Spooktified

Halloween 2009 will forever be known as the year of the Beautiful Witch and her trusty side kick the Tiny Ninja:

Got Candy? We sure do.

Lots, and lots, and lots.

34 Weeks Part II

Had another ultra sound and appointment with my doctor on Tuesday, babies are getting quite big (6 1/2 and 5 1/2 pounds) and I am quite uncomfortable. Actually, uncomfortable is a huge understatement at this point. I'll just say I'm doing my best to cope with a large bulbous mass that has become the front of my body. Babies are still healthy though, lots of fluid around them and very active. So active, I feel like they are fighting to get out. I've been scheduled to go in for a c-section delivery on Thursday November 12th. I am relieved about that. I did not want to have to have a spur of the moment c-section and the baby on the right is still breach, so better to have it planned this way so it will go smoothly. Hopefully by then the little guys will be ready to come into the world and not have any problems. I will be about 36 1/2 weeks or so. The only bad thing about the c-section is I can't have anything to eat or drink after midnight the night before. Seriously? I'm thirsty like a horse - I have to have water bottles strategically placed all over the house, and especially when I wake up in the morning I drink about a gallon of water. That little stipulation will be a challenge for me.

I am feeling like I am finally starting to shake some of this flu bug I've had. I'm not sure if it was the regular flu or the swine flu, but whatever it was it struck hard and it has lasted a long time. I've never been sick like that before where it just completely took over. Morgan and I have had quite the time of it the last few weeks. The fatigue was horrible, especially with how tired I already was. I was telling my mom about how I had been wearing my neck pillow around because my head would just start bobbing from exhaustion. I couldn't understand how when Morgan was sick he would just lay down in the middle of the floor and pass out. Little did I know...

My appetite has come back a little though, and that always helps to feel like you have more energy and get back to normal. I always tell people who aren't feeling good that if something sounds good to eat, try it - no matter how weird it sounds because it can jump start your appetite a little and it's better than eating nothing at all. After my doctors appointment on Tuesday, I was feeling pretty yucky but for some reason a Dr. Pepper sounded really good. So I swung into the Burger King right there off of G-Way and got a DP and some hash browns. It was the best thing I had tasted in over a week.

I'm trying to get all of the little things done now like packing my bag for the hospital and things for the babies. I still need to get some last minute shopping done at the store and I wanted to clean our living room carpet. I was also wanting to get a pedicure before I go in, because if nothing else it always helps to have pretty toes to look at even if the rest of you is feeling like crud.

The two week countdown starts today!

34 Weeks

You know how you always hear runners say how they hit a wall at a certain mileage while doing races? Well, I would have to say at 34 weeks I have hit my wall where it feels pretty hard to keep going. I've been so sick all weekend with the flu, have zero energy, and just want to throw in the towel. I consider myself a pretty strong person, but this pregnancy has pushed me past what I thought I was capable of. I'm trying so hard to focus on the end result and telling myself I can do this. Every day seems so long at this point. I know I have to hang in there just a little bit longer.....

So Glad It's Friday

I'm happy today because:

*I got some decent sleep last night.

*Morgan has slept in his big boy bed two nights in a row + a nap in it yesterday.

*My parents are taking Kendle with them to my nephew's baptism in Coquille, OR and she will get some much needed one on one time, not to mention lots of cousin time. She is so excited and has been counting down for weeks.

*I will miss Kendle being gone, but the house will be a little (a lot) quieter this weekend.

*I've been working hard all week and today minus a little bit of laundry, I am going to relax and have fun.

*On that same note, take out or going to dinner somewhere is on the menu for tonight, along with renting some movies.

*Going to Yoke's this morning to stock up on some canned goods. Won't have to buy those again for a long time which I like. I hate loading up my shopping cart with heavy cans when I'm grocery shopping.

*Don't have to worry about packing lunches, gathering homework, fixing hair, or early breakfast's till Monday.

Have a fun Friday!!!

What's Making My Head Spin Today....

*Talked to my doctor on Monday about birth plans, looks like I'll be getting induced in three or four weeks. I'm freaking out to have an actual deadline. Preparing myself for a possible c-section.

*Large to-do list that grows every day. Shouldn't it be shrinking?

*Have official baby names picked out, now just having "friendly" debates with Riley on how to spell them. I need to know though so I can finish up some projects I've been working on. I feel like we should have had this worked out months ago. This has definitely been the procrastination pregnancy.

*Morgan not adjusting to the bunk beds, getting up too early with Kendle, and being over all cranky. He's over the flu, but now has runny nose and a cough. I'm ready for him to be back to his happy self.

*So frustrated when helping Kendle with her homework. Poor girl has to draw out pictures for math that is so simple to her, and bring home books to read that are too easy. I feel for her and am at a loss for how I can help her have a better school experience. I see her losing her spark.

*Trying to figure out where to put the 18 boxes of cereal I bought on sale this week.

*Wondering if my house is really cluttered, or if it's my super-sensitive nesting instincts kicking into over drive.

*Watching my 2 year old plug his portable radio into the computer to charge, and working the remote like a pro. Wondering why the concept of potty training is so hard to grasp then? :)

*After getting zero sleep last night, I'm not as hyped about cleaning out Morgan's room which I wanted to get done today. I feel like a truck ran over me, backed up, then ran over me again.

*Excited to make some caramel corn tonight after my family has been asking for it for the last three days. Let's hope that idea still sounds good later this evening.

*I'm in disbelief that Halloween is fast approaching. We bought pumpkins Monday night and the kids costumes are ready to go, but I'm dreading buying the Halloween candy.

What's making your head spin today?

Family History

"In all of us there is a hunger, marrow-deep, to know our heritage, to know who we are and where we came from." -Alex Haley


I've been thinking a lot about family lately. I LOVE my family and extended family and am proud of my heritage. I'm beginning to learn more and more about both sides of my family and it is all because of the people who kept journals, pictures, and records. There are so many interesting stories. I hope that one day, the things I have written about through my blog will be of equal interest to my children and grandchildren, even the mundane every day details of my life. I hope my stories will make me come alive in their minds, so that I am not just a picture hanging on a lonely wall somewhere years from now.

This is a picture of my great grandparents on my father's side, Lester and Edith Tovey. Edith was a tiny little woman and had 14 children, the youngest two being twins. (Twins run on both sides of my family.) They lived in Malad, ID.



































I saw this quote of my great grandmother's on my aunt's facebook page and I can't get it out of my mind. I love it. I think I need to hang it in our home where I can read it every day:

"If there is righteousness in the heart, beauty in the character, harmony in the home, and order in the nation, then there can be peace in the world." -Edith Tovey

I think that pretty much sums it up.


A year or two ago a member of our family posted this picture on our family website of Edith when she was a little girl. I love the big bow in her hair and her big dark eyes. She looks like such a charming little girl. There were remarks about the resemblance between her and Kendle, and I can see a little of myself as well.




























There is not so much space separating the links in our family chain as we might think.

"Family faces are like magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present, and future." -Gail Lumet Buckley

Taking It's Toll

This is what happens to a little two year old boy who's been completely exhausted the last few days:



























This was how we found Morgan last night after dinner.

Can you imagine falling asleep like that and being so tired you don't even care that your feet are hanging off and dangling down the chair? Good thing he was already in his pj's.

Distraction

Something to take my mind off the crazy week I've been having:

I was number 25 on the waiting list at the library, or something like that. Finally got it over the weekend and haven't had much time to get to it. While Morgan is resting off some of his flu bug this afternoon, (fingers crossed) I'm going to ignore the loads of laundry waiting to be folded and my floor that needs to be mopped and sit in my comfy chair and lose myself in an interesting adventure for a while. Washington D.C. here I come.

Isn't it Ironic

Yesterday morning Riley put up the kids new bunk beds. Here is a picture of what they look like: (That is not their room, I don't know if I could get a full size picture of them since the room is so small.)


















Kendle has been ever so excited for them, especially since she gets the top bunk. After they were put up I made the beds (actually bed and a half, that top bunk is going to be a challenge). I bought the kids new pillows, sheets, comforters - the works. Everything looked really cute. I rearranged the rest of the furniture in the room, vacuumed, and admired my hard work.


Morgan loved climbing in and out of his bottom bunk and pretending like he was sleeping. That is........until nap time rolled around. After much frustration on my part, he did not end up getting a nap yesterday afternoon. He would not stay in bed. I remember this happening when we first put Kendle in a bed, it took a while and we just had to be patient.


So keeping that in mind, the same thing occurred during bed time. Kendle snuggled into her new top bunk and was doing fine. That is..........until Mister Morgan decided he really didn't want to be in bed. He kept coming out to us in the family room and then would run back in his room when we told him to get back in bed. Kendle was getting mad because he was keeping her awake. This happened about ten times before I (being totally exhausted) gave in and let him just lay by us on the couch for a little bit. In about five seconds he fell deeply asleep, looking so adorable and sweet we hated to move him. After a while we figured it was probably safe to try and put him back in bed. He was totally knocked out and just curled up in his bed when Riley put him down.


About an hour later, I'm reading in bed and I can hear Morgan crying. Riley comes in and tells me Morgan has thrown up ALL over his new bed. Yep, that's right. All over the new pillow, sheets, and comforter. Riley cleaned it all up and threw stuff in the wash while I got Morgan in some new pj's and rocked him for a while. Needless to say, Morgan ended up sleeping back in his crib last night after much effort and energy on our part. It was quite the night.


What is it they say about best laid plans?

32 Week Checkup

*Some fun facts:*

-Baby A on the left is still head down and weighing over 4 pounds

-Baby B on the right is still breach and weighing over 5 pounds

(Do the math on that)

-Both heart beats are good and strong

-During the ultra sound the babies kept kicking and bumping the tech's Doppler around

-I'm measuring 42 inches on the tummy (that's another inch since last week)

-Dilated to a 2

-Saw a different doctor today since Doctor S. got called into surgery. This other doctor called me "mama" and told me I had bird legs and that is a good thing? Can anyone guess which doctor at APW that was?

-Looking at the scale is getting worse and worse. At my next appointment I think I should save myself the horror and not look.

So other than feeling like Quasimodo everything is great!

Never A Dull Moment

I knew our quiet morning was too good to be true.

Morgan is now sporting a rather large goose egg on his forehead after a collision with the corner of the couch. I thought the couch was sufficiently padded, but apparently not enough. The impact of his crash was so hard on his little head, I thought it was going to knock him out. He sure has a way of keeping things interesting around here.

Crossing My Chubby Fingers

Kendle started getting sick Friday night. Usually Kendle is one of the healthiest kids I know, so when she's complaining about not feeling good, I know something bad is coming. She didn't think she could play in her soccer game yesterday, and she just slept and slept all day. Then later that evening, she had the unfortunate experience throwing up what little we managed to get her to eat that day. It's so hard watching your children be miserable and uncomfortable, especially when I know the feeling all too well. I have much sympathy. Now I'm just hoping no one else gets this yuckiness. We quarantined our family today - don't want anyone else to get this if the rest of us are carrying it around now. I have not been feeling that great myself, but now I'm wondering if I'm catching whatever she had or it's just the semi-nauseousness I've had for the last week. Our family does not need this right now. Be gone evil germs!

Belly Picture

Here is me at almost 32 weeks in all my glamorous pregnancy glory. Ha.

I wore a tighter shirt so you could get the full effect, yet I think this picture is a little deceiving. I feel like in real life I look (and feel) a lot bigger. Look at that horrible posture, uck. My back has been killing me lately. I gotta love when Riley takes my picture too. I love the guy, but I have to remind him to put the flash on, hold the camera straight, and our house has horrible lighting. This is about as good as it was going to get. I think this is my first pregnancy where I have gained almost all of the weight in my stomach. These babies are just sucking the life out of me. Here's to an ever growing tummy, bigger and better!

Trying not to pull my hair out

I have been feeling like such a flake of a mom lately. My brain is just not 100% there right now. I expect Kendle to let me know which things need to go back to school and when, which she is usually very good about. I ask if she has homework, books to read, etc....

Well, I really dropped the ball this week. On Monday I was cleaning off the counters and extra papers lying around - they start to drive me crazy - and I sorted through bills and such. I accidentally threw something away that she needed to take back to school. It was a little assignment that looked like a comic strip, and supposedly she was supposed to finish it and take it back. (In my defense it did not look like something important enough to turn in for credit, and she brings home fifty drawings and coloring sheets a week.) So then Kendle informs me that since I threw it away, she got zero points for the assignment. I felt SO bad. Kendle hates to disappoint her teacher and I knew it wasn't her fault.

Then as we are getting ready to get her off to the bus (in our usual rush) this morning, I look in her back pack and find her Wednesday envelope with things I need to read and sign and send back to school, and her little bag of reading books we were supposed to read the night before and send back. Part of me was irritated that she didn't give these things to me when she got home, but then I remembered I had made her go clean her room as soon as she had walked in the door yesterday and she probably just forgot. Like me. I usually check her backpack and I totally spaced it.

Really teachers should not blame kids at this age for having flaky parents, and I'm afraid from here on out it's only going to get worse. Hopefully her missed assignment doesn't hamper her future academic career. Ha.

Birthday Girl

Today is Kristen's birthday!

Kristen is one of the hardest working mom's I know. She serves as a counselor in the young women's organization in our ward, is the wife to our elders quorum president which means she is on her own many nights of the week, has four children under the age of 9 (one of which is a 6 month old baby), gets them all to football, dance, piano, scouts, doctor appointments, and still somehow manages to make time to help others and be a good friend. She is one busy lady, but she loves her life and her family and it shows.

One thing that is great about Kristen is her ability to laugh about some of the rotten things in life that happen to all of us at one time or another. Granted, not everyones child backs their car across the street into the neighbors yard, but hey - it just makes a great story to tell later right? (and we all love hearing about those stories) But that is a really good quality to have - it makes life better and easier! It's that type of attitude that makes her fun and easy to be around.

Here are some fun facts about Kristen-

*She is a hard core Oregon State football fan (maybe that is why we are such good friends?)

*She loves her children SO much and has a really special relationship with her daughter Sydnee.

*She recently got braces and will be showing off her pretty teeth soon.

*She loves mint chocolate chip ice cream.

*Afternoon naps are her thing, don't call or stop by. (Ha, ha)

*She is super fun with her young women's group, like the times she played softball with them and just recently dressed up in 80's aerobics outfits for a fitness night. It's easy to see why the girls love her!

*She is a football fanatic mom and her kids' biggest fan. Don't get in her way during a game. :)

*She is super friendly and can strike up a conversation with just about anyone and everyone. She is not afraid to be the first to extend friendship.

*Her and Jack had a whirlwind Rick's College romance, and are perfect for each other.

*She can make those really cool different colored layered jello salads.

*Her home always feels welcoming and inviting and is open for friends all hours of the day. (except nap time) :)

*She has tons of family and friends that love and care about her!!!


Hope you have a super duper birthday Kristen!


*I just stopped by Kristen's house and her computer is having some problems so she hasn't been able to check her email, blogs, or anything today. I told her she'd have lots of fun stuff waiting for her. :)

31 Weeks and Counting

I went to the doctor yesterday for my weekly checkup and everything still looks good. Doctor S. did a quick in-room ultra sound and the babies are looking great, funny thing is the baby on the left is still head down where it should be and the baby on the right seems to have a mind of his own and is always changing directions. Presently he's laying slightly sideways with his feet by the other baby's feet. My stomach feels stretched to the max and it is completely normal for the surface of my stomach to ripple like waves every few minutes. I think the natives are getting restless. I've been slightly nauseous the last few days and I think the pressure in my belly has something to do with it. Doctor S. said these babies are doing so well that if they try and come around 35 weeks or so he won't likely try and stop them. That is crazy since that is only 4 weeks away!

This morning after I sent Kendle off to school I crawled back in bed for a little while. No more than ten minutes later, the loudest growling I've ever heard came from my stomach. It seemed to go on for a long time. Translated, I'm sure it meant - mom get out of bed and get us some food RIGHT NOW!!! So the Morgster and I headed to the kitchen to make a power breakfast for the day - scrambled eggs, sausage, toast, bananas, and orange juice. Morgan loves scrambled eggs and sausage. He can eat more than most adults if you just keep serving him up. He is such a pleasant little companion in the mornings. He loves to use his fork, and if he can't scoop the food up with it, he'll pick up the food and put it on his fork. He cracks me up, he's Mr. Tidy.


*Ok, here's my whiny moment:
I have been feeling so exhausted lately. I have not been able to sleep, my body is just so sore and big and it hurts to roll over or lay on my side for too long. Not only that, but my chest feels so heavy it is hard for me to breathe at night sometimes. I've also tried sleeping on the couch, which is comfortable for a little while, but not that great. We got a recliner yesterday and that also felt good to snooze in for a little while, but not all night. So last night I started in the recliner, moved to the couch, and ended up back in our bed early this morning. Not a great night. I'm wondering if the nausea is partly related to the lack of sleep as well. I just feel like a walking zombie. My doctor prescribed something for me, but I'm not holding my breath it will work since I haven't had much luck with things like that before. It is really annoying when everyone keeps telling me to take it easy and rest and there is nothing more in the world I would love to do at this point - but I can't! It's so frustrating. My joints are also getting very sore, there are some days where I feel like my knees are not going to make it. Everything I do is in super slooowwww motion.

But once again the good is outweighing the bad and our excitement grows every day for these little fellas to join our family. This morning I was hanging up new baby clothes in the closet and looking at baby blankets and I got that giddy feeling like you do around Christmas time. I remembered that the trials are worth the reward. I've got to just hang in there and endure the maternity pants that won't stay up for just a little while longer.

Near Perfect Weekend

Here are a few things that had me in a good mood all weekend long:

*Cooler/rainy/crisp weather made it feel like fall had arrived

*Soccer games in the cool breeze

*Made these donuts - they were SO yummy

*Windows open to air out the house

*General Conference

*Make your own mini-pizzas and root beer floats

*Relaxing with a good book

*Hot chocolate

*Staying in comfy clothes

*Being in my cozy little house with the people I love

What would have made it perfect? Sleep. I'm not getting much of it these days. Regardless, it was a nearly ideal way to spend time with my little family. Weekends like this don't come along very often with the hustle and bustle of life, and it was good to slow down and really take the time to make every moment count.

Sometimes They Do Listen

I always have acknowledged the fact that children have selective hearing, taking what they want and disregarding the rest. Occasionally though, what has been repeated over and over will sink in and make an impression. So when I feel like I am continuing to beat a dead horse, I'll remember what Kendle said in her prayers last night:

"Please bless Morgan that he can pick up his toys so mom doesn't have to bend over to pick them up. And please bless me that I can listen the first time mom and dad ask me to do something."

That pretty much made my whole tiring day worthwhile.

Had To Do It

The other day while browsing for baby items online, I came across this cute little number from Old Navy. I decided to splurge and get them because I could not get the image of our two cute little dumplings wearing these together out of my mind.






















Not many things are cuter than a chubby little face peeking out from under a hood with bear ears.



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