a blended life

Today marks a one year anniversary of my gallbladder surgery disaster. I'm not really interested in going into the details of that right now...I just reread the some of the journaling that we have of those events and it was horrifying. So, one year later I am still on a low-fat diet and probably will be forever. But I feel much better and really, really need 2009 to be a better year than 2008. A lot of very positive things happened this year and I don't want to forget those, but Brian and I are truly hoping for some better luck. Brian took this terrible picture of me after one of the surgeries. Not flattering, but who looks good in the hospital?

***WARNING*** The following post is picture-heavy and could be slightly boring.... This year was a bit of a milestone for us because we weren't with our parents, either set, so we had to grow up and make a good holiday for our kids all by our lonesomes. It was great! Definitely a keeper. This was also the first year that Leah cared about it, so we were really expected to produce. So, Christmas started out like most others-kids want to open presents, parents are too tired to care. I figured I needed to throw in a few obligatory pictures of present opening: Leah is posing with her biggest wish-a purple bathrobe. She's been saying this for weeks "I want a purple coat so I can be just like my Grandma." She's talking about my mom's blue bathrobe. The next photo needs no explanation, except that Brian got me some cool stuff. I'm not ging to make a list of gifts recieved because that would make this post even more boring and tacky. I'd like to mention now th...

Brian just shaved his head, so tomorrow I will be blogging about that and our Christmas adventures. We had a really good day, minus a few hours of hyperness, and I'm just too tired to get into it.

This was taken earlier this year, but it was cute and introduces my topic for the day-washing dishes. Some background: We live in a flippin' TRAILER HOUSE-a topic so sore with me right now that I can hardly talk about it. The reality of being true white trash is very raw at the moment....anyway, the place we are living is being torn down in a couple years. That means that they won't put any money into our 'house'. What happened this weekend: The disposal broke, and since it's not an essential item the maintenance guy ripped it out. And since the dishwasher won't work without a disposal, they are taking that too. So now we are trailer trash without a dishwasher. Maybe it should be mentioned that the topic of doing dishes has been one of the more taxing marital issues and not one that I wanted to revisit! Sorry if that last comment made anyone uncomfortable, but you are reading my blog and I'm one to hold back on anything. Additionally, the ONLY reason I was ...

Here's yesterday's little story. It's been snowing TONS here, so some dumb mom--let's just call her 'snow tard'--thought that Leah would like to make a snowman. So we-er, snow tard and Leah- suited up and went outside to make said man. Turns out the snow was a very typical Utah quality, which is fine and powdery and doesn't squish together. You have to wait until it gets a little warmer for that. Great for skiing, bad for snowmen. Snow tard tried in vain to pack a ball for a body, but the snow would only fluff around. Leah stood there, quite annoyed, saying "Snow tard, are we making a snowman?" or something like that. Finally snow tard got the shovel and heaped some snow in a pile and put the hat, nose, mouth and hands on it. Snow blob. Leah looked at it for a minute, patted his nose, and said "Let's go inside. I'm cold." She hasn't asked to make another snowman.

"and prove me now herewith... if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessings, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." Malachi 3:10 We got hit twice today by 'secret santas'-people in our neighborhood who anonymously left gifts for our family for Christmas. They are nice and we are so, so grateful for other peoples time, money and generosity. We will put them under the tree and remember how other people are thinking of us. Hopefully we will be able to return the favor some day for someone else. We were trying to go to California for Christmas but it didn't work out, so we'll stay here and start our own traditions. Brian said he would make spaghetti for Christmas dinner.

My motivation is severely lacking lately but I didn't want a long time to go in between posts, so here's my quick update. Maybe I should mention that every winter in Logan, my motivation goes down the drain and my whole body nearly stops working because of frozenness. Lucky for us this year, the frozenness started early. Yay. *Leah got some new glasses. We are still trying to convince her to wear them, but they do look cute. I'll skip the story about how she had a meltdown at the optometrist over not bringing home the glasses right away, so they put a rush order on them and had them ready in a few hours. I tried to explain that she could really use a lesson in WAITING, but I think the severity of her trantrum was alarming. I guess I didn't skip that story. *Leah is also starting some medication. Due to the controversial nature of medicating children combined with those who are in the 'there's nothing wrong with Leah' camp (you know who you are), I'm not ...

It's time for another installment of 'things that are good in my life'. Or maybe this is the first installment. Anyway, we have a lot of blessings and many things to be grateful for, so I wanted to make sure they didn't go unnoticed. 1)We had to buy some tires that we couldn't afford, but yesterday we sold our upright freezer that we weren't using. An awkward moment happened when two people showed up at the same time and both wanted the freezer, then looked at me to decide who should get it. Bad for two reasons: a)They both were 'having a steer killed and needed some room for it'. EW! b)I totally didn't want to choose who should get the freezer! Someone just pay me and get it over with! 2)Leah's teacher says that she's 'popular with the other kids'. She's very accepting and everyone wants to play with her. We're glad she's having a good experience, even if she got in a spat with Santiago over a trike. 3)Speaking of the lit...

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I told myself when I woke up today that I. Was. Going. To. Have. A. Good. Day. It's all about attitude, right? So, I went to the ward party last night by myself (this is what happens when you have a munchkin who goes to bed at 7. Leah.) I got a flat tire in the parking lot, so Brian and a nice guy put on a donut-or is it doughnut?-and drove it home. I spent two hours in Sam's Club today getting it taken care of...to make a long and irritating story short, they wouldn't fix the tire ('it's too worn and is a liability for us. And your other front tire is terrible also'). I ended up leaving with two new tires. My fabulous-and I mean fabulous-sister took my girls while I waited, so I had some free time to eat samples and sit in an office chair and read Tales of Beedle the Bard. This is only cool if you are a Harry Potter geekster like I am. So, day wasted, Christmas money gone, but things could have been much worse. Hannah is a bit of a character. I don't know h...

I told myself I wouldn't post again until I had something positive to say or some good news. But if I wait for that to happen, I might not blog for months. Brian is out right now fixing a flat tire on the van with a guy-from-work-who's-our-neighbor-who's-in-our-ward. He's very nice, which is good because Brian was a little less than thrilled to be doing that tonight and probably needs some joviality (is that a word?) to help him get the job done. I'm going to skip a bunch of stuff about my week and about my kids because writing it might cause me to relive it. So here's some other things on my mind: Advent calendar update: We decided to stick it out and follow through with Leah opening on box every day, regardless of how much she likes what's in the box or what day the pink horse will be opened. It was rough at first, but she has the hang of it now and we don't have major issues every morning. Today Leah was eating lunch and wanted some of Hannah's le...

This is the first year that Leah has noticed the holidays and been interested in what they are. She still doesn't understand that Christmas=presents, and when someone tries to chat with her about Santa she gives a blank stare. But she knows something is up, so we thought we'd get her an advent calendar to help her get some idea of time until the big day. After getting the calendar, the rest of the day turned into a HUGE screaming tantrum. 1)I got the 'Playmobil Princess Unicorn Advent Calendar'. Sounds harmless and totally unrelated to the season, right? We are new to the world of Playmobil-and after today, I think I'll bow out. This ridiculous set had over 100 tiny pieces that had to be put together before the calendar was functional. Leah had zero patience for the setup period; it's for this reason that before her gifts are wrapped, they are assembled first. That was the start up of the tantrum... 2)The whole idea of the advent calendar is to open one box ever...

Mop or blog? Tough choice... I didn't get a chance to blog about the events of last week due to lack of camera...and now that I have my camera back, I've lost motivation. Additionally, for some reason there are NO pictures of my birthday, which is really a shame. Karina did an amazing job of everything-cake, decorations, food. We had Brazilian food (delicious!) and she made a beautiful chocolate cake. We played a game where everyone wrote a memory or thought about the birthday person and put it in a balloon. Then you blow up the balloon and the birthday person pops it and tries to guess who wrote it. It was a little obvious who wrote what, but still very funny and definitely humiliating (I think that the point. Thanks Karina!) It was a wonderful night. These are a few pics that don't really need explaining. The first one is of my brother Sean and his girlfriend Jean. She really cool and smarter than he is.

We came home today from spending Thanksgiving with my parents and siblings (minus Aly, who couldn't come and I'm still sad about it). It was a great time but I left my camera there, so I can't officially blog until I get it back. grrrr. Fact: I ALWAYS leave something at my parent's house, no matter how hard I try not to. Fact: how could I post about a holiday and a birthday without the appropriate visual aides? I guess this is better, since I need to spend tonight preparing for a spanish lesson and watching Planet Earth (Brian's gift to me. I love it!).

A small bit of what went on with us this week: Brian and I went to the Twilight movie-the second movie we've gone to this year. I had a pretty low expectation of it, since I knew the budget was smallish and movies are never as good as the books. The special effects were laughable but overall I really liked it. I'm glad we went-we needed to get out. And who can pass up the chance to wait in line for 45 minutes in freezing weather? Leah is sure that any malady can be fixed with her 'pony suit' and a cup of hot chocolate. She is doing okay, but if she's tired, sick, hungry, or frustrated, there's a meltdown of epic porportions. She reached a developmental milestone that shocked both of us. When I pickd her up from preschool, she asked "What did you and Hannah did when I was at pretty school?" Translation-what were you doing while I was in school? I was so impressed! It's such an abstract thought. I made gingerbread house pieces at my parent's la...

Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him what? A super callused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.

I'm stoked! Brian and I now have tickets for a Friday matinee of the Twilight movie. I don't know who's more excited-him or me. Guys can get into the Twilight series, too.

My day involved 5 hours of church. Here's a brief synopsis: -Get girls ready and out the door by 7:50 am to help Brian with the Ward Choir. Car won't start, so we walked in 20 degree Logan weather and showed up late. -No one showed up for choir, so Brian went home to get me my asthma medicine (cold weather + exercise=bad lung issues). I tooled around on the organ waiting for church to sart, with both girls pounding away on either side of me. -Spent most of the first hour (sacrament meeting) in the hallway with Hannah hollering about her bottle and Leah getting cozy with a strange man because she liked his crayons. Wait--that sounded creepy and it wasn't. -Rushed girls to Primary and nursery so I could teach Spanish sunday school, grabbing chalk and napkins on the way. -Taught a VERY rusty and slightly humiliating lesson about pre-earth life and a bit about the creation. Napkins were used for the cinnamon rolls I made as an object lesson. Rolls good. Spanish bad. One good t...

I got back from Mapleton a few days ago, but haven't blogged for two reasons: 1)I haven't stopped moving in two days 2)The stupid internet won't upload my stupid pictures. ARGH We went down to meet my grandpa's future wife, who's from Colorado. Then we stayed for a few days to chill out and be with Karina. (and the other folks who live in that house) Hannah was a bit out of sorts and spent most of her time doing this: Sometimes you just need Grandma... And sometimes you just need your honey.... And sometimes you just need Rockband II for XBox, but the computer wouldn't let me post those pictures. Try to picture my brother Jacob with overgrown facial hair, spinning a guitar around and nearly killing the t.v. And can I take a moment to say that the t.v. is a bit of a monstrosity. I had a good time but we all really missed Brian, who knows just what Leah needs when she doesn't feel good, or just how to hold Hannah when she's being a pill, or just how to s...

I'm currently at my parent's house right now, miles away from Logan and Brian. The girls and I came down to meet my grandpa's fiancee and decided to stay a few extra days. I dont' have a whole lot to say--I'm not in the mood write about the 'escalator incident'--and it will be better to hear about this small little visit with pictures. Everything is better with pictures. It's always nice to get away, but we miss Brian and will be seeing him Wednesday.

So much stuff happens in the course of a day, but by the time the girls are asleep I am so tired and frazzled that I don't feel like writing anything. So I'm going to put down a few highlights of the past two days in a very boring list format. That why I don't have to think creatively.Did I spell that right? *Yesterday Hannah fell asleep in the car for about a minute (no joke). The best part was that she started talking in her sleep "kitty...kitty..." It was so cute and funny! *The girls and I celebrated Dia de los Muertos by having rice and beans for dinner and walking through the cemetary. These things aren't unusual for us (there is a cemetary across the street) but I wanted to acknowledge the Mexican holiday since I'm supposed to be relearning Spanish. De nuevo. *Today I hosted a rotating preschool group at my house. Five four year old for two hours. I learned a few things about the experience: Leah is quite smart and knew more than anyone el...

I don't claim to be strictly Democrat or Republican-I like to study both sides and choose the best candidate. My ballot reflects a combo of both parties. I feel good today, because the one I chose when I voted this morning is winning...and can I just say that voting in Utah is a little dull since it's VERY Republican, which is fine, but it makes for a slightly dull election. As my sister puts it, "Living in a red state makes me blue." This is all the political I will allow myself to get-I leave the politics to Brian, who has way more interest than I do. It must 'stink' to have the initials 'B.O.' (get it? eh?) But we won't hold that against him.

Daylight savings + a family with perpetual sleep issues = ugly

Somehow we survived Halloween and even enjoyed it! (don't tell anyone) Leah had a party at preschool, so we made some treat bags for her take. Once she understood what we were doing and why, she sat down on the floor by us and said "Thank you, mom and dad." It was so sincere and precious-and a very mature response for a four year old! Brian ended up at the doctor and found out that everything from the throat and up is infected and he'd better not be outside taking his daughters trick or treating. Fabulous. It's been our tradition for a while to get Papa Murphy's jack o lantern pizza on Halloween. It's nice to not have to worry about dinner once a year. I promise the girls didn't pose for the pictures-they were taken au natural. The fuzzy strawberry and poofy kitty were a hit at every house...and they were quite adorable, if I do say so myself. The neighborhood we trick or treated in was a bit of a dud, but the girls (and Brian, who disobeyed the doctor...

I should be in bed right now, but a major head congestion problem is keeping me awake, so I thought I'd blog a bit... We finally got some help for Leah today that I think might actually be, um, helpful. We met with her pediatrician, who's been following our case with her. She got us in contact with a guy in Salt Lake. This guy (still don't know his name) had some great suggestions for us that we can try here in Cache Valley without haven't to haul our butts to SLC for appointments. If what he suggested doesn't work, there are still options out there for us. Overall I feel like we're going in the right direction. The first suggestion he gave us to give Leah some melatonin for sleep (maybe we'll slip Hannah some too?), then we are supposed to meet with an occupational therapist about some sensory issues that she struggles with. We also have some other things to try, but I think this will definitely get us started. This is a sidenote, but Hannah said the prayer...

This needs to be said: Thank you to those who have called and emailed about yesterday's post. I forget sometimes that the things we are going through with Leah are not typical for most families and can be alarming to read about. She is a delightful, smart, funny, and wonderful little girl who has some very difficult challenges. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to find the right help. But we have hope and aren't giving up. "It's not easy being me." Due to my stupid internet, I can't post the rest of the pictures or stories from today. Both girls are excited about Halloween this year and we are looking forward to some trick or treating!

I'm watching the Charlie Brown Halloween special while trying to wind down from a long week with Leah. Last year, when Hannah was a newborn, she became very violent. It tapered off a bit, but now it's back with a vengeance. She has more strength and more language to go with her attitude. It's hard to describe what she does-maybe that makes it too real. It is heartbreaking to see her hurting Hannah. We are constantly scared that something is going to set her off-and who knows what it will be-and that she will start lashing out at someone. And what's so frustrating is that we haven't been able to get any kind of help for this. We don't know what's setting her off, either. It was easy last summer because obviously she was upset about the new baby. But what is it now I don't know I don't know I don't know! I feel better having said this. Maybe I can face tomorrow...

I'm so frustrated! The stinkin' darnedable (?) computer/internet won't upload my fotos!!!! The big event of the day is that I was asked to teach a Spanish sunday school class at church. EEK! Now I'll have learn how to speak spanish! I'm feeling majorly inadequate, especially since I know there are better spanish speakers in the ward that could do a much better job. It's hard not to get sucked into the 'why me?' mentality, but....why me? I'll got over by tomorrow (or the next day or the next day) and i'm sure it will be a great experience. Today was actually quite a long, exhausting day at church and with the crazy, bored little girls that go nuts on a long Sunday afternoon with nothing to do. So, I'm go to waste some time, eat some popcorn and go to bed.

I've been trying for an hour to post some pictures and the stupid internet won't work!! So irritating! We've had a crazy week with lots of colds and Halloween festivities and not enough sleep. But I don't have the pictures to prove it, so maybe tomorrow.

Do you like my new look? I needed a makeover and this one was free.

Ahhh, very long, very rough week. I don't even want to get into it, so I'm starting with yesterday. I'm sure next week will be fabulous! The big event was that we found the dress she's always wanted-from the movie Enchanted (which I recommend. It's very funny.) She's always wanted one and I've never wanted to search for one, but we accidently found this bride costume in TJ Maxx yesterday and were not leaving the store without it. Said movie: Said princess/blushing bride/future movie star:

I decided I would blog today about ordinary, daily stuff-instead of sad things-which is fine, except I don't get to spice up my post with adorable little picture of our wonderful angels because my camera battery died. I use the term 'angel' very loosely today. Here's why: Hannah woke up at 4:00 am, and Leah shortly followed. I think it was the windstorm, which blew in a bit of snow and nearly blew our humble little abode over (think Wizard of Oz). It's my general philosophy that the day doesn't start until 7:00 am (sidenote-this was very hard for me as a missionary, when you're supposed to wake up at 6:30. I never, in 18 months, got used to that.) Getting back to 4 am--honestly I don't remember much--but here's a question. If you eat breakfast at 4:30, what do you feed kids when they are hungry again at 7:00? And then again at 9:30? Three breakfasts? And if you wake up two and a half hours earlier than is acceptable, what do you do with the extra tim...

Thank you, very sincerely, to everyone who has shown support and concern for us the past few days. The surgery went well (if that's possible) and I'm feeling much better today. I would probably be doing more if I could get away with it, but I have Brian watching me very carefully :) I would also like to mention that Brian is a very caring, loyal, supportive husband who has really stepped up to the plate and taken care of things when I wasn't up to it. Miscarriages are awkward and difficult-most people don't know what to say. I'm used to that and it doesn't bother me anymore. It is a very sad event for us, but on the other hand we feel a certain relief--we don't have the money, space, time or energy for another baby right now. So lots of mixed feelings. The pregnancy was a bit ugly. I was totally overwhelmed with fatigue (my doctor thinks I may be anemic) and seriously intense cravings. And an enormous appetite, which explains why I would eat platefuls (or is...

So, I had another miscarriage (this is the third). I went in for an ultrasound on Friday and the doctor couldn't find a heartbeat or any bloodflow to the baby, so she scheduled me for a D and C on Monday. It's an outpatient surgical procedure-4th surgery in a year!-so if I don't blog for a few days...that's why. We are a bit deflated, slightly numb, and definitely exhausted, but life goes on and we are okay. I know this topic can be uncomfortable for some, so don't feel any obligation to respond. We feel blessed to have our two great little girls and aren't sure right now what we will decide to do about future kids.

I couldn't pass up using such a cheezy title-and let it be known that I would never use such a trite, corny phrase. However, our kids are very adorable and do bring us a lot of happiness and laughter. Here's some of the latest: While playing outside, we found a leaf stuck to Hannah's behind. Leah was SO excited that Hannah had a 'tail'. The next time they were outside, she kept trying to stick a leaf on her own rear end and get Brian to take a picture of it. He was mortified but reluctantly took a shot to appease her. I think the whole thing is really funny to me because I wasn't around to deal with her. Now isn't she so sweet? Hannah's always been able to ham it up for the camera. Who can resist a pink fuzzy babe with footed jammies and wet hair? Both of our girls really love music (hooray!) and we got some video of Hannah dancing to the Wiggles. I'm well aware that there are some things that only parents get excited about, and if this is one of th...

We haven't had the best week, so instead of griping about it I'm going to post something completely unrelated. There's been some question as to whether Jen and I look alike. Randon people around Logan are confusing us, and we've even been accused of being twins. What!? So to answer the burning question in everyone's mind, No. We don't look alike. I don't mind being compared to my sister and have absolutely nothing against her--I just don't see the resemblance. As Andy puts it "You both have round faces." He might still be sleeping on the couch for that comment... :) We haven't had the best week, so instead of griping about it I'm going to post something completely unrelated. I'm going to prove that I don't look anything like my sister

In case you were worried about the condition of my house and the health of my kids living in my house--not much has changed. Maybe tomorrow. It's been hard for me to blog the past few days because my dear friend's (Shannon) husband passed away. It's been a harsh and terrible reality to deal with-she is now a widow, with a toddler, at age 30. It seems so inappropriate to write about mundane things life my new chest cold or Leah's halloween costume. I've learned a little in the past couple days from Shannon, who has way more faith and a much better attitude than I could dream of owning. Life doesn't stop-you have to put one foot in front of the other and keep moving, but more importantly, everyone has a plan. It was Ron's (the husband) time to go, even though it hurts and he will be missed enormously. Shannon-you're my hero for getting up in the morning. This week will be a bit different for us-Brian took some paid time off to study for the LSAT, which is ...

My house is super nasty right now. This is a brief description of what going on: 1)I can't tell the difference between the ants and the oreo crumbs. 2)Hannah keeps picking stuff off her feet 3)There's a petrified sweet and sour ball behind the rocking chair (go ahead and look now, Brian. I left it there for you) from last week's Chinese food splurge. 4)The Polly Pockets have created a community under the couch cushions, making friends with the animal magnets and feasting on hot dog bits. 5)The toilet is flushing itself 6)We don't have any clothes is drawers or the closet-we are picking through the laundry basket (there are dirty baskets and clean baskets.) 7)Brian couldn't tell if his glasses were dirty or the air was hazy. Both. 8)The crusted jam on the table has been there so long it's now a permament fixture.

Random Piece of Info #1 I got called to translate for a mom whose baby is getting physical therapy-he was born at 24 weeks. It was nice to get out and work a little, but the appointment was in Tremonton, which is over the mountain and about 35 miles away. The only way I could make it was on the scooter--to make a long, windy, bugs-in-the-face story short, let's just say I won't be doing that again. I really felt like me and the scooter were going to blow off the road at 55 miles per hour. The best part of the trip wasn't when I got lost for a half hour in a county that I neither care for nor am familiar with, but when I arrived at home and decided to try to jump the curb. I got stuck, back end of the scooter swaying back and forth, with the mailman watching. Thank goodness for cell phones-I called Brian, who was 20 feet away, to come and bail me out. For some reason I thought it was a lot funnier than he did. I also figured out that I could play rock paper scissors with my ...

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed right now about two topics, so I thought maybe writing would be therapeutic. Or I could bottle it up and take it out on Brian tomorrow :) Topic #1 Our Financial Situation It's no secret that since we are wrapping up a phase of life and trying to move on to another that the bank account has been a little unsteady. I'm not embarrassed to talk about it because I really feel like we're trying very hard to make things work. Anyway, I decided to start teaching piano lessons. It was a tough decision because it will cause us to rearrange our humble abode to accomodate students, and the going rate for piano lessons in Logan is abominable. I got my first student today and I've been advertising, so hopefully my 'studio' (that's a music nerd term) will grow. Also, my former empoyer called and wants me to translate for about a month while they are finding a new social worker. Long story, but I think I will do it. Topic #2 Too much to...

I need to throw a word or two out about Hannah. Her first year of life was very difficult-so much crying!-but as she is growing up, she's brightening our house and really bringing us a lot of joy. That sounded super corny, but I don't know how else to say it. She is developing so differently from Leah; I usually tell people that it's like having a first baby all over again. She says three word sentences 'no more beeps' (read: I don't want any more grapes), she is into everything, she rips books, eats play dough and crayons, sucks on marbles, and wears everyone's shoes. It's exciting to us because these are things that Leah didn't do-she wasn't curious about her world and the whole concept of 'entertain oneself' is still something we really struggle with. One of the most adorable things to us is the relationship between the two girls. They are constantly taking care of each and trying to keep tabs on the other. Hannah gives Leah a kiss whe...

Here's some randomness that probably falls into the 'family journal' category, so not terribly interesting to the average reader. Sundays are always a little tough for us because: 1)Brian works late on Saturday, so he's no help with getting out the door for church. I'm not bitter about his--it's just hard 2)Hannah is not a good sleeper. She got up at 5:30 today and my eyes are still burning from lack of sleep and extreme weekend fatigue 3)Both girls struggling with sacrament meeting and we usually cause a big nuisance. Today wasn't too bad, though, and I have to give Leah credit for not screaming or throwing something. 4) There's something very weary about thinking of what the coming week will bring. But on the other hand, Sundays are a very good day and something I really enjoy, despite the not so fun aspects: 1)I've made some good friends in my new neighborhood and at church, so it's really nice to go and see some familiar, caring faces. 2)Leah...

We just got back from the gym and saw this sign posted: POOL CLOSED UNTIL MONDAY DUE TO DRAINING AND CHEMICAL MAINTENANCE. Have you ever read the book Marley and Me? I hate to compare Leah with a dog, but her pool incident (is that what we can call it now?) reminded me of when Marley (a dog) went to a beach, drank a bunch of salt water, had major diarrhea, and eventually the beach was closed. We have a slow weekend ahead of us-I knew when Hannah got up at 4:00 am this morning that whatever we had planned would need to be thrown out the window due to fatigue and cranky kids. That sounded negative and I didn't mean to. All I'm saying is I need to rethink our plans and maybe just sit around and enjoy each other's company. Right? Any takers? Anyone?

One time Augustus Gloop fell into a chocolate river... I love food too much to lose my appetite very often, but today it happened. And if you have a weak stomach I would recommend skipping this post. Leah takes swimming lessons at the gym where I go for Pilates. I showed up, with Hannah in tow, for the last few minutes of her lesson and saw her refusing to participate. This is VERY strange for her because she's usually so well behaved in a class setting. I had to coax her out of the pool and she announced that she had pooped in her suit. She doesn't wear a swim diaper. I peaked in the back end quickly-not wanting tomake a scene-and saw a small mountain of brown rocks up her backside. I was too mortified, embarrassed and grossed out to have a teaching moment so all that came out of my mouth was "Bathroom. Now." I rushed and she waddled a penquin-like shuffle to the handicap stall of the locker room (big enough for the three of us, plus the elephant turd in her suit). S...

You have to check out this other hilarious waste of time. Here's a little of how Brian and I turned out:

I've been caught up the Facebook bug-it's been a great way for me to contact some people I've lost touch with or who have forgotten about me, like mission companions, teachers, and friends from another life.

I had to blog tonight for two reasons 1) To get that embarrassing song of the front of my blog and 2) I'm sure everyone cares about my busy week and has been dying to hear the details of my boring life. First some randomness: Is anyone else excited for Christmas?! I hate mustard. I'm glad I'm still married to Brian. I wouldn't have it any other way. Back to my long week-- Leah started preschool. Hooray! She's out of the house a little more! We are all much happier, including her. Most of our week has been consumed with these little guys. Someone would only agree to babysit twins if they are: a)Stupid b)Bored c)Poor I definitely qualify for a and c. The mommy needed me for this week, and then Tuesdays and Thursdays for the semester. I'm not going to complain about the money we earned, but the 30 hours they ate up was so tiring. Brian was a great help with the circus. Don't be fooled-they aren't as innocent as a look. Left-Jocelyn, Right-Kedin. Sara is L...