Cavities Galore!

I haven't been to the dentist in about 8 years. Wow. That's a really long time. Anyway, I wanted to bleach my teeth for our upcoming cruise and Tawny was awesome enough to send me some bleach. All I needed was some bleaching trays. So I bit the bullet and made an appointment to see the dentist. Well, I couldn't just go in there to get trays, I had to have an actual check up. Dang it all! I had 6 cavities!!! Thursday I went and had 3 on the left side filled and today I had 3 on the right side filled. (I'm nothing if not symmetrical.) And now I'm cavity free! Wahoo!! (But I'm still numb all the way to my ear on the right. Oh well...it keeps me from shoveling food into my face for a few hours :))

Quote of the Day:
"Every tooth in a man's head is more valuable than a diamond." ~Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote, 1605

Silly Gracie, Silly Janie

After I bathed the girls this morning I let them run free to dry off and get back to nature. After a few minutes I asked Gracie, "Where's Janie?" and she answered, "Maybe she went to Costco."

When I found said exhibitionist she was taking a bite out of Joey's deodrant stick in the bathroom.

Wow.

Today is an awesome, normal day!

Quote of the Day:
"The Act of God designation on all insurance policies... means roughly that you cannot be insured for the accidents that are most likely to happen to you. If your ox kicks a hole in your neighbor's Maserati, however, indemnity is instantaneous." ~Alan Coren, The Lady from Stalingrad Mansions, 1977

Happy Birthday Sweet Davey

Davey's birthday always sneaks up on me. Tomorrow my baby boy would be five years old and starting school in the fall, raising hell with his sisters and looking more and more like his daddy. It surprises me how sad I get around his birthday, even with the time that we've had to heal and move forward with our family life. In a way I'm glad that I still go through hell every year. It reminds me that that piece of my heart is still there, even though it's broken.

While we were shopping last week, Gracie spotted some solar garden lamps and thought they were really cool. So we got one for Davey's grave for his birthday. We've been wanting to get him one for a long time, so it was the perfect present. As I was lying in bed today thinking about the solar lamp I started thinking about what gifts my little son has given to me. They are many, meaningful and shape and enrich my life each and every day.

The first gift that my son gave to me is a deep and abiding gratitude and testimony of the Plan of Salvation which our Savior made possible for every person on the earth. We can live with our families, our Savior, and our Father forever if we will cling to the gospel and it's teachings. What greater gift is there than to be with your family for eternity? None. I cannot wait to hold my baby boy again. And I know that I will. That is truly amazing.

My brother-in-law Ryck gave the benediction at Davey's funeral wherein he thanked the Father for the Spring season and the hope that it gives to us in the Resurrection. I think of that prayer every time Davey's birthday comes around and Spring is on its way.

The second gift that my son gave to me is a firsthand knowledge of grief that allows me to relate to others as they experience trials. This is truly a gift, even though it sounds a bit daunting. Hard times expand our capacity to feel. The Savior experienced each and every pain and trial that every man and woman will suffer. His capacity to feel what we have felt is all-encompassing. We can ask him for comfort during trials because he KNOWS what we have felt. I feel like a gained a little bitty piece of that knowledge myself. I feel more in awe of my Savior because of it.

The third gift that he gave me is a greater appreciation for my other children. I remember writing an email to my work friends right after losing Davey explaining what had happened. One of my friends responded back that he had gone home that night and held his babies tightly and thanked God for them. That made me feel so good inside.

The fourth gift (men, just skip over this one...) was that Davey prepared my body to have my girls. My Mom had 4 C-Sections to deliver her babies. I was always worried that I would have the same. C-Sections are so hard on a woman's body. My little guy was a mini-might...just under 5 pounds. He paved the way for me to have easier deliveries. I am so thankful for this.

There are many, many more blessings which have come into my life because of my son. I could never list all the ways that having him has changed me. But as I look back on his birth and death, every year I have a new appreciation for him. What an amazing blessing he has been to me. Happy birthday sweet Davey!

Quote of the Day:
"Where, when my aching grows, Where, when I languish,
Where, in my need to know, where can I run?
Where is the quiet hand to calm my anguish?
Who, who can understand? He, only One."
~Emma Lou Thayne, Where Can I Turn For Peace?, Hymn 129

The New "Look"

Joey's mom called me yesterday morning kind of worried about us because I hadn't updated my blog in a while :) I thought that was cute. I guess I am kind of addicted to blogging and sharing our family secrets with the online world...JK.

Here's a new picture of Grace sporting her new "look." For example, if I say, "Gracie, how are your altoids doing today?" This is the look she gives. Or, "Hey Gracie, can you come and put away all these toys you got out?" Same look. She gives it whenever she 1) Doesn't understand what you said and will reply "What are altoids, Mom?" or 2) She doesn't want to understand what you said and will reply, "Clean up my toys, Mom?" It's actually a really funny face and it makes me chuckle whenever she does it. I thought it was pretty lucky that we got it on the camera!

Do you like her pants? They were hand-me-downs from the Tanners that had a little hole in the knee so I patched them up on the back and put cute flower patches on the front. I was really proud of my domestic prowess :)

Quote of the Day:
"I don't like that man. I must get to know him better." ~Abraham Lincoln

"Wii want to play" too!

Remember those first Wii commercials with the two Asian missionaries saying, "Wii want to play."? What? They weren't missionaries? I swear they were in suits with nametags. Anyway, Wii want to play too!

We got our Wii about two weeks ago with part of our tax return and have been loving it ever since. Joe's completely addicted to (and totally awesome at) Super Mario Kart and Mario Galaxy and while I'm not endowed with awesomeness as Joey is, I have tons of fun trying. We also got Super Smash Bros. and Endless Ocean. That last one was my pick and so far it sucks big time. It got great reviews, but the one time we've played it, it's been snoozer boring. Next I want to get Lego Star Wars, but maybe I'll let Joe pick 'em from here on out :)

Gracie loves racing with her daddy on Mario Kart. I'm not sure why she's so somber in this picture...but I thought that Joey looked cute.

Quote of the Day:
"It is one of man's curious idiosyncrasies to create difficulties for the pleasure of resolving them."
~Joseph de Maistre

Ouch!

I seem to recall posting some similar pictures of Janie sporting a goose egg not too long ago. Hmm. Last night she took a header down the stairs and wacked her head really hard on one of our wooden spokes on the banister (they're square at the bottoms, where she hit). She immediately had the largest goose egg I had ever seen. We took her to the after-hours clinic at our Peds office and they said it didn't look like she had cracked her skull and that she'd be fine. Poor thing. They even measured it :( That's when you know an injury is approaching"nastyville" they bring out the tape measure...


This was after we got home from the doc...it was already starting to look better. It stuck out almost an inch from her head last night.

Here is her today. It's getting really dark, but it's only sticking out about a half an inch now. The pictures don't do it justice. It's much darker and MUCH puffier than the flat pictures make it look.

Quote of the Day:
"Spring is not the best of seasons.
Cold and flu are two good reasons;
wind and rain and other sorrow,
warm today and cold tomorrow."
~Author Unknown

I love this quote because we have all had a horrible cold AND are sad that it snowed all day and night yesterday. We have Spring fever so bad it's tangible. We all want to be outside in the sunshine. : ( Rain, rain, go away...

Breakfast of Champions!

Gracie takes after her Auntie April...she likes chocolate for breakfast! April actually likes Oreos in the morning, but brownies are a close second :) Hey, at least the kid is drinking orange juice instead of Dr. Pepper. OJ is healthy, right?



Quote of the Day:
"I'd give all wealth that years have piled,
The slow result of Life's decay,
To be once more a little child
For one bright summer day."
~Lewis Carroll, "Solitude"

PS. The Led Zeppelin is for D. He's got the flu and I've been thinking about him and I think some of his LZ vibes came my way :) I hope you're feeling better today Denny!!

Torrey...

I know this is wierd and REALLY early, but I have totally started looking forward to Torrey '09! Mom has started to plan out some of the meals, games, etc. and I'm getting right into the spirit. Last year was a total disaster, but this year we're going to avoid the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, I just know it! I can't wait to hang out with my brothers and sisters and just have a vacation. Ya know?

So anywho...we should come up with a theme for this year. Any grand ideas out there? Leave a comment!!!! (Unless you want the theme to be "Back to Our Scottish Heritage" you gotta give me something to work with! I know you fellas don't want to be wearing kilts, right?) I found this website where you can create your own silicone bracelets (like the LiveStrong ones) and I thought those would be kind of cool to get for everyone...any takers??

Quote of the Day:
"A vacation is what you take when you can no longer take what you've been taking." ~Earl Wilson

An Embarassing Moment

I'm not exactly sure why I desire to share an embarassing moment with my friends and family who read my blog, but I just had this flashback memory and I couldn't stop laughing at myself. I think I'm getting old. Getting old is when you can look back on your embarassing moments and think that they're so silly that you want to write about them on your blog :)

When I was in High School I had a boyfriend who went into the MTC. Well, in those days, the swooning females used to go and make big chalk murals on the sidewalk across the street from the MTC. The idea was that the super cute missionaries would come out of the MTC, cross the street, see their name and/or some rediculous sentiments written on the sidewalk, and renew their vows of poverty, chastity and eternal loyalty to swooning female on the spot. I'm still fairly sure that it worked 103% of the time. However, in order for said missionaries to actually glimpse their chalk devotional, swooning females had to NOT GET CAUGHT drawing their mural. Me and Jess (my loyal friend and partner in crime) totally got caught :) A kindly old man from the MTC came out with water and a big scrubby brush and made us scrub the entire sidewalk clean. He said that the chalk got tracked into the temple. (Mortification started right about HERE.) Anywho - Jess stood by me and we got that sidewalk chalk-free while cute missionaries walked by us on their way to the temple, giggling behind their hands, etc. It was SOOOOOO embarassing. Wow. My stomach is actually clenched up just thinking about it.

And all for nothing! My real missionary (Joey, obviously) was probably on his way home from his mission right about this time. Too funny how life works out.

Grace and Jane picked the songs for our playlist today :) I think it's quite hilarious how "Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam" sounds like a polka...

Quote of the Day:
"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." Matthew 28:19-20

Janie, Janie, Janie

Yesterday I set out to clean Jane's room (it doubles as our office, so it gets REALLY messy) and I ended up tearing the whole thing out and rearranging every piece of furniture therein. It was great! It was a lot of fun and the girls were just dumbfounded. Gracie kept saying, "It's so funny that you're moving that! It's so funny that you're moving that!" I don't think she had ever seen a large piece of furniture moved from one place to another. She thought everything was glued to the floor :) Anywho - I've been wanting to make Jane's room more comfy and for "her" rather than just having her crib stuck in there with all our office stuff, so I was really glad to finally get this done!

Here's the pixie pie that got a newly rearranged room :) Her smile is an actual piece of my soul. It touches that deep (really deep) maternal part of me.

Here's the new room...it needs a curtain and something (maybe some vinyl lettering?) over her crib, but it's soooooo much better than it was before. I really should have taken a before picture, but I would have been totally embarassed to show you how messy it was :) (At least I'm honest, right?)

Quote of the Day:
"Well," said Pooh, "what I like best," and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called. ~A.A. Milne

Dress Up

We've finally entered that pretty darn cute phase where the girlies like to dress up. We don't have a lot of dress up clothes. We've inherited a cute cat costume from the Tanners and a small bundle of princess dresses from our next door neighbor. Add to that some sparkly shoes and a few pieces of miscellaneous jewelry and you can picture our collection. The girls just love it! Gracie actually likes the cat costume to be minus the hat, which turns it into a HORSE! I know this is a horrible picture, but I couldn't get her to hold still for two seconds while I took a picture of her. She ADORES being a horse :) Janie, on the other hand, just goes for "more is more." :) :) She picks a bunch of random pieces and creates her own outfit.

Is anybody else DYING for Spring to come? The girls and I are suffering from a serious lack of sunshine and stale air here indoors. Andrea sent out an email reminding us that it's about 80 or so days until our Alexander family cruise!! I'm so excited for that! It's my first cruise!!! Bring on the sunshine...and the babysitters! :)

Quote of the Day:
"It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!"
~Mark Twain

In the dark...

We have, in our possession, the sharpest toy ever made. Joe and I have both stepped on this sucker in the dark on the way to the girls' rooms at least a handful of times each. It hurts. It hurts so bad that you want to scream out some Gaelic expression that Jamie Fraser would be proud of. It just happens to be a blue footed boobie bird. If you ever come across one of these little plastic birds, run for your life! Your feet will thank you! Here's a picture of the boobie...

I have been pondering my blogging over the last few days and I have come to the conclusion that it's extremely self indulgent. (Kind of like the Twilight books.) I put stuff on here that I suppose I want all of "you" to see. Is it the real me? (Have I been digging too deep into psychology in my study of Hamlet? Perhaps.) But really, it's self indulgent. There's no getting around it. Then, like Bella, I decided that it just didn't matter. My blog is my own creation and it can be whatever I want it to be. Things of that nature are rare, as an adult. I guess I just want to vent my feelings about this. Blogging doesn't have to be about my kids, it doesn't have to be about anything, really...just me. A blank canvas on which to project some semblance of self. Myself.

Today's iTunes Additions

Hey ya'll! I think I've been avoiding my camera lately or something because I haven't done a post with a picture in about a month! Wierd!

I rarely buy iTunes, but today I decided to indulge and get myself some new ear candy. The first person who can name the band for each song gets props!

1. Dance the Night Away
2. When I Grow Up
3. Jump
4. Suedehead
5. U Can't Touch This
6. California Dreamin'
7. The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get
8. SexyBack (wow, it's kind of embarassing to admit that one...)

So what's your lates iTunes download? I love suggestions!

Quote of the Day:
"And the night shall be filled with music,
And the cares that infest the day
Shall fold their tents like the Arabs
And as silently steal away."
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Day Is Done

Chocolate Chip Cookies!

This post goes along with my "Biggest Loser" post from yesterday. What? You didn't read that one? Well, basically it talked about how I haven't lost a pound even though I've been working out 3 times a week for 5 weeks now. I wonder why that is??? Anywho...on to the show...

Here's a yummy new recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies that I tried out last night. Joey thought they tasted "fruity" but I think it was the hefty dose of vanilla that is in them (yum!). I thought they were great! I'm just tired of the flat Tollhouse ones that I usually make. I wanted cookies with a bit more "puff" if ya know what I mean :) (No MJ is in these, I swear...) I read that if your cookies are flat, they need more flour - just FYI. This recipe was a bit labor intensive - you mix all the ingredients by hand instead of in a mixer - but I thought they were worth it.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 C butter, softened
1/2 C sugar
3/4 C brown sugar, lightly packed
2 eggs
1 Tbs. vanilla
2 1/2 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 C chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.
In a medium bowl with a wooden spoon, cream butter and sugars.
Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.
Sift flour, baking soda and salt, then add to creamed mixture.
Stir in chocolate chips.
Drop by rounded tablespoons onto cookie sheet.
Bake 9-11 minutes.
Enjoy! (And eat an extra cookie because of the bicep workout you just received ;)

Quote of the Day:
"Cookies are made of butter and love." ~Norwegian Proverb

What is the best birthday present you ever received?

Mine was a trip to Sea World with my dad when I turned 8. I remember that we were pretty low on money then. My dad was laid off from McDonnell Douglas and was out of work for a long time. The silver lining was I got to spend more time than usual with my dad. When my birthday came along I was so surprised and excited to take the train down to San Diego (we lived in Lakewood, about 2 hours drive away) and then go to Sea World for the first time! I remember thinking the train ride was so cool and knowing that my dad liked it too because he loves trains! I remember the entrance to Sea World, but not much about what was inside. I even got to pick out a stuffed animal and I chose a walrus whom I named Willy! I still have Willy :) It's a great memory and I'm thankful for it.

So, what was the best birthday present you ever received?

Quote of the Day:
"A father carries pictures where his money used to be." ~Author Unknown

7 Remarkable Experiences

I have been looking up "journal prompts" for an Activity Days project that I'm planning (new church calling) and here's one that I really liked...

"Write about 7 remarkable experiences that you have had during your lifetime."

So here are my top 7 remarkable experiences (though, I'm not going to write about them because some of them are very personal):
1. Losing Davey
2. Giving birth to Grace and Jane
3. Being sealed to Joe
4. Traveling to Saudi and Paris
5. Moving to Utah
6. Visitng Dennis in the summers during High School
7. Watching Grace in the ER getting stitches

So there ya go! Most of you reading my blog were intimately involved in at least ONE of these remarkable happenings in my life. I'm thankful that you were there with me.

What is one of the most remarkable things that has ever happened to you?

Quote of the Day:
"The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it." ~Henry David Thoreau

Biggest Loser Buddies

Okay, so I don't usually try to "lose weight" per se ;) Dieting is strictly against my religion. However, we're taking a family vacation with all of Joe's side in May and I really don't want to make anyone sick upon my appearance in a swimming suit (gack! my stomach turns at the word!). So when my sister decided to do a "Biggest Loser" blog group, I decided to join in. Each week we report on how much we have gained or (hopefully) lost and what we did that week to lessen our girth. It has been really great! It gives me an incentive to make goals for the week and keep them, since I'm going to report back on how I did. I've been doing Zumba twice a week ((if you don't know what Zumba is (and, um, you're female) you should seriously check it out! It's kind of a mix between latin dancing and aerobics and it's a shakin' good time!)) and one extra workout during the week and I've been so proud of myself. :) Anywho - there's now a link to the "Biggest Loser Buddies" blog over on the right where the other blog links are. If you feel so inclined, take a gander and then join us! Just shoot me an email and I can hook you up with access to post on the blog with us! We need you!!!

Quotes of the Day:
"I really don't think I need buns of steel. I'd be happy with buns of cinnamon." ~Ellen DeGeneres

Two households, both alike in dignity...

I'm speaking, of course, of Montague (Gracie) and Capulet (Janie). Okay, so I really don't have anything to say today, but I wanted to post these pictures. While I was mulling over the title for the post, I thought of that opening line of Romeo and Juliet. Gracie and Janie are just like the Montagues and Capulets...always making war. Anywho - at least mine aren't teenagers being taken into custody by the UVU campus police (see April's blog). I'll stick with my toddler terrors for now :)



Quote of the Day:
"Watching your daughter being collected by her date feels like handing over a million dollar Stradivarius to a gorilla." ~Jim Bishop

The Cullens Are Taking Over The World!

Or at least that's how it seems. I don't think I know a single person who doesn't know who "The Cullens" are! Isn't that crazy?

Tonight I was in class and we were discussing Achilles. He's obsessed with his "kleos" or his glory, because his culture doesn't believe in an afterlife. They believed that your "psyche" or breath of life, when leaving your body, floated down to Hades and basically flew around like a bat forever unless someone in the living world made a blood sacrifice for you. At that point your little bat "psyche" becomes conscious and you can remember who are and what you stand for, etc. Right about here is when my teacher got a faraway look (he's a 50-ish year old male, mind you) and said, "I wonder if that's where the vampire myth started. Blood sacrifice keeps the spirit alive past death...the Cullens drink animal blood. Hmmm." Okay, so I'm putting the words in a slightly more comic order, but that was basically it! He totally found an in for Edward and the crew while leading his little flock in a discussion of the Iliad. I have a new respect for the man ;)

Quote of the Day:
"And speaking of Italy and sports cars that I stole there, you still owe me a yellow Porsche." — Alice Cullen, Stephenie Meyer

Spool Boy (or Girl :)

I'm taking two classes this semester at UVU. They are "Themes in Shakespeare" and "World Literature." Things have been going well so far. I have the same professor for both classes which can be a disaster or a blessing...the jury is still out on how it will turn out. I like him well enough, but he doesn't seem to be to fond of me. Oh well. I do have one of those standout, conceited personalities that can turn people off when they first meet me ;) (He said to me last week, "You're just like Achilles, aren't you?" which to me means, "you're conceited, think everything is yours, and you're pouty.") Interesting...I'm definitely "pouty" but didn't think of myself as conceited...

The "World Lit" class is basically a study of Homer + the Aeneid. I'm loving it! I always wanted to read the Iliad, but was always too intimidated to try. With a professor on board, there are lectures and discussions to make sense of it all :) We're reading "The Odyssey" which I have read before, next. And then the Aeneid. Love it!

The "Shakespeare" class, not so much...My professor is a total Shakespeare lover and you know what THAT means...he's into drama. We have to act out the last scene of Midsummer at the end of the semester. It's a competition. Acting. Competition. Do these things sound like Heather? Um, no. Anyway. The subject matter is great! I loved reading Midsummer, and was really surprised by that! We'll just have to wait and see how the acting pans out though. Seriously, I'm a TERRIBLE actress. Oi Vay!

Quote of the Day:

"I'll have grounds

More relative than this—the play's the thing

Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King."

Shakespeare, Hamlet Act 2, Scene 2, 603-605