Halloween Costumes

Krista and Kylie.

Krista is the Tooth Fairy.

Kylie is Medusa, she picked it herself, she wanted the Uma Therman one from Percy Jackson.

April and Andrew.

April wanted to be a PINK witch.

Andrew got to wear the frog costume this year.

Going on close to 20 years of frog costume wearers in my family.

Jessica is the spider, I am the web.

Kind of hard to see my strings.

I'll try to get a better pic.

Thanks to:
Lois - The snakes and the hair piece for medusa.
Mom - The entire frog suit.
Lynn - The bodice for the witch.
Jared - The spider leg socks.

Scrapbook Page

Here's the other page of the ultrasounds I did.

The colors didn't scan quite right but it's mostly there.

As you can see, it's the later ultrasound so it's more gender specific than the last one.

Jessica is indeed a girl.

Scrapbook Page

Kylie and I worked on this one together.

I'm behind in my scrapbooking so it's ultrasounds from January 2010.

Motivation

      I've hit that phase right after the postpartum has mostly ebbed where I'm just kind of low on energy and motivation. I'm not sure if it's something to do with hormones, iron deficiency, some kind of vitamin imbalance from not getting out much, sleep cycle issues, or a cocktail of all of them enough to cause paralysis of the will power. It's the phase where I just don't feel like getting up in the morning. I literally wait for the baby to start crying before I drag myself out and every day I think to myself that if I had gotten out of bed when I woke up I could have exercised, gotten some housework done, maybe had a shower. I give myself guilt over not getting going fast enough so the rest of the day seems to be rushed with me trying to catch up to the kids and the house that are ahead of me in the avalanche of life.
      Some things I do to try and "fix" this are; taking vitamins, riding the exercise bicycle, working at some of my hobbies like scrapbooking and journal writing, setting goals, making lists, giving myself pep talks, praying, reading scriptures, and playing music I like. These usually do it for me but during this down phase they just don't have the same zip and it seems like so much more work than enjoyment to get to them. I am not sure if it's still part of the depression because one of the signs of depression is lack of interest in what you usually enjoy but this is less a lack of interest as a lack of time to get to them and hence a discouragement over that. In other words, I'm just so busy with the new baby and the work of life in general that I don't have time for me so I get discouraged and don't take time for me. Vicious cycle? Sort of.
      I would much rather have this phase than the deep sadness and random crying jags with horrible fear of death or harming my kids phase that is what it is for about eight weeks after I have the baby. There's no fighting that phase. This phase has light and hope and moments of happiness in it that create a kind of balance if I can keep from becoming guilt ridden and discouraged. People that have never gone through real depression think this is what depression is but the real stuff, well, it's so... I don't know, there aren't words.

Snow

Usually there is "warning snow", a few days of snow that falls and does not actually make big puffy drifts on the ground but rather melts and goes away.  Not this time.  Big puffy inches of snow overnight.  Durn.

Brown Desk

           I have a desk. It's a brown desk with one small drawer. Husband and I bought it back in the early days of marriage for a whopping $15 at a thrift store. We have both used the desk often.  We are tall people and the brown desk is a bit short for us. The single drawer is at just the right height to hit our knees if we move our legs under the desk.
           Recently my parents reorganized a few rooms in their house. They offered me a computer desk for the irresistible price of "free if you haul it away". It is a nicer desk than my brown desk. It has no drawers but it has more shelves. It is gray/grey.
           So, what to do with the knee-bruising brown desk? I moved the brown desk over a few feet, transferred all the computer stuff to the gray/grey desk, moved the brown desk into my kids playroom, moved the brown desk into the hallway, moved the brown desk into my brother's room (currently in China, brother, not desk or room) and now I can shut the door and not see the brown desk. My brother will be unhappy when he returns to find the desk taking up most of his room.

Anyone want a used brown desk?

Poem - The Question

This is from The Book of Virtues on Google books:
The Question
Were the whole world good as you –
–not an atom better
Were it just as pure and true,
Just as pure and true as you;
Just as strong in faith and works;
Just as free from crafty quirks;
All extortion, all deceit;
Schemes its neighbors to defeat;
Schemes its neighbors to defraud;
Schemes some culprit to applaud-
would this world be better?
If the whole world followed you––
followed to the letter–
Would it be a nobler world,
All deceit and falsehood hurled
From it altogether;
Malice, selfishness, and lust,
Banished from beneath the crust,
Covering human hearts from view–
Tell me, if the world followed you––
Would this world be better?

      I had a bit of this poem memorized from somewhere "If the world followed you, followed to the letter, tell me, if it followed you, would the world be better?"  I wanted to add it to my facebook page as my current favorite quote.  Not knowing the author, I did a bit of googling and found that it's from a longer poem and no author is listed.  Now I'd love to know who wrote it but in the mean time I just think it's a good poem to live by.

Kylie's Shower Thermometer

I put Kylie in the shower yesterday evening and as she was standing there telling me if the water was still too cold she was all bent over and had her behind stuck out in the spray of water.

Me - Is that good?  Warm enough?
Kylie - Yes, just right.  I can tell because I have a thermometer in my butt.
Me - (trying not to laugh) A thermometer in your butt?
Kylie - When my butt feels the water is warm the rest of me can get in too. (she backs in under the spray)
Me - (leaving the bathroom laughing)

Addicted to farmville

Jared and I started playing farmville on facebook together as something fun to do as a couple.  I was too pregnant and sick to enjoy going out and we needed a date activity we could do with the kids around.  We were excited to find something we both enjoyed because most of the time our hobbies don't really thrill each other.
Now I am an addict.
I wonder if any of my trees need harvesting...

Young Family Dental in Orem?

The following is taken from my facebook page 24 Sep 2010, I hope it helps others with the same question.
---------------
Anyone have experience with Young Family Dental here in Orem? They're one of the options on our new dental insurance. We really like Jepson Dental in Provo but they don't do the new insurance and won't add it (we checked).


Susan Lewis - I love these people!! Very good at what they do!
Reenie Jobes - I dont know about them now but they sure werent too good when I was assisting years ago.......very mean dr- to staff and not too kind to patients. They have new dr working for them all the time, just have to find the dr that you like I guess. I would ask the staff who they would prefer. What about Legacy dental in Orem, they run their office like Young and I know the dr there, he is great!!!
Kelly Lunt Gardner - I had a HUGE problem with them with Rylie. Ill come talk to you later, but they seriously traumatized her.
April Wetzel Berlin - Amy, I heard James Call on 800 S in Orem is really good. And Alan Ingersoll as well.
Reenie Jobes - i love my dentist up in SL......but long drive......to me it is worth it though............great dentist is hard to find!!!
Mindy Horning Harmon - I go to to North Orem Dental. I have only had great experiences with them. Dr. Pincock is amazing and I would highly recommend him and his staff. I don't know anything good or bad about Young Family Dental. Good luck!
Linda Lunt - Eric and Jared both had their wisdom teeth done there. It was OK for adults maybe but not kids.
Katie Fothergill Romrell - I had a terrible experience there a couple of years ago. The Dr. Never said a word to me, and complained the whole time about another patient being a wimp (that person was in the next chair and just a kid).. He was not gentle at all, very rude!
Jeffrey L. Jensen - Are they the ones on State St. on the top of the hill just before you head down the hill into Provo? On the west side of State?
Marie Christensen Payne - We did not have good luck there, the dentist got Emily so worked up that she threw up on him. Not greatest people skills.
Amy Bauman Stone- Wow! Okay, definitely not Young Family Dental then. One horror story wouldn't have suprised me but half a dozen says they have ISSUES. Thanks for all the responses here and other ways.
Judy Erickson Jensen - bruce howell is an awesome dentist for kids. everything there is kid-sized and dr. howell is very kind and gentle. Alli absolutely loves it!!!!
Kristin Stone Campbell - DO NOT go to Young family dental!!! They are horrible. I went there a few times for a cleaning and a couple cavities because they took medicaid. They are very rude and the dentist complained to the assistant the whole time that she was doing everything wrong. I felt so bad for the assistant. Then when I got a cavity filled he started drilling before it was numb and didn't seem to care he just wanted to get it done as fast as possible and get me out of there! I will never go back!
Kristin Stone Campbell - Try Dr. Mauseth at Family Legacy Dental on 8th north next to Macey's. They are awesome and my kids love them! They are very good with kids!
Michelle Green Sim - Im with Kristin Young Family Dental is HORRIBLE. Mia and I both left crying. (pathetic but true) We go to Family Legacy Dental too. They seem to work with lots of insurance. Dr "Moss" is amazing with the kids and so are the hygienists. Joe and I have had work done there too and it's been great.

Because 36 is too many...

There's a joke about Mormon women having to stop having children at 35 because 36 is too many.

It's kind of funny and whatnot but it's also a serious subject that's been on my mind lately.

I have five children.  For a Mormon family that's a nice size but not remarkable.  I know a woman with twelve who is expecting again and she is definitely remarkable in the sense that people talk about her with a kind of awe and disbelief.  People who don't have our beliefs of the importance of family and the place that children and motherhood have in our eternal perspective react to my five kids with the same feeling I get when I think of that woman on TV with her dozen and a half.  I've got no clue how she manages.  No matter how many kids you have they are a huge responsibility, require tons of sacrifice, and are a blessing and a trial all rolled into one.

I have a few close family members and friends struggling with issues of not being able to have children for a variety of reasons.  I feel a little guilty talking to them about the kids I have and I feel even more guilty talking to them about choosing whether I want to have kids or not because they don't get a choice and it seems so unfair.

I love my kids.  Some were planned, others were surprises.  I've only got one boy and he'd love to have a brother.  I've got four girls and they all help and mother the younger ones as soon as we get someone new.  I'm only thirty-two and could have more babies but my husband is about six years older than I am and he's getting pretty close to forty.  I don't want to still have teenagers when we hit retirement age and mission opportunities come around.

Children are a gift; so when do I take my name off the registry?

Wilton Cake Pan Instructions

I like to buy those Wilton Cake Pan forms at DI or other charity stores like that but the pans rarely come with instructions when you buy them that way. The instructions are almost worth the extra $15-$20 to buy the pans at a craft store because getting the colors on in the right order really does make a difference. I was looking online for the instructions to a great Winnie The Pooh pan I found at Savers and found this site:

http://www.slice-heaven.com/store/show/FREE%20PAN%20INSTRUCTION

It's got other great stuff as well but it has LOTS of the instructions for those fun cake pans.

Get a cheap cake mix, a couple of cans of cheap frosting, some food coloring and some sturdy ziplock bags to use as decorating stuff and you can really go to town for bake sales, birthday parties, and just fun with the kids.

Lemon Upside-down Pie

I had a nice relaxing birthday at home.

The only glitch was that my lemon pie (I like this better than cake ;o) ) suffered a horrible fate on the way home from the store when Jared braked suddenly and the improperly restrained pie fell off the seat and landed upside down in a smooshed mess in the lid of the pie box.

The up-side of this accident was that since the pie was no longer "sliceable" I was unable to measure out a correct portion and had to eat as much as I wanted straight out of the container with a fork. Also, since it wasn't pretty, the kids didn't really think it looked good and I was left with plenty for myself. Happy Birthday to me!

Rubberbanding The Broom

BRILLIANT!

I was watching this infomercial about some new mop and they pointed out the "fancy" feature at the end of the handle where it was coated with some kind of rubbery stuff so that you could lean it against any wall or cabinet and it wouldn't tip over. I thought to myself "why didn't I think of that!" and immediately went to put a couple of rubberbands around the end of my broom so it won't tip over when I stop to get out the dustpan or to move a couple of chairs out of the way. It works great! So this is my random happy household improvement idea of today.

Friday the 13th

When I was little my mom would tell us stories about my grandfather and Friday the 13th. He wouldn't go out or go to work or do things on a Friday the 13th. I think it was sort of a combination Irish thing and being a miner. Both the Irish and men who work in mines for a living tend to be a bit superstitious.

So, in tribute to my grandfather, I wore my four leaf clover today and told my husband it's not a good day to have the baby even though I am beyond ready.

Good luck today :o)

Fingernails

For those of you who know me well you will know what an accomplishment this is. I've been a nail-biter for as long as I can remember and have tried to quit countless times. Here are my fingernails actually grown out right now.

Lindsay (H.) S. was my inspiration this time around. We both have anxiety issues that we deal with in different ways. She once gave me a manicure back in the day and I appreciated so much that she was so nice about it even though my nails were a horror. She's been going through a really bad time right now and I think about her a lot. She's handling things with grace and cheerfulness and I decided I would give myself a firm kick in the behind and do something constructive kinda in her honor.

Today Is My Due Date

My kids keep asking me what time today we are having the baby, after all, it is my due date.

Friends and family are calling me just to see if I am still home.

I am feeling very pregnant and not feeling much in the way of contractions.

All these things add up to a certain level of frustrated anticipation.

I would like to call for a modification of the "due date", something like the "due date spectrum" or the "due date range" in which you get more like a 14 day window of dates from the earliest date your doctor will induce you to the latest your doctor will let you go before inducing you. Not that I want to be induced, that's just crummy, but that it gives a better feeling for when you are possibly going to have that baby. Pregnant women could then give out the range of dates and mentally feel less stress over the one day you are supposed to have that baby.

Yeah, well, it's a random idea because I just want to bean the next person who says "You haven't had that baby yet!?" In the same tone of voice they would use to ask/accuse you of a multitude of sins and failings. Thank you to the people who just ask how I'm doing and move on to other subjects, I can't get away from the whole pregnant thing, distractions are appreciated.

Home Birth Opinions

I have a few friends who are serious home birth people. I also have a mother-in-law who had her babies at home by choice. I'm going to be honest here and say that I kind of think this is nuts. Having had four babies I'm pretty sure I'm entitled to an opinion on the subject but I do not believe I have the "right" opinion on it as having a baby is a pretty crummy experience and if it makes them happy then good for them.

I have had to change my opinion of home birthing in a few ways lately and since I've been thinking about it some I thought I'd blog about it.

I have a degree in history and with the research I've done I have a pretty good idea of how many women and children died during birth back in the day. I thought this had something to do with hospitals and the availability of hospital care for delivery. After reading a few medical studies published in reputable journals of medicine I've found out a few things. There are actually three factors that are much more important to the positive outcome of a delivery; trained persons assisting, antibiotics being available, and limits on interference in labor.

I thought this was really interesting.

One study showed that trained midwives at home births had statistics just as good as doctors in a hospital, even in the last few decades and their numbers during the era of putting women in labor to sleep were much better than hospital numbers. They have records for midwives in Europe back a hundred or so years that clearly showed that it was the training that made the most difference. The antibiotics part was clear with the statistics as well, as soon as they were available the mortality rates dropped sharply and as they became available in other countries they made a big difference there. The non-interference thing was kind of proving a negative as one of the studies showed that the not so smart idea of putting mothers to sleep and then using forceps for the delivery caused higher rates for complications and mortality but some of this was from anesthesia so I didn't get a clear picture of how that related. They could prove that during the same time women who gave birth at home with a trained person assisting did a heck of a lot better in the process.

It does still concern me that of the women who have their babies at home that I am personally acquainted with, the majority have children with problems like learning disabilities or autism, my brother-in-law was diagnosed with damage to his brain from being deprived of oxygen during birth but since I (gratefully) wasn't there I don't know if having hospital facilities available would have changed this. The others I don't know if it's related and hospital babies have autism too so it's mostly just a strange and disturbing coincidence I guess, but it still concerns me.

If nothing else, having a baby is messy and if I did it at home I'm pretty sure I'd end up having to clean up afterwards.

Throwing a pity party.

I am in such a bad mood.

I am 37 weeks pregnant tomorrow and the heat wave is getting to me.

My family has tons of things I need to do for them but when I ask for help they are too busy. I've quit asking for help as the guilt and stress are becoming overwhelming.

I feel crummy all the time. Eating makes me feel sick and gives me terrible heartburn. Not eating makes me sick and gives me terrible nausea. Nothing sounds good.

I've got this crazy notion going (I'm trying to talk myself out of it) that all the people in my family who have informed me, or just demonstrated rather blatantly, that I have offended them deeply over 'whatever' lately are just coming up with excuses as to why they are going to be unavailable to help me out any in the next few weeks.
I've never had anyone come help me for more than an hour or two when I had a baby so I guess it's not super necessary but it hurts my feelings that family members went to help my sister-in-law with her first baby for over a week and had a "we will drop everything to help her" attitude that I tried my best to enthusiastically support.

I'm not myself right now. I guess you can chalk it up to hormones, exhaustion, etc.

Whooping Cough

I just read a news byte on Yahoo! informing me of an outbreak of Whooping Cough also known as Pertussis that has become a serious epidemic in California and has spread through Texas. It's most dangerous and even deadly to infants, one of which I am about to have. This has made my very pregnant self a bit paranoid and rather cranky. Whooping Cough is one of the nasty diseases that can kill kids and yet there are still people out there who refuse to vaccinate their children for it. I have some mixed feelings on blanket vaccinations and I did not participate in the H1N1 vaccine push. We only get the flu vaccine in the years when I'm pregnant or when our Pediatrician (who I respect very much for his 30+ years of experience dealing with healthy and sick kids) has strongly encouraged it. If I remember right, that means Krista, my almost 10 year old, has had a flu vaccine twice in her life and I've had it 4 times. The flu is crummy but if you're in pretty good health and take a few precautions it's not deadly. Also, even with the vaccine you can get the flu and spread the flu so in my mind it's kind of "optional". Vaccines like Chicken Pox I go for because it wasn't around when I was a kid and I still have scars from that thrilling two week experience, also I have guilt for having been the one to give the Chicken Pox to my entire Kindergarten class after picking it up somewhere else. The vaccines for diseases that kill you slowly and in nasty ways are pretty much mandatory in my mind. Look what they did with Polio. My grandfather had it and barely survived and it left him with serious health problems for the rest of his life. Now it's pretty much wiped out. To me, that says a lot. I don't want my baby to end up with Whooping Cough because it's still being spread by those who refuse to vaccinate against it. Well, enough of that soapbox for one evening.