There’s No Place Like Home February 17, 2009
Posted by Emily in : Daily Life, Family, Kansas, My Handsome Husband, Thoughts, Utah , 8commentsTomorrow night I will oficially be a “Kansonian” or “Kansan.” Or whatever.
This is my last night in Utah.
This is the last night I live out of a suitcase, or sleep on someone else’s bed.
This night has been three years in the making.
Tomorrow, I will be reunited with my “stuff.” And like I mentioned before, it’s not that I love my stuff so much, it’s just that it’s my stuff. And if my kids play on it, jump on it, barf on it, or ruin it, I’M TOTALLY OKAY WITH THAT because they’re my kids ruining my junk.
I’m so DANG excited to have a place of my own again. My own space. My own things.
Our families have been so generous and hospitable to us the nine months we’ve been in Utah, and for that I am so grateful.
But I’m pretty sure they’re ready to for their own space again too. 
Today, I have mixed emotions. I’ll miss my family. I’m going to miss the familiarity of the city. I’m anxious about flying with two kidlets in tow. I’m beyond excited to get into my own place.
This will be the last post for a few days. I would be fighting nature if I didn’t “put everything in its place” immediately (because I am teeny tiny bit OCD. Just kidding. But no, really.) and that has to happen before I can think, or eat, or take a shower.
I’ll be writing again from my next adventure in Kanas!
See you then!
P.S. On a side note, my sister called and said her baby was barfing all night. She thinks her baby has the flu. Dallin was swaping spit with this baby last night as they slobbered all over the same chew toys.
AWESOME.
Moving Lessons February 13, 2009
Posted by Emily in : Daily Life, Family, Utah , 6commentsMy legs hurt. My feet hurt. My brain hurts. I’m hungry too.
A big snow storm is hitting the entire state of Utah tonight. David decided to get out of the state this evening to avoid driving to Texas in bad weather tomorrow. (He is en-route to Kansas by way of Texas to get our stuff out of storage.)
That is awesome and all, but nothing makes me run around like a chicken with its head cut off like a moved up deadline.
It seems I suffer from selective memory, and right before every major move, I am reminded of a few minor moving lessons:
- You always need one more box than you have
- Regardless of how much crap you get rid of, you still have too much stuff
- You always need more packing tape
- It is inevitable, you will run to Walmart more than once for supplies
- Your kids will unpack your stuff
- Your kids only want to play with recently packed toys
- The last 10% of packing takes 90% of the total time you spent packing
- You will leave something behind
- You probably won’t eat (’cause your runnin’ behind schedule and this is why I am STARVING)
- Everyone you know will call to wish you well and secretly, you just don’t have time to chat
- Regardless of how fast you work, you will be behind schedule
My kids are finally settled into their new beds at my parent’s house. We will stay here for a few days, then I will brave the friendly skies and the three of us will fly to Kansas City next week. (And we’ll meet David there who will have unpacked everything we own. I’m sure he will have every piece of furniture and trinket placed when we get there. )
That’s right, I will be flying to Kansas with two children in tow, 31 months and younger, all by myself.
I’m not sure I’m mentally prepared for this!
Dallin Newsletter #3 February 12, 2009
Posted by Emily in : Little Man Dallin, My Handsome Husband , 3commentsDear Dallin,
You are now seven months old. And WOW, you are one darling little boy. The first four months of your life were quite a challenge. Whatever caused your colic has subsided and you have traded your screams for squeals and your cries for laughter. You are very easy going and calm. Those are two adjectives I never thought I would use to describe you just a few short months ago. We love the real you we’re discovering.
Your increased happiness is directly related to your increased mobility. You rolled over for the first time at two weeks. Yes, you read that right. Two weeks old. At first, I thought it was a fluke, but then you did it again, and again, and again . . . and by three months old, you were rolling over every which way all day long. This should have been an indicator to us that you would be an early m0ver . . .
At four months old, you wasted no time getting up on your hands and knees rocking back and forth in preparation to propel yourself forward into a face-plant. You must have really liked smashing your face into the floor because you did it multiple times a day. From this exercise, you mastered planks and push-ups. By five months old, you were inching your way all over the house, and by six months, you were crawling.
I am your best friend. Really. Dad is a close second, but you know who makes the best food. You love to hold my hand or read my face like you’re reading braille while you nurse. You love nursing so much, up until a few weeks ago, you refused to take a bottle. REFUSED. The thought of it sounds kind of flattering, but it was TOTALLY STRESSFUL. Not being able to leave you with someone for more than three hours was a very stressful thought. Very stressful for you, me, and your dad!
You have the most darling little toes. I like to kiss them, and smell them, and sometimes, I want to eat them.
This is what I know for sure: I gave birth to my husband. Look at you! You are a carbon copy of your dad! You have the same eyebrows, lips, eyes, and hair do. I only know you’re my son because I birthed you. I was there. I remember.
You are a sensitive little guy. One sneeze from an adult will have you on high alert. You don’t like being startled or scared. It’s not your thing. You are a little bashful, and will bury your head into a familiar shoulder when someone new pays attention to you. You are quite loyal, and your friend motto at this point is: Quality over Quantity. Why would you want more friends than your parents, grandparents, Hannah, and Paris?
We love the little guy you are!
Love,
Mommy
It’s Official February 11, 2009
Posted by Emily in : Little Man Dallin, My Handsome Husband , 3commentsIt’s official. Sort of. Dallin has been to the Pediatrician a few times in the last month and guess who was shadowing the Pediatrician?
Ours truly:
Dr. Dad! So, all this medical school stuff is teaching him a thing or two after all!
I Can Thank My Father for Teaching Me Absolute Nonsense. February 10, 2009
Posted by Emily in : Family, Princess Hannah, Thoughts , 3commentsEvery night when I put Hannah to bed she requests that I read “too many books.” I’m not exactly sure what number “too many” is, but I know it’s more than four.
After we read books, we sing songs. And by sing songs, I mean “too many songs” which is certainly more than four.
Tonight, after completing the never-ending bedtime routine, she requested that I tell her a story.
So I thought long and hard for like 1.7 seconds and came up with a real winner. One my dad would tell me at night. One that has stuck with me through the years. One that will make her think. In fact, she’ll probably be thinking about this story all night long:
Thirty days has Septober
April, June, and No-wonder.
All the rest have peanut butter
Except Grandma.
She rides a bicycle.
I could see her little brain working, trying to make sense of this nonsense my dad instilled in me.
She looked up at me with her big bright brown eyes and said, “Mommy? Whatcha talkin’ about?”
Finally, a Manual I’ll Actually Read February 9, 2009
Posted by Emily in : My Handsome Husband, Photography , 4commentsEvery once in a while, I get really, really excited about a new book. Something I can get my fingers on and wrap my brain around. The last time that happened was in August, when the last Twilight book, Breaking Dawn, came out and David and I fought over who could read it first. (We tied, and got two books.)
Today, a much anticipated new book arrived in the mail. The Digital Photography Book 
Just not the manual that came with my camera.
Again, David and I are both chomping at the bit to read this book. But I think I’ll finish it first. I have a little more time on my hands than he does.
Age is Just a Number February 7, 2009
Posted by Emily in : Daily Life, Exercise, Little Man Dallin , 3commentsDallin is a big fan of Tony Horton (you know, the P90X
Like this for example:
He usually starts off the day by completing 100 planks or more. He loves them and his form is decent.
Well, his elbows could be a little straighter, and his back flatter, but give the kid a break, he’s only seven months old.
Dallin is a firm believer in what Tony says, and Tony says, “Age is just a number.” Yep. You heard him. Who says you can’t crawl at six months old? That’s right, the only limitations you have are the ones you put on yourself.
Dallin is always finding something mischievous to get into. (Note our little stinker-dog-Paris lurking in the background.)
The kid crawls, but can’t sit up on his own. Now this is a little backwards, but who says you have to follow all the rules?
Age is a just a number people. Just a number.
(As a side note, we hope Dallin’s accelerated physical ability does not denote delayed verbal skills. The kid is going to talk, right? )
Wanna Surprise Me? February 6, 2009
Posted by Emily in : Friends, Medical School, Texas, Utah , 2commentsA few days ago, my friend Ang dropped in for a surprise visit. Why was it a surprise you ask? Because she lives in DC and flew out on short notice to see me to see her family. I LOVE her to pieces. When I was living in Texas and she was living in Utah, I would fly her to Texas to work in my bridal store on key weekends.
She kicks butt as a saleswoman. She could sell a straight man a wedding dress. And he would buy it and feel good about it. Like he needed it. She made a lot of money for my store. But, that’s not why I LOVE her.
We bonded while working crazy hours, selling dresses to crazy bridezillas.
Her husband started dental school (in DC) the same time my husband started medical school.
We bonded again over our crazy lives.
Now, her husband will graduate in May, and my husband has like 23 more years to go before he makes an income as a doctor.
I am like 80% happy for her and 20% jealous.
But, I LOVE her to pieces, so how could I really be jealous?
She carved time out of her four day trip to see me and I loved it. She brought her baby who is just eight weeks old with her.
I got lost in his blue, blue eyes.
He was ADORABLE.
I wanted to eat him up.
Kiss his face off.
Keep him for my very own.
She has two other kids, would she really miss this little one?
A Little of This and a Little of That February 5, 2009
Posted by Emily in : Family, Islands, Photography, Princess Hannah, Saba, Trips , 2commentsCan you believe I’ve had other things fill my free time besides blogging?
I know. GASP.
Truth is, I’ve been otherwise anxiously engaged in other causes. It makes me feel busy and important (much like how I used to feel when I had a career and every minute of my life belonged to someone/something else).
We move in about two weeks. We found a place to live. I think it’ll be great.
I mean, I hope it’ll be great.
LET’S PRAY THAT IT IS. Um, ’cause I haven’t actually seen it. But it sounds great, and the pics look good, and some friends that live in Kansas City area have vouched for the area and thus VALIDATED my hunch that I’m going to like the place.
But, if it’s not a great place, then we just plunked down a lot of money on a dive. And that makes my want to to throw up a little bit in my mouth.
GULP.
But moving on (and literally, we’ll be doing that in a few days). My mother-in-law is recovering from knee surgery. Hannah has been an excellent nurse. She drinks Gloria’s Ensure, (which, by the way, is one of the perks of surgery. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, Ensure and would drink it everyday if I knew people wouldn’t tease me for liking a geriatric drink. And . . . if it wasn’t like 400 calories per serving. I’m just sayin’ . . .) offers her marshmallows, (you know, to take the pain away) and snuggles up in bed next to her grandma. Hannah only has to be reminded 346 times a day to not touch the hurt knee.
Such a good little caretaker.
Gloria has been somewhat stranded in her bed with only our little live-in family as visitors. As fun as we are, I know she likes to see other familiar faces and spend time with other people who don’t hang out in their pajamas all day. You know the kind, people with personal hygiene. People who wear regular clothing and shower. Daily.
Anyhoo, just yesterday was such an occasion. Some of her siblings came by to see her in her laid up state. For some reason, (see I don’t know how they got onto this subject because I wasn’t actually in the room. I was just minding my own business making myself some lunch in the kitchen and couldn’t help myself from overhearing this conversation) they got to talking about “scary runways.”
Now, everyone in that room was well-traveled. They talked about this place and that place and every place in-between. They were all positive they had flown on and off of “scary” runways.
I’m not one to assert my opinion when I’m not asked, but yesterday, I had to say something.
I needed to back up my in-laws.
Remember how I used to live on a tiny island in the middle of the ocean? And remember how I blogged about the scary runway here? Well, it turns out, I’M NOT CRAZY.
(This is the Saba runway. Picture by David.)
Travel and Leisure magazine named the top ten scariest runways in the world. Saba and Sint Maarten were in the top ten.
(This is the Sint Maarten runway. Picture by David.)
See, take that you people who think I over-exaggerate everything.
