Dilemma #3

The High Chair

I plan on being the milkman a la cart if you know what I mean.  Can I hold off a good 4 to 6 months to replenish the savings account before buying this gem?

Dilemma #2: The Stroller

I’m fairly certain my mind is set on a double stroller.  I don’t see a point in buying a single stroller when I will need a double stroller in the future. If someone thinks this is a cataclysmic mistake please let me know. I understand I may look a little freakish walking around with only one kid in the stroller but I figure the other seat could be used for my purse, shopping bags, coats and sweaters, a niece or nephew, or one of my girlfriend’s children.  Plus who doesn’t need an extra cup holder on the days you need two Diet Cokes?

Strollers make my head spin because there are so many different kinds. 

Front to Back ?

Side by Side ?

Stand On Tandem Stroller?

One of my friend's, Leslie, has a Stand On Stroller.  She loves her stroller and suggested this for me.  I pretended I knew what kind of stroller she was referring to but actually had no clue! (Amanda, don’t tell your sister!)  Is this a double stroller?  Does your toddler stand on a ledge in the back and hold on to the sides?

What do you think about strollers?

The time has come

for me to start registering and buying baby gear.  Unfortunately, I made the mistake of calling my husband during the middle of the day to discuss what I considered a nugget on KSL.com.  I found a unisex infant car seat with two bases for $50.  I wanted Kent to shout praise and throw out accolades on my great find.  Instead I got a technical conversation about weight limits, rear facing versus front facing, safety laws, and warranties.  

Marriage 101:  My husband will never be my girlfriend.  I should have called a female!

As a result of this conversation, I am taking my baby buying questions to the mattresses as Tom Hanks would say.  So please be ready to disclose all your personal thoughts and feelings on a series of blog posts that will be coming your way.  Every woman, mother, aunt, girlfriend, and sister please leave your opinion. 

Dilemma #1:  The Car Seat

Infant ?

Convertible ?

Or Both?

Please note the following assumption: I will have another child in 2-3 years. 

Alright, leave your comments!

And now a commercial break…

 

Are you experiencing constant headaches, nosebleeds, swelling of the abdominal region, restless legs, acid indigestion, frequent urination, sleepiness, insomnia, gas, lack of iron, constipation, lower-back pain, bleeding gums, weight gain, irritability, crankiness, emotional highs and lows, followed by a waddle in your stride?

If so, these could be signs indicating you are six months pregnant and ready to hoist your white flag and surrender. 

Tips and advice on how to survive the last trimester with grace and human dignity are gladly welcome!

Baby Bump

At 25 weeks I officially have my first baby bump!  I have worked hard for this bump and I’m happy to show it.  The first trimester I lost weight and was skinny as a pole thanks to my daily up chucks.  Even my mom was worried about my lack of curves and supplied me with several bottles of Ensure.  Then one day it happened.  Just like everyone told me it would.  I woke up to a round tight stomach. 

I now feel I can legitimately justify things due to the bump.  I can say things like, “I’m hungry, this bump needs food” or “This bump is growing and making me tired.  I need a nap”, or “Look at this bump, I need new clothes” and “I’m crying.  Look I have a bump”. 

Honestly, isn’t this a pretty cute bump?!!!

Mom Update

Despite some set-backs, Mom looks good.  Less than four days after getting released from the hospital, she was readmitted.  She had developed an infection and her pancreas was leaking.  The doctor told us this could be possible.  He compared stitching up a pancreas to stitching up a stick of butter.  She stayed at the hospital for about a week.  They immediately stopped tube feedings and started doing IV feedings through a PICC line.  After this second stay at the hospital, they moved her to a skilled nursing center.  She will hopefully be done with IV feedings and return to tube feedings within the next 7 days.  She hopes to come home a couple of days after that.  Despite being in great pain, she is sweet to us each time we visit.  I am sure she is feeling some depression and anxiety, but only shows concern and love for each one of us.  We are extremely thankful for the kind words spoken, and prayers offered in her behalf. 

Mom

My Mother is an amazing woman. She is very artistic. She has painted every painting that hangs in my parent’s home except one.

She raised all seven of us well, and I am not sure she had a lot to work with. She continually teaches us the Gospel and a love for others. She taught us that Heavenly Father loves each of His children, and no one was created any better than another. My parents have been there for each of us, despite so many children, and so many of life’s challenges. My Mom connects with each one of us in a personal, special way, even though we can be so different.

I now see the way she loves and cares for her many daughter-in-laws and her 20 grandchildren. She did not raise these women and she did not bear these children, but she loves and nurtures each as her own. She has never been selfish with those she loves, and she wants nothing more than for us to be surrounded by others who love us as she does. It means so much to me when I see the way that she nurtures and loves my wife and children. She is always worried about the happiness of others.

My Mom is not a public figure by any means. In fact, she probably prefers to stay near the shadows. She quietly serves people and gets to know people in a very personal way. She can see the human heart more than almost anyone I know, and seems to sense the feelings of others.

Each holiday, big or small, my Mom spends countless hours designing and creating a card for each of our families. Each one is beautiful and has a sweet message or poem. Below are just a few that we have received.

She hurried to finish and mail off this Valentine’s Day card the first week of February. I received it the day after she was admitted to the hospital for surgery for stomach cancer. In the surgery, they removed her stomach, her spleen, and one-fourth of her pancreas. When I saw the card laying in the mailbox, I cried. I could not believe that my angel Mother, in extreme pain, could only think of her children and grandchildren. When I mentioned it to my Dad, he said that she couldn’t sleep because she was so sick. I found out that she had made the cards in-between running to the bathroom to vomit.

Whenever I have visited her, I have asked her how she was doing. She has given a very brief response and then asked how Ashley is feeling, how the pregnancy is going, and how we are doing. Another time, she interrupted me and asked if we were excited to be having a boy. She is now home from the hospital and seems to be doing very well. She will start chemo and radiation therapy in about a month. My heart aches to think of her in any pain, but she is one of the strongest women I know, and I am extremely hopeful. She is a fighter and she has already overcome things that I thought were impossible at the time.

I am so grateful for my Mother. I love and appreciate her more than words can say. Through this tough time, we will all be here for her, just as she has always been there for us.

Proud to Announce....

The ultrasound was magical.  Our baby boy looks just perfect.  Half way through the process, he got a little tired of my belly being poked and decided to turn on his tummy.  The tech didn't appreciate that and tried shaking the instrument on my stomach to get him to turn.  He responded with a big kick.

Looks like this kid is going to be like his Mamma!

Boy or Girl?

We find out Monday if we are having a boy or girl. I’m very excited and can’t wait to discover if my life will revolve around blue or pink décor for the next 20 weeks. Any guesses? I’ll let you know Monday!!!

Dear Ashley

I feel partly responsible for the predicament you faced the other night.  After reviewing the owner’s manual, I realized that the Tahoe only has a 26 gallon gas tank.  However, if one drives a good amount of miles, rather than remembering to reset that particular computer function at the gas station, they might be met with undesirable results.  I am okay if you want to live life on the edge.  I just think you should refrain from jumping off the cliffs in the future.  In the end, you know I love any opportunity to rescue my damsel in distress.  In this relationship, I will share anything and everything with you.  Whether it goes in your car, or whether you have fed me too many beans, I would feel myself selfish, if I did not share my gas with you.

 

Love,

Kent

Dear Kent,

When you said the Tahoe's gas tank held 27 gallons, I took you serious. I'm sorry you had to haul yourself to the intersection of Van Winkle and 5600 South tonite to rescue my sorry butt. I only used 25.5 gallons and was sure I would make it to my destination. I was wrong. Dead wrong. I appreciate you standing in the middle of the road and filling my car with gas as other cars whizzed by. You didn't get upset but made me promise I would fill up when I used 20 gallons. I agreed to the deal although we both know I might not live up to that dream. You know I like living on the edge!

Boobalicious

This is a post about boobs.  No, it is not a pregnancy post about how my boobs are getting bigger like Gwyneth Paltrow's did when she was pregnant. 

before baby:

after baby:

This is a post for all of my girlfriends, girl cousins, sisters, sister-in-laws, etc. to remind them to do their yearly check up.  In August, I decided to meet with my OB and discuss the topic of pregnancy.  I wanted to make sure I was healthy before getting pregnant.  During my exam it was discovered I had a lump on my right breast.  This Tuesday I had the lump removed and the results have come back negative.  It was benign.  

I'm sure most of us know someone who has a lump, had a lump, or we have a lump ourselves.  Let me tell you the procedure to have it removed is pretty slick.  I had localized an-aseptic, no stitches, didn't need pain medication, and went to work the next day.  I have some bruising that will go away and have been a little sore in the area.  I have steri-strips keeping the incision closed tightly that will come off in 7-10 days.  In the end, I will have a small pencil line of a scar about 1 inch long.  

Through all of the testing, X-rays, and doctor's appointments I have never been worried about this being cancerous.  In truth, I had the lump for quite some time.  However, with my mom being a breast cancer survivor (!!!) I thought it best to have it removed so the tissue would never have the chance to become cancerous.

So to my dear friends who I love tremendously, please make it your New Year's Resolution to make your yearly appointment today.  Make a date with yourself to visit your doctor, get a pedicure, and drink a large fountain Diet Coke!

We are Preggo!

It is official. We are pregnant and past the first trimester! We thought it time we make the big announcement on the blog. Ashley is 15 weeks along and finally starting to keep her food down without throwing up 30 seconds later. She curses Mother Eve for her morning sickness but takes the sickness as a sign that all is well with the baby.

We are both extremely excited and happy to welcome our baby sometime around June 26th.

Ashley originally thought we would be having a girl but is uncertain after seeing an ultrasound where the baby was apparently chill’n with its long legs stretched out. Now she thinks it might be a boy. We find out the sex toward the end of the month!

We thought we’d use one of those Conan O’Brien “If They Mated” online applications to see what our offspring might look like. We morphed our two photos together and were horrified when we saw the following:

We then used the application to create what our baby might look like. Some of our fears began to subside:

We are unsure what is going on with the lips on this child and overall skin tone. And we can’t tell if this is a boy or a girl….

Regardless we know we will love the little tyke even if it is born with a tail!

The Vacation

 

Planning

We were bound and determined to find the best deals we could for this vacation.  It isn’t that were cheap, so much as we hate getting worked over.  We saved a ton of money by getting discounted tickets to the theme parks through our friends (thanks Tiffanie and Lyle).  My brother twisted our arms to stay with them while we were near Disneyland (not too much twisting necessary, and hopefully a mistake they do not regret too soon); thanks so much for being such incredible hosts.  All that was left was to find our San Diego hotel.  We scoured the internet and looked at what must’ve been hundreds of pictures until we came to this:

We immediately burst out into laughter.  A double-take confirmed it.  This hotel offered a “short stature kit” in its rooms.  Otherwise known as a STOOL!  We almost booked it for that reason alone.  We especially thought it was great that it featured the Mom from the “Little People, Big World” reality show.  In the end, all of these features were not enough to earn our business and we decided on somewhere else.

Day 1-Driving

We left in the morning (barely) of the 26th.  We spent all day driving.  We also stopped to get gas, and go potty.  Three DVDs watched, two books read, many travel games played.  Arrived at my brother and sister-in-laws house at 10:49PM (their time, not ours).

Day 2 & 3 – Disneyland

We loved our two days in Disneyland.  We rode all the rides and were sure to see ALL of the shows.  We even walked through the shops of downtown Disney.  The kids both became Jedis (after a failed attempt or two) and defeated Darth Vader with their light-sabers.  We met The Mouse that started it all, and we had a great time.  Disneyland seems to hold a special magic (at least to me), but it is even more amazing at Christmastime.  They are not afraid to use the word “Christmas” or to celebrate its traditions.  The kids loved all the rides that one might think they would be scared of (splash mtn., space mtn., thunder mtn., Matterhorn, etc.).  The park was busy, but we ended up being able to do everything that we wanted.  While waiting in one line, a British gentlemen asked, “is it some kind of American holiday today?”  I replied, “no, people just tend to celebrate and relax between Christmas and New Year’s.”  He said, “I would have thought you would all be holidayed out with your American Thanksgiving and Christmas so close together.”  I said, “no, we look forward to New Year’s as well.” He just nodded.  I couldn’t help but think that his kind of logic is probably what caused us to win the Revolutionary War.  He doesn’t understand us at all.  We will take EVERY opportunity to relax that is given to us! (the picture of Ady’s face on Splash Mountain is priceless).

 

Day 4 – Playing and Puking

We scheduled a relaxing day with my brother, sister-in-law, and kids for Wednesday, knowing we’d be out so late at Disneyland.  The resting was interrupted by Treven throwing up at around 3AM and not really stopping until 6PM.  We still had a great time relaxing while the kids played with their cousins…..and their washing machine cleaned the mess off Treven’s sleeping bag.  In the late afternoon we said goodbye to our family and set off for San Diego.  We settled into our hotel and went to sleep. 

 

Day 5 – San Diego Zoo

We loved spending time at the San Diego Zoo.  It is so much bigger and better than our local zoo (not that we don’t appreciate ours though).  We loved the double-decker bus tour, the sky ride, and seeing all the different animals.  We especially loved seeing the koalas, polar bears, panda bears, and other animals not available to us here.  While we were there, we also got a call from my brother informing us that our newest niece was born, my parent’s 20TH! grandchild. It was a great day at the zoo.

Later that night, while lying in bed, I began to feel the same kind of sickness which had affected Treven the morning before.  I rushed to the bathroom and took care of business immediately.  Afterwards, I thought a warm shower might help.  When I came out at 2AM, I smelled a not so delightful smell.  I asked the kids, “did someone have an accident in the bed?” A sweet, sleeping little girl, with eyes still shut, simply raised her hand.  The pajamas and undies were a total loss and were promptly bagged and thrown in the outside garbage.  We bagged all the sheets before tossing them in the hall and calling the front desk.  It seriously looked as though our little girl had taken up mud wrestling.  So disgusting and only now funny.  I began to feel okay by morning and decent by late afternoon.  Ady seemed to be fine after 5PM that night.  The only one not affected by this 24 hr. kind of flu was Mom, who instead decided to fight a cold during the second portion of our vacation.

 

Day 6 & 7 - Sea World

Treven and I headed to Sea World on Friday as scheduled.  Mom and Ady decided it might be best if they stay at the hotel and rest (although they were not excited about it).  I was starting to mostly feel better, but I had to push myself.  I didn’t eat anything the whole day, but Treven sure did.  I got him the all you can eat pass at Sea World that day.  He could eat as much as he wanted at any diner within Sea World.  I think we got our money’s worth.  Mom and Ady joined us in the evening after I kept texting to tell them about the amazing shows (it helped that they were feeling quite a bit better by then).  We loved all the shows from the sea lions to Shamu, and the Blue Horizon dolphin show.  We originally were only going to use one day of our two-day pass.  After seeing all there was to offer, we decided to spend the morning of our first travel day back at Sea World as well.  It was worth every minute, although we made sure to stay away from the “soak zones.”

 

Day 7 – First Leg Home

We originally were going to try to drive to St. George before stopping.  After spending time in Sea World we settled on Vegas.  We had no reservations at any hotels.  We decided to do something we had never done before.  Hotwire.com advertises the best hotels at the best rates….too good for the hotels to publish.  The closer you are to your arrival time the better because hotels want to sell their un-booked rooms. Since we were in Vegas, we felt like gambling!  We clicked on a 4-star hotel with all the amenities for our family for something like $55/night (on a weekend mind you).  We ran the card and looked for straight 7s.  We were pleasantly surprised to find we had scored an amazing room at the Hilton Las Vegas.  Our room was really nice and included everything.  We felt like we had beat the house that night.

 

Day 8 – End of the Line

We woke up at our leisure and enjoyed our morning in our hotel room.  The kids especially enjoyed the enormous tub first thing in the morning.  We gassed up the car and headed home.  The trip had been, fun, amazing, tiring, but most of all a great family vacation.  We were blessed with great weather throughout our vacation.  The weather was 63-70 degrees and sunny almost every day except our rest day; when it didn’t matter anyway.  Imagine the shock to our system when we glanced up at the mirror to see 17 degrees smiling back at us, just before stepping out into the Utah air.  It could be that it was less shocking than seeing our gas costs in Utah (avg. $2.71/gal) jump to a $3.25/gal. average in California.  We were truly blessed with no car trouble, great roads, and complete safety………well, except for Ady getting wrestled off the bed by Treven and hitting her head….AND the time Treven jumped off the bed and fell into the dresser at the hotel, but neither left any permanent scarring.  That is what I call a successful vacation!  

• The kids were playing travel size games (guess who?, battleship, connect4) in the car.  Treven kept losing, and he really does not like to lose.  He said, “Hey Ady, how about we don’t keep score.”  We inquired to see if that was because he kept losing, and found out it was.  We explained that we know it is hard to lose, but we need to be happy for others when they win, even if we don’t.  Ady then said, “yeah, Treven, I am happy for you when you win…(long pause)…..sort of.”
• Treven snooped at the hotel bill the moment they slid it under the door in San Diego.  I came in from loading the car to see him reading it.  He asked if hotels really cost that much.  I said “yes”, but explained that he shouldn’t be worrying about things like that.  While driving past the hotel on our journey home from Sea World, I said, “there goes our hotel, see you later.”  Treven piped up and said, “yeah, see you later hotel, thanks for taking $____(the bill amount) of our dollars.