Yesterday was a blustery day. It was a winds-day. Last night I had a difficult time falling asleep because of the constant gusts of wind and the howling. Seth had a difficult time too. Today the wind has eased and the rain/snow has started. What bizarre weather!
I don't really love wind storms, but I like that it makes me think of Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day.
When I went to bed last night, I could feel a headache coming on. After a few hours of not being able to fall asleep, the headache was full blown. I've been taking things really easy, not because I want to, but because I have to. I haven't had a headache this bad for a long time. My sinuses are messed up with allergies and such, which I think has a lot to do with the headache. I have an appointment with my chiropractor tomorrow and I hope that it will help me if the headache isn't gone by then.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
Strategy, Disorientation, Kings and Couches, and Off-Track Fun
Strategy
The boys play an online game called Free Realms. Each account has several types of 'jobs' that you can do like Ninja, Mail man, Adventurer, Cook, etc. The highest level you can achieve in each job is a 20. Seth loves to play his Ninja. An online player can challenge you to a duel. If Seth was challenged to a duel and he was playing a character that was only a level 2 or 3, he would hurry and switch to his ninja (he is now at a level 20, but he was doing this when he was a level 12) and then accept the duel, leaving a poor kid who had a level 2-4 character to fight a higher level. Seth would win the duel in less than 2 seconds, accept the prize money and then switch back to his lower level character.
I don't find this to be a very kind tactic, but I am very impressed with his strategy.
Disorientation
When Seth wakes up in the night needing to use the bathroom, it can be interesting. He will be awake enough to know that he needs to use the bathroom, but not coherent enough to do something about it. He will usually stand by his bed and cry. Daniel or I will go into his room, literally guide him into the bathroom, put the toilet seat up, pull his pants down and face him in the right direction. We then pull his pants up, and guide him back into bed. He is just completely out of it. He usually is back asleep before we can leave the room.
The other night Daniel went downstairs to help him and Seth wasn't next to his bed. He was in the closet, with his pants pulled down. I am SO glad that Daniel found him when he did. That could have been interesting.
Kings and Couches
A little over two years ago we bought a new bed. We upgraded to a king size mattress and got a Sleep Number bed. This pregnancy has been really nice with this new bed. I have been able to adjust the number as I gain weight to be more comfortable. The king size has been wonderful because I have plenty of room for all of my pillows and still have room for my husband!
However comfortable my bed is, I still have nights where I can't sleep and I wind up sleeping on the couch.
When I was pregnant with Seth I was really miserable on our mattress, so during the last month or so I didn't even sleep in the bed, I set up camp on the living room couch. I loved sleeping on that couch, but I was really lonely, I missed cuddling and talking with Daniel before falling asleep. Daniel could tell that it bothered me, so he went and got the air mattress and set it up next to the couch. He would keep me company and I loved it. Isn't he such a sweetheart? He didn't love the air mattress, so he would wind up going back to the bed during the night, but that was okay with me.
Off-Track Fun
Mark and Paul went back to school on Thursday. This off-track session went by rather quickly despite the snow and rain.
Mark's birthday is the day before my due date, so I decided to have him celebrate his birthday with some friends while he was off-track. We will have a family party on his birthday. He was okay with celebrating his birthday two times this year!
He invited two friends over to his party. The original plan was to go to the Planetarium, but Mark changed his mind. Then he planned to go miniature golfing, but his friend broke his arm. So we stayed home and had lunch and played games. I took Mark shopping for a new game and he picked Yahtzee. The boys spent about an hour playing Yahtzee, then they watched Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. They were getting a long great and having a great time. They went outside and played games and chased each other around. The party was supposed to be from noon until about 2, but the friends didn't go home until around 5:30!
Wednesday was a rainy day and I was feeling pretty good, so I took the boys and two of my nieces (Mieren and Alys) to the Clark Planetarium to see the Hubble 3-D movie. I wasn't terribly excited about seeing the movie, but I am so glad that I went because I really enjoyed it! The kids really behaved themselves and we had a great time together. We went to Jason's Deli for lunch and then back to the girl's house to play a bit more.
The boys play an online game called Free Realms. Each account has several types of 'jobs' that you can do like Ninja, Mail man, Adventurer, Cook, etc. The highest level you can achieve in each job is a 20. Seth loves to play his Ninja. An online player can challenge you to a duel. If Seth was challenged to a duel and he was playing a character that was only a level 2 or 3, he would hurry and switch to his ninja (he is now at a level 20, but he was doing this when he was a level 12) and then accept the duel, leaving a poor kid who had a level 2-4 character to fight a higher level. Seth would win the duel in less than 2 seconds, accept the prize money and then switch back to his lower level character.
I don't find this to be a very kind tactic, but I am very impressed with his strategy.
Disorientation
When Seth wakes up in the night needing to use the bathroom, it can be interesting. He will be awake enough to know that he needs to use the bathroom, but not coherent enough to do something about it. He will usually stand by his bed and cry. Daniel or I will go into his room, literally guide him into the bathroom, put the toilet seat up, pull his pants down and face him in the right direction. We then pull his pants up, and guide him back into bed. He is just completely out of it. He usually is back asleep before we can leave the room.
The other night Daniel went downstairs to help him and Seth wasn't next to his bed. He was in the closet, with his pants pulled down. I am SO glad that Daniel found him when he did. That could have been interesting.
Kings and Couches
A little over two years ago we bought a new bed. We upgraded to a king size mattress and got a Sleep Number bed. This pregnancy has been really nice with this new bed. I have been able to adjust the number as I gain weight to be more comfortable. The king size has been wonderful because I have plenty of room for all of my pillows and still have room for my husband!
However comfortable my bed is, I still have nights where I can't sleep and I wind up sleeping on the couch.
When I was pregnant with Seth I was really miserable on our mattress, so during the last month or so I didn't even sleep in the bed, I set up camp on the living room couch. I loved sleeping on that couch, but I was really lonely, I missed cuddling and talking with Daniel before falling asleep. Daniel could tell that it bothered me, so he went and got the air mattress and set it up next to the couch. He would keep me company and I loved it. Isn't he such a sweetheart? He didn't love the air mattress, so he would wind up going back to the bed during the night, but that was okay with me.
Off-Track Fun
Mark and Paul went back to school on Thursday. This off-track session went by rather quickly despite the snow and rain.
Mark's birthday is the day before my due date, so I decided to have him celebrate his birthday with some friends while he was off-track. We will have a family party on his birthday. He was okay with celebrating his birthday two times this year!
He invited two friends over to his party. The original plan was to go to the Planetarium, but Mark changed his mind. Then he planned to go miniature golfing, but his friend broke his arm. So we stayed home and had lunch and played games. I took Mark shopping for a new game and he picked Yahtzee. The boys spent about an hour playing Yahtzee, then they watched Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. They were getting a long great and having a great time. They went outside and played games and chased each other around. The party was supposed to be from noon until about 2, but the friends didn't go home until around 5:30!
Daniel, Taylor P., Set, Paul, Mitchell F., Mark
Wednesday was a rainy day and I was feeling pretty good, so I took the boys and two of my nieces (Mieren and Alys) to the Clark Planetarium to see the Hubble 3-D movie. I wasn't terribly excited about seeing the movie, but I am so glad that I went because I really enjoyed it! The kids really behaved themselves and we had a great time together. We went to Jason's Deli for lunch and then back to the girl's house to play a bit more.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Kennecott Copper Mine
We went to the Kennecott Copper Mine on Thursday. I haven't been since I was a little girl, so I don't remember much about the mine, but I knew that the boys would enjoy it. The mine is an open pit mine, so we drive up to the top of the mountain and get to view the mine pit from the top. The open pit mine was used instead of the underground mine to increase efficiency and to eliminate dangers.
I absolutely love looking at the mountains that surround this mine. The variety of colors is beautiful. The mine is only about 15 minutes away from my house. We had a great time with the Payne family viewing the man-made wonder. You can see the mine from space! (the mine is about 2 3/4 miles across and 3/4 miles deep)
We spent a good amount of time in the museum and gift shop. There was a 16 minute movie about the process of turning ore into copper and how the mine operates that I really enjoyed.
Seth was a little bit disappointed that he didn't get to see through the binoculars that are on the observation deck. I didn't know that he didn't get a chance. Daniel told him that maybe we could go up there again when Jane is older and he can be a helpful big brother and show her around. He really liked that idea.
I absolutely love looking at the mountains that surround this mine. The variety of colors is beautiful. The mine is only about 15 minutes away from my house. We had a great time with the Payne family viewing the man-made wonder. You can see the mine from space! (the mine is about 2 3/4 miles across and 3/4 miles deep)
Paul, Mark, Seth, Sherron
This tire is the only thing I remember about the mines. The tire is huge and then when you see the trucks that go on these tires, it is amazing. There was a semi truck following a big truck and the semi looked like a tiny little pickup truck compared to the big truck! The trucks are bigger than most houses! It is amazing how tiny the trucks look from the observation deck, though.
Mark, Seth, Caleb, Taylor, Jacob and Paul
Emily, Grace, Jacob, Caleb, Taylor Payne
The is about a dozen or so of the big trucks parked along the right side of the picture.
Seth was a little bit disappointed that he didn't get to see through the binoculars that are on the observation deck. I didn't know that he didn't get a chance. Daniel told him that maybe we could go up there again when Jane is older and he can be a helpful big brother and show her around. He really liked that idea.
Seth, Sherron, Mark, Paul
Our World Through Paul's Camera
I borrowed Paul's camera to go to the baby shower, so I downloaded all of his pictures on to my computer. As I was searching for my pictures, I came across some pictures that I wanted to share.
This next picture is of Seth on King Day at preschool. He had earned his alphabet crown the previous week (he had to name all of the letters) so we took his crown and painted it. He put on the stars and sequins and was quite proud of his creation. He wore a cape and was enjoying being a king at home before he went to school. I told him that it was time to empty the dishwasher and he was taken back a little bit. He was surprised to find out that kings had to do chores- at least in this house they have to! Paul caught our king in action!
I'm not too sure that Daniel will be pleased that I am posting this picture, but I find it to be kind of funny! When I was pregnant with Mark, Daniel stuffed a pillow up his shirt to 'look pregnant', but this time around no stuffing was required.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Baby Shower
Saturday I had a baby shower with a few friends in the neighborhood. It was a great time to see everyone and visit. Even though we were celebrating the coming of a child, it was great to have no kids around and be able to visit with friends. I don't have a lot of pictures (I wasn't aware that some of the pictures were being taken, otherwise I would have posed a bit better!) But here are a few that I am willing to share (don't worry, Rachel A, I deleted the one of you that was really unflattering- because I like you!)
I got a lot of cute dresses for Jane. One of the first gifts I opened was a cute polka dot that I absolutely love. One of the last gifts I opened was the same polka dot dress in a bigger size! It will be nice to not have to worry about her outgrowing the dress for a while!
When I got home and started putting the clothes away, I realized that I haven't purchased a dress! All of the clothes I have bought have been little jumpers or sleepers! It is a good thing that I have girlfriends who can dress my little girl in cute dresses!
Thank you, Jill, for hosting the shower, I had a lot of fun!
The yummy food (with Jill and her family in the background!)
Some of my friends who came
Look at the adorable boot slippers on the arm of the chair!
When I got home and started putting the clothes away, I realized that I haven't purchased a dress! All of the clothes I have bought have been little jumpers or sleepers! It is a good thing that I have girlfriends who can dress my little girl in cute dresses!
Thank you, Jill, for hosting the shower, I had a lot of fun!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
This Week
This past week has been kind of rough for me. I have been on the verge of tears all week. I've been super emotional all week and I'm not loving it. Daniel has been a good support for me. Mark has noticed that I have been a bit sad because he has been giving me a lot of hugs this week.
I have been working on a few things to keep me busy, so here is a run down of some of the things I did this week.
Black Apple Dolls
I mentioned that I was working on some dolls. I have finished most of them, so I lined them up for a picture.
Seth was enjoying playing with the dolls, but Mark and Paul were giving him a hard time for playing with dolls (darn those big brothers), so I made a Black Ninja for Seth and he loves it (and big brothers find this acceptable to play with!) I used black thread on the eyes for the girl dolls but Seth asked if his black ninja could have green eyes like mine!
Seth has taken to several different toys over the years. The first 'lovey' he had was an orange beanie baby bear given to him by Madeline 'Watford when we lived in Georgia. He called it "Baby". Over time new friends have taken Baby's place during the day, but all of his friends have a spot on his bed above his pillow. Here is a picture of his friends.
Blowing Bubbles
I saw an idea to put an old sock on a water bottle (with the bottom cut off) and dunk the sock in a solution of water and dish soap to make cool bubbles (by blowing into the mouth part of the bottle) It looked really cool, but I wondered if it would really work for me. I seem to have problems with things just not working out the way they did in the magazine or on the blog I got the idea from. This worked like a charm! The boys had a blast making bubble snakes and bubble balls.
I got them going with the activity, then I went inside to rest while they played.
Doctors Visit
I had my 34 week doctors appointment this Thursday. I mentioned to him that I have been having a lot of Braxton Hicks and he asked me if I was having more than 10 a day. Yes, definitely more than 10, but no consistency. Most of the time I am able to get them to stop if I stop what I am doing and rest. But sometimes I wake up with them. He wasn't terribly concerned, but gave me a stern warning to take things easy. He said that I'm not on bed rest, but that I am on 'rest whenever you can' because it is really important to go another 4 weeks before delivery.
It is frustrating to take things easy, but I get so tired and the contractions get rather uncomfortable when I get doing too much, that it makes resting a natural thing to do. I've had to cancel a few of the activities I had planned for the boys and I to do while they are out of school. Yesterday I went to a my baby shower (pictures to follow later) and to Girls Night Out with my sisters. I wore myself out just sitting around and talking all day! Today I have been resting a lot and trying to schedule out projects to keep me busy but still take it easy.
So the mantra around our house lately has been "Take it easy, sweetheart, these things happen" It's a quote from the movie It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. If you haven't seen it, I recommend you take a few hours to see this great classic!
I have been working on a few things to keep me busy, so here is a run down of some of the things I did this week.
Black Apple Dolls
I mentioned that I was working on some dolls. I have finished most of them, so I lined them up for a picture.
Seth was enjoying playing with the dolls, but Mark and Paul were giving him a hard time for playing with dolls (darn those big brothers), so I made a Black Ninja for Seth and he loves it (and big brothers find this acceptable to play with!) I used black thread on the eyes for the girl dolls but Seth asked if his black ninja could have green eyes like mine!
Seth has taken to several different toys over the years. The first 'lovey' he had was an orange beanie baby bear given to him by Madeline 'Watford when we lived in Georgia. He called it "Baby". Over time new friends have taken Baby's place during the day, but all of his friends have a spot on his bed above his pillow. Here is a picture of his friends.
Blowing Bubbles
I saw an idea to put an old sock on a water bottle (with the bottom cut off) and dunk the sock in a solution of water and dish soap to make cool bubbles (by blowing into the mouth part of the bottle) It looked really cool, but I wondered if it would really work for me. I seem to have problems with things just not working out the way they did in the magazine or on the blog I got the idea from. This worked like a charm! The boys had a blast making bubble snakes and bubble balls.
I got them going with the activity, then I went inside to rest while they played.
I had my 34 week doctors appointment this Thursday. I mentioned to him that I have been having a lot of Braxton Hicks and he asked me if I was having more than 10 a day. Yes, definitely more than 10, but no consistency. Most of the time I am able to get them to stop if I stop what I am doing and rest. But sometimes I wake up with them. He wasn't terribly concerned, but gave me a stern warning to take things easy. He said that I'm not on bed rest, but that I am on 'rest whenever you can' because it is really important to go another 4 weeks before delivery.
It is frustrating to take things easy, but I get so tired and the contractions get rather uncomfortable when I get doing too much, that it makes resting a natural thing to do. I've had to cancel a few of the activities I had planned for the boys and I to do while they are out of school. Yesterday I went to a my baby shower (pictures to follow later) and to Girls Night Out with my sisters. I wore myself out just sitting around and talking all day! Today I have been resting a lot and trying to schedule out projects to keep me busy but still take it easy.
So the mantra around our house lately has been "Take it easy, sweetheart, these things happen" It's a quote from the movie It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. If you haven't seen it, I recommend you take a few hours to see this great classic!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Belly Jean
Lately Seth has been transposing the initial sound of words. He was talking about all of the belly jeans (instead of jelly beans) that he found at the egg hunt at preschool. It is quite innocent and cute. I remember studying this in my phonetics classes in college, but I can't remember the term. He has done this to a few other words (like pooth taste), so I was just mentioning it to Daniel and Mark.
Mark found it to be amazing that Seth could do it without thinking. He started transposing letters to see if I could figure out what he was talking about. It was kind of a fun exercise for both of us.
Saturday afternoon I took the boys grocery shopping with me. I seriously had a wonderful time with the boys. They were being very helpful and we had a lot of fun hunting down the best deals and picking out cereals. The most fun, however, was on the ride to the store. We were switching letters of store titles and city names. We decided that Jouth Sordon (South Jordan) sounded like a Star Wars character and that Baco Tell (Taco Bell) just sounded weird.
When we came past the Food Mart we had a great laugh! I asked if anyone wanted to eat dinner at the Mood Fart and it has now become a catch phrase in our house, even though we decided that it doesn't sound appetizing at all!
While in the store Mark was switching the letters on the cereal boxes and when he asked if he could have some Porn Cops, I stopped dead in my tracks for a second trying to figure out what he was talking about. Apparently Corn Pops doesn't work so well, but I had to quickly (yet discreetly) explain why he shouldn't say that one loudly.
Our family has a favorite jelly bean. It is the Hot Tamale Jelly Bean. Or is that the Tot Hamale Belly Jean?
Mark found it to be amazing that Seth could do it without thinking. He started transposing letters to see if I could figure out what he was talking about. It was kind of a fun exercise for both of us.
Saturday afternoon I took the boys grocery shopping with me. I seriously had a wonderful time with the boys. They were being very helpful and we had a lot of fun hunting down the best deals and picking out cereals. The most fun, however, was on the ride to the store. We were switching letters of store titles and city names. We decided that Jouth Sordon (South Jordan) sounded like a Star Wars character and that Baco Tell (Taco Bell) just sounded weird.
When we came past the Food Mart we had a great laugh! I asked if anyone wanted to eat dinner at the Mood Fart and it has now become a catch phrase in our house, even though we decided that it doesn't sound appetizing at all!
While in the store Mark was switching the letters on the cereal boxes and when he asked if he could have some Porn Cops, I stopped dead in my tracks for a second trying to figure out what he was talking about. Apparently Corn Pops doesn't work so well, but I had to quickly (yet discreetly) explain why he shouldn't say that one loudly.
Our family has a favorite jelly bean. It is the Hot Tamale Jelly Bean. Or is that the Tot Hamale Belly Jean?
Friday, April 2, 2010
So Tired
I have been so exhausted this past week. I seriously have a difficult time staying awake for longer than 3 hours at a time during the day. This exhaustion is seriously interfering with my parenting.
On Tuesday Mark and Paul left for the bus at 8:20. I sat down on the couch upstairs and leaned my head against the back. I fell asleep and didn't wake up until 9:10. Seth was playing the computer downstairs and he was supposed to be at preschool at 9. I got him to school, came home and took another nap. I set my alarm so that I wouldn't be late to pick him up.
Wednesday was a weird day for me. Daniel has been sick and has been working long hours for work, so I knew that I for sure needed to get up with the boys in the morning. When I came to and looked at the clock, it was 8:55 in the morning. I jolted out of bed to find Seth sitting in the living room playing with the dolls I have been making and Mark and Paul's backpacks and coats gone.
Mark and Paul got ready for school all by themselves. They ate breakfast and cleaned up, brushed their teeth, and got off to the bus on time. Paul even emptied the dishwasher! I was a bit surprised, yet relieved. One part of me feels very proud that they were able to be responsible enough to get ready without parental supervision. The other part of me feels extremely guilty because I wasn't there to see them off to school. I always want to be available to them when they are coming and going, and I failed.
They got out of school early for Spring Break, and I had them keep track of the time so that they wouldn't be late for scouts. The thing is, is that I knew that they didn't have scouts that day, but my brain was wired to send them to scouts on Wednesday, so I did. (Sorry for sending Mark to your house Shelley!)
Thursday was an auspicious beginning to a 3 week break. The boys were so cranky! I thought that if this is the way this off-track time is going to be that we are all in a lot of trouble. Daniel took them over to Uncle Ben's house to play with their cousins. They did a 180 and were supper happy and fun to be around.
All three boys spent the night at Ben's house last night. Daniel and I went shopping together and stayed up until midnight talking. I knew that I could sleep in, so it wasn't a big deal to stay up late. Well, I woke up at 5 a.m. and couldn't fall back asleep! I was able to get all of my old journal entries put into a blog to print! I finally finished! I went back to sleep around 7:30 and woke up at 10. It is nearing noon, so I need to go get the boys.
I feel like I am having a difficult time thinking and concentrating. The last few posts I have written have been rather random and I think that it is because I can't form two coherent thoughts together. I attribute that to my exhaustion!
On Tuesday Mark and Paul left for the bus at 8:20. I sat down on the couch upstairs and leaned my head against the back. I fell asleep and didn't wake up until 9:10. Seth was playing the computer downstairs and he was supposed to be at preschool at 9. I got him to school, came home and took another nap. I set my alarm so that I wouldn't be late to pick him up.
Wednesday was a weird day for me. Daniel has been sick and has been working long hours for work, so I knew that I for sure needed to get up with the boys in the morning. When I came to and looked at the clock, it was 8:55 in the morning. I jolted out of bed to find Seth sitting in the living room playing with the dolls I have been making and Mark and Paul's backpacks and coats gone.
Mark and Paul got ready for school all by themselves. They ate breakfast and cleaned up, brushed their teeth, and got off to the bus on time. Paul even emptied the dishwasher! I was a bit surprised, yet relieved. One part of me feels very proud that they were able to be responsible enough to get ready without parental supervision. The other part of me feels extremely guilty because I wasn't there to see them off to school. I always want to be available to them when they are coming and going, and I failed.
They got out of school early for Spring Break, and I had them keep track of the time so that they wouldn't be late for scouts. The thing is, is that I knew that they didn't have scouts that day, but my brain was wired to send them to scouts on Wednesday, so I did. (Sorry for sending Mark to your house Shelley!)
Thursday was an auspicious beginning to a 3 week break. The boys were so cranky! I thought that if this is the way this off-track time is going to be that we are all in a lot of trouble. Daniel took them over to Uncle Ben's house to play with their cousins. They did a 180 and were supper happy and fun to be around.
All three boys spent the night at Ben's house last night. Daniel and I went shopping together and stayed up until midnight talking. I knew that I could sleep in, so it wasn't a big deal to stay up late. Well, I woke up at 5 a.m. and couldn't fall back asleep! I was able to get all of my old journal entries put into a blog to print! I finally finished! I went back to sleep around 7:30 and woke up at 10. It is nearing noon, so I need to go get the boys.
I feel like I am having a difficult time thinking and concentrating. The last few posts I have written have been rather random and I think that it is because I can't form two coherent thoughts together. I attribute that to my exhaustion!
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