A life well lived

Shanes Grandma died this week. He and Roman went to Ohio for the funeral.


Today is her funeral. She was 99 years old! I didn't know her for very long but I know a little bit about her. She was very smart and was such a good wife and mother to her family. She was so tiny, I felt like a giant whenever I stood next to her. She amazed me with her vibrancy in the years I knew her.
She had 5 children, 19 grandchildren, 37 great grand children, and 2 great great grandchildren... WOW!

Anyway, here is her obituary. What a great lady. She will be missed but more than anything, she really missed her husband and it makes me happy to know they are together again.

http://www.tribtoday.com/page/content.detail/id/514340.html?nav=5022

Now, as for being abandoned here in Utah.... It sucks! I wasn't totally abandoned, I could have gone too. But all things considered, it was a bad idea for me to go with the two little ones. Boy is it quiet around here. At night I keep lots of lights on and the T.V. going weather I'm watching or not. I know... I'm pathetic.

Roman is having a blast playing with his cousins and Shane is getting his fill of Ohio food so it's all good.

Thankful

My family has a tradition on Thanksgiving that before we can eat dinner, we go around the table and say something that we are thankful for. As a kid this was torture! All the yummy food smells filling the air and the total anticipation of stuffing myself silly. It was hard to be patient to say the least and being the bashful type, I really didn't like all those people looking at me while I thought of something to say that didn't sound too cheesy or lame.

I hate to say it, but things haven't changed much. I hate the tradition still. Mostly because I hate having all the attention even for the few measly seconds it takes to spew out some canned "I'm thankful for my family" type line.

Its not that I'm not thankful. I just like the time to really think about what I'm thankful for and even better, type it out and hide behind the computer to express the things I am truly thankful for without everyone looking at me :)

Here is my list some more serious than others and they are in no particular order but I am so thankful for all of them:

Number one on my list is of course my family. Shane works hard so that I can have the things we need and want, I'm really spoiled. He's a good dad and takes time to play with the kids, something I find hard to do after I've spent the whole day doing the domestic stuff. I'm especially thankful for him right now as we are apart for the next 7 days and it's KILLING me! (I will explain in a future post)

Roman is quite silly. He's super social and LOVES to talk. My ears get tired, but I'm so glad he can talk so well. Marisa has such a great personality and has suddenly grown up in the last month (probably because she had to). She is learning so many things so fast. It makes me sad sometimes to see her grow up so fast, but so proud of her. Ezra quickly made his place in our family and fits right in. I love watching him grow.

more:
2. Baby swing
3. Pacifiers
4. Really good sleep
5. Our home
6. nice neighbors
7. T.V.
8. Sweatshirts
9. That I can sew
10. Dishwashers and washing machines
11. Breakfast Cereal
12. Shane's job
13. The things I know because of the Gospel
14. my legs
15. my hands
16. Bedtime
17. Good food

My list could go forever, but I will stop there and might add a bit in the morning when I've had some sleep.

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all had a good one.

Love Hurts

our kids love their buddies. And it shows.

Rhino was a random purchase at JCPenny when Roman was about 1 year old. He was so soft and SO cute, we just had to get him. He has been his best bud ever since.
We bought a back up for Rhino because he went everywhere with us for about a year and half. we were worried that he might be lost somewhere. He's been across the country at least 3 times, probably 4. Now, he mostly stays in bed but he's still #1. The back up just sits in my closet. He probably won't ever come out since Rhino stays home most of the time now, but it's amazing to see how different he looks now.

We bought Marisa this elephant but she never really attached herself to it.

But she knows it's hers so we can't hand it down to Ezra. She LOVES her dolly that her cousins bought her for Christmas last year so we bought another one on Amazon.com as a back up and it came in the mail today. I thought she was holding up pretty well until I saw her in her original condition again. YIKES! Shane wanted to rotate her in so that if in the case she needed replaced she would not look so new... but I think we are beyond that point. HA

I bought this guy for E. He's supposed to be here tomorrow. I had to buy him online as well since it seems that you can't find a cute stuffed animal ANYWHERE! Seriously, we've been to just about every store.
When the kids are older we might just burn the old friends and have nothing but plush soft memories with the back ups. But then, each stain and tear tells a story.

Must be in their blood

My kids, and their dad, LOVE the Christmas song Dominick the Donkey. Marisa begs to watch this video any time I'm on the computer. So it must be in their Italian blood because this song drives me nuts!!! It gets stuck in my head, and any song that is stuck in my head makes me angry, even if it's a song I like. AND... I always end up with it stuck in my head in the middle of the night when I'm feeding Ezra! talk about annoying!

Check out the Italian Christmas Donkey Here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok5rOO2v2dU

I did go find a CD with the song on it at the library so not only can we hear it several times a day we can listen to it in the car too! Woo hoo! More things I do to make myself crazy!

Anyway, Just wanted to share a little bit of the Christmas Cheer that we are already enjoying at our house. :)

Why do I do this to myself?

I swear I am my own worst enemy. What did I do? On top of everything else I think I can do, I TRIED to have the kids pictures taken yesterday. We did actually get some decent pictures out of the trip, but I swear I'm going to die early from the stress.

Surprisingly enough, Marisa's pictures were PERFECT!!!! She hates having her picture taken, especially in those dark rooms with scary lights and a silly person holding a huge camera. But I gave her a piece of candy to suck on and she was pleasant enough to turn out some pretty cute ones. I had a hard time not purchasing every single one. I can't wait to share them.

Roman, who is usually pretty cooperative was suddenly stubborn and wouldn't do a darn thing that the girl asked him to. Then, he was a total wimp when it came to holding Ezra for a few pictures. Seriously! "He's heavy!" he would whine, then rubbing his arms and belly like he's all hurt. And his hair was messy so his didn't turn out so great.

Ezra just wanted to sleep so he wasn't so pleased that I took him out of his cuddly car seat for all the nonsense. His pictures were ok, but he seems to have the same skin as Roman which is super sensitive but the oily, so his face is red and broken out. But if I wait for it to clear out, he will be 3 months old. So, you get what you get right?

And you know what? We'll probalby do it again in a few months for a picture of the entire family.

Top it off with the fact that I took on a sewing order that I have to finish in time to ship to Singapore before Christmas. And the fact that I'm painting the basement bathroom in my "spare time" and I think someone needs to pre-admit me to the nut house... just in case.

Now that's just crazy!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

The upside to nursing

Well, I guess there is an up side to all this nursing nonsense. That lovely 50 lbs I gained in 9 months, melts off me like butter!!!!

I got brave and pulled out my jeans the other day.

The verdict?

Houston, we fit!

Well.... fit is a relative term. They are zipped and snapped. Not sure I want to sit for very long, or eat... or breath. But they are on. :)

Yes, I poured myself into them and they are PAINTED on, but they are on, and the jeans with the lovely elastic waistband are going in the box.

Now, to work on the area two inches above the waistband where everything that didn't fill up the jeans is spilling over and the muscles that have been stretched out for months aren't quite snapping back into their original position and holding my guts in place. Hmmm.

But, It did feel good to take all those over sized clothes and pack them all away, who knows if we will ever see them again. Only time will tell I guess.

8 maids a milking

I WISH! Then I wouldn't have so much work to do.

Yes, this post is about breastfeeding so if you don't want to hear about my breastfeeding woes and everything associated with it.... Skip this one.

I know there are a lot of women out there who LOVE breastfeeding. I know that many women enjoy the connection they have with their babies when they breastfeed, and enjoy the time to relax and enjoy time with just that child and continue breastfeeding on into the second year and beyond and the reasons to love breastfeeding go on and on. I'm not one of these women. I am counting down the days until this milk machine shuts down production (Exactly 342 days to go, in case you are wondering).

Don't get me wrong. I DO believe that breastfeeding is the best option. I don't believe that anything man maid will ever be as good for a baby as breastmilk. And have you smelled formula? I gag every time I smell the stuff. YUCK! This is why I subject myself to an entire year of this.

But, here is why, If I could, I would hire someone else to do this job.

• I smell.... ALL THE TIME! I can not escape the smell of sour milk. It's like it's stuck to me.
• I wake up feeling like a soggy wet rag.
• One side just plain makes more milk than the other and I walk around lopsided for a year. Although I'm hopefully the only one who notices.
• No one else can help me out with this chore. So day or night, no matter what is going on, I'm the one who feeds the baby (I know, I can pump a bottle, but that is just as much work).
• For some reason nursing and teeth grinding go hand in hand for me. So my teeth hurt all the time too.
• Try finding a nursing bra that fits.... YEAH RIGHT! I won't go into details but lets just say they don't make nursing bras in "training bra" sizes. :( sad.
• I know some people can pull it off, but even after three kids, I stink at nursing in public and I will NEVER enjoy it. Nursing on an airplane is 100 time worse.
• There is more.... lots more, but many of these things go into details I'm sure you don't want to know.
  

I shouldn't complain, all my kids have been nursing professionals. I never have had an infection (which would really test my willingness to nurse) and all of my kids have equally lost interest in nursing at one year and weaned SUPER easy. And I DO feel like I'm giving my kids the best food they can get, which is more than I can say about what I feed them when they start to eat solids. But.... I just feel like a cow, and this cow's gonna moo!

Who knew?

Roman knows the pledge of allegiance. He just spouted it off today on the way home from Preschool.

He doesn't like to tell me much about preschool or about anything important really. It's strange really because he talks non stop about NOTHING! So I have to drag any information about preschool out of him by asking "what did you have for snack?" "who did you play with?" "what songs did you sing?" etc.

But today he did tell me that he helped with the flag at preschool and I asked if he knew the pledge of allegiance and what do you know, He did!

Wanna know another thing that Roman "knows"?

He "knows" that babies all get put in a river and go floating in the water after they are born.

He had said something about how all babies know how to float a few days ago and I made sure he knew that all babies DON'T know how to float and that we never put them in the water without their mommies. He asked me today if Ezra floated in the water after he was born.

So, I asked him why he thought that all babies float in the water after they are born and he said, "The mommies put them in the water after the are born, my BIG book says so".

So I scramble my brain trying to figure out what book he's talking about and TA DA!!! I remember, we have a Bible for kids and it has the story of Moses being placed in the river by his mom. Somehow he figured this must be what happens to all babies. YIKES! Maybe we better start discussing these stories a little bit after we read them to him.

Another side note, Romans primary program was on Sunday and he did really well, he was bored sitting up there in front of the congregation for over an hour and kept waving and making faces etc. Well, anyway, Roman had a small line for the program and I had never really talked to him about it or practiced it with him until Sunday morning. I had him say it 5 or so times and he had it memorized. What a little smarty pants. It wasn't super long or anything but it was a good 20+ words.

Santa Clause is Coming to town

Much to the dismay of some (Kristy ;)) I've got Christmas on the brain. I know, I'm victim to the barrage of "BIG toy books" that have come via mail and paper, and the two radio stations that play non stop Christmas music starting November 1st. But It's ok. I don't mind. I like Christmas.

We've been trying to figure out what to get the kids this year and so far, it's been really tough.

Roman is in this stage of not really wanting to play with toys much, and a lot of the time he just wants to play games or draw things or practice writing his letters etc. So I really don't want to spend tons of money on a toy that will just go on the pile of other toys he doesn't play with. He got a dart gun when Ezra was born which he LOVES but he doesn't need another one :). We've got two packs of extra darts to put in his stocking though. Any ideas? I know he would love a game for the Wii, but I'm not sure I want to go there. It's kind of nice just having three games so that he does get sick of playing at some point and actually wants to turn it off. It really doesn't help that he doesn't know what he wants either.

I've been clueless on what to get Marisa as well because she well.... Doesn't care about much yet. She would enjoy playing with a spatula, or Roman's toys as much as anything else. I did get a small insight at Sams Club last night when she begged to ride on this:
I was really surprised because she is such a chicken about EVERYTHING. So...I figure she must have a thing for horses. She actually rode on a real pony at the state fair and she loves her My Little Pony that she got when Ezra was born. This horse is kind of expensive and is quite small. It only fits up to about a 3 year old. I know I would have to dish out some threats to keep Roman off of it. There is a larger one that up to a 6 year old and are a flash back to my childhood. You know... We've all had our fingers pinched in those noisy metal springs. But they are so big that I would have to help Marisa get and stay on and chances are she would be afraid to ride it. Not much of a present for her, and really not much of a present for me. So I don't know. Other than that, I have no idea.

Ezra, I'm sorry to say, will be lucky if he gets a baby Einstein DVD, and a bank account. Sorry kiddo, there are some downsides to being clueless. And being the third child. We have more than enough baby stuff. :)

Shane is always hard to shop for. i usually end up getting him something I want him to have. We thought we may need a new DVD player but it turns out our current one was just plugged in wrong so we'll probably hold off on that. I'm asking Santa for the shredder attachment for my kitchen aid mixer.

Anyway, I would love to hear what you are getting your kids and/or what has been a hit at your house.

Least you think....

I'm wonder woman.... I'm not.

Just a reality check since you all see the best parts of my day/life and the worst parts are left untold. I'm no wonder woman. Thanks to all who willingly say so though.

Today was my first day alone with all three kids since E's birth. How did it go? Just fine. But I'm exhausted, I keep nearly bursting into tears for no reason (oh, how I hate the after pregnancy hormones), and the house is a DISASTER. There are clothes, diapers, toys, shoes and blankets EVERYWHERE!

Ezra has spent the bulk of his day asleep in the bouncy chair and Roman has already been dished more threats and bribes than I would like to admit. Marisa had to be woken from her nap and thrown in the car to take Roman to preschool which led to a 10 minute screaming fit. And instead of cleaning while E and M nap, I'm blogging.

In the perfect world I would have held Ezra all morning while Roman and Marisa played nicely. Or had him in the sling while I picked up the living room. I would have put Marisa in her bed 10-15 minutes earlier so that she would be done sleeping in time to go to preschool. I would have taken the time to find out what it was she wanted so badly so as to avoid the deafening car ride, and the house would be tidy. I would have called the preschool teacher and offered to drive on the school field trip (something I'm not sure I can handle) and I would have already made a shopping list for tomorrow. And, I would not be avoiding it all right now to blog about it.

Nope, I'm not superwoman. I'm just a normal gal trying to remember the good times and forget the less than ideal. And TRYING to make sure that my kids think that having a little brother is an OK thing.

A little bit about Ezra

I know, after two weeks you would think there isn't much to know about the guy, but I tend to forget the first month or so of my kids' life due to sleep deprivation so I need some help reminding myself what they are like.

First of all I can't believe he's been around two weeks already, I guess when the nights and days blend together and I don't go anywhere or do anything a week can go by without even realizing it.

So, here is a little bit about Ezra:

He is such a good baby. He doesn't cry much. Only when he's hungry, or can't quite get himself to sleep. Granted, Marisa was pretty content until about the two week mark too, but he's doing good so far.

He must be trying for the position of "favorite kid" because he doesn't spit up much at all. HALLELUJAH!!! Both Roman and especially Marisa were very spitty babies. Marisa had to change her shirt about every 3 hours at the hospital because she would barf all over it. Not just a little. The entire shirt would be soaked. This continued until she was nearly 1 year old. Our carpets are stained all over our house and nearly all of her cute baby clothes are ruined :(. The only time Ezra spits up is when he over eats and a little milk comes spilling out his mouth, None of that curdled half digested stinky stuff. Or, if I completely fail to burp him.

Another star for E, He has never peed on me once! Go kid! He did make a point to pee on my Dr. just as soon as soon as he could. Good boy! that will teach that Dr. to put the heart monitor in your scalp.


Ezra can scream like a girl. It's almost shocking. He sometimes starts out his cries with this blood curdling scream. Another shocking noise he makes is this cough of his. It sounds like a cat that has a hair ball. It's kind of scary at first, then I realized it's just his normal cough.

His nickname so far is "little grumpy" He got this because he always has this pissed off look on his face or like he wants to fight. Must have got that from his dad.

He does seem to have his days and nights backward which is a first for me. Why he wants to be awake in the dark with a half dead mommy for company is beyond me. During the day you cant make this kid stay awake. He'll get it figured out soon I hope.


He does not like the pacifier. I keep forcing it on him at times when I simply can not feed him. Luckily, Marisa knows the difference between her pacifiers and his and doesn't seem too bothered by the fact that he has one and she doesn't. But, Grandma gave Ezra one of Marisa's pacifiers and boy did we hear about that.

There you have it. A little bit about our little man.

Halloween...a few days late

Well, it took me forever to get these photos edited up and ready to post but here you have it.

Roman LOVED Halloween this year. He really liked it last year too, but this year he was at the height of excitement over it all. He knew what he wanted to be since about August and he never changed his mind.

We started out the day with Pumpkin carving. This year I made sure to only have one pumpkin to carve since pumpkin carving at our house is mostly just sit around and watch mom do it. :) The kids helped scoop out the goop. Thanks little helpers!




Roman picked this design and I have to say, it turned out pretty cute, and really wasn't too terribly hard.

Next on the Halloween agenda was the Pre-school program. The kids sang about 20 songs about witches and pumpkins etc. while decked out in their costumes. I had never heard Roman sing more than about a line of one of them, but he did really well at singing all the words. They also passed out treats for each other. More candy! YEAH!!!!


After dinner we dressed up for some begging.... I mean trick-or-treating. Marisa was not liking it one bit. She cried and cried. I didn't help matters by hurting her arm at the very first house. So her first memorable Halloween was less than ideal. She might be more accepting of it next year. She is enjoying the few pieces of candy that she did get. I'm not really one to dress up tiny clueless babies, but I decided it would make for a cute picture, and it did. Since it was such a warm day, he even did a little trick-or-treating himself.



Roman is counting down the days until next Halloween and made sure that he gets to do this again when he is 5. As for me, I'm playing candy police for the next few weeks.