We're BACK!

We are back from Chicago and getting settled back into every day life. We had a wonderful time and Christmas was just WONDERFUL with my parents and sister, Tori. We left last Monday (a day early) because there was a big storm coming into Chicago. Thank goodness we left when we did because they got about 8 inches of snow on top of the few inches they already had! It made for a great snowman and snowfort though!

We have tons of pictures and lots to update (especially since I checked and I never got HALLOWEEN PICTURES UP!!) So, when I get a few minutes I'll throw some pictures on..

Good, Better, Best I can be

This post is about me as a mom. It will might be boring, but because this blog is also like a journal, I'm posting it anyway. (As a side note: this post was written sometime last week when I was really worried about being a good mom...I still feel this way, but I'm not "freaking out" about it as much :)

I don't really feel like I am a great mom. I am a good mom: I love my kids, snuggle them, bathe them, feed them, take them places, but I don't feel like I am the best mom I can be. For instance, I sleep in until 10a.m. every morning. Don't go calling the authorities...the kids don't usually wake up until 9:30 or so anyway, there is a snack for them on the table and they watch t.v. until I get up. I blame this on the pregnancy. I have been EXHAUSTED lately. The 2nd trimester has made this problem worse, not better..go figure!

After I get up, we sort of rush to get things done before Livi goes to school. We rush to school, dr. appt, going to Livi's class, etc (btw, these dr appts./being in her class are consuming my life lately!! We usually have anywhere from 2-5 appointments a week..no more please!)

Anyway, by the time we get home it is time to start dinner, clean the house, do a bit of laundry and then Luke is home and we do family time.

So, I am calling all moms (and non-moms) out there. What do you do during the day with your kids? I play with them in their rooms occasionally and occasionally make crafts with them, but what DO YOU DO, All day, every day? Ideas please! What are some things I can do on a daily basis?

Birthday highlights

and we also got her the Beauty and the Beast Polly Pocket Set

*Since we are doing BIG friend birthday parties every 4 years...we decided spending time as a family would be a great way to make up for it. HSM:3 was a great movie and SHE LOVED IT! And who could resist Red Robin food..yum!
Saturday night: Movie and McD's (we also walked Crocker Park while it was snowing...beautiful!)

Sunday: Made Livi's favorite food for dinner--pizza

Wednesday: Made cupcakes for her class and went out to eat at Red Robin. Thank you family and friends who called to wish her a happy birthday! Love you!

Hi this is Luke and Katie is teaching me the ways to be a blogger-holic.

Angels

Once upon a time, there was a child ready to be born.

So one day, he asked God: "They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there so small and helpless?"

God answered: "Among the many angels, I chose one for you. She will be waiting for you and will take care of you."

"But tell me, here in heaven I don't do anything else but sing and smile. That's enough for me to be happy. And how am I going to understand when people talk to me, if I don't know the language that men talk?"

"Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and, with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak."

"And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?"

"Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray."

"I've heard that on earth there are bad men. Who will protect me?"

"Your angel will defend you even if it means risking it's own life."

"But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore."

"Your angel will always talk to you about me and will teach you the way for you to come back to me, even though I will always be with you."

At that moment there was much peace in heaven, but voices from earth could already be heard, and the child, in a hurry, asked softly: "Oh God, if I am about to leave now, please tell me my angel's name."


And God answered: "You can call her...mommy."

If you Give a Mom a Muffin...

If you give a mom a muffin
She'll want a cup of coffee (cocoa) to go with it.
She'll pour herself some.
The cocoa will get spilled by her three year old.
She'll wipe it up.

Wiping the floor, she will find some dirty socks.
She'll remember she has to do some laundry.
When she puts the laundry in the washer,
she'll trip over some boots and bump into the freezer.
Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan supper for tonight.

She will get out a pound of hamburger.
She'll look in her cookbook. (101 Things to Make with A Pound of Hamburger)
The cookbook is siting under a pile of mail.
She will see the phone bill which is due tomorrow.
She will look for her checkbook.
The checkbook is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two year old.

She'll smell something funny.
She'll change the two year old.
While she is changing the two year old the phone will ring, of course!
Her five year old will answer it and hang up.
She remembers that she wants to phone a friend to come to cocoa on Friday.

Thinking of cocoa will remind her that she was going to have a cup.
She will pour herself some. And chances are, if she has a cup of cocoa,
Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIVI!

Our sweet angel is 5 years old today!! I can't believe how fast the time has gone and that it has been 5 whole years!
We have been so blessed to have her in our home and we love her so much!

We love our little blond haired, blue-eyed beauty!

Christmas Tree and Luke

We bought the bigger (pre-lit) tree two years ago when we moved to Kansas City. We thought that the kids needed a tree to decorate ALL by themselves, so we bought the smaller one this year...I came home from Enrichment last Thursday and it was up and I was SO IMPRESSED with the kids! I couldn't stop smiling...traditions are being made.
Luke being a fantastic dad and snuggling the kids. He continues to impress me every day. He works so hard and is such a great dad! We love you luke!
Please dismiss the dirty room :) This is Spencer and Luke cuddling before bed. Spencer LOVES his daddy and I just LOVE the arm around the neck holding on for dear life!

I'm in love!

I thought this was SUCH an appropriate post with all the holiday eating! This scale is amazing! It never tells you how much you weigh, it claps if you lose weight and gives you advice if you have gained! This is a must have in our family....

I entered the Mary Lou's Weigh Platform Giveaway!
Check out Roni’s Weight Loss Blog for more information.

Thanksgiving Overview

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving full of Family, Friends and Food. The "3 F's" as we call it in our family...what is better than that?

But with every wonderful thing, we also had...the cold. All of us are sick: Livi, Luke, Spencer, my mom and Spencer...yuck! Most of our nights were spent up with Livi because of her coughing...this made for some LONG NIGHTS! Anyway...

Tuesday: Mom and Dad drove to our home. Andru, Marilee and Kids came too and stayed with Marilee's sister, Natalie.

Wednesday: we drove out to Painesville (east of Kirtland) to Natalie and Gregg's home. We had a great time preparing the pies and the main course for the Thanksgiving feast! Thankfully the pies got done and we had dessert. Apparantly there is a tradition that my parent's started a few years ago to eat PIE and dessert the night before since there wouldn't be any room AFTER the feast. All the pies were DELICIOUS! We had 2 pecan pies, a cranberry/apple pie, pumpkin, keylime and a frozen mint icecream pie. My favorites were pecan and the cranberry/apple. YUM!

Thursday: We drove back out for dinner and it was wonderful. I must say...my mom is an AMAZINGLY good cook! (Yes, other's helped too! Natalie, LUke, Marilee, Me, etc) I also don't think that she minded cooking in Natalie's GORGEOUS kitchen either! It was a beautiful evening and meal. We ended up playing games as a family: signs, potholder, apples to apples. Then we brought out the rest of the pies (thank goodness we had some leftover!!) and played Ticket to Ride and Settlers. Of course I forgot my camera BOTH nights!!

Friday: Today we spent the afternoon/evening in Kirtland. The Metropark out in that area have a Candy Land exhibit where the kids can go and play a life-like version of it. It was BEAUTIFUL and the kids had a great time. We did some gingerbread crafts, walked through the Nature Park and then went to Panera for dinner. Candy Land:

Giant Lollipops

A bit later we traveled BACK to Kirtland to see the tree Lighting and Nativities.. Wow! They had 3 rooms dedicated to the different nativities. The school house was full of Nativities from around the world (Uganda, Germany, Phillipines, etc), upstairs in the Visitor's Center they had a room for the kids' nativities and they were allowed to play with them...and the other room was dedicated to the Nativities that other's had brought. There were hundreds of them! Unfortunately with a tired toddler, we left early before I could take a picture, but it was truly amazing and it was a sight to remember. We love Kirtland!

Nativities from around the world:

UgandaRwanda
Saturday: We slept in and slept all day! We spent time together and went out to eat and to the mall. Finished the night with Harry Potter 5.

Sunday: mom and dad left to go home. Hope that they miss the HUGE snowstorm blowing in! Thanks for coming and hanging out with us...we had a FANTASTIC Thanksgiving and hopefully we can see you at Christmas!

Death and Thanksgiving

I know this is a WEIRD title, but it seemed quite appropriate since this last weekend. It seems that the holidays (Christmas, Thanksgiving, or at least the cold month holidays) are full of death and sadness. Morbid thought, yes. Truthful, yes.

Luke's paternal grandmother died this past weekend after a year+ battle with brain cancer. It was sad that she had to suffer, but wonderful that she died pretty peacefully, without pain.

A few months back Grandpa put her in a nursing home because she needed more help than he could provide at home. Luke and I didn't quite understand how bad it was until we emailed Iris (Luke's mom) last week and she explain what state Grandma was in. It was pretty bad. Up until putting her in the nursing home, she had been in quite a bit of pain, but the nursing home was able to provide her with the medication she needed.

This past Saturday we received a call that Grandma had gone into a coma. They didn't expect her to live long, not even through the night, so everyone was able to prepare themselves. We got a call around 1a.m. that she had passed. The most amazing part? She came out of her coma for a few minutes, looked at Grandpa and then passed on. How beautiful is that?

What's not so beautiful? They weren't members of the Church, so they believed that instead of seeing each other again, that they were resting forever. I guess that is better than thinking other things, but sad nonetheless. I guess it's even sadder that they WERE members of the Church a LONG time ago, but left.

On a brighter note, I am so thankful that as members of the Church, we KNOW there is life after death and that we can live with our family members again someday. So thankful that some of my family will be spending Thanksgiving with us and eating LOTS of fantastic food!!

What are you thankful for on this TUESDAY before Thanksgiving?

Love bite?

Spencer has a habit of biting. It is getting better, but he still bites or at least he pretends to bite. Lately he has decided to run around chomping his teeth when he is mad or angry at Livi (or me or luke).

I have told Livi to do one of the following:
1.) Push him enough to get away and RUN!
2.) Yell and run and get me.

Apparantly she didn't get the memo because I caught HER biting Spencer on the cheek today and she left quite the mark. **I'll take pictures after his nap**

Needless to say, do you have any parenting tips on how to STOP the biting? I know some moms bite back, but honestly, what kind of message would I be sending my child if I BITE him/her?

PLUS, when the Social Service worker comes to take my kids and sees MY TEETH marks on them, how am I supposed to explain it? ;)

Gas Prices

Holy cow! I can't believe how much the gas prices have gone down over the last few weeks. I thought it was noteworthy to tell the world how much I paid to fill up my SUV this past week. There was a 1/4 of a tank and I filled it up for $13.48! Wowzer!



Alright, here is the reason why:

$1.79 gal, BUT since we shop at Giant Eagle and they participate in fuelperks, we get $$ off PER GALLON when we shop there. SO, we got a $1 off EACH gallon.....$.79/gal! Seriously, it has been a great week!

Update: I guess I should clarify. We do get $ 0.10 off per $10 we spend (0r something like that) BUT we let it build up and that's how we got $1 off per gallon.

Ohhhh, we did have some takers!!

Also, I posted that Chili recipe that I tried this past week...check it out HERE!
Oh, and like I said in the 2nd to last post, I have a recipe blog and there are some DANG good recipes on there. Go.... check it out!

Thank you for your chili recipes...I WILL be trying these in the next few weeks! (Gotta space them out so luke doesn't protest!)

Stevie: I have a DIVINE White Bean Chili Soup recipe you have to try! It might be similar to the one you are talking about...yum-my! Also, I add sour cream to mine when I am eating it and it's even better!

No takers?!

Wow, no takers on the chili challenge? Sad, so sad! ;)

Here's the one I made this past week, but I have mixed feelings about it. This could be done in the crockpot. Also, it didn't have enough spice for me. I ran out of chili powder (who does that?!) and it didn't have the kick I wanted. The tabasco added a bit of spice, but it wasn't the kind that I wanted. I will try again for a better recipe!

Chili
1 lb ground beef
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can white beans (great northern, butter beans, etc) drained and rinsed
1 diced onion
8 cloves of garlic, minced (I used 6)
1 29 oz. tomatoes (I had one can diced and one can stewed..yum!)
1 15oz. tom. sauce
3 TB. Chili powder (I used less and I wish I would've used more!)
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 TB. tabasco (I used 1/2 TB and it actually needed less)

Brown meat and drain. Add everything else and simmer.

On the lookout!

I am on the lookout for a fantastic chili recipe! I know, I know, this is a bit random, but go with me here.

Marrying into Luke's family, his mom has her "Bean Soup" which could be considered chili and I really like it, but at the same time, there is more of a sweetness to it than the traditional good old chili.

I have made about 4 different types of chili and the one last night was fairly good, but I still have to convince Luke of that (he isn't a soup, chili person!! shame!) So, if any of you have a great recipe, let me know!!

I do have a recipe blog (yes, I am one of 2 million), but check it out anyway. I have tried EVERY ONE! Oh, and I have stolen a few, but that's what recipes are all about, right? Foodaholiccooks.blogspot.com

Traditions

It's amazing what and how traditions play a part in our home each year. We have built single traditions (before we were married with our families) and over the course of our 8 years together (7 married years!) and now that we have children.

THANKSGIVING:
My family used to go to the Museum of Science and Industry EVERY SINGLE THANKSGIVING DAY. We brought turkey sandwiches and spent the entire day there. It really was amazing. They have so many exhibits, it was free, and the Christmas Trees from around the world always amazed me! They are beautiful! Oh, and who can forget the Omnimax theater? Always a joy! Then we would have a big turkey dinner and stuff our faces!

Luke's family: they spent the day together, cooking and enjoying each other. Then the next morning at 5a.m. sharp we would go out on Black Friday and push and shove our ways through the LONG and TERRIFYING CROWDS!! It was completely crazy, freezing cold, but the McD's breakfast was always a pleasure!

CHRISTMAS:
Here are some of our traditions from being single:
Katie's family: Being mostly German our family(mom's side) used to have a HUGE christmas dinner on Christmas Eve (usually created by Mom..and EVERYTHING WAS FANTASTIC!! We also started having the Stake Presidency over to the house for dinner when my dad had the calling. My mom would also create ice cream bowls..beyond divine..and we would eat Peppermint Icecream out of them..) and act out the Birth of Jesus story. Then we would open ALL of our presents from parents, siblings, aunts/uncles/cousins/grandparents, etc. Of course we loved this tradition!! Then we would watch one of the movies we had received and go to bed. We also would find a Christmas Puzzle and put it together as a family. My mom would then glue them and hang them up as decorations in their home.
Christmas Day: We would wake up to the smell of Swedish Pancakes being cooked (My dad's side is swedish). We would open all of the presents left from Santa Claus and have a great relaxing day together.
Luke's family: Like most family's out there, Luke's side only opens one present (usually pjs) and then everything is left for the next day. They eat some AMAZING prime rib and have a good family night watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (classic). Then the adults would spend all night putting together the kid's toys. We would also play Risk, XBOX, watch movies and sometimes do a puzzle.
Christmas Day: lounge all day opening presents, etc. I also started making my mom's cheese soup in bread bowls and that started a bit of a Kirkham tradition.

Being married we just did whatever tradition per what household we were at...until last year. Last year we spent at home by ourselves! It was so very different and yet, wonderful. We had some friend's over and made the cheesy bread bowls with homemade rolls and it was great!
Christmas Eve: We compromised. Luke didn't like opening ALL the presents, so we settled for opening PJ's, a present from the grandparents and one from us to each other/the kids. It was about 4 presents and we really liked the compromise. We all slept out in front of the tree...on a mattress and it was so fun! We also acted out the Nativity story.
Christmas Day: Lounged and called our families and then had a big breakfast. Did I mention lounge??

Other traditions...Christmas just isn't Christmas without Bing belting out his Christmas tunes. Or the smell of hot chocolate and marshmellows...or cinnamon. We also go all out with the Christmas decorations. We were handed down a ceramic town from Luke's side and have started the tradition of collecting Santas and Snowmen. I must say, it isn't a huge ocllection, but a great one. We also are buying nutcrackers (this is from my side) and we hide the PICKLE. I remember we used to go Caroling...but that hasn't stuck.

Other random WINTER traditions: Sledding. Who can resist in Idaho? Yeah, that reminds me...I went sledding when I was almost 5 months pregnant with Spencer and ended up at the chiropractors office. Note to self: Don't do that again!
Ohhh, another tradition that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! We used to jam pack in to Jeramy's truck (Luke's brother) and drive around Idaho Falls with hot chocolate, listening to Christmas music and looking at lights. We really, REALLY miss this...and hope to continue it when we get back, but until then, we'll continue it (minus hot chocolate) with the kids.

We do have other traditions that I can't think of right now, but until then..what are some of your traditions?! I would love to hear what other people do.

Update: Torticollis

Well for those of you that wanted an update here goes nothing. I am currently in a neck "cushion" or soft neck brace. Yeah, wonderful, I know. Here's what happened.

I started feeling better on Tuesday --YAY! I even made this fantastic Pasta Faglioli (Olive Garden) and it was so yummy.

Wednesday morning the kids woke up around 8:30 and I went to look at the clock and something literally snapped in my neck. I couldn't move. I thought it was just a neck kink, something that would go away in about 15 minutes...after lying flat on my back in bed for 20 minutes I knew something else was going on...it wasn't a pretty picture. I wouldn't say that I was paralyzed, but I would say that I definitely could not move without a MAJOR amount of pain. I yelled for Livi to bring me the phone and called Luke repeatedly...he finally answered and hung up on me..I started BAWLING!! (I later found out he was in an important meeting with the Bosses...oops!) I felt like I was completely alone and the kids finally figured something was wrong and came in to help. Spencer was wigging out a bit and was trying to climb into bed with me...and finally to calm him down I told him to go get a book and read it to me. Livi got my jeans and I was somehow able to get them part-way on.

I got a phone call from Luke who wasn't too worried at first, until I told him I had been lying in bed for a while. He thought it was a kink in the neck..it definitely wasn't. So, he called Amy, Lisa and Dorothy. Things started happening pretty fast...thank HEAVENS for the Relief Society. I can honestly say that those ladies (and all the rest of them that helped with dinners) were heaven sent and I couldn't have gotten anything done without them.

Lisa got there first, soon followed by Dorothy and Livi let them in...we called my family Dr. to see what they would say and they said to go to the ER. So after a few moments of trying to get me out of bed without hurting too bad and getting me dressed Dorothy took the kids back to her house for breakfast and Lisa ran me over to the ER. After being there a bit we went back and after explaining that I was pregnant the Dr's completely shied away from doing any sort of X-Ray or CAT scan. They moved my neck back and forth as much as I would let them and they said it was Toriticollis. They prescribed a muscle relaxer that they said was safe in pregnancy, but I wanted to make sure and I called my OB-GYN's office. All of the nurses were at a conference, so Dr. Bacevice gave me a call back to say that the Torticollis could be caused because of the anti-nausea meds I have been taking. Scary!

Anyway, after talking a little longer and then talking to the nurse, Linda (yes, we are fast becoming great friends) they said that it could be the Compazine I was on. Since I had been on the Zofran for 3+ weeks they didn't think it was that, but since I had been on Compazine for 3 days and had some other side effects, they were pretty sure that was the cause. ( I now have an allergy to medication)

We came back and met Dorothy before she brought the kids over to Amy's house. I feel so bad that my house was FILTHY!! It was beyond gross (mostly because I had been sick over the weekend) and so when we got inside, Lisa cleaned. She was wonderful...she got me comfortable, cleaned, and called Brother Kerr to give me a blessing. She left a little later and I just sat on the couch the rest of the afternoon with my head tilted to the left. What would've I done without an amazing visiting teacher?! Thank you LISA!

I ended up sleeping upright on the couch that night. It was horrible!

We were so blessed to get dinners from Yvonne, Sister Mortensen and Andrea. Thank you everyone who helped and watched our kids.

Thursday:
Luke stayed home. Poor guy! He was so willing to come home on Wednesday when he found out how bad it was, but he would have to take a taxi and had already stayed home SO MUCH this past month (at least once or twice a week!!).

Anyway, the Ob's office called and wanted me to come in for an appointment. Dorothy took the kids and we went. They told me to get off of Zofran just to be sure. (I got too sick on Friday night and started them back up...guess I should call and let the nurse know!) Then we called an orthopedic Dr. and they got me in right away. He gave me the neck brace, thank goodness! I look fantastic in it! ;) Anyway, we went to pick up the kids and guess what? Livi had gotten the flu and threw up all over Dorothy's house...go figure. When it rains it pours! She was sick that night and then was perfectly fine on Friday! (YAY!)

So, that's where we are at right now. The neck is starting to slowly feel better, but now I am getting pretty strong headaches. I slept in bed on Thursday and Friday night on my back and now my lower back hurts, but I am able to move my neck to the right a bit. I showered by myself today, but I still can't drive.

Things are starting to get better, but we had quite an eventful 2 weeks! Hope that things start to settle down so that Luke can save up some sick leave for when the baby gets here! I'm so excited that my parent's are coming for Thanksgiving..that will be so nice, BUT we have to clean our place...it starts now! :)

Again, thanks for all of the well-wishes and comments. I am currently 10 1/2 weeks and am due at the end of May/beginning of June. We really are excited for the little peanut to add to our family!

Whoa!

This post is long coming since I have been MIA for a few days. I can't believe how sick some people can get...I don't mean sick minded, I mean sick throwing up until there is nothing left to throw up and still your body finds more ways to make you throw up. Yeah, that would be me. You might want to stop reading this if you will get sick. I'm not one to keep anything in, if you know me at all...so read at your own risk.

After hearing from her about her household situation and then another friend getting it...I knew it was only a matter of time before our family was hit by THE BUG.

Last Monday morning around 5 a.m. Livi comes RUNNING in our room to say that Spencer had thrown up. SHE WAS FAST! I have no idea how she was able to wake up that quickly because from what we heard on the monitor to how fast she was..maybe a 10 second window, AMAZING KID! Anyway, Luke was on clean up duty (good, good man) and cleaned it up fairly quickly, but was quite grumpy because he had to wake up pretty soon after. Later on that day, Spencer threw up again, but wasn't big, we just all stayed home and had a sick day. Luke on the other hand went to work and ended up texted me and said he was sick. (Sidenote: This man RARELY gets sick, so if he says he is sick, you know he is telling the truth!) He gets home off the bus and I somehow have homemade chicken noodle soup waiting for him and his sweats laid out on the bed. His stomach remained really queasy into Tuesday, so he stayed home...and played mom, because I am doing the whole pregnancy thing (yeah, btw, I'm pregnant and not happy about it apparantly. This will be our last one!)

Luke also had Wednesday off because of my dr's appointment and so we all spent some time together.

Fast forward to Friday, Halloween. Yeah, you guessed it. I GET SICK! I just thought the pregnancy thing was getting to me, until I started getting pretty bad. I was on some new medication that made me short of breath and I HATE feeling that way, so I called the on-call nurse, Linda (btw, is it a bad thing when the WHOLE office knows you by name and greets you when you call...or when they have your home number memorized?! Seriously, this has never happened before, but then again, I never had complications like this before!) After switching my medication, I started throwing up (not related) and I called in dead to trick-or-treating and stayed all by my lonesome...sad! ;( Everyone came home happy and full of candy (thanks Greg and Amy...they had a blast!)

Saturday I lounged around thinking I was getting better and we did our new-found ritual of going out to eat on Saturday nights. (Ok, we normally go out to eat on Saturdays, I only say "new-found" ritual because I want to and it adds a bit of flair) Anyway, I was STARVING when we got to T.G.I.Fridays and we had a 20 minute wait, so by the time they got ANY thing to our table, I was already at the sick era. I made it through dinner and came home and had to take 4 milk of magnesia and other things due to some "other" issues.

I woke up on sunday and was clearly not going to church. I was sick. I honestly don't know how often I was in the bathroom throwing up...but it wasn't pretty. Thankfully Linda got me through most of it and I was one throw up away from the ER. The last call I made to her was at 9p.m. that night and she said to give her a call if anything came up (pun intended?) ANyway, I threw up at 10, but didn't call her. The kids were in bed already and if I was going to go to the hospital, that would mean we needed to get someone over here, etc, etc...so I stayed home. I was up all night. Literally, all night. Have you ever throw up for 12+ straight hours? It does a number on your back and your belly. I was in so much pain I slept from 10:30 to 2:45am and then didn't get any sleep. It was miserable.

Luke stayed home again on Monday and played mom while I continued to feel sick. Linda called me at home and made sure I was alive. I told her all that had happened and since I can't even keep the anti-nausea meds down, they got me some the dissolve on my tongue...cool and disgusting. Long, long story short..I'm still throwing up. Last nights dinner was swimming with the fishes down the porceline express. I'm not really happy about it. I have no water left in my body. Honestly. I can't drink anything more than a tsp. or it comes up. But I have faith that today is a new day and I will be able to keep down something liquid. I really want a tall glass of water...that's all I want. Not pop. not ginger ale. not milk. nothing but water. So all of you out there...drink a cup or two for me.

PS. I am happy about baby #3, just not about being pregnant. Pregnancy and I don't get along very well!

Dr. Office

While waiting in the dr. office, I overheard a conversation going on right next to me. It may not seem like a big deal to some of you but I was a bit upset about it. Here's how it went:

Three non-well-to-do ladies (aka white trash--please don't think that I judge..it's the best way to describe them without going into too much detail!) were talking about the song, "I kissed a girl and I liked it." I personally HATE this song because it is sung by a girl about a girl and although I am not anti-gay/lesbian, I surely don't aprove nor want my children listening to this song. I think it is inappropriate.

ANYWAY, I guess one of the ladies works at a daycare and she was talking about how some of her preschoolers were singing it and how cute it was and how they loved hearing them sing it. One of them said that a parent had mentioned that they shouldn't be singing it (at preschool) and another one said,
"Why not? If the parent's let them listen to it, then it's not bad." While the third one said,
"What's the big deal, it's just a song?"

WHOA! Ok, there are many things wrong with this...and not to jump on my well-used soapbox, but I don't want my kid hearing these sort of songs played in preschool AND it's not just a song, but it is the principle of it. If I want to teach my child about lesbian things, then I'll do it in the comfort of my home, surrounded by Luke and a whole lot of the Spirit. I almost said something and was going to...oooohhh, I was close, but then they got called back.

What is the world coming to? I can't wait to move back to Idaho and get a bit of the "bubble" back. No, I realize that no matter what, my kids will be bombarded by the evils of the world, but at least in Idaho I have a say in what is taught (for the most part) and they are a more conservative state. If all else fails, I guess I am going to have to do what I have always NOT wanted to do..homeschool. (That's another discussion all together! :)

sevens

Sevens

7 things I can do:
1. Sing
2. Change my hair style/color and do it again in a few months..it's fun!
3. Carry a BIG baby for 9+ months and they come out healthy and huge (OK, 8 and 9lb babies a week early..that's BIG to me! :)
4. Cook
5. Sleep in ridiculously late and not feel bad about it
6. Stay up really late playing games (mostly cards)
7. Stay on the computer for long hours....and not feel guilty (well, not TOO often! ;)

7 Things I can't do:

1. Tune my husband and kids out...I hear everything, even if I am reading or watching TV..I know what is going on
2. Shop for long periods of time at the mall. (Come on 7 hours looking for a dress? My motto: Plan, get in, get out!)
3. Keep my house clean
4. Go sky-diving, bungee jumping, etc...too much to live for now that I have a husband and kids
5. Get a tattoo
6. Rat my hair...it is impossible. Even my professional cosmetologist sister-in-law gets frustrated with doing my hair...can we say LIMP?
7. Eat seafood, fish, anything produced in the ocean/sea/water..it just doesn't sit well with my stomach...

7 things that attracted me to LUKE:
1. How BLOND he was!
2. He was a good looking guy that could DANCE (that's where we met)
3. His silver-blue eyes..amazing!
4. He was TALL!
5. He was hilarious and made me laugh ALL THE TIME!
6. He knows how to clean the house in WAY less time than I do it..and it looks dang good!
7. His Family

7 things I say most:
1. Livi turn off the tv
2. Let's go out to eat
3. Livi and Spencer stop fighting
4. Livi go to the bathroom
5. Seriously?!
6. OH MY GOSH!
7. What the heck?!

7 People I admire most
1. My parents
2. President Hinckley
3. My grandmothers...both have led amazing lives and I am so thankful for BOTH of them
4. Lukelei
5. My siblings (yes, as a whole..they are all fabulous and different and complex and I love them!)
6. Women that have it all together (or at least pretend that they do! )
7. Jesus Christ

7 favorite foods
1. Eggs
2. Steak
3. My mom's cooking (doesn't matter what it is..although roladen and sauerkraut is at the top)
4. Veggies: Asparagus, artichokes, etc.
5. Salad
6. Hamburgers (especially from Red Robin..yum!)
7. BBQ -- Kansas City style Jackstack

7 people to tag
Whomever..I don't want to force anyone to go through this..it took me a long time! Hehe!

STOP--Some pictures may be too graphic

About 4+ years ago when Livi was 9 months old and learning to walk...she was teetering and fell into our keyboard stand. She hit her forehead and it started gushing blood. I felt horrible as a mom and after talking to a nurse, we were told NOT to get stitches (I regret that now) and to just put a butterfly bandage on it to heal. Fast forward and she has a scar smack dag in the middle of her forehead.
Well...this past Friday was a bit of a horrific scene when Spencer decided to experience that same thing (although his was about 15x's worse)

A great friend took the kids in the morning and was going to keep them for a few hours so they could all play. She called a little later and said, why don't we keep them a little longer and Spencer can take a nap here. I was all for this relaxing day, so I agreed.

When she called me back a few hours later I could tell that something was wrong. Here is probably how the convo went:
A: Katie, Spencer fell and hit his head and it looks pretty bad.
Me: Oh, really? (Obviously, I wasn't too worried, he's a little boy)
A: Yes, it is pretty bad. I put him down for his nap in E's room and then a little bit later I heard him whining, not crying, not screaming, just doing a bit of a whine. So, I went in to check on him and there was blood everywhere.
Me: Really?!? Wow, that sounds bad. How did it happen?
A: I have NO idea! We went to investigate and there wasn't anything sticking out, unless he was jumping really high on the bed and hit the nail that is sticking out of the wall. (Don't think that was it)
Anyway, the convo went on a few minutes while I tried to get out the door and get over there. We still don't know what he was playing with or how he got it. What a stinker...that's a boy for you!

Long story short...it was bad. I got there and his clothes were stained with blood, but being the cute, resilient little tike that he is, he was outside playing, waiting for me to come get him. He said, "mom, my head" and then didn't worry about it again.

We got to the ER around 4:30 and didn't leave until almost 8p.m. During this time Luke and livi showed up with dinner (Yummy JImmyJohns!!) and we chilled in the room.
I wish that they would've been able to use glue to close it, but they couldn't..part of the skin was sticking up and not in the right position...BLAH!

Anyway, they numbed it and then had the dr. come in to close it and let me tell you how cute this Spencer kid is...Daddy was holding Spencer with the help of a nurse while the dr. stitched. Daddy had to leave the room pretty quickly and Spencer started to cry b/c he was under bright lights and I was on the other side of the dr. holding livi. He started fidgeting which is NOT good when they are trying to stitch your head closed and so I came over to hold him. To try and calm him down, I asked him if he wanted to sing the "Wheels on the Mack" (Think: Cars, but not Lightening McQueen--Mack, the truck that carries lightening)
He said no! (We were WAY SURPRISED!) He wanted to sing, "I Love to See the Temple!" It calmed him down immediately and even the dr. tried to sing it (key word: tried) It was a sweet moment for me. So, here are the pictures. Oh, my sweet little boy!





Honestly, for as much pain as there should've been..Spencer was PERFECT. He didn't complain, get mad or anything (except for the brief switching of the parents) He was a doll and I couldn't be more happy that he is in our family. We love you Spencer!!

Proposition 8

Well, I'm not one to get too politically involved (yeah, right!) but after several, SEVERAL emails, I figured I needed to voice my own opinion about Prop. 8. I realize that I have many friends and even family members that are gay and so let me preface this by saying that I love you, but at the same token I feel very strongly as a Mother, Wife, and Woman that things have gone too far. I am very concerned by what will eventually be taught to my children IN SCHOOL! Here are a few things that I have found interesting:
"For those who have been living in a cave for the past few months: in the beginning of this millennium, the people of California voted on Prop. 22, that stated we recognize marriage to be the union of a man to a woman. Recently, and with full media support, four (only four!) California Supreme Court Judges decided that the people's vote had no value (61% voted for Prop. 22) and they overturned that vote. This ruling has opened a literal floodgate of homosexual marriages in the state. To stem this tide and to strive to bring some semblance of morality back into California, Prop. 8 has been put on this year's ballot. Prop. 8 will amend the California Constitution to read, 'Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.' The majority of other states constitutions have similar amendments. In California Prop. 8 is facing fierce opposition.
Last night I (along with perhaps tens of thousands of others) attended an unprecedented broadcast sponsored by the LDS church aimed at rallying members (and non-members) to work in a 'grass roots' effort supporting Prop. 8, the 'marriage initiative'. In my life time I have never seen the church get this 'involved' in the political arena (more on that later). The meeting was attended by Elder Ballard & Elder Cook (from the Quorum of the 12) and Elder Clayton (from the Presidency of the Seventy). Elder Ballard presided. Elders Cook and Clayton are both from California. Elder Clayton has been the liaison from Salt Lake City to California in relaying strategies from the Brethren on how we LDS can and should get involved.
This was not what I would call an ecclesiastical meeting (it was NOT an extension of General Conference). Rather, it was a political rally of sorts. We were told we only have 4 weeks left and were given very specific guidelines on how we can be most affective in rallying our forces.
It was reiterated several times that normally the church does NOT get involved in the political process -- they will NEVER tell the members who to vote for, what political party they should align with, etc. However, when it comes to moral issues and be it known, THIS IS A MORAL ISSUE. They (the church) have the right or rather the obligation to exercise their right to free speech.
We were reminded over and over again, that we need to be sensitive (never rude or condescending) to others who do not share our moral values. However, we must make a stand when we are confronted with moral issues. Elders Ballard and Cook spoke of good members ('many who are worthy temple recommend holders') who have to struggle with same gender attraction on a daily basis. That struggle is no different than the personal struggles (temptations/sins) you and I have to deal with in our lives. Surely if someone held our personal temptations/sins up to public ridicule, we would be sorely offended. We should live as Christ did, by loving the sinner, not the sin.
We were also reminded that it is NOT SENSATIONALISM to think that were same gender marriage allowed to stand and to become legal, it could lead to extreme shifts in what is taught in our public schools ('sex' education for example). Also this will FORCE churches (including the LDS church) to marry same gender couples or lose their Tax Exempt Status. Of course, we would never capitulate or lower our standards. Therefore we, as a church, would become an 'illegal' institution. Let your mind run with that statement for a moment and then you'll understand why the Brethren are so serious about this!
A small production was also shown, aimed at educating young people (and old) on the full ramifications of all this. Elder Bednar (of the Twelve) is talking to a small group of young people in his office. Among other important answers to questions, he said something that (to me) was most profound. It is what he called, 'the Tyranny of Tolerance'. That is to say, tolerance is supposed to be a two-way street -- you have your opinion and I have mine -- let's just get along. Unfortunately, we have been shown over and over again that the opposition will only 'tolerate' THEIR VIEWS as being acceptable. This is a form of TYRANNY at it's worst; for they will never stop until we have EMBRACED their lifestyle and adopted their 'morality'. He again brought up the fact that public schools will have to teach this form of (im)morality in their 'health' classes. Parents (you and me) will teach the Lord's standard at home, while everyday our little ones from K-12 (and beyond, in college) will be force-fed (as with Darwin's 'Theory' of Evolution) EVERY FACET of this 'alliterative' lifestyle. That is how serious this is!>> Elder Bednar also said that this will not stop in California but will spread across the nation.
It was interesting that Elder Ballard made a focused plea for young adults, married and not, to get involved and do all they can in their sphere. He particularly mentioned their skills in computer communications of which older people are less apt (or are completely inapt). It has been his focus recently in the Ensign and other talks, to get these knowledgeable young people with burning testimonies actively engaged in this highly evolved form of communication using the Internet and other electronic media (texting, etc.).
At the end of the broadcast, we were told to have our closing prayer(s) locally. President Lam (our Stake President) finished the meeting with some more discussion and organization. He had all the Bishops of our stake stand and introduce their ward 'Zip Code Coordinator'. This person has a list of every household in their ward, by zip code. We members were told to contact these people for a list of names to contact (our ward has been doing this for weeks -- good Coordinator!).
We have been asked to donate 4 hours/week as individuals. Our focus primarily being on 'undecided' voters as well as getting advocates out to vote.>> As an interesting side note: There were thousands of 'Vote Yes On Prop. 8' signs available from our stake coordinator, however, we could NOT get them on church premises -- only from the coordinator's homes.
We were asked to dedicate our fast(s) this coming Fast Sunday towards everyones efforts in supporting Prop. 8. The meeting was well attended (more than our typical saturday evening adult stake conference session) and the feeling was very positive, even exciting.>> The Brethren are very concerned. They know if this ballot does not pass, it will be taken by the opposition as a sign that all restraints no longer exist. The Supreme Court's move was just a 'toe in the water'. If this initiative does not pass, it will be taken as a green light 'dive in'. As Elder Bednar mentioned last night, they will push as far and as hard as they are allowed. If this ballot does not pass, it will put our value system throughout the ENTIRE NATION on precarious ground, indeed.>> My brother Rick and I were just talking about how strange it is that we are even discussing this stuff! Who could have even conjured this up thirty years ago? Back then it would have been considered perversion in the extreme.>> Perhaps we can stem the tide, even if but for a moment, by making our stand against evil this one time!>> Tommy
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Family and Friends,Did you happen to catch Bill O'Reilly last night on the Fox News Channel (Monday 10/13/08)? He talked about Connecticut's rather 'quiet' decision (again, by Supreme Court judges) to change the laws to allow gay marriage.Then Bill O'Reilly highlighted the situation in San Francisco where a 1st grade teacher invited her entire first grade class to attend her lesbian wedding AS AN OFFICIAL, CALENDARED PUBLIC SCHOOL FIELD TRIP!! He showed some video of the wedding, with lots of little 6-yr olds throwing flower petals - on this, their wonderfully 'educational' school field trip...And who performed that ceremony? None other than the (gay) San Fran. Mayor Gavin Newsome. Things are definitely out of control.Glenda

The 2nd Tag

Heidi B. tagged me HERE. So I'll follow the rules as explained below.

1. There are VERY few things I hate in life. Being pregnant is one of them. (Pretty certain we are done with kids!) Wind blowing in my face is another.
2. I have a hard time meeting new people. This wasn't always the case...meeting people has always come very easily for me, but being married with my own family and other priorities, I just don't put myself out there any more.
3. I ::Heart:: HGTV...anything on that channel. Really. OK, this isn't enough....I just plain love t.v. and am pretty glad that we have DVR. Here are a list of the shows I watch on a weekly basis (some are daily) BTW, we don't watch all of the ones on one night...we do space them out!
1. The Unit 2. The Mentalist 3. Fringe 4. CSI 5. CSI: Miami 6. CSI: New York 7. A Baby Story 8. House Hunters 9. Chuck 10. House 11. Without a Trace 12. Prison Break 13. Ugly Betty 14. Grey's Anatomy 15. Eleventh Hour 16. Life on Mars 17. The Ex List 18. Private Practice
4. I stay in contact with friends. I make an effort to email, send a letter, call or blog at least once a year.
5. I enjoy traveling and seeing new things. (Note: I don't always like exploring where we live, but I like traveling..go figure. Maybe it's because when we travel it's to places I already know..Chicago, Utah, Idaho, etc) One day I will travel to Europe and EXPLORE!
6. I enjoy good food. Mostly it is my mom's cooking, but I have several friends that are great cooks. I like going out to eat and most often I don't vary from what I know I like. (For example: When I was young we would go to Olive Garden for my birthday. Every single time I went I got the Venetian Grilled Chicken with Marinara sauce..aka. grilled chicken with red sauce. I got this every time and wouldn't try anything else.)
7. I may occasionally over analyze things. Alright, this is nothing new. When I was single living with BrookeK and the rest of that apartment we used to over analyze A LOT! Now, I over analyze what we need to do to get to where we want to be in the next 6 months, 1 year, 5 years, etc. Where we can save, where we can live, where Luke can work, etc. This may be called planning for our future..except I can take it to the nth degree. Bless Luke! :)
I tag:
Shannon Y.
Rachel B.
LINDSEY A.
Julie H.
Katie S.
Laura P.
Natalie C

Who woulda thunk it?!

Who would've thought that after months and even a few years of minivan shopping/looking, we would come away with a SUV? I know, I know...but we really like it and are glad that we didn't buy the Toyota Sienna this past weekend (don't worry, I still love the Sienna, it just wasn't going to work for us right now)

Anyway, we are pretty stinkin' lucky to get this great deal with some sweet extra features. We have a Bose Stereo 6-disc system, DVD player, 3rd row seating, low miles (34,000), 3 months OnStar AND satellite stereo. Oh, did I mention the tow-package (5500lbs) and roofrack, lifelong carwashes and discounted oil changes? Yes, we are happy with it.

We got a fantastic deal on it AND they gave us cash to pay off the Camry. We couldn't have been happier. And trust me when I say we went through quite a few dealerships to get to this point...9 in fact and that doesn't include the online searches.

So, if anyone is interested in a good dealership in Ohio, let me know! They give us $50 for referrals/buyers. :)

P.S. It's a Chevy Trailblazer

Picture Tag

I have 2 tags to take care of and so here is the first:
The Rules: Go to your 4th photo file and post the 4th picture.

Unfortunately our main pc is under the weather and i can't get my other pictures..otherwise the 4th picture would be of Livi about 4-5 years ago! In any event, here's the one I found on this computer!

This is at Kiera's wedding in August 2005. Wow, we all look pretty young!

Tag:
Kiera, Tori, Devony, and Kristin B.

I've been tagged!

Ok, so I've been tagged and it's late here, so I am going to wait to finish it when I get a second. Mostly this post is to remind me to actually DO IT! ;)

Conference

Wow! I'm not one to usually be writing about conference and spiritual things :) But I was really impressed by the four sessions of conference. It was really amazing and I'm glad that I was so focused and listened (no sleeping for me!)

I've been thinking about the following three things...what about you?

1.) Any overriding theme?

2.) Did you have a favorite talk?

3.)Anything in particular that stood out to you?

Goodbye September, hello October!

I still can't believe that another month has passed so quickly! Here's a beautiful sunset one night. Luke says that they don't compare to Idaho, but I don't necessarily agree with him...we've had some FANTASTIC and GORGEOUS sunsets here lately. Ok, ok, Ohio is growing on me! :)

Anyway, a few weeks ago we had a HUGE wind storm (after effects of Hurricane Gustav) that knocked down a lot of trees/branches/power. We saw some homes damaged by HUGE trees, it was unreal. Here are two pictures. I was driving and so they aren't great, but we had TONS of branches down at almost every house on this street.

All about free!

I'm all about free things and this is FANTASTIC! They are giving away free handbags every hour! http://www.handbagplanet.com/

Apples Part I and II

Apples Part I: Carmel Apple Night

Fall is my favorite season! This year we have been lucky enough to have made some great friends, not to mention making memories and building apple traditions! I don't think I have ever done a "real" carmel apple night. The carmel was homemade and DELICIOUS! The kids had a hey-day putting their toppings on..and we finished the night with rootbeer...a fall favorite for me!



Apples Part II: Apple Picking and Bonfire

Yesterday we decided to have FHE, dinner and a bonfire at a friend's home who also happened to have an apple tree! We are so lucky! The kids had a great time playing, picking apples and eating TOO many of them (spencer's diaper showed the effects today :)

Here is a typical Spencer thing..in order...

(BTW, the last picture was taken earlier in the night and I really had to literally run from the house to catch him..and I took the picture before saving him. Mother of the Year award this way please! :)