Your Prayers Please

I normally wouldn't do this, and not many people read this anyway, but there are a few things we are in need of your prayers for. The Monday before Thanksgiving, Cameron & I were in a car accident. Cameron and I are both fine, but the accident resulted in more damage to our van than it is worth to us to be repaired. Our van has been nothing but a money pit for the last year and we have been trying to save for a different vehicle only the have our money pit swallow our savings every time we get close. The problem is that we only have one vehicle and insurance wants us to make a decision by Monday the 8th what we are going to do. They will stop paying for the rental at which point we will have no vehicle (makes it tough to look for a vehicle). Brian's parents have been kind enough to loan us a beat up old truck of theirs they don't hardly ever use, but Cameron's car seat doesn't fit in it. So basically we have to find a vehicle that fits in our budget by tomorrow or shortly there after. We found one Saturday late afternoon that we really liked, but our mechanic was already closed and we didn't want to buy it with out having it checked out first (our van was a lemon despite looking excellent on paper). However, they wouldn't take a deposit to hold it for us. So it might have been sold. Anyway, if we could have some prayers sent our way to help us find a good reliable vehicle that is in our price range ASAP, we would really appreciate it.
The second thing I would like to ask prayers for is Brian's finals (he would kill me if he knew I was asking for this). Due to the accident and trying to take care of everything that it has involved, including the arduous task of finding a new vehicle, Brian hasn't had nearly the amount of time he has felt he needs to do well on his finals. He has been such a support over the last few weeks, but I know that he is really worried about his finals and the lack of time he has had to study for them. He has next over the next 5 days and they are all brutal and he really hasn't had much time to study properly. So if there could be any prayers sent his way to help ease his mind and help improve the effectiveness of the time that he does have left to study I know that we would both appreciate it a lot.
We hope all of you are still in the school part of your lives will have the Spirit to guide your studying and to give you peace to know that your very best will be good enough. Happy finals prepping and yay for when it is all done!

Grateful for the Season

We had a really amazing Thanksgiving. I know that Thanksgiving has passed, but I didn't write anything about it so now I will. We had our first Thanksgiving with out extended family this year. We hosted at our house and invited two other families from our ward to come. I baked three pies, two pumpkin & one apple cranberry, the night before. The day of we got the turkey ready, made stuffing from scratch, cut/peeled/boiled/mashed nearly 10 lbs of mashed potatoes (most of which were not consumed), open two cans of corn, and made gravy from the turkey drippings. We managed only to run one hour behind schedule, which is pretty amazing considering Cameron was not happy with the lack of attention he was getting. the two other families brought several side dishes and deserts each and the was so much good food it was very hard to choose what to eat. One of the families we invited are vegetarian. It was funny because when I invited them they said they would love to join us so long as we wouldn't be offended if they brought tofurkey. I responded that I would be at all offended so long as they wouldn't be offended if I didn't try any. Cameron however, when he saw it sliced up thought that it looked like a cookie and wanted to try some. I really wish that I had a camera in my hand to capture the face he pulled when he realized that the little tastes I gave him was not a cookie. After we ate we talked at let our stomachs digest and settle our food a little before we attempted desserts. We had lots to choose from and they were all delicious. We feel so blessed to have been able to spend such a wonderful Thanksgiving with such great people.
We are greatly looking forward to Christmas and have already started to do somethings in preparations for all the festivities that come with the holiday that celebrates our Savior's birth. After going on a vocal music hiatus of almost a year and a half (choirs meeting times didn't work with our family schedule for a while) I have come back with a bang. I was going to sing at the ward Christmas social, but was at the tail end of a cold and bypassed that. However, Wednesday I am singing at our Christmas enrichment, Sunday I am singing two solo's and with the choir in the musical Christmas sacrament program in the morning and in the stake choir at our stake Christmas Music concert. I have been so grateful for these opportunities, music means so much to me and it truly has been spiritually uplifting for me to practise and rehearse and prepare for these performances. I think that I will be sad when they are done and the next big music thing won't be until Easter; which I may or may not be able to participate in depending on when peanut feels like joining our family. We hope you all have a merry Christmas and remember why this holiday is so special. Take the time to put Christ into your Christmas celebrations. His birth is celebrated because He lived His life & gave His life for us. I know that Christ is my Savior and yours and am so grateful for all that he did and continues to do for me and my family.

My Poor Little Guy

Cameron is sick again. He had just finished a round of antibiotics and had been feeling well for about a week when he picked up a bug from his aunt, who we have now discovered has an upper respiratory infection. Oh, and his pink eye came back as soon as he caught whatever it is he has. I am so tired of having sickness travel around my house like it were playing a game of bumper cars. My poor little guy is down and out with a fever in the 102 range, a terrible runny nose, a cough that makes his mommy cringe and labored breathing that makes her want to cry. We have had a weekend of long nights & I couldn't even get ahold of my pediatrician to get him an appointment. I am hoping to avoid antibiotics again, but I doubt that will happen. Anyway, any prayers that anyone feels like sending our way would be much appreciated.

I Survived Cameron's First Hair Cut, oh and he did too.

I will be the first to admit that I can be a bit dramatic about silly things. I can even admit to myself that it is silly for me to care as much as I do, but I still do care. Today I took Cameron to receive his first hair cut, unless you count the 2 times I have trimmed his bangs before. I must have talked myself out of and back into going at least a dozen times since I made the appointment Monday afternoon. And again, while I know that it is just hair (at least I know it in my head) I have struggled with the idea of getting his hair cut since the first time Brian started asking me when I was going to get it done around his first birthday.

I don't know what it is about Cameron's curly tresses that evoke so much emotion in me, and I am slightly ashamed, but not totally, to admit that this appointment had me in tears several times in the days leading up to it and in the car ride there. I guess to me, and most people who have seen Cameron or pictures of him, Cameron's curls are part of what makes him him. In fact, I almost backed out yesterday after lunch with Brian at school when we had at least a dozen people comment on how cute his curls were. It is not like I planned on chopping them off, and I didn't if you looked ahead at the pictures, just trimming them. I suppose to me a first hair cut is one of the many first steps Cameron takes to becoming a big boy and not just my baby boy anymore, and I was in charge of when this particular step took place. I wasn't sure if I was, or am for that matter, ready for Cameron to be on his way to being a big boy yet. I made sure to take lots of pictures, way too many actually, in the days leading up to the appointment and right before we left to help ease my troubled heart.

Here are a few of the before shots, front & back

Well, I made it to the place, talking myself through the whole drive. Telling myself things like "It is just hair"; "Cameron's hair cut does not change who he is"; "His hair really is curly a trim won't change that (I was mortified of the possibility that a trim might make his curls go away)"; and various other things of that nature. All the while, Cameron was oblivious to his mother's inner turmoil over such trivial matters as what his hair looks like and was thoroughly enjoying the cracker he was eating on the way. When we got there the staff was extremely friendly, both to Cameron and his barely able to compose herself mother. We went to a salon that only cuts children's hair & they had two cool truck seats for Cameron to choose from, it took him three times of changing his mind before he settled on the yellow one he eventually sat in. I apologize in advance to anyone who like the show that I I am about to mention. They had a TV with a Dora video on and the staff was amazed that Cameron had never seen Dora before (we don't watch TV). They expressed a sentiment that I too feel, that Dora is one of the most inane children's shows out there & that it addresses children as if they are imbeciles repeating everything several times as if once or even twice weren't enough. I felt bad for them that they have to have it on all the time, but that is what most kids watch these days so that is what they are stuck watching. Cameron was sucked into the TV, as he usually is since he doesn't get to watch it at home, but was quickly distracted and involved in the conversation or the various toys to play with. Cameron did amazingly well. He sat still and enjoyed himself, except for the blow dryer which we decided to forego when he got very scared and started to cry- Mommy doesn't own one so he has never heard one before. They were very good about listening to what I wanted done and talking to me through out the whole thing too. The hair dresser, her name was Judy, said that I didn't have to worry about Cameron loosing his curls anytime soon because the curl goes all the way up to the roots; that knowledge did wonders to ease my troubled mind. When it was all over they had a special baggy and certificate for me to take home with some of the curls they cut from his first hair cut. All in all, it was a pretty good experience and I actually like his hair cut. Cameron still has curly hair, which I love; but I don't have to pull it out of his shirts or squirt it down with water to keep the frizz at bay, which I didn't like; and the curls are not tickling Cameron in the ears, which he hated. I took lots of pictures while we were there and of the after so here are a few.

During the cut

Cameron showing off his new haircut

See he still has plenty of curls

Hooray for craftiness

this is what my front door looks like thanks to Michaels' super awesome 50-70% off holiday stuff sale last week & about 10 minutes of my time. Brian made me smile when he asked how much the wreath on our front door cost, he thought I bought it. I already had the grapevine wreath form so minus that my wreath cost me just under $5. Cameron actually helped me put the leaves on, which was a pleasant surprise. I was afraid that I was going to have to stop and make it during nap time. Pretty much every season/holiday change I unwrap what I have on the wreath and add something else more seasonal, hooray for inexpensive decorations!

The big news

So, for those of you who don't know yet, we are expecting child number two sometime in April. We are due date is toward the end of the month, but I think Peanut (Brian's name for the baby while it is in utero) will come toward the beginning of the year. According to my due date I am 16 weeks along or four months. This pregnancy has been worse as far being sick goes. As soon as I got over morning sickness, which I got pretty bad this time, I came down with a really terrible stomach virus. I got another bug the week of Halloween that lead to our holiday festivities Friday night being spent in the ER with an IV. We were blessed to have Brian's parent's come and get Cameron and he got to go home and sleep in bed instead of trying to snuggle up to me on the small hospital bed between various tubes. I was really disappointed that he didn't get to show off his super cute farmer costume at our ward's trunk or treat. Anyway, between my terrible morning sickness and the two stomach bugs, I have ended up five pounds lighter than when I first got pregnant. So, that gives me a free ticket to eat as much as I want right ;)

We are planning another homebirth & I really like our midwife a lot. She has been delivering babies at home for nearly 20 years. We have seen her twice and get two see her again shortly before Thanksgiving. Unlike with Cameron we are not planning on finding out the gender of baby number two, or any of the rest for that matter. I think it makes the whole thing more exciting. I think that I have the beginnings of a bump, but Brian says that I am just sticking my belly out. Here is a picture (please forgive the crazy hair) and you can decide. Brian says the only reason it looks like I have a bump is because of the angle that he took the picture.

Slowly, but surely

Ok, I am back, that is if anyone is still checking to see if we are still around. Lets just say the last month and a half have been interesting. We, especially Cameron & I, have taken turns being sick pretty much the whole time. Add to that having a major hurricane come through. Luckily, we only had minor fence damage and some branches that needed to be cut. We were out of power for a week, we stayed at Brian's parents during that time; and out of A/C for another week beyond our power being out- the power surge when the power came back on killed something in the unit, unfortunately we were home that week. We consider ourselves lucky as we know people who were out of power as long as 17 days. Brian spent the entire month of October studying and taking midterms, which basically meant that despite that fact that he stayed home from work we still didn't see him much because he was on the computer studying. He finished midterms last week, but already has another major test next Monday & finals start two weeks after that. Anyway, he has been working super hard in school and still loves it, so I guess that is a good sign that he picked the right profession. Cameron never ceases to amaze me as he gets older and learns new things. Currently, his favorite song is "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" with some additional verses from a book we found at the library. Cameron has, in the past 2 months, discovered and fallen in love with the word "no", much to my & his father's dismay. The most recent thing going on for him right now is his battle with allergies, cutting his two year molars, an ear infection & pink eye all at the same time. He sure has been a trooper. The first few days he had high fevers and a terrible cough that kept waking him, luckily those are mostly gone now and he & we have all been sleeping a lot better now. Anyway, it is late and I really need to go to sleep I will update more later & look forward to finally getting a chance to go and update myself on the lives of our friends and family that has been flying by me as the past few months have gone. I won't try to give day by day run downs, but I will try to get some pictures & a few of the highlights up over the next few days.

Trying to Win a Essential Babywearing Collection

Win the Essential Babywearing Stash from Along for the Ride (one Beco Butterfly, one Hotsling baby pouch, one BabyHawk Mei Tai, one Zolowear Ring Sling, and one Gypsy Mama Wrap)
The more places I post this info the more entries I get. Sorry for such a non-informative entry. Unless you are looking for babywearing info, than I guess this could be a very informative entry.

Time flies on wings of fun and frustrations

Well, Sophia and I have had quite the eventful month. We have been so busy as of late with one thing or the other that we haven't had the opportunity to get on the blog and mention any of the wondrous and less than marvelous things that have been occurring as of late. We have been busy with doing repairs on the house and trying to resolve other associated frustrations. Being a homeowner is great. We have had plumbing and air conditioning issues which led to a leak in the attic. Unfortunately, the leak in the attic was not discovered until we saw water dripping from the ceiling and water damage to the sheetrock on both the ceiling an the wall. Yeah, hurray. Fortunately we were able to poke a hole in the sheetrock before the water accumulated sufficiently to break through. We then had some help from my dad to get the insulation moved since I was still having a hard time crouching down very far due to my ankle injury, so it could dry and not become the bearer of mold and other such fun things. It's amazing how quickly it dried out in the cool and dank environment of an attic here in Houston during the summer. I was sure it would take at least a few weeks. Now we had a plumber come out to help us find the leak in our house that was causing our ridiculously high water bills. He found no leaks that were causing that but did discover and repair the backed up pipe that was causing the water to overflow from the drip pan. Then the A/C guy came and said that things looked okay, so at least we didn't have to replace the A/C unit. We still don't know what's causing the high water bills, so now we have to get a sprinler guy to come and check them for problems. Only time will tell. The leak in the attic prevented us from putting in more insulation like we had originally planned to do the weekend that it was discovered. While we were doing the repairs up there, we noticed that the air conditioning unit was leaking large amounts of air in the attic, so yesterday with the benevolent help of Quentin, I was able to tape them and hopefully stop trying to cool our attic. Now that I have talk about the fun stuff, oh wait. Anyways, around mid June we had the privilege and pleasure of going to Illinois for Bobbi and Paul's sealing in the Nauvoo temple. Bobbi is one of Sophia's best friends from high school and they're more like sisters. We had a really great time the week that we were there. Other than this one wonderfully glorious event, I'm going to let Sophia share all of the splendid wonders and marvels that have occurred in our lives this past month. Besides, it's late and estoy cansado.

Crazy month

So, I didn't blog like I said I would. The room with our computer was out of commision along with the computer for a few days. We have had lots going on and our house keeps finding something else that wants to be repaired. Brian got good news from the Orthopedic Surgeon. The surgeon doesn't think that Brian will need any surgery. Brian was prescribed physical therapy for 5 weeks then he goes back to the Orthopedic Surgeon and see where things are. If he has made progress then he will continue with physical therapy and be done with the orthopedic surgeon if not than there might have been muscular damage and surgery would be needed to repair it. Brian already seems to be making progress though so our hopes are high. I have been having a heck of a time trying to be a wife, mom, home maker and full time babysitter and a Relief Society secretary on top of all that (that is why I haven't hardly been blogging at all). This month I watched baby Lexi from 8 1/2 -11 hours Monday through Friday starting at 6:15am. Starting next week I will be watching her Monday, Wednesday & Thursday for 12 hours a day starting at 6:15am. Next week we are going to Illinois so that we can go through the Temple with on of my best friends in the entire world & visit with all of my "adopted" family that are out there. We get to go through with her & her husband on Friday and then be at their sealing the next morning bright and early. I am so excited to go out, she is like a sister to me and getting to go through the temple with her as her escort is such a blessing. Plus, we get to go to the Nauvoo temple which has a very special place in my heart. I am also excited to go and spend time with the families I lived with in High School & after my first year in college. I apologize for the completely neglected blogging. Hopefully the few of you who actually read my blog will forgive me.

Pictures

I have been a slacker face blogger. Here are some picture of Cameron that will hopefully help you forgive me. I will blog tomorrow night.

Moving leaps and bounds then slowing back down

Well, a great deal has happened in this past week. On Sat. morning, I went to the church and played pick-up games of basketball as usual. We played several good games, and then in the last game, I was on a hard break towards the basket. At this point I'm not entirely sure how it happened, but I was "floating" through the air until I landed very hard on my ankle. I felt immense pain and something give out in my ankle. I then slid to a stop and everybody came to see what happened. All the other guys were worried that I had landed on my face because I was biting my finger hard to help block out some of the pain (gate theory of pain). I was extremely grateful to be surrounded by worthy priesthood holders who kindly gave me a blessing at my request. Sophia was then called but her phone didn't ring, so I nonchalantly left a message saying that I thought that I had just broken my ankle and would call to let her know which emergency room I was going to. She pulled in to pick me up as Kevin was getting his van ready to transport me to the hospital, but I instead rode in ours. I was carried out to the van and we were off to the ER. Kevin and Ryan offered to come along to help me get inside, for which I was extremely grateful. I can't help but be grateful for theirs and everybody's concern and offers to help out with anything that we needed. Once inside the ER, Sophia, Kevin, and Ryan all assisted in filling out forms and signing in, yet again making things much easier for me. Surprisingly, I was able to get in very quickly. I was given a shot for pain and had X-rays taken. We found out that my ankle wasn't broken, but they thought that I had blown all the ligaments in my ankle instead. They referred me to see an orthopedic surgeon and sent me home with some pain meds. I was somewhat loopy as I left because I kept feeling dizzy, and I remember some girls laughing at me as I was wheelchaired out to the car. Jared and Caitlin met us at our house and Jared helped me get inside without falling on my face. They also watched Cameron, so Sophia could run and pick up my prescription while I was a wonderful host and promptly fell asleep mid conversation. I hope they got a good laugh over that. Then starting on Monday we started playing hot potato with insurance as to who I would go see first, specialist or primary care physician (PCP). We were finally told we could see the PCP the following day and post date the referral, so we went in to the appointment only to be told at the desk that I had to see the PCP first. It was quite the game of monkey in the middle and of course the insurance company won. On Wed., I saw the Ortho surgeon and he basically said that I had a sprain and had bruised the bone, but the swelling was too bad to give too much more information. I was then given a very stylish black boot and told to return in two weeks at which point I'll find out whether or not I will need surgery to reattach or rather replace torn ligaments (hopefully not necessary). For now, I'm back to business as usual, so hopefully this black boot and crutch won't slow me down too much this Saturday during basketball. I guess everybody else gets their wish that I'll slow things down a little;)

-Brian

Hmmm... Where to start?

This week has been a little crazy, to say the least, & chaotic and scary, to say the most. We started the week by having baby Lexi join us. I watch her Monday through Friday from 6:15-3:30 ish. Cameron is getting better and more used to the idea of having her around, but I still need to watch him carefully around her lest she get a finger in the eye. Cameron's hardest time that he has is when I am feeding her her bottle because I try to give her just as much attention as she would get if she were being breast fed, meaning Cameron is getting less attention than he likes. He likes to hit the bottle or her & try to push or pull her out of my lap or arms. Tuesday and Wednesday I was able to successfully go to playgroups and get both children in and out of the vehicle, I was very proud of myself. Thursday we babysat for a little boy who had lots of energy and Cameron had a hard time. The little boy was 2 1/2 or 3 and had a hard time sharing & since Cameron is nearly his size it made it worse because he thought that he was a peer instead of a baby. Anyway, a friend came and picked him up because he and Cameron were having a VERY hard time getting along and I was having a hard time managing the two and baby Lexi. Friday was another day of babysitting. Brian was home so that was nice to have the extra pair of arms. We babysat for the daughter of a friend of a friend who's nanny called late Thursday night to inform that she wouldn't be able to make it Friday. My friend gave her my number and we agreed. Her daughter (16 months) had never been watched by anyone except her nanny or her grandmother so when she was woken up early she didn't eat and when she was then dropped of at our house, complete strangers to her, she was less than happy. It took us 3 of the 6 hours we had her to calm her down. Brian held her in our new Ergo , which I LOVE, most of the that time and she slept for about an hour of that time. Once she calmed down she attached herself to Brian like a leach. The one time he got up, to go to the bathroom and change into something besides his pajamas, she bawled the whole time he was gone. Brian spent the next three hours reading every board book in the house 5 times and sneaking her food (she wouldn't eat before) through the story time.


Saturday we were very excited with plans to go to Galveston after Brian played his typical Saturday morning game of basketball at church. I had woken up, I am usually asleep until he comes home at 9:30, so I took him to church so I could shop for his anniversary gift with out him. I figured since our 2nd anniversary is Monday that I should probably get something, I know I am the slacker that waited 'til the last minute, not something I usually do. Well, It turns out it was a good thing that I took him and and that I bought him his gifts that morning. When I pulled into the parking lot around 9:35 to pick Brian up a friend was coming out of the church and said "there you are, did you get the voicemail?" I was very confused because my phone didn't even ring. I told him "no" and asked "why?" and he said " because Brian just broke his ankle and we need to get him to the ER". We called Brian's best friend, who happens to be a paramedic and firefighter, and asked him where the best and quickest place to go would be. We went to put Brian in the back with the seats down. Brian needed something to lean again something for underneath his leg, "happy anniversary dear", they used the gifts that I had just bought. So much for a surprise.


We got to the ER and our friends who had followed us there helped us get him in. The place we went was great. While he was filling out paper work they brought out ice for his ankle and as soon as he was done they got him into triage. Once he was in the room though we got a fairly incompetent nurse who kept forgetting things and fumbling through everything he did, he was super nice, but not very confident in what he was doing. Anyway, it turns out that it was not a brake but a third degree sprain (a brake would have been way nicer). The doctor said that it looked like all of the ligaments in his ankle were ruptured. We get to go an orthopedic surgeon tomorrow to follow up. Luckily, Brian's dad's assistant's sister knows who is good and who is not. So, on Friday when we called Mom & Dad to tell them Dad called her and we had an appointment set up within a few hours of having called Dad. Brian's pain medication has had in in and out of lucidity so we have laid pretty low. Brian will be missing work Monday & Tuesday. Mom had us over for lunch and dinner today after we had stake conference.


We sat in the hall for conference so that Brian could have his foot up on the couch. We got to see quite the parade of toddlers and babies, accompanied by there parents for the most part. There was one person there that made me upset. Cameron went up to play with her daughter and she said "don't let him touch her, she has been sick with some disease I don't remember and is it contagious for 14 days after the fevers have broken, but it has only been 7 days." I said "I have never heard of that disease what is it?" she went on to explain that the mouth tongue, cheeks & tonsils get covered in ulcers and that her children (there were three under the age of three) had all had fevers over 105 *F, but then said that it wasn't airborne that it was caught by touch. I know that you can get stir crazy from being home with sick kids, but if your kids are contagious with a disease that will leave my kid hospitalized they should not be anywhere near other small children! Aside from being all of a sudden very aware of this lady's children and their whereabouts conference was very good.

A few of this weeks pictures

Cameron with one of his new wool diaper covers

Cameron feeding himself a dinner of spaghetti on Friday night

Baby Lexi sleeping on the couch (I will get a better picture)

and then there were 4

Today I had 3 children to watch beside Cameron. Mondays I typically watch the RS presidents two youngest girls in the morning until mid afternoon. Today was also my first day watching baby Lexi. I will be watching her full time Mon. - Fri. Cameron had a difficult time adjusting, but I think that it was partly because there were now 3 others demanding my attention. I am hoping that tomorrow won't be so chaotic & that soon we will fall into a nice routine of sorts where having Lexi here will just be second nature to Cameron. I am hoping that all this time with me watching others will help him make a smoother transition into being a big brother, whenever that time comes (not an announcement), and that he will have learned to be gentle by the time that comes too.

Photo's of planting the garden

Just some pictures of us planting our garden. Cameron used the dustpan from his broom & dust pan set (he loves sweeping, dusting, and using a wash cloth to wipe things clean) as a shovel.

Our crazy week and our new garden

This week was crazy on Monday around 10:30-11 am our water stopped working in the neighborhood & we didn't get it back (just us though) until Wednesday around 5. It was a very frustrating situation. First the water went out for the neighborhood so I called and filed a report and then when we finally had to pay to have it fixed we found out that the people from the city who had inspected it had turned the faucet for the water that leads to our house off and then told us we had a private line problem. Now I know it wasn't either of us because we didn't even know where the water line faucet was. Anyway, we were blessed to have Brian's parents, who live close by, offer us a place to stay until we got the problem resolved, but it required a lot of extra driving. On the bright side though, the guy who came to fix the water saw our Utah plates on the car that we keep meaning to change and because he grew up in Kearns, Utah he started chatting and ended up fixing our sprinklers too, which was definitely not in his job description, with out charging me.
This was a huge blessing because since the weather become warmer (almost in the 90's most days) I have had a hard time manually water everything so our plants were starting to look a little shabby. We were afraid we were going to loose all of the veggies and herbs that we planted last week for FHE. The watering by sprinklers has really done the trick, the roses are blooming again & basically all of our plants, vegetables included, have just perked up a lot.
While I am on the subject, we finally got our vegetable garden in! I am so excited. This year we are sticking to just a small amount of things to see what we will and won't use and give us an idea of how manageable things are. We have 3 kinds of tomatoes: Juliet - they are like Romas but a little bigger, Champion - a good slicing tomato & Sweet 100s - a type of cherry tomatoes. We also have several types of peppers: yellow, green/red, Serranos, and Macho Nacho jalapenos. The last two will be great for spicing up our food a little more, which brings me to the herbs. We planted our own private Little Italy with thyme, oregano, basil & Rosemary. We also have a bay tree and chamomile & mint.
Cameron has been beating himself up. as most toddler boys do this week. Wednesday he tipped a chair over while standing on it and landed on tile. Luckily, it was a child size overstuffed chair which helped brake the fall, he also put his arms out. Resulting in only a small bruise over his eyebrow, it was scary than it turned out being. The next morning he came running around the corner of the bathroom trying to find me (how dare I take a break when nature calls) and tripped on a toy he had left on the floor. He landed teeth first on the tile floor and gave himself a big fat lip and the gums, the scab is off already and it didn't effect his teeth at all, which I was worried about. Friday was a double whammy, he fell backward in the kitchen while trying to climb up the back of his highchair and forward in the entry and hit his forehead on the door when his dad came home. I feel really bad every time he hurts himself I feel really bad, but he bounces back really quick. I never cease to be amazed at how resilient children are. I worry about concussion or loose teeth and after a hug he is ready to be up and playing again.

Catching up

Last week we went to the park for the toddler play group. Cameron had a good time except that the older kids don't play with him as much :'( He got hit and pushed around and then on top of all that he fell down the stairs (there were only 2 or 3 thank goodness) from the pavilion where they had picnic tables to the concrete slab and hit his face. The funny thing is that he got a mosquitoe bit later that day that swelled up bigger than the goose egg. Anyway, we went to the baby playgroup later that day and Cameron too his newly learned skills from toddler play grou p (hitting and pushing) and employed them on the younger kids there. Needless to say, we left early. I feel like Cameron is too young for the toddler play group but too old for the baby play group. I don't really know what to do because I really like the socializing I get from going. Maybe we will just have to go to the toddler one and Cameron will learn to toughen up a little. I am just afraid that he will turn into a bully and hit and push kids out of frustration and anger from being pushed or having things taken away from him by the older kids. Cameron is bigger in stature than most of them so I worry a little.

Pictures from the last few weeks

Here are some photo's from the last few weeks. We were out of babteries and then I couldn't find the camera so there are not a lot but you can enjoy them anyway.

Camera enjoying rocking with the girls I babysit on Mondays

Cameron & the girls reading some of his favorites from our collection

Should I draw with these or eat them?

I guess I will try drawing

Eating them was way more fun Mom

Cameron in his new wool diaper cover. Mommy is in love with these!

P.S.

I can't find my camera right now. As soon as I do I will post some pictures.

Great deals, Cloth diapers, Mud Puddles, Peter Pan & More firsts

Brian has been going to a "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" real estate investing seminar this weekend. He has really been enjoying learning all sorts of good information. The Seminar starts at 9 am & I figured that since I was going to be taking Brian in by 8:30 that I should take advantage of the great garage sales that always accompany Spring. Although, here in Houston there isn't really ever a huge lull in garage sales because the weather never really gets that cold. Anyway, I got an email last night about a La Leche League Maternity & Children's things garage sale with all the proceeds going to benefit the local LLL chapter. I went a got quite a few really cute things. All of the 12 month and up clothes were 2 dollars a piece and they actually had a really good selection of boys clothes. I got a pair of See Kai Run's for a dollar after I just spent $20 on a pair from eBay earlier this week. These shoes usually retail for around $45 new & $25-30 used. Anyway, after we went there we headed up to a children's consignment store that I have been meaning to go and explore for months called The Young & the Restless, it sells consigned and new clothes, shoes, toys, baby carriers, and just about anything else baby/maternity that you might need including cloth diapers.
This store is the only brick and mortar store in the whole city that sells cloth diapers. I have been toying with trying prefold diapers with a cover because they are so much cheaper and everyone has said that they are easier to use with little babies (no I am not making any announcements here). I figured that I wanted to try and get the hang of these or figure out what else works and start accumulating a stash now while I am not expecting so that by the time a new baby does decide to arrive I am set to go. Since I didn't start cloth diapering Cameron until he was just over 6 months and we have used pocket diapers the whole time, I was really clueless about any other cloth diapering method besides what I read. I wanted to see the mechanics of each option in person and these people were SO helpful. The owner talked to me and personally helped me figure the diapers out for about 15 minutes or more. The store was also super kid friendly, it even had a large child proofed room full of toys of all sorts with a HUGE train table in the middle. Cameron actually enjoyed shopping with me, being as he could just play the whole time and I could see him basically anywhere in the store. The store was owned and operated almost solely by mom's & I just really liked it, if you couldn't tell.
After coming home and eating and then taking a nap, Cameron & I headed out to a Grill-Out party to say good-bye to a few of the families in the Ward that are moving. Cameron was clingy at first, but in no time at all he was having fun & mooching off any one's plate who would let him. Cameron also had fun playing in one of those Little Tyke's car things where you get in and move the car with your feet. Next thing I know I look over and see that Cameron has found a rather large mud puddle and was very happily splashing around and sitting in it with his sippy cup sitting in the middle of the water and Cameron reaching to take a drink, all this in his new clothes. Cameron was covered in mud and from his excursion into the mud lead several other children's mud explorations, sorry. We left the party after cleaning Cameron up to go pick up Brian from his seminar.
After picking Brian up we decided to go watch the free performance of Peter Pan at Miller Outdoor Theatre. The place was packed so we headed to the top of the hill & found a decent spot. We had just settled in when three of the people sitting next to us lit up their cigarettes despite the "No Smoking in Public Places" law & several loud speaker announcements saying so. We picked up and moved to another spot which actually ended up being better than the first & then the show began. The speakers then decided they didn't want to be loud enough & Brian was having to struggle to hear what they were saying, not me though, I have super-sonic Mom hearing. So, not even two minutes into the show and we had already had to move and now Brian couldn't hear. Then, about half way into the first act, when Peter is describing Neverland to Wendy, a small group of people decided that the spot directly behind us would be a fantastic place to go to smoke. Well, considering that Brian couldn't hear and that Cameron was starting to get cranky and then the spot behind us became the smoking spot, we decided to cut our losses and go home. We were really sad, because it looked like it would have been a really good stage show and the set was really neat. They will be showing it again next weekend though, maybe we will get there early and get a decent spot toward the front where the no smoking law is actually enforced better and where we can both hear the performance.
Other things of note: Cameron got his first skinned knee on Friday, one of many more to come I am sure. Cameron started signing milk today, not until he was already nursing, but it is something. I am way excited to have him start signing, as signing leads to speaking.

Cameron's Yucky Day

Cameron had another yucky day today. Right before we were going to leave my in-laws this evening, after spending the day watching conference, Cameron threw-up 4 times all over me. Luckily, for the carpet at least, I literally cought it either in my hand or all over my shirt. After we stripped Cameron down and cleaned him up and taking off my gross shirt, luckily Brian had an extra shirt in the van, I went to nurse Cameron (he had settled down by then). Well, Cameron stomach had not settled as we all thought. Within 1 minute, while he was nursing, he started throwing up again all over his hair, face & my shoulder and new aqcuired clean shirt. Poor Cameron he was so miserable. We thought that he was better, he had been fine all day. His temperature started going up again too. I am so glad to have the Husband & Father-in-law that I do. Cameron was blessed to receive a Priesthood blessing and within 5 minutes of the blessing Cameron was feeling better again. We gave him a bath and then headed home with Cameron in only a diaper and me in a dirty shirt.
I will blog about Conference tomorrow. I will say right now though that I feel blessed to have been able to watch every session today and hear all the talks. Maybe it is because I actually got to watch and pay attention to them today, but today's talks were some of my favorite. I know that I heard the counsel of God by listening to the words of the Prophet & Apostles & the other General Authorities. I know that they were called of God & I know that they love me.

Cameron & Conference

Cameron has been cutting molars this weekend on the top and has had a fever, as high 102.6, most of the weekend. As a result I didn't get a lot out of the talks in conference today. Cameron was super cute though during the sustaining of the First Presidency & General Authories. He was so excited to sustain that any time anybody got up to speak the whole time he would raise his hand up high and giggle with glee. He also would wave anytime he could see the conductor of the choir, something he does at church too, he thinks that they are waving to him. In between the afternoon conference session and the Priesthood session, Brian and I went to a really great garden nursery and bought the ragoon creeper, 6 different herbs, 3 kinds of tomatoe plants & 3 kinds of pepper plants. We still would like to get some onions and a few other vegetables, but this will be a great start. Anyway, some other things of note: Cameron can say cat, although for him it is "DAT!" screamed high pitch while pointing at a window (we have strays that come in our yard); also, when asked where his nose is he points to my nose, I know it isn't his nose, but I think that it is cute and he technically knows what a nose is.

Boycot McDonalds!

I just received an email with this information from American Family Association and plan on boycotting McDonald's (not that we eat there frequently anyway). I thought you should all know that McDonald's plans on supporting and even encouraging & advocating such an abomination to the Lord, homosexuality.

McDonald's CEO: Company will put full resources behind gay agenda

Send an e-mail to McDonald's.

McDonald's has signed on to a nationwide effort to promote "gay" and "lesbian" business ventures.According to McDonald's CEO Jim Skinner, McDonald's will aggressively promote the homosexual agenda. In remarks on McDonald's Web site concerning the company becoming a member of the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), Skinner wrote: "Being a socially responsible organization is a fundamental part of who we are. We have an obligation to use our size and resources to make a difference in the world...and we do."The company gave an undisclosed amount of money to the NGLCC in return for being recognized as a major promoter of the homosexual agenda. In return, NGLCC placed Richard Ellis, vice president of communications of McDonalds USA, on the NGLCC Board of Directors.Ellis was quoted as saying: "I'm thrilled to join the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce team and ready to get to work. I share the NGLCC's passion for business growth and development within the LGBT community, and I look forward to playing a role in moving these important initiatives forward."McDonald's refused to comment to World Net Daily on the placement of its executive on the board of the "gay" advocacy organization but did send an e-mail confirming the corporation's support for the agenda of the homosexual business lobby."McDonald's is indeed a Corporate Partner and Organizational Ally of NGLCC. Our vice president of U.S. communications, Richard Ellis, was recently elected to its board of directors," said Heidi M. Barker, senior director of media relations for McDonald’s. NGLCC describes itself as promoting the LGBT community first and always, including same sex marriage.NGLCC gives credit to sponsors such as McDonald's for its financial and other support that helps in its work. "Through the commitment of our corporate partners, the NGLCC has been able to advance the ideas and causes of the LGBT business community," the Chamber said.
Take Action Very important!
Call your local McDonald's and ask why McDonald's is using its size and resources to promote the homosexual agenda.
Send an e-mail to McDonald's.
Forward this e-mail to family and friends.

Crazy Day

So, today I was very excited about making a Texas flag pillow case dress for a little girl who's 1st birthday party we attended tonight. I used bandannas for fabric because I thought that they epitomize the Texas stereotype. I went to Brian's parents' home to use my Mother-in-law's sewing machine, mine is having issues. The dress turned out way cute and it went together really fast once Cameron went on a walk with Grandma.
Apparently at some point in time the driver's side passenger door was slightly opened and not closed, you couldn't even tell it was open at all. When Cameron & I went to leave around 12:30-1:00 the battery was dead it wouldn't even turn over it just made clicking noises. We tried to jump it, but after 20 minutes, and still nothing, decided that the battery had bit the dust. Cameron was way over due for a nap by the time all of the attempts of jumping the battery were done and while I went inside to change his diaper and nurse him to sleep I was blessed to have Brian's Aunt take the battery out so we could take it in and have Autozone take care of getting rid of it. Cameron slept for about an hour and then around 3:40 we went in to pick up my sister-in-law from work, go to the bank, get a new battery (which came to around $90, $10 of which were TX taxes and a TX battery fee), then stop and get milk for my Mother-in-law. By the time we got back her house it was 5:10 and my goal of getting Brian by 5:30 were shot. Brian's Aunt helped put the battery in and when we went to check that it worked couldn't find my keys.
I had given my keys to my sister-in-law (who was on a walk at the time we were looking for the keys) at the super market because I had no pockets and Cameron was throwing them. After another half hour of searching, my mother-in-law even hopped on a bike and went in pursuit of her, we finally found them underneath her seat and a whole bunch of other junk she had shoved under there. The car started, Hurray! I am so grateful for all the help I received. I picked up Brian around 6:30, the time the birthday party we were going to was started (I hate being late). I was very grumpy with Brian, and he was super patient and kind with me. I have such a great husband.
We went straight to the party despite both my & Cameron's griminess from the day and despite the fact that Cameron was very grumpy and despite the fact that I hadn't even taken a picture of the dress I made ( if the recipient's mother happens to read this would she mind sending me a couple of pictures of the dress please?) or wrapped it. We stayed a grand total of 10, maybe 15, minutes before Cameron started melting down. We got home and Brian popped in a frozen pizza and we watched old Pluto the dog cartoons & then an old Cary Grant & Catherine Hepburn movie called Holiday while eating ice cream for dessert.
Yes, that is right you read correctly, I vegged and let Cameron watch at least 2 hours of TV before he passed out. He obviously didn't spend the whole 2 hours watching TV, but I still feel terribly guilty for letting him watch TV despite our staunch no TV before 2 rule. However, I guess everyone has their moments where they just don't have the physical or emotion energy to deal and tonight was one of those moments for me. I still feel bad about it though, I feel like I am a grown up and should be able to control my emotions better than being super grumpy toward my family for something they didn't even do or have control over. I feel like I took the lazy way out by just popping in a movie even though I have taken drastic measures, even left parties or events to avoid having Cameron watch TV on many occasions.
Anyway, I just want to let you know how grateful I am to my family. Cameron still loves me. Brian went out of his way to make sure I was happy and degrumpified. I had the help of Brian's Mom & Aunt which made a the situation manageable. I really am blessed.

I love FLYing

I recently joined FlyLady.net to help me get organized and feel good about myself and my house. I just wanted to say how much I love this system. I have been able to keep the house clean, laundry & dishes kept on top of & still spend plenty of time playing with Cameron and even taking naps when I want to. I feel so good about myself and my house. I admit that after two weeks of great I fell of the horse for a why, but I stopped procrastinating getting back on and within less than an hour (15 minute intervals spaced through out the day) my mess that I thought was untackleable turned into a beautiful clean home with fresh cut flowers on the table and dinner ready when Brian came home. I have been able to keep up with it & I am feeling so good & Brian is feeling good, even Cameron enjoys the cleanliness (it gives him something to mess up) or at least the fact that Mama is happier. So for any of you who are living in C.H.A.O.S. -can't have anyone over syndrome, I highly recommend this. Seriously the only thing that is a downside is that they send you a lot of emails (but like she says cyber clutter is easy to clean up with the click of the delete button) I delete most of the testimonials and most of the other emails have the pertinent info in the subject so that you can just delete those too , which leaves you with only 1 or 2 that you actually have to read and those are usually short. She even has tips for FLYing With the Kids!
FLYing while Pregnant
FLYing with Baby
FLYing With Preschoolers
FLYing With School Age Children
FLYing With Teenagers
FLYing With Homeschoolers
FLYing With Big Families
FLYing as a Single Parent
Anyway, FlyLady has really helped me a lot and it has helped relieve the stress in our home caused by the clutter and CHAOS. So, if you have ever heard of it and were wondering if it was worth a try, I give FlyLady two thumbs way up. She has taught me the importance of baby steps and not procrastinating and that you can do anything for 15 minutes at a time (you would be surprised what you can get done in that short amount of time when you have a timer set).

History Mystery

A friend sent this to me and I thought it was pretty cool. I hope some enjoys this and that I am not the only history nerd out there.

History Mystery
Have a history teacher explain this----- if they can.

Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.
John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress s in 1946.

Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.

Both were particularly concerned with civil rights.
Both wives lost their children while living in the White House.

Both Presidents were shot on a Friday.
Both Presidents were shot in the head.

Now it gets really weird.

Lincoln 's secretary was named Kennedy.
Kennedy's Secretary was named Lincoln .

Both were assassinated by Southerners.
Both were succeeded by Southerners named Johnson.

Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln , was born in 1808.
Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.

John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln , was born in 1839.
Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy, was born in 1939.

Both assassins were known by their three names.
Both names are composed of fifteen letters.

Now hang on to your seat.

Lincoln was shot at the theater named 'Ford.'
Kennedy was shot in a car called ' Lincoln ' made by 'Ford.'

Lincoln was shot in a theater and his assassin ran and hid in a warehouse.
Kennedy was shot from a warehouse and his assassin ran and hid in a theater.

Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.

And here's the kicker....

A week before Lincoln was shot, he was in Monroe , Maryland
A week before Kennedy was shot, he was with Marilyn Monroe.

Creepy huh? Send this to as many people as you can, because: this is one history lesson most people probably will not mind reading!

Inflammatory Breast Cancer Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s9_UrVtc6c&NR=1

I just wanted to post this because I had never heard of IBC and I feel like every woman should know about this. It is the most aggressive form of breast cancer and the hardest to diagnose, most doctors don't even know how to diagnose it. Please follow this link and watch so that you know what to look for, monthly breast exams should be more than just checking for lumps.

Fun week

Cameron, Brian and I have had a fun week. On Monday we went over to a friend's house and taught their family how have family home evening. Cameron really enjoyed playing with their 18 mon old little boy. Cameron & I hosted this weeks AP play group. Cameron enjoyed the company and playing in buckets of water on our patio (The weather average high 70's low 80's for us). Wednesday, Brian went to a business conference to here Robert G Allen & Richard G Scott (founders of Bookwise) speak about investing while Cameron and I went to the park to have fun with our ward play group. Cameron has decided that his favorite thing to do at the park, besides try to eat sand and rock while mom isn't looking, is to climb up the slide & he does a good job of it too. Cameron can climb up the slide without any help, even if it does make me nervous. Saturday we went to the West U library to try to check out the Baby Signing Time videos for Cameron, it was the only library in the whole of the greater Houston area that said they had on of the two checked in, only to find out that in between the time we left the house and the time we got to the library they had been checked out. All was not lost though, we got to West U and discovered they were having their annual little league carnival. We strolled the carnival and Cameron enjoyed seeing all the colors and all the children. We spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning and enjoying each other's company & folding clothes while watching episodes of the Dick Van Dycke show on DVD (the West U library has a prolific amount of DVDs to choose from). We also decided to try out a new sleeping arrangement that had the previously refused to be slept in crib pulled up and secured to the bed and the mattress raised to our mattress height, kind of like the arm's reach co-sleeper. We have been co-sleeping, which I love, but lately Cameron has been kicking Brian and Brian didn't like that much. Anyway, It took twice as long to get Cameron to nurse and fall asleep the first time and 3-4 times as long to get him to nurse and fall asleep every subsequent time. Add that to the fact that we have some birds that have decided to move into our chimney and arbor and chirp all night and I didn't get any sleep until right before the alarm went of to get up and go to church. Brian couldn't rouse me so I ended up staying home while my wonderful husband took Cameron and went to church. I didn't wake up until they came home around 12:15 p.m. I feel like a complete slacker-face. The rest of the day was nice Cameron took a nap then we all played and laughed for a while when he woke up. We went for a walk and then came home and made a home-made pizza with one of the best, easiest and quickest dough recipes that I have ever had. Some other things to note about this week: besides slides, Cameron can now climb onto anything shorter than his shoulders; Cameron can also now correctly identify the location of his belly button when questioned about it; and lastly, if it is possible, I do believe that Cameron has become even cuter than he was before.

I have been tagged - again

I was tagged by Heather A.
This is what you do:
1. Pick up the nearest book (at least 123 pages).
2. Turn to page 123.
3. Find the 5th sentence
4. Post the 5th sentence on your blog.
5. Tag 5 people.

Since I am working on typing my book outline for Bradley method certification the closest book just happens to "The Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth: Husband-Coached Childbirth" by Robert A. Bradley, MD

"In the later months of pregnancy, when her uterus is quite large, it is permissable, for short periods of time, for her to sit contour-chair style with her legs sprawled comfortably apart and elevated higher than her hips."

To find out more about the Bradley Method feel free to ask me any questions. You can find this book by visiting your local library.

I tag Tiffany B, Susannah, Kaylene, Brooke & Tara B. If you've already done it, and I don't remember then sorry!

Egg Hunt

Brian finding some jelly beans; Cameron helping Mom with her basket; Cameron's excited for the egg hunt

Cameron found an egg; some eggs in hiding

We did our egg hunt for Family Home Evening & I got a few pictures. We have decided that rather than having the focus of Easter Sunday be about candy that we would have our egg hunt either on the Saturday before or the Monday after depending on circumstances. This year because we were removing the bougainvillea on Saturday we decided to do our Egg hunt on Monday as our FHE activity.

Happy Easter Greetings From Cameron & Brian

Cameron wanted to wish everyone a Happy Easter too.

Happy Easter!

Just some fun pictures from today. I am so grateful to celebrate Easter. I am grateful for the opportunity to celebrate the Atonement with a little more focus than I might on other days or even other Sundays, as I have an increased focus on the great blessing that we celebrate on this holy day. Nothing begins to compare to the great blessings of knowing that I can be resurrected and forgiven of my sins because my Savior Jesus Christ chose to sacrifice himself on my behalf. All the blessings of the gospel hinge upon the Atonement of Jesus, such as eternal families. Today has been a wonderful and pleasant day, that we have been able to enjoy with family. Sophia and I with Cameron tagging along went out to visit my parents. We talked and visited with them before, during, and after a wonderful meal. We relished in the wonderful Spirit that was there as we spent time together. Even though the rest of our families are scattered throughout the country, Dallas, Florida, Alabama, New York, Illinois, a huge chunk in Utah, and even Brazil, I couldn't help but think that this must be what it means when the home can be/have a/the piece/peace of heaven (Is that sufficiently confusing?). The joy comes from being with family. I have felt that as the three of us are at home as well and being with other members of the family intensifies those feelings especially after not seeing each other as regurlarly now that we are so spread out. As we are apt to do, we took a few photos together on this day of celebration. We hope that you enjoy them. Cameron enjoyed being able to play with Grandma and Grandpa.

The thorns are gone

We used to have bougainvillea climbing our arbor. The flowers were beautiful.

However, the thorns were not. Now one might say, "If the bougainvillea was in your arbor you wouldn't have to worry about the thorns, right?"

Not so my blogging friends! As soon as it is done blooming it turns woody & brittle and breaks off leaving thorns all over the patio & grass, if there is wind of any sort. Brian & I hated it because if we wanted to take Cameron outside to play we had to sweep and rake and then sweep again the patio & then scan the grass for any twigs. Needless to say, Cameron didn't go outside much & that made us sad. So, we decided that we were going to take out the bougainvillea and replace it with another flowering vine less the scary 2 in thorns. After going to a nursery and speaking with someone there I have decided on Rangoon Creeper it is a fragrant flower that blooms white and over the course of its life turns pink and then lastly red.

The vine also grows fast. We were told that by the end of Summer our whole arbor would be covered which will be nice. I am really looking forward to getting it in. Today was stage one. Brian's parents came over and his dad helped him cut it, get it off the arbor and cut out the roots. Stage two will be clearing out the now massive pile of Bougainvillea behind our garage & digging out the rest of the roots (we forgot to get a shovel). Stage three will me putting in the Rangoon Creeper (Yay!). Cameron was very sad that he couldn't help & frustrated that he couldn't go out and be with the other guys. I wish I had taken pictures to show what an undertaking it really was. Oh well, you will just have to take my word for it.