Public Appology

So I need to make a little appology to my handsome husband. Apparently in my fever of setting up our family blog I never sent him an invite so he could actually view the blog without my assistance. Sorry babe! I have now rectified the situation, and hopefully there are no hard feelings. Hope each of you are in good standing with your spouse - as this is the season for love to be in the air.

Birthday fun

For those of you who are wondering how my birthday was here are a few great highlights:
All good birthdays start early and mine was no exception. The celebration began in primary on Sunday when I was the spotlight. Thanks to the primary presidency for a great goodie bag.
Thursday at the office my friends (and fellow doctoral students) brought a cake and balloon in to celebrate the traditional way.
Thursday night I went out to an early dinner with friends in the doctoral program. We had a great time until the newest student found out that his salad dressing had pine nuts in it (he is allergic) and had to go to the hospital to avoid anaphylactic shock. He is fine, and the evening was fun other than that.
On Thursday morning H was the first to wish me a happy birthday. He snuck downstairs and said "Surprise...Happy Birthday Mom!"
H made some party hats for the day. They are featured in the photos and I think they make us look the pope. H took the one of C & me, so it is a little crooked.
I brought home cake from Thursday to H & C. They were so excited and H insisted on singing "Happy birthday to you" C also tried to sing but then told me "Happy burpday" the rest of the day. They enjoyed the cake a lot!
Friday evening J and I went to see Bill Cosby. We had a lot of good laughs and he did not disappoint. At 71 he still has it - but he is sure looking old.
After the Cosby performance we went to dinner and J gave me a nice card. We rented a movie which I fell asleep to - guess we will finish it today.
I received text messages, emails, and phone calls throughout the day! Thank you to all who did that I felt very loved.
My gift to myself for my birthday was a day without homework - so today I will be working extra hard. H also has a play date, and J is roofing today so that will be interesting.
Tonight my birthday celebrations end with dinner out with a friend. Hope my last year in the 20s is as great as my other years in the 20s. Wow since I turned 20 I got married, graduated from college 2x, had 2 kids, remodeled one house, and soon built one house (well actually I didn't do the work), and moved 2x. Hope your lives are equally eventful. I am very blessed.
Last but not least. Thank you to my mom who not only carried me for 9 months, but also enjoyed morning sickness with 2 small children, and drove herself to the hospital in a blizzard while she was in labor just so I could be born into a sterile environment (just in case you are wondering my dad had to meet here there because of the he was across town at the office and wouldn't have made it in rush hour traffic with the weather). I guess I know how to make a grand entrance! Thanks for all the hard work you did raising me mom - and dad. Love you both!

Alex

So this week I got some sad news. One of my very favorite students Alex had a major seizure (actually 4 of them) this past week. As a result he is in ICU with a new trach and feeding tube for his nutrition from now on. Alex is an amazing kid. When I first met him he was only 5 (in kindergarten) and he kept me on my toes. He was a runner and wild to the core. Over time he mellowed out and reminded me more of a little old man. He would grab rear ends to get attention, always smile, and he his hands moved like those that had been affected by arthritis (this is part of what happens from the disability he has). What is so neat about him is not all of this, but rather his infectious personality. Alex was a the kind of kid that could make anyone feel happy - always smiling. He seemed to be able to sense when you were a bit down and would reach out in what seemed attempts of comfort. For a child who could not talk or do much independently, he said more through his actions and expressions than you can imagine. He is the kind of person I imagine the Savior to be - calm in the storm, comforting, approachable, and optimistic. When he was born and first diagnosed the doctors told his mom he would live to be 5. Now at 10 he has amazed nearly everyone he has come in contact with and I know he is a major source of inspiration for me. So for those of you who are spiritual in any way please say a prayer for his mom, who I am sure is struggling with continual health decisions and the fear of losing her wonderful child who has brought love and happiness to so many. She is a wonderful woman who as a single mom has gone through this whole journey primarily on her own. I pray that she may feel comfort from our Savior and all that know and love Alex.

random moments

It appears that the PhD effect is starting to kick in. You know what I am talking about. If you ever talk with individuals with a PhD it is very likely that they know a LOT about a LITTLE which sometimes means that common sense is beyond them. Well today I fear that common sense was beyond me and I think John is starting to get scared. On the other hand maybe it is just a preoccupied mind.
Today we took a family adventure to Walmart and Sams Club, which are conveniently located next to each other. As usual we spent too much money, but I can find yummy things in the house once again. Since J joined us he followed his usual routine of opening items and eating them before leaving the store. Just for the record this really makes me feel a bit embarrassed. I am not sure why I get embarrassed, but it just seems wrong to do this before paying. At least this time he was at the check out first. (Last time we did self checkout and the scale wouldn't recognize the item he had opened and ate). As we were leaving C had a piece of ham in her hand just eating away. Then all of the sudden she tried to put it in her pocket for later - GROSS. I have never been a fan of lint covered ham. She is just full of craziness!
Ok, so another gripe about the weather as well. Today the high is somewhere around 5 degrees. I walked to my 9am class when it was 0 degrees. That was a load of fun and I face actually hurt despite my excessive layers. I actually saw students with just a light north face coat on. I know they are warm, but I doubt the light version was designed for 0 degrees. The only good news is the ice storms have been replaced by snow - the real deal. If only we had a roof on the house to make this snow more enjoyable. I know I can't take any more stories about J almost falling off the roof.
Only one week until Bill Cosby - SO EXCITED! I will be thrilled if I can manage to get a decent photo.

Yeah for Yoda

H had a play date this morning with a friend from class. When I was talking to her mom she mentioned they have 2 boxers. The female has already had one litter of puppies (9 males!) and they are looking to breed her again (the other is her son), but the male they used before has since passed away after a nasty run in with a porcupine - should have listened to Tom Chapin (you'll have to do research to figure out this one if you have no clue what I am talking about - hint "Don't chase that pork he's a thousand points a fork")! Anyway it looks like Yoda might have a girlfriend finally! Her name is Bella and we will see what happens when her next heat sets in! He was very happy to hear the news and sniffed the owner very thoroughly. We are so happy for Yoda! Oh, and for those of you wondering about previous posts you can find Yoda on the stud site sirefinder.com under Boxer stud dogs. He is listed by name.

sledding

So even though we technically don't have snow - but rather ice H was
determined to go sledding.









It didn't last long, but I got a couple of photos. Ice makes great sledding on the way down, but trying to get back up is another story.

Cut it out

So yesterday I took C to get a haircut. She did great. I actually thought she would fall asleep. It definitely wasn't as cheap as haircuts for H, but his are free so I was pleased. Plus I have been banned from cutting her hair, so what choice did I have. Next it was my turn. She did great at first, but by the end she had almost a whole bottle of lotion in her hair (just a sample size from my purse). She didn't look that cool by the time she got home and J just asked "What did they do to her hair." It looks much better today after a bath & lots of shampoo. She also spent time putting on lip gloss, playing with toys, taking my wallet apart, rearranging a shelf of hair product (that didn't go over so well), and investigating the vending machine and hair dryer head things. My hair turned out pretty good too. One more haircut and then all my highlights will be gone. My hair sure is darker than I remember, but haircuts are much more affordable when you aren't paying for highlights, etc.

Poop-peeve

Am I crazy or can I be a little peeved when after 4 full weeks of potty training madness C still won't put the poop in the potty. Ok, so with H he went every day at 5pm so it was easy to finish this part of training. I would just spend that time in the bathroom every day. With C she goes whenever, where ever and how ever it pleases her. I shouldn't be surprised, but I am annoyed. I have tried the guilt trip, the underwear bribe, the candy bribe, and the "I'm not changing you this time go to dad trick". I even take her to the bathroom every hour. Still no luck. I am tempted to go back to diapers, but she is pretty good about staying dry, so I don't want to ruin that. I mean if you think she looks worn out think about me. So you veterans out there tell me how to convince a sassy, stubborn, stinky girl to poop in the potty already.

Ice storms

For those of you who are under the impression that we have wonderful white winters here...you are sorely mistaken. I can't remember when winter exactly started (yeah I know technically on the winter solstice), but it has been lasting forever. I am sure I wouldn't feel this way if...
1- We had snow instead of ice storms. Sure ice storms sound fun and they are even a hot news topic, but there is nothing cool about a world coated in ice when you need to a) roof a house b) go anywhere c) pick up dog doo. Just for the record we need to do all three! In fact on Christmas day I spent some time cleaning up after our dear doggie. I slid on the ice, and almost landed fanny (that's for you mom) first in the poop. So annoying, and not funny at all!
2- There were more days where a high temperature was above 25 degrees. Again you don't want to go anywhere that involves leaving your home when it is this stinking cold.
3- Build a house. So you might be saying hey, you decided to build instead of buy - well yes we did, but we did not intend on the delays and that in December we would still be trying to roof a house that should have had the roof completed in October or November. So for those of you enjoying warmer weather, or fluffy winter goodness hope you are having fun. If I could I would throw an ice chunk at you!