Blessing

Today Jack is two months old. It was also his blessing day. He did well. When I got to church he was fussy so I worried he would cry during the blessing but he was a champ and didn't make a sound. He looked so cute in his little white outfit. He is two months old now and changing daily. His face gets more and more animated every day.

We still have some construction going on in our neighborhood. Tristan--the little BOY that he is--just loves driving past the digger every day. Chris took him and Kennedy down to see it the other day and let them take a turn "driving".
We have been enjoying having Nana and Poppa Kelsey here the past few days. We took a picnic to Duke Gardens yesterday and we couldn't have asked for better weather. The kids enjoyed running around while the adults sat in the shade to relax. This is the last fun thing for summer for us. Kennedy starts preschool in September. She is excited to be going every day.

Harvest

We've been eating peas for several weeks now. I say we but I really mean the kids. Tristan just helps himself to any pea on the vine, ripe or not. He loves them so much he puts the whole pod in his mouth. I was getting upset with him at first but then I figured that he would be eating the peas when they were ripe anyway so I might as well let him enjoy it. I will give the ripe ones to Kennedy.

Today after church the kids and I went to check on the garden to see if it needs watering tomorrow. I pulled some carrots out of the ground, picked some beans and a small crown of broccoli. This is what I came up with. . .

Enough for one person. Since the kids have eaten most of the peas I helped myself. They were delicious!

A Day in the Life. . .

A few weeks ago my sweet neighbor asked me if she could send her 11-year-old daughter over once a week to be a "mother's helper" for a few hours. Um, yes. I wasn't going to turn that one down. Her excuse was that her daughter needs to learn responsibilities and that she might learn better if she is helping someone else out rather than doing her assigned chores at home. I think she could see my edemic ankles and knew with my ever-growing stomach that I probably can't bend over very well right now. Either way, I love the help.

Katherine has been over twice now and she is a super helper. She washes windows, cleans out my cupboards, mops my floors, whatever I ask her to do. I should have thought of this before!

Here she is doing my least-favorite chore. Ok, so they are all my least favorite. I live the life of a maid. Clean, clean, clean.

Today I had a day that no "mother's helper" could help with. I hate to complain about being a mom because I looked forward to it and hoped for it for so long. However, some days are just really difficult.

My day started at 5:21 a.m. with Tristan pounding on his door and crying for "mama". Oh, that's me. I thought I better go in and get him back to sleep so he didn't wake up the rest of the sleepers. Fat chance. He was ready for the day. That's ok, I thought. I will just get up and get my chores done and take a nap while he takes a nap.

As chance would have it, Kennedy was ill today. I encouraged her to rest on her bed while I put Tristan down for a nap. She actually fell asleep. That rarely happens anymore. Just as I finished my lunch and headed upstairs to take my nap while all was quiet, I heard a lurching sound coming from Kennedy's room, followed by some cries. I went in and there was her lunch all over the floor. That's ok, I thought, I will give her a bath, clean up the mess and turn on the t.v. for her. Then I will take a little nap.

As chance would have it, Tristan took a one-hour nap and was up and ready to go again by the time I got Kennedy settled in front of the t.v. So I bagged the nap and powered through a bunch more chores. I made four meals to put in the freezer for future use (after the baby comes) and also made a meal to feed the missionaries tonight. I also cleaned up the mess, read some books to my kids and sat down for 5 minutes.

Tomorrow I will prop my feet up and coast the rest of the weekend. . . .

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Last night something happened. Our life, as we have known it, changed. Tristan took a leap and the crib has been rendered useless! He climbed out for the first time ever. I was hoping he would not figure this out and we would be able to keep him in longer. But, our little boy is growing and I cannot stop him.
Why is this such a problem, you might ask. . .let me explain what happened when Kennedy figured out how to climb out of the crib. At first it was kind of cute but then she started coming into our room very early in the morning. Instead of getting up with her or taking her back to bed, like I should have, I tucked her safely into our covers and sometimes she would fall back to sleep. I didn't really mind this until she started coming into our room in the middle of the night, sometimes we would have multiple visits before morning. Then we moved her to her big girl bed and I couldn't keep her in that either. It was a constant battle trying to get her to sleep there. She would come out of her room, I would take her back, come out, take back, over and over until one of us would give in. Her sleeping patterns completely changed and sometimes I would resort to resting beside her until she finally fell asleep. Then Tristan came. . . .that just complicated the situation even more, but luckily the battle didn't last much longer.
Now I have Tristan who is all of a sudden terrified of the dark room that is his at night. He cries for "Mama" and climbs out at will. His usual bedtime is 7:30 and last night it was 9:30 until he finally let himself fall asleep. He greeted us at our bedside at 6 a.m. carrying his blankie. Too tired to take him back to bed and start a battle, I let him in ours. I am hoping that we can work out some sort of "routine" or figure out what works for him before this baby comes in five weeks. I don't want to be getting up with two babies again! One is enough for me, thanks.

How Did That Dinosaur Get Under My Lip. . . .And Other Random Thoughts

Here are some thoughts I wanted to write down this week but have been "consumed" by life and haven't made my self sit down to write a full blog about each.

• I found out this week that the preschool I took Kennedy out of is closing the end of May and will not open next fall. I know some parents are upset because all the other preschools are full now but all the same, I think it's for the best. I think there is one original teacher who will finish out the school year. Some of the teachers have turned over twice. There is obviously something going on with that place. I know that this is not solely a consequence of our situation but I am sure it was one more thing to add to the list. From what I have learned, the pastor has not been happy with the director this year, neither have I.
• My garden is doing really well. Strawberries have blossoms, peas are over a foot tall, ferns finally poked up and the raspberry bushes are really starting to get some good leaves.
• I took Tristan to his 2-year check up last week and there is only a 5 pound difference between him and Kennedy. Last year she could still wear size 3T and he is now in size 3T. He was 97th percentile for weight and about 95 for height. It is funny to watch him tackle Kennedy and wrestle her down. She won't be bigger than him much longer if he keeps it up.
• Saturday we had a nice little gathering to celebrate Tristan's birthday. He was a little intimidated by being the center of attention (something Kennedy never shies away from).
• Kennedy is turning out to be quite the orator. A few weeks ago we got a book on CD from the library, "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs", my favorite when I was a kid. We had only had it for about a week when Kennedy started reciting it back to me word for word. I was amazed and she has told the whole story several times. It's not a short book either. Her mind amazes me.
• You are probably wondering where my title came from. Chris has been having trouble with his back again and took some pain medicine one night before going to bed. He dozed off while saying his prayers and I had to wake him up and help him into bed before he fainted. In the process he looked up and asked, "How did that dinosaur get under my lip?" I don't know sweetie, maybe the tooth fairy put it there.

Easter Weekend

I know it's a little late for writing about Easter Weekend but I guess it's better late than never.

Saturday morning I got up and going so I could test-drive some mini vans. I went to the Toyota dealership first and tried a 2007 Sienna. It was nice but lacking some features I really wanted, like automatic sliding doors.

The Honda dealership was next. I kind of thought I would lean more toward an Odyssey anyway. I drove a 2005 and a 2006. I liked the '06 but wasn't really excited about it. More to come on the minivan adventure.

In the afternoon we went outside to work and play in the yard. Tristan found the dirt pile, again. This is what happens when a toddler is left to his own in a pile of dirt.

We invited the Brinkerhoff's over for dinner and an egg hunt on Saturday night. They were some of the first friends we made when we moved here and our kids are the same ages so we have done a lot with them. Unfortunately, since our move last April and the ward split we haven't seen much of them. Now they are moving to Reno, NV. Kennedy and Steven have been good friends over the past 4 1/2 years and even though it's been several months since they have played together, it was like no time had passed.

The kids enjoyed playing together and we fired up the grill and had the first burgers of the season. It was all good.

Sunday morning the kids found their baskets full of fun stuff (thanks, Grandma Mary for the cute clothes). Tristan was sick so I stayed home from church with him so he could get a good nap. It was much needed after staying up way to late the night before.

The rest of the day was quiet and peaceful. I am so thankful for the Savior and His love for us. I think Easter is the most underrated holiday. We could never show thanks enough for what happened on that first Easter.

Easter Egg Dying

Today I had a dentist appointment to fix an old filling. I left my kids with a friend. It worked out for all of us because the kids got to play with some friends and I got to go to my dentist appointment without worry.

This afternoon we colored Easter eggs. This was Tristan's first time. When we picked out our sets at Target he saw one with Disney's "Cars" and, of course, had to have it. He loved it so much he wouldn't let go of it the rest of the morning. I had to let him take it into Sam's Club with us and they tried to charge me for it again, even though they don't carry those.

Kennedy was more interested in the whole process than Tristan. She helped me plunge the eggs into the dye and helped me pick out the colors and wraps for each egg. It was fun and I think we only cracked three eggs (out of 18).

Life and Science Museum

Since Monday was a holiday Kennedy didn't have preschool. My friend, Jennifer, called and asked me if we wanted to meet her and her two kids at the Life and Science Museum. Her daughter goes to preschool on opposite days as Kennedy so they don't get to play together very often.
I used to take my kids to the museum more often because Wednesday afternoons are free to Durham County residents. Now that Tristan takes one nap in the afternoon it is basically impossible to get there in time to make it worth it.
Last time we went to the museum Tristan was too little to get out and play. This time he really enjoyed it. Kennedy was interested in some older things too. They really liked the butterfly house. It really is a nice museum and they have made some great improvements since we moved here. I just might have to go back.

Saturday Yard Work

We had a beautiful day today. We spend the morning preparing a bed for some raspberry bushes. It's not quite time to plant yet--a few more weeks--but we ordered some plants and bushes through a catalog yesterday and thought that since it was such a nice day today we would work in the yard.
Kennedy and Tristan enjoyed playing outside. Kennedy has her own garden tools and enjoyed digging in the dirt with us. Tristan, on the otherhand, looks at the dirt and thinks, "buffet". When will he stop eating dirt?

Dirty Days

Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins: That was my latest great find. Crispy sweetness on the outside, tender and moist on the inside. The flavor of fall.
The weather has been really nice lately. We have finally cooled off to the 80s! I took the kids outside to play. My neighbor is having some landscaping done around her yard. The workers dumped a big pile of dirt in the cul-de-sac. Tristan spotted it first. I tried to deter the kids but then one of the workers suggested they go get their buckets and shovels.
Both kids had a blast but they were covered from head to toe with dark brown dirt. It was fun to see them play in it. I didn't even mind so much when Tristan ate a few handfuls of dirt. He seemed happy. If it wasn't for our dinner meeting with Daddy it would have been even more fun. I had to take them in the house and give them a bath before taking them to the hospital so we could have dinner as a family.

What You've Missed

I just wanted to post this picture of my friend Rachel. I wrote about the quilt I made for her several months ago. She is seen in the picture with me. She tied it with her mother and I finished the binding for her.


Life has been busy lately but I thought I better blog so I can get some of it recorded anyway. I don't know why it's been so hard for me to blog since we moved. I am blaming it on the fact that our computer is in a different place and not as accessible.


Kennedy started preschool at the beginning of the month. She is so cute and loves it. I am enjoying the one-on-one time with Tristan but it seems most days are filled with naps or busy errands. I have managed to take him tot he park a few times though.


Last week was our women's conference. I was in charge providing two quilts for the service project. My mom donated two pieced quilts and made it that much easier for me. We had an activity where several women from the ward showed up to help tie. I had two more quilting sessions at my house. They are done and they were the cutest ones (if I do say so myself, thanks, Mom) of the group.


We have finally saved up some money to buy some new furniture. Our first project is the dining room. We purchased a table and some chairs last weekend and look forward to their arrival. It will be nice to start decorating our new home that we've lived in for almost six months now!
The furniture doesn't look very exciting from a tiny picture but in real life it's really nice. Simple but elegant. I am going to have a deep red and gold fabric on the seats. Fun stuff.

Travel Log

I didn't mean for this to be a travel log but I have to write about my trip to Utah. We had such a great time and each year I go I remember why I make the trek out every summer.
First I have to say that my kids did great on the flights. It was such a long day travelling it would not have surprised me if they were miserable. We held it together until the car ride from the Las Vegas airport to St. George. Kennedy was just getting over a cold and I think that combined with the ear pressure from the airplane, the long day and sitting in the back seat of the car was just too much. As we turned into the Target parking lot in St. George she threw up. Poor thing. She was much better the next day and we were able to have a healthy trip the rest of the time.
Our first major event was preparing for my niece's baby shower. Tyffanee is expecting her first baby, a girl, and we decided at the last minute to throw a shower for her. Even though she isn't from Beaver we have a lot of relatives there and we had a good turn out with a few out-of-towners, including her mom, sister and mother-in-law. Since we decided to host the shower last minute (five days notice for guests) we gave the option of going in on a group gift. This turned out to be a great thing because we were able to get her a Pack-n-Play, a Baby Bjorn and a high chair. She also got lots of cute clothes, blankets and other fun things. I'm so excited to see my cute niece be a mom.
Our next great adventure was celebrating Pioneer Day. My sister came to town and Kennedy enjoyed playing with her cousin, Megyn. My niece, Alyssa, also stayed with us along with her friend Mary. We had a houseful but the more the merrier. Beaver starts Pioneer Day off with their own tradition. At approximately 6 a.m. dynamite can be heard in intervals all around town. Wake up! Time to get ready for the day. After listening to this for about 15 minutes I am ready to get up. My sister and brother-in-law head to the high school track to do the 5K. Alison and I walk because I am usually not in shape for it. It's a fun time to have with my sister, however.
After the 5K we rush home to shower and get ready for the parade. This year Beaver was hosting a little league tournament so a lot of the floats were trucks filled with cute little baseball players from all over the country. The rest of the parade was unremarkable. I was a little disappointed this year. After the parade we head down to the city park where there are kid's foot races (which we never do because I hated them when I was a kid), snow cones, hot dogs, moon bounce and slide, and old friends. Everyone who left Beaver comes home for Pioneer Day and we hope to see each other at the park. It's our yearly reunion. I saw more friends this year than usual, which is fun.
After the festivities at the park we made ready for a family cook-out. We were going to head up the canyon but it turned out to be a rainy day so we went to a local park instead. My mom and her two sisters still live where they have always lived--within two blocks of each other. They all gather their families together and we have a potluck. My cousin, Wade, brought his pony and cart to take the kids on rides. Kennedy loved that. Meanwhile, my dad and I went to check out some antique cars parked along the block--about 7 or 8 cars all belonging to the same man. He happened to pull up in his 1922 speedster and offered to take me for a ride. I love antique cars so I took him up on it. He couldn't convince me to drive it though. That was the highlight of my day.
I told Kennedy that if she took a nap she could stay up for the fireworks. She thought that was a great idea until they actually started. She wanted to go home right now. She then told me that the next time I tell her that she can stay up for fireworks she WON'T take a nap. She made it through and I enjoyed the show too.
I was able to visit with some of my dear friends whom I don't get to see very often. I was able to visit my old high school friends Melanie, Kerrie, Debbie and Alison. I met Lucy at Thanksgiving Point and we went through the Dinosaur Museum. We had a nice visit from Chris's brother and his wife. They spoiled the kids for a whole day. My mom and I took the kids to the "This is the Place Pioneer Park" which was fun. My sister and her kids volunteer there. It was a fun place to spend the day. We also met Nana and Poppa at Thanksgiving Point for a few hours and toured the beautiful gardens there. We had such a good time and it was nice for the kids to see the Kelsey Grandparents since they haven't seen them for a year. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. We feel so loved when we go back to Utah.
Some other highlights of the trip were shopping at many quilt stores, reading the final book of Harry Potter, going on walks with no humidity, and just relaxing a little bit. Now it is time to get back to reality.

Easter Sunday

Happy Easter!
We had a nice day today. This morning we snuggled in bed with the kids for a few minutes before going downstairs. We let Tristan play on the floor while we read the Easter story to Kennedy. She loves reading about Jesus on the cross and about his resurrection.
My kids were spoiled by the Easter Bunny. When my mom was here a few weeks ago she bought the kids some things from the Gap and Pottery Barn Kids. By the time we supplemented it almost looked like Christmas. We got Kennedy a little CD player and some audio story books. That was a big hit. She has been listening to it all day. Kennedy said she looked like Sleeping Beauty (with brown hair of course) in her pink dress.
When I was a kid it seemed like Easter was always cold. The Easter Bunny always brought a cute shorts set and a nice spring dress but it was usually a little crisp still. Since moving to NC that has not been the case, until this year. Last Saturday was beautiful when I took Kennedy to an egg hunt. The first part of this week we had beautiful weather with the temperature in the 80s. On Thursday we had a swift change and it feels like winter again. However, I couldn't bring myself to dress my kids in anything but their Easter attire today.
We had our friend Nathan over for dinner. His wife and kids were out of town. We had grilled basil shrimp, orange rolls, lemon rice, salad and raspberry cake. If our friend wouldn't have come we would have leftovers.

Three Reasons to Blog

This is one of the reasons that I wanted to start a blog. I wanted to record my quilting experiences. I have a quilt journal but it's all filled up. This way other people can see what I have been working on.
I love to quilt. It has been a journey for me but I am comfortable now doing larger projects. I started out making small wall quilts. On occasion I would attempt a baby quilt. The first baby quilt I made took me three years to complete. It was a scrappy quilt, no two blocks alike and I hand quilted it which took me a really long time. I would get tired of it and put it away for several months. I finally finished it and there was no way I would let it go to anyone else. I'll have to admit, I haven't even used it for myself. It's beautiful but it's in my hope chest.
This quilt was made out of Moda fabrics from the line "Faded Memories". My friends found them on sale at a local quilt store but the sale was a 1-yard minimum cut so four of us pitched in a bought the whole line and each had a fat quarter of each of the prints. It's a very pretty line of fabrics.
The pattern is called "Twin Sisters". The pattern looked fun to me so I thought I would give it a try. I really enjoyed making this quilt. I even machine quilted it myself. I haven't decided who will get it. I might just hold on to it for a while.

This is the second reason I wanted to start a blog. My kids are growing and changing so fast I wanted a way that I could keep their grandparents updated.

Today I was on a walk with the kids in a stroller. Kennedy, aka Sweet Pea, asked me to let go of the stroller and push them into the busy street. I tried to explain to her that that was dangerous. "Why?" is always the next question. I explained to her that a car might not see them and run them over. "Then what would you say, Mommy?" I explained that I would be sad and that I don't like to see my babies hurt. Here's the kicker--"Then you wouldn't have a "P" and a "Q" anymore?" Then she pointed to Tristan and smiled and said that he was a cute little "Q".

Here is the third reason I wanted to have a blog: Recipes! I love sharing recipes and finding new recipes. This one is my sister's recipe and it is really good. Today I substituted the chocolate chips for Andes Mint Baking Chips. The cookies were heavenly!

Double Trouble Cookies

1 cup butter

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups chocolate chips or Andes Mint Baking Pieces

Cream together the butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla until fluffy. Add the dry ingredients and beat on a low speed. Add the chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until set.

Note: For high altitude, cut the baking soda to 1/2 tsp. and add 1 Tbs. flour.

Home At Last

Yeah! I have my husband back! Chris has been gone for 10 days. He went to Utah for his brother's wedding, came back for less than 24- hours and had to go to work, then left for Florida for a meeting.


The kids and I went to the airport to pick Chris up last night. We stopped by the mall on the way home. We have to buy some appliances for our new house and need to start shopping. We looked at a few things then went to Chick-fil-a for dinner. When we picked Chris up Kennedy asked him if he got her a present. He was not in a good place for presents so instead he took Kennedy to Build-A-Bear, which is much better than a souvenir from Florida, if you ask me. We are all glad to have daddy back home, where he belongs.

Here are some pictures of my cute kids.

Kennedy with "Flat Stanley". We're helping a friend with her daughter's class project.

Everyone loves Grandma Mary!

Prayer for Judgement

Ever since I got pulled over for speeding six weeks ago I have been worried about going to court. I was speeding 16 miles over the posted speed limit. Luckily the officer left off the "work zone" part of it--that would have made it a lot worse! If I would have been driving just one or two miles less I could have paid the ticket through the mail.

As it was, however, I had to go to court. My court date was yesterday. I had no idea what to expect. Six weeks ago I just imagined that Chris would take the morning off and I would go down to the Durham Courthouse and pay my fine. I soon learned that it would not be that easy. Chris informed me that he would be out of town and that meant I would have to find someone to watch my kids.

I didn't want to ask one of my friends because my "ticket" said I had to be there at 7:45 a.m. I called a girl who used to be in my ward and she is now in college. I had heard from many people that she is a good sitter. I felt confident in her abilities so I called her. Luckily she was on spring break when I needed her, otherwise she had a full day of classes.

As the date approached I realized that I didn't have to go to the Durham Courthouse but I had to go to the Raleigh Courthouse since I got pulled over in Wake County, not Durham County. Silly me. That added more stress to my situation.

I really worried about this whole thing and earlier this week I got online again to make sure I knew where I was going--I get a little anxiety when it comes to finding and going to new places. There were few details about what would happen when I got there. I found some links to other websites that gave me some insight into what kind of trouble I was in. Here are some phrases that fall under the category of speeding 16 miles over the speed limit:

• Licence revoked
• Insurance points
• 45% increase in insurance premium for 3 years

I considered, too late, hiring an attorney. I also read somewhere about "Prayer for judgement" although I had no idea what it meant. I talked to my neighbor the night before my court date and she told me to ask for a "prayer for judgement". Neither of us knew what it meant.

So the morning finally came and, needless to say, I had said many regular prayers up to this point and the blessings were already starting to come. Both my kids slept through the night (miracle!) and so did I. I was shocked when my alarm went off at 6:00 and I had not been awakened for anything in the night.

My babysitter arrived and I left for Raleigh. I was a little late but I had learned that I could actually go anytime between 7:45 and 3:30. I just wanted to get it over. I easily found parking and walked to the building. I went through the metal detector and asked the security guard where I was supposed to go. He pointed to a room and I proceeded.

I walked into the room and there was a long line of people, none seemed to know if they were in the right place. There were no signs anywhere that directed me to where I needed to go so I just stayed in line and eventually someone who had been there before mentioned that this was the right line.

As I stood in line to "check in", which I later found out, I looked around at all the people in that room and there were only a handful of people who were, what I would consider, normal. I would not group myself with this crowd of people in any other situation.

After I finally got checked in I was shuffled off to another line, the DA line. The only other line was the "magistrate" line and I heard things coming from that line like "underage, possession of alcohol, illegal possession of marijuana", etc. I think most of the people in my line were for traffic violations though. This line was much slower than the first line.

It was finally my turn to talk to the DA. He said he could reduce my charge to 9 miles over instead of 16. I looked at him and he kind of smiled and said, "Is there anything else you would like to ASK me???????" I considered just taking it and paying for the charge instead I chuckled and said "Can I ask for a 'prayer for judgement'?" He smiled and told me to go to the courtroom around the corner.

When I went into the courtroom it was almost full. I thought it would be at least another hour before the judge called my name and wondered if this would be worth my time. The only easily-accessible seat was on the very front row. I could easily hear the conversations between the judge and other "criminals". Most of them were speeders, like me, and asking for a "prayer for judgement". I soon realized what I was asking for. Since I had no other speeding tickets on my record I could ask for a "prayer for judgement" and it would be like a warning, except I would have to pay court costs, $110. To my surprise, I was only in there about 15 minutes.

The judge was very nice and in a very good mood. I don't know if he is always like that but it was refreshing to see someone enjoying this kind of job so much. I felt fortunate to stumble upon this phrase and it will be my duty to pass it on to anyone who needs it.

I went home to find everything in order. Sariah was an awesome babysitter. She dressed and fed both kids, cleaned up, did Kennedy's hair, put Tristan down for a nap and was playing with Kennedy. Kennedy didn't want her to go home and asked me if Sariah could come over again. Yes, but hopefully under different circumstances!

Glad that is over!

*#$%&! Weekend

I have been writing the last several days but each time I "post" it disappears. I don't know what's wrong with my blog. It's probably my computer. Like everything else I own it's about to die. Next month will be our 11-year anniversary and we have been in school or residency training ever since and only living on one income except for the year Chris was an intern and we saved his earnings for a down payment on a house so it was like one income.
Anyway, it's been a crappy weekend-no pun intended. Tristan still has diarrhea and he still just doesn't feel well. He actually slept pretty well last night. He woke up around 4 or 5 depending on if you had changed your clock already. He was pretty upset so I nursed him. After I started I had a thought that his diaper probably needed to be changed and nursing him would calm him down and then he would get upset when I changed him. I nursed him anyway and as soon as he was finished he vomited all over both of us so it was upsetting anyway!
It was quite comical today because I had one child sleeping and one child awake almost the whole day. As soon as I put Kennedy down for a nap Tristan woke up from his morning nap. Kennedy woke up about two minutes after I put Tristan down for his afternoon nap.
We have had such beautiful weather the past few days but haven't been able to enjoy it much. This afternoon I opened the sliding glass door to the deck and let the kids play outside. Tristan was in shorts, it was that warm.
I had a little emotional breakdown yesterday. I decided that I would not go to church today and I had a lot of things I needed to take care of there. That meant a lot of phone calls and asking others to do my job. I hate that. It's quite draining taking care of a sick child. I miss Chris too. I'm never quite 100 percent when he isn't around. Anyway, I called my neighbor Sheila because we planned to watch a movie and have dinner together. She could tell I wasn't quite right and I just started to cry. She came right over and sat with the sleeping kids while I went to the grocery store. I don't know what I will do without her after we move.
Next weekend will be better. . . .I hope!

Busy Week

It's been a busy week. Selling a home is no small project. Monday was the inspection and we received the repair request yesterday. Apparently our house was "backed into by a vehicle or something". It must have happened before we moved into the house but the person who inspected it for us did not pick this up. There is a 4' crack in the foundation of our garage that is visible from the inside and out. On the outside of the house the siding is bulging and the downspout and gutter are damaged. After reading the request I went out myself and viewed it. I have no idea how we could not have seen it before. This was the only major thing on the report so I guess we are fortunate.
Chris left Thursday morning for Utah. His brother Kimball is getting married. At 4:30 that morning I heard Tristan crying. I was letting him fuss hoping he would go back to sleep. I soon realized that he was trying to tell me something. I went into his room and smelled an odor that I associate with sickness. He cried and screamed but I had to change his diaper and his underclothes and his pajamas. Finally Chris came it to see what was wrong. We inspected his crib and found vomit too. Chris changed the sheet and put fresh blankets down while I nursed the poor little guy. Tristan went back to sleep quickly. Chris and I snuggled for about 10 minutes before his alarm went of and he had to get ready to go to the airport. After he left I was just starting to relax and fall back to sleep when Kennedy woke up.
I had my first Enrichment Committee meeting as the "leader". I will be working with a great group of women. Our meeting ended up being two hours. We talked a lot about each other and life in general and some about our upcoming meeting too! It was fun.

My Absence

It's been over a week since I last posted. Here is why

• A week ago Thursday my wonderful mother flew in from Utah to spend 10 days with us. When we first started looking for a home and thinking about putting our home on the market we asked her to come out to help while I got the house clean and ready for showing. I had no idea that we would find a house we liked so soon and, therefore, have to put our house up sooner.
• Friday I had a showing so my mom and I packed up the kids and went to the mall where the kids played and we shopped and ate lunch. I love going to the mall with my mom.
• Saturday we went up to the new house to show my mom around outside. We would have to wait until Monday when our realtor could let us in.
• Sunday my mom and I stayed home with the kids because they were sick--green stuff oozing from their nose and eyes! Just after Chris left for church we had a phone call from our selling agent. We had an offer on the house! It wasn't great but by the time Monday night came we had an agreement. Our house is under contract!
• The rest of the week was spent wiping noses, mine and the kids'. Not much sleeping going on and my mom got sick too. We were in sorry shape. Luckily we didn't have to show the house--that was painful.
• Thursday I had to take Kennedy to the doctor. I thought she had a urinary tract infection. She woke up at 1 a.m. and went to the bathroom. I took her back to bed and she came back 15 minutes later insisting she had to go again. This went on for almost two hours. Finally I had her drugged up enough (ibuprofen and Tylenol) that she was able to fall back to sleep. Turns out it was not an infection but irritation from her virus--adenovirus.
• Saturday we were all well enough to go for a walk at the UNC Gardens. It was a breezy but sunny day. We enjoyed the fresh air and drove up to the new house again.
• Sunday came and I got called into the bishop's office. New calling--Enrichment Leader. Heaven help me! I can think of at least a dozen other people in my ward who would be more qualified.
• This morning was sad when I had to say good-bye to my mom. She is a wonderful person. She spoiled us all while she was here with trips to Baby Gap, Pottery Barn and eating out. Back to the usual routine now.

Spring Fever

This year the groundhog reportedly missed his shadow which means that spring is right around the corner. We have had a small taste of spring the last two days, warm and breezy. Yesterday we spend a lot of time playing outside. I put warm-weather clothes on the kids and we went to the park. I was so glad to put Tristan's clothes on because I have quite a few 12-months short sets that I thought he was going to grow out of before he even got to wear them. Luckily both sets I tried have fit just right. The kids looked cute and were excited to get out and breathe some fresh air.

In other news, we continue to show our house but no takers yet. It has been very difficult, with two kids, to keep the house looking nice at all times. Sure hope someone puts in an offer soon!

Tonight we look forward to the arrival of Grandma Mary. She is coming to help with the kids while I clean the house. We intended on having her here before we put our house on the market but we ended up listing it sooner than we originally thought.

Here are some more pictures I downloaded tonight. The infamous step stool. Tristan drinking from a flower vase--he is his father's son. Whenever we go to Beaver Chris finds my mom's vase that looks like a big drinking glass and uses that for his water.