happy christmas!

holiday recap:

we had to bail on christmas eve with kc and emily's family

because e was sick and FUSSY and went to bed at 6:45

(too anxious for santa i suppose)

so i made us a little christmas quiche

and finished up wrapping gifts and

we fell asleep to Christmas Vacation

christmas morning was spent at the zierdens

where santa karna deliviered big time!

trucks and books and puzzles

and itouch stuff and home depot gift cards

and much much more.

e loved opening presents

his or anyone elses

and trying to eat the oranments on the tree

christmas night at the sean owsley house

with lots of food and family

and a little sharing of christmas stories/songs

jon sang "have yourself a merry little christmas"

and everyone was thankful that we finally

have someone who sings on pitch in the family.

next year i will start preparing in september

so that i can enjoy the season more

and decrease my stress level

i hope...

10 months-10 photos-10 facts

10. i no longer crawl like a war veteran

9. i don't like cottage cheese

8. i like to eat the christmas lights

7. i have 7 teeth

6. i can say uh-oh, da-da, dog, ma-ma

5. i sign more

4. i have not fallen off anything in a few weeks

3. i hit my head 17 times a day

2. i ran, well crawled, away from home (got all the way down the driveway)

1. i have made it through sacrament meeting 2 weeks in a row

too too much

craft project gone awry= photo opt

yikes..feeling so overwhelmed!!
holiday baking i want to do.
holiday making i need to do.
birthday gifts
shower gifts
neighbor gifts
young women gifts

visiting teaching treats

home teaching treats

12 days of christmas for someone

what to get the parents?
wish i had more money
or at least more time

i passed out at work last night
while a patient was getting an epidural
right after i told the dad to sit down
so he doesn't pass out
ugh.
so embaraassing
not sure why it happened.
not my blood sugar
not pregnant
(i wish i was)
maybe cause she was squeezing my hand
SO SO SO hard
maybe cause i am overwhelmed with
"to do" lists

a wise woman,
who happens to be my best friend
and my sister
and the mother to all but one of those silly kids on the couch,
reminded me,
we fill our days with "to do" lists when we ought to
be making "to be" lists

who do i need "to be" today and this holiday season?

playbill

jon is a student by day

and a director by night.

he just finished another year

of directing with Arts Off Broadway.

this year's playbill included:

(Jon played Captain Hook-

who knew my husbands legs could look better in black tights than mine?

and Mr. E came and watched his first play)

(A bizarre play- but talented cast.

and Mr .E had his first stage appearance-

the nepotism begins!)

(The real success came in handling this play

and staying on top of his Organic Chemistry.

Mr. E was not invited to this at all.)

We're glad to have him back home on tuesday, thursday and saturday's

for a while....

traditions

no it is not a tradition to torture small babes with lemon

but to go out to lunch with the ladies for our birthdays

my mom used to do this with her lady friends (jeri, joan, jeanne and sharon) growing up

and i was always excited to get initiate that tradition in my own life

cause lunch means lingering over your meal, chit-chatting, catching up

and having room for dessert

since i don't have close friends within 700 miles

i started this tradition with my mom and tia--

lifelong friends of mine, even if they are related--

and i look forward to it every time

happy birthday mom!

9 months

mr.e is 9 months old so i want to share 9 things about being a mommy that i never knew...

1. no matter how often i clean the car seat there will always be goldfish crumbs in it
2. clipping fingernails is a weekly event for little folks
3. toys will NEVER be as much fun as cords
4. teething is quite messy
5. teething is painful for the whole family
6. teething is about a year long process
7. in one second a baby can fall out of the bath (aka kitchen sink) YIKES!!!
8. how the thought of his goofy grin can make me float when i am walking home from work
9. a little pointer finger could bring me so much joy

p.s.

the stats are:

height: 28.5 inches

weight: 18 lbs 12 oz

teeth: 2 on bottom 2.5 on top (and they are not the front 2)

skills: army crawls. but the doc said he should be really crawling...

eats: EVERYTHING including paper, dirt and dog food.

short on verbage

pardon my many
picture only posts
while i teach myself how to
post big pics and with words
and collages.
i have been struggling for months with this.
lame but true.

while mom blogs...

From Drop Box

guess whooo

just cause

nates but farm

nolen and elliot are 3 weeks apart

there has actually been a touch of fall in the air
(when it's not 98 - it's a lovely 72)
and i have been hankering
to do something fallish....
so we went with some friends
up to bates pumpkin patch


i had to crop this photo cause it looked like i was pooping a giant pumpkin



smelliot can't wait to come back next year

to ride the ponies and

eat more hay

8 months

a tragedy has occurred....

i lost my camera!

and so instead of

posting a goofy photo

i shall describe mr.e in all his

8 month glory...

jon said e looks a bit like

a redneck named cleatus-

since he only has one tooth on the bottom.

but after three sleepless nights last week

that bottom tooth has a friend!

yep he went from no teeth to two

in two weeks.

and the little dude can finally sit.

i think the delay was in holding

up his big old noggin',

cause he has a large owsley head.

and his big ol' head is

still as bald as a cue ball.

but in just the right light and with

just enough sweat,

i can make his few hairs stick up

all stylish and fun.

he's got a gut that rivals his dad

and big buns like his mom

(and cloth diapers only make it worse).

but a grin that stops people in their tracks.

this kid LOVES to smile at people

(unless they are a brown female waitress)

it amazing to see what joy his goofy grin

can bring to all sorts of strangers.

hopefully i will find my camera so i can

share the joy with ya'll.

348 months old!

stats...

height: over 6 feet tall

weight:probably 200 pounds

teeth: a whole mouth full that his wife has to bug him to brush

sitting: very well and very much as he is studying A LOT!!!!

eats: anything you make him with a thankful smile- even when it's burritos for the 10th time

favorites: spending time with his family, movies, sudoku, diet dr. pepper, getting an A on his first organic chem test.

not so favorite: broken xbox (this is however a favorite on the wife's list), homework, and when the mom is grumpy

happiest birthday ever mr jonny z!

7 months 7 days and 77 hours

i thought i would help my mom out

and do my own 7 month post

since it's getting to be way past my 7 month birthday

cause my mom has been a little busy...

painting and sealing the porch behind me, among other things,

so busy that one day i slid right out of the stroller

(which she uses as a babysitter)

and onto the floor of the garage.

(this wasn't my first near death incident either- bless her heart)

no worries - no damage.

she also spends a fair amount

of time feeding me cause i think

eating should happen

at least every hour.

but here's the real deal...

i heard her say she wanted to post

my 7 month photo of me

sitting on my own.

not gonna happen-

cause sitting is lots harder then it looks!

but i am a really really fantastic roller

and have recently taken up photography...

doggy beach

mr.e and i

took

miss penny b

to her beach

for a jaunt

in the waves

while e man

snacked upon a

seashell.

this boy

can make a snack

out of anything

every puppy needs a boy

mr. e loves penny burger.

he loves to pet her

and poke her

and

hug her

and he even

loves her kisses.

and poor miss penny will

take any affection she can get.

2 years

more than captain hamhocks loves to swim

and more than sir spitsalot loves to drive

i love you my mr. Z -jonny cakes

and i can't wait to celebrate

200 million more anniversaries with you.

we took a little anniversary vacation to palm springs.

(free time share deal, and we got another-

we never need to buy in cause they keep giving us freebies)

it was a lovely 108 outside until 8pm

but a perfect 72 in the condo 24/7.

we took lots of naps

and swims

and even a got to visit with family...

josh, mara and nolen treated us to a yummy dinner at BABES.

mighty mighty 6

STATS:

1. weight- 16 pounds

2. length- 27 inches

3. hair- a tiny beeny bit in the right light

4. teeth- red swollen gums

5. rolling- all over both ways

6. sitting- not so much alone, a great leaner

HIS FAVS:

1. eating anything- food or not

2. drinking from a cup

3. watermelon

4. watching his fingers

5. swimming

6. sqawking during church

MY FAVS:

1. when he reaches for me

2. how he strokes my face when i nurse him

3. when he cuddles his monkey

4. how he kicks his legs when he is excited

5. the way he laughs and grins at strangers- brightening their day

6. that he takes great naps and sleeps though the night

step on a crack

the hero within

our girl's camp 2009 heroes


and the baby boy heroes (nolen sneed and mr.e )

b

bright eyes

big cheeks

bald head

bowed feet 

baby boy

best blessing

my dilemma

while congress tries to propose a national health reform bill
and california's governator pretends to solve the huge debt crisis 
my thoughts are fixated on why mr. e
almost always falls asleep
in this new car seat-
which of course
you don't take in and out of the car
and thus you wake the baby....

5

1. this guy is 5 months old loves to guzzle 5 oz per feeding. 

    he spent the weekend as one of 5(we had my brothers four kiddos). 

    all you moms of 5 or more are heroes to me forever!

2. on saturday the young women's yard sale made 

    more than 500$ in 5 hours--pretty good for 5 girls! 

3. jon's car is dying and we are hoping to get 500 bucks 

and replace it with something for less than 5000.

4. back to work and average about 5 hours of sleep 

on back to back work nights.

5. feeling like i fix the same 5 things for dinner:

     burritos, pasta, burritos, magical mexican feast and burritos.

simply sweet for now

i put these things in my mouth.

often.

so sweet

and  suculent.

and a fantastic way to elicit great grins

and giggles.

last night we visited some sick kids.

one in a mental hospital on suicide watch.

one in children's awaiting her second round of chemo.

both girls.

both 14 years old. 

both needing so much hope. 

as i watched mr.e bounce and kick and squeal this morning

seemingly filled with great hope for a perfectly bright future,

i had to wonder what trials he might encounter as a 14 year old

when i will no longer want to chomp on his toes,

but will still have every desire to make him smile. 

four months

stats:

14 lbs 8 oz

25 1/4 inch

hair-none

teeth- coming

rolling over-yep!

out to lunch

thanks tia, kate and coop 

for a delightful birthday out to lunch.

since this is also my state of mind lately

cause of the anxiety of returning to work.

(i am NOT worried about jon and mr.e

cause they do dashingly together

and the delightful mr.e sleeps all night)

i am worried about me.

about being a nurse again.

about being able to focus on work.

about managing my time.

and thoughts.

my poor mind is not up to working speed yet.

my mom said right before a baby is born 

they reach back and pull out a handful of brains. 

elliot has big hands.

and i fear he pulled out of the corner of 

my brain that remembers 

drug interactions.

potential side effects to watch for.

the names of medications.

the important life threatening stuff.

but for the sake of me and my patients

i pray he pulled from the dance team corner of my brain.

cause nobody will get hurt if i forget 

the pep rally dance to the SPHS fight song.

busy-ness

the pioneer lady better watch out cause 

i have done some serious projects around here

(although my photos will never measure up to hers)

i go back to work tonight 

and so last week i got busy getting the nest in order....

first sewing new elastic into mr.e's puffy pants (aka cloth diapers),

made some yummy strawberry-raspberry freezer jam.

lots.

more than our freezer could hold. 

made a vat of salsa too.

got the recipe from my only brother-in-law on my side of the family.

who knew an italian guy could make such great salsa?

and planted these little beauties in the front planter. 

the poor planter that has been waiting to serve it's purpose

for a whole year.

not sure that 

cloth diapers,

homemade jam,

salsa

and roses

make a home orderly-

but they kept an anxious about going back to work mamma busy.

and busy-ness is my best cure for anxiousness.

ode to the boat

Oh the boat 

with no name

is still so great

just the same! 

tubing fun 

on your tummy 

or on your bum.

going fast

or flying high- (20ft for miss ellie)

but careful not 

to get a black eye! (poor kari)

 

when your not in the water

you watch those who are

and eat and eat and eat

and maybe fall asleep 

 

and if your cool 

and strong 

and brave

then you try to ride the wake!

(hannah is but i didn't get her picture)

terrific times in tenessee

we just took our first family trip!

(well, minus penny burg.)

mr.e did great on the plane

and had an instant fan club awaiting his arrival.

(a mighty good looking fan club too)

we went on an adventure to the lost sea

and played on the boat

and took great walks and 

played on the boat

and went downtown and 

played on the boat! 

(and who wouldn't play so much 

on such a FUN boat

and on such a GORGEOUS lake 

just 15 min.from home?)

we 

ate a lot

laughed a ton

talked a bunch

played for hours 

and 

LOVED every minute of it all.

(mr.e is still adjusting to life without 

                                 several constant adoring fans.)

thanks giacalone crew for such  

 terrific times in tenessee!

tree swing

 


noah took us on a walk to this great tree swing
only a 12 year old boy could find such a thing!