Saturday, December 27, 2008

Christmas 2008


Christmas 2008 started out with me just about having a nervous breakdown. We lost power at 3:45pm Christmas Eve! We had no idea how long it would be out so I started frantically packing the suitcase to take to Grandma's the next day while I still had a tiny bit of light, not knowing whether we were going to have to pack up all of Christmas to take to Grandma's that night also. THANKFULLY the power was only out for an hour but it sure was not the way I wanted to start our Christmas festivities. Since we had no power, we got a late start on our Christmas program that evening. Darcy was in no mood to play baby Jesus laying quietly in a manger, or laundry basket in her case. The other kids weren't real thrilled with their parts either. We got it all on video and I'm sure we will watch it someday and laugh. Not yet though! Mason made sure we left chocolate milk and cookies out for Santa. I made some low-fat spicy-oatmeal-cranberry-chocolate chip cookies that were pretty disgusting but the big guy must have liked them since there were only crumbs left on the napkin in the morning.


Mason woke up at 6am but wasn't very interested in Christmas. He wanted his chocolate milk and to watch a show. I don't think he gets what Christmas is yet! Drew was up about 15 minutes later and then we got started on the gifts. All Drew wanted for Christmas was a Spin Art. And not the Crayola Color Explosion, the old school cheap-o kind. Santa searched far and wide but was finally able to deliver. I need to find refills already! Mason got a train set that he has been playing with nonstop too. Darcy really couldn't have cared less about it all but she got a Curious George Jack-in-the-box that Mason has pretty much adopted as his own. We tried to be a bit more frugal this Christmas with all the economic uncertainty going around, but the kids seemed to be happy with what they received so it turned out to be a good Christmas.


Here we are at my parent's house. We headed south on Christmas morning to spend time with my side of the family. It started to dump snow at 10am so we threw what we had left to pack in the car and headed out so we were sure to get out of our neighborhood. Once we got to highway 30 it was smooth sailing for the most part, but our neighborhood was a mess leaving, and also when we got home on the evening of the 26th. The ruts were so deep and iced over that we got stuck 3 feet from our driveway. Paul had to dig a path through the ice for the car to turn because we could not get through. ARGH!!!!!!! But I digress. . .We had a yummy Christmas dinner and gift exchange with my family and then a night of games and visiting. We stayed the night at my parent's and I got no sleep because each kid took it in turn to screech or cry or sit straight up out of a sound sleep and start talking. Put us all in one room and chaos reigns!


This is kind of funny in that I requested that there not be any computer gaming by the big boys at the Christmas gathering because it turns in to too much of a production and not a lot of visiting gets done, just shooting. But I guess the kids didn't get the same instructions because all the cousins showed up with their little individual hand held games! They all got along great, probably because all their heads were stuck in their own games. Nice family togetherness.


Grandma and Grandpa on the morning of the 26th. Dad makes buttermilk pancakes that his dad taught him how to make and they are the best. "The greatest pancakes in the world," according to Drew. And that is saying a lot since Drew is the pickiest eater I have ever met, when she decides to eat that is. She barely eats anything anyway, but put her in a room full of people and she wont eat a bite. But she did clean her plate of pancakes and layrup (sp), a whipped cream, sugar, and vanilla concoction that has been a staple on my family's breakfast table for generations. Man that stuff is good, and totally good for you too!


On the afternoon of the 26th we spent time with Paul's family and opened even more gifts and ate even more good food! Its nice to have both sides of the family all in one town, but it is also dificult at times to spen time with both sides and feel like enough visiting was done. The annual ornament from Grandma was in honor of Darcy's birth this year. They are beautiful hand carved ornaments of the nativity scene, made of olive wood in Bethlehem. Thanks grandma!


When we got home at 10:30pm on the 26th Paul busted out the fire pit my parents gave us for Christmas. I don't know if he had some sort of breakdown and thought he was back in the warm August evening, camping at the coast, or if he truly enjoys sitting outside in 35 degree weather with shorts and tennis shoes on, watching a fire burn. Maybe he was dreaming of the green grass we encountered as we headed south of Salem. I was so excited when I saw it again I told Paul I wanted to strip down to my skivies and romp around in the beautiful green grass! For some reason he didn't stop the car to let me.


Our final tally on Christmas Eve was 16 inches of standing snow in our back yard. If I never see a snowflake again it will be too soon. There is a reason I live in western Oregon, I love the rain, not the snow. Salvation came for me today when a snow plow actually plowed our street. I was so excited I wanted to run outside and clap and offer the driver some hot chocolate! After 14 days of snow on the road, the city finally felt it was our turn to have our road plowed. I guess I should be thankful it happened at all!

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Round Two!








This "winter" we have been hit hard with the freezing cold and the snow. Today was the second snow fall in 4 days! That is crazy for this part of the country. I seem to remember hearing the prediction for this winter was MAYBE one snow event on the valley floor. HA! It isn't even winter yet and they are predicting a few more snowy days up till Christmas Eve! Yikes! I am fighting a severe case of cabin fever! I need to get out of this house but I really don't want to take my kids out on the slippery roads just so I can assure myself that there are still people alive out there besides my family. Today was great snow for building snowmen. I put Drew to the task of rolling a head for our snowman and she ended up with a ball larger than the base I had made! Paul decided to see just how big he could make it so we ended up with a gargantuan snowman who towers over our 6 foot tall fence! I fear we will have a snowbuddy in our back yard for months to come. That guy will never melt!

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Happy Anniversary!

6 years ago today Paul and I were married in the Portland Oregon Temple. After a 10 month courtship, we tied the knot. To this day Paul claims he was duped into marrying me by our Bishop who supposedly told him I had a bunch of money! HA! But I always remind him that he drove himself to the Temple that fateful Saturday morning of his own free will so he's the one to blame. He could have kept on heading north on I5 if he wanted to but he chose to marry me. What a guy! This first picture is somewhat of an engagement picture. Paul took me on a motorcycle ride into the hills of Corvallis, OR and proposed to me in a ditch in some stranger's driveway. We had a gorgeous view of the city lights and the star filled sky. It was a perfect proposal! The motorcycle played a large role in our engagement because his purchase of it is what finally broke my silence on our plans for the future. I fugured if he was willing to spend money on a motorcycle he wasn't planning financially for a future with me. So thanks to the motorcycle, communication lines opened and we decided to get married.
Aren't we babies!? Ah, fresh newlyweds, shiny in love, throwing a reception in the gym of the local Mormon church. Its free, right? I threatened Paul with no honeymoon if he shoved cake in my face. I just don't find it funny and he luckily agreed.

Here we are on our Honeymoon in New Orleans. We are on a riverboat on the Mississippi River. Very cool. N'awlins is a crazy town! I'm glad I visited it once but that is probably one place I will never visit again.
As I was thinking over the last , or first, six years of our marriage, I came up with TONS of some pretty major events: Road trips to Alaska, Michigan, Niagara Falls, Colorado, Maine, Boston, New York City, Washington, D.C., and everywhere in between! The passing of my wonderful Father-in-Law the week before my son was born, the birth of 3(!) kids, the passing of 3 of my grandparents, buying a home for the first time, Paul graduating from college and getting a great job at Intel, the marriages of siblings and births of nieces and nephews, health scares from various family members, and the ups and downs of everyday life. These have been 6 years of great times and some pretty sad times, but over all I have had a great and truly blessed life since I decided to drop my stubborness and agree to marry my best friend. Thanks Paul for loving me, for standing by me, for accepting me, for calming me down more times than I can count, and for being the great daddy you are to our 3 babies. I love you TONS and look forward to the next 6 years and beyond!


Tuesday, December 9, 2008

What's That Smell?

These pictures are pretty gross, I apologize, but this had to be documented! This afternoon I was making lunch and I caught a whiff of Darcy's nasty prune juice poop. The poop Drew thinks smells good, "like fruit snacks!" YUCK! I looked over at Darcy in her play thing and I see a puddle of poop at the bottom and her little feet smearing it around. YUCK! Some of you know that Darcy has been severely constipated since before Thanksgiving since I gave her bananas without thinking about what they might do to her poor little body. They stopped her up good! I have been forcing prunes and prune juice down her every chance I could get for days now, and it looks like it finally all caught up to her! These pictures do not even tell half the story. Unfortunately I was in poop up to my armpits and couldn't take more pictures! She was covered in the stuff, from her neck to her toes, poor baby! It was all I could do not to add my vomit to the mess as I cleaned her up. This was the biggest blow out I've had to deal with as a mommy. Hopefully I will never see one of this magnitude again! I am happy to say Darcy is probably cleaned out now and much more comfortable. I think its time to lay off the prunes!


Monday, December 8, 2008

You think MY tree looks big?




Paul has decided to be very generous and let me post the picture of the Christmas tree his family put up the first Christmas we were married. We all went out together and Paul and I picked out a nice, small, noble fir, but his parents and brother picked out a full grown tree! They practically needed to hire a logger to fall this puppy! As you can see, hopefully, by the picture, in order to get it in the house and upright, they had to cut the bottom AND top off the tree so what you see is just a solid wall of square tree! This is one of my favorite Christmas memories. Not necessarily one of my favorite trees, but the memory always makes me laugh. Paul is lucky I still decided to marry him after I saw what my future in-laws were capable of! I would just like to add that I have the best in-laws in the world. I am so very lucky!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Reading List

I picked up this list from my library when I was a firefighter and I had a lot of down time sitting in my fire truck waiting for a fire to spark! There are at least 150 classic literature books listed here and I only have 6 left I think. They are proving difficult to find but I am determined to finish this list. There are some great books here, and some not-so-great but are must-reads anyway. I'm referring to Hemmingway, I am not a fan of his. Have fun reading and expanding your literary mind! I have put an asterisk next to the books I really enjoyed.

Adams - Watership Down
Adamson - Born Free
Alcott - Little Women
Anderson - Winesburg, Ohio
Austen - Emma
Austen - Pride and Prejudice *
Baldwin - Go Tell It On The Mountain
The Bible
Boulle - The Bridge Over the River Kwai *
Bradbury - Fahrenheit 451
Bradbury - The Martian Chronicles
Bronte - Jane Eyre
Bronte - Wuthering Heights
Buck - The Good Earth
Bunyan - The Pilgrim’s Progress
Burgess - A Clockwork Orange
Camus - The Plague
Camus - The Stranger
Carroll - Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Cather - Death Comes For the Archbishop
Cather - My Antonia
Cervantes - Don Quixote
Chaucer - The Canterbury Tales *
Clarke - 2001; A Space Odyssey
Conrad - Heart of Darkness
Conrad - Lord Jim
Cooper - The Last of the Mohicans
Crane - The Red Badge of Courage
Dana - Two Years Before the Mast
Defoe - Robinson Crusoe
Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Dickens - David Copperfield
Dickens - Great Expectations *
Dickens - Oliver Twist
Dickens - A Tale of Two Cities
Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Dostoyevsky - Crime and Punishment
Doyle - Sherlock Holmes (Several Titles)
Dreiser - Sister Carrie
Drury - Advise and Consent
Du Marier - Rebecca *
Dumas - The Count of Monte Cristo *
Dumas - The Man in the Iron Mask
Dumas - The Three Musketeers
Eliot - The Mill on the Floss
Eliot - Silas Marner *
Faulkner - The Sound and the Fury
Ferber - Cimarron
Fielding: Tom Jones
Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
Flaubert - Madame Bovary
Forbes - Johnny Tremain
Forsyth - The Day of the Jackal
Gilbreth - Cheaper by the Dozen
Golding - Lord of the Flies *
Greenberg - I Never Promised You a Rose Garden
Grey - Riders of the Purple Sage
Griffin - Black Like Me
Hardy - The Mayor of Casterbridge
Hardy - The Return of the Native
Hardy - Tess of the D’Ubervilles *
Hawthorne - The House of the Seven Gables
Hawthorne - The Scarlet Letter
Heller - Catch-22
Hemingway - A Farewell to Arms
Hemingway - For Whom the Bell Tolls
Hemingway - The Old Man and the Sea
Hemingway - The Sun Also Rises
Herbert - Dune
Herriot - All Things Bright and Beautiful
Hersey - Hiroshima
Hesse - Siddhartha
Hilton - Lost Horizon
Homer - The Illiad
Homer - The Odyssey
Hudson - Green Mansions
Hugo - The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Hugo - Les Miserables *
Huxley - Brave New World
James - The Turn of the Screw
Joyce - Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Kafka - The Metamorphosis
Keyes - Flowers for Algernon
Kesey - One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Kipling - The Jungle Book
Knowles - A Separate Peace
Lawrence - Sons and Lovers
Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird *
Lewis - Arrowsmith
Lewis - Babbitt
Lewis - Elmer Gantry
Lewis - Main Street
London - The Call of the Wild
Malory - King Arthur (Several Titles) *
Maugham - Of Human Bondage
McCullers - The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
Melville - Billy Budd
Melville - Moby Dick
Mitchell - Gone With the Wind ******
Nordhoff - Mutiny on the Bounty *
Orczy - The Scarlet Pimpernel
Orwell - 1984
Pasternak - Doctor Zhivago
Paton - Cry, The Beloved Country
Plath - The Bell Jar
Rawling - The Yearling
Remarque - All Quiet on the Western Front
Roberts - The Northwest Passage *
Rolvaag - Giants in the Earth
Rostand - Cyrano De Bergerac
Salinger - The Catcher in the Rye *
Saroyan - The Human Comedy
Scott - Ivanhoe
Shelley - Frankenstein
Shute - On the Beach *
Sinclair - The Jungle
Solzhenitsyn - A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Spark - The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Steinbeck - The Grapes of Wrath
Steinbeck - Of Mice and Men
Steinbeck - The Pearl
Steinbeck - The Red Pony
Stevenson - Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Stevenson - Kidnapped
Stevenson - Treasure Island
Stoker - Dracula *
Stowe - Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Swift - Gulliver’s Travels
Thackery - Vanity Fair
Tolkien - The Lord of the Rings Trilogy *
Tolstoy - War and Peace *
Tolstoy - Anna Karenina *
Turgenev - Fathers and Sons
Twain - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Twain - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Twain - A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
Twain - Life on the Mississippi
Verne - Around the World in 80 Days
Virgil - The Aeneid
Voltaire - Candide
Vonnegut - Slaughterhouse-Five
Walker - The Color Purple
Warren - All the King’s Men
Wells - The Invisible Man
Wells - The Time Machine
Wells - The War of the Worlds
Wharton - Ethan Frome
White - The Once and Future King
Wilde - The Picture of Dorian Gray
Wilder - The Bridge of San Luis Rey
Williams - The Glass Menagerie
Wister - The Virginian
Wolfe - Look Homeward Angel
Wouk - The Caine Mutiny
Wright - Native son

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Whirlwind Weekend

As I said in my previous post, we spent Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday with Paul's family. We got home Friday evening and took down all the Thanksgiving decorations and started to put up some Christmas ones. Saturday morning we were up and out on the search for the perfect Christmas tree. We found a great place out in Goble that has u-cut trees, and we can get any sized noble fir for $20. That's good because we like them big! We walked around in the mist till we all settled on one, and since it was so big we had to have the guy working there cut it down with his chain saw. Then we borrowed the muscles of a couple other guys to get the tree on top of the car. Once home, Paul had the bright idea of hosing the tree off to get rid of the mud and dead needles. Worked great. We have a nice clean tree! My ornaments are just a mix with no real theme. I have a few Scarlett O'Hara keepsake ornaments but I think the rest have been given to us over the years. I put tinsel on my tree because it reminds me of our trees while I was growing up. I don't know that I have ever seen anyone else put it on their's. Is it a dying art form? Oh well, I like it.









Once we had our tree up and the lights on it, the OSU-U of O Civil War football game started. I am sorry to report that this tree trimming experience will probably be one of those that scar my children for life. They will always have memories of what a terrible time we had while mom and dad were screaming and yelling at their losing football team, instead of enjoying the spirit of Christmas and decorating the tree as a family. The tree was eventually finished, as were the Beavers' hopes of making it to the Rose Bowl, and apologies were tossed around. I know its just a game, but it wasn't just a game. I have sat through soooo many sopping wet Oregon State football games where we got our heads handed to us, and finally this year it looked like you could actually admit to being a fan. Guess not. They decided to throw away an awesome season to the Ducks, of all teams, and ruin their chance at the Rose Bowl. I am still disgusted and feel like wallowing a bit longer before I let it go!
Today seemed to be just as busy, getting things back in order before another hectic week starts. December's calendar is filling up fast and I don't foresee a lot of down time. January can't get here soon enough!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving this year was spent with Paul's side of the family. Every year we trade off on Thanksgiving and Christmas between our two families. Its been a great system so far and hopefully no one gets their feelings hurt because its already decided where we spend the holidays. We had Paul's brother Roland and his family (up from Nevada) spend the night with us on Wednesday before we all went to his sister Carmen's for dinner and a slumber party on Thursday. Carmen is the ultimate hostess so we had a great time. Good food, good company, and I barely saw the older two kids since they were so busy playing with cousins. I had some Black Friday shopping I wanted Paul to do at 5am Friday morning but he and his brothers-in-law like to stay up late playing shoot-em-up computer games. Carmen's rule was they couldn't start their games till 11pm, she wanted them to socailize with the rest of us. So I was sure there was no way Paul would be up in time to be at a store at 5. Well, being the efficient guy he is, he just never went to bed! The guys were still gaming at 4:45 when Paul had to get moving or else live with the wrath of Tiff. He did a great job and got what we were looking for for a good deal. I used to love the whole early morning Black Friday shopping but now I would rather just sleep.

Darcy reminds me of the kid in "The Christmas Story" when he gets that outfit from his aunt or grandma or whatever and his mom makes him put it on!

Drew's "feast" consisted of apples and dinner rolls. She is the pickiest eater!

Mason was all about potatoes and gravy!



Uncle Dan, Carmen's husband, carved the turkey. They were such great hosts. I'm not sure I would open my house to 21 people to eat and spend the night!
Its always fun to have a couple of days being immersed in family, but I think it is just as fun to come home with my little family and get back to normal. I am a homebody and its always in the back of mind that my own bed is waiting for me!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Vampires, Ghosts, and Things That go "Bump" in the Night

Vampires - I FINALLY saw Twilight last night, four long days after its release. Some of my thoughts during the first 1:23 minutes: Yikes, Ugh, Jasper looks constipated, I could be home sleeping, do I dare get up and walk out? These were not exactly the reactions I had anticipated, even though I had read many reviews which should have warned me. I think in the beginning of the movie I was as uncomfortable in my seat as some of the actors were on screen. I was never thrilled with the casting of "Cedric Diggory" as Edward and now I know why. He just wasn't Edward for me. And I'm not sure if I will be able to make it through "New Moon" if we get an even darker, more brooding Bella. She drove me crazy. Once the baseball game started I was a little more entertained, but not much. The movies are never as good as the books (except for Last of the Mohicans) so I am not surprised Twilight the movie just didn't do much for me. I'm sure I will rent it and watch it with Paul so he can get a taste of what all the hoopla is about, but you won't catch me in a theater watching it again. I still love the books!

Ghosts - My real "live" ghost story has been requested and I figure I better write it down before I forget it. I grew up in a haunted house. It wasn't ever "certified" (do they certify haunted houses?) but those of us living there knew it was. It was an old house that used to be a boarding house, and then a nursery until we finally took it over in pretty miserable conditions. My dad renovated the entire place over the 30 or so years of living there. Every room but the dark, dank, scary basement with rickety old wooden stairs. I don't know if the ghost always lived there or was just stuck in the basement because that was the one place untouched. We had food storage down there and an extra fridge so we were going down there all the time and nothing ever happened, but at night, you could hear someone walking up and down the basement stairs. My parents' room was right next to the door to the basement and dad will confess that he heard it all the time. Open the door and there was no one there. In order to get to the bathroom you have to pass by the door to the basement on the right, and the kitchen opened up on the left. One night a few years ago when I was home for a family gathering, I got up to use the bathroom. I was walking past the basement when I had something catch my eye in the kitchen. There, in all his glory, on the other side of the kitchen I swear was the ghost! He was a big guy, probably in his 50's, and I had the impression that he was a sailor. Maybe because of his white shirt, I don't really know. I kept on walking to the bathroom and he didn't seem to make a move. Once there, I literally had the pee scared out of me! With all my being I did not want to walk past that kitchen on the way back to my bed. I don't really even remember the walk back, whether I looked or not, but I took the stairs back to my room two at a time and jumped in bed! My parents have since moved and I don't think there was ever another sighting by my family, but I am sure I saw our ghost. He was a friendly guy I guess. I'm not sure why he chose to come out of the basement at last and I wonder if anyone ever hears from him anymore since he made the move.


Things That Go Bump in the Night - Seeing as how I am trying to be more positive and nicer to my kids, I would like to express my gratitude to them for devising this clever burglar trap in our front hall. I don't think there is a burglar alive who could navigate this gauntlet in the dead of night without ending up with a broken ankle. Thanks Drew and Mason for your thoughtfulness for our safety!

Friday, November 21, 2008

I Am Thankful For. . .

Since we are nearing Thanksgiving, I thought I should come up with a few things I am thankful for, right at this very minute. I am trying to be more positive in my thinking and actions and this seems like a good way to start.

1) I am thankful for my relatively good health. My feet seem to be miraculously feeling better and my thyroid feels like it is under control. My re-root canal went as well as could be hoped for and it looks like it will work without me having to have surgery instead. I am so grateful I live in an age where there are trained doctors to diagnose and help me with my problems.










2) I am thankful for the health of my children. I have been following the blog of an acquaintance whose daughter was born 2 months ago with a kidney tumor. It breaks my heart to follow the process of the newborn receiving chemotherapy, and the effect this has had on her entire family. I admire my friend's strength and faith. I cannot express how thankful I am that I have never had major health issues with my children. Though they are spoiled rotten monsters at times, at least they are healthy spoiled rotten monsters!





3) I am thankful for Paul's new job. It has been a week and we seem to be doing alright with the change. I am grateful for the change it has brought us, even though it has been tough at times, change is good. It keeps me from becoming complacent and stuck in a rut. It keeps me on my toes and my mind active as I try to figure out the new best way to do things. I am also thankful that I am not the only adult home at night anymore. I'm not a big scaredy cat, I swear I've seen a real "live" ghost and lived to tell the tale, but I never enjoyed the idea that I was solely resposible for my children's safety all night. Of course nothing ever happened, but it seems like most weird stuff happens at night, or maybe I've just seen too many movies! Anyway, I am thankful Paul is home to keep us safe.

4) I am thankful for modern technology and the opportunity it has allowed me to keep in touch with, and reconnect with old friends. Whether through blogging, Facebook, text messages, e-mails, you name it. I would never have kept up with old friends if the only means of communication we had was writing letters or the telephone. Too time consuming.

5) I am thankful for friends. I have some great friends. Friends who thankfully understand that I am a better long distance friend than a next door friend. I feel like I know them and care about them just as much from a distance as I would if I saw them every day. I am also thankful for new friends who open my eyes and give me new things to think about. I appreciate being challenged in my thinking and invited to see other sides to things. It keeps me from getting too comfortable with myself and believing that I am right about everything.

That's what is on my mind at the moment. Ask me tomorrow and I would probably come up with an entirely different list. Happy Thanksgiving.

Monday, November 17, 2008

"Normal" Family?

Today Paul started his new day shift job at Intel! We have been looking forward to this since he got the job in July I think, but due to circumstances beyond our control it has taken till mid-November for the job to really start. We are sooooooo excited. I kept telling everyone we will finally be a "normal" family with Paul home on the weekends and evenings and I will no longer feel like a single mom. Maybe I spoke a little too soon! As much as we didn't like the weekend night shift, we were in a groove with it. Now its all uncharted territory for me. I used to be able to schedule appointments on Monday or Tuesday and Paul would be home to watch the kids. Now I have to either find a babysitter or take all three kids with me everytime I step out the door. That will take some getting used to. This morning I had to pack up the whole crew to take Drew to preschool and I will do it again in an hour to pick her up. It could get annoying but I think we will get used to it. I am really looking forward to the structure it will give us. I will get Darcy on a set nap schedule so she won't be sleeping when its time to get Drew, and we should develop a pretty good routine now, I hope! I know most Moms are doing this already so I know I can do it too. It will take getting used to but I am excited to try. So far so good, but then its only 10am on Monday morning!

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Pardon My Pride



Drew gave her first talk in Primary today! The Prayer and Scripture didn't go so well a few months ago so I wasn't sure what to expect this time, but she got up there and delivered her talk on prayer. I was so proud of her. It makes me nervous to speak in front of a big asssembly so I was thrilled she pulled it off. Preschool and Primary have done wonders for her shyness. I am so thankful for that.

Mason survived his second straight Nursery class today without Paul or I being in there with him. This is big news as he has been in Nursery for almost a year now. Last week we finally decided to just drop him off and leave. It helped that there is another teacher in there now. We figured if it got too bad they could always come get us but so far Mason has made it through, with some crying, yes, but overall I think he is doing OK. If there are parents out there who have observed differently then let me know! I am so proud of Mason too. I love to get through these stages with my kids and move on to bigger and better ones.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Odds and Ends


Darcy, Darcy, Darcy. . .My littlest sweetheart turned 4 months old today. Time flies! My thriving 3 month old has turned into a finicky 4 month old. Darcy has always been a good nurser till just a few days ago. It seems like she just can't get enough to eat and its wearing me out. So I busted out the formula and she absolutely refused to eat the Similac. Luckily I had some Enfamil samples on hand and she grudgingly downed a couple ounces of that. I guess its my fault, I spoiled her by nursing exclusively. Nursing didn't work with Drew, and Mason got tired of me before he turned 4 months, so I was excited that it was working so well with Darcy. Maybe I should have introduced formula sooner so she wouldn't be so set in her ways. Surprisingly she was eating the rice cereal we gave to her for the first time this morning. That should hopefully help fill up her tummy a bit and take some pressure off of me. Other than eating challenges, Darcy is growing and growing. She seems to be too long for all her clothes, but chunky-wise she is still OK. Totally different from her siblings. They were fat babies and you could tell just by looking at them. Darcy hides her rolls well on her upper thighs and the back of her neck! She is working on her tummy muscles and would LOVE to sit up and play with Drew and Mason. She is always smiling and she makes the rest of us very happy to have her around!


She's a pro at funny faces



MMMMM, rice cereal!




Drew loves to play in the leaves. She loves Halloweeen. SHE LOVES FALL. It was wet and cold outside but she insited we get out there and make a pile of leaves to jump in. I wish I had her enthusiasm for the simple things. I love to watch how excited she gets over all the little things. But then, at this point in her life, most things are little things. I can't wait for Christmas with her this year.





Little brother doing whatever big sister is doing, whether he really likes it or not. Its enough that Drew likes it!

Friday, October 31, 2008

Trick-Or-Treat!


Darcy wasn't real thrilled. She and I quit early.


I think they were waiting for the door to magically open without them having to knock.



The candy haul. Plenty for little bodies.

I am a bit disappointed with Halloween this year. Usually the neighborhood is full of kids that knock on our door for hours. We had 2 kids after 8pm. And I bet there were at least two dark houses to every one house giving out candy. I wonder what was different this year. One of my favorite things about our neighborhood is how great a place it is on Halloween. Not so this year. We were stuck with tons of candy but luckily Paul had to go to work so he took it all with him. Drew and Mason had a good time, once they realized they actually had to ring the doorbell if they wanted any candy! I guess I will shift gears now and focus on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Hopefully next year will be a bit better.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Pumpkin Carving Time


So this is our finished product, the pictures were uploaded in the wrong order. I'm still new to this!



This is Drew's first ever attempt at carving her own pumpkin. She did pretty well with a little help from mom and dad. Her's is the one eyed monster pumpkin.



And here are my angelic children (ha!) getting ready to carve their "pumpkin patch," as Mason calls pumpkins. Its usually cold and wet by now and I've always carved pumpkins indoors at night, but since the weather was so nice this year, I borrowed a friend's idea and we carved our pumpkins outside in the sunshine in the middle of the afternoon! Too crazy, I don't like change, but it worked out. We had fun and called it our Family Home Evening.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

"Super Why" Mason


Mason wanted to be Super Why from the PBS kids show for Halloween this year. Luckily we have an Incredibles costume that he thinks is good enough for Super Why. He has been wearing this costume day and night for the past week, including the mask that squishes his eyes, nose, and ears, and the hot and sweaty rubber boots. He is happy with it and it cuts down on my laundry so I'm not complaining! He just makes me laugh. Last night I was helping him with his prayer and I said "Thank Thee," thinking he would repeat after me like usual, but instead he said "pumpkin patch, apples." I had to stop myself from laughing. I love to watch his mind expand and grasp new concepts every day. He is speaking in mostly complete sentences now and putting ideas together. He's becoming a real person!

Saturday, October 18, 2008

100 Things About Me

I love to read these lists about everyone else so I decided I would attemp to come up with 100 things about myself that are both interesting enough to share, and things that I am actually willing to share. Here goes:

1. I am number 4 of 7 kids. Right smack dab in the middle. And yes, I have middle-child issues.
2. I was born in Astoria, OR.
3. I have 5 sisters and most of us look alike. I was always sure that when people in our town talked to me after I came home from college they had no idea which Nedry girl they were talking to.
4. I grew up in Naselle, WA. A town of less than 1000 people, with no stoplights or sidewalks. 23 kids in my graduating class.
5. My school was pink! It sat on a hill at the main intersection in town so there was no missing it.
6. I sucked my thumb till I was 8.
7. I loved to go “froggin’” in the summer in the ditch that ran by our house.
8. We lived with my grandparents for 3 summers while my mom earned her Master’s Degree at OSU. They were from the Depression-Era and nothing was thrown away. Grandma was going to make me eat my tuna sandwich that had milk spilled on it till my mom intervened. Thanks mom. I lived with the same grandma for 3 years while I was at OSU. She was the best!
9. We used to pick up apples that my dad shook from a tree in an old lady’s field but we had to be very quiet the entire time. Hmmm, looking back now, I think I can figure out why!
10. Same thing with cutting down Christmas trees. We would all go out in the state forest and cut down a tree and we would have to be very quite the entire time. It makes me laugh now to realize why.
11. I had braces and a mullet at the same time. Not a good time for me.
12. I played Volleyball, Basketball, and Softball all 4 years in high school. Except I quit softball my Junior year in order to breath. I was class president and putting on Prom at the time. I played again my Senior year.
13. I was the Treasurer of my high school. I still LOVE paying bills and balancing my checkbook.
14. I went to BYU for 3 years and I finally was able to flunk myself out so I didn’t have to go back. I HATED it there. But I made some very good friends that I still keep in touch with, 17 years later!
15. I went on a few blind dates at BYU. They were bad. One guy was making a Jackalope movie for America’s Funniest Home Videos. Need I say more?
16. I was a communications major at BYU. I wanted to be the one on the sidelines of football games interviewing the players and coaches.
17. I twice danced with Heini, of The Jetts, at the Ivy Tower in Provo, which is funny since I always made fun of his name and called him “the Singing Heini.” He was fine!
18. I was a danceaholic in college. Every week I was at the Ivy Tower or the Palace while at BYU, and the Peacock while at OSU. Good times.
19. I associate most memories with music. Paul is sick of my stories that go along with every song we hear on the radio.
20. 80’s music is my favorite. I also love R&B from the 90’s.
21. I have seen U2, Depeche Mode, Boys II Men, Billy Idol, Duran Duran, and Harry Connick Jr. twice in concert. The only other must-see on my list is George Michael, who was in Seattle 6 days before Darcy was born this summer or I would have gone to see him.
22. I am a sports fanatic. I live for college football and college basketball’s NCAA Tournament, and my grandparents taught me the thrill of watching golf for hours on tv. It really is an awesome sport.
23. I am willing to play any sport except soccer. Can’t stand it.
24. I once had my cheek bone broken in a game of team handball. I dive for badminton birdies. I am very competitive.
25. I worked for 6 summers as a wildland firefighter for the state of Washington. 5 of those years I was the engine leader so I got to drive the big truck and boss the boys around. I loved every minute of that job. I still get the urge to go back out on the firelines whenever I see them on the news or smell the smoke in the air.
26. Over the years I worked as a babysitter, on a crew at a wildlife refuge, Sizzler salad bar attendant, Crazy Jack’s Burger Shop, Shopko, Firefighter, made soles for Nike shoes at their sweatshop in Beaverton, Credit card call center, a few different jobs at HP, and as an On-line scorer of essays for college entrance exams.
27. I graduated with my BS in Exercise and Sport Science from OSU. My dream job is to be a high school Athletic Director.
28. I earned a letter at OSU. A big orange O for being on the tennis club team. We were awful but I still earned my college letter! I take more crap for that letter from my family!
29. I am a loner. I have no problem taking trips, seeing movies, or eating at restaurants alone. It’s a wonder I ever got married.
30. I never had any intention of getting married and having kids. I was always going to be the favorite aunt.
31. Because of this, I always dated guys I would never marry. Yep, most of them were total losers.
32. I have made many mistakes that I would love to say I regret, but looking back on them, I realize that they were all major life and attitude changing experiences that have brought me to where I am today. And I don’t regret that for a single second.
33. I am a “cup half-empty” type of person. I try to be more positive but it just isn’t in me.
34. I was on antidepressants (happy pills) for 6 months and luckily the synapses in my brain “learned” how to function properly and I haven’t had to take them since. I am not ashamed to admit it and I will scream it from the highest rooftop if it will convince someone in need to get help.
35. I have a crazy side effect from my happy pills though. I get tongue tied. Probably some of you have noticed. My mind gets way farther ahead of my speaking and it comes out in a jumble.
36. I met Paul at the University Ward in Corvallis. He was a student and I was working at HP.
37. When I first saw him I instantly thought “I’m going to date that guy.” I had no idea who he even was, and since he is 3 years younger than me I really had no intention of dating him. Crazy things happen at church!
38. I broke up with Paul a few times while we were dating because I knew we were headed toward marriage. One time he showed up at my door with a case of Dr. Pepper. I had to let him in.
39. I LOVE DR. PEPPER
40. I was 29 years old when I got married and 30 when I had my first baby.
41. Paul and I were married December 14, 2002 in the Portland Temple. We honeymooned in New Orleans. We weren’t very impressed so we rented a car and toured some of the southern states.
42. I love to travel and collect the states. I have seen 45 of our great states. So has Paul. The only problem is that we each need 4 different states, with only Oklahoma missing on both our lists.
43. Before we had kids, Paul and I drove from Corvallis up to Alaska, as far north as the Arctic Circle. It was around June 21st so it only got dark for an hour or so each night. Very weird. We made the 7,000 mile trip in 10 days. The last 5 we couldn’t find a shower, the drive is that primitive. We were used to our smell but my parents sent us straight to the shower when we got back to their house in Washington. Amazing trip, I highly recommend it but don’t take little kids!
44. I have a National Parks passport and I am determined to visit all the National Parks before I die.
45. I traveled to Mt. Rushmore, alone, and sat in front of it for hours. It is one of my favorite places. I also drove through the Badlands National Park right next to it, with Native American chants on the radio (the only thing that would come in). It was quite a spiritual experience.
46. My idea of fun is to be curled up in a chair reading a book and drinking a Dr. Pepper. ALONE.
47. I have read Gone With the Wind and its sequel, Scarlett, 15 times each. GWTW is my favorite book EVER. I don’t care for the movie though.
48. My favorite movies are random. Last of the Mohicans, Better Off Dead, Dirty Dancing, and Pride and Prejudice.
49. I love to quote movies, mostly obscure ones from the 80’s. My siblings and I are pros!
50. I don’t like red meat. If I eat it, it has to be cooked till its crispy.
51. My food never touches on my plate. I eat the potatoes first, veggie second, and meat last. Maybe that’s why I don’t like it, its always cold by the time I get to it.
52. I personify inantimate objects and attribute feelings to them. My cars all have names. I rotate the plates, glasses, silverware, underwear, Darcy’s spit rags, etc. so everything gets its turn and doesn’t feel left out. If a pea is left on someone’s plate I have to tell myself that it doesn’t want to be eaten in order to feel OK about it.
53. I can’t touch dry wood. It gives me the shivers and freaks me out. I won’t touch clothes pins, decks, wooden spoons, or anything with an unpolished wooden handle. My sisters used to chase me around the house with a wooden spoon and catch me and rub it on me. AHHHH!!!
54. The sound of bagpipes creates the same reaction.
55. I love the smell of vinegar, and pavement after it starts to rain.
56. My favorite sounds are the Tin Woodsman’s oil can when Dorothy is pumping it, and the sound of my fire engine driving over hot tar on country roads when it pops the melted bubbles.
57. I have always had a testimony of the truthfullness of the Gospel. I have not always lived in accordance with that testimony, I am sorry to say.
58. I am scared to death that I will someday have a Relief Society calling. I don’t do well speaking in front of peers. Makes me wonder why I thought I should be a communications major!
59. I am a “swing shifter.” I function best in the afternoon/evening.
60. I love to sleep. Anything less than 9 hours a night and I am dragging. But 9 hours doesn’t happen too often anymore. Is it bad of me to look forward to the day all my kids are gone so I can get a good night’s sleep?
61. I am very posessive of my own pillow and own blankets. I have passed that on to my kids.
62. I used to think I wasn’t an emotional person but I was kidding myself. I cry at the smallest things and get worked up over the smallest things.
63. Paul was the steadying influence my life so desperately needed when we met.
64. I am a mom of 3 gorgeous kids and am looking forward to popping out one more someday. Then I am done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
65. My children make me happier than I ever thought possible. I am so thankful my mind was changed for me and I got married and reproduced.
66. My husband is my best friend. He is my sounding board, he is my partner, he is just another one of my kids, he puts up with me, he makes me mad, he buys me the most random presents, and I will love him for eternity!
67. I don’t like my middle name but it is a family name so I deal with it.
68. I have horrible teeth. I swear I brush and floss all the time but I don’t think there is a tooth in my mouth that hasn’t had work done on it.
69. I have always struggled with self esteem (see #1) and weight issues. I was never meant to be skinny but I always seem to be bordering on the fat side.
70. My hair is naturally curly. I would never fix it this way on purpose!
71. My feet are cute in socks.
72. My mind is filled with useless knowledge and trivia. I tried out for “Jeopardy” once but didn’t make it past the first round. It is much harder in person than on tv.
73. A jigsaw puzzle is usually in the works on my dining room table. It has to be at least 1000 pieces or it isn’t worth my time. I also love logic puzzles and crossword puzzles.
74. Old Navy is where I buy all my kids clothes. I love to shop for them.
75. My favorite part of nature is the night sky.
76. One of my bucket list items is to star gaze from a ship on the ocean.
77. I have never been on a train or ridden a horse. I have ridden an elephant though.
78. Oregon weather is the best. Give me a day that is sunny and 73 or a day that is 45 and rainy and I’m a happy girl.
79. Fall is my favorite season with the colorful leaves, college football, Halloween, chilly nights. I love it!
80. I am not an animal lover. Especially house pet animals. Especially when other peoples’ house pets use my garden as a litter box.
81. I do have a thing for hippos, though. Always have, don’t know why.
82. I have wonderful family memories of camping at Mt. Rainier, eating buckwheat pancakes in the camper, and sharing a bed with a million siblings while dad got his own. That is still my very favorite place to camp.
83. The bulk of my Christmas shopping is usually done by Halloween.
84. My watch is set 5 minutes ahead and then I like to get places at least 5 miutes ahead of that so I will be sure I’m not late. Being late is one of my biggest pet peeves.
85. I am a chocaholic, thanks to my dad. Growing up, we made everything we could chocolate. Chocolate mush, tapioca pudding, waffles, bread pudding, etc.
86. Every spring when I was a kid I would have a dream about ants attacking me. That is my worst fear, critter-wise.
87. My other worst fear is one of my children dying. I don’t know how I would go on, I don’t know how others who really have lost a child go on. Its nothing I dwell on but I hope I never have to go through that.
88. I don’t appreciate those who feel the world owes them a happy life and they sit back and let someone else provide it for them, instead of getting out there and getting their boots muddy to create it for themselves.
89. My children will know what it means to work and to earn things for themselves.
90. I am not a patient person. I want things done to perfection the first time. That’s a fun trait to deal with when you have a house full of little kids!
91. I am not a spontaneous person either. I want things planned as far in advance as possible. I can’t just get up and go on a moment’s notice. I have dreams about this, where I am expected to be somewhere but I just can’t seem to get everything together that I need to in time.
92. I believe there is no such thing as a “normal” family life, though I did growing up. Its amazing how disfunctional your family becomes as you grow up and realize what life is really like.
93. I believe I am a strong person who can overcome anything. I have already come out on top of many struggles and I am sure there will be many more coming my way.
94. I never believed I could be as happy as I am now. I love my husband, my kids, the church, our ward family, our very own home, and the direction in which my life is heading.
95. I have a strong testimony of the power of the Holy Ghost, and also of geneology and Temple work.
96. Attending the Temple is one of the things that makes me most happy in this crazy world.
97. I worry about the last days, but I think I would sing Halleluiah if the Second Coming happened today. Get me out of this crazy world!
98. I have great friends who have stuck by me through very thick and thin. They are the best. Hopefully they might feel that way about me.
99. My name is spelled Tiffiny. No one spells is right. That is why I chose not to do funky spellings with my kids’ names.
100. My favorite color is blue!


Well that was much more difficult than I could have imagined. It was fun and I actually came to a couple of self-realizations doing this. Hopefully I didn’t bore you too much. Maybe now you will understand why I do some of the things I do when you are around me!

Monday, October 13, 2008

Pumpkin Patch Fun




We finally made it out to the pumpkin patch today. It had been on my agenda for weeks since I am notorious for getting things done much earlier than they need to be (like completing Christmas shopping before Halloween), but with Paul's work schedule, his jury duty, and the weather, we just got around to it today. And what fun we had. We threw on our boots and sweatshirts and we ended up hot with sore feet! Paul will be sore in the morning from carrying our big pumpkins across the entire field to catch the tractor back to our car. This patch we went to isn't my favorite but Drew like the tunnels in the hay pyramid so of course we did what Drew wanted to do. The walking around was murder on my feet and I am hating life right now but it was fun to be out there making memories with my kids. Hopefully they had a good time and will maybe remember the fun times we had when they grow up and blame us for everything that is wrong with their lives!

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Time Flies


Darcy is 3 months old today! I can hardly believe she has been here for that long. She has lost most of her newbornness and is turning into a functioning human being. I love this stage! She is sleeping through the night, more often than not, in her crib in her own room. She loves to sleep, but when she is awake she is extremely talkative and when she laughs it sounds like a little cough to clear her throat. I love it! She is such a sweetheart. The only thing that bugs me is that she has started sucking her thumb. With the other two we pushed the pacifier on them but Darcy chokes and gags whenever I try one with her, drama queen. I'm glad she has a source of comfort but you can't cut the top off of her thumb like you can a pacifier when she turns two and tell her its broken. I sucked my thumb for longer than I care to admit and it is not a battle I want to have with my kids. Hopefully she'll give it up early on her own so I don't have to deal with it. Yah right. Her new hair growing in is maybe a shade lighter than the original bright orange but she is still definitely a redhead. With her dark blue eyes I think she is gorgeous!

Drew's School Update:

Drew is having a good time at school, making lots of Halloween crafts. Its her favorite holiday so she is loving it! Her teacher no longer writes "Dawn" on her papers so maybe she is finally learning who my little girl is, and the reports about bad girls being mean have been occurring less frequently. Looks like we are finally settling in!

Tiff's Health Update:

I went to the doc for my feet today and finally had my x-rays taken. There is a nice, sharp, bone-spur on my left heel, caused by the tendon pulling on the bone. Lovely. I always thought bone spurs were round things for some reason, but the one I have is a spear shaped thing that is pointing towards my pinky toe. My doc said it won't go away, but surgery really isn't necessary because it doesn't do anything but make the patient think the doctors are doing something pro-active. So I get to live with this spike on my foot. Lovely. I was offered $350 custom made arch supports but I went with the generic-out-of-a-box supports for 1/10 of the price and they seem to be OK so far. I still have tons of pain in my feet and I don't know how they are supposed to heal but I guess I'll just give it some more time. My only other treatment option is getting cortisone shots in my feet! UGH! The very thought of a shot in my foot makes me shiver. Unfortunately it isn't an option at this time because I am nursing. Oh darn. I don't think that will ever be an option really! My feet are extremely messed up and it was cool to see just how out of line all my bones are. I have always said my feet are very cute in socks, but take those socks off and watch out! Not so nice. I also seem to be some sort of bone-producing mutant. Not only do I have a bone-spur on my foot, my dentist informed be that I have a lot of extra bone growth in my mouth that will have to be shaved(!) off if I ever need dentures! Now that is a lovely thought. I have a huge bump on the roof of my mouth and also extra growth under my gums just about everywhere. And as long as I am giving a full health update, I have a failing root canal that a specialist has to redo for me before my jaw bone gets infected. I also had my Thyroid levels tested today because I have been feeling horrible for the past week or so and I believe my dosage is not correct. They dropped my dosage right after Darcy was born but I think it needs to be raised again. We'll see. After all this complaining I will admit that I could have a million other things much worse with my health than I have, and I am extremely grateful that so far everything that has been thrown at me has been manageable.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Mommy's favorite, for today


So I am going to commit the ultimate parenting sin and admit that this morning I have a favorite child. Darcy slept from 6:30 pm last night to 7 am this morning! Holy cow! She isn't even 3 month old yet! I was sooooo excited to wake up this morning and realize that I actually got a good night's sleep! My chest was in some major pain, but I will take that if it means I get real sleep every night. Thanks Darcy, I love you!

Monday, September 29, 2008

Wooly Bear



Drew and Mason found a wooly bear caterpillar in our yard the other day and we fixed him up a luxury suite in his very own Mason jar. I thought it would be fun to observe for a few days and then let him go. Well, the second day we had him he started building a cocoon! I have waited my entire 35 years to see a caterpillar actually live long enough in captivity to form a cocoon. I was so excited I looked it up on-line to see how long the transformation would take, and now I am totally confused. It said that the caterpillar hibernates in the winter and then forms its cocoon in the spring. Well, it isn't winter and it isn't spring so what the heck is this little guy doing? Here are pictures of him building his cocoon(?) and also the finished product. I guess we will just wait and see. . . .

update as of Oct 30th: I thought maybe our little guy died since there wasn't any action happening so I decided to disect the cocoon. I cut it open a little bit and there was a brown thing with a hard shell! Who knows if I really killed it this time, I put it outside in the bushes and hopefully it will survive. If not, I am a caterpillar murderer! I felt horrible when I saw it had really turned in to something. What an incredible thing caterpillars can do.