Big Sister

This is a picture I took the Sunday before I went in for my c-section. The cute thing about Aviendha right now is that those little flippy curls on the sides of her head are natural! I wanted to get a good portrait picture but I was doing this by myself and extremely uncomfortable, not to mention trying to get a 3 yr old to smile normal among other things was a challenge. So, this will have to do for now until I can retry with hubby's help.

She comes in every morning, early, and climbs into bed so she can pet baby Gage and try to cuddle with him while he's in bed with me nursing. After we get up, she continues to pet and try to curl up next to him for the rest of the day. She tells me how adorable and cute he is and wants to help us figure out if he's made a mess in his diaper. I need to video tape some of these moments and take some pictures for when they start fighting over stuff!

Baby Details

I went in for an appointment last Monday to check the usual as well as my fluid level. Unfortunately my fluid was dropping to dangerously low as were my insulin requirements. For a diabetic those are both bad things that mean the placenta is giving up. It doesn't matter that I took excellent care of myself, it's just the nature of the blood vessels in the placenta of a diabetic. It would have failed much faster if I hadn't kept tight control of my blood sugar. But, I was less than a week away from my due date so I did more than ok! Anyway, we scheduled a c-section for 7:30 the next morning (Tuesday the 20th) which meant we had to be at the hospital at 5:30, which meant I had to wake up and shower at 4 and make sure all my stuff was packed.

We ended up not getting to sleep Monday night until midnight between all the stuff we had to prepare and the food shopping we had to do for Tekara and Aviendha. After only 4 hours of sleep I was exhausted before the day even began. The c-section this time around felt like it went much smoother for me, probably because there was more preparation. The anesthesiologist lady was really nice, she took lots of pictures for me including baby being pulled out of me (I know, totally weird right?) I wish we could have had that last time but I didn't even know having a camera there was an option then. I'll post them pulling baby out if anyone is interested but otherwise it'll just be the 3 I chose for now.





This was pretty awesome because last time I didn't get to even touch Aviendha because they strapped my arms down. I think it had to do with the difference in having a spinal vs. an epidural. Anyway, this time I got to touch him and be close to him for a while before they took him down to the nursery, plus we got this groovy picture of Nick looking pretty rad in his duds. Gage Nicholas Terry was born at 7:55 am, weighing 6 lbs 13 oz, 20 inches long.






This is one super excited Aviendha to meet her new brother. The funny part is, she kept calling him Ezyas (Naomi's kid) because that is the last baby she got to hold. We've finally convinced her that it is indeed baby Gage who was in Mom's tummy this last little while. She treats him like a prince so far but the novelty will probably wear off here pretty soon. She loves to hold him and give him kisses. For some reason she's been obsessed with smelling his hair and telling us how stinky it is. She also likes to constantly tell us he's poopy even when he's not. She also had to check all the cupboards and closets in my hospital room every little while and announce to all the nurses after each one "Nope, no monsters in here!"





Here he is, 6 days old. He looks quite a bit like Aviendha did when she was first born. So far he's following the pattern Aviendha followed from the beginning which is not wanting to eat too much during the night and eating more during the day, which we are totally fine with! It would be awesome to have another one who sleeps like her but we'll see how that goes... Things have been going well other than the fact that the pain meds make me fall asleep sitting up when I think I'm perfectly awake. I'll try to update with better details and more pictures when I can think straight...

Sewing With Nancy

I remember growing up when my Mom would watch Sewing with Nancy all the time. I remember thinking to myself "Ugh, how can anyone watch this stuff??? It's sooooo boring!!!" And then one day it happened. I was sitting around, totally exhausted, flipping through the 8 different PBS channels we have and there it was. Sewing with Nancy.

I was hooked.

After about 2 different episodes and rolling my eyes at myself I decided it was inevitable. I'm too crafty NOT to like something like that, or any of the other shows of it's like. I also decided that while I'm laughing at myself, my Mom probably is laughing at me as well!

A Quilt to Make Mamma Proud

So, as promised, here is the quilt I've been working on the last couple of weeks. I still need to put the batting, backing, and binding on. I'll post the full finished product when it's done! Until then you get this poorly lit image, taken at night in all my excitement that I couldn't wait for some sunshine tomorrow. It's pretty large (91"x106") so there was no avoiding the fact that you can't see any of the prints very well, if at all. I guess this will make the final product look that much better right?

Busy!

I've been trying to sew a ton while I have the energy to do so before baby comes. I know I said I have something like 5 projects lined up but I'm only going to (hopefully) be able to finish one. I've been working on a quilt for Nick and I for a couple of weeks now and I'm finally piecing the top of the quilt together and will hopefully be able to have it done in the next couple of days! It took a little longer than expected considering I ran out of some key fabric and the store here didn't have anymore. I had to go down to Lewiston to get more, luckily they had the print I needed! Also I've been trying to get out as much as possible because I know I'm not going to want to go out a whole lot after this baby is born.


I also made another stuffed goodie for Aviendha for Easter. We're not big on the Easter Bunny, mainly because it has no symbolic relationship, or otherwise, to what Easter really is. Because of this, we decided that every year we would give our kids a stuffed lamb and keep all the bunny-related stuff out. We still do egg hunts and candy (we're not totally nuts!) Anyway, this year instead of buying a lamb, I made one instead:



I'm still improving on my embroidery for the facial features, but oh well! Aviendha doesn't care, she plays will all of these things I've been making her more than any of her other toys so it's been well worth it!

As soon as I get the quilt top done I'll be sure to post a picture!

Jane Doll

This is another one of the doll patterns. This is Aviendha's most favorite doll so far. She even asked to take it with her when we went out the other day, she's never asked to take anything before! I think she likes it more because she watched me make it and now she gets to keep it :)

Skirt

I started this skirt several months ago but was forced to set it aside from lack of motivation and exhaustion. I finally picked it up and finished it a few weeks ago...I wish I'd finished it sooner because I love it!

Millie Monkey

Because I've had a lot more energy I've been trying to catch up on all the sewing I've been wanting to do since last summer. I have about 5 more things I want to do before this baby comes but I doubt I'll do them all...

A friend at church told me about these easy doll patterns she found on etsy so I got a handful of them. Here is the first one I made:

New Words

Lately Aviendha has learned some new words, words that I know she didn't learn at home. The past couple of weeks when she wants everyone to pay attention to her she gets very demanding and says "Shhhhh! Quiet! No talking please! Quiet!" Well, that's all fine because she's still trying to be nice when she does it. However, the other day, she added a very mean "SHUT UP!" at the end!

We never use that phrase, it makes me cringe to hear it almost as much as the F-word so I make it a point that no one in my house ever uses it. Luckily, we nipped that in the bum right after she said it so we haven't heard it since, but now I'm worried what else she's going to pick up!

Let's face it, this day was going to come sooner or later, I just wish it was later....much later!

Why Mothers Need Sleep

Time is Flying

So it's been a while since I posted last. Not a whole lot of things going on really, just all the little changes like how Aviendha is becoming fiercely independent. She also knows she's funny. If any of you have seen Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs, she does an imitation of the guy who dresses up in a diaper, puts his finger to his mouth and says "Uh-Oh!" She even does the pose where he looks over his shoulder and sticks his bottom out a bit while saying it. I admit, it is hilarious, just not after the 50th time. I love how much fun she is though! I always fall into that trap of thinking how much she's changed when really, she's the same, there's just more to her now. I found a picture of her when she was 7 or 8 months old. She put an animal cracker on her head and gave me the most goofy smile.





She's such a joker, and always so happy (aside from those occasional toddler meltdowns!) It will be interesting to see how she functions with another sibling. Right now she's content giving her little brother (my tummy) kisses and hugs at least once a day. The other day she wanted to snuggle with me and her brother started to roll around in there like crazy so that Aviendha could feel it. She pulled away and started laughing saying "He's tickling me Mama!"

Yeah, we think she's adorable ;) But anyway, enough of the gushy pregnancy ramblings! You are welcome to go throw up now if you haven't already!

Noah's Ark

Thought this was kind of funny :) Just click on the picture so you can see the whole thing!

Electrifying!

Found this on a site, thought it was pretty awesome. If you're wondering, part of it is slow motion.

YOU AND I

I am a flower and you are a bee,
You buzz to my pollen and get it for free.

I am a forest and you are a man,
You bring in an ax and get what you can.

I am thick carpet on a cold, lumpy floor,
You walk on me daily so your feet don't get sore.

I am the scapegoat and you are the lie,
My fall is your win, so sneaky and sly.

I am the water and you are the fish,
Nothing will save you from being Main Dish.

~G. D. Terry

So Far, So Good

Yesterday's potty training was another success. I didn't really have to do anything actually... She just went when she had to go. Here I was, getting all prepared for a difficult road, and she pretty much has it handled (the day time part anyway!) It all feels very anti-climatic. Not that I'm complaining, it just reaffirms my belief that this next one will not be so easy!

Muahahahaha!

Cousin Fun

Naomi and her little cuties came to stay with us for about a week while Dan is in basic training for the military. Aviendha was in heaven, having a playmate 24/7, that is until she realized that she had to also share 24/7. Fortunately that realization didn't come until a day or two before they left! They sat on the bean bag together every morning to watch a couple of shows on PBS.




One day after getting dirty in the sandbox we gave them a bath together so I couldn't pass up the typical bath picture!




Here is a video of some of the fun they had together:

Dress Up

Aviendha's daily ritual consists of dressing up several times. This is her favorite outfit, horse included.



This is just a video of her general cuteness, really only especially fun for me, but I'm sharing it anyway :)

Potty Training, Oh My!

WARNING: If you don't care about toddler bowel activity, trying to teach them to control it, and/or an overly long explanation of the insanity of it, you may stop reading now and find something more constructive to do with your time.

So we started potty training Aviendha today. The hardest part of today had to be the first hour and a half. I left her only in her shirt and put her little potty in front of the TV. I told her to pick out a movie (she chose Beauty and the Beast) and then I gave her lots of Juice and she used her potty as a chair. Sounds easy enough right?

About 10 minutes before the movie ended, she still hadn't done anything! I had given her about 3 and half glasses of juice so surely there should have been something! She started telling me "It hurts!" and I thought maybe she was getting tired of sitting on her potty even though the chair was padded pretty good. I told her she couldn't get off until she went pee in the potty. She started to cry a little. I wondered if it was just taking a while for her to have to go so I pushed a little where her bladder would be and she started bawling and pushed me a way. That's when I realized the little stinker was holding it! She had been holding it the entire movie! I tried telling her it was good to pee in the potty, bribing her with cookies and chocolate, but still she didn't want to go. She just cried. So then I got some warm water and put her hand in it. Yeah, she didn't like that either.

My last resort was to just give her more juice and hope that would break the dam. It did. She relaxed a little and started to go. After some congratulations, treats, and praise we picked out another movie and she returned to the potty. After about 2 minutes of sitting there she turned to me and said "I did it!" Turns out she didn't let it all out the first time and she happily let the rest go. Lets just say there was A LOT! Man, that kid can sure hold it! I know she's not afraid of the potty, I think she's just used to having something on when she does it (she asked me a couple of times if she could have a diaper put on before I got her to actually go in the potty).

The rest of the day was pretty much cake. I didn't have to ask her if she needed to go, she just went and did it when she felt the urge, not one accident. What a crazy kid! Holding it for that long??? I've never heard of a kid doing that BEFORE being potty trained! Night time and nap time will be worked on once we're in the groove for normal operating hours.

Anyway, that was day one! Surprising on several levels! What a funny kid....

Supreme Court ruling on corporate election spending

I don't know if anyone cares but I think this is a big deal. If you haven't heard anything about it you can go here: http://www.whittierdailynews.com/news/ci_14243433 I thought this was a decent, basic explanation of what this ruling means for politics and the voice of the people regarding it. Very disappointing...

Christmas Vacation

Christmas was pretty fun for us, we spent it at home and played games together. The day after we went to spend a few days at Nick's parent's home which was a total blast for Aviendha! She's definitely going through withdraws after being around her cousins for a week!

Nick, Tekara, and I went to see Sherlock Holmes. We liked it a lot except we were all really tired because we saw it later at night so I don't remember too much.

Tuesday we went with Carisa and Tim to do baptisms at the temple for some family names Carisa rounded up. It was a really great experience to do family names for the first time! I have a couple of 111 yr old poetry books that have been handed down from one of the females I was confirmed for. I grew really attached to the books when my Mom gave them to me. I have always been into older poetry so I felt somewhat of a special relationship with this dead relative I knew nothing about. I had always assumed that the work for her had already been done so it was an extremely special experience to be able to do work for her!

Wednesday Carisa, Tim, and Corbin came to stay with us for a few days until they moved down to their new place. We had a lot of fun! Nick was super excited to play all his favorite games with another male :) Corbin and Aviendha wreaked havoc but luckily only spent a few times in the corner (an amazing feat for what they are both capable of!)

Now our two weeks of insanity are over and I have a huge house cleaning job ahead of me tomorrow!!!

Four months left!

That's right, only 4 months left and Aviendha will no longer be an only child. We decided to surprise everyone when we came up just after Christmas. I know, I know, we waited forever, so naughty! However, it'll go faster for everyone else! We decided to find out what we're having this time per our agreement after not finding out for the first one.

It's a boy! Nick is excited and ecstatic that there will be one more male in the house and he'll only be outnumbered by one. The due date (April 25th) seems to be creeping up on us real fast this time, probably because we have a curious toddler and a million other things going on...

Anyway, that's the big news with us!

Aviendha strikes again!

So there we were, Nick was showing me stuff on the computer, Tekara was playing a game, and Aviendha was upstairs quietly watching a movie.... Or so we thought. Nick ran up stairs to go put Aviendha to bed when he found this:





Yes, this is an entire bag of flour. She had a snowflake ornament and there was flour sprinkled on our undecorated (thankgoodness) tree. She's been REALLY excited for snow. This took quite a while to clean up as the flour kept clogging up our vacuum.

Twilight, shmilight...

You'll have to click on the comic for the full view. I thought the books were somewhat entertaining.....



I'll still probably rent them, like I did the last time, but let's just say I'm not in a hurry :)

Hahahha

How to change your own diaper:

This picture speaks for itself. I decided to spare everyone the front view (as funny as it is) since this is not a private blog:



I was doing the dishes today when Aviendha decided she needed a diaper change. First step was to take off all her clothes. She found a pull up and put both her legs through one hole. Pulled it up. I found her dancing in the living room looking like this. She was so proud :)

Oh boy....

So I woke up one morning to this:

What's that stuff on her hands?

Nick left the eggs out on the table. Luckily she only cracked open one. Want to know why she didn't open more? She tried, but her hands were too slippery to get any more out! 8 of them remained unslimed because she gave up and decided to play some more in the one she managed to get out. Yeah, the Adventures of Aviendha are coming into full swing with all the electronics she's damaged and the stuff she's gotten into. We love her to death! What can you do but laugh and then teach?

Dress Up

Aviendha loves to play dress up. She put on her princess nightgown (backwards) and then piled some clothes on her head. Poor girl needs some hair! She played like this for quite a while, re-stacking things as they fell off her head. So cute :)

Petting Zoo

There was a petting zoo near the parade we went to this summer. Aviendha really is fearless. She walked right in and pet and hugged every animal she could get her hands on. She even kissed one (ugh!) but I didn't get a picture of it in time. I also hoped she wouldn't get worms or something. We washed her hands pretty thoroughly after we got done!





This last one is my favorite picture. We didn't know the little boy standing next to her but they both found the front of this rooster pretty interesting!

Summer Parade

Yeah, I'm such a procrastinator! Actually, we've had a TON going on since the middle of this summer so I don't feel too bad for posting these pictures. These are from Settlers Day Parade up in Deer Park. If you think you've seen a red neck parade, you haven't been to this one! Among the dozens of 4 wheelers and ponies pulling carts we have some real confusing and amusing additions that seem to have nothing to do with the theme:

The closest hooters is way out in the valley...this is saying a lot!

This is a large woman on one of those chair scooters...I'm not sure what the purpose was...

Yes, this is a truck pulling a boat. This wasn't the only one either.

My favorite gem is Spiderman on a lawnmower with a Spider Elmo strapped to the front.


This was a pretty fun parade for the Aviendha and she especially enjoyed hanging out with her Aunt Emmy! There was also LOTS of candy being thrown so that helped of course :) Overall the strange and unusual made this a fun parade to watch!

Stickers

I know, this is old but I realized I've been neglecting to get the pictures off my camera and post them. Here's one gem!


It's a good thing we got this picture because she doesn't seem to like putting stickers on anything anymore...

Little Joker

We had our ward trunk-or-treating party last night. After Aviendha's insanity after eating a few pieces last night we decided that we wouldn't be going out tonight. Nick gave her candy for breakfast this morning....yep, I was thrilled. Anyhow, she's been running around non-stop until she decided to tell us she needed to be changed. Yeah, she still refuses to sit on the potty. So, Nick is taking her pants off and he asks her (cause he can smell it) :

Nick: Are you poopy?
Aviendha: Nooooooo, I'm not poopy!
Nick: Yes you are! I can see it!
Aviendha: Hahahaha! Silly Baby! (referring to herself)

Yeah, she made a joke. She's been making attempts at jokes for a few days now.

Yesterday she was sitting on my lap facing me. The window was to my back. She pointed out the window and said "BIG Tiger!"

I looked out and said "There's no tiger out there silly!"

A car drove by just then and rolling her eyes she said "Oh, it's just a car!" Then she proceeded to laugh and slap her knee.

She's so funny! I can't wait for what's to come!

*Sigh*

Aviendha has been obsessed with the toilet lately. She loves throwing everything she can in it. Several times in the last week I've gone in to a full toilet. We've been trying to keep her out by keeping the door shut and the light off. Well, I made the mistake of leaving the door open and the light on a little bit ago (intending to return and shower) and within minutes the toilet was full of bath toys and she was happily dipping my phone in it. Yeah, she's resourceful! Luckily she hasn't discovered the combination of dumping and flushing. When she does though...we are in trouble!


My phone was pretty doused. I think that's number 3 for broken things around here. Last week Aviendha accidentally kicked a glass of water onto Nick's laptop. A broken car is pretty rad too. So if anything else sucky wants to happen I say: BRING IT ON! (while I'm still in the "everything is broken so why don't you break too" mode that is...)

Obama Address YouTube Copy

Here Kim, hopefully this works for you!

Change!

This SNL clip is pretty funny (and it's good to see people finally feeling like they can be critical of the president.)

Couldn't resist!

I know it's not true of all females, but in general, it's pretty accurate!

Death

Should I be laughing or crying?

Found this last night. So true!

NILBOG

If you have a sense of humor and want to see the leading girl of "The Singles Ward" then you need to watch "Troll 2." This is literally the best worst movie ever made! Every line, every action, every "special effect", and every costume is so terrible it's hilarious! Seriously, watch it!

I hate being sick...

Man, I just got done with the flu from H-E-double hockey sticks. Now I have a silly cold. It'll probably be done by the end of the week. Stupid immune system..... I was just getting everything back on track too!!!

Aviendha has discovered throwing stuff off of our deck. In one night she threw down 4 books, some blocks, and anything else she could sneak past her Dad while he was "watching her". When he went down to pick everything up, she managed to get a few more things down. She thought duping her Dad was pretty funny!

Only a few more pages to print and I'll have all the recipes from my Mom's binder copied and ready to be handed out to all my sisters. I'm a little amazed how much I got done between being sick and cleaning my house like a mad woman.

Tekara will be coming next week to join the insanity! We're really excited to have her with us! Nick is excited to have someone willing to play "Punch Out!" on the wii. I'm excited for him to quit asking me.

Anyway, that's what's going on with us around here....

Hmm...

I was doing dishes today when suddenly I heard Aviendha crying. It took me a second to realize she was fake crying. I ignored it and continued doing the dishes. I heard it again a couple more times and it struck me as odd that she wasn't coming to me for whatever she was fake-crying about. I peeked around the corner to see her with a basket with a wash cloth covering the top of it. I watched as she placed a pink flower that belongs to one of her dolls on top of the wash cloth. Then she leaned over her basket and fake cried for a few seconds. After she was done doing that she pulled the wash cloth off and pulled out her small bear which had been in the basket. From there she continued on playing how she normally does, never repeating what she had just done. I suspect she was doing that over and over a few times before I saw her. But still, I wonder what she was doing before....

Scary Stuff!!!!

I don't know how many people have seen this. This took place only a month ago. If you haven't seen it will certainly make you very nervous!

He is former prosecutor, House Democrat Alan Grayson; she is Elizabeth Coleman, Inspector General of the Federal Reserve. The issue is oversight at the Federal Reserve. Watch it and weep.





For more information you can go to:

http://dailybail.com/home/alan-grayson-discusses-ron-pauls-hr-1207-and-auditing-the-fe.html

Lady and the Tramp

Growing up I can remember my younger sisters (not naming any names but Sariah and Tekara come to mind) watching certain movies over and over and over again. I can also remember where us older sisters would eventually resort to hiding them so that we wouldn't have to hear them anymore. There are a handful I can remember that drive me bonkers even thinking about! I will probably never own these movies because of that.

Aviendha is starting this phase. I hope that it is short! When she DOES get to watch a movie, the one she wants is always the same. I can't even tell you how many times we've watched Lady and the Tramp in the last few months. The last few days have been torture to entertain her while we've all been sick. She is a little more resilient and got sick first so she's been feeling better than Nick and I have. Five times in one week is more than I can handle, 2 of those being on the same day......

Today we watched it for the last time (for a while anyway). The new rule will be: When you've watched it twice, censecutively, it goes away for a month (or longer depending on how often she's given the chance to watch something). Hopefully this will get her to cycle through what we've got and help her try new things. Sounds simple enough right?

A Motherless Daughter...

Mom died very early Sunday morning. We all knew it was coming, but that doesn't change how heartbreaking it is. Even now, two days later, I know she is gone, but there's a part of me that thinks I'm going up to see her this weekend and have a laugh or two...

Last December I bought a book after a sister in my ward recommended it to me called "Motherless Daughters: A Legacy of Loss" by Hope Edelman. I had thought I would read it to prepare myself for her death but I kept putting it off, and putting it off. I pulled it off the shelf today and devoured it in a couple of hours. I'm glad I waited. I have been handed a great deal of understanding.

While the gospel provides a comfort and peace regarding all the eternal and spiritual matters, there's still that gaping void I know I will spend the rest of my life trying to adjust to. It's something I've thought about over the last several years, of what I would be missing down the road, but I could never put into words what it was that I would really be needing. Hope said it beautifully:

"Regardless of our age, we yearn for a mother's love throughout our lives, reaching for the security and comfort we believe only she can provide at times of illness, transition, or stress."

"Our mothers are our most direct connection to our history and our gender. Regardless of how well we think they did their job, the void their absence creates in our lives is never completely filled again."

Here, though, is the one thing that hit home for me the most:

" In the redwood ecosystem, buds for futures trees are contained in pods called burls, tough brown knobs that cling to the bark of the mother tree. When the mother tree is logged, blown over, or destroyed by fire- when, in other words, she dies -the trauma stimulates the burls' growth hormones. The seeds release, and trees sprout around her, creating the circle of daughters. The daughter trees grow by absorbing the sunlight their mother cedes them when she dies. They receive the moisture and nutrients they need from their mother's root system, which remains intact underground even after her leaves die. Although the daughters exist independently of their mother above ground, they continue to draw sustenance from her underneath."


My Mom was a wonderful teacher. Someone who has taught me my most important life lessons. She taught by making me self sufficient. She taught by being the best example she knew how to be. I've always known that when she passed, I would still have that foundation to draw from.

But the fact remains, I will still miss my mother....

New name for Daddy

It's finally happened. Aviendha learned Daddy is also called Nick. So she's been calling him that for two days. The only problem with this (aside from the obvious) is that she hasn't quite got the 'n' down so she calls him Dick. Yeah. We laugh too.

My Little Cutie Pie!

So I know it's been a while since I've put up a visual update of Aviendha. We've had some rough days in the last few months with new allergies cropping up (another appointment to get some of them taken care of on Monday! YAY!!!) The good news is since we took care of her allergy to wheat her hair has been growing faster! Unfortunately she still has a lot to catch up on in that department... Her language is also catching up at a fairly rapid rate now that she's feeling better. In the video you'll see how much she loves to talk on the phone. She had talked to Sariah recently so she's always asking about her. Her dancing at the end is pretty low key compared to what she normally does. Her default dance is jumping but at the end she's trying to do some break-dance type moves with her arms. She thinks she's pretty dang hilarious in this one! Oh, and yes, those are her pajamas...

I'll work on getting more video and pictures up now that things are calming down.

Allergy Update

Well, things are just as awesome as ever! I still haven't had to use any allergy meds. I love that I can go outside and take a deep breath without wanting to curl up and die. We've narrowed Aviendha's new reactions down to oranges, a spice or two, and possibly an oil. Luckily those have been far easier to avoid as opposed to wheat and dairy. She has gained a lot more energy and her language has picked up. We are heading up to stay with Nick's family this weekend so we'll see how the cat treatment worked... Unfortunately we haven't made it back to Richland to start me on foods but we have another day set up in a week and a half for 3 or 4 treatments.

I saw that in my last post about NAET that the link wasn't really highlighted so for those of you who may not have found it here it is: About NAET

The Allergy Cure

I know, it's been forever since my last post. I haven't been on the computer much because....well....I just haven't cared (and will probably continue doing so after I get done with this..)! There's been a bit going on here and we've been out of town a lot. However, I thought I'd share something I think is pretty awesome so here goes...

Everyone has allergies, too many in some cases! I've had Hay Fever, among other things, since I was 14. Most people know about Aviendha's issues with wheat and dairy. I went to see an Ears-Nose-Throat Dr. last summer to see what could be done about my allergies and I was pretty much told I'd have to be on TWO allergy medications all summer to keep my symptoms to a minimum. That's right, being on TWO wouldn't relieve all of my symptoms, and I'd be a walking zombie during the nicest time of year!!!

I was talking to my sister Eleasha about a month and a half ago about something her friend had done called NAET Clearing. Apparently it was supposed to get rid of your allergies but you have to go to someone certified to do it. I thought, hey, what the heck, it couldn't hurt to try! So the closest person I found is in Tri-Cities (Richland), about 2 1/2 hours from here. I've had about 6 treatments so far, for all the seasonal stuff, and I have to say: WOW! The trees and flowers are blossoming and the wind is blowing all the pollen around and I can honestly say it works! Not an itch in one eye or any sneezing! I have to say, this is good timing too because Aviendha has developed more allergies since her 2nd year molars have started to come in. We had her cleared of all grains and dairy this last Friday!!! I wanted to celebrate by giving her a PB&J sandwich for lunch (my dream!) but we didn't have any jam so it was PB&Banana. Life in the allergy department is starting to look up! The best part about it is that it can also bump my Thyroid back into gear and a whole host of other issues, allergies aside!

I'm super excited to go back but I have to wait till someone can take a day off and come down with us because I need a 3rd person so Aviendha and I can go at the same time.

So how does it work? You can go here for more information about what it is and how it works. Just scroll down to the Q & A section. On that same site is where you can find someone near you who is certified to do it, in case you are interested in trying it out.

Anyway, life has just become a little bit more simple for us here and it's AWESOME!

Gummie Bear Chipmunks

Uh Oh!

I know, I know! It's been forever since my last post, but I've been a combination of busy, lazy, and preoccupied. I suprisingly don't have a whole lot of christmas stuff to post except a couple of videos. But I haven't taken those off the camera yet so by the time I actually get around to it I may not feel like posting Christmas stuff anymore! HA HA!

So, a funny little story here. Nick wasn't feeling well a week or two ago so he was laying on the couch and I thought he was watching Aviendha who was playing next to him. Suddenly I hear Nick say: "Ugh, I give up!" and he marches off to the bedroom to go to sleep. Wondering what was so upsetting I go to the couch and there is Aviendha on the floor playing with Nick's computer (he fell asleep so he wasn't watching her). Here's what she did:




Don't worry, it was all fixable. Though, she did it again a few days ago (he hasn't quite mastered keeping things he values out of her reach), and actually broke the "L" key pretty good. He's hoping this will get him a new computer faster. Yeah, he cracks me up!

Lovin' It!!!

So it finally dumped a load of snow on us here! Call me crazy but I find every part of it thrilling, including the horrible roads. We made a trip to Spokane yesterday to get some stuff we needed and I brought my camera along. Every single one of these were taken while the car was moving so some of them don't quite capture everything. You can click on the pictures (usually) to see more. Here was some of the fun stuff we saw:


This is one of the banks in Colfax. Killer icicles eh?!




These ones are a little scarier. If you look closely you can see they are pulling down on the fabric.




This is one of the car lots in Downtown Spokane. It's tempting to ask if I can test-drive one. HA!





Nick thought this looked a lot like the kind of trees you see in Dr. Suess. What do you think?





Division is usually 3-4 lanes. It was about 2 the entire way and slooooooooooooow.





Some kind of sculpture store on division. I don't know why but this just cracked me up :)

HA HA!

This is right next to the Palouse Highway only a couple of minutes from the freeway in Spokane. If you look closely you can see where people have been skiing down the hill. There is probably a mile stretch with these!





Two and a half hours for a normally one and a half hour trip. Second year molars coming in. She used her thumb to ease the pressure. What a trooper!

And last we have a couple of artistic shots with a combination of snow and fog.

Christmas Favorites

I've been tagged to display some particular Christmas favorites so here goes....


5 Favorite Christmas songs:

1) Anything by "Butter Lungs" (Nat King Cole)
2) O Holy Night-South Park version (I know, I know, but it's sooo funny!)
3) 12 Days of Christmas-Bob and Doug McKenzie
4) Transiberian Orchestra Pachelbel's Canon
5) And all the other Christmas songs out there! (I love Christmas music!!!)



5 Favorite Christmas Movies:

1) Muppet Christmas Carol
2) Holiday Inn
3) Shop Around the Corner
4) Christmas Story
5) The Santa Clause



5 Favorite Christmas Treats:

1) Hot Chocolate (or any kind of chocolate actually)
2) Pumpkin Pie
3) Turkey
4) Carmel Popcorn
5) Gingersnaps



5 Favorite Christmas Memories:

1) My Mom forgot to wrap Naomi's presents one year, so while everyone is opening theirs, she's sitting there absolutely devastated that she hasn't gotten one thing yet. Hers were still in a plastic bag in Mom and Dad's closet.

2) My Mom would let us wrap eachother's presents (A big mistake on their part I think because we usually told eachother most of them anyway) and one year Naomi walked out and told one of the younger ones "Guess what? Your getting a BARBIE for Christmas!"

3) We used to try to find our gifts every year, even when we were kids. We slipped up one year and have it on video. We were opening stuff Christmas morning and I feigned suprise at one thing in particular then told Eleasha to go open hers then went right to where it was under the tree.

4) I loved every Christmas we went to my Grandma White's house. One year in particular she actually made Barbie furniature and I got my first Ken doll from her. Before that wonderful day we were using a Barbie that we cut all the hair off and had permanent marker on her face. She was "Army Barbie" and the love intrest of all the other females we owned.

5) And finally there was what my Mom refers to as "Barbie Christmas". This was the Christmas my Mom let my Dad do all the shopping. All I have to say is "Woah Nelly!!!" Eleasha got a Barbie Mansion for all of our girls to hang out in and I got a Corvette and several other things, not to mention the mountain of Barbie clothes and shoes which we promptly lost.



5 People I Tag:

Sariah
Naomi
Maranda
Eleasha
Carisa

And the winners are....

Everyone of course. When posting the pictures of our gingerbread (or rather grahmcracker) houses, I wanted to see if it was as obvious to everyone else as it was to me. If any of you thought the shape of the tower was....special....then you weren't the only one. I mentioned this to Nick and he told me that's why he added the little room sticking out of the side. ROFL! How could anyone NOT love him?!?! Anyway, sorry it took so long to get back on this. I totally forgot about it until today :)

What I Wish

When I got up this morning this is how I was hoping it would look:







I took this early Christmas morning last year at my in-laws. This is how I hope it looks every winter. I know, I know, it's crazy. But I LOVE the snow, deep snow! I love how it covers up all ugly stuff and makes the landscape glow. If it's going to come, I'd prefer it to start snowing at the beginning of November instead of January. Unfortunately it looks like we may not get much even in January. Some days it feels like the seasons are changing places.



The up-side is, I can at least pretend that there's a load of snow if I keep all the blinds shut and make my home feel all cozy. Also the roads won't be too bad, but that doesn't matter as much to me, that's half the fun right?! Anyway, for those who DO have snow, please enjoy it for me by building lots of snowmen and sledding!

Earrings!

So I've been making earrings for a while. When I create a new style that I like a lot I usually end up making a few variations and then move on to something new that comes out of my crazy little head. Sometimes my ideas work, and sometimes they don't. Anyhow, here is my current fad: