These email "surveys" were sent to me from my sister in law. I just wanted to put them up because I thought they were fun...
Christmas With Friends And Family:
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? home made wrapping paper
2. Real tree or artificial? artificial
3. When do you put up the tree? Day after Thanksgiving
4.When do you take the tree down? About Dec 29th
5. Do you like eggnog? No, but I try it again each year, just for tradition's sake
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Anything used to play "house"
7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, but we don't use it, too much temptation for babies
8. Hardest person to buy for? Mother and Father in law...
9. Easiest person to buy for? Mariska
10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Can't think of one
11. Email or Christmas cards? Christmas cards (our's will probably be late this year)
12. Favorite Christmas Movie(s)? The Muppets Christmas Carol and It's a Wonderful Life
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? While Brent's off work for Thanksgiving
14.Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Not sure if it was a Christmas gift specifically
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Queen Anne Chocolate Covered Cherries, almond rocca and hot chocolate
16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Colors, whites on most of the house
17. Favorite Christmas song? Oh Holy Night
18. Travel for Christmas or stay at home? I'd love to travel, fundage is the issue
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers? Most of them
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star, though we still haven't found one we like
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? The "Saying 'Merry Christmas' is offensive" debate... and that it doesn't snow down here
23. What I love most about Christmas? Just the warm fuzzies with people I love
In One Word:
1. Where is your cell phone? Heaven
2. Your job? Caregiver
3. Your hair ? fuzzy
4. Your mother? Thoughtful
5. Your father? Quiet
6. Your favorite thing? Family
7. Your dream last night? Forgotten
8. Favorite season? Fall
9. Your dream/goal? Fit
10. The room you're in ? Den
11. Your hobby? unsure
12. Your fear? tragedies
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? college
14. Where were you last night? Home
15. What you're not? slender!
16. Muffin? chocolate
17. One of your wish list items? Car!
18. Where you grew up? varies
19. The last thing you did? ate
20. What are you wearing? pajamas
21. Your TV? abundant
22. Your pet? someday
23. Your computer? portable
24.Your life? Good
25. Your mood? Tired
26. Missing someone? yes
27. Your Truck? none
28. Something you're not wearing? watch
29. Favorite store? target
30. Your summer? Hot
31. Love someone? yeah
32. Your favorite color? maroons
33. When is the last time you laughed? Yesterday
34. Last time you cried? Yesterday
Friday, November 21, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
LONG Day... and post
Today started out like any normal day of taking Brent to work. Mariska wasn't too excited about having to get dressed and out to door by 7 but had her sippy cup of orange juice and baggie of fish crackers with her in her car seat. I dropped Brent off and ran to get some gas. Of course the pump stops half way only allowing me to get half a tank. Okay, annoying but I can let it go. So then I head toward the freeway to get on down to Midlothian for Mariska's 3 year well child check up. As I'm on the road she suddenly starts whining loudly. I look back at her through the mirror to let her know that I didn't know what was wrong with her, unless she used her words... she simply responded by throwing up ALL over herself. I'm about a half hour from home and didn't have time to go home, get her cleaned up and still make it to the doctor on time. SO, we pull into the doctor's office parking lot. I take her out, covered in orange vomit, wet, cold and crying. I try my best to wipe her car seat down, take her in and ask for a garbage bag and get her cleaned up. So now she's naked, but acting just fine.
So now we get back in our smelly car and get home. After hanging out for a bit we head to the store to look for birthday supplies. NOTHING at the dollar store having anything to do with bugs. We leave there and head for walmart. We get there and go to pick up her 2 prescriptions and there is a huge line forming behind me. They ring up her medicines... $45.00!!! For 2! Obviously not generics. I nearly pass out, but being sick myself, tired from NO sleep, really having to go to the bathroom and feeling the pressure from the line behind me, I pay the money and take the medicine. We go through and get the rest of what we need... except birthday supplies. The only thing I found were some cute blank cards with butterflies on the front that I can use for invitations.
From there we head to my appointment. I'm 15 minutes early, but of course I'm not called back for my ultrasound until 10 minutes AFTER my appointment because of stupid late people holding everyone else up. The ultrasound was great though! Mariska sat in her chair, very nicely earning her sucker. (yeah, yeah, sugar is bad for the immune system, but when you've had my day and stuck on a table in a room with a lot of medical supplies an almost 3 year old would LOVE to play with, the rules go out the window) Anyway, the ultrasound confirmed she's still a girl, which is nice. And I got to see her face really clearly a few times. Even though it looked like she was pressed up against a window, I think she'll look a lot like Mariska!! Obviously I can't tell anything about her hair color and such, but I think her face will look pretty similar.
Done with the ultrasound we go back into the waiting room and wait almost an hour before seeing the doctor. I hate afternoon appointments. Then we find out that my measuring big must have been caused by her being in a strange position, because now everything looks normal. A little disappointed and relieved we head out to get Brent, half an hour late.
So my measuring big was a big fat false alarm. We've got another 4 weeks until my due date still but we're anxious to get a lot done before then. Sorry for the long post, but I have to do something besides watch tv while Brent's at scouts for over 2 hours tonight!
So now we get back in our smelly car and get home. After hanging out for a bit we head to the store to look for birthday supplies. NOTHING at the dollar store having anything to do with bugs. We leave there and head for walmart. We get there and go to pick up her 2 prescriptions and there is a huge line forming behind me. They ring up her medicines... $45.00!!! For 2! Obviously not generics. I nearly pass out, but being sick myself, tired from NO sleep, really having to go to the bathroom and feeling the pressure from the line behind me, I pay the money and take the medicine. We go through and get the rest of what we need... except birthday supplies. The only thing I found were some cute blank cards with butterflies on the front that I can use for invitations.
From there we head to my appointment. I'm 15 minutes early, but of course I'm not called back for my ultrasound until 10 minutes AFTER my appointment because of stupid late people holding everyone else up. The ultrasound was great though! Mariska sat in her chair, very nicely earning her sucker. (yeah, yeah, sugar is bad for the immune system, but when you've had my day and stuck on a table in a room with a lot of medical supplies an almost 3 year old would LOVE to play with, the rules go out the window) Anyway, the ultrasound confirmed she's still a girl, which is nice. And I got to see her face really clearly a few times. Even though it looked like she was pressed up against a window, I think she'll look a lot like Mariska!! Obviously I can't tell anything about her hair color and such, but I think her face will look pretty similar.
Done with the ultrasound we go back into the waiting room and wait almost an hour before seeing the doctor. I hate afternoon appointments. Then we find out that my measuring big must have been caused by her being in a strange position, because now everything looks normal. A little disappointed and relieved we head out to get Brent, half an hour late.
So my measuring big was a big fat false alarm. We've got another 4 weeks until my due date still but we're anxious to get a lot done before then. Sorry for the long post, but I have to do something besides watch tv while Brent's at scouts for over 2 hours tonight!
Friday, November 14, 2008
Nesting
I've noticed that I've certainly had a major increase in my desire to get the house clean and ready. Of course it's difficult for me to "hop to" after not sleeping through the nights and through the belly/back pain.... but I WANT to get things ready more then ever. I have all the baby clothes organized and arranged in her room, but I have yet to get out all the blankets, bottles, and other baby "supplies". A lot of that has to do with the continual fight I know it will bring with Mariska to "Stay out!" of all the stuff. At the same time, while I know she's going to want to play with things, she hasn't made a huge mess of Brynley's clothes I've done and I'd kind of like to pull everything out and get it ready so that it's not such a huge transition for her when the baby does come. I'd like to get her used to having baby stuff around, just to help the change not be all at once.
Today I've had a big urge to pack my bags for the hospital, which I think is jumping the gun a bit. I think I'm going to wait until after my appointment on Wed to do that. I have an ultra sound this wed the 19th because at my last appointment I was measuring 2 cmm too big. At my 32 week appointment I was normal at 33cm... then 2 weeks later I jumped to 37 cm. Which, as I understand things, you should only grow about 1 cm a week... So they are going to measure the amniotic fluid and get a weight estimate on Brynley. I've had a very hard time not getting my hopes up and fantasizing about having to deliver early for some reason or another! I know this won't happen but it's hard for me to not daydream about the doctor coming in and saying, "Well the ultrasound showed this (insert any reason) and so I'd like to go ahead and induce".... I would mostly love this so I won't be pregnant anymore, but also because Brent has the whole week of Thanksgiving off and I'd love for him to be home that long after she's born.
Anyway, those are my thoughts for the week. I have a big list now of things I need to get done before she's here, but mostly I need to clean my nasty house. I better get going and I guess Mariska needs to eat at some point today!
Today I've had a big urge to pack my bags for the hospital, which I think is jumping the gun a bit. I think I'm going to wait until after my appointment on Wed to do that. I have an ultra sound this wed the 19th because at my last appointment I was measuring 2 cmm too big. At my 32 week appointment I was normal at 33cm... then 2 weeks later I jumped to 37 cm. Which, as I understand things, you should only grow about 1 cm a week... So they are going to measure the amniotic fluid and get a weight estimate on Brynley. I've had a very hard time not getting my hopes up and fantasizing about having to deliver early for some reason or another! I know this won't happen but it's hard for me to not daydream about the doctor coming in and saying, "Well the ultrasound showed this (insert any reason) and so I'd like to go ahead and induce".... I would mostly love this so I won't be pregnant anymore, but also because Brent has the whole week of Thanksgiving off and I'd love for him to be home that long after she's born.
Anyway, those are my thoughts for the week. I have a big list now of things I need to get done before she's here, but mostly I need to clean my nasty house. I better get going and I guess Mariska needs to eat at some point today!
Monday, November 10, 2008
"We can't have nice things"
Does anyone else have a child that feels the need to bend, tear, rip, dent, scratch, crush and/or completely destroy anything they can get their hands on? Brent and I are at the end of our rope when it comes to trying to teach Mariska to take care of all our things. She can't have any fun books with flaps or pop-ups. She rips up anything with a label. We certainly don't replace things that she destroys, but she just doesn't care.
The best way I can describe how she treats all of her things (and ours), is to use Dwight from The Office as a comparison. She treats everything she gets her hands on with the same attitude that he "tested" Jan's stroller with. If she could, she would perform "the bumper test" on all her belongings. I'd love advice and ideas on how to teach her the value of her things, but mainly I'm looking to not feel so alone in this!! Anyone?
The best way I can describe how she treats all of her things (and ours), is to use Dwight from The Office as a comparison. She treats everything she gets her hands on with the same attitude that he "tested" Jan's stroller with. If she could, she would perform "the bumper test" on all her belongings. I'd love advice and ideas on how to teach her the value of her things, but mainly I'm looking to not feel so alone in this!! Anyone?
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Our Halloween
Halloween was so much fun! First we carved a pumpkin, although Mariska didn't have the greatest time, refusing to touch the insides. Then she went trick or treating and was so cute!! Here are some pictures and things, don't make fun of her monkey costume, it was made with love!
Mariska being a ghost...
Mariska being a ghost...
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Political Diversity - Happy Election Day!!
This post is to put my feelings out there and perhaps bring a different perspective to some of our friends and family.
With most of you being members of the LDS church, I'm sure you're familiar with the letter of political neutrality that the church sends out to each ward within the church. http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/first-presidency-issues-letter-on-political-participation
My favorite line from this letter is the one that states, "Principles compatible with the gospel may be found in various political parties." Honestly, if you were a non-member person attending church meetings, particularly ones close to an election, you would have no idea that this was the church's official stance.
I truly feel that the church releases this letter to try and reduce any feelings of contention there may be among church members. I think it is also to try and remind our church members to respect other opinions and view points, even if not agreed with.
Somewhere along the line, a huge majority of church members got the idea that democrats, or liberals (pardon my language), are evil and couldn't possibly be good standing, faithful members of the church. Comments and references criticizing any political party are totally inappropriate in our church gatherings, which is a big reason for the release of this letter. I can't count the number of times either Brent or I went home from church irritated because of comments another member says belittling or disrespecting our political views. I love many people who COMPLETELY disagree with me politically and I welcome their opinions and even their questioning mine... what I'm talking about are members in meetings saying things that may be considered rude, but say them in the assumption that because they are with other church members, they are automatically agreed with. What if a "liberal" was investigating the gospel and walked away completely offended?
A few good examples of what I believe this letter is intending to end is during the 2004 election Brent met with his home teaching companion to go home teach a newer family in our student ward. This family had a Kerry/Edwards sign in their front window. And assuming Brent was republican, as most members just do, his companion turned and said, "oh no, they're democrats"... how is this in anyway the Christian, loving, fellow shipping attitude that members are to have with one another? Simply because this family disagreed with him, Brent's companion prejudged them and invited feelings of resentment and contention. Not to mention felt pretty "sheepish" once Brent said, "yeah so am I".
It's also difficult to feel the spirit and embrace the uplifting nature of church meetings and lessons when political beliefs are used as examples of evil and disobedience. Such as one member in our meeting that referred to Lamen and Lemuel as "left".
A fantastic friend of mine emailed me this article from a Utah Newspaper... http://ldslivingonline.com/article.php?articleId=79643
It is titled "LDS Official Calls for More Political Diversity". If you don't read it, the main part I wanted to share was this: He says, "There is sort of a division along Mormon/non-Mormon, Republican/Democratic lines," says Elder Marlin Jensen, a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. "We regret that more than anything -- that there would become a church party and a non-church party. That would be the last thing that we would want to have happen." He goes on to be more specific about why that is a bad thing and I hope people take the time to read it.
All that being said, I'm sure there isn't any real question as to where Brent and I stand politically! We hear all the time, obviously, the ideas that you can't be a good member of the church and a democrat. How can you be? Well, Brent and I are democrat because of our religious beliefs. We are because of our beliefs of charity, equality, being our "brother's keeper", and agency and choice.
At the same time, Brent and I aren't actually too excited at the idea of the democrats having complete control of the House and Senate AND white house... because we support the balance that different party control brings.
We are so excited for tonight and are making a lava cake just for the occasion! Sorry this was so long but I wanted to post this before the polls closed and the race was "called" because I think it's important to throw out there no matter who wins. But "Go Obama!"
With most of you being members of the LDS church, I'm sure you're familiar with the letter of political neutrality that the church sends out to each ward within the church. http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/first-presidency-issues-letter-on-political-participation
My favorite line from this letter is the one that states, "Principles compatible with the gospel may be found in various political parties." Honestly, if you were a non-member person attending church meetings, particularly ones close to an election, you would have no idea that this was the church's official stance.
I truly feel that the church releases this letter to try and reduce any feelings of contention there may be among church members. I think it is also to try and remind our church members to respect other opinions and view points, even if not agreed with.
Somewhere along the line, a huge majority of church members got the idea that democrats, or liberals (pardon my language), are evil and couldn't possibly be good standing, faithful members of the church. Comments and references criticizing any political party are totally inappropriate in our church gatherings, which is a big reason for the release of this letter. I can't count the number of times either Brent or I went home from church irritated because of comments another member says belittling or disrespecting our political views. I love many people who COMPLETELY disagree with me politically and I welcome their opinions and even their questioning mine... what I'm talking about are members in meetings saying things that may be considered rude, but say them in the assumption that because they are with other church members, they are automatically agreed with. What if a "liberal" was investigating the gospel and walked away completely offended?
A few good examples of what I believe this letter is intending to end is during the 2004 election Brent met with his home teaching companion to go home teach a newer family in our student ward. This family had a Kerry/Edwards sign in their front window. And assuming Brent was republican, as most members just do, his companion turned and said, "oh no, they're democrats"... how is this in anyway the Christian, loving, fellow shipping attitude that members are to have with one another? Simply because this family disagreed with him, Brent's companion prejudged them and invited feelings of resentment and contention. Not to mention felt pretty "sheepish" once Brent said, "yeah so am I".
It's also difficult to feel the spirit and embrace the uplifting nature of church meetings and lessons when political beliefs are used as examples of evil and disobedience. Such as one member in our meeting that referred to Lamen and Lemuel as "left".
A fantastic friend of mine emailed me this article from a Utah Newspaper... http://ldslivingonline.com/article.php?articleId=79643
It is titled "LDS Official Calls for More Political Diversity". If you don't read it, the main part I wanted to share was this: He says, "There is sort of a division along Mormon/non-Mormon, Republican/Democratic lines," says Elder Marlin Jensen, a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. "We regret that more than anything -- that there would become a church party and a non-church party. That would be the last thing that we would want to have happen." He goes on to be more specific about why that is a bad thing and I hope people take the time to read it.
All that being said, I'm sure there isn't any real question as to where Brent and I stand politically! We hear all the time, obviously, the ideas that you can't be a good member of the church and a democrat. How can you be? Well, Brent and I are democrat because of our religious beliefs. We are because of our beliefs of charity, equality, being our "brother's keeper", and agency and choice.
At the same time, Brent and I aren't actually too excited at the idea of the democrats having complete control of the House and Senate AND white house... because we support the balance that different party control brings.
We are so excited for tonight and are making a lava cake just for the occasion! Sorry this was so long but I wanted to post this before the polls closed and the race was "called" because I think it's important to throw out there no matter who wins. But "Go Obama!"
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