The rest of the story . . .

So, here is the rest of the story . . .
Tali brought me the bottle of Childrens' Tylenol and I videoed her demonstrating just how she got it down by herself. She is our little monkey . . . make that our third little monkey. So, I shut the closet and Matt posted the video online because her dialogue was just so funny.

My mom immediately e-mailed me to say I should probably move the medicine. "Of course," I thought, "I will do that soon. But it's probably okay for now because it's all childrens' medicine and now the door is shut!" So, the very next day, Tali brought me a bottle of Childrens' cough medicine. But this time it was OPEN! And all over her shirt and FACE!

So, we did some calculations and decided she drank about 1/4 of the bottle - yummy! We made our first call to Poison Control. (They are very nice, by the way.) The lady on the phone said she was not in danger, but that there would be side effects.

So, this is what happens when your toddler drinks four servings of Childrens' cough medicine:

• First she becomes very sleepy, but you have to keep her awake for at least an hour.
• After an hour, you will probably lay her in bed. By then she will be SO tired, but also VERY restless and unable to fall asleep.
• So you'll get her up and she'll become very grumpy and whiny and keep saying she feels yucky.
• Finally, after two more hours, she will start to calm down and act normal.
• Then she will fill her diaper with a substance resembling a runny chocolate shake (but warm).
• Then you will try to put her to bed again and she will become very angry.
• So you'll rock her and sing to her and she will start scratching her arms and legs uncontrollably.
• So, you'll give her a blessing.
• Finally she'll go to sleep and wake twice during the night, once a little poopy and once very disoriented.
• The next morning she'll wake up poopy, again, but happy and VERY hungry.
• Finally, if she's not smart enough to learn her lesson about drinking directly from the medicine bottle and goes looking for drugs again, they will be in a medicine cabinet . . . locked!

Tali Self Diagnoses and Retrieves Her Own Medicine, Thus Saving Us Time.

You can certainly see how ill she is.

Christmas Eve-Eve

For our Christmas Eve-Eve celebration, please refer to
www.aksmeds.blogspot.com

Confessions of a Shopaholic

This post is going to make us sound like poor, deprived Alaskans. But we're not, I promise. Okay, maybe a little bit.Today Liz and I went to Target to finish up our Christmas shopping. I love to take Liz shopping with me because she loves to shop. What made this even more exciting is that our Target is new. It was built a few months ago, clear across town. I've been there once, but Liz has never been. I didn't realize how exciting it would be for her. It all started with, "Liz, you've never been to this store before." Her eyes and smile huge, "Really?!"

When we walked in, she looked like Isla Fisher in the preview for Confessions of a Shopaholic. Of course, we went straight for the concession stand. She was in awe of all the choices and just couldn't choose between an M&M cookie and an Icee. When it was our turn she said, "You pick, mom. I can't decide." What would you pick for a girl this cute? I got both and she was on cloud nine when I told her they were both for her.

We shopped for over an hour and Liz was still in heaven. As we were leaving, I noticed she had just a little bit of melted Icee left in her cup, but she stopped me before I threw it away.

"I'm saving it. What is it called?"
"An Icee"
"I'm saving the rest of my Icee for Josh."

I love it how they save things for each other. And I love that an Icee was so new to her.

Happy Anniversary!

Today is our 11th anniversary! It's hard to believe we've been married that long. I mean, we both look like we're 21, right? - haha! (As a side note, why do wrinkles and grey hair look so much better on men than women?)For our anniversary celebration, we did our favorite thing - ski and stay the night at Alyeska. Alyeska is nice little ski resort in a nice little ski town called Girdwood, about 40 minutes from here. We skied all day yesterday, with a short break in the middle to eat lunch and sit in the hot tub . Matt gave me some new ski goggles and I got him a BYU sweatshirt. (They're playing basketball and football today!) Then Matt broke the rule about going easy on the anniversary and gave me another gift. He bought me a string of pearls. I love them! And I have already gotten Liz excited abou wearing them to her wedding (in about 20 years). But they'll still be in style - pearls never go out of style.

Then we did something we haven't done for approximately eleven and a half years. We ate dinner at Seven Glaciers - a really fancy restaurant at the top of the mountain. We last went there when we were dating and I visited Alaska for a week. Matt must've been trying to impress me then. And it worked! We were married six months later. Bit we've had to save our money for this long to be able to afford it again :) If you measure in cost per calorie, McDonalds is about 1/2 cent per 100 calories. Seven Glaciers is more like 7 cents per 100 calories. Sometimes you want to stop by McDonalds after eating at a fancy place like that (because you're still hungry). Seven Glaciers was actually very delicious and we even got full. We made reservations to go again in eleven and a half years.

This morning we slept in, had breakfast at the Pond Cafe and then headed home to our three little ones. Thank you for an awesome weekend, Matt! I'm so glad to have been married to you for 11 years. And the three kids are a nice bonus! I love you so much! Sometimes I forget to say thanks for all the awesome things you do for me. Maybe this one big thank you can fill in the cracks where I forget for the next year. Thanks and I love you!

Look what else Matt did!

We love to drive around on Sunday evenings and look at Christmas lights. Matt and I both did the same thing with our families as kids. I'm sure it's a pretty common December activity - any why not? You get to drive around all warm in the car, ooh and aah at the lights, and chit-chat with your spouse for an hour while the kids are securely buckled, or at least confined to one space.

This year, Matt wanted to contribute to the festivities, so he decorated our front yard. And he really went the extra mile! Here is a picture of his beautiful work:

The big tree really is as tall as our house! Matt leaned a 30' ladder right against the tree and then hung on for dear life. Actually, he's pretty handy with a ladder, being a roofer and all. He ended up stringing about 20 strands of lights up, which required 5 extension cords, which all had to be burried under the snow as to not obstruct the kids' snow-machine path. It was a big job and Matt is a hard worker. Thanks Matt! You've really made it feel like Christmas!

Look what Matt did!

Matt is the kind of husband that shows his love by doing whatever I want. Sometimes I ask, but most of the time he just keeps a lookout and does all the hard work I seem to avoid. I don't like to call myself spoiled, but I definitely am.

Cleaning the bathrooms is my least favorite chore. But I rarely have to do it because whenever the bathrooms start to get dirty, they miraculously get cleaned by the "daddy fairy" before I ever get around to it. I never have to take out the trash or shovel any snow. He always helps me with the dishes and hangs out with me when I'm doing something I don't need help with. He never complains when I make Subway or Mac & Cheese for dinner. And when it's after 9pm and one of us decides we need ice-cream or something from Blockbuster, he never complains when he's nominated to be the runner.

But, most importantly, Matt does all the things I really couldn't do myself. Unfortunately for him, I come up with lots of projects of this type. He has crawled through the crawl space to hide wires I wanted hidden. Once I went to all the hard work :) of buying the kids a swing and rings that I imagined them swinging on in their bedroom in the wintertime. Matt happily crawled through all the insulation in the attic to make the mounting hardward secure and pretty! He hangs up everything that's above my head (and I'm only 5'3" on a tall day). Every winter he builds a snow track around the house (complete with jumps) for the kids to ride their snow machine on. And when he's home, he doesn't watch out the window like I do. He goes outside and rides with them. In the summer he trims all the Pushki and Devil's Club in the greenbelt so the kids can explore without getting itchy. He tunes up my bike and waxes my skis before I even know they need it.

The most recent job I commissioned him for was a big one and he did it beautifully. We needed a new light in our dining room and I wanted new lights in our bathrooms. I did the easy job of picking them out and he hung them all up! Each one took at least an hour and there are seven. I love the result and I'm so glad he does it all happily, for me.

Downstairs bathroom & Master bathroom

Dining room

Our Advent Calendar

This is for Lisa. Matt's mom gave me this really cool advent calendar a few years ago. The kids take a little ornament out of a drawer everyday and hang it on the little tree. They don't know that advent calendars are supposed to have a treat in every drawer :)

Bombs Away!

Liz's friend had a birthday party at Arctic Gymnastics. Liz and Tali had a blast the entire time. Tali saw the bigger kids jumping off of this platform into the foam pit and really wanted to do it herself . . . but she was scared. When she finally got up the nerve to do it herself, she kept doing it over and over and over again.

This is what happens . . .

. . .when you're almost out of lunch money.

The Church Christmas Party

Liz insisted that all the kids dress up for the Church Christmas Party. What a great idea, Liz. You three sure do look cute together!

No chairs, please!

Remember my post about Little Liz who doesn't ever sit in chairs? I have more proof, and another child to add to the anti-chair list.

Christmas Countdown Chain

The other day I was reading Lisa Smedley's blog and I was so inspired that I skipped my workout and spent the time stealing her idea. Thanks Lisa, I think.

Here's the jist - all stolen from Lisa, of course. We have an advent calendar with little drawers. In addition to the little ornament in each little drawer, put in a little strip of paper with a fun Christmas activity on it. Lisa put a strip in every drawer. I printed a bunch of strips, put them in an envelope, and I reserve the right to put a strip in whenever I please.

Here is a combo picture of our first two activities.

#1 - decorating the tree. Josh hung around for about 30 minutes and then put on his snow clothes and headed outside to find something more exciting to do. Liz, on the other hand, hung around to the bitter end and was disappointed that I hung up the rest of the Christmas decorations without her supervision after she went to bed. Tali tried to "help," but Liz and I eventually bundled her up and sent her outside to play with Josh.

#2 - the Christmas Countdown Chain. There are 21 days until Christmas, so 21 links. I planned on red, green and one yellow at the end, but Liz talked me into "more yellow" and Tali said, "I want pink and purple." Josh approved the extra colors - He's very good at accommodating his crazy sisters. So we have a chain of many colors.

The kids' trees:

Uh oh!

She's almost two and half. I guess she can't sleep in a crib forever. I was just hoping she would.

Silly kids

A few things my kids said this week that made me laugh:

Liz on what will happen if you put a plastic bag on your head - "You'll fussocate."
Liz on Obama - "He's not very smart because he smokes."

Josh & Matt having a conversaton about the birds and the bees -
Matt - "Josh, where do babies come from?"
Josh - "Heaven."
Matt - "But how do they get here?"
Josh - (points at my stomach and puffs up his cheeks, then smirks)
Matt - But what's the dad's job in getting a baby here? How does he help?
Josh - By loving them and helping with things like doing the dishes and changing diapers.
(Not time for sex-ed yet. Just checking.)

Tali on why she didn't use the toilet - "I don't wanna fall in."

Lastly, this one didn't make me laugh; it just made me happy.
Tali at 7:45pm - "Mom, I wanna go ni-night in my bed."

Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles!

The girls figured out that if you turn on the jets and put in lots of body wash, the bubbles are endless! The bubbles got so high Liz & Tali couldn't even sit down. So high I started to worry about a flood! But they obviously had a great time.

Elmo Falls Down the Stairs

When Elmo started falling, Tali burst into tears.

Matt in H.S.

Name of your high school and graduating year: Dimond - GED, honors

Did you marry someone from your high School? No, from Mexico.

Did you car pool? Yes, as an environmentalist I believe that economy starts with the individual.

What kind of car did you have? VW Scirocco, Subaru Outback, Cutlass Sierra, Chevy Van, 4 motorcycles and a 911 Turbo

What kind of car do you have now? none

What kind of job did you have in high School? Several. Who needs school when you can already hold down three jobs? Matt's Snow Blowing - self employed 10-99, shelf-stocker at Carrs-Safeway, Cart-filler at Costco, Bus-boy at Garcia's, occasional roofer and male erotic dancer.

Were you considered a flirt? That's what she said.

Did you get suspended or expelled? Sadly, no. Once I got punched in the face because I saluted Charlie Bates and called him Master Bates.

Can you sing the fight song? No but I can rock it on my clairinet.

Where did you sit during lunch? On my mullet

What was your school mascot? a freaky-looking cat/dog mix called a Lynx

If you could go back and do it again, would you? Every morning I say, "If I could go back now with all the skillz I have, I'd totally be QB. I could throw the football over those mountains."

What do you remember most about graduation? Nudity...lots of nudity

Who did you take to the Prom in your Senior Year? Obama's mom.

Do you still talk to the person you went to prom with? She calls me at home.

Getting to Know You in HS (tagged by my sis Courtney)

Fill this out about your Senior year of High School!

The longer ago it was, the more fun the answers will be.

Name of your high school and graduating Year: Clark High School 1995

Did you marry someone from your high School? No.

Did you car pool? No...I walked (usually more like running because I was always late) until we moved across town. Then I drove by myself.

What kind of car did you have? Whatever Pam was driving until 11th grade, then I hitched a ride with Dawn or borrowed my mom's Mercury Sable until I got my own beauty for my senior year - a 1986 Rosewood Buick Century. Sound like a grandma car? That's because it was a hand-me-down from my Grandpa Evans.

What kind of car do you have now? Toyota Sequoia

What kind of job did you have in high School? Golden Swirl Frozen Yogurt (asst mgr baby!)

Were you considered a flirt? I don't think so

Did you get suspended or expelled? No, once I got in trouble for being late too much

Can you sing the fight song? Only the last part: "Chargers strong, Chargers bold. We'll fight for the black and gold. Hail, hail, the gang's all here so let's have a victory!" The rest gets all jumbled in my head with the BYU fight song.

Where did you sit during lunch? Mostly Seminary. But sometimes home, Taco Bell, Carls Jr., Winchell's. But never in the cafeteria . . . never!

What was your school mascot? Chargers

If you could go back and do it again, would you? Yea, it was pretty fun. But, like Courtney said, only if I knew then what I know now.

What do you remember most about graduation? My dress

Who did you take to the Prom in your Senior Year? No comment

Do you still talk to the person you went to prom with? Yes

I tag: Matt Novakovich, Heather Porter, Lisa Smedley & Courtney Neilson

Little Liz

Ever since Josh was old enough to sit, I've lived with the reality that there is really no need for chairs in my house. My kids don't sit on chairs. They kneel on them, stand on them, lay on them, fall off of them and climb under them. I have wondered if there is something wrong with their bums!
Then, one day, I realized that I don't sit directly on my butt very often. When I have to sit in a chair, one of my feet is usually underneath me. I remember being told to "SIT" thousands of times as a kid. I also remember really enjoying finding interesting places to be - not sit, like on the top shelf of the closet, in the cabinet under the sink, under the table/desk, or, my favorite, in the hamper. So, since I realized that this little quirk of theirs is actually my fault, I have learned to embrace it.
That's why I love this picture of Liz. There is always an element of creativity and uniqueness to everything Liz does. Even when she's sitting quietly, she's doing it differently.

Liz writing. She is actually using a chair :o - for a handrest.

PARENTAL DISCRETION ADVISED!

"What starts with 'F' and ends with 'uck'?"

"Firetruck" . . . obviously!

That's the joke Josh thought would be fun to tell at the dinner table. The only difference was that when Josh told it, there was about 20 minutes of gasping, shhh-ing, questioning, lecturing, and mostly just bug-eyes.

When we asked him why he thought the joke was funny and told him that we thought it absolutely wasn't, he acted stunned and semed honestly confused, like he thought of it more as a riddle than a funny joke. We were also confused.

A few months ago, we asked him if he knew any bad words and he confirmed that he had heard a few, including "the queen mother of all dirty words, the f--- word." So, what happened? Had he actually forgotten it? Or had he suddenly become an amazing actor?

We explained why that joke is inappropriate and apoligized for being so appalled by his "riddle." He thought about it for a while and eventually came to us with the reason for all the confusion.

"Dad, I thought the F-word ended with 'er'."

Meet Samuel

Samuel is my very special nephew. He's my sister, Teresa's fourth of five boys and a shining light in our family.

Teresa will be blogging on "5 Minutes for Special Needs" every Friday this month. Her first post is at www.5MinutesForSpecialNeeds.com/596/596/. You can read more about Samuel and his miracle at www.SamuelsMiracle.com/about/.

How long could you survive?

I could survive for 54 seconds chained to a bunk bed with a velociraptor

Created by Bunk Beds.net

Nooooooo Mommy, I don't yike it!

I have finally discovered the reason for Santa Claus!!! He exists to undo all the damage done to little kids by Halloween. Don't get it? Ever since Tali saw everyone she knows dressed up in the most ridiculous get-ups for Halloween, she has been terrified of "guys." That doesn't refer to real life males, just the following:

• The stuffed people sitting on motorcycles and 4-wheelers at the Honda Motorsports Shop. When I tried to show her they were fake by squishing one of their legs, she totally freaked out.
• A life-sized cut-out of Obama on the street corner. She said, "Mom, I don't yike dat guy." Then I laughed for a long time.
• Lastly, the life-sized Santa at Lowe's. I was really excited when I saw the Christmas stuff out, so I walked her right up to Santa. Before I realized what was happening, she was clinging to me, then clutching my clothes, then pulling out my hair and yelling, "Nooo! I don't yike it, I don't wanna touch it! Noooooooooooo Mommy!!!" So, I really quickly pushed the button to make him sing, backed away . . . and voila! Tali's not quite as scared of "guys" anymore. Just 6 more weeks of "Santa gives you toys and candy" propaganda and she will no longer remember Halloween.

Twilight Complete

I finished the series last week on the plane to Oregon. The whole thing was so good! I'm glad I waited to start it until all four were published because I would've died waiting inbetween books. New Moon (#4) was really great, but I still think the first one is the best. I was glad that it ended happily or I would've been distraught for a few days. But there is still room for a #5 . . .

So, on to a new book. Dennis told me that inbetween "fun" books he usually reads something more serious or difficult - usually a 1200-page biography of a very boring political figure :) So, I decided to do the same. Before I started something else fun, I read something serious - Josh's Cub Scout Manual. Okay, so it wasn't classic literature, but it was very boring . . . but educational.

Last night I started reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It seems good (I'm less than 50 pages in), but I kept peeking at Twilight (#1) out of the corner of my eye wondering if I should just start over at the beginning. haha

Oregon

Our trip to Oregon was fun. The weather was unusually warm and totally dry. We visited Portland, Astoria and Seaside. We even went to Karaoke one night in Seaside. Here are pictures of us racing in the Halloween race. It's my first time racing in a skirt. Too bad I forgot my coconuts ;) Matt wasn't planning on racing the Halloween race. But it looked so fun that he did it at the last minute, without a costume, and got ridiculed the whole time by all the spectators. Those Oregonians sure do take Halloween racing seriously!



Potland is the city of Roses, so we had to visit the Portland Rose Garden. It was beautiful, but I wish I had Liz there. She would've loved it. So I took tons of pictures and we are going to make some sort of project out of all the photos.

Please pray for the McBrooms

Please pray for our friend Kathleen McBroom and her family. She has been missing for some time now and we are awfully worried and very sad. Kathleen was Liz's primary teacher last year and she told me often how Liz touched her heart. I have never told her how many times she touched my heart by seeing Liz's love when I mostly saw Liz's craziness. We love you Kathleen!

UPDATE ~ NBC airs report

Kathleen's blog: http://www.sogratefultobemormon.wordpress.com/

Happy Halloween!

We all dressed up this year, but with no family theme. It was an every man for himself Halloween and we ended up with quite an assortment of costumes. We all had a great time trick or treating and trunk or treating and racing for the door. And we ended up with way too much candy!

Josh = Indiana Jones. His outfit wasn't complete without his Nerf dart gun holstered to his hip. And the whip, of course.
Liz = a black cat (you can't tell very well from these pics, but we spray-dyed her hair black and left a few blonde streaks. It looked really cool!)
Tali = Elmo. Tali loves Elmo to death.
Matt = a scary guy. Isn't his make-up job great? He did it all himself. I never knew he could apply make-up.
Tiffanie = a tattooed football player. My costume looked better outside when I was wearing a fat down vest underneath. (Oh the joy of Halloween when it's freezing outside.)

Happy 6th Birthday Liz!

Liz is our almost-Halloween baby. I think the day fits her perfectly because Liz is all about making the party last a little longer. "When she grows up," she wants to be a party planner, seriously - that's her actual choice. I think she has watched a little too much HGTV with me :)

Thursday was a party all day. We started with a half-day at school where kids and parents participated in Pumpkin Math Day. Later I took Liz to the 5th Ave Mall (oh la la) to spend her Build-a-Bear gift certificate from Grandma. She absolutely loved that. Then we celebrated late into the night on Thursday (no school Friday) with Grandma and Grandpa, the Smedleys, some Moose's Tooth pizza, cake and ice-cream, X-Box Rock Band, lots of girls squealing, and a few grunts from the two boys - Josh and Owen. And then the party continued on Friday with all the Halloween festivities.


I love all the expressions in this picture. From the far right, Kali is quietly observing. Meg is quite the opposite - observing while continuously narrating. Liz is always fastidious about posing for the camera with each present and card while filling in any gaps in Meg's commentary. Josh's fingers will give you a clue to what he's doing - adding up how much $$ Liz has gotten so far. And on the far left, Tali is lovin' GapaGapa.







For her birthday, Liz got a bed for her American Girl Doll, a light blue Build-a-Bear (it's a girl), an Easy-Bake Oven, a "Barbie for President" Barbie (she calls her Sarah Palin Barbie - we might have to dye her hair), and some cash to spend. She says she is saving it . . . As much as she dislikes video games, she discovered that there is a pink Nintendo DS and I think she wants it just for its pretty color.







Liz and I had planned to make her cake together, but we decided to spend our extra time together at the mall and stop by the grocery store on the way home and find a pretty store cake instead. We still got to bake together though. We made cupcakes for her class for Monday, when she gets to be "Queen of the Jungle".






Below: This is Tali and Owen. They love eachother. They were due on the same day but ended up being born about two weeks apart (yes, Tali was later). Those extra two weeks have given Owen quite an advantage with his sword-wielding skills. On the left, you can see a concerned Jason thinking, "No. . . he's not going to take a full swing at Tali's head, is he?" Yes, he did. But as soon as Tali dropped to the ground, Owen was right there giving kisses. On the right, you can see the shagrin on Owen's face because after the incident, he was forced to let Tali swing at him while he stood there defenseless. Lucky for him, she didn't land a hit even when he wasn't fighting back.

Almost done!

I like to read in chunks, and Matt doesn't like to be ignored in chunks. So, my progress has slowed a bit since he came home. But I'm almost done with #4. Like the rest, it's really good. It has a lot more action that the other three. I never figured myself a romance reader, but I actually miss (just a little bit) reading entirely about Edward's immaculate beauty, him doting on Bella to no end, and all the sparks that flew every time they simply touched, let alone kissed. How cheesy, I know.

Matt and I are leaving for Portland for the weekend . . . ooh baby! The only good thing about flying for 7 hours is that I'm sure to have a big enough chunk of time to finish the last 100 pages. I can't wait to see how it ends. Then who's going to the movie with me next month?

But more importantly, what should I read next? How about some suggestions . . .

Twilight update

On Sunday night, when Matt was still gone, I needed something to do. So I ran to Vickie's house in the snow (yes, it snowed) to borrow her copy. I finished it already and am trying to think of a way to not get #4 until my laundry is done. Of course I want to read it . . . badly, but I'd rather read it in clean clothes. My kids would appreciate some clean clothes too. Or I could just read it in the bathtub ;)

All I can say is #4 better have a good ending! #1 made me giddy, #2 made me depressed and #3 made me confused. I think I like Jacob almost as much as Edward now. So, does it have a good ending? I can almost see Vickie's house from my window . . . I could just run there right now. No, laundry. This might be my quickest laundry conquest ever!

Stomach Flu

There is something about kids vomiting and Matt being out of town. The last time he went somewhere, I think I was up every night changing sheets for five days while it cycled through each kid.

A few days ago he was supposed to be home at 2am, but his flight got canceled. At precisely 2:08am Tali barfed (that's our family's term of choice) all over her sheets. I should have known that someone would start vomiting before he got home. Tali had kept everything clean except her sheets so it was a quick change. I rocked her for a minute and put her back to bed, where she was happy to be. I was so pleased with myself when I was back in bed by 2:30am. As soon as I had fallen asleep, she was at it again. This time nothing was spared. Every blanket, stuffed animal and lock of hair had been barfed on. So, again with the changing of the crib sheets (what a pain) and a bath for Tali. She was such an angel, didn't even cry. Then, back to bed, again, at 3:30am. But then she was done! I waited all day and was prepared all night for a recap. But she was all done. I heard that almost every kid from nursery on Sunday was throwing up also.

Josh and Liz were fine . . . until I got a call from school. Liz felt sick, so she went to the nurse. The nurse couldn't find anything wrong, so she sent her back to class. Not too long after, Liz walked up to Mrs. Sterling holding her mouth and crying. Thinking she had hurt her mouth, Mrs. Sterling leaned down to get right at Liz's level . . . Oh NO! Yes, Liz barfed . . . on her! Mrs. Sterling said it wasn't too bad. It got all over the stuff she was holding in her hands and all over her shoes. Mrs. Sterling is an angel also! I would not have been smiling if someone threw up on my shoes!

So, Liz has been home all day watching movies with a bowl in her lap. Everyone on the bus had heard what happened. Big news! Josh is fine . . . so far.

London Avery Jensen!!

My little brother Scott and his wife Ashley had their first baby yesterday. London Avery Jensen was born 10/9/8 at 11:30pm in Nashville, TN. She was 20 inches and weighed 9-13! Holy moly! Next time you don't have to go a week late, Ashley! An almost 10lb baby is a free ticket to get induceda week early for number two and three and four and . . .

Visit their blog http://www.scottandashley.blogspot.com/ for cute pics of the chubby baby Ashley, my sister-in-law, is very creative and also has
an awesome design blog http://www.designcarousel.typepad.com/ and
a sweet Etsy shop called Nouveau Designs http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5832755.

I've been busy . . .

I've been busy . . . sitting on the couch. Occasionally I roll onto the floor and do a few sit-ups to assure that I don't get bedsores or sink down into the crevices of the couch, or actually become one with it. I have been showering . . . okay, so I finally showered this afternoon . . . and previously on Monday. But sometimes I read in the bathtub :) I can't wash my hair or get my hands wet while I'm reading though, so a shower was eventually inevitable.

I first heard about the vampire books written by a BYU grad over a year ago from Linda, then Heather, then all my friends blogs were peppered with pictures of the cover (just like mine now). I held strong. No vampires for me. Then I heard about it on a bike ride with biking friends. It was coming at me from every angle! So, I asked my older and much wiser sister, who reads very scholarly books (several a day, I'm sure), has a degree in library science, and shares my name - Tiffani. She gave it the thumbs up, so off to the bookstore I went.

I started reading Monday and am slightly addicted. I plan my days around my next fix. I'm halfway through #2 - New Moon. I miss Edward and Alice. I like Edward, a lot. Maybe more than Lance :) I'm smitten. Oh, but what about Jacob . . . No, still Edward.

So, what's been going on in my house while I've been thus engrossed?

#1 - There is currently popcorn spilled on my kitchen floor.

#2 - Tali dipped her toothbrush in the toilet today -and then brushed- while Liz gawked in amazement.

#3 - Josh said, "Mom, you must be really interested in that book." (I felt like I might be neglecting him, but then he went upstairs and started reading a chapter book himself. What a good example I am!)

Where's Matt, you ask? There's the ticket. He's out of town, so a good book is just what the doc ordered. (BTW - I know I shouldn't tell the "Internet" he's out of town. FYI - he'll be home before I post this.)

So, We have done a few things since I last posted - actually out of the house things. Here's the rundown:

It snowed! Isn't it a little early for snow? I think Josh was thinking the same thing. But all three kids had a great time playing in it until bedtime. They finished the festivities on the trampoline where they giggled themselves into hysterics until someone finally took off their gloves and got cold hands.

It has all melted, and the temperature is back up to a balmy 50 degrees, thanks to a lovely Chinook wind that blew in last night and disrupted sleep for all Anchorageites. Like I said, Matt was out of town, so Josh and I cleaned up the aftermath. Do you see everything in the picture that's on our porch? It all blew off. Also included - our grill and our trampoline (luckily no damage). I found one trash can standing upright 50 yards behind Josh's and Liz's heads (in the pic), our kiddie pool in our neighbor's yard, and Tali's little bike in the next-one-down neighbor's yard. Several of our neighbors lost trees and shingles. I hear winds got above 100 mph and all flights were diverted to Fairbanks for the day. We lost power for a few hours, but our friends down the street were without it all day. Our friends in Eagle River are still in the dark!

Speaking of the dark:

I loved playing hide 'n' go seek in the dark when I was a kid. We usually did it when our parents were gone so we could take extra steps to make the house completely dark. So, we had a great time until Tali suddenly got scared. She clutched onto me and started repeating very confidently, but still with a hint of question in her eyes "There's no monsters, there's no monsters." I almost cried for her. Sometimes she is a little bit afraid of the dark, but she's so tough though. When I turned on the lights for her, she made me turn them back off so we could keep playing. She just stayed with me from then on.

Well, off to bed for me. I think I'll take a book with me :)