Free Museum Day

This Saturday is free museum day with the help of a coupon from the Smithsonian Magazine. Most of the area museums are participating in CT, NY, MA and even UT and FL for all our other family and friends. Click here to get your admission free for you and your family!

Have fun! Let me know what you go to see. We're going to the Yale Peabody Natural History Museum in New Haven. Dinosaurs. Science. Evolution. IKEA. :)

Exploring brushes...

Today I wanted to learn how to use the brushes tool in Photoshop Elements. I've never played with it before. I'm totally in love with brushes! It's so fun -- you can take a brush, and make the image any color you want, cut it out of any paper you want or mutate it like the cookie cutter tool. I know many of you are way ahead of me on this, but it's fun! Some brushes start out boring, like straight lines, but the ones downloadable have fish, bubbles, stars, hearts, all kinds of things!

I found a great website that has bunches of free brushes. The sponsor has a list of free ones, and then people have contributed at the bottom of the page as well. Enjoy 'em! Here's the website:

In case you're curious about my latest pages, here's a few samples:



I think I'm getting better at this the more I learn.

John Walks!

Yeah! John walked today for everyone to see -- you included. I'm so proud of him. This was the best one yet, five or six steps. I know that it's a bit premature to call him a 'walker' but he's definately walking.

I had predicted that he'd walk by Sept. 15th, so I'm a bit disappointed he's two days late, but I have to say, he's pretty talented nonetheless.

'D' Vent

OK, so forgive me for indulging in a little venting here. I'm so sick of health trouble. This year has been the hardest year health wise for me I've ever faced. For those of you I haven't whined to yet, in the last 18 months, I've had:

• Bone hump and pinched nerves in my neck resulting in the loss of feeling in my arms and fingers
• Gestational Diabetes -- tummy shots, pricking fingers and all
• C-Section surgery(this was worth it for my darling boy)
• Terrible asthma-- loss of 20% of my lung capacity
• Terrible allergies -- UGH!
• Three bone spurs in my feet, resulting in loss of movement and extreme pain. I finally got a cortisone shot this week and I'm doing much better now
• AND.....

The most recent discovery today was that I have a severe vitamin D deficiency. Seriously? Isn't that for third world countries and people with malnutrition, or those who live in Alaska???

Supposedly it is the vitamin D loss that is causing my extreme fatigue and aches. It could even be responsible for my crazy bone formation in my neck and feet. Who knew?

They are telling me though, that apparently once your body has a severe deficiency of vitamin D, no amount of time in the sun will make up for this problem. They've prescribed special vitamins for me to replenish my stores of vitamin D. Normally, a daily supplement has 400 IU of vitamin D. The special vitamins I'll be getting have 50,000 IU. Crazy! Apparently I need to take these for several months before I'll be back to normal levels.

As sick as I am of health problems, I'm so very grateful for medical care. I can't even imagine the state I'd be in if there were not people who work very hard to help me. Both to do the tests to figure out what's wrong, but also to fix the problem when we know what it is. Getting a cortisone shot was the singular most painful experience of my life, but now my foot pain is gone. From absolutely miserable to pain free in minutes. What a miracle in my life that wonderful shot was. It's amazing what the right medicine in the correct spot can do to help!

Thanks medical team -- I love ya all!

Ridin'

Maddie has been working all summer learning to ride a bike. She's had some good friends that have been willing to learn right along side her, and that has helped her progress a lot.

I made the mistake of buying her a bike that was too big for learning. So, we've traded bikes with our good friends so that she could have a smaller one to learn on. It might be a bit too small, but it's given her the confidence to keep trying.

Today after school, she jumped on for a couple of minutes to see if she could just start on her own and get going. I should mention that getting started and stopping have been her greatest challenges. (Sorry she's breaking the helmet rules!)

In addition to starting, her biggest obstacle was her little brother. He kept chasing her all around the driveway, trying to get at the bike. You'll see the end result here:

Capturing the Cackle

John has this spectacularly funny cackle. I've tried for some time to get it on video. We were finally successful tonight. Maddie was jumping off the stairs trying to surprise him while he ate his rice. Sorry he's chewing with his mouth open-- this happened during dinner. We just had to take what we could get.

You just can't help but laugh right along with this little guy...

Aurora's Chicken Pepperoni

You may or may not be familiar with Aurora's Chicken Pepperoni. For me, it's been a dish I've thought a lot about. Why? Some lost family recipe? From my great-grandmother perhaps? Not even close. It's a featured item in the plot of one of my favorite movies, Seems Like Old Times with Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase. For those of you who haven't seen the movie, please, enjoy!

I've thought a lot about this menu, and I've always wanted to try making it to see what it was like. So, of course, I googled it. But I was very disappointed when I followed this link to the supposed "recipe" for the movie. I'd like to argue that this is not possibly the dish that was served in the movie for the following reasons:

1. It is prepared in a saute pan. Glenda is clearly wielding a 9x13 baking dish


2. It uses cutlets -- there are visible little mountains of chicken in said baking dish in the movie


3. The recipe listed is more of a casserole, not the dish you would serve the governor, not even if it has artichoke hearts


4. If it was a casserole, then why would there be side dishes on the table, aren't casseroles a one dish meal?

So, since I couldn't find what I was looking for online, I invented it in my kitchen tonight. Here is my version of Aurora's Chicken Pepperoni:

• Chicken Breasts, pounded thin
• Pepperoni
• Mozzarella Cheese
• Butter
• Garlic Salt
• Pepper

Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick spray.

Pound the chicken until about 1/4 inch thick. Lay it on the cutting board. Put 3-5 slices of pepperoni on the chicken. Top with mozarella cheese. Roll up, place with the end down so that you get a nice piece of smooth chicken on top. Repeat for desired number of chicken breasts.

Melt butter. Coat chicken with melted butter. Sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper to taste.Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until a light golden color starts to appear -- or until internal temperature reaches about 150.

Remove the dish from the oven. Top each chicken breast with about 2 tablespoons of spaghetti sauce. Then top lightly with more cheese. Put it back in the oven for another 10-20 minutes, or until the cheese is to the desired crispiness and the chicken internal temperature measures 165 or more.

Serve atop fettucini noodles with extra sauce on the side.

Loving the ocean

I've always wanted to live by the beach. I apparently started telling my parents that I would live by the ocean when I was about 6-years-old. I don't think I've ever lost that desire. It's one of the reasons Jared and I decided to move to CT. We just wanted to be near the water.

The really sad part is that living by the beach doesn't mean you get to sit and read books and bask in the sun every day. What a bummer!

Having said that, we've really tried to take advantage of our opportunities here and go at least once every week all summer long. But, now that Maddie's in school, it's more of a pain to take John. He's just so curious and so very messy. His favorite thing to do on the beach is eat rocks. Case in point:

But, I think I've come up with an answer. There is a beautiful walkway in the town of Niantic where you can mozy along for about 2 miles. Since they don't put sidewalks anywhere in my town, it's about the safest place to go for a walk with John. I've been putting him in the stroller and walking along the boardwalk. There is nothing like listening to the ocean and smelling the surf. I love the squawking of seagulls and the whoosh of the Acela train as it passes by. John seems to really enjoy the walk as well. It could be his is more of a social experience -- every person passing by has something to say to John. What a bright soul he is.

This walking on the beach is a real boost to the soul! What a beautiful place to be.

More digi scrapbooking

I really love this hobby! My hard drive is so full! My children are looking neglected and my dinner tonight is a little iffy, but I've had a fun afternoon. This picture represents my afternoon. It's all I've accomplished, but I love it.

I think I like this page layout best of all so far -- thanks again Amanda! This was her first template. (Her site is mandagirl.com)

Photobook reward...

Thank you for everyone's input on my new digital scrapbooking hobby!

I really took all your comments to heart and evaluated them as I put this photobook together. This book is my first reward for entering sweepstakes. I won it from the Quaker Book of Life give away. I'm pretty pumped. If you'd like to take a look, click on the link below:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AYuWTdy2asmTiY

I need to give a big shout out to my friend who made half of the templates that I used in the book. Her blog is mandagirl.com. You can find links to the templates that I used there.

Also, I have to thank Two Peas in a Bucket and Shabby Princess for all of my free digital papers and elements. They have great stuff!

Let me know what you think of the final product.

Reasons to enjoy....

OK, so I'll be the first to admit I wasn't thrilled to be sending my daughter to kindergarten. (And yeah, this post is going to make it up before her first day at school pictures, sorry!)

I really like her, I like spending time with her and I don't want her to grow up. But, in the last week, I've discovered several reasons to enjoy this new adventure of ours. They are not limited to, but include:

• Naps. I get a nap!
• The computer to myself
• Listening to talk radio(no censoring necessary)
• Licking the bowl clean by myself
• Cleaning -- yep! I can clean the house!
• Walks -- with John in the stroller, I can go for walks again
• One child shopping -- did I mention he can't ask for anything yet?
• Quiet. Oh, how I love quiet.
• She wants to see us when she comes home! It's not all talk about finding a friend for the afternoon, she wants to be with us. I'm not sure how long this one will last, but I'm enjoying it while I can.
• Tasty dinners -- I am getting ahead on my to do list enough that I'm actually cooking dinner. Good dinner.
• Early bedtimes for kiddies
• Getting up and getting going -- she forces me up and since I have to take her to the bus, I also have to be dressed.
• But, most of all, she's just happy. She loves school and wants to be there. It's so fun to see her learning and growing and yes, even growing up. She was so ready, it's good to see good things happening for her.

You're sure she can read when.....

In Walmart tonight, I was shopping for some Advil. Honest to goodnes truth -- Advil. Three or four feet to my left, Maddie loudly says, "Mom, what does Cherry Flavored Edible Intimate Lubricant mean? It's sugar-free."

I've been tagged....

OK, so I've been tagged. My dear Texan is making me answer these questions. Look below to see who I tag next:

20 years ago!
1. I was 14-years-old in Sandy, Utah
2. I had just finished a 35-mile, 5-day trek at Philmont Scout Ranch
3. I was entering the 9th grade

10 years ago!
1. I had just graduated from BYU in communications
2. I had just met Jared and enjoyed one of the happiest summers of my life.
3. I had just started working at Digital Technology and was headed out on my first travelling assignment. I was still living in Provo, Utah.

5 years ago!
1. It's such a blur! Maddie started walking in August and I felt like I just chased her around all the time.
2. We visited Hershey, PA for the first time.
3. Jared was getting his PhD and I was a stay-at-home mom. We lived in Washington, DC and were busy with adventure Wednesday activities.

3 years ago!
1. Jared was still working on his PhD.
2. We visited Montreal for a science conference and I forced the family drive many hours out of the way to visit Lake Winnapasake because that's where What About Bob? was about(actually filmed in Virginia though) and to visit a fabric store.

1 year ago
1. What a year! I packed up and moved our house while 4 months pregnant . Then we sold our house and moved to CT.
2. Lived in a hotel
3. Got gestational diabetes and had to give myself icky shots to keep 'little' John actually little.

This year so far!
1. The beach, the beach, the beach!
2. Visited Utah for the best three week vacation of our lives!
3. Just enjoyed the peace of living in the country.

Yesterday!
1. Piddled around the house until the Olympics were on, then watched the Olympics of course.
2. Made yet another grocery list I haven't actually been to the store to buy.
3. Did three loads of laundry.


Today!
1. The beach. Oh, how I just love the beach. It's like a playground for the kids. They are so happy there. I just get to talk and enjoy the sound of the water.
2. Got a free chicken sandwich from McDonald's.
3. Plan on sewing a new purse while Jared's at a work dinner party(and will watch more of the Olympics.)

Tomorrow!
1. Going to the Providence, Rhode Island zoo.
2. Picking up a new toy for John that I've requested from a Craig's list posting. I just love getting deals!
3. Hope to actually make it to the grocery store.

Next Year!
1. Make sure John makes it to 2.
2. Keep Maddie loving school.
3. Hopefully go on a 10th anniversary cruise with my husband. Cross your fingers!

Now for the terrible part -- I tag Emily, Alisa and Brookeh.

Sharing My Coupons

OK, so in some ways, I'm tired of getting all the deals to myself. I love knowing that people are getting something for nothing, or getting a good price. So, here's my tips for today:

• $1 off a twisted Frosty at Wendys here -- play the game then you'll see the coupon link
• Free chicken sandwich or chicken biscuit from McDonalds here.

Now go save some money! YAHOOOOO!

P.S. If you sign up for the Wendy's email, they'll send $1 off coupons about every two weeks.

I know I'm obsessing....

OK. So I've been looking at my pages, over and over and over. I can't decide if I love them or not. It's not usual for me to have so much going on. Or, is it that I don't like my design, or am I being to critical. I'm asking for opinions here. I did a white background version to see if I'd like it better, but now it seems to plain to me. What do you think dear scrapbooking experts???? A or B? I really want to be sure what I am doing before I go and make 40 pages for a book. HELP!

Digital scrapbooking #2

OK, so I had fun this afternoon. I made a very simple template -- kudos to you Amanda, you make it look so easy. I'm not nearly as talented as Amanda is, but I tried. I'm really proud of myself for figuring out how to put a page into the type for the first time. Yeah me! Here's the page that resulted from my attempt:

Digital Scrapbooking

So, I've been dying to learn how to digital scrapbook. I've gotten a glimpse at it, and know I'd like it, but haven't ever had the chance to really get into it. Today I started working from my friend's free templates and really had fun. I'd like to put together a photo book for our Utah trip. Then I have about a thousand other photo books I'd like to put together. If I really get into this, I see a lot of computer time in my future! Here's today's results:

Do you Hulu?

I'm addicted! Jared found this great website with all kinds of tv shows and movies -- oldies and current as well. It's free, and there are thousands of choices. Give it a try: www.hulu.com

Maddie is in love with the A-Team. We've just spent the afternoon watching an episode and eating lunch toghether. It's fun to see her enjoying it so much. She asked if we could watch all of the episodes today. :)

What's your tradition?

So, I realized today that we have an unintentional Sunday tradition. When we get home from church, most of the time, I make breakfast for lunch. This has not actually been planned, just started happening because we like it. In thinking about it, we've been doing it for two or three years now.

We usually have pancakes, french toast, or breakfast sandwiches. Pancakes happen to be my current favorite -- these are the best. You can add blueberries, chocolate chips, really almost anything to this recipe and you'll be happy. Thought I'd share:

Pancakes
King Arthur Flour – adapted by Darcy Patch

2 large eggs

1 1/4 cups milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 tablespoons melted butter

1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons sugar
Dash Cinnamon
Dash nutmeg

3/4 cup blueberries, (or any fruit or chocolate chips)

1) Beat the eggs, milk, and vanilla until light and foamy, about 3 minutes at high speed of a stand or hand mixer. Stir in the melted butter or oil.

2) Add the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar, stirring just to combine. A few lumps are OK. Set the batter aside to rest while you're heating your griddle or pan; it'll thicken a bit as it stands.

3) Heat a griddle to 350°F. If you don't have a griddle, heat a large frying pan over medium-low to medium heat. Grease the griddle. When it's hot enough, a drop of water will skitter across the surface, evaporating immediately.

4) Drop the batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto the prepared griddle or pan; a muffin scoop works well here. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon berries atop each pancake.

5) Cook the cakes till they’re golden brown on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Flip them over, and cook till the other side is golden, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes.

6) Serve the pancakes immediately. Or transfer them to a platter, cover, and keep warm in a 200°F oven. Enjoy with butter and maple syrup.

So, what's your Sunday afternoon tradition?

Another day in medical land...

The kids took a bath together today -- just adorable!

We spent all morning going to doctors. One for John, one for my feet. (My feet will OK with the help of their new orthotics -- thanks for asking!)

John still needs to be on breathing treatments. We'll get him checked again in a few days to see the progress. Other than that, we're just as boring as can be. I've been checking out new coupon sites, trying to figure out how to not pay for groceries and household items. Maddie's been watching tv. I'm trying not to think about the mouse in my garage that is still alive despite it's dabbling with the poison. UGH!

Jared's mowing the lawn, and John finally, finally, finally decided to sleep. YEAH FOR SLEEP!

A down day....

We decided to take a day at home to try to get John better. He got some good sleep. We only gave him one nebulizer treatment in the morning. The idea is to see if the doctor still sees a problem when she checks him on Friday, even though he hasn't been having treatments. Cross your fingers. We are still having the bum problem though. We've chosen to fight it with Desitin and baths today. All well and good, but my hands stink like zinc.

Cheap tip: CVS will give you 50 free prints with your ExtraCare card online. Also, you can get a second deal where you upload an additional 50 prints, and only pay for 30 of the 50. By my math, that's $4.50 for 50 prints -- about $.09 a print. The second deal expires really soon, so take advantage while you can.

Still getting better....

Well, it's day three. John's still on the mend, but just a cranky little guy. He sat in my lap today for about half-an-hour, just watching me or the computer. Not his regular behavior. I gave him a nebulizer at 8 AM and one at 1 PM, just before his nap. We're supposed to be tapering off, but he was wheezing and breathing quickly. UGH! I'm ready to be done with the thing.

Our dear friends took Maddie for the day. She needed to get out of the house and away from me. She's been just dying to play with her CT friends since we got home. Thanks Lisa! I dropped her off at 10 AM and she stayed there for hours and hours -- I seriously owe babysitting swap for this one.

Jared gave his annual presentation on his lab work today. They have a funny tradition that you have to feed the crowd that attends your lecture -- two dozen doughnuts, one dozen bagels, 2 pounds of strawberries, and two gallons of juice. All that was left was a bit of juice. Jared said that the talk went well. He feels pretty good about it.

John slept for 3.5 hours this afternoon. YEAH! He woke up just as happy as can be. Other than the bum. Still a problem. He's started trying to do flips while on the changing table. It's a serious problem with poop flying off his cheeks. So, I strapped him in this afternoon -- crime against humanity! Oh, he was angry. He let me have it in his grunty, shouty babytalk.

We picked up Maddie at about 5:30 PM. Dinner was courtesy of Stouffers Lasagna and some frozen garlic bread.

We are having a tremendous bedtime battle -- tonight took almost two hours to finally get Maddie to sleep. We're idiots. We actually respond to all her questions and help her get what she wants. Well, it's a-changin' tomorrow!

Why? Well, Jared and I have started watching Hulu.com for funny tv shows. We like laying in bed, after the kids are asleep and using the laptop to catch a couple of episodes of The Office, The Daily Show and the Colbert Report. Maddie's influencing our tv time together. It must end!

Pneumonia Day Two

John is getting better.

We gave him two nebulizer treatments in the middle of the night( 12:30 AM and 4:00 AM) -- Jared and I rotated so that we could both get about 6 hours of sleep in a row. Both treatments went well. I gave him another at 8 AM before we headed to the pediatrician to get him checked out. He also had augmentin and oraped -- antibiotics and a steroid. All in the hopes of getting him better. But, (no pun intended) problem inducing -- diarrhea. UGH! Poor guy has a bright red bum.

The doctor said he's getting better. YEAH! We need to wait and see what's happening though. We'll know more by Friday, after all the medication has time to work it's magic and get rid of the infection, and help his lungs to get better. There is a small possibility that he could have asthma or a similar condition. Time will tell. We're slowly tapering off the nebulizer so that he can get stronger on his own.

Last night as we were going to bed, I mentioned to Jared that I thought we needed to lower the crib mattress. He thought we'd have a few more days before it was a problem. This is how I found John this morning after his nap. Needless to say, I lowered the mattress. He spent the rest of the day trying to pull himself up so that he could stand. It's an obsession.

I'm predicting that he'll walk by Sept. 15th. We'll just have to see.

Maddie's having a bit of a rough time of it all. She's just plain exhausted. Also, she's frustrated that John's getting all the attention, love and movies that he wants. So, she went downstairs to watch tv. She ended up getting distracted by a mediocre tv show and missed her favorite. She came upstairs and threw herself on the floor screaming and wailing. I have never been so angry! John started crying. Yep -- the dreaded nap waker-upper. I explained to her that I was furious and that she had better take her crying self out of the room before she regretted it more than she could possibly know. Some of my anger must of conveyed, because even through her own tears and wailing, she rushed downstairs.

Our other big problem, is that Maddie wants to be in control of John's every movement. She is constantly shouting, "NO, JOHN!" at the top of her lungs and removing from one side of the house to the other. This was a picture of her rescuing him from the floor in front of the stairs. Don't worry, he was never in danger.

We finally made it to the grocery store for as many frozen dinners as I could find. I'm not in the mood for cooking this week.

The funny of the day came after we had both kids in bed. I walked past Maddie's room, saw that her light was on, and as I passed I said, "Maddie, time to go to sleep. Please turn out your light."

"Mom, I only have two pages left -- can't I just finish?"

I just laughed and laughed. Oh, the thousands of pages I read using the excuse of 'only two pages left.' It was one of those payback moments that left me with a smile.

Just a note

I've decided to start using the blog as a journal. So, if the posts get too long, just skip 'em and enjoy the pictures of my beautiful kids :)

John Gets Pneumonia

During our visit to Utah, John started wheezing, but we thought it was no big deal. We just decided the last week to take it a bit easier and get him some more sleep. I was planning on taking him into the pediatrician Monday morning to get it checked out.

Sunday night, John started screaming his head off around 9 PM. Not usual for our baby. Not at all. So, we gave him some tylenol cough & cold. That didn't help. We tried a bottle -- no interest. About 11:45 PM we tried giving him some ibuprofin as well. He was still one upset little man.

So, about 12:30 AM, I geared up for the long night of watching the Muppets and trying to sleep while holding him in a chair. Jared and I started getting set-up for the night in the basement and started the movie. About 2 minutes into it, John started coughing and then had this funny bark. Jared and I looked at each other and said, "That's it."

We woke up Maddie and loaded the family into the van. Jared drove as fast as he dared to the hospital while I kept track of John's breathing in the back seat. We got to the hospital around 1:30 AM.

L & M was great. They took us straight to a bed, requested a respiratory therapist and had treated him with albuterol within a half hour of our arrival. It was amazing to see the difference the nebulizer made. They took x-rays and did bloodwork. He had nebulizer treatments at 2 AM, 4 AM, 6 AM and 9:30 AM. In between, they had us hold a blue tube to his face -- it blew cold air. It is supposed to help reduce inflammation in the lungs.

About 5 AM, we were told that John had a case of pneumonia in his left lung for sure, not sure about the right lung. He didn't have an ear infection. His white blood count was over 20,000. High enough to warrant antibiotics. Sorry kid. They put an IV in around 5:30 AM. John was seriously unhappy with it. They had to try two times before it was successful. After they wrapped it, he forgot about it. Around 6:30 AM they gave him antibiotics and fluids through the IV.

The ER doc told us that she'd be checking John into the hospital for further monitoring and treatment. Since we weren't sure when we'd be going home, we decided that Jared and Maddie should go get some sleep and collect some supplies for an extended stay. They left about 6:30 AM.

John finally fell asleep around 7:00 AM. I tried as well. We had a very squeaky door and we were two feet from the bathroom everyone was using, so sleeping was a bit difficult.

We had been told that John was going to be checked into the hospital for treatment until he was breathing better. But, our pediatrician showed up, and changed the plan -- YEAH PEDIATRICIAN! He sent us home with a nebulizer to continue breathing treatments on our own and oral steroids, and antibiotics.

The respiratory therapist gave John a final breathing treatment at 9:30 AM and then the nurse took out his IV around 9:40 AM.

I called Jared to tell him we were going to be coming home. I'm not sure it really sunk in through his sleep deprived state. I had to call a second time to rouse him again and ask him to come and get us because we were all checked out and at the door. They only got 2 hours sleep before we found out that we were going to be coming home, so both of them were exhausted too. They finally picked us up around 10:30 AM.

Here we are at about 2:30 AM. Maddie was lucky enough to get a blue Popsicle --

it made her look like the one with breathing trouble though!
Here's a picture of John's mummified IV foot.
Here's John about an hour after we got home from picking up

the nebulizer, prescriptions and some lunch.

We gave John a breathing treatment at 1:30 and all crashed for a nap. We were just exhausted.

It's amazing to see how much the medication helps him to breathe. He'll be breathing rapidly, his tummy will extend and contract drastically and he's just cranky. We give him the albuterol, and he just relaxes from head to toe. Of course, this is after the nebulizer is finished -- he hates the nebulizer. It's a wrestle off to get him to breathe the "smoke" as we call it.

Side note: As a mother, this was a terrible experience. I know now that John's life was not in danger, but it sure didn't feel like it at the time. I don't like that feeling. It makes me sick inside with worry, fears and doubts. My children are so precious to me. It's so terrible to think that one of them could be in a life and death struggle. Not a surprise, but I hate the loss of control and not knowing what is coming next. It's also really hard because it's difficult to know how serious it is. When it's in your own body, it's easy to know that it hurts, or is difficult, but you're still surviving. With a baby, there's no real way to judge how terrible it is.

Now that I'm on the other side of the fear, all I can feel is gratitude. I'm so glad it wasn't as scary as it could have been. I'm so thankful for medical care and the wonderful people who make it a more pleasant experience. We had great doctors, nurses and therapists that helped calm our fears and helped us to understand what was happening.

I'm most grateful for a terrific husband. He's just fantastic in a crisis. You couldn't ask for a better thinker, a kinder heart and a great man. He makes things happen and provides a positive spirit all through the night, even when he's exhausted. Thanks dear -- I love you!

Family Day at Plum Island

We got to go to the annual Plum Island Family Day on Saturday. It's a really great time. We get to take the ferry out -- about a 30 minute ride -- and then enjoy the beautiful private island.

The island is surrounded in mystique. It's actually not that big a deal. Well, OK, so yeah, they check your ID, you're only allowed on the beach or on the big grassy field, you can't take pictures of anything except the beach and the field, and you have to throw away all food or drink before you leave the island. And, there are big men with guns to enforce these rules. Other than that, it's great! We had great food and got to meet more of the people from Jared's work. All in all, I'd consider the event a big hit with our family.

Here's some pictures for you to see of this secluded scientific playground:

Maddie played on the slip and slide most of the time. She made a friend or two, and they went down to play on the beach. Someone fishing from the beach caught a shark that the kids had to go and see.

John alternated from playing in the grass to sleeping in the stroller(we didn't know he was sick at the time).

We took the 8:45 AM boat out, and the 1:15 boat back. We were just exhausted because we had gotten home from our gigantic Utah trip the night before at around 2:30 AM. Less than 6 hours sleep does not a happy family make. We all came home and took a huge nap. Then we piddled the rest of the day away, just cleaning out suitcases and picking up the junk around the house.

Friday, July 11, 2008

We are pooped! Today we just ran errands and tried to get the kids ready to tackle the reunion. We went to the mall to get me a couple of new shirts. For some reason, mine are starting to get holes in them, all in the same place. I bought a couple at JC Penny's to last me through the summer. Maddie pitched a fit because I wouldn't buy her something, so we had to leave.

We came home and ate leftover Pei Wei and hamburgers for lunch. I'm addicted to edamame, the soybeans in the shell. I'm eating them for every meal.

Then we got the kids a nap while I showed Mom how to quilt. I think she's just going to love it. She's doing a modified four-patch. When it was time to go get dinner, she didn't want to stop until her bobbin ran out. It was cute.

We went to Costco for dinner. Funny that I came all the way to Utah to eat dinner at Costco. We kept seeing Mom & Dad's friends as we sat and ate. We did pick up a few groceries to justify the trip.

We came home, put the kids to bed and watched another episode of 'Good Eats' before going to get Jared at the airport. Shock, his plane was about 45 minutes early. We hit Wendy's on the way home to pick him up a bit of dinner. Then we finally got to bed around 11:45 PM. UGH! Tired.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

We rested a bit in the morning, but headed out the door by 10:00. I wanted to go to Elaine's Quilt Block to see what fabric they had. I bought a purse pattern the last time we were out here, but didn't buy any fabric to go with it. So, I went in search of some fun fabrics. John was not happy to be in a fabric store! He screamed and carried on so much that mom finally took him outside while I finished choosing. Maddie wants a purse too, so I let her choose a few fat quarters so that I can make her one when we get home.

We met the Carvers and Salgados at the Gateway splash pad. I'm not sure if that's the official name, but it's the function. Maddie had a great time! We bought KFC and just ate lunch and watched her run around. It was fun to see the Salgados -- Maddie had a great time playing with AnnMarie. I'm bummed because I didn't get a picture of their family. UGH! Little John had a great time once we put him down. The picture here is just after we set him down -- he's still winding up to crawl. After he was on his hands and knees, he headed straight for the water spouts. We had to watch him constantly so he didn't get a mouthful.

We finished playing in the water, and headed to McDonald's for ice cream.

All this playing has worn us out! Today was just so hot! We came home, watched a bit of "Good Eats" on tv, picked up Pei Wei and brought it home. Yummy! I love Chineese food! I put the kids to bed and crashed around 10:00. We're so excited because Jared comes tomorrow -- yeah Dad!

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

We had a wonderful day, but we're quickly wearing ourselves out running around town!

We started off by going to get my hair done. Connie is our good friend, and she's been doing hair in our family for four generations. It was great to see her and catch up on everything. I'll post pictures my new doo soon -- be prepared for change!

After we finished with my hair, I was hankering for a Caesar Salad from Fanny's Grill at the Homestead in Midway. It's one of my favorite places to eat. So, we drove an hour to go and get me a lovely meal. Maddie got to throw all of our bread, french fries and just about everything edible to the ducks nearby. We were next to the fence, and she would hurl the bread over with a big tennis, "hi-yah" with every toss. It was really fun. John had a great time sitting in a high chair, throwing spoons around. We sat there for about 90 minutes, just enjoying the peace and entertainment.

We stopped in at Mom & Dad's new house(just around the corner) to see if there had been any progress since Monday. Plants had been dropped off, and a new countertop installed. I talked with Kristie and got to wish her a happy birthday -- HAPPY BIRTHDAY KRISTIE!

We decided to take Maddie to Zermatt to ride the carousel. She absolutely loves riding on the horses. She got to ride two separate times, once on a black horse, and once on a white horse. She had it to herself the second time, grinning all the while!

John is working on his crawling skills everywhere we go -- here it's on the cement next to the carousel.

We finished off the day by getting ice cream at Dairy Keen in Heber -- burnt almond fudge malts are one of my very favorite things in the whole wide world! Maddie played in the park in downtown Heber while Mom & I sat in the car's air conditioning and gobbled our malts. We stopped in at the Park City outlet mall on the way home to Sandy. John's pretty put-out he hasn't had a good nap, so he kept crying and calling out, "Bubba", "Mom" all the way home. It was so sad! But, as soon as we put him down on the floor at home, he was crawling all over, happy as could be.

We decided with all the gallivanting today, it would be best to just eat at home. The kids were so wiped out, I only got to eat half my dinner before they just demanded to be put to bed. After I was done putting them to bed, I just couldn't climb the stairs anymore. I put myself to bed and called it a day.

Hogle Zoo with the Carvers

We've made it to Utah safely, and are having a ball. On Monday, we did normal life things like going to Costco and Target. In the afternoon, we went to see my mom & dad's new house up in Midway. It's just beautiful. Maddie gets a kick out of all the farm life everywhere.

It was so great to see our good friends the Carvers today. The Carvers have been our friends since the girls were born back in Maryland. We had some great adventures and fond memories of them. They moved to Utah two years ago, but we all seem to pick up where we leave off, even if it's been months. Our girls just get along great! I adore Amanda. She's the kind of friend you wish lived right next door because she's always up for an adventure, or it's just fun to sit and chat too.

We met up at the zoo and walked most of the day in the hot sun. The adults spent their time looking at animals, while the kids ran around playing.

Here's a peek at our visit: