Baldy-McBald-Face

He did it....when I was not at home (because he knew I'd keep trying to convince him to keep his hair...)

Up close...yup, it's really *THAT* white! Cute man, with or without hair! (Love you, honey!)

Ouch!

Steve was in a minor car accident yesterday. No one was hurt in either car. (Thank heaven!) But the cars had some damage to them. Our new-ish car now has a big black streak and a cracked bumper.

I guess Steve was pulling out of his work's parking lot, and didn't see the other car coming and they side-swiped each other. (Steve OFTEN doesn't see other cars coming...his blind-spot in the car is HUGE, but he really REALLY needs to look TWICE! I have to tell him when I ride with him NOT to go because a car is coming...)

After calling everyone yesterday, we don't have to pay anything extra, our insurance is covering it all (well, except the damage to OUR car, but that's only the $100 deductible) and our premiums won't go up either. YAY for good insurance.

Here's the car....poor, poor car.

Like I said though, I'm glad no one was hurt, it could have been SO much worse!

No, We Don't Just Live in the Past, or ONLY Watch Videos...

My extended Love Story and the Mothers' Day Videos have kept me from updating you on my family. (Well, mostly, I did a FEW updates...)

The school year is winding down, and Cameron is anxious to go to his new school. Even though his current school does go from Kindergarten to sixth grade, the DACC (Developmentally Accurate Curriculum Classroom, aka Special Ed) only goes from Kindergarten to third grade. Next year he'll be at a different school, still in the DACC, but one that goes from fourth grade to sixth. We have a transition meeting on Friday, and I am also feeling the nerves. I hope that his new teacher is as motivated as his current teacher. I have to admit, the thing I absolutely LOVE about DAC is that the teacher is the same the whole way through. Instead of switching teachers yearly, Cam has had (until this current school year) only 2 teachers: his Kindergarten teacher, and then the DAC teacher. This year, he got a new teacher because his old teacher took a position teaching pre-school. I have LOVED that Cam is more obedient to this teacher, that this teacher believes in Cameron, and that he's a MAN. Honestly, I used to think all guy teachers were boring and jerks. (Coming from my OWN experience in high school.) I never knew any male teachers who taught elementary, so I was shocked when Cam's pre-school teacher was a man. I had pre-conceived notions, and his teacher, Mr. Lange, showed me that a man can be a GREAT teacher for little kids. When I heard that Cam was going to have another male teacher, I wasn't as trepidatious as I had been with pre-school. He has THRIVED under his teacher's care. He responds better to him, and has had less bad (reported) behavior. It's been great. I've been trying to petition Mr. W to follow Cameron to the new school, but he assures me that he is needed at the current school, and that the new teacher is wonderful too. We will be anticipating meeting her on Friday.

Cameron has also had a mohawk for a while. The terms when I gave it to him were that he must be obedient, and show good behavior. This morning, the bad behavior ran amok. Cam woke up SEVERAL times in the middle of the night (once before Steve went to work at 4:00 am, when I woke up for my potty break at 5:30 am, and then again at 6:00 am....) and was a BEAR to wake up this morning. Once he finally DID get ready, he was still defiant (which, actually is a typical morning behavior for him, before his medication and all...) and got three warnings. After the third warning, I told him what was going to happen, and pulled out my hair clippers. The crying ensued, and I stuck to my guns, when he was warned he KNEW he could stop and would be able to keep his mohawk, but he continued being defiant and bratty. Good-bye mohawk. Happily though, he was much better behaved after the loss of his mohawk....yay!

Jacob has become QUITE independent. I put a bowl of fruit on the kitchen table, and in the last 10 minutes he's brought me two bananas. He can help himself to most things, which isn't always a good thing. He does dole out "I love you" often (even to someone at church yesterday....it was very cute!) And he blows kisses and makes the noisy *mwah* noise afterward. He talks a LOT, understands, A LOT, and has a great personality. He's lots of fun, most of the time.

He's also picked up a bad habit of screaming loudly in enclosed spaces and at a very high pitch. He thinks it's funny, and will do it, JUST for our reaction.

He's quite the entertainer, and even likes to show off for people he doesn't know very well. (Although he does play bashful first...) His favorite place to be is outside, and will often grab our hands and say, "Ousside!!! PWEEASE!!!!" When we agree that he can go out, he erupts with, "YAY!!" and then claps his hands.

I'm having a hard time believing that he'll be 2 next month.

Steve has finished his choir concert, which was very nice. He was even on the local news when they played part of the concert on the news. He noticed that he looks QUITE somber when he sings, I told him that he just needs to smile....we'll see. He is also getting ready to try-out for another musical. I know that I've mentioned that I HATE it when he is in plays, but I want him to participate with groups that are family-friendly, and this choir, has proved itself to be otherwise.

At his last big performance, I took Jacob and Cameron, by myself, to hear him sing at a church I'd never been in. I felt uncomfortable, and should have just left, but I stayed to support my husband. This concert was late at night, after a long day at church, and Jake was very unhappy. He didn't want to sit still and be quiet any more. So he cried and screamed. I took him out of the sanctuary and tried to calm him down, but I knew I couldn't leave poor Cameron all by himself for too long, so I went back, but this made Jake upset, and I had to leave with him again. This cycle repeated itself about 4 times. I was so humiliated and frustrated by the end of it. When it was over, Steve was carrying Jake out, and a lady, who we KNOW well, and actually invited Steve to the choir, shook her head at Steve, giving Jake the stink-eye. Steve asked her what was wrong, and she said, "He shouldn't have been given a second chance to come back."

Are you KIDDING me!?

Then she didn't stop, she kept going, "There is a reason MOST concerts have an age limit. He shouldn't have come back because they were recording this concert...." blah blah blah.

I felt about an inch high, and was SO thoroughly embarrassed that I just grabbed both boys and left. When I got to the van, I was in TEARS. How DARE she act that way? Kids are kids, and it's not like I could just take Jake and leave Cameron sitting by himself. He has anxiety issues, you don't just abandon a kid with anxiety issues.

I kept trying to calm down by telling myself that she didn't know any better, and that I was a good mommy, and it was just her being an ornery old lady.

The next concert, the next night, Jake went again, and was MUCH better behaved. The guy in front of us at this concert commented on how well behaved he'd been, and that we should have heard the loud child from the night before. I was embarrassed, AGAIN, and vowed to not take him anymore. I didn't want to even go myself.

So this time, I went with JUST Cameron to the second performance, and we enjoyed it. But there were noisy kids at this concert. I let the noise go, because, heck, I'd just been reamed for having a noisy kid at the last concert, I wasn't going to be a brat. Once the concert was over, that lady, the one who'd chewed ME out for taking a noisy child, under 8....to a concert, hugged on these kids. THEY WERE HER GRANDKIDS! I was so mad! SO mad! I just ignored her and left.

I know that the organization that he's going to try-out for is child-oriented, and I feel better knowing that if I bring a noisy child to a performance with this group, I won't be shunned, humiliated, or made to feel bad.

And me? Oh, I'm just plugging along. I was spoiled with my Mother's Day stuff yesterday. I got two sprouts that Cam planted at school, a marigold from Jake and nursery, and two bamboo plants from Steve. I am LOVING the color in my life.

I also got some cute cards, a book light, and TWO corsages. It was a very fun day. I even got to talk to my missionary brother in the Philippines. He'd called my mom VERY late at night to tell her to set up Skype. She was so loopy, and didn't know who he was (he didn't identify himself...) But she got my other brother working on it, and he set up my parents' big screen TV as our Skype. We talked with him for an hour, and got to see his SEVERE tan line, and his teeth. (LOL, apparently, in the Philippines instead of fixing teeth, dentists just PULL them out, so we asked him if he still had all of his teeth...) It was so much fun to SEE him, and talk with him. It was great. We now have a countdown date for his homecoming, and my boys got to talk to him a bit too. Jake kind of ate the microphone, and ran around, but Cameron LOVED talking to him. When it was over, he begged to do it again. We told Cam that he could talk to Braiden when he comes home in 3 months. He got very excited and did a little bit of a happy dance.

I also participated in Bountiful Baskets. A food co-op, where you pay $15 or more, if you want organic, and you get equal parts fruits and vegetables. This last week was my first time, and I quite enjoyed it. We ended up with TONS of yummy food. This last week's basket had lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers, spinach, brocoflower (or as my brother prefers to call it, "cauliflocceri"), corn, watermelon, apples, bananas, mangoes, and tangelos. It was SO yummy. I still have a ton of stuff left. I may have to do this every once in a while...it's just too fun.

Saturday I also went to my cousin's wedding. It was lovely, and a big adventure. Things got a little mixed up when we went to the reception, but we figured things out. She was gorgeous, and I enjoyed talking with her parents. I don't see my aunts and uncles nearly as often as I used to.

Overall, things are going well. We're happy, healthy, and surviving. :)

Pillow Talk

Steve's been working late nights this weekend. I've been sick all weekend. It was kind of a rough weekend for my poor little boys. I decided on Saturday, after a miserable day, that I wasn't going to go to church. Cameron, once he heard the news said, "MOM!! That's two days in a ROW!!"

I giggled and said, "No, actually that's two weeks in a row. Good try though."

Can I just say that I'm VERY happy that Cam wants to go to church. I find that a HUGE accomplishment.

Anyway, Steve came to bed at 5:00 Sunday morning. I wasn't expecting him home until 6:30 or 7:00...he was working graveyard, so I knew that he was home early. I asked him why he was home. (I know, nice, right?) He told me that someone came in early so that he could get a little bit of sleep so that he could go to church. I was excited for Cameron to go to church.

We fell asleep.

My internal alarm clock woke me up around 7:00 am. I asked Steve what time it was and he got a little miffed and said, "White milk!"

Um, try that again...

"Steve, look at your alarm clock. What time does it say?"

After rolling back from his alarm clock, he said "White milk oh four!"

After that sweet conversation, I KNEW that man needed more sleep, so I didn't push the fact that I wanted him to take Cameron to church.

Thankful November

I'm not that good at reading other's blogs, but...I just barely read my friend, Mary's, blog and she had a FABULOUS idea. A thankful post everyday until Thanksgiving. I'm stealing that idea, because I need more gratitude in my life.

My husband

Today I'm grateful for a loving husband.

He puts up with my bad days better than I deserve. He works hard for my little family. He loves my family and has grown with me in the last 10 years.

We can read each others' minds most times, it makes me laugh. When I have some fun news about the boys, or something that is devastating to me, I am anxious to talk to him and tell him.

He's a great friend and makes me want to be a better me.

Love you, honey, and I'm SO grateful to have you in my life!

Craziness is Back!

Today's day "off" is filled....I can't even really do much here, but here's why I'm so crazy busy!

• Need to do some shopping for den meeting today. I was smart and planned out the activities LAST month, but forgot to buy the supplies! *D'oh!* (We're making 2 liter bottle piggy banks....so I need paint, little wooden spools, glue, scissors, felt, pipe-cleaners....) OH, and I still need to get some of our boys their rank advancement bead-things. I'm still learning!
• I have a meeting with our Service Coordinator....she's SO nice and helpful, but we have a LOT to discuss today!
• Then this afternoon we have the actual den meeting....uh, yay?
• Then tonight, almost directly after den meeting I have our annual Relief Society visiting teaching conference!! I think they WANT us to go or something.....I got an email about it, a hand delivered invitation, a phone call from my VT supervisor (the lady who wants to know what I'll tell the Lord...), and now a reminder from my OWN visiting teacher! (I'm HOPING I remember!! ;) )
• And finally, I need to actually celebrate my 8th anniversary with Steve. It's his last day-off this week, and he REALLY wants to do SOMETHING! (He mostly slept yesterday....working graveyards will do that....) and then he had play practice last night. :P

Update: I DID go to the VT conference....EXCELLENT!! But I missed Scouts....Five minutes before I was going to leave, Steve accidentally stabbed himself with a knife. (he was helping me get things ready for my 2 liter bottle piggy banks.) And sadly, we had JUST (like 30 minutes previously) had paid off that particular doctor bill!! :S (By the way, he's okay, ended up getting 2 stitches and his tetanus shot!)

Memorial Day Weekend and Steve's Birthday

Camping was WONDERFUL! It barely (and I do mean barely) rained on Sunday night for a few minutes, then a few minutes later, then a few minutes later....just real spotty, but nothing big or bad!

I did my share of driving the 4-wheeler over the weekend. Cam's new thing was to find me and say, "Mama, I gotta go to the potty." I'd then tell him to pee on a tree (yeah, I know...real encouraging.) Then he'd say, "NO, Mama!! I gotta go to the hou-house!" That was his way of getting rides on the 4-wheeler. It was quite fun! I even took him for his OWN ride later on Saturday. He loved it. I made the boy wear a helmet, and I wore one. Steering while having a little kid bonk you in the face with a helmet isn't the "fun" I had hoped for, but we did have a good time. The roads were VERY dusty (from lack of rain) and so we couldn't go very fast without clouds of dust flying EVERYWHERE!

Then I even took a ride on my own. I found a BEAUTIFUL spot and couldn't help but kneel in a prayer of gratitude for this beautiful world. That was one of the BEST moments of the weekend.

I did have a screaming match with Cameron on Sunday night. The kid was ornery and tired, and was having TOO much fun to sleep. I dragged him into the tent to change him into his jammies, and in the process he pitched a fit and screamed worse than I had EVER heard him. The one thing that just irked me, was his attitude with me. He yelled, IN my face, "I don't wanna be camping, NO MORE!!" And then he THREW himself on his bed. I yelled back (Yeah, I'm not good with fits yet...) "That's FINE! We're going home tomorrow..." To which he promptly screamed, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" Yeah, fun times....can't wait until those wonderful teen-years come....

I felt really gross by the end of the trip though. I felt like I had been caked with dust. My hair had changed color...to a sandy blondish-brown. (GROSS!)

We did have a few not-so-good things come up: the night before we left for camping I had closed (not SLAMMED!) my driver's side door, and the glass part of my mirror fell out and shattered on my street. NICE! :S So the next day we drove all over town to find a replacement before we could go camping. Luckily, we went to a local glass store and found a replacement.

And my parents, who had just gotten their trailer back from the repair shop a month ago, went to the tire shop to check the tires. The tires on one side were cracked pretty badly, so they had to wait for a few hours for the tire shop to replace the tires. They told my parents that one tire was fine, and they didn't replace it. Well, once my parents DID leave town, the tire that was "fine" completely blew out! BOOM! So they had to stop and change THAT tire. In the end we all got safely to our campsite before dark. But where we camped it doesn't get dark until after 9:00! Yeah, good thing we had all planned on leaving Friday MORNING!! *snickering*

Then Steve and I had a great time at the hotel last night. I don't really know if it was all WORTH the $200 we spent on it, but it was fun to get away from the whiny child, and just be a couple again! :)

Hypothetical Question...

What do YOU do when your husband makes a liar out of you?? Just curious...

Crazy Monday

My Life Monday will have to wait for me!
Today I'm off for Cameron's second MRI. I just looked online at the hotel I booked a spot at, ugh...I should have looked there FIRST! It's kind of a crappy place, but I guess you get what you get when you book a room for only $39!! Sheesh!

I had to take Steve to his pneumonia doctor visit today. It went well...although when we had scheduled the appointment we completely forgot that Cam had Spring Break! DUH!! We were just a little distracted! Anyway, he's doing well, but still has a major cough. So the doctor prescribed him some heavy duty cough meds. We went to the bank (hooray for cool doctors who pay YOU to see them!) and then made a trip to the Walmart pharmacy. They told Steve that it would take 25 minutes for the prescription to be ready...it was already 10:30. I guess he wasn't thinking, because he had to leave town at 11:00 to get to work for today (which I didn't realize was OUT of town today!) So we wandered around for the time, and the when it was time to pick it up, the pick up line was HUGE, so we decided to just leave, and he'd go back later to pick it up. We hurried to my mom's house and he dropped us off and was off! What a punk....I can't quite read his mind, yet. Guess that's something in our marriage that we need to work on!

Tomorrow we have the MRI, and I'm going to attempt to convince the radiologist to share his information with U of U, so we only have to do ONE scan. I hope I can be convincing!

Here's a funny story to get you by:

Yesterday at church it was CRAZY!! I substituted in Primary for the chorister, and I was really excited. I had planned on dropping off the poster that she made IN the primary room before I went to sacrament meeting, but when I opened the door I noticed the room was FILLED with people. Uh...I had forgotten there was a class going on!
Then I went to Sacrament Meeting...poster in hand, and it was just me and Cameron (Steve had just gotten off work and was sleeping.) I found a bench and sat down. While waiting for the meeting to start I waved to a little girl who I have a special spot in my heart for. (Our first week in that ward, she had CLUNG to me in the nursery room. I guess she thought I was her mom, and she didn't want to be alone!) She instantly changed courses! She came over and said, "I want to sit by YOU." I tried to convince her that sitting by her family would be better, but she was NOT easily persuaded! Her mom came in and had that look on her face that said, "Where is my daughter!?" I showed her where she was, and she asked if it was okay if she sat by me. I said that was fine, and Becca was INSTANTLY attached to me. For the rest of the meeting I was distracted by her laying on me, her fighting with Cam, or her playing dead across the WHOLE bench! Yeah, it was fun! But when her dad got up to bear his testimony, she decided that she could sit with her family again! She's so funny!

Then in Primary, the kids were WILD!! I got a chance to talk to my friend who is moving. I'm really going to miss her! I did singing time, and then I went up to the nursery. I guess there was a sign on my forehead that said, "Today is the day for sitting ON or BY me." As soon as I went into nursery the kids attacked!! I was given the biggest group hug I think I've ever had!! I began by singing "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam" and I try to do an action for them...keeping them entertained. Instead of jumping out of their chairs, I make them make "sunbeams" with their hands, and while I was singing and doing the action one little girl came up just a little TOO close. I nicked her chin...causing blood! Uh, yes, I'm the one who abuses sweet innocent nursery kids. She wasn't fazed by it, but by the end of singing time, I was mauled by 5 kids at ONCE!

The funny thing about this WHOLE experience?? I loved EVERY MINUTE of it! I was completely in my element. I really MISS Sunday primary! I hope that SOMEDAY I will feel the same way about my scouts! Someday....

Blessings in Disguise

I feel blessed, but in a round-about way.

For the last week or so, Steve has had a NASTY cough. It sounds like he's going to hack up a lung or something. It's been bad, but we thought it was just another cold, and that eventually he'd get over it. Well, time went on and it just seemed to get worse. PLUS he would be fevered and get clammy and just not feel good.

So yesterday, after I got back from Cam's Primary activity (which I'll have to tell about another time...) he was still feeling pretty icky, and his shift at work had been moved. So we decided, it's time to bite the bullet and go see a doctor.

We took him to a local urgent care center, and waited...and waited....and waited. Finally, they took us back to a room where we waited some MORE! (We were there for about an hour and a half.) Anyway, in that time they did a test for flu, a chest x-ray, and a blood draw. In the end they determined that the man has pneumonia. That's NOT what we had expected!

Luckily, the Physician's Assistant that was there told us that there is a study that a local doctor is doing ON pneumonia, and if we were interested, they'd sign us up for it. The study would totally cover any doctors visits, medications, and would even PAY US! We were ALL for that, so we waited while the PA got a hold of the doctor in charge of the study.

He sent us on our way, x-rays in hand and a lighter heart! (The main reason we'd put off going to the doctor was the cost of it....but with this study, we didn't have that worry any more!)

The doctor greeted us and started everything going. Steve will be taking a drug (we don't know which one) either a new one being tested, or the old tried-and-true method. He'll be getting x-rays, blood draws, and some EKGs. It's all pretty interesting.

The only thing I'm REALLY worried about now is how he can keep his cool when he gets his blood drawn. The man CANNOT handle needles of ANY kind!! He literally sweats bullets!! (Well, not "bullet" bullets...but his sweating is pretty BAD!) And I had to hold him down for 2 of the draws yesterday. He needed me to lean on! I just hope he'll get used to these tests, and not worry about them so much! (Both I and the lady who took his blood commented on how it's a good thing HE'S not the one who has to have babies!!)

I had been worried about him all week. His coughing was keeping him awake at night, but since he's so thoughtful, he'd leave the room so I could sleep. But now, I'm so much happier!! I know he'll be getting better soon! And I know that if anything, Heavenly Father was watching out for my small family! I'm so blessed!

The Story of Steve, the Purse, and the Police

This post should go on my husband's blog, but I'm going to tell HIS story here! (I'm so nice that way!)

Last week, while he was at work, some people came and made a fairly normal order. Once they got their order they came BACK to the counter, and told my husband that they didn't get the sauces for their kid's chicken nuggets. Steve was very nice about it, and said, "I'm sorry, here you go, and if there's anything else I can do, let me know." Soon enough this couple left, and the day went on, like any other day, I suppose.

A little while later, the husband came back to the restaurant. He was livid! His wife's purse was missing, and he wanted to know where it was. Steve told him that none of the employees had been out from behind the counter, because they were so busy, and that if he waited, Steve would go and look. He took a few other employees with him, and they looked, but couldn't find it. The man then, in his fury, left. They thought nothing of it.

The next day, the police showed up, asking to talk with Steve. He went with them and told them the story. The police informed him that the woman was accusing Steve of stealing her purse. WHA!? The couple said that Steve had said something about if there was more than $400 in it, then it would be returned. (He never said anything like that!) They just KNEW it was Steve that took it. He told his story again, and said, "None of us had time to go out and even LOOK for her purse, but we did. And you can ask my employees!" The police did, and all of them agreed on the story, but the police said they wanted to give Steve a poly-graph test. He said, "Why does it matter? My story will be the same!" Then they set up a time, and are coming to ask him about it AGAIN today.

Steve even went so far as to talk to a lawyer in our ward yesterday at church. The lawyer told him what to tell the police if they try to push him into taking the poly-graph. His words are, "Tell them to SHUT UP!" Uh, I told him he'd better find a DIFFERENT way to say it, or he could be in SERIOUS trouble!!

What is wrong with this story?! Our city police, in an attempt to find the "truth," are HOUNDING my husband. And after his story was proved true by his employees and other witnesses! WHA!? I guess I should clean up me and the house, they'll be here in a few hours!

My Hero

My husband is my life saver!! Normally my Thursdays are crazy and I'm way frazzled by the end...today I'm calm and relaxed...thanks to Steve!
He pushed back his work schedule today so he could walk Cameron to and from school! Then once he came back he was in the trenches with me...holding fussy babies, cooing with them, and helping me out BIG TIME!!

On days like today, I am SO grateful that he is in my life! (I know...I should be grateful EVERY day!) Thank you, Steve! You're my hero! :)

My Weekend as a Wheel

This last weekend was filled with all kinds of activities. We spent the majority of the weekend in my husband's hometown and with his family. We dropped off Cam and our over-night stuff at Steve's brother's apartment, and then we were off for the adventure known as "10 year class reunion." After talking with my mom about what goes on at these events I thought I was prepared to be the extra wheel behind my husband, but I think I held my own pretty well.
Friday night they had a dinner and program at a local hotel. It was fun seeing people who recognized Steve and him re-connecting with old friends. We plopped ourselves down at a table to await the night's events. We were talking with two of Steve's pals when a random girl came up to him, pointed and said, "Stephen _____!" We were quite shocked!! This girl was one of those in high school who was popular and quite nice to all she knew, but she never really ever talked to Steve! They ended up talking and having a good time. Then we ate the dinner, and sat back and enjoyed the attempts of the comedian/magician. I think our table was the only one paying any attention to him, and laughing at him. By the end of the program I was thoroughly bored, and begged to get to bed. Steve said there was someone he wanted to talk with who was on his way, so we waited for him. They had a cash bar there, and I watched as the drinkers stumbled off one by one. By the time his friend got there the room just REEKED of beer, and I was ready to leave. We went to his brother's place, and got ready for bed.
Instead of sleeping when we got there I stayed up and talked with his brother for an hour and a half. It's weird...I can talk better with his brother than he can, and Steve can talk better with my brothers than I can. So I got him talking about EVERYTHING that is going on in his life. I gave him my advice, and just hopes that he takes it.

After sleeping really weirdly, we woke up late and hurried off to the school tour. Since they've remodeled most of the building, they thought it would be fun to see what's new! I just know that the history there is AWESOME! And that if I had to go there, I would have gotten lost!! Then after the tour, we went to the park for a barbecue. I mostly stuck with the people I had met the night before, or stuck to watching Cam while he was playing on the toys and in the bounce house. Steve had a good time, but since he wasn't very popular, and quite a loner in school, he didn't know many people, which means, I didn't know very many people.

I was shocked to realize how much fun it could be though, and have since decided to go to my own 10-year reunion next year! I knew more people, and I have a VERY different personality, so I'm hoping that with those positives that I will have fun at my own reunion.

I was shocked that I knew someone he graduated with. She was in the institute choir with me EONS ago. I was happy for that fact!

After the whole thing was over, we met up with Steve's parents and chatted for a couple of hours. It's one of the few times when I've really gotten along with his mom and dad and I had more fun with them than I did almost the whole time at his reunion.

Then on Sunday I realized a little stuffy nose that had started on Friday was now a full-blown icky mess. I was hurting pretty bad, and called in sick for Primary. I was disappointed that I couldn't go, but I was really glad for the recuperation time! I feel much better today, and hope it's just allergies! (The smoke in the air is pretty bad from the fires burning around here!) Because if it's allergies, then I have some allergy medicine that will really help! I'm just really happy that I can breathe through my nose today! YAY for small miracles!

Love at First Burp

Have you ever asked your spouse when they first fell in love with you? I have many times, and I always get the strangest answer. "When I heard you burp."
Here is the story behind the comment.
I am not...I repeat....NOT a girlie-girl. I was when I was little, but as I hit my teen-age years I grew out of that phase! You can ask my many friends who went to girls' camp with me, they'll tell you all about my gross moments. But I digress....Since I'm not a girlie-girl. I enjoy a good belching contest, and that was where the love-burp came from.
In college I was in the institute choir, and we were involved in a "musical." Since we had VERY few men in the choir, we had to combine multiple choirs to get enough guys to make it work. The musical was successful, and afterward they wanted to have a celebratory dinner. The girls were asked to bring the food, and the guys were asked to bring the drinks. Every guy that brought something to drink brought ROOT BEER!
Another friend and I were talking with another girl (who definitely is not afraid to show her true self...) and the three of us decided to have a belching contest. I thought it would be fun, and after downing 10 little Dixie cups worth of root beer in like a minute...we began to burp.
Steve had been one of those men recruited to join us in the musical, so he was there for the party. As the contest got underway, we lost the momentum we had started out with, so we gulped down more and more cups of root beer. I don't exactly remember who won the contest. What I do remember, is that afterward Steve had to help roll me up the hill to my dorm. I was so miserably sick with bubbly root beer that he had to walk right next to me...holding me up.
When I ask him WHY it was the burping that made him fall for me he tells me that he'd never heard any girl burp like that before...I had impressed him.
I guess you could call it one of my previously untapped talents. I had never thought to burp to attract guys to me, but hey, I have the guy I want now, and he loves me....burps and all!

My Poor Boy...

I fear that my poor boy may have contracted pink eye while we were at Lagoon. He went on some of the water rides, and got the water squirted directly into his eye. He complained a bit about it hurting, but quickly found something else to entertain him, and get his mind off of the pain. Now after being home for a few days his eye is no longer beautifully blue, it's an icky shade of redish-pink. I coo, and sympathize, but what else can I do? I specifically went to Walmart (my favorite store of all time) and bought him some specialty eye drops, and if those don't work, he's going to the doctor, whether he wants to or not! Oh, did you think I was talking about Cam? Nope, it's my sweet hubby, Steve. Get better soon, babe!

Monday, Monday

I feel a little lost. I have nothing to do for My Life Monday! I guess I'll just have to find something else to talk about.

Today was a weird day. All weekend I've been working on making tile pictures. (Two for a family reunion, and one for a friend's birthday.) Anyway, I figured that I should get them going, since I have to have them done by the end of the month. So yesterday I painted the two for the family reunion and then I took them home to cut and glue the pieces on. (I've had my friend's done for a while...)

Steve had to work last night, so I thought I'd stay awake until he got home. I worked and worked and finally, after hours of work, they were finished (well, without the resin on them anyway!) As I was sitting on my comfy couch looking at my progress, I noticed that one looked too orange. So I grabbed some white paint that I just happened to have and added some white squares to it. It really helped it...so then I added some more color to the other picture...it was kinda blah! Anyway, around midnight I got it looking the way I wanted and was satisfied. Then a little while later my husband came home from work. We stayed up for a while watching Iron Chef America and just talking about what we'd done since last seeing each other. Then I decided that I should go to bed, and I did. I read some of the Ensign and then turned off the light and ATTEMPTED to sleep.
I don't know what it is about the lights being out, but it's a signal to my hubby that he should start tickling me. I wasn't going to put up with it, so I fought back. We ended up having a huge tickle war, completely messing up the bed, losing some hair, and catching our breath for a while. Anyway, to make a long story short, he decided to retaliate against my superior tickle skills by getting his cologne. Once I started getting his ticklish spots he started spraying me with the cologne...good plan, right?? WRONG!! We have several fans blowing the air around in our room and the fan blew the spray directly into my eyes and in my mouth. I was miserable. I flushed out my eye to stop the stinging, but it still hurt a little. PLUS, I couldn't even lick my own lips without having the taste of cologne in my mouth...YUCK! Anyway, that was the END of our tickle war...it was 2:30 in the morning!
So after that LONG night, I had to get Cam ready for school at 7:30!! I didn't get NEARLY enough sleep! As soon as I left the bed my husband, who happened to have today off, rolled to my side of the bed and grabbed my pillows and went back to sleep. I wanted to punch the guy!! SO NOT FAIR!! After I got him off to school I had to get ready for our Pioneer Primary activity. I wish they hadn't made it for 10 am....yucko time! But I went and as the kids were shaking jars of cream into butter we would sing fun pioneer songs. The kids had a blast!
Then I went home and we had planned to see a huge flag display and take some pictures. Unfortunately, they started taking the flags down today....SAD! So we turned around and went to my mom's house.
As soon as we got there I was wiped out, and Cam was beginning to show his whiney, cranky side, so I determined it was naptime! We napped for a couple of hours, and then I got up to help make dinner! Then I FINALLY went online for the day (I'm so proud!) And I found that NO ONE commented on my last post! HOW SAD for me! (No, don't feel guitly and go back and comment....it's fine...I understand...not all of them can be exciting!!)
Then as I was typing up this post Cam rushed past me to the bathroom and I hear a high pitched whine coming from the bathroom. I'd heard the same whine yesterday in church when he thought that the primary presidency had forgotten that he was the prayer....another fun story.... Anyway,I hurried in the bathroom to see what was wrong. He held out his fingers to me...he'd accidentally pooped his pants. He was devastated. Poor kid. I cleaned him up, and sent him on his way. He kept whining over and over that he didn't want to poop his pants anymore, and I kept reassuring him that it was an accident and that it was okay. I hope he's not traumatized now because of it!
Now, I have a whining husband who wants to go home, watch a movie and probably start ANOTHER tickle fight....I've got the water ready, just in case!

My Life Monday

Week 2 is here. Topic? How I met my spouse....this ought to be fun!!

I was attending ISU in Pocatello. I lived in the dorms at the top of the hill and I attended the LDS Institute at the bottom of the hill. It really wasn't that long of a walk, but there were nights it seemed long. I had no money for living there, but I knew in my heart that the Lord wanted me there...so I could meet my future husband. I knew it would only happen if I lived in Pocatello, and not somewhere else commuting!
I have always loved singing. Since I was little music has been one of my FAVORITE things! I was in the Institute's choir and loved it. The Institute presidency decided to put on a musical of sorts that spring, and desperately needed a choir for back up. So our teacher, Brother Homer, volunteered all of his choirs for the job. We practiced and practiced the music. One night at practice I was talking with my friend, and a guy sitting behind us put his two cents in. I turned around to see who it was and I laid my eyes on the cutest guy I had ever seen. He was tall, blonde, and handsome. I immediately knew that this was the man I would marry. I know it sounds corny, but I just knew! (Thanks to Rachelle for putting it into words for me!) My spirit recognized his. I had actually dreamed about the boy growing up and knew that he was the man for me. As soon as I glimpsed his face I turned back around and whispered to my friend that I thought he was cute!! We giggled, naturally, and tried to focus on practicing our songs. Another night when practice was over, I went with another one of my friends and stood by as this man that I knew I wanted to spend time with asked HER out on a date. She had just sent her missionary off and was a bit gun shy, but she agreed to go. As soon as he left she begged me to go along with her on this date. I happily agreed. I then told her that I really liked this guy and wanted to go out with him and she was all for helping us get to that point.

Our musical came and we performed really well...we were the heavenly choir! After the musical we got together and went on the "date." Now, Steve wasn't expecting to take 10 girls out with him on this date, but that is what he got. When we got to the theater, the girl he liked was on one side and I was on the other. By this time he and I had gotten to know one another better, and I became his confidant. If he wondered what he should do to help get Tricia to like him...he'd ask me. After the movie, his entourage followed him to the Institute building for a weekly Friday night dance. We got there with about an hour left. As we were chatting in our group, one of my ALL time favorite songs came on...Tim McGraw's Don't Take the Girl. When the song started I began to literally JUMP up and down screaming that it was my favorite song. Steve didn't know what had hit him...but we were dancing together. (All of my friends had pushed the two of us together!) As we danced he sang the words to me and we discussed what the song means. I was on cloud nine!! After dancing with him we went back to the group and I got the look from most of my friends as if they were saying, "You go, girl!!" The last song came on for the dance and without prodding this time he asked me to dance. We danced and discussed his mission. I jokingly told him that if he missed Minnesota that much he should go back. He looked hurt and asked me if I really wanted him to go back. I looked into those gorgeous blue eyes and said, "no."

That week my friends couldn't get me to shut up about the guy! I had never been so twitterpated before and I think I was annoying them. On Sunday afternoon I was helping out in the kitchen for a dinner that our ward was having and I was telling one friend what Steve looked like and how much I liked the guy when she casually asked, "You mean that guy?" And she pointed to the window in the door and I saw his smile. I could have melted into a puddle of goo if he hadn't been around watching me! I let him in and we talked for a while and then he left. Shortly after that he came to my dorm room to ask me if he should give Trish flowers or if he was moving too fast. I was completely biased, but I said he was moving too fast and that she really was in love with her missionary and he should find someone else to pursue.

Not long after that I asked the boy if he wanted to go to the SUB with me to see a movie. He agreed and we had decided to meet at the SUB. After making the plans I found out that the movie I wanted to see wasn't there yet, so I hurried down the hill to get him and bring him to my room so that a group of us could watch a movie and then go to the dance. I remember seeing him and my heart skipping a beat. Then when I got to him he gave me a huge bear hug and I just breathed him in! (He smelled yummy!!) I told him the situation and we hurried to my friend's room to get her and her date. While we were there Steve wanted to confirm some plans with another friend about going to General Conference, so he used her phone. While he was talking with his friend Dan, his tongue slipped and he called him "Dawn!" (My college friends called me that...so much shorter than Dawnyel!) I was ecstatic!

That night was a WONDERFUL night. We learned that we had a LOT in common. We talked and talked and had such fun! As we were chatting on the stairs he told me that he wished I was going with him to Salt Lake. I told him I had plans to see my family for Easter and I was driving home as soon as the dance was over. He told me to be careful and I sarcastically said, "No, I'm going to get into an accident!" A serious look came over him and he told me that if that happened there was no way he could get to see me. He told me that he'd have to beg his friend to take him to the hospital where a girl he liked was in the hospital. (Awwww.....) I was goo from then on!

There were many, many more experiences with him, but these are a few of the fun ones. From then on we were inseparable and after dating for a month and a half we were engaged and after knowing one another for 8 months we married. I know, I know....we moved fast, but when things are right, they're right! I love this man and I'm so glad that the Lord led me to him at that time in my life! I don't know what I'd be without him!

Not a Good Night to be Out and About

I'm so annoyed right now. I have to get it out of my system.

My husband worked tonight so that he could get some hours this week before we take off. So I ended up with the van while I was at my parents' house for family home evening. Earlier today I decided that I wanted to make a quick tile picture for his aunt and uncle as a thank you for staying at their house...twice now. So I quickly painted the board, glued on the picture and poured the goop on the board, making sure there weren't any bubbles, dust, or any boo-boos whatsoever. I had it all ready and was hoping to take it home with us...hoping that the goop would be set up enough to travel. I was having a good time until I realized that I needed to leave to get Steve from work. I said my good-byes, grabbed the picture, and left. I tried to stabilize the picture on some cups inside of a box lid. That worked fine until I turned the corner, then it crashed to the floor. I was so upset, but I hurried to his work so that I could hop out of the van and fix the mess. We got to his work 15 minutes before he was scheduled to get off, so I turned on the DVD player for Cam and set to work stabilizing the picture in a different spot. I found one that was more stable and waited for him to get off.

While I was goofing off with the cell phone in the van, Steve knocked on my window and shocked me. He told me that it would be another 20 minutes because his replacement was just getting dressed and was going to be walking there. I asked him if he wanted me to go and get her, and he said he did...so he went to get specific directions so that I could get her and speed up his quitting time. He mouthed to me from the drive-thru window that it was the first left and then the first right. So I took off expecting her to be out walking and waiting for me. I drove to the area and there was NO ONE around! I was frustrated, so I called his work and ended up on the phone with a new girl. She told me that he was busy at the moment and that she'd have him call me in 5 minutes. I was still stuck and lost in a neighborhood I didn't know, so I drove around hoping that we would see her walking down the road. No such luck. I drove around for 15 minutes and couldn't find her. So I ended up going back to his work and he told me that it was the first left then the first right on the left side of the road. I was off again! I went to the same road and slowly went down looking at every door in those apartments and she waved me down. I hurried and turned around and got her there. I was expecting about a 5 minute delay as they switched information and he could leave, but no...I ended up waiting another 30 minutes. Cam kept asking when we could go home and I got more annoyed by the minute. So by the time Steve got out to the van I was thoroughly upset. We hurried home and as I pulled into the alleyway leading to our garage Steve started complaining that our garage door was broken again and I let into the poor guy! I told him that you just have to be careful with it...I mean, it's 30 or 50 years old and it deserves some love and care. So he humored me (smart man!) and I pulled in. As soon as the car was turned off Cam was unbuckled and on the picture that I had SO carefully placed so it wouldn't move on the drive home. AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!! I wanted to scream and yell and throw a fit! He stepped ON the picture...ON the not-so-dried goop!! Luckily Steve was there to help calm me down and the only thing wrong was a small speck of dirt on the top part...I pulled it out, but made it dimpled in the process.

So that was my night...I know you're probably thinking I'm way too sensitive, and I admit, you're right, but I just needed a place to vent and hopefully CALM down before I go to bed. I feel much better...thanks for listening...or ignoring me...whatever you chose to do!

What a night!!

For all my worrying about Steve he got home okay, but not until 3:00. I am a huge worry-wart, so when I went to bed I kept thinking about all of the crap he'd have to go through to get home. Just before I went to sleep I looked out the window and it was snowing, so I got even more worried. When he got home he told me that he ended up going 55 mph on the interstate because the snow was so bad. Semi trucks were even passing him. But he got home to me safe and sound. The disturbing thing that he told me though was that the cruise control didn't work. We just got this van last month and the cruise had better work...we're planning some major trips and we don't want our feet to get all tired and crampy while we're going places. Hopefully it's just a fuse or something small that we can handle, but either way, it's gotta be fixed. After he told me that the cruise didn't work I worried some more, and didn't get back to sleep until 4:00. It just seemed like last night would never end! The real kicker is that they really didn't need him in Pocatello, apparently they had called this guy to come in to help close, but he had plans. He told them that he could cancel them if they really needed him, but instead of telling him that they needed him, they called the store manager who sent Steve. It was aggravating!

I miss my husband

I'm a bit upset right now. My husband is at work...but not in town....they had him drive to Pocatello (about an hour away) to work at a restaurant that he normally doesn't work at. He called me right after he got to where we thought he WAS going to work for the night and his boss asked him to go to the other store. He called me while he was still in shock from the request and I could tell that he wanted to talk about it, but he needed to get on the road. So now instead of not seeing him until midnight...I won't be seeing my honey until 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning! I really don't like it at all!
Lately he's been having work issues. The job he loves has drastically cut his hours back and to make up for the loss of wages from that job he's had to start working more hours at the job he really doesn't like. So I haven't really been able to spend time with him since Sunday. It sucks! I don't like it when he's gone most of the day! I really don't like it when I have a frustrating day watching the kiddos and he's not there to vent to, I'm sure he feels the same way about not being able to vent to me.
I miss him! I wish that I could just spend quality time with him...not sleeping time with him!