Flashback Friday: The Case for My Name

I was to be named Holly. At a whopping 5 lb. 12 oz. and 3 weeks early, I was born to my 17-year-old mother in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Maybe I didn't look like a Holly to my mom, I don't know, but at the last minute my mom named me after her mother, Grandma Nancy. I love my grandma. She is beautiful and kind. She is forgiving and sees the good in everyone. I spent a good portion of my babyhood living with my grandparents. I was very loved and very spoiled. Although I don't see Grandma very often (she lives in New England), we have a bond. I don't even know how to describe it. We just do.

I didn't always love my name. Noone names their child Nancy these days. In high school, I hated introducing myself as Nancy. It just wasn't cute like Jennifer or Jessica or Michelle. I was called Nancy Reagan in elementary school; and later, Nancy Kerrigan. And to make things worse, my younger sister did have a cute name, Jamie. In the 7th grade, I went to a Junior High school that had a large Hispanic student population. That was the only time in my existence that I had classmates with my name. They called me "Nancita."

When I was a sophomore in high school, we spent 9 months living in New Hampshire. I decided to change my name on the school records to Nikki. Even my family called me Nikki. I still can't believe I did that. Even in college I tried to shake things up a bit and started writing my name with an "ie" instead of a "y."

I have grown to love my name. Especially after marrying and becoming a mother. I see the adults that I looked up to as a child with new eyes now that I'm an adult; I am in awe of my grandmother. Thanks mom. I'm seriously considering naming my girl , if I ever have one, Mary, after you. But then again, for those of you who know our last name, I don't think our daughter would ever forgive us.

Apparently, It Runs in the Family

Speaking of swelling up like a balloon....

Yesterday around noon

Andrew developed a bright red rash on his cheeks, neck & ears. We gave him some Benadryl and it went away.

Around 5 pm

The rash appeared again, along with swelling around his knees, wrists and feet. The swelling was warm to the touch. He couldn't walk. We gave him Ibuprofen and more Benadryl and made a call to the on-call doctor (who suggested that we take pictures of him to show his pediatrician in the morning).

Around 9 pm

He looked like this:

The on-call doctor assured me he could wait to be seen in the morning as long as his breathing was okay. I slept by his side to make sure of that.

In the morning

I tried not to freak out. His eyes were swollen. His toes & fingers looked like sausages and they looked almost bruised. The rash had spread all over his body.

His pediatrician said he had a severe case of hives, probably from an allergic reaction to something he ingested or inhaled. Andrew has eaten very ordinary foods in the last few days-his pediatrician said we may never know exactly why he got them. He was given an injection of dexamethasone and a prescription for prednisone.

Now

He's looking much better. He's not back to his usual monkey self, but he's getting there. So weird, huh?

Flashback Friday: Why I'm Never Allowed to be Nine Months Pregnant in June Again

Bear with me, this one's going to be painful....

I have always wanted to have children. Since like 5. I loved little babies and I had quite the babysitting business growing up. Imagine my delight when I became a Mormon, where not only was it extremely ordinary to have a house-full of kids, but to be able to stay home with them, was accepted and standard.

I was married at 22, we ran into some road blocks that kept at us at bay for awhile (that's where Randy and his rational thinking stepped in), and then the light turned green at age 25 when we were finally ready to add to our family. It took us 6 LONG MONTHS before we conceived. I took my temperature everyday, I charted, I read books, & belonged to discussion forums. Are you beginning to notice a pattern here? I'm not exactly a haphazard person. (I really need help.)

And here's the psychotic part to the story:

I was at work, I was feeling REALLY tired. I thought to myself, either I have strep throat or I'm pregnant. During my lunch break, I went to Albertson's to buy a pregnancy test, and took it right there in the Albertson's bathroom. I held my breath as I watched the faint blue line appear in the "test" window. I couldn't believe it! I bawled & bawled all by myself in the filthiest of filthy bathrooms. I pulled myself together, went to my car and called Randy who was in California at the time for a medical school interview. He had to contain his excitement since he was riding in the car of the medical student that picked him up from the airport. I think he was more relieved than excited. Finally, his psychotic wife could move on to worrying about something else! Then I called my mom and blubbered to her. Then I went to work and blubbered to my manager and a couple of co-workers. Then I went to the drugstore near my house and picked up a few more packages of pregnancy tests. I took 7 tests just to make sure I was indeed really pregnant.

My pregnancy was non-eventful. Except for the fact that I swelled up like a balloon. It wasn't a pretty sight, proceed with caution:

20 weeks
(What happened to my cute hair?)

26 weeks

32 weeks

5 days before delivery. Whoa Nelly.

I'm going to spare you from pictures of my swollen feet. But believe you me, they we so swollen. I had to wear slippers to work and I never thought I'd be able to wear normal shoes again.

To be continued....

A Day at the Museum

The Discovery Children's Museum, one of the many reasons why I love living in this city:

The B-Team babies, all growed up

Baby Brother likes to supervise

Did you have fun Andrew?

Did you have fun Josh?

I'm In Mommy Heaven

I can now rapidly shoot pictures of my boys (who almost always have ants in their pants). I can't help myself-I've taken 400 shots today. Thank goodness for the auto modes because I have no idea what I'm doing! Nikon sold me with their "child" auto mode.

My Downfall

I bought a bag of these:

To make these for a family dinner tomorrow:

If you want to add extra spring to your step go to this or this blog.

Big mistake.

If you are my friend, please never bring these treats to my house. Never.

Flashback Friday: Andrew's Comforts

Andrew was a binky baby....at first.

And I have several more pictures to document that we did try.

But then he started to experiment....

And then he got pretty good...




Then it became a full-blown addiction....

Then came the White Onesie....

That lasted for a few months until the "Feet Blankie" was discovered....

From my research, children usually outgrow this before the age of three....

We're still going strong.

This is "Cool Blankie." Equally as loved as "Feet Blankie." There's nothing wrong with your screen, "Cool Blankie" is pink. It used to be orange.

It sleeps with him and watches TV with him. On occasion it will go on errands with him, but most of the time, it stays home.

My favorite move, the Covert Operation. Suck fingers with the left hand, cover it up with Blankie with the right hand.

Sunbeams & Swimming

Andrew is a SUNBEAM!!

He entered the Primary room and was excited to find his very own chair that had his picture on it:

This was the actual photo. He likes to cheese it up for the camera. What a goof.

He was happy to be there.....as long as I was by his side. He didn't want me to leave (I tried), so I got to sit with him for the whole time. At first I was annoyed by his clinginess, but now I'm glad I got to be there to see him interact and sing the Primary songs. He's in a class with ALL BOYS. Boy, do they have their work cut out for them! Two of the other boys are in his preschool class, and let me tell you from firsthand experience, when they get together-watch out! During class time, one of their teachers held up a picture of baby Moses and had them repeat the name Moses back to her. Well, they thought that was a pretty fun word and kept saying "Moooooses!" over and over and over again.

I didn't know Andrew was going to be "one of those kids" that sang a bit on the irreverent side. When they got to "I am a Child of God," he sang it loud and proud. I would describe Andrew as a mild-mannered kid, but when he gets around his friends, he's a bit of a clown. His teachers did such a great job of keeping him focused on the task at hand.

I was baptized a member of our church when I was 19, so I didn't experience Primary as a child. When I was first baptized, I was called to team-teach a Sunbeam class with one of my best friends, Tanya. And for 5 consecutive years now, I've served as 2nd counselor, president, secretary, and stake secretary in the Primary. I know this organization well and I love it!! It's so fun to see my child partake of its goodness.

Now on to the Swimming part:

Andrew started swim lessons this week and I discovered that Andrew is indeed a fish out of water. To say he loved it would be an understatement. He did exactly what his teacher asked him to do-blow bubbles, dunk his head under the water, float on his back, kick & paddle. When his lesson was over, he threw a very nice fit because he didn't want to leave! It's been fun to watch him really love something.

The Family Dinner Lives On

The dinner hour at our house is very busy, as I imagine it is for every one of us moms. Studies show that the family dinner helps to keep the family together, so I thought I'd share with you what I've learned after 7 years and over 2000 dinners on the table (by 6 pm sharp!):

1. Once a week:
I make a list for a week's worth of meals and I only go to the store ONCE a week. I'm in and out in an hour or less (and usually with 2 bumpkins in tow). Next to sorting the laundry (another thing I only do once a week), making a grocery list is my least favorite chore.; it's tedious work. The payoff is that I don't have to think about it for at least another 7 days.

*I used to plan a month's worth of meals, but that went out the window once I had kids. It's simpler for me to plan a week at a time.

2. Write down the menu:
I plan my meals according to what's going on that week. For example, on Card Night, I plan something very simple. I usually designate one day a week for leftovers. After planning the menu, I write it down on our white board in the kitchen. Randy loves this because he can dream about the hot-cooked meal awaiting him upon his return from work. I love it because I don't have to wonder what I'm going to fix for dinner that night, all I have to do is execute! Another good thing about making a menu is the peace of mind of knowing that my kids get at least ONE nutritious meal a day (as opposed to the chicken nuggets, mac & cheese, and hot dogs they get for lunch!)

3. The Crockpot is my friend:
When I know I'm going to have a busy afternoon, I cook as much as I can in during lunch time or naps and then stick it in the crock pot to cook. When you get home, it's ready to go!

4. Set the table in advance:
I learned this from my mother-in-law--she sets the table WAY before the meal (sometimes even the night before). I've started making the habit to set the table during nap time. It really makes the dinner hour much simpler.

5. Let the machine get the phone and turn off the TV:
It feels good to let that phone ring. Some of our happiest times have been sitting around the table and eating good food together. It's probably also why I'll never be a size 2.

Making Lemonade Out of Lemons

Here is someone putting January's snow to good use. Every time we drive to Randy's parents, we look forward to seeing the latest creation...

The Cuteness

Oh, Joshua. What are we going to do with you?

Josh has learned the art of throwing baby tantrums. They're not the two-year-old-I want-to-beat-you kind; they're more like the ooohh!-you're-so-cute-I-just-want-to-scoop-you-up-and-kiss-your-scrumptious-cheeks kind. When he doesn't get his way (which usually involves taking away something he can't play with), he bangs his head to the floor and then throws himself down onto his back. Then he's mad because ouch! that hurt! We all get a kick out of it. He's so cute, I want to have 12 just like him.

Actually, I'm quite baby hungry. But don't worry, logic & reason always trump insanity & emotion in this house (if we can help it at least!). I'm still a bit traumatized from my two newborn experiences. Thank goodness Lorena just had her baby, I can just hop across the hall (ok, maybe not hop) to her apartment and play with Scotty's little bird legs whenever I have an inkling.

Here are Josh's stats from his 1-year checkup:
Weight: 21.8 lbs 35%
Height: 31 in. 85%
Head: 18.5 in. 69%

Grandpa Don

Picture courtesy of Randy's cousin, Kelli

We attended the funeral of Randy's grandpa this week. He passed away suddenly and peacefully. It was nice to get together with family and friends to celebrate his life. I didn't know his grandpa very well, but the comments made that day were that Don was a very loving man. Now that's a legacy to be proud of. I'm glad we got to see him one last time on Christmas day...

Daily Herald:

Don Wesley, 82, returned home to his Heavenly Father Saturday, December 29, 2007. He passed away peacefully at his home in Springville. He was born December 22, 1925 in Wales, Utah. The Son of Henry Benjamin and Tenna Ethel. He married Dora of Fountain Green, December 31, 1943 in Moroni, Utah. Dora preceded him in death and they are now together. He later, married Jetta from Lehi, Utah on September 3 0, 1994 in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Don served in the Merchant Marines during World War II and was part of the Okinawa campaign, supplying ammunition and supplies to our troops. Don worked for Geneva Steel for 40 plus years and was very proud of this accomplishment. He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and remembered being baptized in the Manti Temple. He enjoyed the deer hunt on Wales Mountain, Sanpete County and loved raising cattle on his property in Fairview, Utah. Dad loved spending the hot summers, traveling with his family, on vacation.

He is preceded in death by his parents and three brothers, Bryant, Glade, Charles Burke and one sister Venice. He is survived by his brother Foster, his wife Jetta, two daughters and four sons: Linda (Karl) of St. George, Marlena (Ken) of Genola, Danny (Carolyn), Larry (Deborah), Tommy Jay (Sandra), Eldon all of Springville and step children. Dad was grateful to have 14 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.

Danny, Jay, Larry, Eldon, Marlena

Dear Future Neighbor,

Ok, we need to get some things straight, if we plan to be friends. Yes, my husband is a doctor. An actual M.D. He's a Pathologist; he doesn't work with actual patients--he looks at their insides under a microscope. Yes, he did go through four years of medical training, but if you have a simple question like:

My kid has a fever and is pulling at his ears, can you look at them for me?

I've been having headaches for three days in a row, why is that?

I get these wierd splinter thingies under my nailbeds-what's that from?

What is a concussion?

He may befuddle you with big words straight from one of his textbooks he had to memorize, but don't let this fool you. He probably just doesn't know the answer. You see, if you want to know about the big offenders such as diabetes or heart disease, he's your man. But for the everyday stuff, you're better off going to wikipedia.com; or better yet, call your family doctor.

Oh, and one more thing--he's not doling out prescription slips at our house. Nope, we go to our family doctor just like everybody else. Well, except we paid $80,000+ in tuition for a medical education.

Sincerely,

Your Very-Unconnected Friend

Weekend Getaway

We desperately had the need to GET AWAY from our children. They're cute. They're fun. We love them to pieces, but I don't know, maybe Josh's incessant screaming on the way to Grandma & Grandpa's house, put us over the edge. We ditched our beloved offspring to their very generous and very kind grandparents and hurried out the door before anyone had a chance to change their mind. We went to lunch and then wasted the afternoon away shopping child-free, carseat-free, and meltdown-free. We then made our way to this haven:

We watched movies and ate pizza in bed--it was lovely.