Blogging Hiatus

Ok, so I've been slacking. After having a couple of different people ask me if I was ever going to update my blog, I decided that I had better at least post something. Sometimes I really hate being a perfectionist because it makes me realize just how imperfect I am.

This month has flown by. We have spent a lot of time working on our back yard and trying to get it finished by our July 1st deadline. We've had lots of late nights digging dirt and pounding in concrete forms. Jeff is still working over 60 hours a week and I don't know how he has the time or energy to do all he does in the yard! He's super man.

We had family come from Idaho to visit us a few times and I just love hosting them! In addition, the boys and I went up to Idaho for the last part of Carson's Spring Break. The first part of Spring Break was spent dealing with stomach flu.

Life seems to get busier all the time. Sometimes I feel like I just can't keep up with it all. The laundry, the dishes, training and correcting little ones, yard work, menu planning,training for a 5K, babysitting, Scentsy, weight watchers meetings, science experiments with Carson, baking, sewing, working out,being room mom, budgeting, spring cleaning, blogging... you get the point. Honestly, I don't know how some women are able to run households and be gone all day. They are amazing. Right now I feel like I have a full time job just keeping my house clean and on schedule. But this is what I want. Its what I studied in college. The science of homemaking thrills me. I sat down and talked with my science obsessed child the other day about albumin proteins in eggs and what happens to them when you beat egg whites. We connected; it was sweet. It made me thankful for my Food Science class. And thankful that I was able to be home to share that sweet moment with him. The little moments are really what its all about.

Easter

My cute little men in their Easter clothes.

Easter was kind of crazy around here this year. On the Saturday before, we poured a new sidewalk, patio, and footings (for block walls) so most of my attention had been focused on helping Jeff get everything ready for it and in planning a meal to feed all our helpers. Needless to say, Easter (the commercial side of it) was put on the back burner. We tried to focus more this year on studying the last week of the Savior's life in our nightly family scripture study and then on Sunday we read John 20. Carson is getting old enough that we explained to him about Palm Sunday and Good Friday. For FHE we watched The Lamb of God and I think it helped Carson understand a little bit more about why Jesus is so important. It was nice not to focus so much on the Easter Bunny and egg hunts and all those things that you feel you 'have' to do. Don't worry, the Easter Bunny still brought my kids baskets and thanks to my wonderful sister in law, the kids had a great Easter Egg Hunt. We also hosted Easter Dinner, so for me it was back to back cooking for a group. I really enjoyed getting to spend time with those I love most and remembering all that our Savior did for us. Oh, and to top it off, my sweetie bought me new pearl earrings for Easter. I love pearls. And Jeff.

I Love

Saturday morning was next to perfect: yard work, listening to Conference, and enjoying Spring. I love this time of year. And I love spending time with my boys. All of them. Especially the big one who is hardly ever home anymore. I love my house and my neighborhood. I love my neighbors. I love that I could walk completely around my house and hear Conference coming from not only my radio, but everyone else's.

I love that we are where we are supposed to be.

And most especially, I love the fact that Spring is a reminder that life goes on.

New Tooth

On Monday Jonas got a new metal cap put on one molar and had 5 other cavities filled. His molar was so bad that there was a giant hole in the top of it. To make a long story short, when it popped through his gums, it had a dark spot in the center and its just been down hill from there. The dentist thinks it was malformed. The first time he ate food after his dental work, Jonas promptly declared, "Don't like my new tooth!" I guess it must feel funny to him to have a whole tooth there instead of one that was almost rotted away. Well, for over $700 he better appreciate his new tooth!

A Good Read (For Real!)

A few weeks ago, Jeff and I went on a much needed date. Because we are nerds, we spent most of our night getting lost in Barnes & Noble. As we browsed, I happened to pick up this book and could not put it down. Needless to say, we bought it and I read it within a few hours the next day. It is the story of a three year old boy who almost died from a ruptured appendix. He tells the story of his visit to heaven while his body was being operated on. It is amazing. Get it. Read it. Love it.

In the book, when the boy first mentions his experience to his parents, they both look at each other as if to say, "Did he just say that?" Has that ever happened to you with your children? Because it has with mine.

Experience #1: Shortly after we moved to Utah (and Carson was still three) I was driving home from running errands. All of the sudden Carson YELLS at me, "STOP MOM! There's Daddy's Mommy right there!" I was speechless, and before I could think of what to say to him, he continued on, "She's right there standing in the middle of the road, looking at me!" If you aren't aware, Jeff's mom passed away suddenly back in 2001, so neither Carson or I have ever seen her in person.

Experience #2: One day last week, Jonas was awake around 5 o'clock in the morning upset about something. I was snuggling with him on the couch when he suddenly asked me, "Who 'dat guy over there?" To which I replied, "What?" just to clarify that I had understood his two year old jargon right. He then pointed to a corner in the living room where there was only a lamp on a side table and repeated, "Who 'dat guy over there?" Then after a pause, "Oh, he's going now." Kinda creepy, kinda cool, I still can't decide.

A pragmatist would try to blame such experiences on a mixture of environmental cues and a good imagination. I tend to believe there is more to it than that.

"...the multitude gathered themselves together and they both saw and heard these children; yea, even babes did open their mouths and utter marvelous things..."

3 Nephi 26:16

Out of the mouths of babes, that's what I believe.

Best Job Ever

I think that I have the best job ever. Really, I do. I get to stay home all day and play with the three sweetest little men. I couldn't ask for anything more! I love the hours we get to spend together exploring and creating. Our adventure today included making some play dough. Carson stirred it.

Mason taste tested it.

And Jonas molded it into snakes.

Yup, definitely the best job.

My Boys

I snapped a few pictures of the boys before church yesterday. Nothing special, just playing around with my new camera. I still have so much to learn with it! I just love these little guys so much!

RSV: Round Three

This past Sunday and Monday our little Mason spent some time in the hospital battling RSV and dehydration. Thursday afternoon I noticed that he was starting to get a runny nose and by that night he had a cough so bad that Jeff and I held him down and gave him a breathing treatment. I was up most of that night with him either rocking him or giving him a breathing treatment. By Friday I was sure that he had contracted RSV again, but didn't take him to the doctor because when he had had it in January they had told me to do breathing treatments. So every 4 or so hours throughout Friday I was giving my little man treatments. Saturday morning rolled around and he was only getting worse, so we took him into the doctor's office. The diagnosis was RSV and an ear infection. The nurse practitioner had seen him and I was surprised that she hadn't given us a prescription to go to the Bronchiolitis Clinic at the hospital. (It is an outpatient clinic where you can go and have deep suctioning done and oxygen levels checked.)

By midnight that night, Mason had gotten pretty severe so Jeff and I decided to run him into the ER at Riverton to see if they would suction him out. My mom was in town visiting and was willing to stay home with our other boys. We got to the hospital about 1:30 Sunday morning and around 4:00 AM he was admitted for hypoxia. Last year we were at Riverton when they couldn't get his oxygen up and they sent us to Primary Children's. I figured they were going to send us there again, but they informed me that in November they had opened the fourth floor of the hospital up as an extension of Primary Children's. So I guess technically he was in Primary Children's...but at the Riverton location. It was nice to be in a brand new facility!

Once in his room, Mason's oxygen levels stabilized. We thought we were going to get to come home about 2:00 the next day. Throughout Sunday Mason refused to eat or drink anything. It became so bad that about 7:00 that night the doctors decided to insert a feeding tube. After they got the tube into him, he reached up and pulled it out. So they inserted it a second time and taped it well to his face and back. After we settled him down, I sat down to rock him. They had decided to feed him milk and the first time it hit his tummy, he threw up all over me. While I was cleaning up, Jeff was rocking him and he seemed to take the milk well for about five minutes. Then he started gagging and coughing and threw up so hard that the feeding tube came out his mouth. After that the doctor decided to remove the tube and try an IV. It took them about 45 minutes and several tries to get the IV to go in. My poor little baby was so drained from all of this, plus the deep suctioning they had done to him that he slept very well that night. Monday morning he started eating again and we were able to go home about 1:00 yesterday. Ironically, he was released from the hospital on the same day he was released last year. My poor little man! Within the last year he's had RSV three times and two of those times its put him in the hospital. I am hoping he is finally on the mend and that this is our last stay in the hospital!

(Sorry, no pictures. My camera is officially broken, but the good news is that by the end of the week I should have a brand new SLR in my hands!)

Getting There

The boys room is getting close to being done! I cannot tell you how fun this has been for me to redo their room. Jeff wondered why I had to go through all of the trouble of painting and redecorating just because they got bunk beds. The simple answer is this: I needed something to do to take my mind off of things. Two new bedspreads (and sheets!), one new picture, a new bookcase, new lamp, new clock, new curtains, and two new bins (for toys/books) later and it is starting to come together! Simplicity is my motto in their room. I want it simple and uncluttered. If I had taken a before picture you would know why! Up next are two new throw size Kaliedoscope quilts for their beds made in Moda's new Robotics. We're going with a modern spaceship/robot theme. To me the transportation theme we had before was way overbaked.

Good for Laughs

I was going through Carson's homework tonight and found this... According to Carson it says, "I love my Grandpa."



Here are the boys at the aquarium. Carson is asking about the frogs and if they are the ones that "give you bumps" (he is thinking they are the poisonous ones in the Amazon display). So he asks us if he they are the ones you can touch. Jeff sarcastically replies that he can't because there is glass there.