Nummers

This post is mainly for my siblings, who will understand.

Know what I ate for dinner? A hot dog and cheese burrito. :) Roy was making quesadillas for dinner and I was making hot dogs for the kids, and first I thought of making a classic Jeppson pizza with a tortilla, ketchup (seasoned with Italian seasoning) cheese and cut up hot dog. But then I remembered my absolute favorite ghetto meal. You take a hot dog, heat it up. Then you put cheese on a tortilla and heat that up. Then you slap it together and roll it up. Totally unhealthy, but oh so good. Roy threatened to leave, but it's worth it even then. :)

Maybe tomorrow morning I'll make spaghetti eggs.

Me, me, me

I started blogging in August 2006. I didn't do much at first, but almost two years later I'm getting the hang of it. :) I was the first person in my family to start blogging and I don't take all the credit, but I do hope I had something to do with the amount of family members blogging now. My sisters all started blogs about a year after me and then my brother's wife and then my other brother and his wife. I have a few cousins that have blogs, an uncle, an aunt and the newest additions are my mom and her sister! I'm so excited. We don't get to see each other very often so reading each other's blogs helps us all stay in touch and I really enjoy it.

Just remember that I was ahead of you all in the trend! (although behind most people in the trend) I'm just glad we all got with the trend and I hope that when the trend wears off that we'll all keep going strong!

Other special occasions

I started this post last week and I'm gonna go ahead and publish it now...it's not really finished, but oh well.


This was a busy week for us! Last Wednesday my in-laws and mom arrived. We went to the Farmer's Market that evening, where the kids got to ride the ponies (twice!).






Thursday morning we went bowling and then Roy's graduation was that afternoon. We left the kiddos with some great friends (thanks again!) and got to "enjoy" the super long ordeal! Boring! But it was great to see Roy get hooded and all that stuff. And it got done earlier than expected, so that was nice.


Friday was our 6-year anniversary. We went to Vacaville, did a little shopping and went to Olive Garden for lunch. Not exactly a romantic night-out, but the inlaws picked up the tab, so that was nice! :) Then we went to the pool and had a lot of fun there.

Saturday morning we went to Ikea to pick up some things that you can only get at Ikea, which they don't have in Missouri! Then the in-laws left and we just lounged around the rest of the day. Sunday we were all sick (except for my mom, lucky!) so we stayed home from church and Roy didn't get much of a special day, but he's great and totally didn't care. Yesterday and today we've been trying to get a bit of packing done while we have an extra adult around (who just happens to be great at packing and cleaning - she even pulled out the stove and cleaned behind it- so awesome!) Tomorrow my mom leaves in the morning and I'm taking the day off from packing and just hanging out with the kiddos and trying to get completely better from my cold.

Oh, and if anyone has advice about moving companies, let me know! We're considering using ABF U-Pack. Oh, and did I mention that we found somewhere to live? We found a great 3 bedroom,1 bath duplex (well, 8-plex) for $550 a month. The price is a little above average for the area, but it's a really nice, new property that a couple of members of the church live in (I called someone there and she told me all about it) and it has a washer and dryer included and I really like the layout. And, everything for rent was filling up really fast and we had to just grab whatever we could get. And, this is one of the only properties that could let us in July instead of the 2nd week of August.

Two things today

First of all, Happy Birthday to my nephew Nolan! He turned 6 today! Hope you had a fun day. He's the oldest biological grandchild in our family. His parents just adopted 2 kids older than him and one younger than him, so he no longer holds the "oldest grandchild" title. But he'll always be my first nephew!

Secondly, I did something horrible today. I had my wisdom teeth removed. Ugh. Our dental insurance options when we move won't be very good so I decided I better get it done while it's free. (Thank you tax payers) I called yesterday to make an appointment and they had a free slot today, which was a good thing because I didn't have enough time to talk myself out of it. (Although this morning I was back and forth about whether I was going to do it) I thought my teeth were fine and had decided to just get it done after the next pregnancy, but this week one of them started hurting again, so I just bit the bullet and did it.

The only dental work I've ever had done are x-rays, cleanings, and one small cavity filled (without any kind of numbing). This was a big deal for me. They just used local anesthesia and that was the worst part of it all. The shots hurt a lot. The numbing drove me crazy. The actual removal of the teeth was super quick and painless. It was very frustrating to not be able to talk with the gauze in my mouth, especially since we went grocery shopping immediately after and I couldn't communicate with my family! And then Roy and the kids got a pizza on the way home and it was torture to smell and see it and not be able to eat it!!

I finally stopped bleeding about an hour and a half afterwards and I felt a lot better with the gauze out of my mouth. But then the numbing started to slowly wear off and the pain was so intense! Roy got home with my Vicodin prescription just in time. I only took one and it didn't help, so an hour later I took another and now I feel fantastic! I'm definitely going to have to stay on top of the painkillers!

So far I've had a can of Slim Fast and some tomato soup. It feels fine to drink but I don't really feel hungry so I'm hoping this will be a good chance for some rapid weight loss! (Slim Fast and tomato soup are super Weight Watchers friendly)

I was going to post a picture of my cheeks, but they really aren't very big. My face just looks the way it looked before I lost weight. Maybe tomorrow they will be bigger.

Oh, and the dentist office was 20 miles away in our favorite town (Vacaville) so Roy and the kids dropped me off and went to Nut Tree and rode some rides and had fun while I got tortured. :) Then we all went shopping at our favorite store that we are going to miss so much: WinCo. By the way, have I mentioned how fantastic it is to have a husband home full time?? Well, most of the time it's great, sometimes I wish we could have more of a regular schedule, but on days like this I'm thrilled. He's been taking such good care of the kids and me today and will continue to until I'm all healed. Perfect timing, really, to get this done...I have time to heal before the serious moving stuff starts.

Anyway, just thought you'd all love to hear about my day. :) Hopefully if I stay on the pain medicine I'll keep feeling as good as I feel right now, because earlier in the day I felt like I was going to die! (I seriously felt as horrible as being in labor - in a different way, of course)

Oh, and I looked into Medicaid in Missouri and it looks like we might qualify. (Me at least for pregnancy when it comes along) I've also been looking at other forms of insurance too (thanks for the tip Andrea) and don't feel quite as stressed about it.

I guess that's all for now. I have a couple of draft posts that I've been working on for a while that I'm gonna try to get to this week before all the major packing has to begin. I gave myself this week to relax and hang out with the kids and stop stressing about packing and then I'm going to start back up next week.

Sigh

So, I'm not trying to be a baby with this whole thing, trying to get someone to hold my hand and help me make a decision, but I do feel like the purpose of me blogging is to get some advice and input from people who have more experience than me and can give some insight to my decisions. (Man, what a run-on sentence!) It's been a long time since we've had to do the whole health insurance thing and I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around each plan and the benefits and drawbacks of both. I appreciate the comments everyone has left, and I was wondering if I could get more input if I put some of the specific numbers. (You know that commercial where the girl talks to everyone she comes across about her car insurance? Sorry, I'm going to be like that for a bit here)

Medical Rates

Plan A

Plan B

A few things to keep in mind. Besides well-child visits, so far Rae and Blaise have been to the doctor maybe 10 times. They've only ever had 3 prescriptions and no hospital stays. Rae went to the emergency room once, but not for a true emergency. All of this could change in the next year, so I don't want to have my hopes up.

As for me, I plan to be pregnant while on this insurance. Both plans have the same maternity coverage. I'm leaning towards Plan A, since they have the "co-pay" type plan. (except not for maternity if I'm reading it correctly) Roy would like to be able to go to the doctor a few times for checkups, since he hasn't been to one in like 5 years. Anyway, any input is helpful. Thanks.

Bleh

Trying to figure out health insurance is the pits. Roy will have decent insurance through the school and they have a dependent plan, but I don't know what type to choose. All I know is that my kids go to the doctor for well-child visits and not much else. They hardly ever need any medication and we have only been to the ER once (just because we were in Blythe and couldn't go anywhere else) But then what if something serious happens to them and I'm stuck paying some big ol' deductible the ONE time they actually need medical attention. And with me, man, I never go to the doctor, mainly because I hate making appointments. :) But I do know I want to have another kid soon and I don't want to have to pay a bunch of money every month for insurance and STILL have to pay my deductible AND my co-pay. I never realized how easy we had it on state provided insurance. Man oh man, the good ol' days of stealing other people's taxes! :)

Seriously though, any advice out there? High deductible, low monthly payment? Vice-versa? One thing I will mention is that with whatever plan we go with, the well-child visits and immunizations are completely covered, so that's nice (even though I guess now that Blaise is older he doesn't need them nearly as often, so it doesn't really matter) Anyway, what do ya'll think?

Family Reunion

Hey all you Blythe Jeppsons, I have a question for you! When are you coming to the family reunion, and when are you leaving? We are trying to plan a trip to see Roy's dad while we are there and want to figure out when the best time is.

I'll start: I decided to fly to Charlotte with the kiddos and Roy will be driving our van and meeting us there. I'll arrive Sunday the 13th in the evening and then Roy will probably get there anytime Tuesday-Thursday (not sure yet when he'll be leaving Davis) We'll most likely be leaving Tuesday the 22nd. And how about you Christie? And Lindsey? And Aaron? And mom and dad? Your answers are appreciated!

Gross

I woke up to a lovely sight this morning. Thousands of ants in two trails from my balcony to my kitchen. I'm talking trails that were 3 or 4 ants wide, not just a small trail. One trail was focusing on the fruit near the trash can and the other trail was focused on the washing machine. Now, I know, you are probably thinking "hey, you should clean your house". Yes, I should. But it isn't even that messy. Yesterday I never got around to sweeping the kitchen like I usually do several times a day. And I didn't get around to vacuuming the living room, but it's not like it was that dirty. And yesterday was the first day in a week that we didn't do the dishes or wipe down the counters before bed. And this is the FIRST time this has EVER happened while living here. We often get a handful of ants in the bathroom, looking for water, but never in the kitchen! Ugh, so gross. Now my house reeks of bug spray (which it's lucky we even had - I hate to use it and I don't even remember when I bought it) which I wouldn't usually use, but how else do you kill a ton of ants before your son gets eaten by them??

We didn't even go to bed till midnight last night and Blaise woke up at 6 this morning - those ants are really fast!

And, if you are wondering, we spent the day doing far more important things than cleaning. For instance, I grumped around the house till noon and finally got dressed when Blaise went down for a nap and then we went to the river and came home that exhausted and dirty and fairly miserable. And after the kids went to bed I spent 3 hours packing and planning stuff. See, far too busy to clean. :)

Out of respect for my mother-in-law...

...I will respond to a tag, just this once.

5 things I did 10 years ago
1. Graduated high school.
2. Started college at Cal State Fullerton (mathematics major).
3. Almost got arrested for misuse of a laser pointer and a Geo Metro.
4. Went to my first LAN party.
5. Bred rodents.


5 things on my list for tomorrow (Ashley is dictating this to me)
1. Clean out my office (at school).
2. Take out the trash.
3. Bathe the kids, as usual.
4. Dishes.
5. Pack (maybe).


5 favorite snacks/food
1. Oatmeal
Instant oatmeal blended to a fine powder, then mixed with cold milk, peanut butter, cinnamon, and Splenda. This is also Blaise's favorite.
2. Quesadillas
Canned refried beans pureed to a fine mush, then mixed with Taco Bell hot sauce and shredded cheese between two tortillas, baked. Or sour cream instead of the beans.
3. Buffalo Chicken Strips with Bleu Cheese Dressing
Chicken breast meat processed to a fine pulp, then... just kidding.
4. Mushroom Pizza
Or, more specifically, Papa John's pizza with chicken and mushrooms, if I could afford it.
5. Olive Garden
Just about anything from Olive Garden.


5 things I would do if I were a billionaire
1. Papa John's!
2. Free up enough time to write several books.
3. Get a proper bathroom with a bidet!
4. Have more kids.
5. I don't know, mostly donate it away, but very strategically.


5 bad habits
1. Reading blogs.
2. Getting behind on dishes.
3. Obsessing over things.
4. See #3.
5. See #3.


5 places I have lived
1. Flint, MI.
2. Anaheim, CA.
3. Argentina.
4. Fullerton, CA.
5. Irvine, CA.


People I tag
I abstain.

Happy Father's Day

Since I feel like I was a total slacker for Father's Day this year, I thought I should at least write a bit about some of the fathers in my life.



My pops always works so hard for his family and still finds time to be a great dad and grandpa! My mom has been here for a few days for Roy's graduation (oh yeah, I should post about that) but my dad wasn't able to come and we sure miss him!
Some of my favorite memories of my dad:

It always made me feel so good to know that he was such a good member of the church. He was in the bishopric most of my childhood, and having him on the stand being an example to everyone else always made me feel good. And it was comforting to know that he could give me priestood blessings when I needed them, and he often gave us "back to school" blessings.

He worked in the summer in the melon sheds (he was a HS teacher and with 8 kids we needed extra income in the summer) and he'd come home smelling like melons. Whenever I smell a cantaloupe I think of my dad!

He's supportive of decisions that I've made as an adult, but he also gives advice when he can see that it is needed.

If he lays down for more than 2 minutes he'll fall asleep....usually with the tv on. But if you try to take the remote control from him he'll wake up and say "hey, I'm awake".





And, my other favorite dad, the father of my kiddos! When Rae was born Roy wasn't quite sure what to do, but he was very willing to learn! He was even the one who changed her first poopy diaper! And now he's a diaper changing, getting kids baths and bed, kid chasing, wrestling dad that is so much fun!



By the time Blaise came along Roy had a pretty good idea of what he was doing, and he was much more willing to get Blaise down for naps and to sleep at night so that I wouldn't have to be a human pacifier. He makes Blaise's favorite food (oatmeal) better than I can and is quick to get him in the tub after he's smeared it all over his hair. Man oh man, I love this father and how much effort he puts into making our life happy!

Roy's dad hasn't really been part of his life but we've recently started talking to him and visited him last fall. We'll see him again in a few weeks and it's nice to know that he's there for us when we need him and is making an effort into trying to make up for lost years.

Roy's mom married a great guy a few years ago, and he's a fun grandpa and the kids really like him. When we got married I didn't have a father-in-law, so it's been fun to have this role filled!

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there!

La la la...

Zion, Zion, Beautiful Zion

Here it is...the moment you all have been waiting for! We are moving to:

Kirksville, Missouri!


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Roy will be starting in August as a Visiting Assistant Professor in Mathematics at Truman State University. It is a one year position but might be renewable for a few more years. It will be quite a change, but we are excited! More details to come, when we get everything figured out! :)

Okay, one more...Papababy!

This one is my favorite!

Omababy

Cute picture

I found this picture the other day when I was going through boxes. These are most of my cousins on my dad's side of the family. I thought my family would enjoy seeing it! Anyone know what year this is? I'm guessing 97 or so?

Headed home

We've been in Las Vegas the past week. I'm in the airport right now, enjoying the free wireless (aren't you glad most airports have that now?). Roy took the kiddos for a walk. We've been up since 3:30 this morning to catch our 6:30 flight. Not fun. The kiddos have been super sick all week, so our "vacation" wasn't very relaxing. My in-law's new house is nice and big, so the kids had fun just running around. They started filling up their pool on Saturday, so by Monday there was enough water to swim in, but it was actually too cold to swim! Can you believe that? I definitely did not come to Vegas expecting "spring" weather. I even had to have Roy bring jackets and pants when he came a couple days after us. It rained on Friday and was windy the rest of the week. We swam a bit on Monday and Tuesday, but it was so cold!

We probably aren't going to have internet for a while (long story), so that's why I'm blogging now. Roy had a crazy week last week with two interviews and one phone interview. And then he had phone interview yesterday too. Schools are in a hurry to hire people now, so everything happens a bit faster than earlier in the job hunt. He doesn't have many more weeks left for interviewing, so hopefully he gets something good soon. He did get one offer but had to turn it down because it wouldn't have been a good place for him. More details on that later. We are trying to be a little more discreet with everything now, so that we don't have to explain or justify our choices to anyone.

Anyway, the kids seem to be feeling a bit better each day, so hopefully they'll be back to normal by the weekend. We are looking forward to Roy being done with interviewing and school! Graduation is on the 12th and my mom and in-laws will be here, so that should be fun! We are putting in our 6-week notice today, so that gives me 6 weeks to start packing...I don't like to think about that though!

This has been a random post. Hard to focus in here. Hopefully I'll get a chance to blog while we are without internet.

(View from Baerbel's back balcony)

Grannybaby

By popular demand:

Manbabies

Oh man.

Not so bad

Yesterday turned out to be a pretty decent day. Blaise never took a nap but made it till 6:30 without any "tired tantrums". Roy came home at 3 and helped me get the kids ready to go to the pool, but on our way out to the car I decided it was just way to windy and not warm enough. But our neighbor had set up her slip and slide so we went and played with her. Rae wasn't willing to get wet until I started getting wet first. That's right, I did the slip and slide! It was so much fun! I hurt myself the first few times, but then I became a pro and then Rae really got into it too. Blaise even liked it. It was fun to act like a kid! After we all got tired of that Rae played with the neighbor (who is a lot older than her - which I love, because they don't fight and she gets Rae to go along with her pretend games) and Blaise and I hung out on the grass.

So, the middle of the day was miserable, but it ended on a good note!

Yuck

It's hot and WINDY today. I can handle the heat, because at least we can go swimming, but really strong winds make it hard to do much of anything.

And I even turned on my air the past two days. Ugh...here comes summer!

As I type Rae is setting up the "sacrament" on the bed behind me. Roy prepares the sacrament every week and she's seen the "behind the scene" a few times.
Here are a few pictures - some from the other day when she did this and one from today. She usually covers the bread with a towel after she breaks it into pieces.

Why I love this time of year...

...lots of yummy fruit! In our house at the moment we have a watermelon, 4lbs of strawberries (thank you Costco!) oranges, bananas, cherries (yay, they are finally in season and only 99 cents a pound!) and yesterday we polished off a cantaloupe. It's easy to eat healthy when you've got lots of fruit for snacks instead of other junk.

Now I'm looking forward to the plums, nectarines and peaches! We live in a great part of the country for yummy produce!

Happy Birthday Aaron!

My lil' bro turns 23 today! He just graduated from BYU and is going to go to Law School now - pretty impressive resume for a 23 year old don't ya think? Happy Birthday!!

Duh

I can't believe I couldn't remember the other recommendation I wanted to make - it was the reason I wanted to write the post in the first place! I highly recommend the book:

1,2,3 Magic



Even if you don't want to follow the discipline plan that it lays out, it's a good book that gives a lot of good insights into a child's mind. For our current situation it is working really well. I think with all parenting you can't get too stuck on any one type of idea or method and you have to be willing to change it up when things are working.

But, for now, it is making life with Rae a whole lot easier. This is a good method for people like me who get way to emotional while trying to discipline and who tend to try to reason with their child which results in arguing and then yelling. Using this method you give no reasons and no explanations (unless absolutely needed). I don't know really how to explain it, but if you are feeling out of control with your child and you fight everyday, definitely read this book!

And, there's a second section about how to get your kids to do what they are supposed to do (getting ready for the day, doing homework, getting ready for bed, chores, etc) The other method is for getting your child to STOP doing what bad behavior they are doing, and the rest of the book talks about how to get you child to START doing good behaviors. I haven't read the second section yet. I'm really looking forward to reading it, because I get so impatient with Rae!

Anyway, the book is pretty short and is easy reading, so even if you don't think you need it, check it out and browse it a bit. (Oh, and it's for ages 2+)

Oh, and THANK YOU Rachel for telling me about this book!!

Happy parenting!

A few recommendations

Here are a few things I've been appreciating lately:

Huggies Overnight Diapers



Blaise used to nurse the entire night and would wake up sopping wet almost every morning. Now he drinks his water as he falls asleep and drinks it several times a night and used to wake up sopping wet. At Christmas my MIL gave me some Huggies overnights and we started using them recently (they are size 4, so he just got into that size) He has not had a leak since we started using them. He wakes up every morning with a diaper that weighs a ton but he never leaks! We only use them at nights, so they have lasted us a long time and when we run out we will spend the extra money to get some more - they are so worth it!

My mop. It's got a washable/replaceable head and it works really well. I don't mop very often (because I'm lazy, because the kids always spill something ridiculous right after I mop, and because my floor is crappy apartment floor that looks like the inside of a locker room and it looks dirty no matter what) and this mop can cut through all the grime and filth without a lot of effort. I really recommend it.

Immersion blenders. We use it for all sorts of stuff - pudding, soup, getting the chucks out of salsa for Roy, getting the chunks out of yogurt for Roy, getting the chunks out of healthy chunky spaghetti sauce (for Roy and the kids). It's quick to set up and quick to clean up. I got ours at Walmart for 10 bucks. Later on I found on on clearance with a few extra features, so I got that one for 15 bucks, and although the extra features were nice, it didn't seem to work as well, and now it's already broken. But our original one is still going strong! Love it!

Ugh, there was something else and now I can't remember!! I'll update later when I remember. Anyway, just some random stuff I was thinking about.

Life is good

Things are going pretty smoothly around here (knock on wood). No one is sick, the house is staying reasonably clean, Roy and I are continuing to lose weight, I'm starting to exercise more often, and even started riding my bike! I conquered my fear and hit the road with my friend's bike trailer last week and rode to the church for "music makers"! I am quite proud of myself. And then the next day I rode to a meeting at the church, and today I rode to my Weight Watchers meeting, which is twice as far as the church. It was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be and I look forward to doing it again next week. Unfortunately, my friend with the bike trailer is moving this week, so that won't be an option anymore (unless I get one for myself) I probably should have jumped on the whole bike trailer thing when I first moved here, but I don't think I would have been able to do it.

Ummm, I got side-tracked and lost my train of thought. Here are some recent pictures:

Rae loves to read to Blaise. After a couple of times of reading a book she knows it well enough to re-tell it to Blaise. What a sweet sister.

We will often go into the kid's room to find them in odd positions. These two pictures were taken at the same time - weird kids!

Roy and I were in the bedroom and Blaise came in screaming and looking like this! Roy checked for cuts while I dashed into the kitchen to see what he cut himself on, only to discover he had gotten into some ketchup on the table (thank goodness) You sure fooled us Blaise, good one!

My love/hate issues:

1. I love our van. It's great to have extra space when we go on long drives and it's nice to be able to drive friends around. But sometimes I wish we still had our little car for the little everyday errands. Why? Because I spent $70 on gas today! And the tank wasn't even all the way empty! Ahhh! And it stinks, because all of the cheaper, better shopping is 10-25 miles away.

Which brings me to my next issue:

2. My neighbor found an old bike and enjoys fixing them up, so he fixed it up and gave it to us. Since then I've been wanting to ride my bike around town to run errands (especially now that I've realized how much gas is costing us!). But I'm terrified. Seriously scared to even hit the streets. And Davis is like "bike city of America", super safe and convenient to ride your bike, but I just can't do it. Today Rae saw that someone rode their bike with their bike trailer to "music makers" and she was like "that would be a lot of fun to come in one of those". And I've wanted to borrow my neighbor's bike and bike trailer, but if I can't even handle me on the streets, no way I can handle me and the kids. Sigh.

3. My hair. I like short, trendy, easy-to-deal-with haircuts, but they aren't as flattering on me as long styles, and I don't keep them trimmed and looking nice. I love my hair long right now because I can do a lot of things with it and it looks good. But, it takes a lot of effort to have it look nice. And now that it's starting to get warmer I find myself putting it in a pony tail more often. So what's the point of long hair if it's just in a ponytail? Oh, and sheesh, it's been so windy lately that there's NOTHING I can do with it. Which brings me to my next issue:

4. The weather. I love that it's starting to warm up outside. We've even been playing in the pool a bit. But most of the days it's pretty windy, which I've mentioned before that I cannot stand. But it's the wind that keeps it from being too hot. And when the weather is great we spend most of the day outside and never get anything done inside. When it's yucky outside I tend to get more done. I guess pretty soon it will be TOO hot outside, so we'll be inside more often. I guess I should just slap on some chap stick, pull my hair back and endure the wind!

I started this post like a week ago. I wasn't sure if I was going to even bother finishing it because it's so random and pointless! But here it is...no comments necessary, just venting.

Coupon

So I got this coupon in the mail for Shop Taste of Home (we ordered some cookbooks from there before). They have a lot of cool stuff, but nothing that we need right now (especially since we are moving soon and I don't want more stuff to move) and they have a lot of gadgets that I'd love but definitely can't justify right now. So, anyway, the coupon is good for 20% off your order and free shipping. It expires June 30th. If you go to the website and see something you want (maybe a good Mother's Day present) let me know and I'll give you the code. I just can't let 20% off and free shipping go to waste!

Rae's speech

Can you tell Rae's speech classes are really working?


Just kidding. She was just being silly. We really are enjoying speech classes and Rae seems to enjoy learning what words really sound like.

Race for the Cure

I'm going to be participating in the Komen Sacramento Race for the Cure in May. I'm being lazy and just doing the 1 mile walk/run so that Roy and the kiddos can come but don't have to hang around forever while I crawl the 5k. Anyway, if you'd like to make a donation, just visit my page. Any small amount will be appreciated!

Stuff

"The Office" was great :) Too short though! I wish it was an hour long! I just started watching The Office in September (when I visited my sis - thanks Katie and Chad for forcing us to watch) so I watched the first seasons in just a few months and now it's going to be hard to wait a whole week for another episode. I did the same type of thing with "Heroes" and it's been torture not having it to watch now.

It's kind of windy here today, and I hate being outside in the wind, so I'm trying to think of somewhere we can go indoors. I feel like Rae and Blaise are at a good age and I can take them out for the entire day without going crazy. When Blaise was a baby and slept a lot we'd go out and spend the day going to different stores and stuff. Then when he got older and didn't sleep so much I stopped. Then when he got a little older and was fascinated by sitting up in the stroller or shopping cart, we'd do a bit more. But then he started walking and wouldn't sit still, so he hated the shopping cart. Now he still can't sit still, but he's more willing to. And Rae is doing better with not wetting her pants (we had a bad week last week) so I feel like we can just go out and stay out for hours. Maybe we'll hit a mall with a play area or something. Our Sam's Club membership expired last week or else I'd go there. We want to get Costco this time, but we need to make sure there's one wherever we move. All the good shopping is a good 20-30 minute drive, so I always have to hit multiple stores to make it worth while.

Anyway, ramble post. I was just thinking about how, as the kids get older, how much fun we can have. We can do more crafts and cooking now, and do more "full day" activities. Kinda makes me less anxious to get pregnant. I'm just enjoying our life being so stable and quiet and I don't want to throw pregnancy in there! But I also want Blaise to have a sibling that is fairly close in age. Anyway, I don't really like to share so much about our decisions to get pregnant or not to get pregnant, so I'm going to stop now. :)

Oh, Roy had a phone interview yesterday for another school in Georgia. This one is even closer to you guys in Charlotte! It's about 15 minutes from Atlanta. We'll keep you updated.

Tonight is the night...

...that "The Office" returns! Am I pathetic or what? :)

Happy Birthday Daddy-o!

Today is my dad's birthday! Rae wanted to make him a cake and drive to Blythe to take it to him. I told her we were just there and that it is a long drive and she said "but I will just play with my toys in the van and then when it gets dark I'll just sleep". Ah, if only that drive were that easy!

But I do wish we could make him a cake and take it to him. My dad is amazing and Rae just thinks he is the coolest papa in the world. We love you! Hope you have a great day! (I read your comment on Katie's blog, and I'm sorry you are sick!) :(

There's no Georgia either

Valdosta chose someone else. I'll probably be taking a "visiting" (2-3 year) position; it'll help build up my teaching experience, which is really where I'm weakest since I'm teaching for the first time right now.

Not so much with the blogging lately

I don't know if I've lost interest in blogging or if there are just things I'd rather do, or if I got so behind that I feel like I have to catch up before I can move on!
But blogging is good journaling for me, so I'm going to try to get back into the habit. When the kids do/say cute things I can't remember them unless I write them down. They've been doing/saying a lot of cute things lately and I want to share them!

Blaise talks a bunch! He repeats a lot of the words we say and rambles a lot. We went to the Stake Center this morning to *try* to watch conference, and Blaise was so loud and talkative!! It was happy jabber, but it wasn't making the people around us very happy. We made it through the first hour okay but the second hour was torture. We are defintely not going back for the second session! Maybe I'll try to listen to it in the bedroom. We need the BYU channel!

Rae starts speech therapy tomorrow. Someday I'll write about the specifics of her problems, but to sum it up: she needs to go twice a week because her problem is severe. It's weird because I can't imagine in my head the way she pronounces things. For example, how does she say cup? I hear it as "cup" because that's what I know she is saying. But, she actually says it "tup". So I didn't realize how severe her problem was, because in my mind it sounds right. But there are words I can't understand at all, especially when she has never said them before. But the therapist said her vocabulary is good. Her grammar isn't always very good but she thinks that may be because of her speech problems (she just tries to get everything out as simply as possible). Anyway, I'm hoping all goes well and we see some improvements in the next few months!

I haven't cut my hair yet. I'm still thinking about it and deciding how exactly I want it done. Thanks for all the advice you all gave me! Very helpful!

Here are a few pictures from Easter. I'll send the rest out on shutterfly (really, I will this time!) plus some pictures from our quick trip to Blythe. Again, if you don't receive those pictures and would like to, let me know!

Rae is so happy about her yellow egg!

Roy gets really creative when he colors eggs. I've learned to make sure that there are plenty for him!
Blaise just colored.

At our ward Easter picnic. Rae was great at flying a kite!

Our Easter egg hunt after church. All hidden so carefully!

You know - the obligatory family picture! Please ignore the un-centered pictures in the background! I was working on re-doing them and then got side-tracked and then decided we were moving soon, so what was the point!?

Rae got lots of cool stuff in her eggs. She's stylin'!

Hanging out in the grass after church.

There are lots of pictures of me in a tree - so why not Roy too?

What do you think?

I'm getting tired of my current hair style. I don't want to go short like I usually do when it starts getting warm out. I just want something more interesting and flattering. I'm thinking of just doing some layering but keeping the length I have right now. But I'm also considering bangs. I know that bangs can be bothersome, especially when you want to grow them out, but I really need a change to my look.

So, give me your opinion on this look:

There is no Arizona...

...no painted desert, no Sedona...

That's right, Roy did not get the job at ASU. I am heartbroken, but I'm getting over it. No offers from anyone else so far. We'll just keep praying and waiting!

Gotta get one!

USB pregnancy test. Oh man. It also doubles as a fertility monitor.

So behind

I'm behind on everything - pictures, updates, witty things I thought of to blog about. Sigh. We will be sending out our Shutterfly pictures tomorrow or Monday, so if you don't already receive those from us and would like to, let me know. That will show you what's been going on around here. The kids are really growing up and we've captured some cute things they've been up to. So, seriously, you'll want to see these pictures!

What else is new?

Roy - Just got done with winter quarter. The class he TA'd had a final this morning. He finished grading the papers this afternoon and now he just has to enter the grades on Monday and then he doesn't have anything going on till next Monday! Woo hoo! We thought about going to Blythe, but there's a lot going on here and making a trip is probably too much right now. I'm bummed, but oh well. Anyway, I was taking about Roy...umm...oh yeah, he's going to be teaching a class spring quarter.

Ashley - I've been busy with church stuff. I'm on the Enrichment Committee and the Activities Committee and both groups have been busy. We had a big Easter picnic today. It was a huge success (right, you guys?) and a ton of fun. And for Enrichment, I was in charge of a swap meet last week that was a lot of work. There was a TON of stuff and now I have to find a way to get it all to Deseret Industries. It took quite a few hours just to bag/box it up and put in the stage in the cultural hall. Whew. And then coming up this week we are having a big "quarterly" Enrichment that I'll be helping out with. It's good to stay busy though.

Rae - Just finished her first ballet class. It was only four classes long and she missed one class when she was sick. She had fun with it, but she said she didn't want to sign up for more. Which is okay with me - that's 30 bucks we save! :)
She is starting speech therapy in a few weeks. It's through the school district and I really really like the teacher that will be working with her. I'm really excited about the whole thing - especially that we'll be able to understand her better! I took her to Supercuts a few weeks ago and got her hair cut kind of short. It's cute and it's a lot easier to do.

Blaise - Man oh man, this boy is starting to talk so much! He mimics most of the words we say, and is pretty good at telling us what he wants. He's so cute! He's sleeping well, eating well, playing well. (Doesn't always nap so well though. Well, if you can get him to go to sleep, he'll stay asleep - but it's hard to get him to settle down!)

I'm starting to not be able to form sentences! I think it's bedtime! I'll post stuff about Easter tomorrow!

Oh Yeah...

One more: "Tales From the Crib" is doing one of their "freebies". Go and make a comment and you are entered into their drawing.

Yum

Just saw this on Slickdeals - sign up for this Black Angus Prime Club and get a free dessert. You also get a free dinner for your birthday. Too bad mine is not till Dec!

Bryce-a-roni

So my baby brother isn't a baby anymore. He's 18, just had his Eagle court of honor and just got accepted into college! Way to go Bryce! Next week he'll sell his last pig for 4-H - good luck with that! And a year from now he'll probably be off on his mission! Maybe I'll try to have another baby before he leaves so he doesn't have too many new nieces and nephews to catch up on when he gets home!

You're an awesome guy Bryce - keep up the good work!

Ashley:

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The West   Your accent is the lowest common denominator of American speech. Unless you're a SoCal surfer, no one thinks you have an accent. And really, you may not even be from the West at all, you could easily be from Florida or one of those big Southern cities like Dallas or Atlanta.
The Midland
Boston
North Central
The Northeast
Philadelphia
The Inland North
The South
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Roy:

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North   You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Midland
The Northeast
Philadelphia
The South
The West
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Ducks and naps

We have a couple of nesting mother ducks right outside of our apartment (kinda like last year). Yesterday Blaise decided to charge one of them, and by the time I got to him, she had made him regret his insolence:


As for today, this is what happens at 6 PM when Blaise hasn't taken a nap:

P.S.: We are really behind on sending pictures out. It's on the to-do list.

Arizona

I suppose it should be mentioned, for those who don't know, that I visited ASU Polytechnic last Monday through Wednesday. It was great, except that I had severe vomiting on Monday night and Tuesday morning. I think the hiring committee members were understanding, though. (Also, I never actually threw up in front of them, which is a plus.)

On a lighter note

Take this quiz...it's fun. I don't if there are that many people that read my blog that haven't already seen this on my sister's blog but I wanted to post it anyway.

I hate being sick!

I can handle it okay when the kids are sick, but when I'm sick too - that's when it is just unbearable!! I'll break down the barf fest for you:

Thursday 11:30pm Rae pukes in bed. Poor thing tried to wipe it off with a tissue. Got her cleaned up and got in bed with her to try to catch anymore puke that might be coming. She drank a bunch of water and then promptly threw that up. Cleaned her up again and put her back to bed. She slept really well after that. Roy had used some questionable jelly on her PB&J sandwich earlier in the day, and joked that if she threw up we would know the jelly was bad. So we figured that was why she was puking. In the morning she seemed fine and ate a ton of breakfast too quickly. She threw up again. Then she really seemed fine, so we went about our day, playing at the playground (sorry everyone that she played with!!) and everything. Later in the afternoon she was complaining that she didn't feel very good and we all took naps. (I still thought she wasn't very sick, just really tired from being up the night before) That night she and Blaise had a bit of diarrhea.

Saturday we were all okay. Then Saturday evening Blaise threw up twice. In the morning he seemed fine and we were all getting ready for church and he threw up again. And then Rae started complaining that she didn't feel well. So we all stayed home from church. At noon it hit me (it probably would have hit me sooner, but I was fasting and as soon as I ended my fast and ate something it all came out!) I had the runs all afternoon and then when I tried to get up to get some fresh air I threw up. I stayed in bed the rest of the day. Not a very peaceful Sabbath.

And today? We are all a little slow and feeling yucky. Rae has been complaining all day about stomach pain, and just now she headed to the bathroom with the runs. I think that made her feel a lot better. She just had a Pedialyte popsicle and she's a lot perkier now. I have a ton to do but no energy to do it. Roy is gone proctoring a midterm and as soon as he gets home we are taking him to the airport. He's going to ASU and will be home Wed evening. The house is a mess and I just want to sleep all day. I know everything will be fine. I know I can get the house cleaned up tonight or tomorrow, and I know life is still pretty good. Luckily Roy hasn't been sick (so far - I did make sure he packed some anti-diarrhea medicine just in case) so he was able to take care of us and prepare for his interview (probably not as well as he would have liked). Hopefully we'll be back to normal by the time he gets home! Wish us luck!

Let's see....

What's new? I went to the dentist today. It had been almost 6 years since my last visit...yikes, huh? But I didn't have any cavities! Seriously, don't even bother brushing, because cavities are a fluke that happen to some people and not others. :) I'm the world's biggest candy junkie and I usually only brush my teeth once a day (but don't be grossed out when you see me next time, because I'm starting to brush them twice a day!!) I do need to work on flossing though, because my gums are pretty sensitive and the dentist said I need to be careful or I'll get a gum disease.

She also said I need to get my wisdom teeth removed. I've been trying to read about this a bit because I'm not entirely sure that I do. I mean, I'm going to get a second opinion and find out why they really need removed. The dentist I went to didn't give me a reason. I didn't exactly ask for one (my mind hadn't fully wrapped itself around the whole idea until later in the day) but I thought that if there was some specific reason, she would have told me. They made me an appt with the oral surgeon for two weeks from now and I'm most likely going to cancel it. For one, I don't have time to go to the dentist again. Two, Roy doesn't have time to take care of me. Three, that doesn't give me enough time to see another dentist beforehand. My friend said that one dentist told her she needed them removed and that she need 9 fillings, and then she went to her childhood dentist and he said that wasn't true. That happened to another friend of mine too. What's the deal with that? I wish I could go to MY childhood dentist - he was the best!

One problem is that I want to get pregnant sometime soon, so what if during my pregnancy my wisdom teeth suddenly start acting up? Do you think there is a good chance of that happening? They've been in for several years, so what are the chances of them acting up now? Ugh, all the questions I should have asked the dentist!! I am the worst about not asking enough questions.

I didn't mean for this entire post to be about my wisdom teeth! Any advice/criticism is welcome!

Advice

I got a waffle iron the other day, and now I need a good recipe for waffles. I looked some up online and tried one, but I wasn't too impressed with it and I don't want to waste my time trying recipe after recipe. What I want is a whole wheat recipe with substitutions like applesauce instead of oil. Anyone happen to have one like that? And I want them to turn out nice and crispy on the outside. Do you have to beat the egg whites and fold them in to get them to turn out like that? Any advice would be so appreciated!

Another thing I need some advice about: I want to start working out with workout videos. The only time that I can workout is at night or while the kids are around and lately I just don't feel like going out when it's dark and cold at night. Anyone have any "favorites". More importantly, do you have any I could borrow and try out? I might go to the library sometime and see if they have any.

Thanks in advance!

Happy Birthday Katie!

Today is (one of) my big sister's birthday! Hope you have a great day and get to relax a bit. Sorry I stole the pic off your blog, but this was the only picture I had of you:



This picture is Katie preparing to pose for her own self portrait. Apparently putting your mouth like that before you smile makes for a good picture. She would know - she's the best picture poser in the world.

Catching up

On Friday we drove up Interstate 80 and hit the first place to play in the snow. There are a bunch of state run snow parks up the 80. We decided Friday morning to do it, so we were prepared, but we didn't have a sled or anything. We figured Rae would be too scared to sled. But there wasn't much else to do. The snow was really hard and we could hardly build a snowman, and Rae couldn't do a snow angel :( And Blaise hated it. But at least Rae got to see some snow and she loved to eat it. Here are a few pictures:



Rae and her snowman



Blaise showing his disgust for the snow.




"Seriously you guys, I want to leave!"



"Yay, we are leaving!"

Got behind again

When I get behind on blogging I never feel like trying to catch up. Especially since I feel like I'm just trying to keep caught up on every other aspect of my life. Ugh.

A few "updates":

Blaise is finally starting to get better. I don't think I ever mentioned this, but it turned out that he did not have pinkeye. I'm pretty sure he had a sinus infection, maybe even an ear infection. But it was so off and on that I never knew if I should call the doctor. And, if I did go to the doctor and they told me it was an infection, I was going to let it run its course without antibiotics anyway, so what's the point? Hindsight - I probably should have gone to the doctor for peace of mind. But now he has no more fevers, no eye goop, not as much nose goop and he coughs less. Actually, coughing is his only symptom really. He has this horrible cough at night...but it's improving, so I'm not worried. He's sleeping well despite the cough. I think that once he feels completely better he'll be a great sleeper. Oh yeah, and he got his two top molars and now he's working on his bottom molars. Poor little guy.

Rae is growing up so much. Everyday she says something that I want to blog about! Today we were in the car and we were discussing something and she said "okay mom, if you say so". We've been reading the Book of Mormon every night and she's starting to recall stories from it. Unfortunately though, she now talks about swords cutting people and being able to stand in fire and not get burned. She likes to try to be a little mother to Blaise, but he will have nothing to do with it.

As for me, umm, I'm just trying to survive everything. :) I'm managing Roy's traveling - but just barely. I'm still doing Weight Watchers, and I FINALLY hit my 10 pound mark! Hopefully I'll be more disciplined this month and lose more consistently.

So, my visiting teachers came while I was writing this and I lost my train of thought. That's all for now I guess. :)

Valdosta

For Valentine's Day last week, I spent the day in Valdosta, Georgia. I didn't have time to take any pictures, but the one above gives a pretty good example of what the nicer parts of the city look like (lots of Spanish moss and azaleas). I hear there are also a lot of alligators in Valdosta; one professor told me that an eight-footer had recently gotten into the pond on his property. Speaking of which, the cost of living there is amazing(ly low).

I'd like to avoid giving too many details, but I really enjoyed the university. The pictures on this webpage show very accurately what the campus looks like.

Happy Birthday Lindsey!

I know you are having a crappy day so far...hope it gets better! I'll try to give you a call tonight. If I lived nearby I'd babysit for you!!



Ahh...remember what it was like to be young :)

Utah schools

Got back from my (long) trip to BYU on Saturday. Spent an evening with the Utah Jeppsons. On Saturday morning I had some extra time, so I went to the SLC temple and also took some pictures of "the U" that I couldn't the first time.


We now have UofU and BYU magnets on the 'fridge, right next to each other. It's a beautiful thing.

Real quick

I finally uploaded the pictures from my personal camera, and found this one of my mom opening her GPS that all of her kids got her for Christmas. Thought I'd share it so my siblings that weren't there could see her reaction.

BIG BOY!

So, Roy left today and I decided to take matters into my own hands and make some changes around here! :) I posted our crib on craigslist: "Free if you come and disassemble it". I got a phone call within 10 minutes and within 30 minutes after that the crib was gone! Yay! I then proceeded to assemble the toddler bed we bought a couple of weeks ago. I managed to do a pretty good job without killing the "helpful" children! Here's a picture of Blaise sleeping blissfully in it.



Now, you'll remember that I have weaned him now, so at night we usually get him to sleep by rocking him in the dark. But, tonight I told him to climb into bed and go to sleep, and he did! He fussed a little and messed around a little, but he stayed lying down the whole time and fell asleep within 10 minutes! I'm truly shocked. And then he didn't even stir when I put Rae to bed a few minutes later. What a peaceful night to end a not-so-peaceful day. Oh, did I mention that the kids have pinkeye? It'll be fun to do eye drops every 3 hours without any help! Just 68 more hours to go without Roy! Sigh.

Our trip

So, as Roy mentioned, we went down to Yorba Linda for his mom's 60th (!) birthday party. We arrived late Thursday night and went straight to the hotel that his mom had so generously provided for us. :) Friday morning the kids and I went to Dennys for breakfast so Roy could get some more sleep. Then we all went to Target to pick up little things we had forgotten. After Baerbel (Roy's mom), Dale (her husband) and Sonja (Roy's sister) got done getting their nails done we all went to the Santa Ana Zoo. It's a great little zoo, and the weather was amazing. Then we went out to lunch and dropped Roy and Blaise off at the hotel for a nap (just for Blaise) and hung out at Sonja's house.

Saturday morning we all went to Dennys for breakfast again. Barb and Dale took off to get some glamor shots done. We just chilled and dinked around all morning. Roy took the kids to the park in the afternoon and then we all got ready for the party. We went to Claim Jumper for dinner (YUM!) and then back to Sonja's house for cake and ice cream. It was fun. And Barb was all dolled up for her pictures!

Sunday we went to Sacrament mtg and then hung out at Sonja's house all afternoon. Rae had a blast with her cousin Catrina, and Blaise loved the cats they have and all the toys. It was a lot of fun. We left around 3:30 and the kids were asleep by 4:00! Rae slept the ENTIRE trip and Blaise slept till 6 and then was back asleep by 7 and slept the rest of the way. It was a great trip home. We are glad to be back, but sad that Roy is leaving us tomorrow :(

Rae started a "mommy and me" preschool today. She liked it a lot. I get to host next week. She's going to the doctor in a few minutes to check on a possible bladder infection or UTI or something. I'll update later about that.

Blaise is an AMAZING sleeper now that he is weaned. He is a much heavier sleeper and he slept 8 hours straight last night!!!! WOOOOOO HOOOO! Then I got him back to sleep in his crib at 3:30 and he slept till 4:30 and then I just brought him to bed with me. He didn't get up till 7 this morning, and he still took a 1 1/2 hour nap this afternoon. And this is all while teething! I'm loving it and just enjoying it while it lasts!

Anyway, I better get going to the doctor. I'll post some pics from our trip tonight.

Black and White Blaise

We went to SoCal for my mom's birthday. Blaise and Rae were photogenic. Going to BYU tomorrow and another school next week, so I bet the Wrightblogging will remain light for a while.