desktop fun

Just a quick FYI for everyone, there are really cute desktop templates out there that you can get for free and just add your photos to. Here's a look at the one I put up for this month and the one I had up last month. I found them at Shabby Miss Jenn and the Shabby Princess blog, in case you are interested (see my sidebar). I'm sure there are even more out there yet to be found. Enjoy!

29

The real countdown has begun. In one year I will no longer be a twenty-something. So far I've enjoyed some lovely gifts, several phone calls, a nice lunch, and a birthday cake. The rest of the day will be quiet since Jon is at work. I tried to think about what I did for my birthday 10 years ago, at 19. That was the year that Tori and Sierra organized a surprise party at Brick Oven with some friends and people from the summer ward. I remember a blindfold and the shock of almost sitting on some guy's lap before they took it off! In some ways it seems like yesterday, but a hundred years ago at the same time. Birthdays mean a little less these days. I'm not waiting to turn 12 so I can get my ears pierced, or 14 so I can go to stake dances, or 16 so I can date and drive, or 18 so I can be an adult. Now getting older just means I should feel like more of a grown up. At what point do you turn that corner where the teenagers start thinking of you as old? I'm pretty sure I always used to think of anyone over 30 as real grown ups. Seems kind of funny now, because in a lot of ways I still see myself as a kid. My youth is wasting away! Jon's 30th is coming up in December, I think I'll focus on that now. ;)

week(s) in review

I just realized that it has been about two weeks since my last entry. This is due to a number of distractions, most importantly the complete crash of the hard drive on our new laptop. Fortunately, our system is still under warranty so I promptly put in a call to Gateway technical support, and after a lenghty process it was determined that we would be sent a new hard drive, no charges for anything as long as we returned the old one to see if they could repair it. I asked specifically whether or not it would come installed with Windows Vista and everything I would need to get back up and running, minus any extra programs I had installed myself. The promise was made, we waited three days for it to come, and when I went to install it, NO OPERATING SYSTEM. I called again. I'm told that I need a System Recovery disk, which is free, but their policy is that I need to pay a $20 shipping and handling charge to get it. Not happening. I very politely explained that there was no way I was going to pay anything to get this disk when they had just sent me the hard drive free of charge but forgot to do it right. My fee was waived, but I had another three day wait. I just barely got my computer up and running again yesterday. Now I'll have computer anxiety for a couple of weeks, fearful that I'll click a seemingly innocent button and it will crash again.

At least I had other distractions during this time. The kids and I traveled to Utah to help my mother and sisters throw a bridal shower for our soon to be sister-in-law. Things went well even though we were running a little late that morning getting ready, but my lovely brother was there to bail us out by ironing table cloths and running last minute errands to insure the gathering for his love was a success. I can't believe that the wedding is just over two weeks away! We are leaving again in just over a week for San Diego. I'm really excited to go and spend time with all my family and have a true vacation with my hubby and kids, but I'm already tired. It will be great, though.

While in Utah, I had one of those great restaurant moments, which is bad enough when both parents are there, but even worse when you are the lone ranger. Fortunately Jon's sister was with me and quick to help. We were eating at Olive Garden, and nearly finished with our meal, when Derrick announced that he needed to use the restroom. In the process of getting out of his chair, he informs me that it is too late. What?!? He is 6 1/2 years old, so I usually get a little more warning than that! I look down to see poop running down his leg into his crocs (thank goodness for crocs with no socks!). We are literally at the table farthest from the bathroom, and he is just standing there making puddles on their carpet. I felt so bad! I'm not quite sure what to do because Gracie is fussing, I have Abbie, and now Derrick needs to rush to the bathroom before it gets worse. Thankfully Kim jumped to the rescue and took him to the bathroom, while I stayed behind to handle the mess and get us out of there as quickly as possible. Our server was so understanding and helpful. I laugh, though, because he kept telling me that I would be surprised at how often this type of thing happened. Somehow I doubt that, I'm sure he was just trying to make me feel better.

Our last week has also been consumed with the prospect of a new job for Jon. It's no surprise to some that he is fairly miserable at his current job and has been seeking new opportunities for some time now. It turns out that he might go back to work for a company that he worked for during college. I don't want to go too in depth, just in case it doesn't work out. I will say that he has had three interviews up the chain in the last week and we feel pretty confident. I hope it works out because I haven't seem him this excited about work for some time.

You're out of town for a few days, do you know what your husbands are doing? Well, I left town and my husband bought this.

Not a total surprise, I will admit. But, we had talked about getting a dog after our trip to Hawaii in January, not quite this soon. Fortunately, the breeder agreed to keep him until after we get back from San Diego. He is a basset hound, we've named him Bauer (thanks to 24 we've had this name for a while), and he'll be just over 11 weeks when we bring him home. I hope this time is better than our last dog attempt!

Finally, here are some of my favorite pics from our adventures over the last few weeks. Enjoy!

Abbie always finds her way to Aunt Kimmy's lipstick!

My bugaphobic boy with a caterpillar on his arm. It tickled!

Tea party fun with Aunt Katie and cousin Allie.

Drinking the proper way, pinky a-flying!

Not to be left out of the fun, the boys had a Hot Wheels party!

Sitting on my own.

She fell asleep this way. I couldn't resist!

Sweet potatoes make the perfect accessory!

curse of the hives

I've been in a Harry Potter induced seclusion for the last several days.

Thanks to all who have offered sympathies for my mono scare. Fortunately, it was a false alarm. If you are wondering why I even jumped to that assumption, I must take you back to February 2004. I went in to InstaCare for a bad sore throat and was put on amoxicillin, the standard 3 pills a day for 10 days. On the ninth day of treatment I broke out in head to toe hives. I'm not exagerating either, they were EVERYWHERE. If it wasn't so miserable it would have been funny. I went back in to InstaCare and although I had never had problems in the past, it was decided that I was allergic to amoxicillin. I stopped taking it, went home with 2 new prescriptions to help with the hives and itching, and after several days began to feel better. I had a couple days where things seemed good, then I felt like I was getting an ear infection. I assumed that because I had stopped the treatment early that the bacteria has survived to fight another day. So, I went back in. My ears were not infected, but they were killing me, I even had them flushed out to be sure that we were getting a clear look inside. Nothing. After several trips in and out of my room, the doctor returned to inform me that she thought I didn't have strep or an ear infection, but mono instead. It was the last thing I expected. Apparently if you have an active case of mono while you are taking amoxicillin, the combined result is a horrible, itchy rash! After performing blood tests, her suspicions were confirmed. Fast forward to last Thursday night, when I start to feel itchy on my ninth day of amoxicillin and you can see why I got nervous. So, I finally get in to the doctor around 4:00 on Friday, they do a test and I'm cleared of mono, so they decided that I must be allergic to amoxicillin. They sent me home and I started taking Benadryl, which helped a TON but made me really sleepy. Funny thing is that I'm pretty sure I had several hefty doses of pennicillin in the hospital while in labor with Grace because of Group B Strep, and nothing happened. Supposedly I would be allergic to both. Then, on Saturday Derrick had a couple bouts with hives on his arms so I have NO idea what is really going on at this point. At least Derrick gave us a good laugh during Sacrament meeting on Sunday when we heard him snoring while sleeping sitting up. I had given him some Benadryl that morning!

On to Harry Potter. Jon went out and got it on Saturday morning for us. I finished reading around 5:00 PM today. My house has been neglected for the last couple of days, but I decided that I just needed to push through and finish the book so I wouldn't be distracted any longer! For those who haven't yet joined in the craze, you really should. I'm proud to say that I'm one of those who was in it pretty much from the start. Some of those who made fun of me back then are now more obsessed than I! No spoilers here, though. Some surprises, and some suspicions confirmed is all I can say. What I haven't decided is when I'll let my kids start reading them. They're definitely too young now, and probably for several years to come.

For those who have curiosity about my digital scrapbooking layouts, I've made a link list on the right now that will take you to some of the sites that I have found useful as I've started this new adventure. My software of choice is Adobe Photoshop Elements, although I have yet to purchase it because I have been checking out trial versions of several programs first. Photoshop Elements seems to be one of the more widely used programs, although I also liked ACDSee Photo Editor. I'm going with Elements mainly because Photo Editor has a glitch with changing text colors if you happen to have a dual core processor, which I do. Plus, Elements seems to have a lot of tutorials out there to help you learn how to use it. Anyways, I'm linking my favorite sites for info and supplies, both to buy and for free. I'm by no means an expert, but am happy to answer any questions on what I've learned!

aaaaahhhh!

I think I have mono, AGAIN. It's a long story, but if my fear comes true and I wake up in the morning with head to toe hives, I promise to elaborate. Until then, here's the update. The move went well. We got in a few days earlier than planned so it was less stressful. We officially turned our old place over to the landlord today. I have to say that I have never rented from someone so picky about the checkout cleaning. He's been really great to us, so I won't complain too much. I'll just say that we had some family and friends help us clean on Tuesday and we put in at least 12 hours between all of us, but I spent another hour over there tonight cleaning up very specific small crayon marks on the walls and sweeping off the garage shelves. Oh well. Gracie is starting to stir so I'll finish with my first official digital scrapbook layouts that I did last night. Kendra, if you read this I need you to send me a picture of Porter to add to the Easter Egg Hunt layout, I didn't seem to have one. Hopefully more layouts to come soon!

family fun

WARNING: Lengthy picture post to follow!

We returned yesterday from our family vacation/reunion to Fish Lake. It was the first time that Jon's family has all been together in over 4 years. We had a wonderful time, although I was sick with a nasty sore throat and head cold from the moment we got there. Memorable moments included Carter's enthusiasm for the 4th of July parade, ping pong ball launching contests, and seeing a moose right outside the cabin three separate times. We are pretty tired and my house is a disaster. But, with our move coming up at the end of the week, I have no incentive to get it too pulled together. The chaos is about to hit and when I come back up for air I hope to be a more organized, creative, relaxed person. Moving is insane but cathartic in a way. It's like a fresh start or the beginning of a new year. When the dust settles, I'll be back. Until then, enjoy some of the pictures from our week.

the giver

Last week my mom organized a book group for my 11-year old sister and some of her friends. On their list of books recommended by the librarian is The Giver by Lois Lowry. Having never read this book, my mother sent it home with me to read. It came highly recommended by several people, including my Schwan's delivery man who noticed it on my counter last week. I finished it this afternoon. I'm not sure what to think about it. What I do know is that I'll be thinking about it for a while to come. Perhaps my unease comes from the fact that I have such little ones and it was hard for me to suspend my disbelief without thinking of them, especially with the "release" of the twin newchild. If you haven't read it, that will make absolutely no sense, but for those who have read it, am I the only one who had a hard time with it? To be honest, I'm surprised that I made it throught school without having read it. It seems like the kind of book some of my English teachers would have LOVED.

Lately I've been checking in to digital scrapbooking. The more I learn, the more I think that it is the path for me. I love to shop for supplies, but I have a closet of things that I never have time to use because I fear the chaos the mess would create. Any thoughts, recommendations, or favorite sites?

Today we went to Ridgway for the afternoon with the kids. It turned out that about six other member families were all up there, too. Here are some pictures from the outing.

can you say OCD?

So it may be a slight exageration, but am I the only one who has to go back and fix misspelled words and incorrect grammar when I read back through my previous posts and notice the mistakes? I know I'm the only one who probably reads them more than once, and I know that no one else probably even notices. I just bugs me to no end, especially because I usually proof each post a few times before I publish it. It's funny how some people care about that kind of thing and others don't. I used to work with a girl who would send out office emails and memos without a second glance and they always had the most obvious errors. The rest of us used to joke that if it made no sense, then Adrienne probably wrote it. My favorite writing error happened when I was working and needed to hire a new Office Manager. I got a resume from a guy who wrote the following sentence in his cover letter..."I pat attention to detail." Really? Of all the sentences to screw up, that was not the one. His resume went directly to the "Nope" pile. Too harsh? I think not. Anyways, I hope there are no errors in this post!

This morning we started our second week of swimming lessons. Derrick and Abbie are both doing great. Abbie is still a little timid and won't stick her head under water, but she is in the Preschool level so there is very little pressure. Derrick is quite the little swimmer and listens to every instruction. I'm so proud of how he is mastering the torpedo.

At this very moment here is a picture of what each of my brood is doing.

Derrick, very concerned that without his help the Green Team will definitely lose the Disney Channel Games this year, is busily playing computer games to earn points for team captain Dylan Sprouse, aka Zack from the Suite Life. All will be lost without his help!

Gracie is taking a much needed nap in her carseat. The shade offers a bit of protection from her nemesis, who at this moment is...

Outside in the backyard mixing up bowls of who knows what with her friend Jill. To be honest, the mixture somewhat resembles a gourmet salad, although I would definitely not eat it! I hope the bushes and trees survive the afternoon.

not so pleasant memory

So, my sister just called because she thinks that her little girl may have a dislocated elbow or shoulder. She called me because, yes indeedy, it happened to us a few years ago with Derrick. How pleasant to remember that we let him go for almost half a day before taking him in to the doctor. How pleasant to remember the fear that we were going to be reported for child abuse and have our children taken away. After being told that dislocated joints are actually rather common childhood injuries, we still didn't feel any better. How quickly the picture comes back to mind of the pitiful look on his face while he sat there protecting his little arm without crying. And how easily the trauma of it all was forgotten the second the doctor popped it back into place, at least for Derrick. Now it's Karin's turn. From what it sounds like, her little one is experiencing the same thing. But that's what is frustrating about dislocated joints. It's so hard to know because they just act different. Of course these things always happen after normal office hours, so should she take her to the ER if Instacare isn't open? How do you make that call? All I know is I hope not to experience it again, and I'm sure we'll hear about this trauma first hand soon!

On a happier note, I want to start jotting down little things to remember about each of my little ones. Things that are funny/unusual/sweet that I may not always remember.

Derrick loves to read ZooBooks.

Abbie loves anything sour. Especially lemons. She always steals the lemon wedge from our waters at restaurants and eats the WHOLE thing, rind included. We try to get her to stop, but it never works.

Gracie loves to blow bubbles. That's how I know she is done eating.

bits and pieces

Yes, it's true. I haven't blogged since last month. We've had a lot going on and it's just not been on the top of my priority list lately. But, I intend to get back on track. First, I must recap our goings on for the last few weeks, in no particular order.

Three kids, 14 days, and three different road trips makes for a very tired family. After we returned from Richfield on Sunday, May 27th, we made a last minute decision to go to Provo for my uncle's wedding. We left on Friday, June 1st and came home on Sunday, June 3rd. We had less than 24 hours to get pulled back together before we had to get back in the car and drive to Denver on Monday, June 4th. Jon had 3 days of training so the kids and I spent some time with his sister. We came home on Friday, June 8th. We've had a couple weeks of down time, but in another week and a half we load back up for a week at Fish Lake in Utah with Jon's family. Jon will have more training in Denver towards the end of July, but the kids and I will stay home that time. Then I will take the kids back to Provo for the first weekend in August because my mom, my sisters and I are throwing a bridal shower for my soon to be sister-in-law. Then we have a couple of weeks before we trek to San Diego for a week to vacation and do my brother's wedding. WHEW! The more I think about it, the more tired I get. The kids have been pretty good travelers so far, but I'm really afraid that we're going to be pushing our luck this summer.

About a week ago, we gave our 30 day notice to move in the middle of July. We will be moving to a larger house that is really close to Jon's work. We are really excited, but I HATE the whole process of moving. I wish I could pull an I Dream of Jeanie and blink my belongings across town, clean the old place, and get settled in the new. If only. Fortunately, Jon loves to pack and move. This will be the 13th place we have lived in in less than 8 years and I can honestly blame him as the instigator of almost all our moves! Anyone want to come and help?

Gracie is growing so fast. Last week she rolled over for the first time, just a few days past her four month mark. Now she does it so easily. I've forgotten the excitement that comes with reaching each of these milestones. It's also hard to realize that each of these firsts quickly passes us by. I miss the newborn small that she used to be but love the personality that comes more each day. Giggles and ready grins are the trade-off for cuddles and 3 hour naps.

Last week our desktop gave us a scare which resulted in the purchase of our first laptop. Yes, our FIRST laptop. We may be a bit slow in reaching this milestone, I realize. However, we now have set up wireless internet access to make up for our tardiness in reaching this stage. So far things are going well. We even replaced the CD drive in our old computer all by ourselves, and it actually works! We plan to make the old computer a place for the kids to play games and go online.

We have been putting a patio in at my parent's house and are almost done. Just a few more things to do, but spending time over there keeps me from getting anything done around here. Laundry piles up, fast food is the meal of choice, and a vicious cycle is set in motion. To add to the craziness, I have moved all of my piano lessons to morning time slots, and we started swimming lessons this week. I get ready in the morning, teach piano, spend an hour and a half at the swimming pool, attempt to feed Gracie somewhere in the middle of all of this, and then make it home in the early afternoon where I proceed to argue with a brick wall about keeping the house clean, but eventually decide that I'm too tired and so I give up fighting. Why not, the wall doesn't listen anyways! I also attempt to keep our personal business under control while keeping on top of the financial stuff that I do for Jon's dad's business. And then I read other people's blogs and wonder why I haven't been able to blog, because so many people seem to have more on their plates than I do and still manage to keep up. Oh well.

I hope the rest of the summer won't be so crazy. Here's to hoping!