My Baby

Well, I'm past the 31 week mark. This pregnancy is going by SO much faster than the other! I have been working like crazy on crafts and sewing projects. I have so much left to do that I made a calendar to plan out my projects. (Pregnancy has brought back OCD Lisa.)

A couple of projects include sewing things for the infant carseat. I pulled it out to measure material, and Macey thought it was the greatest thing ever! She sits in it to read and play with toys. It's so cute, but I think she will have a hard when another baby fills the seat!

I remember when she was so tiny. It breaks my heart that she has gotten so big so quickly! Everytime I pick her up I ask her, "are you my baby?" She usually just grins/laughs and tries to get away, but she will always be my baby.

(Love the crazy bedhead hair that's poking out in this picture!)

 

 

 

Becoming Teachable

I have had a couple great experiences in the last couple of weeks which strengthened my testimony. I guess someone could entitle them "journal worthy". Being this blog is the closest I get to writing in a journal, you may have to forgive my openness with these experiences.

Right before we left for St. George, we were running around like crazy! I was up until 12:00 the night before doing laundry and packing. We left in a state confusion, but in the middle of all this confusion, I received the distinct feeling to bring Scott's car keys. I was busy doing something else, thought the feeling was strange (we usually just bring my keys, and we are set for trips) and I dismissed it. I received the feeling again. It was louder, almost like someone said it out loud. It made me stop doing what I was doing and think about it.

Finally, after the third prompting, I grabbed them. I'll admit, even after grabbing the keys, I still thought I was stupid for bringing them. I stuck them in the console of the car. That night, for some reason, I took them out, shoved them in my diaper bag, and we headed up to our hotel room.

Macey was so sick that night. As a parent, having a sick child is the worst feeling in the world. You know what it feels like to be sick, and you also know that there isn't a lot to do to help.

After Macey threw up for the second time, I remembered that Scott's vial of consecrated oil was on his key chain. That was the one thing that was missing from my keys. I knew that was why I felt like I should bring them.

Scott was able to give Macey a blessing for the sick with the consecrated oil and the priesthood. She felt better soon after that. This experience humbled me so incredibly much! While I was busy trying to prepare everyone for the trip, the Lord was doing his best to prepare us as well. I was once again reminded how I don't know everything, and when the Holy Ghost prompts me, I need to listen.

Macey comprehends most things now. I can ask her if she wants to do something or eat something and she will answer back with a "yes!" or "no!". Most of the time, the answer really is how she is feeling.

The other day, Macey and I were reading in her playroom. She picked up a book about Daniel from the Bible. I was getting really into telling it, and honestly, I didn't expect Macey to retain or comprehend any of the story.

I told her that they threw Daniel in the lion's den with a bunch of hungry lions. She looked at me with a concerned look on her face and said, "Oh no!"

Her comment pulled me out of my story telling zone. I realized she was comprehending. I then explained how Daniel didn't stop praying and the Lord sent an angel to protect Daniel. I said, "If you are ever scared, do you think, if you prayed, that Heavenly Father would send an angel to protect you?" She was quiet for a minute, looked at me with a big smile on her face and said, "yes!"

My heart could have melted. I promised her that he would, and I know he will.

Today, I have been thinking about both of these stories, and it reminded me of a conference talk from President Eyring about journal writing, here. The talk begins with these first two paragraphs. They have been impressed on my mind today. In fact, these impressions are what inspired this blog post (and probably many more to come!)

"When our children were very small, I started to write down a few things about what happened every day. I never missed a day no matter how tired I was or how early I would have to start the next day. Before I would write, I would ponder this question: “Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?” As I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day. As that happened, and it happened often, I realized that trying to remember had allowed God to show me what He had done.

 

"More than gratitude began to grow in my heart. Testimony grew. I became ever more certain that our Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers. I felt more gratitude for the softening and refining that come because of the Atonement of the Savior Jesus Christ. And I grew more confident that the Holy Ghost can bring all things to our remembrance—even things we did not notice or pay attention to when they happened."

The Shed

When we moved into our home, the topic for great debate was the shed! Who would have thought? It looked like it had been built in pioneer times. In fact, the door to the shed didn't even shut. The previous owners (and possibly the 6 previous owners before them...) left tons of junk inside the shed. (Did we mention there is a bathroom and sink inside the shed? Neither of them work, but we are guessing they did. It looks like our shed once had plumbing and electricity.) We took 2 truck loads to the dump (and there is probably a couple more).

So, the junk was gone. Do we knock it down and start over, or do we try to fix what we have?

We DEFINITELY didn't have the money to knock it over and start from scratch. Luckily, my mom's brother, my Uncle Mark, has done quite a bit of contracting. He agreed to come down to Monroe and take a look at the shed--tell us what we should do!

Our main concern was the structure. The shed bowed in the middle, which was preventing the door from shutting. In fact, the whole front of the shed was just hanging off the foundation.

 

My Uncle Mark decided the shed could be saved! Thank goodness! He brought a big jack, and we literally jacked the front of the shed off the ground, put a beam in for support and told us how to fix the rest. It was amazing to watch the jack work! It lifted the whole middle section of the shed and put it back where it was supposed to be.

 So, my dad, Scott and Amy decided to brave the task of repairing the shed. We planned a Saturday to do it, but it took two Saturdays to complete. As of yesterday, it is DONE! (Well, besides siding. We want to put siding on it in the spring!)

Just in case the pictures don't explain the process. Here it is:

1. Pour cement in the front of the shed so there is a firm foundation to build on.
2. Cut 4 x 4 beams and hammer/squeeze/nail them into the original building/foundation. Now the front of the shed is sturdy.
3. Hammer all the nails back into the shed. (Most of the nails were coming out.) This included the walls and roof.
4. Hammer 23 sheets of galvanized metal roofing into the shed. Add three ridgecaps at the top of the shed when complete.
5. Hammer wood panels onto both sides of the doorway. We closed off the huge doorway and made one wide door instead.
6. Hang door on shed.
7. Screwed in locking mechanism.

It looks wonderful. My family was especially wonderful for giving up two Saturdays to help us with this project and feed us! Thank you, thank you!

Oh, and the best part of the whole experience is Macey. She kept busy as well. Yesterday she wanted to be in the middle of the action! Thankfully, I had a really lightweight pink hammer that kept her entertained for a while!

 

 

 

 

 

Macey had to show both Grandma and Grandpa the "woof woof" across the street!

Oh, and Scott winterized our swamp cooler for the winter. What a stud!

St. George and Stomach Flu

(Prepare yourself. It's a long post!)

Scott and I feel like we had a whirlwind summer! We moved from Rexburg, settled part-time in Ephraim, finally found a house in Monroe, and then moved. We did have a wonderful trip to North Carolina right after that, but we were anxious to have a vacation that was just the three of us. By the time UEA weekend arrived, we were SO ready to escape!

We got a hotel for a couple nights in St. George, UT. It's right by the Nevada border and very touristy.

I'm not sure the majority of the world knows where Monroe, UT is or what surrounds it. We are about 15 minutes from Richfield, UT, which is South Central, UT. Monroe has a library, Mexican restaurant, Bullies (diner), and a gas station. For all our big shopping, we go to Richfield. Richfield has a Wal-Mart, Fresh Market, and K-Mart. It has almost all the fast food restaurants and hardware stores. For retail shopping (a mall, Old Navy, Target, Costco, Kohls, etc.) you have to go to Provo or St. George. Salt Lake City is about 3 hours away. Provo is 2 hours and 14 minutes away, St. George is 2 hours and 15 minutes away...so...take your pick!

Hence, going to St. George was a big deal for me! I printed off all my retail coupons, planned where we were going to eat out (everywhere we couldn't go to/haven't been to in a while) and I was prepped for this trip!! I had been looking forward to it for weeks.

As soon as we got into town, we went to Panda Express! Macey LOVES rice, but it gets everywhere! We decided the best place to eat was outside...because of that. :) Is there a good way for a toddler to eat rice? As you can see, I tried to put a bag underneath her...but it was everywhere! (Sorry Macey, for the bad picture...there are cuter ones to come!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That afternoon, we checked into our hotel, went to Kohls and Target, Macey took a nap, and then we headed out to eat! We went to Cafe Rio for dinner. We, yet again, ate outside. Macey is just happier outside...as you can see below! (Also, I love that kids under 6 get a free quesadilla! Kids meals are expensive!)

After dinner, we got ice cream treats, and then headed back to the hotel for Macey to sleep. She was exhausted! She acted like she didn't feel well all day, but she pushed through! She was such a trooper!

(Macey loves pillows, so we decided a couple weeks ago to let her start sleeping with one. She is going to switch to a toddler bed soon, so we figured she would have time to get used to it! We always wondered if Macey slept on the pillow. After this trip, we learned that she ALWAYS sleeps on the pillow. She is so cute!)

We knew Macey had been off all day, and she had been extremely fussy. We weren't sure if it was the car trip or the lack of naps, but at about 2 AM we discovered what it was. I'm the light sleeper in the family. If Macey moves, I'm awake. I heard her sit up in her pack-n-play, and I heard her gag. I swung my arm at Scott (poor Scott!), and said, "throw up". Scott is the faster mover though, he was over to her and that light switch before I was out of bed.

She lost everything that was in her stomach: dinner, lunch, milk--everything. While Scott bathed her, I scrubbed out pajamas (all of our PJs), blankies, blankets, pack-n-play, carpet, underwear, etc. We got her clean and in new pajamas. I put on clean clothes and went out to the drink machine. I got a bottle of sprite and ice. We washed out her sippy cup and filled it back up with cold sprite.

What was on hotel TV at 3:00 in the morning? ESPN...3 channels worth. Scott was in heaven. Macey just sat there and drank. She threw up 7 more times. Toward the end, her stomach was completely empty. Every time she was done. She would whimper, say "all done", and she would put her arms around my neck. I felt SO bad for her.

We went through all the towels, blankets, and pajamas in our room. She finally was able to fall asleep in bed with us at 5:00 AM.

We haven't slept in the same bed since she was (maybe) 9 months old. There definitely wasn't enough room for all of us, and I was kicked out at about 6 AM. At least they looked cute when they did it!

Macey woke up for the day at 7 AM. We were all exhausted (to say the least!). Macey acted like she wanted to eat the wallpaper. We went down to continental breakfast, and I kept as close to the BRAT diet as I could. She kept everything down from there on out, but she still didn't feel well.

We were able to find a laundry facility in the hotel, and I spent most of the morning getting everything washed. (We had to give up the wildlife museum for laundry...but you do what you have to! We will just have to go to the zoo this summer in SLC!)

We went to Jimmy Johns for lunch (when I was pregnant with Macey, we ate here at least once a week...no kidding! Surprisingly, and thank goodness, I haven't had many fast food cravings with Cooper!). We sure missed it here! By lunch time, Macey was acting SO much better, so we got a sandwich. She chugged water all day, but she ate some meat, cheese, and mostly bread as well.

 

We have a strange obsession for The Food Network! I get so addicted to the shows, and I make Scott watch them with me. :) One show I love is Cupcake Wars! The Sweet Tooth Fairy shop was on there, and they won! They have a shop in St. George, which is run by one of the sisters who was on the show. I was in celebrity heaven! (Obviously, it doesn't take much!) The cupcakes were AMAZING. Seriously, the best cupcakes we have EVER had!

 

Macey got a chocolate candy corn, Scott a double chocolate, Lisa a cookies and cream, and then we split a coconut cream cupcake. We have already made an agreement that every time we go to St. George, we have to go back!

 

(Oh, these were right before nap time and Macey...still didn't feel totally 100%)

 

 

 

After stuffing our faces with the most delicious cupcakes EVER, we went back to the hotel for a nap. Macey took a good two hour nap...and so did Mom and Dad. Boy, did we all need naps!

After we woke up, we went for swim in the hotel pool! Macey, as always, was our little fish (we HAVE to put her in swim classes!). Scott braved the water with her...and 30 week pregnant Lisa soaked up some sun in a bathing suit cover up and took pictures! :)

 

 

 

After swimming, we all went back to the hotel for showers and to get ready for dinner. For dinner, we headed to Red Robin. Macey chugged her water and ate plenty of french fries (the one food she can never get enough of!). Don't worry, she ate real food in there as well. :)

 

After dinner, because we ate so much, we decided to go walk the outlet mall! Macey loved dancing in the stroller, and it was fun to walk around the shops. We stopped at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory to pick up a piece of chocolate for dessert. They had chocolate covered marshmallows on a stick. We got one for Macey, and she went crazy--ate the whole thing.

 

 

 

While Macey devoured her chocolate in the car, I headed to Old Navy. I had a coupon, and I hit the sales. I was so proud of myself--you can ask Scott. I got $500 worth of clothes for under $80. I didn't pay over $2.00 for an item of clothing...which estimates about 40 items of clothing. (Don't worry, there was stuff for everyone...especially Cooper and Macey!)

 

Macey collapsed that night. She didn't wake up until 8:30 the next day...which is unheard of! (Loves that pillow!)

 

The next morning, we went and walked the grounds of the St. George Temple. It's gorgeous! Macey and I had a good chat about getting married there one day while Scott took pictures around the temple. :)

For lunch that day, we decided to do Olive Garden. We thought we would fill up on a big lunch and then head out of town. Macey had other plans. The next picture accurately describes our Olive Garden experience (although it was nap time!). Hands patting the table, straw in mouth, children's menu ripped. I was grateful they put us by the bar. There was a football game going on, and Macey loves to throw her arms up in the air and say, "football!" It was a good distraction.

 

 

It was a good trip. It was great to get away...next time we will try not to be sick while we do it!

I wish we could say that Scott and I escaped the sickness. Monday we both got sick as well. We were miserable for a good day. Scott took Tuesday off from work, and we tag teamed watching Macey (although Scott watched her more).

Having the stomach flu while your pregnant is the absolute worst thing! I was SO hungry, but everything I ate and drank wouldn't stay in me. I started to black out and was really short of breath on Tuesday, so Scott rushed me to the doctors. The doctor debated bringing me to the hospital right then and hooking me up on IVs. The fluids around Cooper had shrunk, and he was a little nervous about him. I didn't really want to do the hospital thing (sick Scott was out in the car with Macey), so he prescribed me Zofran (an anti nausea) to see if I could keep food down. I was finally able to eat and drink that afternoon.

The doctor threatened me and said if I didn't improve at all, I needed to go to the hospital that evening. I drank everything I thought I could keep down. Thankfully, both Scott and I felt better the next day. I did lose 6 pounds during this ordeal...now to put that, healthily, back on. :)

It was definitely a whirlwind of a weekend. The famous question of the weekend was, "are you having a fun vacation?" As miserable as parts were, it was really fun to just be all together!