2.29.2012

Something I'm Listening To

Edison had a fever of 102.8° this afternoon. That freaked me right out so I took him to the doctor. They tested him for strep, the flu, and ear infections. There is nothing wrong with him except for the fever. If he still has a fever on Friday, I am supposed to take him to the doctor again.

Today, I was listening to his whimpers. He is so sad. He is burning hot but doesn't have a runny nose or cough. He just looks at me like "Save me!" It is breaking my heart.

Photobucket

2.28.2012

Money

Today is National Pancake Day. We went to IHOP and got free pancakes for dinner. I put Alex's hunk of butter off to the side. Then later I looked over and it was gone. I made that mistake as a child, too. It is not ice cream.

Photobucket

Edison ate really well. Surprisingly well. He ate a lot of bread and about the same amount of syrup. I guess we shouldn't have been surprised by how much he liked the syrup.

Photobucket

The meal wasn't completely free because Sam ordered something extra and of course we tipped our waiter, but it was pretty cheap and extra delicious that I didn't have to cook tonight.

2.27.2012

Edison's Edition (11 Months)

Weight: 20 pounds, 7 ounces
Length: 29.5 inches

According to Sam, "Sometimes Edison looks at me and looks like he might actually have thoughts in his head." I think that is his way of saying Edison is developing a personality, and fast! He is a punk. His most favorite activity is to clean off our bookshelves. He is such a good helper. When we tell him to stop, he turns around to look at us, then quickly turns back to the bookshelf with a sly smile and swipes as many books off as he can before we get over to him. He loves his mommy and will wander the house looking for me. He walks so much now. Each day, he walks more than I have ever seen him walk before. He has been alive for eleven months. Every day with him has been a blessing.

Photobucket
He loves making messes.

Photobucket
Even though he knows he shouldn't be doing it.

Photobucket
Naked is sometimes the cleanest way to eat.

Photobucket
His favorite past time.

Photobucket
Sleepy eyes.

Photobucket
Trapped in Alex's bed.

Photobucket
Big boys!

Photobucket
Look Ma, no hands!

Photobucket
He loves walking if we hold one hand, but not two.

Photobucket
I'm coming!

Photobucket
So high! Good thing Mommy's holding my back!

Photobucket
Traffic jam.

Photobucket
Some days are just tough.

Photobucket
He loves snuggling with soft things.

Photobucket
He is so sad that he can't do this anymore.


Discovering the latches was a sad day for him.


We had the camera turned so he could watch himself. He loved it.


He learned how to clap (2.14.12).


He loves playing with balls.


Every toy can become a weapon.

Here are a few more things Edison does for which I do not have a matching picture:
He...
...got a new tooth (bottom left) for a total of seven (2.1.12)!
...does not tear books.
...said "Ball" while pushing around the exercise ball.
...can take a few steps, bend over to pick up a toy, and then stand back up and take a few more steps.
...wrestles with Alex and can actually handle himself!
...blows bubbles on our bellies.

Something I Ate

Ariel and I got frozen yogurt tonight after Sam and I put the boys to bed. It was delicious and really nice to get to know her better.

I got two kinds of frozen yogurt: cheesecake and tart. Then topped them with strawberries and caramel chocolate bites. My only regret is not getting more. Yum yum.

Photobucket

2.26.2012

Night

We had some new friends over for dinner and games tonight. They don't have any kids but they were so understanding of the messy food, banging toys, and the break in conversation as we put the boys to bed. It was a crazy day getting dinner ready and cleaning the house. Sam had to go home teaching and he wasn't back by the time Peter and Ariel got here. When they knocked on the door, the microwave was beeping, dinner was ready to be taken off the stove, and both boys were in their beds crying because they had just woken up from naps. It was fantastic. So basically, it was a little chaotic. But we had delicious tacos for dinner, Ariel brought amazing cheesecake for dessert, and we had fun playing Ticket to Ride.

After they left, we cleaned up, and then settled down to watch The Amazing Race. I never thought we would be the type of people who had a TV in their bedroom; we are now the type of people who only have a TV in their bedroom. It has been a great day and night.

Photobucket

2.25.2012

Green

Our lawn is so very green, with weeds. It is out of control. Alex falls down in the weeds and immediately jumps up with his arms covered in bumps like he's been attacked by bugs. We aren't sure if he is allergic to grass or if the weeds are causing the problem. I walked around in our backyard with no shoes on one day and my feet ached for two days with no visible markings. It is strange.

Photobucket

2.24.2012

Inside Our Bathroom Cabinet

Our bathroom cabinet is always getting raided by something: a Nugget. Seriously. Edison is always under the sink, dumping the bath toys, pulling out the garbage can, and tossing around the cleaners.

Sam put on child safety latches tonight. I could hear him laughing evilly as he drilled them on. I think things will stay a lot more organized. Poor Edison is going to be really frustrated in the morning though.

Photobucket

2.23.2012

My Shoes

I bought these shoes over a year ago to replace my favorite shoes that were compromised into the garbage can. When I bought these, I was pregnant with Edison. They were a little tight but I hoped they would fit after Edison was born and my body went back to normal. I don't know what I was thinking. My feet didn't go back to normal after Alex. Before Alex came along, I was a size 6, sometimes 7. After Edison, I was a size 8. These shoes are size 7 so I had about given up on them. One day I put them on and they fit comfortably. Once I started working out, my feet got smaller, too. I have been wearing them ever since.

Photobucket

2.22.2012

Where I Work

I work with my kids, so that means my work moves a lot. This morning, I worked at the park. The boys look like they are posing for this picture. They have got some pizzazz and personality in those hands.

Photobucket

This afternoon, I worked in our play room. Edison is officially walking. He grunts every time he falls down and it is so adorable.

2.21.2012

A Favorite Photo of Me

I don't have a favorite photo of myself. But, this is my favorite photo of myself from today! My brother and sister-in-law just got here tonight. Matthew and Laura are currently moving to Florida for Matthew to start Spring Training and they stopped to see us! They will be here until Thursday morning and I am so happy about it. It is great to have family around. We spent an hour on the phone talking to my sister Michelle about her trip to Aruba. We also played Rummikub and ate ice cream. That brings my grand total for today to three ice cream cones with mango sherbet. So delicious.

Photobucket

P.S. Congratulations to my sister-in-law Anna and her baby Luke who was born yesterday!
 I am so excited to see pictures of him and wish Ohio could be just a little closer.

The Walk

We live in a subdivision right off of a pretty busy street that is under construction. When we moved here, there were no sidewalks along that street. Our city has a Walk Score of 40 out of 100, which falls into the Car Dependent range. But we only have one car and I don't take Sam to work every day.

One day, we were bored and I didn't feel like walking around our neighborhood again. So we ventured out to the new sidewalk and went all the way to Wal-Mart! I hadn't planned to go that far so I didn't have my wallet. Instead, we played in the arcade and looked at the fish for sale. We have done this twice more since the first walk.

Alex loves seeing all of the tractors working along the road. Edison's face in this picture is hilarious. What is his problem?!

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

2.20.2012

Handwriting

I don't write with a pen and paper very much anymore. I write meal plans, thank you notes, and quick things at church or meetings; that is nothing compared to the hours I used to spend taking notes each day. I remember when it used to be a big deal to have cute handwriting. Now cute fonts are important. Why do I keep catching myself saying things that make me sound so old like "I remember when..." Sheesh, I need to go do a hopscotch or something to liven up things. I think that just made me sound old again. I'm done.

Photobucket

Old Comps

One of Sam's old companions came into town. They live in Austin but they were leaving on a cruise from Galveston and stopped in Houston to go to the temple. Sam was really excited to see his companion and I was excited to meet him and his wife. They have the coolest story of how they met. In the upper corner on Facebook, it says Suggested Friends. He saw an itty-bitty picture of her, thought she was pretty, so he sent her a message. They had a few friends in common and it just went from there.

Some friends from our ward babysat for us and we went out to dinner to a Mediterranean restaurant. It was really fun and it was nice to get to know them. Steve is finishing up his Masters and Erica is a psychologist. After dinner, we picked up the boys from the sitters and then came home and put the boys to bed. They have only been married for a year so they don't have any kids yet.

Photobucket

We played Ticket to Ride, ate seven layer dip and fondue, and talked for hours. It was so nice and I was talking about how much fun I had for a week. I really wish they lived closer. We are going to plan a trip to see them in Austin soon!

Photobucket

2.19.2012

Something I Hate To Do

Today was really busy. I got home from church, and went visiting teaching. I got home, started dinner, then our home teachers came over. I finished dinner, we ate, and then I ran out the door to a Youth Fireside. So the dishes are piled up. I really hate doing the dishes. I made dinner, can't the dishes just do me the courtesy of disappearing? They can take the messy floor with them.

Photobucket

2.18.2012

Drink

Tonight was our Stake Women's Conference. The theme was President Uchtdorf's Forget Me Not talk. The three classes I chose to go to were Forget Not to be Happy Now, Forget Not to be Patient with Yourself, and Forget Not That the Lord Loves You.

This conference came at the perfect time for me and was exactly what I needed to hear. It wasn't even the topic of any of the classes, but I feel like I need to do more service. I am so concerned with the presentation of the service, and I need to be more concerned with the action. Having service rejected would feel better than finding out I didn't serve someone who needed it.

I mostly drink water now. So that doesn't make for a very exciting picture. But dinner and dessert were both delicious. Dinner was catered by Olive Garden and for dessert I had chocolate toffee cake. Amazing.

Photobucket

Also, Sam is amazing. A few days ago, we dragged this dresser home from someone's garbage pile. It was a little broken and I was worried that it would sit on our to-do list for weeks. Sam sent me this picture while I was at Women's Conference! He did it all himself! He went to Home Depot, bought the wood pieces to replace the broken ones, painted them black to match, and screwed everything together. None of our furniture in our room matches, but it was all free, so that's cool. I am really impressed by Sam!

Photobucket

2.17.2012

Time

My job is to teach my kids, play with them, feed them, and love them. Pretty simple, right? Except that I always act like I don't have time for them to make messes. But we have lots of time. So today I let them make lots of messes. I had to sweep the kitchen floor four times today, but they both had lots of fun.

Photobucket
Alex traced his fingers with markers. I tried to tell him that crayons are better suited for finger tracing.

Photobucket
Edison loves strawberries. He covers everything when he eats them.

The boys got haircuts and baths and the kitchen is clean again. Then Alex had an ice cream cone and got himself all sticky again. I think that means today was a great day. I am so glad I have time for my boys. Staying home with them is the best decision I have made as a mother.

2.16.2012

Something New

Alex has been complaining about his right eye hurting for a few months. A month ago, I set up an appointment with an pediatric ophthalmologist for today! This was definitely a new experience, one that I don't think Alex wants to repeat anytime soon. I should have gotten a babysitter for Edison. They wanted me to put Alex on my lap to help him hold still but Edison was causing all sorts of problems when I tried to do that. The assistant and doctor were both so great with Alex; singing him songs, talking to him about his toys, and telling stories. It was really nice.

Photobucket

Alex hated the eye drops. He was squirming so much. But his eyes were dilated (so dilated, they look ready to push out a baby) and the doctor shined lots of pretty lights at him. Turns out, his eyes are totally fine. The doctor said his eyes look very healthy. Since there was never any redness when Alex complained, I am just going to keep an eye on it and maybe get him checked in another year when he is more descriptive about the pain. Meanwhile, I let out a huge sigh of relief. My precious little boy's eyes are okay!

Photobucket

2.15.2012

Phone

Why do all kids love cell phones so much? Edison will do anything to get my phone in his mouth. Even Sam's cell phone cover is better than all of our toys. Toy cell phones are pretty cool, too.

Photobucket

2.14.2012

Heart

Last night we babysat our friends' kids. It was awesome. We played games and Alex was bouncing off the walls. He loved it. Tonight, they babysat Alex and Edison so Sam and I got to go on a date. I think our friends got the short end of the stick because their kids are much older and so we didn't have to change diapers. Alex had lots of fun and he even got to make his very own "Feeling the Love" craft.

Photobucket

We used a Christmas gift card and went to Texas Land and Cattle (Thanks, Mom and Dad Merkley!). Our dinner cost over $50 so it was a good thing we had a gift card! It was very tasty and we look forward to going again and using the rest of our Christmas gift card there!

Photobucket
Sam reading my mushy love note.

I cannot remember ever going out on Valentine's Day before. It was really busy. We had a reservation so we got seated immediately, but on our way out (at 8:30pm), we heard them telling people the wait would be an hour and fifteen minutes.

We went to Ben and Jerry's for free ice cream but the deal had ended already, so we went to Berripop instead, since we had a gift card there. But it was closed. So we went to Tutti Frutti for frozen yogurt. So many flavors! We hadn't been to a frozen yogurt place outside of Utah before, but they are everywhere now!

Photobucket

This didn't happen today, but it fits in with the Valentine's Day theme. We made a love wreath for FHE a few weeks ago.

Photobucket

2.13.2012

Blue

Having three boys in the house, there is a lot of blue around. We have balls and cars in every corner of our house. I wanted to post a picture of us all wearing our blue jeans, but my boys will not stay still! So it's just my jeans here. I wear these jeans six days a week. I have worn out all of my other pants, and I am changing sizes too much to warrant (in my mind) buying more. I wash them twice a week. Is anyone grossed out yet? I love these jeans.

Photobucket

2.12.2012

Inside My Closet

I do not usually sit inside my closet. This picture was posed because it has been a contemplative weekend and the closet seems like a good place to think.

Photobucket

Yesterday, my friend and visiting teacher was offended by this post about when she cut my hair. She commented and asked me to remove the picture of her stating that "it is extremely unethical as a blogger, and terribly rude as a friend, to post pictures of another person without their express permission..." I was not at home at the time I received the email with her comment. I immediately stepped outside and called her. She did not answer so I left a message explaining that I would remove the picture when I got home. When I got home, I did just that. Then I received a Facebook notification saying she had written on my wall saying the same thing she had posted as a comment on my blog. I noticed she had also posted the same thing as her own status, claiming that she had a right to publicly defend herself.

I was confused by how this had blown up. First, I am still unsure as to what she was angry about. It seemed like she was angry about the picture being posted, "especially when the pic of you is when you are looking your worst." I never said her name in the original post and she was not looking at the camera in the picture. Then I thought she was offended because I didn't like the haircut. But as a hairstylist, she has to be familiar with the feeling of people not liking a haircut. I would like to state that I now love my haircut. When I called my friend yesterday, I said that I would even have her cut my hair again. The only thing I do not like is that one piece of hair was cut too short and does not fit in a ponytail. If you know me, you know that my hair is in a ponytail more often than it is down. Then I thought maybe she was angry about my making it public. But that didn't make sense since her backlash to that was to make it... more public? My page visits tripled yesterday!

I am writing all of this not to gossip, but to give a background for my feelings. I am fully aware that my blog is public. I keep it this way because I welcome everyone to read it. I am proud of my family, my opinions, and my life. With that said, this is my blog. It is a place for me to write my thoughts, feelings, and opinions about things. I am not campaigning with these opinions. You may come to the blog, agree, and come again. Or come to the blog, disagree, and never come back. Or you can realize that people have different opinions, and come back again. Having a public blog means I welcome one and all. I don't care if particular people do or do not read it. I like having readers though and I frequently track my readers. I know their demographics and frequency in visiting my blog. I am aware that complete strangers, friends, and people in between read my blog.

My friend's Facebook post was quickly inundated with hateful comments about me. Things that I knew I shouldn't read, but I did anyway. Things like, "For real, unfriend that person, electronically and in real life. I don't even know her and can tell she exudes drama and 'look at me' in a complaining/high maintenance way. No time for that! She's not even worth all this." Or "Consider this my gift of exhortation. I'll give you some examples: getting your haircut because your kids and husband mess with it too much, b.s., can't put it in a ponytail anymore, b.s., you have a blog post dedicated to your hair cut, that you are complaining about, that a friend did for you, for crying out loud! That, in and of itself, exudes drama."

Whew. Okay. I have so many, many, many issues with me "exuding drama" since the drama was clearly propagated by my friend. However, I was going to turn the other cheek here. I wanted this all behind me. So today I approached my friend at church and asked her if she wanted to talk. She said, "No." I told her I wanted to resolve this like adults. She quickly walked away. My hope in discussing it with her was to understand what she was feeling so I could compensate for those feelings. I never intended for her to be offended and hoped to repair our friendship, especially considering she is my visiting teacher.

I have talked to Sam, my mother, my mother-in-law, and my sister-in-law about this situation. I have received excellent advice and tried to handle the situation with as much grace as is possible. I am not very good at controlling myself sometimes. I had to vent to Sam to keep myself from yelling at the people who were judging me so harshly, and so undeservedly.

My sister-in-law told me about a phrase in Spanish that says, "Caras vemos, corazones no sabemos." It translates to "Faces we see, hearts we don't know." I wish my friend would talk to me so we could resolve our mutual distaste for this situation. However, since she refuses to talk to me and would rather talk about me, I am forced to deal with this myself; trying to piece together my heart about this situation. I wish she had not assumed what my intentions were, as the assumption was completely off base. I never intended to offend her. I was recapping my own thoughts and feelings about the haircut. On my blog.

We are way too sensitive about ourselves and not sensitive enough about other people. My friend has since removed these posts from our walls. I hope this has brought a softening of her heart, as it has mine.

2.11.2012

Makes Me Happy

Today was a pretty eventful day! We went to a birthday party, had dinner with friends, and Edison decided to start climbing and walking. What?! He took five steps today. Our rule is 10 steps to call it official walking, but we are so proud of him. He looks super cute walking with his arms flailing all over the place. Tonight, he was standing on the bench of the kiddy table. Standing on it! Not holding onto anything and standing on a bench over the tile. I was panicking as I ran to get him. He is growing up really fast! It looks like we've got another climber on our hands. It makes me happy to see Edison grow and develop. He loves us unconditionally and is such a sweetheart.

Photobucket

Photobucket

2.10.2012

Self Portrait

Self portraits are a funny thing. I am not going to post a picture and then say, "Oh look how terrible I look!" Oh no. I took a few pictures. One of which I took at the gym. My face could not have been any more red. Then I took this picture and I was like, "Dang! I am smokin' hot!" So there's my self portrait. Let's pretend I look like this all the time.

Photobucket

But so as to not lower anyone's self-esteem because they don't look as awesome as I do, here's a crazy face picture. The spawn of Crazy got into the picture, too.

Photobucket