawdler. I would love to keep walking, but it's been really cold, and with Amy, as miserable as she has been with this cold, I didn't want her to be out in the cold any longer than necessary. I really hope she gets over this soon, so we can walk more. On the mornings we did walk I bundled her up and put her in the stroller, and she fell asleep on the way home and slept for about a hour - that's a long nap for her.
Today is Match Day for Medical Students - the day they find out where they are doing there residency. Two of our friends have announced where they are going. I hope I hear from the rest soon.
I think that's everything for right now. I'm working on another Encyclopedia of Me post. Maybe I'll get it out tonight.
I am so glad Aaron is almost done with nights. Only one more to go! I haven't been blogging as much as I thought I would with him being gone. I've had other things occupying my time. Including taking care of Amy. She just doesn't want to sleep in her crib, at night that is. During the day I can put her in her crib when she's tired and she'll fall asleep with minimal fussing. Of course she only naps for about 30 minutes. At night she won't go to sleep in her crib. I end up holding her her nursing her. If I put her back in her crib she is awake every hour, or more often. The reason I haven't let her cry it out yet is because she's had a nasty cold for about 2 weeks now. She is horribly congested, and coughs so much I feel bad for her. More than once I have picked up her to discover she has a messy diaper. Along with this cold and thrush, she now has a yeast infection. I thought it was a really bad diaper rash until Aaron took a look at it this morning. I didn't have to deal with that with the boys. I keep telling myself I'll be more consistent with bedtime when she gets better. I hope so. I just hope she's not crawling by then.
Amy is showing signs of readiness to crawl. I'm not ready for that. David and Timothy were both about 8 1/2 month before they crawled. Amy gets up on her hands an knees, rocks back and forth, and even has forward movement. Yesterday Aaron and I watched her as we put a toy in front of her, just out of her reach. She got up on hands and knees, moved one knee forward, then the other one, and then she flopped on her belly and reached - she got it. Oh boy I'm in trouble. I'm just glad she is generally happy during the day.
David and Timothy are getting excited to go to Idaho. We leave next week. I found out Sara and Tina will be traveling back from Montana at the same time. So I'll get to see Tina & Lizzy (will John be coming?) too. I'm excited to see Sara again. She was newly engaged when I saw her last, now she's married, and expecting her first baby!!! A lot can happen in 7 months!
When I told David we were taking a day off of school to go to Idaho he wasn't happy about that. But eventually he agreed to come;). Aaron's vacation is a little off from David's Spring break, so we'll leave a day earlier, because Aaron has to be back at work the following Friday.
March Madness has begun!!! I've filled out a few brackets, and they are already tanking thanks to BYU's first round lost - a repeat of last year, only worse this year. Oh well. I'll still root for them any day. OK, so really there's one bracket that I've only called the BYU game wrong so far. The other 5 games I called right.
Timothy is loving preschool. He loves having his friends over and going to their homes. I hope he's learning things as well, mostly how to behave at school. We have come to a standstill on his reading. He doesn't want us to help him, He won't sound things out when we ask him to, even though he can. He still does it on his own though. I worry that he doesn't get enough expose to words though. I need to read to him more during the day. Some days we don't read books until bedtime. And half of the time Timothy doesn't get any books because he doesn't get ready for bed in a timely manner. Seriously 9 times out of 10 he doesn't get his pajamas on until I take him by the hand and tell him step by step what to do next. Mostly he just plays in his room half undressed, and there aren't any toys in there.
It actually works best to have the boys get dressed separately, and start at 7:00 instead of 7:30. Bed time isn't until 8:00, but sometimes they just take FOREVER to do it by themselves. Without Aaron here, I am trying to take care of Amy, clean up after dinner, and get ready for the next day, and they boys just fool around when I ask them to get ready for bed. As I said before, only one more night - hooray!
David is doing well at school. He generally gets 100% on his spelling tests. His handwriting is very good on those tests, otherwise he just writes so quickly, it's pretty messy - oh well. He loves the math, and typically doesn't complain about homework. But apparently he's having trouble at recess. He feels like his friends don't listen to him. I think he often doesn't understand the rules of the games and gets upset easily when he's told he's wrong. He's also gotten into little physical skirmishes (sp?) after school, while I'm there, but he doesn't tell me until we are on the way home, and it's too late to talk to the other kid. He usually says the other kid hit him, or punched him etc, but as we talk about it, I discover he also hit/kicked etc. And I can never tell who started it, not that it excuses his behavior, either way. David is also sensitive about it and doesn't want to talk about it, and then the rest of the afternoon is grouchy and talks back a lot. I've got to figure out how to get through this with him. I don't like to see him sad and angry.
Remember how excited I was to live close to David's school? Close enough to walk? Well the first week we walked to school 3 of the 5 days, and home once. We haven't done it since then. It only took 15 minutes to get there and well, longer than that to get home. I'm usually dragging Timothy the whole way there because we have a deadline, but I let Timothy set the pace on the way home, and he's just a dawdler. I would love to keep walking, but it's been really cold, and with Amy, as miserable as she has been with this cold, I didn't want her to be out in the cold any longer than necessary. I really hope she gets over this soon, so we can walk more. On the mornings we did walk I bundled her up and put her in the stroller, and she fell asleep on the way home and slept for about a hour - that's a long nap for her.
Today is Match Day for Medical Students - the day they find out where they are doing there residency. Two of our friends have announced where they are going. I hope I hear from the rest soon.
I think that's everything for right now. I'm working on another Encyclopedia of Me post. Maybe I'll get it out tonight.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Free music from a friend
A friend of mine just released and album, and is now giving away free downloads. She is an amazing artist. I'll let her tell you about it:
For a limited time only, my label and I are giving away a sample pack of my debut album, “Unseen.” It’s offered FOR FREE. It contains 3 full tracks from the album plus two 1 minute clips of two other tracks. If you already have the album, great! If not, this music is free for the taking. All we ask is for you to share either the zip file or the link with EVERYONE! Get the word out! Yes, that’s right, GIVE IT AWAY!!! More and more people are getting their music digitally anyway, so why not send them some more? If they’re interested in the music, they’ll look me up. If not, nothing lost. Ask everyone to share the files with everyone they want to, and so on and so on. The zip file will only be able to be downloaded 100 times in 7 days, so I will be uploading it 3 times to start so there will be 3 different links to choose from. This will be a crazy 7 days, but I plan to keep it up as long as needed. If I need to keep it going next week, I will!
So click on a link on the bottom of this blog, download the file, share either the link or the zip file with as many people as you can or want. It shouldn’t take very much time at all. Tell people here is some free music from a friend of yours and ask them to share it with friends as well! Write blogs about it and include the link. Oh, and include my website address if you want. www.loricmusic.com.
These links expire 7 days from today on March 23rd. Get them while they’re still good!
Link #1 – http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=TTZtNU1DeFVtMEpjR0E9PQ Link #2 – https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=TTZtNU1ORkV5UkZjR0E9PQ
Link #3 – https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=TTZtNU1NNDJubHl4dnc9PQ
For a limited time only, my label and I are giving away a sample pack of my debut album, “Unseen.” It’s offered FOR FREE. It contains 3 full tracks from the album plus two 1 minute clips of two other tracks. If you already have the album, great! If not, this music is free for the taking. All we ask is for you to share either the zip file or the link with EVERYONE! Get the word out! Yes, that’s right, GIVE IT AWAY!!! More and more people are getting their music digitally anyway, so why not send them some more? If they’re interested in the music, they’ll look me up. If not, nothing lost. Ask everyone to share the files with everyone they want to, and so on and so on. The zip file will only be able to be downloaded 100 times in 7 days, so I will be uploading it 3 times to start so there will be 3 different links to choose from. This will be a crazy 7 days, but I plan to keep it up as long as needed. If I need to keep it going next week, I will!
So click on a link on the bottom of this blog, download the file, share either the link or the zip file with as many people as you can or want. It shouldn’t take very much time at all. Tell people here is some free music from a friend of yours and ask them to share it with friends as well! Write blogs about it and include the link. Oh, and include my website address if you want. www.loricmusic.com.
These links expire 7 days from today on March 23rd. Get them while they’re still good!
Link #1 – http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=TTZtNU1DeFVtMEpjR0E9PQ Link #2 – https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=TTZtNU1ORkV5UkZjR0E9PQ
Link #3 – https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=TTZtNU1NNDJubHl4dnc9PQ
"Unseen" album cover
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Belated Birthdays
I am way behind on wishing people a happy birthday. So there are 4 I have to mention...
First February 13th - see I'm really behind- was y BIL Bryan's birthday. He turned 14. Wow I can't believe he's growing up so quickly! He was 4 years old when I met him. He wanted me to read books over and over to him back then. Now he's doing State Math Counts competitions! He's also been wrestling this year. He plays the piano and trombone. Happy Birthday Bryan.
February 15th was Brooke's birthday. She and I have been friends for 29 years, or close to that. We went to the same preschool together - no kidding. I love that we've been able to keep in touch for so long. There were a few years where we lost touch, but now it's much better! Plus she's getting married this summer. Congrats Brooke! I hope I can come!
February 28th was my BIL Greg's birthday. He is married to Aaron's oldest sister Daralee. He is a podiatrist and this year started buying into his practice! They have 5 beautiful children. We hope to see them soon, since they don't live that far away!
And finally March 14th (yesterday) was my MIL's birthday. I am one of those blesed to have wonderful in-laws. I have learned so much from them. Mom has a lot of experience doing so many things, and is constantly trying new things. She loves, gardening, quilting, tatting, crocheting, baking, cooking, teaching, and playing with her kids and grandkids. And she's good at all of that stuff too. We are excited to see them soon - 2 more weeks. Happy Birthday Mom.
If I get behind again I'll have to make this a monthly post!
First February 13th - see I'm really behind- was y BIL Bryan's birthday. He turned 14. Wow I can't believe he's growing up so quickly! He was 4 years old when I met him. He wanted me to read books over and over to him back then. Now he's doing State Math Counts competitions! He's also been wrestling this year. He plays the piano and trombone. Happy Birthday Bryan.
February 15th was Brooke's birthday. She and I have been friends for 29 years, or close to that. We went to the same preschool together - no kidding. I love that we've been able to keep in touch for so long. There were a few years where we lost touch, but now it's much better! Plus she's getting married this summer. Congrats Brooke! I hope I can come!
February 28th was my BIL Greg's birthday. He is married to Aaron's oldest sister Daralee. He is a podiatrist and this year started buying into his practice! They have 5 beautiful children. We hope to see them soon, since they don't live that far away!
And finally March 14th (yesterday) was my MIL's birthday. I am one of those blesed to have wonderful in-laws. I have learned so much from them. Mom has a lot of experience doing so many things, and is constantly trying new things. She loves, gardening, quilting, tatting, crocheting, baking, cooking, teaching, and playing with her kids and grandkids. And she's good at all of that stuff too. We are excited to see them soon - 2 more weeks. Happy Birthday Mom.
If I get behind again I'll have to make this a monthly post!
EOM - C
I am way behind
camping
In connection with the love of California, is my love for camping. Growing up my family went camping every year, until about 9 years ago. The first time I went camping outside of California, it just wasn't the same. I need lots of tall trees and a lake. I love leaving the noisy city, and hearing just nature. I love waking up to birds rather than alarm clocks. I love cooking over a campfire, and singing silly camp songs. I haven't been camping for over a year now and I miss it. I didn't like camping in Texas - too humid, too hot, no mountains - at least where we went. I'm sure there are great paces to camp in Texas I just didn't find any.
C is also for Christmas, candy,counting, cooking and cookies
C is for...
Christ
Everything I have I owe to my Savior. I don't think I express that often enough on my blog. Christ is the center of my life, or at least that is my goal. I am not perfect in it. But I know I can become perfect through Christ. I am doing better with making my prayers more meaningful, so I can develop a stronger relationship with my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
Chocolate
I know I am not the only one who loves chocolate. I love it in just about every form. I love to eat it and bake with it. I have chocolate in some form or another everyday (except for a week of my BRAT diet). I'm glad Aaron knows of my love of chocolate, and indulges me often. I especially love dark chocolate, and try to find different flavor combinations. Mint, peanut butter, raspberry, orange are some of my favorites. But I've also had huckleberry and blackberry - yum!
California
I grew up in California. I don't think we'll ever live there, it's just too expensive. However it's always fun to visit family, and see the sights. I love the bay area, the ocean, the mountains, the trees, the history. I've been to Disneyland numerous times (but it's been too long since I have been there), and I can't wait to take my kids there. Someday, soon I hope.
Everything I have I owe to my Savior. I don't think I express that often enough on my blog. Christ is the center of my life, or at least that is my goal. I am not perfect in it. But I know I can become perfect through Christ. I am doing better with making my prayers more meaningful, so I can develop a stronger relationship with my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
Chocolate
I know I am not the only one who loves chocolate. I love it in just about every form. I love to eat it and bake with it. I have chocolate in some form or another everyday (except for a week of my BRAT diet). I'm glad Aaron knows of my love of chocolate, and indulges me often. I especially love dark chocolate, and try to find different flavor combinations. Mint, peanut butter, raspberry, orange are some of my favorites. But I've also had huckleberry and blackberry - yum!
California
I grew up in California. I don't think we'll ever live there, it's just too expensive. However it's always fun to visit family, and see the sights. I love the bay area, the ocean, the mountains, the trees, the history. I've been to Disneyland numerous times (but it's been too long since I have been there), and I can't wait to take my kids there. Someday, soon I hope.
camping
In connection with the love of California, is my love for camping. Growing up my family went camping every year, until about 9 years ago. The first time I went camping outside of California, it just wasn't the same. I need lots of tall trees and a lake. I love leaving the noisy city, and hearing just nature. I love waking up to birds rather than alarm clocks. I love cooking over a campfire, and singing silly camp songs. I haven't been camping for over a year now and I miss it. I didn't like camping in Texas - too humid, too hot, no mountains - at least where we went. I'm sure there are great paces to camp in Texas I just didn't find any.
C is also for Christmas, candy,counting, cooking and cookies
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Requested pictures
By popular demand - OK so one or two people have asked - I am posting some pictures of the outside of our house. I can't wait until May when the garage will be fixed. Mostly because of the graffiti that is on the side - remember the house was vacant for over a year. I have no worries about our safety, but it's not very pretty to look at.
From the front. The paint needs some touch ups, and roof is mossy. But the windows are double paned - storm windows. We hardly use our front door, except to get the mail or welcome guests.
The boys love our driveway. Typically a driveway will spill out onto the street, however ours goes the opposite way, and the boys love to ride down our driveway toward the garage. David even rides the metal dump truck down it. Lots of fun for them.
The yard is a lot of fun too, but David wishes we had a swingset. You might be able to see the little patch of dirt that will be our garden. Right now we have some crocuses blooming, and some other bulbs that are green, but haven't bloomed. I'm excited to see what they are - daffodils or maybe tulips...
It's raining today, but I'm just glad the snow is gone. Up until yesterday there were still some shady spots with snow on them, and it hasn't snowed since Monday.
One last thing. A friend (I was her visiting teacher) from our previous ward gave me 3 boxes of girls clothes. Amy's wardrobe is complete for the next 18 months. Well, I'm sure I'll still buy her things if it's a good deal. Mostly I'm grateful for the plethora of sleepers that fit her right now. She only had 2 and the nightgowns were just too cold for this weather. She stays in the all day sometimes. Thank-you Laura!!!
From the front. The paint needs some touch ups, and roof is mossy. But the windows are double paned - storm windows. We hardly use our front door, except to get the mail or welcome guests.
The boys love our driveway. Typically a driveway will spill out onto the street, however ours goes the opposite way, and the boys love to ride down our driveway toward the garage. David even rides the metal dump truck down it. Lots of fun for them.
The yard is a lot of fun too, but David wishes we had a swingset. You might be able to see the little patch of dirt that will be our garden. Right now we have some crocuses blooming, and some other bulbs that are green, but haven't bloomed. I'm excited to see what they are - daffodils or maybe tulips...It's raining today, but I'm just glad the snow is gone. Up until yesterday there were still some shady spots with snow on them, and it hasn't snowed since Monday.
One last thing. A friend (I was her visiting teacher) from our previous ward gave me 3 boxes of girls clothes. Amy's wardrobe is complete for the next 18 months. Well, I'm sure I'll still buy her things if it's a good deal. Mostly I'm grateful for the plethora of sleepers that fit her right now. She only had 2 and the nightgowns were just too cold for this weather. She stays in the all day sometimes. Thank-you Laura!!!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Amy's eating solids
I seem to be posting a lot about Amy. I guess that's because she seems to be changing and growing so quickly. I haven't mentioned about her eating solid foods much. She hates rice cereal. She tolerates oatmeal cereal. She likes it when I add things to it. So far we have tried beans, peas and carrots. It took me a while to remember all the tricks to feeding a baby solid food. I gave her a spoon of her own, but it didn't work as well as I hoped. But when I let her hold the bowl and play in the food, she gobbled it down. It also helps to have older brothers who distract her and make her forget that I am trying to shovel food down her throat. Of course then they make up laugh and she sprays it all over. She also likes to chew on stale bread. I guess it's the cheap version on biter biscuits. She is also perfecting the skill of throwing. Usually is it a toy, but sometimes it's food or a utensil.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
cute video
I was uploading stuff from my camera onto our desktop and found this video. It's about a minute long, but we get her eating her toes, babbling, showing off her teeth - or almost anyway and blowing raspberries. Don't mind my baby talk. I never realize how silly I sound until I hear it played back. Enjoy.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
a few more random things
Our furnace decided to not work today. On a very cold day - for here that is. It started working only sporadically on Sunday, and it didn't come on last night for a while. Aaron tried turning it off and on and again and that worked, but when it stopped working again less than an hour later I tried to see what a was wrong. It's only about 3 years old and the filter was replaced about a month ago. I did notice a little red light blinking. I discovered that if the red light is flashing it will flash a code. In this case 14 - which means the ignition was working and if it doesn't catch after 3 tries the furnace will turn off for 3 hours and restart itself. That's why it would work sometimes and not others. But in 3 hours it can get VERY cold. So we called Tom (the property manager) and he came out with the repairmen and got it fixed- yay!! We saw the bill - glad we aren't home owners just yet. And the filter that was replaced about a month ago- very dirty. But now we don't have to worry about that for a while.
Did I tell you the stairs weren't toddler friendly. Well they aren't kid friendly either. The firs Sunday we were here Timothy tripped and went head first and fell off the side. He got scratches on both his chest and his back, and his elbow. David keeps trying to run up them with socks on, and keeps falling. He has a few bruised shins and a scraped wrist.
The dishwasher is fixed now.
Amy not only has a nasty cough/cold, but now thrush. Neither of my boys had that. This could be a long week, especially teaching preschool and Aaron working nights. At least it's not RSV and pneumonia like Megan's kids - hang in there girl!!!
Amy is starting to sit up by herself. It's only for a few seconds, maybe a minute if she doesn't get distracted and turn her head. Her cheeks are really chapped right now. I can't figure out if it's the cold, or the new carpet that she rubs her face in. Or maybe it's a combination of the two.
Speaking of the new carpet, I love it, except that it leaves fuzz on everything! We have vacuumed several times, but it's still there, on clothes, in hair. We've emptied our vacuum canister 3 times already!
I'm scared to see our first utility bills. I feel like were are being as conservative as we can be. I worry that my kids are too cold at night, because they can't keep their blankets on them. They sometimes complain about playing downstairs because it is too cold. I tell them to put a sweater on ;)
I can't wait for spring. It has been way too cold and snowy here. But then I was reminded about April 1st last year when it snowed. I really hope we are done with snow for this winter. I was so excited to see the little flowers in my yard, and now they are frozen.
I didn't blog last night because Amy was fussy, and I was folding laundry. I don't know if I'll blog tomorrow or not. I really need to opost more pictures. That would mean I need to take some.
Did I tell you the stairs weren't toddler friendly. Well they aren't kid friendly either. The firs Sunday we were here Timothy tripped and went head first and fell off the side. He got scratches on both his chest and his back, and his elbow. David keeps trying to run up them with socks on, and keeps falling. He has a few bruised shins and a scraped wrist.
The dishwasher is fixed now.
Amy not only has a nasty cough/cold, but now thrush. Neither of my boys had that. This could be a long week, especially teaching preschool and Aaron working nights. At least it's not RSV and pneumonia like Megan's kids - hang in there girl!!!
Amy is starting to sit up by herself. It's only for a few seconds, maybe a minute if she doesn't get distracted and turn her head. Her cheeks are really chapped right now. I can't figure out if it's the cold, or the new carpet that she rubs her face in. Or maybe it's a combination of the two.
Speaking of the new carpet, I love it, except that it leaves fuzz on everything! We have vacuumed several times, but it's still there, on clothes, in hair. We've emptied our vacuum canister 3 times already!
I'm scared to see our first utility bills. I feel like were are being as conservative as we can be. I worry that my kids are too cold at night, because they can't keep their blankets on them. They sometimes complain about playing downstairs because it is too cold. I tell them to put a sweater on ;)
I can't wait for spring. It has been way too cold and snowy here. But then I was reminded about April 1st last year when it snowed. I really hope we are done with snow for this winter. I was so excited to see the little flowers in my yard, and now they are frozen.
I didn't blog last night because Amy was fussy, and I was folding laundry. I don't know if I'll blog tomorrow or not. I really need to opost more pictures. That would mean I need to take some.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
random thoughts
Some Random Thoughts for this Sunday evening.
night. She's sleeping now, but we'll see how long that lasts.
~
Aaron started OWLing today. That means he works a 24 hour shift (8am -8am) until tomorrow, and then works nights (7 pm - 8 am) for the rest of the week. He gets Friday and Saturday night off and does it again next week. I might have a lot of time to blog this week. But my days will be filled with keeping the kids quiet or downstairs or out of the house. It's probably good David is in school most of the day.~
If I don't have time to blog it's probably because Amy isn't sleeping. she generally goes to bed around 8:00 pm, and wakes once to eat sometime before 10:00. However she has a horrible cough right now. It's the first time she has been sick. She's had a runny nose before, and a fever once. But this cough sounds like it might stick around for a while. Her nose goes between runny and stuffy. She is just miserable. I spent the majority of the night with her on the couch lastnight. She's sleeping now, but we'll see how long that lasts.
~
My last post was my 600th post!!~
Aaron did some shopping on his days off (Fri and Sat). We now have a shovel and another shelf for our built-in bookshelf downstairs. He started working on our garden. We have planted some seeds indoors, and he dug up the soil and put some mulch in. We are just going to try a few things this year: corn, zucchini, cucumbers, spinach, basil, and tomatoes.~
Aaron bought some rainbow sherbet on one of his shopping trips. It's been a while since I've had sherbet. So yummy - and no fat ;)~
We got a lawn mower, for free, and tomorrow I am picking up some blinds for some of our uncovered windows.~
I am teaching preschool this week.~
The kids love to watch the fire truck and engine leave the fire station across the street. We hear/see it at least 5 times a day. Inevitably one of those times will be during one of Amy's naps. I hate that it wakes up Amy - every time! Maybe one of these times she'll learn to sleep through it, or at least put herself back to sleep. We heard sirens all the time at our old apartment, and it never bothered her, but I'm guessing that because the siren sound comes on suddenly rather than approaching from afar, it startles her.~
I made cookies with the boys tonight. David would read me the recipe and I would tell him if we had the ingredients or not. Most of them called for heavy cream - so he was excited when he found one that didn't have heavy cream. I'll have to post the recipe on my other blog.~
It snowed again last night and a little bit today. Today it was more like little snow balls. Not hail, but the snow came down in little balls about the size of peas. They would break apart as they hit the ground. It covered the deck and grass pretty well. We'll see if we get any more, and if it freezes tonight.~
Church went well today, even though Aaron wasn't there. I had to remind Timothy to settle down during Sacrament meeting. But Amy wasn't too fussy - I didn't have to take her out during Sacrament meeting. The boys went to Primary just fine. I got to listen to the Sunday School lesson, Amy was tired, and fussed, but I just stood at the back and walked around until she fell asleep. She took a pretty good nap for being at church. I fed her during Relief Society meeting and only left to change her diaper. Pretty successful I'd say. The boys quickly discovered that our Bishop has candy in his office for all the kids. They didn't forget this week. ~
That's all for now. I'm sure you'll hear from me again soon.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Freecycle
I don't know if you've heard of this but we love it! It's a yahoo group. We used it in TX and here in WA. We've given away things we no longer need. Since we are in a house now we are in need of a few things that we don't really have the funds to purchase. In the past week we have received an oak computer desk - no drawers or frills, but just what we needed. We also need a baby monitor for the first time, since we actually have a place large enough. We got one with two receivers, so I can have one set up in the office and one in the playroom. That way I can leave Amy in her crib while I go downstairs with Timothy. I don't have it on at night because we are close enough to hear her, and I don't want to be awakened by her every movement. We also got some peppercorns for free. It was worth it because it was in our neighborhood.
I don't know if it is available everywhere, but you have to join a local group, so you only get postings in your immediate area. Each item has a neighborhood listed on the posting, and you respond only to the ones you are willing to drive to. If you are interested check it out on yahoo. The only cost is time and gas.
I don't know if it is available everywhere, but you have to join a local group, so you only get postings in your immediate area. Each item has a neighborhood listed on the posting, and you respond only to the ones you are willing to drive to. If you are interested check it out on yahoo. The only cost is time and gas.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
6 months old
Amy is now 6 months old as of Tuesday. Today we had a well baby check-up. I took Timothy to preschool, and stopped by the library. I was supposed to pick up a DVD we had on hold. And it was misplaced. I hope they find it soon, because Aaron really only has tomorrow to watch it. Anyway, the library didn't take very long so I was early to my appointment. Amy had fallen asleep on the way over. so I got to sit in the newborn waiting room in peace. I watched Amy sleep and realized I haven't done that enough with her. Usually when she is sleeping I am trying to catch up on things around the house. I don't have the luxury, no, I haven't made the time to sit around and watch her sleep. It was very nice.
So as for the stats: she is 15 lbs 11 oz (50%)- by far the smallest 6 month old I've had. 26 inches long (55%), and her head - still large at 44cm (80%). I have mentioned a few new things she is doing, but here is a summary:
So as for the stats: she is 15 lbs 11 oz (50%)- by far the smallest 6 month old I've had. 26 inches long (55%), and her head - still large at 44cm (80%). I have mentioned a few new things she is doing, but here is a summary:
- rolling everywhere
- scooting backward
- blowing raspberries
- cut her first tooth
- working on the second tooth
- makes a kissing sound by sucking on her bottom lip
- she is now sleeping in her crib, instead of the cradle
- she is no longer sleeping in our room- she shares a room with the boys, I won't confess how often she sleeps with me on the couch;)
- she is eating solids, although she doesn't like them very much yet
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
catching up
I was trying to decide if I should catch up on the moving process or just go forward with what's going on now. I think a quick recap would be good, so we'll see if I can be brief.
The week after our CA vacation we slowly moved things over. Aaron and I would pack a bunch of boxes/crates, Aaron would load up the van and (sometimes with David's help) would unload them into the house. The next day I would go over with another van load (things I could carry myself) and unload and unpack what I could. Some days went fast (read: Amy slept and Timothy was either at preschool, or playing well by himself), and other days I didn't get much done (read: Amy didn't want to be put down and Timothy was under my feet). Even my snow day went well. I started loading the van, walked Timothy to preschool (with David and Amy), got more boxes at the market on the way back, finished loading the van, dropped David off at school, unloaded the van (Amy slept), unpacked boxes, picked up more boxes, dropped off library books, and picked up Timothy from preschool (Amy still sleeping).
By the time Saturday rolled around we had a very empty apartment. We ended up getting a very small truck - the bigger ones were gone already - and had to make 2 trips. But we had lots of help. I already blogged about moving day.
Sunday we went to our new ward. A few people knew we were moving in, and word got around that a new family was moving in. The primary was expecting the boys, and the RS president introduced herself to me. I met a lot of welcoming people, but it's going to take me a while to get all the names down. The primary is a bit smaller, but David already new Emilia - she used to be in our ward.
Monday we did a lot of unpacking, and rearranging. We moved things around a few times. The pictures I have here are kind of the work in progress pictures. I'm still on the laptop, so we'll see if I can get these pictures where I want them to go.
Kitchen
Our range and dishwasher - it's a rolling one that hooks up to the sink, but it leaks, so we haven't been able to use it. I'd rather wash them by hand - unless we can convince the owner to get a new one installed. The fridge is old too, but it works.
Not a whole lot of counterspace, but lots of cupboards, including one on the left that you can't see.
Our table fits nicely in the small dining area, as well as our microwave cart.
Our living room has a fireplace, with a mirror over the mantle. I put candles up there to keep me from putting random things up there.
Some of our books shelves and recliner in the living room.
Our couch and entertainment center, and another bookshelf.
Our bedroom, nice and small. Aaron hung the curtains. It's the only room without storm windows, so we hope the curtains will keep the cold out more, and let less light in, especially when Aaron is on nights next week.
The boys bunk bed and dresser
Amy's crib and dresser - babies need a whole lot more space for a lot more things - diapers, blankets etc.
Our tiny bathroom, but at least we have a large linen closet, it's a mess - just imagine it full of bath stuff.
The office/sewing room - downstairs. Pretty full already.
The playroom - our large area downstairs. It is a little more organized since this picture was taken, but still needs a lot of work.
The kids' books, and boxes that I need to go through and repack.
Empty boxes I can use, or recycle.
The white desk, more kids' books
The toys - which really need some organization.Oh and Amy playing on the floor
And my favorite room, or at least my favorite new room:
Lots of storage
And a washer and dryer and more storage!!!
So it's a little messy, and we haven't put up any pictures on the walls yet. And I still have to do pictures of our yard and the front. That will have to wait. I have more unpacking to do.
a break from moving in
I love that I have been able to find a lot of old friends on Facebook. I could waste a lot of time on there. That's why I don't add every application, or join every group that my friends invite me to. Recently (Monday) I found a blog of a long lost friend. She used to teach me piano lessons when I was 8 or 9 or something. I am friends with her father on Facebook, and his status the other day was her blog address. I started reading it only to discover she was losing her battle with breast cancer. I quickly left a comment and she has been on my mind ever since. As a family we are currently praying for at least 6 families who have a loved one in the hospital, so we added her family to our prayers.
This morning she passed away. And while I am sad, I am not distraught. She has been in pain for quite a while. She leaves behind her husband and 3 school age sons. My heart goes out to them.
I guess the purpose of this post is to relfect on my belief that Emilee will see her family again. They are sealed together in the Lord's temple and will be reunited again someday. I believe this with all my heart.
This morning she passed away. And while I am sad, I am not distraught. She has been in pain for quite a while. She leaves behind her husband and 3 school age sons. My heart goes out to them.
I guess the purpose of this post is to relfect on my belief that Emilee will see her family again. They are sealed together in the Lord's temple and will be reunited again someday. I believe this with all my heart.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
moved in
So we are finally moved in. We got the truck Saturday morning and loaded the big stuff (in two trips since we could only get a 10 ft truck). We had about 5 high priests and 1 youth help us move stuff, so it went quickly. They were treated to pizza at the house while I dropped off kids at their friend's houses. They each got two play dates. I dropped Timothy off at Liam's and David off and Chet's. Lynn walked Timothy over to Riley's (although Riley wasn't there), at 1:30. Aaron picked up David at Chet's, ran to Target for more Magic Erasers - they are AMAZING!!!, and then dropped David at Natalie's. In the mean time I attempted to clean. Amy had other ideas, and didn't want me to put her down, I got her to sleep in the wrap, and I cleaned as best I could, but I can't clean a tub or floor with her in the wrap. So I mostly did walls, and counter tops. By about 4:00 it was finally clean. We loaded up the van with everything left. I picked up the kids (both now at the student housing) and ran by the apartment to let the kids say good-bye. They didn't care, so we left.
They kids wathced a DVD we borrowed from Natalie, while we set up the essentials - plugged in the microwave to warm up pizza for dinner, got the internet set up, and put the beds together. then we had dinner. We did some more unpacking while the boys played downstairs.
We are no where near finished unpaking. Once we are unpacked I plan to rearrange our storage. We inherited some 18 gallon storage bins, that will work better than the paper boxes we have mow. I also collected a lot of apple boxes, so we can toss the ones we have been using. It will be a slow process, especially since we plan to start a garden soon.
There are a lot of things I am excited about, but I'm tired and I'm going to get some rest before Amy wakes again. I think she's getting her second tooth. So here are a few pictures.
They kids wathced a DVD we borrowed from Natalie, while we set up the essentials - plugged in the microwave to warm up pizza for dinner, got the internet set up, and put the beds together. then we had dinner. We did some more unpacking while the boys played downstairs.
We are no where near finished unpaking. Once we are unpacked I plan to rearrange our storage. We inherited some 18 gallon storage bins, that will work better than the paper boxes we have mow. I also collected a lot of apple boxes, so we can toss the ones we have been using. It will be a slow process, especially since we plan to start a garden soon.
There are a lot of things I am excited about, but I'm tired and I'm going to get some rest before Amy wakes again. I think she's getting her second tooth. So here are a few pictures.
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