Fun With the Pleasant Grove Barnetts

Bridget Michele Barnett

2009-07-18T09:27:00.000-07:00

Bridget arrived on July 16th, 2009 at Mountain View Hospital in Payson (long story) via scheduled C-Section. She weighed 6lbs, 12oz and was 21 inches! Everything went perfectly and we are still here recovering. Sorry it has been so long since I have blogged. I have been so busy with work and Isaac that I finally realized it just wasn't going to happen until the baby was here. I am going to be taking some time off now and using the time to do some bloggy catching up- I also haven't had time to read everyone Else's! But for now, I wanted to give everyone this info and a couple of pictures. My favorite picture of Bridget is at http://www.hospitalportraits.com/. Just click her name to see that one. Here are a few we took. I will blog again after we settle in at home tomorrow!

Obligatory, gooey, just-got-out picture.

Still gooey, but composed....

Finally snuggling with me! She had some oxygen saturation and temp problems at first so we had to wait while she recovered in the nursery for a while.

I love this picture! We actually have one of Bryce with Isaac that looks just like it! She and Isaac look almost identical. What is funny about this pic is that she is actually yawning, not screaming, but she sure looks tortured. Don't be fooled, she is already a total daddy's girl!

My wonderful mom and her grandkids. Isaac is actually doing great and loving his baby sister. My mom has been helping us so much. Hospitals are not super fun for two-year-olds and she has been so great to spend so much time with Isaac the past couple of days so that he could still have a great time.

How NOT to sleep in your boppy.

Well, that's all for now. We are so blessed to have her in our family. With each pregnancy I have wondered how I could love another as much as the one before. It is amazing to learn through our children our capacity to love. I can't imagine life without any of my children- especially Maeve. Although we live each day without her physical presence, she is still an essential member of our family.

Cookies and Milk

2009-04-06T20:57:00.001-07:00

We made some cookies yesterday. Isaac wanted some today, but they were kinda crispy. I gave him a glass of milk and decided to teach him to dunk the cookies. He decided to put his own spin on traditional cookie dunking though. To dunk Isaac style, dunk the entire cookie, and repeat after each bite. Also, be sure to dunk your whole hand in with the cookie. The milk will soften your skin and it will give your milk that "I just ate chicken nuggets" flavor that you love anyway.

It's a..................................

2009-03-12T08:27:00.000-07:00

GIRL!!!!!!

I won't keep you in suspense as I obviously don't love surprises either. I had an ultrasound yesterday that told us some other good things too. Our new little girl looks very healthy and that is a huge relief for me. I was more concerned about that than anything else and probably more than the general public. I know everyone wants a healthy baby but having been down the road we have I think it just comes more naturally to for me to worry than be optimistic. I could hardly even stand up in the doctors office yesterday. I was so nervous my knees had turned to jelly. She did measure a tiny bit smaller than last time, but only by a couple of days... nothing like the 2 weeks behind that we saw on our first ultrasound with Maeve. So, I am still a little nervous but I am comfortable with just watching this on the external measurements from here on out.

Back to the gender!! I am thrilled to be breaking the tie in our little family. My team won with more girls than boys now! Just kidding. But honestly I am very excited. I think Isaac will be a great big brother for a little sister. I also get to go through my girl things now and make use of them. I haven't been able to part with anything that I bought for Maeve even though so much of it, mostly clothes, she never got to use. I still think there will be a lot of shopping to do for this little one though because most of what I had for Maeve was in preemie sizes which this one will (hopefully) not fit in. My mom couldn't wait to get started and she already bought her an adorable dress and jammies! It's hard to resist since she will be here in the summer and all of the summer stuff is already out.

We didn't find out the gender until the very end of the ultrasound but we saw the profile at the very beginning and when I saw it I was convinced it was a girl. Pretty strange huh? I just thought she had a very feminine looking bone structure or something. Seriously, this pic looks a lot like Isaac's ultrasound pic but more.... girly I think. Anyone else ever noticed that on ultrasound? I tried to find Isaac's so that I could show you but I have misplaced it. Here is the new little girl though. We can't wait to meet her!

Constant Cravings

2009-02-26T08:57:00.000-08:00

Warning- I am going to use this post to do a little pregnancy whining. I will try to keep it light hearted and I invite all of you to also whine and or share fun pregnancy craving memories in the comments.

With my first two pregnancies, cravings weren't all that big of a deal. I had a few, but they were pretty easy to satisfy, and I would say pretty common. Lets start with Maeve. The big cravings were peanut butter and jam sandwiches, and anything with honey.

Oh so yummy
Perfect anytime of day!

With Isaac, it was just pickles. I know this sounds really cliche, but I have never cared for pickles in my life and when I was pregnant with Isaac, they suddenly became the tastiest things in the world. Tons of people feel this way about pickles when they are pregnant. There should be some research on it.

That's not me with the pickle in that picture, but I'll bet a zillion dollars that lucky girl is pregnant.

Pickles never tasted as good after Isaac was born. When I found out I was pregnant this time, I went straight to the store for some pickles, eager to recapture the magic. Sadly, it just isn't the same this time. The pickles are in my fridge, lonely and untouched.

I do have cravings this time, but they are evil ones that I CAN'T SATISFY!! Exhibit A:

These are the best chips ever created. I guess not everyone agrees with me though because ever since I bought my last bag last month, they have disappeared. I have heard rumors that they have been discontinued, and that made me die inside a little. Seriously, last time I bought them they were at Macey's. I then looked for them at almost every other store in Utah and they were nowhere to be found. I wasn't too worried though. I went back to Macey's fully expecting to find them. They were GONE! And now there was a new chip. Plain Limon. What a joke. Those normal Limon chips mocked me. LIMON IS NOTHING WITHOUT CHILE!!!!

Lets move on. Exhibit B:

SUSHI!!!!!

If you don't like sushi to begin with, I am going to have a hard time explaining this one to you. I like Sushi, but since becoming pregnant, I LOVE sushi. When I think about Sushi, I think I know what crackheads must feel like when they think about their next... I'm not sure what they would call it... just the next time they smoke crack okay? There are two problems with this craving.

1. Sushi is supposed to be a pregnancy no-no.

2. Sushi is kinda pricey. I'm kinda poor. I can't just pick some up at the grocery store or a drive through. I'm not sure I would if I could cause that sounds.... ummm..... gross.

A few weeks ago I broke down and went out for Sushi with my friend Shan (who is about 12 months pregnant herself). We shared a veggie roll, vegas roll, and surf and turf roll. I am sure the veggie roll was safe due to lack of fish. I justify the other two because they are fried (tempura) so I think that makes them cooked.

In conclusion, I am asking you for a few favors. First, please comment and share in my misery in some way. Second, if you see Chile Limon chips anywhere, please alert me RIGHT AWAY! I may need you to stand guard in front of them until I arrive. Finally, if you want to go get some Sushi give me a call. Bryce is a hater so he won't be going with me anytime soon, and I need him to stay home with Isaac while I eat anyway!

A Different Kind of Meaning.....

2009-02-15T19:30:00.000-08:00

Growing up, I probably assigned the same kind of meaning to Valentine's Day that most everyone else did. As a kid, it was a fun day that might involve some extra candy and as I got older it became single awareness day. Although, I don't think it was as painful as that title described. I just can't recall a Valentine's day with any significance prior to meeting Bryce. Even after we met, I think we were always in agreement that is just wasn't worth spending our time or effort on it. I know it sounds cliche, but it is a manufactured holiday and while we usually relish any opportunity to eat out, we hate the idea of waiting for hours to eat because everyone else has to do it that day too. If that sounds lazy, it gets worse once you are married. Utah County (where we live) is a dating...er...I mean college town. Its super important for the college crowd, particularly the pre-engagement portion, to celebrate VD (that sounds like something else but I am getting tired of writing out Valentine's Day so get used to it for the rest of this post). For so many of them, VD doubles as DTR day and so they have to do everything they can to make it great. When you are married, there are other days that just have more meaning, like your anniversary, day you got engaged, even birthdays mean more than VD. So, it is kind of nice to leave VD behind, and just pick it back up when I get to start helping my kids prepare cards and candy for their school friends.

VD changed forever for me 5 years ago though. I am pretty sure it was a Monday. I woke up feeling sick. I was just dragging and instead of going right from the bed to the shower I went downstairs and started munching on saltines. I bet you get where this is going. I should have too. We had decided about a month earlier that maybe we should start trying to have a baby. I assumed the trying part would be a 6 month to 1 year process so I just wasn't thinking that was the problem. I finally did get going in to work, bringing my crackers in with me. My co-worker Suzy saw me nibbling on crackers and as we were doing our morning talk/weekend catch-up, I told her how I was feeling. She casually asked if I could be pregnant. I immediately told her no but the question made a sort of alarm go off in my head and I just knew right then that I was pregnant. At lunch I went over to Target thinking I might try to find some kind of VD gift for Bryce. I had no idea what to do or what the expectation was so I wandered around the X-Box games but I just couldn't get the pregnancy thing out of my head. I wanted to know so bad. I left the store with a couple of tests and some random item I can't even remember now, you know, so I wouldn't be the weird girl buying just pregnancy tests. So what to do now? I couldn't wait to take one, but our house was in PG several miles north of my office in Provo. I couldn't do it at work of course. I thought momentarily about using the Target restroom, but that was a bit too "Where the Heart is" for me. I drove to my mom's house in Orem. There was no one home but the door was open and I ran in and took the test. The box says something about waiting two minutes for results, but I watched as that plus sign instantly and glaringly appeared. I was shocked and shaking. I really think I felt similar to how teenagers feel when faced with this. I was 24 years old, but I never REALLY thought I would be a mom, let alone have that just 9 months away. We had only been married 5 months. It was just unbelievable. I gathered my "things" and got in my car, still shaking, heading back towards work. I started to relax, get happy about it, and then cry. I had to tell someone. I called Bryce. I told him I had a VD gift for him and that I wanted to bring it buy his office. He said he was going into a meeting and would be there probably the rest of the day. I told him I would just wait until we were at home later. I hung up my phone and I think I screamed! My mind was just racing trying to process all of this. I went back to my office and tried my best to work but it was soo hard to focus. I wondered if my co-workers already knew somehow. My thoughts were so loud I felt like everyone could hear them and my shaking, lack of focus, and massive grin were betraying me. I made it through the day by avoiding everyone I possibly could!

I don't remember the details of the rest of the day as well. I think after things sink in those feelings are less tangible and the memories fade. I remember giving Bryce the positive test that night and saying Happy Valentines Day as I handed it to him. I remember him jumping off the couch and lifting me in the air. I remember feeling amazing. Sharing the news with him was the first glimpse of a feeling I ever had of being a parent. It wasn't just us anymore. We had started a family and there was no turning back.

The months to follow were some of the most challenging of our lives, and something I never would have expected. About 6 months after VD, Maeve Lillian was born and what followed was the best 5 months of my life.

I can't remember what day I found out I was having Isaac, or the day I found out about this one. Maybe I wouldn't have remembered Maeve if it hadn't been on VD. But it has caused every VD since to have a different kind of meaning. It is the day that I found out I would be a mother, and in a way, the day we became a family. That day changed everything. We still don't celebrate or anything. I make Bryce his favorite desert and give him a VD card. There is no going out or anything which I still prefer. But now and forever the day will always remind me of the greatest blessings I have.

Update

2009-02-09T20:32:00.000-08:00

Sorry, as always, for not being the blogger I wish I was. I literally think about updating and have ideas for things I want to write about every day, but that giant jumble in my head, combined with life in general, makes it hard to actually sit down and put pen to paper, or finger to keyboard I guess. Instead of further delay based on my planning of a perfect entertaining yet heartwarming post. I am just going to go ahead and start writing. Here is what has been going on.

Pregnancy

It sure hasn't been smooth. I really hate to complain about it because I have been one of those people who aches when others complain about their kids or their pregnancies. When you lose a child, it just hurts to hear people who don't appreciate what they have. I have to admit however that I just don't love being pregnant. I know plenty of people who have it much worse... bed rest, IV's, bleeding... I don't have any of that. I just have lots and lots of nausea, vomiting, and fatigue. When you combine that with a busy job and a demanding toddler.... I think you get the picture. I am also not "cute pregnant". I will post a belly picture soon, but it might be the last one you get because I really only have another week or so before things get really ugly. Right now, I am showing and I feel pretty good about it. Soon, however, EVERYTHING will be puffing up. I only have a small handful of pictures from my last two pregnancies and I honestly hate to see them. I don't get the basketball tummy that everyone wants. Instead, as a really short girl, my belly just kind of eats up my whole body like Violet in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In fact, I am pretty sure that when we went to the hospital to deliver Isaac, Oompa Loompas had to roll me to the room.

Enough whining though. I am actually starting to feel much better. The doctor "graduated"me to Zofran, a very nice drug that would have made life easier had I had it earlier. Now I only vomit once a day in the morning. My energy is also back. I am really happy about that because I honestly was worried I would never have energy again and I was terrified at the prospect of having two kids when I wanted to pass out all the time and wished I was in bed way before Isaac's 7:30 bed time run on sentence sorry.

In two days I have a Dr. Appt. and maybe we will know what kind of baby we are having. I mean of course boy or girl. I don't think they can predict personality yet with ultrasound but wouldn't that be awesome? When I think about this baby, I always imagine just another Isaac. I am not sure why. Isaac and Maeve certainly had different personalities, but for some reason I keep thinking of the things I didn't know or that took me a while to figure out with Isaac and applying them to the new baby. So of course, this time around everything will go perfectly... Unless, this child is different than Isaac. It would be so great to know if this baby will be easy or hard, good or bad at nursing, sleeping great or up all night. Okay back to the gender thing. I am really excited to know. I know that my knowing sooner rather than later really makes no difference, but I think if for any reason I can't find out at my appt. this week, I will probably wind up at one of those mall places to get an answer. I just want to start talking to Isaac in terms of "your little brother or your little sister".

Isaac

Bragging time. I LOVE Isaac. He still gets more fun every day. He amazes me with the things he learns, his sense of humor, and the funny things he says and does. When he wasn't saying much at 18 months, I was kind of worried. I just thought that was a cut off date for boys or something. Finally at 20 months he is talking tons, even though most of it I don't understand. I love all his little words and especially when he says new ones that I don't expect. There are way too many funny stories about him for this post so I will try and start putting them on here more often. I do want to share one though. Isaac was sick a couple of weeks ago and lost his appetite. I was really concerned about how he wasn't eating much and tried to feed him almost everything in the house. Most everything I gave him he would give to the dog and I was getting quite upset with both of them for this. If you know my dog, you know she does not need any extra food. On this day Isaac was tossing his chicken nugget lunch to Molly. I decided to put her in the bathroom a couple feet away from his highchair so that she wouldn't beg and hopefully he would focus and eat something. A couple minutes later I saw this:

Yep, those are chicken nugget pieces (I cut them for Isaac) sitting by the bathroom door. Isaac felt bad for Molly and was throwing them to her. If you look close you can see her trying to reach under the door and get them.

Non-Pregnancy Illness

We have had a run of bad luck health wise around here, and judging from other blogs I read, so have many of you. Isaac was sick for a week and as he started to recover Bryce and I got it. As Bryce and I got better, Isaac got Rotovirus and an ear infection which resulted in a very bad diaper rash. Just as things seemed to be improving, Bryce got sick again. He took the day off. We have all been so busy but especially Bryce. He is really working hard and burning the candle at both ends and I think he just hasn't been able to fully recover from last weeks illness.

Isaac and I spreading the love (and the germs).

That's all for now. I will keep everyone posted on baby stuff and now that I have updated I might be able to post more fun blogs with less words!

Nausea? Check. Fatigue? Check.

2009-01-04T19:02:00.000-08:00

Fat tummy and POSITIVE test? Check.

Yahoo!!!

I am pretty sure you get it now, but I will say it anyway.... I am pregnant!!
Baby number three is expected to arrive on July 20th. Bryce and I are thrilled. Isaac really doesn't get it, but I am sure he will when I get really big:).

We decided to wait until Christmas to share the news with the family. I bought Isaac a shirt that said "I am the big brother". We arrived in Sacramento on Christmas day to find my nephew Logan wearing a very similar shirt! Haha! My sister in law Brandy is expecting too and had the same idea.

This was a really good way to end what has been a really rough year and start new again for 2009. We really have been so blessed and it has been amazing to see our family grow. Without Maeve, a little piece our our family is always missing, but we have been so incredibly fortunate to have Isaac. I didn't know how I could ever love another child as much as my daughter and Isaac answered that. He brings us so much joy each day and keeps me going. I can't wait to meet our new baby and share this life and our love with him or her.

So, belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Slightly Glittery Vampires

2008-11-20T07:40:00.000-08:00

I saw the "Twilight" movie last night. That's correct, I saw it a full day before all of you super fans at a small private screening at a Utah County location that I will not disclose. Neener neener neener. The true injustice here for all of you is that I have not even read the book. I have been meaning to, but I am busy and vampires just aren't my thing.
I am not going to spoil the movie for you by giving away the plot, but I am going to spoil it by saying it sucks. It is just really cheesey and sort of slow. I am going to read the books now though because I want to know what happens next.
BTW- once you see the movie, you will understand the title of the post. Had to be the funniest part of the movie for me.

Belated Halloween

2008-11-09T15:56:00.000-08:00

I have been having some camera problems and that is why I am so late posting these. First, my pictures would not upload to the computer. I tried repeated over the last week with no success, and the problem just resolved on its own tonight. I have no idea what was wrong. I just asked Bryce to help me with it and he plugged the camera into the computer and did EXACTLY what I always do, but it worked when he did it! This camera hates me. The other problem is, I can't get any decent pictures lately. I think I may have accidentally hit a wrong button or changed a setting because everything is coming out blurry. Even if the subject is completely still, it seems the camera is responding to seismic activity that not even leaves feel. If anyone knows how I can fix this, please help. Until then, here are some blurry pics of our little dragon. He loved trick or treating and so did we. The weather was amazing and we actually live in a great neighborhood full of adorable trick or treaters. I think we set a candy dispensing record this year. Sure glad we bought the big candy bags at Costco. We had to get two because we bought one way to far in advance and ended up eating the good stuff before Halloween.

These (above) were all at the ward Halloween party.

So excited to go trick-or-treating he couldn't be bothered to put on his hat or take out his Binky.
Blurriness. He was seeing all the kids walking around the street and just wanted to GO!

Dad took the first shift. Isaac looks like such a big boy carrying his pumpkin.

This one is just for fun. I went in and snapped a couple pics during his nap the other day. We put the pillow in his crib to try and get him to start sleeping in one spot in preparation for an eventual toddler bed. Guess it is not working...

What makes you think I had Kool Aid?

2008-10-26T19:19:00.001-07:00

That's all. I just wanted to post these because my boy is such a cutie. Have a great day!

Google Image Game

2008-10-24T12:21:00.000-07:00

I saw this on a blog that I stalk and thought it looked like fun, and I really didn't have anything to write about. You just put your answers into google image and post what comes up.

Where were you born?

Burbank, CA

Where do you live now?

Arg... I will get used to it someday...

What is your name?

I just had a great Halloween costume idea!

What are your grandmother's names?

What is your favorite food?Want some so bad!!!! I gave up chocolate as of Tuesday. 4 days down.... 10lbs to go....

What is your husband's name?

What is your favorite song?
What is your favorite smell?

That reminds me... I need to go change the laundry...

Favorite Place to Be?

This one is kind of specific. My favorite place to be is a beach/pool combo. Preferably a really nice infinity pool overlooking a beach. I love the beach and the breeze but hate to swim in salty jellyfish filled water.

I won't tag any of you because this actually turned out to be a bit time consuming and I don't want to burden you, but if you want to do it, have fun!

Tagged

2008-10-09T08:23:00.000-07:00

My friend Nancy has decided to help me stay on top of my blogging by tagging me. Here is the tag:

All you have to do is go to your 6th picture album folder, pick the 6th picture and post it. After that, tag 5 friends.

Here it is. This was taken last summer. We were trying to get a picture of Isaac with his cousin, Logan. Logan is not the kind of kid that really enjoys other kids touching him, and he was really frustrated with not only having Isaac right next to him, but constantly flopping over on him, since he couldn't sit on his own yet. Poor Logan.

I tag Brandy, Jenny C., Tiffany, Amber, and Andi. Comment and let me know when you post so I can see!

One of Isaac's favorite things to do....

2008-10-08T18:39:00.000-07:00

is brush his teeth. Sounds like a good thing for a toddler to like, but he really hates it when I tell him he is done. Anyway, here is some video of him. Sorry about my filthy sink. It is not normally like that. He had a strawberry nutrigrain bar for breakfast that got all over his jammies and when we went in to wash his hands after, some gooby crumbs stuck on the sink and I hadn't had time to clean it yet...

A NEW POST!!!!

2008-10-06T12:11:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's me. I'm back. Where to begin.....

There is a very complicated reason for my absence, but I will try to explain. Life has been complicated for the past few months. I wouldn't say bad. Life has been pretty good actually, but, well, complicated.
I have been completely swamped with work and Isaac. I have not been a good picture taker at all, and for the most part, I have been behind on work all the time. On top of that, we moved to Lehi 1 month ago. This has further put me behind on work. I don't know if anyone else has this weird personality thing that I do, but I am, and I am coining this phrase, a "Self Punisher". Many people like to pride them self on discipline, but I think I take it a step further. I have been doing it for as long as I can remember. Basically, if my life is not perfect, I am not allowed to enjoy fun things or extras. So, as life became more swamped and complicated, I decided that blogging was a privilege I was not allowed to have until I got completely on top of things and life became perfect. I have actually been doing the same thing with recreational reading for the past couple of YEARS!!! I have tons of books that I have continued to purchase but have not allowed myself to read, and I finally stopped allowing myself to buy them too. Kind of crazy, I know.
Yesterday, I heard Pres. Monson's talk on Sunday morning about enjoying life every day. He referenced a quote from "The Music Man" that really hit home. "You pile up enough tomorrows and you'll find you have nothing but a bunch of empty yesterdays"
I decided immediately that I was going to start blogging, reading, and enjoying life again. It has been a difficult concept for me lately because life just seems put on hold. I feel like nothing can start until sometime in the future. I just think of everything in terms of "when we buy a house" (we are leasing for this year), "When Bryce finishes with his MBA", etc. I have had a sense that our life is not our own right now. Anyway, enough with that. Whatever the case, I am going to start acting like it is ours.
UPDATES:
Our Home.....
As I started mentioning around November, we have had to downsize a lot. We were very blessed to find a home to rent in Lehi. I am actually very happy here, but I have some mixed feelings. Leaving my dream home in Pleasant Grove was not as hard as I thought it would be. I was ready to move on with life and go back to square one if necessary so that we could move forward. The thing that I am having a hard time with is the location. We are WAAAAY up in Lehi, actually north of Thanksgiving Point. Nothing is close by. The great thing is, our new neighborhood and ward are WONDERFUL! It is basically all young families and everyone is much closer together, so Isaac and I go outside to play every day and we always find lots of friends to play with. He is having a blast!
Work
Bryce is still working as an Operations Manager in SLC and is doing great. I am really so proud of him (and not writing this to flatter him because he doesn't read it ;)). Being so much closer to SLC is great. He gets a bit more time with us and we are saving money on fuel.

I am still working from home, but it has become more difficult as Isaac has gotten older. I get most things done when he is napping because when he is awake, he does not like me working. He is such a funny boy. He doesn't mind much if I am working around the house, cooking, etc. but when I go in the office he gets angry because he knows I will not be able to stop and play with him. After one week trying to work and take care of him in our new house, I got on CraigsList and found a babysitter! She is awesome. She lives nearby and has two children right around Isaac's age. So now, 3 days a week for 3 hours a day, Isaac goes to play with his friends. He loves his playtime and I love working (and taking a shower some days) uninterrupted.

Isaac
Isaac is the light of our life. There are so many cool things I want to share about him, but I would not want to bore you with all my kid bragging, so I have composed a short list... :)
Stats
At his most recent appt. Isaac was in the 50th percentile for height and weight, but was in the 98th for head size! This is actually a trend that emerged when he was 6 months old. We love his giant head though. He is a genius for sure!
BFF
Molly, our dog, is Isaac's BFF. He loves to give her hugs, throw her ball to (or more accurately described, at) her, and get her to chase him around. I will get it on video and post it as soon as I can. It is hilarious. He does this squealing laugh that cracks me up. She is so patient with him.
Fav Foods
We have been so lucky to have a boy who loves all food. It is such a fun thing to let him try new things and see his reaction. That has been one of the best things about having a 1 year old. He loves bananas, chicken nuggets (thanks Costco!), orange juice, waffles, and he still loves veggies too, Yay!
Talking
Isaac is still not talking much. It is the last milestone I need so that I can stop worrying! But, he becomes more talkative everyday. He uses a lot of gibberish and his new word is "pop". Not as in dad or soda, but as in Pop, goes the weasel. He has a little Pop, goes the weasel toy and he likes to say, "Pop!" when the weasel comes out. I have heard it is normal for boys to take longer to talk, but I sure hope he starts soon. He does great with signing, though.
Hobbies
Issac asks to watch TV a lot, but then he doesn't actually want to watch anything. If we can get him to watch a show, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is still #1. He also likes Bunnytown and The Wiggles. He loves dancing and he can actually dance along and do all the motions for the Wiggles song, "Rock-a-Bye Your Bear". I explained to Bryce that he is a natural dancing prodigy and we should put him in classes but Bryce said only one in HS to help him with balance for football. Oh well, so much for my dreams of being in the "So You Think You Can Dance" audience for the entire 2028 season.
I would say Isaac's other favorite hobby right now is "taking things out and putting them in". I can best describe this hobby by explaining that he likes to take everything out of the bathroom drawers and put it all in the tub, or take everything out of the kitchen cabinets and put it in the garbage. As you may guess, I am sometimes a tired and grouchy mommy.

Well, I think that's enough reading for you! Now go do something fun. I promise the next blog with have pictures, which are waaay easier to read, and will be more upbeat.

Gone Fishin'

2008-07-04T19:26:00.000-07:00

If you read an old "tagged" post of mine, you know that one of my guilty pleasures in life is watching fishing on TV. What you may not know (but could probably guess) is that I WISH I was a fisher woman (is that a word?)! Something about fishing is just so exciting to me. It's not that I love to eat fish, I like it, but its not my favorite. It's certainly not that I want to touch slimy fish, let alone clean them. I think that is really gross. I don't prepare any meat at home without wearing gloves and I have a very hard time with it. Wow, I just told everyone what a freak I am.... Anyway....

I think it is something about being outdoors in a peaceful environment, the anticipation, and just not knowing for sure what you will get. I just think it is a perfect activity. Still, I have only actually done it once in my life.... UNTIL TODAY!

My wonderful husband knows about my crazy, baseless love of fishing and planned a great 4Th of July activity for us. Bryce found a trout farm in North Ogden. This might be one of the coolest places I have been in Utah! There are three ponds stocked with trout. You simply grab a fishing pole and a bucket, buy some fish food for .25, and head out to the pond. I got a few bites right away, but it took a while to get a trout hooked on my hook thingy. We were all learning. You have to be really fast. When I finally got one, I flung it out of the water with gusto. That fish was huge! I really think he was the biggest one we caught, but Bryce and my mom (who joined us for the event) both think theirs were bigger. It was flopping around vigorously and almost made it back to the water but after a couple good tackles by Bryce, it was subdued and put it the bucket. It still didn't give up though. After my mom caught a fish and we added hers to the bucket, mine actually jumped out. Luckily, I was watching those fishies like a hawk and I promptly alerted Bryce (aka official fish grabber) who put him back in.

The only thing that would have made this day better would be if my son shared my love of fishing. We learned that he most definitely does not. He loves ponds and wanted desperately to swim with the fishies, but as soon as my fish came out, he cried and cried. The fish pretty much terrified him. We tried to show him the fish in the bucket but he would just scream whenever he got near them. I was able to calm him down but this happened again with each wish we caught. Here was our trout count for the day:

Me- 1

Bryce - 1

Mom - 3

Don't interpret my single catch as low fishing skill level. I caught the first fish but spent all the time after that playing with and consoling my little PETA member. Oh well, it was still a cool day and a truly unique experience. I can't wait to do it again sometime. Here are some fun pictures from the day. My mom was trying out her new camera. Mom- you need to fix the date stamp.

Bryce doing what he does best.

Isaac loves to play with my sunglassesMy Mom and one of her fish

This is me with my mom's fish. Mine was a feisty diva and refused to pose for pictures.

I love this picture. They say couples start to look alike. We have matching white legs.

Dead Fish Alert. You looked anyway. It was a bit of a surprise to me, so I will give you a heads up in case you try fishing.. they don't live long in the buckets.

My Summer Cooking Adventures Continue...

2008-06-13T19:34:00.001-07:00

And this week I was on a roll! I tried two new recipes and they both were excellent. You have to try these.

Chicken Piccata

I love Chicken Piccata. While I was browsing http://www.foodnetwork.com/ for a different recipe, I stumbled across this recipe from "The Barefoot Contessa". It is absolutely divine and surprisingly simple. We enjoyed it with some almond rice pilaf (Near East, best rice in a box on earth).

2 split (1 whole) boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 extra-large egg

1/2 tablespoon water

3/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs

Good olive oil

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, divided

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons), lemon halves reserved

1/2 cup dry white wine

Sliced lemon, for serving

Chopped fresh parsley leaves, for serving
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap and pound out to 1/4-inch thick. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.
Mix the flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in a shallow plate. In a second plate, beat the egg and 1/2 tablespoon of water together. Place the bread crumbs on a third plate. Dip each chicken breast first in the flour, shake off the excess, and then dip in the egg and bread crumb mixtures.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium to medium-low heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook for 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Place them on the sheet pan and allow them to bake for 5 to 10 minutes while you make the sauce.
For the sauce, wipe out the saute pan with a dry paper towel. Over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and then add the lemon juice, wine, the reserved lemon halves, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Boil over high heat until reduced in half, about 2 minutes. Off the heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and swirl to combine. Discard the lemon halves and serve 1 chicken breast on each plate. Spoon on the sauce and serve with a slice of lemon and a sprinkling of fresh parsley.

Italian Meatloaf

Sorry no picture. I will take one next time I make this. Here is the story though. I HATE meatloaf. There is something about mixing ketchup with meat and then calling it food that just makes my stomach turn. I don't think I have eaten it since I was a kid and even then I am sure I hid most of it in my mashed potatoes or slipped it to the dog. However, Bryce loves it and has been wanting some for, probably the duration of our marriage. Poor guy, he is so patient. I went looking on the Internet for a recipe that would somehow be palatable for me too. I found this recipe on about.com. It caught my attention because it lacks ketchup and onion chunks. Instead, it uses Marinara sauce, some seasoning, and just a bit of dried chopped onion. I also love that it is a slow cooker recipe. It is great when I can get dinner cooking during Isaac's nap instead of in the evening when he is tired and hungry. This recipe was a hit with BOTH of us. I did find it slightly salty though, so I will leave the salt out next time.

INGREDIENTS:
2 pounds extra lean ground beef, or Laura's Lean Beef
2 cups soft bread crumbs, loosely packed
1/2 cup spaghetti sauce, your favorite
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons dried chopped onion or 1/4 cup finely minced onion
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian herbs, crushed, or use a mixture of oregano and basil
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons spaghetti sauce
2 to 3 slices Mozzarella cheese, about 2 to 3 ounces
PREPARATION:
Fold a 30-inch long piece of foil in half lengthwise. Place in bottom of a slow cooker with both ends hanging over top edge of cooker. I also put a piece of crumpled foil in the bottom to keep the meatloaf out of the fat.

The foil strip will make it much easier to remove the meatloaf when it's done.
In a large bowl, mix ground beef with bread crumbs, 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce, egg, onion, salt, garlic powder, Italian herbs, and pepper until well blended. Shape into a loaf. Place in slow cooker. Spread 3 tablespoons spaghetti sauce over the loaf.
Cover and cook on HIGH for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or on LOW for 5 to 6 hours, or until juices run clear. Top loaf with cheese slices, overlapping, and continue to cook (turn to HIGH if necessary) for 15 to 25 minutes longer.
Use ends of foil to lift out meat loaf and transfer to a serving platter.

I have a baby and

2008-06-13T19:25:00.000-07:00

A giant box of packing peanuts....

C'mon, tell me you would have done anything else!

Our Son turned One- Fun!

2008-06-13T18:39:00.000-07:00

I am WAAAY behind on blogging once again. Its certainly not lack of motivation or writers block. This time, it is lack of TIME! Life has been crazy lately and between work, church, and family, there is just not a lot of down time. If there is, I choose sleep!

Isaac's birthday was great. I decided to get cake creative for the first time in my life. When you see the images to follow, please just remember FIRST TIME-NOT AN EXPERT, that is why it looks so strange.

We needed two cakes of course. One for guests to enjoy and one for Isaac to destroy. For the smash cake, a filled a few ramekins with red velvet cake batter:

I used the remaining batter to make cupcakes. And I am sure you already get the idea, but here is what I did next.

For the guests cake, I found some instructions for a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cake on http://www.playhousedisney.com/. Here is my interpretation:

I forgot to put the blue frosting in the windows. Oh well. Pretty gross looking huh? Isaac's friends and well wishers were kind enough to choke it down with some ice cream:).

Isaac provided most of the entertainment of course!

After a quick bath, it was time for gifts. Like they always say, Isaac was a lot more excited by the box then the gifts. Good thing he had friends to who all wanted to help open them!

All in all, it was a fantastic day. In fact, Isaac said it was his best birthday ever! Thank you to everyone who celebrated with us here and in spirit.

It's a Party!!!

2008-05-21T09:05:00.000-07:00

Or, a little gathering..... or something.....

Isaac is turning 1 year old on Saturday! I can't believe it. This has been by far the busiest, and most fun year of my life. We should definitely celebrate!

I am not entirely sure how to organize a proper party for a 1 year old, but one way or another, it is sure to be a cake smashing good time! This, by the way is your official invitation:).

What: Mr. Man's (aka Isaac's) 1st Birthday Shindig
When: Saturday, May 24th 2008 3:30 PM
Where: Our House (call me if you need my address. I probably shouldn't post it on the www....)
Why: Because you love Isaac, Cake and Ice Cream, Kids, and mingling with new and interesting people, and maybe even showing off your WII Sports and Guitar Hero Skills, and run-on-sentences, and.... sorry...

So give me a call and let me know if you will attend. We would love to see you, especially if we haven't seen you in a while. 801 867 8477.

Sacramento

2008-05-20T12:56:00.000-07:00

So Ashley's comment a couple posts ago reminded me that I need to offer a little update on my life. I haven't done this because things are still so up in the air with so many things, but we have been able to figure out a couple of things, so here goes.

After a lot of thought, consideration and prayer about the job thing, Bryce and I both knew that it would be best for everyone (especially Isaac) if I stayed home to be his mom. The trouble was that we still knew that one income just wouldn't work. I continued to look for and interview for positions, hoping that the right thing would finally come along. I wanted to somehow get an offer that I felt great about, even though it would mean Isaac going to day care. Not necessarily a money thing, just a good fit.....

I actually wound up with a few offers. That almost sounds snobby. I don't mean to sound that way. I know there are a lot of people who have a hard time getting a job. But, its true. I got a few offers, and they were pretty good. I just didn't get a good feeling about any of them though. Neither did Bryce. The last offer I got, I actually did feel good about. I liked the company, the pay, and most importantly, the co-workers. Everything seemed to fit, and although I still didn't feel good about leaving Isaac (who would feel good about that?), I think I finally felt ready and that this was the offer I was waiting for. At the same time though, my father in-law called with an offer from his company that would allow me to work PT from home doing HR/Benefits/payroll for his company. That is the ideal situation. I am so lucky to have this opportunity to help my family with extra income and still take care of my son. It was a little hard to turn down the other offer, but I think I made the right choice.

There will be more adjustments to be made in the months to come. We will almost certainly be moving to a smaller more affordable place closer to Bryce's work, and probably looking for a more fuel efficient vehicle. We have made a lot of sacrifices, and there will be more to come, but I think that we are headed in the right direction.

So, last week Isaac and I went to Sacramento so that I could spend some time in the office getting set up for my new position, and Isaac could spend some time with his Grandparents and his Aunt Jennie. We had a wonderful time. Isaac had some mommy issues as this was his first time really being away from me for more than a 3 hour stretch. He did great with Grandma all day, but when I would get home in the afternoon, he did not want to let me out of his sight. He is doing better now that we are home, but I think separation anxiety is just something we will be dealing with for the next few months as part of his age.

Isaac Playing with Aunt Jennie. We loved going on walks with her every night!

Grandma Barnett has the best toys!

Isaac got to open some birthday gifts from Grandma and Grandpa Barnett early. He especially loved his new books. As you can see, he is also a proud Jazz fan. It is required of all family members. On this particular day, he was supporting D-Will in an at-home victory over the Lakers. Isaac is disappointed that the Jazz are out of the playoffs, but he is already focusing on next season.

Pay it Forward

2008-05-07T20:40:00.000-07:00

This is a fun little thing called PAY IT FORWARD!!! Here is what you do the first 3 people who comment to this post will receive a homemade gift from yours truly (within in a month). Then you have to do the same! Post it on your blog, a make a homemade gift for the first 3 people who comment!! Let's keep Payin' it forward:)

P.S. If you are not in Utah, you can still participate, but I should warn you in advance that your "homemade gift" will probably be something like an MS Paint picture that I do for you. It will look very etch-a-sketchy and will probably be of a flower or perhaps a portrait of you. I promise to get the shading on your upper lip just right:).

Where's Isaac?

2008-05-05T13:03:00.000-07:00

This has become a constant concern for me lately. Isaac is not quite walking yet, but he has turned into a little explorer. I keep a pretty sharp eye on him, but it is amazing how quickly he escapes. He usually gives himself away though. He likes to start crawling away as fast as he can, and he lets out a huge squeal as he does it and he will stop briefly to turn and look at me to make sure I will chase him. It is one of his favorite games. Something that takes a great deal of my time each day now is replacing all things he pulls out of drawers and cabinets. I have resisted the baby proofing thing because I thought I could simply teach him boundaries. Ha! I am such a fool. I think it might be time to get those annoying cabinet latches. It is so much fun to see him learning and discovering new things, but it was not fun for Bryce and I to spend a half hour last weekend trying to figure out how to dislodge two balls and a squishy alien thing from a speaker.

The trapped toys, posing atop their temporary prison post rescue.

Just a few of the devices used in the rescue. Yes, that is gum. Not pictured-the kabob skewers.

Today I was getting ready in the master bathroom while Isaac was supposed to be in the room right next to me watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. But I noticed it was quiet... too quiet. I went out of the room and heard noise coming from down the hall. When I checked the half bath, I discovered this:

He is just too cute for me to be angry. I try to keep the doors shut wherever I want him to stay out, but Molly's bed is in this bathroom and I want her to be able to get in and sleep when she wants to. Oh well, there plenty of worse things he can get into than toilet paper.

Key Lime Pie!

2008-05-05T12:42:00.000-07:00

Key Lime Pie is Bryce's favorite desert. I have never met a pie I didn't like, so I sure don't mind making it and eating it. I have made it a few time in the past few months, but I was psyched to make some this week because the grocery store had ACTUAL KEY LIMES for the first time ever! I usually just make it with normal lime juice, and it is still really good, but using key lime juice made a huge difference. This is the best it has ever turned out.

The recipe is not a secret or anything. It is the one in the Betty Crocker Cookbook. If you don't have it and you want it, let me know and I will email it to you. I don't want to get sued or something for posting it here. Here are a couple of Key Lime Pie tips though:

1. Maybe you all already know this and I was just dumb the first time I made it, but graham cracker crusts burn too. Make sure to put foil around the edge for best results.

2. I am kind of against eating green stuff. Key Lime Pie is only green if you put green food coloring in it, so that's up to you. I leave it out.

3. Your Key Lime Pie should chill in the fridge for at least two hours and is then good for up to three days. We have found that the pie is at its peak of tastiness about 12-24 hours after cooking. It gives the lime time to "calm down" a bit, so the flavor is still nice and limey, yet sweet. Sometimes when I have it the day I make it, the lime is still really strong and it makes my tummy hurt a little.

I just love summer food, and I love to bake. I am not going to turn this into a recipe blog or anything, but I am sure I will post a few more tasty treats in the coming months.

Nice Day for a Picnic

2008-04-19T18:40:00.000-07:00

It seems like Winter just won't end this year. Every day I wonder where the global warming I hear so much about is, and why can't we have some around here. So finally, we had a couple of nice, average temp for April days. Of course, they came in between a bunch of unseasonable cold and super windy days, but I am still so glad we had just a bit of sunshine. Today we celebrated the great weather by taking Isaac to the park for a picnic.

Isaac LOVED playing outside..

But it was a bit bright.....
What a cool dude!

Yep, he can stand all by himself! I can't wait for him to start walking. This is going to be such a fun summer!

For all the Mommies....

2008-04-16T19:03:00.000-07:00

I have to give my friend Misti credit for this post. She wrote a great blog today about being a mom, and some of the great things that we take for granted when we are just trying to get through the day with our kids. She referenced an article by Anna Quindlen that I have always loved, and so I wanted to re-post the article for everyone here. It makes the email rounds, so you have probably read it before, but I never get tired of it.

I actually read it for the first time shortly after Isaac was born. I had a pretty severe case of baby blues, my mom was in Europe, and I just knew that I was already the worlds worst mom. I was blessed with a beautiful, healthy child, who actually got to come HOME, and I felt helpless. I couldn't figure out how to get anything at all done while having a baby, didn't know how anyone else did it, and I was sure that every kind word and well meaning piece of advice I heard from everyone was really just them telling me what a bad mom I was. This article really helped me relax and enjoy the experience. I hope we all can. Here it is:

By Anna Quindlen, Newsweek Columnist and Author:
All my babies are gone now. I say this not in sorrow but in disbelief. I take great satisfaction in what I have today: three almost-adults, two taller than I am, one closing in fast. Three people who read the same books I do and have learned not to be afraid of disagreeing with me in their opinion of them, who sometimes tell vulgar jokes that make me laugh until I choke and cry, who need razor blades and shower gel and privacy, who want to keep their doors closed more than I like. Who, miraculously, go to the bathroom, zip up their jackets and move food from plate to mouth all by themselves. Like the trick soap I bought for the bathroom with a rubber ducky at its center, the baby is buried deep within each, barely discernible except through the unreliable haze of the past. Everything in all the books I once poured over is finished for me now. Penelope Leach., T. Berry Brazelton., Dr. Spock. The ones on sibling rivalry and sleeping through the night and early-childhood education, have all grown obsolete. Along with Goodnight Moon and Where the Wild Things Are, they are battered, spotted, well used. But I suspect that if you flipped the pages dust would rise like memories. What those books taught me, finally, and what the women on the playground taught me, and the well-meaning relations --what they taught me, was that they couldn't really teach me very much at all. Raising children is presented at first as a true-false test, then becomes multiple choice, until finally, far along, you realize that it is an endless essay. No one knows anything. One child responds well to positive reinforcement, another can be managed only with a stern voice and a timeout. One child is toilet trained at 3, his sibling at 2. When my first child was born, parents were told to put baby to bed on his belly so that he would not choke on his own spit-up. By the time my last arrived, babies were put down on their backs because of research on sudden infant death syndrome.
To a new parent this ever-shifting certainty is terrifying, and then soothing. Eventually you must learn to trust yourself. Eventually the research will follow. I remember 15 years ago poring over one of Dr. Brazelton's wonderful books on child development, in which he describes three different sorts of infants: average, quiet, and active. I was looking for a sub-quiet codicil for an 18-month old who did not walk. Was there something wrong with his fat little legs? Was there something wrong with his tiny little mind? Was he developmentally delayed, physically challenged? Was I insane? Last year he went to China . Next year he goes to college. He can talk just fine. He can walk, too.
Every part of raising children is humbling, too. Believe me, mistakes were made. They have all been enshrined in the, "Remember-When- Mom-Did Hall of Fame." The outbursts, the temper tantrums, the bad language, mine, not theirs. The times the baby fell off the bed. The times I arrived late for preschool pickup. The nightmare sleepover. The horrible summer camp. The day when the youngest came barreling out of the classroom with a 98 on her geography test, and I responded, "What did you get wrong?". (She insisted I include that.) The time I ordered food at the McDonald's drive-through speaker and then drove away without picking it up from the window. (They all insisted I include that.) I did not allow them to watch the Simpsons for the first two seasons. What was I thinking?
But the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while doing this. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of the three of them, sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages 6, 4 and 1. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less. Even today I'm not sure what worked and what didn't, what was me and what was simply life.
When they were very small, I suppose I thought someday they would become who they were because of what I'd done. Now I suspect they simply grew into their true selves because they demanded in a thousand ways that I back off and let them be. The books said to be relaxed and I was often tense, matter-of-fact and I was sometimes over the top. And look how it all turned out. I wound up with the three people I like best in the world, who have done more than anyone to excavate my essential humanity. That's what the books never told me. I was bound and determined to learn from the experts. It just took me a while to figure out who the experts were.

What the Crap!?

2008-04-11T20:53:00.000-07:00

Since I am not working anymore and most of my work buddies aren't either and are looking at my blog, I am going to have to do some of our "work chat" here. I know this is a place for cute family stories and kid pictures, and I will get more of that up soon... but... I have to do this... I need an outlet!!!

So Michael Johns was voted off American Idol this week. WHAT THE CRAP?! Sorry for my language. I will calm down now.

I know he wasn't going to win the whole competition or anything, and I know that this week was not his best, but I can't believe that he is being voted off while the worlds biggest FAKE singer stays every week.

I am referring of course to Jason Castro.

I know, I know, I like "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" too, and I really don't mind hearing Jason sing it. It is nice. But, I am still not convinced that he has even a fraction of the talent of anyone else on that show right now. There are millions of other "musicians" just like Jason. He sounds to me like a typical guy who plays a guitar at open mike night at a coffee house or something. It's just no big deal, and I can't figure out why he is on American Idol.

Well, that is pretty much out of my system now. I feel much better. Just a couple more quick AI thoughts.

1. David Archuletta was my fav this week. I am a huge Robbie Williams fan so I loved that he sang "Angels" and I thought it was awesome.

2. I really want to hear Brooke White sing something by Natalie Merchant or Sara Mclachlan. I would just love to hear it. Ha! I am so 90's!

If you are watching AI this year, I want to hear what you think. Post your comments!

Chopped

2008-04-08T18:42:00.000-07:00

I decided to take the plunge today and chop all my hair off. Here it is:
It was a tough decision. I don't know why this is always such a scary move when you have long hair. It IS just hair, but it is really hard to do. I think the time was right though. I am trying to make a lot of personal changes, and this felt like a great way to start. I am pretty happy with it right now. I love the way it feels and the way it looks. I am sure it is going to really hit me when I wash it or try to put it in a pony tail. Then I am going to cry....

My True Color - I wish it was more colorful!

2008-03-14T13:36:00.001-07:00

What's Your True Color?

My Result: Brown

You're brown, a credible, stable color that's reminiscent of fine wood, rich leather, and wistful melancholy. Most likely, you're a logical, practical person ruled more by your head than your heart. With your inquisitive mind and insatiable curiosity, you're probably a great problem solver. And you always gather all of the facts before coming to a timely, informed decision. Easily intrigued, you're constantly finding new ways to challenge your mind, whether it's by reading the newspaper, playing a trivia game, or composing a piece of music. Brown is an impartial, neutral color, which means you tend to see the difference between fact and opinion easily and are open to many points of view. Trustworthy and steady, you really are a brown at heart.

What are you?
http://web.tickle.com/jumpto?test=colorogt&c=50652

Where to Begin????

2008-03-09T19:27:00.000-07:00

It seems like I am writing an apology blog every month. Sometimes I just get behind. There are a variety of reasons, but they are usually pretty basic.... Lack of fun pictures to post, events to document, laziness, super busyness.....

I have struggled with posting this, but what they hey...

I haven't blogged due to life crapiness. I figured that the crapiness (I have no idea how to spell that word since I made it up) would clear soon and that I would come out of the slump and once again have positive things to report without missing a beat, and no one would be the wiser.

I finally wised up myself a bit and realized that as vulnerable as I may feel, I am going to go ahead and let a bit of it out on my blog. After all, if you are reading this you are hopefully a friend and/or well wisher, and, well, I just can't hold everything together on my own all the time. Sometimes you need your friends.

That being said, I am not seeking sympathy, and no one is required to comment or reply. If you want to though, that's great. But I do realize that everyone is dealing with their own problems.. I have had worse, and so has everyone else. I just feel like if I don't come clean with it, the moving past it is going to be really slow.

BTW- if you can't already tell, this post may be long.

So here it is already- we are going through a tough time. The most important things are fine. Isaac is happy and healthy, we are healthy, etc. Financially, we are pretty much wrecked. The American economy, the collapsed mortgage market, combined with some not perfect business decisions have caused Bryce's business to suffer a slow death. I am very proud of him. He really did the best he could, and tried everything you can imagine to keep things going, but it just didn't work out. This has taken a huge toll on our family and my sanity lately. We worked hard through a lot of tougher times to get to where we were and to allow me to be a full time mommy. Over the past couple of months we have both been looking for jobs.

I have had varying degrees of success with this. My heart just hasn't been in it. I don't have any idea how we can make it without me returning to work, so I don't know if I am in denial or what my problem is but I just can't imagine not being with my little boy. I know that most moms work, and I respect and admire that. I worked all of my daughter's life and I think this is part of what drives me so hard to not want to do it again. It was so difficult... and your time with your kids is so precious...

Don't get me wrong here. It is not that I don't want to work. I actually would LOVE to work! I get so excited when I think about some of the projects I have discussed with potential employers. And, having done both, I must say that work is much easier than being home with a baby. But, the little things that Isaac does everyday, the relationship we have, and knowing how much he needs me, makes every minute with him worth it. I want to be the one cleaning the vanilla wafers out of his hair, chasing him to the dog bowls, and singing stupid "Mickey's Clubhouse" songs all day. Crazy huh? Am I selfish? Or does he need me too?

So I have now essentially turned down two job offers. Let me explain.

The first was a part time position with very low pay. These two things didn't bother me so much. The trouble was that the owner was very attracted to the possibility that my knowledge and experience could grow his business. Fair enough, but as he started brainstorming more and more things I could do for him, I realized that there was no way I could accomplish all of it part time. I felt that kind of set me up for failure in the position. As far as doing it full time... well, you know how you will accept certain take aways and lower pay for the freedom and low commitment/expectation level of PT work but not FT? There you have it...

The second position was/is perfect! It is for a very large company located in downtown Provo. It is the ideal next step in my career path. I would be a generalist responsible for one of their divisions plus in charge of global compensation. I had a couple of interviews over two days and lunch with the HR team there and I loved them. Then I cried the whole way home. If you take Isaac out of the equation, everything about this is a great fit. The reality is that I can't worry about my career path anymore when my real goal and "5 year plan" involves cheering at TBall games. The job would also involve a lot of foreign travel which is really impossible when you have kids at home, and the other team members there have all been with the company at least 10 years. They are really looking for long term commitment. Even though the reality may be that I can not stay home with Isaac anytime soon, I just couldn't come to terms with that and give up on my dream. They did sense my hesitation on this point, and the next day the VP of HR called and asked what my commitment level would be. I felt I had to be honest with them, and I told him that I truly wanted to be able to stay home with my children, but had no idea when that would be possible for our family. He said he understood and that they would make a decision that day. I never heard back, and I understand completely why. They are a great group.

I feel very guilty about this. Have I just shot our family in the foot? Am I being selfish. Should I have committed some period of years to the second company? I can't be dishonest, so if I did this, I would have to follow through with it and put my plans and dreams on hold. But maybe my plans and dreams are silly and that is what you have to sacrifice for your family.

I am holding out hope on one last possibility, and it is a distant possibility right now. I had a call from another position I applied to and this one would be REALLY PERFECT. I would not hesitate on it for a second. It is PT with a non-profit that offers HR support to employers in Utah. If you live here and are in HR, you probably already know what I am talking about but oh well, I tried to be discreet. Anyway, it pays great and would really just give me the best of all worlds. Like I said, it is a total long shot right now as the position doesn't close until the end of next week and I have no interview scheduled. All they really did was call screen me to ask a bit about my experience and see if I was still interested. I practically reached through the phone and kissed this lady's feet. So I might have creeped them out with my crazy enthusiasm about the position.

Oh well, that was all very cathartic for me. If you are still reading this, congratulations, and thanks for your friendship. Please keep us in your prayers because I need all the help I can get with everything right now. Oh, and just to keep this posting from totally bumming everyone out, here are some great pics of my boys.

Happy Valentines Day!

2008-02-13T19:53:00.001-08:00

Snack Time!

2008-02-11T13:47:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted new pics of Isaac lately. This is because I have not been as good at taking pictures, and now that he is crawling, I can't seem to get any decent ones. They all come out fuzzy because he is all over the place! Here are a couple of fun ones that I did get recently.

Dad shared some chocolate pudding with Isaac.

Typical snacktime for Isaac and our poor starving dog, Molly.

Crazy 8's

2008-02-04T20:13:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. There has been stuff to blog about, but I think I am suffering from a bit of writers block nonetheless. Misti had this Crazy 8's thing on her blog, so I am going to try it out to get my brain moving again.

8 Things I am passionate (having or expressing strong emotions) about:

Being a mother
The gospel
Having Integrity
Travel
Education
Making the bed (I can't do anything until it is done)
Reading
Music

8 Things I want to do before I die:

Get a PhD (In something... anything)
Write a book (even if it is never published)
Learn another language and use it frequently
Become good and something athletic (I suck at all athletic things)
Be a Grandma
Visit the Gardens that Claude Monet painted at Giverny
Learn to ride horses
Travel around the USA with my family one summer by RV!

8 Things I say often:

all in baby talk voice....

Hi, Mr. Man!
Do you have poops?
nonono
mmmm, tasty!
Are you sleepy?
Do you need momma?
Yay for Isaac! (while we both clap)
I love you, buddy.

8 books I have read:

Atonement by Ian McEwan
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
What to Expect, the First Year
One True Thing by Anna Quindlen
Beleiving Christ by Stephen Robinson
Travels with Charlie by John Steinbeck
The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
Basket Case by Carl Hiassen

8 Songs I can listen to over and over:

Sing by Travis
Breathe Me by Sia
Three Little Birds by Bob Marley
Redemption Song by Bob Marley
Is This Love by Bob Marley (I had better stop before I list the whole album)
Down on the Corner by CCR
One by U2
Heaven from Here by Robbie Williams

8 Things I have learned this past year

Pregnancy does last 40 weeks and babies can be born breathing and healthy
You don't need sleep
It is never to late to get your Masters degree (Way to go, Mom. Congrats on the new job!)
I can't water ski or wake board
Blogging is cool!
If your newborn is sleeping through the night when he comes home from the hospital, let him!
The trials keep coming, and they always will, but they are part of His plan for my life and He has given me the tools to endure all.
I have so much to learn....

My Angel Baby

2008-01-23T11:27:00.000-08:00

On this day two years ago, my sweet little Maeve Lillian returned to Heavenly Father. I can't believe it has been two years. I never knew how life would go on without her. The truth is, it hasn't. My daughter is still here with me every day. I don't think a day has gone by in the last two years when I haven't felt her. I see her little expressions in Isaac sometimes. He smiles when I talk about her or when he sees her pictures and I know that he knows her. We always called her bug, and after she died, ladybugs started landing on me all the time. This had never happened before, and now it happens frequently, and in the most random places. The strangest was when we were on a boat off the coast of North Carolina. How did a lady bug get out there?
Maeve was the greatest gift I could have ever been given in this life. I still learn from her, and I live my life to live up to her legacy and return to her someday.

The Office Quote

2008-01-20T20:57:00.000-08:00

So I am stealing this idea from my sis in law, Brandy. She loves Dwight from "The Office" and posts Dwight quotes. I love the office too. I have decided to post Angela quotes. Nobody can obviously like Angela, but I do think she is hilarious.

Angela: Poop is raining from the ceilings. Poop!

Let me introduce all of you!

2008-01-13T15:48:00.000-08:00

Do you ever wonder who all those people are that are linked on the blogs you read. Maybe you already know them and they are all in your five or something, but maybe you don't. I thought I would take this opportunity to introduce everyone to my little circle of blogging friends. BTW- if you are reading this and have a blog and I have not listed you, it is not because I hate you. It is because I am forgetful, so please let me know and I will link you and introduce you to my peeps!

Brandy and Doug- Brandy is my super cooooo sis in law. She enjoys scrapbooking, Dwight from "The Office", and being from Blackfoot, ID. :)
Andrea and Adam- Andrea is my slightly younger super coooo sis in law. She enjoys being pregnant, tall and beautiful, and not updating her blog- so if you visit it, be sure to bug her about that:).
Summer and Andy- Summer was my brothers best friend in high school and is an awesome mommy. She has the cutest (not kidding, these kids are genetically gifted) kids ever.
Nancy and Dallas- Nancy lives in AZ now, and we don't talk much, but she is still one of the most important people in my life because of when she was in it. Our baby's shared a room at Primary Children's. She is my hero.
Tawny and Kalani- Tawny was my BF in high school and I just came across her blog this summer. She is pregnant too. Most of my blog friends seem to be pregnant... hmmm.....
Tiffany and Ryan- Tiffany is like Andrea above, but not my sis in law and she is getting better at updating her blog. She is super funny and does a mean velociraptor impression.
Misti and Paul- Misti rules! She is pregnant, works full time doing her job and my old job, is a great mom, shoots bb guns, and names her kids (hoping she will with the one on the way) after baseball players!
Ashley and Dan- I miss Ashley so much. Just thinking about funny times with her and everyone at work makes me laugh out loud. Now, she is a big city mommy. Her blog is the prettiest blog around!

I hope everyone is cool with me talking about them. I figured it would be okay since I already have you linked. I am really lucky to know such awesome people. Have a great week!

The Ducky Tub

2008-01-13T15:13:00.000-08:00

Quite some time ago, Isaac outgrew his baby tub. Not only was he getting too big for it, but he was starting to sit on his own better and I felt bad for him having to lay down in a baby tub for a bath. Still, I was really nervous about putting him in the big tub. It just seemed so huge and he still tips over now and then, and I was worried about him slipping and hurting himself in the tub. I worry about everything.

When I went in search of some solution to this problem, I found the Ducky Tub at Target. I am pretty sure it cost $9.99. It is the best thing ever. You simply inflate it, so it is soft on all sides and the bottom, and fill it with water in the tub. It has a suction cup on the bottom to help with slipping and storage, and when you squeeze the beak, it quacks!

Isaac has had so much fun with it for the past couple of months. It has been the perfect transition item. He loves to splash and play with toys in it. This is what I will be giving everyone at baby showers from now on! I noticed that he is running out of leg room though and I think we really only have about a month or so left with the ducky tub. So sad:(. I realized that I hadn't yet immortalized tub time, so I took care of that today. Here are the pic's for your enjoyment. As a warning, these may contain partial baby nudity.

Los Angeles

2008-01-07T21:06:00.000-08:00

So at just about the last minute, my mom and I decided to brave the scary weather forecast and take a trip to Los Angeles for her best friend's daughters wedding. Due to the aforementioned last minute nature of the trip, I forgot my camera so I will try to illustrate with pictures I find on the net.

When we arrived in Burbank, we checked in to the Safari Inn. It is where other wedding guests would be staying and we hoped for the best.

We had dinner at Bob's Big Boy. It is a tourist attraction and just kind of fun to eat there. Yummy burgers, and Isaac flirted with everyone as usual. The next day the rain started. We headed into Westwood for the ceremony at the temple. Traffic was non-existent, so we were an hour early. We decided to go have some donuts at Winchells! I love Winchells!

Isaac and I planned to hang out in the Temple visitor's center while my mom attended the ceremony, but it was closed for renovations, so we played at the family history center instead. Isaac was pretty tired by the time the ceremony was over, and the rain never let up, so we just drove around sightseeing while Isaac slept. After we returned to the motel and got Isaac to bed that night, we realized that the carpet by the door was wet. The room was flooding! We called the front desk twice for assistance, but the FEMA employees/genius engineers who worked the front desk were confident that a couple of bath towels on the floor would solve the problem and that the water would not come in any further. HA! We made sure to pick up all our things off the floor and go to sleep, relying on the lord's promise to Noah not to destroy civilization with a flood again:). The rain finally stooped at about 5:00 am and in the morning the carpet was soaked 6 feet into the room. It is a good thing I was a girl scout and my mom a troop leader. We know how to camp. (I just don't want to).

We enjoyed more amazing donuts. You know how it is when you are on vacation, you have to eat the food you don't get where you live. I don't know why there are no good donuts in Utah. If you are from anywhere else, you know what I mean. I don't like Krispy Kremes. This time, we had donuts from donut prince. I think these were even better than the winchells. MMmmm....

Oh, I forgot to mention, the night before, my mom had a crown come out while we were eating dinner. As luck would have it, our old dentist was still there, and he fixed it for my mom on Saturday. What a nice guy!

After the dentist, we did a little reminiscing tour around town, visiting the houses where my mom grew up, the one I lived in, the old church, etc. We took Isaac to Griffith Park to see the pony's, and got some ice cream with my cousin, Sean.

So here is the crazy part, we went to the reception where we sat next to NAPOLEON DYNAMITE! It was so cool. We had Isaac with us so we sat at this corner table to try and stay out of every ones way. This was a nice plated dinner/dancing reception. Anyway, Jon Heder, his wife, his twin brother and wife come in with their babies and spot us with Isaac and decide it must be the kid table and sat right by us. I didn't know what to do or how to act so we did talk to them, but I pretended not to know who they were. It was sweet!

Well, that's all I have to say for now. I have more blogging to do because it has now taken me a week (sitting in drafts) to write this little one.

Celebrity Makeover

2007-12-23T21:15:00.000-08:00

I just found the coolest thing on Instyle.com/hair. You can try on different celebrity hairstyles. I am in the market for a new haircut (short- baby keeps pulling my hair) so I thought I would try it out. Most everything looked pretty ridiculous on me, but I think it is me, not the hair. They are really just too ugly to post, but I couldn't resist trying some new styles on Isaac for funsies. Enjoy! BTW- I want to see your celebrity hairdos, so if you are reading this, consider yourself tagged.

What's been going on......

2007-12-22T21:09:00.000-08:00

So here is what has been going on. I am really embarrassed by my lack of blogging. I have had some great blog ideas, but life really got crazy after Thanksgiving. It is strange how the Holidays blur together and before you know it, it is Christmas.

Let me start by going clear back to Halloween just because I want to post this picture. Isaac was a pumpkin and we went trick or treating at my office. Not much else to say on that subject, but here is my cute little guy.

We spent Thanksgiving in Sacramento with Bryce's family. We had a great time, but it was a long trip, and I gained 240 pounds or so. It was great to spend time with everyone and to see how big my nephew is getting. The sad part of the trip was that Isaac got sick for the first time ever. It was really sad to watch him deal with it, and to feel kind of helpless because I got sick too, but I am so lucky to have such a healthy kid in general. It is quite a change from our daughter, and I went through much MUCH more with her. It is still hard just to hear Isaac sniffle though. BTW-Henry's- sorry we didn't get out to see you. We didn't want to get Cal sick.

Things started to get back to normal when we got home. Isaac's illness got extended a bit because he got his flu shot. I don't think it made him sick, it just really hurt is leg and made him sad and grouchy for the next couple days. He would just cry any time you touched him.

Then, Doug and Brandy decided to move. They came and stayed with us for a couple of weeks before moving into a new home. We actually had a great time and really enjoyed having them. I am so glad that they are living closer now and we will hopefully be able to spend more time together like we used to :).

We went to my work's Christmas party a couple of weeks ago. BTW- great job to everyone involved! It was kind of an eye opener for me though. While it was great to see everyone, I really felt out of place. I am only minimally involved at the office, and the party just made me realize how out of touch with things at work I am now. It is kind of sad, but kind of okay too. I have backed off work a lot since the party.

So, that brings us to now. Bryce's family will be getting in town tomorrow for Christmas. Better updates with more pictures and fun to come!

Space Filler

2007-12-22T14:24:00.000-08:00

I know I have a lot of catching up to do here, and I promise I will do it very soon, but for now, follow this link for some fun. I promise it is nothing bad.

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1700861741

I'm IT

2007-11-20T07:50:00.000-08:00

Misti tagged me so here goes!
A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1. Isaac is getting much better at sleeping through the night, but some nights this makes me sad because I want to go and snuggle him.

2. I can play the violin, piano, and snare drum, all badly. I also took flute lessons for a year but I can't play it at all. I could never make the sound come out right so I managed to fake it for a year by just pretending to play in class while everyone else did. I can't believe they never asked me to play solo and I never got caught.

3. I really wish I was a Dr. I love science and biology. I read medical journals, watch continuing education programs for docs on Discovery Health, and now XM radio has a station for docs called ReachMD that I listen to all the time.

4. I had two pet geckos when I was in college. One of them is still alive, and since Bryce is not a reptile fan, my poor mom gets to have him and feed him crickets every week. If anyone wants a leopard gecko, let me know. Free to good home!

5. Road rage makes me really sad. I try to be a courteous driver but I guess we all make mistakes sometimes, and when I think about people who have "given me the bird", I still get sad and feel bad.

6. Deep Sea fishing contests are my TV guilty pleasure. I almost never see them, but if I am flipping channels and I pass one, I have to stop and watch.

Ok...your next: Doug, Brandy, Elaine, and Andrea!

2007-11-05T15:53:00.000-08:00

Celebrity Gossip

2007-10-26T11:25:00.000-07:00

I now have another celebrity friend in addition to my ESPN web celebrity Brother-in-law Doug (see older posts).

Longtime friend and sometime poker champion Spencer Campbell was featured on a commercial for Check City paycheck loans! It ran last night during "The Office" so if you recorded it, you can check it out. This would of course have only run in the local market, so if you are outside Utah, you probably can't see it. I tried to find it online but I couldn't. If you know where it is, I would be happy to link it.

In the ad, Spencer talks about the good experience he had with CheckCity. Very convincing. If I ever need a paycheck advance, I will choose CheckCity:).

I love having famous friends! If you are a star of TV, Movies, the Net, YouTube, whatever, let me know and I will give you a mention!

o-o- OREO CAKESTER!

2007-10-22T15:57:00.000-07:00

I have given this a lot of thought, and I have decided that it would just be wrong, like a lie, if I didn't tell the world about the wonderful joy that is the oreo cakester.

I tried the cakesters a couple of weeks ago. They were an impulse buy on my way out of the grocery store when I was a bit hungry. I have been trying lately to rid our home of junk food. I have done this by consuming all that we have and not replacing it. It has been a good strategy which had been very effective in reducing our grocery bill, our BMI, and getting us to use food that we buy and then forget about. Recently though, Bryce noticed that there were no readily available snacks in the house and he was frustrated. I told him about the plan/experiment that I had put into place and he accepted it at first. Since I have been at home, he hasn't been participating in the grocery shopping the way he used to. This all came to an end on Saturday when he came to WalMart with me for a few items. He defiantly announced that he was no longer on board with my no junk and snacks plan and he needed some freakin' ding dongs! Well, that was all it took for me to fall off the wagon. I can't just watch him eat ding dongs while I continue with my only snack left, cottage cheese. I picked up some ice cream and more of those tasty cakesters.

The cakesters are a miracle of a treat! Imagine the awesome flavor of an oreo, but soft and fluffy. I haven't tried the traditional ones. Chocolate is my life so I went straight for the chocolate filled. I am ashamed to admit that today the box is already gone... and I am the only one who has eaten them.

Happy Birthday to Us!

2007-10-21T16:33:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, Bryce and I have the same birthday (October 20). Interestingly, our first child Maeve was due on October 17th, so we almost thought we would have a third birthday on the 20th, but she was born two months early.....

Sharing a birthday is really fun. It has its drawbacks I guess. On your birthday, you sort of expect to be waited on and taken care of. That is kinda hard when you both have the expectation. We also don't have parties because a) we are adults and b) it just seems strange to throw yourself a party. Still we really enjoy it.

On Friday night, we had dinner with Doug, Brandy, and Logan. We went to La Vigna (formerly Ottavios). The meal was good, but more trouble than it was worth. Logan and Isaac were both suffering from diaper rash and exhaustion respectively. So, the meal was spent with some missing from the table at all times to take care of a screaming kid. We all reflected on the days when we used to go to movies and dinner any time and do everything spur-of-the-moment, with no regard for bedtimes, sippycups, and disrupting others. Ah, good times. Oh well, nothing beats our little guys and the constant source of entertainment they are. They sure keep us on our toes!

On Saturday Morning we woke and did presents. Bryce got some video games, new jeans and shoes. I got clothes (my favorite!) and new pots and pans (so cool!). Then, we threw some clothes on for a family birthday breakfast at IHOP. Isaac decided to forgo getting dressed and instead dined in his jammies.

We came back home to clean up and get dressed for real, and then it was off to the mall in the freezing cold to exchange Bryce's new jeans. Shopping is always fun, and Isaac got to try a little orange julius, which he loved!

After a stop at Walmart for some groceries (even though it is our birthday, it is still Saturday and we have to get stuff done) Bryce went home to nap through the BYU game while I went to the church to set up our father-daughter activity for the activity day girls. After that, Bryce, Isaac and I met my mom, brothers, grandpa and his wife at McGrath's for birthday dinner.

That was probably the highlight of the day. I have not seen my Grandpa Kenney very much. He came out for my high school graduation and my wedding. I was pretty busy during my wedding reception, so I just briefly met his new wife, Sherry there. This is the first time we have seen them since. They live in Port Angeles, WA during the summer and Mesa, AZ during the winter, so they were on their way down to AZ and decided to stop in for a quick visit. It was really nice. They loved meeting Isaac, and we really like Sherry. I am glad that my Grandpa has her, and I hope we get to see them more often.

My lack of blogging this month has been nagging at me like my poor visiting teaching record:(. I really am going to be better at both. I don't have any new pictures to post so here is my old standby, a baby porcupine.

St. Louis

2007-10-01T19:11:00.001-07:00

This was a pretty fun week. Isaac has been jumping around a lot when we hold him, so I found him a jumper. He is still a bit small for it and he hasn't quite got the jumping thing down yet, but he is getting better. The jumper hangs in the pantry doorway because it is the only one low enough in the house. I think Isaac likes it though. The pantry is full of cool stuff to look at!

On Friday, we went to St. Louis for Bryce's 10 year high school reunion. The fun started on Friday night at the homecoming game. It was so crowded. I have never seen so many people at a HS football game. Isaac was a little freaked out by all the cheering, so we didn't stay long. We took him to some friends from Bryce's old ward to play while we met up with Bryce's classmates at a bar called the Fox and Hound. We had a great time hanging out and catching up.

On Saturday, we went to the top of Gateway Arch. I have never been to St. Louis, so this was a fun way to see it. The Arch is not a place to spend a ton of time. It is a super way to combine my claustrophobia and fear of heights. Just kidding, its not that bad... There is a museum there that I wanted to check out, but they don't allow strollers and Isaac was getting sick of being carried, so we left and hung out at the park outside the Arch for a bit. Isaac felt much better with a clean diaper and some playtime. We spent the rest of the day driving around seeing some places Bryce wanted to visit again and doing a little wandering around the mall. That night, Isaac went to the babysitters again while we went to another bar for more reunion fun. This one was called Bar Louie and was in Downtown St. Louis. There was a $50 cover charge meant to include all you could drink..... so Bryce and I enjoyed our $50 cokes! Pretty expensive, but worth it to spend some more time with Bryce's old friends. I hope we can see them again soon, instead of waiting another 10 years.

Isaac having fun in his jumper.

Hanging out at the park at Gateway Arch
The weather was so great. It was 80 and sunny with no humidity.

All of us at the top of the Arch

Isaac and I at the top

Waiting in line to go to the top

How it went

2007-09-22T20:43:00.000-07:00

Well, I am really tired. Isaac did great. I was just so nervous that I couldn't sleep. He didn't sleep through the night or anything, but he did sleep very well, with no fussing at all until he got up to eat at about 3. That is great, considering how frequently he has been waking up. I did bring him back in to sleep in our room when he woke up. I just wasn't used to feeding him in his room in the middle of the night an it felt weird. I am going to try to do it tonight though, if all goes well.
I am really glad though. I feel like I made a lot of progress. I learned that Isaac definitely sleeps better when he is not in our room. It is probably much quieter for him in his own room without Bryce and Molly's snoring. I also learned that the monitor does work and I will hear him so I shouldn't freak out so much.

Separation Issues

2007-09-21T21:51:00.000-07:00

I am having a rough day (week really) and would love some feedback from any of my readers (both of you) on this subject.
Isaac has been sleeping in my room since he was born. He does not sleep in the bed with us, I can't sleep like that, but he is in the pack and play next to me. He does have his own room. There were several reasons I started this. First, Isaac is breastfed. He gets up at night to eat, usually just once but sometimes twice with the second really just being very early in the morning when I want to go back to sleep. His room is on the other side of the house and it is hard to hear him and get over there to feed him when I am groggy in the middle of the night. Second, I have been nervous. I know that many mothers are, but having had a very sick preemie before, and now knowing parents of children who have died from SIDS, I have really just been scared to leave his side.
I never had any problem with the arrangement until now. I have actually been fine with getting up and feeding Isaac. In fact, I usually woke up a bit before him. A lot of people have advised me that he should sleep through the night and that I should let him just cry it out. I think that is fine for other people, but the method just doesn't feel right for me. I can certainly handle letting him fuss a little, but I see no point in letting him cry for long periods of time. I think babies go through a lot in their first year and sometimes they need a little food or just the comfort of nursing in the middle of the night. I don't think he is going to starve without it or something, I just want to make sure his needs are met. Is it really realistic for babies to sleep through the night? I don't sleep through the night myself, and didn't before I had him either.
The problem now is that Isaac seems to be waking more than he used to. He makes little noises and I get up and give him his binky, and he goes back to sleep, but this sometimes happens a lot, resulting in a lot less sleep for me. Now, when he gets up to eat, I am not awake and okay like I used to be. I am tired and sometimes can't even get my eyes open when I feed him. He goes right back to sleep, but may still make noises and wake me a few more times.
I am sure the solution to this is to put him in his own room to sleep. It is just so difficult. I wish I had started him off in there,because now it is so hard to change. I am too tired most nights to try it, not to mention still being so nervous about what might happen. I had really hoped he would start sleeping through the night before I had to move him.
Anyway- right now he is asleep in his own room, so I guess I am trying it out. I will post tomorrow on the results. Right now, I don't even want to go to bed. I wish I could just stay up all night with his monitor making sure he is okay.....
Isaac turns 4 months this coming week and I just feel like the worst mommy in the world. Am I the only one with a 4 month old in the room, who doesn't sleep through the night? The one nice thing is that I have no problem getting Isaac to sleep. He goes to sleep very easy. He just can't stay that way for more than 5 hours at a time.

2007-09-20T14:44:00.000-07:00

In keeping with my commitment to daily blogging, here are some pictures! These are actually old. They are from our cruise back in January, but I just got them yesterday.
This (above) is all of us hanging out on the deck one night. I think there was some kind of party that night where all the old people wear Tommy Bahama and dance to "HOT HOT HOT".

This is at the Hilton in Puerto Rico before the cruise started. We were all overdressed because our luggage was lost.

I am pretty bummed already about the end of summer. These pictures make me want to plan our next fun winter vacation. Maybe Mexico, maybe Hawaii. I would do the Caribbean again, but just stay in one place this time. I liked Aruba best. Ideas? Send them to me in the comments!

I really do love blogging!

2007-09-19T12:48:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I am way behind on the blogging. I promise I really do love it and I am going to try to do better. Starting now, I am setting a goal to post something every day rather than every week. That way, when I fall short of my goal, I will probably still wind up with more posts than are currently happening.

So why haven't I posted in a while? Lots of reasons I guess. One problem is that I haven't taken as many pictures lately. I am not sure where the camera is right now. We did buy an awesome new HD video camera a few weeks ago, but I haven't had much time to play with it yet and I tried to post a video here but it didnt work. The file was too big or something. If anyone has any tips on that, let me know.....

Life is getting more fun with Isaac all the time. He sure keeps me busy, but now it is with more play time. I am starting to get a better hang of this SAHM thing. I always thought if I stayed home I would get so much done. It hasn't quite turned out that way, but I am getting closer. Isaac is getting on a more regular schedule so that I know when I have time for things and when I don't, and he is also getting much easier to interact with. He doesn't mind our errands and chores anymore. He sits and plays with his toys or "talks" with me while we do things. It is really a blast. Being a mommy is the best!

Last week we had Isaac's 3 month pictures taken. A little late since he is almost 4 months now, but I was trying to wait for this rash on his face to clear up. It has gotten much better, but on picture day he scratched his nose in a couple of places... Oh well, I guess with kids it will always be something. And this way, years from now we can look back and remember his drool rash and his sharp little fingernails that I seem to have to clip at least twice a week:). Here are some of my favorite pictures. BTW- The photographer is Tiffany Burns-Rushforth and she is amazing! You can see more of her stuff at http://www.photographsbytiffany.com/.

Yup- 3 months old and he can stand....well... when he leans on something...and just for a second:)

Such a cutie!

My little pumpkin

The Family

This one is my favorite

BTW- I have to mention my brother in law, Doug, because he is famous today. He was quoted on ESPN's website. Here is the link:

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-28-61/Speak-Russian--Neither-Does-Jerry-Sloan.html

Happy Birthday Maeve Lillian

2007-08-26T13:28:00.000-07:00

Wednesday the 22nd was Maeve's Birthday. Bryce and I brought lots of beautiful fresh flowers to her for the cemetery. I was also planning to give a gift to the parent network at the UVRMC NICU, but I still haven't heard back from them on what specifically they need. We could just write a check I suppose, but I would like the gift to be more personal for the families that need it and I would also like the service opportunity of purchasing and/or creating and delivering the gifts to the hospital instead of just handing them money. I still plan to do something though. If I don't hear back this week, I will just make a donation to the CDLS foundation. I would be doing so anyway, I just like to alternate and do the NICU on her birthday and the foundation on her angel day.

Someday soon, I am going to start posting the story of Maeve. It is difficult to do, but so many memories fade, and I know I need to write everything down so that I can hold on to it. For today, I just wanted to share one thing.

There were two songs that I used to sing to Maeve the most. One was "Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley, and the other was "House at Pooh Corner" by Loggins and Messina. Those are her songs and now hearing them is bittersweet. At her funeral, Doug and Brandy made a video montage of her pictures set to music and included both songs. "House at Pooh Corner" had an extra verse that I didn't know before and never sang to her, but I thought the lyrics were beautiful and so appropriate somehow.

It's hard to explain how a few precious things

Seem to follow throughout all our lives

After all's said and done I was watching my son Sleeping there with my bear by his side

So I tucked him in, I kissed him and as I was going

I swear that the old bear whispered "Boy welcome home"

Believe me if you can I've finally come back To the House at Pooh Corner by one

What do you know There's so much to be done

Count all the bees in the hive

Chase all the clouds from the sky

Back to the days of Christopher Robin

Back to the ways of Christopher Robin

Back to the days of Pooh

I love you, Bug. Happy Birthday.

I've been sick:(

2007-08-19T12:18:00.000-07:00

Well, I am already behind on my blogging. I have had a nasty cold for the past week and have not done much of anything, but there have been a few highlights that I will mention.

I am the ward activity days coordinator for the primary girls. For their final activity before school starts back up, we took them to the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy. This is supposed to be a preview of a bigger better aquarium that is still under construction. Honestly, I was not too impressed. I think that the displays at Cabella's are better (and we could have taken them there for free), but the girls seemed to have a great time, especially with the touch pools where they got to pet stingrays.

We went to church last week in Bountiful at Bryce's cousin Ashley's ward. She has just returned from her mission or Singapore/Malaysia. It was great to see her again and her talk was wonderful. We are so proud of her! Afterwards, we went to her families house for the usual get together. While we were there, we got to visit with tons of family including another of Bryce's cousins, Michelle. She and her husband live in Kentucky but have spent a month in Utah visiting before school starts back up for her husband. They had a baby (Lucy) 5 weeks before Isaac was born. Isaac and Lucy got to hang out together and someone even asked if they were twins! I don't think they look a lot alike, but they are about the same size.

Finally, the biggest news of the week... My mom graduated with her Masters in Business Administration from BYU! We are so proud of her. She is such a great example to my brothers and I. She moved us all to Utah as a single mom long ago to finish her Bachelors degree. She did it, while working full time and raising us. I am so glad that she decided to go back after more years away from school and get her MBA. We attended both the graduations for all of BYU and just her school and they were actually pretty good. We heard some great talks and of course, great songs by the choir.

Isaac Enjoying Thursday's Graduation at the Marriott Center

My Mom Singing in the Choir
Isaac has had enough!

Last Week in Review

2007-08-05T14:17:00.000-07:00

We had quite an interesting week last week. It started off pretty fun for Isaac. I will try to avoid telling too many icky diaper stories in the future, but this was one for the record books. When Bryce was getting Isaac ready for church last week, Isaac decided to surprise him during his diaper change by peeing all over himself and the bed behind him. Bryce quickly stopped the problem, but Isaac was determined to finish the job. Just when Bryce thought he was safe and resumed the diaper change, Isaac decided to pee some more and made sure to cover any areas of our comforter that he missed. We decided to document the incident for your enjoyment and to embarrass or blackmail him when he is older.

On M0nday, The Deseret News published an article on CdLS. They included some information about our daughter Maeve, and a picture of her. I am an awareness coordinator for the CdLS foundation and I am so glad that even after her death, Maeve is still able to teach others. You can read the article here:

http://www.desnews.com/cgi-bin/cqcgi_plus/@plus.env?CQ_SESSION_KEY=RRJZBCZAPBZL&CQ_CUR_DOCUMENT=1&CQ_TEXT_MAIN=YES

Ruthie and Katie Callahan were here to visit from Wednesday through Friday. We met them during our stay in the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center NICU with Maeve. Katie was born a couple of weeks before Maeve and was 26 weeks gestation. Most babies born this premature have significant problems and delays but Katie is doing very well. She and Ruthie (her mom) were here for her 2 year Dr. appointments.

Ruthie and I took Katie and Isaac to visit our friends in the NICU and do some shopping at University Mall on Thursday. Although it was nice to see some of the people who helped care for Maeve, I realized that I was ready to move on from the NICU. I will never move on from Maeve and I will always treasure the memories of her and lessons she taught me, and carry it with me everywhere, but I think I can finally separate her from the NICU itself. A lot of NICU parents have a problem leaving at first. You actually miss the NICU and feel like it is home. I had that feeling for a long time too, but I think I no longer need to visit. I would love to see the nurses and docs if I run into them, but I won't be bugging them at work anymore:). It helps having Isaac. He is not tied to the NICU and his presence has really helped turn our house into our home. Maeve's place is not the NICU or the cemetery, it is in our hearts.

On Saturday, we took my mom to the Salt Lake Parade of homes. We were only able to get through five houses, but they were pretty amazing. The Parade goes through the end of this week, so we may see some more still. Although we will not be moving into a 3.5 million dollar house anytime soon, I did get some fun decorating ideas, so I am looking forward to doing a little shopping this week to get started!

We have a blog now!

2007-08-04T20:59:00.000-07:00

This is probably how most of these sites start huh?

I have always thought it would be cool to have a blog, but have never had the time or know how. Since Isaac has been here, many of our friends and family have asked for pictures and I have been having a hard time keeping everyone posted, so I thought this would be a great way to share the fun with everyone. I keep trying to send pics around, and they are frequently kicked back because the emails are too large to be sent or received.

Anywho, I hope that this will be a fun way to journal, keep everyone informed, and help motivate Bryce and I to take more pictures:). Keep in mind that I am totally new at this and cut me some slack if it is not always up to date or entertaining. Enjoy!