Mom's Gone?

Six weeks is too long to go without seeing your husband. Right? I found a way to get back to Jacksonville for one last visit and only had to make minor sacrifices to get there (red eye flights, Kyla on my lap, arms about to fall off from hauling Chunky plus car seat through three different airports...). It was such a great visit. I took two pictures before the batteries in my camera died, so I will post those later. But I found these pics on my mom's of the fun that happened here.

I left Damon in Tara's care. When I told him, he said to Allie, "Tara is the best." He has always loved her (maybe more than he loves me). Tara told him he didn't have to go to bed at 9:00 (our bargain for the summer, provided he doesn't wake up until 8:00 am) while I was gone, and he said, "That's what I'm talking about!" He had a great time with her. He has been on an artwork kick lately and plastered the fridge with his recent creations.

He also was very sweet with Maddux and Malakai (most of the time, from what I hear). He got to go to chemo with my mom and was much nicer to everyone after that personal attention.

Allie stayed with Heather (a tough job, I know), and only annoyed her occasionally with her constant chatter. She showed off her tricks...

...and got her toenails painted again by our good friend, Holly. She was so excited.

They didn't seem to miss me at all. And honestly, I didn't really miss them much, either. It must be because I knew they were in good hands and I didn't have to worry about them. Probably not because I'm not a good mom. Right?

Do we really have to eat?

Here's what's on my mind this morning:

As soon as my kids wake up in the morning, and make their way bleary-eyed into my room, they want to eat. Kyla starts signing "eat" or "milk" the instant I get her out of bed. Allie, who rarely wakes up happy, is asking for a bowl of cereal and a drink of milk. And Damon, who is usually far more patient than the other two, is not usually far behind. Feeding my kids is a full time job. And it's one I disdain.

Allie, who claims to be starving, will routinely take between 6 and 8 bites of her cereal before deciding she's done. She'll spill her milk as she tries to get down from the table and halr-heartedly clean it up. About 30 minutes later, she will return to the kitchen, hungry again (what? 6 bites of Cheerios isn't going to get you through until lunch?), and will ask for another kind of cereal. I will remind her that she is more than welcome to have something else to eat. Provided she finishes her (now soggy) Cheerios first. Nearly every day we follow this little script, and at this point, Allie will do one of three things:

1. Throw a fit and come up with an excuse why she can't finish it (today it was, "I'm really getting sick of it.")
2. Throw a fit and refuse, resulting in a very sad and miserable girl until lunch.
3. Throw a fit and finally choke the soggy cereal down, resulting in a second bowl for her.

Fun, huh? Kyla will sit in her high chair eating all day long. And when she finally gets sick of something, she'll just toss it on the floor and go back to signing "milk" and "eat." All day long.

Damon appears to have learned a lot from Allie's morning ritual. He skips most of the drama. But he still wants to eat.

It's not long after breakfast ends, the dishes are cleared, the kitchen cleaned, when it's time to start again for lunch. Some days I give in and let them have peanut butter sandwiches. But most of the time I encourage them to "broaden their horizons" and let their body try something else. This usually is met with some more whining and/or impatience, but eventually we make it through lunch, and get it cleaned up. Kyla still sits in her high chair, eating.

Then before I even blink, it's snack time. I scour the cupboards for something healthy to go along with the crackers they demand, and after seconds and sometimes thirds, I finally convince them to stop eating so they will be able to eat dinner.

Dinner is either eaten quickly and very well (depending on what it is and how many crackers I've actually let them eat), or filled again with complaining. "This makes me sick," is something Allie has been known to say often when she doesn't like the meal I have prepared. I remind the children that they can choose not to eat, but that often times that choice means they will be hungry until breakfast. It's not often that they choose this, but it definitely does happen. If there is dessert involved, dinner seems to go over much better. Most of the time, though, it is a fight I am tired of fighting.

Can't we just stop eating for a while? Is that too much to ask? I think the planning, preparation, eating, and cleaning up of meals is one of my least favorite things about being a mother. I propose that we do away with lunch. Breakfast and dinner should be enough. And then I wouldn't feel like I am a slave to the kitchen.

Good ole SG

I haven't lived at home for an extended period of time for ten years. But some things never change. Here's how I know I'm home:

1. My dad saying, "just one more thing and I'll be finished" at FHE. I can't tell you how many times I have heard this in my life. It didn't take long to learn that "one more thing" usually means about 10 more minutes. Allie actually fell asleep during FHE this week. Not that the lesson was boring (it wasn't), but it was probably a lot longer than she's used to.



2. "Sunday music" playing every day of the week. Another thing we all are used to, but my kids have made many comments about it. Usually it's "Turn that off, it's not Sunday."



3. You can see the heat coming off the asphalt, and if you stay outside too long, you feel like you're baking (still better than the feeling of melting I experienced in Florida). Also, the nights cool off and it feels so delicious in the evenings, I wish the sun would never go down.



4. Buffy (our sheltie) still chases rocks (although she does tire out more easily than she used to). She was shaved recently (not because everyone else was shaved to show support for my mom, but because she had a skin infection that required it), so looks a little different, but she's the same old girl we've had since I was in high school.

5. The trampoline is still in the front yard; the park is still in the back. I have more memories than I can possibly write about the park (climbing up on the basketball hoop to tape a square on the backboard, having a snowball fight in high school the one day school got cancelled due to snow (ice, really), several movie nights with dates, night games (pump), rollerblading...the list goes on and on), but it is the one reason my parents will never move. Plus, my mom has a view of the temple from her kitchen window and she doesn't even have to sneak out at night to cut branches of the trees that block the view anymore.

6. My family still loves ice cream. We heard Blue Bunny was having a 50% off sale today and my mom came home with two tubs of ice cream. Three gallons each. That should last us through the week...

I really have enjoyed being home. It's fun to relive old memories while watching my kids make memories of their own. I am anxious to visit Jeff next week, but I have been far less "homesick" than I thought I would be. And that's probably because, in a small way, I feel like I am home.

A few pics from NYC

"The loving mother holds her daughter's head toward the camera." I don't even remember doing this, but judging by Kyla's interest, I think something must have happened right before this. We did enjoy some yummy hot dogs and chicken kabobs from this lovely vendor.

"The kids try to blend into the crowd by acting like they know what they're doing on the subway." Safe to say everyone knew we were tourists.

"Wow, that's a tall building. And a boy who needs a haircut." Damon in front of the ESB. Our best layover ever...

Gettin' here

I know it is well past time I posted the events that led to our missing our flight to Utah, but for the sake of record keeping, here goes:

The morning we were supposed to fly to Utah, my aunt and I had the incredibly daunting task of cleaning the house in preparation for the big move. My cousin was there to help with the kids (and Julie was around the corner when we needed a little extra help) and we started the process around 9:00 am. At 3:00 pm we had finished and, exhausted, left for the airport. We had 8 bags and two car seats to check, a few carry-on bags and pillows, and three small children in tow. We arrived about an hour before our flight was scheduled to leave, not super early, but not necessarily late either. We parked in short term parking (my FIL was flying into Jax to close on the house and would be driving our van to meet Jeff a few hours later), and hauled our load into the airport.

That's when things started going wrong. One of the bags had a broken wheel and was very tricky to roll. The computer at check-in wasn't working right and refused to print the correct labels for our luggage (we were there a good thirty minutes and we didn't even wait in line). The line for security was much longer than it looked. The milk we had bought to go with the Cinnabon had to be put into small, 3 oz containers, so it could pass. And the three kids were slowing us down, too. My aunt started realizing that we weren't going to make it and tried to cut in line, so at the very least she could run down to the gate to let them know we were on our way. She did manage to get a tiny bit ahead of us, although she had my boarding pass instead of hers and had to come back to switch with me.

I started pouring the mouthfuls of milk in each small container into my kids mouths, knowing that any small amount of liquid was going to slow us down, and got the boarding passes wet. We got stopped at security and Damon's bag was searched, revealing three illegal items (play-doh in containers larger than 3 oz). I apologized, not realizing that play-doh was either a liquid or a gel and we all got our shoes back on. At this point, I saw my aunt running back toward us, obviously stressed. She said, "You have got to run!"

I was carrying my purse, Kyla and one large car seat. Damon was dragging his (now play-doh free) bag, Heidi (my cousin) was carrying our mound of pillows, and Allie was slowing us all down by trying to walk by herself. So, our entire party started running. And Allie's shoe fell off, at which point she refused to run without it on. I looked back to see Heidi trying to pick her up, the pillows falling from her arms. My own arms burning, I turned around and ran back to help, taking the pillows myself. We ran for what seemed like ages, finally making it to our gate. And although the plane was there, the door was closed. And they wouldn't open it for us.

Long story short, we were flying stand-by and legally they couldn't wait for us. So, after some heated words passed and tears were shed (by my aunt and Damon, respectively), we rescheduled our flight for the next day. We met up with my FIL, who had arrived, and rode back to Jacksonville, just as we should've been heading to Utah.

We left the next morning, where we turned a 6-hour layover in New York into an afternoon on the subway, and a couple hours walking around Times Square and the Empire State Building. It actually was very enjoyable. And by our night flight to Utah, we were all tired enough to sleep for a good portion of it. Phew. What a trip.

We are glad to be here, and even happier to be spending time in St. George. After some random bad weather nearly chased me back to Florida, it is now incredibly nice in Utah. And my kids are loving the trampoline, the park in the backyard and the fun that just never stops. Allie found this dress at her cousin's house one day (the ones we live next door to in Springville) and she has probably worn it at least three times a week since. I've gotten used to seeing her in it, actually, and am a little surprised at the reaction she gets from other people.

Kyla is practicing her walking, but only when she wants to. She's been a little sad lately, and there have been numerous "diarrhea incidents." For your sake, I won't go into them here, although Heather has one pic on her camera that I may have to post.

I realize that I don't have any pics of Damon or of his recent haircut ("my grandma has cancer" is what he'll tell you when someone notices it), but here is one he took of us girls. No one mourns the wicked! I love this hand me down shirt!

One is the loneliest number

Wow, a quiet moment alone. With internet access. Is it Christmas? This is the best gift I've had in a while. Life for me lately has been anything but quiet. And I don't know if I'll ever get caught up remembering it all.

Let's start with my favorite little girl. Kyla turned one on Saturday. Seriously? My baby is one? When babies turn one it's time to start thinking about another one. That was a quick year. I taught Kyla a few signs, like I did with my other kids. I thought it was so cute how she signed "eat" 800 times a day. It was especially cute when she added a "please" to that. It's not cute anymore. Especially because she's decided that she prefers eating treats and drinking soda pop. Did I mention that I haven't been cooking lately? With my mom's birthday party, Memorial Day and Kyla's birthday, there have been many opportunities for my suddenly communicative child to weasel sugar in all its forms from everyone (including me). It's time to crack down. Just because she looks so cute with frosting all over her face is no reason to let her live on cupcakes.

In addition to her devasatingly adorable talent of eating all day long, she has also finally decided she would like to enter the world of the walkers. Although she started taking steps well over a month ago, she has been slow to give up crawling. Watching her, I have noticed what a cautious little person she has turned into. It's good (for instance, she has learned to go up and down stairs with only minor falls), but it's also bad (she will get excited about walking, take a few steps, fall, and melt down). I love watching her learn to walk. It doesn't get old seeing her let go and venture out across the room. Apparently, it doesn't get old for my other kids, either, as they always seem so surprised that she is standing on her own or walking toward them.

After that last picture, I'm sure the line from Friends was running through your mind. "The camera adds ten pounds." "How many cameras were actually ON you?" No, Kyla is not as chubby as she appears in her "sugar stupor." She really looks more like the picture above.

I was telling my mom and Tara tonight that Kyla has been my favorite baby. She is the baby you would pick out of a catalog if you could choose (wouldn't that be nice!); she's cuddly, she's sweet, she's happy, she's calm, she's excited about life, she's loving, and she's mine. I want to go in and pinch her cheeks while she's sleeping, just because I can. I can't believe how much I love her. And the fact that she's one now is making me a little sad. Maybe it IS time for another one (don't get carried away by that statement--I'm husband deprived.:)

Failure

Still no internet in basement. We're working on that (hoping that the wireless connection from upstairs will reach, thus saving us even more money that we can add to the "house fund."). Jeff is here for the week. He had a conference in Denver over the weekend and already had this trip to Utah planned months ago. It's so nice to have him here. What am I going to do without him for a whole month (I'll tell you one thing I'll do, and that's lay off the chick flicks and romance novels, ha!).

I took a quick trip to St. George last week to surprise my mom. It was her 50th birthday and even though she didn't feel like celebrating, everyone wanted to show their love for her. Seriously, can anyone be more loved than my mom? I doubt it. Check out her blog for details and a seriously awesome pic of Kyla scarfing down some cake. I had a great time with the family and can't wait to be with them again soon.

I nearly failed as a parent this week. Honestly, there are only a few things that parents need to do not to fail their children. Besides the basic things like feed, clothe, shelter, you should provide a good example for them to follow, teach them to love God and never break a promise to them. Oh, and don't forget to leave them money from the tooth fairy. That's the one that got me. Damon lost two teeth this week after months of claiming that they were loose.

The first one was no big deal, I still had a dollar left in my wallet. But the second one took me by surprise. It was Sunday when it popped out and I kept putting off thinking about what I would do once he was asleep, knowing full well that I had already given him my last dollar only a couple nights before. Secretly I hoped that he would forget to put it under his pillow so I could have another day to come up with some money. But he remembered. And I forgot. I woke up at 5:00 am with only one thought on my mind. CRAP! I grabbed my wallet and searched through it, hoping a dollar had appeared while I slept (that can happen, right?). Nothing. I searched the coins and found four quarters (where did those come from?). I wrote a very quick note from the tooth fairy and sneaked into his room. Phew. Catastrophe avoided. But when I saw the note I had written a few hours later, I had to laugh. It was obvious I was half asleep and writing in the dark. At least Damon didn't act suspiscous. And for now, I still haven't failed him as a parent.

Pros/Cons

We still have no internet downstairs so I am sneaking a few moments of computer time upstairs in the "forbidden zone" (forbidden to my kids, not to me) while my in-laws are at the MTC. The kids are supposedly in bed, but I hear all THREE of them crying (Kyla was asleep...guess that is over). I will eventually get to all the stuff I have been thinking about, but here is a quick list of pros and cons of being here in Utah.

Pros:

• My towel is dry in the morning. Wow, I forgot that actually happened!
• My hair dries in minutes, and doesn't have that horrible frizz I have become accustomed to.
• Prime time tv starts at 7:00 and I can go to bed at 10:00. Plus, all the games are on much earlier (which I'm sure not a lot of you care about).
• The grass here is awesome! Two years of living with St. Augustine crap grass have made me appreciate the great lawns in Utah.
• My kids have no shortage of playmates. Three cousins live next door and a ton of kids live in the neighborhood. Jeff called it "instafriends."
• I haven't had to cook yet. Jeff's mom and sister are taking care of me like I'm still on vacation. I don't complain.
• Our bedroom is huge--the enormous king size bed doesn't even factor in to the amount of space I have left over.

Cons:

• Isn't is supposed to be spring? It's freezing here! I mistakenly packed mostly summer clothes and we had to scrounge around to find some warm things to wear. The basement here is also really cold and we've had to crank the heat, which has made my MIL too hot!
• No internet, no satellite service, no high definition...we'll get around to it when Jeff comes back next week, but for now it's not a lot of fun.
• We're still adjusting to the time change and the days seem extra long with those extra two hours. Plus, since I haven't been cooking, I've been a little bored. Oh, and I don't have a library card yet. I need to have something mailed to me in my name...
• That big bed I talked about earlier is only filled by one person--me. I am glad I'll see Jeff again next week, but after that, it may be another month (or a little longer) before I see him again. That makes me sad.
• 
  BUT we're surviving. Life is good. It's good to be close to family. I miss my friends back in Jax, but hopefully I'll be able to come out next month (still working on that).

And now back to the crying kids...

Everything you own in a box to the left

We made it to Utah. It was no easy feat. Details to come later that include a missed flight, a six hour layover in NYC, a late night flight to Utah and Damon starting school less than 12 hours after landing.

Jeff may make it tonight with the moving truck, as long as the trailer doesn't break down again. Stay tuned...

Birthday Girl

Allie turned three yesterday. Not exactly great timing (with the move and all), but with her, that's nothing new.

Three years ago, on April 29th, Jeff and I were sitting in gliders at Babies R Us in Columbus while my mom watched Damon back at our condo. My doctor had offered to induce me that night when he got to the hospital (about midnight), but I told him I thought I would like to just go on my own. As Jeff and I sat there, rocking back and forth with no distractions, we both agreed that we were happy we weren't having the baby that night. We were tired.

A few hours later, my contractions started. Within 15 minutes they were a minute apart. It was just like a scene from a movie as I woke Jeff up, telling him it was time to go. We grabbed Damon from his bed and all loaded into the Honda. When we got to the hospital at 1:45 am I had only been in labor for an hour. And it was time to push. With no epidural. nfortunately, it took a little while for our friend to come pick Damon up and he witnessed a few things I wish he hadn't seen (questions like "is that poop?" only affirm that fact). At 2:45 am Allie was born. And it only took that long because she was facing up and I just couldn't push her out. It was not the greatest day of my life, and definitely not the best timing on her part.

So, April 29 (and 30th) shouldn't have been much different. Allie appeared in our room three times between 4:00 and 4:30 crying. I think she was celebrating her birth in her own (annoying) way. But we love her anyway.

Because of the move, she didn't get a birthday party. She didn't get a homemade cake. Instead, she got a store bought cake to share with some friends at the park. I don't think she minded.

Yum, frosting...


Cole, Allie, Katie Law, Heidi Fletcher

Parker, Sierra Craver, Luke Law

Mason, who was still grinning from his own piece of cake.

Kyla was having a reaction to the sunscreen I had put on her face (second time that has happened) and wasn't having too much fun. But she did enjoy the cake.

Here are a couple of pics from the other day. One thing I'm not going to miss about Florida are the snakes that seem to be everywhere. The black snake that lives between the outside wall of our house and the garage has gotten more bold and has been sunning itself often, and much closer to our front door. And when a neighbor boy came over with this snake he had caught, Damon and Allie couldn't resist getting a closer look.

Damon thought it would be fun to play in the laundry basket later that night.

Kyla showed off her new funny face (remember Damon doing this one, Tara?)

And then all the kids got in for some quality time together. I love this one.

The Fine Print

What if becoming a mother was like applying for a job, where you were required to read through a list of qualifications to determine how good of an employee you would be? I've been thinking about this a lot lately, and I think I am begining to realize that this list of qualifications should also include some fine print.



For example, In order to be a good mother, you will have to do the following:

1. Have an advanced knowledge of the human body (medical school training preferrable) and be able to judge between every day aches and pains and life and death emergencies, as you may need to distinguish between the two almost daily.

The fine print: Knowing a few simple phrases, such as, "Is there blood?," and "If it were broken you wouldn't be able to walk on it" will help tremendously when determining how severe an injury is. Must be willing to respond to statements such as "my bum crack hurts" with "let me see."

2. Must possess a vivid imagination and be willing to come up with unique scenarios for imaginary play.

The fine print: A basic knowledge of Disney movies is enough to get you by. "Let's pretend we're deer walking out onto ice for the first time..."

3. Cooking skills are a must. You will spend many hours each day planning and preparing gourmet meals for a number of different tastes.

The fine print: No matter what you make, someone isn't going to like it. Mix in the occasional chicken nugget and tator tot night to appease the children and spend the rest of the time making things that you like. Learn well the phrase, "You can be finished, but you'll only get water the rest of the night."

4. While cleaning may not be considered a skill, you will need to be able to do it very well. And very often.

The fine print: Learn the "quick straighten and vacuum" technique. It will help things appear clean, while spraying air freshener in the bathroom can buy you at least another week.

I could go on and on, but fear of boredom prevents me. What fine print would you wish you had read early on?

Odds and Ends

Let's try this list style, shall we?

1. Thanks for the comments about the blog layout. I wish I could take credit for it, but all I made was the header. A few of you have visited THIS SITE for your new layouts, so I couldn't fool you any way. If you scroll down a little, there are a bunch of free layouts you can use for your blog and you won't lose any of your links. It took me a few minutes to figure it all out, but I like the new look. A little love for Florida.
2. Allie is turning three next week and I think she's coming out of the terrible twos. She has been very pleasant lately, obeying about 50% of the time (quite an improvement). One of my favorite memories of her was a couple weeks ago we were playing Mother May I after our FHE lesson. Allie and Damon were standing by the door and I instructed her to take three steps toward me. She looked at me, trying hard to remember her line, and said, "Mamma Mia!" She would've fit in nicely on American Idol this week.
3. Speaking of Allie, here is a short list of songs she has asked to listen to lately: Teardrops on My Guitar by Taylor Swift, Our Song by Taylor Swift (to which she commented, "I love this one!"), No One by Alicia Keys (we know how she feels about her), "It's Too Late to Call the Jize" (Apologize) by One Republic, "Afore He Cheats" by Carrie Underwood, Life is a Highway by Rascal Flatts (she learned the beauty of REPEAT on her cd player with this one) and her all-time favorite, All American Girl by Carrie Underwood (to which she knows all the words and sings into her toy microphone).
4. And a short list of songs she has been banned from listening to: "Apple Bottom Jeans" (Low) by Flo Rida (It's so catchy, and I hadn't really listened to the words. I regret that now. She was barred from this song after she couldn't stop singing it one Sunday. I'm lucky I haven't been struck by lightning.). "I Hate that Stupid.."(Picture to Burn) by Taylor Swift ("hate" and "stupid" are two of the banned words in our house), and Life is a Highway. Because of the REPEAT feature.
5. My baby is so big! And she's into everything! It has made packing a little tricky. Here is one of her favorite spots--the fake trees we have in the house.

She also loves pulling the books off the bookshelf in the kids room. But those are packed now. "How rude," as Allie would say.

I'm sure there are more things I had planned to write when I first sat down, but the kids aren't cooperating. So that's it for now.

Happy Birthday!

Yesterday was my sister, Tara's, birthday, and I am just getting around to posting this today. That's the life of a busy mom, I guess.

Heather did an awesome post about Tara, and everything she said is absolutely true! Tara is the life of the party, an awesome mom and aunt, and a great athlete. Here are a few things I would like to add:

1. Tara has the best skin for tanning. She was always the first one to get tan after the winter, and she could always get three or four shades darker than the rest of us. Lucky girl with the olive skin. No wonder she's so pretty!

2. Tara is everyone's favorite. Damon, in particular, thinks there is no one on earth better than her. "Rara" was one of his first words, in fact. They have always had a special bond, as she was there when he was born, giving my mom the play-by-play on the phone.

3. She is a great imitator. One of my favorite memories of her is from Ohio. She came to stay with us and we were all about American Idol, and our favorite reject ever, Mary Roach. We had some bath crayons in the bathroom, and every morning she and I would think of something that had made us laugh and add another quote to the shower wall. After a few days, the walls were covered and neither of us could take a shower without laughing hysterically.

4. She may try to hide it from the world, but she has the most tender heart. No one cares about people like Tara does. She always wants to know what's going on with everyone and her heart truly goes out to those who are suffering. Her compassion is what makes her such a great people person.

We love you Tara and hope you had a great birthday! We can't wait to party with you soon!

"How do you think you did?" "Not too shabby."

A thousand words

I have been busy packing. I have a lot of thoughts that may never make it to the blog. But I'm okay with that. This is a quickie today.

You know the saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words."

I love this picture. I wish we had a better camera and an ounce of knowledge when it came to photography (Jeff has volunteered to take on that task--although he is interested in photographing nature. I don't mind that, as long as the kids get in a shot every once in a while). But I saw Allie like this and had to shoot away. It was too priceless. I asked her what she was doing. She said, "just watching the big waves."

What does it say to you?

I'll share my thoughts later.

Date Night

Picture this:

You are getting ready for your first date. You have been anxiously anticipating this night for weeks. All day long you think about what you're going to wear, how you'll fix your hair and wonder why the hours are dragging by so slowly. Finally, your date arrives. You try hard to only let an appropriate amount of excitement show, so as not to scare him off with the depth of your feelings for him. You ride together in his car, and suddenly you find there is nothing to talk about. Instead, you listen to music he has picked out and pretend to like it. He takes you somewhere nice to eat and you are careful about what you order, knowing first impressions are everything. You talk during dinner, and things go well. Ultimately, though, before the night is over, you do something embarrassing. You want to go home. Even though he acts like it's not a big deal, you know he's probably dying inside. How could he not be? When you finally get home, you walk in, mortified. You vow you'll never date again. It's just too hard.

Sound familiar? Or was that just me? Allie experienced her first date last night (with her daddy). And that's pretty much how it went. She had been planning the night for weeks (months, even), and couldn't have been more excited about going to Chik Fil A to play on the playground. She wore her favorite rainbow shirt and even let me wash her hair. When dad got home from school, she ran around squealing with delight.

They got to the restaurant and she went right for the playground (they ate before they left home. What a cheap date she is!). She had only been playing for a few minutes when something terrible happened. She was instantly hit with the irrepressible urge to use the bathroom. Last night's dinner just wasn't sitting well with her (with any of us, really). But she was at the top of the playground. I don't know whether or not the song, "When you're running down to first and you feel a little burst..." ran through her head or not, but the result was the same. A little boy yelled down from above, "she pooped her pants!"

Humiliated, she made her way to the bottom, where daddy tried to pretend it wasn't a big deal. He understood exactly why it had happened, and that really she wasn't to blame, but admitted that the date was over. He bought her an ice cream, placed a paper towel under her behind, and drove home. She cried, probably more embarrassed than anything else. And then she fell asleep. With the spoon still in her mouth. This is how I found them.

Daddy told her that he was going to take her out again, seeing as her date only had about 5 good minutes before the tragedy struck. She said she didn't want to go again, obviously traumatized. It took some convincing before she agreed to accept another date, to an entirely new location. She's much too young to give up on dating yet. Although, I hope that is the worst thing that ever happens to her on a date....

Later that night we were reading a book about a bear who could jump into hats. After performing this feat over 700 times, he was pooped. Allie remarked, "just like me."

Mom's Blog

I just wanted to let you all know that my sister, Heather, has started a blog for my mom. It will basically be a place where we keep family and friends informed of what is going on with her, and her battle with cancer. Feel free to check it out!

karenkancerkiller.blogspot.com

More Time

I'm down to just a few weeks left. We have decided that the best thing for us all is for me to move to Utah with the kids the first of May. Damon can finish kindergarten there (hopefully in the same class as his cousin, David) and then we can spend a month or so with my family, helping them as much as possible.

That means that we have to get packed up and ready to move in the next couple of weeks. And I am feeling jipped (sp?). I thought I would have two more months here to finish all that I wanted to do. In my head, I was planning a nice farewell, revisiting places I won't see again, and seeing new things I have meant to do before now. But it's not going to happen. And while I'm very excited about coming home, I just thought I'd have more time.

With only weeks left, I am trying frantically to condense my list. What do I absolutely want to cram into the time I have? Beach trips? Definitely. Another trip to Sea World? I'd like to. Camping at Manatee Springs? Not a chance.

And even after I choose a few activities to fill our remaining time, the truth is, it's just not enough. Because the things I wanted to do can't possibly be crammed into a month. There's not enough time for proper good-byes to all my friends. The memories I was planning to make won't happen now. And that's what makes me the most sad.

Tomorrow I will be excited about moving. Tomorrow I will be thrilled that I get to be close to my mom, and be able to help her out. Tomorrow I will start counting down the days until I get to see my family again. But today I'm just going to be sad. I just wanted a little more time.

Construction, part II

Britain, thanks for the tip about the pictures! That totally worked!

Here is Damon's class picture. I got a kick out of it. You now can click on it to enlarge it for an even better view!

Here are a few thoughts:
The lighting on the back row is terrible. If it were my child back there, I would be a little upset. You can't even see Achoar and Ayul.
I think Damon has a future in the military, the way he is standing at attention.
Could someone take that boy out in the sun once in a while?
Emani, the girl two rows above Damon in the pink, was victimized by Damon's kissing earlier this year. She wasn't a fan. I wouldn't have been either, seeing as he kissed her on her waist (what's that all about?)

In Pictures

Okay, last week I didn't post many pictures, what with all the craziness we were facing. So, here is a brief recap of what we did, along with some commentary.

WEDNESDAY: Damon and I went on a "date." He had been wanting to go bowling for a long time, and his date night kept getting pushed back for one reason or another. So, after a quick dinner Wednesday night, we headed to Bowl America, which was surprisingly crowded for a Wednesday night.

Things you're thinking that you don't actually say: "Wow, Krystal, that's a huge vein in your forearm."


You're thinking: "The ball matches Damon's cheek. Doesn't she own any sunblock?"


You're thinking: "I'll bet she asks him to pose that way just to get under Jeff's skin."

THURSDAY we had to show the house again (as you well know). It was also day 4 of Damon's spring break. This was around 4:00.

You're thinking: "Where was their mother during all this destruction?" I'm thinking: "When will spring break end?"

Later that night, we went to Red Lobster for a celebration dinner. Actually, it was during our 7:00 showing of the house and we needed to be gone for an extended period of time. And we had a gift card we'd been saving since Christmas and decided we would go, and HOPE it was a celebration of a successful showing.

You're thinking: "Are you guys crazy taking three kids to a sit down restaurant?"

And now you're thinking: "Ah, I see the strategy--let Allie eat the ranch dressing with a spoon, her fingers, and her tongue. That will keep her quiet for a while."

You're thinking: "That's one cute baby, even with food all over her shirt. I bet she was the loudest of the three kids during dinner." You'd be right.

This was just after dinner, while Jeff was waiting to pay the check. We took pity on the other customers and waited outside.

You're thinking: "Does Allie ever look at the camera?" and "Didn't she used to be photogenic?" I'm thinking the same things.

SATURDAY/SUNDAY: Conference. The kids did their usual activities. Damon actually looks forward to conference because of all the candy he gets to eat. Allie couldn't help but be excited too.

You're thinking: "That's a lot of candy. But I don't blame you."

And here are a couple shots of Kyla from the week. She was tagged by Kalia, so here are a few facts you may not know about her. She has started standing by herself for a few seconds at a time. That's fun. She got her first tooth (top middle) after repeated falls drew blood and wore away the gums. She has been sad a lot lately. Maybe teeth? Maybe she's just tired of being the happy one? Who knows.

She can patty-cake, shake her head when I say no, and even started signing ("eat" ). She also shares a love of Jeff's lizards and can often be found in "talking" to them.

You're thinking: "Wow, that must have taken a lot of time. I hope she didn't neglect her kids too much while writing this post."

Fan Mail

In answer to some of the questions (fan mail) I have been getting lately...

I use HP Creative Scrapbook Assistant to do my pages. I decided against the Photoshop route because I just didn't want to put in the time to learn the program. I just want to be able to sit down and whip something out really quickly. I bought the program for myself and had Jeff give it to me for Christmas. You can find it for around $30.

All of the paper, embellishments, etc. I have found online for free (check out some of my links on this page). The program is easy to use and I have been happy with it.

I haven't printed any of my pages yet, but I have heard that Costco does a good job. A couple of friends say they are happy with the way their pages turn out. You can get a 12x12 done for $2.99 done either in Glossy or Lustre. My goal was to be caught up by the time Kyla turns one (at LEAST with her pages, and hopefully with our family's) and there is NO WAY I could make it if I wasn't doing digital. I'll let you know how they turn out when I get them printed.

You are all very sweet in complimenting me on the pages--honestly, if I can do it, anyone can do it. I still have a lot to learn and I hope my kids will be happy with the pages I DO get done, even if I am not all that thrilled about them.

Future

Some of you have asked what our plans are for the future. That's a good question. I ponder that frequently. Here's what we do know:

• After 6 years of graduate school (4 dental, 2 orthodontics), Jeff will be finished with school June 28th. I couldn't be more proud of him and his dedication. That is a post in itself and I'll save it for another day.
• We will be moving in to the basement of the Trapnell Compound this summer. At one time we lived in the "Love Loft" (before kids), but are now moving up in the world and get to occupy the basement apartment. It's not much (if any) smaller than what we are living in now: 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen, laundry room, entrance from the garage...it's very nice. It's unclear how long we will be there (until we find a house we love enough to make a very BIG commitment to). If you ask Jeff he'll say we'll be there a year or less. If you ask me I say six months or less. I have a very good relationship with my in-laws and I'm not worried about any problems, but I am just really ready to be in our own house. I understand that it's a big commitment and we need time to really look and find our perfect fit. I just hope we can find it sooner rather than later.
• The three months in between are in limbo. Most likely we will need to be out of this house in a month (the man here the other night has made an offer on the house and wants to be in May 6th). This is where things get a little tricky. Damon doesn't finish school until June 5th, and I am not crazy about any of the options that include leaving my boys here. We are currently looking for a place to rent for a month or two, packing up the majority of our stuff and moving it across the country, leaving only the essentials here for us to use until we are ready to leave. It's crazy, and now that I feel this sudden rush, I'm not exactly sure how to feel. I guess we'll just take it as it comes and figure out one thing at a time.

Okay. Now to alleviate some of the stress you are all feeling (is it just me?), here are a couple quotes from the kids.

1. Only a few minutes ago I could hear Kyla in the kitchen and sent Allie in to investigate what she was doing in there. Imagining many different scenarios, I thought I was prepared for what I'd hear. I wasn't ready for this one: "She's eating all the tuna." Sure enough, tuna covered her face. Now, I know she can't open the fridge and the tupperware of tuna by herself...definitely fishy, don't you think? :)

2. The other night we were tucking the kids in bed and Jeff said, "Alright, goodnight you little monsters." Allie took offense to this comment and said, "We are NOT little!"

Now I'm off to my day. I may not know what the future holds exactly, but I do know what today holds--laundry, some cleaning, and washing tuna off of Kyla's face and sour cream out of her hair (also courtesy of Allie this morning).

A few pages

Here are a few of the pages I have been working on. I don't claim to be a very good scrapper, but I have realized that just average pages are better than nothing at all. I like to put a lot of pictures on, and a lot of my pages end up looking the same. Tips would be appreciated. Thanks Becky for helping me figure out how to post them!

New Trick

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books Someone learned a new trick! Thanks Noel for the footage (and for acting so excited!).

Showings

So, Heather wanted to see some of the scrapbook pages I have been working on, but I haven't figured out how to post them yet. Anyone want to lend a hand, let me in on the secret? I exported them to a file in my documents, but that didn't work. Any assistance would be appreciated.

This week has been a busy one. After months of no action on the house (not IN the house, mind you:), suddenly things have picked up. Jeff's dad owns the house we live in and is really anxious to sell, even though it means he is going to lose money on it. Two days ago I got a call from Remax asking if they could show it at 3:30 and I said sure, a little surprised. I started straightening a few things (meaning, hiding books under the bed, etc) and mopped the kitchen floor. At 2:00, I heard people outside the front door, and assuming it was my kids coming back from Julie's I went to let them in. Imagine my surprise when it was a family trying to let themselves in with the key from our lock box. After nearly giving the woman a heart attack, I told her that I wasn't expecting them until 3:30 and wasn't ready (the floor was still wet, for heaven's sake!). She informed me that she was not the 3:30 showing but an earlier one. One that I hadn't been told about. Frustrating. I told her to give me a minute so I could quickly make a few last minute changes (hiding toys under beds) and hoping that the floor would dry quickly. I woke Kyla up from her nap and went to get the rest of my kids from Julie's. I must have taken too long because the potential buyers had left.

Jeff called a few minutes later and asked what was going on. He had gotten a call from the realtors and they told him, "We tried to show the house, but your wife turned them away." Yes, that was exactly what happened. I filled him in with the TRUTH and he said they were back on their way to the house. The kids and I packed up and headed to the mall to play (oh, and to spend a lot of money at Children's Place where they were having 30% off their sale prices!). We stalled long enough for both groups of people to look the house over and headed home. But not before returning the flip flops and shorts I found in our stroller, unpaid for (Allie means well, but she didn't even manage to shoplift things in her sizes).

After being informed of another showing for Wednesday, Jeff and I spent Tuesday night cleaning the carpets (they desperately needed it and we desperately needed motivation), disassembling the broken coffee table and hiding a few more things under beds. I also cleaned the back porch, which was quite an ordeal. We had to be out of the house for the 5:00 showing so I took the kids on an exciting outing to Publix. They snacked on their free cookies and we browsed all the aisles (some twice) and visited the restroom. I managed to remember to get one of the two things I really needed (forgot the poppy seeds, but I do have that drug test coming up, so maybe it was for the best). All of that took 30 minutes, so we visited Jeff at school as he was finishing. We got home, wondering if anyone had even come at all (it's hard to tell sometimes) and we found a surprise in the bathroom. Someone had rubbed deodorant all over the mirror without my knowledge. What you gonna do?

Anyway, I got another call today. Apparently, someone is very interested and wants to come tonight at 7:00 to see it again. I hope they want to buy it. I am tired of cleaning every day. Oh, and I hope they weren't too fond of the deodorant on the mirror. It's no longer there. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Baby Instruction Manual

My friend Sara sent this to me in an email. I must have been in just the right mood, because I couldn't stop laughing. Jeff thought it was mildly entertaining; Damon found it hilarious. Glad to know I'm on my five-year old's level.