New Niece

Elle Jane was born yesterday at 3:56pm. She weighed 7 lbs and 10 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long (I think). She is absolutely adorable!! Kelley was a trooper and did a great job. My mom, Stacey, and I were in the delivery room with her. What a neat experience. It is so different to be there as an observer rather than the one giving birth. What a miracle!!

Before: two pregnant sisters...now there is only one...with two more weeks to go!!

After: Beautiful mother and daughter. They sure love each other. Elle just stares adoringly at her mommy!!

Elle and her Grandma Vic

The proud aunt!!

Check out all her cute hair!!

Elle was born with a heart condition...a small hole in her heart. She has to stay in the NICU for a few days while they evaluate if she will need surgery or if the situation will heal on it's own. She is doing fantastic and we have all been up to hold her and cuddle her...even Uncle Tyler. She is such a little sweetheart.

Kelley is doing great. I can't believe what an amazing job she did...first babies can be really hard. I was so proud of her. Thanks Kelley for letting me be a part of that special day!!

Happy Birthday Baby Elle!! We love you!!

A lot To Say And No Time To Say It

So much has been going on...baby preparations, St. Patrick's Day, Ailey's Field Trip, Parent/Teacher Conferences, a fun package from Aunt Jayme and Uncle Kirk...so much going on tonight...Reilly's Honor Choir Performance, Kameron's Pinewood Derby, and Kelley getting induced.

And to top it all off...this morning I had to check into the hospital at 7:30 am for a "version" to try to get this baby girl to stop being breech and move into position. All I can say is HOLY HELL it hurt!! And...it didn't work. She moved around and then went right back into her comfy breech position. I have a c-section scheduled for April 10th.

More later...I've gotta run!! Or should I say limp. I am so sore from this morning.

A Few Things

Here are a few things that I wanted to post about:

1.) I have to say a HUGE thank you to some wonderful friends for throwing me a baby shower...
in particular Kariann for hostessing it...in lieu of this month's book club. You guys are so
sweet and I truly appreciate it!! I am so blessed to know such an amazing group of women.
They have been there for me for years...through trying to get
pregnant again...several miscarriages and so much more. I love you guys!!

2.)
Reilly's Theatre Ballet Company had their Spring Performance on Saturday. The Jr. Company
did a performance of Thumbelina. This was her first paying audience...tickets were $5 and the
theater was full. She did an amazing job. Lately it seems like Reilly and I are always in a power
struggle. I feels like I am a constant nag...wanting her to practice...to get to class...to work
hard and all Reilly wants to do is hang out with her friends from school. She has a best friend
who doesn't do any after school activities and has put quite a bit of pressure on Reilly to quit
her activities so that they can "hang out". Frustrating.

Reilly came out into the audience to say "hello" before her performance began and I didn't even recognize her at first. I glanced over and saw this teenager and it took a minute for it to dawn on me that it was Reilly...CRAZY!!

She did such a great job...she had me in tears. I know how hard she works and all the time she dedicates to ballet so it was neat to see her do so well and to really enjoy performing. She had a great experience and told me how much she LOVES ballet so I guess the power struggle is worth it.


Here's a little piece of her performance. Reilly was actually the understudy for Thumbelina (the girl in white) and when Taylor hurt her ankle and Reilly was ready to go...but darn that Taylor had to be a quick healer!! :)

3.)


Due to all the sickos we had last week Reilly missed attending her YW Spaghetti Feed/Auction/Bake Sale. But she made a really cute and delicious cake so I had to post a picture. It was a homemade triple chocolate fudge cake...it was GOOD.

Ailey liked it!!

4.)
The first coat of paint is up on our bedroom walls and I LOVE it!! It is amazing what a little paint can do to spruce things up and make everything feel new.


5.) I'm Sick...it was wishful thinking to think I could avoid it!! But I almost did. I was the last one to get this junk...it hit me last night. I'm hoping for a light case because I've got too much going on!!

Sick

Everyone around here is sick with horrible colds...fevers, sore throats, congestion...except for me. I know it is just a matter of time before I am hit with it too but I am trying to keep my distance from all the sickies and going through LOTS of hand gel and anti-bacterial wipes. This is a stubborn bug and the fever part lasts about 3 days so we have missed a lot of school this week. It started with Reilly (thanks to her ballet class), hit Kameron, Tyler and now Ailey. I'm sorry but being hugely pregnant and having a horrible cold does not sound like a good time...so wish me luck on escaping the bug. The power of positive thinking!!

Not much new here...had my doctor's appt. yesterday. My blood pressure was good. Yay! No bed rest. The baby is STILL breech. I really hope this kid turns around soon.

That's about it...not too exciting. Meanwhile Kelley is due in two weeks so we are all "on call" and I run for the phone every time it rings hoping it's Kelley so I can drop everything and get her to the hospital. You never know... if I have my baby early (cross your fingers) and she has her baby on time we could be there simultaneously...maybe we could share a room and get a discount!! ;)

Kelley's birthday was on Monday so this is late....

Happy Birthday Kelley!!

Book Reviews #54 and #55

These two books are not my usual picks when looking for an interesting book to read. I am not drawn to theological fiction nor to science fiction. I was hoping to expand my horizons and to enjoy both of these highly recommended books. I didn't.

#54 The Shack by William P. Young


The first time I saw this book was at my friend Andrea's house for book club. I picked it up and thought it looked interesting. Not long after my sister, Kelley, read it for her book club. She let me borrow it and off I went hoping to enjoy a good read.

Part of the problem was the background story...set in the Pacific Northwest...it is the tale of a grieving father, Mackenzie "Mack" Phillips whose youngest daughter, Missy, is kidnapped from a family camping trip four years earlier. Her body was never found but she was thought to have been abducted and killed by a serial killer who preyed on little girls. Do you see my problem? This is scary night reading for a mother of young girls...who go camping...in the Pacific Northwest. Add pregnancy and all it's irrational fears and worries to the mix and it didn't go over well.

Next Mack receives a letter from "Papa" who invites Mack to come to the deserted cabin that Missy was thought to have been killed in...Mack leaves his family and goes alone to "the shack" unsure of what he will find there. What he does find is God. Actually the whole Godhead or Trinity are there: God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost. The book centers around Mack coming to terms with his daughter's death and his relationship with each of the Godhead.

Hmmm...where to begin. While this book does not reflect my own personal theological ideas of the Godhead I can separate my personal beliefs of the nature of God from the ideas presented in this book and I had high hopes. Any book that is selling like crazy and is all the "buzz" and happens to be about God and one man's journey back to faith can't be all bad.

Well it wasn't all bad...it just wasn't great. The writing was not superb. The plot...not really there. All the action happens in the past and this is basically just the author pontificating his view of God and the universe for pages...and pages...and pages. While interesting at first it became much less so as the chapters wore on. The author covered a wide variety of theological topics in the book most of which were relevant to human suffering and why bad things happen and man's inability to trust God but for a book that is all about spirituality I felt very little of the Spirit while reading it.

I know there are many out there who feel that this book is life changing. I'm glad. Whatever brings us closer to our Father in Heaven. I feel there are a lot of "faith-starved" individuals out there in the world who are searching for something to fill the void that a lack of religion has left in their lives. If this book helps them do that then great. The author certainly has no love loss for organized religion. But a literary masterpiece and the next Pilgrim's Progress it certainly is not... which, by the way, it has been hailed as by some. This book could be an interesting book club selection. It will open the door to a spiritual discussion. There is much to discuss and it is always interesting and enlightening to learn about others spiritual beliefs. Unfortunately I just can't give it a glowing recommendation.

My rating: OK but disappointing

#55 Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card




Here is another genre that I don't generally read...science fiction. But as many people have been flabbergasted that I have never read a book by Orson Scott Card I thought I would give it a try. This book has been heralded as a "classic" so it was my first foray into the mind of Orson Scott Card.

My husband picked this book up from the library for me and as he handed it over he began laughing. "Are you really going to read this book?" he asked knowing that from the cover alone we were not a good match. "Yes" I said and I did. I even liked parts of it. Who knew? But overall it was as I suspected...science fiction isn't my thing.

This book tells the story of a gifted child named Ender Wiggin who is selected to attend a special battle school on a space station that trains gifted children to be battle commanders to protect the Earth and lead it to victory over an alien fleet called buggers. Ender, although only 6 years old, proves to be a military genius. He is the government's great hope for victory.

Ender is isolated from his family and other "students" as he trains doing battle simulation games and mock battles against other student armies. All the while Ender is an object of bullying at school and somewhat of an outcast.

When the final battle ensues there is somewhat of a surprising ending and a big "reveal"...unfortunately it wasn't enough for me. I lost interest around battle number 10 and it never returned. I liked the first part of the book that dealt more with Ender...his identity as a "third" and his family dynamics. The actual battles and strategies held little interest for me. I also didn't care for the ending and Ender's quest at least not enough to read anymore of the Ender Series.

I know that these books have a huge following and are much beloved by science fiction fans. It just wasn't a book for me.

My rating: OK

The Latest

Things are in constant motion around here. It seems like everyday/every night we have stuff going on. It is crazy...and March only looks to be twice as crazy.

Kameron had his first Blue and Gold Banquet this past week. The theme was ABC's of the United States. Each scout had to bake a cake and decorate it to represent a state. I was SO IMPRESSED by all the cakes. There were a lot of creative scouts. Kameron was very proud of his cake. He made it with his dad. He picked Texas as his state (my all-time favorite state) and did Texas proud!!

Not only did Kameron make a cake to represent the south he also picked a southern cake recipe. He chose a homemade Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. The star was edible too. It was made out of a "White Mystery" Airhead.


Kameron and Tyler had a great time working together on this cake. And...it tasted REALLY good too. Kameron got the award for "Most Realistic Historical Re-enactment. He was thrilled. I didn't dare try any other cakes...you know cub scouts and finger licking/knife licking/spoon licking. I knew Kameron's was safe. All it took was one cake decorating night with the Young Women a few years ago to put me off of youth baked goods forever!!


Kameron is at that age where he refuses to be "normal" pretty much ever. He is wild and weird and I guess that is how boys are at 8. I vaguely remember Kirk being extremely annoying at this age too. I tried and tried to get a decent picture of Kam...this is what I got:


These were taken mere minutes before he soaked the table in red punch while Tyler and I were in line for food with Ailey. Thanks for coming to the rescue Carolyn!!

Reilly gave her first talk in Sacrament Meeting as an "official" Youth Speaker. And...when Brother Merchant called to ask her to speak she shrieked WITH JOY and ran around the house gloating to her brother and sister that she GETS to speak in Sacrament Meeting and they don't. I can't relate to a child like this? Where did she come from? She spoke on Dance and Music and how they pertain to the "For The Strength of Youth". She looked a bit nervous when she got up to the podium but she did great.

Ailey gave a talk in Primary yesterday and for a girl who is somewhat shy she got right up there and spoke loud and clear into the microphone and said she can't wait to do it again. :) I was so not the public speaking child...I still hate it. Ailey registered for Kindergarten today. I can't believe she is already old enough for elementary school.

Look what is back in our house:

Baby Supplies!! Nothing says new baby like my favorite lotion and baby wash. Mmmm. They smell so good. All the baby clothes are pretty much washed and ready and Tyler has been getting out all the equipment from the garage. It is starting to feel like we actually are going to have a baby!!

I had a doctor's appointment on Friday. My blood pressure is still on the rise but (thankfully) still not in the danger zone. So I am just monitoring it several times a day and if it is high I rest...I will do anything to avoid bed rest. I had an ultrasound on Friday as well to check the health of the placenta and the level of amniotic fluid. Everything was normal. The baby is now 5 lbs and 7 oz. Still a girl!! She is breech so I am hoping that she turns around pretty soon. She was completely uncooperative for a picture. All arms and legs up over her face. We have YET to get a decent picture of her face or profile even after multiple ultrasounds. So I guess we will just have to wait to see what she looks like. One more doctor's appt. and I am down to the weekly appointments. I think she will be here before we know it.

Tyler and I were able to attend the temple on Sat. for the sealing of a very special couple in our ward. It was so neat to be there for them. We were even able to have a "date day and night" if you can believe it. We need to squeeze those in while we can!!

So we are just hanging in here and trying to get a bunch of stuff done in between 50 million activities...it's wild but it's helping the time to pass quickly.

Happy Birthday Stacey!!

Tagged by Kirk and a Book Review

Kirk tagged me for a picture tag...the 6th folder...with the 6th picture...and then post about it:

Ride 'em Cowgirl

This picture was taken last summer at Tyler's Company party/BBQ. Tyler's company holds their company picnic at our baseball park and we get lots of free food, free entertainment, and free tickets to the game. It is always a lot of fun.

They always have pony rides which are a BIG hit!! Ailey loved riding around on the ponies.
Kameron refused to ride...he isn't our most adventurous child. This particular day he was snarfing down popcorn and he had gotten his hands on some Mt. Dew so he was keeping a low profile. Reilly was pouting because we had told her that she was too big to ride the Shetland ponies this year. Hello...her feet would've been scraping the ground!!

I wonder where Reilly gets that kind of obstinacy?? ;) Believe me I have pictures of me older than this riding this poor pony...but I couldn't find them.

Book Review #53


This is another Young Adult book. I had heard a lot about this series and thought it might be a fun thing for Reilly and I to read together and discuss. She was going to do a review of her own but I have been waiting for about a month and it has yet to get done. Needless to say, this book sparked some interesting conversations about physical appearances, inner beauty and character.

This is the first book in the trilogy by Scott Westerfeld. It is a sci-fi futuristic book. Sort of like The Giver without all the depth. In this book, when you turn 16 you get an operation that makes you pretty...and thus equalizes you with everyone else in your community. No one is better than or more beautiful than anyone else. Before the operation you are called an "ugly" and spend your life in a boarding school away from parents etc. awaiting your magical transforming operation.

The main character is Tally Youngblood...she is the last of her friends to turn 16...and she can't wait for that exciting day to arrive. She sneaks over to "New Pretty Town" to spy on her newly transformed friends. But before her 16th birthday arrives she meets a new friend named Shay who doesn't want to be transformed and introduces her to a secret community of rebellious teenagers who want to keep their original faces, keep their uniqueness and remain "uglies". Trouble, adventure, sinister secrets and betrayal ensue...

I actually liked this book. I liked the struggle between being who you are versus conforming to society's ideals. I liked that the book was thought-provoking and that it made my 12 year-old daughter "think" about what was actually more important...being who you uniquely are or conforming to the crowd. It sparked lively discussions as we talked about what choices we would've made versus the choices the characters made. For that alone I give it a thumbs up.

My rating: Good

New Beginnings


Once again another busy week. This week was a little worrisome due to some blood pressure issues I have been having. I usually get PIH (pregnancy induced hypertension) in the 3rd trimester of my pregnancies and it is looking like this pregnancy will be no different. My BP started to rise this week and got high enough that I wasn't able to go to a few things that I needed to attend and ended up having to stay home and take it easy. Next Thursday I have an ultrasound so I am hoping that things will look ok and that I can avoid bed rest again. Ugh. But...luckily my BP was cooperative on Wednesday night and I was able to attend Reilly's YW New Beginnings Program/Dinner.

The YW Presidency did a great job with New Beginnings this year. This year there are quite a few new Beehives. I loved being there because most these new Beehives are all my old activity day girls all grown up!! It was really fun to see the amazing young ladies that they are becoming.

Reilly felt like an old hand this time after her three months in YW. She had a great time singing with the young women and doing her presentation.

Reilly represented the Value of Integrity...hence her purple attire...and I thought that she did a great job.


It was fun to see her in all her YW glory. Reilly absolutely loves Young Womens. She is always so enthusiastic to go to mutual. I hope she stays that way!!

Molly and Reilly "old Beehives" and Ally "a new Beehive"...why they all decided to hunch down for the picture I have no idea!! Silly girls.

Ailey loving the hot fudge brownies and ice cream they served for dessert!!

Some Things that I Forgot

February is flying by and there has been so much going on that I haven't been posting very regularly. Things have been busy with hosting book club at my house this month, RS stuff, lots of kids activities, birthdays, Valentines Day etc. Here are a few things that I forgot...

Reilly had Parent Observation Day...after debacle of last year...Tyler decided to attend by himself while I kept Kameron and Ailey at home. He took mostly video so I don't have many pictures.

Ballet Year 9

Reilly is doing a great!! She isn't wearing her pointe shoes because her feet had grown so much that she needed a new pair. I will be SO GLAD when her feet stop growing!! :)

Here's a little snippet of video that Tyler took on our little camera:




Valentine's Day

We had a fun family Valentine's Day. We always do our "romantic" night the week before for Tyler's birthday so we spend Valentine's Night with our kids. They get so into Valentine's Day that it makes it really fun.

The kids took a "red" lunch to school. This is one of my favorite ideas that I have gotten off a blog. Thanks Kristi with Everything Pink. We do a red lunch for Valentines Day and a green lunch for St. Patrick's Day. Our kids LOVE this tradition. We've been doing it for a couple of years now.

This year they brought Raspberry Muffins, Tomatoes, Cherry Applesauce, Raisins, Fruit Punch, and a Little Debbie Valentine Brownie. They also got a "love note" from me in their lunches. I thought Kameron might be a bit embarrassed to get a note from his mom...he's getting into that stage of not wanting to look uncool around his friends. He told me that all his friends had "notes" from their moms in their lunches too. Yay. His rep is still intact. ;)

Our kids have been fighting a lot lately so for Valentines Day this year we invited them to our family's 2009 "Lovefest".


There was a great idea in the Ensign this month about having family members write 10 things that they loved about each member of the family and giving it to them for Valentines Day. We decided to cut it down to 5 things and I printed papers off the computer for them to fill in. We gave them to the kids a week before Valentines Day at FHE. Tyler and I filled them out too. It was hilarious seeing them watch each other all week and then running to their rooms to fill out their papers. I gathered all the papers and tied them up with ribbon and put them on their plates for our Valentines Dinner. These papers turned to be the highlight of the day. Each kid read aloud all the things that everyone loves about them and it turned out so special and sweet. Of course I was a blubbering fool...hormones and sentimentality...make for a lot of tears!! But the kids put down some really surprising and introspective things. We will definitely do this again next year!! I also love the tradition that my friend, Valynn, and her husband do of attending the temple together on Valentines Day. We are going to try to do that next year.

There's more...but that will do for today. I have several book reviews that I need to write too. Darn that insomnia. It's still hanging around. You'd think that I'd be able to get some good rest BEFORE the baby arrives. Apparently not. :0

Family Baby Shower Brunch

My Aunt Bonnie, Me, Stacey, Reilly, My Mom and Kelley

This weekend we had a Girls Baby Shower Brunch at Luna's. It was a lot of fun. It was supposed to just be for Kelley as she is expecting her first baby...but it turned out to be for the both of us which was a nice surprise. It was extra fun because my Aunt Bonnie happened to be in town. She always adds extra fun to the things that she attends.

Bonnie, Reilly and Me

Reilly was excited to be old enough to be included on these "Girls" days. She was fun to have with us. She came home and said "Mom...I GET IT NOW...why you ALWAYS want to spend a day with your mom and sisters...because it is SO FUN!!" :)

Kelley and Stacey

My Mom, my Aunt Margaret and my Aunt Bonnie

Word to the Wise...Don't stand next to your sister to do a side by side belly shot when she is wearing slimming black and you are wearing bright screaming pink. I look HUGE and about 6
months further along than Kelley...even though she is 2 1/2 weeks ahead of me. I guess I will also throw in my disclaimer...to make myself feel better...this will be baby #4 for me and baby #1 for her. That counts for something doesn't it?

My mom ordered us this really cute cake!! It was delicious too!!

Margaret and Kelley

Mom and Bonnie

My mom made quilts for both of our babies and they turned out SO CUTE!! Kelley picked out the colors of fuchsia and black for her baby...and my mom made this darling bright hot pink quilt.

I picked out a 1940's vintage style baby quilt...in the reproduction 40's prints and colors. I love this line of Aunt Grace Feed Sack style fabric. It turned out absolutely darling!! I need to get a better picture of it though...one of the whole quilt.


After brunch we had a fun day of shopping for both babies...I found a really cute diaper bag! Yay!! It was a fun day with the all the girls. Then we all headed back to Kelley's house where Tyler met us to assemble all of her stroller/car seat/pack and play stuff for her.

Thanks everyone for all the sweet gifts and thoughtfulness. I love you!!