Tuesday, April 08, 2008

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!) :(


Monday, April 07, 2008

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.

Sunday, April 06, 2008

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?

Thursday, April 03, 2008

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:

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

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!

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Gotta get one!


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

Saturday, March 22, 2008

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!

Friday, March 21, 2008

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!

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

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!

Monday, March 17, 2008

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

Friday, March 14, 2008

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.

Monday, March 10, 2008

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.)

Monday, March 03, 2008

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!

Thursday, February 28, 2008

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!

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

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!

Monday, February 25, 2008

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.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

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!"

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

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. :)