Gracie is a total Starfall.com and Sesamestreet.com junkie! She hangs out on her grandma's bed and plays on the laptop :) It's too bad they don't have internet on airplanes...otherwise we'd be all set for our long flight to Florida.
Quote of the Day:
"Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach that person to use the Internet and they won't bother you for weeks." ~Author Unknown
Today we were outside soaking up some sunshine and it was heavenly! Our grass hasn't been mowed yet this season and it has tall, lush, green spots where Reagan fertilizes for us. Gracie took of her shoes to feel the grass underneath her piggies and said, "It's like a jungle for feet!"
I thought it was such a great description. It painted a vivid picture for me of some huge feet walking around in a jungle all by themselves. :)
I love that my Gracie has such a wonderful imagination. She surprises me every single day with her beautiful view of this old world.
2nd Quote of the Day:
"My feet took a walk in heavenly grass.
All day while the sky shone clear as glass.
My feet took a walk in heavenly grass,
All night while the lonesome stars rolled past.
Then my feet come down to walk on earth,
And my mother cried when she give me birth.
Now my feet walk far and my feet walk fast,
But they still got an itch for heavenly grass.
But they still got an itch for heavenly grass. " ~Heavenly Grass, Tennessee Williams
So Janie's on day 4 of operation: NO MORE BINKY!!! She is such a trooper, it is amazing. I'm telling ya, she is SO MUCH EASIER than Gracie was in almost every single way. The only time she has suffered withdrawls were day 2 and day 3 at nap time. Today she went down without a whimper. Aren't you proud of her? I sure am.
This upcoming cruise is whipping our butts into shape! We're getting basically every aspect of our lives cruise-ready. It includes some (minimal) fat loss, new clothes, shoes, hats, practicing how to walk through an airport security gate, losing the binky, figuring out how to pull up underpants by ourselves (this one's Gracie's thing, not mine :), etc. I swear, we're going to have a meltdown when we get home because we'll have nothing to live for! Maybe Joe and I will just have to put a deposit down while we're onboard for our next cruise...that's just the two of us :)
Anyway, I'm bummed that I don't have any pictures to post. I need to get out that camera and start shootin'!
Quote of the Day:
"We give up leisure in order that we may have leisure, just as we go to war in order that we may have peace." ~Aristotle
There are many benefits to owning an iPod, not the least of which are: 1) storing all your music in one place, 2) the ability to take your music with you to ANYplace and 3) getting to listen to that great clicking noise that it makes as you scroll through stuff. But my favorite thing about my iPod is that it lets me rediscover music that I love, but haven't listened to in ages. Hence, the Nanci Griffith tunes on this here blog! CCR is another recent rediscovery. Love it!
Quote of the Day:
"He who sings scares away his woes." ~Cervantes
"He who whistles scares away his woes." ~Heather Alexander :)
Going back to school this semester has been so beneficial for me. I feel like an actual adult person, not just a robot used to clean up spilled cottage cheese and change smelly diapers. My classes were actually fun and really interesting. So I decided that I'll keep on keepin' on and sign up for fall semester too. The catch is that the only classes they are offering in the fall that fit with my major require a prerequisite that I haven't taken yet. Which means that I need to take this one class in the summer to make it possible for me to continue being an actual adult person :) The OTHER catch is that the summer class that I need is during the day. They're not offering any evening classes in the summer. So I had to figure out a place for my kids to chill for a couple of hours each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. (Wow, this story is kind of long and boring. Props to you for getting this far!)
Researching childcare options is not only stressful, it's rediculously frightening and panic-inducing as well! Bonus! First I checked out the University's daycare option (normally for low-income parents, but not in the summer) and freaked out because it is such a hole in the wall that there is no way that I would allow my children to be in a building that old and decrepit for ANY amount of time.
Second I looked into KinderCare which is a professional facility that Myles actually attended when he was a wee one. Well, um, I'd basically have to be a doctor or something with a similar pay scale to afford the place. The cost PER HALF-DAY, PER CHILD is $35. That is a grand total of $210 per week or $840 a month. I mean, really, what do they do with all the money? I've seen the place and it's no Disneyland, which you could justify using as your daycare instead of this place, financially speaking. I was absolutely blown away. I'll tell you what...it makes me feel a bit more valuable as a stay-at-home madre. That's for darn sure.
So my right eye has been twitching non-stop for about 4 days. I'm not even kidding - ask Joe.
But, praise be to heaven, I was talking with Gracie's preschool teacher about needing childcare to fix my eye twitch when she said, very graciously, that she would be more than happy to watch my babies for me during the summer school hours. I cannot even tell you what a relief that is. She is fantastic. Awesome. Amazing. Perfect. Wonderful!!! It is such a blessing that she is just down the street and already knows and loves my Gracie. She has two kids, the same ages as Grace and Jane, so they'll be able to play together and have a whole bunch of fun. (sighhhhhhhh...........)
My eye stopped twitching, thank heavens.
As the girls hunted for Easter eggs I was impressed by how much CUTER it all was than I expected it to be. Gracie was absolutely delighted to search around the house for eggs that the bunny had dropped. She adored it. It was magical to watch, actually. Janie was pretty much along for the ride and the fruit loops and fruit snacks that the (extremely boring and mom-ish) eggs contained. My mom and Joe convinced said bunny to give in and get the girls a chocolate bunny each, but that was about the extent of the candy. Why do Holidays have to involve so much enamel-destroying sugar?? Yikes.
Silly Daddy
These two are like peas and carrots...
These two are like chocolate chips and cookies :)
Janie's lovely early morning hair!
I think the bunny over did it on the eggs this year!
Gracie had her first dentist's appointment today! She did FANTASTIC! All the assistants were impressed with how well she did and how cooperative she was. She even got X-Rays of all her teeth and there's not a cavity to be seen! Yay! She got her teeth cleaned and brushed with flouride too. What a trooper!
She was so tiny in the huge chair. It was cute :)
Here's Gracie and the Doc! He's such an awesome dentist.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
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
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
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
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
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...
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!!
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
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
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?)
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.
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...
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!
