tagged

I have never done this, but I am avoiding homework. I was tagged to post my 6th folder 6th picture. Lucky it wasn't 7th because this was the last one in the folder. Just for the record this is the 6th folder in my laptop, I have older photos than this. We took this one in Oct 2008 when we went to pick our pumpkin at way fruit farm. It was FREEZING - and I am not lying.

Biggest ever

J has earned bragging rights. Today he got an email from his anesthesiologist (our home teacher) about his surgery. He said that his appendix was the biggest one he had ever seen - 5 1/2 inches. I don't really have anything normal to compare that to. His surgery was also one of the smoothest he has seen. All in all J has earned bragging rights for appendix size! Now he finally has a weird fact about himself to stump others at parties and such. He is doing well, and should come home tomorrow. Next week he will be laying low while he is recovering. Thank you for all of your well wishes, and service provided - we appreciate all that has been done for us.

Crazy day

Well, for those of you who have not already heard J had his appendix removed today. He is doing well and will be in the hospital recovering for the next day or so. The story leading up to all of this is a bit long, so I won't share that here. Many in the ward are helping out with the kids. They are doing well and don't seem to phased by today. I will keep you posted on how recovery goes.

Ponies, kisses, & shoes

Just a few stories:
The other day J picked up C from the sitter. On the way home she announced to J "I have pony on my head". Was pretty confused and after she said this a few times he looked back to her and realized her pony - was a ponytail on the top of her head. Too cute.
Apparently H is now too big for kisses with mom. If I am lucky I can convince him to give me one a few times a week. When I asked him why he told me "kissing you just isn't that fun anymore". Wow that is a bit brutal - hopefully the other man in my life doesn't agree.
H went shopping with J yesterday and they bought new school shoes for H. Pretty excited that we made it past mid year for the first pair. When I got home he was so exited to tell me they bought Sketchers. I guess this is the brand for shoes in kindergarten. Oh boy! We just opened a whole other dimension in the area of parenting - name brand clothing. Here we go!

Dora underwear

Oh the day finally came - C earned Dora underwear. I caught her nearly in the act of pooping, but this time she fessed up to it and went to the potty. Thank goodness because it was a very big one and I am not sure her diaper would have fit it all :) She picked pink Dora underwear. Now she only has about 8 pairs left to earn (Nana has been sewing pretty undies for her). Looks like we are on track to try and finish up potty training during spring break.
YIPEE!

Eventful week

This week a lot went on. Not for me so much, at least compared to my past few weeks. Here are the highlights:

• H has his first loose tooth. I am so happy for him since I hear on a weekly basis "Mom when am going to loose a tooth." I still can't answer that question, but at least the time is closer. For those of you needing details. It is the bottom middle right tooth. Can't wait to have the tooth fairy visit! When it is more obvious, or falls out I will be sure to get a photo.
• The house is moving right along. Drywall is up, and they have started the siding on the exterior. The roofing is also finished - thank heavens for that. Didn't know it could take so long, but the weather wasn't on our side.
• Saturday out house was placed on the market - if you are confused we were building for us, but if it sells we will just build another for us. One couple already came to look at it, so we are in business.
• I passed another competency exam on Monday. I was very happy about that now I have 4 of 10 completed. Next up is Applied Behavior Analysis. So I will be an expert on Skinner. Don't ask me how to "fix" behaviors though - that is about 25 credits worth of coursework and this is 1 credit.
• C got her first tattoo - temporary that is. This was courtesy of Harrison. He decided to put one that says "Spiderman" right on her neck. Kind of hard to remove it there and she really loves it. Don't think we will be getting tattoos in the prize box anymore.
• Last night we attended our first Mardi Gras party. It was great, and a few people had very extravagant masks. The food was fantastic! Sort of made me think that Cinco de Mayo is our equivalent (although the reason for the holiday is completely different). No one around here even knows about Cinco de Mayo - looks like that will have to be our gig.
• J is about to start soccer up again. I am happy because that means the weather is going to get warmer, but sad because I loose my helper on the weekends.

Have a great week!

Sweet kids for Valentines

Just a quick note to say that I really love my kids today. I know really I love them everyday, but when you get a card for Valentines day like this you feel very lucky:
"Mom, thank you for all you do for me. I love you! H"
What makes it 10 times better is that he writes so cute! This week he also wrote on a sticky note when I was trying to finish up some work before getting C at the sitter:
"Mom we ned to git C naw."
Isn't that so cute! What a good boy. C was great today as well. She let me study, mop the floors, and sleep in. Doesn't really get better than that! Hope your Valentine's Day is/was great!
PS I love J too! He is the best Valentine ever, thanks for your gift babe!

Oh, Happy Day

Today was a great day. My paper is in, and who knows if it makes sense, but I am done with it. Next up, I defend my paper on March 3. I can't remember what I have shared about this process, but this last part is important - similar to a defence of a dissertation, only with a lot less experience and a lot more people to judge your performance. Oh, and this is what determines if you can remain in the program or of essentially you fail! On the up side my presentation only needs to be about 15 min, whereas a dissertation is much longer. So for those of you who have no understanding of this process I am going to provide an analogy that might be more relatable. I checked this out with others today and they happen to agree with my analogy.
Candidacy is like pregnancy:
You find out you are pregnant and you are super excited (go with me on this -don't get caught up in the details). This is like the part where you begin research. You are excited everything seems cool, but you don't really talk about it to a lot of people - you don't want to jinx yourself. Then you get morning sickness. This is when you can't find the research you really need - it just doesn't exist. In the long run this is a good thing, but when you are trying to write a literature review - literature is a key component.
Then morning sickness subsides and you start writing. It starts out fun - organizing and sorting. Pretty soon your head (belly) starts hurting and you realize you have no more room for anything in there.
Then you go in for some tests (this is the first draft) only to realize everything isn't exactly as it should be. You panic, but then the doctor (Ph.D) tells you that there is something you can do (revise). This is where it gets a little sticky - because instead of the dr. stepping in you have to perform the procedure - how weird is that! I guess this is because we are training to take over for the dr?
Ok, so then you take care of the problem and get ready for birth - pack your bags, set up the crib, shop for supplies, arrange dog sitters, mom's plane ticket (this is the massive revisions). Lastly you go into labor, only this part arrives before you are ready - hey this is how both of mine went. I mean you had the due date all along, but the last steps seemed to take longer than expected.
Then the baby arrives (this is turning in the paper) and you worry that everyone will think your baby is ugly - not a little ugly but ugly in such a way that they may actually get sick. In real life no mother thinks her baby is ugly - maybe in hindsight, but never that first moment, but with this paper everyone thinks their work might be ugly.
The defense is like (at least from what I can tell) the coming out ceremony for the child - a blessing day, christening, first family gathering, first doctor visit, etc. This is where you hope no one actually says the baby is ugly, but you think it not out of the question.
I think this is a pretty good analogy, but the gestation of a candidacy paper is a bit shorter (about 6 months). The 2nd draft ended up being 40 pages with $44.10 worth of copy costs to make all of the copies I needed to pass out. Hopefully no one will tell me my baby is ugly. I worked very hard to get it to this point.

out of control

That pretty much sums up my last week, day at church, paper that needs to be finished up, homework load, work days, housework, laundry, dishes, etc. Yep, when it rains it pours. I am just trying to stay optimistic, but with a cold, a special monthly visitor, and massive amounts of work to do I am feeling less optimistic than I would like. Lets say my tears have not been super cleansing, and I feel like I really just need a vacation. I am sure I will feel better when I turn my paper in Tuesday, but hopefully the reviews won't include the words "this is out of control" because I really doubt that would be a good thing - professors would never say that in a positive way like the rest of the world. For example, you might hear a teen say "that party was out of control" and mean that as a compliment. Or you might hear someone say "you are out of control" when you are enjoying your laughter immensely. Well for me out of control would not really be a good response to a paper that determines my academic fate - but I have to say if I had a professor come up to me and say "That paper was off the hook" I would be shocked and very happy. I think that is enough rambling for one night. No more pity party. After all, as J reminded me very gently, I got myself into this one!

heat wave

Who would have thought that H would ask to wear sleeveless shirts when the weather hit 40 degrees again. Yep, that was him today - you should have seen how excited he was to announce that the weather was warm and beautiful. Well warm is relative, but beautiful yes. I love the sun! The weather has finally allowed for some roofing to be accomplished - although snow removal took place first. J has been a trooper, but understandably frustrated by our situation. I think this will be the last time we try to build in the winter, but don't quote me. In other news this week C announced she has two moms - not what you might expect to hear over breakfast, and no I haven't taken up an alternative lifestyle. She is simply obsessed with things in two and apparently the babysitter and I qualify! I am her mom and so is the sitter. Sort of took me aback, but really I am sure that is how she sees it. I'll have to give her a hard time about those words later in life. Hope your week is great. I will be working every spare moment on the second draft of my candidacy paper. I have 1 week to incorporate feedback from 12 people. Lucky me!