Thursday, April 28, 2011

Monster Children See Monster Trucks

A few weeks ago Steve took our boys to a Monster Truck rally. The boys were VERY excited. Anytime they saw a commercial for the rally they'd dance around clapping their hands, "WE GET TO GO SEE THAT!!"
Thankfully, since my hubby is a SAINT, I was able to stay home and did NOT have to participate. (He gets me, he really does...)
The boys had a BLAST! Although, I heard that Jake wanted mom after the first few minutes. Eventually, he got into the mood and was yelling and having fun with everyone else.
It ended up going pretty late, and the boys were SO tired when they got home at one in the morning, but they're already begging to go again next year.
Cameron, my sweet boy, keeps saying, "Mom, I close my eyes, and all I see are monster trucks!"
We know what will make the boys' year next time around....

The BESTEST Birthday Present Ever....

My bed is all done....all prettified and MINE! I'm SO in love with it. Thanks to my brothers (who are SUPER talented in the woodworking department) and my dad for providing the lumber, and to my hubby, for the bestest ruined surprise I could ever hope for!

Monday, April 25, 2011

Wanna See What I Get For My Birthday??

Steve has been pretty secretive about my birthday present this year. Unfortunately for him, I'm observant.
He commissioned my younger brothers to make me a bed....headboard, sideboards, footboard....but they all refused to let me see it.
Well, since today is my birthday and I won't be able to GET it today (still needs to get a finishing coat on it...) I begged to go and see it.
It. Is. BEAUTIFUL!! It's hickory and walnut. It's SO SO SO pretty. I'm perma-grin just thinking about it.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Final Lumpy Update: All is Well

Yes, I'm completely FINE!!
I went in for the ultrasound this morning, and almost had to have a mammogram, but since you can SEE the lump on the skin, they opted to wait until after the ultrasound if it was necessary.
They checked it, then went to consult with the doctor. I laid on the bed all by myself for 10 minutes. My mind kept thinking, "Maybe they've FOUND something. Maybe I was a little too confident in my in-grown hair scar theory.....I'm totally gonna lose my boob!"
Thankfully, the doctor came in, checked for himself, and decided that it's probably a lymph node. It's about an inch deep and comma shaped. If it gets any bigger or causes pain, I'm to go in, but for now: CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH!
Breathing never felt SO good!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Lumpy Update

I saw a physician's assistant today. She was VERY nice and wonderful about everything. She did an exam and found my little lump, after she examined it a bit, she decided that it looked and felt like it was an ingrown hair that had scared up. She said to be sure it was what she thought, she'd order an ultrasound, since I'm not experiencing any pain with it, and the other option is to cut into it.
The hospital will be calling me soon to set up an appointment for the ultrasound, and until that ultrasound clears me, I will still be hesitant to breathe freely, but my mind is at ease.
Thank you so much for your love and prayers, they were felt.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Lumpy

This weekend, after having a wonderful experience at a Women's Conference that built me up, I had a humbling moment. I found a small lump on my breast.
I have been a mess all weekend. I tried to hold it in at church, but broke down during a few of the hymns and my husband's solo. During those songs I was feeling the love of the Lord and my Savior. I know they love me and they are watching over me.
My little lump could be anything, but I'm going to a doctor tomorrow to have it checked out. If you could spare a few prayers for me and my small family, I would truly appreciate it.
No matter what, I AM going to go on. I AM going to be okay. I am NOT going to let a little lump get me down.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Echo?

Seriously, I'm talking to myself, I know it, but come ON!! :(
I'm going off somewhere to pout.

Phone Woes

Yesterday I jumped onto our computer to do a few things and found that the internet wasn't working. I didn't really think too much of it, and played a game until Steve woke up. Once he was awake I told him that the internet was off, and I didn't know what was wrong.
He played around with it for a while and eventually figured out that it was more than just a messed up modem.....our whole phone system was off. The phones weren't working. (No WONDER it had been such a quiet, peaceful morning...) He asked me if I'd paid our bill, I told him I did, so I didn't know what was wrong.
I hurried over to my mom's house to use HER phone to call the phone company. After 15 minutes I was told that they were going to send out a technician to fix the problem....TOMORROW.
How in the world was I going to live without the internet for a full day? This was going to be torture!
My mom let me borrow her cell phone, just in case I needed it for anything, and then I hurried home to tell Steve what was going on before he had to go to work.
That night, I played with my boys. We made cupcakes (making a MESS) and then we watched TV. After they were in bed, I played my computer game for HOURS. Once Steve came home after midnight, I even went to the store. I have to admit, driving around town at 2:30 in the morning is SO fun and relaxing....there is NO ONE you have to worry about. I went to Walmart and bought the new Harry Potter movie, drove around a little bit and then came home.
This morning I waited for the repairman to come. Finally around 10:00 there was a knock at the door. I hurried to answer it, and found it was a repairWOMAN. She was very kind and said that the problem was coming from INSIDE our apartment. She quickly checked all the phone jacks that we have in use....clearing them almost instantly. After taking her upstairs to my bedroom, she asked if there were ANY other jacks, I said I didn't think so, then she asked if there was a jack in the boys' bedroom. Funny she should mention that, there IS one, but we don't use it....
Unless you happen to be 2 and 3/4 years old, full of mischief and in possession of a tinker-toy. Jake had taken his orange tinker-toy stick and STUCK it in the jack. I was SO embarrassed.
Thankfully the lady was understanding and said it happens all the time.
Now we're back. (YAY!) But I'm seriously contemplating banishing tinker-toys from my house.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

One More Mommy Confession

Yesterday, while the boys were obnoxious and bouncing off the walls, I got super frustrated. The thing of it is that they like to bang on the walls that we share with neighbors. I don't mind so much when it's just them banging on our inner walls, but the shared walls makes me crazy because I'm so afraid the neighbors are going to think we're rotten neighbors.
I could hear them banging on the shared wall and I said, "You know boys, you need to be more polite. You shouldn't bang on the wall we share with the neighbors, because they might call the cops. And if they do, I might be tempted to let the police take you both away...."
Silence for a minute...
Cameron called back, "Maybe Grandma would want us."

Monday, April 11, 2011

Teach ME for Trying to be a Good Mommy....

So my last post was all about tattling on Steve and his mistakes. (Believe me, the only reason I posted it was because the man RARELY does stuff like this anymore....he just has had a bad couple of days....) Now it's time to tattle on myself....
Today I took Jake with me to the store. I've been watching Sonic's commercials for their hot dogs....and they look REALLY good. So I figured I'd make my own hot dogs for lunch, but I needed to get some decent hot dogs (I'm a weenie snob....I only eat Falls Brand Beef Wieners.) and some buns. I also decided to buy some chili blocks, and the only store that I KNEW had what I wanted was across town. I took my chances and went across town to get the stuff.
When we were checking out, Jake happened to see the soda display. I was in a good mood and decided to let him choose a soda. I have been craving a Dr. Pepper, so I opted for caffeine, knowing I'd probably fall asleep anyway, then I let Jake pick his own. He grabbed a new soda by Sunkist. In this part of the country, we rarely have caffeine in our Sunkist sodas. I figured he was safe.
Once we got home I made our lunch and poured Jake's soda into a cup. I refilled his cup 3 times. I ended up giving him about 1/2 of a 16 ounce bottle.
After lunch, I planned on making the boy take a nap, because he stayed up WAY late last night and woke up WAY early today. He was in DESPERATE need of sleep. I turned on his cartoons, and held him on my lap. (This is how I usually get him to snooze....it's also tradition for me to fall asleep sitting up and holding the child, possibly snoring in his ear. It's soothing, I swear!)
Two hours later, he was just wiggly and NOT ready to nap.
Finally, I thought, "Wait, doesn't SOME of Sunkist's drinks have caffeine?" I went to check the bottle. Sure enough, the fourth ingredient was caffeine. I wanted to hit myself in the head. Are you KIDDING!? I'd given my already hyper child ENERGY juice!?
(At this point, I WAS impressed that the boy sat still for me for 2 hours, but still....) So I let him run around....this only made the energy grow and grow and grow.
I will NOT be doing this again, I can assure you....
Heck, there's a special spot on the label that SAYS it has caffeine!
See, I COULD have saved myself SO much frustration, but I was only trying to be a good mommy.....

Sunday, April 10, 2011

A Fork?? REALLY!?

Today started out as another fabulous Sunday. After church I came home and quickly put dinner together. It took me a half hour of cooking and rearranging, but I got things ready. Cameron was a HUGE help by washing off the table and setting it. While I was trying to get my gravy to boil, Cam asked, "Mom, big forks or little ones?"
Now something random you should know about me....I don't CARE what size fork I eat with. Truly, I don't. In fact, I almost PREFER a smaller fork over the huge one.
But in the end, I left the choice up to Cameron. I said, "I don't care...." Truly meaning that I did NOT care one way or the other.
When we sat down to eat, Steve traded forks with Cam. Steve, apparently a different creature from me, DOES care. He was just about to start eating when Cam whined, "What happened to my big fork!?"
At that point, Steve tossed the big fork back to Cameron, and then took back the smaller fork.
(Seriously, this whole thing just BAFFLES my mind....) Here I have a 10 year old fighting with his 33 year old father.
I think I said something to the fact that it REALLY didn't matter, did it? Why fight with a 10 year old over something SO stupid? Steve got all huffy and angry and suddenly got up and went upstairs.
Both boys watched their dad throw his tantrum and then asked me, "Mom, what's wrong with daddy?"
"Daddy's throwing a tantrum, he'll be back later...don't worry about him."
(I am NOT making this up....this is REALLY what happened....)
I'm still trying to figure out WHY this whole thing happened. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that Cameron and his daddy don't get along very well....but really, a FORK!? Next time, if you REALLY need that big fork and I have one, please, PLEASE take mine...I honestly DON'T care!

Wednesday, April 06, 2011

Gotta Clean

Jacob is one motivated little boy. Today while I was on the computer (only for 20 minutes, that's not long, is it?) Jake managed to get into something quite important.
I turned around to talk to the little boy and noticed the wet wipes were emptied from the package and laying all over the floor and entertainment center. When I asked Jake what he was doing he said, "I gotta clean!" Then he proceeded to "clean" the TV and the mirror.
I can't get mad at the boy, because he's got a good point, the house DOES need cleaned, but I just think there's a better choice than wet wipes.
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On a side-note, I've been reading a REALLY good book that has me looking at motherhood a little differently (probably why I didn't freak out when Jake emptied the wipes....) It's called For Every Mother: Celebrating all ages and stages of motherhood. The author is wonderful. She's the mother of 10 children, so she DEFINITELY is an expert in motherhood. This book is filled with short excerpts, stories and poems that will make you think a little differently about being a mom. I know that I'm trying harder to enjoy those moments I used to dread with my own boys.
If you're struggling with being a mom, finding that you are upset and feeling overwhelmed most of the time, check out this book....it's truly wonderful.

Sunday, April 03, 2011

Going to General Conference

I've never been to see Conference live, but I've always wanted to. I was able to go to a Young Women's broadcast, but that's not QUITE the same. So when our bishop announced that he had tickets for Conference, Steve, without even asking me, got some tickets for us. Jake is too young to go, so it was just Steve, Cameron and I.
We dropped Jake off with my parents early Saturday morning, and off we went. The drive was VERY pleasant and drama free.
We arrived in Salt Lake City JUST as the first session of Conference got finished. We went downtown and ate lunch at Subway. We watched throngs of people walking down the street. It was quite the sight. People after people....it was awesome.
We finished our lunch, and decided that the sooner we parked and got to the Conference Center, the better.
Parking was almost a nightmare, but because we had a pass, we were safe. We quickly found a spot, parked and off we went for our long walk.
Once we got to Temple Square the people were OVERWHELMING! I'd forgotten that people use General Conference time to protest our church. One man was holding a sign, I never really read, but he began yelling, "You cannot enter heaven unless you are born again! HAVE YOU BEEN BORN AGAIN, YOU MORMONS!? Jesus saves, but you must believe in him!" He went on and on....I wanted to laugh at him, I mean, the NAME of our church is "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints." His name is RIGHT there!
We went to the door our ticket said to enter through, and were told by many helpers that we just needed to find a door, the door with the shortest line....
We went through the metal detectors, had my purse searched and went to find our seats. Cool enough, our section is on the second level almost STRAIGHT across from the rostrum.
I kept telling Cameron that when the Prophet came in, we'd stand in reverence and wait for him to sit, and to remember the feeling he felt when the Prophet came in. We sat excitedly for a while, talked with a few members of our own ward who'd gotten tickets as well....then there was silence as people stood. If you've never experienced being in the place where a prophet of the Lord is, it is truly special. The Spirit is SO strong.
Once he was seated, we all sat and waited for the Conference to start.
I will say this, if you're prone to fall asleep watching Conference at home, it's NO different in the Conference Center. I found myself nodding off. I didn't want to do that, so I doodled. I ended up doodling a whole page of curly-cues.
The messages were wonderful (like always) and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
At the end, I felt like we should just go straight home instead of following our plans, but then I brushed off my thought and didn't say a word. Little did I know, Steve had the same "thought...." What we NOW know was truly an impression from the Spirit we should have heeded.
When it was over, we visited some friends who'd moved to Layton, and stayed to play while Steve went to Priesthood session with our friend. By the time they got back, it was late, and we HAD to leave. It was raining buckets, but we were okay. Once we got to the Idaho boarder though, it was snowing, HUGE, FLUFFY snowflakes. With the lights reflecting off of the snow it looked like we were driving through space. You know how warp speed looks on movies and television?? Yeah, we were going warp speed....except it was only like 40 mph. We had to stop at a rest area to get our bearings, because the normal night-time tunnel-vision was 100 times worse with snow. We said a prayer, and slowly made our way home. We followed some sweet person most of the way through the snow and eventually made our own way once the snow dissipated. What's normally a 3 hour drive took us over 4 hours. But we made it home by midnight.
It was a great day, and one I wouldn't mind doing again, MINUS the snowstorm.