Drink Your Water, folks!

Yesterday we got the "Kidney Stone" bill in the mail.....

$18,000. EIGHTEEN T.H.O.U.S.A.N.D. dollars!! I still cannot wrap my head around that.

And because I was curious, I pulled out the bill for Tyler....

only $12,500.  Who knew it was cheaper to have a child than have a kidney stone!!

So, the lesson today- DRINK WATER. Soda does not count, and actually contributes to and puts you at a higher risk for kidney stones. Juice doesn't really count either, though it's better than soda. Drink water. I now drink a gallon a day. (I measure it) Gosh I hope I never have to experience that again. And thank heavens for Lee's hard work and the ability to have insurance!! We only had to pay a copay.  (and yes, it's not fair for people that don't have insurance. They are billed differently, but still... anyway we won't get on that tangent....)

Eighteen thousand dollars. That still blows me away. Anyway, I digress.....

Every year, our stake pays for all the women to attend Camp Nakawana overnight. It has cabins, canoes, the meals are provided, it's wonderful. But since I am breastfeeding Tyler, I didn't go. I could have brought him, but with sleeping, naps, and all that goes with a newborn, I just wasn't up for it. My friend Linda is in the same situation with her baby. Anyhow- she decided to host a "Nakawana part 2" girls night at her apartment Friday night. There were 11 people there! 3 people who originally said they were going to the camp backed out and joined us instead. It was a lot of fun and I finally left at 2am. I heard the girls at camp were up until 3.... so they beat us by an hour.

I happened to capture this winning shot of Emily, and I didn't want to lose it.

The rest of the weekend was pretty low-key. We put together a cabinet for all my craft stuff upstairs, but that's as far as I got. I haven't put anything in it yet. Sigh. I'm just not up for that challenge yet.

The theme this week at Amy's school is bugs. I mean really, is this the best week of school, or what?? She got in the car yesterday and exclaimed, "Do you know what Mrs Bradley ordered???!!!! CATERPILLARS!! We have CATERPILLARS in our room!! We get to watch them and everything. Oh this was the best day EVER!!" This morning I had some errands to run, so I took her to school and she told me the difference between a cocoon and a chrysalis. A cocoon is what a moth spins, and a chrysalis is a butterfly. Hmm... I had always wondered that..... When we got in the drop-off line she said, "Come on cars, please hurry!!" Then when we got close to the drop-off point she said, "Daddy lets me take off my seatbelt here. And I get out there, ok Mom? I'll give you a heart when I get out."  We got to the drop-off point and she was jabbering about something she was excited about. I had to cut her off so she could get out. She gave me a heart (she makes a heart with her hands) and a wave and ran into the building. This girl loves school.

My Visiting Teacher, Mama Mary, makes delicious homemade bread. She also makes it for church, so after the bread is passed, you can usually hear Will screaming, "More bread!" The other day she made us our own loaf... and we devoured it. Especially Will.

Tyler loves jumping. He'd jump to China if you let him.

We are so thankful for the cooler weather! We've been going outside and actually enjoying it. I love fall. The windows are open, the breeze is blowing through... ahhhh.... its wonderful.

A New Do, among other things....

Since Aunt Lynn is on vacation for 5 weeks, that means I get a blogging reprieve, right?? haha.

So first and foremost... I FINALLY got to get my hair done today. It's been a long time coming and I was sooooo excited that today finally arrived. For the past month I've been doing the daily, "I need to get my hair cut" ponytail. I was glad when my "stylist" handed me the rubberband and said, "You won't be needing this anymore."

My new, now named "stylist," is a gal in our ward, and a friend of mine, named Lila. I have heard of her wonderful talent for awhile now and was glad to finally take the plunge and try her out. This was me this morning.... freshly blow dried- but no product in my hair or curling iron/straightener yet.

Was this really what my hair looked like?? Pictures don't lie. Geesh, no wonder I was wearing it in a ponytail everyday.

Anyhow- after the miracle of color and a some great talent...... it now looks like this...

Lee was in shock at first... but now keeps saying that I look younger. Love that guy! :)

So you've seen it first- the new Sarah.

I've kind of taken a personal goal to take more time with myself. My kids are wonderful, I love them dearly, but in all my caring for them I haven't been focusing on myself. Granted, I know my baby is only 4 months old... but I never got to get myself over nursing Will (I was pregnant 2 months after I stopped), moving, another pregnancy, a baby, moving again and so on. So it's time. I also bought a juicer to help with more nutrients and joined the MTSU gym. A new Sarah is coming at ya! (I talk big, don't I? haha.)  Thank you Lila for helping me take the first step! There's nothing like a new haircut to get you bouncing along.

Amy is still loving school. This week's theme is "bears." She got to bring in a teddy bear and it's having a slumber party all week at school. Every night the teacher has been emailing pictures of what the bears are doing at night.... in the principals office, on the computers, on the playground... it's been cute. They are also learning about bears. Tuesday she told me all about hibernation and in science lab they got to put their hand in ice water, and the other in blubber that was in ice water, to demonstrate how polar bears stay warm. (I'm still not sure what the "blubber" was.) She loved that.

One thing we have learned is that her lunch has to be exactly the same everyday. One and a half pb&j's... it has to be strawberry jelly on the same bread. Deviate the jelly or bread and she won't eat it. She also wants 1 granola bar (the kind we buy comes in a two pack), a water bottle and she will tolerate chips.... if I have them (I usually don't).

I have tried every combination of other foods... fruits, carrot sticks, etc and she won't eat. So she's come home a very hungry, grumpy girl several times. sigh. It's always a battle, but at least we figured out a combination that works. It's also hard to get her to eat a lot of breakfast. Most of the time she just wants dry (yes, dry) oatmeal and that's it. Well, that does not keep her tummy full until lunchtime. So when she first wakes up, she gets her "oatmeal appetizer" and then I make something more filling..... pancakes, waffles, muffins, etc and then just pray she eats enough.

We go check on the kids before we go to bed (Amy and Will now share a room) and many nights we find Will asleep at the door. I was finally able to reach my hand inside and take a picture before I moved him back into his bed. If he stays like this, he'll wake up crying at some point in the night. To get in the room, I have to practically bang his head with the door.

Last weekend, Lee was in Atlanta at his annual Dragoncon conference. I'll admit, the weekend was rough for me and the 3 kids. I think mainly because I just couldn't get enough sleep. So I was exhausted... which means I was cranky. We were all SOOOOO glad that Daddy came home on Sunday!!

I killed 3 birds with one stone and tried bathing all 3 kids together. It worked pretty well.

Will was eating pretzels and decided to share with Tyler. I don't think Tyler knew what to do with it. He tried it out but didn't seem too interested. We have started feeding Tyler solids...  mostly just rice cereal and avocados- he loves both. I think he's going to be an eater, like his brother. Must be a boy thing.

Last weekend I got an email from an old friend. The Henrichsen's were some of our very first friends when we were in Carrollton. And they were going to be in Murfreesboro for the weekend at a soccer tournament. On Monday, Tracie was able to steal an hour away and come by. It was so great to see her, and their youngest, Boston. We were sad that we missed Scott, Scotlyn and Brayden. But at least we did get to visit with Tracie. We love company! And we especially love seeing old friends!

So that's the Wade update on the past week. Nothing too exciting, but we always manage to stay busy!

Weekend Project

Lee left us this weekend for his annual trip to Dragoncon.... or nerdfest as we like to call it. Lee and 55,000 other people... all roaming 5 hotels in downtown Atlanta. Lee said the night he checked in, he was the only "normal" looking one there. I'm so glad he doesn't dress in costume. (Dragoncon is a yearly weekend conference for all things sci-fi, fantasy, gaming, etc. They have EVERYthing there.... from super heroes to zombies.... Star Wars to Halo gaming. It's everything imaginary. Lee spends the weekend stalking Star Trek actors.... he listens in on a few panels as well :)

Anyway- with him gone, and me pulling my hair out with the 3 little ones... I'm sorry they are driving me nuts..... though I shouldn't complain- I just talked to Grandma and she used to do it all the time as my Grandfather traveled... and she didn't have a car, a microwave or pre-packaged meals. ANYhow..... with Lee gone, I thought I would embark on a project that has desperately needed some attention.... the PLAYROOM!!

A combination of me being too tired, never going up there, letting the kids have free rein and a broken A/C led the playroom to look like this.....

Pretty sad, huh? I was mortified when I brought the A/C man upstairs.... so after he left (yes, the a/c is fixed now) I decided this took top priority.

The night before Lee left, I went out and gathered my supplies... shelving, storage boxes, etc.... the next morning, I got to work.

NOW... it looks like this:

I'd say that's a nice improvement!

It feels so nice to have everything so organized!

Awhile ago we weeded the kids toys down to what just fits in these bins. I have an issue with toys... I hate toys, they are so unnecessary. No matter what the media tells you- kids do NOT need a lot of toys. And don't get me started on the "learning" toys... no kid is going to learn the word "hand" because some stupid motorized animal says it. They are going to learn the word "hand" because you sat down with them and taught them it. Ok, I'm getting off topic- I warned you not to get me started.... Anyhow.... My kids rarely play with toys.... and if they do.... they only play with a few things.... the imaginary play (telephone, hair salon, tool set), the legos/blocks, My Little Ponies and cars. So we got rid of the rest. Oh and we kept all the paper and crayons... all they want to do is color.

But I reorganized it all, spent an hour putting every puzzle back together, got a boxful of trash and now- heaven!!

I love the bed.... I disassembled the book shelves from the other house (since there's not room in their rooms for them here) and screwed them all together to make the headboard. Free project. love free. Then I took 2 flat sheets from Walmart (just cheap ones) and made a duvet cover for the bedspread. Now it's all cozy and welcoming. Want to come stay??

We still have the "craft" side of the room to do- but I needed Lee's help. I can't get the storage unit I want upstairs... or even home from the store with the 2 little ones and myself. So that will wait. But for now, the rest of it is looking spiffy! :)

Will was my little helper and quite handy with a hammer- he hit the nail every time! He helped me put the bookshelves together.

I got him this little backpack (that holds some balls) from the store and he walks around, proudly,  with his "mappack."

Tyler was quite good too, just watching me. I gave him this little duck and he laughed and laughed at it.

So 1 project down... about 10 more to go. :)

(and I am sorry for the quality of these photos, Lee took the camera with him so all I had was my camera phone)

Boys are Doing Well

Sunday morning Lee put Tyler in the jumpy seat. He's been there before, but this was the first time he was jumping by himself. And boy was he jumping!!

The boys had their check-ups today. Will's 2 year and Tyler's 4 month. Phew- it was exhausting taking them together. Well, mainly because Will wanted to climb and jump off everything and refused to put his shoes on. He even tried climbing on the doctors rolling chair, of course he fell, flat on his stomach and scraped his chin. He was fine, just a little startled. But I figured if he was going to hurt himself, we were at the right place to do it.

Will is in the 25th percentile for weight (26 lbs, 12 oz) and 65th for height (35.25 inches). So he's tall and skinny.

Tyler is in the 66th for weight (16 lbs 6 oz) and 67th for height (25.75 inches).... and 82nd percentile for his head size. So both boys have their Daddy's big head. He's above average in all of his measurements.

Both are doing well and there were no concerns on our end, or the Doctor's, about each of them. Of course, they always monitor Will's seizures, but aside from that- all is well. Just the way we like it.

The other day Will kept trying to put a pen behind his ear. When I figured out what he was doing, I helped him out a little and then he said, "Just like Papa!" I don't know when he saw Dad with a pen behind his ear, but he remembered it. It was really cute.

And that's all I've got for today. :)

Surprise Baby Shower

I have been dying to mention this for awhile... but since the "surprisee" has access to this blog, I couldn't.  (I don't think she checks it regularly, but you never know).  Anyhow- last night we were finally able to throw a surprise baby shower for our friend, Roberta! (The shower was actually planned for a few weeks ago.... the weekend I had my kidney stone!! There was a lot of scrambling trying to cancel and reschedule it!!)

Roberta (and Travis and daughter Alida) moved into the area the same time we did last year. We've done a lot together... play dates, craft nights, trick or treating, etc and I think she's just an awesome person. She's due with their 2nd child (a boy) in late September, so we wanted to do something special for her.

We "lured" her here, telling her that Lee was out of town and Linda, her and I were going to have a movie night. The poor thing was mortified when she showed up in "comfy clothes" expecting a night of movie watching. She was definitely surprised!!

My friend, Devon, and I, are thinking of starting a party planning business (down the road. Devon is having a baby in November) and we thought it would be fun to do this together. Anyway- Roberta's husband is in school to be an air traffic controller- so that means the theme was airplanes!And we went with a light blue and red color scheme.

We had another friend make the cupcakes and she did a great job with the fondant airplanes and clouds. We had chicken salad sandwiches, fruit, cookies- just a glorious feast.

We played a few fun games. I'm not really a "shower game" kind of person... I will run out if you give me a diaper with melted chocolate bars and ask me to smell it. (yes, that's a real AWFUL game!!!)  For the first game, I had trivia questions about Roberta that everyone had to answer. There were 10 questions and the winner only got 4 right. Roberta has led a fun life and it was fun to get to know her more!

For the second game, I asked people to send me baby pictures. I took whatever I had (though I wish we had more, but that's ok) Then everyone had to guess who they were. This was cute and everyone had fun guessing. (I'm #2, in case you couldn't tell. haha)

For the final game, Devon wrapped a large candy bar in many layers of paper. Each layer had a question like: Who had had the most embarrassing experience? Then whomever the group deemed as most embarrassing (which was me, in the case of my skirt falling down at church) got to unwrap the next layer. The next person who answered that next question got to unwrap the next layer and so on. It was fun to get to know facts about the group as whole. Some questions were: Who has the most pets? Who has lived in the most states? Who has visited the most countries? Who dated their spouse the longest? etc.

I stole a bunch of pictures from Roberta's blog and had them running as a slide show on our tv. It was fun to watch!

And of course, we did what women do best- we just chatted and laughed.

picture 1: Tamie Shakespeare, Linda Reece, Dorte Marshall, Devon Case)
picture 2: Stacey Gilday, Jennie Pike, Liz Jones
picture 3: Petra Tester, Roberta Stout, Jessie Hill
picture 4: just Roberta. :) 


A good time was had by all. I love these women.

back row: me (and Tyler), Petra Tester, Jennie Pike, Stacey Gilday, Dorte Marshall, Linda Reece, Tamie Shakespeare, Devon Case. 
front row: Liz Jones, Jessie Hill (and Melody), Roberta Stout, Meghan Spann