HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN

Katanya's surgery went very well. The only difficulty came when they pulled the tube out from the anesthesia it triggered a little Strider (croup). We were expecting this and it made me so glad we waiting the two weeks for her to get bettter. She had a breathing treatment and was watched for a about half an hour and then she was brought to us. She enjoyed just being held and being able to watch cartoons. The hospital always give a child a bear when they come in. Katanya now has four diiferent colored bears. (Not really something to brag about.) She didn't ever let her orange bear from her sight. Even when she came to the nurses said she asked for her bear.It didn't take much to get a smile. The rest of the day, she enjoyed Popsicles, jell-o and juice. Looking at this you would think Jake was the one that had to get up at 4:30 a.m. And of course the funny part of the day. I should just let you look at the picture and come up with your own take of the story. Maybe I will just put in a few key words.

IV
Lactated Ringers
Full diaper

(I had just changed her prior to this happening. This was just one "spill". The nurse must have had sympathy because she brought Jake a pair of scrubs.) I should have just let you imagine what happened. The spot was just too perfect.With her being so young they observed her overnight. In the morning she ate her pancake, had the IV removed, and she was ready to leave and go home. We stopped at one of our favorite places (Jamba Juice) and went home to the family. After three days of little sleep (not more than 3 1/2 hours) I am looking forward to my own bed and a nice long night of sleep.

THE DAY HAS COME

• Today's the day. In a couple of hours we will be at the hospital getting things underway.

• She was so happy playing yesterday. She will be so upset with us when she realizes what we let them do. Hopefully not for too long. It's all because we love her.

• I'm praying things will be simple for once with her.

• Bye-bye big tonsils. Bye-bye snoring. Bye-bye apnea.

THE CRAPPER

*Two weeks ago*

(Old neighbor throwing out long time broken four-wheeler and a riding engineless lawn mower. Jake trades two loads of dirt for it.)

*Today*

KIRSTEN: Dad, why did you have to get that crappy old four-wheeler? Is it because you are the crappy man?

(Kids say it best)

HERE KITTY KITTY!

Jack had 4 kittens!

Jacob got a CAT!

A WEEK FROM ????

I'm in a complaining mood today. It's been one of those weeks. Bear with me. I always say no matter how hard you try, something ALWAYS goes wrong. This past week was one of those. (After I finished writing this post I went back and tried to find the good out of this.)

It has rained here the last 6 out of 8 days. I'm not just talking drizzles, I'm talking downpours. Temps never getting above 50. We worked on Monday and then our driver did a no show. So when Friday came and our pit was dried out, Jake and I hauled as much as we could before it started raining....again. It's almost the first of June and it still feels like the end of winter. Although I'm not going to comlain TOO MUCH because I will take the rain over all the other crazy weather and natural diseasters happening in the world. Needless to say, work is slow, planting is slow, we have work lined up but mud is messy. (Positive outlook, the trees have been getting plenty of water and look SO GOOD!)

We lost our internet in a Thunderstorm Saturday morning. The whole entire holiday weekend was spent without the internet. This reminded me of our visits to Utah. (Can't think of anything positive about this.)

Jake had to speak in Sacrament on Sunday. Being on time is very rare for our family because of little kids and other incidents that always seem to happen. IE: losing car keys, diaper changes, cereal spills, alarms not going off, you get the point. So we were on time with 10 minutes to spare. I'm sitting on a bench, closer than usual and during the sacrament hymn, Cruz gave me no warning and then threw up his breakfast. I grab him and dashed to the bathroom barely making it in time for the second dose. Somehow he got 95% on himself and not the bench, thank goodness. So I wait for the sacrament to get over and I can hear my darling little baby girl screaming inside while I am in the foyer. McKay had her arms full. After it was over I walked up to Jake, got the keys and took the two youngest home. I was really bummed to miss his talk. He gives REALLY good talks. (Nothing good here either.)

I'm hoping this week is better. I'm having faith to make it with a positive attitude. Wish us luck.

P.S. I guess there was one good thing. Jake got a new toy.....I mean piece that he needed. Stay tuned.

SWEATHEARTS!

I just love this picture....just because.

TWO WHEELERS ARE BACK IN STYLE

Kirsten wanted to learn to ride a "two wheeler" (in her words). So the training wheels came of this weekend. She started on the grass so it wouldn't hurt when she crashed. She even put her helmet on without us asking her to. I guess she knew what to expect.She wasn't sure if she wanted her dad to let go.Pretty soon she would go pretty far by herself. Then came the real challenge.
The driveway. And she even avoided hitting our new car.
Yesterday she told me, "Mom, you can never put my training wheels back on. I will never go back to those things again."

P.S. Jake's pretty dirty because we are still planting trees. (still) That day we planted 750 together. After tomorrow our count will be just over 4700 with one last shipment coming. Today I took the day off (raining) and enjoyed a early birthday gift from my friend. A free 1/2 hour massage from a massage therapist. Thanks Lindz!

"Ladies do not cut in line. Ladies deserve to be first!"

McKay played Marie in her GATE (Gifted and Talented Ed) play "Aristocats." I made plans ahead of time to get a babysitter for Anya so I could actually sit thru and enjoy the play. I got the "favorite" babysitter and Cruz wanted to stay home too. McKay did a great job and we are always proud of her!

Update or non-update???

I keep waiting for my life to get a little slower paced, or maybe just simple once in awhile. Somehow I don't think it will be that way anytime soon. Katanya was scheduled to have her tonsils out today....BUT.... since she decided to come down with croup Saturday morning, things were postponed. The normal doctor's visit happened early morning, the normal steriod was given and within hours, she was a different kid then at 7 a.m. She still amazes me at how fast and how severe it can affect her. My pediatrician was worried since when they put you under anesthesia, they also put you on a type of ventilator, and when they pull the ventilator out it normally irritates and causes a little "stryder" (croup). With her trachea already having these symptons and being irritated he didn't want to risk it and the chance that she would end up down in Salt Lake. So we are giving her 10 days and trying to schedule it again.

Pros and Cons

Jake's been out of town the past week for work and I've realized how simple life really has to be. I have taken the past four days really easy (lazy). Also, I have literally killed my back in some odd way planting on Saturday. After planting 2000 trees, who would have guess the last day would have done it in. I had even taken a three day break in between due to bad weather. Then my stubborn streak hit and even though I was hurting I knew there were trees to be planted and I had to finish. I really should have stopped. Jake told me to stop. I need to learn to listen. I've realized what an elderly, crippled person feels like. I have walked around in a hump, hanging on doorways to stretch my back. Now the soreness is gone but I have a burning sensation in my upper back.???? Why don't bodies just work the way they are suppose to? (So I have had a reason to be lazy.) Anyways, back to my post. I can't figure if I like him here or gone ;)

PROS OF BEING AWAY

• Less laundry (he normally wears two outfits a day and they always end up in the hamper.
• Less dishes and food to prepare. Many of you know how Jake eats usually three dinners a night.
• Less mess. I don't know how but he can be just as messy as four kids.
• Life can be simple. The kids are happy with simple dinners. This makes my housework even better.

CONS OF BEING AWAY

• I don't sleep. Every noise wakes me, every movement outside scares me, and it takes me forever to fall asleep.
• I miss having adult conversation.
• I miss having someone to watch TV with at night and cuddle up with them.
• I miss having the convienence if I have something that he can watch the kids for an hour or so.
• I miss the little 10 minute breaks that you need sometimes as a mom, just so you don't blow up at your kids. (especially the youngest who doesn't care what no means)
• I miss him. Phone calls just aren't the same.

I guess we are all ready for you to come home! : )

Mother's Day

I got a little heart card today. On the outside read "Best mom ever! On the inside was even better. It said:

Best mom ever,
Leave me never.
Your face is like a flower,
You feed me
You care for me
You have that special power....
Of a mom.

It was from McKay.

Kirsten gave me flowers. To her, flowers can make any day special. I love her thought about flowers.

I love being a mom for little moments like this.

It's just SO wrong....

....that I have more of a farmer's tan than Jake. Even worse, I have a glove line. My legs, now that's a different story. When, planting you weat pants. They are as white as the snow that was falling yesterday.

It's finally here!

2009 Dodge Journey

• 7 weeks waiting.
• Double the gas mileage I got from my gas guzzling suburban.
• Brand new but yet cheaper payment.
• A red / orange paint job : )
• Smoother and quieter.
• Ordered exactly the way we wanted it.
• Built in booster seats.
• Lifetime power train warranty
• All the other quirks of a new car.

Now the typical rule will apply. No food or drinks (water is an exception) in the car. Any bets on how long it will last?

Bubble girl

I am loosing my mind with this girl! I need a little bubble so I can put her in it when she wants to run and play. Last weekend, we had a series of unfortunate events for Katanya.

Here it how it goes (or happens)

• #1, Thursday night she falls coming out of Cruz's bedroom and hits the floorboard. Luckily it wasn't very bad and didn't swell at all. Kid's witnessed this.
• #2, Friday while loading for our short trip to Utah, she was outside and tripped by the stairs. She scraped her cheek on the sidewalk. Not very big at all. No witness but me.
• #3, Friday night we were at Larry's house. Jake and Larry had gone outside to discuss landscaping, so I had taken the kids into the basketball court room and let them play with all the balls. I had closed the door so we wouldn't be loud upstairs. When they came back in Larry opened the door and Katanya (daddy's girl) saw Jake and went running to her. She somehow figured how to run straight into the door. This one a little more severe. After an ice pack, and watching for signs of concussion, she was okay. It didn't bleed for more that what you see in the picture. Larry witnessed this.
• #4, Sunday, while at Jen's house after the blessing, Katanya was standing on the ground (I wouldn't let her sit on the bench) and was playing the piano. When she was done with her beautiful sound-making piece, she turned right into the piano bench. She didn't even stop for more than a kiss on this one before she was off again.
• #5, Isn't pictured on this. It happened after I took these. Sunday, while at my other friend's house, we were in the backyard letting the kids play in the sandbox. When Katanya was done she stepped out. Everything fine. She started walking and tripped. Her cheek scraped the rosebushes. Everyone outside witnessed this.

After this, I didn't even chance anything else. We went inside, put up the baby gate and and she played in the playroom. It worked. It's also a good thing that I actually have people to verify this because otherwise she looks pretty beat up. I don't know what to do. I watch her, I don't leave her unsupervised, but I don't want to fuss and baby over her all the time. All I can say is I'm starting with having her vision checked. Seriously.

P.S. Sorry you can't zoom in on the pictures. I can't figure that out.

Manic Mornings

Everyone knows I am not a morning person. So after I get the kids breakfast, dressed, and ready for the day, I usually let them watch a couple TV shows so I have time to clean up, do dishes, and get dressed and ready myself. So when I walked in on this, I had to run and grab my camera from the bedroom. Let's see how many of you are up on your Kid's T.V. programs. Any GUESSES on what they are watching????....and then this......

Blessing Day

Aaron blessed their baby boy, Thomas David, today. It's always fun to see family and catch up on times. Now for this storty. It happened last Tuesday.

McKay: Mom, when are you going to have another baby?
(I was caught off guard)
Me: Why?
McKay: Cause, I'm bored.

So I let her get all the baby she could get today.

Then we stopped by my other friend's, who happened to bless their baby, who by chance happens to be in the same ward. (Talk about luck). And she held their little girl. Hopefully that will help her get a little unfocused on me having a baby.