Smith Party of...

The Scariest Day in My Life as a Mother

2011-07-14T12:58:00.002-06:00

About a week and a half ago(July 2nd) we were preparing to go to Colorado. I was talking to the kids about them each packing a little backpack with a few toys to take on the trip. They were so excited(we haven't been to Colorado as a family since my dad's funeral) that they got their backpacks ready right then. Rozzy put hers on and was ready to head out to the car. "Rozz, you silly! We're not going until tomorrow. Are you just taking your backpack outside with you?"
"Yeah, I am," she says.
"Okay. But just remember, we're leaving tomorrow not today. Okay?"
"Otay, Mommy," she responds. I assumed she understood what I was talking about. Then all of the kids asked if they could go outside to play. I told them they could and they all headed out the door, Rozzy following behind.
I was supposed to be doing laundry and packing, but I got side tracked by the computer, so I stayed downstairs for the next half hour or so. A little while later the kids came in from playing outside, everyone but Rozzy.
"You guys? Where's Rozz?" I said.
"I don't know. She wasn't outside with us," Duncan says.
I normally don't freak out about these things. Rozzy often wanders upstairs by herself without anyone noticing and we find her asleep in some bed or playing in the playroom. "Gwenie go take a look upstairs for Rozzy."
"Okay, I will," she says.
She returns about a minute or two later, "She's not up there mommy."
"Boys, will you go and check all of the beds?"
"Yeah."
I started feeling this urgency. I had a strong feeling I needed to check outside. "You guys do that, I'm going to check outside."
I walked outside and called her name. Then I heard something very faint. I really don't know how I heard it. It sounded like a quiet whimper. Sheer panic swept over me. It was 90+ degrees out and she was in the car.
I tried opening her door but it was locked. More panic. We always keep our doors locked, especially in the summer. Then I noticed that the front passenger side was unlocked. That's how she got in and was able to close the door. I knew she couldn't close the sliding car door on her own.
I open the door and unlock hers. Then I open her door. She seems half conscious. She is bright red from head to toe. She is sopping wet with sweat and whimpering. I immediately unbuckle her(she had buckled herself in, that's why she couldn't get out) and grab her and hold her and just cry into her hair. "Oh my gosh Rozzy! Oh my gosh! I am so sorry!" I say as I cry. I run her inside.
"My packpack," she says weakly.
"Gwenie grab her things, please."
I sit down with her and brush her hair from her face. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah."
I hug her again, still crying. I decide to lay her on the couch. "Duncan, can you get a washcloth wet with cold water and bring it down, please?"
"Yeah," he says. He runs to get it as I fill up a sippy with ice water. Duncan comes back down and hands me the washcloth. I place it on her forehead and hand her the sippy. Aly then starts to cry so I pick him up. As I pick him up a voice says to me, "GET KARL."(he is our next door neighbor and happens to be an EMT). I am not one to argue with the Lord giving me a message.
"Kids, run and see if Karl is home." Realizing that they might not get the message to Karl as clearly as I would, I leave Rozz and run out with the baby to talk to Ashley and Karl.
Gwenie says, "Rozzy got hurt."
Ashley leans down, "She got hurt? What happened?"
I start shaking as I say, "Is Karl home?" I see Karl come to the door.
"What's going on?" he says as he walks over to me.
I feel tears welling up again. "She locked herself in the car for like a half an hour or more. She's awake. She said she was okay. I gave her some ice water and stuff. I wasn't sure what to do."
We're in the house. He has Ashley get his bag for him. He starts talking to her and checking on her. He gets some ice packs and quickly puts them on her. I decide to call Mark to see if he can come home from the mortuary. I am crying again, "Mark, Rozzy locked herself in the car."
"Is she okay?" he says.
"I think so. I thought she was playing with the kids. I didn't even know the car was unlocked. Karl is here. Can you come home?"
"It's not your fault. You couldn't have known. It was just an accident. I'm driving back from a service so I have to drop the car off at the mortuary and then I can come straight home."
"We should probably get her checked out," Karl says to me.
"Mark, Karl says we need to get her checked out. So we're just going to take her now. I'll talk to you later. I'm sorry."
"Okay. I'll be there as soon as I can. I love you."
"Love you. Bye."
I run upstairs to get changed really quick. As I am pulling my shirt on I hear Karl from downstairs, "Danielle! We need to go NOW!!"
I yank my shirt down, run downstairs, throw some shoes on and grab my purse and keys. Karl is already out there with her. We decide to take my car since I have the car seat. Ashley agrees to stay with the kids. I drive to the Urgent Care near our house. On the way Karl sits backwards trying to keep Rozzy alert and awake. I can't believe this is all happening. It doesn't even seem real. Karl keeps talking to Rozz, asking her questions. She finally starts talking.
We get to the Urgent Care. Karl carries Rozz in. He explains what's going on with her to the man at the front desk. I don't understand all the EMT lingo. The he says that she was only responding to painful stimuli. My heart drops. That's why he shouted up the stairs, I thought to myself. The man at the front desk goes to find out if they can take her or if she is too critical and we should just go to the ER. He comes back a minute or two later. "Yeah, you're going to have to take her to the ER."
Back into the car. I decide to have Karl drive since I haven't been to the Payson ER since a month into my marriage at 2 am. Rozzy still seems out of it. Karl has me keep her awake.
We get to the ER and explain the situation again. They have Karl take her back while I finish the paper work. All of the nurses keep talking about how cute Rosaline is. The nurses are so kind and tell me their scary parenting stories to comfort me.
I get to go back to see Rozz. She seems to be doing well, but she looks exhausted and sleepy. They are checking her blood pressure and her temperature. They explain to me that she is looking good. They want to hydrate her and watch her to be sure. A moment later Mark walks in with tears in his eyes. He gives me a hug and cries on my shoulder.
"I'm going to head to the waiting room," Karl says.
"Okay, thank you so much!" I tell him.
"Yeah, thanks so much man," Mark says and gives Karl a hug.
"No problem you guys. I'm glad I could help."
Karl leaves and Mark and I look at Rozz and talk to her. We talk about what happened. How scared we both were. How blessed we are that Karl was home and that I got her out of the car when I did. Rozzy is eating popsicle after popsicle. Even on the verge of death that girl wouldn't turn down an offering of food. She starts perking up and talking to us finally. We tell her how stinky her feet are and wipe them down with alcohol swabs. She starts to get all giggly and cute. After a while they tell us we can go home but to bring her back if she doesn't have a wet diaper by morning.
What a relief! We take her home and she is inside for a few minutes before she goes outback to play. Mark tells her that she needs to play inside today. What a relief to know that she is alright.
I feel so grateful for the promptings I received that day. I feel grateful for the amazing neighbors I have. I feel grateful that I got sidetracked by the computer so I wasn't upstairs packing, not knowing she was not with the kids. I am grateful that the Lord has blessed me with a sweet little girl who makes me laugh daily and smothers me with love nearly every moment of the day.

I have heard so many stories of a child being left or stuck in a car in the Summer and I have only heard a couple with happy endings. This is one of those humbling experiences as a parent when you have to put your faith in the Lord. I thank Him for allowing me my happy ending.

A Post Dedicated to All of the Braless Women Out There

2011-06-27T11:28:00.000-06:00

I know that there have always been women out there who don't wear bras. You've seen them and I've seen them. Sometimes we don't notice, but most of the time we do. Admit it, you've seen them. You know who you are if you are going without. And here's a new flash: We know you are going without too.

Have you noticed that when you are out and about that you get a lot of stares, but people rarely approach you? Is it hard to make friends at church? Or anywhere else? Think about it. Do you bother to put a bra on to go to the store? the park? work? church? the bank? You wave to me and smile and I feel uncomfortable looking at you and waving back. I wouldn't mind being your friend if you would put on a bra to go out in public. I know it feels binding or uncomfortable at times. I promise you can release the girls once you are in the privacy of your own home. You may think it's not noticeable, but it is. It's REALLY noticeable. Yeah, I know it makes nursing a little easier, but it's awkward for the rest of us. Doesn't it feel weird being so "free" in public? Don't you feel that it's causing things to go a little south a little sooner? You make think they need to breathe, but they don't have lungs. They don't need to breathe. I need to breathe. I hold my breath when you come near to keep me from making a weird face at you. At first I thought you just forgot to wear a bra to church or it was still wet from when you washed it so you couldn't wear it. Then I saw you again. Braless. At church. I thought maybe you just didn't have time to put one one. Then I saw you at the park. Braless. Again. I see you walk down the street, like nothing's wrong. Something is wrong. You don't have a bra on. Please, for our sake and your own. PUT ON A BRA. As a wise woman once said, "It looks like two babies fighting under a blanket."

a real post about real life

2011-06-23T01:08:00.001-06:00

I have been reading a lot of my older blog posts from when I first started blogging. Dang I was entertaining!! Oh come on, you know I was. I did notice that I have gotten more impersonal and less funny over time. I would like to remedy that. Not that when we write blogs we should be really personal, but I think I gave more of a sense of who I am in my older posts.
Today is my birthday. It is the wee hours of the morning and I am staying up too late. I can't believe that I am turning 28 in a couple of hours. I think I am going to look in the mirror and watch myself age. I can't believe I am 28 with 5 kids! My mom didn't even do that. I think she had like 3 at my age.
This summer I have been spending so much time with my kids. Just about every morning I load the 3 youngest into the double stroller(I promise this totally works safely, I will post a picture later) and the older two ride their bikes and we walk/ride to the park a little over a mile from our home. It is a great path that goes along the Spanish Fork river. It smells really bad, but it reminds me of my dearly missed Colorado with all the trees everywhere. I let them play for a while and eat snacks, then we make the trek back home in time for lunch. I have some wicked tan lines that I will have to take pictures of to show you all. I will look so awesome in a swimsuit! Did I mention that I walk wearing capris(only for this walking situation, this is not the type of attire I go out shopping in, except once) and running shoes? Well, I do. So my knees are white and my feet are white but my calves and shins are totally tan. Cute right?
The first week we went I made sure we went everyday. The forecast was supposed to be pretty good. One day we went and there was only supposed to be a 20% chance of precipitation, which means pretty much no rain. WRONG!! Apparently that is secret weatherman lingo for massive thunderstorm and hail with your poor children in summer clothes shivering away. Yeah, it totally started raining hard core on our way home! Duncan was the first one to start whining and crying. He's the oldest, isn't he supposed to be all tough and strong for the other kids? Liam acted like it was a fun adventure(which was totally where I was trying to go with it). I told the kids we have to go as fast as we could and that we couldn't shelter ourselves under the trees with the lighting. Then it started hailing. SERIOUSLY. I wish I was joking, but I'm not. I knew the hail was coming, being a Colorado girl and all(summer rain always came with hail) so I told the kids to get off of their bikes ASAP and get under a tree with me. We huddled together and I had the boys stick their heads under the shades of the stroller and I hovered over them. I was totally pelted with awesome hail stones, but it was for a good cause. At that point Duncan was still crying and whining, Rozzy was whining and crying(being in the front of the stroller with me running in the rain is not fun), Liam no longer thought this was an adventure and was now crying and shivering and Aly was soaked and screaming his little baby head off.
I suggested we all stop and say a prayer together and ask that the rain will stop and that we would be able to get home quickly and safely. Within about 3 minutes the rain completely stopped and the clouds started moving away revealing the glorious sun! The kids were so happy and said that Heavenly Father and Jesus helped us. Which they TOTALLY did!! I think kids prayers work better than adult ones because they have such strong faith and belief. We were so happy and thankful for the sun as we approached the last leg of our journey home.
I was concerned about my friend who left the park early and went home a different way because she was pregnant, had a dog with her, a broken bike, a double stroller with only one shade and two young kids. I just kept thinking about her on my way home. We were getting closer to home when I hear an SUV on the path behind us and then honking. My kids shout, "It's Howie!" Howie is the son of my friend who was at the park with us. Kristen(Howie's mom) had called her husband to pick them up and then came to find us and give us a ride home!! It was so sweet of her. We were completely soaked and shivering so she was a welcomed sight. Duncan said, "She is the BEST neighbor EVER!!" I agree! It was totally awesome of her. I hope you all read this far and I hope you like my story!!

I am a jerk

2011-06-17T21:46:00.003-06:00

So I spent so much time getting my shop set up and trying to get the word out there that I totally forgot to give my TOTALLY AWESOME PHOTOGRAPHER ASHLEY WEBB credit for all her hard work. She took all of the photos of my jewelry. She did a fabulous job and made my jewelry look better than I thought possible. She is the best neighbor ever and if any of you live in the area, you should totally have her do photos for you! I bet she would even do a destination wedding if everything was paid for!! Haha!! Thank you Ashley!! You are AMAZING!!

RosalineOlivia

2011-06-16T13:53:00.002-06:00

It's time...
I just wanted to share with all of you that I have opened up my very own etsy shop! If you noticed by the title of this blog, RosalineOlivia is the name of my shop. I make jewelry of all kinds and it's pretty decently priced, I think. Come and stop by!!

Please send your prayers and donations

2011-06-12T23:20:00.004-06:00

There is a family in our neighborhood whose little boy was playing on his train table, slipped on a car and fell out of the second story window onto the driveway. He was life flighted to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake. He is currently in a drug-induced coma while they wait for the swelling in his brain to go down. He is a little boy who is Liam's age. I can't even imagine what this family must be going through. My heart goes out to them at this trying time in their lives. I know that many of you have children and must imagine the pain you would feel in this situation. Please take a look at this blog and leave any messages of encouragement and if possible, please donate to help the family with medical bills that they will surely be getting.

All About Me(Duncan)

2011-05-26T14:21:00.002-06:00

My oldest is officially done with the 1st grade!! Is this for real? Well, he got to bring home all of the stuff he has made throughout the year. Duncan made an "All About Me" book for school. I just thought I would share(the last line is the best!!):

My Name is Duncan.

My birthday is June 29th. I am 6 years old.

I have blue eyes. I have red hair.

I have 7 people in my family.

My favorite subject is Science. My least favorite subject is Spelling(this is odd because he is stellar at spelling).

My school is Riverview Elementary. My teacher's name is Mrs. White.

My favorite color is yellow red green blue(apparently schooling has changed and they are now all one color).

My favorite thing to do is ride my bike because it is fun.

My favorite food is donuts because they are yummy(I don't even remember the last time we had some). My least favorite food is onions(He has no idea how often he eats onions without knowing it).

My favorite TV show is Spongebob Squarepants because it is funny. My favorite movie is Tangled because it is funny.

My favorite sport is fishing because it is fun.

My favorite place is Carl's Jr. because it is fun(we have been there once, haha).

My special things are my toys.

When I grow up I want to be famous. My favorite thing about me is being wild.

I AM SPECIAL BECAUSE I AM A GINGER.(Priceless right?!!! Hahahahahaha!!)

-I love my special ginger who is growing up so dang fast!!

An Easter Miracle!!! This is an actual blog post!

2011-04-20T16:21:00.012-06:00

I figured it's about time to blog again since it's been like 5 months and all. I will back track and update for my own benefit when I feel like it, haha. You are free to read once those show up. I am trying not to allow myself to get Spring fever, since in Utah, Spring never ACTUALLY arrives. We pretty much go from winter to summer and then back again. However, I couldn't resist the urge to trick you all into thinking it's actually Spring. I took pictures of my lovely children. It was like a high of 45 or something, haha. My poor children.

Gwendolyn doesn't seem to be that good at "Make Believe." I tried to get her to just pretend it felt like Spring and well, her face says it all.

I just couldn't get enough pictures of this girl:

Here are some various combos of children:

Not the best picture of us, but I thought I would throw it in there just to show that we still exist. I should really relax my shoulders in pictures!! Ugh! Anywho, anyone want to do a better job of taking pictures of our fam? I am totally open to it!!

First Smiles

2010-11-21T23:07:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things about newborns is the first smile. Aly has been smiling since about three weeks old. Seems really early, right? That's what I thought. I thought it had to be a coincidence, as all my other children didn't smile until about 6 weeks. Well, I got him to smile 11 times in one day, so I accepted that he just smiled early. I just thought I would share pictures of all the kids' first smiles. I think you all should do the same. I think first smiles are the most genuine and love filled smiles you could ever get!!

Duncan always had a calm and peaceful type of smile.

Liam always smile open-mouthed and often very intense. This is very much how Liam is as a person. An adorable, intense, and happy boy.

As you can tell, Gwendolyn smiled more often and more easily than any of my children. She was such a happy baby and rarely cried. She is still a very smiley and giggly little girl.

Rosaline was our latest smiler. It was rare that we caught pictures of it, but it was well worth the wait.

Last, but not least, Alastair. Our earliest smiler. I rarely catch his smiles on camera also. He is the first baby that I got to smile before Mark. All of my other children have smiled for Mark before they have ever smiled for me. Most of Alastair's smiles are saved for the angels. I like to this that my dad is the one making him smile. My dad always loved babies. Right after I gave birth to Alastair I could feel my dad's presence so strongly. It was the first time I have felt him since he died. So, I like to think that my dad is the angel entertaining my baby multiple times throughout the day.

Aren't they just so pretty?

2010-11-20T22:43:00.011-07:00

I know I am a bit biased here, but I think I have been blessed with beautiful(mischievous and naughty) daughters.

I can't believe how much my little Rozzy has grown.
I can't believe how long her hair has gotten. She still has the shorter hunks from that oh so fateful day of Gwenie and scissors, but I part it on the opposite side and it stays hidden well. It's also long enough for me to pull back the shorter chunks when I do her hair.
So pretty!!
Rozzy was totally ready for bed in these ones, but I still think both girls look pretty.
I can't believe how much Gwenie's hair has grown since January. I cut it to just at the nape of her neck back then. She says she wants her hair to be down to her bum like Sleeping Beauty's. I know I wish my hair would grow like her's has, so I will allow this, haha. Mine hasn't been cut since January, but it won't grow anymore. The cut must have stunted the hair growth and now I am sad about it.

Sorry if you're bored, but I don't care!! Haha!!

This is Halloween!

2010-11-20T03:21:00.000-07:00

This year's Halloween was ever so slightly less hectic than last year's. We knew where all the costumes were, everyone was ready on time. The only problem was that we had a terrible storm right during prime trick-or-treat time. It did leave us with a bit of this though:
It left us with some bitter cold that we were not quite yet accustomed to this fall. I wanted to go with everyone, even though I had recently had the wee one. It felt great while we were going along, just not afterward. I had serious ligament pains after, but it was well worth it!! I love my kids!

Attempt at cute Halloween picture #1
Attempt #2
There we go!

A little bit of, okay a lot bit of Aly

2010-11-18T23:34:00.002-07:00

I know I've needed to post many more pictures of my sweet baby, so here are a few or more:

Little baby jaundice. This was his first week of life, the day we got the "biliblanket."
This is the "biliblanket." For those of you who have never experienced the at-home treatments for jaundice, this is one of them. The other is a suitcase. Mothers who have a negative blood type are much more likely to have a baby born with jaundice. I have 2 friends on my blog lists who are negative, just like me! Well, their blood type is negative.
Okay, I totally meant to rotate this, but I didn't. So, tilt your head to the left and you will get the full effect.
This is one of the few pictures I have of him with his eyes open. They are open more than you think, but he blinks so slowly I never catch them open in a picture. My husband, obviously, adores newborns. I love this about him!!

Aww!

Well, you know we all do goofy things with our newborns and take pictures of it. I just happen to post them and email them and the rest of you don't, but you know we all do it. I am immature, I know, I'm down with it.
Pacifiers always look so huge on newborn faces, don't they?
Looks just like his daddy when he sleeps, mouth gaping and everything!

He gradually whitens as these pictures go on, haha.
This picture is from today. He is such a sweet addition to our family. He is such a peaceful little guy with a wonderful spirit. We love him so much. I will try to get more pictures of him awake, haha.

Yes, my girls certainly have brothers.

2010-11-17T23:02:00.000-07:00

Last week I was outside with Rozzy as she attempted to ride her tricycle. She was trying so hard to pedal. The poor girl has short legs, so this is a little difficult for her. I pushed her along to help her get the feel for it. Then I decided to just give her an extra hard push and let it go for a little bit. She soon went off the path and the tricycle tipped over, dumping her off.
She immediately started laughing and grabbed her crotch shouting, "My beh-wees! My beh-wees!(=Rozzy for berries)"
I laughed so hard!! Yes, my girls certainly have brothers.

Never thought I would experience this...again!

2010-11-16T23:36:00.000-07:00

Only one week after my kidney stone, I was so thankful to be over the whole thing. My ward members were kind enough to bring meals to help me and my family out, earlier in the week. Things were going well.
It was Sunday morning and we were going to church for the first time since I had the baby. I got up with a little back pain, but no worries, it wasn't terrible. I ate breakfast and continued to rub my back periodically to help it feel better.
Mark noticed how I was acting and asked me about my symptoms: "Is the pain in one spot and doesn't seem to change or let up if you changes positions?" He was worried it was another kidney stone. Ha, good one. Last Sunday I joked in my head, "Watch, I have a kidney stone, hahaha." This Sunday I joked, "Watch, I have another kidney stone, hahahaha! Right." I continued to get ready for church.
As I was getting ready, the pain got progressively worse. I thought to myself, "If I go to church the Lord will bless me and my pain will go away and this won't be a kidney stone." Well, sometimes the Lord blesses us in different ways.
As I sat through church my pain started to get, well, quite uncomfortable. Mark kept asking me if I wanted to leave or if I wanted a blessing. I felt so awkward. How embarrassing! I really didn't want anyone to know about this. This was my private(obviously in pain) situation that no one would know about.
Well, I didn't think it would get to that point, but it did. I was ready to leave our combined Relief Society/Priesthood lesson. Mark asked me if he should get some guys to give me a blessing. My response was, "If you want to. I won't say no."
He escorted me to an empty classroom then returned with a couple of guys from our ward. They gave me a blessing and offered me free babysitting and escorted me to our car. The bishop's wife had our baby and brought him to the car. She said she would come by later with dinner and vitamin C tablets to break up my kidney stone.
Mark was ready to take me to the emergency room, but after last week, I was a bit reluctant. I changed into something much more comfortable and laid on a heating pad on my bed. I took some pain reliever and vitamin C tablets and laid with the pain until I fell asleep. When I awoke my pain was gone. A beautiful thing I think. The next few days ward members brought our family dinner to make things easier on us.
Our new ward is wonderful! They will do anything to help without even being asked. So many people offered their help to us. I felt so grateful and blessed. Thank you to everyone who helped us!!
This last Sunday I was blessed to be kidney stone free!! I was worried with how my luck had gone, but I had good luck this time.

Never thought I would experience this...

2010-11-15T20:12:00.001-07:00

On the two week anniversary of my trip to the hospital to give birth, I ended up with terrible kidney pain. It started feeling like gas pain. I really thought that's what it was since I recently had a baby and my body was all out of whack. I was alone with the kids and Mark was working at the mortuary. I called my mom to see if it was possible to have gas pain where your kidney is. She said I was probably just dehydrated. I went and drank a bunch of water to see if that helped.
I continued to do some laundry and other such household type homemaker mommy type things. I realized it hurt more standing up straight so I went to lay down for a bit until the pain subsided.
The pain started increasing ever so slightly. It was a dull sort of ache at first. Then gradually it because a little more sharp. I turned on a heating pad and laid on it(yes, it warns against this, but I do it all the time ha!). That helped me relax, but didn't get rid of the pain. Then my pain got really bad. Not labor of two weeks ago bad, but I wasn't liking it.
I decided to give my dear sweet husband a call. No answer. I called my mom and explained my situation. She told me it was probably a kidney stone and that I should try and find someone to watch my kids and someone to take me to the emergency room. She had some good advice, as usual. But being the bad daughter that I am, calling her for advice, then not following it because I feel awkward or something lame like that, just just tried call Mark again. I tried calling him so many times. The pain was getting worse and worse and I was calling more and more. It just so happened that Mark was embalming and didn't feel his phone vibrate.
Finally, on what I later learned was the (clears throat) um 24th call, he answered. I explained the situation and he was very sympathetic, as he has experienced kidney stones himself. That combined with my recently giving birth and having torn, currently healing ligaments(which indeed were very much in pain, just as the dear dr. said), combined with being home alone with the kids, well, he felt very sorry for me. He called my brother, Geoff, and his wife, Jessie to watch the kids.
Mark arrived and soon after that Geoff and Jessie arrived. Mark and Geoff helped me out to the car and we were on our way.
I don't like the emergency room. I don't like waiting. I don't like waiting a long time. I don't like being in pain. I don't like strange people staring at me. I don't like waiting a long time in the emergency room in pain with strange people staring at me, people who obviously are not in pain. I prefer labor and delivery. It was such a lovely place. They asked me what my pain level was. Really? I just had the most painful labor of my life two weeks before. I told them it was a 6. They sent me back to the waiting room. I waited for over an hour. As my pain and awkward feelings increased I thought to myself, "Dang, I should have told them 8!" Eventually, I got some IV pain relief, and it really wasn't so much of a relief. It made me feel high and in pain, but because I was high, the pain was not on the forefront of my mind. A good high can be a bit of help. I got a CT scan. The Dr. said I did have a kidney stone. This was after his earlier guess diagnosis of "a pulled muscle." Lame. After 4 lovely hours, I was sent home with my 2nd prescription for Percocet since having the baby.
Mark and Geoff helped me up the stairs and into my bed. Mark held up my sagging pants for me. Things just don't fit like they used to. Percocet, like the IV drug, was good at making me feel high carefree, but did not relieve my pain. Luckily, the pain subsided, thanks to a blessing I received from dear brother Geoffrey. Sorry I do not have pictures to give you a better feel of the experience. I will try to remember my camera for next time. I hope my story made you feel a little more grateful for labor and delivery.

Finally, the telling of the baby story...

2010-11-12T19:05:00.008-07:00

It all started like this...

38weeks pregnant(2 days before the blessed day!)

I know it's been 1 month and 1 day since my little baby was born, but I have had quite a lot going on. I have hardly been on the computer. Here's the story:
In the wee hours of the morning on 10/10/10, at about 3am I started having some pretty hefty contractions that prevented me from sleeping all night. They continued until about 11:30am at about 5-7 min. apart. About that time they began to taper off and I fell asleep. My contractions came back that afternoon, but were only about 6 min. apart. I was getting frustrated because things just weren't moving along as quickly as they normally do with my labors.
My contractions started picking up about 6:30pm and got to be about 3-5 min. apart. I just wanted to have the baby. I was getting crabby and emotional about the whole thing. I really just felt like I couldn't be pregnant another day. The pain from my torn ligaments was just getting to be too much and I was tired and big, and well, just pretty much ready to be done.
After discussing things with Mark we decided that after how long I had been in labor that I had to at least be 5cm so the hospital would keep me. I called my dear friend Ellen to come over and watch the kids. She was on her way.
Mark went to get a shower in before we left and I laid down on the bed. I went to stand up and felt a little gush. Mark quickly grabbed a towel. My water had officially broken. It wasn't a big break, but I was still worried because normally, once my water is broken the baby is out in less than an hour. My contractions were getting stronger and I was feeling a bit panicked. I called Ellen to stress to her the time situation and learned that she was almost there. We were on our way to the hospital.
I got there and was only 5cm and 80% effaced. My contractions weren't that bad, but I was really hoping I was further along than that. I told them they could fully break my water and my baby would just be out really soon, but because my water had broken and the baby wasn't coming down yet, they couldn't. They were concerned that the umbilical cord would float over the head, cutting off oxygen to the baby. We had to wait for the baby to come down on his own.
We were really hoping that we would have a 10/10/10 baby, but it was not his plan. The hours were ticking by and I was dilating very slowly. I was determined to go without an epidural with this baby. Our last payment for the anesthesiologist was going in the on the 15th(from Rosaline) and I was not about to start all that again. I was handling it pretty well and the contractions weren't bad at all. With Duncan I had gotten to 10cm without and epidural(and on full pitocin), Liam 9cm, Rozzy 7cm. I was pretty sure I could do this.
They fully broke my water at about 10pm. I was really thinking I could have this baby before midnight. The contractions were getting stronger, but I still wasn't going very fast and the baby was still high.
By about 2:30am(still awake from the night before!) I was 8 1/2cm and 100% effaced. The baby still hadn't come down. By that point my contractions were excruciating. They were like nothing I have felt before. The pain was taking over my whole belly, back and thighs. My contractions were 2 min. apart. I was so disappointed that I was not fully dilated. I was so frustrated. My Dr. came in to see how I was doing and was very surprised to see that I still was not fully dilated. The pain I was in was not normal. The Dr. said that the baby was probably face up and that's why he hadn't come down and that on top of my ligaments being torn made things difficult. She said I was doing so well, but suggested that I get an epidural so that I could relax and the baby could come down. I not so reluctantly agreed. I was exhausted and ready to have the baby.
I got the epidural, but apparently only on my right side. I could still feel everything on my left. The anesthesiologist tried to fix it, but to no avail. By that point I didn't care and was ready to push anyway. Being half numb relaxed me enough to get the baby down. I was so tired I was about ready to pass out from exhaustion,but it was pushing time. I gave a few pushes and out little Aly came. Alastair Nicholas Smith was born on 10/11/10 at 3:28am. He weighed 8lbs. 1oz. and was 19 1/2in. long.

After little to no sleep and 24 hours of labor, I finally did it!! Ugh!!
He seems to be a combination of all my children in one. Wouldn't he be a lovely finish to a birthing legacy?
He is really pretty I think. He could have been a girl, haha.
Poor little heels.

We got to come home to my mom staying with us and taking care of house and kids. I will be eternally grateful to her to that!! It was my first time having this much help. The baby had really bad jaundice and got to be on the Bili Blanket for a few days. There was one point when things got really bad. He was really lethargic and hadn't wet his diaper or anything in 8 hours. I really didn't want him to go to the hospital. I had already done that with Liam and it was so difficult. We all gathered as a family and prayed together. I sat and held Alastair for about 45min. just waiting for him to wet his diaper. Then suddenly he did!! He started waking up more and just got better from then on. Never underestimate the power of prayer!!! The Lord will work his magic if you have faith.
I enjoyed my time with my mom and my time relaxing and sleeping whenever I could. I was so tired and it took a while to catch up.
Even with my nausea, illnesses, fall down the stairs, gestational diabetes, and longest, lamest, most painful labor, I am glad to have my baby, I am glad to have a newborn again. I could never get tired of this. I love it.

37 weeks

2010-10-07T16:48:00.002-06:00

Last Friday I went in for my 37 week checkup. I am down another 3lbs., which now puts me 6lbs. under my prepregnancy weight. I am dilated to 3cm and about 70-80% effaced. We're getting there. I have a bunch to do around the house to make me feel satisfied enough to have the baby, haha. We got our car seat last Thursday, I still love it!! It's so nice and really cute. My room is pretty much ready for the wee one. Mark was home last weekend and was able to put together the crib. He painted it white, since Rozzy's shoes all but destroyed the poor thing. Anyway, it looks great and I am pleased and will take pictures. Soon to come: Pregnancy picture of me! Stay tuned!

Remembering: The Bunk Bed Makeover

2010-10-04T17:40:00.003-06:00

Back in January, my totally awesome neighbor and friend, Ashley, agreed to help me sand and paint the boys' bunk beds. We weren't professional about it or anything, but I thought we were pretty awesome and did a great job!
Mark and I got the bunky boards and recovered them with some old sheets we had. Much better than the plaid.

We're so fancy!!
C'est finis! I love that you can totally change things with just a bit of paint!!
PS-Ashley, you may steal my photos for your own bragging purposes.

36 weeks along

2010-09-24T20:13:00.002-06:00

I am 36 weeks along. We finally ordered the car seat for the baby. I love it! We got a GREAT deal on it. It should arrive Thursday. We got the more expensive one because Graco has changed their cheaper carriers so that you can't adjust them from the front anymore. LAME, but c'est la vie. Now I feel a little more like this baby can come soon, now that we can legally take him home from the hospital if he is born like Tuesday or Wednesday, haha.
I had the joy and pleasure of my Group B strep test at my checkup today. If you all know what I am saying(clears throat). I am only down another 1/2 lb. today from last time. I am dialated to 1 1/2cm. :( , Mark hasn't been an active participant in this process, if you know what I mean, haha. I am 70% effaced and baby is head down, yay!! I told the Dr. that lately my limbs have been getting insanely itchy and she said it could be a gall bladder problem. She said we can't take this lightly and I need to get a blood test done to make sure I'm okay. Ugh! Cross your fingers folks!! I am ready to give this little dude his eviction notice. My Dr. will be out of town by the 13th, but she said if I don't have the baby by the 12th she will induce me so that she can still deliver my baby. She has delivered all of my children so far, so it's only fair to both of us that she should deliver this one.
I am getting excited!! I got some things I will need for the baby and for the hospital stay and for me. It's getting so real! Yay!! This evening I am having a ton of contractions. I am down with it! Let's get this party going!!

Remembering: Something very entertaining from February

2010-09-23T23:37:00.002-06:00

Have you all looked closely at these pictures? Look at Rozzy's legs. Look closer. Notice something a little "off?" It's not lymphodema. That's right, it's a diaper. Rozzy got up one morning and wasn't even bothered in the least by this situation. I just noticed that something didn't look right on her. This is why we must all make sure that diapers are secure before bed.

34 week checkup

2010-09-14T16:56:00.002-06:00

I went to the Dr. yesterday and got in and out of there amazingly fast. I have had a stomach bug for about a week now and the results were that I have lost another 4lbs. I have been so worried about what this could be doing to my baby, so I asked the wise Dr. for her thoughts. She told me at this point the weight loss is affecting me more than anyone. She said that at this point in the pregnancy it has little to no affect on the baby. What a relief!!! Now I can stop stressing and worrying so much about it. I am sure I have been driving Mark nuts with it, haha.
An update on my fall: A little while back I talked to my Dr. about it. I told her what I did and the pain I was feeling. She told me that I tore the ligaments that support my uterus. Lovely!! Something like this was bound to happen with this pregnancy, haha. I was actually glad to know what I had done. She told me it would gradually get more painful as I get closer to delivery. Which it has, haha. But, she said that it would not cause me extra pain during labor and delivery. The greatest pain I will feel will be the 6-8 weeks after when it finally has a chance to heal. I can deal with this. I have torn the cartilage in my pubic bone with Gwendolyn, so what's a couple of torn ligaments? Haha.
I scheduled all my last appointments. They seem to be coming so quickly. I am excited and anxious to meet my baby.

I am trying to come back

2010-09-13T14:02:00.003-06:00

I loaded pictures onto my computer, which I haven't done, apparently, since January 21st. Has it really been that long? Now the whole picture loading thing is not on my side, but I am trying. I will do it the old fashioned way, I guess.
So far the pregnancy is going by quickly on some days, and not so quickly on other days. I am dealing with the gestational diabetes the best way I know how. The nurse I see at the hospital says that I am doing really well. She would like me to consume more calories. My Dr. is concerned that I am regularly losing weight, especially at this stage in the pregnancy. I am now at my pre-pregnancy weight. My face is looking thinner, my chest is fading away(sniff sniff), my bum is even less existent than it was before. The big concern here is that this could affect the neurological development of the baby. I am doing my best. I never thought it would be so hard to eat 6 times a day and try to get enough calories in my day. Obviously, this was never a problem before, haha. But, this has been a big struggle, not the being good part, but the getting everything I need for the baby part. I worry daily about him because I don't want to do anything that could possibly hurt him. Needless to say, I look forward to seeing him in person and knowing if all is well.
We are getting excited to have this baby. There is a lot to do still and stuff to buy. We need to buy a new car seat, this time around. Our old one expired last year. I need to buy a few clothes and onesies, after vomiting Liam being my last baby boy who used these clothes. Mark is in the process of sanding and painting our crib. Rozzy's shoes did a number on it, so he is using wood filler, sanding and paint to make it look all pretty again. I will take pictures, of course.
Duncan is in first grade now and doing well. He insists on riding his bike on most days, but he is too slow about getting ready in the morning and I just end up driving him. I can do this now that we have 2 CARS!!! That's right. We got a great deal from the parents of someone Mark works with at the mortuary. They sold us a car for $200 and it is in amazing shape. It has less mileage than our van. Now I get to do shopping during the day and other such things, like buying shoes and beads to make jewelry.
Rozzy turned 2 last month and I did take pictures. I even have pictures from Duncan's and Gwenie's b-days! Haha! So, more of all that later. I hope everyone is well! I haven't been on the computer much this summer, but I am starting to get back on here more.

Good times and bad luck with no pictures.

2010-07-20T16:59:00.004-06:00

Mark had to go out of town on business trip to Washington the week of my birthday, but I had the pleasure of my mom and two youngest brothers coming to visit. My mom and I roomed together, which was fun. She didn't mind my TV watching before bed and did a good job pretending that my chatting wasn't getting to her. Mark has been working 12 hour days most days and works every other weekend, so needless to say, I don't get much adult conversation at all.
My Aunt Krsten happened to be in town at the same time so we just got all the Utah DeShazer family folk altogether for family home evening on Monday. Then all of us girls got together on Wednesday and the guys went off and did their thing. We all had a good time together.
My mom got to go to lunch with her sister and was able to be in town for her aunt's funeral. Mark got back in town on Friday. Then Saturday night mom took a bunch of us out to dinner at the Macaroni Grill. We came home and had cake to celebrate my b-day. I got New Moon on dvd! I am very pleased about that. I was hoping I would get it. Mark even bought it in Washington! How fitting! It was a wonderful time and I look forward to my mom visiting again. Hopefully it won't take three years, haha.
Back track to Friday morning, my mom was at a funeral and my brothers were sleeping. I was coming down the stairs for all of us to have breakfast. I got to the third to last stair and I stepped on a baby doll, my foot turned under and twisted my ankle and I fell straight to the bottom of the stairs onto my side.
The kids were all scared and asking me if I was okay since I was yelling, "Oh my gosh!! This hurts so bad!!!"
Duncan brought me ice for my ankle. I sat up for a little bit and the only thing that seemed to really hurt was my ankle at the time. We ate breakfast and I went to do the whole ice then heat thing. As the day went on my pelvic region became increasingly sore. So much that by the end of the day I could hardly walk and couldn't lift my own legs to get into bed, because the pain was so great. I am the biggest clutz and seem to have a fall or some sort of injury every pregnancy.
I remained in my gimp like state for the next two weeks, taking Lortab for pain. I am still unsure what I did, I still have some pain, but I figure the chiro might be able to help me out with that. My guess is that I tore the cartilage in my pubic bone...again. Then I came down with a nasty cold. My cold got better and I started feeling better. Then came one of the worst colds I have ever had.
I was down for another week and a half with this sucker. I was so weak and was coughing, blowing my nose and drinking tons of water to help my sore throat. I lost my voice and am just now starting to get it back. It's nice not to have a man voice.
To top off all of my good fortune this pregnancy, I have found out that I have gestational diabetes. My glucose levels have always been great with all of my other pregnancies and I ate tons of sugar during those. This time I have been eating so healthy and not craving sugar and sweets hardly at all. I get to meet with a dietitian from the hospital this week to give me the down low on my situation and what to do. I either don't gain weight from pregnancy or I lose weight from it, so I think this one will be a losing weight one. The worst thing about all this is that I wasn't craving sugar until I was told I couldn't have any. Now I want it more than ever. Isn't that how it goes?
Anyway, we bought a desk, yay!! That means I will blog more with pictures and probably just blog more. It will be so nice to have a work space again!!

funny things

2010-06-18T12:36:00.002-06:00

A conversation between me, Duncan and Mark.
Duncan: Rozzy needs a diaper change.
Me: Okay, let me finish wiping off the stove first.
Duncan: Can't Daddy do it?
Me: I don't know. Can he? (looking towards Mark)
Duncan walks over to Mark.
Duncan: Daddy can you change Rozzy?
Mark doesn't say anything.
Duncan: Come on, Daddy! She's your daughter!!

The other morning I was sleeping with my feet hanging out of the bed a little. I wake up to something licking my toes. There could only be one person in the house who would do that, Rozzy. She licked my toes, then covered my feet back up with the blanket and walked out of my room. I will never understand her, but she sure makes me laugh.

Let's talk about the kids

2010-06-11T11:40:00.001-06:00

Well, here it is, Summer break. I was actually almost wanting heat because the cold was lasting so long. Duncan is out of school now. With that came a little meeting with a group of people from his school.
Duncan has been doing well at school, but he has seemed to have difficulty paying attention. That isn't shocking to me since I deal with the kid everyday at home. He would get really frustrated with reading if it took him too long. I talked to his teacher and she said that she would find out if he would qualify for the summer reading program at the school.
I thought it was a good idea. I didn't want him to get behind in his reading at all and I thought it might help him focus a little more so that he wouldn't get so frustrated when reading took longer than anticipated. She said that they would test him to see if he would qualify.
A little while later I talked to his teacher and she said that they were done testing and that it looked like he would qualify. I was pleased. I just waited for further information. Then one day one of the ladies from the school called me to set a up a meeting with her about Duncan's testing results. Didn't seem like a big deal to me.
Well, it didn't seem like a big deal to me until I got a letter reminding me of the meeting. It had a list of many people who would be included in this meeting. The school psychologist, the principal, Duncan's teacher, the school's special education teacher, me, Duncan and "anyone else who had a special knowledge of Duncan's situation." I was actually really irritated. I knew Duncan was such a smart boy and didn't really have a learning disability. I knew he probably had ADD, especially considering my mom, my brother and my husband all have it. I was used to it, I could spot it pretty easily.
After the usual kindergarten assessment at the end of the year our meeting was scheduled. I didn't want to jump the gun and lose my temper with them, so I sat and decided to hear them out.
They said that they were concerned about Duncan. He had difficulty paying attention in class and staying focused(not a shocker, I could have told them that) and he seemed disinterested at times. I knew that already too. I came to find out that the school psychologist had been studying him and that she and his teacher had done some tests with him. They said that they were actually really surprised at the results.
They gave him an IQ test. They were shocked at the results. He had an IQ of 123. They had never seen a score that high before with anyone else they had tested. They said that put him in the "high superior intelligence range." They said he scored way above average in everything they tested him on except for reading comprehension. He was below average on that. After talking to me they thought that must be due to his attention issues. What they have decided to do with him and for him is, instead of sticking him in the special education class(which he obviously doesn't need!!) they would take him out of his first grade class once a day for 30 minutes and work on his reading comprehension until he no longer struggled with it.
I could concede to that. After all, my son has high superior intelligence.
Now to Liam. Last week Liam thought it would be a keen idea to stick Q-tips in his ears. Not only did he think that was an excellent idea, but he thought running with them in his ears was also a bright idea. Since Liam is accident-prone, you can guess what happened next. That's right, he fell and hurt his ears. He didn't want to tell me anything, so he just walked around covering his ears. Duncan came and told me what had happened. I talked to Liam and he told me what he did and that only one of his ears was hurting still. I made an appointment with the Dr. and Mark took him as soon as he came home.
He hurt his ear canal a bit, there was some blood, but no serious damage. I was glad to hear it, especially since Liam is loud enough with 100% hearing. I can only imagine how loud he would be if he couldn't hear as well. The Dr. also told him that he was quite big for a 4 year old. I was not surprised as he has been wearing size 5 clothes since before he turned 4. He felt special about that. He is 42lbs., only 2 lbs. less than Duncan and Duncan is still about 3 inches or so taller than Liam.
Gwenie has been growing up so fast. She is now in size 4 clothes and is a little chatter box. I love the way she talks, "This is quite heavy, Mommy." or "My baby is especially cute." She has an imaginary prince named Willoughbob. She loves her sister and they love playing and giggling together. Whenever she sees Rosaline asleep in her bed she comes up to her and says, "She a cute baby girl. Look, she's sleeping. She's just my sweet baby daughter. I need to give her a kiss." She even does this when it's in the middle of the night and she is half awake to go potty. She is just so sweet to her.
Rozzy, she is a funny chubby girl. She loves to physically take down her brothers and chase her siblings around the house. She is good at making us all laugh. She loves her flip-flops, aka "she-bops." She is learning to say all sorts of things. She gives me her feet all the time and says, "kickle Mommy" so that I will tickle her feet. She has a very large belly which she feels the need to lift up and push in during the day. Her haircut is starting to grow and I have found a hairstyle that hides all the short pieces quite nicely. She is our little brown baby. She tans so easily, just like I used to before my fear of becoming all wrinkled came. She loves to play outside with her siblings. She has also found a new love, Daddy.

Qui-est ce?

2010-06-10T13:40:00.000-06:00

Well, I will tell you who this little baby is in my wombie! It is Alastair Nicholas Smith!! That's right folks! We are back on the baby boy bandwagon apparently. My boy stuff is not in great shape, so the convenience factor is perhaps not what it would be with a girl, but we love him nonetheless. He is totally healthy and a wiggle worm for the ultrasound technician. We almost didn't catch what he was because he wouldn't hold still.
After Liam(aka the puke nugget) a lot of my baby boy stuff is not in great shape, so this will be a good excuse to buy more baby stuff. Duncan was disappointed that it was a boy, but I am sure he will get over it soon enough. He has always loved having sisters, but he loved Liam when he was a baby too, just doesn't show it as much now, haha. Duncan and Liam have agreed to let the wee one share a room with them, their room is huge, so it's only fair. I would totally post ultrasound pictures and baby a pregnancy picture, but alas, our scanner is not hooked up and I can't find the cord to my camera.

Sunday, Sunday

2010-05-17T13:40:00.000-06:00

Sundays are hit and miss with me. Sometimes I am totally cheerful and everything goes smoothly, other times I am crabby and nothing seems to go right. Mark has been so good to me with my hormonal pregnancy crabbiness. This Sunday was a "crabby nothing going right Sunday." I feel somehow that my bad attitude just makes bad things happen. I felt like I was saying a pray to myself about every 5 minutes, asking the Lord to soften my heart, help me feel the spirit, help me be calm and patient, help me not to sweat like I'm in a sauna, open my heart and mind to good things, etc... Yesterday seemed particularly difficult.
It's not like it was horrible, but I just had a bad attitude that I couldn't seem to shake. After the sacrament I took the girls to the bathroom with me so that Gwenie and I could use the potty. We went into the handicap stall so that we would all fit and be able to go. First Gwenie went. Then it was my turn. I finished and as I went to pull up my underwear, my dear sweet little girls unlocked and open the stall for all to see my nakedness. I repeatedly told her to close the stall and I ran to the corner to hide myself as I finished dressing myself. The greatest horror was all of the mirrors in the bathroom and all the people I could see in them.
I went to wash my hands and all of he soap dispensers were out of soap. This bathroom trip just seemed to get longer and longer. I gave up and decided to use my hand sanitizer instead. I couldn't even look at anyone as I left the bathroom. I couldn't even look up at most people in relief society, I knew who was in the bathroom and who saw me and my nakedness.
Today, today I can laugh this off. But yesterday it just pushed me over the edge. I have always been really good at laughing things off in life, in general., but I just couldn't with that. I think my lesson that the Lord was trying to teach me was to laugh things off again. I need to change my attitude and this whole nakedness in front of my fellow ward members is something I was meant to laugh at. So today, I laugh at it. Ha ha. Perhaps the next time something like this happens again I will laugh harder. Thank you girls. Thank you Ashley for making light of it so that I could laugh at it a bit!!

The Experiences Brothers Get When They Have Sisters

2010-05-03T13:28:00.000-06:00

The other night we were about to start a movie for family night, Duncan and Liam started this interesting conversation:
Liam: Sometimes I dress up as a princess. It makes me feel weird, though.
Duncan: Yeah, I dress up as a princess because that's what Gwenie wants me to do. It makes me feel weird too, but I get used to it.
Liam: Yeah.
Well, I think I need to get the boys some boy dress-ups of their own. Hopefully they won't get too used to dressing up like princesses in the meantime.

A Bit of an Update

2010-04-29T11:22:00.000-06:00

Well, I haven't been on here much, OBVIOUSLY. A lot has happened since my last post and I just wasn't sure if I was ready to talk about it. First of all, I received an email from Awkward Family Photos. They said that they were told that they would have over 200 pages for their book but were told recently that it was actually a little over 100. That being said, they told me that my picture will not be in this particular book, but that if they are allowed to do a second one, then they would love to use my picture in that one. So, boo hiss about that, but cross your fingers!!
Next up, as many of you know, my dad ended up dying. The day that he was intubated would be the last day he would be fully conscious. He had a lot of scarring on his lungs from all that they had been through, fungus, infections, pneumonia, etc... The doctors told us that barring some miracle the scarring would only get worse and couldn't be reversed. He couldn't have a lung transplant because he was in such poor health anyway. By the next week, things got pretty bad. He received a blessing that said the Lord would work a miracle for him if that's what he wanted, but that the decision would be up to him. We prayed that he would have the strength and desire to stay with us, and he was fighting up until the end.
The last day of his life, my mom and three brothers were by his side. His heart rate was pretty fast, his blood pressure was very low, his oxygen was turned up all the way and he was unable to take all the oxygen in that he needed. Things were pretty bleak. He was given another blessing that released his spirit and told him that he was forgiven of his sins. It was then decided to take him off of the ventilator. Even at that point he was fighting. He was still trying to breathe, they turned up his narcotics. He passed peacefully with my mom by his side, holding his hand, rubbing his forehead and talking to him.
I know he is gone, but it's still so hard for me to actually believe it. I try not to think about it at all. I avoid it all the time. I have hardly cried simply because I push it out of my mind the moment it comes.
My dad was a good man. He was strong in the gospel. He loved the Lord and his family. His didn't always know how to show us how much he loved us, but he showed us by working hard to take care of us and teaching us well so that we could grow up to be good upstanding people.
I do have many fond memories of him. Walking halfway to his bus stop to meet him and walk the rest of the way home with him. On Sundays, after his nap, he would come downstairs and play "tickle monster" with all of us. I remember in the summers cuddling up next to him, laying my head on his chest while he watched TV. I didn't even watch the TV most of the time, it was just nice to be close to him. When I turned 8 and was baptized, my dad gave me a Book of Mormon with his testimony written inside. I hardly have used it because I want to keep it always. One Christmas when we got new scriptures, he, in his robe, put on a Santa hat and went around handing out scriptures calling himself "Holy Claus." I remember when I knocked my teeth out he was the first to show up and he was so worried and caring. When I had to have surgery on my teeth he took the day off of work and stayed with me during it. Then when we were waiting for my mom to pick us up, he sat and read one of my American Girl books to me for an hour until she showed up. When I got a solo in elementary school for our Christmas program, he was the first one to ask me to sing my part for him. When I got married in the temple he told me he was proud of me. When I came to visit right after I had Duncan, he was so excited to hold him. He walked in from work and said, "Let me hold that baby!" He held him so lovingly, it made me realize why he had all eight of us. His face said it all.
I love my dad so much. I wish I didn't have to wait all this time to see him again. It's true that you don't realize how much you love someone until they're gone. I look forward to seeing him again.
On a much lighter note, during this difficult time I had lovely nausea. Nausea from a pregnancy! That's right, #5 is on its way! My dad got to know that one before anyone, since he probably has already met the child. I am 15 weeks along. It has been a rough first trimester. I have been so sick and exhausted. I got the stomach flu, a couple colds, a UTI and they couldn't get a heartbeat when I went to the doctor. Luckily, we were able to have an ultrasound and see the little baby, who looks quite human and healthy. I have been a cry baby about all of this. After the whole scare with Rosaline, I break into tears at the first sign of something being wrong. I am due in October. I am very excited about this baby. I am so happy that I have the gift, blessing and joy to have another child. Mark has been wonderful through all of this. He works so hard, but has been so kind and understanding to me and sympathetic. It has made this go much more easily. I love him so much.
There you have it. I bit of an update. Hopefully this will restart my blogging desire, especially once this nausea goes away and I am not associating computers with nausea and vomiting.

Awkward!!

2010-02-24T13:44:00.000-07:00

Many of you may or may not have heard of Awkward Family Photos. They are on my blog list over there. I love it, cracks me up. Well, a while back I submitted some photos. They got a book deal and asked if they could put one of my photos in the book. Heck yes!! Who wouldn't allow that kind of fame? The book is out for preorder on amazon, borders, etc... It's due out May 4th and Duncan and my sister Andrea are in it! All thanks to me and my genius!! I highly recommend it, simply because I am apart of it!!
PS-Keep praying for my dad. It is so critical at this point.

Prayers Please!!!

2010-02-19T23:32:00.000-07:00

Many of you may know that my dad has suffered with Leukemia since May of 2008. He was put into a drug induced coma at that point for about 2 months. He then had to go through rehab for quite a while. He had to teach his body things again that are so normal to the rest of us, that we often take them for granted. He got to come home in November 2008. He seemed to be doing so much better. He was taking longs walks everyday(he could hardly move after the coma), playing guitar again, etc... He was able to go back to work last May. After 2 days, he got sick and found out he had pneumonia and that his cancer had returned.
This time around he had to get a stem cell transplant. My Aunt Krsten was the donor. They had to kill off all of his bone marrow, then replace it with her stem cells. This was towards the end of the Summer. He is still in the hospital and has been struggling so much. Every time things seem to getting better there is another setback. Well, now there is a huge set back. Last night he was intubated, put into his 3rd coma, due to bleeding in his lungs. They did a biopsy to see if there is an infection or if his lungs are breaking down. He is in our Heavenly Father's hands now. All we can really do is pray at this point. That is what I am asking anyone who may read this. Please pray for him. If it is His will that my dad should be with Him, then I suppose I will have to accept that when that time may come. But my dad is only 55, I have never gotten close to him. I don't really have a relationship with him. So now I am in a bit of a panic mode here. I want another chance with him. I don't want any regrets about our relationship. I don't want my mom to be alone. I am not ready, and I am hoping that my dad isn't ready for this either, but it seems he realizes what this all could mean.
Please pray for him. Please!!

Pretty Please With Sugar on Top?

2010-02-17T19:44:00.001-07:00

My very talented niece is in an art contest. She needs as many votes as possible to win. She is an amazing artist and I would totally brag about her talents any day. This is one of those days. All you have to do is click this link and vote for her. I know you'll want to. There are no strings attached here. I promise. You won't even feel forced because her artwork is THAT good. Thank you!! You won't regret it!

Don't miss out

2010-02-13T07:54:00.000-07:00

My best friend has this site...

Toddler Boredom Busters

and this site has a huge giveaway that ends tonight...Saturday. I wan't going to tell you because I wanted to win myself, but if she gets over 150 comments Amazon will release a $300 gift card for 3rd prize! So go to her site and enter there is a ton of cool stuff she is giving away!!!

Peace.

P.S. They do ship to India

It's that time of year...

2010-02-01T17:27:00.000-07:00

This is my least favorite time of year, but I have tried to be more positive. I don't want summer to be here already (in Utah we don't have Spring). I just don't like the half year of cloudy weather. And I am still bummed that Christmas is over, even though it's been over for a month. Today the sun is shining, which is so unlike Utah in February. I should be grateful for this and soak up all the vitamin D I can. Instead, I am sitting here, thinking about the chaos that took over my house in the last few days. Not that anything out of the ordinary happened, just messy kids and that always happens. I should clean it up, but eh, I don't want to right now.
I am a little concerned, my funny writing abilities have faded over the last little while. I have been so out of practice that now I can't even think of funny things. You all must be so disappointed in me. Luckily, I can still entertain people in person.
I have really gotten into the show "Ghost Hunters." I have never really believed in the paranormal, and I still don't, but I LOVE this show. I watch it every night right before bed and it helps me relax before I go to sleep. I have always loved spooky things and getting startled. This show doesn't even do that for me, but I still love it. I suppose it's the histories of old and sometimes mysterious places. It could also be the sugar beet factory behind my house. It looks creepy. I love that about it. I think I will invite TAPS(the atlantic paranormal society) aka Ghost Hunters over. I love telling people, whenever there is a weird sound or something falling or being moved somehow, that it's paranormal. I know all the technical terms, so I sound pretty awesome. Better pull out the K2 meter to check the EMF levels and then start an EVP session. Sounds good right?
This is all so completely random, but there is nothing going on in my life, haha. What is going on in yours? No one is blogging or commenting on blogs anymore. I miss you all. Come back.
Rozzy is still half bald and yet somehow people are telling me she has so much hair. I tell them, "Thanks. She used to have more until her sister cut half of it off." Then they say, "Oh, really? I didn't even notice." Let's be honest here, people! She is half bald, quite literally. She has stubby hair all over that can't be covered or hidden without a hat. I won't be offended if you shout, "Oh my gosh! What happened?! Her hair is hideous! Please hide her poor horrible head of half hair!"

Rule #1: No One is Allowed to Have or GIVE a Kate Gosselin Haircut!!!

2010-01-23T09:03:00.001-07:00

It was a lovely afternoon. I was making some fococcia in the kitchen. The girls were off playing somewhere. Gwenie came down with makeup all over her face. I just thought, "Oh man, another mess to clean up." Then Gwenie came to me and said, "I cut Rozzy's hair, Mommy!" Me: "What?" Then I saw Rozzy, walking to me, crying, with chunks of hair falling from her head. "Gwenie!!!!! Go to your room!!" This is the horror that I came across in the moments following(while bawling my eyes out):

Poor, poor Rozzy. *sniff sniff*

Whatever! Don't give me that smile!!

Long Beautiful Hair

2010-01-22T16:00:00.005-07:00

The girls' hair was getting a bit long. Not too long to do anything with, but the opposite problem. I was having to do something with their hair all the time so that it wouldn't look messy. I gave them a bath one night and decided to do the big chop!!! But first, let us enjoy what they once had.

I promise the haircut idea didn't make this face.

Rozzy's hair before the big CHOP!

Rozzy, it will all be okay, I promise!!

Are you ready, Gwenie?

You look ready to me!

(Not pictured: Duncan. Because he was lame and changed out of his church clothes too soon and said that pictures were boring)

I love cutting hair!! Now I have live-in female clients!!

Who Loves Mayo? Rozzy Loves Mayo!!

2010-01-22T13:23:00.000-07:00

We were all finished with our sandwiches, but Rozzy wasn't. The rest of us went into the family room to chill. Suddenly we hear Rozzy being a little too happy. We looked over to find this:

Needless to say, I didn't want to finish my water and I didn't want to use anymore of that mayo. Thanks Rozz. It's a good thing she's so darn cute!!

It's Christmastime All Over the World

2010-01-21T18:59:00.001-07:00

We got lots and lots of snow. The kids wanted to build a snowman and have a snowball fight, so Mark went out with them and took care of all that.

Her drug of choice is Crystal Meth.

Christmas lights at the Smith house.

The masterpiece.

Snowball fight! Take that Snowman!!

I have no idea what this picture is about or why I posted it. Hmmm.

Our Christmas tree would never get hit by a car, it is so reflective!!

Santa came!! Boo yah!!!

Ah yes, Christmas in a packed house.

Last night's sleep did wonders for Gwenie's looks!!

Princess!!

Gwenie filled her diaper to the brim, hence the pantsless legs. Let the Christmas morning chaos begin!!

Mark, I just want to thank you for this lovely picture of me on Christmas morning. Somehow I managed to look angry and 300lbs. all at once!! Go me!! This picture is clickable, so click away!!

Sleeping Beauty.

This is one of the few moments that Duncan expressed happiness during present opening.

She don't need no stinkin' presents. She got candy yo!

Story about this: Christmas Eve I still had to get a few things. I went to TJ Maxx to see what they had. Gwenie kept saying she had to look for something. Then she apparently found it. "Mommy! I found my princess blocks!!" Me: "No, Gwenie that's not...wha?" I look at the price tag "Heck yeah it is!" And I tossed it into the cart.

The party joined us for Christmas Eve and Christmas. We had ham and good junk the first night, then deli trays(by me) the next night. It was a jolly time and we spoke in Russian and British accents most of the time. We are DeShazers, it's just what we do.

Yay!! I am all caught up. Look back to see if there are any you've missed. I posted quite a few today.

Remembering: What the Kids Did With Hardly Any Toys

2010-01-21T18:12:00.000-07:00

Between Halloween and Christmas we were visited by 3 spirits. Well not quite. Dylan and fam came to visit. I have no evidence of it, but Holly does on her blog. We had tons of fun together. You should take a look. We celebrated Thanksgiving with "the party" aka Geoff and Jessie. I made a turkey and all sorts of other stuff. Jessie and I experienced some paranormal activity. Geoff discussed the cosmos with the boys. Then that night we decided to do midnight Black Friday at Toys R Us. That was really dumb and awful and I am still trying to wipe the stupidity of that move from my memory. Geoff and Jessie were kind enough to stay at our house while we went to be lame. Then JM and fam came to visit. I have no evidence of that either. I don't think Heather does on her blog. You will just have to take my word for it. That was also a lot of fun. Then right after that, Dylan and Holly hadn't had enough of us, so they came back to visit. We saw the Temple Lights. I have no pictures of that either, but Holly does!! Go Holly. But I do have pictures of all the crap in between.
The toys were still mostly packed up, so the kids had to find ways to entertain themselves.

Rozzy is adorable and lots of fun.

Liam couldn't resist.

Gwendolyn and Rosaline decided they were starting their own beauty school.

What a beauty!!

Duncan was the cleanup crew.

Gwenie decided to go with less makeup.

I think she could do modeling too!

Instead Gwenie decides cutting hair is more up her alley.(This is significant, you have no idea!)

Diego is a good way to pass the time.

Making strange faces for the camera.

Dancing like a stoned weirdo freak person.

Pretending food in a cookbook is real.

Watching the Antiques Roadshow UK with Mommy.

Trying new uses for broken toys.

Celebrating Liam's 4th Birthday!!! Happy Birthday!! Here's your haircut you've been asking about since the summer.

Duncan got one too!!

Remembering: The Halloween That Almost Didn't Happen

2010-01-21T17:28:00.001-07:00

Ah yes. Halloween '09. I remember it well. This was a very hectic time. Mark was working a lot on the yard. He was trying to get it all in before the weather really changed. I was inside all the time, dealing with the kids, trying to get unpacked and pull the house together. I was a bit overwhelmed. That is the proper feeling for when you are packing, moving and unpacking. It's so easy to feel that way. So, Halloween is here. I was doing stuff all day long. I wanted to be outside that day, so I spent my day shoveling lots of bark and rock with Mark and friends. Then I was kind of like, "Oh crap, I need to wash Rozzy's costume and get the other costumes out." At about 5:30pm I remembered to do this. Then I put it in the dryer, that wasn't going fast enough, so I pulled out my hair dryer and did it that way. Then the kids were coming and asking me where their costumes were. I found Duncan's and Gwenie's, but I couldn't find Liam's. I was looking everywhere. I was looking in all the boxes in the garage and couldn't find it anywhere. Finally, at 7pm, yes, that late, I found it. Then he wouldn't get it on and Gwenie didn't want her shoes on and I realized that I had not fed them dinner at all. We finally got out the door.

Gwenie started off so happy and lively. Last year's Halloween consisted of her throwing repeated tantrums down the street and me trying to hold her and pick her up.

The first house was our next door neighbor's house. They loaded my kids up nicely. Dinner was served!!

Come on Gwenie! Hurry! Let's go to the next house!

Not only does Rozz do Halloween this way, she does just about everything this way.

Gwenie was adorable, but incredibly slow. She didn't want to hold my hand. She didn't want anyone to hold her. Then she started walking all funny. I thought she was poopie, but she wasn't.

The whole fam damnly! Minus me, the beautiful hidden photographer.

This is why she was slow and walking funny. Poor girl.

Rozzy was asleep. Then awake.

Then asleep.

Then awake. This all happened on the porch, mind you.

Cute crashed Gwenie.

Okay, go back to sleep now, grouchy ladybug.

That's right. Sleeeeeep.

Whatever! Nevermind! What's your dang problem?!

What?

Oh, that, candy.

Yes, Liam does need a haircut.

We ended losing our crabbiness and had a nice Halloween after all.

Remembering: Our House Getting Finished

2010-01-21T16:53:00.000-07:00

While our house was being built, we would often go and check it out. Once some things were done, they would lock the house up each day. So....when we would go to visit...we would break in. Good times. You would too! Once our house was completely finished we went and visited it(broke in) one last time before the move.

The girls and I were chillin' in the bedroom.

With nothing else around, the doors became one of the most fascinating and entertaining aspects of the new house.

You will see why this picture is so significant in an upcoming post.

I was laying on the floor. Hello Rozz.

Soon it was time to "break it down" in the "loft."

Break it down like freaky dogs! Ah yeah!

Go Duncan, it's your birthday!

Whoa! I never saw that move coming!! Seriously, it was totally unplanned.

So You Think You Can Dance? Vegas, here he comes!!!

Look! It's a calm child. I'm not sure I've seen one of those.

Measuring for the storage bench thingy in the hall.

Rozzy knows how to measure better, so she takes control of the situation.

Mark takes notes with the info Rozzy is giving.

Yeah, yeah, he's cute. He needs a haircut. He won't get one for a while so settle down!!

Our House, In the Middle of Our Street!

2010-01-11T16:36:00.000-07:00

Well, it's the outside anyway. I thought Mark, being the obsessive house picture taker he is, would have taken pictures of the finished interior of the house, in all it's unmoved in glory. He didn't. I realize this now as I look through the pictures. Pretty lame. I have taken any yet, so I will clean a room and photograph it immediately before the clean is attacked by Liam, our resident mess maker. We closed on October 21st and moved in the very next day. I would like to thank Mark's BFF for helping with that move, Mark's brother, Brian and his boys, and our old neighbor Daniel Wright. Ashley(Daniel's wife) made us some delicious cookies and Sheryl's girls(my neices) watched the kids. Sydney even changed a massively poopy diaper when we didn't have hand soap in the house. She just patiently waited for our return.

We got our stuff all moved here and Mark immediately began creating our yard, which we don't have pictures of yet. I don't understand why we don't. That last few months before moving it seemed that we had more pictures of the dang house than our children. I will photograph the yard when the snow melts, which in Utah means in May.

Remembering: The Chaotic Time of Packing With Cute Kids

2010-01-11T13:28:00.000-07:00

I don't want to remember many parts about this time. It was so stressful and overwhelming. There seemed to be an endless amount of work and very little time to accomplish it. These pictures are from the last couple weeks before we moved. We had to keep going back to clean that stupid place. Then our landlord had the power shut off before the end of the month, so Mark had to clean in the dark and plug into one of the neighbors to use the vacuum. Our landlord got the place rented the very next month, but now claims we owe him for November(we saw people living there when we drove by). He also claims, even though the place has never ever been painted, that to repaint the living room(we painted it because it was looking dirty with the plaster showing through because the initial paint job was so poorly done)it will cost $425. I am so sure! I will buy the paint and do it myself. Then he said that we owe him $450 for the advertising that he had to do to get the place rented out. Now, he didn't do any except putting a "for rent" sign out front the week before we moved. We sent him a letter over 2 months before we moved telling him that we were moving and wanted out of our lease. He never read the letter! Mark called him several times and left messages. Then 2 weeks before the move he asks Mark what he wants. He doesn't read his mail and has his brother open it for him, so he was clueless. Mark told him and he was such a jerk about the whole thing, saying, "these are tough times." Hello! The guy owns a business and several properties and he's talking to us about tough times when we are just a little family just trying to get a place with more space? Pah-leeez! Anywho, we still don't know what to do about that whole situation. We are quite powerless. Here are some happy times during all this with beautiful children!!

I love this picture! Rozzy is so dang chubby, I can't get over it!! Her onesie and pants are outrageously tight!

Kisses with Daddy!!

Stoned Gwenie. Watching a movie. Don't you love all the boxes?!

Gee, what movie could this be?

Movie night with Rice Krispie treats!

One of my most favorite Rozzy smiles captured on camera!

See you in the new house!!

Remembering: Duncan's First Day of School

2009-12-22T14:23:00.001-07:00

Once upon a time, in August, Duncan had his first day of kindergarten. He was very excited. He got up and got his clothes ready. Then I told him, "Don't get dressed yet, I need to give you a bath." Then Duncan said, "Well, maybe could I just take a shower by myself?" I said, "Sure why not? You already know how you wash yourself." Duncan, "Okaaaay! But, I need you to turn it on for me!" He was so excited and acted like he was so grown up, telling me I can just put his towel on the toilet and such.
Mark was able to have half of the day off of work so that we could all take Duncan.

He was so excited and cute about the whole thing. I got a little choked up as we left, until Liam had to use the bathroom. He went in the little boys' restroom and used one of the urinals. Mark went in to check on him and had me go look. Liam was using on the the urinals with his shorts around his ankles and his little bum hanging out. It was so hilarious!! I have no pictures of that, but it was truly a "moment."

A picture of the clan.

After we dropped off Duncan, we went home and had lunch. Then we went to check out the progress on the house. Gwenie and I hung out in the car. It was really hot out. I do NOT miss that August heat.

She had cute hair that day, so I took a picture of it.

Then we went to the park by the school and chilled a bit until Duncan got out.

Gwenie had fun pushing Rozzy around the pavilion.

The End.

Remembering: Rosaline's First Year

2009-12-22T13:42:00.000-07:00

Rosaline,
My second girl, my fourth child whom we thought might not be. When you were in my belly they found you had club feet. They thought that might be a sign of something much more scary, called Trisomy 18. We were so scared, but knew no matter what happened, you were our little girl and we would be with you after this life. We were so blessed and lucky to find out that not only did you not have the chromosomal defect, just club feet, that you were growing so quickly and well. The results were not fully conclusive, but we felt that you would be just fine. We were anxious to have you out to make sure you were healthy.
You were born 2 weeks early. We were so happy to have you join our family. We were such a good, calm baby. Even with your casts and brace, you always seemed to take it in stride. You started out so tiny and stayed that way until you didn't have to wear your shoes all the time. We learned that you were a fan of FOOD.
You are such a goofball. You always try to make us laugh. You are cuddly and squishy. You learned to crawl at 11mos.(your sister waited until 14mos.) and are now an amazing walker. You never let your club feet hold you back in anything. You crawled with your shoes and even walk along furniture with them on. You amaze me everyday and bring a smile to my face all the time. You are so polite, saying "thank you"(in your own way) whenever someone does something for you. You can hold your own in a family with two very physical brothers and a crazy sister.
You make me laugh all the time. You are a good helper(more so than your siblings). We are so grateful to have you in our family. You bring a joy and spirit that is uniquely yours. Thank you for being you!

The sibling you look most like.

We loved your club feet, but we are happy to see you walk.

1 month old.

2 months old.

3 months old.

4 months old.

4 1/2 months old

5 months old.

6 months old.

7 months old.

8 months old.

9 months old.

10 months old.

11 months old.

12 months old.

Wow, I don't know about you guys, but a beautiful baby like that makes me baby hungry!!

Remembering: Rosaline's First Birthday

2009-12-21T13:43:00.000-07:00

Back in the olden days, Rozzy turned 1. As we usually do with birthday festivities, we invited the party, also known as Geof and Jessie. I hadn't finished wrapping, as it was Sunday and during this time I was nursery leader and Mark was usually working. Those things make for full Sundays. Geoff went to entertain the boys.

As you can see, Liam has a lot of "mommies." He adopts any female as his mom if she is willing to give him the time of day.

Jessie can multi-task.

Geoff is incapable of saying "no" to playing swords with someone.

The Birthday Girl up close and personal.

Let the unwrapping begin!

At this age, wrapping paper proves to be the better gift.

Whenever I would tell Rozzy to smile, this is the face I would get. Smile must also mean shock and surprise.

This is really what Barbie is good for.

Rosaline got a princess chair, Gwendolyn needs to see if it is good enough for Rozzy first.

"Smile!"

Finally, I got a real one!

And we're back to "normal."

The "Party."

Duncan's faux smile.

Gwenie insisted on a picture of the fairy Barbie. The thing I notice different between the old and new barbies is that the old ones sat with their legs together. Today's barbies, well, you can see. What does that say about this generation!!

The cake, I am no professional.

Happy Birthday Smiley!!

Remembering: A Haircut Already Grown Out

2009-12-15T16:52:00.000-07:00

Many, many moons ago, when I was in Colorado I got my luscious locks chopped off by my sister in law, Holly. This inspired me to do the same to Gwendolyn. These are the results of that. This was in July, so obviously her hair has grown out since then, but I think I might want to cut it again!!

Yikes! Still a victim of bad photography. With teeth? or without?

Gwendolyn doesn't want to become a victim of bad photography.

The shame the poor girl feels!

I know you all were probably bored with these pictures long ago, but I couldn't stop taking them or posting them!!

Remembering: Duncan's 5th Birthday

2009-12-15T16:29:00.000-07:00

These posts are now going to be "The Remembering Series." Back in the day, June 29th to be exact, Duncan turned 5. It was a hot sunny summer day. We decided to have a pool party. We invited a few of the neighbors, but no one was home. We are our own party anyway, so it was just fine.

The water is cloudy because Gwendolyn decided to eat a banana pudding popsicle in the pool. Looks lovely, doesn't it?

Dang, it looks like I gave Duncan narcotics for his birthday.

Hmm, what is she drinking that she thinks is so tasty?

Oh, I see...

Rozzy doing some after pool party chillin' on my bed.

Rozzy's cool with being the "fat sister."

I love her chubby face!!

Those cheeks!

Duncan got a Cars chair for his b-day. Rozzy had to test it out.

She started doing that PBS workout show called, "Sit and Be Fit."

As you can see, it is a lot of hard work.

What a messy house this was! I mean, present time!!

It was a "Spiderman" party.

Gwenie needed to show off her baby doll that she got from my mom.

I never thought I would see the day when my baby would have a baby!! At least she can speak well since she is now a new mother.

Seriously, I got this for like $10 on clearance back in January. Thank you bad economy.

Duncan's first Spiderman action figure. Awwwww!

Duncan is pleased with his gifts, Mark is pleased with a grateful boy.

Aaaahhh!! My messy couch. We started packing at this point and it was taking away our living room space. Birthday cake time!!

Dang! This makes me want cake!

Duncan,

I can't believe that you are this big already. It seems like you were just my first little baby with your baby eagle cry and huge bald head. You have always been such a charmer and have always been good at making friends where ever you go. You have always been such a chatter box, I can hardly remember you before you could talk. You are smart, intelligent, helpful and kind. You welcome all new siblings to the family with open arms and are so good and looking out for them. You are so excited to grow up and be a big boy and I am proud of all your accomplishments. Happy Birthday Duncan!!

Remembering: June's Colorado Trip

2009-12-15T15:40:00.000-07:00

I know I said that I would blog the same day that my last blog was posted, but apparently I was unaware of my husband's computer doings. They were good, but they halted the progression of my blogging. All things are back in order. Here we go:

Back in June we had the opportunity to go to Colorado and visit family. My dad had yet to start his cancer treatments, so it was good timing to spend time with him. Most days we just hung out at my parents', which was actually quite relaxing.

The influence of my younger brothers at work here.

This is Duncan, in case you were wondering. My brothers taught his about Star Wars and everything. There is no turning back!!

Gwendolyn snuggling with Mark at my parents' house.

Rosaline, in her usual state, gaping mouth. Even cameras could be considered edible to this girl.

Gwenie at my parents' house, probably being flirtatious with one of my brothers. She was love struck by JM, Christian and Stefan.

She's just cute.

We went to Heather's(my sister in law) parents' house to celebrate Byrce's 1st birthday. Gwendolyn always enjoys sweets. I think Liam may be doing a bit of bum scratching there. Hmmm.

Heather and my mom serving up cake and ice cream. Thinking back, the polite thing would have been for me to help out with this instead of taking pictures of it...

Rosaline rolling around on the blanket. That is all she knew how to do at that point.

My dad(before stem cell transplant), Heather's dad, Papa, and Rosaline still looking at me like I am cruel for abandoning her.

Heather's mom holding Bryce, my mom eating cake, and Caleb.

Gwendolyn couldn't leave it at just cupcakes. She had to add graham crackers to her menu of the day.

Seeing her trim figure, I contemplated her diet.

Rozz-E-Pozz chillin' with Mark E. Mark.

The beautiful house that is the Heather's parents'.

Mark never has the energy for these trips. It is certainly nice that we can crash in the lazy afternoons at my mom's.

It's hard to see, but Papa went and pushed Gwendolyn on the swing. It was so very cute!!

Rozzy actually let someone other than me hold her!! She is so unlike my other kids in that way.

She smiled at me instead of getting the "Mom! Take me back!" face.

We went to Estes Park with a bunch of the family on my birthday. This is the only picture I got. I attempted to photograph the scenery, but it didn't work. Then I left my camera int he car when we were actually there. That is how lame I am. My Aunt Krsten and cousin Samantha came the same week so they were able to come with us. I share my birthday with my aunt and 10 years ago that day we spent our birthdays together in Pennsylvania. She is so much fun!! I miss her a lot!!

We all went to dinner together on our last day there. I tried to take a picture of the whole group, but I failed miserably.

Samantha being so sweet to her mother(Krsten, my dad's sister). I am glad I got a picture of them at least. Haha.

The "Smith" end of the table. I let Mark babysit while I chatted with my fam. I know, I am a mean wife.

Gwendolyn tasting Mark's drink of choice, Pepsi.

Duncan, looking, um, weird.

Dad and Papa deep in conversation. Dylan is in the background.

Jon-Michael and Dylan.

Holly and Heather. Isn't Heather's hair so shiny and pretty?

Dad and Papa. Papa is from the generation of "those who do not smile in pictures" and I think my dad was trying to make him look more normal.

This is called a "teenage boy" picture. Such lovely expressions, no?

My mom and I hated this picture, but my camera died. I am posting this to show you all that I too am a victim of bad photography. You will rarely see pictures of me because of this fact.

We had a wonderful trip and I enjoyed spending so much time with my family. I have missed them a lot and still miss them all the time.

Death Has Not Come Upon Me

2009-12-09T11:59:00.002-07:00

I have had one serious blog hiatus. I can't even believe it myself. We don't have a computer desk still, so it is a little hard for me, especially because I am weird and can't seem to do this on a laptop. We are moved in. We've had house guests. We are not unpacked. I am severely behind on my blogs. I haven't blogged summer birthdays, trip to Colorado, Dunc's first day of school, my dad's progress, Halloween, Thanksgiving, etc... Needless to say I will be playing serious catchup. I would totally start now, but alas, I don't know how to access my pictures from the other computer through this computer and Mark is not home to help me with that right now. I think later today or tonight will be the continuation of the "Danielle Smith Saga." I will blog! If I don't, I may lose my BFF as my BFF. Keep watching, keep waiting, keep a candlelight vigil. I know you all have missed me tremendously!!

If You Build it They Will Come

2009-08-20T12:30:00.010-06:00

At least I hope people will come when we have a house. That's right! After 4 kids and 6 years of marriage, we will receive the fabulous blessing of having a house of our own. It just kind of came to us. A guy from this housing development came over while I was making dinner. I normally wouldn't have even answered the door, let alone give the guy the time of day. I just did for some reason. He told us about this seminar that they were having on the Saturday morning. Mark actually had that day off, so I just said sure, for some reason. That morning I said a prayer that if anything about this was for us that I would know it and I would know if a house would be the right way to go. We went and were listening to the guys tell us that we could have a brand new house. The whole I was telling Mark, "Yeah, right!" Then by the end of it I started feeling really good about it. One guy came and talked to us about our situation and what we could possibly do. I just started to feel really good about the whole thing. Then we went to look at the model homes while they did a credit check to see if we could qualify. The smallest model was the one we went to first. I just felt so good about it, like that would be our house. They brought us in and told that we actually had a really good credit score. Not that I thought it would be really bad, but I was just surprised that it was good enough at all. I just kept praying that we would know this was a righteous decision for us or not. I didn't feel nervous, scared or anything. I actually felt really excited. I knew this was right. We picked out a lot and started the whole process.

We took pictures of the model home to keep the dream alive for us while we wait. The house should be finished in October. There a lots of pictures here, so bear with me.

Living Room(sadly we don't get any of the furniture).

The front door and closet.

The "powder room" just off the living room.

Living room window.

Family room.

Family room from another angle.

Dining room/kitchen.

Dining room/kitchen. We will have more cabinets than this one has and we will have a fridge. Haha.

The pantry, you can't tell how big this actually is, but it is quite large. Seeing as how we don't even have a pantry now this is a huge deal for me. Oh, and the door to the garage is right there by Mark. Another lovely addition we don't currently have at our town home.

Other side of the pantry, then under the stairs area, with crawl space door hidden in the carpet.

View of the backyard and a reflection of me taking a picture of it apparently.

Another view of the dining room and living room.

Up the stairs. There will be a wall here making this the 4th bedroom.

Walk-in closet that doesn't look as big in this picture as it actually is.

Loft area by that future 4th bedroom, master bedroom doorway right there. That desk is where our laundry closet will be. No more walking up and down the stair lugging laundry! Yay!!

Hall bathroom. The will finally have their own bathroom, which means no more sharing and no more messy, crowded bathroom!! Yay!!

Another bedroom.

Another large walk-in closet.

Another bedroom at the end of the hall.

Another walk-in closet for that room.

Master bedroom, this room seems huge to me when I am in it. Our current room is so small and has unusable space.

Another angle.

Linen closet on the right, large bathtub/shower.

Another angle of the same thing.

The large bathtub.

Toilet area, I like to call it a toilet cubby.

One side of the large walk-in closet.

Other side.

The middle.

This is the lot. We will still be in Spanish Fork. Behind us is a historical old sugar beet factory. I recently learned what those are. I think it is really cool and I welcome the ghosts that may come from it. It will be a good excuse to have the Ghost Hunters as company.

This is the exterior colors of the house. We got the free stucco upgrade. The khaky is the color around the windows. We will have dark blue shutters.

The cabinets and carpet we chose.

The combo the the counter, cabinets and carpet we chose. The pictures don't do the counter tops justice.

Now it's the last combination with the kitchen flooring added in and the paint color that looks nothing like that, haha.

Now the combo with the bathroom flooring.

Now it's a party!

They finally dug our lot. That is our powder room on the left. We are hoping it looks a little better when the house is finished.

The dug lot...again.

They started on the foundation earlier this week.

I will keep you all posted on the progress. This is so exciting for us. Here are some differences between what we have now to what we will have: 1100 sq. ft., 3 bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms(one is combined with the laundry room), no pantry, no walk-in closets, the ones we have are really tiny, we share a bathroom with our children, there is no storage, no garage, tiny backyard type thing, sharing walls, rental, split level, teeny tiny kitchen(hardly two people can be in there at the same time). The upgrade: 2000 sq. ft., 4 spacious bedrooms with large walk-in closets, 2 full baths(1 for kids 1 for parents), 1 powder room (that does not double as a laundry room) large pantry, garage, loft area for kids, family room, living room, large kitchen, large master bedroom, etc... We are truly grateful for the place we have called home for the past 6 years. We have many wonderful memories from here and have had 4 kids here. But we are looking forward to the fantastic changes we are about to undergo. Sorry this was so unbelieveably long.

A Couple of Goofy Girls...

2009-08-13T12:09:00.003-06:00

They start being weird(in a good way) very young, I think mostly because I am weird and goofy. It is only natural that I should take pictures and blog it. Rozzy started out all wrapped up in a sheet swinging this water shooter thing around. Being from a family of 6 brothers, many of whom love Star Wars, naturally, I thought she looked like a Jedi Knight.

She got all excited when she saw me with the camera and unwrapped herself.

But, she's cute nonetheless.

I bought goggles for the kids and Gwenie insisted on wearing them, she thinks they are the coolest!

I guarantee she won't think they are so cool when she is older and looks at these pictures.

Something Random and How to Bathe 4 Kids at Once...

2009-08-12T10:36:00.007-06:00

This first picture I had to throw in here randomly because her hair looks so cute. This is just one of the many hairstyles I love to do in her hair. Ah yes, the perks of having girls!

Now without further ado, how to bathe 4 kids at once...

It all starts off with cute little girls splashing a lot.

Follow that with some cute faces by the youngest child.

Then all 4 kids need to get some splashing out.

Then we wash hair and bodies. The youngest needs to eat the wash cloth.

Follow that with some more splashing. As you can see, there is always at least one child who is not happy about the splashing. That child is usually named Liam.

As you continue to get the hair washed, let the kids help each other. It gets out some pent up aggression and also teaches them to be helpful.

There is usually one child left who does not participate in the group hair washing ritual. You will have to do him separately. His name is usually Liam.

Finish off by removing each child separately from the tub and dry and dress them. Start with the cutest and youngest child. If you don't, chaos may ensue.

Pools, Playing and Happy Kids

2009-08-11T12:01:00.007-06:00

This, like the last blog, is also from the end of May. I set up the pools in the front yard and my neighbor Ashley came out and let her kids join mine in the water fun. It was our first hot hot day. It was about 94 degrees. Her girls were so cute and really got into it and got my kids into it more. They were wimps about getting wet until Krista showed them how to really do it!! Eisley is the one in the swing. Krista is in the fishy bathing suit and Emma is in the flower bathing suit. I love those girls and they are so sweet, funny, cute and my kids love them to death!!

We are not photographers, but we try...

2009-08-10T12:19:00.011-06:00

These are a series of pictures we took one Sunday after church back in May. I can't believe how different Rozzy looks now. Warning, lots and lots of pictures here. Seriously, there are a lot.

Coming Soon...

2009-08-10T00:55:00.003-06:00

Whoa, that totally sounded like an opening for a pregnancy announcement! As I would love to add more beautiful people to the population of the world(considering I am really good at that whole thing and conceiving comes too easily to us Smiths), that is not what this post is about. Coming soon...the end of my blog hiatus!

Lots of things have happened. Blogger was being lame on me so I gave up on the blog thing for a while, and I had so much to blog at the time. Then the legs to our desk were about to collapse, so our computer is hooked up to our TV, which doesn't make Internet access and computer usage all that easy or enjoyable(I am currently typing this on the living room floor and my legs are falling asleep). Now I am overwhelmed with things to blog about, so here is a little preview: We are buying a house(that is being built), we went to Colorado and had a nice week long visit with family(JM fixed el computero issues), I turned 26, in Colorado(haven't done that before), Duncan turned five(also another first), my house has continued to be a disaster(I think it is going to eat me alive), Mark had a kidney stone(#2 since we got married, this doesn't count as a birth in the family), one of my photos is going to be in the Awkward Family Photos book! (many people wouldn't be excited, but I thinks it's great) we have registered Duncan for kindergarten(sniff sniff), my dad joined facebook(seriously, and he hasn't lost his mind or anything!) and I am sure there are other things that are to come in future blogs. Please stay tuned, this will come this week, slowly, but surely. Ummm, PS-no English teacher comments allowed. I know this is one big grammatical mess and I don't care!!

Come follow me or my friend rather...

2009-07-14T14:06:00.006-06:00

I have a friend who is very crafty she is very good with children as well...seeing as though she has 3 of her own. She has a fabulous blog that I think you all should follow. And seeing as how I am not crafty with toddlers - I am just glad that they can color in a coloring book for 5 minutes. I can't provide you with the services that she can, so here we go - follow this blog.

As soon as she gets 25 followers her sponsors will let her start giving away their products...
Crayola is one of them! (she knows people in high places)

So...see ya there. Peace.

You know you have too many kids when...

2009-06-17T10:38:00.005-06:00

a random neighbor girl is suddenly playing in your living room and you don't know how long she's been there or how she got there.
That was my experience this afternoon. I turned my head and didn't notice that this little girl was playing with Rozzy, until I took a second look. I have now returned her to her family.

All About the Rozz(The 382nd attempt at posting this)

2009-06-10T13:00:00.000-06:00

(This post is no longer "dirty" I have edited it so that blogger's mind won't go in the gutter again)

These pictures are about a month old, but I had to post them. I just love to marvel at the beauty and fatness of Rosaline(aka Rozzy, Rozz, Rozzy Paws, Bugga Rozz, Princess Rozzy, Rozzywig). I haven't posted much about Rosaline because she hasn't really done much until recently. She is definitely coming into her own. She has such a personality. She loves chewing on wipes and eating food, we can't eat around her without sharing or giving her some of her own. She recently learned to scoot, for food. We laid a trail of Trix along the floor and she would scoot to each one. She loves being held, especially by me. She doesn't laugh when she is tickled, she just acts uncomfortable. She will only laugh if her siblings make her laugh. She loves flapping like a bird, especially when I hold her up in the above my head, shouting, "Fly, Rozzy! Fly!!" She is getting some nice blond hair in and three teeth so far(two have broken through and one is about to). She is soft and chub-by and squishy. She is in size 12-18mos., only about three outfits are 12 months, her length is average, but her belly is not, haha.

She never ends up on the same end of the bed I laid her in.

Happy girl!

This is one of my favorite pictures of her! I think she looks so pretty!!

Whenever I tell her to smile for a picture, this is what she does instead.

I love her squishy face smile!!

Gwendolyn left her sandwich on the floor for about 30 seconds.

The sandwich did have bread on top...

but Rosaline took care of that. Never leave food out around this girl, nothing is safe!

There's a bit of the Rozz!!!

I am inappropriate?

2009-06-10T12:23:00.000-06:00

If you are reading this you may have noticed that my blog has been "flagged." The content it too inappropriate for people under 18. Yesterday I tried repeatedly to post a blog that had c h u b s and c h u b b i n e s s. The post kept disappearing or posting as html. It was driving me nuts. Then Val got on my blog this morning and saw that it was considered "dirty" or something. I looked up info to see what it could have been. I came to no conclusion until I put my mind in the gutter for a moment. It all came clear to me. It was the word I was using to describe baby fat. It can be construed as something dirty. There you have it, I don't have the dirty mind, blogger does!!

May Stomach Flu

2009-06-08T12:14:00.000-06:00

I haven't blogged for a while, duh. The day after my last post, actually that very night, Gwendolyn came down with the worst stomach flu I have EVER seen in my life!! I was really getting back into the swing of blogging, then the whole sick thing happened. I know this is late, but I need to blog this mostly for my own personal records.

It all started at 1am in the morning. I was going to bed and thought I would check on the kids. I heard Gwenie coughing(she had been coming down with a cold). I went in there a found her sitting up. I smelled the air and realized she needed a diaper change. Then I realized not only was she in a desperate need of a diaper change, but she had thrown up all over herself and her bed.

I got her out of bed and began the cleanup. I just thought she had thrown up from all the mucous in her stomach from her cold. I got her all changed, got clean sheets on the bed and she threw up again. I cleaned it up and had her come downstairs with me. As I was putting a load of laundry in she threw up on the stairs. Then she threw up again and again and again.

She threw up on her pants, so I had to remove them. I gave her some Tylenol for her fever.

The little dot on the floor is what she thought of the Tylenol.

The "stomach flu setup."

I had to sit by her making sure I caught her puke every time. She was going about every 15-20 minutes.

Still puking a lot at 7:30am, having had no sleep and still smiling.

8 am, she had puked 25 times by this point(yes I counted). I called the Dr. and the nurse said, "Well, I guess we could look at her if you wanted us to, but there really isn't anything we can do. Unless she gets lethargic, then you will have to take her to the emergency room." I knew that would be the response, but I thought I would at least check.

The puking slowed a bit, she was finally able to sleep for a couple of hours.

Mark came home early to help out, as I was not able to tend to the other kids. Gwenie woke up thinking she felt great(after puking 30 times). She insisted on getting dressed to go outside with shoes and all.

She threw up again and realized she wasn't going anywhere. She was so tired and had a really high fever.(Thursday)

This was the bedtime setup in our room. Mark brought her mattress in and we bought some hospital pads to help contain all her, um, fluids. She insisted on wearing her shoes for the next two days, even while sleeping. I suppose it was the one thing she COULD wear.

The next day, she was very lethargic, but still actively drinking. She had thrown up 35 times at this point. She didn't walk at in the last 20 hours or so. She was so weak.

She was in and out of consciousness all day. She wouldn't take any Tylenol or anything, so we had to bring her fevers down the old fashioned way.(Friday)

I felt so sorry for my floppy little doll of a 2 year old. She ended up puking a jaw dropping 38 times!! You probably think I am lying, but there is no lying going on. I counted it, I was in disbelief as the number went up.

Saturday afternoon, she was a little more awake, but hadn't walked since early Thursday. I brought her on my bed to hold her for a little while. Then she threw a "very little movement" tantrum, since she was so weak.

Mark went in to get Rosaline from her nap and found that she had a surprise for us. She had thrown up, a lot. We gave her a bath and wrapped her in a towel. She was so pale and sick, but very happy.

See what I mean? Very happy, even posing for the camera.

She only threw up three times, I was thankful...except...

Her issues were more downstairs than up. I was, however, grateful for hospital pads!!

Mark and I were finally having a nice sleep(despite having to change Rozzy a few times during the night). Gwendolyn was still sick(downstairs area, no longer throwing up), but she was back in her room. Rosaline was now on our floor on her mattress. Liam woke up crying to us. We came to find out that he had thrown up, all over his bed. I cleaned it up, fixed his bed up with hospital pads and a bowl for catching. I explained what he needed to do, how he would know he was going to throw up, etc... But, he didn't quite listen. He completely missed the bowl and hospital pads and got it all over his blanket, sheet, floor, toys(funny they didn't listen to me when I told them to pick up their toys earlier, now I am the one to suffer), etc... Another cleanup.

We setup the DVD player in his room, explained the importance of the sacred bowl, and he did much better. He only puked 7 times and was very cheerful about the whole thing. He even ate that night. Should we even expect that boy to give up food for any period of time for any reason? I think not!

The girls and their sleepy time together. I thought this was so cute and funny. Little sickies. Yay for getting better!! (too bad she had something very similar last week, throwing up twice and having some downstairs issues). Again, I am thankful for hospital pads. They sell them at RiteAid!!

A bit of sunshine on a rainy day...

2009-04-28T10:46:00.000-06:00

(Long, but worth the read, at least I think so)
On Saturday night I was discussing with my husband my lack of desire to go to church. Mark can only go with me every other Sunday and he needs the car on the days he works. I am left with the stroller to walk, which isn't so bad on a nice day. I always feel so stressed out about going to church. So stressed that I haven't been for about 5 weeks. Grant it, there was sick kids and General Conference mixed in there. The whole idea of having to walk to church in cold, wet, or snow just really didn't help. Normally when I go to church I have a hard time finding a seat. I especially have a hard time finding a bench seat and a bench seat that isn't in the very front. Those of you with young children know how horrible and difficult the front row is. Gwenie repeatedly runs off and the boys feel the floor in front of the bench is their playroom. All this going on while I am trying to keep Rosaline from falling off the bench. I never get any offers of help when I am on my own and several times have been shushed and given angry/irritated looks by people. I really do the best I can in my situation. Even when I was 9 months pregnant and had just walked to church with three children in 95+ degree weather, I rarely even received acknowledgement of my existence. I kept going though, no matter what. Well, until 5 weeks ago. Something always goes wrong before church and it does shake my desire to go.
Saturday night and Sunday morning when I prayed I told the Lord that if he could just help me by making things easier, making things go smoothly and on time, then I would really put forth a great effort. Things were going really well. I got up early and showered, had the kids clothes ready. I was able to bathe and dress them all quickly and easily. They were all very helpful and obedient. I was feeling really good. Mark had even remembered to leave me the stroller.
I got all the kids together, diaper bag ready and we were going to load up. It had been raining earlier and that had slowed to just a mist. I get out there and realize the stroller is soaked to the bone.
I called Mark to make him feel guilty and resigned myself to walking to church carrying Rosaline and the diaper bag in the rain. We were walking and got to the end of the parking lot when my neighbors(Ashley and Daniel) and their three kids in their mini van reversed and offered us a ride. I really just had to accept the help. I was wearing heals and Rozzy is a chubby little thing. I was embarrassed but truly grateful. First sign from the Lord.
Then I find a seat...the FRONT row. I was grateful for a bench seat and was having high hopes because my children had been so well behaved all day. I spoke too soon. The kids were up to their trickery!! Gwenie kept running off, the boys were playing so noisily and taking up the entire floor in front of us. I was feeling so embarrassed, having to get Gwenie 4 times from the stands as she shouted, "I see you Mommy!!" My boys would just not listen to me. It all seemed quite hopeless...until a single middle aged woman named Janet came and sat with us. She immediately started to entertain Liam and Gwenie. She even distracted Duncan for a time. She sat with me and my kids the whole time! She said that she will watch for me every Sunday to see if I need help, after I told her my situation.
Then as I was leaving for Sunday school one of the members of the bishopric(father of 7) came up to me and told me not to worry or stress about my kids bothering everyone. He said that I was doing a great job and that I was brave to handle them all by myself.
Then my visiting teaching companion came up to me and offered to take the boys to primary. Then Gwenie ran off and was no where to be found. I think she tried to follow the boys. I was looking all over the building then a guy in my ward(Jacob Hamberlin) helped me locate her. I dropped her off at nursery and headed to Sunday school.
Rosaline fell asleep on the floor in Sunday school(which is in the Relief Society room). That certainly made things easy.
Then Relief Society was starting. Normally I don't really have anyone who sits with me. No one ever really has(except for Mary Heaton who got moved to another ward). I have actually just accepted this. Then this new girl in the ward came and sat by me. She was totally friendly and funny. We really hit it off. Our birthdays are one day apart and we have already decided that we should get together for some girl time(which I never have anymore since my friend Clarin moved away).
Church ended and Ashley offered to give me and my children a ride home. She even had a church meeting to go to and her husband went to choir practice. Very nice of them!! I am truly blessed to have such wonderful neighbors(who are also willing to put up with my boys when they play outside).
All in all I think the Lord was trying to tell me something. That something was to GO TO CHURCH!! I think I am going to have to become an active member again or something, haha!!

No, I didn't bleach it...

2009-04-25T12:01:00.000-06:00

Rosaline, the first baby I had who wasn't born with red hair. The first baby I had to have dark hair. I was weirded out, but loved the dark hair. Everyone was so surprised. It was such a dark brown color.

I knew it wouldn't last.

Her genes got to her.

Now she blends in with the rest of us. Hello blondie! That totally sounded like some sort of movie trailer. Sweet!!

A Touch of Sun...

2009-04-23T11:48:00.000-06:00

Okay, go ahead and call CPS, I didn't put sunscreen on my kids this week. Yes, the sun has christened their pasty white bodies. But, they loved every minute of it! I had to get pictures of the farmer's tans they have. This is Gwenie's first real experience with the sun. Can't you see the joy on her face?! Last year she wasn't even crawling at this point. Now she is outside everyday.
Seriously, they will look awesome in the summer with bathing suits. People will think they are wearing t-shirts, but they won't even know it's just an illusion!!
Awww! Naked sunburn hugs!

Dude, Liam is ripped! Go Liam!!

Alas, tomorrow will be cloudy and a high of 60. Let us all have a moment of silence for the nice weather that is dying as I type this.

Parkness to the Extreme!!...

2009-04-21T19:37:00.001-06:00

Well, perhaps not quite to the extreme except that we were there for about 3 1/2 hours. It was beautiful weather so we decided to make it our first park day of the year. Hopefully this isn't that last because about this time last year we did this and never did it again the whole year, haha. You can even look at that post about it. It's proof that we didn't do it again. Last year I was pregnant, so that might account for my lack of parkness. Here is a series of pictures from our lovely day. I actually had a ton of fun. I even played soccer and was running all over the place. Reminded me of elementary school, back in the day.

The End.

Right Up There With Giving Birth and Getting Married...

2009-04-17T11:40:00.000-06:00

TravisI have loved this band since I heard them on a BBC show called, "Top of the Pops." I looked for their albums everywhere and it took me about two years before I finally found one at Media Play, The Man Who. I had just been dumped. I was sad and depressed. Now, I normally don't get emotionally attached to bands I like, but this one was different. I really got attached. This was the transition from Logan to Mark. If you read this Logan, I mean no offense, but there was a song that I dedicated to him called, "Driftwood." The love/obsession for this band just continued from then on.

Travis is not as famous as Coldplay or Snow Patrol, but it has been said that they paved the way for those bands and ones like them. They have amazing lyrics to their songs and Francis Healy(the lead singer) writes nearly all of them. His song writing abilities have been compared to Paul McCartney. In other words, really good lyrics!!

I was driving to an appointment a few weeks ago and the radio was on. I rarely listen to the radio, but I hate silence and I was all alone. They announced that the Scottish indie rock band was coming to Utah on April 14. I totally screamed really loud in the car. I never thought that they would ever come anywhere near where I lived. I went home later and pressed the immense importance of going to this concert, regardless of the price. Luckily they weren't expensive tickets by any means.

They performed at a private club. It was actually a really nice smoke-free place. It was small, so it was easy to see them. My pictures make it look like I was farther away, but I wasn't. My eyes can apparently see closer than my camera can zoom. Lame!

All I can say about this picture is, should have brought my wheelchair!! As soon as they came out I screamed like a teeny bopper at an NSYNC concert. I was so excited! You really have no idea how excited I was. There really is no way to quite explain it.Fran Healy(the one in the hat) got out in the audience and sang a song and even danced with someone while he sang it. I am lame and getting older(mother of four and all), so I didn't stand in the very front. I missed out on the best dance of my life!! Sorry Mark.

They were really down to earth, funny and entertaining. Britney Spears was performing across the street at that time. Fran Healy said, "I know you guys are only here because you couldn't get into Britney!" Then he decided to do his own rendition of "Hit Me Baby, One More Time." It actually made me like the song! Haha!!

They were fun and slightly crazy at times. It was all very entertaining. I loved every minute of it!

At the end they turned off and unplugged everything and got all of us really quiet and sang one of my favorite songs(I videoed this) called, "Flowers in the Window." A fantastic finish to a fantastic night! I will definitely go the next time they come. I took some videos and lots of pictures. I wish I could replay it in my mind in perfect detail!

You can check them out on their website: http://www.travisonline.com/ . They also have a myspace page and lots of videos on http://www.youtube.com/ . You can even watch him do "Hit Me Baby, One More Time."

PS-A fabulous band called The Republic Tigers opened for them. They were really good as well, so you should check them out too!!

My Day Off!...

2009-04-15T16:44:00.000-06:00

On Monday Mark got off of work early, took the boys, picked up his son Burton and went fishing. I was left with the two girls for about 7 hours. No boys! Mark took the camera with him to get pictures, so I didn't get any pictures of me sitting on my butt watching Hotel Inspector on BBC America, Gwenie shoveling her face full of candy, and Rozzy sleeping probably 3 1/2 hours out of the 7. Oh, and I didn't even get a picture of the fire right across the street! I think someone was trying to do a controlled fire in the field behind the contruction across the street. It seemed like the fire was spreading too close to the streets and construction. Then suddenly I heard sirens and saw firetrucks putting out the fire. It was very exciting. Gwenie and I had egg salad sandwiches. Also known as Eggies. We said goodbye to a couple of our dyed eggs. Gwenie kissed them farewell. I put her down for a nap after some candy time. Then Rozzy fell asleep on my bed and I took a shower. I got out and it was so quiet! It was very quiet without the boys anyway, since they are the main noise makers in the house. But there was no one to bother me or prevent me from getting stuff done. I got so much done in about an hour and a half. The boys later came home and we had leftovers for dinner. It was all so fabulous. A dream come true!! Here are the pictures from the boys' trip.