Birthday Boy

I must be losing my mind... I never posted pictures from Brayden's birthday! Thank goodness for three year olds... their expectations are low. All he kept saying on his birthday was, "more presents..." which we had... I didn't get him any "big" toy.... just lots of little stuff, which made for lots of "opening"! His favorite present was the ($5) "Pablo" beenie baby from Backyardigans. They've been inseparable for 4 days now.....

Grandma and Grandpa W helped to fuel the "Land Before Time" addiction... we used to have these movies on VHS... but they are worn out and long gone!

Grandma and Grandpa R supplied B's very own giant sized beach towel (everyone in our family has one....) He loved the picture of the fishies on it!

I don't like taking pictures at Restaurants, but I had to do this for my mom... we went to Rainforest Cafe to celebrate and they gave us a booth with a fish tank... this was a first for us and we didn't even tell them we had a birthday in our crowd!

This kid is just like his mom... cake- who cares, but Brownies.... they are the best! So, we skipped making a cake this year for B and just made a batch of brownies and stuck 3 candles in it... he couldn't be happier and it was super duper easy for me!
Happy Birthday Brayden!!! We Love You!!! Thanks for making our home such a fun place to be! You are the cutest, happiest, funniest toddler of all!

Sweep

We went to a baseball game Thursday night at Chase Field. It was only the second time we'd been there for a baseball game. The Giants were in town playing the Diamondbacks. Eric grew up a Giants fan and I was born a Giants fan (even though my family didn't really follow baseball when I was growing up....) We've had good years and bad, but we've stayed Giants fans through it all! Lately, it seems we haven't had too many good years. At the game on Thursday night, I was looking at the roster on the board and didn't recongnize a single name except the pitcher, Zito. Pretty sad.... just a few years ago, I knew who they all were! I think part of it is because the older my kids get, the less time I have to sit and follow sports with Eric. Plus, Eric said our team is in a "rebuilding" phase right now... which means lots of raw talent (or not!) But, I'm realizng now that I have a teenage boy, it would be in my best interest to keep up with sports so I have some way of getting into the conversation and not being the "dumb mom" in a year or two when all the boys are at my house "talking shop".

Anyway, we got tickets to Thursday night's game... the last of a 3 game series. All three games were on TV (very unusual) and the Giants won the first and second game. Figures... they win the games we don't get tickets to... it seems like we bring bad luck to the Giants... I can't remember a game in recent years that we attended and they won, but Thursday they did win... it was an exciting game... close the whole time and we even enjoyed watching Randy Johnson go for a record (he tied it that night but didn't break it!) Now, I'm really glad I snapped a picture of the Big Unit stretching pre-game... didn't realize at the time he was trying to break a record that night!

Ian has turned to the dark side and become a D-backs fan... which is fine... we like the D-backs... just not as much as the Giants. But, I have to say that Chase Field is a NICE ball park. We got super close parking for $5, great seats for $15 and lots of good people around us (no crazy beer-fests going on....) I told Eric that we need to come back and see a game when the Dodgers are in town... then we can cheer for the D-backs with gusto!

Reflections

Tomorrow my baby turns three. Sometimes I just can't believe it and I wonder where the time has gone... and sometimes I wonder will he ever be old enough to start school, go to the bathroom without help, and best of all, learn to swim, so I can worry less about him falling in to the pool on accident???


Three years ago today, I had an appointment with Labor and Delivery... it was at 8:00 a.m. to get induced... three years ago today, they sent me home. They didn't have me on the books (yeah, I shouldn't have trusted my OB office to schedule this one) and they didn't have any open beds for women not in active labor. "Don't call us, we'll call you...." That's what they told me as I left... YEAH RIGHT!!!! You're crazy if you think I'm going back home and waiting for my water to break on it's own or for you to call.... I called them every four hours for the next 28 hours and they finally called me 29 hours later to tell me they had a bed... but I'd better hurry in case any laboring mom's came in and stole it. We bolted for the car and were at the hospital in 15 minutes!!!


I remember the anxiety I had leading up to this day. Every time we drove past the local hospital, I would tense up and get butterflies in my stomach... I knew was was coming and it was inevitable.


When I delivered Taylor, I wasn't nervous. Maybe I should have been. Hours and hours of back labor, an epidural that only worked on half of my body, plus three hours of pushing left us both exhausted beyond belief, but unharmed. Then I had Megan. My only daughter. My only pregnancy where I didn't know the sex of the baby at delivery. My only breech delivery... and no, she wasn't a c-section. It was a bit of a surprise that she was breech, but I had fantastic doctors who were able to deliver her without a hitch. My only complaint was that they wouldn't give me any drugs... well, okay, they put something in my IV, Femoral maybe???, but seriously, it didn't do a thing! Hers was a short labor too... four hours total. People say that I'm lucky to have short labors. I totally disagree. All the pain of a 24 hour labor is squozen (is that word?) into a shorter time frame. It's no less painful... and extremely intense. I watch women on tv (reality tv) in labor and I think, that's never happened to me... I can't even carry on a conversation with someone when I'm in labor... there's no down time to rest before the next painful contraction.


Three and a half years later, Ian came along. After my traumatic experience with Megan, I was very nervous for labor again. What if he was breech like Megan and no one caught it? What if I couldn't get to the hospital in time? What if... what if... what if..... it went on and on and on.... I was really worked up into a nervous wreck by the time I went into labor... but it couldn't have worked out better. My mother in law came to pick up the two older kids for a sleepover that day... my mom had been visiting during the week and was going to go home the next morning, when my water broke in my bed at 2:00 a.m. I didn't have to worry about farming kids out... I didn't have to worry about calling my mom or Eric fighting an hour of traffic to get home... or the 20 mile trip to the hospital in traffic.... it just worked out perfectly. I got to the hospital before contractions were unbearable and got the best epidural I've ever had. You know it was good because I remember the anesthesiologist coming to check on it to see how it was working and I just started to cry... I was so grateful to be out of pain completely (never had been before)! Ian gave me a great delivery, but miserable hospital stay. I couldn't WAIT to come home! When Brayden came along, I still couldn't tell myself not to be worried about delivery. But, his delivery was smooth (once I got a bed at the hospital) and I had fantastic nurses and doctors for the whole thing. I even loved my post-partum nurses, even though I haven't heard the most favorable things about them from other people. My epidural wasn't as good as the last one, but a good top off dose at the end got me through the worst of it, which was delivering an 8pound 11 ounce baby!


I'm just so grateful to be done with that phase in my life. I'm grateful that I can drive past the hospital and not get butterflies just by looking at the building. I have happy memories of that place now, not anxiety. I'm grateful for four healthy, happy children. I'm grateful that even though I didn't always have the faith that I should have, Heavenly Father still took care of me when I needed him the most. I'm grateful that I can think back on my deliveries and laugh at it all. I'm grateful that I can't remember how bad the pain was. And most of all, I'm grateful for the love, life and laughter my children have brought into our lives!

Eric's Adventures in Teenage Driving

Well I guess it has been awhile since I have last posted a blog entry because today after church Christy busted open the Blog-Bottle (i.e. Journal Jar) and handed me the first slip of paper that touched her hand. It read, "Tell about how, when, and where you learned to drive."

This could turn into a rather sorted tail, and not so much for my driving exploits, but more for the automotive magnificence that I had at my disposal. First, when I was about 14 years old and the actual event of driving a car was soon to be within reach, my dreams of driving were filled with memories of slamming down the gas pedal of a turquoise green 1969 Plymouth Fury III. This was not only an automotive wonder, but a car of substantial power for its time (some came equipped with a 330 HP engine). This classic "Land Yacht" had the classic body-bag truck that every mobster is looking for, but in our case, it meant tons of room for groceries; however, not enough room for all 7 kids.

Even though seat belt wearing was not even enforced back then, this car was sold to a prison jail guard after a mechanical breakdown made it essentially worthless. So I never even drove this car, but thought it would probably be fun, especially after being in the car with my older brother, Jeff, when he turned a couple brodies (donuts) on a softball field. I also remember my mom cracking the century mark in this car (100 mph, baby!) in the middle of the Nevada desert. This was her carefully calculated attempt to shorten the trip to Utah while my dad was asleep. As soon as Dad nodded out, she slammed down on the accelerator and off we went, no seatbelts and all!

This in turn meant that my driving skills would be developed and honed in either a Titian Red and White Cloud 1970 VW Bus or a Green 1973 Chevrolet Beauville Sportvan (years could be off by 1 or 2). Back then (circa 1985-6), neither was an appealing option when some of my friends had new VW Cabriolets and BMWs. The "Bus" had only 57 HP, so hard to say it was fun, but I do remember it being a chick magnet. I think we blew out the engine on that thing about 5-6 times. It happened so often that my dad could basically take out the engine and put a new one in and have it running on a Saturday. The Beauville was the ultimate "Thunder Bus". It don't think there was anything cool about this vehicle, other than its nearly impervious body armor. I remember the hood being extremely heavy and almost every window in that thing would nearly fall out when the doors were shut. The "Hooptie" did also have some monster power and it was rather easy to get a "scratch" with this van without even trying. One time my dad got a ticket pulling out of the DMV parking lot for laying some Michelin rubber down while trying to avoid on-coming traffic. His citation, "Abupt start on a public street". The "BMW" (Big Mormon Wagon) was also the classic caravaner to stake dances as a teenager and post-seminary transporter (I think the record was 22 passengers from seminary to Armijo High School (Alma Mater of Pat Morita of Karate Kid, Happy Days, and Down & Derby fame; "Wax on, Wax off").

Well, once Jeff graduated from high school, a car dilemna begin as he needed a car to get to work and I need a car to get to early morning seminary and then school. Money was tight with our large family and I was unemployed, so my dad made a peace offering, "Find a car under $500 and we will get it, if it runs." So I scoured the paper and found a 1977 Honda Civic CVCC for sale. It ran (and burned oil), but we picked it up and the pimpin' began. First, I installed a stereo system, complete with 7 Channel graphic equilizer. Then, we spray painted all the rust white (luckily, the car was white also) and then performed a couple apolstorery acutriments. I think almost all of the remaining five kids learned how to drive in this car. Historically speaking, this car yielded about as high ROI (Return on Investment) as a car could have (5 kids driver trained (almost typed potty), cheap transportation, the choke is a turbo trick (long story), and Elise 85 mph traffic weaving NASCAR display). Not too much more you could get out of a car with "12's" (12" wheeled car, you know just like the 22's that kids ride around with today).

Well, I could go on and on, but that pretty much takes care of the teenage years. Post mission years, brought the first car I owned by myself. The 1981 Honda Accord LX. The car below is an exact replica (very hard to find this model these days, but then again not too many people are looking!). Certainly, this tale could have been much different had my dad taken up an offer to get a Citroen for FREE. That would have been a cool teenager car, but it would have been hard to get parts and it probably would have been broken more than working. But hey, that's how it goes sometimes.

Movies VS. Books

I love to read... I love to watch movies, too. What do you do when they botch the movie of your favorite book? This happened to me when they made The Prisoner of Azkaban. It's my favorite Harry Potter book of the whole series and they RUINED the movie. They took out really critical and important information that they could have put in and it took me MANY viewings to get accustomed to the NEW Hogwarts and the filming style. Even though it's grown on me enough that I no longer hate it, I still silently moan about it... it could have been SOOO MUCH BETTER!

I learned a valuable lesson when I went to the theater to see that movie. Never again would I see a movie about a book that I'd just barely read. When the book is still fresh in my mind, I will sit through the movie and nitpick every little discrepency. I did it with Harry Potter... I did it with The DaVinci Code. I did it with Ella Enchanted. And even though I tried not to... I did it with Eragon too.

Tonight I took Megan and Ian to see Prince Caspian. I have read the first 4 books in the Narnia series, but it's been a really long time (like a couple years), so I just don't remember all the specifics. Even though I was sorely tempted, I didn't re-read the book before seeing the movie. I didn't want the movie experience to be ruined because of it. And I'm so glad I resisted temptation! The movie was wonderful - I enjoyed every minute of it. On the way home, Megan decided her reading project for the summer will be the Narnia series. I challenged her to read all seven books in her eight week summer vacation. I think she can do it... it's almost 800 pages of reading, so that means 100 pages a week. Maybe when she's done, I'll go back and read the whole Narnia series again... and finish it this time! I know some people think this is cheating, but I really enjoy reading the books AFTER I've seen the movie. I read the Lord of the Rings books after I saw all 3 movies, and I'm telling you... I'd have never made it through to the end without the visual imagry the movie provided. My imagination just isn't equipped to visualize the worlds he created without the help of Peter Jackson and gorgeous New Zealand!

I know a lot of you are with me on this one... I'm crossing my fingers about the Twilight movie. If they ruin it, I'll be sooo upset! A couple friends and I have already decided that if they offer midnight showings the night before the opening day, we are going to go! Anyone else want to come... Sheri, come on I know you want to!

The Perfect Storm

Tuesday, it was somewhere between 105 and 110 degrees... I don't know for sure because I tend to hibernate and do my best to ignore the heat. That's a hot temp for May, but not out of the realm of normal.

Wednesday, not as hot, but so windy and dusty... it was miserable if you were outside and I was a lot on Wednesday, running errands all over the place.

Thursday was GLORIOUS! Woke up to overcast skies and cool breezes... I walked through my house and opened EVERY single window I could. By lunch it was raining and by 2:00 p.m. we had thunder and lightning. By the end of the day, we logged an inch of rain! Rain is always welcome in the desert, but it isn't always "delivered" in a welcome way. Often when we get rain, it's already hot and humid and the rain just contributes to the feeling of stickiness. Or, we have a horrific dust storm that blows over trees and things, and when this happens, it's not uncommon for the rain to blow sideways! Yes, not fun, and no you can't open windows on those days. For the most part yesterday, the rain came straight down. And it was steady most of the day too... not the frequent crazy microbursts of bucket pouring rain we can get here.

Today, still overcast (see photo above). Everything feels cool and clean. Not a feeling you get often when you live in a dustbowl! It's sweater weather today, my house is a full 10 degrees cooler today than it was yesterday and I'm seriously thinking about making soup for dinner!!! We even got to sleep under the comforter last night without a fan on!

Every once in a while God gives you a gift - this storm was one of them! Now only 4 more months left of 100+ degree weather left!

Randomness

Connie has tagged me again... I think she likes to tag me because she knows I'll follow through on it.... So here's 10 random things about me... hopefully I haven't written any of these things before... like when I posted 150 things about me... aren't you sick of this yet, Connie? :)

1. My major in college was French. This is just a half step up from General Ed... It only required 2 extra classes to be an official "french" major. One class was conversation and super easy the other class was French Lit and kicked my butt! I haven't spoken French in 15 years since I graduated...

2. I LOVE enchiladas. If I go to a mexican restaurant, 90% of the time, I order enchiladas.

3. I have been coloring my hair myself since I was pregnant with my 11 year old daughter.

4. I know how to install drywall, tile and laminate flooring... and NO, I do not hire out.

5. The only reality TV show I ever enjoyed was The Amazing Race.

6. Eric and I dream about a vacation to Europe (without kids) - key countries to visit would be Spain and France.

7. When I go to the gym, I don't listen to music on my ipod... Always an audio book.

8. My favorite book in the Book of Mormon is Alma.

9. I will never switch over to digital scrapbooking. There's something very theraputic about the actually cutting and pasting for me. Blogging is as close to going digital as I will ever get.

10. Someday I dream of having a dark room in my house, but I fear by the time it can be a reality, there will be no fun left in the process (because digital photography will be sooo much better).