I DID IT!

I finished my very first real sewing project!  I am very proud of myself.  A friend of mine made a crib sheet for McKenzie's crib so I decided to cover a bumper pad to match it.   I have never done anything like this so it was an adventure.  I took way too long at the fabric store and finally found something I liked.  Then I had to figure out  how to measure and cut to precise measurements.  Once this was done I hand sewed nearly 16 of the 24 ties.  It was fun but I was ready to move on to other things that need my attention.  At this point I borrowed a sewing machine and finished the rest.  I had never used a sewing machine before so it was interesting in the beginning.  Either way, I am done and proud of the product.  Here are some before and after pictures.

Before:

 After:

This One's For You

Wow!  What a gap I have created in my blog and how things have changed.  I could go on and on and on about all the things we have done in the last nine months or so but that could take a long while.  Therefore I will give a brief description and then promise to say something atleast once a month or so. 

Lets begin.  Last time I took the time to tolerate my kids bouncing around and screaming at me while I updated my blog was when I announced we were going to have a baby.  I never took the time to announce that we would be having a baby girl and despite the challenges at the beginning of the pregnancy, she appeared to be healthy!  Great news! 

The next thing that comes to my mind is a big family vacation.  In March Sterling's parents took all the siblings and grandkids on a trip to Disney World!  It was so much fun.  Neither myself or the kids have ever been.  We ate, and ate, and ate.  We also did just about everything a kid would want to do; they met several characters, experienced the fun rides, and watched the magic unfold.  We were able to see the fireworks from our hotel room so I told the kids as we put them to bed to watch as Mickey and his helpers tell them goodnight by sending fireworks into the sky.  I am now convinced that it truly is a magical place!

Then comes May 18th!  Our little McKenzie Lynne joined our crazy family.  Poor girl didn't know what she was getting into.  We are happy to announce (three months later) that she was born happy and healthy and continues on that path.  It was such a wonderful experience as the labor and delivery went perfectly.  Since then she has learned to play, smile, laugh and much more. 

Ten days later we decided to purchase a 2010 Dodge Grandcaravan.  I had buyers remorse until we took a  trip to Utah where I learned the purchase was totally worth it.

Here we are, it is August 31, 2011.  Three and a half years past our promised time to be transferred out of good ole Tucson.  The transfer never came and we decided it probalby never will.  So as our time came to renew the rental contract yet again, we learned that we could in fact afford a home!  We are happy to announce that we have purchased a home and will be moving in less than two months!  We are excited and nervous for this change but it will be so fun!

To all of you who have been checking and checking and checking for an update, you need to thank my persistant sister-in-law Becky!  She kept emailing and emailing and emailing and begging for an update.  So Becky, this one's for you!

The Not So Fun Way to Find Out You Are Pregnant!

It all began the end of August with some chest pain. I was so nervous and terrified that I kept trying to tell myself it was just in my head and that it wasn't a big deal. Well, three weeks later I kept having the pain and it got worse. My left arm started tingling which made me come to reality that I needed to do something about it. I tried the doctors and they wouldn't accept me, I asked Sterling for a priesthood blessing and in that blessing was my answer. So I went to the urgent care where they did all sorts of tests and decided to send me to the hospital by ambulance. Well, after several tests, an x-ray, and medications, thankfully they concluded that there was just some inflammation in my chest cavity. I must back track and say that before the whole time I was letting them know that I might be pregnant. They did a test and didn't exactly say I wasn't pregnant but continued with the x-ray and medications any way.

When I left they gave me an anti-inflammatory and told me to make an ER check up with my doctor. A few days later I went to my doctor, they told me to stop my meds and did some more blood work on me. Well, not many days after that I was home with the kids and recieved the phone call and I quote "Hi Wendy, we got your results in from your blood work, and your pregnancy test was positive, and you have hypothyroidism! Oh, and you need to call your doctor as soon as possible since you have been on medication which can cause harm to the baby." This would mean I was only about three weeks pregnant!

I was freaking out. Scared to death because I still didn't know what was wrong with me, plus my baby could have been harmed from all the previous treatments. Time went on, more and more appointments came about, and finally an appointment with the cardiologist. This cardiologist concluded that everything I had been experiencing was due to my bodies reaction to the pregnancy and me lifting something causing muscle inflammation. What a relief! I just had to wait it out and take things easy so I could get better since I couldn't take meds to get it better.

It has now been about 11 weeks since I found out I was going to have a baby and things are looking alot better. My sisters showed up and helped me out tremendously with things around here so I could get better. I am so grateful for them just showing up, it helped me get better so much quicker. To end this long boring story and let you all know I am due May 28th and we are so excited to find out what the gender may be. The kids keep saying they want a sister. We shall see!

DISNEYLAND FUN!

We just recently went on a fun family vacation to Disneyland. We took a trip to the Santa Monica beach and pier, to Hollywood, and most importantly, we went to Disneyland to meet Pooh Bear! It was SO much fun. We were so lucky to be able to stay with the best of friends, Richie, Angie, and Mylie. We hadn't seen them for a few months so it was a great reunion spending the time in California with them and staying in thier apartment. The kids just played and played and well, so did the adults. With the help of the Whitakers we were able to beat Super Mario on our Wii. With many laughs , and some embarrassments, we just had a blast!! The kids (including Sterling :)) favorite part was watching the Disneyland videos on the computer for months and months and then FINALLY have it all come to life. They loved meeting Pooh Bear, Tigger, and Eeyore (though our camera died so we don't have pictures) and the Pooh Bear ride was the all time favorite. I loved the beach and the Pier; I just love people watching and there were so many interesting people there that it was just fun to watch.

Sadly Brooklyn is constanly asking to go to Mylie's house and to go to Disneyland with Mylie. It is sad to tell her that we can't because I want to go visit Mylie again as much as she does. We miss you Whitakers!! Anyway, this is getting too long so I will just show some pictures. There may be too many but we were having so much fun and I saw so many moments that I wanted to capture so we have a lot of pictures to share!!

Cute Girls!

Best Friends

Play Play Play = a Good Good Day!

This morning I was extra lazy. Trevor woke up super early this morning so I just held him in bed while I tried to get a little more sleep. He did pretty good for a while, but then he decided that he was missing Brooklyn. Just as he called for Brooklyn, she came walking into our room. The boy was so excited to see his big sister! They immediately began to play. Being the lazy mother that I am, I got them a couple cups of milk, some dry cereal in some bowls, handed it to the kids, and laid right back in bed. Well, the following pictures is what I woke up to a little while later. My kids were busy!

I saw that they did a bit of coloring and playing in my night stand.

Then I saw that they had covered nearly every piece of floor with little blankets.

Brooklyn even made up several little beds in the hallway for her babies.

There was more busyness then I could show (I just don't know how to post more than five pictures at a time). I usually like to keep things picked up around the house, but this time, I just let everything be. It was so great to wake up from what you could call a "morning nap" to see that my kids had been busy playing.

However one thing made me wish that it was one of those days that the kids were bored to tears. I quickly found out that is was totally a day to be outside when I stepped outside to water some of our plants and the weather was just absolutely perfect. Why is that, the kids FINALLY play nicely, and it is a perfect day to spend outside!! Oh well I guess. So I decided to take advantage of the nice weather; we did sidewalk chalk, went on a long walk, and played in the rain until the kids were ready to be done! What a good day!!

Brooklyn's Third Birthday!

Brooklyn turned three this year. Her birthday was very busy this year. We started her birthday celebration with a birthday party for her. She just had a few friends over and we spent two hours playing games, painting with pudding, opening presents, and eating cake. The kids had a blast and we worn out by the time the party ended!
Brooklyn's birthday was a busy one but a fun one. We started the day with going to a nearby botanical garden. We enjoyed ourselves but were glad to get home and out of the heat. Dad got to come home early from work and the real party began. Brooklyn and I made an Elmo cake for her, we covered the apartment with balloons, and opened presents.

The rest of the afternoon we spent playing all sorts of balloon games, playing with all of her gifts, and testing out her new tennis racket (which she says is her favorite present). To top off the day, we took her to the church to hit some balls, well while we were there the sprinklers came on. The kids got absolutley soaked and had the time of their lives. All in all it was a great day for all of us. It is fun to see Brooklyn grow and progress in all she does. We love her so much and are very grateful to be her parents. Trevor loves her so much that he just cries when we drop her off at a play group with friends, makes me laugh.

Anyway, next chance I get, I may post m0re pictures of the birthday festivities, but until then this is all you get!

What to do, What to do? (if anything just read the blue text!)

We just returned home from our semi-annual two week trip to Utah, the great majority of which was spent outside playing with friends and family. We went to the zoo, went to a pool, ran through sprinklers, helped in the yard, and spent some good quality time with friends and family. I could go on and on about ALL the fun activities that we got to do, but I just don't think it is necessary. However I will name some firsts:

Brooklyn got to go in a canoe, both kids got to attempt

to catch some chickens, they both went to thier first 4th

of July Parade, they both did sparklers, and Trevor saw

fireworks for the first time!

Zoo Time with most of the cousins!! (Sadly we couldn't see them all as they live in Ohio, but we are excited for them to have a new baby sister Ella, join the family!!)

Canoe trip on the pond with dad!!

Trevor admiring the hen deciding whether to get closer or scoot back!!

Posing on the porch with some cousins after fun times playing in the sprinklers!!

I thouroughly enjoyed watching the kids play and get to know their family members again! However, I am sad to say that we weren't able to visit everyone that we wanted to. It is always hard on the kids, and I will admit, it is hard on my patience as well, traveling so much, but we do our best to see as many people as we can. Which brings me to my next portion of the blog, I am so ready to live by family.

I have absolutely loved getting to know so many wonderful people and friends who have become a family away from family here in Tucson. But traveling is starting to take a toll on me I think. I am ready to just live near family so we can go visit the grandparents, the parents, the siblings, and the cousins. Going to Utah this time has made me desire living there more than ever. The mountains and scenery were so beautiful, the weather was amazing, and the grass felt SO good to lay on or even walk on!! Going to Utah made me also desire more than ever to have a yard of my own. It was SO nice to sit outside and watch the kids play without trying to keep them from running away or going in separate directions as is the case for me now. The kids are SO happy when they are outside and I desire to have them be as happy as possible. Which brings me to my plea for help.

I need some serious ideas for keeping a nearly 3 year old girl and a nearly 1 1/2 year old boy entertained for cheap, inside the home, and with something that is not too complex. ANY ideas would be wonderful. I have only been home for about three days now and the kids seem like they are bored stiff and can't be entertained worth a thing. FYI the temperature here is about 105 - 110 on average so there is no way I am bringing my kids out to play for longer than 10 minutes. This final picture give somewhat of an example of all we have been doing since being back home. Eating(which they are begging for food constantly because they have nothing else to do), building a tent (which they love for a few minutes), and trying to avoid watching TV all day (which they would prefer if they had it their way). Like I said before, I am at a loss and need some ideas quick or I might just go crazy not being able to keep my kids entertained!