A Fitting Tribute

I've been on several blogs reading and getting updated. Of course, with the passing of President Hinckley, I've read several personal expressions of sorrow and how he will be missed. Since I am not a great orator or author, I've decide to post a tribute that expresses my feelings and thoughts but more beautifully than I could've ever done. I hope you enjoy it as well. Click on the link below:

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/200/5127/?ck=1


I then received this e-mail and it contain this poetic tribute to President Hinckley:

Prophetic Passing

I imagine he's running to Marjorie now,
Yes, running, not waving his cane.
I see him embracing his father and mother
While they keep repeating his name.

I see him now meeting his forebears,
Brother Brigham and Joseph are there.
Sweet reunion of prophets, united by service
That only such noble men share.

I see him embraced by the Savior
While Father says, 'Good and well done.
So faithful in stalwart endurance,
I welcome My noble, most excellent son.'

I then hear the ripples of laughter
As he says the reception's just fine,
But he hopes that he'll get an assignment or two
Since there's no need to waste any time.

I can hear his clear voice in the stillness
At the close of this sweet Sabbath day,
Have faith and move forward there's work to be done.
President Hinckley would want it that way.

Authored by: Anna M. Molgard January 27, 2008

Buggin' Out!

Adam flew out this morning to Florida and then on to Minnesota in the middle of the week for work (from one extreme to the other). He's going to be gone the entire week. So, explain to me why I should stick around here when I can drive 5-6 hours and be "home" with my parents and hang out with my sister-in-law, shop and go see the sappiest chick flicks out in theaters? I don't know why I'd stick around either, which is why I'm not.

I'm buggin' out as well on Wednesday morning after I take Bax to the boarder's. I haven't been "home" in about 5 months. I know it's not a whole lot of time that has elapsed, but it seems like forever when I only live 5-6 hours away. I'm looking forward to it and just the change of scenery has me really excited. The drive over and back, not so excited. But everything in between will be great!

Now That's Love!

As per usual throughout my days, if I'm not changing one or the other kid's diaper, it's both of them. Earlier this week, Caroline need her dirty diaper changed. I went and got a clean diaper and just pulled a few wipes out of the package rather than bringing the entire thing.

I laid Caroline down, changed her diaper and got her all cleaned up. But, before I could get a clean diaper on her, she rolled over and took off crawling, which is also par for the course. (I don't know how well I like that my little girl LOVES to be naked.) Owen was watching me change Caroline and as she crawled off, Owen quickly grabbed one of the clean extra wipes and ran over to wipe her bum. It was so cute and totally made my day.

There aren't many grown men that will change a diaper, but my 2 year old boy will certainly help. Man I love that boy!!!!!

Old Man Baxter

WARNING: THIS POST IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF STOMACH OR HEART (or Jauss)

Our "puppy", Bax, will be 10 this year which equates to 78 in human years (1st year is 15 for large dogs and then 7 for every year thereafter). Despite his age, he still acts as if he is a puppy. Needless to say, at that age, there's a few things aren't going so well for him. Bax groans whenever he lays down or gets up, as if to say, "oh, this hurts" or, "it's a long way down" or, "I've fallen and can't get up." His eyes are also experiencing a "hardening of the lenses" which make his eyes look like they have cataracts even though he can see just fine.

The worst part about getting old, for Bax, is he got a staph infection. He has "staph legions" on his belly, chest, neck and nose. Bax hasn't been sleeping on his back lately so no one really noticed anything was wrong (plus his hair is really long this time of year). We did, however, notice that he had been chewing and licking quite a bit, but thought that maybe it was time for another bath. So, when I finally saw him sleeping on his back yesterday, I saw this legions and immediately called the vet to get him in. I got an appointment for Bax and Adam came and took him to the vet.

Bax will be fine, but in the meantime, he's taking Cephalexin (yes, the same anitbiotic that you and I take for infections - I got it filled at Walgreens) 2 500mg capsules twice daily for 30 days, and we have to bathe him 2-3 times per week, let the shampoo soak for 10-15 minutes and then rinse him. This bathing routine goes for 3 weeks. How did this happen? The vet said it is very common for Golden Retrievers to have this on their skin (just like approximately 30% of the human population) or it could've been an allergic reaction to something and then got out-of-hand. No way to know for sure.

The vet has reassured both me and Adam that this is not contagious between canine and human and then from canine to feline. I even checked with my dad and he said the same thing. In other words, it won't cross species.


This picture above is of the legion on his chest, which is about as big as my fist.

Poor Bax! Hopefully, he will be feeling a whole lot better and soon.

It's Oh So Different

One of my New Year's resolutions is to be able to run 6 miles by June. I'm doing pretty well with that one as I'm up to about 2.25 miles. But, the problem is I've been running on a treadmill at the gym. When I decided to go for a run out on the road yesterday, I couldn't believe how different it is on the road versus the treadmill. Now I feel like I'm at a crossroads. Do I join another gym and keep running on the treadmill? Or, do I say screw the gym, save the money, and run out on the road? Decisions. Decisions.

I Was Just There!

Yesterday when I took the kiddos to the doctor, I told the pediatrician that Owen had a bad barking cough during the night, but since being up in the morning, it didn't seem too bad. He's had the humidifier in his room and going for the last several nights. Then came Friday night. Friday night Owen's cough sounded horrible! It sounded like an adult coughing and like it just hurt him.

Saturday morning I called my dad, again, and he heard Owen barking, but told me I still needed to get him checked out to make sure his lungs were clear. I called the doctor's office and after being on hold for 5 minutes (20 minutes after they opened), I got an appointment. I took Owen back to the doctor and had his lungs checked out. Fortunately, his lungs sound great. Unfortunately, he's got a bad croup/bronchitis along with pink eye.

Did I forget to mention that when he got up from his nap yesterday and by the time I got the Vaseline cleaned off of him, his eye was goopy and the eyelid was red!

Why can't these kinds of things happen while I'm AT the doctor's office. I was just there, I don't want to go back!

A Different Kind of Bath

He's only 3 days into being 2 years old and already Owen has made a mess beyond mess. I put Owen down for his nap after we got back from the doctor's office, Target, and him eating lunch. It was approximately 11.45 by the time he went down. For the most part, it was quiet and Cari and I had a good afternoon.

I started preparations for dinner (chicken noodle soup from scratch), like chopping vegetables, boning a chicken, etc. Things were humming along just fine. I was about to put Cari down for a nap, when I had a hunch that I should probably go get Owen. By this time it's about 3 hours later, or 2:45. His usual nap is between 2 and 3 hours.

I went into Owen's room and saw this and that:

Whereupon I deduced he had been into the Vaseline. I use Vaseline in a thin layer before applying any type of diaper rash cream which does a couple of things. First, it provides another layer of protection and is very soothing. Second, helps the cream to spread a lot easier. So, as I turned him around and went to pick him up, so as to not get Vaseline on my person, I saw this, this and this:

Now, the pictures may not do it justice as to how bad this really was. The Vaseline was in his hair from about the top of his ears, clear down to the collar on his shirt. I remained calm and didn't get mad, but tried to think about what in the world is going to get it out of his hair. I stripped him down and got him into the tub. Owen proceeded to get Vaseline all over the edge of the tub from his two little hands. After wiping that off, I began to scrub and scrub and scrub some more. Nothing was working. A quick call to my hairdresser, whom I heard laughing hysterically in the background, to find out what I could use. He told me to use the product that "cuts grease with just one drop", a.k.a.:

2 For 1

This morning both kids had doctor's appointments for their well-kid check-ups. It was kind of nice having 2 appointments for 1 trip to the office, especially first thing in the morning. We got to the office right on time and were out of there after all was said and done 35 minutes later.

Owen weighed in at a hefty 33.8 lbs. and is 37" long. The weight is 95th percentile and the height is the 97th percentile. His head is still huge and somewhere around the 95th percentile. I wonder if he will ever grow into his head. Then again, it all seems to be proportional.

Caroline weighed in at 19 lbs. 15.5 oz (let's just call it 20 lbs.) and is 29 1/4" long. Her weight is the 75th percentile and her height is the 95th percentile. She still has a "pea head" and I wonder if her head will ever catch up to her weight/height. I looked back in Owen's records and Caroline is EXACTLY the same length that Owen was at 9 months. She is, however, 2 lbs. lighter than Owen at 9 months.

Overall, the doctor loved the kids and said they are healthy, happy, and growing really well, regardless of neither one of them being too happy to see her this morning. Just reconfirms what I already know....I am blessed each day to have healthy and happy children.

Happy Birthday Owen!

Today is Owen's birthday. He turns 2 today and let me tell you he is "2" in every sense of the meaning. My sweet little boy has been 2 for about 4 months now, but it has definitely been more evident in the last 6 weeks or so. Nevertheless, my baby is 2.

I never thought this day would ever be here. Adam and I struggled for 4 years to have children. Countless trips to handfuls of doctors, hundreds of miles driven, dozens of unsuccessful IUI's, a failed attempt at IVF, thousands of dollars (literally) spent without any success, numerous prescriptions and pills taken, hours spent on my knees in prayer to my Father in Heaven, millions (or so it seems) of tears shed, endless phone calls to my mom, multiple and multiple pages written in my journal, 1 move out of Utah (whew!) and, then, a physician who finally listened to me, one blood test, a $3.00 per month prescription, one miscarriage, 6 weeks later getting pregnant again, 20 weeks of daily, and sometimes hourly puking, 55 lbs. gained, 1 absolutely fabulous OB/GYN, 4 days of postponed induction, 26 hours of labor, 1 c-section and at 2:38 p.m. on January 15th, 8lbs. 14 oz. and 21" long, Owen was born.

My "little" Onie B has been an absolute joy in my life. This doesn't mean that he is a perfect child, and that I don't have my struggles with him. This does mean that when I lay him down for a nap, after I've sung him a few songs, he kisses me good night and as I crawl off his bed, he blows me more kisses, right up to the point of closing the door. It also means that he will stay in his bed and talk to himself until I can drag my butt out of bed to get him in the morning. Further, I know that at the beginning of each new day it will bring multiple smiles and moments of laughter, kisses, and quiet time when he just wants to sit on my lap to read books.

Onie B, we love you more than you will ever be able to understand. We waited many, many years to have you and we are so blessed to have you in our family and call you our son. Happy birthday, Owen. WE LOVE YOU!

Owen 2006-2007 :

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Owen 2007-2008:

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I Knew It Was Just a Matter of Time.....

And my time has run out! Today while I was doing chores and picking up the house before Adam got home, I let Baxter outside to do his business. I'm running about the house and I see through my bedroom door, a little boy who strangely enough is dressed just like Owen...jeans and an orange striped long-sleeved shirt. Oh wait a minute! THAT IS OWEN! What the freak is going on here? Then I realize what my little monkey had done. He unlocked the sliding glass door, the screen door, and then proceeded to walk outside with no shoes on, but with only his white socks on his feet.

The best part about this is as I rounded the corner from the hallway to our kitchen, I see his little sister crawling (doing the army crawl) through the doorway on her way outside in her white shirt! I don't know how, but we've got to figure out a way to get a better (read higher) lock for the slider and a better (read childproof) lock for the screen door. If any of you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

Splishin' N Splashin'

Tonight was bath time for both of the kids. I plopped Owen into the tub and then decided to create the ever popular "bubble beard." At first, he didn't really like it, but then decided that it was pretty fun and he would add bubbles to his beard.

Once he was shampooed and washed, it was time to add Cari to the mix. She loved having a bath with big brother. These will be pictures to bribe them with later, but they certainly turned out cute.

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Birthday Time

Yesterday was my niece, Jaymie's, birthday (she turned 12). For Jaymie's birthday, I joined her at Power Nail & Spa for a pedicure and had a "moment" to myself in the crazy day that was yesterday.

My sister, Jenny, nor I were in the mood to have a cake for Jaymie and then 3 days later have another cake for Owen. So, we celebrated their birthdays last night. Jenny and Jaymie met "the boys" of their family here at our house. Our brother, Scott, and his family came over to join in the fun, too.

I made a carnival cake for the adults and bigger kids. The little kids each got their own cupcake (jumbo muffin size) that they got to decorate however they chose. They had a ton of fun doing that and really enjoyed eating the fruits of their labors.

We sang, blew out candles (Owen even blew out his candles), opened presents, and all around just had a great time. We'll have a simpler little gathering on Tuesday for Owen's birthday, which will be fun, too.

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