Tulsa!

Wow!  A lot has changed since my last post!  The biggest change is that we have left the lone star state, and now live in the panhandle state!!  The drive up was rough...felt so sleepy...ate lots and lots of pretzels to help me stay awake!  We feel a little bit homeless, and Nellie kind of adds to the effect.  The hotel in Sherman, Texas was really nice, and we have really liked our hotel room here in Broken Arrow, so much so that one night has turned into 5 nights...and counting! 

Tonight, we got to have a picnic dinner with Kristin, Bryan, and Nora.  They are on their way up to Michigan, and were able to make a pit stop!!  The kids had so much fun running around and playing together.  It was such a sweet moment in time!  *We got a few pics...will try to post!!!

Nellie really enjoys sleeping under a chair in our hotel room, but as soon as we leave the room with her, she goes nuts, barking wildly at everyone!  It's upsetting, especially when she barked like crazy at the nice lady at Camp Bow Wow today, and they had to turn her down as a camper.  They did recommend some classes on socializing at PetSmart, and I'm really thinking about trying it out.  Our lives are kind of revolving around her this week, because we can't leave her in the hotel room for 5 minutes without our neighbor getting spastic about her barking and waking her from her nap.  So she goes everywhere with us and sits in the car with the a/c running, while we do laundry, play at Carl's Jr., etc.

We are hoping everything will go through with the sale of our house on Pinecroft...we will miss that house, especially the treehouse!!!  We are ready to make an offer on a house in Claremore!  The setting is my favorite part...open fields, hills, just very serene and peaceful...  We love the ward, the schools are supposedly really good...the only negative is lots of driving for Matthew to get to work (about 45 minutes each way!)...  I hope it's the right choice. 

Jared and Emily have been so sweet together, playing all these little games that they come up with...one where Jared acts like a baby, and Emily has to cover him up with all the pillows...Emily spinning J around super fast in the chair...one day, it was so cute hearing them talking...they were just laying on the bed and having the most serious conversation about what kind of gummy bears and ice cream they like...Emily has been so great with him.  It makes me so happy, because this hasn't always been the case!  I was hoping this move would help us grow closer as a family, especially Em and J, and so far, it seems to be working!

Well, I will sign off for now, but I'm feeling really good about the direction things are headed...I would really like to start exercising soon and working on some personal goals like that, so I can feel more comfortable in my own body!  Good night for now!

Birthday party fun!!

J-Bo (that's Matthew's nickname for Jared)

some of Jared's recent sayings:

Me already did throw up.

No me like it.

No please eat it. (if he hands me something he wants me to save for him to finish eating later)

Somebody's sleeping (if he wants me to be quiet or stop singing)

also, on a recent trip to the mall, Jared was extremely uncomfortable around the female Easter bunny, and wants to make sure she won't be wherever we're going now. He wanted gummy bear earrings at claire's really badly, so to console him, I decided to get him a Build a Bear. (It was Emily's birthday present to J. He got some earrings for her as a birthday gift.) He was a bit overwhelmed by the whole Build a Bear experience, but Em helped him choose a nice, less expensive puppy. He named him Chocolate Chip. It was awesome how much fun the doctor had today, doing an exam on Chocolate Chip! too bad it didn't work as well at home, when Chocolate Chip took his medicine. We're having a rough time getting Jared to take this antibiotic. It actually does taste really bitter, even with the bubble gum flavoring! :(

Soon to come...a photo of Jared's mud bath

A not-so-spiritual nursery moment

I really felt the Spirit in sacrament meeting today, but in nursery... not so much!

Things were coasting along pretty well at first...Our nursery leader was out today, so by default, I was "in charge" (I use this term very loosely).

We were at our usual 1:1 ratio, with 4 kids vs. me, 2 subs, and a dad. The dad kept trying to sneak out, but his son wouldn't stand for it. The problem is, when this little guy gets upset, he doesn't just cry, he throws up. So, as soon as the dad finally snuck out to teach his Primary lesson, I took the big lid off of the trash can, and had it ready to go, with the little boy on my lap, and sure enough, within about a minute, he was barfing into the trash can! I was pretty pleased that not too much got on the carpet this time, and none (that I know of) landed on my new dress, but one of the subs was having a really hard time. I guess she can't stand the smell of throw-up, and if she even hears someone doing it, it could make her throw up.

Of course, the other 3 kids were trying to eat their snacks while all of this was happening. Luckily, there was not a chain reaction with the kiddos.

Someone asked where the dad was, and I said he was teaching Primary, and I tell you, I have never seen 2 ladies jump out of their chairs so fast, racing for the door! They both declared, "I'll teach his lesson!" at the same time, but the one who declared it more firmly and reached the door first was the winner.

So...the dad ended up back in the nursery, we opened one of the doors for some fresh air, had a few good laughs, and we even found a bubble machine and ended the day on a high note.

Sadly, the lady with the really weak stomach did not win the 2 yard dash for the door.

Flower Girl

My first attempt at posting a pic! Emily with her new flower lamp from Grandma Joannie!

Gag me with a spoon!

I have finally set up an appointment to have my barium swallow procedure done!

In preparation, I looked online to see what people have said about the taste of the "barium meal" that I am about to enjoy!

this is a sampling of what I found:

"Sort of a combination of chalk and Elmer's glue."

"It literally feels like you are swallowing pulverized metal in a thick, gooey artificially fruity flavored matrix.It's not so disgusting that I wanted or needed to throw up. On a nasty scale I'd say around a 6, which is a tolerable nastiness."

Apparently, the taste is not the only concern. After drinking it, here is what you get to experience:

"In my opinion, the next couple of days were worse than the barium swallow. You're ingesting that stuff, and it does have to come out the other end. You may have thick sticky whitish bowel movements and some slowdown of your bowels."

Wal*Mart find of the Week

The Great Value brand orange sherbet push-ups were really good: soft, creamy sherbet... even better than they looked on the package! And... they held their shape & didn't melt for a long time! (long enough for Jared and I to pick out all the fruits & veggies, and go through the check-out line, and ride the 50 cent safari ride at the exit of the store, and go to customer service when we lost 50 cents on the ride, and ride again...) Jared opened up a push-up in the car, and I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't completely melted!!

"Yes, sir."

It was kind of odd at the donut shop today...

I went in and ordered a dozen donut holes, and the lady said, "Yes, sir."

Then I ordered a sausage and cheese kolache, and she said, "Yes, sir" again.

Now, in my defense, I was wearing a dress (the same one I am usually wearing when I am asked if I am pregnant, or when the next one is due).

However, in her defense, I don't know how much English she knows.

Also, it was almost noon, which is basically midnight in the bakery world, so she could have been a little bleary-eyed.

plans for the weekend?

To my wonderful followers (and best friends!)...

Any fun plans for the weekend?

(none here yet)

Matthew has a Scout training from 8 to 5 tomorrow (Saturday).

I just learned this week that I am a "Scout widow"!
(anyone married to a Scout leader...because you never see them! They are always at Scouts!!!)
Yikes!!!

We can't really complain, though...
Matthew REALLY wanted a calling!!!

Overheard this week...

Jared:
No me happy. No me big.
(We had taken some pain medicine and Orajel to Emily at the school clinic after she got her new braces put on, and Jared wanted to go back to her classroom with her. I told him he could go to school when he got bigger.)

Me fight monsters. (while splashing and thrashing around in the tub)

Emily:
{Mortified silence while ducking her head} (meaning, "WHAT are you doing in my classroom?")
(I was tutoring today & I showed a little girl a picture of Emily from 1st grade, and she said how pretty Emily was, and how she loved her outfit [a zebra print top and leggings...super cute in 1st grade, but not really Em's style anymore.] I mistakenly thought Emily would enjoy having me share this comment with her, but that look said it all. They were working in groups on the floor when I entered the classroom, so I didn't feel like I was making THAT much of a scene, but after that not-so-warm welcome, I kind of left with my tail between my legs!)

about 20 minutes later...
Emily's teacher to me in the hallway (totally serious):
A perfect angel. You have a perfect angel.

Me: Thank you!
(She really is a perfect angel at school.)

Teacher:
No, thank YOU. There aren't many moms like you.

Me: *beaming inside*

(I think I could live off of a compliment like that for at least a week, maybe longer.)

I shaved both my legs 2 days ago!

OK, since my last post was 6 months ago, I figure it's time for a little update! My most loyal follower (Krissy!) has been requesting a new post, and while in the shower Saturday night, I thought it would be kind of funny to write a post about how I had shaved my legs, because ...it's just something that nobody really needs or cares to know about, and is one of the most un-interesting things to write about in a blog.

I had gotten Jared to sleep at 8:30 (we had made him skip a nap so he wouldn't be up til 2 a.m.) and was wondering what I was going to do with all of my free time that evening! I decided to start with a shower, which I had been planning on all day! Then, after shaving one leg and thinking how funny it would be to blog about it, I heard crying from the next room. I think Jared had a scary dream...Matthew thought he was in a milk coma...but either way, he started crying hysterically for me... still, I was determined to shave my second leg before getting out of the shower! So, I shaved both legs, and it was quite an accomplishment! After comforting him back to sleep, I sat looking at his little ears which had turned bright red when he was upset, and just thinking of what a sweet boy I have.

His favorite phrases lately are: Happy, Mommy? Happy, Daddy? Happy, 'mily? (He's not content until everyone in the house is happy!)

The other one that I think is so cute is: Me love Nellie. Me love Mommy. Me love Daddy. Me love 'mily. Me love Grandma. Me love Grandpa. Me love Sally. Me love chocolate chips.

I just think it is so cute, and I know he'll grow out of it and say it correctly soon enough. I just don't have the heart to correct him. Somehow, it seems more sincere when he says it his own way.

I just love, love, love this little boy.

My co-leader in the nursery, who kindly reminded me that her friend nursed her son til he was 7 years old, taught Jared a new word today...or yesterday (it's 2:22 a.m. on Monday, so what day was it on Sunday? yesterday, I guess!)

The word was "rambunctious." He learned it pretty quickly, saying "buncus" once, and then "rambuncus" over and over as he ran around the table, while his 2 fellow classmates sat in their chairs and quietly munched on their goldfish crackers and pretzels.

I still love my Jared boy, rambuncus and all.

By the way, my goal for yesterday was to sit down with Matthew, and try to post a picture, and ask him whenever I needed help, and write down the steps so that I'll know how to do it next time. It is really hard for me to learn new skills, for some reason (like sewing...it's torture!) He has tried explaining the steps when we're not at the computer, but that just goes in one ear and out the other for me. He has also written down all of the steps very clearly, which I have carefully filed away...somewhere. I am determined to get the hang of posting pics, so I can add the ones of the kids' lamps (so Mom can see what she got them for Christmas!) and the caricatures (also for Mom), but...I don't know if you're going to see a pic of my hair anytime soon. When we were in the sunlight today, Emily commented about how red my hair was. And the white sideburns are already coming back. I didn't really have that many white hairs on top, where it's all red now. I might just try an at-home coloring kit next time. I didn't enjoy the scraping and scabs when the beautician man scrubbed the dye off my face. I'm still glad I tried it, though! Also, I don't think I'll purposely post any pics of myself til I lose at least 52 pounds, which could be never, or...maybe in 52 weeks??? I thought I looked so nice in my new dress one week, so I had Matthew take some pics of me, and I couldn't believe how large I looked in the pictures! Needless to say, those will probably never be posted. By the way, I went to the gym 2 x last week, and went jogging with Nellie one night! So, it's coming along, more slowly than surely!!!

But at least it would be good to post some pics of the kids.

Like yesterday, Em looked so pretty in her new "bumble bee" outfit. We went shopping, and she picked out this really pretty yellow top and black lacy skirt. (Later, we bought some really cute dressy black sandals.) She looked so pretty at church (and so grown up!) What else can I say about Em? She's getting really into Super Mario Bros. on the wii that she got for Christmas. She still loves jumping and doing flips on the trampoline. She and Gg did a really cool Science Fair project about popcorn. Lately, I have gotten to see her silly side, and we have cried together, and I've felt such joy seeing her and Jared play happily together. She even replaced the battery in his Thomas the Train today. Her Primary lesson was on the Tree of Life yesterday, which is her favorite scripture story. We had a fun morning selling Girl Scout cookies together. We sold 62 (or 64?) boxes! She looks so cute wearing her sash...I still need to add her troop #s and Journey patch.

Friday at school, her teacher gave me a big hug and told me how much she loves Emily. (Her teacher grew up LDS, too, so there's a special bond there.) Emily is so responsible, setting her alarm, getting up and riding her bike to school and home each day. She loves school, and really excels there. She still loves art, drawing in her doodle journal, painting in the garage, making little people and animals out of clay... Matthew and I are planning a pottery day with Emily...making a pot on a real potter's wheel...we had fun on our last day out, painting a ceramic milk carton! I think my greatest wish for Emily is for her to know how very much we love her, and her Heavenly Father and Savior love her. Emily love, love, loves her dog!!! She wants another bunny for her birthday, a ukelele, and for us to finish and paint her tree house. We also looked up a cool tree house that you can sleep in and go zip lining through the woods! (It's in Austin. $300 a night, though...) She still wants to be a marine biologist. I love Emily's sense of adventure.

Emily still lets me read to her at night, though it's not as much of a requirement as it used to be! We just finished Desperaux tonight. We have fun watching The Middle together. We really get each other's sense of humor...I feel like we're really close and get along really well, except for times when she feels jealous of the time and attention we give to Jared, and times when she doesn't want to do what we ask/tell her to do...like stop tidying up the house and go to bed! It's a real struggle for her to stop cleaning up before everything is just the way she likes it...but she'd be up til midnight every night if we'd let her.

I'm actually really glad that we're seeking help, through a parenting class, and a specialist to share some tools with us...it's better than not knowing what to do when we feel like we've tried everything we know, and it's not working...We had an amazing class on Friday night, and I can't wait til the next one! The teacher challenged us to read the Book of Mormon, looking for parenting tips! I have been horrible about studying the Book of Mormon, and I'm looking forward to taking on this challenge!

I've been feeling like all of these things that we worry and struggle with (mainly people...)...we just need to pray about them. The answers will come, but we need to ask!

I love Emily so much, and while our relationship with her is more complex than with Jared, I really love the sweet, funny, kooky, intelligent/cynical, thoughtful, helpful, wonderful girl that is my daughter!

I'd probably better stop myself there for tonight, so I can get a little sleep before the day and week start all over again!! Next time I write, I hope to add a picture...wouldn't that be groovy?!

Good night for now!

Love,
Megs