Cancelled

Church is cancelled this morning. I was already dressed and getting the boys moving when the phone call came. Chad was at the church shoveling the sidewalks. So, the walks are clear and I was showered earlier than I wanted to be.

But if there's going to be a day that's suddenly wide open with no plans, isn't the best to be right after Christmas? This way we get more family time for playing with Christmas presents. I have a feeling we'll be playing Monopoly Jr. later this morning.

Nathan was supposed to give a talk in Primary today. We wrote it last night and then I remembered that the printer needed to be installed. I had uninstalled it just before Christmas because it was acting up. It only took us 3 hours to get it re-installed and functioning last night. That printer doesn't know how close it came to physical abuse! So anyway, maybe Nathan can give his talk next week. (Hopefully, Daniel will have an opportunity to give a talk soon because he was expressing a desire to give one last night.)

We had a nice Christmas. The kids were so excited for Santa to come. Daniel couldn't even get to sleep. He came down once after Santa had already set out the presents, but I don't think he noticed. He did say the next morning that he saw Santa's shoes! The three oldest got a box of K'Nex each. They have been busy building, Nathan particularly.

One favorite present has been disposable cameras. They got one from us and one from Grandma. Leah's are both out of pictures and she's wondering when in the world I'm going to deliver her pictures to her! I'm wondering the same thing!

We traveled to Utah to visit cousins and grandparents for a couple of days. We had a nice visit.

I learned that my brother, Aaron, should have been a pirate and my brother-in-law, Cody, likes to make friends with Cannibals! (what?)

The roads were fair. We made sure to leave Utah in plenty of time to get home before dark. So after lunch with Grandpa Peterson, we loaded up and hit the trail. The snow started about Woods Cross and kept us company the rest of the way home. Malad Pass was a little tricky as well as other random spots. We had an altercation with a snow plow at one point and ended up with a chip in the windshield. I'm very glad that we did not have to travel any of those roads in the dark. I think I would have pulled over and waited until morning!

Yesterday was a productive day for our family. I finally made some rooms bigger by making the laundry room smaller. (I moved some stuff out of the rooms and into the laundry room where it will sit until Chad gets the time and/or motivation to find a place for it in the garage.) Chad installed a new light for the dining room and replaced the dead microwave in the kitchen. Both were Christmas presents for the house/family. He even replaced the light cover on the van. We bought a replacement while we were in Utah instead of trying to find one up here and having to wait for it to be shipped up from Utah. (The old one was cracked and filling with moisture.)

Now for pictures. I am working from my laptop while sitting on the bed with Joseph sleeping on my chest. Since I'm getting my pictures remotely from the main computer in the next room, I'm unable to see what they are before I add them. Think of the following pictures as a grab bag!

These are some shots of the kids playing in the snow on Christmas Eve. We got a TON of snow that day and they had an early Christmas present. The "foggy" picture is of Daniel and Leah as they worked on a snowman. It's really just a mound of snow, but we won't blame them for poor snowman snow. The picture isn't very clear because it was taken through the window.





The kids dug right into their stockings and Rebekah dug right into anything edible. She ate so much sugar in a short period of time that I was sure she was going to be sick.







The kids got Silly Putty in their stockings. They were quite curious about it's properties. Even this morning, Leah was noticing how skilled she was with it. (In fact, she's so skilled, I've had to comb it out of her hair.)







Rebekah's gift from Santa was some Little People toys. You can see that she didn't get to play with it much at first. It's tough to be the 4th child in a family!


Here we are having dinner with cousins. All of those kids makes for lots of noise and lots of mess. Lots of tears, too. (Not just from the kids!)



















I snapped this picture of Rebekah on the road. Silly Girl!

Seen on my Dr's waiting room wall

Three Wise Women

Would have asked for directions

Arrived on time

Helped deliver the baby

Cleaned the stable

Made a casserole

And brought practical gifts

Then there would have been

Peace On Earth

Good for a Christmas smile!

Ho Ho Ho - Grocery Store Santa

We were having a hard time finding Santa this year. We learned that he would be at a local grocery store and planned to visit with him on our way to the TaVaci Christmas concert. They fixed up really nice place for Santa to sit and visit with the kids. Unfortunately, people kept shopping from his perch! At least they tried to decorate it with flowers and stuffed animals. Too bad you can still see the Pepsi cases.

So here are the pictures of the kids. They didn't care that Santa was sitting on 3 oddly spaced boxes of soda pop!

Joseph

Daniel

Rebekah

Leah

Nathan

This is a picture of Daniel and Leah after their big TaVaci concert last Saturday. I have some video of them singing on stage, but it's not uploaded yet.

I have been feeling pretty funky lately. Yesterday I started with a low-grade fever during a nap. It went away. It came back today and has lingered more. I've been REALLY tired, too. I was waiting in line at Wal-Mart today and just wanted to put my head down on the foot of Joseph's car seat in front of me. Since I'm so tired, my reflexes are slowed. Maybe I'm anemic. That's been the case before. I'll try some iron pills (which means stool softeners, too) for a bit and see if things improve.

Daniel is still having trouble with wetting his pants. I took him to the dr today to see if he had a bladder infection. Nope. But she did prescribe a nasal spray that is supposed to strengthen the bladder muscle. I hope it helps, but I won't be too disappointed if it doesn't, since it was $46.75 for tiny bottle! I feel stuck with this problem. If he does have a muscular problem, how long will it last? Do we keep medicating him? Can't we just get him to go to the bathroom more? Is it really such a big deal after all? It does stink and make me roll down windows.

The kids are all very excited for Christmas in 2 days. We are pretty much ready for the big day. We're visiting my family for a few days afterward. I hope I don't end up sick for the trip. We're still working on getting someone to feed the animals. It's a little harder when you don't live in a neighborhood and you still don't really know the people at church.

The house is getting closer and closer to "moved in" status. The library made great strides today. Our room, the laundry room and my sewing room are still pretty bad. The garage, too, but that doesn't bother me as much since it's not really my responsibility.

And now I go to rescue Chad from Joseph.

Covered Bridge

Have you ever seen a covered bridge like this one? The bridge gave way as the house was pulled across. That has got to be a scary sound when you're the truck driver!

Wells, Wails and Wills

Last Monday was an interesting day for us. There was a pretty heavy snowfall that day and we were enjoying finally getting something worthwhile. I was working on laundry and found my washer humming but doing nothing. I had to advance the knob until things started going again and was thinking that the washer was really on it's last cycle. (It came with our first house. I think it's about 15 years old now.) When I tried to start the next load, it wouldn't even turn on! So much for giving me warning. Then I got a tickle in the back of my brain (ever get one of those?) and decided to see if we had water in the house. Two faucets later confirmed that the washer was probably ok, but we were in trouble!

We have a private well and don't have any experience with that type of thing. Worse than not having water was that I couldn't call up the city for help. So I called Chad. Chad called a pump guy that his partner knows from church. A very friendly Grandpa came out to help us. I'm guessing he's in his late 70's. His truck tires are bald and he slid past our house when he first arrived. He eventually determined that the pump was fine (thank goodness) which would save us about $1000. The problem seemed to be the electrical cable from the house to the pump had gone bad somewhere under ground. Grandpa didn't have any cable on his truck so he was gone for about an hour to get more. While he's on his errand (and I was hoping that he didn't slide off the road somewhere out there with his bald tires in our big day of snow), Chad is digging holes in the frozen ground. Parts of the cable are waiting until spring to be buried. I had mud all over my house! Over $300 and 5 hours later, we had water again.

I was just dying during all of this thinking of the three 55-gallon water drums that Chad had to empty at the old house to move them over. What a waste! And now I'm mildly panicked that the power will go out and the well pump won't work. There's got to be a way to break into the line to hook up a generator if needed. (The folks in the mid-west are now past a week with no power since their ice storms.)

So the washer didn't need to be replaced, but for that price, we could have started shopping for a new one.

In another topic (do you like my segue?), Joseph has been rather cranky. And he's always hungry. ALWAYS. He settles down best for me, but sometimes that hasn't been enough. He's usually willing to eat, but I don't always have enough to satisfy his hunger. Then I started thinking about it last night. I don't think I've been producing as much milk this time. I seldom feel the "let down" and never get uncomfortable from too much milk. I know that I'm supposed to let him nurse even if it doesn't seem there's anything there because the supply will increase with demand. I'm not sure that will be enough. And he's too frustrated to suck at an empty fountain.

So last night I made him his first bottle of formula. He was having a hard time getting used the nipple and was sucking like he was nursing instead of using a bottle. But he took over 2 ounces and was fast asleep. Was this the first time in days or weeks that he's been full? How sad to think he's been so cranky because he's been hungry. He surely wasn't starving, because we're not saving any money on diapers. He did sleep for 4 1/2 hours after that. YAHOO!!! I didn't sleep that whole time (thanks, Rebekah), but it was still really nice. I nursed him this morning (I was halfway full) and then had to give him the remaining bottle this morning before he stopped wailing. Now he's asleep in the swing (hence the reason you're even reading a blog post from me!).

Since we're in baby mode around here, I was talking to a friend about babies and we were mentioning how good of a baby Rebekah was. And she really was a great baby! (Especially compared to my friend's youngest!) And now that great baby has grown into a very willful child. It doesn't bother her to get in trouble and she wants NO help from anyone. I nearly lost my mind watching her get dressed this morning. If I was struggling that much, I would beg for help! But every time I offered to help her, she firmly turned me down. I'm sure this determination will serve her well if she keeps it. It may be the undoing of her mother. As for her sister, she's not so much willful as she is full of attitude. I really don't stand a chance!

The kids had their TaVaci Christmas Concert on Saturday. Daniel and Leah did VERY well! I'm sure Leah was the youngest one on stage, but she seemed to know (mostly) the words and actions. Daniel was full of energy and I even picked out his voice a few times. We were so proud of them! I have some videos/pictures of that as well as visiting Santa at the grocery store (wait until you see his Pepsi throne) that I will put up soon. We're all so excited that Christmas is only a week away! Chad is more panicked than excited since he still has a bit of shopping to do. That is his traditional way of handling the holiday! :)

Reflections on Santa

We took the kids Christmas shopping on Saturday. It's a long drive into town so we had some time for a conversation about Santa Claus. I learned a lot from Daniel, our resident Santa expert.

You should know:

The real Santa can't leave the North Pole until the snow is really deep in the place he's going or he'll get sick.

Santa Claus isn't magic and doesn't have a magic wand. Therefore he can't come in through the chimney because he's just too big and fat! He gets in through the door and if that is locked, he breaks a window. (I'll be sure to keep my door unlocked on the 24th.)

The way Santa REALLY gets presents in the house is he flies over the house and drops them down the chimney.

Since Santa doesn't actually come in the house (because he's just dropping presents), he's not the one that eats the cookies. It's Rudolph.

And since Santa Claus isn't magic, it isn't him who gets the reindeer in the air. Again...it's Rudolph.


Daniel is very serious about his Christmas wish list for Santa. He won't tell us what he wants...only Santa. We're trying to convince him that Santa might not bring him exactly what he's wishing for, but it will probably still be something cool and worth keeping! I'm sure this is the last year for the magic for Daniel. Hopefully, he'll help us keep the secret for the younger ones!

We've finally cleared out the old house and it's (mostly) clean. The realtor held an open house on Saturday. He sat there all by himself for 3 hours. It's just not a good time to try to sell a house. Today, I've been trying to put up pictures around the house. I think we have too many pictures. I'm not sure I'm skilled in the aesthetic eye needed for this job. Luckily, Chad isn't either, so he'll be fine with most whatever I do.

We've got our Christmas tree up and a couple decorations. I think I may go easy on the decorating this year. It's just too much at once for me. I did finally write our Christmas letter last night and we took a picture to include. Here is the one I didn't use.

You can see Joseph (or should I say Baby Jesus?) better in this one, so get a good look. Of course, you've likely seen plenty of him already. Hopefully, I'll get the Christmas cards in the mail by the end of the week. (If I'm lucky.)

I shot this picture this morning while I was helping Rebekah get out of her snow gear. This is the ultimate multi-tasking! Unfortunately, he realized fairly soon after this that a laundry basket was holding him and not Mommy. He's now asleep on my chest while I sit slouched so I can type with two hands.

We had a surprise visit from the Stake Presidency last night. All 3 of them were at the door. Coincidentally, it was while we were trying to get the Christmas picture taken, so I'm sure they heard me yelling at Rebekah to look at the camera...which you may have noticed she didn't. Chad is finally getting a calling - in the Elders' Quorum Presidency.

I have already been given a Visiting Teaching assignment.

Something STINKS!!!

Twice in as many days, I have had to cancel my plans and go straight home because one of my boys has wet his pants and it STINKS (worse than you can imagine). It's disgusting and I'm disgusted!!!

Actually, tonight BOTH boys wet their pants. We were at the old house doing some clean up. Three empty bathrooms and apparently none of them good enough. The last two loads my washer has run have been toxic waste management.

It's embarrassing. You know those kids in school that always stunk and no one wanted to be friends with? It seems I am raising some of my own. Their teachers probably have headaches.

Rebekah started potty training this week. She loves it although she's yet to actually put anything in the potty. Maybe I should start the boys, too. You know...a refresher course.

Understanding History

I have a deepened understanding of communities and why the women form groups. Yes, socializing is a basic need that most women seem to have. But I also see the importance of helping each other out.

I am barely keeping afloat. Much of this is my own (un)doing since I am so independent and don't accept help easily. But there is so much that I want to do or need to do that I haven't been able to do. The clock steadily ticks the minutes of my days away and I get nothing accomplished.

Christmas is coming (and that presents a whole list of things to do in and of itself). The house needs to be cleaned. Boxes need to be unpacked. The old house is still not completely empty. I have a three week old (TODAY-Happy 3 Weeks, Joseph!), a 2 year old ready to potty train, a nearly 4 year old wanting Mommy's attention, a kindergartner that gets home in the middle of the day (therefore severely limiting how far away I can go from home) and a 2nd grader who hates to do anything you WANT him to do. I'm waiting for the day when he succumbs to his procrastination and finally goes to school without his homework complete. I hope the teacher makes it unpleasant enough to motivate him for the future. I may call her myself and request a tough sentence for the Little Offender.

Joseph is still trying to figure out his days and nights. Consequently, I am, too! It doesn't help that he was circumcised yesterday and is a little extra cranky. I've typed half this post with one hand! My hair still isn't finished for the day as I couldn't even finish my shower before he started crying again. All he really wants to do is nurse. Yipee for me.

I want to run out and get a few errands done, but when can I do that? And now that I've moved farther from "civilization" it takes me at least an extra 20 minutes to be gone.

I've decided that I need at least 4 of me. One for Christmas (I guess that's just seasonal help). One for Joseph (also seasonal help, but for a longer season). One for the 4 older kids and the housework to be done (that was the old me...before 3 weeks ago). And lastly, One to sleep. I have a secret burning desire to fall fast asleep for several days.

My current goal is to curl my hair and brush my teeth before Nathan gets home in an hour.

FOLLOW UP: I did get my hair curled.

Volunteers needed

Now accepting applications for volunteers in the following areas:

Baby Holding Prefer someone soft and warm with two arms that have nothing else to do. May be required to stand and sway for extended periods of time. Must be willing to work at any time of the day or night.

Playmate Must be willing to answer mind-numbing questions repeatedly. Will be required to spend long periods of time on the floor. Please provide own source of water as your voice will go hoarse from reading aloud too long.

Referee Need someone with the wisdom of King Solomon and the cunning of a fox. Gullible or "push-over" persons need not reply.

Cook Gourmet chef not a requirement. Must have recipes other than jello and mac 'n' cheese. Being able to work in small spaces with limited resources is helpful. If the other volunteers fail in their duties, must be able to multi-task!

Maid Endless energy a must. Prefer someone slow to anger as your work will likely not be appreciated. Includes basics such as: dishes, floors, laundry, bathrooms, etc. Windows are negotiable.

If interested in any of these positions, please reply ASAP.

Busy gates of heaven!

133,396 People

You're Invited

We're having an open house for anyone who wants to see the new house and meet the new baby. If you're actually going to be in the area this weekend, let me know and I'll give you directions! :)

My First "Post"

Hello to all you new friends and family members. I am still getting to know you. I am the newest member of my family and have been here less than two weeks. I don't even know the names of my brothers and sisters.

I do know two big people pretty well. The first one is the person I spend the most time with. She's very soft and smells like food to me. I think I will call her Mommy. She has been slow to catch on, but she's finally figuring out my likes and dislikes. For instance, she finally knows that I like to eat. I'm still getting the hang of it though and so I'm not very efficient. It takes me two times to get full enough to sleep. So once Mommy thinks she's fed me and she can go back to sleep, I remind her that we're only half done and she starts over again. I think she gets pretty tired because she keeps falling asleep and leaning over me. But I'm not 100% sure of that since I fall asleep, too (it's just so comfortable!). Last night Mommy was up for almost an hour and a half until I was ready to go back to sleep. I felt a little bad about that, but I think Mommy felt worse.

Mommy is also learning that I like to sleep with the light on. She's guessing it's because I like to look around me. I don't really know why I like it. I just know I sleep better when it's on. I heard Mommy say that she doesn't care because she's tired enough to not even notice the light. And one more thing Mommy is learning about me is that I like to be held. She tries to trick me into thinking she's holding me by putting her arm under my blanket and tipping me toward her in the bed. Lucky for me, she's a light sleeper, so she checks on me all night long to make sure I don't get too close to her. I wonder if that's why she seems so sleepy all the time. I'm pretty sure she wants me to sleep in that little bed on wheels that sits by her bed. I'm pretty stubborn though and have only slept in it a few times (that's when she tricked me and put me there after I was fast asleep!)

The other person I know pretty well is a little taller than Mommy. I recognize him the best by the funny noises he makes at night. Sometimes he gets pretty loud, but I know I can always be louder if I want. I will call him Daddy. He sleeps a little better than Mommy. Sometimes I try to wake him up at night, but he doesn't seem to hear much. He is really good at changing my diaper. I try to tell him how good he is, but he doesn't seem to understand me, so I try to tell him louder. Then I get all red in the face and can't breathe for a little while afterward. (I try this with Mommy, too and the result is about the same.) At least I'm getting practice for good, lusty singing in choirs in a few more years.

I found out that I can get attention in church just by doing what feels right. I made a little noise in my diaper and at least 10 people turned to Mommy and Daddy. It must have been a good thing because everyone had smiles on their faces. Then Mommy took me to change my diaper and I did some loud, healthy singing for her. (Mommy and Daddy say "sh sh sh sh" to me a lot.)

I like this place I have come to live in. There are a lot of other people here, but they are smaller. The smallest one pinched my nose closed today. Why did she do that? I was right in the middle of one of my diaper songs! I really like it when they rub my cheek with their fingers. The biggest little person tries to help Mommy make me feel happy. He's really good at finding my pacifier for me. I think I will watch all these people here and do what they do when I get big enough. Maybe there will be someone smaller than me one day that I can teach them all this neat stuff!

A very long update

20 November 2007

This is for all of you faithful friends and family that have been checking our family blog daily hoping that I finally got around to sharing the details of Joseph’s birth.

I have had a hard time finding a good time to blog. The pain medicine I’m on helps with the pain, but slows my reflexes and brain functions. It slurs my speech, too, but at least you’re spared having to listen to that! And if I think I can function well enough, that’s when one of my FIVE kids needs me!

Even now, after I’ve written an entire 2 paragraphs (my hands are a little shaky and my mind won’t focus), I had to take a break to help Rebekah put on her socks and shoes, answer what else starts with ‘s’ besides snake for Nathan and then convince Leah that she CAN put her socks and shoes on by herself. Chad and Daniel will be home in 5 minutes before we all “drive into town” for TaVaci classes this afternoon. Normally, this would just be my job, but since I’m so safe behind the wheel, Chad gets to do the driving.

But I knew this would be nearly impossible to sit down and get accomplished, so I’m typing it first in Word and will post when it’s finally done. I’m hoping for this week sometime.

Joseph is one week old today. While he spends 95% of his time either sleeping or eating, we’ve learned one thing about his personality: he does not like to have his diaper changed! This became quite clear the first days in the hospital. It’s very strange to me. I’ve never had a baby react to diapering in such a manner. Normally, getting his outfit changed falls into the diaper rule, but not as severely. If he cries this bad when the cold air hits his personal space, I can only cringe at the response he’s going to have during his circumcision!

For those of you who don’t know much about our family, all of our babies are born looking identical. Maybe it’s delayed multiples. In fact, after 2 or 3 babies, I was programmed to think that all babies should look a certain way. I get a small shock when I see other newborns that don’t look like a Collett. How is that even possible? Anyway, Joseph was the very same. It was almost a spiritual experience to see him for the first time because I felt like I already knew him!

He is such a sweet little baby (minus the diaper issue). The past few days he’s started having a little time each day where he stares at me through half-open eyes and seems ready to listen to whatever I want to say. He’s so serene and almost seems to exude wisdom. At times like this I just speak slowly and softly and say his name over and over.

I have particularly enjoyed his extremely soft face and hair. If someone could create a cream that had that result, I’d buy it by the case! On the flip side, the rest of his skin has been peeling like crazy. At first, he looked like he had wrinkled tissue paper for skin, but now he looks like a molting lizard.

As for the hospital stay, it was pretty much uneventful (thankfully). I didn’t have any complications. Joseph had a very low jaundice risk. He didn’t have any problems with nursing. In fact, he latched on the very first try and has been latched on ever since! (If you can imagine how that feels, you’re sympathizing with me right now.)

I was awake for the entire c-section, the clean-up afterward and the hour of recovery that follows. (It was during the recovery hour that Joseph got to nurse for the first time.) I have never been awake for the entire procedure. Somehow, I felt a little cheated out of some of the deep sleep I had been anticipating. I still don’t feel like I’ve caught up. But I got to hear most of the Doctor’s conversation and participate in some of it.

It was decided that I’m nearing the limit of my pregnancies. I told the Dr. that we’d like one more, but I’d respect his opinion. He thought I would be fine with one more, but the scar tissue was getting more and more difficult to stitch closed. Someone made a joke that I’d probably get twins and the Dr. said that wouldn’t be a good thing. If any of you know my history, that’s got more than Murphy’s Law to make it happen for me. (So far, I’ve avoided any extra trips to the hospital with this baby.)

I only had one moderately annoying nurse in the hospital and a couple of mildly annoying ones. The rest were awesome. Everyone got all excited about my blood pressure. I guess they don’t see low blood pressure very often. It averaged something like 88/65 but went as low as 75/55ish and all the way up to 112/80ish. They liked to ask me if I felt ok or if I was dizzy. The only time I had any problem was during the delivery when it dipped into the 80’s and I got sick enough to throw up a bit.

We arrived at the hospital at 5:30 AM on Tuesday and left at 1PM on Friday.

I can’t believe that it’s already been a week! Joseph is so sweet (even when he’s using his killer suction on me at 3 AM) and I feel overwhelmed to think that I’m the mother of FIVE beautiful children (some with current behavior problems) and that they are healthy and have the ability to be happy.

To top that off, I have the blessing of being married to Chad, the best man in the world! He’s done so much for me and the kids and I just keep feeling more and more in debt to him. It’s not easy to deal with a hormonal wife, stressed out kids and work on moving a houseful of furniture and food storage within 3 compact weeks.

*
Now it's Thanksgiving evening. Chad worked all day to make the big meal. He is a wonder! I worked the whole day to stay in bed and tend to Joseph. I've got a few pictures of the kids eating their dinner, a movie of Joseph this afternoon and one or two more pics thrown in for fun.
I am very thankful on this day of nationwide reflection. We have a nice home (two actually...anyone want to move to Idaho?), a generally healthy family (although the pharmacist does see our name quite often), temporal and spiritual comforts and a bright future.

Announcing...

I know you want details. Unfortunately, Joseph wants me. He wins. I'll blog later when I get the chance.

Joseph

Joseph was born Tuesday at 7:57 am; 7 lbs, 13 oz; 21 inches. He and Arlyn are doing okay. They should come home from the hospital Friday.

Promised pictures

It's really a video. Not all the lights were on in every room, so I hope you can get the general idea. I got two exterior shots of the house as well. You want more than that? You'll have to at least drive by!


Daniel stayed home from school today with a fever (2nd night in a row for that) and it still wasn't gone this afternoon. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to slow him down and make him sleepy. I really like those kinds of illnesses in my children!


The kids have adjusted really well to their new school. Daniel remarked that his new teacher wasn't a grandma! It might seem like a strange comment, but it's the first teacher he's had that wasn't. She may even be younger than me, but I'm not 100% on that (only 90%). Nathan used to say that his original teacher was the nicest teacher in the school. There's probably a lot of truth to that. After his first day in the new school, he was excited to report that his new teacher was the TALLEST and NICEST teacher in the whole school. I can tell you a breathed a sigh of relief at that statement!

The bus drops the boys off right at the driveway, since we're on a rural route. I was glad that I waited outside for them the first day since the kindergarten driver knew she had Nathan, but had no idea where he went. Daniel's bus nearly didn't stop, but I was so obvious that she did anyway. She didn't even know Daniel was on the bus. She does now. She's also in our ward and supposedly only lives up the street a bit.


Until this morning, our house had no address markings at all. Now, the address is on both sides of the mailbox. I still have some numbers for Chad to tack up onto the front of the house. I want people to know where to deliver my children!


The people at church were very nice. I probably remember 15% of the names I heard yesterday. When we moved to this area the first time, one family came up to us in the chapel. They were the ward mission leaders at the time. This time, I lost track of how many people introduced themselves. While it was helpful to get to know people quickly, I hope they don't give me a calling like Enrichment Leader in this ward. At least not for a while.


The boys both knew kids from their school classes in their primary classes. I think that made them feel more comfortable. We had our first Sunday at the same time as two other families, one of which moved from the same ward we did. Their last name is only two letters different from ours. We had to chuckle.


Leah went right into her Nursery class and didn't even spare a good-bye wave for us. She'll be fine. We didn't put Rebekah into Nursery because she seemed to be coughing up a lung and wasn't very friendly. Chad got that job for the rest of the meetings.


We're still moving a few things out of the house. It's mostly left-over junk by now. Chad's currently working on the food storage room. That's lots of #10 cans! We have a few things left in our bedroom and the hall closets. There are four cupboards and three drawers left in the kitchen and some cleaning supplies in the laundry room. The computer and desks are left as well as all of Chad's office. Some incidentals in the living room round us out and then we're left with the garage. OY! the garage!


I went to Daniel's parent-teacher conference a bit ago and Nathan's is in 15 minutes. Daniel's teacher had glowing reports (I wish that boy would come home to live with us) and I expect Nathan's teacher will be the same.

We're getting the internet set up at the house on Thursday. So I may have to sign off until then. I'll try not to go into withdrawals!

Another failure

Well, I gave it a good try, but moving into a new house did not put me into labor as I had secretly hoped. Even lifting and moving furniture that I knew I shouldn't attempt only made me tired. I have failed. Luckily, I have a back-up plan that will be put into motion at 5:30 am on the 13th!

We have been sleeping at the house for 6 nights now. We're slowly settling in. However, we're not completely moved out of the old house, including the computer and my connection to the big outside world (the internet). I need to make that call tomorrow.

I plan to take those much promised pictures tonight and post them tomorrow during breaks between the boys' parent-teacher conferences with their old teachers. See how devoted I am to their educations? I'm RETURNING to meet with their teachers!

I'll share some stories from their first day of school and maybe expound on our first day of church in our new ward (if any of it seems remotely interesting by then).

We are battling childhood illnesses at the moment and are up to our ankles in snot. Luckily, it's the week BEFORE the baby comes and not the week of or after.

Our phone number has not changed, so we should be easy to track down.

Until tomorrow...

Happy Halloween to you

Here's Daniel at school for his Halloween party. This picture was taken less than 45 minutes ago. Talk about FRESH!

We're attending our ward Halloween party tonight. Our last function as local residents. We've now spent two nights in our new house. We still have a bunch of junk to move over.

I had a dr.'s appt this morning. My blood pressure is up (for me) and my hands and feet are beginning to swell. Thirteen days until this baby is here!

Making progress...I think.

Whew! This moving stuff is not for the weak or very pregnant!

We got our carpet installed on Friday. Thursday was a rush to get ready for the installers. I soon felt so overwhelmed that I called the RS President to ask for help. She and two other women met me (and Nathan) at the house to work for several hours.

One sister pulled staples out of the floor (from the old carpet padding). The other two worked with a steamer and scrapers to get the WORST wallpaper off the walls of the girls' room. They were in there for hours. I had already spent a bunch of fruitless time trying to get it off. Why can't they make a wallpaper that's removable? (There is still a border around the top of the wall in another room that needs to come down, but I can't do it and Chad isn't feeling very motivated.) I wiped down the walls to prepare for painting.

That night I was so tired and sore that I could barely put one foot in front of the other. I took the kids home to put them to bed and Chad stayed to clean up and spray the paint on the walls. He was there, by himself, until after 2 AM. The carpet installers arrived at 8 AM Friday.

A friend of mine came over Friday night to help me get started on the painting. We put a coat of paint in the living room after very carefully laying drop cloth all over the new carpet. We attempted to scrape off the paper left behind by the steamer crew, but soon gave up on that when we didn't make much progress. She vacuumed up the mess left by the carpet installation and we headed home sometime around 9 PM.

Saturday morning, I took the girls to the house and Chad took the boys to get a trailer and start emptying the storage unit. I taped and painted another wall in the living room (we were going to leave it white, but then changed our minds) and was almost done by the time Chad arrived with the first load. After lunch I started on the wallpaper nightmare again. This time I brought different ammunition and actually got some good results! My friend came back over and together we cleaned the walls, put a second coat on the living room, washed the now wallpaper-free walls, taped and got a first coat of paint on. That took us nearly 4 hours. Meanwhile, Chad finished emptying the trailer for the second time and drove back to town to return it.

That night (last night) we went back. Chad painted a second coat in the girls' room while I changed out doorknobs and dead bolts. Now I don't consider myself a helpless person when it comes to little tasks like changing a lock. I was ready to pull out my hair and the doors by the time I got finished with the locks. Things weren't fitting well, weren't aligned right, etc. I even had to install one dead bolt upside down because the holes in the door weren't in the right places. We came home at 10 PM. We all slept well.

The kids want to know when we're going to sleep there. That's not going to happen until my whole bed makes it. A mattress and a box spring are not going to cut it. Chad has a bunch of work to do and he isn't sure when he's going to be ready to move beds. I'm wishing for a genie. I would like to just get the stuff over there and get it put away. I still don't exactly know where everything is going to go. It's making me feel a little overwhelmed. The fact that this baby is coming in 3 weeks has a lot to do with it.

We attended our ward for the last time today. That was a surreal feeling. Some people still don't know that we're moving. They'll either figure it out, or try to reactivate us! I taught one last time today. I felt so huge standing up there. This baby isn't trying to hide. The lesson went well, though.

So now this week I just want to get things moved and put away. We'll take it day by day and be grateful for what gets accomplished. If I'm lucky, I won't kill myself. If I'm really lucky, I'll put myself into labor and have a good reason to stop working so hard! (Which is only a good plan if the baby is healthy through all that.)

P.S. I haven't forgotten the promise of pictures. I'm working on that!

HELP!

We recorded yesterday and Chad started ripping out carpet. I think you should know that Superman did it all by himself! And Supergirl shampooed the carpets (the ones we didn't rip out) and did most of the pre-vacuuming all by herself. I also cleaned the fridge/freezer and stove top yesterday. I nearly couldn't move last night.

I did have a friend with me yesterday morning helping me. If we were doing more work in the evening, we could have probably found some more help. We worked until about 6 or so last night. Chad went back after the kids were in bed and I watched "The Nightmare Before Christmas" from my bed! He got home just before 11.

This morning (it's not even 8 am yet), we're headed to Home Depot for paint and supplies. We're going to be in the middle of a painting frenzy because they come to install carpet tomorrow. Anyone out there like to paint? I wonder how much I can do from a chair? The windows are also disgusting. Anyone out there "do windows?"

I'll have pictures tomorrow night or Saturday...after all the messy work is over.

Closing today

We have our closing scheduled for 3 pm this afternoon. This means I'll be cleaning much of the day tomorrow.

We got a better look at the roof and more information. It's not the best fix (and, uh, I could have done it that well), but it looks like it will be ok for now. We're still getting $150 credit to have it properly done when we're ready. It's because of a bunch of cables that are fastened to the outside of the house. (Apparently, part of the house was once used as a call center of some sort.) When they put the cables up, they drilled through the siding and now water drips along the roof and cables into the hole. And it's on the back side of the garage, leaking into the sheathing of the garage wall = no damage to the walls of the house itself.

Anyway, I'm really grateful that we've got plans to replace the carpet since we were overcome with the stench of pet odor in the master bedroom. She must have a had a good air freshener going when we walked through before! I've got to shampoo the carpets that aren't being removed and clean, clean, clean. The bathrooms and kitchen were left in a pretty state and the walls of the house are badly in need of paint. Have I mentioned that I'm having a baby soon? It may even be sooner!

Speaking of having this baby, my delivery has been formally scheduled with the hospital. We have to be there at 5:30 am on 13 November. That's exactly 4 weeks from today!! I'd be dishonest if I said I wasn't looking forward to the drugs that will force me into sleep. I wish I had some already! Now if I could just find some way to keep the nurses away from me so I can really get some rest! :)

I have been scrapbooking some old pictures of myself. It was because of a challenge we had with our ward SB group. I caution you, one of them is of me in a bikini...so peek at your own risk!


Rebekah was arguing with me because she thought these were pictures of her. I think I've finally convinced her that Mommy used to be little, too!

Walk Through this afternoon

We finally have our walk through this afternoon! FINALLY! We have some measuring that we want to do for new carpet.

The seller was supposed to investigate and fix a leak in the roof of the house that has been leaking for a while (years). It took the roof guy nearly 3 weeks to get his lazy behind out there and all he ends up doing is caulking the roof where it's leaking! He was supposed to pull back some of the roof and make sure that the water didn't do any internal damage, and the inspector was supposed to get a peek, too. After that, he was supposed to flash the roof where it meets the side of the house its butted up against. Instead, he decided that he could determine that there was no internal damage from his viewpoint and just caulked it. When the realtor mentioned that it was supposed to be flashed, he said that would be another $150 to go back out there and do that. So they're thinking they're going to give us a $150 credit at closing.

Unfortunately, they're dealing with a cranky pregnant woman who is irritated that it took this long to even get to the roof and that this genius roof guy just made his own decisions. If they're going to give us a credit, it's going to be for more than $150! And I want a different roof guy!

SO, if we can work all that out, there is a chance that we could close today. If not, then likely tomorrow. After a day's wait, we can start ripping out carpet and moving some stuff over. Hopefully, the carpet can be installed at the beginning of the week.

We have one more week in this ward. I am teaching one more RS lesson. They did call a new teacher to replace me, but she's unable to teach next week, so I guess I'm subbing! That's kind of what happened when we left Washington. It must be tradition.

I had my dr's appt. today. I hit 190 lbs. Ugh. I hope this is a 35 lb baby! I'm now on weekly appointments. I get to go back on Halloween morning. Right in the middle of moving.

I did have some productivity this morning. I did a load of laundry, swept and mopped the kitchen/dining/laundry/bathroom floors, and made two loaves of bread before rushing out the door just before 9:30. I was a little late for my appt., but I'm sure it made little difference in my wait time.

I made just one scrapbook page this week. I would probably make more if this chair was a little softer!

This one is from Rebekah's blessing, nearly two years ago. She has changed a lot!

I've nearly finished the blessing outfit for this baby. I worked on it several days in a row and then took a long weekend. I need to get it finished in the next day or so. It's a little jumper with a jacket, so there's the reason for taking so long. This little guy is getting blessing during an Idaho winter...he needs a jacket! :)

What a memory

Chad reads to the kids every night. Lately, he's been reading a chapter book. Last night, Chad thought the boys might have fallen asleep before the chapter was done. So tonight Chad asked Daniel if he fell asleep before it was over and Daniel responded that he didn't think so. After he thought about it for a minute he said, "I think it ended with 'children.'"

I'm thinking, I'm sure "children" was in the chapter somewhere. Meanwhile, Chad is looking through the book to find the right page. The last sentence ended with "...cantered away from the children."

How does he do that? I read them "The Mouse and the Motorcycle" a while ago and Daniel could usually tell me what had just happened the night before. I'm an avid reader, but if I don't remember what chapter to start on next, I have to start reading and see if I recognize anything then skip ahead or back depending on the result.

And how can he remember things like that if he can't remember that his dirty clothes go IN the hamper and not in a snake-like trail pointing to it? Or can't remember where he left his jacket the day before?

There's only one answer. He must be part genius. Now he'll have some kind of eccentricities that go with a genius mind and I'll be pulling out more of my hair!

It that ALL??

Arlyn


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Chad

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I feel much more valuable than this!

Not nesting

I think I'm supposed to be "nesting" right now. Since I've been having to keep the house pretty clean, I don't have a lot to do that isn't constantly being done. And I can't get the nursery ready or the little clothes prepped because they are in storage for another couple of weeks.

I have accomplished some things lately. I finished the baby's Sunday afghan (blue) and his flannel crib blanket (purple). I tied Leah's blanket (pink/purple/yellow) and got it on her bed last Saturday. That was quite an adventure. I had to lay it out on the floor and roll myself into a ball to tie the darned thing. I made the binding and sewed it on during Saturday's Conference sessions. I was very relieved to realize that I was all caught up on kids' blankets! I don't have any that need to be started or finished right now. YIPPEE!

I performed a miracle yesterday and spent a couple hours quilting the quilt on my frame yesterday. It's been at least 6 months since I advanced the fabric to a new position. I finally did yesterday. I'm still not quite 1/4 done. (And there's another one to put on after this one is done.)


I cut out the pattern and material for the baby's blessing outfit today. I had to sit down several times during the process to give my back a rest. I could have used another 4-5 inches in height on my cutting table. I'm short, but today it just wasn't enough!

There's only 5 1/2 weeks to go before this baby meets his crazy family. I'm glad. I've been having several contractions a day. They are most inconvenient and pointless, too. The baby is running out of room and trying to make larger accommodations for himself. Luckily, he's low, so my rib cage hasn't been too abused.

When we talk about Halloweens costumes around here, we say the baby already has his costume: Mommy.

We recently survived two weeks of school break. That's probably one of the reasons I haven't posted recently. I was glad the bus came around Tuesday morning. I had barely recovered from the summer and then the kids had two weeks off. It was a long two weeks.

It snowed twice during those two weeks. Last Saturday it snowed until sometime in the afternoon and didn't completely melt until Monday or Tuesday.

We really need the moisture around here, but we're trying to close on a house that needs some roof work and sprinkler work done. Rain and melting snow make the ground soggy and the roof continues to leak.

We've only had two people look at our house. The first were looking for a house they could put an apartment in and the second decided to stay in the city they were from. We almost had someone look today, but the agent's phone died and the appointment was never completed. The irony was that the agent was two houses down and I could see him on the phone. I knew he had called our realtor. I would have let them in if only they had asked!

If you wanted to check out my latest scrapbook pages, you could find them here. There are a couple of mine and some from other people, too.

And that's what we've been up to lately. You haven't missed much. :)

A New Word

Rebekah learned a new word this morning: SNOW. There was a light dusting of snow on rooftops and scattered around the yard this morning.

It let up for a while, but it's back and there are some pretty heavy flurries right now. I don't know that any of it will accumulate as it's already 11 am.

Chad and I were trying to remember the first day of snow last year. I would be surprised if it was earlier than 29 September!

We have the house mostly clean in case we get our first call for someone to look at the house. I'm doing laundry, so that's still undone, but otherwise, I'd only need to wipe down the kids' bathroom and empty garbages. With nothing to do, and yardwork a no-go today, we're wishing someone would call and give us an excuse to leave the house. We don't want to go for no reason and then get a call that sends us right back out shortly after returning home.

It's funny that I can find all sorts of things to keep me busy when I'm supposed to be cleaning. And now that there isn't any cleaning to do, I'm not sure what to do! It's a world of irony.

News on the stray cat round-up: I brought in one more cat to the shelter yesterday. I returned the trap as it seems that was the last. So in two weeks' time, I delivered 9 cats/kittens to shelters in the area. That seems like a lot for one little address in the city!

*SIGH*

We listed our house with the realtor today. We were still attacking final details when he arrived with his camera.

A ton of our very valuable but worldly possessions are in a storage unit. The rooms don't seem too small anymore. Even I've been fooled by this little trick!

My mom came for a couple of days to help us get some things done. We wouldn't have made it without her help. (The house and yard wouldn't have looked good, at least.) We appreciate her help. It was a little stressful for me, but it was a price worth paying.

I still have to go around parts of the house and eliminate fingerprints on walls. I haven't even touched the windows yet. I nearly acquired a dust allergy cleaning off the computer cabinet. I'm surprised I didn't surprise anything living.

We are tired and look forward to relaxing tonight. I look forward to no contractions in the middle of cleaning! I expect my back will stop aching in a couple of days.

Now I just have to keep it all under control. (Let's hope that it sells quickly.) I don't think I've been able to convey the seriousness of the clutter containment to the kids. Daniel looks at me like I'm crazy. I am, but that's beside the point.

In addition to cleaning and making a trip to DI (and why do I have another pile started already?), I've made two trips to the county animal shelter. I've now delivered 2 grown cats and a kitten. I'm shooting for one more kitten and one more cat, if they're dumb enough to be caught in the cat trap. My greatest triumph is that the ever-bearing mother cat is now in county custody and will be put down or spayed before being released. THANK YOU! Three litters (11 kittens) in a year is plenty of unwanted kitties.

Hopefully, I don't have any neighbors with outside cats roaming around. If it gets caught in the trap and doesn't have a collar, it's getting a free ride to the shelter! I may have felt sorry about it last year, but that humane feeling is all gone.

I still have several projects that need completing. I really have no hope that my quilt will be off the frame before we have to move it, but other things aren't so hopeless. In fact, there is an Enrichment mtg. tonight and I'll be bringing my baby afghan to work on. I think people expect it of me by now.

If anyone knows anyone looking for a decent-sized house, in a quiet neighborhood (if you don't count the barking dogs...one of which is our new neighbors. Can you believe he put up his dog kennel in the corner of his yard that is about 7 feet from the boys' bedroom window and 2 feet from where buyers would be passing? It's a little thoughtless. The kennel is closer to our house than to his!), and in a great ward - send them to our house!

OK. I'm sure that last paragraph broke a few English language/mechanics/grammar rules.

I get to have a nap tomorrow! (Watch - now someone will want to look at the house between 12 and 2 most days.)

Equally Yoked

I tried this little activity from a link on a friend's blog. According to this website, Chad and I are very good at sharing DNA equally when having children (of course, once they started entering this world, we noticed that they all looked about the same). As for the one with me and my parents, I'm not really convinced. Both Chad and I think I look more like my mom, but according to facial "scans," I'm more like my dad. Huh.

Some things are just unexpected

Kind of like listening to your friend describe a property one day then hearing her say the next that they've decided not to get it, so you go to look at it yourself on Wednesday (out of curiosity), get the realtor to show it to you at 5 pm on Friday, have people ask you at church on Sunday if you're really moving (and have it announced that your house is for sale - when it's not), look at the house again (and the 5 acres it's attached to) on Monday, make an offer on Wednesday, and accept a counter offer on Thursday. The closing date is "on or before 26 October 2007."

Yeah, that was all unexpected.

The house is a little smaller than the one we have now. (We'll be getting rid of some things we don't need.) BUT, the house is on one acre and there are 4 adjoining acres zoned agricultural. We won't have any immediate neighbors. There is a well, propane tank, and septic system...we're not in the city limits. The land is flood irrigated from the canal that is one of the natural borders of the property.

We're only moving 15 minutes away from where we are now, but it's a different city and different school district as well as a different stake. We've started gearing the boys up to start new schools and friends.

We're going to rent our current home to the same friends that told us about this property as they have just sold their house and will be homeless while they build a new house. This plan has changed. We all just felt like things weren't quite right and have decided to list the house for sale instead of renting. We didn't want to have anything happen to hurt a good friendship and there were too many "iffy" situations.

I moved into our first house when I was 8 months pregnant with Daniel and swore I'd never do that again! (I'll never trust another word out of my mouth.) I'll be even farther along this time! Hmmm...maybe this baby will come earlier than planned! ;)

I kind of feel like a traitor to our ward and friends here. I don't really know why I feel that way. Maybe it's because we're just springing this on everyone so suddenly.

So, anyway. That's what we're up to. What's new with you? ha ha



Here are the promised pictures of the Spud Day parade.

Nathan and Leah watching, but not listening to, the siren-blaring fire trucks go by. They're standing in the street because....









...people throw candy in small-town parades. (This would be deadly in Las Vegas. Plus, all the candy would be melted and sticky.)









Rebekah was a quick study and soon had handfuls of candy.









So she really got upset when she couldn't have a piece of candy whenever she wanted one.









That doesn't mean that she never got one!









Daniel was in the parade this year on the TaVaci trailer. I guess it's supposed to be a float, but I'm being shockingly honest.

It was perfect weather for Spud Day this year. Previous years have been cold or freezing. Last year they were selling hot chocolate. We enjoyed lemonades this year.


One parting shot. Leah and Rebekah before bed this evening. I've learned that Rebekah smiles with her tongue out when posing for a picture. We were at the school getting pictures (school picture day) today and she kept popping that thing out!

Sad, sad

I took 5 cats to the animal shelter today. We felt bad about taking in the two kittens we've had for over 4 months. They have been such sweet and well-behaved kitties. Now they'll be separated from each other and I feel so guilty about it.

I don't feel too bad about passing Jingle on. He's so cranky.

The two little wild kittens have been a lot of work. They're still not quite 2 months old, and very cute, so I'm sure they'll be adopted easily.

On the bright side, no more smelly litter box or meowing for food. Hopefully, Daniel will have a marked improvement with his allergies. Now that summer is ending, the outside irritants should soon be no trouble, also.

In a new topic, Rebekah has really started talking more lately. She's even trying! It's pretty cute. She's become VERY independent. Everything is , "ME!" She's getting too grown up for her high chair. She often refuses to sit in it. She gets very mad if someone else shuts a door (including cabinet doors). Somehow, she got it into her head that she's the only one who can do that job. She doesn't like me to help her get her clothes on or off. It would be so much easier for her to pull her pants up if she didn't have such a bulky diaper on. Unfortunately, potty training is the one thing that she doesn't feel the need to do (on her own or otherwise).

I have some pictures of the kids and the Spud Day parade. Too bad they're still on the camera which is upstairs in the kitchen. I'm too tired to go get it, so you'll have to wait until next time.

Yes, It's 3 AM

And, Yes, I'm sitting at the computer. No, I can't sleep. My family is going to love me tomorrow. I've been cranky enough. This isn't going to help. It's too late to take a unisom of any size (since I need 7-8 hours to sleep of half a pill). It's very frustrating.

Chad wants to look at a farm house on 5 acres (in about 14 hours). So that has my mind wandering in about 1,000 directions. The ups and DOWNS of moving and changing life routines (schools especially) for each of us. How much work it would take to get this house ready to sell (stripping wallpaper and painting in 3 rooms). Getting to know a new ward. Being 7 months pregnant. I'll admit, I'm LAZY and it's only gotten worse the past few months. Not to mention that the farm house is a couple hundred sq. ft smaller than this one. What are the chances that we'd actually be serious about this property? Probably only 50/50. I wish I could turn my mind off and get some sleep.

I still have two kittens shut up in a little animal carrier. The momma cat finally made her appearance this afternoon but doesn't seem too interested in her babies. I've got to let them out soon. It's not a very big carrier! Maybe the vet could find someone that wants them? If I could just catch the momma, I could call the county and they'd come pick her up. I don't want to have them come all the way out here for two of her kittens. I still have our 3 pet cats to find homes for. At one time I had 5 cats out on my back patio this afternoon. I'm not even a lonely, single lady!

We're going golfing with Chad's company tomorrow morning. It's the annual golf party. Yipee. I'm driving the golf cart. Maybe I'll take a few pictures to scrapbook later. I'll probably bring a book. I drove the golf cart two years ago when Rebekah was about 3 weeks old. I actually golfed last year. This is how I know I don't really care for golfing. This year, I'm not about to be swinging my torso all around just to be a good sport. Just imagine all the fodder for jokes that would be! There is a free lunch included though and how could anyone in my condition pass that up!??!

And speaking of scrapbooking, here are a few pages that I've done lately.

Wild Animals: behind bars and escaped.

Rebekah's 2nd birthday. This was a template. It helped me place the pictures and I did everything else.

Nathan is "show and telling" the rabbits tomorrow. He and Daniel took some pictures of them and I turned them into a page that isn't as boring as a few snapshots (hopefully).