Excuse for Not Posting #6

This is the last excuse, really.  Once I got home I had a party to plan for.  My gym was having their big member appreciation HOEDOWN last night!  I was in charge of the decorations for the evening event.  I was also doing the publicity and food for the Group Exercise Sampler in the morning.  It made for a busy and hectic week, but I think it all turned out great!  I am happy to be done with it so I can go back to being a mostly stay-at-home mom instead of a working mom!

A feel for the decorations.  We had 50 tables.

I etched the glass on about 20 jars (with the help of one of my young women) and made them into lanterns.  Super fun!

Allison and I getting ready to lead some line dancing.  It was a blast!

Centerpiece with the candle lit.  I also put out some of my canned peaches and tomatoes.  It was really beautiful.

Excuse for Not Posting #5

After I felt better, it was important to have some fun with my family, right?  We did have a good time.  A little Daytona 500, some shopping in the new downtown SLC mall (amazing!), and a great photo shoot.
Then, all too soon it was time to go.  Instead of driving all the way back on Sunday we made it a 2 day trip again.  I am still on the fence about doing this.  It makes the drive seem like FOREVER, but at the same time it is nice to get a break.  Anyway, I missed my Sunday posting again.

Excuse for Not Posting #4

Well, the sore throat and headache and fever didn't go away.  So the next morning I visited an Instacare clinic near my parents and tested positive for STREP.  Who knew!  I felt absolutely AWFUL.  I went home and brought all the kids and Derek back in to get tested.  Only Sarah had it too.  I was so bummed.  We had to stay at my parents and miss the actual graduation and the party with the Thorne family.  I actually  napped and rested most of the day.  That is a testimony to how awful I felt.  Sarah also tested positive.  Everyone else was fine (thankfully).  
But my mom graduated successfully.  I am so proud of her and everything she taught me.  She sacrificed so much (including putting her education on hold) and put us first for so long.  I am so glad she got back to it and finished her degree.  Her work ethic, dedication and attention to detail in her work are truly admirable.  It is only a matter of time before she is publishing great books!

Excuse for Not Posting #3

Wandering around BYU campus

Grandma getting some well deserved kisses!

Does she look a bit under the weather to you?

Day 3 in Utah was awesome! We went to my mom's graduation luncheon and spent some time walking around BYU campus.  Then we went to visit my favorite mission companion Maryanne and her family.  It was great except for this sore throat, fever, and headache...(which made it so that I didn't even think to take a picture with our family and the Wood family.)

Excuse for Not Posting #2

Once we got to Utah we had a chance to spend some time with my cousin Jeralynn and her husband and kids. He is a recreation kind of guy, so I let him suggest which park we should meet at.  He chose North Canyon Park.  It was so fun.  The best part was that they have big concrete squares in near the playground that are perfect for 4 square!  I was a 4 square champ in 4th grade, so I was loving it.  Turns out my family are all pretty good at 4 square.  Even my mom and dad got into the action.  It was great!

My mom rockin' the top square.

A HUGE house on the hill.  Not a great pic, but it was enormous!

Libby and Sarah with Kinsey and Talon.  Talon was born the same week as Sarah.  

Except for the fact that I had this horrible headache that wouldn't go away...

Excuse for Not Posting #1

Holy Cow.  I can't believe it has been 3 weeks since I posted.  Definitely a record.  It has been a busy couple of weeks.  On the 15th when I should have been posting we were leaving for Utah for my mom's graduation from BYU.  We decided to leave on Sunday night and drive part of the way so that we could get there early on Monday and surprise her.  The drive was LONG.  Turns out Ben isn't very good at sleeping in the car.  Don't tell, but we decided to turn  him around and let him face front so I could offer him snacks, toys, etc. from my seat.  That helped a little.  Anyway, sparing you the details of the drive, we made it.  We tiptoed into the house and burst in.  I sang a loud version of the BYU fight song (which I had to learn in the car since I didn't go there and I only knew a few words).  The girls were so excited to surprise Grandma Debbi.  It made the long drive very worth it!  (And missing a chance to post.)

Ben's Lactose Challenge

A few weeks ago I wrote about how Ben had an ear infection.  Well, a few days before we started the anti-biotic he had a little case of the runs.  Then the antibiotic turned his life into a revolving door of diaper changes. His poor bottom got so inflamed.  We switched types of antibiotic--and I finally just stopped giving it to him because his diarrhea was so bad that his bottom was bleeding even with the oral anti-fungal.  This should have been the end of the story.
But it wasn't.  After 3 days of continued issues I called the nurse at our clinic.  I was actually SUPER rude to the second nurse who called me back and told me I just had to wait for the diarrhea to stop.  After 5 days I took him back to the doctor.  She wanted me to get  a stool sample.  But I had to get it into the office within one hour.  Libby was throwing a fit while she was explaining how to collect the sample (this is because Libby got a little something in her panties so I just threw them away.  Turns out she was very attached to those panties and very hungry...) and so I didn't get to ask what to do if I got the sample outside of office hours.  Then I went to the temple that afternoon and had 2 days of training where I couldn't get a sample.  In the meantime Ben was still waking up 3 times a night to eat and poop.  It was such a mess (sometimes quite literally).
Finally I got them the sample.  2 days later they got back to me that it wasn't anything and we should try to stop feeding him fruit.  ARE YOU KIDDING?  HAVE I BEEN GIVING HIM FRUIT?  NO WAY!  So they suggested we switch to soy formula.
AND...problem solved.
So why does a healthy kid suddenly become lactose intolerant?  Turns out that probably the virus he had before the anti-biotics combined with the anti-biotics were just too much for his little system.  They cleaned him out and the right kind of bacteria for digesting milk just weren't there any more.
The smell of soy formula reminds me of all we went through with Libby.  Bleh.
At his check-up this week the doctor noted that his weight gain was a little behind, but that will catch up.  We also put him on an IRON supplement because he was a bit anemic.
He slept through the night last night.  Hooray!  We are finally on the mend.

He isn't so sure about grass.

But he is sure that he LOVES popcorn.  Especially playing in it.  

He also loves eating pea gravel.  Yuck!

The Toy Solution

Cleaning up toys was killing me.  I have a lot of things on my plate...many are difficult.  But getting the girls to pick up all the toys every night--toys that somehow managed to get all over the house--was putting a serious strain on our relationship.  Barbie Rewards solved the getting up out of bed problem totally (knock on wood), but I still couldn't get them to clean up without cajoling, reminding, threatening, and occasionally (or maybe even often) resorting to yelling.
So, I reminded myself that I--as the parent--am in charge (Derek wasn't home at the time).  I told them to pick one type of toy for the week and moved the rest to the garage.  I moved 6 different bins of toys to the garage.  I left one thing in the family room (Lego's) and 2 types of toys in their room (they picked Barbies and I just left the stuffed animals).  When Derek got home he was pretty surprised they they had so happily gone along with the plan.  He didn't think it would last.
The next day he was almost proven right.  Libby came to me in tears saying that she NEEDED the farm animals and her big dolls.  Derek masterfully distracted her with the Lego's and that was pretty much that.  
On Monday they couldn't decide which toy to have for the week.  Sarah wanted the princess drawer (that has about 100 small toys) and Libby wanted the bench with the dolls.  I let them each choose 4 items from the toy type they wanted.  They were both okay with it and we have had a good week.  Pick up time has been MUCH less difficult.  They have spent more time playing with stuff that isn't toys, but that is pretty much par for the course anyway.
There has been more creative play!
It has also decreased my desire to buy them toys, since they will spend so much of their life in the garage.
Perfect!  How many birds is it possible to kill with one stone?

A Few -isms

I am not sure where Libby learned about show and tell, but every week when we have preschool now she wants to have "shownhotel."  She brings whatever toy is the closest to the table and tells me some random story about the item.

Since Sarah chose the Sleeping Beauty costume she has been telling everyone she is "sweeping beauty."  But if you say it back to her--that she is "sweeping beauty" she corrects you.  "No, not sweeping beauty, sweeping beauty."

Libby has really been getting detailed in her prayers lately.  She loves to pray for members of the family in particular.  She got really into praying for Derek when he had a cold (actually a massive sinus infection) last week.  When she was praying last night she paused mid prayer and said, "Mom, do you have a cold?"  When I said no I think it really threw off her prayer groove.  She quickly wrapped up since she couldn't pray for my cold to get better since I don't have one.

Sarah's has an opening line to her prayers that I don't think I have recorded.  She always says, "Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for many of our blessings."  (inferring--in my mind--that we aren't very thankful for the rest.  wish we didn't really have so many...ha ha ha.)

The Joys of Easter!

Easter is one of my favorite holidays, but it gets kind of hectic.  How do you find time to have fun and do the whole Easter bunny thing and still find time to celebrate Christ and avoid a blood sugar crash at church?  This year the Easter Bunny dropped by today--on Saturday.  We had a great afternoon enjoying the little things he brought and eating candy and bunny shaped rolls (which I forgot to take a picture of).  The weather was TO DIE FOR! The girls really got into the egg hunt and were super stoked that they got money in some of their eggs for their Barbie Rewards Jars.  They finally got new princess costumes.  They old Snow White was SO HASHED.  They wore them all the rest of the day (including on a walk to Albertson's) and played (mostly) in and out of Derek's truck in the driveway.  The one thing that didn't come in time were the Prince dolls I ordered from the Disney store.  They got the prince that goes with their princess costume.  They didn't seem to mind subbing in laundry baskets.  They amaze me.
Now I just have to make sure that we spend some good time tomorrow morning thinking about the real reason we celebrate Easter.

Sarah charging away after the eggs.

Couldn't get a picture of her looking up because she was so intent on finding eggs

Libby's hair blazing behind her on her quest for more eggs (they didn't once fight over an egg!)

The Easter Bunny didn't label the baskets...just wanted to see what would happen.  Libby ended up as Snow White.

And Sarah is Sleeping Beauty.  I couldn't get a picture of her without her Sour Patch Bunnies.

They both got two pragmatic gifts--a suitcase for our trip to Utah coming up soon and a neck pillow for the car ride.

The SUN FINALLLY CAME OUT!

Jen and Gen...eral Conference that is

Here is Jen and Libby with the cake pop I made especially for Jen.  It has amazing spiky purple hair, very large blue eyes and a heart shaped mouth.  Sassy just like Jen!

We have the greatest tradition.  Our "Auntie" Jen comes to watch Sunday Afternoon General Conference with us.  We pull the couch into the dining room so we can watch on the computer.  This year we had a Barbie Beauty salon going on around her.  Not sure how much she got to hear, but we had a blast :)  Then we ate some quinoa and grass fed beef.   Super Yum.  Adopted aunts really are amazing! (And so are real ones!)