We Went to the Zoo Today

It was 75* today, in march! I couldn't believe it.

We called up a couple of friends and headed down for a day in the sun with the monkeys.

Of course whether monkeys refers to the gorillas, orangutans, and five other species of primate currently housed at the zoo or the 7 children we had with us is kind of in the eye of the beholder.

We must of looked like a herd of some type traipsing through the park with 1 double stroller, two single, a wagon, 4 mommies, and seven children who rarely rode in said strollers or wagon. I think the reason that moms become so attached to their strollers is not because of the convenience of pushing children. Really it is all the children's stuff that ends up riding.

And man do children need a lot of stuff. In my bag (on my stroller) I always carry diapers, pull-ups, wipes, purell, desitin, lotion, chap stick, band aids, the "leash" **, snacks for Dot, snacks for Googie, a binky for each, a sippy cup for each, toys for Dot, a small blanket for Dot, and sometimes one for Googie if we're going to be gone during nap time. Then, because of the outing today, we added sack lunches, extra water bottles, sunscreen, summer hats, my camera, loveys for each, and a large blanket to nurse with.

A small note on the leash . . . I am not one of those horrible parents who chain their children to the stroller so that they don't have to pay attention to where said children wander too. When Googie was 12 months old she started running. Running away from me. At speeds so great that I would have to sprint to catch her, and if I took my eyes off her for a second (ie. blinked) she would be gone. I have had more than one experience of sheer terror because she was just gone. So I bought the leash, and it set the boundaries that at 12 months old she couldn't understand when I tried to explain them to her. We haven't actually used the thing for at least 6 months. But I always have it with me, and it works as a great threat. If she starts running away, not listening, or being otherwise two, all I have to do is pull it out and threaten to strap it to her wrist and she immediately repents of all her wrongs and stays right by my side.

Returning now back to the Zoo . . .

Googie loves the Zoo. When I asked her this morning if she wanted to go she said, " a yions, a bears, a z-bra, a hort-sie, a yion, a monkey, a yion, a hort-sie, a z-bra, a . . . Sissy, 'ou 'anna see da moon-ky, yeah???!!! ALRIGHT!!!!" When she was repeating all the animals she wanted to see she was stuttering a little bit. She was so excited she couldn't think straight. It was so cute. Watching her little mind be so excited she couldn't formulate a complete thought, you could see the wheels turning in her head as she absently repeated the animals over and over until she figured out what she was really trying to say. And she always asks her sister for her permission about everything. And sissy always says yeah, especially if Googie wants her too.

We went. We saw. I screamed "STOP!", "SLOW", "GOOGIE MARIE!!! I SAID STOP!!!!" She ran. Dot slept. All in all it was a good day.

The best part of the whole day was when we got back to the car. It was hot in there. I rolled down the windows, no children were burned. Then Googie said "Momma I da Yuck." Thinking the worst I immediately assumed she'd had an accident. I started into the "Googie, you know better, you go potty on the toilet" speech when she said "No momma, a back, I da yuck, I wet" I don't know if I cracked up laughing from the sheer relief that she didn't have an accident or because of how darn cute she is.

The whole ride home she kept telling me over and over again "Momma, I da yuck. Whaaaa HA HA HA!!!" She thinks she's so funny . . .

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I Sorry

I love the stage of life Googie is at right now. She's learning new things everyday. It is just so fun to watch, and try to figure out where she picks these things up! Today it was "I sorry"

She's just started to say she's sorry. For everything! I'll say "Googie, that's not nice, we don't throw toys at sister." To which she replies "Oh I sorry sissy, sorry."

She'll drop her Dora doll on the floor, then pick her up and say "I sorry dory, sorry."

I think that she's figured out that if she just says sorry right away she doesn't get in as much trouble. Googie will be sitting down playing with her sister when Dot will start to cry. Immediately Googie will say "I sorry sissy, Sorry!" and give her a kiss. While in my book that doesn't make it okay for Googie to hit her sister with a toy, the fact that she is apologizing about it without me reminding her too is just so cute, it's hard for me to punish her.

I was talking to my mom last night and she asked me if I thought she truly meant it when she said she was sorry. And while I'm not really sure about that, I know she doesn't do the same thing again. So whether she understands sorry, or is just saying it because she knows she won't get in as much trouble, it accomplishes the same goal. She's apologized, and she doesn't do it again . . . at least not for another hour or two.

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Follow the Sheep

The high on Friday is going to be 8*. What sort of place has a high of 8*??!!! You know it's pretty said when the weather man says the temp will get up to 40* and my first thought is "oh nice, we'll have some warm weather again." No sarcasm involved people.

In all seriousness though. I didn't know places that got this cold and stayed this cold were actually inhabited by people. Mountain goats maybe, penguins absolutely, but real, living, breathing, humans? Seriously, it's crazy. Haven't these people ever heard of . . . oh, I don't know . . . San Diego? Florida? Iceland? Of all the beautiful, wonderful places there are to live, which moron decided the tundra would be a great place to build a city??!! I love a good pile of dirt encrusted, 4 week old, snow as much as the next gal, but there is a certain point in every persons life when they have to ask themselves "When are we going to concede the hopeless battle against the fluffy white demon, and sacrifice the doomed city??"

You know I heard somewhere that when you get to "the great beyond" you get three questions, and they have to be answered. My three:

1. What, exactly, is the purpose of mosquitoes, parasitical insects, and otherwise unnamed pests?
(Simply to torment my life? Because really that's not a good enough answer. )
2. Where do the missing socks from the dryer really end up?
(It's a conspiracy by the cotton manufacturing company. First they steal your socks and then try to sell them back to you as crappy t-shirts)
3. Which one of you clowns decided to stop and camp in the tundra that is the mid-west, and who of you all were the townsfolk that decided to join the circus?
(8* high! What were you thinking!)

Come on people, one man dying, not a big deal. When the whole herd of sheep jump willingly off the cliff to their icy deaths, then my friend we have got a problem. And a shortage of mutton, but that's an entirely different post.

We took the leap. We jumped feet first. If my heating bill doesn't kill me, we just might make it out.

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All Stretched Out!

We have been so busy lately! I feel like I'm being pulled in fifty different directions all at once, while juggling thirty different balls. If we make it though the circus act this next month is going to be I will be truly amazed!

I'm still trying to figure out our new little one. She is a little sweet heart and by no means a bad/difficult baby. But I'm struggling. She is so much more demanding than Googie was (everything I'm about to list about her is the exact opposite from Googie). She likes to be held a lot. She likes to be swaddled. She gets scared very easily. She's a light sleeper. She eats as often as I'll let her. She won't take a binky unless I force it on her. She has fussy times where she'll cry from 1-3 hours at a time. I thought that having a second baby would be easier than the first because I would know how to take care of a baby, but she requires completely different care than Googie. I suppose that comes from being her own person, but it is taking me a long time to figure out what it is she needs. And I swear sometimes she just needs to cry for awhile.

Then there's Googie. She still needs attention. And she is a sweetheart too (I got really lucky so far not having bratty kids). But she still needs me to play with her. She still needs attention. The baby is taking up so much of my time that it's difficult. So when the baby is sleeping (in her bed, not my arms) I really try to make an effort to sit down and play with Googie. I feel bad because she's ended up watching a lot more TV than I would like lately (we're talking like two hours a day).

The thing that really kills me is when I finally get the baby to sleep without her in my arms; I need to get other things done. Like getting the house organized so we can move, finding an apartment, the mountain of laundry, taking a shower, errands . . . things that really need to be done. So I end up telling Googie to go find something to do because mommy is busy. And she does, because she's a sweetheart, but you can tell she feels ignored. It breaks my heart because when I do find the time to just sit and play with her she's all smiles, and you can tell she really, really, has missed mommy just sitting, playing, and paying complete attention to her.

Being a mom is a lot harder than it looks. But of course you already know that. I just hope that once we get through this transition period (new baby/moving) things will settle down and we'll be able to find our rhythm again . . . for all our sakes.

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They Make Her Feel Pretty

This is her binky. She needs it when she's sad. It calms her down right away and makes any pain go away. When she burned her hand on the stove, we ran it under cold water and got her binky. The crying stopped instantly. When she's sad because Daddy had to go to work, or because she has to take a nap, she gets her binky and it makes her feel better. Her binky makes her happy.
This is her Lambsie. She loves Lambsie. Lambsie has ow-ies in the same places she does, and Lambsie needs kisses too. Lambsie learned to go potty right along with her. Lambsie needs to eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, and every snack in between. Lambsie has to sit and watch movies with her. Lambsie even has to go to bed with her. Lambsie is her friend when no one else is around to play.
These are her toes. She loves to have them painted. She calls them her pretty's. She feels grown up when we paint them. Mommy has to pay complete attention to her while we paint them. Everytime she sees her toes she feels pretty. It makes her happy when we paint them, and it makes her feel special.

In each of our lives there are things that make us feel pretty, happy, and special. These are things that we all need to have in our lives daily.

For me, I feel pretty when I take time and pamper myself. At home facials, pedicures, anything that I don't get to do on a regular basis (lately this includes drying my hair - without interruption).

I need chocolate to help me be happy again. Whether it's because I stubbed my toe, or the baby's crying is just really getting on my nerves. Chocolate can make anything better, and chocolate-strawberry-carmel-nut-banana-fudge-Ice cream is even better!

I feel special when I'm noticed. When a friend calls to see how I'm doing, or invites me to take a walk with them. When I get to talk to people. Sometimes all it takes is a 5 minute phone call, a short email, or sometimes all I need is a 2 year old hug. I like to be noticed. It makes me feel special.

We all have out little "lovey's." We never really grow out of them, they just get replaced by bigger and better things.

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The Bright Side

I have a flat nipple on one of my boobs. It doesn't work. It doesn't produce milk past the first week, and only the strongest of suckers can get any milk out. Maybe there's something else sturctuarlly wrong with it, but I wouldn't know. On the bright side, when I go in to get my boob job after I'm done having kids, I'll have a perfect example of what I want to get back to. AND it'll cost me half as much because it's just the one side that will have to be done!

I had to have a C-section (what was it 3 weeks ago??) with the baby. I was really disappointed not to be able to deliver vaginally. I had to stay in the hospital for 3 days longer than I would have liked. And now I have NO stomach muscles (happens when they pull them apart to get at your uterus), and a scar along my lower abdomen. On the bright side, the afterpains weren't bad at all this time. I was on morphine for the pain from surgery, and man did it help with the cramping while you nurse. AND I won't have to wait until my due date to deliver with my next child, it will just be another scheduled C-section! No more wondering when the next baby will come. I'll have a solid date within the first three months. (No I'm not going to try a VBAC, there's just too many risks, and overall the c-section experience wasn't that bad!)

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Just for Kicks

"Can I get inside me through my belly button?"

-- My 15 year old, very blonde (in every sense of the word), sister

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Thoughts on Moving Or How I'm Going to Buy House

We're moving November 1st. We put in for a transfer with my husbands company. We asked for this. We'll be making the same amount and moving farther away from family. Why would we do this you ask? Cost of living my friends. It's ridiculous out here. Recently advertised on signs leading into our neighborhood: "15oo sqft townhomes from the High 400's" "1700 sqft homes from the Low 600's." Those are brand new, but used aren't much different. $488,000 for a 1400 sqft 4 bedroom 2 bath 13 year old home with absolutley NO YARD! These are considered starter homes up here. Well actually, condos are considered started homes. Sorry, I just don't want to buy an apartment. Call me crazy.

So were moving. We're moving to the Denver CO area. Everyone we talk to from there keeps asking us "why are you moving here?" We respond with "so we can buy a house and stop wasting our money and actually have a backyard." And they proceed to tell us how over priced Denver is. People. Please, we've done our research. I can tell you that your town is not overpriced compared to where we live. We wouldn't be moving without being sure we're not just moving to another market we can't make it in. Any city that you can get at 5 year old 1700 sqft 3 bed 2 bath on a 1/4 acre for under 250 is not overpriced. Of course that is like 20 miles out of the city in the suburbs, and apparently that's living pretty far out in Denver (we live 18 from the city right now, and considered going another 6!) Don't worry about us, we'll be fine.

I have to just put in a plug for the church here. I am so grateful for the LDS church. The fact that we are moving 1300 miles, and not going to be living within 12 hours of either of our families, and I'm not worried about being alone, or not having friends really says a lot for our church and culture. My brother and sister-in-law are considering moving too. They aren't active in the church, and her biggest concern is how am I going to meet people? I am just so grateful that this isn't the case for me. I don't take a long time to make friends by any means, but just the fact that I will have "assigned friends" from the visiting teaching program is comforting to me.

On a completely different note. Googie just did the cutest thing. The baby started crying in the bedroom and she said "ee sad" and then grabbed my hand and the baby's binky then pulled me to the bedroom. She is such a concerned big sister.

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Just can't wait

Hi! How are you. It's been awhile. I know. I've been secluding myself. I keep hoping that maybe tomorrow I'll have good news, and a new little baby at our house. Maybe tomorrow will be the magical day, but I highly doubt it. I'm due in exactly 13 days. I know, hoping to have the baby this early was stupid. I didn't plan on it. Two months ago I wasn't even going to start thinking she might show up until at least Sept. 6th. I tried to convince myself that was my due date. It didn't work. As I've gotten bigger everyday, and more uncomfortable everday, that little voice in the back of my head (you know the one I've been trying to silence since I was 7 months pregnant) kept saying "you know, 37 weeks is full term . . ."

So now, 8 days over "full term" I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of a crying, pooping, spitting up, keep me up all night little bundle of joy.

Why is it so hard for me to wait? Why am I so impatient to push a big round head out of a not so big . . . well you know? When I know how much it's going to hurt, why do I get excited with every contraction I have, and wonder if this is the one that will start the real deal? Am I really that stupid? With the first baby/pregnancy you don't really know the pain your going to go through. So its natural to just look past giving birth and straight on to cute little infant. But with this being my second (and my first labor NOT being an easy one by any account) how can I still be excited?

Some mother's say they forget the pain, and only remember the joy. Well that's not me. I remember it hurt, real bad. And not even the birth, that was relatively easy compared to the laboring before. I mean, when I can say that I fully felt the episiotomy, and that wasn't half as bad as the contractions the night before, you know they were bad. And then there is the whole recovery. Getting your body back. Adjusting to a new baby. The contractions while you nurse. The stitches. No sex. First time back to sex. It's just no fun. So why, why, why am I excited???

I think we mothers must enjoy the pain. We have to. There's no other reason that after having your first baby you'd WANT to put yourself through that again. I mean really, why do we do this to ourselves. Over and over again.

But then, I think about the day I had today. I got lots of toddler hugs and kisses all day long. I got to go to the park and push a swing. I got to say "1, 2, 3, GO" and hear "YEAH!!!" after she made it down the slide. I got to feel proud down at the pool when she swimming around with arm floaties all by herself. And right now I get to "cu-cu-cu-ca" (cuddle).

I don't think I'll ever be able to say the pain was "all worth it" but I do like the results that come afterwards. It's one of those things that you don't think about until the 9th month of pregnancy. Getting pregnant is all fun. Being pregnant until the 7th month isn't even that bad. Somedays during the 8th and 9th months you think any amount of pain is worth it if you can just sleep through the night again (but do you really get to do that anyways?). And then when birth is finally imminent you remember (at least in my case) everything you have to go through, and alternate between days of "thanks for staying in a little longer", and "get this thing out of me!"

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Nursery Kids

Working in the nursery has got to be by far my favorite calling. It's so rewarding to see the little kids adjust. Most of them come in crying, and within a couple of months they're so used to the routine they ditch their parents at the door. The thing that really upsets me is when you have nursery leaders who are out of touch with the kids needs and have forgotten how to care for a toddler (most of the time it's the older ones, you know the ones that really want grandkids but it's been 20+ years since they had toddlers of their own. Mostly them, but even some of the younger ones don't seem to understand). Each child is different and needs to be treated that way. Some of them just need a hug when they come in, others need their arrival acknowledged, we even have a couple of kids in our ward who just need to be told not to cry. As I've worked in our nursery and gotten to know the kids it's easy for me to see what each of them needs. Mostly they just want their needs acknowledged. So if one is crying for their mom, instead of ignoring it you say something like "I know it's hard to be without your mom sweetheart, she'll be back after we play with some toys." And while it doesn't cure every child's fears, just letting them know you understand helps a lot to build their trust in you.

Now I think we can apply the same sort of reasoning to adults, on a different level. For me, I needed this approach to deal with some difficult relatives this past week. There are some of my in-laws that I love. But then their are some that I just didn't understand and they bugged the crap out of me. So mid-way through the week I started thinking about my nursery kids and saw a correlation between difficult adults and 2-3 year olds. Each of them has their needs, and wants to have those needs acknowledged. For instance I have one sister-in-law who for whatever reason feels neglected and therefore ends up doing the strangest things to get attention. This really bugged me, annoyed me, and plain just got on my nerves. That is until I realized what was going on and adjusted my view of, and how I treated, her. She still does these annoying things, but now instead of getting irritated I try to meet her needs by talking with her, or asking her to help me with whatever I'm doing.

I'm not going to go through my husbands entire family, but let me just say that I adjusted my perspective and understanding of most of them this last trip. My mother-in-law, father-in-law, a couple of my brothers-in-law, and a lot of the nieces and nephews. Let me tell you. It made the vacation bearable, and even a little enjoyable. Just to tweak my perspective a little here and a little there. When you take the time to understand where someone is coming from, and put yourself in their shoes, you'd be surprised how your perspective changes.

Just imagine your 18 months old, in a room with a couple of adults that you don't know. There are toys laying everywhere to play with, and lots of kids running around. You want to join in the fun but are nervous of this new place, and new faces. Your parents give you a kiss, say bye, and they leave. What thoughts go through your head? Are you excited to play with all the crazy kids and the new toys? Or are you scared to death because you don't know when your parents will be back, or who is going to take care of you specific needs? What do you need from the adults in the room? Reassuring words, "don't cry mommy will be back later," or do you just need a hug?

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Perfect in her sleep

How can you love one little person so much?

She lays in her bed, hair sweaty and matted to her face, and she couldn't be more beautiful. She bumps her head on the wall in her sleep and my head hurts for her. I am frustrated that she can't get a good nights sleep as she coughs herself awake for the umpteenth time tonight. I hold her, rock her, hug her as tight as I dare. Kiss her sweaty head. It smells like her. I'm sure to everyone else she just smells like a dirty kid. Not to me. Even the smell is perfect. She sighs, she snores, she can do nothing wrong. The sucking on her binky gets stronger as she drifts back to sleep. It's a perfect sound. She's getting restless, she needs to be in bed. But how can I leave her there? I'm just one room over, but how can I leave her to fend for herself in her own room? I need to protect her. She's too little, too innocent to be left alone. But does she really need me? Or is it me who needs her? Do I love her enough to let her sleep where and how she wants? Kisses, hugs, and I lay her in bed. I love you me sweetheart. It's not enough. Nothing will ever be enough. Will she ever be able to understand what she means to me? Will she ever understand the place she holds in my heart, my soul?

What of her sister? Only 10 weeks until she arrives. What then? Will I be able to love her as much? I know I will love her, I already do. But as much? It doesn't seem possible.

Love is the strangest emotion I have ever experienced. I thought when I was growing up I could never love anyone more than my mom. Then I met my husband and knew that was the most I could love. Until I had my googie, and truly knew what it is to love with all your heart. And now with another little girl coming? I've already given my whole heart, what is there left to give?

It must be a miracle of sorts, the ablity to love. It grows and grows and no matter how much of yourself you give away there is always more. There is always room for one more. One more child, one more friend, one more love.

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Are Houses Like Sex?

Home prices in this area are ridiculous!

That being said, we're thinking about moving. The way my husband's job works, there are offices all over the country, and he just has to put in for a transfer to be moved (okay so it's a little harder than that blah blah blah. There's some technical stuff I don't understand). It is very possible.

And still I don't want to. We LOVE the northwest. Love, Love, Love it! We want to come back and retire here someday. But we've resigned ourselves to the fact that we are NEVER going to be able to afford a house here. (Okay I use 'never' as a relative term. In 10 years we probably could, but I don't want to be in an apartment for that long. Heck, I don't want to be in an apartment right now!)

So that's where were at. Moving. The hard thing is, we're not really looking for a job. Were not going to get a great job offer and jump at it. We have to look at all the cities in the country with an office and decide which one(s) we like, and are affordable. Then weigh how the move will affect my husbands career. And finally decide if we are really up for moving again, or if we should just wait until next year.

We've been talking about it for awhile. I'm torn.

If we do move we would have to move out of the northwest completely. Like to Denver, or Las Vegas, or Texas, or . . . there are a million places. I am a northwest kind of person. I don't like the heat, and I don't mind the rain.

So my question is . . . Is having a house really that great? Great enough to leave and area that you love, and settle for a mediocre city, with a mediocre climate, with people you've never known.

To me, who's been living in an apartment for the last 4 years, having a house is like this grand dream and goal that is just out of reach, that I've been waiting for my entire life. To have a yard, and an upstairs. Ahhhh . . .

But then again. For all I know it is just not that great. Kind of like sex. You wait your whole life for it, and then when it's all said and done, you look back on your wedding night and think 'what's the big deal?'

So is moving worth being able to afford a house?

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Mothers Day

Some people say mother's day is a 'hallmark' holiday. Created by the card, candy, and flower people in order to turn a profit. It is my personal opinion that mothers day was created by underappreciated mothers.

My husband got up an hour before I did with our googie Sunday morning. He made me breakfast, and wrote me a sweet note. By the time I got up, he was ready to go back to bed. Googie, being her normal, terrible-two's-19-month-old-self, had driven him to the point of exhaustion.

I think the best present I got this Mother's Day was the recognition that I don't have the easiest job. That I don't just sit on the computer all day and read blogs, or on the couch and watch boring daytime tv. That taking care of a little princess is hard work, and takes a lot of patience.

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To be a Mom

To be a mother, all you need is a child, or a child-like-entity (some mothers would label husbands as child-like-entities, I can proudly say that my husband would not fit in this category most days. Just when he is sick).

But to really be a mom takes more than that.
It means waking up at 2 am to feed the baby.
It means dealing with poop and puke on everything.
It means answering all the why questions no matter how many there are.
It means having the patience to teach them lessons they really don't want to learn.
It means letting them learn for themselves.
It means allowing them to deal with the natural consequences of their choices.
It means accepting you can't control their lives, and loving them even when they don't 'choose the right'.
It means giving of yourself to make them happy.
To be a mom means to love your children unconditionally.

As moms we still get upset. We have our good days and our bad days. We may yell at them, ground them, take away their car, or threaten to sell them to the zoo. But at the end of the worst possible day you still love them, you watch the 'angels' sleep, and you wouldn't trade them for the world.

I think that this is what it means to truly unconditionally love. To be a Mom.

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I can actually see my baby!

Our first ultrasound did go very well, our second went much better.

Turns out my doctor didn't just find an excuse to send me back. He was really concerned about some of the things they didn't find in the first ultrasound. Like, the aorta for instance. Now we can really see how truly incompetent the first tech was.

My doctor sent me to a high risk clinic for this ultrasound. They have better equipment and use doctor's instead of techs to do the ultrasound. The baby was totally fine, but I was actually kind of grateful to the first tech for not getting it right. We got these amazing 3-D pictures.

It was wonderful! I felt like I actually got to see my baby, which in turn, helped me to finally get excited about having this baby. And apparently I am carrying the baby really far back (really I don't feel like I am, I'm still sticking way out in front, but that's why the first tech couldn't get any pictures). The doctor actually had me laying on my side for most of the ultrasound so he could see the baby better. We also found out it is a little girl. She has a name and everything now. You, however, can call her Boogs, or Boogie, whichever you prefer.

The moral of the story is good things can come out of bad experiences. I'm glad we had the horrible tech to start out with who missed some very key elements in the babies anatomy. But I'm also glad that boogie is fine.

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Yummiest Potato Salad

So I have a problem when I make Potato Salad. My husband doesn't like half of the ingredients I like in it. So this is my solution. If you have picky eaters use this method, they won't even know the difference.

Picky Potato Salad

4 large Potatoes, boiled and cubed
4 large eggs, hardboiled and cubed
4 pickles, chopped
1/2 cup* onion
1/2 cup* bell peppers (what ever color you like)
1/2 cup* olives
1/3 cup* mayonaise
3 T* mustard (use dijon for an extra spicy salad)
salt and pepper to taste

So to put this all together. The potatoes, eggs, and pickles all go in your serving bowl. To this add the onion, bell pepper, and olives, reserving those your family doesn't like (ie. if your family likes olives but hates peppers and onions, add the olives chopped, and reserve the peppers and onions. Personally my husband hates all three so I reserve them all). Now to make the dressing. In your food processor add the onion, peppers, and olives (whatevers left of them). Chop them up really small. Next add the mayo and mustard to the processor, puree the mixture until mostly smooth. Now add a little of the pickle brine to thin it out to a dressing consistency. (I know, I know, pickle brine? Believe me it will make the salad!) Add the dressing to the salad, and toss. Salt and pepper to taste.

That's it. Totally simple huh? And you can add any ingredients you like that I left out. You will get all the flavors of potato salad and none of the complaining about the ingredients. My husband hates, Hates, HATES onions, and he doesn't even notice them when I make it up like this.

Disclaimer: This does NOT work for people who are actually allergic to said items, so make sure they just don't like the flavor, not they can't eat them!

*These measurements are approximations. Add a little more or less until it looks right.

Serves 4-6 people

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Time for Mental Areobics!

Easter. Who decided that for easter we should all eat jelly beans and chocolate and dye hardboiled eggs? Holiday's that stem from religous tradition usually can be tied (or stretched) back to some doctrine or scripture or something. Like Christmas for instance. I have a whole sheet of paper with the symbols of Christmas and what they represent. Gifts represent the ultimate gift, candy canes represent the shephards canes etc. But with easter . . . where did all this stuff come from? The holiday has strayed completely from the doctrine that it celebrates.

I'm not saying I don't enjoy easter the way it is, and we are not one of those families that has to celebrate every holiday that falls on a sunday the saturday before. I would just like to be able to tie the holiday back in with the spiritual celebration.

I work in nursery in our ward and it was my turn to teach the lesson. And given I only get about 2-4 minutes of the kids attention to teach before they want the color sheet. But it really hit me on Sunday, trying to explain to 2 year olds what easter really was. I was excited because it was my turn to teach the lesson. Easter would be an easy subject. Let me tell you it was not easy. First of all 2 year olds don't know the meaning of death. Let alone resurection. Every single one of them knew who the easter bunny was, but they didn't understand that easter was connected to Jesus. They just looked at me all confused, you were just talking about easter where does Jesus fit in?

Now maybe they are just a little young to understand, I'm sure in a couple of years they'll all be trained to say that Easter is because of Jesus. My question is how can we help them connect the two events the commercial and the spiritual Easter?

Let's see the Jellybeans represent . . .
The chocolate represents . . .
Colored eggs represent . . .

Hmmm . . . This might take a little creative thinking and stretching.

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Terrible TV

My little girl is in love with the tv. Does that say something about me as a mom? As I'm sitting here writing this she is watching the last 45 minutes of The Incredibles. Now she doesn't watch tv all day every day. But when I'm making dinner, or need to take a shower, or just at night when she is exhausted and it's too early to go to bed yet. I know that there are a lot of people who believe that you shouldn't let your child watch more than an hour of tv a day.

I don't know. I don't think you should just plop your child in front of the tv every minute of the day . . . but once and awhile so that I can get something done is really nice. Googie probably ends up watching one whole movie a day. Is this going to affect her for life? I don't think so. She needs entertainment, and if once a day it's from a movie, it's not going to kill her.

So where is the danger in letting them watch tv? Does it really hurt your eyesight? How much do you have to watch for any negative affects? Is it just because as a mom your not giving her your full attention? What if it's educational does that excuse it? I don't know. Does it have more to do with her activity level than with how much she watches?

Just something to think about. We do so many things because its the right thing to do, but do we really know why we do them? Like eat a small meal in the morning and a big meal at night. That one really just doesn't make sense, I need all the energy I can get in the morning to start my day with, but society tells us the big meal is at night not in the morning. Do we just go through life doing what were supposed to? We need to ask why. Even if in the end we end up doing it anyways, we should know why.

I heard a story (I think on a sitcom a while ago . . .) about a new mother who was making a pot roast for the first time and she called her mom and asked how to do it. Her mother told her to cut off the end of the potroast. The daugther asked why and the mom said "I don't know, that's just the way your grandmother did it." So the daughter called the grandmother, and asked about cutting off the end of the roast. The grandmother said "well that's the way my mother did it." So the daughter called her great-grandmother and she said "well I always cut off the end my pot roasts because my pan is too small." So three generations threw away the end of their roasts because the great-grandmother's pan was too small. No one even questioned why. We need to be careful not to do the same things in our own lives. Even if it comes back and we end up doing it the way generations have, at least we know why.

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Toast and Twins

My mom is coming to visit today. I really should be cleaning my house and not checking up on the blogging world, but what can I say? It's like my morning coffee. If I don't get on and check when I wake up I feel like I'm missing out on some awesome story. Even though I don't drink coffee, and barely even eat breakfast, I must check the blogs. It's sad I know.

Lately Googie has been protesting eating breakfast. She will only have 4 tiny bites of toast before she wants to be done. I wonder if it's because she doesn't see me eat breakfast? But she's got to be hungry in the morning when she gets up. Oh well its a mystery (and a fight), but she's not going to starve right?

I think I'm having twins. Okay so not really but this baby moves so much theres no way that one little baby can be everywhere at once. Not to mention he (yes we are calling him he, we really don't know for sure) always moves at the most inconvient times. Like when I'm trying to get to sleep, or when he kicks me really hard and wakes me up.

Okay, Googie is done with her thee bites of toast, so I have to go get her down. What a little stinker.

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Mike? Allison? Pecans?

We've been thinking about baby names lately. Well rethinking actually. We've had our kids names picked out (assuming everything goes according to plan . . .) since before we were engaged. The first one went perfectly. We found out she was a girl, the name fits her personality great and she even looks the part. Since that time I decided I was only having 3 kids (after being through one, I decided I wasn't up for 6 pregnancies and 6 labors. Three is my maximum. I was actually hoping this one might be twins, whatever the challenges they pose at least I wouldn't have to be pregnant again. Alas they tell me there's only one . . . but we'll find out for sure when they do the second ultrasound). Anyways, the point is . . . middle names. That's what poses the challenges for us, we still have our first names picked out but the middle is what we have a problem with. Now realizing that I'm not giving out personal information including possible baby names, and especially our last name, there's not much anyone reading this could do to help. But it is the dilemma of the day.

In other news Googie is feeling better. And neither I nor Daddy have had any symptoms or signs of catching it (which is very unusual as I seem to catch everything she does. We're always sick at the same time or one after the other. Which makes taking care of her and the house rather challenging . . .) So we're beginning to wonder if it was something she ate. She didn't eat anything bad as far as I know, we all at the same things it was Sunday, and we were together all day. So I'm pretty confident in ruling out food poisoning. I'm also pretty confident in ruling out a virus for the above reason, and also the fact that the doctor said that the throwing up should be accompanied by diarrhea (which it wasn't, though it still could be a virus even if unlikely). The last option that I can come up with is a food allergy.

The only two things that we had that were new to her were fresh pineapple, and crushed pecans in a cheesecake crust. She has had canned pineapple before so I don't think that it being fresh should make such a difference. So that leaves the pecans (if I'm right in my medical theory, and if she didn't eat something gross off the floor, and if she didn't drink enough bubble bath water to make her sick, and if . . . I don't know but I'm sure there are other possibilities). So my question is, if it was the pecans she only had a bite of cheesecake because she didn't particularly like it. So if she is allergic to only pecans and not peanuts as found in peanut butter, then is it something I need to be concerned with, could it be life threatening if she ate a whole pecan instead of just the crumbles from one? Or are there enough "ifs" to put off a trip to the doctor for allergy testing. I don't have much experience with allergies. All I know is my brother is allergic to dogs, my mom is allergic to bees, and I'm allergic to amoxicillian, all of which produce hives or severe hay fever, nothing really serious. So my question again should I be worried?

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