What I did on my summer vacation

I am home again. It is good to be sleeping in my own bed, I hate sleeping on air mattresses (although they are better than sleeping on the floor). We are now trying to get organized and clean up the house. It always seems like no matter how clean the house is when you leave, unpacking the car destroys all that in a matter of seconds.

We had a lot of fun during our vacation. We went on a small hike in some old growth redwoods. The boys loved running along the path and touching the trees. Harry did quite well with his little legs and only needed to be carried at the very end. There are no pictures since everyone forgot cameras.


Evan and Harry had a blast eating the fruit in Grandma and Grandpa's garden. My inlaws have plums, pears, cherries, apricots, peaches, apples, raspberries, boysenberries, blackberries (wild and thorn less), blueberries and strawberries. Blackberries, raspberries, peaches and plums were in season in a big way. Evan and Harry each ate several plums every time they went out in the yard in addition to numerous blackberries that I would pick for them along the way to the plum tree.

It was a bad week for the drones in my father in law's bee hives. He found several drones that had been booted from the hive for having tattered and worn out wings. Since they are sting less he brought them out to the boys so they could get a good look. Evan kept dropping them when they were put on his hand because they "pickled".


Croquet was all the rage. Evan was even able to get in on the fun when his Uncle and Daddy tried to teach him how to play. Sadly his stellar career as a croquet star was cut short when he hucked his ball down the gully into a thicket of blackberries and poison oak. For some strange reason no one was willing to let him play after that.



The boys had a lot of fun playing with their cousins. Evan even joined in a game of dress up. My niece would take him dancing down the hallway and Evan would beg for more.

We had a blast at the beach. Evan spent most of the time digging in the sand. Harry was freaked out by the waves and cold water but eventually the little dare devil decided that the icy cold water was fun. We could hardly keep him out of the water at the end. He tripped running away from an extra big wave and fell in the water. That worried a bystander who talked to my husband about all the dangers of the ocean. I guess it is nice to know that people care, but I was right there next to him the entire time between him and the ocean at all times.

It is good to be back but I will not be relaxing I have a box of plums and several boxes of peaches to turn into jam.

My new addiction

Hi my name is Awesome Mom and I am addicted to making jam. My addiction started when I had a ton of strawberries that were going bad quicker than I had expected. I had a box of pectin in my cupboard (I am not sure why) and I decided to make some jam. Then Evan's physical therapist gave me some apricots which were begging to be made into jam, it turned out heavenly. I wish I could hide the few precious jars and keep them all to myself.

One of the reasons I was so excited to make the visit to my inlaws was that they have a large orchard with tons of fruit trees. We barely missed cherry season when we were there for the reunion but now we have peaches, plums, raspberries and blackberries in season. I did not manage to find enough raspberries for jam but got a nice raspberry and peach jam recipe. I can't wait to taste it on some toast. I am hoping to bring home a bunch of peaches for some more jam. I think that I need a twelve step program before I go nuts and fill the garage with jam jars.

Vacation posting

I have snuck away and I decided to do a little blogging. The weather is lovely here on the coast, it actually gets quite chilly in the evening. We thought ahead and brought blanket sleepers for the boys. I am enjoying a chance to really catch up with my SIL. We have always gotten along quite well and she is a great person to chat with. She also confirmed her pregnancy with their third (and final) child. I think that Harry will miss being the youngest grandchild, a post that he has held for all of his life.

Church was interesting today. I actually got to threaten Evan with not being able to go to nursery if he did not behave in sacrament meeting. That is a card I had not been able to play before because even if he did not have to be there in nursery I still had to go to run things. I was a bit worried that Harry would freak out that I was not in nursery with him but he did not care one bit. It was Evan that gave me the trouble. He had a diaper change right after Sunday School. After I finally got that squared away and got back into Relief Society not five minutes later Evan was back with the nursery leader claiming that he needed a diaper change. After checking him and confirming that there was nothing there I gave up hope of an adult lesson and just stayed with the kids in nursery.

I have been missing the adult classes while I was stuck in nursery, but Sunday School cured me of that. It was a rather dry lesson and it was all I could do to stay awake. I guess it would have helped if I had even knew what scriptures we were studying but having been in nursery or wrangling a kid made sure that I forgot long ago where we even were in the scriptures.

I got a chance to wear my lovely new high heels to church. I loved that they made me tall enough that I could look my husband directly in the eyes. Other than that I was glad to take them off. I forgot how much they hurt your feet after wearing them for awhile. I am still planning on wearing them to the wedding but I doubt they will replace my flats for normal wear. I am not sure how women can wear them all day year after year.

Vacation time

We are leaving tomorrow for a week at my inlaws. Evan has been harassing me ever since I mentioned that a trip to Grandma's house as in the future. He can't understand why we can't just hop in the car and leave right now. He also now has an incredibly tenacious memory, a good night's sleep is no longer enough to make him forget about something. I doubt I will be doing any blogging, they have dial up and it takes forever to simply check my email. Here are some fun links to entertain you while I am away. Enjoy!

• A shirt that combines two fun things, knitting and pirates.
• The Navy really knows how to have fun while on deployment.
• A great pillow for a fun practical joke.
• More Monty Python, but with a hilarious twist.
• What stars would look like if they were normal like us.
• The hot new cell phone.
• This is what happens when someone has a lot of time on their hands.
• It is never too early to turn your child into a geek.
  

Clarification

My previous rant was not at all about the dental insurance company. Our dental insurance while not stellar, as far as coverage goes, they still have been very prompt with approvals and taking care of bills. I heart our health insurance in a big way. Sometimes it is a bit slow with things but they have an unparalleled coverage. We have not payed a penny out of pocket for any of Evan's medical care. There are co-pays for prescriptions but only if you use a civilian pharmacy.

We do need to figure out a better system for health care, but I am not really sure I trust our government to run the health care industry. There are waiting lists for care in places like Canada and England. People can die while waiting for diagnostic tests or surgeries. Patients are denied services because they have a slightly higher BMI than the rules say they may have to get treatment. I am also not certain that we would have the level of innovation that we enjoy in the US. There are so many non invasive treatments available for heart defects that are not available in other countries. I wish that there was a clear solution to the health care crisis.

A billing nightmare

I have expressed my annoyances with the dental school that we used to get Evan's teeth taken care of but my frustration level has now reached a new high.

We got a bill for the services rendered. We knew that a large portion of the bill would be covered by the insurance so we just ignored it, waiting for them to send us the real bill that had our portion on it. My husband did take it in with him to work so that the gal that helps people out with insurance issues could check on the status of the insurance claim. It turned out that a claim had not even been submitted.

We then get another bill, telling us that we were past due. Of course that freaks us out a bit so the insurance gal calls the dental school and tries to get them to tell her what is going on. They ignore the calls. They also ignore calls from my husband. Once my husband steps up the frequency of calls they finally call ME! at HOME! (in the middle of my attempt to nap) which is not where they had been directed to call.

I engage in an inane conversation where we establish after several repetitions that I am not happy that we are getting bills that are saying past due and I am very unhappy that we are getting bills before the insurance company is billed. My favorite quote of the conversation was "Well I am not the one sending out the bill, it is done by computer" I had steam shooting out of my ears at that point. I didn't care who precisely was sending the bill or how it was sent. I cared that it was being sent and that they were threatening our credit in the process. I did not want this bill to go to collections.

I found out after my husband got home from work that there were other issues that I had not had a chance to be told about. Apparently there are some lines in the bill that are quite shady, teeth that were worked on that I was not told about ect. They also stuck in a charge for the gingivitis visit. I knew that we would have to pay for that since it was beyond out coverage but I had thought they would bill us in a different bill instead of hiding it in with the bill for a different procedure. They are going to get an earful from my husband and a complaint filed against them with the insurance company. We are so not going to be using them ever again for any kind of dental work at all. I have had it and am tired of being talked down to and being cheated out of money.

Stream of Consciousness

I have been having sleep issues for the last few nights which are probably related to feeling crummy due to my mild cold. We will be leaving on Saturday for my inlaw's house and I am having a hard time getting motivated enough to even think about getting ready to go. This vacation will be the start of a vacation from physical therapy for Evan. His therapist is taking six weeks off to go see her family in Switzerland. It will be nice to have more mornings free but also it will be frustrating to have to plan more things for the kids to do. Quiet mornings at home are anything but quiet. They are both so used to doing things in the morning that if I try and stay home I get crying and whining galore. It drives me nuts, but it also drives me to exercise more and longer as the kids are very good during long stroller rides. I have gone walking for two hours and Evan will ask for another walk as soon as we get back in the house. Maybe I will be able to remove a few ponds before my sister's wedding. A girl can dream.

I need a nap, but often when I fell this tired I will sleep too long during the day. That only adds to my sleeping issues as I am not tired in the evening when I need to go to bed. Evan is also giving up naps, so I can't even count on much quiet time. Often if I try and even just lay down to rest while Evan plays in the living room I end up getting smacked in the face with books and toys that he is trying to get me to look at. Harry has become a destroyer of books. He thinks that tearing out pages is fun. I now have a library book that needs a lot of tape. I also have library books that are long overdue. I will try and go tonight with out the kids so that I can find something fresh to read. It sucks being all out of books to read. Maybe if I had something to read I would sleep better at night.

I may already be a winner!

I was just checking my email and apparently I have won a large sum of money from the Irish lottery,£475,318(GBP) to be exact. A surprising thing is that they do not even ask for my bank account number so that they can wire me the money, all they wanted was my name, phone number, mailing address and marital status. They may have been just phishing for a date instead of the typical scam that is looking for money.

I also recently was sent an email telling me that my Paypal information needed to be updated. My first big warning that this was a scam was that it was not sent to the email account that is registered to my Paypal account. I have several different ones for different kinds of email. When I clicked on the link I checked out the URL. It was not a Paypal address but the actual web page was convincingly accurate which would fool an unwary person. I forwarded the email to the fraud department of Paypal.

Maybe next week I will get the change to help a Nigerian businessman get his large sums of money out of the country. A girl can always hope.

Sunday cuteness

Evan had a ladybug land on his arm awhile back. I took his arm and showed him the ladybug which quickly took off and flew away. Now Evan thinks that any flying insect is a ladybug. We leave the back screen door open so that the kids can go in and out while I make dinner. A few flies make it in the house as well. Now whenever Evan sees a fly he tried to encourage the "ladybugs" to land on his arm.

Friday evening while my husband was off at a church activity the boys and I broke out the stickers. The ones that Evan took off of himself Harry would take and put on his tummy.

"Hmm which one would look good on my belly button?"

"I will put it right here!"

Evan reluctantly allowed me to take this picture of him with a few stickers on his face.

A crazy day

I have had a pretty mixed day today. I am sick but it is not flat out awful sick. Mostly I have a dry hacking cough caused by post nasal drip.

I had been dreading The Great Dress Shopping For L's Wedding. I hate shopping for dresses. I hate going into malls to shop. I am so super picky, plus the dress had to match her wedding color theme (fall colors), so I felt it would end up being a huge ordeal. My husband had the day off today so I figured I would suck it up and start the process. I didn't want to end up not having something nice for the wedding and have to shop for something at the last second. I felt my best chance at success would to be leave both kids and my husband at home.

Much to my amazement I found something! It is a skirt/shirt combo in a beautiful deep purple. It is made from a sheer fabric so it feels floaty. The only downside is that it is sleeveless, so I am going to find a brown cardigan to go over it. The sales lady that rang me up was very enamored of it, so I knew I had a winner. I will have to get final approval from my sister but even if it is not quite right for her wedding I may just keep it any way, I like it that much. I also found some nice shoes for the wedding. They are classic looking pumps. I decided to go form heels after 10 years of not wearing them. I wanted to be a bit taller in the pictures. I am going to have to practice walking in them as I have lost the knack. I almost twisted my ankle just trying them on.

My day took a bit of a nosedive when I came home. Both kids were super cranky all afternoon. Harry was especially bad even though he took a long nap. Both boys have the runs so we have been changing diapers like crazy. All the shopping gave me a nasty headache that has not been touched by medication but the pain is not too bad as long as I am not hearing my children shriek like monkeys while they are fighting. Hopefully now that both kids are in bed and sleeping I will be able to ditch the headache.

Nope

I am not getting sick. That touch of soreness in my throat is a figment of my imagination. My stuffy nose is not really there. Just because my kids and my husband are sick it does not mean that I will get sick too. No no no no no no I am not getting sick and that is my final word on this matter.

Mmmmmm

There is nothing more refreshing after a long walk while pushing 60+ pounds of children in a double stroller than some grasshopper cookies (the Keebler version of thin mints) right out of the freezer.

Toddlers

Evan did not start walking until he was 21 months old. I missed out on some fun stages in toddlerhood that I am now getting to observe with Harry. The funnest stage that I seem to have missed was the whole running off and then pretending not to hear mommy stage while doing something gross (like eating something found on the ground). It is also fun watching Harry run around the house with his sense of purpose. He always seems to be doing something super important (to him).

Something that really tickles me about Harry is watching him copy Evan. Evan will be coloring and then he will use the crayon to put dots on the paper. Seconds later Harry will start dotting his paper with dots too. Evan will kiss the TV when a character comes on that he really likes. Harry now does the very same thing. The screen is quite gross now. When I was a kid I never liked it when my younger sisters would copy me, but now I see it with different eyes and it makes me happy to see it.

Harry also has a sense of fearlessness that Evan still does not have. Harry loves to throw caution to the wind and rushes headlong into things. The other day at the park I was busy helping Evan on the swings. I look up and Harry is at the top of the big kid's play area ready to go down a very tall slide. Before I can say anything he starts going down. He was soo excited when he got down that I just had to laugh. Toddlers are so much fun!

Monkey feet

I have been long teased about my feet. As you can see from the picture my second toe is longer than my big toe (the "normal" being the big toe being the longest toe). My mother and some of my sisters were born with "normal" feet so in their ignorance and jealousy they loved to tease me about my monkey feet. I love my feet and their usefulness. I can pick things up off the floor with my ultra flexible toes. I have even played Monopoly with my feet. I practice these things so that if I ever loose the use of my hands I will still be able to do many of the things that I can do now.

It tickles me to no end that both of the boys have feet like mine. It was no real surprise that they were born this way, as I married a fellow monkey footed person. What is really fun is that they both are making use of their extraordinary anatomy entirely on their own. I have not done anything to encourage them to use feet as hands and yet they are discovering the fun of it on their own. Evan is the best at the use of the foot, but Harry is picking it up by watching.

Sunday cuteness

What is wrong with this picture? There are three adults busily designing a very complicated train track pattern, but where is the child that this toy was supposedly designed for?

Here he is! Off in his own little world having fun with the light.

This is Harry's playpen. The boys get giggly and rowdy, so I nap them in separate rooms. Harry loves to bring all sorts of odds and ends into the playpen with him. He goes right to sleep, so I allow it. Evan plays the entire time no matter how sleepy, so he lost the privilege of bringing toys to nap time. You will note that there is some tooth paste, a roll of medical tape and a book. Unseen are a multitude of small cars that are hiding under the blanket.

Here is Harry ready for his nap. Clutched in his hand is yet another small car.

I have a hilarious Harry story, well I think it is hilarious but you will have to be the judge of that. The other night, after bath time, Harry is running the hall like a mad man. He is sans clothing or diaper of any kind. I am still in the bathroom drying off Evan who loves to linger in the bath watching the water go down the drain. Harry lets a very loud toot. This surprises him a bit but he decides it is quite amusing and he laughs his laugh reserved for the most funny of situations.

I can see the little wheels start to turn in his little head. He is thinking "Gee that was funny, I want to try that again." Harry then looks like he is about to poop, he has the serious look on his face and is even grunting a bit. I fear for my clean carpet but Harry quickly perks up, realizing that he can't make another toot on demand. He is such a boy!

Super Powers

Last night while I was cooking dinner and keeping an eye on the boys while they played outside in the back yard my husband (who was in another room) asked me a question about something he was holding. I of course had no idea what he was holding and commented to that effect. My husband then teased me telling me that since I was Awesome Mom I should be able to see through walls. I reminded him that Superman was the one that could see through walls, I was Awesome Mom.

Awesome Mom has eyes in the back of her head to help her see when kids are fighting with each other and who is at fault. She is faster than a speeding toddler, but just barely. When the kids are in another room and suddenly it gets quiet her mommy senses tingle, telling her that something naughty is being done. Those same mommy senses also tell her when someone needs a nap (usually her) and when a diaper change is needed. She can leap baby gates with a single bound, except for the times when she is tired from a long day of caring for kids and does not lift her feet high enough. So you can see, I have different powers, but they are a lot more useful than knowing how to fly (How would you be able to carry both kids and all the junk you need?), or being able to see through walls so that you can tell what your husband is talking about.

Tags: super powers

Repost

This is something that I posted on an alternate blog while mine was broken. I just thought you all would like to know how my talk went and all that jazz.

I gave my talk on Sunday and I did a smashing job if I do say so myself (and I don't because I got a lot of comments). I think that blogging actually helped me out because for the first time I was able to write one out that sounded like I was speaking instead of reading. I also did not end up babbling and editing mid sentence. I purposely left it shorter than my alloted time because I knew that the person after me was talking about her pioneer ancestors (a little know fact is that tomorrow is Pioneer day, a day celebrated in Utah only) and they tend to ramble on a bit. We went over time so I knew that I was right in my decision. A crazy thing was that this time around I was not even that nervous. I was able to read slowly and distinctly instead of rushing and spitting into the microphone.

Evan and Harry both wanted to come up and sit with me on the stand. It was cute seeing them pointing at me excitedly when I was talking. When my husband gave his talk months ago (maybe even years ago) I know that I spent it outside with Evan and didn't get to hear a word. I was pleased that everyone stayed in the chapel the whole time even though I could hear both boys at times. If you are curious I will email anyone that asks a copy of my talk.

When I got home I ate lunch and then disappeared in to the bedroom for a Harry Potter reading frenzy. My husband took sole care of the children while I gorged myself on reading. I finished the book in eight hours (the same time that I finished the last book in) which included a dinner break. I am so glad that the book ended the way I wanted it to!

Tags: Harry Potter, church, children

Wheeee!!! I am baaack!!!!

My blog is finally up and running again! In case any of you wondered what was up and did not make it over to my other blog that I set up so that I would have an outlet for my pent up creativity here is the story. Friday afternoon Karen emailed me and asked me what was going on with my blog. It was stuck on an old post from Evan's last heart surgery and she was worried that Evan was in the hospital again until she noticed the date on the post. I freaked out and frantically tried to do anything that I could think of to try and fix it myself, which is my my template is vastly different at the moment. After emailing blogger that evening they finally got to me and fixed my blog. My blog had been flagged as spam earlier in the week, so I have a feeling that my broken blog may have resulted from them fixing that. Any way it is great to be back!!

Vote for Awesome Mom!

Head on over to Pediscribe and vote for my dirty story. I really really want to win really really badly. If I win I will get to have some really nice smelling bath products and that can only made the world a better place for everyone around me.

A bad mommy moment

The poor invalid in his chariot with blackberries smeared on his mouth. The red on his nose is from the fall.

Harry had a rough day today. He fell on his face while outside with Evan. Then after he got up from his nap his awful mother put his sandals on in such a way that his pinky toe was bent almost side ways. She then made him walk part way to the park with his brother, all the while in pain.

I feel so bad about that whole incident. I thought that he was just being his often difficult self. Afternoons are often difficult for Harry. I had promised Evan a trip to the park and he had been talking about it all afternoon so I was not going to let a cranky toddler ruin it when I figured he would eventually cheer up. He did eventually cheer up after some Tylenol and blackberries.

Oh and apparently this blog is considered a spam blog and I have to enter word verification until it is decided that I am an actual human. Sigh.

"I forgive you mommy, but only if you do what ever I want you to for the rest of my life"

Tags: owies, bad mommy, toe

The time is now!

I was at Target (one of my favorite places) and found a bunch of shorts on clearance in 3t for Evan to wear next summer. It reminded me that I need to get shopping for next season now if I want to get the good clearance. It seems crazy that we are only half way through summer and sweaters and long sleeves are already coming out.

A secret tip for my readers is that if you see a clearance price at Target and the price ends in a 4 that is the lowest price it will be. You had better buy it right then if you even think you might want it because in a few days they will be taking it off the shelf. I got the shorts for $2.24 marked down from $8.00. Also if you are at Costco and wondering if you want an item look at the sign. If there is a * then that is the last pallet of the item and they will not be restocking.

Tags: clearance, shopping, Target

Yikes!

I got a phone call this morning. I thought it was the physical therapist telling me that she was running late. Sadly I was mistaken. It was a member of the bishopric asking me to give a talk this Sunday. It has been over four years since I have given one, so I guess I was due. Luckily I am the first adult speaker so I can rush through my talk (like I normally do) and leave a lot of time for the poor sap *cough* I mean the lovely speaker that will be following me.

My topic is Home As a Refuge From The World. If anyone has any great stories, scriptures or quotes from the General Authorities please feel free to tell me about them (please I am begging). I have a feeling that I will not get as much research time as I did last time I spoke which was before I had kiddos.

Tags: public speaking, church

Money talk

Yesterday I spent $99.99 at the grocery store. My first thought was one of shock that I spent that much money at a grocery store that was not Costco. Then the number sunk in and I thought about how cool it was. At least I did not spend $999.99 in groceries for my growing boys. I have a feeling that my grocery budget numbers will have to rise that high when they get to be teenagers.

Tags: money, grocery store, food

Sunday cuteness

Guess what? This is my 500th post. Just thought you should know.

Here are some pictures of my blackberry boys. There are a couple of lovely blackberry thickets on a path that we love to walk on. The blackberries are just starting to get nice and ripe so it is fun to have a little snack in the middle of a walk. I do all the dangerous work and the boys enjoy the fruits of my labor. Evan got a lot messier than Harry because he did not have a tray to put the berries on. He just crammed them all in his mouth at once.

Tags: blackberries, messy kids, pictures

Everybody loves a parade

Every year a neighboring town has a parade to help celebrate the town's founding. Instead of the usual parade they made it into a kid's parade. Every other year we have been here we have not gone for one reason or another, but this year we were finally able to bring Evan and Harry to their first parade.

I love small town parades and this one was the perfect small town parade. The route was short, the crowds were not overwhelming and the parade was fun. We parked pretty far away but were able to snag a great spot in the shade at the end of the parade route. That was especially lucky because by then most of the candy throwing people were out of candy. The boys got just enough that it was fun for them but it was not too much for mommy and daddy to carry home. One boy even gave Harry some beads that he has missed out on getting because of his small size and slower little legs.

There was also booths and several bounce houses in the park. Evan and Harry got a huge kick out of mauling the very friendly and tolerant police dog. The local animal shelter had a game where you were supposed to toss dog treats in to the mouth of a picture of a dog to get a treat. Evan went right up to the picture of the dog and put them in, instead of standing back and tossing them in like all the other kids. I didn't let Harry do it because I knew he would try eat the dog treats rather than tossing them.

We finished off the fun day by eating lunch at a fish and chips place that I had been wanting to try for some time now. It was heaven and everyone enjoyed the deep fried food. It was fun and refreshing to do something different than the normal cleaning up the house on Saturday routine. It was also fun to explore the town some. I hope you had a fun Saturday.

Tags: parade, kids, children, dog

A dirty story

The lovely Karen at Pediscribe is doing a fun contest which involves dirty stories. Here is my entry for the contest.

Evan had just been released from the hospital after a long three week stay after he had his stroke. He had been in so long because it was tricky getting his blood thinning medications to the levels. In the end he was put on an injectable one called Lovenox. With Lovenox I had to take him in for weekly blood draws to make sure that the does was still correct.

I took him in for his first blood draw only a few days after his release. It was going to be done at a local hospital where Evan's cardiologist had been assured that he would be well looked over and they would be able to run the needed test. Evan had thrown up his first feeding of the morning ( I believe it was pear babyfood) but I had not given that a second though as at that time Evan was quite the puker. We bundled up and got in the car to head off to the hospital for the blood draw. I wanted to be there soon after the lab opened so that we would not have to wait.

On the way to the hospital Evan threw up again. This was a bit more worrisome to me as there was no apparent reason for him to be throwing up. He then puked on me again as we were walking from the parking lot to the hospital. I handed the receptionist the orders for the test and then proceeded to wait. While we were waiting Evan threw up again, and then he threw up again a little while later. I was wearing him in my sling so I was able to use the tail of it to help clean me and him up a bit, but eventually I was pretty covered in puke while we waited what seemed like an eternity for a blood draw. Why we had to wait so long was very unclear to me because for most of the wait we were the only ones in the waiting room.

We were finally called back where a very hesitant phlebotomist waited for us. He felt around for veins (which was a pretty iffy thing any way since Evan was so fresh out of the hospital) and even told me that he wished that he was drawing me instead of Evan. He made several half hearted attempts all the while Evan was still making his occasional pukes on me. The volume had gone down since his stomach was empty by now, but it was yellow due to the fact that he was throwing up bile.

Eventually pretty much every phlebotomist in the hospital (or so it seemed) had had a go at Evan's veins with no success. The guy called up Evan's cardiologist to see what the plan of action should be. He obsessed over the phone to the cardiologist about Evan throwing up and the very troubling fact (to him) that it was yellow. I lied and told him that Evan had a visit with his pediatrician already scheduled so he could stop worrying (I did get an appointment later that day). Evan's cardiologist ended up calling one of the noenatologists at the hospital and he came down and did an arterial draw getting blood the first time.

By the time I got home from what was supposed to be a quick blood draw I was exhausted from having to hold Evan down for all the attempts at drawing blood and I was covered in puke, Evan was covered in puke and the poor sling was covered in puke. My husband was home that day so I gladly handed him the gross baby and went right into the bathroom for a nice long shower.

The puking thing was a result of a stomach virus picked up at the hospital (which made it extra nasty than ones you pick up at other places) and Evan gladly shared his germs with the whole family. My husband threw up in his car on the way home from work the next day. I took Evan (who was feeling a lot better) with me to Target to pick up some sick supplies for my husband and ended up throwing up in the bathroom there. A kind lady came up to me as I was heaving my guts out and asked if she could do anything for me. I blindly shoved a crying Evan into her hands while I kept on puking. She could have kidnapped him and I would not have even been able to describe her to police, it was that bad.

Oh and did I mention that this was days before Christmas? Well it was. We were all excited that Evan got out of the hospital in time for his first Christmas and we had planned on flying to Utah to spend it with my family. That trip was canceled but my family was nice enough to come out to see us instead.

Annoyances

One of my least favorite things to do is having to deal with the ordering of medical supplies. The companies will give you too much of one thing and barely give you enough of another. When Evan had his feeding tube it was the bags for his feed pump that were the choke point. We got 30 and that was it. There were always one or two bags in the box that were bad for one reason or another which prevented us from building up any kind of minimal surplus.

At least with the feeding supplies we did not have to wait for authorization each and every time we needed a refill. Evan's test strips for his INR testing machine are that way. When we first got the machine we got a big box of 48 strips plus a plethora of lancets (we have still not run out of our initial supply of those). As the number of strips dwindled I started looking for a place to get refills. Once I found a place we had to jump through all the new patient hoops. Once all that was done I found out that I could not order a nice big box of 48 strips, those were only for doctor's offices. I had to get Evan's in boxes of 12 and I was only given one box at a time.

I thought I was doing good this last time by starting the whole reorder process when we were halfway through the box. We test every other week, so ideally the box of 12 would have lasted six months. Evan had a string of highs and lows that meant testing a lot more frequently and we were down to one lone test strip. I was about to call the company to chew them out for taking so long (although it was most likely my insurance's fault) when I finally got the call that they are on the way. This time I am getting a bounty of two glorious boxes of 12 test strips. I am giddy with joy right now.

Tags: INR, test strips, insurance, frustrations

A surreal moment

I was playing with the boys in the back yard (well back yard is kind of overstating things a bit, it is more of a small garden area with a patio) throwing pop its on the ground. The noise makes the boys giggle and they love trying to throw them (they hardly ever throw them hard enough and often end up accidentally stepping on them which makes them finally pop). I heard a voice and saw someone peeking in at us through the fence. She was asking if we had a diaper that she could have. I was a bit confounded for several moments as I am not used to being approached like that while I am in the supposedly private space that is my back yard. I of course gave her a diaper, it was the only thing to do really as I would never turn a desperate mom in need away.

I can only assume that she was a visitor to the town home complex, if she had lived here she would have presumably had an ample supply of diapers at home. I think that she may have been on her way to her car to possibly purchase some diapers when she heard my giggling boys and thought that since my kids were so little I was bound to have a bounty of diapers. She was lucky that I did not switch over completely to cloth diapers. Had that been the case I would have been a lot more reluctant to hand one over to a stranger. They are quite expensive to replace.

Tags: diapers, moms in need

I am not so fond of some people

I was playing around online a little while ago listening to the latest Pediacast when all of the sudden someone rang my doorbell very loudly and long. It figuratively scared the crap out of me (my underwear is still white thank you very much). I am now jumpy and still feeling the effect of the sudden adrenaline rush. Why are there so many morons in the world? I hope I can calm down enough that I can sleep.

Tags: annoying people

Sunday cuteness

Evan is finally starting to get into singing time during nursery. It is funny watching him sing and do the actions to the songs while at home. He misses a lot of the words but he is stinking cute any way.

We buy our toilet paper at Costco in massive quantities. Most of it is stored in our upstairs bathroom. Now and then (much to the amusement of the kids) I will toss several rolls down the stairs. Harry had fun taking the wrappers off of the rolls and stacking them after they made their way downstairs. He is such a helpful little boy.

Tags: cuteness, kids, pictures

Sibling Rivalry

This morning I noticed this bruise on Evan's arm.


My extensive forensic knowledge (derived from hours of watching CSI) leads me to believe that this ultra cute little boy had something to do with it.

"Honest ma, I had nothing to do with it. I swear on my mother's grave! Scout's honor!"

I just hope that this is not a behavior that is repeated any time soon and if it is repeated soon I hope that I am there to see it, so I can nip it in the bud. Behavior correction is no good long after Harry has forgotten that he was even mad at his brother for one reason or another. Sigh.

Tags: sibling rivalry, kids, teeth

How to keep cool on a hot day

All you need is a bucket of water.

The boys love playing with water and this has become their favorite way to play with water. Who needs one of them fancy pools? Not my boys! They love to have me strip them down to their diapers minus the diaper covers (for extra breathability) and fill a bucket of water so they can "help" me water the plants. They have tiny cups of water but they can empty that bucket pretty fast. A lot ends up on the patio, but that is part of the fun. I actually get a little reading done and my feet cooled by helpful little children.

Tags: Parent Hacks, summer fun, water, play, keeping cool

A cereal killer

Growing up we really did not do big fancy breakfasts very often. Mostly we had lots and lots of cereal for breakfast. I still prefer cereal as I am not much of a morning person. I like something that I can shove into my face with minimal forethought. I only ever make big breakfasts on nights that we have breakfast for dinner.

I have become a bit of a connoisseur of cereal so I was excited to review a new cereal called Fiber One Raisin Bran Clusters. I have been having a hard time coming up with the motivation to write this because the cereal was simply meh. The raisins were small, the oat clusters were minuscule and the flakes were overly sweet. It was edible and did not taste horrible, but it also did not taste good enough that I would rave about it. It does have more fiber I will give it that, but if you are looking to up your fiber intake there are other, more tasty, ways to do it.

A really fantastic raisin bran that I adore is Raisin Bran Crunch. This cereal has it all: big fat raisins, great tasting flakes and awesome oat clusters. If you are looking for a great raisin bran with extra fiber eat this and add some Fibersure.

Tags: cereal, raisin bran, fiber

Traintastic

Evan had a train filled day today. First off we visited a scale train amusement park. The train ride was fun but once that was done there really was not too much for the kids to do. They were too short for most of the rides there and the petting zoo was only accessible by train. Harry did not like the train tunnels, he started crying because the kids behind us started yelling and screaming every time we went through one.



When we got home there was a lovely package waiting for us. Vicky sent us some Thomas trains that her sons had outgrown. Evan had an absolute blast playing with them all afternoon while Harry was napping. They are a tiny bit old for him but with some help from mommy and daddy he is going to have a lot of fun. He thinks it is the funniest thing when we run two trains on the track and they crash. Thank you a ton Vicky!!! Blog friends are some of the nicest people.

Tags: train, Thomas the Train, toys, fun

Pediatric Grand Rounds 2:6

Pediatric Grand Rounds is up at Shinga's blog Breath Spa for Kids. Go check it out.

You may have noticed that my posting has been a bit sparse of late. My parents are in town for the week and we have been doing things that do not involve the computer. We have been going to the park a lot, a bit of shopping and we went to the beach. I hope that everyone(well all my US readers any way) has an equally enjoyable Fourth of July

Tags: Pediatric Grand Rounds, vacation

What am I chopped liver?

I think I have officially become chopped liver in my house. Evan was playing with his lovely new trucks and the trailer came off. He immediately asked for his auntie (who was not even downstairs at the time) to help him even though I was sitting there right in front of him. He did not even think of me helping him until I suggested that I might help when he became upset that auntie was not downstairs.

Tags: kids

Spoiled boys

My dad teaches woodshop some of the day. He had some fun making a bunch of trucks for the boys to play with. It is going to be tough to figure out where we can store all these, but Evan and Harry love them to pieces. Here is a link to the photo album, there are far too many to post here.

Tags: wooden trucks, toys

A Proclamation!

I have that until I get caught up on my laundry no one will be able to put on new clothing. The boys will just have to run around in diapers all day until I am able to get my laundry pile down to a manageable level.

Tags: laundry

A contest

Adventures in Babywearing is having a neat contest for a sling that is especially made for the summer by KimzKreations. It helps block out UV rays and keeps mom nice and cool. I love slings, they are the best baby gadget that I have ever purchased for my boys. If you have a needy child that has to be held all the time nothing can beat a ring sling. The front carriers just killed my back and shoulders, but ring slings spread the weight and you can wear the child for hours with out any discomfort. Go over and check out the contest if you have a baby, are pregnant or even just want another baby eventually (like me).

Tags: slings, contest

In a pickle

This morning while I was trying to rush my way through grocery shopping so that we could attend story time at the library (which both kids hated by the way) I broke a jar of pickles in the trunk of my car. I didn't realize it until I got home and the juice had soaked into a lot of things, including the particle board that covers the spare tire. Now I am going to have to suck it up and smell pickles for however long it takes for the smell to dissipate. I am starting to crave sandwiches every time I get into the car.

Is me or is pickle a very odd word?

Tags: pickle

The joys of motherhood

One of the things that you do not ever think about when you are dreaming of becoming a mother is all the indignities you will have to endure. When you are pregnant you jump right in with a multitude of pelvic exams, having strangers touch your stomach and having a human being kick the stuffing out of you from the inside all of which only mildly prepare you for the ultimate indignity of birth where people see parts of you that normally you would rather die of embarrassment than show in such a public way. My own husband has seem my ovaries and I haven't even seen those. Sadly the birth of the child is actually only the beginning. If you breastfeed you are always in danger of flashing perfect strangers while feeding your baby.

Lately it seems like every time I put Harry down after holding me he decides to take the neck of my shirt with him. If I am wearing anything with a bit of spandex in it and it has the slightest bit of a v to it I end up showing off my bra to who ever happens to be looking. Evan decided that one of his trains needed to be shoved down into my cleavage during sacrament meeting no less. He kept telling me that he wanted Percy in "mommy's pocket".

Last week at church I tried to wear one of my shorter skirts (something that was below the knees but not ankle length like most of my skirts) and I actually almost had it yanked off me several times by a leg hugging and skirt pulling Harry. I think if I am going to wear that skirt again I will have to wear suspenders with it. It is a shame because it is a really cute skirt and a nice color.

Modern women have long been harassing women who choose to have children and spend a good deal of time with them for dressing dowdy and frumpy. I have tried to keep a little bit of a kick to my wardrobe while maintaining my modesty, but I think that I am seriously going to have to change my mind on that after the train incident. I might just add a bunch of turtlenecks to my wardrobe, maybe even a mu mu or two. Those kids have me beat and I have a feeling it will get worse before it gets better.

Tags: mommy fashion, embarrassing, kids

I am baaack!

We had a crazy and fun time. It was neat meeting some relatives that I had only heard about previously and seeing some that I last saw at my reception. This was a reunion for my husband's mother's family, so I had a lot of catching up to do. My own family tree is not all that branched, so we don't really do reunions.

Evan and Harry are quite beat up and filthy from playing outside so much. Harry was quite impressed with my mother-in-law's yard. They have a nice orchard and a lot of berry plants. He thought it was neat that we could go outside and eat all the berries that we could find. Neither of them napped all that good the last couple of days, so I am exhausted and have a bit of a head ache.

On the way down we got to see what happens when truck runs into the bathrooms at a rest stop. The fire fighters that were there to make sure the truck did not burst into flames gave the boys some Smokey the Bear bracelets. Harry was also a bit of a whiner, so we had to stop pretty often to let him stretch his legs.

The motel we stayed at had large cow sculptures in the yard. Evan had fun kissing the cow.

Evan and his beloved VW bus. He had a ton of fun playing with all the different toys at Grandma's and Grandpa's house.

These are the steps from the living room to the play room/sun room. He managed them quite well all but once. I had just assured one of my husband's uncles that he could handle them quite well, when he decided to take a header down them. He was ok but a tiny bit banged up. I guess he wanted to prove me wrong.

Harry trying to blow the pinwheel. I love the drool hanging off of his lip.

The boys going nuts over a very friendly neighbor's dog. The dog comes now and then to visit my inlaws and loved all the attention that he got from the kids.

The boys all tuckered out in the car while we were driving home.

Tags: kids, family reunion, family

Fun stuff

We will be away for a family reunion for the next few days. Here is some fun stuff to tide you over until my return.

Meme 1

Dr. Rob tagged me for the Eight Things Meme. I have done this one (or similar ones several times) and they can be found here or here. I am doing this for Dr. Rob because he was kind enough to answer a question that I asked him on his blog.


Fun Links

Check out these very detailed and amazing balloon sculptures.

Here is an awesome way to keep the kids or cat from unrolling your yarn while you are knitting.

Can you tell the difference between a computer programmer and a cannibal?

This is one of my favorite time passing games. It is so simple yet filled with mind bending strategy.

Who has not wanted to do this?

Have you wondered how many midsized cars there are in an elephant?

If you like Monte Python this is for you. Here is my personal favorite, I seriously have watched it about five times in the last three days. Someone had waay too much time on their hands.

Meme 2

Summer tagged me for the 5 Things meme, enjoy.

What were you doing 10 years ago? (5 things)

1. Graduating from High School
2. Getting ready to leave the house for wild adventures in college
3. Saying good bye to friends that I knew I would not keep in touch with
4. Working a lame job because my parents would not let me slack off for the summer
5. Reading a lot of fun books

Five Snacks You Enjoy:

1. Potato chips
2. Cheeze its
3. toast
4. Strawberries from my garden
5. milk

Five Songs That You Know All The Lyrics To:

1. White and Nerdy- Weird Al
2. Bohemian Rhapsody
   
3. No One to Depend On- Santana (the title pretty much contains the majority of the lyrics in the song so it was quite easy to memorize)
4. Wish You Were Here- Pink Floyd
   
5. The theme song to Thomas and Friends

Five Things You Would Do If You Were a Millionaire:

1. Buy a house, only here in California I would still have to pay a mortgage if I wanted to get something half way decent.
2. If I were to live in another state I would buy a place with a lot of land so I could have me some animals.
3. I would invest the money until I retired and live like a queen
4. I would buy a pimped out minivan that would make all my mom friends green with envy.
5. Travel with kids and with out.

Five bad habits

1. I stay up too late at night.
2. I do not keep up with my laundry
3. I make my kids fetch me drinks from the fridge (kidding!)
4. I buy my kids too many toys because I like playing with them too
5. Sometimes I spend too much time online

Five Things You Like To Do:

1. Read
2. Blog
3. Crafty stuff
4. Naps
5. Dig in the sand with my boys

Five Things You Would Never Wear Again:

Check out the link for illustrated examples

Five Favorite Toys

1. My iPod
2. My computer
3. The boy's duplo set. I have acquired 200+ blocks for them, so we can build some really cool houses and towers
4. the digital camera
5. Crayons, coloring is very therapeutic and fun

I am not tagging but I hope you enjoyed the meme.

Tags: fun links, meme

Weird!

I think my nose is hallucinating or something. I have been smelling sourdough bread all evening and we (to the best of my recollection) do not actually have any in the house. I guess this is what happens when I get tag teamed by the boys and do not have a nice solid nap time with both boys sleeping.

Tags: nasal hallucination, freaky, tired

The Embarrassing Moment That Did Not Happen

There is a gal that used to live in my ward with her mother. She left for a mission, came back for awhile and then got married and moved. She comes back now and then with her "interesting" husband to visit her mother.

Last Christmas I saw her again after not having seen her for quite some time. She had gained quite a bit of weight, especially in the stomach area. I thought she looked at least five or six months pregnant. I was excited for her but did not get a chance to approach her and congratulate her. I also did not get much of a chance to talk to her mother to congratulate her either.

It turns out this was a very fortuitous happening. I saw her again today sitting with her mother at church just as chubby as she had been at Christmas. There was no baby in sight. I am so very utterly thankful that I was able to avoid the whole "No, I am not pregnant I am just fat" conversation with her. I am equally glad that I was able to also avoid that same conversation with her mother. The only people that know that I thought she was pregnant are you and I know you can keep it secret.............. right?

Tags: embarrassment, pregnancy, church