Not much better...

Who is this girl?

I’m sure I’ve said this before - I have a very poor memory. I don’t have many memories of my childhood and sadly I even don’t remember much of my kids as babies or the girls as toddlers. I can read a book and really enjoy it, yet a few weeks later I couldn’t tell you a thing about it. I was a essentially a straight A student, it didn’t come easy, I studied long and hard, but I was able to test well. I doubt I’ve retained even 10% of the knowledge I “aced” in college. This is truly one of those things I’d love to change most about myself.

Anyhow… I was reminded of an experience today from my childhood that was actually quite traumatic. I think I was in the first grade. I had long dark hair. I loved it. My Mom however didn’t. I also had an overly sensitive head so combing my long hair was quite the ordeal. With six kids I can imagine how frustrating it must have been to hear me complaining every time she brushed through it. So, she cut it off. All of it. I thought I looked like a boy. I was devastated, I suppose even traumatized. The following day at school I wore my winter coat and hood all day. Until lunch time when my teacher insisted I take it off. I’m pretty sure I cried.

This memory came back to me today when I finally decided to let Carly have her longtime wish and get her hair cut short. I’m not sure why it’s taken me so long to agree. Maybe it has something to do with my own childhood haircut (I also thought Carly looked cute with long hair). I knew she’d love it short, even if it didn’t turn out well.

Thankfully it turned out so cute! We teased her all evening about being somebody else and she adorably insisted that she’s still our Carly.

Better luck next time

I LOVE getting Christmas cards, especially cards with that include a photo and family letter. Life is too busy this year for handmade cards so I’ve decided to send the ever-popular photo cards you can purchase just about anywhere. (I was tempted not to send anything, but I have a friend that has made it clear that she cuts people off her list if they don’t send her a Christmas card each year.)

So yesterday we took the kids to the park to take some pictures.

All I needed was one good one…

Abigail’s allergies were out of control since she spent all afternoon on Friday playing outside (she’s allergic to grass and trees). Carly was getting stepped on. And Jason was dead set on NOT sitting still (we even tried bribing him with goldfish crackers.)

Guess we’ll try again next weekend.

Busy Afternoon

After Jason’s traumatic morning (see below), he slept all afternoon… from 12:15 until I woke him up at 5:15 so we could run some errands. The girls spent that entire time outside playing with neighborhood friends (it was an early dismissal day at school). So what did I do with my five hours of practically kid-free time?… caught up on a little TV, started the dishwasher, and... Well, that’s about it… it was a good afternoon for us all.

as an added bonus, they even raked up the leaves

The results are in...

Today was Jason’s appointment with the allergist. From the moment I put him on the scale to be weighed he became very clingy. His desire to hang on to me actually worked in our favor since getting tested requires the suspected allergens to be applied to the patients back. Jason didn’t budge while we waited for his body to react to the allergens.

He was so emotionally exhausted that he even fell asleep while we waited for the doctor to discuss the results. (Why can’t he fall asleep like this during church?)

As I suspected, Jason is allergic to nuts, eggs and dogs. The doctor only tested for a few of the most common allergens so in the future we may learn more… something to look forward to, huh? The doctor also recommends we avoid all fish products as well. So now I have to carry two Epipens around. Abigail has the same allergies (and more), but she has always been AWESOME about not eating anything without asking if it’s okay. Even at the age of two she was super careful. I’m not so sure Jason will have the self-control to turn down a delicious cookie. I have to be super vigilant in making sure that EVERYONE that could possibly give him food is aware that even the smallest amount of nut could send him into anaphylactic shock. No cake at birthday parties, no more cookies or chocolate treats, and he’ll never know the taste of peanut butter and other nutty delights.

When we got home Carly sat with Jason on the couch while I cooked lunch. He didn’t want to eat a thing; he just wanted to go to bed. Poor guy!

Roommates

Carly moved into the same bedroom as Abigail shortly before Jason was born. We set up the crib for Jason in the room the girls slept in as babies and moved the twin bed into the playroom for my Mom to use when she came up to help when Jason was born. Since then the twin bed has always been referred to as “Grandma’s bed.” I love having the girls share a bedroom and for the most part they do great; however, there are times I think it would be nice if they had separate beds. Justin and/or I usually check on the girls before we go to bed. We’ve found them lying in the strangest positions. Carly’s been lying near the edge of the bed with her head hanging off the mattress and we’ve also found Carly sleeping on the floor. We captured the following funny positions on camera:

Carly sleeping head down

In identical positions


Abigail making herself comfortable… it doesn’t look like Carly minds

I think last night was the strangest. When I went into check on the girls I didn’t see Abigail in bed. I checked on their bedroom floor and still didn’t see her. My next thought was to check “Grandma’s bed” in the playroom… it was empty. The only other bed in the house is mine so as I headed to my room I decided to see if Abigail was using the restroom. This is what I found:

This morning I asked her what she was doing sleeping on the bathroom floor, she replied, “I was putting on lotion (she has super dry, itchy skin) and I got comfy and I wanted to sleep.” Simple enough.

My Boys

I’ve come to the realization that Justin’s “busy season” at work runs from January 1st to December 31st with a few breaks in between. There seems to always be a deadline looming and pressing projects to complete. Tonight we were hoping to go out on a date. The kids are in bed and I’m dateless… hopefully we can go out tomorrow. Wo is me, right? Not really. I’m SO grateful for Justin’s job. Sure it demands much more time than most, but he enjoys what he does and he’s great at it. He works so hard for us and we love him for that!

Before bed the girls were trying to get Jason to dance with them and I was able to get Jason to demonstrate his latest talents (besides his dance moves.)

If you can’t tell from the video, Jason can now Roar. His favorite book begins with “Dinosaur Roar” so now if we say Dinosaur, Jason roars. Okay so technically growling is not a word, but he has also learned to say something very similar to “wow” and that is in the dictionary. Jason has also caught on to folding his arms when we say prayers. He only lasts about 3 seconds, but I think it’s still cute. I also tried to get him to perform his reaction to my saying “hot”. He’ll usually pucker up his lips and blow, but from the video it looked like he was actually trying to say the word hot…even better.

I took this picture of Jason today. I know it’s not a great photo, but I LOVE it (even with the crusty nose). This is the adorable little face I get to see every day. His BIG beautiful eyes (that are becoming more and more brown… love that!) Yet his chubby little cheeks show me that he’s still my baby. I love this kid!

Time Flies (courtesy of the blogging world)

Wow, what a lazy day. Jason woke up earlier than usual today so for the first time in well over a month he went down for a morning nap, here it is four hours later and he’s still sound asleep. (I can’t decide if I should wake him up so he still takes an afternoon nap… looking at the time I guess it’s already afternoon… I’ll let him sleep). Carly’s been completely entertained playing with a little girl we’re watching. Perfect opportunity to get some things done, right? Not quite.

I’ve spent most of the morning on the computer. My intentions started out good. I was looking for good deals on gamma seals to store our wheat, rice, etc… I then made my way to one of my favorite blogs. There are only a few blogs that I check regularly of people I’ve never met, this is one of them:

I found her blog in August after Justin’s uncle witnessed a small plane crash in his small hometown in Arizona. A husband and wife were critically burned (the third passenger died), the couple has four young children, the mother is the author of nieniedialogues. Since then I’ve become fascinated with this family’s life. Over the past few months the family has become quite “famous” and was even on the Today Show. This woman is an incredible wife and mother. Seriously, read her posts and you’ll be amazed. Her sister is caring for three of the children and has posted updates on her blog: cjanerun. But be warned, you too may find yourself captivated.

Anyone else have a blog they love to read?

Sunday Nap

So far this week...

Trouble eating, trouble breathing, but he can hear...

Last week Jason visited our pediatrician for his 15-month check-up. Here are his stats:

Height: 32.5 inches (85th percentile)
Weight: 25 lbs. 12.8 oz (70th percentile)

There were a few concerns we discussed with our doctor. First, I think Jason has allergies…. arrrgh, and grumble, grumble. Several weeks ago I gave Jason a bite of fried rice (with egg) and he immediate broke out around his mouth. I’ve never given him anything with nuts so I don’t know if that is something we’ll need to continue to avoid. On the bright side, I’m already totally familiar with the issues involved so if there are allergies, it shouldn’t take much adjusting. Jason will be officially checked later this month.

My second concern was that he’s had a cough for at least a month. I noticed it the most in California when he was sleeping in the same room as me. He coughed so much at night I had a hard time sleeping; I was surprised he didn’t wake himself up. Anyhow, from our experiences with Abigail this can be a sign that Jason is also asthmatic. Bummer and grumble, grumble. We’ll find out more when he meets with the specialist.

Our doctor raised a third concern. Jason isn’t talking yet. He has a few consonants sounds he makes regularly, but there really aren’t any words. If there’s one thing we’ve learned about our little guy is that he has developed in his own way, for example, walking before he can crawl, stand-up or sit-down. To be safe the doctor recommended we get Jason’s hearing checked. We felt confident he was fine because he understands us (when we ask him to get something he does). We met with a nice Audiologist today and…. Jason can hear! I’m sure he’ll start talking as soon as he has something to say that his sisters aren’t already saying.


President Elect

Like most (hopefully all) of you, I voted this week. We vote via absentee ballots, no driving involved, no line to wait in, and you can even do it a week or two before the election. This election was difficult to for me. I can’t say that I felt strongly about either candidate. I do feel strongly about certain issues, but I felt that there was not one party that had all the answers. Would it work to put them both in office and make them work together on finding the best solutions and tactics for running this nation? I wish it didn’t have to be so Blue vs. Red. I like Obama and hope he will be able to effectively lead this nation. Regardless of which candidate won, they have a daunting task before them. Who would want that job?


Fancy-Shmancy

I wish I was a girly-girl Mom, but I’m not. Never have been. Never will be. Abigail’s never been high-maintenance. Although she likes dresses, Princesses, and fancy clothes, she also wouldn’t hesitate to leave the house with bed-head hair and pajamas (she’s much like her Mom). She’s never cared what clothes she wears or if they even match. She’d much rather have someone else tell her what to wear than decide for herself (also like her Mom.)

Carly on the other hand takes much more time to get dressed. It’s not that she has a strong fashion sense (today she came downstairs wearing a brown shirt and slightly darker brown pants), but she certainly has her opinions. Carly LOVES to get her hair done. My skills include ponytails, clips, and simple braids. Her Aunt Tami has serious skills. Carly thought it was really special when Tami styled her hair in California. When I told Carly we were going to Aunt Tami’s house this morning, Carly wanted her hair done. Tami didn’t let her down.

Fancy!!