Emily’s Musings

I have mentioned before how much Hannah loves to dance.  When she hears a good beat, she can’t help but shake her thang.  I had to share this video, it would just be plain selfish if I didn’t.

Enjoy.

read comments (4)

You know you’re desperate when you pack a toiletry bag, and load up your two kids and drive a half hour to your parents house, JUST TO TAKE A SHOWER.

This is my life.  I am desperate.  Desperate to keep on top of my personal hygiene and my sanity.  As I walked into the door of my parents’ house, my mom said, “Oh!  I’m so glad to see you!  I’m so glad you brought your babies!  I have missed them!”

Yeah, okay.  You can have them for the next hour while I find some mental clarity in the shower.  Please, remember that Hannah is around.  She is so easy, taking care of her is like watching grass grow.  Dallin is what we call “high maintenance” so if he screams a lot, or the whole time, just know it’s something he does.  He likes to be heard.  You know, HE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO FORGET ABOUT HIM.

Mmmm . . . It’s always nice to know your kids are in good hands.  It kind of makes you want to take your time while getting ready . . .

Okay, back to reality.  I had a girls night out with some of my best friends from high school.  A couple of the girls I hadn’t seen in almost 10 years.  We all think we look the same (although we ALL know we were skinnier and younger looking 10 years ago) and picked right up where we left off all those years ago.

Anne Wilson Copeland (who now lives in Texas) Katie Trent Renslow (who lives in Colorado) Me (who lives like a gypsy with no place to call home) Katie Corrigan Broadbent (who lives in Utah) and Ashley Huish Tobler (who just moved back to Utah after living in Nevada)  I would also like to point out that Ashley’s baby is four days younger than Dallin.  (And no, Dallin was not invited on my mommy night out.)

We had such a fantastic time.  I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time.  It was so fun to see my friends after so many years.  We ended up talking entirely too long and could have gone on all night if we didn’t have little people to get home to.

Thanks for the great night out.  It was the shot in the arm I desperatly needed.

read comments (4)

The other night, as Dallin was screaming uncontrollably about something major or insignificant (You see, he doesn’t actually tell us what his problems are.  He just SCREAMS AT THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS, informing us that he does in fact, HAVE A PROBLEM.) I was whispering in his ear “It’s okay” and “Mommy loves you” again and again while rocking him back and forth.

David overheard what I was saying and he piped up and said, “Um . . . I don’t think that’s his problem.  You know, the part about you loving him.”

read comments (3)

This is an apology going out to everyone, and no one in particular.  You see, before I became a mom, I secretly thought new parents were suckers for every baby gimmick invented.  I actually remember the shock on my face when I learned that there was such a thing as a “wipe warmer” and I was in even more shock that my friend bought one.

I have since given birth to Dallin, and I am now POSITIVE that the “wipe warmer” is one of the best inventions since the computer.  Both of our lives are much quieter, and relaxing since purchasing this lovely item.  I have also purchased other essential items that I didn’t need with Hannah such as: The Pee-Pee-T.P. (you know, so you don’t get sprayed in the face with pee), a bouncer seat, and Gripe Water.

I have been enlightened.  Every baby gimmick out there is of use to someone, so I will not gasp and judge anymore when I hear of some lame invention that everyone has to have.

I would also like to say I’m sorry to all moms out there that I gave crusty looks too (you know, in my head) when they said their kids go to bed at 8:00 P.M.  People who aren’t parents don’t understand that KIDS NEED TO GO TO BED.  EARLY.  In fact, the earlier, the better.

I put Hannah to bed at 6:30 every night.  Religiously.  Go ahead and gasp, or give me a crusty (please, do this in your head) because I totally deserve it.  How could I be so inconsiderate of kids’ bedtimes before I had one of my own?

read comments (4)

Dear Dallin,

You are now one month old. I have enjoyed your company so much more outside of my belly than inside.  You are a BIG BOY, and that reason alone is probably the primary factor why I enjoy your company so much now.  You came out a whopping 9 pounds 12 ounces at 38 weeks.  I can only imagine how big you would have been (and how uncomfortable and miserable I would have been) if we allowed you to bake an additional two weeks.  At your two week check-up you grew two inches (so you were 22 inches long) and were back to your birth weight.  You are an excellent nurser, and I am happy to report that I have had no problems nursing you.  Thank goodness for that.

We don’t know much about your personality yet, but we do know that you like to eat, sleep, poop, and cry.  You are quite the pooping machine, and your first night in the hospital you pooped 11 times.  Yes, count that again, 11 times.  Your dad was 100% on poop duty (since I had my abdomen sliced open to get you out, I wasn’t really in any position to help you since I couldn’t even help myself) and boy did you let him know what to expect for the next few weeks!  The good news is that all of your piping works properly.  It works VERY WELL.

You do enjoy sleeping anywhere, anytime.

Dallin and mommy sleeping . . .

Dallin and Grandpa Lesher sleeping . . .

Dallin and Grandma Gloria

Dallin and Daddy

Dallin and Grandpa Probst

You have a talent at blowing bubbles when you sleep.  We think it’s darling, and we just know you have some hidden talents up your sleeve.

Your big sister Hannah LOVES you to pieces.  She ALWAYS wants to hold you, kiss you, or play with you.  She is so good to you.  She is still working on being gentle with you, but you couldn’t ask for a better older sister.  She is thrilled to have a baby brother. We are equally excited that she accepts you and hasn’t asked us to return you to the hospital.

We can’t wait to see what you discover and learn and who you become in the next few months.

We love you so much.  We’re so glad you finally made your debut!

Love,

Mommy

read comments (6)

It is “two dollar Tuesday” at Thanksgiving Point (per person, per venue) through the month of August.  We decided to take advantage of this great deal (normally, the venues are $15 per person) and left the house early on Tuesday to have some fun.

Let me clarify the term “early” when it comes to my family with two small kids.  Leaving the house before 1:00 in the afternoon is considered early.  I’m not kidding.  You would think that our early alarm clocks (well, Dallin is an alarm clock that goes off religiously throughout the night and especially the early morning) would get our butts out of bed and moving, but let’s face it, we’re slow moving parents.

So, now you can imagine the turbo speed our lives were thrown into when we decided to be at Thanksgiving Point when it opened at 10:00 A.M.  Hannah was COMPLETELY WOUND UP and WIRED yelling “THE POINT! LET’S GO TO THE POINT!”  As if she even knew what “The Point” was . . .

I rushed around the house, packing everything we needed, or might need, for a toddler and a newborn for several hours.  You know, thinks like the washer, dryer and kitchen sink to name a few.  By the time we got into the car, WE WERE ALL WIRED.

Dallin was screaming his guts out, and Hannah was yelling “THE POINT!”  I was rolling around in the front seat while I tried to shave my legs (with an electric razor of course) in the six inches of allotted space between my knees and the dashboard, while David took a deep breath and turned up the classical music in the car to drown out the crying.

Why do we go anywhere?

As we pulled out of the driveway, Hannah stopped yelling “THE POINT!” and started sympathy crying because Dallin was crying so hard.  WE ALL WANTED TO CRY.  David reached his hand into the backseat and stuck his finger in Dallin’s mouth (the binkie was lost in the car seat, and Hannah couldn’t reach it) and asked me to shift.

Remember how I was shaving my legs?  Since I am the MASTER OF MULTI-TASKING . . . I shifted with my left hand (not awkward or anything) and shaved with my right hand.  In between “shift commands” from David (Second gear now!  No!  That’s fourth!  I need SECOND GEAR!  Whatever.  Do I look like a left handed shifter?) all I could think about was getting the two day nasty leg hair growth off my legs in the 20 minute car ride.  What if someone saw me with HAIRY LEGS?  I could possibly be confused as a tree hugger, and honestly, that’s not exactly the image I shoot for.

David’s patience was completely taxed (maybe it was because he only had three hours of sleep the night before because HE HAD TO STAY UP ALL NIGHT AND READ THE LAST TWILIGHT BOOK.  Maybe that’s why.  I mean, I’m not trying to point fingers here and say, Hey, you chose to be tired and ornery.  I’m just not one to to point out the obvious to my spouse.) and he looked at me and said, “WHY ARE WE GOING ANYWHERE WITH SCREAMING KIDS?”

Obviously, because I said so.  And everyone knows that moms call the shots. 

Thank heavens, 20 minutes was enough time to shave and I arrived with silky soft legs.  (Not that anyone besides me noticed)  And Dallin FINALLY stopped crying.  Which meant that Hannah stopped her sympathy crying.  Really, I think we should have a moment of silence to recognize the moment of silence.

We decided to attend the gardens (we’ll do the museum and the petting zoo anther week, if I can convince David the kids won’t cry all the way there) and they were beautiful.  It was totally worth the crazy crying, rushing around, and frustration to get there.

I took entirely too many photos, but I couldn’t stop. It was like Saba, everywhere I looked, there was something else to take a picture of!  This post is a little heavy on the pictures, but the gardens were so beautiful.  Check them out:

Hannah, the little follower.  Always one step behind.

The Roman gardens

Our cute little Hannah Bear, checking out the fish below in the water.

The lily pond.  It reminded me of the park on Saba.

Hannah ran, and ran.  She covered three times as much ground as we did.

Emily, Hannah, Dallin (yes, he actually was there although this picture is the only evidence) and David

Hannah and Grandma Gloria

Hannah and Grandpa Dennis

Hannah in the secret garden . . .

The entrance to the secret garden

Hannah acting as gate keeper at the entrance

The Italian gardens

For such a crazy start to our day, it ended up being so calm and serene.  Dallin slept the entire day (yeah, I knew he and I were going to have a party staying up all night after all that sleep) and Hannah loved exploring as much as we enjoyed walking and looking.  We will certainly go back.

read comments (6)

It’s like Christmas all over the world today.  The new Twilight book comes out today, and let me tell you, I AM EXCITED!  Like the good wife that I am, I sent David to fetch me a copy of this book this morning.  EIGHT WHOLE HOURS after its release time.  (On a side note, David DID OFFER to go get the book for me at 1:00 AM when I was feeding Dallin, but I told him my sleep was too important and I could wait until morning.)

And do you know what makes me so happy about having the book released today?  Because David is playing in a golf tournament this morning, which means that I GET TO READ THE BOOK FIRST.  In the past, when other great books have been released (like Harry Potter) we have had to share one book (more like fight over one book) or get two copies so we can read it at the same time because how could you wait another week to read such good literature?

I have now officially “outed” my husband as a Twilight fan.  Hey, it’s true.  And you know what?  I love that I can talk to my husband about how much I love Edward.  And it’s not weird.  And he doesn’t feel threatened.

Gotta go start my book.

read comments (4)

Just when you think the impossible can’t possibly happen, it does.

This is my very-clean-must-not-have-a-mess-anywhere-child. 

This is the same child that LOVES the ocean, but HATES to step on the sand to get to the waves.  She never has a mess on her face, never requires a bib for eating, and requests to wash her hands more times in a day than I am willing to divulge.  During her play time, she cleans up pretend messes, and washes her play dishes.  She is the first to point out a mess anywhere, or a mess on anyone.

It took some convincing (yes Hannah, I know your face is a mess and it’s almost nearly impossible to concentrate with all that sticky sugar on your face, but I promise you, YOU WILL SURVIVE.  I will clean you up . . . you’ll be just fine . . .) but Hannah acted just like any other two year old and enjoyed eating graham crackers with icing.

Did I mention the icing was made from scratch?  Because in my spare time (which is pretty valuable right now) I like to cook.  I LOVE rich, delectable, creamy icing that is like 1,000 calories per serving, and that is why I make it.

Yes, the icing is that good.

Yum.

read comments (2)

Happy Pioneer Day, Utah! (For those of you who are not familiar with “Utah Pioneer Day”, just know that it’s a state holiday, celebrating the day the Utah Pioneers crossed the plains and settled in Utah. This holiday is as big as the 4th of July around here . . .) To celebrate, we lit some sparklers.

I know, we are such party animals.

We had to light the sparklers while it was still light outside so Hannah could enjoy them. Hannah turns into a pumpkin around 7:00 PM, so waiting to light these suckers in the dark was just not an option. Seriously, the sun doesn’t set until 9:30 PM around here. (Isn’t David handsome? I sure think so . . .)

Hannah only had to be told to HOLD THE SPARKLERS OUT IN FRONT OF HER (and not directly at David) 1,298 times.

She sure had a great time. In case you were wondering why she is modeling so many hair clips . . . All I have to say is SHE IS TWO YEARS OLD. SHE WANTED TO WEAR THEM. ALL OF THEM. Need I say more?

Earlier today, I celebrated by leaving the house ALL BY MYSELF to go shopping. I made some great purchases, and found much more to buy than I anticipated. (What can I say? I’m an expert shopper!)

One purchase is worth mentioning, because it will CHANGE YOUR LIFE. Well, it will change the way you feel in your own skin, which will make you feel better about your body.

SPANKS. Every woman needs a pair. No, every woman needs two or three pairs (you know, one to wear, one to wash, and one to rest). You will automatically lose inches around your waist and they are SO COMFORTABLE. I used to carry these at our Bridal store and I would sell them to every bride. They tighten you in all the right places. They are wonderful. So wonderful, that I didn’t even feel crappy about paying full price for them (I no longer have the luxury of buying them at cost since I no longer own a business). Plus, Nordstrom is offering them at 25% off right now during their half yearly sale. GO. BUY THEM. You’ll be emailing me with how much you love them. I recommend the “Higher Power Spanks.”

read comments (3)

I would like to point out the obvious right now. I AM NO LONGER PREGNANT. This fact alone has increased the quality of my life by at least 100%. I now have a beautiful baby boy named Dallin, and this fact has increased the quality of my life by at least a million percent. He is a doll. I am so in love with him. This is crazy, (and trust me, I know this next statement is crazy) but right after I have a baby, I want another one. Insane? Yes. So even though I HATE pregnancy (many of you have read about my pregnancy complaints so you know I TRULY DO NOT LOVE being pregnant) the final product is SO WORTH IT. In fact, I think I have forgotten all about my pregnancy ailments.

This delivery was pretty uneventful (especially compared to Hannah’s birth). I experienced no labor, (I highly recommend this) and I arrived at the hospital last Monday morning at 38 weeks pregnant for my scheduled c-section. At 8:36 am, I delivered Dallin who weighed in at 9 pounds 12 ounces. He was a tank, and I can only imagine how big he would have been if we waited two more weeks to deliver him on his due date!

When the doctor pulled Dallin out, I literally yelled, “Oh my gosh! I’m no longer pregnant!” Yes, I was THAT HAPPY ABOUT IT.

This is my beautiful son just moments out of my belly.

My recovery from this birth has been smooth. It has been SO MUCH EASIER to recover from this delivery than Hannah’s. It is amazing how much easier it is for your body to recover from major surgery when you haven’t gone through labor first. The hospital staff was wonderful, and having a baby in the USA was much more posh than my experience of giving birth to Hannah in the Caribbean.

I have had a very laid back week of recovering, and enjoying the company of friends and family who have come by to see our new addition. Hannah is absolutely in love with Dallin (much to our relief) and she always asks to kiss and hold him.

Here are some pictures from the week:

I am so glad to be home. I am up and around, and sometimes I actually get out of the house and take my kids on a walk. We love this little guy and Hannah so much. It’s hard to remember back to when David and I didn’t have them in our lives.

read comments (5)