Our Friend, Anton

We met our friend Anton when we moved into this house about five years ago. He was five then and he rode his bike right up to our car and introduced himself and started to play with us. We've been loving him ever since. Today I had an emergency and needed to be gone for about 15 minutes but Evan was sleeping. Since he's been sick, I didn't want to wake him up. I called Anton and asked him to stay here with Evan. When I got home, Evan was up and the two of them were playing. I knew Evan would be fine with the shock of me being gone if his good friend Anton was here. Ah yes, Evan is sporting some fancy Frosty chocolate on his face - the treat I brought everyone home.

Anyway, Anton is special because everyone loves to spend time with him. He's been playing with Evan - a 2 year old - for about an hour now and both are enjoying themselves. Michael - who is 24 years older than Anton! - has spent tons of time with Anton in the past...teaching him cool science things, doing experiments, making paper airplanes, going sledding, etc. etc. We always have great chats. And Anton was genuinely excited to see Maren today when he came over. Of course, she gave him a nice big smile to show that she loves him, too. The only thing that would make me sad about ever leaving this house is that we'd move away from Anton. And that's the truth! I think about it every time the thought crosses my mind that we need a bigger house. For now, we'll just enjoy our time with him - until he turns 13 and we're not cool enough anymore. Ha!

What Goes Around Comes Around

No, this is not going to turn into a journal spot. I know that the greatest thing when I visit friends' blogs is the pictures of them and their kids! I promise pictures soon but I had to share this amazing story. I'm going to try to keep it short.

I feel like I never get to be of service to anybody. First of all, I'm not very good at recognizing someone in need and then triggering the thought that there might be something I can do to help. Second, I just rarely have the time to do something like make a meal for someone when she's had a baby or surgery. I often times don't get my own family fed very well because I'm busy working or taking care of kids. So, I was elated with myself when I recognized my sister-in-law to be in need. On her birthday, she found out her father was dying and she was also really, really sick. Over the weekend she didn't get much sleep because of the stress she was feeling about her dad, plus she couldn't swallow because her throat hurt so bad. I had some leftover enchilada filling from earlier in the week and decided that I could roll her up some enchiladas for tonight's dinner and that might be really helpful. I felt really good about being able to give service...and of coming up with it myself, without being asked. That seriously is a big step for me. I don't know why I wasn't blessed with the gift of thoughtfulness. It's very sad to me. Anyway, I am still REALLY sick. This morning when I got up, one of my first thoughts was about dinner. I knew instantly that I wouldn't be able to make anything. So what was I going to do? In the late afternoon, I was headed out to Target to get some meds that the doctor's office suggested. I had decided that I would just have to drive through Taco Bell or something on the way home to make sure that my family at least had something to eat. I walked out the door and Meredith was getting out of her car. I work with her in Young Women. And you know what? She had a pan of enchiladas for us for dinner because I was sick. Can you believe that? What a blessing to me. The whole experience has made me realize that we need to look for the little, less obvious times when someone is in need of service. This week I have been blessed by giving and receiving service. I hope through this practice I can improve my service skills. I think it is something that needs to be learned and practiced. I may have just taken my first step. And thank you, Meredith, for your thoughtfulness.

The Strange Thing About Blogging...

I don't think my sister is much into reading the blog. I'm sure there's lots of other people in the same boat. So what's awkward is that I'll want to tell her a story of someting on the blog. But how do I start out? "Have you checked the blog lately?" "Tell me if you read this already." Or something else? Then I feel like life is all about me, me, me. What do you mean you haven't checked my blog in 2 1/2 days? I AM the Queen of Sheeba and I know everyone wants to know all about me. Anyway, that makes me feel strange. The second thing is what happens when a friend with a blog starts telling me a story that I've already read on her blog. And I'm saying, "I know. I read that. And what about when this happened? That was so funny!" Then I feel like a stalker. I mean, we blog because we want people to read it, right? And I love to read other peoples' blogs and I am not a stalker. Am I just rambling or is there anyone out there who feels the same way?

Clogging

I know, I know...I need more pictures. Let's just say that the next post will have some pictures. Now, to clogging. Many of you know that dancing is my passion. I would be so, so sad if I couldn't dance. It kind of sustains me at times. I know it is a talent I've been given because I can pick up just about any kind of dancing really easily and be good at it (even with my current non-ballet body!). Anyway, last year I was really wanting to start taking some ballroom lessons but then are so expensive! Then I heard about a lady in a neighboring stake that does a free adult clogging class once a week. Clogging...I had never done clogging. Never even done tap (wasn't real interested in it and it always seemed kind of hokey). But, it was dancing and it was a great price so I started up. That was in October. That means I was 6 months pregnant. I started in this beginning class and went all the way through the week that Maren was born. I must've been quite a sight. When I returned four weeks after having Maren, the teacher told me I should start staying for the advanced class that is held right after. Or maybe I should call it the Clogging-On-Speed (no, I don't take drugs) class? Anyway, I'm having lots of fun with it and we are having a recital in June. I thought I'd post the information here in case anyone wanted to come see what clogging is all about. This lady teaches classes for all age groups, so there will be younger kids there, in case you want your kids to go see it. Here are the details:

Wednesday June 6th, 6 - 7 p.m.

Century High School (just into Hillsboro off TV Hwy)

FREE - No Cost

There will also be a guest performance by a ballroom team led by Denise Nuttall, who I used to be on a team for. Should be a great time! If you want to see some super high-energy, kick-up-your-heels dancing, then we'll see you there on the 6th.

Sickies

We are patheticly sick over here. We missed Stake Conference today (which we LOVE to attend because our Stake Presidency always gives amazing talks!) becuase I woke up feeling like I was dying (sore throat, painful ear, headache, stuffy nose, green stuff, all the muscles in my back hurt...). It doesn't seem like Evan has fully recovered since his ear infections. His runny nose and cough are on and off. And then poor little Maren has had a terrible cough for about five weeks. It seems to be getting worse, though. Time to call the doctor's office again! I'm behind on my work, not getting stuff done around the house, and missing out on the beautiful weather outside. What I love about being sick, though, is how you feel when you're all better. Such gratitude for your health! I love that and can't wait for us all to be healthy again!

JG

By the way...Josh Groban is coming to Portland in August (and to places near all my other friends...so check the website!). If you've never heard him, go to his site: www.joshgroban.com. He is an amazing singer and he is mine and Michael's favorite. We've seen him once in concert and it was wonderful! What kind of friend would I be if I didn't let you know and you missed out on this aweome opportunity?!?! Maybe that will be my 10-year anniversary gift from Michael. :-) Oh, I better let him know about it first.

Fence

Today my sister and nephew came over to play and help me get caught up on some cleaning. Yes, again, I get help from my family! What would I do without them? I also have friends who do the same. I'm not really sure why or how I got so blessed in the friends & family department, but I sure did. Michael and I talk about that all the time. I'm just an ordinary girl surrounded by extraordinary people. Anyway, Danica and I felt awesome because we let the boys play outside while we worked in the kitchen. I was telling her that Evan hardly ever gets to play outside because we are always so busy or whatever else. And Jaren just gets to play on their back patio, in the sandbox or riding his bike from one end, nine feet or so to the other end. Ha! Anyway, the scary thing is that after a couple of hours of blissful play, they were all of a sudden quiet. Long story short, they had gone around to the front of the house. It took me about 5 minutes to bring my heart rate down and lower my blood pressure. After that I realized that I now have two kids who are going to want to play outside and I just can't let them do that unless we have side fences. So, I'm checking with my brother-in-law to see if he is able to do side fences for us. But, if anybody knows of anyone who fences for a reasonable price, please let me know. We also need to replace our siding and will be getting estimates on that in the next couple of months. If you know anyone who does a good job for a great price, fill us in there, too! Thanks!

Now the funny part. And, you know, I wouldn't normally share this with everyone but I've found that in reading other people's blogs, it's this kind of stuff that makes me love the person who wrote it even more. It shows they are human, just like me. And we can laugh with each other about life. Anyway, at one point Jaren came into the house needing to go to the bathroom. He went in and quickly came back asking for my help. When I asked him what he needed help with, he said he needed the toilet cleaned before he could go. Ha! Not that I can blame him...it was embarrassing. Danica and I had to laugh about that one. And as I type, the toilet is soaking. Actually, my five minutes are up and now it's time to scrub. At least I didn't have too much work tonight so I can get stuff like that done. Only about 12 more tasks to get done before bed. Oh boy!

Speaka Spanish

Just a quick funny before hitting the hay (maybe before midnight tonight - hallelujah!). Michael and Evan have been going through a book that names common objects in Spanish. I have been putting the pressure on Michael to teach Evan Spanish since, oh, Evan was probably still in the womb! With Michael being fluent and all, I think it's a great advantage for Evan. Well, it's pretty fun beacuse Evan is doing great at it and picking it up pretty fast. So tonight Michael points to a picture of a chair. Evan says, "chair." Then Michael tells him that the Spanish word for chairis "silla". Evan then repeats it and says, "Like bye-bye." I furrowed my brow. What? I couldn't figure out what he meant. Michael got it right away. "That's right, Evan. See ya". That's how it is pronounced...you know, with that double-l. Smart cookie. So, good night. Bye-bye. Silla.

Amazing Talent

My friend Michelle, who I used to work with at UnumProvident, has an amazing talent that I wanted to share! Here's the story behind it: Less than a year ago, though I can't remember exactly when, Michelle asked me to come over and help her get started with scrapbooking. She'd never scrapbooked before. Didn't know what tools she would need. Didn't know where to start. She'd never heard of a heat tool, die cuts, eyelets, etc. Well, I brought over some of my stuff, showed her some basics, showed her some ideas, and then left. What she brought to show me a couple days later absolutely blew my mind away. BEAUTIFUL scrapbook pages. But, it only gets better. A few months later Michelle started getting into cards. Keep in mind that she had never made a card before. Well, she just shared with me a website that her sister set up for her. Her sister is an attorney here in Portland and has helped Michelle over 100 cards to associates in her law firm. I saw these cards and was floored at what Michelle has created so soon after even deciding to make cards. Then I went to her house the other day and saw her set up. She's got everything you need to make absolutely beautiful cards all set up in a corner of her house. Just the transformation is incredible to me. What a fun way to realize you have a talent. Anyway, I wanted to share her website with you in case you are ever in need of an awesome card for a special occasion. Enjoy! http://mysite.verizon.net/thewoerners/

General News

Just had to share that I have just about the most angelic little boy ever. What a day we have had! We left the house at 11 a.m. to go to Danica's (my sister) house for a family girl's lunch. We left there at 2:00 to pick Michael up from work because at 3:00 we had an appointment at a school Michael is considering for Medical Assisting. At 4:30 we left there to go to another school. We walked out of there at...7:58 p.m.!!! Yes, for nearly five hours Evan had to sit in stuffy, cramped little offices while Michael and I paid him little attention and he had to play by himself. He did such a great job! There was absolutely no whining. He was pleasant as could be. And, of course, the women all loved him! What a blessing he is!

Everyone thought Maren was a boy. Just before leaving Danica's house, she had a blow-out and ruined her really, really cute PINK outfit. Well, I thought I was a prepared mother but I didn't have a change of clothes for her. She had to borrow her cousin Nathanael's clothes (mostly blue, of course). Speaking of those two cute babies, here is a picture of them on Easter. Nathanael (he is Danica's) is 8 weeks older than Maren and such a cutie. I think they look like cousins, don't you?

I have to thank Danica a ton. I had planned on going home before picking Michael up but she made me realize I just wouldn't have time. She packed snacks and games/toys/puzzles for Evan. She sent me with one of their sippy cups because I hadn't packed one for Evan. She let me borrow that outfit of Nathanael's. And she gave me another diaper because there was only one in my diaper bag (that I used to change Maren at Danica's house!). I ended up using that diaper well before the end of our evening. Thanks for saving the day...again!...Dan!

Because Evan was so good, we took him to Burgerville on the way home. Of course, none of us had had dinner and it was about 8:10 by that time. AFTER bedtime. We told him he could have whatever he wanted, though, because he was such a gem. He enjoyed his french fries, chocolate shakes, and some of his strawberry shortcake. He ate a microscopic bite of his hamburger, but we didn't even put any pressure on him. We were just grateful for such a great day with him.

Maren's First Laugh!

No, you won't see it here, but I have a silly story to tell. Michael was giving Evan a bath and I was thinking about how badly Maren needed one and telling Evan that it will be so fun when Maren is big enough that they can take a bath together. Then I realized that there was no reason she couldn't sit in her bath hamocky-seat thing with him. So in she went! The most wonderful thing happened. Evan grabbed one of his toys and started sprinkling water on her tummy and she started laughing! First time. This went on for a couple of minutes. Michael and I were beside ourselves with glee. It was the cutest thing ever and Evan thought he was just the greatest brother (true!). Finally I realized I had to grab the camera and get some video. When I got back to the bathroom, I realized the memory was full (this happens all the time even though we have a card that holds 500+ pictures! One of Michael's funny things about needing to have them saved on the computer AND on a CD before we delete from the camera.). So I had to go through his birthday pictures...all the way back to November...and start deleting. I was about halfway done when Evan poured water on Maren's face. Uh-huh. Fun over. She wasn't upset, but she didn't laugh or smile after that. I did get this cute photo, though, so I thought I'd share.

Next time I will start with the camera in the bathroom ready for that big smile!

ComedySportz & Easter

First of all, today Michael asked me what the ratio is of pictures of Maren to pictures of Evan. I just don't have a lot of Maren because she's hard to shoot. I can't just tell her to smile and get a great look out of her. But, I did have this one that I thought was good enough to include. This will just get me working harder to get a really great photo of her.

Last night Michael and I had a completely childless date. Whew hoo! We went to a place called ComedySportz...it's family-friendly improv and it was hysterical. I wish I had known about it ages ago. I think I'd like to go once a month because the laughter has got to be great for your health! Everyone check it out at http://www.comedysportz.com/ (for my WA & CA friends because they have them in L.A. and Spokane) and http://www.portlandcomedy.com/ (for my Oregon friends). And, don't be surprised if for your next birthday or special occasion you get a gift certificate to there. It's really that good! Now get out and laugh!

So, today was Easter. I had done NOTHING for Easter. No baskets, no eggs, no candy. I don't know what my problem is. Just not prepared, lousy mother. :-) Luckily, we have many amazing friends. The Bliss' invited us over so that Evan could participate in their awesome Easter egg hunt and color eggs. We did that before church. It was a big success. Evan had a great time and I got to let go of my guilt.

Oh, because of our being gone last night, Evan didn't get to bed until 11:00 p.m. last night. Ugh. Terrible, I know. Well, the little stinker got up at 6:30 this morning and refused to go back to sleep. Not only is 7 1/2 hours of sleep not enough for a 2-year-old...it's not even enough for me! No, I'm not getting anywhere close to that right now! To compound the problem, he doesn't get his regular nap on Sundays because our ward meets right at nap time. Well, when we got home, Michael and I were working on the mashed potatoes we were supposed to take to my mom's for dinner. I walked by Evan's room once and he was playing on the floor. I walked by again probably only 60 seconds later and this is what I found. I love having a blog! I would've never taken this picture otherwise. Why is it that sleeping children are so darned cute?

Kids Workshop

Evan and Michael attended a Kids Workshop at Home Depot today. Michael has been looking forward to this for weeks. It was a great father & son activity. They made a Six Flags roller coaster car. Evan said he had a lot of fun. He got to wear [humongous] safety glasses, use wood glue, hammer in nails, and apply stickers. He got his own orange Home Depot apron and a special pin to go on it. They are looking forward to making an herb planter at the next workshop on Cinco de Mayo!

Thanks, Mom!

My mom came over today to help me do stuff around here. Because of Evan being sick, I was behind on work, behind on dishes, behind on everything. I thought a couple of hours with her here would do the trick. She could play with the kids while I did some typing and I'd be in great shape. Well, my angel mother stayed from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. She changed diapers, read books, did dishes, made dinner, vacuumed and folded clothes. Here's the interesting part...I fed Maren twice, gave Evan some lunch, put him down for a nap, took a shower and got only 30% of my transcription work done. Oh, yes. I also hand-washed four bowls. That's it! The second time I was feeding Maren I asked my mom if she had seen any time in there when I could've been doing something else really productive. I was basically wondering if I am doing something wrong and it's my fault that I can't take care of my two kids, do my work, make a nice dinner every day AND keep the house clean. She said she didn't think so. What made me feel really nice was at the end of the day, right before she left, she said, 'With two people, this job is doable.' Yeah, no kidding! We made a great team today...got lots of stuff done. And I learned that I really can't do it all...which isn't really acceptable to me. I'm just having a hard time figuring out how to alter time or something so that I can get all the things done that I need to. Anyway, thanks, Mom, for your help! And anyone who is looking for a service project, call me up. Ha! My job is doable...if I have some help. Thanks for your help today, Mom! What a way to spend a valuable sabbatical day. You're the greatest!

No Grip on Reality

There is so much funny stuff I need to put in here and so little time. Plus, with the only remaining AA batteries having to be pulled out of the camera to make the mouse work, I have no photos to post. Anyway, I will try to make it quick. Evan started getting really sick last Friday. Runny nose, cough. On Saturday it was terrible! We were trying to watch Conference and he was just miserable...wiping his nose every 10 seconds, saying, in a VERY whiny voice, 'I have a runny nose!' I actually think that because he was sick we got to enjoy more of Conference. He mostly sat around with us...when he wasn't unrolling toilet paper all over the living room (pictures to come later). By Monday he seemed to be turning the corner and Tuesday was a good day as well. Then came Tuesday night...

The short story is that he woke up at 11:00 p.m. and was very upset. He wanted to sleep in our bed. We said that was okay and took him in there. That normally cures all that ails him, but not that night. He screamed and screamed with incoherent babbling until 3:00 a.m. The whole time we waffled between being concerned and trying to calm him down and make him happy, though not a darned thing worked!, and being really frustrated and demanding that he stop his crying and screaming so we could sleep. It was really scary because we've never seen Evan like that before. He really seemed like he was possessed by an evil spirit. Which brings me to the funny part...

Michael started taking Ambien (prescription sleep aid) a couple of weeks ago because the doctor wants to see if it would help him with some of his excessive daytime sleepiness before he gets in to have a sleep study done. So, as all this was going on, Michael was in a drug-induced stupor. But I didn't realize that. He was saying some really strange things to Evan. I just assumed that's because he was so exhausted and was going in and out of sleep. I know how frustrating that can be. Sometimes he would yell at Evan to stop screaming. Then I'd have to yell at Michael to stop yelling at Evan because something was really wrong with Evan and I was probably going to take him to the E.R. Yeah, ugly night! At one point, Michael thought Evan was possessed (like I said, not blaming Michael for this assumption...it had a firm basis for reasoning) and I think I caught him trying to banish the evil spirit from Evan's body. One comment he made was something like, 'I don't know what's going on around here. It seems like we've gone back to worshipping Pagan gods.' Around 2:45 is when Michael finally came to and told me that this whole time he had been very confused and reminded me that he was on his Ambien. He told me that at some points he thought Evan was just frustrating because his (Evan's) faucet display at Hope Depot wasn't working out right. Then it made sense that Michael had kept saying, 'Daddy will help you fix it.' He felt really terrible for having yelled at him and I think he felt a little silly about all the strange things he had said. But we finally got Evan some Tylenol and everyone got to sleep...

But not for long. Maren decided she needed to eat at 3:30, 6:00 and 8:30 that morning. I think that gave me about 4 1/2 hours of sleep. TORTURE!

So, Evan has a double ear infection. When he's in pain, he's pretty monster-like. It's been a struggle. But, we've got two days of Amoxicillan behind us so hopefully things will be looking up very soon and we'll get our angelic son back.

Oh, yes. Maren is sick now, too. Runny nose and the saddest cough you've ever heard. Actually, it's much like my coughs that I get. Close friends will understand...yes, the very forceful seal bark. Too sad when it's coming from a 2-month-old. Could she have gotten sick because her dear brother gives her about 100 lip kisses every day?!?! I wonder.