25 tag

The tag thing. I did it for face book. I cut and pasted it here. Just for kicks.

You know how it goes. Someone picked me. Here you go.
1. I hate mice. And rats. And anything that remotely resembles a mouse. Small rodents of any kind. Almost to the point of phobia. Nothing creeps me out more. My children will never have a hamster for a pet.
2. I am a picky eater. Especially when it comes to condiments. I don't like onions, pickles, mustard, peppers, most cheese, bitter green veggies, peas, or meat that is still bleeding. Seafood of any sort, esp shrimp (they look like little brains).
3. I don't like grocery shopping. Two hours of torture. Too many decisions, too many whiny kids, too many temptations, too much money. And after all that, you have to go back and do it all again next week.
4. I am not a good cook. I don't like to cook. I can't understand the point of investing two hours of my time to produce a good meal, only to have it disappear in twenty minutes, with nothing left to show for it but a pile of dirty dishes. But I do it anyway, because I love them (my family, not dishes).
5. I am allergic to nuts. Death by brownie, how tragic. Who ever thought putting walnuts in brownies was a good idea anyway? If you are going to add something, throw in some chocolate chips.
6. I see a pattern here. Maybe I just have a problem with food in general. I do like chocolate and peanut butter, esp together.
7. I have an elementary education degree. That was my third choice, First was biochemistry, but I could barely pass pre-calc. The back up was library science, but I didn't want to learn a foreign language (Les Mis was hard enough in English, why would i want to read it in French?). So I went with education. Aren't you glad you trusted me with your child's development?
8. I was on the league all-star teams for basketball and track in high school. Now, I just weave baskets and run errands.
9. When I feel bad about the way I look, I buy shoes. They always fit, and the mirrors don't show above the knee. I am especially fond of running shoes.
10. I have always wanted to take piano lessons. My husband promised me that before he could buy another computer, I get a piano. The laptop is on the fritz. I have high hopes for our tax return this year.
11. I would love to be on the tv show "The Amazing Race", after I get back into shape.
12. I attended 4 different elementary schools, 3 high schools, and 2 colleges. I lived in 10 different houses before I moved out. Since getting married I have lived in four different states, 7 apartments/houses, and now that I have lived here for 4 years, I have to rearrange the furniture every season to keep from going nuts. Or maybe that is what makes me nuts, I'm not sure.
13. I had black plague as a teenager. Caught it from a chipmunk at girls camp. Antibiotics kill everything.
14. I am a compulsive reader. If it has print on it, I will read it. No matter what it is, whose name is on it, or what language it is in. I can't help it. And I can't stop until the end. I read books I hate, newspapers and magazines cover-to-cover, cereal boxes, post its, etc. When I pick up a 400 page novel, it is no sleep and cereal for dinner for two days straight until the end.
15. I love roller coasters, but carnival rides make me puke. I think it is completely unfair that I was pregnant for all the free days this year at amusement parks.
16. I would love to be a perpetual college student. There is so much out there that I would love to learn about. Now I must be satisfied with three ways to remove poop stains from onsies, the mechanics of baby teeth falling out, and all the lines from Disney's Cars movie.
17. I have 9 siblings, 15 aunts and uncles, 3 grandparents, and about 50 first cousins (after that there are too many to keep track of). All of them live west of the Mississippi River. I live in stinky hot Georgia.
18. Mike has 0 cousins. He was deprived of an important childhood rite of passage. That is why I haul him west every year or so for a crowded, chaotic gathering with my family. He has catching up to do.
19. I can't swim. I can stay up for a while if I fall out of the boat, but couldn't get back to shore on my own. Probably because the only places to swim growing up were lakes and rivers, full of microscopic wriggly things. No way I was sticking my face in that water!
20. I need a haircut. And maybe I will dye it red. We'll see.
21. When I first got married I swore I would not have any kids after I turned 30. That came faster than I thought. Perhaps it 30 isn't so old after all?
22. I can't do a cartwheel. I can't teach my 7 yr old to do one either.
23. I can think of a dozen things to do with a bag of chocolate chips, but can't think of a single use for collard greens, yams, or okra. I am a bad southern-er.
24. I have 3 of the cutest, smartest, sweetest kids ever (I know yours are, too, but this is my post, remember?).
25. It took me 3 days to write this message.

I tag... no one. Answer if you like. Or Not.

Yummy

This month, we are starting something new.

I realized that I have been depriving my children of some very important things:

The joy of service.
A sense of accomplishment from a job well done.
I feeling of belonging while contributing to the greater good.
The importance of teamwork.

In other words:


Time to start pulling your own weight around here! Get to work!

Monday and Tuesday Andy and Lenna are in charge of making dinner. Lenna is now an expert with the vacuum, Andy is the official sweeper of all wood floors (thanks to a Swiffer with the middle handle section removed), and they have both discovered the fun of scrubbing the bathtub with a Mr Clean magic eraser- no chemicals required (no, it doesn't matter that they are still sitting in tub while cleaning, I consider it a three-for-one). They are taking their own dishes to the dishwasher, can unload most of it by themselves, and have discovered that toys left on the living room floor after they go to bed magically disappear- FOREVER!

Life is good. Not perfect, but getting there.

What's for dinner?

Homemade tortillas.
When its your turn to flip, stand back (way back, out of the frame even).

Roll out as flat as you can.

Cook.

Eat. Lightening plate is optional, but makes it taste better if you are 4.

We like chicken, tomatoes, spinach, and ranch, but you can put in whatever you want.

If it doesn't turn out, you can wash it down with chocolate milk.

Lots of chocolate milk.

Taco salad with extra cheese.

Check out those buff cartwheel arms.

Oatmeal cookies for dessert. You can't go wrong with Luke Skywalker and Mr Firetruck watching.

Don't worry, we taste-test them for you.

Chicken (patty) Parmesan, a la Andy

Frozen chicken patties with spaghetti sauce and cheese. Serve on top of spaghetti noodles.

So easy, a four year old can do it (as long as mom is there to open the oven)

Turns out, the chances of them actually eating something increases if they had to slave away in the kitchen to produce it. He still picked out the spinach, but he is branching out from PB&Jelly. Who knew?

A happy post

Woo Hoo, look at all those comments. I should post about my breakdowns more often. I feel loved. Seriously though, thank you. No one told me to leave it and not worry about it, no one told me I was nuts, and no one showed up with a mop. Instead you made me feel much better and sent me some useful advice. I appreciate it.

As part of my moving on, I have happy things to post about now.

Mike left this afternoon to go sign on to a new job. It is the one he has been holding out for the last month, doing just what he loves (which I can't tell you about, of course). We are both very happy. He practically danced out the door on the way to his meeting this afternoon.

Hooray for employment, steady income, benefits, and security.

Rebecca has learned to giggle. It comes out more like a cough, but it is music to my ears! It is so much more rewarding to change those diapers when I get a smile and laugh as a thank you, as opposed to a blank drool-y stare.

Oh, and all traces of Christmas decor have been removed from my house and tucked safely away into storage. Baby steps, people.

So there is my happy report!

Help

Before you start, this is a whiny post. Get out now while you still can, or keep reading but don't say I didn't warn you.

I am a bad playdate partner. I am terrible at having people over. You want my kids over, great. They are yours anytime. I will even deliver them to you. But I rarely let my kids have friends over. I am in serious playdate debt to about five families in the area who routinely have mine over to play but whose children have yet to grace my kitchen floor with their footprints.

Why? Lots of reasons. For one, I am shy. It takes a great deal of effort for me to pick up the phone and call someone. I get nervous having to leave voice mail messages for Mike even. It's bad, so I hate having to call other parents. I can do it in person, but not on the phone. I don't know why. So it is either spur of the moment pick up at school or in the church foyer. Don't ask me to call you later please. I probably won't.

The other reason is that my house is a disaster. No, I won't post pictures. That is something I am not willing to share with the world just yet. There is very little room to play in the bedroom, as most of the floor is covered with toys. Our living room doubles as a playroom but until just this week (get ready, shocking confession) has been inhabited by Christmas trees. I would send them outside but it is freezing, and by the time it warms up the yard will be overtaken by fire ants and poison ivy. So I am reluctant to have children over. Not that children are the problem, they usually don't seem to care about the clutter or the dust as long as there is a good quality snack and a wide selection of interesting toys. But such children usually come with parents, and well- I am sure you understand.

Here is the problem. You know that piece of advice everyone always gives to new moms, or working moms, or college students, or whatever. Usually some version of "Do what is most important and let the rest go," or "Your children won't remember if the floor was mopped or the shelves dusted, but they will remember if you read to them or played with them."

I HATE that advice. I want to throw the phone when someone tells me that after I have just told them how overwhelmed or frustrated I feel about the condition of my surroundings. I am not the kind of person who feels at home surrounded by piles of laundry, or prefers wrinkled skirts, or doesn't notice the crumbs on the floor and the dust on the shelves. In fact it makes me downright uncomfortable. But I have been heeding the above advice for about four years, and I am about sick of it.

First it was because we moved to GA, 600 miles from closest family, 3,000 miles from what I called home. The transition was rocky. Our apartment was too small, there was no storage, Mike was just sarting a high stress job with odd hours. So I did what I could, he helped when he could, and tried to make the best of the storage boxes left in the living room.

Then we bought a house- all space issues solved! I started working 2 months later, before I really had the chance to get organized and settled like I wanted, Mike started taking classes full time after work, and our car started on what turned out to be a chronic problem of dying at just the wrong time. Mike proved to be allergic to anything growing so the yard got neglected. Andy hated preschool and Lenna hated kindergarten and we all had adjustment issues. So we "did what needed to be done" and left the rest.

Then I got pregnant, then I wasn't, then I was. And it sucked. Then Mike got sick and couldn't be fixed, and chronic pain kept him from doing anything but sitting and plastering on a neutral face while tolerating intolerable pain. And when it came down to "prioritizing" we settled on clean clothes, clean laundry, and food. The rest was neglected. After I whined enough he tried tackling the yard work and ended up in the ER. I was given the choice of quitting my job early or spending my"off hours" in a reclined position, so we really had to scale back to doing "just enough to get by".

Then we had a baby. And no one has adjusted. Lenna cries at the drop of a hat, Andy is always angry, and Mike winces when he has to pick up the baby. Did I mention he lost his job, too, and that several miles of government red tape are keeping him from the new one? And me, well, I am writing this post. And barely holding it together.

I wait for the moment when I can turn off the lights and not see what two years of "just the essentials" has left in every corner. I pray that the car won't break down, the baby will stop crying, that Mike will heal or at least find a useful treatment approved by the restrictive government HMO, that Andy won't grow into a delinquent, and that Lenna's heart won't break the next time the obnoxious seven yr old down the street tells her that her room is so messy that the police are going to come and take her away to foster care (self preservation note: it isn't dangerous or neglectful, just a toy explosion from combining two bedrooms into one to make room for a crib).

And so I ask you, how long can a family survive on "just getting by?" Because it isn't working so great over here. And what can I do to get to that other place, beyond just the essentials? Remember, you can't tell me to just do the important stuff and let the rest go, because the rest is taking over to the point that I can't get to the important stuff either. And please don't show up on my door with storage bins and a mop. I won't let you in, it would be too humiliating.

And yes, I know I need help. And I am getting it- but therapy and medication won't put more hours in the day to get the mopping done, or make the baby stop crying, or rake the leaves, or fold the clothes, or fix the car, or file a years worth of papers, or heal the tiny broken hearts that have been so neglected recently. And although I am confident that it will help me to get up and going during the day, instead of wanting to curl up in ball and put my hands over my ears whenever the baby cries or the kids need dinner, it won't put the toys away or vacuum the rug.

Time Out

I am giving myself this for Mothers Day. May 8 and 9. I need a buddy (or two). I'll drive. Any takers?

And if I could just get Rebecca to drink from the bottle instead of cry and gag and drool and scream when the bottle goes into her mouth, I could go kid-free. If not, I'll let you hold her as much as you want!

Oh, and if we can get five people to register at the same time we get a discount. I know you are all lurking out there- Kathryn, Diane, Abby, Tiffany, Lauren, Jessica, Rosetta, Ang, Ashleigh. We should go! Nursing babies allowed, but you have to sit in the quiet box.

I Resolve...

I have had a hard time making resolutions this year.

I am really good at making resolutions. I am a professional at setting specific goals, outlining measurable steps to follow to reach those goals, setting incremental self-checks to measure my progress toward my goals.

I am not so good at actually reaching those goals, following the steps, holding myself accountable at the self-checks, or keeping the big picture in mind.

I am not a big picture person. I am a "get bogged down in the details" person. One who gets stuck thinking "If I can't get the whole house clean today, I am not even going to bother vacuuming the living room" or spends three hours making charts and checklists only to never use them, because who wants to have a visual reminder that I only got around to two of my thirteen steps today?

I have tried really specific goals such as "I will eat six servings of fruits and veggies daily", "I will read two chapters of scripture every day", or "I will engage in 30 minutes of aerobic exercise including jump rope, jogging, step aerobics, and cycling, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday," or "I will clean my house from top to bottom every week". How did that work out? Big fat failure after just two weeks because I couldn't keep up with charts that included eating, exercising, reading, cleaning and more.

I have tried general goals such as "I will eat more fruits and veggies", "I will read my scriptures more often", or "I will exercise more and lose some weight" or "I am going to clean my house better this year." How did that work out? No idea- how much is more and better? And since I couldn't turn it into a chart or checklist and grade myself, I really had no interest in keeping track of how much more I was doing of anything.

What to do? I have no idea.

I guess I will go with a mix of general and specific and not make a chart and hold myself accountable to cyber-space. My biggest problem: narrowing down the long list to just a few.

1. Build a better body. Eat more veggies, eat less sugar, exercise more. Fit in old clothes again.
2. Wake up my brain. Read more books, take a class, complete projects, find a hobby. Take GRE.
3. Strengthen my spirit. Go to the temple, pay tithes and offerings, be a better visiting teacher, read Sunday lessons. Share my testimony.
4. Hug my heart. Take my medicine, connect with a friend or relative daily, date my husband, find alone time, be grateful. Be happy.
5. Hold a hand. Be a better mom by laughing more, worrying less, and having more fun. Serve others. Create order in chaos.

I suppose my last resolution should be to be on time. I am already behind on posting!

A Christmas Song for You

Merry Christmas!


This year was the first Christmas we have spent in our house. It was fun to put out decorations and decorate our two trees- one for us and one for the kids. I decided to simplify a bit and focus on and do what was the most important this year (OK, it was because I just kept running out of time, but still I tried) so I kept some things put away and others came out only on Christmas Eve. We tried to simplify the gift giving and buying, the mass quantities of chocolate and sugar being consumed, and the crazy busy-ness that can take over sometimes. I think we were pretty successful. We had a great holiday, with some fun moments, good company, and some much needed down time.


One more Christmas song before you put away the last string of lights:

On the first day of Christmas my family gave to me: A jet plane hanging on the Christmas tree

On the second day of Christmas my family gave to me: 2 pairs of jammies

On the third day of Christmas my family gave to me: 3 silly Santas

On the fourth day of Christmas my family gave to me: 4 tired travelers

On the fifth day of Christmas my family gave to me: 5 Iowa T-shirts

On the sixth day of Christmas my family gave to me: 6 kinds of cookies

On the seventh day of Christmas my family gave to me: 7 stuffed stockings

On the eighth day of Christmas my family gave to me: 8 silly socks

On the ninth day of Christmas my family gave to me: 9 treats for tasting

On the tenth day of Christmas my family gave to me: 10 sticky fingers

On the eleventh day of Christmas my family gave to me: 11 cool new toys

On the twelfth day of Christmas my family gave to me: 12 AA's not included

Hope you had a Merry Christmas!

Back Dated Posts

One good thing about blogger is that you can start a post, save it, come back to it later, and it will publish according to the date you started it. So your christmas post ends up before the New Year's one even if you write it after.
One bad thing about blogger is that you can start a post, save it, come back to it later, and it will publish it according to the date you started it. So your Christmas posts end up hidden behind all the others, and no one notices them waaaaay down there or even on the "old posts" page.
So here are my two burried posts.

Christmas and New Years/baby blessing

Enjoy!

Update: You can change the dates to put the posts wherever you want. I just didn't know that. Thanks for the help!

New Year's Trip and Baby Blessing

It was the day before New Year's Eve (so is that new year's eve eve or just plain Tuesday?) and Mike realized that he had no plans for a whole week. No one to report to or file leave requests with. No one in the world (or at least the Air Force) who cared in the least about where he was spending his time for the next week. This is the first time in about 6 years that has happened, so he must have been feeling free. Anyway, he passed me in the hall and asked what we were doing the next day. I said nothing, but maybe we could take the kids to the zoo since it was 70 degrees and pretty nice out. He agreed but then passed me going the other way and said "Lets go to Maryland tomorrow! I'll call my mom and see if it is ok."

I guess he felt like the zoo wasn't taking advantage enough of his new found freedom. A 600 miles each way road trip was more what he needed.I was hesitant at first but the idea grew on me. All his family there had yet to meet Rebecca, it was a holiday, his parents had just had company so didn't need to do any last minute cleaning or furniture arranging to be ready for us, and we would be there on a Sunday to do the Rebecca's blessing with family members there. I admit I was also tempted with the opportunity to share some of the baby care chores for a while. And with Mike starting a new job, who knows when we would have that much time off again to travel. So off we went! Well sort of, we did have some last minute packing and laundry and cat feeding and such to do first.

When we finally left it went pretty uneventfully. We went from 70* in GA to about 30* in one day, getting colder and colder at each bathroom stop. Brr! Rebecca did ok the first 8 hours, but gave up for the last three, letting us all know how un-fondly she considered her carseat and backseat view. It was so very nice to get there! I personally enjoyed changing diapers on a clean bed, instead of trying to change diapers or even whole outfits, in questionable gas station restrooms, trying to cover everything within reach with paper towels and not actually put skin or clothes in direct contact with any surface. We were all so tired no one even bothered to stay up to ring in the new year, tho I caught it in the mountain time zone while doing a middle of the night feeding.

We spent the next few days just hanging out with Mike's parents and siblings, mostly eating and passing the baby around. I am amazed she didn't catch something, but sometimes you have to take a risk with family members you won't see for another year. Lenna and Andy enjoyed a bear hunt with their dad in the backyard, a trip to the movies with Aunt Tammy, and several game nights and lots of good food with everyone.

Sunday we did Rebecca's blessing in Mike's parents' ward. It was nice to have his bother-in-law and dad there to participate. He also had some men who were his teachers and leaders when he was a young man participate which was nice as well. He also got to watch his best friend from high school be sustained as a member of the bishopric. That made us both feel a little old, to have high school friends in bishopric's. It will be nice if we move to that area in the future to get reacquainted with them. Rebecca, of course, looked beautiful in her blessing dress that her Nana made. And she was considerate enough to sleep through the whole thing!
I scooted her out after the meeting to feed her and change her- just in time. She had a huge blowout through her onsie and tights only minutes after I took her dress off. She seems to have a knowledge about when would be the worst time to leak- she soaked two Christmas dresses the week before at church as well.

For the drive home we decided to break up the torture into two days instead of one. We went half way and stayed the night in a hotel, which went pretty smoothly. The next day felt lots longer. Rebecca decided to cry us over the state line, and exercised her lungs the last half hour. Our driveway has never looked so good.

If only someone had fulfilled my dream of breaking in while we were gone and cleaning up all the Christmas mess. Oh well, there is always next year!

Looking Back at 2008

The Year in Review or Our Christmas Newsletter (a few weeks late, I blame the baby)



In January: Snowballs were made in the south and the Tooth Fairy made her maiden voyage to our house.

February: Jannet got a magazine makeover and a positive pregnancy test.

March: Mike was awarded a Joint Service Achievement Medal for his work in the Air Force.

April: Mike and Jannet went on a second honeymoon to VA Beach while the kids had their first sleepovers with relatives. Lenna cut her hair and donated the ponytail to Locks of Love.

May: Lenna graduated from kindergarten and both kids took swimming lessons.

June: Our house hosted some unwelcome guests for several weeks, some company just can't take a hint. Jannet got a new church calling and went to Relief Society after 3 years in primary.

July: Our family logged 24,000 frequent flyer miles on a trip to CA to the Law family reunion. Lenna conquered the deep end while Andy defeated the water slide at the pool.

August: School started with Lenna in first grade, Andrew in preschool, and Jannet teaching again. Lenna and Andrew started gymnastics.

September: Our family took a day trip to Six Flags where the kids rode their first roller coaster. Andrew turned four with a party featuring Lightening MacQueen.

October: Andrew starred in his first primary program by providing a sideshow of defiance. Halloween just kept coming, before it finally came and went. Jannet said goodbye to her preschool classroom and students with a mixture of relief and sadness.

November: Rebecca made her reluctant debut into the world at a healthy 9 1/2 lbs. Lenna turned seven with a cache of Hannah Montana gifts. Mike and Jannet celebrated nine years together, and Mike was discharged from the Air Force.

December: Christmas brought company, Santa brought presents, and Lenna had a live baby for her nativity play. We took a trip to Maryland to introduce Rebecca to some aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents and decided that was our last road trip in our compact car.

January (because we are a little late): Rebecca was blessed on the first Sunday of the New Year. Andrew started preschool. Lenna moved up to senior primary. Mike got a new job as a civilian. Jannet finally feels like she is in control again after 12 months of crazy!

Here's to a happy and eventful 2009!

What every mother wants to hear

I have been putting off posting lately for many reasons, but one is that I was waiting to get to the "big computer" so I could download my photos and use them to complete my posts. I do not think that will happen any time soon and I like to think I am capable of expressing myself without the use of visual aides, so decided to post anyway. I have a lot of catch up to do. I will put the pics in later. You will just have to keep checking back I guess.

Today was our first Sunday this year in our ward. That means new primary classes!

Lenna moved up to senior primary- yikes. When did she get to be that old? She loves her new teachers and is very happy. I think she will have a great year. If I was given the option of handing picking her teachers, that is where I would put her. She is already looking forward to her baptism next November and getting her own scriptures.

Andrew moved up a class as well. He has a great teacher who is a friend of mine, so I am sure things will be fine there as well. Of course, he refused to sit down until his buddy C arrived and took the chair next to him. I am not sure I could have even got him in the door if he and C had been put in different classes this year. Anyway, he went all dressed up in his new Sunday suit, complete with vest and standard clip-on tie.

When I went to pick him up after class he proudly showed me his sticker, his shiny new CTR ring ("To remind me to make right choices like not hitting Lenna and helping you.") and then casually mentioned, "I forgot the rule about not putting my tie on my ear and did it anyway. It kind of hurt."
All this before his teacher says "I am glad to have Andrew in my class this year. Do you think maybe we could leave the tie at home next week?" Apparently, he also forgot the rule about not putting his tie on his buddy's shirt, his shoe, his mouth, his head, his friend's head, and his belt.

Here's to casual Sunday attire.

soccer sign ups

Ok fellow Georgians (I know this cross-posts to my family site and auto-emails to the far corners of the earth. Sorry. I know you have nothing to say regarding your program preference. I will forgive you for not commenting on this one.),

Lenna has asked to play soccer this year. I am inclined to honor her request, as this is the first thing she has shown an interest in since asking for a sequined jacket so she could look like Hannah Montana. I'll take the shin guards, please.

Anyway, for those of you have participated in this rite of passage before me, any suggestions on where to sign her up? I think I have three choices:

1. Columbia county at patriots park. costs $60 but is the farthest from my house.

2. Marshall Y- $75 but have to fight the least traffic to get to the AJCC for games.

3. Wilson Y- $75 and distance wise the closest to our house.

Is one program better than the other? Which is the least competitive? What freebies are included? Have a kid you are signing up and want to carpool? What junk will I have to buy?

Thanks for any help you can offer!

New Year Trip

It was the day before New Year's Eve (so is that new year's eve eve or just plain Tuesday?) and Mike realized that he had no plans for a whole week. No one to report to or file leave requests with. No one in the world (or at least the Air Force) who cared in the least about where he was spending his time for the next week. This is the first time in about 6 years that has happened, so he must have been feeling free.
Anyway, he passed me in the hall and asked what we were doing the next day. I said nothing, but maybe we could take the kids to the zoo since it was 70 degrees and pretty nice out. He agreed but then passed me going the other way and said "Lets go to Maryland tomorrow! I'll call my mom and see if it is ok." I guess he felt like the zoo wasn't taking advantage enough of his new found freedom. A 600 miles each way road trip was more what he needed.
I was hesitant at first but the idea grew on me. All his family there had yet to meet Rebecca, it was a holiday, his parents had just had company so didn't need to do any last minute cleaning or furniture arranging to be ready for us, and we would be there on a Sunday to do the Rebecca's blessing with family members there. I admit I was also tempted with the opportunity to share some of the baby care chores for a while. And with Mike starting a new job, who knows when we would have that much time off again to travel. So off we went! Well sort of, we did have some last minute packing and laundry and cat feeding and such to do first.
When we finally left it went pretty uneventfully. We went from 70* in GA to about 30* in one day, getting colder and colder at each bathroom stop. Brr! Rebecca did ok the first 8 hours, but gave up for the last three, letting us all know how un-fondly she considered her carseat and backseat view. It was so very nice to get there! I personally enjoyed changing diapers on a clean bed, instead of trying to change diapers or even whole outfits, in questionable gas station restrooms, trying to cover everything within reach with paper towels and not actually put skin or clothes in direct contact with any surface. We were all so tired no one even bothered to stay up to ring in the new year, tho I caught it in the mountain time zone while doing a middle of the night feeding.
We spent the next few days just hanging out with Mike's parents and siblings, mostly eating and passing the baby around. I am amazed she didn't catch something, but sometimes you have to take a risk with family members you won't see for another year. Lenna and Andy enjoyed a bear hunt with their dad in the backyard, a trip to the movies with Aunt Tammy, and several game nights and lots of good food with everyone.
Sunday we did Rebecca's blessing in Mike's parents' ward. It was nice to have his bother-in-law and dad there to participate. He also had some men who were his teachers and leaders when he was a young man participate which was nice as well. He also got to watch his best friend from high school be sustained as a member of the bishopric. That made us both feel a little old, to have high school friends in bishopric's. It will be nice if we move to that area in the future to get reacquainted with them. Rebecca, of course, looked beautiful in her blessing dress that her Nana made. And she was considerate enough to sleep through the whole thing!

I scooted her out after the meeting to feed her and change her- just in time. She had a huge blowout through her onsie and tights only minutes after I took her dress off. She seems to have a knowledge about when would be the worst time to leak- she soaked two Christmas dresses the week before at church as well.
For the drive home we decided to break up the torture into two days instead of one. We went half way and stayed the night in a hotel, which went pretty smoothly. The next day felt lots longer. Rebecca decided to cry us over the state line, and exercised her lungs the last half hour. Our driveway has never looked so good. If only someone had fulfilled my dream of breaking in while we were gone and cleaning up all the Christmas mess. Oh well, there is always next year!

do the math

A little math problem to make up for ditching school today:

600 miles (each way)
+ three kids
+ 2 parents
+ four suitcases
+ 2 backpacks
+ 1 diaper bag
+ 2 sleeping bags
+ 4 pillows
+ 1 car seat
- leg room
- trunk space
- elbow room
__________
= husband finally agreeing to getting minivan this spring instead of waiting until next year.

Woo Hoo for me!

We have been out of town traveling and busy with holidays and company.
Plus (insert sound effect: applause and joyous shouting) Rebecca is sleeping through the night,
which has led to decline of computer time at odd hours of the day.
When given the choice between blogging and sleeping, I generally choose sleeping.

Will return to blogging shortly.