fa la la la la

So far H is doing well- 2 accidents, one this morning [didn't quite make it to the toilet in time] and once at the child-care while I was exercising [too busy playing, didn't make it to the toilet again]. But he's great at home, and I'm so glad this is going well. I do realize it won't all be smooth. It's just I remember how much worse it was with W, and how it became a power struggle. So I'm enjoying this time because it is more relaxed.
And Myles slept 8 hours last night again. He's smiling when he makes eye contact now, and cooing when he's happy. I love little babies!

totally random funny letter: from the university where Jared got his PhD. While he was there, he concurrently enrolled at another local university and also got a MPH [Master's in Public Health]. So, his PhD program sent him a letter a few weeks back about an exciting opportunity: he can, through their distance education program, get a Master's in Public Health without leaving his job! oh gee, sign me right up for that one. It was good for a chuckle though!

oh- we got a new car to replace our old trusty Mazda. The transmission is going, again, and would cost more than the Mazda's worth to replace it. We got a little Ford Focus, manual transmission [which I like more than automatic]. I've driven it a few times, and it is a lot like driving an Escort- Ford used to make those, and I learned how to drive a stick-shift in one. So we have a shiny new car in our driveway ;).

j

random lists

It's sleeting today, and I've decided I'm glad I live today, and have a car with a heater to take me shopping. So in the spirit of thankfulness, here's my list of good things:

• warm soup for dinner [and having the leftovers for lunch]
• homemade bread- Jared made this batch, using my Grandma Giles' recipe, and it is yummy!
• laundry fresh from the dryer- and that I have a washer and dryer so I can do the laundry. Can you imagine trying to wash and dry clothes in the winter by hand? blech.
• music on the radio ;)
• a cute little baby who slept 7 hours last night!
• chocolate [always makes the list lol]
• disposable diapers
• Walmart, where I can buy new underwear for potty-training H, and treats to bribe him with

yep, we're starting the potty-training thing. H has been bugging me for Scooby-doo underwear, which can only be worn by boys who use the toilet, and not by boys who wear diapers. And he's gotten into trouble a few times because he pulls his diaper off and pees somewhere. His response, when asked why he would do this, is that he's a big boy now, and they don't wear diapers. We're obviously at the point where it's either underwear or duct taping the diaper. And I'd rather try to potty-train him first LOL.

Wish us luck!
j

Thanksgiving

So: we planned to be in Nevada for Thanksgiving, but Jared had a work exercise scheduled this week, and couldn't leave the state. Lucky for us my parents were willing to share their dinner LOL. My mom made her now famous rolls. They are death to a low-carb diet [not that I'm dumb enough to try one since I *love* carbs]. I made Jared's special pie- cherry chocolate- and had *way* too much fun with the crust. Also made a lemon pie, and tarts w/pudding filling for the kids. W picked out the flavor, and he and Alyson mixed the pudding up and put it into the tart crusts. And I tried out a new recipe for cranberry sauce. Never been a fan of it, but this recipe changed my mind:

1 pkg fresh cranberries

1 cup sugar

1/4 c plus 2 Tbsp water

1 clementine sliced in half, then sliced paper-thin

mix all ingredients together, then bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer 15 minutes.

This sauce was excellent alone, and also pretty good with the turkey and stuffing my mom made.

Spent time w/my uncle Scott, my Grandpa, and also my fam-John, Melissa, Rachael, Kyle, Alyson, Joy, and my parents. We got there early, and my kids hung out w/Alyson while I cooked with Joy, and fed Myles. Jared got to fiddle w/the upstairs bathroom sink- he's awesome at fixing things, and never complains when he gets drafted. ;) gotta love a man with tools!

Dinner was excellent. Turkey, mashed potatoes & gravy [both from scratch], rolls, stuffing, sweet potatoes, fruit salad, deviled eggs, cranberry sauce, and I'm sure I'm forgetting something... Then there were the pies: pumpkin, cherry-chocolate, & lemon; the tarts; and ice cream or whipped cream to accompany them. Yummy!

Melissa brought Rummikub, and we played that for a bit. I brought 'Cars' and 'Curious George' for us to watch after dinner. And the kids played a challenging game of Scrabble. Alyson had the dictionary out- did you know 'gox' is actually a word? Yup. We hung out 'till late, and the kids all fell asleep in the car on the drive home. Mmmmmm. Love the food, and the family time, and the reminder of how much I have to be thankful for every day.

j

Family

Went on a hike this weekend, up to Ensign Peak. It was windy, and a bit cold, but we all bundled up- even Myles- and were fine. Notice M has 2 missing teeth ;) she wiggled one out on Monday, and the other one out Tuesday. The kids ran around a lot, and got muddy, and had a great time. We saw 3 does, and heard a bunch of chukar. Jared was a bit peeved about the chukar- he hunted Thursday and found no sign of the beastly little birds. Then to hear them while we were hiking, well, it was quite annoying.

The LO is from a crop I went to Saturday- took Myles with me, but still managed to finish a few pages. This one is of the 3 youngest cousins in the tub.

j

More fun stuff

Myles is still playing 'stuff my face.' I've been feeding him [seriously] for 30 minutes. And I stopped to burp him, and he's screaming because he is convinced I want to starve him!
It's a nightly thing- we'll put the kids to bed, and 5 minutes later they are screeching at each other and at us, tattling. Sometimes it is funny. Other times [like tonight] it is quite annoying. Especially when we know H is out of bed, because he's asking Jared something, and W is screaming, over and over again, "DAD!!!! H's out of bed!!!" If we ignore it, it will go away. right?!?
On a cheerier note, I had a nice long nap today! I was feeling a bit off, but scraped myself together and went to church w/the family. And it was good to be reminded of God's love for me, and some of the blessings I have been taking for granted lately. It amazes me how much happier I feel when I'm rested LOL.
Last the best: I went to a crop yesterday [Myles came for part of it], and got a few pages, some cards, and a ton of visiting done. Love to talk w/other women! And I love that my dh encourages me to go, and doesn't ever complain about the time I'm away, or how hard it is to watch the kids when I'm gone. He's the best!

games

So at the beginning of Sept, I got interested in watching the Colts play football. Mostly because their first game was against the Giants, and the Manning brothers got to play against one another. And I haven't been able to watch the games firsthand- they're on Sundays, and I never have time with church and kids to sit down that day. But they're the only undefeated team in the NFL now, and I'm wondering if they'll win the Superbowl in 2007. I usually follow the Cowboys, and their track record is less than stellar this season. Not so fun to watch your team lose.
The big game at our house right now is 'Go Fish.' H and I play this pretty much every day. It's a pretty cooperative effort though- we leave our cards face-up on the floor and I give him hints about what he should ask for ;). Myles is playing 'feed my face' all day. Ang had her baby Oct 26th, and he was 9 pounds 8 ounces. I think Myles wants to catch up to his cousin or something LOL. I'd like to play 'let mommy sleep' but nobody else wants to play with me...

j

oh halloween

Here's the crew; Myles stayed w/me and helped hand out candy. And he loved every minute...

ahh, sleep

Myles slept 7 hours last night. GOOD boy! ;) And I'm exercising again, more quickly than I had expected, but it helps w/the recovery.

j

naps

Bless his little heart, Myles slept from 10:30pm to 4:30am last night! And you would think that I'd be extra-rested today. But I was feeling a bit tired, and with H already down for a nap, I decided I would lay down as well. When Myles started crying because he was hungry, I almost couldn't get out of bed I was so tired LOL. And, poor little thing, it took me about 10 minutes to get myself out of bed to feed him! *sigh* I love little babies, except at night...

And these are our pumpkins- we got them all carved, then had no candles to put inside, so Jared used his super spotlight to illuminate them for pictures. Love that he's so creative ;).

W's pumpkin is winking, M's pumpkin is the bat on the pumpkin, H carved [with lots of help from Jared] the skeleton, and I did the pumpkin w/the hands. I was too tired last night to enjoy it much, but in retrospect, it was a lot of fun ;)

And today H and Myles and I went to Walmart to get candles to light up the pumpkins.

Happy Halloween!

oh, just had to share this- went to the dentist Oct 6 after almost 11 years avoiding him. And gee, I had a few cavities! Oh, and a root canal, too. So the next 3 Fridays I spent in the dental chair, having my root canal done [2 trips], and a temporary crown put on [1 trip]. Next week I'll get my permanent crown put on, oh joy of joys ;). Last Friday, when he was getting ready to give me a shot before they began working on that temp crown, the dentist asked "aren't you sore there?" meaning the lower left side of my jaw where all this work is taking place. I'm not really sore there, no, so I said as much. Then he replies, "because you've got a big bruise there. I guess that's not surprising, since you've been in here so often!" And yeah, 3 weeks in a row is rather a lot, I guess. Thankfully, this dentist is pretty cool. And his techs are gentle and nice- the last time I was at the dentist's office, I swear the tech was trying to extract my teeth with the floss! And she asked me, "Don't you ever brush back here?!?" Well, actually, since there is maybe a millimeter between my back teeth and the back of my mouth, NO. I can't manage to get a toothbrush back there. I flossed it every day, though. But that experience didn't encourage me to visit again soon, then we were in college and poor, and I could always find something else to buy with any extra money we had. But now that we have insurance, and I'm not pregnant anymore, I've run out of excuses to avoid the dentist.

j

perspective

I'm sitting at my computer, feeling sorry for myself, because my dh called and asked which evening would be best for him to work late. Huh? With 4 kids, one a 17-day old baby??? None! was my first response, especially after he had drill this past weekend, and left me alone w/all those kids. But that was hardly helpful. And since he was calling at 5:30pm, 90 minutes after he was supposed to be leaving work, I figured why not tonight, since he's going to miss most of it anyway. Yep, I am wallowing in self-pity right now.

Then, as I'm checking email, I stumble across a link to the Army's new ad, with their new slogan, "Army Strong." [tried to link here, but wasn't working, so if you want to watch, go to photobucket and search 'army strong'] And I'm reminded of all that my dh is doing to serve our country, and all he does for me as well. Like getting up w/that new baby at 4:30am and feeding him so I could sleep in. Or leaving me his cellphone, since mine has mysteriously disappeared, because he isn't comfortable w/me not having a phone. And that's just this week. So, no more pity party for me. Guess I'll have to be grateful instead. LOL, boy that sounded great, didn't it?!? Seriously, it was a good reminder of all the things I am blessed to have in my life.

j