Don't you love it when babies can pacify themselves??? Vivs just found her new best friend--her left thumb. I just thought it was hilarious how she holds it in there to comfort herself...and then scratch her nose at the same time--or pick it, whatever pleases her! I'm in love with my sweet Viviana!
Say goodbye to naps for Lex...at least on Tuesdays & Thursdays! We'll see 
how that goes-she was OUT by 7 pm tonight and cranky cranky cranky. I hope I don't regret this--she could only get 'in' for the afternoon schedule and I figured she would love the social interaction. Izzie wasn't too excited about leaving Lexie to enjoy all the fun since they've been joined at the hip all her life!
I was anxious to hear how it went and this is what Lexie said when I asked what she did: "I don't know. We didn't do ballet though. I wanted to dance!"
Since Lexie didn't get in to the school for the fall I put her in a ballet/tap class instead and called it 'her preschool.' Now she thinks preschool is only supposed to be 1 hour of fun dancing around the room...oooopps. I think I was way more thrilled about the REAL preschool than Lex...bummer.
...In Utah this time 
around:
family, missed friends, Cafe Rio, Taipan, feeding the horses at Ama's ranch, seeing aunts, uncles, & cousins, BYU football (ha! we rule!), Rod Works, relaxing, eating, wrapped in blankets by the fire, coooold, Sensuous Sandwich, eating, Roberts Crafts, greatly missed 3rd grade teacher, home-cookin' not done by me, shopping, BYU Bookstore, beautiful mountains, making gingerbread houses, Rachel, Seth & the whole Ogden crew, BYU bookstore, fun at Grandma's ranch, Ama rocking 
my babies, early Christmas presents, eating some more, BYU basketball, candy overload, visiting Pops, Manti Temple, can't fit it all in my car to come back home, shove all the fun into a few days and need to go back soon, did I say eat? Since when did playing catch become a contact sport? We miss Utah for these reasons, but we're glad to be back home enjoying 70 degrees in November. I can visit the changing of the seasons an
d live in the best season of all in San Diego... 
In light of Thanksgiving next week I'm going to post 'Simple Gratitudes' as I think of them. They may not be the obvious things I'm grateful for like my family, testimony, etc..I guess whatever makes my boat float that day.
During the middle of THE TRIAL of my life, aka Viviana's pregnancy and the after-math, I was on bedrest for 3 months with five children who needed a functioning mother. Thank heavens for a very capable husband, caring friends, and a loving mother willing to move mountains just to help! With the events of May 9 and post-birth with a 1 lb. 12 oz. micro-preemie I was traveling RT 62 miles to the hospital daily (for 100 days). At first I had to call on friends to drive me when Curt could not because I was not able to drive with my c-section.
On one of these days, my dear friend, Malisa, had just picked me up...I think it was when Viviana was 6 days old. We started out and along the way we had to stop the car for some 
unsuspecting pedestrians to cross. It was a family of ducks walking across the street...with mother at the head and her 11 little babies following closely behind. For some odd reason it was an awe-inspiring moment--I'm sure Malisa just thought I was nuts. It brought me to reality and at that very moment I was so grateful for Heavenly Father's creation and something so simple as a family of ducks amidst a crazy busy world and life we create for ourselves.
It was a WOW moment for me that we've been given this amazing responsibility to care for our little ones and that they need us in so many ways. For just that moment I was able to leave my crazy life behind to appreciate and awe over this beautiful sight. I'd like to think the little family of duckies was there just for me to see that day and to ponder over at that very moment in time. I even whipped out my camera to shoot some pictures. 
I'm thankful for sights so simple as a family of duckies in a row as to me they now represent the creation and our responsibilities to one another as well as how very special the calling of 'mother' is. Little did I know that 45 minutes later I would have the privilege of holding our precious 1 lb. 12 oz. miracle for the very first time. Every one of our children needed my attention and somehow, with my amazing husband, we were able to fulfill the vast needs of 6 little ones during this crazy time. I thought I'd lose my mind sometimes. How grateful I am that we were granted a miracle. I think one day I will adopt a family of ducks to live in our yard just to remind me of the sacred yet simple things in life.
These 'gratitudes' are in no special order by the way...
I am NOT lame...read on! It really is a simple thing...I'm thankful for my microwave! I just don't know how anyone ever lived without this modern convenience...especially when your husband blows it up the night before Christmas Eve dinner!
Curt needed a timer...easy enough, right? Every microwave has a timer. So after 30, YES 30 minutes of cooking nothing but the glass turntable (apparently he didn't see the button that said 'timer') with some smoke & some sparks the darn thing blew! The cupboards that are housed above and below it were piping HOT for DAYS after this little mishap. It sounds more dynamic than it really was--what was dynamic is how TICKED I was at him for doing what I thought was such a mindless thing! I will not repeat the things that I said. I will NOT repeat the things that I said. That's when ugly mommie/wife really came out! One would think after someone smelled the burning we would have figured it out. Needless to say Curt did the best he could to replace the microwave at 8:00 that night, the night before Christmas Eve '06. I think he really just wanted to get out of the house, but he undid the booboo; Thats all that mattered! Thank heavens for scented candles-stale burn just didn't float my boat.
The reason I thought of this is because much of my food right now consists of the frozen diet variety (I know, you're thinking YUM!) and the microwave is acting up. I've had to use the neighbor's a few times this week and I'm just waiting for this one to blow...during the holiday season. I really should just save the drama and get it fixed before it blows when I really need it. Why was I so quick to loose my cool?!! I really need to work on that. Hey, I was pregnant then, that's it...never again...and this time I REALLY mean it!
P.S. ugly mommie doesn't rear her head very often, that's why it's such a big deal when it happens! I'm really not a monster....promise.
Don't underestimate the value of an afternoon nap! When I was in college at BYU we could go into the women's bathroom and they had these cots and loungers to lie down on--do they still have those??? I'm one of those students who took full advantage of that great concept and occasionally I would go snooze for an hour in between classes--or at least rest my eyes for a few minutes! (maybe more than I'm willing to admit--I just thought this university was so very intuitive on the needs of a woman! Wow was I happy to be at BYU!) The guys never understood why their bathrooms were not so posh. Looking back, it was most definitely for the pregnant students...We ARE talking about BYU here--the Multiply and Replenish Capital, USA! note... I was never pregnant at BYU. I know, hard to believe.
Fast forward to today--with six kids and up before the sun I get super tired everyday. I don't know if you ever get used to it. Yesterday as I was 'surveying' the house and the tornado that
apparently whipped through my little corner of Glencrest Dr. (unbeknownced to me-is that even a word?!). Lexie read my body language and said, "Is ugly mommie going to come out?" I'm happy to say ugly mommie did not rear her ugly head thanks to the little catnap I took with my girls earlier in the afternoon!
It's a bless-ed thing when my three little girls all nap at the same time--I can either get some shut-eye with them or do laundry---it's a no-brainer almost every time! No, I really don't take advantage of the nap hour but once or twice a week when I really need it! Did I say I'm grateful to be a stay-at-home mom in this season of my life? And that I CAN take naps every now and then so that ugly mommie can just stay in the closet or in some other hole in my house and not rear her ugly head!!!
Maybe it's a 3-year-old thing or perhaps I'm raising the closest thing to myself in Lexie. She can be the biggest drama queen that EVER walked but when she turns the sweet on she can be the biggest lover girl EVER. I hear literally 50 times a day "I love you Mom" and if I don't answer for whatever reason it becomes louder, "I LOVE YOU MOM!!" and if I don't answer again (on the phone or something) she will just keep yelling it louder and louder with increasing anger until I reassure her that yes, "I love you more, Lexie." It's like a game of 'tag, you're it' with professing our love for each other. I LOVE IT and just cherish that my little girl wants to tell me her feelings because you just never know how/if that will change as she gets older. She can brighten anyone's day with her loves and I'm thankful for that in her. She even makes "appointments" to cuddle and rock. Everyday she asks me if we're going to rock just to make sure that I'm 'ON'---like who wouldn't want to snuggle with their little girls? I have nothing better to do! It's part of the routine and she melts down if the routine is broken. What's it going to be like when she goes away to college?! I can already tell she's a romantic. She cracks me up with her loves. I'm thankful for Lexie's ability to vocalize and communicate her feelings and especially her love for me! We need that as mommies! Just as I'm about to publish this post Lexie says to me, "Mom, you're pretty" followed by "Mom, you're the nicest mom ever." Sometimes it's just nice to hear those things from an innocent little girl! I hope she still feels the same way in 10 years!!!! Only time will tell...
Disclaimer: Okay I can hear it now from my kids that read this--YES, I'm more than grateful for each one of you! I'm just thinking of the way Lex spills her undying love for me today!! Love you ALL more!
Allison 'tagged' me and so here are some things you may or may not know about me:
I'm grateful that Curt has a career that allows me to be a stay-at-home Mom. Yes, it's difficult at times--heaven knows we sure could use a second income and sometimes I wish I could trade places with Curt just to get a break!! Sometimes I want to poke my own eyeballs out and have to give myself time-outs! That is normal, right??? But there's nothing more rewarding and joyful for this season in my life which will disappear all too soon. I recognize the rewards for this privilege I have of staying home with our children. I'm thankful that MY babe, Curt, has full confidence in me! XXXOOXX
I have this adventurous streak--I have always wanted to hang glide off the Point of the 
Mountain in Draper, Utah. I never had the chance because I was pregnant for most of the last 3 years we lived there (miscarriage before Lex & Iz). It's not that I'm this crazy thrill-seeker ...maybe it's the desire to 'fly'- Curt reminds me of my responsibility to our six children and at the same time has taken out a hefty insurance policy on me--is he trying to tell me something? Maybe he has tamed me a little bit.
I'm a do-it-yourself-er. Maybe that's not a complete 'unknown' fact. But it gets kind of obsessive 
at times. I'm the type that has a hard time spending money on things that I can make or do myself. A lot of it is the thrill of a completed project or gained skill. We've saved a lot of money over the years--hey, I even learned how to change brakes on my car last year (thanks to detailed instructions from my brother over the phone and my neighbor's helping hand). I enjoy doing everything from baby bows/flowers, photography, vinyl signs, baby blankies/burpies/lovies, sewing custom drapery, pillows, duvets, painting, designing--you know, all the crafty cutesie homemaker 
stuff, to tiling, taking out the side of a deck to install stairs (with the help of brothers) and knocking a hole in a fence to install a gate for quick access to school (AF house). If there's a way for me to learn how to do it and the quality isn't compromised, I'd much rather take that route and gain a skill than spend the money to watch someone else do it. The jury is out on whether this is obsessive, frugal, resourceful...or a combination of all of that. (The pics are before/after I transformed my UT master bath from ripping out the carpet, installing slate, to re-staining cabinetry..what a project that was!)
I have a photographic memory for numbers. Whoppee right? Yeah, it doesn't really serve me well for anything but a convenience-I'm not a CPA or anything like that. But I can rattle off my credit card #'s and even their exp. dates, cvc codes and things like our phone number from when I was 5 years old and every address we've ever lived at (since I could read). If I've dialed your phone number more than once then it's probably stored somewhere in my memory bank. With the convenience of cell phones & their phone books I don't use my little 'whopee' memory as much as I could. Just one of those things that was passed on to me from my dad.
I'm proud of this next one----I am 34...been driving for 18 years...and I've NEVER had a speeding/traffic ticket! I can't say that I haven't deserved my fair share of them, but my 
dad always taught me to drive 'with the rear view mirror. ' I've been pulled over a handful of times, but escaped with a slap on my hand. I realize as I'm writing this that I'm probably jinxing myself, but that's a dang good streak--betcha none of you can say that about yourselves?!!! Shouldn't I receive some sort of major insurance discount or accolade for that achievement???
And lastly, I'm still trying to figure out what I want to be 'when I grow up!' 
For this season it's an at-home mom. But I've always had the desire to go back and complete a masters degree. I used to think it would be in Special Ed ( I have a BS in Elementary Education), but as life's experiences change my needs, wants, and desires, that goal also changes. Sometimes I think deep down I have the ability to design and pursue opening my very own business of what--don't know yet! Other times my thoughts and passions lie with the pursuit of a medical degree of-sorts...becoming a Physician's Assistant (PA) in Pediatrics. Heck, I'm already half-way there with six kids and the sick days, diagnosis, treatment, etc...or at least it feels that way! We'll see what the future holds.
That took forever...now I tag Marla, Becky, & Poppy--go girls!
...and finally on the growth chart for her length! It's only the ONE percentile at 24 1/2 inches, but we'll take it! They're using a growth chart based on her real age, not her 'adjusted age' so it's all just numbers to me!
You know how you let your kids try out all kinds of sports and extra-curricular activities in an effort to find where their talents and interests lie? Some parents even put their children in every sport year after year so that they are back to back scheduled from basketball to baseball soccer and then football....all year long. I think those moms enjoy the chaos!!! Who wants to take the kids to/from all those practices and games which, let's be honest, really means going through the McD's drive-thru several times a week?! Not to mention your sanity Saturday is no longer that--it's ALL about the kids-ALL WEEK LONG!
I think it wears kids out (and mom& dad too) having so much scheduled for them and doesn't allow a child to be just that...a child. What ever happened to the Brady Bunch and just good 'ole family fun at home? (BTW, Brady Bunch re-runs are a big hit at our house)! We're only missing one INTEGRAL part of that picture.. what happened to our Alice? She's WAY under-rated.
Anyway, the bigger part is that when you schedule a child, you schedule an adult and there's only 2 of us to go around! What gives??? It's a laborious task that we, as parents do for our children...who typically don't appreciate all that goes into the loaded question, "Mom, can I sign up for basketball?"
It really tugs at the bank account and the gas tank especially with six children, four of which are in sports, dance, scouts, achievement days or music of some sort...not to mention school and all its homework, fundraisers, projects, book reports, etc etc. I'm tired just thinking about it!
So, we've given our oldest the time to figure out what it is they enjoy and we think 3rd-5th grade is about the time they can finally decide and hone in on ONE sport and ONE music skill/talent having tried EVERYTHING. And we're sticking to it! (At least this year...)
Brayden fell in love with baseball last spring and because we won't let him continue with Pop
Warner Football (concussion last year) he's sticking to baseball until the middle school flag football team becomes an option next year. Ever since he was in K, he's had an interest in violin. We were lucky enough to get him into lessons this year given by the San Marcos Symphony Youth Orchestra. So far so good! Isn't he so grown-up??!!
McKenzie has begged to try tennis, which is a great year-round option here in So. Cal. She just
completed her first round and we need to find another instructor...hers more than stinks! She's been playing piano and does quite well but we're also in the market for a new teacher. She and Mons have taken piano for a year through our after school program but it's not individualized enough to keep their interest and develop their skill.
Monson is pretty much great at everything. Not that our other kids aren't. He's just got that
extra bit of something with everything he touches. He's a natural athlete and has quickly excelled in everything he's tried. He shoots hoops with his 'best friend,' Mackynzie, across the street (she's 14...and really nice to Monson...you fill in the blanks). Monson just started playing basketball in a league this week and he says he's sticking to it. He's an incredibly talented pianist...he plays by ear. He wasn't great with this piano program we had him in because when you don't care too much about theory and read notes too well you're shoved aside. He composes his own music and adds his friend's guitar into it...amazing. He hears something on a CD that he likes and goes to the piano to figure it out. We need to find him a good Suzuki Method Teacher here so he can fully develop this talent. Who knows what lies ahead for Monson.
Lexie is taking a tap/ballet class once a week that she calls 'her preschool.' I finally got her
registered for the local preschool starting right after Thanksgiving. She's already carting around a backpack that's 10x her size just because it has wheels and practices playing school with her baby dolls.
Izzie is just the spunky little 2-year-old. Our friend gave her a talking/yelling/screeching
cheerleader doll that her daughter outgrew and I'd like to THANK her for that!! We definitely needed more noise in THIS house! It actually is really cute and funny to see Izzie dance and sing along to the cheer songs, having memorized all of them already...with that same sparkle in her eye that Monson has. Who can resist?
Tomorrow is ALL ABOUT VIVIANA. She turns 6 months....BIG milestone...stay tuned.
ARE THEY REALLY ALL OURS?
McKenzie decided to be a cell phone...right up her alley! It is one of the costumes Marshalls practically paid me to take out the door...
Guilty as charged! Izzie came trotting downstairs tonight with her blankie in hand, paci all ready to shove in her mouth for comfort and upon seeing her we all burst into laughter. I don't think that's the reaction she was expecting!
Let me back up. I was gone for 2 hours running quick errands...mind you, I took 1/2 the kids with me so that Curt wouldn't go nuts. The 1/2 that stayed home were Izzie (MIA), McKenzie (at Kayla's house), and Viviana (sweet and innocent in Curt's arms or the swing the whole time). So, what's the deal? I guess when a two year old gets something in her head there's no stopping her no matter which parent is at home!
When it got too quiet upstairs and Curt was just hangin' with Vivie, someone should have become suspicious... I mean this is Isabella we're talking about and she is NOT a quiet and innocent two-year-old! She had opened up McKenzie's marker box (and no, they are NOT the erasable kind) and just went to town...on herself. She got her clothes, her legs up to her knees, all down her arms...
You know she's her mommie's daughter because the most detailed funny part was that she made sure that she 'painted' every last nail...all 10 toes and all 10 fingers--up the cuticle to the first knuckle on each. She did a bang-up job! I should have gotten in line! She even changed colors to pink when she got to her toes and fingers! I guess it's been a few weeks since she had her fingers and toes painted and she just wasn't willing to wait any longer. She found a way to do it herself and hey, I'll take the marker over the nail polish any day! Although something tells me we'll probably be doing the nail polish all over the carpet thing with Izzie one of these days.
What goes through a two-year-old's head when they do this kind of thing? The coolness of the marker-tip must just feel good...like I don't tickle her arms enough at night during our bedtime routine? Maybe she just really couldn't handle the moritorium we put on all the drawing paper they waste so hands, legs, arms will do just fine? She's a budding artist? I'm just glad it wasn't the bed, sheets, or carpet.
And what's up with the nervous picking-your-nose habit??? Every one of our kids has some crazy nervous habit like that. Is that normal? She's just that way....our dear, sweet, spunky Isabella Daisy. I think every family needs one like her. The more kids you have, the more of her kind you get. We definitely have at least two...it's never boring at our house! Gotta love Izzie!
So don't you hate those days where you have to plan every minute of the day from sunrise (in my case before sunrise) to sunset just to make sure it runs smoothly? I'm exhausted just thinking about it! We had three major Dr. appointments today from one end of the city to the other. I think I would have been just plain retarded to try to take Izzie & Lexie so THANK YOU Malisa & Karyn for chilling out with them so we could run around with Viviana!
Vivie had her liver/kidney ultrasound this morning down at Rady Children's Hospital next door to where she was born...always brings back a flood of memories when I'm down in that neighborhood--did we really live that life at the hospital for 4 months? Still seems more than a little bit surreal!
But on a side note a nurse today told me of a mom who actually had it more difficult. I know everyone handles his/her stress in different ways, but this one takes the cake. This mom had a 24 week old preemie that survived and then didn't practice good birth control, got pregnant again right away and then delivered a 23 week old preemie so that her x-micro-preemie children are 7 months apart...and she also has a 3 year old. How's that for a lesson in birth control? At least the next oldest in our family is almost 2 years older...even if it is Izzie (those who KNOW her know what I'm talking about) and even if there's 6 of 'em!
So back to Vivie's day with the Doctors. Vivs ultrasound went well and in fact her hemangiomas appear to be the same in number and in size in her liver. The one adjacent to her kidney looks like it has reduced in size which may indicate that these hemangiomas could be involuting, or decreasing in size. A follow-up ultrasound in January will tell us for sure what's going on.
Then it was off to the GI Specialist in Escondido...pumping & feeding Vivs somewhere along the way. I'm so unimpressed with this group of specialists. They called me this morning on the way to the ultrasound to change my 2:00 appt to mid-afternoon because the Dr. didn't want to take later appointments (which was scheduled 6 weeks ago). I was a little ticked by the phone call and wasn't paying attention on the freeway and took the wrong turn-off and ended up going towards Ramona...don't you hate it when you're in a hurry and do stupid things?
Anyway, it worked out fine and we made it to an earlier GI appointment. Viviana's liver enzymes from the blood tests we did yesterday are a little elevated, which indicates that her liver is a little out of whack. It may also be due in part to passing this crazy sickness around for the last few weeks at our house. So we'll repeat those labs in 3 weeks to make sure. Because of the good news on the ultrasound and overall on the lab results she doesn't need another GI appt until February. Originally they wanted to repeat the MRI (which would require Vivs to go under) in February but I'm crossing my fingers that it won't be necessary!
So I dilated Vivie's eyes and off we went to see the Opthamalogist. Vivie's eyes look the same. The ROP is completely gone and the ridge that was created by the ROP has dissolved as well. The blood vessels still need to grow past that ridge in her right eye, but her left eye is perfect. So we won't go back to that Dr. for another 6 weeks which is a beautiful thing!
With all the needle poking, proding, rubbing, pulling at her eyes, tummy, liver, head...no wonder she's so ex
hausted tonight and spitting up all her yummy milk that took so much effort to make!
Both of us are exhausted and Vivs is conked out in her carseat---wish I could join her! When's it my turn? I mean really...when's it my turn??! The kids just walked in from their first day back at school since the evacuation (can I say how much I loooove school??)
Because I was a procrastinator and didn't get the kids' costumes in order I get to run around and do that tonight to fill in the missing pieces. Rapunzel & Cinderella without crowns just don't work too well and poor Mons doesn't have a costume! He refuses to be a pirate for the 3rd year in a row. When did they start getting opinions??!!
We made it back home late Friday night after Vivie got sick and I felt like she needed to be seen by her Dr on Saturday morning. Her lungs are fine--she just sounds gurgly and congested in her upper respiratory area.
A BIG shout out to The Collyers for their amazing hospitality and for putting up with SIX monkeys for a few days...well, five--Vivie hasn't reached 'monkey' status yet!
Upon returning, our home did smell of smoke--so the fans went on and we lit the scented candles. I have to order an air filter/ionizer for our home to help with those particulates in the air which should help get the kids healthy and keep them that way!
I'm sure that Lori & Glen just thought we were a little strange tonight while feeding Vivs she strained and then blew out her diaper. Curt and I were shocked and we literally shouted for joy! SHE POOPED HER DIAPER...you're thinking...what's the big deal???? Vivie has had a struggle in the poop muscle department for quite a while and this is one of those 'firsts!' Not a sentimental first, but reason for celebration! YAY! She did it without babylax! C'mon....you can't underestim
ate a good BM--you ALL know what I'm talking about! I spared you the picture of the real deal...it's tucked inside that diaper. And from the picture of that happy baby face you can tell Vivie will sleep like a baby tonight...which means I will sleep like a baby tonight too. Ah, the pillow's calling!
